Ask An Unexpected Journey

[Nash]

Jagomir was a planet Nash hadn’t even heard of before, but here she was. It was strategically close to other Sith worlds and reportedly had no native sentients, which made it an excellent location to set up a discreet base. Evidently the acosquad’s adventures in multiple situations brought them back together under a Sith Champion for a field trip into Jagomir.

There were reports of some Dark Side activity that suggested a nexus at work. Having that in combination with how isolated the planet was made this a lottery win for the Sith. The Sith Champion spearheading the mission was a grumpy human male that was clearly in no mood to deal with acolytes.

Their ship landed in the middle of a swamp and they all stepped off the ramp. Nash started doing her usual rapping about the environment and this pissed the Champion off. He was in the middle of eating some jerky and bit off more than he could chew. Her rapping made him so mad that he started to yell at her, but the jerky got lodged in his throat. A lot of panic and chaos later, the dude was now lying face down in the middle of the swamp.

All four acolytes were standing around him.

“Is he….dead?” Nash finally blurted out, breaking the silence. She nervously prodded him with a foot. They couldn’t have had a worse start to a mission on a dangerous planet with no sentients than to have their Champion keel over courtesy of some jerky.

"Are you sure you were doing the heimlich?" Nash asked Xo (@Rom ) quizzically.

@Apollyon @Javier esschoolbus @Logan (for DM)

 

[Connor Vance]

”Shit…” Connor muttered as he stared at the body floating in the swamp. He wasn’t really sure what had happened. There was a lot of screaming and yelling and apparently choking. But now their Champion was dead.

“…Are we fucked?” Connor asked as he glanced to the other members of his Acosquad.

They now on a world that was entirely made of a swamp. Connor knew he had no survival skills. He figured Arak didn’t. He knew Xo didn’t. Maybe Nash? She was from Hutta after all. Then the realization hit him, they could have to rely on Nash to survive. He liked her, he was into her, hell he was probably in love with her. But if they had to rely on her to survive? They were probably all going to die.

“Soooo Thumps…swamps are all the same right?” He asked cautiously.

@Sreeya @Javier esschoolbus @Rom

 

[Xohhar K'liir]

Xohhar was looking down at the sleek and shiny metal of his new prosthetic arm while the others gathered around the body, silently resolving not to mention to the others that he was fairly sure he'd squeezed too hard and driven the human's ribs up into his lungs. The Falleen Acolyte glanced at Nash (@Sreeya) and lifted one of his eyebrow ridges, face betraying none of his thoughts about the accidental manslaughter as he quipped, "That sounds suspiciously like the one that made him choke in the first place trying to duck her portion of the blame." The corner of his mouth twitched upward slightly as he knelt on a relatively dry patch and reached out with the Force to pull the floating body onto mostly solid ground. "I mean, if nothing else, - assuming we don't die out here - you can put on your Switter bio that your bars have literally killed a man."

"Ah, Connor mate, I wouldn't say we're completely fucked," he said with the overwhelmingly positive air of a man who didn't believe a damned thing he was saying. Xohhar knew that they were, once again, more than likely fucked; Nash had come up from the industrialized swamps of Nal Hutta, Arak was a literal Prince from a desert world, and the only jungle he and Connor knew how to navigate was made of duracrete and transparisteel. Still, to cope with that dawning reality, he did what he always did as he began searching the body of their Champion chaperone; buried it under an unhealthy amount of gallows humor and tried to come up with a plan. "Look on the bright side, at least there isn't a swamp monster waiting to eat us on this mis-" a guttural animal call in the distance cut off the Falleen acolyte's words, the sound echoing over the still waters and through the mists.

"Yup, we're fucked."

@Sreeya @Javier esschoolbus @Apollyon

 

[Arak Ragnos]

Arak was crouched next to the body as it floated. He looked over to Xo as he began to play the blame game with Nash, “If you didn’t keep his face submerged while trying to save him I think we’d be in a different situation.” He bluntly stated rubbing his nose. Remembering that half the time Xo was ‘saving’ him he was drowning the man. He rolled his eyes as they began talking about being fucked.

He had to keep picking up his feet as he slowly sunk in the mucky ground. “I’d say we’re not quite fucked. We’re just screwed.” He confidently stated before cursing in Ur-kittat as he started sinking again. “Let’s find some dry land before we do anything else.” He said once again sinking after moving to a new spot. He started mumbling in Ur-Kittat under his breath cursing this planet and the genius who ordered this mission.

@Sreeya @Apollyon @Rom @Logan

 

[Nash]

Nash quirked a brow at Xo, “Yo I just asked if you were doing the heimlich, you’re the one out here talking about blame,” She crossed her arms over her chest, “Got something to get off your chest, bruh?” She tilted her head. Arak pointed out that Xo was holding the Champion down underwater which also got a few looks of suspicion. Never mind that no one actually pointed out that fact during.

Xo started to casually rummage through the Champion’s things. He would find a very helpful map and some information about the planet and the location marked for the base. This exercise was supposed to be part finding a suitable location and part survival to ensure Sith were well equipped to spend extended stays here. Nash gave Arak the side eye when he helpfully pointed out they were fucked and not screwed.

“Ooookay…” Nash trailed off, “Aight, yo, I was born in a swamp planet, I fucking got this. Sit tight and let me be your Nashigator as we cruise through these swamps for an easy ride to our new home, y’all,” She pointedly ignored the unnatural cry of whatever hellish creature that was from afar. Nash started walking down what looked like a trail, drawing out the machete she carried for these adventures. If there was one positive to constantly getting detention missions, it was that she at least picked up some basics.

All four had been outfitted with big rucksacks, tents and bedrolls, along with water bladders, “First things first, don’t drink the water without boiling first. Shit’s got worms and other gnarly things,” Nash explained as she hacked past some branches to clear a path, “If you see berries if they ain’t blue, black, or purple it’s 50/50 on whether they kill ya.”

Nash paused and glanced over her shoulder, “Now does anyone know how to pitch a tent?”

She sure as fuck didn’t.

@Javier esschoolbus @Rom @Apollyon

 

[Connor Vance]

Connor continued to stare wide eyed at the body of the Champion as it slowly sank into the swamp. Well that was until Xo lifted it into the shore and started looting it. Connor’s ears were dipped as he blinked several times. Coming back to his senses he heard Arak’s insightful statement. We’re not quite fucked, just screwed.

“Dude what the fu-“ Connor began before Nash started on her speech and taking control of the situation.

For a brief moment a wave of relief washed over Connor. Maybe he was right, all swamps were the same. They’d get through this and everything would be alright. Then he remembered a vital detail right as she asked if any of them knew how to pitch a tent. This was Nash, she sounded confident ab- Did she just say Nashigator?

“We only need to worry if she starts panic rapping.” Connor whispered to Arak as he started sloshing through the water.

“Nope. Skipped that class.” Connor replied to Nash. In reality, he had been there but had fallen asleep after step two or three. He knew no one would question him skipping a class that he didn’t care for though.

Everyone’s packs were oversized and almost looked comical. When Nash pulled out her machete, Connor became acutely aware of the fact he didn’t have many reloads for his carbine or blaster pistol. Which meant if shit really hit the fan, he’d be relying on his knowledge of the Force and his wit. He’d wished he packed more energy cells.

But the now dead Champion had made him leave them on the ship. They had him, they wouldn’t need guns. Well that was a lie.

Connor whistled over to Xo to get his attention and nodded towards Nash. It looked like they were following her into whatever horrors laid ahead, as per usual. Which probably included whatever monster had screeched earlier.

“I should have just fucking skipped…” He whispered beneath his breath as he continued onto the trail behind Nash.

@Logan @Sreeya @Rom @Javier esschoolbus

 

[Xohhar K'liir]

Xohhar looked at Nash with the most guileless, neutral expression he could muster - though she might be able to see the corner of his lips twitching upward into a barely-there smirk. "Me, with a guilty conscience? Hardly. Besides, legally speaking, I can't be held accountable if attempting life-saving measures fail or results in the woundeds' ribs snapping like katkits." After a moment of rifling through the Champion's pockets and belt he found a datapad loaded with helpful information about their mission to establish a Sith base on the swamp world as well as the man's locked phone. Tossing the phone to Connor (@Apollyon) the Falleen made a wiggling motion with his fingers as if casting a spell and said, "I was told to leave Oracle and my port scanner back at the Academy so cracking that's on you. Maybe it can connect to a comm buoy and get us a ride out of here?"

Xoh looked at Arak and his powers of pedantry as he sunk into the mud and shook his head with a sigh, moving to follow after his fellow cyborg and the Twi'lek, handing her the map with a flourish. "Well, if you're going to be our Nashigator then you should probably have the map." Pulling the rucksack higher up onto his shoulders he gave the brown, dirty water on either side of them a distasteful look at the thought of actually drinking it before looking up as Nash asked about camping experience. "I read a book about it once? I'm sure it can't be that difficult."

@Javier esschoolbus @Sreeya @Apollyon

 

[Arak Ragnos]

Arak blankly stared as Nash gave her speech. When Nash described herself as the Nashigator he had to work hard not to have a facial expression to it. He was slowly turning to the belief that they were in fact fucked. Arak was sloshing through the water next to Connor when he whispered about Nash’s rapping, “I like her panic rapping.” He stated casually as he continued making his way through it.

When she asked if anyone knew how to pitch a tent Arak stupidly stared for a second. He was trying to remember what a tent was and kept drawing a blank. “A tent?” He questioned aloud not meaning to. He coughed to try and cover up his stupid question. Though a small part of him hoped someone explained because he had forgotten about this so called tent thing.

He followed Nash through the thicket as she cut through the branches. He was actually slightly relieved when he saw she had it. That meant she had a weapon and could defend herself better. He heard the call of the beast earlier and decided to use an ancient wisdom. Since it was out of sight he could keep it out of his mind. He followed behind Nash his hand gripping his lightsaber as he felt slightly more uneasy by the call than he wanted to admit.

@Sreeya @Apollyon @Rom

 

[The Storyteller]

Somewhere far away from the four hoodlums trudging through the swamp old and gnarled fingers twisted around the top of a wooden walking cane. Even in comparison to the hand that clutched it, the wood of the cane was ancient; knotted and weather beaten, yet still not dried out - likely due to the overabundance of humidity that plagued Jagomir.

A sickly green orb sat perched on a pedestal. Wisps of dark smoke swirled in its center, caressing and retreating as they roiled endlessly beneath the perfectly unmarred surface. A short whispered muttering of long forgotten words pierced the smoke and provided clarity - an image of the four in the swamp.

A grimace flittered across cracked and broken lips, revealing dirty black teeth as a low growl of annoyance rumbled from below. The acolytes would hear this rumble in a different way, not from a voice but as thunder rolled across the sky as the clouds darkened, a cold mist of rain beginning to fall on the unsuspecting adventurers.

For the time being, that would be all they would feel of the crack-lipped one's influence. In due time there would be more, assuredly, but for now it was simply time to ponder the orb.

--

Nash's machete would make quick work of the branches and brambles of the swamp, carving through them like a lightsaber through padawans. The trail they walked was winding and narrow but after awhile would begin to open up, changing from sticky-thick muck into something a little drier, at least until the rain started.

It was cold rain, the kind that seemed to hit your skin and sink straight into your bones. It came down in a mist, casting a haze before them that made seeing exactly where they were going even more difficult than it was before. Should they keep pressing onward, they would hear something strange over the pissing rain - a man singing, and rather jovially at that considering the surroundings.

"Cause tonight for the first time, just about half-past ten!" Said the voice, evident by its increasing volume that it was coming closer. "For the first time in history, it's gonna start raining men~"

The path the acolytes had been following now opened up entirely, bringing them into what some might even consider a make-shift road despite it still being made of dirt. Down the path to the right and around a bend, a man would come into view that looked rather out of place compared to what you would expect to find in the middle of the swamp.

A short, squat looking fellow with an umbrella in his right hand came hop-skipping towards them, his attention on everything except the group that had suddenly appeared before him. His face was covered with a thick auburn beard, a dull gold septum piercing hanging out of his nose. Squeaky rain boots adorned his feet - bright yellow - his ensemble brought together by a dark leather trench coat that hung just barely above the mud.

Hallelujah! It's raining m--" The main suddenly cut off his singing, finally noticing there were others on the road with him. A buck toothed smile split his lips as he waved at the group, his eyes squinting into a friendly smile as he bowed toward them.

Greetings, strangers! He said, approaching them without any trepidation despite the machete held in Nash's hand. I beg thee a question - do you have any idea where we are?

The smile was still on his face, though there was something hidden behind his eyes. It would be up to the adventurers to figure out just what that might be.

Nearby, a pitch black raven landed on a low branch of a tree, squawking loudly as it watched them; its four beady little eyes the color of faded emeralds blinking slowly, one after the other.

@Sreeya @Apollyon @Rom @Javier esschoolbus

 

[Nash]

Nash blinked a few times as Xo casually talked about cracking ribs, “Damn I think I’d rather die than live through your 'life saving practices,” She mumbled.

Okay, so no one knew how to pitch a tent. When Arak asked what a tent was followed by a series of coughs, Nash only smirked, “It’s rolled up in your rucksack, dude, the green thing,” She pointed to the oversized bag Arak carried that was almost bigger than he was. She actually explained it instead of making a sarcastic jab as was her usual go to.

“Not to worry,” She said to the group cheerfully, “We got brains and brawn, we’ll figure out how to conquer tents together!” Nash called out confidently.

Moments later thunder roiled above and a cold rain started out of nowhere. Nash grumbled to herself, but rain was common in swamps. Nal Hutta went months with nonstop rain. Nash briefly took off her rucksack and dug around in it to pull out a poncho and tossed it over her outfit, hoping to demonstrate so the others knew what to do.

As they kept walking, Nash thought she heard singing. She ignored it at first but her eye narrowed, “Aight which one of you fuckers is playin’?” She snapped, looking over her shoulder, “This ain’t fun-” And then she heard it again while all three boys stared at her dumbly, “Aight.. So that’s fucking whack,” Nash declared.

However, when in doubt, singing was always the solution. Nash cleared her throat and started singing back.

“ACCORDING TO ALL SOURCES, THE SWAMP’S THE PLACE TO GO-” It couldn’t be a Nash duet if she wasn’t switching up the lyrics to adapt to current situations, “CAUSE TONIGHT FOR THE FIRST TIME-” And she let the guy sing the chorus. Nash switched off singing the lyrics with the singing guy like a game of Marco Polo as they drew closer, her offkey voice carrying over the sounds of the rain. She figured anyone that sang during a crisis was solid in her book.

Nash spotted the guy before long, taking in sight of him, “What we think of Swamp Santa?” She whispered to the group, taking a moment to study him while he ignored them at first. When he finally addressed them, Nash blinked a few times.

“Uncle, you’re in the swamps of Jagomir,” She said to him. She almost jumped when the raven squawked loudly, accidentally stepping on Xo’s foot in surprise.

“What’re you doin’ out here?” Nash asked Swamp Santa, “Are you about to give us a quest?” She blurted out before she could stop herself, having played entirely too many video games. Nash purposely avoided looking at any of the dudes - she wasn’t going to let their judgy faces rain on her parade more than the mist already was.

@Rom @Javier esschoolbus @Apollyon @Logan

 

[Connor Vance]

Connor’s ears grew pink at Arak’s reply. “I mean, yeah so do I!” He replied a little too loudly. “But when she doe-“ His was cut off when Xo tossed him a phone and the rain started pouring down.

Come on!

Connor quickly dug through his pack until he found his poncho and slipped into it. He opened the EZPhone screen and found that it was locked. He sighed before looking to his friends. He’d have to hop into the phone for just a second to see what it had. So he took a few seconds to do that.

As his consciousness melted into the phone, Connor immediately got to work. His mind scoured through the phone, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake through its onboard memory. There were so many dick pics! Gods why?

But Connor cleared out the majority of the information from the phone. He was in a hurry so he knew that he probably missed some scraps of intel. It was whatever though, he’d work through what he got once his mind was back in his body. Which happened right then.

Once he was back to himself, Connor would take the useless brick that was a phone and yeet that bitch into the swamp. He’d seen enough cocks for one day. Connor would be silently going through the information he got from the phone as Nash sang her game of Marco Polo with the swamp singer.

There was something about translating the runes. An ancient language. Fuck it up = dead. And USE THE ACOLYTES AS TEST DUMMIES! He felt way less bad about the dead Champion now.

“When we have a chance guys, we need to talk. There’s something else going on here.” He said as Nash sang the song of the swamp people.

Connor would only be drawn from his thoughts when the newcomer came into view. A sentient face in this place? Yeah, he could accept that. Nothing weird about it at all! Connor listened to Nash’s greeting and exchange. He stared dumbly for a half a second before speaking up.

“Where’d you come from dude?” He asked glancing over to Nash and the rest of his friends. “And, not saying you do, but if you have a quest, what’s the reward?” He asked. It only made logical sense, every quest had a reward

When the raven landed and startled Nash, Connor would yelp in surprise as well. He’d glance over at it and his eyes would widen. “Does that Raven have four eyes?” He asked nervously.

“Guys, I think this dude is a Warlock…” Connor muttered, referring to a TTRPG class that made pacts with eldritch creatures for power.

17/20 for what’s on the phone.
@Logan @Sreeya @Rom @Javier esschoolbus

 

[Xohhar K'liir]

Xohhar was humming to himself as they followed Nash carving her way through the vegetation until they found a rudimentary path, his poncho swishing around his legs with each step and catching on the wind to billow out behind him like a cloak as the storm rolled in. He tilted his head at Connor with a confused expression on his face, mouth open to ask why he just flung the phone off into the swamp when the sound of a merry song carried on the wind caught his attention, his eyes flicking back and forth trying to locate the singer.

Nearly jumping out of his skin when Nash raised her own voice in answer and ad-libbed a few changed lyrics before the man appeared around the bend. Leaning in closer to Nash as she whispered he replied in kind with a muttered, "A strange bearded man appearing out of the woods with a song? Either he's going to eat one of us or he is going to give us a-" he fell silent as the man spoke and Nash took the lead as the face of their party. The Falleen acolyte watched the man, carefully reaching out with the Force to see if he could feel anything coming off the Swamp Santa before letting out a grunt as Nash landed on his foot. Shaking his foot out, the Falleen leaned in as Nash asked the red-bearded man what he was doing and asked almost breathless with excitement, "Are you giving us a quest??" giving a startled look and then a wide, true grin at Nash (@Sreeya) as their voices layered in stereo on the last words; both clearly thinking of roleplaying games and a seemingly mysterious magical swamp man possibly offering them a task to start a grand adventure.

Looking over at the raven as Connor spoke about him being a Warlock, Xohhar quietly replied, "I dunno, I'm getting a charming wizard vibe from him," before reaching out with the Force and wrapped it around the creature, not squeezing but preventing it from taking off from it's perch. "Excuse me, Mr. Wizard sir, is this Raven your familiar?"

Spoiler: DM Review

1. Tried to cast Detect Good and Evil sense the intentions of Swamp Santa
2. Secured the Four-Eyed Raven from fleeing

@Javier esschoolbus @Apollyon @Logan

 

[Arak Ragnos]

Arak looked over to Connor as he blurted out how he liked Nash’s rapping too, “Doesn’t sound genuine when you say it as a defense to someone else’s comment.” He said shrugging as Xo threw him the phone. He made a mental note of what the ‘tent’ looked like when Nash explained it. He looked up at the sky as it started raining saying a curse in Ur-Kittat. When both Nash and Connor put on their ponchos he followed suit and found his. Unlike the others he didn’t bother properly putting it on so it just draped over his head.

Arak heard the odd singing and unclipped his saber as he could tell it wasn’t him or Connor. Xo was humming and Nash didn’t sound like a guy. So obviously it was someone else singing, then Nash begun singing back to the voice. Of course she did. “Something other than the swamp singing?” He asked looking to Connor as he mentioned needing to talk about something.

His eyes narrowed when he saw the man coming around the bend. When Nash asked about how everyone felt about swamp Santa he leaned towards her, “Should I kill him?” He whispered in her ear as she had designated herself leader. He stayed close but behind Nash for now not sensing any immediate danger. Though his hand tightly gripped the saber prepared to act if needed.

He listened as everyone else went on about quests and rewards. “I feel like I’m missing something here.” He stated confused, Arak hadn’t played games yet so he was out of this gaming loop.

His head snapped to the raven as it squawked sending a chill down his spine. He had no clue what Connor and Xo were going on about when it came to wizards or warlocks. “I’m going to need all of this explained after we get set up for camp cause I’m lost.” He mused aloud as he turned his gaze back to the singing swamp Santa.

@Sreeya @Apollyon @Rom @Logan

 

[The Storyteller]

The swamps of Jagomir, you say? The man asked, unable to hide his amusement at being called uncle. A fitting title, he thought. While that is good to know, it is a little disconcerting. That is most certainly not where I woke up this morning.

The next question posed was an interesting one. Reaching into the pocket of his oversized coat, Swamp Santa took out a long stemmed pipe and immediately began puffing on it, smoke billowing around his face before slipping into a thinking pose.

A quest hmm? Yes, I suppose I could. Before he said much more, Swamp Santa’s attention was immediately drawn to Xohhar, a twinkle setting in his eye noticeabe despite being obscured by the thickness of his eyebrows and the smoke.

In a flash that would pass in an instant for the others but feel like a lifetime for Xohhar, the Falleen would feel his reaching out to test the waters of Swamp Santa rebuffed and reciprocated, though to a much more.. Invasive degree.

Swamp Santa would touch Xohhar’s mind - not aggressively or with malice, but more of a gentle squeeze, like someone testing the firmness of possibly overripe fruit. As quickly as it came it would vanish, but Xohhar would be well aware of what had happened.

And that the force, along with something else, stirred more strongly in Swamp Santa than he had felt in any being he’d come across in his life.

I wouldn’t advise doing that to strangers you meet on this journey, young mister K’Liir. Many will not be so kind as to give you a simple handshake in return. Words only Xohhar would hear.

The raven does not belong to me, and its presence here does not bode well for any of us. I’ve seen them before. Ravens, wolves, squirrels, all manner of creature. The eyes of the Dark One see all, it would seem.

Walking over to the raven, Swamp Santa would grab it by the neck while Xohhar still held it with the force. Squeezing tightly, a small cracking sound would break the monotony of the rain, and he would simply toss the raven into the mud.

But! He said, his former joviality returning despite the bird murder that just transpired. You spoke of a quest. If the Dark One is here, then I most certainly can provide you with one. Wherever the beast arrives, the Hedge Witches are sure to follow. You need to find them.

More puffs on the pipe, the thinking face returning. But they will not be easy to find. Covens usually aren’t. Normally I’d tell you to find the closest swamp, but, it seems everything here is swamp.

He put his pipe back in his jacket, not even bothering to put out the cherry that still burned. Wait, did he even light it in the first place? Strange.

Seek a nearby village, I’m sure they will be able to help you. If you are successful, we will see eachother again soon, adventurers. And if not, well, I’ll mourn your passings.

With that, Swamp Santa would give the group a wink as he seemingly vanished before their very eyes, his form shifting and shimmering, becoming one with the rain as it continued to pour.

Left behind on the ground was his umbrella and a shiny silver compass who's needle pointed due west. Which, unsurprisingly, was the exact opposite direction Nash's map would have implied for them to go.

@Sreeya @Apollyon @Rom @Javier esschoolbus

 

[Nash]

“No don’t kill him!” Nash whispered back to Arak, “He might have presents,” She said with a sagely nod.

She gave Xo a jut of her chin and returned the grin when they both blurted about a quest. It turned out that Swamp Santa did, indeed, have quests for them. However, first things first, Nash saw him pull out a sick ass pipe and puff from it, “Yo, Santa- I mean, Sir, can I get a hit of that?” She blurted out. Whatever he was smoking smelled great and Nash wanted some of that. She took a hit and because for once Nash’s writer rolled decently, Nash didn’t keel over right there. Instead, she felt wonderful and felt a perfect high that would last for hours.

Thanks to her high, when Swamp Santa casually crunched the raven, she giggled, “Pop! Goes the raven!” She said in a sing-song voice. Nash cleared her throat to shut up when she remembered where she was, listening intently.

And poof, the dude was gone.

“So…that was just me trippin’ right?” Nash asked, looking around at the boys, “That didn’t happen right?” She asked again, actually a little concerned. She picked up the compass that pointed west.

“Pop quiz,” Nash asked, “What the fuck is a Hedge Witch?”

@Rom @Javier esschoolbus @Apollyon @Logan

 

[Connor Vance]

Connor listened intently to Swamp Santa. There was talk of “the Dark One” and the raven being its servant. Wasn’t this world supposed to be empty? Were they even on Jagomir anymore? Had they stepped through a portal and arrived in a mirror dimension? Did those even exist?

Connor was drawn out of his thoughts when Swamp Santa casually snapped the raven’s neck and yote that bitch into the swamp. Not a warlock then. Then Santa started talking about Hedge Witches and a village. Yep, mirror dimension. While Nash puffed on his pipe, Connor just stood there trying to figure all this shit out.

And then Santa just vanished, leaving behind a compass and his umbrella.

The compass left behind thankfully pointed in the opposite direction of the ancient cypher and murder runes they were gonna be chucked at. With this “settled” Connor would clear his throat.

“Nah, that definitely fucking happened.” He replied to Nash. “But we gotta talk about what was in Sir. Chokes-a-lot’s phone.” Connor stated. He’d then take the time to describe what he’d found (but didn’t mention the copious amount of dick pics) and how he felt not going in that direction was the best choice for now.

“…and that’s why we shouldn’t feel bad about how Xo murdered him in cold blood.” Connor stated in conclusion. “As for Hedge Witches, I have no fucking clue. Maybe they are like plant witches?” He questioned.

Yeah, that was definitely it.

“Let’s all walk and talk.” Connor stated before he turned and headed in the direction the compass was pointing. He wanted nothing to do with murder runes, not yet at least.

@Logan @Sreeya @Javier esschoolbus @Rom

 

[Xohhar K'liir]

Xohhar had found himself in the gaze of things infinitely more powerful than himself far more often than he'd like since joining the Sith; the Masters that stalked the halls of the Academy weighing the measure of possible Apprentices, the sickly creations of Darth Occidius on Utapau, the Leviathan on Glee Anselm - even fellow Acolytes like Arak, who used the Force as easily as drawing a breath, or Nash when she'd unleashed her rage and grief in a scream that had toppled an Ancient wielded more power than Xoh could hope to bring to bear.

Not a one of them held a candle to the font of power he found hidden behind the twinkling eyes of the mad old man skipping and singing through the swamps.

The Falleen Acolyte didn't even have time to acknowledge that his scan had been detected before his-it's attention crashed down on him like a landslide and held him cold and still as starlight. Overhead the Heavens seemed to wheel by; day and night, sun and moon and stars spinning in a kaleidoscope of light as the seasons turned and all the while Xoh stood as a helpless statue - an insect, trapped in the amber of a moment that stretched on for a lifetime.

And when the moment ended, Xoh found himself released with a friendly warning of caution and courtesies as the sound of flowing water and bugs and his companions speaking with their new acquaintance assaulted his senses. His flesh hand clasped Connor's shoulder to steady himself on trembling legs and he allowed himself to focus on breathing and slowing the pounding of his heart.

Only when his name was spoken did Xohhar shake himself from his stupor, releasing the half-Sephi and taking a long draught from his canteen before saying, "I-I... first of all, it was manslaughter at best... and secondly, I think we should do what he said. That... he was different. Powerful."

Reaching down, Xoh plucked the umbrella from the mud and shook it off before looking at the others. "And a Hedge Witch usually refers to a magic user that has great power over spirits and nature, depending on the setting. And if this Dark One is enough to worry Swamp Santa, than Im fairly sure we're all more fucked than we thought."

@Sreeya @Javier esschoolbus @Apollyon @Logan

 

[Arak Ragnos]

Arak simply nodded when Nash said not to kill the swamp Santa. He gave her a quirked brow ridge when she mentioned he might have presents and offered a nod. He just listened to the exchange when Nash suddenly asked to take a drag from his pipe. She asked what?! He just shook his head, of course she would ask for a hit cause why not.

Araks gaze followed the Swamp Santa as he grabbed the raven crushing its neck and feeding it to the ecosystem of the planet. He couldn’t help but smile at Nash sing-songing as the raven was discarded. The Santa’s words were curious to him a Dark using witches and their animals as minions. He watched as he disappeared in the rain before their very eyes. Was this all just an illusion? “I saw him just disappear too.” He confirmed to Nash.

When he looked down and saw the items on the floor he couldn’t help but playfully nudge Nash, “He did leave presents.” He said with a smile. He listened to Connor’s dissertation on the contents of the phone and his agreement that Xo killing the champion wasn’t a bad thing. “I think you knowingly killing him moves it away from manslaughter.” He mused aloud, “But I agree we should at least look for a village like the Santa suggested.” He suggested to the group. If it got him on solid ground and out of the rain he’d walk into this Dark Ones fortress alone.

Arak looked over to Xo as he explained Hedge Witches, “Great power over spirits you say?” He asked curiously, “Swamp Santa was confident we were capable to take out the witches. Maybe he can handle the Dark One if we do that. We might even get a reward for our efforts.” He stated always willing to go on an adventure. He saw Connor start walking in the direction the compass had been pointing in, “I think we should stay together let’s go with him.” He said looking at Nash and Xo.

@Sreeya @Apollyon @Rom @Logan

 

[Nash]

Unlike the others, Nash simply shrugged when she saw the contents of the EZPhone. She blinked at them, “What? That’s how it is on every Code Red Detention,” She muttered before remembering that no one got detentions as much as she did. In fact it was odd when the Champion of the party wasn’t trying to get the detention group killed on a mission. It was a method to cull the weakest and once or twice someone did get killed. Nash somehow survived.

“That compass is broken,” She said flatly, finding it sketch that they just blindly followed the compass instead of going north. However, since the dudes all agreed on it, she begrudgingly followed along. Nash didn’t bother with the umbrella, simply putting up the hood of her poncho. She figured the two bougie men of the group - Xo and Arak - would share the umbrella while the street rats plodded on through the rain and muck.

“And why the fuck is there a village? I thought this planet was empty and now we got Gary Poppins and Hippie Witches all up our ass,” She grumbled as she walked through the rain and swamp. Nash was used to swampy weather, but this was muggy and gross even for her.

They came across what looked like swamplands with slightly more depth in the water. There were different rocks that could serve as platforms to hop across the lake. Before Nash jumped, she could have sworn she saw ripples in the water, “Did anyone see that?” She asked, knowing it had nothing to do with the rain, “I think there’s something in the water..” It was the only path forward. Nash looked over at Xo (@Rom ), "Ayo, aren't you basically an alligator? Maybe you can stick your head in the water and scope it out?" She asked helpfully.

@Javier esschoolbus @Apollyon

 

[Connor Vance]

”Yeah, I agree with Arak.” Connor said casting his gaze back to Xo as he walked. “You’re definitely a murderer now.” He said with a shrug. It wasn’t that big of a deal, they all dabbled in murder as Sith.

When the rain started really coming down, Connor pulled the hood to his poncho up and tucked his biological hand into his sleeve. This place sucked. “I wonder what reward Santa’ll give us for murking these Witches?” Connor asked aloud as he trudged forward. “Hey Nash, what do you hope you get?” He shouted back.

As the discussion shifted to why there were suddenly people on an empty world Connor’s ears perked up. “I bet we stepped into a mirror dimension.” He offered. “Just like some of those holo-movies.” He continued, it made sense. They just met a real life quest giver after all. “The only way we can get back to where we are from is by killing the BBEG…” His voice trailed off. “…or like striking a deal with them to get home.” He shrugged.

When Nash asked if anyone saw that, Connor’s hands instinctively slipped to his carbine that hung from a strap in front of him. The lighthearted mood steadily died until it was in the grave when she said that she thought there was something in the water. Connor flicked the safety off his weapon and peered out into the water.

“Hey Arak, you sense anything?” He asked.

Connor kept moving but at a more steady and cautious pace. If something jumped out of them he’d just squeeze the trigger until it wasn’t a problem anymore.

@Logan @Sreeya @Javier esschoolbus @Rom