Pangea inspires Spanner to restore some vigor.
Kane's strike hits the remaining robot, making a bit more of a dent in it.
It returns the favor, swinging in at Kane twice with its hammer. It hits once, delivering a painful smash to Kane's ribs. (Kane takes 12 damage, taking out remaining SP and 4 going to HP)
Combat Round 3: *bold may go (everyone)
*Shohiraj (-6SP, -2HP)
*Dart (-21 SP)
*Kane (-20 SP, -4 HP)
*Spanner
*Pangea (-15 SP)
Greenbot (-19 HP, Get 'Em)
Pangea and Spanner both hit the remaining robot with their shots, and then Dart's strike knocks its robot head clean off.
Does Shohiraj or anyone else finish what he started and take that geomancy focus from the placard?
Want to take a rest by the creepy obelisk?
Anything else anyone wants to do here, or ready to move to the museum?
Party status: Shohiraj (-6 SP, -2 HP), Dart (-6 SP), Kane (-20 SP, -4 HP), Spanner (fine), Pangea (-15 SP)
Spanner salvages the focus and the group moves on to the entrance of the museum. It is a tall building with four spires of varying heights. Its large steep stairway leading to the front entrance gives it a cathedral like appearance while the four spires give the building the appearance of a four fingered hand grasping toward the heavens. The crumbling stone facade reveals a sturdy metallic structure underneath.
The spirit bonded with Pangea shows him an ghostly memory image of a Mentrasi engineer opening a secret door, operating a simple series of glyphs that you can now easily spot.
He also imparts that this place is safe to rest if you are weary.
Sho wraps some cloth around his seeping wound, and mentally compares the fragility of his self healing organic components to his robust inorganic ones that would require extensive repair work.
Everyone rests up and is at full stamina.
Party status: Shohiraj (-2 HP), Kane (-4 HP)
Which way do you guys go in? Secret engineering door or the main entrance?
Sho checks his gear one more time and looks over the others. "Everyone ready?"
Through the secret engineering entrance shown by the spirit, you enter a series of the back hallways that lead to what seems to be the control room for the museum. This room contains two large computers connected to a burned-out hybrid power relay covered in a scorch marks. The relay’s battery backup has long since been depleted. You can restore power in one of three ways: restore 20 charges to the battery (like through some kind of power transferring spell or class ability), jury rig one of your own batteries to the system with an Engineering check, or use a Mentrasi battery with an easier Engineering check. You recall the powered systems back in the library would be running on a battery.
"I will go with you in case of another security robot."
Sho takes a closer look at the power system.
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Kane uses his spell to draw out half the power form Pangea's spare battery. Partial lighting is restored through the museum, and you even see a few security screens in this engineering room flicker on. You can see through them that the museum displays are still not functioning.
But there's another computer in this room that the power alone was not enough to restore. It's a hybrid computer, and the magical component appears completely fried. It looks identical to the geommantic focus you retrieved outside.
"Spanner, have you that placard?"
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After working together, the android team replaces the geomantic focus as easily as a light bulb. You can now see on the security monitors as the holographic displays throughout the museum come to life and are now functional. You leave the engineering and start to make your way through the exhibits to see what the spirit has been wanting you to see. With the displays and lighting restored, you can now see this is called the "Museum of the Sleeping God." Pangea provides a translation from the Mentrasi language.
The first exhibit is labeled "Mentrasi the Collected."
The holographic screen flickers to life, showing a world similar to Kukanou-2b, but with pockets of rich vegetation. The screen shows depictions of mentrasi farming mushrooms and root vegetables, building rudimentary metal tools, blowing glass, shaping it with their bare hands, and working at forges.
A sleek starship made of shining golden metal slowly lands in an open field where mentrasi flock to investigate. Four creatures step out from a glowing portal in the side of the metallic structure; they wear flowing black linen robes and golden metal masks, and they carry no weapons. One figure removes their mask and resembles a jinsul. The screen pauses and displays the creature’s name as “Dhurus.” Soon after this scene, the video scrambles and repeats before showing the other three figures.
A pleasant mentrasi voice-over speaks a narration of the events:
"Centuries ago, our people were a peaceful race of farmers and tinkerers, unlocking the secrets of metallurgy and glass blowing. Our people were happy, but advancement was difficult without a guiding hand. We had no central government and only a barter system of economics.
One day, a starship descended from the heavens. Our ancestors immediately recognized these four celestials as heralds of the divine: Master of Conquest, Master of Preservation, Master Archivist, and Master of Nomenclature."
Sho follows the group, trying to keep it all straight.
The next display is titled "Mentrasi the Devout."
It is heavily damaged but shows short holographic images of mentrasi worshipping some divine figure. The mentrasi tend to wear flowing black robes, metallic masks, and perform the following tasks: placing various crystals in neat rows within a glass container, scanning rock formations, performing data entry on modern computer systems, performing elaborately choreographed dance routines in perfect columns and rows, and cleaning and polishing surfaces until everything is spotless. Images of other races known to inhabit the scoured stars like the 4 armed izalguuns, gaseous thyrs, more insect-like jinsuls, and other races appear to be worshipping with the mentrasi. The occasional image of the jinsuls fighting with the mentrasi flashes through the chamber, as does a document with the name “Kreiholm Freehold” prominently displayed. The voice-over is so garbled as to be complete nonsense.
Pangea has an overwhelming sense of fear at the sight of the jinsuls. Their appearance makes him shudder, especially when they are depicted fighting the Mentrasi.
"Which place, Spanner? And how or why do you know it?"
The third exhibit is "Mentrasi the Prisoners."
This exhibit depicts mentrasi building and flying modern-looking spacefaring vessels. A particularly complex starship launches from an underground bunker and into the atmosphere of a rocky planet. The spacecraft powers up a large engine that glows brightly and seems about to exit the planet’s orbit when a golden bubble surrounds the craft and starts to drag it back to the surface of the planet. The bubble gently sets the craft down on the surface before releasing the craft and disappearing. Several mentrasi shake their heads in confusion while others raise their faces to the sky and shout: pleading, accusing, weeping. The sky slowly fades to gold as a massive shield forms above the heads of the mentrasi. A view from space shows the planet slowly being enveloped entirely in a golden shield. The image depicts crying mentrasi, then several attempts to escape through the shield such as by launching more spacecraft, launching weaponry, and magically flying mentrasi casting spells at the shield. None of these attempts succeed in breaking the shield.
While the images are showing, a heavily damaged voice-over says "Bzzt—tried to explore the stars—Psst—overprotective—Thk. Thk. Thk—would not let us leave; we pleaded with Kadrical to—Thhhh—Became obsessive—Shhhhh—tried everything—ZZZZzzzzzP—could not penetrate the golden shield—Zrt-zrt-zrtzrt— but Kadrical had fallen silent, fallen asleep. Using all of his strength to maintain the shield—Ktsh."
"What happened to the shield? It was not here for our arrival or Jadnura's. I don't understand."
The final exhibit is titled "Mentrasi the Fugitives.
And it directly answers Shohiraj's curiosity.
The final exhibit shows the mentrasi looking astonished as the golden shield above their world suddenly vanishes. They rapidly build starships, evacuate their homes, and flee on large transports. The mentrasi join ships from other planets during the exodus, but each group departs in wildly differing directions. The figure from the “Mentrasi the Collected” display, Dhurus, is visible as a spectral image clawing at the ships fleeing the star system.
Shortly after their escape, the remaining starships scan the stars and find a new planet to settle in a small out-of-the-way system. They build museums to Kadrical, but not temples.
A pleasant voice-over again narrates. "One day the shield vanished. Perhaps Kadrical stirred in his sleep, allowing us to flee as the shield dropped. Whatever the reason, our ancestors seized the opportunity and built the starships they had been designing and planning, should they ever get the opportunity to escape."
"We fled across the stars with the seven other groups, including the aggressive jinsuls who’d grown restless in their own captivity. Kadrical’s herald, Dhurus, the Master of Conquest, disabled several transport ships. Most of our people used our experimental engines to travel in stasis from one part of the galaxy and appear in another. The other seven groups scattered across the galaxy, each going their separate ways.
"We scanned the stars and found a new home, the very world where you stand today. Though we are thankful for Kadrical’s teachings and long-remembered protection, As a species we have vowed to never follow a deity again. Kadrical is respected as part of our history and traditions, but there he shall remain: in the past.
"The Mentrasi Historical Society would like to thank you for your visit today. Please exit into our gift shop—Bzzzt."
So you exit into the gift shop. Though the seismic activity has ravaged the museum’s gift shop, some of the merchandise remains intact. Surviving items include: metallic replicas of a sleek golden starship, finger sized crystals with various mentrasi names laser etched on the interior and attached to short metal chains, plush mentrasi in clergy robes, and several copies of the “Escape the Shield” cooperative board game.
Looking through the engraved keychains, the closest mentrasi name that Pangea can find to their own name is "Pijurzi 'Ta"