You have been hastily and unexpectedly summoned to the Lorespire Complex by Venture-Captain Arvin. Tall and no-nonsense, the confident lashunta venture-captain quickly gets to the business at hand. He gestures to several functional chairs, inviting you to sit. “Thank you for arriving so quickly. As I mentioned in my comm message, we have an urgent opportunity to recover some critical information.”
“Several months ago, a crew of Starfinders took a ship called the Unbounded Wayfarer into the Vast to explore a series of uncharted planets. They never returned. Earlier today, a vesk pawnbroker in the Downlow neighborhood contacted us, offering to sell us several Starfinder insignias. These insignias belonged to the lost crew of the Unbounded Wayfarer, and that immediately caught the Society’s attention. The pawnbroker—named Julzakama—doesn’t realize the true value of the insignias. We negotiated a purchase price in exchange for the insignias and information about the seller. We hope this seller can lead us to the Unbounded Wayfarer and its crew.”
“We’ve remotely transferred the requested credits to Julzakama. Now, we need you to collect the insignias and all the information you can from the vesk regarding whoever sold him the insignias, and then track down that seller. Learn where to find the Unbounded Wayfarer and its crew. I’m worried that the seller might not be on the station for long, so act quickly. If you have any questions, please make them fast.”
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Gargalus is a well built half-orc with mutiple scars. Despite his impressive stature, he looks like someone we can talk to.
He wears an old heavy armor that seems to have had better days, he also wears the logo of VitariTech Bloodsport Team in Akiton.
Hi Venture Captain, what do we know about this Julzakama? Is he someone reliable?
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Hishrizzik, a shirren clad in flexible, skin-tight armor under a dark shirt and black leather overcoat, nods. Unlike most shirren, they're surprisingly quiet, with none of the chittering one would normally expect to hear. Betcha Iseph's right, they say to the group telepathically. We may be getting into a mix-up with some unsavory characters. Their antennae wiggle in amusement. It'll feel nice and familiar to me.
Hi Venture Captain, what do we know about this Julzakama? Is he someone reliable?
The venture captain thinks for a moment and responds, "He runs a pawnshop called Julzakama’s Loans and is an unusually arrogant vesk. I don’t know him, but I get the impression that I wouldn’t like him much if I did. He's been paid well enough to uphold his end of the deal, you'll just have to convince him to give up more.”
A red-skinned Vesk in formal clothes stands stiffly.
"Do we know where the ship was lost? Any information about how far into the Vast they traveled?"
"The Vast is... well.. Vast. It could be anywhere other than the Scoured Stars right now, for all I know. Clearly someone found it, though, given the insignias."
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Gargalus smiles at Sorkalazril Yes, I know these type of people. I know how to deal with them. In life or in the Arena.
Turning back to Arvin he adds. So, he's already payed for all the info we need, right? We only need to see him, get back the insigna and the info about the seller.
That's seems easy.
Downlow is a poor and densely-populated section of the Spike that extends below Absalom Station. Julzakama’s shop is less than an hour from the Lorespire Complex, the headquarters of the Starfinder Society, and reaching the run-down store is fairly simple. Although some areas of Downlow are clean and trendy, this narrow alley of concrete and metal buildings drips with oil and sparking wires. A wide, red neon electric sign reads “Julzakama’s Loans” on a building sandwiched between a Kuthite sensation house and a derelict building covered with graffiti. The shop’s solid metal door contains a single, small window too grimy to peer through.
Entering the shop, the interior of Julzakama’s Loans is crammed with shelves containing all manner of near-valueless items, from small appliances to VR game consoles and jars of colored powders. The shop has the acrid smell of a reptile house that has not been cleaned in months. A massive vesk in a muscle shirt stands at the rear of the shop, behind a low desk and a series of heavy metal bars anchored into the ceiling. Julzakama is carelessly disassembling an old computer when you arrive, prompting him to look up. ”Whadya want?” the vesk asks gruffly.
The vesk scratches the scaly skin between his bony beardspikes with a clawed hand and says, “Starfinders? Well, seems I’m now fully paid for those trinkets there. I remember Arvin said something about wanting information, too, and I can do that. But information costs extra.”
With the intimidation of the half-orc, the vesk relents and adds, ”All right, all right; the seller was named Exegara, and she wasn’t from around here. Wore a flight suit, like she had come off a long trip. Once she had her money, she asked about where to purchase clean skeletons. I don’t carry goods like that, so I sent her to the Vat Garden.”
He thinks a moment and continues. ”The seller was definitely an Eoxian. She looked like a man-ling, but didn’t breathe or blink or anything and she mentioned something about hiring some local muscle ‘just in case.’”
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Thank you Julzakama for all your info. We will not forget.
Says with a smile the half-orc.
Trying to remember some of the stories he heard or learned about the name the Vesks talk about he turns to his comrades.
I know a few about that but maybe someone is better than me? his looks turn on the shirren you seems to know a lot about all of this.
You recall that the Vat Garden is a ysoki-operated garden; you are also aware that the ysoki surreptitiously accept corpses to help grow their plants. You also know that Eoxians are undead; having turned themselves to escape a planet-wide calamity. They are still members of the Pact Worlds, though, and still considered civilized.
The Vat Gardens are not difficult to locate: any resident of the Downlow can point you in the direction. The station passageways open into an enormous sunken pool filled with a riotous growth of plants. A narrow walkway leading to other parts of Downlow encircles the overgrown vat, and a spire of some kind of machinery stands in its center. For such a busy section of Downlow, the area is surprisingly quiet. Two ladders and a steep staircase pierce the foliage and lead down into the vat.
You note that there are three individuals in the dense brush: two men and a woman.
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Hishrizzik glances at the others. Perhaps this Eoxian isn't a danger, dealing in illicit corpses though she is, they communicate telepathically to the others. I will attempt to get closer to her and overhear their conversation.
They scuttle down the ladder, and creep through the undergrowth toward the Eoxian and (presumably) two thugs.
Unfortunately, they're more used to creeping down urban station corridors than riotous jungle...
The ghoul fails to notice the Shirren, but hears the rest of the party approach. From the back she cries "Get them! They'll add their bones to the ones I need!"
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Delta-5 moves onto the walkway and opens fire on the eoxian with his laser rifle.
for
At the end of each round you are burning, you can attempt a Reflex saving throw to remove this condition. The DC of this saving throw is equal to 10 + the amount of fire damage you took this round from the burning condition. If you succeed at this saving throw, you lose the burning condition. You can attempt a new saving throw each round you have this condition, and you receive a +2 bonus for each previous saving throw you’ve attempted in consecutive rounds.
You can also automatically end this condition by jumping into enough water to douse yourself. If you don’t have enough water on hand, you can spend a full action to roll on the ground or otherwise smother the fire to attempt a new saving throw with a +4 bonus (plus any bonuses from previously failed consecutive attempts) to end the condition.
Delta-5 scores a horrendous hit on the ghoul, who drops to the ground screaming and on fire.
Still on fire, she yells out, "I surrender! I surrender!" The mercenaries look confused at this, and wait to see what the rest of the party does.
With the combined attempts of the party, you manage to get the flames out before the burning consumes that apparently flamable skin of the ghoul. Looking you over, she adds, "You don't look like station security or the ratlings' pets. What do you want?" The mercenaries, sensing that they're not getting paid, quietly start spreading out and exiting the scene.
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"Sorkalazril understands that beings such as yourself, the unliving, are granted full rights as citizens of the Pact Worlds. This seems like a strange custom to we of the Veskarium, where the undead are typically considered monsters. It could easily be excused if, given these cultural differences, Sorkalazril were to forget these peculiarities, and simply end you like the abomination you are," the red-skinned vesk says, holding his laser rifle casually in her direction. "Talk."
The ghoul sighs. ”I traveled aboard a Corpse Fleet vessel called the Endless Threnody that picked up the distress call of a Starfinder vessel. We traveled to the Starfinder vessel’s crash site on a desert planet and acquired several treasures, including the Starfinder insignias. Before the Endless Threnody could get into the Drift, it was surprised and crippled by a pirate ship identified as the Lawblight. The Endless Threnody now floats in the Drift, unable to leave, and I was dispatched to acquire repair materials… bones.”
Exegara’s datapad shows the Endless Threnody’s current location. Although Exegara does not know the coordinates of the crashed Starfinder vessel (or even the name of the world it was on), she knows those coordinates are in the files of the Endless Threnody’s navigational computer.
Finally, Arvin is pleased with you for following up on this lead so quickly. He asks you to follow this mystery further by finding the Endless Threnody. He also encourages you to keep the Starfinder insignias for now, and explains their basic function—you might need the insignias in the future..
You have only a day’s rest before you are notified to meet the Venture-Captain once more… this time in the docks. When you arrive, Venture-Captain Arvin stands next to the entry ramp of a sleek-looking starship. He waves his hands over the side of the starship affectionately. “This is the Loreseeker, a Pegasus-class ship that’s one of the fastest and lightest in the Society’s fleet. We know that a lost Starfinder vessel, the Unbounded Wayfarer, was discovered by undead creatures from a starship called the Endless Threnody. We’ve pulled some strings with our more reputable Eoxian contacts to get more information, but they’ve disavowed knowledge of the Endless Threnody entirely; this likely confirms our suspicions that the Endless Threnody is connected with the Corpse Fleet, a group of Eoxian separatists who refuse to work alongside the living.”
“We have the location of the Endless Threnody in the Drift, courtesy of that ghoul you tracked down. Its Drift engine is incapacitated, so it’s unable to escape the Drift. Take the Loreseeker into the Drift, cripple the Eoxian ship—as a Corpse Fleet vessel, they won’t be open to negotiations—and recover the location of the lost Starfinder vessel. Any questions?”
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"Station security will be arriving shortly. There is no reason not to turn her over -- unless she can provide us with further information or other things of value," he says, staring into the ghoul's soulless eyes.
"It makes no sense to Sorkalazril that the presence of this Corpse Fleet is tolerated in Pact World space. Why have they not been eliminated?"
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I agree with Sorkalazril. Nothing like some time in station security's lockup to knock some sense into a ghoul--or anyone, for that matter, Hishrizzik conveys to their companions.
At the loreseeker, the shirren examines the ship carefully. In response to Sorkalazril's question, they comment, It sounds as though the Threnody is actually disabled inside the Drift itself. Exegara must have come down on a Drift-capable shuttle.
Sent as back up by Venture-Captain Arvin, Nina arrives at the scene seeing the events unfold before her. Waiting for an opportunity, the elf woman crossing her arms keeping right hand on the pummel of her ornate blade.
"Well met, I am Nina Nightstar, I was sent by Captain Arvin." The elf stated to everyone gathered. Unlike her people, the female elf had no mask. Standing a little over 5’10” in height with a slender yet muscular build. Upon her armored clothing was a badge of a starship heading into the unknown.
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Greetings, Nina, Hishrizzik says, "audible" to everyone. Don't mess with the half-orc and everything should be good...
As the crew moves onto the Loreseeker, they glance at Delta-5. If you need backup, let me know. I can pilot a ship pretty well...but I'm good with computers, too, so maybe I'll keep an eye on that end of things.
Greetings, Nina, Hishrizzik says, "audible" to everyone. Don't mess with the half-orc and everything should be good…
“Thanks for the tip.” Nina nodded at Hishrizzik. “What is your designation?” The elf soldier wanted to be sure not to offend the Shiren. Glancing over at the half-orc, the elf gave him a soft smile.
Well meet Nina, I'm Gargalus.
“Well met Gargalus. By Weydan’s will I look forward in battling beside you.” Nina replied with sincerity in her voice. She knew that her people didn’t particularly care for the half-beasts, but unlike most of her folk, Nina never judged at first glance. So far he hadn’t given her anything to stress about.
Following her new teammates, Nina listened intentently as the crew assignments were given out. “I do have well rounded skills in all areas of a starship. But if you need an engineer I can fulfill that role if that is where you need me.”
Once the Loreseeker departs Absalom Station, you travel into the Drift uneventfully. The Drift is an immense, empty plane of swirling colors. Travel within the Drift to the site of the Endless Threnody takes nearly a week, in which you have some free time to kill as you would care to in the limited confines of the ship. When you arrive at the coordinates provided by Exegara, the Endless Threnody is not present.
Suddenly Hishrizzik's screen lights up; they've detected the Eoxian freighter before it has noticed you, allowing you to maneuver into an advantageous position. Pilot: Set facing. Note that the Port side is the front of the ship that is slightly cut off for each.
The Eoxian freighter is a massive vessel made of bone and steel. The front of the ship is a single enormous red lens, appearing as a sullen, bloody eye. The ship bristles with bone protrusions, as though it were some horned, skeletal beast. Some of the bones are charred and broken, indicating past battle damage. Laser cannons protrude from the front and sides of the freighter; but its rear weapon mounts are a twisted wreck. Gaps between the bones show the ship’s interior, but this is not from battle damage—this ship was never intended to accommodate living creatures.
You also detect that significant damage to the freighter appears to have come from pirates.
"Engineering ready!" Nina stated, looking over at the Captain. Excitement bubbling within, it had been a long time since she'd been in space combat.
Although you managed to catch the Eoxians off-guard, they still manage to outmaneuver you.