Delving Deep

[Reddsentinel]

As Jax strode by Aemon took to studying the various glyphs carved into the wall. He saw a few he recognized, but most others were either far too damaged or unknown even to him. Most of the carvings boasted of the power and riches of the Sith, of vast empires built upon the backs of slaves, and of the rulers who shaped worlds as they chose. None however, spoke of the one who was entombed here. They would most likely be in the inner sanctum of the tomb. A slim smile crossed his face, the knowledge here would prove to be invaluable to his research. Removing a small leather bound book from the folds of his robes he scrawled rough sketches of the symbols, and snippets of the story they told.

His smile faded as he gripped his arm in pain, he gritted his teeth and tried to look inconspicuous as the other two passed. He turned his back to them and pulled up the sleeve of his robe revealing his forearm. A single blackened blood vessel was visible against his pale skin, it felt as if fire was coursing through it. Focusing his mind on blocking out the pain he did his best to ignore it, after a moment the pain turned into a dull throb. "Such is the price of power" he muttered bitterly, pulling down his sleeve as he moved to catch up with the rest of the group.

 

[Phantom]

"Your funny, Karva, but yes, I am quite old," Jax looked at the young girl, "But never understimate the elderly. For instance, those glyphs you all are touching, those are thousands of years old, they predate the tomb itself, this is the language of the first iteration of the Sith eons ago." He walked over to the walls, his sabers casting a red glow on the glyphs. Soon, a loud roar could be heard further into the tunnel, "The Guardian awakes, be at the ready, this a savage beast engineered for one purpose, to kill all intruders. I've encountered it before, and thanks to me, it now is down one eye and is out for blood. So," he said turning to his companions, "do you trust me enough to take command for now and then we can go back to looking?" As he spoke a single red eye appeared behind him, still far away, but the beast knew they were there.

 

[Darasuum]

the man smiled at the tailed female's quip and murmured at her statement of skill and nod of his head though he didn't take his eyes off of the walls until she approached them. he wanted to stop her from touching them but she did so anyways and he just looked at her with slight disapproval before sighing and moving on, forgetting any negative feelings as if they were an empty wrapper that held no purpose and just tossed it away.

Aemon returned to the group just as Geir felt a change in the air, and it made him look around with his flashlight in one hand and grip his lightsaber in the other though he kept it attached to his waist for the moment as he looked around suspiciously. the man blocked out Jax's voice as he searched for what had made him halt, it wasn't a force presence, lighting change, a booby trap, temperature, no. but there was a slight breeze coming from up ahead, that should not be happening if this was an unoccupied or enclosed tomb. it was when he scanned over the distant hall that he saw a single reflection of light, like that of a predator's eye in the wild that he knew all too well. now seeing the beast up ahead he indeed took off his lightsaber but continued to keep it inactive for the time being.

"Issue orders all you want. I only answer to the Supreme Leader." he said finally at the anzat's request. he wasn't being rebellious but he had come across a number of sith that didn't know how to lead and even those that were lucky they could not do so competently. truth be told Geir trusted nobody, not anymore.

 

[Karva Baptiste]

"Maybe you two should.. Focus.. On.. That..." Karva trailed off, tightly gripping her shotgun as she saw the giant red eye of an unidentified beast staring at her through the mist. The pain in her chest grew stronger as she froze. "Sweet merciful mother what is that thing?!" She questioned with a pang of fear in her voice, her bottom lip quivering as she spoke.

 

[Reddsentinel]

Aemon could feel the presence of the creature through the force, the hate eminating from it was almost overwhelming. A faint smile touched his lips, now this was what he had truly wanted. To find a living example of what mastery over creation could produce. This was the true work of the Sith, stepping beyond the edge where others would turn away horrified. He could only imagine what magnificent alchemy had brought this beast to life, if only he had time to properly study it

The single red eye in the darkness was all that he could see, but he knew he would soon see the full extent of what the darkness hid. He moved in between Jax and Geir, moving into a defensive stance with his Lightsaber. It would be quite a fight to bring down this horror, one that would tax his body even more. His arm had begun to burn more, the blood vessels felt as if they would burst into flame at any moment. He focused his mind again to numb the pain temporarily. He would deal with it more after the fight, if they survived it. He addressed his two fellow Sith "When you two kill this poor abomination try not to damage it too much, it can impart some rather valuable information if I can study it."

 

[Phantom]

Jax smirked at his companion's replies, settling into his Ataru fighting stance, he watched as the red Eye came closer. "Piece of advice Karva, you probably smell the most like a meal to him so your probably going to want to get behind us," Jax lept forward, his saber tracing a line on the beast's side, effectively drawing the attention away from Karva. The beast was a large Tuk'ata that was genetically engineered to last thousands of years and had heightened senses due to the lack of light and sound in the tomb. Now that it's right side was marred by a long red streak, it was angry at Jax who was frantically dodging the beasts attacks.

 

[Darasuum]

the beach approached them with sly steps that added to its predatory appearance. it looked at them with such ferocity though it had not yet attacked that Geir knew it was truly a fearsome beast. Jax told Karva to stay back and let the three sith handle the guardian of the tomb by themselves and he silently agreed with the man. the Pale Fox wasn't one to disallow another from a fight but she didn't seem like she was eager to join and would potentially get in the way. Geir wasn't even sure if he could work in concert with the other two as the man himself primarily focused on defensive techniques with his lightsabers. he would stand back and guard Karva and let the other two sith deal with the beast for a number of reasons. "If you're going to shoot just don't hit me." Geir said to the three tailed female. the man would be pissed if he was a victim of friendly fire.

 

[Karva Baptiste]

Karva shook her head and readied her weapon as two of the Sith moved in to attack the guardian, shaking off the Anat's comment about her smelling like a meal as they landed a few blows with their crimson light sabers on the beast. She gritted her teeth and jerked the trigger on her scatter blaster, setting loose a maelstrom of scarlet bolts of energy. Time almost seemed to slow as the scalding hot beams of energy whizzed through the air; peppering the creature's face. A few of the bolts missed and kept traveling through the catacomb. "Just don't stand directly in front of this thing and you won't have a problem Geir." She remarked, lining up the creature again through her iron sights and depressing the trigger once more, again, briefly filling the tunnel with a pale crimson glow as her shots found their mark. Karva pushed the release on her firearm, causing the weapon to break open and forcibly eject the spent power cells as she reached into a pouch and withdrew two more fresh cartridges; pressing them both into the double barrels before closing the gun.

 

[Reddsentinel]

Aemon quickly joined the fray with Jax, while Geir stayed in the middle and Karva at the back. It took only a few seconds for him to study the beast, the monstrous proportions of the beast were breathtaking. Every part of the beast only existed to kill, with razor sharp talons and teeth to rip and tear at intruders. It was a shame they would have to kill it, the abomination was magnificent in its own terrible way. The tail of the east flicked back and forth in a pendulum motion, the stinger on the end hanging poised, ready to strike. With surgical precision he slashed at the front and hind legs, dodging its swipes the best he could. He would have to end this fast, as he wasn't exactly built for fighting.

 

[Phantom]

Jax could sense Aemon's discomfort with battle and decided to end this fight. Drawing the beasts attention with a bit of lightning, he threw himself at the beast, narrowly missing the creatures jaws. As he flew past the head, he threw his saber, cutting the gruesome head clean off. "That... Was much easier than I remember."

 

[Darasuum]

with a blank look on his face he just stayed his ground seeing as he didn't have any reason to move. he glanced behind him as he saw Karva fire her weapon. this was not much of a test for himself let alone the four of them so he didn't really have an urge to join. the other two more active sith definitely felt differently as they went to end this fight quickly. Jax did so and seemed to be surprised at how easy it was to kill the beast. perhaps the last time he came he wasn't as skilled or as powerful as he was now. perhaps the beast had grown weaker, either way it was out of the way now.

Geir inhaled smelling the scent of burnt tissue and ozone in the stagnant air of the stygian environment before returning his lightsaber to it's place on his person and continued walking down into the bowels of the tomb.

 

[Reddsentinel]

"Years of genetic engineering gone in a moment, a very anticlimactic end to such an interesting creature." Tutted Aemon as he drew near the now deceased beast. It hadn't met any of his expectations by any means, and here he was expecting a severe laceration or two. Yet here they were, uninsured and only slightly out of breath. Sighing slightly as he knelt down and studied the creatures body, his imperious glare searching every detail in the hope of understanding the life that was once held in this decrepit cadaver. It bore marks of years and of failed incursions made by would be plunderers, no doubt they would find he bones of said raiders deeper in. Hopefully the tomb held something more substantial than this decrepit animal, otherwise this would prove to be a wasted venture.

 

[Darasuum]

the man looked at both the dead beast as well as Aemon who knelt by it. he appeared to want to study it and Geir wondered if a memento should be taken from it. sometimes he liked to take what some might be considered trophies while he prefered the term souvenir. but since the arkanian mutt hadn't killed it or even attacked the beast at all he wouldn't do anything more than look at the beast with some curiosity. it wouldn't be likely that he would find one such creature again in this lifetime. the man's mind would then turn to more prospective ideas that awaited them deeper in the tomb. "you know what i've found is that when a legend get's built up about a sizable trove, plunderers often bring gear just as important to acquire what they seek. of course since many, if not all, have failed so far that means the actual tomb's original holdings are not the only treasure to be found, but what of the looter's gear." some would think scavenging off of the dead was a shameful prospect but Geir didn't much care, especially if they were items that were in mint condition and had increased in value as the ages had passed.

"you two stay here just in case we need a quick exit. i'd hate for a band of raiders to block our exit and catch us unawares." he said to Jax and Karva before turning to head further down into the darkness of the tomb.

 

[Darasuum]

Aemon seemed to be rooted in place as well and didn't wish to move. so it was just up to Geir to explore the depths of the tomb alone. this wouldn't be the first time he had done something like this. in actuality he was probably the most proficient tomb raider in the brotherhood and had been very skilled even before joining. now he walked deeper into the darkness, numerous treasures awaited him which he marked and mentally mapped in his mind. he looted numerous items that would be sold to other members of the Sith or controlled as assets for a later time. swords, lightsabers, various weapons of designs both from the last century left by failed looters as well as guardians of the tomb were available for the taking. today, his ship would be full of items and that would just be the first load.

(i'm considering the post dead now since everyone else has been inactive/died/archived. just posting this last action so that it wasn't a total loss.)