Disclaimer: I am not George Lucas or Rick Riordan.
Enter Jacen and Jaina, on Myrkr.
Jacen and Jaina approach Shryne's mansion, only to discover it is locked.
Jaina knocks, but there is no answer.
Jaina. Can't you do your thing?
Jacen. I hate doing my thing.
Through the Force power of mechu-deru, Jacen unlocks the door.
Jaina. That is so astral.
Jacen and Jaina enter Shryne's mansion.
Jaina ignites the violet blade of her lightsaber. With no lightsaber, Jacen is left with only a club as a weapon.
Jacen. Maybe this isn't such a good . . .
The door slams shut, and even Jacen cannot unseal the door.
The Force. We're trapped.
Jaina runs for the window, but becomes entangled in the drapes.
Jaina. Jacen.
Jacen hits the drapes with his club and frees Jaina. When he pulls her back, he realizes that Jaina has been injured by the drapes.
Jacen. Hold on. Hold on, Jaina. I've got it.
Jacen heals Jaina with bacta.
You're going to be fine. Just rest.
Jaina. We . . . we can't . . . If all the windows are like that, and the door is locked . . .
Jacen. We'll find another way out.
A gorgodon growls in the distance.
Jaina. Er, Jacen . . .
Enter the gorgodon, a reptilian creature with grey fur, yellow eyes, and a blaster-proof hide.
Jacen. The stairs are looking pretty good.
Shryne's Voice. Yes, this way.
Jacen. Who are you?
Shryne's Voice. Hurry. Hurry. Hurry.
As the gorgodons advance around them, Jacen and Jaina flee upstairs.
Jaina. Jacen . . .
Jacen. Come on.
Jaina. If it's another trap . . .
Jacen. No choice.
Jacen and Jaina reach the upstairs hallway.
Shryne's Voice. This way. Last door on the left. Hurry.
The gorgodons echo Shryne's voice.
Jaina. We have to help him.
Jacen. Yeah.
Jacen and Jaina enter Shryne's quarters.
Enter Roan Shryne, a brown-robed man with brown hair and blue eyes.
When Shryne speaks, his voice comes out of the gorgodons' mouths.
Shryne. Hello. I'm very sorry.
Jacen and Jaina exchange looks.
Enter the gorgodons, walking outside Shryne's prison.
Jaina. Er, Jacen . . .
Jaina indicates the gorgodons.
Jacen. [to Shryne] Who are you? What's that thing in the cage?
Shryne. I am Roan Shryne. I'm terribly sorry. But you are in the cage. You've been lured here to die.
Jacen raises his club.
Jacen. Y-you'd better explain. Why . . . ? How . . . ? What . . . ?
Shryne. I understand your confusion. The creature you see here is a gorgodon. It has a talent for imitating sentient voices. That is how it lures its prey.
Jacen. But . . . the voice is yours? I mean, the guy in the brown robes . . . I'm hearing what he wants to say?
Shryne. That is correct. [sighs] I am, as you say, the guy in the brown robes. Such is my curse. My name is Roan Shryne, son of Yavin.
Jaina steps back.
Jaina. You're a Jedi? But you're so . . .
Shryne. Old? Yes, I am.
Jacen. How long have you been here?
Shryne. [shrugs] I have lost count. Decades? Because my father is the Je'daii of prophecy, I was born with the curse of seeing the future. Yavin warned me to keep quiet. He told me I should never share what I saw because it would anger the Je'daii. But many years ago . . . I simply had to speak. I met a young girl who was destined to die in an accident. I saved her life by telling her the future.
Jacen. I don't get it. . . . You did something good. Why would that anger the Je'daii?
Shryne. They don't like mortals meddling with fate. My father cursed me. He forced me to wear these clothes, the skin of Naga Sadow, who once guarded the Prophet of Yavin, as a reminder that I was not a seer. He took away my voice and locked me in this mansion, my boyhood home. Then the Je'daii set the gorgodons to guard me. Normally, gorgodons only mimic sentient speech. But these are linked to my thoughts. They speak for me. They keep me alive as bait, to lure other Jedi. It was Yavin's way of reminding me, forever, that my voice would only lead others to their doom.
Jacen. You should fight back. You didn't deserve this. Break out. Kill the monsters. We'll help you.
Jaina. He's right. That's Jacen, by the way. I'm Jaina. We've fought plenty of monsters. There has to be something we can do, Master Shryne.
Shryne. Call me Roan. But you don't understand. You're not the first to come here. I'm afraid all the Jedi feel there's hope when they first arrive. Sometimes I try to help them. It never works. The windows are guarded by deadly drapes . . .
Jaina. I noticed.
Shryne. And the door is heavily enchanted. It will let you in, but not out.
Jacen. We'll see about that.
Jacen makes a fruitless attempt to unlock the door with the Force.
Shryne. I told you. None of us can leave. Fighting the monsters is hopeless. They can't be hurt by any metal known to mortal or god.
Shryne draws a vibroblade, which he uses to stab one of the gorgodons. It is to no avail.
You see?
Jaina. So you just give up? You help the monsters lure us in and wait for them to kill us?
Shryne sheathes his vibroblade.
Shryne. I'm so sorry, my dear. But I have little choice. I'm trapped here, too. If I don't cooperate, the monsters let me starve. The monsters could have killed you the moment you entered the house. But they use me to lure you upstairs. They allow me your company for a while. It eases my loneliness. And then . . . well, the monsters like to eat at sundown. Today, that will be at 1903. After you are gone, I . . . I subsist on whatever rations you carried.
Jacen. You're as bad as the monsters.
Shryne winces.
Shryne. You're right to hate me. But I can't save you. At sunset, those bars will rise. The monsters will drag you away and kill you. There is no escape.
One of the gorgodons devours an old piece of cortosis armor.
As you see, the monsters are remarkably strong.
Jaina. Send them away. Roan, can you make them leave?
Shryne. [frowns] If I do that, we won't be able to talk. Besides, any escape strategy you can think of, someone else has already tried. There is no point in private talks.
Jaina. Do they know what we're saying? I mean, do they just speak, or do they understand the words?
One of the gorgodons growls, then it imitates Jaina's voice.
Jaina's Voice. Do they understand the words?
Shryne. The creatures are intelligent, the way vornskrs are intelligent. They comprehend emotions and a few simple phrases. They can lure their prey by crying things like "help." But I'm not sure how much sentient speech they really understand. It doesn't matter. You can't fool them.
Jacen. Send them away. You have a datapad. Type what you want to say. If we're going to die at sunset, I don't want those things staring at me all day.
Shryne hesitates, then glances at the gorgodons.
Exit the gorgodons.
Shryne glances at Jacen.
Jaina. Jacen. Do you have a plan?
Jacen. Not yet. But we'd better come up with one by sunset.
Exit all.
