Ask [Ord Mantell] Finders Keepers: The Codex

Asena Zeev

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Jedi Order
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Jedi Padawan

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HoneyMagpie
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Former Residential Estate of Kujo Xad, Ord Mantell

Ossus was once an important Jedi site, and to some, it still is. For over millennia, it served as a repository of knowledge, a centre for learning for the Order (both Old and New alike). But the planet had been lost and in their absence, vultures had picked the Jedi clean, scattering their archives to every corner of the galaxy. Records and Holocrons survived long enough to fall into the hands of scholars, whilst others ended up being claimed by less than unsavoury characters, such as crooks and criminals.

Take this Falleen, for example, who fashioned himself as a Baron. Really, he was little more than a Crime Lord with an eccentric streak, collecting only the finest things in life. Knowledge, trinkets and tomes - his estate was filled with his ill-gotten gains. According to rumours, this included some items of interest, artefacts with Force affiliation. Baron Xad had boasted about them on numerous occasions as if they were a trophy. And who could stop him, powerful crime lord that he was here on Ord Mantell?

But all good things must come to an end. Whether through intrigue, or some other force at hand, the Falleen fell from power, leaving behind nothing but a decaying chateau. The years had certainly not been kind. Staring now at the Falleen's dishevelled portrait, Asena couldn't help but snort at the irony of it all. The Baron had profited from the downfall of the Jedi, and now, she was returning the favour, scavenging through the wreckage that was his once fine estate. She wasn't the first either by the looks of it and knowing the planet's illicit nature, she wouldn't be the last either.

The Padawan in disguise decided then to quicken her steps. The planet's frequent storms were quickly drowning the palisade in torrents of water, increasing the risk of further damage to its once extensive library. Luckily, the Nautolan knew exactly what she was looking for. A codex, something akin to a treasure map. Arrogant as he was, the crime baron was shrewd as ever; his most treasured possessions were kept elsewhere, for safekeeping. This codex was key to determining its location, as well as the actual contents of the horde. If there was even one Holocron, she'd be happy, making her Master proud in his absence. Who knows, maybe in doing this, Asena would be one step closer to finding him again.

Kark, this guy had a lot of books! The shelves went from one end of the hall to another, with various passageways leading here and there. If only the Holocron was here, then Asena at least had a chance in sensing it, but this codex was an ordinary item. She'd have to find it the good ol' fashioned way. Row by row, title by title. She'd given the Falleen his due, hiding the codex 'in plain sight'. After an hour of this, anyone would admit defeat but not Asena. She was determined and if her hunch was correct, she was getting warmer - maybe down this section, perhaps?



Dice roll: 13/20
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Andrej Borovkov

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Sith Order
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Acolyte

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lizziie
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Andrej was here because someone had told him to go, basically. Searching for some Codex seemed like mundane grunt work to him, but what was he going to say? No? "Yeah, that'd go over well." He took one look at the shelves upon shelves of books and turned up his lip, not happy at the idea of having to shuffle through all of them. Surely it wasn't just here out in the open, soaking up the rain and getting ruined?

"Ah, kriff." He should probably start looking.

The Zabrak boy made his way up to the first set of shelves and stared blankly at it. He didn't notice Asena in the room, for the time being, so he made no effort to conceal his own presence. He did have his lightsaber on him, but it was hidden beneath the rain jacket keeping him warm and dry.

"Hm." It was probably someplace within easy reach, right? "I'd want my key to treasure to be easy for me to get to as I knew where it was..." Figuring it was probably disguised among the books, Andrej became to thumb through various titles. It was no use checking each individual one, so he tried to pay attention to any that seemed particularly used, hardy, or both.

roll to find Codex: 45/100
tag: @HoneyMagpie
 

Asena Zeev

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Jedi Order
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Jedi Padawan

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HoneyMagpie
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From the shadows, Asena stalked the stranger, the hunter in her demanding a closer look as well as her own girlish curiosity. He was young, probably no older than her and from the looks of it, he belonged to the Zabrak people. Her family had visited Iridonia once for a hunt and, whilst proud, the natives came across as hardy and strong. This youth, however, seemed rather lanky. What brought the zabrak all the way out here? Was he a local trying to salvage some fortune? It wouldn't surprise her, given the grandeur of the ruins. Anyone could sell anything if they found the right buyer.

Asena watched on as the stranger continued his search. In doing so, she couldn't help but notice his rather obvious body art. Whilst facial markings were common amongst the Iridonians, his designs were different, more distinctive. She couldn't help but admire them, given their unusual style.

"Nice tatts..."

Ah kriff, did she say that out loud? So much for being an 'unseen shadow'. If Master Yamato were here, he'd scold her for such a blunder. Then again, she could always resort to more overt tactics. Sometimes the best way to hide was to pretend and be someone else. It worked well enough for her in the past.

Shyly stepping forward, Asena adopted a rather cheery facade and offered the zabrak a nervous wave. "Hey, I'm not looking for any trouble, okay? I'm scavenging, just like you." It wasn't exactly a lie.

Admittedly, Asena didn't like a typical Jedi either, given her piercings and randomly painted head tendrils. She'd abandoned her padawan robes for some time now, instead opting for something more casual much like her master. Her baggy poncho hid her saber well and for the most part, she looked like any other civilian. She hoped this would put the zabrak at ease. The last thing she needed was to cause a ruckus with the locals.

In and out, that was the plan. With that in mind, she glanced about the shelves and offered a rather awkward attempt at conversation. "You read much? "

It was then that something caught her attention. On the shelf in front of her, there was a rather plain-looking text. It was so subtle, someone could easily overlook it given the greater designs of other tomes right next to it. Asena, however, recognised a familiar symbol embossed on the spine. It was an insignia, the same crest featured in the Baron's earlier painting. Flicking through the pages just to confirm, the padawan's face immediately lit up.

Could this be...? The codex!




How sus is Andrej to Asena? 3/20
Search for the codex? 18/20

@lizziie
 

Andrej Borovkov

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lizziie
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"Hm, all these books look the same." It was an objectively false statement, but as Andrej's eyes washed over the countless number of novels, tomes, and histories, he couldn't help but feel as if none of them stood out. There were no outstanding colors, no books of extreme height or width, and not even any in some outlandish language he'd never heard of before. Andrej groaned, clearly not happy with his current situation. "Man, this is going to take forever!"

Just then, he heard a voice. Was he not alone? The Zabrak turned around to search for the source of the voice, but he didn't have to look long or hard. The girl stepped out and revealed herself with a smile and a cute little wave. She said something about not wanting - or looking for? - any trouble, but her words registered in the kid's head with about a three-second delay. "Did she say she likes my tattoos?"

His eyes, warm and dark in color, gave her a quick once over as he took in the sight of her and formed his initial impression. Though he'd met Nautolan before, her brightly colored blue skin and multicolored head tendrils still caught his eye. She had golden markings on her face and several piercings including one through the inside of her nose. Once Andrej realized he was basically staring at her, he quickly glanced away and nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

The girl had claimed to be a scavenger just like him and said she didn't want any trouble, so Andrej believed her. He didn't really have any reason not to, and plus she was kind of cute. "Really cute."

"Uh, yeah! No problem. Scavenge away!" Andrej was all-too-aware of how awkward that sounded, but he had no clue what to say to her. So the dude just stood there like a deer in the headlights until she asked him if he read.

"Uh, no. Not really. I'm more, uh, hand's on kinda guy. I guess." He had to read for school sometimes, especially for the history classes, but he pretty much never read in his free time unless it was something information about spaceships, space travel, or space. Since Andrej wasn't very good at reading, he tried to avoid it for anything else. "Do you?"

He'd returned the question, but the Nautolan stranger had her nose in a book and he wasn't sure if he'd heard her or not. His eyes traveled down the spine of the book, where he noticed a familiar symbol embossed on the surface. "Wait, is that...?"

"Hey uh, could I look at that for a second?" he asked a bit hesitantly. He didn't move to try to take it from her hands, figuring that would probably scare her off or something. Then, realizing he hadn't introduced himself, he added, "Oh! Name's Andrej, by the way. Can- Mind if I ask yours?"

roll to assess Asena: 7/20
roll to recognize the Codex: 17/20
tag: @HoneyMagpie
 

Asena Zeev

Character
Jedi Order
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Jedi Padawan

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HoneyMagpie
Joined
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He had been staring. Why was he staring? Was there something on her face? Quite possible, given all the dirt and grime here and there. Feeling a little awkward, the Nautolan fiddled with one of her tendrils, offering a toothy grin when the Zabrak finally caught himself mid gawk. He really had some interesting colourings; the blackness of his markings contrasted that of his skin. It reminded Asena of the twilight time, when the setting of the sun merged with the coming night. At least the stranger was friendly. It made for a nice change. So was finding the codex! Didn't even take her that long either. Another success for the Jedi Order!

But the mood slowly soured when Andrej asked to see the book. Try as she might, Asena couldn't quite hide her hesitation. She didn't want to be rude, seeing as he had been so amenable but could she really just hand it over, even 'for a second'? The answer became abundantly clear when Asena realised something about Andrej; he wasn't a common Zabrak from Iridonia. Those markings...they meant he was a nightbrother. A supposed enemy!

Just her luck...she meets a cool guy and he's a dark sider. Typical.

Feeling genuinely disheartened, the Nautolan thought best to make herself scarce, preferably before her companion developed any suspicions. “Sorry, Sunny. I really am, but you know the rules; finders keepers. No hard feelings, yeah?"

She said all this whilst reaching underneath her poncho; by sleeping the codex into her utility pouch, Asena had inadvertently flashed her lightsaber in the process. Taking a step back, and then another, she was so focused on looking for an exit that she almost missed Andrej's introduction.

Her reply was rather absent, her mind someplace else. "Oh, I'm...I'm Asena."

Was it dumb to give her real name? Couldn't hurt, could it? Not like they'd see each other again after this. At least, she hoped they wouldn't. She kinda liked him... The last thing she wanted now was a fight, which was rather odd now that she thought about it. Ugh, maybe the Jedi softening her up...

With a small smile and an even lesser wave, Asena bid the sweetling adieu and made a run for it. Just like that, she was gone from view, her feet carrying far more quickly than most would deem normal. She was creating distance, and with some sad luck, they'd stay apart.


Asena's spidey senses = 19/20
Asena's speed = 14/20
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