Ask Crash Landing

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura just followed the memory in the instrument, letting the Force guide her hands to where and when they needed to strike the drum of the instrument. By the time she finished, she looked up to find the eyes in the room fixated on her, and her cheeks flushed red.

"Oh, um, thanks?" She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say in response to that. Did she ask if he meant the Force? Should she point out that Ruz could also use the Force? Or maybe she should ask about the creepy lady she'd seen out in the forest...

"My friend and I got stranded here after our ship crashed," she began. "But when we got here, your chief told us everyone was getting sick and wanted to know if we could help. We think there's some kinda like...dark force making everyone sick, and Ruz and I were attacked by a creepy, shadowy creature out in the forest."

Did that make any sense? Maura looked down at the drum for a moment, then back up at the old man Meic. "We wanted to know if maybe you knew anything about that? Maybe its making everyone sick?"

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan listened as Maura gave Meic the elevator speech version as to why the two Jedi had ended up on this strange planet. Remarkably, she kept it short, and even more promising was the fact that she referred to him as a friend- so there was hope that their relationship could still be salvaged, after all.

Meic gave a heavy sigh as Maura laid out their guess about the disease in as simple of terms as possible, while Dsiod's gaze dropped to the floor as he half-turned away from Meic's bedside. After a heavy moment, the elder snerson finally spoke.

"If what you sssay is true, thisss isss not the firssst time we've ssseen this dissseasssse" he said, gravely. A slight nod in Dsiod's direction, who was still staring at the floor. "Dsssiod'sss mother sssaid ssshe had been having dreamsss about sssomething sssimilar many moonsss ago, before ssshe disssappeared. A dark beassst that would devour our community if ssshe did not ssstop it." Meic's gaze seemed fixated on a point thousands of miles past Maura's shoulder. "Ssshe left one day and never returned."

Ruzaan's grey eyes flicked over to Maura, more than a little concerned about this revelation. What exactly had they gotten into, here?

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura caught Ruzaan's eye when he looked her way, and she shared his slight look of concern. Hers, however, was also joined by an electric sparkle in her eye that only meant one thing. Adventure! Or, trouble.

"We saw a dark beast in the forest... but... I also saw a woman. She wasn't like you guys, though. She was more like us, a Twi'lek! The beast appeared after she left." Maybe she had something to do with the beast, or maybe she knew about it. It had appeared after she'd left after all. That was too much of a coincidence for Maura.

"Maybe Ruz and I could go try to find her? She might know something. But we don't know the woods very well, so maybe a couple of your hunters could come with us? Like you said yesterday?"

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

By now, Ruzaan knew that a sparkle in Maura's eye meant mischief; and sure enough, she had an idea- and information- to share. The Togruta thought about chastising her for not saying something about the Twi'lek earlier, but then he remembered that they hadn't been on speaking terms much lately... and that he still hadn't apologized for mistreating her.

At least the bit about the Twi'lek was good news; Ruzaan still had no idea how to counter the strange shadow beast that had stalked him and Maura in the woods last night, but a flesh-and-blood humanoid was presumably easier to interact with... and deal with, if needed.

Although Maura brought up the idea of bringing a couple sneople along, Ruzaan didn't agree. Not only was he confident in his ability to navigate in the woodlands- even strange ones like these- bringing more bodies along would mean more people to protect. He also wouldn't have the privacy with Maura he was hoping for that would allow for his overdue apology.

In the end, he tried to be diplomatic about it. "I think it's best if we just go, ourselves" he said, indicating himself and Maura. "The fewer of us there are, the greater chance we won't be discovered as we search."

Ruzaan had barely finished before Dsiod spoke up, suddenly. "I mussst go with you." The healer's eyes had not left the floor, but now he fixated on the Jedi with an intense gaze. "I mussst find out what happened to my mother so that her ssspirit can be laid to ressst, as is the cussstom of our people. I know these woodsss, outsssidersss. Let me asssissst you."


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[Maura Starwalk]

"Sure thing! Let's go!" Maura spoke as soon as Dsiod finished, wedging her voice in before Ruzaan could protest against the snake-man's wishes. She liked Dsiod, so she was totally fine with him coming along with them. "I'll lead us to the spot I last saw her."

With that, Maura gave a little bow to the old snerson, Meic, then turned heel and marched right out of the tent without waiting for Ruz or Dsiod to react. She would continue to the edge of camp where she would wait until they caught up with her. She would then lead the two of them back to the same clearing she and Ruz had fought the shadow wolf, which happened to be the same clearing she'd met the Twi'lek woman.

"Here. She came from that direction."

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan opened his mouth to protest Dsiod's joining them, then promptly shut it as Maura accepted on their behalf. Chalking it up to an argument that he couldn't win, the Togruta accepted his fate and followed the snerson and Maura out of the tent after bowing in farewell to Meic.

The trip out to the clearing was both less stressful and less ominous than the last time Ruzaan had raced through the darkness to try and find Maura. The Togruta used the time to try and reconnect with the Force, his bare feet a physical connection with the living land that in turn heightened his connection to the Force. The fresh air of the forest stood in stark contrast to the stagnant smell of the medical tent, and the morning sun filtering its way through the trees all but banished the terror of the Force shadow from last night.

All the same, Ruzaan couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at the cold sensation of the Dark Side's taint in the clearing- now easier to detect in the absence of the shadow beast or the mysterious Twi'lek. The Togruta began to search around the clearing for clues, but an initial inspection turned up nothing useful (search roll 9/20). "Have you found anything?" he called over to Maura, not exactly sure what Dsiod had been doing in the meantime.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura stood in the middle of the clearing with her feet planted near the same spot next to the pool of water she’d thrown rocks into just last night. Whereas the forest had been dark, shadowy and silent the night before, it was now illuminated with rays of light cascading down from the canopy, and alive with song from a chorus of insects and animals hidden amongst the foliage. She stared blankly into the clear water, counting the schools of freshwater guppies dashing about while Ruzaan and Dsiod glanced around.

Though her stare was empty of thought, her mind was whirling as she went about recalling all the events of the night prior. She thought of her and Ruz’s heated exchange – which he still hadn’t apologized for, she noted grumpily – and how she’d run off into the forest bearing hot, angry tears and clenched fists. Maura remembered how she came to a stop her and disturbed the still water with rocks and stones, and how she’d been interrupted by an unfamiliar voice. The twi’lek, she barely had a chance to speak with Maura before Ruzaan came running in after the girl. She’d disappeared after just a few, instigating words.

“No,” Maura responded to Ruz’s question. The girl turned her cheek to the water to look back at him and Dsoid, the latter of which was slithering around the clearing investigating various groups of foliage. She had no idea what he was doing, but it was more than just staring into the water like she was.

"There'sss sssomething over here!" the snerson called out before Maura could excuse her inaction. The girl immediately scrambled over, peering around Dsiod's long tail to get a look at what he'd found. "The foliage isss all broken up over here, and I found thisss on the ground." He held up a wooden beaded bracelet, holding it up so both Maura and Ruz could see it where they stood. Immediately, Maura's ears perked up.

"It's hers!" It had to be. There was a clear echo in the Force surrounding the object, and it was tingling her senses. That being said, the aura of the Force was Dark in nature, but it didn't stop Maura from reaching out toward it. "Let me see it! I wonder if I can see..."

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Bad. The bracelet's aura grated against Ruzaan's senses in the Force, and his eyes widened as he realized that Maura was about to touch it. "No!" he called out, but it was too late. Maura's hand connected with the bracelet, and the trap was sprung. Dark side energies streamed out of the bracelet, attempting to blast their way through Maura's mental defenses as the curse present inside the object activated upon physical contact with a Force-sensitive. She would be shown images of the item's past, but every second she opened her senses to its history she risked its malevolent wrath.

Ruzaan raced over towards Maura, again unsure of what to do. It was clear to him that some kind of struggle was taking place, but he couldn't tell who was winning. "Maura!" he called out to the girl, reaching out with the Force to try to yank the bracelet out of her hands.

(Roll 3/20 = Bracelet bad)
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[Maura Starwalk]

Maura reached out to take the bracelet from Dsoid, and her fingers were a centimeter from grasping it just as Ruzaan began to race over. Her frustration with him resurfaced instantly, and she quickly tried to snatch it before he could reach them. One of her claws hooked around it just as he coiled the Force around the bracelet, causing it to snap when the pull of the Force pulled it against the edge of her nail.

SNAP!

The wooden beads exploded out from the elastic binding into the morning air, then fell down to the forest floor and plopped one by one onto the ground. Some of them rolled to the left, others to the right, and many of them moved out of view altogether. The aura of the Force dissipated into the air, and Maura stared in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me?" She whipped around to face the Togruta, blood already rushing to her cheeks as her eyebrows furrowed and her nose crinkled up in frustration. "What's your deal? Why can't you just freaking trust me for once?" From the tone of her voice, Ruzaan might choose his next words carefully.

Dsoid, on the other hand, looked instantly uncomfortable. No one liked to third-wheel an argument.

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ignoring Dsiod's discomfort, Ruzaan took a deep breath in, and then let it out slowly as he tried to calm the emotions that came broiling to the surface of his mind. Maura wasn't the only one that was frustrated here; the Togruta was just as upset about the bracelet, but for different reasons.

"Couldn't you tell that it was dangerous?" he asked, managing to keep his voice from being too argumentative... for now. "I want to trust you" he continued. He also wanted to trust himself. "But if something happens to you then we are both screwed." Not only was Maura likely stronger than him in the Force, she also hadn't been impaled in the gut yesterday. Ruzaan pursed his lips and tried to collect his thoughts, which were more scattered than the beads of the bracelet; no wonder Grandmaster Voran had so many grey hairs...

"We're not doing a good job working together" he finally concluded, knowing that he was partly to blame. "I'm sorry. I will try to trust you more, but I need you to slow down a little, too, ok?" Ruzaan glanced across at his fellow Padawan, hoping that she would accept his apology, and like a Huttball spectator, Dsiod swung his head over to gauge Maura's reaction.


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[Maura Starwalk]

"Yes, of course I could tell! But we freaking crash landed onto this planet, you got impaled, and I almost got eaten by a shadow wolf last night! Everything here is dangerous!" She could feel her face heating up even more, but she wasn't provoked any further. "We can't just go around avoiding everything that's dangerous. How else are we gonna get stuff done?"

Clearly, one of them was very risk-averse, and the other was willing to take them. In Maura's mind, they didn't have time to slow down and be careful. She didn't slow down for anything, honestly, and she was growing increasingly frustrated by what she felt was an incessant need to keep holding her back.

"Whatever," she grumbled. The padawan didn't feel like arguing, at least not in front of the snerson she liked the most in this village. Maura looked down at the broken beads scattered across the forest floor, exhaled sharply from her nose, and looked up at Dsoid. "You said the foliage is broken. Is it like a trail we could follow?"

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

And all three of those things were your fault! Ruzaan wanted to yell, but wisely bit his tongue. If Maura was the type to stick a fork in a wall socket just to try and get stuff done, then so be it- Ruzaan would make sure he was far enough away that he wouldn't also get shocked. "Just pick your moments, that's all" he said, deciding along with her to drop the subject.

The Togruta did his best to focus on tracking the trail, but his mind refused to let him relax. Doubt began creeping in- was he actually ready to be a Jedi Knight? Was he too cautious, as Maura had all but accused him of being? Why had he been relegated to the role of concerned parent around someone who was just a couple years younger than him? Would Maura give a bad report about him to Grandmaster Voran? To make matters worse, his abdomen wound began throbbing with every step.

Ruzaan was so engrossed in his thoughts that he nearly stepped off a sudden cliff; only Dsiod's hiss! of warning kept him from falling ingloriously to his doom. Stretching ahead of the party of three was a cavern over 100 feet across and several hundred feet deep, with a waterfall a little to the north. Ruzaan took one large step backwards from the edge of the cliff before voicing a question. "Anyone see a way of getting across?"

(Ruz track roll: 30/100)

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[Maura Starwalk]

"Is this where the trail ends?" Maura asked Dsiod shortly after Ruzaan asked if there was a way to get across. The snerson turned his head back around to the woods, paused as he examined the foliage, then swiveled his head back around.

"I... I think ssso. Either thisss woman you ssspeak of ssstopped here, or ssshe found a way to crosss the chasssm." His brow bone furrowed, and a small tongue flicked out of his mouth a few times in rapid succession. "I don't sssmell anything nearby," he added after the bleps.

"He smells with his tongue?" Maura was surprised for a second, then figured it wasn't that outlandish since regular snakes also did that. Were these sneople actually descended from snakes? Did they lay eggs too?

"What if she didn't do either? What if she went down?" Maura peered over the edge of the chasm, her clawed fingers tightly intertwined with the long grass to keep her balance. Black eyes searched the cut in the earth, trying to see if she could find a path down that looked like a woman could walk or climb down.

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

"Down?" Ruzaan echoed, hardly daring to peek over the edge of the cliff. Down was definitely an option- a long, long way down, from the looks of things. Even Maura looked less confident in the face of the extreme drop. Ruzaan followed Maura's lead and peered over the side, hoping that he wouldn't lose his breakfast as he did so. However, once he had come to terms with the stomach-plunging view, he realized that the answer for where the trail went next was right there in front of them.

"I found something!" he said, beckoning Maura over. The girl would be able to see a rope, cleverly disguised as a vine, attached to the top of the cliff not far from where the trail had gone cold. A determined tug from Ruzaan showed that it was secured so as to hold weight. "How do you feel about climbing?" he asked, guessing the answer. Would he ever find something risky that Maura didn't take an immediate enthusiasm to?

Dsiod, for his part, seemed delighted by the prospect. "Fresssh eggsss!" he said, pointing to one of several unguarded nests a few dozen feet below the edge of the cliff. The eggs inside were almost as big as Maura's head. "The camp mussst eat. If it'sss not too much trouble..." he trailed off, remembering their mission but clearly a little distracted.

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[Maura Starwalk]

"Where?" Maura's ears immediately perked up at Ruz's discovery, and her eyes followed to where the Togruta padawan was pointing. She watched as he tugged firmly on the rope, and a sparkle of adventure began to burn brightly behind her black irises. "Let's do it!"

The rainbow-haired girl practically crawled over from her current position and had just put both of her palms around the rope when Dsiod spoke up and pointed out the eggs. Did he want to take them back to the camp? "Can we get them on our way back up? Ruz and I will help you carry them," she offered, hoping the compromise would suit the snerson.

"That... that worksss, yesss." Dsiod brushed himself off, then slithered over closer to where Maura and Ruzaan were waiting. "I would like to go firssst, if that is okay," he announced. "I want to make sssure my weight can hold the rope before the two of you ssstart dessscending."

That seemed reasonable to Maura, even though she desperately wanted to start rappeling down, so the girl released the rope from her hands and took a step aside so that he could begin his descent. To everyone's relief, she was sure, the rope handled the heavier Dsiod with ease. Once he was a few meters down, Maura grabbed onto the top of the line and swung herself over without even a moment to collect herself. She was far too excited to be nervous!

It would take several minutes for the group to carefully make their way down to the bottom. The rope had various knots at semi-consistent intervals, which made it easier for them to make their way down without falling into a slide and getting a nasty rope burn on their palms. Once they reached the bottom, Maura began rubbing her eyes, trying to quicken the adjustment to the dimly lit, rocky cavern.

"It kinda smells down here," she commented after a moment, pinching her nose. Dsiod flicked his tongue out, but didn't share the same disgusted expression she did. "Is there another trail?"

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan was beginning to figure out what made Maura tick- when in doubt, distract with something that promised action or adventure. While that didn't exactly bode well for mending their communication or teamwork together, it was enough for the Togruta to feel like Maura wasn't about to push him off the cliff for being too boring. Still, he was the last one down the rope- Dsiod nobly offered to go first and test the rope's strength, and there was no competing with Maura for second place.

By the time he'd joined Dsiod and Maura at the bottom, Maura had already made one astute observation- it did smell. The reeking scent of rotting flesh washed over Ruzaan's nose, and he gagged despite himself. And as Dsiod began leading them along- stopping to taste the air every few meters- they would soon find out why.

Snerson bodies, perhaps a dozen of them, littered the ground as the group turned a corner. Some appeared to have been decomposing for several weeks, while a couple appeared only a few days old. Those that were less decomposed showed signs of torture, with burns covering what remained of their skin. Some had holes that Ruzaan immediately recognized.

"A lightsaber did this" he said in a small voice.

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[Maura Starwalk]

Maura looked out, her black eyes wide as saucers as they settled on the decomposing corpses of the sneople before her. She could feel the warmth in her skin melt away, leaving her in a cold sweat as she looked at the scene. "Holy shhhoots...."

Her voice was quiet, barely a hush, and despite her desire to curse, she slurred it into something Ruzaan probably wouldn't immediately scold her for.

"Oh no..." There was a noticeable drop in Dsiod's voice, and Maura turned to look at the snerson even though she was wary to see the grief on his face. "They're all... they're jussst..." There was a break in his voice, but she watched his face harden after a couple moments. He took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm- I'm fine. We... we need to find who did thisss."

"Okay. Let's keep an eye out," Maura said quietly, her voice a bit nasally as she held her nose plugged shut. She pulled out her lightsaber, ignited it for its neon violet light, and slowly led the way into the corspe-ridden chasm.

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

"Holy shit" Ruzaan said, echoing Maura's sentiment but choosing stronger language as he realized that, for their snerson guide, these were not just random victims; they were community. "Dsiod, I'm so sorry..." Inwardly, the Togruta marveled at Dsiod's decision to keep going, knowing that if he was in the same situation that he'd much rather curl into a ball of grief. The snap-hiss of Maura's lightsaber igniting bathed the area in a bright purple light, and Ruzaan added to it by activating one end of his blue double-bladed lightsaber; the weapon doubling as the galaxy's most overqualified glowstick.

Wrinkling his nose against the smell of the rotting corpses, Ruzaan was just a couple steps behind Maura as she led the way further into the chasm. The light from their lightsabers threw ghastly shadows across the walls of the darkened cavern, which did little to assuage Ruzaan's fears.

"Maura, please tell me I'm not the only one seeing things" he said in a low voice to his fellow Padawan, pointing out the rotting snerson he could've sworn had just moved. Of course now it was motionless...

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[Maura Starwalk]

"For the love of the Force please don't be zomb- " Maura began in exasperation, then groaned aloud when one of the bodies twitched violently upward. The stench of the Dark Side surrounded the area as one, two, three... many of the corpses rose up from the ground and began hissing at them with broken vocal cords. "This is so messed up..."

"I- I thought thisss wasss only a thing of legendsss..." Clearly, Dsiod thought it was pretty messed up too. Despite his surprise - and his age - the snerson didn't seem phased by the creatures, and curled his fists into balls. "Thisss isss unnatural. We have to find the one resssponsssible. Thisss hasss to be the sssource of the sssickness!"

One of the reanimated snersons began slowly slithering toward Dsiod, only to be met by the forceful thawp! of his tail. It was sent flying, and its body broke beyond repair against the wall. Maura now understood the source of the scars on this man. He had to be a fighter of sorts!

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

"Ok it's not just me" Ruzaan said in a small voice as the corpses began moving in earnest this time. He simply nodded in agreement with Maura's assessment that this was, indeed, messed up, and began coiling the Force within him to push the advancing reanimated corpses. That, he quickly realized, was a big mistake; he'd neglected the fact that there was one practically underneath him that was a little slower to rise than the others.

With a cry, Ruzaan felt himself toppling to the ground as the reanimated snerson beneath him clawed at his legs. His lightsaber fell from his hand as he hit the floor of the cavern, deactivating with a shooop and leaving Maura's violet saber as the sole source of light in the cavern. Ruzaan had other problems, however, as the Togruta soon disappeared beneath a writhing mass of zombie sneople that threatened to tear him apart (attack roll: 4/20 blazeit).

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