New Shoes

Remaining where she was for most of the day gave her time to work with her hands. By the time the sun's light was high in the sky, she had stripped the bark entirely from a sturdy branch. When stood upright it would be shoulder high to her body's stature. As she continued smoothing one end of the branch against the tree, a curious bird flitted close to her claiming a piece of the discarded bark for it's nest somewhere. She smiled and continued working.

When it came back a second time, Rhianna stopped working and whispered to it in her native tongue. "A good friend would trade something, you know.." The little bird shook it's head ruffling it's feathers about in agitation, but as it flew off with another piece of bark, it left behind a single spotted tail feather. "Thank you for the trade, little one."

Rhianna picked the feather up and turned it in the light, admiring the play of colors. After tearing a strip of leather off the soft Tincéir-leather armor skirt she wore, she attached the feather to 'the business end' of what was going to become a worthy staff in time. She had not fought with one since leaving her home so long ago, but it was not something she would have easily forgotten either. The weapon was no defense for a blaster shot through the chest, as she had learned the hard way, but it was infinitely more civilized.

A call on the wind drew her attention. Rather like one of the native fabhcún calls, a crafty bird of prey. This one was from a man, and it was a signal to her. With years of tree climbing to make her descent look effortless, Rhianna made her way gracefully down the tree, dropping soundlessly to booted feet. Taking the staff with her, she made her way to the call. One of the Elders.

The Elders... Aside from small children and the sick or feeble, the Elders were the only strength left to her people. The strong and able had been taken from this tribe to work for the Imperial troops. A capal-monuted elderly man met Rhianna in a stand of trees, tossing her a sack of food as she approached. "From the people.. ", he told her. She nodded her thanks and told him that she had still not laid eyes on their chieftain, but that she was beginning to get a feel for the movements of the troops. She had the beginnings of a plan to infiltrate the base if no other option became available. Still, she kept hoping she would spot her brother and be able to communicate with him somehow..

"Huh." Morgan managed quietly. Most of it seemed to be for show, but those spears looked rather sharp, and had enough heft to punch through tough hide. Morgan kept his hands at his side. He looked pretty much like any other spacer, with a jacket and pants. While he was familiar enough with the language, he had no clue what the protocol was. He had never discussed this scenario with Rhianna.

They looked a little less than friendly. Morgan suspected Serena could assuage their fears, partly by talking in their native tongue, and partly by being Serena.

Serena walked slowly toward the war band, holding her hands out to the side, palms open and empty to show she carried no weapon. Once that had been established she adjusted her shawl again, tucking the ends into the simple leather belt she wore. "We are peaceful," she said in their native tongue. "We mean The Chosen People no harm."

The war leader of the band, set apart by a gleaming silver torc and matching arm bands that were intricately etched with scrolling artwork, urged his mount forward, the capall snorting and dancing nimbly in the long grass. "Sámh?"

She raised her eyebrows, and nodded simply.

He lifted his spear in a salute, calling to his men, "The Banfaith has returned!" and unexpectedly dismounted. "Come, you must come to Caer Ainmire. My father will want to greet you. Bring your companions."

Serena cocked her head a bit to the left, and replied, "Prince Aodhán?" He had grown considerably since she had last visited the caer of the high lord.

He beamed, a bit of the boy he had been breaking through the warrior's stern countenance. "The very same. Come! We will give you mounts," and he turned and snapped his fingers, warriors slowly dismounting from some of the capall and leading their animals forward.

She shook her head, "We would not take your capall from your war band, but you honor me with your offer. We will walk to the Caer. It is not far."

"Far enough," Aodhán said, but said a word and the capall were mounted again by their rightful owners. However, he handed the reins of his beast to his lieutenant, a strapping man with a shock of auburn hair and a bushy red beard. "I will walk with you as well, Banfaith, and present you to Lord Dermod myself."

Serena inclined her head respectfully, not about to refuse such an offer. She turned and quietly explained the conversation to her companions while Prince Aodhán sent off the war band, no doubt hunting for aurochs or patrolling their borders against rival clans, and most likely both at the same time.

Solomon almost didn't need the translation from Serena. The young warrior was demonstrative in his joy at seeing her, expressive in the way of cultures that still wear their passions on their sleeves. As an old warrior himself, Solomon understood that. These men would be perilous foes in battle - he had no doubt of that.

"If we're heading to their village, we ought to bring some of our supplies," the preacher said. "Present them a gift in return for their hospitality. I'll go load up a hover sled."

Stacking a few cases of food and medical supplies would be the work of minutes.

"I'll give you a hand." Morgan said. Serena nodded, and the pair came back with the sled carefully loaded with supplies.

Most of the conversation on the journey over was dominated by Serena and the Prince, but Morgan's solid grasp of the language kept him abreast of what was happening. The Empire was being the empire, pretty much: acquire resources, disregard locals. It dawned on Morgan this might end up being more than just a simple trip for lightsaber crystals. He hoped not, but the Imperial policy was less than rational regarding a populace without similar technological might. Armed resistance had a strong chance of making things worse, though, but possibly not. RX-271's resource survey results were middling, which is why there was only a token garrison stationed planet side.

Unlike the descriptions of Rhianna's mobile life, this village had a more permanent feel to it. The roofs were thatched, walls were clay brick, structure was strong wood.

"I don't think I've ever felt this out of place." He remarked.

Serena was causing a bit of a stir among the residents of the caer. As soon as they'd passed through the opening in the wall they started growing an entourage, mostly small children at first. They were loud in their admiration of Solomon's dark skin, the bravest boys daring to touch him before Serena chased them off with a meaningful look.

"This is Caer Ainmire - seat of the High Lord Dermod. The lesser lords of thus area are under his leadership, but that doesn't stop their warbands from testing themselves against each other." Serena gestured ahead to where a more impressive looking building stood - a large and long rectangular hall made of thatch and logs. "In the Hall we will be presented bread and salt, which you must eat. Then we will officially be Lord Dermod's guests and protected by tradition."

The Prince lead them into the dark of the hall after the two men secured the sled outside, smoky torches lighting the interior as best they could. After years under electric lights it seemed unusually dim inside to Serena. The high lord was seated on his wood 'throne' at the far end near a roaring fireplace, eating a meal of meat and mead with several of his friends, old warriors all.

Dermod wore a thick gold torc around his neck, and golden armbands. His beard was full, but trimmed neatly, his hair falling to his shoulders and a silvery grey color in the firelight. Serena bowed with respect for his position, but inwardly she was shocked at how old the man had gotten in the years she had been away.

Solomon followed Serena's lead, content to present himself as part of her entourage. He was amused to be as much a curiosity to the people as they were to him, but until their ceremonial obligations were fulfilled, he planned to follow Serena's lead and simply watch and listen.

He bowed a moment after Serena - nothing fancy, just the traditional gesture as taught by the old Jedi Order. Even after all these years, falling into that role was like slipping on an old pair of shoes.

Serving girls approached with a round of hard crusted brown bread, and a large chunk of cheese, which the visitors partook of, washing it down with mead as offered by another girl. Lord Dermod clapped his hands, and Serena was offered a seat at the table near him, places also made for Solomon and Morgan, although at the far end of the table.

"Welcome Banfaith, come and eat," he boomed. "We thought you had been killed by the Strangers some years back. Where have you been all this time?"

She took the place of honor he offered her, a plate of steaming aurochs meat placed before her that she pulled at with her fingers, the meat tender and coming apart easily. "I was called away to my people, among the stars. Not Strangers, but Jedi. I took an apprentice," Serena nodded down the length of the table to where Morgan was staring wide-eyed at the food he was being presented with by a giggling girl, "And we have come back, in search of something I left behind here."

He smelled what was coming well before the actual presentation. Morgan's mouth salivated. Despite this, he waited patiently for others to start eating first, and then engaged in systematic destruction of all food before him. The food was spectacular. Morgan felt like diving head first into it. Each bite was a constant battle between savoring flavor and the urge to shovel it in.
The meal didn't take long, and it was clear that Serena had made strong inroads with Dermod previously, and their standings with one another hadn't changed much.

Morgan gave the girl a pleasant smile when she refilled his flagon of... whatever it was. Delicious.

The meal was not a feast, and no one lingered long afterward. Serena showed Solomon and Morgan around the caer, the trio followed by a lively group of children until dark fell. The visitors were given a place to stay the night, and offers of food and assistance the following day for their trek to the mountains. Serena accepted the first, but gently turned down the second.

The room they were given for the night was small, but adequate for the purpose of sleep. Morgan curled up on a straw pallet in the corner, pulling a few furs over his long frame and was soon snoring. A gift of the young, to be able to sleep easily. Serena lay without sleeping for almost an hour before she was able to find release.

The next morning she and Morgan set off from the caer toward the mountains. Solomon stayed behind to sort out the medical supplies they'd brought, already making friends among the children who were fascinated by his dark skin.

Serena hitched her holdall up on her shoulder and looked over at her padawan. "Excited?"

"Yes." he replied, and managed to not sound overly excited.

Hey, lumpy footing. This was sort of new. He'd only been anywhere natural on Vortex for any length of time, and it was comparatively flat. Somewhere buried in his brain was a part that felt this was right. The inclines, the challenging terrain and footing of different textures and grips. There were so many smells, new ones, and oh that bush had a bird in it, ooh something smelled honey-like a quarter mile upwind and hey a noise from the theoretically sexually compatible...

"Let's stop." Oh smell-brain, you are a douchebag. A useful thing, but a douchebag.

They'd been walking for two hours over terrain of moderate to high difficulty. Morgan did "cheat" them up a few difficult cliffs by shimmying up, getting a good look and then teleporting Serena and their packs up. Morgan was ready for a snack, and Serena looked ready for a break. They stopped on a mossy log while sun filtered through the tree line. Morgan dispatched some ration bars in short order while Serena caught her breath.

"It must have been awful to leave this place the way you did. I've never seen anything like it." His voice had a bit of awe in it.

She brushed her hair from her face, tucking the loose strands behind her ear. "It was difficult, but at the same time, not." She smiled a bit, almost wistfully. "I knew I would leave at some point, I saw it and prepared for it. When it came it was a surprise... I was ready, but yes, sad to leave."

Serena lifted her chin in the sunshine, enjoying the mountain breeze. "This place is so alive with the Force. It was very difficult to become used to ships and technology and duracrete again."

She looked at her padawan. "Which are also alive with the Force. Just... different."

Morgan thought about the nature of the Force in nature in comparison to the nature of the Force in things that were distinctly not nature. It wasn't one of those things that came especially easy to him. He wasn't attuned to that aspect of the Force.

"The contrast is startling." Morgan agreed. Vibrant smells and sounds had nearly overstimulated the more basic parts of his brain, used to the near-monotone of industrial solvents and hums. The wind shifted. He paused for a moment, as if he was going to speak. A sweet scent had come across the new wind.

"Hmmm. One second!" He said excitedly and sprinted off toward the smell that was within fifty meters. Small insects flitted about a lumpy structure attached to a tree 6 meters off the ground. Morgan climbed the tree with ease. He took a brief look at the hive and dropped back to the ground, picked up a smallish stick, and scrambled back up. Morgan inserted the stick into the hive, moved it around slowly, and withdrew it. It was coated in an amber goo that smelled strongly of sugar and binding agents. Morgan dropped back to the ground. The insects were on the defensive now, and he had his sample. He gingerly sampled a drop, and grinned ear to ear. He took a long lick, not mindful that the stick had been on the ground a minute prior.

"Serena, I found this goop. It's delicious."

She laughed at his enthusiasm for discovery. "They call that 'goop' mil - it is used for spreading on bread - or sweetening other foods. And they ferment it into the mead we drank last night."

Serena held out her hand and Morgan let her stick her finger in the mil before reclaiming his prize. "The bees - the insects that create it - do not usually share willingly." She sucked the sweet syrup off her finger, and then pushed herself to her feet. "We should keep going. The entrance to the cave system is not too much further."

She turned her head a bit to the west, where from their vantage point they could almost make out where the Imperials had built their base up, bigger and stronger than it used to be. It was more of an impression in the Force, however, rather than an actual visual. Between here and there were the remains of her home, blown up years ago in her escape. It would be nice to visit, but perhaps too painful.

"Right." He said, after he took a brief glance toward where Serena's eyes had settled. His connection to the Force was too thin to pick up the echoes past, but he could feel her discomfort. He turned away to focus on the task at hand. The cave system was only ten minutes of a gentle climb further. The entrance was small, from Morgan's perspective. He had to remove his pack and duck as low as he could without ending up on his knees. The cave was dark, but after Morgan blinked, he could see well enough to pick up the subtle glint of the cave walls and gentle outlines. He pulled out a small hand torch. The rock was different colors on different outcroppings, partly a product of minerals and water influenced change.

He heard Serena come in a moment later, and he pointed the torch beam to illuminate the depths of the cave.

"How far does it go?" He asked.

She straightened slowly, minding her head in the cramped entrance. "I honestly do not know. I explored as much as I could as a young woman, but there are places I could not go. Perhaps if I were smaller... some tiny holes led to larger spaces, but I could not fit inside to find out what was there."

Serena reached out, and gently took the flashlight from her padawan's hand, extinguishing it and plunging them into semi-darkness. The only illumination was from the mouth of the cave, and the slant of the sun at this hour was already darkening the mountainside behind them.

"Use the Force," she murmured, holding out her palm and bringing forth a light of her own. Serena walked past Morgan, holding her skirt up with one hand as her soft shoes made little noise on the smooth floor of the cave. Around her the shadows shifted, the clear whitish light she bore bringing out the pale colors of the stone and then she indicated a narrow looking crack at the apparent end of the cavern.

"There's our path."

Morgan followed behind, mindful of his head. There were spots where his extra inches of height were an issue, and when Serena ducked, he was doubly careful. The crack was larger than it first appeared visually, although as Morgan reached out with his sense of placement, it was clear that the crack was far larger than it appeared from the cave entrance. It took two minutes for them to traverse the ground to the crack. There were foot-sized holes that lead deeper into the mountain, and both had to be mindful. Even though the jagged entrance was larger than it looked from a distance, Morgan still had to turn his shoulders to fit through. Once clear, he looked around. The darkness seemed to pull on Serena's small light

"I wonder..." Morgan's sense probed the dimensions of this new, much larger cavern. He was greeted by a spectacular display of color. The rock was Force reactive, and responded with light discharges.

"Huh." Was all he could manage. Serena paused as she remembered the cave layout.

"This way." She said, and lead her padawan to a small offshoot that required both to crawl through on their knees. She handed Morgan her pack and crawled forward, mindful of the skirt. Morgan followed after Serena stood and dragged the two packs in behind him. He handed Serena her pack, and the two continued on. The passage continued upward with a gentle slope, and turned left.

Morgan's sense reached out ahead of them to chart the cave, which gave off the occasional burst of light or color. A massive flash of color erupted from around the corner. He put up a hand to cover his eyes from the intensity of the greens, yellows, and oranges.

When they rounded the left turn the offshoot was almost egg-on it's side-shaped and nearly 10 meters long. It was packed with crystal outcroppings that glowed softly in their presence, but seemed to shimmer with extra intensity when Serena's light touched them.

Morgan whistled softly.

"Be mindful," she said quietly, "At the far end of this cave there is a hole in the floor. It drops down about twelve meters into an underground river."

Serena put her hand on his shoulder, and let her light cease to exist. After a moment their eyes adjusted, and the crystals seemed to glow softly blue all around them. "Phosphorescent algae on the surface of the crystal growths," she said softly. "The damp of the river allows it to grow here, but no where else in the cave system that I could find."

In fact the break in the cave floor that dropped down into the river was clearly visible in the darkness, because the algae grew thicker there. "It can be slimy, but the crystals will be easy to clean once we return to the surface." She settled her pack on the ground and sat on it, taking a deep breath and relaxing.

Morgan nodded, although he knew the exact layout of the local cave now. His thin, flexible shoes had difficulty finding purchase on the algae. He moved carefully. Even though he could seem to be clumsy when distracted, his balance was second to none. Each step was taken with a gentle, measured slip.

He felt drawn to a collection of vibrant orange crystals, so he slip-walked to them. Morgan reached up, his fingers were just short of the outcropping, even on his toes. He squared his feet, and pushed off the ground. His fingers found a piece of the hexagonal crystal, but he had to squeeze as hard as possible to keep a purchase on the stone. He brought his other hand up with a grunt, and grabbed a piece of the outcropping that was pale yellow. With his fingers both lock around the slick crystals, Morgan was able to lift himself closer to the rest of the outcropping. He studied the cluster, not really sure what to make of it, or what he was looking for exactly.

"Wow, these are suprisi..." The crystals Morgan had used as handholds gave way, and he hit the short drop to the ground feet first with more of a shlorp and his shoes slid out from under him. He twisted in mid-air and landed on all fours, the two crystals squishing into each palm.

"Surprisingly strong. Interesting" He finished as he stood. Morgan looked at the translucent rocks in hand. They had a rough outward appearance, but there was a mathematical symmetry that belied their cracked ends. The longer he looked at the two bits of minerals, the more he could see how they would interact in a high-energy environment. He grew lost in the mechano-optical puzzle before him.

She watched him interact with the crystals, the Force strong in the cave as he examined them. "You will need to cut it to a proper shape for it to be able to focus the energy of the lightsaber." Serena stood up, making her way to the side of the cave, running a finger along a particularly large crystal formation.

"I'd forgotten how beautiful it was down here."