The Cursed Caves

[Cuyan Ordo]

Dathomir was a planet much like Mandalore itself. Survival was about being strong and knowing what was waiting for you. Witches were not the only deadly things on the planet and certainly may not be the deadliest. Cuyan had done his research and felt he was ready to face whatever was here. He assembled a small team of Mandalorians to assist in his bold assault of one of the toughest places on the planet. The caves that the witches called home would be a devastating blow to them, but they would have it well defended for creatures and enemies.

"Ulyc" He said quietly to his partners as they approached, his repeater in hand already.

Cuyan wore his usual armor with all of his gear on hand. The witches would be expecting an assault with recent Mandalorian activity. He was on high alert for traps or scouts. One of the only advantages was that the caves had a few entrances. They approached the mouth of one entrance that was not as high traffic and would make their way inside before getting too loud. At least, that was the hope.

@Rimrald @Critas

 

[Diocletian Solus]

There were just some planets in the universe that really made Diocletian miss Mandalore. Dathomir was one of those planets. The heat didn’t bother Dio, although he did prefer snow over the beach any day. It was more the humidity and the jungle. Dio preferred the forest over the jungle, he couldn’t explain it, but the forest just seemed cleaner. It was much easier to move in the forest and much easier to breathe in the forest.

Then you put in the fact that there were witches on the planet and that just made Dio’s skin crawl. He was not a fan of that fact. Now that said, it helped that these witches and their caves was the intended target. He was all about ruining a witch’s day if at all possible. He could only imagine the amount of people and creatures these witches had impacted in a negative way over the years. These witches were much to close to being Sith for Dio’s taste.

Stealth in an outdoor environment was Dio’s forte. This sort of mission was his element. These missions brought to mind fond memories of long hours in the forests north of Keldabe with his mentor Sulla hunting and tracking. The caves that were the targets of this mission would be fairly easy to find, the witches might be expecting company but years of using the same tracks and trails made it so a blind gungan could find the place.

Dio had his usual armor and weapon load out to include his bowcaster, grenades and Shriek Hawk. He was not entirely aware of where these caves were but Cuyan was running point so he was sure they would be heading in the right direction.

@Rimrald
@Cazar

 

[Wyatt Kebiin-Solus]

This had to be the third or fourth time during planetary operations that Wyatt had been tasked with venturing into a cave to kill something, and it was growing on him in the wrong way. He detested caves now after clearing an infestation of wuffa worms on Contruum, banshees on Umbara, and now witches on Dathomir; it couldn't get any weirder he thought as they traveled down the foot paths to the caves. The jungle was thick and humid and made Wyatt sing Kad's praises that he'd opted to start wearing light armor as the humidity clung to his sweaty form after pushing through the heavily wooded area for only a short time. The task at hand was continued hunting of these force witches as he'd been briefed, they contained some connection to the darker elements and as such stood in Wyatt's crosshairs equally with the Sith themselves.

Wyatt carried his shriek-hawk and quickdraw with the bowcaster hastily strapped to his pack, all of his usual toys present as he took the rear of the formation. Checking every so often to make sure he remained with the group Wyatt listened to Cuyan's warning as they'd found their target location "oYa." Wyatt said in a low tone as he flipped around the enter the cave with his two partners on this task.

@Cazar @Critas ​

 

[Cuyan Ordo]

The caves were unsettling but Cuyan had to be brave as he entered first. His repeater was out in front on a hair trigger in expectation of a witch or trap of some kind. The first few steps inside did not seem dangerous and no one was within sight at first. Each armored step did cause an echo with annoyed the Mandalorian warrior but it couldn't be helped. They were moving in to take these witches out whether it was silent or not. He just hoped not to die in some cave. That would not be an ideal glory for the Ordo.

One more step forward and something instantly felt wrong. The floor glowed green under Cuyan's foot and he pulled back instantly. From seemingly nowhere a giant spider dropped in front of them and took a swipe, knocking Cuyan onto his back as he fired the repeater. Things would not be too quiet from the start it seemed. The witches had prepared for them better than he thought. A screech echoed around them as the spider died easily to the hair trigger repeater Cuyan had prepared, but its job was done. It may as well have been an alarm. Suddenly the caves were filled with cackling echoes from witches laughing at them after the spider gave its cry.

"They know we're here. Hit them hard!" Cuyan muttered in Mando'a as he climbed to his feet.

@Rimrald @Critas

 

[Diocletian Solus]

DICE​

Diocletian made his way along the cave as the second in the stack, just behind Cuyan. They appeared to be making good time although Cuyan appeared to be a little off his stealth game that day. The echoes of their footfalls made Dio wince every time one of them took a step. Looking down at the floor, Dio noticed that it glowed with a strange green luminescence. He had just squatted down to run a gauntleted finger through the stuff when the spider dropped on Cuyan.

Cuyan fell backwards past Dio, firing his repeater into the spider as he fell. The spider had no chance and was very quickly nothing more than gore and exoskeleton. It had let out a loud screech, which had alerted the cavern to the presence of intruders. As the cackling of the witches started echoing through the chamber, Dio started to move forward. Reaching out a hand he yanked Cuyan to his feet and took point, allowing the man to recover from the incident with the spider.

At the end of the tunnel, Dio scanned the main cavern and the wooden huts therein. Quickly he started to see various targets and one in particular stood out to him. A large hut was in the center of the compound in the center, surrounded by skulls on pikes and various other iconography that made Dio’s head hurt just to look at it. That place had to go and in a hurry. If there was a head witch or whatever, they would be in there. Hopefully these things had morale and if they could take out the leader, it might cause them to break.

Dio looked at the structure and took out a fragmentation grenade. He cooked the grenade for two heart beats and then tossed it at the front door of the structure. As luck would have it, at that same moment the leader and two other witches came screaming out of the door and into the blast of the grenade. Body parts and gore filled the air as the three screaming women were torn literally limb from limb. Dragging his eyes from the slaughter, Diocletian dove and rolled into cover behind a smaller hut, putting the main compound in a crossfire between he and his two compatriots.



@Cazar
@Rimrald

 

[Wyatt Kebiin-Solus]

Dice​

Wyatt was confused as all hell when the action began, it was like someone opened a fake can of peanut brittle and smashed a window with a ball all at the same time. Cuyan had a creature upon him and the floor glowed green for a moment and as if he blinked and missed it Dio had sprung into action and brought the hells upon the witches with a grenade. In an attempt not to waste any time Wyatt sprung into action, cycling his huds vision modes for the low light setting, he slid behind a cluster of rocks and kept his weapons low. Counting the number of witches that ran back and forth using the low light as a means of concealment; or so they thought.

"I count 12-15 still left... I've got a target!" Wyatt had counted the enemies and called out one who didn't seem to see him in the low light, as he crouched by a cluster of rocks his dark armor and bodysuit seemed to keep him well hidden as he aimed his weapon and took three shots at the witch who looked to be moving for his cover. The first two bolts slammed into her and the momentum of her movement carried her forward as she hit the ground spinning to one side from the hits and rolling for a foot. He had intended to shoot her three times but as it worked out another witch was crossing the path and caught the third bolt that'd been aimed for the dead ones head; in her own. Dropping like a sack of rocks to one side as Wyatt tucked himself back behind the rocks knowing he'd just turned himself into a target as his yellow energy bolts had streaked through the darkness. The burned ozone filled his helmet as he scanned the area. "Twelve left Vod."

12/14 Witches Left @Critas @Cazar​

 

[Cuyan Ordo]

Cuyan did not have as much fancy gear as the Solus boys often seemed to have, but he had a Mandalorian spirit. He set up behind a corner for cover and began unloading his repeater into the cross fire zone in order to help. Chaos would ensue but he did not see any of his shots hitting. It was just added chaos that demoralized the witches even more. That might help the others, and Cuyan could capitalize later on it. He was feeling good.

"Curse you!" He heard from the dark as green lightning poured out from a witch towards the Ordo warrior.

There was barely time to curse before diving back into his cover. Lightning seared the walls and lit up the area for a brief moment letting the witches see the Mandalorians. It also let the Mandalorians get a brief glimpse of what the witches were doing. Those without special helmets even. Cuyan decided next he would switch to his pistols and deliver some heavier fire at specific targets.

@Rimrald @Critas

 

[Diocletian Solus]

DICE​

Diocletian had crossed to cover behind a small hut. He looked over the top at the attacks from Wyatt and Cuyan. The witches seemed to be disoriented with the death of their leader and the fire from the other two Mandalorians. It was just then that Dio heard it. There was a sound coming from within the Hutt he was hiding behind. To Dio it sounded like several hushed voices and so Dio slid along the small ridge behind the hut to look through a window. What he saw inside froze him in place and would have definitely given any man pause.

Inside the hut there were several witches surrounding a small idol of some type. The voices appeared to be chanting and there was a strange sort of green lighted energy growing from the center of the idol. Even the witches themselves appeared to be shying away from the energy which to Dio meant that was not good at all. Dio made a snap decision and unhooked a fragmentation grenade from his bandoleer.

He saw that the witches were one hundred percent focused on the ritual and were not paying the back window any attention. There were approximately three witches performing the ritual and one guard at the front door, presumably watching the battle. Rising quietly, Dio pulled the pin on the grenade and cooked it for a second before dropping it through the open window. That done he stood and ran back along the ridge as the hut exploded. The combined might of the grenade when mixed with the energy of the ritual tore a shock wave through the chamber knocking Dio from his feet and casting him against the wall of the cave. He knew all four of the witches in the hut were certainly vaporized in the blast.

Dio had to take a moment to shake his head to clear the cobwebs. Even in his heavy besakar’gam, he had felt that shock wave and even felt a trickle of blood from one nostril. Concussion was a hard mistress and the explosion had released her in full effect. Dio stuck his tongue out and wipe away from of the blood on his upper lip and said over the combined comms, “Four more down for the tally man, hit them hard now, we have them on the ropes!”

Witch Counter: 4 more down, 6 witches left​

@Rimrald
@Cazar

 

[Wyatt Kebiin-Solus]

Dice​

With a rippling shock wave of energy taking hold of the witches in some manner Wyatt did not totally comprehend as he had only been subject to the ripple of the explosive not the ritual it had cut short. He had been thrown to the ground with an uncomfortable clatter as his weapon bounced off of his helmet, clambering back to his feet the mandalorian took site of a duo of witches who'd been exposed and caught in the blast in a similar fashion. They would be his next target as he let out a long and high pitched whistle to get their attention; turning to face the noise they'd be met with a pair of yellow blaster bolts each landing two in the chest with precision as he snapped between the clustered women.

The cave gave him the chills, it was another instance where he wished he could be exploring the caves back on Medriaas where nothing living resided at least nothing big enough to do anyone harm. The most you had to worry about was getting yourself stuck and dying or finding yourself stuck during a flash storm; but this and all the other cave expeditions he'd done since joining the clan had been far from pleasant. His thoughts on the matter were cut short however, as a an arc of green lightning blasted the rock he was using for cover, tearing it to pieces as Wyatt was pelted with the chunks.

Blindly firing into the direction he assumed it came from, Wyatt dove for a nearby cluster of rocks this time slightly bigger rocks as another crackle blasted in his direction causing him to press on his helmet to activate the comm link. "Cuyan, if you can see who in the hells is trying to flash fry me in the pan i'd greatly appreciate it you killed her!"

4 Witches remain @Cazar @Critas​

 

[Cuyan Ordo]

Both Strill pistols at Cuyan's hips were still fully loaded and primed for combat. The switch meant better accuracy and higher damage in exchange for a lower rate of fire. It seemed worth it in this situation as their targets became harder to hit. Magic was coming into play and pinning the Mandalorians down. This was not okay with them. It fell to the Ordo warrior to help give them the momentum back in the fight. Throwing caution to the wind, he sprinted out from cover while firing towards his enemies. The pair of lightning firing witches went down but not before sending a few sparks Cuyan's way.

"Argh!" He muttered as he stumbled back and fell behind a rock, his armor sizzling a bit. "I'm fine. Go go!"

The shock stopped him for only a moment, but he had made the opening they needed. His partners could charge forward to finish off the opposition while Cuyan recovered for a moment. Then he would join them and they could claim this place as won. Dathomir would be their's at this rate. These witches just had to learn their place.

((2 witches left))

@Rimrald @Critas

 

[Wyatt Kebiin-Solus]

Dice​

Wyatt pushed up from his location with the opening and offered a blaster bolt pair at the nearest target, one of the two witches who’d tryed to fry him and taking her out of the fight as she slumped over backwards falling on a rock and rolling off to the side. The second target however took his bolts direction and followed them back to the mandalorian, angered with the slaughter of her sisters the witch let out a shriek as she arced another streak of lighting at Wyatt. Catching him in the chest he could feel the energy pulsate through him as his armor did some to mitigate the effects, Beskar’gam not being the most conductive substance thankfully.

He lost control of his motor skills as he was locked in place, his grip on the blaster tightening and through every attempt he made to move his body he was met with nothing, no give no fight. It became apparent there was only one witch left as no others made to attack or if any were present they weren’t up for a fight, Wyatt was currently a green illuminated beacon keeping the full attention of the woman and he hoped it would give his comrades the opening to kill her as the effects continued to rattle his ability to stay concsious through the pain.

@Critas @Cazar​

 

[Diocletian Solus]

DICE​

Dioceltian was able to clear his head and focus in on the remaining witch. She was currently holding Wyatt hostage with her Force witchcraft. Dio growled, he really hated the tricks of the Force users. Luckily, he was not target of this particular trick, images of a wrist rocket blowing up in his face not too long ago haunted his thoughts. Rising from his where he had fallen to recover his wits from the concussion of the interrupted ritual’s violent conclusion.

He started to run, noting that the witch’s attention was solely on Wyatt. He remained in a low crouch, reaching down as he moved, he drew his vibro blade. His pace quickened and he came up behind the witch as she toyed with Wyatt. The last thing she saw was a quick flash across her eyes before Dio dragged the knifes edge across her throat. As he did so he grabbed her hair with his other hand, yanking back hard and actually popping her spinal cord as he head came free into his hand. As she fell, her headless trunk sprouted her life’s blood across Dio and the floor.

Dio kicked the body once and tossed the head to the ground to lie beside its body. The battle was over for the time being and he moved to check Wyatt for injuries. He had seen the shots his friend had taken and knew he was most likely injured. He hoped that the witch’s power wasn’t the only thing keeping his friend upright, but he would only know for sure if he checked him.

Witch Count : 0

@Cazar
@Rimrald