Ask In A Land Down Under

[Dash Pavan]

In the end, they didn't get around the tree in time. Leon and Silvereyes were gone, seemingly dragged off by the men from the forest. Dash didn't know either of them well, but he hoped they would be ok, silently praying to someone or something that they wouldn't get hurt. Also that Silvereyes wouldn't antagonise them; he was not going to be happy when he finally woke up.

"I'm sure you're right" Dash panted, finding Zathria's words somewhat reassuring. If she thought they would be ok, maybe they would be. He was also glad she planned to go after them, finding he really wanted to, despite the danger.

Andros joined them, not giving up despite not making it over the top of the tree. He seemed less sure about their companions' chances, but Dash had decided he would not hear it. At least Andros knew where to start, those otherworldly bronze eyes spotting tracks in the dirt.

"That's the way!" Dash gasped. Something seized him and he set off apace, trying to trace the tracks across the ground. It was like Andros said; they might not have long. They couldn't just stand around.

The young Padawan picked up the trail quicker than he expected, shouting to the others to follow in the fading light. He scurried along the grooves in the earth, tracing them through broken brush, over ridges and through hollows. After a while, the path turned sharply by a big tree who's exposed roots were worn by booted feet, and flecked with blood. A light - firelight - flickered in the distance between the trees - their camp!

Dash bounded forward, not stopping to catch his breath. This had to be it, if he could just get closer, to the perimeter, get a good look between the trees, then they could-

He stumbled, tripping over a rope line hidden in the evening shadows. The ground fell away as he tumbled down a steep incline, reaching out for handholds but finding none there. There was nothing to stop him as he rolled and fell down the hillside, his momentum carrying him into the very centre of the tribesman's camp.

Too slowly, he came to, seeing most of the grizzled warriors huddled and shouting over the far side of the clearing. But they were noticing him now, turning, roaring with incredulity.

He rolled over to get away and came face to face with a terrifying looking woman who stopped him dead.

He was in the clutches of a Sayorami witch.

Dice roll: 16/20 for forest navigation

@Phoenix @Zay @SlagathorTheUnknown @Sreeya @Altaris

 

[Zathria]

Zathria looked at the blood soaking through Andros's tunic, and wondered just how bad it was. She could tell it wasn't good, but just from eyeballing him she could tell that he still had functionality. She clenched her jaw together and filed it into her brain as something that would need to be monitored. And it practically screamed in the back of her mind... like an itch that couldn't be scratched.

Please, let them be okay, she mentally whispered to the Force. When things were out of her control, she had to trust that there was something more at work besides the will of evil.

With that, though, Dash was tearing off through the forest, and Zathria had to work hard to stay hot on his heels. She only narrowly managed to keep from plunging down the same incline that Dash now tumbled along.

Crap! she bit out, suddenly wishing they had more people at their side to fend off this village. There wasn't a peaceful option here, was there? She found herself trying to think of a way to bring this to a close without violence, but even as she thought that, she could sense the Dark Side of the Force flowing off of this place in droves. She could feel it oozing into her mind... the loss of life and profane rituals that had been performed here.

Zathria may have been a healer at heart, but she was also a Justicar: a woman who couldn't abide injustice and oppression. She'd have accepted their surrender had they asked for it, but if not then they would feel lex talionis meted out by an impartial.

No, you're not a justice bringer here. You're here to save the Padawans, she reminded herself even as her lightsaber erupted in its brilliant blue against the darkness.

I'll protect Dash, you find the others! she said to Andros. She would be drawing more of the camp's ire, but she hadn't been wounded so it only made sense.

She bent her knees and slid the distance down the incline before leaping at the end and landing next to Dash, her saber slashing down only for it to pass just by the witch who had... somehow moved quick enough to dodge. No, it wasn't that, it was something else. It was like her saber had passed through a wisp of cloud rather than striking a person, and the witch... was now several meters away.

Roll: 18/20 for navigating

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon Baudelaire’s head swam, concussed, and struggling to make sense of the ritual taking place around him. He blinked as a throbbing pain in his head nearly made him vomit. Through his disoriented haze, he heard Jabba say, “Bruh this is Nabooian cotton, quit bleeding on it.”

“Then just quit tuggin me,” he muttered, dimly aware an arm and both legs were now free. The gargling howl of the Wookie beside them made Leon laugh. “Virgins…” he giggled. Of course, he’d been instructed to familiarize himself with Shyriiwook, and of course, he only managed to memorize the fun stuff. Once again a persistent tugging caught his elusive attention. He realized Jabba— was that really this dude’s name?— was saying something to him and suddenly he was being lifted, or to be more accurate yanked, up from the ground. That’s when Leon realized he was bound to ole Jaberino… Wait... When had that happened?

Leon waved to the Wookie as his arm was nearly ripped from his socket as Ezra scrambled away. “Ow,” he protested, but the yanking was quickly forgotten as two guards barred their path. “Not good,” he peeped as his hand moved on it’s own accord and gently brushed the cheek of the Seymori Warrior.

The embarrassment of the intimate gesture ripped the fog blanketing Leon’s mind away like a magician pulling a tablecloth. His ears burned, but before The Padawan could apologize to the blushing warrior Jabba sprayed something into it’s eyes. The warrior screamed, Leon screamed, and Ezra took off running with enough wherewithal to snag a weapon from the incapacitated guard.

“Wait, cut us free—IEEEEE!” Leon yelped as Ezra tripped over a root sending them both careening into a mud puddle. The Padawan shoved, squirmed, and clawed his way to the surface only to realize it was no deeper than the top of his boot. Waterlogged and beyond the point of embarrassment, he snatched the knife off of Ezra, lifted their bound arms, and swiped the knife through the binding, finally setting them free. Leon offered Jabba his hand if he needed help out of the puddle and then returned the knife, “You can have this back.”

A groaning bellow started behind them. “Oh no.”

Something was happening in the village. Leon didn’t wait, “C’mon, we gotta go!” he said pulling on Ezra’s nabooian cotton sleeve and heading deeper into the darkness away from the camp and rescuers.

The Shadowlands lived up to their reputation as the world around Leon faded into oblivion. He slowed to a walk. He reached down to his utility belt and grabbed his glowrod, igniting it and holding it up above his head. What little light his lamp provided didn't exactly raise his spirits. The camp was well behind them and now they were deep in the shadowlands completely cut off from any form of help. The adrenaline of battle, capture, and escape left Leon feeling suddenly very tired and hopeless.

Trust in the force ya dunce, he thought to himself in a vain attempt to steady the fear slowly climbing his innards. The truth was they were totally fraked out here alone.

“So, what do you think is gonna try and eat us next? My money’s on a Anakkona”

@Alhon @Altaris @Phoenix @SlagathorTheUnknown @Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Why were the Jedi so ungrateful? First the Jedi he met at a museum didn’t say thank you after he bought her lunch, and now this one was giving him attitude after Ezra orchestrated their entire escape! This was why he hated people. He stood up and wiped the mud off, left in a terrible mood. He spat out a glob of mud that had gotten into his mouth. Great, that was probably going to give him food poisoning or some sort of brain eating amoeba.

Ezra scowled as they walked slower and the Jedi ignited his lightsaber as if he was some Clone Wars hero. He rolled his eyes and kept walking, the obnoxious humming of the lightsaber loud against the backdrop of the forest. As if that wasn’t bad enough, insects began to buzz and fly towards it, zapped by the saber and dropping dead around them.

Ezra scoffed at the Jedi's speculation at what would eat them, “Hopefully something that needs a nap after eating you so I can run away..” He muttered quietly under his breath.

“Can’t you use the Force or something?” He suddenly asked, bringing up his NalPhone in an attempt to use the compass app. He wiped mud off it and sighed when he saw it was dead. He looked back at the Jedi, “You know.. Use Force Phone! Call your friends through the Force. That’s a thing right?” He pointed, “There’s a stump. Go sit on that and think really hard about that uptight Jedi chick and maybe she’ll come for us?”

In the distance, he could see a very faint glow. Ezra squinted as he began to venture towards it, “Come on, I see something,” He said. The other Jedi wouldn’t see it. It was a faint glow inside an oval shape. Ezra vacantly walked towards it, strangely lured by the light. It was as if he was meant to obtain whatever was glowing there, "I gotta go grab that.." He said, having no clue that Leon would have no idea what he was talking about.

However, before he could venture closer, a giant kinrath stepped out in front of him. Ezra scrambled backwards as more kinrath began to descend down from their long threads of webs. While he didn't share an irrational fear of spiders like his father, the sheer size of these things was unsettling.

roll: 6/20

@Zay @SlagathorTheUnknown @Altaris @Alhon @Phoenix

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

A mosquito combusted against the iridescent light of Leon’s glowrod, and he frowned. Was this a karking bug zapper? When? How? He abandoned the train of thought before it drained him of the last dregs of his energy. Jabba muttered something, and Leon said, “You’re mumbling I can’t hear you.”

They kept on a little while when Jabba asked about the force. Honestly, Leon hadn’t thought of that. He had a pretty good handle on the physical applications of the lightside, but the spiritual side was sketch, ironically that’s why he was here. Kashyyyk was rich in the force. Even now in the darkness, Leon could feel it guiding him. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something just felt right.

“Uh, that’s not really how it work—” Leon started as Jabba continued with his meltdown. The Padawan once again decided to tolerate the kid, but it was getting harder to keep his temper in check. “Fine,” he sighed heading for the stump.

Leon set his lamp beside the base of the stump. He hopped up onto it and took a seat crossing his legs and hands clasped as slipping into a meditative state. Just as he was settling in and opening himself to the light, Jabba called for him to leave.

Leon huffed, “I’m sorry The Padawan you're attempting to boss around is making a “Force Call.” Please try again at a later, bye-bye.” He held his ground as he heard Jabba stomp off. Leon could feel his presence in the force, he knew he wasn’t far, but as soon as Jabba’s footsteps got out of earshot Leon gave in and followed after, being sure to grab his lamp and or bug zapper. After all, the asshole had helped him escape the camp.

“I gotta go grab that,” said Jabba, as Leon came up from behind.

“What?” asked Leon.

Before Jabba could answer the biggest spider Leon had ever seen in his life stepped from the shadows. Leon reached deep into the force with an enthusiasm he’d never experienced. As Ezra clambered backward past him, Leon, unleashed a shockwave of the force. The smaller spiders were sent skittering away, and the biggest gave pause before bellowing a keening screech and lunging right for him.

Leon dove to the side, rolled, and came back up on his feet with his left hand outstretched. Reaching out with the force he grabbed hold of one of the spider’s back legs and yanked at the joint. The Kinrath stumbled but kept charging. It took a swipe at him, but missed, Leon blasted it in the face with a point-blank force push and it’s head snapped back.

The kinrath’s body slid across the ground revealing the glowing orbs Erza had seen before. Leon was too preoccupied to notice them. Leon jumped on the spider's back gouging at it’s eyes, the arachnid reared and tried to slam it’s back into a tree. What it didn’t account for was the spear sharp branch sticking out of the tree it couldn’t see. Baudelaire bailed just in time for the beast to impale itself on the tree.

Green ichor oozed from the kinrath’s abdomen as it’s legs spasmed and crumpled in on themselves. A glint of something caught his eye. A small mound of crushed eggs were gathered in a nest where the huge spider appeared from. Leon kicked a small kinrath out of the way as it tried to sting his shins. The Padawan looked back to the impaled arachnid.

“She was just protecting her nest…” he muttered. He searched the nest for any surviving eggs, but it didn’t look like any survived. He sighed and turned away looking around for Jabba.

“Jabba!” he hissed, “You still alive?”

@Alhon @Altaris @Phoenix @SlagathorTheUnknown @Sreeya

 

[Andros Sahin]

Andros could feel those familiar waves of exhaustion and fatigue that washed over him - manifesting in the heaviness of his breath and the slower pace he moved. It was clear that his injury was taking its toll - and would have to be properly addressed sooner rather than later. But with Leon and Ezra still at large, they didn’t particularly have that luxury.

Instead, the half-Orcolan pressed on towards the camp - curtly nodding towards Zathria in acknowledgement. While the fellow Knight and Dash moved to engage the rest of the camp, Andros veered to the left and towards a series of bone cages - hoping and praying that he would find Leon and Ezra being held there.

“Fuck,” He growled, finding nothing but the empty cage with a door left open. His bronze gaze flicked around rapidly, and promptly settled upon a path deeper into the forests. He spotted two pairs of footprints and broken branches amongst the heavy brush. It was all the signs that someone had fled quickly into the forest without a second thought.

You have got to be kidding me.

The half-Orcolan drew the saberhilt from his belt, prepared to delve deeper into the forest after what he could only assume was Leon and Ezra. Before he could step out of the camp, however, Andros caught sight of movement from the corner of his eye. His lightsaber snapped to life, and he stepped to the left - just in time to dodge the swing of an axe that meant to split his head like a melon. The half-Orcolan immediately lifted his good hand in response, two fingers lifting from his lightsaber to send a pulse of the Force directly into the chest of his attacker.

Unlike the witch that Zathria fought, Andros’ assailant was flesh and bones - and the concussive wave was enough to send the man sailing backwards. It was a momentary delay from the Knight tracking down the kidnapped members of their group, but unfortunately gave them more time to probably run further away from rescue.

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash knew next to nothing about witches, but every fibre of his being told him that's what he was looking at. The woman seemed to tower over him, all wild hair and eyes of fire. She roared at him, with pointy teeth and a look that said she wanted to roast him alive. There was no chance to get away as she reached for him.

A blue saber flashed through the gap between them. Not his, but who's? Zathria! Suddenly the white-haired Knight was standing over him, striking out at the witch. But the feral woman was gone, darting away faster than anyone could. Zathria's blade seemed to find only smoke. What the hell?

A twinge of pain in his bruised arms brought Dash to his senses. He had to run, this was way too big for him.

He leapt up, gritting his teeth against the pain and tried to sprint for the far side of the camp, the way Leon and Silvereyes must have gone. There was no going back, perhaps if he could just make it-

His senses flared but it was too late. The witch materialised in front of him again, knashing teeth uttering foul curses. Dash tried to dodge around her, but she lashed out with a long arm, razor sharp claws cutting his coat to ribbons and raking the skin of his shoulder. He cried out in pain and lost his balance, stumbling face first into a crude podium of wood and bone that collapsed under the impact, sending half a dozen trinkets flying.

Dash crashed to the ground again, his shoulder throbbing. "Zathria!" he shouted (@Phoenix ), a cry for help all he could manage.

He tried to keep going, crawling forward across the ground to get away from the witch. Broken vases and crude ingredients lay all around him, scattered from the witch's perch; a large eye, a clawed foot, some kind of dried organ. He shoved them aside as he tried to get up, his hand landing on a weather-beaten book. Something about the shiny jewels on the front made him grab it as he rose - maybe it was something important.

He stumbled to his feet and made for the treeline, not daring to look back.

8/20 for escape success

@SlagathorTheUnknown @Phoenix @Zay @Sreeya@Altaris

 

[Zathria]

Zathria had to admit... she had not been expecting that super smoke-filled dodge, and the lack of resistance to her lightsaber threw her off guard more than she'd intended.

As her eyes flicked around to try to find where the witch had... teleported(?) she failed to see the warrior who had gotten the flank on her. A stone from one of their slings flung out and slammed into her head from the side. Her saber buckled from her hand and she lurched forward, narrowly catching herself on her hands and knees as blood began to trickle and mix with her white hair.

She groaned in pain, barely hearing the shouts of Dash as the witch moved in on him. She could hear the approaching of the warrior now, and she felt a primal fear pulling at her.

All is as the Force wills it, she told herself, but even as she thought it, she couldn't quite shake the fear gripping her soul. She wasn't afraid of death in her conscious mind, but biology had quite another take on that.

She reached out and clutched the hilt of her lightsaber, fingers clenching down on it as she tried to regain her senses and force the world to stop spinning around her.

Roll: 6/20

 

[The Storyteller]

The decision by Ezra to toss the broken pottery towards the Wookiee was a fortunate one for the Jedi that were attempting to rescue him and Leon. As the warrior loomed over Zathria, pulling back its spear to strike, the unmistakable sound of a bowcaster firing would be coupled with the warrior's demise. Zathria would have a moment's opening- if she had the wherewithal to use it- as the Wookiee tried to provide covering fire for the Jedi from behind a stump (@Phoenix). [Move it, Jedi!] she howled in her native tongue.

Dash, unfortunately, would find that he was unable to shake the witch whose attention he had attracted. Although it hissed in annoyance, or perhaps fear, as his hands closed around the tome, the book could be returned to her possession regardless of if he gave it back or if she took it off of his corpse. Materializing about 5m in front of Leon, the witch launched a warbling teal orb towards his feet, where it would explode in a small area unless he was able to avoid it (@Alhon).

Andros would not find himself pursued very far if he chose to continue after Ezra and Leon; the Sayorami were far too busy defending their camp from the other intruders. Although Ezra and Leon's path through the Shadowlands was clear even to an inexperienced observer, the half-Orcolan would have to choose between speed or caution in his pursuit of them (@Altaris).

Ezra and Leon's victory would be short-lived, as the destruction of the mature eggs was akin to hatching them. Hundreds of tiny Kinraths, each about the size of a softball, would begin swarming out of the ruined nest; driven by fear and instinct, several dozen would end up moving towards the boys. Although not harmful individually, collectively they could easily overwhelm the two of them (@Sreeya @Zay).

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra was frozen in place, genuinely afraid as he saw the giant spider. He was so drawn by the glowy thing that he didn’t take the time to appreciate the danger they were in. However, after the Jedi jumped on the spider and did a bunch of theatrics resulting in the spider’s death, Ezra was more than surprised.

“That.. was impressive,” He said simply, surprise coloring his otherwise deadpan tone. Ezra quickly turned and bolted towards the eggs. Many of them were cracked, but he grabbed the shiny thing and turned to run. Before he could close the distance, baby spiders began to crawl all over him. ‘Baby’ meant they were roughly the size of cats.

He toppled backwards on the ground, shouting, punching and clawing to get them off. He knew how to fight, but he certainly hadn’t been trained on kinrath. After an absurd display of rolling around on the ground and accidentally hurling a spider at Leon’s face, Ezra finally peeled himself up off the ground.

“Lets go LET’S GO!” He shouted at Leon, his styled hair completely messed up, his clothes disheveled and torn and his eyes wide. Ezra barely escaped with his life and now they were in the thick forests with no way back to the others.

He fell into step beside Leon, barely having gotten away from the spiders. Ezra fished out whatever he grabbed from the eggs, “Do you know what this is?” He asked quietly, showing Leon the kyber crystal, “It doesn’t make sense. I just… needed to get this. And I have no idea what the hell this is.”

@Zay @Phoenix @Altaris @Alhon @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Ezra’s words nearly gave Leon a heart attack as he spun around. “Uh, thanks. Guess we’re even?” The Padawan smiled while knocking leaves from his hair. Then he realized they’d never officially introduced themselves, “Oh yeah, I’m Leon—” he started as Jabba dashed toward the ruined nest.

Leon cocked an inquisitive eyebrow as the other guy pillaged the nest like a kid possessed. A rustling sound caught his attention and he looked toward the impaled kinrath. It was still dead. His expression soured into a frown then combusted into shocked horror. Hundreds of mini kinrath were stampeding toward them. He scrambled backward, his heel caught a root, and down he went. The noise that erupted from both spider-covered dudes was indistinguishable from the shrill and frantic mating calls of monkeylizards.

Leon swatted, kicked, and elbowed the creepy crawlies with terror-induced vigor. Any semblance of understanding or guilt he felt for the mother of this satanic hoard evaporated like a drop of water in a searing hot pan. The Padawan took a breath then windmilled his way up swiping outwardly with the force to create space for him to stand. As soon as he landed on his feet the spider Ezra hurled smacked him right in the face.

Leon screamed with everything in him as he shot forward scrabbling at the arachnid biting and swiping at his face. He managed to wedge his glow rod between his face and the spider’s thorax. He slid to a stop and with a grunt, he prized the damn thing off his face. He hissed in pain as the spider’s claw swiped out and nicked him. Free of his personal face sucker, Leon met Jabba’s wild and frantic eyes and bobbed his head eagerly as Jabba called for a retreat.

A few minutes later they were unknowingly halfway back to the Seymori camp Leon slowed and came to a stop. Hunching over breathing hard and resting his hands on his knees. He reached out with the force scanning their surroundings for any chasing arachnids. When he didn’t find any he breathed a sigh of relief and stood up straight clasping his arms over his head as he willed oxygen into his exhausted body. Jabba caught up as Leon stood.

Leon frowned as he was shown the crystal. Disbelief stampeded across his expression. He looked at Jabba, then back to the crystal.

“Th-that looks like Kyber crystal!” he said more than a little shock accompanied by a tinge of jealousy colored his tone, “I’m just guessing here, but that “Need” was the crystal calling to you.” Leon chuckled, letting go of his envy or at least trying, “I don’t know how to tell you this, but uh, you’re force-sensitive dude.”

@Alhon @Altaris @Phoenix @SlagathorTheUnknown @Sreeya

 

[Andros Sahin]

With his own assailant dealt with, Andros took a glance back at the camp - bronze eyes flicking between Dash and Zathria. He couldn’t see where the Padawan had gone, and it seemed that Zathria had the aid of a Wookiee against the tribesmen. With that in mind, he turned back towards the forest - gaze fixating onto the clear path where Ezra and Leon had practically barreled through.

The half-Orcolan swiftly - as swiftly as he could, given his injuries - followed the path through the Shadowlands - vividian lightsaber held upwards to defend against any random bullshit that appeared from the brush. He could hear the commotion from up ahead, the sound of Kinrath screeches and Ezra’s voice echoing for them to go.

Andros skidded to a halt as he stepped into the clear, once again coming face-to-face with the Padawan and Stray. He didn’t catch any of their conversation up to this point, and unfortunately cut them off right after Leon’s revelation. “Both of you - this way!” He shouted. Just as the words left his lips, the half-Orcolan lifted his good hand - sending a concussive pulse of the Force outwards. It hurtled to the right of Ezra, sending a cluster of spiders away from the pair, giving them a bit more time to get a move on.

He waited until they were both past him - moving back towards the camp - before he followed, ensuring that were covered from the spiders rushing towards them.

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash pocketed the small old book in what remained of his wool jacket, scrabbling up the rise at the far side of the camp. His shoulder was screaming but it felt like the cuts, rather than anything deeper. He gritted his teeth and reminded himself that poor Andros had actually be impaled. He was never going to make a Jedi if he let a few cuts bring him down.

Cresting the rise, he tried to look around for the others, but a cackle in front of him stopped him dead. It was the witch again - now somehow ahead rather than behind - waving her wild claws. It was just not fair!

"Enough!" he shouted, part in fear, part in desperation. But she carried on cackling violently, weaving a sickly ball of light from nowhere and flinging it at him with obvious fury.

He found himself leaping on instinct, Jedi training and his gymnastic bent sending him sailing several feet straight up. He threw up his arms and grabbed an overhanging branch, hunching his legs as the ball of light smashed into the ground below, blackening the earth and throwing dirt and mud into the air.

The witch rushed at the tree below and he realised he was a sitting duck. He had to stop running. Grimacing, he made himself let go, igniting his blue saber and slashing at the wtich as he reached the ground. Again, his weapon passed through her like smoke and she sidestepped, raising a clawed hand to retaliate.

A crack and an almighty groan split the air. Dash realised he had missed the witch, but cleaved right through the massive tree. With a cry like the end of the earth it began to fall and the canopy in every direction seemed to go with it.

The young Padawan didn't wait to be crushed, ducking under the witch's arm while she was distracted and bolting away from the camp into the forest. This time, he was not going to stop.


@Phoenix @SlagathorTheUnknown @Sreeya @Zay @Altaris

 

[Ezra Thorne]

If Leon was hunched over and breathing hard from the run, Ezra was sitting down and trying not to throw up. He seriously needed to up his cardio, this was horrible. Pops would be so ashamed to be related to someone this out of shape. He sounded like a grandma with severe asthma and he quickly crunched on some leaves with his feet to cover up his own embarrassing wheezing. There was a sharp pang in his chest and he thought he was going to pass out.

However, none of that compared to the sensation of getting stabbed by the padawan’s words, “What?” Ezra blurted out, his voice cracking and coming out in odd octaves. Normally this would be comical, but he was mortified and serious, “That’s..not funny, jackass,” He said, glaring at Leon. Of course Leon must have known Ezra was Emryc Thorne’s son by now, right? He knew the ISC was heavily neutral and its people despised Jedi or Sith? He was doing this to mess with him. Being a Force user would ruin Ezra.

He had a sick feeling at the pit of his stomach, unwilling to even consider the possibility. Ezra looked down at the crystal, mortified as it hummed and he continued to feel that connection. Before he could process his thoughts, the green Jedi (@Altaris)from before barreled through the woods at them. Ezra blinked a few times, briefly wondering where Prettyboy (@Alhon) was. The two were together before everyone parted. Whatever, what did Ezra care? The dude hopefully had his stupid sweater ruined by now.

Ezra almost considered throwing the kyber crystal. He pulled his hand back to hurl it, but he paused at the last second, growling to himself before he turned and bolted with the green man. No, he was no Force user. It couldn’t be. It simply couldn’t be. His heart thundered against his chest, and for once, it was not due to his poor cardio routine.

@Zay @SlagathorTheUnknown @Phoenix

 

[Zathria]

Zathria started pushing herself up and thanked the Force for the intervention of the Wookiee. She didn't speak the language, but she didn't need to. The Wookiee had just probably saved her life, and she wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

She saw Dash darting off away from the witch before felling a tree and leapt toward him, saber bursting to life again as she moved to cut him off before he ran blindly into the jungle.

Dash! This way! she shouted, eyes darting between the Wookiee woman and the direction the others had disappeared through. If she had to she'd grab him and drag him back.

She would burst out into a clearing by the others soon after and fortunately they started hoofing it moments later into the jungle. Zathria wasn't going to argue.

We've got everyone, let's go! she said, taking the rear while Andros took the lead, and she cast a glance back to make sure it looked like the Wookiee was following as well.

@Alhon @Altaris @Zay @SlagathorTheUnknown @Sreeya

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash ran some distance through the brush, determined to put the horrors behind him, but Zathria soon caught him up. She still had to shout him a couple of times, almost pull him to a stop, before he broke his stride. But the young Padawan was pretty sensible at heart and once it stopped beating so fast he was unable to knowingly ignore an experienced Knight.

He followed Zathria off at an angle - she seemed to have a sense of which way to go - and they eventually emerged into a clearing. Everyone was there and Dash was so glad to see each of them. Leon looking tired but still cheery, Andros carrying his spear injury like it was a bee sting, even bedraggled Silvereyes, his previously perfect cheeks now flushed with exhaustion. Dash knew the feeling.

He fell into step with the group, who also seemed pleased that he and Zathria were alive. The five of them had been through a lot - probably more than Dash knew - though there was little chat and it would probably be a while before he caught up. He just hoped it would be sometime soon and somewhere safe. At this point, Kashyyyk was most definitely not his vibe.

A wookiee shouldered past him, frightening the life out of him before he realised it was the warrior who had been held hostage back at the camp. So they were taking on even more strays. Great. At least it couldn't read his mind.

"So you woke up then?" Dash said, seeing if he could get a few words of conversation out of Silvereyes "you seemed pretty chilled when I was dragging you through the middle of the fight".

Something flashed in the moonlight between them and for a second Dash thought Silvereyes was responding with a knife. Then he realised it was something in his hand, something it couldn't be.

"Is that, a kyber crystal?" he asked quietly, in both disbelief and wonder. They were rare things, only really for Jedi he thought. "Where the hell did you get that?" Dash didn't even have his own crystal yet - the one in his training saber was precisely that - he wouldn't get his own until he went looking, probably when he was ready for knighthood.


@Zay @Altaris @SlagathorTheUnknown @Sreeya @Phoenix

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Jabba’s reaction to the truth was… sharper(?) than Leon would have expected. Wide-eyed shock, yes. Bereft denial, sure. Calling the messenger a Jackass? Hurtful and rude. Leon kissed his teeth in frustration, “I feel cheated…” he muttered to The Force.

Andros burst through the brush startling Leon into an attack stance while brandishing his bug zapper. The wounded Knight beckoned them to follow blasting a gaggle of Kinrath that had almost overtaken the pair while they spoke. Alright, I feel less cheated… he admitted internally to the force. Even wounded, Andy was a welcomed sight.

Without hesitation, Leon headed off once more into the breach. A few minutes of hard running later and they came out of the treeline into a clearing. At nearly the same time Zathria and Dash came into view and the nagging despair of lost allies sloughed off his shoulders. He felt a second wind rush through him and picked up the pace a bit. Zathria urged them on and Leon led the run until Andros took over.

Dash settled in between Leon and Jabba.

“So you woke up then?” asked Dash.
“Boy did he,” Leon muttered.

Leon chuckled as Dash teased Jabba, but Leon wasn’t dumb enough to expect Silvereyes to stay quiet long. Then Dash brought up the crystal. Something stopped him from commenting. He wasn’t sure what. Maybe it was the confusion he’d felt radiating from the guy when the revelation hit? It felt deeper than that. This was Jabba’s choice to make, not his. So, unless directly addressed he’d let Silvereyes tell his truth.

Suddenly, Leon’s legs started to feel like jelly. He stumbled once, shook it off, and his head started feeling woozy. Where was he, what were they doing here, where was Fearless? His mouth went dry, he collapsed dropping to his knees and sliding onto his face. His cheek where the baby kinrath had cut him burned like a white-hot brand being stuck to sweat-slick flesh. Were Kinrath poisonous? Or wait was it venomous?

His vision swam and he could feel his consciousness being snuffed out. “Kinrath…” he managed. Barely clinging to consciousness while doing his damndest to meditate on the force and stop the spread of the poison, or… uh... venom...

@Alhon @Altaris @Phoenix @SlagathorTheUnknown @Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Following Green Man paid off because the rest of the group soon appeared. He couldn’t believe he was relieved to see a group of Jedi, but he couldn’t deny it to himself at this point. He was frazzled, out of breath, and still entirely traumatized by the whole Force user business. Ezra was in his thoughts when he saw that familiar blond (@Alhon). His eyes narrowed externally, but he almost subconsciously reached up to fix his own disheveled hair back into place.

Ezra scowled when Prettyboy mentioned carrying him, “I highly doubt your midget ass dragged me anywhere,” He said coolly, his face suddenly a bit flushed. He snickered as he looked at Leon when he muttered, “You took a nice little nap yourself. Good job tanking a pot with your face."

The question about the crystal gave him pause. His palms grew sweaty and he wanted to disappear. However, he would look even more suspicious if he said nothing, “I uh.. Leon dared me to grab one from an egg,” He said quickly, gaze flicking over to Leon. He didn’t miss that the Padawan didn’t proactively offer to answer, the gesture appreciated far more than Leon would know. However, the Jedi abruptly dropped to the ground in a daze. The timing was so perfect and the acting was so great, Ezra gave a subtle thumbs up to Leon for the distraction.

However, it was only then that it registered that he wasn’t putting on a show. Ezra blinked a few times, remaining standing as he stared at Leon, “That cut on his face…doesn’t look so good,” He looked around, “He got cut by a spider. I think he’s poisoned. Can anyone use Force Antidote?” Ezra blurted out helpfully.

@Phoenix @SlagathorTheUnknown @Zay @Altaris

 

[The Storyteller]

The Wookiee, covering the Jedi's strategic withdrawal, fired off a few more shots from her bowcaster before turning to see what was holding them up. Her gaze raked scornfully across Ezra, and she gestured towards Leon with a paw. "Be useful for once in your life and carry him, or we're going to have a lot more to worry about than spider bites" she said, unimpressed with the youth despite his earlier role in her escape. "Kinrath bites aren't fatal" she declared, before taking a second look at Leon writhing on the ground. "Usually" she hastily amended.

"There's a river about half a mile to the north" she called towards Zatharia, having decided that the Knight was the most likely to be in charge here. Boys... "If we can get to the other side, they should stop chasing us". The river in question was fast-flowing and wide, but what choice did they have?

@Phoenix @Sreeya @Zay @Altaris

 

[Zathria]

Zathria felt a wave of relief that they had managed to actually get everyone back together alive and at least mostly in one piece.

She listened to the quick swapping of conversations and forced herself not to outwardly groan or complain. Despite her profound displeasure with how everything from the poopnado onward had gone, she was supposed to be the adult here. So she turned all of her griping inward.

Come here, she said to Leon as Ezra mentioned that he was poisoned. She put a hand to the wound and focused on the Force, letting it flow into him and stimulating his body to fight the venom, sequestering and eliminating it before it could spread.

It was a short-term, patch job rather than a full cure given the time constraints, but with luck it would keep him on his feet until he could get real help.

She was faintly aware of the Wookiee saying something to her after a moment, but she had absolutely no idea what.

Thank you for your help, she said before looking to the rest of the group and not holding her breath with the next question.

Does anyone speak Shyriiwook? she asked. Can you show us the way out? she asked the Wookiee, not having been able to understand any of the actual instructions she'd received in wookieespeak.

@Alhon @Altaris @Zay @SlagathorTheUnknown @Sreeya