Part IV: Ratu

Ruben grabbed his pocket watch, then looked at the state Ratu was in. "Just take the money and leave me be!" Ruben II shouted before he shoved the pocket watch within the pocket on his vest, picked up the flyer and went to his room.

Violet arrived to Purpuria, it had been years since she last visited the city. The last time she stepped foot into the city, she was banished for nearly killing one of the Sanguine Sages. She entered a gate similar to a Shinto Shrine, as she saw a beautiful garden and walked to the bridge that had a pond full of koi fish. Once she reached to the other side, there laid a temple up ahead surround by 12 pillars which the Morean called the Paars. As she arrived to the center of the temple she saw the cloud formation disperse she looked at the view of the ocean. In the corner of her eye, she spotted the neighboring isles, one of them was the mainland of Meno. A ship sailed its way to Mora, her intuition compelled to go to there. She took a hidden passage way that led to an undergound tunnel.

Ruben II held the flyer in his hands. We value camaraderie, courage and integrity above all. The corner of his mouth twitched either from discomfort or the fish hooking that he received from Herring Ja. Once he read the bottom of the flyer he saw the prize money. His brown eyes glistened.
"Three... million... rories..." that was more than what he could store within a year, even if the amount of money that Ratu robbed.

"Do you still want the mackerel?" Piros asked Ratu as they saw the fat fish on the ground.

"Sard yeah! I barely remeber the last time I ate good meat." Ratu responded before grabbed the fish.

"All is well that ends well. Do you wanna come with me to the tournament?" Herring Ja asked him.

"I'll catch up to you later, right now I have to keep an eye on him." Piros murmured referring to Ratu and Ruben. He had to make sure that Ruben II wouldn't come down to hurt the little runt again and for Ratu to keep his promise to return the money that he stole.

"Fine, soot yourself." Herring Ja shrugged as he exited Ruben's residence and headed on his way to the tournament.

Violet got out of the underground tunnel as she lifted the bottom of her hanfu to not sully her garment, the outskirts of Mora had an estuary that connected to the shore where the ship would arrive to transport goods and passengers. The ship came to drop off the travelers and tourists alike while one of the sailors spotted Violet dressed as the Morean deity of the sea which was rumored to reward the ferrymen with blessings and good tidings. Violet opened her fan and focus her gaze on one of the sailors, signaling him to take her aboard. The sailor outstretched his hand to give her leverage in entering the ship. She thanked him with the way she glanced at him, then she drew the fan across her face, signalling him an apology. The young sailor smiled as she showed her a place for her to sit. He didn't know what it was that made her draw his attention, either it was the way she presented herself without uttering a word or was the air of mystery that she invoked with a glance of her violet eyes.

Ratu prepared three burlap sacks; two of them contained the money that he stole, the remaining sack contained conch purses and empty pouches, including the stolen wallet. Piros accompanied Ratu to return the cash that he stole, Ruben II got out of his room and headed to the kitchen to clean the dishes when he spotted the fat mackerel in the basin.
He had to descale the mackerel before it started to rot, and only Rot knows how long it will be until he had another chance to eat an appetizing fish.

Herring Ja arrived at the stadium to sign up, he stood at the reception to file the form to compete at the tournament.

"You've come to the right place, my boy!" The receptionist said, he had a long-sleeved sandy tunic and a peachy complection. He looked like a bearded Buddha.

Herring Ja signed his name on the form. "Can I also sign my friend to compete in the tournament? He would like to participate but he can't read Mandarin." Herring requested, omitting the fact that Piros didn't want to partake in the tournament.

"If that is the case, I could translate the form to your friend." The receptionist offered.

"That's very kind of you sir," Herring signed Piros's name on the form while he and the receptionist made eye contact, "but I prefer to tell him myself. Thanks for the offer." Herring put down the quill. The sneaky Pirian native exited the reception and entered the stadium with a smug expression plastered across his face, unbeknownst to him that the receptionist knew that he speed signed without him looking. He smirked at the repercussions that will come to the competitor sooner or later.

The ship that Violet was on brought her to the mainland, the trip from Mora to Meno lasted for an hour and a half. After she stepped unto the doc, she turned to give the blessing of the ship with a mild gust of wind from the fan. As she walked to the streets, she found the common folk bustling about. Nothing out of the ordinary.

After the Cinnabarian born ginger descaled the mackerel, rubbed the salt to preserve it, then lit the chimney to cook the mackerel. He fillet the fish first before putting it into the pot. Meanwhile Piros accompanied Ratu to help him return the money along with the conch purses, pouches and wallets. Ratu dropped three large burlap sacks in front of the mob for them to see. To their surprise, they saw the Menonites fight each other to get their currency back.

Talk about being civilized. Ratu thought.