Private Tracking the Occult

[Ilwynog Cysgod]

Something didn't add up. Ilwynog poured over the files again and again, they had been trying to figure something out, even reaching out to other Shadows to figure out if things were related or Ilwynog were just reading too much into things again. They would often throw themselves into work and that dedication meant they often followed leads that necessarily weren't meant to be followed. This time however, there was no doubts that something was wrong, Sith artefacts. Ancient artefacts, either they had been taken by shadowy people that everyone they contacted seemed to struggle to describe well or there was bloodshed and the artefact missing, not even appearing on the black market. Someone or some group was taking these Sith items and keeping them, that was what bugged Ilwynog, Sith and Jedi artefacts were often taken by smugglers and opportunists but Ilwynog could usually track them down through the black market. As expansive as the market was, finding artefacts like those Ilwynog knew where to look in the market because they tended to always appear in the same areas. To most the market was a mess but patterns were embedded in the mess in Ilwynog's mind.

Stretching their muscles, they figured out where a Sith artefact was, it was left abandoned years ago. Adjusting their armour, they were on their own figuring whoever they would encounter would be at most a couple of people, something working this well in the shadows Ilwynog figured they were mostly likely a small group. Large groups interested in Sith artefacts tended to be Sith and Sith were not the secretive type, at least not in recent memories. Ilwynog knew Sith could be in the shadows and destroy governments without a single Jedi finding out who they were. Sighing, this was risky job if things were not what they predicted but in their armour and with their skill set, they should be safe. They were hiding their Lightsaber, if caught today they were going to pretend that they were a treasure hunter simply looking to sell this artefact they stumbled upon. Stepping out of the ship, Ilwynog looking around the planet, it wasn't steeped in Dark Side energy from what Ilwynog could tell, perhaps this was why the artefact remained untouched over the years. Their cloak billowed in the breeze as they wandered around the place, inspecting the areas, so far everything seemed quiet and unassuming.

Perhaps Ilwynog was wrong, perhaps this wasn't the next artefact or things weren't connected. Could be simple thing as dealers were selling in a new area and Ilwynog missed something... No, Ilwynog was too cautious, they refused to believe they missed something, they knew something was up and everything pointed to this.

Dresta

 

[Dresta]

From the shadows crept the tendrils of the ever-hidden Cult of Dresta, a group that was often but a rumor, and sometimes a reward for those that sought it out as truth and found it - those same people rewarded with knowledge and power. These tendrils latched onto the shadows within the galaxy, removing them to some place else - some place where they were in control - keeping and safeguarding these items; learning from them; studying them; perhaps even creating more. Sometimes specific things were sought out. Since she had become Everchosen, Dresta - whose presence rang out in the Force like a mighty roar of darkness, making it impossible for her to hide her presence - she had been seeking out a Yoke of Seeming. It would serve many uses, one of which was to learn from the device so that she could make her own - or one that was even better.

Dispatched to the planet was a smaller group of Sith - numbering about 3, with one Master, Dresta, 1 knight, and one young apprentice. To bring the entire cult for a lone artifact was entirely unnecessary, especially as they didn’t believe themselves to be tracked. Nonetheless, the most immediate goal was to find the Yoke of Seeming, grab it, and exfiltrate as soon as possible. They didn’t want to stick around on this moon too long. In fact, all they wanted was the artifact. Little else here was, at the moment, personally of any interest to Dresta or the Cult. They had been zeroing in on a cracked tomb laced with force dead materials, preventing many from finding the tomb. Within it, they believed they would discover the Yoke of Seeming.

The apprentice and knight were zeroing in on the leaking presence of darkness, led by Dresta. This world was not steeped in the dark side. It was the perfect world to hide yourself if one wanted to hide from the galaxy in death, but something had happened to the force dead materials, and Dresta had found herself attracted like a dowsing rod to the tomb of a hidden Sith from circa 402 ABY. It was only a matter of time before their shadow would be able to find them, not that they would be aware of this.

Ilwynog Cysgod

 

[Ilwynog Cysgod]

Ilwynog was thinking that they perhaps had gotten the whole location wrong when the Force started to send chills through the Force, it was sign that heavy Dark Side presence, or presences, had arrived. Ilwynog closed their eyes and focused on the Force presence inside them, diminishing it till there was nothing but a speck. An appearance of someone unable to use the Force, they adjusted their attire to look more clearly like a smuggler or hunter. Tapping their helmet they turned on music and picked something upbeat and classic. Mentally they had to become an idiot, a little thick and foolish, this was their go to act when they were pretending to be a smuggler/hunter. It was cheesy and a little ridiculous but in a galaxy of crazy Force Users and big egos, this tended to not appear out of place as a normal non-Force User. Dancing around the tomb, they sung a little out loud, getting into the songs as they played. It was hard not to sing-a-long to a good track.

Kicking the air as they pretended to air guitar then spin on the spot in front of the three cultists, it looked like a random hunter had stumbled into their space completely oblivious to who was around, on Ilwynog was the artefact, however Ilwynog was spinning in order to assess the three, they were Force Users. Sith if they had to guess from the presence and general appearance, Dark Side tended not to do a person's complexion any good. Ilwynog also noted that they could sense three different variations in the Force, beginner, Knight and then a clear Master. Usually they could handle a Knight and apprentice, but the Master was someone they were cautious of. A wookiee, muscular and clearly more brutish in combat than Force reliant. Likely someone to overwhelm with strong physical attacks, though Ilwynog couldn't underestimate their Force powers or cunning, Sith Master was not won by being the strongest.

They continued dancing for a couple more minutes then paused, looking up and pretending to just notice the three. "Sup! Can I help you three? Not sure there is much in this tomb left folks, I couldn't find anything personally so gunna head back to my ship." Their robotic voice changer revealed little about Ilwynog, but the tone of someone casual, trying to be discrete about what they found and nervous to leave. In reality, Ilwynog was seeing how they react, if things got confrontational or if they might try to persuade them over to whatever shadowy organisation they belong to.

Dresta

 

[Dresta]

The round face of the apprentice was covered up by a mask, but his form was small enough that it gave away the fact he wasn’t an adult just yet. At 13, this was his first deployment to the field. He kicked a stone as the person approached, entering the proximity of his force sense when he turned to them. He had been pretty bored lately. He wanted to fight Jedi! But… Lord Dresta said he wasn’t ready yet. That he would be ‘easily’ defeated by a Master. He rolled his eyes, and gazed up from the ground - staring directly at the person in front of him. He put a hand on his lightsaber, ready to deploy it at a moment’s notice. He had just gotten it, but had been training in Ataru since he was able to walk. He was seasoned enough that he could hold his own just long enough for him to escape from the weaker saber wielders in the galaxy, but against the glow stick of a master Dresta was all too aware he might not be able to get away, and some Jedi had no qualms about killing children… or millions of innocents. He wasn’t sure if the person in front of him was dangerous, or not, though, but he seemed uhm… a bit funny in the head.

The knight that was charged with watching over the apprentice normally had been hoping this mission would teach the young apprentice the importance of some of their roles. It was a small mission, but the apprentice had yet to interact with Lord Dresta outside of classes, so it was still important. After this, they would likely return to their former Jedi lightsaber training ship to continue his training before they were assigned their next mission - and this time it would be just them, and the odds were likely to be higher. The knight tilted his head up as his eyes analyzed the other. No one was expected to be here, the knight thought.

”Yes, but someone is here nonetheless.” Dresta’s thoughts whispered into the pair’s minds, and the knight soon had a hand on his lightsaber. It seemed to be a combination weapon. It could deploy a lightsaber blade, or be used to fire a slugthrower round. His apprentice’s saber was more traditional, and Dresta’s was in the traditional design but displayed… unnatural qualities that the Knight had yet to master. One day, when he was a master, he would have a crystal like Dresta’s. And his apprentice would be a knight. He’d wonder if they’d still remain paired together after that, or if his apprentice would develop a capacity for teaching.

Dresta turned to face the person.

”You were not here. You did not see us. You leave your ship, finding nothing, and forgetting the tomb.” The powerful mental abilities of Dresta, enhanced likewise by the process that made her Everchosen, could often warp the mind of someone like the person before them. If it did not work, however, if she came into contact with walls… then she would realize, this person was not normal.

Ilwynog Cysgod

 

[Ilwynog Cysgod]

It seemed to be a kid Sith apprentice, nothing to be worried about in grand schemes of a fight and the Knight had an interesting concept for a Lightsaber, something that Ilwynog did not see often however, they were concerned about the fight with them either. Ilwynog was very quick on the draw when they needed to shoot, and accurate. Helps to sell that you are a smuggler when you tend to be an expert in gunfights, and duels. However, it was this Master, someone who was clearly in charge of the three and had the air of someone in power, more than just a Master but a leader. This didn't mean it was the head of this artefact hunting shadowy organisation and Ilwynog was going to need more answers before they could return to SJC space. The mental attack on Ilwynog came in quick, they paused as their protection kicked in but there were many races immune to Mind Tricks and not having their race identifiable was a relief in this moment when they resisted the attempts of using Mind Trick on them.

"Wot? You some kinda Jedi? Mind Tricks don't work on me, pleasures of being an Anzati with a few hundred years around you Jedi folks." While Anzati weren't naturally immune, they had plenty of mental abilities so having blocks for Mind Tricks wasn't a stretch. Ilwynog knew that their identity as a Jedi was still safe but they needed to look like they were willing to leave. "However, for a fee, I could leave and forget this moon, what I found and likely more important to you three, what I saw." Laughing deeply as they pretended to be sleazy and willing to just surrender the prize for a fee.

"Otherwise, I'm off to my ship and to some quite gossipy black market dealers, amazing how talkative they can be when they are committing crimes." Shrugs as they took a step forward, towards the exit. They were still committed to sounding and acting foolish but this was a bravado, false sense of confidence in their ability. "And you could kill me, but my droid on the ship sending a detailed message of my whereabouts and fact that the droid spotted you three entering this tomb, likely be something you rather not happen?" Ilwynog was bluffing hard but life was a gamble and if they needed to fight then they would.

Dresta

 

[Dresta]

Are they? Dresta thought. How insulting. Some dumb spacer, approaching three lightsaber wielders, and trying to blackmail them? Had they no respect? Had they no idea that such a route was not the path to diplomacy, but only to having a lightsaber wedged into their faceplate. Her mind reached out to someone nearby, on a vessel hidden in the slopes between this area and another. The ship they had arrived on was in possession of aa jamming device as part of its electronic countermeasures. She asked them simply to turn it on. They should’ve had it on in the first place, but they hadn’t detected any life signs. She squinted. One could not see her eyes squinting, of course. Her juggernaut armor’s helm hid any expression, and also her true nature. Dresta stepped forward.

”I do not think that will work for you, ‘Anzati’.” Dresta communicated telepathically. Telepathy was one of her favored forms of communication. After all, not everyone in the galaxy knew Shryiook, but most people were more than aware of galactic basic and quite fluent in conversational skill with it. The wind picked, and the apprentice stepped back, retreating into a formation that nestled them between Dresta and their master, the Knight. He bit his bottom lip underneath his mask. Recording them? Their identities were hidden. The most distinguishing thing about them was their armor. Ugh. He liked this armor. It was comfortable and you could move all the right parts to get to the zippers the clothes he wore underneath had. Even the pockets had zippers! He kinda just plopped his armor across what he was already wearing, so… easier that way, honestly. He didn’t bother with much of an under layer. No pockets. No zippers. Where’s he supposed to hide his Choccy Bar?

In this formation, the potential of blocking any attack on the young sith with their lightsabers was higher.

”Truly, threatening us could not have been your best strategy?” Soon, the air was filled with the hum of lightsabers, if they were able to successfully unveil them without being struck down. Not Dresta’s, though. Not yet. She pushed forward with the Force at the same time the others tried to activate their sabers. The energy separated some of the soft earth below it, creating a perfect line - like someone had taken a club and hammered into the dirt with perfect, impressive depth all the way to the person before them, She’d follow that up with an explosive bolt from Sliverstring, the powerful disruption bowcaster’s shot burning across the atmosphere as it hurdled towards the target she hoped she had left unbalanced.

Ilwynog Cysgod

 

[Ilwynog Cysgod]

Armoured and concealed identities meant that they couldn't be named, but Ilwynog was smarter than to think reckless blackmail would get them out of the situation, they also knew that these three did not want to be known to even exist. "Oh I think it will. You clearly work in shadows, I know because you act like I do when local police force trying to shut down my smuggling job. So, lets chill and talk this through. I want to leave, you don't want me to revealing that you even exist, because doesn't matter if you change armour, my associates will find you and expose you. Criminal organisations tend to be worse than the Jedi in hunting down people who cross them. So, you can trying jamming, hunting down my ship and blowing it up. I say you can try because, your assessments of me are very far off."

"I might act the fool, but I am still Anzati and spent good few hundred years surviving and doing this job. So, be on your way, leave me in peace and then we have no issues. Fight me, all of you die here." Ilwynog paused and shook their head, "I don't make threats, I just speak truths." They sighed as the hum of Lightsabers filled the air. "Really? I really thought you Sith were smarter than this... Must be recent failures against the NIO that got you desperate for a win, too bad you lose here too." Their perception with Force Sense meant that even wearing the helmet there was no blind spots for them. Sensing the Force ripple through the air, Ilwynog jumped out of the way, nothing too impressive but gave the air of an agile non-Force User fighter.

When the bowcaster shot came at them, Ilwynog had to dodge faster than average humanoid could, luckily claiming to be Anzati meant that nothing was still out of normal in terms of their abilities since they knew Anzati were significantly faster and stronger when fresh from a meal. Whether they could keep up the ruse was another matter, fast hands pulled out their blaster pistol and firing multiple shots at the Knight and Apprentice. "Look, clearly you want to explore this temple peacefully, I want to leave peacefully, let me go and all is good. Not like I got anything important." They were still downplaying they had the artefact, but job of any smuggler not to reveal their hand early.

Dresta