You find yourself in the Lorespire Complex, summoned for your next mission. The doors to the office slide open with a soft pneumatic hiss. Inside is a well-lit and blue-carpeted office. Venture-Captain Arvin, a handsome and determined-looking damaya lashunta, sits behind a desk, his eyes riveted on a glassy display. After a heartbeat, he glances towards the open door and motions everyone to enter.
“Apologies, please come in. Be seated if you like, although this shouldn’t take long.” Arvin taps a button on a console and murmurs to a digital assistant, “Croyd, put everything on hold for a few minutes. If anyone calls, please explain I’m in mission briefing and I’ll get right back to them.” He then darkens the display to give his full attention.
“Right. I have an assignment for you. This one is a little a different than others you might have received.” He pauses before he explains, “It’s an internal matter.
“You’re probably aware that after the Scoured Stars incident many of our colleagues elected to leave the Society. That is unfortunate, but not surprising. We hate to lose good field agents, but no one is conscripted into our ranks. Normally we wish them well and that’s that. In this case, the defector, former field agent Reynald Talbot, stole an artifact from the Lorespire Complex before departing. Theft is where the Society draws the line; I need you to get that artifact back.
“Unfortunately, Talbot left weeks ago and we only discovered the theft in the last 24 hours. We launched an immediate investigation to determine the identity of the thief and their last known whereabouts. It’s our bad luck that Talbot was smart enough to get off the station and head to Akiton, where there’s no central government or law enforcement to easily call upon. I need you to track him down and recover the artifact. We know Talbot caught a shuttle to the Akitonian city of Maro, so that’s a great place to start. The Society will, of course, cover your travel expenses.”
Arvin says, “Good question, but the answer is complicated because it’s actually two questions: what the artifact is and what Talbot thinks it is. We’re operating under the assumption that Talbot thinks he’s stolen an object from old Golarion called a philosopher’s stone. Legend has it that the stone could transmute matter, among other properties. What Talbot actually stole was recently re-cataloged as a charlatan’s stone. It does something similar, except the effect is a potent illusion and only temporary. We think ancient con artists used it to make false gold.”
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Chetna reclines in her chair and uses the one that Steelscales would have probably sat in as a footrest. "The charlatan's stone only gives potent illusions, but how big are the illusions we're talking here? Sure, turning things to 'gold' is great, but could Talbot use it to make it 'transmute' a blank patch of ground into a warehouse?"
Arvin taps his datapad and an image is sent to your respective communication devices. "This is his last known appearance."
To Chetna, Arvin says, "No, nothing like that. It creates the illusion of changing matter and on a small but reliable scale. But don't be fooled, this is more about just the stone. We need to make a statement. Rumors of the theft are already circulating through the Society, and it’s important to send a message that we’re not going to tolerate that type of betrayal. Also, if we don’t react, we convey that our work is not very important because it’s not worth defending. That said, the charlatan’s stone is not worth dying over, so be careful."
Then he straightens, nodding to all of you. "If there's any more questions you can message me. The transport to Akiton is fueling and should be ready momentarily.
Knowledge about Akiton:
Akiton is smaller than the Golarion standard with ×1/3 gravity and a thin atmosphere. This means non-acclimated people like you can jump three times as high and carry three times the normal weight, although you gain no additional movement speed. Likewise, unless you wear any type of armor, you must succeed at hourly Fortitude saves (as described on page 396 of the Starfinder Core Rulebook) or become fatigued. You also know Akiton suffered an economic crash when the revelation of Drift technology rendered the numerous pre-Drift fuels mined on Akiton virtually worthless.
Akiton is generally lawless, except for whatever laws a local authority might impose. Akiton survives on trade and commerce. Strangers find loyalty hard to come by, especially in the big cities. Newcomers are consequently likely to be observed and watched, especially if an organization believes it can take advantage of the strangers. If Talbot acted or did anything at all out of the ordinary, someone is likely to have noticed. To avoid being found, it is unlikely he stayed in Maro for more than a few days.
Wealth is hard to come by on Akiton. If Talbot fled to the red planet, he did so for a reason. It’s likely the ex-Starfinder had a plan, and that plan involved gaining a large number of credits. Given Akiton’s unstable economy, such a surge should be identifiable for those who “follow the money.”
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You arrange a shuttle to Akiton and the Society pays your way as conveyed by Arvin. Outside the observation windows floats Akiton, a world the color of blood, rust, and red clay. A thick shell of white caps both poles. The shuttle descends toward the planet, and a barely perceptible shift in gravity occurs as the ship’s artificial gravity begins to lessen and the planet’s natural gravity begins to take hold.
From suborbital heights, a handful of small towns, large complexes, and industrial sites that spew noxious fumes into the thin atmosphere surround the trench city of Maro. A spidery web of dirt roads scratched into the rust-colored ground by regular traffic connects these sites to the metropolis. Maro, the so-called City of Lights itself, comes into view as the ship begins its final descent. The city occupies more of a vertical space than horizontal, built into a six-mile-long section of trench that is half as deep and a half mile wide. Entire neighborhoods and business districts are built into the walls, accessed by patio entrances. Lights, neon signs, and holographic advertising bejewel either side of this urban canyon, while an active spaceport and industrial zones occupy the ground level. As the shuttle lands, it does so beneath the backdrop of an immense mural of brightly glowing neon-green graffiti that reads in Common: “Git Out! Planet’s Broke!”
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This planet sure is red alright. Sarangari thinks in Vesk as they approach.
Once landed, Steelscales steps outside and stretches. He always feels cramped up inside shuttles. Standing there in his dented and scratched armor he's packing a large reaction cannon and several smaller armaments. Gesturing to his loadout he tells the others, "As you can see, I'm here to bite heads. Investigatin' ain't my strong point. If you need to convince someone to talk by pointin' at the big scary vesk I'm your man but elsewise I won't be much help."
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Chetna smirks at the sign. After all, there's a profit of some type to be made anywhere. "Well, if I were to choose a planet where there is a lot of junk and a need for gold, this is it."
She nods at Steelscales, "I'm a dealer and courier in goods of an intrinsic nature. So, we'll see if there's been any dodgy gold being traded about."
Chetna is able to contact a few of the fences and some of them actually yield good information. There's been some chatter about AbadarCorp of late, but there's a strange anomaly in the information. AbadarCorp recently purchased a large amount of Drift engine fuel from the nearby town of Tasch. While the discovery of Drift engine fuel on Akiton is impressive, the fact that the AbadarCorp fleet that purchased the fuel is 2 days overdue for departure suggests something is likely amiss with the delivery.
It seems that the town of Tasch is where Talbot headed next!
You find a transport--an elongated dune buggy--from Maro to Tasch, rumbling across the dusty red landscape. The buggy stops just outside of town, dropping you off before moving on to drop other people off at other towns. A long dusty road, lined with single-story dwellings, runs through the town of Tasch. Some powered vehicles rest chained to their owner’s homes. A small general store stands near the center of town, illuminated by flickering white lights. Another building, full of locals, hosts a signpost that reads “Digger’s Dive”--clearly the town bar. Although the sun beats down on this desert town, its citizens meander around the bar in good cheer. Most are ysoki and humans, with the occasional lumbering fourarmed shobhad mingling among them.
The hardscabble inhabitants of the old mining town are too busy to talk with idle chatter, but suggest you go to the Digger's Dive to talk. Following their advice, you head to the bar and push through the swinging doors. Faint electric lights dangle from the ceiling, while the open sky is visible from cracks between the planks that serve as a roof. The floor is solid wood. The interior walls and ceiling supports are mud brick, the latter being carved in a rare attempt at ornamentation. The tavern is divided in two halves by an energy field with an opening on the northern end. The bar lining the southern wall is open to either side, with a wall of half-empty bottles behind it. The tables are wooden and makeshift, but solid. The east end has square wooden platform about a foot above the floor. Two sets of double doors are built into the northern and southern walls on the west end, both ajar. A single closed door provides an exit behind the west end of the bar.
Several miners and their families occupy the bar. A sharp-tongued ysoki slings drinks behind the bar, though her mixing--at best--consists of mixing two liquids at most.
You note the out of place presence of a shirren and two vesk bodyguards in the corner of the bar.
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Donovan steps out of the transport and takes in the town. "This looks like a great place to vacation. No wonder he Talbot chose to come here." He adjusts his gear and weapons and starts walking.
At the Digger's Dive, Donovan stays back a bit in case there's more to this than is immediately obvious. He orders a drink, a simple whiskey, and waits to see how things transpire.
As soon as Donovan orders a drink a miner down row perks up and says, "Put the newcomer's drink on me! Thank Talbot for the extra credits!"
He klinks ruddy glasses with a few others and goes back to his conversations.
"You're right that is," says the miner. "The town's savior he is! Huzzah! Came to town awhile back with a way to transmute the thasteron we mined into some fuel that's more marketable. Credits are flowing in now, already got a lucrative deal out of it. When the thasteron bust came in, and no one needed anymore for drift travel, we were all out of work, just takin' odd jobs, scratchin' a living. Then Talbot came along and we were saved! The town's got a bright future ahead now, I say, all thanks to him!"
"Sure thing. He's up at the old thasteron mine right outside of town." He flicks something on an extremely old datapad, the edges worn down, face cracked in several places. Soon enough an invitation to receive data pops up on your comm device, and if accepted a location beacon pops up on your map.
"Since you're from out of town, figured it'd be good to mark it for ya. Give him our best!"
Before you leave, one of the large vesk from the corner table approaches your team, saying, "Our business associate would like to speak with you."
The two vesk and the shirren still seated at the table are dressed in matching black and gray armor styled in the manner of a suit and tie. The shirren watches you intently. He transmits telepathically, "Please, I would like to speak with you about this Reynauld Talbot, if you would be so kind as to join me."
The shirren frowns. "It seems you are very well-informed. Yes, my name is Philt, and I work for AbadarCorp. We are searching for one Reynauld Talbot. What is your interest in Talbot?"
Philt says, "And you surprise me again. You must be quite resourceful. Yes we are after Talbot because of the bill of false goods he sold the company. Now we need to teach him a lesson to make sure people know there are consequences for dealing with AbadarCorp in bad faith. I don't care about the object he's using to do this. That is your prerogative, but I ask that you remain here. My bodyguards and I will take care of Talbot, I implore you not to interfere."
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[b]"I don't see a problem here. We can all come out ahead in this. Our prime concern is retrieving the item after that we only wish to question Talbot. Once we're done with that, we will turn him over the authorities for his theft. Any other gains he may have made are not our concern and could be used to compensate you for your losses. Also, once he's in the hands of the authorities, AbadarCorp could make sure he pays dearly for his offenses."
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"Oh, and one item of note before you do your thing." She's not sure why she's being this generous to Talbot. "We're not entirely sure he knows this fuel isn't on the up and up. He may have, at least at the start, believed he was actually making the real stuff. The item in question apparently can also deceive its user."
Philt considers the others' words. "Hm, it seems your intention is to deal with this situation fairly. I agree to these terms, but only under the stipulation that you turn Talbot over to AbadarCorp, seeing as how there is no law enforcement in this region. Be of peaceful mind though, our goals with Talbot are not nefarious. We simply seek to teach him a lesson and retrieve our lost funds. Are we agreed?"
Philt taps on his datapad. "I have recorded the last part of our conversation to serve as a signature page."
Soon enough, the invitation to connect appears on your comm devices with a recording attached and a flag buried in the message. "If you signal your assent the recording can serve as a fully executed document to ratify our agreement."
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Chetna thinks for a bit and then says, "I do hereby agree to transfer custody of the individual known as Reynauld Talbot, presuming said person is in our custody, to representatives of AbadarCorp after we have retrieved the item for which we were commissioned to acquire." She goes over the words in her head again to see if she missed anything.
As soon as you finish signing the communication, a deep booming female voice echoes from outside the front of the bar. “Intruders! We know you’ve come to Tasch in search of our savior. I give you this one chance. Lay down your weapons and leave our town. You will not disrupt the salvation of Akiton, not when Reynald Talbot has come so close to saving our world! You have one minute to decide.”
The miners, sensing the impending conflict, file out of the bar. Philt and his bodyguards also rise and move past you. "Best of luck to you," Philt says. "I expect Talbot to be delivered soon."
In past the bar, you find a storage room that contains spare boxes, tables, chairs and crates of alcohol. Two locked doors lay on the eastern side, one to the outside and one to another smaller room.
The door swings open, revealing a smaller interior room containing a table, one chair, and a small safe presumably carrying the credits earned for the day.
Chetna and Sarangari work together to unlock the backdoor. As soon as the door pops open, everyone hears the booming voice:
"All right, time's up. We're coming in!"
A shobhad woman enters the bar with a hunting rifle accompanied by a ysoki brandishing a laser pistol. Back in the store room, the door slides open revealing another ysoki with its hand on the control pad for the door. It lets out a squeak of surprise as it fumbles for its pistol.
Bold may act.
Active party buffs:
Environmental effects:
Round 1
Cadence
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Ysoki
Maarbadvae
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Chetna
Donovan
Sarangari