SouL PurPosE

Chapter Seven

Dorme had been accosted a few times by men curious about her destination and willing to be her guide – for a fee, of course. She declined each one and walked away quickly. She was being cautious, which was a good thing.

Just beyond the city was a fork of two roads, one with an indicator leading to Xeridun. From that point on, the path became rather treacherous; mostly uphill and over uneven rocks. We had passed some travelers leading pack animals but I wondered why there wasn't some sort of transportation available. The further we walked, however, the more I began to suspect that Xeridun wasn't as industrious as Sendo City, which made me notice a particular lack of something.

"See something missing?" I asked my comrade.

"Isn't that an oxymoron?" she teased. "But, yeah, I know what you mean. No turbines."

There had been a few on the first ridge but the further up we went, the less there were until they were nonexistent. If they didn't farm for wind up here, what did they do?

We came upon another pack animal descending the mountain and Dorme kindly stopped the old woman to ask that very question.

"Sellium," Dorme repeated the information once the woman left and we continued climbing. "Isn't that a medicinal herb of some sort?"

"Yes, it is," I answered, although I knew very little about it. "I believe it's pretty rare."

For some reason, visualizing Obi-Wan as an herbalist was easier for me to imagine, and in my mind's eye, I saw him studying the biomes of Stewjon's flora, his intense focus causing his body to get warm as he begins to remove his cloak and tunic to cool down…

Oh, my stars! What was wrong with me?

Dorme and I finally came to a residential area. There were no signs, no electrical lines, or harshly-lit advertisements. It was a simple village with thatched roofs, stone-lined walks, and domesticated animals roaming about.

This suited him so much better, I thought, although I had to question myself. Did I know enough about Obi-Wan to believe I understood what fits him and what doesn't? I had better get my head on straight before we met with him. I may only have one chance at this and I didn't want Dorme to have made a trip all this way for nothing.

A light snowfall had begun to fall, which did little to dampen the spirits of those who lived here. They continued with their work, some gathered outside shops cooking over open flames, while others diligently crafted wares.

"Charming. I like this place," Dorme noted. "Who exactly are we looking for? Surely, you don't expect Obi-Wan to be walking down the street."

"Of course not," I replied, although that was exactly what I'd been hoping. "We need to talk to somebody though."

"They all seem friendly enough," she added.

Indeed, we had been offered plenty of smiles and even some welcomes. There was one particular man standing and speaking with an older one further down the street who caught my eye. I wasn't sure why. It may have been his stance or the color of his hair, but something about him was familiar.

"There. That guy in the dark blue quilted cloak. Go ask him."

Without arguing with me, Dorme approached the bearded fellow. "Hi. I've flown all the way from Alderaan in search of a good friend of mine. Someone by the name of Obi-Wan. Would you happen to know where he is?"

The man's expression immediately changed and he quickly excused himself from his conversation and walked away. Dorme followed him, although he hadn't asked her to.

"I don't know anyone by that name," he finally said after he'd turned a corner and stopped. We were now away from any witnesses, I noticed. I sure hoped Dorme wasn't about to get into any sort of trouble.

"By the altered expression revealed on his face, I'd say he's not being truthful," I told her.

"I beg to differ," she said to him. "I know he's here because the Queen of Alderaan told me so."

That bit of unexpected news caused the man to think differently and his thunderous frown eased somewhat. "What do you want with him?"

This had to be convincing although not threatening in any way. "Choose your words carefully," I warned Dorme.

"We're old friends and I just wanted to make sure he's doing okay. I mean, after everything that's happened."

The man eyed her suspiciously. "He's fine. I'll tell him you dropped by," he announced before twirling around to leave.

"Follow him!" I demanded.

"What did you think I was going to do!" Dorme hissed very quietly.

"Listen!" she shouted after him. "I don't mean him any harm! I actually have a message from a dear friend of his! Maybe he's mentioned her name? Senator Amidala? Padme Amidala?"

The words stopped him in his tracks and he spun around slowly. "You listen," he replied more seriously. "Obi-Wan is my brother and I'm very concerned about his safety. I don't know who this Padme woman is, but she's apparently hurt him and I'm not so sure he needs to endure anything else. He's suffered enough already."

I hurt him? What was he talking about? How could I have possibly hurt him?

"As I said, I'll be sure to tell him you dropped by. What was your name?"

"This isn't going as well as I'd hoped," I told her.

"Dorme. Please inform Master Kenobi that Senator Amidala's assistant would like to speak with him. It's very important."

The man was made of stone, stubborn to a fault. He reminded me of his brother.

"I'll pass along the message. Have a pleasant afternoon."

We watched the man walk away, not knowing what to do. I recognized Obi-Wan in his mannerisms, his voice and speech patterns, as well as hair color. He was different enough to be his own person, but there was an obvious family resemblance.

"Now, what do we do?" Dorme asked as the snow began to fall more heavily.

"Follow him," I suggested. "What choice do we have?"

"I haven't had to be stealth in a long while. This oughta be fun."

Oh boy. Dorme in stealth mode could be quite comical, depending on how much she put into it.

"Just don't get caught this time," I said to remind her of the disaster of her last efforts. An entire wall of ancient broken pottery had been the result of her trying to be sneaky.

"I don't see anything breakable close by, so we should be good," Dorme informed me as we advanced, following the path Obi-Wan's brother had taken.

He wound his way through the streets, stopping to buy a few supplies along the way before exiting the city at the east end through a decorative archway with a bell hanging inside its peak. Beyond that was an evergreen-lined path that eventually narrowed to form a trail along the side of a tall mountain.

At this point, Dorme began to grumble about the weather and kept ducking behind the jagged rock whenever she suspected the man was about to turn around. Although he never did, I was glad she was being so careful.

"Wait," I suggested, once we lost sight of him completely. "Let me go first."

Just ahead was an opening in the ridge that couldn't be seen from our vantage point. I passed through it and entered a cavern that revealed a broader path with an open sky. It was another residential area similar to the one below, only on a smaller scale. Also as below, the people here were busy. Some were hauling baskets of sellium, while others were grinding the plants or separating the flowers from the seeds. It occurred to me we hadn't actually seen any of the herbs growing on our way up here, nor did I observe any fields of them in this area. There wasn't room for them anyway. This settlement appeared to be completely enclosed.

I returned to an impatient Dorme and suggested we wait a little while so as not to draw suspicion.

Just before the sun went behind the mountain, I guided her into the village and explained where I had watched Obi-Wan's brother go. Cautiously, she followed my directions and stepped into a long, narrow hut built from gray stone and covered with dark brown tiles. On one wall was a matching stone hearth as well as more grinding tables. Seated at every one of them upon wooden stools were people of all ages dedicated to grinding the dried sellium flowers into their desired powdery form.

It was the man working at the end of the room, though, who captured my attention. It was as if every source of light in the dim room was drawn to him, setting his auburn hair aglow like polished copper.

"Obi-Wan," I uttered happily, surprised at how much relief and pleasure I felt not just by the sight of him but at the mere mention of his name.

A/N: I'm aware of the change in canon which claims "Owen" whom Obi-Wan saw in his vision is actually Owen Lars from Tatooine and not his brother. I'm still going to believe Owen is Obi-Wan's brother, because, by golly, he deserves to have a brother! :)