Chapter One: Along Comes A Thief

[Leo Vandermolen]

The wind howled and Leo continued drinking, propped up upon a stool at the makeshift bar that he had slightly fixed in the decrepit Vandermolen Estate. Leo continued to sip his whiskey as he basked in the surroundings of his once great family home, which now lay in desolation.

The Estate had become more of a home for Leo since he'd inherited it all those months ago, and he had now familiarized himself with all of its little cracks and crevices, discovered all the secrets it held, such as the hidden network of tunnels that zig-zagged underneath his feet, connecting parts of the house to the outside. Well, he thought he'd discovered all of its secrets...

The harsh wind picked up once more, letting a cool drought slip through the large, shattered windows of the grand home. But tonight, things would be different, something was about to change and Leo was going to make a discovery that would alter his families history forever...

| [member="Tallion Norris"] |

 

[Tallion Norris]

It was pretty easy for Tallion to find the place although he didn't expect it to be so run down. On a quick glance the place looked deserted but Tallion knew better, the outside of the Vandermolen estate was a mess and Tallion began to worry what the inside was going to be like. "Geez, Corellia is currently looking better than this dump" he whispered to himself.

After a short walk Tallion was standing in front of the estates main entrance, thoughts on how he was going to go about his business swam through his head until he shrugged to himself deciding that he'll just wing it for as long as he can. He curls his right hand into a fist and knocks on the door as loud as he can hoping that the owner of the now ruined estate is either too drunk to answer the door or away.

| [member="Leo Vandermolen"] |

 

[Leo Vandermolen]

Leo's thoughts danced merrily through his dulled mind, reconnecting him with all the terrible memories of his past, the memories he chose to subdue with alcohol. He took another swig. Suddenly, a loud knock came crashing from the mansion's entrance, a rhythmic thumping, one after the other. No one would be knocking at this hour, especially at a house thought to be deserted and in such a pitiful state that not even urban looters would go near it. Leo ignored the noise at first, pinning the blame on his intoxication playing tricks with his head... but then it came again, thump, thump thump...

Whaa? Leo swayed from his stool, almost toppling to the ground in the process, but keeping his posture, he began to walk to the Estate's twin, oak doors that guarded the entrance to his home, supporting himself with a shaky hand on the wall as he made his way out of the common room and towards the entrance, finding out if there really was anybody there.

| [member="Tallion Norris"] |

 

[Tallion Norris]

Maybe he's dead? That would help in this situation I guess. Tallion stopped hammering the door and give it one last kick as he let out an annoyed grunt. He took a couple of steps away from the entrance doors to see if he could find a way in from the top floor if his current approach doesn't work. He would have to be extremely careful if he was to attempt such a climb since the entire estate looks about ready to collapse in on itself.

| [member="Leo Vandermolen"] |

 

[Leo Vandermolen]

Leo approached the doors as the knocking ceased, one final boom to signify its end and Leo swung the right door back towards him, not being one to hesitate. There was no need to draw his gun, and intruder in this area on Coruscant wouldn't try knocking first, Leo simply cleared his eyes and peered out of the house to see whom had caused the knocking, only to be presented with a fair, skinny guy staring up at the top of the mansion.

"Uhhh... can I help you?" Leo questioned, half concealed by the side of the door. "And can I ask what your doing around here at this time of night?" He continued, giving the man a confused scowl. Nobody had every even come near the once abandoned home since Leo had moved in and to see someone so casually appear at such a strange time of day was enough to confuse even the most prepared person.

| [member="Tallion Norris"] |

 

[Tallion Norris]

Tallion shrugs nonchalantly as he looks towards the man with a smirk forming on his face "Actually i'm here to help you!" he beamed, that smirk of his forming into a broad smile. Tallion sheepishly took a step forwards towards the door "I'm Tallion Norris, property renovator. I'm here to see about renovating your estate to its former glory". Tallion looked towards the mysterious man with nervousness in his eyes, shifting in place as if he was wanting to be somewhere else. In reality however, Tallion wasn't even the least bit nervous, in fact he was more than confident that he'd find his way inside eventually.

| [member="Leo Vandermolen"] |

 

[Leo Vandermolen]

The kid's act wasn't all that convincing, especially the put-on smile that Leo could see right through. He encountered enough grinning devils to realise when someone was lying to your face while contemplating the best way to stab you in the back, and while Leo wasn't so sure of this ones motives, the whole thing was too suspicious not to investigate. So he decided to play along.

"I see... but, why exactly have you shown up at such an hour? And where exactly are you keeping the hidden gold mine to pay for the Estate's renovation?" He questioned further, attempting to drive the stranger backwards with each word spoken. Leo stretched out his aching muscles and took a deep breath in, absorbing the late night air of the capital planet, he didn't know what this guy was planning, but Leo had all the time in the world, he may as well enjoy the little things...

| [member="Tallion Norris"] |

 

[Tallion Norris]

Tallion gives a strained smile that clearly suggests that something the man said caused it. Tallion begins to scratch the back of his neck as he goes to speak "Okay so that's Not how renovating works. You let me see how much it'd cost You and i simply help the process go smoother by hiring the right people" he lets out an annoyed sigh suggesting that hes been through a few of these situations "Now i'm also new to this planet and so the day is usually when i'm sleeping"

C'mon Tallion, why are you attempting to deceive your way in when you can easily just sneak in? Well Me, I'd rather not climb a rickety old building that may break under my breath it could be potentially hazardous to my health. He thinks to himself as he also attempts another way to convince the man into letting him in "Look, I can be in and out. You can have your eyes on me the entire time watching me as I see how much it'd be to renovate the place, sound fair?"

| [member="Leo Vandermolen"] |

 

[Leo Vandermolen]

Leo had ticked him off, good...

"But what I was making reference to, was the fact that I am not currently in possession of the funds that would be required to perform a renovation this large. I don't know if you've noticed, but this place ain't exactly the smallest." Leo added, furthering his humorous cause. "And the feth you mean you sleep during the day because you're new to Coruscant? It's not exactly a foreign planet..." Leo cocked a grin, he had him.

"And if you're so new to Coruscant, how'd you already set up shop and hear about my place in such a short amount of time, and proceed to come here at near midnight, disturbin' my sleep with your cofuddled stories? You ain't exactly the smartest spacer out there, are ya?" Leo continued, quickly drawing his Westar from his hip and flashing it in the moonlight in front of the man's face, "Now, if you are planning on robbin' me silly, you best get your facts straight and your weapon set, because boy, you are the least professional thief that I have ever layed my young eyes upon. Now get the kark outta here before you start something you can't finish." Leo finished, giving the lowest scowl he could muster in such a tired state.

| [member="Tallion Norris"] |

 

[Tallion Norris]

"See Tallion this is what happens when you talk real estate people think you're full of flarg" he grumbles to himself. Tallion lets out a loud sigh "Fine" he brazenly says a loud. He begins to readjust his posture and flashes the man a cocky smile "Would you like to know the truth as to why i'm here? Cause spoiler it involves this place" he moves his hands in a circle formation to indicate the estate.

| [member="Leo Vandermolen"] |

 

[Leo Vandermolen]

Leo was still wary of the stranger, but to come all the way out hear at this hour obviously meant something either incredibly important or incredibly stupid was afoot. He holstered his Westar and beckoned the man inside, giving in to his curiosity. "Well then I guess you're in luck, in a fateful turn of events, I've changed my mind and decided to trust you based on the bare-bones amount of information that you have provided." Leo's grin still hadn't left his face as he turned away, still keeping track of the strangers persistence through some force tricks. "Now you better tell me what the kark you want at the moment after I so graciously let you into my abode and forgave you for disturbin' my beauty sleep." If tonight would bring nothing else, at least it would be fun teasing this clearly unaware kid.

| [member="Tallion Norris"] |

 

[Tallion Norris]

"Honesty works, who knew?" Tallion said out loud to himself before fixing the man a solid stare while retaining his cocky smirk. He'd expected the honesty approach to fail him and was extremely surprised but glad it actually worked. "It has come to my attention that you have an extremely well hidden secret within your estate here. In fact it could lead us to an absolute treasure trove of wealth and glory or be our downfall. Either way i'd like to be able to find out what it is" he puts his hands at his sides and begins to tap his foot somewhat impatiently. "Can I go in now?"


| [member="Leo Vandermolen"] |

 

[Leo Vandermolen]

Intriguing. Leo thought to himself as he gestured the stranger into his home, placing his trust with this strange fellow. "What do you mean, 'well hidden secret?' and what do you mean we?" Leo questioned further, still laying on the pressure, just to make sure there weren't any cracks in the man's story, it never hurt to be careful. Leo led the way down the hall towards the estate's bar, planning on getting back to his drink as the conversation continued.

The mansion groaned and creaked with every footfall, Leo making barely any noise as he tread upon the ancient mahogany wood boards. The house was still unstable, and too much pressure in certain areas could cause it to give way, something Leo thought he would let his new compatriot discover for himself, should he not be careful enough. Leo approached the common room, striding over to the bar whilst stroking his freshly groan stubble, he would need to shave again soon. "Can I get you anything? Something to drink?" He would ask behind him, provided the stranger was still following in toe.

| [member="Tallion Norris"] |

 

[Tallion Norris]

Stepping into the decaying mansion with haste Tallion begins to explain himself "Well you see i came across a rather interesting artifact. Three in fact. Two I found in a black-market where a rodian was attempting to haggle them off some local crime gang. The other I found buried. All of that is not important what is important is that I've managed to deduce that the fourth piece of the puzzle is located here. In your family mansion" Tallion reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small datapad. He begins fiddling around with the datapad as he absentmindedly follows Leo further into his mansion.

The floorboards groaned and creaked as Tallion wandered over them. His heart gave way as he heard one of the floorboards he'd stepped on crack under enough him, the noise alone caused him to jump nearly flinging the datapad into the air if it wasn't for his grip on it. Upon reaching the common room Tallion quickly made his way over to the bar, resting himself against it. He began to observe the room as if searching for something, only to be interrupted by Leos question "I don't drink, plenty of reason for it considering what type of situations I end up in. Oh yeah that's another thing, I'm expecting about seventy percent of the findings by the way, as a finders fee".

| [member="Leo Vandermolen"] |

 

[Leo Vandermolen]

Leo listened intently, smirking a little as the kid fumbled with his datapad. "And, if what you say is true, and I ALSO help you find this family fortune, my family's fortune, mind you, it will go 60 - 40 to me, as an inheritance fee, let's say." Leo was stern, cold even as he addressed Talion and his proposition. Stretching out his back a little, Leo reached over and plucked a nice, aged bottle of Correlian whiskey from the bar shelf, pouring himself a new glass.

"So," Leo looked up from his drink, "If you are serious about this... where do we start?" Leo let the question hang in the air as he reclined back against the shelf, being sure to be steady so not to knock any of the precious alcohol over.

| [member="Tallion Norris"] |

 

[Tallion Norris]

Tallion claps his hands together rubbing them as he turns back around to face the common room. "Good question. If I was to guess, which I'm not. I'd say its in plain view". Placing the datapad down on the bar with a slight thunk sound, Tallion begins to pace around the room his eyes looking at the walls for any signs of something abnormal for such a room. "How many people do you have over and how often do you or guests use this particular room?".

Floorboards. Somethings under them. Nothing appears ready to pop out of the walls and brutalize me. This is far to easy which means that it's not the artifact but possibly a key or a clue to its actual location. I swear if its gonna send me on a long chase for nothing I will not be happy.

| [member="Leo Vandermolen"] |

 

[Leo Vandermolen]

Leo cocked his head as he gazed at the roof, "Well buddy, I don't know if you've noticed or not, but this place aint' exactly 'visitor worthy'." Leo extended an arm and gestured toward the freshly made hole in the floor as if to prove a point. "Thanks for that by the way." Leo had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he'd almost forgotten to mention a possible location.

"If your thinking of some place in plain sight, the estate has plenty of dining areas, trophy rooms and a gala center. However," He lowered his drink, pointing a finger at the ground as he noticed Talion scanning the room, "This place has some secret tunnels running underneath the house. The main tunnel connects the main bedroom, the crafts room and the greenhouse together, however the whole thing is practically a maze if you stray from the path. Maybe your 'secret' is hidden down there?" Leo offered the suggestion up, returning to his drink once again.

| [member="Tallion Norris"] |

 

[Tallion Norris]

"Technically its your secret and yeah that'd most definitely be where its hiding. First I want to check out this trophy room though. It could hold something that may help us" Tallion says flashing Leo a cheeky smile before moving his gaze to the broken floorboards, his face looking puzzled. "Tunnels..." he says quizzically. "Leo can you chuck me my datapad I've got a hunch on something"


| [member="Leo Vandermolen"] |