Tread softly, for you tread on my...

[Julius Sedaire]

Softly, the shii'do trekked, swathed in tight fitting black robes that carried warmers, a rebreather on his face to aid with the cold affecting his lungs. The air stung his lungs a bit, after being shut away from the environments for so long. But he had heard of the tombs on this planet, the lost artifacts. What better place to search out relics and trinkets to examine than in this ice ridden hell hole?

Ironically enough, the shape-shifter wore the countenance of Ulic Qel-Droma... It seemed to intimidate the few locals he had hired initially for transport and the like. His lightsaber, the fang of the terentatek gleaming wetly from the pommel, hung at his belt outside the robes, and goggled eyes gazed out over the landscape as he tried to discern which of these caves would be the tomb entrance.

Suddenly, he stiffened, turning, eyes sweeping wildly, his hand drifting over the hilt of his lightsaber, fluttering openly, ready to grab it. His sense had felt something out there in the snow, something much more powerful than he in the Force. Something entirely malevolent and evil. Something he was not sure he was even remotely close to approaching be able to deal with.

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Ostanes"]
This was no winter wonderland, no brief cold snap. This was primeval, deep chill, enough to freeze someone solid in minutes if they were unprotected.
Deep in the tomb at least the icy wind could not reach though it was still numbingly cold.

The Shadow watched the progress of his droids as they worked. Droids were more reliable than organics, a view he ironically shared with [member="Moira Skaldi"] and her ilk. Still, they could work for long periods without rest and in low light. Occasionally the Shadow would help clear a particularly obtuse barrier with a gesture of the hand, but otherwise he stood silent and waited, feeding off the Force to nullify the cold.

And then, a new presence. Dark, yes, but unrefined. The Sith Lord smiled from the shadows and hid his presence in the Force. Whoever they were would come, curiosity or bravado would drive them. Still, since the Sith Lord was eternally cautious he dispatched a probe droid to observe from a distance and report on the person who was sharing this part of the wastes with him.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Feeling the presence, the young Acolyte cast his eyes around dubiously as it vanished from his senses as quickly as he had sensed it. Sighing, he moved his hand down towards the hilt of his lightsaber, and the hilt flew into his hand with a thought, resting in his palm comfortably, not igniting it but holding it idly at ready as he began to set off in the last direction he would guess that he sensed it from. If there were another sith here he would need to see if he could quietly eliminate the competition before he lost his chance at finding a tomb with any good secrets or relics. Hopefully he could manage it.

Pulling a hood up around his face, he took a deep breath in and picked up the pace, not seeing or sensing the droid coming his way really, absorbed in trying to traverse a treacherous bit of broken rock in his way for the moment.

[member="Darth Shadow"]

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Ostanes"]
Inside the tomb the Sith Lord felt the presence approach. Wrapping himself in the shadows he watched from the dark corners as the creature entered the tomb out of the snow.
They had a lightsabre, they had the darkness in them, but it was not fully formed yet.

The acolyte would see the droids, and his reaction to them would well decide Shadow’s response. If the boy showed interest he might return the favour. If he wantonly destroyed then Shadow would exterminate him.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Ostanes merely let his thumb slide across the bone plated hilt of his lightsaber, not activating it but standing at the ready, eyeing the droids. Once upon a time he would have frozen them with sorcery or the Force itself, but that was before Rave had taken his mind and scrambled it like a basket full of eggs at a picnic. There was very little he honestly remembered right now of years of honing skills and talents, all of it was gone. And so, with no real bark to match his bite, he reached his hand out, trying to sense anything in the tomb as his eyes closed in concentration.

[member="Darth Shadow"]

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Ostanes"]
The Shadow watched, curious, the cat watching the mouse before a killing blow. Then, he allowed himself to emerged from the darkness.
“Welcome, young acolyte. What brings you to Rhen Var…and my excavation?”
The boy needs to be silenced….

The droids continued to work in the background, oblivious.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

The younger sith turned, facing the elder Lord and twisted his face into a grin. His emotions, to his credit, were a blank slate with a tinge of curiosity.

"Curious... I would consider this my excavation.... I am here for my own purposes, as I suspect you are. What are always in tombs that types like us want? Relics and artifacts of power."

[member="Darth Shadow"]

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Ostanes"]
“Would you consider it that? It is mine, my excavation, my property. I am here for the relics contained within. I will not, however, give them up to anyone.” He looked disapprovingly at the younger man. “Especially you.”

The Sith Lord seemed ready to fight to retain his prize as one hand crackled with electrical energy, ready to smite his enemy if needed.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Ostanes snorted and shrugged, nodding to the elder with a sort of mocking respect.

"Then mayhaps we can help each other... I have a grimoire from the Force Wars in my possession, some of which I can not translate due to linguistic difficulties... I will allow it to be examined and copied by you, in exchange for study of an object or two from this tomb, to be turned over to you upon completion. And i will remain in your supervision while doing so. Certainly I am not a threat at my debilitated state of knowledge to one of your venerability."

[member="Darth Shadow"]

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Ostanes"]
“Which items did you have in mind?” Shadow replied. His suspicious eye looked over the other man, the lightning gathered in his hand not yet dispersed.
“And how did you know what would be found here?”

 

[Julius Sedaire]

"I do not know what would be found here precisely... Just that something would be able to be found... An educated guess, or sorts... If you intend to kill me, please go ahead... Otherwise, we are wasting time, no? You'll find I can be of use, I assure you.."

Smiling, Ostanes turned and began walking down past the droids as if he knew precisely where he was going.

[member="Darth Shadow"]

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Ostanes"]
"We shall see if you can be useful. However, first..." the Sith Lord suddenly unleashed a blast of Force Lightning on Ostanes, not enough to kill or maim, but enough to cause pain for sure. "...so you remember who is the Master here," Shadow said grimly, then turned away.

The droids were excavating the icy wall, but soon started to come upon a buried and frozen icy doorway. What was inside would be the next challenge.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Tensing, Ostanes hissed loudly as the energy arced and crackled through him, his muscles spasming as the lightning flickered around and through him, and then dissipated. Outwardly, other than the tensing, brief muscle spasm and hiss, he said and reacted in no noticeable way. He merely eyed the door, the kusk chwukkun he had implanted before leaving the offices at AEI showing him an odd aura around the door.

"There is a faint force trace around the doorway, Master.... Do be careful with the droids..."

[member="Darth Shadow"]

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Ostanes"]
Shadow directed his attention to the door, closed his eyes briefly. “Yes…it is as I suspected. The Dark Side is strong here.”

He made some changes to a datapad and the droids moved aside. With the Sith Lord now facing the frozen doorway alone, he called on the Force.
To him, using the Dark Side to enhance his sight, he saw symbols invisible to the naked eye appear.

“Do you see the symbols on the door, Apprentice? Use the Force as your vision, tell me what you see.”

A test for the youngling.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Blanching as his eyes read the symbols carefully, thankful for the vision the implants gave him, and the broadening of his sense the Dark Side imparted, he nodded absent mindedly, his eyes narrowed as he glanced to his new Master and tilted his head rather cautiously.

"It can't be right, Master... This states the name of Qel-Droma, and has dates carved, like a tombstone might... I thought that tomb was lost right after the Galactic Empire collapsed from the death of it's Emperor... This can't be right... And if it is, there is danger beyond that entrance the likes of which even you may not have faced before..."

[member="Darth Shadow"]

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Ostanes"]
Shadow laughed. "Very good, very good, my young apprentice. Indeed, you may be correct. There is much dangerous in the ancient galaxy. Thus, it would only make sense if you were to go first. I am always interested in having the young prove themselves and show off their skills."

The Sith Lord stepped forward and gestured. The door hissed slightly and started to grind open, revealing the dark and cold passage within.
"After you, Apprentice. Do watch for traps...."

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Extending his sense as well as relying on the engineered contacts he wore, Ostanes began to step forward into the tomb hesitantly, placing his hand on the door-way. With a sudden change, what would have been a near perfect replica of the visage of Qel-Droma appeared, and Ostanes smiled thinly to his new-found master as he pushed forward with his sense, undoing the lock with a small amount of struggle and pushing forward.

"Simple barriers... Perhaps the real test is within?"

Walking without a word, the Acolyte advanced.

[member="Darth Shadow"]

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Ostanes"]
Shadow watched him go, following behind. He had a pair of small probe droids scanning for obstacles and dangers.
"Of course. It would hardly be a test otherwise, would it? Lead on, Apprentice, I am fascinated to see where this goes...and of course whether you survive the inevitable ambush...."

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Slowly, the younger man worked through the entrance, stopping at what was two large, worn statues. Once long ago, they were likely Jedi Masters, possibly carvings of the famed man whose visage he wore now. But he did not put an overly large amount of time into decoding who they once were, as they fairly hummed in the force, and the aura detected by his eyes gave away that, perhaps, this was the first test of the tomb, these ancient sentinels.

"These statues are more than they appear... I am not sure of their purpose, or if it is even deadly, but they watch us with a passive interest... There is a trigger or threshold they will be protecting or waiting on, no doubt."

[member="Darth Shadow"]

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Ostanes"]
The Sith Lord nodded, curious. He had noted something odd about the statues, but the boy had seen a greater purpose in them.
As they approached the space between the two opposite statues Shadow looked curiously at the ground. A slim crack or line ran against the stone blocks, and he perceived some form of mechanism beneath, though had no clue whether it still functioned.

“I am surprised. The Jedi do not use traps as a rule. They seek to hinder and contain, not destroy…if indeed this is its purpose. How would you proceed, Apprentice?”