Fear check: 3eA+3eD+2eS 1 failure, 1 advantage

The dark threatens Kovin, pressing in around him like icy water, threatening to drown him in fear. Only the soft purring and warm fur of the tusk cat beneath him holds him steady, grounding him to the here and now.

Xan lights his lightsaber. "Do not let your fear overcome you," he reminds the others. "Let it pass through you. Acknowledge it, understand it is based off nothing tangible at this point, and take a deep breath and clear your mind. We have already faced many dangers and survived, as we will with whatever lies down here."

He glanced at his datapad. "This is where we're supposed to be," he says, "and if there is danger down here, then it will find us sooner or later. No sense in wasting time." He points down the hallway that Maya indicated her master was concerned about. "I say we go that way and get it over with."

Fear: 3eA+1eP+2eD+2eS 0 successes

For a moment, Xan was back in the Crucible of Obedience, an unconscious Bhaela draped over his shoulder, tired and wounded from his battles against the droids who had tried to stop him from escaping that hellish place. And then, at the very end, his Sith jailor revealed herself. But she did not attack him, no...

Because her words were her weapons. They were never going to make you a Knight, she said. For all your strength with the Force, prowess with a lightsaber...you lacked the one thing the Jedi considered crucial to a Knight--humility. You were too proud, too angry, too sure of yourself...they tried to change you by assigning you to Master Cathos, but even he decided in the end you were not worthy of becoming a Jedi. How sad...how so, so sad...you spent all these years fighting for an order that was going to reject you...

Sith trickery, he growled at her.

Oh no, no, no, she said...I never use lies when the truth is so much more effective...and then she showed him the datapad the Sith had taken from Master Cathos's belongings after they killed him. There was a draft of a letter on it, one his master was going to send to the Jedi Council, one which said...exactly what the Sith had told him. He did not have the restraint or calmness of spirit necessary to become a Knight. His master said he should not be allowed to take the trials for Knighthood...that he should be expelled...because in spite of all his raw talent, Master Cathos did not believe they could make a Knight out of him...and what were his exact words, again? Of course Xan could remember--he would never forget them, burned into his memory as they were...

"I realize that by advocating for such a drastic course of action against such a talented yet prideful student we risk sending him over to the dark side, but if his destiny is to become a Sith anyway, I do not see why we should train him first..."

"No, no Knighthood for you, for you are no Jedi...but what a fine Sith you might make...," she said.

Lies! He threw the datapad at her...it shattered into a million pieces. I will leave this place, and you cannot stop me!

And she stepped aside, shrugged and...opened the hatch in the west wall, which led to a...hangar? With ships ready to go? Go, she said, seemingly utterly disinterested in continuing the conversation.

And he stood there, unmoving, unable to process what had just happened. He had fully expected to die here, a Jedi prisoner outnumbered by his Sith foes, and yet she seemed to have no interest in fighting him--or even restraining him. It unsettled him far more than it would have had she hurled force lightning at him...

Why? Why was she letting them go?

She knew what he was thinking. She gave him one last look, and said, "I do not need to stop you because you will come back, of your own volition. When you realize the truth, you will come back...to where you belong."

And then she ignored him...and he left, his mind whipped into a storm...

Xan stood unmoving before the hallway into darkness. He could not tell if this passage led somewhere, or was simply a vision, a metaphor for the darkness that lay within his own mind...

Switching his glow rod on, leaving his lightsaber unignited for the moment, Jonas sheds some light into the darkness. Still, like most of the others, he too is caught off guard by the door closing all of a sudden. But what is more, he feels Kovin's fear. Finding the young Togruta he puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder, reminding him that he is not alone. That he is surrounded by allies. By friends.

feelin scared: 1eA+1eP+2eD+2eS 2 failures, 2 advantage

Firan stands quiet, all expression hidden under an imposing helmet. But within a cold sweat collects on his brow. This was not a planet he was familiar with, and the presence of the force, an entity he was especially not familiar with, made every little danger and conundrum that much more exotic and alien. He knew how to fight, and how to survive, but not on these terms.

"Kovin," Jonas says, his hand still on the young man's shoulder, "we are here. You are not alone."

As he speaks, he too feels the darkness pushing down on him. Still, even though he strains against it, he does not break, he does not panic. "Light and darkness are often different sides of the same coin. And in this case? In the case of literal darkness? It is the absence of light that makes it all seem more threatening. But there is nothing more here than what was when the door was still open." The Jedi holds his glow rod in his left hand and illuminates the way forward. And then he finally ignites his lightsaber.

"And even if there is? Well, we have these," he adds with a chuckle. "They tend to do the trick when needed."

"That they do," he chuckles. "I've got to see about getting myself one of those," he considers the paths ahead. "So which way do we go?"

Fear continued to swell within Maya.

Unbidden, thoughts of being left on this planet alone began to fester. When their work was done. Would the Jedi take Kovin and leave her hear? She felt sick, and try as she might to brush the feeling aside, the dark thoughts continued to dwell.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Jonas' speech. But his words did little to comfort her.

I don't know. Maybe left? she shrugged. All 3 paths were just as unknown to them.

The Sith's words became clearer now...the memory growing in strength.

"The Jedi tell lies," she said to him. She was Zabrak, like him, but instead of the traditional facial tattoos borne by most of their kind hers had been altered to Sith designs, making her expression harsh and sinister. Suddenly, he remembered where he had seen her before; she had been a newly-promoted Knight on Coruscant when he had first arrived there, a Revanchist who soon afterwards had defied the Order to go fight the Mandalorians.

"They tell you your pride and anger are weaknesses, critical flaws that make you unworthy of their Order, unworthy of being trained. Those are not weaknesses; those are strengths that, when you learn to embrace them, will allow you to become strong, strong enough to take by right the respect you are due."

"But you are a weak, pathetic thing; in spite of all the scorn and rejection you have received, you still meekly bow your head and kowtow to the teachings of so-called 'Masters' who are long dead..."

"But perhaps, having been so broken, you can be rebuilt... and what I have just told you will crack your resolve even more, I suspect. And when you break completely, yes...perhaps then, you will be ready..."

Xan could not remember in that moment if she had actually said those things to him...or if he was just hearing them for the first time now...

He slowly pointed to the passage he had indicated before. "We go that way...and get this over with," he said, with a confidence he did not feel.

He could still feel her eyes on him.

Shakily, Maya adjusted her pack. Sounds good to me. And with that, she began to head in the direction Xan had indicated - careful to stay within the light.

Seifer nods and pulls his lightsaber off its place on is belt and ignites it, hoping the light from its blade would help dispel the pall of fear that had settled over the group. Unfortunately, the pale blue blade seemed to cast a cold light that did nothing to alleviate the mood.

"One way is as good as any other in the dark like this. I suppose I agree, left it is."

Xan ignited his blade as well.

The heroes made their way down the left passage. The darkness pressed in hard against the shimmering blades and the twin beams of the glowrods. It seemed almost tangible, yet imperceivable, hanging in invisible curtains and wispy tendrils. The walls were made of the same stone as the entrance, but they were much closer here, and the stale smell from the large hall was growing stronger. The high ceiling did nothing to dissipate the clinging, claustrophobic feeling that constantly threatened to engulf the party.

Thoughts swirled around in each mind like bats flitting around in unseen corridors. Did they wish to attempt to remain vigilant, prepared for anything? Did they want to actively search for trouble, or increase the awareness of their surroundings? Did they want to rouse the spirits of their companions?

You have the time now to perform a single skill check of your choice, as a response to the Fear check and your current situation. How do you behave, be it more of a passive thing or an active thing, in this situation? What you do is entirely up to you, but I'd like you to narrate first, then suggest a skill to complete the narration.

Seifer was lost in thought trying to remember anything he could about Tython or their situation. If only he had paid more attention in his lessons...

I'd like to make a Knowledge check, whatever you think would best apply since all my Knowledge Skills are equal. I'm leaning towards Lore.

I'd like to make a Knowledge check, whatever you think would best apply since all my Knowledge Skills are equal. I'm leaning towards Lore.

Great! Please make an Average () Knowledge check, with a Boost die since you did know that you were coming here.

Also don't forget the automatic Setback die to your checks because of Fear!

Kovin looked about him as he moved down the tunnel. Perhaps a greater perception of his surroundings would be helpful, to allow him to understand the environment and to recognise if any threats lay ahead.

Are these all using the same difficulty? What would be the difficulty for a Perception check?

How about a vigilance roll for Maya to remember her fusion lantern?

How about a vigilance roll for Maya to remember her fusion lantern?

How delightfully twisted...roll a Simple (-) Vigilance check, if you please. Success will determine if you remember it. Advantage can be spent to allow others to remember it

Kovin looked about him as he moved down the tunnel. Perhaps a greater perception of his surroundings would be helpful, to allow him to understand the environment and to recognise if any threats lay ahead.

Are these all using the same difficulty? What would be the difficulty for a Perception check?

You can make an Easy () Perception check. Normally you'd have 3 Setbacks from the darkness, but each glowrod in the party removes 1 setback. If Maya breaks out her fusion lantern, you can remove the darkness setbacks altogether. Also you are now not suffering from fear, thanks to your Jedi friend, so you are able to be a bit more bold in your search.

Degree of Success will determine how much you are able to perceive. Because (metanarratively, just so you yourself knows it) there are indeed threats to your safety down here!

The young Togruta tugged worriedly on her head-tail. Despite the glowrods and lightsabers, the darkness seemed to grow ever thicker. If there was more light, she may be of better help, or at least better spirits.

Maya: 2eP+1eA+1eS 1 success, 3 advantage

Of course! how could she have been so stupid. Reaching into her pack, she pulled out a standard fusion lantern, It was a smaller model, designed to fit in most standard crash kits.

She turned a nob and the area around her grew bright. She beamed as brightly as the light. Relief washed over her.

With those three advantages, I would like to recover 3 strain.

Perception check: 1eP+2eA+1eD 2 successes

Kovin peers into the dark, looking to see what lies ahead.

Kovin! What do your Togruta-eyes see?

...sorry, I simply could not help myself...