Within The Dark

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

“I’m tellin ya! It was right there. We were mining, the wall collapsed, and behind the rock was a stone door! Carved with faces, symbols, and a woman with Tits you wouldn’t believe!”

Val listened to the man’s story with a small smirk on his face. The rather inebriated miner had been going on for about an hour and a half about the ‘mysterious door’ that he and a few others had found down within the shafts earlier this morning. Apparently they had dug through solid rock for three hours, only for the vibrations to loosen some of the sediments found near the top of the cave itself.

There had been a collapse, and after the rubble had been cleared away the miners had found an intricate stone door cut right behind the rock itself.

”I’m bettin’ you there’s treasure in there!”

Val slowly shook his head. Some of the other miners had confirmed the story at the very least, but most others seemed rather...shy about it. Perhaps it was because they thought the door cursed or some kind of bad luck, or perhaps it was because their company wanted to keep it a secret. Either way, the drunk man was the only one willing to talk about it, and for now he proved amusing enough on his own.

”Where do you figure it came from?” Val asked, much to the annoyance of everyone in the Cantina.

”I betcha it’s Sith! You know how they is. Live in the core, come out here to build their fancy tombs, buncha ba-”

The man collapsed to the floor with a loud thump.

Val’s eyebrow slowly perked up, his eyes twinkling with a hint of amusement. It seemed that the man had just a...bit too much to drink. A small smile played across his face, and slowly he shifted in his seat, taking up the small cup in front of him and taking a sip of his drink. The man had been beyond himself...but still his story had been interesting. Perhaps it was worth a look, Aerith would have done it.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Stone image? Carved face. Big boobs and potentially Sith in origin?

Ohhh, this was going to be fun.

Such thoughts came from the woman at the corner of the bar, tucked away and swathed from head to toe in dark spacer gear. A bit shambly but well taken care of. There was a layer of dust on her, but in this mining town who else wasn't going to be covered from head to toe in soot?

A dark grey scarf was wrapped around her head, leaving only the slight strip of blue skin and her almond shaped hazel eyes in view. Most knew the dangers particle dust could give to the lungs, so her mouth rebreather wasn't something to find amiss. However, she wasn't a miner or part of the crew. Instead Ryssa had come here for a particular reason. Rumor had already spread some weeks back that the miners might have stumbled across some ancient Sith ruins. Ruins that could very well be from the late Empire Period prior to the Gulog plague... if that were the case, well, odds were that her other counterparts wouldn't be far behind.

Which meant Ryssa had to work fast.

When the drunk flopped over unconscious, it was a perfect opportunity. She got up, shaking her head and appearing to act rather normal as she swaggered to the drunk.

"Always gettin' deep in your cups, eh?" the woman said with a tsk. Nevermind that she had no clue who he really was. All she wanted was to get him out of this cantina and back to the alley.

Then she could get a good look at him and search him for clues.

"Come on, up you go." she added, the other miners paying her no mind as she bent down to try and drag the unconscious man to his feet.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val watched as a woman attempted to speak with the drunk, scooping him up off the ground and half dragging him out the door. No one seemed to pay any attention, or rather, nobody seemed to care at all. These people weren’t ones to interfere, especially when someone, or something, was messing with their livelihood.

He couldn’t blame them.

From his pocket he pulled out a small credit chit, leaving it on the table in order to pay for the ale that he had. Then, he quickly followed the woman out of the inn. There weren’t really that many places to go outside, the small mining village was tiny in comparison to most developed cities. There were a few row houses, three inns, and the mayors hall, that was it.

Val looked around for a few moments, until he heard the retching sound of a man vomiting up the drinks he’d consumed. He shifted slightly, and then began to follow the sound, a bemused look on his face as he found the man and woman standing in the alley.

He couldn’t see her face, but he guessed it wasn’t too pleasant. ”Ahhh, young love.”

A smirk played on his lips.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Ugh, really??!" it was a half spoken utterance under her breath, shoving the man onto his back against the wall after he retched. Ugh, he almost projectile vomited right onto her boots. It was only through some very quick darting that Ryssa managed to get out of the angle of trajectory -- however, that didn't stop the few splotches that managed to dot them.

To make matters worse, Ryssa was a bit of a sympathy puker. At times she was able to stomach the stench of regurgitated stomach acid, but when mixed in with several bouts of cheap beer and spicy Nuna wings, it all came out in this horried hot mess that had her stomach reeling and cramping almost immediately.

"Ohhfrakit-" she cursed, quickly darting to the left and tugging down her scarf and rebreather as she felt her body lash out in that familiar dry heave.

Breathe, breathe, breathe-- a massive lurch completely and utterly failed to rein it in.

Too bad she didn't quite see the man following them. Hopefully, he had a better chance at avoiding her own stomach contents hurling from her mouth.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val immediately sidestepped, his eyes popping open as he squeezed himself against the wall of the alleyway. A bit of throw up dashed onto the ground beside him, splashing into one of the puddles and causing small droplets to fall onto his boots. He looked down and saw some of the chunks floating within the filthy water. ”Lovely.”

He commented as he inched around her.

”Very ladylike.” Val moved himself to her side, if only to avoid any future piles of vomit that would spew from her. The miner by now had collapsed into himself, gurgling against the wall as he tried to hold himself upright at least a little bit. He looked at the both of them, eyebrow perking slightly.

To say this was a rather odd situation was the least of it.

Slowly he kicked out his leg, wiping off the spots of vomit on the bottom of the mans pant leg. The miner grumbled slightly, but val doubted very much he even understood what was going on.

A part of him wondered if this was worth it. Val never really considered himself much of a treasure hunter, though over the years he’d looked into it once or twice simply for a good distraction, but...well curiosity had gotten the better of him. If not for the tomb, then certainly for the lovely young thing that was currently spilling her guts all over the place.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Ryssa grimaced. Nothing like the acrid aftertaste of vomit in the mouth. A quick swipe of the back of her hand did the trick of removing the traces of it from her lips. It did nothing for her mouth though. At least she had a cantina of water to try and wash it out after.

"Sorry." automatic response, one that turned into mild annoyance as Ryssa registered that someone else was here. One hazel eye went swiveling over to the big lug. Certainly a big lug. The man was rather huge. It didn't help that whatever armor he wore made him appear even broader. A narrowing of hazel circlets came next.

"What? Women don't hurl where you come from?" he clearly wasn't a miner. There was intelligence in his eyes that said otherwise. Having him here was going to be rather troublesome if she couldn't search the drunk with someone present.

Straightening, she went reaching for her cantina. Ugh, how she hated the feeling of throwing up. If she could avoid it all the better. It was by far the worst sensation in the 'verse.

"They do all sorts of things too. Even fart." rather crude humor said with a twist of her lips, but maybe he'll take the hint and leave.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

”Oh I’m very well aware of all the things women do.” Val stated flatly.

He’d been married after all.

”Some of them even sneak around and try to dig information out of poor inebriated miners.” His tone denoted more amusement than any actual sternness, as if the entire situation was rather funny to him. ”Nasty creatures really.”

Again, the amusement in his tone was more than plain.

The man on the floor let out another grumbling gurgle, and Val could have sworn that he was trying to stand up. His hands reached out towards something...maybe the girl? That seemed like a possibility, especially since his fingers were curling in an odd gropey motion that made him somewhat uncomfortable. ”I think he’s asking for you.”

Val said pointing his finger.

His attention fell on the woman fully then, studying her. Bright blue and orange slowly shifting over her to see if he could identify who...or maybe even what she was. The face was obviously foreign, but she had a lithe and toned body that denoted regular work. He doubted she was a miner, or anything from this world in fact. A part of him said Bounty Hunter or perhaps Mercenary, either way, he knew she was interested in the door.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Was he making fun of me? Entirely possible. Ryssa had a knack at reading people, came from being a shifter and the necessity being the mother of all instructors. The hint of amusement in his voice was vague, but there. Okay, so he wasn't here to --

"Hey! Quit that!" she barely managed to slap the drunk miner's hand from groping his own living personal booby statue, annoyance flashing over her angular face. The man recoiled, a hurt and depressed expression rising. It was as if she'd done such a terrible misdeed.

"But... so nice... so round..." he went reaching for her again and once again the loud smack came back.

"No touchie touchie!" she told him, using her foot to push him back against the wall and avoid any more attempts at groping. A sigh came next as the big guy didn't seem to want to leave.

"Can I help you with something?" grabbing her canteen, she took a large sip and swished it around in her mouth. Ugh, so much better, she thought after she turned her head and spit it all out.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

"Well now that touchie touchie is out of the picture I guess not." Again amusement played through his voice.

It was blatantly obvious that she wanted to be rid of him, and in truth he couldn't really blame her for that. Whatever was in that Mine was likely valuable, or contained something valuable. He had been around enough to know that mysterious doors in ancient chambers usually had something worthwhile inside. In truth he wasn't really interested in that, treasure hardly meant anything to him, but he was curious about what else one could find.

So often tombs of the Ancients held knowledge. Scraps of paper, datacrons, even books that could be used to learn something. Val hardly hunted after those sorts of artifacts, but when opportunity presented itself this easily? Well how could he resist.

"I suppose you'll just have to go." He said plainly. "Now that you've finished abusing this poor man."

The drunkerd gave a sad nod.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

Was he hitting on me? A flash of tawny gold went over to the perpetual crusader in armor. Another narrowing of eyes and then mild measured awareness. Nope, just a big guy with a quirky sense of humor. Figures.

"I'm not abusing him." she managed to deny with a half lie. If there was any abusing it was in ensuring that Mister Grabby hands wasn't trying to cop a feel.

"I'm being a good samaritan and making sure he doesn't puke all over himself." annnd checking him for anything interesting. The poor drunk rubbed his hand that she had smacked earlier, but his wandering gaze had now drifted over to a far more bountiful southern region.

"What about you?" she said pointedly to @Valkyrien Aurelios, the drunk man slowly attempting to reach for the curve of her bottom.

"You're not one of the local miners."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

"Nope." He answered honestly. "I was just going to ask him about the door."

Why lie?

Val had wandered the galaxy for one hundred and twenty years, and in that time he'd learned one simple thing; Honesty was the best policy. Why would he tell her a lie or try to hide his intentions? In the end they would either try to kill one another, work together, or end up at the door at the same time. It was better to get his point across now and then deal with the consequences rather than run into this woman in some dark tunnel where she could get the drop on him.

At least here he could control the outcome a little bit more. His eyes darted to the man sitting against the corner, his hand slowly floating upwards against as he began to lean forward. A small smile tugged at Val's lips as the drunk began to reach for the girl again.

Some guys just couldn't help themselves.

"Always hated mining actually." Val said rather loudly, as though he were trying to keep her attention focused on him.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Since drunk guy was at her back just off to the side, Ryssa didn't quite catch the drunk miner aiming to get gropey again. Instead the woman set her right hand on her hip, perching it there as she peered up at the big lug. A closer inspection lead to an interesting discovery. He had heterochromatic eyes; one orange and one blue.

"The door?" she blinked once. A flat stared followed. Wait was he after any potential artifacts too? Her body language shifted to evoke a certain wariness. If the crusader had thought the booby door was why she was here, then he'd easily be able to confirm it just with that.

"What about it --" Ryssa immediately froze, cutting off as one large oafy hand clamped down upon her right cheek. Before it could even give an appreciative squeeze, an azure hand went snapping around to lock on the man's wrist. A sudden twist and pinch back, and the man's expression changed from a satisfied fool's grin to that of pain.

"Yeoooowwwcch!!!" locked in a standard arm lock, Ryssa was clearly not amused. "You are sooo going to get it buster if you keep on it!!"

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Poor guy.

One couldn't really blame him though, her outfit did show off her assets quite well and even Val was tempted, though then again that might just have been the ale speaking. He frowned for a moment, peering past the woman so he could inspect whether or not the man was at least still functioning. He was blubbering about something, half crying and talking to himself with a curse word thrown in here and there. Val frowned for a moment, then shifted his gaze again.

"Tsk tsk." He said. "Should be nicer, maybe you could've gotten some information out of him."

It was true, but then again he likely would have done the same if someone was trying to grab his ass. "Clearly your methods of interrogation need work."

Slowly he began to walk towards her. It was a confident stride, but not a threatening one. His eyes peered passed her again, instead going towards the drunkard on the floor. Val didn't particularly care about the man of course, broken wrist or no he wasn't going to impede his curiosity. He rounded the girl, sliding past her with the unending grace of a ballerina. His hand clasping onto the mans shoulder as he effortlessly dragged him up from the floor and pulled him to his feet.

"Now now." His other hand came up to gently smack the man's face. "I need you to answer some questions."

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

Oh wise guy, eh? Seeing as he took the drunk miner off her hands, Ryssa gave a small huff. "I would have done just fine thank you." she added a little bit defensively, her arms crossing under the fullness of her breasts. Half hip cocked out she appeared to give a slight pout before turning to see just what the manbun guy would do.

"Just how well would you have reacted if some sapient was grabbing your tush?" on second thought, the expression he landed her suggested that perhaps he wouldn't have been too bothered with it.

"She almost broke my wrist she did!" blubbering drunk guy was now rubbing his wrist, trying to half stand and not stumble over to fall flat on his face.

"Wot questions?" stinky throw up breath went breathing out towards @Valkyrien Aurelios . Get too close and he just might hurl again.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

"Depends entirely on the sapient." He answered truthfully, turning his attention away from her and towards the Miner.

"Just some simple ones." Val stated. "You should remember them even in this state. I need to know what company you employs you, what mine you work, and where the door is."

They were questions he already knew the answer to, ones that he could likely find just by asking around, but he was here, why would he go away from the source when he could just get direct answers? Especially considering that she was here, and there was still plenty of opportunity for at least a bit of joy. The man in front of him blubbered slightly, his knees still shaking and barely keeping him up. Val suspected he would have fallen over if his hand was removed from his shoulder.

"Why shoul' I tell you?"

Val cocked his head to the side, considering his options for a moment as his eyes quickly darted towards Ryssa. "Tell me, and she'll let you give a full squeeze."

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Rather basic questions if you ask me, Ryssa thought to herself with a roll of eyes. As if that was something that he couldn't --

"Wait WHAT?" Her exclamation went ripping out of her throat as she stared aghast at Manbun and drunky. Her jaw fell only to snap quickly shut. "What do you mean give him a full squeeze?"

A finger gestured over from the drunk guy to the bearded man, and the woman took a step forward to jab said finger along his armored bicep. Not as fulfilling as flesh, but well it would have to do. The poor inebriated miner gave a slight whimper and backed away as if fearful she'd might lock his tender arm again.

"Look bud, I am not handing over a full squeeze of anything for that measly amount of information."

None the less despite the miner's wariness, his more lewd tendencies did drop his gaze to the prize. He could give more than that even in his state, but some considerations had to be met.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

"Ah but you are willing to give said full squeeze." He nodded as though thoughtfully. "See, this is negotiating."

Val looked over towards the other man, he still seemed somewhat terrified, but at the very least he nodded his head in agreement. The absurdity of all this wasn't lost on Val of course, he understood that he was basically selling this womans behind...almost literally, just for some information that he could have gotten with an hours worth of work, but sometimes...sometimes you just had to take life and go with the flow. That was something Aerith had always said, though doubtlessly she would have been laughing far too hard at the moment to actually deal with this situation the way he was.

"Right right. So, on top of those other questions we'll throw in access codes to the mine, a bit more about this door, how it was actually found, and..." He looked at the woman for a moment, then peered at her behind in thought.

"Your bank account?" The man narrowed his eyes at Val, but then slowly nodded. The Farmer shrugged, and then looked at Ryssa. "Good enough?"

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Gaping at manbun, Ryssa abruptly uncrossed her hands. Was he being serious? Wait, was the drunk guy actually serious about giving all of that just to cop a feel?!!

Snapping her mouth shut, Ryssa pointed out," How do we even know if the information is even the right one?!" Am I seriously considering offering a squeeze of my butt to some drunk guy for the mine info? Yeah, yeah I am. Sometimes you took what came your way and while it was rather ridiculous, it worked.

"And what do you get out of it..." a hand gestured pointed over to Valkyrien.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

The information was likely good. The man was too drunk to lie, that might have seemed like a ridiculous thing to assume but judging from his behavior in the cantina and the way he looked now...well Val was pretty confident that he would spill any and all beans that they asked him for. In truth he probably could've gotten the information out of him in half a dozen different ways, but this seemed like both the most entertaining, and also the least violent.

Both of those were important.

"You can trus' me. I'-hiccup- a hones guy'."

Val pointed to the miner as though his testimony were all that he needed. The man had been who had talked about the door in the first place, that itself was a pretty good clue. If it hadn't been for that neither Val nor Ryssa would be standing where they were. Of course, there was always a chance that this was an elaborate lie and they were about to walk into a trap, but judging from how the other miners had reacted...Val found that scenario unlikely as well. He shifted slightly and looked at Ryssa, smiling as she gestured to him.

He wanted the information too of course, if only to sate his curiosity. Treasure and riches didn't really interest him, but...well he was always looking for something new. A hundred and twenty years in the galaxy tended to make things a bit boring, and on her death bed Aerith had told him to move on, to live, and what better way to do that then to find adventures? Pieces of himself that he had never known existed? Yet he couldn't tell her that truth, so instead...he simply decided to take her words in the wrong way. "Well...If you're offering."

Val said with a smirk.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

Did --did he just?

Oh you little -- Ryssa scrunched up her mouth, twisting it to the side as her bright hazel eyes ignited in a mix of bemusement, shock, and half affront. One could have said that she'd be insulted but it was too much of a ridiculous situation to really be offended.

"Smartass." she managed to huff out, giving him a push to the side to get a good look at the miner. "An honest guy, eh?" shoving herself in between manbun and the drunk guy, she tossed in a few more of her questions.

"Do you happen to have a map of the layout of the mine?" that would be best, but if he didn't have it, it didn't really matter. The Clawdite had traveled through worst rickety mineshafts and tombs to fulfill her contracts. This wouldn't be any different; save apparently trading a grope for information.

Note to self, do not let this bit of info get out. It is another fifteen thousand credits Ryssa. Think of the credits and what you could buy in gear for that.