Extermination - Clearing the Catacombs

[Nisha Decrilla]

"This should prove interesting. Tell me, do we know whose name is etched upon this tomb complex?"

Anaya turned her head slowly to regards the 'old' columi at her side with an expression of horror on her face. How had he been so poorly educated? The horror on her face slipped into a look of deep disgust.

"There are many names. Hundreds...perhaps thousands. I doubt anyone really knows how many. Not yet, at least."

She removed her gaze to watch the others as they vanished down hidden entrances, and surged into the obvious ones. She waltzed into the gloom of the catacombs, the sounds of their feet echoing through the tunnels. It wouldn't be long before something would respond to the invasion. She came to a halt in a chamber which several tunnel ran from. Smiling slightly as the distant echo of screams reached her ears. They were screams of the living, that much she was certain of. Nothing wailed quite like something that was losing its grasp on life.

She tilted her head, listening till the screams died down and s could hear nothing else bu the shuffle of feet, her own breathing and that of her hideous shadow. She glanced backwards at the columi, studying him for a moment before howls began to ripple through the tunnel, bouncing across the chamber making it sound like they were coming from everywhere.

A shiver of anticipation ran up her spine, without a word she took a left tunnel. "Tuk'ata." she told the columi in a whisper.

Spoiler

Sorry for the delay guys!

[member="Olom Grihk"]

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Calina couldn’t see her hand inf ront of her face, but the darkness did not deter her. She pushed forward, following the trail of the acolyte, a hand slipping into her satchel to pull free a glo-rod. Snapping it over her knee, the noise bounced off the narrow walls, no doubt alerting the acolyte. She paused, a low green light pushed back against the oppressive darkness, highlighting worn carvings. Half eroded curses and warnings. Time had defeated what lay on the surface, but what lay beneath the stones? It swam with insatiable hunger, desperate to lure the unsuspecting into their traps and devour them for their own strength.

She found herself entangled in the moment, torn between fear and awe of the power that rested in the stone walls around them. A breath, steadying her heart Calina moved forward again, holding the glo-rod high, examining every inch of the walls around her. She paused upon finding the lychen, tilting her head she leaned closer to examine it further, before putting the glo-rod between her teeth and rummaging in her satchel again. A small set of tongs and a vial appeared in her hands and she began to harvest the plant, stuffing it into the vial for later examination.

Moving on, she stuffed the vial away and returned the glo-rod to her hands, coming finally upon the one she’d been following. “Oh my.” she breathed, stepping forward her awe filled face bathed in a green light. “What have you found here?” There was no malice in her, no intent to deceive nor attack.

[member="Alaric"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

There was no move to attack in his mind. But still, reflexes enhanced by biology and racial hereditary traits and the Force itself blurred his crude swords towards the other's throat before he could stop himself. A jerk and he had control of his actions. One could tell easily by just evaluating that she could probably crush him without much effort. Sheaths greeted swords again as he stepped forward. If the Lady decided to kill him, not he would be one to halt it. Simply wasn't within his abilities. Yet. But this arena offered something. Great Massassai corpses littered the walls in niches, obviously once guards that were interred in the place they warded.

Bending almost reverently he stooped to the sand and grabbed a handful of the chalk-like substance, sifting it through his hands. Spiteful yellow eyes walked the grains of it flow like moments of time personified. Each seizure of opportunity had led him to this. Led here to place and time of now. Standing, he took in a deep breath. Whether it be Force or his own senses, the place still smelled of blood and sweat, and almost he could feel the roar and pulse of the crowd in bone and sinew. Hear their cheers and boos promise glory to victor and damnation to vanquished. Finally, his revere broke as he saw a tomb under an alcove where a Lord or Lords would sit. A gleam of metal as if forge-fresh. Then he would turn face to the Lady and nod, answering her question.

"Eternal glory. The resting place of a great warrior. The site of hundreds of deaths, willing or not. Life was put to test and destroyed over and again. Feel the darkness, my Lady. The pulse of a warrior quicken your breath and tighten throat. The draining of your blood as death comes. Swell of pride in victory. And likely a few minor trinkets. This is a place of slaves, not fit for the Great Ones above. But those who know how to look will find."

His eyes and smirk hinted he guessed she had followed. And that he knew she had the lichen. The workers had warned him in hushed tones of some of the flora down here.

[member="Calina Ovmar"]

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Calina could not help but mirror his smirk, she hadn't exactly been hiding the fact that she was following him. She closed her eyes and stretched her senses out to the tomb, feeling all he had described her smile widening. "You've got keen senses." she commended him, opening her eyes and inclining her head slightly. Her lightsaber slid in her palm and she ignited the blade. Testing it against the bars in their way.

It offered little in the way of resistance as she carved a hole large enough in its centre for them to step through. The bars fell away with a reverberating clang that shook dust from the ceiling. Deactivating her lightsaber, she tossed the glo-rod through, letting it light up where they were to step. Calina was no so easily lulled into a false sense of security. The fact that the bars were easy to get through meant there was something far worse waiting within.

She glanced at the acolyte. "After you."

[member="Alaric"]

 

[Orion Darkstar]

Kevros held the torch firmly now as he began to descend. An odor reached him, musky and rich with algae. It struck him that the farther down he moved the air grew wet. The once humid, sandy air from above was no longer. He had reached the cusp of something else entirely. the torch lit the way for him as his boot crushed the small rocks beneath him. With another step a small splash rang through the steep corridor. The noise reverberated off the walls as a burst of wind slithered from beneath and formed bubbles.

It was odd that water was even present here, but still he marched forward. The dewy smell began to become repulsive as the water grew deeper with each step. Floating carcasses of rodents stayed afloat, half eaten or ripped apart from infectious causes. He held the torch high as his waist became swathed in the water, trudging through slowly careful not to slip. The writing on the wall remained, but the ceiling grew ever closer to his head before he was neck deep in the cesspool of diseased water. He gagged at the smell, but held down the fickle meat from his lunch.

"Ack." A broken groan escaped the slits of his Kovani mask, until he looked up. a tiny hole with a weird insignia was revealed. The torch was invaluable at this point, one wrong move and under he would go, complete darkness would take over. He was terrified of the thought, drowning a key issue in his current predicament. His fear lent him the force, but if he had to swim under the stone wall in front of him, it would prove difficult. Not only that, he would have to be careful not to drink the infectious waters.

"Well...Poodoo." Kevros had to think, the small slot revealed above him wasn't anything he had seen before. At least not anything he studied in the archives of the Sith Order. Turning back would mean his efforts thwarted to find what whispered him onward.

Was the darkside teasing him with a potential find? Or what something else hidden deep behind the water lodged wall before him? Kevros didn't know, but he wanted to. Taking a deep breath, he slipped under the water, closing his eyes. Feeling for a way under he tried to remain composed, the sound of the water rippling in his ears made his heart race.

Kevros for the first time in a long time, began to panic.

[member="Calina Ovmar"] | [member="Alaric"] | [member="Waide"] |[member="Anaya Fen"] | [member="Darth Ophidia"] | [member="Olom Grihk"] | [member="Darth Roth"] | [member="Darth Imperia"]

 

[Olom Grihk]

[member="Orion Darkstar"] [member="Calina Ovmar"] [member="Alaric"] [member="Anaya Fen"]

(OOC: apolgoies for the delay, been a bit crazy this week)


Tuk'ata. That name rung a bell. After all, his first real bout of "training" basically amounted to being left stranded on Dxun with no weaponry or tools and told not to die--a difficult thing for a species so dependent on technology to survive. And while Sith history had never been the diminutive schemer's strongsuit, Sithspawn were not anomalous to him. And he wasn't about to let some overgrown monstority be the one to make him turn tail. A bit of fear occurred, memories of Dxun, of the one who would call himself Emperor and Master of All, of thrones and torture and games. And then, after embracing the fear, and the unpelasantness, came a calm, quiet rage. The Sith Lord beside him could feel it, he saw no reason to mask it. He let out a breath through his sharp, gleaming teeth, and grinned wickedly. Far too many teeth for such a small creature.


"Good," he mused out loud. Quickly, a new thought came to him. If this complex of tombs had been left to the wild for so long, either the Tuk'ata was a very long-lived specimen, or a product of non-captive breeding processes. Either way, that would imply some rather unique mutations. "If the force favors me, I might be able to capture it live. If not, well, I suppose I'll settle for a tissue sample," he said softly. He followed her down the tunnel. This would be interesting. Or ti'd get him killed. Although, that too would be interesting.


He considered the capabilities of the lord in front of him. Lord Fen, as it were. Humanoid, fairly athletic build, but highly focused on sensory input at this point. She seemed more entertained by all of this than the others, msot of whom seemed....nervous. He raised a clawed hand, signalling to her. "Wait a moment," he said succinctly, stepping slightly ahead of her with surprising alacrity. as he fiddled with something on the wall. "Infrared sensors," he said as pulled out something that looked like a odd photoroceptor attached to a small motor and a circuit-board. "Better we keep the element of surpise....." he said with a laugh, pocketing the small circuit bits.


He again nodded towards her. "My apologies for stopping you. Feel free to continue," he leaned on his staff, tone still mirthful and soft--like he was stiff breeze that coudl dissipate at any moment. It sounded more like a whisper than it probably ought to. But then again, this was the weak sith, hte man who once turned a planet with Dun Moch jsut to avoid using his blade. Perhaps this trial would actually force him to duel again.