Three-way Treasure Hunt (Akrabbim et al.)

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

The light freighter "Maiden's Voyage" shook violently as it reverted from hyperspace, engine trails erupting behind it as the sublight engines took control. It clunked loudly as it shot through the space around Myrkr, sending an occasional cloud of black smoke from one seemingly defunct engine. From an outside perspective, one would wonder how the ship was even able to move.

Inside, a sudden jolt sent Saveeradeevaravaravee crumpling to the floor.

"Dammit!" He stood, brushing himself off as he did so. "It sure looks authentic, but for all the trouble it gives me..."

Reaching for a small table next to his bed, he grabbed his cap, shaking his head to ward off the lingering effects of sleep before pulling it on. Once he had donned his various weapons belts and his boots, he made his way to the cockpit to initiate the landing sequence.

As he exited the sleeping quarters, he stopped, speaking into the "empty" room.

"You can get out from under the bed now, Mrs. Hara. We'll be landing soon."

Without waiting for a response from the "hidden" stowaway, he left the room. Moments later, there was another series of violent shudders from the ship as it entered the atmosphere, only intensifying as the ship approached the surface of the planet. Several moments later, the ship was finally silenced.

Shutting off the last of the Maiden's systems, Saveer rose from his seat and headed for the boarding ramp. A quick glance told him that his stowaway was still in her hiding place.

"Suit yourself"

There was a soft hiss as the boarding ramp lowered to the surface, and Saveer left the ship.

[Alexia Sturkov]

Soon it will be mine Alexia smirked as she watched the planet Myrkr from the bridge of her ship; the long sleek transport vessel, the “Morning star” , which sat in the shadow of the planet’s moon. And when I have it I shall use it to kill him , she turned away from the viewport and stalked across the bridge to where her command chair sat. She sat down in the chair, crossing her legs and turning her green eyes on the Arkanian who manned the navigation station. (All of her command crew are Arkanians) “Is there anything between us and it?” She asked and the Arkanian promptly shook its head, ‘No, ma’am. It’s completely devoid, no vessel signatures, no debris, nothing.” You can never be too careful , Alexia told herself as she turned to look out the view screen again; such an items of power usually had guardians, traps, or people who get in the way. The last thing she needed was to fly straight into a space mine left behind by some ancient over zealous protector.

Alexia was about to give the command to send out droids to scout the area when someone shouted that a ship was emerging from hyperspace. “What!?” Alexia roared, springing to her feet and rushing over to the Arkanian that had given the command and peering over his shoulder at the console. A small vessel was heading towards the planet, nothing hindering it as it entered the atmosphere and landing on the surface. “Take us into orbit!” Alexia screamed, feeling quite the fool.

The Morning Star’s engines came to life and powered the large vessel towards the planet. “Take us in on the same course as the other ship. Never too careful, she reminded told herself again. They entered the atmosphere without a problem and where soon flying high over the tree tops of Myrkr. The strange vessel was no where to be seen, having disappeared into the thick foliage somewhere on the surface. “Set us down in that clearing,” Alexia commanded, “And tell Jurak to prepare his troops.”

The ship landed and the boarding ramp was lowered to the ground as Alexia retired to her private quarters to prepare for the journey. Obviously her black and red gothic style dress that she currently had on was not appropriate for traversing the thick jungle world of Myrkr. She searched her wardrobe and couldn’t find anything that she was willing to get dirty and decided on wearing black and red, sith style, robe and cloak. As for weaponry; she fixed a blaster on her hip and attached her lightsabre hilt to her belt. She slid a knife into her belt, as well, and then strode from her quarters. Yes, the power will be mine, and I will use it to destroy Zereth and his idiotically followers.

[Akrabbim]

OOC: This takes place before the "Cheese Crackers and the Funny Pages" threads.

His long months of searching finally led him to Myrkr. His Master has started him on this quest, leaving him just enough information to uncover the existance of this artifact, and later its location. His Master had given him this quest after Akrabbim had told of his desire to stop the Empire in any way possible. His Master had told him that he must procure this artifact... it would be necessary in order to accomplish his goal. He still had no idea what the artifact actually did, but his Mater assured him that he would figure it out easily enough.

He arrives in a small, matte black scout ship... one he had "borrowed" from the Empire. He had hoped to get the item without any interference, but upon arrival in orbit, he finds that he has not been quite lucky enough for that.

He watches as one small ship drops to the planet, followed by a larger one. He slips into the shadow of the larger ship, hugging the hull. With luck, they will not have noticed his ship in all the preparations for landing.

As they break the atmosphere, he can feel the Force being cut off from him. He had heard of the strange creatures on this planet, creatures able to cut off the Force. He had not expected how unnerving it would feel, however. Not much to do now except ride behind the large cruiser and slip away as they attempt to land.

He checks the equipment he brought with him... bacta patches for possible injuries, his katanas, his saber, his shuriken, a small blaster, plus a few other sundries. He can only hope that his intel is better than that of the others coming to this planet.

[Hara Kiri]

"Wait!" She called from under the bed and squirmed out. Unfortunately, she was stuck at the hips beneath it. "If you leave me..." She bit her lip and strained to unsecure herself from whatever was holding her there. "... i swear I'll hate you forever! And that's NOT a good thing! Errr!" Whatever thing that was keeping her stuck uinder the bed really had a grip on her.

"Don't stand there! Help me!"

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

<font color="#666666">OOC: Sorry for the delay. RL stuff/lack of creativity getting in the way lately. (I'm over the latter, at least...)</font>

Saveer stepped out of his vessel, casually observing his surroundings. Most of the planet seemed to be heavily forested - a good thing, for a spy. The trees were tall and dark, and some odd lizard-like creatures scurried about here and there. A faint howl sounded in the distance, announcing the presence of more dangerous canine beasts on Myrkr.

Saveer was distracted from his musings by an odd, whiny cry for help from within the ship. Sighing heavily, he turned and entered his ship again.

Once inside, he saw the source of the whining - the would-be stow-away had managed to lodge herself in her incredible hiding place. Saveer shook his head.

"If you're going to sneak aboard my ship, Miss, it would be advised that you are able to sneak back off. And..." He rose an eyebrow in intrigue. "Try to hide somewhere less... obvious."

Not only had she entered Saveer's ship without permission - something he continued to conveniently ignore - she had done so under specific instruction from the Sith Elders that she not come. Still, she was here, nonetheless. No point in making things more difficult than they already were. With another sigh, Saveer lifted his hand, reaching deeply into the Dark Side.

He found nothing. Shaking his head in disapproval, he lowered his hand again.

"Ah. How foolish of me."

The ysalimiri had more range than Saveer would have guessed. The entire planet seemed completely devoid of the Force. It was somewhat disquieting, but not nearly so much as it would have been for a Master. Saveer had lived 27 years of his life without the Force. He could do so again.

Walking back into the sleeping area, Saveer found a small control panel on the wall. Reaching out, he scanned the controls for a moment before pressing a small blue button. The sound of servos filled the room, and the multiple beds began to rise, folding into the wall - along with Hara Kiri.

Saveer had had these mechanisms custom-installed many years ago. He often found himself with more cargo than he could carry, and the ability to easily convert this room made his business that much easier. Still, a simple Force lift would have been so much easier, and Hara Kiri wouldn't now be dangling by the back of her shirt from the bottom of one of the beds.

Saveer found it very difficult not to laugh at Hara's new predicament. Something on the bottom of the bed had snagged her shirt, and she now hung in the air, flailing about like a fish out of water.

"Don't worry, Miss Hara. We'll have you down in a moment."

Turning, Saveer left the room again. The end of the bed was much too high for Saveer's 3'2" body to reach. He would have to find a long branch to get her down with.

[Hara Kiri]

Saveer came in and was gone as quick as he came. "Oh jeez! What are you doing? Help me darn it!"

She squirmed in her spot and tried to loosen her shirt from the bed.

It tore.

"Oh jeez, oh jeez." She said as she looked back at the rather large hole in it. What distressed her most was her exposed skin and the evidence of a rather large old scar on her hip. "Oh no." She moaned and bunched up the shirt around the whole. She slid her back against a corner and did her best to hide tears and look pleasent. The effect was an over done pleasent front as Saveer returned. "Umm, Saveer? Can you get me some tape.. or a sewing kit? Please!?"

[Alexia Sturkov]

From her quarters, Alexia headed towards the rear of the ship and into the small hangar that usually held a few star fighters, and now was converted into a living space for Jurak’s army. Most of the space in the hangar was filled with cargo crates full of weaponry and equipment, and the force hunters occupied whatever floor space was left. A savage growl shook the room as Alexia entered and every one of the genetic soldiers where on their feet, backs straight, chins raised, and eyes looking straight ahead. “Everything is ready, Trinity.” Jurak said as he walked up beside her and dropped down one his knee and lowered his head. “All the soldiers are armed and prepared. They only await your orders.”

Alexia looked down upon the giant that cowered before her. Jurak was easily seven feet tall, with pale greenish skin that poorly concealed the rippling muscles underneath. The force hunters where a living weapon with poisoned claws and fangs, bulbous eye with excellent night vision, and in Jurak’s case; large spikes that protruded from his shoulders, elbows, and knees. Deadly blades, power gauntlets, and face plates made them even more dangerous. Their blades where bad of a dense metal alloy that allowed them to withstand contact with a lightsabre numerous times before being rendered useless, although this material was too heavy for human’s to wield in combat, the force hunter’s magnificent strength allowed them to use them to use the blade with ease. Jurak himself, with his even greater strength then the normal hunters, could wield too such blades at a time but preferred to use a single, larger blade, instead. The power gauntlets allowed the hunters to put their full strength behind a punch without the risk of breaking their fingers, and or wrists. Also hidden launchers filled with poisonous or exploding darts gave the hunters another edge in combat. The face plate was a helmet that only covered one’s face. These plates where equipped with heat vision, sensor equipment, and comm units. They also are strong enough to withstand a blaster bolt and save the hunter from a quick death. The hunters also wore a kind of black studded leather armor that offered them only mild protection but allowed them to move freely, all in all they where a formidable foe not to be reckoned with.

This mission for the artifact was an opportunity for Alexia to field test her warriors and aquire a powerful weapon as well. Now all that remained was traversing the jungle for it. “Move your troops out and get them positioned outside the ship. I want a perimeter set up and send scouts out to search the area for a ship that set down right before us. I want its occupants alive and in one piece,” She turned away and headed back for the door, “And with all their limbs.” She finished before the door shut behind her.

Alexia smiled to herself as she made her way to the landing ramp, and fell flat on her face. It seemed the thick hull plates of her ship had repelled the Ysalamiri’s anti force bubbles, but now that she was vulnerable and had stumbled as the force was ripped away from her. She cursed loudly as she picked herself up and finished transcending the ramp. Down the length of her ship a second ramp lowered and the force hunters spilled out like Piranha-beetles from their nest.

[Akrabbim]

As the large ship gets closer and closer to the surface, Akrabbim gets his chance to slip away from the much larger vessel. The repulsor lifts of the ship lower it slowly to the ground, mavuvering it into a large clearing. Akrabbim shoots away in his much more agile skiff, hugging the tree tops before rounding a small hill. Once he is effectively out of sight, he continues along the coordinates he had uncovered. At least he should have a head start on the others.

Once he lands, he suits up with all the gear he can carry, as well as a Storm Trooper's breastplate under his tunic. At it's better than nothing. And without the help of the Force, blocking blaster bolts is out of the question.

He exits the small ship, draping it in some camoflage netting before locking it down. He'd hate for someone to stumble onto the thing TOO easily. He follows the small map he made, leading deep into the woods. Shortly in, he descends down a gorge, leading him from the bright sunlight above into a gloomy, damp, cave-like environment. The temple in question is supposed to be far below ground, so he's still got a long walk ahead of him. As the light fades almost entirely away, he removes the protective light-shades from his head. Coming from a nearly pitch dark planet, his species is able to nearly see in the dark. The down side, of course, is that bright light is almost completely blinding. In this light, however, he can see perfectly. He trudges onward, trying to remain silent as he does so and staying alert for the sounds of any persuit.

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

"Miss Hara, we don't have time for this! The Maiden's scanners picked up another ship entering the system, and it was heading toward a nearby clearing when the forest interefered. They may be after the same thing we're here to get."

He looked at Hara Kiri, standing in the corner, her cheeks full of chagrin, and sighed.

"Fine."

He walked to the opposite end of the room and began rummaging through an old trunk. After a moment, he rose, a blue t-shirt in his hands.

"Here." He tossed the shirt to Hara. "This should fit you." Turning, he left the room. As he walked through the hall to the boarding ramp, he called over his shoulder at the strange woman.

"And hurry up! We don't have time to waste!"

With that, he left the ship again.

[Alexia Sturkov]

Alexia pulled out a grubby piece of paper and looked the written contents over, and then again. She growled and shoved the paper back into her pocket. The bar rat's information was almost completely off, or entirely. Perhaps the planet had changed since the old spacer had been to myrkr, or he had just made it all up for the credits she paid him. She snapped her fingers Jurak walked over to her, "Remind me to kill the informant when we're done here." She said angrily. "Yes. Trinity. It shall be done." "How has your search gone so far?" "The immediate area is devoid of sentient life." "Very good. Assemble you finest warriors. They will escort me to the artifact. You are to remain here and protect the ship, is that understood?" "Yes, Trinity." "That is all." Jurak slapped bowed his head and then strode off, barking orders at his men.

Within minutes a group of twelve hunters had arranged themselves before Alexia. "Let us be off at once." She said and then strode forward and into the forest. [i]Hopefully the informant isn't as wrong as it seems..."

Five hunters filtered into the forest ahead of the group to find and eliminate any threat that showed itself. Another five hung back to protect their rear, and the last two stayed at Alexia's side, their blades drawn and ready.

[Hara Kiri]

She slid quickly into the shirt and tossing away her torn one to the side. She couldn't help but wonder the company he kept on the ship, it was a human sized shirt and it was a girls... Perhaps Saveer was in alien denial. She wouldn't be surprised to find a robotic humanoid suit in the closet, she slowly glanced in the general direction as curiosity got th e best of her.

"Hurry up! We don't have time to waste." Saveer called from outside.

Hara Kiri abandoned her investigation and skipped outside. Suddenly she felt a bit nauseous. The ysalamiri, though she didn't know it, wer affecting her. She decided it best to dismiss it, Saveer didn't seem too happy with her already, let alone if she asked for some stomach medicine.

"So.." she said, trying to make conversation with the concentrating alien. "What are we looking for again?"

[Akrabbim]

The dim light fades even further as Akrabbim makes his way ever-downward. He can begin to see signs of civilization now, albeit in ruins. First, bits of paving stone appear through the moss and muck beneath his feet. As he continues, short, broken walls and columns appear. He is definately on the right track.

He has been on his feet for several hours when he decides it is time for a rest. He finds a small cave in the side of the deep ravine and checks inside. Apart from a few random insects, the cave appears empty. He slips inside the rest, taking out a ration bar to munch on. As he eats, he scans the area. Off to one side, he notes an odd-looking lump. He rummages through the debris and retrieves a small stone carving, looking a great deal like a ysalimir. He had seen enough of them in the trees to know. As he examines it, an idea forms in his mind. He stows the small figurine in his pack and, after another 15 minutes rest, continues on.

[Saveeradeevaravaravee]

"It's..." Saveer felt around the ground, looking for the landmark his contact had told him of. "A sort of... amulet... It's..." At last, he spotted the landmark. "This way."

He ran into the woods, hoping that Hara would get the idea and follow. He didn't have time to guide her like a child.

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

After a few minutes' jogging, the pair found themselves at the entrance to a large gorge. Just outside its gaping entrance, Saveer again felt the ground, the olfactory sensors in his fur picking up any trace of recently visiting lifeforms.

"Hmm... A few y'salimiri... some vornskrs... and..." He paused, looking up for a moment. "Human?"

He looked back at Hara - she seemed to be a bit tired from the jog. Normally, he would let her rest for a few minutes before continuing on - but someone else had gotten here first.

"Come, Miss Hara. We have no time to rest."

Taking his travel bag off of his belt, he opened it up, removing two long coils of rope, each with a large harpoon-like spike at one end and a hook at the other, and a small belt with a clip on it. Clipping the first hook to his own belt, he tossed the second rope and the other belt to Hara.

"Put this on."

Keeping hold on the harpooned end of both ropes, he walked to a nearby tree, tying the ropes around its trunk and jabbing the spikes into the tree for added stability. He glanced over to see that Hara was ready, then dropped into the ravine, kicking off the walls as he descended.

Looking down and a ways to his right, Saveer could barely make out the not-too-distant silhouette of a human as it, also, descended into the ravine. Glancing up, he yelled toward Hara.

"We must be swift, the human is ahead of us by a good ten minutes."

Picking up his pace, Saveer continued his journey downward, until he was almost entirely consumed by the darkness.

[Alexia Sturkov]

Alexia paused in her tracks as she heard voices from up ahead. She couldn't make out the works that were spoken, but it sounded like a male voice. They had been traveling for hours now without a trace of the land marks described to her by her informant, and if not for the voices, she would have turned back and started all over again.

She inched forward, slithering between branches and around bushes without a noise. She rounded a tree and found her forward hunters inspecting a rope tied around a tree. Without saying a work; Alexia walked over to the rope and ran her fingers over its surface, "Hmm... how peculiar..." She turned the tree and followed it to the edge of the ravine. She leaned dangerously over the edge and spotted two creatures, one human while the other was some kind of purple furred alien--possibly a pet, grappling down to the distant ravine floor below. "There is another," One of the hunters said, "A human male has already reached the bottom... Should we engage?" "No, let’s follow them and see where it is they go, and then we will kill them and take the artifact for ourselves... Prepare several lines so we may all descend at the same time." She finished as she turned away from the hunter and fixed her emerald eyes on the ones below. She smiled and then moved away from the edge incase one of the three humanoids happened to look up and see them.

[Hara Kiri]

"Oooohhh jeez." She said as she danlged from the rope over the cliffside. She wasn't afraid of heights, not irrationally, but being so high up with no ground in sight worried her. She looked up to where the rope was secured and scared herself into questioning its stablility. Slower than Saveer, she repelled into the abyss occasionally stopping to steady herself with Saveer's rope, shaking him at the end.

Saveer warned her to not waste time, but she felt compelled to look out for the man they apparently were trying to beat to whatever it was they were after. She saw nothing. How was Saveer so sure that he was ten minutes ahead, let alone even there.

She continued down the rope knowing it would irritate Saveer if she slowed him down.

They finally reached the ground and for that Hara Kiri was thankful. But before she could savor it, they had already begun to push through the bushes and trees. The whole planet was driving her crazy. She could only think of two planets she had ever been to, Corellia and Korriban, and Myrkr was strangley different than both. She was getting a headache and she was beginning to think it was the trees and bushes that were causing it.

Saveer." She called monotnously. "How much longer?"

[Akrabbim]

The walking through the ravine has been treacherous, and it has taken most of Akrabbim's concentration on making sure he does not twist an ankle or stumble into a hole. His remaining thoughts were flitting between his plans against the Empire and reminiscing about his old master.

He is jogged out of his daydreams when he hears a female's voice echoing behind him. He is not used to having to use his senses to detect others... he has been able to use the Force for so long. He pretends not to hear, but surriptitiously looks over his shoulder to find a purple-furred creature with the female. He continues around a bend, and soon finds a very large sink-hole, several feet deep. He quickly gathers several pieces of rotted plant life, covering the hole with them until it nearly matches the surrounding vegitation. He skirts his impromptu trap and continues on his way.

As he rounds another bend in the ravine, he finds himself staring down a vornskyr. He is reminded yet again of his vulnerability without his Force abilities protecting him. He slowly draws his katanas as the beast stares and growls. The vornskyr's fur bristles as Akrabbim slowly circles him. The thing leaps at him, and Akrabbim attempts to sidestep. He is a bit too slow, unfortunately, as the creature's paw slices across his ribs. He is, however, able to deal a mortal wound to the vornskyr in the process. He sheathes his weapons and slaps a bacta patch to his wounded side. It hurts, but it's not debilitating. He'll have to deal with the pain until the patch is able to close his wounds for him.

He is nearly at the temple... he is almost sure of it. He can hear the voices behind him much more clearly now. He can even hear when a twig is snapped. He hurries his pace.

[Alexia Sturkov]

Soon the lines were ready and Alexia and her hunters descended the ravine wall as fast as possible. The reached the ravine floor and melted into the foliage. Slowly Alexia crawled through the undergrowth, following the tracks left behind by the two people she had seen earlier. The two finally came into view as Alexia moved around the thick trunk of a gigantic tree. There you are.

She turned and look at the hunter that was crouched next to her, "Be ready. I am rather hopping that they will leads us to our desired destination, and then we will kill them. Understood?" The hunter nodded his head and disappeared into the shadows. Alexia turned back to watch the pair, Continue, my pets...

[Hara Kiri]

She followed Saveer intently, already bored with the ridiculous mission that she wished she hadn't snuck onto. She had been staring off into the jungle canopy when she screamed as she realized she had almost stepped on Saveer, who was lying on the ground comatose.

"Saveer?" She said and crouched over, touching the furry and rising ribcage. It decompressed quickly, follwed by another rise. "Jeez... oh jeez." She moaned and put her hand over her mouth. "Saveer! Wake up, darn it!" She said sharply but knew he was out for the count.

She picked him up with both hands and looked around the jungle. They had to head back to the ship, and eventually back to Korriban. "I think we're done here, Saveer."

OOC: On behalf of Saveer, I apologize for his opting out. For myself, I apologize for not writing myself out earlier. From this point, assume they've gone back to the ship and back to Korriban. Best of luck with the rest of the story.

[Akrabbim]

He sets a rapid pace, hurrying his way toward the ancient temple. He hears a loud cry of surprise, quickly cut off. Apparently, his little trap was successful in taking out the closest behind him. He hurries on further.

He rounds a bend in the gorge and comes upon a massive stone edifice. This, obviously, is the temple he has been searching for. The temple is constructed of huge, yellowish blocks. The temple itself is ornamented with carvings of ysalimir, as well as other, more monstrous designs. There are runes covering the outside... some strange, spidery script he is unfamiliar with.

He ascends the steps quickly, but warily. Once he reaches the large doorway, he slows down considerably. There may well be traps in this great behemoth. Without his Force powers, they will be MUCH harder to avoid.

He picks his way down a hallway without incident... for the most part. At one point, he steps onto one of the stones. The stone gives beneath him, lowering a bit. He flings himself backward out of instinct, and barely avoids decapitation by a blade mounted in the ceiling. A pendulum blade swings down, and grazes Akrabbim's left shoulder. Had he not moved, there would be a lovely new split between his right brain and his left.

He rolls to his feet as the pendulum comes to a rest. The gash on his shoulder is not deep, but is quite painful. He slaps a bacta patch on it and continues on his way.

The temple turns out to be rather maze-like in its layout. He was hoping for a big open chamber with the artifiact on a nice obvious pedestal in the center. He'd just have to hurry. He takes a left at a fork in the passageways, and comes to a small chamber. Mounted on the wall are three weapons... two katanas and what appears to be a useful fighting knife. The katanas are roughly the size of his, but the hilts are slightly longer and much more ornamented. The knife is roughly a foot long overall, and double edged. One edge is straight, the other serrated. He crosses the floor carefully, but finds no traps along the way.

He takes the knife from the wall and places it in his belt. He'll have to find a sheath for it later. He takes his katanas off his back to make room for these new ones. The ones he has are servicable enough, but they're scarred and pitted from hard use. At least the blades on these look to be in good condition.

He takes the blades from the wall, feeling their weight. The weapons seem perfectly balanced and expertly crafted. He is admiring his new weapons when he hears a scrape of stone behind him. He turns abruptly to find one of the stone figures on the wall start moving. The creature moves toward him, eyes ablaze. Akrabbim drops into an attack position, ready to fight the creature if he must. It simply eyes him as he circles the room. That is, until he nears the doorway.

The creature springs into action as a red lightsaber blade springs from its hands. It attacks in the same motion, bringing the saber down toward Akrabbim's head. He reacts on instinct, not even thinking about the fact that these swords will melt like butter upon contact with the blade. Much to his surprise, they do not melt. The stone being kicks Akrabbim away while he is surprised, and begins to close on him once more. Akrabbim rises, more prepared this time. He only parries for now, feeling out his opponent. The creature is quite strong, and fast as well. Fortunately, it is also very predictable. It falls into a pattern quickly, which Akrabbim exploits. At the end of one of its "routines," Akrabbim dodges the expected diagonal swing and slices at the thing's wrists. He makes contact, chipping a large amount of stone from its wrists. The following slash with the other sword literally disarms the automaton.

The thing tries to kill him with its limbs, but Akrabbim is able to take the thing apart. He pauses to catch his breath and check himself for injuries. The wound on his shoulder opened a bit wider in the exertion, but the bacta patch seems to be doing its work just fine. His ribs are very sore to the touch from the kick, but nothing seems to be broken.

He continues through the temple, but is sure he can hear the scuffle of boots and the shout of commands somewhere in the temple. He speeds up his seach, knowing that if he doesn't find the artifact before his persuers, he may lose it for good.

[Alexia Sturkov]

Alexia and her hunters disappeared from sight when Hara and the unconscious alien went by to get back to the ravine entrance. Alexia wondered if she would notice that the ropes were different now and that there were three dangling instead of two... Well, Alexia would find out eventually, but now it was time to press on, not stand and think. She waved her hand and they moved on again. They found the man's tracks in the soft mossy ground and followed it straight to the temple. Alexia stopped for a moment, mouth open in awe at the sight of the beautiful temple. But this only last for a moment and then once again she was pressing on and into the temple. No sooner had they entered it then one of her hunters stepped on a trip wire and gotten filled with poisoned darts. The monster fell down, withered in pain, and then lay still. "Take whatever gear we need," She commanded and the hunters moved forward, carefully, and took a few things from the dead hunter's pack and belt that would be of use.

Alexia soon reached a problem. The man's wet and muddy boots had left marks on the ground to follow, but now they disappeared, evidently his boots had dried and most of the mud had wiped off. So from here on her forward hunters use their keen senses of smell to follow the man's scent. It was slower, but accurate nonetheless. They cane to a fork in the path, and followed it to the left and found a dead end, a statue on the ground, and two discarded swords, "Faster, we are close," She nearly screamed and her and her hunters doubled their pace as they chased after their quarry.

But the trail went cold when they came to another fork that sported some sort of air vent in the wall that allowed cool air into the temple but also bungled up the man's scent, "Hurry!" Alexia shouted as her hunters scurried around, sniffing the stones and the air as they tried to find a strong enough scent to follow.

[Akrabbim]

There's good news, and there's bad news. The bad news is that his pursuers have caught up with him, and have made their way into the temple. Also, it sounds like there are MANY pursuers. The good news is that they're not even attempting to sneak up on him.

He rushes along the only path given to him, doing his best to tread lightly. Some of the traps have become more obvious over time. A few of the traps have been triggered already... possibly by earlier adventurers, possibly by the simple passage of time. Some, however, are not so obvious.

He takes a turn around a bend and finds an opening into a large room with one exit directly across from him. The walls are covered with more weapons, resembling the ones he found earlier. They are, however, weapons that Akrabbim is unfamiliar with. Rather than having to deal with another stone automaton (or whatever else was put in place to safeguard them), he leaves them. His attention is drawn elsewhere. In the center of the room there is a small dais, on which an amulet rests. He traverses the floor, finding no traps, and breathes a sigh of relief. He's made it... finally. He examines the object quickly. He sees a dust-covered amulet, roughly rectangular, about an inch and a half long. The cord that would have been attached to the top has long since rotted away. Before the dais is a tablet, carved with pictograms. It shows the amulet being held up near what appear to ysalimiri. Some... force, perhaps, resonates from the amulet. The ysalimiri in the carving appear to be dropping from trees. Dead, perhaps? No matter. He'll have to figure that out later. He can hear his pursuers behind him, and they're closing on him rapidly. He reaches down to take the item.

His haste nearly proves to be his undoing. He checked the floor for traps, but he never thinks to check the dais itself. As he takes the talisman, a sharp barb pricks his thumb. He thinks at first that he has only scratched himself on the old stones, but closer examination reveals a small needle sticking out of the top of the pillar. The needle must have been poisoned. A barb that small would be useless for anything else. He hopes that the poison has dried out since its original application. He places the amulet into an inner pocket, and places the carving of a ysalimir he found earlier in the place of the amulet. He reaches down and snatches up the tablet and heads for the opposite door. He feels the poison kicking in, making him a bit light-headed.

The others are too close... he can hear them already. He won't be able to get out of sight in time. He'll have to try something else.

He moves near the door and draws his blaster taking aim at the false amulet. Time for the bluff of a lifetime...

[Alexia Sturkov]

Alexia pushed her hunters along at a quicker pace, and lost another hunter when it stepped on a stone and triggered a dart launcher that fired out of the mouth of a nearby statue. The dart pierced the hunter's light armor. It staggered around for a moment and then collapsed; the poison in the dart being a quite powerful agent to have felled the hunter so quickly. Once again they pillaged the dead and divided the gear among themselves and then they pressed on.

They reached the main chamber, but remain outside. The hunters could smell the fresh scent in the air; the man had been in here only moments ago. The footprints in the dust also revealed the path the man had taken up to the dais. Alexia did not enter the room, but stayed just outside the doorway, "Fetch the Talisman," She ordered and the closest hunter immediately dashed forward, stepping on top of the man's footprints; heading for the dais and the strange figurine that sat upon it.

[Akrabbim]

*Now for one heck of a bluff...*

HOLD IT!

His shout brings the hunter up short.

Here's the deal. As you can see, I have a blaster aimed at the artifact. If any of you so much as STARTS to aim at me, I blow the thing away. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to find out if that thing's blaster proof.

His finger tightens slightly on the blaster, ready to fire at a moment's provocation.

Here's the deal. You back up to that doorway, and let me leave. I'll head out this way, and the artifact's yours. You can have any of the weapons hanging in here, too. I'll leave this way, and you leave that way. Do we have a deal?