Ask Traces of the Past

[Nevizkas]

The pureblood could tell that the woman wasn't so certain of her own resistance given the way the conversation was heading. The sinews of her thought process unwinded as the guilt trip worked its magic, Cyu would only have a little leeway to manipulate the woman and so she had to ensure that she got as much information in as few questions as possible, ideally just the one.

"Working her, I'm close." she sent back to Celeste.

With perhaps a small exaggerated sniff the Sith gently pleaded to complete the act and break her will. Cyu considered using force to assist but decided against it, as she was so close, and messing up was not an option here. Quietly and with a slightly broken voice the woman inquired more about who it was they sought.

"I'm looking for a Kel'dor, a little taller than I and you wouldn't miss the big mask on his face. Have you seen anyone like him around?" Cyu's acting skills were crucial and she was playing the part just well enough for this mark. The woman's face straightened and paused as if to consider her words carefully, realizing that she wasn't after a guest of hers.

"One, but not in some time. Never here but occasionally I'd hear from others about someone like that passing through town coming in from the capital based on the prison speeder. I'm sorry but I've never actually seen him firsthand so I don't know more." Cyu's face beamed at the morsel of information and nodded her head. "Oh no that's so kind of you, I guess I've been looking in the wrong place. Thank you."

The woman shrugged her shoulders again as the pureblood seemed to regain composure. "You're welcome I guess love, now do you want the room or not cause I have chores to do." Cyu broke a smile through her fake tears and spoke softly. "I'll have to check in with my friends first but I like it." The lady pointed back the way they came, and as they were leaving Cyu forwarded some information back to Celeste again.

"She didn't know much, but she had third-hand information that he passed through the village in a prison speeder once from the capital. There can't be many of those around and with Caer's book it should be easy to exclude the wrong places."

Shortly afterward she'd rejoin the pair of Sith and take her seat, hopefully enjoying a nice hot meal before they decided if they were staying or leaving immediately. A prison, either in use or inactive would have medical facilities and subjects to use as he saw fit for experiments. They weren't super likely to be in the city either, but perhaps on the outskirts.

@LadyRen @LouJoVi

 

[Celeste Stythani]

The pain that radiated off Caer's hand was noticeably strong. Such dark wounds always hurted strongly, yet the Sith were no strangers to pain. She obviously couldn't do much about it and thus ordered herself something off the menu and an additional portion for the acolyte as they all needed their strength.

The reply of Cyutadakyr didn't fully soothe her as she wondered whether she was A, saying the truth and B, was even capable of assessing the situation appropriately. She appeared calm from the outside but Caer was probably sensing that she stayed alerted until the acolyte would return.

The diner was quite crowded and thus it wasn't the place to strategize. They also couldn't stick to telepathy as they'd appear quiet from the outside which would also look suspicious and so she started some small talk. "I hope the stew will be filling...I feel like I could eat a whole banta right now. That hike was exhausting" she let put a soft chuckle as she leaned back, her mind still busy with the acolytes endeavor and her gaze attentively scanning the surroundings every now and then.

While Caer was replying and they continued their chat, the acolyte reported back with good news that made Celeste's smile realer. Prison in the capital. Now that was a hint they could work with and it would give Caer's compass the chance to proof itself useful. 'Well done' she offered this praise as it seemed like she had mananged to retrieve the information without messing with the innkeeper as Celeste hadn't noticed any shifts within the Force, so it seemed like their young companion had accomplished her goal.

Cyutadakyr arrived a little while later, still before the food but right on time for the waiter to bring them drinks, so that they could continue their charade. "I thought you might like the stew, hence I ordered one portion for you as well" she told the acolyte before deciding to fill Caer in right away. 'Seems like we don't have go ask around. The acolyte found a trace' she telepathically informed him before she sipped on her soda.

@LouJoVi @Xorism

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

Caerllion noticed that Celeste was feeling apprehensive, but he didn’t need to ask to know why she was feeling this way. It was obvious that she feared that Cyutadakyr would do something stupid and put their entire mission in jeopardy. An unsupervised Acolyte could be dangerous for their mission.

"Same. I could also use a good night of sleep." Caerllion said, following Celeste’s plan for a small conversation. The dinner was full and the lack of conversation could be strange. "I could also use some bacta, but it would only come later." he should start bringing patches of it when going on missions.

While they waited for the Acolyte to return, the Annfyn started to eat his stew. "It wasn’t so bad." it wasn't the best thing that he tasted, but would be enough for the moment. "Perhaps I'm being biased because of how hungry I'm at the moment." he joked, an attempt to make Celeste forget about her concerns.

After some time, Cyutadakyr finally returned. Since there was no screams or panic, the Annfyn considered that she didn’t cause any problem. He hoped that she would find something useful.

"Excellent! Now we only need to follow it." Caerllion turned to look at the Acolyte. She wasn’t stupid after all. "Good work, Cyutadakyr."

@LadyRen @Xorism

 

[Nevizkas]

The castigation emanating from Caerllion did not escape Cyutadakyr's attentive watch. It wasn't out of place for the Sith to shoulder doubts about one another, but it certainly wouldn't be forgotten. His latter compliment soothed over any resentment that might have otherwise lingered that afternoon though.

"Thank you both," she said quietly, taking a seat and taking in the aroma of the delicious smelling stew. They had a few options that were on the metaphorical table. Namely, pursuing the lead immediately with callous disregard for Caer's wounds to complete their mission sooner or waiting out the night.

Eyeing Celeste, the Pureblood would calmly remark "The owner offered us a room for the night if you need to rest, otherwise we can leave after supper, your call." Though if they stayed Cyu made no promises of staying in the same room all night, loosely glancing around the room with a smirk.

@LadyRen @LouJoVi

 

[Celeste Stythani]

As Cyu sat down, the waiter placed down the drinks before he hurried off again, leaving them on their own for a moment. Celeste was hoping the food would arrive soon as they had just received what they needed, thus allowing them to carry on. They needed the strength from the mundane source of energy which was food, but for the rest she saw it differently.

"Do you feel like resting?" she glanced from the acolyte, to the Champion, obviously asking a rhetorical question. They could rest back on the ship, but staying in one place was more than unwise. 'As we don't need to ask around anymore, we should leave' she telepathically added, glaring back at Cyu.

While a bed could sound tempting for some, Celeste was only eager to do two things: Press on and get this over with. They had an area and they had the compass. Finding the laboratory and its contents or rather what remained of them shouldn't be as hard then. Right then the waiter was already returning, this time with three deep plates filled with their signature stew. 'I've got a bacta patch in the backpack...it will heal the skin and the external injury, but the damage the dark side has done will take a while to heal', she telepathically offered to Caer. Well, he probably wouldn't need to use the hand again soon and so he should have been fine, but Celeste wasn't sure how the Champion would see that.

@LouJoVi @Xorism

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

”I could use some rest.” Caerllion said, before drinking what the waiter had brought to them. He immediately regretted it, because whatever was inside that glass was worse than dirty water. The Champion returned to his stew which was at least palatable. “But we could do it on the ship, there is space for it here.”

The Annfyn was also afraid of the state that these bedrooms would be in. If the drinks were like dirty water, the bed probably would be in a deplorable state.

Celeste’s offer made Caerllion stop eating and turn to look at her. He wondered why she was offering bacta to him. Did she think that he was too weak to resist the pain? The Annfyn frowned, before placing his spoon on the plate. “Thank you, but it isn’t necessary. I have some on the ship and it wasn’t hurting so much.”

It wasn’t as if the cut on his hand would kill him, but the pain was still here. However, Caerllion thought that by accepting the bacta offered by Celeste he would be showing weakness. It wasn’t something that a Sith would do, even less in the front of an Acolyte. Next time that he went on a mission, he would put bacta patches inside his bag.

“We should go. The laboratory can still remain in the same place, but I wanted to leave Elrood as fast as possible.” Caerllion said, after finishing his stew. Who knows if the Empire wasn’t coming after the lab.

@LadyRen @Xorism

 

[Nevizkas]

Cyu couldn't immediately tell if there was some tension between the two champions, were they in a lovers spat, or just generally crotchety. There didn't seem to be any point in sticking around with the mission still at hand, so she nodded as Caer suggested moving on. "Very well, let's go."

The pureblood placed a small number of credits on the table to cover her portion of the bill, it wouldn't do them any good to steal a meal while they were trying to be incognito. So far the direction they knew to head in was rather vague but the compass would guide the way once they were closer. Until then it wouldn't really matter so much how they got there, but walking the distance into a larger city takes too long considering Caer's interest in speed.

"We'll need a ride then. I'll go take a look out this side." Pulling herself up from the chair and taking a stroll towards the door without a second thought, she made her way outside. The easiest option would be to steal a speeder, though that would raise unnecessary heat. Another option was to buy something, but that could easily take time and be complicated if the owner was feeling particularly annoyed.

The simplest answer was to hitch a ride with someone already going that way, and being that they were in a small village it didn't take long before she stumbled across a very small freighter doing just that. Even from a distance, she could see an older man talking to a pair of droids that seemed to be struggling with a crate that just wouldn't close right. Sensing an opportunity, Cyu pounced in with a warm smile before shooting the other Sith a telepathic message that she had found something.

"Hi, need a hand with that?" the pureblood quietly but confidently asked the man who quickly turned toward her with a frown. "No, we've.." as he started to speak, one of the droids whirled and gave up in frustration. "Well, maybe a little. Come here, hold that part, and push here." Cyu moved closer and positioned herself as instructed. With her precise action and a little hidden help from the force, the crate closed successfully.

"Thanks, uh sorry I didn't ask your name but thank you for your help." the man blushed a little embarrassingly. "Oh, my name's Brianna and you're most welcome," she replied coyly. He was now flustered and nodded while his droids got to work moving the last few items into the ship. "Say you wouldn't happen to be heading near Elrooden would you? My friends and I are a little stuck for time and badly need a way there before tomorrow, but I don't wanna be an inconvenience if it's out of the way."

Quick as a flash the man shot up and smiled. "Oh no, I'm dropping some of these local goods off near the capital, but it would be quite closer from that point than here if you're still interested." Cyu flashed a brief smile again, flicking her left hand through her hair. "That would be perfect, actually." The man shouted a few commands to the droids and started walking up the ramp. "Call your friends and tell them we're leaving in 10, gimme me a few to clean up I don't usually have guests."

Cyu turned as if to take out a phone to call someone before sending another telepathic message with instructions on how to find her and the time of departure. If nothing she hoped to prove resourceful and useful, whether they acknowledged this or not she wouldn't show her feelings other than a prideful smirk of success.

@LadyRen @LouJoVi

 

[Celeste Stythani]

As Caerllion mentioned he was down for a break, a hint of anger flicked to life in her eyes. She questioned whether this was him sticking to his alleged persona, but the fact that he was still telepathically communicating proved that it wasn't.

Was he truly tired already? Even the acolyte seemed fine. Celeste wouldn't mind leaving them behind to catch up, but she wouldn't tire until they would be able to claim what they had come from. Admittedly, not everybody could be as unrelentless in their pursuits, yet it began to displease her if her travel group would apparently rather make a little vacation out of that. They literally couldn't risk staying at this place, only the fact that they were in public prevented her from snapping.

'Agreed. We finish up and move' she telepathically replied as he agreed to leaving, realizing that he had apparently gotten back to his senses. Was it the pain that made him delirious? "How is the stew?" she asked the other three aloud so that for outsiders, they wouldn't just broodily sit in silence before Cyu added her part of their telepathical conversation.

After some more nonchalant smalltalk and emptied plates, Celeste voiced aloud that if they'd wanted to hike south, sleeping the capital would make more sense, so that their appearance was completely kept up until they were ready to leave. She was fine with Cyu making herself useful again and stayed behind to handle the bill, appreciating that the acolyte had contributed her part.

"Thanks for your hospitality" she said to the waiter before receiving the message of Cyutadakyr, making her quickly head to the bathroom and freshen up at the wash basin before regrouping at the said point. "You've found a ride? Perfect" she then remarked at the moment in which the three found one another at the meeting point, ready to board their transport and head to the capital which would actually give them a little time to wind down and rest before they'd start searching for the exact location.

@LouJoVi @Xorism

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

”It wasn’t so bad.” Caerllion said, without much interest in the conversation. People around them probably thought that they were a strange group, but he wasn’t interested in talking. The cut on his hand was throbbing even more right now. Perhaps he should have accepted Celestes’ offer and used the bacta to heal it.

Since Cyutadakyr decided to search for a ride, Caerllion decided to stay behind with Celeste. “Yes, thank you.” he said to the waiter, when the man came to pick the money from the bill. The Annfyn decided to pay his part of the food, not wanting to leave everything for the other Champion to pay for.

Who knows when they would need to use more credits, the best that they could do was to save some of it for later.

When they meet with the Pure-blood, she would reveal that she found a transport. “Good work, Cyutadakyr. You once again proved to be very helpful.” the woman deserved a bit of praise. Her actions so far were helping their mission. Besides her not causing any trouble for them.

Then, he would board the ship with the other two. From here they would be able to use the compass that he made to find the right path.

@LadyRen @Xorism

 

[Nevizkas]

The large distance trip would now be quite a bit shorter thanks to their new friend and pilot. While he got situated at the controls and began the flight in another room, this would give the Sith some time to discuss amongst themselves. Even though they would probably be safe enough to talk aloud, she didn't see much point in taking the chance considering all three could converse without sound.

The ship rattled as its engines roared to life, plucking the small freighter off the ground and into the air. The ride was a little rough but nothing that the passengers couldn't handle with a little counterbalance. A dim light illuminated the small room they found themselves seated in for the duration of the journey, with room for either sitting or standing.

Cyu had been impressed with the earlier ritual, a little flustered that she wasn't ready to partake in it but she was proud that she was still able to play a role regardless. With a little telepathy, she inquired with the others starting with Caer but either could answer. "So how did you come to train alchemy? how might I start on this wonderous path?"

Then the pureblood directed a question to Celeste, but either could answer as before. "The empire we know is gone, but how can I best serve the Sith Order?" It was a dangerous path to be a Sith these days, with few friends and even fewer resources. An acolyte might be the lowest on the totem pole but with hard work and dedication, Cyu didn't see herself remaining there forever.

@LadyRen @LouJoVi

 

[Celeste Stythani]

The three of them entered the vehicle after Cyutadakyr had organized their transport without further ado. It was good that the acolyte seemed to do things on initiative instead of constantly needing to be told what to do which was definitely a plus for her.

She took a mental note, yet didn't throw around praise like her companion, Caerllion, who seemed in a weirdly good mood. She wasn't quite sure what his game was, but didn't react any further than raising a brow at him for a moment which he would have only been able to catch if he had paid attention at the right moment.

As the engines were finally turnt on, they began covering vasts amounts of distance quickly which allowed Celeste to lean back for a moment. She was a little surprised by how Cyu suddenly began throwing questions at them and wondered whether she was suddenly interested in small-talk, but it seemed like there was some genuine interest behind it.

She would let the Anfynn answer the question directed at him first before letting out a little sigh. "It's good that it's gone as we are finally free, but you're raising a complicated question". She faced her directly, adjusting her casual clothes before continuing. "We are weakened and scattered and forced to hide in the shadows. We wander around dressed like hikers and hoping to find a way to gain knowledge that could serve us" she stated, recapitulating where they were at, actually.

"We are far from increasing our influence on a broader scale, yet every small thing helps. You serve the Order best by serving the darkness and thus following our core beliefs. Right now we are forced to keep our guard low, yet the darkness will guide us when it's about time".

Perhaps it was even a little philosophical, but she didn't intend for it to come across this way. The Jedi followed similiar principles by having the Force guide them, but they were no Jedi. They were servants of the dark and their corrupted souls would follow where they had to. Still, for now open displays of dark side practitioners were obviously a death sentence as they were all far from their natural strength as years of working for the Empire had left them weakened and vulnerable by letting sheer potential wither away.

@Xorism @LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

Caerllion entered the ship without even glancing at the pilot. The Annfyn was already feeling bored for spending their time in that restaurant, and the planet as a whole. He only wanted to find Sol’s lab as fast as possible and leave immediately. The compass that he made would solve this problem.

Once he found a seat, the ship started to move. Caerllion turned to look at the nearest window, watching the village getting smaller and smaller. He thought that the people living here were lucky. They had no knowledge that a mad scientist had lived nearby them. The Annfyn wondered if the Kel’Dor could have used these people in his experiments.

His musings were interrupted by Cyutadakyr asking him about his alchemical knowledge. “I learned the basics with Sol. One day I stumbled upon him doing experiments and helped him enough for the Kel’Dor to agree to teach me a bit.” these events seemed to have happened an entire lifetime ago. “Later I studied by myself.”

“Do you want to learn it?” Caerllion asked, already suspecting that the Acolyte could be wanting to have some lessons of Sith Alchemy. He could teach her, but Cyutadakyr would need to impress him.

@Xorism @LadyRen

 

[Nevizkas]

While the distance was great for fieldwork, the small freighter eased the trip considerably making a great time whilst they spoke amongst themselves. It didn't take terribly long before they would be arriving at their destination, giving them just a little bit longer to finish up.

Celeste's answer made sense to Cyu and she nodded along as the woman spoke the truth. There wasn't anything of substance to add to what was said and so she held her tongue. It was clearly true that the Sith had lost their way and even now the thin veil of secrecy could only protect them for so long, but with those precious moments, they would have to prepare themselves the best they could.

Now Caer's reply helped Cyu understand some things, more to the point of why the man was so intrigued to find this laboratory as fast as possible. As someone who had worked with the kel'dor himself, Caer would know both the potential and the devastating power that lay at their fingertips should Sol's work be uncovered.

A flicker of a smile sat across her lips at his question. "I do, but perhaps another time?." but she wouldn't press him further on the topic, if he wanted to offer something he would have to do so otherwise she would move on for now as they had more pressing matters.

Eventually, the small ship shuddered slightly as it touched down and the pilot entered the room they were seated in to let them know that they had arrived. With a flick of the switch, the main door opened and would allow the trio to leave as they saw fit.

@LadyRen @LouJoVi

 

[Celeste Stythani]

There were a few more words exchanged but Celeste decided to mostly direct her attention towards the window as they covered more distances. She telepathically added her thoughts every now and then was able to see the city grow larger on the darkened horizon that already announced dusk.

Fortunately, their ride didn't take much longer before the driver brought the vehicle to a halt, allowing them to exit as they plelased. "We thank you kindly", by thanking the pilot, she sticked to what a tourist would do before gathering her belongings and hopping out.

They then found themselves at the outskirts of the capital, so that Caer's compass would guide them into the right direction from now on. "Lead the way", she thus told the Champion with a nod of her head, indicating that she assumed they'd find the prison at a different location at an outer position of the city, but in order to pinpoint it down, they needed clear guidance.

@LouJoVi @Xorism

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

”Of course. We can talk about it later.” Caerllion said to Cyutadakyr, before turning back to the window. If the pure blood really wanted to learn more about alchemy, she would need to ask him. The Annfyn would not pursue an apprentice, it was her who should do that and go after a Master.

It didn’t take much time for them to arrive at their destination, with the pilot arriving at the room to alert them. They were at the outskirts of the capital, apparently it was close to the place where Sol had made his laboratory.

“Understood.” Caerllion said to Celeste, before picking the compass that he had created. Once outside the ship, it would start to shine. It would be weaker when pointed to one direction, but stronger when the Annfyn moved it to another way.

“We need to follow this direction. His laboratory is here.” he said to the two Sith, before walking toward it.

@Xorism @LadyRen

 

[Nevizkas]

The capital was a completely different vibe to the tiny little village that they had just come from. Here, the city was bustling with nightlife and was technologically superior in every way. The village could have been an exhibit in a museum whereas the city had most of the modern facilities that one would expect of a planet with six billion inhabitants.

This included a large prison that lay on the outskirts of the illustrious metropolis, which also seemed to lay on the path before them as they followed the guidance of Caer's compass. It would still take a little bit of a hike before they would reach the tall extended fence that wrapped its way around the dark exterior, but as they moved around it was clearer than ever that they had found what they were looking for.

Scouting around would take more time, for sure they'd find an entrance to bust through but that might leave unwanted evidence of their activity. Instead, Cyu kept a keen eye on the fence as they walked along until they reached what she was hoping for. A small opening was turned open by a wild animal, perhaps a tiny bit too small for them but nothing that couldn't be altered.

"Look over here, we can pull it open and slip in and it'll slip back into place afterward. It'll still look like an animal passed through and nobody will ever notice." The pureblood's smile flicked as she excitedly made her way over. With a tug of the force, the opening would allow all three to pass through before collapsing back on itself like before. Now they just needed to continue following the compass until they reached the right building.

@LadyRen @LouJoVi

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Their arrival at the capital was unproblematic and the trio neared the fence without further ado after their little walk. The bustling colors and noises of the city seemed to thrive in the distance while here at the prison it was relatively quiet. The night air brought about a chill that was probably unpleasant for most, perhaps even uncanny for some, but for Celeste it simply felt way too familiar and even a little calming. With each and every step they took, the faint dark presence ahead intensified ever so slightly which attested that theyvwere indeed getting closer.

After rounding the fence for a little while, Celeste spotted an anomaly in the metallic fence that the pure blood correctly identified a second later. "Looks good enough", she confirmed, a soft smirk crossing her lips aa she nodded to confirm her plan. Again, the acolyte surprised her positively with some good thinking and a logical plan, so Celeste swiftly followed inside before ensuring the hole was closed properly again.

As her gaze drifted back onto the compass, the dark, crimson red throbbing was slowly increasing in intensity and pace both, indicating that the mad Kel'Dor's lab was definitely hidden inside. They made their way across a barren field that soon led to a corridor between two fences, which then led to an old, stony door shedding an eerie dark purple hue. "Seems like our 'friend' wanted to ensure his belongings aren't easily found..." Celeste mused as she slowly approach, cocking her head to side while she scrutinizingly studied the sinister glow. "Let's try to lift it. Have you done that before?" she asked, shooting Caer a quick look. She knew the Champion was versed in magick, yet creating runes was different from lifting them. Celeste wasn't entirely sure about how sane the scientist had still been when he casted them, but she had a feeling that were about to find out.

@Xorism @LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

By following his compass, Caerllion and the other Sith walked through the landscape before reaching a fence. With how the object was shining so much after they reached this place, it was obvious that they were close to Sol’s laboratory. Now they only needed to find a way of entering it.

Once again Cyutadakyr had proved to be useful. She located an opening in the fence that was a bit small, but with the right effort they could be able to enter. The Pureblood used the Force to increase the size of the opening, allowing all the three to enter and continue with their search. “Good work.” the Annfyn said, once again praising the Acolyte’s reliability during this mission.

The compass started to shine even brighter when they approached a building in particular. Without any doubt they had found Sol’s laboratory. Unfortunately, their path was blocked by an old door covered by runes. The Kel’dor really took all measures that he could to protect his working place.

“Yes, I can.” Caerllion said to Celeste, when she asked if he was capable of removing the runes protecting the door. “But it can take some time.” the Champion walked toward it and touched the surface with his good hand. Closing his eyes, the Annfyn poured his magick inside it.

Immediately he felt Sol’s presence fighting against his efforts, but since there was much time since the Kel’dor worked in this door, the battle of wills wasn’t going to be as difficult as someone would expect. It would take some minutes, but the runes in the door would vanish.

@LadyRen @Xorism

 

[Nevizkas]

It was still a mystery what interesting or dangerous objects the former Sith Mastery might have loomed down below in his lab, an exciting prospect of discovery and scientific advancement, or just pure terror awaited? They hopefully wouldn't have to wait for long as the more experienced Sith would commit to breaking through whatever defenses had been erected.

Not wanting to interfere as the magicks presently eluded her, Cyu's hand found purchase upon Caer's shoulder as she offered him her own strength as before. Her other hand moved quietly toward Celeste and did the same, between the three of them they would surely muster sufficient power to overcome the runes.

@LadyRen @LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

Caerllion was able to remove the runes from the door faster than he had anticipated. Cyutadakyr giving him strength helped it greatly. Once the spells were removed, the Dark side that had been left imprinted by Sol in the path way immediately disappeared. The only darkness that the Annfyn could feel was those of the experiments that the Kel’Dor left behind.

Rather than going inside immediately, Caerllion would stay behind for some minutes. The use of the Dark Side had left him tired and the pain on his wounded hand had increased. It was the price for the constant use of such powers.

@Xorism