Skorn Draclau
The Dragon
The grim assemblage stared into each other's eyes. No words passed between them, none were necessary. They each knew why they were here today. Old Man Coldstone was dead and the town of Coldstone stood witness. Gathered in this tiny room were the power brokers of this mining town. There was Geremy Suxton, Mayor of Coldstone. A shrewd prospector with plenty experience in sniffing out the right gas belts. Sitting in front of him was RT-11 or Artie as the townsfolk liked to call him, the Sherrif of Coldstone. Beside Artie, sat Milk Sunstone owner of the Starcloud Saloon and boarding house the one halfway decent establishment in town. And standing in front of them, sulking expression plain on his face was young Jeb Coldstone. Son of the man who founded this town.
Old Man Coldstone had once struck it rich prospecting, he had been a powerful miner on Bespin. Owning a conglomerate that exported ore to a host of planets on the outer rim. However one day he suddenly closed shop, sold off his factories and bought himself a massive mining rig. He kept the rig mobile. A floating platform that explored the fringes of the life belt on Bespin, always seeking some elusive treasure only he knew about. As time passed his finances dwindled and he was forced to sell off more and more of this rig, eventually creating the prospecting town of Coldstone. The mining rig was automated and kept sweeping the lifebelt on a set path programmed into it by the old man himself. This allowed for prospectors to hop on and look for valuable gas belts to mine without risking life and limb prospecting out on their own. In time Coldstone became a thriving mining town. However Old Man Coldstone grew poorer and poorer until finally all he had to his name was the name of the town. He was of course still a respected figure in the town, the townsfolk looked on him like a kindly eccentric uncle.
So when he was found murdered in his own bed, it was bound to become a town scandal.
"Gentlemen, I have called you here today for I believe you are the primary stakeholders of this town."
Artie's mechanical voice chirped away without emotions.
"As you are aware, Old Man Coldstone was murdered. What concerns you is not the murder itself, for that is my job to solve. What concerns you is this vital clue I discovered clutched in Old Man Coldstone's hand."
Artie unfolded a roll of plaspaper. It seemed like a map, a map of the mining platform itself. The mining platform was quite dated and at it's core it possessed a labyrinth of tunnels and passageways. Few had managed to successfully map this maze.
"It is a map of Coldstone. Much more detailed than any maps I have seen. I believe it details the whereabouts of a clue. I believe the Old Man found his treasure, however having sold off his rights to mine it using the platform he instead chose to hide the location of the treasure. Until such a time as he could find the means to retrieve it."
Milk Sunstone broke into a laugh.
"Come on Artie, you can't be serious. The Old Man never had no treasure, he was my uncle. I can attest to the fact that he was crazy as a coot. Maybe this is just an old maintenance map he had lying abouts."
Jeb simply glared at his cousin in silence.
"On the contrary"
Artie continued.
"I find it difficult to believe that Coldstone would choose this map to clutch at in his dying moments. Not to mention the note he scrawled on top of it."
That piqued Jeb's curiosity, who drew closer to the map.
"Note? What note...you never told me about no...."
Jeb paused midway as he saw the note, scrawled messily on the top right corner of the map. The handwriting was his father's alright, he would recognize that ugly scramble of ink and words anywhere. The note was simple. A single sentence.
"The Sea is real."
Jeb Coldstone went pale as ghost. He backed away a step only to collapse, Milk held him up.
"You okay cousin?"
Jeb slowly regained his composure. He asked for a chair and was handed one along with a stiff drink. After a few moments it was Artie who broke the silence.
"Talk, Jebediah Coldstone. I know you know what this means. There is no way for you to get the treasure yourself. Your father has left you with his debts and nothing more. So talk. Tell us what the treasure is...so that we may use it to make Coldstone a great boomtown rivalling Cloud City itself."
Jeb glanced at the others, each one of them was eagerly staring at him, He knew he had no choice.
"I never thought it existed...I never thought it was real. My father...he kept rambling on about it most of my childhood. It was just me and him on the platform back then, me and him and a whole lot of droids. We would sail the life belt hunting for his treasure. The sea is real...my God."
The others drew closer.
"It's a sea. On Bespin....a sea of cortosis."
