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

[Lord Ajihad]

[member="Valik"]​

​

Without any more issues along the way, Ajihad soon made it to a fork in the road. One path led to "Cage Two", while the other was to something called "B1." He frowned. Would only one of the paths bear treasure, or would both? Or perhaps neither?​

​

It seemed for sure some beast awaited along the path marked "Cage Two." However, he was very interested in whatever "B1" was.​

​

On the nearby wall he placed a tiny homing beacon. It was hooked up to his cybernetic eye, so he could hopefully double back and find the intersection again later. Perhaps providence would allow him to try both tunnels if he didn't die by the hand of one of the tomb's numerous denizens.​

​

He would head right, going down the B1 tunnel. He encountered a few small sithspawn along the way, all of which he was able to assassinate with relative ease. One tuk'ata almost bit his left arm off, but he still found the path quite comparably easy to the k'lor slug tunnel. Still, he continued with caution. There was no telling what he might encounter next.​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Calina opened her eyes, glancing over her shoulder at the master, annoyed a little at his interruption. "My name," she turned her back on the beast to fix Ostanes with a icy stare "is Calina. Do not call me 'woman' again."

She turned again to the sand kraken with a soft smile on her lips. "Release her, she will not be an issue, that I can assure you of." She took a step back from the bars allowing Ostanes to do what ever was necessary to release the creature.

"We should head to the main laboratory. It's where she was born, and there are a few trinkets there I'm interested in."

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

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Valik"]

This was a bit too much information. Then again, Micah really enjoyed figuring out how things worked. How they were made.

And what actually happened to this Warren fellow?

With an exhale of air, both Vexen and he landed on the other side of the corridor of UV color coded tiles.

If this Warren guy was a Kiffar... Out of every one of his siblings, Micah was the one gifted with advanced psychometry. He had his gloves on, but once he took those off if he touched the sword, what would he find out?

It was troubling how very tempting that thought was.

Even more when he registered that the guy was the sort who would trick you into doing things.

"So what happened to him?" the Talith asked him, nodding at Vex to advance and scout to see if the K'lor'slugs were back. They had to be a little bit more cautious this time around if they wanted to reach the rope to climb out of the catacombs.

"What happened here?"

 

[Valik]

[member="The Gray Assassin"]

The Gray Assassin had a quiet trip down the hall until he came to a set of stairs that went upward. It seemed that "B1" stood for "Basement 1", or a passageway to the first floor from the main level, or the outside in this case. If he chose to travel them he'd go up at a different point in the first level, with differing paths.

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

"I agree that we should keep moving, but I also wish a claim to this beast. We'll discuss it later." Velok the Younger spoke to Calina and headed out, Ostanes presumably following the group. If Calina commanded the Sand Kraken would scuttle along with them, mindful of her command any any trouble that came by. And it would come by, soothing Calina and perhaps Ostanes with some pheremone emissions that Velok the Younger would find most unpleasant. The Sand Kraken would act up a bit, warning of trouble before the trio found a Rhak-Skuri with no witch using a talisman on the other side. It would lunge forward but the Sand Kraken would step up to plate to intercept it, attempting to protect it's master.

[member="Micah Talith"]

//Eh, hard to say. He stopped checking up on me at least, and I don't have eyes for what I don't touch. He mighta kicked the bucket, but he said he had a project to finish before he could. Didn't go into much detail on the what of it though.// The Sword said as Vex came back, reporting a few K'lor'slugs were around the rope. Not interfering with it, just passing by looking for food. Probably wouldn't risk drawing a horde if they were dealt with quickly, or they could try to wait for them to pass.

//As for this place? Warren always wanted to be a sort of test. Not kill people just for killing 'em, but so that the people who came out were smart instead of lucky or just supernaturally hardy. He was a strange Sith, and he said the Force could never be used to it's full potential without intelligence. I guess without him the 'spawn population couldn't stay in check and blossomed. Things decayed. He took measures to protect his labs in case that happened, but they could only hold so long, especially so close to the surface.//

The Sword to it's credit, was trying to be helpful. Perhaps because it was afraid of being left, perhaps the bond made it more sympathetic, but how long would it last before it called to be tested and grown?

//So Micah, tell me more about yourself. What brings you over to Tash-Taral?"

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Valik"]

Man, this sword was TALKATIVE. Micah was so conflicted.

One one hand, he had a Darkside artifact that just radiated bad juju. On the other, the sword's personality was very much like Micah's own. Inquisitive, social, rather curious and well-- Pretty cool.

No wonder dad said the Darkside is pretty damn tempting!

Crouching down low beside the threshold, Micah and Vex watched the K'lor'slug scouts move. They slithered their big thick trunks upon pointed legs, scurrying to search for food.

He didn't talk back to the sword right then, although he was burning with questions. There were other Sithspawn here? If so, what kind? No wonder his skin gave that crawly sensation.

Ahh, hell this had to happen to me, didn't it? He mused. Now he was super tempted to go back and search the catacombs some more, but even through his Force Bond, he could tell that Vex had had enough.

Okay... moving on. He told himself, while his fingers flexed upon the hilt of Kata'nari. They just had to take care of these K'lor'slugs...

Turning to the Defel, he gave a nod. A motion of his fingers pointed out the two she would take, while he would nab the larger scout.

Wait, a thought came to him then. Could Vex hear Kata'nari? Or was this all in his head?

Before he could try to figure that out, Vexen had already darted forward.

"Oh hell," he cursed. Uhh.. here was hoping that the talking sword didn't mind being used a bit.

"Sorry." he at least managed to say, before the Talith darted forward towards the K'lor'slug scout. The massive, toothy maw of the K'lor'slug swung around to catch Micah just as he neared. It hissed out at him, before rearing up to its full height. Micah didn't even wait for whatever attack it might attempt to pull; he swung Kata'nari hard with every intention of slicing its head off.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Calina led the way once the kraken was free, it scuttled between her and the rest of the trio, following her obediently. The ease at which it was controlled marvelled her and she slowly became aware of how calm she felt.

She couldn't recall the last time she'd felt truly calm. Back in the tank perhaps? Listening to the soft syllables of Taun Wa's lullabies, or even buried in the tome Darth Carnifex had provided her, where her studies of alchemy had truly began? She wasn't sure, but she relished in the moment of calm all the same.

Fear began to creep over her, like an icy wind pushing through warm clothes. Behind her the kraken protested moving forward, backing up so much that it almost trampled [member="Velok the Younger"] and [member="Ostanes"]

Calina whipped round to look at it. Lightsaber in hand. "Enough!" She called urging it forward. The icy sensation tightened about her chest and she had the distinct impression someone was standing over her.

She turned again the Rhak-skuri steeping from the shadows into her sight. Her breath caught in her throat as it lunged forward, but the kraken sailed over her slamming into it with incredible ferocity.

She jumped at the impact, taking a few steps rapidly backwards. What was she so afraid of? It was just another beast, just another sith-spawn. She tried to recall what she had read of them."Rhak-Skuri...."she whispered "dream singer. Lightsaber resistant." A column of acid belched from its mouth slapped into the wall next to them.

"Right, acid saliva. How the feth do we kill it?!"

[member="Valik"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

A gleam in the sorcerer's eyes started as he strode forward, raising the black hjarna stone staff high and spreading his hands. The amulet at his neck began to glow, a genuine talisman of concentration from the Vaults in Akure Executives lab. Power began to surge in him and the Dark Side roiled about him in spirals inward, his eyes turning a poisonous yellow. Powers like this he hadn't touched in years, since the creation of his staff, things best forgotten. Now, though, he drew on them in a moment of twisted inspiration. How his old mentor would take this, if any trace of him remained, might be quite amusing.

"Valik! Master! The man who remade my mind! In this your tomb, I call on you, and invoke your spirit to aid me and banish this beast!"

Whether it be by the power given, manifestation, or something else entirely, the ancient Sith Magic would compel a response from the being. Holding his staff firmly, he nodded to the other two. The spell would work because just utterly dominating the beasts mind would not work... But if need be, he had a few options otherwise. This was just the best one.


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

 

[Valik]

[member="Micah Talith"]

If Micah had any sort of empathic talents h would have recognized a feeling of joy coming from the sword as it split the k'lor'slug in two.

//Oh you have no idea how it feels to actually eat again. This opportunistic forcivore thing'll keep you alive, but man you need a real meal to feel alive.// The Kata'nari would seem to absorb the blood, the very life of that which it was swung at. Later it would it explain that k'lor'slug was not the Kata'nari's favorite meal and that his palate was much more sophisticated than that, perhaps a bit embarrassed, but that it just hadn't fed in so long that anything felt good.

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

A woman who felt but didn't look very familiar. A whiphid who looked but didn't feel very familiar. And his old apprentice. Part of him wanted to chastise the man for needing his help but he'd forcefully summoned a spirit of the Sith to aid him in combat. It was a utilitarian motion, and the first time he'd called for Valik. If it became a habit they'd perhaps need to have a discussion but once? He supposed he'd let it slide. Looking over he spotted the Sand Kraken trading blows with the Rhak-Suri. It's hide held up well to the creature's claws and tail, but that acid would be a problem.

The azure outline of the man walked over towards the whiphid, who would attempt to stop him to little avail. In little time Valik would occupy the body of Whiphid, if only for a moment. Velok the Younger would hold out his hand towards the beast and a small aura would display around it. Calina would recognize that significant power was being used, but Ostanes would understand the full implications of what was going on. Valik was, on the fly, alchemizing the Rhak-Suri. Or rather, unalchemizing it's hide, making it as vulnerable to Lightsabers as any other beast.

"What each of you seek is in the next chamber." Came from the whiphid's voice, as they would feel the spirit of Valik leave them. Velok the younger would have the slightest remembrance of what Valik did in the Force, like a word forever at the tip of his tongue. He'd also hold memories of how to access a couple hidden compartments in the Main Lab. In any case they had to deal with the here and now first, and Velok the Younger ignited lightsaber and charged, with full knowledge of what had happened to the Rhak-Suri, while trying to piece together the hows and the whys.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Valik"]

For a few moments, Micah stared at Kata'nari with a rather incredulous expression. Did he just say eat? As in feeding?

That was promptly answered by the sight of the blood seeming to be absorbed along the flat of the blade.

"Okaaaay.... yeah, gonna have to talk to Uncle Di about this." he managed to say, wide eyes blinking rapidly as another K'lor'slug came at his back. Yeah, let's not try and act like a silly nincompoop while trying to save your skin, eh Micah?

The hiss and tell-tale suction of the toothy guard K'lor'slug told the Talith that it was about to spit acid on him soon. Sure enough, the hot green goop was spat in his direction. It struck at his cloak, sizzling the cloth. Coming down low, the Talith swung Kata Dari again, sweeping the blade for a horizontal slash to cleave it in too. That eruption of elation returned again, much akin to the periods of time when Micah sat down and gorged himself on freshly grilled steak.

Mmm, steak -- wait why am I even thinking bout food right now?

Last opponent done. Micah shot his head up towards the entrance of the catacombs where they'd rappelled down. Vex was already there, another K'lor'slug at her feet; she was trying her best to stay out of the acidic puddle.

"Yeah, time to get out of here." He murmured, leaping over the fallen bodies to reach Vex.

"Come on." Unsure of what to do with the blade, Micah furrowed his brows.

"Well.. sec," he began, moving to adjust the leather strap at his back to make a makeshift sheath to hold it in place.

Vex wasn't too happy about the blade, nor was she too keen about climbing on Micah's back of it was there. However, there wasn't much of a choice.

"Come on," he encouraged her to climb up onto his back. He had every intention to start the climb up. Hopefully, nothing would stop him.

 

[Velok the Younger]

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

OOC/ Apparently we need to get this sucker to 100 for the Codex to accept the Sand Kraken. Once more unto the breach.

IC/ Consciousness returned in a rush of motion. Velok found himself in the process of charging a rhak-skuri, with a vague memory of having done something to make it vulnerable. A stream of acidic spittle rushed past him, over his left shoulder. Stray drops spattered him, burning holes in his robes. The stink of corroded fur filled his nostrils, blotting out the ugly-tasting pheromones. Pain spiked through his left arm. What a way to wake up.

His arm seized up as he drew back for the strike. With a roar, he threw his right shoulder into the flank of the armored critter. Chitin shattered at the impact, and his back didn't do so hot either. The rhak-skuri recoiled and Velok lashed out long before his balance stabilized. His sabre sheared through an extremity -- a segmented arm, a double-hook-tipped tail, he couldn't quite see which in the dark. The stench hammered at his brain.

A counterstrike slashed into his bruised midriff, shredding robes and hide. The flailing diplura couldn't drive him back, not quite, but his foot slipped on rocks and he fell hard. Acid spit seared through his robes from a slick pool on the floor.

"Hit it now," he snarled.

 

[Nyra Mazul]

[member="Velok the Younger"] [member="Valik"] [member="Micah Talith"] [member="Calina Ovmar"]

First Nyra had been a great bird. A desert dwelling peregrine flying high in the air with the sun to her back observing the party from afar. Velok was a friend of sorts and she'd been on overwatch safeguarding and staying out of the way until and unless she was needed. Then they entered the catacombs and Nyra transformed. Stealthily she was a black cat dodging from cover to cover. It was a queer place, and not the normal job Nyra would have taken but for the Whphid.

The battle was joined and still the stealthy little kitten waited, knowing that a moment might be required for her to pounce. Sticking to shadow and under cover she continued to observe and then saw an opening.

The great insect had thrown the mighty Whiphid aside. Fear inducing pheromones didn't effect a changeling like Nyra who was variable in anatomy and so she leapt, still in the form of a cat. As she did so her body rippled and twisted and the docile black cat transformed into something truly massive with pawed claws and fangs capable of holding onto prey. Velok had called and Nyra had answered digging teeth into chitin and holding a creature in place as it flailed trying to dislodge Nyra by sheer force.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Calina bounded forward, a few steps behind Velok she danced aside as the acid spewed over his shoulder, footing lost for a brief moment her shoulder slamming into the wall. Watching in surprise as his lightsaber cleaved through the beasts armour without resistance. She recovered as he fell shouting out for her to hit. Something leaped from the shadows...a cat? No, it shifted midair slamming into the Rhak-Skuri and seizing it.

Kill it first, ask questions later.

She bolted forward, lightsaber igniting, the red glow granting a little more light in the darknened corridor. She ducked beneath a flailing limb drving her saber deep into what she assumed was its midriff.

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

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Silas of Ossus"]

The Ysanna's telekinetic manipulation might not have curved sniper bullets ninety degrees, but it was enough to get the lights to work. And no ordinary lights were these, instead revealing a specific path on the tiles that didn't pertain to any particular color other than the one revealed. The light would have also revealed any old blood stains lying around. Or perhaps that was marked the trail, old blood stains.

Paranoia was in his blood instilled upon him by his father across the years of travel and experience.

Some might have immediately assumed that the colored patches were the one that designated the safe path through the corridor, but Silas wasn't the one who would just make that assumption without due cause. For a moment the Ysanna stared at the path, before focusing on one specific colored stone somewhere in the middle of the path.

There were a few ways he could approach this problem.

The most obvious route was to directly manipulate the tiles like he had with the lights. Number two was to influence a pebble or a piece of debris nearby, have it land on the tile... there were probably other ways -- but those were the two that immediately came up as possibilities.

Right, the lad thought to himself, before shrugging. Then Silas focused his mind and a piece of debris floated up in the air next to him, before being carried off through the hall towards the tile.

A moment later it started easing down. At least, if nothing had happened to it during its travel.

If it managed to rest on top of the tile and nothing happened, the Ysanna would slowly apply pressure downwards, to ensure he hadn't missed anything.

 

[Valik]

[member="Micah Talith"]

The swordsman would climb the rope unhindered, finding himself greeted by the hot sun of Tash-Taral. He might have to avoid a sand burrower on the way out, but otherwise he was safe from the Alchemist's machinations.

[member="Calina Ovmar"] [member="Velok the Younger"] [member="Nyra Mazul"]

The Rhak-suri lost an arm before driving the whiphid to the ground, and it was pounced on by a cat who transformed into some manner of indescribable large creature. While it locked arms with the beast and Calina went in for a stab it went to bite unto the shoulder of the now monstrous-shapeshifter, and let out all manner of acidic spittle. The stab was able to get into the torso, which made the creature recoil. Another good slice and it'd be down, probably for the count.

[member="Silas of Ossus"]

The debris pushed down on the specifically marked tiles and . . . nothing. No gas, no blaster bolts, no traps, nothing. The path seemed a safe one

 

[Nyra Mazul]

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

Nyra hardened her flesh as the creature bit into her and she, for her part, took on aspects of the snake shedding its skin in an attempt to avoid utterly catastrophic damage. While shedding an outer layer of hardened skin she jumped from the beast trying to get a distance between them. That had taken a lot of her. In truth she wasn't used to losing so much mass, or nearly any mass. Her's was a people of secrecy and subterfuge and loathed to take direct action unless absolutely necessary. At least that was the sterotype of her speices, which was perhaps well deserved.

Leaping from the creature and forming into the shape of a great hunting cat Nyra circled a bit trying to draw attention or else pounce when she had the creatures rear and it was distracted on one of the other targets. Black fur shined iridescently in the dim lights of the catacombs. Nyra let out a roar trying to draw the creature to her and pounced up on a rock outcropping preparing to dodge any blow come her way.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Valik"]

Silas frowned.

If there was one thing his lessons had imparted upon him, it was that Sith Tombs were always protected by numerous and multiple failsafes across the board. They misdirected, they made you expect one thing and then grab you by the throat while you were dealing with it... yet, nothing seemed to happen with the painted tiles.

They seemed to be the safe places -- he probably could have tested out the other tiles, just to see what the effect was, but if it was some kind of gas?

That would be bad times for him.

So the Ysanna simply grunted and, carefully, started to walk the path drawn by the painted tiles. One by one, always ready to retreat if something happened, until he got to the end of the passageway.

A closed door. Again Silas eyed it, before finally trying to open it to go through.

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Valik"] [member="Calina Ovmar"] [member="Nyra Mazul"]

Another monster, with Nyra Mazul's familiar Force signature attached, slammed into the rhak-skuri. Its sharp limbs shifted, and Velok bulled his way to the side, disentangling himself. He only managed to get his lightsabre to bear as he scrambled to his feet against the cavern wall. He fumbled the weapon -- Whiphid hands only had three digits -- but managed to get the blade up and ignited again. Brilliant red light silhouetted the fight. He hesitated, unwilling to jump in and swing, and risk hitting Mazul. No, better to hang back for just the moment and catch his breath. That, and examine the damage he'd sustained.

Acid had burned its way through his ratty old gray robes in numerous places. Just as trivially, it had soaked into his fur and burned the hair away from the skin. But even his tough hide hadn't been enough to keep the acid out, and several pitted, seeping wounds marked places where the spray had punched through. He swabbed at the bubbling pits with a handful of ripped robe. Yeah, those robes would need to be replaced. Good thing he had an infinite lifetime supply of robes just like this.

The pain didn't exactly ease, but he got it under control. With a roar, he jumped back in when he saw a clear shot. His sabre flickered out as precisely as he could manage.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

On a ridge three klicks from the tunnel entrances, Shambleau crouched with a handful of qo'saarai tuk'ata. She wore a local stillsuit, designed to reduce moisture loss; she needed it. Unlike the humanoids she imitated, and among whom she lived, she wasn't a mammal per se. She was, in point of fact, a squid. Squids didn't do so well in the desert.

"You sure about the count?"

The nearest qo'saarai grunted. They were all flat on their stomachs, minimizing silhouettes, looking out over the unremarkable land where Valik's crypt lay. "You do what you do, outlander. We track."

"Noted." Shambleau adjusted her macrobinoculars. "And so far, how many have emerged?"

The only answer was the tuk'ata's guttural laughter. A thin smile stretched Shambleau's mouth. Those who poked around at the tomb of Warren gorram Valik deserved what they got, in general. If any escaped, she would have some indication of the interior's condition. Ajira wanted this place scouted, in search of a very particular suit of armor.

 

[Nyra Mazul]

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

Darkness was the friend of a cat such as her, and black fur did wonders to keep her concealed as she stalked about. She didn't have to wait long for her opening, [member="Velok the Younger"] made his move and so Nyra moved with him. The two were a strange pair and yet the shapeshifter had a kinship with the large tusked mammoth. Her current four legged profile meant she could stalk by the ground, staying under the creatures line of sight. As Velok charged with his saber up Nyra did likewise this time aiming to bite into legs and disrupt the balance of the creature.

Diving forward with a fury Nyra grabbed on with sharpened claws and bit tooth to chitin with teeth. It was a vicious furball as the creature bucked and tried to throw her but she maintained a vice like grip that nature provided to its hunters. A predator through and through Nyra was unwilling to let the creature go tangling herself up in its feet as Velok charge its upper body.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"Tell me more about this armour that brings you so far out of the way, outlander."

Shambleau kept the macrobinoculars pressed to her eye sockets. "If it's in there, it's one of the only things in there that Warren Valik didn't make himself. I'm told he altered it, but the original armour was made by Darth Desmius."

Beside her, the nearest prone tuk'ata hissed in laughter. "The Bound. The Slave. This is the meaning of Desmius. Someone's master had a wicked sense of humor."

Shambleau bristled. "That's one translation. Desmius found it useful to exist in the ambiguous space between Binder and Bound. She had a unique conception of duty-"

More hissing chuckles. "We smell an ex post facto justification, outlander. Better to say that Desmius didn't know the true kissai tongue as well as she thought she did when she accepted the name. But tell us of this armour, and why you think it was here."

"Valik once traded a Star Destroyer for it, so he valued it a great deal, so it's as likely to be here as anywhere. It's alchemical plate, nearly indestructible. It's coated with a taozin lacquer that makes your Force presence unrecognizable but leaves its magnitude intact."

"We do not know which is funnier, outlander: the cravenness of it, or the lip service to humility."