Seeking a holocron

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel was confused. She didn’t know where her dreams ended and reality began. But Orihime was her anchor. If she could see her, then she was awake. And right now, she was by her side and Sorel was thankful.

The two worlds were now so entangled in Sorel’s mind that she could barely tell them apart. So she acted as logically as she could, putting all emotion aside. If she couldn’t differentiate, she wouldn’t try. Instead she would walk in the dream and allow her body echo the journey in the real world.

“I shall walk a path now,” she said to Orihime. “Stay with me, watch out for me. If I seem lost, be there for me and keep me attached to the real world. I have had a vision, or maybe a dream. Maybe it’s the poison? All I am sure of is that I must walk in Master Unduli’s steps."

And so she set off, the walk felt never-ending. She was unsure if the Jedi Master had been chasing someone or running away from them. No matter how hard she tried to dictate the pace herself, she never drew closer to her goal – but it never pulled away, either. The dream seemed to be leading her somewhere.

Just as she began to despair of finding anything, she suddenly stopped and turned to her right and forced her way through a dense stand of saplings, and she found herself on the shore of a small lake. Her attention was caught by a massive, cubical structure resting on a wooden platform in the middle of the lake. The structure appeared to be made of solid stone, with no windows, doors, or openings of any kind. The wooden platform holding it just above the water was obviously very old. It strained under the weight of the giant stone cube.

But no sooner had she set eyes on the stone cube, than the area around the lake was full of Wookiees.

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]TH

is girl was out of it... maybe the poison was getting to her or blood loss... she was certain there hadn't been that much but maybe the teenager was a lightweight as Orihime nodded her head letting Sorel walk the path she needed to and she did what she needed to do. Taking her hand so she had something there to anchor onto and stay in the real world.... Though that didn't mean she couldn't help and the padawan opened herself. Slowly to the force allowing it to pour out of her, she wore things like the sigil, her earrings, the channeling gloves or her lightsaber itself all of which gave a large force aura. She didn't need them, like her sister they had been kind of made with the lightside influencing them in many of the ways to better be conceived. She had only met one other person, Morgana but she had been made with alchemy, the twins had been made with love and the lightside..... So she opened that prt of herself to the force to help sorel and she could be a big glowing bright beacon of the force to guide her back as they were walking towards a lake. "I think we are here."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel looked around them. So many Wookiees. Many of its tall, furred denizens had served in the many wars as soldiers, technicians, and couriers, but most had returned at some point to their planet. And the tallest amongst them was white-furred and stood atop the fire-blackened stump of an enormous wroshyr tree, close to the a collection of huts invisible to anyone who walked only a few metres away, so secluded was the spce they were standing in.

A cool wind stirred the leaves and kshyy vines. The sun was setting, and the wind had picked upLike the light, the sounds of the forest, too, were dying down.

The white furred Wookiee gave a long series of roars. Unsure if her friend understood the lingo, Sorel translated out loud. “He says this is a holy place. That we are trespassers and must pay a price just for being here. Only then will they speak of what they know we are here for.”

“What do I say?”

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

She was looking at them nd listening as the ideas were coming to her, how best to proceed and help here. The price to be paid could be any number of things but usually she got by on credit. Her mother hadbeen a friend to the wookie's and they respected her for that. Didn't mean she got everything but they were usually more incluned to not rip her arms out of their sockets... That was a plus.. a very large plus while she stepped forward and spoke her voice coming out is shrilowook over normal basic because got to know the language. "I don't know how many here know me but my mother worked to protect this world. She was given a place of honor when defending it against the sith when they tried to ignite the trees alongside Selena Halcyon. We this girl is her padawan, her student. Whatever price you could ask we are more then willing to work and show you that we are friends of th wookie's." So long as it wasn't hunting down one of the great beasts... thoe things were unfair to go after."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

The white-furred Wookiee listened to Orihime, clearly understanding Basic, as nobody translated for him.

"Your lineage is the reason we have not attacked you. It was foretold. We are sworn to safeguard this place and were told that only those worthy would ever find it, but that a final test was required to prove you are truly led here by the one that asked us to protect her gift to the future of the Jedi." Sorel translated as he spoke. "Your task is simple but like so many tests that appear straightforward, it shall test you. You are required to bring to us an Agr. Alive" He pointed to one of the tapestries that adorned the clearing. His intent was clear. The red-coloured predatory bird was clearly an Agr. "And they nest near here. But only at the top of the tree."

With that he barked a new order and the Wookiees dispersed and returned to their huts, leaving the Jedi alone.

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Well at least she wasn't going to be beaten to within an inch of her life. She needed to be careful still but capturing something alive... That she could do with Sorel and the padawan bowed her head. "Thank you." She offered a smile to the white furred one while preparing for anything with it as she listened to the force turning to Sorel. "Well we aren't going to be killed at least... we can prove ourselves to them." That was always a good thing to have as an option in her opinion while moving around. "I for one am thinking we can do this and find what you seek." So lets make it happen she thought while preparing herself for anything.

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel allowed the Wookiees to leave before turning to Orihime. "It could have been worse I guess. But the top of the trees? These things are over a kilometre tall? The first challenge is to get to the top of one. Then we have to find a nest. Then we have to catch one. And then we have to bring it back down here unharmed. And do all of that without falling of course, which is likely to end in certain death."

Despite the words, there was a lightness in her voice. "Which I'm sure we can do. And we can always improvise. You know, offer a dead bird to entice one lower? Use Beast Control to encourage it down to the ground? In fact that's not a bad plan - and a lot safer. What do you think? Swing a dead creature on the end of a line to entice one down?" She glanced up at the trees around her. It could take a few hours just to climb to the top of one - and there was no guarantee there would be a bird's nest at the top anyway.

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

That was a way to staart it out as she was looking up at the trees to find the best place. "That can work." She had a few ideas of how to get up there and not falling off while going over the different parts with her eyes. "As for getting up there we are going to want to find something really sturdy." Her staff could extend and lift thm up a couple meters sure but nothing the height they would really need as she was walking back. "I have some experience with beast control to attract it and finding something dead we can use to attract them would help but I am wondering if we might need stronger bait." She was thinking about one of the larger creatures in the shadowlands that the birds wouldn't be able to often get with her thoughts and a small smirk appeared. "Looks like we are going hunting for a little bit and it would be safer on the ground then in the canopy."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel nodded. "We catch a creature to catch a creature then. But what creature. Something an Agr would naturally eat. A can-cell perhaps? They eat rodents an so would come to the ground often. If we could craft a snare, we could catch one and then lure an Agr down. Or were you thinking of bigger game?"

Sorel was no expert on the flora and fauna of the area. She knew the things to avoid, but the general food-chain was not something she studied. "Perhaps your database could help?"

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

They could do that, she was moving now that they were alone and ready slipping the red shatory index out as the sleek design fit in a pocket. Providing plenty of support for the field while she popped it open showing the screen and buttons to Sorel. Inputting the name and the image popping up as it started to describe what information they had on it in the database. "Only have three bars of signal down here but that is more then enough. We should be able to get all of the information we need here." She was moving and had learned how to make snares but in the shadowlands here there seemed to be more vines holding husks of kinrath while she looked at this. "According to the index kinrath are set like this to attract and appease creatures down here. It might be scaring away the smaller things."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel did her best to work out the complexity of the task without making it too challenging.

“So we need to clear an area of Kinrath? Then smaller creatures will return and then we catch one to use as bait for the Agr? Have I got it right?” It seemed what was as the Wookiee said a simple taks was already proving complex. But whatever they were hoping to find, she figured it had to be worth it, so was going to do whatever it took to find a bird for the Wookiees.

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Looking at her. "it wouldn't be fast enough, we can have patience but that could be a lot of kinrath and it could take them months even years to return.... as interesting and enjoyable the idea of being alone in the woods with you use Sorel. I think we might just need to be careful and try to find some of their nests in case they have food we can use as bait." She said it with a smile heading out as the scent of corpses came with the breeze going through the shadowlands. Her attention went to the ground where drag marks were leading to a tree with webbing and branches. she could see but it was something else when she got closer and held up a cracked piece of spine embedded in the trees. "We got something big."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel smiled. She was glad that her friend was with her. Alone she migh have spent months on this particular task, because the notion of finding something to use in a kinrath nest was not one that occurred to her, and would never have done.

"So, we follow the clues to the nest and see if there's something in there that would attract the bird?" Sorel hoped that a whole family of kinrath was not something they would find in the nest. But maybe a young of the species? Or a snack the creatures had saved for later.

At her friend's words she looked at her quizzically. "How big is big?"

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

She was wondering the same thing while going towards it and looking at everything there. in the dark of the shadowlands was something to deal with while her attention went to the things on the ground. Glad she had the force to lift some of the half eaten remains she could look over as she spoke. "Looks like it might be pretty big." She was looking at some of the things there and then there was a sound as something gold was looking from deeper in the burrow at her as she stood there and the padawan moved back a little hearing the snap of branches and bones. "Or big like that." Running time was the only thing coming into her mind while she tried to not flee in terror lest it follow them but she was not going to stand there in the thing with less space to move around. "Just back up slowly and prepare for running up the trees."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Running up a tree sounded preposterous. Which of course it was. So to hear it suggested as a viable option was, in Sorel's opinion, a valid reason to start to worry. If big was truly that big, they just might be in trouble. But Sorel was invariably optimistic before viewing things from a glass half-empty perspective, and so nodded to her fellow Padawan and did precisely what she'd recommended.

Sorel fixed her eyes on the source of the sound and wondered what would emerge from the undergrowth. Already her saber hilt was in her right hand although she had not activated it yet. And she backed up slowly and as quietly as she could.

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

She could see the creature and it looked nearly three times her size, for them being a short padawan she could think of a few things.... But her hand went to her saber and she was ready for anything from it while the massive beast of a sithspawn came into view. She could see the trees and as it roared coming at them charging before she was moving and motioning for Sorel to do the same. Going up towards the tree while she ran along the root and up some of the trunk to launch herself up and back grabbing the large spikey spines to get into a better place. She knew Sorel had some skill in handling things. "Its belly is sft and less protected."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

[member="Orihime Ike"]

Sorel mouthed the word, rather than saying it. Sithspawn! It was truly massive and more than a match for two Padawans, even with their collection of abilities at their fingertips. It had been a testing day and Sorel's access to the Force was limited due to her exertions so far.

Then Orihime was moving and gesturing she did the same. Sorel expected the swift motion to be away from the creature, but her fellow Padawan instead decided on jumping on its back. News that it's belly was vulnerable was not precisely what Sorel wanted to hear. Why were extremities never a weak spot? Why did you always have to get up close and personal?

Which is when Sorel realised she didn't have to. Her focus of training for the previous two years was the basics. Speed, Jump, Push, Pull and of course Telekinesis. The latter she combined with saber practice in the form of Faalo's Cadences. So she leaped up to one of the branches of the tree behind her and activated both sabers. Then she controlled them using TK to attack the creature. It swatted at the hilts but only succeeded in damaging its claws on the blades before turning its attention on Orihme. Given this gave her clear access, she set the sabers to work, attacking the creatures belly.

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Orihime watched Sorel and while worried for her friend wasn't going to say ... no stop don't.... That would devalue her skills as a jedi but she could help her out. As the creature was swatting at the saber she was attacking with Orihime looked at the mass of scars on its head and at the golden orbs for its eyes. Staying careful and ready as she crouched down to keep her balance swatting with her staff at its eye ridge. "Hey hey hey I am right here." The thing seemed to roar and swipe at where her blade was as she felt something jostle on the back of the creatures. The squishy sound as she got it to thumb its own eye with a claw bringing a nod to her head and she had her saber while extending it and moving so she could use it in the gory mess to tilt the beasts head and keep it distracted. "Come on big fella... right where we want you." Not really but she was looking at some of the fallen branches and trees while guiding it through its own anger and gripped the spine harder letting it try and see her instead of sorel.

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Clearly this was a killing machine – but it was fair to say that it had never encountered two Jedi before – even if they were Padawans. And they were working as a team. Whilst Orihime was distracting it – and encouraging it to gouge out one of its own eyes – Sorel was focused on gutting it, quite literally.

The creature’s hide was thick, but its stomach was going to be their best hope of opening it up. So the sabers danced as the creature split its attention between throwing Orihime off its back and swatting away the twin hilts. It had some success, but clearly caused no damage, merely pushing at them as the blade sliced at its belly – until a loud roar of pain that must have echoed for miles around, told the young Padawan that she’d been successful in penetrating its hide. Now she focused on that spot and sliced and jabbed at it, controlling the blades just like the training cadence through Telekinesis. Slowly the wound opened up and – as the old joke had it – if you thought it smelled bad on the outside, you had no idea how rank its innards reeked.

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

She felt the thing bucking almost to throw her off while it moved roaring loudly and leaving a ringing in her ears when she jumped and kicked it in the spine to send it into a large branch that was protruding while the stomach got a thick branch in it. The beast was pinned for a moment as she flipped back into the dirt holding her saber moving to the side to slash at it until it was screaming. with anger. She could see the spines there before moving to catch up with Sorel and activated her saber with one of the sides extending it into a pike to stab at it with a spear over being in too close. The lightweight pole was a welcome weapon to use so they could have the range as she was jabbing at him. She could see blood staining the tree and ground while it was in the air.