Ask Let's Go Fishin'

[Perun]

For a being attuned to the nuances of the wild, Perun was oddly adept at observing the subtleties of emotion. It was an instinct born from survival, honed to a fine edge by his Jedi training. As Ezra spoke, the Ma'alkerrite's keen gaze detected the slightest tremor in the Jedi's voice, the minuscule shift in his body language, and the faintest glimmer of yellow rimming his normally silver irises. Perun found himself submerged in a vast sea of uncertainty, torn between the compulsion to comfort his compatriot and the fear of triggering a hidden landmine of emotions buried deep within the other Jedi.

With the weight of this trepidation heavy on his heart, Perun's typical banter fell to the wayside, replaced by a rare bout of serious contemplation. The memories of their previous conversations lingered, chilling his desire to engage in personal inquiries. His fellow Knight had erected an impervious shell around his vulnerabilities, a fortress that even the most sincere of consolations might struggle to penetrate. Thus, Perun hesitated, the palpable tension twining like vines around his ordinarily playful demeanor.

Gathering his courage, Perun broke the silence, his voice resonating with uncharacteristic gravity. "Ezra," he began, the name tasting unfamiliar on his tongue, resolving not to use the nickname he had devised for him "Whatever lurks beyond that door, we will have a choice to make," he paused, "And remember, you're not facing this alone, you never have to. But if you choose, you can stay out here, too." His words were an offering, a bridge extended for Ezra to cross at his own pace, and on his own terms.

The Ma'alkerrite shifted his sight to the foreboding metal door, his senses prickling with anticipation and a thread of anxiety. As he awaited Ezra's response, he sensed the echo of ancient darkness pulsating from within the observatory, a stark contrast against the serenity of the oceanic melody that hummed outside.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra exhaled slowly, trying to come to grips with reality. The whispers were almost overwhelming and he could see that red visor all over again. Except the visor shifted to crimson eyes. Perun’s words vaguely echoed in the background, but it was the fact that the Knight looked at him that pierced through. The other Jedi didn’t make any snide remarks or any jabs which would have ignited Ezra right then, but instead he took a calm approach. He reminded Ezra he wasn’t alone.

It was exactly how Scrub Squad pulled him back from the edge. It was his friends - the ones that were family at this point - that fought off Sith and any other obstacle that ever came their way. Ezra exhaled again, hearing Perun’s words more clearly now. His eyes slowly shifted back to normal, “Not alone..” He repeated aloud to himself. He felt weak for this, “Let’s…keep this out of headquarters, shall we?” He muttered to Perun. He didn’t need the Grandmaster up his ass about this and Perun seemed the type to tell.

Ezra braced himself, waiting for Perun to access the door. Once they stepped through, they would be almost seeped in the dark energies. The air was almost tangible, the presence oppressive. However, Ezra fought through it. Their very existence contradicted the darkness around the artifact.

The room looked abandoned and unassuming. However, there was a box ahead with a marking on it. Perun would find that it had an indentation - a space that his trinket could fit into perfectly. He would have to guess on how to turn the trinket the perfect way to open the lock.

“What do you think it is?” Ezra asked.

@Aberforth

 

[Perun]

Relief washed over Perun as Ezra's countenance regained its composure, his silvery eyes returning to their natural hue. "Our secret, Ezra," Perun promised, his tone sober.

Stepping into the room together, the Ma'alkerrite was assaulted by the thick immaterial miasma of darkness, a torrent of hidden malevolence that made his fur bristle and his eyes narrow. It was like walking into a thunderstorm, the hair-raising static of the energy making his instincts scream. Perun assessed the room, noticing the haphazardly packed cargo boxes, and an overwhelming sense of neglect that clung to the walls, but his attention was drawn inexorably towards the box in the center of the room.

Approaching it with both caution and curiosity, Perun carefully touched the metallic surface, calling upon his psychometric abilities. The object pulsated with a volatile energy that whispered secrets, its cryptic mechanism challenging him. The Ma'alkerrite teased the lock, employing a delicate touch while shifting his trinket this way and that until, with a barely audible click, the failsafe mechanism was defused.

As the box opened, Perun's eyes widened at the sight of an ancient crystal sphere. Its worn-out metal casing was wrapped in a dark grey metallic frame, its eerie red glowing smoke pulsating in sync with his own heartbeat. Perun felt a strange pull towards it, an ominous allure that he had to consciously resist. The ball seethed with a dark aura, the tangible wisps of fear slithering from its core and blanketing the room in an oppressive shadow.

The Ma'alkerrite found himself grappling with the artifact's sinister magnetism. He was a Jedi Knight, a guardian of light in the galaxy's vast darkness, yet the dark allure of this ancient relic posed a powerful challenge to his resolve. The pulsating crystal ball seemed to sing a siren's song, its blood-red glow dancing like a livewire, beckoning him closer. "I do not know what this is, but I don't like it," he remarked to Ezra, his eyes never leaving the hypnotic red glow of the alchemical relic.

@Sreeya

//Rolled an 18 for opening the box.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

“How did you know how to do that?” Ezra asked suspiciously as Perun used the device perfectly to open the container. The crystal sphere pulsed as if it were alive. It was air he breathed in that coursed through his body, traveled into his heart, pumped through his veins and into every extremity. The whispers began again and he gritted his teeth to mentally fight through it. His Pops always taught him meditation tricks and he called on them now to center his mind.

“Let’s leave it in the box and take the box with us,” Ezra suggested, “We take it straight to the council,” He said sternly, “I don’t fuck around,” Ezra added, “Not anymore..” He trailed off, his thoughts briefly wandering to holocrons and other trinkets he found but never reported. It never worked out how he expected. This wouldn’t be something to keep under wraps.

“This is probably corrupting the surrounding area,” He said as he shut the box. The Emryc Thorne routine came in handy in helping him lift the hefty container. Unless Perun objected, he would start carrying it back to get it off the planet and back to the Jedi.

@Aberforth

 

[Perun]

Perun's eyes flickered towards Ezra, the ape-man's brow creased with amusement. "You think I spend all my time just swinging from tree to tree?" he began, his trademark sass creeping into his voice despite the lingering sense of unease. "Over the years, I've become quite the... connoisseur of such trinkets," he confessed, tracing the edge of the now closed box with a thoughtful digit.

Perun had a certain affinity for ancient relics, their stories woven into his very being through his psychometric abilities. Each artifact was like a novel waiting to be read, their narratives engraved within their physical forms. "I've honed my skills to sense their stories, their... desires," he added, "And whatever was in this box? It yearned to be unburdened of its secret." He grinned at Ezra, his eyes twinkling with unspoken mischief. "It was eager to help to open up the box."

Perun nodded as Ezra suggested they report their find, his jovial demeanor replaced with grim acceptance. The levity of their earlier banter felt out of place under the shadow of the artifact. "Sounds about right," he agreed, casting a wary glance at the pulsating crystal globe locked within the box. "This is out of our league. The council should handle it."

As Ezra lifted the hefty container with an ease born from familiarity, Perun found a sense of relief washing over him. The object of such intense darkness was now back in its cage, its sinister influence somewhat muted. This small victory, however, was soured by the knowledge that it was but a temporary respite. The whispering darkness remained a latent threat, an oppressive force that would follow them until the council could intervene.

With a last glance at the room now stripped of its centerpiece, Perun fell into step with Ezra, the artifact safely secured between them. The daunting task of returning the relic to the council now lay ahead, but for the time being, they'd successfully navigated the immediate danger. The Ma'alkerrite couldn't shake off the dread that their task was far from over, but for now, he took solace in their shared resilience. "Lead the way, froggling," Perun intoned jovially, bracing himself for the journey back.

@Sreeya