Fear's Womb: Innocent Death [continued]

[Jeseth Cloak]

<font size=1>(ooc) Continued from here: pub2.ezboard.com/fswvstit...3827.topic (http://pub2.ezboard.com/fswvstitanicstarwarsroleplayingarchive.showMessage ?topicID=3827.topic)
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The air had settled into a stale hot vapor, and Jeseth could see a lava gyser errupt in the distance. Most people could hardly survive breathing in the atmoshpere without a rebreather, but he didn't care. Bast wasn't such a far distance form the ship, and it had yet to rain today... They'd all make it just fine.

[Lady DeVille]

De'Ville noticed the difference in the atmosphere as she stepped out of the ship. It was difficult to breath... She held a hand on her stomach as she studied the structure in front of them. There were dark shadows in the Force around and in it...more than people, it was like a dark stain on the planet.

She concentrated on assisting her breathing with the Force, and followed Cloak towards it.

[Jeseth Cloak]

They had walked onward for several minutes, passing the now-full landing pad and entering the inner-courtyard of Bast Castle. The air here was slightly more breathable, and Jeseth set Turbogeek down on a strange looking altar of sorts, stained in dried blood. Black Metal pillars lay in ruin around the walkway towards the main gates were darkness awaited them all. They had begun their final Ascent, but Arya and Turbogeek could not follow noe. Only Jeseth and De'Ville would be privy to the proceedings as followed...

Come my brother, I've need of you to allow us in...

Hob could hear his Dark Brother's call... from somewhere in Bast Castle, he was now approaching.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya felt nervous again...a feeling she was not very familiar with. Usually she was in control of the situations she found herself in, but this time -

She couldn't help feeling in over her head. The man called Turbogeek leaned wearily against a fallen pillar, and the two watched the woman and the winged man walk up the steps towards the imposing gates.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

The towering doors to Bast opened, and a figure stepped through them. If the figure was small enough to make others seem large, then next to the Hobgoblin the doors of Bast were nothing less than gargantuan.

Hob took in the one person he was familiar with, and the three that he wasn't. ~ What is happening, Deception?~ he asked through a mindlink to Jeseth. ~ Why are these others here?~

[Jeseth Cloak]

The Lady De'Ville has been exiled from her home. I've brought here to seek refuge, yet she is no condition to fight for entry in her current state. I wish to leave her in your care until thje time comes to pass a judgement upon her. I must tend to my apprentice and this woman he's brought along.

Jeseth motion back to where DT and Arya now lay.

[Lady DeVille]

De'Ville looked warily at the creature that greeted Cloak. It appeared to be a dwarf, or some sort of long-armed alien goblin. There was a mental conversation passing between the two, but she could not decipher it.

"I hate to be a bother, Cloak, but what the hell is going on?" She stayed at his side, one step below him, her hands unconsciously holding her stomach.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob turns to look at the woman who has just spoken. De'Ville, Jeseth called her. He ambles over and looks her from tip to toe. ~ What is so special about this one that she cannot fight Hob?~ he asks Jeseth.

~ She is with child,~ Jeseth responds.

Hob's nose twitches and he shrugs. ~ Very well. She may stay in Hob's guest bedroom.~

[Lady DeVille]

She looked down at the ugly alien, and then back at Cloak. "I'd repeat my previous question, but I don't think you'll answer me. Are we going inside?"

[Jeseth Cloak]

"You're going inside... I must tend to Turbogeek."

He pressed his hand gently against her back and motioned her towards Hob, then turned and began his walk down the syares. She was confused, but he really had no answers to give her.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob extends a hand in gentlemanly fashion to the surprised De'Ville. The two of them enter Bast and start down its' hallways, an odd couple if there ever was one. The dwarf is half De'Ville's height, and nowhere near as beautiful as she is.

~ Dinnae be afraid, lass,~ Hob projects suddenly as they start down a flight of stairs. ~ Nor should ye be overly curious. Ye are Hob's guest, for the moment, and ye shall be attended to properly.~

[Lady DeVille]

De'Ville heard her companion's voice in her mind, but it did not bring the pain or confusion that Cline's memories brought her. In fact, she hadn't heard those voices in some time. Perhaps... but she shook her head lightly to dismiss the thoughts.

"I hear you, and I am not afraid. I would respond in kind, but that paticular use of the Force is beyond my powers. I can project feelings, not actual words..." The dwarfish creature was holding her hand still, and it seemed to De'Ville to belong to an entirely different sort of person.

It was a strange feeling, but she did not sense any danger, although the hall was dark, and she did not know where she was being led. If I were allowed a question, I'd ask exactly where I am. Vjun does not jog my memory much. ...Unless... De'Ville recalled something about the Sith Lord Darth Vader in connection to Vjun, but her memory was vague and answered nothing.

She looked sideways at the dwarf as they continued through the semi-darkness. I wonder if you can read my thoughts. De'Ville had mental blocks in place at all times, those she could muster, to guard against contact with those around her. Although she said she had no powers in telepathy, she actually did, only they were uncontrolled and she had no mental strength to use them properly. If unguarded, she might project her emotions into others, and could be overcome by the feelings and sometimes thoughts of those all around her.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob paused momentarily, stopping in front of Lilaena and lifting himself up by one long arm. The other arm he placed on Lilaena's forhead in some kind of silent benediction. A slight whispering noise seemed to echo through the hall, and then Hob resumed walking. ~ When ye require Hob's assistance,~ he spoke. ~ First think his name, then think what ye would speak an' Hob will hear ye. Hob's speech is better than the crude vocal noises the others make. It travels through stone walls and across planets much better.~

Suddenly, Hob stopped before a battered door. He opened it, revealing a small walk-in closet with a dresser towards the rear and various other items strewn about. Hob then stepped inside, beckoning the female to enter. He wondered what she would think of his closet, and whether she would realize there was more to his lair than met the eye..

[Lady DeVille]

De'Ville stepped into the closet behind her escort, and looked around. There was a dresser towards the rear of the tiny room, but other than that and some junk strewn about, it was empty. She pulled her robe around her again, and folded her arms. There was a strange sense about this place, just as there was about Hob himself. De'Ville remembered how his hand had felt, as though there was something deeper within the disguise of a dwarf...

...just as there must be something hidden about this room. She looked at her companion, slight curiosity on her face. Hob, I sense there is more here than what my eye can perceive...

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth waited at the bottom of the steps long enough for the doors to slam shut, then approached his apprentice and Arya. He glanced at her and then back to Turbogeek, who still lay there motionless on the altar-like slab of steel and stone.

"Will he live?"

Jeseth examined the man, feeing for a pulse and other signs of stability. He was a scholar, not a doctor - he couldn't even truly be sure that his assumptions were correct. Arya was about to begin speaking, but he cut her off with a curt gesture.

"He seems alright.Just help me carry him up to my quarters. We can go around the back way."

She raised a brow and glanced at the terrain beside Bast Castle, letting her eyes follow it towards the back of the dark structure.

"Backway?"

"Yes. The backway. Now help me carry him."

Normally Jeseth didn't enjoy more assistance from others than he needed... but this time he had no choice. If he attempted to carry Turbogeek by himself, neither of them would make it to Jeseth's study alive.

[Arya Ravenwing]

She glanced again at the winged man, and then shrugged. "C'mon guy," Arya mumbled to the unconscious man as she pushed his body up into a sitting position. She pulled one of his arms over her shoulder, and put her left arm around his back, hands holding his right wrist and under his left arm.

With a heave she got to her feet, but the dead weight of this man was too much for her. The alien moved forward to assist her. "Where is this 'back way?' Near, I hope?" The looming structure in front of her looked huge. If it really was in the back, they had a long walk in front of them, and her lungs were still burning from the walk from the ship.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob cackled gleefully, then scampered over to the dresser. Reaching down into a crack in the floor, he pulled upward with one hand.

The dresser and the floor it was bolted to both lifted up, revealing a hole that was perfectly square. The hole had a slight curve to it, suggesting that it was not a hole at all, but some kind of slide or tunnel. ~ Enter, lass, and ye will find Hob's real home.~

Lilaena walked over to the hole and, after looking at Hob for several moments, stepped into the hole, sliding down into the darkness below.

Hob grinned and followed her into the home he had dug himself. After a few moments of quick sliding, the hole spat him out midway up a wall. Instead of falling, Hob shot forward, right into the tip of a massive crystal chandelier, which he hung from while grinning.

Lilaena had fallen down into a large pile of pillows and cloth, the way most visitors did. Around her, she could see works of art and architecture from all over the galaxy, coupled with workbenches. One of those benches had scraps of black cloth and gold paint flecks dotting it, indicating that something had recently been made.

Hob allowed his visitor to examine the room before he interrupted her thoughts. ~ Yer room- Hob's Guest Bedroom- is beyond the Crystal Cavern over there. Ye shall go no farther in, but ye may wander among the Cavern, the Gallery Vault, and the Guest Bedroom as much as ye like.~

(ooc) There are descriptions of the Gallery Vault and of Hob's rooms in this thread:

pub47.ezboard.com/fthebla...D=24.topic (http://pub47.ezboard.com/ftheblackhand23755frm4.showMessage?topicID=24.topi c)

... as well as in the Sight's Closet forum on the Candelabra of Malice, if you'd like to look at them. :)

[Lady DeVille]

De'Ville pushed herself up out of the cushions she had fallen into, and couldn't keep her jaw from dropping in amazement as she looked at her surroundings. Underneath the closet and the dresser was a vault. Her guide was swinging down from the chandelier, causing the light to flash crazily on the many works of art and architecture. As she got to her feet, De'Ville could see into another room, where the light caught the walls and shimmered with a deep blue glitter.

The woman slowly turned toward the next doorway, as Hob landed on a pile of gold coins, scattering the shiny pieces on the floor. Hob, I am tired from my journey, and my...illness... She laid a hand on her stomach unconsciously. By your leave... De'Ville used formal speech in addressing the dwarf, for what reason, she didn't really know.

He grinned, nodded, and motioned to the bedchamber. De'Ville walked through the doorway, and then leaned against it for a moment. The walls of the guest bedroom were covered with magnificent murals, depicting battles, or conflicts of a galactic sort. The large four-poster bed in the center of the room was made neatly with light rose sheets, inlaid with an intricate gld design. The posters were carved with animals, and draped in beige silks. For all its splendor, the only thing De'Ville wanted to do was sink into the softness and close her eyes.

She didn't pay attention to the rest of the room, or her host, but walked straight to the bed, and tugged on the covers. They were tucked in tightly, but she got enough loose with minimal effort. Untying her robe, De'Ville let it slip from her shoulders, and climbed into the bed.

Almost as soon as she laid her head on the pillows she felt sleep overtaking her. After being in bacta one needed rest, at least that was what she had heard. De'Ville couldn't even remember all the things that she'd been through in the past week or so. As she closed her eyes and drifted off she imagined someone pulling the covers up around her chin...

[Jeseth Cloak]

The Dark Jedi didn't give her much of an answer, seemingly too tired and worn out to respond with anything more than a slight grunt or snarl. They made it past most of the side wall without much incident, but it was only when they reach the slender pass overlooking the lava streams that things began to get more complicated. Jeseth nearly lost his foot, holding on to a small stone which had lodged itself between the castle wall and pass. Arya tried to reach out for him, but Turbogeek ended up nearly falling away into the lava as a result. It was by sheer luck tat the tiny rock had been able to hold it's place long enough for the three of them to climb back onto a stable ledge. It would have been easy enough for Jeseth to fly, but to fly with two individuals was at times impossible... flying with three would not be possible.

He glanced at Arya and sighed, then inhaled a few deep breaths.

"Come on... if we hang around here any longer, we're going to end up as a meal for a starving Ryhhhk."

She glanced at him, puzzled.

"I'll tell you what a Ryhhhk is later."

She nodded, and they continued their struggling journey to the back entrance to bast, through the courtyard where Jeseth often spent a considerable amount of time, and then into his study which was so dimly lit merely by a few candles and a cryostasis chamber of into the distant reaches of the room. Traditionally similar containers were used to maintain clones as they developed into adult hood, but here in Deception's Study is served as an interesting lamp.