11 Chapter 11: Guest
This one will be a longer chappy. Enjoy.
Chapter 11: Guest
~Mc POV~
After the talk with Rahako I felt like a piece of shit, it's not that I did not trust Rahako, I knew that he would not betray me, but telling anyone that I am a reincarnator is a big NO in my book so I made up some BS about a prophecy. there was the fact that half of it was true.
The amount of magical energy he could harness was increasing, slowly but it was still noticeable, probably even more for someone with a smaller energy pool like Rahako.
They still had a minimum of around a year and a half before Drogo goes to pentos to marry Danerys, right now he is on his way to Lhazar, he will raid there for a fortnight maybe more, then journey to Vaes dothrak and then is when he will probably be contacted to march towards pentos to marry Danerys, unless he decides to turn around now and march there which is highly unlikely.
So taking into account the time needed for the khalasar to march including the variables of fights with other khalasars and raiding / getting tribute from cities along the way because the khalasar needs to eat, it will take close to a year to make it to pentos if they just focused on marching. Hell, it took them close to 9 months to get from Pentos to the borders of Lhazar in the first place, and that would be if he got Daenerys pregnant on their wedding night which I highly doubt.
Still I have a year and a half before I turn 15, I still have time, between one and two years to get everything in order.
The plan so far is:
1: Make it to Meereen, sell all the stuff we have.
2: find passage to preferably ether Tolos or Elyraia. if we can't, then Volantis is Ok too, just less desirable.
2.5: set up Rahako so he can earn coin while I'm away looting Valyria (make sure to write down instructions on how to reinvest our coin)
3: Steal a small one man vessel and get to valyria.
4: Raid everything I can get my hands on, from fossilized eggs, long forgotten books to all the valyrian steel I can find.
5: try to find the secrets of valyria, (valyrian blood magic, how to make valyrian steel, how to hatch eggs and bind the dragons… etc.)
After that depending on his success or failure the steps will either increase, decrease or change altogether.
John Arryn probably is going to corak some time next year, but for that I would need to know recent events of westeros, I will know about the dates when I learn about the greyjoy rebellion or basically what year After Conquest is it, Kycelian was very vague and said he stopped counting after a while in essos since they use a different calendar than westeros.
They have been riding for 2 days in total now, and it was time to stop and rest, I was positive that they have a big lead on anyone that could be following them, and soon they will probably find a road that will lead them to Meereen, if I was not mistaken there was a pass towards meereen in a day or two ride from where they are currently. I was not sure because I was never there but I heard other Dotrhaki talking about it when they were passing by this area a few years back on their way to raid deep into Lhazar.
the search for decent place to spend the night was short after finding a decent pace in between some dense bushes that will help as a wind breaker for the night
"this palace looks good enough" I said to Rahako, he looked around and nodded.
After untying the prisoners from the saddle I went to chop some saplings for firewood. Rahako stayed as a babysitter while the women worked setting up the camp.
After grabbing my bow and quiver I dashed to hunt something. It took me 20 minutes of following a game trail to find a small pond of water, the sun was starting to set and I probably had around 40 minutes to hunt something, clean and bring back to camp before dark.
using my improved vision and hearing I tried to locate any sign of life nearby.
For 15 minutes I stayed still as a rock until I spotted some movement on my peripheral vision, squinting my eyes a little on the distance I saw something moving, not wasting the opportunity I started to stalk down my prey, after making sure that I was walking upwind so whatever I was hunting would not smell me coming.
Not that it mattered much in the long term, what I found was an elderly sheep herder that was moving with his small flock of 7 adult sheep and 2 little lambs, old man was clearly from Lhazar due to his clothes, the cape he had over his shoulders was unusual though, while herding his little flock he was whistling a tune, he was probably in his late sixties, with simple clothes and a hat made out of straw the happy old man kept on walking and chewing on the long piece of grass he had in his mouth
I was facing a choice, either go full Dothraki and kill the old man, silencing him forever, take one of the sheep or lamb back to camp and pretend it never happened, or take the less violent approach and go full incognito, take a disguise and buy one of the sheep for coin.
And who does not like dressing up and pretend to be someone else? Also stealth missions are my weakness in every video game I play.
After storing the Arakh, bow and quiver I took out two pieces of silk fabric. One was blue and the other one brownish red, I quickly undid my braid and fixed my long hair in a top knot, then used the smaller piece of silk to wrap it around my head, including the forehead and face, making it like a turban mixed with a face mask, it covered all my features including the facial scar, only leaving the eyes exposed. With the second more brownish red silk I made a Toga that covered my chest and waist, only leaving the leather boots to see. the final touch was my grandpa's Westerosi Sword tied up around his waist using it as a belt to hold the Toga together, a belt dagger and a belt pouch on the side and a rucksack on my back, after that I took out one of the sticks I used to erect my tent and proceeded to rise from the waist high grass i was hiding and preparing my disguise.
I was probably around 600 feet away from the old man when he saw me approach, probably due to my colorful head ware.
"How do you fare?" I scream in Lhazareen as I approach the old man that has stopped and is now looking at me, can't really tell his facial expression from this far away but at least he is not running away.
"Evening Stranger!" he answers while raising his voice so I can hear him. "What do you seek from me?" I can tell that he is weary of a man with his face covered but I have yet to do a threatening motion or be hostile in any way, and after seeing my physique under the Toga he probably has realized that outrunning me would be impossible for his old bones.
I stop around 20 feet away and examine the old man, not as old as I initially thought, probably in his mid forties, he only carries himself like an older man, probably due to him living a harsh life all these years, he has a healthy sun tan, bright red hair similar to the actor that played Jaqen H'ghar and three scars that look like scratches made by a wolf claw on his left eye.
"My name is Loki Odinson, and I am a wanderer, I'm on my way to the Khyzar Pass but got a bit lost, I'm low on supplies and don't know the way, would you be able to give me directions on to when and how long it would take me to reach the pass?" I put a Valyrian Accent to my Lhazareen making it seem like Valyrian is my native tongue.
"The pass to Slaver's Bay is 4 days on foot from here, walk 3 days south and you will find a road going west, that way you will be at the pass the next day. but I would not recommend it, A lone traveler like you, the slaver caravans will probably capture you, or simply kill you for that sword and your robes, if I was you I would try to join a trading caravan before entering the pass" Said the old timer.
I just hummed and pretended to be lost in thought.
"That would complicate things. I'm low on supplies. how much to buy a sheep from you?" i finish asking.
"A silver ram for each sheep and one and a half for each lamb" he said as he pointed at the sheep and the smaller lamb. "heard there was a Khalasar a few days away from here and heading towards Lhazar so was planning to sell them in town at least that way I get to keep the coin and not lose it all to them raiders"
It made sense, the younger lamb is more expensive since they can be grown and be used to breed more sheep, so it's a long term investment, and also lamb is more tender than old mutton.
"I will give you two silver rams for a lamb and that straw hat of yours" I say with a chuckle
The man gives me a healthy laugh and says "no can do, still will take 1 and half silvers for the lamb" I pretend to take out two Lhazareen silver Rams from my belt pouch, but in reality I'm summoning them from my ring.
"What is your name, old timer?" I ask as I pass him the coin, as he takes off his straw hat I can finally see his face, it rings a bell but I can't just place it anywhere.
"They call me Shanks, and I can't sell you this hat, it's a dear item that belongs to a friend, I still have to give it back" then it clicks.
Of course I do not recognize anime characters when they are in the flesh, because they are not animated, but real human beings and while keeping similar traits it's easy for them to go over your head
I just break the neck of the lamb killing it instantly, then slith the lamb's throat so it bleeds out, well time to decide what to do.
After a quick deliberation I came to a conclusion: Ok, time to use Bullshit no jutsu.
"Funny, it reminds me of a story a slave used to tell me when I was a kid, about the 4 pirate emperors and a man named Red-Haired Shanks was one of them" As i said that the man's friendly attitude changes, his eyes become sharp, deadly sharp, if looks could kill i would already be a goner.
"I have not heard that name in quite some time" The man's cold voice was menacing. and my body started to feel as if I was carrying a very heavy backpack on my shoulders. I heard some tuds and looked around to see all the sheep on the floor twitching. Did he just use conqueror's haki on me? I start to channel Ki all over my body, erasing all the effect it had on me.
"whoa, what happened to the sheep?" I say as I point at all animals that are now all foaming from their mouths.
The middle aged man just sights and looks at the sheep with sad eyes while shaking his head in disappointment, probably with his rash actions.
"You know I can tell that you are lying right?" he says in a sheepish tone.
Crap, he has the observation haki, I totally thought that my full body control could fool it.
Can I even kill him at this point in time? I'm positive that i have a good shot at it, but he has armament and observation haki... fuck what do I do? Ok he can tell when I lie, so don't lie, but tell half truths and only enough to get this guy off my back or maybe with some luck have him join me. A haki user vs night king would be quite the boon especially if he helps me learn them.
"Ok let's make a deal, A question for a question, because I know that you will not be happy with us just parting ways and pretending this conversation never happened" Shanks just nods.
"Heads or tails?" I ask him as I take out a coin from my belt 'pouch' showing the head of a ram and a wheat spike in the back
"Heads'' I nod, Having practiced this before for cases like this using my fine motor skills improved with SSserum I manage to land Tails.
"You cheated" he says almost offended
"And you are a pirate, did not knew you guys to be the honorable type" I say as I just shrug, he just clicks his tongue
"What was the name of the devil fruit that ended up sending you here?" I ask, he just grimaces as I mention it.
" I do not know the name of it, but the woman that used it was the captain of the Call of Destiny pirates" Ok that opens a few doors to the imagination, also answers and directly confirms that this is a giga AU GOT universe, so the meta knowledge could be thrown out the window at any moment, not to mention the butterfly effect of me just existing.
"My turn, How do you know who I am" I knew this was coming, and i was prepared
"I read about you in a book" Which was technically true, so no lie there, but since he threw me a bone with the 'captain and the crew names' I will throw him a bone to "the book was called 'One Piece' " this made Shanks chuckle.
"How long have you been stranded here?" Now that's what I wanted to know, because in the manga he is supposed to be in his mid to late thirties yet here he looks to be in his mid to late forties.
"eight years and a half. more or less, hard to guess with how screwed up the seasons are in this dimension?" Dimension? ohh boy if you only knew that you are in a different universe all together brother. but that would mean that he got ported here more or less at the same time I was sent. did the Deity of reincarnation fucked it up and made a tear in space time so others got sent here too? How many more and how many different universes?
"Have you also been transported to this world like It happened to me?" good one shanks. but nope.
"No i was not transported here, I was born from an andal Mother and a Dothraki father, have never stepped outside of Essos" technically true since i was not transported but died and reincarnated, the only thing is that I regained my consciousness when I turned 4 and so far this body has never left Essos.
Shanks just frowned.
"have you met others like me?" he asks but i stop him right there by raising my hand
"Hold your horses, it's my turn to ask questions and the sun is setting" I say as I point at the red sky. Shanks just sights and looks beaten.
"You are right," He answers.
"I have a camp with my companion and a few captives nearby, you can join us if you want. Not like you can sell those any more" I point at the now dead sheep, after a while they just stopped breathing due to the strain that conqueror's haki had on their body.
I pick up one of the lambs and swing it over my shoulder. Shanks place's his hat on his head and picks up the second one.
He was making a huge gamble by getting involved with Shanks, but at this point he had no choice, the risk was worth the reward he would get if he managed to get one of the greatest pirates of all time to help him kill the Ice demons, besides he will need someone that knows the sea, The Iron born will be a pain in the ass to deal with, and having him join me and Rahako could help us down the line especially if we are able to learn Haki from him.
As we continue towards the camp we still have around 30 minutes of light which is around how long it will take us to reach it.
"You used conqueror's Haki before, but it did not feel like much, I'm disappointed" I just say with a sad tone " in the book that I read it was supposed to be an ultimate technique only a select few could use" I just shake my head, Shanks just laughs and stops, then I almost fall to the ground, it feels like I'm trying to squat a car. With the help of Ki I manage to reinforce my body, still feeling the strain but not as when he caught me off guard.
As I turn around I see Shanks panting and covered in sweat.
"You are a tough one, I give you that" After thirty seconds he seems to have recovered and answers " the energy levels of this Dimension seemed to have constricted my powers, in the past year it has been improving but so far that is the most I can do for now" Shanks starts to catch up to me and we keep on going.
"Yea I have been feeling the increase of the saturation of energies in this world for a while also, perhaps in time you will be back to normal" I could already see the campfire in the distance.
"ok, just a quick thing, before we get to camp. our situation is a bit complicated at the moment" Shanks just looks at me not understanding what I'm referring to. "it's about our captives, just dont judge"
~Camp 3rd Person POV~
Rahako was sitting in front of the campfire after he and the women watered the horses and left them to eat the grass that was growing around, some of the horses were munching on the bushes nearby.
The women were all seated on the opposite side, with the campfire working as a barrier between Rahako and them. He was looking into the flames when he saw that the women were looking somewhere behind him and whispering to each other. he was about to turn around and get ready for a fight when he heard
"Flash!" Rahako heard Ogatto scream and answered
"Thunder!" He answered the password that Ogatto made up when they were kids to know it was a friendly not an enemy.
"Welcome!" finished Ogatto as he approached the camp with a lamb on his shoulder, he was being followed by a man with a straw hat and another lamb on his back.
"What is with the outfit and Who is the new guy?" Asked Rahako
"Rahako this is Red-Haired Shanks, he is a strong individual, similar to Old Fart Shan." Shanks just used his only arm to remove the straw hat from his head, he placed it oh his chest and gave Rahako a small nod
"And Shanks, this is Rahako, someone I consider a brother, we grew up together and share the same master for our material training. even though the old cunt abandoned us after only teaching for 2 years." This time Rahako gave Shanks a Nod with his head.
Shanks did not look like much once you realized that his weapon was a walking stick and that he only had one arm, but deep down he excreted this energy like he was the most dangerous predator in the room. That and the fact that he was two meters tall or 6'6½" gave him quite the imposing figure if you considered that he still looked in his prime even though he started to have grey hairs in his Crimson maine.
"And here we have… well I don't really know their names. The only person that introduced Herself from the captives is the dark skinned beauty. her name is Samla" Said Oggato as he waved his hand
"Oy, she is mine, keep those eyes to your own goods"Said Rahako then Ogatto just raised his hands in surrender while shrugging
"Samla and Captives, Red-Haired Shanks. Red-Haired Shanks, Samla and Captives." Shanks just shook his head with a half smile
"Just Shanks, it's fine." Shanks finished as he un-clipped his cloak and placed it on top of a rock before sitting on it in front of the fire.
He left the butchering to Rahako as he took the Babysitting turn. while sitting observing the fire.
"So about your question,,," Shanks tried to get a question so he could ask one as it was agreed in the deal they made before.
"Not here and not now, to many eyes and to many ears." Said Ogatto. "You should also keep what we talked about before to yourself and yourself only." Shanks did not knew what he meant. by that
"Samla, come here!" Ogatto waved to the Sarnori woman to come closer. She reluctantly complied and approached them.
"Tell good old Shanks how we found you bunch" As i finish Samla recounts her experience as being in a prison of her own flesh for months doing unforgivable things.
"Well... I'm sorry that happened to you" said Shanks in a sad tone "that will be all"
"this world is rotten to the core" Said Ogatto with a sight
"Says the man that is keeping 4 women tied up like animals, Dothraki are always the same" Mutters Shanks under his breath
"Ain't my fault, don't blame the player, blame the game." Ogatto shrugged.
~Mc POV~
they ate in silence, the lamb was jucy and filling, I took out some very precious spices I had collected along the years to give the meat some flavor, today it was a day of celebration. not only io confirmed that this was an AU, I also encountered one of my favorite characters form One Piece.
After finishing the food I can already see that the people around me are starting to go in kinda a food coma.
After getting up and setting up out sleeping space I loan a bedroll to shanks who lays on top of it and uses his cloak as blanket, while firmly gripping his walking stick which i know would be as deadly as a rod made of pure steel when imbued with armament haki.
"tomorrow is another day."
