What's that coming over the hill? (OS Dominion of Gratos)

[Darth Timoris]

[Post=[/COLOR]5+1=6]​

Objective: Objective B – Investigate the Lost Lands
Location: Entering the facilities
Allies: 1 squad of Sitherhood troopers
Enemies: Think I found them…
Theme: More monsters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhiuYoqrOJo

The fact there was clearly more than one way in was an added complication Melori hadn’t factored in.

Which preoccupied her – her first mistake.

Resolved to keep her eyes open for a likely place for an ambush, she suddenly looked up and saw a large, grey-green cocoon hanging in front of her. It showed no signs of life and was entirely uninteresting apart from an appendage hanging down about head height, filled with a fine, rust-coloured powder.

"Feth!"

She planted her heels and tried to whirl away, squeezing her eyes shut, but she was too late. There was already a spasm rolling up the attached limb, and a cloud of crimson dust exploded into her face, filling her eyes with bright stinging pain. Her vision blossomed into flame-coloured blindness. Knowing that to remain motionless was to die – no doubt slowly and painfully – she continued her spin and Force-leapt blindly away.

Which way she now faced, she had no idea – and it mattered little. She was still in the air when she slammed into a wall and sensed the cocoon coming to life. She reached for her lightsaber – then felt something tighten around her wrist and pull it away from her body. She tried to jerk free, but whatever it was, it was secured to her sleeve by a potent, sweet-smelling resin. When she grabbed it with the Force, its grasp grew tighter, stretching her arm out straight, pulling so hard that she feared her shoulder would pop out of its joint.

She tried to blink her vision clear and succeeded only in coating her eyes with resin and making them sting even worse. She moved her other arm and began to inch her hand toward her saber, trying to move slowly enough to avoid triggering another attack.

Something cold and sinuous slid up the inside of her sleev and began to apply pressure in the opposite direction. Her heart began to hammer inside her chest, her breath coming in short gasps of panic. Then something slithered up her leg, then twined itself around her torso and began to squeeze. Her thoughts began to whirl through her mind in a wild cyclone of anger and terror.

 

[Darth Isolda]

2/20
Objective X
Location: Heart of Vahl
Mention: [member="Darth Zilti"] [member="Sena Lassiter"]

​

"Darth Valdra." the name would cut the silence with a growing sense of displeasure, virulent and caustic. The Eye of the Dark Lord would turn to fully face the young Vahla, the whisper of the black silk of her glistaweb a subtle shift. Dark kohl lined eyes would narrow, the name of another pouring from Sena's lips. Maja Vern.

The name would move within Isolda's mine like thick sparkbee honey; her eyes sparked with piqued interest. "Maja Vern." she would coo, taking another step forward, her lithe figure ambling closer to the younger woman.

"Bring her forth to give her testimony." her honeyed penetrating voice would command.

 

[Darth Zilti]

[Post = 5+2=7/20]​

Objective: Going with the flow...
Location: On her ship, en route to wherever destiny takes her
Mention: [member="Darth Isolda"] | [member="Sena Lassiter"]

And then the summons.

Maja was too far away to travelled to the coordinates given and felt oddly nervous as she joined the conversation remotely.

For once her voice was faltering. In these circumstances you never were quite sure if you were helping with enquiries or under suspicion.

“You requested my presence? I…presume this was because I was present at an…incident recently. Where…” She nodded virtually in the direction of the Acolyte she’d met properly on Coruscant. “Another interfered with the Acolyte’s training?”

Maja was clearly not keen to volunteer too many hard facts until a specific question was levied. She had plenty of evidence all right, but would share what was required when it was asked.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Post: 2/20.
Objective A. Find exotic poisonous frogs.
Location: Swamps.
Allies: Boat, the Force.
Enemies: Swampwater, bugs, etc.

To be as quiet as possible, Ophidia was employing an oar to paddle her little craft along the water. Her pale eyes surveyed the roots of the surrounding trees as she stalked the swamp. A splash behind her diverted her eyes for a second as a fish snatched a bug out of the air and dragged it into the depth, or perhaps something fell from the branches above. She looked up at the canopy above, so dense it barely let any light in. The swamps and woods of this planet were infamous for their dense canopies, sometimes plunging forests in complete darkness. She could see nothing above, except the obscured shapes of leaves.

The swamp was so full of life that it was nearly impossible to discern one from the other. She paddled on between the roots of the swamp-trees, surveying her surroundings for the pastel colours of the poison frogs. So far she saw none, but she knew they lived there. Her little boat floated on.

 

[Darth Timoris]

[Post=[/COLOR]6+2=8]​

Objective: Objective B – Investigate the Lost Lands
Location: Inside the facilities
Allies: 1 squad of Sitherhood troopers
Enemies: Some annoying plant of all things…
Theme: More monsters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHywdqH3F6Y

Her thoughts began to whirl through her mind in a wild cyclone of anger and terror. After surviving so much at the hands of the Jedi, here she was, blind and bound and about to become dinner for a tree.

“I ... really ... hate ... this planet.”

She grabbed one of her lightsabers with the Force. She then floated it off to the side until it was several meters away, then depressed the activation switch.

The weapon came to life, emitting the familiar drone-and-crackle of a power supply focused through her synthetic crystal. Directing the blade by its sound, she slashed through the tentacles above her head and adjacent to her. Instead of dropping to the ground, she tumbled away head-over-heels and found herself hanging upside down, caught now by her ankles and one arm. So she used the Force to bring the lightsaber around and therefore above her feet.

Her legs quickly fell free and swung down until they were even with her head. Now she was hanging parallel to the ground, caught only by her waist and one arm. Believing she just might spare herself the embarrassment of being rescued by her troopers, she floated the lightsaber into her free hand so she could cut more accurately, then twisted her body around, reaching up above her waist.

She slashed and landed on the ground with a loud thump. She was free of whatever it was, but her sight still hadn’t returned.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Post: 3/20.
Objective A. Find exotic poisonous frogs.
Location: Swamps.
Allies: Boat, the Force.
Enemies: Swampwater, bugs, etc.

Ophidia halted her boat as she caught something yellow in the corner of her eye. Slowly she turned her head and looked at the frog sticking to the surface of one of the tree roots. A smile curled the corners of her mouth as she gingerly reached down into the boat and grasped a jar. Carefully she unscrewed the lid, the frog tensed. If she did not get this right, then it would be gone and she would be back to scratch. Ophidia held the transparent jar horizontal while reaching out with her left hand. Then, just as the frog jumped, she caught it in the air with careful telekinesis and stuffed it in the jar. Had she actually touched it, then she would run the risk of poisoning herself, and she was a long way from the necessary medical care.

She screwed the lid down tightly, put a sticker across the top with a colour-coded warning of its poisonous quality, and then put the little jar into a satchel with compartments to keep it upright. Her hands gripped the oar and she paddled on between the roots of the swamp-trees. The catch was encouraging.

 

[Sage Bane]

Objective: B, Investigate the Lost Lands
Location: The Ruins of Groxus
Allies: [member="Darth Callidus"]
Enemies: [member="Darth Callidus"] :devil:
1/20

Sage Bane, wearing a full environmental suit to protect against the harsh, toxic atmosphere of the Lost Lands of Gratos, walked carefully through the magma and ash covered grounds, heading for the ruins of Groxus. The former holy city was now a ruination from orbital bombardment by the Jedi during an attack on the planet. Normally the Sith Lord would think twice about frolickling around in glassed and sulfurous territory, but there were said to be treasures buried deep within the rubble. Sage had an empty reliquary on Fresia just waiting for these types of treasures to fill it.

With him today, was Sith Knight, Darth Callidus, presumably well-protected by similar environmental suit. The Hand of the Dark Lord and the Zabrak Knight were on a hunt for a very specific precious item to bring back to the the reliquary of the Temple of Pain so that it could be studied for future use.

It was said that a very valuable Sith artifact was buried somewhere in the ruins of Groxus. The Sith Abattar, an amulet that allowed the wearer to communicate in any language, and could even attune its wearer to the mad chattering of ghosts. Such power came at a price. According to legend, the Dark Sided object also weakened the wearer if worn for long periods of time, eventually proving fatal if not removed. Despite its hazards, Sage coveted the legendary amulet and was determined to claim it. For the reliquary, naturally.

Of course, if the bauble were to somehow end up in Sage's own personal collection, well, then that would be the Dark Side's bidding would it not?

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[SIZE=9pt]Post: 4/20.
Objective A. Find exotic poisonous frogs.
Location: Swamps.
Allies: Boat, the Force.
Enemies: Swampwater, bugs, etc.

As her boat glided on, she heard another splash behind her, but this time she was not so convinced it was a fish snatching bugs. She sat up in her boat and looked around with keen eyes. Was something watching her? A feeling of paranoia rippled through her as she halted her boat and lifted the oar as a makeshift weapon. She did have better weapons on her, but she preferred to keep them concealed unless she had to. Ophidia did not speak, that would disrupt the swampy silence that surrounded her. She listened and she heard nothing but the buzz of insects and the dripping of water.

She paddled on softly before spotting a blue frog and, as with the last one, she reached down for another of the small transparent jars, opened it and held it in the direction of the frog before gripping it with the Force and putting it in the cup. Then she sealed it and put it next to the second. Still, she could not shake the feeling of being watched. She looked once more over her shoulder as she placed the jar in her satchel. Another splash, this time on the front of the boat. She could see the ripples in the water as her head snapped towards the direction of the splash.[/SIZE]

 

[Darth Atrox]

Objective B: Find something pretty
Location: Some pretty (ugly) ruins
Allies: [member="Sage Bane"] opcorn:
Enemies: [member="Sage Bane"] :flower:

The relatively unheard of Sith Knight, Darth Callidus, was the person to accompany Sage Bane on this little trip to Gratos; a despicable planet in the Zabrak's opinion, but now is not the time to discuss such things. Mala wore a thick hazard suit, sprayed black instead of the usual yellow. On it's back were two large air tanks, with pipes leading into the helmet of his suit, supplying him with oxygenated air. Darth Callidus had never truly been near to the Sith Lord a few paces before him, but he had obviously done his homework.

Sage Bane... Half Chiss half Human, abusive past, druggy, orphan... Sounds like a charmer. the Zabrak's eyes flashed at the torment he could drive him to if this expedition went sour... "That attack was nearly as poor as your mother..." "Let's spice it up a bit...'' Oh how fun this would be after all. However at the back of his mind a little person was warning him not to engage with this Sith Lord, for two reasons:

He's a fething Sith Lord
He's one of the fething best Sith Lords.

Still, he shared a somewhat similar build to Kulan, and the well-toned, battle hardened Zabrak felt his movement impedimented by this heavy suit, so perhaps Bane will too? No matter what happened Dogana will protect him. But his Varactyl was cozy as a Mando in a Condo.

He silently cursed her.

Now, Darth Callidus had matched the pace of Sage, using the Force to guide him. The lava bubbling beneath his feet certainly did not give him the comfort of his suit, and the itch he was beginning to develop on his nose was driving him mad. But his reward could be great, and he would be willing to lend it to Lord Ferus as he knew how much he loved blood and all that after the attack on the Anselmni Camps of Glee Anslem.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[SIZE=9pt]Post: 5/20.
Objective A. Find exotic poisonous frogs.
Location: Swamps.
Allies: Boat, the Force.
Enemies: Swampwater, bugs, etc.

Ripples in the water. So she was not too far off the rails. For a moment, she had wondered whether she had become so paranoid that she had begun to see things that were not there. She paddled slowly, keeping her senses attuned to scrutiny. She appeared to be simply going on with her gathering of poison frogs, but she was truly on high alert. Which, in turn made her miss a beautiful frog on her left. At the corner of her right eye, she saw movement. Something fell from the canopy above, into the water with a splash. Fruits of some sort, perhaps. It could be some creature that lived on the branches of the swampy trees. She did not know. Swamps hid many life forms, and she was no expert.

She saw a bright red frog and halted her boat. With quick hands, she got out a jar, caught the frog with a pull and put it into the jar before sealing it with a similar sticker to the other two. Just as she put the jar in the satchel, something hit the corner of her boat with a heavy thud and sent it toppling over in the water. Ophidia tried to correct the movement with her torso, but could not shift enough weight. The little boat capsized, and the Sith Lady was tossed into the water with all her equipment. She felt the water intruding on her, soaking her robes and weighing them down. She could not see through the dark, murky water. She could not breathe.[/SIZE]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Post 5/20
Objective: A ---> Find exotic poisons
Location: Swamp/Forest
Allies: 3 Sisterhood Troopers, 4 Nightshaders, Little Fella, & Science Team (4 Individuals)
Enemies: ??

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88AMycfkM-c[/youtube]​

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​

"Lady Venefica," one of the scientists said breaking her from self-imposed dreamworld as they walked. "My scanners are picking up some sort of energy basin to the Northeast of us."​

​

Darth Venefica turned her head toward the direction of the source of the energy basin. Odd, she could not feel anything through the Force. Whatever this energy basin was, it could hide itself from the Force. This slightly troubled her on one side but on the other side it fascinated her. Taking the small device from the scientist, she looked through the text reading the results for herself. Again she looked to the Northeast, and found curiosity was getting the best of her.​

​

"We'll go and investigate this source of energy."​

​

She instructed the remaining troopers to fan out on either side of her, putting no more than ten feet between them. To the scientific team members and Little Fella, she ordered them to walk behind her and troops at no less than twenty feet behind. Until they discovered what they were going to investigate, she wasn't leaving anything to chance. The scientists and Little Fella were more important to her than the lives of her troops. Without the former, she would not be able to discover or find new species of plants on her own. The latter, it was their job to put their lives on the line. Still, she despised throwing away lives needlessly but for the pursuit of science, she would do so now.​

 

[Sage Bane]

Objective: B, Investigate the Lost Lands
Location: The Ruins of Groxus
Allies: [member="Darth Callidus"]
Enemies: [member="Darth Callidus"] :devil:
2/20

Sage did not know much about the Knight who trudging a few paces behind him. The information he had was scant. The horned man's given name was Mala, and he was roughly the same age as Sage. He was also said to be highly skilled with the Juyo form. The fact that a Knight had volunteered to help him on this sojourn already had Sage's betrayal senses tingling. Two powerful, ambitious Sith on a hunt for the same rare object. What could possibly go wrong? The Sith Lord cut his eyes sideways to Mala, sizing him up. Handsome and athletic, the man looked like a formidable opponent. Would Callidus be arrogant enough to act out against a Hand of the Dark Lord?

"Do you feel that, Knight Callidus?" he asked. "A shimmering in the Dark Side. I think we may be close to the Abattar."

A pair of lone male graug skittered across the glassed land, oddly walking on all fours. One of them reared up its head, studying the two Sith with a wild gleam in its eye. The creatures were prone to insanity by nature, although Sage couldn't help but wonder if the toxicity of the Lost Lands themselves contributed to their mental instability. Either way, Sage's lightsaber snapped into his hand just in case the creatures came charging at them.

 

[Darth Atrox]

Objective B: Find something nice and 'Sithy'
Location: Radioactive Landfill
Allies: [member="Sage Bane"]
Enemies: [member="Sage Bane"]

Callidus gave a curt nod, attuning his mind to the Force, feeling the rift and disturbance about 30 paces to the East. Unfortunately, that's where the Graug were positioned. He unclipped his lightsaber as Bane did, finger itching to ignite it and drive it into the beast's hide.

"I do, Lord Bane. I think it is to the East, where those beats stand watch. Perhaps they guard it, a Sith of old has placed them there?" ​

​

Kulan queried this skeptically, using them as a reference to the Graug, as he had no clue what they were, except ugly. But that seemed to be the course the Force had taken with this planet. He shuddered, giving Bane a sideward glance, still eyeing up his ally.

'Ataru is his form of choice, let me think... Aggression form. Risky...' ​

​

The Zabraki pushed the thought out out of his mind for the moment. He raised a gloved hand to his forehead, pressing down on a small red button, making the small Force Energy receptors buzz and beep as details of the area over the mound. He was certain, as the Sith Lord beside him was, that was there they should head.​

 

[Isamu Baelor]

Objective: Objective B - Investigate the Lost Lands
Location: Blocked entrance to ruins.
Allies: A single squad of One Sith soldiers.
Enemies: None; at the moment.

“Terrifying…” Isamu Baelor stood in equal fear and awe of the molten sea of destruction laid bare before him. A great city had once stood tall on this land, alive with the bustling activity of its people. Now, all that remained was the charred corpse; a monument to the brutality of the war that engulfed the galaxy. After the bombing, the scarred land had released a deadly cloud of sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere. It billowed from the cracks, flowing over the land, covering as far as the eyes could see. The environmental suits worn by the soldiers protected them from this cloud of death.

As Isamu stood stunned at the scarred land before him, a young soldier approached the stalwart commander. “Sir, what are we doing here?” Joran asked. “Our instruments detected a faint signal emanating from these ruins.” Joran was taken aback. “Out here? What the feth could have survived the bombardment?” Isamu gave the youthful soldier a half-hearted shrug. “That’s exactly what the brass wants to know, and it’s our job to placate them.” Isamu answered.

While Isamu looked out at the ruins of the city, Rosh, the demolitions expert of the squad, was hard at work at prepping to displace the rubble that blocked their path. He was an experienced man, had done this many times before, and swiftly placed the charges in their necessary locations.“Sir, charges are placed and primed.” Rosh informed his commander. “Detonate when ready, soldier.” Isamu ordered. With his thumb, Rosh flipped open the detonator case, coming to rest it on the detonation button. “Hold on to something. Three… two… one…” the demolition expert counted down before activating the explosives.

The detonators exploded, violently carving a passage in the ruins, propelling fragments of the stone up into the air, and scattering them across the proximity. “Keep your guard up!” Isamu ordered. “We're descending into the depths of the unknown. Throughout all the death, throughout all the destruction, something has survived; and we're to seek it out.” The soldiers moved into formation, and marched into the deep dark abyss of the ruins.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[SIZE=9pt]Post: 6/20.
Objective A. Find exotic poisonous frogs. Not drown.
Location: Swamps.
Allies: Boat, the Force.
Enemies: Swampwater.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Dark, wet, suffocating. She felt the water intrude upon her person and pull her down into its deathly cold embrace. For a split second, she felt a certain calmness, a meek compliance to the will of the swamp. However, the fire in her rebelled. Adrenaline pumped through her veins and jarred her mind out of its compliant state. She flailed her arms and turned back and forth to get her bearings. One of her hands lashed out and scraped the bark of a tree. The other caught something long, flat, made of fabric. Her satchel! She caught it before the lids of the jars were compromised. Luckily, she had chosen to collect the poison of amphibious creatures. They would survive the brief meeting with water if she could reach the surface. She kicked with her feet and waved her arms, but the silk she wore was simply too heavy. Hanging the satchel over her shoulder, Ophidia grabbed the roots to her left and begun climbing. Her body was screaming for breath as she clambered up. How deep had she sunk? Plants clawed at her, wanting to force her back down into the water. She was determined to live this day.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]A little more, just a little more! Come on you meek, little nerfherder![/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Then her head broke the surface. She opened her mouth to gasp for air, while her hands clambered higher to gain her new grip. She climbed desperately to get out of the water. Dripping, heavy, shivering, she climbed onto the roots of the tree and held on to the trunk while looking around her with eyes alight as burning coals. The desperation of her situation had triggered the Dark Side in her, and her soul was burning with a quiet fury. She looked up the tree and loosened her sash from her robes. Doubling it over and tying a knot, she fastened herself to the trunk of the tree and started climbing. She needed to get to somewhere she could sit and collect herself.[/SIZE]

Her boat had not tipped over completely, that much was lucky. Yet she did not trust it at the moment. Leaning over, she extended her hand and attracted the wire at the front of the boat. This wire, she coiled around a solid-looking root and fastened on itself. Securing the craft. She looked over her gear, the datapad lay in the bottom of the boat. Her lightsabre was on her. She had left her other weapons on the ship. She had a knife strapped to her thigh, as always. If she had worn her armour, then she would have been a goner. She had lost her rations, some equipment, her oar, a tent that could be strapped to the trunks of trees. Her light. She was not sure the datapad still worked, it could potentially have been broken.

Her eyes shifted from the count of her gear to the trunk of the tree, and then Darth Ophidia started to climb.

 

[Darth Timoris]

[Post=[/FONT]7+2=9]​

Objective: Objective B – Investigate the Lost Lands
Location: Inside the facilities
Allies: 1 squad of Sitherhood troopers
Enemies: Some annoying plant of all things…
Theme: More monsters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7_xzAWLv-g

The alarm sounded one second after the Force had told her something was wrong. She didn't have to see the the change in lighting to realise something was wrong. Not that she could see anyway.

"Ambush!" shouted one of the Sitherhood troopers into her comlink. "Evacuate immediately!”

Easier said than done, Melori thought and she concentrated on the Force. She’d tried to use Force Sight before — and with mixed success. Now she needed it more than ever.

Behind her, she heard the quick footfalls of her troopers. Just ahead, she saw a small light, flashing more quickly with each second. Backing out rapidly, she hopped out of the corridor and shouted at the squad of troopers. "Everyone down!"

The blast threw them farther back. They fell to the hard ground as the main force of the explosion, guided by the corridor, mostly dispersed over them. She waited a few seconds — to gather her breath, she told herself. From somewhere far away, through the ringing in her ears, a voice sounded. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she said slowly, picking herself up and making a futile attempt to dislodge the red dust that seemed to cling to everything. “Any casualt-oh."

Through the settling dust, she made out a trooper laying flat on the floor beneath a piece of the corridor that had been released by the explosion. Its wedge shape with marks of machine tooling on its surface showed that it had been deliberately weakened. A backup in case the explosion failed, she thought. I've got to be more careful.

"Just take it easy," she said, kneeling by the trooper. "We're going to get you out of here." She reached out to the Force and tried to raise the piece of durasteel so she could be moved. It shuddered slightly, but that was all. She motioned to the rest of the squad, who came and tried to lift the boulder.

The trooper bit off a moan then coughed harshly. A thin spray of red leaked through the joints of her cracked helmet. "Stand away," Melori said, reaching for her lightsaber. Depressing the activation button, an eerie crimson light glowed in the still dusty corridor. The hiss of her lightsaber could not drown out the laboured breathing of the trooper. She started at the top of the piece of durasteel, cutting off portions slowly, then more quickly. The troopers heaved the severed chunks to the side, until only about half of the obstruction remained. "Now," she said, joining the remaining troopers as they came forward, "Go."

With both muscle and Melori’s use of the Force, they managed to lift the metal off the trapped trooper. Melori quickly whipped off the trooper's helmet. "Get that med kit over here—" she began. "It's too late," said one of the other troopers, the breastplate of the trapped trooper’s armour had a large depression in it, and her face was still.

 

[Sage Bane]

Objective: B, Fight some insane Graug
Location: The Ruins of Groxus
Allies: [member="Darth Callidus"]
Enemies: [member="Darth Callidus"]
3/20

Sage sniffed the air like a fox. He was confident that what he felt was the Abattar. "Mm, yes. The last time the Abattar was seen was on Dathomir during the New Republic era, on a Jedi training vessel of all things. Rumor has it it's been moved around quite a bit since then. I feel it in my bones. I believe this is the relic that I...erm, we are looking for."

Suddenly, a snort rang out. The two Graug were huffing like beasts, still on all fours, ready to charge. Sage ignited his saber with a loud snap-hiss, and taunted the beasts.

"Come on, you dogs! Come get put out of your misery!"

The Graug quickly closed the distance. The one in front, launched himself at Sith Lord. Jaws hinged open, overflowing with white froth. Sage swung his lightsaber quicky and powerfully across the body of the creature, and using the strength of the Force in his blow to cut through his thick skin, bisected it in two. The other Graug shot like a rocket towards Sage's ally. Despite the Graug's predatory quickness, Bane felt confident that Mala had the skills to dispose of the other in a similar manner.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[SIZE=9pt]Post: 7/20.
Objective A. Find exotic poisonous frogs. Avoid hypothermia.
Location: Swamps -> A tree.
Allies: Boat, the Force, instincts of survival.
Enemies: Cold, wet clothes.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Her boots dug into the crisp bark of the tree, finding fissures to secure her footing. Her strong fingers gripped the silk sash she had bound around the tree and her torso for support. Darth Ophidia threw the sash up the tree of the trunk and moved her feet higher, aligning herself once more with the sash while leaning back to keep the friction present. Another toss, another step. The silk dripped water as the woven threads of the fabric tightened on themselves. The seams strained dangerously, but held thanks to the supreme quality of the stitching. Another step. The water grew further and further away as she climbed up the trunk of the tree, and the drop became increasingly more dangerous should she fall. She did not look down, but stared up at the dark canopy as the details became ever clearer with each step. Closer and closer, she rose to where the branches reached out and intertwined with other trees, all fighting for the precious sunlight. The twigs appeared as knives and swords, fencing each other for the right to climb. It was the Dark Side in action; it was fighting to live before other living things. It was strife and it was beauty.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]When she could no longer climb with the sash, Darth Ophidia hooked her arm around a branch and secured her hand by gripping her own robe. She dangled over a fierce height as she loosened the knot of the sash and then coiled it around her arm to use later. With a grunt, she pulled herself up on the thick branch and closed her eyes. She could feel the bark, rough against her skin, and hear a breeze ruffling the crown of the tree. Even up there, it was darkness. She shivered, remembering the intruding wetness of her clothes. She had to separate them from her skin, or else she would freeze to death in the middle of a jungle. Was that some sort of irony? She had never truly understood the concept of irony, but assumed so.[/SIZE]

 

[Darth Atrox]

Objective B, but currently takin' names.
Location: The Ruins of Groxus
Allies: [member="Sage Bane"]
Enemies: [member="Sage Bane"], The Graug

Mala gave a sharp nod, eyes still fixed on the Graugs, their aggression seemed to be heightening. Now the Sith could truly get a good look at them as they approached rather slowly, large, about the size of a Reek, muscular and quite frankly terrifying. What uses could the One Sith have for more of these beasts... Mala thought to himself, cocking a head as his attention was turned to Bane.

"What do you mea-"

The Zabraki Sith stopped his rather poisonous words as he heard a snort boom out from over the small mound. Beside him his accomplice swiftly dispatched of his attacker, and he looked on at him as if he expected him to do the same. Using the wrath filled aggression emanating off of the Graug currently charged toward him, he pushed out with all his might, using the Force. In an instant, the predator was laid on his back, the wind knocked out of it's large lungs. With the same snap hiss as Bane, Mala leapt forward, landing with his lightsaber firmly in the softer chest of the Graug, not daring to extract his blade until it's roaring had subsided, and the muscle twitches in it's body had ceased.

"We should quicken our pace."

Mala advised the Sith Lord, scanning the horizon for more of the creatures. The Dark Side emanating from their chosen route was incredibly powerful still, nobody had beaten them to it. Yet.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[SIZE=9pt]Post: 8/20.
Objective A. Find exotic poisonous frogs. Avoid hypothermia.
Location: Swamps -> A tree.
Allies: Boat, the Force, instincts of survival.
Enemies: Cold, wet clothes.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Ophidia made herself more comfortable on the branch and started slipping out of the clothes, then hanging them over a branch above her. She spread the fabric out so that it would catch light and breeze, and dry faster. She hung her satchel over another branch, so that it remained within her field of vision. She wrapped her arms around her body tightly and looked at the individual bits of clothing while she sat shivering on the root of the branch. Her eyes glared out from her bald, grey head like burning embers amidst some very shapely ash. She closed her eyes a little, letting the black-painted eyelids consume the embers of her eyes. The Sith Knight reached deep inside her for strength, for a fire to warm her. She had read stories about this skill, but never truly practiced it herself, nor looked up training in it. Now fate had given her a chance to take first-hand practice in the skill of Tapas.

Relaxing her body, she straightened up and assumed a better sitting position. This allowed the cold to intrude on her further, but it also gave her a better balance and a clearer presence. She felt the cold around her, the way it gnawed on her skin and threatened to seep into her bones. She did not allow it to enter; she would not give it leeway. Darth Ophidia was master of her own body, and she would allow no cold to intrude. Her body became a battle.[/SIZE]