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Ana DAmico

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Ana tried to be cool; she really, really did. She was patient with the yokels of this world, and even opted out of causing any major harm to anyone, even in their initial confrontation. Now there was a mob of pissed-off farmers with tools insulting her and ignoring their – in her opinion, very intelligent – suggestion to just move out of the way to let them pass. Even Talak, whose first instinct in their interactions both times today was to choke someone out, tried to get them to just… move to the side. And he failed.

So now they were going to make this bloody.

As soon as the first man charged her with an axe, Ana summoned her lightsaber to her hand and ignited it in one smooth motion, suffusing the area around them in a pale red glow. The farmer, too committed to his attack, only barely registered the speed with which she moved when she slashed upwards and took his arm clean off at the elbow. The sizzling limb hit the ground with a dull thud and the farmer dropped to the ground in shock, screaming at the sudden loss of an appendage. She followed through with a horizontal slash that bisected the man just above the nipple and his flesh and bones sloughed off in two meaty chunks.

Her moving forward suddenly had caught the rake-man off guard, so his attack was a fair bit short. However, the width of the rake allowed a single prong to dig into her skin and leave a fairly nasty gash along her shoulder blade. Ana flinched hard, grimaced, and spun around, instinctively throwing her free hand forward and sending a wave of blue sparks towards her aggressor. The lightning caught him square in the chest and sent excruciating, unimaginable pain through the rest of his body as she ruptured blood vessels and burnt through tissue. He screamed, dropped his rake, and fell to the ground in anguish as she shocked him until he started seizing up.

The sudden display of her power, combined with their two lightsabers, caused the others to hesitate for a moment. Within seconds, two of their own had just been bisected and fried, and the only thing to show for their efforts was some blood that stained the back of Ana’s shirt. Still, mob mentality was hard to combat, and they had quite a few numbers on their side. This hesitation was cut short as three men shouted and charged at Talak, each one waving some kind of hammer, axe, or rake. Two came at him head on, while the third approached slightly to his right, all three screaming like maniacs.

Two more villagers charged at Ana simultaneously, but she reached out and gripped one with the Force and threw him into his comrade, sending them both tumbling to the side with a confused yelp. By now, it had become a full-on brawl, and anyone who was in the open before violence broke out was now cowering in their homes. It was only a matter of time before the guards heard the ruckus and came down to investigate.

@Phoenix
 

Talak Rand

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There was death in his eyes as they charged at him. He took no pleasure in the killing, but he didn't shy away from it either. It was kill or be killed, and he'd done what he could to avoid it. Or at least he'd made gestures to avoid it at the least.

They charged, weapons in hand, but the Arcanist wasn't worried. Not a single one of their tools could stop a lightsaber, so as long as he avoided being directly hit they had nothing to stop his onslaught.

They started charging at him, and he leapt to his own left away from the man coming in at his side. That isolated one of the three while the one now closest was promptly cut in two at the umbilicus. His falling torso blocked either of the other two from getting a hit on the Arcanist.

A step back put him out of the range of the man now coming around the dead man and a thrust back forward buried the tip of the saber into the man's chest before whipping it to the left and through the weapon and head of the other approaching man.

The town folk were beginning to back off now. With five dead, two injured, and not a scratch on either of the "sorcerers" the screams of fear and running away had begun.

We need to go, he said quickly. He didn't want to slaughter the whole village if they didn't have to, but it was well on its way to that point if they didn't evacuate soon.

He took off into the woods and vanished into the treeline as shouts began behind them and the searches began.

This could make finding the hut more difficult, he said. @Painus
 

Ana DAmico

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Ana didn’t need to be told twice that it was time to leave. In a matter of seconds, the two Sith had managed to effortlessly slaughter five people, harmed two others, and utterly terrified the rest of the mob. They certainly demonstrated their raw power over the low-tech, backwards people of this dreary little planet. The mob scattered almost immediately and its members fled for their homes or for the guards, giving Ana and Talak the window of opportunity they needed to get the hell out of here. She deactivated her lightsaber and returned it to where it was previously before dashing away with Talak into the woods.

After some time, the search parties started hunting for them. It seemed that the slaughter inspired the Baron’s thugs to go looking for the murderers, which meant that they had made enemies of a local monarch. She could definitely cross that one off her bucket list, at least. She crouched low among the foliage with Talak and sighed, running a hand through her hair. ”Why do we always end up being hunted?” she asked rhetorically, shaking her head. Kashyyyk, Tatooine, here… every time, she ended up being hounded by something. If it wasn’t a katarn or giant spider, it was Trandoshan hunters; if it weren’t Trandoshan hunters, it was medieval soldiers.

”Trouble either follows you everywhere,” she added, looking at Talak with a grin, ”Or it follows me everywhere. Either way, hanging out with you is trouble.” She frowned as she began to think about how their plan to find this ‘sorcerer’ might go now that they had told the Baron where they were headed before choking him and murdering his people. It was almost assured that he would send a sizable detachment of soldiers to the hut to wait and watch for their arrival.

She stalked through the forest to avoid the closing patrols and moved in the direction of the ridge they were supposed to cross over to get to the hut. After some time of moving, she slowed the pace and looked around. These woods were extensive, certainly, and she wondered how long it would take the thugs to comb it in search of them before they gave up and returned to the castle. It didn’t seem like they were expert trackers hot on their trail, so they probably had plenty of room to breathe.

”You know, he did say there was a rebellion or something going on,” she said as she began to walk, ”If we can’t get the guards to stop looking for us, maybe, uh, they can.” She shrugged; it was a total longshot. They’d need to find whatever rebellion this was, convince them to help out, and somehow distract the Baron long enough to get where they needed. At this point, it’d likely be better to just wade through a sea of soldier corpses, but she was open to ideas. ”Just, uh, just a thought,” she said.

@Phoenix
 

Talak Rand

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This really was just another day for Talak in a lot of ways. Being hunted... actually, no it pretty much only happened when he was around Ana, too. They seemed to be very bad luck together.

He looked over at her and with an almost-deadpan expression, said, I completely blame you for the fact that we're always being hunted. It was a joke, but there was no denying that the two of them were always in trouble.

They started along toward the ridge, but he could still hear people in the distance. Shouting and a complete lack of subtlety made evading them slightly easier.

Eventually the sounds started to fade slightly, and Ana spoke up. He frowned for a moment as he thought about her suggestion. Surely the village wasn't large enough that they could comb the whole forest for them. Although the Baron knew where they were heading.

You might be right. They'll send people ahead to the village, he said. The problem was that Talak had no clue at all how to find the resistance. Normally he would have called up Artee for a sensor scan... but instead they had the senile man.

Okay, so we know they'll be in the forests out here, he started out loud. But they'll need to have support: food and whatnot, so maybe there's someone in a different village that would know how to find them, he said, which would mean they'd need to find another village... preferably one that didn't involve people who were already trying to kill them.

They made it to the ridge, and rather than continue on to the hut, Talak made for the highest point. It was beautiful out side. As far as the eye could see were trees and rivers, and then he saw a grouping of huts.

A likely choice, he said, pointing out to it was a potential place for them to make their start. It was only a moment later that he actually looked out and realized how beautiful it was. As terrible as the people were, it was a breathtaking world. @Painus
 

Ana DAmico

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She was surprised that he considered her plan. Frankly, she expected him to just suggest they go down to the hut anyways to slaughter as many of the soldiers as possible to get what they wanted. Still, Ana was glad that their plan didn’t consist of “go to a hut and eradicate an army” just to find out some information that may or might not even be there. ”Hm, good thinking,” she said, nodding her head in agreement. Their best bet was to find someone sympathetic to the rebel cause if they wanted to find the actual group, and then they’d need to figure out how to win their trust.

She smiled and shook her head, thinking about the circumstances of their adventures. They wanted to find out information on a potential dark side alchemist, and here they were hiding from a local monarch’s soldiers in a forest wondering how best to use rebels to their advantage. They needed a better place to visit; being hunted was becoming too normal for them. They continued through the forest until they reached the ridge. She gazed out over the picturesque landscape in awe, basking in the beauty of it all. The people were disgusting and awful, but their planet truly was idyllic.

”Wow,” she sighed, watching the various creatures fly into the horizon. Everything seemed so… vibrant. The vegetation was verdant, and the water looked like something out of a painting. Were it not for the ignorant locals, she’d have considered establishing a foothold on the planet to get away from it all, if anything.

She noted the huts and nodded a few times, longing to stay up on the ridge to just watch the landscape for a moment or two longer. ”Definitely better than Tatooine,” she said with a chuckle, ”And way fewer spiders than Kashyyyk.” She turned her head and looked at Talak, pursing her lips slightly. ”It’s a shame that it’s so rotten underneath the beauty of it all,” she said, turning to look back at the huts ”But everywhere else’s like that too, isn’t it?” Even from here she could see the ant-like silhouettes of its denizens milling about, blissfully unaware of the slaughter that she and Talak had committed and might bring to their home just to find some sorcerer’s hovel.

@Phoenix
 

Talak Rand

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Considerably, he agreed when she said that it was better than Tatooine and had fewer spiders than Kashyyyk. But she was right: its society was rotten. He started to wonder if everything he was working toward was pointless. Every society was corrupted. Was there any point to even trying? Or did he just need to try to make things better for individuals?

No, he didn't accept that. He didn't accept that quitting and letting corruption run rampant was the right choice.

Yeah, it's like that everywhere. That's why we need a presence everywhere, he said. An Empire - a legitimate government that wasn't afraid to get its hands dirty - could have eyes and ears everywhere.

He turned after another moment and started heading down the ridge. It was a shame that they'd had to stain this world with blood, but he wondered if there wouldn't be some merit to coming back here and setting up a base in the wilds. Probably not.

He started making his way through the forest, listening for any signs of their pursuers but hearing nothing.

Maybe we'll have better luck talking to people this time, he said. And maybe he wouldn't start choking people out.

I'm not sure I've ever asked you before, but what do you hope to accomplish in the Sith? he asked. Most members had their own ambitions within the organization, and although she may not have been certain, he knew she had enough drive to have goals of her own. @Painus
 

Ana DAmico

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”Perhaps some uniformity to the rot would be nice,” she mused, following alongside Talak down the ridge. His ambitions extended beyond the mere cult of the Sith Eternal; he wanted something expansive, a legitimate government spanning hundreds of systems that could bring order and stability to its worlds, or, at the very least, make their corruption similar across its territory. It was a daunting task for one man to undertake, especially given the power and threat levels of their leader, but he seemed to believe in himself. She even began to find herself believing his point of view as well to an extent, which surprised her.

Ana walked through the forest with him, keeping her senses open for the baron’s men but finding little evidence of their pursuers. Perhaps they simply gave up the hunt and returned to fortify their home. If they believed they ran off the two Sith, that was fine by her; it meant less care needed to be given in avoiding patrols. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry, so they couldn’t totally count out being hunted.

Ana chuckled at Talak’s hope that they’d be luckier in talking to these villagers. I had no issue with talking,” she reminded him with a raised finger, You’re the one who resorted to choking first.” She dearly hoped that this next village wouldn’t be full of misogynists and idiots, but she didn’t exactly hold her breath. Maybe she’d let Talak initiate conversation first this time.

She unconsciously plucked some leaves from a low-hanging branch as they walked and began to idly tear them apart. ”My ambitions?” she asked rhetorically, pursing her lips pensively, ”That’d ruin the surprise, wouldn’t it?” She smiled coyly, then rolled her eyes at her own feigned mysteriousness. ”I want what you want, but through different means,” she continued, ”Stability, order, a moment of peace and quiet,” she dropped the pieces of leaves she had in her hand and gestured ambiguously around her, ”And the opportunity to delve into the things you and I are too afraid of right now to use. Alchemy, dark magics, ways of bending the Force in unnatural manners to achieve the stability we desire.”

She shrugged listlessly to herself, then added a quick, ”But things move slowly for me, it may take some time.” She had grand ambitions, but she took her time with things, and as quickly as everything seemed to move, she wondered if they were even worth pursuing. As they walked, she thought she heard something moving in the underbrush, but she saw only the woodland critters around; deer, birds, small vermin, nothing too unusual. She felt like they were being watched, but that might have just been her paranoia of being hunted so frequently. The forest was quite large, but the path to the village was fairly easy to travel along.

@Phoenix
 

Talak Rand

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Talak threw up his hands in "surrender" as she pointed out that he had been the one to start choking people. Sometimes it was just like that, and these people didn't bring out the best in him.

Fine, I'll try to keep from choking anyone immediately, he said.

He listened as she talked about her ambitions. For a moment he actually thought she wasn't going to tell him, and he wouldn't have forced her to, but then she seemed to open up. Yes, many of those goals were the same as his, but then she talked about her curiosity with the dark side. It seemed she'd made her decision after all, and something told him this would become her true focus. The thing that would consume her fully, and he once again couldn't help but thing that he was oddly out of place within his own Order. He wasn't even sure his goals were compatible with the Sith at all.

He nodded silently but didn't say any of this. She didn't need to hear it from him, and he couldn't alter her decision or force her to share his views. He tried not to consider it further.

We should probably... he started to say, but didn't get to finish.

The air around them seemed to ripple, and suddenly everything was floating: rocks, dirt, grass all seemed to float up around the pair. A misty-smoke appeared in front of them and out of it came a booming voice.

What do you seek?! it echoed. Talak had the distinct impression that this wasn't actually real, but it didn't make it any less concerning. Was this who they were after? Was he or she still alive? Only questions and no answers. @Painus
 

Ana DAmico

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Ana noted the silence Talak gave in response to her ambitions. It seemed that he had simply accepted it, otherwise she was certain he’d try to talk her out of it, or, at the very least, make her rationalize it in some kind of heated debate. He was always one to question things, and the lack of response surprised her to an extent. It was something to consider.

She halted in place as the debris around them began to float. Vegetation and rocks sat suspended in the air and turned slightly in place, and she figured by Talak’s confusion that it wasn’t him doing this. She panned her gaze around the forest, searching for the culprit, but finding nothing out of the ordinary. When the voice began to speak through the haze, she whipped back around, utterly incredulous as to what was happening.

Ana wasn’t sure what to say, so she replied to its question with one of her own. ”Who are you?” she asked, finding it hard to focus on the semi-opaque smoke. It swirled angrily, and she had the faintest feeling that she was being watched, but she couldn’t be certain. It did not answer for a moment or two, but then suddenly its disembodied voice echoed around them.

”Answer,” it boomed, and she got the feeling it wouldn’t stick around for many more questions if they didn’t give it what it wanted. ”What do you seek?!” it said again, the clipped tone of rising irritation apparent even through the haze.

”The… rebels, the sorcere-“ was all she got out before it interrupted her with a, ”You will not find answers in this place. Leave at once.” With that, the haze abruptly vanished, the stones and dirt fell back to the earth in a rain of debris, and the two of them were left alone just as they had been before. Ana looked at Talak with a puzzled expression on her face. Were they being tracked? Was this all an illusion? There were so many answers about such an unusual occurrence that she could not find words for it for a time.

”What, uh…” she trailed off, looking around the forest, ”What was that?”

@Phoenix
 

Talak Rand

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Talak wasn't sure what they were dealing with and it gave him a creeping feeling that they were being tracked. Whoever or whatever that was knew enough to seek them out or at least touch their minds.

I think that was the person we're looking for, he said, though he'd been under the impression they were looking for a dead person. Perhaps it was an apprentice? Or someone else?

I think we need to move quickly, he said, and his pace notably picked up as they continued toward the town. In the distance, he could hear someone at the edges of the town, were they... oh that was someone urinating in the stream. Well at least he wasn't expecting to be snuck up on.

He motioned for Ana to go to one side while he moved to the other, reaching out with the Force to calm the man's mind and make him more compliant.

You want to answer our questions, he said with a wave of his hand. The man finished his business and rather than yelling about being interrupted, simply turned and repeated what Talak had said. Ah, the Force was so useful.

Do you know where the rebel hideout is? he asked. No point in beating around the bush when the Force was at work.

Nay, but Rethger might. He's the smithie, helps repair the weapons they say, the man said and shrugged. Don't right know if it's true, he said.

It seemed they needed to pay Rethger a visit, then. Follow the sound of the hammer one could say. @Painus
 

Ana DAmico

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Ana was thoroughly confused by the encounter, but agreed with Talak that they needed to get moving. They were losing time, and the longer they took to find their target, the more time the baron’s men had to interfere and ruin everything. Or, worse, the more time the farmers had to gather en masse and riot in their search for the murderers of their friends and family. They hustled through the forest and came upon a man… peeing in the stream. One of the corners of her mouth pulled up and back on one side as she wondered if people even sanitized their pee-water before they used it, and she figured it was better to not think about the plethora of hygiene problems they faced.

She approached one side of the man while Talak swept to the other side and used the Force to addle his mind and make him more compliant. He gave him a glazed look as he answered his question, and when they had finished, stood there for a moment while he collected himself, totally unaware that he had given up vital information. Ana immediately headed into the village, listening for the sounds of the forge.

The unmistakable clang! of metal-on-metal echoed throughout the small village. It took them about a minute or so before they came upon the forge, and there stood a stocky man hammering away at a sword. This had to be Rethger. She approached him from behind right as he dunked the weapon into a tub of cold water. Steam hissed in response, and he left it there to cool for a moment. Ana took the pause in the noise to tap him on the back, causing him to jump slightly at being snuck up on.

Before he had a chance to react, Ana gesticulated and said, ”You want to answer our questions,” just as Talak had earlier. Rethger’s eyes went slightly glossy and he nodded, repeating her words. Commanding the wills of simpler people had immense uses.

”You repair weapons for the rebels?” she asked, taking an equally direct approach to the interrogation. He nodded dumbly before speaking in a low, hoarse grumble. ”Aye. Got a shipment moving out tonight,” he said, idly scratching his nose with a heavily calloused finger.

Ana looked at Talak before looking back at Rethger and asking, ”Where’s it going?” He sniffed and looked behind him past the forge. ”Beyond the dale there. Cave system at the base of the foothills, marked with some animal skulls on stakes.”

Ana looked at Talak again with a satisfied expression and smiled. The Force was the easiest way to getting what they wanted, and two simple applications of it cut down their search by a very long time.

”Wait until night or head over now?” she asked while Rethger slowly turned around to resume his work.

@Phoenix
 

Talak Rand

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Talak followed along through the village, taking the back foot as she demanded answers from the forgeman. She was turning into quite the capable Sith. Bending the Force to her will and getting what she wanted and what they needed. He wondered what she would go on to become in the future.

Now, he said as they were leaving.

The one we're tracking seems to already know we're here. We don't want to give them any more time than we have to, he said. It seemed to make sense to him. The rebels may not be friendly, but maybe they'd get lucky.

They started toward the dale and the cave system that apparently waited beyond. He wondered what he would find beyond. How many rebels? Would they help the pair? Were they about to make a new enemy?

He didn't get to think about it long because well before they were a man dressed in blue appeared from the bushes. Talak could sense close to a dozen more along the sides and watching the pair advance.

Halt! Who goes there?! the man shouted. His clothes were made of some thick, padded fabric and arrayed in blue and white stripes. Surely these must have been the rebels guarding their camp? He could only hope. @Painus
 

Ana DAmico

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Ana nodded in agreement with Talak as they left the village; it was best to get moving, especially when time was working against them in this case. It seemed that the more they sought this sorcerer, the more hoops they had to jump through. What was supposed to become an easy excursion was quickly becoming a proper adventure, almost like something she’d read in a book before going to sleep. She wondered where all the dragons were, or even the knights in shining armor. Things here seemed so much more… dreary and realistic. It was downright depressing. Such was life, she supposed.

They began to make their way across the dale towards the aforementioned cave system, eager to find the help they needed to complete their task. As they walked, she considered the possibility that the rebels would be just as, if not more, hostile than the baron, and it dawned on her that they might be walking very well into a trap of some kind. Then again, when weren’t they walking into a trap? Roaming inadvertently into some nefarious scheme or hunt seemed to be eighty percent of what they did anymore, so she prepared herself for the absolute worst.

Which, as luck would have it, might have come at the right time. Or maybe the wrong time. Time would tell which time this was.

The bushes rustled and out stepped a man in striped clothing, a well-sharpened weapon hanging at his hip. She, too, felt the others around them watching them warily, hidden bows and blades poised to strike if they became a threat. Ana raised her hands and looked at Talak, hissing a quiet ”Play nice,” before turning to address the man who shouted at them.

”We’re friends,” she replied, trying to smile and put him at ease. He scowled and looked between them. ”Friends of who? The baron?” he demanded, not taking his eyes away from the duo. Ana shook her head a few times and said, ”No, the baron is hunting us. As much as he’s hunting you, I imagine?” It was an extremely bold move, and she guesstimated they had a 50/50 shot of being killed on the spot, but fortune favored the bold, didn’t it?

The man took his eyes off of them for the first time and looked to the bushes on either side of the Sith before tilting his head backwards. From the bushes, several similarly clothed fighters stepped forth, bows and swords drawn and waiting for the command. ”Who are you, really?” the man asked, his tone marginally less confrontational.

”Like I said, we’re friends of yours and no friends of the baron or his thugs. We want to talk,” The other soldiers looked to the man, who she could only assume was the ranking officer here, if they had that kind of structure. He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment and looked at his fighters, who kept their weapons trained on the outsiders. ”How can I be sure you’re not lying?” he asked, turning his gaze back to them.

@Phoenix
 

Talak Rand

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Ana muttered to him to play nice and he gave her a quick glare.

I reciprocate, he retorted. He only attacked people that deserved it. He was planning to play nice, but sometimes people just needed a little... beating... or killing.

Talak glanced over as Ana declared they were no friend to the Baron. It was true, and with a high probability that these were rebels, it was as good a move as any. If this turned into a fight he'd rather get it out of the way now.

Well, if we're lying, there's what? A dozen of you? Maybe more? he said with a shrug. If we're lying then you just kill us, he said. Of course he knew that killing them wouldn't be so easy, but they didn't know that. That was a secret for Talak and Ana to hold onto.

Hmm, fine, then what are you after? he finally said. This was, of course, the difficult part. Convincing them to attack the Baron's men to keep them off the Siths' backs.

We're trying to get to the old sorcerer's house, and the Baron's men are holed up there. But that means they're all in the open, he said, throwing out the thought of the Baron's men out in the open as easy targets.

That seemed to get his attention, but he wasn't sold. And what's in it for us? he asked. @Painus
 

Ana DAmico

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”We’ll help kill the Baron,” she blurted out almost immediately when the rebel asked what they would gain from helping them. She wasn’t thinking, but that seemed like the one thing these rebels wanted most, so it would be the easiest thing to guarantee their support. They didn’t even need to go kill the Baron once they got what they were after, but something told her that Talak wouldn’t be opposed to killing the man, given the way their last interaction went.

Ana felt the gaze of the rebels all fall on her now, but she didn’t shrink away. Her expression showed little else but grim determination to complete their task. The leader of this little group cocked his head to the side somewhat and grinned. ”You two? Kill the Baron where a whole force of ours couldn’t?” The other rebels chuckled slightly at the notion that this 5-foot tall woman and her equally out-of-place companion could succeed where they couldn’t. Ana shrugged to herself once their laughter subsided before saying, ”There’s a reason the Baron’s men are scouring the woods looking for us,” she tilted her head towards Talak, ”Which gives you an easy target.”

The man chewed the inside of his cheek in thought as he looked the two up and down. They didn’t seem like much, but they carried themselves with a sense of confidence that someone lying about their abilities couldn’t really pull off. Eventually he nodded a few times and motioned for the other rebels to put away their weapons. ”Fine,” he capitulated, ”We’ll talk about your little request. But not here, and not with me.” With that, he turned on his heel and began walking off, gesturing for everyone to follow. Ana cast Talak a sideways glance before joining the party of rebels on their trek.

Their march through the rest of the way didn’t seem to take long, and soon they arrived at the base of a massive cliff with a cave gouged out. Sure enough, there were animal skulls on stakes on either side of the entrance, and she could sense the watchful gaze of hidden sentries upon their approach. The rebel guiding them waved them off and approached the entrance, halting before they walked inside.

”The one you’re going to want to talk to is in there by the planning table. You’ll know him when you see him,” He gave Ana and Talak a firm nod before adding at the end, ”Good luck.”

What the hell did that mean?

@Phoenix
 
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