Private Forge of Khemost

[Percival Io]

Somewhere in the bowels of Khemost

An explosion heralded the arrival of House Io. The entrance to the cave had been breached, the remnants of an earthquake centuries earlier blasted away to reveal its hidden contents.

Percival stepped among the misting rocks and crumbling dirt, his green-eyed gaze sweeping over the caverns. Limestone stalactites hung from the ceiling, dripping water from the melting snows above ground.

“Is it safe to descend?” he called over his shoulder, and received a lukewarm answer. Shrugging, he picked his way across the rubble and headed deeper into the cave.

He fully expected to encounter the Countess’ new apprentice, Draco Miles, at some point along the way. The dragoness’ eagerness to participate and further the goals of the house was admirable, but Percival found her reckless—never mind how reckless Percival himself could be…

Draco Miles​

 

[Draco Miles]

Reckless she was indeed… after the explosion and with Percival taking first steps, she assumed the ground was safe to traverse, and began hopping! Bounding from rock to rock like she were playing hop scotch. The claws along her feet and hands allowed her to easily traverse rocky terrain because if need be, she could just climb it, making her own holes by jamming her fingers through solid rock like it were play dough.

“Hurry, my friend, lest we miss anything that will fall from our explosion!”

She shouted at Percival Io while descending. She was certainly one to talk, shouting so loudly like that, if anything she’d knock shit over. Though for her this was very exciting, as the forges offered opportunities for both personal weapons and armor, things she was craving to upgrade.

 

[Percival Io]

At the sight of Draco already leaping from rock to rock, Percival sighed and quickened his pace a little.

He was programmed to love and respect all members of House Io by default. But Draco was new, and while the Countess clearly considered her a worthy addition, Percival had yet to form an opinion.

As they headed deeper into the caverns, the stalactites gave way to a tunnel with smooth walls, floor, and ceiling. Not a natural formation by any means, he could tell it had been made by machinery, albeit a very long time ago. Portions of the structure had caved in, but there was a clear route to a door at the far end of the passage.

The doorway was guarded by magic runes. A ritual would be required to remove them and render the path ahead safe to travel. But Percival, being almost dead to the Force, couldn’t sense them. He was about to walk right up to the door and trigger the trap…

Draco Miles​

 

[Draco Miles]

Draco, having rushed ahead of him, had halted in her tracks before them and placed her hands on her hips before tapping her foot on the ground, thinking hard on how to dispel a trap before watching Percival Io almost walk into it! She gasped and grabbed him, wrapping her arms around his torso before yanking him away and walking back about 4 steps before setting him down

“Wait. Did you not feel the spells set on the door, sir? I think it is best we explore this room first while I figure out a way to dispel them.”

She did have quite a bit of respect for Percival, and even considered him to be her elder! Though she did not realize that he was a droid… she thought the man before her was fully flesh, not machine, and thought him to be force sensitive, like her. In her mind, it made sense, since he had almost special treatment from Arianna. In order to make sure he wouldn’t go walking into the traps again, she held onto him until he verbally responded to her. She had lost a comrade to mind control like that once, so she wasn’t keen on that happening again

 

[Percival Io]

Registering that there was something dangerous about the door that he could not perceive, Percival thought it quite unnecessary for Draco to physically pick him up and set him down elsewhere. A hand on his arm to stop him and a verbal warning would’ve been enough.

Dusting himself off, the Neutralizer gave her a slightly indignant glare that masked his embarrassment. “No, I cannot ‘feel’ anything. I am incapable of utilizing that nebulous energy field you call ‘the Force’. And this is not a room, it is a tunnel.” He gestured to the rock walls around them, which were largely featureless save for the boobytrapped door ahead of them.

“If you are incapable of progressing, I can call a witch or a cultist to remove these… spells,” he added.

Draco Miles​

 

[Draco Miles]

“No, no, just… give me a moment, ok? I was mainly taught how to kill, not to disarm traps, by my former master. My lessons with the Countess have not progressed as such yet… do stand back though, I believe I have a way to disarm it”

Random bullshit… go! She used the force to pick up a rather large rock of debris created by their explosive entry then tossed it at the trap, thinking that would trigger it and they could advance forward. Hopefully Percival Io stood back like she did

 

[Percival Io]

Nothing happened. The runes didn’t even react to the rock being thrown at them. Percival looked expectantly at Draco, arms folded across his chest.

Draco Miles​

 

[Draco Miles]

“Alright that didn’t work… Mhmmm…”

She knelt down in front of the runes and felt out with the force, while she was taught somewhat how to disarm them, no better way to learn than from experience! She had the potential, quite a bit of it at that, so if the traps were simple, she could dispel them fairly easy

 

[Percival Io]

Draco’s next attempt seemed a bit more promising, but all she succeeded in doing was making the runes glow as they fed on the energy she expelled while trying to remove them. Now visible to the naked eye, even Percival could see how far the extent of the trap stretched—it covered the door, the floor in front of the door, the walls, and even the ceiling. Clearly the trap was much more complicated than expected.

As he watched Draco strain and struggle, the Chaplain Neutralizer disrupted her concentration to once again suggest, “I think we had better summon a master to deal with this.”

Draco Miles​

 

[Draco Miles]

Draco stared at the glowing runes and gestured to it. She did something at least! And if feeding it made it glow, then starving it would kill it.

“One last attempt”

And so she did just that, pulling what remained of the force out of that area and consuming it to bolster her power temporarily. If it did not shut off from lack of power, she could at least form a protective layer around herself and activate it. She didn’t want to summon a master because she did not want to seem weak, nor reliant on others. If she was not able to accomplish tasks on her own, what would be the point of keeping her around? Failure was not an option. Success the only path.

Percival Io

 

[Percival Io]

Draco insisted upon trying one more time. Percival let her, his patience boundless. He firmly believed that the student was taking on more than she could handle, but who was he to stop her? As the Countess’ own apprentice, she outranked him.

The runes lashed at Draco, causing pain as she dared to try and absorb their power. Trying to use it against the spell itself, on the other hand, did cause it to give a little. Proceeding forward on her own would still be a bad idea, but if she wanted to roll the dice…

Draco Miles​

 

[Draco Miles]

Draco snarled at the pain and decided not to absorb, but instead redirect it like force lightning. She had it gather up in between her hands then casted it out towards the ceiling. This quite possibly would move the trap, so they could advance with no issue and even not have to worry about it! She was stubborn indeed, so Percival Io would probably have to summon the master himself while she threw herself at the problem over and over

 

[Percival Io]

Percival waited long enough that he began to get bored, and realized Draco was just going to keep trying no matter what. He discreetly contacted HQ, requesting a master-level Force User with expertise in dismantling traps.

Within a few minutes, a purple Twi’lek woman in the customary white catsuits of the Cult arrived. Picking her way through the debris at the entrance, she paused to watch as Draco threw herself at the magical trap over and over again. “Need a little help?” she asked, hands on her hips.

Raising her hands, she closed her eyes, focusing on the spell. The runes began to untwine like string in a tangled knot, the pieces moving across the surface of the door, walls, and floor. Eventually, the undone trap dissipated as harmless energy—though Draco might sense that the witch absorbed some of it for herself, adding to her own power.

“There you are, loves,” the witch said cheerfully. “I’ll even open the door for ya.”

With a wave of her hand, she forced the door open, revealing the ancient forge beyond.

Draco Miles​

 

[Draco Miles]

Draco turned then watched the runes unravel. Staring in awe and bewilderment at how swiftly and effortlessly the twi’lek had dispatched of the trap… she needed to know. But now was not the time. She bowed deeply and spoke

“Thank you so much, I hope we may speak later so that I may learn from you…”

She did not feel jealous or any ill feelings towards the trapper, in fact, she admired her! Draco was indeed willing to learn from those better than her, but she would not accept failure from herself. She thought that given enough time, she could have moved the trap or some other mundane thing, despite it obviously not working

 

[Percival Io]

The witch bowed at Draco’s gratitude. “Don’t mention it.”

“We may need you again if we run into any more of these traps,” Percival said, peering through the door. He could make out the shapes of various machinery and contraptions, but it was hard to see in the low lighting.

“Of course.” The witch stepped through the doorway, her hand emitting an orange glow to light their way.

The Forge of Khemost had long since gone dark, but the technology remained. A bit of refurbishing and replacement parts could probably get the place working again, producing more unique weapons than Mother’s mobile factories.

Percival followed the witch inside, looking around. He could imagine the heat of the fires, the bloody tang of molten metal. “Mother and the Countess will be pleased…” he murmured.

Draco Miles​

 

[Draco Miles]

Draco followed, standing in the middle between the Twi’lek and Percival Io as they moved into the forge. She looked around at the various unique tools and imagined the possibilities as well! Though her visions were of her working the forge to be of use. Everything to her was how she could assist the House, and make the Countess proud. It was a silly way to envision things, but it certainly got the job done. The main thing Draco was looking for though was knowledge, she searched for anything with inscriptions on it, as well as more traps to disarm. The wonder she felt in a place like this though was astounding. She couldn’t help but smile

 

[Percival Io]

“I don’t sense any more traps in this chamber,” the witch said. “Looks like it’s all clear.”

“Thank you,” Percival said. He perched on the edge of a stone structure of some kind, still taking it all in. Draco seemed to be searching for something.

“What are you looking for?” he asked.

Draco Miles​

 

[Draco Miles]

“Knowledge, Percival. Tradesmen typically had datapads, or in this case, most likely Holocrons, to act as notes for their forges. Perhaps we may find some here to aid in discovering their secrets?”

Draco said, turning to face him as she spoke, and at the same time searched with the force for any holocrons in the room. Hidden away somewhere… they had to have some around here, right? She was hoping it would be on enchantments the most though, but tips on forging would make her grateful too! What she was glad to do though was explore this area with a fellow house member, and strengthen her bond. Percival Io was growing on her, and in due time she would completely trust him. She thought his lack of connection to the force was just him having a low count, not him being a droid though, so that may come as a surprise to her later.

 

[Percival Io]

Percival rubbed dust from his eyes and looked around. “Hm. You mean like this?”

Having spotted something glimmering in the dirt, he reached down and plucked it out. It looked to be a very old, very dusty holocron, blue in color and triangle-shaped.

Draco Miles​

 

[Draco Miles]

She had turned away to keep searching, but was drawn back when he said he found something. She turned to face him and saw the triangular Holocron. She was astounded he found something before her!

“Yes! Exactly like that! Thank you!!!”

She practically sprinted to get up to him and held out her hand like a child begging for candy so she could hold it. Genuine excitement radiating from her. She was going to make a sword as cool as Xiphos’s, but even better! If Percival Io gave it to her, she’d open it up and began scanning its contents for useful information