He had then turned his mind towards his new wielder, Kelvandar, as he was called. Knowing that he would need to be prepared for his latest task, he had silently reached into Kelvandar's mind, searching for anything and everything the warrior knew of this Salandaar. Ragorian's knowledge of him was, after all, extremely limited.

He spent a time carefully analyzing Kelvandar's Salandaar-related thoughts, but the warrior's own feelings of surprise had drawn his attention back to the present, in time to witness his target, the mighty Salandaar, being assailed by a...creature. Some sort of monster that, he had realized, he was completely unfamiliar with. As Salandaar pinned the creature with his weapon, then seemingly succumbed to his wounds, Ragorian's chance had been suddenly presented to him. Kelvandaar, without warning, had nonchalantly pierced Salandaar's unconcious form with his blade, and Ragorian had swiftly gathered a part of himself and launched it across to Salandaar's mind.

As he alighted, he realized that if the warrior did not get treatment quickly, he would have little point in being here; there was no use in his remaining in a corpse. Kelvandar, however, had acted quickly, removing Salandaar's body and getting him carted off to the Healer's with surprising speed.

Knowing that he had, perhaps, limited time, Ragorian had wholly focused himself on the part of his being within Salandaar. He established a firm hold in the deepest, darkest corners of the powerful warrior's mind, so as to make sure he could not be expelled upon Salandaar's reawakening...

...assuming that he did, in fact, reawaken.

As he finished this, he loosened his intense focus upon this small part of his being, allowing his perception to reinclude the other parts of him...

...including the one now within ShaRhylla's mind, which informed him that she had called for his aid while he was wholly focused on Salandaar.

Making one last check that he could not be expelled from Salandaar's mind without a fight, he brought his attention back to the greatest part of his being, that within his blade, which was now replaced upon its grand home on ShaRhylla's mantle.

A quick assessment of his surroundings assured him that he should have been paying more attention to this aspect of his being. Things were not as they should be in the dining room.

He had arrived in time to witness the buffet table, somehow floating in the air, accelerate swiftly and slam into Kelvandaar, who had been standing, staring at the table, and send him sailing across the room to crumple in an unconcious heap.

This was followed by several quiet muttered curses from the midst of the room...which, like the rest of the Hall, was supposedly empty...

...and a Sith warrior with two humans, a man and a woman, entering through a previously-unnoticed door in the wall.

As these new arrivals approached the center of the room, they suddenly disappeared just as though they had been enveloped by a great invisible bubble.

Incredulously, Ragorian focused harder, and his senses picked up traces of a whispered conversation being held in the area the humans and Sith had just dissappeared into. His focused harder in time to barely detect a woman's voice saying "...out of the invisibility shield to make this look totally convincing."

Then, suddenly, the Sith who had been with the two humans appeared again, crossing the hall and opening a door, waiting a moment-presumably for those under the...invisibility shield...to enter- then entering himself and closing the door.

For a moment, Ragorian sat in bemused silence, as surprised as he had ever been in his long existence. That had all been so...unexpected...and it had happened so fast that he barely knew how to react. His mind spinning with unanswered questions about these...people, whoever they were, he was nevertheless distracted by yet another unexpected occurence, in the form of another disembodied voice.
"We ask that you take us down from this vantage position and release us."

However, it was only a moment before he remebered the voice and found the source of it: the odd pod object that Lady ShaRhylla had suspended near the ceiling some time ago. His curiosity about this creature, this whatever-it-was in the pod, rose again. Reaching out with his mind and using his magicks, he sent out a questioning pulse of mental and magickal energy directed at the creature, testing to see if it could intercept and interpret the pulse and if it would respond.

He was about to attempt to examine the pod further when his mind reminded him of a question it had been working on and could not answer, one of far greater importance than this pod-creature.

Lady ShaRhylla. Where is she?

Reaching out with his perceptions, he quickly found his mistress in her bedchambers, collapsed on the floor, apparently sleeping. A note of alarm rising in his mind, he examined the room, searching for some sort of explanation to his mistress' condition. It took little time before something attracted his attention. It hung in the air of ShaRhylla's room, this something, and was fast disappearing. Quickly he reached out to examine it, and even more quickly he recognized it for what it was.

Magick. A spell, recently woven and more recently dispelled, its traces quickly evaporating.

This magick must be the reason that ShaRhylla slept so suddenly, he told himself. It would explain why she is collapsed on the floor. But now that it is dispelled, she should be awakening at any time...

He again let his conciousness shift, this time letting focus reside with the part of him that now resided in ShaRhylla's mind. He could tell that his Lady still slept, and that she was dreaming. Curiosity rose in him about what his mistress would dream of, but he squelched it, refusing to wander in her mind unbidden. Instead, he gently called out to her, attempting to reach her in her sleep, and awaken her.

"Lady ShaRhylla? Milady? can you hear me?"

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

He blinked several times, shook his head slowly, and turned back to the group as if nothing had happened.

“I believe we should assume that Aeylmaar is held against his will, and hope that he is only hiding. I will not ask anyone else to go but myself and Panthar. I intend to only investigate Aeylmaar’s disposition, then report back to you.”

Phalomir bit his lower lip and thought.

“There is another way,” he said slowly. “I hesitate only because of the strangeness you speak of, but I am able to project my consciousness outward. I can use this method to investigate and keep physically away from the potential danger. What do you think?”

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

I quickly bent down, readjusting my limbs to keep him fully out of sight before I narrowed my fingertips and increased the muscle mass in my arms, "tip-toeing" on my fingers through the petals as not to disturb them, to the secret pathway that I knew lurked behind this wall.

I crushed myself flat and slid through, then alighted a bit more comfortably upon my feet inside the passage, and began to steal upwards to the passage that would show the dinning room. What trouble what trouble... she'll be so disappointed! I thought, knowing I'd changed her script by doing this, now fully having shifted to my "halfling form".

I peeked through the small crack, but beheld not our new "leading lady". I hesitated a moment, considering that she could be out of sight, then alighted back down the passage to see if she was in her chambers.

I came to the appropriate alcove that marked the "entrance" to her chambers, and this time "knocked" upon the wall, signaling that I was to approach. I realized this could be quite shocking, having it that we'd just met recently as I slid into her room fully, my eyes closed in the case that she not be fully decent. "Milady, be you present?" He called quietly, but loud enough to be heard within the chamber.

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

All this casual talk about sending spirits hither and yon was enough to make even a rancor nervous.

But I didn't say anything. Truth be told, there really wasn't much for me to say. I mean, no one died and made me squad leader, right? And this temple was Phalomir's turf after all.

So I just smiled and nodded, casting a glance to Terrin as I did so.

"Whatever works, Big Guy," I said. "We're not getting anywhere just standing here flapping our jaws, you know."

I then fell into my own further speculations, silent.

[ 07-24-2005 11:47 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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

Terrin trailed, frowning, "We're eventually going to have to leave the safety of this place to get to Aeylmaar. How long should we wait before we move again...?"

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

Ahead he could see the ship where he had left it, along the side of a small valley. "I'm going to get home, and I'm going to settle this..." He muttered. "This errand boy work grows most old."

He trotted down the hillside and began crossing the small valley.

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

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

“I do not fear the Darker Realms,” he said. “Should I be become trapped there once again, I shall still do all within my power to free Jharmeen. But this is merely reconnaissance, I do not intend to enter any portals.”

Phalomir turned his attention to Terrin.

“Since none of you know exactly where this temple lies, it will take some time to locate it. However, while in spirit I may be able to lock onto some sort of signal from Aelymaar.”

Unlikely, however, if he intends to hide in this strange place.

“My body will be alive, but I expect my breathing and general life signs may be quite low. If you fear I have been gone too long, over 30 minutes perhaps, then hide me somewhere and do what you must. When I am able, I shall return.”

Phalomir turned to Galen.

“Is there anything else you can remember that may help steer me to this temple?”

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

(((OOC: Occisor Amyntas crawls "Into the Out of" int his forum. Thankyou....)))

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

He put a hand to his skull and found the source of pain, a large lump upon his head along with a good sized slash in the flesh. That would explain it... I stand in a room waiting for guests, guests arrive, and act like they've already had a half gallon of- he winced, touching another sore spot as he started to get up, groping for his spear to his side as he did so.

He'd heard someone speak to him, but it seemed strange, more like a presence than anything else. "Wierd.... I'd love to report this to the lady... but I'd rather not disturb her, she's had a rough day... the "death" of her mother and such."

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

But... words were words, and both were softly spoken. The young halfling had been heading off for slumber, a natural slumber suddenly intensified by the magickal spell Rykounagin had placed upon her chambers. Though the spell had been lifted once the Finger of R'lous had been appropriated by Dark Lord Aelvedaar, her body still needed its sleep.

Thus, despite the soft words with which both her companions were trying to awaken her, she merely moaned lightly, curled into a tighter little ball, and slept on.

It would take more than words to awaken her at this point.

[ 07-28-2005 12:37 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by ShaRhylla ]

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

I moved over to her bed and spoke aloud yet again. "Milady ShaRhylla, there is an urgent matter to be attended too." I watched her for another moment, and saw that his words would not awake her.

I put a gloved finger to her shoulder, and gently sent a spark of magic through her, a sort of "static shock" to awake her.

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

He plotted the lift and the ship touched off from the ground, slowly ascending up into the air before beginning to ascend faster through the atmosphere. As he sat there, he felt a strange sensation of nostalgia (ooc: great song btw.))) and disappointment.

He had completed the mission in essence, in every way instructed, but felt he was still disappointing his father. The look he had held before sending him off to do this task as not nearly as affectionate and heartwarming as one would hope. Thus far he had failed two tasks of three for his father, and even this one though technically successful seemed oddly incomplete.

He then though, had to think back to when his father had given him what he had always wanted purpose and love from another, as family should be, a weakness he did suppose. But then he also thought to these errands, and felt a stab of arrogance.

Had not his father told him that he could have what he wanted, for he was a prince, the son of the greatest sith their was? Then why was it that his greatest wish, which was to remain with his father and learn, was being denied?

He then felt furious stab of frustration and smashed his fist home to the side of the co-pilots chair, and for a moment, watched it spin slowly where it was, revolving gently from the force of his blow. He then remembered the first lesson, of which he had now finished, though he was sure he'd recieved a failed mark upon it.

He took a moment and breathed, and knew that in his father's infinate wisdom, he should have confidance, and know that his father had his best interest, and that of the sith race in his heart.

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

"Look, buddy," he finally piped up irritably. "Isn't that what you are supposed to be using your Sithy powers for? To find that temple and Aeylmaar? If we stand here all the damn day talking this over, someone will eventually figure out where we went. I don't want to be standing here discussing the damn logistics when they do, either."

[ 08-05-2005 02:52 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jasyn Lancaster ]

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

"Yeah," I said, crossing my arms across my chest.

"You're the one with all the froo-froo heebity-jeebity stuff; seems kinda strange that you don't know where this temple is. Hell's Seven Circles, I don't really know where it is--!"

I stopped, drew in a breath, let it out between puffed cheeks.

"I mean, I kinda remember the location: it's out in the boonies, near some mountains someplace. Seems like there was a ridge or something overlooking it; I can't really recall, I was in a bit of a daze at the time--

"Oh, hell! If we could only get to a Sith ship, the coordinates are right there in the navigation logs! Now wait a minute... lemme think here...."

Backing immediately down from the outburst mode with which I had initially begun to speak, I now closed my eyes and concentrated.

C'mon, Galen ol' spot, you can remember. Remember how Dad was always so proud of you, that you could never forget a coordinate? How proud you were too, to be a walking nav-log; you always thought that doing this was important, just in case the real nav-logs got lost and you had to get somewhere in a hurry.

Remember? When you were with Sorben, I think it was, and you were trying to get... where was it? Oh yes, you were heading back to Khar Delba to rescue him from Wicked, remember? You didn't forget those coordinates now, did you? So surely you can remember--

"I've got it!"

Quickly, before I could lose the information stored in a singular few of my brain synapses, I rattled off a series of numbers.

"There," I said with a definite nod of my head. "That's the location of the Temple of S'slan.

"Now, lemme think again..."

Another pause, in which the concept of freeflow of thought was greatly appreciated....

My head popped upright, and before I realized it another series of numbers dropped from my lips.

"There," I said again, nodding in conclusion. "Those are the coordinates of Phrinnchatka. Now, if we can estimate how many klicks there are per degree, we have a heading and should be able to find the Temple."

As the crow flies. Which was in a straight bee-line.

Nevermind the terrain beneath its wings....

I didn't mention that, though. One knotty problem at a time; let someone else come up with the fill-in stuff.

I nodded my head again and put my fists on my hips, waiting for someone else to give our marching orders so we could get this show on the road.

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

And quite angry about it.

"Who dares awaken me in so coarse a manner!" she snarled, hands held like claws at shoulder height. Then she saw the Masque, and let those hands fall a bit, although her stance remained loose and ready to pounce.

Strange, even in that position she looked no less noble than if she were putting on her most haughty of airs...

...only infinitely more dangerous.

A moment ticked past. Then another, and another, until she got her anger under control enough to speak in a manner mere shades more civil than before.

"What do you want, to come into a Lady's bedchamber in the dark of night, and awaken her thus? What is this that has sent you to me?"

Only then did she feel the whisper of her consort niggling in the corners of her mind.

"I am here," she replied silently, never removing her gaze from Masque.

"My dear consort, I am awake. Is there something of importance you are trying to tell me as well? For there is one standing now afront me in my chambers, who has had the affrontery to awaken me from my slumbers..."

Quieting with that, she continued her face-off with Masque, all the while remaining quite innocent to the events that had transpired so recently -- and with such unforeseen results -- in the lush confines of her very rooms.

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

"That'd be easy enough to plot out, especially if we've got someone good at working numbers..."

She trailed a moment, eyeing both Matt and Terrin. After all, as business people, they both should be very familiar with playing the numbers.

"Still, we'll have to consider the terrain of the planet. We already know from what Galen said the Temple is probably in a mountain range...

...therefore our coordinates are going to be a straight shot from a pilot's perspective, and not from that of a person on foot.

"Would this difference affect your ability to find the Temple once we map the coordinates, Phalomir?" she queried, cocking her brow.

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

"The ploy has failed, they have noticed a flaw, and as all words go, it sounds as if your "guests" have disappeared. And-" He looked at her closely and at the room surrounding.

"Perhaps I am mistaken, but it seems there is something missing from your room or person. An artefact that from my observations was of some value?"

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

...which he hadn't had for oh, a good year or so. How easily it came back to him. Not long after Shayla finished speaking with her query to Phalomir, Terrin rattled off the estimation of klicks they were from the Temple of S'slan, per Galen's coordinates.

"Of course, as Shayla mentioned, these numbers are good from a pilot's perspective," he added. "If the terrain is going to play into this, some more figuring may be in order."

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

...provided we had a ship. And perhaps that is not such a bad idea. Assessing Aeylmaar's status is one thing, but it will not get us all to him, as I believe was one of our objectives...

...and it will not get us off this world either. As Terrin has already suggested, we are going to have to get on the move again, and soon. Currently we are in an apparent maze of sorts, and we don't know all that much about our surroundings...

...but my logic tells me that a hidden maze is no good unless it gets you somewhere special. Where do these pathways go...

...and might some of these paths get us the hell out of here?"

He paused, then continued with, "Is there any way to assess such things through the Force while Phalomir does his job, so we can get moviing? If we could get out of here and head towards Char'lingua, that'd be a step in a major direction...

...because when I'm talking about getting out of here and to Aeylmaar or off this planet all together...

...I'd love to do so with some Sith fighter class and protection...

...it ups our odds of success substantially, I believe."

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

...but I'd also entertain the notion that perhaps our best bet is to turn around and haul our rear ends out the way we came if the Sith guards are distracted enough trying to find us to miss our return and departure altogether. This might give us a chance to visit the Sith Library, which was another objective of ours. And it might be more effective in getting us where we need to go. Of course, if Phalomir is available and can give us some idea of where we are in this passageway and where it might go, or if we can even figure this out ourselves...

...staying right where we are might be more effective too. Just some food for thought..."

[ 08-05-2005 10:12 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Erik Kartan ]

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

He began to turn at this, then paused a moment, remembering something he hadn't had to think of in quite some time.

"Uhhh... Boss?" he queried.

The corner of Terrin's lip quirked into a bemused smile. "I'm game," he then said.

That was all the encouragement Jasyn needed, and Jasyn knew with Terrin's reply that he wasn't the only one wanting to move, and that at least some of the others, if not all of them, would be at his back.

So he began trudging down the dark pathways, frowning as the darkness came pressingly to his attention.

"Hey, I think someone might have asked this before, but does anybody have a light?"

...or a blaster, the errant thought came worming into his brain. Now that would come in really handy about now...

[ 08-06-2005 03:35 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jasyn Lancaster ]

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

"The dark lady has entrusted us to find revenge and protect her home, let us not betray that trust."

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

But hey. All in a day's work, right?

I patted myself quickly as we moved along, and of course came up empty.

"Sorry, I don't seem to have any light on me," I whispered. "All I can do is keep light from hitting us, sorry."

I patted the control to the Sith invisibility device I still wore, even though no one could see the movement.

A bit of time then passed which was filled with the small noises we made in our journey. I couldn't even begin to tell you if we continued in a straight line or if we had moved off into side passages; when one relies solely on the sense of hearing to guide one, direction can easily be lost.

I sure as hell hoped that we hadn't gotten ourselves into a similar predicament.

At length I couldn't stand this creeping about any longer.

"Hey, does anyone remember anything about the layout of this place?" I tossed out with a hint of desperation in my voice.

"I mean, who's got a good spatial memory? I have something of an idea of the direction in which we're travelling--"

Assuming, of course, that we were continuing in a straight line, of which there was no absolute guarantee....

"Can anyone think where inside this temple we might be heading? I think that 90 degrees to our right would be the corridor that goes off to the suites and so on; has anyone here taken a gander of the outside of this temple at any time, and might have an idea of how far we have to go until we--"

My words were halted by the simple fact of their being crushed back into my mouth, for suddenly I found my face mashed up against the back of whoever it was that had been walking ahead of me. That unseen worthy seemed for some reason to have stopped cold in his or her tracks; suddenly I realized why.

"--come to the end of this corridor," I finished, wondering if there was an intersection ahead of us or simply the cold, stone walls of the backside of the Temple itself.

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

He blinked.

"Who has escaped?" he finally asked.

"And of more importance, who was attacked? The only unfortunate I am aware of is our poor Dark Lady of the Warriors--"

He paused a moment to bow his head in grief and respect.

"--but news of no other altercation has since come to my ears.

"What is this you speak of?"

Falling silent then he merely waited for his fellow warrior to explain himself. While he did not wish to cause any undue delay in the reappropriation of possible escapees, he also was wise enough to not go running to his superiors at every little whisper and hint of danger that might be spoken. Indeed, he knew what happened to Sith who cried rancor too often; it wasn't pleasant.