Veins to the Heart

[TheShammySocialist]

The sun shown brightly as Rhaemon Rhys'gar dug his toes into the sand at Copacabana Beach, the Stormlander bringing his hand to his face as he surveyed the shimmering Atlantic Ocean in front of him. This was the first place he wanted to go after landing in Rio, he had heard much about Copacabana, and Rio in general. He had never had the chance to venture here before, and now he had been sent here by the High Council on business, well, not business in the strict sense of the word. The word 'search' came to mind, in all honesty, and here he was in Rio, on a quest he had been put on by the Lord Protector himself.

 

The search for the sacred Heart of Dahromo had begun, and the High Council had it on good authority that one of the pieces of the puzzle was here in Rio, and to set themselves to the task, Rhaemon had been sent. Before the night fell, and the search began, he had resolved himself to visit the beach and see the ocean at Copacabana first, to revel in what everyone thought was paradise. It was certainly alluring, as were many of the beachgoers that the Shield of Stormsend would gawk at momentarily, before turning back to the city of Rio, and looking up at the hills ringing it. In those hills, he knew that a clue was hidden, where he could find a structure built by the Guardians of the Heart, overgrown by time, forgotten by most.

 

He popped a piece of gum into his mouth, chewing it noisily, as he put his sunglasses back on, and hefted his sturdy pack back onto his back. He had to find a place to rest his head before the hunt began, the flight in had left him tired, and he had resolved himself to be rested and ready.

[Sarah Tintagyl]

Rhaemon cut a distinctive figure on the beach. Among the bikini-laden women and long haired wanna-be futbol players, he seemed out of place. Ines Varejao stood along the boardwalk watching him. She blended in, her brown hair matching with her tan skin, while she wore a white shirt and khaki pants. Seemingly harmless, she watched the beach from the boardwalk every day for suspicious figures, as a hired hand for the Gama family, she reported any strange occurrences that might threaten the peace and serenity of the city. Most days, Ines never filled in her reports and found her task boring. But the sunglasses clad man who looked out of place, peaked her interest. Needing excitement, Ines followed him off the boardwalk toward the resorts.

 

She thought that even if he didn't present a threat, he was attractive and might make for good conversation. When the time was right, she'd approach him.

 

Until then, Ines followed in the distance, her own sunglasses resting on the bridge of her nose.

[TheShammySocialist]

For Ines, Rhaemon was probably one of the least hardest men to follow, even at a distance, while he certainly wasn't the tallest man around, he was a lofty, well-built enough figure that he wielded the right of way in the busy sections of perhaps' Rio's most famous and well known sections. His green pack slung over one shoulder was slightly worn and sported a few sets of beaded artwork hanging from it that danced and swung around jovially as the confident man strolled along, his eyes scanning the crowd around him in a relaxed way as he ambled along. Opting to stay away from the larger resorts within Rio, he had selected a pub and inn a few blocks from Copacabana beach for his "basecamp" as he called it, and that was where his travels would take him that late afternoon. Having already checked in before his jaunt over to the waterfront, he slipped through the open entrance to the inn and sidled up the bar, his stomach growling a bit as he slung his bag off his shoulder and sat it down next to himself.

 

"You were not very long at the waterfront, [I]Senor[/I], didn't see anything you like, eh?" asked the man tending to the bar, with a hearty laugh, giving the traveler a dose of witticism. Being around four in the afternoon, the bar was fairly quiet, and only a few locals seemed to be lurking in a shadowy booth in the corner.

 

Rhaemon gave a slight chuckle, "I saw plenty that I liked, my friend, couldn't make up my mind on which one, maybe a little tequila will help me make up my mind when I go back out."

 

The bartender let out a good roar of a laugh, that seemed much too loud for his rather diminutive size, "That's what they all say. But how can one complain, especially if you're giving me money for a little bit of courage, aye?"

 

Rhaemon just smiled, and sat back in the high chair, "Just give me some of your good stuff, my friend. The better the tequila, the better it helps with my decisions."