“I didn’t see or ask. Just a safe assumption.”
Theo nods in agreement with Nissa's assumption.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The Pilot points Henri towards a hill and then towards a glyph carved into the surface of the hill. Nissa would recognize it as the Atlantean letter 'Mau--The Sea Cow'. She has seen enough usage of this Neo-Atlantean writing system now to know that this letter is naming the site. This is Site M.
Beyond the landing site, you see a few recently erected Utopian structures, and the entrance to another underground structure of those who came before.
Henri focuses on the task.
The Pilot, seeing Henri's attempt is going to fail, takes over and pulls the craft up. Once the craft has regained some height, they say, "Smoothly. Slowly. Gently."
Henri can feel the craft returning to his control.
Nissa offers Henri some encouragement. “You’re doing amazing, Henri! You got this!”
Henri looks at the Pilot sheepishly. ”Thank you. I was excited, I should do better.”
"Wow, man! Not bad!"Theo added his amazements to Nissa's.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As Henri makes his second attempt, Nissa re-magical-girls her outfit to a pleated skirt and a sweater with a big lightning-yellow ‘H.’ Her hands from sunshine pom poms as she cheers Henri on.
But she sees his saddened face. “Hey, most of those maneuvers were flawless. 4 out of 5! That’s how many dentists it takes to agree on the best toothpaste.” Nissa knows this because she’s been in two toothpaste commercials (for competing brands). She was deemed too ditzy-looking to play a dentist. Her role was to be the girl who smiles as her teeth go ping!
She doesn’t give this detail unsolicited.
The passengers who weren't watching Henri struggle with the landing, barely notice it. The Pilot seems impressed and warms-up to Henri instantly; they are both the same type of human after all.
A handful of Builders, a Minder, and a Director wait for you. By now you can tell them apart based on their unique genetic gifts. They must have heard you had brought your own Communicator. Greetings are exchanged. The Director seems peeved when told that you only needed a Builder and the Minder to accompany them and that the Director was not needed.
Site M has a set of hexagonal shaped pods on the surface and dome, 30' in diameter that they say caps the main structure. They haven't managed to open the three pods and the structure's purpose remains a mystery.
Theo examines the hexagonal pods for any clues.
Charles get out of the craft eagerly, noting to themself how much worse they've been feeling in enclosed spaces lately. For the moment they push the thought aside and examine the structures. Here and there they sniff around, wondering if their nose might detect something the eye cannot.
Nissa says, “I can enter a pod. But if I can’t open it from the inside, I’ll just end up coming back out again.”
She doesn’t rush right in, but is interested what the party thinks.
She also examines the outside.
"Please be careful", Theo speaks his concern, while still encouraging his daughter.
Henri is a firm believer in the philosophy of what makes a good landing and shakes off his disappointment quickly. He thanks the Pilot, agreeing that they are cut from the same cloth. He begins examining the structure from the eye of a designer and engineer. ”Hold on, Lady Firefly - and thanks for the cheer routine - I might have some suggestions about specific things to looks for inside. Let me look around first. Director, Builder, Minder, if I may ask, what have you learned in your studies of this location?”
Nissa waits patiently. Who can say no after being addressed as Lady Firefly?
She crosses one leg over the other and hovers in place, wings a glowing blur as they flutter as speedily and as silently as a hummingbird’s.
Nissa says, “I can enter a pod. But if I can’t open it from the inside, I’ll just end up coming back out again.”
She doesn’t rush right in, but is interested what the party thinks.
She also examines the outside.
[dice=Culture, if applicable]d20+12+d6
The hexagonal huts are the product of a technologically advanced society; likely the same one that built Mother Utopia. Like all of that other tech, they are very old. At the very least, by the Utopian's best guess, over 600 years old. They huts are numbered, but the numbering system isn't Atlantean; it's very subtle involving the integration of a number of dots into a decorative pattern. 1 dot, 2 dots, 3 dots. Nissa recognizes it. The Utopians are surprised how quickly she spots it.
Henri is a firm believer in the philosophy of what makes a good landing and shakes off his disappointment quickly. He thanks the Pilot, agreeing that they are cut from the same cloth. He begins examining the structure from the eye of a designer and engineer. ”Hold on, Lady Firefly - and thanks for the cheer routine - I might have some suggestions about specific things to looks for inside. Let me look around first. Director, Builder, Minder, if I may ask, what have you learned in your studies of this location?”
Henri can tell that these pods were fabricated elsewhere and placed onsite. They look like temporary shelters. He can see a pad that would accept a hand like he's seen used on other structures. "We have not been able to open them," explains the Director. The pads likely read biorhythms or scan a palm. It would take some time to figure out how to bypass them. Henri suspects they're inactive. The power source required to maintain even a lock for 600 years would be at least identifiable.
One of the huts has some corrosion on a seam joining a panel to the frame. It could be pried off with force, but the structure would be damaged.
Nissa flutters to the tiny opening. “Dad? If you could maybe pry that open with minimal force—just, like, move this part an inch that way—I can take a peek inside without anything getting broken.”
Henri offers, "As our hosts have no doubt already found, these appear to be shelters that were prefabricated somewhere else and erected here. This appears to be a biometric lock, but it's unlikely that the power source was sufficient to survive this period of darkness. It would be reasonable for such a device to be solar-powered, which obviously would not work after the sun stopped shining here." He looks at Nissa, "Even your shining personality is unlikely to provide sufficient power to get it working after all these years." He winks.
Looking at their hosts, he asks, "What measures are acceptable to investigate these structures?"
"Okay. I'll just give it a little nudge", Theo responds to Nissa as he tries to open the crack a little bit more.
Nissa slips inside, her natural golden glow lighting the interior.
Looking at their hosts, he asks, "What measures are acceptable to investigate these structures?"
"You may have heard that some among us worship the ancients, especially among the Builders and the less intellectual classes," the host Minder says. The Builder who is listening visibly bristles and is about to realize he's been insulted when the host Minder smiles a little smugly and continues, "I can assure you, no one here is prone to superstitious thinking. The Director chose the best people for this archaeological expedition. Just don't do any damage the Director can't explain."
Mindy scowls. She doesn't like this Minder much.
"Okay. I'll just give it a little nudge", Theo responds to Nissa as he tries to open the crack a little bit more.
[dice=Strength check + Physical Avatar (Ex)]1d20 + 5 + 3
Theo pulls back the panel hard enough to make something, somewhere 'pop' but causing no visible damage to the structure. Nissa slips inside.
Inside the structure, Nissa finds more corrosion around the damaged area, but otherwise, the structure seems intact and mostly empty.
A decaying box of what might have once been food sits beside a cot. A rotting jumpsuit on the floor perhaps once hung on the hook above it. Other than that, the hut is empty and clean. It doesn't look like it was abandoned in a hurry, but perhaps someone left those things behind when clearing out.
Henri asks the Communicator, "Can you speak to her through the wall? Can you ask her what she sees?"
"How many people does it appear the shelter would accommodate? Does it have all the facilities you would expect of a home or is it only bedroom and pantry? I'm wondering if there is another structure here that would serve for preparing food or cleaning oneself. Can you see any insignia or special features in the jumpsuit? Protective qualities vs cold or radiation, for example?"
The Communicator is able to pass this message along.
Nissa observes 1 cot and no place to cook nor a bathroom. It looks like it could be further divided up, but wasn't currently.
Perception check to notice the rest.
Nissa finds a pattern in a row of scratches near the cot. It extends all the way around the rim of the shelter. She can't read it, but it looks vaguely familiar.
Nissa tries to better understand the pattern.
Nissa calls out to her teammates and Kate, “Anyone out here able to read magic? There’s magical writing—I recognize the characters, but can’t decipher their meaning.”
Theo examines the hexagonal pods for any clues.
[dice=Mysticism]1d20 + 6
”Nissa, can you see a latch on the inside to open the door? It doesn’t appear to be environmentally sealed, so maybe it’s a simple catch?”
”Nissa, can you see a latch on the inside to open the door? It doesn’t appear to be environmentally sealed, so maybe it’s a simple catch?”
So how can a fairy… ummm…??
She flits about looking for the thing, and how to use some kind of leverage to budge the thing…
Nissa finds a button which, when pushed, releases the door lock. If the shelter had power, it would have opened with a whoosh.
Nissa calls out, “Henri! Henri! I found a button and jumped up and down on it and it went click! Try the door! It’s probably really easy to open for you, but no way I can move it, haha!”
Charles look over to Theo. "The two of us together probably have the best chance to move it. Probably we'll be fighting against whatever drive system used to move the door."
They walk over to the door and sink the claws of two of their hands into as best they can, the other two on the nearby doorframe. Once Theo joins in they start to push them apart with all their strength.
"Well done, Nissa! And great job, guys."
With the door open, Theo can apply that Mysticism check. Stepping into Pod 1, he recognizes the symbols Nissa's pointing out. It's magical writing. It looks to be several magical triggers. Reading these out loud, probably triggers some kind of spell, but Theo can't tell what the spell's effect might be.
Someone has also scratched five magical symbols a little larger. It does not appear to be a trigger, but graffiti. It reads "HOME 2 EQUAL DICK HEAD".
Legato enters as well, a tad unsure how suddenly they're all archeologists instead of minding some of their business and going home. But can't say he isn't interested and the potential web novel fodder is great.
Angling next to Theo after Theo discusses some of his findings. Legato reaches out to some of his symoblogy and attempts to understand the magic in detail. Taking care to not touch nor speak any of them.
"I used the orb that helps me understand languages already... Hope we won't need it. I don't know if it'll work here but I have another potential trick." he explains
Detect Magic
Source Starfinder Core Rulebook pg. 348
Classes Mystic 0, Precog 0, Technomancer 0, Witchwarper 0
School divination
Casting Time 1 standard action
Range 60 ft.
Area cone-shaped emanation
Duration concentration, up to 1 minute/level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
Description
You detect all magic spells, effects, items, and objects (including those on or affecting creatures you can see), as well as hybrid items, in the area. You can’t detect magical traps in this way, as they are created with additional magic that wards them from this common spell. Each round you concentrate on the same area, you can determine if one magic source you detect is from a spell, magic item, or other effect, and the caster level (or item level) of the effect. You can’t determine if there are magic sources in areas you can’t see, or if there was a magic source in an area at one time but that has since expired.
All Legato needs to do, is read the trigger ... a Mysticism check so low he can't miss.
Pondering a moment Legato speaks to the others. "I think they're illusionary spells woven into theses. We could pop them on and it'll prolly cover the entire dome inside. Might be a light show, might be a horror show. I dont think it'll harm us. 'less ya have strob issues maybe? Whats the call?" Legato asks looking at the home team. .
If they are apt; and perhaps recording devices, Legato will activate it.
The Utopians debate among themselves. Both of the Minders give you the go ahead; the Director looks flustered. Giving the go ahead is his job. Communicator Kate crowds in close while relaying the message, obviously curious about what Legato is about to reveal.
Nissa flies in close as well, excited to see something potentially educational about this world.
Theo seems interested, but his mind is on other things.
Henri debates internally the best way to observe this as a scientist. He decides the others are close and will see the immediate effect, so he will back away and watch for any overall changes in the area.
Pondering a moment Legato speaks to the others. "I think they're illusionary spells woven into theses. We could pop them on and it'll prolly cover the entire dome inside. Might be a light show, might be a horror show..."
"Or it may indicate that this was once hidden," Charles suggest. "Perhaps there were some here who wanted to hide while they watched or acted?"
"Predators? Scavengers? Enemies?" they muse.
Legato lingers a bit, considering the Director-the presumed boss-is waffling but he shrugs as the rest of the home team, figuring the boss would interrupt and is just missing out on the prestige.
"Whelp, here goes nothing." he chuckles and does his best to activate