The Last Four Riddles [TSO]

[Velok the Younger]

NIGHTHUNTER PORT
SVOLTEN
STYGIAN CALDERA

Half the buildings in Nighthunter Port were made of silooth carapaces, and this house was no exception. The gathering area on the top floor had sloped, ribbed, chitinous walls and ceiling, and a wooden floor. The great table was silooth chitin as well, set with holoprojectors and datapad interfaces.

A number of Sith had gathered. These circumstances were far less dramatic than, say, the trial of Darth Maladon or the raid on the Yutan Jedi Temple. The setting was commensurately less impressive. Still, droids moved about with wine and hors d'oeuvres, and the electronics on the table were high-end. The overall impression was decent.

"Thank you all for coming," said Velok. "The puzzle we seek to solve requires an in-depth knowledge of the history of the Dark Side. The puzzle has gone without a solution for several years now."

He touched a control, and the holoprojector showed a scarred woman with dark hair and striking features. "Quite some time ago, the alchemist Rave Merrill falsified her death and sealed away the bulk of her most prized possessions behind a series of riddles. Many of those riddles were solved, and her treasures were scattered. Now, many years later, Merrill has been confirmed as dead, probably in a permanent sense, and several riddles remain unanswered. They're not riddles in the classical sense, just awkwardly worded references to obscure pieces of history. Merrill had an extensive history with both the Nightsisters and the Sith; for this reason, I suspect Dark Side history will be of special relevance. The galaxy has failed to place these allusions. I wonder if we can."

The holodisplay shifted from Merrill's face to a few lines of text.

The Lethewalker, my personal frigate, I leave to whoever can solve the following. A twisted visage, many lives owed to justice, a long fall and a dumb servant sacrificed.​

The complete uplift procedure used on the qo’saarai tuk’ata, I leave to whoever can solve the following. In well-cloaked shadow, the cyborg bowed to the scarred one, then captured the great one.​

My Sith Abattar, I leave to whoever can solve the following. Spikes through his temples and barbed wire on his hands, here lies a faithful husband.​

My breeding stock of four hundred captured and cloned terentateks, I leave to whoever can solve the following. The place the oldest and strongest left the path -- weakness after millennia.​

"The final list item, incidentally, also had another riddle attached; it was a two-part puzzle. The other half of the final key was already claimed by persons unknown. Solving this may or may not get us what we want, but it's worth a shot."

 

[Lord Ajihad]

A figure would quietly emerge from the shadows cast in the corner of the meeting area. He looked slightly out of place among the intimidating Sith Lords gathered in the room. He wore nothing but a white linen shirt and khaki pants in contrast to the others who were clad in impressive battle armors and ornate robes. His black hair was braided into short dreadlocks, his skin almost as dark as the shadows he had just emerged from. The only thing unusual about him was his eyes, the irises shining deep gold like some sort of alien creature.​

​

Ajihad himself was a nightbrother, knowing much about Dathomiri and Sith history alike. He was aware of several instances when the two cultures crossed paths, and he felt there was a particular instance that fit the riddle of the Lethewalker. Or a particular person, for that matter​

​

His voice was rather quiet, yet deep and rich nonetheless. It carried a sense of power that seemed out-of-place with such an ordinary-looking person. "Perhaps the first riddle refers to Darth Maul. A long fall, perhaps this is guiding us to Naboo?"​

​

[member="Velok the Younger"]​

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Lord Ajihad"]

"Sadly, that's been tried. So far as we can tell, none of Merrill's keys are in the plasma refinery tubes in Theed. Good guess, though - it approximates most or all of the clue's elements."

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Ajihad nodded. The ship wasn't on Naboo, but he wasn't quite giving up on the Darth Maul hunch quite yet. The Dathomiri Sith seemed to fit the bill in some way or other, it was just a matter of choosing the right location.​

​

​"Perhaps on Mandalore? Where Maul was defeated and Savage Oppress was killed?"​

​

[member="Velok the Younger"]​

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Lord Ajihad"]

"It seems a bit of a stretch, but worth investigating nonetheless. Let's investigate options and reconvene."

***

Months had changed the lay of the land. The Sith, inevitably, had fractured along lines of personality and ego. It was a considerably smaller and more patchwork group that met now, back at Nighthunter Port.

"We've searched Mandalore at the relevant locations and found nothing, Lord Ajihad. Do you have any other guesses?"

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Ajihad frowned. Perhaps the key was hidden somewhere related to some obscure bit of lore he didn't know about. He searched his mind for answers, desperately trying to think of something that would be of relevance.​

​

"Perhaps on Coruscant, where Anakin Skywalker was turned to the Dark Side? A twisted visage could refer to Palpatine, while a long fall could be referencing Mace Windu."​

​

[member="Velok the Younger"]​

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Lord Ajihad"]

"Twisted visage, yes. Lives owed to justice... Maybe. Long fall, yes. Dumb servant sacrificed?" Velok shrugged. "Not sure. What I do know is that an associate of mine made that guess last year and found nothing at the site."

He frowned, leaned back in his creaking chair, and interlaced huge fingers over his belly.

"I suspect we're looking for some event or person that's less well known. Rave Merrill had access to very old records and stories."

 

[Darth Ayra]

[member="Velok the Younger"], [member="Lord Ajihad"]

Avedia leaned forward in her seat, volunteering a guess: "The second riddle, the one about a cloaked shadow, perhaps indicates the forest moon of Endor?"

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Avedia Lacroix"]

Velok tilted his head. "Very interesting. Let's consult the wording again. 'In well-cloaked shadow, the cyborg bowed to the scarred one, then captured the great one.' Cyborg meaning Darth Vader, scarred one meaning Emperor Palpatine, great one meaning Skywalker. That's plausible. But I'm not sure what 'well-cloaked shadow' has to do with Endor. Still, you can feel the place where Palpatine died, if you fly through Endor's orbit. It's a defined location of empty space. It might be worth examining: I could have missed something the last time I was there.

"What else comes to mind?"

 

[Darth Ayra]

[member="Velok the Younger"], [member="Lord Ajihad"]

Shrugging her shoulders, Avedia replied: "The text is vague, as you said. The Tuk'ata are protectors to the Valley of Dark Lords, which is in the Horuset system. Many have referenced the Sith Worlds being behind the "Shadow of the Sith", or the Stygian Caldera, if you will. Many ancient Sith match the descriptions depicted in the riddle itself, who have all ruled, died or risen on the worlds that are found in the Esstran Sector. If Endor isn't the location, isn't it plausible that one of those worlds might be where the riddle is referencing?"

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Avedia Lacroix"]

"The Stygian Caldera, the Shadow of the Sith - that rings a bell. Good thinking. And it seems to me that there are other locations with similar epithets. 'The cyborg bowed to the scarred one, then captured the great one' - I'll concede you likely know these records better than I do. What Sith Lords do you have in mind? Perhaps a specific confrontation or tomb?"

He shrugged massive shoulders. "Then again, Rave Merrill wasn't wholly Sith. She was a Nightsister who grew up with an avowed Warden of the Sky. We might be doing ourselves a disservice by limiting ourselves to Sith history."

 

[Darth Ayra]

[member="Velok the Younger"]

"What Sith would you think of? Many Dark Lords are said to have been fitted with prosthesis, following injuries. My first thought was Naga Sadow, who would individually match some of the description in the riddle, but misses out on the other, so it wouldn't have anything to do with him. If the Nightsisters are prevalent to the riddle, why aren't they mentioned?"

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Avedia Lacroix"]

"It's worth noting that nobody IS mentioned, Lady Vupua. The cyborg, perhaps not, but the scarred one, the great one: they could easily have been witches, or members of some other sect entirely, couldn't they. Perhaps one reason these riddles have gone unanswered for so long is that everyone - us included - has believed they referred to Sith Lords, when there's no proof of that. For that matter, they might not even refer to Force-sensitives...or even people, for that matter. Fascinating​."

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Velok the Younger"] | [member="Lord Ajihad"] |

Avedia leaned backwards in her seat, folding one leg over the other. After a moment of thought, the Sith suggested: "The last piece of the riddle, "then captured the great one", do you think that part of the riddle references a place, rather than a notable historical figure? Perhaps Rave was referencing a star system- a planet- which was captured, or conquered."

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Avedia Lacroix"]

Velok's gut disagreed, but that might just have been a leftover cut of Charzon Loulan from his deep freeze.

"That's certainly plausible. Has a cyborg ever conquered, say, Dromund Kaas, Coruscant, Korriban or Dathomir? In 'well-cloaked shadow' while answering to someone or something scarred?" He grimaced. "Maybe Order 66, but it feels like a stretch to me. Again, Lady Vupua, I'll have to defer to your knowledge. None of this is ringing a bell for me."

 

[Lord Ajihad]

[member="Velok the Younger"] | [member="Avedia Lacroix"]​

​

It was becoming blatantly obvious that Ms. Lacroix knew much more about galactic history than he did. His knowledge was limited to some of the more popular events commonly known, as well as few obscure tidbits he had collected over the years. It was likely he was next to useless here, but he had couple long shots he would throw downwind just for the hell of it.​

​

"My best guess at the cyborg riddle would be Vader submitting to Sidious during Order 66, though considering the fact that I already mentioned it, I highly doubt this is the answer. I do recall General Grievous slaughtering the witches on Dathomir. He was cyborg, Count Dooku could be considered scarred by the voodoo magic of the nightsisters, and Dathomir might be the Great One. As for the final riddle, I would suggest searching the tomb of Ajunta Pall on Korriban. Pall was the oldest of the ancient Sith, as well as the strongest. He was turned by Revan back to the light millennia later, sending him 'off the path', so to speak."​

​

Spoiler

Sorry, my SW knowledge is mostly the movies, the Clone Wars, and SWTOR lol.

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Lord Ajihad"] [member="Avedia Lacroix"]

"Stang," the massive Whiphid muttered. "I'd hoped to solve it myself. You're right, Lord Ajihad - that fits perfectly. The place where the oldest and strongest left the path, weakness after millennia. The tomb of Ajunta Pall. Well done. I'd imagine if you go there, you'll find some record or data or carving on a wall detailing the location of four hundred terentateks. If you do, I wouldn't mind a terentatek or two. You'll clearly have a few to spare."

Massive knuckles creaked. "Now I just want to solve the rest. Most impressive."

 

[Lord Ajihad]

[member="Velok the Younger"]

To be honest, Ajihad was just as surprised as the Whiphid that he had guessed correctly. It was a bit of a hail-Mary, but he was glad his knowledge had paid off in the end. He would be sure to send the son of Velok a couple of Terentateks if he truly did find the horde. Now he had a bit more confidence, and figured he would keep going with the guesses.

"For the first riddle, I feel obliged to mention the second Death Star. A twisted visage could refer to Sidious, a long fall obviously means his plummet down the shaft, and Vader did end up sacrificing himself. Worth looking in to, at least."

He would pause a moment for continuing. "If the aforementioned cyborg is not Grievous on Dathomir, then my next guess would be Galen Marek. Vader may be the scarred one, while being in 'well-cloaked shadow' could refer to his status as Vader 's secret apprentice. I suppose it could also be making a connection to his ship, the Rogue Shadow. He certainly had many feats that could fit the bill for the final hint, including capturing his master in the end."

At this point, the assassin was on a roll and started rattling off possible ideas. "We should keep in mind that the temples mentioned in the third riddle may not be referring to the body part. What if it means temples, as in physical building constructed by both Jedi and Sith? Wires on his hands... Luke Skywalker had a cybernetic hand, wires and all. He was a faithful husband, and he was known for utilizing several Jedi temples. Of course, this could also be his father. Vader was more machine than man, meaning he could have both wires in his hands and spikes in his temples. As we all know, he was a faithful husband to Queen Amidala..."​

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Lord Ajihad"]

"Though there's no way to know for sure, I'm in doubt. I'm not sure 'a dumb servant sacrificed' lines up well with how the stories describe Vader or his death.

"For the Marek interpretation to work, Darth Vader would need to be both the scarred one and the great one. I still suspect those are separate entities. I'm also not sure what location would become intuitive if Marek was the answer.

"If the other riddle referrrd to Vader, we would have found something when we located and searched the place where his funeral pyre burned on Endor. So far as I know, nobody knows where Luke Skywalker's last resting place was. I can't think of any other sensible interpretation of 'here lies.' I'm also not sure the spike line fits Vader, and I can't think of any temple structures with spikes through them. Can you?"

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Ajihad's brow creased as he struggled to connect the dots. For the death of him, he couldn't seem to think of any temples that contained any prominent structures resembling spikes in them. The assassin felt that the variable meaning of "temple" was a strong lead, but he couldn't bring himself past that. He'd have to approach it from another angle.​

​

"If the word 'temple' truly has a hidden meaning, then perhaps so does 'barbed wire' or 'hands.' The only other meaning for hands that I can think of is the infamous Emperor's Hands. Vitiate did have the Dark Temple on Dromund Kaas, perhaps I am just missing the reference of spikes. I suppose he was a faithful husband, though not all-too compassionate. This would imply that the Abattar lies wherever the Emperor was buried."​

​

[member="Velok the Younger"]​