To kill or not to kill (Taeli Raaf)

[Darth Vaildra]

Dxun, the largest of four moons around Onderon. It was a dense jungle like planet that logic would make you think there was nothing or worth on such this moon. This moon held much of the Dark Side including the Empire of Revan and the former Dark Lord of the Sith Freedon. "The Jedi that fall are the most dangerous of all." These words sounded in Vaildra's head as his ship headed for the moon. Freedon Nadd was a great Jedi who fell to become one of the greatest Sith.

It was for this reason that Vaildra had to know what this lord still had to teach. His ship screamed through the sky as he headed to the temples location. He found an open area near by to land his ship. He powered down his ship and stood to head for the temple. He saw himself in the mirror, he smiled under his mask and beskar armor. Using the Force he summoned his lightsabers and hooked one on his right and one on his left hip. He disembarked his ship and breathed in the air. The air was still type 1 here so he did not need his filters. He walked through the forest, the sounds of the forest were all around him, almost soothing. He continued his path for the Temple, not knowing things were going to go very south.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

Dxun, not the most fun place to travel to that Taeli had been to. Then again, she was always traveling to exotic and dangerous locations in pursuit of knowledge ... both good and bad. She had heard a rumor that a Naddist cult had been sighted in the area of the old tomb of their deity, Freedon Nadd, and they were in possession of a certain artifact of his she really wanted to recover.

The place felt dangerous as she trekked through the jungle, having set her ship down a few klicks away. She had no idea if the Naddists were still alive or not, the area around the tomb was known to be quite dangerous. The dark side was here, maybe not as volatile as it had been on her travel to Upekzar, but this aura might actually be worse. It was everywhere and was old, the coldness at odds with the mugginess of the jungle. She was in her Jedi Shadow robes of cortosis-weave, wearing her phrik corset under robes with the pauldrons on her shoulders. The guarded hilts of her two lightsabers hung on her belt, but luckily, she hadn't had to use them as of yet. Across her shoulders was her research satchel, no weapons in it, just datapads and other scientific instruments and tools.

Something didn't seem right, the shifts and currents in the Force from Nohemi had taught her to feel indicated that she wasn't alone in being a new arrival. Someone else was here, and just possibly hunting for the holocron. She continued on, being careful now.

 

[Darth Vaildra]

Darth Vaildra found the aura of the place to be quite comforting. He actually felt peaceful places were the uncomfortable one. In dark places you at least knew to stay on his guard. The certainty of danger stopped him from guessing. He actually didn't know about the cult presence here prior to his arrival. This desire to come was more of a whem for him. As the trees began to thin and then part he saw the temple coming over the hill. It was old, yet beautiful.

As he came over the hill he heard the sounds of chanting. The more the temple came into view the more he saw and was in full view of a cult. Vaildra stopped, he did not expect this and it seemed bigger than he expected. He contemplated what to do and came to the conclusion they were Nadists. He slowly walked down the hill into the cult. The cult continued it's worship until they slowly got quieter noticing the Sith Lord approaching.

The cult slowly parted as they whispered. He could feel their emotions, some were scared, some confused and some even angered that a Sith was ending their worship. As Vaildra reached the end of the crowd he found someone in his way. The person was dressed much more lavish than the other cultists. "Who has chosen to defile the sacred grounds of Lord Freedon Nadd?!" Darth Vaildra's tone was quite calm for someone who did not enjoy people who got in his way, but he answered the question looking to avoid killing. "I am Darth Vaildra, Dark Lord of the Sith Empire, I am here for the knowledge of the fallen Lord."

The whispering of the cultists began to grow as the Sith Lord suggested entering the sacred temple, "No one enters the sacred temple, not even you! Be gone!" Darth Vaildra did not find the tone of the High Priest to be pleasant or worthy of his life. Vaildra grabbed his lightsaber and ignited it cutting him down with one quick slash. He deactivated his saber and replaced it. He turned to see most of the cultist running away, but a few of the more devoted chose to take up arms.

Vaildra ignited his saber again and began cutting them down one by one until none left to stand in his way. He turned and climbed the steps of the temple. Halfway up he stopped, he felt a new presence in the Force, a presence that felt oddly familiar. He now knew he was no longer alone and if he was right, he needed to find the holocron quick. He continued his climb and found the entrance closed. He looked around trying to figure out how to open it, He found nothing that looked like a secret opening and decided to kneel and meditate on the Dark Side. He sat and let his mind clear and only focus on the Dark Side. As he delve deep the door opened for the Sith Lord. He stood and entered the temple to find what it had in store for him.



[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

There is was, the subtle shifts had suddenly flared with ... pain, surprise ... fear. Definitely Naddist cultists, but they normally weren't all that fearful of the monsters that lived in the jungles ... except for maybe the drexel. However, she hadn't heard the telltale screech of the giant predator, so it couldn't be a drexel that was killing the cultists.

Stopping at the edge of the clearing where the tomb sat, she could see cultists fleeing from some dark blur with a red blade. As she watched, the red blade disappeared and the figure walked up the stairs. Lovely, a Sith and quite possibly of Master rank. Typical, well she did always enjoy a good race and a challenge. If the Sith wasn't prepared for the sort of booby traps and such within Sith tombs, he was probably going to have a rough time. She had the experience of exploring tombs that most Force users in the galaxy, both Jedi and Sith, seemed to overlook and rush head long into the dangers.

She made her way through clearing, around the lake, to walk up the steps herself. The Sith had disappeared inside, leaving a distinct trace of himself among the cultists he had felled. It felt quite familiar, all the better she thought. The door had remained open, and she began her descent into the tomb, the faint red glow of the light above not the best for seeing anything.

 

[Darth Vaildra]

Darth Vaildra walked through the entrance slowly. He didn't know what he expected, traps? Creatures? This place was so old you could never know if the traps and creatures could survive this long, but if they did... that could be the most dangerous thing on the planet. He knew he could try to race her to the holocron, but if it was who he believed it was, he would never navigate this place quick enough. He had to get the drop on her if he was to get what he wanted. He looked around the entrance for a hiding place.

He picked the shadows in a back corner and He dropped into the Force using art of the small to hide his presence, long enough to catch her off guard possibly. He waited in the shadows, one lightsaber in his right hand unlit and waiting to strike.

(Sorry for the short post.)

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

"Definitely pre-Great Sith Wars architecture," she mumbled observing the stone work of the passage. "Not surprising there are Onderon undertones to the work, although ... these are quite similar to passages found underneath the city of Iziz. Fascinating, ah there it is."

Waving her hand in front of a patch of stone, there was small click and a large blade emerged at chest level that would have impaled anyone trying to walk through the spot. Using the Force, she deactivated the mechanism and studied the blade. Obsidian, so even the blade could break in a victim if they didn't die outright. One booby trap, probably another near by to trigger the door to seal. Possibly a pressure plate somewhere ... and where had that Sith gotten off to ... hiding perhaps?

The cautious side of her told her that was most likely, an ambush in a nearby area. With that in mind, she unclipped one of her lightsabers from her belt, but didn't ignite the blade yet. Walking slowly forward, carefully, she made sure to keep probing her footsteps with the Force first. She did not want to trigger pressure plates or trip the possible door trap.

 

[Darth Vaildra]

The room was consumed by darkness. Not Vaildra's doing, directly, but as he channeled the dark side and waited, the temple's darkness began to gather. He Waited, his mind clear and only focused on the comfort that was the Dark Side. He could sense the darkness that lay in the temple ahead and the creatures of the shadows that waited for them. It was then he sensed her enter the room. From his spot in the shadows, his eyes slowly opened to see [member="Taeli Raaf"]. It had been quite sometime since he last saw her, the scare over his eye the proof of the mark she left on him.

He considered launching into the air and attacking her, but wisdom told him that was a wasted action. The shadows began to rise as the black mass rose to his feet and his red lightsaber piercing through to cast the shadows off. He slowly walked out as the temple's flames revealed even more of him then the lightsaber. He slowly approached the woman. His voice, deep and lacking of emotion, except one, malice. She had bested him last time, a fate he would not a second time. "Master Jedi, these parts are far too dangerous for the likes of you, there may be some who wish to do you harm... " The next two words came out of his mouth with a subtle, but mocking laugh, "Darth Arcanix." He would not attack, he knew the path of rushing into fighting. Instead, he would learn her reason for being here before he would act.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

Walking forward, slowly ... measured to avoid any traps, Taeli was keeping her senses wide open for any subtle changes in the environment around her. So hearing the snap hiss and very distinct voice of Hakora made her sigh inside, turning to face him as he called her by her Sith name. At least he wasn't rushing to attack her yet, but if had wanted to kill or injure her, he should have stuck to his ambush instead of coming out into the limited light.

"Hakora, I thought I picked up your signature among the cultists left unceremoniously outside for the jungle creatures," she replied, not bothering to ignite her lightsaber yet to match the red blade he held with her purple. "So what's your current name or have you not switched from ... Sebastian I think you called yourself last time? Admittedly, it really doesn't matter as I'll probably still call you Hakora. I'm guessing you're here on the trail for Nadd's holocron as well?"

She kept the questions going, probing carefully to see what his intentions were. Hakora, as far as she knew, was not someone who typically when exploring in ancient tombs and ruins. He would not be as on edge or wary of where potential traps and other hazards might lay within the tomb's structure.

 

[Darth Vaildra]

Darth Vaildra smiled under his mask, she had indeed gotten better over time. He stopped when he was just right in front of her. His steps were direct, but planned. While he did not seem the type, this was far from his first temple. The temple spoke to him, not with words, but with power, whispers of traps. He knew of the traps and kept his guard up incase one wrong step led to him setting one off, but being honest this wasn't a young temple and a good majority of the traps had broken over time, but that would not free them.

He looked down at the slightly shorter woman, still staying his blade, "I am no longer with the One Sith, I go by Darth Vaildra, but names don't really matter, Taeli. We could continue this charade and prodding or even toss taunts and insults, but we both know how this will end." He twisted his blade in a slow arc mainly to stretch his wrist and prepare for the inevitable. "I am here for the secrets of the Temple. Now, why is a a Sith trying to be a Jedi here?" He could feel her change, unlike when he met her last she had changed. Did he sense hate, anger, fear, the dark side? He wasn't sure, but he could see sh held herself like someone who held the weight of the world for far too long. Someone tired. This was the same for Vaildra, he was no longer in his youth, he held himself like someone who had killed and been through war after war. Someone who was hardened, but also no longer saw a need to prove he was the most powerful Sith there ever was, but just be.


[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

"Another new name? You should really stick with one," she commented, a wry smile dancing across her lips. She really did find it amusing that he kept changing his Sith name when, really, you were supposed to stick with one for life. It was supposed to be a meaningful thing, a whisper of one's true Sith self, gifted by the dark side to the person. However, his next comment just brought a look of confusion.

"Sith trying to be a Jedi?" she asked, an eyebrow quirking up. "Not sure what you mean by that because I haven't been a Sith for a few years now. Been busy, learning from the galaxy and the people who stick to secret places to learn from them. Hunting down knowledge, my old habit as you know. Not sure Freedon Nadd suits your particular skill set, a sorcerer and alchemist. You've never struck me as the sort to have that proclivity for the techniques of magic and alchemy. No ... but I'm going to guess someone close to you is ... or your new Emperor if you have left the One Sith."

He was older, more experienced in the art of battle she was guessing. She wondered if he had outgrown the flashy techniques that she found outrageously unnecessary, if he had learned that keeping reserves of the Force was the way to go.

"As I can't let you gain Nadd's knowledge, the galaxy isn't ready for that, you're gonna have to deal with me ... but we both knew that was coming," she said, a blade of amethyst igniting from her hand-guarded lightsaber. The other hilt still stayed on her belt.

 

[Darth Vaildra]

He chuckled a little at her mention of his name changes and turned the blade off his lightsaber as it still was not time, "You are a woman of wisdom, you should know Sith and deception go hand and hand. The name I chose was Darth Vaildra, it was always Darth Vaildra. Lord Sebastian was given to me by a dead man to show a false loyalty. As I said call me what you wish." He turned his back to her slowly walking away as he also took more of the room in, looking for the secrets it held. As she finished he turned towards her, "There is much we can learn from our forefathers," Was his only reply.

He saw her ignite her saber as his also flashed back on. He dropped into the power of the Dark Side as a sinister grin crawled onto his face. He could not deny that he had looked forward to this moment for quite awhile and it only seemed fitting that it was in an old grave. He held his blade in his right hand with a firm and strong grip. Unlike his duels before he would not open, he would give her the opportunity to take the opening. He would be the lion, waiting for his prey to reveal it's weakness where he would take such a moment to end his prey.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

If he was waiting for her to attack first, he would be sorely disappointed. He should have known from their last fight she was not one to take the aggressive first move. She preferred to learn about an opponent first, to study them and keep her own style concealed. So, instead of attacking she merely stood there for a few moments with her purple blade ignited, quietly observing the man.

"Considering you have shifted your alignment a few times in the past, I don't think your Sith forefathers are going to exactly be supportive of you," she finally said. "You were mostly a Jedi and Gray before you joined the Sith, if I recall correctly from your time among the old Vitae. Regardless, I have places to be."

With that, she turned on her heel and started to walk down the tunnel. It was a subtle prod to stir him into action, and she was curious if he would follow her deeper into the tomb to try and gain his revenge for the slights she had given him in the past.

 

[Darth Vaildra]

Vaildra could not fight back a laugh at her remarks. Once he had gotten control again he spoke, a little more mocking tone, "Do you know your history? Many of my forefathers started as Jedis, Hell the grave we stand in is one of the greatest Sith and even he was a Jedi." He saw her turn to leave and he merely made a snap of his finger, a seemingly unneeded jester, but it would prevent her leaving. His snap was force embedded and effected the air molecules sending a chain reaction forward towards the entrance of the tunnel. The air molecules began to speed up faster and faster until she found a wall of fire stopping her. Still a bit flashy, but he wasn't ready to fight so an obstacle was the next best option.

"Now little bird, don't try to leave when we are having a fun conversation. Remind me, have I ever told you why I was after your sister Corvus?" He paused as he thought, "I don't believe so. It was because I believed the Jedi had the power to save the Galaxy. I wanted to be one, but she, she only saw the dark in me and turned the Jedi against me. I was never a Jedi, I was never given a chance. It was then I learned the Jedi fear the dark because it is stronger. If I want to save this Galaxy, the Dark Side has that power. You helped me join the One Sith and she turned me over to the Dark. So, your family made me. All the people I killed, all the cites I have burned, it is because of you, oh great Jedi." He knew his words were not exactly true, but it was not the point. The point was to see if she would waver, if she would fault. He fought her once and being Echani he saw something in her, hidden deep and he wanted to explore that now. No one ever turned from the Dark Side, not completely. There was always light in the dark and dark in the light.


[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

Taeli rolled her eyes as he created a wall of fire to block the path forward as she also tried to get under her skin. Honestly, she was more insulted by the history comment than anything he said about her sister. Turning back to face him, an eyebrow quirked, she regarded the man in front of her.

"Number one, don't try and think you know more about history than me," she replied. "I know all too well the stories of how the Sith Order came about and about the Jedi who fell and became Sith. However, you generalize by saying that many of the forefathers of the Sith were Jedi. While that may be true to an extent, since the Sith Order was founded by Dark Jedi in 6900 BBY, there have been far too many Sith who were born into that way of life or were naturally already part of their empires to generalize by saying many or most were formerly Jedi. Take for instance what your armor is based off, it would appear to be a callback to Darth Marr of Vitiate's Empire. He was born and raised as Sith."

Holding up a second finger, she continued by saying, "And two, it sounds like you didn't know my sister very well at all. She constantly and persistently looked for the good in people, to try and draw that part of them out into the light. It was her core personality trait to be the best Jedi she could be, to be one who showed mercy and forgiveness to all who asked ... to give advise and help where she could ... to try and bolster those around her to be better men and women themselves by encouraging them to grow. I also certainly don't recall seducing you to the dark side or recruiting you back then, pretty sure you did that all yourself so don't even try and put blame on me. Honestly, your Dun Moch is rather rusty if that was your best attempt."

 

[Darth Vaildra]

Waving his hand the wall of fire began to weaken and fizzle out. Keeping it up would be wasted energy and their last fight had taught him conserving energy was key. After the wall was gone he walked towards her admitting from his hands a reverberating sound known as a slow clap. He stopped as he stood in front of her. "Don Moch, do not characterize my words as simply trying to get a rise out of you. You are a woman of study so I gift you with facts, nothing more. I also said most of the greatest Sith as in the forefathers, were Jedi. Tikal Hord, Revan, freedom had, malek all come to mind. Of course not all, but a Sith who only knows darkness can never know the power of knowing all of the Force."

He drew his lightsaber and ignited it aiming it at her throat, but still a yard away from her, "Your sister is or was a sham. I don't recall her being among the Jedi last we met. Did she actually run away with her Sith harlot I wonder? She wore a fercade a mask to hide who she really was. I actually saw her a few years ago, in a Sith temple belonging to a sleeping so called goddess. I also saw her fall to the dark side she fought. So tell me, how is miss perfect? Has she become just like me, the one she hated and convinced the Shadows to let me die?" Before she could answer, Vaildra drew his lightsaber using the force to arch it into a spin and shoot past her hitting a beast of the temple that had been lurking behind her and was getting too close. His lightsaber hit the beast causing a slash to form on his head providing instant death. Once the blade returned he pivoted revealing that while they were talking creatures had been slowly filing in. One of them took a step activating a trap that sealed them off from the outside completely.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

"It's Tulak Hord, and it's Freedon Nadd," she corrected. "As for what occurred between Braith and Corvus, number one, Braith is older than the Sith so you can't really call her one when she predates them. Number two, the day Corvus falls to the dark side is the day I retire from a researcher. If I, as her sister, or her best friend being damaged were not sources of temptation to fall, then clearly you need to figure out exactly what you saw. But then..."

She stopped as the beasts surrounded them, drawn no doubt by the wall of fire Hakora had created. One took a step and triggered the kriffing door trap she had been trying to avoid, sealing them into Nadd's tomb.

"This is your fault," she scolded, peering around at the monsters that existed here. Most were from the surrounding jungle, drawn here by the dark energies swirling around the place. "You just had to use an overt use of the Force to create a blazing wall of fire that a blind tuk'ata would have been able to sense and follow. If you knew the dangers of a tomb, you would know not to do that."

A maalraas tried to strike her from behind her current position and she merely caught it in the Force and threw it against the gathering of other beasts.

 

[Darth Vaildra]

"A simple thank would have been just fine. " he turned his back to her knowing she could handle her own and faced the beasts on his side. On his side he had mainly hound like beasts, possibly Hsshss or something relatives to them. He drew another blade and linked them together to make his signature double blade. As they came he arched his blade in a windmill fashion cutting down the one on the left with his first downward strike and coming up on the right the strike the other. With a glued motion he jumped and rotated his body in a leaning barrel roll to add powe as he came down stabing on in the head. One came at his right almost catching him, but Vaildra gripped his bottom jaw and let go of his lightsaber a moment to grab the upper jaw and pull to seperate and kill the beast.

He summonsed his lightsaber out of the beast as his lightsabers did not have a dead man switch, but we're only activated and deactivated through the force in a complex way to insure only he could do it. Now came the fun part, strapping from the tunnel was a Rancor, an adult rancor. It's roar whole the temple, something Vaildra could not allow to continue. He unhooked his lightsabers to duel wield them. His mid began to clear as he focused. He rushed in, but slide under the first attack slicing a small scar on both legs. Vaildra was surprised it had this tough of skin which led to him being hit and smacked into a wall. His armor took the blow, but he was rattled giving the beast enough time to pin him causing Vaildra to be pinned and his lightsabers to fall.

He let out a growl as he could feel the beast slowly pushing the wind out of him and wondered how long Beskar would hold. He could not create a bellow with no air in his lungs and with his arms pinned fire was useless. He was force to act against his nature. He looked into the beasts eyes and began to draw on the Force. The Force calmed him in this situation and he began sending that calm aura to the beast, trying to get it to resist its nature and tame it. He was not skilled at this, it was a long shot. The beast fought it, pressing Vaildra harder, but then letting up on the Sith Lord and backing up.

Vaildra could see signs of it resisting so he could not keep it tamed for more than a few more seconds as he was no longer light sided so this was unnatural. He channeled the Force as quickly as he could. Drawing and condensing, drawing and condensing until finally he had what he needed as the beast broke free. Vaildra lifted his hand and sent a spear made of the Force hitting the beast in the chest and killing him instantly. Vaildra's breath was hard and labored, but he walked to the beast and put a hand on it, "You were worthy, I wish it did not have to end like this, rest well." He drew his blades back to him and looked at Raaf, "Don't play the blame game, Jedi. It is unbefitting of you. Now I came here for something and plan to get out of here, stay if you like or join, I tire of these games."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

While Hakora decided to go all willy-nilly on the creatures, especially the rancor that was here. Odd, she didn't remember Dxun having accounts on rancors. Terentateks, drexels, zakkegs yes ... rancors not so much. Maybe one of the Naddists brought it with them? She didn't really care though as she was looking at three bomas that wanted a piece of her to snack on.

Foregoing the desire to actually fight these creatures, she reached out with the Force using Beast Control. They resisted for a moment or two, but she merely shifted her tactics to influencing them to see her as their pack alpha. To reinforce the point, she flashed an image of her defeating a terentatek from her days as an Acolyte and then several creatures from her travels in the Outer Rim. They immediately became docile and came to stand next to her while Hakora finished off the rancor. She noted he had tried to use Beast Control and failed, but then he was thinking about in terms of it being a Light side power. It was neutral alignment ability, he just didn't use it as a Sith would so it would prove to be harder.

After his comment, she remained silent for a time as he turned away.

"You didn't use it properly," she finally said. "If you're a dark sider, to use Beast Control, you have to subjugate the creature to your will, crush it's own sense of self. And with that attitude, the tomb is going to eat you alive before you find another exit. There are things far more dangerous here than just a few maalraas, bomas, and a rancor ... and all of them will be attracted to you first and foremost. If you want to get out of here, you'll need my help."

Flicking her hand, the bomas docilely laid down at the entrance to the tomb to guard it.

"If you want to get out of here alive and get back to whatever waits for you at your new empire, I leave with the artifact if it is here," she continued saying. "That's the deal. Take it or leave it."

 

[Darth Vaildra]

After his little fight he looked at his armor, the beskar itself held up beautifully, but then returned to looking at her. He saw something when he looked at her before, something different. Normally he would see she was taunting him, but was this actually her way of advice? He forced these thoughts away, she was the enemy. Using the Force he locked his mind from entrance knowing she could end him with this, "For a Jedi, you are very smug you know that? As for the artifact, we will see. I personally did not come for it, I came for what is also in the tomb with it."

He looked at her beasts a moment, she was clearly better than he at this, but this didn't really bother him. Instead he focused on the hallway. He focused on calming his mind to see through the Force. On the walls he could see the smallest sign of divits, spiked walls meant to crush and impale. He relit his lightsaber and went to the entrance of the hallway, still looking through the Force he found the trap's vocal point and used his lightsaber to make a small incision. The tampering made the spikes come out and the hallway to close to completely inclose them.

He then turned off his lightsaber and clipped it back on and began to work on the trap. After a moment of two of cuting and re forming, the hallway opened and slowly restored itself. This took longer to do, but ensured that if they ran into trouble in the hallway, they would not accidently set off the trap.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

"You call it smugness, I call it experience," she said, shrugging. Regardless, it seemed he would accept her deal ... for the time being anyways. Hakora started to fiddle with a trap for the corridor for the wall spikes and she was curious about his choice for dealing with it. Raising an eyebrow, she would refrain from commenting until the corridor started to open up again.

"You know ... you could have just used the Force to sense where the trigger mechanism was and break it, instead of stabbing with your lightsaber," she said. "It would have deactivated the trap completely. It would work just like how one can influence the tumblers in a safe with the Force, just a twinge here or a whisper of a touch on the internal mechanics there."

Shrugging again, she slowly started the hallway, keeping her senses attuned for any other unpleasantness.