Ch. 13: "I'm Relying on your Common Decency" - Depeche Mode, People are People
"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said, voice raised to get it over the comm through the static. "People have stated they've seen a child that matches her description. I'm still…." With a squawk, the connection died. Obi-Wan tried to reconnect, but it wouldn't. He sighed and put it away.
He'd had a day that alternated between frustrating and productive. He continued in the direction he'd started, but slower now. He had to be careful or he'd go right past some of the roads - barely more than tracks - he needed to take. Those he took only because he had some information leading him to that next stop.
Near late meal, a homesteader had introduced a new element: a girl child spotted further east. He followed that rumor now, trying to find someone who had actually seen her. Most considered her a ghost, but the bits of description that had come with the rumor pointed to Dorlisa. A bright yellow dress - no sweater, but she could have lost that easily - and dark hair in sloppy braids, strands of it straggling around her face. He couldn't ignore the timing, either.
The sun had disappeared behind the mountain when he pulled into a small settlement, found only because of the lights. Once the sun went down, it got pitch dark, like he'd never experienced on Coruscant. It took him a while to identify the inn, but he finally parked in front of it and went inside.
It looked more like a bar. Everyone inside looked at him when he opened the door, but he ignored them. He approached the man behind the bar and asked about a place to stay and something to eat. While he ate, good food that filled and warmed him, he listened to the conversation around him. He heard about the mining conditions, some news from the Capital, although probably older than anything he knew about, although he didn't know. Finally, he heard something about what he'd hoped to.
"My cousin saw her again," one man said. "Shes got to be a ghost. There haven't been any slides since she's been on the slope. You know better than I do how unstable Chterer is. Not even a pebble, he says."
"A ghost? In the day light?" another Hanani asked, dirt ground into his skin. "And I've never heard of a ghost keeping Chterer from dropping something on anyone."
The first Hanani shrugged. "What else could she be? No living person could do that, I think a ghost more likely." The second one nodded his agreement. "Anyway, one of the women tried to go get her, and the girl vanished. It almost started a rock slide, but she made it out okay." He shrugged again. "I figure, if she keeps that mountain from killing us all or blocking the main road to the capital, I say leave her there."
The second Hanani nodded again. "It makes sense," he said, and then the conversation turned back to the news from the capital.
Obi-Wan had finished and sat, nursing his drink, when they broke up. The Hanani that had mentioned his cousin stayed behind shortly, his friends laughing as he searched his pockets for the money to pay for his dinner.
Obi-Wan stood and approached. "I can take care of that for you," he said.
The Hanani looked up, and then smiled. "Ah, I got it, thank you." He held up his money bag. "Appreciate it, though."
"Can you help me a bit?"
The man staggered around on the way to the bar to pay. "Yeah," he said with a smile. "Give me a second." He settled his tab, and then turned back to Obi-Wan. "How can I help you?"
"The girl your cousin saw," Obi-Wan said. "I'd like to know where she is."
"Why you looking for her?"
"She might be the girl I'm looking for. She disappeared from her family a few days ago." Obi-Wan figured probably about the time they started to see her around here. "I'd like to see if it is who I'm looking for."
"So you want directions."
"Yes, please."
The Hanani regarded him seriously, then shrugged and pulled a napkin closer, taking the pencil the bartender handed him. He drew a quick map, then handed the napkin over. "Good luck," he said. "If she's alive, be careful going up after her. The mountain is slippery and the rocks loose. If she's dead, I'm sorry for her parents, and hope she stays there." He nodded and left the bar.
Obi-Wan checked the map and laughed softly before he sighed. Then he turned to the man behind the bar and showed him the map. "He'd drunk more than I thought," he said ruefully. "If I get my map, can you show me the way?"
"Certainly," the Hanani said with a grin.
"Thank you," Obi-Wan said. He got into his pack and pulled out the map. He spread it out on the bar and found where he'd stopped. He put the crudely-drawn map on his own, but he couldn't make it match. Amusement won over frustration, and he smile wryly to himself.
"Right," the bar tender said, and leaned on the bar next to Obi-Wan. "Here's us. Take this road." He gestured to the map. "Follow it all the way here, and take a left when ye hit this fork. Make sure it's the second - you'll want to keep to the right on the first." He looked at Obi-Wan. "You'll go into a canyon, and Chterer will be on your left. The road is wide and should be pretty clear. They patrol it regularly, so if something happens, they'll take you to the clinic. If there's anything left of ye."
Obi-Wan grinned. "Thanks," he said. He rolled the map back up and stuck it in his bag, asked when he could eat breakfast, and went to his room. He tried to contact his Master with the comm, but it didn't surprise him when he had no luck. Instead, he meditated and sent his well being and determination down the bond between them. He got the same from his Master, and it took him no time at all to fall asleep.