Ask Oh Lorrdi!

[Mako Krim]

Rumor had reached the ears of the Jedi, in particular the ears of Mako Krim. A rumor that something strange was happening on Lorrd. What could easily be dismissed as horror stories and ignored by many had only intrigued the Pyke Jedi. That was what had brought him to the planet. Once there, he was quick to send a request back to the temple for back up as his investigation proved rumor to be true.

Mako awaited the arrival of his fellow Jedi sitting in a seedy tavern, sipping a beer that could be called water. Most would be upset about the weakness of the brew, but for the Jedi it was perfect. It allowed him to exist almost completely unnoticed, just another Pyke at a bar drinking beer. Not that the planet was swimming with Pykes or anything, it just wasn't such an unusual sight to see. The only thing unusual about this Pyke was a distinct lack of armament, or at least the visible kind, his lightsaber kept well hidden under a set of robes.

@Phoenix

 

[Zathria]

Zathria wasn't really sure what she was walking into if she were being quite honest. As a Justicar she'd been called on to investigate corruption within the Order and within other Jedi, but investigating corrupted locations or people outside the Order was... technically slightly outside her purview.

But the list of competent Jedi seemed like it was wearing thin recently, and she was sure many of her skills would still carry over.

Although she carried her regular equipment with her, her lightsaber was tucked away in a deep pocket so as not to be noticed. Lorrd didn't seem to be overly friendly to Jedi due to its... questionable practices in slavery and the like, so her partner had decided it best not to announce themselves. Probably wise.

She pushed her way into the cantina and squinted through the haze of smoke that drifted in front of her eyes. It was almost stifling in here, but she shook the thought from her mind and focused instead on finding her partner.

It took her about thirty seconds of looking around to spot him and slide into a seat across.

Hey, she said, smiling warmly. I'm Zathria. Heard there's some "things" for us to work on, she said, keeping things intentionally vague.

@Arcangel

 

[Mako Krim]

Mako wasn't entirely sure what he was expecting from his fellow Jedi. The order was stretched thin these days. A Thyrsian woman entered the bar, looked around and then quickly joined the Pyke, finding her seat.

"I'm Mako. Nice to meet you, even if its not nice to be here." He said. His stay on Lorrd, short as it was, hadn't been pleasant. The Lorrdian's had an interesting history with slavery. They had been slaves themselves, and then for a long time had been fairly against the practice. It seemed that things had changed however in recent years, with the practice making a resurgence on a planet that had been staunchly opposed for so long.

"Yes there are quite a few "things" for us to work on." He sipped his beer as he thought for a moment. The situation was twofold, and the Jedi suspected they were related. "I assume you saw the large black circle outside of the city?" He said, referencing the old slave pits that had long ago been filled in and forgotten. In the present day it stood as a dead zone, the hard and glassy material that had filled the pit and covered a huge circle of land made it unsuitable for any usage.

Mako's focus was drawn to a group of men at the bar over Zathria's shoulder for a moment as the group of Lorrdian's seemed to be eyeing the pair and he had noticed them keeping an eye on him earlier as he had waited. "Perhaps we should find a better place to discuss business." He said, beginning to stand to leave the cantina.

@Phoenix

 

[Zathria]

Zathria nodded at his question. Reminded me of the geoglyphs you see on some worlds. Somewhat. I'm guessing that's not what it is, though, she said. Obviously, these would be far less artistic as it was effectively just a huge circle, but still.

He mentioned that they should discuss business somewhere else and she nodded. She resisted the urge to turn and look over her shoulder, but instead opened herself up to the Force, letting it flow in from around her and sensing the growing interest of someone behind her.

She stood and headed outside, taking in the fresh air that wasn't as filled with smoke, though the faint smell of urine, unfortunately, still hit her nose and caused a quick scrunch of her face.

We can head back to my ship to talk, she said, starting to lead the way down the sidewalk. Time to make small talk, then, she supposed.

So haven't seen you around before, she said. Even that probably wasn't the most inconspicuous topic, but oh well. Meanwhile, she mentally tracked the two behind them, still gaining a sense of interest from nearby that she had to assume meant they were being followed.

@Arcangel

 

[Mako Krim]

The pair of Jedi slipped out of the cantina and onto the streets. It did nothing to get rid of their pursuers, the itchy feeling on the back of Mako's neck certain they were still being watched.

"It's a big order." Mako said to Zathria's comment about not seeing him around. It wasn't that big, not anymore. The attrition of war wasn't kind to the Jedi, with only so many force sensitives in the galaxy. More Jedi died than padawans replaced them.

"Smaller lately." He said in a said tone as they passed an alleyway. "Down here." He said in a hushed tone as he steered them down the alleyway. A fire escape provided quick egress out of the alleyway and up to the rooftops where they could watch their pursuers. Mako covered the distance to the rooftop with one force enhanced leap, landing gently atop the roof to crouch down and watch the alleyway below where a few moments later the pair of fellows from the bar turned the corner.

"What do you think they want with us?" He whispered as he watched them peer around the alleyway for a moment before moving on.

@Phoenix

 

[Zathria]

Zathria nodded as he said that it was smaller lately. Yeah... she said with a hint of remorse in her voice. More and more Jedi seemed to die. Those who had been Masters and Councilors when she was still a fresh knight were now... gone. Reclaimed by the Force. As much as the Jedi understood that death was a natural part of life, it still left a hole in the heart and the Order.

But there wasn't time to be melancholy or sentimental now. They had to focus on the here and now, and for the moment, that meant dealing with their tail.

She let the Force flow through her and leapt upward, pressing off one of the walls and grabbing an upper ledge before hoisting herself up and onto the roof just behind him, swinging over just as the two people strolled into the alley and started looking confused about where their marks had gone.

Probably wanted to rob or exploit the tourists, she whispered. The most likely answer, but the most likely wasn't always correct, and missing the fatal answer could often be, well, fatal.

Worst case, they know who we are and are trying to assassinate us, she added. A part of her wanted to suggest they turn the tables and follow them, but something told her it might just end up being a waste of their time and a distraction from their actual mission.

I don't think they're going to find us, she whispered before shrugging. May be as good a place as any to give me a rundown on what's going on, she said.

@Arcangel

 

[Mako Krim]

Mako waited a few moments until he was sure their tail wasn't coming back before he relaxed. "If they're a bigger problem, we'll find out eventually." He nodded as he spoke in a whisper. Whoever they were, they weren't relevant to the reason that the Jedi were on Lorrd.

Zathria seemed content with their current location to dig into the meat of the situation. Mako didn't see a reason why not so he gave her a shrug and then got to it.

"There were some rumors floating around about hauntings on Lorrd. I couldn't be sure if they were just spacer tales or something more serious, so I arrived a few days ago to check it out." He had been careful to conceal his presence as a Jedi during his time on the world, so he felt comfortable discounting Zathria's second assumption about their tail. "There is something dark going on here Zathria... Something dark" He whispered before continuing. "People are dying. I've interviewed some of those close to the... victims."

He sat silently for a moment as he thought back on some of what he had heard. Some of what he had seen.

"There is a darkness that rises in the city when the sun falls, you'll feel it tonight." He shivered involuntarily at the thought, having spent multiple nights in the city now. "The hauntings happen at night, not sure how its selecting its victims, but they've all died after a few nights of it... by their own hand." There was one who was not dead yet, who Mako would be bringing his fellow Jedi to before nightfall. "There is a woman who I found out about shortly before you arrived, I haven't gotten to meet her yet. The current victim of the haunting." He said with a hollow tone.

@Phoenix

 

[Zathria]

Zathria listened with rapt attention to every word he said. She was... unsettled by what he said, and although she hadn't experienced it first hand, what he described about it and the chill that flowed off of him in the Force told her a great deal. Jedi didn't scare easily and something had unnerved him.

You think some sort of cult involvement? she asked. While the Jedi were largely preoccupied with the Sith, there were many other, smaller Dark sects out there. It would certainly account for some of the issues that he was describing.

Of course, we'll visit her, she said with a nod, trying to think of what could even cause this.

She pulled out her datapad and checked her chrono before scowling.

If it starts at night, we need to hurry. The sun'll go down soon, and she may not last another night, she said. She couldn't imagine being driven so mad that she took her own life, and felt a twinge of pity for those who had suffered from... whatever this was.

What do your instincts tell you is going on? she finally asked. It was at the heart of everything here, and she would trust his judgment at least to an extent as a working hypothesis. After all, he'd been here and she hadn't.

@Arcangel

 

[Mako Krim]

Mako pursed his lips at Zathria's question. Considering it. He hadn't really considered the possibility. "Perhaps." He answered, leaving it at that. Zathria was right, they didn't really have time to sit and talk as the sun was already starting to set.

"My instincts... They call me to the dark circle, the old slave pit." He said after a moment more of consideration. "Like a foul whisper drifting outwards on the wind, centered on one place... There is darkness there." He finished before glancing at the sunset, the bright blue of the sky fading into purple and orange. They didn't have much time.

"This way. We can make it if we hurry." He said before standing and turning. He knew the way and they could make better time sticking to the tightly packed rooftops. He hurried off at a run, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, leading the way. It didn't take them long to cover ground and they were soon perching on the edge of a roof as the last of the sun's rays started to shine.

"There." Mako pointed to an apartment, a low building lined with doors and windows. One door immediately drew attention, paper sigils pasted across it and the windows. Mako would lead the way to the ground and over to the door where a line of powder was seemingly poured outside the doorway. He crouched for a moment, sticking a finger to the line and rubbing the substance between his fingers for a moment before sticking it to his tongue. "It's salt." He said in confirmation for a moment before rising to knock on the door.

There was a moment of hesitation on the other side, followed by the scraping of a chair and footsteps. A man opened the door, just a crack and squinted at the pair.

"You aren't the doctor." The man said gruffly. Mako peered past him to see a woman laying in bed an array of flickering candles situated on the nightstands illuminating her sickly face.

"No, we aren't doctors, but we're knowledgable about ailments like the one she is afflicted by," He nodded towards the woman in the bed. "We're here to help." Mako said solemnly before asking. "May we come in?"

@Phoenix

 

[Zathria]

Zathria followed with Mako as they made their way across the rooftops and she thought about what he said about the fighting pits. There was certainly a blood that stained the air here, and gladiator pits would certainly explain it. She wondered to herself if they were still secretly active and that was what they were sensing. The Force would reveal it to them in time.

As they dropped down and made their way to the building. Zathria frowned when he bent down and said it was salt.

An old superstition for warding off evil, she said. She doubted it had any substance to it, but she was no expert in the arcane. What she did doubt, however, was that salt was enough to keep the Dark Side out. If it was, she figured things would have been very different during the wars with the Sith.

Mako knocked on the door and a man answered, barely allowing them to glimpse the woman beyond. Zathria's brows pulled together, and her mind immediately transitioned to a very different headspace.

I'm a healer, she said to the man, looking him in the eye with deadly seriousness. Let us in.

The man glanced back at the woman then forward against at the pair of Jedi with a great deal of hesitation before opening the door slightly more, hurrying them inside before closing the door.

Zathria's eyes flicked across the room to ensure there were no dangers in the room - hidden assailants or unexpected hazards - before making her way over to the woman and laying a hand across her forehead and closing her eyes, letting the Force flow freely between them as she took in the ailments effecting the woman.

Who are you? How did you know to come here? the man asked as he turned to Mako, demanding answers even as he nervously shifted his weight around.

@Arcangel

 

[Mako Krim]

Mako glanced at Zathria as she added a very firm demand that the man let them in. Mako didn't know the woman well, but this was a side of her that would do well for them in the present situation. Likely many to come too. Mako didn't waste time entering the dwelling as soon as they were allowed.

Mako's eyes quickly scanned the room. The shadows of a loving couple overshadowed by wards and various trinkets the superstitious might utilize to protect themselves from the otherworldly. The effectiveness of such things... was questionable at best. But sometimes belief had more power than one might think. The force worked in mysterious ways.

Zathria moved quickly to the bedridden woman's side. Mako thought it was very lucky, or perhaps force sent, that she was a healer. The man in turn waylaid Mako with more questions as he shifted nervously on his feet. Mako glanced around the room once more, the framed pictures, the talismans and wards. A new bassinet stuffed in the corner near the bedside.

"You've been requesting the aid of just about every witch doctor and folk healer in the city." Mako said with a raised eyebrow as if to say are you serious? "We are scholars and healers, we heard of your troubles and wish to help." He said reassuringly as he shifted his robe slightly so the man might see the lightsaber on Mako's hip. He didn't exactly want to go about revealing that they were Jedi to everyone on the planet, but a little goodwill went a long way towards earning trust.

He didn't let the man absorb the information long however as he gestured at the crib. "She is expecting?" His question knocked whatever suspicion the man might still hold out of him. It was perhaps a low trick, but a necessary one. It also emphasized the graveness of the situation and brought sorrow into Mako's heart.

"Yea-, yes." The man stuttered out before sitting down heavily in a chair from where he watched Zathria and his wife with a hollow expression. Mako watched him for a moment as he looked back to the Pyke. "Please... Please save her." The man's voice sounded broken his eyes twitched as they held back tears.

"We will do everything in our power." Mako said simply as he laid a three fingered hand on the man's shoulder for a moment before turning to the bed and Zathria. He didn't know what she felt within the woman, only time would tell now as the sun set.

The woman stirred and Zathria would feel a shadow fall over the room as the last of the suns rays crept behind the horizon. A foul wind within the force seemed to draft its way through the home, carrying with it a dark tether that seemed tied to something outside of the home. The woman shifted as a heavy presence fell over her mind to worm its way in. Sweat broke out across her brow as the darkness encircled her. A faint fearful whimper trailed from her lips as she felt claustrophobic tunnels close in around. A black circle of darkness was stamped over her very aura, the rim of which waving and slithering as a snake.

@Phoenix

 

[Zathria]

Zathria checked her pupils and breathing before she reached into the Force and let herself sense what was going on within the other woman. Her temperature was high and breathing quickened as if the body was fighting something, but for the life of her, Zathria sensed no physical injury or infection.

From head to toe, her mind swept for signs of something that was wrong before settling on the child. Her gut dropped as she sensed the shifts and changes, trying to find the source of the seemingly metaphysical battle going on between mother and child.

The woman began to flail in bed, flying into a full seizure and Zathria quickly moved to reposition herself and hold the woman's head in place.

You see! She's possessed! the husband shouted, moving over to hold her body down.

Don't! I'll protect her head, let her be, Zathria commanded, watching as the woman thrashed and flailed for about thirty more seconds before coming to a halt.

The Knight was not unaware of what she had felt in the distance as well. This was not just a biological process. The markers of normal illness like this were absent, but Zathria still reached out to stimulate the woman's receptors to bring down her blood pressure.

After several minutes more, she opened her eyes and looked up to the others.

This illness is somewhat mimicking eclampsia, but that's not what it is, she said. She needs treatment at a medical center, but that will only be a holding action. Something else is turning her body and the baby's body against one another, she said, looking between the other two.

We need to find the source of that and destroy it, she said to Mako. I think what I've done here should help her through the night, but it will be a long night. If she seizes again, make sure she doesn't hit her head but otherwise let it be, she said. She'd have told them to actually go to a medcenter, but there weren't any of high quality nearby... that was the whole problem.

The circles? she asked Mako, suggesting they follow his intuition and head for the area that this dark presence most likely resided.

@Arcangel

 

[Mako Krim]

There wasn't much that Mako could do at this point except watch the Jedi healer work. Zathria commanded the situation, clearly in her element. The woman thrashed violently in the bed and Mako restrained the husband with a firm grasp on the shoulder as he instinctually moved to her side. Zathria held her head as she wailed about, until a few moments later she went still, her breathing more even. A few moments more before Zathria spoke, explaining her hypothesis about the ailment and giving instructions to the husband.

"The circles." Mako nodded. Everything seemed to draw back to them. And he could feel it, like a nagging on the side of his brain that pulled him towards it. Mako led the way out of the dwelling and back onto the streets, where he walked swiftly in their direction. Even leaving the room of the affected, he could feel its almost gravitational pull. He could see it in his minds eye when he closed its eyes, an impenetrable void that sat in the distance. An ominous whisper.

"Can you feel it? Out there in the distance?" He asked. It was a faint but ever present thing to Mako, and as he glanced around to the few others that walked the streets this late at night he wondered if they could feel it as well. An air of restlessness lingered in the air, muddling with the aura's of those they passed.

"It think we're getting close. What do you know of the slave pits of Lorrd?" He asked her quietly as they walked. They were mostly alone on the streets, but it still wasn't a name that should be spoken too loudly on the planet.

@Phoenix

 

[Zathria]

Zathria stepped out of the house and the stifling presence didn't improve with the fresh evening air. Just as darkness had fallen over the planet, she felt as though her senses were smothered. The Dark Side was here in force, and she didn't know precisely what was at play. She didn't like that.

Her own instincts seemed blunted and she felt almost isolated. She mentally took hold of Mako, glad for another source of Light amidst the Dark.

Far less than I should, she admitted. She normally did her homework better than this, but as it turned out, this mission had snuck up on her, and she'd been caught up in other work on her trip here.

I take it you know more? she asked. She frowned in thought for a moment as she walked on. I... I wouldn't think that even gladiator matches could generate this level of darkness, she said.

@Arcangel

 

[Mako Krim]

"More is a relative term." Mako said as he recalled what he knew. "There is not much recorded about them in the limited archives we currently possess, even less here on Lorrd." There was sparse information, which almost suggested it had been intentionally suppressed.

"What information I have found on them, they don't paint a pretty picture." The Pyke shook his head as he walked, they were nearing the edge of the cities outskirts at this point. Soon they would see it up close.

"There was an ancient civilization that conquered this planet, thousands of years ago. The Argazdan Redoubt." Even with the advanced technology of the universe, data always found a way to become lost or corrupted. Even a thousand years was a long time, long enough for histories to change. "Nobody seems to know why they were built, but we do know that when the Redoubt ruled, the entirety of Lorrd was enslaved. Thousands died to dig the pits, and many thousands more lived and died in them. They were more than just a gladiator colosseum. Each was practically a city of their own" He said solemnly. A city of suffering.

The city limits were upon them then, or rather they were upon the city limits. Mako stopped for a moment, even in the days he had spent on Lorrd he hadn't come to see it up close. A vast landscape of inky black seemed to swallow up the ground, nearly as far as the eye could see. If one tried to walk the circumference of the circle, they might be at it for days. As Mako looked side to side, he could hardly measure the curve in the edge of the radius on which they stood with the naked eye.

@Phoenix

 

[Zathria]

Maybe it was the sentient brain looking for connections where there weren't any, but she couldn't help but note the times that he mentioned.

A thousand years. As in right when we were having our last great war with the Sith, she said. A connection between the Redoubt and the Sith? Or was it just coincidence. She'd been taught as a Justicar not to believe in those, but she frowned and shook her head.

Sometimes I feel like this war makes me see Sith in places where there isn't Sith involvement, she admitted. It was sometimes hard to separate oneself, and so many Jedi had become consumed with being nothing but warriors against the Sith that they'd forgotten that Jedi existed before the Sith.

As they arrived to the edge of the circle, Zathria's breath caught. They were even larger than she had realized, and standing on the edge of one was both sobering and terrifying.

I can feel the darkness much stronger here. Almost smothering, she said, bending down and putting a hand to the black, asphalt-like material.

This wouldn't have all started out of the blue. There must be a way inside of these. Or a portion that's not filled in, she said, starting to wish they had a speeder or a ship with them given the scope of what they were dealing with.

We might need to go back to the ship to get speeders to scope out the edges and look for entrances, she said. Unless you have a better suggestion for finding a way inside.

Whether she knew there was a way in because of logic or her senses, she wasn't sure, but as she'd said... there was no other reason to have the sudden resurgence of... whatever evil this was.

@Arcangel

 

[Mako Krim]

Mako almost winced as Zathria reached down and touched the hardened black surface of the pit, as if she had reached out and touched the heart of darkness that tainted this place itself. She was right though, the darkness here on the edge of the pit was smothering. Oppressive.

"It is easy to see enemies where there may be none." Mako said after a moment, pondering her earlier comment about the Sith "Whether they were involved in this wretched place's creation or not, we cannot discount the possible Sith involvement in the current darkness that resides here." The Sith brought darkness and despair wherever they went. While they weren't the sole cause of all the darkness in the universe, no matter how hard they tried, it didn't hurt to be cautious.

The question of how to get down into the pit was the most pressing. There was little they could do about the darkness radiating from below all the way up on the surface.

"Would it be too cheesy for me to say the force will provide?" Mako asked, half serious and half joking. He shook his head once before turning away from the pit. The city grew along the edge of this section of the pit. The Lorrdian's were fairly industrious, certainly industrial. Mako found it hard to imagine that they hadn't accidentally dug into some of the old catacombs in all the time the pit and the city had existed together.

"I think the best chance of finding an entrance would be along the edge of the city. Catacombs, sewers." He wrinkled his nose at the thought of mucking through a sewer. His eyes wandered to a few buildings in a strip not far from the edge, a few bars and businesses that remained open after hours in the slums on the edge of the city. There were a few closed businesses as well, the sign on one boasting of speeder tours across the pit. "Or maybe we don't have to go back to the ship." Mako said as he motioned Zathria towards the business.

@Phoenix

 

[Zathria]

You're right, she agreed with a nod. Even if the Sith weren't directly responsible, the darkness they brought with them allowed other sects to become more active. It allowed the scum from all across the galaxy to scurry out of their holes and take power while the Jedi were preoccupied with fighting the largest, most obvious threat.

She snickered slightly as he mentioned the Force would provide. I mean... sure, but for the moment that doesn't really help, she said with a laugh.

Zathria's face scrunched up slightly too at the mention of the sewers. At her heart, she was a bit of a germaphobe, and the idea of traipsing through the sewers. Well, it was a big no-thank-you.

Let's try the catacombs, she said after a moment, still looking almost as if she was in physical discomfort at the idea of the sewers.

She followed his eyes to the business and figured what he was thinking with a nod. We'll check it out, she said, heading over to the businesses to look around. The lights were dark, but several people sat around nearby, mulling in the streets or even eating outside at several restaurants. The newcomers garnered looks from them, but no actual confrontation. Zathria could feel that they weren't welcome here either, and a dark stirring was effecting even these people.

It's closed, she grumbled, putting her face to the glass and putting a hand just over it to peer inside and see if there was anyone there. She wasn't about to start stealing speeders, but maybe they could find the owner and offer to pay extra.

@Arcangel

 

[Mako Krim]

Zathria's suggestion of trying the catacombs elicited a slight smile from Mako, the look of discomfort clear on the woman's face. They were of like mind that they would rather not muck through shit just to get to their objective if it could be helped. "The catacombs sound like a good place to start." He nodded in agreement.

Mako followed his fellow Jedi over to the cluster of businesses where he watched the surrounding's while she looked inside the darkened building. They gathered quite a few eyes that watched them from various tables and stoops that were occupied by the people who lived and worked near the pit. Eyes that glowered. The restlessness was strong in the air here, radiating off the people. Mako could make out red rimmed and sleepless eyes of some of the citizens, implying that perhaps sleep did not come easily this close to the locus of darkness.

"We could try the back?" He said questioningly as he walked the front of the building, stopping at a small rack that held a few pamphlets and flyers. He leafed through the flyers with a pair of thick fingers, grabbing a few to look through.

The Dark Flats of Lorrd! One exclaimed, pictures of a seemingly endless flat landscape and speeders flying across tried to make the area seem enticing. The advert fell flat for Mako however and he put it back. Top Lorrd Dragspeeder Race, images of souped up speeders flying across the flats at blistering speeds, possibly a popular event, though he sort of doubted that anything that happened around the pit was popular with the radiating energy that dampened the mood.

He put the flyers he had grabbed back, about to turn away when he noticed something sticking from under the rack. A pamphlet corner that caught his attention in a way that spoke to him. Squatting down and picking it up, a slight smile broke on his face as he glanced. "Look at this." He said, handing it to Zathria.

Cursed Catacomb Tours the pamphlet exclaimed. Aged and dusty, the pamphlet was likely out of print and the lack of any similar adverts in the rack suggested it probably hadn't been very popular. Perhaps what they were looking for. Before he could comment further however a slight shuffling behind the business door could be heard before the door cracked and a man's voice, haunted by age and tiredness spoke out. "What ye want this late at night, speak up 'for I blast ye."

@Phoenix

 

[Zathria]

Zathria was still weighing their options when he handed her a pamphlet and her eyebrows rose. Oh yeah, this is perfect. Good find, she said, turning it over and skimming it for any kind of directions.

That was when the threats came and Zathria squinted in indignation.

Did you really just threaten to shoot a customer for looking at your brochures? she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm and annoyance she couldn't quite hide. She didn't get the impression of imminent danger from the Force so she didn't take an immediately defensive stance.

Be nice, Zathria, she reminded herself, deciding a softer tone was probably better.

We're wanting to rent speeders. You want to rent speeders to us, she said with an innocuous wave of her hand. Normally, she wouldn't have done that just for convenience sake, but there was a woman whose life was still in the balance.

I want to rent speeders to you, he said in a muffled, absent-minded tone as he opened the door more to let them come inside to rent speeders.

@Arcangel