A Pass Most Treacherous

[Vollen Shai]

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Over the long, and storied history of Tython, more than just the Jedi had made their home there. Indeed, those who had come before them, the first to learn the Force made their lives across the whole face of the planet, establishing temples and fortresses across Tythons continents. Including one for research, for construction. Yes, the Order had enemies in those days as well. But such places were abandoned now, lost to history. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for thousands of years such temples passed out of all knowledge. Until, when chance came, two Jedi Masters would stumble upon its location in the Jedi archives, and set out on a journey across Tython to seek it.

This was how Vollen Shai and Wyck came to find themselves high in the Ice Giant Mountain Range of Tython, forging a forgotten path to this hidden, secreted temple. Though if what they had discovered was true, it might be a great boon to the Order in these days of darkness that now faced them.

The wind bit at his skin, even wrapped in robes of the warmest kind the chill found its mark, sending shivers down his spine and shakes in his hands as he breathed into his hands for warmth. They were likely a sorry sight to anyone that caught them, not that anyone would so deep into the mountains they were. He kept a light fire in his hand with pyrokinesis, but it had never been his strong suit,

"How much further did it say Grandmaster?" Vollen called out to his companion over the roaring wind and snow. They would lose their lives in this place if they weren't careful.


@Malon

 

[Wyck]

Wyck had been to Hoth recently and decided that it was the worst planet in the galaxy. But the icy winds of northern Tython were easily a close second. The Jedi Grand Master had on a thick, wool Jedi robe, with its hood drawn up over his head, but it was doing very little to fight back the environment. The cold was creeping in and Wyck was barely trudging along with his cane. At Vollen's question, Wyck retrieved his small holo-projector from his belt within his robe.

A holographic projection of the mountain pass appeared above Wyck's projector. After examining it, he glanced up and squinted. Through the wind and snow, he could make out the faint silhouette of the distant temple. "Half a klick north of here," Wyck shouted over the noise. Done with it, he pocketed the projector. "But be very careful, we should. Gone are the abominations... but many dangers still live in these mountains." @Nightfall096

 

[Vollen Shai]

Further to the north then there journey would take them, further along this worrying outcropping of snow and stone that threatened them with every step. Many dangerous situations he’d been in now, battles of life and death where every moment could be your last. But it was not so often he felt it so close as he did now. Somehow the raw, elemental power of the mountain felt greater than he was, greater than both of them. And the snowstorm that surrounded them was a manifestation of that.

This place was a secret, this place did not accept visitors, and it wanted them to know that. Interlopers like them should turn back.

Vollens heavy winter attire kept him warm, warmer than he would have been anyhow, but made it a struggle to move through the thick snow with it, atleast, not without great effort. But, as Wyck had said, they close now, to hopefully what would be just useful for the Order as the archives said it would be. If they survived the trek, that was. And indeed the mountain was was dangerous as it seemed. A sudden crack, a rumble not far from where they stood as the winds bowled harder than they had before. It was then it started, the shaking beneath their feet, a landslide. He had been right to worry about the mountain.

Vollen began to snap his head around, searching for a source, but he would be too late. Turning his face upwards he didn’t have time to throw himself against the mountain to avoid the worst of it, only momentarily calling out to the Grandmaster and throwing up a barrier before a cascade of ice, snow, and stone fell upon him,

“Wyck!” Was all he could get out before the landslide crashed into him, buffeting him and throwing him from his feet to the edge of the cliff. Reaching his hands out in desperation, he caught the edge of the walkway with his fingertips, holding on for now. But the path was still unstable, and much longer in this place and they’d both be goners.


@Malon

 

[Wyck]

Wyck sensed the danger long before Vollen called out his name. He raised one hand to the landslide and rock and snow parted around him, leaving him untouched, though his robes fluttered violently as they passed by. At the same time, and with his other hand, Wyck used the Force to catch Vollen and levitate him back up to the safety of the narrow pathway... or what was left of it.

Wyck looked down at him with a smile and chortled, "Careful, you should be, Master Shai. Dangerous, these mountain passes can be." He looked up ahead. There was a narrow land-bridge that spanned the ravine separating them from the decrepit old Jedi temple. It was a risk, but, if they crossed it, they would be one step closer to their destination. "More dangerous, that land bridge will be. Be on our guard, we should."

Wyck proceeded ahead and took the lead towards the land bridge. The winds were becoming rougher. He used the Force to steady himself. Although humorous, it would be embarrassing for the Grand Master of the Jedi Order to die from being blown off of a land bridge in the middle of nowhere. @Nightfall096

 

[Vollen Shai]

While Vollen breathed a sigh of relief as Wyck lifted him free of the cliffs edge and back onto the relative safety, he heard the Grandmasters laugh increasingly loudly as he was drawn in closer. Yes, yes, such was the way of things. He looked the fool in comparison to the diminutive Master, who seemed to shrug off the mountains dangers as if it were nothing. But in truth, he had to laugh as well. Both had seen horrors in their time, the darkest parts of the galaxy. To be lost here in the mountains of their collective home was nothing short of ironic,

"I shall have to get you back for that one" he offered wryly before carrying behind Wyck, joining him as he crossed the ruinous land bridge across the ravine. The temple was in sight now, its outline clear through the snow. Not long before they would be safe inside it. Or, as safe as a long abandoned temple could ever be. And in Vollen's experience that was never a very high bar.

Stepping out onto the worryingly creeking landbridge Vollen did the same as the Grandmaster, applying aerokinesis around his body as the winds grew ever stronger, ever more dangerous as they made their crossing. But such things had clearly not seen the weight of bodies in a great many years, squeaking and shaking with every step the pair took. Until a crack, just as they neared the far side. Beneath their feet the bridge began to rupture before them, cracking through the narrow stone just as they seemed safe to escape it and make for the temple. Apparently their luck was not so kind today.

But Vollen was on guard this time. Not wishing a repeat of the mountain pass, as soon as as he heard the crack he threw out his hands, drawing on the ice and snow that surrounded them to rapidly form a thick sheet of ice that could act as a bridge for their final steps, even as the natural formation below fell away. While not as neat or dramatic as the landbridge that previously sat there, it would serve them well enough to complete the crossing, though the winds still threatened to toss them into the ravine,

"We're definitely going to have to do something about that when we move in" he offered with a smile. Better to keep the mood light, despite the danger.


@Malon

 

[Wyck]

Wyck expected that to be the last of their challenges before reaching the temple. He was wrong. Before he could reply to Vollen, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. Glancing to the other side of Vollen's ice-bridge, he saw the shapes of three guid: large primates that inhabited Tython. Each had a white coat, as opposed to the brown ones traditionally worn by the creatures in the lowlands. Guids were herbivores, but were fiercely territorial. And, judging by the expressions on the primates, they had spotted the two Jedi at the edge of their territory.

Wyck did as little to move as possible. "Guids, these are," Wyck explained in a hushed tone. "Careful, we will need to be. Aggressive, they can become, if we wander into their—" The Grand Master wasn't even able to complete his sentence. The massive primates immediately began to reach for large rocks surrounding them and hurl them at the two Jedi.

Wyck acted instinctually. With the Force in his legs, he leaped over a thrown boulder and landed on the opposite side of the bridge. This put him within range of the guid, but they did not immediately turn their attention to him. They were still hurling debris at Vollen, who was venerable on the ice bridge over the ravine. @Nightfall096

 

[Vollen Shai]

Oh come on. Or so Vollen thought to himself as the debris seemed to come thick and fast at his position as the Grandmaster leapt quickly to the safety of the far side of the ravine. He would be no slouch however, following quickly in step with Wyck, he channeled the roaring winds of the mountain back upon themselves, conjuring such a directed and powerful wave of aerokinesis that he swatted the debris to the side, crashing into the mountainside and tumbling deep, deep into the crevice below. The guid did not exactly seem to expect this, seeming puzzled for a moment as he managed to maintain his ice bridge long enough to cross the remainder in relative safety, even as part of it snapped away beside him where Wyck had just stood.

The Grandmaster had mentioned the dangers that lived in the mountains, but in all his time he hadn't expected to live a childrens story come to life, holding his own against yeti-like creatures guarding the forgotten snow temple in the mountains. It all sounded so chivalrous when one put it like that. Not like how it was, a pair of possibly foolhardy Jedi freezing their limbs off as they were pelted with stones by aggressive herbivores.

The guid did not stay so docile for long. Moving across the bridge put the pair square in their territory, and that meant they were not welcome, if they hadn't already picked that up. The trio roared in succession, attempting to frighten the threats away. Vollen tried a similar strategy in return, summoning dashs of fire in his hands to ward them away.

It didn't work.

And as the one closest reached over for another stone to hurl, Vollen turned to Wyck,

"Nice hike while it lasted"


@Malon

 

[Wyck]

Wyck was going to use the Force to dissuade the beasts from attacking by touching their minds, but the primates were far too fast. All three of them hurled the stones they had picked up and Wyck was forced to change tactics, sending a blast of power in their direction. Mercifully, the blast caught the hurled rocks and sent them flying backwards. The down side of this was that the rocks struck a loose bit of snow and ice on the adjacent mountainside, destabilizing the entire cliff. As the cliffside began to rumble and quake, Wyck braced himself and fell into the Force.

An avalanche ensued. One that would likely cut them off from the land bridge. The guids scattered in fear, no longer concerned with the two Jedi they had attacked. Wyck was uncertain they would survive, but he hoped they would. Right now, though, he needed to focus on his and Vollen's survival. "A nice hike indeed," he replied, almost bitterly, to Master Shai. "Focus now, we must. Or buried, we will be." @Nightfall096

 

[Vollen Shai]

The rumble of the mountain was not one Vollen exactly welcomed. Sudden, echoing cracks in the ice and snow rippled around them, bursting through the landscape as the snow and ice began to crash down from the peaks surrounding them, threatening to send them over the edge, or bury them with the Guid. He wasn't exactly excited about either option,

"Inside, inside the temple, we'll be safer there" he prompted to Wyck as the snow barreled down toward them. They were close now, one last dash against power and time to get inside.

Breathing deep before the wave hit, he threw up a force barrier before them, holding back the avalanche with every inch of strength. He could feel it dig in closer, threaten to break through and leave them lost and forgotten in the high peaks of Tython, no doubt with many others who had lost their ways in the mountains. But it would not be today, not yet anyhow.

His strength held, but only just. His arms woulds ache, his legs would be frozen beyond belief with every step a fight in itself against the snow. But crying out and forcing himself through the downpour he threw himself against the temples entrance, his barrier barely holding against the force of the mountain that came down around them. Even if they made it inside they'd be snowed in, but it had to be safer than the deathtrap that the mountain was.

Right?


@Malon

 

[Wyck]

Wyck agreed with Vollen silently and summoned the full power of the Force to himself. With it invigorating his body, the tiny Grand Master was able to easily clear the remaining distance to the temple before the avalanche reached them. Another shout of the Force called open the door, allowing him to pass inside unhindered, as well as giving Vollen safe passage. They were out of harms way for now, but there was no telling what dangers the ancient temple held for them.

If it was anything like the one he and Albert had investigated, it was sure to be challenging... @Nightfall096