"I must say, I heard what you did to Hornigold and I must thank you! What he did was far from Glamorous. And here you are up and kicking!" Culliford spoke on the other side
"Yeah I'm up! But you have our ship?!" Leroy Questioned.
"Yes! I do! It took me two days to cross the desert to get to where Intel had said your Ship was." The Mention of Intel caused Leroy to be confused "Intel? What do you mean?"
"Oh. You must not have known. I must apologize dear, but I was a part of The Chyros Trading Company!" She spoke plainly. But the reveal made Leroy recoil slightly. Though the Rest of the Crew had already been told about the encounter from the Chef. "You were!?" Leroy questioned. Only for the Chef to speak up behind him
"Yeah. I had a Fight with him at the Docks. Though she made sure it was in good faith…" The comment made the Captain fully understand as he grinned and turned back to the receiver. "Well! I must thank you! If it weren't for your Fireworks I might not have gotten such an Upper hand on Hornigold. And thank you for Protecting our ship!" The Captain said joyfully
"Y-You used my Fireworks?" An audible fluster was heard over the receiver before Culliford regained focus "I mean. Of course! But Time is of the Essence."
She continued "I had heard from one of the Pure Gold agents that your ship was Docked in Arid. And after my fight with that darling Chef of yours and recuperating. I made my way there. I got your ship out under the cover of night and Hid down the coast! I made sure to raise the Sails and lower your jolly roger! To any of the Marine patrols it seemed like any ordinary vessel!"
Leroy took a glance to the Crew with a smirk. The Crew seemed to share a similar sentiment of being impressed. Mar-Syl spoke again "But I'm not there currently. I haven't been there in some time. I had to take care of my own ship and crew!"
"I understand! But like you said, we gotta go!" Leroy ushered. "Right! If you follow the Far side, East of the City along the Coast you'll find where it is!" The Captain had a strange look on his face. The Directions being incredibly vague, causing him to look to the Navigator. Who seemed to be deep in thought. The King then spoke "I think they're talking about Amun Cove…It's about 5 kilometers up the coast…"
"Sounds right! I sailed until I came across a cove to stowaway the Ship!" Mar-Syl confirmed.
"I'm heading their now. But it'll be some time. If we don't see each other again. I want to thank you Obi-Chan!" The Queen spoke solemnly
"I'm sure we will! The seas may be wide! But Comradery knows no distance!" Leroy declared
*
*
Minutes Later
"I was hoping that I could give these to you under better circumstances. But take it as our thanks for your help. As King of Arabasta. This Country, the Royal Family, and I, King Ramze, Are forever in your debt." The King spoke Bowing his head yet another time that night as many Servants laid out some Wrapped boxes. As well as a Small chest of Berry for compensation.
"Each of the Gifts are personalized for each of you. I hope we did you all justice." Leroy gave his own bow. "Thank you."
"Amun Cove is here." Spoke Geeve marking a Map of Arabasta and handing it to The Fishman Navigator. "Shouldn't be too hard to get to!" Kirk said confidently. "Shouldn't be. But there's always the worry of Marines. Stick to the Backroads, and you should get out of the City in no time. You've got plenty of hours of light left."
All of the Crew readied themselves to leave when a voice from behind spoke "Wait! Leroy!" Kiki spoke, rushing over to the Captain. "Before you go!" Quickly, the princess surprisingly gave the Red Sashed captain a quick kiss on the Check. Giving a smile to him and speaking "Stay safe."
The Action caused the crew to look at one another in surprise. The Chef smirked. Speaking under his breath. "Tch. Lucky bastard…"
The Captain slowly raised his hand to touch his cheek. His ears felt hot, but he gave a smile and said "I will. Keep yourself safe too." Leroy gave a small playful wink causing The Princesses cheeks to be cast in a Small blush as the captain turned and nodded to his crew. All of them setting out back doors of the Palace
*
*
*
*
If Only They'd left sooner
It took 45 minutes for the Crew to travel throughout the city. Sticking to the Corners and Back allies avoiding the sight of the Marines Patrolling through the Streets. They weren't wearing their usually clothes so even at a glance they looked like your average Aluba resident returning home. Especially with the Bags that they carried.
But as they walked across the Sandy shore of Arabasta, the Looming image of the City of Aluba, moving further and further away, they could see the arching cliffsides coming closer and closer.
"That seems like it up ahead!" Kirk announced as he kept his eyes on the map in hand. Finger pointing to the nearby ridge line. "Finally." Leroy spoke in an exhausted tone.