Open Coruscant We're Going to the Fair!

[Armen Westyll]

Spoiler: Music IC

Sitting on his sofa, sighing as though this were the most laborious task of the day, Armen picked up his comlink and found the number provided to him. He had some reaching out to do because his Master Daddy told him to and there ya have it.

A bit of a loner, Padawan Westyll had been encouraged to get to know some of the other Padawans and go hang out so, okay, whatever. Quin Leonkri, hope you don't dodge me.

Spoiler: Com Call With Quin Leonkri

ARMEN: Yo so we gotta meet up and do some stuff.
QUIN: I’m sorry. Who and what now?
ARMEN: Oh, uh, this is Armen Westyll, Jedi Order. I’m sure you’ve been informed. Anyway, looks like Jedi Management wants us to do some Padawan bonding. Pada-bonding. Padawan-ding? Whatever-ing.
QUIN: Okay!
ARMEN: I’m thinking we hit the city, maybe check out a fair or festival or carnival orrr—
QUIN: Which city? So many worlds, so many cities!
ARMEN: Right about that, heh. I dunno, I feel like going somewhere different, you know? Tired of the same old places.
QUIN: Sure, sure.
ARMEN: Soooo Coruscant?
QUIN: …

On Coruscant that night, the pair of Padawans met up in the Bugenhagen Fair. Armen had no idea what “Bugenhagen” meant, sounded like some legless old wizard, but what the hey. He also had no ship, took public transport, but he did have a backpack filled with...stuff.

The fair was definitely bigger and better than what the mind might immediately conjure. Given the city’s size and resources, it was basically a theme park for a couple of weeks, sporting amusement rides, food and merchandise vendors, a host of games like Whac-A-Monkey, theater performances, animal shows, etc.

For now, Armen and Quin waltzed the very busy fairground deciding what to do upon arriving just then. Armen tore off some pink cotton candy and swallowed most of it before talking. “So, you wanna do a ride? Target practice? Ferris wheel?”

Not one to have 'fun' like this, he might have wondered why he picked this place for ‘bonding’ but it just seemed like the best idea at the time. What the heck else are we supposed to do, go rescue some mynocks?

Well, whatever they did, they might just meet some strangers who might just become their friends. The fair was, after all, a great place to meet people. It was also a great place to eat cotton candy and maybe throw it up after one too many rides.


@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin hadn’t been to a fair in forever. The last time he’d been allowed to go was… he couldn’t even remember. His parents were always so strict with “security” and “protecting the bloodline”, they’d rarely ever let him out in public without a cadre of guards at his side.

So it was, to say the least, refreshing for him to be able to stroll through the park next to Armen, holding his own sheep-shaped cotton candy. He ripped off small pieces with his fingers and let them melt in his mouth as they walked, passing by all sorts of rides and game stands.

“Why don’t we,” said Quin, looking around at the various options as he swallowed his cotton candy, “try that out?” He pointed to the balloon pop stand. It was a leg up from what he normally saw. Instead of all the balloons being still on a board, this stand had multiple belts going around the booth. Balloons of every color he could think of stuck to it, just waiting for darts to take them down.

“I bet I’ll get more than you,” he said with a grin, wiping his mouth with the back of his free hand as he approached the booth. “Once I win, we can do a ride after this. Ooh! And whack-a-mole. I’ve been practicing with my lightsaber. You think that’ll help? Both are… hitting stuff, right?” His brows knit up for a moment, then he grinned at his companion as he picked up a dart. “But first we do this.”

@Die Shize

 

[Etr Wyara]

Etr hadnt ever been to a fair before. So when Adenn gave him Leave to for a day he went to the "Bugenhagen fair". It was a strange name but then again fairs were strange ordeals when he'd finally seen them. Various curiosities on display like the "two headed tusken" and "bearded gungan" were on display on posters outside tents. People watch animal shows where Entertainers Rhode reeks painted various colors. And all around were food vendors and games. The Cotton candy seemed popular, with many people eating the sheep shaped Pieces of candy wool. Their colors were pretty attractive and he'd ended up buying a stick.
yuck
The strands which turned into crystals on his tongue were cloyingly sweet and had no other flavor than sugar. His previous life of a bland, largely Grain Paste diet had left him without a taste for sugars and Sweets. He persisted In eating it, trying not to let his credits go to waste and not wanting to look more out of place than he did with with his armor on. There was a booth prepared that caught his eye and couple other youths. Belts of rotating balloons moved up and down, waiting for someone to throw darts at them.
@Sicadorito
@Die Shize

 

[Armen Westyll]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

Balloon pop stand? Well, that sounded just about as lame a game as everything else so Armen’s trademark shrug ought to be enough to clue Quin in that he was game so let’s play. Yay…

“I bet you miss on the first shot,” the Padawan bet the Padawan. As he readied his dart, though, he was thinking of Quin’s words and already getting an idea. Hmm, I bet the two of us could create our own light show by going at each other with our little lightsabers, yay.

Oh well whatever Armen would take the first shot anyway. “Pucker up, bub, this one’s for you,” he told that pink balloon. And he didn’t even need the Force to prove it.

-PHWUFF!-

Armen threw the dart just as something bumped into him. His first reaction was to turn to the Bothan (again, always with the Bothans) who laughed something inebriated and waltzed away. His second reaction was to turn to the armored dude who just had a dart thrown his way. @Timmen

“Oh, ah, uh, sorry, dude,” Armen nodded in apology, raising his voice across the short distance so as to be heard across the fair’s blaring music. The Padawan hoped he wasn’t about to get beaten up. Oh well. ‘Least I got cotton candy.

Spoiler: Does Armen miss the balloon?

D20 result: 16

@Sicadorito @Timmen

 

[Quin Leonkri]

I’ll show him. Quin Leonkri was not going to miss on his first shot! He picked up his own dart, looking over in anticipation to see how Armen would do. He was determined to prove the other Padawan wrong and win this bet, whatever benefit that would bring him. Bragging rights? He’d take it.

But his rollercoaster of a thought was derailed when he saw a Bothan bump into his companion, then the dart fly from Armen’s hand straight at another boy enjoying his cotton candy. The good thing was that the boy was wearing armor, Mandalorian by the looks of it. Quin couldn’t see if the dart had landed, but still he put his own down and looked over at him from the booth. What if he thought that they’d done it on purpose? He didn’t want to go back to his master all bruised and battered. She’d never let him out again! He took a few hesitant steps toward the boy after Armen’s apology.

“Whoa! Are you okay?”

@Timmen @Die Shize

 

[Etr Wyara]

The Boys seemed like they were ready to have a go at the balloons when a group of Drunk Bothans Bumped into them. Etr wasn't paying super close attention to what was going on around him. He was preoccupied by the idea of the idea of Going up to toss darts at balloons. A dart seemed to fly at him at Anti-climactic speeds. It was slow enough for him to see it coming but too fast for him to Register its severe lack of Danger. He threw his hands up, dropping the Cotton candy to the ground as the Little dart made a "ping" noise on his breast plate. He was feeling stupid for having sacrificed his overpriced cloud of sugar.
"You wear armor, Or'dinii"
He thought to himself. One of the boys at the table seemed to call something out, though it was too loud around him to hear anything. A moment later another one Approach him, though he seemed to be cautious. The Lightsaber on his Hip to Etr plenty: the boy was a force user. He felt his heart sink a little as the realization they might be looking for trouble hit him.
"Whoa! Are you okay?”
The one Approaching asked. Etr took a good sigh of relief at that and moved his hand to a more relaxed position at his side.
"Yeah, Luckily I never leave home without beskar."
He tapped his Chest plate, the Dart having left hardly a scratch on the paint. Now he looked down at his Melting Cotton candy, which had fallen jnto a puddle of what he had hoped would be soft drink.
"Though I think My Cotton Candy definitely could use an ambulance."
He picked up the dart, Walking back with the younger Boy to The older one and returned his dart to him.
"Next time, shoot for the head. I didnt have my helmet on."
He said, trying to lighten the mood. He gave a grin
"My names Etr."
@Sicadorito
@Die Shize

 

[Armen Westyll]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

While Armen was glad that the kid was okay, he wasn’t exactly surprised. The former’s main concern was that he had just (accidentally) thrown a dart at a badass Mandalorian who most likely beat eighteen-year-old Padawans up for breakfast. Never mind sixteen-year-old Padawans.

Speaking of which, Quin Leonkri was as brave as they came. He marched right up and all but apologized on Armen’s behalf. Just as swell, Armen came up to stand beside his fellow Paddy with much more concern for that melted cotton candy on the ground.

“Oh, I was aiming for the balloon, promise,” he apologized while playing it as casual as ever. “Name’s Armen.” He introduced himself before biting a chunk out of his own cotton candy, looking between both, then offering his to Etr. “Least I can do.”

Unless Etr had reservations about taking someone else’s cotton candy, of course. Either way, Armen looked the armored dude up and down. “So what brings you here?” Looked around. “...Probably the same thing that brings anyone to a fair, huh…” Dumbass. Armen, that was.


@Sicadorito @Timmen

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin’s eyes widened as the boy tapped on his chestplate. Seeing that he was alright and didn’t seem to be angry, he let down his guard a little.

“Real beskar? Cooool.” Quin took a bite out of his cotton candy, admiring Etr’s armor as Armen approached. He hadn’t ever seen a Mandalorian before, let alone real Mandalorian beskar, and this was the last place he’d expected to find one. Not that he minded! No, Quin loved meeting new people, and Etr seemed like a pretty nice guy.

After Armen asked his question and then trailed off for a moment, Quin interjected before Etr could respond, his mouth still full of cotton candy.

“By the way, since you are here, why don’t we treat you to a game or a ride to make up for, uh, that?” He gestured to Etr’s cotton candy on the ground. “Or… I can get you a new one!”

@Timmen @Die Shize

 

[Etr Wyara]

They were both polite to Apologize. Etr thought so. He was really ready to start throwing punches when the event first happened. Though now he could only think of how much fun they could have together. The older boy had introduced himself as Armen and the other as Quin. They both were remorseful about his Lost snack and Armen offered his own While Quin offered To buy him another.
"No, thats ok. Thanks though"
Etr raised his hand to Armen's Offer, gesturing Ina a friendly "No thank you" way.
"Ill be honest you kinda saved me from it. I don't really like sugar."
He did however find Quin's offer enticing. The boy had Brought up the idea Of them doing a ride or a game. Though he wasn't sure what they could do here.
"Ive never actually been to a fair before. You guys have any ideas on what we could do for fun on here? Maybe a shooting gallery?"
He pointed over to a Booth where others were firing weak Slug throwers to take out moving Steel targets.
"We could do more balloons"
He also said gesturing towards the booth they had walked away from.
@Die Shize
@Sicadorito

 

[Armen Westyll]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

Armen looked from Etr to Quin. The former was the last person to ask what to do in a fair, to be fair, though a shooting gallery sounded pretty cool. Though, I did just shoot a dart at an armored Mandalorian, so I dunno.

Then again, that game hadn’t gotten far on account of that accident, and he did intend to beat Quin at the game if no one else. Having failed at darts, slugthrowers seemed like the next best thing. With that, Armen swallowed his last bite of sugary pink splendor and threw the stick into the trash can on his way.

“You boys fancy yourselves lucky!?” Called a blindfolded Miraluka.

“I don’t need luck. I’m a Jedi Padawan.” Armen blinked back.

“Ha, and I’m a blindfolded Miraluka!”

“...”

“So, rewards are these teddy bears and plushies and whatsuch and rules are simple: headshots earn the most points and everyone shoots at the same time. Game?”

“Game.”

“Game on!”

The game began. Armen grabbed his silly little rifle, braced the butt to his shoulder, narrowed his eye like a Mandalorian bounty hunter, squeezed the trigger.

-POP!-POP!-POP!-

He hit the first target in the stomach, the second target in the wall behind the target, the third target in the wall behind the target, frowned. Yep, I suck.

Spoiler: 3 Targets!

D20 roll: 13
D20 roll: 4
D20 roll: 1

@Sicadorito @Timmen

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin shrugged as Etr asked for suggestions for what they could do in the fair. If I knew, then I’d be doing it.

“You might want to ask Armen for that one,” he confirmed, glancing at the older boy. But Etr pointed to the shooting gallery nearby, and Quin once again broke into a grin as he saw it. He also suggested dart throwing again, but after what had just happened, he was a little wary of doing that again. Armen seemed to be thinking the same as he headed over to the shooting booth instead.

Quin picked up his own rifle as the game began, and fired three consecutive shots at the target without trying to aim much. The Force will guide me, he thought. Well, it seemed the Force was on vacation at the moment. The target was completely untouched. The wall behind it, not so much, and he looked ruefully over at Armen. At least he’d gotten one on the target.

@Timmen @Die Shize

 

[Etr Wyara]

Armen and Quin were extremely excited to Go and take shots at the shooting gallery. Never quite thought Jedi would be so excited to use Slugthrowers but hey, it's all fun and games. Quin stepped up and took 3 pretty good shots and got super close 2 out 3 times. Quin didn't seem to hit much of anything. Their posture seemed off, And I didn't think they were getting too good of Aim down the sight. It didn't look like quin used a rifle very much, same as Armen. I stepped up and paid the Droid for my Slug throwers. I stood in a riflemans posture, took aim, Took a deep breath and squeezed;
Hit the first target just above center.
Second target was a bit farther. I readied the rifle and fired;
Hit the Target in the up left.
Last target was right in front of me, I took a deep breath. The pull of the trigger was longer than the other two and When I fired I seemed to flinch a bit.
It missed the target and hit the wall on the upper left.
"Darnit"
I said, I looking over at the jedi
" wanna go another round?"

Spoiler

Shot 1: 19
shot 2: 17
shot 3: 7

 

[Armen Westyll]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

After the Force failed him, not that it was guiding him to begin with, Armen nodded in some mild satisfaction to discover that Quin had failed even worse than he had. Observing the results of the Mandalorian, well, it was no shocker that Etr did better than both Jedi.

“Not bad, my man.” Armen fist-bumped the dude’s pauldron with sustained congratulations. That was just Armen’s way. “Game is almost rigged to mess you up so I bet you’d’ve hit that third target otherwise.”

He stole a look at the blindfolded Miraluka who looked away or…whatever. “All right, one more round, then we go check out that castle-ma-thingy.”

He gestured toward said castle-ma-thingy with its stone exterior, clearly designed for the fair and surely filled with all sorts of nonsense to pass the time with. Then he squeezed the trigger.

-POP!-POP!-POP!-

He hit the first target in the stomach, the second target in the wall behind the target, the third target at its very edge upon which the Miraluka shook his head to confirm that Armen got no point. “Meh.”

Spoiler: 3 Targets!

D20 roll: 13
D20 roll: 2
D20 roll: 6

@Sicadorito @Timmen

 

[Quin Leonkri]

“Wow. That was impressive.” Etr had done far better than both him and Armen, though it was to be expected. From what he’d heard, Mandalorians were some of the finest warriors in the galaxy, and Quin was just glad that he wasn’t on the receiving end of a real rifle in Etr’s hands.

When he proposed that they do another round, Quin grinned. “Sure thing.” The castle that Armen had pointed to seemed fun too, and he did want to see what it held after they finished this. Still, it didn’t mean that he had to rush getting his shots in— he was determined to do better this time.

Being patient with himself worked the first time, though he grew slightly overconfident after the first shot thudded into the chest of the target. The second and third ended up missing again, and Quin sighed in disappointment.

“At least we tied this round,” Quin said with a shrug to Armen.

Spoiler: Rolls

14, 4, 3

@Timmen @Die Shize

 

[Armen Westyll]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Quin shrugged at Armen, Armen shrugged at Quin. Really, it was a thing that Armen did best. “Yeah, at least we tied.” He hung up his rifle, made a mental note to never shoot a slugthrower again, eyed that castle. “Let’s bounce, bros.”

They rolled toward the temple, not needing dice or anything, and were promptly halted before the gate. “Halt, visitors!” Barked a guard in some kinda plate armor thingstuff. “I am Guardian Gerold Hightower! State your business!”

“Cheh-in ow uh ah-uhl,” Armen spoke through a mouthful of hotdog. The mustard was surprisingly splendid.

The guard looked to his fellow guard, perplexed, sourced one of the two other guests for interpretation of the foreign language. In moments, the pair of guards bid the guests entry into the entrance.

They would enter the grand hall of the castle place, and the hall was indeed grand, Armen would not deny. It would be pitch black were it not lit by braziers and candles, torches on the walls and a giant mirror on the ceiling reflecting all the light.

A grandiose staircase led to a second floor, but given the size of the castle from outside it was clear that doors on either floor led to floors more. “Well?” Armen swallowed the last of his of hotdog.

“There’s a map kiosk thing in front of the staircase. We could pick a room or explore at will.” He shrugged.


@Sicadorito
@Timmen

 

[Quin Leonkri]

The guard stared at Armen after he spoke, then looked at his companion and then at Etr and Quin for a translation, to which the latter could only shrug again.

“Can’t help you there, sirs,” he said with a shake of his head. Whether they found out what the other Padawan was trying to say or not, they let the group in to look around on their own. Upon stepping inside, Quin was surprised at how enormous the structure really was. There were even multiple floors!

Running over to the staircase, Quin stopped by the flashing kiosk on the side. It displayed a map of each floor of the castle, and there were so many things to see that Quin wouldn’t have minded if they’d stayed here the entire time. One room in particular caught his eye, a large one located on the bottom floor.

“How about… the dungeons?” He turned to the others with a grin.

@Die Shize @Timmen

 

[Armen Westyll]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Armen blew through his lips at Quin’s suggestion to go check out the dungeons, like that was the most obvious and boring thing in the world.

Little did Quin know that Armen was really just masking his reaction while inwardly gulping inside. Of COURSE he has to pick the dungeons of all kriffing places.

Armen Westyll fancied himself a pretty cool pretty chill guy for the most part overall and how’s your day but not tonight. Not that night, this night, not anyway, anyway. Nope, he was already beginning to imagine all the torture devices and claustrophobic cages and darkness lit up by scant torchlight and— Shut the kark up, Army.

Maybe he had just seen one too many medieval movies in his life, like Game of Chairs and Joan of Park. Oh well. “Fine. Let’s go.” Etr might have piped up in protest but it was two against one at that point. For better or worse… Meh.

So the trio drifted downward, descending the stone steps into the depths of the dungeons. Down, down, down. Fear, however, had no place here. So I tell myself. Ah, suck it up, ya big baby. Maybe it was the tightness, the confined spaces even before the cells; the dungeon was no place this Padawan wanted to be in for real.

“Is that…” Armen gulped for real that time; quite audible amid the quiet atmosphere. “...An iron maiden?” He pointed elsewhere. “Is that…for flaying?” It was a frame of two wooden beams shaped in an X. There was fake blood and strips of skin around it. "By the stars, save my balls."


@Sicadorito
@Timmen

 

[Quin Leonkri]

“Yay! I wonder what they have down there,” Quin said as he started down the stairs. “You think they have ghosts? Or zombies? Hm. Maybe too soon.” His voice echoed off the stone walls of the staircase. When they got to the bottom, he realized how quiet it was.

It was dark too except for the torches on the wall, which were mostly lighting up the various torture devices on display. Armen gulped at seeing the iron maiden, and upon seeing the razor-sharp spikes on the inside, Quin was starting to get a little spooked too. The flaying frame that he pointed out was even more graphic.

“...Ouch.” They turned the corner, away from the torture advices, to Quin’s relief, and into a long, nearly pitch black hallway. Lining the corridor were empty cells and hanging chains. This exhibit wasn’t as scary as the one they’d just passed, and it seemed a little bland. Maybe he could spice it up a little! After a few moments of entering the hall, Quin fell back to walk a little bit behind Armen, before stopping completely and letting the older Padawan go on ahead. When he was far enough, Quin crept up on him quietly before tapping Armen on his shoulder and whispering, “Boo!” in his ear.

Spoiler: Roll

Rolled 11 for jump scare

@Die Shize @Timmen

 

[Armen Westyll]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Empty cells and hanging chains weren’t much better than iron maidens and flaying frames. Is that door locked? That one unlocked? Anyone in there? Please don’t eat me? It was all Armen could do to imagine what life might be like living in a dungeon like this drukhole.

“I wonder what prisoners get fed in a place like this…” Though it was fake and whatsuch it still managed to stink of death and pain and everything worse than tooth decay. It was pretty impressive, all things considered. “...Maybe they just…eat the rats?” Or…each other…uffff.

A straw mat stole his gaze. It didn’t look terribly too comfortable. A chain soaked in ‘blood’ dangled before him as he sidestepped. There was a hook at the end of it. Gssshhhhh get me outta here get me outta here get me outta— “AAAHHHH!!!”

Spoiler: Music OOC

‘Boo!’ whispered in Armen’s ear, but that was only the half of what had scared him half to death. Steel flashed from the darkness of a cell just beside the pair; a blade tearing through shadow and reaching for Quin Leonkri.

Instinctively, Armen pushed his pal away from the sword. He backed up, suddenly aware that someone or something was emerging from the cell.

The knife flashed again. Then, in the seconds that amounted to nothing, Armen realized it was neither sword nor knife. S…S…Scissors..!?

They snipped shut. -Cleek!- Opened. -Cleek!- A slender arm poked out of the darkness. It looked like a tanned corpse coming out of a bloody bath. The thoughts made no sense in Armen’s head but such was the consequence of terror. Kriff my Sunday sandwich.

Spoiler: Roll: Quin Leonkri gets the stabby-stabby

D20 dice roll result: 12

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

“Ha ha, I got- AHH WHAT IS THAT?!” Quin jumped back just as something metal flashed in his direction. Armen pushed him away just before the blade hit his arm, though the momentum caused him to lose his footing. He fell hard on the stone floor, and when he caught the glimpse of the blade sticking out of the cell again he instinctively got to his feet, removed his hilt from his belt and lit it up.

“Armen, stay back!”

A whooshing noise sounded throughout the hallway bathed in green light, and it was only then that Quin realized that the blade was nothing more than a pair of scissors. It was too late though, it lay in two pieces on the ground, still sizzling slightly from the hot plasma that had split it. The corpse(or whoever was playing it) had fortunately dropped the prop and stared at the Padawan before the expression turned from fear to anger.

“Oh, come on! I wasn’t paid for almost getting my ARM sliced off!” the corpse exclaimed, throwing up their hands before turning around and storming off into a door at the other end of the cell. It slammed behind them as they exited, and Quin extinguished his lightsaber.

“Oops.”

@Die Shize