Heart of the Mountains (Omega Protectorate, Open)

[Reine Bisset]

It was just another, easy day on M'haeli. Birds were in the air, venders hawked wares on the streets, people wandered to and fro, and life went on as usual.

Reine really could care less, honestly. Clad in a purple corset and high boots, she walked among the local populace. Her red hair and beauty along with her rather bold attire made her stand out from the crowd, but not nearly as much as the blindfold she wore. The Miralukan had no need for worldly sight because of her attunement to the Force and instead navigated using Force Sight. She could 'see' those around her and could cut through the crowd with ease, though most stepped aside to stare, whether at her appearance or her apparent 'blindness' she didn't care. What she did care about was her goal here.

Reine Bisset was here for one thing: a Dragite Crystal. She would not leave here without one, but first she needed to find the thing...

 

[HK-36]

[member="Reine Bisset"]

Wobble-wobble-wobble,

The tall figure moved with a slight strut through the streets and alleys on M'haeli. The droid Colonel of the Pyre, Baron Observer of Abregado-Rae, wandered the streets in what he claimed to be a 'disguise'. Of course what it was were older tattered robes, bandages that covered his figure entirely, and black goggles that hid the glow of his photoreceptors.

Bandages wrapped about his metal body were stained with brown-red spots, faint decaying smell emanating from them, his lightsaber and pistol hidden somewhere in the thick folds of his aging robes. It was a leper's disguise, as he called it, and often, it would be enough to hide him and keep attention off of him. There were only few worlds where passer-by's bothered with the sick, as unfortunate as it was.

He moved through these streets without much of a goal, without much of a purpose. There wasn't much to pick up his attention on the world, except the crystals, which the droid really paid no attention or had any interest in at the moment, it was just a slow and peaceful world.

HK couldn't help to wonder however, how soon before adventure would find him even here?

 

[Reine Bisset]

A likely vendor could be seen up ahead, though it was probably only easy for Reine with the crowd around her. She could see through the obstacles and differentiate between the individuals to see what she sought. A single person behind a counter with an open building front selling rocks, jewels, and crystals. Some, she could tell, glowed with the Force. Others did not, but she could care less for such useless trinkets. At least, for now she could. Later, perhaps, she'd invest in such things. After all, jewels showed wealth and wealth showed power. While she refused to strut around bedecked in jewels and precious metals like some common adultress, she would gladly wear a small amount. Temptation, of course, was key in such things.

She cut through the crowd, her appearance and visage aiding her in the endeavor, and made her way to the counter. Once there, she looked at the vendor and cocked her head. The man was middle aged, maybe a slight bit younger, and his presence in her Sight made her feel like he was not quite a jeweler. Or rather, he wasn't always a jeweler. He carried to much of an 'earthy' feel to him. A miner, perhaps, turned jeweler.

"I'm looking for a Dragite crystal," she stated bluntly. "Do you have any?"

[member="HK-36"]

 

[HK-36]

[member="Reine Bisset"]

Crockey.
That was the vendor's name, Crocker McOothorsmith, a proud name for a proud miner.

Either way, Crockey rose his brows as the blind-folded, rather skimpy-dressed, woman of red mane of hair came strutting his way past the parting crowds. Well it was a Miralukan woman if he ever saw one, otherwise she would be bumping into everything, at least that's the conclusion the ex-miner came to.
And then she asked about the Dragite, he knew well enough what the crystals were and what they were used for.
And by whom.

He slightly scrunched up his brows, looking over the possible Force-User.

"Dragite, eh? Why be ye asking 'bout it, lass?"
He folded his arms over his waist,
"That be some valuable crystals right there and they don't grow on trees."
He nodded slightly

 

[Reine Bisset]

[member="HK-36"]

To lie or tell the truth was the question in this case, though the answer was not so easily found. Instead of selecting one, however, she opted for neither. Half truths were far more believable than full lies.

"I was sent to retrieve them," she stated blandly as she shrugged her shoulders, her tone expressing the mood of an errand girl of sorts. "I wasn't entirely told what they were for, but I'm assuming they're for a tool or weapon of some kind. A lightsaber perhaps. She has been working on what may be a new hilt. Do you have any for sale? I need one of good size and cut, preferably the best in your stock if possible. You take credits, right?"

At that, Reine patted the small bag on her hip holding her money. She hasn't outright lied. She was sent to retrieve a crystal, but she had sent herself. It was for a weapon or tool and she had mentioned it was possibly for a lightsaber, which was also true. As for the hilt, she was working on one, though it was only in the design stages. She still needed phrik, though. All in all, she had not lied, which was key, but still had not fully stated any intentions.

 

[HK-36]

[member="Reine Bisset"]

Crocker quirked one of his brows,
"Who said Oy 'ave it, miss? Eh-eh?"
He quipped back to her, reaching to grab the edges of the cloth the stones were laid about on, picking it up in a little cloth pack,
"If ye want one of 'em crystals, you'll have ta get it for yerself, miss."
He glanced somewhere off to the side, he would look up at one of the nearby mountains, a peak towering above the town.
"Up thar yonder in the mountains, as great as 'em Danger's Bouncin' Bosoms."
He pointed out towards the mountain, just to make sure Reine had the right direction,
"Thar be old abandoned mines thar, an' deep in thar darkness ye be able ta find yer crystals."

He would look back to her,
"Be wary, though, for tha mines went ta far an' ta deep into the mountain's heart, they uncovered old shadows an' horrors tha' still linger there."
Whether it was true or just ghost stories, Reine will have to find out the hard way. But for now, she had her destination, and her quest, it should keep her busy.

 

[Reine Bisset]

Reine simply stood there a moment in moderate, quiet annoyance. Sighing in frustration, she turned and headed out towards the direction the jeweler had pointed out.

"Yay, sidequests...," she grumbled quietly to herself as she walked the road to the mountains.

It wasn't too far, but it was far enough to aggravate the hell out of her. She kept an eye out for dangers and such, but still found time and effort to grumble her way up the mountainside. After a few hours and the occasional mountain goat - she could have sworn she had seen one with a hat at one point, but that couldn't be right. Goats didn't wear hats - she found the entrance to the mines the lazy jeweler had pointed her to.

"This must be it," she said to herself as she crossed her arms at the entrance. "Dark, dingy, lots of spiders, 'Keep Out' signs galore, and the holofilm quality dust trickles coming from the ceiling periodically. If this wasn't for a Dragite crystal, I'd be halfway out of the system by now..."

With that, she entered the mines and the darkness, trusting on her Force Sight to lead the way.

Spoiler

[member="HK-36"] [member="Ayden Cater"]

 

[RC 212]

"Whoa kill it!" RC roared to his pirate crew of Mercs as they faced down a giant spider. The beast had reared up on all four legs, massive and ominous. Its pincers clicked a steady beat, razor sharp and crushed the first merc, sending his bloody bits flying to the walls. RC rolled to the right and flattened against the hard wet stones as the beast roared past, homing in on his heavy gunner.

"Im pinned, Im pinned."

RC growled and slammed his last magazine into his DC-17 rifle leveling it on the creatures back. His finger squeezed smoothly across the trigger sending a triangular barrage of searing hot particle beams into the disgusting arachnids torso.

"No use move out of there!" He roared in frustration.

Too late the second merc was bitten in half as RC watched. Blood sprayed form both half like a chocolate fondu fountain in a gust of wind.

They were deep in the tunnels of the mine, and as far as he knew this was the only way out.

"Alright new plan, throw me the Satchel charge!"

 

[Reine Bisset]

The mine showed no use of anything recently. No scuffed dirt, no footprints, nothing disturbed. Reine wondered if there were other mines in the area for a moment. Considering it was a mountain range and that the mountain range was known for crystals, it was nearly a guarantee that many, many more were in the area.

The further she went into the mine, the quieter it got. She passed a small work station with a few pickaxes and some other odds and ends. She didn't need a light, but a pickax would be infinitely useful. She grabbed the most sturdy one she could find and made her way deeper into the mines. She followed the tunnel deeper into the mountain. She would only find what she sought at the base of the mountain and, hopefully, this tunnel would take her there.

 

[Reine Bisset]

She walked for what seemed like hours, but could only have been perhaps fifteen minutes or so. The tunnels were pitch black and strewn with debris of both rocks, dirt, and discarded tools. Thankfully, Reine needed no light to see. She traversed the obstructions with relative ease, only tripping or stumbling when she became distracted or the dirt and rock shifted underfoot.

Another half dozen or so minutes and she reached a small fork in the tunnels. She stood there, looking down both passages with her Force Sight, trying to perceive which descended and which didn't. After a minute or two of trying, she shrugged and took the right hand one. A random guess was better than standing there for another ten minutes trying to figure out which path was the perfect one. Besides, she could always backtrack.

 

[Reine Bisset]

Around an hour later, Reine came back from the tunnel she'd gone down. She was soaked, cold, and cranky. Apparently, the tunnel she'd found had lead her down to a flooded mine shaft where she'd slipped, fallen, and rolled into the water. Turns out, subterranean water was fairly cold.

The Miralukan knew she could easily reduce the cold she felt with Tapas, but opted to keep walking instead. She wasn't the most skilled at the moment in the ability which meant she'd need to stop and focus a bit, something she was loathe to do just now. She was so close to the Dragite crystal, she could almost taste it. All she needed was to find it and she'd be set.

With this in mind, Reine went down the other mine shaft she had found earlier. Perhaps this one would take her where she wanted to go. Or, at least, not into a flooded tunnel.

 

[Reine Bisset]

Reine's luck held out and the tunnel wasn't flooded. In fact, she was luckier than she thought. The Miralukan, through her Force Sight, could see the small tell tales of the gem stones she sought behind the rock ahead. While she'd been seeing faint glimmers here and there, none were large enough or strong enough for her to use, until now. One gem she could tell would be perfect.

From what she could see, it was exactly what she wanted. A huge gem set into the rock. Flawless and resonating with the Force. Little cutting work would be needed and it was of the perfect size for her planned lightsaber. She had truly found what she believed to be the very Heart of the Mountain.

She had also found that it was behind a good foot or so of solid rock. Hefting the pickax, Reine got to work. Hopefully, this wouldn't take long...

 

[Reine Bisset]

It took a great deal of time and a great deal of effort. Pickax met stone again and again. The chips of rock stung her bare arms and upper chest, the dust choking her lungs and coating her skin. The work was brutal and taxing, but the Miralukan found her rhythm and continued on, drawing on the Force occasionally to try and refresh herself. It was successful, usually. On occasion she found herself more tired than before, her attempt to sustain her strength from the Force meeting with failure. It was at those points that she would stop and rest a moment before continuing. She'd find the rhythm once more and keep going.

It was paying off, however. The gem was in sight now and she only need to pry it from the rock to take it.

 

[Reine Bisset]

Carefully, slowly, Bisset chipped away the rock holding the gem in place. It was an agonizingly sluggish process, but to do anything else risked shattering the gemstone. Eventually, the thing came free with a pop and a rattle of stone. Reine caught it before it hit the ground, dropping her tools in the process, and held it up to look at.

There was no light in the tunnel, Reine needed none for she had no eyes, so there was no glitter or glint through the faceted gem to admire. There was no shine she could see that would tell her of it's purity and color. Despite this, however, she knew that she'd found the exact gem she needed. Through the Force, she could see how power resonated within the gem. How it seethed and roiled internally. It was perfect. It was exact. It was... hers.

Bisset pocketed the gem carefully, almost reverently, and left the mines. Her work here was done. Her lightsaber would be completed soon.