To kill or not to kill (Taeli Raaf)

[Darth Vaildra]

"Someone who relies solely on the Force is nothing without it." With this he left and took the lead down the hallway. He did not honestly care if she thought all he was doing was stabbing traps with his lightsaber. What he had come to release was this was no tomb to take lightly. Sure, he could have sensed the traps and disarmed them with the Force, but when it came to the Dark Side they stood in a tomb of one of the greatest Force users. This would make one question if not only were their physical traps, but also those activated by the use of the Force. Him opening the mechanics of the traps and manually did it took longer, but guaranteed no Force traps were activated.

As he was coming to the end of the hall he felt something that made him stop dead in his tracks. Darth Vaildra, a man who had fallen so far, who had done unspeakable things, who had spoke forbidden evils felt something that he had not felt in decades; fear. Something was waiting for them, something that had not only been feeding on the Dark Side left by the body of Freedon Nadd, but also the distant presence Exar Kun and Darth Bane.

His mind began to race. He knew that there was only one natural thing on the planet he wanted to avoid, Orbalisks. Vile creatures and the armor they could potentially provide Vaildra did not find outweighed the bad. Little did he know, what he was sensing was partly Orbalisks, but on something not natural to the planet, but much worse than the Rancor visitor. Deep in the cave slept a beast that made sense here, but could not have gotten here on it's own; A Terentatek. This Terentatek was no child, but full grown and matured. It had been feeding on the Dark Side for far too long and it's presence had drawn Orbalisks to it and had created an armor on the beast.

Darth Vaildra had no idea what they were about to get themselves into, the sheer power of the beast and Dark Side in the tomb was blinding him which was not easily done which was why Vaildra felt fear. After a few moments, Vaildra spoke, "I assume you feel that? I have two little girls to get back to and I am sure someone waits for you. Whatever happens in there, we work together or we die." Vaildra was grasping onto the light left in him, however small and that light was his daughters. He would need that strength if he was going to have any chance of coming out of this alive.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

"As someone who lived for 20 years without knowing they had the Force, I think I'll be fine," Taeli commented as they walked through the tomb. He might not know it, but Force traps were rare and didn't last as long as ordinary traps. She knew that from reading on Upekzar and having traveled there that only a being as powerful as Abeloth might have been to create a trap that would last millennia. Still, as they walked she could sense a primal mind deeper in the tomb, one consumed by the dark side so completely it was astounding.

"Never struck me as the family man, Hakora," she said, closing her eyes and using the Theran Listener techniques for hear further ahead. "Hmm sounds like a terentatek ... but it's far stronger ... more primal than any I've ever encountered. This tomb does play host to orbalisks so that could be how it was augmented. Just a theory though, we won't know until we encounter this monster. On the bright side, just blast it with Force Lightning if it is covered in orbalisks. Orbalisks die from too much electricity, and when they die, they release a toxin that burns the hosts cells into nothing. Extremely painful, so much so it knocks the victim out cold ... or so I've read."

She wasn't going to mention she knew all of that from Zannah's holocron, which she had begun to study on a limited basis. Just for academic curiosity though.

 

[Darth Vaildra]

"20 years huh? Well that was quite a while ago, last we met we were both 28 I believe and that was 7 years ago, though time is relative I have come to learn. Regardless, anyone at anytime can become dependant on something." He personally knew this all too well. The Jedi had turned on him, his family had turned, the grey jedi had turned, he wanted to protect the Galaxy and in needing the power he lost himself. No, he found himself? He did not know anymore, his mind was in a million places. Being enveloped in the dark for so long he had become numb to feelings, but his two daughters [member="Azula Feanor"] and [member="Astrid Feanor"] were quickly picking away at this. He was not sure he liked this. Hakora was a weak child who needed love, needed family. Vaildra was powerful and needed nothing. What would be under the mask?

He looked behind her as she spoke with a questionable look. His senses were rarely matched, not impossible, if anyone her, but how could she sense something so clearly he could barely get a read on? Could she be making an educated guess, an oddly specific one? He wondered as the hallway ended and they came to an alter room He saw a large door and felt the presence behind it, sleeping or waiting. He saw oils around the room and oddly enough, a bastard sword? He looked at the sword as he took it in his hands. It was long, broad, and black. A rare sight these days. He saw near it a fallen skeleton. The blade was excellent craftsmanship, not seen much during these days. On the blade was a name Heims'spinae or with a little translating, Winterthorn.

He held it out, it was heavy, but he could wield for now til he found some time to get more use to it. He fastened the sheath to his back and put the blade away. He also took a few bottles of oil and strapped them to his belt as he looked through his mask to the large door. "Taeli, just don't die, that should be my doing." He wasn't sure he still wanted to, but now was not the time to argue as he pushed the large doors using the Force to see what waited for them.





[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

"Well clearly the sword didn't work out so well for him," she commented as he picked up the sword and oils. Odd things to find here, but she shrugged. She was after the thing the creature was most likely guarding, and she was starting to wonder if that terentatek had been planted here by the Naddists to guard their treasure. Seemed odd they would put something here that would kill them too if they got close to it.

"I'm not too worried about dying," she responded as he opened the door to the chamber beyond. She kept her lightsaber in her hand, the blade not ignited yet, but she knew it would come to a fight within the chamber. There was always a fight before one got what they were seeking.

 

[Darth Vaildra]

"I hardly believe he died of anything other that natural causes, he could have been a cultist guarding this room, regardless, an obsidian sword is not something you let rot in a tomb." I was actually pretty straightforward that a sword and oils would be here. The alter suggested this was a worship room, the room closest to the burial room that the cult members dared to get. As the door opened, Sith Magic filled the room to ignite torches lining the wall to give the room a small bit of light, but it was not perfect. Darth Vaildra entered the room as his eyes adjusted to the change in light.

His eyes scanned the large room looking for the source. His fear for whatever dwelled in here had changed to an anticipation, a thrill of the hunt. He drew his new sword as his eyes fell upon a large mass he assumed the beast standing before them. He took a bottle of oil and poured it over the blade evenly and then used the Force to spark the oil and ignite his blade. The light from the blade made the beast's eyes glow as it fully came awake from Vaildra's presence. It then, to Vaildra's shock, began to stand revealing this Terentatek stood at a good 15 feet, 5 feet above an adult Terentatek. This puzzled the Sith Lord as he wondered how the beast could grow this tall, but this was a place of great darkness.

The beast was indeed covered in Orbalisks which made its armor. He did notice that there were more that filled the floor around the beast. Vaildra assumed only he was in danger due to his alignment. As the beast awoken, Vaildra began to let the Force fill him and build. He spun his sword in a flourish as the sound of flames fluttered violently in the wind. He approached the beast in a slow, but steady approach. His pace was indeed slow, but it was determined as the beast let out a roar from it;s slumber and set its eyes on the Sith Lord. His left hand began to spark which danced along his fingers and would slightly lick the ground. Upon Taeli's advice Vaildra lifted his hand and unleashed a maelstrom of hate and anger. This malice ripped through the air like a thousand shrieking birds moving as one.

The lightning hit the beast with such force and intensity that the beast doubled over with ahowl as the lighting covered its body with the intensions to weaken the armor and allow Taeli her strike. Vaildra's attention was stolen before he could continue as an army of Orbalisks attacked him. He dropped into a defensive stance and watched all around him, moving his whole body to meet the Orbalisks as one at a time they moved on him. He would dice them in half as they moved. They were slow and not much of a threat, but in this group one false move and Vaildra would lose. He only could trust Taeli would hold off the beast long enough for Vaildra to be freed.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

She quirked an eyebrow up at his statement that the skeleton had died of natural causes ... in a tomb filled with monsters, traps, and other dangers. Suurrreeee he did, but she refrained from saying anything else when they entered the resting place of Nadd's sarcophagus and the torches lit. Okay, that was always a bad sign. Then the orbalisk armored terentatek stood up to its full height ... well that was bigger than she had seen before. She supposed it happened when one could gorge on dark side energies for so long and meals brought to it by the cultists.

Lightning lanced from Hakora's hand, but it was clear that while he loved his fire and wind, Force Lightning was not his forte and he had to stop before he could get really rolling with the lightning as orbalisks began to swarm him. Good thing they were drawn to the power of the dark side first, otherwise she would have to deal with them as well. She probably still would, but she was perplexed why they were attacking one at a time. They acted in swarms after all.

Shrugging, she regarded the monster of a terentatek for a moment, seeing the spot where the orbalisks were weakened by Hakora's attack. Green sparks danced around her fingers before she unleashed a torrent of Electric Judgment right at the same spot, her lightning far more potent as that had always been one of her preferred techniques. The beast roared in pain as the lightning arced across its body and armor, but just to make it even worse for the creature, she sensed the life of one of the orbalisks attached to it die. The toxins being released would be far more painful than anything either Jedi or Sith could do and she just kept up her lightning attack.

 

[Darth Vaildra]

As more and more Orbalisks moved in him, the more they attacked at once. Vaildra channeled the Force as wind began to rush into the room and sweep up the Orbalisks around him and gathering them in a vortex. Vaildra heated up the air, adding lightning to weaken them until he quickly cooked them alive to create a vortex of tokens that he spent crashing down in the beast to make things even worse. The toxen alone was enough to kill him, but Vaildra was not consent with letting it suffer longer.

Taking the flaming sword in both hands he kept into the air and came down on the beast to shatter through the armor and drive it through it's heart. The beast leeched, but Vaildra twisted the blade to finish it. "Not bad." Under Vaildra was a dead giant beast and around them was dying or already fried Orbalisks. A challenge like this would be a lot for one person, but two masters made it easier to get to the prize. Behind where the beast slept was a door leading to the burial chamber.

Vaildra stopped before opening the door, searching through the Force for any last traps. He wanted out of here so he used said Force to disarm what he found. Luckily most traps were disarmed by the previous visitors before. He pushed the door opening, hearing a breaking sound as the doors had been closed for over a thousand year. The torches lot again as it filled the room. Vaildra used the Force to draw his sword back to him and sheath it as he entered.


[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

"He wasn't nearly as tough as I thought he would be," she commented as Hakora pulled the sword out of the beast. At least the orbalisks were dead for now, but she made sure to keep an eye on the ceiling as they moved into the room that contained the prize. If she remember right... ah there they were.

Above the plinth and sarcophagus where the holocron sat were, on the ceiling, huge swaths of orbalisk colonies. They were the guardians of the holocron, and if someone were to disturb it hastily, they would swarm down upon the unfortunate soul. On the other side of the room was a small passage that had a slight draft, so there was their way out of the tomb. On smaller plinths were various artifacts from the ancient Sith's reign, but they held no interest to her.

"Allow me," she said, gathering the Force to her. She lifted off the ground slightly as green arcs of lightning formed around her, the power of Electric Judgment churning around her. In a rush of energy, large bursts of lightning erupted from around her, arcing bolts striking at the ceiling and scorching many of the orbalisks that crawled across it. Using Lightning Storm took a bit out of her, especially as she was avoiding using the dark side version of it, but it would get the job done as countless orbalisks were either stunned or killed.

 

[Darth Vaildra]

Darth Vaildra could feel the dark side that filled to room, trying to turn the intruders away. He stepped forward instead as the room filled with the smell of burning flesh from [member="Taeli Raaf"] 's judgement. He crushed a few beneath his feet as he walked in paying no attention to the bugs. A few tried to take Vaildra, but they would only find themselves burning alive and falling off. He saw a book and amulet sitting on a table, two of the items he sought. A Sith Spellbook and an amulet that gave the holder the ability to to read ancient Sith texts, all from the late King Ommin. There were also the two primary things he came for, two short sith swords with a lot of history.

He grabbed them and placed them on his his side with their sheath, two swords for his youngest [member="Astrid Feanor"]. He would also receive Nadd's lightsaber for his eldest, [member="Azula Feanor"]. Before he did that, he would do something a bit....difficult and very dangerous. He enjoyed these little things and would put them to good use, but there was one more thing he wanted, something that would help him in his future. The Muur Tailsmen. Most believed it destroyed and it was, by Cade Skywalker, but it's remains were not. Through study, Vaildra had found a servant of the dark side had gather its remains and tried restoring it, but was unsuccessful and had decided to take it to the tomb of Freedon Nadd. In a jar near the tomb lay these pieces of what remained of the least of the great amulets.

Would Vaildra use it to enslave people? Yes, he would, but Hakora was taking control again and Hakora would use it to further his plans to fix his wrongs. He took the jar and could feel the darkness in the jar, it was powerful and wicked. He placed the jar around a loop on his belt and turned to Taeli Raaf, "Got what you need?"

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

"I will in a second," she said, looking over the pedestal the holocron sat on and probing it with the Force. All her time exploring tombs had taught her to never immediately grab the best prize in the room, always check for traps... ah ha, there it was. Pressure plate tied to the weight of the holocron and she suspected it would cause a gruesome death for anyone in the room.

Giving the holocron a critical eye, she had a good estimate of its weight based on her experiences with the other holocrons she had recovered. Picking up a particularly large, and very fried orbalisk, she made the move at Force augmented speed... holding her breath she had guessed correctly. When no traps were triggered, she breathed out a sigh of relief and placed the holocron carefully into her satchel.

"Now we both have what we came for it seems," Taeli said, rummaging into her satchel still and pulling out a small contact case. Taking the contacts out, she blinked a few times to activate their imaging systems and switch to the topographical mode. Looking around the burial room, she smiled as she regarded the wall behind the sarcophagus.

"Our exit to the outside is behind the sarcophagus, trigger for the secret door is the red stone at the third from the right."

 

[Darth Vaildra]

Vaildra watched as she took the holocron, a great prize, but it did not interest him. He was not one to study holocrons, but he knew the value of them and would not ignore that. He checked himself, a book, a broken and whole amulet, two swords and Freedon's Nadd's lightsaber. He had quite the loot, but only a few of them were his to keep. He sighed, "And here I thought we'd blow the walls out like old Kun did, a shame." He flicked his wrist as he hit the stone she spoke of activating the exit out of the door. He motioned for her to go first, but it was hardly a gesture of chivalry.

The Sith Lord had not forgotten who he was and who she was. She was a Jedi and he was a Sith, they were enemies. Time tested rivals. He did not speak of his plans to follow her path and turn from the Sith so as far as she knew, he was a Sith. This meant he could not fully trust her and therefore he wanted her in front of him so he could keep an eye on her and act if she went against her words and betrayed him. As they left, Vaildra decided to strike conversation a bit, "So Jedi, why did you leave the Sith? You were a force to be reckoned with and you gave all that power up to become a Jedi Scholar..?"


[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

Walking along the exit, Taeli pondered if she should even answer Hakora's question. They weren't exactly on the best of terms, this shared impromptu expedition regardless, and he had tried to kill her in the past. That was rude, but sighing internally, she knew it wasn't that bad of a question to answer.

"Why did I leave the Sith and join the Jedi?" she repeated, turning around and walking backwards. Her senses would alert her if there was anything dangerous or such ahead. She wanted to be facing him as they walked. He was a Sith after all. "I could give the easy answer and say it was to be with my sister, but that wouldn't be one hundred percent true.

"I left the Sith to pursue knowledge, and as I'm sure you can guess, the Jedi is one avenue of knowledge I wanted to learn. Being a Jedi also opens far more doors and paths to travel down than being a Sith when you want to scour the galaxy and learn the exotic abilities of the non-aligned Force sects. They don't get along with Sith, but they had relations with Jedi. For me, it has always been about knowledge. Why do you think I have three master's degrees in galactic history, archaeology, and linguistics?"

 

[Darth Vaildra]

"So you are with the angels, but you aren't one?" A slight exaggeration to what a Jedi was, but it made sense to make the statement. He knew it was not the easiest thing to play Jedi, he tried, he failed. It took a powerful and sound mind to be able to pull it off. Vaildra could not help, but notice the etchings in the wall. They depicted much of the history and lore of the Sith, mainly Freedon Nadd's time. He pressed the button on his mask as the sound of air releasing as he removed his mask and hooked it to his belt.

His face, it was older, he had lost his youth, though was still not an old man. His eyes were no longer their youthful blue, but a Sith orange, but they lacked the fire that most Sith carried. His forehead had a horizontal scar from his fight with a Mandalorian Sith lord Gen'dai and a scar across his eye from his duel with Teali. His face showed signs of battle, of a life lived traveling and resting very little. He turned his attention back to her, "In all the times we have met I have yet to see you and your sister together, would she not be here with you now?" He let the question hang for a bit as he contemplated what she had said, her search for knowledge, her hunger for wisdom. He let silence fill the air.

"Family is powerful, I wanted it all my life and that led me to the Sith I became. I have done....things I regret, but could never change. Now, my family is whole, but I am not." He paused, wondering if he was going to go this far, reveal this much, "I am leaving the Sith Empire, the Sith, the war, all of it and heading for the outer rim with my youngest daughter who I led to the dark side, we will find out who we really are. If knowledge is what you seek, you are welcome to join us. Consider it my penance for trying to kill you in my youth."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Vaildra"]

"Sometimes we go on joint expeditions, sometimes we're off on our own," Taeli said, not wanting to discuss with Hakora her sister's absence. He might be trying to redeem himself in some small way, but Taeli didn't trust him still. "And I don't pretend to be a Jedi... it's who I am now. It's who I would have been if it hadn't been for Praelior, but ultimately... I'm a student of the Force."

Reaching the end of the tunnel, she pressed the release and the hot humid jungle air hit them in a slight breeze.

"It sounds like you have some self-discovery to do, and it would be remiss of me to even consider tagging along," Taeli. "That is for you and your daughter. As I said, I already know who I am. That sort of knowledge I don't need to pursue. I figured all that out a while ago. If you truly desire to leave the Sith, well I wish thee the best of luck in whatever you try and accomplish."

With that, she pressed a button on her wrist and she could hear her ship heading towards them.

"Just be aware though," she yelled as her ship roared out of the distance and lowered the boarding ramp for her to jump to, "it's going to be hard to turn from the darkness, and you'll have to fight the addiction for the rest of your life."

A Force Jump later, she was standing on the boarding ramp of her ship and started to walk inside it. She had a meeting to get to on Carida now.