CHAPTER FIVE
Night had fallen on the city of Dreshdae when Jaden Korr landed his starfighter, the Far Wanderer, at the spaceport. Waiting for him there was Zarin Kal, and the two Jedi then set off to begin their investigation.
"If this guy is targeting Sith relics, then maybe he's also gone to the tombs in the Valley of the Dark Lords," Jaden suggested.
"Yeah, but they've all been plundered," Zarin replied. "There's nothing of interest in there anymore, unless he likes checking out dead bodies."
"Maybe there's something we missed and he knows about it."
Zarin scoffed. "Like what? Palpatine's pedicure set?"
Jaden chuckled. "Maybe it's not necessarily a relic, but a tomb no one could find or didn't know about."
"Yeah, that makes this mission a whole lot easier."
Jaden smirked. "No one ever said it would be easy."
The Kiffar Jedi sighed, looking around the mildly-populated city of Dreshdae. "We could have at least brought a probe droid along. Maybe they sell some here."
"You know, Zarin, there's this brilliant thing called the Force and it-"
"Jaden, if there is indeed a tomb no one knew about over the course of at least five thousand years, then maybe it's hidden from the Force as well."
"So you think a droid could do better?"
"Well," Zarin said with a smirk. "We could have it check for terentateks."
* * *
Sal Tyrius, curator of the Diamond Chest on Arkania, hummed to himself as he dusted off one of the valuable artifacts he kept in his store. In a few hours it would be time to open up shop; he could just smell the credits of people eager to buy from him, His fortune would make even the House of Adasca envious if any of them were still around today.
The moment he had finished dusting the relic, he heard a cold voice speak from behind him.
"I have the amulet."
The Arkanian curator smirked and turned his white eyes on the young human male standing at the counter near the entrance. "Wonderful," Tyrius said. "I'm not sure how you managed it, but wonderful."
"Remember our deal," Varon Krul hissed.
"Now, now," Tyrius admonished. "First I must check if it's authentic."
"You cannot fake a Sith amulet."
Tyrius raised an eyebrow, smiling mirthlessly. "Yes, but is it indeed specifically Vorak Zal's amulet? That right there is the question."
Krul frowned while the curator brought out a magnifying lens to study the amulet. "How do you know so much about the Sith?"
"I've long studied the writings of Ingo Wavlud and Murk Lundi," Tyrius replied. "I may not be what you'd call Force-sensitive, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't interested in the Sith."
Krul seemed skeptical of this statement but did not voice his doubt. Instead, he said, "So, is it...?"
"Well, it's certainly old enough to have been in Vorak Zal's possession; at least over six thousand years." Setting the amulet down, the Arkanian grinned. "I'd say it's legit."
"Excellent. Now the holocron."
Tyrius sighed. "Right, right."
He snapped his fingers and a LEP servant droid waddled into the room, carrying a red-glowing pyramidal object. Krul used the Force to summon the holocron into his hands, regarding it with savage glee.
"I trust you are satisfied?" Tyrius said sardonically.
"We shall see," Krul said icily before turning on his heels and striding out of the shop.
* * *
"Probe droid, eh?" The Aqualish merchant clicked her tusks. "I've got an old Viper probot with a cracked lens. Or would a Mark Four Sentry suffice?"
"Whatever you've got, as long as it's efficient," Zarin said.
"Guess the probot's out of the question," the Aqualish chuckled. She reached behind the counter and brought out a small, round droid colored in black and white. After checking to see it was functional, Zarin paid for the droid and walked out of the shop with it to meet up with Jaden.
The two Jedi and their droid then made their way out of Dreshdae and into the desert that was the Valley of the Dark Lords. Trudging through the sand, Jaden scanned with the Force, searching for a Sith tomb that wasn't Marka Ragnos' or Tulak Hord's. When he found nothing, he turned to Zarin, who was holding the sentry droid in his arms, waving it outwards like a scanning device.
Smirking at the somewhat comical scene, Jaden said, "Any luck with that thing?"
"No," Zarin grunted. "And whatever you do, don't go all 'I-was-right-you-were-wrong' on me. I bet you haven't found anything with the Force either."
"I'm afraid not, so I guest that makes us-"
Suddenly, Jaden stopped dead in his tracks. A cold wind passed over the back of his neck. Intuitively, he turned his head to a storm of sand and dust gathering near a temple- a relatively small one compared to the grandiose palaces dedicated to Marka Ragnos and the like.
Following his gaze, Zarin asked, "Is that it? How did you find it?"
"I don't know," Jaden replied. "But let's check it out."
The duo cautiously made their way towards the temple, unhooking their lightsaber hilts from their belts for good measure. The doors leading into the tomb had been left ajar, giving Jaden the feeling that someone else had visited it before; no doubt the person whom they were pursuing.
As they entered the tomb, a raspy voice instantly hissed out in warning. "Ur-kaa!"
Zarin grimaced, dropping the sentry droid and igniting his emerald lightsaber blade. "Great. Just like the creepy voice on Begeren."
"So you are the ones pursuing my comrade," the voice said, now speaking in Basic. A scarlet blade pierced the darkness of the tomb. "Then you are the ones I must eliminate."
Jaden frowned as he activated his own lightsaber, which had a green glow like Zarin's. "I suppose talking this out is out of the question."
"My intent was to kill you, and so I shall." The assailant stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself to be an orange-skinned Quarren in black robes. His shimmering blue eyes were narrowed into silts and the mass of tentacles near his fanged mouth quivered slightly.
"So what are you, exactly?" Zarin asked. "Dark Jedi? Sith?"
"I am Prodd," the Quarren hissed. "I am your destroyer."
With that, the dark warrior charged and the two Jedi lunged into battle.
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