Valik's Weekday Treasure Hunt: A Lab or his Tomb?

[Valik]

[member="Calina Ovmar"] [member="Ostanes"] [member="Velok the Younger"]

Odinja was powerful magic, not something casually ignored, even by a dreambeast. It would be held in place as it took the forms of each of the trio's greatest fears. Ostanes would see Obeah, perhaps taking his place as he was trapped in his own staff. Calina would see a future self, corrupted by the darkside and insatiably lusting for power. Velok would see his greatest fear as well, perhaps his old man coming back for him and his name, perhaps the Sith rising up and claiming members of his family once more. It would struggle through the Sith Magic to inflict telepathic wounds on it's targets, but would still be pinned. A good quick saberstrike would end it, as Ostanes spent his energy keeping it in place. A devious sith acolyte might take advantage of that.

Beyond the dreambeast would be the afore-mentioned staircase to the lower levels, fraught with danger but also potential.

 

[Tahira Solo]

[member="Valik"]

The force apparition wasn't sure what drew her to this world. With Matthew it was different. She knew a kindred spirit right away. With Patches it was a longing to see an old friend. With her clone it was the will of the force. The force pulled her at times and like a faithful servant, she answered.

In this case, she wasn't so sure.

Even she could could sense the the leeching power of the darkside. It lapped at her shimmering form, threatening to wrap around her spirit in eternal sludge and bondage. Her form flickered in the deserted and darkened tunnel. Glowing myrtle ellipses could make out the ground as sand. But for her, those physical details didn't matter.

There was something familiar - no - someone familiar. She felt him. Like she had before, when he was....living.

Valik.

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Valik"] [member="Calina Ovmar"] [member="Ostanes"]

The expected counterstroke went elsewhere, a Sith spell aimed farther into the cave at...

...another Whiphid. Slightly shorter, much older, equally ratty in the robe department. Nephrostomy tube poking from his side, pressing against the robe to make a noticeable bulge at the kidney. With each step, a bag of urine sloshed. The other Whiphid snarled as the Odojinya web enfolded it. It tore at the web with scarred, gray-furred, three-clawed hands.

Velok. The original.

Velok the Younger felt his pulse quicken far more than the sandworms had inspired it to race. He caught himself hyperventilating, and that wouldn't do. "So you crawled out from under your rock, old man," he snarled as the blonde threw her lightsabre. With a roar, Velok the Younger gestured at his fallen lightsabre. The yellow blade ignited and accelerated for his father. None of this spinning stuff, no finesse, just a yellow-plasma spear aiming to skewer the old Dark Lord and put him down again.

 

[Grace Darkson]

A smile crossed her face. He wanted to come along. Tilting her head to the side, she thought for a moment. He could be useful. After all, he probably knew his way around better than she did, at least for the short distance that the locals dared venture in. She didn't need most of the tech anyways. Amulets and Sith swords were nice and all, but she just wanted knowledge. "Well, then. Let's get started."

Kneeling down, she dug a small spike into the ground and tied a rope around it, before letting the rope fall down into the hole. grabbing the end near the top, she lowered herself down, not wanting to take any chances. Hopefully, there wouldn't be anything there.

 

[Valik]

[member="Tahira Solo"]

An apparition. On Tash-Taral? Not uncommon. Many Sith were bound to their resting places, exorcising this ritual or that to stay attached to a world they could only hope to influence. Was that Valik? Was he stuck clinging to the past? He probably was, but this apparition he felt? It wasn't. It was drawn here by him, or perhaps for the Force to bring to him. And it was familiar. A presence he'd felt before, both living and dead.

Tahira Solo.

The woman who'd observed his psychometric analysis of Je'gan Olra'en. To be fair, he was her husband, so he supposed her coming to such a place was natural. Her interference was unwanted, but persevered through. He made analysis, created what he needed to. His copy was actually here, though he had no idea who'd stumble upon it at this rate. So many pieces in play, so many toys of his that would be taken, yet he only cared about the one in retrospect. Even his holocron had fallen by the wayside in regards to his last creation.

"If you came here to defeat me I have little interest in this galaxy anymore. You need not worry of my interference." He said to the Jedi Master. "I only wish to observe, not influence."

[member="Grace Darkson"]

The devaronian smiled, and helped her secure the spike and repel down into the faciilty. There would be a small pack of Tuk'ata waiting for them but the Devaronian would fire his junk blaster and make quick work of two. The other three still came, but the Devaronian was pulling his weight. When they were dealt with he'd advise they move quickly before other beasts smelled the dead and that there was a staircase to the east, after a right turn. He'd mention that it was more dangerous as you went deeper, but often more profitable.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Calina Ovmar"] [member="Ostanes"] [member="Velok the Younger"] [member="Valik"]

The path trailed down the slope of the dune and then some. Out here I could just about see the temple in the valley proper and the trail seemed to be heading in the same direction. This was competition, then, which should not have surprised me as much as it did right then.

It was silly to think nobody else would have been aware of the secretive movements, of the shipments made and the name attached to them.

The sand crunched beneath me and it made into a fine rhythm for the walk. At least until an explosion in the distance broke through the quieted silence, it was only the first though - i increased my pace, the explosion had come from the direction of the temple itself and that did not bode well at all. A second explosion rocked the area, but the only thing I could make out was thr dark clouds of smoke rising up the air.

Lazily drifting like seaweed on a surface.

The rumbling tipped me off. If there was one lesson learned from all that had come before, it was that sometimes you shouldn't think and instead just act. This was what saved my life, I realised the moment I rolled to the side and a huge wall of flesh and teeth and bad manners burst through the sand... right where I had been just a moment ago.

A sandcrawler.
I started running.

Not that it would matter much. A huge shock wave humming through the sand already told me the beast had dug itself into the sand again, it would make short game with me if I didn't do anything creative. The distance to the temple was closing, but it was too far... too far. What popped up into my mind next was the last thing I wanted to do.

But I did it anyway. Quickly grabbing my one remaining therm detonator, I pulled out the safety and threw it far to my right.

Theoretically the resulting explosion would distract the sand burrowers. Not for long, but at least long enough to clear the distance to relative safety.

 

[Tahira Solo]

[member="Valik"]

She found him or her presence was drawn to him. Walls. Time. Nothing stopped her from coming to 'stand' before his apparition. Tongue clicked.

"My dear Warren. Even I know there are cogs of influence that you have set in motion to continue well beyond your death." She regarded him, unblinking and unflinching. "Are you observing to find a champion to carry along your legacy? Because that's what it looks like from here. And what, may I ask, interests you if the living has begun to sour to your tastes?"

She didn't want to admit that she didn't know why she was here. Drawn to this same spot as the deceased alchemist. Besides, there was one other matter to discuss.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Yellow and red bounced off the walls of the catacomb and the sabers impaled the beast, Calina's scoring a wound from the neck of her future self, carving down to her naval as the whipids impaled it's chest. Calina moved forward, calling her saber back to her hand as the beast collapsed. She skirted round it, casting a brief glance at the whipid, noticing for the first time how familiar his face was.

She hesitated, but only for a moment, gaze flicking to the Sith Lord before turning away and disappearing down the stairs, taking them two at a time. If there was a time to ask questiones, now was not it. A dreambeast in this place, meant that there would be more trouble ahead and where there was trouble, there was bound to be something worth such pain.

She tried very hard not to think about the image the dreambeast had conjured.

[member="Valik"] [member="Velok the Younger"] [member="Ostanes"]

 

[Valik]

[member="Faustus Bereguson"]

Silas Faustus Bereguson Ovmar of Ossus would escape the Sand Burrower, but in the process the sand below him would give. He'd fall perhaps five meters into the catacombs. Into a waking nest of Shyrack. He could try to kill all of them, but survival instinct would tell him a better idea would be to run very quickly towards the next room, and slam the door behind him.

[member="Tahira Solo"]

"A champion? No. My legacy won't be carried on through more alchemists. Those with the talent will find my inventions and learn from them, making their own legacy as is their right, while those without the talent will useful tools they'll never tap the true potential of." Valik said, pride in full force.

"My legacy will be carried out by your niece. Or your nephew I suppose. His or her strength will be my legacy, my true lasting impact on the galaxy." Valik said as he looked around his lab, eyeing a specific datacron in particular.

"I merely hope that the flower is not cut before it has a chance to bloom."

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Valik"]

Sand, sand, suddenly air and then gravity yanking down hard.

I landed on something soft, at least when compared to the stony ground or teethy walls of flesh, and for a moment I just laid there. Dust clogging up my lungs, sand scorching my mouth and only the heavy breathing interjecting the silence of the catacombs at times.

Then my cushion started moving, then the slimy texture became more noticeable, then I swiftly jumped back on my feet and managed to get a wall to my back. It was too dark to make out the exact details, but the sudden flutter of heavy wings beating in the stale air and the sceeeching chorus winding up... told me all I needed to know.

I ran for it, again. Eyeless, the shyrack hunted by sound and the running made a whole lot of sound around then. One of the critters attacked- tail whipping out, the tall end of it scoring a gash across the leathery armor on my back and sending me stumbling through the doors.

This time I didn't lazy about, instead immediately my body crashed against the doors to close them shut, before the beasts could get through.

Doors to my back, leaning heavily, and only then I cast a curious look around to see what I got myself into.

 

[Tahira Solo]

[member="Valik"]

She followed his gaze. Even in death he still tinkered. A restless spirit. Something they shared. But not the only thing, it seemed.

"I thought I felt some rippling in the vast waters of the force. I should've known better that you were the rock bearer."

Myrtle-ellipses narrowed.

"What have you done to my sister?" She already knew. Or could guess. There was a better question to ask and she would get to that.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Valik"] [member="Calina Ovmar"] [member="Ostanes"] [member="Velok the Younger"] @Faustus Bereguson [member="Tahira Solo"]

Vexen was the first to take a few questioning sniffs at the place. The scruff in the nape of her neck rose. It just didn't feel right. Nothing honestly felt right. There was some sort of odd lingering cloud here. Not tangible to say the least, just... dark. The Defel couldn't explain it, but Micah would understand the uneasy emotions that were rippling through their bond.

There had been some rather questionable experiments in this lab, that was for sure.

Micah crept inside, trying to check the area for any danger. The place appeared to have been undisturbed for a long while, save for the tell tale marks on the ground from the K'lor'slugs. Likely they had come in here and just rifled through things as they were wont to do. That explained the state of the laboratory.

"Who do you figure this belonged do?" Micah's voice would crackle through Vexen's earwig. Vexen didn't know, but she gently pawed her way over towards one of the shelves. Sniffing tentatively, her paw went rifling through some sheets of filmsi.

"Found sumthin'" she chripped back. At the time, Micah was in the process of picking up some curious piece of metal. Being the sort to have done his own fair share of trinkets, he was immediately curious. There was a darkness to it. This wasn't your run of the mill alchemy trinket either. Very carefully, he plucked it with a thumb and forefinger from the fine chain. Holding it up, he studied it via his HUD.

"Well that's interesting..." he murmured to himself. Swinging his Oubliette satchel forward, he gathered the amulets and tucked them inside. They would be relatively safe there.

"What you find?" he asked Vex, coming over beside her to get a closer look.

"Dunno." the only thing she actually cared was that there was no goop on this area.

There were various sheets of filmsi. Micah picked a few up. Switching his HUD to a reading friendly mode, he quickly scanned the contents. Sith poison. It all dealt with Sith Poison. Sithspawn too. The Talith frowned. Not your typical run of the mill uses either. A paw shoved a small bound stack. "Dis?"

Vexen could very well read, she'd been getting lessons from Micah for years. However, when she wasn't too comfortable she had a tendency to revert to her shorter form of ebonics. Glancing at the stack, he picked that up as well.

"Looks like whoever owned this place tangled with some pretty heavy stuff. This is all about Sith Poison." items that his great aunt, Amorella would actually find quite interesting. A frown drew over his brow. Wait.... He gave a few flips of the pages. Some of this was actually about applications in regards of potentially finding positive uses for it. Oh yeah, nabbing this.

"Keep an eye out." He told Vexen, gathering up all the filmsi sheets and doing his best to carefully organize them together. He found a strap of leather, then carefully bound the sheets along with the volume. That also then joined the amulets in his satchel.

Just then, a loud crash seemed to echo from outside the lab. Micah swung his helm towards the direction. Yeahh.... okay, that was not K'lor'slugs.

"Come on," he told Vex, moving forward. He intended to see just what was going on out there -- or somewhere in the catacombs that was making all that ruckus.

Moving outside, there were no K'lor'slugs. That didn't mean there weren't any dangers. The only other way to go was towards the direction the scouts had wandered off to. Which meant that Vexen was not going to be very happy with Micah soon. Good thing that regardless of the desire of bopping Micah on the head, Vexen was still able to catch what came next.

They had quietly gone down the corridor, avoiding as much of the K'lor'Slug slime as they could. While Micah's HUD could see the UV spectrum, it wasn't activated to catch that right now. Only basic night vision to ampliy light. Vexen, on the other hand did. Which was great when suddenly a paw went reaching out to grab at Micah's arm. She tugged him back, prompting Micah to stumble a bit before he caught his bearing. He had felt her alarm before she tugged him back, but it was still pretty starting to begin with.

"Watch out!" she hissed, gesturing with her clawed paw over to a trap her ultraviolet vision managed to catch. "It's a trap!"

"Huh..." I didn't catch that, he mused. Crouching down low, he gave a frown. He didn't see it. But Vex did. Which meant... He quickly switched on Ultra violet light mode on his HUD -- Ahh... there we go.

"Well what do we have here?" he wondered, as both the Defel and he began to study what sort of trap this was.

 

[Valik]

[member="Silas of Ossus"]

The door would beat a little as the Shyracks tried to get in and bust through the door, but the Ysannan would hold it true until they left. This room was father down from the surface, and thus it was mostly well preserved. He wound find himself in a small room fraught with various unidentifiable chemicals, as well as differing collections of flimsi notes detailing differing sithspawn located in the facility. One of which was strange, undocumented. A large crustacean-like creature with some sort of lightsaber resistant chitin. A challenge for later perhaps. It also detailed that because of a mixture of chemicals in his labs and data storages the beasts never entered his room. He'd also find a VEWB, the most poorly named of inventions. A wrist blaster that shot an unstable bolt that exploded on impact with a lightsaber it was a pretty nifty tool for any duelist. When he chose to leave he'd have two other doors he could open, one path marked "Cages" the other "Main".

[member="Micah Talith"]

The Defel would find the tiles in the room tagged with some ulta-violet paint. About half of them appeared to be marked this way, probably to indicate that that tile was a trap, or perhaps that it was safe. When stepping on an unmarked tile a low-grade sith poison would vent into the room, nothing permanantly corrupting, but surely enough to make the rest of their journey difficult.


[member="Tahira Solo"]

Valik sighed. Did he really have to explain what had happened? She was sharp, she knew.

"I've given her a gift, and to a lesser degree trusted her with it. She should be able to keep it safe, at least until it's old enough to make it's own decisions and impose it's will on the galaxy." Truth be told Valik didn't know if it would choose dark or light, but he wasn't going to let Tahira know that.

"That man she's with though? She could do better." He said with a laugh.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

It was easy enough to get them to at the beast and as soon as the sabers hit, the spell was released. His breath ragged for a moment, he still had a defense prepared, form ready to shift to something more suitable for combat, and a crackle of Force played around his fingertips, arcing from nail to nail. Force Lightning might do enough to let him dispatch the whiphid if it came to that. But he'd rather employ the beastial humanoid and see to it he got to where he needed to go. It would be a simple thing to dispatch him when his guard was down. Gesturing to the other who had bounded down the steps, he nodded in satisfaction.

"That one will trigger the next trap, no doubt. We can go slightly slower and wait for her fumbling or her screams. Neither of us has much of a chance on their own... So I suggest a temporary service, until we figure out what my former Master is playing at from his grave."

Ostanes had suspicions of just who this was he faced, or fears depending on which idea of it was true. But for now, he kept his composure together, and waited.

[member="Velok the Younger"] | [member="Calina Ovmar"] | [member="Valik"]

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Ostanes"]

The dreambeast faded into ragged oblivion, though Velok made sure to grab a chunk and shove it in his belt pouch. Maybe it would be gone next time he checked; maybe not. Dreambeasts were weird things, and with his heart still pounding from the temporary sight of his father, he didn't feel like thinking every possibility through.

The blonde vanished up a staircase. Velok's head snapped around as the shapeshifter spoke.

"Warren Valik was your Master?" he rumbled. "Useful. In the interests of disclosure, he worked with my father." He took a long breath and let it out slowly, exhaling away the stress. "Your bargain is acceptable to me. I only attacked because I sensed you begin a spell - and because I was chased to the entrance of the caves a handful of seconds before I ran into you. I have no special desire to be in conflict with you, and your proposition makes sense to me. Come. Let's see how long the blonde survives."

 

[Valik]

[member="Ostanes"] [member="Velok the Younger"] [member="Calina Ovmar"]

As the trio debated amongst themselves and eventually went downstairs they would find an old laboratory. Inside they would find a Scylla Sith sword, a Sith Ion Gaunlet and a treatise of notes of an alien species on the planet Stic. They would also find a series of notes about how Valek had spead chemical into his laboratories data room in order to stop sith spawn from entering them. It mentioned it was made from the glands of three Sith Spawn but not which. When leaving the room they find a hallway and then a fork in three directions one labeled "Cage Three" one labeled "Main" and one level labeled "Meditation".

 

[Mia Monroe]

Calina's steps echoed off the wall of the laboratory. She ran her fingers over anearby shelf, her glove collecting a thick coating of dust, she left the sword and the gauntlet where it was, picking up the not s instead and rifling through them. Hers was not the pursuit is physical prowess. With knowledge, she could achieve it without the aid of such tools. A frown creased her forehead as she read, skimming through his notations in the Xi'Dec. A species worth noting but not something she required, she set them down, collecting that which detailed the sithspawn r plant. Incomplet information, but valuable nonetheless.

She shoved it into her satchel as the steps of the whipid and the Sith Lord reached her ears and they joined her. "Now would be an oppurtunity moment to exchange pleasantries. Apparently the sithspawn can't get in here."

[member="Valik"] [member="Velok the Younger"] [member="Ostanes"]

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Valik"]

So a Defel and a Talith were now crouching before a room that had some rather interesting glowing areas. Some were clearly marked, others -- not so much. With the amount of time these catacombs and laboratories have been left idle, it was kinda hard to determine just what having one glowing tile compared to the non glowing tile meant.

"Ain't no ." Vex said, her nose coming down to sniff at UV dusted tile. Micah swung his gaze over to the defel, and to be frank, couldn't help but smile at the sight. To most people, Vexen was just a shadow. A rather lanky creature who would blend in and hide when she was trying to be stealthy. When she wasn't, most would consider her to have a rather canine appearance. Avalore had even called her a wild dog of some sort. However, while there was a rather primal side to the young cub, Vexen was actually quite the curious and adorable creature. Especially when she spent hours, upon hours, brushing her fur.

Fur that right now was popping out in a magnificent display of yellows, cobalts, and greens. Simply put, Vexen was beautiful.

She might have been covered in a layer of dust and grime, maybe a bit of sweat and a few blobs of K'lor'slug goop, but there was no denying that the Defel's carefully tended fur shone with magnificent vibrancy under the ultra violet spectrum. It was her one rather guilty pleasure pride. Which is why she wasn't too found of the thought of getting anything on her fur.

"Smells funny..." Vexen said, lifting her head up to swing her snout over to the Talith.

"Yeah," he frowned. Okay, we have to get across, but it is either step on the colored tiles or the ones not marked. He vacillated on his choice. Sensibly, he went through the thought process on how to tackle this.

"Any sign of use?" If someone had set these tiles, then there would be some sign that they had been used before right? Vexen got up, quietly padding to sniff and study an unmarked tile. While there was an even layer of dust, there didn't seem to be any indication of movement on the unmarked ones. A closer inspection on the nearest colored tile though, revealed a slight imprint on this one.

"Okay, I'm gonna go first. You stay here." Immediately Vex was not amused by this idea.

"Look it will be easier if I do it!" he told her, getting up onto his feet. "Just gonna try the first tile." He added, then gestured for her to move back.

"Just... look out or any random laser bolts shooting out of the walls or something...." he joked. Again, Vexen was not amused.

"Ah don't like it." she told him, but knowing that he would do it anyways, gave a small scoot back. She would bound up and grab him if she needed to none the less.

"Okay...." he began, giving a large exhale. Welp, no one ever discovered anything without a little risk. "Here goes nothing!"

A hop and a skip and a jump, and Micah stepped onto the first colored tile in a comic display of scrunching up his arms and keeping them up as if to ward off any approaching danger.

Instead he simply looked like an idiot on one foot with his hands up. Nothing happened.

"... okay. Don't tell Kai," he muttered to Vexen, who only gave a heavy snort. Taking the first tile as a sign, he moved to the next colored one. Still nothing. "I'm gonna go all the way to the end!" he told the Defel. Might as well make sure that at least it was safe....

 

[Valik]

[member="Micah Talith"]

First K'lor'slugs, now traps. The Talith explorer's caution had been his advantage, but his luck would only run so far. Past the colored tiles he'd find a crumbling staircase that lead to the lower levels. Head there with too much excitement and the stairs would crumble, leaving a painful slide downwards, right into the lair of a Storm Beast. The beast was eating the remains of a Tuk'ata pack, and had a few scars from the encounter, but was in mostly good shape. Shape enough to hunt for another meal if it presented itself.

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Calina Ovmar"] [member="Ostanes"] [member="Valik"]
(Skipping/NPCing Ostanes with permission.)

Velok's eyes narrowed and nostrils widened in consideration. As the blonde set down the notes and moved to something else, he picked them up. Xi'Dec, multiple genres, genetic recombination, acquired traits versus heritable, single-generation evolution -- outstanding. He pocketed the notes. Neither the gauntlet nor the alchemized chainsword fit his hands: trinkets for too many spindly little fingers. He left them quite alone.

"If that's so," he said at last, sniffing the air, "if what you're reading describes a system or...repellant..." He sniffed again, tasting the air with better-than-human predator's senses. "Musk." From his utility belt, he took a series of swabs and vials, then set about sampling likely locations if this was a chemical thing. An alchemical thing.

He peered through the door at the divided hallway. "Cage Three, Main, Meditation. I confess some interest as to what's in the cage. I suggest we remain together for the moment. Do either of you have any preference as destination goes?"