Within The Dark

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

"Until he left." Val didn't really need the wall to tell him that was what happened. Sith only stuck around as long as their own goals were furthered. It was clear from the current state of this world that Moridin had eventually abandoned it, not the least because these ruins hadn't been touched in at least several hundred years. The Emperor had last been active around five decades ago, when he had seized control of the Sith Empire and assaulted the Mandalorians.

"They must have dispersed." The Warrior said as he looked back towards the mural. "Scattered and tried to follow him."

That made sense in a way. When your god abandoned you, why not search for him? Moridin had been a physical manifestation of power, one that actively moved through the galaxy. It would make sense for the cultists to try and find where he was, to seek direction, and as they searched they spread through the galaxy, eventually becoming...well whomever was currently trying very hard to kill him and Ryssa. It was a logical but from the depiction of what Moridin was holding in the last edge of the Mural?

It wasn't that far of a leap.

"So it's a glove, or a gauntlet." Val said, pointing out the obvious as he looked over Ryssa's head.

Moridin held a small gauntlet, or at least something that covered the hand. It was depicted almost reverently, light rays erupting from it as though it were some kind of a sacred object.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Oh bloody stars!" Ryssa gave a sudden exclamation, jumping in place as she snapped her fingers. Fingers she immediately pointed over to Val in emphasis.

"The Cult of the Ominous Fist!" it just suddenly clicked. Slamming her visor back so she could see him with her own eyes, the Clawdite was practically buzzing with energy and excitement.

"THAT's why they called themselves that! That's why they are here!" she slapped her palm on her forehead as if this eureka moment had taken her far to long to register it.

"No WONDER!" she began to give a half laugh, dropping her hands to her side as her attention panned back to the carving of the shrouded figure and the gauntlet.

"They are here for what they consider to be theirs." she gestured to the image.

"The gauntlet."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val had already figured that out the moment he'd seen the gauntlet, but he quickly decided that he would allow Ryssa to have her moment of glory, if only because he needed to keep her in good humor or else he'd have a very grumpy treasure hunting mate.

"But what does it do?" He asked quietly. "Does the mural say?"

That was really the most important bit. Did it kill? Did it heal? Did it throw you into another dimension? These were really the important questions that one had to answer in this situation. If the gauntlet did something specific, then there was a specific reason that the cult had formed and why they wanted it. He doubted it was just for 'historical significance', sure people would die for something that they believed in, but usually it had to be a little bit more than 'it's important'.

"Do you have a guess?" She was the expert after all.

It was why he had brought her along.

Thats how he remembered it anyway.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

That was the tough part. Figuring out what exactly it did. The woman gave a roll of her shoulders, drawing them up and then down as said, "I... well it isn't like they make this crystal clear for us to figure out." nothing was ever easy when it came to powerful artifacts and ancient history.

"Language is hard to translate -- you need context." not to mention this now dealt with Darth Moridin, one of the most powerful Dark Force users in her lifetime. "Odds were that Moridin came here looking for something. He wasn't one just to be benevolent for kicks."

No everything had a price and a purpose.

Turning she brought a hand up, moving back towards the start of the murel.

"However.. if i had a guess?" she clicked her tongue, clearly a tick she had while she was in deep concentration. "It had to do with attempting to heal the plague." that made sense.

"Something that could potentially heal." her upper lip curled in distaste. "Likely for a higher price than most ever really considered would have to be paid."

"It did mention a pound of flesh for life. An exchange perhaps of some sort?"

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

"It didn't heal the plague." Val sounded so sure of that.

The plague had no cure, he knew that from a hundred years of listening to legends. If Moridin had somehow been able to heal the Gulag Plague he wouldn't have just become Sith Emperor, he would have taken over the entire galaxy. People had been so scared, so desperate for any sign of hope that a cure would have...well it would have turned the entire galaxy on its head.

Even if there had been a price, people would have been more than willing to pay to get rid of The Gulag Plague.

Val was certain of that.

"It was for him, not them." Val walked over to Ryssa and gently placed a hand on the small of her back, a press would tell her that it was time to move on from this mural, time to head towards the inner reaches of the Temple. If they lingered here for too long the Cultists would eventually catch up with them, and although Val enjoyed learning the histories...he didn't really want to do fight cloaked enemies in a grand and open hallway like this, too dangerous. "Lets find the gauntlet before they do."

His fingers tensed against her back for a moment, as if he couldn't quite hold back the determination he now felt.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Yeah, thus the attempting part." it had all been a ruse. A part of the whole for whatever Moridin was here to get. "He wanted it for himself. But for what? He knew already that he couldn't heal the Plague."

The dark slash of Ryssa's brows furrowed forward, pinching between her eyes. Lips twisted as she bit them. "He wanted an object of power that could heal."

"Maybe he came here looking to create an object that would heal him instead." Actually, it hadn't been the first time a Sith had attempted to create an artifact that could potentially extend life. Or even --

" -- extend it." she spoke her thoughts aloud. Her right foot began to tap, the petite young woman starting to connect the nav points.

"Something that would heal him. A sacrifice of flesh for healing. Not exactly of the plague but healing in general!" she was bouncing again, which wasn't too much of a bad sight considering what else swayed along with the movement.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

A tad bit of annoyance crossed his face as she ignored the palm on her lower back, though as she began to bounce he couldn't help but feel his perturbed state completely fall away. Her...assets jiggled as she made her little leppy hop of excitement, her face breaking into a broad grin. He was about to say something, when down the hall he heard a noise.

Immediately his head twisted.

Had Val not looked in that exact moment he likely would have missed it, but an odd reflection caught within the tunnel once again. His eyes squinted, and then he saw the flutter of a cloak. Immediately he scowled, his eyes returning to the still bouncing Ryssa who was still so caught up in her own discovery that she didn't even notice the giant hand on her back. He scowled, and then decided that the best way to get her attention was...well...

His hand drew back, and with speed reminiscent of a Kashyyyk tree viper, Val gave Ryssa a hard smack on the still jiggling rump.

He knew that she would turn, and as soon as she did he would see his hand point down the hall. "Run!"

His command echoed in the chamber.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

SMACK!

Oh did that ever did sting! Her right cheek was smarting from the sharp slap, making her jerk and jump as she gave a slight shriek of shock. Both of her eyes went wide and her mouth flew open to start yelling at Val --

Only to realize exactly what he meant when he shouted out RUN!

Priorities realized, Ryssa took one left foot back then the other, before turning around and doing exactly that.

"GO GO GO!" she yelled out, there were still two other entrances. Time to pick one. " Left!" she wasn't sure if that was the best thing to do but they had to get moving. Trouble is that there were traps here. Traps that many in the past had come to realize were there to ensure no one ever got out.

Down the corridor Val would see a chamber with many holes along the sides. Holes that would match parallel from one wall to the one directly front of it.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val stopped himself from moving as fast as he could. If he sprinted he would outpace Ryssa by a mile and a half, good for him, very bad for her. The Cultists were right on their tale, and if the two of them became separated then they would hardly stand a chance. As it was they were already outnumbered, they could hardly afford to be split up. So he slowed himself down, keeping pace with her, even trailing her by a few steps as she lead the way through the temple.

She called out to the left, and quickly he bucked in that direction. His eyes tried to follow the path they were heading in, the light from Ryssa's helmet bobbing and weaving as she peered ahead of them. Frequently Val swiveled, trying to catch a glimpse of the odd color-changing cloaks every now and again. His eyes narrowed, spotting the odd cut holes to the left and right of the hall.

He frowned slightly, what the he-

Before he could even ask or say anything Ryssa moved. She rushed ahead of Val, but didn't continue running. Instead she fell to her knees, sliding across the floor and ducking beneath the odd holes contained within the wall. The massive Warrior came to a sudden stop, somewhat bewildered as he watched Ryssa skid across the floor and come up in a tight roll beyond the obstacle. She immediately stood in a single fluid motion chest bouncing as she hopped to her feet and waved for Val to follow. The Warrior stared for a moment in disbelief. "Are you fucking ki-"

Blaster shots rang out behind him.

Red seared by his head, and with another curse Val simply jumped forward.

Almost immediately solid metal bolts flew from the holes, three striking directly into Val's armor as he flew through the cross fire. He made a loud grunt as one of the bolts buried itself in his rib-cage, but landed on his feet with a solid thud.

"Go!" He insisted as Ryssa reached for him, his hand pressing on her so that she would continue to run. "I'll take care of it later."

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Wide eyes barely caught the sight of Val giving a sudden jerk. Oh damnit! I should have warned him earlier! Guilt rose along with the adrenaline rush, but there simply was no time. They had to get away fast. Mouth fell open only to fall shut. Right.

"There are too many traps, we can probablly have them fall behind if they get caught on them." much like the one that had jabbed Val in the ribs.

Scrambling, Ryssa swiveled her eyes from left to right. "Come on, come on..." slamming down the visor, she uploaded again the map of the mine. They were too deep for where the map could be of any use but --

"There should be a mine shaft near by. It could get us to the surface." but that would also leave them sans treasure for their troubles.

The sound of trickling water caught her attention. Where there was water..."Here!" she took his hand, dragging him along to follow her.

"Do what I do and don't ask questions."

Coming down to the end of the corridor there were more cob webs. This time a bit more fresh. "Keep an eye out... I wouldn't be surprised if one pops out to make a proper greeting."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

"We need the gauntlet." Val said as he followed after her, a wince tore through him with the first step. The bolt had lodged itself between the fourth and fifth rib on his left side, metal digging between bone and into muscle. Luckily his armor had stopped the other two, and he could feel that the bolt hadn't actually pierced any internal organs, mostly because he knew that would hurt a hell of a lot more. He walked after Ryssa, eyes set ahead as he ducked beneath one of the larger webs.

A jerk saw one of the bolts pulled free from his armor.

"We can't let them have it." He stated flatly as he pulled the other bolt free, leaving the third in place. If he pulled the last free he would begin to bleed, and right now they had neither the time, nor the equipment needed to seal the wound. Better to leave the bolt in place and simply deal with the pain than bleed out in the middle of his cave. He threw the two bolts to the floor, leaving them behind as he looked up towards where Ryssa was heading. "Stop."

He told her, simply ceasing to move. "We need that gauntlet."

She could tug all she wanted, but Val stood like a statue.

Val didn't particularly consider himself special in anyway. He wasn't a Jedi, and he certainly wasn't a hero, but as a child he had aspired to be. He had wanted to be the brave Knight that saved the Princess, he had wanted to do good. This gauntlet, whatever it was, whatever it did, there was no way the cult would use it for any sort of could. Val couldn't leave it behind, he couldn't let the Cultists get it. There was no doubt in his mind about that.

"I'm not leaving without it." Val stated flatly, head turning as he heard an odd sort of skittering to his left.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Gorram it. Are you crazy?" Ryssa gaped at the towering form of the Viking. Was he serious? Was he really being this stubborn right now??

"We have no clue where it may be and these mines are riddled with shafts!" she told him, gesturing behind them, around them, literally her arms motioned at everything. "Not to mention traps."

"Even figuring out where to start wouldn't give us much of a clue." other than perhaps, well, maybe the women were the key. There were plenty of buxom women carved along a path.

Her eyes fell down to his ribcage, where blood was already saturating his armor. "And you need medical attention!'

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

It was only a little blood, the bolt itself would keep him from bleeding out any time soon. "It's fine."

"It'll be a shrine." Val said simply. This was after all their most important artifact. There might have been many tunnels down here, but in theory they would all lead to the same place. This wasn't some sort of tomb, she had said that herself, it was a Temple. That was why the Mural had been there, that was why the statues decorated every inch and corner, this wasn't meant to be a forgotten sanctum of what once was, it was a place of worship.

To be returned to and occupied when everything was right.

"We just need to follow the path." He pointed towards one of the statues. "Think like they did. The mines weren't important then, so we can ignore them. We follow the tunnels with the statues, eventually we'll find the altar and logic states the Gauntlet will be there. These people built this place to worship."

Didn't matter if that worship was naught but orgies and other depraved activities, it was still worship. "We think like they did when they came here."

That shouldn't be too hard, they just had to think like a bunch of horny cultists that came here to kark their god. Easy.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Ryssa bit her lower lip. He made sense, but -- flicking her gaze to his ribcage, she wasn't sure.

"Fifteen minutes." it was a deadline. "Fifteen minutes of searching and if we can't find it here then it likely wasn't here to begin with." it was a compromise.

"Look, I'm losing fifteen thousand credits anyways if I lose this contract and even then the idiot who hired me didn't give me al the information." which meant she wasn't so keen on giving him the gauntlet if she found it anyways.

"Alright, we'll follow the line of statues. See where they go." it was one direction at least. It just so happened that the sound of where the water was trickling from actually had a path of statues along it.

"Don't try to be all tough and continue on if you are really hurt." she gave him a hard stern look; a bit amusing considering how short she was. However, it was clear that she wasn't going to budge on this.

"I can be pretty handy with my hands but I doubt I can take you by myself if you collapse."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

"It's a single bolt between the fourth and fifth ribs." Val said as they started walking, the skittering still sounding out to his left. A hand came up to cluch the bolt in his ribs so that it wouldn't move around while they began to walk down the hallway. He kept his eyes peeled, looking at anything and everything that moved. His blood was pumping faster now, adrenaline pouring into him. He could feel his senses heightened, his eyesight getting better and his hearing picking up things he wouldn't ordinarily. "Not a mortal wound unless I pull out the bolt and bleed to death."

He sounded like he knew exactly what he was talking about.

"You can get your hands on me later, after we get the gauntlet." He looked down at her and offered a small wink. Smile still stretching on his face.

Half of that smile was a bluff, but the other half was still very much him. The pain was bad, and if they got in a fight...well it likely wouldn't end up well for them, but for now the bolt wouldn't damage anything too badly. They wandered for a time, coming upon a more open section of the halls once more. This time their path did not split, instead the hall seemed to break open into a great room, each side stretching with the same stone carved murals that they had seen on the walls before.

In the center of the room stood a fountain, two women leaning forward, each holding a jug of water that gradually poured into a basin below. As they stepped into the room Val heard the echoes of a scream from far behind them. He frowned slightly and then looked down at Ryssa. "You have a few minutes."

He pointed to the murals.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Well if you can joke about getting manhandled then I guess you are good, manbun." vocalizing the nickname was a slip of her state of alertness and adrenaline rush. Murals, right.

"Try to not keel over, kay?" she warned him, taking a few backward steps towards the carved wall. A twist from the ball of her foot and she swiveled back to get a closer look at the two women and their flowing jugs. The holocamera took more video and pictures, scanning and referencing as much data as it possibly good. There were another set of glyphs. High Sith again.

So many women. "One would wonder if this guy was a hedonist or if the women had something to do with ---" the flowing water image had others beside it. Some had prone bodies and a few of the cloaked figures were also standing over them. One in particular had their hands on what appeared to be the individuals chest.

Wait a second...

"Based on the time frame... the history of his planet." Oh heck, why didn't I think of it earlier! Again, she clucked her tongue at herself.

"Healers."

No wonder Moridin came here.

"They were healers."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

He nodded.

That made perfect sense. So perhaps this place wasn't a cult of orgies at all...or well maybe not originally, Val wouldn't want to venture to guess really. He slowly wandered over towards the fountain, leaning over the basin of water. For a few seconds he watched the clear liquid, weary that it may actually be something more malevolent than simple water. After a moment he dipped his finger into it, letting out a sigh of relief when his digit didn't melt off.

"So he was sick." Another logical leap, but why else come here? "He didn't have the plague, but there was something wrong with him."

The Gulag Plague would have meant death in a matter of hours, not enough time to form a cult around yourself and create a gauntlet that was likely used for healing. Even a Sith couldn't survive the Gulag Plague, that much Val knew. "He must've thought these women could help him. Manipulated them and used them for his own purpose."

Val scooped up a little bit of water from the Basin, letting it rest in his palm for a second before moving it up to his lips and taking a small drink. The water was refreshingly cool, likely sourced from nearby underground rivers that ran beneath the mountain. He smiled slightly, feeling a bit of relief from the wound in his side.

"Makes sense." He said with a grunt, wandering to stand behind Ryssa.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"That makes perfect sense!" no wonder. There were hundreds of civilizations that had shamans and medicine women, all with their own perspectives on how to heal. Some through conventional means and others through the Force.

"Be it crystals, herbs, or even water..." her eyes paned over towards the fountain. Then they returned back to the murals. Wait. The one consistent image they've seen so far...

"Water. These women healed with water." it was evident in the jugs. In the way that they poured over and then situated themselves to lay hands on the sick.

Turning on her foot, Ryssa barely caught herself before she bumped against Val. "Oh!" she was startled, hands coming up to find themselves against his chest.

"Sorry! You startled me!" her face flushed and she tried to gesture to the fountain. "Maybe the fountain might give more clues?"

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

He winced as her hand brushed against the bolt, thankful that he was still holding the metal quill in place so that it couldn't jiggle around more than it should. There was a certain amount of pain that came when you had any sort of injury within or around your ribs, it couldn't be helped, but a foreign object wedged between them?

That was an entirely different experience.

"It's alright." He lied. "Can't keep your hands off me, I understand."

He couldn't help himself really. His eyes turned back towards the Fountain. As far as he could tell it just contained water, though he had read more than a few holo-books on how certain worlds believed that water had regenerative effects. Some of them had been right of course, like Manaan for instance. Kolto originated on the sea floor of Manaan, and was the substance that the Galaxy primarily used for healing until Bacta was synthesized on Thyferra. Perhaps the cave system here spawned some natural form of Kolto. Without extensive tests they wouldn't really be able to tell, but they didn't really need to.

The important thing was the Gauntlet, and he hoped the rest of the Mural would point them towards the shrine.

"It's not important right now." He reminded her as his hand came to gently rest on her hip, he pressed there very gently, half moving to turn her and half just enjoying the slight touch of her skin on his fingers.

"We need to find the gauntlet." They quiet honestly didn't have time to solve every mystery here. "They're still chasing us."

He hadn't heard any screams in a while, but he knew that the Cultists were still making their way through the Tunnels. Eventually they would catch up, and that meant they needed to hurry up and get what they came for. History was all well and good, in truth Val would have preferred to stay here and learn more, but if they ended up having to fight the cultist he wasn't sure they would actually be able to win, not as long as he had this damn bolt in his side.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Umm... that's the point. Maybe where it is feeding the water from is an answer.." There was no way to miss the pain that edged the quiet amusement in those heterochromatic eyes. One blue and one orange with that eerie light. Strange. Was it glowing or did it have to do something with the light. Or just the adrenaline high.

"Let's go." Her hand seemed to flex under his, and once again when he lay his hand upon her hip, she felt tiny again. Focus Ryssa, she reminded herself. Taking a deep breath, she motioned for him to move. "We'll follow the murals." and the statues. Were they to do so, they would see a smaller corridor that seemed to descend across a spiral stone staircase into another atrium.

"If there is an origin to the place that feeds into this fountain, then perhaps we'll find the gauntlet there." a long shot, but what else did they have to go by?