Shanara Bay…
Walking in, he heard the sound of music. It was a romantic, jazzy tune played at a fast pace. The music wasn't overpowering, but it still got the blood pumping.
He couldn't help but move in sync with the bebop. As complicated as it was, the music still had layers to the chaos, guiding his body. His feet tapped to the beat of the drums. Steps fell to the trombone's rhythm. Head bopped to the syncopating piano chords.
He was instantly engulfed before he had even walked through the maple doors.
He was greeted by the scent of lavender and olives. The sight was equally as beautiful and full of life.
The crepuscular lighting revealed a lively scene. A stampede danced on the slabbed stone floors. The barkeep's counter was set up at the back. His broad back turned as he prepared drinks for restless patrons. His hands moved with flair and precision. Cocktails and ingredients never seemed to sit still. Flying in the air and spinning on the tabletop, what felt like a dozen moving parts intricately came together to form a myriad of colourful drinks.
D's gang started groaning as he started to describe the intricacies of the room. The delicate masonry of the stone floors, gilded wood pillars and the wavy wood grains on the wall.
This was a bad habit of his. Whenever he visited some place for the first time, he'd act like a newborn baby. Every little detail was just so cool to him, he just had to obsess over the minutest of details, and it made him a damn boring storyteller.
They frankly weren't interested in hearing about how the bartender did his work or what the tavern looked like. They just wanted to get to the juicy part. What's this tavern got to do with Almaz Corp?
And crepuscular? What does that even mean? A group of street rats like them certainly wouldn't know.
A server eyed him from across the room, past the crowd. He scrambled to serve his current customers and then wormed his way through the crowd in desperation. By the time he reached D he was panting with his hands on his knees.
Sweat poured from his flushed face as he lambasted him. A kid like him shouldn't be in here.
As D prepared to work his tongue-twisting magic to try and convince the server that he was in fact an adult, he heard a hearty chortle.
A middle-aged man emerged. He had an aquiline nose, black wavy hair, sharp sage coloured eyes, and a slender frame covered in layers of decoration. His coat was a deep brown and reached down to his knees, a mantle of fur lay on his shoulders like flower petals. A black leather tunic hugged his body as it was tightly stitched by white string, like riggings on a ship.
Off-white linen peeked through at the sleeves, under the leather, and at the collar.. His legs were covered by a blood red cloth that baggily wrapped around, leading down to two brown leather boots. One boot was thick and utilitarian, the other bound in wrapped cloth even though his legs were both fully functional, a purely aesthetic choice.
Ornaments also hung at random places, on his boots, off his waist, and around his belt, gold and silver chains were wrapped around. He also had similarly coloured rings on his fingers and ears.
The only giveaways to his age were the subtle lines on his otherwise exquisite face and the aura of experience that was exuded with every action.
He put a shoulder on the server and laughed, telling him that there was no need to worry. He dismissed the server, telling him that D was something like an old friend.
D raised an eyebrow at that statement.
When the server awkwardly scuttled away, the man headed back towards the stairs, beckoning for D to follow.
He stood still for a second, deliberating on whether or not he should follow this strange guy, but didn't see any reason to refuse, he glanced back at the door and sighed before following.
They climbed the stairs. Servers greeted the man with respectful gestures. Patrons nodded in recognition. D followed, doing his best to stay invisible. They settled in a private booth on the third floor
The first thing D asked about was his comment just now. They weren't friends, so what did the man want with him?
His ears were once again met with that chortle, this time much more bellowing.
"Hahaha, ah, I guess we haven't met before. But I'm sure we're friends in some way! Say, you're from Tyre aren't you? Interesting, most people are clamouring to go from here to there, holding on for dear life once they do. Not often do you see people go the other way. How interesting."
D shifted uncomfortably at the question. "It's not that rare, circumstances happen, alright? It's not a big deal."
But his defensiveness just piqued the man's interest even more.
The man leaned forward on the table, chin resting on his left palm. He deliberated a little while, shook his head and then reached his arm out.
"Well, whatever. I'm sure we'll get to know each other over time. I'm Rafael Garepo by the way. Owner of this fine establishment," he grinned as he gloated.
D didn't return the gesture immediately. He glanced down and back up, sizing the man up. His face slightly winced. "I see, Rafael. It's… nice to meet you, I guess. You're Interesting. Yeah, interesting, I guess. That's probably the nicest way to put it."
Rafael's face froze in astonishment. The boy seemed like a cautious kid but it seems like he couldn't help but be snide at times.
D finally clasped his hand and returned the handshake. "I'm Demetri."
Gasps rang across the room, breaking Demetri's reminiscent look as he was retelling the story. He annoyedly asked. "What the fuck is the problem now?"
Broccoli was the one who spoke up. "D, you told him your real name? You just met the guy! You never do that."
Demetri rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I don't know man, I just got a weird feeling about the guy. Anyways, stop fucking interrupting me."
"Then get to the fucking point man." fox eyes said.
"Yeah, how long is it gonna take?" the plump friend asked.
Demetri gave a contemplative look and said, "To get a good idea, let's say… A couple hours?"
"Fuck off!"
Demetri giggled manically as torrents of insults rained down at him.
"Who the fuck has time for that, D?"
"What do you take us for, D?"
What's your problem, D?"
Each insult would just make him laugh even louder.
"You guys are the ones that wanted to know, not my fault you guys've got the attention spans of goldfish."
This just pissed them off more as the downpour of insults strengthened. All of them ending with "D"
Their shouting blurred into each other, one voice overlapping the next, a flurry of "D"s slapping against his ears like cold sea spray.
He briefly thought about continuing on with his story. But an image flashed in his mind. Rafael. The tavern. And even earlier memories — mother… father.
He clutched his head and continued laughing.
He suddenly felt pressure in his ears and lightness in his body. The pressure made him feel slightly disoriented, but his laughter just kept getting louder. He saw the scene spinning around, his pain in his head was more and more and control over his body was reduced.
But it was like he'd forgotten how to do anything else but laugh as the words kept spiralling around his head.
"D"
"D"
"D"
…
"Demetri, what the fuck is so funny?!" Kael's voice strictly reprimanded him.
He jerked up and nearly lost balance, but a hand grabbed him.
His groggy eyes slowly opened as he remembered where he was. He fell asleep on the mast while on the lookout, now he was standing there with Captain Abigail holding onto his hand, staring at him strangely.
She smiled, "What were ya laffin about?" she said in her hilariously bad pirate accent.
It took Demetri a second to process the question, standing in silence as the calming waves slowly washed away the pain in his head. It'd been a while since he thought about his boys — and Rafael too. He clenched his fist.
"Oh, it was nothing. Just… just some dreams of home."
Tsk.
Surprisingly, Abigail was annoyed by that. "Home, huh? Grr, what's so good about that place? Hmph."
What a strange reaction from you, Captain. Demetri's eyes narrowed as he observed her strange animosity at the mention of home. Does she not have a good relationship with… them?
"Ahh, whatever, whatever. Forget about all that. You're finally done with your nap. Kael told me you stayed up all night, huh? That tentacle really got to ya, huh? Hehehe, don't worry, don't worry. You're finally up, now come join the party!"
Without waiting for a response, Abigail grabbed onto Demetri and jumped off the mast.
"Wait, Captain?! What the f-"
Demetri was once again at his captain's mercy, who grabbed onto a rope and dragged him along with her as she descended to the deck.
They landed with a thud onto a lively deck.
The first thing Demetri did was go up to Kael and ask whether or not this was appropriate.
Of course, a party wasn't appropriate for their situation. That would be ridiculous.
Abigail overheard his concerns and reassured him with a laugh.
"Ah, silly scout. This is the Queen's Resurgence!" She stood at the fore of the ship and spread her arms out wide, as if trying to scoop up the entire ship.
Behind her was the pathetic sight of the ship, roughly patched up by the crew under the direction of Kael.
Even with the work done, they were still a useless piece of drifting wood in the jaws of the endless ocean.
But despite this, the crew was for a second day in a row preparing a party. This one bigger than before.
This was the Queen's Resurgance, the ship of Abigail Almaz, and whatever she says, goes…