Ask Dathomir Magic Words

[Darth Stolas]

Morgan stalked in after her, head cocked and Listening to a series of sounds that weren't really there. The ship certainly looked like it had been impressive before, but now it was, literally, a wreck. Luckily if the important inner bits were still good it was worth enough to be repaired. Each of these ships was a unique, one of a kind design. This was just happened to be double value because of what it hopefully contained.

That said, it sure was corpse-y in here. Old ones, based on the look and the smell. But more distracting still was that sense of something he couldn't quite pick up. There was-

Movement. His head turned to track the flying object. He faded left and twisted, arms raising up in a tight guard. The object- a bowl?- bounced off his folded arm covering the side of his head. The sound that followed was inhuman.

Suddenly under attack, instincts tended to take over a bit. Morgan's lip curled, fangs bared in a vicious snarl. Pupils contracted and then widened in the darkness, expression furious and sharp, the faint silver tint across his skin becoming heavier and more prominent. A deep, throaty, bass growl rolled out from between his teeth and echoed off the metal walls. His left hand wrapped around a lightsaber on his belt and unclipped it.

Then it passed, like the flicking of a light switch, and his face returned to it's neutral state. But still he walked toward from where the bowl had come from and the shadows flicked, eyes searching for a target.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry's eyes were wide, scanning the relative darkness of the room for any sign of an attacker, but there was none. Without thinking, she had taken several steps to her left, putting herself close to the wall and dropped into a low stance, ready to spring either in attack or evasion.

But there was no follow up attack. Her eyes continued scanning over the room, momentarily landing on her partner who now looked far more ferocious than he had only moments earlier. A neat trick.

As silence settled over the room once again, she moved over and picked up the bowl, turning it over in her hands several times. It was made out of some lightweight metal and so had made quite the racket without actually shattering. Other than that it was... absolutely ordinary. In fact, she got the impression it was something used for cooking in the kitchen rather than serving because it was just too mundane for a ship like this.

Underwhelming, she muttered, holding it up for Morgan to see and turning her gaze back toward the hallway where it appeared to have come from.

But I guess that confirms we're not alone, she said. She should have probably been... afraid, but she found herself more curious than anything. Sometimes things like that begged the question just what was wrong with her.

She pressed on after Morgan who headed toward where the bowl had come from but there was still nothing.

As they made their way through the hall, she noticed pools of something black on the floor. It dripped from cracks in the ceiling and ran along the ground. It looked almost like oil, thick but still fluid. She frowned and knelt down to look at it more closely.

 

[Darth Stolas]

Morgan looked at the bowl in Renfry's hand as if it had done him some great and personal wrong, then kept on stalking forward. There had been something there, he knew it. Hidden beneath the currents, quiet under the sound. He kept his senses stretched out, looking for it.

Then he was distracted by something on the floor. He tilted his head and looked at it. Oh, yay. Mystery fluid. He bent a little to get a better look, then up toward where it came from. What was this stuff? He couldn't See where it came from. He didn't like that.

"Do you recognize it?" he asked, sniffing at the air to try and determine if it was merely what it looked like. Oily and thick, but why would such a thing be leaking into some hallway? Then he moved to simply step around it, careful to avoid the falling droplets. He didn't like this at all.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

She shook her head as he asked if she recognized it. It wasn't anything she had seen before, and from the looks of things there were more puddles and areas dripping with the oily goo. She didn't dare touch it, and the entire area seemed like it was darker with every step. Not physically dark, but within the Force. It was cold. Cold enough that she felt like she should have been able to see her breath.

Do you? she asked. He was a Sith, and while he may or may not have been versed in the arcane, something told her this was a dark side spirit. Perhaps its origin was on Dathomir, but it had been... infected.

She continued on until they reached the next room. It looked like it had been some sort of private collection. Perhaps they'd find what they were looking for here.

Her head snapped to the side as she saw something moving like a shadow. It looked exactly like a shadow and then vanished all at once.

We need to flush it out, she said. She may not have known what it was, but it needed to be gone. @Mr. Teatime

 

[Darth Stolas]

He turned to look back at Renfry for a moment, and then down at the fluid. His narrowed at it and his Sight focused on it. It was difficult to pick up behind the background everything of this place, but yes, there it was. It was unnatural. How wonderful.

He moved on with extra care then, refusing to touch the stuff. He didn't know if it was hostile or toxic in some way but he didn't feel like finding out. The next room, however, made his eyes light up. It was precisely the area he'd been looking for in the first place, filled with pedestals, displays, and armour stands. But they only held his attention for a moment before he Heard something sneak through the shadows to his left. His head cocked toward it, then his eyes. Nothing but a flicker at the corner of his vision. Morgan scowled.

Flush it out? Magic was not in his immediate skillset, but he could affect the Force around him in unusual ways. Maybe that would work. The young Sith stood up fully straight and turned to Renfry to offer an apologetic smile.

"You're going to want to cover your ears," he warned, then turned to back to look straight into the darkness edging the room. Morgan took a deep breath, the fires in his heart igniting and sending the Dark Side rushing in burning coils through his blood, up his spine, and into his lungs. It pooled and gathered, building upon in self in cascading layers, but he opened his eyes again a moment later.

His eyes flashed, eyes narrowed. His skin flushed a deeper silver. His lips curled with absolute fury. For one second, a growl built up in his chest in throat, snarling and vicious. The next, he roared. The piercing, deafening sound reverberated off the walls and through the Force, a call of challenge against the mysterious shadow. The intensely vibrating waves of fury were also perfectly capable of harming something directly in its path whether it was alive or not. Hypothetically.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry's eyes never left where the shadow had been only moments later. Yes, they would need to flush it out and she let her mind begin rifling through spells. She knew she had some that would work, but before she conjured anything, Morgan told her to cover her ears.

She wasn't sure what he had in mind, but she figured it best to comply. Her fingers went up to her ears and plugged them as he let loose something between a shriek and a roar. She could feel it ringing through her bones and whatever was in the shadows seemed to hate it too.

The creature was forced from the shadows, dropping momentarily to its knees and clutching at its head before standing once again and lunging for Morgan.

Renfry's hands glowed green and she let loose a blast of ichor that was as incorporeal as the creature they fought. It met the creature on some other plain, slamming it back into the wall and forcing it once more back into the physical, hopefully opening it up to an attack from the other Sith. @Mr. Teatime

 

[Darth Stolas]

Renfry's sorcerous strike was well timed, since Morgan was going to need a moment to recover from what he'd just done anyway. But not too long.

The young Sith cycled through a quick breath and ran forward to follow it, strong legs moving him quickly into range of the creature. He didn't actually know precisely what the sorceress had done to it, but he'd heard it hit the wall so that was good enough. His lightsaber ignited and he rushed in, grinning wildly and ducking low to deliver an upwards, diagonal left-to-right cut through its chest and the wall behind it while it recovered from the impact.

The blade and metal squealed and hissed, burning through the metal and whatever the thing was made of. One-handed the blade made it's way over and around his head again to closely transition, repurposing momentum and ready to swing or guard if that hadn't done the trick. Ghosts were very not his forte, but he could handle physical targets just fine. Or at least he thought as much.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

She watched him move in against the creature, landing a blow with his lightsaber against the now-physical body of creature. There was a loud screeching sound as the creature was struck and faded into a mist once again and then to the same black sludge they had seen earlier.

The instant his blow struck, she noticed the darkness that she had felt throughout the room began to fade. Silence fell over the room and Renfry's eyes darted around the room to look for any signs of the creature. But it appeared to be finished.

The problem was that as she looked around for the creature, she saw no sign of their prize either. Much of what was here looked as though it had been picked over.

I think it's gone, she said, frowning and starting to look around the room for any sign of the green gem or Dathomiri artifacts. She found none. @Mr. Teatime

 

[Darth Stolas]

Morgan twirled his blade out of what was going to be an attack, deactivated it, and clipped it to his belt. He looked around, brows furrowed. Of course it wasn't that easy, the ship must have been here for two centuries. At least the strange sound in the background was fading away along with the strange, seeping darkness from the corners.

"Gone. But not lost," he replied, walking around the room and eyeing every surface. The pedestals, the containers and cases, the empty armour stands, and finally stopped in a particular spot. He stared at a particular stand, wide and with a partially transparent surface designed to illuminate the treasures atop it. Now it was dark, and the stand was empty. But he still felt something there, echoes of something important. Then he moved to a stand near it, a broken open case, and ran his fingers across the expensive stone.

It came away speckled in green dust and he turned to look at Renfry. "Someone has them. Perhaps the people of Dathomir have an idea as to who?"

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry breathed deeply and started looking around the room. There were still valuables here that she started to scoop up. She was a practical woman after all.

What is it we're hunting down that you want? she asked, walking over to the area that was supposed to hold his prize. It was about time she found out what exactly the green gem was and why it was so valuable. If it was just a bauble - which she doubted - then they could have just robbed a bank or something.

No, they don't, she said in a tone that said decisively that door was closed. Relationships between herself and her Clan were strained at the absolute best.

We'll track it down ourselves, she said, walking over to look out the view screen of the ship.

We should spend the night here, though. The wildlife will be more active with the sun going down, she said, glancing over to see his thoughts. The recently haunted ship may not have seemed like the most lovely place to spend the night, but it was in cover and safe-ish, so that was a benefit over most other options.

 

[Darth Stolas]

He clicked his tongue, but said no more of the people of Dathomir. Best not to push that particular button.

Morgan brushed the sparkling dust from his fingers and looked once more around the room. Valuables, yes. Even a rare piece or two that hadn't been taken. Not to mention the ship itself, unique and historic in its significance. But it wasn't the key target. He turned to look at Renfry then.

"What you tracked was a shattered but very valuable statue. What I'm after is the Sith holocron that was in the same room," he answered, then walked away from the empty pedestals to the large desk in the center of the room, bolted to the floor. It was a beautiful thing, but that's not why he cared just this moment. He bent down and picked something up from the ground, delicately held it in his fingers.

A ring.

"Yeah, here is fine." A creepy atmosphere didn't bother him overmuch. Besides, at least it wasn't like getting stuck outside on Firrerre at night. Morgan looked around again, found a doorway. He walked to it, the metal door half shut. The young Sith leaned down, grasping the sides and pulling to get it out of the way. He peered inside. Yup, bedroom.

"Bedroom. Haunted or not, I'd prefer it over the floor."

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry knew enough about holocrons to know that they belonged to specific people, and she also noted that he had failed to point out whose this one had been.

Whose was it? she asked. After all, if she didn't know, then she certainly was the type to ask.

She saw him pick up a ring and then head toward a side room. The bedroom was large, luxurious, and probably would have been lovely if it hadn't been so old. She entered after him, nodding in agreement to what he said.

Same, she said, walking over and poking the bed a few times and flicking the sheets around to make sure there were no bugs or anything else that had made a nest there and might sting the pair.

She plopped down moments later, leaning back on the pillow.

Are you squeamish about sharing a bed with a woman? she asked, quirking an eyebrow with an expression that wasn't entirely clear. It was an offer to get into bed with her at the very least. It didn't make sense for him to sleep on the floor and she certainly wasn't going to do so.

 

[Darth Stolas]

Morgan walked into the bedroom and swept his eyes over the contents. Old, slightly dusty in places, but it seemed a benefit of the place having been haunted was nothing much wanted to live there. He'd take it.

"I'm not sure who made it other than that they were scholar of the Dark Side and it, allegedly, contains many secrets. I'd have to have it in my hands to identify it," he replied, holding his hands palm up as if to indicate he clearly did not have the holocron in his hands. He did, however, have a ring. With a flick of the wrist he slid it into the grip of his fingers and held it up, examining it.

"I do know what this is, though. Crimson Dawn signet ring. They wouldn't have left it behind along with the valuables," he said quietly, then turned his eyes back to Renfy, reflecting light in the darkness of the room. He grinned.

"No. Should I be?" he asked while walking over. Morgan placed the ring on a dusty table beside the bed itself and sat on the bed's edge to slip his boots off. He'd do just fine in clothes and a haunted crashed ship's bedroom, but he wasn't going to sleep in shoes.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry sat up and removed her own shoes as well. No point in being uncomfortable. She could easily sleep in the clothes she was wearing - she'd come here in practical, comfortable clothes not the most fashionable ones - and watched as he showed her the ring.

Interesting, she said. So he did like shiny things, then. But who didn't? Sith were about power, and status was often shown through things, though she knew well enough that true power often required no status. But she digressed from the moment and pulled her mind back to the present.

Absolutely not. Make yourself at home, she said with a coy smile, patting the bed next to her as she leaned back against the headboard. It was nice to be off her feet and the "creepiness" didn't bother her at all. The entire world had a bit of a haunted feel to it.

So, Morgan, tell me about yourself, she said. Nice and open ended. Whatever normal expectations the Sith had for social customs, she defied. She did what she wanted and if she found herself becoming broody someday naturally, then so by it. But it hadn't begun yet.

 

[Darth Stolas]

The young man stretched and rolled his shoulders before he moved properly onto the bed, rearranging a couple pillows for himself against the headboard. He sat against them with his legs crossed and hands against his thighs, getting a feel for the room and the general area around them now that it was cleared of the strange sounds.

Renfry asked a question and Morgan blinked. What an open ended question that was.

"I was trained outside the Eternal, I enjoy music, I'm fond of rain and strong brandy, and I do back end work for the Sith," he replied, turning look at Renfry with an expression of amusement and a small grin. "Or was there something more specific you wanted to know?"

It was a fair question, though, so he answered. She'd done as he asked and tracked the ship, even if the most valuable artifacts were no longer in it. That magic of hers was worth watching as well, almost mathematical in her application of the arcane. He looked pensive for a moment before his expression shifted back.

"Thank you for your help. You look good in green."

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry watched his every move, silently listening to what he said. Every action, facial expression, and word were weighed and measured, listening to what he said and did. She found him fascinating in his own way. She saw the way he looked pensive for only a moment after he finished speaking.

Back work? she asked with a quirked eyebrow. And he was trained outside the Eternal? By who? She'd found many Sith who started outside the Order, but most hadn't been trained before entering. The plot thickened.

She smirked as he complimented her.

Well, thank you and you're welcome, she said, the smirk turning a bit mischievous.

You're don't look so bad yourself, she said with a wrinkle of her eyebrow. She knew that it was more a reference to her magick than anything else. Everyone was captivated by it. Everyone wanted it. But she opted to take it as a personal compliment nonetheless.

Did your scavenger hunt come with a plan for what to do with our down time? she asked.

 

[Darth Stolas]

"Behind the scenes stuff no one pays much attention to," he clarified breezily, "Intel doesn't fall from the sky. Most of the time."

He shrugged a little. It was true, no one much paid attention to it. It wasn't glorious and brought no fame or notice, but it was a necessary element all the same. Couldn't just send a group of meatheads to smash up a building every time. Quite a few situations needed a slightly more delicate touch than the bull in a china shop routine.

"Why thank you, sòsyè, I do my best. And, I certainly did. What else would we do, alone in the dark?" he asked, a fang-toothed grin forming across his face. There they were the two of them, in an old but quite lush bedroom that once belong to a man akin to a king. He killed Imperial governors as he pleased, took what he desired. The bed itself was lush and comfortable aside from the dust that had been shaken off the top, and the light filtering in through the window from Dathomir's moon and stars, dancing playfully over the room, was almost darkly romantic.

Morgan pulled up his datapad and began to go through the information he'd gathered about this particular ship and who may be interested in its contents, swiping through different files, after which he'd probably end up reading some novel or textbook. He started humming a slow, soft tune to himself as he read. Nice and relaxing.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

That was an interesting answer to her question and one she was interesting in knowing more about. He was an intel gatherer? A spy? That was interesting, and there were plenty of interesting skills she was sure he could teach her. Of course, she was sure that came as a quid pro quo, and she wasn't sure what she was willing to give up of her secrets. She supposed that was the trouble with Sith.

She rolled her eyes as he started scrolling through his datapad, clearly being as insufferable as possible. Was she that unappealing. No, she knew that wasn't true, so perhaps it was time to drop the act. She could guess how it was going to go. She started peeking at what he was scrolling through, totally unashamed to be snooping for the moment.

That word you call me, what does it mean? she asked, quirking an eyebrow. She wasn't familiar with it, but it wasn't the first time he'd said it.

 

[Darth Stolas]

Renfry seemed to have changed the subject. Was she catching on to the game or giving up? He couldn't tell, but assumed the former purely for his own amusement. It wouldn't be much fun otherwise.

"Do you not like what I call you?" he asked, turning to look at Renfry with those golden eyes that glinted in the dark, reflecting the poor light that came in through the window. Morgan leaned over slightly, placing his datapad down. He had no issue with Renfry reading what was on the screen, a mix of names and places and what was known about them in relation to the First Light.

A fanged grin slowly spread over his face in contrast to his otherwise cheery expression. "Are there other things you prefer to be called? I'm all ears, sòsyè," he teased in a playful tone, mischief glinting behind his eyes. In truth it was something of a joke as well as a term of respect or endearment, but that wasn't something he was just going to tell her. That's not how the game was played.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry had no qualms about being snoopy, reading about something called the "First Light." What was that? That hadn't been the name of this ship, had it? He put it down a moment later as he didn't answer the question. Her eyebrow quirked again.

He gave her a fanged grin as he looked at her and she rolled over so that she was straddling him and looking directly down at him. He was playing a game, and perhaps she was as well, but she did as she desired. This world only managed to bring to the surface her wild side.

She let her fingers run down his chest, her eyes following along after it. She could feel the muscles under his shirt and the smirk never left her lips.

All ears? And here I was hoping for some other things, she said.

"Mistress" seems a bit presumptuous, she said quietly, as if said to herself, though she knew full well he'd be able to hear her.

I wonder what word would sound sweetest on your lips while I... she said, letting her eyes come up to his once again and not finishing her sentence. That same wild look was in her golden eyes. Eyes of challenge, defiance, and inability to be tamed.

Well, you must have a reason for what you chose, she said, awaiting an answer.