Ask Nobody Likes the Water Temple

[Alienor Pom Blodau]

Champala​

The skiff swished on the water as it meandered around ancient tree and draping vine. Linny held on for dear life as it swayed around, threatening to rock and toss her aside with every bump or glide over something in the water. On her belt, the little datapad beeped as they moved closer to their destination: the coordinates that had been found in the archives.

A few days before, an innocent trawl through the Jedi archives had brought up an intriguing snippet of information. Nestled in a dull report on rainforest life and patterns of weather on Champala, there had been a mention of a Jedi presence, or outpost, on the planet itself. No other such records existed in the archives, so it seemed to pre-date the modern Order. Once cross-referenced with some planetary map data, it seemed like it was located in some near-submerged ghost town, in the middle of Champala's southern hemisphere.

As her datapad pinged more and more, Linny looked over at Ava. She supposed that the Jedi Knight would be running the mission, technically, but who knew what that meant these days. Was there even a proper Order left after the Crusaders had left? Still, at least she looked ready. She only seemed a few years older than Linny, but looked a lot more mature. Must be a human thing, she reasoned in her head.

"I think we're close," Linny called out as the skiff slowed, her datapad pinging near constantly. Grateful for the momentary stability, she took her datapad in her hands and tapped, pulling up the map they'd been given from the archives. Seemed there were practically there... but nothing seemed to be around them. Nothing but crumbling remnants of buildings and the tangle of thick, venerable rainforest around them. Slowly, her eyes slipped down to the water.

"It's not going to be down there, is it?" she asked Ava, eyes wide. She already knew the answer.

@DMCK

 

[Ava Xeto]

Ava was enjoying the journey. The movement of the skiff was not dissimilar to a rollercoaster. She didn’t express her enjoyment as she could see that Alienor wasn’t as comfortable with the bumpy ride.

The two Jedi were on Champala to investigate a mysterious Jedi outpost. The location they were heading towards meant it was inevitable that they would have to get their feet wet at some point. Ava was dressed in her usual clothing, her lightsaber at her waist. Maybe she wouldn’t have to use it on this particular mission…

Her fellow Jedi was a dark haired Annfyn. She was young; just a padawan. However, Ava had only just become a knight and she probably wasn’t much older than Alienor. Still, she would do her best to look out for her.

“Great,” Ava replied, smiling at Alienor. Being a bit too eager to get up and moving, she stood up just as the skiff lurched one final time before coming to a stop. Reacting quickly, she flipped onto her hands before spinning over back onto her feet. “I should be more careful next time,” she commented, a grin on her face.

She perched next to Alienor, checking the map. There weren’t any signs of the outpost where they were. When Alienor did speak, Ava could see she was slightly apprehensive about going in the water.

“Seems like it is. Let’s go,” Ava said to Alienor, smiling at the padawan as she gave her a reassuring nudge with her elbow. Without hesitation, Ava leapt off the side of the skiff, spinning in the air before landing in the water. She was briefly submerged, before swimming up to the surface. “Come on Alienor.” She smiled again and gestured for the padawan to jump in.

@Charndley

 

[Alienor Pom Blodau]

Ava leapt right into the water with ease. Moving with grace, spinning, slicing into the water with barely more than a few ripples. She watched her swim up, her head poking above the waves. Seemed like they were doing this.

"Yeah, yeah I'm coming!" she said, putting her datapad down. Even she wasn't stupid enough to dive straight in with it. Sealing it inside her waterproof pack, she slipped off her shoes and grabbed the rebreather she'd brought. Standing at the side, she made a silent prayer to anything that was listening to make sure she didn't drown, or get lost. Or both.

Linny slipped off the side of the skiff, falling into the water. Her body dived down beneath the murky, green-blue water for a second before she swam back up, gasping for air as she broke the surface of the water. Strands of her long, dark hair were plastered to her face as she shivered.

"I think we should check out the ruins first," Linny suggested, just before she fixed the rebreather mask over the lower half of her face. With that, she pushed herself back under the surface, feeling the soft current waft through her hair and past her twitching ears. The ruins of Champalan buildings stretched out beneath them into the murky deep, past the point at which the sunlight beamed through.

Why did I volunteer for this? Linny wondered as she carefully started to swim down, adjusting her awkward stroke to compensate for back that was on her back. Delving slowly deeper as she tried to focus on keeping her breathing level.

Onetwothreefour breathe onetwothreefour breathe

@DMCK

 

[Ava Xeto]

Ava watched as Alienor packed away her datapad and positioned herself on the side of the skiff. Ava wanted to be as reassuring a presence as possible, and she offered a warm smile whenever her fellow Jedi glanced over at her. Expecting that Alienor would also make a graceful dive into the water, she was slightly caught off guard by the padawan awkwardly slipping off the side of the skiff. I hope she’s ok.

Alienor emerged from under the water, shivering. Ava felt a pang of sympathy for her. Hopefully keeping a positive attitude would raise her spirits. “Sure. Sounds good,” Ava replied to Alienor’s suggestion. She took her rebreather from her belt, folded it out and then shook some water from it before putting it on. Within a few seconds she was underwater again, closely followed by the Annfyn Jedi. Got to keep a close eye on her and make sure she’s ok.

Swimming down into the gloomy depths of the water, the ruins seemed to span a large distance. What once might have been a lively settlement, had been consumed by the water over time. It would be tricky to find something down here, but she was up for the challenge.

She could still sense some slight discomfort from Alienor. Swimming ahead of her fellow Jedi, she turned to the Annfyn and sent a telepathic message. “Hope you’re ok?” She gave a thumbs up gesture as well. She was only a young Jedi Knight. Perhaps Alienor would have preferred an experienced Jedi Master. I’ll do my best.

Unknown to the two Jedi, something had picked up their scent and was homing in on their location…

@Charndley

 

[Alienor Pom Blodau]

Ava's message slipped into her mind, giving Linny a little fright. She'd never really enjoyed telepathic communication. Felt a little wrong, though she appreciated that speaking normally now wasn't particularly easy to do.

"Okay thanks!" she sent back, giving a nervous thumbs up as she swam deeper into the darker waters. The ruins stretched further down, with Linny approaching the walls of one. Underwater plant life twisted around it, in mildly flourescent vines that pulsed gently. Little schools of fish darted away as she approached, making her smile.

"How many buildings do you think we'll need to check? An outpost could be tiny," Linny asked, uncertain of where to begin. Short of looking over every surface for an errant Jedi Order symbol, they could be doing this for days. With an inward sigh, Linny reached into her pack and felt for a light stick...

Something twitched at her periphery, making her twist around. She felt... something. A presence that was approaching quickly. She lifted her arm, pointing off into the inky, green-black of the water.

"Something's coming, from there," she told Ava.

Spoiler

rolled 20 on a d20 to sense the creature

@DMCK

 

[Ava Xeto]

Ava nodded to acknowledge Alienor’s response, before continuing her descent further into the murky depths of the water.

She approached the ruins, intrigued to take a closer look. The stone of the buildings had been heavily eroded. Swimming past an archway, she turned to check on Alienor. Don’t want to get separated.

She thought about Alienor’s question for a few seconds. “I think this is kind of too much for us. We can scout around, but maybe we’ll need to ask for more Jedi to come help.”

As she approached her fellow Jedi, she saw the Annfyn suddenly twist around.

Something coming?

She looked in the direction that Alienor pointed. “Thanks Alienor,” she said, grateful for the heads up. “Just give me a few seconds.”

Closing her eyes, Ava calmed her mind and focused on her surroundings. Whatever was approaching, was moving fast. Something about it gave her an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“Let’s move Alienor.” She glanced around. She didn’t want to chance the longer journey through open water, back to the surface. If she was on her own, she would have risked it; not when she was keeping an eye on a padawan’s welfare. “Over there,” she stated, pointing towards a not too distant smaller building with a narrow doorway and two empty window openings either side of it.

She gestured for Alienor to move ahead of her, as she followed. Turning back in the direction that Alienor had pointed in, she spotted a shape moving in their direction. She could just about see large fins on either side of the body and a long neck.

@Charndley