A pod rapidly travels through space, slowing down as it approaches an isolated planet, trapped in the orbit of numerous bright suns. The pod lands, and two figures step out, one dusting off its suit, and the other stepping onto the rocky ground with a metallic foot, its joints creaking as it turns its head to observe the surroundings. From elsewhere, an echoing sound can be head, seemingly from a very distant origin point. The suit-wearing figure glances up into the sky towards where the sound came from, but the other figure taps its foot on the ground.
"Ignore it. It isn't what we're here for, Eirith." The figure speaks calmly.
"But of course. Do you see anything worth noting, Rusted?" Eirith responds, and The Rusted One once again turns its head to survey the area.
"No. This place is mostly barren. It's to be expected, with all these suns keeping the surface this hot. The entire place is a desert." Rusted steps fully out of the pod, and Eirith follows.
"Well, the energy signature wouldn't lie. There's no doubt that the One we're looking for is here."
"Obviously. Let's not waste any more time talking. We can start by checking out those structures over there." Rusted rigidly points at some cracked buildings, and Eirith walks towards them, carrying Rusted alongside him due to Rusted's inability to walk quickly. Eirith stops outside of the structure, squinting up at it. It appears to be some sort of colosseum, built out of the native rocks of the planet. Even these rocks show signs of wear from the constant solar exposure. Upon entering the colosseum, Eirith sees a figure wearing a torn shroud, sitting calmly in the spectator seats with its hands folded in its lap. Eirith makes his way to the figure, tapping it on the shoulder, prompting it to look up at him with glowing yellow eyes.
"Hello, have you seen a being made of light around here?" Eirith asks, and the creature smirks.
"Nice to meet you, too. My name is Zindle, thanks for asking. A being made of light, you say? Good luck with that. There's pretty much no shadows here. I take it you aren't, 'from' here?" Zindle glances over the two Ones.
"We indeed are not from here. We're here to find someone who is very important to us. Is there any advice you have for us?"
"You see that spire over there?" Zindle points at a large obelisk jutting out from the rocks. "The top of that is where the sunlight is centered. It's a sort of reverse searchlight. If you go to the top of it, you can hold something up to cast a shadow over a large portion of land. There are a few spires like it. Won't cover everything, but it should cover a lot. There isn't exactly a whole lot of places somebody could hide here, heh."
"Thank you. You hear that, Rusted? Asking for help isn't always a bad idea." Eirith picks Rusted back up, and makes his way to the nearby obelisk, climbing up to the top without much difficulty. Once at the top, Eirith takes off his hat and uses it to cast a shadow downwards. Within the darkness of the shadow, a small glimmer can be seen, which the Rusted One points out. Eirith nods, and slides back down the spire, before checking the spot. It seems to be some kind of light-retaining crystal, which also seems to be embedded deep into the planet.
"This seems like a sort of natural camera." Eirith observes. "I'd reckon it's like a periscope leading all the way to the core of the planet. If that's so, then who's on the other end? If there was still light coming from it while it was in shadow, then there must be light coming from inside."
"That could just be light given off by the core of the planet. We can't afford to waste time digging to the center of this place on a hunch." Rusted responds.
"Ah, but what if we don't have to dig? If Shin is truly down there, he must have found some kind of entrance. I'd bet it has to do with those spires." Eirith walks back to the nearest obelisk, and takes out a few puppets. The Rusted One watches as Eirith messes around with these puppets for a few minutes, before putting them away.
"Well?" Rusted asks, tapping his foot impatiently.
"Just as I thought, there's a way into these spires. They open up based on the positioning of the sun. If my math is correct, the next one to open should be a few miles that way. We can make it in time, come on." Eirith picks up Rusted again, and walks across the barren landscape, passing only the occasional ruin on his way to the spire in question. Sure enough, soon after Eirith arrives, a hatch opens in the side of the spire, and Eirith quickly enters with Rusted. Inside of the spire is a large spiral staircase, which Eirith and Rusted descend. The staircase is dotted with clockwork mechanisms, which Eirith glances over briefly as he passes, until he finally reaches an empty, spherical space. The area is very dark, with the only light coming from the occasional crystal pillar. In the dim light, Eirith sees a large switch, which he pulls, causing all the clockwork mechanisms in the planet to roar to life. Of note among these is some kind of elevator system, which Eirith steps onto with Rusted.
"Well, Rusted, it seems like there may be more to this planet than we thought."
"The planet doesn't matter. We're leaving the moment we get Shin."
"But of course." Eirith waits patiently as the elevator descends deeper into the core of the planet. After several more minutes of descending, it comes to a stop in a smaller area, lit with the bases of the crystals visible. The crystals are linked to various screens, which seem to be overseeing the planet, as Eirith predicted. Eirith notices a small room to the side, and peeks into it, seeing a figure wearing a luminescent suit slumped over at a desk. Eirith shakes the figure awake, and it jolts up.
"Huh? Who are you?" The figure asks, rubbing his eyes.
"Eirith of the Council. I've come here looking for somebody of great importance."
"Oh, dang. Uh...alright, alright, I can help you find them. I'm the warden here, name's Crahler. Which prisoner are you here for?"
"We're not here for a prisoner. I wasn't even aware this was a prison. It seems like an odd place to build one."
"Build? Oh, no, the whole planet is the prison." Crahler chuckles a bit, but stops when Rusted slams his foot down.
"We're looking for someone made of bright light. Have you seen any such person?" Rusted demands.
"Oh, no, I haven't. How bright are we talking?"
"The Brightest."
"Yeah, definitely not. I don't know if you'd have any luck while the suns are active."
"Active? Can they be turned off?" Eirith chimes in.
"They CAN be, but it's rather risky. There's a reason why they're like that, after all."
"Turn them off for an hour, then. That's all we'll need." Rusted states.
"Alright...you're the boss, I guess...go back to the surface and knock on one of the crystals to let me know when you're ready. I'll put this area on lockdown and disable the suns. Be careful out there, there's a particularly nasty fella that only shows up in the dark. I think it's called 'Scarecrow' or something? Or wait, no, it was 'S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W'. Dumb name, yeah, but-"
"Goodbye." Rusted stiffly nods to Eirith, and Eirith waves to Crahler before bringing Rusted back to the elevator, and proceeding back to the surface. Once at the surface, Eirith taps on one of the crystals, and a few minutes later, all of the suns dim into blackness, with the only light coming from the crystals scattered across the ground. Eirith begins to walk around, looking for lights on the horizon. Eventually, Eirith hears scurrying footsteps, and sees one of the crystals be shattered by an unseen force. The footsteps come closer, and Eirith casually moves slightly to the side to avoid being attacked by it.
"This must be that Scarecrow he mentioned. I could see how it could be dangerous to normal folk. It seems to be tracking down light sources. It might lead us right where we want to go." Eirith observes. Rusted nods in agreement, and Eirith begins following the footsteps, until eventually a large glow can be seen in the distance. As the footsteps approach the light, the silhouette of the creature they belong to can be seen, but the light draws nearer, and the creature quickly dissipates as Shin steps into sight.
"Alright, who turned out the lights? I was getting a tan." Shin asks in a booming voice.
"Uh...hi, Shin. Can you come with us, now? We've been looking for you." Eirith shields his eyes as he approaches Shin.
"Who are you, exactly?"
"Don't play dumb, we've met before at the One meetings."
"Oh, you guys. Been a while. What do you want?" Shin sighs.
"Is something the matter? You seem to be acting a bit strange. Nevertheless, we're here to inform you that your old position is available once more for you to reclaim."
"Oh, I see. Why didn't you just say so? That's fine. Take me there."
"Right…" Eirith gives a slow nod, and, as the suns turn back on, leads Shin and Rusted back to the pod, entering it and lifting off from the surface of the planet again, not noticing a pair of glowing yellow eyes disappearing into a dark corner of the pod as they head towards their destination.