An archeological meeting

[Oliver Shaw]

Oliver to noticed how small the opening was. "I think we can make it. That or continue shuffling along this ledge." Achani had a good point, whoever made these either did it for water or they were a short species. "Let's hope it's for water. Cause I'd really hate for all the tunnels to be this small."

Holding the glow stick in front of himself, Oliver crawled into the small tunnel. The fit was tight, just barely enough room for him to crawl. They crawled for what seemed like an hour before Oliver noticed that the tunnel was getting larger. Then, an opening appeared before them. Oliver pulled himself out of the tunnel into what looked like shallow basin. He helped Achani out of the tunnel before taking in his surroundings.

They stood in a large basin about two feet deep and a dozen or so feet across. Small steps lead up to a smooth well cut stone floor. Behind them the tunnel they just exited was adorned with intricate designs and reliefs. Oliver let out a low whistle as he stepped out of the basin. The room was huge, far bigger than he expected. The ceiling was dozens of feet above them, held up by massive pillars. Ten basins like they one they were in lined each side of the walls that were covered in old worn colorful murals. At one end of the room were a set of large stone doors. On the other end was a massive statue carved into the wall. The statue might have been of a woman holding a spear and shield, but it was hard to tell with such little light. "I'm going to rule out Jawas on this one."

Achani Raxis

 

[Achani Raxis]

"I think we can too but..." She muttered as she moved her way through. It was a good thing she wasn't claustrophobic, or she'd be in one really bad mood. But a lesson quick learned was that you had to be prepared to be in tight, uncomfortable places. "And that the water doesn't pour down one of these tunnels randomly," she added happily.

An hour? Later. At least that's what it felt, grateful for Oliver Shaw 's help in getting out of the tunnel. Achani stared at what lay before them. The ceiling was so far away, with massive pillars. Colored murals? Large stone doors? She glanced to Oliver, her eyes wide.

She blurted out laughing at his comment. She placed her hand on his shoulder gently as she got herself together. "Sorry," she muttered. "I guess the doors are our best guess? I hate that I don't have any of my stuff..."

 

[Oliver Shaw]

Oliver gave a slight chuckle when Achani laughed at his joke. Right now he was more worried about getting the two of them out of this place. The best bet for that, well....the doors as Achani mentioned. "More than likely that's our way out."

He lead the way over to the large stone doors that sat on the other side of the room. They were even massive up close, enough so that Oliver wondered if they could even open them. Running a hand down the smooth stone, he searched for any crack or break to grab ahold of. Finally he found a small amount of grip and began to pull. At first it didn't seem like the door would budge, but then it gave a low groan and began to move. Eventually Oliver moved it enough that the two could just squeeze through.

On the other side of the door was a hallway going to both the left and right. Oliver glanced down one way than the other. Steel torch brackets hung from walls, giving no light to aid them. Large carved pillars and murals lined the walls as well. Each pictured was badly worn, but held something similar to a divine being or beings in them. "I may be new at this, but I think this might have been a temple of sorts."

Achani Raxis

 

[Achani Raxis]

Achani gave Oliver a nod as he began to find a way through the door. She took the time to observe the statue, the basins, and the pillars. No writing was on them, which left their purpose a mystery. Achani's eyes observed the door, but Oliver Shaw seemed to find a way to get it open. "Be careful, we don't want to run into any traps," she said quietly as she squeezed through after him.

She stared at the two hallways as she bit her lip. She looked behind her, towards the door - and there was the writing. It spanned from the top the bottom. She didn't quite understand how to read it, but she knew what it was her. Her family was too involved with them to not recognize it.

"Yeah, a Sith temple," she muttered with clear disdain. "It's warning us of something... I'm sorry, I can't read old Sith like this," she muttered as she squinted as she reignited the light in her hand. It was interesting, though, that it was warning them. Usually, it was some type of ritualistic type thing when it came to the Sith.

 

[Oliver Shaw]

Traps. That was something Oliver hadn't thought of. Then again with a place this old he really didn't think something like that would have survived. The possibility was there of course, since this place still stood, whose to say that the traps didn't. "I'll be careful, don't. The last thing we need is for one of us to get injured down here."

The fact that Achani could read the writing on the wall was less of a surprise to Oliver and more of a relief. Even with the little bit she knew, they might be able to navigate the temple after all."A Sith temple. I wonder what they wanted all the way out here?" Oliver turned his attention from the doorway to the hallway. They had two choices, left or right. Either one of them could lead them out, or deeper into the unknown. He then turned to Achani. "So, which way should we go?"

Achani Raxis

 

[Achani Raxis]

"That would be very, very bad," she mentioned quickly as she used her sleeve to gently dust off pieces of the Sith language that was carved into the wall. The bigger concern, of course, was which way did they go? Left or right? What was the wall warning them of?

Better yet, why was a writing in Sith warning them of danger? That seemed the opposite of what a Sith would do. "I'm not sure. Kinda weird for Sith to warn people about danger. Maybe it was for fellow Sith?" She shrugged a little as she pondered the question.

Her eyes stared towards the two potions. "Left," she replied quietly, but unsure. "Either we get stuck or we figure a way out." She shrugged as she started walking, removing the light she had in her hand once more.

Oliver Shaw

 

[Oliver Shaw]

"So the Sith don't leave warnings." Oliver said more to himself than Achani. "I guess that's good to know, but strange that they would leave one." Leaving the thoughts to the side for the moment, he began to follow Achani down the hallway. "We'll get out. Just gotta keep moving forward."

They walked for a short while down the hallway. All the while Oliver was taking in every detail he could, and sometimes casting quick glances at Achani. He was about to make small talk when a soft noise caught his attention. Not a natural sound, more like metal meeting metal and moving gears. Oliver suddenly knew what the sound was without really having to over think it. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arm around Achani's waist and pulled her backward, straight into his chest, where he wrapped his other arm around her and used his body as a shield to protect her. A split second later a soft pop was heard. From the wall shot several large metal spears that fired across the hall, passing right where Achani had been, and crashed into the opposite wall. Oliver looked up to see several of the rusted spike embedded into the wall. "Well. You were right about the traps."

Achani Raxis

 

[Achani Raxis]

"Not in the ones I've been in."

She replied after a few seconds pause. Granted, it isn't like she has been in that many, honestly. It could've just been the ones she's been in. Nonetheless, she gave a nod as they moved down the hallway.

"Pretty basic hallway," she commented, clearly a bit disappointed. If they were going to be trapped and potentially die down here, she was hoping it'd at least be more interesting. Achani was too busy trying to catch any type of writing or drawings that may have been inscribed into the walls but had faded with time.

"Wh--" She muttered as she felt Oliver Shaw grab her waist and pulled her against him. Her own arms wrapped tightly around him as she assumed something was about to happen - he had practically saved her once. "Oh kark," she muttered as she glanced towards where the spikes pierced. She stepped away from Oliver with a little smile, cheeks a little red. "I don't know how I can repay you if you keep saving me like this," she replied quietly.

Nonetheless, she went back to the spot where she might have triggered it. Crouching, she nibbled her lip as she observed it. Brushed the dirt and sand off and there it was. "It'll like a small circular bump." She shook her head as she continued the walk - and another door.

"Oh boy..."

 

[Oliver Shaw]

Oliver stared at the spikes for a moment before letting out a slow breath. That had been close, way too close. His thoughts came back when Achani took a step away, his cheeks were almost as red as hers. "You don't need to repay me, Miss Raxis. I'm just doing my job."

Ducking under the spikes, he followed after Achani. When she reached the other door, her mutter something in surprise. Oliver stepped up beside the smaller woman. "What's wrong?"

Achani Raxis

 

[Achani Raxis]

"You can call me Achani, you know," she commented quietly at his words. "This is more than a job now. We gotta survive together down here until we can figure a way out." And out didn't look very promising.

Ah, well. Achani found herself staring at a door. "It's locked," she said with an almost defeated sigh. "There might be a way to unlock it... But there isn't any drawings, writings, anything here." She rubbed the back of her head as she tried her best to think of something.

But she just couldn't put it together.

Oliver Shaw