Forbidden Elements: One Step Closer

[Nathanial K'cansce]

*Like they always do, the gaseous clouds materialized in bright white star lines, then faded into the pin-points of star light which dotted the backdrop of space. Just about each star had it's own planetary system, and each of those systems had about ten planets. Anywhere from zero, to one, to all of them had a form of life, whether intelligent or primordial in nature. And then, what of the other galaxies? Were they much like this one, or are they barren of all life forms. Maybe they were more alien than the ones native here.

Smirking, the Dark Lord looked out his view port at the green planet that hung in front of his ship. There weren't many that were more alien than the being that made his home on that planet. And if there were, Snack didn't want to meet them anytime soon. Taking the controls in his own hands, Snack pointed his black and red custom painted X-Wing at Meras and began his approach into the upper atmosphere.

I hope you don't mind a visit, Master.*

[Ogre Mal Pannis]

The planet’s surface was warm and inviting at this time of year. The wildlife flourished and frolicked among the grass-laden valleys filled with beautiful flowers and deep healthy green grass. The white peaks of the mountains had begun to shrink and run down the sides of the slopes in pristine waterfalls as it melted and provided the land with water. Meras was a most beautiful place during this season, and for that matter during any season.

At the foot of one of the majestic mountains there was a cave entrance. It was a place that a few of those who knew the Sith Master known as Ogre, had been to and visited occasionally. But the depths below the first level of that cave were vastly unexplored by most of those who were under the tutelage of the green Sith.

It was within these depths that blood chilling and terrified screams emanated. They were the screams of human beings in great pain and agony. But their wails were not so loud that they could be heard in the upper levels, nor were they able to disturb the tranquility of the beautiful outdoors. One being besides those who were the source of the horrific sounds could hear their volume and tenor, for he was the cause.

With a blood covered instrument that had jagged and sharp edges in his hand, Ogre looked up from his work and took note of the contact that had been issued by the arrival on one of his disciples. He spoke aloud to those whom were chained and held prisoner within the laboratory deep inside the mountain.

“I will have to finish this later.” With that he set down his implement of pain and torture and began to make his way to the lift that would take him to the upper, more public level of his home.

He replied simply to his disciple through the Darkside of the Force as he reached the bar level and pointed a finger at the servant droid issuing a silent instruction. "Come."

[Nathanial K'cansce]

"Come", the voice of his Master, Darth Ogre, entered his head. Like he was actually going to turn his X-Wing all the way around and return from where he came from if Ogre had said this wasn't a good time. Ha! It was too long of a trip and Snack's limbs were weak with fatigue as it was. He needed to get out of his ship, if only to stretch.

The red and black Snubfighter cut through the upper atmosphere of Meras, en route to one of the bigger snow-topped mountains. Looking low, Snack saw the rolling knolls and the green grass wavering in the breeze. It was always a pleasure to visit this planet, one of the most beautiful in the galaxy.

Smirking, Snack returned his gaze forward and soon cut the thrusters and flipped on the repulsor lift engines, to ease his craft down for a nice smooth landing. His landing spot was a green empty clearing, about fifty yards from the base of the mountain. If his Master was here, he would be within that mountain... his home.. or at least his base of operations. The hatch to his X-Wing lifted as he looked at the base of the mounting, almost startling the Dark Lord. He shook it off and exited the cockpit and made firm footing on the ladder, which he extended from inside the craft. Grabbing what belongs he could (his one single blade lightsaber, a pack of clothing and his black and red Sith robes and cloak), he climbed down the rungs of the ladder, set his footing on the ground and began walking towards the base of the mountain while tossing his robes and cloak around his body.*

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Sometimes, the planet of Meras was a subject of interest to the creature known as Hobgoblin. Exactly what that interest was, or how long it would endure, was a matter known only to Hob himself.

A case could be made that the visits were a kind of training. During each stay Hob had made, he inevitably took to exploring some inhospitable land- a blasted desert or waterlogged swamp for example. One could not help but grow more adapted to those sorts of climes by living in them. Even though they would be different on each planet in the galaxy, they were all merely variations upon a theme.

What Meras' other residents thought of this was unknown, for Hob had not asked them about it. He hadn't particularly contacted them either- just gone ahead and done it, as was his wont.

Today, Hob was digging tunnels beneath snowbanks in one of Meras' many permanently-snowed forests. The endpoint of his travels he would reach in due time.

[Ogre Mal Pannis]

In the time it had taken snack to make his planet-fall, Ogre had left behind his laboratory and even the cave proper. It would be the first place his apprentice would look for him, that he knew because it was the place where all his apprentices sought him out when they chose to request his guidance in the ways of the dark.

This time Snack would not find Ogre so easily though, even though the bright green eyes of the being with similarly colored skin were bearing down on the Sith Lord as he exited his craft and started his approach.

Upon the side of a nearby hill, Ogre blended into his surroundings both physically and metaphysically, thanks to his coloring and the force Mask Talisman of the ancients that he wore around his neck. He would wait to see what Snack would do next to see if he was truly worthy of a meeting for whatever purpose he may have before he actually made his presence known.

The upper levels of the Cave would be all that the Sith Lord would be able to access and remain alive without Ogre or his live in apprentice, the clone of Leia solo giving their authorization to use the elevator. Many deadly traps and pitfalls lie ahead if he even dared to attempt to access the depth’s of Ogre’s refuge below the upper level.

[Nathanial K'cansce]

*Something was not right, Snack figured, as he approached the opening of the cave. Before, he was able to detect his Master's Force signature clearly and without trouble. Now though, it seemed distant, distorted, and barely existent. Another test, he thought, looking up at the side of the mountain, and then around the area. Nothing but clear skies and green grass. Shrugging, Snack made his way into the dark cave.

He made his way to the first set of doors he could find, opened them, and stepped inside. It was his Master's Bar and Lounge, one that Snack had only visited once in his life. Glancing about, the Dark Lord made his way to the bar. A droid was behind the counter, cleaning some glasses and the like.*

"Can I help you?" It spoke in a horrible mechanical sound.

Yeah, I'd like a thing of water. And I was wondering if I could store my stuff around here? Seems like I'm playing a game of 'Hide and Go Seek' with the Lord of the manor.

"Mmmm sorry, but this is not your ..uh.. storage facility. Here is your water."

*Cute, Snack thought, as he placed a small amount of credits for the price of water. He gave the droid a glare before picking up his bag and tossing it around his shoulder. Grabbing his bottle of water, Snack made his way around the bar counter and through one of the back doors. All sorts of profanities came from the serving droid, but he paid it no mind. This was not going to be a day visit, and he needed a place to store his stuff. He came to an elevator shaft. Pressing a button, Snack awaited for the lift to arrive.*

[Ogre Mal Pannis]

The Elevator door opened for Snack. Upon stepping inside he noticed that only one of the buttons to chose a floor was alight. It was the one for the next level down. All the other buttons were dimmed making the controls either look like there was a problem with them, or as if those levels were not available to him.

Upon the mountainside across from the cave, Ogre remained. Masked by both the enchanted talisman he wore and the foliage. He was holding a small data-pad in his hand. What he was doing with it was anyone’s guess, for only he knew.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob bounced his belly up and down, packing in the snow in his tunnel. It was a solid travelling technique for frozen wastes- it kept the user warm and provided a means of locomotion. Of course, covered in Jedi robes and wearing shoes and gloves as Hob was did not so much test his hardiness in the snow as it did his own ability to traverse the clime wearing those unusual implements.

Hob would have preferred shorts and a tunic for this kind of travel.

The tunnelling continued. Scoop, scoop, spwish. Scoop, scoop, spwish.

Hob realized that he had lost his concept of time tunnelling as he had been. This was inexcuseable and needed correcting immediately.

Abruptly, snow expoded in a shower of flakes and clumps. Hob pulled himself out and stared upwards, into the sky.

By his reckoning, the time was about midday.

Hob began to gaze around and realized that he had, in fact, reached his journey's endpoint- the mountain home of Ogre Mal Pannis.

And something was wrong.

Ogre was not about, which was starkly different from the usual state of things. Hob's keen eyes began to search for the reason and he found it far down at the mountain's base.

It was an X-Wing.

This bore investigating. Perhaps someone was here ahead of him.

Without further delay, Hob leapt into the trees and began to use their branches as a path, speeding down the mountain as only one of its' natural predators could.

It was not long before Hob had reached the entrance to the cave. For a moment, Hob paused, sniffing. If Ogre had left the cave, there would most certainly be a trace of it, and indeed there was... something...

Hob began examining the surroundings with a suspicious look. In the end, however, he saw no further traces of Ogre's passing. If the Sith Master had indeed gone into hiding nearby, he had been canny enough not to leave a trail that would be easily followed.

Perhaps it was only imagination, in any case. Perhaps the smell came from Ogre's residence. After all, over the course of the years, any domain eventually acquired a stink similar to that of its' owner.

Hob then shrugged and entered Ogre's Cave for the first real time.

[Nathanial K'cansce]

*What's the use of an elevator if it only allows one to go to one floor? Although Snack guessed that it was not all that odd for Ogre to have restricted access areas for his home. Many of the corridors at TSE were restricted and showed up as 'out of order' with dimmed lights in the elevator cars as well. And even if someone did press those buttons out of pure curiosity, the lift would not budge. Probably the same technique used here as well.

That, or those other levels were trapped, and even pressing the buttons for those levels would spring a trap. Figuring not to test that idea out, Snack pressed the only lighted button, which caused the lift doors to automatically shut. The short decent of the elevator started with slight jerk and ended much smoother.

The doors opened, revealing a long corridor lined with torches spaced out evenly down providing enough light to be able to transverse the walkway without much trouble. He could see that the way split further ahead into more hallways. Some probably leading to the same place, others to dead ends or other restricted places. Upon stepping out, he looked both to he left and right, noticing hallways on both sides, identical to the one in front of him. Both split in the same manor, and it seemed that at least two of the paths wound behind the elevator shaft , giving the notion that this level was larger than it was meant to seem.

At any rate, Ogre could not be sensed down here. No matter how far or how hard he concentrated, the presence of his Master was not found. Though there was a familiar feeling in the upper levels stalking about. Glancing upwards at the rocky ceiling, Snack shook his head. Was it following him? Did it even know the Dark Lord was down here? If not, it would soon, for Snack was not hiding anything. Bringing his gaze back in front of himself to peer down the long corridor, he figured he would come to the first unlocked door and enter it. Depending on where it led him, he would wait to see if this other thing would follow him.*

[Ogre Mal Pannis]

A wicked smile crept over his features as the colors the small data-pad he was eyeing danced across his face. He was watching what was transpiring in his cave, a split screen view showing each of his disciples and their exploration of his caves.

Snack had already gained access to levels deeper than he probably should have been, but soon would be in for a large surprise, and so would Hobgoblin. Neither of the two had any inkling of what was awaiting them in the further down recesses of Ogre’s mysterious cave.

A green finger reached out and pressed a key on the data-pad and his smile grew wider. Just as he drew his finger away, Snack took another step and to his surprise found there was no more floor under his foot. So sudden was the change that he lost his balance and tumbled into the shaft whose walls had been coated with some kind of anti friction material. He started to plummet downwards, farther and farther and faster and faster.

At the same time Hob may have become aware that Snack seemed like he was in some kind of state of distress. The same as has just happened to Snack occurred to him. Upon either of them looking up they found that the top of the shaft was no longer open and all around was darkness as they fell into the absolute depths of Meras, where Ogre had some very large obstacles for them to try and traverse and get past.

The plummet would take at least three or four minutes. Their impact would not be pleasant, nor would their reception.

[Surpanakha]

This was far from fair. Surpanakha had stumbled upon these caverns by mere accident during one of her nightly hunts in Meras' forests, and she did not find the notion of being forcefully plunged down an ostensibly endless shaft very appealing. And yet this was the exact predicament she had, quite literally, stepped into.

The demon had vowed allegiance to the Kasajian Witch, and was already acquainted with her Sister, Dalethria (the basis on which this relationship was founded being a different matter entirely). Therefore, it only made sense that she grow accustomed to the many other personalities residing in and around - or, in this case, under – Irentios; the first she opted to meet being Sorsha's Brother.

Nevertheless, it would seem that hospitality was an attribute lost to the devotees of Chaos. Not that Suri minded; she wasn't overly fond of warm greetings either ... Though a less awkward reception would perhaps have been more pleasant.

The descent lasted for no longer than a few minutes, but to Suri the uncomfortable tumble persisted for several eons. She loathed situations where her own limbs were rendered useless, nor did she much like the concept of being smeared by the slippery substance covering the sides of the passage.

And when at last she reached the end ... a large part of her, backside in particular, suddenly wished she hadn't. The demon cursed into the darkness and shook one fist at an invisible enemy, free hand massaging her bruised rear.

"Frell you, Ogre! Frell you, FRELL!"

It was then that her nostrils flared with the stenches of two very unique individuals, but not that of the Cave's owner. Surpanakha's eyes burned crimson as her gaze flickered from one point in the gloom to another.

"A bitter day to you too," she finally grumbled in a rasping voice.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob's instinctive reaction was to angle towards a side of the shaft and leap off it to regain his former height, but when he attempted it his feet did not find the purchase he required. Hob slipped and continued his downward fall.

Without knowing what kind of danger he was falling to, Hob could only assume it was something lethal, and thus, something he did not want to hit at full force. Within his mind, Hob cleared away the whistling noise of the air in his ears, and dispelled the tricks gravity was playing with his skin. He had one chance to get this right.

With a wrench of telekinesis, Hob pulled a strip of metal from the tunnel wall. Without touching it, Hob bent it inward, curling it into something akin to a spear with the anti-friction coating on the inside. The process was tricky, for Hob had to overcome the lubrication's effect on his telekinesis, but he managed it in time to prepare for his emergence.

As he neared the end of his fall, Hob jammed his makeshift spear into the tunnelside. With the screech of metal tearing metal the spear caught and slowed Hob's momentum. He hung in the middle of the opening, allowing himself some small calm and preparation for his next feat.

Hob placed his feet where the metal had torn and the lubricant thus absent and pushed out. The spear came free and Hob once again began to fall, but this time with momentum. Expelling himself from the shaft, Hob performed a dizzying spin in mid-air and once again thrust the spear into the wall to provide another hold for himself. With a quick flip, Hob set himself atop the spear and got a good grip on the wall so that he could maintain balance without possibly breaking his tool.

The first thing he saw was that the area was safe- the cave floor was not an set of durasteel spikes or exotic energy fields, but simple dirt. The second thing Hob noticed was a human some distance away. It was evident that this human was a Force sensitive, and indeed, was the same one he'd felt a brief emotional pulse from just before falling.

As Hob opened his mouth to speak, another noise caught his attention and he looked up into the shaft. A large- thing- entered his vision and just as quickly fell to the floor below the shaft, missing Hob by a few feet.

The large demon (for she could be nothing else) stood up and cursed Ogre for designing his domain such, then turned her attention to those she found in company with. "A bitter day to you too," she grumbled.

Hob cackled in response. "Make use of your days, bitter or otherwise," he told her. "Or risk losing much more than happiness."

His tool suddenly snapped beneath his weight, jostling Hob out of his hold on the wall. The Dark Dwarf tumbled downwards, landing atop Suri's head and sending them both to the floor again. The demon roared with annoyance, Hob cursed, and the two of them extricated themselves from the other.

"Shut yer piehole," Hob told Snack, who had been laughing at their misfortunes. The Dark Dwarf dusted himself off and looked up.

There was only one real direction to go at this point, and so Hob began walking in it. "Are you coming?" he asked, not breaking his stride.

[Nathanial K'cansce]

*And that one step led him falling into what seemed like a bottomless pit. Snack did a complete back flip at the start of his fast decent and tried to cut his momentum from carrying him into another.

Quickly, his eyes darted around. He straightened out his form as he fell, but couldn't hold it long enough as he kept moving his head to see if there were any notches or ledges to grab a hold on. nothing. The vertical shaft contained only the slick looking wall that encircled him.

And a few others. One of which he knew. The Goblin known as Hob had seemed to stumble into the pit as well, and now was falling at almost the same pace as Snack was. Hob was the first to react by tearing a portion of the wall and bending it the shape of a spear. He could feel the Force in action as Hob did his thing, molding metal with only the will of his mind.

Closing his eyes, Snack began to focus. The Goblin was not the only one with special abilities to aid him in times of need. But it would have taken longer than he had to copy Hob. No. He had one better. The Dark Lord began to concentrate on the Force around him and in the shaft. His focus started to narrow on the individual molecules that composed of the emptiness between the walls. Of course, it was not empty. The room had an atmosphere; all be it a stale one.

Using the Force, Snack began to "push" on the molecule of air under and around his body. In less than a second he had created a strong gust of wind, held by the Force, which caught his downward decent. Controlling it, he allowed the wind to lower, gently lowering Snack to the dirt ground.

Snack let go of his control over the Force produced wind, slightly bending at the knees as he landed. Glancing up, he was able to spot Hob atop his makeshift ledge, and another form, quickly falling. It landed, tumbled and then proceeded to curse.

A chuckle covered up any words that Hob might have said. Then a snap was heard. snack glanced up to watch as Hob's spear snapped in two, sending the odd one crashing down on the other being. The two tried desperately to gain their composure back, pushing off one another as they got up. All Snack could do was laugh and shake his head. He tried to calm it as Hob spoke to him again, but it was a really funny event to watch.*

Yeah... heh. Nice of you to drop in. Hehehe...

*He smirked in his response to Hob, and only acknowledged Surpanakha with a slightly confused look. He shook his head once more and began to follow the dwarf.*

Any idea as to where this leads?

[Ogre Mal Pannis]

The room that greeted them was quiet and ominous. There was no light coming from the tunnel, which they had entered through. Its vast length made it impossible for them to tell with the naked eye that it had closed behind them, not via a standard door, but more of an automated, mechanical closure of more than fifty percent of the descending shaft itself.

The light that allowed each of them to see the other was dim, an eerie blue light, cast by small stones lining the cavern walls. It was a luminous type of stone requiring no fuel or energy source. It seemed to line the entire network of tunnels they could see around them.

The network of off shooting tunnels surrounded them. Directional indications such as east, west, north, and south were no longer easily available with them now that they had no assistance from the moons, sun, or stars of night. They were literally encompassed on all sides by a plethora of choices in which direction to take. Some of the tunnels seemed to exude a putrid scent of death, some a sulfurous smell of fire, while others bore no scent or even slight sign of draft.

Fifteen choices of paths to take in all and no clues as to which could lead them back up the long winding path to the surface of the world. The heart of Meras itself was now where they dwelt. Was there a way out of here or were they doomed to become fossils among the many they could see pieces of, lining the walls?

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob gazed at the choices before him. He'd sourly expected something of this sort once landing in this lair.

"They lead away from here," Hob answered Snack's question. "But to where, precisely, only they know."

They, and Ogre.

After some consideration, Hob began to walk towards one of the paths that smelled strongly of fire. "I have some facility with fire," he mused aloud. "My chances of survival along this road are probably better than even. And where there is heat, there is usually a vent."

[Nathanial K'cansce]

*Pointing his nosing towards the tunnel Hob mentioned, Snack took a big whiff, and then coughed. Fire and brimstone, allright.*

Or it could lead us to an underground vault of molten lava, in which the "vent" is located high above our heads.

*He replied, glancing down at the dwarf.*

But you seem to know your away around caves and dungeons and the like... if memory serves me right.

*Snack referred to the destruction of Talas, in which both him and Hob were a part of. Hob, he thought, was the one who took to the under works of the city, while Snack, Hera, and Phantom all stayed above ground.

Shrugging, the Dark Lord followed the other. He turned his head once to see if Surpanakha was following, then kept his sights in front of him and on Hob while they transverse the cavern path.*

[Surpanakha]

"Happiness? We have no use for happi-OOF!!!"

Surpanakha's words were cut off short as the Dwarf dropped upon her head and the breath squeezed out of her bony chest. She yelped, only to have her mouth crammed with dirt and her flailing arms claw at nothing but empty space. With no alternative other than to remain prostrate, face pressed against the ground, she let out a pitiful moan. This time, her cries were answered with wonderful, breathable (though very stale) oxygen as the heavy weight rose off her feeble back.

Clambering desperately into a 'standing' position - that is, knees bent and hands flattened against the soil - she swallowed whatever remnants of gravel were left in her mouth. It tasted dead.

She hated walking, but there seemed to be little choice in the matter. The demon groaned exaggeratedly and pushed her bare feet into the earth. Her back stooped over gawkily as she trudged after Hobgoblin, grunting in annoyance with each step. Suri had a knack for hunting but, as he was apparently so confident in deciding their path, there was no point bothering with all that extra effort.

There was another walking alongside them, one she didn't know. She ambled forward to catch up with the tall one - for he stood much higher than the demon, and she had to raise her head to glare up at him. A long, crooked finger extended to jab him in the ribs and she sniffed the air around him.

Immediately as the smell registered, her weathered face contorted with disgust and she howled. Taking one great leap, she landed beside Hob and grabbed his arm fearfully.

Suri didn't much like the Dwarf either, judging by his treatment (what she heard and saw of it, that is) of Sorsha during their trip to Vjun. But anything was better than that thing back there. Dragging herself behind Hob, the demon turned to speak into his ear, her breath reeking with every word.

"That's a human!" she whispered conspiratorially, still latched firmly to his arm. Then, drawing her head back a little way, she nodded vehemently.

[Nathanial K'cansce]

*Looking at the thing that jabbed him in the ribs, Snack glared. He didn't much like being poked or prided, especially by some demon thingy that apperantly had something against humans.

His glare turned into a smirk as the three continued down the winding cavern; the smell of fire getting richer with every other step. He saw Surpanakha cling to Hobgoblin's arm, the side away from Snack, and then spoke to Hob, as if the dwarf were her savior.

Ha, were words brought a smile to the Dark one's lips.*

You're not ...afraid of humans, are you? ...Boo.

Heh.

*Snack chuckled more, not really sure what to think of the four legged demon yet.*

[Ogre Mal Pannis]

The scent of flames wafting through the caverns were not manufactured ones, but instead of smelling as if it were the consumption of wood or other more typical fuels, smelt as if it were of a more geological origin. The level heat in the caverns was rising with each step they took. Each of them could hear hissing and bubbling sounds from somewhere up the path ahead.

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

He had been watching the trio from the vantage of his semi distant position upon the hillside, but since their plummet trough the deep shaft that led them to where they now resided, Ogre could no longer see them on the data-pad that relayed what the mini cams positioned throughout his home proper would show him. He could only sense their presences through the Force when he briefly removed his talisman.

All three were still living and all three had a long and treacherous journey ahead of them. The caverns that latticed the depths to which they had plunged twisted and turned for miles and miles. Most of the passageways would help their cause to escape the underground tomb not at all, for there was only a single way to exit the maze, a single path among hundreds available.

Ogre started walking towards the cave, his presence in the Force once again masked by the Force Mask talisman of the ancients. He would make himself comfortable while he waited to learn the final fate of the three visitors.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

"Kiddies, kiddies," Hob snapped. "In case ye've all fergot, we're at the bottom o' a long maze. Iffn' ye would be so kind as t' not prance about, afraid o' what each other might do..."

As he spoke, he firmly took Suri's hand from his sleeve. "Ye, a daemon o' the Dark Side, afraid o' a human. 'tis shameful. Need ye an iron rod shoved int' yer back t' stiffin' yer spine?"

"Follow," he said, as he continued on. "Or stay an' bait each other, it matters not. Hob will not linger in this trap o' death any longer than he must."

With a quiet sniff of the air, Hob measured his course. He could smell the burn of metal and rock, and knew his original assumption to be correct- they were heading in the direction of a heat source. And where there was a geological heat source, there would have to be some vent, some way for the pressures involved to leak out of the planetary innards and into the air. Emboldened by the intense heat and by the glow of light, Hob rounded a corner in the tunnel.

And then took several steps back as an intense heat wave blasted him in the face.

Before him was an entire lake of molten lava. Steam and fire gushed up from its surface, occaisionally sending up clouds of ash and burnt substances. There were a series of rocky outcroppings along the wall that would act as stepping stones across the lake. Indeed, they might support a being of Ogre's size.

But there was almost certainly a trap involved somehow. Perhaps there was a spell placed in the cavern, or perhaps a lava dragon hid beneath the lake's surface. Or, the stepping stones could be a trap, rigged to collapse should someone try to cross.

There had to be something there.

Hob turned to Surpanakha. "Here be a chance t' prove yer courage, lass. For certainly a daemon o' yer imposing stature an' strength should have nae problem with those stepping stones."

[Nathanial K'cansce]

*Afraid, no... Snack was not afraid of what the demon beast would do, or could do to him. In fact, he doubted what it could do was able to match what Snack was capable of.*

"Follow, or stay an' bait each other, it matters not. Hob will not linger in this trap o' death any longer than he must," Hob had said.

Snack looked down at the diminutive, yet powerful Hobgoblin. The little creature was wise beyond its height, and from the stories that traveled across the galaxy, equally as powerful in the Force as their own Master.

The open cavern that the trio emerged to find was extremely hot and smelt of nasty things. Snack's eyes looked on at the large lake of lava, and on one of the sides, he too saw the outcroppings or rock, large enough to support Ogre.
Snack looked to the four legged beast as Hob talked to it. He waited to see its response.*

[Surpanakha]

"Afraid?" she huffed ludicrously, her creased face furrowing all the more. "Surpanakha is not afraid of humans. She is merely allergic to them." She waved a hand in front of her nose as a gesture of intense displeasure.

The heat of the cavern that greeted them did not daunt the demon in the least, and instead she plunked down onto its warm floor, legs splayed in front of her. She was a creature of the Underworld - this was almost a perfect model of her natural habitat! Fiery temperatures and wretched stenches (Surpanakha's own body odor was far worse than either of these evils) had no effect on her, and certainly not in a negative sense.

She snorted disparagingly at Hob's appeal (yes, appeal, for Suri was the one doing them a favor). "Aye, we will indulge you, Dwarf," then, turning to Snack, "as well as the human, for I smell evil in him." Surpanakha spat before his feet, lest the Sith Lord should take that as a compliment.

Climbing despairingly to her feet, she again took in a whiff of the air. There was a hint of something living, staining every breath she inhaled. The lava was tainted with magick. She craned her neck upwards to an aberrant degree to survey the roof of the cave. It would be a simple feat for her to scale across the length of the molten pit from above, but... Hobbling over to the nearest wall, Suri ran her gaunt fingers over the deceptively slick rock. It was coated with the same substance as the tunnel.

Surpanakha glowered, somewhat disconcerted. But no matter; she crawled to the edge of the low precipice, overlooking the burning lake, and tucked her legs in beneath her. In this kneeling position she unsheathed from a belt under her tattered robes a dagger. The dagger, for it was a sorcerer's blade. The metal was magickally laced with the blood of an age-old witch. The weapon was beautifully crafted, with ornate symbols carved into the hilt, and was impossible to replicate.

She pressed the tip of the subtle knife not into the rock, but the space just above it. Subdued murmurs of prayer were spoken by the demon, without reverberation in the cavern, as she etched the sigil of bephomet into the air. The image of the inverted pentagram embedded itself into the rock, and as the mantra progressed, a slight shimmer appeared on the surface of the lake. It was not a mere trick of the eye due to the heat; the ash clouds condensed into a single, serpentine line, meandering in what appeared to be a haphazard direction across the lava pit. A few minutes passed before the summons was complete, and the creature completely solidified.

The demon looked fatigued. "The fire is alive. It will not let you cross," she declared at long last. "Hydra will help you."

http://www.boomspeed.com/sylntknyte/hydrarise.jpg

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob growled. This was magick, useful magick, of which he had not been aware. But the very nature of the spell's casting made him loathe to investigate- Sith magick tread too close to the mindless fury that was the Darkness.

The small creature took a slow, indrawn breath and gazed at the serpentine form. Then he leapt into the air.

Abruptly, the lava lake exploded into action. Steam and gouts of flame shot forth from its surface. In mere seconds, the air of the entire chamber was filled with intense heat. Starting towards the exit and coming to the entrance were lava spews that sought to cook whatever had entered its domain. Through all the geothermal activity, the small form of the Hobgoblin could be seen leaping and twisting on the back of the hydra, spinning over, through, and around the fire magic that sought to incinerate him.

At the end of the tunnel, the exit erupted into a sheet of flames, reaching straight to the ceiling and catching Hob in mid-jump. Exultant at having consumed the dwarf, the fire brightened in a victory cry.

Then it sank back to the lava pool, leaving the air as still and quiet as it had before anyone had attempted to cross it. Sank back down and revealed Hob standing on the other side.

[Nathanial K'cansce]

Oh, I'm sure he's tickled pink to be standing over there, non-fried style.

*Snack said, lightly glancing over to where Suri was. And sure the demon was quite thrilled to be with the human.*

Though that was most impressive...

*Giving a nod, the Dark Lord surveyed the calm lake of lava. He could still feel the dark chill of Suri's magick slithering in the molten rock, waiting to reach out once more. With knees bending, he crouched into a catcher's stance and placed a hand on his chin, rubbing it in thought.

Freeze the lake of fire, and trap whatever magical enchantments there where underneath a layer of ice, and simply walk across. But to do that would take the skill and patience of a true Master of the Elements. Snack was had only started working with ice and water, and yet had to find the confidence enough to preform such a monumental task.

No.. that would not do...

The free hand reached down a few inches, scooping up dirt and stone. He stood, and tossed the rubble into the lake. Before even a spec of the rock dust was able to fall, the fires erupted once more, melting the rock and dirt, combining the elements to fuels its own burning. As the Dark Lord backed up and used an arm to cover his face from the intense heat, the hydra appeared. It spewed out its fiery tentacles in all directions trying to swat at anything that would pass by.

"Hydra will help you," the demon had said. More like it was fighting with the magick within the fire...

...

Or occupying it.

Snack took a few steps back, then allowed the Force to guide his every movement. He ran and jumped, reaching out with his left hand at one of the fiery tentacles. He grabbed the nearest one, and found it to be made of a solid substance. With a hellish jerk and squirm, the arm whip lashed. Snack took the new momentum letting go of the arm and dropping into the center of the concoction. Sure enough as he looked down, he saw what he thought to be the face of the hydra engulfed in flames. The lake of lava was winning it's battle, not giving Snack a lot of time to make it across.

But he was half way there. He concentrated on the Force, focusing its energies into his legs, feet, and left hand. His left foot landed on the moving fire and had it not been for the Force, snack would have ended up swallowed alive. However, he redirected his momentum and used his feet to push up in and aided jump. Once more Snack reached out with his left hand and grabbed a hold of a swinging arm. This time, it jerked and threw the Lord across the lake, where Snack landed hard on his back, did two flips coming to a rest on his back near Hob's feet.

Quickly, he threw his melting boots off, kicking them into the lake. His eyes strained to open and when they did, they came upon a severely scared and burnt left arm.*

At least I made it...

[Surpanakha]

Both Hobgoblin and the human's crossings went completely unnoticed by their third companion. Her form of magick concentrated mainly on the art of summoning demonic spirits, but it never failed to drain her physically. And as the hydra wrestled against the cursed lake, its 'borrowed' energy was slowly depleted, and this deficiency was in turn supplied by Surpanakha herself...

Suri's head whirled. She felt weak and the only cure to this affliction was to feed (she had not done so for days now), and it was unlikely that Ogre had provided prey in these infernal tunnels in the event that a hungry demon should pass by. Of course, there was the human, but...

Hydra's form flickered as it hovered there, above the lava pool; it was being called back to the Underworld. Surpanakha would have to hurry. Hauling herself onto her hands and feet, she hobbled over to the extreme rim of the rock face, then pounced. The fiery entity immediately caught her falling form, there was no worry of it failing to accomplish that.

But as it wrestled with the Sith magick contained within the fire, its movements slowed and the metallic sheen on its back began to fade, until all that remained was a vague, translucent outline. It still retained some strength, however, as Suri was able to cling on; but at the final instant, it tossed its gargantuan central head, hurling Surpanakha forward against the far wall, behind Hob and Snack. Her body collided roughly against the rock and, just as she slid to the ground in a confused heap, the hydra disappeared altogether.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

The dwarf caught Surpanakha's head in his hands before it hit the ground. He looked at her, and then looked at Snack's shoeless feet. "Watch yer step, lad," he said softly, and shouldered the burden that was the demon.

The trio continued on, definitely moving upwards now. They reached another opening and stopped.

What they saw was a vast circular chamber, far too cylindrical to be natural and yet too rough to be counted as shaped. Guided growth, Hob thought, and wondered how long Ogre had lived in these caves.

At the top of the cave, among stalactites that nearly obscured it, was another opening. Hob could sense no magic or Force twisting here, not that lack of evidence was evidence of lack. But if there was a challenge other than the climb of several hundred feet, it was currently hidden.

The dwarf looked at Snack. "She is of no current use to us," he said, nodding at Suri. "Can you climb well?"

[Nathanial K'cansce]

We'll see, won't we?

*Snack swallowed what saliva he had in his mouth into his gullet as he craned his neck to view the wall that symbolized their escape from hell. Smirking, he looked down over to Suri, then Hob.*

You sure you can carry the load all the way to the top? It looks like a long climb.

*Certainly, Hob must have loved that question. It mattered not. Though it would be a long climb and without any boots or something to cover his naked feet, it would make it that much longer. They were already cut and scrapped from the sharp jagged small stones and rocks that covered the cavern floor to this spot.

Snack reached up and grabbed onto the cliff wall, and placing a foot into a natural place holder, he began to lift himself up. And so began their climb.

He lost his footing a number of times, despite the ability to grab ahold of the wall better with his bare feet, on his way up. The Force had to be called upon every now and then when he could not use his upper body strength to pull him back up to a state of equilibrium.

Hob and Snack now climbed up an almost opposite sides of the walls, and had at least put a third of their climb behind them. Hob was a bit farther up.

Tap tap tap ..

Snack stopped his ascent. His eyes darted around, but he saw nothing. And nothing rang out through the Force.

Tap tap tap ..

It sounded again. This time, nearer. But again, nothing.*

You hear that, Hob?

*Snack shouted across the way. Slowly he scanned the rock near him, but nothing except small crevices, and rock.

Tap tap tap

This time, he felt something cold, yet warm slither over his hands.*