As Taeon and Roddy each step forward the necklaced insectoids clack their mandibles together and appear to scrutinize the Starfinders.
The appearance of the party certainly seems to draw much attention from the insectoids as many are drawn away from their prior activities and come to gawk at the newcomers in their midst.
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Flexer-5 repeats his usual greeting in meeting new people. "Hi I'm FLexer-5. My friends call me Flexer, so you can call me Flexer-5."
He notices the conditions and thinks they could use some more food and water. He quietly asks of the crew (minus Dora and Arod) Hey do you guys have extra food and water on the ship? These bugs might see it as a valuable gift..."
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Roddy scans over the gardens, frowning. They feel important somehow. He's missing something here... When Flexer speaks, Roddy furrows his brow at him before his eyes go wide as saucers. "Oh, that's what I was... Ugh. I'm a dolt." He digs into his pack and pulls out all ten of his MRE's, piling them on the ground. He realizes that the bugs probably have zero clue what these are, so he makes sure they're watching as he opens one up and takes a nibble, swallowing dramatically, then offers it to the nearest creature.
"Hope they're not allergic to these," he mutters.
Roddy’s offer of food is immediately met with head bobbing and clicking speech. The insectoids motion for you to follow them into the interior of one the largest cave.
The interior of the the cave is spacious, with plenty of natural handholds leading up to other tunnels into the cliff. A large bonfire burns in the center of a cleared-out space, providing light but making the cave quite stuffy. As you step inside, it seems as though the entire population of insectoids is converging here. You can see that many of the insectoids are carrying drums and assorted instruments made from stone.
A few moments later, they begin playing a stately tune and the remaining insectoids face each other in a couple of straight lines. The husks proceed to begin a formalized process of orchestrated movement!
Dystane and a few of the others motion and gesture towards you to follow, making more warm, clicking sounds.
Catching the beat and a few of the moves, Ashtif's display on the floor has the insectoids stop for a moment, their mandibles agape.
The cave then erupts in clacks of joy and celebration. Dystane begins to making clicking and chugging noises, almost as if a train were approaching!
When the androids deftly join in, the insectoids nod and sway in time with the movement of the artificial beings. When they finish their movin' and a shakin', The two, necklaced insectoids gesture a desire to lock limbs with the androids.
Soon, Dystane approaches Taeon, offering to lock arms and bring him to the dance floor and other insectoids approach the rest of the party.
As the ceremony and accompanying revelry comes to a close, you spot another insectoid stepping into the firelight. This one is thinner than the others and dressed in shimmering fabrics, though it is clear it has a few bandaged wounds. Most strikingly, this insectoid sports a pair of membranous wings, unlike any of the other insectoids!
The other insectoids treat this one with apparent respect, though not reverence, as it enters and it is allowed to walk right up to you. It seems to look you over for a moment, then gestures to its throat and mandibles.
Suddenly, the hand of this newcomer lights up with energy, and it uses it to point to Ashtif’s throat and mouth.
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Ashtif's eyes go wide and his hand begins reaching toward his weapon, but at Roddy's words halts the movement. He glances again at the translator, then looks around at the other bugs and decides he is probably misreading the creatures intentions. "If you're sure," he whispers back. He gulps, then steps forward to the creature and bows slightly. "Hello," he says, using the translator to translate it into the creature's language.
The insectoid returns the bow and then reaches it's glowing hand expectantly toward Ashtif, repeating clicking phrases in it's native tongue.
The translator interprets the phrases as "Greetings", "Please touch hand", and "Touch and speak".
As Ashtif's hand comes into contact with the glowing hand, he encounters a strange, alien sensation in his throat and his mind.
As the spell effect overcomes the halfling, he now feels the mystical force effecting all of his body.
Suddenly, his brain seems overwhelmed as it begins to process dozens of conversations taking place around him. He closes his eyes for a moment and upon opening sees that what had before seemed like simply scratches are, in fact, messages sprawled on the walls throughout the cave.
The glow gone from its hand, the insectoid that touched Ashtif continues to speak excitedly in a series of clicks and chirps.
"I am Klarima." she notes. "I had heard that Dystane and her hunting party had watched you and your companions defeat a sand brute. That is quite the feat! You do not appear to be either one of the husks or one of my kind."
"Indeed, you are unlike any other people I have ever met. Possibly, the same is true of you for me. We have much we can teach one another."
"I can cast share language on two of your other companions, if you'd like and we can also converse together."
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Catching Ashtif's glance Flexer-5 misinterprets it as a subtle request. "Don't look at me, I already had my positive organic interaction for the day. Also, I know that you all know I'm pretty great at all sorts of things, so you may be surprised, but sometimes meatbags say I'm 'abrasive' or 'rude' or 'insensitive.' Tell the bugs that the dancing was awesome though!"
In response, Klarima answers in Ghibran. As she does, she gestures around the cavern.
She gestures around the cavern. "Thsoe of use who retained the power of flight are known as 'membranes' by these people. We live within teh city of Arkeost."
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"She -- at least, I think it is a she -- said that after the war, they kind of split into two species. A goddess called Mother Touloo protected a group of them who came into the wastes and lost the power to fly. They are called husks. Her kind, with wings, are called membranes. They live in a city called Arkeost."
"Though, if you were traveling with Dystane's hunting party, then you surely must have seen it! With its glowing force-field, Arkeost is a shining beacon of civilization! One of the few left on this world, I’ve been told. It is also my home."
With a fervant nod, she says, "I can certainly take you there if you agree to escort me across the wastes.”
After casting the spell upon Taeon, Klarima responds.
As the party prepares to leave for Arkeost, the two necklaced husk ghibranis arrive, holding one of the unusual firearms that you had seen Dystane and her hunting party holding. One of them holds the weapon out to Roddy. The two begin an animated conversation involving various clacking mandibles. Part way through, the other necklaced one pulls out three vials of liquid, that give off a strong odor resembling black licorice.
"We overheard that you can understand our words, brothers and sisters!" adds the necklaced female. "I am Sister Alomir and my mate is Brother Koseemo." She points to the necklaced husk holding the weapon.
"This is a huchket." says Brother Koseemo, as he presents the rifle. "The weapon of warriors of our tribe for generations--since the earliest days when Mother Touloo guided us to these caves."
Sister Alomir reaches into a bag to produce three vials of liquid that smell--and presumably taste--like black licorice. "These kinds of medicinals have always provided comfort and strength to members of our tribe when they have suffered injury. Though life is not easy in this wastes, thanks undoubtedly to the providence of Mother Touloo, we have enough to give to you a portion of our stores."
The weapon includes some technological elements from the ghibrani’s past, but is otherwise appears like an archaic projectile longarm.
Upon seeing Roddy's reaction, the husk leaders speak followed by Klarima.
"Now, as a member of our tribe, he can enjoy both the blessings of Mother Touloo and a weapon to wield as a true warrior!" Sister Alomir adds.
"You have been quite generous both to these newcomers and to me." Klarima says. "However, the time has come for me to return home and these newcomers have agreed to provide their protection on my way back to Arkeost."
Klarima gives a gracious bow to her husk hosts, which the husk return in kind. The ghibrani membrane then motions for the party to follower her. "Come. It is time for me to return home. Though the journey is short, the day is getting late. Should you have any more questions, I will do my best to answer them on the way."
With the husk having said their goodbyes to the members of the party, their tribal brothers and sisters, you head out with Klarima.
She leads you through the badlands toward the shining metropolis in the distance.
Elytrio’s sun is beginning to set as you approach the edge of a visible force field outside of the city. Klarima retrieves a clunky and ancient-looking datapad from her pack and presses a few buttons on it. There is a brief pause when nothing happens and, a little frustrated, she touches the same sequence of buttons on the device.
This time, a circular portion of the force field opens like a door. Klarima steps through and gestures for you to follow. When you have all passed through, Klarima presses another button on her datapad and the force field closes again.
The city of Arkeost lies half a mile ahead.
Klarima casts share language on Donavaan.
In response to Taeon's question, Klarima appears to shrug.
By the time you reach the city, its lights have come on. The ghibrani membrane stops and speaks.
This strange metropolis sparkles like a jewel in the gloom of dusk. In stark contrast to the desolation surrounding it, the city is a bustling center of activity, with dozens of winged insectoid aliens going about their business, flitting from one high doorway to another. The streets below seem almost like an afterthought, used only occasionally by small automated machines.
Several overgrown flower beds and shaggy trees fill the spaces between the roads and hug the sides of the tall buildings. Though the structures still look sturdy, obvious patches of rust and other disrepair indicate that they haven’t been very well taken care of.
As you walk with Klarima, it appears that most of the ghibrani citizens seem to stop what they are doing and stare at you.
In short order, a contingent of ghibranis wearing formal armor and carrying weapons that look like taclashes flutters down, looking ready for a confrontation.
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Taeon looks alarmed at the approach of the soldiers.
"Whoa! What's going on, Klarima? I thought we were guests."
The Starfinders hear a translation in their heads as Taeon uses his limited telepathic powers to translate. He adds, I don't like this. If they're not friendly, then we're surrounded and trapped here.
Klarima steps forward to speak with the guards. A brief conversation follows as exposition is exchanged. One of the guards excuses himself and takes flight as the conversation comes to a close.
"I feared that I may have to remain with them for some time, as I dare not try and travel back to Arkeost on my own." she continues. "But then, during the husk's Welcoming Ceremony, I caught sight of these beings--they are off worlders! They have not even heard of the war! Can you believe it?"
The guards seem generally shocked, as Klarima explains further. "They agreed to provide me protection for my return to the city and they have asked only to see the wonders of Arkeost themselves. They are here as my guests."
"Off worlders?" the apparent leader of the guard responds. "The Most Elevated will want to know of this." He turns to one of the other armored guards, who gives a gesture resembling a salute and then takes wing, flying off immediately towards another section of the city. "Let your guests know that we will be escorting them to the Most Elevated immediately!"
With the guards' posture taking on that of escorts, Klarima turns toward the party and speaks excitedly.
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Roddy flexes his arms instinctively, prepping for a fight. He's never been big on firearms, so his first instinct is to get ready to slug a bug. But he catches himself and crosses his arms over his chest instead.
He gets a bit of a headache trying to keep up with Taeon's mental translation. He's spoken to a few telepaths before, but never for this long. He absently checks to see if there's any blood coming out of his nostrils, and breathes an audible sigh of relief when there isn't.