PLOT NOTE
This plot takes on the random encounter from the Rebirth 724 State Of Play: Darius gets a stalker. She's tall, she's blonde, she's pretty. She sends him love notes and cakes etc. The plot was begun in this thread. THIS POST IS INCOMPLETE AND WILL BE AMENDED IN DUE COURSE.
DATE TBC
"Almund ho!"
Astra's cry was met with a sarcastic cheer. The sailors who made up Darius' crew were proud residents of Scalvoris Town, and their friendly rivalry with the capital meant they liked to tease Almundians good-naturedly purely for the sake of it. That was the typical experience when the Libertalia pulled alongside the docks of Almund.
Except this time they weren't on the brig at all. Darius and his crew were instead aboard the Sunburst, which was a sloop, and thus formed a vastly different outline on the horizon.
The change was intentional. The Sunburst was not a well known ship with a sea shanty named after it. Darius was less likely to be recognised simply by the deck he sailed in on.
And he preferred to avoid being recognised for the time being.
The last time Darius had visited Almund, word of his arrival had preceded him. But he had questions about the sword knot in his possession, and he preferred to be able to ask them without giving himself away too easily. To that end, his face was clean-shaven, the sight of which had caused Astra to cock an eyebrow.
"I prefer the beard," she had said with a smirk at the time. "Make sure you get good information so you can grow it back."
Darius walked down the gangway and made his way into Almund. He wore a simple cloak around his shoulders that concealed the longsword on his hip. Critically, that also meant the sword knot - the very item he had questions about - was hidden from view.
He walked alone*. Half of his bodyguard had been left behind on the Sunburst; the rest were guarding the walls of Hopetoun.
*Okay, that wasn't entirely true. Darius never truly walked alone. Ledas was a constant companion, and his diri Katara flew overhead, but both were invisible to the general public - for the time being, at least...
After taking a few turns down some familiar alleyways, he reached his destination. With a cursory look in both directions, and with Katara keeping a watchful eye from above to ensure nobody had followed him, Darius knocked on the door.
"There are rumours."
Isla 'Red' Raye sat opposite Darius at a small table, upon which rested the sword knot. Red herself had covered part of her face. Even in her support of Darius, she preferred to keep her true identity a secret.
"I've chased rumours before," Darius sighed as he relaxed in his seat. "They weren't very fruitful."
"Perhaps, but not all rumours are as unfounded as others."
Darius perked up at that, sitting upright in his seat.
"What have you heard?"
That wasn't the question he really wanted answered. He wanted to know if the sword knot truly belonged to Liathen the Guardian, but only she could answer that.
"There's talk of someone trying to make a name for themselves in the city's underworld," Red replied. "Some are saying it's Liathen herself, but I've not seen her myself."
Darius nodded as he took the information in. After a pause, he leant forward, his fingers running over the threads of the sword knot.
"Do you think it's the truth?"
"It doesn't matter if I think it's the truth. What matters is that they think it's the truth."
Astra's cry was met with a sarcastic cheer. The sailors who made up Darius' crew were proud residents of Scalvoris Town, and their friendly rivalry with the capital meant they liked to tease Almundians good-naturedly purely for the sake of it. That was the typical experience when the Libertalia pulled alongside the docks of Almund.
Except this time they weren't on the brig at all. Darius and his crew were instead aboard the Sunburst, which was a sloop, and thus formed a vastly different outline on the horizon.
The change was intentional. The Sunburst was not a well known ship with a sea shanty named after it. Darius was less likely to be recognised simply by the deck he sailed in on.
And he preferred to avoid being recognised for the time being.
The last time Darius had visited Almund, word of his arrival had preceded him. But he had questions about the sword knot in his possession, and he preferred to be able to ask them without giving himself away too easily. To that end, his face was clean-shaven, the sight of which had caused Astra to cock an eyebrow.
"I prefer the beard," she had said with a smirk at the time. "Make sure you get good information so you can grow it back."
Darius walked down the gangway and made his way into Almund. He wore a simple cloak around his shoulders that concealed the longsword on his hip. Critically, that also meant the sword knot - the very item he had questions about - was hidden from view.
He walked alone*. Half of his bodyguard had been left behind on the Sunburst; the rest were guarding the walls of Hopetoun.
*Okay, that wasn't entirely true. Darius never truly walked alone. Ledas was a constant companion, and his diri Katara flew overhead, but both were invisible to the general public - for the time being, at least...
After taking a few turns down some familiar alleyways, he reached his destination. With a cursory look in both directions, and with Katara keeping a watchful eye from above to ensure nobody had followed him, Darius knocked on the door.
"There are rumours."
Isla 'Red' Raye sat opposite Darius at a small table, upon which rested the sword knot. Red herself had covered part of her face. Even in her support of Darius, she preferred to keep her true identity a secret.
"I've chased rumours before," Darius sighed as he relaxed in his seat. "They weren't very fruitful."
"Perhaps, but not all rumours are as unfounded as others."
Darius perked up at that, sitting upright in his seat.
"What have you heard?"
That wasn't the question he really wanted answered. He wanted to know if the sword knot truly belonged to Liathen the Guardian, but only she could answer that.
"There's talk of someone trying to make a name for themselves in the city's underworld," Red replied. "Some are saying it's Liathen herself, but I've not seen her myself."
Darius nodded as he took the information in. After a pause, he leant forward, his fingers running over the threads of the sword knot.
"Do you think it's the truth?"
"It doesn't matter if I think it's the truth. What matters is that they think it's the truth."
