Masters and Tomfoolery

[Wyl Staedtler]

Wyl Staedtler was A Boy With Ideas and today one of those ideas was going to vault itself into an unparalleled realm of brilliance and invention.

Racing along through the Enclave, he could scarcely contain the mass of giggly flurries that tumbled about in his chest. It had taken three and a half weeks of intense planning and the utmost secrecy, but everything was coming together now. The day had been selected carefully--a most dull and quotidian morning that would not give away any hint of the approaching magic. The trappings had been laid, ready to guide and urge their quarry on it's way. The only thing left to do was wait for the intended "victim": Daria Nytherciria.

The child was very fond of his Master, but it had to be said that at times she was... stiff. Seriousness and honesty had their places, but not once had Wyl ever seen her just relax. It was to be expected that being silly wouldn't come naturally to the woman, which was why the plan was so necessary. Wyl was counting on the Miraluka Jedi's loyalty to their routine for it all to work.

As she had almost every morning, Daria would be expecting to find him waiting for her in one of the small chambers of the complex.

Instead she would find merely a small holopod, conspicuously placed in the center of the room.

[Daria Nytherciria]

It was a morning like any other. An hour before sunrise, Daria had awoken and begun meditation. In the quiet of her own room, distanced from the other residents of the Enclave, she could focus her mind and consider how best to use the day ahead. More often than not, such thoughts would lead to Wyl Staedtler.

Truth be told, her life was beginning to revolve around the boy. Without the threat of capture looming over her head, forcing her to flee from planet to planet, there was little else to occupy the Jedi's time. Her own training had come to something of a standstill, and so it was only logical that she should use her time to pass on what she had learned so far.

Today's schedule was, admittedly, not one of the most exciting. Repetition seemed to be the key to besting any hurdles in Wyl's progress, and so it was Daria's intention that they would return to previous lessons on lore and history. When she arrived to their usual meeting point, however, Wyl was nowhere to be found. Daria narrowed her eyes, casting her mind here and there in search of the boy – yet felt nothing. It was then, with a familiar frown on her face, that she noticed something unusual.

Kneeling down, she picked it up, turning it over in her hands. Her fingers brushed the surface, searching for some identifying mark or feature.

[Wyl Staedtler]

With a soft whirr, the top of the device twisted open. A small image of the missing padawan was suddenly projected, flickering slightly. The figure was posed stiffly, staring at a point beyond the holopod with obvious expectancy. Wyl drew a breath and his eyes skittered to the side.

"...Is it on? When do I do--now? It's on? The little light isn't--"

Another voice, deeper and wearily patient, interrupted the hologram's stuttering from behind the scene. "It's on, yes."

Wyl nodded and his blue visage smiled nervously. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak, before turning again to the unseen figure. The boy's voice dropped to a whisper. "How do I do it again, Morgan?"

"Just talk."

"Oh." A pause while the blue-tinted image adjusted itself again. "HI MASTER DARIA IT'S ME WYL--"

"Wyl, you can talk normally. You don't have to shout."

"Oh. Okay." Squaring his shoulders, Wyl shrugged. "I've never done this before. Hi Master, it's me Wyl. Your apprentice. I guess you know by now that I'm not there. I mean, here. Surprise!" The images' arms went out to either side for emphasis.

"Um, so, I thought that maybe we could do something different today. Like instead of talkin' about stuff maybe we could play a game. Okay? Good." Wyl nodded and clapped his hands, rubbing the palms together. "I'm gonna give you clues, and you gotta figure them out and if you get them all there's a surprise! One that's even better than this!

Um, okay, so the first one is..." Humming, the holograph reached into it's pocket and pulled out a crumpled note. Wyl began to read haltingly. "It's not Hoth but it sure feels like it in here!"

The boy shoved the note back into his pocket and flashed a thumbs up in the general direction of the holopod. "When you figure that out, you'll find another clue! Bring the 'pod with ya, have fun!"

Wyl disappeared, only to return second later. He made a face. "Oh, and don't cheat and do that searchy thing with the Force and find me. That'd be dumb."

Again the boy vanished from sight, although his voice could still be heard. "That's it, how do you stop this thing? It won't--"

With another whirr, the flickering light shut off and the holopod went quiet.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria stood still, staggered by the unexpected turn of events. A game? There had never been time for games before. Not on Coruscant, at her family home; not on Telos, at the Jedi Academy; not on Ambria, as she had chased down Darth Stratus. Everything was with purpose and nothing was done without efficiency... and yet something told her to go along with Wyl. She had learned long ago that listening to that something was the best course of action, and so pocketed the holopod and began to think.

Vortex was no stranger to cold. In the winter months, the winds became bitter and huge polar ice caps formed all across the planets surface. They were in the spring time now, however; a hot flurry whipped over the plains. Daria pressed forefinger and thumb to her temples, wondering where it was that her apprentice sought to lead her. Curious as he was, Wyl had explored so much more of their new home than Daria. Whilst she was calm and controlled, he was a leaf in the wind, happy to be whisked wherever fancy took him.

It's not Hoth but it sure feels like it in here!

The cryptic clue in mind, Daria could conjure up only one possible solution. The Vors, architects of the caverns in which the Jedi now resided, were – in spite of their wings – a species known for living underground. In aiding the construction of the Enclave, they had given the Jedi access to a multitude of subterranean passageways, tunnels which would provide shelter from the inhospitable weather. The deeper the corridors ran, the colder they became, as the sun did not penetrate through steel, stone and earth.

A memory of a seemingly insignificant moment came to mind, and Daria recalled the image of an excited Wyl, regaling her with the tale of his days exploration. Every path seemed to lead to another, with each room somehow linked - but Wyl claimed to have found the final chamber, in the deepest, darkest part of the excavation tunnels. In her minds eye, she saw Wyl as he described the silence and the cold in that room, emboldened by having braved it for at least ten minutes (or more, by his count).

Wordlessly, she shook her head and then set off, following her instincts and the winding paths.

[Wyl Staedtler]

As Daria descended through the catacombs, there were tell-tale signs that she was not the first visitor in recent hours. Scuffed marks in the rock-littered dirt that attested to the racing soles of small shoes; a crumpled sweet wrapper; a trail of suspicious letters scratched on the cavern wall (w.s was hear.)

A fair amount of time and twisting shafts passed before the Jedi reached a narrow, low-ceilinged channel. It's smooth walls, slightly damp from the chill, tapered drastically in a matter of a few feet until they were uncomfortably narrow. For an adult, it was quite a squeeze.

Fortunately the passage opened into a modest grotto. It was very dark, and the air was close enough to feel like a living creature as it swirled about Daria. Tucked against the far wall was a roughly wrapped package which, upon opening, contained a slim datachip. Daria inserted this into the holopod.

A few seconds passed as the 'pod processed the chip and then Wyl's glowing visage popped up. An expression of sheer joy was written on the lad's face, and the figure doubled over in a fit of giggles. Apparently Daria's padawan had gotten over his initial hesitancy with holorecording.

"Ha! I knew you'd figure it out! I wanted to make it harder but I couldn't think of anything else." Wyl beamed proudly and then glanced to either side, presumably looking at the cave. They were very deep, the rock so thick that not even an echo carried in the small space. "Pretty wizard, huh?Told you it was here.

"Are you havin' fun yet?" He scrunched up his nose. "Probably not; I bet you're kinda hopin' we're almost done. But we're no-ot! It just gets better.

"See the thing is, you can't always be serious all the time. It's like, um, medically bad and really boring. Er," The gleaming depiction waved it's hands in defense. "I mean, you're not boring but um, the First Great... Spasm? That's boring." Wyl rolled his eyes; history held little interest for one so young. With a sigh, the boy dismissed that train of thought and bounced on the balls of his feet.

"Okay, um, geez I should stop talking and let you get t'business. You probably got pretty dirty comin' down here. You probably want to go clean up, huh? Okay so, um, see you soon. Hopefully." A chipper wave was cast Daria's way, and then the image flickered and disappeared.

[Daria Nytherciria]

As she listened to the recording, Daria pressed the palm of her hand against the cave wall. The stone was ancient and so thick that it was a wonder the Vors had been able to penetrate it so deeply. Her eyes narrowed, as she tried to hear the voices of the past, echoing within the rock – but all was silent, save for the cheerful voice of Wyl Staedtler. She looked back to the image of the boy, as he waved a tiny farewell. The flickering image that had illuminated a small corner of the grotto vanished.

Clean up? Pressing thumb and forefinger together, Daria felt the fine layer of dirt on her skin, where she had touched the cavern wall. She touched the rough surface one last time before leaving the solitary chamber in silence and darkness, retracing her footsteps to the upper levels of the tunnels.

With no other 'leads' to guide her along Wyl's impromptu scavenger hunt, Daria returned her quarters to follow her apprentices suggestion and 'clean up'. Like most of the living areas in the Enclave, her room was fitted with both sonic and hydro showers. Daria preferred the later.