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The Lorespire Complex bustles with activity as the doors to Venture-Captain Arvin’s private office slide quickly. The lashunta man jots down some quick notes on his datapad, and then he glances up and motions to sit down.
“Welcome, Starfinders. We have just finished compiling some intriguing news. The Society’s magical archive for divining potential new finds, the Communion Vaults, houses a perpetually sleeping Liavaran Dreamer named Whisperer of Solar Winds. The Dreamer rarely rouses from its torpor, but when it does, it spins interwoven dream stories that point us to promising finds. It awoke earlier this week and has given us an elegant story about a fractured sandstone tablet that could point the Society to a great treasure.
“Unfortunately, the three fragments of the tablet appear to be in very different locales based on the tales we’ve recorded.
Luckily, each of these locations appears to be within the Pact Worlds. It’s your job to track each piece down and report back here so we can get everything pieced together and figure this dream out. Your first destination is the machine-driven world of Aballon. Based on the details of the first dreamspun tale, you’re likely to be looking for an android in a less-than-reputable city.
We’re sending you via shuttle to Towershadow, where you’ll have to figure out for yourselves what awaits. Time is of the essence, as things can change quite quickly. Any questions before you depart?”
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"Are we not all dreamers? Is reality truly real or is it only a fantasy that we all share?" Azara questions.
"Any sensible person only dreams when they sleep. Its a biological function. I'd expect that sort of sophomore philosophy nonsense from somebody who doesn't have the responsibilities of a Starfinder Society agent."
The tiny ferran harrumphs and shrugs his shoulders as if trying to dislodge something uncomfortable which has settled there.
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A grinning, cheerful little ysoki in the room says, "Hello everyone!! My name is Arratoi! I'm a writer and I find inspiration working various missions for the Starfinders and travelling the stars. Someday, I'll write the quintessential space novel that will be read across the entire galaxy!!
"Now I know that some may struggle to pronounce my name, but that's okay. It's pronounced ARA-TOI. But honestly, if you cannot say it, just call me 'A Rat'! I know you were thinking it! So now you can say it without fear of causing me any offense!
"Oh and by the way, I have quite a few dwarven novelist colleagues who've taught me how to throw insults like a dwarf. It's quite an art! And I daresay.... addictive!
"So if I say things such as, 'Why won't that incompetent harpy-faced decrepit fuzzpot light turn green already?!?!' then please don't take offense. I just get carried away now and then!
"So about this mission, I do have a couple questions! Can you tell us more about the nature of the treasure this tablet points to? And what can you tell us about Aballon? You say it is machine driven?"
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Venture-Captain turns towards Sidor;
"What is a Liavaran Dreamer you ask?"
“A long-slumbering creature from the Pact World gas giant of Liavara. When they wake, they speak of prophetic dreams that can lead to astounding fortunes, but they tend to drift back off rather quickly. Whisperer of Solar Winds is already asleep after imparting us with the relevant information.”
Azara receives the equivalent of a telepathic nod at the quick telepathic greeting.
At Mincey's remark about getting paid
"Isn't the gift of a new experience payment enough? Or the warmth of knowing you're helping out the Starfinder Society as a whole....?"
"I'm sure you will be able to pick up something along your way here or there"
At Arratoi's barrage of questions
"About the nature of the treasure I don't have anything to add right now..but I can tell you something about Aballon"
Venture-Captain Arvin goes into lecture mode;
"Aballon is a planet known for its machines and robotic inhabitants. It’s very difficult for biological life to survive with nonexistent atmosphere and other dangerous environs. Thankfully, its primary inhabitants, a machine race known as the anacites, have built self-contained megaplex cities. One of these megaplex cities, known as Striving, houses your destination region of Towershadow. As there is artificial atmosphere within the megaplex, you shouldn’t need anything more than your armor and whatever tools you already have.”
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"Da only ting I wants ta know iz when weez fettin' paid?" says Mincey
"Vat did I chust zay?" snaps Onda.
A grinning, cheerful little ysoki in the room says, "Hello everyone!! My name is Arratoi! I'm a writer...."
"Nein, really?"
At Mincey's remark about getting paid
"Isn't the gift of a new experience payment enough? Or the warmth of knowing you're helping out the Starfinder Society as a whole....?""I'm sure you will be able to pick up something along your way here or there"
Onda just croaks "Acht!" and throws his hands up in exasperation. "Ve are all doomed...."
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"Money is the biggest dream of all," Azara replies.
"At least that's what my editor back at the publishing house says when I ask about my royalties."
He nods to Arratoi. "I am also a writer, though my realm is poetry. And I also garner inspiration from my journeys with the Starfinder society. Here is my most recent work."
"Gary King of the Humans
Came to the Scour’d Stars
Reeking of Heroic Booze
Beside him his entourage
Each one brave and true
A band of noble heroes
Exemplary Exemplar
Master of missiles
Man of mystic mightiness
Ysoki twins in spirit
Both Quig and Naboh
Skilled gamers and mechanics
And there was one more with them
A duke of gravity
A true scion of the stars"
The poem continues for 48 more stanzas...
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As Azara starts an poem of epic proportions Venture-Captain Arvin taps his foot after the first 2 or 3 stanza's then looks up and says:
"Didn't I mention that time was of the essence?"
"Now if you have no further questions I suggest you hurry along, you have a shuttle to catch. Oh and takes this with you as a reminder so you don't forget what you are supposed to do as you idly twiddle your thumbs for days on your trip there"
You receive an email with some details about your mission
(See player hand-out 1 on slide 2 of the link at the top of the page)
You make your way towards your shuttle pad and board your dinky beat up shuttle to starts your travels together as a highly motivated and experienced Starfinder Team where you have plenty of time to get to know each other and listen to entire poems being recited to pass the time.
After a few days, the shuttle reaches a blasted wasteland of a planet that—despite its dark and barren appearance—quickly shows itself to be covered in glittering metal cities under the full brightness of the Pact World’s sun. The shuttle goes through a set of blast doors into a city built inside and around what was clearly once a massive silver tower.
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Before they set out, Azara stops off at the nearest big box store and picks up a suit Tempweave armor and a new laser pistol.
He does not regale his fellow Starfinders with TOO many of his original works. He will gladly recite some of the things he's working on if anyone shows even a hint of interest along the way.
"Civilizations rise. Civilizations fall. Worlds remain. Stars burn. The works of man (and woman and other) are fleeting moments in the vast tapestry of time," Azara comments as they come to a landing.
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As Arratoi looks around this is what he sees
He does notice the distinct lack of what you would call "people" ..it's mostly (an)droids and robots with the occasional Human, Vesk and Ysoki scattered between them.
Constructed and mechanized races from across the galaxy find their way here in search of acceptance and to escape perceived “organic intolerance.”
When the First Ones came to Aballon to harvest it for unknown matter, they left behind a race of self-improving constructs now known as anacites. Automated forge complexes, such as the Automatrix, are scattered across Aballon. These leftover forges of the First Ones produce baseline anacites in great quantities.
Each anacite is a unique self-improving construct, and over the millennia, thousands of different models have developed, with new forge complexes producing these models at regular intervals. Once referred to simply as Aballonians by outsiders, anacites claimed their own racial name sometime prior to the Gap as they spread across Aballon, forging vast nation-sized cities known as megaplexes.
Androids are the second largest population group on Aballon, second only to anacites. A drastic increase in Aballonian androids came in the aftermath of “the Automaton’s Polemic,” a speech that triggered the emancipation of indentured androids across the Pact Worlds. Many androids saw the machine-driven utopia of Aballon as a place to start a new life after they were freed from servitude.
From an outsider’s view, Aballon is a dull world of iron and rock.
Since the rise of anacite dominance of Aballon, interconnected settlements the size of nations—now known as megaplexes— spread across the surface of Aballon like a metal plague. The ongoing expansion of these city-nations is determined by incomprehensibly complicated calculations performed by the most advanced anacites in conjunction with the leaders of other similarly burgeoning city-states
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Azara makes his way into the city, chatting people up and being generally charming. And he is quite charming, especially to people that he only has casual contact with. He even signs a few autographs...not all of them requested or wanted.
He asks around about a particular android with a bit of tablet.
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Your first destination is the machine-driven world of Aballon. Based on the details of the first dreamspun tale, you’re likely to be looking for an android in a less-than-reputable city...”
The dark-haired operative had been sitting quietly near the back of the room, perhaps unnoticed by any but those who had been particularly observant. "Well, that sounds easy enough. How many androids can there be on Aballon, after all?" He asks in amused tone. Stiehle had been watching the gathering team with a practiced eye. He has a good friend who is an ysoki, albeit one with a very unusual and slightly disturbing obsession with TPS reports. But these rat-folk are very unlike Raatchet, he decides - though when Arrotoi arrives he nods slightly, glad to see a friendly and familiar face. He is just as glad when the Venture Captain puts an end to the poetry recitation, for the operative is eager to get moving on this operation. It sounds intriguing enough, though Stiehle isn't sure why these tablets are so important. The only things he ever dreams about are his vidgames - and sometimes his father... Shaking his head, he departs after the others begin to file out of the room.
Once on the planet, Stiehle smiles in bemusement at Azara. He doesn't quite recognize the lashunta, but it appears he must be well known somehow. In point of fact, the operative himself has made a few public appearances in the last few months, and though he doesn't crave the attention he admits to himself that it was rather a pleasant experience. Especially all the free drinks and the occasional female companion. To the others he says. "I'll see if I can hack into the local computers and get some information on this tablet or our android. Not likely, but it's worth a shot." Stopping at a public terminal, the operative tries to do just that, as well as looking up whatever other information he can glean about this city and its many seedy inhabitants. Once he downloads the data to his own microcomputer, he will inform the others of what he's learned.
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Looking over the email, Arratoi says, "A made real one refers to androids. The rest of this is indecipherable to me. I'm awful with riddles, to be honest."
Upon arriving, Arratoi shares what he knows of this world, saying, "This world is FASCINATING! It is dominated by sentient constructs called anacites. Androids make up the second most populous race but if you look around, you'll see that organic races are very much in the minority!
"And the planet is dominated by ever-growing megaplexes. They're kind of like city states that grow in a coordinated fashion. If this world wasn't so amazing, I'd get a bit creeped out..."
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You make your way towards your shuttle pad and board your dinky beat up shuttle to starts your travels together as a highly motivated and experienced Starfinder Team where you have plenty of time to get to know each other and listen to entire poems being recited to pass the time.
After a few days, the shuttle reaches a blasted wasteland of a planet that—despite its dark and barren appearance—quickly shows itself to be covered in glittering metal cities under the full brightness of the Pact World’s sun. The shuttle goes through a set of blast doors into a city built inside and around what was clearly once a massive silver tower.
Onda debarks what he has dubbed the Flailing Sardine Tin ready to chew someone's leg off.
"Vat? Could you rebeat all zat. I sdill had mein earblugs in."
"Vadeffer. Arh. All I know is zat it is tough to find any orkanic food choints here."
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Azara starts to talk to some big burly Vesks that pass by on the street and steers the conversation to where an Android might be hiding on the planet
One of the Vesks scratches his head with a big claw
" ..ain't all the androids hiding on this planet? I thought that was sorta the point of this whole planet...."
The other Vesk joins in
"You might want to try going ...." and he gives you a location to explore further
Sthiele logs into the local infosphere and after clicking away some advertisements about the latest, bestest, newest on what lubrication oil is sure to keep you running on your tracks for the next decade finds a link to some seedy parts of town where someone could experience the real down low life in something called Towershadow
Arratoi finds some nice fellow Ysoki's to chat up and gathers all sorts of useful info on where you would go if you didn't want to be found in this town, they even met someone who was hiding from a a false murder acquisition back on his home planet in a bar somewhere
Sidor tries to help out but falls victim to some clickbait and ends up going to a side to order a few dozen screws
Mincey uses her instincts to track down your target but her insticts apply more to natural things then to this mechanical planet and she comes up just short of finding anything useful to add.
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Arratoi smiles at Onda's suggestion. "Ah...the blunt, direct approach! I like it! But let me try something a little more friendly first. And if that doesn't work, you get ready to hit it in 'zee head' okay?"
Arratoi approaches the android and says, "Hi there, I've got a few spare credits for you! I'm Arratoi, what's your name?"
After it answers, Arratoi continues, "All of us in the entire universe feels like running away at some point in our lives, right? I mean, it's just instinct to want to go and find a place where you belong, right? What's your story? How'd you find yourself here, friend? Wanna sit over a can of oil for you and a cup of coffee for me and chat a while? Exchange stories?"
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"Some problems cannot be solved with a blunt object to the back of the head. Some problems cannot be solved without one," Azara replies to Onda's suggestion.
"Let's see if this is the former rather than the latter."
He follows Arratoi with a friendly, reassuring smile on his face.
"No matter how far you run, you can never get away from yourself. Sometimes talking about your troubles is a good way to gain clarity about them and find a solution. And everyone could use another friend or two."
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"I don't know about that riddle..but I ..well..yeah..I sort of have a fragment of a tablet..Kind of, yeah. It’s somewhere safe, although I can’t really get it right now while I wait for my trial.”
“I was framed for murder on my home world, Verces, for finding out some scumbag of a club owner was engaging in android trafficking. Had to come here to get a proper trial from the anacites. If only I had my evidence…”
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"“Ah, some thugs stole it from a coworker. I don’t want to risk making a bad name for myself while trying to clear my name already. Although if you want that sandstone thing so bad, I’d be happy to give it to you if you could go and get the evidence back. The evidence is on a datapad with a red sticker that some verthani thug took to the slums.”
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Sidor nods.
"Sure. We'll get you the datapad with the red sticker, and you give us the tablet. To be clear, we can't be held responsible if the data has been erased. We'll do our level best to get it back, but I expect any good faith effort to be rewarded."
"Why did he take it? Was it a general robbery? Did he take anything else you own, or just the datapad?"
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"He's a member of a gang of thugs. I don't know how big the group he runs with is. And I think they we're just collecting protection money or some other scam like that.."
You receive directions on where to go.
Lerecti’s information leads you to a grungy section of Towershadow’s interior slums. The ground here is a grimy mix of soot and dirt, created from the runoff of various industries on Aballon and entirely unnatural to the normally sterile planet.
The buildings in this particular area are abandoned, with doors hanging open and interiors ransacked by gangsters and vagrants.
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Stiehle decides that a gang of thugs sounds like a potentially dangerous situation and moves around stealthily, trying to find a place of concealment where he can strike with surprise if things go badly. Which he is fully expecting, especially given the behavior of the ysoki...
Unfortunately, Sidor moves more quickly than expected, catching the operative off-guard...
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Azara also feels like it is important to approach quietly and without too much fanfare, for the same reasons. Stealing from a gang, even an item that was stolen by them, was a dangerous enough proposition. Doing it on their home turf would exceptionally hazardous.
He does not do a very good job of it...