Exploring a Cave

Alexei Denkio · May 6, 2019

Dantooine
Midnight

So far it seemed the two members of the rebellion were ready, they were outside of the cave. Having sent some time gathering a few supplies at the settlement the duo now had everything they should need. Hopefully they didn't forget any some details. Alexei grabbed a combat knife, and had spoke with some of the other members of this settlement so if things go well he would be paid for this.

Now they were outside of the cave with the speeder behind them ready to go whenever. Now he needed to deal with the actual Kath Hound problem. Which could be quiet a problem especially given that he was only with one other person. Still given that he felt the woman was somewhat capable of fighting he wasn't to worried.

"Alright so here's my idea. We are going to have a glowstick on and just stick together. We will take things slowly, I will have the glowstick kept you blaster ready." Alexei grabbed one of 5 glowsticks in his left hand while his right hand held onto his pistol.

Something tickled the back of his mind, almost a senseless sensation that put him as ease for some reason. Like a reminder he wasn't alone, the Force was actually with him. Standing in front of the dark cave was a bit scary but with the Force and his new friend Vas no doubt they would be alright.

@thePYRO101

Vas Kodro · May 8, 2019

Vas stood at the base of the cave with her newfound friend and fellow rebel. She wasn't too afraid now, as they had glowsticks, or at least Alexei had glowsticks, so they wouldn't be dealing with a whole pack of Kath hounds in the darkness. Alexei told her to keep her blaster ready. She was already clutching her blaster with anticipation on the speeder.

"Ready when you are," she said, taking baby steps towards the cave. She looked back at Alexei to make sure he was following her, because soon she would be following him. They would have to stick together in the darkness of the cave. That could be a problem if the hounds surrounded them, but it was a much better idea than splitting up. Both of them were competent on their own, Alexei probably more so given equipment and experience, but if one got lost, they would be done for.

Vas continued creeping into the entrance of the cave and stopped with her foot barely inside. She stood facing sideways, so she could easily look inside the cave and back to Alexei. She tried to look past the blackness of the cave, waiting for him to lead the way.

Alexei Denkio · May 11, 2019

The darkness in the cave was somewhat frightening but it wasn't something he couldn't handle. Especially as he was the one that decided to take this task on himself. No matter the lack of light though, what actually scared him was the animals in the cave. Kath hounds aren't the most dangerous of creatures nor are they cunning. But what they lack in these areas they make up for with their numbers. Striking together they could be a serious problem for anyone, Alexei figured even to well trained users of the Force, which was they had to watch their corners. As Alexei wasn't even able to understood much less use the Force yet.

Having the glow stick in his left hand and the pistol in his right the rebel walked side by side with Vas she was a rather interesting person. Definitely a good person for sure given she was here helping him out trying to help out the settlement. Hopefully though they weren't about to make a mistake.

As they entered the mouth of the cave, there were little light that didn't come from the glow stick. Wondering into the cave now in the lead, he kept his pistol ready to blast at the nearest beast. And as he wonder deeper into the cave, there were little noise besides there steps walking into the cave. So far there were nothing that they could see that was interesting. That was until they got 15 feet deep into the tunnel and a clean pick skeleton was laying on the ground. Not complete though clearly many of the bones had been picked up and used as a toy else where.

"Okay so clearly this pack as had a taste for people for a while." He tried to speak quietly, but clearly it most have been notice as soon after a low growl could be heard.

Though no Kath Hound came into view something lived in the cave that was a bit more dangerous. Or at least that is what he thought when his hair all started to stand up on the back of his neck. Looking for a second at Vas, he looked back out into the cave and the next thing he knew there was a three way split. One to the left and two on the right and was divided by a rock wall in the middle.

"Which way you want to go?" Alexei said in his normal voice, hoping that Vas would pick as right now the Rebel was to keen on deciding which area they were going to potentially die in.

@thePYRO101

We will roll for the Kath hounds and if you want we will roll to see how this all plays out.

Vas Kodro · May 13, 2019

As the two crept through the cave, Vas became increasingly on edge. She hadn't had much experience with Kath hounds, or caves, or working with a partner. In her mind she told herself to be alert, and she was, to a fault. She focused her senses so much that the sound of her own steps made her paranoid. Though she kept it together pretty well through sheer willpower and the drive to stay alive, the experience was still a bit daunting.

They passed an incomplete skeleton laying on the cave floor. Vas couldn't see much beyond it, but she made out faint outlines of bones scattered around the cave. Alexei commented on the now obvious information that these hounds had a taste for people, seemingly to break the tension, before a low growl could be heard not far away. She remained calm internally, but her grip on her blaster tightened as she inhaled deeply.

Soon they came to a three-way split. Alexei turned to her, and she took it to mean that she had to decide. She glanced at all of the separating paths in rapid succession, mostly the two on the right since she figured the pack would be based in a larger space. "Far right," she said, without much hesitation. That was where the most bone fragments were located from what she could see. Besides, if they didn't find anything there, they could always go back and check another pack.

She walked into the far right path cautiously, checking Alexei every few seconds to make sure he was on the same page. After about 20 feet, the path opened up into a larger space. More bones were scattered on the ground, all picked dry. Small cracks of light in the ceiling exposed tiny slits of the cave, where scraggly bits of grass grew. The space was mostly dry, but a few puddles of water dotted the ground. A droplet of water hit a puddle, making a faint splashing noise. The same low growl could be heard in the distance. It didn't sound threatening, maybe like a sleeping hound awakened by the slightest noise.

Vas stood still, concentrating on the sounds around her. She could hear the faintest steps on the far side of the cave. "Do you think they're awake?" she whispered softly. This time several growls could be heard, again nothing too threatening, but still concerning. This could have been a huge mistake.

Sounds good, are you making the dice thread or should I?

Alexei Denkio · May 13, 2019

As they reached the three way, it seemed that Vas wanted to go the into the far right path. Which seemed a good idea as any, but as he followed her he could sense something was off. Plus it wasn't like they were committed to the path, though as they entered the space it was large enough for multiple hounds to stay, but as he looked around he could see the shadow of a few of them. Though most looked asleep a few were beginning to stir and awaken.

Thankfully though they were on the far side of the enclosed space and it seemed there was another path heading deeper into the cave on the other side. Maybe he could get a shot off killing one and then they could have the beasts run into this funnel. It was a good enough plan for him, without even speaking with Vas he began to aim for on of the beasts he could see. With deadly accuracy his shot was aimed for its head, and hit straight for its head. Sure the others woke up but they seemed shaken and confused now. Probably even slow now that they only just woke up. As they started to yelp and slowly approach they were all approaching so they would arrive at the entrance they came in from at the same time. Which gave him a idea.

"Listen umm... run." Alexei didn't wait for Vas to listen to his command and putting away his pistol he grabbed one of his fragmentation grenade and set the fuse for 5 seconds to the right of the entrance to the space.

Hopefully as they start to run the grenade would get a few and it seemed they weren't paying attention. If Vas didn't retreat she would find the light going dimmer and dimmer as Alexei began to run as soon as he threw the grenade.

@thePYRO101

I rolled for the number of Hounds and how well I did in dealing with them, you can roll in the thread I tag you in.

Vas Kodro · May 15, 2019

Vas could barely see the hounds lurking in the shadows. Most of them looked asleep, though a few of them had begun to stir. She drew her blaster, ready to fire, when Alexei shot one of the hounds clean in the head. The others began to stir and get on their feet. The hounds slowly approached her and Alexei. Vas became hyper-focused on the hounds in front of her, trying to remain still with her hand on her blaster.

She heard Alexei say something. At first he tried to give a formal instruction to her, but then he just told her to run. Without hesitation, she turned on her heel and sprinted out of the area into the path they came from, beating Alexei out of the clearing. She ran far enough back into the tunnel to avoid any possible fragments of the grenade Alexei had just thrown.

Alexei caught up to her with the glowstick right as the grenade exploded, sending fragments into all reaches of the clearing they had just left. She saw a flash of light and heard a boom coming from the area, and then the body of one of the Kath hounds flew out of the opening. It appeared to be dead, but Vas shot its chest once when it landed, just to be sure. After the flash, Vas said, "Let's check to see how many we got."

The two walked back into the opening, ready to fire in case there were any immediate survivors. Slowly surveying the area with the glowstick, they saw that most of hounds that were there originally were lying on the ground dead. Some of the bodies were intact, others were broken up into smaller pieces. However, some of the hounds may have escaped, and there was no other way for them to go than the path on the other side. "There seem to be a few more we haven't cleared." She started slowly approaching the path, thinking that taking care of the rest of the hounds, at least the ones they knew about, would be a walk in the park.

Alexei Denkio · May 16, 2019

It was good that Vas responded the way she did, she was smart enough to trust him and get out before the grenade. Feeling the vibration though the ground as shrapnel launched out and striking many of the beasts. It was sad that these beasts had to go, they were just animals that didn't have much say over what they hunted. An now that these beasts wanted to eat people they would need to be hunted down.

Watching her go back into the clearing he joined her noticing the several bodies of the beasts. She had fired into one previously and he decided to join in just in case, and used his pistol on several of the solid Kath hounds on the ground. Each one got a bolt in its body to ensure that they didn't get up. It also gave him time to count out the bodies and from the looks of it a few did manage to escape the explosion. No doubt they ran deeper into their home if there were more of the pack they would regroup and prepare to strike back.

"I am not surprise I think I remember reading up on how Dantooine has large underground tunnels and caves. I would be cautious I think a few escape and if there are anymore coming for us they would know we are here now." Alexei kicked himself mentally for using a grenade already when he knew it would cause problems, he was just lucky it didn't collapse the tunnel and kill himself and Vas.

As the two continue to head deeper into the cave there was plenty of space for a large family to live in this place. A small idea began to form in his head for later, but for now he needed to handle the problem at hand. As the two headed deeper though they went though another tunnel until they finally entered a space empty of any other entrances or exits but in it 24 Kath hounds. An they all stared directly at the two. There was some of them that clearly looked like they were hurt but most was a mix of old and young. With a large one that towered above the rest sitting on a natural elevation by the ground. Watching them with somewhat intelligent eyes.

Alexei couldn't figure it out but it felt like the beast was somehow influenced by the Force, though not naturally. It was dark and twisted his mind almost telling him it needed to be put down for the betterment of something. What he wasn't sure but he was sure of one thing, that was a lot of Kath hounds and they each looked hungry and angry.

Using his pistol he fired at two Kath hounds that was near them, with one going down and the other getting hit in the thigh. While the rest began to charge. Problem was though Alexei had ran out of charges in his pistol. Completely forgetting he needed to change out the ammo clip. Having to drop the pistol he was quickly reaching for his combat knife prepared to at least go down fighting.

@thePYRO101

Vas Kodro · May 16, 2019

The two ventured on into the tunnel, reaching a large area that could accommodate more hounds than the one before. Like she suspected, four injured hounds were lying on the floor. What she didn't expect were the other 20 hounds, a mix of old and young, with one standing above the rest, watching them with its sharp eyes. It was odd that the hounds immediately turned and stared at her and Alexei. It was almost mechanical how their gaze immediately locked onto them.

Alexei fired at two hounds that were close to them. He took one completely down and the other took a shot to the leg. The others began charging as Alexei tried to shoot, but it was to no avail. She saw him drop the pistol and pull out a knife. Fighting a whole pack of hounds without a ranged weapon handy was a surefire way to get killed, so Vas knew she had to do something. She leaped in front of Alexei and aimed with her blaster for the head of a hound charging directly at her.

She hit the hound clean in the head and the body hit the cave floor with a thud. Still, the hounds continued to charge. Vas shot two more coming from the side, one in the head and the other in the chest. As the hounds ran towards them, the large one with its intimidating stare stood still, watching them intently.

Vas looked back to Alexei to make sure he was alright, realizing that he had another ammo clip. "Reload, quick!" she yelled, shooting another hound in the face with her blaster to buy him some time.

The hounds were coming at them faster now, but Vas could hold them back long enough for Alexei to refocus. As she heard panting coming from behind, she turned around and saw an older hound charging her with astonishing speed. It sprung onto its hind legs as Vas shot it in the stomach. Another one coming from her right was approaching, which she quickly shot in the neck. The hound kept running for a few seconds before slowing and collapsing to the ground. We've gotten a good amount of them, she thought. The injured ones will be easier to take care of, and the non-injured ones are mostly older. The largest hound, still staring at them, lowered its head and arched its back. At least it was finally moving, which made it much less eerie but more threatening, like it could attack at any moment.

Alexei Denkio · May 17, 2019

Having a fish jump in front of him to save him was kind of embarrassing. Watching her begin blasting at the Kath hounds it was almost a beautiful scene of a holovid. She clearly was a good fighter, and if he wasn't in a bad state in his life maybe he would have thought about less professional thoughts. Still as he watched he heard her tell him to reload, which snapped him back into reality. Dropping the glow stick he didn't need to keep it in hand for it's glow to shine a light on the Kath hounds coming at them.

Grabbing a hold of his rifle, and pulled it into his shoulder aiming to the right of Vas and blasting a hound in the face sending it sliding across the floor. So far they were doing alright, but a surprise came when he felt something come closer behind him. He isn't sure how he knew it but his instincts told him to turn around and he did just in time for a hound to jump and only able to claw up his right shoulder.

The hound flow past Alexei and was in front of himself and Vas. Which meant that Alexei was able to blast it straight in the chest once it tried jumping a second time. So far they were holding the beasts back but the numbers weren't in their favor. Turning and blasting at another hound it was clear that they should start backing up. Since the semi intelligent hound seemed to be start approaching them. Slowly almost like it was waiting for something.

"Back up." Alexei started to walk backwards hoping another hound wasn't going to jump on him again.

@thePYRO101

Vas Kodro · May 20, 2019

As the hounds closed in on them, Vas and Alexei knew that they would have to start backing up. A few hounds were fast approaching on Alexei, and he was able to hold them off, but it was unlikely that they would get out of this unscathed. The semi-intelligent hound moved closer, slowly, its eyes still fixed on the two of them.

Alexei told her to back up, which she did immediately. She was getting jumpy, so any order Alexei gave she would immediately follow. She took a step back when a hound charged her from the back of the pack. Startled, she slipped and dropped her blaster. She wasn't hurt from the fall, but hounds were starting to surround her. "Help!" she called out, curling into a defensive position to brace herself. With her right hand she reached for her blaster, while her left protected her head.

Two Kath hounds clawed her back, while one prodded her with its horns. She hoped that Alexei could fend them off, but he was probably dealing with other hounds attacking him. She couldn't see that well because she was protecting her head from the hounds, so she couldn't see her blaster. The clawing at her back was growing more painful as she scrambled around on the floor.

Alexei Denkio · May 21, 2019

It was good that Vas seemed to work so well with him. It would have been the end if that wasn't the case they would have been died already. But that didn't mean that can would be able to handle everything. Especially a large pack of Kath Hounds, so as she began walking up it seemed she was a bit scared as she tripped on something while some of the animals began to charge her. He had hoped she would be able to handle it, as he stopped moving waiting for her to get up.

Yet his hope was quickly destroyed, as she started to curl up in fear. It was a natural response but one that wasn't helpful right now watching as Vas get surrounded by the hounds and getting seriously injured. It was a strange feeling, for someone he only met. Fear, anger and a drive that it gave him, but something reminded him to remain calm. A light heat burn in his pocket from under his armor that came from the kyber crystal he had grab a little while ago. Something in him reminded him that anger and fear wasn't his answer but calm and trusting his own instincts. It wasn't perfect, nor was he there yet but a hand stretched out aimed at Vas and the hounds that surrounded her.

Out of nowhere Vas would hear the yelp of the hounds being pushed by a strong wind, as if a invisible force knocked them to the wall. Which was the actual truth, he didn't know how but Alexei had tapped into the Force his sensitivity of it and his connection in his hour of need. Able to send the beasts off Vas giving her the time to get up and use whatever means she had to fight off the beasts.

"Go I will cover your back." He didn't plan to die today, but he wasn't going to allow Vas to get any more injured having seen her back cut up and the other injures she received.

But the distraction it caused allowed the smart, powerful hound to jump onto him, biting down on his right arm. Sending him to the ground, thankfully the number of hounds that remained were seventeen and a large number of them were only the old and to young to be a serious dangerous to them. Only three remained that could actually fight and hopefully Vas could handle it.

The hound on his arm though stared straight at him, a red glint in its eyes burned into Alexei's own eyes. It hurt the bite into his arm and it somehow caused him to no longer feel that instinct in his own head. He was alone now, only Vas and him to fight the beasts.

@thePYRO101

Vas Kodro · May 21, 2019

Realizing that most of the Kath hounds were of no real danger now, Vas uncovered her head and uncurled herself. She crawled to her blaster and grabbed it with her right hand, then pushed herself off the ground with her free hand. As she got up, she heard a loud yelp and saw that something had pushed the hounds back. Nothing could have pushed them back so strongly without any injuries, except for the Force. A force user, she thought. That would have been helpful to know beforehand. But he didn't have a lightsaber on him, and he hadn't used the Force against any hound prior to this, so either he was new to it or wanted to hide it. Now was not the time to analyze Alexei, though. Now was the time to finish the beasts off.

Now Alexei was on the ground, grabbing at the bite on his arm. The larger hound was hovering around him and staring at him. Vas aimed shakily at the hound while working through the pain of the wounds on her back. She shot the beast in the stomach, and it broke eye contact with Alexei as it fell to the ground. Vas moved closer, keeping an eye on the hounds that were swept back. She approached it, arm extended, as it tried to gain footing. After a few seconds it got back on its feet. Vas fired at its chest and shot it to the ground again, this time hopefully for good. Still hurting from her back, she watched the other, weaker hounds as they approached. Looks like we're not dead, she thought while waiting for Alexei to get up.

Alexei Denkio · May 22, 2019

He couldn't see it but when he did hear the bolt as it flow past him hitting the hound. Sucking in as much air as he can just in case another hound decided to jump on him and the air was knocked out of him again. His right arm was bleeding and his right shoulder that arm was not going to be good to use for a little while. After a second his hand grabbed hold of the knife and using his left arm was able to lift himself up. Blood beginning to drip from his right arm and onto the ground, the two of them probably looked so weak right now.

But he doubted Vas was going to roll over and die. So for now they needed to find a way to scary off the remain Kath hounds. An considering the alpha just went down the moral of the hounds should be mostly destroyed. Yet that didn't mean they weren't going to just leave. Staring down the alpha just to make sure it was down he stabbed it in the neck while doing his best to keep a eye on the remaining hounds. Watching them he could see a few of them beginning to prepare one last assault on the duo. With the few remaining adults coming at them he jumped and with his combat knife plunged it into the eye of one of them. Two more hounds were coming on either side of him.

He had faith though that Vas would have his back but the hound which he stabbed was able to cut into his side with its horn. Thankfully though it was on his left side so his scars wouldn't all be on one side of his body. That would just look awkward, at least to him.

"Don't give up Vas." Pain was starting to make him see double but they were almost done.

If they could just scary off the last of the hounds they could survive till tomorrow and get some help to check out there wounds. Sounds easy enough when he wasn't bleeding and his partner wasn't badly hurt.

@thePYRO101

Vas Kodro · May 22, 2019

Only a few hounds remained that were able to fight. Alexei was bleeding profusely, but managed to stab one of the three remaining hounds in the eye. It got one last stab on him, but he could still stand. Vas heard his encouraging words and pushed through the throbbing pain in her back. “We’re almost...done,” she said shakily, forcing the words through her mouth.

Vas steadied herself and took aim at the hound closest to her. She winced as she shot, hitting the hound in the head close to the neck. It quickly fell back towards Alexei. Now there was only one more. All she had to do was shoot and then they could recover from their debilitating wounds. She shouted, struggling, “Hold...on!”

She moved closer so that she could aim better and see behind the dead hound’s body. Luckily the others were too preoccupied with Alexei to notice. Her knees buckled suddenly from pain and fatigue. Lifting her legs to walk was a struggle, until she looked at Alexei, then looked at the hounds, and convinced herself not to give up when the battle was almost won. She focused her vision on the hounds and fired two shots in quick succession, hitting both the hounds in the chest. They stumbled over before falling to the ground, one’s body falling on Alexei. She had drained all her energy with her last shots, so she paused to catch her breath before heading out. “The other hounds...aren’t too much of a threat. We should get help...and maybe...come back tomorrow.”

Posting this on my phone, hopefully the formatting isn’t off

Alexei Denkio · May 23, 2019

Well that was really painful, as the hound fell to the ground and he felt the strength in his legs buckle. This was becoming more and more difficult for him to concentrate already. So far the day had just been one painful experience after the other. An now he had a dead hound on top of him which weighed a ton on his chest. Not that it was crushing him, but the dead weight wasn't comfortable plus he didn't know what was on the creature.

Maybe it was infected with space lice, though probably the biggest problem was the smell. He was able to push the hound off him, but the effort left him completely defenseless. What was left of the pack though began to flee as there were still just children. The smell of all their dead family members made them panic and now they were mostly alone. Just the two of them and the dead bodies and whatever else lived in this cave. Still with a bit of blood coming out of his mouth which he wasn't able to wipe off till he used what little strength he had to turn over and lift himself so that his back was resting on the wall. Though he wasn't able to actually stand up. Listening to Vas he could understand what she was saying but leaving now at their state wouldn't really be possible. At least not in his state.

"Sure but think you might have to head out without me..." The silence after that sentence was heavy, just like his breathing not that he was planning on dying but there wasn't much he could do.

"Just need a bit of sleep..." His eyes were becoming heavy there wasn't anything he could do right now having just barely succeeded in taking down the hound pack.

Sure it hurt but he felt good which was strange all he did was help out a family survive a hound attack. But maybe that was all that mattered. Who knows but for right now he wanted just a little bit of warmth. His eyes were close to closing but they weren't there just yet. Even with little amount of consciousness left he wasn't planning on knocking out just yet.

Since we kind of already finished the hounds off no longer really need to roll, figure we just finish this off with going into the settlement, we could even do a thread not related to the plot in the two recovering.

Vas Kodro · May 23, 2019

Vas considered leaving him at the cave and letting him rest, but then he would have no way to get to the village and get medical help, since there was only one speeder. She decided she would wait there and rest with him, just outside the entrance to the area they were just in. She was eager to get out of the cave, but she had her own injuries to deal with, and she was in too much pain to drive a speeder anyway. Alexei lay on the ground with his eyes closed, and Vas thought that sleeping for a bit wasn't a bad idea right then. "I'm with you..." she said briefly before collapsing onto the ground.

When she woke up it was dawn, and the sunlight lit the cave just enough to see Alexei moving his head up off the ground. Eventually he got his torso off the ground and began to stand up. "Let's get back to the village," she said, still somewhat in pain, but much less pain than last night. She head out of the cave to the speeder, and Alexei soon followed. Once they got out of the cave, everything seemed silent and tranquil. The sun shined dimly, and the winds gently blew the grass in the wide open fields. "I'll drive...or at least I will try." She figured it was inconsiderate to make Alexei drive back, considering the shape his arm was in. Vas climbed onto the speeder and Alexei got on behind her.

Vas' driving was clunky at first, as she had to get used to the controls, but in a matter of seconds her command of the speeder became smoother. The ride back to the village seemed longer, perhaps because they weren't in a rush, or because they both had to suffer through lingering pain.

After riding for a while she could see the familiar little settlement with its pillars and its linens flying in the breeze. As she pulled into the village she could see that the crowds from earlier had almost completely dissipated, which she expected because it was early in the morning and almost a day had passed since bringing the injured man there. The usual cloud of dust rose up around the speeder when she brought the speeder to a screeching halt. Driving the speeder was the easy part; starting and stopping required a little more effort. She coughed at the dust and forced a yell: "Medic!" She was too sore to get up and look for the healer herself, and she didn't want to leave Alexei. Thee villagers were beginning to wake, hopefully not because of her. A few people walked to the area around the speeder to examine them, others watched from their homes in shock. "We need a medic!" she shouted after gathering her breath.

A few minutes passed and the same middle-aged man with his beige cloak appeared. He extended his hands to help Vas off the speeder, and did the same with Alexei. He held Alexei's arm and quickly patched it up with some gauze. Vas supposed that patching up someone's torso or back would be more of an ordeal. "Follow me," he said, walking slowly to the right of the speeder to a small hut. After every ten seconds or so he would stop and allow them to catch up. Finally, they could recover from the events of the past day. Once they limped all the way to the hut, of course.

End Thread

Will make a short thread later for the two recovering.