• Graded • [Hopetoun] All Tied Up In Knots

[Darius Baer]

Arc 721, 71st of Zi'da

The loose threads hung gently from the hilt of the blade. Frayed strands, clearly tempted to break free, clung tenaciously. Two pairs of eyes - one dark grey, and the other deep evergreen - studied them closely within the dimly-lit room.

"You say this sword knot belonged to Liathen the Guardian?" asked green-eyes.

"Aye," came the reply. "That's what the merchant claimed, anyway."

Green-eyes chuckled quietly.

"Seems to me you got sold a fancy tale."

"Well...I only paid him in tales of my own, so that seems like a fair trade to me."

Another chuckle followed.

"You're a good man, Darius Baer. So...do you think it's the genuine article?"

"I don't know, but...I've noticed that it doesn't seem to move like you'd think it would."

And just then, as both of them watched on, they saw it. The sword knot, hanging statically from the longsword's hilt, and in a room with no breeze...moved. it was just a twitch, at first, and then it gently began to spin.

"Did you make it do that?" green-eyes asked, the incredulity audible in her voice.

As if to answer her question itself, the sword knot lifted, the threads drawn to one side as if a force was pulling at them. The material that had once been hanging listlessly was now curved like a fish hook.

Darius and Astra both held their breaths at the sight for a few trills until it fell limp once more.

"Huh," Astra's voice eventually broke the silence. "Maybe the merchant wasn't just telling you tales, after all."

[Darius Baer]

Arc 721, 72nd of Zi'da

The following trial, Darius and Astra set out from Hopetoun. Since the height of Vhalar, Faldrass was no longer in its most abundant state. But patches of volcanic soil were still visible amongst the wild flowers as they made their way beyond the palisade and towards where the farmers were harvesting their crops.

Both of them wore hardy clothes that were suited to being in the warm outdoors, as was their norm. Darius had his knapsack slung over his shoulder and his longsword sat on his hip. And, as the pair waved back at a Hopetounian farmer who had initiated the gesture, Darius took Astra's hand.

The half-biqaj turned her head as their palms met, a smirk of curiosity stretching across her freckled face.

"I thought we were just going for a walk," she quipped. "This seems like it's more about pleasure than business."

"It's always a pleasure to walk with you," Darius replied, perhaps a little too hastily.

Astra looked at him, her features as fierce as ever. Darius worried that he might have been too forward, and he felt the heat of a blush burning at his cheeks, but a smile soon crept across the brunette's face.

"Of course it is,"she teased him, before squeezing his hand gently to show that she was speaking in jest. "So where are you taking me?"

Darius was grateful for the reprieve that a change of topic brought, and he allowed himself a quiet chuckle.

"I thought we might visit Otter Cove," Darius offered. "I told you about the skirmish we had there. I thought you might like to see it with your own eyes."

"A battlefield?"Astra responded, placing a hand over her chest in feigned excitement. "How romantic! Oh, Baron Baer, you shouldn't have!"

At that, Darius laughed. Somehow it was easier to take insults when they came from Astra.

"I really just wanted to get away for a couple of breaks," he eventually admitted.

They walked on in silence for a while. They were almost at the coast before Astra decided to speak up.

"It never stops, does it?" she mused. "There's always someone else to help; some injustice to put right."

Darius listened, his brow furrowed. He wasn't sure how to respond, until he realised that he wasn't supposed to respond at all.

"You know, I sometimes wonder what might have happened if someone else had won that scavenger hunt."

Astra's contemplative tone was devoid of the mirth she had expressed earlier.

"What if someone else had won the Libertalia and taken us on as their crew? What if you and I had never met?"

She met Darius' gaze, and perhaps for the first time, he saw a vulnerability flickering through her colour-changing eyes.

"It certainly would have meant less adventures, I'm sure,"she went on. "No refugee rescue missions. No repelling invaders from the deck. No sea wolf hunts. No scraps with pirates. It would have been a lot less interesting, don't you think?"

Darius listened on as they walked. He was surprised by the brunette beauty's openness, and he squeezed her hand to offer her some reassurance, just as she had earlier done for him.

"Of course, that wouldn't be the only thing that would have been different," she added with a perkiness to her voice that told Darius some form of mischief was following. "I'm sure the other winner - whoever they might have been - wouldn't have shown up drunk in his father's suit after a big night out!"

Darius laughed, before leaping to his own defense.

"Hey, I wasn't drunk!" he protested. "Although I was a little...unkempt."

Astra guffaw at his choice of words.

"Ha! That's something of an understatement, Darius Baer!" she giggled. "I seem to recall a certain father expressing his shock that you wore his suit when you boarded."

Darius laughed at the memory. Against that accusation, he had no defense.

Their playful jostling was interrupted by the fresh sea breeze that greeted them as they reached the top of a headland. Wild flowers surrounded them, and down below them, they could see the steep decline that led to Otter Cove. Sunlight glistened off the waves by the site where Darius and his followers had put an end to a pirate's career.

The wind picked up, offering a refreshing coolness on the otherwise warm trial. It swirled around them, causing the flowers to bend and bow with each passing current of air. The wind took hold of the couple's hair, making their strands lift and fall at the whim of the breeze.

Darius turned to look back at Astra, but her gaze quickly dropped. She squeezed his hand, and he looked down to where she was staring. On his hip, in the midst of a strengthening breeze, the sword knot on his longsword was hanging.

And, in the midst of a growing wind, it wasn't moving.

[Darius Baer]

Less than a break later, Darius and Astra were halfway down the steep cliffs of Otter Bay.

It was much quieter than the last time Darius had been there. The yells and screams of death were absent. The angry clanging of metal blades had been replaced by the peaceful rhythm of waves lapping at the shore. Where the Dread Otter had once rested on its side so that the pirates could careen it, there was an open and empty space filled with tranquility.

Darius recounted the ambush, showing Astra where he, Lars, and each of the archers had laid in wait.

"The ambush started here," he said, before pointing down to a particular spot on the beach, "and that's where the first pirate fell."

He showed the brunette where he had stumbled, too; where Ledas had leapt over him and saved his life; where they had been too slow to save that of one of the archers.

After Astra's curiosity has been satisfied, they left the beach.



Later, they were back up on the headland, lying down on a blanket that Darius had brought with him, surrounded by wild flowers. His knapsack was on the ground between them, and they were eating snacks and staring up at the clouds that rushed by as the wind pushed and pulled them.

The Scalvorian felt a distinct sense of comfort and contentment in the brunette's presence. Astra had seemed intimidating when they had first met, but over time she had let down her guard and welcomed Darius in. There was no denying that he found her attractive. More than once, he had wanted to kiss her but had never found the courage to ask.

"I think you should just go ahead and do it," Astra announced after a long silence.

"W-what?"

Darius almost choked on the piece of apple he was eating as he turned to look at the half-biqaj, an inexplicable fear running through him that she had somehow read his mind.

"I think you should return the sword knot to Liathen."

"Oh, right," he breathed a sigh of relief before contemplating what Astra had said. "But how? Nobody even knows where any of the Pirate Lords are."

The location of the Pirate Lords was just one of many problems. Even if they were found, what was to suggest they wouldn't simply capture or kill the Libertalia crew?

"Well, I've heard a rumour," Astra said, propping herself up onto her elbows. "I ignored it at first, because rumours are usually just rumours, you know? But then that sword knot did what it did, and now I wonder if it might be true."

Darius looked back at her, his brows furrowed.

"What's the rumour?" he asked.

Astra looked back at him, with no hint of jest or exaggeration in her tone as she replied: "Apparently, the Pirate Lords are returning to Scalv."

[Jackalope]

Experience: +10 xp

Knowledge:

Knowledge:

Etiquette: Enjoying a picnic with a view.
Navigation: Guiding someone else to a location you have visited before.
Psychology: Reflecting on shared experiences.
Seduction: Trying to summon the courage to kiss someone.
Socialisation: Having someone to share your experiences with.
Storytelling: Seeing to the site of a story can help to visualise the tale.


Skillplay: Appropriate to level.

Loot: None.
Injuries/Overstepping: None.
Renown: None.
Wealth Points: None.
Collaboration: no
Magic Experience?: No.

Comments:

She loves me. She loves me knot! Darius and Astra make a cute couple. I ship it! I guess time will tell.

I had forgotten about the sword knot from the Night Market. It is an interesting plot device/set up, and I am keen to find out if Darius will indeed find the Pirate Lord hoard, with or without the attached Pirate Lord. I’m glad you decided to write about it.

I laughed when Astra said she thought Darius should go ahead and do it when he ponders kissing her, when she’s referring to something else. Nice comedic irony! It will be interesting to see whether Darius ever gets to consider returning the sword knot to Liathen, should the occasion arise. It will also be interesting to see whether the occasion actually ever arises.

All in all, a nice thread, and a neat set up for future ones!

Enjoy your rewards!