Dominion On the Rox | GA Dominion of Roxuli

[Inosuke Ashina]

Folded eyes narrowed sidelong at her opening rhetorical. One eyebrow twitched slowly into an inquisitive tilt. If there was a meaningful answer or one she expected, it wouldn't have neem phrased as it was. Thus, as expected, the query lingered in the air, unanswered as he assumed she had likely intended.

"I didn't, for a very long time. I believed the only valid pursuit of knowledge was that of which was tangible- the things which are undeniable truths. The start of this journey changed that for me; and now, we're searching for the end."

A slow, steady breath silently escaped either nostril. None of that answered his question. "I can appreciate a dressed-up explanation. However, with respect Master Sarratt, that is terribly vague," he addressed calmly.

"There's supposed to be an ancient temple here, the last of the line I've followed. If what I've learned is true, it houses a wayfinder."

Why didn't she just start with that? There must have been some insight in the attempts at poetic divulgence that had been entirely lost on him. He wouldn't dwell on it regardless.

"A wayfinder," he echoed firmly. "What clairvoyance to expect to get out of it?"

Henna Ashina ​

 

[Henna Ashina]

BYOO - EXPLORE
Inosuke Ashina
can you feel the breeze?

​

"Henna." She corrected. "The Order will surely be interested in our findings when they are in hand, but as it stands, this is a personal endeavour- so please, Henna."

Her arm snaked out, slashing through a mess of plants that blocked their path.

"I can't be certain, but I believe it should reveal the location of an ancient Jedi order, located in the unknown region." She explained as they continued through the vegetation. "I have to admit, what clues I have found, have been puzzling- I don't know much more. I'm not even sure if they still exist, or if we'll only be led to the relics they left behind. Either way, I'm determined to discover their fate, and learn of their ways. In addition to various techniques lost to time, I believe they may have have had a very deep understanding of precognitive abilities. Perhaps even far beyond on our own."

The master stopped a moment, pulling a datapad from the satchel at her side. Her fingers quickly brought up screens until a map sat in front of her. It was vague, only crude outlines and little detail. She looked up to assess the forest around her.

"That way." She pointed to their left, leading as she put away the pad once more.

 

[Inosuke Ashina]

"Henna," he acknowledged. She had set the precedent with the 'Knight Ashina' address, but one could suppose she had the authority to take such liberties. This was assuming that really applied to a personal endeavor, to begin with. Not that it mattered much, either way, Inosuke was never one to be a bleeding heart for the formalities despite his diligent adherence to them in an official capacity.

Inosuke put his own arm out ahead to assert himself between her and the vegetation she was trying to clear. Stepping forward, he pulled his saber from the belt coupling. Bright blue plasma snapped, sizzled, droned forward. Wide swings cauterized a path through the brush as they trekked forward. He hummed an inarticulate acknowledgment to her explanation as it was given.

"That way."

He offered a nod, turned, began to hack at vegetation again. A final wall of botanic viridescence fell, revealing a cliff face beyond. Inosuke's blade retreated into the hilt as he deactivated the switch. A glance toward Henna surveyed her preparedness before he returned forward. He lunged forward, gained air before sinking his fingers into holds in the wall. Pebbles rolled down as he ascended toward the top. With a grunt, he hoisted himself over the edge and rolled onto the ground above.

After a moment, his head and shoulders poked out from above, stray strands of stygian locks hanging doward. He extended an arm over the edge with his hand opened expectantly.

Henna Ashina ​

 

[Dagon Kaze]

NEW JEDI ORDER | GALACTIC ALLIANCE | OLD IRON
MINING COMPANIES OFFICES
COMM LINE OPEN: Linny Rennis
Seto Du Couteau | Auteme | Melolei Kardul | Janos Sovv

"Dagon? You better have something, Seto just tried to schmooze his way into kicking the Jedi out, Come on, man, please say you have something. We're getting stonewalled by a Chiss ghost. I bet there never even was an Iden."

The only thing Linny would hear back was static. After all, it was nigh impossible to hear her words over the wind rushing at eighty miles per hour, let alone respond.

A convenient way to give Dagon more time to bring something to the table.

She did give him time and he did bring something to the table. Literally. Firing a the grappling hook the moment he caught Iden's corpse midair, he swung with the body straight through the windows and right on top of the negotiations table. Whether it was the Force or pure luck, no one was hurt. Well except Iden who had been just killed by unknown assailants and Dagon who felt every bone in his body aching.

Whoops.

 

[Henna Ashina]

BYOO - EXPLORE
Inosuke Ashina
can you feel the breeze?

​

Putting her own blade away in preparation, the master let out a small sigh. Despite the lure of the treasure at the end, it was moments such as these that made her painfully aware she was neither bred nor trained for this. The distaste gave way to sheer stubbornness as Henna took the hand that was offered. Grasping it firmly, her foot probed for a ledge- and when she found one, she followed suit, hoisting herself up with the knight's aid and rolling across the stone.

"Thanks," She offered breathily, standing and straightening her robes.

As she turned, a gasp of awe escaped her lips. An exquisite stone structure sat just yards from the pair. The building was covered in vines, but it only added to the beauty. Carvings peeked through the exposed spaces, stone guardians next to the door. It'd beauty was more than she could fathom.

"Looks like we made it," She told her counterpart as she threw a wide beam over her shoulder.

She began to move forward slowly, towards the pillars that stood on either side of the statues. Each had a small square in the middle. Henna went to the first, removing a crystal, and placing it in the opening. The pillar lit up with an ethereal glow. Henna's grin grew wider, then disappeared totally in an instant. A familiar chill touched her spine, an organ sounding through the peaceful music of the force. She turned to the knight, drawing the saber at her side.

"Seems as though we aren't the only ones looking for this place."

Her eyes began to scan the vegetation as she gave the warning, looking for the imminent threat.

 

[Inosuke Ashina]

"I sense it too," he noted, searching around the vicinity. Ever undisturbed, he refrained from retrieving his saber. A few steps shuffled forward toward the mouth of the temple. The presence neither faded nor intensified as he closed in.

"We should proceed cautiously. I will surveil for your safety while you search for the wayfinder."

A sideways nod of his head stabbed toward the entrance, indicating that they shouldn't linger.

Henna Ashina​

 

[Henna Ashina]

BYOO - EXPLORE
Inosuke Ashina
can you feel the breeze?

​

Nodding in acknowledgment, she placed her blade into its holster once more. She went to work, moving down the line of pillars. One after another, she received rather mundane items, placing them into the slots they were carved for; and one after another, each pillar lit up. As she withdrew the last key, a candle, and placed it as she had the others, a rumbling began. Then, silence. She nodded again, this time moving to the doors.

As she slid through the crevice between the enormous stone slabs, she looked forward. The same green glow that had shone from the pillars illuminated the room, shining from lanterns on the wall. She stepped into the foyer, uncertain. Hallways branched to their left and right. She then spotted a darker opening, near the back, where it looked as though a flight of stairs sat. Henna glanced behind her to ensure the knight followed, and began to make her way through the empty space.

Her eyes were once again drawn to the walls, where ancient carvings mirrored the outside. A species she didn't recognize stood side by side with some she did- twi'lek, human, and so many more. They all were robed, though in a different pattern than her own. Various foe fought opposite of them, some scenes seeing dueling pairs. Her eyes followed, ships taking place where the humanoids had once been. As her eyes look to the left, she didn't notice the shadowy figure on the right, thrusting a scarlet blade towards her.

 

[Inosuke Ashina]

Following, Inosuke kept an eye out as he was brought along to do. When his eyes caught the reliefs and architecture, he had to force himself into indifference. The stories this place could tell, the insights hiding in every crevice, it would have been too easy to become enamored. A lingering presence and sense danger kept him out of his own head in regards to these things.

He halted behind Henna, shadowing as she looked over the storied reliefs carved into the walls. A glance over his shoulder yielded nothing. As if waiting for a slip, danger twinged his senses just before he began to return his eyes forward. Images formed in the farthest reaches of his mind and manifested forward: A crimson blade and an unwitting folly.

Immediately his brain made spatial a connection with the brief precognitive vision. The Force bolstered his speed, as he surged to his right and around Henna's flank. Azure plasma screamed to life, batting away an oncoming strike whilst still extended. Knees bent, shoulders torqued, his blade's momentum shifted at the apex of his defense, and came down remorselessly across the exposed chest of the assailant.

The interloper grunted, gurgled, fell to the ground. A slight disturbance rippled through the force as the life left him, but his ally did not delay overlong. Inosuke whirled, threw his saber spinning like a sawblade in a clean, curved arc around Henna. It connected with an attempted strike, deflected, and returned to Inosuke's hand in mid-approach. Cerulean met Crimson, sending a flash of white-purple light across the chamber. A counterstrike flew horizontally before the Red could recover.

The sizzling of flesh heralded two separate thuds as either half of the second assailant tumbled to the floor. Inosuke's blade slithered and faded, blue light absconding back into the aluminiferous hilt. Calmly, fluid motion returned the saber to the hip-coupling. He turned halfway, looking toward a shoulder to address the other Jedi. "Are you alright?" he asked, though the resonant monotone did little for sincerity.

 

[Henna Ashina]

BYOO - EXPLORE
Inosuke Ashina
can you feel the breeze?

​

Henna's eyes found the body as it was sawed in two. She shook her head, face paling, and took a step back. There was a moment of anger- getting lost in thought had left her reliant on someone else, which didn't sit well. He was clearly capable, though, or she wouldn't still be breathing. She turned her gaze to meet his, attempting to formulate an answer.

"Yes." She finally confirmed, finding her voice. "I owe my thanks to you. Your skill and attention saved my life."

Restless, she tugged at the neck of her robes. It was suddenly very hot in the still temple.

"Your blade work- it's extraordinary. Why are you not a master?" She asked directly.

As she awaited his answer, she moved to the corpses, kneeling down. There wasn't much to see, how she began to pilfer nonetheless, looking for any sign of what they had learned or who they had been sent by.

 

[Inosuke Ashina]

Silent, aloof regard denied her an answer to the inquiry. A brief moment of silence lingered as he too looked over what was left of the pair of attackers. "They were waiting for us," he deduced, entirely stifling her attempt at raising a subject. It was likely that had sensed Henna and himself just as easily as they themselves had been sensed.

"I believe it is a safe assumption that they did not locate the wayfinder. They wouldn't have risked a strike otherwise." He scoped around, studying his sight and feelings quickly and scrutinously. "It doesn't appear that there are any more of them, but should keep our guard up."

His posture slacked slightly as the adrenaline began to wean. "Lead on."

 

[Melolei Kardul]

TAGS: Linny Rennis Seto Du Couteau Dagon Kaze Auteme Janos Sovv
​

She did her best to keep up, still casting a somewhat wide eyed glance to Seto as they spoke. Seriously need to keep an eye out for their name in future jobs. Melolei was beginning to work on reiterating the Chiss's opinions when a strange sound had her drawing short before a body landed on the table. From the window. She would be remiss to say the squeal that escaped her mouth at the sudden disturbance was a professional sound, or even remotely an attempted translation of some strange or long dead language.

A hand shot up to her mouth as she backpedaled and pushed herself against the wall, scooting to the jedi that were assembled near her. The amount of gibberish and different languages that filtered through her mouth at the sight was nothing shy of applause worthy, if it had made sense. As it was, she was simply filtering an excessive amount of cursing through different tongues trying to avoid insulting anyone currently present.

She pressed herself closer to the jedi, wide eyed and staring at the sight while waving her hand frantically. As if they all hadn't just witnessed the same event.

"Who-Who the feth is that!?" Words finally managed in standard, she pointed at the table, pink skin turning a ghastly color as her ears pointed towards the ceiling.

 

[Henna Ashina]

BYOO - EXPLORE
Inosuke Ashina
can you feel the breeze?

​

There was nothing to be found but the sabers, though they offered little information. With a sight Henna rose, and threw a pointed glance at the knight- he could keep his secrets, but she could be annoyed at such. Moving the few yards left to the door, she began the decent down the long staircase. The carvings still adorned the walls, though they became much bloodier in detail as they went farther down.

Finally, reaching the end, the stairs gave way to a small room. A single light source hung from the ceiling. The carvings lost their gore, replaced instead by beauty. Flowers, waterfalls, and ornate building had been worked into the walls. In the center of the room was the largest building- a deep socket sitting above it's doorway. Henna approached slowly, withdrawing the block from her satchel that matched. A single star to mark the way. She placed it in the hole, a perfect fit, and the small doors opened. The way finder sat behind them, black metal with the same greenish hue as the temple they stood in. Her hands reached out to cradle the object delicately, as though it were a fragile infant.

Looking back to the knight, she held it up, offering a view. A tired smile flickered across her face. Years of chasing a dream had led her to the light at the end.

"Thank you, Knight Ashina, for you assistance in finding this."

With the click of a button, the way finder came alive, the stars and planets dancing in front of them. She studied it for a moment before turning it off and placing it in her satchel.

"There is still much to do- following the directions and uncovering the mysteries will be its own adventure. For now, let us get back to the safety of the ship. I surely owe you a refreshment at the very least, for your contributions today."