Private Chasing a Rumor on Kesh

[Syreeta Ming]

Roughly twenty years ago, the world of Kesh had endured the brunt of a Bryn'adul invasion. The Keshiri people faced genocide, their numbers reduced to near extinction. Even now, nearly a generation later, the scars of the Bryn scourge remained. Syreeta saw them in the plain and sparse settlements she passed in her travails through the countryside, buildings constructed quickly and efficiently to provide vital shelter rather than for any aesthetic beauty.

She had come to Kesh chasing rumors of a cult. Whether it was the Cult which had once held her spirit in its thrall, she did not know - but there was enough detail in the tales to compel her to investigate. The locals seemed reluctant to talk to her, not wanting to bring down any more trouble or suffering on themselves. But she was determined to find the truth. She kept moving, letting the Force guide her where others would not lead.

It was nearly nightfall when she caught sight of a city ahead. One which wasn't on her map. Interesting. She approached on foot, a petite figure wearing a hooded white gown not dissimilar from the garb of Alderaanian royalty. As she neared the gate, her dark eyes swept over the walls, searching for sentries or turrets. If it wasn't marked on her map, there was always a chance that it was meant to be hidden from outsiders. It remained to be seen if they would prove hostile to a lone traveler...

Damsy Callat​

 

[Damsy Callat]

There was nothing, and no one, at all on the battlements.

Strange. It was like the inhabitants of the city expected the stories of this place to keep outsiders away, but there weren't even those. There were rumors and sinking feelings and the periodic odd happenings that couldn't be explained, not that those who knew cared to.

Sometimes a mystery seemed less dangerous if you let it alone. It was a risky gamble, of course, but one that the few beings on Kesh who knew of Naneti Sso Jri Qorit's existence in the Takara Mountains gladly took. Maybe the dreadful city was nothing but a mirage in the large desert out of place tucked between mountainous jungles.

The stony eyes of a grand carved head of some beaked animal watched Syreeta as she drew neared to the ornate front gate. The wooden trellis hung many meters in the air in the entrance arch, allowing her to move into the city's marketplace. It was very much alive along the tramped but dusty path weaving between stalls made of wood and cloth drapes.

Beings of many kinds peddled and perused and bartered just as wide a variety of goods. Many of them didn't look quite like any species that Syreeta, or indeed anyone, had seen before.

They had the taint of Alchemy around them.

But still they smiled and laughed as they went about their business. And no one seemed afraid of them.

Syreeta Ming​

 

[Syreeta Ming]

At first glance, the city seemed almost abandoned. No one guarded the battlements; no turrets tracked her movements. She passed through the gate unhindered, the only sound that of her footsteps on the dusty ground.

But once she was inside the walls, the city came alive. She followed the sounds of voices and soon found herself in the middle of a bustling marketplace. Some were native Keshiri, but many were not. Their species were unfamiliar to her, their forms strange and twisted...

Her skin literally crawled in response to the residual Dark Side energies in the people around her. One of the vendors hawking his wares nearby noticed. He stared at her - it was hard not to - until she met his gaze.

"You're not from around here, are you?" he asked.

"No, I'm afraid not," she replied, trying to seem nonplussed. As if her flesh warping disgustingly was a normal everyday event. "What is this place?"

"Naneti. We don't get many visitors. Do you have some business here?"

Whatever was going on here, she wanted to get to the bottom of it. Now was her chance. "Yes," she said. "I must speak to the leaders of this city. Where can I find them?"

Damsy Callat​

 

[Damsy Callat]

The stranger who was stranger than most who unwittingly passed through Naneti was directed to the center of the oasis by a wave in the general direction by the vendor. The market crowd began to part, not at his beckoning, but by coincidence as Keshiri, other near-humans, and other beings moved about their business.

Beyond the bodies, a majority of which were twisted in one way or another, marble tile shone under the beating midday sun. The path it created led to a large pool. Its crystal clear surface reflected the cloudless sky above as well as those wandering near its constructed shore. At the head of the body grew a great tree, its roots reaching over the bank towards the water. Directly to the north was a building rising above the rest, somewhere between a temple and a residential mansion. As Syreeta came upon one of the grand doors, the other eased open.

The interior dark coolness would immediately be welcoming, a sanctuary from the radiating heat of the desert. A protocol droid, almost equally dark in color, stood in the foyer. "Welcome, mistress," it greeted while ushering her inside. Past the threshold when the door echoed shut behind them, it looked like the silhouette of a ghost accented only by the sitting room's burning fire.

The ethereal glow emanating from the fireplace caught onto the red of its buggish eyes. "I presume you are here to see the Darth." The droid didn't give her a chance to confirm not deny. That is why every stranger who had come to Damsy's residence came, after all. "I regret to inform you that the she is currently preoccupied."

Syreeta Ming​

 

[Syreeta Ming]

The vendor wordlessly waved his hand, offering no more guidance. But it at least gave Syreeta a direction to start walking in. The crowd parted in front of her, giving her a wide berth as she headed for the center of town. Her flesh continued to crawl, but it was less reactive thanks to the added distance.

In the middle of the strange city was an even stranger structure; less a city hall than a temple or a palace. Syreeta passed through the doors unhindered, sensing no guards or cameras. But she still felt as if she were being watched.

The only figure she saw in the dimly lit interior was a protocol droid. It greeted her, then led her further into the building, to a sitting room with a crackling fire. Syreeta searched the chamber, but saw no one.

At the mention of the word Darth, she froze. A Sith Lord. Of course. The fact that there was one hiding out on the scarred world of Kesh was unsurprising, but no less revolting.

"When will she be available?" she asked the droid, remaining calm but on her guard. She would need to tread carefully and learn what she could about what exactly was happening in Naneti.

Damsy Callat​

 

[Damsy Callat]

"She should be—"

A deep bang resonated into the sitting room from a corridor light dimly by sconces. Their light flickered as if flinching away from the unseen source of the disturbance.

"Oh dear," it said, abandoning its previous train of thought.

Another loud sound raced down the halls, this one a curse in Basic.

"KARK!!"

Footfalls heavy with rage echoed off cobblestone.

The droid focus its attention on Syreeta. "Perhaps you should call another time," it suggested.

But just as the words left its vocabulator, a woman in a bodysuit of dark blue leathers marked with ur-Kittât runes and black cloth, came into the arched threshold. She braced one hand on the stone, which cracked, but didn't crumble. underneath her touch—not her strength but her rage. Its energy was as distinctive as the smell of sulfur. Blood ran in rivulettes over her skin: between her fingers, pooling in the web of her hand.

Her bright blue eyes scanned from her attendant to the woman in white.

Syreeta's condition didn't slip Damsy's notice even though anger at the loss that she had just witnessed in the Menagerie had constricted her consciousness. She breathed slowly, grounding herself in that, a thing that she could see, a thing outside of herself. As he breath studied, the breadth of her focus expanded. The raw anger was still there but slunk to the background.

"Is...your skin crawlin' or am I trippin'?" she asked.

Syreeta Ming​

 

[Syreeta Ming]

A loud noise from elsewhere inside the building interrupted their exchange. While the droid cowered, Syreeta whirled around, ready to face whatever came through the door.

Sure enough, a woman burst into the room. She was dark-skinned and blue-eyed, beautiful and strange. Her outward shape wasn't that of a monster - but Syreeta's flesh seethed in her presence. Everything about her, from the Sith runes emblazoned on her clothing, to the blood on her hands, to the anger she radiated, absolutely screamed Sith.

"You must be the Darth," Syreeta said, eyes narrowing. "I'm not usually one to judge a book by its cover, but everything about this place is a giant red flag."

She widened her stance, preparing to fight - thought she didn't reach for her weapon just yet.

"I will give you one chance to explain yourself." Or confess.

Damsy Callat​