Musician Archive

Over the last few months I have been tossing around the idea of going to Mount Chaolt on Lok to craft my second Narlagon. Since I have no combat skills, it was a precarious expedition, but worth it in the end. Here is my story...

I arrived at the legendary Nym's Outpost on Lok late in the afternoon. Afterheading to town and making arrangements for shuttle passage to Fel-Shadow, I secured a room for the night. Awaking early the next morning I caught the first shuttle out of Nym's Outpost and sat staring out the window on the short 2 hour flight to Fel-Shadow to the south. As the shuttle made its approach to Fel-Shadow I could see the steaming caldera of Mount Chaolt in the distance. It was an awesome sight. A little nervous about where to begin I muddled about town looking for merchants and possibly a guide to take me to the mountain. A local merchant was able to supply me with very basic needs, but no guides could be found. I was a little discouraged after finding the scant amount of supplies available to me, but I guess that is what you get being so far from civilization. Fel-Shadow is a small town which is frequented by hunters and adventure seekers. The residents keep to themselves, mostly staying indoors due to the heavy dust storms that sweep across Corsair Lane. Unable to find a cantina in the town for an early breakfast, I decided to head out.

The trip to the base of Mount Chaolt was a tough hike through the desolate Plains of Dust in the southern region of Lok. The area is flat with large buttes extending upwards every so often. My view of Mount Chaolt was mostly obscured during the hike by a large butte to the west. Aside from the dry dusty weather, there were many dangers along the way. Corsairs frequent this area and avoiding them became an art I quickly learned. If that wasnt bad enough, the Plains of Dust are scattered with all sorts of vile and dangerous beasts. The beasts were not so bad, and my previous experience as a scout in the Imperial army on Lok paid off to keep me alive. Most impressive of the beasts were the massive kimogilas, of which I spotted 5 in all. They are enormous carnivores, but from a distance maintain a passive beauty I think is unmatched in the galaxy. The most common creature I encountered were the gurks. Although ferocious looking these creatures are herbivores and very docile animals. I never got very close to them, but they have a nice sense of family as they huddle around their nests with their whelps.

After making the 3 kilometer trek across the Plains of Dust, I arrived at the base of Mount Chaolt later that morning and set up base camp. I set my camp near a camp of Nym's henchmen and a few men who look like deserters from the Imperial army. They were pleasant folks and I told them of my upcoming ascent and my intentions to craft musical instruments in the fires of Chaolt. A few of them agreed to help me carry my needed supplies to the top and help me in transporting the instruments back down to Fel-Shadow for a very small fee. These men knew the mountain very well and the ascent was quick. We reached the summit in four hours and quickly made preparations to descend into the Steaming Maw of Adi's Rest, the famed caldera of Mount Chaolt. We had to work quickly as night time on Chaolt is no picnic and getting back to camp by dusk would be hard enough.

Once down in the caldera, I quickly arranged my crafting tool and resources that I had brought. Using a mining device I was able to extract some of the rare iron, only found on Chaolt,from an outcrop on the sideof the caldera which I also incorporated in the instruments. The work was very hot, as the lava bubbled and belched below. The immense steam emanating from the pool of lava reduced our visibility considerably. Amidst the steam firebirds swooped down across the vast lake of fire, their wings and tails ablaze with the fury of Chaolt. A kusak foraging nearby took an interest in one of the guards which almost cost him his life, but the others were able to dispatch it quickly. We also happened upon a surveyor who joined our group. Once done with my instruments we quickly packed up the gear and made our way back to base camp.

Base camp was comforting as I sipped on some spiced tea and gnawed on some stale travel bisquits I picked up in town. The men in camp were passing around some Vasarian Brandy and the conversation started to get lively. I pulled out some of my newly made insturments and tuned them by the fire. The sound from them was very nice. I was easily coaxed into playing some songs for my companions and played late into the night. I eventually passed out from drinking too much brandy and awoke early the next morning with a massive hangover. I choked down a few more travel bisquits and woke the lead guard about heading back to Fel-Shadow. It took about an hour to break camp and get everyone organized. Our trip back to Fel-Shadow was uneventful and certainly seemed to go much more quickly now that I had traveling companions. I thanked the guards and paid them and quickly grabbed the last shuttle out of Fel-Shadow back to Nym's Outpost.

I decided to layover in Nym's for the night and managed to book a gig with the cantina there. Apparently musicians are scarce at the outpost. Playing my instruments for the second time I really began to appreciate their quality. There were only about 15 patrons in the bar, mostly travelers, smugglers, and hunters. They welcomed the music as they new it would be the last music they woud here before heading out into the wilds of Lok.