Ask Dromund Kaas Ruh Roh! GG-GHOSTS!

[Cairo Kisufi]

Dromuund Kaas was home to many legends. Deep within its feral jungles, ancient Sith temples, homes, strongholds, and other loci of bloodshed and power lay dormant, covered by the dense jungle swamp. Legends of the jungle's many monsters often made their way back into major cities - back to the acolytes of the Sith Academy. Cairo always kept an ear to the ground for such rumors. He knew that there were great truths hidden inside such legends.

One day, a particular legend he heard shared between acolytes especially caught his fancy. The jungle home of an ancient Dark Lord, whose name has been lost to history. A site of cultic activity in the interceding years. And then, nothing physical. What remains of him, though, is his spirit. Wanderers who pass by too close to the temple at night disappear. Villagers can hear horrible noises from its location. Animals die in the most grosteque pattern around it. It was a terrifying place to visit.

So, naturally, Cairo decided to visit. He packed up, fed his pet Iknayid, and borrowed a speeder to get out to a village where these reports came from. From there, locals directed him to the denser region of the forest that held the old temple.

Or, rather, he followed another acolyte who had done all of this. Yes, back at the academy, Cairo noticed that a new Zygerrian Sith had heard the same information he had. And, she had done the legwork of actually tracking down the location of this old temple. He figured that he could ride on her coattails, following her information until he could present himself as a valuable ally.

"Yo!" He offered a smile and a fist bump from across the clearing of the jungle. He wore clothes suited to the intense heat of the rainforest, an absorbent outfit with a colorful kufi on his head. "I'm Cairo! Sorry to be a freak, but we're both looking for Darth Whats-his-name's secret lair, right? Figure we can work together, yeah?"

@Tulos

 

[Miraj Xallis]

Having spent less than a week on Dromund Kaas, Miraj was already on the move. Only the ambitious thrived here and with no intention on returning to the life of a wanderer, she knew better than to waste any time. The first three days had been spent in the libraries of the academy, pouring over ancient text books and holos of local legends. After all, what better place was there to grasp a greater understanding than the world she would reside on for the foreseeable future? Dromund Kaas was unlike anything she had ever seen before and she wanted to be absolutely certain she was prepared for whatever it would throw at her. It was during this time that she first stumbled across the legend, a tomb deep within the jungle that was shrouded in mystery and horror. For reasons she couldn’t understand, a spark of curiosity and intrigue formed within her.

The following day, as she left one of her classes with her text books hugged tightly to her chest, she could overhear a small group of Acolytes discussing… a similar story to the one she had read? It couldn’t possibly be the same tomb, could it? Growling under her breath and hugging her text books tighter, the Zygerrian made a beeline directly to the library to uncover as much information on this site as she possibly could. She wasn’t about to take any chances with someone being the first to discover whatever may lay within. For the rest of her evening, she would pour over every scrap piece of literature she could dig up on the subject. Finding its relative location was easy. Anything else was absurdly vague and left her with little more than a burning desire to see this place for herself.

Collecting supplies for the expedition was simple as she figured there was little she would need. Her usual gear, poncho, an assortment of dehydrated food packets, a flashlight. The basics of any novice explorer. The hardest part was scrounging together enough credits to fund her travel. Renting a speeder or mount was out of the question so she had to opt for a more public mode of transportation; a crammed hover tram who’s route came relatively close, the rest of the trek would need to be done on foot. Finding herself alone after being packed inside the small transport was a relief, finally able to breathe without inhaling the stench of the common folk of Dromund Kaas. The smell of sweat was not one she found pleasant.

It took some time but finally she found the place she had studied so devoutly the past many days. The entrance, dark stone eroded by rain, wind and time, was also covered by thick lengths of vines that descended from the trees above. Every step she took towards the structure offered her only a severe chill down her spine. Before, she had harbored some slight doubts on these stories and rumours she had heard. Now, in its presence, they didn’t seem so absurd. After finding some cover from the rain, the hood of her poncho drawn over her head, Miraj placed her pack on the ground and quickly pulled her notepad out from within before kneeling in the mud and starting work on a rough sketch of what she saw. That, of course, is when she heard the voice from across the clearing.

Panic spurred Mir’s hand back into the bag, pulling out her vibrodagger as she jolted upwards to see the young man who had arrived and caught her by surprise. Realising he was not a threat, or at least not immediately, her shoulders dropped slightly.

”You’ve got to be kidding me,” the woman groaned, lowering the dagger to her side. Taking a closer look at who approached, she recognized him as a fellow Acolyte from the temple. Good looking fellow… Solid muscle mass and bone structure… A bit on the shorter side but not enough that one could complain about. ”Fifteen thousand on the market for that one,” Miraj silently thought though quickly shaked these things from her mind. Sizing people up for trade was a hard habit to break. ”You make it a habit to follow young women out into the jungle, Cairo? There are better ways to break the ice than stalking someone, you know,” Miraj teased as she slid her blade back into the knapsack at her feet.

@Fine Dining Set​

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

Cairo smile faded as she regarded him. Something about it felt...cold, spiritless. Like she was grading beef, and not a sentient person. She snapped away from that to normalcy soon enough, but it put him on edge. Perhaps fair, since he had literally tracked her here without ever bothering to talk to her. "Okay, okay, that's fair. You just had learned so much about this Sith thing and I didn't want to interrupt your flow..." He clicked his tongue.

"Okay, yeah, let's restart. 'Hi, I'm fellow acolyte Cairo. I'd like to help you on this mission. What's your name?'" He put on a faux-erudite voice for this, bringing an unnatural calmness and almost-robotic tone to his voice to sell the bit. "But, uh, for real. What's up! Are you new to the academy?" Honestly, there weren't many Zygerrians that he had seen there before. It helped to distinguish her from her colleagues.

"And what have you been thinking about the ol' temple?"

@Tulos

 

[Miraj Xallis]

A smirk played it’s way onto Miraj’s lips as she regarded Cairo, carefully placing her notepad back into her knapsack. He seemed an innocent enough sort so perhaps his company wouldn’t be the worst thing. Of course, she also wasn’t entirely keen on sharing anything within but that was a subject for later. Who knows? Maybe she’d enjoy his presence and splitting the spoils wouldn’t be such a problem.

”Apology accepted, Cairo,” the Zygerrian replied politely, reading between the lines of his words. Standing upright and slinging her bag back over her shoulder, the Acolyte tugged the hood of her poncho forward before taking a few strides in his direction and offering her hand partnered with a smile. ”My name is Miraj but you can just call me Mir,” Wondering if she should perhaps be more cautious of this newcomer was likely a rational train of thought. Even so she could not deny that in this short amount of time, his personality immediately made it a struggle to completely mistrust him. Maybe if he hadn't appeared out of thin air, she'd be only too happy for the companion. ”I suppose it couldn’t hurt, if nothing else but for someone to talk too. It’s not like there’s going to be anything in here but rock and bones. It might get… boring,”

”Very new, actually. I only arrived a handful of days ago and once I heard the rumours about this place, I knew I needed to see it for myself. I assume you’ve heard the stories?” Nodding towards the temple entrance, Miraj turned on her heel and began to make her way towards the doorway. ”Sounds like a bunch of locals just trying to scare people off their land. Everyone knows ghosts aren’t actually real,”

As she reached the top of the stairs that led within, Miraj could see clearly down the tunnel that would take them to the antechamber. Torches that have laid dormant for thousands of years lined the walls, the odd sound of wind being expelled from the deepest parts of the tomb passing them by, carrying the smell of decay and dust. Beyond what light filtered in from the wilderness, the depths of the tomb were inky black. This was certainly the first burial site she’d visited, but at first glance it seemed as though it were no different than the caves of Zygerria. Except, of course, that there were absolutely dead bodies somewhere within. That was something she wasn’t exactly keen on finding but it was also why she was here.

”See what I mean? Nothing,” Shaking her head, Miraj spun her bag around on her shoulder and found the flashlight, clicking it on and shining it ahead. ”What about you? Are you new here too?” she asked, cautiously taking her first step inside. Even if she was convinced this was nothing more than an empty building, there was still something tickling the back of her neck… What it was, she didn’t know. Not yet.

@Fine Dining Set​

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

Cairo shot a grin back, in response. She seemed like a playful sort. Good, perhaps she'd prove adaptive to the mischief Cairo was prone to when he joined other acolytes. "Well, Mir, I hope you're ready for the hunt of a liftetime." He had experience on her, at the very least. They seemed about the same age, but having spent a year longer in Sith training, he figured he knew more about the world and its many mysteries than she would. Before his ego swelled, he reminded himself that she had led him here. He had contributed, as of yet, nothing to this escapade. At least, he could use his natural charm as a storyteller and street performer to frighten his fellow acolyte just a tad.

"You don't believe in ghosts? What, you think the locals are making it up?" As they began to creep through the underbrush towards . "The locals say that, millennia ago, a terrible and powerful Sith Lord lived here." He thought of a name on the fly. "Her name was Dramedia the Conqueror. One of the earliest red-skinned Sith Lords to rule over the galaxy." He continued to think of a backstory for this fake Sith, spinning the web as they moved through creaky, creepy, old temple. From behind her, he ignited his lightsaber, holding it aloft horizontally above their heads to provide a sweeping, crimson glow for the room. Empty, dark, and yet a chill ran through him. What secrets did this place hold? "She had the power of a thousand Jedi. And she got that power here." He stepped ahead, gesturing to the ground beneath him. "Each Jedi she captured, she would torture, perform dark alchemical rituals on, to siphon their power. Even locked deep in the temple's dungeon, their blood-curdling screams could be heard from all over the planet."

A sudden breeze hit the pair, carrying the faintest sound as it did. It almost sounded like...a cry for help. Desperate, begging, pained. Yet there was something else to it, something more malicious. And it was so faint on the wind, he couldn't tell if he had just dreamed it up. The fact that Mir would hear it, too, would serve as all the confirmation he needed. Something was here.

"She would bleed them, literally. Drain them of all their blood, which she would fuse into alchemical potions of tremendous strength. She could manipulate midi-chlorians with tremendous skill, and her wicked potions only made her more bloodthirsty." He traced his fingers along the stone wall. "Even the rule of the greatest Queen must come to an end. Dramedia became fat, engorged on the souls of thousands of Jedi. Yet, her hunger only grew and grew. She began to devour Jedi whole. Then, when she ran out of Jedi, her fellow Sith. Then her subjects." He stopped short in the hallway, turning back to face the Zygerrian girl.

He grinned, a maniacal shadow forming behind him from the glow of his lightsaber. "Her subjects fought back. The chained her down to her own dark altar, spilled her blood and tore her flesh. Greedily, happily, they did it. Caught in a frenzy. Stabbing, stabbing, stabbing in an orgy of violence. It consumed them. When she was dead, her blood and viscera plastered over all the walls, their bloodshed was not sated. They killed each other, devouring, fornicating, and exterminating each and every one of the living. The last one to live killed himself, ripping his guts open with his own hands."

He didn't realize the horror of the scenario he described until he spoke it out loud. It was a little too dark to be a story that Cairo would create on the fly. But, it's not like anyone told him about it. He just felt...inspired. By something. Like, he was the muse for a greater power.

"Sorry, got a little carried away. Yeah, been here for about a year or two. You settling in alright?"

@Tulos

 

[Miraj Xallis]

At first, all Mir was able to do in response to Cairo’s story was roll her eyes as she shone her light along the floor ahead of her. Of course ghosts weren’t real! They were nothing more than tall tales told by parents to keep misbehaving children in line or to scare people away from something they weren’t meant to see. Something as mysterious as the tomb of an ancient Sith Lord was so easy to construct such a story around that it would be foolish to think any different… right?

The snap of his lightsaber demonstrated that perhaps his tale was bearing down on her more than she had anticipated. Twitching in surprise and turning back to see Cairo, his weapon brandished and held high to illuminate the area around him, Miraj was almost certain that her heart had stopped beating for a split second.

As he continued elaborating on his story, Mir’s imagination began to run wild and she was unable to reign it in. She began to picture these imprisoned Jedi he had mentioned, chained to the walls whilst this Dramedia conducted her demonic rituals on their bodies. Her stomach churned at the thought as though they were being performed on her personally. She could feel the warmth drain from her face as Cairo mentioned her tendency to bleed her victims dry. She swore she heard their dying screams echoing from deeper within the ruins. She wasn’t sure if this was perhaps Cairo manipulating her through the Force but she suddenly harbored a great deal of doubt; maybe there was something to these legends after all?

"Sorry, got a little carried away. Yeah, been here for about a year or two. You settling in alright?"

”Not anymore!” Mir squeaked out, her voice shrill from growing fear. ”For the love of… That is so messed up!” Silently she reminded herself that it was probably all just a joke but given their current whereabouts, her mind was only too susceptible to the concept. Regardless, whether it was true or not, Cairo was certainly one hell of a story teller.

”On second thought, maybe I’d be more comfortable back in the library,” Mir continued but as she turned to make her way back towards the natural light, a vibration from above shook the entirety of the room they stood in as a black slab of stone descended from above to seal them within. ”Fuck!” Mir gasped, turning back to Cairo in fearful disbelief. ”Now what?!” Maybe it was just her panicked state but as Mir began to feel around the door hopelessly in search of a switch of any kind, she almost swore she could hear a soft chuckle carried towards them in the dry breeze.

@Fine Dining Set​

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

As the slab of door slowly, dramatically, shut behind the pair, Cairo's grin wavered. He knew that there would be something spooky or otherwise fucked up about here, just from the get-go. Sith projects usually had a funny way of doing that. Maybe it was the nature of the Dark Side, or at the very use, the Sith understanding of the nature of the Dark Side? Do the most outta pocket, messed up stuff you can think about to gain power, then try to find a way to live forever?

As a Morellian, at least he wouldn't have to think about the latter for a long time.

His saber still hummed. He could cut through the slab of stone - maybe - but he decided that they might as well continue the adventure. They had made it this far. "I'm sure if we just go deeper into the site, we'll be able to find the controls." And maybe a light switch. It was soooooo dark.

Cairo thought he heard something on the wind. A laugh. He was drawn to the source of it. It was if something inside of him had to know. "Follow me. I'm used to this kind of thing." Between hive mind creatures on Zakuul and AMS experiments-gone-wrong on Dromuund Kaas, Cairo did think that the haunted house would be a cakewalk. But there was also something that had entered his mind. Blinded his view. Made him ignore the red flags.

Whatever presence it was had naturally merged with Cairo's own thoughts, making him think that he was in control. In reality, they were all puppets. All of the galaxy. To her.

@Tulos