Log:Knights of Ren: The Dead World
Knights of Ren: The Dead World
OOC Date: April 19, 2018
Location: Kohlma
Participants: Knights of Ren: Kylo Ren, Lioria Thrace, Asiir Cuul, Dreman Bryce, and Ravelyn
Time has passed since the Knights of Ren's last visit to Kohlma, one of the moons of Bogden, a location shrouded in mystery and a dark past. The world itself seems to have died, all gray and black dirt and stone, with a persistent cling of bluish fog over much of the landscape. Stepping out from the citadel where they've landed, a dark figure wrapped in thick black robes, face hidden behind a mask of mottled chrome, leads the way. "The cultists have been silent since we left," his processed voice informs the others as he walks, boots crunching on the loose rock underfoot. "They seem to respond to our power."
It's the first visit he's brought two of them on, but he doesn't seem to be overburdened with explaining the situation to the new recruits either. "Shells of men commanded by a powerful Force user years ago, still rotting out in this graveyard. Still, the priest we left behind as caretaker said they had begun to stir again a few days ago. The way they did when we first arrived."
Kohlma. Not the place Lioria wanted to be at since someone pushed her off into a pit and didn't know if it was going to kill her or if she was going to be an angry ball of hate. But the newest addition to the group was here and was her usually quiet self. She was also the oddball out as most were dressed in black and she was in crimson red royal Imperial Guard armor. Hey, the old stuff was hard to beat in the way of protection. She looks around as Kylo speaks, that black slitted visor looking for...anything moving. For the moment she remains quiet and vigilant.
Asiir Cuul walks along in the wake of the Supreme Leader, the hood of his black robe pulled up to cast a shadow over his face, though the Cathar has not been making any real effort to conceal his identity from the others. One side of his cloak is swept back, exposing the long hilt of the double bladed lightsaber dangling from his belt. He doesn't look at the two newer members, but rather sweeps the area with amber feline eyes. He had been here before, after all, and seen the dangers that can spring upon those that lack the proper vigiliance.
Bryce didn't have much to offer regarding the strange cultists, and he had even less to say about whether something may have stirred them. Best to hope it wasn't someone randomly trying to murder someone on the planet. That'd be annoying to explain.
But, Bryce's keen eyes watch their master as they walk. His voice, low, regards the newest of their ranks. "A fitting place for the Knights of Ren: power abounds, and left untempered will destroy," he says between them, Ravelyn and Lioria. Did the others know it was Lioria? He wondered.
A tallish, dark-clad figure follows along behind Kylo, listening intently to what he says, dark mask turning this way and that to regard their surroundings. This one is definitely making an effort to conceal identity, behind a mask, and a robe, even gloves to hide any skin from showing. "Are they all like the one you showed me?" asks Ravelyn, voice changed through the mask that angles back slightly to look up at Kylo.
"No," Kylo answers Ravelyn's question. "Most of them are husks like that but some of them seemed different, and there were three in the citadel who kept their minds intact." Those familiar with galactic history, especially its more insidious aspects, will remember the whisperings of a death cult known as the Bando Gora. This was their base of operations. He continues to walk ahead, leaving the citadel behind them, heading further into the wastes surrounding the structure when suddenly he stops short, masked face looking this way and that. "...someone is here. Someone strong in the Force. Be on your guard." A gloved hand reaches just behind his hip to produce his lightsaber, although the blade has yet to be ignited.
Lioria continues after the group and there's a look to Kylo as he answers questions. Though she also gives a look to Bryce and there's a nod to him. She gives a look to Asiir and then to Ravelyn as well. Then her attention is caught by the words to be on their guard. One gauntled hand falls back to her vibroblade. She doesn't have a lightsaber yet. She's not graduated to the completely cool kids group. She lets one foot slide out just a little, just in case there's a fight that starts.
As they walk along in the wake of the Supreme Leader, Asiir feels that impending sense of something being wrong, the force's subtle warning of something ahead brewing with ill intent toward him... and the rest of the group. His hand moves quickly to the lightsaber at his hip and he pulls the weapon free, focusing on the force to bolster himself for the incoming threat. His hand flexes, igniting the blades of his lightsaber, even if Kylo Ren does not, his eyes trained up ahead.
Bryce considered what he recalled from the stories he had heard regarding the Bando Gora, and the compilations of information kept on Coruscant. It was vague, at best, but Luke had kept some information regarding their number on file. And a few dossiers of individuals involved, but, nothing that seemed appropriate for the current situation.
Just as their Master made his warning, something whispers in Bryce's mind, and he instinctively lowers slightly on his feet, while his hand finds the hilt of his lightsaber. Immediately, his senses reach out to hone in on whatever it could be that awaited them. Inwardly, he wondered if the Jedi could have already discovered them, though, he's dismissing the idea almost as quickly. Rather than stand in the open, Bryce steps off their path. It was easy to miss him vanishing, swallowed by the darkness around them and the eager shadows.
The masked head inclines slightly in response to Kylo's answer. "I understand." He goes on, and one must presume that Ravelyn is listening, though it's hard to say exactly with the face completely hidden. Whatever is whispering in the minds of others, Ravelyn does not seem to get any sense of it, so it's not until Kylo gives his warning that one gloved hand shifts to the lightsaber resting at her hip, keeping it in hand, but not igniting it yet.
Liora's helmed head slowly comes to watch the front of the group and there's a bit of a moment behind that black slitted visor where her bright violet eyes make sure they're seeing things right. "They're starting to crawl out of the rocks and ridges...like insects." the vocoded voice of the one in crimson finally comes through. Then with one fluid motion she unsheathes her blade. Oh hey, don't expect some big old showy lightsaber from her right now!
Asiir listens to Lioria's tip, because he be blind. Stepping forward, he whips his lightsaber through a tight figure eight about his body, the red and green blades whirring into a blend of colored light. He does not run ahead of the others, but remains tight to the group waiting.
Bryce was ... gone. He was sure some of them could sense him, still, like Kylo. Others he knew could not, with their level of training, but they'd be hard pressed to overpower his ability. But that wasn't what he was focused on. Creeping within the shadows, Bryce took the liberty of encroaching closer to the oncoming minihordes. To get a better view. Though the lightsaber is brought from his belt, he doesn't quite ignite it, yet.
Ravelyn still doesn't turn the lightsaber on, stepping forward a few paces while squinting off at the sight of the incoming cultists. "Do they have a master?" The helmeted head turns to look around at the others, the weapons out, one missing. No worries about that, however, attention turns to the oncoming threat as it skitters out of hiding and into view.
"Their master is dead," Kylo replies in his processed voice, the vocoder rendering his words crunchy and artificial. "Whoever it is, the Force may have brought them here, the same as us." He's made no move to attack or press forward, however. "The shells will kill you if you give them the chance. Don't."
Speaking of, a handful of them have already closed the distance between the Knights and the hills behind, a red baleful light glowing in their sullen eyes. Twisted figures of what used to be human, they hurry forward, backs hunched, clawlike fingers and primitive weapons bared.
Lioria gives a look to the ones that are approaching and she sees something that's not like the others, "There's someone dressed in gray and red robes amongst the dead. They might be the one driving them." the voice is distorted, but it gets the point across. Then the newest Knight is taking steps towards the dead. Because this was going to be an interesting new experience.
Bryce is drawn towards the individual that stood out as different in the crowd. He almost gets an eye on him, before he's suddenly beset upon by one of the shells crawling out of a small hole nearby. His attention shifts from the distant figure, and to the nearby threat. He couldn't be sure whether or not the thing had any idea he was there, but, he also couldn't risk the thing getting the drop on him or anyone else. The electric squeal of Bryce's lightsaber is quick to illuminate the shadows he had found himself cloaked within. The blade of the lightsaber arcs downward quickly, fatally bisecting the thing.
Ravelyn had spied the figure in the robes as well, though she says nothing, and instead focuses on the cultists that close in within attacking distance. The lightsaber still isn't activated, instead one gloved hand reaches out toward one of the hunched figures, and a moment later the cultists comes to a halt. It's with a slight turn of the hand that the cultists head twists far enough that it's neck breaks, and then drops to an unmoving heap on the ground.
With Bryce's reapparance and one of the cultists being split in half by his blade, the rest of them are infuriated, charging forward abruptly with guttural howls. They fling their desiccated bodies towards the Knights, letting out shrieks of rage and fury, their rudimentary weapons flailing with savage ferocity at heads and arms. Kylo's lightsaber darts forward as one lunges at him, skewering its body through, the raged blade crackling out of its back before he pushes the body to the ground.
Down amongst the oncoming swarm, the robed figure pulls an object from its side, and a red light bathes the ground in crimson.
Lioria gives a bit of a look when Bryce's lightsaber goes flying and then there's a look back as the Cultist's start to howl. Well, that was time to start to skewering things. She wasn't braced enough for the uncoming rush though and one of the dessicated bodies knocks her swing wide and she misses. That makes her regrip the blade and prepare for the next target.
As the shadows wash away from Bryce's form, his eye settles on the now distinct individual from the pack. The humming lightsaber arcs again in a downward angle, as Bryce's arm extends to let it fall into range of one of the other cultists. Though he was concerned for the larger threat, he couldn't ignore what was immediately near them.
Ravelyn's gaze goes from the fallen cultist to the robed figure with the red... something. No idea what it is, what it might do, but there's a more present danger right now, and focus snaps back to that as another hunched figure nears. A hand once again juts out at the thing, making the cultist fly back in what might've been a graceful arc if it didn't land with a lot of force, and a sickening crunch. Thankfully the sound of breaking bones is probably drowned out by all the other fighting going on. Silver lining.
The robed figure is rapidly approaching, and it's got something red, alright. It's a red lightsaber, but this person, whoever they are, did not come here with the Knights of Ren.
Sidestepping another attack easily, Kylo turns, following the movement with a hard loop of his blade that leaves one of the feral husks sizzling in two pieces, writhing in the dirt, his mask pivoting towards that robed figure with the familiar weapon in hand. "Lower your weapon. If the Force brought you here, we can make common cause."
A laugh rings back. "My master felt something stirring here. It's time we stepped out of the shadows." A low, feminine voice, smooth and sultry, rich in its decadence and arrogance. So saying, the robed figure charges towards them, quick feet carrying her across the slatelike gravel, long red blade glowing in her hand.
Lioria gets knocked back when one of the dead attack her and she takes the brunt of the damage to her arm and shoulder, she really hated when people pushed her. So it's not surprise that there's a long streak of lightning that goes zig zagging from her hand when she growls. Uh Oh. Unfocused lightning bug. She gives a look to the woman who is now speaking and there's a tilt of her head. If they weren't with the Knights...and they were not Jedi...
As another victim falls to Bryce's blade, his eyes catch Lioria and the sudden charge of lightning in the air. With his lightsaber hand lowering, Bryce reaches up with a gloves hand and focuses his will on the errant charge, drawing upon it and amplifying it, before the energy is redirected towards the Husk of a thing beside her.
The sound of an unfamiliar voice, or at least a MORE unfamiliar voice, draws Ravelyn's attention, the sight of the lightsaber bringing pause. Though it's unseen, she frowns and brings up that hand again. Yes, once again it's with that unseen force that she attacks, not quite as brutally as with the cultists, but hard enough to throw the lady in red (or with a red lightsaber anyway) back several feet.
The woman with the lightsaber is tossed back by Ravelyn's telekinetic attack, falling back hard against the rocky earth, the lightsaber clutched tightly in her hand as a grunt rises from her chest. Struggling back to her feet, she lets out a pained laugh, mirroring the one she uttered just previously, brushing herself off with her free hand. "You're strong for a pack of misfits," the unknown woman announces, the hood she wears shrouding her face. "No wonder they're waking up." And then with a cry, she flings herself forward again, moving with the speed and agility that only comes through the power of the Force.
The lightsaber surges within a few inches of Kylo's head, singeing the edge of his cowl as he pulls his body back away from the attack, twisting in the same movement to split a cultmember from shoulder to hip, the lifeless body collapsing in a cloud of dust.
All around the cultists continue to swarm, an incessant chanting of wordless bloodlust filling the air.
Lioria tries to focus, but Bryce already takes care of the runaway lightning bolt. She doesn't say anything, but she does focus more on the situation at hand. Needing to help her fellow Knights. She wasn't good with the Force powers. So she arcs the Vibroblade over her head and brings it down to sever a chunk of a dessicated body off. She doesn't even care if it's dead. Injured works just fine for her.
Perhaps it was the sudden attack that came so close to the Supreme Leader from the wild, lightsaber wielding woman... or maybe Asiir thought that if she managed to cut down the man he would have a harder time tripping up the others on his way out of the citadel. For whatever reason, Asiir leaps forward from wherever he had been near the back fighting to come flying through the air at the woman. His lightsaber whips through the air, spinning and arcing in a dizzying array before he swipes across at the woman, the red blade attempting to slide her from shoulder to hip, then a quick reversal coming around with the green attempting to stab into her head, though the second jab is off target.
Though the chances are good that the woman, whoever she was, might not survive the attack by the lightsaber, Ravelyn isn't going to take any chances. Once again she attacked with that invisible force, this time not to throw her around or anything so obvious, but to crush. Her throat, that is, so that if there is any life left in this lightsaber wielding stranger, it's not going to be left there for very much longer.
The woman with the red lightsaber might have been dangerous against any one of them on their own, but with five on one, even with the help of the feral cultists, she didn't stand much of a chance. A deep gouge is cut across her important bodily areas, Asiir's brutal onslaught cleaving the handle of her lightsaber into two pieces in the process. The blade fizzles out, the handle becoming a piece of high-tech rubble, and the woman falls to the dirt, one hand scratching feebly at her throat before the light fades from her eyes.
As it does, the mindless attackers too seem to lose their spark, many of them turning to flee outright while a few stand, chunks of wood studded with volcanic stone hanging limply from oversized hands, staring at the invaders. After a few long moments, they too turn and wander off away from the Knights. While they're leaving, a heavy boot nudges the woman's fallen corpse. "I would have preferred her alive," he remarks through the heavy processing of his mask. "No answers from a pile of bones."
Lioria probably wouldn't have been a match for her, but hey, she might get there. The crimson lady is still on her guard, even as things start to seem as they've calmed for the moment. She heads over to the woman that's been downed and looks at her. Noting the features. "Do you want us to take a look around for anything, Master Kylo." the distorted voice asks him.
Asiir stares hatefully down at the slain woman, then amber eyes flash upward to watch as the cultists begin to flee. He is breathing heavily from the combat, but eventually the blades of his lightsaber are extinguished, and he looks back toward Kylo as the man states his preference regarding dealing with the woman. He says nothing in reply, but glances ahead as if looking for more enemies to leap out at them... or a dropped name tag on the floor that may have fallen off of her.
"That would have been preferrable," Ravelyn agrees as she steps closer to the now very dead woman. "But us not being dead is also high on the list of ways I wanted to see this end." She doesn't look for nametags, but she does search for pockets, jewelery, anything that might be personal and help to indicate who this person was, or what they might belong to.
"Leave her. This place is as fitting a tomb as any." It seems their leader doesn't exactly share the same concern that one of them might have ended up dead, though. "Search the area for a ship. You'll have to go on foot. The radiation makes scanners useless." Which means if the ship is well-hidden, they may never find it. Still, Kylo starts walking off away from the citadel, intent on searching himself. "Spread out," he calls over his shoulder, dispersing the group as his unstable lightsaber thuds back into its hilt.
The initial search would be fruitless. Perhaps another day would see this mystery unraveled.
