"We are not seeking you," he rasped, then dismissed the man altogether by turning back to the Sith, whose fork was hovering somewhat dramatically over the mountain of food in front of him. The Mage allowed that one a curl of the nose, for although Sith and human had in the past provided companionship with one another it was a fairly rare occurrence. In his humble opinion these were not the gentle beings he was looking for.

But he had his orders, and until he could determine with one hundred percent probability that indeed this pair were but two others, he dared leave no stone unturned. So once again he tipped his horns, this time in Panthar's direction.

"And you?" he asked succinctly, making clear that what he needed in reply could come from no other lips than the strangely startled Sith who sat frozen before him.

"Mmmph mm Phanthbbbt--" he began, stopping abruptly to avoid choking on a piece of meat. He held his finger up to pause reality and used this respite to swallow.

"Sorry," he said. "Uh, you say you're looking for Panthar Dantares? Is he, uh, in trouble?"

--------------------

Propriety prevented his lip from curling as he force his voice to remain calm.

"The Sith of the Sister Worlds of K'eel Doba and Khar Delba are beholden to a Writ of Abeyance, decreed by the Great Dark Lord Aelvedaar himself, instructing that all immediately cease and desist in their daily affairs and instead join together in finding two people, a human named Matt Stanza, and a Sith named..."

He paused fractionally, sniffing.

"Panthar Dantares. Why these personages are being sought is known to only the Dark Lord himself. But such Writs are not given lightly; these men must be either great champions to our worlds, or..."

Another measured pause, one in which he did allow his lip to curl just the tiniest bit.

"Dire threats who must be stopped as soon as possible, and taken before the Dark Lord himself."

"You are in luck, my good sir. For although this human here is not on your list of most wanted, you have nonetheless fulfilled your duty as a Sith of fine stature. For, sitting before you, and this will come as a total surprise I am sure, is none other than the one and only Panthar Dantares of which you seek!"

Panthar stood and bowed slightly to the tall Sith.

"And to be clear," he said, "it is definitely that first thing that you said."

--------------------

Which perhaps he had been. And he was actually quite fine with that, recalling how the Dark Lord hadn't even been present when all Sith magicks had fallen silent, and Zackary's incubator had no longer been able to sustain his life.

And recalling how the other one--that Dark Lord Aeylmaar--had turned he and Shayla away when he'd gone to him for help after Shayla had been attacked by Lord Roan and miscarried their child, sent away as mere humans.

If they were mere humans, why the Hell was it of any importance to the Sith to place Zackary into an incubator anyway?

Erik shook himself from his darkening thoughts as best he could, and took a drink from the goblet yet in his hand as the interchange between Panthar and the Sith Mage continued.

[ 02-08-2019 09:41 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Erik Kartan ]

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Erik, this is Captain Aaron Barnes of Eagle Enterprises. I attempted to find you via your company, but was notified you had been gone for some time, and may have had some interations on the Guild World. I was hoping I could utilize your company to help determine the location of Galen Danner, who has had some ship trouble and is currently stranded. If you receive this message, please respond.

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...but not really certain. His wristcomm read: Incoming message from Aaron Barnes.

Erik frowned, taking a drink from his goblet, praying to all the Fates that the Mage was so focused on Panthar he noticed nothing of it. He took a drink from goblet to cover his frown.

Dammit, Barnes, not now....

--------------------

“And this good man,” he said, twisting his thumb in Erik’s direction, “is assisting me and must accompany me. I simply cannot get by without his assistance, since he is assisting me.”

He threw a sly, satisfied look to Erik, indicating that he caught Kartan’s message and executed it. Erik should be happy!

--------------------

...and then his thoughts shifted in an entirely different direction. After all, he was in search of information, and verification of certain beliefs he held. And what better way to get any of that than being on the inside.

After all, he was the husband of the Dark Lady’s Adept. No one here knew anything of his recent dealings with the Guild World, or of his decision to leave Shayla and her Sith behind, not trusting a thing they were telling her.

And truthfully, not very certain anymore that he could trust her either.

“Yes,” Erik then said in response, turning his brown eyes to look at the Mage. “I was alerted of this man’s disappearance by the Heir Apparent Lord Aeylmaar, and was recently able to locate him here.”

This pretty much was the truth, save for a few unmentioned details. Including how he had really departed everyone’s company, dismissed by said Heir Apparent in utter hostility.

Not that you were the most friendly person yourself at the time, came a voice out of nowhere, one that Erik hadn’t anticipated in thee slightest.

He chose to ignore said voice. After all, he and Shayla had just lost their child at the time...

“We were hoping to be able to reconnect with our companions- the Dark Lord and Lady, as well as some others, but they seem to be elsewhere.”

[ 04-20-2020 10:21 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Erik Kartan ]

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...dragging the still-quiet Phalomir along with her, she stepped through...

...and with him tumbled in a heap upon the hard, cold and blessedly real stones of one of the hallways in the Temple of the Sorcerors on Khar Delba.

For a long moment she simply lay there, allowing herself to relish the feel and sound of his still-beating heart before responsibility propelled her to her feet. Using her own inner strength augmented with that given to her in so singular a manner on so singular a day on a very, very singular planet, she hauled his great form upright along with her.

He promptly sagged against her; an ”oof!” of propelled air escaped her as she changed her stance, working to hold him on his feet even as she looked about herself to determine where it was she had sent them.

A rather nondescript hallway, yes, but from the design on the nearest sconce she knew which Great Temple they now found themselves in.

Drawing a breath, she prodded Phalomir into action.

“Come, my dear heart; we must find help for you. For darkness has touched you; feel my strength, fight against it. We need to find Dark Lord Aelvedaar and seek his assistance in this, and once you are well decide what it is we are to do now.”

Saying nothing further she began moving down the sconce-lighted hallway, bearing the weight of the Armorer Dark Lord as best she could.

[ 04-23-2020 12:26 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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Hurrying now, my robes flying about my feet, the sudden clatter of great claws coming up from behind me, I continue following the Call of the All, knowing that within the walls of this great Temple both Jharmeen and Phalomir had finally returned home.

[ 04-23-2020 02:58 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aelvedaar ]

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He remembered the doppelganger, looking at that strange reflection of himself as something within him seemed to snap. It was as if another voice cried out in rage at the mere existence of that other, and it was very confusing. But that was what he remembered, and then he was on his back, and now he was here feeling no other internal presence, so he may have imagined it all.

But there was something else left behind in the Darker Realms. That doppelganger was not right, that much he recalled. It was dark, sinister, evil.

“Jharmeen,” he said thinly, surprising himself with the lack of air behind his voice. He then began to notice the pain within his chest, and number of ribs that were probably broken. “What happened? Where is Shayla?”

--------------------