Minos nods. "You have given us much to consider. I think heading to Outpost Zed would be worth the trip. If not only to trade for more wares, but also for us to better get a feeling how best to move though the Empire towards our destination."
"As for our story, I will just say mine. The person we are looking for is friend. I have worked with them in the past from time to time. My skills have changed over the years, but they occasionally would still want my expertise, in what ever may be needed. Everyone here has similar connections. As such when we heard of their disappearance, we were called to find out what happened."
"The colony that they were at found a curious artifact of ancient azlanti tech. And that information found its way to the Empire and the colony was annexed, and our friend was taken away for additional questioning. We were able to remove the Azlanti from the colony, I suspect there will be mutterings of that around here soon enough. And now we look pull our friend from the grasps of their Azlanti captors."
Lord Dracos looks at Minos. "Peepk!"
Minos smiles. "Yes Lord Dracos was very instrumental in the liberation of the colony"
"Oh yes! I'm sure you were!" Sayonsi laughs and pets the impertinent little squox. "So you're off to rescue a friend because that is what friends do." She thinks a moment. "I suppose now that you have your mission, and I have mine. Before our two ships pass in the night, do you wish to buy or trade any wares? I would love some of your music, some of that tea, and if Lord Dracos ever has any cubs, I would love to eventually purchase a squox kit of my own. It would be good to have the company." And then she spreads her hands outward again. "We don't have to trade. But I'm a merchant, so I have to at least try."
"Given the nature of what we will need to do, I do think those Spell gems of Charm Person may come in use. Although I can't use directly I believe the professor can make use of them"
Pon merely nods his head with a polite smile at Sayonesi.
Wint quickly prepares a "care package" of teas, treats, recipes etc
"Please, take these as a thank you present. It was a very unexpected pleasure to meet somebody so cultured and refined here in the Azlanti Empire.
As to why I, in particular, was seeking our friend. She left her squox with me and she had the litter of cubs that you see. I just wanted her to see her grandchildren"
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Prosper is thoroughly enchanted by the stories and the descriptions of aliens she's never heard about. This is what adventuring is all about! Finding beautiful new aliens and turning into them!
At the question regarding Cedona, Prosper fidgets uncomfortably before saying "Uh, the friends we're trying to rescue. Um-" more fidgeting. "I guess you could say she helped me out of some tight spots before, and I didn't do a good job of making it up to her. You could say I, uh, royally scared her off? There was one time when I tried to do something to impress her but she actually probably thought it was creepy. Uh, I kinda don't want to share the details."
"And I always wanted to apologize. So now that we're able to do something for her, I figured, maybe this is a good way? Plus she's a really good person and definitely doesn't deserve to be held up in an azlanti prison." She swallows, not really wanting to voice her fears. "Or, uh, killed. Which I hope isn't going to happen."
Prosper holds off on mentioning any of her earlier hopes for more than just apologizing. After taking some time to think about what Madelon was saying back at the refuge, those earlier dreams were seeming more and more like definitely bad ideas. Would really muddy the waters.
To take her mind off her own discomfort, Prosper quickly changes the subject. "I'd definitely want to buy something! One of those protective rings? Maybe one that will let me spend less time vomiting when Wint does crazy stunts with the ship."
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The professor is momentarily distracted by the staff of mystic healing..."Ooooh... so shiny.... and maybe I could keep people alive more ..."
He breaks free from his reverie with a relatively violent head shake ..
"Ahem ... yes Minos, some of those spell gems could come in handy ... you never know when you might need a few more temporary friends!"
He turns to address the witchwyrd directly (and at a 45-degree upward angle!)
"Honored Trademistress Sayonsi, it has been an indescribable pleasure hosting one as cultured and knowledgeable as you upon our humble tea-themed vessel.
As to the question of our rescue mission, I am here simply because I couldn't not be. The first (of very few) persons to simultaneously show kindness and to take seriously such a ridiculous creature as myself.... well, isn't that the kind of person worth chasing off the edge of the map?"
Shaking his head a final time "Anyway, for business .. I will try and figure finances out for that wonderful staff, but failing that the charming spell gems look ... well... charming." Spec jerks abruptly and begins rapidly rifling through the many pockets in his tweed coat. He eventually pulls out a small dusty media player Aha! One of my students "donated" this by playing it in my last class before I left on this trip. It is full of groups I've never heard of... Mutilatrix, Abysshead, Clang-Clang You're Dead, and RazorSoul Tourniquet to name a few. Maybe you can find some enjoyment ... or at least amusement from it." He hands it over.
Sayonsi is delighted at the care package, the tea and the new music. "Oh, excellent! Now let's see... One Ring of resistance for 735, a staff of healing for 3700, and some Spell gems of charm person for 140 each. Was that it?" She slices up some spice bread, and offers it to all of you. "And what are you looking to trade in return? You've already covered part of the price with the music and the tea."
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"I also have some recordings from the Absalom Philharmonic I can share. And we have quite a collection of random goods you may be interested in." After listing all the other loot Dalinar adds, "We do have two more items you may be interested in seeing. Excuse me."
Dalinar leaves for only a few moments before returning with two weapons. "These are apparently called Inevitable Downfall and Whitefire Trident," he indicates the weapons as appropriate. "They are, were, the personal weapons for some important Azlantis. The trident is particularly interesting I bet. It is ancient. I might be interested in some of those aeon stones but I think we are too poor."
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"May I?" Sayonsi puts on gloves, and asks some keen questions about the weapon's provenance. "The Whitefire Trident is less powerful than the Inevitable Downfall, but it's definitely from pre-Gap. Hmmm..." Her eyes narrow, and she picks up each weapon, testing their balance. "They are in excellent condition. While it would attract all the wrong sorts of attention to sell them in the Empire, I'm headed to the Opaline Vault, where I happen to know a Shaitan general from the Ungrounded Legion who collects exotic weapons with history, who just might be interested. I'll take them both, as well as your tea and music." She taps her fingers on the table as she concentrates. "Does six thousand credits worth of merchandise seem fair to you? Feel free to pick up to that amount from my wares. If you want more than that, I might be interested in purchasing some of those Azlanti trinkets and jewelry, but let's see what your wishlist totals to first."
She returns to you all the cadet gear and other equipment. "My buyers like high-end items, so I really have no use for these. I suspect that you'll be able to offload these at Outpost Zed."
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"Oh wow." Prosper turns her head and raises her eyebrows at the rest of the group. That's a lot of credits! "Maybe we can get an aeon stone or two after all?"
With your purchases finished, Sayonsi takes her leave of all of you. "Good fortune upon you all. May the stars watch and guide you!" She puts all four hands before her in a gesture of blessing, and then leaves in a swish of robes and fabric.
★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★
Following the coordinates that Sayonsi provided, you soon dock at Outpost Zed. The ship's airlock doors open to a blast of hot, muggy air and the heavy scent of nickel. A nearby catwalk runs adjacent to a wall covered in thick pipes, both leading to a massive pair of automated doors that lead further into the station. Beings of all shapes and sizes move along other catwalks from their own vessels toward the entrance, conversing with each other in unfamiliar tongues. The sounds of scrabbling feet and other curious voices seem to echo from within the pipes.
As you try to go through the automated doors, you all discover that they won't open for any member of your party but Rush, who can move freely back and forth. You notice other species moving through the automated doors easily, and while Rush can hold the door open by standing the portal as you squeeze by, this seems most inconvenient.
Rush notices that that hot, muggy air feels great! Even that tang of nickel feels very homey indeed.
Minos looks over the door and its sensors
Lord Dracos helps by pointing at the red wires. Well the wire he thinks are red. Because red wires taste like salmon, yum!
Minos has encountered Azlanti Biometric locks before. The ones at the Garrison were programmed to accept only humans of the azlanti bloodline, but the ones at OutPost Zed, a former mining rig, were designed originally to permit all the races that worked there to have access -- wrikichee were clearly on those early crews. However in the 100 years since this station was abandoned by the Empire, many other races have been added to the matrix. Most of the biosignatures are for creatures that Minos has no familiarity with -- though he notices that Draeliks and Witchwyrds both are recognized races by the Station's doors. With genetic samples from all of you, Minos can program all of you into the station's coding so that the doors will open for anyone in the group.
★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★
As you make your way into the station following the crowd, you hear a wild babble of alien languages, punctuated by short bursts of heavily accented azlanti. There are reptilians, insectoid races, races that are short and furry and ones that are just bizarre and angular. If anything, the temperature has gotten even more sweltering as you reach the main promenade.
Many beings bustle through this large portion of the station. A lowered segment of the floor in the center of the room, fifteen feet deep, contains the remnants of ore refining machinery. Gears, containers, and pipes are scattered everywhere, no longer connected to anything that would make them functional. Large doors exit to the west and south, and a trio of short corridors lead east.
As a number of sentients exit to the door to the west, you feel a blast of slightly cooler air and strange food smells emanating from what is clearly a cantina. You even spot a wrikichee sitting in a corner of the Cantina, sitting hunched over by herself and looking forlorn.
Pon looks with interest at the outpost they find themselves in. The species, the environment, everything...
Well, one perk of the job, I get to see the stars...
I think those draeliks are following us...curious...
Pon utilizes the crowd to sneak off..
Pon then circles around to follow them.
Prosper stares at the strange new aliens that pass by, eyeing each type with obvious interest. It's rather too many at once to easily judge which ones are the most beautiful, but she carefully files some of their appearances away to study more in the future.
Prosper nudges Dalinar, then Minos and Spec. She speaks quietly, but loud enough to be heard over the crowd "Hey uh, anyone else seeing those draeliks following after us? I think they might be like a welcome escort or something like that from the way they have us always in their line of sight. Y'know, in the vids sometimes when the heroes go to a rough place the local gang goes and tries to confront them..." She spends a moment to looks around "Oh wait... where'd Pon go?"
"Maybe he just went in ahead of us?" She looks unsure, and a little bit overwhelmed by the situation.
"Wow. There are almost as many strange races as there are at Absalom. I don't see any of my kind, though. Or Vesk. So, good news/bad news"
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Spec deliberately does not glance at the draeliks Prosper points out and begins telepathically communicating with her and the nudged members.
"Oh dear, that certainly didn't take long at all did it? Should we perhaps lead them somewhere a bit ... less conspicuous... for Dalinar and Stag Render to have their little chat?
We can even make unwilling temporary friends with the leftovers if things go typically south?"
"Or they may just want to pick our pockets. I can go ask them what they are doing. If one of you has a better idea say so. Who knows with Pon." Dalinar's hand instinctively goes to Stag Render.
Lord Dracos thinks that is a wonderful idea and starts to go off find new shinnies for his throne, but Minos grabs hold of him before he gets too far
As Pon circles back behind the Draeliks, he notes that it would be pretty easy to lose them in this crowded, dimly-lit promenade. They seem to almost blend into the shadows, as they speak in low voices about your party.
"Lipontšo tsa balekane!" One of them says, clutching his shadow-staff. He looks directly at Prosper in confusion. "Se-Azlanti se etsa'ng ka sehlopha sa lipaki?"
The other whispers back. "Na eo ehlile ke Azlanti? Ho tsamaea le orc y nuar? Ke nkha monate." He grins as he pats his chest pocket.
"Is that really an azlanti? Travelling with an orc and a nuar? I smell bounty."
Although all you can make out of their conversation are the words 'Azlanti', 'Orc', and 'Nuar' their demeanor is one familiar to you. It's how all predators stalk prey.
★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★
As Spec looks around for a quiet place for Dalinar's conversation to take place, he notes the track corridor opposite the group on the Plaza. Unlike the main plaza and the cantina, it looks mainly empty.
Is your group heading there?
Minos will follow Dalinar, while keeping a weather eye out.
Totally oblivious to everything, Wint just wanders around looking at all the new aliens and new sights
Not clued in to what's going on by the rest of the party, Wint heads to the Cantina , where a host of interesting smells and tastes await! The temperature in this room plummets compared to the rest of the station. While the Plaza was sweltering, and caused Wint's fur to stick to his skin uncomfortably, this room is nice and cool. A bit like Nakondis, actually.
Machinery once lined the western wall here, but it has since been stripped away, leaving only holes and bits of metal embedded in the walls. A series of raised platforms have been repurposed into tables with makeshift stools pushed near them. A dented metal grate covers a large portion of the floor. A door exits to the east, and a short ramp to the south leads to another chamber.
Wint notices all sorts of aliens carrying trays overflowing with strange foods from a room full of cool looking vending machines to their tables. But no one is sitting at the table of a glum looking wrikichee wearing a black veil and a tool belt. When Wint peeks into the room with all the food dispensors , he notices all sorts of awesome food choices written in Azlanti! He also notices that some abandoned bins have been shoved into the western half of the chamber, their insides still crusted with solidified rivulets of metal. A large cluster of pipes juts from the wall five feet above the ground next to the bins.
The pipes are Wint's size, and a whole bunch of other small furry sentients with big eyes and only two arms have popped out of the pipes to grab lunch from the machines. Sporting a naturally hunched posture with drooping ears and a short snout, their bearing and expression make them seem to be waiting for a blow to land. They look around, chirping at one another, with bits of Azlanti mixed into their speech with one another. "Screepi-deep chirp triilllll!"
As Wint looks on, he sees so many choices! A meal costs 3 credits, and the various options are labeled in Azlanti. The dispensers serve unusual dishes; the names of the available meals roughly translate to “crushed succulent paste,” “fermented meat honey,” “jellied skin fungus,” “tar whale polyps,” and “tongue and eye fish.” The little furry sentients debate their choices for a bit in a language that Wint does not recognize, though they say the names of the food choices in Azlanti as they do so. They eventually grab some of the jellied skin fungus, which they open up and enthusiastically spread on crackers, while they gesticulate a lot at each other.
In an effort to find a quiet place for their 'conversation' with the Draeliks, Dalinar, Prosper, Rush, Spec, and Minos head off to the track corridor, with the Draeliks tailing them. Trailing the draeliks is Pon.
Metal tracks, now worn smooth by constant foot traffic, run the length of this corridor and through a heavy metal door that has been propped open to the north. It's a pretty grungy area, with only a few down and out sentients sleeping in out-of-the-way-corners. As your party looks around, the Draeliks come out.
"You! Pact world scum! What are you doing here? I don't like you!" The red-cloaked draelik says, in common.
"I don't like you, either!" The yellow draelik says, sounding very happy about this fact. "But maybe I'll like your stuff when I take it off your dead bodies." They hold up shadow staves, menacingly.
★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★
Round 1
Active conditions:
Minos
Pon
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Yellow
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Dalinar
Spec
Wint (off in the Cantina)
Prosper
Rush
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Red
Minos smiles. "Oh, I do understand you now. Time to fall down"
He looks at a nearby pipe and points as it springs a leak and covers the floor under the draeliks with a slippery substance.
Some of the homeless critters who had been sleeping wake up at the sounds of the spell casting, look around, and immediately run for the pipes. Others curl up in blankets or behind crates and start watching your fight.
"Ke eng---?" Both Red and Yellow do an awkward little dance as their feet fly out from under them. "AAAaaagh!"
Some of the homeless begin to snigger and clap, and people gather around the doorways to the tracked corridor to watch!
★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★
Round 1
Active conditions:
Minos
Pon
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Yellow (prone)
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Dalinar
Spec
Wint (off in the Cantina)
Prosper
Rush
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Red (prone)
Emerging from a crowd of some spectators is Pon wielding his baton. He swiftly brings down his baton over the head of the closer draelik.
The yellow draelik stands up. "आप किस तरह की अज़लंती का बचाव कर रहे हैं?"
He hesitates for a half second as he stands up, and then bashes Pon back!
★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★
Round 1
Active conditions:
Minos
Pon (-3)
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Yellow [-2)
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Dalinar
Spec
Wint (off in the Cantina)
Prosper
Rush
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Red (prone)
Wint turns to the little guys
"My friends, what do you recommend?"
When they don't understand Skittermander, he repeats himself in Azlanti.
He also decides to buy one of everything here for further analysis when he gets back to the ship.
And suddenly he notices the Wrikichee sitting alone. Grabbing up his meals, he goes up to him and (this time remembering to use Azlanti
"Why hello there. My name is Wint. Do you mind if I sit here"
Without waiting for a reply he sits down
"I can't help but notice that you look a little unhappy. Perhaps I can help you with something? I like to help people!"
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Prosper laughs out loud at the misfortune catching the two draeliks and gives Minos a covert thumbs up. More visibly, she channels her inner Azlanti, raises her nose and stares down at two of them.
"ओह, तुम हमसे लड़ने के लिए यहाँ हो? वास्तव में? क्या यह एक मजाक है? तुम जमीन पर क्यों नहीं रहते और नाचते हो?"
Wint turns to the little guys. "My friends, what do you recommend?"
"Oh, hello. What pipe are you from? We're from coil 38." One of the little guys chirps at you.
"Actually, I don't think he's from a pipe." Another says. "I would have noticed him! Did you come in on a trading ship?"
They happily discuss the vending machine options. "This is better than many stations. We have choices other than protein bars!" They tell you that crushed succulent paste is tangy and has crunchy bits, fermented meat honey is a bit like a barbecue sauce stew, jellied skin fungus is spicy and peppery, the polyps are crunchy and gooey on the inside, and the fish is good when fried. "We wouldn't mind something else, though."
"Why hello there. My name is Wint. Do you mind if I sit here." Without waiting for a reply he sits down. "I can't help but notice that you look a little unhappy. Perhaps I can help you with something? I like to help people!"
The wrikichee looks up. Gauzy black veils are draped over her arms, and she dips the baleen hanging from his appendages into a plastic container holding a cloudy red substance.
She looks at you, and says in Vesk, "I... I... Hasshachir. Sick. Need help."
Dealing with the little guys
"Here, I brought a few goodies with me. Have some of these"
With that, he takes out a selection of brownies, cupcakes, etc. And, of course, a flask of tea.
"By the way, I don't recognize what race you are. You're right, I'm new here. I'm a Skittermander. What are you? Do you like it here?"
"Oh no. Maybe one of my friends can help"
With that, he looks around and for the first time realizes that his friends aren't there.
"Hmm. Is there a doctor here? I could pay for medicine for you if you can't afford it"
Prosper in a particularly haughty fashion, lays a Get 'Em on both Draeliks! Spec shoots yellow, and Dalinar slices through red!
Both Draeliks, alarmed at the severity of their wounds, and cowed by Prosper's attitude, drop their weapons and hold up their hands. They say to Prosper, bowing, "हमें खेद है, इलस्ट्रेटर। हमें महसूस नहीं हुआ कि आप एक सच्चे अज़ंती थे। याद रखें, हम इस स्टेशन पर आपके सबसे अच्छे दोस्त हैं। हमें जाने दो, और हम तुम्हें और तुम्हारे संदिग्ध साथियों को अकेला छोड़ देंगे!"
The little furry guys look very confused at Wint's question. "Why, we're screedeeps! How do you not know what we are? Was your race newly conquered? The Azlanti empire could not run without us. I'm Pisar!"
"And I'm Celli." She looks down, sadly. "Actually, technically, it is running without us, but that's because our grandfather messed up, and we had to relocate. The sudden loss in status really messed up my cousin Glest, who's got a shop in the furnace marketplace, but the rest of us adjusted." She pauses and then says brightly. "But other screedeeps do run the empire. We do paperwork, and repair things and other stuff too. We work at one of the repair docks, helping unload--" she pauses, as if not sure whether to say what they've been unloading, "--er, stuff. You know."
Wint recalls that screedeeps, while not as naturally helpful as skittermanders, are reputed to be the very first race the Empire conquered, and that they fill support and administrative positions throughout the empire. Those that for some reason mess up in their jobs will gravitate to organized crime, where they continue to fill support and administrative roles.
The screedeeps like the baked goods and tea enormously. "Are you selling this stuff? You could get a good price for it here." They thank you for the goodies, and pop back into the pipe network.
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Minos looks around getting a survey of the fight. Then realizes Wint isn't here. Then looks in his bag to see if Lord Dracos has scurried off as well. Seeing the squox sleeping on the pile of tools in the bag he looks up. "Where is the not-a-squox? I did not hear any boom"
"Can you..." CRACKLE "help... AAGH!" Hasschachir is obviously horribly sick, as chunks of her shell have fallen off and the remainder appears to be flaking away. Her biotech voice enhancer is also malfunctioning, so she can speak in only a whisper garbled by static. You clearly see a couple of spider-like vermin poking out from under her shell jabbing at her exposed flesh with their tongues. "Cold..." CRACKLE "...slows them. That's why I'm here."
Hasschachir shivers.
Pon looks at Rush with a frown, "Rush, what are you doing? We don't steal from people."
"Excellent. This was a misunderstanding," The draeliks say. "We don't beat up those who are good friends of such excellent and discerning Azlanti..." The draeliks bow again. "We won't bother you again."
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Pon waves off the draelik in an offhanded manner, "Yes, yes. Go away." He then looks to Rush with a furrowed brow, forming a supremely confused look, "What? Humans are confusing? You were just about to take some thug's belongings in the middle of a crowded thoroughfare. Commonly referred to as stealing!" Pon's voice then begins escalating in volume as he makes a sweeping gesture towards the rest of the crew, "And you all were just going to let this happen?! Am I the only one with rigid morals?" He then looks Dalinar right in the face, "And what about you, 'captain righteous'!? I thought you and your heirloom sword fetish would have something to say about this!" He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he speaks again it is at a normal, albeit cool, volume, "Do you realize that this station is probably full of species who have been subjugated by the Azlanti? The Azlanti, our enemies. Maybe think about that before you go murdering some thugs, who are likely thugs because of the Azlanti." With that, Pon storms down the large hall north toward the doors.
Prosper sniffs haughtily as the draeliks try to excuse themselves, and before they've even scampered off she takes out her datapad and starts perusing something (actually she's just locking and unlocking the screen). When Rush tries to loot them, she just waves them off. "हाँ, हाँ, हमें परेशान मत करो।" she says idly, not even watching as they leave.
Once they're well and truly gone, she speaks again in common. "Huh, they gave up way earlier than I thought. You guys hit them a couple of times and they like, really, hightailed it. Anyone else think they might be back later with friends?"
"Maybe we should go find Wint, and then our gosclaw friend, before they think to come back...?" She starts looking for signs of where Wint might have gone.
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Dalinar looks at Pon as though he has two heads when he mentions 'rigid morals'. It quickly turns to a flat stare when Pon starts lecturing him. He considers telling him that he thought Pon was doing a fine job without him. And maybe getting the chance to tell someone what to do without the rest of us disagreeing would lower your blood pressure. But he has lost interest in trying to argue with the man so he just continues staring until Pon wanders off.
Dalinar nods at Rush, "Very astute."
"Maybe the will be Miss Starr, I am not worried if they do. Finding Wint is a very good idea. He could have gotten into all sorts of trouble by now."