Natsu grumbled as he almost waded through the knee)high mud. A rainstorm had caught him by surprise while he was making his way to Kamura, a small town at the border of the De Cevitate Attonbitus and Solum de Asphodelus regions. He had been able to take shelter to prevent all his clothes being soaked by the downpour, but the road hadn't been as lucky. Unpaved and barely used, the dirt had swiftly transformed itself into mud. The trees were few and sparse so Natsu couldn't use his Shinobi talents to travels by branch either. Instead, he had to make his way through the mud. Even with padding his feet with chakra, the ground was so uneven his control failed him at times.
Limping into town with more than fourteen hours delay on his expected arrival date, the Spymaster looked horrible. His right leg was covered in mud to halfway his upper thigh, his left not faring not much better as the mud clung up to his knee. His shirt had a few mud stains and was soaked. Both by rain as sweat. His underwear.. Well, he hadn't soiled himself, but Natsu figured it'd be best to change into a new one as soon as he could. He banged on the door of the inn, the largest one Kamura seemingly had to offer, until a grumpy and fat innkeeper opened the door. Giving the Chunin a look, he turned around to close the door again. Only the boy's reflex and strength prevented him from that.
"I'd like to rent a room for the night, sir. Please." He added, gritting his teeth. The man clearly disliked him, yet his behaviour crossed the line. "What d'you mean boy-o? The night's half over all ready, something the other clients are well aware of thanks to your banging. Besides, you're a mess, and I won't have you dirtying my floors. Keito just scrubbed 'em as clean as a babe's butt and I'll be damned if-" Natsu interrupted him by fishing his wallet and fishing out a few sizeable amount of Yen. "A room, for the night." He asked once more. "I wouldn't say no to a hot bath either." The greedy glint in the innkeeper's eye was enough to assure him he'd be able to stay after all.
"So, a news reporter eh? What's you lot got to seek here? Surely there's plenty interestin' happening in the bigger cities?" The innkeeper interrogated Natsu over breakfast. The Spymaster was clean once more, had had a nice long rest and was currently enjoying a plate of eggs and bacon. "Oh, it's not so much a lack of things that made me come here. The Kumogakurian News Network is looking for news from all around the Lightning Country!" Natsu responded, shamelessly abusing the KNN as cover. After all, tensions between civilians and Shinobi had been high recently. He had experienced that first hand during the Blacksmith mission. Revealing himself to be a Division Captain didn't sound too smart. "Well, I don't think there's much we country folk do that's interesting for people over there. We don't do much firebreathin' like those Shinobi y'see?"
"I suppose the most recent bit o' news would be Akira's herd of sheep being raided by a particularly aggressive pack o' wolves. Oh, or ol' Takura drinking himself in such a stupor he broke into his neighbor’s house by accident." The man laughed loudly at that. "That poor ol' sod shouldn't drink so much. Then again, he's good for business, so ya won't hear me complain much. No ser. Either case, we small folk don't have much interesting things, like I said. Speaking of business, there is that horrid rumor from Port Cirrus though. Heard of that yet?" Natsu had, which worried him. It wasn't the first time Port Cirrus had come up. Not even the second. Not too surprising, it was a wretched hive of scum and villainy. However, they all had been about the same thing and that was unusual.
"I heard it from Keiri, who had it from her aunt's friend who's married to this bloke." Not the most reliable source, by the sound of it, but Natsu was too concerned to be bothered by it. "Him and his mates work at the docs, unloading cargo from the ships and storing it in the hangars. Apparently, there's this one client who has amassed an impressive collection o' boxes. One of the workers got too curious and checked the boxes, revealing it to hold flour. Not too weird, ye might say, But he took some home, I know, thievery, but not the point here. Thing is, when his wife used it to cook, everyone who ate from the food turned out poisoned. Not just feverish poison, no, deaded poison! Ugly business." The man concluded, shaking his head.
Natsu made up his mind. This had been the eight time now the distressing rumor had popped up, and while slightly different each time, the crates and poison returned all the same. "Thanks for the news. I'll have to investigate in the Port some more then. Tell you what though, should you ever pick up such distressing rumors or having some interesting news, fax this address. Mention Donut in it, and my colleague will make sure you'll be compensated for your trouble if it checks out." Again, the glint of greed revealed the man would do as suggested. Money had a curious effect on people. Finishing his meal, Natsu dressed once more for travel. Deciding against risking going by foot and deeming the situation urgent, he bought a horse from a local farmer. Port Cirrus was his direct next stop, and the flour was his goal. After all, donuts were made with flour. He wouldn't let his precious donuts risk getting poisoned!
[Word Count: 970]
[Tier I of IV of the Solo, Self-Modded mission 'Poisoned Donuts!?']
Limping into town with more than fourteen hours delay on his expected arrival date, the Spymaster looked horrible. His right leg was covered in mud to halfway his upper thigh, his left not faring not much better as the mud clung up to his knee. His shirt had a few mud stains and was soaked. Both by rain as sweat. His underwear.. Well, he hadn't soiled himself, but Natsu figured it'd be best to change into a new one as soon as he could. He banged on the door of the inn, the largest one Kamura seemingly had to offer, until a grumpy and fat innkeeper opened the door. Giving the Chunin a look, he turned around to close the door again. Only the boy's reflex and strength prevented him from that.
"I'd like to rent a room for the night, sir. Please." He added, gritting his teeth. The man clearly disliked him, yet his behaviour crossed the line. "What d'you mean boy-o? The night's half over all ready, something the other clients are well aware of thanks to your banging. Besides, you're a mess, and I won't have you dirtying my floors. Keito just scrubbed 'em as clean as a babe's butt and I'll be damned if-" Natsu interrupted him by fishing his wallet and fishing out a few sizeable amount of Yen. "A room, for the night." He asked once more. "I wouldn't say no to a hot bath either." The greedy glint in the innkeeper's eye was enough to assure him he'd be able to stay after all.
"So, a news reporter eh? What's you lot got to seek here? Surely there's plenty interestin' happening in the bigger cities?" The innkeeper interrogated Natsu over breakfast. The Spymaster was clean once more, had had a nice long rest and was currently enjoying a plate of eggs and bacon. "Oh, it's not so much a lack of things that made me come here. The Kumogakurian News Network is looking for news from all around the Lightning Country!" Natsu responded, shamelessly abusing the KNN as cover. After all, tensions between civilians and Shinobi had been high recently. He had experienced that first hand during the Blacksmith mission. Revealing himself to be a Division Captain didn't sound too smart. "Well, I don't think there's much we country folk do that's interesting for people over there. We don't do much firebreathin' like those Shinobi y'see?"
"I suppose the most recent bit o' news would be Akira's herd of sheep being raided by a particularly aggressive pack o' wolves. Oh, or ol' Takura drinking himself in such a stupor he broke into his neighbor’s house by accident." The man laughed loudly at that. "That poor ol' sod shouldn't drink so much. Then again, he's good for business, so ya won't hear me complain much. No ser. Either case, we small folk don't have much interesting things, like I said. Speaking of business, there is that horrid rumor from Port Cirrus though. Heard of that yet?" Natsu had, which worried him. It wasn't the first time Port Cirrus had come up. Not even the second. Not too surprising, it was a wretched hive of scum and villainy. However, they all had been about the same thing and that was unusual.
"I heard it from Keiri, who had it from her aunt's friend who's married to this bloke." Not the most reliable source, by the sound of it, but Natsu was too concerned to be bothered by it. "Him and his mates work at the docs, unloading cargo from the ships and storing it in the hangars. Apparently, there's this one client who has amassed an impressive collection o' boxes. One of the workers got too curious and checked the boxes, revealing it to hold flour. Not too weird, ye might say, But he took some home, I know, thievery, but not the point here. Thing is, when his wife used it to cook, everyone who ate from the food turned out poisoned. Not just feverish poison, no, deaded poison! Ugly business." The man concluded, shaking his head.
Natsu made up his mind. This had been the eight time now the distressing rumor had popped up, and while slightly different each time, the crates and poison returned all the same. "Thanks for the news. I'll have to investigate in the Port some more then. Tell you what though, should you ever pick up such distressing rumors or having some interesting news, fax this address. Mention Donut in it, and my colleague will make sure you'll be compensated for your trouble if it checks out." Again, the glint of greed revealed the man would do as suggested. Money had a curious effect on people. Finishing his meal, Natsu dressed once more for travel. Deciding against risking going by foot and deeming the situation urgent, he bought a horse from a local farmer. Port Cirrus was his direct next stop, and the flour was his goal. After all, donuts were made with flour. He wouldn't let his precious donuts risk getting poisoned!
[Word Count: 970]
[Tier I of IV of the Solo, Self-Modded mission 'Poisoned Donuts!?']