Ask Inside of You There are a Number of Wolves

[Nasir]

The cockpit of the ship was quiet, only the sound of the engine thrumming hitting Nasir’s ears. Unsurprisingly, Nasir couldn’t be bothered to fly his own ship, so his attention was focused on an old and tattered book he’d come across while his C4T droid Purrsephone handled the actual piloting.

There is an annoying lack of information about this place, He said out loud to no one, thumbing his way through what few pages remained in the book. The only instruction the book provides is ‘find the obelisk.’

His brow furrowing in agitation, Nasir tucked the tome into his jacket pocket as his attention was pulled toward the viewport of the ship, the silhouette of Krayiss II finally coming into view as they dropped out of hyperspace. The planet was relatively unremarkable as trees and mountains passed by in little more than a blur. Nasir knew what he was looking for but not exactly where to find it which was just the absolutely most vexing thing he could imagine.

Eventually, something blipped on the scanners, and Nasir's eyebrow arched as perhaps finally they'd found what they were looking for. A spire of dark obsidian stretched towards the sky, its surface weathered and cracked as it stood definitely in the ancient ruins that surrounded it.

Put us down, Purrsephone. Nasir said idly, gathering his things before heading toward the ship's exit.

Nasir was already down the ramp before it managed to touch the ground. The dirt and dust of the ruins swirled around his feet as Nasir headed toward the obelisk, a glint in his eye and an all too natural smirk of success parting hips lips.

@lizziie

 

[Ahriman]

Ahriman stood outside the old ruins, her knuckles flush from the cold as she pulled the edges of her cloak closer together in a futile attempt to keep in her body heat. She hadn't bothered to check the weather, so she'd missed that this part of the planet was in the midst of its winter months. It wasn't so cold as to be dangerous — at least once she headed inside — but since the building was giving her the creeps, she'd opted to wait for the other poor soul assigned to this mission to arrive.

And arrive they did, not too long after she'd begun to doubt whether or not she had been assigned someone else to work with her on this mission. She turned to wait while their ship descended — making sure to stay a safe distance away — and watched as a blue-skinned figure strode forward, oozing with what looked like confidence. His smirked lips and immediate focus on the mission ahead were a stark contrast against Ahriman, who was standing shivering off to the side with not a drop of interest, emotion, or indication of anything on her flushed and pale face.

"Are you Nasir?" she called out as she strode forward and tried her best to disguise her pathetic shivering by letting the fabric of her cloak fall back into place. The cold winter air immediately swept up into the sleeves and bit into her skin, causing her ears to twitch ever-so-slightly in irritation. "Did they already explain to you what we'd be doing?"

Though her face didn't betray curiosity, she was hoping he'd been given at least a little more info than she had. She'd been told they were coming here in search of a particular artifact that they 'should be' able to just 'feel through the Force.' That was both incredibly vague and frustrating.

Just after she'd asked her questions, the half-Sephi had moved to push open the heavy stone doors that blocked their way into the ruins.

@Logan

 

[Nasir]

The call of a voice pulled Nasir from his focus as he arched his eyebrow in annoyance. He’d totally forgotten that the Order was sending someone else here too, as if another person tagging along would do anything but slow him down and increase the odds of failure.

His muted, golden eyes fell upon Ahriman and a grimace pulled at the corners of Nasir’s mouth.Despite her attempts to hide her discomfort, Nasir could see the icy fingers of frigid weather were making the girl uncomfortable, something he was quite unfamiliar with.

Being a Pantoran might have made him stand out in a crowd due to the hue of his skin, but his heritage came in quite handy on planets like this.

Obviously, Nasir said in response to Ahri’s first question, his gaze summing her up past the fact that she seemingly was too incompetent or too proud to dress for the weather. And no, not really. An unfortunate hitch in the overall plan, but they could work around it.

I found a book that was mostly indecipherable nonsense, but it did make specific mention of the obelisk here. It seems to be the key to the true ruins that lay beneath us.

Taking out the book, Nasir would toss it to Ahriman in case the pallid girl wanted to take a look and see if she could make sense of what he could not.

My ancient sith is rusty, He said, as they passed through the stone doors and into the decrepit ruins.

The base of the obelisk seemed to be housed here, the protection from weather leaving it in much better condition than the parts visible from outside. Runes carved into the raven black rock gave hints that Nasir wasn’t able to decode, but maybe his… partner - oh, how he loathed that word - could prove her own worth in figuring something out.

It’s rumored that ancient Sith spirits still call the old temple home. Have you encountered such a thing before?

@lizziie

 

[Ahriman]

Ahriman's ear twitched as Nasir began to recount something about a book he had. She glanced his way just as it came out from his possession and into the air toward her, giving her just enough time to twist around and catch it from the air. She tucked her thumb under the cover and flipped it open, exposing its old, worn parchment to the dim light of the ruins. It smelled strongly of dust, but thanks to Nasir's inspections of it, she was lucky to not get a face full of it.

« It certainly mentions an obelisk, » confirmed the snarling trick up her sleeve, Daeva, who had shoved his head in between her arm and her side to get a look at the words scrawled on the page. « The rest is a madman's ramblings. »

At the mention of an 'ancient Sith spirit', Ahriman paused. The palms of her hands were placed on either side of the book, holding it firmly closed between them. Moving nothing else, her eyes flickered sideways to where Daeva stood, his ever-bared maw almost looking like a snarling, mocking smile.

« What, do you feel like telling Blueberry here about the little friend you have in your head? » he inquired, stalking toward Nasir one step at a time. He circled around the back of the Pantoran's legs, his fur brushing against the fabric and leaving white hairs that disappeared with a blink. Ahriman, though her face remained in its state of Sephi stoicism, winced just slightly, expecting him to react to the touch. But he wouldn't; no one ever did.

"No," she said tersely, not more than a few moments after Nasir asked originally, answering both of them with one word. She tossed the book back with one hand as she turned her cheek, searching the room on her side before coming back around to the base of the obelisk at the center of the room where the runes caught her eye.

She crouched down in front of them and trailed the soft pad of her index finger along their grooves. Her eyes snapped over to where Daeva was standing, trying to prompt him to translate them for her without actually having to ask aloud. She could only hope-

« Cat got your tongue, little girl? » An irritated quiver of her ears said everything she didn't to the spirit who was more than happy to be as difficult as possible. « If you want something, all you have to do is ask. Aloud; unless you- »

Nope. Ahriman stood up, though her eyes stayed trained on the runes. At the least, she felt like she could assume the runes were derived from ur-kittât. It made sense in context, and one of the runes looked oddly similar to the ancient Sith word for 'heart.' Another, 'vein.' She stood and scrutinized them for about a minute or so until a metaphorical lightbulb lit up above her head. She briefly recalled Daeva translating a phrase for her that, if she was interpreting the ruins correctly, put the other runes into place.

"It very cryptically states that the heart is located at the pulse, where blood is purified," she said after a minute or so. She glanced over to the other side of the room where a crumbling staircase disappeared into the next floor. "Or something like that," she added plainly afterward. Perhaps they had to search for it through the force? That would align with what her instructor had said.

@Logan

 

[Nasir]

Nasir caught the book as Ahriman tossed it back, tucking it away in his jacket. He had been hoping that his partner at least had some interaction with Sith apparitions, for no other reason than to fill the gaps in experience that he also lacked. It was dangerous to wade into the unknown, especially when it came to old Sith magic and ghosts.

Oh well.

Delightfully vague, he said idly, though with little surprise in his voice. But such obfuscation is to be expected when it comes to ancient Sith I suppose. From what I could gather, the temple we’re looking for his over fifteen thousand years old.

Nasir mimicked Ahriman as he too ran his fingers along the carved runes, though likewise was granted little help in deciphering their meaning. Pulling his hand away, the Pantoran noticed that an odd residue was left on his finger, standing out strikingly against his saxe blue skin. A dry copper-red dust that was different from the sand and dirt that surrounded them.

Going on a hunch, Nasir licked the residue off of his thumb, chuckling as the taste of bitter metallic assaulted his tongue.

Old blood, he said with a smirk, reaching to his belt and taking out a weathered survival knife. His eyes flashed to Ahriman as he held it, an almost predatory gaze glazing his golden eyes, before flashing her a smile and turning the sharp blade onto himself.

Nasir sliced open the tip of his finger just enough to let the blood flow freely like an artisan's fountain pen. Nasir traced his fingers along the runes again, replacing the ancient dried blood that still clung to them with a fresh smear of his own.

At first nothing seemed to happen, but as Nasir stood and took a step back from the base of the obelisk, a loud shudder of stone grinding on stone echoed through the ruins. Sand began to fall down into inky blackness as the area near the obelisk started to fall away, serpentining around the massive base as it formed a spiral staircase that lead into the unknown below.

Arching an eyebrow in curiosity, Nasir glanced over to Ahriman with that all-too-familiar smirk of success creasing his lips.

Ladies first. He said, producing a small wisp of flame in his hand to act as a makeshift torch.

@lizziie

 

[Ahriman]

Ahriman glanced at Nasir, her lip pulled up just ever so slightly as she watched the Pantoran lick the rusty residue off from the stone. Him announcing that it was blood didn't make things any better, 'and again with the smirk?' Her pale eyes met his predatory gaze, her features cold and unmoving, and she watched as he grinned and pricked his own finger to smear into the grooves of the runes.

Ahriman took several steps back when the stone began to grind against itself, forming an opening and revealing a gaping maw of darkness a dull set of stairs delved into. She didn't bother to look to see the Pantoran's reaction; she could almost hear his irritating smirk anyway.

With the light of the flame in his palm lighting the way, Ahriman followed her shadow down into the dark depths. Daeva slunk along the walls, almost melded in with the stone, his empty eyes unreadable but his sharp ears attentive. The presence of the Dark Side had merely been a whisper before, but it was slowly thickening into a quiet hum that permeated everything around them. Daeva seemed far too pleased for Ahri's liking, and he frequently glanced back at her, anxious to descend even faster. Ahriman picked up her pace without even giving it too much of a thought.

"Do you often make a habit of putting random things in your mouth?" she asked plainly, interrupting the echoing sounds of their footsteps with a question to break the relative silence.

It wouldn't be too long after she spoke that the stairs evened out and they stepped into what looked like a large chamber of sorts, with stone arches supporting the ceilings symmetrically down each side of the room. The floor went at an angle, descending on all sides with a gentle slope down to a perfect square in the center where an old maze of grooves met in the center. Statues lined the walls, each depicting a separate figure and having a unique rune carved into them. Those runes appeared to be mimicked in the center floor. It was clearly a puzzle of sorts, or at least meant to look like one.

« I've never understood the Sith obsession with this sort of thing, » Daeva commented, suddenly standing amidst the runes. Ahriman wanted to ask what he meant but held her tongue with Nasir present.

"I wonder if this is some sort of puzzle," Ahriman commented casually as she strode forward, approaching the center. Upon closer inspection, she noticed there were raised indents in the stone around the maze of grooves. Curious, she pressed down on one with her foot.

@Logan

 

[Nasir]

Don't you? He asked, feigning incredulousness, as if the question was the most unfathomable thing Nasir had ever heard. That would explain your rbf, though. You should give it a shot sometime.

Even in the dark Nasir’s eyes got that twinkle-shine of someone overly pleased with themselves, as if the joke he’d just said was just oh-so-entirely too funny.

He said little else as they continued their descent down the stairs, his mind instead wandering to the more critical task at hand. It was quite likely that he and Ahriman were the first people to make this trip into the dark in thousands of years and the fact was not lost on him. There was no telling what they would find, or who, and his guard was up for the usual Sith shenanigans.

It wasn’t a true Sith temple-tomb if there weren’t at least a few dozen boobytraps or monsters looking to kill you for taking a single wrong step.

Do you recognize any of these figures? Nasir asked once they’d reached the bottom, taking note of the runes set beneath each of them.

Well, that probably meant something. Right? Nasir had no idea what but it had to be something.

Turning his attention back to Ahriman, Nasir started to speak, intending to bring up the fact that they hadn’t encountered any traps and how that was weird, but before he could get a single one of the words out he watched the girl step on something.

And even worse, where she stepped reacted to the weight. For the love of Christ, did this girl just want to die?

Be careful you fucking idi–

Before he could finish, Nasir heard a rumble from somewhere in the darkness, of ancient stone loosening itself from eternal petrification. Emerging from the darkness was some sort of stone golem, each set of its eyes glowing with blood red malice.

A low grumble of annoyance escaped Nasir’s lips as his lightsaber leapt to his hand and its blade ignited.

@lizziie

 

[Ahriman]

As the heel of her boot pressed down onto the stone button, Ahriman was well aware that there was a good chance she could be activating something not-so-nice. Yet, she almost didn't care because the look on Nasir's face was worth whatever trouble would follow. She almost smiled — the left side of her lip twitched — but she was very quickly also distracted by the golem that burst forth from the darkness.

« Do you have porgs for- ?! » Daeva growled, his ears pinned back and his hackles raised as the golem of many faces rumbled toward them. But before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Ahriman's terse, "Just shut up." She didn't have a lightsaber like Nasir — she was a bit too new to the Sith for that — so she had to be careful here. Thankfully, the Force was a weapon in and of itself, and she had that.

« Go for its weapons or its mobility, » Daeva growled as he charged toward the construct. Ahriman grit her teeth and followed at a more steady pace, then thrust out her hand. The Force extended out from her, and as Daeva crashed into the creature's leg, her Force push reached it. The targeted blow caused the creature to stumble to its right and slam one of its fists into the ground to steady itself and prevent itself from truly falling over.

With that opening made, Ahriman then furiously looked about for her next move. Her eyes settled on one of the statues nearby, and narrowed.

@Logan

 

[Nasir]

Nasir watched as Ahriman used the force to slam into the construct and send it reeling, though he figured they’d need more than blunt force to take something like this down.

He wondered where the girl’s lightsaber was, what kind of Sith was she if she didn’t have one? The force was useful, sure, but the amount of situations where having a literal sword made of lasers made things infinitely easier was almost incalculable.

Rushing forward, Nasir kept his eyes on the fist the creature used to stabilize itself. Figuring it would be best to take out that part first, Nasir jumped into the air in the hope to bring his lightsaber down and slice clean through the stone.

Instead, though, he was met with something entirely different.

The golem brought its other hand around and swatted him like he was some kind of gnat. The force of the slap knocked the air out of Nasir as he flew through the air and crashed into the wall, cracking the stone and leaving an indent like you see in superhero movies.

Nasir blinked his eyes a few times and saw nothing but stars before wiping his hand over his mouth and seeing a smear of blood. Wonderful.

It was then he realized that his lightsaber had been flung who in the fuck knows where and the goliath was now bearing down on him, its loud, lumbering steps echoing through the room as it focused on finishing what it started.

Aw, fuck me, He rattled, doing his best to get back to his feet. A little help!. Nasir shouted toward Ahriman, doing his best to keep his voice steady but being unable to keep just a little bit of desperation from seeping in. It’s not really on my agenda to die today.

@lizziie

 

[Ahriman]

While Ahriman focused on the statue, wondering if it could be brought down on top of the golem, there were three sounds announced themselves to her ears. The first was a loud thud, quick and emphasized like a slap. The second was also loud, solid, without echo, and was followed by the higher-pitched sound of stone cracking. The third was much, much quieter, and a series of clinks as something bounced and rolled off into the shadows. Ahriman just barely caught a glimpse of a metallic glint as she spun around to watch Nasir struggle up to his feet, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Whereas his shout would have normally irritated her further, she couldn't help but just be impressed that he had taken a blow like that. She wasn't sure if she would be able to do the same if that thing hit her like that. As Ahriman swiveled her head back around to face the giant, a cold bead of sweat trickled down her pallid cheek.

« Give me control, little girl, » His voice whispered in her ear, as close to a purr as a snarling wolf could be. « You- »

"I said shut up!" Ahriman growled back through grit teeth. Her palms splayed and her legs slid into place, positioning her to burst into a sprint. She'd only lost control to him once; there was no way she would just give herself to him.

The golem was back on its feet and advancing toward the half-Sephi, growing faster and faster as its strides elongated on its way to her. That same offending fist came swinging her way, and she dodged straight back using the Force to augment her jump. She landed, and something shiny caught her eye. "Lightsaber." With an open hand she called it to her, and it ignited just in time to block a second strike by the golem. The burning red blade cut straight through the construct's fist, bisecting the arm in two up to about its forearm where it curved off.

Taking the opportunity, Ahriman ran over to where Nasir was. Though her usual stoicism made her hard to read, the sweat and the shaky hands said enough. "Hold on tighter next time," she said as she tossed his weapon back to him.

If he could take out the thing's other arm, the fight would be won.

@Logan

 

[Nasir]

Who exactly was this girl telling to shut up? Nasir couldn’t keep the disbelief off of his face, the very idea she would say something like that to him when he had actually taken the ego hit and asked for help infuriated him to no end.

If his literal life wasn’t in the hands of Ahriman he’d have half a mind to join the side of the golem and crush her into a fine paste. Telling him to shut up? Really??

Of course, this feeling faded greatly when he watched Ahriman slice into the creature with his lightsaber with a respectable level of skill. Perhaps they weren’t doomed to die in obscurity in some shitty cavern after all.

Yes, dear. Nasir responded to Ahri, his tone like a sarcastic husband rolling their eyes at their wife.

Gripping his lightsaber, Nasir turned his attention back to the golem, intent on ending this situation so they could get back to the task at hand.

Rushing forward, Nasir leapt into the air and landed on the part of the golem’s arm that Ahriman had cut off. Using it as a launching point, Nasir jumped again and launched himself directly at the beast’s head. Swinging his saber, Nasir cut a clean line through its would-be skull, cutting it clean in half.

As the top part slid off and crashed into the ground, so too did the golem’s body as it - at least seemingly - was dead. Could a rock golem die? Questions for another time, Nasir supposed. At least for now, the room was back to being eerily quiet, and he clipped his lightsaber back to his belt.

Now, he said, brushing his hair from his eyes and wiping some blood and dirt off his face with his sleeve. Try to keep an eye out for where you put your cloven hooves, please have a little more grace than an average bantha.

@lizziie

 

[Ahriman]

The woman watched as Nasir finished off the golem by bisecting the construct's 'skull' with one clean slash. She visibly relaxed when the thing crumpled over and scattered across the floor; the head must've been its weak spot because whatever magic was holding it together ceased to do so. A small little pebble of it bounced a bit too close, and she kicked it aside.

Cloven hooves. Ahri's ear twitched irritably. She couldn't exactly argue since she had stepped on it, but it wasn't because she was clumsy. She wouldn't test it though; retorting that she'd done it on purpose made her sound like an idiot. Which... well, Daeva had already said his piece on that.

"Well, at least we know what happens if we press the wrong runes," she said plainly. Looking down at the floor again, she counted five runes: blood, clan, water, fire, and the force in ur-kittât. There were five statues as well, though at a glance they seemed like nondescript depictions of Sith lords. "I stepped on the rune for... clan, I think," she said, squinting at the ground.

Blood would make the most sense, she thought. But if she just pressed one of them again, she was pretty sure Smirks would lob off her head next.

"There are the same number of statues and runes, so I'm sure they have something to do with each other," she said as she raised her head again.

@Logan

 

[Nasir]

Ideally, we would have gone our entire lives without knowing that, Nasir quipped back, the annoyance in his tone veiled oh-so-thinly. Personally, I don't make it a habit of seeing just how easily I can kill myself with obvious mistakes.

Nasir let his bad mood simmer for now, figuring at this point - despite her transgression - they had better luck figuring things out together than if he were alone. Looking around, Nasir saw little in the way of clues to solve their current predicament, so - despite it being against his better judgement - decided tat Ahriman's line of thinking was probably their best bet for now.

Seems likely. Despite often times being a little gauche with their aesthetic, the Sith also are very deliberate when it comes to their puzzles.

Nasir's gaze turned to the statue that had the same rune as the one that Ahriman had stepped on. A stern and tribal looking fellow, likely a leader of ancient Sith before they were relegated to little else than scant tribes tossed to the Korribani wind. Numerous things were running through Nasir's mind - so many paths to take, so few of them potentially correct.

Eventually, he figured taking a step forward was better than standing still - choosing to ignore what had happened the last time one of them had stepped where they shouldn't have.

What do the other runes say? He asked, stepping carefully around the ones on the ground as he made his way over to the corpse of the golem. It would be best to work with all of the information, I would imagine. Sarcasm he couldn't keep out of his voice.

Kneeling down next to the severed golem head, Nasir used the force to move around some of the chunks to get a better view. A view of what he wasn't sure, but he'd know it if he found it. And after a few moments, he did find something. A battered and beaten old crystal, blood red but fading, neatly carved into a cube.

Picking it up, he walked back over to the statue he'd been looking at before and found a spot near its base the perfect size. He slotted the cube into it and heard an audible click as both the rune on the statue and the rune on the floor began to glow dimly in the gloam.

The golem was a defender of the clan, He'd said, gleaning meaning when perhaps there was none. One rune down. Hopefully the others will require less.. smashing me into walls.

Raising an eyebrow, Nasir looked toward Ahriman expectantly.

@lizziie