[Faldrass] Serenity Island...... Creede style!

[Vega]

20th Cylus, 721
The war is over, it's time for peace......

"Knickers," Vega said.

Standing on the deck of the Wanderlust, she glanced at Arlo and sighed. "It's been a nightmare time, Vega," she grinned at him. "An' I know that you're more tired than you've ever been. So, lets go somewhere we both know," she was echoing his sentiment, if not his exact words. It was close enough. "We'll go to Faldrass, Vega, an' we'll go to that nice resort, an' you'll get pampered an' all sorts." She dug an elbow into his ribs. "I told you there'd been an eruption." In fairness, Vega thought, she hadn't entirely researched just what had happened, or how bad it was, because she just wanted to get away.

She wasn't admitting that though.

Leaning her head against his shoulder, Vega looked at the island ahead of them. She didn't say anything, though, because she knew that there was, for them both, a bottom line. They needed to get away, away from Rharne, from the war and everything that had happened. Snuffle, Vega's diri, was flittering around and whoop-whoop-whooping, delighted to be around so much water - and rather excited at making her way to Faldrass, too, it seemed. In truth, Vega thought, the place looked like it needed strong arms and people willing to work. "I'm lookin' forward to settin' up camp with you," she said, and she meant it. It had been far too long since the two of them had lived outdoors together.

She'd taken a leave of absence from the Lightning Knights. Truthfully, she wasn't entirely sure whether she'd ever go back. Vivian knew that, Vega thought, even without her saying it aloud. The siege of Storm's Edge had been physically exhausting, but the emotional and psychological trauma far, far outweighed that. Vega was a touch and stubborn woman, there was no doubting it, but everyone had their limits and she had more than reached hers. There was no doubt that she'd made a difference there, she knew that - but it came at a cost, and despite all appearances to the contrary, she knew that cost - and what she needed now, too.

"It'll be good," she said, "to jus' do stuff what's normal, an' without any pumpernickels or pimpernickels or the pimpernickel's apprentice, the veiled blunder. I mean, what is wrong with people, Arlo?" He'd heard it before, she knew, and so instead of the rant he was used to, she grinned and shook her head. "Lets dock the Wanderlust, go ashore an' set up camp. Then, you can cook an' I can whittle wood an' play music. What do you say?" Another elbow, deep into his ribs, but this one followed by a swift kiss. "Shall we rough it together a while, Creede?" And then, most solemnly, Vega lifted her hand and put her brightly-striped wool hat on to her head, then tied it under her chin, securing the ear-flaps in place. Then, she grinned at him. "I'm fully prepared."

[Arlo Creede]

The nightmare for Arlo, at least that related to Rharne and the events that had gone on there for the past several seasons, hadn't arisen from having experienced it himself. For most of that time, effectively all of it, he'd been otherwise occupied and inadvertently detained elsewhere. Thanks to his mortal father who'd developed a real knack for making and finding trouble.

The real problem was in having returned and discovered just how badly she'd had it. What she'd gone through, what she'd been put through, and the knowledge that even if she had been able to remove herself from it, her very nature wouldn't have allowed her to. And no matter that he'd had little choice in the matter, Arlo hadn't been there.

Still, all that considered, he'd believed, and still did, that the best cure for what ailed her was to set sail from Rharne and find a nice, quiet little out of the way place to relax, and otherwise do as they pleased. An island, any island was an ideal choice in his mind. They were both happy and comfortable on the seas, particularly on the boat that they owned, and was their home during the short voyages, and the long ones. And what better place than a quaint little island to get a little rest and relaxation in?

Faldrass had a very nice resort after all, where Vega could be pampered to her heart's content. Of course, she'd mentioned the eruption. But having not been privy to much news of the world while he'd been extracting his father from a maze that just wouldn't let go, he'd thought, well how bad could it be? It had certainly seemed to Arlo as if Vega had as good as mentioned it only in passing.

"So, the place is a little knocked around and singed at the edges," he said dryly while they leaned against the rail, gazing out at the shoreline on their approach. "Makes it interesting. How bad could it be?" There'd been an answer to that, sooner or later and neither of them shied away from hard work. But for now, they were running out of the good stuff in their stores and he was having to get creative with what was left in order to feed them all.

Lyova was certainly happy for a change of scenery, and his own little diri was having a high old time chattering away and frolicking alongside Snuffle. "As long as there's no ernickles, that's good enough for me," he said, grinning as he gently bumped a shoulder against hers. "Just promise me this. Next time you see a curious, if somewhat ferocious little creature, don't go giving it a name, will you? I tend to think it only encouraged them to go forth, multiply, and become the scourge that they were."


As for what was wrong with people. In general, there wasn't the time in the trial or arc to satisfactorily answer that one. So he wouldn't bother to try. "We'll make us a fine camp, do a little hunting, find something fresh to cook instead of the halfway to rotten stuff we've been dining on for trials now," Arlo said. There was no one he'd rather rough it with than her. But as for the hat? Arlo grinned, even as he moved away to begin the process of putting ashore. "You'll dazzle 'em with that hat," Vega. "I give it two trials before the other women start following your lead. It'll be the next newest rage of fashion."

[Vega]

20th Cylus, 721
The war is over, it's time for peace......

He was worried about her, she knew. She also knew why. He didn't like that he hadn't been there, without a doubt. It didn't bother her, not in the slightest ~ although she had been absolutely delighted to see him when he turned up at the Ball ~ because she knew without a doubt that if he could have been there, he would have been. Hopefully, he knew that if the situations had been reversed, then she'd have done exactly what he had and, come to that, she would hope that he would do what she did. Glancing at him, she knew that his mind was ticking over, working on things, seeking to fix things for her. She didn't say anything, though, there wasn't a need. They both knew what they needed to know and the rest? It'd come out in the wash.

Motioning with her head to where her father Jo'qan and his step-father Jonas were, Vega lifted an eyebrow. "Reckon that pair will like the idea of settin' up camp, an' jus' diggin' in for a while." Her expression turned mischievous, though, as she gestured to their sister-ship, the Waking Dreamer where the cousins and their wives were. "Though, the useless twins won't be happy that they're not gonna get pampered at a luxury resort, bless their poor, dear hearts," lifting a hand dramatically to her brow, she let out an over-dramatised sigh.

His teasing about naming things was unnecessary and cruel and so she rose above it. Or, she would have if she hadn't snorted with laughter and thumped him, companionably, on the shoulder. "Shurrup, yer jus' jealous." Vega said, and defiantly pulled on her hat. He then went off to help get them closer, and Vega climbed agilely up to the Crows Nest in order to get a better look. There was a ladder, but she wondered why they had it, in fairness. No one ever used it and, as she clambered up the rigging Vega considered that it was easier to do this. It meant that she was moving with the ship, with the waves and she grinned as she reached high enough to see out and grabbed a rope, wrapping it around her wrist as her foot turned and did the same. It was an automatic thing to her, but she did that before she did anything else.

"Hey, look!" she called down to the three menfolk. "There's some kind of... a settlement or somethin'? They're livin' in tents, though. There! Ten degrees to port." Pointing towards it, she gave him the proper directions to, because her father liked that kind of thing. In fairness, Vega thought that "over there, look," was quite sufficient, but she wasn't bothered enough to make a deal out of it. The area in question was on the south west of the island. "What's that bloody big statue?" Of course, what Vega was pointing to was visible to all. "That's new, innit?"

Quickly shimmying down the rope, she jumped and landed on the deck and then joined Arlo and the parentals. "I reckon, we drop anchor out here an' row in to that settlement place?" Looking between them, she grinned and tugged her hat further down her head. "If they're friendly, we can set up camp an' maybe share resources, an' if they're irritatin', we can go further upshore, cos I'm all irritatin' dweebed out?" There was no doubting it, she was. So, calling across to the Waking Dreamer, Vega went about lowering the small row-boat for her and Arlo to make their way into the small cove which it seemed this settlement was next to. Once they were in the small boat, she looked at her husband as he rowed.

"I've been thinkin'," she said quietly. "Did you know, it's been over four arcs since we met?" There'd been a lot of adventures for them, since then. A lot of stories told. Her eyes were swirling colours, slowly moving and all positive, "an' there's not one bit of it I regret. There are things I wish hadn't happened, like your Mama passin' away, an' things like that. But right here an' right now?" Shrugging slightly, she grinned. "Well, it's the right place to be." Her brow furrowed as she tried to appear serious, but of course, the colours in her eyes betrayed her. "An' there's somethin' I'd like to ask, Arlo. I think it might be time to take the next step, you know?" Sighing, she paused dramatically (or so she believed, in truth she was an awful actress) before asking. "Do you think I should get a new hat?"

Then, with a grin, she waited to see what these new folks was all about and whether they were going to make new friends and new stories, or if they were going to have to start thumping. "It looks like they're buildin' stuff," she said. Arlo had his back to the shore, but she could see. "An' there's stuff goin' on, for sure. Wonder what this is all about then." She looked at the surrounding area too and nodded. "We'll get some good huntin' going on there, I reckon."

[Darius Baer]

Acrc 721, 20th of Cylus

Lars Kashir felt a sense of déjà vu.

Earlier that trial, in the pre-dawn breaks, the dark-haired man had set out from the fledgling settlement of Hopetoun on one of his regular exploratory walks. He often found trails and allowed his curiosity to guide him down them. In doing so, he had found important resources like the Faldrass potato and charwood - but this trial, his walk had revealed sails.

They bore a crest he recognised, though the ship that bore them was not known to him. Circular in appearance, and featuring the colours of the very elements of nature that a wilderness man such as himself felt attuned to, the image had a a triquetra interlaced with a circle in its centre. The sight had caused the man's usually furrowed brow to lift in surprise.

"Elements," he had spoken aloud in a grim tone. "Wonder what they want."

Lars had not asked any of the four troops to satisfy his curiosity when they had rowed ashore. Instead, he had walked down to meet them, and then, at their request, he had guided them to the collection of tents - and single building - that went by the name of Hopetoun.

So when, a few breaks later, he resumed his walk and discovered more sails on the horizon, the trail man realised the settlement was about to have more guests.

"Busy trial," he muttered to himself. "Must be some kind of party or something."

Ships were difficult to conceal, and there were now four such vessels anchored off the coast. The largest was Darius' brig, the Libertalia. The other three were schooners: the one that had brought the Elements; and two new arrivals, neither of which bore the emblem of the Scalvoris military. Those bore plain sails, and one of them was lowering a rowboat, and so for the second time that morning, Lars made his way down to the shoreline and waited.

"Welcome to Hopetoun!" the bearded man called out to the pair in the small boat, raising a hand in greeting, even from afar. "Here to see the baron, I take it?"

[Arlo Creede]

If Vega didn't blame him for not having been in Rharne where his presence might have been more useful than chasing after his father in an Immortal's forsaken, maddening maze for nearly an full arc with no apparent way out, Arlo wasn't quite as forgiving of himself. Undoubtedly his father had needed rescuing. But still, he should have been there. The only thing he could do in the aftermath was urge her to pull out of it all, to find a peaceful place of refuge from it all.

From the looks of things however, viewed from the deck of the ship as they drew nearer the shoreline and dropped anchor, rest and relaxation didn't seem the best terms to describe what they might be engaging in here. But no matter. It wasn't warfare, Arlo hoped, and that in itself was an improvement. As for his father and hers? Arlo grinned a little and shook his head. "Hopefully Jonas hasn't filled your father's head with grand stories of big adventures and crates full of treasure, while failing to mention the many things there around every corner, ready to end us both." In the meantime, he'd be keeping a close eye on his father.

"Are you saying that even my Immortal father would be envious of that hat?" he said, teasing her when she said he was only jealous. Knowing Cassion, well, one never knew after all. He was the Immortal of Adventure, after all. Nonetheless, while working to lower the rowboat while Vega had shimmied up the mast, Arlo straightened and looked towards shore again when Vega called out. A settlement? "It's new, and is I guess, if you can call it that." A tent city was more like it, he thought. Though he was rightly impressed by the statue.

Either way, it wouldn't hurt to set up camp near to others. Safety in numbers, so long as they were the agreeable sort. And if they were, like Vega said, they could pick up and move again. Still, grinning again as he helped Vega over the rail and into the boat, he teased her, "You sure it's only been four arcs? Immortals," he added, shaking his head. "Feels much longer than that, doesn't it?" And then he distanced himself just enough to stop her jabbing an elbow into his ribs.

As for her flair for drama, Vega's particular style anyway, it was one of the things he loved about her, among many others. "I don't know. I think that hat suits you just fine. Like I said, it'll be all the rage." All other talk aside, however, it appeared that their approach had attracted some notice. Not surprising, really, their boats weren't small ones. In either case, without knowing whether or not the natives would be friendly, or whether they'd be genuinely welcomed or not, Arlo opted to go with the most desirable possibility first.

Raising his hand briefly from the work of rowing them ashore, he waved back to the bearded man on the shore and shouted out, "Greetings! Nice little settlement you've got there! We hadn't thought of it yet to be honest." And then glancing at Vega, he told her, "I've met the Baron once before. Strange one, but nice enough. Think we should or have a reason to?"

[Vega]

20th Cylus, 721
The war is over, it's time for peace......

When Arlo expressed his hope that Mr Creede hadn't filled her father's head with nonsense, Vega chuckled. "You've met Papa, righ'?" There was no doubting it in Vega's mind. "For every story Mr Creede has, my Papa has a dozen more. An' he's been to each place, an' seen each thing." Nestling her head against his shoulder, she spent a moment just kissing his jaw with a wicked twinkle in her eye. "I know," she whispered - like he'd said something to her. "I know." After she repeated it, she put her nose to his. "Remember when I ran away up a mountain?" Her eyes regarded him. "You found me. You saved me, an' you stood with me, against Wilma the Wonder Weed, remember?" Lifting her hand, she showed him the bracelet he'd made for her, all those arcs ago, and which bore the marks of the fire on the Scalvoris docks. "An' when I were broken and in a collapsin' buildin', you came an' you saved me."

A swift kiss on his lips and Vega spoke again. "Every time I have been lost, Arlo, you have come an' you have found me an' saved me." She smiled slightly. "Since the trial you told me that you need to have the righ' kind of head for a hat." Gently, she thumped him. "So, stop bein' such a dweeb. Or don't. I love you either way, an' you'll work it out in your own time, an' that's fine, innit?" Her hand slipped into his and she rubbed her nose against his. "I'll be here, an' so will you."

As for what his Immortal father would say? Vega just grinned and danced away, then clambered up the rigging. Faldrass had changed, as it transpired, but that was fine. She clambered down, they got into the boat and they talked. She spoke of how long it had been and he said it felt like it had been longer. Vega glared at him, her eyes narrowing although he knew her better than to think she was annoyed. "Yer a righ' brave soul, you are." With a grin, though, she spoke it as she saw it. "Sometimes, Arlo, it feels like my life started when I met you," she said. "Like I've known you all my life. Other times, it feels like I only jus' blinked an' there you were, swingin' yer legs an' bein' short." Shaking her head, she gestured to him. "You're rowin' wrong, you are. It needs to be more even, or somethin'," With a grin at him, she just let that one sit in the air.

They arrived, there were people there who waited for them. Vega was more than happy to step back and be quiet ~ albeit briefly ~ when the people who greeted them spoke to her and Arlo. Were they here to visit the "Baron?" Vega wondered. But then Arlo explained about the time he'd met the Baron and Vega glanced at him. "Is that the blokie...?" She rummaged around in the junk sale that was her memory, and finally hit upon a name. "Von Noodlefluff?" That was it, she was sure. "I thought he had a big house what had all sorts of rooms an' weird people an' a library an' stuff?" She looked around. "Did his house get knocked down in the eruption? We can help if he needs it. Strong arms, strong backs, happy to help out?" But the word Hopetoun wasn't von Noodlefluff. Weird.

Looking at the bloke who'd said hello, Vega spoke again. "I'm Vega. This is Arlo. Those boats are ours, an' we're comin' here because we know Scalvoris an' are knackered an' don't want to be at war any more. Do you have a name, or are you jus' the greetin' guy?" She grinned as she asked it and offered her hand as she gave her name.

[Darius Baer]

Lars was not a man who laughed easily, but Vega asking him if he had a name was enough to elicit a light chuckle from the wilderness man.

"Well met, Vega and Arlo," he responded, taking the redhead's offered hand and nodding in greeting towards her husband. "My name is Lars, and I have called Hopetoun my home since we established it..."

The bearded human paused, looking off into the distance as he counted under his breath.

"...sixteen trials ago."

There was an expression of pride that stretched across Arlo's face, though whether it was because he was pleased to be considered a Hopetounian, or because he could perform basic arithmetic, was not immediately clear.

His demeanour shifted slightly at Vega's mention of war.

"You've come from Rharne, I take it?" he asked in a sombre tone. "There's no war here, I can assure you. The wilderness can be harsh, and we know little of what creatures might lurk out here, but there are no enemy armies on the horizon."

The man offered a grim smile. He couldn't know what Arlo and Vega had experienced, and he hoped his lighthearted response wasn't seen as trivialising what they must have gone through.

"You're thinking of Baron Rodrigues von Smooglenuff," Lars gently corrected Vega in the same sombre tone as before. "Rest his soul, the man did not survive the eruption. There's a new baron now."

The baron had been but one of many. Lars was sure, though, that Vega and Arlo would be aware of that, so he didn't see a need to point it out.

"I can show you the way into Hopetoun, if you like?" he offered. "I'm sure the baron would appreciate any help you can provide."

Lars helped the pair pull the rowboat onto the beach above the tideline, and then led them along a trail that was only visible by the repeated trampling of flora by those who had walked it before. After a handful of bits, they rounded a corner and the path opened up into a clearing to reveal a handful of tents, and a solitary wooden structure that from the outside appeared to be a granary. Approximately two dozen people were visible, each tending to their own tasks about the settlement.

The visitors were guided to a tent that was slightly larger than the others. A pair of Elements were milling around outside, and they took cursory glances at the trio as they passed them by. At the entrance to the tent, Lars asked the couple to wait as he stepped inside. After half a bit, they could hear the footfalls of someone approaching from within the tent, but it was not Lars.

Stepping out into the cool Cylus air, his eyes squinting, despite the gloom, as they adjusted to the light, was Darius Baer.

"Vega!" he exclaimed when he saw the redhead.

He barely seemed to notice Arlo at first, and it became clear from his facial expression that he was trying to piece together the woman's presence.

"What are you doing here?"

[Vega]

20th Cylus, 721
The war is over, it's time for peace......

Sixteen trials ago?

"Well," Vega said with a slight raise of the eyebrow. "Sixteen trials?" At least they probably hadn't missed much, she figured. She nodded at Lars' question though. "Yeah. Rharne. I were at Storm's Edge for an arc, the whole thing. We've had quite a time, an' were lookin' for somewhere to rest up. " She held on to Arlo's hand and smiled at her husband. This might even be better, she surmised. Activity was the best form of rest, as far as Vega Creede was concerned. Looking around it had all the signs that it was a group of people doing their best, but Vega had to admit that it didn't look like the camp of a group of folks who were hardy campers, used to living outdoors. Still, there were a good number of folks and they looked like they were working hard. That was all that anyone could ask and maybe she and Arlo could help.

That there was a new Baron now was something Vega acknowledged, but she looked at Lars with an expression of sympathy when he said that Von Smooglenuff had died. "I never met him, but Arlo did, didn't you?" She smiled at Lars, but there was no mirth or humour - just a moment of sympathy. "I'm sorry for your losses. At least when we're fightin' a war, the enemy is able to be fought. When it's the mountain itself?" She shook her head. Those ships which were lost to storms at sea were the ones which simply couldn't be helped. Nature demanded a toll, and sometimes that toll was a high one.

"Please, that'd be great." Vega said. She didn't wonder what she was supposed to call the new Baron or if they should bow or curtsy or any such. It simply wasn't her way to do so, to think about such things. There were tents, no roads, Elements, and a tent which was slightly larger. Lars went into that one, and Vega looked at Arlo and raised an eyebrow. She didn't speak to him - she didn't need to - but she signed her question. Did they offer to help? He answered, as she knew he would, and she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, briefly.

And then, of all people, Darius came out of the tent. Vega did a double take at the sight of the blond man and she grinned. "Darius? Are you havin' a giraffe?" She was pleased to see him, but she was surprised to see him, too. "Arlo, this is Darius. He came to Rharne, he brought supplies to us. Even in the middle of his own stuff goin' on here he heard an' he had to help. I tried to teach him some sword stuff, but I think I just taught him that gingers are bad teachers," she said. Then, she added, in case it needed saying. "He's good people." Then, to Darius, she introduced her husband. "This is Arlo. My husband. We've come from Rharne. We were goin' to try an' get some rest."

Looking around, though, she grinned at Darius. "Are you the baron? Really? Well, shiver my timbers an' climb the mast, I didn't expect that." She looked around. "But you know, we're goin' to be makin' camp. We could do that here, an' would be willin' to work alongside while we're here. We've got decent wilderness skills, an' can help with stuff like huntin' an' cookin' an' things?" Shrugging slightly she glanced at her husband. She knew that this wasn't what he had planned, but equally?

"It'll be good to do some honest work," she said. "An' we've got strong backs an' arms." She grinned. "For however long we stay, if you'd like?" That way, it was up to them how long they stayed, but they helped out while they did. That worked, she thought.

[Arlo Creede]

Since Hopetoun had been established, Lars said of how long he'd resided there. Even before he clarified, whether he could have heard him or not, judging from what he'd seen so far...which wasn't much since they'd only just arrived, Arlo figured it couldn't have been long.

But everything had to start somewhere. When Vega mentioned warfare, and the man's outward demeanor, Arlo could relate, but probably for different reasons. "Yes, we're arriving from Rharne," he confirmed. "Unfortunately, while Vega had found herself in the thick of it, I was absent for most of the excitement. I'd been prevented for a time from returning home, after I'd gone to extract my father from a bit more excitement than he could handle on his own." A predicament Jonas Creede would never have found himself in, if he hadn't gotten it into his head that he could indeed adventure similar to the likes of Cassion himself.

When he had returned, however, he'd wanted nothing more than to remove Vega and the rest of their family, and head off for more peaceful surroundings. He grinned a little then and shrugged. "Wilderness and untamed beasts we can handle," he said. In fact he looked forward to it. As for the Baron and which one they spoke of, it was a tragedy indeed that the man he'd met once before had been lost. But it made sense of course that if he'd had younger relations, there'd be a new Baron to step into his place.

Vega asked about that meeting, and Arlo nodded. "The former Baron, it seems. I can't begin to claim to know him well, but he seemed as engaging as he was mysterious." Turning to Lars, he added, "When we were sailing in, the changes to the landscape caused by the eruption were striking. A tragedy that so many were lost, and not just here," he considered. At any rate it appeared they were to meet the new Baron after all, and so he followed wherever they were led.

Apparently, though she didn't seem to have known it before, she knew this current baron. Or at least at first blush, he seemed to know her.. But it quickly became apparent that Vega did know him, and knew him quite well. Arlo smiled curiously but at first stood back in order for the two to catch up, and for Vega to explain. "If Vega says you're good people, then you're good people," he finally said, stepping forward to extend his hand. "Arlo Creede. A pleasure to meet you."

It was curious though to discover that Darius was likely the new Baron. Perhaps the title had not passed through a bloodline. Or, for all Arlo knew, maybe it did. Either way, based on Arlo's previous experiences with the man, Darius had some rather eccentric and colorful shoes to fill. As for staying as long as those here would have them, Arlo was certainly game. "We're more than prepared to do our share. I'm a decent cook. We can hunt, physical labor, whatever is needed to help keep the place moving along."

[Darius Baer]

It would have taken a hard sell to convince Arlo and Vega that Lars was going to win an award for Best Conversationalist at any point in his life, but the wilderness man did engage with them as best he he could.

On the way from boat to baron, he responded to most of what was said. He expressed sympathy for what the pair must have experienced at Storm's Edge; he thanked Vega for her condolences for those he had lost, though he didn't offer up any details; and he stated rather simply to Arlo that he had never met the previous baron and so he wasn't in a good position to compare the current one to his predecessor.

But by the time he had spoken to the baron, he was clearly happy to take his leave and be somewhere - anywhere - with fewer people.

Darius, meanwhile, was oblivious to Lars' discomfort. He was still trying to piece together quite what Vega was doing on Faldrass, when the last place he had seen her took required more than three dozen trials of travel to get to.

But he was soon distracted from his confusion by the redhead's introduction of her husband, and her recollection of her teaching skills.

"Well met, Arlo," Darius nodded, taking the man's offered hand. "Your wife is very skilled with a blade in hand, though I'm sure you must know that. Teaching might not be her greatest strength, though!"

The criticism was meant in jest, and he grinned as he said it, offering Vega a friendly look at the same time.

Darius willed his cheeks to bury the blush that lingered from his new arrival's introduction of him. While it was true that he had travelled to Storm's Edge with supplies, he was sure that he had only enabled those who were besieged to hold on just a little longer so that they could win the battle on their own merits. He hadn't taken part in any of the fighting himself, and so he didn't feel that he deserved such flattering praise.

His blush did not go away, however, as Vega asked him about being the baron. He furrowed his brow and his features strained slightly as he contemplated how best to explain what had happened.

"Baron Rodrigues von Smooglenuff did not survive the eruption, sadly," he offered with a grim expression.

He kept his voice low - not because he thought it was a secret, for it most certainly was not - but because it was recent. Most of the settlers who were within earshot had lost family members of close friends. Darius decided that it paid to be sensitive to such things.

"There are actually three barons, now," he acknowledged. "There was a ceremony during the Cylus Dusk Festival. It's early trials, though. We're still finding our feet, to be honest."

Darius felt no need to make mention of Saoire's involvement in appointing him to his new position - even though that was no secret, either - nor that it was she and Faldrass who had asked him to establish Hopetoun in the first place.

"As you can see," Darius perked up, extending an arm towards the settlement around them, "there is much to be done. We do not discriminate here. If you are willing to work hard, you are more than welcome to join us."

The bearded blond managed a gentle smile, then, grateful for the offer of additional help.

"Do you need any help with getting yourselves settled?" he ask. "Lars mentioned a ship - I assume you have supplies that you need to bring ashore?"