Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by Priapus, Marethyu, Mike God of Lore, Old man of the mountain, Beans
The Celestial Inquisitor
Chapter 02: The Tomb of Tulak Hord
– Vette –
Despite her attitude, she was well aware of how utterly fucked she was. Nothing had gone right for her (or her gang) since they'd robbed Cada Bliss for everything he was worth. With the benefit of hindsight, the job to hit a tomb on Korriban had been an obvious trap.
Bliss hadn't been satisfied with just sending mercenaries after them, and had tricked them into sneaking onto what might just be the worst planet to get captured on in the entire Sith empire. The promised payment, a long-lost Twi'lek relic, was too tempting for them. Bliss knew them too well, and their entire gang existed to steal Twi'lek relics and return them to their people. It should have been a simple job, but the Imps had been ready for them, warned ahead of time.
She had no idea if any of the others were even alive, as she highly doubted their employer actually had arranged for the promised shuttle to smuggle them off the planet. Taunt, Plasmajack, and Flash... they'd not gotten caught by the Imps with her, but that didn't mean they'd actually managed to escape Korriban.
This was her sixteenth time being arrested, but the collar around her neck was far more advanced than the usual methods used to restrain her, and she couldn't get it off without setting it off, which would be fatal for her. Even if she did get it off, she was still stranded on Korriban with no way off-planet, and a record with the Imps, who would be looking out for her if she fled.
The others wouldn't want to leave her in the hands of the Sith, but they weren't equipped to free her. Their little gang of treasure hunters was not quite as impressive as her previous gang, and Taunt was no Nok Drayen.
"So… I don't suppose you'd take the collar off if I pinky promise not to run?" Vette asked the man who she had been given to as a gift. The Sith Pureblood looked back toward her, blazing golden eyes staring at her as she shifted in place.
This wasn't her first time being a slave, either. She had been born into it, forced to work the mines of Ryloth before she'd been sold to a Rodian who used her as a serving girl, then traded to a Hutt and finally, a Gran Crime Lord, all before she was even ten. She'd been freed after the Gran had picked a fight with Nok Drayen and his pirates, dying for it. Drayen had freed her, and she'd joined his gang for a time before he'd vanished.
"You shouldn't be so eager to lose that collar," Sarik said, the Sith Acolyte giving her a long look. "It marks you as my property, and that keeps you safe. To be otherwise on Korriban would put you in a… difficult situation."
Basically, she was prey on a planet full of people who would kill her for fun.
"We have a long journey ahead of us; the path to the Tomb of Tulak Hord is a treacherous one," Sarik said, reaching into his robe as he pulled out a small blaster. "Take this; you may as well help fight off the various creatures that will seek to turn us into their next meal."
"Not scared I'll shoot you in the back?" Vette asked, taking the blaster into her hand, watching him pull out a holster from a bag he'd been carrying and pass it over. Giving a slave a weapon was certainly unusual.
"I almost expect you to; I'd have done the same to my former owner. But if I can be taken out so easily, then I don't deserve to call myself Sith," Sarik laughed, making her pause. His owner? "Feel free to try; it'll keep me on my toes, but know that punishment awaits you should you fail."
"You were a slave?" Vette asked, making him nod easily.
"I was born into it after my family was destroyed by our rivals. Once it became clear I was force-sensitive, I was freed and sent to the academy to begin my training," Sarik admitted. "I suspect this is another test from Lord Zash; give the former slave a slave of his own and see how he acts."
Huh, so even a Sith Pureblood could be born into slavery? It was nice to know that suffering was universal. She still didn't know what happened to her mother or sister after she was sold, never being able to track them down once she got free. She tried not to think about the fact that her mother never mentioned their father, given the circumstances.
Sarik started walking, and she was quick to follow behind, as she didn't want to be left alone in the middle of the Sith Academy. She saw the looks several of the acolytes gave her, but most of the attention was focused on Sarik himself. Whispers and looks of avarice sent his way. She knew something had happened, having heard the rumours from her cell of an acolyte doing something with a holocron that had even gained the Dark Council's attention, and she had a suspicion that that acolyte was her new master.
What did that mean for her? She had no idea. She'd never been owned by a Sith, and she couldn't deny that she was more worried about it than she had been any of her other masters. For one, she'd been too young to understand the wrongness of being owned by another person before, plus she hadn't started to develop a… feminine figure at that point. Three-Eyes, the Gran Crime Lord, was having her trained as a dancer, but she'd been too young for anything sexual (thankfully, his tastes didn't go that low), but now?
She knew she was attractive. She supposed she should be grateful that she'd been allowed to keep her own clothes. Twi'lek girls were often in high demand in brothels and as dancers or sex slaves. Sarik owned her, and if she hadn't been given to him, she was going to be sold to a brothel owned by some Sith on Dromund Kaas. Dromund Kaas was the one planet she wanted to be on less than Korriban, the seat of the Sith Empire itself.
After gathering some supplies for the trip, Sarik set out without delay, heading out into the wastes of Korriban without hesitation and a certain eagerness to his steps.
"So, erm, sir?" Vette started as they got far enough away from the academy, making his fast steps slow to a more casual pace as he turned to face her. "How is this going to go? No offence, but I've heard horror stories about slaves who ended up with a Sith master."
Sarik paused in his steps, turning his full attention to her.
"Your concerns are well-placed. Many of my kin would have already tortured you for your insolence, or because you didn't grovel enough or maybe simply because it entertained them to do so," Sarik admitted, his voice holding a certain weight as she remembered his own past. "There are as many types of Sith as there are stars in the sky, and I do not require grovelling. You are fortunate. Pain is a weapon, a tool, and often a necessity… but it is not a pleasure for me. I have no interest in torture for the sake of torture; I find my pleasures in other ways."
His eyes moved down her body for the briefest moment before returning to eye level. She forced herself not to respond, seeing interest in his gaze. He found her attractive, which didn't bode well for her.
"You are my slave, and I dislike my property being damaged for no reason. You will obey my orders, and any disobedience will cause you to be disciplined. You will keep my secrets, as my rivals will try to get you to spy on me or steal my knowledge with promises of freedom and wealth. You will not betray me or try to flee from my service, and any attempt to do either will be punished accordingly," Sarik said, laying down the ground rules. "I do not need you to grovel at my presence or flatter me with simpering words. If you do not invite punishment, you will not be punished."
It was far from perfect, but he wasn't wrong. She could have gotten a far worse master, considering the location.
"I have only one warning, for both our sakes. Do not disrespect me in front of other Sith. If you do so, and I do not punish you harshly for it, I will seem weak, and that bodes ill for us both," Sarik warned. "If I seem weak, people will challenge me. They may even try to take what is mine. If I die, I doubt you will outlive me for long."
If her master was respected, feared, then people wouldn't mess with her out of fear of gaining his wrath. If he seemed weak, she was easy pickings for anyone who wanted to get at Sarik.
She didn't respond as they continued their trek. They made slow progress, mostly because the wildlife of Korriban sucked, and several monstrous creatures with far too many legs tried to kill them.
She decided that Sarik's confidence in giving her a weapon might be well placed as she watched him unleash a blast of crackling green lightning from his fingertips, cackling to himself all the while.
He said something in a language she could not recognise, chittering words as he slammed his foot down upon the ground. The earth cracked beneath his feet, a fissure spreading out from his foot and sending one of the creatures plummeting into the abyss.
She didn't hesitate to join the fray, firing at the creatures, eager to show her new… master that she was useful, because she didn't want him to decide to find another use for her, and Sith weren't known for being willing to tolerate weakness.
– Sarik –
100cp granted.
The notification in the back of my mind almost distracts me from the battle, but I focus on the fight even as I make a mental note to try and work out what I did to gain these 'celestial points'.
Queekish words spill from my mouth as I call upon the Warp and unleash the empowered lightning from my fingertips, watching the eldritch green fly from my fingertips and strike the Shyrack that hoped to use the distraction of battle to grab an easy meal.
The large bat-like creature lets out a screech as I fry it, falling from the air. The rest of the swarm disperses, unwilling to test me. Shyracks are smart enough to have learnt that attacking a Sith is not going to end well for them, so a show of Force Lightning sends them flying away.
Vette puts her blaster back in its holster as the final K'lor'slug falls to several shots, looking around with a frown. I don't blame her. I don't like being out in the wilds of Korriban either. I swear Harkun picks the Tombs that are as far away from the Academy as possible for my trials.
[Mark of Tzeentch] - Free, 100cp remaining.
Either on your body or permanently upon your soul, Tzeentch leaves a mark of his claim on your service. The Mark of Tzeentch causes your intellect to swell massively, and you'll find that even the most difficult mental tasks are child's play to you. You can easily translate languages that are completely new to you with even a small amount of information on the language itself, and information that would threaten the sanity of a stern mind is easily accepted by you as a simple truth, nothing more. Lastly, you have the basic capacity to utilise the Winds of Magic, starting out as a decent sorcerer, although with time and training you may improve.
I hiss as I feel something burn into my flesh, which feels far too much like a mark of ownership. Still, I can't deny that my mind feels sharper as a result. My thoughts fly by faster, much faster.
Shaking my head, I gesture for Vette to follow behind me as we continue our trek. Vette is eager to show her worth, jumping into battle as she calls out several threats and fires with surprising skill. She's clearly handled a weapon from a young age, judging by her familiarity with blasters.
Small movements of her lekku and tiny facial movements tell me more about her mindset than her words ever could. I have seen a few Twi'leks before her, but my new enhanced mind reads her far too easily. Darth Atroxa is the only one I've seen on Korriban; the red-skinned Darth is one of the heads of the Academy. Besides that, the only Twi'leks I have seen have been other slaves.
Her nervousness is obvious to me, not that she hid it that well.
Reaching the tomb, I frown to myself. Tulak Hord, the Lord of Hate himself. Many have tried to plunder his tomb for the writings that were said to have been buried with him, but few have left alive.
Still, I need not rush in alone. Focusing for a moment, I raise my hand as I call upon the power of the Celestial Menagerie. Vette lets out a cry of surprise, drawing her blaster as a hundred small, green, insect-like creatures appear around us. On four spindly legs, the chitinous creatures gather as they stare up at me with beady black eyes.
The swarm of Rachni Workers looks to me for guidance, and with a thought, I send them into the tombs to scout for me.
"What- what was that?" Vette asks, making me smirk.
"My swarm, a side-effect of a relic I found. They will scout the tomb for me; their deaths mean nothing as I can simply summon them again after a short time," I explain, suspecting that this knowledge will get back to Lord Zash. If I were Lord Zash, I'd give me a slave and have them spy on me for my strange powers. Vette likely has orders to report on anything I do. Naturally, when I discover her betrayal, she will be punished.
Tuk'ata and Shyracks inhabit the tomb, lured by the dark side that emanates from the tomb even now, so long after Tulak Hord's death at the hands of his apprentice. I lose several of my workers, but they were designed for this and they explode upon death, unleashing a toxic burst that takes out several of the creatures that got too close to my scouts.
"So, err… you won't send me to my death to scout, right? I don't come back after a short time," Vette jokes, despite the nervousness I detect.
"I do not waste resources needlessly. The Rachni Workers are designed for this; they were made to be expendable," I explain, gesturing for her to follow. I can vaguely sense what my summons can see, and my enhanced intellect lets me map out the tomb from their movements. "You were caught looting the Tomb of Naga Sadow. Have you robbed many Sith tombs?"
"A few," Vette admits hesitantly.
"Good, your expertise will be useful. Watch for traps and ambushes. Prove you are worth keeping around," I order, blade drawn as I head into the tomb. "The Sith Lords are disinclined to give up their secrets, even after death. Tulak Hord has claimed countless acolytes after his death; I don't intend to be one of them."
"No kidding, I've seen what the ancient Sith traps can do," Vette agrees, focusing as we move forward. Tuk'ata try to make a meal of us, but we are not easy prey. I see one about to pounce on Vette but wait until the perfect moment. She spins, blaster firing at the lunging Sith hound, but as it is about to overwhelm her, I cast the spell I chittered under my breath.
Skitterleap. Vette vanishes in a burst of green smoke, appearing by my side.
"Focus, Vette. Do not let the Sith hounds surround you," I scold, despite having let her get into the position in the first place. Tzeentch smiles on such trickery, or so my memories of 'my time' as a Grey Seer tell me.
"R-right," Vette mumbles, a little disorientated, but then I did just pull her through the Warp itself.
Tulak Hord designed his tomb before his death. It was built to his precise specifications by those still loyal to him. The place is a maze made to hold his secrets. The Mark of Tzeentch lets me perfectly memorise our path, using the scouting of the Rachni Workers to build a mental map of the seemingly endless twisting catacombs.
Vette proves her worth as she notes several hidden passageways and secret switches. She's a natural at this, with years of experience in tomb robbing. I make sure to thank her when she proves herself useful because it costs nothing to be grateful, and it encourages her to continue to be useful to me.
Something kills one of my Rachni, making me stop in my tracks as I gesture for Vette to wait. It was slain by a training blade, much like the one on my back. Ah, an ambush. How cute.
"We have company, at least one other acolyte, but likely more," I warn, making her eyes widen as she turns back the way we came. "Fools. The hidden room you saw earlier, we shall hide in there and wait for them to pass."
The room has some minor artefacts that I claimed to sell later, but little else as it has already been looted. It shall serve as a good hideaway, from where we can ambush the ambushers as they pass by.
A single Rachni Worker hides itself in the shadows near the closed entrance to the room, acting as our lookout as I spot two acolytes heading down the corridor with six imperial soldiers following behind. Ah, Harkun really wants me dead, huh?
Fool-Coward.
Still, I could use all the edge I can get in this. Reaching into my robe, I pull out a small woven sack and untie it, looking at the green triangular tokens within, reaching down and picking one out. They feel powerful, but the power within the warpstones is not to be trifled with lightly…
So I take one and bite down on it, consuming the warpstone as my eyes gain a slight green glow, and I feel the Force course through my body.
These fools will suffer-regret trying to ambush me, yes-yes!
– Vette –
The smile on Sarik's lips as he hid the bag of strange rocks in his robes again was unnerving, but she waited as he whispered her orders to her. The ambushers were nearly upon them, and Sarik would use the Force to blast the hidden door right into them.
She was to fire at the soldiers, who had probably been paid off, while Sarik attacked the two acolytes. He counted down with his fingers, a savage smile on his lips and a strange glow in his eyes before he closed his final finger.
Pushing his hand out, a wave of raw force left him and struck the ancient stone door, causing it to burst and send rubble towards the men right outside. One of them let out a cry, but Sarik was already on top of them as he vanished into a puff of green smoke and reappeared behind them, not wasting time.
Before they could recover from the door blasting into them, Sarik stabbed his training blade clean through their stomach, cackling as he did so. She didn't hesitate, not wanting to be on the losing side, as she opened fire and hit one of the soldiers in the chest with several shots.
Something caught her eye as Sarik spoke in that strange language again. With a cackle, he opened his mouth and shrieked something, and a foul green mist came from his lips and into the face of the other acolyte, making the man back away, coughing.
Extracting his blade, Sarik ducked just in time for a desperate blaster shot to go clean over his head, dashing forward and slicing the trooper's throat as he unleashed that green lightning with his other hand, hitting another.
The other two troopers fired at her, but she took cover behind the stone tomb of one of Tulak Hord's servants, peeking out and firing a couple of shots which hit one of them on their helmet. They survived the first but not the second.
The second acolyte was hunched over, coughing desperately as Sarik leapt for the final trooper, laughing as he knocked the trooper's blaster rifle away and slashed his blade into the man's armour.
"This is the best Harkun can send after me?" Sarik laughed, kicking the acolyte over onto his back as the man heaved, her eyes widening. Large, putrid boils had grown on the acolyte's face, and he seemed to be having trouble breathing as Sarik stared down at him. "Rot-decay, scum."
He chittered again, holding out his hand as the acolyte began to scream. She could see nothing attacking the man, but his flesh was being torn away, and she realised that it looked like he was being bitten by thousands of tiny mouths as Sarik just turned and walked away, leaving the man in agony.
Hesitating, she raised her blaster and put a single shot through his head, making Sarik's head snap towards her. His hand raised slightly, lightning sparking from his fingers before he took a deep breath.
"You would grant him the mercy he would not have given you?" Sarik asked, his voice returning from the higher pitch of that chittering language to his smoother, deeper tones. "Even after I decided to leave him to suffer?"
"You said you had no interest in torture for the sake of torture. I didn't want to leave someone suffering or behind us to become a problem later, especially not when you Sith get stronger from negative emotions, right?" Vette countered, head held high as Sarik's eyes narrowed, still glowing slightly with that unnatural green light.
He went to speak before he took a deep breath, blinking away the glow.
"A fair point," Sarik admitted. "It was foolish to leave him alive, as weak as he was. You were right, this time. But make no mistake, there will be times when I will need to torture people, and if you interrupt, you will take their place," Sarik swore, making her nod nervously. "Let's go. The sooner we get the writings of Tulak Hord, the sooner we can get out of this damned place."
That, they could agree on. Even the air here felt foul, and the sooner they were out, the better.
Aside from more Sith hounds and some Shyracks, they had little problem getting deeper into the tomb. Between them both, working out the mechanisms to unlock the final resting place was not difficult. Sarik was smart; that much was clear.
Reaching the location of the tablets that were said to hold the writings of Tulak Hord, the reason they were in this damned place, she watched Sarik stroke his chin as he took everything in. She'd asked him a lot of questions while they were on their way here, and he was oddly open to her inquiries as long as she wasn't prying for his secrets.
She kept watch as he gathered the knowledge that Lord Zash wanted, uninterested in the secrets of a long-dead Sith.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before Sarik had what they needed, and they were on their way out of this maze-like tomb. Sarik retraced their own steps perfectly despite having left no markings to guide them out.
Still, his little display with the acolytes made her sure of one thing. Sarik may be more reasonable than most Sith, but he had the same darkness in him, and she was eager to avoid having that rage aimed at her.
– Sarik – Later –
Leaving Harkun's office, I smile at his frustration with my continued survival.
We're approaching the final trial, where one of us will be chosen to become Lord Zash's apprentice. Despite Harkun's best efforts, I've survived this far. I could see the hatred in his eyes as I handed over the tablets, but even he would not sabotage me by destroying them. Lord Zash wants them, and she'd know if he did something that crude.
Feats Achieved: Recruit Vette, 100cp. Retrieve the writings of Tulak Hord, 100cp. 200cp granted. 300cp total.
[What The Hell Is This?] - 200cp, 100cp remaining
It shouldn't be possible, but here you are! You have a knack for passing beneath the notice of those around you. While this perk does enhance your ability to sneak around, its real power is against supernatural forms of detection. Divination spells or strange spider senses will find no purchase on you should you wish to remain hidden. Even the precognition of divine beings will fall short, letting you pass undetected. And unlike Ascended Ultron, you don't have to become the most powerful being in the multiverse to do it.
For a moment, I find myself confused by the strange terminology before it hits me. This would hide me from the battle precognition that so many Sith and Jedi rely on. Maybe not entirely, but enough to give me an edge against any Force-user.
[Slavemaster's Daughter] - 100cp, 0cp remaining
A particularly nasty kind of whip. Nine ropes are attached to a sturdy, comfortable to grip handle, and each rope has a heady, barbed lead weight attached to the end. The whip seems to almost come alive in your hands; it is eager to punish and split open anyone who angers you. It'd never harm you, seeming to have a sort of affection for you that you can feel when you hold it, and it unerringly seeks out the tenderest spots on those you strike with it. Any slave struck with this would be very unlikely indeed to risk another stroke.
Well, I hope for Vette's sake that she truly isn't spying on me for Lord Zash. Either way, sometimes skavenslaves need a beating to keep them in line, yes-yes. As I said to Vette, there will be people I will need to interrogate or punish, and having a special tool for such things could be useful.
"You're back? Harkun said you'd almost certainly die out there," a voice says, making me turn. A shorter human girl looks up at me with soft green eyes; her red hair is cut short, and some light scarring on the side of her face. Kory gives me a nervous look, making me snort.
"Harkun has said that I'd die at every trial so far, and I do love proving him wrong," I say with a cocky smirk. "But you didn't come to talk about Harkun, did you?"
She jumps slightly at my words. I can almost taste her fear through the force.
"I- no, damnit. The final trial is starting soon, and we all know it's not going to be me who gets picked. It's going to be you or Ffon," Kory says with a self-deprecating smile. "Ffon has had Harkun's favour since day one, and since you went on that trial, you've had the attention of Lord Zash. They say that even the Dark Council is interested in you since you found that Holocron."
"Perhaps, but they say a lot. Lord Zash is interested in the Holocron, and since I absorbed it, she's interested in me as well. I've never spoken to anyone from the Dark Council, something I'm thankful for. I'm not strong enough for that kind of attention. I don't think any of us are," I admit, with a frown on my face. Zash said the Emperor himself was interested in what happened to me. That scares me far more than Ffon and Harkun ever will. "You want something. Speak."
She jumps again, but I'm not surprised she's nervous. Harkun hates her almost as much as he hates me since we're both former slaves who were freed due to being force-sensitive. He's made it clear that if she fails and isn't picked by Zash, he intends to kill her.
"I- I'm going to die, either in or after the final trial. I'm not cut out for this. I can't beat Ffon or you in duels; you're both stronger in the force than me; there's no way Lord Zash will pick me. Can you talk to her? Get me out of this competition, transferred away from Harkun?" Kory asks, desperation clear in her tone.
"You think I'm in a position to request anything of a Sith Lord?" I ask, making her nod hesitantly.
"A better position than me. The Academy doesn't allow drop-outs, you know that, but I can be useful to the Empire elsewhere. When I'm not chosen, Harkun will kill me," Kory says, and as I go to speak, she moves forward. Placing a kiss on my lips, she pulls back with a hopeful and desperate look. "Please, say you'll talk to her, and I'll visit your room tonight. I'd be very grateful, and I'd be deep in your debt. I'll do anything. I don't want to die here and have my body tossed out for the Tuk'ata."
Her fear is real, but beneath it, I can sense a hint of deception. She's planning something, so the question is what to do about her? Vette watches us silently, a curious look on her face.
— Quest Section — VOTING CONCLUDED
Should Sarik accept Kory's offer?
Agree to speak to Lord Zash, both for the reward and because fuck Harkun.
Agree, but don't bother after Kory spends the night.
Disagree. This is a trap.
Should Vette ask Sarik to see if her friends got captured?
Yes. If they were captured, they could be in serious trouble.
Not Yet. They might still be hiding, and that would give up their existence.
No. Trust that they escaped.
Author's Note: Chaos itself keeps reaching into my fics through the celestial grimoire. Kory dies basically immediately in the game, but fate (author bullshit) kept her alive longer this time.
Written: 20/09/2024
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Quest: The Celestial Inquisitor Ch03-07
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