Marsh Haunt Rescue

[Insanity]

With the fog withdrawn, the path was clear ahead of them as they started to move again. Velx followed Sorn, while Binz followed Akacen. Both of the two soldiers kept glancing uneasily into the fog, though both kept in mind the two Jedis' words. The ruins got closer, almost unnaturally growing within moments, despite the distance it had seemed to give before. It almost undulated in the Dark Side, now, as the Jedi got closer. Velx was the first soldier to feel it, reaching up to pull his helmet off. "There's... a voice.... it's telling me to run, to join them..." He fell to his knees as they reached the ruined temple's entrance, which seemed to delve into darkness. His helmet hit the ground as he started to scream, clutching at his head and sobbing. Binz watched, hearing the voice as well though he was able to ignore it, with difficulty. He was scared though, holding back from getting closer to the ruin as he looked at the swamp. Around them, that thick fog was coming back, hiding the landscape away and leaving only the ruins unfettered. It wanted them to go in, to walk into the darkness and madness. Those red eyes appeared again, though no laughter accompanied them now. Only an abnormal silence, as if the swamp itself was gone.

Then one of the creatures stepped out, the fog relinquishing it. It was taller than the humans it now faced, though just barely. Between it's shoulders, a lump seemed to appear, four red eyes set into it. It stared at the intruders for a moment, silence...

And then Binz fired on it, screaming from the fear that coursed through him. The thing hunched low, an arm coming up and taking the shots. It seemed almost unfazed as it barreled at the soldier, the blaster-fire ineffective. Behind it, more of the things emerged, their approach slower.

 

[Master Maverick]

He just watched as the eyes came back. He had enough wherewithal to resist going into the Temple running, but now he was frozen by the terrifying sight. He could only watch in pure terror as the creature showed itself. First, his mind was blank, it just standing there, staring at them.

"Hold your fire!" He yelled at the soldier, a new found authority and confidence coming to his voice. He had regained his senses and was finally able to think a bit more clearly.

Fear started to grip his heart. Not because of the natural dark side energies given off by the creatures, but at the fact that it was unaffected by the blaster shots. They were in even more danger than before. He was glad he had his real saber, recently made with his Master, Ayisha. He would actually be a bit more useful if fighting ensued.

The picutres that he had seen in holocrons were not far off. Though they were not exactly accurate, he could see why. The pure evil didn't allow those who saw it to live after. Normally.

He realized that it would be more than unwise to fight these creatures as there were about a score of them. They were horribly out-numbered, and the fact that their blasters didn't work, made the range advantage they had irrelevant.

"We can't fight them. We need to do our mission and get off this rock as soon as possible." His voice was a mix of fear, annoyance, impatience and anger. The anger, however, was not of his own making. Though he was able to block a bit of their impressions, some still got through.

"Lan, how many explosives do you have? If we close the entrance, would you be able to blow us a new exit?" With that, he started to move back slowly, impressing upon the others minds to do the same. Fighting these *things* would mean certain death, and he had no desire to die.

 

[MolotovCocktailParty]

Sorn paused, waiting for the others to catch up. It would not do to go rushing off and get himself killed while the others lagged behind. For all they knew, there could be more of these things in the ruins. As the rest of the group approached, Sorn nodded.

"The room's clear," he said. "It looks like the ruins are free of these things, but we can't be certain. The blasters didn't work, which means we'll have to resort to more old-fashioned tactics." He tapped his lightsaber. He disagreed with Akacen on one point - he thought that fighting the Haunts was suicide; Sorn thought it was a great idea. They just needed to do it on their own terms.

"Akacen, if we can force the Haunts to come through a narrow space, or at least box them in one room and come from both sides, I think two Jedi ought to be more than enough to deal with them. Blasterfire doesn't pack the same punch a lighsaber does, we'll be able to hurt them. We need to find a good place, and set up an ambush. When they're dead, and we can breathe easier, we can follow the trail again."