Devroux had left Zou upon deciding on a goal. It was simple. He wanted to bring the world to its knees, and have it beg him for mercy. But while this goal was set in stone, the actual plan on making that happen was very far from being in its final stages of planning. If the mink was honest with himself, it hadn't even begun planning. Devroux knew that whatever came his way, he could handle it, but the world is a big place and going about taking control of it is going to require big planning. For whatever reason, he decided that his first stop away form Zou would be the kingdom of Alabasta, where he could learn about a long history of a ruling family, and just in general more about the people that he sought power over.

He had spent some time wandering the kingdom, visiting both the major cities and some of the ones in between, and currently Devroux found himself back in Alubarna. The capital city of Alabasta was a wonderful and prosperous place. There were plenty of fat pigs to cut down, deep pockets to pinch, and beautiful women to toy with - all of which sparked Devroux's interest and made it easy to return to. The worst part about Sandy Island so far, however, was the heat. The leathery wings that donned his back were incredible heat traps, so cloaking the wings over his body was a miserabling idea. The normal positioning of the folded up wings on his back wasn't that awkward for Devroux, but as a sort of comfort thing he always preferred to drape them over his shoulder.

The giant wings stuck out like a sore thumb, being carried the way they were, and put a lot of the people that Devroux walked past on edge. Normally they'd just see some edgelord in a coat, but now they were very aware of what he actually was and just how scary his true appearance was. It made it easy to walk, but was agitating for the mink, to say the least.

On his slow walk through town, of which was brutal on his weakened legs as he was more used to flying than walking at this point, he overheard the raspy voice of an elderly man attempting to sell his wares to the nobles of Alubarna. It was on his intended path already, so before Devroux could pass the old man completely, he decided to stop, watch, and listen to see if anything peaked his interest.

As Devroux walked up to the scene he wanted to view, he realized that the old man's shouting wasn't just an attempt to sell a map, but was fueled by distress. He was being taunted and teased by a thug bit enough to be him plus a half. Devroux could feel his eyes roll to the back of his head on their own. He never understood why people had to act in such petty ways. They were both dirty humans, and they'd be much better off working towards a common goal than choosing to act like newborns for seemingly no reason at all.

The thug pulled out a lighter and taunted the old man with it, threatening to light the map on fire. Seeing this, Devroux decided to act. Unfurling his wings, he pushed the crowd that was forming around him gently to the side just enough to allow him to spread his wings fully. Pulling them down, he sent a small gust of wind towards the thug, just enough to blow out the lit lighter and get his attention. With the thug turning his attention towards the mink, Devroux gestured towards the crowd that had witnessed what had just happened and all now had frowns lining their faces. The disgust was very obviously aimed at the mink, but it was easy enough to redirect that look with a few simple words.

"You see?" he asked. "They're all seeing you for what you are." The strong tone turned the attention of the crowd back onto the thug, the looks of disgust still reminiscent on their faces. They couldn't forget what they had seen, but they were interested in the thug's reaction just as much, if not more so. "They all know you're a muscle-brained fool. Will you show them more of your childish antics?"

Devroux gave the thug a sly smirk, and quickly winked at the old man before extending his arm and holding his hand out.

"I'd like to buy that, actually."

"Lemme take a peek at the map first," Devroux answered. Reaching into his back pocket, the mink pulled out a small coin purse stocked with enough change to pay for random encounters such as this. Taking out just enough money to buy the map, he laid the cash into Tell Tale Tom's hand and took the map into his own.

Untying the string that held the map rolled tied, he pulled the piece of parchment apart to get a good look at the map. It wasn't a map of the land, but was instead a large, in depth map of what appeared to be ruins. There was a small corner detail showing that the location of the ruins was in Erumalu, but that was the only part of it that Devroux could truly understand. He was going to need the guideance of the old man afterall.

"On second thought," he began, opening his coin purse once again. "I'll take that offer. You could be helpful." He gave Tell Tale Tom the rest of the requested money, tied his coin purse closed, and re-positioned it into his back pocket. He then turned his gaze towards the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun with his right hand and estimating the time of day.

"Personally, I'd rather work at night," Devroux said, using his other hand to gesture towards his body, referring to his bat traits. "We can prepare for the trip now, and then leave at dusk. Pack light, though, and I'll be able to fly you most of the way there."

Devroux crinkled his nose when Tom mentioned that bats have bad eyesight. "Act-," he started before cutting himself off. It was far too much effort to try and explain to everyone that bats didn't actually have bad eyesight and that them being blind was a myth. He could see Tell Tale Tom clear as day, and that wasn't just because it was actually day.

The mink followed his hired guide to the camel seller that he had mentioned, named Cammile T'wah. He gave her a sly smile, taking note of her good looks for future prospects. However, rather than spending the extra time  trying to court her, he listened to her directions and started to fill up their cantines with water. Tell Tale Tom seemed like a nice enough guy, but his accent wasn't something that could be handled for a long time. It was better to see where the treasure map took them and finish the quest than stretch it out longer than he'd already signed up for.

Tom and Devroux finished their task and followed Cammille outside the shop to where she kept the camels tied. There were camels of all sizes and facial expressions, all of which looked healthy enough for a leisurely stroll to a deserted part of the island.

"You can take my two best camels, Tommy Boy. And for your handsome friend, I'll even throw you a little bit of a discount," Camille said, casting a wink in Devroux's direction. "It'll just be 1,000 beli."

"Pay the lass, batguy!" Tell Tale Tom threw his arm up, pointing to the sky like he had just exclaimed something important.

Devroux, however, kept his poker face still while his mental jaw hit the floor. They'd be gone maybe two days and it wasn't a camel purchase, it was just a rental. 1,000 beli was an awful lot, and she even had the audacity to call it a discount!

"How much was the discount, if I may?"

"50%"

With that, Devroux couldn't hide his emotions anymore. The disgust at the price showing on his face earned him a quick scowl, but before the woman could change her mind and up the price even further than the already ridiculous one she had pitched the mink pulled out his coin purse once again. He quickly pulled the money out and dropped it into Cammile's outstretched hand, grabbing the reigns of their camels and tugging them out of the stall.

The mink wished that he weren't caving to the old man, but in retrospect it wasn't that bad of a plan to leave during the day. His travel partner was old, so he probably went to bed early and would get tired easily. Taking the extra time to prepare would make things easier on himself too, and Devroux knew this, so he didn't offer too much adversity in the early start and extra supplies. The more time he spent with Tall Tale Tom, the more and more it dawned on him that his act of kindness towards the old fool was a curse upon himself.

The two travelers climbed onto their respective rides and as they began their journey towards the ruins of Erumalu, Tall Tale Tom would continueously find stories to tell that didn't have any relevancy, nor were even remotely interesting to anyone that didn't live through the events. However, every now and then the old geezer would say something that'd make Devroux's ears perk up and listen. There wasn't any way for the mink to prove or disprove what the senile fool was saying, but some of it was oddly specific, making it believable, such as his adventures on Skypeia or his personal run ins with admirals and yonkou alike. Even if they were made up stories, it was stuff that Devroux was interested in.

But even in spite of all the crazy stories, what astonished the mink the most was that the old man's water supply was hardly touched, save for a few sips to wet his lips and help him talk for longer. Devroux, on the other hand, was almost halfway through his portion and they were barely halfway through their travels. It was hot, but the old man didn't seem to mind.

"How are you, uh, not thirsty?" the mink spoke up and asked.

This, immediately, caused the old man to take a swig of his water. It was obvious to the thirsty mink, but an unconscious reaction by the old man.

The traveling was going rather smoothly until Tell Tale Tom managed to get his hands into the workings of it. After taking a swif of his water, the senile geezer bopped his ride on the head, forcing it to spin in circles on the spot. Devroux watched in utter disbelief as he had never seen an animal do that kind of trick before, save the dogminks on their way to bed. However, what he didn't realize is that after the third spin, his own camel would be swept into Tom's shenanigans and Devroux would be spinning too.

The spin was much more forceful than he had anticipated. The mink was forced to tense his muscles and strengthen his grip to remain seated on the camel, but the force didn't last very long before he was almost thrown off the back as the camels took off in another direction than the one they had originally been on. In addition to this totally new direction, the camels sped up their pace as if they were on a mission this time and not totally at the mercy of a crazy old man and another animal.

Devroux felt a bit of unease as they traveled with newfound gusto. But he couldn't tell if that was from the snakes scooting beneath the sand, the other crazy things Tom might do, or the rapid spinning. What he did know, however, was that if the camels were this excited about something, then he should be excited about it too.

Even though the camels were moving faster than they were before, the trip was still abysmally slow for Devroux. Tell Tale Tom continued to tell his tales, yammering on for the duration of their path. It forced the mink to contemplate solutions outside of finishing the quest, all of which ended with the conclusion of a dead old man. But alas, Devroux controlled his urge to cut the man down, reconciling with the idea that maybe the map was true afterall. As he had thought before, some of Tom's stories were way too specific to be mere anecdotes, so maybe this would be one of those stories in the end.

However, Tom was only half of Devroux's problems on the journey. The other half consisted of the camels that stank to high Heaven, the dwindling personal water supply, and most of all, the sweltering heat that continued to pelt the dark furred mink throughout the day. Luckily, the latter issue was eventually going to be a non-issue, as the day was already passed noon. The sun was visibly leaning towards its downward slope, a fact that the mink took comfort in admiring. It was during this act of admiring the sun that Devroux took note of a bird flying high in the sky.

First, the mink felt a stiffness in his wings as his envy of the bird for being able to fly took route in his mind. But what followed was the realization that the bird, albeit not an odd sight all by its lonesome, wasn't alone in its venture. The bird, relative to the two travelers, was traveling parallel to them, which meant that they were heading in the same direction. It was a silly concept, but Devroux couldn't shake the idea that he was right and so kept watch on the other potential wildlife in their vicinity.

As expected, the plan was futile. An hour passed with the bird having long since outflown their small herd, and with the exception of some shifting sand the likes that they'd seen throughout the duration of their trip so far, there was little wildlife to speak of. That is, of course, until the camels made their way over a tall sand dune and gave the adventurers a sight that they, or at least Devroux, hadn't expected.

The sight awaiting the too was of an oasis hidden in the desert. Surrounded on all sides by tall sand dunes, it wasn't something that would be visible to passersby that weren't airborne. The only ones that could reach such a thing were birds, or animals that had a natural homing instinct towards water sources. It hit Devroux that that's exactly what the spinning camels meant; it was their way of sniffing out water.

The mink smiled to himself, realzing that Tell Tale Tom and the camels were both more clever than they had initially appeared to be. Digging his heel into the camel's side, he urged it forward. The man was thirsty, and the oasis awaited.

As the two travelers came upon the oasis, the fur on the back of Devroux's neck began to stand on end. Instinctually, he could sense that the area was dangerous before he could make any visual mark of the surrounding wildlife. Visual contact only served to further bolster the mink's confidence in his bestial instincts; a fact that even in their current circumstance, he could take pride in. However, visual contact was also necessary to further elaborate on what Devroux was sensing, giving shapes and colors to what had formerly only been registered as feelings and other meta-physical phenomena.

The mental preparation before seeing what was actually causing the instinctual feedback wasn't enough to prepare Devroux for what he saw. It was less of a sense of shock or awe so much as it was confusing. The animals in the area were all snarling at them, including birds and rodents hissing from the bush, which are primarily flight animals. From where he and Tell Tale Tam sat, the eyes of these rabid animals were black and bloodshot as well, further increasing the strangeness of an already perplexing situation.

Tom seemed to notice, but the crazy old man was a crazy old man even in the face of such strange, potentially dangerous, circumstance. Tom tossed his canteen to Devroux, telling him to fetch water while he served as a distraction. The order instantly struck a nerve with the mink, but he held his tongue. He was faster than the old man and it was much less of a life threatening feat for him to retrieve water than serve as a distraction, but the fact that he was being told what to do, especially by Tom, was hard to stomach.

"Are you sure we should drink this water with the animals around it acting like this?" Devroux asked, but to no avail. Before the question was fully out of his mouth, Tom had already wheeled his camel around and taken the majority of animals off into the desert and away from the oasis. Devroux sighed, strapped the canteen over his shoulder with his own, and stood up on his camel. Being careful not to injure the animal that had worked so hard to carry him so far, the mink leaped gently from its back into the air. In one clean motion, having done it a million and one times before, the mink took hold of his wings and shoved them downwards, preventing him from falling to the ground after leaving the camel. With a few more thrusts of equal strength, the mink had taken off into the sky leaving the camel behind.

In his peripheral, he momentarily thought he saw the camel looking appalled, but quickly convinced himself that that wasn't possible and continued his flight.

After having traveled so far and so long on the animal, Devroux's thighs and buttocks were sore and it felt good to get off of them and stretch out his wings. Flight was so much more of a natural feeling to him than walking in running, but the sheer aesthetic of the sky wasn't even comparable. In a world of lesser lifeforms and Tell Tale Tom, the only thing that Devroux saw as pure and held dear was the act of flying. It was the only way to see the horizon on equal footing, and view the world, his world, from a lofty throne.

The cold, in-flight air bit at the mink's lungs as he took a deep breath - another bonus to flight. The moment was bliss in a trip otherwise filled with Tell Tale Tom's incessant storytelling. Admittedly, even though his partner was potentially in mortal peril, he took a few extra moments to enjoy the sky before pointing himself at the ground near the creek's shoreline. He dove hard, pulling up less than thirty feet off the ground and spreading his wings to buffer his fall. The mink landed hard, bending his knees to lessen the impact. This type of landing wasn't necessary unless he wanted a quick descent, but it was also an aesthetic choice that got the crowds of minks riled up when he landed back on Zou, and being adored by crowds of people was always enjoyable. However, the landing wouldn't be as possible if his bone structure weren't as light and forgiving as it was, so he thanked his lucky birth for that as well.

Upon landing and before taking water, Devroux turned to the creek so that the expanse of the oasis was before him. Closing his eyes, he raised his hands and clapped once as loudly as he could muster. The noise resounded off the walls all the way to the outer edges of the V-shaped area, echoing back to the ears of the bat mink. While he wasn't able to use his echolocation to get a visual of the water, the rest of the area was clearly mapped out, giving him a picture of the bushes and the few animals that were left hiding within.

Devroux knelt down quickly, unscrewing the caps of the canteens and forcing them under the surface of the water. The bubbles rapidly surfaced as the canteens slowly filled with fresh water. All the while, Devroux kept creating a continuous, low clicking sound between his tongue and the roof of his mouth. The image wasn't as clear as the echolocation using the clap, but it let him keep a close watch on the aggressive wildlife as long as he kept turning his head every so often to keep track of any movement.

The bubbles that had been rumbling on the surface of the water slowed down, and Devroux rotated his hands to make sure that they'd fill as much as they could. When the bubbles stopped surfacing altogether, he took them out, screwed the caps back on, and slung them over his shoulder. However, the added interest Devroux taken in the canteens had interrupted his echolocation scanning for a brief moment, allowing the hostile animals to move in on his location. The mink clapped as soon as he realized, but at that point the effort was wasted if not for a fraction of a second more that he was given to react.

Whipping around as soon as the sonar had reached his ears, he was able to extend his wing and fling away three of the most aggressive rats, sending them hurdling into the water a few feet from his location. At this point, Devroux drew the two kiridashi he had stuffed in individual pouches at his waist, arming himself against the last few rodents that hadn't been flung away.


There was a brief pause in the fight when Devroux was able to get a better look at the eyes of the creatures that were after him. They weren't just darkened and bloodshot, but were totally changed from their normal state. They were black, yes, but seemed more like they were smoldering than like they were simply bloodshot. It was such a drastic visual change that Devroux knew instantly that it didn't have anything to do with the water supply and it wasn't an infection, but he also couldn't rationalize another theory for what was causing such a drastic change in the wildlife. Even the rats were on the offensive, when they're primarily a flight species.

The bad feeling was back, forcing Devroux's neck fur to stand on end once again. He didn't want to stay and find out first hand what was causing the changes, so he flung his wings open, startling the rats momentarily. The moment was enough though and the mink was able to lift himself off the ground, taking flight into the sky once more. His camel was waiting for him in the exact spot he had left it, and rather than landing how he had at the creek, he landed gently atop the camel's back by rapidly fluttering his wings in small strokes to slow the descent.

When he was firmly planted, he turned himself around and took a seat, shouting to Tell Tale Tom who was still out being chased by the rabid animals. "Hey, I got the water! Ditch your following!"