Private Crackdown

[Koda Fett]

The Spear III descended from the stars and skies to find itself ensnared in the view of Coronet, the vastness of it had been a marvel across the surface but one that failed to rival that of Coruscant. It held onto a lot to see and venture to if one had been so interested to do as much, but the Mandalorian that sat behind the controls had not come as a tourist nor a visitor with the best of intentions. In the Jewel of Corellia - for all their excellence in the CEC and more - the authorities had become burdened by crime as of late, and crime bred bounties once CorSec had failed. From offworld, a transmission had notified Fett of the list; a handful to say the least albeit not too much trouble, local filth had known their terrain but if Sith and Jedi had been able to be bested, then a batch of street-scum was to be no issue.

Or so he believed.

He soared over the famed Corellian spaceport, his comms had come to life in one moment and died in the next, the brief back and forth enabled his vessel to be set inside. Spear III shifted, the interior as well, the once vertical craft altered itself to a horizontal stance and slowly, yet surely, came to a halt - the thrum of the internal electronics softened and the roar of the thrusters silenced. Koda reached out to strike various switches, his T-visor ahead;

"Find the route to CorSec, their HQ is based out of Coronet."

His newfound, and uncertain, 'friend' in Aryn Teth had done as instructed.

Both left the vessel in favour for a much smaller craft, hired from the vendors in order to traverse Coronet much more freely than inside the Spear III. In due time, the duo arrived before CorSec HQ and earned the eye of the locals; an armoured Mandalorian in his beaten, battered shell had not been a common visual to the locals, less so for all after the fall of Mandalore. Nonetheless, Fett continued on and flashed the notice for the Yokai and made mention of his interest in them.

His desire for information on them had soon been brought to the attention of Myk Venture , as the two awaited contact from someone.

 

[Aryn Teth]

Koda Fett Myk Venture​

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Aryn Teth, bounty hunter.

It was a rather strange arrangement he'd come to with Koda Fett . But his impromptu ally had informed him that funds were something of a dire need, and the dead man had seen the opportunity that lay in doing such work. Particularly when Koda told him of a contract put up by the Corellian Security Services. It had been a long time since Aryn had last been in the territory of the former - well, he supposed former no longer - Galactic Alliance. The last time he had set foot in its territory it had almost killed him, returning after the embers of the Great Galactic War to the world of Kuat, to the day his last life was shattered.

It was strange to see it so renewed, so similar and yet so different all at once. For years of his life Aryn had dedicated his life to this very institution, to the protection and leadership of the Galactic Alliance in a galaxy where it was beset on all sides by those who would see it crumble. Even those elements within, which ultimately toppled the giant it had been. Perhaps he should have found it inspiring that it had arisen once more, returned to its place in the galaxy with a renewed vigour.

In reality, he found it hard to care. What was one more turn of the wheel?

The dead man had been the first to arrive at CorSec HQ, waiting atop his speeder as he let his gaze wander the crowds that wandered past. Inwardly, he was thankful for the changes to his appearance ritual and time had allowed for, being the world it was, it would have been difficult for a once-head of state of this very alliance to have remained incognito. The change was not utterly overwhelming of course, but it was enough that a hood allowed for looks to pass him by as just another spacer. Once, I had been just a spacer.

As Fett arrived, the dead man lifted a leg over his bike and rose, following intently behind the Mandalorian in silence. This was Fett's forte and he had chosen to let him take the lead on it all. He was there to support, and to observe - to make what he could of the Alliance renewed. And - if need be - to unleash hell.

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[Myk Venture]

ONE CORSEC PLAZA
CORONET CITY
Koda Fett Aryn Teth ​

"The dead had plenty to say. And once they started, they would never shut up. Their words would keep you awake at night. I knew the appetite of ghosts intimately. They hungered for revenge. The bodies, all the evidence of all the murders the Yokai had done, all the answers. It would take days to dig through it..."

Detective Mykas Venture Memlogs, 874 ABY​

Burning embers of a half-finished cigarra filled the cramped office with a thick haze. Detective Venture slumped over in his seat, scanning datapads with dim photoreceptors. Heaving a frustrated sigh he emptied the stashed bottle of corellian whiskey into his glass and took an unsatisfying swig. While the galaxy turned and empires fell life dirtside carried on just the same.

"You shouldn't have."

Another stack of datapads landed on Myk's desk. He was a recent transfer from homicide to the gang task force so everything flagged Yokai no matter how trivial reached him eventually. Picking up the first pad with a scowl, he glanced at the first few lines and then kept reading. Someone else interested in their holo notice. His scowl deepened. Myk set up the meeting and grabbed his longcoat.

"Bounty hunters?" Venture glowered at the pair while lighting another cigarra, "We don't need your kind of scum."

Like all cops Myk didn't think very highly of freelancers. One CorSec Plaza loomed over them, monolithic and surrounded by an endless duracrete jungle. Thousands of pedestrians moved past. CorSec spinners and civilian airspeeders raced above.

"Here for the contract, then?"

 

[Koda Fett]

"Results claim otherwise," the Mandalorian said, his voice drenched a snide bitterness, "Or lack thereof, even."

His armoured arms crossed his torso and the carbine remained idle over his shoulder, the T-visor stared ahead on the member of CorSec, unaware of his robotic status beneath all the synthetic flesh that fooled most - eyes came a thousand colours as of late, to whatever one so desired, and so that flash of the riches in his own orbs meant little to the hunter.

"The Yokai, I need all the information CorSec has on file." His tone had been cold, a sense of cruel callousness within it; "Locations, members, the lot."

Aryn Teth Myk Venture

 

[Myk Venture]

ONE CORSEC PLAZA
CORONET CITY
Koda Fett Aryn Teth ​

"Pissing the mandalorian off was a dangerous game. But when people get mad, they make mistakes. I should know. That's where I wanted mando, mad enough to trip over his own feet, preferably into a grave. It wasn't about how smart or how good you were. It was chaos and luck, and anyone who thought different was a fool..."

Detective Mykas Venture Memlogs, 874 ABY​

"No such thing as results in this job."

Venture laughed, but it was a bitter unfriendly sound. He looked tired. After all these years in operation his power cell was worn down and didn't hold a charge like it used to. There were other little idiosyncrasies, but otherwise he still followed his core programming. CorSec's perfect security droid. Maybe a little too perfect.

"Yokai control A-Town and they're expanding all over the Gold Sector. We don't have much. Most gangs around here act like a bunch of blade boys talking dank but these fellas are professional. Remind me of the old Hutt families."

He glanced from the mandalorian to his partner. Myk's gaze lingered. Something familiar about that face. The detective searched his memory logs for a connection.

"Say, don't I know you from somewhere, pal?"

 

[Aryn Teth]

Koda Fett Myk Venture​

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The hood that had shielded the dead man's face from more prying eyes had been drawn back upon entering CorSec, a requirement for the cameras - he had been told. Still, the fact that this detective had not immediately questioned it, and no one else had come to address him seemed to indicate the facial recognition on such cameras had not picked up his identity. It was easier that way.​

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As Fett exchanged a brief back-and-forth with the detective, he lingered in silence. This was Fett's bread and butter, Aryn had never chased a bounty before, most often simply on the receiving end of one. For now, he was content enough to watch and to listen, perhaps to chime in with a question of his own when such things arose. Yet, it was a question first proferred to him rather than the other way around.​

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Turning his gaze to settle it upon the detective's face, a placating smile split the dead man's lips. "I get that a lot, I'm afraid. Just one of those faces, I suppose." It was utterly dismissive, the kind of answer one usually only gave when there was in fact something to hide, though he did wonder just how much trouble it would cause if some CorSec detective managed to uncover that little truth. Insignificant enough, he thought - but that did not mean he planned to divulge it himself. Instead, the dead man chose to press on with a question of his own, to draw the man's attention back to their purpose.​

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"Surely they've got a structure if they're that organised, lieutenants or capos we might find who could be persuaded to provide us with some more clarity?"​

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[Myk Venture]

ONE CORSEC PLAZA
CORONET CITY
Koda Fett Aryn Teth ​

"I want to sleep, to forget. To change the past. There are no choices. Nothing but a straight line. The illusion comes afterwards, when you ask 'Why me?' and 'What if?' when you look back, see the branches, like a pruned bonsai tree, or forked lightning..."

Detective Mykas Venture Memlogs, 874 ABY​

Identity confirmed.

"...if you say so. Yeah, must be."

After another few seconds Myk tore his photoreceptors away and let the matter drop. It wasn't any of his business who the bounty hunters really were. For all he knew there had been a ripper doc involved, or the man was a clawdite with a strange sense of humor. Besides lately Detective Venture's circuits were a little preoccupied.

"Ronin," he corrected the 'supreme commander' absentmindedly, "They're called ronin. We only have one name: Sai. Owns the Ozai club in A-Town, but CorSec doesn't have enough to make a real case."

Framed behind the thin lit cigarra Venture's eyes glowed even brighter.

"Could try your luck with the Red Riots. Gold Sector swoop gang, we're pretty sure the Yokai use them for muscle."

He looked around, suddenly very curious to see who else was listening. When the detective was satisfied enough their conversation was private he continued.

"There's a local captain," Myk told the hunters, "Jak Handar. I can't prove it, but I think he's connected somehow."

 

[Koda Fett]

Ronin.

Lot of them had their names; their identities set aside from another in all the doses to allow them to be themselves - such needless titles had been worthless once the barrel of a blaster met their vision, the lethal blow in their friend that continued to sear at their flesh all the motive to answer the demands. Filth and street-scum had all been the same, rats in the streets that fed off the smaller vermin until the catcher noticed them, then extermination.

"If I searched for Handar first, I'd find him where?"

The Mandalorian asked from behind his worn armour, the modulated voice still carried the cold tone to it.

"I need Maou and Handar sounds to be the road to him."

Aryn Teth Myk Venture

 

[Myk Venture]

ONE CORSEC PLAZA
CORONET CITY
Koda Fett Aryn Teth ​

"The ringing in my ears was the sound of a gang war being waged. An eye for an eye, the first principle of revenge, old as dirt, still going strong. It had been so long since I'd seen a good idea, I'd forgotten what they looked like..."

Detective Mykas Venture Memlogs, 874 ABY​

"Maou?" Myk shook his head with another humorless chuckle, "Maou is a ghost story. Waste of your time. Handar's simple enough though. Gilded Descent Casino, over in the Red Light Sector. Heard of it?"

He could sense that the mandalorian's use for his intel was quickly dwindling. Detective Venture thought about letting them both go without another word. Better angels of his nature won out in the end.

"You know about the killings?"

Myk tried not to think about the details. Coronet might not be Nar Shaddaa but this city could be savage in its own way. Rival gangs caused enough damage without bounty hunters getting involved. Especially mandalorians.

 

[Aryn Teth]

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Koda Fett Myk Venture​

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"Following hunches on men who might not be involved, how delightful." The dead man mused as he listened to the two of them. Fett seemed content enough to take the detective's word, and he supposed the man would not be in his position if there was not some value in his words. Still, at the back of his mind, he wondered if this was not a complete and utter waste of his time. Nonetheless, they had their location, for now it would do.​

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The name of the place was one that he vaguely recalled from some other time. Had he ever been there? Possibly, Corellia was a world that had crossed his path a moderate number of times, but rarely for pleasure. Its location was an utter unknown for him, but that was something that could be resolved simply enough.​

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The final question from the detective however, drew the curiosity of the dead man.​

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"The Killings?"​

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[Koda Fett]

He seemed the sort to beat the answers out of someone, more incentive to offer said answers once their life had fallen on the line. His set of armour allowed him to endure the assaults, no munition had been so much as a threat to it more than time itself - the colour scheme faded, fell, the raw material shown beneath in sections as others remain as vibrant as ever.

"Then I'll follow the trail to see if that is true," Fett answered, and if not in need of more credits then the smaller bounties in those such as Handar may have been all that the Mandalorian needed. It was not.

"I've not, of neither the casino or murders."

Aryn Teth Myk Venture

 

[Myk Venture]

ONE CORSEC PLAZA
CORONET CITY
Koda Fett Aryn Teth ​

"When you're waking up, the world is a blur. What was clear in a dream, suddenly makes no sense. No surreal rescues. No easy, magic way out. But you are awake. In a nightmare, every choice you make is a wrong one. I would wake up at night, afraid that day was a dream I'd forget..."

Detective Mykas Venture Memlogs, 874 ABY​

"Couple of thugs met a bad end not so long ago." Detective Venture tossed his cigarra and smothered it with a polished shoe, "Wasn't much left of them but the Yokai markings were still clear enough. Atrisians have got competition. You're walking into a cargo bay filled with unstable hyperfuel."

Myk reached into his coat pocket and produced a pair of tracking fobs. He tossed them both at the mandalorian and his shapeshifting partner.

"They're short range only. Chain codes around here aren't what they used to be, but Handar's in the system."

He turned away, lighting a fresh cigarra.

"Ask around. You won't miss the Gilded Descent."

Everyone knew about Corellia's most infamous gambling den. It was in all the holos. Then again, these two didn't look like they took much time off for entertainment.

 

[Koda Fett]

RED LIGHT SECTOR
CORONET CITY​

It seemed on all systems, no matter har into the core, there was a have for the villainous somewhere. It was noticable, too, as the foot-traffic lessened and the streets became noisier for all the reasons most others rushed indoors; those that remained of a foul demeanour to those that wandered into their territories - CorSec dwindled in these areas, and the scrumrat that rose ahead of the rest ruled. His word was law.

Too bad that Fett was never all too interested in the adherence to them, even in a career that so often teetered on lawful and criminal in certain circles.

Bathed in the vibrant neon, the Mandalorian and his former-Jedi ally rode on the streets as the occasional curious man or woman offered them their attention. It was an odd two to enter their domain, some semblance of the armoured once had been thankful to be marked for his name at an instant. Mandalorian armour had been scattered across the Galaxy, less commonplace than it once was, but not unheard of. Even if it carried a certain air to it.

"The Force, can it find Handar?" He asked, his T-visor on the road and his voice so unsure. "You Jedi, you can sense people? Find them with it?"

Aryn Teth Myk Venture

 

[Aryn Teth]

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Koda Fett Myk Venture​

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A chuckle escaped the dead man. For all of his years fighting and serving force users, on the payroll of the Dark Lord of the Sith so often, ever facing down those that walked the path of the light - the man knew nothing of it. It was remarkable, the contrast. For years, Aryn had harbored a hatred for the Mandalorians, after their betrayal of the Alliance on Dagobah, their crusades, and wonton violence. He had burned their worlds and learned all he could of them - even his greatest enemy, now turned ally, was one of their number.​

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And yet this man, for all of his own hatred of the force and its wielders, had never bothered to learn the most basic lessons with regards to it. Greatest the galaxy had ever seen, indeed.​

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"That's not how the force works." He uttered plainly, his own gaze cast forward as he reached up to slip the hood back over his head, his arms crossing over his chest. They were quite the contrast, the heavily armed and armoured Mandalorian and the seemingly unequipped and unprotected darkly-clad man. "At least, not exactly - I would need to be familiar with him, or he would need to be strong in the force."​

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[Koda Fett]

"Hnh," had been all that Fett mustered in return to the answer, as unsatisifated and unentertained by the would-be effectiveness of the Force. He'd seen vessels torn from the skies, individuals thrown about as if a meal, and even an entire structure had been levelled on himself - an instinctive, albeit brief, turn to Teth came then at the memories of the man's former fiance's efforts to end the Mandalorian - for all the use it had there, a bottom feeder had eluded the once-famed Jedi.

Ridiculous.

"How familiar does a Jedi need to be?" Even if Teth returned different from his former self, the distinction between Jedi and Dark Jedi eluded Fett, the lot of them seemed to be so similar and needless beliefs determined their moral status and all that it meant. But if a Jedi had been able to commit such heinous actions, no less than that of a Sith, the difference had lied in the names one another called themselves. It was all ruse.

"You stand beside me now, can I be sensed?"

Aryn Teth

 

[Aryn Teth]

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Koda Fett​

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The first time that Fett had called him a Jedi had felt strange, but the dead man had for the most part ignored it. The comment wasn't unreasonable, he had one been among the numbers of the Jedi. But how long had it been since he called himself one? How long had it been since he actually adhered to that code, actually followed any of their teachings? He had struggled to consider himself as one even during the Great Galactic War, to do so now was nigh on impossible.​

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"Not a Jedi." He corrected suddenly and bluntly, his focus otherwise seeming to be elsewhere as he walked alongside the Mandalorian. The question was not unexpected - and Aryn supposed he should have been intrigued by the Mandalorian sharing a rare interest in such things. Perhaps this was simply the first time he had ever managed to speak for such a long period with any force user. Prior to his unexpected arrival on the Spear III, Aryn had always figured Fett a loner, after all.​

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At the man's question, Aryn's gaze turned. Fett had always been easy to sense, even before they had become better acquainted. A miasma of death and violence, a raging fury that made it entirely unsurprising as the Sith often called him to service. Were he born with a stronger connection to the Force, he supposed the man would have made a frightening member of their order. "With ease. With our history, I could sense you across a sector." It had ever been the way of Aryn. A cipher, forming bonds - even with those like Fett who lacked for any real connection to the force. "It is called a force bond - though our connection is not truly that as of yet."​

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[Koda Fett]

Jedi, Sith, all the same. It amused him, that sliver of frustration that surfaced, the morbid sense of humour that seemed to do no wonders for another. He recalled all the moments a Jedi stood there and rambled, a needless series of remarks made that came to an end as the scorch in their chest seared at the flesh. Sith had been much the same, Fett found, accustomed to the inverse of the Jedi rant as if an entire section of his contract. In time, the Mandalorian had been able to utter whatever he so chose to all the Sith, and thus avoided their nonsense then.

"Sith, then." Fett said, as if a statement. Teth had been correct in his belief, the Bounty Hunter had been a loner; a distrustful man enabled few to come close, distanced at all times, for most contacts had been on behalf of those that wished to create a contract. He was a travelled man, a learned man, and all of it came to be in service to another, even if Koda believed himself his own man.

It was a lonely existence, yet lonely by design.

His curiosities seemed to march onwards, insistent to learn.

"How does that all feel once you sense me?"

Aryn Teth

 

[Aryn Teth]

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Koda Fett​

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Sith, then.​

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Aryn supposed it might have been more accurate, now. He felt passion, anger, hatred. He had felt fear and turned it into strength, transformed that strength into the means to free himself time and time again. The dark side had touched him now more often than the light ever could - it was something those dear to him had once fought so hard to prevent. His memory went back to Eriadu, to a sleepless night and an Echani woman. So long had she fought to keep him from falling, to keep the visions he had beheld from coming true. To stop him from becoming what she was. Now, perhaps that was what he was - whether or not he adhered to such a code or bound himself to an Empire.​

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But did it matter? He supposed that was the truth that had really come in Fett's words. The light, the dark, the Jedi, and the Sith. It had all served him in one way or another. What was one called who walked between? Who understood not the light and dark alone, but the balance, the force in its whole?​

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Truthfully, he wasn't sure that he did understand, not yet.​

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"It is like a cloud - a mist that drifts from creature to creature. It's set in motion by currents and eddies, as natural as feeling the breeze on your face. It's the passions of all living things turned into energy. It's the eye of a storm, a chorus, the rising swell at the end of life and the promise of new territories, new blood." The dead man sighed, shaking his head with the exasperated expression of a man who knew well he was wasting his time.​

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"I could spend hours - days, trying to explain it. But you would not understand, you cannot understand."​

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[Koda Fett]

He was correct.

Fett could not understand, and so even as the T-visor remained fixated on the road ahead it was beneath it that a confusion swelled and the curiosities continued to run amok inside his mind, as interested as confused, for all the reasons that make a Sith; to use it as a tool, to lessen the search, to understand their move before it was made and ensure his career had been that much more flawless.

"Hmph," the Mandalorian breathed, uncertain, and continued on. He slowed their small craft to a halt and let it turn into an alley, a dim mess of one that seemed to lose all vision within once the electronics had vanished - bar the faint red that shone from his torso, the aurebesh letters announced a functional lifeform beneath the armour. "It's ahead, further on the road."

His armour allowed for enchanced vision, of sorts, no blame came to Teth if he had missed it.

"Your move," the Bounty Hunter remarked, "Go sort out a lay of the land inside, I'll be here."

He leaned his frame onto the speeder as his arms crossed over his chest. It was a nod that followed if Teth had said nothing still, "Go on."

Aryn Teth

 

[Aryn Teth]

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Koda Fett Atsushi Ono​

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"My move." The man clad in dark clothing scoffed, shaking his head as he climbed out of the speeder. Their destination had hardly looked all that different from where they had started, but Aryn supposed that might have just been how this slum of Corellia was, wretched from top to bottom. He was beginning to establish that no, he had not missed this galaxy. At least, not this part.​

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Dipping his head in a nod to the Mandalorian and rolling is eyes, Teth walked away from the speeder and down the street. He supposed it was the better arrangement. The Mandalorian was anything but subtle, and his armour would have him stick out like a sore thumb, more-so if anyone actually recognised the markings. That was something he figured entirely too likely based upon where they were. Thankfully, travelling alongside the most famous bounty hunter in the galaxy went a long way to concealing your own identity, he'd found.​

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Stepping inside the Gilded Descent, the hood was removed from Aryn's head one more, his dark eyes wandering the interior slowly. What was the best way to track down this target of theirs was a question that lingered in his mind. He might have had the file to go off of, but surely it wasn't as simple as looking through the crowd, right? Well, he hadn't exactly been as skilled at this in the long term as Fett had, but he had been asked to get a lay of the land, and so he would.​

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Thus, the darkly-clad dead man wandered into the Gilded Descent, footfalls carrying him past crowds as his gaze wandered, searching for anyone of note.​

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