Okay, Searinox and I worked out how our characters know one another:
They met in market square six years ago, as an argument about the authenticity of "dwarven" forged wears was disputed. When the argument turned violent, Darian jumped in and helped Searinox defend himself. Afterward probably over drinks, Searinox mentioned something about wanting to become more skilled with rapiers and they decided to spar a bit. Since then, every few months when Searinox was in town, they would spar and Darian would attempt to supplement Searinox' training with the rapier. A similar attempt to teach Darian magic met with utter failure and they don't discuss what happened then. A few months ago, Darian commissioned a pair of rapiers from Searinox. Yesterday, Searinox arrived in town and stopped by the Harte mansion. Darian was pleased with the rapiers and while they were catching up on what each other had been up to since their last get together, Darian mentioned a card game tonight with the infamous Veradda. Searinox expressed some interest and Darian invited him to come along.