The two wandered between the stalagmites and rock walls, slowly at first as their eyes adjusted to the dim light of just their weapons, then gradually picking up speed as they continued. The confines of the cave were constantly changing, with the space opening up long enough to give them false hope of finding what they needed, then closing back up enough to make them fear that they were about to finally hit a dreaded dead-end.
They reveled in the serenity of knowing that they were in no immediate danger of death, and instead simply faced an impending slow death. The past week of running from an entire world of upset warriors was behind them, and instead they faced a potentially impossible puzzle of escaping from being buried alive.
The calm opened both of them up for idle conversation that they seldom had time for outside of the confines of hyperspace. In reality though, they spent most of their free time in hyperspace catching up on training or discussing their training. Now they didn't have that relative luxury, so they simply talked.
Most brothers would share stories, or discuss women and relationships, or perhaps discuss their benign days. The two Sith brothers instead began discussing plans for what they would do when they escaped. They came up with outrageous plans for revenge or galactic domination that made them both laugh as they traveled. Despite the numerous hilarious plans for what to do to the cities and bodies of their enemies from the Meisosians all the way to the Jedi, they both agreed on Trychon's last idea.
"I think maybe I'll just travel to the resort planet Risa, capture it, and then hold it ransom for life-time free passes. Our enemies will die of jealousy for not coming up with the same plan sooner, or they'll seek us out for council. Then I'll kill them."
They chuckled about that one for a long time, and as they continued their descent their conversations began to cover wider, more conventional topics as well. As long as they kept moving, and there was some faint hope they might find some other passage to the surface they were content to keep discussing the lighter side of their lives, subconsciously keeping their minds off their impending doom.
Only able to go by their internal clocks, they ignored their hunger, which was mostly annoying at this point, and stopped finally to get some rest. The next morning, or presumably what they thought should be morning, they awoke and continued on their journey.
A few times they came to what they thought were dead ends, only to find some passage upon closer inspection. Once they had to slide on their stomachs to the next part of the cave, and once they had to climb a little ways up part of the cave wall, but each time they we able to continue their journey.
A few hours into the day they stopped to take a little break. They were in no hurry as they had been on the surface. Shutting their blades off, since it made no sense to keep them on if they didn't need to see where they were going, they noticed the cave didn't become immediately pitch black. Instead a faint bluish glow seemed to linger.
"Phosphorescence of some sort in the rock, I would imagine," Trychon explained after Raezyr questioned what the cause might be. "Probably set off by the faint light in our blades... should wear off soon." But it didn't. They tried to look around a bit, and the light did seem to be emanating from the rock around them, but there was no apparent cause for it to continue. They didn't worry about it too much, and continued on their way.
They continued to use their lightsabers to light their path until it seemed that Raezyr's blue lightsaber was seemingly giving off a much stronger light than usual. Shutting their blades down again, they found the blue phosphorescence had now become strong enough that they could see fairly well without their weapons to light the way, and as they moved on, the light only seemed to get stronger until by mid-afternoon sometime, the light was bright enough they could make out most of the details around them.
Finally they crawled through a narrow gap and emerged onto what appeared to be a sandy bank along the edge of a small underground lake. It was little more than a decent sized pond. They threw a few rocks across the water to estimate the size, since distance was deceptive in the bluish light that surrounded them. Their best guess was about thirty to forty meters across.
Trychon started to climb the walls around to the other side in case there was a way out over there, but Raezyr grabbed his arm. "Don't bother. We can see well enough to know there isn't anything there."
"Well..." Trychon was rarely lost for words. "I really wish we'd at least brought along that shell to bring water back with us."
Raezyr snorted. "It wouldn't have fit through some of those crawlspace sections."
Trychon sighed, knowing that his younger brother was right. "Well, I guess we should get our fill of water and some rest, then drink some more water before filling up and heading back. I don't think we missed any likely forks."
Raezyr sat down, trying not to feel defeated. If they got out, it wouldn't be easy. "Not a chance, sadly."
They had only traveled half a a day since they last camped, but they settled in to meditate and rest before heading back. It would allow them to get the most out of what water they could store in their watersockets.
Two hours later, the occasional dripping sounds were interrupted by a soft clacking noise.
May 04, 2011
May 02, 2011
669. Earning Their Title - Raezyr
The brothers watched the activity below, barely peeking out from the edge of the cave. Their apparent disappearance had seemed to cause some disturbance with the army below, and for a few moments they thought the natives might call off their search, but the Sith weren't that lucky and soon the warriors below resumed their ascent.
It was finally time. Trychon and Raezyr stood up, called deeply upon the Force and bent it to their will, using as a craftsman used his tools. They uprooted large rocks and boulders from their resting place and sent them careening down the steep hillside.
The climb was precarious enough without their Force-induced rock slides, but despite their heavy losses, the army kept making their way upward like a swarm of beetles or insects. The brothers did their best to guide the boulders and rocks in directions that the most damage could be done, but the enemy wasn't deterred.
After thirty minutes or so of this activity, Trychon paused to survey the damage. "Hold up a sec," he asked, peering through the thick clouds of dust below. Soon it began to settle. "I think we're making some real progress," he commented optimistically. "There aren't nearly as many as there were before."
Raezyr shook his head sadly. "It only seems that way, Brother." He pointed off to the either side of the pass, far out of range of their deadly barrage. He noted they were beginning to climb up the hills there and surmised they were going to attempt to circle around and come down onto the cave entrance from above. "At least that's what I'd do in their place."
Trychon was about to point out that a large number were still trying to climb up directly into their rock slide assault, but Raezyr anticipated that and explained. "Cannon fodder. If someone doesn't stay here, then we'd be able to escape back down into the pass. They're not nearly as dumb as we'd like them to be."
For a while, they continued their rain of death on the attackers below. It was less effective in causing mass casualties than it was earlier as many had found nooks and crannies to hide in or ledges to hide below, although it was effective in that the upward progress of the Meisosian army had nearly ground to a halt some five hundred meters below. The brothers used the time to rest, one person at a time.
"Why don't you head back down the tunnel and see if you can refill our water sockets," Trychon suggested. "I just drank the last drop out of mine."
Raezyr agreed. He took both of the water sockets and headed deeper into the cave while Trychon stayed at the entrance to keep the enemy pinned down. They both knew the were just biding their time. Soon the aliens would be in position above them and would come down. After that, the real fighting would begin. They'd have to slaughter hundreds upon hundreds of aliens in this tunnel. The odds were stacked against them for sure and they would probably die anyway, but at least it wouldn't be impossible. Their one real hope was that the Meisosians would get tired of throwing their lives away, give up and go home. Somehow, Raezyr didn't think that was likely. Stupid they might not be, but zealous to the point of insanity they were.
A mere seventy-five meters or so back, the big Sith found some water which had collected in the upturned shell of a long-dead spidac. He filled both of the water sockets and returned and handed the water socket back to his brother, who took a long pull from it.
"That water tastes better than any we've had around here for days," he said. Raezyr chuckled.
"What's so funny?"
"It's strange how the little things become so pleasurable when faced with a situation you might not live through," the big man replied. "It also makes me realize that having a cybernetic knee or leg really makes no difference in the end."
Trychon noticed some of the aliens below beginning to get courageous and try to ascend the hill again, so he sent another slide of rocks and boulders bounding down the hillside, taking some small pleasure in watching the natives dive for cover, and not all of them successful.
"So are you saying you'll get that knee replaced if we make it out of this?" Trychon chuckled.
"I suppose that's..." Raezyr began, but was interrupted when several medium sized rocks bounded over the cave entrance from above. He turned and peaked out, looking up the hill.
"Damn... they moved faster than I expected," he said. He surmised there must have been a trail or path on which they made good time, as approximately fifteen hundred Meisosian warriors were descending from the top of the hill about two hundred meters away.
The two Sith took sips of water and hung them back on their belts, drew their lightsaber hilts and backed from the entrance. In moments this tunnel would become a cave filled with the dead and dying as the two Sith fought for their lives, and the brothers began to prepare accordingly, getting themselves focused and ready, and using their anger and frustration as fuel for the Dark Side.
Suddenly an alien appeared in the entrance of the cave, and as quickly as he did, each Sith threw out a hand, releasing a wave of energy. The force of the blow sent the native forty meters out into the open air. He seemed to hang there for a moment before plummeting to his death hundreds of meters in the pass below.
The Sith flicked on their lightsabers, the snap-hiss loud in the quiet cave, waiting for the on-rush of aliens, but it didn't come. Suddenly there was a loud rumbling which seemed to come from all around, vibrating the walls and the floor of the cave. Several giant boulders fell into place at the front of the cave, a dozen meters in front of them. Dust and dirt and debris began filling the air, so thick it blocked the light coming from the entrance.
Their surroundings continued to rumble and cloud in the next few seconds until they could no longer see, yet they could hear the sounds of stalactites cracking and some small rocks hitting the cave floor. They had no choice to retreat backward, relying only on their Force awareness to guide them and keep them from being crushed or impaled as they headed deeper for safety.
Then it was over. They coughed and choked in the pitch black for a moment then covered their mouth and nose with the sleeves of their tunics. It took a few minutes for the dim light from their blades to pierce the thick dust, but as it settled, the visibility improved. Finally they could see the aftermath of what had just happened.
"I guess they really aren't as stupid as we had hoped," Raezyr said into the gloom as the two Sith stared at the sixty meters or so of rubble between them and the entrance to the cave, a cave that would now be their tomb. "Smart move to seal us in here rather than expend hundreds of lives and not have a guarantee of success."
"How long do you think it'll take us to dig out?" Trychon asked aloud while at the same time trying to make his own estimate in his head.
Between the two of them, they estimated it would take a week or so for a crew of twenty experienced miners, but since they weren't miners or excavators, accounting for their Force abilities, they estimated a week and a half, assuming they did not cause a greater collapse.
"And we have no food," Raezyr added. He looked over at the spidac shell where he had filled the water sockets. The shell was filled with mud now. "And we're pretty much out of water."
Trychon followed his brother's gaze. He turned and almost violently grabbed the younger Sith's arm. "Raez! Spidacs! Giant Meisos crabs!"
Raezyr stared at him blankly, not following the thought pattern.
"That thing didn't crawl across the desert. It came up from the depths!" the elder Sith said excitedly.
"That doesn't mean there's another way out," Raezyr said doubtfully after finally catching on.
"What other choice do we have?"
It was finally time. Trychon and Raezyr stood up, called deeply upon the Force and bent it to their will, using as a craftsman used his tools. They uprooted large rocks and boulders from their resting place and sent them careening down the steep hillside.
The climb was precarious enough without their Force-induced rock slides, but despite their heavy losses, the army kept making their way upward like a swarm of beetles or insects. The brothers did their best to guide the boulders and rocks in directions that the most damage could be done, but the enemy wasn't deterred.
After thirty minutes or so of this activity, Trychon paused to survey the damage. "Hold up a sec," he asked, peering through the thick clouds of dust below. Soon it began to settle. "I think we're making some real progress," he commented optimistically. "There aren't nearly as many as there were before."
Raezyr shook his head sadly. "It only seems that way, Brother." He pointed off to the either side of the pass, far out of range of their deadly barrage. He noted they were beginning to climb up the hills there and surmised they were going to attempt to circle around and come down onto the cave entrance from above. "At least that's what I'd do in their place."
Trychon was about to point out that a large number were still trying to climb up directly into their rock slide assault, but Raezyr anticipated that and explained. "Cannon fodder. If someone doesn't stay here, then we'd be able to escape back down into the pass. They're not nearly as dumb as we'd like them to be."
For a while, they continued their rain of death on the attackers below. It was less effective in causing mass casualties than it was earlier as many had found nooks and crannies to hide in or ledges to hide below, although it was effective in that the upward progress of the Meisosian army had nearly ground to a halt some five hundred meters below. The brothers used the time to rest, one person at a time.
"Why don't you head back down the tunnel and see if you can refill our water sockets," Trychon suggested. "I just drank the last drop out of mine."
Raezyr agreed. He took both of the water sockets and headed deeper into the cave while Trychon stayed at the entrance to keep the enemy pinned down. They both knew the were just biding their time. Soon the aliens would be in position above them and would come down. After that, the real fighting would begin. They'd have to slaughter hundreds upon hundreds of aliens in this tunnel. The odds were stacked against them for sure and they would probably die anyway, but at least it wouldn't be impossible. Their one real hope was that the Meisosians would get tired of throwing their lives away, give up and go home. Somehow, Raezyr didn't think that was likely. Stupid they might not be, but zealous to the point of insanity they were.
A mere seventy-five meters or so back, the big Sith found some water which had collected in the upturned shell of a long-dead spidac. He filled both of the water sockets and returned and handed the water socket back to his brother, who took a long pull from it.
"That water tastes better than any we've had around here for days," he said. Raezyr chuckled.
"What's so funny?"
"It's strange how the little things become so pleasurable when faced with a situation you might not live through," the big man replied. "It also makes me realize that having a cybernetic knee or leg really makes no difference in the end."
Trychon noticed some of the aliens below beginning to get courageous and try to ascend the hill again, so he sent another slide of rocks and boulders bounding down the hillside, taking some small pleasure in watching the natives dive for cover, and not all of them successful.
"So are you saying you'll get that knee replaced if we make it out of this?" Trychon chuckled.
"I suppose that's..." Raezyr began, but was interrupted when several medium sized rocks bounded over the cave entrance from above. He turned and peaked out, looking up the hill.
"Damn... they moved faster than I expected," he said. He surmised there must have been a trail or path on which they made good time, as approximately fifteen hundred Meisosian warriors were descending from the top of the hill about two hundred meters away.
The two Sith took sips of water and hung them back on their belts, drew their lightsaber hilts and backed from the entrance. In moments this tunnel would become a cave filled with the dead and dying as the two Sith fought for their lives, and the brothers began to prepare accordingly, getting themselves focused and ready, and using their anger and frustration as fuel for the Dark Side.
Suddenly an alien appeared in the entrance of the cave, and as quickly as he did, each Sith threw out a hand, releasing a wave of energy. The force of the blow sent the native forty meters out into the open air. He seemed to hang there for a moment before plummeting to his death hundreds of meters in the pass below.
The Sith flicked on their lightsabers, the snap-hiss loud in the quiet cave, waiting for the on-rush of aliens, but it didn't come. Suddenly there was a loud rumbling which seemed to come from all around, vibrating the walls and the floor of the cave. Several giant boulders fell into place at the front of the cave, a dozen meters in front of them. Dust and dirt and debris began filling the air, so thick it blocked the light coming from the entrance.
Their surroundings continued to rumble and cloud in the next few seconds until they could no longer see, yet they could hear the sounds of stalactites cracking and some small rocks hitting the cave floor. They had no choice to retreat backward, relying only on their Force awareness to guide them and keep them from being crushed or impaled as they headed deeper for safety.
Then it was over. They coughed and choked in the pitch black for a moment then covered their mouth and nose with the sleeves of their tunics. It took a few minutes for the dim light from their blades to pierce the thick dust, but as it settled, the visibility improved. Finally they could see the aftermath of what had just happened.
"I guess they really aren't as stupid as we had hoped," Raezyr said into the gloom as the two Sith stared at the sixty meters or so of rubble between them and the entrance to the cave, a cave that would now be their tomb. "Smart move to seal us in here rather than expend hundreds of lives and not have a guarantee of success."
"How long do you think it'll take us to dig out?" Trychon asked aloud while at the same time trying to make his own estimate in his head.
Between the two of them, they estimated it would take a week or so for a crew of twenty experienced miners, but since they weren't miners or excavators, accounting for their Force abilities, they estimated a week and a half, assuming they did not cause a greater collapse.
"And we have no food," Raezyr added. He looked over at the spidac shell where he had filled the water sockets. The shell was filled with mud now. "And we're pretty much out of water."
Trychon followed his brother's gaze. He turned and almost violently grabbed the younger Sith's arm. "Raez! Spidacs! Giant Meisos crabs!"
Raezyr stared at him blankly, not following the thought pattern.
"That thing didn't crawl across the desert. It came up from the depths!" the elder Sith said excitedly.
"That doesn't mean there's another way out," Raezyr said doubtfully after finally catching on.
"What other choice do we have?"
April 29, 2011
668. Earning Their Title - Raezyr
It was wide enough for a dozen beings to walk abreast in the bottom, but it was narrow enough for their purpose. All they needed was to keep the army from getting behind them... force the enemy to fight them a few at a time (line up as opposed to bunch up, as Raezyr put it) rather than all at once and they could negate the enemy's numerical superiority.
They stood for a few minutes, watching the army come. They were still a good hour's march away. Suddenly Trychon thought of something. "Hey Raez... how much water do you have left?"
The big man hefted his water socket. Then the realization of what his brother was trying to say settled in. "Tzao gao. If we had water, we could hold them off indefinitely," Raezyr said. "Well, let's head over the pass and see what's there."
They both picked up and began moving as quickly as the terrain would allow. They knew they had to be getting close to Vathka Rados' village. If they could reach that, hopefully they could explain to Rados about the misunderstanding get things cleared up. Barring that, they'd still be able to get their gear, and Trychon's data pad with it, which would allow them to remotely call down their ship from orbit.
As they emerged on the other other side of the pass, they stopped and stared down into the valley below. There, a few klicks away between Rados' village and their own position at the entrance to the pass, was a second army marching their way. One even larger than the one they had left behind.
"Taikong suoyo shingchiouh doh saijin wu de pee-goo," exclaimed Trychon.
"You can say that again," Raezyr agreed, his heart sinking.
"Taikong suoyo shingchiouh doh saijin wu de pee-goo," repeated the elder Sith.
"Normally, I'd laugh... but for some reason, I'm not in the mood." Raezyr turned and began limping back into the pass.
"Where are you going?" his brother asked.
"I'm going to find a good spot to make a glorious last stand," he said with a weak grin.
Trychon fell into step beside his half-brother. "Alright then... if this is it, we'll make sure they tell the story of our demise for generations to come." He began looking up at the tops of the steep hills on either side of the pass. "Which hill do you think is taller? We can probably wreak more havoc from up there."
"Good idea," replied the younger Sith. "Plus they'll know we're making our last stand and just daring them to come get us. It'll make for a much better story."
Grinning, and somehow in a much better mood, they began climbing the steep, rocky slope of the taller of the two hills.
They were halfway to the top when they looked into the pass below. They could see both entrances from their vantage point. Both armies had entered the pass and in moments would find their prey missing and turn their eyes up-slope.
"Watch this, Raez," Trychon said. He stretched out his hand and a large rock dislodged from it's half-buried home in the side of the huge hill and began to tumble end-over-end down toward the larger of the two armies below. The Sith watched as the Meisosian warriors suddenly stared up in horror and scrambled to get away. Unfortunately for them there wasn't much room in the narrow pass and dozens of warriors went down either crushed to death or severely injured.
A roar rose up from the now-combined force below. Not one of fear, but of anger. A roar that called for justice. A roar that called for blood. It called for the blood of the Wahnri Rahz.
"So it begins," Trychon noted.
"So the end begins," Raezyr corrected.
They stood for a moment on the side of the hill and watched the army below begin its ascent and let the solemness of their situation wash over them. "Might as well get the rest of the way to the top," Raezyr commented as they both began climbing again.
Occasionally they paused to dislodge large rocks and send them tumbling into the aliens behind them. It would slow their pursuit, but soon they would spread out to all sides of the hill, lessening the damage the rock slides would cause, and once at the top the brothers would eventually run out of large rocks to hurl down.
They climbed quickly and steadily, until Trychon climbed up over a small ledge. "Hey, Raez... there's a cave here." He scrambled up and peered into the depths. "It's fairly wide and goes back quite a ways."
Raezyr climbed up and looked into the cave for himself. Then grinned at his elder brother. "This is even better than the pass. We can fight side by side in here, and even spell each other." He wandered back into the cave a little way and looked around. "It smells damp back here. We might even be able to scrape together a little water if we go farther back."
He turned around and looked at his brother. Trychon grinned from ear to ear. "And you thought it was the end. We may just make it out of this yet."
April 27, 2011
667. Earning Their Title - Trychon and Raezyr
What they thought had turned out to be a decent decision in taking an alternate route ended up only taking them off course. While the first town only had a vague understanding that there was something wrong with the off-worlders, the next two were completely unreceptive. They were forced to resort to slaughtering the majority of the population of both to just get to some fresh water.
Their saurens were becoming completely disobedient, and only through small Force shocks were they able to get cooperation from the beasts at all.
Meanwhile, Raezyr had run out of the plants that he had been using to create a simple salve for his knee. They assumed that the plants were only cultured in the large cities. Things were looking worse and worse as time went on, and the Siths' own patience was at an end.
They paused at the top of a hill to get a look at the terrain they were headed through. Trychon shocked his mount to get it to face his brother. "I don't know how long we're going to be able to ride these things, Raez."
Raezyr merely grunted.
"There's no telling what sort of resistance we're going to find when we get back to Rodas, either. With you in this sort of shape..."
Raezyr clenched his teeth. "If I'd known this was going to happen, obviously I would have handled things differently."
"You realize there's a strong chance that we may walk sometime after we get off this planet too?"
"Don't talk to me like I'm a moisture farmer, Trych. We wouldn't be in this mess if you'd been a little more hesitant to let go of your datapad for the first time since I've met you. 'Oh, I guess I won't need this, since nobody's got any computers for me to slice... never mind the fact that it's the only way we have off this forsaken rock.'"
Trychon paused. "Oh this is about to get nasty."
"You're damn straight it's about to get nasty if you don't get off my back already... I..." Raezyr was cut off by his own realization that his brother was no longer looking at him. Instead, he had shifted his attention to their flank.
Off in the distance was the one thing they had dreaded for days but had up till now somehow avoided. There was a growing cloud of dust that could only mean a very large group of riders was coming their way, and the chances were that they weren't riding the slow four legged creatures either.
--------------------
After quick tactical deliberation, they had made their way towards the most imposing hill that they could, hoping to at least reduce the directions the horde could attack them from. Their rides were beginning to struggle mightily, and were taking nearly constant shocks to obey.
Finally, when they were still a klick away from their target, Raezyr's sauren stopped and snapped at Trychon, who was able to avoid the attack, but only by rolling off the back of his own reptile.
Raezyr quickly stabbed his lightsaber through the heart of his beast, then quickly rolled off to the side himself to avoid the retaliation of the other animal.
As much as they'd ridden the saurens, there was not much that one alone could do to stand up to the two Sith, and they were able to take it down quickly. The larger problem for them lay in the cloud of dust in the shrinking distance, which was becoming more clear. They could now see individuals at the front of their pursuit, but not enough to make out how many they would face.
They took off on foot, with Raezyr grumbling something about the situation being his brother's fault for bringing it up. Despite the younger Sith's leg, they were able to keep a rather decent speed. They were still a few hundred meters from their goal when they had to turn to face the incoming spears.
The world around them became a blur of dust, claws, jaws and spears punctuated by alien gibberish, sauren screeches and screams of dying Meisosians and beasts. Just underneath was the constant hum of their energy blades, wreaking destruction and havoc on their attackers.
Raezyr, drawing deeply on the Dark Side not only to aid his attack and defenses but to dull the pain in his knee, took to the ground, diving and rolling, coming up underneath a beast and opening it's gullet as he passed. He rolled to his knees, avoiding the sauren as it collapsed and removed the head of it's rider before turning his attention to the next attacker.
Trychon's double bladed lightsaber whirled in a blur of red and black as he pushed himself into the air much higher and faster than someone not aided by the Force. The two aliens bearing down on him futilely attempted to block the energy blades with their wooden spears, but their upper torsos landed on the ground while the rest of their bodies remained seated upon their mounts anyway.
The elder Sith landed nimbly and threw out his hand toward another figure looming up out of the dust. Bolts of lightning shot from his fingertips, the crackling electricity adding to the already cacophonous din of battle, as well as adding the smell of ionization and burning flesh to the smell of blood and dust.
Raezyr gave his shorted blue bladed lightsaber a side-arm throw, guiding it in a long arc and taking out three warriors in it's path before returning to his outstretched palm which caught the hilt deftly.
All that remained of the opposing force were a few riderless sauren. It was short work to take them down before they could mount an organized attack as they had seemed to do back in the city at the corrals.
And like that it was over. The two Sith stood there and surveyed the carnage.
"I count 40 warriors and sauren," Trychon noted. He looked down at his chonometer. "30 standard minutes... felt more like 30 hours," he said panting. He looked over at his brother.
Raezyr wasn't paying any attention at all. He was staring down the way the riders had come. Trychon followed his gaze. In the distance, he could see an army... maybe a thousand strong in his quick estimate, all marching their direction.
"We can take them," Raezyr said flatly.
"You're joking right? We got lucky here..."
"Let's get to the hills... we need a bottle neck where their numbers are not an advantage," Raezyr explained.
Their saurens were becoming completely disobedient, and only through small Force shocks were they able to get cooperation from the beasts at all.
Meanwhile, Raezyr had run out of the plants that he had been using to create a simple salve for his knee. They assumed that the plants were only cultured in the large cities. Things were looking worse and worse as time went on, and the Siths' own patience was at an end.
They paused at the top of a hill to get a look at the terrain they were headed through. Trychon shocked his mount to get it to face his brother. "I don't know how long we're going to be able to ride these things, Raez."
Raezyr merely grunted.
"There's no telling what sort of resistance we're going to find when we get back to Rodas, either. With you in this sort of shape..."
Raezyr clenched his teeth. "If I'd known this was going to happen, obviously I would have handled things differently."
"You realize there's a strong chance that we may walk sometime after we get off this planet too?"
"Don't talk to me like I'm a moisture farmer, Trych. We wouldn't be in this mess if you'd been a little more hesitant to let go of your datapad for the first time since I've met you. 'Oh, I guess I won't need this, since nobody's got any computers for me to slice... never mind the fact that it's the only way we have off this forsaken rock.'"
Trychon paused. "Oh this is about to get nasty."
"You're damn straight it's about to get nasty if you don't get off my back already... I..." Raezyr was cut off by his own realization that his brother was no longer looking at him. Instead, he had shifted his attention to their flank.
Off in the distance was the one thing they had dreaded for days but had up till now somehow avoided. There was a growing cloud of dust that could only mean a very large group of riders was coming their way, and the chances were that they weren't riding the slow four legged creatures either.
--------------------
After quick tactical deliberation, they had made their way towards the most imposing hill that they could, hoping to at least reduce the directions the horde could attack them from. Their rides were beginning to struggle mightily, and were taking nearly constant shocks to obey.
Finally, when they were still a klick away from their target, Raezyr's sauren stopped and snapped at Trychon, who was able to avoid the attack, but only by rolling off the back of his own reptile.
Raezyr quickly stabbed his lightsaber through the heart of his beast, then quickly rolled off to the side himself to avoid the retaliation of the other animal.
As much as they'd ridden the saurens, there was not much that one alone could do to stand up to the two Sith, and they were able to take it down quickly. The larger problem for them lay in the cloud of dust in the shrinking distance, which was becoming more clear. They could now see individuals at the front of their pursuit, but not enough to make out how many they would face.
They took off on foot, with Raezyr grumbling something about the situation being his brother's fault for bringing it up. Despite the younger Sith's leg, they were able to keep a rather decent speed. They were still a few hundred meters from their goal when they had to turn to face the incoming spears.
The world around them became a blur of dust, claws, jaws and spears punctuated by alien gibberish, sauren screeches and screams of dying Meisosians and beasts. Just underneath was the constant hum of their energy blades, wreaking destruction and havoc on their attackers.
Raezyr, drawing deeply on the Dark Side not only to aid his attack and defenses but to dull the pain in his knee, took to the ground, diving and rolling, coming up underneath a beast and opening it's gullet as he passed. He rolled to his knees, avoiding the sauren as it collapsed and removed the head of it's rider before turning his attention to the next attacker.
Trychon's double bladed lightsaber whirled in a blur of red and black as he pushed himself into the air much higher and faster than someone not aided by the Force. The two aliens bearing down on him futilely attempted to block the energy blades with their wooden spears, but their upper torsos landed on the ground while the rest of their bodies remained seated upon their mounts anyway.
The elder Sith landed nimbly and threw out his hand toward another figure looming up out of the dust. Bolts of lightning shot from his fingertips, the crackling electricity adding to the already cacophonous din of battle, as well as adding the smell of ionization and burning flesh to the smell of blood and dust.
Raezyr gave his shorted blue bladed lightsaber a side-arm throw, guiding it in a long arc and taking out three warriors in it's path before returning to his outstretched palm which caught the hilt deftly.
All that remained of the opposing force were a few riderless sauren. It was short work to take them down before they could mount an organized attack as they had seemed to do back in the city at the corrals.
And like that it was over. The two Sith stood there and surveyed the carnage.
"I count 40 warriors and sauren," Trychon noted. He looked down at his chonometer. "30 standard minutes... felt more like 30 hours," he said panting. He looked over at his brother.
Raezyr wasn't paying any attention at all. He was staring down the way the riders had come. Trychon followed his gaze. In the distance, he could see an army... maybe a thousand strong in his quick estimate, all marching their direction.
"We can take them," Raezyr said flatly.
"You're joking right? We got lucky here..."
"Let's get to the hills... we need a bottle neck where their numbers are not an advantage," Raezyr explained.
April 25, 2011
666. Earning Their Title - Raezyr
The next two days didn't feel so much like "winning" anymore. It was becoming tedious and hazardous. First of all, the sauren mounts they had acquired became skittish and ill-tempered the farther they rode them and it was becoming increasingly difficult to control them. The Sith were starting to wonder if they might not end up with another incident like the one back at the Hokhae corrals.
On top of that, the water in their water sockets quickly became brackish. It was drinkable, but barely. The part which confused them was that they had dumped out the old water and refilled it with fresh water before they left. At one point Raezyr suggested that maybe the water they refilled it with was bad, but Trychon pointed out it was the same water they had consumed when going the other way. The only thing they could figure is that there must be some trick to filling the water sockets to which they weren't privy. From now on they'd have to appropriate new water sockets at each village, which meant they probably weren't going to be able to slip by a village or oasis in the middle of the night.
The half-siblings approached the second village they came to with caution, but they needn't have. The natives there were lying in wait, and as they entered the dense underbrush surrounding the settlement at the oasis, the warriors of the village attacked. They didn't present much of a threat to the Sith as none were as well armed as the Guards back in the city had been. Raezyr had given his reins to his brother and quickly cut down the opposition. Taking a new supply of water sockets, they moved out, not wanting to stay in the oasis where someone could sneak up on them.
The second evening was much the same as the last as they were attacked once again by a number of the red-skinned humanoids. This time it was Trychon's turn, using his double-bladed lightsaber to fight their way to the well at the center of the village. In each of the villages they had looked for more of the saurens to trade out, but these smaller villages didn't seem to have any, or if they did, they didn't keep them close to the oasis. Recalling what Gavrik had told them about the beasts habits, they assumed the corral must be somewhere out in the desert, and Raezyr and Trychon didn't have the time to spare wandering about in search of it.
The brothers commandeered new water sockets once again, not wanting to take any chances on their water going bad. They had to fight to get their mounts to cooperate, but finally the sauren let them swing into the saddles. The Sith turned their beasts back toward the desert, conscious of the eyes watching them from the deep recesses of the huts and shanties, waiting for the 'Wahnri Rahz' to leave.
"So far we've backtracked the exact route we took from Vathka Rados' village to the city," Raezyr said, formulating a plan as he spoke. "Each village we've come to has attacked us, including the ones who've been friendly toward us."
"Cool story, bro," Trychon mocked, giving his brother a thumb's up sign as well as his usual grin.
"No, seriously," Raezyr continued. "Stay with me: The next few towns on our route are a bit bigger, and it stands to reason they will not only have more people, but they may have better weapons."
"I'd considered that," Trychon said, being serious for once.
"What if we took an alternate route?"
Trychon considered the idea in silence for several moments. "I guess I can't see that it'd be any worse," the elder brother surmised. "We can pretty much count on opposition this way, but the unknown may offer the opportunity to bypass some of that."
Luckily for them, Gavrik had shown them maps of the area on their journey to the city, in an apparent attempt to show them how impressive his knowledge of the area was. From those conversations, they knew there was another road over the steep hills to the north which ran in the same general direction they needed to go.
It took them longer than they had anticipated to cross the hills, but eventually they were able to locate the town they had seen on the maps. It had taken them a little over a day and a half to reach and they had been out of water since before midday.
It wasn't so much a town or even a village than it was a small collection of huts surrounding a spring which sprang up from a crack in some rocks then trickled back down below ground. It was clear the village was barely inhabited, yet still the two Sith approached cautiously.
As their mounts walked into town, head's lowered from fatigue and thirst, the few villagers approached cautiously. One lanky Meisosian with a beat-up stone sword approached. "Who you?" the alien asked in thickly accented, broken Basic.
"We are 'Wahnri Rahz,'" Trychon replied succinctly as he swung down from his sauren. He figured there was no point in beating around the bush.
"Ah... you are wanted killed... why?," the native replied. Both of the Sith assumed he must be the elder of this village since he spoke the 'Language of the Elders.'
"We were accused of murdering Seiress at the big meeting of the tribes; We did not," Trychon replied, figuring that being up front seemed to be working so far.
"What?" the elder replied, seemingly confused. Trychon was about to repeat what he had just said when the old alien continued. "A meeting of the tribes was not known to me. It is great dishonor to not be... to be looked over." He blinked slowly and looked at the ground for a moment, then back at the Sith, holding his chin high.
"I am sure is was merely a mistake," Trychon said. He wasn't sure why he said it, other than this was clearly an honorable alien he was dealing with.
"We require water, food, and shelter for the night," Trychon stated plainly, changing the subject.
"I do not think we can help you," the elder said. It was clear his Basic was coming back to him as his speech was becoming more fluent. It was also clear that the native was considering giving them aid just to spite the other tribes. Being forthright had clearly been the correct call in this situation.
He decided to be even more so. "You should know that we are not just strong in the Weave, but we are Masters of it. We could easily have ridden in here and taken what we require by use of force."
Trychon heard Raezyr chuckle slightly under his breath. '... use of THE Force,' his brothers thoughts corrected him.
Trychon continued. "We have no wish for unnecessary violence."
"You Wahnri Rahz could not have made it this far were that not true," he said. "We have no wish for violence either..."
Suddenly a much younger alien, the equivalent of Trychon or Raezyr's age maybe, suddenly began yelling at the elder in their own language which was still a blur of gibberish to the Sith. Finally the alien spoke. "Please forgive my grandson. He will be the elder when I am gone, so he understands what we've said, although he rudely refuses to speak it.
"While he is incorrect in his wish to try to kill you, he is correct that we would only bring more dishonor to our tribe if we assisted you," the old Meisosian continued. "We must ask you to leave our village."
"Very well," Trychon said. There was something about this old alien that Trychon liked. "We'll refill our water sockets, feed our mounts and leave."
Suddenly the young native roared in rage and charged them wielding a wooden club over his head. Trychon's hand dropped to his hilt, but Raezyr calmly stepped forward, put his hand out and made a pinching motion with his hand. Instantly, the young would-be leader of the tribe stopped in his tracks, fell to his knees and began clutching at his throat. Gurgling noises were all the sound he was making.
"I find your lack of hospitality disturbing," Raezyr said, watching the young native slowly choke.
For a moment no one moved. Finally Trychon spoke. "Release him, brother. I think you've made your point."
Raezyr put his hand down, walked over to the small spring and began to fill his water socket. All the while the alien still choked. Finally the big Sith Warrior released his Dark Side grip on the alien. "As you wish."
The alien fell to the sand, gasping heavily for air. The overall emotions of the small village turned from hostility and curiosity to fear in the blink of an eye. Trychon knew they'd not offer assistance now, but neither would they offer any resistance.
They quickly gathered a few meager supplies, then set up camp a few clicks down the road.
On top of that, the water in their water sockets quickly became brackish. It was drinkable, but barely. The part which confused them was that they had dumped out the old water and refilled it with fresh water before they left. At one point Raezyr suggested that maybe the water they refilled it with was bad, but Trychon pointed out it was the same water they had consumed when going the other way. The only thing they could figure is that there must be some trick to filling the water sockets to which they weren't privy. From now on they'd have to appropriate new water sockets at each village, which meant they probably weren't going to be able to slip by a village or oasis in the middle of the night.
The half-siblings approached the second village they came to with caution, but they needn't have. The natives there were lying in wait, and as they entered the dense underbrush surrounding the settlement at the oasis, the warriors of the village attacked. They didn't present much of a threat to the Sith as none were as well armed as the Guards back in the city had been. Raezyr had given his reins to his brother and quickly cut down the opposition. Taking a new supply of water sockets, they moved out, not wanting to stay in the oasis where someone could sneak up on them.
The second evening was much the same as the last as they were attacked once again by a number of the red-skinned humanoids. This time it was Trychon's turn, using his double-bladed lightsaber to fight their way to the well at the center of the village. In each of the villages they had looked for more of the saurens to trade out, but these smaller villages didn't seem to have any, or if they did, they didn't keep them close to the oasis. Recalling what Gavrik had told them about the beasts habits, they assumed the corral must be somewhere out in the desert, and Raezyr and Trychon didn't have the time to spare wandering about in search of it.
The brothers commandeered new water sockets once again, not wanting to take any chances on their water going bad. They had to fight to get their mounts to cooperate, but finally the sauren let them swing into the saddles. The Sith turned their beasts back toward the desert, conscious of the eyes watching them from the deep recesses of the huts and shanties, waiting for the 'Wahnri Rahz' to leave.
"So far we've backtracked the exact route we took from Vathka Rados' village to the city," Raezyr said, formulating a plan as he spoke. "Each village we've come to has attacked us, including the ones who've been friendly toward us."
"Cool story, bro," Trychon mocked, giving his brother a thumb's up sign as well as his usual grin.
"No, seriously," Raezyr continued. "Stay with me: The next few towns on our route are a bit bigger, and it stands to reason they will not only have more people, but they may have better weapons."
"I'd considered that," Trychon said, being serious for once.
"What if we took an alternate route?"
Trychon considered the idea in silence for several moments. "I guess I can't see that it'd be any worse," the elder brother surmised. "We can pretty much count on opposition this way, but the unknown may offer the opportunity to bypass some of that."
Luckily for them, Gavrik had shown them maps of the area on their journey to the city, in an apparent attempt to show them how impressive his knowledge of the area was. From those conversations, they knew there was another road over the steep hills to the north which ran in the same general direction they needed to go.
It took them longer than they had anticipated to cross the hills, but eventually they were able to locate the town they had seen on the maps. It had taken them a little over a day and a half to reach and they had been out of water since before midday.
It wasn't so much a town or even a village than it was a small collection of huts surrounding a spring which sprang up from a crack in some rocks then trickled back down below ground. It was clear the village was barely inhabited, yet still the two Sith approached cautiously.
As their mounts walked into town, head's lowered from fatigue and thirst, the few villagers approached cautiously. One lanky Meisosian with a beat-up stone sword approached. "Who you?" the alien asked in thickly accented, broken Basic.
"We are 'Wahnri Rahz,'" Trychon replied succinctly as he swung down from his sauren. He figured there was no point in beating around the bush.
"Ah... you are wanted killed... why?," the native replied. Both of the Sith assumed he must be the elder of this village since he spoke the 'Language of the Elders.'
"We were accused of murdering Seiress at the big meeting of the tribes; We did not," Trychon replied, figuring that being up front seemed to be working so far.
"What?" the elder replied, seemingly confused. Trychon was about to repeat what he had just said when the old alien continued. "A meeting of the tribes was not known to me. It is great dishonor to not be... to be looked over." He blinked slowly and looked at the ground for a moment, then back at the Sith, holding his chin high.
"I am sure is was merely a mistake," Trychon said. He wasn't sure why he said it, other than this was clearly an honorable alien he was dealing with.
"We require water, food, and shelter for the night," Trychon stated plainly, changing the subject.
"I do not think we can help you," the elder said. It was clear his Basic was coming back to him as his speech was becoming more fluent. It was also clear that the native was considering giving them aid just to spite the other tribes. Being forthright had clearly been the correct call in this situation.
He decided to be even more so. "You should know that we are not just strong in the Weave, but we are Masters of it. We could easily have ridden in here and taken what we require by use of force."
Trychon heard Raezyr chuckle slightly under his breath. '... use of THE Force,' his brothers thoughts corrected him.
Trychon continued. "We have no wish for unnecessary violence."
"You Wahnri Rahz could not have made it this far were that not true," he said. "We have no wish for violence either..."
Suddenly a much younger alien, the equivalent of Trychon or Raezyr's age maybe, suddenly began yelling at the elder in their own language which was still a blur of gibberish to the Sith. Finally the alien spoke. "Please forgive my grandson. He will be the elder when I am gone, so he understands what we've said, although he rudely refuses to speak it.
"While he is incorrect in his wish to try to kill you, he is correct that we would only bring more dishonor to our tribe if we assisted you," the old Meisosian continued. "We must ask you to leave our village."
"Very well," Trychon said. There was something about this old alien that Trychon liked. "We'll refill our water sockets, feed our mounts and leave."
Suddenly the young native roared in rage and charged them wielding a wooden club over his head. Trychon's hand dropped to his hilt, but Raezyr calmly stepped forward, put his hand out and made a pinching motion with his hand. Instantly, the young would-be leader of the tribe stopped in his tracks, fell to his knees and began clutching at his throat. Gurgling noises were all the sound he was making.
"I find your lack of hospitality disturbing," Raezyr said, watching the young native slowly choke.
For a moment no one moved. Finally Trychon spoke. "Release him, brother. I think you've made your point."
Raezyr put his hand down, walked over to the small spring and began to fill his water socket. All the while the alien still choked. Finally the big Sith Warrior released his Dark Side grip on the alien. "As you wish."
The alien fell to the sand, gasping heavily for air. The overall emotions of the small village turned from hostility and curiosity to fear in the blink of an eye. Trychon knew they'd not offer assistance now, but neither would they offer any resistance.
They quickly gathered a few meager supplies, then set up camp a few clicks down the road.
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