Dark Lords and Sleeping Kings

[Brooke Waters]

Well, of course Token was going to play nice. Perja was a witch too, and while she might not be a native of Dathomir, it was the only world she really knew at this point that could be home. She debated staying longer than the time she had spent there, but… The galaxy had so much to offer and she was a woman on a quest. Girl? Woman? Blonde. She was a blonde on a mission…. Kind of a mission. Learning what she could. The dark haired woman was right, they needed to stay together.

The X trick, that was something new. “Alright, it’ll keep us from going in circles too.” She could navigate space lanes, a bit, but not on the ground. Nope, the water and space were her two preferred mediums. And then the other witch started moving.

Token was keeping close, but when she heard the bit of sarcasm, it took a lot of who Token was at times, very friendly and loving, to not make a mocking voice tone and restate what Perja had said. It wasn’t like Token was that young, or inexperienced (but she, like, totally was), but she could hold her own. When it came to traps? She knew a few things, took enough time exploring the galaxy that she was (not much) more than a bard of the seas.

A Siren of the Sea.

[member="Venris Helion"] [member="Nimue Stormson"] [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] [member="Zambrano the Hutt"] [member="Dara Gola"] [member="Perla Pirjo"]

 

[Dara Gola]

Dara followed along behind Venris carefully, she ignored the other groups and whatever plans they had. It didn't matter to her what they were doing, it only mattered to what her and her partner were doing, worrying about the other groups only took her mind off of the task at hand. They were moving along a one of the tunnels that had a slight slope to it and she could feel the dark energy pulsing through the rocks as they moved. She didn't even bother trying to sense anything through the force, the pallable dread that filled the entire lower level made the prospect a waste of time, she knew that there would be nothing to help them but their own wits. She was told to arrive for a training session so she had only brought along her lightsaber and nothing else, which she knew was a mistake that she wouldn't make twice.

she followed along at a close enough distance to ensure that there was space between them. She wanted to keep at least a meter of room in case he needed to react without tripping over her. She noticed him stop and she stopped right behind him. She glanced over his shoulder at the cavern in front of them, "Quite the surprise, good reflexes, I would have been a shame for you to get killed so early in the training session." She said with a faint smile. Her tone was flat and the line between joking and seriousness would be hard for him to tell which she was being.

She watched him as he made his way along the edge of the path on the wall, she stepped close to the cavern and she waited to press forward, she had no idea exactly how much weight the path would hold, and the prospect of falling into that unknown darkness wasn't something she wanted.

[member="Venris Helion"] | [member="Nimue Stormson"] | [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] | [member="Zambrano the Hutt"] | [member="Perla Pirjo"] | [member="Token Waters"]

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Dara Gola"] | [member="Token Waters"] | [member="Nimue Stormson"] | [member="Perla Pirjo"] | [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] | [member="Zambrano the Hutt"]

Venris glanced over his shoulder at Dara while slowly moving along the path. "Your concern is touching," He drawled, matching her tone but speaking more softly, trying to keep his voice from echoing through the cave system, "But let's try to keep talking to a minimum, in such a place like this certain things are known to make their roost." He glanced over the edge of the path, and could have sworn he'd spotted a pair of red glowing eyes staring back for a split second. "Many of which may be able to navigate these tunnels easily enough."

His mood regarding their pay didn't improve when the path began to narrow to almost a foot of space, forcing Venris to press himself to the wall and begin to slowly step sideways along the path. A few stones were shifted loose and clattered down the cliff face, vanishing into the darkness where they hit the ground below...but one struck something else which let out a whine followed by a growl.

Venris went still and slowly turned his gaze back down into the void below...where several red eyes were glaring up viciously at him and Dara. "...You brought your weapons, correct?" He asked without breaking his stare even as the eyes vanished, their owners retreating into the shadows to find a new advantageous perch now that they had been spotted. "Because if those are what I think they are, then we might not be able to avoid meeting them up close again."

 

[Armand Temi]

For one who spent so much time around rancors, it was a miracle that Perla Pirjo had such a finely tuned sense of smell. But she did because of her years of hunting on Dathomir as a girl. A predator uses all of its available senses and she had learned to detect the slightest sensory shift in the air, of wind, movement and yes, smell.

And something smelled incredibly bad in these tombs. Not like the normal dust and decay from passing time, but something fresh and foul. An unmistakable odor of carcasses, some recently killed, some rotting. There was also the chance of poisonous mold in a tomb such as this, the Dathomir exile reasoned.

Perla wore a long shapeless dress in which to train and so she bent down and ripped off a piece of fabric around the hem, handing one strip to Token. She wasn't sure if the fellow witch could smell anything yet but just in case:

"Take this and tie it around your mouth if the dust and smell get too bad eventually," Perla said. For now she wrapped the strip of black material around her wrist and tied it, continuing on deeper into the tombs.

[member="Token Waters"] [member="Venris Helion"] [member="Dara Gola"] [member="Nimue Stormson"] [member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Brooke Waters]

There was a lot to be done. Token knew that this exploration trip wasn’t going to be easy. She didn’t know what was in this temple, in these catacombs, but she would find out. She didn’t carry weapons with her, she was a weapon. She was starting to feel she might even be stronger than her cousin in the Force. At least with what she’d learned from the Blue Coral Divers. The blonde could feel the Force and knew how to spool it, and unleash. That was basically what her signature skill was. She wasn’t a Pokemon, but still, she had a main way of dealing with things. And that involved sound.

Probably why she was praying to the light machines whenever she was given the chance (better hang on to yourself). She did like her job with Bright Star, and was expecting to appreciate the new position that didn’t involve just flying, that involved entertaining people. Though the blonde’s definition of entertaining was… physical. And a lot more… hands on?

Sure.

The blonde spent a lot of time in space, in a clean environment of a Mon Calamari shuttle. Any sort of smell came across harsh to her. She looked at her companion with a smile, she wasn’t that hard of a person even if she did sometimes scare her writer. “Thanks…” She said, tying the fabric around her mouth and nose, and adjusting her hair. “What are you thinking we’ll find here?” She kept close, but her eyes and ears were peeled.

There was going to be a creature, she knew it.

The witch really wanted a lightsaber.

[member="Venris Helion"] [member="Nimue Stormson"] [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] [member="Zambrano the Hutt"] [member="Dara Gola"] [member="Perla Pirjo"]

 

[Boethiah]

Anja was pleased with [member="Nimue Stormson"] and her rather head on approach.

Following behind, she didn't have trouble keeping up as they walked through the initial corridor. The other groups were either on their way or behind them still choosing. With their paths separated, each pair would be unaware of the other's potential perils or findings. Anja had a curiosity for what lied underneath the Academy and truthfully she wanted them to split up in an effort to increase their chances of finding something of value or great importance.

Whatever was down here surely wasn't buried without significance.

[member="Venris Helion"] | [member="Token Waters"] | [member="Perla Pirjo"] | [member="Zambrano the Hutt"] | [member="Dara Gola"]

Spoiler

Sorry for the shortness in my reply, I'll get back into full swing I just wanted to make sure this thread was still alive and active!

 

[Nimue Stormson]

The hallway seemed to go on forever the more NImue walked down it. But, at the very least, she had her familiar's to constantly check and probe for any and all traps. Some they were able to activate while others Nimue was able to sense via the Force, perhaps because that was how they were activated. But all the while it wasn't enough to convince her she was fully safe. There was still something deeper, more unnerving. Whatever else was down here in the maze of the Sith Temple. Eventually she stopped and what seemed like a large open room with a number of pillars and turned back to [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] .​

​

"Are you so certian we're the only ones down here?" She asked. "I have the oddest feeling aside from the others we're not alone down here." ​

​

[member="Token Waters"] [member="Perla Pirjo"] [member="Venris Helion"] [member="Dara Gola"] [member="Zambrano the Hutt"]​

 

[Zambrano the Starweird]

| Anja Aj'Rou | Nimue Stormson | Token Waters | Venris Helion | Perla Pirjo | Dara Gola |​

Soon the Empress of Effekt, may hear the subtle rapid pittering pattering of a dozen tendril legs, too fast to be seen in the thick darkness that blanketed the pillared room. A tomb, most rank with the stench of the freshly slaughtered, mingling with that archaic scent of the long dead remains of mummified kings and servants. Little did any of them know, that these small sounds were the heralding of a grave threat to their well being, that foreboding sense that plagued her as she moved deeper into the chasm of the Sith.

Yet even as one group, seemed to be alerted to the present of some pressing danger very near to them, so too it seemed that the Witch of Dathomir with her keen hunters nose, had caught on to the trail of the Hutt's latest antics. Should she move deeper, who knows what unspeakable trail of bloody paints upon the wall she shall find? Cryptic messages and startling imagery, are both fulfilled by the senseless spreading of blood upon the dusty walls, without rhyme or reason the sickly fluids are discharged along the newest corridor, wherever the black abyssal beast could touch.

Memories, not belonging to his own mind, filled his head with the hundreds of years that this tomb was empty... and all those who rotted her, or where taken care of by the guardians of this place. Many centuries of years passed through his mind's eye as his hand ran through the walls, leaving behind a trail to be followed. The groups were divided, and would need to be mislead, to be hunted. The strongest of them, would chase after a phantom, while the weaker ones would be guided into his own embrace.

A gentle hum began to emanate from the throat of the oversized maggot, as he dragged a body by its broken neck, literally burning holes through its mutilated carcass. Where was the hutt exactly? Who knew, but surely, someone would find out relatively soon... and then would soon regret it.

 

[Armand Temi]

“I don’t know, but it smells like death,” growled Perla. She wasn't trying to be gruff with the other witch. But her focus began to sharpen, her body taut for signs of danger.

For better or worse, the dark-haired witch initiate had brought no weapons along with her. No vibrodagger. No bevii'ragir. She planned to use only the Force and her wits. So far so good.

But as she moved even further into the dark, foreboding catacombs along with Token, a sudden dread filled her lungs making it difficult to breathe. She knew it was a mixture of fear and adrenaline. And perhaps regret at not bringing a weapon.

But the Dathomir exile needed to push herself. Pleasing the Host Lord was not the ultimate reward for her trial – she was here to test herself. Her Force powers were limited to rancor taming and some wayward Nightsister spells. She resolved to improvise with little-practiced skills in order to rise or fall. Foolhardy as it may be.

When they began this lesson, she felt adversarial towards her blonde companion, but now Perla was very grateful to have another warrior by her side. She wrongly assumed they would be dueling each other, but it appeared now they were to duel someone... or something. And that something was close. Perla could sense its sickening Force signature now and she grimaced as she walked, trying to steady her nerves and stomach.

[member="Token Waters"] [member="Dara Gola"] [member="Venris Helion"] [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] [member="Nimue Stormson"]

 

[Brooke Waters]

See, even if she was a full blooded, born and raised in the clan, she would hopefully be the Blue Coral Diver that she was today. Who knew really, but it didn’t matter. From where she was? The smells didn’t matter, it was the temperature in the wind, the humidity in the air, the ripples of the ocean, and the feeling of the fish that mattered. This cave-catacomb exploring business? Well, at least there weren’t spiders. Or, worse… werespiders. She read a book once and there was this spider-clown! That was terrifying, it lived in sewers and asked kids to play because everything floated down there.

That was really not the thought she wanted in her head right now. And she squeaked a little at the next sound she heard. She knew she could greet the whatever with aggression. Unbridled aggression. She knew it wasn’t going to be that electric feel that Marek had told her to approach the Force with, the one that she knew he used in other manner. The one that she wanted to experience… Just not from her cousin. That was gross.
Token was a whore, but she was a whore with standards.

But having the older witch nearby? Or other… She was terrible with ages… She felt better. Sticking close to Perla, the blonde looked around. “You uh… didn’t like… y’know… bring a weapon, huh?” She could make herself into a weapon. Or the cave around them. Rattle it until it felt.

#BattleSiren

Totally.

[member="Dara Gola"] [member="Venris Helion"] [member="Perla Pirjo"] [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] [member="Nimue Stormson"]


And so not tagging [member="Zambrano the Hutt"] because the Hutt screws up the pattern.

 

[Dara Gola]

Dara nodded at the words her partner said, she didn't want to attract unwanted attention, especially whatever was attached to those red eyes. " I brought my lightsaber. I never go anywhere without it" She stopped talking and focused on not getting them killed. She wasn't new to dangerous places, but she wasn't versed in the dangers of ancient sith temples. She followed him along the small ledge, her back to the cold wall. She felt the darkness radiating through the wall as they moved, the feeling of dread seemed to fill the entire lower level of the temple and she wonderred what else was going to pop up as they moved.

She saw red eyes again down below, then they were gone. it almost seemed that they were following along as the two moved along the way. She really hoped that they could avoid having to fight something this early into their adventure, it set a bad precedent for what lay ahead.


[member="Token Waters"] | [member="Perla Pirjo"] | [member="Zambrano the Hutt"] | [member="Nimue Stormson"] | [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] | [member="Venris Helion"]

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Dara Gola"] | [member="Token Waters"] | [member="Nimue Stormson"] | [member="Perla Pirjo"] | [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] | [member="Zambrano the Hutt"]

The path soon widened out, only to continue following the wall of the cavern and tilting down into a slope as the wall curved to the right, leaving down into the depths.

"I hate being right." Venris whispered. "Alright...I don't think we'll find a safer path if we go back, so we may as well keep going." He made sure his own lightsaber was secured to his belt before continuing down the path, stepping into the shadows that seemed to hug the lower reaches of the cave. As the slope levelled out it came to a sudden drop that almost made Venris fall face first only to catch his balance and stand upright. The fall was only a half foot high, but it was enough to unbalance anybody who didn't see it coming.

Venris tried to reach out to touch Dara's mind so they could begin communicating more privately, but the connection was like a hose being pressed in by all sides, making it almost impossible to maintain without intense focus. He wouldn't be able to casually communicate with Dara telepathically down here as they walked, that was for certain.

-Careful, there's a slight drop. Nothing harmful but I don't think we want to make too much noise down here.- He didn't even know if his words were reaching Dara through the thick, dark side rich atmosphere around them.

He spotted the red eyes again, but they vanished as quickly as they appeared.

So much for remaining low profile. These things already had their scent...they were ready to start their hunt.

 

[Boethiah]

Anja's intuition was rarely wrong but in this case she did not feel anything out of place. Perhaps her senses had dulled over the years as her powers grew, complacency was not a common trait for the Host Lord but she, like anyone, was hardly the perfect being. She opened her thoughts to try and feel what might be around them, any threat or trial that she could not anticipate.

"I don't feel anything besides those of us who made our way below." She was quick to respond. "Besides, the challenge isn't in the obstacles; it's the destination we're after." Anja didn't concern herself too much with the possibility of a greater threat lurking around one of the coming corners, if there was an obstacle she was confident that they would be able to overcome it together.

Yet she was wrong on one thing... Thinking they were alone, she could not sense the Hutt's presence or even what he left behind. Her eyes focused on the room they came upon and she scanned the various pillars, this wasn't the place they were searching for and as intriguing as it was she considered moving forward. "There's nothing here, let's move on." The witch walked towards the ongoing path that she walked with [member="Nimue Stormson"], it was a refreshing challenge to be tossed into the mix with students. The challenge they faced reminded her of her early days in the Bleeding Sun.

[member="Venris Helion"] | [member="Dara Gola"] | [member="Token Waters"] | [member="Perla Pirjo"] | [member="Zambrano the Hutt"]

 

[Nimue Stormson]

The Empress merely shrugged at her response before commenting "If you insist. Though I do hope there's extra points for having pointed something out." Her tone was more sarcastic on the matter than anything else. She only turned back and continued down the hall. As before the familiars she used proved to be all the more effective in dealing with traps. Her wolf was done for the time being so she resorted to her snake familiar next. The large shadow serpent came in handy for when they came to one corridor with a number of gargoyles above. As she suspected, mainly die to the old traps from both her planet's temples and the stories told about them, when the serpent slithed across the ways it had activated a number of panels that caused arrows to fire from their mouths. The familiar was quick enough to not be struck but there were enough close calls. Once it had reached the other side it was clear both Nimue and [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] were free to cross without harm. As they did she glanced back and asked "I've meant to ask, have you made good from our last dealings? Did the dwergi and dregs I provide prove useful for....whatever it was you needed from them?​

​

[member="Venris Helion"] [member="Dara Gola"] [member="Token Waters"] [member="Perla Pirjo"] [member="Zambrano the Hutt"]​

 

[Zambrano the Starweird]

| [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] | [member="Nimue Stormson"] | [member="Token Waters"] | [member="Venris Helion"] | [member="Perla Pirjo"] | [member="Dara Gola"] |

The monster could wait no longer, it needed them here, now. It needed them to break their hesitance, allow them to make a mistake, to separate. It would make it so. From wherever the Hutt resided, which was close by to them all in some form, either through the phantom running through the chasms at his beck and call, or through the bloody trails he left behind, his blood lust overcame him. The body in his hand was thrown against a wall, as he let out an unholy scream that filled the empty tomb to the ceiling.

That should get their attention, allowing his darkness to pulsate throughout the tomb in the form of his voice, a beacon of ensured death. It was assisted though, with a strange mental allure to the sound, as it had been augmented by his natural affinity for the mind. The echoing call reverberated against every wall, displacing the direction of his sound, be seeming distinctly from the direction it was heard. Likely, the group would be adamant that the direction they heard it from was the only one... hopefully leading to their total separation in the Korribinian tomb.

If not, it didn't matter, he would hurt anything no matter the scenario... he was merely an animal posing as a person after all... even that was stretching it.

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Dara Gola"] | [member="Token Waters"] | [member="Nimue Stormson"] | [member="Perla Pirjo"] | [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] | [member="Zambrano the Hutt"]

Venris' entire body locked up at the sudden distant shriek travelled through the tunnels and washed over him. The creatures watching were all stirred by this soulless scream and growled, now closing in on him and Dara from several directions at once. Venris' eyes narrowed as he felt movement return to his limbs and quickly produced his light sphere from beneath his coat, squeezing it once to turn it on and tossing it to the middle of the pack, illuminating the beasts spurred by whatever distant thing had called out from the darkness.

He recognized these things...he doubted there were many Jedi or Sith in the galaxy who wouldn't.

Sith Hounds, Tuk'ata, force sensitive beasts that were now circling as their forms became much easier to see. They were practically drooling over the sight of two new meals in their midst, only moments away from pouncing.

Venris' hand slowly travelled down to his lightsaber as he glanced around without turning his head, trying to count how many of the things there were. No less than a half dozen and no more than a full dozen if he was counting correctly.

One of the hounds dashed forward with a snarl and lunged, jaws opening wide.

 

[Armand Temi]

As Perla and Token crept further into the tunnels like sewer rats, suddenly both of them would hear a bloodcurdling sound. Chills went up and down Perla's arms. Something not too far ahead was bellowing through the tunnels like an enraged rancor. There was no doubt that it was a beast of some sort, which suddenly thrilled the spellweaver. She could deal with an animal. A mighty Sith Lord was what Perla was more afraid of at this point in her training.

"Where is that coming from?" she asked in a frantic, husky voice, looking around at the ceiling. The sound was disembodied and echoed against the corridor walls, bouncing back and forth and making it difficult to locate the direction of the noise. Perla was an expert tracker of wildlife, so she bent down to the floor and inspected the various tracks, dirt and markings below them.

"Something dragged along here," said Perla aloud, inspecting the passage to the east. "Come, this way!"

In her urgency, the Dathomir exile sprinted off ahead of Token, following Zambrano's trail and the continued taunts from the hutt.

[member="Token Waters"] [member="Venris Helion"] [member="Dara Gola"]n [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] [member="Nimue Stormson"]

 

[Brooke Waters]

The blonde had almost forgotten about this thread! It wasn’t anyone’s fault cuz they had to go kick canner-ass in the form of Mandalorians. But she remembered right now, that she was in a tunnel. A cave? A catacomb! That was the one. Looking for something. Hopefully not some fethed up AI that was trying to steal Twins and melt their minds down into putty. That wouldn’t really go over well. What would go over well, though, would be if there was pudding, like after this trip. Vanilla pudding, really it was the only part of Token that liked anything vanilla, was her pudding. And in like… cookies.

Token loved animals. She loved fishes and the crazy things in the sea, and furry critters, even the Rancors were.. sort of endearing. But spiders? Yeah, feth that bantha chit. She wasn’t dealing with them. Ever. She didn’t care if they were smaller than her. Hand grenades were smaller than her and she was afraid of them. But this? She swallowed hard. “I think its up ahead.” Maybe. Token played with a lock of hair idly as her partner got down to the ground.

The blonde had no skill in tracking, she wasn’t even going to pretend. And what? Get dirty? Yeah, no.

And now they were running.

[member="Perla Pirjo"] [member="Venris Helion"] [member="Nimue Stormson"] [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] [member="Zambrano the Hutt"]
[member="Dara Gola"] (you get your own line because you break the pattern)

 

[Boethiah]

"I've left that up to the Bleeding Sun," she responded to her companion as they continued walking.

Anja wasn't much for small talk and might've been considered awkwardly slow, she did wonder on how the others were doing so far. Not in a concerned way, just curious to see if they've been caught in traps or like them pushed forward without much hindrance. The Host Lord kept a move on until they entered another chamber, this one seemed to be more of a tomb than anything else. Several sarcophagus lined the walls, completely sealed and untouched for who knows how many years.

The witch looked to Nimue, "They're not truly dead," she explained on a fact she had experienced not long ago.

[member="Nimue Stormson"] | [member="Perla Pirjo"] | [member="Token Waters"] | [member="Venris Helion"] | [member="Zambrano the Hutt"] | [member="Dara Gola"]

 

[Nimue Stormson]

The answer [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] gave was a little confusing to Nimue. Whatever this "Bleeding Sun" was it must've been something strictly to the Primeval. She did not ask any further as they continued onward to the next room. Finding the undead around the she only peeked her head inside before hearing Anja mention how they were not truly dead. She leaned back and said to herself "Yes... I'm aware of how the Sith tended to make their dead useful. Magics of sorts." She twidled her fingers as she thought before saying "I can't use the familiar's for this. They need rest. Perhaps if..." she thought to herself before shrugging "I suppose it's the old fashioned way." As she said this she drew her cross-gaurd saber hilt and took a few steps inside. ​