Uncovering the Past

[Thom Naudir]

Ruusan. A barren, blasted waste of a world that had been destroyed in wars long past. People still lived on the rock, though they did not live in vast metropolises, and in luxury. A single city was on this world, built by the Jedi to help those that lived on this world, provide for them, make their lives better. Such things were a wasted thought to Valad Yar. The people of Ruusan were strong, far stronger than those that lived across the galaxy in comfort. They struggled to survive, to build a home for themselves, and to defend themselves against the rest of the galaxy that had always seemingly been against them. The Jedi's act of kindness was in truth a death sentence for the people of Ruusan. Not now, but eventually the Jedi would be gone, the city would wither, and the people of Ruusan would once again be forced to survive on their own. When that time came, Valad Yar suspected they would not be able to do so. The Jedi's kindness would make the people of Ruusan weak and subservient to them. When it was time for them to stand alone again, they would perish. Such thoughts were of minor concern to Valad Yar though. He had another reason for coming to this world than to simply find fault in the methods of the Jedi.

He currently stood next to the small ship he had brought to the world, his customary black shirt and pants pulling at him as wind rushed across the barren hilltop he was on. He had come to Ruusan to uncover an ancient relic, an object that had decided the course of an ancient war, and tipped the balance of the galaxy towards the light side. A disappointing development, but one that brought a chance for discovery and empowering to those of the present. Only problem was, he had no idea where it was. Records of its exact location were well hidden, and many records were destroyed outright by the Jedi of old to keep it out of the eyes of the galaxy. It made his task here much more difficult, but luckily he would not be doing this alone. He had contacted experts in the field of tracking and smuggling, skills he expected would be incredibly useful for the mission ahead.

He had sent coordinates to each of them to meet him on Ruusan, and now, he waited. With their aid, Valad Yar could finally begin the task he had been given so many years ago. Finally, he would be able to do what he had been destined to, since the moment he had been born.

[member="Domino"] [member="Gray Venasir"] [member="Ronak"]

 

[Ronak]

The crew of the freighter Ronak had hired on thought the wolfman quite mad to wish to stay on the planet, they used for changing smuggling goods with another band of smugglers. Maybe he was, but the request for a scout to help an expedition on this forsaken planet had sparked his curiosity - a temptation hard to resist. The vessel had dropped him in the middle of nowhere, as they wanted no witnesses for their operations. Luckily, this spot was not too far from the coordinates where he was suppossed to meet the expedition crew.

Holding his nose in the wind, the Shistavanen picked up any scents in the air telling him about his surroundings. The dry desert air told of little native life - the sand held little smell of its own. It was a good thing he had thought about bringing two extra water containers with him. Keeping enough water with the group would be essential for their survival. From a peak higher up than most in the environment, he could make out the course of a river in a valley below. Once there must have been lavish forests growing down there, now there was only the barest of vegetation along its bend and nothing but dry land further away.

Squinting his eyes, as he could make out a shape on another hill top quite far away. Concentrating to increase his perception, he could finally detect a small ship and a man standing near it in a black shirt and pants. Being close enough to the arranged coordinates, this would be one of his expedition companions. With his backpack over his shoulder, he turned to close in on the meeting point. Even if this was a barren waste land, the wolfman wanted to be attentive to his environment in case any native flora, fauna or inhabitants would decide to take a chance with hunting him.

Finally, he closed in on the hill and made sure to be visible to the man there, waving briefly in greeting to show his friendly intentions.


[member="Valad Yar"]
[member="Domino"]
[member="Gray Venasir"]

 

[Domino]

With her beloved Sangromancer undergoing repair and refit in dock, Domino had fallen back on the always trusty Sigma shuttle to transport her to Vatsu city. For a time the woman contemplated the name of the place and the similarity to the name of her closest friend. It was after all in that other's personality to meddle in such things, but as the ship made its approach she shook herself back to the present. Her sensors were picking up another ship. Not too odd, this was the largest settlement on the planet, but it wasn't at the city. Rather this other was atop a hill some distance away. Following her intuition, she altered her course and set the shuttle down a few kilometers away. A few taps on the command console and the four probes the ship carried were off to do their thing. Simple scouts, they'd go take a look around and transmit back whatever they'd found.

Stretching out after so long at the controls, Domino snagged the nerf-hide jacket off the back of the empty observer seat behind her own and slung it on as she made her way back to the ship's ramp. Already armed with her twinned sabers, she pulled a heavy slug pistol from the weapon rack and added it to the holster on her ranger's belt. It wasn't that she expected any trouble, but it's always paid to be prepared in her experience. A few cylinders of reloads joined the the magnum on her hip and she felt ready enough.

Out she stepped into the blazing sun and across the gently hilled plains.

Gray Venasir Ronak Valad Yar

 

[Thom Naudir]

Valad Yar let a smile briefly play across his face as members of the expedition began to arrive, only two for now, but he was certain that the third would be along before too much longer. He could always catch up with the rest of the team. He nodded his head to [member="Ronak"] and @Dominio in turn as they arrived on top of the hill, though he did not reach out to shake their hands. He did not feel entirely comfortable doing such a thing, even with the gloves he always wore. There were some in the galaxy with the power to control others through a single touch, or to glimpse into their mind with the merest contact of skin. Valad Yar had no interest in being read that easily, though he made sure to greet the two warmly all the same. It would not do to be entirely rude before they had even set out.

"Welcome, both of you. I am glad that you were able to make it here safely, and am eager to begin our expedition. We are still one member short of our team, but I am certain that he will be along soon. However, I feel like we can begin. This expedition has a single purpose, find the site of the final battle of Ruusan, and acquire whatever treasures and relics we can find. Anything that you find there, will be free game, except for a single item. Should we find it, I will inform you of it. As well, if it is there, I recommend you do not draw too close to it. It is a...dangerous artifact, and I would not want either of you to put yourselves at risk needlessly. If you have any questions, now would be the time. Otherwise, I believe we can set out."

When he finished speaking, he took a momentary step back, folding his hands behind him and waiting to see if his companions had anything on their minds. This expedition had too much at stake for it to fail. No matter what, Valad Yar needed it to succeed, and these people that helped him would be richly rewarded in the end.

 

[Gray Venasir]

This was not the first time Gray was on Ruusan. He came there from time to time, mostly to move smugled cargo to an accomplice or check if some other smuglers had dropped of their goods for sale there. But this time, he was not here for smugling. He didn't know exactly why he had been chosen for this expedition, but he was not one to complain. It was a big chance there would be loot there, at least something worth selling. Or keeping, depending on what it was. Anyway, he was glad to arrive.

It would seem suspicious to land outside the city, so he parked his ship there. Before leaving, he made sure to check that he had everything he needed. Both blasters, enough ammo, food rations and water, a couple granades, things like that. After checking everything off, he took out his speeder, and put on his hat and a cover for his mouth and nose. And a pair of goggles. Then he set of to the coordinates.

It took some time, but finally he could see the meeting place. He was sure the others who was there could hear him coming from far away. The speeder wasn't the most silently model. When he made it to the top of the hill, he stopped the speeder and removed everything that covered his face. "Sorry if I'm late. Ran into some trouple With the engine on the way." The engine had been acting up because of the sand. Gray stepped of the speeder,and walked up to the Group. He shook hands With those willing, but he got a bit uneasy by the wolf-man. "Name's Gray. Care to fill me in?"

[member="Valad Yar"] | [member="Domino"] | [member="Ronak"]

 

[Ronak]

Ronak approached [member="Valad Yar"] but kept his respectful distance, when the man did not offer a hand in greeting, as some humans did. For him this meant little, as his people considered a person's scent most valuable for recognition and this he did not hide under false fragrances of perfume or anything alike. Nodding in greeting to both the man and the Twi'lek woman [member="Domino"] who arrived from the other side of the hill, he eyed his new companions curiously.

Their expedition leader greeted them both briefly and gave them a brief explanation of the situation which Ronak listened to intently with pricked ears. However, the scout was not entirely content with what information they were given. Yet, before he could ask a question, the annoying humming sound he had heard for some time turned into the clearly discernable humming of a speeder which was closing in on them. The man climbing out gave them a quick excuse that his engine had trouble with the terrain. Hearing this, the wolfman bared his teeth in a grin - so much for technology; his own feet were still more reliable than that. As the [member="Gray Venasir"] introduced himself and offered his hand to shake in greeting, Ronak accepted the gesture out of respect. But being so close the Shistavanen could smell the slightly increased perspiration and ineasiness of the man. This was a typical reaction he was used to from humans, so he tried to stay calm and show that he meant to be no threat.

Ronak waited for [member="Valad Yar"] to repeat his information for Gray or [member="Domino"] to do so, before he wished to voice his own question: "Do you have any leads on the location or how we might recognise the artifact we are looking from from sight? After all, we would not wish to run into dangers with a dangerous artifact" - he let his eyes travel from one group member to the next to see their reaction - "but it would be good to know in advance when we are facing that thing."

 

[Domino]

The warm greeting had surprised Domino, she hadn't realized she was invited, though perhaps this human had mistaken her for someone else? It wasn't unheard of and she herself had used the all Twi'leks look alike to bluff her way past trouble before. She gave the wolf person and young man a nod of greeting yet like-wise offered no handshake, not out of fear or worry, handshakes simply weren't a part of her culture. Their absence was barely noted by the analytical portion of her mind as she listened to the apparent leader.

Briefly she considered not saying anything and simply going with the deception, but that might not be so good in the long run. "I also have a question, who were you expecting that looks like me? Because I think you've got me confused with someone else, I just came out here to see what everyone was up to." There It was out, it wasn't too likely that they would suddenly want to fight her but she was prepared for some form of verbal hostility. Not everyone appreciated their desire for a dangerous artifact to be be known.

@Ronak @Gray Venasir [member="Valad Yar"]

 

[Thom Naudir]

Valad Yar nodded his greetings to [member="Gray Venasir"] as he arrived, before briefly turning his gaze to [member="Domino"] once again. The question did not surprise him, she had come by chance, not entirely by design. However, free will had led her to this location, and the decision to approach had been her own. She had taken the first step to joining the expedition already. "Whether by conscious decision or by the will of the Force, we are all here. Some have come because I asked them to. Others were guided here by the Force, whether they realize it...or not. But the choice that lays before all of you is the same. We are going to find relics from the past, knowledge and understanding for those interested, and wealth and trinkets for the rest. I welcome you all to join with me as I set out, but it is your decision." With his brief statement done, Valad Yar turned to [member="Ronak"], nodding his head briefly at the warriors question.

"The location we are looking for is set near a large cave network. The battle in question took place both above and below ground, and evidence of the conflict should still remain. I have a general idea where the location is, but it will require some searching once we arrive there. It should not be too difficult to uncover. As for the relic...it will be located in the deepest section of the cave system. I shall travel down there myself to investigate before any of you do to ensure it is safe. I will warn you all though, should you hear voices, even for the briefest of moments, you must try and block them out. Do not listen to what they have to say, and do not deviate from your path. I will handle that relic myself. Once everything is done, you will each receive your promised payment at the beginning of this expedition, and more besides that for completion. And as for our other friend, should she wish, she can receive the same pay as the rest of the party." Nodding his head, largely to himself once he was finished speaking, Valad Yar turned and gestured into the distance.

"My estimates place the final battle site within five kilometers of this location, the reason I had us gather here. With your help, we should find it with little effort." As he turned, the lightsaber at his side came into view for the first time, shifting from the motion slightly as it came to rest once again.

 

[Ronak]

With pricked ears Ronak listened intently to [member="Valad Yar"] 's explanation. A cave network, possibly entrances open centuries ago were now collapsed, so he had to keep his eyes open for cave-ins, springs and formation along the valleys' rock faces. Path finding was his expertise after all.

"We might want to spread out for finding the entrance to these caves, 5 kilometres diameter means we still have about 20 square kilometres to cover", the wolfman growled. Pointing at [member="Gray Venasir"] Ronak suggested: "You can cover a lot of terrain with this speeder of yours. If you take a second person along, they can keep their eyes open the see any cave-ins in the plain or along the rock faces." Turning to [member="Domino"] he yelped: "Will you join us? We could use another pair of eyes."

"I would follow the course of the river. If you are fine with that we stay in contact via the comms and notify the others as soon as we find something." Yellow eyes turned from one to the next looking for agreement or better suggestions.

 

[Domino]

Ah yes, the old 'as the force wills' line, should she really have expected more? Still, if he was willing to accept that and let her observe, she would. "Alright, though i brought more eyes than just mine." She said to Ronak. And to their host, "The last battle between Sith and Jedi occurred here three years ago if memory serves. It is unknown if either side utilized any thought-provoking artifacts though after the battle the Silver Order went over the entirety of the area with a fine-toothed comb. And their archaeologists are second to none." And if anyone thought for a second that Domino really believed what they were looking for was modern, then she had a bridge on Dagobah to sell them.

"Still, I'll have my probes take a look around the area." Her fingers sought out the hand-tablet she kept in her jacket's inner pocket and she unlocked it to reveal the progress of her little droids. They'd been happily zooming about the pre-mapped area and investigating the sparse wildlife when she redirected them to the Valley of the Jedi. It contained the only known cave network around, and Domino was pretty sure she knew what the Sith was after. "Mind if I tag a ride Gray?" She flashed him a smile as she took a seat in his speeder.

@Ronak @Valad Yar [member="Gray Venasir"]

 

[Thom Naudir]

Valad Yar smiled briefly at the words of [member="Domino"], shaking his head. "Oh, the battle I am talking about happened much, much longer ago. Long before the Silver Jedi were even an idea. Long before the days of the first Galactic Empire, during the times of the ancient Old Republic. What we seek is far more ancient then anything the Silver Jedi could have hoped to discover. That being said, your help is still appreciated. I shall go with [member="Ronak"] along the route of the river. Let us keep in contact every thirty minutes if we discover anything." Nodding to them all, Valad Yar turned to head down the hill, moving with Ronak.

Dominio was going to prove a problem if she kept her higher position. Valad Yar was not ready for the Silver Jedi to know of his presence, especially not on this world. He could only hope that he found the item in question before the others did, then all would be fine. At the moment though, he turned his attention back to the world around him, extending his feelings out through the Force to try and find the location of what they sought.

[member="Gray Venasir"]

 

[Gray Venasir]

Gray, after having greeted the others, listened to the plan and why they were there. Mostly he didn't care for the force or anything with it. He was in this for the money. The part about the voices made him give a low laugh, but not loud enough for the others to hear. He was not force sensitive, so he would likely be less affected than some of the others.

Listening to what [member="Ronak"] suggested, he gave a nod of approval. "Sounds good to me. Just hope the engine will keep good." He laughed shortly, to sign that it was a joke. Then he turned to [member="Domino"] to answer her. "Sure. I'd never mind a twi'lek With me on my speeder." He sat Down himself, and pulled up a piece of fabric to cover his nose and mouth. "See you guys later. Hold on tight, this can go fast" And With that, he started the speeder and drove of in the direction he had been pointed.

What they were goingto find was a mystery. But it would probably be something of value. But at least he would be paid for helping find this relic. That was something Gray didn't understand: why force users were obsessed With relics of old. They were just old trinkets. Sure, he too liked to know history and didn't mind looking at Things from before his time. But the way jedi and sith were obsessed With them was a big mystery to him.

[member="Valad Yar"]

 

[Ronak]

Everyone seemed d'accord with his suggestion. [member="Domino"] seemed curios enough to join them in their search and would go on a ride with [member="Gray Venasir"] to scan the vast hilly grass land for sign of a collapsed entrance. Ronak did not mind teaming with [member="Valad Yar"] - the man knew better then anyone else what they were looking for.

Before turning to their task at hand, Ronak noiced [member="Valad Yar"] reaching out with the force. Well, he had his ways of detecting something, the wolfman trusted his survival skills more than his ability to sense something through the force. If teams had combed this area some while ago there was no reason to waste time on anything outside. His main goal was to find a cave of other type of entrance, potentially burried by now. Scanning the area from above showed that the river after apssing several kilometers of hilly grassland led to a canyon structure further downstream where the hills turned into cliffs. This looked like the most promising area to look for a cave entrance for now.

The screeching call of a bird of prey made him turn his head in the direction where the hunter missed to catch its prey and landed on the ground close to the speeder. Before it dashed off into the sky again, Ronak reached out to it in his mind "Come here, my friend!". Stopping short and focussing its eyes on the wolfman the bird reacted to the ways in which he felt called by the force. Taking a chunk of dried meat from a belt pouch, Ronak offered it as a token of friendship. After a moment's hesitation the avian gulped down the meat. Now he had the attention. "You can get some more, if you do me a favour. Fly along that river. If you see a cave, show me", he instructed the bird with growls and yelps switching to Shistavanen subconciously as it felt more natural for communicating with the beast. Giving a curt nod, the bird soared up into the sky. If he did as instructed, they had gained and additional aid, if it did not he had lost nothing more than a small meat chunk.

A quick glance towards Valad Yar confirmed that he was ready to follow, so the scout chose the fastest route down the hill towards the winding river.

 

[Domino]

Blindly reaching down the side of the speeder's seat, Domino fumbled for the controls before dropping her seat back as far down as it would go and popped her booted feet up on the dash, all to better enjoy the ride of course. She ignored the scenery for her tablet and the drone feeds it displayed. "So Grey, how good is your ancient history?" She asked trying to strike up a conversation over the whine of the speeder's engines. "Specifically early Darth Bane era and the rule of two and the end of the Brotherhood of Darkness under Kaan?" While she was speaking and waiting for a reply, Domino was busy wrapping the pair in a protective Force enchantment that would prevent others with Force powers from listening in. "Failing that, what about more recent ancient history like the Black Sun?" She then busied herself in the 'pads menus and sent off a coded ping to her shuttle with her location to relay. She didn't want to ask the smuggler for a ride back to her ship and it'd be easier to just have it pick her up when they were done here.

@Ronak [member="Gray Venasir"] [member="Valad Yar"]

 

[Thom Naudir]

The obvious place to look for the item Valad Yar sought would be in the Valley of the Jedi. It was a massive place, with numerous different cave entrances and locations to explore, but Valad Yar couldn't be entirely certain. He wanted to first ensure what he sought was not anywhere else before he entered that dark place. It could have been moved since then to another location for all he knew. The stories he had heard of what happened there...the destruction the device he sought had caused was something even he was nervous about. The mere name brought goosebumps to his flesh as he scanned the horizon, looking for some other place it might be as he and [member="Ronak"] made their way down the river. As their journey continued, Valad Yar began to dread more and more, coming to be certain he knew where it would likely be...

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Valad Yar turned his gaze to the city in the distance, visible but not entirely so. The Silver Jedi Order would have the location heavily defended, no doubt. And it was likely he would not be able to get anywhere near it in his present state. However, should the mission at hand be successful, he just might be able to achieve a goal he had believed to be a mere fantasy, a goal he couldn't quite grasp. The thought of that event brought some warmth back to his body and he turned back to the search.

Grimacing, Valad Yar turned to Ronak, his voice quite and withdrawn as he spoke to the warrior. "Tell me, have you heard of an object known as a Thought Bomb...?

[member="Domino"]
[member="Gray Venasir"]

 

[Gray Venasir]

The questions from [member="Domino"] had taken Gray a bit off guard. He hadn't expected her to like small talk. Or maybe it was some kind of interrogation of sort, to check what he knew. Anyway, he would just answer truthfully, as it was Nice to talk while driving around looking for a Cave. "Well, I'm not an expert. And not nearly as good as the jedi or sith. But I know a bit about the old times. Most is about the Mandalorian war With the Republic and Revan. Some parts about the crime lords from that time and forward too. Then there is a gap until The times of The Galactic Empire. What you're asking about, I haven't even heard about this Kaan you're speaking off." Most history about force users and their holy wars didn't bother Gray. To him, the force was just a way for the sensitive to make war out of their differences. There were very few force users he respected, and the only one he didn't know personally was Revan. That was because he wasn't like the rest of the jedi. "But I've heard about Bane, and his rule of two. Didn't he live about thousend years before the rise of The Empire, which was his grand plan or something?"

To this point, the speeder had managed to avoid any trouble. Hopefully it would last. As they sped through the hills, he couldn't see anything looking like what they were looking for. So he went back to the talk, putting away the mouth cover and takeng off the goggles. " As for the Black Sun, I don't want anything to do With them. From what I know, they are criminall Mercenaries who mostly care about making Money." Hearing how this sounded a bit like how he himself was, he tried to find an explenation. "While People like me actually care what the job they does are, and who it affects. I, for example, only take jobs which won't make it harder for others or use their weakness." Now, it was his turn to ask the questions. "Why are you wondering about my knowledge about history? And why are you so interested in the era of Darth Bane? Did he have something to do With what we are looking for, or something?"

[member="Valad Yar"] | [member="Ronak"]

 

[Ronak]

Ronak could sense [member="Valad Yar"] reach out with the force and probing the environment in much more skilled ways than he knew himself. Cave systems could be vast, but typically they occurred where water had access unless they had been created by volcanic or tectonic activity. Thus, staying close tot the river and its canyons seemed the most reasonable place to start a search for the wilderness expert. Refraining from probing on the force level himself to not interrupt or bias Valad Yar's search, he kept his keen senses trained on the wilderness around them, scanning the hillsides and valleys with sharp eyes, sniffing the air regularly to detect any intruder upwind from their own position.

In the distance, he could make out a city's silhouette. But this would not be the target of their search, unless he had understood something about this mission completely wrong. Immediately he pricked his ears, as he heard Valad Yar's voice split the ambient sounds around them by asking a peculiar question: "Tell me, have you heard of an object known as a Thought Bomb...?" Ronak thought about this for a moment, before growling an answer: "I'm no expert for Jedi or Sith history and my people have always lived quite withdrawn from the rest of the galaxy. But it sounds like some Sith weapon to me. Pacifistic Jedi wouldn't build something called a bomb after all", he added a bit sarcasticly. "What is it?", came the curious question as an after thought.

[member="Domino"]
[member="Gray Venasir"]

 

[Thom Naudir]

Valad Yar smiled at the simplicity, yet accuracy of the words [member="Ronak"] spoke. "You are correct, it was a Sith creation, but the Jedi of that time were much different from what they are today. They were much less peace keepers and more warlords and planetary governors. Jedi Lords they called themselves. But a small detail, the Thought Bomb was a weapon created by the Force, that when released, consumed the life energy of all Force-Sensitive for many kilometers in any direction. The destruction it brought to Ruusan when deployed by the ancient Brotherhood of Darkness was extreme. Hundreds of Sith and Jedi were killed, and many thousands more others were lost. An added side effect was the spirits of those Sith and Jedi caught in the blast were trapped within the Thought Bomb, which as far as I know still exists, waiting." Valad Yar fell silent for several seconds as the pair continued to walk, shaking his head briefly.

"I plan to find that device, in truth. The spirits of the ancient Sith held within interest me greatly, the knowledge and power they hold could be beneficial to me and the future of the galaxy. But it does pose risks..." He fell silent again as he continued along, his shoulders sagging slightly as he looked off into the distance. Perhaps he had spoken too much, but Valad Yar was putting faith in the fact that perhaps Ronak could be trusted with some of the inner workings of his plans. It would be a great boon to have him as an ally for those things yet to come.

[member="Domino"] [member="Gray Venasir"]

 

[Domino]

"Something like that," Domino said choosing to answer Gray's first question. She hadn't expected so much hostility from a smuggler towards the Black Suns but they weren't what was important right now. "That was more Plagueis and his apprentice, the soon-to-be Emperor. Bane was more about covert power and trickery, like during the 'final battle' on Ruusan when he convinced Kaan to kill himself and all the attacking Jedi with a Thought Bomb allowing him and his apprentice to escape." Domino turned towards the smuggler, her face serious as she continued. "I was suspicious at first but this Darth's talk of voices and danger confirmed it for me along with his description of the caves."

One hand on Grey's over the throttle, she slowly pulled it back, bringing them to a stop so her voice could more easily be heard in the comparatively echoing silence and she'd have his full attention. "Naturally you can understand why I wouldn't want such a thing to fall into a Sith's hands again, yet this also raises a few problems for you personally. The Bomb isn't an artifact, its a ritual, meaning there isn't anything to recover. And all remnants of the ritual and trapped souls were released by a Jedi called Katarn several centuries ago, there's nothing left but a memorial now. Which for all his research into finding out about this place and the Bomb Valad should know which is worrying. Normally I'd look ahead and see what'll happen but there are too many upcoming possibilities. the least worrying outcome is you simply don't get paid and he admits it a fool's errand, the more concerning involve a rampage through the city and lots of murder." Domino looked into the smuggler's face as if trying to read his thoughts there, it was clear that she was looking for an ally in this insanity.

[member="Valad Yar"] @Ronak [member="Gray Venasir"]

 

[Ronak]

Ronak listened intently to [member="Valad Yar"] 's explanations - a device that killed hundreds of Jedi and Sith. The fur his his neck was standing on end at the sheer imagination of something like that. Something like this should not be in anyone's hand, least of all in a Sith's hand. But at least he was not looking for the device itself, but the spirits of the dark force users who had lost their lives all these centuries or millenia ago. Knowledge - the search for it was what united Ronak with [member="Valad Yar"]. But was any price acceptable for this knowledge?

Well, the Sith were dead and their spirits caught here. What would they have to tell? Had they gone mad after their unnatural deaths? Were they vengeful wraiths or willing to take a living student as [member="Valad Yar"] . Ronak disliked the idea of meeting those Sith spirits greatly, but that was not part of the deal anyways. All he should do was help [member="Valad Yar"] help find the location. Whether they would be able to do that was still to be seen.

The shreeking cry of the bird he had sent out before made him turn his head upwards, focussing on the creature. "Have you found something", he howled loudly in his native Shistavanen tongue. The avian dove downwards shreeking again. His empathic link to the creature told him that this meant "yes". "Show me the way please", he howled again. The avian was flying closer to him, focussing a demanding stare on him. Understanding, he took a piece of meat out of the belt pouch and threw it into the air in the avian's direction which caught it midair and gulped it down. Content, it soared again into the air and flew off into a side arm of the river canyon.

"We might have a lead", he yelped at [member="Valad Yar"] , before starting to sprint after the avian.

[member="Domino"]
[member="Gray Venasir"]