The forest only became darker after the bridge. Anakin saw the wood beasts farther off of the trail, stalking them, waiting for a moment to strike. The hate emanating from the animals gave his brain a prickly feeling. It was like the feeling he got whenever Watto would come back from a bad game of sabacc or the races. A roar echoed out from deeper in the forest, shaking some acorns and dead leaves off the branches overhead.
The path that they were walking on was slowly being absorbed by the life around it. Tree roots snaked in and out of the packed ground and sprouts of grass sprung up on the edges of the trail. In the distance, Anakin could see a dilapidated wooden sign standing in the middle of a fork in the path.
One way went to a deeper, darker part of the forest while the other looked like it looped around to the edge of the forest. Obi-Wan caught the wood wolves stopping behind them, then carefully backing away.
Obi-Wan stroked his beard. “Well, that’s never a good sign.”
“What isn’t?” Anakin asked, turning his head but still walking forward to the signpost.
“Those beasts just ran away,” Obi-Wan replied.
“And that’s bad because…?"
“In my travels with Qui-Gon, I learned that animals usually have good sense of where is safe and where isn’t.”
“Huh. Is the Force leading us into the rancor’s den?”
“It would seem so,” Obi-Wan said.
Obi-Wan let Anakin take the lead; he could feel the Force gather around his student, it eddied and flowed like a great river of life energy through him and around him. As Obi-Wan followed, he could sense Anakin slip deeper into the Force as it guided him. Anakin's emotions poured into the Force. He could feel Anakin’s eagerness to move on with the mission, the longing to return to the Jedi Temple and his friends, and the love he felt for his mother, Shmi.
“Master, I can feel the Dark side up ahead. This is what the Force has been guiding us to, hasn’t it?”
“Yes, I believe so. Tell me what else do you sense?”
“I sense a being full of... sadness and... pain and... and anger,” Anakin replied.
“I feel that one of the trials the Force has given us on this planet is confronting this poor soul, do you feel it also?”
Obi-wan felt Anakin draw on the Force once more to determine it’s will.
“I do, but it’s one of many trials.”
“Indeed, and we’ll confront them together,” Obi-wan replied as a father would to a son.
“Absolutely!” said Anakin with a goofy, lopsided grin.
After walking through the forest for the next thirty minutes in a comfortable silence, the two Jedi broke into a clearing that held a dilapidated shack with a tree growing out of it.
The shack was a simple wood structure; one of it’s two windows was broken, the door was hanging off its hinges, and shingles had fallen off in clumps which revealed a large hole in the ceiling. The tree was another matter entirely; it was three times as wide as a normal tree and it towered over everything nearby. Large and gnarled, the tree bent and was twisted in a way no normal tree should have grown. Obi-wan knew why it had grown this way; it had developed in the presence of a large Dark side Force nexus.
“It seems like we found our trial, Master. A broken down shack and a funky tree. A real test,” Anakin scoffed. He walked over to the shack and poked his head through the doorway, “What are we supposed to do? Fight the house?”
“There is more to this place than meets the eye, keep your wits about you Anakin,” Obi-Wan said as he walked over to inspect the tree.
“Yeah, yeah. I know,” Anakin said as he stepped into the house, “I just don’t think this place has anything special about it,” he muttered.
Anakin inspected the house from a step inside the door frame. There was a bed in the far right corner next to a bookshelf, although the books looked like decomposed piles of matter and the bed had the appearance of being home for vermin. There was a kitchen with a wood stove, sink and a table with a single chair. A small fireplace in the back middle of the room ashes were spilling out, making small tornadoes with the flow of the wind. Anakin focused himself and reached out with the Force. He felt a large, chilling Force presence beneath him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
Click!
“Oh, bantha poo-” Anakin managed to partly curse as a floor panel fell out from underneath him.
“Don’t swear Anakin, it’s unbecoming of a Jedi,” there was no response. “Anakin?” Obi-wan walked over to the shack and saw the hole in the floor, the stale air whistled out of the tunnel; the air smelled of death and decay.
“Oh, what a wonderful smell he’s discovered,” Obi-Wan groaned
He looked into the hole, gathered the Force and leaped in, robes billowing as he fell.
Obi-Wan guided his fall using the Force and landed gracefully at the bottom of hole. He looked up and saw that the panel was closing itself. As soon as the hole closed it became so dark that Obi-wan couldn’t see his own hand in front of him.
He pulled his lightsaber off his belt and pressed the ignition trigger. A green blade sprang up with a familiar snap-hiss. It was his old master's, Qui-Gon’s, blade. After losing his lightsaber on Naboo to a red, tattoed Zabrak sith, Obi-wan used his own masters’ blade to kill the sith and he's kept it ever since.
The lightsaber cast a pale green glow across the chamber, and Obi-wan looked around. There were piles of bones lining the floor of the chamber, most likely the quadrupeds he and Anakin saw earlier or of the various animals that inhabited the forest.
Obi-wan looked closely at the bones and saw tiny bite marks on all of them. Wondering what kind of animal could do this, Obi-wan started looking for Anakin. He held his lightsaber over his head with the hope that it would help him see farther. Obi-wan found a tunnel leading out of the chamber; he saw boot prints in the dirt on the floor and deduced that it was probably Anakin. The tunnel led to another small chamber that showed many other tunnels that led into multiple of directions. Obi-wan opened himself into the Force and reached for Anakin. As soon as he opened up, the power of the Dark side hit him like a wall. The intensity of it made him feel like he was trapped in a burning building full of smoke but instead of fire, it was a cold malice.
Obi-wan attempted to search for Anakin, but all he could feel was the oppressing darkness. Off in the distance Obi-wan felt a brilliant spark of light in the darkness and honed in on it. Walking briskly, the Jedi Knight passed dozens upon dozens of tunnels which would, undoubtedly, keep him wandering for days to come, but Obi-wan passed them by without a second glance.
At the end of the tunnel he found a large iron door, and could feel his padawan on the other side battling with a storm of his own emotions. Obi-wan attempted to open the door but it didn't budge. A quick look confirmed that it was rusted shut. He plunged his lightsaber into the iron, instantly letting out an ear piercing screech and hiss as the burning plasma of the blade cut a red-hot square.
The makeshift portal fell through to the other side with a loud clang that reverberated and echoed throughout the corridor. Being very careful not to touch the superheated edges of metal, Obi-wan stepped through. Obi-wan found his student inspecting a tapestry on the wall of a treasure room using his own blue lightsaber for light. He quietly walked over to his Padawan and draped his arm around his shoulders. Anakin was deep in thought, contemplating the pictures on the tapestry.
The tapestry depicted a starship shaped object crashing into a town of the quadrupeds, obliterating it. Two figures crawled out, surrounded in dark auras, holding red lightsabers. Blades looked ancient, using power packs attached to their hips to power their lightsabers. It continued on to show the two ancient Sith, Obi-wan assumed, enslaving the quadrupeds; making them build massive monuments to the Sith. One of the Sith was holding beakers then disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and reappeared as a mangled mismatch of animals. It then proceeded to disrupt the natural order of the world with the Force. Then two larger Quadrupeds appeared in a halo of golden light and defeated the mismatched monster and remaining Sith. The Sith ran away into a new forest that was growing and waited out the rest of his days.
“Master... What does all of this mean?” asked Anakin, still trying to absorb all of the information that had just been unearthed.
“We have stumbled upon a mystery that would most likely be better left hidden. But we must follow through, as the Force wills. It is only in the unknown where we can discover who we truly are,” Obi-wan replied.
Obi-wan felt the Force tug him along into a new corridor, Anakin felt the pull as well and let his Master take the lead. Obi-wan kept his senses tuned to any discrepancies in the quiet hallway. The corridor led out into a crumbling throne room, where the Sith that ran away sat on a grandiose throne. He looked as if he hadn’t aged a day, with a bald head, swirling black tattoos that covered his pale skin, and yellow eyes that stared blankly off into the distance. Obi-wan and Anakin took defensive stances, ready to cover each others weak spots. Anakin reached out with the Force and touched the Ancient Sith.
“Master, I think he’s... dead,” he said warily.
Obi-wan searched the supposed corpse for any indication that he was alive, there was none. There was, however, a pyramid clasped in his left hand. Obi-wan tipped his head to the sith and Anakin nodded. They moved side to side up to the throne ready for any surprises. Obi-wan pulled the Pyramid out of the death-grip the corpse had on it. Obi-wan stowed the Pyramid in his cloak and backed away slowly. The Jedi were about to leave the way they came when they heard some rustling behind them.
The corpse had stood up, was pointing to the Jedi and wheezed out the last breath it had ever took, “You... Will die.”
The Sith proceeded to age countless years in a few seconds, collapsing into dust and floated with the small air current of the tunnel. Secret panels in the walls and ceilings slid away revealing sinister, foreboding darkness. Chittering, scratching sounds echoed out of the wall holes.
“Run,” said Obi-wan and Anakin simultaneously, and took off down the opposite hallway.
The cobwebs were thicker in this hallway. As the two Jedi broke through each barrier of silk it stuck to them, covering their cloaks in the material and matting their hair. Even with the bothersome webs, Obi-Wan and Anakin were barely even slowed down. With every step more panels opened in the walls. Obi-Wan didn't stop to inspect them, but he knew that they could only contain more of what was chasing them. The hallway stopped and split into two different directions. Obi-Wan decided to trust his instincts, feeling that a right was the correct way.
"Anakin! Right!" Obi-Wan's voice strained a little with exertion. He heard a shout of agreement behind him as the split neared.
As the corner came up Obi-Wan grabbed it, his fingers grinding against the rough stone. He could feel the calluses skin tear and break. The grab worked though as he swung around the corner at full speed. Obi-Wan spared a quick look behind to check on Anakin, who had ran halfway up the wall and sprung off with one leg. He landed on his other leg an wobbled slightly but quickly found his balance again when he used a small push of the Force.
This hallway was long and dark but at the end Obi-Wan could see a tiny sliver of light cutting through the darkness.
“Let’s go!” Obi-Wan called back.
The chittering behind them had grown so large and loud that it made it hard to even think. The Jedi were more than three-fourths of the way there. Obi-Wan outstretched a hand and pushed with the Force, throwing open what ended up being a dilapidated wooden door. Light flooded in, illuminating the hallway past the running Jedi. Whatever was behind them screeched, an ear splitting sound that gave Obi-Wan a headache. The chittering sound had stopped following them. Now the only sound that echoed throughout the corridor was running boots.
Obi-Wan shot out of the hallway and into fresh air. He waited until Anakin exited as well and closed the wooden door. Almost immediately, dozens of something scratched all over the closed door.
"Come, Anakin. I believe that it would be better to leave."
"Agreed," Anakin nodded. "What were those things?"
"I have no idea," Obi-Wan stroked his beard. "But they sounded like something we should look out for."
Anakin hummed in agreement. He looked up to see a hole in the high walls of a massive stone pillar that surrounded them. A single pillar of light shown down through an arrow slit directly on the door. Anakin could see the sun through it and it looked like it was starting to set.
Obi-Wan found another door just around the side of the pillar and motioned Anakin to move forward. He stepped through the door and was greeted by the sight of a large throne room that was currently in a state of decay. The ceiling had large holes all over giving it the appearance of Swiss cheese. Tattered tapestries hung precariously on the walls and the stone bricks all around we're coated in a thin grime and were spotted with mold and lichen.
Anakin closed the door behind him. Obi-Wan could see a sturdy looking plank of wood on the ground near them. He picked it up and propped it against the handle of the door. A quick tug on the handle confirmed that it was wedged. Half rotted pews were strewn randomly around the room, one however, was still in good enough condition to sit on. Obi-wan sat down on the pew and motioned for Anakin to come over. The young padawan sank into the hardwood, practically melting into the contours of the pew while breathing out an exhausted sigh.
“What a day,” Anakin stretched. The kind of full body stretch someone did when they needed to work out all of the kinks in their joints. “How about we head back to the ship, maybe wait fruitlessly for a reply from the temple.”
The corners of Obi-Wan’s mouth tugged into a smile. “Sounds like an amazing plan.”
Obi-Wan heaved himself up from the pew and started walking towards the back of the room, where a large archway, whose doors had long since rotted away, led to the outdoors. Anakin followed close on his heels. Obi-Wan could feel his student’s curiosity bubbling, threatening to break loose.
“So,” Anakin drew out the vowel, a little bit of excitement painting his face. “Master, what was that pyramid you grabbed and how did that Sith come back to life?” He asked quickly, the questions babbled out like they were being shot from a blaster rifle.
“This, my student, is a sith holocron. I’ve never actually seen one before, but I know the temple has a few deep in the library vaults. My guess is that that man put all of his and his master’s knowledge into this holocron to pass on to future Sith. As for him coming back to life, I suspect he was already dead for a long time. A person with knowledge of the Force can work many wonders,” he said breathlessly. “Come Anakin, we must get back to the ship before dawn.”
“Of course Master,” Anakin said with a slight bow of his head.