Ask Historic Preservation

[Corra]

Per my OP template, thread is death enabled​

Tensions were running a bit high for the arcane acolyte. Not only was she out in the field it was on Tund and with one of the instructors. In other words, possibly an opportunity for her to get favor with the higher ups or even a master to train her directly.

Wishful thinking? Maybe, but it was hard to say.

All this in the backdrop of the planet Tund where the legendary sorcerers had made their home. The Sisters of Sanguine had aligned with the Sith, and Corra was practically giddy when she thought about everything she could learn from them. They were basically her idols, and she had to make sure not to look like an idiot in front of them.

In other words, Corra was more than a little antsy as she looked out at the temple across the way in the depths of the jungles of Tund.

What do you think we'll find? she asked in hushed but clearly excited tone as she watched the Sisters of Sanguine who had accompanied them, trying to take in every movement like a fevered dream. And believe me, Corra knew about wild dreams.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

Vossari felt a similar mix of excitement and fear returning to Tund. His last venture here had been with Azar, the moment Vossari realized how much he felt for the pureblood. In their journey, Vossari had learned of the terrifying power of the Sorcerers. Al-Arakim had extended her life by centuries, perhaps millennia, and still wielded a terrifying cache of power. In the end, she was only defeated my a Sith Master using her own powers against her. She was just one. But their adventure had won them an ally: The enigmatic Sanguine Sisters. Long tortured by the demon Al-Arakim as she ruled from this fortress, the Sisters joined Azar posthaste, and Vossari's role in the liberation of their people earned him a modicum of tolerance in their eyes. It was all he could ask for.

As he studied with the Sanguine Sisters in the aftermath of that assault, he learned that many other Sorcerers - young and hold - lurked in the shadows of the jungle. Al-Arakim had been a powerful, ancient ruler, almost a fixture to Tund's landscape, insofar as such a magically altered land could be fixed. There was now a power vacuum that the Sisters hoped to swallow. Yet, as the chaotic winds of magic blew across the dense foliage, Vossari could almost sense them lurking. Watching. Their old, terrible eyes beset on the Temple, a repository of magical power.

This project required a delicate hand and, with Azar continuing his campaign on Korriban, Vossari was left to think of tactful Sith he worked well with. There was Kaldar, but Vossari knew he was already stretching the Sister's tolerance of men in power. Instead, he chose the most book-ish student he could think of: Corra. The perfect nerd for this excursion.

Vossari carried his helmet in his hands as they approached the temple. His fears swirled in his head, but so too did his ambitions. "It's impossible to know with sorcerers." Their power was ancient, prodigious, and deeply tied to the land on which they dwelt. Their command over illusion and enchantment completely beguiled Vossari's mind, leaving him confused and reeling his entire first visit. "Everything they do is magical."

The Sisters' expedition leader, Ix-Zamara, approached Vossari and Corra offering a curt nod. Her face regarded the two of them, cooly. She waved her hand, conjuring a sanguine mist that formed before their eyes to be a rough model of the temple. It zoomed to the lower levels. "I've heard congratulations are in order, Champion Khaldun." Vossari smiled and shrugged. "And, finally, a sister from your Order joins us on Tund. Welcome, Sister." Her tone was friendly enough, but her eyes revealed nothing as she studied Cora. "Our excavation has revealed a hidden laboratory of Al-Arakim, behind a sealed door. We'd like to invite you to its grand opening."

Vossari knew this much. What lurked beyond that door was entirely unknown. "It's an honor. You're always so hospitable, Ix-Zamara. Let's do it." Vossari flitted a cigarra to his lips, as he felt Acridia coil around his ear. His lightsaber sat under his robes. "I'm going to show the Acolyte around the rest of the site first, though."

Ix-Zamara nodded and turned away from them, dissipating into red mist that floated back to the temple. Vossari's metal thumb retracted and ignited his cigarra. He took a long puff as he stared off into the jungle. "It's your first time on Tund, right? Anything in particular you want to see?"

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Corra was doing her best - and probably failing - to suppress her giddiness at being here with the Sanguine Sisters and on Tund. She was also, unfortunately, probably a bit too oblivious to the tensions between the Sith and the Sisters, but she was sure it would be fine.

She listened closely to the commentary from Vossari, wondering silently what he had already experienced when dealing with them. The sorcerers of the Order - and even those outside of it - always seemed to think very differently than other people, and she was sure that had colored the way they interacted with Vossari. She was curious to know and see it for herself.

It is an honor, Sister, she said with a respectful bow of her head, again practically overwhelmed with excitement at the greeting. They were addressing her. She found the desire to join them almost overwhelming, but she took a moment to reel in her thoughts. Wits about you, Corra. Gotta make a good - or at least not a bad - showing, she reminded herself.

Their eyes all moved over to settle on the temple door, and Corra could tell there was tension in the air, though the exact reason and source was beyond her.

Anything in particular? Kriffing everything! That, fortunately, was not quite how she said it. If I'm honest, this whole world fascinates me. Particularly the Sisters, she said. She made no secret of the fact that she wanted to pursue the path of the arcane and though many saw it as the most dangerous of the Sith paths to pursue in the early days, she didn't care. She felt it was worth it and was an investment in her future... if she survived that long.

How did you come to work with them? she asked, not able to contain her curiosity any longer.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

Vossari's eyes narrowed as the Sisters walked away. They were armed and armored, as well. Were the rumors true, then? Or was this just some standard, scholarly precaution to approaching a powerful Sorceress's lair? Vossari had no idea - so, instead, he would ponder it as he toured the fortress with Corra. Her joy was palpable, mirroring Vossari's own for the first few moments he had set foot on Tund. Excitement quickly changed to terror on Tund. "The Sisters? You've definitely come to the right place, then." Vossari gestured to the large, crumbling stone facade of the building. A courtyard, with a massive window bearing cracked glass, loomed overhead. "This whole fort is now their problem!" He chuckled mirthlessly. It was a shared problem. The Sorceresses had proven to be crucial allies on Korriban, and they knew it. Vossari agreed to help them reclaim this temple not just out of inherent curiosity, but now, a deep, perhaps lifelong, debt he owed to them for helping Azar.

The sun shone on massive, decaying murals in the main parlor as Vossari's boots crunched the glass beneath his feet. The rotten stench of ancient sorcery, of death preserved and perverted for millennia, still hung over this place. Even the potent illusory magic of the Sisters was unable to overcome the power of this place's residual wards alone.

For Corra, it would be like an arcane playground. One could practically smell the flow of magic through the air, and enchantments hung on a degree of ordinary objects far beyond the likes of the Sith. Books opened themselves, brooms and dustpans diligently cleaned the floors. Each cracked mirror or piece of silver held a secret, a whispering power that bored into her mind.

"Darth Acranos and I helped to evict the old landlord." Vossari said, matter-of-factly. That whole day had been a mystery - even after cutting down the ghoul Al-Arakim, the illusions of the Sorceresses themselves came to possess him and Azar. They had orchestrated the whole meeting, it seemed. Vossari still couldn't tell what was real and what was fake. "Another Sorcerer. She'd really dug her talons into this region. Which is why I say: keep your wits about you. Trust the Dark Side, trust your gut, but...everything isn't what it appears to be."

Vossari paused to look at a tattered, old painting of Al-Arakim as a young, beautiful woman. It must have been centuries old. Even then, her eyes had a feline shrewdness to them. "How'd you hear about the Sorceresses, anyways? They're not exactly a household name." Had Vossari even covered them in class? Maybe. His lesson plans were always a day late and a dollar short, and he had a tendency to ramble about personal stories to fill time.

"Just be polite. I think they're big into etiquette."
@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Is that other sorcerers still here in the area? Do you think she'll attack again? she asked. It was a perceptive question and probably the most important question she could ask. Despite her somewhat limited personal power, her knowledge of the arcane was at least decent.

At this point, just about everything here was overwhelming. New information, spells that echoed through this place, and the power that flowed around and even through her. It was like waking up and seeing the world - and its potential - for the first time. It sparked her mind to think of all that she could accomplish with power like this. It was magical.

Even with the looming danger over them, Corra didn't care. Her curiosity was now a raging inferno just below the surface.

I read a lot, she said. Honestly I only found them as a passing reference in Darth Cain's "Of Sorcery and Sith." He'd set up on Tund but never really brought the Sisters under his control. A sect of Mistresses of Magic who could stand against a Dark Councilor seemed like something worth learning more about, she said.

She nodded emphatically as he mentioned being polite, and she kept it in her mind to be on her best behavior going forward. Did they accept outsiders into their ranks? Probably not, but even if she could train with them a little. If she could someday make a fortress like this place for herself, laced to the brim with magic. Oh kriff, it's almost too much to think about, she thought to herself.

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

Vossari stomped the floor with his boot at her question. "Oh, Al-Arakim is gathering dust somewhere deep in the catacombs here." He hoped, at least. Azar had definitely killed her in a display of blood sorcery, but, with magic, who could ever really be sure? "What we really have to watch for are other Tundians. The Sisters are a matriarchal group, but I've heard a lot of this planet is patriarchal. I imagine there are some sorcerers brotherhoods looking to move in." He imagined this is why the Sisters had involved them at all in this expedition. The backing of the Sith wasn't all-powerful, but it set the Sisters apart as a faction with off-world allegiances that could be called in. The Sith could be a weapon against the other Sorcerers.

Vossari watched the glitter and glitz of Tund get to her head. He understood completely - the same had happened to him the first time he arrived to the storied world of sorcery and excitement. Vossari gazed firmly into her eyes, as he took a puff of his cigarra. "We do not control the Sisters, nor anything around us. Consider everything to be a threat." He turned away and examined the room as plumes of smoke wafted behind him.

Her excitement for Tund was a blessing, though. Vossari had longed for a more direct connection into the Sisterhood, one which his gender and attitude prevented him from building. Perhaps having an acolyte here, embedded with the Sisters, would create another weapon for him to leverage? Strengthen their alliance? "You've read a lot for an Academy student." Most of them, even the well-read ones, seemed like idiots. Vossari didn't hold it against them - he was an idiot, too. "You study the Arcane before Umbara?"

If Corra was tuned in to the living Force around them, she would sense Vossari's nerves. He was stalling for time as he prepared to crack the vault. He refused to share those specific anxieties to Corra, though, as he hoped a general warning would suffice.

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Corra nodded at his explanation. She may not have considered herself to be particularly political Sith or a manipulator of people like her brother, but she understood the basics of loyalty and the pressure that could be provided by external warriors.

As he locked eyes with her and spoke his warning, she felt a chill go down her spine despite the excitement she felt. This place was dangerous and the fact that even the Sisters may be a threat to them was disturbing and a reminder that this was not so different than the Sith Academy: a place where she couldn't trust anyone. Probably not even Vossari.

Corra thought about how to answer his question.

Before Umbara I had some brief training at the Korriban Academy, she said. It had previously been the most prestigious of the academies before the Imperial expulsion and Corra's raw power that surpassed most other Acolytes had marked her out as a potential asset to go to Korriban.

Unfortunately, her path forward had been marked by difficulty controlling all of that power and only now had she begun to get a grasp on it well enough to not be as much a danger to herself as others.

There's so much more to the Force than even what the Academies can teach, she said. She had her opinion that the role of the Academy was to churn out Sith fodder for the most part rather than Sith Lords. People who wanted to be the latter had to put in the work for it, and that... was not something that she was going to share with an instructor. She realized now that she hoped he wouldn't take what she had said as a slight.

Indeed, Corra did recognize that something was amiss in the air. Something stemming from Vossari and his... apprehensions about this place. Something that had happened to him in the past? Something that had happened here?

You think something's down there still? she asked, a nice way to prod without being too direct.

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

Vossari regarded her cooly as she spoke, as he looked all over the grounds for nothing in particular. His secret hope was that he could again find a strange and powerful artifact in this temple. As he searched, he pondered her responses. She was right: the secretive and paranoid Sith often did not make for the best teachers, and some would hoard information.

Her implicit disdain for the academies piqued Vossari's interest. He, too, found school to be a lame waste of time for himself most of the time, most students, and most teachers. But, as he thought back to his experiences with his teachers, in Param, Karys, and Azar, he found something to be learned from each of them. There was something to be learned in mediocrity, in failure, and in struggle. "I feel you. I've never been a great....'student.' It's more helpful for me to explore, and come to my own conclusions." Vossari was constantly testing boundaries. He was often insulting and spiteful to others, purposefully, to see what buttons he could press and which ones he shouldn't. This flippant attitude extended to his approach towards the Force. While studying the words of arcane texts was helpful, he found he learned best on his feet, experimenting with things live. Even if they had a tendency to blow up in his face, either figuratively or literally.

But his devil-may-care attitude often left him blindsided by his lack of information. Now was one such moment. He realized, right then, that this was a limitation he would have to overcome. He could no longer stand to proverbially fumble around in the dark, not knowing what lay in front of him. "I know something's down there. The question is what." There was no sense in delaying the inevitable. The only way to answer that question was through confrontation.

He extended a hand towards Corra. "Come. If you're so eager to learn outside of the academy, let's go rejoin the Sisters." His tone was a little cagey, anxiety caused by his doubt towards this mission. He couldn't let it stop them from progressing, though, and getting straight to the issue. Vossari whisked her towards the subfloor, where the laboratory had been excavated.

Getting to the subfloor was a journey in itself. The Sisters were not a particularly technologically adapt group, and they used magic for almost everything. There were no elevators, as they had likely just teleported to the basement, riding the winds of magic still too complex for Vossari to control. Instead, the pair of them had to navigate through dark, dripping, cavernous jungle meshed with the ruinous trappings of ancient sorcerers. They swung from vines, crawled through wet caves, and descending crumbling stone stairs guided by the blood-red glow of magical torchlight, set by the sisters.

They finally stepped to a wider space, a hallway of stone. The red tones of light washed over the both of them, reflected on the polished stone surfaces of the hallway. But there was another source of red discoloration that would soon become apparent to the pair of them.

Blood. Up ahead, bloody claw marks chipped through the impressive stonework and the metal doors of the would-be laboratory. Two of the expedition's sisters lay, eviscerated as if by a gale-force storm or a hungry beast. There was no sign of Ix-Zamara, and the silence that filled the air was deafening.

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Corra wasn't sure if she had offended Vossari with her comment, and his statement about learning outside of the Academy made her wonder if she had made a mistake. She bit her tongue and resisted the urge to ask him whether he was mad at her. She was sure if he were really mad at her she would know it.

She followed behind him in relative silence as they descended through a relatively inhospitable environment that was the fortress.

When they finally arrived in the reddened bowels of the fortress, Corra began to question everything about this plan. Two of the Sisters - masters of magic and far more dangerous than Corra - were already eviscerated down here, and it drained what little color there was from Corra's face as she looked at the bodies.

Her eyes flicked around the room to look for anything that could indicate what had caused this... horror. It was so quiet down here, in fact so much so that Corra was unnerved by it. There wasn't a sound, and she turned to start speaking to Vossari.

As her mouth started to move and she spoke, there was no sound that came out. Her eyes went wide in shock as she realized that whatever was going on in this room there was no speech down here. No sound at all, no doubt from some spell that had been cast. She could only hope - as a caster in training - that this wasn't something that would continue. Sure, she could cast without her voice, but she often found it easier with the proper invocations, and some spells were altogether impossible.

If Vossari activated his lightsaber, the familiar hum of the blade was nothingness and though it would add a red to the natural red of the room, it, too, was silent.

Corra began to edge her way forward, carefully and quietly (whether she wanted to or not) until she drew closer to the bodies. From the looks of it, they appeared to have been cut by actual weapons rather than claws. At least she guessed as much. She also saw bloody foot prints leading into the next room. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say blood footprints that looked like they were just the bones of a foot.

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

Vossari screamed 'FUCK NO' as loud as he could the moment he saw the corpses, but his voice was taken. Or, perhaps better put, they had been silenced. Sorcerers. He knew those rat bastards had done something to mess this up. Vossari reached out with the Force to try and sense the origin of this magic, but he felt nothing. Nothing at all. In fact, even trying to connect to the living Dark Side here was incredibly strenuous. Out of instinctual fear, Vossari cast his hands towards some rubble, in an attempt to telekinetically push it. It only rumbled in response.

Vossari's last course of action involved the acolyte by his side. His mind fumbled around in the silent void to reach hers, but, while they were next to each other, telekinetic communication was possible. He felt her presence, like a dim candle in a sea of darkness. Magic. Always magic. The worst part was, Vossari wasn't even sure what was real and what was fake.

The last time I was here, it was all illusions. Scenes of Vossari and Azar's journey to Tund flooded into Corra's memory. Twisting caverns that faded in and out of existence, entire villages caught under the spell of the Sorceresses. Though, they look...really dead.

It was impossible to know what had happened here. The first thing they had to do was break whatever enchantment they were under. His lightsaber ignited silently, serving as a red torch for the two of them to step ahead. He withdrew his vibrodagger, a mainstay in his personal arsenal since he began his training, from his waistline and handed it to Corra. She was a magic one, too, so likely useless with a sword. But, if her magic was ruptured by this, too, she would need something to defend herself.

Vossari concentrated his energy again to the Force. He did not feel anything, sure, but he could still see. With strained effort, his Force Sight made out rune work that dotted the stones all around them. He felt no energy come from them. It was more akin to a black hole of the Force, a void so prominent and silent that it consumed the energy around them. Is that what had happened to the sisters? Had they been drained of energy here, silently, before being cut down?

Vossari jammed his lightsaber into the stone wall where one of the runes sat, but it would not budge. Either they were physically protected by the stone, or their magical inscription prevented them from being damaged like this. But, if they couldn't use weapons or magic, how could they figure it out?

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Corra didn't look bothered by the deaths so much as she was confused and trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle. He thought it was an illusion? She... wasn't convinced. She reached down and touched the bodies, feeling their physical existence under her fingertips before looking up at him and shaking her head to say she didn't think so.

This wasn't a holo illusion projected from across the galaxy, it was genuine dead people.

She waved off the vibroblade, pulling up part of her robe to reveal that - despite not liking it - she did have a lightsaber hanging from her belt.

She watched Vossari try to plunge a lightsaber into the stone without success, and the stone just seemed to turn it back, impervious to the heat and the energy. It was beyond the reach of the Force... so... what?

She started looking around but saw absolutely no other way through this door (2/20). Unless Vossari came up with something, she started heading back out of the hall they had been in and into the caverns they had just come from.

She noticed that her footsteps had returned and she couldn't help herself.

ECHO! she shouted, glad to hear the sound of her own voice down here now. Down here where they could speak again.

I don't think we're getting through that door unless you had a brilliant idea. There might be another way through these caverns, though, she said. Though... there was also likely to be... other dangers down here.

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

Vossari followed her back to the start of the hallway, content to ponder for now under the glow of his laser stick. Okay, so, a few things were coming into motion. A killer on the loose, a powerful spell of Force nullification and weakness, and an abandoned laboratory. Ix-Zamara was missing. Vossari had no love for the Sorceresses, but he didn't desire to see his only allies on Tund kidnapped and killed without warrant.

"See what I'm saying? Sorcerous bullshit." Part of him wanted to just collapse the hallway and be done with it, like he had on Dromuund Kaas with Freyja. "There are a shit ton of caverns here. Not all of them are mapped out, though. We could get lost, trapped wandering in circles for days." Or, they could call for help and wait, but sitting still was something Vossari never wanted to do. Wait. If they couldn't attack the runes from the inside, perhaps that was the exact way to counter them. "We're gonna try something...a little risky. Stand back and help me. Just like....barrier us?" He didn't really know the formal names for spells, yet. Still a work in progress.

He stretched his hands out, reaching into the stone ahead of them to find a loose stone. The hallway to the lab was ancient and beautiful, but ultimately, not much more sturdy than a jenga tower. As long as they didn't bury the entire lab in this effort, he'd be happy with a job well done. He reached out to an errant vine that jutted through the stone work and pulled. It dislodged one massive slab of stone, which, in turn, caused the whole hall ahead to rumble. Parts of the runic facade because to fizzle, as falling rocks disrupted the otherwise intricate nexus that they had created. A blast of dust, rubble, and plant ephemera blew towards the pair of them, as more and more stone began to pile atop the corpses in the hallway.

The beautiful, stone path looked like it had been hit by an earthquake. But in the end, the runes were disrupted.

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Vossari, of course, pointed out that they could get lost, and he was absolutely right. There was no saying what they might face down here.

Barrier? Like against what? she asked, doing her best to prepare for whatever she was supposed to be doing here.

She started to gather an idea of what he was talking about and put both of her hands out in front of her, letting a small, shimmering barrier appear in front of them both as she stood close to Vossari, even close enough that their sides were touching.

The downpouring of the stone and dirt and rubble burst out from where the hall had collapsed in on itself, the waves of dirt blooming outward until it struck her barrier, satisfyingly billowing up and over the pair rather than into them.

Corra just kind of stood and watched the carnage for a moment until the dust and stones settled out, allowing her to press forward.

Testing, testing, she said, glad to hear that with the runes dissipated it seemed that she could speak once again.

She continued her climb over the rubble before finding a tiny space to slide through and into the lab. She wasn't immediately eaten when she tumbled through the other side.

It seems to be... all clear! she shouted back through the hole and pressed on into the lab.

She looked around the area, not seeing any signs of people: Sisters or otherwise. She bent over and took a look at several of the vials and bottles, frowning as she realized something.

Has... someone been here recently? Besides us? These vials look fresh. Or at least not old she said, picking one up and spinning around a vial of it slightly. The liquid was blue in tint and thin as if it was a potion designed to be drunk.

There were books on books lining the room and she wanted to read them all. Needed.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

Not being immediately eaten was a great turn for this investigation.

She was right. Someone had been here recently. But how? The door was sealed before today, and only recently excavated from a thousand-year-old pile of dirt. How had someone been working on this. "Either someone...phased through the door?" That didn't sound right, but the sisters could teleport. He didn't think they could through solid matter, but perhaps that was the extent of their sorcerous powers.

"Or, they had another entrance." There were no other tunnels in or out, prompting Vossari to return to the first idea. Maybe they phased in magically. Or maybe...it was a combination of the two. A portal, or some kind, anchored to another location. Was that even possible? The Force seemed to have all manner of magic possible.

Vossari found a pool of still liquid in a cauldron surrounded by runes. It stunk of the magical brimstone stench that had surrounded them since they entered the building, and it was hot to the touch. A curiosity that Vossari would investigate. "I feel like I have to keep saying this, but...keep your wits about you. I don't know when we're going to get ambushed by whatever is lurking around here, but it has to be soon." He continued to, proverbially, fumble around in the dark for a moment as he deciphered the inscriptions around them.

He noticed Corra eyeing the books like they were an oasis in a desert. "Search those books for anything valuable. We're looking for lab notes, names, descriptions of anything here. Whatever info you can get." He needed to find Ix-Zamara. Surely, she knew the landscape of Tund well enough to know who could have done this. Perhaps that's why she was kidnapped, or disappeared, into the ether.

The books on the shelves in front of Corra were intricate, hand-written studies into the Force Nexus that existed deep in the bowels of the fortress. It analyzed the how the Nexus warped time, life itself, and how the Dark Side could be infused into living and dead material. It also had a heaping amount of spell-casting information, from powerful incantations to Tund-specific sign-casting. Corra could get lost in these.

"I've got a bad feeling we're dealing with the handiwork of another sorcerer." Al-Arakim, the previous sorceress of this temple, was a master illusionist who siphoned the powers of others. But, in her ancient age, she had grown lazy and sat on her laurels. That, combined with the fact that she was hopefully dead, ruled her out of this. She wasn't the researcher.

"Hand me that potion, too." It was probably a bad idea to just drink it, but maybe there was another way to know what it did.

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Oh yeah, Corra could definitely get lost in these. She was absolutely captivated, wanting to learn every single secret that was stashed among these books.

I think I could spend days here going through all of these. Literally, she said, as she looked at some of the spell tomes and specific Signs created by the Tundians.

She may not have had great control of her power yet, but what she did have was a broad knowledge base for someone who was still an Acolyte. She had realized a long time ago that if she wanted to stay alive long enough to see the manifestation of her arcane potential, she was going to have to be smarter than the rest. Natural selection had already wittled down the number of her competition, but she had managed to stay alive.

She handed him the potion, not even considering the fact that he might want to drink it. That sounded like a terrible idea.

What if they have some sort of transfer device? Something that lets them teleport inside and out. It'd be a perfect lab, she said. Hidden, inaccessible to the rest of the galaxy, and unknown.

In fact, I think that might be what this is, she said, walking over to a very large, pyramid-shaped stone that looked like it could be used as an anchor for teleportation.

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

Vossari grimaced at the thought of stepping through that portal. Whatever was beyond it held the secrets of the Sorceresses' deaths. But a teleport helped to explain things further - it seemed less and less likely that the Ghost of Al-Arakim was at work here. No, this was the handiwork of another Sorcerer. Or, a faction of Sorcerers. A terrifying thought, that...

"A rogue lab in the unexplored subfloors of an ancient palace. You're right, it would be perfect." Whatever they were researching here must be secret; or, perhaps, the sorcerers were just petty enough to kill anyone who seemed to be interfering with their goals. Seemed very Sith-y, would make sense. A deep sigh emanated from Vossari as his chest deflated. "Alright, let's get it working again."

He wasn't a natural at the Arcane per-se, but years of study and practice in Ur-Kittat and magick had given him some knowledge. The problem was, even when magic had rules, it violated them constantly. Magic was so personalized to the user, tailored to one's relationship with the Force and the environment around them, that you could never treat two situations exactly the same.

Like anything else, though, control was all about connection. Vossari repeated, shakily, the Ur-Kittat runes that dotted the head of the pyramid, and it began to spin like a top as Vossari poured energy into it. An inky, black haze in the shape of a doorway formed against the wall, dotted with stars and the colors of the cosmos.

"As much as I'd like to stay and study...Looks like we've gotta go through." This is one of those times Vossari really wished he had underlings. Someone who could test things out for him, sort of like a crash dummy. His eyes shot to Corra. He shoved her through the portal. After waiting a moment to confirm that nothing exploded when she went through, he followed suit.

The pair would leave the dank cellar of Al-Arakim, and open their eyes to a warm, bright sun. The pleasant chirping of birds was accompanied by the intoxicating scents of flowers. They were in a garden. Vossari rose to his feet, placing a hand on the matching teleporter-pyramid to steady himself. By all accounts, they were alone. Though it certainly didn't feel that way.

"Good work, Corra." Not dying was always a victory! "Let's...keep exploring."

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Corra wasn't too happy that they were apparently going to have to leave before she'd read even a fraction of the information here.

Can I come back later? she asked, giving kind of a side eye that said she very much wanted to never leave here again. She glanced back and forth between the book she was reading - which promptly went into her backpack - and the runic portal he had just opened up.

Her head tilted to the side and she already knew how this was going to go. She was the Acolyte and he was the Champion, which meant she was going to go through first. She swore sometimes surviving being an acolyte was literally just dumb luck.

She stood there a moment, trying to get up her courage when she felt a sharp shove from behind, sending her stumbling forward through the portal and out to the other side, stumbling down and nearly face planting into a stone.

Wha... heee-- was all the further she got in the word "hey" before the sound of her voice was cut off by flashing through the portal.

As he came through the other side, she turned back and scowled at him angrily with a stare that could probably have withered a new sapling.

At least they were out in a sunny, grassy area that seemed in stark contrast to the dungeon they had just come from. In contrast, though, this place was without the thick aura of magic that the other place had had.

You know, I think that's the fortress in the distance, she said, pointing up. Sure enough on the top of a hill approximately a mile away was the fortress they had just gone inside of.

At their feet were more footsteps leading off into the jungle: a mixture of humanoid and something that looked like huge insect footsteps?

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

The shadowy stench of dark magics faded away, replaced by the saccharine, plastic joy of the Light Side. It was repugnant.

As they approached the sloping jungle, the group would hear the chattering. Vossari sign-casted, weaving the humid fog of the jungle around the two of them, so that they would be entirely shrouded as they watched the happenings of the group from afar. A group of humanoids, six in total. Faces wrought in iron masks, but with a gaze that glowed an indelible arrogance and hatred towards someone. That someone came into view - Ix-Zamara, wrapped in chains, surrounded by a throng of robed and armored guards.

Sorcerers. "Keep walking, apostate." A particularly beefy guard's voice boomed, as he shoved Ix-Zamara further down the muddy path. Vossari opted to watch for a moment, thinking of a strategy on how to intervene. Honestly, though, they were outnumbered three-to-one by sorcerers that had presumably ambushed and struck down the other sorceresses and captured Ix-Zamara. He didn't like their odds.

Vossari deigned to stalk them as they walked forward, listening to the struggle between Ix-Zamara and her sorcerous captors. From the shadows, he whispered to Corra. "Ambush time." The more he thought about it, he realized now was the time to strike - before Ix-Zamara was dragged back to.

It would also be a learning opportunity for Corra. "Can you feel the water and the air in the mist around us?" She didn't need to be an expert in hydrokinesis to handle this task, moving fog. "Blow it onto them. I'll signal Ix-Zamara. We'll strike."

Vossari disappeared into the fog that cloaked them, to prepare an attack. It would have to be perfectly timed, but Corra seemed to be of a competent enough stock.

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Corra stood still as the fog wrapped around them, concealing them as they watched what unfolded. If these were just... regular people, Corra probably would have advocated for just attacking, but with so many people who were potentially sorcerers themselves and had managed to bring down a Sister, Corra had... serious hesitations.

She could almost sense that Vossari agreed.

AMBUSH TIME?! Okay, apparently Corra had been totally wrong. He didn't agree with her, and he wanted to attack. She wasn't so sure about that or the way it was going to go. But then, she also knew she couldn't be a coward.

She was going to object when he started telling her what to do and she focused as he said. Yes, she could sense it. She could feel the water in the air and all around them. She reached out and focused her mind and concentration on the tethers that connected her to the water itself, pulling it together as she moved her hands.

She was going to object to the plan, but now she was too far into it, pulling the water around them and over them.

Unfortunately, the tamperings of an Acolyte - even a gifted one - were noticeable.

The sorcerers began to look around for the source of the Force-manipulation, and it occurred to Corra only now that she might just be getting used as bait and about to be cut down to give Vossari an opportunity to strike.

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

AMBUSH TIME! Ix-Zamara was perceptive enough to react even before Vossari whispered to her telepathically. At the appearance of mist, when it totally enveloped the sorcerers, she shoved her guard in front of hear, pressing her right shoulder into his back while her right leg tripped his legs. Swift and efficient.

Vossari’s voice rang in her mind, commanding her to jump while the sorcerers sprung into action. While she leapt high with a force empowered jump, Vossari ignited with movement of his fingers Acridia, resting on his ear. To Corraa, he whispered a similar warning. “Stay out of the mist.” The vaporous mist enveloping the sorcerers became a cloud of caustic acid, melting through the falling sorcerer’s skin. The others shuddered in pain and horror as the iron masks crackled with horrible chemical burns.

Wounded, they dispelled the cloud of gas with sign casting of their own as they sighted Vossari and Corra. Vossari ignited his lightsaber as Ix-Zamara landed by the pair of them, and he cut through her bindings. With her hands now freed, acrance runes spun into her fingertips as she prepared some quickened sign casting.

Vossari was now in the rare position where he was the group duelist. Great. His hands tended on his lightsaber as he launched towards the sorcerers, hoping that they were as hopeless in melee combat as the old erudite wizards he had pictured

An iron-faced Sorcerer glared towards Corra as his hands ignited with a golden light, preparing a purifying Radiant Beam to cut through the would-be Sith Sorceress.

@Phoenix