Calvaria gestured to Mount Octan and said, “In the words of our Nallastia…
Beyond the skulls that scream from walls,
The first star rests where giants fell.
The second star burns under falls.
The third star lives where monsters dwell.”
The Margravine said, “For four millennia, the Lost Stars have remained in the cavern. There have been quests, but all ended in failure.” She turned to Anakin and added, “Until now.”
“I don’t understand,” Anakin said. “You think I’ll be able to find them?”
The Margravine answered, “Nallastia Octan made a prophecy from her deathbed. She predicted that a ship with the Sun Runner’s markings would one day arrive in the Fondor system, carrying a champion who would recover the Lost Stars. I believe that champion may be you…or your Master.”
“So that’s why you were so eager to bring me to your world,” Obi-Wan said. “But as I’ve already explained, the transport you saw was not the Sun Runner. It was a fake.”
“That may be,” said the Margravine. “But the prophecy did not specify that the ship would be the actual Sun Runner, only that it would have the Sun Runner’s markings. Those markings were on the transport.”
Klay said, “Instead of arguing about some old prophecy, I say we get moving and find those three power gems before it’s too late.”
Obi-Wan looked to Bultar, then back to the Margravine, and said, “We came here to find Anakin, not to hunt for treasure. But of course we agree to find the power gems in order to prevent the deaths of two innocent people.”
“Leave the search to us, Klay,” Anakin said. “You’ll be safe here.”
“With these warriors?” Klay answered. “Forget it. Besides, I know this planet better than you.”
Obi-Wan faced the Margravine and said, “Will you guide us to the cavern?”
“I’ll do better than that,” the Margravine replied. “It was my error to allow Calvaria to supervise the warriors in my absence, and I take full responsibility for what has happened to the Firewells. You may be a Jedi, but you do not know my world. The only way you’ll find the Lost Stars of Nallastia is with the help of the Skull Queen.”
There was an ugly grinding sound, and all eyes turned to the Trinity Stones. Already, the three megaliths were moving slowly toward one another, magnetically dragged over the ground by the energy that bound them. In the area between the stones, Klay’s parents remained frozen in the energy field.
“All right, Skull Queen,” Obi-Wan said. “Let’s go!”
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After the Nallastian V-wing shuttle was loaded with emergency supplies, it lifted away from the fortress compound and headed up the mountain. Inside the V-wing’s cockpit, Anakin piloted toward the coordinates for the Cavern of Screaming Skulls. Bultar Swan, the Skull Queen, and Klay Firewell sat in the remaining seats, while Obi-Wan stood braced against the wall near the comm console.
Facing the Skull Queen, Bultar asked, “When will we reach the cavern?”
“Soon,” the Skull Queen replied. She turned to Anakin, who remained focused on the viewport, and said, “You’re flying too close to the trees.”
Suddenly, Anakin shouted, “Hang on!” He threw the controls hard to the side, and the shuttle banked sharply over the jungle forest.
“What’s wrong?” Obi-Wan asked, clinging to the handgrip above the comm console.
“A flock of winged reptiles,” Anakin answered as he brought the shuttle to a higher altitude. “They just came from out of nowhere. I almost didn’t see them.”
“It’s a good thing you did,” the Skull Queen commented. “They were probably migrating killspikes. Not the smartest avians, but very thick-skinned and they are able to do plenty of damage to low-flying ships.”
“Thanks for warning us,” Anakin muttered.
“I tried,” the Skull Queen said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Obi-Wan moved across the bridge until he was beside the pilot’s seat. He bent down and whispered into Anakin’s ear, “I sense you’re on edge.”
“I’m fine, Master,” Anakin whispered back.
“When did you last rest?”
“A while ago. But really, I’m fine. Besides, I could fly this thing in my sleep.”
“That’s not very reassuring,” Obi-Wan said.
Anakin grinned. Obi-Wan returned to the comm console but kept an eye on his Padawan. Although all human Jedi were trained to function over extended periods without sleep, they still required some sleep to remain healthy. Watching Anakin’s hands on the shuttle controls, Obi-Wan could see that Anakin was not as steady as he usually was. Clearly, he was tired, but there was something else. Obi-Wan wondered if it had something to do with their current mission, a desperate effort to rescue a young boy’s parents. He suspected Klay Firewell’s situation must have made Anakin think of his own mother on Tatooine. Anakin did not talk about her as much as he used to, but Obi-Wan knew that it was still Anakin’s hope to be reunited with his mother one day and to free her from slavery.
Obi-Wan grimaced. As a Jedi, it was his duty to be a guardian for freedom and justice throughout the Galactic Republic. Unfortunately, it was very unlikely that a useless, remote world such as Tatooine would ever become a member planet of the Galactic Republic, so the Jedi might never have jurisdiction there. Obi-Wan could understand Anakin’s concern for his mother, but he could not let his Padawan allow his feelings to affect the outcome of any mission. The more he thought of it, the more Obi-Wan was convinced that Anakin had taken a personal stake in helping Klay Firewell: If Anakin couldn’t save his own mother, he would do everything he could to save Klay’s parents. However, it was not the way of the Jedi to take a personal stake in anything. Ever.
Minutes later, Anakin brought the shuttle down on a rocky shelf that protruded out from a steep slope under the open mouth of a large cavern. As the group stepped out of the shuttle, Obi-Wan looked to the Skull Queen and asked, “How did the cavern get its name?”
The Skull Queen replied, “Millions of years before the arrival of human colonists on Nallastia, the cavern was inhabited by many native animals and reptiles, some quite large. Most of these beasts perished during a volcanic eruption that transformed their home into a series of massive lava flow tubes. Now, all that remains of them is the fossilized forms of their open jaws and writhing skeletons, embedded in the cavern walls. When wind rushes into the cave, it whistles between the bones and echoes through the tunnels and chambers, producing eerie sounds that resemble the howls of wounded, dying creatures. The sounds alone have stopped even the bravest of warriors from setting foot in the cavern.”
Klay Firewell interrupted, “If we’re done with the history lesson, maybe we can start—”
Before Klay could finish, the wind picked up, and a horrific wail came from the cavern’s mouth. At first, everyone thought the sound was the howling effect the Skull Queen had described, but then they saw a shadowy form spill out of the cavern.
It was a spider. A very, very big one, with an abdomen almost the size of the V-wing shuttle. Each of its eight, long legs was as thick as an adult human’s torso. Without warning, the spider aimed its spinnerets and released a wide spray of sticky filaments at the three Jedi and their allies.
While Obi-Wan, Anakin, and the Skull Queen leaped away in time to avoid being hit by the filaments, Bultar Swan threw her body in front of Klay Firewell in an attempt to protect the boy. Despite Bultar’s effort, both she and Klay were snared. Suddenly, the spider’s cephalothorax glowed bright green, and it released an electric charge that traveled through the filaments. Bultar and Klay were instantly stunned into uncons
ciousness.
Anakin drew his lightsaber and was about to strike the spider when Obi-Wan said, “Wait! It might have reacted defensively!”
Ignoring Obi-Wan, the Skull Queen drew her bone-handled vibroblade and jumped at the spider. As her leap carried her over the creature’s back, she dragged her weapon through the area behind its eyes. The Skull Queen executed a diving roll as she landed, and the spider screeched as black blood gushed from its wound. Then the spider’s legs gave out. It was dead before it hit the ground.
Obi-Wan and Anakin raced to the motionless forms of Bultar and Klay. “They’re still alive,” Obi-Wan said. He looked at the Skull Queen and asked, “Was it necessary to kill the spider?”
“If I hadn’t, your friends would be dead,” the Skull Queen claimed. “The spider first stuns its victims, then it eats them alive. Trust me…the spider did not react defensively.”
The Skull Queen helped Obi-Wan and Anakin remove Bultar and Klay from the sticky filaments, then placed their unconscious bodies in the shuttle. “It would not be wise to leave them alone here,” the Skull Queen said. “For one thing, they require medical attention. Also, there are other creatures like the spider that make this mountain their home. Some of them would be quite capable of eating through this shuttle.”
Obi-Wan said, “I have no doubt that your knowledge of Nallastia is superior to ours. Are you willing to continue into the cavern?”
“I would not have come here if I was not willing,” the Skull Queen replied.
Obi-Wan looked to Anakin and said, “There’s a swoop and some glow rods in the shuttle’s cargo bay. Please get them.”
Anakin opened the cargo bay door, climbed in, and pushed out a battered swoop. Faster than any speeder bike, a swoop was essentially a powerful engine pod with a seat and handlebar controllers. Grabbing a pair of glow rods, Anakin asked. “What now?”
“Fly Bultar and Klay back to the fortress,” Obi-Wan said as he pushed the swoop under the cover of some nearby foliage. “See to it that they are well treated. After the Skull Queen and I find the gems, we’ll use the swoop to return to the fortress and free Klay’s parents.”
Skeptical, Anakin asked, “Forgive me. Master, but are you certain that is the best plan?”
Obi-Wan answered, “Given the circumstances, yes, it’s the best plan. As the Skull Queen said, we can’t leave Bultar and Klay here, and she has a better idea of what might be in that cavern than we do. You’ve already proven you can fly the shuttle, so it’s best that you fly it back to the fortress. Any other plan would only put more lives at risk.”
Anakin wanted to protest, to tell Obi-Wan that he wasn’t afraid to go into the cave on his own if he had to. But Anakin knew from Obi-Wan’s determined expression that there was no point in arguing. As he handed the glow rods to Obi-Wan, he said, “Yes, Master.”
Anakin left in the shuttle, and Obi-Wan and the Skull Queen entered the Cavern of Screaming Skulls.
Entering the mouth of the cave, Obi-Wan and the Skull Queen saw the fossilized remains of many creatures embedded in the cavern walls. A cool wind entered the cave and slipped through the gaps in the ancient bones, producing a sound that was indeed chilling, like an inhuman growl mixed with an echoing death cry.
As they walked deeper into the cave, Obi-Wan glanced at the walls and said, “Could you please repeat the poem that your daughter recited earlier?”
The Skull Queen replied:
“Beyond the skulls that scream from walls,
The first star rests where giants fell.
The second star burns under falls.
The third star lives where monsters dwell.”
Adjusting the light of his glow rod, Obi-Wan said, “Obviously, the first line refers to this area, and the ‘stars’ are the power gems. Do you know what the other words mean?”
“Only that they hint at the location of each hidden gem.”
“Nallastia must have done a good job of hiding them if no one has been able to find them for more than four thousand years. But we can’t let that stop us.”
They proceeded through the cavern until they reached a low-ceilinged tunnel. Thirty meters later, the tunnel seemed to end in an area of total darkness.
“Keep back,” Obi-Wan cautioned. Moving toward the darkness, Obi-Wan realized that the tunnel emptied abruptly over a deep chasm. His glow rod was capable of illuminating objects up to fifty meters away, and he could see a wide wall on the other side of the chasm, about fifteen meters away. He extended the rod out over the floor’s edge, but the chasm’s walls vanished into a distant black area. He could only imagine the chasm’s depth.
To Obi-Wan’s lower right, he saw what appeared to be a natural bridge, about one meter wide, that extended over the chasm to another dark hole, possibly another tunnel. He was considering whether he might be able to jump to the bridge when he felt the Skull Queen at his side.
“Long way down,” the Skull Queen commented.
“And then some,” Obi-Wan added. He pointed to the natural bridge and said, “It seems that’s the only way across. Think you can jump to it?”
“Not if I don’t have to,” the Skull Queen replied.
To Obi-Wan’s surprise, the Skull Queen lowered herself over the floor’s edge, then stepped onto a narrow ledge, just below their position, that Obi-Wan had not noticed. The ledge traveled down along the wall to the bridge. It was not an easy climb, but it was preferable to a long jump over the dark abyss.
Obi-Wan followed the Skull Queen, who hugged the wall as she made her way down the ledge. She was just stepping onto the bridge when Obi-Wan felt the ledge give out underneath his weight. As his hands and knees scraped down the wall, he pushed off, launching himself toward the bridge. There was an ugly cracking sound as he landed hard in front of the Skull Queen, throwing his arms out to his sides to prevent his body from rolling off the bridge.
“Are you all right?” the Skull Queen asked.
“More or less,” Obi-Wan said as he picked himself up from the bridge. Peering over its edge to the darkness below, he suppressed an involuntary shudder.
The Skull Queen said, “It sounded like you broke something.”
“I did,” Obi-Wan admitted. “Two ribs.”
The Skull Queen winced. “Do Jedi…that is, do you feel pain?”
“Yes,” Obi-Wan said evenly. “But we can control it.” Without further explanation, he motioned for the Skull Queen to follow him over the bridge. They were halfway across when Obi-Wan heard a click from the wall behind him. He spun to look past the Skull Queen to a small area of the chasm wall where a panel had slid back to reveal a round hole.
“Duck!” Obi-Wan shouted as he reached for his lightsaber.
The Skull Queen dropped, throwing herself down against the bridge, just as there was a loud burst of blaster fire, and three energy bolts launched from the hole in the wall. Obi-Wan’s lightsaber was already blazing as the energy bolts reached his position, and he swung hard at them. He batted the first two at the chasm wall and sent the third straight back to the hole, causing a small explosion.
The sound of blaster fire echoed across the chasm, then died. The Skull Queen pushed herself up. “What happened?”
Obi-Wan pointed to the wall behind her, where smoke was pouring out of the shattered hole. “It was an old automated laser trap, a concealed wall-mounted laser projector. My guess is it was equipped with a sensor to make it fire at anyone who was halfway across the bridge. Do you know if Nallastia Octan installed such traps throughout the cavern?”
“I don’t know. It is possible she did so to protect the power gems from pirates. I suspect that if one were to travel to the bottom of this chasm, one would find the remains of many ill-fated treasure hunters.”
After crossing the bridge to the other side of the chasm, Obi-Wan and the Skull Queen entered a tunnel that delivered them to a high-ceilinged chamber. To their amazement, the chamber’s walls were lined with enormous statues of alien beings, some standing more than eig
ht meters high. If the statues were faithful likenesses, the beings were insectlike creatures with four arms and two multifaceted eyes.
Obi-Wan asked, “Ever seen anything like this on Nallastia?”
“Never,” answered the Skull Queen.
“They’re quite ancient,” Obi-Wan observed. “They probably predate the arrival of human colonists.”
“You mean, an alien civilization once existed on this moon?”
“It depends on how you look at it,” Obi-Wan said. “From their perspective, your people are the aliens.”
There were fourteen statues in all, twelve of which stood upright; the remaining two lay across the floor, broken into many pieces. At first, Obi-Wan suspected the shattered pair might have been deliberately toppled, but then he noticed a wide, heaving crack in the chamber’s floor, right under the area where the two fallen statues once stood. It appeared that an earthquake might have been to blame for bringing down the statues.
“I wonder what happened to them,” the Skull Queen said, marveling at the statues. “The aliens, that is. Did they die off? Or move to another world?”
“I have no idea, but it would be hard to miss them,” Obi-Wan said. He looked past the statues to a doorway that appeared to be a passage to another chamber. Then he looked back at the two fallen statues, and the words came to him. He said aloud, “The first star rests where giants fell.”
“Could this be it?” asked the Skull Queen.
“Let’s see,” Obi-Wan said, and moved to the wide crack in the floor. Upon closer inspection, the crack opened up into a gaping hole. Extending his glow rod, Obi-Wan peered down into the hole, but instead of seeing a gem, he found himself gazing into the golden eyes of a large serpent.
Star Wars Adventures 002 - The Cavern of Screaming Skulls Page 3