[SFS_Aerondor] 01-08 Sanctuary of Drowned Delight (Inactive)

Game Master Aerondor

Twik tries to pick out Irtrine from the crowd (or any other familiar face) and appeal to her and those with her.

"My colleague here is correct! That which you know as the Weeping Knight is really Zon Kuthon - an evil deity that many know of.

We need to save our comrade but we need help! Is there a way to empty the adjoining rooms of water?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27

Needles looks around, to see if any of her comrades are hurt.

"Oh yes, it seems Oshessa has been advocating one thing while actually covertly promoting something else. Quite crafty, just like Drumther did in R&D when he... but that's not for now. Now I think you should convey a board meeting and elect a new chairmorlamaw."
Diplomacy Aid Another: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

The morlamaw's descend into heated debate for a minute. Obviously moved by your words, they find it hard to reconcile them with the Oshessa they know and revere.

"Perhaps you just misunderstood one of our faiths rituals.." suggests one.

You notice the air-lock is starting to cycle through its pressurisation process again. Someone will be coming out. Soon.

Do we place our minis in Area A1?

Needles gets ready for whatever is about to exit.
You see moisture in the fur under her eyes.
That cannot be the sea-water, since she has her seals up.
No... she is crying.
She mutters: "If I die now, 1 month shy of my 5 years at Pzifer, I'll never get my gold watch..."

Conrad jumps in, "I wish it were so. I promise you, after this, if you help and we survive, I'll make sure all the knowledge of the universe is made available. You'll learn a LOT more about this religion! Please, we just need some help!" Diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 + 1d6 ⇒ (15) + 11 + (3) = 29

 »Why not worship Pzifer? You get pain if you want. Any kind of other medication too. Plus a very solid dental plan. Which I think you need! »
Diplo Aid Another: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

I've moved our tokens to A1.

Lynn cocks her head to the side as one morlamaw speaks up. "I don't think any of your rituals would involve outsiders being treated as chew toys, right?" She points to the places where tusks have dented and cut her armor.

Lynn takes the last few moments of prep time (if possible) to rush over to the Workshop room and grab the Mk2 healing serums. If things keep going awfully, the group is going to need them!

Yepa, put your mini's in A1 for the moment. And you have time to grab the healing serums if you want. Also to use them.

After a little more time, the airlock cycles and Odessa and another moramow step out.

"Grab them! They just attacked me!"

The various walrus folk look from priest to starfinders, caught with indecision.

"NO!" Lynn stomps her foot with overacted petulance at the outrageous comment from Oshessa. "You won't keep the nice Morlamaws here in the dark any longer, you meanie! They don't need your totally awful pain and suffering god! That guy is straight evil!"

She points at the head priest "And you killed the nice kalo Starfinders that came here and fed their bodies to the sea serpents! The only reason those sea serpents would be coming into your treasure room is if there was food! And you gave it to them."

"As a Starfinder, and as an idol, and as a good person in the Galaxy, I can't let this kind of meanness stand. And I'm sure the good morlamaws here won't either!" She strikes a pose as she speaks with the absolute confidence of an actor on stage.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

One more effort to make sure this doesn't become a one-sided slaughter (of us). :>

Hope this goes through with all the site instability this evening.

"You see... she doesn't understand growth through suffering." explains Odshessa.

Anyone else want to chime in with some RP here. Think of those juicy circumstantial bonuses you might get.

"I do not know if it is all the rust in that chain, that transmitted ferrous content via the kissing, which has done something to Oshessa, but Pzifer will gladly help run more tests than I can. So let's get her off to our closest facility. Free of charge! We, you, owe it to her after all she's done. In the meantime, as Lynn said, we must stop her from killing more people. Do not fear, I am sure the rusty blood poisoning defence will help her in court."
Diplomacy Aid Another: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
Nat' 20!
What a salesyoski!

Conscious of the potentially dying prisoner, Twik annouces his position to the world...

"You know...The proof of this show is in the pudding. We can all just wander over to the back room and check up on the prisoner. If he's there, well.... then you know we have been telling you the truth. If he's not, we aren't."

He gives a fierce glare at Oshessa...

"Let's just go have a nice and peacful looksy yes?"

Diplomacy A/A: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23

Right, going to engage in a little hand waving here to get this resolved. To say we are a little off track would be an understatement.

Odshessa looks horrified that her followers show even the smallest suspicion of her. However Itrine admits to her part in the cover-up of the Kalo deaths. Eventually the followers demand to see her quarters and the secret door is uncovered, along with a dead Kalo... apparently the last of the Manta Corps.

The cult is horrified, however their lingering respect for Odshessa is enough for them to exile her and Teltham rather than kill them. "Let them suffer together" is the general conclusion.

The true nature of the Weeping Knight is a bit of a shock to them, and over the next couple of days, a couple of other moralmar vanish, apparently deciding that life with Odshessa is better than trying to reconcile ten years of living a lie.

The remaining Morlamaw are more than a little interested to hear about the wider universe, a couple even express an interest in joining the starfinder society. Those that remain behind are happy to help with with the extraction of clophirium - the locations being on the data disks you recovered from the museum.

Still, somewhere, there remains the core of a dark cult. And you can be sure that vengeance is on their mind.

Mechanically I'm counting this as a success, although not giving you the credits you would have earned for actually killing Odshessa or Teltham (he of that nasty force-wave) in combat. It seems the fairest way to deal with the situation. I'll try to get chronicles out later today.

To have the Kalo survive you had a minute after the secret door opened to defeat the morlamaw and get him aid. Unfortunately that fails the secondary condition of the mission. If any of you have boons that let you count a secondary condition as passed, now would be an excellent time to use them.

"Oh... we let our comrade die! Another name sadly added to the... wall of remembrance. A sad day."

Once Oshessa and her allies are exiled, the Clophirium is tracked down and the kalo squad is given their last rites, Lynn regroups with her team. She clutches hands to her chest and looks from person to person with a quivering lip. "We really messed up! Poor kalos... they just came here on a really simple mission and died for it. And we had a chance... just..." She blinks back her watery eyes.

"We've got to hope that the morlamaw that we inspired to throw the evil Oshessa away are going to life really great lives! There's a cool universe out there, and they'll be able to go to Absalom Station and meet all the interesting people there. Maybe some of them will even become performers?"

She gives Needles and anyone else who's willing a hug. "We gotta believe that we did more good than bad here! At least, I hope so."

----

On the trip back to Absalom Station, Lynn sits by a window and looks out into the swirling colors of the drift. As she watches, she ♫♪sings♫♪. The soft and sweeping lyrics in Triaxian marking an uncharacteristically sad song for the normally bubbly idol.

Needles huddles up, and listen to the sad song that perfectly reflects her mood.

Sorry I was gone during the weekend. Conrad licks his wounds and is a bit quiet on the return.