Session 8

General Summary

Eight: The Negotiation
The group heads to Drywatch enclave. They are searching for the Jal Shey Library of Almaerifuh. As they head to the town, they notice that the Silent Wilds is shrouded in a haze of sand.
Mir reveals that the palaces have codes to help triangulate the location of the library. There are three palaces to access and obtain the codes. Magni Spire is an obvious palace, as well as one visible to the group from the gulch they have parked the Evetide. The third one is unknown.
Drywatch Enclave is an expansive town, with many empty buildings and dying businesses. While the town is not quite dead, it is clearly dying. The group shops at the Amazing Pen, preparing as best as they can estimate for the Silent Wilds. Afterwards, they head to the nearby Incompetent Duck, seeking information. They overhear an older man in animated conversation with some of the locals, who seem to dread his every word. Mir is intrigued by the man, approaching to introduce himself and inquire about the man’s story. The group finds out he is Doctor Caliss Leydrirk, an archaeologist who has been digging in the desert for about 5 years. He has recently discovered ruins that appear to be a Rakatan village but is struggling to make leeway with the dig due to the shifting sands and the local Hutt demanding money. The Hutt seems to believe that the Empire would be willing to fund “protection” for the dig site but has misunderstood the Empire’s motivations with sending Dr. Leydrirk to Mataou.
The group agrees to accompany the doctor to the dig site. It takes a few hours to arrive. Dr. Leydrirk reveals they have discovered an antechamber beneath the dig site, and has a plan to use a low level mining laser to cut the joints from the antechamber section to create a way for the team to enter. They can use ray shields to prevent sand from accumulating too quickly, buying them time to get into the antechamber. Mez attempts to sense what may be below the antechamber, but is faced with an immense force entity – neither light or dark side. He is unable to discern any additional information from it. Dr. Leydrirk also reveals that Urpa Tinn is a collector of Jedi Artifacts and claims to have the largest collection of them.
The group discusses visiting Magna Spire to speak with the Hutt, and Dr. Leydrirk advises them to ask for an audience, warning of laser canons at the spire. The group plans to pose as a team supporting Maeve as an artifact collector, agreeing to offer the used Sith Holocron as an offering.
Maeve is overcome with frustration about the Hutt possessing so many Jedi artifacts. Mez attempts to comfort her about the situation, extinguishing her anger. Maeve tells Mez that the struggles of the past ten years have been more than enough to match the equivalent of a Jedi trial. She grants him the title of Knight of the Jedi Order and gifts him a new kyber crystal, while Mir looks on during a salt-binge.
The group rests for the night, ready to face the Hutt’s hirelings in the morning. They arrive en masse, and are greeted by Mir’s silver tongue. They successfully garner an audience with Urpa Tinn and are escorted by the group to Magna Spire – encountering razor tail tigers along the way.
Urpa Tinn, unsurprisingly, is an ancient Hutt at the end of his lifespan – particularly more disgusting than other hutts the group had encountered up to this point. He seems pleased with the offering of the Sith Holocron and agrees to let Dr. Leydrirg dig as much as he likes, as long as any kyber crystals or remnants found during the dig are provided to Urpa. Several members of the group notice that Urpa already possesses one of these larger red kyber crystals, and he explains that they are rare but not uncommon to be found in the desert of Mataou as the remaining parts of a power source of something below the desert. It is clear to Maeve that the crystal has been corrupted by the dark side.
During the discussions regarding the artifacts in his possession, Urpa offers the group a job – the Nar Hypa storage facility owned by the Empire has several artifacts that Urpa would like to acquire. The artifacts are set to be moved in the next few weeks, and there will be increased security during that time. He offers to let the group borrow a ship to conceal the Eventide and is willing to offer them a favor in exchange for the artifacts. Urpa invites the group to lodge at Magna Spire for the evening, before returning to the dig site.
Part of the group is able to conceal themselves to explore the upper level of the Spire. They sneak upstairs, and manage to find a room that obtains a data pad outlining the comms array for the force signature of the library. Mir and Cale are able to activate the triangulation of the Jal Shey library and the locations of the other palaces. They also find out that the turbolaser controls are in the basement of Magna Spire.
The group returns to their lodging, where the guards are entranced with a game of Sabaac between Jolder and Tar. They do not seem to notice that the rest of the group had left or returned. In the morning, the group intends to return to the dig site.

Report Date

11 Dec 2022