Faction Arcane Restraint

[Braze]

​

Eloise Dinn | Sevrin | @open to other jedi

The Restored Temple of Dantooine

The restored temple of Dantooine had known quiet for so long that even its silence had settled comfortably into the stone… until its newest and least fitting occupant disturbed it.

Sevrin remained bound and kept beneath watch, a stain set within the sacred interior, offensive enough by presence alone. His cell was no true prison, only a side chamber repurposed by necessity. A narrow cot, a folded blanket, a basin of water, and a simple food tray accounted for its few comforts.

Braze's arrangements were humane, but temporary. They held Sevrin's body well enough, yet did far less to check the influence of the man inside. The Sith had proven patient, manipulative, and educated; the sort to sit still, study the shape of his cage, and slowly try pressing at its weaker points.

He had said very little worth trusting, yet something about his presence had already begun to unsettle the temple. Braze could not tell whether the old sanctuary merely resisted the insult of harboring him, or whether Sevrin had begun to press beyond the limits of the room meant to contain him.

Either way, the chamber would not suffice for long.

So he had sent word for Eloise Dinn , hoping she might help him devise something stronger than a side chamber claimed in haste and warding laid by necessity. Braze knew the limits of his own understanding, and knew as well that Eloise's past had brushed closer to darker rites than his own. Perhaps she might see more clearly what could be used to counter the restless Sith. Braze didn't call Eloise just to come look upon the problem he presented. If Sevrin was to remain there, the temple would need stronger wards … and that likely meant gathering what they lacked.

 

[Eloise Dinn]

“Braze, what the hell?”

Eloise had walked into the newly restored Dantooine Temple not really knowing what to expect—but a rabid Sith prisoner pacing in a barely adequate cell wasn’t it.

“You said you wanted to ask me about Sith sorcery,” she muttered, spreading her arms and then letting them drop to her sides with a sigh. Whatever. “What’s the deal with this dude?” she asked, pointing to Sevrin.

Braze​

 

[Sevrin]

Tags: Eloise Dinn ​

Sevrin was perched upon the floor beneath several layers of stun restraints, kept on a short chained leash affixed into the stone wall overhead. He sat slouched with his back against the wall in a loose, slouched posture, wearing the bindings as though they were little more than an inconvenience to him. Long dark hair had fallen free around his visage, leaving him with the appearance of someone languid and spent… but his pale blue eyes remained far too sharp for that sort of conclusion. They lifted to the newcomer and settled upon her with open, invasive interest, studying her, lingering upon the noticeable spill of long violet hair. A faint smile etched itself across his expression, slight and knowing, as if her arrival had given him something new to amuse himself with. He remained silent, content to watch the new comer for now.

 

[Braze]

Tags: Eloise Dinn ​

Braze rose from his place within a small stone alcove on the opposite side of the large room as Eloise Dinn arrived.

"I do… particularly what sort of sorcery might be used to restrain a malicious Force user," Braze said lightly, jade-green eyes casting a wary glance toward the temple’s 'guest' before returning to her.

"He is not trained or refined in the ways of the Force, yet that has not stopped him from pressing at things better left untouched. I would prefer to make a chamber more properly suited to keeping an unwilling Force user, and I would rather borrow clearer eyes now than discover too late what I failed to guard against."He glanced briefly back toward the man.

"He arrived with murderous intent and set the hills ablaze… I can only presume he was searching for old artifacts left here by Jedi of the past. He has been less than helpful in explaining his presence..."

Braze was also deeply displeased with the man for the harm he had brought to the two younglings in his charge, and perhaps that was part of why he had sought outside assistance in dealing with the prisoner, realizing he might take the matter a touch too personally if he did not.

 

[0-7]

Dantooine
Tags: Eloise Dinn , Braze

NK-Witell-class Freighter, 0A-155, Songbird (lightsaber), Vibrosword
​

Seven had come to Dantooine on a whim. It was a place of ancient power, so some dangerous things may lie here. It was only after landing did she recall that Braze had come to this place to renovate that old temple. It was worth dropping in to see what the deal was. She needed to pretend to be social at least. Apparently others seemed to be arriving as well. She watched some purple-haired girl enter the Temple. A good enough direction to start. As the Evereni made her way into the halls, she very quickly deduced where Braze was.

“Braze, what the hell?”

That sounded about right. He seemed to be pretty good at getting that sort of interaction out of people. The young woman pulled her hood up and put her hands into the pockets of her poncho before she made her way down the hall. It gave her enough time to listen to the words of the Echani.

"He arrived with murderous intent and set the hills ablaze… I can only presume he was searching for old artifacts left here by Jedi of the past. He has been less than helpful in explaining his presence..."

Old artifacts. Was there something specific out there? Perhaps it was dangerous. A foolish Sith was vein enough to think that a Jedi artifact would be of use to them. A real Sith would know that the tools of the light were useless to them. If this one had some chops, maybe something far darker had drawn him in. Regardless, the former Assassin made her way up to the doorway, gingerly knocking on the wall to announce her presence.

"Afternoon," Seven muttered, only to offer the bare-bones courtesy of a greeting.

Not even offering her name to the purple-haired stranger at that.

She wasted very little time crouching down and locking eyes with the Sith. He smirked comfortably, but his eyes all but told her he wasn't deep into corruption. Braze's assessment of his lack of talent was apt.

"Any evidence of a handler?" she asked.

Nobody got this far without being guided by someone. People didn't seek out remote Force User holy sites. Especially on a backwater planet like Dantooine.

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise listened to Braze's explanation, keeping her gaze fixed on Sevrin. A dangerous Sith like him ought to be kept under stronger guard, with more security measures in place than a bunch of stun cuffs and a short leash, but she understood that Braze had done what he could on short notice. Had she known that the man in the cell was responsible for harming two children, she'd advise that they annihilate him now, ask questions later. But luckily for Sevrin, Braze neglected to mention that little detail.

"A force cage would be a lot easier to maintain," she remarked. But Braze seemed intent on using the Force rather than technology.

If there was an underlying insult in the fact that he had called her there so that he could benefit from her insider knowledge of the Sith, Eloise didn't care enough to be offended. Her Sith-born past had been known among her Jedi peers for a couple of years now, and opportunities for her to make a positive use of that dark history were few and far between. In a way, she was grateful that he had thought to ask for her help at all. Not to mention intrigued, considering that they didn't have the most friendly relationship...

While she crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips in deep thought, someone else entered the room. An alien woman with grayish-blue skin and decidedly elven features, she ignored the presence of the two Jedi and instead went immediately to the cell, crouching down to be eye-to-eye with the prisoner. All business. Eloise liked her already.

"I wouldn't underestimate him," Eloise said with a grim smirk. "For all we know, he could've let himself be captured. Would certainly help with getting past the defenses of this newly renovated Jedi Temple." She rested a fist on her hip. "Anyway, Braze - what you're trying to do sounds like Force sorcery to me. You cast a spell so that the effects will last longer than the time you spend focusing on it. In this case, it would probably be considered a warding spell. Am I right?"

Braze 0-7​

 

[Braze]

Tags: Eloise Dinn 0-7 ​

"He has said very little outside of taunts and snide remarks, so I could not say."

Braze let that thought pass toward Sevrin before turning his attention back to Eloise with a small nod.

"Yes… that is right. A warding spell, or perhaps several layered together. A conventional holding cell is sound enough on its own, but I have seen enough from the inside to know that a determined Force user can still find a way out. Something more layered would be better. I have not yet had the time to install more substantial protections throughout this old relic of a temple.

Ordinarily, I would keep him in the brig on the Duck, but I do not want him anywhere near the little ones or Kujo, so it is safer to keep them aboard the ship and him out here.

Such workings of sorcery require materials… at least so far as I have learned, and I have not yet had the chance to put theory into practice..."

Braze reached into his robes and drew out the Holocron, offering it over to Eloise Dinn .

"I have only recently begun trying to study the subject in earnest, and I thought perhaps you might help me find a solution before I am forced to learn by mistake."

 

[Sevrin]

Tags: Eloise Dinn 0-7 ​

Sevrin let out a low breath of amusement listening to them.

"So this is the 'clearer set of eyes', is it?"

His faint smile deepened by a fraction as the Holocron passed into view. His gaze shifted from it to Eloise, then back to Braze with slow, invasive interest, as though he meant to weigh the measure of both the object and the hands now holding it. His attention shifted then to 0-7 and he sneered at her looking back to the other pair.

"First one woman, now another… You do seem most at ease when there is a woman nearby to tell you what ought be done. Should I take it that you are forever in need of gentler hands to steady yours??" His head tilted slightly. "Tell me, is that some Echani instinct, or merely the sort of wound the Jedi leave in a boy taken too soon from his mother's side? "

The smile at his mouth returned slowly, as he listened to them talk commenting further, "Clearer eyes indeed.... old texts, and layered wards… and yet he still speaks as though he is guessing in the dark....How comforting. I am to be contained by the theory of a neophyte." he murmured faintly muttering to himself as his eyes dipped once more toward the Holocron with intense interest in the object.

He leaned his head back against the stone, then let his attention drift toward 0-7 . "No master pulls my strings, if that is the suspicion. I came here by my own will." His gaze returned at last to Braze, the look of him almost thoughtful were it not for the mockery coiled through it.

 

[0-7]

Dantooine
Tags: Eloise Dinn , Braze

NK-Witell-class Freighter, 0A-155, Songbird (lightsaber), Vibrosword
​

"First one woman, now another… You do seem most at ease when there is a woman nearby to tell you what ought be done. Should I take it that you are forever in need of gentler hands to steady yours??"

Seven could not help but roll her eyes, standing back up and backing away to prop herself up against the wall. Childish rabble. The perception of men and women mattered very little to her. They hardly mattered in the business of death and shadows that she had been shackled to. She was not surprised that he insisted that he had no master pulling his strings. Be it pride or ego, Sith were obsessed with showing themselves as unchained and free. They even made themselves blind to their own chains. It was hard to trust those words.

A warding spell though? Perhaps it would prove reliable, but typically the spells she knew that Lord Kalrath made use of required runes, as well as a will to maintain them. The purple one seemed to suggest these spells would need to be maintained as well. Though, there were workarounds that she could think of.

"Have you considered inscribing the spell onto an object that naturally generates Force Energy?" Seven mused. "When in the presence of the right frequencies Force Crystals will give off energy. Perhaps one could automate the process..."

It was only a theory, though one she found to be plausible. The freak that was her former master was fond of leaving behind pieces of his soul to perform the task of maintaining spells indefinitely. He may even see the use of Force Crystals as a perversion of his craft. They were, after all, vehicles of the light. Seven only knew so much about them because Kalrath tasked her with the distruction of some. He seemed to hate them greatly. Not that Seven cared if she was offending the man who had made her life hell. If anything, it made her more eager to do so.

She offered a shrug after a moment of though.

"Maybe worth a shot," she offered in a flat tone. "Spells aren't my specialty."

 

[Eloise Dinn]

"The... Duck?" Eloise echoed, one eyebrow raised. She was able to follow along with the rest of what Braze said well enough. "Sith sorcery would typically use a blood sacrifice for its 'materials'. Whether by spilling your own blood, or somebody else's."

The gray elf suggested using kyber crystals, which was certainly better than blood. Eloise was a little annoyed that she couldn't be of more help at present. But then again, she had run away from home before her parents could subject her to any deeper study of Sith sorcery - and that was a good thing. She accepted the holocron Braze offered her with a nod. "Thanks. I'll check it out. In the meantime, using kyber crystals sounds like a good idea."

Then the prisoner opened his mouth. Eloise couldn't have looked any more unimpressed if she had tried. "Ugh, whatever happened to being seduced to the Dark Side?" she groaned, smirking at him. "You're supposed to make me feel special and understood, not make yourself look like a misogynistic idiot."

Braze 0-7​

 

[Braze]

Tags: Eloise Dinn 0-7 ​

Braze was grateful the ladies seemed to quell the mouthy prisoner for the time being. What Sevrin had said did get beneath his skin, but he tried not to let it show, choosing instead to turn his attention toward the clear task ahead of them.

"The Mud Duck is my freighter, a home away from home," Braze answered simply.

" Force crystals would work well enough. There are places, particularly older sites, that seem to gather and channel the Force through certain points and workings carve din to mundane stone. Those sites rest more naturally attuned to the Force even with humbler materials.

I do not have any Force crystals in my inventory aboard the ship, so we will have to source them. Fortunately, here on Dantooine, there are crystal veins running beneath the surface… though some of those places are likely infested with kinrath."

Braze said it with a faint look of discomfort crossing his features. He still suffered horrific nightmares of arachnids that dragged him awake in cold sweats, so the thought of coming face to face with something similar did little to settle him.

" Leos found one such vein only a couple of days ago, though he also managed to fall into an underground ravine in the process, so I cannot pretend the search would be without danger."

He glanced back towards the prisoner not wanting to leave him alone as he reached in to a cloak and pulled out a small droid shaking him awake.

[Gidgit]
═ ✦ ═══ ✦ ═

Gidgit's lens flickered to life with a blue light.

"Wh— oh. Prisoner still here.... How... Unfortunate. I was having a perfectly good power cycle."

"Gidgit, watch him for me. Record any change in his behavior, any strain against the restraints, and any unusual shift in the room itself. If he tries anything, you alert me immediately."

[Gidgit]
═ ✦ ═══ ✦ ═

Gidgit floated in to a little circular flip.

"Understood. I will watch the unpleasant one.... Engaging protocol… auxiliary link established. Requesting nearby droid assistance."

 

[0-7]

Dantooine
Tags: Braze , Eloise Dinn

NK-Witell-class Freighter, 0A-155, Songbird (lightsaber), Vibrosword
​

"Ugh, whatever happened to being seduced to the Dark Side?" she groaned, smirking at him. "You're supposed to make me feel special and understood, not make yourself look like a misogynistic idiot."

"This one is lucky it has yet to embrace it's corruption," Seven remarked. "The final form of its ilk is hardly... seductive."

The Evereni spoke in a manner that expressed little interest in such things. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say she was detached. Lust was alien to her, for understandable reasons. Whatever the case was, she had a basic understanding that some beings were drawn to the appearance of others for means of procreation. She doubted that the tumor all late-stage Sith became was something people would find 'attractive,' as it were.

I do not have any Force crystals in my inventory aboard the ship, so we will have to source them. Fortunately, here on Dantooine, there are crystal veins running beneath the surface… though some of those places are likely infested with kinrath."

" Leos found one such vein only a couple of days ago, though he also managed to fall into an underground ravine in the process, so I cannot pretend the search would be without danger."

Seven's eyebrow quirked up as she noticed the fear in Braze's tone. He was... afraid of kinrath? That seemed out of character. He had shown a proficiency in combat that far surpassed her own, and she had slain such a beast before when it blocked her path in the past. Apex predators, perhaps, but in the face of training and a blade they were a manageable threat.

It wasn't her place to pry, but she did keep that brief flicker of something more in the back of her mind.

"Danger is the opportunity cost we will have to accept," she decided with a shrug. "I have no interest in harvesting blood."

Those days were behind her.

 

[Eloise Dinn]

"This one is lucky it has yet to embrace it's corruption," Seven remarked. "The final form of its ilk is hardly... seductive."

Eloise side-eyed the gray elf. Sure, their obnoxious prisoner was a Sith, but what the hell was she calling him "it" for? At best it was just another aspect of the weirdness in this whole dungeon setup, at worst it was dehumanizing in a way that not even Eloise would typically stoop to. Commenting on it out loud probably wouldn't go over very well, however, so she didn't.

"Uh huh," she murmured, unconcerned about the dangers Braze spoke of. She'd survived worse with fewer allies on her team. "Let's go, then."

If there was nothing else, she would follow Braze's lead to the crystals, keeping an eye out for the kinrath he'd warned about...

Braze 0-7​

 

[Braze]

Tags: 0-7 Eloise Dinn ​

With that, Braze led them out of the temple and back into the open air, where the War Tortle waited. He opened the doors for them and saw the ladies aboard before taking them a few miles out from the temple grounds, toward the place where Leos had first stumbled upon the caverns.

When they arrived, the land itself seemed to sag inward around the mouth of the cave. What should have been little more than a rocky opening looked half-swallowed by a mass of gray, sickly overgrowth. Thorny brush and pale creeping vines clung to the stone in tangled sheets, as though the hillside had tried to seal the place shut and failed. The entrance yawned beneath that smothering growth, wide enough to admit them, yet narrow enough to feel oppressive once one stood before it.

The rock around the mouth of the cavern was weathered and discolored, streaked with damp mineral stains and veined with cracks where roots had wormed their way deep into the stone. A stale chill drifted up from below, carrying the scent of wet earth, old dust, and something faintly rotten that did not belong to any ordinary den. Darkness pooled thickly beyond the threshold, swallowing the light only a few steps in, while the passage itself sloped downward into the deep like the gullet of some buried thing.

Braze parked the speeder some twenty or thirty feet from the entrance, leaving it clear of the choking gray growth gathered around the mouth of the cave. He moved around to fetch the doors open, letting the ladies out before turning his gaze back toward the dark descent.

"This is it."

 

[0-7]

Dantooine
Tags: Braze , Eloise Dinn

NK-Witell-class Freighter, 0A-155, Songbird (lightsaber), Vibrosword
​

Braze parked the speeder some twenty or thirty feet from the entrance, leaving it clear of the choking gray growth gathered around the mouth of the cave. He moved around to fetch the doors open, letting the ladies out before turning his gaze back toward the dark descent.

"This is it."

Seven stepped out first and approached the mouth of the cavern. She could taste the presence of the Force in the air here, flowing in ways that made her ears twitch as though she were hearing on an entirely different spectrum. She was, of course. The hum was strong now. Ahead, her eyes could see far into the darkness, another trait of her species.

"Something caved in ahead," she relayed, seeing the distant chasm and the roaring river below. "How much is unstable?"

 

[Eloise Dinn]

The trip to the cave was uneventful. Eloise sat across from the others, not making much in the way of conversation. She didn't really know what to say—although she did take the opportunity to introduce herself to the gray elf.

"I'm Padawan Eloise Dinn, by the way."

Braze parked the speeder near the cave mouth, and to Eloise's surprise he got out and opened the door for them like a little chauffeur. "Thanks," she said, climbing out and looking around. The area around the cave was heavily overgrown with weeds and brush. It only got worse closer to the cave, making entry difficult. She unclipped her lightsaber from her belt, ready to cut through the weeds, then thought better of it.

"Lemme move these out of the way," she said, stretching out her empty hand. Using the Force, she coaxed the plants into growing away from the cave, letting the branches and roots blocking their path wilt and die.

"Something caved in ahead, How much is unstable?"

Good question. Eloise shrugged her shoulders and glanced back at Braze for answers.

0-7 Braze​

 

[Braze]

Tags: 0-7 Eloise Dinn ​

"Yeah… best be careful here. I haven't explored this area… my padawan Leos fell through the cavern flooring inside a few days ago, so…"

He looked about the exterior, scanning for something useful. After a small bit of time searching the immediate area, he spotted a large fallen branch beneath a nearby tree outside. He moved to heft it up, but it was quite heavy and still rather freshly broken, likely brought down in a rainstorm not too long ago.

He withdrew his small sai-saber and pruned it down gently on either end, swiping away sections until it was straighter and could serve as a walking stick about five and a half feet in length. He returned the small saber to his belt and held up the stick.

"We can probe the flooring to see where it's sturdy and where it's not… otherwise, we can try to rappel down… but there is a ravine and river further below. It leads out to a waterfall and pond to the East of here," Braze offered simply. "I haven't been through there, so it's all new territory for me."

The caverns were dark and deep, their depths seeming to drink the light that fell across them. What little daylight reached past the mouth of the cave thinned quickly, catching on wet stone before being swallowed by the descending passages ahead. The air shifted as they moved inward… cooler, heavier, touched by the mineral bite of stone and the damp trace of underground water.

Beneath their feet, the ground could not be trusted at a glance. Some stretches appeared solid, while others gave themselves away on closer inspection, fractured through with thin cracks and scattered with loose gravel. Here and there, gaps broke the stone entirely, opening onto narrow drops and black pools below. One larger hole yawned near the center of the path, forcing Braze to guide the group around it with care.

Braze advanced only a few steps ahead of the group, using the staff to test each uncertain span before committing his weight. He moved gingerly, glancing back now and then to ensure the others could follow in the safer places he marked.

"Watch for places where the stone changes color," he murmured, tapping the ground ahead.

A little farther in, the passage widened into a much larger cavern. Below, a river moved through its heart, black water winding between jagged shelves of stone. Across the way, another cliff-like ledge rose unevenly from the opposite side, separated from their position by the drop and the water below.

Not every route led straight ahead. The far ledge across the river waited ahead through the wider cavern. To the east, half-veiled behind curtains of hanging rock and mineral growth, came the distant murmur of falling water. Along the western wall, a narrow ledge path clung to the stone above the drop, cramped and half-choked by old rubble.

Forward Shelf

Continue ahead toward the wider cavern and the far ledge beyond the river.

Down to River

Descend the broken hole that slopes into the ravine below the floor and approach the riverbank below.

East Falls

Follow the sound of falling water deeper into the eastern passage.

West Ledge

Take the narrow ledge along the western wall above the drop.

Braze glanced back once the safer route around the hole had been marked. "Which way shall we go?"

 

[0-7]

Dantooine
Tags: Eloise Dinn , Braze

NK-Witell-class Freighter, 0A-155, Songbird (lightsaber), Vibrosword
​

"I'm Padawan Eloise Dinn, by the way."

"Seven."

There was no explanation given. Her response was left cryptic and distant, which was fine by her. Finding a means of containing a potential Sith threat was the more important task. She'd worry about making friends later. The little voice in the back of her head tried to tell her otherwise, but the conditioning of her upbringing won out this time.

As they approached a branching path, Seven's ears took note of the waterfall first. It reminded her of finding that ancient burial on Veridia, where she had claimed her kyber that now rested within her lightsaber. She contemplated for a moment before speaking up.

"I hear falls down the eastern passage," she relayed. "That feels right."

She didn't really have anything else to go on than that. It felt right. After having to supress her senses for so long, why not just go where she felt was correct?

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Who names their kid Seven? Eloise recalled that her father had been given an Aurebesh letter, Thesh, in place of a name when he was a slave. Alas, there wasn't really time or any need to pry into the gray elf's past.

As the trio headed into the caves, they found the terrain somewhat difficult to navigate. Eloise activated her lightsaber and held it over her head, dispelling the darkness by the green glow. Eventually they reached an underground river. Several possible pathways opened up before them. Braze asked his companions which way they should go.

"I hear falls down the eastern passage. That feels right."

"Agreed," Eloise said, nodding. "That's how crystals form, right? Water dripping down into caverns."

She headed for the eastern passage, climbing across the rocks and stalagmites, holding her lightsaber in front of her as the way grew narrower. The deeper she ventured, the louder the sound of rushing water became, until it was roaring in her ears. She chalked it up to the echo effect of the caverns, amplifying even the slightest sound, even as something in her gut told her it wasn't just that.

The truth was, she'd begun to feel like she had been here before. But that wasn't true. So why the sense of deja vu? No clue.

Braze 0-7​

 

[Braze]

Tags: 0-7 Eloise Dinn ​

The cavern did indeed open as they made their way east. The sound of falling water had swollen into a raucous uproar, filling the dark like distant thunder. Along the ceiling on the far side of the chamber, veins of kyber glinted through the stone in pale seams, catching the scant light and casting it back in cold little glimmers.

Closer to the group, the path narrowed. Thick mist clung to the rock and turned the way ahead slick beneath the foot. Strands of old webbing stretched from outcropping to outcropping near the brightest seam above, thick enough in places to gleam silver in the dark. To reach it, they would first have to cross a strong stream just before the falls, where the water plunged in a broken series of drops and filled the chamber with its ceaseless roar.

Braze squinted toward the kyber veins and frowned as the gossamer strands caught the dim light. Unease settled in the pit of his gut. He had never cared for spiders, nor the many-legged things akin to them… and though none revealed themselves, the webs were warning enough to unease him. The brightest seam of crystal lay beyond them all the same, and if they wanted a proper supply for their purpose, that was where they would need to go.

He had no wish to look frightened before the girls, so he pressed the feeling down and reached out with the stick to test the rushing water. The current tugged at it at once, strong and eager, but the depth seemed manageable; somewhere from knee to thigh, if the sinking wood told true.

“Well… I suppose it would have been too generous of the galaxy to leave them on dry ground.” His jade gaze lingered a moment longer on the water before shifting back toward the others. “I can go first and see whether the current proves too harsh and string a rope across ?”