[ARG-Style Mini-Event!] #1
Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2017 5:14 pm
‘Theggi Sallah’ - Art & Antique dealer/collector. Avoided by most respectable citizens due to his customers often showing up dead shortly after purchasing one of his rare artifacts. He runs a clean, legitimate business but if people must purchase a necklace made from a string of Jultibean razor pearls, or a canvas painted in the historical Gylluhik style incorporating toxic plant pollens and pigments, he’ll be sure to warn them of the dangers after the credits are safely in his bank account, usually to the back of their head as they hurry off clutching their new bauble or ornament of an ancient time.
He has been running his little stall, dressed in a comic bazaar style, from amongst the back streets of Coronet for many years now. This deep into the dark alleys keeps most casual customers and gawking tourists from discovering him, but a loyal horde of wealthy, discrete, and most importantly art-addicted customers keeps Theggi’s hands full with a variety of dazzling trinkets, and his warehouses well-stocked with dusty old furniture, unique sculptures and other assorted antiques.
This is not your first time visiting Theggi’s stall, previous visits have been brief but profitable for both parties so the large Besalisk greets you with a wide, greasy smile and a cheerful clap of his lower hands. He finishes polishing a decorative vase held in his upper hands and places it up on a shelf before leaning across the counter to engage you quietly.
“Hutt’s nuts! I’m glad to see you again, friend. We can talk business soon but first I have to introduce you to a little mystery.”
Theggi turns his wide bulk to the side, gently rocking the stall and causing the hanging trinkets and jewellery to tinkle against each other. He rummages in a crate and you expect to see him pull out some dusty old printed book or ridiculous crystal skull, to beg you to investigate yet another myth of a kingdom beneath a sea, or of a desert temple holding a secret to eternal life. The collector certainly has some wonderful stories, and a passion for buried treasure, but his romance for ancient legends and rumours leaves him rather short-sighted. You are quite surprised, therefore, when he shifts back around to face you and drops a datapad onto the counter. The device is slightly weathered, faint scratches in the screen and casing, but looks to be a reasonably new model, probably purchased in the last couple of years.
“That’s all the trace we could find of my good friend Hindo Solones, been missing for about 2 months now. He was off hunting for artifacts on some planet or another... Seriously secretive that Hindo, its not unusual for him to go off adventuring without leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for other hunters to follow. Most of the time he keeps pretty thorough notes about his travels and discoveries on this, but its totally fried.”
He punches the power button on the datapad and angles the screen towards you, there is not so much as a mechanical whirr or battery whine from the device and it sits dead in Theggi’s hands. No glow of life shines from the screen, but there appears to be some faded text burnt onto it, as if a remnant from the last recorded image.
“I’ve had a few techs take a look over it and they’ve assured me there’s nothing to be recovered, the interior of this thing is just a blob of fused components. The only clue we’ve got as to what Hindo was investigating is this creepy message left on the screen, and that makes about as much sense to me as a landspeeder with wheels...”
Theggi leaves the datapad in front of you and moves around the stall to where another customer is examining some Silica statuettes of the Cathar deity of personal hygiene. They begin to converse and haggle leaving you time to inspect the datapad. A fine layer of soot and ash covers most of the rear side, suggesting it was perhaps involved in an explosion or fire, though there appears to be no signs of physical impact or damage. The image on the screen is slightly faint and blurred, and appears to be a low-resolution snapshot of a large stone tablet or flagstone that the writing has been carved into. You trace your finger across the strange, spiky letters, and feel a slight unease at the familiarity of some of the shapes. Theggi’s booming voice breaks you from your hypnosis and you look up to see him wiping sweat from his wrinkled brow as the other customer, slowly and carefully, selects a number of the delicate and highly-priced figures and places them into a padded security crate.
“I’ll be tied up here for a while, kid. Feel free to take that junk with you and see what secrets you can dig up. I’m not offering a reward, but if you can return Hindo safe and sound or turn up any information on his disappearance you’ll have my eternal gratitude, plus I’m sure whatever treasure Hindo was after will be worth the risk. Good luck!”
He has been running his little stall, dressed in a comic bazaar style, from amongst the back streets of Coronet for many years now. This deep into the dark alleys keeps most casual customers and gawking tourists from discovering him, but a loyal horde of wealthy, discrete, and most importantly art-addicted customers keeps Theggi’s hands full with a variety of dazzling trinkets, and his warehouses well-stocked with dusty old furniture, unique sculptures and other assorted antiques.
This is not your first time visiting Theggi’s stall, previous visits have been brief but profitable for both parties so the large Besalisk greets you with a wide, greasy smile and a cheerful clap of his lower hands. He finishes polishing a decorative vase held in his upper hands and places it up on a shelf before leaning across the counter to engage you quietly.
“Hutt’s nuts! I’m glad to see you again, friend. We can talk business soon but first I have to introduce you to a little mystery.”
Theggi turns his wide bulk to the side, gently rocking the stall and causing the hanging trinkets and jewellery to tinkle against each other. He rummages in a crate and you expect to see him pull out some dusty old printed book or ridiculous crystal skull, to beg you to investigate yet another myth of a kingdom beneath a sea, or of a desert temple holding a secret to eternal life. The collector certainly has some wonderful stories, and a passion for buried treasure, but his romance for ancient legends and rumours leaves him rather short-sighted. You are quite surprised, therefore, when he shifts back around to face you and drops a datapad onto the counter. The device is slightly weathered, faint scratches in the screen and casing, but looks to be a reasonably new model, probably purchased in the last couple of years.
“That’s all the trace we could find of my good friend Hindo Solones, been missing for about 2 months now. He was off hunting for artifacts on some planet or another... Seriously secretive that Hindo, its not unusual for him to go off adventuring without leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for other hunters to follow. Most of the time he keeps pretty thorough notes about his travels and discoveries on this, but its totally fried.”
He punches the power button on the datapad and angles the screen towards you, there is not so much as a mechanical whirr or battery whine from the device and it sits dead in Theggi’s hands. No glow of life shines from the screen, but there appears to be some faded text burnt onto it, as if a remnant from the last recorded image.
“I’ve had a few techs take a look over it and they’ve assured me there’s nothing to be recovered, the interior of this thing is just a blob of fused components. The only clue we’ve got as to what Hindo was investigating is this creepy message left on the screen, and that makes about as much sense to me as a landspeeder with wheels...”
Theggi leaves the datapad in front of you and moves around the stall to where another customer is examining some Silica statuettes of the Cathar deity of personal hygiene. They begin to converse and haggle leaving you time to inspect the datapad. A fine layer of soot and ash covers most of the rear side, suggesting it was perhaps involved in an explosion or fire, though there appears to be no signs of physical impact or damage. The image on the screen is slightly faint and blurred, and appears to be a low-resolution snapshot of a large stone tablet or flagstone that the writing has been carved into. You trace your finger across the strange, spiky letters, and feel a slight unease at the familiarity of some of the shapes. Theggi’s booming voice breaks you from your hypnosis and you look up to see him wiping sweat from his wrinkled brow as the other customer, slowly and carefully, selects a number of the delicate and highly-priced figures and places them into a padded security crate.
“I’ll be tied up here for a while, kid. Feel free to take that junk with you and see what secrets you can dig up. I’m not offering a reward, but if you can return Hindo safe and sound or turn up any information on his disappearance you’ll have my eternal gratitude, plus I’m sure whatever treasure Hindo was after will be worth the risk. Good luck!”