Link to voyage approval--
https://strawhats.rpg-board.net/t1817-pirate-treasure



The waves were crawling gently to the shore, drenching the sand beneath the feet of whomever chose to walk on it. The gushing waves were comforting, humming it’s wave song like it was kindling its own symphony. The murmuring of the waves was hypnotic, calling and urging every pirate to get into a ship and set sail to uncover the countless mysteries it held.

Kouse Arima walked slowly and quietly on the shore. Taking in the sweet salty scent of the sea. It had just been a few days since he got free from the shackles of a slaver called Cantilever. He was free now, and he made sure to enjoy his freedom. It was hard earned.
Adjusting his glasses, Kouse took one long last look at the endless blue sea before him and knew that it was only a matter of time before he got back to exploring it.

It was time to get back to the clinic. He’d been absent for a couple of hours now. There was only so much his nurse could handle.
Being a doctor was a full time job in Mocktown, and being an extremely good one?, then you can forget about having a person life.

Kouse wasn’t only an extremely good doctor, but one which could perform; what the citizens of mocktown called, 'medical miracles.’ The cases all other doctors couldn’t handle were brought straight to him. Brain surgery cases were the most common ones he received.
He walked into his clinic to be greeted by chaos. Three pirates were desperately holding down a severely injured man. Said man was trying desperately to pry himself free, all the while screaming nonsensical things.
At that moment Cindy, his nurse rushed to meet him, concern and worry etched on her face.

“Where have you been!.” Cindy grabbed Kouse’s arm, dragging him towards the bleeding and still screaming pirate. “They’ve been here for the last 30 minutes, and he, Sanko has only been getting worse. I tried my best to stop the bleeding, but I couldn’t, only managed to slow down the bleeding.”

Kouse would take one look at the patient and his medical instincts kicked in.
“Get him into the operating room!.” Kouse said loudly as he rushed into the operating room himself, immediately grabbing an anesthetic injection. The moment they dropped him on the operating table, Kouse jammed the syringe into Sanko's chest.
Sanko’s fidgeting and noise quickly subsided as the anesthetic began making him lose consciousness, but he didn’t pass out before uttering one last sentence.
“treasure…of.... Ronny, boy is….real.” Sanko immediately passed out cold.

Kouse simply adjusted his glasses and activated his ROOM ability, whilst grabbing a scalpel. It was all the ranting of a deranged sick man, and Kouse paid it no mind.



Hours later, Kouse finally closed up the clinic and rushed home. Sanko's surgery took less than 10 minutes and was carried away by the three pirates who waited for him. After several other cases, all minor, Kouse finally shut down the clinic for the night.
He walked slowly, keeping a high alert to all around him, mocktown was a dangerous place after all. Spotting a bar, still open, kouse would walk in to get a quick drink.

It was an ordinary night on the island of Jaya. The brawling of pirates in a bar, the singing of a musician here and there, the tales of a crew, and even a few kids running around pickpocketing people. If someone was to visit the island for a single hour they would assume it was quite peaceful. However, it was the complete opposite. On Jaya, someone died nearly everyday. Sure, there were friendly fights here and there. But when you have a whole bunch of pirates on a single island. Things could get quite out of hand. It would only be a matter of time before one crew would go against another. Surprisingly, that time wasn’t now. The Kuja sat in a bar, staring off into the distance. Looking out of a window while leaning her back against the bar’s counter.

Freya’s mind would begin to wonder. Thinking of why exactly she had left Amazon Lily. However, her thinking would be interrupted by the arguing of a couple of pirates. Turning towards her left, Freya could seem around ten people appearing to get into a brawl. “I’ll be the one to get Ronney Boy’s treasure. If your crew gets in my way you will be annihilated.” screamed one of the pirates. She hadn’t been drinking, so she could fully understand what they were talking about. Though, she did wonder who this Ronney Boy was. She had only been on Jaya for about a month now and had never heard of someone by the name.

Of course she was no Pirate, nor was she an Archaeologist. So, she doubted if it weren’t for the two crews she would have never heard of the treasure. Anyway, the talk of treasure was what made Freya interested in what the pirates were saying. “Well I guess your whole crew will be gone before dawn Sato! My boy, Sanko nearly died as we attempted to go for the treasure earlier today. If it weren’t for the traps sat by Ronney Boy and the idiots walking around here. Then Sanko would have never been hurt. Only I have the map to the Sacred Grove and you aren’t going to get it over my dead body!” screamed the man replying to Sato. Freya felt that it was quite weird the two men were willing to die for a lousy treasure. Were these always the actions of men? If so, why were they so willing to die all of the time.

Then again, maybe the treasure they were speaking of really was something great? She decided that she would wait a few minutes before she decided anything.V

The alcohol burned down Kouse’s throat as he took a sip from his bottle. He never drank enough to actually become drunk, but just the right amount to make him relax, even just for a little while. The stress and fatigue accumulated every day, so he saw this as a very important way to relieve said stress and faitigue just a little. Kouse looked around the bar, marveling at the look of people who had completely surrendered their self-control completely to the intoxicating drinks.
Kouse adjusted his glasses as he continued surveying his surroundings, sharp eyes made to detect the finest details, skimmed over everyone sitting around the bar, done as discreetly as possible, so as not to attract unescessary attention to himself.
Drunk pirates both male and females were the bulk of the individuals in the bar. It didn’t take long for Kouse to spot an odd looking individual just by the window. She had long black hair with dark reddish eyes, and it seemed she was lost in thought.

Kouse took another sip and enjoyed the burning sensation it caused in his throat as he turned away. Spotting oddballs and whatnot everywhere was a regular thing for him, he frequently checked how good his ability of deduction were.

Arguments, death threats and bloody fights happened so frequently in Mocktown that Kouse paid no mind to the bunch of pirates shouting their heads off at one another in the bar. He took another sip of his alcohol, just barely keeping track of the conversation.

‘Ronney Boy’s treasure……My boy, Sanko nearly died,' were the parts of the conversation that attracted Kouse’s attention.
Sanko had apparently gotten such bad injuries from chasing after some treasure. Kouse took another sip.

“Yeah, I treated him, he was almost dead alright.” Kouse finally spoke up. “Risking your lives for something that’s not even real makes no sense “

One of the pirates hit the table. “I’m telling you, it’s real!.” he gulped down several mouthfuls of alcohol. “Goddamn, just imagine all that gold laying about.”

Kouse adjusted his glasses, bored. He chose to ignore the pirates completely, they were chasing a myth, and he had better things to do. Like finishing his bottle for the first time.

The words of the new individual would cause Freya to perk up. It seemed like the talk of the treasure had escalated well over Mock Town. Was the treasure really really? And was it as dangerous as they said? She really didn’t know as of yet. It seemed like the one with the glasses was a doctor and he treated a crew member. She didn’t feel the need to talk just yet. There was nothing for her to fully go off of yet. “Give me the map. You people aren’t strong enough to even pursue the treasure. You don’t deserve Ronney Boy’s Treasure.” screamed one of the pirates. Leaping towards the man who held a old white paper in his hand. This movement would set off a chain reaction.

As he ripped the paper from the man’s hand. Both of the crews would begin to lung at one another. Fist were thrown, feet were kicked. In all honesty, it was nothing but a regular bar fight. But of course it was Jaya Island after all. And with them being inside of Mock Town. Something bad was vowed to happen. So, Freya wasn’t surprised when one of them pulled a gun from his back and fired it at one of the opposing crew members. She was sitting at the bar and the Pirates were in front of her. The one who had fired the weapon back was facing towards her. So, the firearm had been shot towards the window. The bullet would swim through the drunken air and make a impact directly in the neck of another pirate.

“Joey!” screamed multiple people. Weapons would be drawn as both of the crews stared at each other. Freya’s hand would quickly move to her Katana. She didn’t feel like moving yet. Though, if the fight came her way she would have to react.

The bloody fight that erupted suddenly didn’t surprise Kouse as he took yet another tiny sip of his alcohol. He took another, enjoying the slight buzz and dizziness that it caused. This was already more alcohol that he had ever consumed at a sitting, with a yawn, he was just about to leave when the gunshots started.

Kouse’s eyes snapped back into concentration, this had quickly escalated from a routine bar fight to something much more deadly. His sharp eyes quickly located the two bodies already lying motionless on the floor, then noticed the two opposing crews facing each other, with killing intent, armed with swords and guns.
All that, wasn’t why Kouse decided to get himself involved though. Not the two dead pirates or the possibility of several more casualties, but the potential damages the bar would suffer if such a fight was allowed to continue.
The broken window was damage enough for his very good friend and owner of the bar barg should endure for today.

With a sigh, Kouse activated his 'ROOM’ ability, encompassing everything for 30 meters, including all the fighting pirates.

“Why don’t you guys take it outside?” Kouse said without even turning to look behind him. His ROOM made him able to detect the location of everything and everyone within it. “You are disturbing those who are trying to get drunk.”

One of the pirates who knew about Kouse’s abilities and even fought with him against the Marines once, quickly noticed the transparent blue sphere and spoke up.

“uhh sure thing Dr K, we’ll go --.”

“Shut your mouth boy.” A pirate who had been absent during those events silenced him. He was also the man that had started the fight, claiming the others were not strong enough for the pursuit of the treasure. “I’ve heard rumours about you Dr K, but I think their all horse-shit.” The pirate spat on the floor. “How about a duel? You defeat me and I give you the map.”

Adjusting his glasses Kouse slowly stood up, unsheathing his sword.

“I don’t care about your mythical treasure nor do I care about fighting with you.” Kouse looked directly at the pirate as all the other pirates stepped back, giving them enough room. “All I want is for you to continue your fight someplace else.” Kouse slowly raised his sword. “But if you won’t, and all your brain can understand is to fight?. Then by all means……attack.”

The pirate didn’t need to be asked twice and raised his gun, pointed directly at Kouse, with a crazy smile on his face. Completely ignoring the whispered warnings of one of his crew mates who stepped close behind him.

“You’re dead.” He laughed, and pulled the trigger.

The laughter immediately turned into a cry of surprise and pain. The pirate dropped the gun that he had only just fired and looked down only to see a sword protruding out of his chest. Then the sword was violently dragged out of him and he had just enough time to turn back to look at Kouse’s expressionless face before he hit the floor, dead.

With a slight flick of his left hand, Kouse had instantly swapped positions with the other pirate that went to whisper warnings to the one with the gun pointed at Kouse, stabbing him from behind, the moment the pirate had chosen to attack and pointed the gun at Kouse.

Kouse would pick up the map of the treasure from the floor. “Anyone else want to challenge me for it? Or take your fight somewhere else?” Kouse would ask around, his ROOM ability still active.

The sights beforehand had surprised Freya to be quite honest. No, it wasn’t the bar fight or even the shooting. In front of her very eyes she saw a man disappear and reappear where the doctor once was. “They switched places?” she whispered questioning the situation at hand. Her eyes wondering around the blue “space” that they were in. Truth be told, she didn’t feel very safe inside of wherever she was. It was as if she had minimal control over anything that was bound to happen. Exactly like the man who had opposed the doctor. The Kuja wasn’t scared by a long shot. She was just not use to these types of things.

“A Mythical power of a Devil Fruit nonetheless?” asked Freya. Having already taken her sword out once the doctor impaled his opponent. Her body swiftly moving over the blood covered floor. Reaching the doctor and the limp body of the man he fought. Her eyes would travel from the floor and up to the bifocal covered eyes of the doctor. “I hope you wouldn’t mind a sweet young lady like myself taking the map. I’m sure you have other things to do. From my listening it seems like you’re a doctor after all. And you have a few patients to attend to.” said Freya. Motioning towards a man who had a gunshot wound to the neck, but he seemed to very well be alive with the faint breathing.

Her left hand would be held out for the map. While her fight gripped the Katana. It being dragged on the ground as she had once made her way towards the doctor.

To say Kouse was surprised when the only person to take up his challenge was the strange girl he had spotted whilst drinking would be a lie.
‘A Mythical power of a Devil Fruit nonetheless?' She asked suddenly as she moved swiftly towards him with her sword drawn.

Adjusting his glasses Kouse refused to give her a reply as he held his sword tightly, waiting for her to attack first so he could ascertain for sure that she wanted a fight, she wasn’t a part of the brawling pirates after all.

Kouse had expected a fight, but unexpectedly, all she wanted to do was talk. He listened quietly to all what she had to say before he took a few steps away from her, sheathing his sword. He took a closer look at her. She was indeed quite good looking as she held that sword ready to defend herself incase Kouse attacked. She reminded Kouse of his girlfriend Cindy, ready to do what was necessary to get what she wanted. He knew for sure that she wasn’t a pirate.

That didn’t change his mind though.

“That guy is beyond saving………If you want the map.” Kouse said as he turned and walked outside the bar, followed by the other half dozen pirates. “Then you’ll have to fight for it, just like everyone else.”

With that, Kouse dropped the map in the middle of the street and walked away.
De-activating and reactivating his ‘ROOM’ ability before leaving. He watched nearby, ready to jump in to help the female stranger if she needed help. He wasn’t going to let her get killed over a fake map.

Freya wasn’t one to quote people’s words. So, she would simply follow the man outside of the bar after he acknowledged her own presence. For a brief moment, the sphere like space they were in would disappear before reappearing suddenly. The doctor had walked away when it disappeared, so she had assumed he was gone. However, when it had reappeared she knew he was somewhere in the distance watching. It seemed even doctors held a certain amount of lust and greed towards treasure. Not a smirk, but a small smile would appear on her face. Her body ready to enjoy the moment before her. Having not been in battle for a long time. Freya was ready to release all of the pint up anger in her body.

Where a group of fifteen stood. It was almost as if they were in a clearing. The area was 5x5 meters and all around the box shaped areas were different buildings. Including the bar which they had just come out of. Tyrfing had still been held within her grasp. Even while walking outside of the bar. So, she wasn’t really afraid of the people around her. She could even tell that she was stronger than the lot of them. Sure, there were many powerful pirate crews around Jaya. But the two that stood before her now separated in two groups of seven were no match for even her.

She wasn’t going to completely obliterate the two. Freya would leave a few of them alive. Even a few of them maybe with some injuries. She had planned to begin the first attack, but it seemed like the Pirates were too greedy for the map to even allow her to make the first move. If it were not for her training on Amazon Lily. Then she wouldn’t be able to block the sword of one of the few pirates. Both of their swords meeting with a “Clang!” as the metal sent sparks flying off in the air. The sparks creating a momentarily burst of light that blinded the two for only a second. And within that second would Freya deliver her attack. The Kuja’s retaliation being a clean swipe of her Katana from the right and downward heading left. The action was performed from the shoulder to the hip. Tyrfing eating through the man’s clothing and flesh as if it was a hot knife cutting through butter.

The screams of the man before he died had caused the attention to come on her. As a pool of guts would spill from the man’s body. “Well. The party is just getting started.” said Freya in an almost maniacal laughter.

The way she fought without fear and without mercy both surprised and captivated Kouse. He watched as she parried an attack and brutally cut through a pirate, and apparently she had a special ability that made her hits with her sword much more deadly. Kouse watched as the person she cut through scream in terror, dying a most horrible death.

Kouse raised an eyebrow as he heard her shout.

‘Well. The party is just getting started.’ Whilst laughing wildly, obviously consumed with the savage sensations of battle.

That, unfortunately attracted the attention of the other pirates fighting for the map. They all abandoned their various tussles and focused their attentions on the female, quickly surrounding her.

Kouse was at the very edge of his blue sphere, and they all got within it as they approached the female as she fought on.
Adjusting his glasses Kouse spotted a couple of stones just beside the female. With a flick of his hand, Kouse moved two stones to both hit the heads of the two marines who had guns trained directly at the female, immediately knocking them both out. The rest all had close range weapons. She could surely handle those easily.

Kouse adjusted his glasses, pleased with his assist, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around quickly, incase he had to defend himself from an attacker but his precaution was unnecessary. It was his girlfriend, Cindy.


“Don’t tell me you’re involved in that bloody fight I’m seeing over there Kouse.” She hugged Kouse as she whispered to him. “You should be home resting, you haven’t slept in the last 34hours Kouse.”

Kouse hugged her back. “I know, but I got a little sidetracked, I’ll be heading back soon. Once I see the outcome of that fight.”

Cindy didn’t object but stood and watched along with Kouse for a moment. “I counted the amount of money we have saved and it’s not going to be enough Kouse. It’s not even up to half of what we need.”

Kouse knew exactly what she meant. His plans for building a new and much bigger hospital here in Mocktown was what they were saving for. He had estimated some weeks ago that by now they would have accumulated over 70% of the required funds, but things had not quite worked out as planned. The estimated cost of everything was way higher than what was originally set.

“Yes, we’ll have to find some money and soon.” Kouse said even as his eyes locked on on the map still laying on the floor being fought for by several pirates. “Don’t you worry Cindy, we’ll get our project underway right on time.”
With a quick kiss, Kouse sent her on her way.

“Don’t worry, go, your little brother and recuperating father need your help. I’ll be leaving soon also.”

Cindy smiled, nodded and walked away, straight home.

Kouse would keep his eyes on her for some moments, before he turned his attention back on the female and the pirates.

Kouse folded his arms. He would have to take a chance with the treasure after all, even if it might most likely turn out to be a waste of time.

Besides what kind of pirate turned down the chance of acquiring treasure?

Freya wasn’t one to bore people with words, but of course let’s not break the wall here. During the time the doctor and his girlfriend spoke. Freya had quickly taken care of the load of pirates. She had taken out a total of seven by herself. Only having killed three at the most with the others injured. The rest of the lot that she didn’t engage in battle with had been killed or injured by each other. Her blood soaked blade had caused the ones that were still up and fighting to run. She would only smile while walking towards a single piece of parchment that was on the ground. Picking it up, her blood soaked fingers would definitely smear over it, but she was still able to make out a map.

The map depicted the whole of Jaya Island with a few points here and there. Specifically, Mock Town, the forest, and a few more interests. What puzzled her was that there were no x marks the spot on the map. Only a single phrase lay at the top of the map. Reading it the words would roll off of her tongue in a riddle. “The right eye lies through the night. The left eye protects, wrong or right. In the valley of the eye, lies the right of way. Seek only, then run in the light of the.”

Her eyes would close in together. Showing her annoyance of the map being a riddle. “I swear, if this is only a wild goose chase. I don’t know what I will come back and do to the doctor.” said Freya as she rolled the map up and tucked it into the little pocket on her skirt. She would find a bar to decipher the riddle in. It wouldn’t be wise to do it while standing near a mound of bodies. There were no marines on Jaya, but who knew what might happen when their captain saw the scene at hand?

The way she smiled, holding her blood soaked sword whilst picking up the map from the floor captivated Kouse. He hadn’t expected her to be so deadly, especially with a sword. She was the first female swordsman hed ever seen.
Good for her though, you didn’t just try to find a treasure that several other pirates also wanted in a place like Jaya without having some skills to defend yourself.

“Or you’ll what?.” Kouse asked in a calm voice as he approahed the female after she picked up the map. “If this treasure hunt turns out to be just a 'wild goose Chase’ it’s hardly my fault, is it?” Kouse adjusted his glasses as he walked along with the female. “I saw the riddle when I held up the map in the bar and I think it would be pretty interesting to go after this treasure. I know almost every place in Mocktown and know a lot of people here who owe me a favour or two.”

Kouse sat down in the bar with the lady and ordered drinks for both of them after asking for what she wanted to have. “I’m Kouse by the way, but most people call me Dr K.” He took a sip of his alcohol. “And you are?.”

Kouse would wait for a second for her to reply, if she did, he would continue. “You were really good with your sword  out there.Also I realized the moment I saw you in the bar that you’re not from around these parts, the treasure hunt brought you here?.”

He would wait for a response before proceeding. “So tell me, what do you make of this riddle?"

Although Kouse had some ideas already, he wanted to hear what she had to say.

Freya would listen to everything the doctor had to say. With her sword still in hand, as she was still quite weary of the man. After glancing from the map and back to him. She would decide that it wouldn’t hurt to share with someone who had seemed to help her. From just look at the map. Freya had already figured out what the riddle meant. It had only taken her five minutes at the most to figure it out. It would have probably taken a less smarter person a couple of hours to figure out. Though, everything was there on the paper.

“Walk with me.” said Freya as she instructs Dr. K to follow her. If he would begin his pursuit. He would see that they were walking to the other side of the island. “The right eye lies through the night. The left eye protects, wrong or right. In the valley of the eye, lies the right of way. Seek only, then run in the light of the day.” Freya would only think for a moment before looking back at Dr.K. “The riddle is pretty self explanatory. Right is mentioned at least for times, so it had to have some type of significance. If you look at the map. It looks like two animals are facing each other. The left animal right eye is facing the right animal left eye. It would make sense for the next clue to be somewhere on the left side of the mountain. Which is where we are heading now.” answer Freya while showing Dr.K the map again.

Kouse listened as the female explained in details what she thought was the meaning of the riddle on the map. He was impressed, she wasn’t only just good with a sword but was also smart.

“Alright, that was impressive.” Kouse couldn’t help but say. She had completely explained all what he thought and more. 

After a few minutes of walking Kouse would casually suggest they pick up the pace. “Let’s run a little, we don’t know exactly who already has the information of this map, we should get there as fast as we can.”
Assuming she agreed to the proposal, then within minutes they would both arrive at their destination.

Kouse adjusted his glasses as he stared intently at the mountain. They were both currently at the left side of it, where they had both agreed the next clue was. Kouse was confident that it would only take him but a quick glance and a few moments of thought for him to find out the next clue. 
It didn’t happen often, that Kouse with his intellectual mind and incredible power of deduction to be clueless.
But he was exactly that, as he stared at the mountain. His pride made him jump to a quick conclusion.

“Well, I guess whatever we came here to get, we were beaten to it.” He adjusted his glasses. “Someone else has acquired the clue we came here for.”

Just as he said that however, he spotted two lizards crawl up some thick vines growing right at the side of the mountain. They obscured the view of part the mountain itself. 
Without hesitation, Kouse unsheathed his sword and cut it all off, and an entrance to a dark cave was unveiled.

Kouse would take a step back and take a deep breath. 

“I guess whatever we’re after is inside that cave.” He would say as he moved for the lady to get in. “Like they say, ladies first.”

Kouse wasn’t exactly a fan of hidden caves and dark enclosures. He much preferred a place where his eyes could quickly detect anything, they were his most useful part of his body and going into places where he couldn’t use them?, Well it wasn’t his fault that he hesitated.

It wouldn’t take long for Freya to receive a reply from Dr. K. The doctor would suggest that they run. In order for them to shorten the little time that they may have in order to locate the treasure. She wasn’t one to turn down people’s ideas. Especially those who seemed more powerful than her. So, she would quickly follow behind the man. Soon they would arrive near a mountain. In the corner of her eyes, Freya could see the man shift his glasses. She knew that he was examining his surroundings. Taking the idea, Freya would also look around. Her heightened senses didn’t seem to catch anything. Though, it seemed like the huge bifocals the Doctor wore helped him. It didn’t take less than ten minutes for him to investigate the place and find a spot carved into the mountain.

The passageway looked no larger than a door leading to a bar. Probably not that bigger than the one they just left. She would have thought the doctor would go in first. However, she would visibly see him hesitate. Stating the well known phrase “Girls first.” Looking at the man before walking inside of the cave, Freya would mutter “Wimp.”

As she walked inside of the cave. Her fingers would trace the lining of it. It was not like a cave back on Amazon Lily. There the caves were dusty and dry. This one was the exact opposite. The air around them felt as if it was pure. And the walls were full of moist. Looking down, Freya could even tell that the ground was very fertile. As they walked deeper in the cave. They would see a pool of water that looked like it had steps leading down into it. Taking through the tunnel and into the open area where the pool was. Freya would see the walls glistening blue and the howl of the wind coming from above. Above them was no ceiling, but a complete opening. “Is this a dormant volcano.” asked Freya while she walked forward to inspect the source of water. Upon further looking, she would see that it was actually a wave pool and had an entrance leading somewhere else.

“This seems to be a wave pool, but I suggest we look around this cave before we actually venture in it.”

‘Wimp.’ 

It took all Kouse had not to burst out laughing. Laughing at himself cause the lady was completely right. He knew he had to get over his fear, and accept not being in complete control every single time. He’d come to depend on his eyesight a lot ever since he became a doctor and it became even more important to him when he became a pirate. Even his devil fruit ability depended on having a really good eyesight.

Kouse would follow right behind the lady into the cave. 
The darkness that engulfed him filled him with dread. He couldn’t see more than a few meters ahead. The little details he prided himself of noticing were not his in the cave. He was being led blindly to an unknown place, he almost turned round, but he decided to brave the cave since the lady who was just ahead of him was, seemed so comfortable.

They both kept walking deeper into the cave until they arrived at a pool of water. Kouse immediately noticed the walls glistening blue and felt the fresh breeze that blew on his face. This should be impossible, since they were still in a cave. Kouse looked up to see a wide opening and realized that they were in a dormant volcano.

“Yes, I guess we are in one.” He would answer the lady’s question. “We must have passed through a side entrance into the mountain that was connected to this place.” Kouse would add.

He adjusted his glasses as he peered down into the wave pool and noticed it had an entrance to someplace else.

“I agree.” Kouse said to the lady as he turned to look around the cave. 

It looked like it had been a very very long time since the volcano erupted. Neither were there signs that it would be erupting anytime soon.

As Kouse walked about looking for anything of note, he first looked intently at the walls, then the floors, then up through the mouth of the volcano and into the sky, but he found nothing.

“I see nothing here.” Kouse would speak up. “You see anything important?.” He would ask.