"Of course your original rooms are prepared for you, my Lord," she replied smoothly, her face pale and calm and utterly devoid of emotion.

"Servants remain poised for you to command; when Lord Aelvedaar arrives I will contact you that this meeting may then be initiated."

With that, and a sideways flicker of a glance toward Shayla, she turned gracefully around and strode from the Healing Chamber, her manner apparently callous for the fact that she didn't even seem to care about the well being of those injured yet laying within it.

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

Waiting until she was sure the lady couldn't hear, Thea took Link's hand and whispered to her, "I think she knows more than she lets on. Something in her changed when I told her about Shayla. Like she knows who she is or... Maybe she knows what a Sith can do. I... I didn't sense any Force sensitivity in her - but I know I don't know enough about it to be able to just trust my own judgment about that. I don't know what to do now Link. Are we really safe? Can Yaoksi and Aaron find us when they can get out of there? Do we have anyway of letting them know where we are without going through these creatures?"

Thea cautiously opened her mind to the Force, feeling around herself for those she cared about. Link's presence was a glaring beacon standing next to her, and she could faintly feel the men within the building. She let the sensations calm herself with the knowledge that as long as she could sense them, the others had to be alive.

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

Thea was right, the sith had the look of one who knew they had the better hand, but not yet wanting to revel it so the pot would sweaten a bit more.

"She does know more then what shes telling us. Something changed in her from before, I don't know what. Perhapse she didn't know about who we are. They certianly didn't know who or what I am. Maybe they thought we where servents of Thoran or something. I don't know but something has changed."

We need to get to the others but if these people are after us then how can we get to Aaron and Yaoksi. Correction their after us, I reached into my vest and pulled out my data pad and entered a sequence of commands. Then handed it to Thea along with a com link.

"As far as I can tell they're after you not me. So here's te plan I'll go get Yaoksi we come back here get you then we steal a ship and leave. One of the safties I build into this data pad was a self destruct incase I was about to get caught, it is the equivalent of a small thermal detonator. All you have to do is hit the accept command then you have three seconds to get rid of it. When I get back with Yaoksi I'll buzz the comm link, if someone tries to open the door before I buzz the comm then throw the data pad at them and if all else fails use the vibro blade. Any questions."

[ 01-18-2007 04:01 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Cel ]

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“It appears I shall be staying here in the Temple,” he said. “Remember what I have said, Shayla, no one shall harm Jharmeen as long as I have breath to live.”

He looked for ShaRhylla, and nodded at her as well.

“I only ask for a small amount of trust from you,” he said. “A chance to show you my words are true.”

With that, he walked to the other side of the room, where people were lying about and moving slowly in the wreckage of the healing chamber. He placed a hand on Thoran’s neck to check his pulse and looked at the two humans nearby. He glanced up at the one standing and staring at Shayla.

“You are friends of Galen and Terrin?” he asked, taking his mind off of the two unpleasant tasks he felt he would need to soon perform.

[ 01-17-2007 10:03 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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We don't need your help! a little voice oiled up from within to cry.

Smoothing over any evidence of that thought, however, Shayla responded with an even, "Yes, no harm will come to her."

She paused, surveying the damage she had done as though there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. "I will retire to my chambers now."

Saying not another word then, Shayla Petrolu turned on her heel and smoothly exited the Royal Healing Chambers, winding through corridors until at length she entered the chambers Graysith gave her and then closed the door.

Only then did she allow the darkness which was buried deep within her to gush forth, her eyes becoming dark and oily as anger shot through her entire soul.

We need the Dark Lord not; not at all! it growled. And yet another portion of her, buried deeper yet, insisted they didn't need Lord Phalomir simply because he, like all others before him, would betray or abandon them in the end.

Floating through her chambers upon the darkness of these thoughts, Shayla began to prepare herself to rest...

...and in no time wrapped herself in the silk and satin sheets of her bed, giving way to deep, dark slumber.

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But I want to remind you guys, in case you misread or forgot, there IS a Sith servant there with you...))

[ 01-17-2007 10:04 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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His eyes shifted to Yaoksi. "Where are the kids?" he repeated, unable to get an answer before due to everything that had been going on. And with that particular observation on his mind, Aaron's eyes shifted back to Phaomir's, and glued themselves there. "And who the kriffing hell is that blonde?"

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

I cut a quick glance at the remainder of our party; my eyes came to a dead halt on the crumpled form of Thoran, who looked, well...

Dead.

"Is he going to be all right?" I called out to Phalomir, watching Blondie out of the other corner of my eye, and finally letting my muscles loosen to see her moving a bit away from the others. They loosened enough, in fact, to let me go to Aaron's bedside.

"I left the kids with a nice Sithy gramma," I said, trying to cheer him with a perky smile. That smile faded a little; up close, his wounds sure as hell didn't look much better.

"Er, maybe I should go get them?" I asked, chewing my lip before adding, "although I don't know if they'd be any better off seeing you laying there, pal."

I tossed a glance to Phalomir.

"Hey, can't you guys do something? I mean, sheesh, what a welcome; all we ask for is our friends and then leave to skedaddle, and look what happens!"

Now my eyes narrowed a bit.

"You don't seem too concerned about Blondie here, and what she did!" I muttered to the Sith Lord, even though I knew he claimed that this gal was Shayla whom everybody loved anyway...

No matter how many of us she kills or maims!

[ 01-17-2007 10:25 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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“You are in the Temple of Warriors, the capital of one Clan of the Sith. You shall be treated as guests, and you shall in turn be expected to act as such. You arrival coincided with a rather unfortunately timed reunion, let us leave it that for the time being.”

Phalomir rolled Thoran over to his belly.

“I know Terrin and Galen, but they are not here. I last saw them elsewhere, but I have been told they are currently on Dagobah with others you may know. Humans by the names of Erik Kartan, Jasyn Lancaster, Matt… something. Stanza? Erik is Shayla’s husband. She is the blonde who just left the room, she is… troubled at the moment because Erik is currently lost on Dagobah and the others are finding him. My colleague, Dark Lord Aelvedaar, has gone there to assist them. I expect them all back here within a few hours at most.”

Phalomir wrapped an arm under Thoran and stood, effortlessly lifting the stocky Sith and throwing him over his shoulder.

“I shall see to the detention of Thoran, he is not well and needs help. One of these servants standing near the door will show you both to quarters as soon as you are able to be moved. If your injuries are severe, ask to be moved to the other healing chamber. I am sorry to offer such terrible hospitality, but I am a bit rushed. I shall find you soon, and tell you more, I’m sure you have many questions.”

Phalomir turned and walked away with Thoran. He paused at ShaRhylla, who still stood in the room.

“You must believe me,” he said, and continued on out the door and to his own chambers.

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

The stunning emerald shot violate eyes returned to the world as his lids opened and he stumbled into the room his mind spinning.

Quickly and quietly he slipped the sheathed sword from the sash which held his robes at his waist and lay it softly against the bed, before laying down himself.
Sleep child...vigil i shall keep

The blades thought passed through his mind and then there was darkness...

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

"Well, le-de-dah, buster!" I grumbled to myself before turning back to Aaron.

"I dunno about you, pal, but this ol' spacer is starting to get a ba-aa-ad feeling about all this--"

I waved my arms out to either side, perhaps over-doing it a bit. But oh well, I wanted to make double-dewback certain that my companion here followed what I was talking about.

"Suddenly we're expected to act as... guests? What the--?"

I shook my head, completely at a loss. For from my perspective that's entirely the attitude I'd come into this strange new world with to begin with; now after all the death and destruction and general brouhaha, said ruckus which our bud the Sith Lord so casually puts down as "an untimely reunion," my attitude had spun around a hearty one-eighty degrees.

I pinched my lips together, gathering up my bravado... and then let my shoulders slump.

"Yeah, the kids. I'd better go find them; they're probably having conniptions as it is, being left alone with these... people. But I didn't like the thought of you stashed away who knew where, so that's why I'm nere now."

I paused a moment, cocked my head and sent an appraising eye over his battered form.

"You well enough to walk, pal? I think we should gather our troops, and then go figure out how the heck we're going to get Thoran back with us.

"Like I said, I'm beginning to get a ba-aa-aad feeling about all this..."

[ 01-18-2007 07:13 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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"Wait. Link what do you know about the Sith? It won't do you any good to run into her and not know what she is. At least I learned about them at the Praxeum. It was one of our first lessons. Sith are Force users like Jedi, but they only use that power for personal gain and usually they use the Dark Side. There was a time when the Sith were plentiful and held the galaxy in terror. But the Jedi were able to defeat them. And they fought amoungst themselves until they were virtually wiped out. After that the remaining Sith Lord created the 'Rule of Two' there can only be two Sith, a master and an apprentice. According to Logan the apprentice would kill the master and take his place when she had learned all she could from that master. Shayla was just the apprentice when I last saw her, but that could have changed. In any rate she was a pretty strong Jedi before turning traitor. I'm sure she can use mind control. Who knows if this servant has any idea what she is doing or why. I don't know if that lady is evil, or if she is afraid to cross Shayla, or what. I couldn't imagine being forced to follow a Sith. THEY are EVIL. Even though she does know more, maybe she's trying to protect us. She thinks we're kids.

"Just remember there are only two Sith so as far as we know everyone else here may be prisoners too. Or they could be siding with the Sith. They could be trying to help, or not. Aaron and Yaoksi might be able to get more out of them. Just be careful finding them. I won't be able to hide completely from Shayla if she uses all her capabilities to find me. But she doesn't need to know you are here. Good luck."

Thea smiled weakly at her friend then pulled out the vibroblade and slid under the bed the best she could. She watched the servant carefully, in part feeling sorry for her if she was forced to the post, but in part fearing her should she turn out to be a willing ally of the Sith.

[ 01-18-2007 07:35 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Thea Morgan ]

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"Please," she said a bit hesitantly. "I could not help but hear you. I-- I believe you are misled, my lady."

She blinked her rose colored eyes prettily, lowering her lashes then for the fact that she had dared to contradict a guest, but continued.

"You see, I am Sith, and I know not of what you speak. I mean, my people are not as you say they are. But--"

Her eyes widened fearfully, and she gulped. While she had been a babe during the events of which she was about to speak, she had still learned of them in her schooling. The fact that her world had so close a miss to utter disaster yet unnerved her.

"What you speak of... those actions and attitudes sound more like those of the Jedi, who caused our Armorers to flee from their world and seek shelter with the Sorcerer Clan on Khar Delba."

Then she fell silent, still feeling uncomfortable for having to reprimand a guest, be it ever so mildly.

He paused as another pain sliced through him, worry clouding his eyes. "Maybe you ought to go look for the kids and Thoran without me. And what was that about Terrin and Galen on Degobah?" he queried, frowning as he went back on one hand, suspicion filling his words. "I thought Thoran said he was taking us to them, and therefore implied they were here," he commented. "Was that just me? I have a bad feeling about this too, buddy."

Frowning then, another pain shootng through him, Aaron straightened up a bit more. "Maybe if I could just get started..." he observed, falling silent then.

[ 01-18-2007 08:50 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aaron Barnes ]

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"I'm not saying you're in fighting form, buddy, but you sure as hell can't stay here!" I exclaimed as I hoisted him from his bed. I winced right along with him as his wobbling feet hit the stone floor, sharing in his pain.

"We gotta get you somewhere; DAMMIT! Where did that Sith fella say you could go?"

I paused a moment, trying to think. The answer remained elusive; shrugging beneath Aaron's weight, I began to help him toward the door.

"If all you need is rest, I can get you to where we're--"

And again I stopped, as succinctly and directly as if my words had snashed headfirst into a wall. For surprise, surprise; I hadn't a clue where we were supposed to be staying.

"Well... these peeps aren't supposed to harm us, right? I mean, we're supposed to act as guests, so therefore they're supposed to treat us as such.

"Aaron, lemme know if it gets too bad, but I think we should head on back to where I left the kids."

By now I had gained the door and moved out into the corridor, heading off back in the direction I had come from as fast as the weakened captain and I could travel.

[ 01-18-2007 09:24 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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Or maybe adreline was helping him forget about it, for the moment.

"Didn't that Sith guy say something about servants or healers?" he asked, ambling along very slowly with Yaoksi's much appreciated assistance. "Where the hell is everybody?"

Frowning then, partially due to this query and partially due to pain, Aaron slowed a bit more and furrowed his brow. "I really don't like..."

Aaron trailed at that as a couple of nearing Sith winding through the corridors in the opposite direction caught his eye. "Are any of those Sith the one you left Thea and Cel with?" he asked, wincing yet again.

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

“You can stop pretending now,” he said. “There is no one here but us.”

Thoran’s eyes opened warily, then upon seeing Phalomir alone he smiled.

“Begin talking,” said Phalomir.

And Thoran did, a mile a minute. Pacing across the room, he told Phalomir what happened after he was imprisoned, about Tattooine and the spiders and all. He told about finding Jharmeen and Shayla on Dagobah, and watching Shayla hide Erik. He explained how he ended up on an SSD, and meeting the humans, leaving out the part about calling himself a Lord. He also explained that the Darker Realms are no longer even a possibly safe way to portal, the darkness there seemed thicker than ever, and the demon population was incredible. Something big was going to happen.

After two minutes of listening to the fast talking Thoran, Phalomir sighed again, the current situation weighing heavily upon him.

“You will need to be held in a cell for the time being,” he said. “Until I come for you.”

Phalomir, not waiting for an answer, shot forth a blast of magick at Thoran that pinned him to the wall. He slowly slid down the wall, unconscious again. Phalomir gathered him and placed him on the bed.

He walked into the hallway and called for a servant.

“The Sith on my bed is to be taken to a holding cell,” he said. “Treat him with respect but caution, he is a friend but we do not yet know his mental stability. Fetch guards and take him.”

Phalomir then proceeded down the hall, heading for the healing chamber to check on the progress, and hoping to find out where the humans were taken. He did not have to go there, however, for as a pair of servants stopped to let him pass, as he turned the corner he could hear one of them speak. He continued on, pausing when he saw them.

“My apologies for departing so soon,” he said. “Have you been shown quarters?”

[ 01-18-2007 10:32 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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For a moment it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Ok, well maybe TWO pins; my heart was pounding so hard in my chest I'm certain it would drown out the sound of one.

"Does it look like it?" I half-snarled, shifting my footing to place more of Aaron's weight on me and less of it on his own unsteady footing.

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Phalomir stepped forward and caught Aaron under the arm. He lifted and provided ample support for Aaron to stand with little effort.

“Let me take you to the Dining Hall for the time being. We can finally show you some hospitality and answer your questions.”

Phalomir began walking, then paused.

“Oh, there were two others with you, yes?”

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

"Well... yeah, we have two kids with us. Ahh-- that is, children? You know, little ones?"

Freed from Aaron's ample burden I held a hand out about waist level, palm to the floor. I raised my brows, for Lord love a duck but I had no clue how these guys procreate. There hadn't been so much as one of these beings under the general age of adolescence that I had seen--

Maybe they keep 'em locked up somewhere away from the adults? Who knows--

"There's actually five in our party, though; don't forget about Lord Thoran."

Now what in all the known universe made me go on and blurt that out?

[ 01-19-2007 12:16 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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A small smile crossed Phalomir’s mouth, as a rare moment took him. He continued on with Aaron in tow, Yaoksi somewhat… well, stopped.

Phalomir stopped himself again and looked back, his eyes brimming with delight.

“I am making a joke!” he called back, laughing. “We have many children, but not here within the Temple. We are much like you, my friend. Come, let us go to the main dining hall and I shall send for servants to find the children and bring them to us. I will tell you of our race in the meantime and you may tell me how you know Galen and Terrin.”

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

I hovered in one spot, trying to calculate the odds of me tackling this guy, freeing Aaron, finding the kids, finding our friends, and getting home in time to sit down to a nice nerf steak and a Whyrene's. Then the incongruity of it all made me shake my head at myself.

Obviously if this guy was going to have us for dinner, larvae be damned, we would have already been roasted to a nice toasty brown. Assuming they cook their food, that is.

"Uh, yeah," I repeated somewhat inanely as I let my hesitant feet start moving me again. Pretty soon I had caught up with this great and obviously powerful being; up close I had to admit that there was perhaps something about him not quite as ominous as I thought earlier. Perhaps it was the little grin he was trying to keep from his face, or the twinkle in his eye, or perhaps it was that his horns--

His HORNS!

--weren't quite as razor sharp as I had first assumed they would be. So I hastened along, doing my best to keep up with his lengthy stride, and trying to push back the increasingly uncomfortable knowledge that we were now smack dab in the middle of an entire planetful of Lord Thorans.

"S-so, you want to explain how your people have managed to keep so isolated from the rest of the galaxy that no one ever dreamed you're here?" I began, wanting to fill the echoing corridor with the warmth of conversation that would hopefully transform my unease to, if not yet outright trust, then perhaps understanding.

Like a womprat understands a sandcat is about to strike.

Lord love a duck indeed!

[ 01-19-2007 12:40 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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“The Sith,” said Phalomir as Yaoksi eventually sat, “are an ancient race. What I am about to tell you is privy information, but as you are friends with Galen, and Thoran trusts you, I shall also. We are a magical race, and a select few of us have mastered another power beyond that. It was through this power that the race has kept hidden for so long. You could say that we were just simply not here. We wished to keep to ourselves, and be left to ourselves. But we always knew that we could not maintain this forever.”

Phalomir wanted to speak of the Dark Jedi, and of the time travel, but decided that would be better as another story at another time.

“The women you saw today, the humans. The beautiful redhead is Jharmeen, the current Dark Lady of the Warrior Clan, and my love. I am Lord of the Clan of Armorers, and the Lord of the Clan of Sorcerers is Lord Aelvedaar. But the women, you noticed they are human? Jharmeen is very special, and highly skilled in this power I spoke of. Shayla, the blond, is her second in command here. The other young lady is Jharmeen’s daughter, no relation to me, I am afraid.”

Phalomir sighed.

“You arrived here at a most inconvenient moment. There is a darkness within Jharmeen, and Shayla as well. For fear of you thinking me a superstitious fool… they are both…. I don’t know what else to say, but possessed. I believe I know what it is, but I do not know how to fight it.”

Phalomir put his hand to his forehead and scratched, losing himself in thought. After a moment he looked, embarrassed.

“Forgive me, I shall call for the servants while you eat.”

Phalomir stood and walked to the door, sending a servant off with instructions to gather help and locate the human and furry children.

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

Keep your wits about you, Yaoksi ol' pirate! I berated myself. For while it seemed more and more that this imposing Sith was being completely truthful to us, there was still no way of knowing for certain.

And with Thoran out of the picture, we're kinda stuck, totally reliant upon their hospitality... which could change in an instant.

So I just stayed quiet awhile, watching while Aaron settled himself as best he could, and when someone came up to ask what we wanted I ordered meat and fruit, bread and wine. The waiter, or whatever he was called, bowed and disappeared into the gloom of this room's shadowed corners; at that I turned to Phalomir.

"Well... that's just great, you know!" I opened with, shaking my head.

"Here we come through some dire and devilish place, where all these little... things rip the hell out of Aaron and hull my poor ship; and now you're saying that something similar is possessing those two ladies...

"...and that the one, though human, is some kind of leader of yours?"

I paused in growing increduality.

"How in all the Fates did that come about? I mean, no one knows of these planets--!"

I cut myself off then, as a faint memory of something Galen had mentioned back when I was transporting her and Captain Danner to where they'd needed to go.

"This lady doesn't go by some kind of hi-falutin title of Graysith, does she?"

((OOC: ok, this thread is ENTIRELY TOOOOO LONG!!! So please follow EVERYONE IN IT to where it continues, in Tears of the Rancor in the "Jedi/Sith" forums, thank you.))

[ 01-19-2007 12:58 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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