R1G5 scores a solid hit. The creature rocks as two spell's worth of nanites corrode it from the inside!
Round 4:
Hack-It: Go
Round 5:
Booker: Go
Dunklezahn: Go
Gig: Go
Janzi: Go
Hostile: TBD
R1G5: TBD
Hack-It: TBD
Guard Dog: 127 (+5 on round 5)
"What kinda idiot didn't adjust the sight 'fore leaving the ship?" Booker growls at himself, adjusting.
Gig, having used up a great many of his spells, uses the round to cast Magic Missile for the entire round and release a barrage of arcane bolts at the beast.
"Uh, guys... Maybe we don't engage the big radioactive meanies in the future?" he asks over the sound of his own gunfire.
After barely making a noticeable scratch, Sputter catches a lucky break as the monster's mouth opens. The rife shot sets its innards aflame, and before long, the massive alien drops dead!
"Yahoo! We took care of that beastie! Did you guys see my Magic Missile? I cannot believe it was so effective against that massive beast. Oh, and I'm sure you guys helped a lot too."
"Not over yet," Booker growls. Gun raised, he advances cautiously but quickly. He stops over Dunklezahn, takes his support hand off the muzzle, grabs the vesk by the collar, and drags him back fifty feet.
Only then does he stop to dump a healing serum down the vesk's bloodied maw.
Once dead, somehow, the creature stops exuding the radiation.
Booker quietly hands the vesk a healing serum.
Hack-It swats the drone. "A little slow on delivering the firepower, you hunk of junk? Don't you realize that this group relies on you?"
The drone makes a plaintive beeping noise, which the Ysoki interrupts to scold his creation, like an angry parent to his child. "Don't even! If you haven't figured it out, your our primary source of ranged damage. I've optimized your sensory connections for maximum responsiveness, so stop taking forever to interpret the commands!"
Booker growls at Hack-It, but does not say anything. He methodically reloads the vesk cannon.
Once Dunklezahn is patched up, he advances.
"Keep up the good work, my friends. I'm right behind you. Mind you, I do not have any spells left, but I am still right behind you."
With naught left to do but head into the marrowblight's house, the party advances. This bizarre, circular hovel appears to be made from
stretched, cured skin wrapped around a frame of massive bones. A front door hewn from sickly wood stands ever so slightly open.
(Darkvision 60')
(Darkvision 60')
(Darkvision 60')
--->
It appears that no one is inside.
Dunklezahn rushes in.... but sees little. The furniture is ancient, and the center of the hut is open to the elements. Like it was once an indoor pool.
R1G5 enters right behind the large vesk. At first it doesn't look like there's anyone home.
Then a disgusting creature flies forth from behind some furniture. Whatever it was in life, strange radiation or arcane energy has warped , creating hideous bone spurs that protrude from the creature's back, cheeks, jaw, and shoulders.
Unfortunately, it got the jump on Dunklezahn! The creature pounces into position, flailing its extra limbs!
Round 1:
Dunklezahn: Go
Booker: Go
R1G5: Go
Hostile: TBD
Janzi: TBD
Hack-It: TBD
Booker drifts west to open a crossfire and bangs a shell at the bizarre assailant.
Dunklezahn's off balance reaction and a bad swing makes him wiff. Booker, over his shoulder, drills the marrowblight.
Round 1:
Dunklezahn: Miss
Booker: Hit
R1G5: Go
Hostile: TBD
Janzi: TBD
Hack-It: TBD
Marrowblight: 17
Despite getting the marrowblight to fall for the feint, R1G5 still misses with the pistol.
Relishing the opportunity for primal, unfettered, melee combat. The creature unleashes it's rage on Dunklezahn. A pair of spurs dart out towards the weak spots in the vesk's armor:
for + FORT
for + FORT
Round 1:
Dunklezahn: Miss
Booker: Hit
R1G5: Miss
Hostile: ATK
Janzi: Go
Hack-It: Go
Round 2:
Dunklezahn: Go
Booker: Go
R1G5: Go
Hostile: TBD
Janzi: TBD
Hack-It: TBD
Marrowblight: 17
Janzi moves, then fires his pistol while telling everyone 1) how stupid they are and 2) this thing should not be a pet.
Janzi's aim is poor, and the creature is fast....
Round 1:
Dunklezahn: Miss
Booker: Hit
R1G5: Miss
Hostile: ATK
Janzi: Miss
Hack-It: Go
Round 2:
Dunklezahn: Go
Booker: Go
R1G5: Go
Hostile: TBD
Janzi: TBD
Hack-It: TBD
Marrowblight: 17
"Damn useless supporting fire..." Booker complains of his comrades. He aims and fires in quick succession.
Thanks to R1G5 and the tricky attack, Booker finally scores a single hit.
Round 1:
Dunklezahn: Miss
Booker: Hit
R1G5: Miss
Hostile: ATK
Janzi: Miss
Hack-It: Go
Round 2:
Dunklezahn: Go
Booker: Hit
R1G5: Go
Hostile: TBD
Janzi: TBD
Hack-It: TBD
Marrowblight: 32
Dunklezahn fights back against the stinger, but misses (albeit barely) with his own weapon. The marrowblight laughes and the sound is discordant.
Round 1:
Dunklezahn: Miss
Booker: Hit
R1G5: Miss
Hostile: ATK
Janzi: Miss
Hack-It: Go
Round 2:
Dunklezahn: Miss
Booker: Hit
R1G5: Hit, no FF
Hostile: TBD
Janzi: TBD
Hack-It: TBD
Marrowblight: 39
Hack-It and Sputter waste no time opening fire.
Sputter is off, but this time Hack-it himself is on. The shot is only grazing, but every little bit helps.
Despite not landing a blow, the marrowblight still focuses on the sword-wielding vesk.
MISS
for + FORT
Round 2:
Dunklezahn: Miss
Booker: Hit
R1G5: Hit, no FF
Hostile: ATK
Janzi: Go
Hack-It: Go
Round 3:
Dunklezahn: Go
Booker: Go
R1G5: Go
Hostile: TBD
Janzi: TBD
Hack-It: TBD
Marrowblight: 42
Janzi looks in utter disgust at the laser pistol in his hand and lashes out with his mind instead.
Janzi strikes on an opportunity. The distracted marrowblight mounts a weak defense against his spell, and he scrambles her already addled mind.
Round 2:
Dunklezahn: Miss
Booker: Hit
R1G5: Hit, no FF
Hostile: ATK
Janzi: MT
Hack-It: Go
Round 3:
Dunklezahn: Go
Booker: Go
R1G5: Go
Hostile: TBD
Janzi: TBD
Hack-It: TBD
Marrowblight: 67
"Just a matter of time, bud," Booker comments under his breath. He pounds another pair of shells at the marrowblight.
Booker blasts the marrowblight twice with his cannon. The necrotic flesh fights on, even as the damage mounts. Clearly though, the fanatic Corpsefleet agent intends to fight to the death...
Round 2:
Dunklezahn: Miss
Booker: Hit
R1G5: Hit, no FF
Hostile: ATK
Janzi: MT
Hack-It: Go
Round 3:
Dunklezahn: Go
Booker: Hit
R1G5: Go
Hostile: TBD
Janzi: TBD
Hack-It: TBD
Marrowblight: 91
"Rinse and repeat, Sputter!"
Hack-it and Dunklzahn both fail to connect with the marrowblight agent. R1G5 finally lands a dead on shot to the base of the neck, killing the undead horror!
(Darkvision 60')
(Darkvision 60')
(Darkvision 60')
--->
Looking around the hut the party finds a pair of notable things. A sack made from the dried organ of some creature hidden behind one of the load-bearing bones in the building’s frame. The sack holds a jumbled stash of more than a dozen credsticks, some bent or bloodstained.All together, the credsticks contain a total of 7,080 credits.
There's also a datapad with a cracked screen on a table.
The datapad reveals that this marrowblight, Xerantha, has indeed been colluding with the Corpse Fleet for a long time, and it contains detailed notes from an earlier meeting with a "Captain Zeera Vesh." The notes and log entries are sobering:
Corpse Fleet is more than one step ahead of you in tracking the Cult of the Devourer and potentially finding the Stellar Degenerator. In fact, the Corpse Fleet is fully aware that you are on its trail and has put plans into motion to stop you! Following your discovery of Commander Hebiza Eskolar aboard the quarantined mining ship Acreon, the Corpse Fleet’s leaders have concluded that you're a genuine concern.
At this point, the meeting entries describe your trip to Eox in detail. The Corpse Fleet is aware that you escaped their ambush in the Diaspora, and they also know there’s no chance that you will be able to follow them immediately to "Nejeor", given that they erased that piece of data entirely from the Devourer cult’s datacore. The Corpse Fleet now assumed that you'd coming to Eox to search for more clues, especially since their spies on Absalom Station have confirmed that the Starfinder Society’s Chiskisk has recently met with Ambassador Gevalarsk Nor multiple times to discuss the situation....
It looks like the marrowblight's job was to kill you, or at least slow you down until it was too late.
Then, at the end of the logs, you catch a break. Apparently this Xerantha is supposed to meet her Corpse Fleet Contact in a gorge outside the city to give an update. She's supposed to meet the contact tonight for an update.
"Folks, take a look at this on the computer! This could explain why we've met so many nasties!"
By instinct, Booker looks up for the sun to get a sense of the time, but there is no sun. "Heh." He looks at his HUD chronometer instead. "Think we got time to scout the terrain?"
Booker recalls the meeting place. The party road by it in the robotaxi Dunk called.
Booker looks for a good place to hole up with a long gun.