Eric takes aim and fires his sniper rifle from whatever cover he can find.
Maxim runs into one of the kish as a living torch. But the kish stands like a tree. A very flexible tree that avoids some of the burn, but still a burnt tree.
Boreal swings her doshko like an axe, but that kish also denies to go down, even though the weapon leaves a big wound. EH-RK shoots the same kish as Maxim, not wanting to interfere with Boreal's honorable battle, but also working effective in eliminating one threat after another.
Imagine stands behiund EH-RK at the exit of the maiden, waiting for her nail polish to dry, before she enters the fight.
The two kish drop their bows and assault their opponents with large twohanded axes instead. The other two keep shooting.
"Sorry, Boreal!" shouts Maxim.
Fully Photon Attuned.
Maxim calls on his preternatural powers, and a sphere of solar radiance engulfs him and the nearby attackers.
Fire
Eric takes aim and fires his sniper rifle from whatever cover he can find.
Boreal lifts her arm, covering her eyes as the wave of flames washes over her. She lets out a guttural growl. Maxim isn't quite sure who its directed at.
"Surrender now or die!" Boreal roars at her foe, raising her doshko to deliver a vicious downwards swing.
The kish is burned by the blast, but not as worse as it could be. But that doesn't help the kish any, as EH-RK puts an end to the kish's existance with a well aimed shot to the head.
Boreal adds another bad wound to the kish in front of her in her anger.
Imagine has the feeling that the guys and the vesk have things under control, and it would be a shame if the rhinestones on her nail would slide out of position with quick movements for gestures. It's a shame how long that stuff takes to dry. One would think with space travel and everything, someone would have invented a better solution.
Satisfied that Boreal is out of harm's way, Maxim moves over to the next Kish and erupts again.
fire
Gravity Attuned x1
Maxim focuses on the Kish shooting at him with a bow, this time calling on the force of Gravity!
(I do have a free arm, so if this succeeds I catch the bow.)
Waiving The Morning Star at the disarmed Kish, Maxim smiles and says, "You want a little? Come get some."
Eric aims carefully again
Humanoids: These creatures are pitiful. Their technological progress means they can do us little harm. Perhaps we should parley with them instead?
Maxim has gravity pull on the kish's bow, but the kish doesn't let go.
EH-RK goes for efficient killing, even though he might anger Boreal. Shooting an enemy from hiding isn't exactly honorable. But efficient. The kish slumps to the ground. It also is not really helping with the suggested diplomacy.
All while Maxim is at odds with his gravity ability.
Boreal steps towards the nearest remaining opponent and swings her doshko at it.
Boreal badly wounds the next kish. As it is clear how this will end the two remaining ones retreat, and as they make use of their climbing gear it would be very difficult to follow them beneath the platform.
Eric moves to the edge of the platform to see if he can spot the retreating creatures.
"How come nobody ever says, 'Welcome to our planet, thanks for coming'?" Maxim asks rhetorically. He inspects the kish he melted. "I mean, who thinks it's a good idea to shoot at people that just walked out of a spacecraft using a bow and arrow?
"Eric, can use the Maiden's new awesome computer to analyze the language on these signs?"
Is there such a thing as a universal translator? Can Maxim try to build one? It wouldn't have to speak, just be able to make sense of written language based on context utilizing a progressive prominence algorithm. Verbal communication would be a bonus.
From the landing pad, you can enter the dockmaster’s building, a place where merchants and visitors to the city would declare their goods and fill out the appropriate forms. These days, it serves more as a staging area for lichen collection. The interior of the building was gutted long ago, and the walls are now covered with murals worked in crude paint and charcoal. The images seem to depict the sun in various positions in relation to the Emerald Landing Pad; each of these pictures is accompanied by a number of what appear to be tally marks.
Maxim enters the dockmaster's building, looking for any computer terminal or system which might still appear to function if given power. He also collects any examples of writing and hieroglyphs which can be easily carried.
Also watching out for dark places that might produce another ambush.
[b Humanoids: We seem to be in a situation. We have no way to tell what we are seeing. Perhaps if we gather enough data I can create an algorithm to decrypt the language. [/b]
Shortly after you enter, you notice the sounds of combat on the far side of the building outside. A short and hasty approach later, you can look out of an empty window frame that overlooks the street in front of the building.
Two small groups of three kish each are fighting.
The other group of kish are dressed similarly to the ones who attacked you on the landing pad.
Maxim engages The Morning Star and crashes out the window and jumps through to engage the Kish that attcked the party earlier.
On closing in Maxim notices, that the battle wasn't going well for his intended targets anyway. As they see him they take to their heels. One of the kish from the other group is also badly wounded.
Maxim approaches calmly with his hands in the air. When he notices the wounded Kish he speaks quietly to EH-RK, "Eric, if they allow us to get closer, are you able to inspect his wound? Hopedfully we can buy favor with them." Based on the little evidence observed, and realizing the Kish culture is very low tech but appears at least to be communal and civilized, Maxim uses deliberate, non-threatening gestures to attempt to explain how many are in our group, that we arrived on a ship, and that we are peaceful and share a common adversary in the other Kish which have just fled this encounter.
Naxi wibs the trust of those kish, even without a common language and gets over the point of wanting to help the wounded kish.
Do to lack of own ability and proper items, he waves Imagine over who does a casting of mystic cure to put the deeds to the words. And to no longer stand around being bored.
This wins over the kish completely. They confere for a short while and then offer the group to come along.
After about an half hour walk you reach what was constructed as a community of luxury high-rise condominiums. It featured winding streets, landscaped lawns, and a community center. The gardens are now overgrown, and the water in the community center’s pool has long since evaporated.
The space above the community center's front doors is marked with a large (and fairly freshly painted) symbol. A handful of younger kish are in the space in front of the building, playing a casual game involving a ball and pairs of vertical hoops on poles on opposite sides of the court. Dozens of other kish can be seen about the neighborhood, tending to small gardens, repairing the buildings, or maintaining weapons and armor. Many of them stop what they are doing to gawk at the aliens as the group is escorted into the building.
The interior has clearly been recently converted into a small church, and hastily created symbols - the same as outside - are the majority of the decor.
The visitors are introduced to the outcast’s leader, who wears an austere brown robe accented with a colorful scarf around her head. She has many questions for the visitors, and to aid in this process, she casts share language on all of them.
"I'm Herald Tzayl. Spiritiual leader of the people here."
"Who are you, where did you come from? Are you affiliated with the strangers who attacked several days ago? And why have you come to Istamak?"
Maxim almost starts with his hand gesture performance again, as it proved so successful, but stops short of making a complete fool of himself.
"Herald Tzayl, I am Maxim Petrovich." He manages to stifle the automatic, 'yes, THE Maxim Petrovich.' "These are my colleagues, Eric, Imagine, and Boreal Typhon, Daughter of Zerukesh "Hornbreaker" Typhon, Daughter of Tarsonis "Jaeger" Typhon." He takes a moment to catch his breath after Boreal's introduction.
"We are Starfinders; our mission is to protect the greater peoples across the galaxy." Maxim has no idea what the mission of the Starfinders is, but that sounded good. His next statement is a kishing expedition. "The group which attacked a few days ago, those are ones we are trying to stop. They seek an ancient evil technology that could be used to destroy whole planets and threaten all life - everywhere. That is why we have come to your world - to learn what they did here and where they went next.
"We are happy to answer any questions you have about us, but time is of the essence, and we must know what they were here to find. Any help you can provide would go a long way to saving the lives of your people and millions of others." It was a good speech, Maxim decided.
"They arrived in a metal cloud like yours, but different in shape and color. Theirs looked angry, as did their clothes. We welcomed them into our great temple, but they profaned the Vault of Tales and attacked us, causing many deaths and much destruction. They then returned to their cloud and ascended into the sky. What they searched, or found and took I don't know."
"The Temple Found is sacred to our ancestors, so we maintain it as tradition dictates. It was open to all, until recently. After the strangers left, Huntmaster Xavra sealed himself and some of his warriors within, claiming that the temple must be kept safe from other strangers. I objected to his decision, and the chieftain saw fit to exile me for speaking out. Luckily, I was not the only one to feel this way, so my neighbors joined me in my banishment.”
Humanoids: I believe we have arrived too late. Only study of the Temple might give us clues as to where the Cult has gone...
"Agreed, Eric. Herald Tzayl, will you take us to your temple? Perhaps we can speak with the Huntmaster."
"The doors of the temple are shut from within and can be opened only if Xavra allows it. And he won't allow you in. They exiled me for critisizing the decision to close it for our people."
She thinks for a moment. "But I have heard the voices of our ancestors speak of another way in. Perhaps if you were to listen to them, you might benefit from their insights. But first you must prove yourself worthy enough to hear those voices yourself."
"There are two places of significance where kish go when they want to hear the voices of their ancestors or seek their blessings. While these are sacred ceremonies for my people, I admit that not many kish have performed them in close to a year. Perhaps, if Xavra and his warriors had shown more devotion, they wouldn’t have been so quick to break away from tradition."
"I don’t see any harm in you enacting these rites; after all, if you do so, you might better understand the kish community.
Humanoids: Enacting these rituals, while not likely to commune with the spirits themselves, might give the opposition Kish reason to trust us and allow us to study the Temple.
Maxim maintains his composure as best he can. Rites? Sacred ceremonies? Voices of long-dead ancestors? The pragmatist engineer side of him wanted to punch this Kish dude and the applied metaphysicist wanted to kiss him. This was some weird shit, no doubt about it. More than likely, they way the Huntmaster "sealed" himself into the temple was with some bit of actual technology they just didn't understand, like a big red button that said, "CLOSE."
He wasn't certain how performing the rituals would actually do anything to inspire trust among the Kish, and as long as the team was hanging out with the exiles, they were more than likely going to be assumed to be unfriendly, and the welcoming crew at the landing zone did not inspire much confidence.
On the other hand, he could not imagine simply walking up to the temple without resistance, and if they did manage to get it open without first working through some Kish friendlies, this Xavra dude sounded pretty unstable. We'll probably have to kill that guy no matter what, thinks Maxim to anyone who can hear, and hopefully not the Kish.
"Umm, sure. Can you tell us more about these sacred ceremonies? You seem like a pretty traditional Kish; have you performed them yourself?"
"One plave to commune with the ancestors is the House of Renewal. It is a place of either healing or silence, depending on the kish who makes the pilgrimage there."
"Kish go there when they are ill, physically or spiritually, and step into the chamber at the center of the building. If the ancestors judge the kish’s heart to be true, she emerges healed, sometimes even healthier than before. Otherwise, the pilgrim is never seen again."
"But there are rumors that the House of Renewal has become corrupted in some way."
After a pause Tzayl adds "The Maze of Ghosts is the other place you can commune with the ancestors. Despite the site’s name, that the Maze of Ghosts is not a frightening place. Instead, it is where our visions of the ancestors are the strongest."
"Kish who want to feel a deeper connection with the city’s history meditate within. But if the kish’s intentions aren’t pure, the ghosts don’t show themselves."
"In that case, I vote for the Maze. At least it sounds like if whatever arbitrary measure of worthiness is not met, at least we don't disappear forever."
Maxim is convinced there is a technological component to these trials that the Kish simply cannot comprehend. Whether they are judged to have pure intentions is irrelevant; they only need to go experience whatever this thing is and figure out its true function.
Human Maxim Petrovich: Agreed. Although the data is limited my analysis algorithms have said there is a fortytwo percent better chance of success in the Maze.
"I have to stay here, but Gzonad will bring you to the Maze of Ghosts."
Tzayl calls over Gzodan and instructs him or her, that's hard to tell, to lead you to the house of ghosts.
Gzodan does as told. You're led half the way back to the spaceport and then left. Two blocks further Gzodan points to a building, that is mostly buried under the rubble of the neighboring buildings that have crumbled.
The front entrance of this building has been sheared away by some ancient calamity, revealing metal structural supports, pipes, and bits of wiring. The ground here is littered with rubble, some of which was been removed to clear a small path into the structure. Gzodan turns and leaves.
From the entrance are you can see the building’s interior decor, which despite being faded with age is still recognizably bright and cheery. Entering you find a small booth with a large open window that stands against the western wall. A doorway to the north is blocked by a thick, translucent shutter made from some kind of synthetic crystal. The walls are adorned with paint-and-charcoal murals depicting humanoid figures looming over the buildings of a city; these titans seem to be looking benevolently down at the city’s inhabitants.
A large sign under the window of the ticket booth features the words Istamak Historical Museum in Kishaleen and lists the prices of admission, hours of operation, and similar details that no longer matter.
You are interrupted in your amazement, as a large contrictor snake falls on EH-RK from above.
Maxim engages The Morning Star and springs into action, hewing the head of the big snake, and trying sort of hard not to also hit EH-RK.
Boreal too comes to EH-RK's aid. But less sucessful so.
Imagine jumps as the snake comes into sight unexpectedly. She ponders if that is a mindless creature, or if she could meddle with it's brain. But no time for philosohpical thoughts. Practical experiments have to show the truth.
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Maxim cuts deep into the snake, while Boreal misses the beast. Imagine manages to put some of her crazy into the mind of the reptile, hurting it further.
Eric attempts to wriggle away from the creature.
You can use Acrobatics to escape from grapples, pins, and restraints. Attempting to escape from a grapple or pin is a standard action. On a success, you free yourself from the grapple or pin and no longer have the grappled or pinned condition. The DC to escape a grapple or pin is typically 10 + the grappler’s Kinetic Armor Class. Escaping from restraints can take 1 minute or more, depending on the type of restraint. The DC to escape from restraints is based on the nature of the restraints and sometimes the CR of the creature that did the binding (see the table below). You can take 20 on Acrobatics checks to escape from most restraints, but not on checks to escape grapples.
EH-RK is stuck with the snake who knows how to get a grip on prey. There will be a bad surprise if the animal really gets to taste EH-RK.
Imagine shoots with her pistol, as she is again already out of good spells. But weapons don't seem to be her thing. She shoots EH-RK, but luckily the armor absorbs the shot.
"Die foul beast." Boreal calls out in visible disgust. Fighting against some predator who thinks of you as food has no honor to it. Defending someone against it is counted as noble gesture, but being eaten is highly dishonorable. She would look down at EH-RK for getting caught. If she had noticed the snake and hadn't missed that danger too.
The snake pulls tighter around EH-RK, strangling him.
Humanoids: Gasp, Urk. A little. URK Help.
Eric wriggles HARDER!
The snake tightens the grip further and further, only to find in the end that it wrestles only with itself. EH-RK somehow managed to slide out of it's grip.
