First Reply Tomb Raider — A Step Too Far

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Combat Jumpsuit (Torn)
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

"Chit."

The word slipped from Valery's lips as her eyes cracked open, raw and rasping like her throat. At first, there was only the sensation of weight — not on her body, but pulling at her arms, her shoulders. A dull, grinding ache radiated from where her wrists were bound, metal cuffs hooked to a rusted ring high above her head. She was on her knees, the cold stone beneath her slick with condensation and time. Her muscles burned. Her head throbbed.

And her memory?

Broken.

She blinked against the dim light. A shaft of sunlight filtered in from somewhere high, maybe a cracked ceiling above the cell. Dust hung in the air, lazy motes drifting between the stones and roots that had long since reclaimed this place. A cell, clearly. But not part of any modern prison. This was old — fallen ruin kind of old. Ancient bricks. Symbols long worn smooth on the walls. She could feel the age of it in the air.

But it wasn't where she had started.

The last thing she remembered was the temple itself. A descent into an uncharted ruin, deep beneath the crust of a world that didn't even have a name anymore. A civilization lost to time, wrapped in whispers of Force-sensitives who'd splintered off long before Jedi and Sith were ever etched into the stars. She'd made it past the guardians, the riddles, the shifting floors and triggered illusions.

Until she didn't — A misstep. A pressure plate?

Then nothing.

And now this. Her head slumped forward against her arms for a moment, breath shuddering out between cracked lips. Her black jumpsuit was torn in places — streaked with blood, dirt, and who knew what else. She could feel bruises blooming across her ribs. Her lightsaber? Gone. No belt. No gear.

But she was alive with one burning question on her mind.

Where the hell am I now?

First Reply
(Preference to folks I'm not already threading with)​

 

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: Right in front of you
OBJECTIVE: Have some fun exploring
IMPORTANT LINKS: Sword | Armor | Jewel | Ring | Necklace
TAG: Valery Noble

A humming sound could be heard, a lovely tune twisted by a rather eerie note, a missing beat, a lagging step, something within the tune was off, but it was a tune nonetheless. High notes, low notes, a twiddly dee here and a twiddly dee there, a sound that came closer and closer to Valery Noble 's location. Until finally, the sound began to be accompanied by the grinding of dirt and dust under the heels of boots, an eerie and unsettling cold preceeding the sounds, wafting like a breeze on a silent graveyard at night into the cell in which the Jedi master had mysteriously found herself.

"Hmm...that's odd, didn't expect any live lasses down here," As the sound of the boots drew near, the man who appeared seemed to be tall, lanky, yet impecably dressed, with a burgundy three piece suit, a large top hat and a rather conspicuously smiling mask. Yet perhaps what was most apparent, where the utterly inhuman eyes that were visible within the eyesockets of the mask, deep golden eyes with a crimson hue to them, slit pupils that simply didn't match any human eye to begin with.

A chuckle came from behind the mask, cold, somewhat mocking, but a chuckle nonetheless. "Hmm...you seem to be in a pickle, no?"

Bending through his legs, the man now held himself at about the same height as Valery would be, looking her straight in the eyes as once again a chuckle escaped his lips. "Call me curious...but why would one such as yourself find themselves in here? is it...treasure? Knowledge perhaps? No...no wait, I got it: you just have a weird hobby and you didn't want anyone to see you indulging in it...no that can't be it either."

Leaning a bit more forward, once more chuckling, the man's eyes seemed to squint a bit, an air of glee and amusement in those inhuman eyes, yet his voice seemed to lower a bit, become a bit more raspy and edged. "OH... You're... a Jedi..."

The way he spat out that last word seemed to divulge his thoughts a bit, he seemed to sound bitter, disappointed maybe, disheartened certainly, and perhaps in a way a bit...hostile. yet, this all seemed to vanish quite quickly, his erratic, chaotic behavior seemingly making him act at random, but there was also the fact that given the situation... one wouldn't have any certainties.

"That all aside, my dear..." The masked man tilted his head a bit to the side, again letting out a rather gleeful chuckle. "Want to get out of here?"

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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Combat Jumpsuit (Torn)
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery didn't lift her head at first. She listened. The tune was strange — almost whimsical, like a lullaby stuck in a slow spiral toward madness. Each off-beat, each odd trill of the melody scraped against her nerves like a half-buried memory. When the boots joined it, heavy against stone and dust, she finally stirred.

Her chin lifted, just enough to peer through the tangled strands of dark hair clinging to her face. And then he appeared — tall. lanky and masked. That mask alone would've been unsettling enough — too smooth, too smiling — but the eyes behind it? That was what made her skin crawl. Unnatural. Predatory. The kind of gaze that didn't just see you but tried to peel you apart.

Still, she didn't flinch. Not outwardly. Her eyes narrowed slowly, measured and wary as he spoke. Her lips stayed pressed together, the soreness in her arms forgotten for now beneath the rise of caution in her gut. And then he bent lower. Mocking. Circling around her identity like a blood-scented hound until—

"OH... You're... a Jedi..."

Valery's expression didn't change, but something in her spine straightened. Even hanging like this, she pulled herself taller in subtle defiance, her glare sharpening. But it was his little aside — that line — that made one brow finally tick upward.

"...you just have a weird hobby and you didn't want anyone to see you indulging in it...

Valery blinked… and let out a single, breathy scoff through her nose. What did he think? That this is some kind of kink? Then her focus snapped right back to him. His offer lingered in the air like bait. She didn't say yes. She didn't say no. Instead, her tone cooled — flat, but alert. The kind that hid coiled readiness behind restraint.

"Who are you?" she asked, eyes locked to his inhuman gaze. "And what do you want?"

Because the only thing more dangerous than a prison… was a mysterious keyholder who smiled too much.

The Lord of Hunger ​

 

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: Right in front of you
OBJECTIVE: Have some fun exploring
IMPORTANT LINKS: Sword | Armor | Jewel | Ring | Necklace
TAG: Valery Noble Valery Noble
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"Who are you?" she asked, eyes locked to his inhuman gaze. "And what do you want?"

Tilting his head a bit to the side, the masked man chuckled again, jumping onto his feet, as his back arched backwards to an angle of almost ninety degrees as he spread out his arms. A rather theatrical introduction was no doubt about to happen...

"I'm the one who makes your wishes come true,"

"The one who listens,"

"The one who watches,"

Suddenly his back snapped forwards, his masked face almost directly in front of Valery's own, one of his gloved hands stretching out towards his mask, an index finger reaching the side of his head.

"The one who knows."

With that being said, he instantly jumped back into a perched position in front of the jedi, his head tilted a bit to the side as he remained silent for a few seconds, long enough for Valery Noble to take a few breaths, as if he was allowing it all to sink in a bit.

"I am... The Dealmaker"

Letting out that same sinister, somewhat odd chuckle, the eyes behind the mask seemed to squint a bit, glowing with utter glee and amusement, as if he saw a perfect victim, a prey that could not resist being devoured in front of him. Slowly reaching out his hand, as if to offer the Jedi Master something, the masked man looked at Valery intensely...

"It is all about what you want...a way out? Your chains removed? Shall we make a deal...Miss Jedi?"

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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Combat Jumpsuit (Torn)
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery watched him with a gaze sharpened by battlefields and betrayals alike. Not just the kind honed by the blade, but by lies whispered in shadows. And this one — The Dealmaker — reeked of shadow in the way only someone who wore masks for sport truly could. His theatrics earned no reaction. Not at first. No recoil, no fear. Only silence, cold and watchful, as he arched and snapped and spun his web of declarations around her. The one who knows. The one who listens. The one who watches.

She let the beat of it settle between them like dust. Then, slowly, she tilted her head just a fraction.

"…The Dealmaker?" Her voice was quiet. Measured. The syllables drawn out like she was turning them over in her mouth to test their weight. And the moment his hand extended — that gloved, pointed invitation — her eyes dropped to it, then lifted back to his face.

"You don't strike me as someone who deals in charity," she said dryly. "So tell me…"

Her arms tensed in their bindings. The cuffs creaked.

"…What's the price?"

A pause. Her brow furrowed slightly, thoughtful — not indecisive, but calculating. "Because I've broken out of worse places than this," she continued, her voice calm but laced with steel. "Perhaps I don't need you at all."

A beat.

The Lord of Hunger ​

 

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: Right in front of you
OBJECTIVE: Have some fun exploring
IMPORTANT LINKS: Sword | Armor | Jewel | Ring | Necklace
TAG: Valery Noble​

"You don't strike me as someone who deals in charity," she said dryly. "So tell me…"

Her arms tensed in their bindings. The cuffs creaked.

"…What's the price?"

The eyes behind the mask, perhaps the most noticeable sign of what this person was thinking, seemed to squint ever so slightly, the slit pupils widening as the color of the irises seemed to intensify. The sound of lips stretching wider and the sharp intake of air through teeth could be heard. it might have been but a moment, an instant no more than a second, but in that passing time, the masked man had shown that he found himself to be rather amused by Valery Noble 's resistance, her defiance despite the fact that she was the one in chains, she still managed to sound like the one doing the liberating, the one standing at the top and holding all the cards. The only question though, was whether or not this was a bluff or not...

"Because I've broken out of worse places than this," she continued, her voice calm but laced with steel. "Perhaps I don't need you at all."

"Heheh, you are one sly little fox, Miss Jedi," The masked man allowed his left hand to rise to a point in between his own face and that of the Jedi master, with a dark fog, a miasma of shadow concentrating around said hand, at which point the masked man suddenly snapped his fingers, scattering the dark fog as it seemed to activate the very symbols which seemed to have been forgotten by time, eroded to nearly nothing, but the power was still present and through the use of Dathomirian nightsister magicks and some good ol sith sorcery, the Dealmaker managed to reveal that the binding was still active, despite not looking like it at all, the chains holding Valery also started to light up, a diverse variety of symbols revealing themselves upon the metal before afding away again.

"Just a routine search for artifacts, hmm?" The Dealmaker let out a chuckle as his hand reached for the chains and tugged on it, most likely to the greater discomfort of the Master Jedi. "You've managed to get yourself into a place even I wouldn't have dared to go alone...so if you'd ask me for a price... how about you simply help me out a bit. Though I do not know if that which we both desire is the same thing, if you agree to help me find what I need, I will assist you in return...that is the deal I offer."

"Nothing too bad, right?"
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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Combat Jumpsuit (Torn)
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery's jaw tightened as the symbols along the cuffs flared — not from fear, but from the way her muscles reacted, instinctively bracing against the sharp hum of dark magic now crawling over her skin. The flicker of sorcery in the chains earned her full attention. Her eyes narrowed. She didn't cry out when he tugged. Didn't flinch.

But she did stare.

Her voice, when it came, was low and edged with frost., "That wasn't very polite." She tugged back — not enough to break free, not yet, but enough to show she wasn't just dangling there. Enough to remind him that even in chains, a Jedi was still dangerous.

"You talk like a gambler trying to sweeten the pot," she continued, her tone dry. Her eyes lifted to his once more — sharp, bright, unwavering. "But if you want my help, I need to know what you're looking for." A beat. "Not in riddles. Not wrapped in theatrics. Just say it."

Another pause, this one thinner.

"Because whatever you're after in a place like this... I doubt it's harmless." Her fingers twitched against the cuffs, and a slow breath eased past her lips. She wasn't saying yes — not yet — but she wasn't saying no either. Not while there were still too many questions. Not while the Force still whispered warnings in her ears.

"Talk."

The Lord of Hunger ​

 

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: Right in front of you
OBJECTIVE: Have some fun exploring
IMPORTANT LINKS: Sword | Armor | Jewel | Ring | Necklace
TAG: Valery Noble
​

"Talk."

A chuckle escaped the mask, a sinister and uncaring sound, yet a chuckle nonetheless. As the masked man's body seemed to heave as he chuckled again, his left hand reached for his mask, holding his gloved hand against it as he let out a somewhat hackling sigh, chuckling again, and again...until finally, with a second, more drawn out sigh, the masked man stopped chuckling, or laughing alltogether.

"It's a trinket really...a relic from a long forgotten, bygone age with a name attached to it that barely anyone remembers," Holding up his left hand towards the Jedi, his right hand reached into his vest and retrieved a small holodisk, as he pressed on the button, it revealed an image of Darth Nihilus; an ancient sith from the age of strife. "I was led to believe there was something regarding this being stored or stashed away in this place. Whatever it is, it could be a holocron, a fragment of one, maybe his mask...though whether or not it is the real deal, a fragment or a fake...I can not tell. There are other things that are rumored to be stored in this place, but I couldn't tell whether or not those rumors are true either."

Tilting his head a bit, letting out a sigh, the masked man raised his left hand again, slowly reaching forwards as he motioned the Jedi to spill the beans as well, after all...she couldn't expect him to not demand the same courtesy as well. Quid pro Quo after all. "Now...I have explained my purpose, now you can explain your own reason for being in a place like this..."

With his eyes now looking squarely on Valery Noble , the malice within them had not subsided, yet it had grown even more wicked, more terrifying, as if to prove a point. "Don't you worry, if you agree to the terms I have presented, getting you out of these ridiculous chains would be done without a hitch... though it may sting a little...hope you don't mind that?"

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Combat Jumpsuit (Torn)
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery's eyes locked on the holoprojection, and for the first time, something flickered behind them — not fear, but recognition. Darth Nihilus. The name struck a chord. A creature of hunger. A wound in the Force that devoured without limit. A relic of that monster? She inhaled slowly through her nose, steady and deliberate.

As the image flickered and vanished, her gaze snapped back to him. No smirk. No scowl. Just razor-edged calm. A storm in still water.

"You want to play collector with a relic tied to that kind of power?" she asked, voice soft — but it was the kind of softness that came just before a blade was drawn. "Whether it's a mask, a holocron, or just dust that remembers him… it doesn't matter." The Force thrummed in her chest now. Steady. Loud. And it didn't scream in fear — it whispered in purpose.

"I'm here because these things corrupt. They rot from the inside. And I don't let them survive." Her fingers flexed again. This time, the cuffs sparked faintly, protesting against a will they hadn't quite broken.

"I don't care if you think it's a trinket or a throne. If I find something tied to Nihilus in this place…" Her eyes narrowed, and for the briefest moment, the shadows in the room seemed to pull back — as if they knew who they were watching.

"I'm destroying it."

A beat.

"You still want to make a deal?"

The Lord of Hunger ​

 

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: Right in front of you
OBJECTIVE: Have some fun exploring
IMPORTANT LINKS: Sword | Armor | Jewel | Ring | Necklace
TAG: Valery Noble

THE DEALMAKER

"It's power is of no concern to me," Slowly standing up again, the masked man placed both his hands together, the same black miasma, the same dark fog as before starting to concentrate around his hands. There was a certain pressure coming from the man, as if gravity had intensified within the room, with the Dealmaker at the epicenter of this phenomenon. The feeling of cold, of unease would spread from this man as he suddenly spread out his hands, a single snap of his fingers making the miasma sink into the chains which held Valery Noble , the runes and ancient symbols lighting up with a sickly green color.

"All I need is the knowledge that may be hidden within the artifacts linked to this ancient Sith Lord," The chains started to dissolve, freeing the woman from her confinement, yet the bands around her wrist remained in place and seemed to even tighten ever so slightly, with the green symbols lighting up on the metal and seemingly burning themselves anew within the cuffs. "However, it is as you said...I will take some insurance... you are free to move and explore once more, but these nifty little bands will prevent you from becoming a burden...a danger to my own aspirations."

Tilting his head to the side, looking through the opening of the door that had been his entrance to the cell she'd been in, the Dealmaker let out a soft chuckle. "Ladies first, Miss Jedi."

Should Valery decide to not act any further and simply follow his instructions in leaving the cell, she would find an empty corridor, but though empty, bar the flickering of strangely floating lightbulbs on each side of the long hallway, the smell of iron and rust would be unmissable, permeating the entirety of the corridor. Blood had been spilled...yet there was no blood to be seen, no shard of bone, no piece of tissue, nothing but layers of dust and the smell of iron and rust to indicate that whatever had happened in this place, whatever had preceeded her meeting with the Dealmaker... something was most certainly off, not just with the place, but also the person who had decided to be of use to her...​