Ask On the First Day

[Nico Vandron]

DEEP CAVERNS, ASKAJ, OUTER RIM
0835hrs local time​

Nico waited by the entrance to the cavern with no small amount of frustration. It had taken the Acolyte many days to locate and excavate what had once been a natural opening to the caves beneath the desert. He had been tired and sweating, his usually perfect complexion covered in dust and scrapes, but he had still wanted to press on inside.

But he knew he could not go in alone. There were too many uncertainties involved in delving into long sealed places alone. He could ill afford an ignoble death like being crushed in a cave collapse, and there may also be darker threats lurking beneath the Askajian sands. As much as it pained Nico to admit it, his powers, while growing, were still limited.

He needed help, at least for now. Hence why he was pacing outside the cavern, runic robes swirling in the desert breeze and dark eyes scanning the horizon. At least he had chance to sleep and refresh himself, but any more delay was wasted time. Where was she?

The Sith Nico had reached out to was hopefully capable enough to help, but not too high profile as to attract too much attention. He was keen to keep his efforts here as private as possible, until they had come to frutition.

@lizziie

 

[Ambrosia]

Nico wouldn't have to wait much longer for the Arkanian offshoot to arrive. He would see a pale figure approach from a distance, almost like a mirage in the uneven heat of the desert.

She also came in robes, though she was modestly dressed and wearing almost nothing but whites. The fabric was barely brighter than her skin, and the only color on her was the pale violet of her eyes and the rosy pink of her lips. Her torso was covered with a poncho decorated with intricate stitching, shielding her arms from the heat. Her boots were the darkest part of her outfit, and two weapons hung loosely from her belt - a hammer and a baton. Upon reaching the cave's entrance she would acknowledge Nico with a slight nod of her head and a small smile. Ambrosia was incredibly unassuming with her doll-like features and petite stature.

"Nico Vandron, correct?" she asked, her voice soft but not timid. The woman glanced behind him into the cave, silently impressed by the scenery. It was like its own little desert oasis. It was hard to believe there might be something unnatural hidden underneath its crystal waters. She hadn't been given too much information, so she was curious as to why she'd been asked to come here. "What is this place?"

If it failed to spark her curiosity, she would leave. Her eyes found his and she stared, waiting for his answer with an intense look behind her pale violets.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

Eventually she appeared, a wisp of pale skin and white fabric amidst the orange desert sands. Nico watched her draw close, noting the unassuming way she walked and her apparently gentle demeanour. Everything about her appeared soft and almost welcoming, her doll like face and pink lips a stark contrast to his own dark skin and sharp features.

He was not convinced. Nico was suspicious and distrusting by nature and he would not lower his guard however friendly a fellow Sith looked. He stood by the cave entrance, regarding her intently, like a wolf sizing up another wandering into its lair.

”I’m Nico” he confirmed, looking her up and down. “Ambrosia?“ It was a curious name, but try as he might he had not been able to discover any others for her. His resources were limited and she was already ahead of him in the Order. He would have to glean what he could from today.

”It is an entrance to the deep caverns of Askaj“ he explained “this world is dry and arid, but there is water here nonetheless, buried deep beneath the earth. I need to go below and find the perfect place to bring water to the surface”. Nico did not say why, he guarded his plans fiercely and had no intention of divulging more than he had to.

“I intend to make progress here” he said, begrudgingly aware she would not help out of the kindness of her heart. “Water is part of that. If you help me secure it, I am sure I can make it worth your while“.

He did not yet know what kind of reward would attract her interest. That was of course, assuming she was some help. Right now he was unconvinced she was up to much more than looking delicate.

@lizziie

 

[Ambrosia]

"Mm," she confirmed as he asked her name. There was something to be said about those who chose a name for themselves. Parents often named their children names filled with meaning in hopes that they would grow to fill those shoes. Those who named themselves chose that path for themselves.

She listened to his answer, clearly listening despite the passiveness of her face. Her eyes left him for the water, regarding it curiously. Had he really asked her all the way this way just to help him find the 'perfect place'? It seemed unlikely, but it was enough to make her wonder what his true intentions were. She would see this through.

"Alright," she finally answered, the tone of her voice indicating that she would help him. She stretched her arms out - first forest and then above her head - with her fingers interlocked. A succession of loud, almost painful-sounding pops sounded out as her knuckles cracked, and she relaxed her shoulders. "Lead the way."

The cave was, at the very least, a very welcome change of temperature for the Arkania-born woman. She was never much a fan of the heat, tolerating only the burn of the sun on her skin, but despising the heaviness and exhaustion it inspired. Beneath the ground, the air was much cooler, and she had a sneaking suspicion that the water would be refreshingly cool.

"Why Askaj?" she would ask, her voice echoing softly in the spacious cavern. She knew little about the planet, and there didn't seem to be a whole lot here.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

She agreed to help. Nico tried to contain his glee. Many Sith could have been difficult to persuade, but Ambrosia acquiesced with virtually no resistance. He could work with such openness, it made everything easier.

They made their way through the opening, following a sloping path downward, deeper and deeper. They walked along a wide rocky ledge, clear crystalline waters down below them to the right. With any luck, the path would eventually lead them to the source of these waters, the centre of the underground reservoir. Then Nico would have found what he needed,

In the meantime, they were alone, at least for now, their footsteps resounding off the rock walls all around. Nico was not fool enough to think they would be truly alone. Hidden places tended to attract masters of their own.

”Askaj is a primitive world“ Nico acknowledged “but that is only because its people have lacked proper leadership. Proper motivation”. Whether she suspected or not, the Sennexian intended to install himself as that leader, that source of motivation. He would give the Askajians more than they had ever had. In return, he would enslave their bodies and minds.

”Why do you help me?” Nico asked, genuinely curious as he crouched through a pretty low tunnel.

@lizziie

 

[Ambrosia]

"So you seek to give them the guidance they need to thrive?" she asked, tilting her chin to regard the man beneath her snowy lashes. She watched for a moment, then looked away, her rosy lips curling into a small smile. "I'm sure they will be eternally grateful to you," she added, her voice trailing off slightly as her attention was diverted by the sound of a small splash elsewhere in the cave. Her eyes shot to the source, but she saw nothing in the crystal waters. 'A rock, perhaps.'

"Curiosity," was her simple half-truth of an answer. She followed behind him, careful as she tried her best to avoid brushing too much against the stone walls. It was a vain effort, but she tried regardless. "Why do you help them?"

Plop! There was another splash, but this time it came from further ahead. 'Again?' Ambrosia placed her hand on the hammer by her belt, drawing the Dark energy that emanated from it into her hand. Nico was before her, but she was prepared in case they were going to be surprised by something unpleasant.

Something slammed against something, causing the stone that they crouched inside to shake and crack,

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

"Precisely" he replied, stepping carefully across a small gap in the rock. The trench of water to their right seemed to run parallel to the rock path they were following, winding and deeper and deeper down. "If they have any sense, they will be grateful for eternity". He was not sure what to make of the look he caught on her face, not having known her long enough to interpret it.

He highly doubted she was helping him out of curiosity. Such a innocuous motive would make her an unusual Sith indeed in his experience and a rather reckless individual. Nico had offered her nothing more than an old cave and some vague promises. He could certainly not imagine risking himself for such poor rewards.

He was helping the Askajians for no other reason than himself, of course. Would she understand that.

Nico was still pondering how to explain it to her when he became aware of the disturbed water and shaking stone around them. Something definitely moved down here, something far more than air currents and thermal pools.

"Are those weapons?" he asked mockingly, one eye on the hammer and baton at her belt. "Or are you doing arts and crafts?".

The rock immediately ahead of him exploded as if in answer, as a giant cliffborer worm wriggled into being, its blind maw gnashing.

@lizziie

 

[Ambrosia]

Ambrosia didn't answer Nico. She hadn't been sure if she was going to. After all, the woman had spent plenty of years hearing much worse and having to just ignore it. She considered a retort, but it felt unnatural.

Either way, it didn't matter because they were both interrupted by some sort of armored worm smashing through the rock ahead of them. Her fingers immediately curled around her hammer, drawing Dark side energies from the alchemically enhanced weapon as the creature turned and presumably spotted the two of them. She didn't see any eyes, but it was definitely facing them.

The cliffborer worm shot forward, reaching out toward Nico and Ambrosia with its armored appendages, aiming to bludgeon or slice them as it shrieked and writhed forward. Ambrosia quickly leapt backward, no longer concerned about dirtying her robes as she tried to put as much distance in between her and that creature.

'I don't want to fight in such a cramped space!' she thought to herself. It was blocking their path forward, so backward was the only way she could go.

Letting go of the hammer's handle, Ambrosia held both hands out in front of her and summoned the Force, taking the creature's arms and forcing them to splay out to the side. They collided with the walls, stopping it (or at least slowing it) and exposing the leathery, unguarded flesh on the inner sides of its appendages.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

Nico leapt back at the sight of the worm, half in shock and half in disgust. The creature was vile, all pallid body and blind maw, snapping the air while its appendages writhed around it.

The thing lunged at them instinctively. Nico's saber hilt was in his hand in seconds, but all the same he was relieved when the worm seem to half pin itself to the walls, stopping its advance. Only then did the Sennexian realise that Ambrosia had intervened, holding it back with the Force over his shoulder.

Nico ignited his saber, the simple red blade illuminating the cavern. He normally reached for his Force powers before his blade, but there was no time here and even a poor swordsmen could not miss in these confines. He lashed out viciously, slashing at the fleshy joints where the appendages joined the worm's body. It roared in distress, shouldering the rock all around and widening the tunnel with its sheer strength.

The Sennexian staggered back, dodging the falling rock, his saber still held aloft as the injured worm began to coil and rise up.

@lizziie

 

[Ambrosia]

She was thankful that Nico had taken advantage of the opening she'd provided him. It, at the very least, meant he had a brain in that pretty head of his, which was about all Ambrosia could ask for. Her experiences so far with other Sith had not been terrible, but so many of them lacked the ability to work with others. It was a shame, really. That's all Ambrosia liked to do.

Nico staggered backward, and Ambrosia pushed forward. Slipping to the side of him so as to not roast him too, the Arkanian offshoot took a moment to gather the strength needed, then let forth a brief stream of fire from her palms right toward the creature's front underside. The fire would do little but burn the creature's hardened flesh, but that was not where she stopped. She pushed one foot forward and then abruptly pulled herself toward it, kicking her other knee up toward the ceiling. A pillar of rock shot up from below the creature, shoving right into the worm's already burned flesh.

The attacks had two effects: one, they hurt like hell, and two, the creature had its breath knocked from its chest and was making terrible gasping sounds as it attempted to regain air. It was unable to do much of anything but thrash around, leaving yet another opening for the other Sith to take advantage of.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

Nico had always been a lone wolf. Every fibre of his being trusted only himself and all his experience with the Sith had done nothing but reinforce his instinctive approach. He was therefore slightly thrown when Ambrosia left him to strike, but then followed up his attack with her own, unleashing fire and rock on the vile worm.

Used to the dark, danger-free confines of the Askaj caverns, the worm was totally unprepared for the torrent of fire Ambrosia unleashed, or the way she moved the earth itself against it. It was totally pinned and disabled, easy pickings for Nico as he lashed out again for his saber, thrilled to put an end to such a primitive threat to his new realm. The worm screeched and cried out, eventually collapsing to the ground.

Nico watched the thing writhe and eventually die, taking several moments to process all that had happened. "Not quite arts and crafts" he said, more emotion in his voice than was usual as he extinguished his saber. "But we must press on".

@lizziie

 

[Ambrosia]

Ambrosia had always been around people. For most of her life, that was to serve them. One might understand if she would have turned into a misanthrope hermit who only bothered to emerge when absolutely necessary, but that was not the case. She'd been pulled into the Sith where she found that she was too physically weak to do many of the things her peers could do with ease. It was not the only reason for her tendency toward cooperation, but it was one of them.

"No, not quite," was all she said in response to him. She dusted off her robes and followed shortly after him, using the Force to push it out of their way so that they could move past it.

The place in which the worm had emerged was smaller than the previous cavern they'd come from but still open enough to ease the sense of claustrophobia the tunnel had given her. The water continued through to here, likely through a passage that went under the rock and was just as clear as ever. Light was more scarce, but her eyes quickly adapted to the dim light thanks to her Arkanian ancestry.

"Would you consider yourself a natural leader, Nico?" she asked as they pressed on.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

They shouldered past the carcass of the worm, Ambrosia moving its huge bulk aside with the Force. Nico would have had to concentrate for a long moment to begin shifting such a weight and he watched Ambrosia jealously out the corner of his eye. He longed to be strong enough to do such things so easily.

The tunnel beyond was narrow and the rock ceiling above low and jagged. Still, there was just room to walk upright if they were careful and they occasionally had to squeeze between outcroppings or climb over fallen stone. The passage had clearly been created by the water flow over time, though Nico suspected much had changed over thousands of years.

Her question about leadership was unexpected, but Nico’s surmised it could only be a compliment. “Of course” he replied, not looking back at her as he continued to climb through. “House Vandron have been rulers of Karfeddion for centuries, so it’s in my blood”. He had been running plantations spanning half a continent when she was probably still playing with her hammer in the sand pit.

“Are you looking for someone to follow, is that it?”. She’d certainly proved useful up to now. Maybe he could keep her around.

A short while later, the channel of water widened to span the width of the tunnel, eventually meeting a rock wall that barred their way. Standing at the edge, Nico tried to reach ahead with his feelings, sensing that the water perhaps went down and under the rock face, perhaps to a chamber beyond.

“Why don’t you dive down and see if there’s a way through?”. It might only be a short swim underwater, but equally there may be no way back up and it could get dangerous. Nico would sooner risk Ambrosia’s life than his own. He could not bear an ignoble death like drowning in a cave.

@lizziie