Private Vanishing Peasant Syndrome

[Jogon]

Ukatis System, Ukatis
House Nyvlt Manor, Study

Corazona von Ascania ​

Gallas von Nyvlt was recently inaugurated into his house's leadership, or so it had been told to Jogon. He looked young and dashing. The model aristocrat. But behind his shining green eyes burned ruthless ambition and an unabashed lust for power. Again, the model aristocrat. What was less on-model was the fact that he was in a panicked rage.​

​

"I told you to make sure you weren't followed," he raved, making fists with his delicate hands and shaking them furiously, "What the fuck is she doing here? And at this hour?"​

​

Crude words sounded alien in Gallas' lilting voice. Like a huttese. A consummate professional, Jogon refrained from laughing at him and shrugged his shoulders.​

​

He'd arrived late in the evening. They had enjoyed dinner – a hearty vegetable soup – and had come now to the office to talk business. The sky outside the study's towering window was dark, with only a few primitive candles for lighting.​

​

Even the wealthy ukatians had the most fascinating attachment to living like provincials out of contact with the rest of the galaxy. If it had been borne of anything other than mindless traditionalism, it would have been quaint. Respectable, even.​

​

"Could be a coincidence."​

​

Gallas nearly shrieked at him. "A coincidence? She'll ruin everything! If she knows…"​

​

The new Lord von Nyvlt trailed off, having quickly arrived at the conclusion that if Corazona did already know about his suspiciously disappearing peasants, it would be his fault. Not Jogon's. He pursed his lips.​

​

"I'll take care of it," Jogon told him. It wasn't a big deal. Not to him, anyway. "Let her in."​

​

"Bring her? In here? And then what?"​

​

Jogon took a few heavy steps towards Gallas' desk and held the young lord's gaze. "You're a talker. Talk."​

​

Gallas blinked. His mouth squirmed to find some words. "T- talk?"​

​

"To her," Jogon nodded slowly, sage-like in his overwhelming wisdom. He didn't blink.​

​

Gallas didn't understand, but he did comply. There was a young, sallow footman waiting in the doorway watching this exchange nervously. Gallas ordered him to bring the visiting Jedi straight to his study, and the footman scurried off to do just that.​

Jogon lumbered over to one of the bookshelves that lined the study and posted up there, arms folded across his chest. Gallas smoothed his perfectly coifed hair and prepared to receive the Jedi.​

​

This ought to be good. ​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Corazona smiled faintly as she tilted her head to the footman. After confirming with his Lord, the young man silently led their guest through the high-arched, ornate halls of the Nyvlt manor.

The Princess lowered her hood as they neared the double doors of Gallas' study. Her clothes were simple but neat and clean, a fitted tunic and riding trousers beneath a stately cloak. With her hair pulled back and her face made up just enough to allow for even skin and the faintest definition of her eyes and lips, she angled somewhere between Jedi and aristocrat.

The footman opened the doors, and she glided in.

"Lord von Nyvlt,"

Hand over heart, Cora offered the newly anointed Lord a proper bow of her head. Upon rising, her eyes shifted from the nervous noble to the stalwart mountain standing a few steps to the side. The gentleness faded from her smile.

Anxiety radiated from Gallas, but his strange companion seemed entirely unbothered. Blue eyes tightened a notch on the Dashade.

Ah.

Her attention snapped back to Gallas.

"Thank you for accommodating me at this hour, Lord Nyvlt. Who might your friend be?"

Jogon

 

[Jogon]

Corazona von Ascania

​

Gallas rose at her entrance but didn't move from behind the desk. He bowed curtly and remained standing, shifting uneasily on his feet. Jogon felt a growing concern, but remained silent and let Nyvlt do the bulk of the talking.​

​

"I'm very honored to receive you, Lady Ascania," he said, swallowing hard and then offering a polite smile of perfectly ordered, perfectly white teeth. Dazzling under most circumstances, but here it just looked nervous. Flailing. "My retainer there is Mr. Jogon of Kaddak. He is helping me locate the whereabouts of a kyber deposit within my lands..."​

​

Jogon had never in his life been referred to as 'mister' and had never seen or heard of Kaddak. A wide smile split his face and he inclined his head for a respectful half-bow, though his eyes never left her. "Howdy," came the deep greeting. ​

​

Otherwise, like Nyvlt, he remained where he was. Perfectly casual, as if there wasn't a lightsaber clipped to his belt. He didn't make much of the visitor. Small Jedi, small woman, small planet. Jogon vaguely understood this was a person of some importance, but if he learned the political intricacies of every struggling backwater he passed through, he wouldn't have time to do… Well, anything else.​

​

Lord von Nyvlt shot Jogon a dreadful glare for his coarse manners. His attention quickly returned to Cora. "Might I inquire as to the purpose of your visit? You're much unexpected."​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

He is helping me locate the whereabouts of a kyber deposit within my lands..."

"Is he?"

Cora's glance lingered over Jogon again. To his inelegant greeting, she gave a tight smile .

How utterly shameless.

Her eyes snapped to his lightsaber, then glazed over his hulking form as a whole before Gallas had her attention again.

"I do apologize for neglecting to send word beforehand." Her tone conveyed an appropriate amount of regret before switching to something more even. "I've been in neighboring Silica for a few days, and I've wanted to thank you for sending aid to the capital. The builders from your territory have done marvelous work in constructing permanent housing for those who've been displaced by the war.”

Even if a noble tucked into the countryside, far from the Mandalorian assault did not give a rancor's backside about the capital's populace, they were expected to contribute in difficult times. Especially so given that those who'd ransacked the capital came from beyond the stars this time.

Cora pressed the pads of her fingers together, tenting them together near her waist.

"They're good men. A little hard to talk to, but once they open up - quite the conversationalists." She paused, frowning.

"One received word that while he was away, his sister had gone missing. Another's neighbor disappeared one night after returning from a hunt, I'm told."

Jogon

 

[Jogon]

Corazona von Ascania

She wasn't happy to see him. That was fair. Most people weren't. And that was usually on account of what Jogon was getting up to… Like right now. Lord Nyvlt thinned his lips, jaw tightened… But only for a moment, before issuing a sharp, nervous, bark of laughter. "Hah!"​

​

And then that unguarded fear was blasted away. Back to the nervous host routine. "This is the first I've heard of it. Uhm..."​

​

Jogon watched the young Lord expectantly. Gallas was on the backfoot and Jogon knew distantly that fixing him with a glare would only make things worse. But he couldn't help himself.​

​

"I'll have the game wardens look into it," he added quickly, "It's just, well."​

​

Nyvlt cleared his throat and restored some measure of composure. "It isn't terribly unusual for commoners to go missing around here. They exhibit a certain distemper that makes them imprudent and given to indulgence, which can of course make them careless..."​

​

This was clearly a discourse Nyvlt had engaged in at length with his peers. He slid into it easily, smiling warmly and apologetically. Oh, those silly peasants, getting you roped into their silly little misadventures... What are we two young, well-heeled noblepersons to do?​

​

He might have prepared a different set of talking points if he knew it was Corazona he'd have to present his excuses to. Oh well.​

​

"I do try to set an example for them, for what good it does in the face of their stubbornness. Another of their distempers, hah ha... But you've spoken to them already, as you mentioned," he cleared his throat and glanced nervously at Jogon, but finding no respite from that now-glowering statue, snapped right back to Cora, "So it would seem you're already quite aware... Uhm..."​

​

He trailed off. Out of steam.​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"This isn't unusual? Oh, dear."

Cora's lips parted, hand over heart, in a proper show of dismay. Not quite enough to be aghast, she displayed an appropriate level of concern for Nyvlt's plight. Or the comment's plight. One of the two.

"Whenever a problem arose in Ascania provence, my father saw to it himself."

Her expression settled between something neither welcoming nor openly disdainful, but she still spoke softly.

"Would it not set a good example to the people to see their Lord taking the reins of this particular task?"

She took a step closer, sending a sidelong glance to the stone sentry near the bookcase before refocusing on Nyvlt.

"I've brought half a dozen men with me - I must insist that you allow me aid in your search."

Jogon

 

[Jogon]

Corazona von Ascania

The dashade momentarily broke his watch of the young lord to meet Corazona's glance. He smiled again. How could he not? This was fun. And if it all went sideways, it was Gallas von Nyvlt who would be stuck with the worst of the consequences.​

​

Something he was keenly aware of. Lord Nyvlt sucked air through a tight smile, having taken that comment about her father and the presence of her search party as a salvo of insults. It clearly stirred something in him. A hint of fury shone in Nyvlt's eyes, and his gaze didn't waver when Cora stepped closer. ​

​

"Some tasks require greater attention and focus than... Ahah, eh…" He tapped his fingers together, "I should not trouble you with the details. I'm sure it's been some time since you've governed anything, hm?"​

​

Jogon sensed this was meant to be a pointed comment, so he chuckled. It was a low and rumbling sound, like an engine attempting to start.​

​

Nyvlt continued quickly, "Clearly your heart has been touched enough by this, um, circumstance, that you've come all this way, and with men to assist… It would be rude of me to refuse. But I must insist you wait until morning to commence your… Aheh, search. You're welcome to stay the night, of course. Mr. Jogon can show you to the guest wing. He knows the way well enough."​

​

"Indeed I do," Jogon confirmed.​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Something about Jogon's smile was downright irritating.

But Gallas von Nyvlt was far worse, so that was where her attention remained. Cora's left eye twitched just once as the little shot he'd taken.

She suppressed the urge to govern his face with the back of her hand. Ashla, she'd developed a distaste for Ukatian men.

"Very well."

Something in her wanted to push further. No, the search would be conducted right now. Who knew what befell the missing peasants?

Alas, there was a measure of decorum to be followed.

Cora shifted her attention to the Dashade once more, in the way one would regard a starving nexu. He stank of the dark, that was plain to see. The man didn't even have the decency to attempt to conceal his alignment.

Who knew if they could even be found?

"Lead the way, Mr. Jogon."

Jogon

 

[Jogon]

Corazona von Ascania

Jogon unfolded his arms and led the way out of the office and through the rest of the manse, leaving a temporarily self-satisfied Gallas von Nyvlt behind them. Doubtlessly it would give way to fear and anger once more after a few moments of careful thought.​

​

The dashade's footfalls were heavy and deliberate, muted only by the carpets that lined each hallway. The mansion itself was a beautiful network of sumptuously paneled walls. Occasionally they passed beneath the painted visage of one of Nyvlt's predecessors: ancient personages with somber expressions who always seemed to be peering downwards.​

​

"I think you upset Lord Nyvlt," Jogon said absently, "Might make my life difficult."​

​

The same sallow footman from earlier rounded a corner and scurried past them, probably to find Corazona's men. They'd spend the night in the servants' quarters, as befit their stature.​

​

"You're a Jedi, aren't you? What do you think happened to those people?"​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora offered no commentary of Nyvlt's demeanor. Silent as the paintings that seemed to look down their nose, she kept step beside Jogon, hands clasped behind her back as opposed to directly in front of her. A subtly masculine gesture on Ukatis.

A year or two ago she would've backed down more easily. Peppered her speech with gentle, yielding smilies and plenty of apologies. Now, she couldn't afford to.

Cora tilted her head to the side, seeming to acknowledge his question.

"I don't know. That's why I'm here."

One of the portraits drew her eyes to the wall, a mustachioed man with heavy features. His piercing gaze seemed to be following them as they passed by.

"It's highly uncommon to see non-humans anywhere outside the capital. How did you come to be in the service of Lord Nyvlt?"

Jogon

 

[Jogon]

Corazona von Ascania

She gave a snippy, evasive response, and Jogon's retort was another muted chuckle. Not even a little theory to share? Then again, nobody here had given her any reason to be chatty about the circumstances. Very cautious, very prudent. Good to know.​

​

"Yeah, I've noticed," Jogon replied, "Worried I'll lower the property values?"​

​

Jogon paused suddenly at a junction. He answered her actual question without looking at her, like it was barely a consideration.​

​

"I'm with the Golden Order. Like Nyvlt said, he's hunting for kyber, and he paid to have an expert find it. They sent me."​

​

It was the sort of bald-faced, extraordinary lie that could only be told by someone who didn't care to apply any social effort. His attire was too plain: dark-hued spacer gear. His lightsaber was large, steel-colored, and eminently practical. Not at all in the Order's style… To say nothing of his manners. He wasn't even wear the golden wing lapel pin.​

​

"Hmph," he inclined his head to glance at her. "I remember now. This way."​

​

Jogon looked forward and started walking again, taking the left-handed path.​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"Thats not what I'm worried about." Cora murmured quietly. Still, loud enough for Jogon to hear in the relative silence of the corridor.

As their path forked, the odd pair came to a rest.

The Golden Order?

"Are you serious?"

The ridiculous notion broke through her prim and proper exterior. Finely manicured blonde eyebrows arched as high as they could go. It was hard to believe that this…this cretin would be rubbing shoulders with the well-to-do members of the Golden Order.

Then again, she recalled they had a scholarship program for promising young Force users from unfortunate backgrounds. Or, perhaps he was a member of the upper echelon on…wherever he'd come from.

"I see." Cora cleared her throat delicately as she righted herself. They were moving again, descending down another never-ending hall.

"The discovery of kyber deposits are to be reported to the crown."

Not that she imagined they'd do the decent thing.

"What have you found so far?"

 

[Jogon]

Corazona von Ascania

Jogon did his best to look genuinely hurt and failed. The left corner of his mouth twisted up in a half smirk, revealing a few pointed, stark-white teeth. "Very serious," he assured her, with much the same candor and enthusiasm as those dreary paintings they kept passing.​

​

He shrugged at her remark about the kyber crystals needing to be reported to the crown. That would've been Nyvlt's problem, not his, and only if they found kyber crystals. Which they wouldn't. Jogon had no special means of finding such things. Talking to rocks was for Jedi.​

​

"So far?" Jogon rubbed his chin as if genuinely considering the question, "Just a Jedi. Not even one of the fun ones, either. I only got here a few hours before you did."​

​

At least all that was true. Her timing was strange, but stranger things had happened. Jogon came to a halt at one of the doors. It was already open a crack, so he shoved it the rest of the way. "Here you go."​

​

The inside was dark, but it was apparent this room hadn't been touched in some time. Only given a cursory dusting by the estate's staff every now and then. Ornate wooden furniture crowded the room – imported wroshyr, as Nyvlt told it. ​

​

The curtains were drawn shut. In the morning, if opened, they would provide a rather pristine view of Nyvlt's hedge maze. Just one small wonder of the estate.​

​

"That one's mine," Jogon said, and indicated the door to the adjacent room with his thumb. "Knock in the morning when you're ready to get started. I've gotta finishing talking to Lord Nyvlt now."​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora suppressed an unladylike snort. Oh, she realized, He's one of those.

"I'm not here to entertain you."

When Jogon pushed open the door to a guest room, Cora peered at the furnishings. Appropriate for a guest of her stature, considering they were in the countryside. She liked wroshyr.

She didn't like the notion of sleeping in a room adjacent to a Sith, even one who didn't radiate malice. Still, as she stepped inside, Cora turned on her heel.

"Thank you, Jogon. Good night."

And closed the door in his face.

---

She spent the early hours of the night in meditation. One by one, the motions of the household began to subside. Even Nyvlt, she imagined, would've retired to his quarters at this hour.

Cora picked through the quiet threads of the Force, searching for something. An answer, some insight.

Blue eyes fluttered open with a tired sigh. The Jedi crept from her bed and opened the door slowly in case old, un-oiled hinges decided to creak. They were quiet.

As she stepped into the hall, it occurred to her that she hadn't asked where the refresher was. Corridor after corridor revealed nothing useful, until the hushed voices of servants stopped her dead in her tracks.

"…already fed them a few days ago. I hate going down there!"

"I did it yesterday. Look, just bring them the leftover stew from Lord Nyvlt's supper and let them share. Then you'll only have to make one trip."

"But they're so creepy. What does he want with them, anyway?"

Cora had pressed herself to the wall, inched as close as she could be to the turn. Her brow furrowed. It wasn't unusual for Ukatain manors to have a basement, crypt or dungeon - though nowadays, many were used as storage rather than to house prisoners - but this didn't sound normal.

 

[Jogon]

Corazona von Ascania

A shock of fear shot through both the servants at once, as if they had suddenly been surprised by something. Or someone. It immediately became clear just who: Jogon's voice was unmistakable, even through the walls.​

​

"They're no good to Lord Nyvlt half-starved," he said. It was easy to picture him, half-leaning against the cellar wall. Arms folded. Tone firm and instructive. "Full meals. Multiple trips. Don't make me supervise."​

​

Fear intermingled with disgust and outrage from the servants. Commoners who thought of themselves as privileged for their position close to power had a tendency to adopt the same prejudices as their immediate master, no matter how ill-served they were by its material practice. Quiet contempt radiated from Jogon as the servants went scurrying from the room. But the Sith lingered a while longer.​

​

Something beeped. A comlink. Jogon listened carefully before replying, "I'll take care of it. Steer clear of her."​

​

His presence faded, departing in the same direction as those servants.​