Ask Where There's the Force There's a Way

[Verse Tillo]

While there was nothing that seemed to have made the book fall, it seemed awfully suspicious that that specific book fell and that it had landed on that page, about Mors specifically. Verse suspected he was not in the house but close enough and strong enough in the Force to control small things in the house, such as making the book fall and creating the flash in the woods.

Verse exhaled and turned from the window. "It wouldn't hurt to check it out," she said, moving to go back downstairs. Part of her was losing interest in this whole situation; he was trying way too hard to scare them and neither of them were scared; they both seemed to have an almost bored attitude about the whole thing.

@Sicadorito

 

[Cheriss Ktrame]

Like Verse said, it wouldn’t hurt to check it out, and that was what the pair of Sith would do.

They’d soon arrived at the edge of the woods. The forest was oddly dark considering the sunny weather, but the light they’d seen earlier was still occasionally flickering from deep within. It didn’t look natural, and now that she was standing closer Cheriss soon realized that the light itself wasn’t really flashing, and that it was more the movement of the leaves in the way of the beam that was giving it the appearance of flickering. It wasn’t obvious, but it was noticeable if one were to look carefully.

Cheriss glanced at Verse, unsure if the other woman wanted to continue. She still had no clue what the “path” was and really had no intention of playing along anymore, but she was still curious as to what was scaring the locals.

“I’m going to see where that light is coming from,” she decided. “I’m sure it’ll give us some answers.” With that, she would step into the forest.

@Reylo4evr

 

[Verse Tillo]

Verse nodded and followed Cheriss out and around the house to the dark woods behind it. They paused momentarily at the edge of the trees and nodded once more when Cheriss suggested they go deeper in to find the source of the light. She hoped Mors was the source or at least near it; she was already debating whether this whole endeavor was worth her time. Mors seemed to be not only trying to scare them, but to pique their curiosity.

The light was closer and it flared suddenly bright before winking out. The two Sith women entered a clearing, Verse leading the way by pushing the leafy branches waving gently in the breeze out of the way. There was nothing visible in the clearing, but then again, if Mors was here, he could be cloaking himself in shadows with another Force trick. If it came to it, he would likely be weaker in a fight after exerting a lot of mental energy and concentration.

@Sicadorito

 

[Cheriss Ktrame]

Entering the clearing just as it appeared that they were going to find the source of the light, it suddenly blinked away. It left behind nothing, not even a trace. Cheriss’ hand instinctively dropped down to her lightsaber.

It was just in time, too, because a jagged bolt of lightning ripped through the air and came at the two Sith just then. Igniting her saber just in time to block, Cheriss was able to see that it was coming from behind the trees. And almost as soon as she did, the light from the electricity combined with that from her saber would light up the face of the man from before standing in the trees.

“So you came,” he said, lowering his arms as he stepped out into the clearing. She could feel heavy use of the Force around him, but there was no doubt that this time, it was the real Mors. “It’s not often I get visitors. And two Sith, no less.” He smiled again. “Your essences will last me a long time.”

@Reylo4evr

 

[Verse Tillo]

Like Verse had expected, Mors revealed himself in the form of lightning. She brought both her sabers up in an 'X', blocking the lightning that shot for the pair. The light of Verse's lightsabers, Cheriss' lightsaber, and Mors lightning illuminated his face once more. In this light, his skin looked pale and sickly; a thin rim of yellow was all one could see of his irises surrounding extremely dilated pupils.

Verse slowly lowered her sabers as Mors ceased the lightning and stepped into the clearing. Verse could see the imprints his heavy boots left in the dirt and grass behind him, and knew he was real.

Verse thought quick before replying. "It won't be easy. But if you manage to overpower us, you get our 'essence'. If we overpower you, however..." she paused, letting her words sink in, "You teach us what you know about the Force, and let us leave in peace,"

@Sicadorito

 

[Cheriss Ktrame]

Seeing now that both Sith had their lightsabers out, Mors narrowed his eyes. But he would smile again when he heard Verse’s offer. Cheriss, on the other hand, couldn’t help her incredulous gaze swiveling over to the other champion. Why would she think that they had anything to learn from the man? All he’d done was try to scare them with some cheap party tricks. But then again… maybe there was a thing or two they could pick up on.

“You have yourselves a deal.” With that, Mors would take a step back before offering the pair a mocking bow. By the Force, he’s insufferable. But Cheriss would merely nod back, pulling her saber back into a defensive position. The man made no move to obtain a weapon, and that somehow made her even more wary of what he might be capable of.

As if he knew this, Mors would gesture with his hand for the Sith to make the first move.

“Ladies first.”

@Reylo4evr

 

[Verse Tillo]

Verse knew Mors would be overly excited to show off and attempt to kill them in the most dramatic way possible; she was counting on it, in fact. Verse flicked her sabers, adjusting her grip. She raised them, widening her stance a little. Mors continued to mock them, gesturing for them to make the first move. Verse wouldn't make it that easy for him, and instead used the Force to jab him in the back. He whipped his had around to look behind him and then realized immediately his mistake and turned back around in time to see Verse take a dramatic step forward and lift her saber. Growling at her, he charged his arms outstretched. Just as Verse felt an invisible hand tighten around her throat, she brought her right saber up and chopped off his left hand in a tight arc. His concentration weakened as he stumbled backwards with a shout, blood pumping out of his dismembered wrist.

Verse took her own steps backward, readjusting her grip on her sabers. She watched Cheriss out of the corner of her eye, waiting to see what her fellow champion would do.

@Sicadorito

 

[Cheriss Ktrame]

A trick on Verse’s part seemed to do her well, and pretty soon Mors had lost one of his hands. A little out of practice, aren’t you? It also helped that her colleague was a trained champion, and a deadly one too. Against two of them? Mors would soon realize his mistake.

Cheriss would opt for an attack with lightning, sending a quick bolt at his chest as he stumbled backwards from Verse’s strike. With him already having lost his balance, he was only able to throw up a quick shield to block it. However, it was nothing more than a feint on the Sith’s part. The moment the shield came down, he would find Cheriss already behind him, the edge of her blade just a few centimeters away from the front of his throat.

“Now would be an appropriate time to make good on your promise, I would say,” she said, pushing him forward so that he would be forced to look up at Verse. “Well? What do you have to teach?”

@Reylo4evr

 

[Verse Tillo]

Pain lit up Mors eyes and he grit his teeth as he was forced to look up at Verse, who seemed unperturbed at the fact that his blood had sprayed across her front. "I suggest we start with your little Force Projection," Verse said coldly, stepping forward, making Mors bend his head back more to look up at her.

"I will if your friend lets me go," he growled, and spit out blood. Verse glanced up at Cheriss. She did not think it wise to let him go, but thought maybe he could stand. Maybe even search the house again and gather his books; perhaps they would be more useful and cooperative in sharing information about the Force.

@Sicadorito

 

[Cheriss Ktrame]

When Verse met Cheriss’ eyes, she had a feeling that the other champion was feeling just as skeptical about letting him go. But she was curious about Force Projection.

“Let’s say I do let you go.” Cheriss didn’t move herself or her blade. “How do we know you’ll keep your word?” She could practically feel the hate coming off of him, but one way or another, they would be getting what they wanted.

“You don’t.” A quick shove forward and down toward her saber seemed to do the trick. “Okay, it’s a book! It’s in the house. I’ll bring you there. Then read it, take it, do what you want with it! Just leave me alone!”

Cheriss glanced at Verse for her input. That sounded good enough for her, but what about her partner?

@Reylo4evr

 

[Verse Tillo]

Like Verse suspected, he seemed to want to be more difficult; despite the position he was in. Cheriss pushed him closer to her saber and he quickly complied. How the tables turn, she thought.

She met Cheriss' gaze and nodded. "Lead the way," she said, extending her hand back in the direction of the house. Verse would walk behind the man, her sabers still out in case Mors tried to make a break for it. They had overpowered him once; they could do it again. He seemed to know this since his walk back into the house was dulled, his shoulders slumped. Annoyance radiated off of him; he probably didn't like it that Verse and Mors had not fallen for his trick.

They arrived back at the house and Verse brought up the rear as they went up the stairs and walked into the room with the bookshelves. The book from before was still on the floor, and Verse picked it up and tucked it into her robe. She scanned the shelves for anything that caught her eye and found multiple worn, leather bound books with an ancient language scrawled in fading paint upon the spines. She pulled out one that had likely previously been green, and traced the writing with a pale finger. "Know what this means?" she asked Mors casually, holding it up for him to see. She glanced at Cheriss, silently asking her partner if she knew anything about it. She also made a silent offer to hold Mors if she wanted to look around.

@Sicadorito

 

[Cheriss Ktrame]

Cheriss would keep to one side of Mors, not letting him get in front of her or behind her. Nor did he try to much— he knew what would happen if he didn’t comply. With Verse bringing up the rear, there was really nowhere he would be able to run.

At the house, Cheriss would stand guard beside him while Verse looked through the book. When she showed him the page, Mors squinted to make out the text before shaking his head. Cheriss exchanged a glance with Verse.

“That’s about summoning force ghosts. No one I know has mastered that, not even me. Don’t even know if it’s real,” he muttered. “Next page.” If Verse found it, he would nod.

“That’s the right one. The language is none that either of you would know. It’s supposedly written by the sorcerers of Tund—”

“Why don’t you translate it for us?” Cheriss tilted her head in the direction of the book. “You clearly know the language.” That would at least give him something useful to do while she and Verse could look around some more if they wanted to.

@Reylo4evr

 

[Verse Tillo]

Verse turned to the next page. If Mors was telling the truth, this part was about Force projection. She scanned it, but it still made no sense to her.

She walked over to Mors and handed it to him. "Make yourself useful," she said, smiling coldly. She walked to a nearby wooden desk and picked up a yellowing piece of parchment, then set it back down. "Translate here," she said. "And don't think about lying; it'll cost you more trouble than its worth," she continued, locking eyes with Mors, making sure he knew what was up.

She then turned back to the bookshelf and picked out the other two books with the same language.

@Sicadorito

 

[Cheriss Ktrame]

As Mors reluctantly began to work on translating, Cheriss would keep an eye on him from behind. She knew it would be uncomfortable for him, but she wanted him to be constantly reminded of who was in charge here. She’d been willing to work with him earlier, but after the shenanigans she and Verse had to put up with, he’d brought this on himself.

“Find anything interesting?” she asked Verse idly as the other champion flipped through a few other books. Glancing over, it appeared to be in the same language, and she wondered where Mors had gotten all of this.

A few minutes later, Mors would set down his pen.

“Done?” Cheriss would look over the man’s shoulder to see what he’d written down, and what was on the paper appeared to be right. Although, what would she know?

“Yes. Now, you said you would let me go.” Cheriss looked to Verse. She knew what she wanted to do, but she wanted to hear Verse’s thoughts first.

“What do you think?”

@Reylo4evr

 

[Verse Tillo]

Verse flipped through the other two books, noting some similar markings. "It's hard to tell," she replied to Cheriss, glancing up and shutting them once more. They would take these as well; and use Mors' translation of the first book to help them translate the other two.

When Mors finished, Verse walked over and looked over his other shoulder. She read what he had written in Galactic Basic, and it made sense: most of it was about summoning the dark side of the Force to project oneself. It looked like a rougher, more detailed description of Force projection than the books one could find in the various Sith academies.

"Before you go," Verse added, setting the other two books down in front of Mors. "What are these books on?"

@Sicadorito

 

[Cheriss Ktrame]

Cheriss would take the paper and step aside as Verse brought two more books for Mors to look at. He looked annoyed, but it was clear that he still wanted to keep his remaining hand. Good for him to keep his mouth shut in that regard, Cheriss thought as she folded the slip and put it into her pocket.

“This one’s about creating illusions with the Force,” he said, gesturing at the first book. “It’s quite easy— much more so than projection, in my opinion.” He looked at the second. “That one’s on Force cloaking. Temporary invisibility.” He looked up at Verse.

“Keep the books. I don’t want any more of the likes of you near me again.” He pushed them in her direction before turning away like a child rejecting a plate of vegetables. What he’d given them was probably enough to translate the other books, and Cheriss didn’t see much more that he could offer anymore.

“Thank you, Mors.” But before he could get up to leave, she would place her hilt against the back of his chair and activate the blade. A soft gasp escaped his lips before she turned it off and put it back onto her belt, leaving the man slumped over his desk as if he’d simply fallen asleep.

“Let’s get going, then?”

@Reylo4evr

 

[Verse Tillo]

Verse took the books and the translation and tucked them in a small satchel she wore under her robe. This excursion had been a success, in Verse's opinion, despite their slow start. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that," she replied when Mors told them to keep the books. They would have anyway, and Verse had a feeling she knew what Cheriss was going to do before she did it.

Like she had thought, Cheriss quickly and quietly executed the man by impaling him through his neck. The champion casually returned her saber to her belt, leaving Mors flopped over on the desk, blood slowly seeping into the wood, mingling with the blood from the stump of his missing hand.

Verse nodded and headed for the doorway. She would walk out of the house and back through the village. She thought she saw the man from before who had warned them away watching them as they left the small village. He had no idea how the two Sith had just blessed the village, ridding it of Mors' dark magic.

@Sicadorito