"You enjoy your game don't you?" He chuckled. "Seduce those with things you want into doing what you like, then when you're done with them, or will get what you truely want from someone else, you place your blade in their back and go to another, and play the same tune."

He held his breath for a moment as a sith warrior passed within a few mere meters of him, but breathed again after a moment.

"Like hellfire I'll betray my-" Then suddenly as though in a faint motion, his magic flared as Rykounagin seemed to faint, slumping back against the shadows of the wall. For a moment all was silent then...

"You're toying with things you don't seem to understand, little spirit." The voice seemed to resonate from somewhere within Rykounagin's body, but it had no physical voice, though projected to the Axis it boomed as loudly as an explosion.

--------------------

The warrior holding the heavily studded leash that encircled M'wonBo'o's massive head dug in his heels and pulled. The quasi-intelligent beast on the end of the lead came -- at last -- to an obedient halt...

...but not before savoring the hot blood of the prey he had managed to catch.

The warrior ducked, cursing as the imp the tuk'ata had latched onto yowled and writhed, it's tail whipping dangerously back and forth. The tuk'ata crouched over it, the ten-inch claws of one forefoot pinning that flailing tail to the stone in such a manner that, while it did manage to whip about like reeds in a high wind, it could not whip or bend far enough to strike the animal that imprisoned it.

The warrior scowled, disgusted that his true prey was fast disappearing amidst the ghostly shadows of the pillars.

"Here, beast!" He yanked M'wonBo'o's tether.

"Back off; this is not worthy to be even a tidbit for a tuk'ata!"

Snorting his disgust, he wrapped the lead about his hand, once, twice, thrice; each wrap "walking" his hand up the lead until the tuk'ata was firmly held by a mere meter or so of strong leather. Now close to the writhing demon, the warrior took the only action he could think of.

His sword flashed once, coming to his hand.

It flashed again, this time neatly removing the threat of the poisonous tail neatly from the imps nasty little body.

The thing's howls rose in crescendo, joining with the still snarling tuk'ata, whom the warrior managed only by utilizing every bit of strength he possessed to pull off of his prey.

"There, beast; there is blood less foul for you; onward!"

The companion tuk'ata, erstwhile standing fastidiously by, now leapt forth, joining with M'wonBo'o in dragging their attendant Sith Warrior, as the threesome took off running once again in the direction the Dark Lord was heading.

He felt the stub slowly healing, but knew it would be a few hours at least before the stinger would be no more than a pointed stump. He growled, and scampered down the hall after the sith, and within a few moments leapt upon the siths back.

Unlike most beings, Occisor didn't settle for "an eye for an eye". He wrapped his vicious claws around the sith's throat, and bit onto the creatures horn, prying for a moment before tearing it off. "HOWS DO YOU LIKE PAIN?" He shrieked gleefully as he bit his own arm, spattering the hissing green blood upon the face of the sith.

He continued viciously savaging the sith, ignoring the shrieks of the being, as well as the crushing and groping hand that was attempting to fling him from the body of the sith.

--------------------

Little spirit?

An insult! Yes, that is what that was. How refreshing…

A nanosecond later and the world exploded in the warrior's face as starstreaks and red curtains announced the not-so-neat removal of a horn from his head. Fresh agony then sprouted, lightning fast and seemingly simultaneously: in his sword arm, his muscled thigh, the small of his back, the back of his head...

...and finally in his throat.

His eyes glazed, rolling back in his head as he fell to his knees, the hand holding the tuk'ata loosening as death came in from all angles to claim him.

M'wonBo'o didn't even glance at the demon, but with his companion shot off with a speed to rival it, now freed from the tension of the restraint that had been placed upon them, bounding forward in ever increasing leaps, closing the distance quite effortlessly as they quickly came up upon the fleeing Phalomir.

Behind them, ten strapping warriors came running to the body of their fallen comrade, closing in from all sides, their swords and spears slicing and stabbing, as they fought to destroy the little demon from hell.

Rykounagin was now slowly climbing the wall, not caring wether he was spotted at the top.

--------------------

That and about a thousand more expletives rushed unrepentant through my head as I rushed onward, hanging on to Terrin for all I was worth. For if he pulled out of the narrow radius I had our invisibility shield adjusted to, not only would he be instantly seen by our pursuers but I would not be able to get him back under the shield without compromising my own position. There were enough Sith present to easily "triangulate" our whereabouts; our best defense was to remain underneath the shield and as quiet as possible.

Something that was not an easy feat to accomplish when one is trying to run full bore, persued by tuk'ata ready to rend and rip and tear and chew...

I shuddered, recalling the absolute terror I had felt all those months and months ago when I had come upon Terrin laying at the feat of Roan (*shudder*) with a tuk'ata holding him prisoner. Just the mere thought lent wings to my feet; seeing that Phalomir was further ahead of us, thanks to his lengthy stride, and possibly beyond the influence of the shield, I now groaned softly.

"Oh, hell!" I whispered quietly, gagging out the words between pants and gulps of air, hauling Terrin to a skidding halt as I watched the Dark Lord likewise -- and inexplicably -- come to a stop himself, his demeanor intimating that he was deep in conversation with someone.

???

"What's the deal with him?" I breathed, wondering if we should just say hell with it all, dash forward, grab the big goof, open the blasted doors into the temple, and continue on our mad-dash way.

[ 07-04-2005 06:04 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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And dreamed.

[ 07-28-2005 12:34 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by ShaRhylla ]

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...literally, came the unspoken addendum. Then, Terrin spared only the briefest of moments to look back at Matt and Jasyn. "Get him," he mouthed...

...then pressed onward towards the double doors Phalomir had indicated, knowing the boys would follow his suggestion. Trying his best not to drag Galen along with his longer stride, Terrin barrelled through the double doors, taking one final look behind him to see the boys dragging along a once-more shocked Sith Lord. As the doors slammed closed, Terrin knew time was ticking, for it would be obvious where they went.

So he kept on the move. As they moved through the receiving hall, they progressed on directly into the dining hall...

...and the words Jasyn now spoke made Terrin slow just a bit.

"How about we take a roll through the buffet?" he heard. "The tuk'ata track by scent...and that just might throw them."

Even as Jasyn spoke the words, Terrin could hear the clawing on the double doors they'd just burst through themselves.

He shot a look at Galen, eyebrow cocked.

Jasyn's idea was fairly crazy, but was it crazy enough to actually work...?

[ 07-04-2005 06:27 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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"It just might work," I whispered, remembering how Sorben and I had eluded Gravin Dark and his nasty Noghri by covering ourselves in fresh poo-doo to eliminate our scent.

"If we can manage to get to the food, and more importantly, get it off wherever it is without anyone seeing food just up and disappear."

I cocked an eyebrow Jasyn's way as if to ask him if he had figured out that part of the plan yet. But then there was no more time for any further speculation.

The double doors in our wake burst open again, releasing a flood of warriors led by the two biggest tuk'ata I'd ever seen.

Or, Khaandon be with me, ever wanted to see again....

Pursing my lips tightly together I headed toward another set of double doors, conveniently opened for us, as if someone had left in a big hurry.

Hastening through, the others all in a jumble right along with me, I crept into the Dining Hall, doing my best to avoid brushing against anyone or anything.

It was just as I remembered it: there at the back, directly ahead of us, was the large buffet, everlastingly laden with foodstuffs. Off to one side of it was the smaller door leading into... well, what exactly I didn't know, maybe a private meeting room or a lounge of some kind, as low voices emanated from it. To the right, however, was something that made me pause right where I stood:

There was the great stone fireplace, above it which hung a beautiful sword that I didn't recall. All about in front of that fireplace were couches and chairs and tables and furs...

...right along with a lone Sith who cocked his head as though seeming to know we were there....

[ 07-04-2005 06:38 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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Fates, but Panthar was sure taking his time...!

And at last they arrived. Panthar paused, hesitating as if he were about to say something, his hand reaching for the door but not touching...

...and Shayla couldn't take any more.

"Open the door already!" she gorwled. Panthar's brow shot up in momentary suprise, and he finally complied, opening the creaky wooden door and stepping out, continuing on as if leading she and Erik along, appearing impressively convincing, at least in Shayla's opinion...

...at least,he was appearing convincing until he stopped in his tracks. Shayla was about to open her mouth to make a caustic remark about him getting a move on when whatever had already grabbed his attention grabbed hers...

...as well as did about four other somethings. For there, sitting at a couch in the dining area was a apparently waiting Sith...

...whose head was cocked as if he was looking at something invisible directly in front of him. And Shayla immediately realized that perhaps he was at that...

...for she easily could sense the other four, very familar presences.

The Sith obviously somehow sensed their cloak. This would never do...

So, immediately stretching out with the Force, simultaneously stretching her hand out towards the buffet, Shayla locked onto the massive piece of furniture with the Force...

...and quite effortlessly lifted it, totally unbeknwonst to the Sith who sat in front of it, so smooth was the motion. As the buffet moved in mid-air, however food began to splatter willy-nilly everywhere. The Sith turned, and began to stand in surprise...

...but barely began doing so when Shayla let the buffet fall, keeping a controlled grip on it as it hit the couch and sent the Sith still half-way sitting on it sailing through the air. As he hit the wall where the buffet used to sit, his eyes momentarily widened, and then he slid down it, his body suddenly growing limp as his widened eyes closed. His body at last came to a resting position on the floor, motionless, as he was down for the count, hopefully buying the her stealthing commrades some extra time.

And all the while, Shayla couldn't help but think, Man, what a way to make an entrance...

[ 07-04-2005 07:11 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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Yeah, that's right. Me, knocked absolutely speechless.

Will wonders ever cease....

Immediately following said blink came my hand, rising instinctively to wipe some kind of hot and spicy something or other from my eyes, which blinked again... and again, and yet again, watering now for all they were worth.

"Damn!" I couldn't help but mutter as whatever sauce those Sith used in whatever particular dish had slopped all over me now continued to slop into my eyes, and then to seep into the pores of my skin.

Hell's Seven Circles, but that stuff was hot--!

After what seemed all-too lengthy minutes but what in reality was probably mere seconds my eyes started functioning again. I turned them immediately upon a wholly welcomed sight:

That being the completely unexpected arrival of Shayla, Erik and the lumbering Panthar, who popped into the Dining Hall through a door--

Through a door?!?

Yes, through a blessed, blessed door!

--that up until said seconds ago I hadn't the faintest clue existed. Actually, that naggingly persistent logical portion of my psyche now rose up to lecture, this isn't all that farfetched. It's a big temple, full of mystery and intrigue. Of course there would be hidden doors and corridors and whatnot....

Whatever. The fact remained that the door did exist, they had come through it, had wreaked all kinds of havoc of their own, had managed to knock the lone Sith out in all the fray, had managed to complete the little mission, suggested by Jasyn, which up until nanoseconds ago we were wondering exactly how to accomplish ourselves...

...and all without making the voices in the other room lose a beat.

Remarkable.

It must be a lounge, I thought in non sequiteur as I hurried up to Shayla and the others so as to swiftly engulf them under the confines of our invisibility shield.

And they must be used to all kinds of ruckus going on in this room!

Whatever the reason, no one so much as peeped a horn out to investigate what had happened to cause such thunder right next door.

Lucky us.

I rushed up to Shayla, threw my arms around her in an impulsive hug, still speechless. Then I pulled back, nodded first toward the unconscious Sith and then the double doorway leading back out into the corridor.

"Am I ever glad to see you!" I breathed, light as thistledown, still hugging her tightly even as logic continued to inform me that we should either make the most of our luck by remaining still until the warriors and tuk'ata moved deeper into the bowels of the temple, or cut and run while the running was good.

--------------------

...and fast. She pulled away from Galen a bit, the look in her eyes urgent as she nodded back towards the door from which she, Panthar, and Erik had come. "Let's get out of here," she breathed, turning and looking to Panthar. "Lead the way, Panthar. You're the Sith...

...and you should probbly step out of the invisibility shield to make this look totally convincing."

She trailed a moment, realizing how much she was coming to think of the guy as a Sith...

...then dismissed the thought, pulling the others along towards the dungeon door as Panthar took heed of her words and lead the way a few steps ahead of them, opening the door and waiting a moment for everyone to step through, finally stepping inside himself as they began their descent downward and away from the ruckus upstairs.

--------------------

Kriffing hell, but it had been a long time since they had eaten...

...and as he could recall, Sith food wasn't all that bad...

Not really thinking about it, Jasyn licked his lips, his stomach suddenly rumbling. A particularly familar and blessed flavor took over his taste buds...

...and he licked his lips again, slower this time, savoring it.

Yeeeeeeeeees indeedy...

"Mmmmmmm...." he said under his breath, licking his lips yet again, oblivious to the turned heads and cocked brows around him as he continued with, "Sith brandy...

...what a fine girl you are..."

[ 07-04-2005 08:11 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jasyn Lancaster ]

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It didn't matter how horrendous the circumstances; a touch of the green always put things right with him....

Still smiling, I spoke to the group at large.

"Now that we're all together, what is it we're planning on doing again? I mean, does anyone have any idea what to do to find Ayelmaar; and where the heck does this passage go to anyway?"

[ 07-04-2005 08:17 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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...but I also know that the way we just came out from the dungeons is not the way we were lead in."

She pursed her lips a bit, turning then to look more at the others. "Might just be my hopes getting too high, but I don't see how a passageway from the dungeons to the dining hall could be that useful...

...unless perhaps those are not the only places it leads..."

--------------------

"You just might be on to something there," I acknowledged Shayla's speculations.

"This is a big ol temple; stands to reason that it would be just chock full of hidden passageways and so on. I mean, so many cultures did incorporate such things into their megastructures; Khaandon knows Dad found enough of them on his non-Sith digs--"

I came to a verbal halt with that, winding down into unexpected sadness, surprised yet not at the emotion the thought of Dad sparked within me. The others seemed to sense this, for they too remained quiet for a moment as well, and all that sounded was the soft beat of our footfalls as we sneaked deeper and deeper into the temple.

It suddenly struck me that we were in total darkness, the utter kind of non-light one would expect to find deep within the bowels of the earth. I paused, feeling someone bump into me, my hands reaching out and coming into contact with... well, with somebody.

"Anybody have a light?" I commented, sudden chills prickling up and down the back of my neck as the depths of the temple seemed suddenly less beneficient than moments ago.

[ 07-04-2005 09:19 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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Terrin paused a bit, his brow shooting up in surprise as he reached out to feel for Galen, knowing she was close by and suddenly wondering if someone or something else was out there. His hand made blessed contact with a familiar hand.

"It's ok, it's me," he spoke out reassuringly as he took her hand. "Calm down, Jas...

...and a light would be nice about now..." He said, restating his earlier thoughts aloud.

[ 07-04-2005 09:15 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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"Umm, yeah... light," I repeated, trying to keep my voice innocent, happy as a clam in sauce for that complete darkness of the passageway we were now feeling our way through.

[ 07-04-2005 09:31 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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While running, a portal from the Master had opened, and an invitation to join him in the Darker Realms was extended.

“I will come now,” he had said, hate filling his face. “And will leave nothing of your realm in my wake.” And he had meant it. For far too long happiness had evaded him, for far too long all he had ever desired had been jerked back and forth from his grasp. His life was shrouded in secrets, and never had he felt to be the master of his own destiny. But that would now cease.

But someone had pulled him away from the portal, away from Jharmeen. Whoever it had been, he now hated them for that.

Phalomir raised his palm to his chin, a soft red light bursting into existence and hovering just over his turned hand. The glow spread outwards, illuminating the hallway and the damp mossy walls. The hatred and anger poured from his face, making the red light all the more fiery.

“Light,” he said coldly.

[ 07-04-2005 10:13 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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The light-hearted camaraderie, camaraderie sprung from a brush with the insane, with the dangerous, with the warriors of the Sith, now evaporated like mist in hot sunlight. In its place there remained a growing discomfort, sprinkled not without a bit of fear.

Not to mention rising anger; this I knew sure as there's treasure on Roon because it was coming from me.

I knew my face was as hot as the red light that poured from the Dark Lord as, without really thinking, acting more on instinct I suppose, I dropped Terrin's hand and stomped to the Sith.

I positioned myself right smack in front of him, putting my fists on my hips and trying to look as intimidating as possible.

Which, just as a suggestion from those who know me, was pretty damn intimidating, my diminutive height be damned.

"Look buster!" I seethed, aware of the concerned looks being shot my way, of the mediating fix on Erik's face, of the determination to prevent a fight from brewing shining out from Shayla's, from a determination equally tough on Terrin's that nothing would happen to me, no matter how loud-mouthed or ornery I got.

"I have had about enough of you!"

Now my hand, errant beastie that it was, flew from my hip, fisting en route to Phalomir's chest where my index finger shot out and entrenched itself.

"Look buddy, we went through all kinds of hell and gone to keep you from following in the footsteps of your pal back there; we've risked our own lives following you because you are the only link we have to Aeylmaar and a possible solution to the mess we're all in; I am sick and tired of your wah-wah attitude; would you get with the program and work with us for Khaandon's sake?!"

With that I seethed to a trembling halt, shaking off the hands now trying to stop me, utterly tired of this big guy's constant flip-flops in attitude.

For one of these days we weren't going to be as lucky as we have been, and would flop when his attitude toward us flipped....

--------------------

“I have offered a solution,” he said. “A simple solution. One thing we share is a love for Jharmeen, and I have a way to return her to you. The Master has offered a trade, me for her. I find that fair, do you not?”

He sighed, his face softening somewhat. The rush of anger abated slightly, leaving a strange trace feeling in his head.

“Very well, but twice now my communication with the Master over Jharmeen’s fate has been broken by someone dragging me off. Cease the dragging, please, and let us now talk.”

--------------------

It was merely purposely overlooked.

"Oh, that would be just peachy!" I retorted, now crossing my arms on my chest and letting every cell in my body radiate disdain at the suggestion he proffered.

"She would just love that, now, wouldn't she? I mean, sheesh, to have you so selflessly fling yourself into Khaandon knows where and what, the least terrible probably being certain death, all for her sake, leaving her behind and us to then deal with her--

"Hell no, buster!"

My arms uncrossed to fist at my side as, don't ask how, I found room enough to take yet another step into Phalomir. I glared up at him, feeling the heat of his body striking me while, oddly enough the coldness of something he was holding back washed over me like waves upon the shore.

I strove to ignore it; taking a breath, I hurried on.

"No way, there is no way in Hell's Seven Circles that I'm going to let you do that. Look, I know my sister, I've lived with her, fought with her; Khaandon knows we've been at each other's throats for the past four years--

"I'd say I have a pretty fair handle on her and her behaviorisms, and I know for a fact that she most definitely would NOT want you to act all big and bad and jedi-knight-in-shining-armor-run-to-the-rescue...

"Not if it meant that you'd be separated.

"I refuse to live with what that would turn her into; nope! We are all in this together; believe me, she's strong, she can take care of herself, and if you really love her like you say you'd quit thinking with your heart and start thinking with your head.

"We can outwit this Master -- but we need Ayelmaar's help!

"And we need you to help us find Ayelmaar!"

[ 07-04-2005 10:56 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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...but you've gotta think of what she would want as well...

...as well as what would be best for her, and not necessarily just for your own conscience. So let's use our collective brain to find Aeylmaar and figure out a way to get to Jharmeen...

...and logically, without compromising another one of our own."

--------------------