A Heated Introduction (Part I)

[Edric Vanyan]

On Iferetes

POV Arthur

"Or maybe there is one that just rains all day, that would certainly be a world that i would hate to live on, instead of snow you just have constant rain all the time. How would someone cope with something like that?" He ate from the food and stared at the meat in the bowl as he pushed it around with the fork he had in his hand, his thoughts drifting off while he sat there. But in a single instant something felt different and familiar, something he couldnt quite place on what it was that his mind was hinting towards and whether or not that it was something important, perhaps he had forgotten something that he cant quite figure out what it was. "Im going for a walk, i have some stuff i need to think over Lilythe and would rather be alone while i thought about such things and while things are quiet around our camp ehh?" Without another word he started off towards the treeline and just walked in no particular direction or for no no particular reason, just to let himself focus on the world around him.

@[member="stardust"] @[member="Sammo Hache-Khe of Rae"] @[member="Lilythe"] @[member="Shakrin"] @[member="Adenn Colston"] @[member="Helmut Todstern"]​

 

[Eldoc Quasat]

@[member="Shakrin"] @[member="Arthur David Hardrada"]
Eldoc sat was at a dice game, where he seemed unusually lucky. It was almost as if he was using the force to win just enough to not be too suspicious, granted he didn’t know that this place was so crooked that his ‘winning’ would be even more suspicious. He smiled and took his ill gotten gains to the bar where he proceeded to drink bourbon. He loved a good drink. So he leaned against the wall and watched the others, using the force to make a few others win, too. He had fun messing with casinos in this way, which is also why he wasn’t usually allowed. Well, he enjoyed a good game, his lightsaber hidden, in his cloak. His ancient armor would draw attention to him, but not many would know it was Imperial Knight Armor from roughly 400 years ago. He hoped his earning enough to drink for the rest of the trip wasn’t noticed.

 

[Carliah Dakrone]

Lilythe simply nodded and watched him go. She would not interrupt him as she knew how valuable time alone is when one needed to think things over. She merely sat back in the tent and fiddling with some arrows she was making. Her supply was starting to run low and she didn't enjoy the thought of what could happen if something occurred and she hadn't enough ammunition to do anything. She continued to work while Arthur was away, waiting patiently for him to come back.

 

[Edric Vanyan]

On the Wanderer​

POV Captain Ciro​

​

The Captain shrugged as @[member="Shakrin"] must not have heard him and instead headed in @[member="Eldoc Quasat"] direction, or rather just in that direction in general but it was to Eldoc that he spoke when he reached it. "Enjoying your drink? How have the tables been treating you so far if i might ask?" He sat down next to the man and straightened his back with a sly, half open grin on his face, his eyes full of mischief and it would be obvious to the force user his intent was to get Eldoc playing again. Through his earpiece he was fed information and had been told this man had been winning an uncommon amount of times but there was always that one in a million true lucker that did leave with winnings, perhaps this was nothing more than that. "Tables been treating you good today sir, or have you been losing and are getting a drink to calm the nerves?"​

​

On Iferetes​

POV Arthur​

​

Arthur came back into view with a few rather long branches that were near straight enough to be considered poles, each ranging from five to six feet long and numbered about 3 in total. Taking a seat he pulled out his short blade and took one of the branches, frantically bringing the blade along the wood as he sat there, lost in his work before he spoke halfway done with the first one, his eyes shifting to Lilythe while he spoke in a calm but rushed voice. "Somethings not right, i dont know what and i might be paranoid but i can just feel it in my bones that something is very very wrong @[member="Lilythe"] ... Am i being mad or do you have this edge about you that i do? Its probably nothing but i just can shake the feeling someones watching or is here but isnt here and they are right on the precipice of existence and nothingness." He stopped and glanced at her mid way through the spear he had been fashioning, its point crude and likely not that effective against most of the creatures on the planet but it made him calmer when his hands were busy while his mind wandered.​

 

[Carliah Dakrone]

Lilythe nodded and rolled forward into a crouch, bow drawn and an arrow already on the string. "I've learned from experience that if you feel something like that, it's probably well founded. And you're right, I feel it too... Should we sleep in shifts tonight?" She whispered as her eyes scanned the area around the campsite. She searched the shadows looking for anything that may be amiss. She found nothing, but that didn't mean that there was nothing to be found necessarily. She glanced at Justin, noticing the way he clung to the spear in his hands. She slipped two of her knives from her belt and passed them to him. She had given him basic knife throwing lessons, he wasn't very good, but the thin, razor sharp blades may offer him a bit of comfort in the face of whatever unknown danger may have bee out there.

 

[Edric Vanyan]

On Iferetes​

POV Arthur​

​

"No need to sleep in shifts, ill just sleep all day when i return home tomorrow, or maybe start on another novella, that would certainly keep my mind active for a few weeks and maybe i can actually find someone in the capital with the time to read this next one. How about the title, 'A Solitary Sky of Intrigue?', Sound any good?" He was grinning now, he was joking of course, few nobles had the time and many people had their own lives to worry about than have the time to read or write unlike Arthur, while he hated being a prince sometimes it gave him plenty of time for him to continue on with his own desires and wonders that populated the shelves of his study and room, there wasnt an inch of wall without a book and he was determined to produce several books that were certainly worthy of their addition to this wall of his.​

 

[Carliah Dakrone]

Lilythe rolled her eyes at him and smiled. "If you finish that book I'd like to read it. I don't think I'll sleep either. I'm used to the lack of sleep, it'll be alright if I stay up with you. Might be warmer too if we sit together." She didn't really care about the warmth, she just enjoyed being near Arthur and this gave her the perfect excuse to be closer to him than normal. She crossed over to him and sat down next to him. Resisting the urge to cuddle into his side and stay there for the rest of the night. She kept her bow in her hand, but slid the arrow back into her quiver. She glanced over at Arthur to see if he noticed the unusual closeness.

 

[Edric Vanyan]

On Iferetes​

POV Arthur​

​

Arthur was still too busy with the makeshift spears to care notice such, his eyes running over the length of each one that he carved slowly now, smooth and clean strokes of the blade on the wood as it shaved off wood little by little until he had a sharpened point. His breath came out in steady clouds of fog as he sat there with a new branch in hand and his other closed on the short blade as he brought it over the length of the wood. Though this nagging feeling remained on him, it felt familiar and different all at the same time as he sat there and wondered to himself what it was that was the cause of this feeling.​

 

[Carliah Dakrone]

After a while of sitting there, completely still and waiting for something to happen Lilythe felt herself beginning to nod off. She had to shake herself a few times to keep from falling asleep. She had already been up for two days prior to this trying to catch a Hirion that had been stealing one of the locals livestock. She tried her hardest to fight the need to sleep, but eventually the lack of rest won. She felt herself falling asleep and unconsciously leaned her head on Arthur's shoulder before falling asleep. She cuddled a little bit closer in an effort to stay warm as she slept.

 

[Shakrin]

On the contrary. Shakrin heard the man speaking, but had chosen to ignore him rather than respond. If he responded, he would point out exactly why he wasn't at the tables, and someone would overhear. This would cause a scene as people figured out that what he said was true. They would demand their money back. In the chaos and confusion, someone would do something stupid, and weapons would be drawn. Once weapons were drawn, a fight would break out. When the fight broke out, people would die unnecessarily. In this case, it was better that he keep his mouth firmly sealed.

The man seemed to take the hint as he moved off to talk to someone else. Only a passing glance was offered to the man that the Captain ended up speaking with. Shakrin had no interest in either of them. He was, to put it simply, just along for the ride. Destination made little difference for him anymore. He didn't need to take public transport between planets, but he often found that the easiest way to avoid a bounty hunter was by being the most obvious. They tended to look for single ships, not search the public transports. This allowed him to slip on and off of worlds where he knew that bounty hunters were searching for him. Not once had he been caught as of yet. He wanted it to stay that way.

The book was getting good now. There was talk about a couple of Jedi that he knew the names of, which meant they had been really important. The book wasn't teaching him anything about his abilities, but he enjoyed learning about the motives of other people, despite the obvious slant in the story towards the Jedi's point of view. It kept him busy, and that was all he needed. If he remained busy he wouldn't have to focus on anyone else. He flipped the page over and moved on to the next one. One leg lifted to prop on his knee, foot dangling, as he remained fully absorbed.

@[member="Arthur David Hardrada"] @[member="Eldoc Quasat"]

 

[Tormax Tryte]

When Darth Naefas's ship came out of hyperspace he saw the stars shorten and just become pinpricks of white light. Some of them were of course planets, suns, stars and other things that he didn't care to learn. Though he had found something, another planet, a planet that hadn't been discovered until a few years ago. Though none had decided to go to the planet and actually document the species there. And so, Darth Naefas had elected it upon himself to come and investigate himself, and even bring them to his cause. It would be good no doubt.

He saw the other ship in orbit of the planet and decided that they were there too. That wasn't good, they must have found the planet as well. They weren't going to get there first, as decided by Darth Naefas.

Letting his hands fly over the controls of the ship, it soon went into autopilot and began a spiral down towards the planet to pick up speed. He got out of the pilot's seat and turned to look behind him. "Apprentice." He said aloud. He walked out of the cockpit just as the ship broke the atmosphere. "Prepare yourself. I wouldn't be sad to see you die." He said and he walked to the ramp to wait for when the ship landed and would open up to admit to the snowy land beyond it's metal walls.

@Zarran -

 

[Edric Vanyan]

On Iferetes
POV Arthur

Arthur looked up at what seemed to be a comet falling from the sky, which in truth had been the Darth's ship entering the atmosphere. He was curious though as the comet vanished in the night and it looked like it was going to hit somewhere nearby, but there was no sound of impact or signs otherwise of such happening. "Hey Lilythe, did you see that? i Thought i saw something fall from the sky in that direction." He pointed off towards the treeline where the object had vanished beyond view and bit on the inside of his cheek, maybe this was the feeling that he was having, after all he had this feeling when stuff like this happened all the time so why not expect such a thing to be happening now.

@[member="Darth Naefas"] @[member="Lilythe"]

 

[Carliah Dakrone]

Lilythe woke up and glanced in the direction Arthur was pointing. She hadn't seen anything, but that didn't necessarily mean there was nothing to worry about. "Let go check it out, whatever it is." She said as she stood and brushed the snow off of herself. She looked back at Arthur to make sure he was getting up to. She'd need him to lead her in the right direction anyway. She checked to make sure she had all of her equipment in the proper places and ready in case of a fight. If there was thing her job had taught her it was that fights always broke out when you least expected them.

 

[Zarran]

As Darth Naefas spoke, Malik slowly rose from his seat and reached back to the hood that draped heavily upon his broad shoulders before lifting it up over his head and face until all but the ominous yellow glow of his tainted eyes were visible beneath it. He kept facing forward not daring to make eye contact with his Master in such close confines, he went about his preparations which consisted really of making sure his hilt sat securely on his belt. "Yes, my master. I shall not disappoint you." Malik replied, sternly making it sound as if his words has any merit before following on behind his master though keeping a subtle distance as not to encroach on his mentors personal space. All Malik thought upon first stepping foot onto the snowcapped ground was why they were here, what kind of business do Sith have in such an infernal and desolate place.

@[member="Darth Naefas"]

 

[Tormax Tryte]

The Sith Knight that was once known as Arvis Syphex, now Darth Naefas walked across the snow. Snow. Why was it named snow? This white stuff? Why not...Okay snow was fine. "Apprentice, do you sense that?" He said with while he walked through the snow, the cold didn't even touch him. The Force protected him from all sicknesses and colds. The Force was a tool, and he was the mechanic. Simple as. "Do you sense the life here?" He said it as if he were mocking Jedi. Though he didn't know what Jedi specifically said, he knew they spoke foolishness such as that. For how could a Sith not?

"Do you...Sense the weakness?" His voice rasped out from underneath his mask. And he continued to walk through the snow towards where he felt the presence of the Force, although faintly. They would die or bend, that was it. Preferably both, a man dying while he was kneeling showed that they were too weak to face oppression. And he craved weakness. He craved the fear that it brought, he hungered for it.

"Do not do anything, unless I tell you to do it. We must be diplomatic on the planets belonging to inferiors." He said as they trailed through the snow. And when he glanced behind him, he noted that the ramp was closed. Good. Naefas didn't want any of the queer wild life or inhabitants to get upon his ship. And probably violate the things upon it.

@[member="Zarran"] - @[member="Arthur David Hardrada"] - @[member="Lilythe"]

 

[Edric Vanyan]

Arthur had known now that there was no crash and there could have only been one thing that had came down in that direction, though its occupants were not who he expected. Hidden up in one of the Pine trees of the wind swept forest, any movement covered up by the fact of the blistering winds and snowfall of the Iferetes night he stared intently at the two that walked on through the snow and thought to himself as he watched them. His words low and covered up by the sounds of the winds, he looked at Lilythe. "I dont know what those things are, but they seem intelligent... should we keep watching them or say 'Hi'." She knew very well what say hi was, after all, they said hi to Iferetes soldiers all the time and most of them ended up wounded or pissing their pants, why should these two be any different. @[member="Darth Naefas"] @[member="Zarran"] @[member="Lilythe"]

 

[Carliah Dakrone]

"I wouldn't give them our standard invitation if I were you. We know nothing about them or where they come from. They could be highly dangerous. We should watch them for a while long." Lilythe replied in a soft whisper, grabbing his arm to keep him from moving. She stared at the two figures intently trying to find some clues as to their strengths and weaknesses. She noted the strange weapons they carried and when she strained her ear she could hear some of the words. 'This could be a serious problem... Better keep a close eye on Arthur to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid,' she thought as she glanced side ways at him.

 

[Tormax Tryte]

Darth Naefas stopped walking. He felt them. He felt everything around him, but he specifically felt others around him in the Force. True sentient beings, not simple minded animals. All of his weapons were hidden and he had the appearance of a metal man clad in black robes, though his hands remained at his sides, his sleeves quite clearly were longer than his arms, but that wouldn't impede him.

He brought his hand up only moments after he stopped, and then once his senses within the Force focused, his head snapped around to look at the area around them, eyes searching the treeline. And that was when a sharpened gaze, and a heightened sense within the Force spotted the two within the trees. Fools. The hand that he had lifted up pointed at the two in the trees. They had been spotted, and he started to walk in that direction. Another direction that he had been walking in, his presence within the Force spread an overwhelming amount of dread and pain, fear and malevolence, and most of all...Death. He was a Sith Lord and those who would hide in the trees were in his presence. Watching and waiting. Well they would do no more watching and waiting. They would be experiencing and learning now.

"Apprentice, keep your weapons hidden. These weaklings need not know anything." He spoke within their developing mindlink through the Force. It was quite useful. His most powerful Apprentice. He would go far within the Sith underneath his tutelage. Once he was ready, he would receive his markings. Naefas would do it personally, but now was not the time for such thoughts. "Weaklings, come to meet me."

@[member="Lilythe"] - @[member="Arthur David Hardrada"] - @[member="Zarran"]

 

[Zarran]

Malik reached out with his senses letting them spread throughout the area and flow through each and every crack, corner and crevice that surrounded him and his master, he sensed the sentient's in the trees him before anything else, their whispers echoing throughout his mind as if they were stood right before him. He was focused and determined to impress his master, he blocked out the howling of the wind and the the cries of creatures around him, he thought only of his masters instructions and how wrong he was to thing think this planet so desolate and lifeless, learning further not to make premature assumptions and underestimate something by its appearance. As his masters voice resonated throughout his mind like a lingering headache, he reached across with his right hand and pulled his obsidian black robe over his Lightsaber thus concealing it from view though not out of reach. As Darth Naefas stopped, Malik came forward and stood at his master right side, so not to impede his Lightsaber draw however Malik did still keep his distance so not to impede on his Naefas' authority. "Primitives, master. They will be easy to break." Malik said through the mindlink, with a hint of surety present in his voice.

@[member="Darth Naefas"] @[member="Lilythe"] @[member="Arthur David Hardrada"]

 

[Cab Khan]

@[member="Sammo Hache-Khe of Rae"]
Cab looked up form her seat where she'd been slumped, miserably drinking something warm. Now that was an interesting announcement. Finally something to do. That was what she missed most about her ship. Always having something to work on with her hands instead of just writing and solving complex navigational equations. She just needed to let things cool down and scrounge some credits. She checked her supplies, and dragged out the heaviest winter supplies she owned. There weren't too many. She threw them all on and hurried to the hangar to meet the captain. She stopped, slightly out of breath, and casually snapped a partial salute. "What can I assist with, cap'n?"