Well…hello there!

[Lilla Syrin]

LiIla stared at the moisture vaporator standing beside the abandoned hut. Like so many other buildings on Tatooine, it was made of synstone, a mixture of crushed local rock and dissolvants that could be cast into almost any shape.

She was surprised the Jawas hadn’t scavenged it. But then, she had at least a theory. She’d been drawn here by two things. Firstly was a feeling. She could not describe it any better than that — but in the past few years, she’d come to expect these unexpected and unbidden mental nudges that told her to go there or come here.

Invariably the hunch had been valuable — from avoiding a place that would have resulted in something unsavoury happening, to being in the right place at the right time through to receive a stroke of luck.

Not that Lilla believed in luck. If you’ve been enslaved twice before the age of ten, the concept of being blessed with good fortune could not be further from your perception of the truth.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

But something was guiding her. Lilla didn’t believe in any given religion and trusted in herself and only herself. Yet…there was some force at work. Not that she gave it much thought. She took her gut instincts at face value and never went anywhere blindly — always taking the hint like any tip-off, with a healthy dose of skepticism.

But such thoughts were pushed quickly from her mind and instead she reflected on the second reason she’d come here.

Lilla thought she knew the Sand People well. But one tribe defied — up to a point — the norm. Typically they did what Tusken’s did, except they seemed to avoid this place. No, it was more than that. Lilla wasn’t sure if it was reverence or a desire to guard the property, but they came close and ensured that nobody else snooped too closely.

Why? She had no idea, but her curiosity would not rest until it was sated.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

The sun-bleached dwelling hugged a remote, stony bluff in the Jundland Wastes with a sweeping view of the Western Dune Sea.

Lilla often trecked out here and if anyone was keeping track — and Lilla hoped they weren’t — the frequency had increased over time.

Lilla closed her eyes. Despite their being a pull to her coming here, once she arrived, there was oddly a serenity about being at the old hut. She could feel the heat of Tatooine's blazing twin suns on her back as she trudged across the rocky ground and drew closer to the plasteel door that was still intact as an entrance to the hut. And then she felt it.

There was a strange tension in the air. It was an odd conflict of feelings. On one hand it felt as though she was being encouraged to enter but it was equally matched by a sensation to leave.

Lilla innately sensed that these ‘messages’ were not for her. Or at least one of them wasn’t. But which one?

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Deciding the only way to find out was to be bold, Lilla checked the plasteel door. It was unlocked. Lilla slid it open and stepped inside. The air was musty, but the shadowy interior offered at least some relief from the heat.

The place was obviously deserted and looked as though it had been for some time. Sand dust was everywhere and Lilla was interested to note that there were no ornaments. It had either been stripped or it had been owned by someone that did not see furnishings as important.

Lilla saw a vacuum-seal chest on the floor beside a structural column. She knew instinctively it would be empty but that curiosity compelled her to take a look.

Lilla brushed the sand from the chest's lid, then lifted it and looked inside.

It was, as anticipated, empty.

Lilla smiled. She hadn't expected the chest to contain anything valuable but she had hoped to find something. Anything.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

She continued her inspection of the home. She quickly found a cellar. A short series of steps, hewn from bedrock, descended into darkness. Lilla pulled a small glowrod from her belt, activated its light, and climbed down the steps. The cellar wasn't entirely dark, as a scant, eerie light emanated from luminescent stone that was set in one wall.

What must have once been dried fruits, vegetables, and meats now resembled collapsed bits of leather — still strung to a metal pipe that traveled to a cistern. There was also a workbench that looked as though it had been constructed from scrap metal. Tools were neatly arranged on shelves, but a few select tools rested on the workbench, as if waiting for their owner's return.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla scoured the building for anything of interest, but came up short. Then she did it again. And again.

By the fifth sweep, she was confident that there was nothing here she was either supposed to find – or not supposed to.

But that did not explain the feelings she had been experiencing. The ones that compelled her to return to the derelict hut time and time again.

So she sat on the floor of the main room and relaxed. She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to clear. There, at the back of her consciousness, was that sensation. It was annoying, for the more she sought it, the further away it seemed to go. Yet to remain static, mentally, meant the feeling remained out of reach.

And then her eyes snapped open – that was it!

 

[Lilla Syrin]

The feeling was less pronounced in this room than it was outside. Which meant, to Lilla’s simple logic, that whatever she was reacting to was not inside the hut at all.

Armed with this knowledge, she leaped to her feet and walked quickly out into the now fading heat of the sun.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla scanned her immediate surroundings – but her visual search came up short. She then extended her perusal to the horizon, although once more there was nothing obvious to see. No buildings or man-made constructions of any kind – save for the moisture vaporator and a few well-holes.

Lilla’s brow knitted. Something was drawing her here. She could not explain what or why or even how, but she knew – somehow – that this was not something concocted by her imagination. It was real. Somehow, something was calling to her and although she could hear the call, she could not understand what was demanding her attention, or what they were saying.

Lilla sighed audibly. A small part of her wanted to leave. The logical part of her told her she was most likely imagining this sensation. And that she was tired and should go ‘home’ and if she wanted to waste her time looking, she should do it the following day. Or week. Or month. Or never.

But the part of her consciousness that did not have the power of speech but instead was clearly the part that was egging her search on…well that blatantly disagreed. Every fibre in her being wanted to find the source and not wait. She simply knew that was the right thing to do – she just couldn’t explain why.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Just as she could not explain to someone why she was still on this planet – save for the fact that it felt ‘right’ – her heart was no telling her not to give up. Not to listen to any logical argument but to press ahead.

So she did.

By now dusk was falling and in theory this was the most dangerous time to be around – except that was not how she felt. Her observations showed that this area was not dangerous and that the Tuskens, arguably the greatest reason to be wary, were not a threat but in some odd way, an ally.

Smiling at the complete lack of logic in that argument, Lilla decided to keep on looking. And not tomorrow but right now.

So, she returned to the door of the hut and walked in ever increasing circles, allowing her senses other than sight to guide her. Which was just as well, as the failing light meant she would soon not be able to see anything anyway.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

As she completed each circuit of the hut, she began to get a sense of where the feeling was strongest. But she remained steadfast in her approach and continued to circle the building and not blindly follow her desire to rush off in a specific direction.

Each circuit made the ‘sweet-spot’ ever stronger and she knew she had to be getting close. She closed her eyes, in the hope this would help to focus her attention. It was a trick she often used in low-light – and even darkness. It made no theoretical difference, but subliminally she knew that when her brain knew it would receive no help from her eyes, it seemed to boost the remaining senses.

And at the same time, Lilla dropped the natural defence she’d learned to raise to ward off unwanted thoughts and emotions from others. Out here, at this time, there were no sentients to overload her mind. Instead she could feel minor emotions – hunger, fear. She often wondered if these were from creatures, no doubt below the surface of the sand.

Which is when she fell.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Her instincts kicked in and she threw out her hands and grabbed at what felt like stone. The same stone her feet touched moments before she fell.

Opening her eyes, she could see just enough to tell she was below ground level in a small circular vertical tunnel.

One of the wells!

 

[Lilla Syrin]

She carefully pulled herself out and that’s when she heard it. Not a voice exactly, but it felt like a person calling her. No words. Nothing tangible, but the overwhelming sensation that she was being connected with.

And whoever it was, they were down this well.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla did more than her fair share of climbing. It was a prerequisite at the governess’s academy. Scaling walls was the first aspect taught, but also techniques for virtually smooth vertical surfaces, as well as natural phenomena – such as cliffs.

The well broadly fell into the first category. Typically, she was taught to use equipment, but they were also expected to climb without. So she took in a sharp intake of breath and did a few stretches before making the bold – and possibly slightly foolish – decision to descend the well.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

The first rule was to keep your arms straight. Bent arms meant you were required to support your weight more than is necessary, resulting in fatigue a lot earlier on a climb. And he did not know how deep she’d have to go down – and by definition how far back up.

And a bent arm restricted the length you can reach, making holds seem impossible when really, they’re just a stretched arm away.

The second rule was that feet were the basis of your movement, and she was taught to climb with twisted feet. Twisting your feet changes the whole way you climb, allowing you to keep your arms straight and climb routes a lot quicker, without using too much physical strength and energy.

Amd given she had no idea how long the climb would be, she knew she would have to conserve as much energy as possible, especially as she enjoyed a limited diet. On the plus side, she had low body-weight – and her build was wiry rather than muscular – and therefore heavy.

So, as she descended, she utilised the technique known as flagging. It allowed her to use the wall to support her body weight when she’s reaching for a hand hold. It allowed her to straighten her supporting leg and reach upwards with a straight arm.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

There was a conflict in her mind as she descended. Part of her knew she needed to conserve energy, but she also knew that, the quicker she climbed, the less time she’d have to support her body weight on holds that the average person could not even imagine, let alone execute.

So she also employed rockovers – essentially the shifting of weight from one side of her body to the other, enabling her to move herself in a new direction with ease. It can be tricky to shift this energy, and took a lot of practise, but it now allowed her to step across holds that seem impossible to a novice.

The down side to this experience was the distraction of whatever was calling to her. If she wasn’t careful, a lack of focus would see her fall to the bottom of the well, and Lilla imagined that was not a distance measured in centimetres, but rather tens and tens of metres. If not hundreds.

But to block it out would mean she might pass it by when she was closest, so she was forced to take the occasional risk to speed her descent.

Dynos were the solution. In simple terms, rather than search for too long for a hold – or take too many short holds to make progress, she would jump from one position to another. It was more physical and required utilising upper body strength but every now and then she understood the need to throw caution to the wind, knowing she could easily misjudge the angle and fall away from the wall.

She paused. The sensation was growing ever stronger but she had no idea how strong it would get when she reached her destination. She would have to rely on it ebbing to understand she’d gone too far.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Despite her life being so precarious, Lilla’s grip was relaxed. She knew that over-gripping would wear out her forearms and when that happened, she would fall. Experienced climbers knew that the grip is first muscle group to go. She’d spent countless hours improving the muscles in her forearm as a result. But that was then and this was now.

And then she noticed it. It was almost imperceptible at first but the feelings diminished over the next few metres. She’d passed the zenith of the sensation and needed to climb back up.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

It did not take too long to understand the vertical position of the source and now she travelled around the well’s circumference to ascertain its precise location.

And finally she found it and came face to face with…bricks that looked identical to the thousands around them.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla cursed under her breath and then berated herself for it. It was weak to blame anyone and counterproductive to achieving anything.

Breathing deeply, Lilla touched the bricks in front of her. They all felt the same until one seemed to vibrate with an energy unlike the others. It did not look to be moving, and made no sound. But to the touch, there was an energy unique to the stone based block.

Lilla pulled at it and...nothing happened.

Then she dug her nails into its edges, where it met the mortar and felt it wiggle.

Buoyed by this, she continued for almost half an hour before she moved it enough to be able to pull it carefully out with her fingertips. It had been painstaking work – her blade was even too thick to fit between the gap betwixt mortar and stone.

Behind the stone was a darkness that made the well’s gloominess seem positively glowing.

Lilla inserted her hand. Gently she moved her fingers forwards, fractions of centimetres at a time. For only now had she considered the thought that whatever was down her might b boob-trapped. Or not want to be found.

Finally, at the full stretch of her arm, her fingers touched something soft. Velvety. It felt like a bag and she pulled it carefully out of the hole. It contained something hard, but she had her wits about her and decided the best time to examine it was when she returned to the surface.

So she replaced the brick and, having secured the bag, she began an upwards climb.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

She was tired and knew she’d need all of her technique to get out of the well alive. Once upon a time, she could have compensated with her musculature but now, in her slightly emaciated physical shape, she would need every ounce of training to climb out of the well.

Her saving grace was her balance. It was always her strongest characteristic and the envy of the remainder of the academy.

She would innately understand where her centre of balance was. Of course, it was always fixed on the middle of her body mass – near the belly button. The key was to ensure it was centred in a forward-backward as well as a left-right direction.

This allowed her to move smoothly and make difficult climbing moves appear effortless. As she ascended and felt her muscles start to complain, she focused on anticipating the direction of force on her hand and foot-holds as she made a move, and as importantly, after she made the move.

And she kept her body as close to the wall of the well as she could. Having limited vision and a broadly symmetrical climb, she did not need to regularly lean away from the wall to see the route.

She could smell the surface now and knew she did not have far to go. She also recognised her muscles were now struggling to keep her from falling.

She increased the pace of her ascent, using a dynamic climbing technique. Getting through the moves quickly would save her upper body strength. She sacrificed smooth movement – which was her stock in trade – and felt the last few metres were the climb of a desperate young woman – which they were of course.

Finally, she felt the top of the well, and the small lip she’d tripped on to begin this adventure.

Which is when her grip muscles gave up.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Except that she didn’t fall. Instead she felt a vice-like grip on her forearm and she was physically lifted out of the well.

As Lilla’s feet cleared the well and continued to rise, she came face to face with a Tusken Raider. Despite the darkness, she attempted a smile and as she hung there, she wondered what twist of fate had brought her here; , allowed her to climb down the well; allowed her to find the package: re-climb the well; fall; and be saved – only to be killed by the Sand People.