• Graded • [Hopetoun] Memento Of Misfortune

[Darius Baer]

Arc 722, 36th of Saun

Darius held his breath as the blade hovered just beneath his chin. He could feel his attacker's breath on the back of his neck, and his heart was racing, but he was fighting with himself to remain still, lest the metal slice through his skin.

His eyes flitted about, trying to take in the scene before him.

The room was a mess. Papers were scattered across the floor, glowing in the orange light of a naked flame from a toppled candle. An overturned chair rested on its back near a desk which was adorned with fresh, crimson blood. And slumped on the ground, atop the strewn papers, lay the bodies.

How had it come to this?

One Trial Earlier...

The twin suns of Saun had only been above the horizon for a break or so when Darius decided to set out from Hopetoun. He had spent a handful of trials helping to build a barracks for the settlement, and with most of the soldiers making the most of their new quarters and training area, he was eager to stretch his legs.

His sea legs, specifically.

So with a handful of sailors and followers, he made his way to the Hopetoun docks and boarded the Sunburst. The sloop was not his flagship - that honour was reserved for the Libertalia - but it was a seaworthy vessel that he liked to sail from time to time.

The storms of Saun appeared to be behind them, and the calm, hot weather was inviting him to what he hoped might be a relaxing and uneventful time on the Hollow Sea.

[Darius Baer]

Arc 722, 36th of Saun

"Don't move," Darius' attacker growled, "or I'll slit your throat."

The ship rocked gently, the sound of waves lapping against its hull echoing in the room. To a landlubber, it might have taken some effort to maintain one's balance on a gently rocking floor, but Darius had sailed long enough to move with the ship rather than against it. His assailant seemed to be just as familiar with a shifting floor as he was.

Darius looked down at the prone bodies that were slumped on the floor, blood seeping through their clothing. But his gaze quickly moved on, passing the mess of papers and the overturned chair it landed upon Astra. Standing at the far end of the room, the brunette's eyes gleamed in bright yellow. Those of biqaj descent could not hide their emotions, for their eyes would change colour as they experienced different emotions, though which hues they had were unique to each person. But there was no hiding the obvious for Astra Miawynn: yellow meant fear.

Darius tried to silently reassure her. She was unarmed and unable to help. Darius knew there was nothing she could do without endangering him further, and even if there was, he knew she wouldn't take the risk.

He was still in disbelief that he was being held at knifepoint on his own ship. Blood had been shed. He didn't want to give his attacker an opportunity to spill more. He had to end the situation somehow. He wagered that talking to his assailant might buy him some time. So he took a slow, controlled breath, and began to speak.

"What do you want?" Darius asked, attempting to keep his voice steady. "Nels?"

One Break Earlier...

"Sail ho!"

The cry started from the crow's nest and quickly echoed across the deck. Necks were craned to see where the lookout was pointing.

"Sail ho, starboard side!"

The lookout shouted again. Craving necessary became turning heads as the crew - Darius included - tried to satisfy their collective curiosity.

This moment, less than a trill in length, had become the most nerve-wracking of junctures on the Hollow Sea in recent times. Amidst tales of pirates, and in the wake of the stormy cycle, it was impossible to guess who - or what - might arrive on the next swell.

On this occasion, it seemed that their trepidation had been a waste of energy, for halfway between the Sunburst and the island of Faldrass was a small fishing boat.
Darius immediately knew it was not a Hopetoun vessel - the settlement's fishing ketches were larger - but it was not uncommon for fisherfolk from different parts of Scalvoris to fish in the temperate waters of Faldrass.

The crew of the fishing boat waved, and Darius returned the greeting before turning away. He did not lay claim to the water surrounding the volcanic island, but he was seen by many as one of its guardians. He wouldn't have paid the small vessel any heed if it hadn't been for the lookout.

"Looks like they're hailing us, cap'n!"

Darius turned back to look at the fishing boat, and with a squint of his eyes, he could see that the sailor was right. What he had initially taken as a greeting appeared to be a request for help. It was not uncommon for mariners to aid each other in times of need, and the bearded Scalvorian was happy to help.

Astra stood nearby, and when Darius nodded in her direction, the half-biqaj sent out the call.

"Get ready to gybe!" she yelled across the deck.

Sensing the urgency of a smaller ship in need of aid, the crew worked quickly to tighten the mainsail.

"Gybe ho!" Astra called out, and the Sunburst began to turn, bringing its stern through the wind until they were positioned they approached the fishing boat.

[Darius Baer]

Arc 722, 36th of Saun

"Nels?"

The man laughed at Darius' suggestion. It was a deep, throaty laugh; the kind you might expect from someone who felt so comfortable in their position that they could afford to laugh.

And it was true. Darius was at a disadvantage. He had a knife to his neck; his attacker had the luxury of laughter.

"If I wanted nels," the man growled, "do you think I'd go to this much trouble, when I could just kill some fat merchant outside the city walls?"

Darius felt the cold blade as it pressed against his skin, and the Scalvorian instinctively tried to contract his neck muscles to give him even the tiniest bit of space between metal and collar.

Astra remained in the room, her bow on the floor and out of her reach.

Darius didn't ask the obvious question that arose from the man's words, choosing to remain quiet instead, for he was sure his attacker would volunteer that information soon enough. He thought that doing so would help the man to remain calm.

He was wrong.

"Move above deck," the man snarled.

Darius cautiously stepped over the dead bodies. He didn't want to trip over the arrows that was sticking out of their motionless forms and slit his own neck in the process. Astra retreated before them, leaving her bow behind as she began to climb the stairs.

"I want what's mine," the assailant continued, his voice getting louder with anger.

Darius could feel the man's breath on the back of his neck as each word was spat out.

"I want this ship! I want the Dread Otter!"

One Bit Earlier...

The small fishing boat was gently nudged by the Sunburst as the sloop drew close. Ropes were thrown over the side of the larger ship and the fishermen - six in all - lashed the two vessels together so that the fishing vessel could be dragged off the shoal it had found itself on.

The half dozen men took up much of the deck. There was little room for anything else, including many fish, if they were to catch any.

"Not many bites?" Astra called from the taller ship.

The fishermen all looked up at her, and a bearded man spoke. His voice was deep and gravelly, as though he was hoarse from many trials breathing in the salty ocean air.

"Nothing yet," the fisherman replied. "We've been out here a few breaks, until we ran aground."

His words were friendly enough, but there was a hardness to the man's tone.

"Thank you for helping us," the fisherman added, before grabbing hold of one of the ropes. "Can we climb aboard?"

"Of course!" came the reply.

The situation they were in was not unusual. The fishing boat was stuck on the sandbar, and by letting the six crew climb aboard the Sunburst, they could shift around half a tonne of weight. It would make the task of refloating the stuck vessel significantly easier.

The fishermen made their way up, and nothing seemed amiss at first. But as soon as the boots of the last man hit the deck, the bearded man suddenly brandished a dagger. The other 'fishermen' quickly drew their own weapons, before the bearded man snarled.

"Where's that knave, Darius Baer?"

That's when the fight broke out.

[Darius Baer]

Arc 722, 36th of Saun

Darius' head was spinning. Everything had happened so quickly that he was still trying piece together what had happened.

He had been below deck when the Sunburst had reached the fishing boat. The first he was aware of anything untoward was when he heard yelling and the clash of steel above.

He had barely left his seat before three unfamiliar men armed with blades stormed into the room. Unable to retrieve his longsword before they closed the gap, Darius was forced to evade them as best he could, and punch and kick at them in the rare moments when their weapons were out of position. The scuffle that ensued had led to the captain's chair getting knocked over and several papers scattering onto the floor.

It was Astra who had ultimately saved Darius' life. The half-biqaj had followed the trio and, with bow in hand, she quickly killed two of the men. Their bodies now lay on the floor, arrows . But as the second man had fallen, the third assailant had finally bested Darius, and it was his blade around the Scalvorian's throat that forced Astra to drop her weapon.

And now the bearded man was saying the ship they were on was his.

"You're Demba," Darius suddenly realised as he reached the first step and began to follow Astra up towards the deck. "I've heard of you. They told me you died."

Demba had been the captain of the Sunburst when it had been called the Dread Otter. It had been his crew that had attacked the Faldrass coastline near Hopetoun.

"Don't believe every rumour you hear," the man snarled. "I was wounded when they threw me overboard, but I survived. I've heard of you, too: masquerading as some sort of fire wizard. But I can't see any marks, so I know that can't be true."

Darius didn't reply to that. He was FireForged, but Demba thought otherwise, and that was to his advantage. He would not use his abilities in such an enclosed space, where flames could damage his own quarters. But outside presented an entirely different opportunity.

Darius soon realised - as they climbed the stairs and the breeze of the Hollow Sea met his face - that the entire situation had turned in his favour. The fighting above had stopped, and the two men Demba had brought into Darius' quarters lay prone, each with an arrow sticking out of their lifeless forms. Demba might have had a blade to Darius' neck, but the interloper was outnumbered.

Arriving on deck, Darius could see the aftermath of the fight. A few people lay wounded, but none of the attackers were in any state to continue fighting. Members of the Sunburst sailors watched on, weary and cautious. By making Darius his hostage, Demba had gained control of the ship, but he needed a crew to sail it. Darius had no intention of giving him one.

"Some rumours should be believed," the bearded mariner said.

Now away from the confined space of his own quarters, he had no qualms with allowing a fireball[URL=viewtopic.php?p=177464#p177464]FireForged Fireball ability. to form in his hand, which was quickly shoved into Demba's gut.

For a trill, nothing happened. It was as if the world had slowed in time. And then it happened. The smell of fabric burning reached Darius' nostrils.

"U'frek's piss!" yelled a panicked Demba, and the dagger tumbled out of his grasp as he stepped back and tried to slap away the flames from his torso.

Darius kicked the blade away, then turned around, an angry expression across his face. This was the man who had tried to attack Hopetoun. People had died because of him. It would have been tempting to let him burn. But that was not who Darius was. It took less than a trill to know that Demba was no longer a threat.

A squawk could be heard from above, and Katara appeared. The diri flew to Demba and the flames on the man's clothing were immediately drawn towards her. She opened her mouth, and the fire was absorbed into the diri's form, as though she were drinking the fire. Within moments, the flames were gone, leaving only a terrified Demba with a large, burnt hole in his tunic and a singed beard. Remarkably, he was mostly unharmed - the flames had licked his skin, but the pain would not last forever - but his will to fight had clearly vanished.

"We'll take him to Almund," he announced to the crew with a wry grin. "Perhaps he'll escape punishment if he can convince a judge that the rumour about him being dead was true all along!"

[Pig Boy]

RPG Rewards:

Darius Baer

• Renown: 10
• XP: 10
• Knowledges:
  • Discipline: Remaining calm in the face of death.
  • Socialization: Negotiating with a hostage taker.
  • Caregiving: Answering a call for help.
  • Socialization: Don't provoke a dangerous individual.
  • Investigation: It can be valuable to find out what someone doesn't know.
  • Tactics: Using someone else's lack of knowledge against them.

Link to Review Request on the Forum: viewtopic.php?p=195603#p195603

Skill Review: All Skills used appropriately to PC's level. I would have included deception as one of the skills used, as Darius lured Demba into a trap sorta, but his tactics it can be argued would carry him in that instance. Otherwise, watch how clever Darius is able to be through deception, or perhaps think of building that skill if you intend to perform more gambits along these lines.

Notes: Hey Darius, when using a NPC it's good practice to link to them in the request notes. If it's just a flavor npc, please do say so. As it stands, I doubt a basic flavor npc would be capable of overpowering Darius in any way. Maybe they swarmed the boat really fast, with overwhelming rush of bodies. That I can concede would cause some confusion. And you are of course allowed to underplay your character's skills as you wish. I just found it odd that a trash mob managed to get the better of Darius, holding him at sword point. He could've killed him! Good thing Demba has a penchant for monologuing.

Anyway, this was a good story structure. I had no trouble following the way it flowed, back to the present and flashing back to moments that led up to it. I thought the effect was very cinematic and interesting. For being an experiment it worked out well.

Thanks for the read.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this review, feel free to PM. Enjoy your rewards!