Private A Bridge To Span Realities

[Arcturus Dinn]

He had slept away an eon, and all at once no time at all. Grief still coursed through the boy at the loss of the only companion he'd had since coming to this place, his rest had done little to see it wane; he'd lingered at that shimmering portal to Realspace for longer than he'd ever care to admit. Watching, waiting, hoping that something, someone, might take the plunge through and join him in the mist-beyond. No luck.​

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Once he'd almost stepped through it himself. Constructs be damned, they could rot in this place for all he cared. But the thought of what awaited him on the other side stayed his crossing. He'd turned his back on it eventually, made his way back toward the river by virtue of the damned labyrinth and its thorns. Avoided the Chasm over which he doubted he'd ever pass once more. The sensations it had created within him were not quick to wane, he still felt discombobulated to this very moment.​

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From there he'd followed the river back as far as he could recall going, to the shores he'd left his possessions at in his haste to board the ferry which would bring him to that most damned oilspill they called the Dreaming Dark. Much of what he'd been hoping to find had been pilfered in some way or another. Pouches of sand lay scattered, though he did his best to gather up as much of it as he could salvage, and the satchel he'd dumped lay barren and filled with holes.​

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He didn't bother to pick it back up. Instead he stood and felt through the Force, searching in so far as this place would permit him for the golem which had transcended space, time, and dimension to join him in the Nether. Nwit was never far from him, and that must have been the truth of the matter when whatever pulled him through to this place had done so. Touching in some way. It was the only thing which made sense.​

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Though the ruminations of the Nether saw fit to confuse and mislead him, he eventually came upon its lifeless state in a bush not too far from the shore. He extended his will back into the construct, and soon enough the pair were headed in some direction or another side by side. Nwit's little feet scurried to keep up, though in truth Arcturus' pace was languid. He had his things back, in some capacity, but now what?​

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He could not face the portal to Korriban again any time soon, did not wish to cross its shimmering surface. Nor did he wish to make his way back to the Chasm. No good could come of crossing it again. Forlorn and helpless, he sat within the grass and tried to formulate some other plan. Tried to conjure up memories which might remind him of any other Rift's he'd heard of. It was difficult though, he'd done those studies so long ago now, and they had been the musings of a madman even back then.​

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All the same, he tried.​

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Kal ​

 

[Kal]

The Netherworld was vast, impossibly vast, but it was not empty. There were those who had a greater-than-normal interest in the comings and goings of those-who-yet-live, among them Kal's associates. It was not uncommon for the watchers to spot the odd stranger, but it still drew attention. It still necessitated informing the nearest Shadow.

Kal had been busily collecting components for a recent project when the message reached him. A redheaded Darksider at the riverside, his origins and destination equally unknown. A familiar description.

---

Arcturus was sitting by the river as if awaiting his arrival - or more likely evaluating his options.

Given the distraction, there was a good chance he would fail to spot the sleek barge as it soundlessly slid forward, hovering a few centimetres above the dark waters. The barge itself was inky black and unadorned but for a high-backed bench with regal purple upholstery occupying its centre and a single ornate lantern hanging from both bow and stern.

The lanterns seemed to glow a soft white without producing any discernible light.

"Why hello there." Kal himself stood at the edge of his little barge and took the form of a grey-and-black clone of Arcturus himself. At home in the Nether, the details were eerily perfect. Like a noir reflection. "You lost?"

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

So lost in thought was he that Arcturus did not notice the arrival of a barge upon the river at his feet. Not immediately at least. Words were being muttered beneath his breath, and if one did not know any better they'd look upon him and think him mad. Plan after plan formulated then cast aside. A helpless expression had wicked its way into every fiber of his being.​

​

He should have simply left with Seydon.​

​

He shouldn't have put it off for so long.​

​

But he hadn't. And he had.​

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When voice called out through the short expanse between them, though, whatever words they had been, whatever thoughts did linger, found themselves all at once banished. He looked up, stared across to the strange image of himself, and for a moment appeared utterly bewildered. What trickery was this? Had some shade of himself followed him from the 'Dark, intent on dragging him back down?​

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How was he to know that the one who stood on the edge of that barge was the very salvation he'd been seeking? How was he to know that it was the one person in the entirety of all existence, every imaginable plane of being, that he'd been longing to see?​

​

Nope. All he saw was himself reflected in that being.​

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And it was beyond freaky.​

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Kal ​

 

[Kal]

One of these days Kal would find an organic that appreciated his 'mirror form'. One of these days.

Unfortunately, Arcturus only saw with his eyes. A sorry condition, but a common one among the living. "I forget myself. You do not see presences, do you?" Shadowy form swirling briefly, he took the form of a 'human' with ill-defined features.

"Better? It's Kal, to be clear - not one of my kin."

He could easily see how those not of his kind could struggle to tell Shadows apart. Hell, they themselves relied on auras over appearances - the latter tended to be rather changeable, with a few notable exceptions.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Arcturus knew him for what he was the moment the form began to shift from his own visage to another. Only one being in the Galaxy would ever feel that way to the boy; had he tried harder, he would have noticed it was him even with his own face mirrored back. Of this he felt certain.​

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All at once, he stood to his feet, leaving little cuttings of grass stuck to trouser legs, and beamed a great big smile.​

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"Oh, feth! It really is you, isn't it?" Laughter, for just the briefest moments, overtook him like a madman. Oh what he would have done for so friendly a visage in this place all these however longs it had been. He might have tried to embrace the other, if not for the incorporeal form he took. Wanted to though, practically itched to.​

​

Kal was alive. Kal was okay. He supposed he never should have doubted that, the Shadows were tricksy little buggers. No doubt up and left the moment chit hit the fan. Good... That was good.​

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Curiosity painted his face a canvas once relief was done with him, and he cocked his head to the left to regard him. "Say, can you do that again?" he inquired, "You know, become Arcturus the Second?" Oh the fun which could be had with that...​

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As though remembering his situation, though, and the initial question posed by his now clear friend, Arcturus shook his head and his countenance turned a little bit more somber. "Reckon I am a little lost, yeah... Technically. Maybe..." Okay so he did know a few ways out, but he didn't want them​

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That counted, right?​

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Surely that counted.​

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Kal ​

 

[Kal]

Apprehension gave way to joy and Kal returned the sensation as a subtle flourish of his presence. A lot of organics were difficult; it was a joy to be in the presence of one much more understanding of otherworldly beings.

"I dare say I am a regular - but I am surprised to find you here! You seemed to vanish for a good while."

The exact length of his absence was not something Kal had considered, timeless as he was, but it had been somewhat concerning. Disappearing in the midst of a societal collapse was not typically a particularly good thing.

As they were speaking, he shifted back to his earlier form, slowly turning in a circle as if to show off his attention to detail. With a mischievous grin, colour began to flow through his form until he looked exactly like Arcturus.

"Appearances are easy. Especially here, where I am more tangible yet more flexible?"

It was not necessarily an easy concept for the average organic to understand. As if to illustrate the point, Not!Arc drew a few clumbs of earth to him with a gesture and shaped it into a solid-looking earthen cog with deft hands.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"Yeah," he said, as mention was made of his disappearance from Realspace, "I've sort of just been... here, there, Netherwhere," a shrug to accompany the words. Just the briefest trappings of a smile; one which didn't fully meet his eyes. "Not an intentional development, of course. One minute I was tucked up in bed, the next..."​

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What had Ishani thought, to discover him gone from the sheets that morning?​

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No.​

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No he would not think of Ishani. He would not think of any of those whose corpses might await him on the other side. Whose spirits may yet be roaming this tortured landscape beyond life.​

​

Kal was quick to accommodate his request, and in doing so he shook all thoughts of what remained on Korriban right from Arcturus' noggin. Glee, pure and unadulterated, gripped his expression. More so when the colours began to fade into existence.​

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"Has anyone ever told you how brilliant you are?" he inquired, speaking of course not only to Kal but to the Shadowy beings he belonged to also. He'd only ever met one other, Dis. And even then only in a tangible form. Kal was a relative visual and metaphysical anomaly, and there had never been a moment in the time they'd known one another that he hadn't been totally fascinated by his existence.​

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Arcturus shook his head. "Man, the pranks we could pull..." A slight frown. "Can you do quite so much with your form in Realspace?" he inquired, only now bothering to tap off some of the grass he hadn't noticed until he'd seen it reflected in Kal's uncanny visage. Real attention to detail, that one.​

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There were bigger issues at hand, of course, he was after all lost, but in that moment he didn't care. Didn't even pay much attention to where they were. It was as though the Nether had faded from existence with the emergence of one friendly face.​

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Kal ​

 

[Kal]

It was an unusual story, but Kal believed him. In fact, he had a nagging sense of familiarity at the described occurrence.

Given that he had never heard of anything quite like it, he chalked it up to one of many less-than-useful premonitions. By no means an unusual experience for the Shadow. "Fascinating. Where did this involuntary jaunt take you?"

It was a mystery, pure and simple. Kal adored a good mystery.

Pranks had their place too, of course. Especially among friends.

Nodding amicably, Not!Arc flashed his counterpart a devilish smile. "Oh yes, it certainly has its uses - and more or less. It is a relatively simple thing to change visuals in Realspace, but tangibility is more difficult and my perception a bit fuzzier." He still saw more than a great many humans, but the kind of eerie detail he was currently exhibiting was easier here.

In the Netherworld, everything was connected, whereas in Realspace so much was just... inert.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Fascinating? Yeah... He supposed, objectively, it was wasn't it? Unnerving in the moment, frustrating possibly, but fascinating to the core. The question had him ruminating on an answer he couldn't quite grasp at. Truth be told, he had no notion of the place's name just an idea of its webbed fastness.​

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"I don't rightly know where it was," he confessed in sincerity, pondering the implications of such. Arcturus realized of course that though he might not be sure, a description may drum up familiarity within the Shadow who knew this realm far better than he. "I awoke within a canyon that seemed to stretch on in thin passages this way and that, so high that the thought of scaling its walls was dizzying."​

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The more he thought on it though, the more confused he became of his memories of it. His brows knitted together in focus. Try as he might, he couldn't grasp at all the pieces. When next he spoke, it was with a dumbfounded tone. "I have no recollection of ever leaving it..."​

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That was... unnerving.​

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Again though, almost like a light switch, somber thoughts were set aside. Arcturus was exhibiting just the slightest signs of a fractured psyche, no doubt borne of all he'd been subjected to in this place since being dragged here, at once confused and serious then manic and excitable. It could also have simply been a reflection of the dichotomy of their discussions.​

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"Neat," he replied, with a grin, when Kal confirmed that he was able to do similar within the bounds of Realspace. Maybe not so intensely, but certainly more than enough that regular denizens of the Galaxy would not immediately see through the act. Or that was how Arcturus had perceived the Shadow's response, at least.​

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Taking a step closer, he regarded himself in the reflection of his fakeself and took note of all the changes he hadn't noticed before. The scarred bitemark on his neck, courtesy of the denizens of the Dreaming Dark, the many countless razor thin lines which dotted his hairline, the sunken and gaunt countenance of his face. The grime... Blood mixed black and ruddy. Force, Arcturus needed a refresher and a good meal right about now. Sunken eyes stared back at him, before he saw fit to turn away.​

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He retreated back to his previous spot in the grass, and was more than satisfied with the way in which that distance made him appear. Just a little bit less unnerving, less of a slap in the face. Perfect.​

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"Say, Kal, you wouldn't happen to know another way out of this place would you?" he inquired, reaching down to pick Nwit up from the ground; around his feet, various other similar constructs pranced and preened, holding aloft small pails of sand or other such things harvested from this place. "I uh... I'd rather not take the Korriban rift, you know?" Maybe he didn't know, but he hoped on some level he understood Arcturus' reluctance.​

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The last thing the boy wanted was to spell it out.​

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Kal ​

 

[Kal]

"You find the trail by running to, not by running from." Kal seemed to stare off into the horizon for a long moment, until suddenly his attention snapped back to Arcturus. "Jaquenta, I reckon. Interesting place. More or less safe."

It was difficult to say whether the man would be pulled in again - and if so, whether the destination would change.

Hopefully, his confusion was a temporary matter - the Netherworld could do strange things to a living mind.

Unsurprisingly, his mind had turned towards an egress. Any egress but Korriban, specifically. Understandable, given the nature of the world, but Kal got the distinct impression it was more personal than that. "I know of a few." Exaggeration of the century, but then not all were as accessible. "All aboard, next destination elsewhere."

Gesturing welcomingly, a ramp extended from his sleek barge, coming to rest at Arcturus' feet.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"Jaquenta..."​

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He said the word a couple more times under his breath, hoping to set it to memory, before the ramp extended down to his feet and the constructs hurried on ahead of him to find their place upon the barge. Arc watched them for a moment, like a proud parent, then followed them on up. He sat on the floor of the barge, regardless of whether or not a seat was made available for him, and set Nwit into his lap.​

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"What do you know of this... Jaquenta?" he inquired. Hey, if they were going to be traveling the River of the Dead again he may as well learn along the way right? The more he knew about this place, the more he'd be able to tackle it if there came to be a next time.​

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He hoped there wasn't a next time.​

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Kal ​

 

[Kal]

"It is a vastness of winding ways, a place where both living and dead may end up when 'running towards the unknown', so to speak." For a moment, Kal seemed surprised by Arcturus decision to pick the floor over the upholstered bench, but to each their own. "I have been there myself, but willingly. I have not heard of anyone being reeled in from Realspace."

The boat began to move, something noticeable less by its motions - it glided forward with eerie smoothness - and more by their movement relative to their surroundings. A movement that would be slow, almost painfully so, and yet they would reach their destination in a fairly timely manner. Navigating the Netherworld was more art than science.

"Unless you were sleepwalking a ritual, I imagine this is the work of an artefact or an individual."

But which of the two - and just as importantly, was it malicious or beneficent?

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"A vastness of winding ways" Arcturus echoed back thoughtful for a moment before he nodded. "Aye, that seems about the right of it friend. Jaquenta... Well, if it happens again at least I know what it is." What, but not why or how.​

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The boy remained quiet for a time, contemplating all that his friend had shared; was it possible he'd sleepwalked into it? Had this been his own doing? It was hard to say for sure. All he could remember was waking up there, in fact in doing so it was almost as though he'd already been on the move. Had he ever sleepwalked before?​

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No... Not that he could recall.​

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"Who would want me thrust into the Nether like that?" he wondered aloud, not even giving rise to the possibility of it being the cause of some artifact. There wasn't really much on him that he had not made for himself after all. Or, hadn't been. He reached into his pocket, and toyed with the Korriban Compass which lay there. A gift... But one given here, within these wastes, and not in Realspace.​

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Not the cause then.​

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"I can't think of any I've wronged..." Someone hoping to get back at his Master, perhaps? Was this all just some big misunderstanding? Had they gotten the wrong Arc?​

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Sighing, he cast his gaze over the edge of the barge and watched the strange waters below. The spirits within were quieter now than they had been when last he'd traversed her rapids, though perhaps that had something to do with the friendly face. A grounding presence...​

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Kal ​

 

[Kal]

If it happened again. If he was brought to the same place. If, if, if. There were a great many uncertainties involved; that was not unappealing to Kal, curious as he was, but he did not want to use Arcturus as a test subject.

"I would offer a countermeasure, but that is difficult without knowing the how. Then again, it may be a unique occurrence, never to be repeated." Kal sounded somewhat dubious. There was a chance, certainly, but he had a feeling it would happen again. While hardly a prophet proper, his feelings were rarely wrong. Rarely wrong, but not always useful.

"Any preferences on your point of departure? I know quite a few, though unfortunately, not all are accessible to you." The Shadows were not in the business of sharing their most secret paths, even to friends...

... not that all were even navigable to the living, or even physical matter.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

A unique occurrence?​

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Arcturus stuck the Shadow with a look that spoke to the fact that both of them knew that was highly unlikely. Did strange phenomena happen? Of course, that was not beyond the realm of possibility, and yet even as it was uttered something within him rejected the thought entirely. Wishful thinking wasn't entirely bad, it allowed for hope.​

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But it would be folly to simply assume, to let down one's guard. No. He'd have to prepare himself for the next time. With any luck, Kal would be around then too. They could figure it out, right? Right. That he did have faith in.​

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Talks turned to departing, and Arcturus pondered the question he'd been posed. Did he have any preferences? "Maybe... Somewhere populated?" he suggested, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "I'd hate to end up stranded somewhere, without access to a vessel. Just... Not Korriban."​

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Had he made that much clear already? Probably. Yes. Yes he had. But even so, he felt the need to state it again. For his own peace of mind.​

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"Are there many places here that you Shadows have access to which the rest of us don't?" He inquired. Curious, that's all he was. That's all Arcturus ever was, really.​

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Kal ​

 

[Kal]

Populated. He could do populated - places full of life (and by extension death) were easy. Organics tended to view their city-worlds as if they impressive but essentially 'dead', environmentally speaking. Perhaps they were right to think so, but to Kal such a congregation of sentient lives was akin to a great beacon glaring away into the void.

"That can be arranged. I have just the place in mind."

A developed world would work just as well, of course, but a city-world was the polar opposite of the tomb world of the Sith. Perfect for a fresh start, free of whatever past occurrences troubled his friend so.

"Quite a few, really. My kind base our influence on information - and few pieces of information are more valuable in this realm. Besides, not all go through safe regions or are too stable enough for material beings." No images would be sent alongside that statement, that was for sure. Arcturus did not need to see what an erratic rift could do to a living body.

Kal was far from squeamish, having witnessed various atrocities, but that made even him uncomfortable.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Kal was quick to confirm that an urban departure point was something he could provide. Force, where would he be without him? In that moment, still sat on the bank of the river lamenting his existence. But he wasn't, he was on his way toward freedom from this place, and anticipation had his heart skipping a beat or two.​

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Maybe that was trepidation, though. What would he find on the other side?​

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Perhaps it would have been sane to ask Kal about it, to talk about what he'd felt through the Force, but he didn't. Arcturus was something of a coward, he'd never tried to deny that fact, and the idea of learning something he didn't wish to know the truth of was wholly frightening.​

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Nope. No questions, no prying, no doubt he'd find out soon enough anyway but he wanted this moment to be one of triumph and joy, he did not need it to be ruined with pesky details.​

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"That makes sense," he retorted to talks of secret rifts. Why would they entrust an outsider with such information? What sense would it make to have all of their options laid out before them? One loose tongue, and it could spell disaster. Or an influx of unwanted individuals in this place. No, Arcturus saw no reason to further pry upon it, so he didn't.​

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Instead he turned a thoughtful glance over to Kal.​

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"If this keeps happening, if I keep being pulled back here... Can I come to you about it? Will you help me figure it out?" If, if, if. Even now he was too afraid to speak the true word of it. When. Because it was when, wasn't it? "Chaos, I'd be half tempted to just set up shop here and go with the flow. At least make it profitable 'til I find my way back out again."​

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A stupid notion no doubt, but it wasn't as if he had anywhere else in the Galaxy which was grounding him, which had formed roots. Not now that the Eternal was gone from Korriban; and he knew that they were gone from that place.​

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Kal ​

 

[Kal]

"Of course. If it happens again, I will do everything I can to help." Walking over to side of the barge, Kal willed it to lower itself into the waters, then touch the side of the boat almost affectionally - pulling with him a small piece of dark 'metal'.

Lowering it beneath the lightless waves for but the briefest of moments, he pulled it back up and seemed to tinker away with it for a while. It was difficult to see exactly what he was doing, given that the object was obstructed by his rather nebulous, but currently quite opaque, form. Seeming quite pleased with himself, he eventually turned around.

In his hands was a small, almost flat disc, its back and sides black and its front transparent. Almost like a watch, except instead of gears it held a small amount of sparkling water that seemed to largely ignore the pull of gravity.

"Here, a compass... of sorts. It should lead to somewhere where I can be found, in the absence of interference." In the Netherworld, anyway, but that was clear enough - in Realspace the liquid would behave boringly normal.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

A promise of assistance, and one far more sincere than most any promise he'd heard before. There was no need for Kal to lie to him, he knew, if it wasn't something he was willing to help with he'd say as much. He appreciated that honesty.​

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"Thank you," he said, before falling silent and curiously watching as the Shadow approached the edge of the barge and began to tend to something Arcturus could not fully see nor comprehend. All the same he watched, because what else was he to do?​

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When Kal returned to his seat he brought with him a small disc, and offered it out to Arcturus who took it and turned it in amazement. "Fascinating," he murmured when the explanation was given. A compass to be used here in the Nether, to help direct him to Kal? Perfect. Something he'd have to make sure to keep on his person, in the event that this happened again.​

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"A way to find you... Fantastic." He made a mental note to give it some sort of binding in the future, some way to wear it perhaps, or at the very least allow it to sit upon his belt alongside the other strange items he'd procured over time. For now, though, he carefully took it and placed it into one of the emptier pouches he had, one which funnily enough seemed to contain just a smattering of dried petals. Arcturus could not for the life of him remember why he had it, but it was a safer place for the item to go when compared to the sand pouches.​

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They'd just rough up the surface like sandpaper.​

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"Your mind astounds me sometimes, Kal. You create something from so little..."​

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Kal ​

 

[Kal]

"A way to find Masque, technically, but same difference. Ask around and you will be directed to me."

The only true city ruled by Shadows was a decentralised, borderline chaotic place, but some principles were set in stone. Waylaying or worse yet hurting one who might be connected to the highest echelons of power was unheard of. No one in their right mind wanted to face judgement for knowingly violating the Peace.

Not exactly the kind of thing one received a slap on the wrist for.

"Why, thank you. I do consider myself a bit of an artisan." Luminous gaze flicking to one of Arcturus' little golems, he seemed both pleased and amused. "As are you, no? Or have you stopped tinkering since last we met?"

Arcturus Dinn​