Progress with both her training was advancing steadily and not only that but Linnea was also making some interesting connections and acquaintances. She met Marines, Revolutinaries, other Pirates, and even powerful people without any of such affiliation. Even now, Linnea wondered how many of those she'd still run into by the time she made her way into the Grand Line. It was a daring, dangerous adventure, one even a Kuja who'd been born there might not survive the return trip. But she didn't acknowledge that possibility. Linnea knew that if she trained enough, she'd surely find her way back there, and the same would hold true for her allies. But after her most recent journey and the fishman attack on that peaceful little island, she had to wonder just how ready she was for that journey. A pirate willing to travel to the Grand Line had to be able to endure something like that that by himself, even if she did rely on a trusted crew. It was a matter of pulling her own weight, Linnea was never the kind of woman to depend on others. Even if she relied on allies, she had to be able to survive by herself. She knew that she still had a long way to go after watching that swordsman make short work of the fishmen pirates, and if anything, it renewed her determination to further hone her abilities:

"I wonder what else i might find on this island...", wondered Linnea as she stepped out of her inn (now back in

Karate Island), pulling the hood over her hair, shielding her face from both the sun and unwanted attention. Her latest enterprises had turned her into a wanted Pirate, and naturally she now had to act the part whenever she didn't want to be attacked by Marines or bounty hunters. Having always been shy, Linnea was used to hiding her face and laying low, but it was the first time she felt there was another, more important reason to do so. Taking small bites out of her apple with her bow and arrows slung behind her back, she quickly stepped away from the main streets and into the jungle. The sky was clear and the air was hot today, but it would get a lot cooler once she walked under the shade of the jungle canopy...

She had already explored most of this island... But if there was something Linnea learned about exploring islands was that there was always something else. There was always something she had yet to see, always somewhere she had yet to visit. As she stepped away from the village and into the wilderness, she scanned around for wildlife and potentially interesting things she might have missed the last few walks. She didn't often miss things, but even a talented scout couldn't always see everything. This time, she wandered around the jungle making a point to take all the turns she hadn't yet taken, following every little path she had yet to explore or didn't clearly remember doing so, and surely enough, she eventually found something worth exploring. Leading to the center of Karate Island, there was barely visible yet traversable path cutting through the jungle, completely oppsite the last few places she'd explored.

This is it... Would she find something new here? She could only hope. The birds and mammals fled away from the hunter's path as the girl trudged on through the thick shrubbery, taking in the sights, scents and sounds of the jungle, as if always looking for something she had yet to experience. But for the time being, she found none. The birds sounded alike, the flowers smelled the same as the ones she'd last seen, the plants and creatures were the same kind as those she'd previously encountered. Even by exploring a new part of the jungle, it wouldn't be so easy... But eventually she found something interesting.

A cave!! Now that's more like it. Linnea was sure she had never this cave out from the inside, she remembered such interesting places clearly enough; unlike the rest of the forest where each and every turn looked alike to the untrained eye. Since she hadn't checked it out before, what manner of surprises would she find there? The last cave on karate island she investigated had pirates hiding there. Indeed this proved to be a really good kind of hideout for all manners of criminals who wished to remain hidden from the rest of the populace. There hadn't been any attacks on the village she was currently staying at, but there ought to be some other villages that could be raided without her hiding there, so there was no guarantee this cave would be completely clear. Even if there were no enemies inside, there could be even more dangerous ferocious beasts. But then, Linnea would much rather see all of that with her own two eyes than simply wonder about what could have been...

Lin pressed on forward through the cave, thoroughtly not bothered by the low visibility in the tunnels. The bulk of her training had been carried out in pick black darkness, at night in thick jungle envoiroments. She had learned to not only hone her eyesight to its peak potential, but also trust her other senses to find her path. After venturing a few yards into the cave, she came across two gruff looking silhouettes, and as she slowly sneaked closer - bow and arrows primed and ready - she listened in to their conversation. They were apparently bandits chatting about their latest plunder. So, nobody would miss them; good to know. Without a second though, Lin exploited her stealth to let loose an arrow aimed at the first one's gut, putting him out of the fight as the second one desperately tried to seek out the assailant.


1 arrow used, 1 T1 bandit ded

The second bandit obviously sounded the alarm, screaming and shouting about how the other guy - what's his name - had been killed by an arrow. Lighting was dim and Linnea was cleverly concealed behind a rock, though the direction from which the arrow had come from was still a dead giveaway. The other lookout started sneakily walking towards that direction, trying his best to always keep some manner of obstacle between himself and the unknown shooter, but little did he know he wasn't dealing with an amateur. Linnea kept her bow primed on his location, antecipating when her foe would try to move next... And so the next time he popped his head out, there was already an arrow being let loose towards that spot, a finely calculated shot taking into account the enemy's movement pattern and the arrow's flight time. And thus by the time there were more Bandits coming her way, there wasn't one, but two of their friends lying dead on the dirt. This time, they charged straight at her in a frenzied fashion, naturally prompting Lin to load up an arrow and let it loose to the only of these two that seemed to be wielding a firearm: The arrow followed a straight path, past the two sword wielding bandits at the front at burying itself cleanly through his heart.

"Shit!! There she is, kill her!!", clamored the two bandits as Lin promptly stood up and dashed off towards where she'd first come in, with the bandits in tow. She was light and a quick runner, so they wouldn't catch her easily.

Lin's current goal would be to simply tire the two out slightly before killing them both with two arrows before they closed the distance



3 arrow used total, 3 T1 bandit ded

She could hear the guys running along behind her, they had a heavy step and an even heavier breath, not to mention an even fouler stench but fortunately the wind was against them so she didn't have to smell it that much... The guys screamed, shouted, and foamed at the mouth at their inability to catch the skilled ranger who had fled from far faster and more dangerous enemies during her long winded training sessions. Compared to the beasts in Amazon Lily and surrounding islands, these men were pitiful. With another arrow loaded, Linnea finally found an opportunity to strike: With her next step, she pivoted around on her forward foot, letting loose the arrow straight at the bandit's knee... Not even bothering to see whether or not her arrow would hit, the archer simply trusted her aim and drew another arrow as the next bandit closed the gap between the two. Already sweating from all the running, Linnea was nonetheless far from being exhausted, so she simply drew her arrow at maximum speed and let it loose at the Bandit's head as his sword came falling down, and she was barely able to knock him back with the impact and avoid the hit... He came close to striking her, but close doesn't count.

Ignoring the angry ramblings of the now crippled bandit with an arrow through his knee and looted their pockets, subduing the yet living bandit before doing so. She had no need to kill him and she wasn't a cannibal so there was no point in rectifying that. Unless he misbehaved...

"This will be less painful if you don't struggle.", she admonished him with a calm yet cold look, as she stepped on the bandit's sword to keep him from using it and looted his belongings, her cold steel blue eyes being more than enough to make him settle down and surrender.

Linnea was then able to proceed back down the cave, looting the remaining bandits before arriving at their hideout and taking what other riches they had accumulated. She didn't know who all that money belonged to, so finder's keepers was her current rule of thumb. Still, Linnea was a kind woman to those who didn't cross her, so she often gave what remained from her plundering to those who needed it more than she did...



5 arrows total, defeated 5 bandits.

Her pockets and backpack were full from the bandits' booty, but there was still more to see in this cave. As she scrounged their hideout for things to loot, she also noticed there was another entrance to the hideout, a passageway carefully barricaded against potential intruders. The barricade consisted of simple spiked wooden constructs, clearly better used to keeping out animals than humans (who could probably find a better way to be rid of the obstacles while still managing to wipe out the bandits hiding inside without being detected), and this notion was enough for Linnea to proceed with care. What manner of wild animals were they trying to keep away? She moved on further through the cave, crouched and stepping stealthily to make as little noise as possible... But as she finally came across a large chamber, her eyes spotted that which the bandits were so afraid of, calmly patrolling its den:

A black bear!! Such a beast would certainly warrant building a barricade to keep it out, but would it have been able to? Probably not, but all they really needed was for the bear to be afraid to try, thats what the spikes were there for. And then, the bandits weren't the only ones who were afraid. Linnea would clearly see some shiny stones in this chamber, and knew it would warrant exploring but she didn't want to piss off this creature, not unless she could win. This bear was twice her height and probbaly thrice her weight, if not more so. Lin wiped away a stray bead of sweat off her forehead and eyed the foe, and her surroundings too. If that bear managed to claw her, she would likely die instantly. So whatever she did she had to make sure that didn't happen. There was a narrow pathway at the left side of this chamber, too narrow for such a large creature to squeeze through. If she managed to get in there, she might be able to kill the creature from safety if things went south. But if she tried walking there the creature would likely notice her...

"Decisions, decisions...", she thought out loud, shaking her head.

Instead, Linnea tried to meet these two options half way. Loading an arrow and nocking the string, she took aim at the bear's neck, keeping the bow primed on it and slowly strafing her way to the narrow path... Step by step, she came ever closer to her goal, and the closer she got the heavier she sweated, yet even then her hands remained remarkably steady, a trait of a natural marksman. Eventually, the worst happened. The bear turned her way, roaring ferociously as he grew aware of the intruder, and Lin's reaction was instantaneous: SHe let loose her arrow which embedded itself in the beast's neck, and even though it roared in pain, she knew she only made it angrier. A creature like this was too big to go down from a single hastily shot arrow, so as her heartbeat raced, Linnea dashed straight towards the narrow path, and barely avoided the animal's claw. Now able to shoot from safety, she loaded an arrow and shot it straight into the bear's eye, piercing his skull and finally killing him.

With her obstacle removed, Linnea proceeded to scrounge the chamber for any stone that could possibly be sold for a few Beli. This had been a really good plunder, the bandits had piled up a good deal of riches, but even they were too scared to investigate the bear's den. She finally exited the cave with a smile on her face, heading back for the village to sell the fruits of her plundering


 7 arrows total, defeated 5 bandits and one T2 black bear.

- exit -