A Quest Worthy of Record

[Lord Ajihad]

Zakuul​

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A pair of figures raced through a dense swamp under the pale moonlight barely shining through the unhealthy-looking trees. Not far behind them was a sizable host of ancient-looking droids opening fire on them equally antique blasters. Still, that didn't make the threat they represented any less dangerous.​

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Up ahead, perhaps a hundred yards away, sat an ancient stone structure overrun with natural degradation and moss. Upon closer examination, one would see the corroded structure slightly resembled some kind of ziggurat in structure. There was a small broken stone slab in the front wall that could have been a door of some kind, though one could only tell through the thick wall of mist between the temple and the rapidly approaching figures.​

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The two interlopers being pursued by the small droid army were none other than Lord Ajihad and [member="Rapax"], two Sith Lords formerly of the Sith Assassins. One may wonder what the pair was doing on such an exotic and remote planet so far from the core worlds.​

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A few weeks ago, Ajihad had heard rumors of a holocron vault on Zakuul tucked away deep within the Endless Swamp. He had beaten the foreign trader that had leaked the small tip until he relented and gave up all the information he knew (which wasn't much, granted). As he ran a vendor in a Zakuul village, he had heard of a hidden temple somewhere on the forgotten planet. It was said to house the holocron of a powerful Sith Lord with abilities unmatched by any other. And Ajihad intended to find it.​

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Ajihad's ignited lightsaber was extended behind him, attempting to deflect the wild blaster bolts as they attempted to drop him to the soggy ground below. It wasn't easy, considering he couldn't even see the droids that were pursuing he and his ally. The only source of light they could draw on was the wild blue lasers buzzing past their heads every few seconds. If that weren't enough, they also had to avoid falling over the treacherous and uneven terrain that seemingly wanted to bring about their downfall as much as the droids did.​

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"Not much further!" Ajihad shouted over the shrill whine of the incoming blaster fire. It was true, they were approaching their destination rapidly. He dared a glance forward, seeing the temple not twenty yards ahead. Reaching out with the force, he would grab Rapax and fling him inside the doorway while the assassin still managed to ward off incoming blaster fire. A few seconds later, he too would dive through the shattered stone doorway and into the pitch-black room beyond.​

 

[Rapax]

If the holocron they searched for wasn't so important he would have probably not even bothered coming, However this holocron was far from meaningless if it was what he thought it was and he hopes to be able to find it. He made a deal with Ajihad for his help a deal that will prove difficult if the other item proved unattainable, He deflected the blue bolts from the droids they where running from and felt a pull from [member="Lord Ajihad"] into the entrance they found that lead to the temple. He ducked behind the wall the temple they where inside of was pitch black. Fortunately he had ways of providing some light in this place, He Created a small orb of flame that he had float near them to provide as a small light source so they can see in front of them.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Ajihad nodded appreciatively at [member="Rapax"]'s light. Turning around, he would use the force to close the entrance behind them. They certainly didn't want any of those guardian droids bothering them while they hunted for the holocron.​

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He looked around the room, realizing they were at the top of a large set of stairs. The steps lead down into a massive room below, in the center of which was a small ziggurat. The whole room wasn't very well-lit, the primary source of illumination being provided by a shaft of moonlight shining through a hole in the ceiling and across the top of the weathered pyramid. At the very top of the structure was an electronic levitation field with a small cube hovering a few feet in the air above.​

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The holocron.​

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He descended the steps and began noticing destroyed droids all around him. Old scorch marks from blaster fire seemed to cover the walls all around them. The assassin frowned. Someone had been here before.​

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As he approached the sizable stone ziggurat, he noticed several cracks in the stairs leading up to the top. A quick scan of his cybernetic eye revealed that the steps were booby trapped, certain areas made paper-thin so those who stepped there would fall into an abyssal pit below. An unsavory death indeed.​

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The assassin crouched like a cat and leaped upwards in an impressive force-assisted jump. He landed gracefully at the top of the pyramid seconds later with a gentle whush. He looked around for a moment across the rest of the room, marveling at the vastness of the underground chamber. Whomever had gone through the effort of constructing such a large temple to house a single holocron must have been an impressive person indeed.​

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His gaze settled on the ornate box hovering in front of him. It was quite small, seemingly built out of some sort of dark lacquered wood. Carved into it were hundreds of small runes, seemingly of many different ancient languages. He recognized some ancient Sith here and there, taking note of one larger rune that read: "Eternal."​

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He noticed that the box also served another purpose besides simply holding the holocron. He could feel it nullifying the force that typically radiated off of some of the darker holocrons. It also had a complex-looking lock, one without a keyhole. A single rune in ancient Sith inscribed where the keyhole would usually be read that piqued Ajihad's interest.​

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"Malice"​

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Taking off his glove, Ajihad would curiously move to feel the face of the lock. He had never encountered anything like it before. Before he could touch it, a tiny needle flicked out and pricked him on the finger. He winced in surprise as it retracted back inside before he could get a closer look. He heard the device whirring, then a click as the lock disengaged. Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, the Sith Lord would slowly open the box.​

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It was empty.​