Ask The Search Begins

[Nox Solus]

The campaign to the north had proven a major success. It had been a multi-clan effort and had resulted in the turn of a cluster of planets for them with very few casualties as well. Even though it was two steps forward, as a whole, their people were still taking one step back. Their Manda'lor, Fenyang, had disappeared or had been killed before or during the campaign. Not only had he vanished but a civil war was still progressing with more and more Crusaders becoming more split with each day.

This left the Alors the ones to keep the ship afloat and repair the cracks that formed. The Mandalorian cause was still strong, evident by their latest conquest, but that didn't mean Nox wanted to wait until it started to falter to prepare for it. They needed to keep the initiative as he knew one faltering step could have dire consequences and the wounds that had been opened with the merging of the sith had to be mended. Despite the ruggedness to him, the weight and exhaustion he felt on his bones; he had a plan in place and he would follow through on it.

After seizing Borgo Prime, Nox immediately utilized the information brokers that resided there, putting out feelers across the galaxy and becoming his eyes and ears. A majority of them had one goal in mind and after a few weeks, he had finally gotten word from one of them.

Nox found himself on the planet of Corvus, arriving with a small shuttle and just a few other Mandalorians with him. They would land in a small outskirt town that was on the edge of a massive forest, halfway through being chopped down for the wood. The only ones who accompanied him were the ones he trusted, Vroj and Zuus, both sharing the similar clawmark of the Solus'alor. More importantly to him, Shale accompanied him and felt reassured easily by her presence with some of the tenseness leaving him.

The town was relatively quiet and empty, holding the bare necessities. One of those was a small cantina, distinguishable by neon light. Nox gave an upward nod, "There." Zuus would scan around them as he let a humorless scoff, "Place has as much worth as the mud on my boot."

@Sreeya @Wit

 

[Shale Vizsla]

Shale stepped out with the others, her armor distinctly different from the Solus. She was easy to pick out with the obsidian armor and the dented helmet. She fell into stride with the others, taking in sight of the town. The Vizsla shifted for a moment before looking at Nox, “I feel very overdressed for this, do you?” She quipped, only guessing at the kind of locals that would be meandering about in this town.

She privately agreed with Zuus’ assessment. They began to walk as a group and she looked over at Nox again, “Who’s our contact?”

@Wit @Orbit

 

[Nymeria]

As the Mandalorians approached the town, they would spot a figure standing under the archway that marked the main entrance to the town. Leaning against one of the pillars that held up the arched top, dressed like a scavenger, Nymeria spotted their arrival and held up a hand to catch their attention as they came within earshot.

"Good, you're here. Come, this way." Not wasting time with small talk, she would begin moving, looking back over her shoulder and calling out. "So, which one of you is Solus?"

Handling introductions as they moved, she would begin leading them along the outer periphery of the town, till they reached a smaller path that acted like another entrance to the town. The houses here seemed even more rundown and ramshackled than the ones that were seen from the main entrance.

"Found someone, his grandma used to live in a big fort of a town not far from here. Tells tale of a metal man who came and saved them. That lines up with the stories of the Mandalorian, old friend of yours. Everyone knows that." She stopped in front of a house, and used a hand to wipe away a bead of sweat that threatened to run down her eyebrow and into her eyes. "But what they don't know is that he came back, often. Grandma here," she gestured towards the house, "says she saw him. Probably one of the last to ever see him."

Having already spoken to the old lady herself, she nonetheless knew that they might want to talk to her. Hear the tale from her own mouth, and given that there wasn't much else to get from the woman, Nymeria saw no benefit in keeping them from her. So she gestured for the house, inviting them to go in and talk to her, if they so desired.

"You should hear what she has to say."

@Orbit @Sreeya

 

[Nox Solus]

The group didn't make it far. As they were about to enter, a random woman waved them over specifically. People didn't call Mandalorians over for the fun of it and he could only assume it was their contact. An introduction wasn't even offered before they were told to follow. Nox glanced over at Shale but remained silent before he eventually fell in step behind Nymeria. "Her?" Nox replied to Shale, pretty much asking a question but following nonetheless.

Thankfully, his suspicions lessened slightly when she asked if one of them was the Solus. Instead of using words, he let out a simple "Hmmph," as his answer for her. What caught his interest however was the tales of the Mandalorian, Nox finally and fully locking his visor on Nymeria and actually using his words, "This isn't some stretched local legend is it?" Even he had heard of the Mandalorian and his exploits, how he had one of the greatest among them. If the town really had been saved by him, the Solus could easily see them building upon his story and adding new facts.

But, instead of giving him an answer, they would arrive at an ordinary-looking house. The sight didn't exactly uplift his spirits but Nymeria gestured for them to go inside. Nox would give her a glance before focusing on the door as he accepted what this could be and walked up the stairs. Each step creaked loudly underneath his weight, as did the porch, the condition of the entire house not that great to begin with.

Instead of knocking, Nox simply reached for the handle and opened the door. The inside was dimly lit and he waited at the entrance for a moment before finally stepping through. They would all enter a small living room, decently furnished but the Solus' gaze would be focused on one thing. Grandma, as Nymeria named her, sat in the corner in a rocking chair, her gaze silently flicking between the Mandalorians.

Nox would stop a respectable distance away as silence built for a moment, able to see the age that clawed at the woman's face. "You know what we are?" He would eventually ask.

@Sreeya @Wit

 

[Shale Vizsla]

Shale’s helmet tilted towards Nox in a half slanted way that would make it clear she thought he was a dumbass as he all but revealed he wasn’t sure who the contact was. She shook her head, but remained silent from making a quip, gazing ahead instead. She eyed the woman dressed as a scavenger. For now, Shale said nothing, though the references to the legendary Mandalorian piqued her interest. Now that was a tale she hadn’t heard resurfaced in a while.

Nox mentioned what was on her mind - this sounded a bit far fetched. People loved associating their histories with legends and lore. The amount of people that claimed to have family that knew Vader or Palpatine was astounding, and the Drasts were especially notorious for this even if they had been removed from any line of royalty for generations.

Shale followed Nox inside, nervously looking over as the floorboards creaked under his weight. She was in no mood to have this glorified hut collapse. The granny in question looked absolutely ancient. When Nox spoke, Shale blinked a few times. She nudged him with her elbow, “You may have to speak up, I don’t think she heard you,” In fact, she wasn’t even sure if the woman could see. Her gaze was ever slightly off.


@Orbit @Wit

 

[Nymeria]

Nymeria followed the Mandalorians into the residence, and observed quietly as Nox questioned the woman, though whatever Shale said to him soon after was lost on her. Silently she made a note to try and learn mando'a, or at least bring a translator droid along if she ever had to work with them again. She didn't like not knowing what was going on.

The old woman, who actually didn't hear what Nox had said, but did notice all the new arrivals, stared at them for a moment before a frown appeared on her face. "Speak up will ya." The voice that came out of her frail figure was surprisingly sharp, and tinged by irritation. She leaned forward to get a better look at them. "So that idiot girl actually meant it when she said she'd being more of you fools." Nymeria tilted her head slightly in annoyance at the manner in which the old woman had described her, but didn't say anything.

"I suppose you want the story? Well it's gonna cost you. If you came all this way it must be worth something to you. I ain't speaking a word without something to show for it." Nymeria shook her head, and gave the mandalorians a sideways glance, an apologetic look on her face. She stepped up and dug a cred-chip from a pocket and knelt in front of the woman, handing it to her. "Here, now start talking before they lose their cool and stop being polite."

The old woman ignored everything she said, and instead swiped the cred-chip and brought it right up to her eyes to peer at it. Only when she was satisfied and had put it away somewhere in the folds of the robes she wore did she return her attention to the Mandalorians.

"My ma used to tell us stories about the metal-man who came to save her town. First from the old magistrate, and then many times later. Ma used to give him food and stuff, claimed he fancied her. But it was a lie, no one fancied her, not even my own father." Nymeria coughed, and the woman turned her gaze towards Nymeria, who was still besides her, and frowned. "Yeah, yeah. She said he died here, they buried him outside the old town. Out over the mountains. There, happy?"

Nymeria shook her head and got to her feet, turning towards the Mandalorians, and gestured for them to follow her out.

"There are official records that corroborate much of what she said, and I asked around and there is some truth to everything else she said. Your blade will be there, in the town." She pulled out a holodisk and pulled up an image of the town, showing a few fortifications and weapon mounts. "The only problem is that a wannabe magistrate has taken over the town, and I think he might have found what you're looking for. So, we need to sneak in, or fight our way in."

@Orbit @Sreeya

 

[Nox Solus]

Nox glanced at Shale and then toward the old woman after being nudged. When he opened his mouth the second time, that's when grandma cut in and told him to speak louder too. Annoyance flared within him for a brief moment as he exhaled slowly before deciding to remain silent and let her talk instead.

When it was suggested she would need payment to loosen her tongue, Nox instead just slowly turned his gaze back and to Nymeria. While the look she gave him was apologetic, his mask hid the cold look that he was giving back to her. If this was a waste of time, the old woman wouldn't be the one who saw them get angry. Thankfully, a cred chip was offered by the scavenger, and that was enough for the story to be told, though it didn't reveal much.

Nymeria gestured for them to follow her out afterward. Nox's patience was running thin at that point but he gave the grandma a short nod anyway, "Thanks for your time." As the two would exit from the house, he would speak in Mand'oa openly and to Shale behind him, "If the darksaber isn't here..." From the low timbre in his voice, it was easy to piece together how he was going to react if this amounted to nothing.

But once they left the house, Nymeria finally revealed that the blade was indeed on the planet and most likely in this occupied town. Even though she kept speaking, Nox was wrapping his mind around the blade. It was here, a piece of their people and under the rule of some typical Warlord. The weapon had a rightful place and it was back in the hands of Manda'lor and their people, it deserved nothing lesser than that. It had been missing for years and if it really was held by this magistrate, he swore to himself he wouldn't let it slip from his fingers and disappear again.

Nox stopped when she did and inspected the image of the town, mainly the fortifications and weapons that obviously stood out. They had no idea what they would be facing but it person in charge at least had a town behind them. "I would prefer to burn it all to the ground for wielding that saber." But instead of letting his emotions get the better of him, they needed to know what they faced. He turned toward Shale and gestured toward Zuus with a cock of his head, "Want to take Zuus and scout out the place from the air? We'll press on from the ground."

@Sreeya @Wit