The Blood that Binds (storyline)/A Task for Arcimedes (vignette)
The Blood that Binds, Chapter 2 Vignette: A Task for Arcimedes
Addey crept through the shadows, carefully avoiding anyone’s attention that may be passing by on the Liabo Esplanade. It was a busy area, even at night – people loved to worship their respective Arkati, no matter the time of day it seemed. She enjoyed people watching and so she amused herself doing just that while she waited for people to exit the festival grounds of the Art Walk and Bake Sale when it closed in a few minutes. A few couples passed, doing their normal smooching, and laughing stuff, which she mimicked silently by making silly faces and parroting the kissy faces she saw. Finally, people began to filter out of the banner-strung arch of the festival grounds, and she hunkered down quietly near the linden tree to watch for one particular person. As Jaired arrived, she spoke up from her hiding spot and to her surprise he didn’t appear to be shocked at all. 'Meet me at the docks', she whispered and then proceeded to follow him closely just to see if he was really that good.
As they reached Charl’s Quay, she moved into his view and once again, he did not seem surprised. She grumbled inwardly but vowed to try and figure out how he knew. Jaired didn’t come across to Addey as one that should have been terribly adept at seeing her when she didn’t want to be, but apparently there was more to him than she originally thought. She’d have to investigate at some point. Curiously, he offered her a job and though that silly cat of his stated that Addey was too young, she was tempted. Being on a ship sounded fun and the only time she really got to be on one now was if she stowed away for a few hours on a fishing boat.
As it turned out, Jaired wanted from her what most folks wanted – information. Before she provided much, she demanded payment in the way of delicious pancakes that he somehow had access to in moments. She told him that Ladicius feared growing old and sought out magic of some kind to stop it for both he and his sister Thanela. Jovalynn had been the recipient of that bit of information, and she’d be sure to bring her friend some of the pancakes in exchange – it was only fair, after all. Before they could begin true negotiations around divulging additional details, the captain showed up and seemed to know Jaired. This fella was beginning to be very interesting to Addey – if he knew the captain, then he may be just the kind of fella that would take in a street kid on a ship. Given the interruption, her discussion with Jaired was done at that point and Addey skedaddled along into the night, headed back to her cot at the church. It was getting a bit late anyhow and she was growing sleepy with a full belly of pancakes. She was careful as she navigated her way home – there was not a single bit of her that wanted to run into Cully on the way.
Arcimedes was not surprised to find Addey out and about but did find it interesting that she was in the company of Jaired Delone and his Cat. Arcimedes was no slouch when it came to magical artifacts and unusual items, but that Cat gave him an uneasy feeling. Addey seemed to be completely comfortable with the being, however, and he found that interesting indeed. He silently mused about how that connection came to be but tucked it away for later after his business was done. He found himself fortunate to have run into a Delone. Arcimedes had a task, and there really was no better person for it than Delone – he would never admit that out loud, however. The Delones were very capable and often brought along several crew to help – as long as you paid for their services, you could get most any job done. And so, when he came upon Jaired Delone this night, he began his own negotiations.
Arcimedes asked Jaired to gather a crew and find a wandering caravan who were supposed to be in the Kraken’s Fall area in a month’s time. One of these wanderers held the receipt for a particular spell of transportation that Arcimedes needed. He hoped it also included the ingredients of such a conjuration. In exchange, Arcimedes offered tokens for services to be used by the Delones and their crew. After listening to Jaired’s tale of his own current task, Arcimedes sweetened the pot by advising that he may be able to find a particular seer among the wandering caravan that could assist with the Saxe issue. Though, if truth were told, Arcimedes could not understand why the Delones were always so interested in everyone else’s problems. If there were some type of artifact or object of value involved, perhaps, but normally it was just them being nosy. If it didn’t benefit Arcimedes in some way, he didn’t get involved. As luck would have it for the Delones, this time it would benefit Arcimedes to help them be nosy. Jaired agreed to the task and off the captain went, fully intending to get with Addey later with a bag of coins and ask about how she knew that Cat.
OOC: Chapter 2 of the Blood that Binds storyline began with the Art Walk and Bake Sale event. The first major event will be in late January with the wandering caravan in Kraken’s Fall but be on the lookout for new NPCs and some random RP happening over the course of this month and next as we tell more of the story of the Saxe family and the missing Lady Thanela!