Chapter 9: Making an Entrance
The Sith was not far away now; her call was nearly overpowering, and it drew them forward, toward a marvelous palace at the edge of a plunging gully. The palace's many buildings were so brightly colored unlike any other Huttese palace. He could sense that the Sith's dark presence was within the towering walls, but he could see no way of getting inside. Though the palace had more windows and balconies than a typical Huttese dwelling, Obi-Wan assumed this was because of the sweltering heat, all of these openings were high above the solid wall that encased the perimeter. Scaling the wall was clearly impossible. Obi-Wan knew that no Hutt was foolish enough to erect a wall without some sort of shielding mechanism. They couldn't just knock on the door.
Just as they were about to sit down and rest on a nearby cluster of boulders, a shifting in the earth caused them to jump back with alarm. Obi-Wan had been so thoughtlessly distracted by the Sith's resonating presence that he had failed to sense several people approaching. They looked around quickly, hoping that they would be able to hide themselves behind something before they were spotted, but no one was in sight. They barely had time to register that the people were approaching from below, before the cluster of boulders trembled and shifted to reveal an earthen stairway from which several people were emerging.
Their hearts thudding, they jumped behind an enormous sand dune nearby and tried to settle their breathing. A small group of men stepped from the hidden tunnel, their voices boisterous. The conversation was lost as the men walked into the forest. When they were sure the group was beyond sight, they slowly emerged from the dune and crept toward the boulders.
Something about this entire situation was smelling more and more like a trap, Obi-Wan knew better than to think that it was a mere twist of fate that the Sith had chosen this place as her hideout. Obi-Wan even had a sneaking suspicion that Annora's murder had been a form of bait, meant to lure the Jedi here for reasons yet unseen. They shoved the boulder off of the stairs. The way was unlit and dank as they looked down into the darkness below.