Dren tried his best to not look down. Still, he couldn’t help it. He looked, and a sudden rush of vertigo spun in his head. He closed his eyes, and grabbed on tightly to the small crevices and footholds he was positioned upon. The rock was slick with the impossible moisture always lingering in the air, and he was always worried he would slip.<span style="font-style: italic">There is no emotion, there is peace.</span>he reminded himself. Looking upwards, he saw his comrades climbing the rock face, as if they had no worry in the world, far from what he felt. They were agile too, widening the gap more and more. He continued to climb, carefully watching every step, when they finally reached the top.<br/><br/>Jedi Knight Renth held out his fur-covered hand, and Dren grabbed it, pulling himself up. On top of the cliff was a forest full of thick trees and bushes. It was very unlike the clawed-trees that greeted them earlier. This planet was very strange indeed. Despite the concealment, they could feel the force surrounding them. It was strong in this place, perhaps explaining why it was so lush with life. The force works mysteriously like that. They walked only a few feet when they noticed a deep track in the ground, as if something heavy was dragged.<br/><br/>“Strange,” Jedi Knight Teli began, crouching to touch the shallow depression in the ground. “Drag marks. Perhaps the statue was dragged here and thrown over the edge.”<br/><br/>They all looked at the drag marks, and studied it closely, and how they’ve changed over the years. The marks were in solid rock, explaining why they last all of these years. How old they are was up to speculation, which some of the Jedi tried to discuss.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, Dren took a look around. He noticed some more rocks and formations. One of them was long and narrow, and looked a bit more man made. He walked over to it and touched the moss. It was deep and thick. He tore at it--a small piece--revealing a smooth surface. He removed more of it, and saw a face with horns protruding out of it’s skin. He didn’t recognize the species--but something about the face looked familiar. Not as though he had seen the face in a textbook, but more like he knew the person. It was a strange feeling, deep in his gut. Regardless, it was clear what it was. “Or perhaps they were pushed,” Dren added. The Jedi surrounded the statue. It looked to be cut at the base with a lightsaber, with damage marks on the surface.<br/><br/>“Intriguing,” Renth simply said.<br/><br/>“We can follow the path of the statue,” Lotheal explained. “It’s been many years since it was pushed this way, but the marks in the ground are clear enough.”<br/><br/>She was right. The statue had made a permanent dent in the ground, stretching well into the thick forest. So they all lined up and began to follow it. Dren naturally followed behind. He still felt a bit out of place with the group. In fact, he felt out of place in general, never feeling fully part of the Jedi. It was as though something was missing--or perhaps someone. He hadn’t thought of her for a long time, but made sure to push her out of his memory again, lest it cause more pain. He would focus on the mission.<br/><br/>They took out their lightsabers and carefully cut the brush in front of them. They tried their best to not cause any damage, as all life is precious, but when they faced an impassable spot, they had no choice. Dren could hear the wildlife in the thick brush. He wondered where the Rancors lived, but figured a dense forest like this would be difficult for them to pass through. He assumed, and hoped, they were more at home to large fields and rock valleys. Still, something was in there, making sounds, screeches, and growls. It all seemed to blend into the music of the forest. It was droning with life. Dren made sure to keep cautious, always a weary eye.<br/><br/>Jedi Knight Asha Porten, a female human Jedi with long white hair and blue eyes, stopped the group. She was kind and caring, with a youthful beauty both on the outside and the inside that surpassed any of the other Jedi. She was a bit out of place as a Jedi Shadow, but it was her skills with the force that gave her a place amongst the group. She had a way with the force, able to see things others could not. “Look,” she said with her soft voice, pointing into the bushes. They all took a moment to look. It was hardly obvious. Amongst the thick brush was even more brush, but formed into a large camouflaged hill. It seemed as though there were four more statues, but they remained intact and standing upright, and completely covered in foliage. They removed some of the foliage, and confirmed that they wore the same Sith cloaks as the ones they found before.<br/><br/>“It’s very small for the main entrance to a temple,” Jedi Knight Renth explained. “They weren’t trying to hide it either, as evidenced by the statues--before this place was overrun by plants, it would have been clearly visible. I suspect this might be a secondary entrance, perhaps a back one.”<br/><br/>Lotheal studied the area, and said, “Perhaps there are many, as we have seen with other Sith temples.”<br/><br/>They removed the foliage from the entrance, and what became clear was the it had been sealed, perhaps on purpose, with large rocks and boulders. It would be a simple task for a group of Jedis, except that they wanted to remain concealed. To use the force would compromise their concealment. So without so much as a word, one by one they began grabbing boulders, and pulling the entrance free.<br/><br/>It would be tiring work, but it was the only way.