The Witch

[The Storyteller]

Ithor - Mood​

It was just before midnight when the woman seemed to materialize out of shadows. She stood, eyes glassy white, staring down at the Ithorian village below. A group of Jedi Padawans had arrived several days prior accompanied by several older Jedi. Perhaps that is why she was here, perhaps not. She had once known her purpose, known what she was created for but now all of it had faded away. The only thing she knew is that she had been driven here, called from the darkness, and what now must be done.

The Forest around the village seemed to recoil from her presence, the putrid smell of death spreading, the grass dying beneath her feet. Others now emerged from the shadows, black-robed figures faces all expressionless as they starred out from the darkness.

It was time.

She reached slowly for the black blade at her hip, skin so brittle it tore as she moved exposing the bone below. Moving the blade up towards her other hand, she slid it across her palm as black liquid began to drip and fall to the ground. Nothing happened for several seconds and then a fog began to form in the darkness, creeping towards the village.

Inch by inch, it engulfed the village completely, a sense of dread falling over the village as it spread.

The woman began taking slow steps forwards, bones creaking with each step.

Death had come for them.

Spoiler: OOC Notes

PvP between participants is prohibited - but death is enabled. Please keep in mind that since this is an event, posting time tables will be enforced. Participants will have 36 hours to post before they timeout and are skipped. Delays or lack of opposition, intentional or otherwise, will result in a higher difficulty thread.

 

[Arda Breaux]

The padawans that Arda had accompanied to Ithor were some of the youngest members the Order has had so far, though there were some in the mix with far more experience, it was a critical time to ensure the Order continued to grow not only in numbers, but also in the Light. Many were settling after a day of studies, a few were still awake, cramming all the knowledge the could from the texts salvaged from centuries of eradication. The Jedi Master, once setting aside future tasks and responsibilities, was beginning to enjoy her role as a teach and guide for the new Jedi learners, though it was exhausting at times with the extensive questioning from their eager minds.

She found her own rejuvenation through meditation, the gift of the Bendu rested on the mat before her, her legs crossed, palms faced up on her knees while she sought solace in the Force, the stone presenting its own additional soothing presence. However, it would be short lived as darkness that seemed to always lurked on the horizon, grew stronger with each passing moment. The Jedi opened her eyes unable to ignore the sensation any longer, a darkness had arrived, none that she has ever felt before as it seemed to hone on the village in which her and her students were residing. She picked up the stone and her belt, fixing it to her waist as she exited her quarters; a fog was growing, it was thick as it was unnaturally cold on such a hot and humid jungle world as that of Ithor.

Reaching along her belt, Arda removed the two pieces that made her lightsaber, connecting them together as she reached within, trusting in the Force to guide her where she needed to be, feeling, waiting for whatever unnatural darkness had come.

 

[Teran Atrix]

Teran had seized every opportunity he had to train. Whether training with other Padawans, building a lightsaber, studying books in the library, or accompanying more experienced individuals on missions, he'd begun to grow - slowly but surely - in his experience. This was spurred onward by his own desire and curiosity to learn more.

As the sun had begun to slide down, Teran had found a clear, open, and isolated space to practice his saber exercises. The blade had begun to flow more fluidly through the air than it had when he'd first wielded it, and he'd grown more accustomed to using it as time had gone on. It wasn't quite like an extension of his body yet, but it did feel right in his hand now.

He finished a series of predetermined strikes when he felt something on the back of his neck. He reached a hand behind and rubbed his neck, pulling it away to see if he'd squashed a bug, but there was nothing there. Not only that, the feeling wasn't gone. He shrugged his shoulders in discomfort, deactivated the saber in his hand, grabbed his satchel, and headed back to the other Padawans. Something was... weird, and he didn't know what.

When he made it back to the group, he noticed the concerned look on Master Breaux's face, and realized it wasn't all in his head.

What's going on? he asked, hoping that her experience might shed some light on what exactly it was he was sensing. He'd not had a brush with the darkness like this before, but he already felt... dirty. @GABA @Raydo

 

[Zex Vric]

Zex was currently in his break, drinking inside the village's bar and having some fun with the Ithorian people he was talking with, sharing their fun stories and just having a good time. The Nautolan didn't have trouble fighting the republic, in fact, it was his only goal to see the empire fall nowadays, but even he needed to take a break from time to time, and Ithor was as good as any other place to do so, specially since he found the simple world full of vegetation charming, a nice change from planets that were simply giant cities, and Zex was lucky enough to be able to see jedi, Arda Breaux herself, do jedi stuff before leaving, which was just an added bonus.

However, his break would be interrupted by the fog quickly surrounding and swallowing the village, the Nautolan would quickly leave the cantina and approach the jedi, he didn't know what was going on, but it sent chills down his spine "So, any chance this fog is something you jedi have caused?" He asked to the jedi(@GABA ,@Phoenix ) not really knowing what a jedi really could do since he surprisingly didn't have the pleasure to see them in combat "No? Thought so..." The Nautolan added as he saw Arda assemble her lightsaber, drawing his blaster but not pointing at anything in particular, letting out a sigh as he saw the fog thicken "Man, this was supposed to be my day off..."

 

[Alexander Ayers]

Alexander had come to Ithor with Arda, to help train and guide the new padawans where the Force was strong and their fledgling senses would be heightened. Thus far, Arda--Master Breaux he corrected, had had the padawans comb through ancient texts and begun the slow process of opening the minds of the less experienced Jedi in the group to the subtleties of the light...deep and vast though they were.

Alexander was sitting outside, on the edge of a broad area where one lone padawan was practicing surprisingly graceful lightsaber technique. Half watching, half lost in his own thoughts, the sudden chill of darkness roused him from his musings. It seemed the padawan had noticed too as the young man took off toward where the others were. Alexander waited a moment before following, slowly, cautiously opening himself to the wound in the Force that seemed to be drawing closer with every breath. The cold prick of mist against his skin almost tickled as it drew swiftly into fog.

Just as the mist and fog began to billow towards them, the Force billowed from Alexander. He touched Arda's mind, briefly, before carrying on to try and find the source of the taint in the Force. He had felt something like this only once before, when he and Master Reach had gone to Jheda...so long ago. However, there was a chilling sense of purpose to the taint in the Force he felt now; unlike the feral, half-mad tinge that had surrounded the Sith in the tombs. When he poked at the presence delicately, it seemed to almost reach into him with icy claws of malice and serene, deadly purpose. It was, without question, the most terrifying sensation he had ever experienced.

And it was drawing closer. And closer.

Wasting no time, he snapped his right saber clear of his belt and bolted to the group. "We need to be ready. Now." he said, touching the minds of Arda and the padawan he had been near earlier (Tanner? Teran? Alex wasn't the best at names) sharing with them a quick snippet of what he had felt drawing nearer in the Force. "Where do you want us, Arda?"

@Versok @GABA @Phoenix @Raydo

 

[The Storyteller]

The Witch grew closer slowly, with each step the feeling of doom growing more palpable. She sniffed at the air as if she was searching for something. There was so much innocence here to consume, to destroy. She plunged the dagger into her hand once more, deepening the cut from before. She held out her hand with a clenched fist before opening it palm down. The black ichor spilled on the ground, soaking into the spoil. A moment later, The masked figures were joined by the expressionless bodies of corpses all wavering in the night air. Many of the corpses were little more than skeletons at this point.

"Go" she spoke in a raspy whisper, her vocal cords no longer existent.

The forest burst with the noises of the dead, screeching into the night sky as they charged forward. Their attack would be focused on three points, the building where the Jedi Padawans were staying in the center of town, a village hospital on the east and an orphanage on the west. Drawn to the helplessness of these places, the horde would stop at nothing to snuff the light out.

The fog swelled with the charging horde, growing thick making it almost impossible to see. They would hear the sounds of those cut down by the horde before it reached them. The screams of those being eviscerated poisoned the night air as they continued to charge the three locations.

The Witch now continued step by step, a wicked grin growing on her face as she began to taste death in the air.

@GABA @Phoenix @Versok @Lucid

 

[Arda Breaux]

"What ever it is, I sure have a bad feeling about it." she said to Teran, this darkness was nothing close to what she was used to feeling with the Sith, it was entirely different, beyond corruption, perhaps even the darkside has rejected whatever was coming for them. She would be joined by two others, an Alliance soldier who was just as concerned as the rest of them and another Jedi Knight, Alexander, she opened her mouth to say something in response to what he wanted for them to do. The fog grew to where it was even hard to see within a couple feet, it would be difficult for the soldier, but for the Jedi, "Remember your eyes can deceive you, trust your senses Jedi." she said as screams erupted from the forests that surrounded them.

She could feel the darkness closing in, "We need to spread out and meet back here in the center," the screams grew louder, sandwiching the village, "Zex," she glanced at the nautolan rebel, "and Teran, head for the west end of town, Alexander, go to the east, I will stay here and get the padawans to safety." she gave her orders and expected no protest, and trusted they knew they would need to help protect as many as they could from the dark attack.

As they left, Arda turned to the enclave, many padawans were awake, standing outside their rooms when she arrived, "Get your sabers if you have them, stick together, and head to the docks and seal the door until I return." she told the oldest ones, some tried to ask questions, but Arda held up a finger, stopping their questions and was met with a collective yes, Master Breaux. The wisps of thick grey fog was heavy with death as Arda drew on the strength of the Light, letting its warmth glow, her saber ready as she ushered the remaining padawans to join the others.

She turned, saber raised as the fog had reached the padawan enclave, the forest laid behind it was swallowed in darkness, but she stood out like a beacon, beckoning the creatures to come to her and when they did, their fate would be met with the return of peace in death.

@Phoenix @Versok @Lucid

 

[Teran Atrix]

It was cold and dark. Not the kind of cool you'd find on a summer day, but a biting, arctic chill that made every hair stand on end, and cut to your soul. It was an evil unlike Teran had ever felt before, and he could feel fear begin to seize him. No, fear is a path to the Dark Side, he reminded himself. All is as the Force wills it, he reminded himself. He had to trust in the Force.

The grip on his saber became tighter as he listened to Master Breaux's orders. He and Zex. All right, they could do this. He didn't know Zex at all, but he was sure the fellow Rebel knew what he was doing... hopefully. If not, they would both die a gruesome and hideous death. Perfect.

Teran glanced at his partner - who he could barely see through the fog - and made sure they were together before heading toward the West side of town. Orphanage, he said quietly to the Rebel, remembering what was at this end of town. He didn't ignite his lightsaber yet, as it would act as a beacon in the fog, but he kept it firmly in his hands, falling into the Force to guide him.

I'm one with the Force, he said quietly. He may not have been able to see well, but the Force would guide his hands. It had to. He trusted that it would. He could only hope that things hadn't already fallen to pieces by the time they arrived at the orphanage. He hoped still that the gangsters (really more of miscreants and teenage troublemakers) who lived this way might have done something to prepare as well. After all, no one wanted to see kids killed, and the gang members might well stake their pride and egos against standing up to... whatever was in the fog. @GABA @Raydo @Versok @Lucid

 

[Zex Vric]

The fog kept getting worse and worse and that surely wouldn't help Zex in the slightest, how the hell was he supposed to shoot at stuff if he couldn't even see what was two meters ahead of him? Thankfully, Arda probably took that into consideration, seeing how he wasn't being deployed alone, at least he had someone with a lightsaber as an ally, that could come in handy if anyone came close.

So, the Nautolan and Teran headed to the West side of the town, Zex would be accommodating his suit, which was getting uncomfortable thanks to the humid fog, and thinking how he would probably have to buy another one after this "Oh...well crap" The Nautolan simply said in response to the idea of the oprhanage being one of the main objectives, but it made sense, this fog was giving creepy horror holomovie creature vibes, and those kinds of things always aimed for the weak and the young, even if this was real life and not an holomovie, it still made sense. "We better get there and fast then" He added before increasing the pace as the screams reached his ears, time was essential at the moment, the sooner they got there, the more lifes they could save.

Zex kept his mouth shut until he heard his partner say "I'm one with the Force" Remembering what Arda told the two jedi and realizing something "You jedi can sense with the force, right?" He asked Teran, still having no idea what a force sensitive could and could not do "I am going to need you to guide my shots, okay? Unlike you guys, I can't be that useful without my eyes against whatever we are fighting" The Nautolan added, working together would be essential in order to surv

@GABA @Lucid @Phoenix

 

[The Storyteller]

So. Much. Fear. It saturated the place as the townspeople started to be cut down. It became almost an entity itself, seeking to consume anything in its path. The Witch's raspy voice spoke, her voice seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere. "Fleeee Jeddiii" the voice whispered before an otherworldly cackle crept through the fog.

***

The Horde arrived at the hospital, overwhelming the one or two too blind to see they were already dead. Fear, Agony, and Pain swelled in the area as horde breached the building and started consuming the helpless patients there. The sick, the injured, the elderly, the young were all torn to pieces under that unnatural force.

Those capable of sensing the Force would be assaulted by the anguish and terror experienced by the dying.

***

Things grew quiet at the orphanage as the Rebels arrived. Three seconds that seemed to span an eternity passed. Then from out of nowhere, the horde descended on them. Twenty or so figures lunged from all sides to the Rebels left, right, and front. Fifteen of them swarmed the Jedi, drawn his presence in the Force. The other five threw themselves at the soldier, coming from multiple angles.

They attacked relentlessly, with no fear for their own safety. They simply sought to overwhelm the man, tearing at him with sharpened claws.

***

The center of town was where the brunt of the attack was focused, drawn to the beacon of light. The Jedi Master and her students. Like in the other locations the undead horde swarmed the area, seeking to simply overwhelm both the Jedi Master and Jedi Knight. The also tried to get around the Jedi Master, to get at the relatively easy prey she was defending.

@GABA @Phoenix @Versok @Lucid

 

[Teran Atrix]

Fear. The village was rank with it. It seemed to close in on Teran from every side, threatening to stifle him. Chaos, yet harmony, he repeated to himself, remembering Arda's teaching to him. Trust in the Force, he told himself, relying on it to guide his every step. All is as the Force wills it, he repeated again. If he lost faith in the Force, he had nothing. There would be nothing that could get him through this storm otherwise.

The voice of evil was the only way he could describe what he heard. It was all around him, and whatever it was, he could feel that it was the source of all of this. An overwhelming evil that needed to be purged.

They made it to the orphanage even as more echoes of death screeched through the Force. Otherwise, there was silence. Not a sound at first, until he heard it. Or did he sense it? He wasn't sure which sense had picked up the clamping - yet still quiet - footsteps, but he knew that it wasn't natural, it wasn't good, and it grossly outnumbered them.

Go up! he screamed as his lightsaber flashed to life. Teran was no longer controlling his own movements, it was the Force. His saber spun out in front of him in a fast, fluid motion not unlike the ones he had used while practicing earlier. It would keep the charge at bay for at least an instant (if they'd even managed to reach him yet, which was unlikely) as the Jedi suddenly rocketed into the air, the Force carrying him to land on the rooftop with an elegant flip.

Teran had read in the ancient Jedi saber manuals about the power of "the High Ground" and how Jedi Masters often used it to defeat Sith Lords, forcing their arrogance and confidence in the Dark Side to become a weakness. The elevation would buy time at the very least, and the zombie-things would have to climb the distance... hopefully.

Assuming he had the time and momentary safety, he drew his blaster with his left hand as his right - still holding his saber - flashed with the Light of the Force. He couldn't hope to push back the mist permanently, but the flashes should be enough to provide a small window through which he and the Rebel could begin firing down on the horde. And that was precisely what Teran intended, unleashing blaster bolts and watching for any who might manage to make their way up. @GABA @Raydo @Versok @Lucid

 

[Arda Breaux]

The witches voice echoed through the village, telling them to flee, but Arda stood her ground, Alex stood with her, unable to leave as the fog reached the enclave and with it came the horde of what Arda thought could only exist through holofilms, though she was quickly coming to find in the years of her studies, if it could be imagined, someone could make it. It didn't help the worst of it seemed to come from those who followed the dark side of the Force. And they would come, the Light burned brightly and they followed like moths to a candle, "Stay with me, Alex!" she called out, the Force flowed through the Jedi woman as she prepared for the attack, she could feel the agony and terror that ripped through the village, but she would stay strong, focused, the balance would have to come from them if they wished to over come the dark invader.

Arda quickly backed up to Alex as the creatures came, their yells were as grotesque as their bones that cracked while they lunged at the Jedi Master and her Knight. She stepped into the attack, swinging her blade as it cut through the bodies of the creatures as she sent a sweeping push to send them off their feet; they were focused on killing, never minding when the others fell, more would keep coming, trampling over the ones who were maimed or too slow to get up. Their numbers were difficult to keep up and she knew some stragglers had gotten to the building, but there wasn't much she could do as she worked with Alex to cut as many as she could.

"Where are they all coming from?!" she called out to Alex, sending another powerful push, clearing a radius for them to work from, she reached within, recalling the dark entity she fought against in her trials against the Bendu and used the same power she pulled then to burn away the creatures now; her palm glowed brightly, the light of the Force burned through one of the creatures that jumped at her, pushing them back further as the fog seemed to dissipate from the Light.

@Lucid @Versok @Raydo @Phoenix

 

[Zex Vric]

Once they reached the orphanage, everything went silent, somehow, the lack of screams was far more terrifying than the sound of people dying. Why was that? Well, he was pretty sure the threat didn't just leave, no, the fog was still there after all, it mean't they just stopped focusing on those that couldn't defend themselves, it meant that they were coming for them. Zex's mouth was shut, the Nautolan completely alert and focusing on hearing the footsteps that grew louder and louder. The enemy was coming for them from all directions, they were completely surrounded.

When he heard his partners words, Zex didn't take a single second to consider his choices, thanks to his suit's jumpboots, the Nautolan would land on top of the orphanage before the corpses had the chance to kill him, now they at least had time to react and fight back, like Teran, Zex would begin firing on the horde as well, aiming to the sides that the jedi wasn't already covering so the horde couldn't just flank them, taking advantage of the light that was providing Teran. "Is this the first time stuff like this happen to you jedi?" Zex would ask while firing, small talking not for the sake of it, but simply to not lose his composture and freak out at the fact that literal corpses were trying to kill him.

@Lucid @Phoenix @GABA @Raydo

 

[Alexander Ayers]

Before Alexander could even take a step in the direction that Arda had requested, faceless things started swarming all around them. He felt Arda next to him, draw deeply on the Force as he snapped his lightsaber to life. Alexander moved, drawing on the Force as he did so to guide his actions and quicken his movements. He was drawn to the center of the hunger, just beyond the growing circle of light that Arda had brought into being, driving the faceless horrors back and back.

"Just beyond the ridge!" He called to Arda as he sprang forward, riding the pulsating waves of Force she was throwing out. "Don't stop!"] His lightsaber hacked and slashed as he charged in the direction the Force was drawing him, a blue fan of light that sliced through the faceless horde. He pushed, deeper and deeper into their ranks careful to make sure that Arda was still able to support from behind and stop the hordes from closing around him completely. As his blade hewed the minions he felt the Force grow cold around him and he pulled all that he could into himself.

Raising his left hand as his right warded off yet another group of terrifying creatures, light burst forward. It lanced through the fog, pushing it back. In that initial brilliant flash, he saw a form creeping slowly towards them and his blood went cold. "Arda!" He yelled. "There!" The Force pulsed around him, not as strongly as it did Arda, but strong enough to knock the horde back and give him a moment to ready himself for something much, much bigger.

@GABA @Phoenix @Versok @Raydo

 

[The Storyteller]

The two rebels stood on top of the one-story building as they fired down into the mass of bodies. For everyone one that fell, two seemed to replace them as they slammed into the building, beginning to climb on top of one another.

It the mist, the horde seemed infinite, they kept coming and coming, getting closer and closer to their prey as the now truly dead served as a growing ramp upwards. Through the mist, the two would notice flickering lights moving towards them. They bobbed erratically into the fog, growing brighter as they approached.

They would soon find the source to be more of the undead sprinting towards them, on fire. A building must have caught fire during the attack and while their flesh burned it did not seem to phase the group as they surged forward.

****

If the attack on the orphanage was strong, it was doubly so on the compound holding the Jedi Padawans. Both Jedi desperately held off wave after wave of the undead, slowly being pushed back. As the light built around the Jedi Master, the horde surged more frantically as if driven by an unseen force to snuff out the light before it grew too strong.

A corpse that had once been a small child leaped towards the male Jedi, landing on his back. It tore with jagged claw-like fingers and went to bite down on his neck when a wave of light energy surged through the mist.

It burned through the horde and mist alike. The bodies turned to dust as the wave past through them. The fog was burned away in a circle surrounding the compound. A loud, bellowing call sounded from the east where the hospital had once stood. Before the Jedi could do anything about that, she arrived.

The woman wore a tattered dress that had once been white a millennia ago. Whispy hair fell down around her head like tendrils that fell to the ground. She peered at them with pupilless eyes. The knife she had wielded earlier had now been replaced by a twisted, gnarled staff. Her mouth didn't move but the words echoed in their minds "You have saved no one. Even now I consume what is left of this village." she said. With her voice, came their oppressive feeling of dread. Both Jedi would feel they were utterly alone in the Force, not sensing anyone else, including one another. The Darkness bored down on them like a heavyweight.

"But not all must die" the witch continued, extending a finger towards the Jedi Master. "If you give yourself to me, the others with you will remain unharmed," she spoke slowly, voice grating in their minds like nails on board.

 

[Teran Atrix]

So... apparently there was an infinite number of these zombie-things. If that was the case, then just shooting down wasn't going to work out. He slapped a fresh magazine into his blaster. Fifteen shots, and over half of those were kills, but it didn't even seem to make a dent. As they began to climb, he took the heads off of several others with his lightsaber, but for every one that he killed, another took its place.

Flaming creatures came out of the fog, and Teran wasn't planning to wait around for them to catch up. One shot from his blaster flew down to kill the first of the flamers, and the second. He knew they wouldn't be able to hold the creatures off like this forever, but it would work for a short time at least.

I am one with the Force, he said, reaching out to it for guidance even as his saber flashed to catch whatever zombies might slowly crest the building. He was in way over his head on this one, but he didn't believe the Force would leave him alone. Greater Darkness, greater Light, he remembered his teaching. That was when he felt it: the Light to meet this Darkness. The Force sought balance, and the planet itself rebelled against the existence of these creatures. It didn't want this fog and darkness to infest it, and the thing about Ithor was that the whole planet was more alive than most. The trees themselves had thoughts and controlled the animals.

We need you, he pressed his thoughts into the Force. He could only hope that the Bafforr trees found this monster to be as big of an affront to itself as Teran found it. We are your defenders. The ground shrivels under the feet of these abominations. Please help us protect your realm, he said. The same Light of the Force that drew the Witch would be testimony to the truth of the statement. They were in a forest, and it only took seven of the trees for true sentience. In a forest like this, the intelligence and telepathic power of these trees was astronomical.

Deep within the forest, the first stirrings began. Teran had no chance of controlling the creatures that were coming from the forest, but the forest itself did. The Bafforr trees ruled this forest and its many, many dangerous animals. From massive, deadly Ithorian Reeks, smaller manollium birds and shamarok flitters, deadly arrak snakes, or predators like ursmal: all would answer the call, bringing dangerous animals to excise the cancerous growth from within its realm. @GABA @Raydo @Versok @Lucid

 

[Zex Vric]

Zex was really glad he brought so much ammo for his blaster, seeing how many targets he had to shoot at. reloading after the first 15 shoots as fast as he could, their situation was going from bad to worse as corpses on fire rallied up against them "You must be joking!" He said as he smelled the horrid scent of charred skin and corpses. "You have a plan? A secret jedi ability or something? It would be a nice time to use it" The Nautolan asked the jedi that was fighting alongside him, he wasn't usually the type of guy that relied on people too much, but then again, he didn't usually fight a zombie horde.

And then Teran said that he was one with the force once again and started to concentrate. Zex thought of it as something good, maybe he really had a secret jedi ability to use against the undead. So the rebel simply started to make sure the undead didn't reach them any time soon while his partner was concentrating, taking Teran's blaster while he isn't using it in order to cover more ground and finish more of the undead. And then, a kriffing stampede happened, animals of every type coming from the forest and attacking their common enemy, the Nautolan was dumbfounded, but didn't stop shooting "How the hell did you do THAT?" He simply asked while shooting at those that were still trying to climb to them with the two blasters.

@Phoenix @GABA @Lucid

 

[Arda Breaux]

The Force Light worked much better than she had expected, the infinite undead horde and the fog was eaten away as the light spread onward. She was cautious though, knowing the fight was yet to be over, perhaps it was just the first round and there were more, she was unsure but the bellowing cry from the other end of the village sent a chill throughout her body. She certainly did hope her padawan was safe, there was worry for his well-being but Arda also knew he was a very capable Jedi so far; the tasks that she thought would be too much, he handled with finesse and there was a bit of pride in knowing this.

The Jedi Master glanced at Alex as she turned slowly to face the Witch who approached; time could not fully accurate describe who or what it was, but it was undoubtedly dark and possibly where the darkside even would reject its own. She carried a staff and Arda was unable to determine what fabric she wore that managed to keep some resemblance of white over what seemed like centuries old fashion. Arda winced as she heard the Witch's words, they were painful physically and mentally as it scratched at her mind like the claws of the undead that had attacked. She called for their actions to be futile, but also gave them an offer, to turn herself over to the witch as a sacrifice to save those here.

Arda narrowed her eyes, reaching into the Force, feeling herself alone and in the dark, but she knew that was not true. She also knew the offer the Witch gave was not true either, she had enough encounters with the darkside to know there was always a catch or how she would interpret was nothing that the dark side wished to give. But Arda stood still, her eyes narrowed in thought as though she were contemplating the offer and then she walked a couple steps forward, palm extended as though she were to give herself.

Instead, the Witch was met with a swift jerk toward the Jedi Master as she pulled into the Jedi's saber path, a backhanded swipe that would cleave a body in two if it were not defended. The Jedi Master gave her answer, there was no surrendering to the darkside.

@Lucid @Raydo @Phoenix @Versok

 

[Alexander Ayers]

[OOC here goes quick phone post.]

The Force built and stormed around Arda. In the sea of blackness that surrounded the Witch and her vile minions Arda was a brilliant light. For a moment Alexander was all but stunned, she had come so far since they last worked together and he had done nothing.

He needed to up his game a little...

However now was not to the time for any of that. The clear area widened around Arda and himself as the witch finally showed herself. She was taunting Arda, taunting him, taunting them for their faith in the lightside. The witch may have been powerful, but she was clearly not wise. With an unspoken signal from Arda, Alexander moved a little closer to her. The force building around the both of them, a palpable tension in the air that snapped with a satisfying crispness as Arda grabbed at the witch through the Force.

At the same time, Alexander unleashed another cascade of brilliant light right into the Witch's face as Arda pulled her onto her lightsaber.

@Raydo @GABA @Phoenix @Versok

 

[The Storyteller]

Corpse after corpse slammed into the wall growing all, all scratching their way forward to reach the roof. They continued to fight as the Jedi called on the creatures of this world for aid, though the aid was not instantaneous.

Several of the burning horde reached the building, one crashed through a window as it was thrown aside by another clamoring it's way up. Several others were pushed up against the building. The Wooden structure began to catch fire in several locations from around the building. Thin wisps of smoke began to rise as the fire began to catch both inside and outside the building.

As the last bit of hope was dying for the rebels, the creatures of the forest came through the area, attacking the horde. The corpses all but ignored the creatures as they continued to scale upwards. Nine of the horde reached the roof before their numbers were cut down enough to allow scaling the building. The nine remaining hurled themselves at the Rebels, five at Zex and four at Teran.

****
It was true the Baffor trees were the true owners of this land, their roots intertwined just underneath the surface. Everywhere her feet touched, the trees died and death was her domain. The now undead trees and their roots server here in the area surrounding the battle.

The Witch moved the instant Arda took her first step forward, with the clenching of her fist, thorned roots shot from the ground and shot towards both Jedi's legs, arms, and throats. It would hold the Jedi in place, or at least cause the pair to have to break off their attack against her to avoid being totally ensnared.

A hulking creature emerged from the fog from the direction of the hospital and to Alexander's side. It moved with tremendous speed and let out a loud bellow as it charged at Alexander. While like many of the other corpse horde, this creature was easily several times larger. It would swing Alexander as it drew within striking distance just as the light shot towards the Witch.

The Witch was pulled by the Jedi, but still 30 feet away she stopped the witch landed about 15 feet away from the Jedi Master, well outside the swing of her saber, and vaulted herself into the air and out of the range of the Knight's Force attack.

She cackled as she soared out of sight.