Within The Dark

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

”It’s fine.” Val said simply, attempting not to bite his own tongue off.

The pain was quite...well overwhelming. He felt sick to his stomach, and a part of him wondered if he’d ever felt worse before. He tried to remember back to that Nexu that had injured him, tried to remember back to the blasters he’d been shot with and the thermal detonator that had nearly taken a chunk out of him, but he found that oddly enough pain seemed to distance itself from the memory.

He frowned slightly.

”Keep going.” The command came as his fingers slowly curled into a fist. If they could get on with this it would be perfectly fine, the larger pieces would be removed and Val could actually function again.

The smaller pieces would have to be taken out eventually, but hopefully that could be done in an actual operation theater with bright lights and trained surgeons rather than a mysterious treasure hunter in a dark cave with just a simple scalpel. Val gripped one of the rocks nearby, half crushing it as he tried to push away some of the pain.

”Just cut.” He told her. ”Get it over with.”

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Ryssa wasn't sure how much of Val's assurance at face value. It didn't seem as if it was alright. He was already very pale, and you could see the clamminess of his skin, beads of sweat already forming.

"I have another stim that I could give you.." she offered. The Clawdite was no doctor but if his metabolism was that fast, it likely meant that he would be going through the stims very quickly. Maybe he could take another one?

Then again, who knows what a lethal dose would be? Not to mention if anything were to go wrong with an overdose, Ryssa had no clue whatsoever on how to help him if he reacted even worse to it.

Biting her lower lip, she set the saline down and brought back the scalpel.

"If you want to..."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

”Dear lord, just get on with it!” He snapped.

The pain was already quite a bit, but all this fidgeting about and waiting was making it a whole hell of a lot worse. He knew that the biggest issue were the largest pieces of shrapnel, the ones that were still digging deep into his flesh and cutting against muscle and stabbing against bone. Once those were removed the little pieces would still cause pain, but at least he would be able to move again.

”Cut.” He ordered her. ”Take out the largest pieces, what you can. Leave the smaller ones.”

There was no other way to do this.

He had to be able to move, and with the pool of...whatever the water was he would be able to quickly recover if she nicked any major blood vessels. It wouldn’t be pretty, and he’d likely have a few scars, but that could be dealt with down the row. The longer this went on, the longer she waited, the more pain he would ultimately be in.

A man could only take so much.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

That made Ryssa jerk in surprise, and if she were honest, a little bit of fright.

Her lips drew into a thin dark blue line, fingers wrapping tightly over the scalpel. Alright, fine. If he wants to play Brave heart and bear through the pain on his own, fine by me.

What did it matter to her if he was stubborn? She already gave him plenty of chances to take another stim or say if it hurt. Trying her best to think clinically as if this were any other excavation, Ryssa brought the scalpel to his back to make the first cut. It was just up along his shoulder, next to the bone. The largest piece that had imbedded itself. Very carefully, she brought down the tip of the scalpel. Keloid scar tissue sliced open, bringing with it a fresh trickle of blood and likely some amount of pain to Val.

Cautiously, unsure if he'd jerk, Ryssa took the pliers onto the metal and got to work.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val stayed remarkably still. Whether it was the stim or his own willpower was really a crapshoot. Part of him wanted to put on a brave face, but that piece of him was so small and silent that he couldn't help but let out a whimpering cry as she pulled the first of the shrapnel from his back.

The pain was nearly unbearable.

He wanted to immediately scream and tear himself away from Ryssa, get away from the pain as fast as he could, but somehow he managed to override his instinct. He kept himself in place, frozen save for the fingers that gripped a nearby rockface. There was a slight crunch as he forced the pain to funnel into the stone, a crack of rock as it slowly began to shatter beneath his grip. "Keep going."

Val breathed.

He had no idea how long it took, no idea how long he suffered.

By the end a small pool of blood had formed beneath him, his eyes were blood red, and his fingers had crushed the stone to near dust. He looked as though he were about to pass out, a small pile of large metal chunks sitting beside Ryssa.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

It was hard to keep going for that exact reason. Ryssa was no empath by any means, but it wasn't hard to determine that even slicing into his skin was causing him terrible pain. That didn't even take into account the slight wiggle and shift she had to do in order to get into the probing of removing the wedged in bits.

"Sorry." the apology was quiet but heartfelt. A bit of nausea also rose over here. It was a lot of blood. Just saturating down to his pants and on the ground.

By the time she was done, the bulk of the metal had been taken out. However, there were about half dozen slivers of metal that had already had skin keloid over them. These were the portions that Ryssa did not trust herself with.

Face pale, Ryssa took the remaining bit of saline from the bottle and rinsed out his wounds.

"Okay..." her voice was hoarse, "Done."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

There was still an undeniable amount of pain coming from his back, the cuts and scraped, the spaces that had been dug by the shrapnel were all still there. He shifted slightly, taking a breath and attempting to get even a little bit of control of himself. A shake ran through him and slowly his gaze panned towards the pool of water.

It was really the only step left.

His fingers reached out towards the pond, and then slowly he pressed himself up. The hot spring was already so close, and the pool was wide enough that there wouldn't be an issue...and so without giving Ryssa even a moment to object, Val launched himself forward. Where he found the energy was impossible to say, perhaps it had simply been sitting there, or perhaps the pain he felt propelled him forward far enough that it didn't really matter.

Either way, within half a heartbeat Val dove into the pool, or rather...slid.

As soon as he touched the water, as soon as he submersed himself he felt an instant surge of...not warmth, but something.

This time the water didn't just heal a small wound, no, it wound and dug into his back, slowly sifting through muscle and touch nerve. It didn't work instantly of course, not even bacta could do that, but he felt it, slowly creeping within him, spurring the health of his muscles and skin.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Ryssa bit her lower lip. She saw him sink under the sulfuric water, the liquid washing away the remaining dried blood and any lingering grit. By now the small bun that held his hair back was wet, and slivers of dark brown hair had slipped from its grasp to stick to his temples and cheeks.

He was clearly in pain but made no mention of it. Ryssa didn't know if it was because he was trying to bear it or simply because he didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Likely both. For the Clawdite, she was no stranger to pain. Every shift from the Changeling was agonizing. Likely there was no true way of being able to deal with the pain regardless of how much time would pass.

It was strange watching the water work on his back. Ryssa caught herself staring. The flesh was already mending itself. How much was the water and how much was his natural healing? Did it hurt?

"How are you?" the question cut through the small splashes Val made as he rinsed himself.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

He let out a loud, shaking sigh.

The pain was still there, the water eased it, but it was still there. He could still feel some of the pieces as well, the ones that had either been too deep or too small for her to dig out. They ached and shifted, but strangely enough didn’t hurt. Calluses of thicker skin formed around them, perhaps his own body protecting itself or something of the like. They would be an issue, but one that could be saved for later.

His back continued to heal, the water mending his wound slowly but surely. The process resembled that of Bacta being directly applied, albeit a bit more quickly. He frowned slightly as she asked him a question, the odd sensation creeping up his spine being enough that speaking was rather difficult for him. He shifted within the water and turned towards her, allowing himself to recover a bit more.

”Better.” Val answered quietly.

It was an honest answer as well. The pain in his back was no longer so bad that he couldn’t move. Even with the wound not fully closed he could already feel himself getting a bit stronger. The small pieces would have to be dealt with, but for now at least he seemed to be recovering.

Another breath.

”I’ll need a bit.” He said. ”I don’t think this is going to be instant.”

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

He might have said better, but he still had that ragged expression of restrained agony over his features.

"Yeah," she added softly, cleaning up after the mess. She tried not to focus on the pool of blood along that rock he had sat upon or on the floor.

"Guess we now know why Moridin came here." conversation seemed to keep things busy. Well, the mind at least. Not only just for her sake but for his.

"Their healing waters. He likely thought it was something that had to do more with the Force." a small snap shut of the med-kit and Ryssa was done. Carefully, she slid it back into the folds of her backpack.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

”It’s probably Kolto.” Val said quietly, still gritting his teeth slightly as the odd feeling spread across his back. The pain wasn’t there so much anymore, the water providing a soothing touch, but it was still rather odd. Goosebumps raised across his skin over and over again in an odd repetitive dance. ”Or something like it.”


Bacta had to be produced, Kolto was natural.


”There are millions upon millions of planets in the galaxy, there have to be more than just two magical healing substances.” He shrugged, a rather painful act that made him wince somewhat.


He had no idea what was in this water, but it was logical to him that it was related, or in some way the same as Kolto and Bacta. Nature had an odd way of producing things that could either help or hurt organics. There were thousands upon trillions of poisonous substances, and there were also an equal number of healing substances.


They had just stumbled upon one of the more effective ones.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]


Asmus fell against her body, damp, overheated, gasping. His head went loose on his neck as if he couldn’t hold it up any longer, muscles twitching all over. Her own chest was heaving, the weight of him bearing her down into the scratchy softness of the tiny bed.

"Yeah, but even Kolto has an origin." much like the fixarran sharks that were at the source of the Kolto. Same with bacta.

"I'm not sure what this would be." she added, plopping down on a drier patch of mineral rock to sit down upon. Frowning, Ryssa went digging through her bag. A moment later she brought out the gauntlet.

"There isn't a sea anywhere near for several kilometers." a frown tugged at her brow.

"Just what was he using this for?" the question was spoke aloud, mulling as she turned the gauntlet back and forth in her hands.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

"Kolto's origin is an underground cavern." He pointed out. "Just because it comes from the sea on Manaan doesn't mean it has to come from one here."

It was a good point, though in truth didn't really answer the question at all. Clearly these springs were all connected somehow, and that meant there was likely a single source for wherever this water came from. Where that was Val couldn't really say, he was neither a scientist nor a geologist, and that meant he was at a loss. A shrug rolled over his shoulder once again, this time however there was no pain in doing so, a sign that he was slowly recovering.

"I don't know." He admitted.

"But we know he wasn't content with it." Val pointed out. "Otherwise he wouldn't have made the Gauntlet."

These waters hadn't been enough for Moridin, though why that was Val had no idea. He knew very little of the man besides that he had caused an untold amount of horror within the galaxy. Besides that there was precious little information.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Those types seldom are ever content with anything." maybe a little bit of prejudice? Perhaps. Ryssa was no Force user, and she didn't quite understand it's complexity or how it worked. What she did know was that powerful artifacts and works of art could be attributed to such Force Users. Some good. Some bad. Some just crazy out there.

All apparently were enough to kill for.

A sigh and she shook her head. With a nod mainly to herself, she tucked the gauntlet back into the bag. After that, she secured it shut.

"Well, I'm sure i'll find out more about it later." yellow eyes came up to rest upon the man.

"How's your back?"

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

He doubted that.

There were some mysteries that were simply beyond ordinary men and women. It was a fact that val had learned ages ago. Some things in the galaxy just couldn't be explained. No matter how much you searched, no matter how much you looked, sometimes...sometimes there just wasn't an answer for you. He knew that, understood it, and he assumed that Moridin was one of those things. The now deceased Emperor was a trouble that had long passed, his plots and schemes long forgotten.

"Better." He said truthfully.

"I think an hour or so." That sounded about right. "And I'll be able to travel."

Probably right too. The wounds were quickly closing, and the bleeding had stopped completely. When he twisted in a certain way he could feel the odd callous formations that had been created in his back to hold the metal shrapnel in place. It would have to be dealt with eventually, but at least for now he wouldn't be falling onto the ground screaming if something happened. He frowned slightly as he reached back and ran his fingers over the closing wounds.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Well lemme see." Ryssa offered. "I'm no medic, but at least I have a good eye of things."

Setting her satchel to the side, the woman rose to her feet. She didn't remove her visor, just kept it at the crown of her head like a headband. She'll have to go take it in to get looked over and fixed. That cracked sensor wasn't going to do her any favors like that.

"Early morning as it is, we should be fine to move out and back to the village." she began to explain, taking a few steps over to him until she reached the edge of the hot spring rocks.

"I'll take a look first to scout around for any of the Cultists." a hand fluttered down to rest upon her hip. She was dirty, blood splattered, and had the look of some street rat with her own injuries.

"With luck, we won't have to deal with them."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

He shrugged, this time he didn't even feel a thing. "Wouldn't be an issue."

There was confidence in his tone, as though the cultists weren't even something to consider on the fringes of his mind.

A part of him actually wanted to fight them, the primal side. They had injured him after all, quite a bit, and a piece of him wanted to take vengeance for that. It would have been sweet, but probably dangerous. Then again, what was life if it didn't have a little bit of danger. Slowly he submersed himself a bit more in the water, considering for a moment whether or not the idea of vengeance was...well a good one. A frown settled on his lips.

"They'll keep going after the gauntlet." He pointed out quietly. "Perhaps."

His eyes darted to hers. "It would be better if I killed them all."

A darker side of him was brought forth, an odd, almost bestial look entering his gaze. These people had hurt him, they had tried to kill them both, and over the years they had probably murdered thousands. Would it be wrong to go after them?

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Yeah, like THAT was the best plan ever. The flat expression Val received from Ryssa then did wonders to convey her exact thoughts about it.

"Right. Like that is the most viable and productive option." Yup, here it came, the crossing of her arms under the fullness of her breasts.

"For one, you don't even know how many area actually in the Cult." there came the cock of her hip to the right, her weight rocking to settle on one leg. Yup, classic female body language to state that she considered that idea to be silly.

Okay, moronic.

"Best thing to do would be to get you medical attention and for me to figure out what's up with this gauntlet." there were people she could go to. Specialists in their fields. Maybe even get a few hints on what this thing actually did.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

"I'm sure I can get one of them to tell me." He said as though it were that simple. They hadn't been so successful on that part yet, interrogating these men hadn't quite gone according to plan so far, but he imagined eventually one of them would open their mouths before biting down on water poison they had been swallowing. It was the sinister side of him that wanted vengeance, and his wounds were healing fast enough that he was confident he could achieve it.

"They're not limitless." Val pointed out. "I doubt they're all that big anymore after all these years, otherwise they would have brought more to the tomb."

It made sense.

It was the same logic that brought Val to the conclusion that the Cult didn't outright own the mining company here, or the village. There would have been...well simply put more. More cultists, more soldiers, more standing in Val and Ryssa's way. The cult had a few more people than they did, but he hardly found these odd insurmountable. "The fact is that as long as we have that gauntlet, they're coming after us. I say we go to them first."

The best defense was a good offense.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]


"No one is limitless." a slight incline of her torso brought Ryssa some emphasis with her next words. " Neither are you."

Her fingers gave a drum along the curve of her hip. She shook her head, the sway of her dark blue hair caressing her shoulders.

"No. There is no reason for me or you to linger here." there really wasn't. It wasn't their fight. They had nothing to do with the cultists. Get in and get out. That was the contract she signed up for.

Not to linger long wondering what a hermit cult did after getting manipulated by a long dead Sith Lord.