Empirica #4

While the fortress of the green cloaks had been left by Alyssia for them to deal with the aftermath as promised, she met up with the others and set up camp further away from the fortress.

As promised by Barry, there would be a period of time that she would have to freely venture around the island without being disturbed which was very beneficial to her and her group.

While camping out and eating some of the packed lunches that had been brought along, they each were briefed about the results of Alyssia's infiltration.

Alyssia smugly explained to them. "I got more than enough information for us to survive this place but that does not mean you guys can just relax. Where we will be going is by no means a safe place."

Jester sat twirling some daggers in his hands. "Now that we have some time together after a long time.. I want to ask something."

Alyssia nodded calmly. "Sure."

Jester continued to twirl the daggers around while some were juggled in the air. "I have collected some information on my homeland but there has not been anything completely useful yet. After this… I want your approval to search deeper or I could use your help."

Alyssia rolled her eyes and responded. "From what you have told me about your homeland, it is not that simple and there will obviously be a big player behind it or there will be someone who has a strong backing. It will be difficult to investigate but.. there are ways to gain crucial information. You just need to know where to look."

Jester caught a falling dagger then tossed another up into the air. "Thanks. This really means a lot."

Alyssia revealed a calm smile. "It is nothing really.."

Her relationship with her crew had continued to grow and the time they spent apart had not caused their bonds to fall apart.

In some ways the distance had only caused them to appreciate what Alyssia had done for them wince they got to know her.

Without her being their motivator and teacher for training and providing a safety blanket for them, they quickly realised the harshness of the world and how easy they had things since they met Alyssia.

Jester had become much stronger and had infiltrated the underworld to seek answers to what had happened to his home and who was behind the death of his previous master and the princess of the island but there were only some small pieces of information he could dig up.

He was often contemplating taking another approach that required more brutal means rather than the patient approach he had been taking which gained few results.

By doing so, he would be able to cause a stir and drag out anyone that could possibly be involved and in hiding or possibly gain some crucial information but it came at the cost of making enemies from all directions.

Making an enemy out of the criminal underworld bosses was not a good idea especially since there were many types of assassins and unknown powerhouses hidden within.

If he made an enemy of those people, it would cut off opportunities for the White Storm too so he could not act that way.

There were various rare materials which could only be found on the black market or in privately hosted auctions connected to the underworld emperors so the White Storm would lose out if they lost the connection.

There were various chances to participate in auctions to acquire rare weapons and devil fruits so Alyssia had warned him not to offend them unless it was worth losing out on such opportunities.

Alyssia had a greater amount of knowledge of various influences in the criminal underworld and would have an easier time gaining information from them or finding a way to obtain it so it was better if she personally assisted Jester some time in the future.

Alyssia looked over at everyone else and let out a sigh. "Rest up everyone. Tomorrow will be a busy and dangerous day. I will take the first watch."

While everyone was going into their tents to get some sleep, Yvie ran over and dived into the arms of Alyssia. "Good night!"

Alyssia caught her and gave back a warm hug. "Sleep well."

As she watched each of them slip inside of their tents and as she listened to the light breathes and snores within, Alyssia gazed up at the stars above past the tree branches which blocked part of her view with a content smile on her face. "This is not bad. I should have done this more often."

She had been too caught up with grinding her system stats, skills and researching to be able to really travel around and have fun with everyone so she had missed out on many opportunities within the first half of the Grand Line.

There had been times when everyone gathered for meetings, holidays and birthdays but it was rare that they would be gathered together in one place and could have such moments together.

A new island filled with new challenges along with her companions with the addition of a couple of new faces.

Alyssia closed her eyes but kept her Observation Haki sharp as it detected the surroundings for any threats approaching. 'Now to go over more of the information that has been collected. Hmm.. this task should be interesting, I cannot wait until tomorrow!'

Empirica interested her greatly and contained many mysteries and dangers.

While Alyssia was very interested in what was inside the walls of Empirica, she had to settle for the outside for the time being due to the various circumstances surrounding the island.