Looking for Trouble

[Kysis]

It was late, probably much later than most decent folk were out.  That was not the issue.  Rico wanted to be out when the bad things came out, see a bit of the wickedness hidden behind Oberon’s shiny perfect façade.  Why he wanted to see this was his own business, but he was out searching and not about to go home.  There were supposed to be thieves in Oberon, assassins.  Rico had seen one of the latter (and survived, surprisingly).  That was not enough though.  He wanted to dig up the dirt on Oberon, and settle a few personal matters once and for all.

What he did to get there was his own business.

Rico had left the tavern a few hours ago.  His olive hued tunic had not stuck out, nor had his soft boots and comfortable boots.  He was trying to blend in, the feat much easier than it was for Kysis (the hair was a dead giveaway).  There were a lot of drunks, and a few women more than willing to peddle their bodies, but every settlement with more than two people had those.  No, Rico wanted more, and was braving the dark alleyways without any visible weapons, in the wee hours of the night.

Perhaps it was a death wish.  Perhaps.  But it was the only way Rico could see, so dig dig he would.  There were some places rumored to be seedier than others, Rico staying away from the district of the nobles.  The houses were rickety in comparison here, none of the finery Rico was used to at the manor.  There were homeless, just one or two Rico had managed to spot.  They seemed to hide themselves well.  There had to be better than that, though, Rico scouting through the darkness with narrowed eyes, trying to see everything the shadows held.  Without a lamp or light, that was a feat as well.

It was cold too, not helping the search any.  Rico pulled his cloak closer around his form, shivering lightly.  He kept a loose enough grip to defend himself if the need arose, but for now he would look vulnerable, invite trouble.  Hopefully it was someone of the rumored underworld that approached, not a guard.  A guard would ruin everything.  Rico hated them, all of them, and was half tempted to do something regrettable if one came upon him…. But such thoughts were quickly cast aside.

Mission.  He had to keep a firm grip on his mission.  Rico started walking again, down another winding alley, lonely and dangerous.  Rico hoped this would be the one.

[w0rmy]

Dubhdara Pencawr the Fifth or as many called him, \'Dee\' had just finished meeting with his father. It did not go successfully nor did it end horribly. In fact, Dee had expected at least a bit of welcome but no. There was nothing of the sort. They talked briefly. They talked about Dee\'s knighthood. They talked about  money. The way they talked, one would think they were business men.

What a way to spend time away from the usual duties. Dee had requested to visit his father because it had been five years since the two had last met. He knew that the elder was cruel but to this extent? It just didn\'t seem to fit. It made the youth feel completely disgusted. Disgusted he shared blood with such a horrible man.

Now...

What would be a good way to drown his sorrows? Mead of course. Mead. It was going to be a present, in fact, it was offered. Dubhdara declined straight away, proclaiming that mead was vile. The boy wondered why the other found it so vile but did not ask. Anyway, Dee took a long swig, the golden liquid slithered down his throat and into the belly. It felt like fire and caused a coughing fit. After recovering, there was another swig... then another.

"Whoops!"
Dee nearly slipped over but recovered. He was drunk. No longer did negative thoughts fly around and around his head. He felt happy... but it was a stupid happy. It was not something to be proud of. The youth began to sing in Gaelige, it was loud, juvenile and obnoxious.

There was someone ahead or at least the boy thought so. The stranger appeared to be cloaked. Dee wondered why there was someone walking here. Why now? Don\'t people usually sleep when sober? Anyway, it was none of Dee\'s business.

[Kysis]

That language.... The moment Rico heard that singing there was a tick at the back of his mind, prodding for awareness.  He had heard that language before, as foreign as it sounded.  He had heard it, and the sounds had negative connotations in his mind.  It made him stop walking, shoulders tense.  Narrowing blue eyes he strained to see, flicking his gaze about for where it came.

The singing sounded slurred in a way, like alcohol was having its effects.  Rico relaxed a little.  Perhaps this man, on a dark and hidden alleyway, might have a loose tongue as well.  Perhaps he would know of the danger Rico sought, of the darkness he wanted to find out about.

There was always a chance that this was just some random drunkard, but Rico was an optimistic man, looking on the bright side (if there even was one) of this situation.  Pushing back his hood, revealing light brown waves and olive skin, Rico put on his entertainer\'s smile, that smile that disarmed people and made them trust.  He had perfected that smile over the years, even if it was not originally intended for this purpose.

"Yassou file mou.  Greetings.  Come here often?" Rico wanted to kick himself in the head, first for starting in Greek, last for ending with one of the stupidest questions one could ever ask.  Was it even relevant?  Either way, that was what came out, so Rico had to stick with it.

[w0rmy]

The boy, Dee ran fingers through the strawberry locks and eyed the other before him. Even with being somewhat drunk, those odd eyes were not faded or misty but quite clear with curiosity. If this one wasn’t appealing to the eyes, he would continue walking and ignore any words that were spoken aloud. Upon closer inspection, Dee saw that the stranger wasn’t that bad but not good either… but that smile. It made up for any faults and so Dee was intrigued.

“Sorry?” The youth asked, accent thick with that of an Irish. What did this man say earlier? It was a language obviously but Dee failed to recognise it and anyway, it didn’t sound rude. “Salutations.” Flicking a few strands of hair away, “Do I come here often…?” The youth chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully, “No. No, I don’t believe so… anyway. I’m Dubhdara Pencawr the Fifth.”
Dee held out his hand, “However, I only use that in formal company. Most people call me ‘Dee’. What about yourself? What is your name?”
 It was necessary to state ‘the Fifth’ or otherwise, this one could assume that Dee was his father. After all, it was not hard to do. They did look a lot like one another aside from the hair and eyes.

[Kysis]

The language, Rico knew what it was instantly now that he had the name and could see the young man more clearly.  That red hair... the fifth?  This could turn out to be very interesting, and he might be able to find out if Mahb was safe after all.  Yes, that sounded like a great plan, Rico already plotting out how he might extract such information.  Of course, the way he interrogated people was a lot different than Pencawr the Fourth, but it had worked up until now.

He would just have to try again.

"Rico Licosa." He offered a hand to shake, as he had seen many people in Oberon do in salutation.  Of course, that move was still awkward to Rico, his fighting off the urge to bow.  If the son was anything like the father, he might ignore him entirely if given the detail of Rico being a servant, even if the job hardly felt like it (or paid like it either.  Rico had a healthy salary).  He would have to keep this as anonymous as possible, for safety sake until he knew how close the son was to the father. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Dee."

[w0rmy]

Rico Licosa?

The name sounded foreign and Dee couldn\'t quite place the origin. And this one,   Rico, had an accent also but once again, he failed to recognise it.
"Rico Licosa? Great to meet you."
Perhaps this one would be a good distraction. A distraction from what? Any who, Dee cracked a smile which was followed be a swig of mead.
"So, Rico. What is a good sir like yourself doing out here? There are people who... don\'t take kindly to your folk."
The youth kicked a pebble, that boyish smile still on his lips.
"Though, I can\'t really talk. Just look at myself! Wondering around like an begger... God, I bet my father would just love to see that. Heh."

He did not mean to bring his father into the conversation and he wished he never did. It just made the negativity crawl right back and soon it would infest everything that was deemed good. Those strange eyes contorted slightly but instead of feeling upset, Dee sparked conversation once more,
"Don\'t mind me asking but I haven\'t met a person with such a last name. Where do you hail, friend?"

[Kysis]

Ah-ha, so he had been correct.  With that admission, Rico\'s smile was a little less forced, his glad that he had been on the prowl.  Perfect.... of course, Rico would answer the coming questions truthfully, as long as he didn\'t have to bring up his job.  Yes, that sounded like a great plan.  Now he only had to make it interesting.

"It\'s a Roman name, but I hail from Greece."

That was something a lot of people missed.  Rico was a name from both, but Licosa was definitely Roman, as was Liari.  Kreos had been a Roman outpost before the native Greeks took it over.  There were a lot of rumors about where the Liari family came from, because of their coloring, but Rico knew well where his own family came from: Rome.  That was a while back, but still.  He was very proud of his heritage, as well as his family\'s role in Kreos.

"I have not been here all that long.  Sadly, I wouldn\'t know where is dangerous yet..."

And with that came the subtle hint you should help me out here and tell me, Rico hoping that was gotten over what fog might exist from the drink, which Rico could now smell.  Mead.  That was something he had encountered at home, knew well how fast it could hit a person.  Rico knew there would be at least some friendliness shown by Dee, if not a loose tongue.

[w0rmy]

"Greece? You must miss it. I miss Ireland but..." He sighed heavily, "but I think I\'ll be here for a long time. I still got a few years of knighthood ahead of me."
Another sigh was followed. Ireland, how he missed it. Oberon was fair and all but it was a poor substitute never the less but it felt like being a prison. There were days when Dee didn\'t want to be the knight and the desire to ran away was great but of course, he could not give into such a thing.

The last remark made a smooth eyebrow raise, it could of disappeared behind the locks of hair!
"So you are telling me... you think a dark street like this could not be dangerous?"
The youth stepped closer but not in threatening way, Dee was just the kind of person that went straight to business.
"Did you not have dark pathways like this in Greece?"
Asking with a mischievous smile, eyes bright with excitement and curiosity.

[Kysis]

The moment Dee said knighthood, Rico\'s heart sunk a little.  He didn\'t let it show, though, refusing defeat so early.  Ahhh, not completely into the knighthood yet, Rico discerned from the other statements.  Yes, it seemed like this fellow wasn\'t completely into the theories and ideals, or at least did not totally practice them.  That was a good thing.  Rico had been afraid this would take as much work as Kysis had (which Rico was never planning on putting that much effort into anything again; he didn\'t have years just to waste away).

Rico closely watched how Dee came forward, reading the stance, the state muscles were in by movement.  It was not a threat, relaxed even.  Rico did not tense at all, though his mind did stray to his dagger.  One threatening move and.... this was not the father, Rico cooling down those thoughts.  The father was a vile man, but this was the son.  He had to be dealt with far differently.  Far, far differently.

"Well, in Greece my name was all the protection I needed."

That wasn\'t quite true.  If he was out and about Kreos, he always had a sword on him, which spoke for itself.  Oberon was supposedly safer than Kreos, and Rico had yet to acquire a weapon\'s permit to carry his sword.  So, he would just keep that concealed dagger with him at all times, knowing just how fast he could drop and draw it.  Pretty fast.

"And I\'ve heard so much about how safe Oberon is.  The Guards really pride themselves on it."

[w0rmy]

In such a dark place, it was impossible to see the other\'s features fully. There was the basic outline and colour but in such a light, or perhaps in this case, lack of light... and Dee wanted to see what this one would look like in better light. Perhaps the two should travel to a tavern and talk some more, after all, it wasn\'t such a wise idea to make conversation in such a place.

A hand rose but it was to thread through those strawberry-blonde locks. The youth was quite vain and did not like to look messy though to have such an opinion was trivial.
"Your name protects you? Haha! That\'s funny. So, what are you? What is so \'great\' about your name that is stops people from attacking you?"
A childish but skeptical laughter was soon followed however it was only brief.
"The guards? All they do is strut around and boast about their... ah, great deeds! They are nothing but dirt, friend. Don\'t listen to what people say to you."

Dee bit his bottom lip thoughtfully once more than asked,
"Would you like to go to a tavern? I cannot say this is a most pleasant place to have a conversation... and plus the risk of our throats being cut is less if we go."
While he waited for answer, the youth stretched. It was quite obvious that he did not seem to care if such a character came along or perhaps it was the mead talking. Yes, that seemed to be most logical or otherwise Dee wouldn\'t be caught dead in such a place. Once the stretching was finished, he cracked his knuckles though he shouldn\'t. Maybe one day, he\'ll get over the habit but in the meantime...

[Kysis]

There was that damn question, Rico mulling over it only a few seconds before he finally came up with it.  If Kysis ever heard this, he would never forgive him but... well, what Kysis did not know did not hurt him, right?  That in mind, Rico went with the lie his mind already concocted.

"I\'m the son of a weapon\'s merchant.  We make the very best.  The business has just reached Oberon, so our reputation is not as full here."

Rico gave a little shrug, as if it did not mean all that much to him.  Of course, he was also thinking about the tavern idea, and trying to pick out mentally which tavern had been best.  When he first came to Oberon, he had gone to a tavern, and been robbed by a pretty lass that had tricked him quite cruelly.  So, Rico kept a close mental guard about this.  Not getting tricked into that one again, though he doubted Dee would rob him.

"Which tavern might you suggest?  It sounds like a great idea."

((go ahead and start a new thread in a tavern if you wish, to speed getting there up))

[w0rmy]

( continued here)