Animals

[Jairus Starvald]

Coruscant​

​

[member="Maleagant"] | [member="Vitor Avendahl"]​

The Emperor Palpatine Surgical Reconstruction Center, short: EmPal SuRecon Center was a building of much contention within Coruscant. Its history was well-versed and varied, but all that was needed to be said was that this building used to house Darth Carach's center of operations. A Voice of the Dark Lord, much of his origins and moves within the Galaxy were unknown.

What was known was his insatiable hunger for knowledge, artifacts and other items of power.

It came as no surprise that the day the Galactic Alliance seized control over Coruscant, one of the first things they had done was impound the building and the territory other notorious Sith Lords used throughout the time of the One Sith.

The Galactic Alliance found nothing.

No secret treasures, no vile experiments hiding in the corners nor hidden compartments behind the walls.

After months of picking and choosing, it was decided to put the building up for sale. Many hands picked over the building and every time the building was sold again, every time at a slightly worse price, until it finally was picked up by an upcoming pharmaceuticals company.

Lord Fa had already determined that the building itself was completely clear. But nobody had thought to look at the ruins underneath the building... where the first tower had stood proudly years and more years ago.

"I assume Thengil could not make it." The Thirriken politely inquired, while they studied the building from the shadows.

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Vitor Avendahl"]

Arms folded across his chest, Maleagant frowned at the mention of Thengil. "He responds to none of my transmissions." He said, agitation evident in his voice.

Presently, Maleagant was little more than a jilted colleague. One would think saving that Cathar's life from murderous Smoke Demons would be enough to instill some loyalty, but apparently not. That was fine, there had been other benefits to the skirmish. The Smoke Demons had been good practice. It was better to get used to having your mind violently pillaged now. When you had the Black Iron Tyrant on your list of enemies, it was an inevitability. It would also be much worse later down the line. The experience had also allowed Maleagant to use Force Lightning for the first time.

Not that he was any good at it as it stood. But knowing the basics was half the battle. The other half was dealing with insubordinate felines with inflated senses of productivity.

"He's been cutting deals with Arkanians and Herglics instead," Maleagant continued. Was that agitation or dismay that plagued his usual monotone? Hard to tell. "I'm sure it's more important."

As if anything could be more important than unearthing better and greater techniques to bend the Living Force to his very whims.

 

[Zef Halo]

Vitor remained silent as the two other Sith discussed the whereabouts of Thengil. Maleagant sounding rather unhappy to the fact that the Cathar was not around. The acolyte was not sure why it bothered him as much nor did he find it imperative to know the reason behind it.

The shadow of the large building in front of them loomed over the three Sith and Avendahl wondered what awaited them ahead. It did not worry him, though, as much as the fact that they were on Coruscant. Jewel of the galaxy. A recently liberated from the One Sith planet and capital of the universe. Liberated from none other than the Galactic Alliance and their brainwashed zealots - the Jedi of the New Jedi Order.

The arms dealer knew that the other two men were as aware of that danger as much as he was. Nonetheless, it did not dissuade him from his quest today.

​

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Maleagant"]​

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Vitor Avendahl"] | [member="Maleagant"]

"I am sure he will respond to you, if you give it some time." Lord Fa responded equally as polite as his inquiry had been. In truth he did not mind that the feline wasn't around this time around.

For some reason everything turned rather messy, unrefined and frankly annoying any time Thengil got involved. It was almost as if the Thirriken was perpetually stuck in a cycle of waiting for his next action to enfold - which, admittedly, did not make much sense, but that was how it was experienced regardless - perhaps this time around they would be able to get what they were after and call it a day, before the next century rolls around.

A few minutes passed while Tai studied the building some more.

It spoke of elegance and grace.

There was a certain... panache to it. It made him wonder if he couldn't buy this building himself, after they were done and the property value devalued even more than it already had. He could probably make it into an administratieve office for his Coruscant branch that was being established.

Before that thought could get any further a fat Cathar exited the front doors of the EmPal building. His uniform - dirty and ragged - signaled that this was the janitor of the building. The Cathar turned around, locked the door and then exited the scene with a comical waggle that made Tai think of Thengil just for a moment, if he had started eating coca as much as this one?

Identical spirits.

"Very well. Let's get on with it, shall we?"

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Vitor Avendahl"]

There was no mistaking how distasteful Maleagant found the existence of this fatter Thengil to be. Such corpulence revolted Maleagant on a fundamental level. Maybe it was just how aesthetically unpleasing it was, or maybe it had something to do for being snubbed for an audience with Darth Voracitos, the self-anointed demi-god of all things obese in this galaxy. "We'll be done here by then," Maleagant replied. If Thengil spent as much time building up the Zareca Cartel as he did twiddling his thumbs between transmissions, they would have ruled this galaxy already.

Well, probably.

With the Cathar out of sight, Maleagant checked his chronometer. He waited for a minute to tick by, then took the lead. A slicer in his employ had assumed control over the nearby street surveillance cameras and blacked them out just long enough for the trio to cross the street and approach the building. Maleagant retrieved a keycard from his person in one adroit motion that seemed to imply he had done this sort of thing before. He slid it through the card reader the Cathar had used to lock the door. There was a pause, then the light on the reader flashed green and the lock disengaged. The door opened and Maleagant ushered his compatriots inside.

He had ordered one of his Enforcers to acquire a duplicate keycard prior to this little excursion. Now that they had it, they would have access to every part of the facility a high-clearance doctor did. This was ultimately more than necessary. They would only be going to the basement level. "Don't worry about the cameras," Maleagant advised once the doors slid shut and locked behind them. There was another security camera pointed straight at the entrance. "They'll be down until we leave."

Good thing, too. Tai Fa was something of a famous man these days, running that big company of his. It would have looked awful for him to be seen breaking into a medical center with two other petty thieves no one really cared about.

 

[Zef Halo]

Speak of the devil.

While Lord Fa and Maleagant continued their small talk about Thengil, an overweight Cathar exited the building that they planned to infiltrate and casually walked way. Vitor couldn't help but scoff. He glanced at the other two Sith, while Tai Fa's expression was less comprehensive, Maleagant certainly looked like he had a sour taste in his mouth. Perhaps there was more between him and Thengil.

Or he despised feline races. Avendahl would probably never know.

When the janitor disappeared into the night, the trio were free to move ahead. Maleagant took the initiative and materialized a card in his hand that would open the door the Cathar had just locked. Light went green and the three were in. They were greeted by a camera facing them straight ahead but the Helix Syndicate leader had assured the other two Sith that this had been taken care of.

Excellent.

"What exactly do we expect to find here ?" Vitor spoke for the first time. He inquired about the specifics of their end goal here. Most likely the other Sith knew more than him.

​

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Maleagant"]​

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Maleagant"] | [member="Vitor Avendahl"]

It surprised no one that Lord Fa had the same concern as his Sith associate.

The inherent racism and xenophobia that ran rampant in a humanocentric galaxy meant that Tai Fa was at risk of being accused of all manners of crimes... simply because he was one of the few Thirrikens in the public eye. It mattered quite little that the Gordian Reach was full of them and that with Lord Fa's success on the galactic scene more Thirrikens were following his lead.

All Thirrikens look alike, do they not?

It was why he was currently in the middle of creating a Sith amulet that would hopefully aid him in his efforts.

"Very good." Lord Fa responded while looking around the atrium. It was still in all manners of despair and would need extensive works to be restored - the Alliance had been quite zealous in their attempts to find out the ancient secrets the building hid. Then Vitor asked the right question.

"Nothing too exciting. Simply a repository of ancient Sith knowledge, if we are lucky."

Spoken so calmly and leveled as if it really wasn't a big of deal.

As far as they knew the building was now completely empty. The construction crew had left hours earlier and with the janitor gone that was the last remnant of sentient life here. The basement levels weren't accessible through the lift, not the main commercial one anyway, but there was a service stairway behind the counter.

Which is where the Thirriken went for.

It, too, was locked with the same locking mechanism as the front door.

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Vitor Avendahl"]

"Not here." Maleagant corrected, once again marching ahead of Lord Fa.

Like many of the buildings on Coruscant, this one was a reconstruction. The only thing it had in common with the original, the one that had been utilized by Chancellor Palpatine during the closing days Clone Wars, was its location. The people who were now trying to sell this building had gone through great pains to emphasize this connection. The owner would have a new personal connection to history. History that had been wiped clean in the several dozen cataclysmic invasions or disasters that had wracked Coruscant since.

At any rate, Chancellor Palpatine had actually been a Sith Lord the whole time. A Sith Lord who stored a vault full of holocrons in the basement of the EmPal Medical Center, because where else would one store powerful Dark Side relics? From Maleagant's rigorous consultation of the historical records, there was nothing to indicate that the cache had never been found. The probe droids and bounty hunters he sent to the lower levels to precede the personal arrive of Avendahl, Lord Fa, and himself showed that the cache was very likely still present. Ripe for the taking, sitting patiently in the darkest depths of Coruscant's lower levels. And now these three enterprising Sith were right on top of them. Literally.

Of course, his probe droids had been destroyed before they could affect a recovery. The bounty hunters had stopped communicating and were probably dead. It seemed unlikely that all of them would have given up without saying anything. Why else would Maleagant be coming in-person and bringing others along for the ride? The Shi'ido went to the elevator instead, brandishing the keycard to open it up. Certainly, they could have taken the service staircase the whole way down... Or they could take the elevator down as far as it would go and then take the stairs, conserving their energy for the rest of the climbing they would have to do now and when they got back.

The elevator gave a helpful ding as it opened. "Under here. Deeper than most would dare to go."

 

[Zef Halo]

The Sith's steps echoed through the empty hallway. There were numerous remains left behind from the construction crews that were working here through the day. More than once had Vitor stepped on something that cracked beneath his weight. Just like the rest of the Sith, he also scanned the area. Not only through his standard senses but through the Force as well. The mysterious gift that he became more adept in using day after day.

Upon Lord Fa's nonchalant reply, Avendahl could not help but come to another question that made his eyes widen for a moment.

The question - Should they find this knowledge, how would they share it ? Vitor did not ask it. He just remained extremely cautious, even though in comparison to both Sith, Vitor hated to admit it but he was certainly the underdog.

Perhaps, this whole experience could be yet another lesson Lord Fa taught his acolyte.

When the trio reached the deepest part of where the construction crews would go, Vitor felt as if he had gone to a completely different place. He did not know if that was a feeling echoing through the Force or just a natural feeling of something foreign. Nonetheless, the acolyte felt his hand getting closer to his new lightsaber hilt.

"Who did this repository belong to ?" Vitor asked no one in particular. He simply wanted to erase the shroud of ignorance that covered him. Lord Fa, himself, had taught him that knowledge was power. And Vitor had seen that saying proven in practice.

[member="Maleagant"] | [member="Tai Fa"]​

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Vitor Avendahl"] | [member="Maleagant"]​

​

"The same man who once held court here." Lord Fa responded as he got into the elevator that would lead them down and down and down, until they were closer to their destination.

The building itself was still mostly karked up with the lift the only thing that seemed to be marginally clean. But the uncleanness of the situation did little for Tai Fa and his desire to discover the secrets hidden bellow. If they could truly find Sidious' respository of knowledge here (but not here)?

That would change a great many of things.

It would give them another source of knowledge. Modern knowledge compared to the many tomes and secrets they uncovered in the asteroid fortress of Graush.

Both were necessary in some measure.

"Do we have any idea what - or who - has happened to your drones and bounty hunters?"

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Vitor Avendahl"]

Despite his shifty status and his employment as a spymaster, Maleagant was the one giving straight answers for once. "Darth Sidious." Emperor Palpatine had never held court in a medical center as far as Maleagant was aware. That seemed rather ill-advised. If Palpatine held court anywhere, it would have been the Imperial Palace. Men like Palpatine did not hold court, though. They usually just berated their minions from the other side of a long-distance holocall or sent other minions to do it for him. Resting at the top of the political ladder left little room to carry out one's own dirty work. Maleagant wondered if he would grow bored in such a position... But he would have to live long enough to get there first.

The elevator ground to a halt at the very bottom of how far it would go... Which had been very far. There were only a few flights of stairs to surmount now. Then all they would have to do is cut a hole wide enough to walk through in the wall and start their trek through the grim darkness of Coruscant's lowest levels. Lord Fa had other concerns to pass the time.

"The probes transmitted static for a few minutes once they entered a certain area. Then they go silent for twenty minutes exactly." Something about Maleagant's language suggested this had been a recurring problem no matter how many extra probe droids he sent down or how heavily armed they had been. "We receive one last ping from the probe after that: the emergency one informing us it has been destroyed."

There were only so many extra sheets of dura-armor and so many extra blaster cannons you could weld to a probe droid before you had to give up and go down there yourself. Maleagant would have to get his own cult at some point, like Fa had. Then he could have just sent them... And probably would have lost contact with them too, but it was the principle of the matter.

"No idea what happened to the bounty hunters," he added.

 

[Zef Halo]

Vitor was certainly more ignorant in the topic of history than the other Sith. Emperor Palpatine, though, was a figure known by all. Vaguely, of course. It had been more than eight hundred years within which there was the Gulag plague that almost turned the galaxy back into the stone age. It seemed, though, that both Lord Fa and Maleagant had information about Darth Sidious and possibly those days in abundance, or at least more detailed than what was commonly accessible for them to know this location.

Even the Galactic Alliance's pools of knowledge did not know of it, not as much as the two Sith. Avendahl was rather envious of their accessibility to data that even toppled that of a major power in the galaxy.

The acolyte knew he had to step up his game.

Lord Fa asked a good question and Maleagant's answer was that one would hear in a horror holomovie. Eerie, vague but with enough specifics to spook you out. He wondered when would the trio reach the point of no return where these probes and probably bounty hunters had been eliminated.

When the creaking staircase, which had some steps missing, finished, it was Vitor's job to activate his new lightsaber and a cut a hole in the wall. The sanguine blade hummed in the darkness as Vitor cautiously cut a hole big enough for all three to pass through. He kicked down the sliced piece of the wall and opened the way for the rest of the Sith.

"Let's see where this point of no return is then, shall we?" The acolyte commented as he gestured for the duo to proceed forward.

[member="Maleagant"] | [member="Tai Fa"]​

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Maleagant"] | [member="Vitor Avendahl"]​

​

It amused him how Vitor did not want to be the first one through the brink.

Any other Sith would have considered it cowardice and probably forced his apprentice to step right through. But in truth it was a simple matter of pragmatism and survival instinct, never be the first one to step through into the unknown, because that was the quickest way to get acid thrown into your face. Acid or being jumped by some kind of horrifying Sithspawn creation. The Thirriken mused on which one would be worse, while carefully picking his way through the debris Avendahl had made and trying to make out any shape or form outside.

It was really dark.

But in the distance, far in the distance, little lights could just about be perceived.

"Have the probes noticed any signs of the Cthons? Apparently they infest the lowest levels of Coruscant."

Then again. If the probes lost communication it suggested sentient interference, jammers or something similar, which went against the idea of undead creatures being the ones that made both scouting efforts fail in the first place. Lord Fa was not yet clear which was worse for him, to go up against zombies or to fight those who killed the zombies in the first place.

To have any sustainable presence here as a sentient... it probably suggested much about their competence.

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Vitor Avendahl"]

Judging from how quickly Maleagant moved through the hole Vitor had cut into the wall, slowing only to avoid touching the still-molten edges, the Shi'ido had little regard for the perils that lay ahead. Since that episode with the Smoke Demon, there were few things that gave him pause now. The terror conjured up by those creatures surpassed anything Maleagant had ever known and probably would know for quite some time. The odds of what lay ahead being worse than that mental intrusion were slim. "No more than usual," Maleagant replied. Affixed to his wrist was a datapad mounted on his gauntlet.

He tapped the screen, which blinked to life on contact. It displayed a map, as well as a few way-points. The locations of the last transmissions offered by the probe droids. If they moved quickly, they might get there within forty five or fifty minutes. Cthons had been a problem, but the probe droids had been armed for that reason. Most Cthons were too feral and cowardly to attack something they couldn't eat. The starved ones mindlessly attempted to attack it anyway, but were uniformly sent packing after a few of them were shot dead. No, something else was afoot here. The bounty hunters hired had been of varying calibers. It wasn't far fetched that they might have died at the hands of Cthons or Corridor Ghouls.

There was just no way to tell. Frustratingly vague, as usual in these sorts of horror movie-esque scenarios.

"This way," said Maleagant, leading them off to the right. The catwalk groaned under their weight, but otherwise remained stationary. It also gave way to a ramp, leading downwards... They still had deeper to go after all.

 

[Zef Halo]

The two of the Sith went in with Maleagant spearheading the troupe. Vitor was not sure whether the bald man was impatient to find out what had happened to his probe droids and bounty hunters or was this whole situation creeping him out so much that he would prefer to finish this whole excursion as quickly as possible. Or a mix of both, perhaps ?

Cthons. He had heard of those. Half-dead, half-alive creatures roaming the Underlevels of Coruscant. Of course, he had thought that was a myth and he wondered if those child bedtime stories were actually speaking truths and not fiction. Vitor's gut turned within him. Their adventure was becoming more and more dreaded. Even with Sith that were of much higher caliber than his, Avendahl thought he felt even their own fear.

Or was it his imagination ?

Just like that noise, he heard.

The unknown had been humanity's greatest creativity boost. Was Vitor imagining this eerie noise in the distance, beyond the creaking noise of the catwalk that tried to silence it ? Was it the Force speaking to him of what lied ahead ? Or was it actual noise that all could hear.

Even when upon the ramp that lead them deeper, he could hear it and Avendahl could no longer remain silent. He had to be sure.

"Is it my imagination or can you both hear the eerie and indescribable noise ?" He put his question to words. Truly, the noise both sounded as whispers and the dulled hum of wind.

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Maleagant"]​

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Maleagant"] | [member="Vitor Avendahl"]​

​

The Thirriken had been mostly focused on the path ahead.

Much like Maleagant he did not truly fear what was out there. They all walked a certain path, sometimes... that path ended unceremoniously and premature, but that was simply the way of things. Perhaps all their paths would end like that today or perhaps it would not. Death had never been much of a concern for the little peacock, either it would happen or it would not. But to spend your life in fear of it only served to cheapen that same life in the brief span of time you had. There was no real sense in that and as such Tai refused to acknowledge such fears.

Better to face your troubles head-on and hope you would come out on top, because you were clear-headed.

"No." The Sith Knight responded immediately, before cocking his head slightly and then frowning. "Yes." He amended his own previous statement as his ears focused on that background noise.

He had been filtering it out, more focused on his own thoughts and the movements of his associates.

But now the whispers in the darkness and the shuffling were clear to him as the light of day.

"Perhaps the Cthon are attempting to figure out if we are worth the trouble." It was said with such a level voice and ease that his apprentice would seriously wonder if there was anything that could disturb Tai. Well, besides a room that wasn't up to his feng shui standards or a cup of tea that wasn't made to perfection with the optimal temperature attached to it.

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Vitor Avendahl"] | [member="Tai Fa"]

Maleagant repressed a snicker and instead rolled his eyes. "Careful, Lord Fa," he deadpanned. "You might frighten him."

He could smell the fear and discomfort rolling off of Avendahl more potently than he could smell the foul stench of garbage they were fast approaching. The garbage had no presence in the Force, after all. Not much later, they found the end of the ramp. Itbrought them to what once had been one of the wide, bustling sidewalks that Coruscant's citizenry used to scurry about on. To think that at one point in history, probably in the final days of the ancient Sith Empire's occupation of this world... This had been the uppermost level. Or at least one worth visiting. Now look at it. Garbage and scrap metal covered the surface at least up to their ankles. Mounds had formed elsewhere, but there was pretty clearly a path.

A path...

That shouldn't have been characteristic of a level as deep as this. A few bounty hunters wouldn't have made it, nor would the probe droids. The probe droids Maleagant had contracted moved via repulsorlift... Because he wasn't a pauper or an idiot. "Interesting." Natural light had long abandoned them and now it was getting even darker. Maleagant hit a switch on the electric torch fastened to his belt. A nice radius of light lit up the immediate area, allowing the assembled gentlemen to see without blinding them terribly.

Maleagant kept walking, debris crunching under his boots. He didn't seem to mind. "When we run into the Cthon, I'll ask."

 

[Zef Halo]

Vitor wondered what the two other Sith had seen during their lifetime to possess such calm demeanor in the current situation. The path, if one could call it a path, that the trio walked reminded Avendahl of the uneven tracks within the mines he had worked in as a child. During his childhood, he felt no fear as he strolled down deeper into those mines and the acolyte tried to place his eight year old self back in control. The memories of his hardships washed away the unpleasant feeling in his gut and Vitor's steps regained their confidence.

Abruptly, light burst out in front of them. Its source - Maleagant's belt. It cut into the darkness like a knife but was dimmed down to prevent the Sith from becoming blind. The tense feeling in his shoulders declined, a sign of restored composure. Vitor continued following the gentlemen in front of him while keeping his senses wide open for any threats.

[member="Tai Fa"] | [member="Maleagant"]​

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Maleagant"] | [member="Vitor Avendahl"]​

The tick of talons against the durasteel was calm as Lord Fa strutted besides Maleagant into the unknown.

Briefly his eyes closed as the electric torch lit up the area around them, but only briefly. After a moment they opened themselves again and became used to the sudden source of light. His senses were stronger than that of an average humanoid - sharper eyes, better hearing and the sort, so the torch's light hurt his eyes for a moment or two. Until they were used to it anyway. Perhaps the fate of this level should have taught them a lesson.

That even the highest would fall low as long as time ran its course.

This warning did not concern Lord Fa much though, mostly because he wasn't concerned with immortality. He did not build his corporation to stand the test of time... he simply wished it to go on for as long as he lived - what happened with it afterwards... why would that matter to him?

He would be dead and not capable of enjoying it any longer.

"Fear is a potent emotion, Maleagant." Lord Fa pointed out politely. As if these two Sith were discussing the weather. "My apprentice will do well to remember this."

Fear... even your own fear, if you used it and did not allow it to use you? It could be an important strength.

But the path suggested something entirely different from Cthon. After all, they were not smart enough to truly care about efficiency of movement. They would simply have crawled over the piles of garbage and rubble, climbing here and there, instead of trying to make things easier for them and their society.

"I am starting to think the Cthon are the least of our worries."

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Vitor Avendahl"] | [member="Tai Fa"]

Maleagant had never had a formal Master. He had been trained by the likes of Onley Xiangu and Darth Pyrrhus, but that had never evolved into anything other than the sporadic one-off lessons. Maleagant could now see why that was for the best. He could not imagine being in Vitor's subordinate position and tolerating it for very long. Especially not if his superior was Lord Fa. While an adept businessman and a powerful ally, Maleagant did not anticipate he could take very much of Fa's abstract musings before committing suicide.

Speaking of death, Maleagant was starting to feel a distinctly uneasy aura. It intensified the further they walked. It was not quite enough to make Maleagant run screaming back the way he had came, but it felt like a large rock had taken up residence in his gut. Maleagant betrayed none of this encroaching sense of misgiving to the others. Either they already felt it themselves or Maleagant was going crazy. No need to verbally address it. The Shi'ido glanced at his forearm every so often, ensuring they were on the right track, when...

They rounded the corner of a crumbling building. The path carried on for several more feet, then abruptly ended at a sheer wall. It was made out compacted garbage; scrap and junk. It towered well over everyone assembled. It must have been ten or twelve feet tall. But just how it had been compressed in such a way and then erected... Could he even guess? "That's unusual." Even though he was sure his companions were already well aware that this was not a common feature anywhere, Maleagant could not help but comment. There had been no reports of trash walls from the probe droids, although this did seem to be very close to the area they all went missing from.

Against his better judgement, Maleagant approached the wall. He examined it closely, running a hand over the jagged surface.

And then it exploded.

Not in a literal sense. There were no thermal detonators jammed into the wall. Just Cthon. Four of them, and much more well-clothed than they had any business being. Two of them even had tattoos, jet black lines running across their chests in eldritch patterns. Their weapons were crude clubs, fashioned out of rotten durasteel. Not that Maleagant had any time to take this into account - one had emerged right on top of him and, pinned him to the ground before he could so much as react. The others were either attempting to land on or in front of Lord Fa and Avendahl, though if either of them remained a good distance away they might do better for themselves.