"Well that is the Vesk way isn't it? Truth be told I advised Zoe! to fund a similar... Extermitory mission before hand but he insisted starfinders were capable mercenaries. So far I must say you are proving him correct." she says sarcastically, " thank you for your time and opinions, Thenither. Lets not keep the group waiting any longer."
once you all climb up, the film and sound crew promptly pulls out grappling guns and easily ascends the distance.
A look around reveals similar circular ruins as the floor below. The goblins’ explosion from below has buckled the cavern floor here, leaving a concentric impression in the ground where there appears to have just been unaffected stone before. These buckled rings are about 1 foot high and the rest of the walls are in varying states of decay ranging from 3-5 feet in height.
You hear some sounds coming from the east, possibly several people approaching.
after a few seconds the sounds become sights, dwarves actually, but something doesn't seem right about them. They are dressed in some strange armor that seems very heavy and their picks appear to be archaic without a doubt, most likely the armor is too.
They eye the undead crew with fear and tighten their grips on their weapons until one of them steps forward,
"Seid ihr Freunde? Hast du die Orks gesehen?" she replies.
She fightens her grip on her pick but responds in orc, "You are not orcs are you? the legends said orcs were twice as tall as dwarves... but the only orcs we've seen are small with sickly bodies and bulbous heads."
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Pangea quickly translates for the group: "They are looking for Orcs. But do not know what they are."
Then, to the Dwarves, first in Goblin: "That could be Goblins you saw."
Then in Orkish: "That could be Goblins you saw."
Switching to Common: "Do you speak Common? It would be easier for all."
Continuing in Common or Orkish, depending on what they answer: "I am Pangea. We are not your enemies for sure. And probably can be friends. Are there the small big-headed Goblins around here?"
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Dr. Zaius steps up beside his Vesk friend and smiles at the Dwarves. He then tries greetings in each of his known languages!
"Hail and well met! We have defeated some of these short Orks we call Goblins just now! Are there more and would you like our assistance? Do any of you need medical assistance?"
When pangea translates in common the rest of the dwarves heads cock to the side.
They seem to at least recognize common.
When you speak Goblin she shakes her head in confusion but does respond in orc, "...Gah..Blon... I have never heard of such things, are they a tribe of small orcs? I am Ylga Tulgarst, daughter of Ulfrodi. I speak for my clan.”"
she does not reply in common but continues in orc with Pangea, "Alright so your not Orcs... but if your not enemies why do you travel in such... company." she says motioning towards the film crew, all pointing cameras and sound booms directly at her.
When she hears Dr. Zaius rattle off in seven languages she pinches the bridge of her nose before her eyes light up when you speak draconic. She replies in Draconic,
"Hail... Does this orc speaker speak for all of you? How many did you see? were they well armed?"
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Dr. Zaius steps forward raising his right hand by his head showing his empty palm and says,
”Hail and well met! I am Mal’eel Zaius, the Ork speaker was only trying to communicate. It is better to speak in this tongue as the Ork speech is distasteful! We are come on a mission of peaceful exploration and we’re set upon by this tribe of small Orks we call Goblins. We only encountered the three and their attack beast which as you can see we have dispatched! The were only armed with small arms.
Fear not these undead they are non combatants and are here only to chronicle our explorations.
What is your name and how may we assist you and yours?”
A smile creeps upon her face, "Ork is distasteful. I am Ylga Tulgarst, Daughter of Ulfrodi." she says as she nods her head once.
"All the orcs we have encountered have had small arms, small legs, but large heads... Are there some orcs with large arms and small heads?" her questions seems geniune, as if she has never seen a real orc.
She looks at Pangea for a moment before imitating his bow and saying, "Pahn...Jee... Uhhh. Pahnjeeuh." she says trying to wrap her tongue around the new words. she looks to her compatriots and motions towards Pangea. "Pahnjeeuhh" and then towards the Dr, "Mol'ale Zee-ooss. Mol'ale Zeeoos." several of the other dwarves chuckle, "Hehheheh Mol'ale!" they say as they produce primitive ceramic jars wrapped in leather and offer one to the doctor.
the rest of the dwarves looks at the rest of you expectantly, then motion to themselves,"Marbleheart!" they says as the thump their chests with pride.
"It's only ale," she says at the offer of the ceramic jar. "They think its funny a non dwarf would have "ale" in their name. We came to investigate the explosion we heard. It caused some tremors back at..." she pauses for a moment before darting her eyes towards the undead crew, who are pointing several cameras, lights, and boom mics directly at her.
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Dr. Zaius hesitating for only a moment to read her face, takes a long pull from the offered jar! Smacking his lips he smiles, wipes his mouth on his sleeve, and lets out a satisfied BURP!
"Best Dwarven ale I've ever tasted!"
Following Ylga's eyes he catches her attention again by pounding his chest and saying in common,
"STARFINDERS!"
Then switching to Draconic,
"Do not worry about the unliving ones they are only here to record our findings and our deeds, like your Saga writers! They are non-combatants and not to be feared. Now you were saying the explosion caused tremors back at where?"
she replies to Zaius' questions again in draconic, "Back at our village, Where our ancestor Marblehearts settled in their quest for the sky." she says before looking around, "We should head back to our village where you will be guests, There have always been tremors. They have just become stronger of late. Sometimes cave ceilings collapse, burying bystanders but opening up new passages.”
At this point Wazasha chimes in,"That Is an excellent idea, Wouldn't you agree Starfinders?" she declares more than asks, "This is great time for another confessional! How about you join me inside for a little girl talk Chetna?"
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The Dr. translates everything said over the coms and says to her in Draconic,
”I would be delighted to see your village and sample your hospitality AND more of this fine ale!”
Then to the rest in common, ”What say the rest of you? First contact anyone?”
With the groups approval he will tell Ylga to lead on continue to carry on a conversation with questions about the Marblehearts, their culture and origins.
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Chetna wanders over to the dome of truth and smiles quietly to herself.
She walks into the dome and looks at the chair facing the camera. As pure habit she makes a few swipes at to knock off any dust and dirt. Shaking her head back and forth for a moment to pop her neck she closes her eyes and concentrates.
Chetna's eyes pop open and she smiles pleasantly at the camera while awaiting the questions to come.
Ylga and her troupe of dwarves lead you down a tunnel, taking you to their villiage. The other dwarves keep their distance from the crew, but do seem interested in Thenither and Pangea more than anyone, although more than one could be seen pointing to Zaius' antenna.
When Thenither ask his question, Ylga's head cocks at the mention of her name but her facial expression shows confusion..." uh...Critical Error? Power Divertment Sequence Enabled?" she says in a cautions response.
She seems to have heard the language before, but no idea what the prhases shes saying mean.
"Well This certainly is an exciting turn of events isnt it? Tell me Chetna, what are your initial thoughts on these dwarves you've stumbled upon?" Wazasha says, in a much more feminine and "gossipy" tone of voice than you've ever heard her use today.
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Chetna desperately wants to roll her eyes at Wazasha's girly-gossip tactic, but restrains the impulse. "There's something odd about the whole situation. The original 'Quest for Sky' thing supposedly happened on Golarion a long time ago. And this doesn't appear to be the current 'Quest for Sky' fervor that you see around Absalom station. That and the stories of orcs almost sounds like they were taught using children's books or histories of current dwarves. The whole thing just doesn't make much sense."
She thinks for a moment on the other thing that was bugging her, "They also seemed to recognize the language when we were speaking in standard Pact. I don't think they know it though. Kind of like as a kid hanging around the docks we'd get traders from everywhere and certain languages would stick out. You'd come to recognize those languages even though you had no idea what they were saying. Unless they dropped a spanner on their foot. Then you'd have a pretty good idea at the meaning."
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Thadeaus listens intently to his new friend and then translates all to his team mates. Turning to Ylga he says,
"Why yes I do know what those words mean! Can you take us to your temple and where you commune with the spirits? I would be most glad to interpret or even attempt to teach you the words of the spirits! What other phrases or words of our language do you know?"
As they travel, Zaius will point to different objects and say the name in draconic and then follow with the pact word, trying to gauge Ylga's understanding.
In draconic to Zaius, "Yes we will go to the temple when we get to the village. We do not know the words meaning, only the words. The spirits are so infrequent and random with their visits, no one has been able to decipher anything of significance. They have said things like "Environmental protocols" and "sustainability engine..." she stops for a moment, her face scrunched up in thought. "I am sorry Mol'ale Zeeoos, I only remember bits and pieces. I can read from the book of spirits if you like, once we reach the village."
As you continue down tunnels, and offshoots of tunnels, she begins to offer more information about her people, “We have always lived below ground, but a generation ago my ancestors answered Torag’s summons—a tremor that called on our people to seek what lies above in the Quest for Sky. There we shall do our god’s will on Golarion’s surface.” She says with devout certainty.
Torag was a major dwarven deity, head of the pantheon, who disappeared during the Gap.
Wazasha replies, "Oh certainly odd indeed, and I agree, not much of what they say makes sense at all. I guess you'll have to follow them home to their rocks to find out?" she says in a condescending tone.
"enough boring talk though," she says as she leans in, "Your the only female on the team, Do you think the boys are going to try to impress you or make a move? What about that Ardoc? He seems to have that quiet and capable way about him? I'm sure the viewers are dying to know, What exactly do you look for in a... well, Mate?" she says with a smile full of chagrin.
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Chetna sincerely laughs at this. Actually, she seems to be laughing almost a little too hard at the question, "Wazasha! You're just too funny! Me and --" Chetna starts laughing again. Eventually, she begins to calm down a bit with an occasional giggle.
"I'm sure all of 'the boys' are quite competent at what they do. However, I severely doubt they are going to impress me [u]that[/u] much. One doesn't just change their insignia that easily." She chuckles a little more subdued to herself about whatever it is she found funny about all of this.
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Dr. Ziaus smiles and nods as he translates to the rest of the team and quietly adds,
"Anyone know anything about this To Rag deity she's talking about?"
Then to Ylga he says,
"I would be most interested in hearing you read from the book of spirits and if it is allowed, I would like to examine it myself. As a counselor, I've always felt that I'm a very spiritual person you know."