Ask A Fool's Errand

[Aska Ryun]

As the trio crossed the threshold of the Spire, it was becoming ever more clear that they were walking directly into the gaping maw of a power that was far beyond anything any of them had ever experienced before. Aska had select few encounters with Sith in the past but each and every one had usually resulted in a dark shadow that would preside over her for many days, months even in some cases such as the ancient holocron she had once possessed. This spire, this tomb perhaps, loomed over them all and openly declared that it may just yet be the most traumatizing experience of the sort she had yet to face.

The doors would swing shut slowly behind them, sealing them inside with a loud rumble and ensuring that whatever lay ahead was their only choice, their only way forward and only way out. Needless to say, the clone was certainly not impressed.

”Oh, sure. Because this entire fucking planet isn’t cliche enough,” Aska groaned upon realizing that they were trapped. Shaking her head, a scowl forming across her face, the clone held her lightsaber ahead of her to further illuminate the shadowy corridor before them. To each side at measured intervals, columns rose to the vaulted ceiling though no such ceiling could be seen as they remained masked in absolute darkness, the lights fitted to each only able to illuminate the space close to the ground. These would continue the length of the corridor until finally it would reach a massive black door, no doubt leading them into the main chamber and likely the method of travelling upwards to it’s peak.

”Every damn inch of me is telling me to turn around and go back to the ship,” Asma muttered, though still continuing forward despite her comment. It didn't seem to matter how many times she dealt with the Sith, they were forever a blight on both her well being and her sanity.

”Then perhaps… You should listen,”
​

The voice both boomingly echoed around the clone and within her own skull, causing her to be unsure if it was even real. Coming to a halt, a look of panic expressed, she would look between both Aden and Covax to see if she was the only one hearing this. It wouldn’t be the first time; her old holocron had often whispered in her ear as she slept. Perhaps there was something here, in this spire, that held similar abilities.

”It is not too late. Turn back. Return home. Leave this place,”



@The Good Doctor @Taz ​

 

[Aden Archer]

They are inside this spire, the doors shut behind them. Is this place haunted by some spirit? Is that some auto-lock mechanism? Are they able to get out even if they get what they came for? Those are questions that Aden had. But still, there was only path foward, he would follow in tow behind Aska, glow rod held up in one hand still, and pistol in the other. There is no telling what they will find down here, maybe more of those corrupted citizens, maybe cultists, the only thing they can do is wait and see.

"Perhaps,. we came this far though..." He responded to Aska's muttering. Despite the creepy and hellish atmosphere of the place, it really would be disappointing to turn back now. Getting here was a hard-fought endeavor and if they did take off and leave without accomplishing their goal, all that effort and no-payday.

When Aska turned and looked towards him, she seemed pannicked about something. Aden's raised his eye-brows, wondering what she's thinking. Aden didn't hear the voices Aska heard. "Something wrong?" So the large black door stand before them. Upon inspection, it seems to be made of thick black metal, no apparent way of opening it at a glance. No terminal, no knob or handle "Must be way to open this somehow." Aden would feel for something with his hand. After a few minutes, he would find a trigger hidden on the wall.

Surprised, Aden raised his weapons as the door would open, slowly... No telling if they will find more spooky (and not to mention deadily) creatures. Or traps. Those were a thing in holoflicks.

 

[Aska Ryun]

Shaking her head in vain, desperately hoping that an action so simple could break the words free from her mind as they rang without impedition, Aska remained still with her free hand placed on the side of her head. The warning echoed again and again, insisting she turn around and run. But how could she? The door was sealed behind her and Aden and there was no hope of cutting through an obstacle so large with her lightsaber. Plus the pilot was right; they had come so far. There could be no turning around. Surrender was a word that had no meaning to the clone. No, she would see this through to the end; no matter what that end may be.

”It’s nothing,” Aska replied to Aden, a hint of somberness to her usually reckless and arrogant demeanor. She didn’t want to tell him, mostly because she was concerned that if he knew that spirits could well reside within this spire’s walls that it may frighten and discourage the pilot. Of course, he had been steadfast in their mission so far so perhaps he would handle it with ease. Aska wasn’t willing to find out. Not yet, at least.

As the door slid open after Aden found the hidden switch, Aska followed suit in drawing her DX-2 with her right hand, the saber still held high in her left. The sound of stone grinding on stone filled the corridor and as the doorway finally began to separate down the middle, a red smoke began to billow forward and out across the floor. While the passage opened slowly, it wasn’t hard to see what existed beyond. While they had no idea on just what this creature was called, it was undeniable that the Titan lay in wait; starved and hungry. In it’s shoulder, they could see a piece of shrapnel that had been buried in it’s flesh for some time as they wound around it had healed it into place. Yet it seemed… weaker, somehow, than it should be. How it became trapped within the spire was anyone’s guess but it was obvious that it should not be here. Despite this, it would be no simple manner in bringing the beast down.

”What the hell is that?!” Aska barked as she slid her left foot back for a better bracing position, leveling her DX-2 and firing a couple rounds into the beast’s arm. Reeling backwards as the blasts disintegrated the small sections of it’s arm and letting out a blood curdling shriek that the treasure hunters would only hear in their minds, the Titan stood at it’s full height and turned to face them fully. Despite these injuries, the beast slammed both hands into the ground before charging...

@The Good Doctor

Spoiler

The number gods have not forgiven me it seems. Dice Roll

 

[Aden Archer]

Aden grimaced after lying eyes upon the abomination, it was larger than the two of them and looked every bit as corrupted and twisted as those citizens they encountered outside. There is no way the thing they are looking at right now is natural. No eyes, no mouth, those horns.

The young pilot didn't even answer her question, he raised his blaster pistol at it and started firing repeatively in concert with Aska. He would take Covax's advise from earlier and go for the head. He would fire a flurry of blaster shots and they would hit, and the damage would be minimal, there would be some blood, but it still standing strong.

He would be taken aback by the piercing shriek that's sounding off right in his mind, he'd hold his head as all of a sudden he's feeling a really bad migraine. He would feel the ground impact from the lumbering beast-thing slamming it's hands in the ground, almost knocking him off-balance. When he sees it charging and coming right at them, he would soon continously firing rounds from his blaster pistol with no regard for ammunition. Once the beast closes in, he would then quickly sidestep with almost-nil more margin for error. The Beast was pelted with shots, would have blood coming out all over but still appeared to be moving like a hovertrain regardless.

This would be pretty risky, but as soon as he comes out of his sidestep, he would then turn and then quickly jab his stun glowrod at the thing's back towards the spine. It was a light hit, but it was a lucky hit, as the glowrod would discharge it's electriciticty and it would knock the best down, with it now lying forward. It would still scream in Aska's and Aden's minds, but he would bear through it. Aden would then jab the downed thing with it once more and it would keep discharging electricity, he would keep pressing it on the beast so that it won't get up. "Finish it" he asked of Ryun.

Hopefully this thing isn't as resistant to lightsabers as it was blaster bolts.

@Tulos

 

[Aska Ryun]

The lumbering Titan charged forward and Aska instinctively jumped backwards, avoiding the creature as it closed in. Still she would fire, and each shot would find it’s mark in the thick hide. Holes continued to disintegrate through but what brought their foe to it’s knees, in a much sooner fashion than the clone could have ever anticipated, was Aden and his glowrod. She stood there for a moment as electricity surged through the deformed abomination, stunned by both shock at the pilot’s continuously revealed skillset as well as the mind-numbing screams that continued to echo through both of the mercenaries minds.

“Finish it,”

Aska finally snapped herself from the trance she had found herself in and approached the wounded… thing. It clearly had a great deal of fight left within, only debilitated by Archer for the moment. Much longer and it could well find the strength to ignore the electrical charge and take them for another round, undoubtedly learning from it’s mistakes. Aska would not give it the chance, however. Turning her lightsaber in her left hand, she moved to sink the crimson blade deep into the back of the Titan’s skull and as the plasma met flesh, both Aska and Aden would be able to witness the final convulses as life faded away from it’s body. A dark smoke poured from the wound, mixing with the red mist that pooled at their feet, until it’s corpse finally fell as a limp heap on the floor.Pulling the blade free and looking to Aden, Aska’s jaw dropped.

”Pilot my ass! You didn’t even flinch! You're a cold blooded killer!” she laughed. This kid was hard as nails, there was simply no denying it. He would undoubtedly make a wonderful addition to the Mercenary Company if they made it off Malheion alive. The odds of that were starting to look to be in their favor, considering the corpse at their feet.

“What?!” the voice screamed in Aska’s head once again. “How can this be?! How could mere mercenaries defeat my beloved creation?! How could they do it so easily?!”

Aska would look upwards to the darkened ceiling, still seeing nothing but knowing that they had only one option; it was time to go up. She wouldn’t say anything to the voice; there was no point. She was done talking with ghosts. It was time to find what they had come for and to get the fuck out of here.

@The Good Doctor​

 

[Aden Archer]

Aden would smile and grin as Aska complimented him "Thank you Ma'am" he would give off a light chuckle, humbly downplaying what happened "It was a lucky hit" that's what it felt like it, but then again he did feel the urge to put that thing down and end it's threat for good, and that's what happened when Aska impaled it with her lightsaber in the head.

The celebrations would soon end, Aska would look towards the ceiling, Aden would do the same to. They have a job to do still. Aden would then start moving forward, past where the titan was guarding. He would still be using his glowrod on his one hand to help project light and his blaster pistol in his other leveled, he was clearly on guard.

Up the spiral stairs up a few levels, they would eventually come across a black metaliic door, It was a very thick metal. Unknown to them it's made of phrik, so lightsabers wouldn't be able to pierce through the door. There would be obvious ways in, not even a trick button. There was an inscription on the door that Aden squint at,. "Hmm, there is an inscription here." he would carefully put his hands on the door to brush off some dust on it, revealing what it says.

It would read. 'Peace is a lie, there is ______. Through ________ , I gain strength. Through strength I gain ________. Through ________, i gain victory.' Through victory, my ______ are broken. ___ ______ shall free me! '

"Looks like some sort of puzzle, you know anything about this?" Aden wouldn't even know. The way to get through the door, vocally recite the full phrase with the correct words filled in. Aden is a loss, he would look towards Aska.

@Tulos

 

[Aska Ryun]

There were three things Aska hated; Droids, bodies of water, and riddles. Once Aden and herself had approached the black metallic door that stood between them and the upper levels of the spire, she only groaned when the pilot pointed out the inscription. Here they were on a Sith world, fighting off twisted and deformed dark side mutations and now they needed to solve a freaking puzzle? Every moment they stayed on this god forsaken world was another moment that further cemented her detest for it.

”What do I look like? Some kind of nerd?” Aska teased as she pushed past Aden, her lightsaber still ignited in her hand. She had had a few run-ins with Sith in the past but never one that imparted any knowledge on their philosophies or anything of the like. No, this inscription was something well beyond her own scope and apparently, also beyond Aden’s. Still, she wasn’t completely out of ideas. ”Step back, I got this,” the clone would state matter-of-factly as she raised her blade and moved to slam it into the door, only for the tip of the weapon to skip along the surface and off the left.

”The fuck!?” The frustration in her voice was clear. Never before had she encountered a wall or door that had proven impervious to her Sith weapon but she wasn’t a stranger to phrik, the material she soon recognized as it was also the composition of her bracers. ”Who the hell puts a damn phrik door in a place like this?!” she growled, trying to disguise her annoyance with sarcasm. Of course it made sense that such an obstacle would exist in a Sith spire. It was expensive but on a world where there was once hundreds, if not thousands, of lightsaber wielding warriors? Perfect sense.

Looking down to the three detonators she had brought, Aska began to wonder if they would be enough to blow a hole through the obstacle. It was the fastest solution, though also likely one that could draw attention to themselves that they simply don’t need. Of course, that was if the voice of the spire hadn’t already somehow alerted anything else that may yet dwell within of their presence. A second option was to back track, see if they could find the answer to the puzzle somewhere on the lower levels. But where was the fun in that?

”Plan B it is,” Retracting her blade and holstering her pistol and hilt, the clone proceeded to pull the explosives from her pack and placed them on three of the four hinges of the door. If they were lucky, it would be enough. If not, then it was time for the pair to study. Once the explosives were set, Aska would usher Aden back to a safe distance and pull the remote out before offering the pilot a smile and a wink. ”Cross your fingers,” With that, she would press the button...

@The Good Doctor

Spoiler

ON TO PLAN C!

 

[Aden Archer]

She can't get through the door with her lightsaber? Can't those things get through most doors? For the door to be that protected, there must be valuables in there. It must be what they came here looking for, or other Sith treasures or items of importance. Aden would back away a safe distance and he would watch the fireworks. Those explosives were placed on the hinges, if there was a weak point on the door it would be those. Those explosions enveloped the door in smoke and dust, but when it all settled down, the door was still standing strong clearly no worse for ware. "Dang" Aden muttered.

"Let me try" Aden would get closer to the door and read the inscription again. If lightsabers and explosives couldn't bring down the door, it's clear nothing can at this point. They have to solve this puzzle to move on. Aden would examine the words and sentences, there is a pattern to it, and perhaps if he fills in the blanks with what he thinks the answers may be going off what he understands of the Sith, they can perhaps get lucky. Aden would give it a few tries, reading to the door saying aloud

"Peace is a lie, there is War. Through War I gain Strength. Through Strength I gain Mastery. Through Mastery I gain Victory. Through Victory, my bonds are broken. The Dark Side shall free me."

And then nothing happened. He waited a minute, but still nothing happened. Aden was prepared to try again, but before he could.. he would hear a voice from behind

"Interlopers!"

Four robed men would have came from behind them, perhaps alerted by the explosion. The men were wearing robes of black and red. Two of them had electro-chain whips, and the other two had the old E-11 blaster rifles. "Treasure hunters? You two dare to defile this place?" the man accused them of with a harsh voice, not even really giving them a chance to respond. "Die!" The cultists with the blasters would have them leveled and pointed and the ones with the whips would be charging at them.

@Tulos

 

[Aska Ryun]

Aska poked her head up from beyond the steps that Aden and herself had taken cover behind once the explosion had occurred, confident that the detonation would have blown the door clear from it’s berth but was soon left sour. There the door remained, standing as strong and defiant of their entry as it had prior.

”You’ve gotta be shittin’ me,” the clone groaned as she stood, replacing her lightsaber on her belt. It seemed there was no getting around it; they needed to decipher this puzzle. Aden approached and took his best guess but it seemed that he was no more knowledgeable on ancient Sith proverbs than she was. They were running out of options, backtracking into the spire and searching for some sort answer that will open the door.

“Interlopers!”

Spinning on her heel to come to see the four men behind them, Aska immediately drew both of her weapons. Her SE-45 in her dominant right hand, the DX-2 in her left, both would raise and point towards the new threat. It seemed they weren’t in the mood to talk either, as they soon began to push forward.

With the whip-wielding men standing between their allies with blasters and their prey, the E-11’s were forced to remain quiet lest they hit their own men. Then again, once they were engaged in combat that would likely give them an opening. Aska needed to make a snap decision, and she did.

Activating her jet boots, Aska rose fifteen feet into the air and took aim with both weapons on the whip-wielder that would be to Aden’s left. From each blaster, she fired four rounds in succession, blue and yellow beams of energy cascading around their target. Burning holes in both his robes and his skull, the man would drop but her aerial position opened her for return fire from the men behind him. Aska, now under fire, was forced to angle her feet to propel her through a full three hundred and sixty degree turn to evade the onslaught. Most of the shots would miss, though one bolt found it’s mark, singing her right elbow. Pain radiated through her arm, causing he clone’s grip on her SE-45 to falter and send the pistol back down to the ground.

@The Good Doctor​

 

[Aden Archer]

Aden turned around as he found the robed figures behind them. They looked like they been here awhile, or at least before he, Covax, and Aska were. Maybe they are more familiar with what's on the door. They were coming at them, Aska used her jet boots to propel herself and he wouldn't miss a beat either, with his blaster he would quickly switch to stun mode and then fire a few bolts at the whip-wielding one on his right. He would grump down to the ground in a slump as the bolts connected. As good as they might be with fancy whip blades, don't bring swords to a blaster fight.

Then Aden would turn his eyes towards the actual blaster wieldings folks, they would open fire. Aden had back at the phrik door and didn't have any mobility options or any cover. All he had were are some decently quick-relaxes. He would do a quick strafe to his right, that would avoid a couple blaster shots, but one would soon find itself in the upper left side of his chest, burning itself through the blastvest on his flight suit and the force of it would stop his momentum and reeling back, colliding with the door. Ouch. He dropped his stun baton on impact as well. Aden would feel the pain from the burn from the blaster shot and would be gritting his teeth, he would instinctively hold onto his wound with his now empty-hand. Aden vest saved him from an otherwise fatal shot thankfully, but they need to finish these robed men off and quickly.

@Tulos

 

[Aska Ryun]

The odds were even but Aska wasn’t ever one to be satisfied until she was the last one standing. Both rifle-wielding robed figures still remained and while one had turned their attention towards Aden, now forced to his ass as a blaster bolt burned into his torso, the second had kept his sights on the flying mercenary above. She needed to move quickly if she wanted to make sure the pilot wasn’t blanketed in blaster fire.

Her right hand now free, the SE-45 somewhere below, Aska reached her left hand across and activated her right handed gauntlet buckler. The shield snapped to life in time to absorb a well-aimed shot at her torso but her DX-2 was soon pointed at the source, a squeeze of the trigger sending a single yellow beam of energy forth that would tear into the man’s skull, disintegrating the flesh and bone and leaving a smoking corpse in its wake. The final rival never broke his focus on Aden and lined up his E-11 for another shot that would undoubtedly be the killing blow but Aska was already on the move, propelling herself downward and planting her right shoulder into his chest, throwing them both to the ground.

The DX-2 slid out from Aska’s grip, as well as her foes E-11. As the clone rushed to get back on her feet, she would feel the weight of the temple guardian land on top of her as he moved to keep her pinned to the ground. Grunting from the pressure, Aska pushed through and managed to keep herself somewhat elevated from the floor but unless she got the man off of her, she would be stuck at his mercy.

Allowing her left arm to buckle and to allow herself a better angle, Aska would swing her right elbow backward with as much force as she could muster. The movement was met with a deep crack as contact was made with the man’s chin, forcing him to pull back slightly. His weight now across her upper legs rather than her back, Aska was able to push herself into a sitting position from which she would wrap her right hand around the man’s throat and push him away until he was now the one on his back.

Aska wasted no time, quickly moving to pin the man down with her knee to his chest and pulling one of her daggers from it’s sheathe, placing it at his jugular and pushing it just enough to draw a trickle of blood.

”Ready to die, sleemo?” Aska hissed through gritted teeth but as she prepared to drag the edge of her blade through his neck, she was met with a menacing chuckle from her prey.

“You were fools to come here… I may have failed, but my master… My master will ensure you never leave this place alive,” Listening to his words, Aska halted for a moment as she stared into his eyes. This man seemed as though he was already dead, held in this life by some unseeable power. It wasn’t the first time she had tangled with undead; the first time being in the tomb on Onderon. Those men were reanimated through the Force, leaving her with no doubt that this man was the same.

”And just who might that be?” the clone growled, resisting the urge to simply kill this man a second time in hopes he may prove useful. It was almost as if he had read her mind, for her soon provided Aden and her with the key that was needed.

“Peace… Is a lie. There is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force… shall free me,”

His voice grew consistently weaker as he recited what was the Sith code, the life vanishing from his eyes until all she was left with was a dead body emitting it’s death rattle. Still pinning the corpse down, Aska turned to Aden to see if he was both alright and if he had heard what was said.

@The Good Doctor​

 

[Aden Archer]

The pilot could only watch as he was pretty vulnerable, but what he saw that, he saw the skills of his boss in action. A very skilled combatant, not really a shocker she's in charge of the mission. She saved Aden and he would smile, grateful. Aden heard the last cultist recite that phrase, it's the same on the door only complete. Aden would keep this in mind.

Aden would slowly rise up, grunting a bit as he got to both his feet and give a thumbs up to Aska as she look towards him. That blaster took a bit out of him, but he will manage; well he kind of has to.

The spacer would then turn towards the door and begin to recite the passage ""Peace is a lie, there is Passion." As Aden would correctly answer the puzzle, the sentences would light up with a red light and the missing words being filled in, confirmation that it's working "Through Passion I gain Strength. Through Strength I gain Power. Through Power I gain Victory. Through Victory, my chains are broken. The Force... shall free me." he said with that, the passages would all be light up, and the door would slowly, slowly open.

Aden would take this chance to pick up his baton and stash on his person, and then he would draw his carbine, ready and alert for what maybe behind the door. Hopefully whatever it is, it's the artifact they are seeking.

@Tulos

 

[Aska Ryun]

Aska remained knelt down across the man’s chest for a moment as she tried to piece together what had happened. She never killed the man, his jugular still very much intact, and yet he died still. Now she knew without a doubt that he was being kept alive by some sort of mystical energy, the source of which wouldn’t take a scholar to identify.

Pushing herself upward and collecting her weapons, Aska fell in behind the wounded Aden as he spoke the words that would go on to finally open the doorway that kept them from their goal. Or rather, what she could really only hope was their goal. They had come to this spire on a whim, a nagging suspicion but if there was anything she had learned in recent years it was to trust your gut. Your intuition was your greatest compass and it had led them here. This had to be it.

As the door slowly swung open, Aden now armed and as ready as he could be given his injury, Aska decided it best if she took point. True, she had some burning on her elbow but she was undeniably in better shape to bear the brunt of what may lay within over the pilot with a smoldering burn in his pectoral.

Beyond the door was a short hall, illuminated by glowing stones inserted into the walls of the spire. Beyond the hall was a circular room, transparisteel windows granting the occupants the opportunity to look out on the city ruins below. Then there, kneeled in the center of the room, was an elderly man adorned in black and red robes. His bald head was pointed to the floor, both hands placed upon his things, as motionless as a statue. Yet he was not dead. She couldn’t explain it but she knew this man was still very much a part of the world of the living.

”The Master, I assume?” Aska called out as the pair entered the chamber, cautiously with weapons trained on the elderly man. Still he remained still, not even a twitch to acknowledge their arrival. Casually tilting her head back to speak to Aden, though never taking her eyes off the man, Aska whispered quietly too him. ”You… You think he’s deaf?”

“I assure you both, I can both see and hear you in ways you could never even begin to hope to comprehend…” the man would respond finally, though only his lips would move. "Why have you come here and disrupted what has laid dormant for so many years?"

Aska was unsure of what to think of this man. He seemed calm, collected. Yet there was something wildly dangerous about him, as though the storm beyond the spire was but a sprinkler over a garden in comparison.

"We've been sent to retrieve the armor worn by someone named Malon. Is it here?" Aska demanded, her DX-2 never moving from it's trained position.

@The Good Doctor​

 

[Aden Archer]

Was that a statue? Aden thought as he saw the prominent kneeling figure, or was he praying or meditating? He doesn't know what Sith does. Aden was about the relax the grip of carbine and answer Aska with a quip, but the kneeling figure spoke, but he was unmoving. He would reaffirm his grip, having his carbine pointed towards him, he wouldn't fire until told or or the figure tries something.

He would then back-up Aska's words "If you tell us where the armor is, we'll take it and be on our way. We can make this easy for the both of us. "

It would indeed be easiest the figure would do just that, he doesn't know what to make of the man either. Still unmoving, yet Aden doesn't know what his reaction could be or what he is capable of. The robed goons outside didn't seem to be able to use that Force stuff that Sith use, but then again this person wearing similar robes may or may not be their master and his abilities are unknown. Aden as a precautionary measure would keep his trigger finger readied and ready to fire at the first sign of trouble.

@Tulos

 

[Aska Ryun]

The Master as he would be called, as neither Aska nor Aden had any indication of this man’s true identity, remained silent for a moment as the request they had put forth hung in the air. Finally, his head would shake from left to right slightly as he huffed in exasperation. The Master would then roll each of his shoulders, an audible crack coming from each shoulder blade as though he was breaking them free from rock and duracrete.

“The mind of the common folk of the galaxy… Always so easy to predict… You come to this place of power... of knowledge... and all you request for your hardships is trinkets...” His voice remained calm, his face pointed towards the floor and his hands on his thighs but even through the man’s inaction, the hairs on Aska’s neck stood on end. She had never knowingly been in the presence of someone such as this; no Sith that she knowingly had met had ever radiated such intensity while simply kneeling. The corrupted citizens, the Titan beast, the hooded figures, none of them offered her the unease she felt in this moment.

”If all the suit is to you is a trinket, then let’s just get on with it and let us get back to our ship,” Aska responded, her knuckles white on the grip of her DX-2 as it remained pointed at the top of the Master’s bald head. His words reminded her so much of the voice of her ancestor, whispering in her ear of what she could have been. Perhaps if she had listened, if she had kept the holocron that haunted her dreams, then what this man said would have been more alluring. As of now, all she wanted was the suit and to get the hell off this rock.

“You wish to leave so soon? After just arriving?” the man’s head would finally lift to meet Aska’s eyes, his own a blazing amber sunken into a gaunt and shallow face. Deformed and twisted, the man nearly looked starved, both of nutrition and of social interaction as his gaze had a certain wildness to it. The clone couldn’t help but wince at the Master’s frail and damaged appearance.

”Holy shit, man. How long have you been in here? Have you even eaten anything in the last like... thousand years?” Aska groaned, a disgusted scowl plastered across her own face. Reaching into her back pocket slowly so as to not make the Master suspicious, she would pull out an energy bar and toss it at his knees. ”Eat something, for fuck sakes,” He would look down to the bar for a moment and smile before returning his attention to the woman.

“The Force has sustained me for over a hundred years, knowledge of which I have gained from within this very spire. Knowledge you elect to forgo for simple plates of plastic and metal,” The Master would then turn to Aden, tilting his head slightly as he stared deeply into his eyes. “And what of you? Do you too truly only wish to retrieve the armour? Or perhaps you are interested in something… more?”

While neither Aska nor Aden had the same potential as the man before them, or even that of your average Sith, the knowledge within the spire was undoubtedly vast. The Master, knowing that he was not dealing with two people who could control and use the Force, still seemed very sincere in his offer, as though that perhaps there was something still here that could benefit them both. Whether or not he could be trusted remained to be seen. Aska knew where she stood on the matter but she looked to Aden cautiously, though never moving her pistol from the Master, and awaited his response.

@The Good Doctor

 

[Aden Archer]

Aden grimaced when he got a good look at the older man's face. Does this 'dark side' corrupt people this much? And let them live well over a hundred years?

Anyways, the offer was cast. He would look brief towards Aska. He didn't think she would buy it as he pictured her as a consummate professional. Aden himself did consider his offer, a treasure throve of knowledge. His aim on the husk of a man would falter a bit as he considered it. Was this a better offer to returning armor for credits? The other made it seem like taking the armor would be lesser compared to the knowledge here.

To be honest though, he didn't want to stay on this planet more than a second longer than he had to, he didn't trust one such as him. Thinking about it more, is interest isn't in access to a wealth of knowledge being in league with dark forces, but to earning good living as well as to travel and find thrills among the stars as he has been doing. "Sorry, but I will decline, thanks for the offer. Now, where is the armor ." He replied to to offer, declining and leaving it at that His barrel would now be facing straight at the Master again. It's two vs one.

@Tulos

 

[Aska Ryun]

Aska remained still as the Master’s gaze shifted between her and Aden, his dry and cracked lips turning downwards into a deep scowl at the pilot’s refusal of his offer. With both of the invaders steadfast in their approach, they were committing to whatever repercussions may follow. This man, ancient as he may be, was overflowing with dark side powers no doubt amplified by both the Spire and by Malheion itself. While neither of them had an in depth knowledge of how the Force worked or what unseen threats lay beneath his skin and behind his amber eyes, Aska braced herself for what may come. She’d seen Sith in action once before; if he attacked, she was unsure if they’d survive but she refused to simply lay down and die.

”Make your choice, old man. We don’t have all day,” the clone hissed, the sweat coming from her palms making the disruptor pistol slip slightly in her grip. Reaffirming her fingers, she soon realized she hadn’t allowed herself to blink in some time nor would she. Even a fraction of a second could give this sorcerer the opportunity needed to strike them down with as little as a flick of his wrist.

“What you seek…” the Master finally replied, his voice hoarse and pointed. “It is here. Of course it is here. If all you seek is the armour, avail yourself to it by all means. However,” his eyes flicked back to Aska’s own, menacing and irritated by their intrusion. “First you must answer a question. Answer correctly and you may leave this world with… your prize,”

A subtle growl came from the clone, weary of the trip and simply wanting to return home. Would she get what she wanted if she simply shot him? Would she find the suit of armour and have her and Aden escape unharmed? Or were they out of options and forced to play this old man’s game?

The silence that followed his request gave the Master his answer; Aska at least would abide him for a moment longer. The deep frown the old man had slowly twisted upwards into a snide smile as he gazed eerily beyond his visitors. He began to speak but unlike before, his voice became booming as he recited the riddle.

“What stalks you by day, and is rid of by night? It hides in the darkness, revealed only by light. A looming shade sprawled across the roads you may tread, the more illumination it is given the more it is fed. It hides in the nightmares of body and mind, and if you dare seek it only you will you find,”

Motionless and silent after his speech, the words were left for Aska and Aden to decipher. If they could...

@The Good Doctor​

 

[Aden Archer]

Ugh... more riddles and puzzles. Aden would would the mutter to repeat the puzzle again, mentally examining it. It would take some time... Stalks by you by day... rid of by night... revealed only by the nine.. Looming shade across roads he may tread.

He would keep muttering a few more times, but he thinks he has something. Aden would hold up his glow rod and then light it up to illuminate the surrounding area. He would then look beside him on the other side.

Could it be...?

Aden would turn towards Aska and quietly give his suggestion for the answer. "Shadows?" He didn't want to say it outload without the mission leader's approval. If this doesn't work, then maybe they will have to do this the hard way, although he is reluctant to because of the unknown capabilities of the withered man, lest he be a force user.

@Tulos

 

[Aska Ryun]

Aska groaned as she heard the words slip past the Master’s lips, just another puzzle that he wished them to solve. What was it with these ancient monks and their damned riddles? Why do they always need to speak in circles, avoiding the blunt facts and instead dressing the truth in verbal disguises? Still, she was in no hurry to actually engage a Sith, even if he was well over a hundred years old. There was much to be gained but even so she doubted that Aden and herself could overcome him, let alone force him to reveal the location of the armor they sought. So she would think. She would dissect his words, analyze them and search for some sort of hidden meaning or concealed truth.

Seconds turned into minutes and her patience wore thin. She couldn’t figure it out, a feeling of stupidity settling in over her. She hated it. It reminded her of the vile and derogatory things her holocron once whispered in her ear, how she was incapable beyond a life of violence. Perhaps it was right all along… But if it was, then that really only left her with one course of action.

Reaffirming her grip on her DX-2, she prepared to squeeze the trigger when Aden suddenly whispered towards her.

“Shadows?”

Shadows. Of course! Of course that was it! Before she could turn and face the pilot to agree, the cracked lips of the master turned upwards to reveal his yellow and rotten teeth, a slow cackle coming forth.

“Excellent. Most excellent. Very well. Take your useless artifact and leave this place, but do not return. This is no place for scavengers and treasure hunters. Only those with a thirst for knowledge are welcome here,”

As he finished speaking, both of his hands finally rose from his thighs and slowly turned at the wrists. Aden and Aska would be unable to feel the pressure in the room change, something that only a Force User would identify, but soon a perfect silver sphere descended from the ceiling of the room. At first glance, it would seem to be one solid ball of metal with no seams. Another wave of the Master’s hand changed that, the ball soon splitting in the middle and opening to reveal the armour they had come for.

“Now leave,”

[/END THREAD?]

@The Good Doctor​