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Moving just a little bit forward Rhys aims carefully with her pistol at the cult follower in front of her and tries to not kill the henchman. "Raval dropped down from the last hit on her, not sure if she is dead." she let's the others know. "Let's not kill them so we can learn about the cult's plan!"
Tixylix and the drone fire on red.
The drone strikes a deviating hit on the cultist. When Rhys's Holy shot strikes, the cultist discards his weapon down and throws his hands up, knowing that their recruiter has died and they are outmatched.
A look passes between the cultists. The second looks back at the looming figure of Ziamat and follows suit, dripping his knife to the ground.
As the fighting draws to a close, the Quorlus slowly begin peeking out of their cover, looking to see if it is safe in their sanctuary once again. Cantor Alvreein is the first to step out from behind the stone and approach the group again.
The darkness fades after a few moments. Ziamat recovers graphite carbon skin armour, a Thunderstrike sonic pistol with 2 batteries (20 charges each), a survival knife and a credstick worth 655 credits from Raval's body.
The cultists turn over their semi auto tactical pistols with around 30 rounds between them, and survival knives. Any attempt at reasoning with them goes unrewarded.
Cantor Alvreein speaks to the Starfinders. "Thank you so much for defending our settlement from these invaders. Please stay with us this evening, we have much to discuss"
As a group you decide to contact Venture-Captain Arvin and provide him a status update. Filling him in on your contact with the Quorlus and combat with the Cult of the Devourer, Arvin checks his records.
"Raval Domunseir, you say? Starfinder intelligence identifies her as a recruiter for a sect of the Devourer called the "Reddened Eye" that's been known to operate on Absolom Station. Good work taking her down. I've had other reports of our agents coming into contact with these cultists on the planet surface. They seem to be operating in small groups near these markers. Despite the secrecy we tried to maintain around this solar system, it seems that the information got to the Cult anyway. He sighs, frustrated. "I'll send a shuttle down to your location to collect the prisoners. Great work taking them alive."
"We've combed through the data you provided to us before you landed. It appears to be a very complicated mathematical formulas, calculating the effect of gravity on other planes. It's absolutely stunning, however not complete. Any more information you can recover would be an asset to the society. Learn what you can from the locals and keep me updated. Arvin out"
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"I do hope the cultists will redeem themselves one day."
Rhys wants to know if the Qurolus here ever have left their planet and what to they know about the rest of the galaxy. Which languages do they speak here, the deities they worship.
Just in general curious and trying to learn more about potential threats out here.
"And what can you tell us about those markers/stones? And Cantor you wanted to guide us to your elders..."
Rhys asks the assembled locals about their history. As far back as their written history goes, they have been living on Enereth-7 and have never been off-world. You think this might mean the Quorlu civilization spread to this world pre-gap and all memories and records are now lost to time. They speak a dialect native to this world, Enerethian. While it’s similar to the song-like language of the Quorlu known to the pact worlds, it has diverged over the centuries to become its own.
Cantor Alvreein scurries off, and returns a short time later with a small band of elder Quorlu. Together you discuss the nature of the Markers, and their recent corruption. Piecing together the information from V.C. Arvin about the mathematical formula for the effect of gravity on this and other planes, and what you’ve discussed with Cantor Alvreein, you are now certain the markers are ancient stone monuments placed by the goddess Yaraesa, and they are actively responsible for the planets impossible existence on the edge of the black hole. Faced with the new threat of the Reddened Eye operating on their planet, the Elders are sure that they are responsible for the destruction of other colonies, and the corruption of the markers causing the worsening global weather and seismic events.
Cantor Alvreein shares his concerns ”As I’ve been studying the markers, I’ve been sending my findings to some local researchers to study and record. It may be some of our last written examples of the formula before it was corrupted. I worry for their safety, and the safety of their research.”
The elder Quorlus nod at Cantor Alvreein’s words. ”We must deliberate. Please, off-worlders, the day is late. Stay with us this evening and set out in the morning. We shall prepare a traditional Quorlu feast for you.” You provide them with a spare comm-unit to speak directly with Venture-Captain Arvin.
You stay in Hulwen’s Posit for the night (you kind of want that comm-unit back). A fire is lit and the Quorlu (young and old) entertain and sing to you. Their tribal song speaks of the resilience of the Quorlu. If they’re knocked down they get up again, no you're never gonna keep them down. DInner is revealed to be various sizes and types of rock, which the Quorlu devour.
In the morning, Cantor Alvreein returns your comm unit. She leads you to the entrance of Hulwen’s Posit and guides you back to the surface where the path leads back to your ship.
”I will seal the entrance behind you, so no more of the Cult can find our colony. We can always dig out if we need to. Thank you again, Starfinders, and good luck! With that, she turns back into the tunnels and sets to work collapsing the tunnel.
Your comm units alert you to a message from Venture Captain Arvin.
”The quorlus have granted us permission to visit some of their sacred sites: Yaraesa’s markers. Said to hold the secrets of the universe, these ancient stone menhirs work in tandem to protect this planet from the nearby black hole. But something’s gone wrong. The quorlus say some of the markers are “out of harmony.” Our scans show that these divergent sites are surrounded by environmental and gravitational anomalies—violent storms, powerful earthquakes, and unpredictable fluctuations in gravity and radiation levels. I’m transmitting you coordinates to one of these divergent sites. The nearest safe landing zone is a few miles downhill. Travel to the menhir and figure out what’s wrong. Fix it if you can. Arvin out”
You make the short flight to the coordinates provided, emerging from the ship again onto volcanic looking terrain. The sky over Enereth-7 is a dusty gray-blue, lit by the large, orange sun. On the opposite horizon is the ever-present black hole—its invisible center framed plainly by its massive halo of white light. It’s chilly, and the dry air smells acrid. A series of rocky buttes and short soil-caked mesas bound together by green lies ahead, with transparent grass that makes a jingling sound in the breeze. The incline looks mild, but the rock appears sharp to the touch and the soft orange soil lays loosely on the ground.
A suit of armor’s environmental protections last for a number of days equal to its item level.
All armor can facilitate self-contained breathing, protecting you against vacuums, smoke, and thick, thin, and toxic atmospheres (including any airborne poison or disease).
As you begin to move uphill towards your objective over the rocky scree, the ground begins to shift and slip.
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Berith looks over what was collected and says, "Someone should really hold on to that pistol. It's pretty nice."
"I can take one of those pistols. I am not very good at shooting so just give me one of them. I only have a laser pistol doing fire damage and by the blessing of Sarenrae i can make about half of the fire damage into holy damage so i am okay with anything making me able to overcome damage reduction or immunities or resistance. is Rhys answer to Berry.
--------------------With the enviromental seals closed Rhys pays attention to where she is walking.
Being the noob she still is she overestimated the safety of the ground and falls waist-deep into a nasty looking hole taking a bit of damage.
Rhys is getting out of that and tries her best to not take further damage. Failing this she has some nasty looking scratches. Nothing serious by the looks but it's painful to walk too fast and so she will be limbing for a while.
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Vyviane takes a moment to rest and recouperate after the fight. She gives a snarl at the downed woman, and makes sure she is bound before they send her on her way. The rest of the time she tries to enjoy herself, experimenting with the local cuisine and dancing, laughing and staying just shy of being truly annoying with the men in the settlement. She even sings the Quorlu a song of her own. One about never giving someone up and never letting them down.
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The halfling gives a stretch as the group gets back on the road. "Anyone else drink a little too much last night? I brought some freeze-dried emergency coffee and tea, if you want a cup. Not better than real stuff but it works..."
As the sink hole opens beneath her, Vyviane tosses the coffee and her self-sealing mug into the air, before jumping after them. She lands slides a few inches and holds out her hands as the items land right where she expected them to. She gives a glance back at the rest of the group and sighs as she sees that the only one still up to see her brilliant maneuvers was a bot. She puts the coffee away, drawing out her cane. She pulls on the tip of the cane, revealing some tactical cable has been wound up in it. "Alright, who needs help?"
While Elwin and Viviane make it through the loose rocks unscathed, the rest of the team gets pretty beat up.
"I hope that was the hardest part of this little jaunt!"
Elwin's optimism fades as the group moves uphill past the shifting ground. The flora becomes dense and diverse. Vibrant magenta flowers that grow on corkscrew stems
with petals as thin as gossamer rest among the transparent grass.Trees in the area are thick and tall with gray, smooth bark and
yellow leaves, draped in elastic vines.
A crevasse—20 feet deep, 30 feet across, and 60 feet long—
blocks the your advance. Crystalline bugs carpet the bottom of the crevasse, reflecting the light as they move.
A tree grows on each side of the crevasse, with a third toppled over,
spanning the crevasse like a makeshift bridge.
reach the you.
a subsequent successful DC 13 Acrobatics or Athletics check, while
falling results in only 1d6 bludgeoning damage.
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Elwin stares at the vista, "I'm really starting to dislike this planet..."
"OK, this thing looks stable. Now..."
Elwin starts to slip...
And falls into a mass of swarming bugs.
He then tries to climb back up, coughing from the bug juice all over him.
Once up top he uses some of his water to try to wash the worst of the bug residue off.
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Vyviane stops to smell some of the flowers, a few causing her nose to wrinkle but most seem pleasent enough. She does start taking pictures of some of the more interesting plants and creatures for later documentation.
At the crevice, she decides to hop onto the log and walk across.
She wobbles some and almost loses her footing twice but she makes it a roos no worse for the wear.
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Rhys uses the Token Spell to clean up all the rest of the bug residue on Elwin. "This spell really comes in handy. I never had to bother to pay for cleaning my clothes since i learned it."
Looking down where Elwin just climbed up from "Glad i avoided to land down there. Remind me at Absalom Station to train to climb up and down or keeping my balance for those kind of situations!"
"Vyviane you made me hold my breath a few times!"
Tixylix make a DC 13 acrobatics or athletics check to climb back up. If you fail, you take 1d6 damage, then open the "bottom of the pit" spoiler tag
Dice=Nat20
Tixylix climbs back up.
You all finish the short but difficult and mildly annoying trek with only a few scratches and bruises. Cresting the top of the final mesa, you approach your destination: the site of the marker.
A well-trod path of orange soil winds through the lush vegetation in this sheltered grove. Tall, gray trees crowned with yellow leaves hide the sun from view, but the white nimbus of light surrounding the black hole is inescapable and dominates the sky. Ahead of you on the right of the trail is a similar stone menhir to the one you discovered when you first landed here and made contact with Cantor Alvreein.
Further down the path there appears to be a set of stairs descending into an ancient stone ruin.
Ahead of them on the path about 15 feet, Berith spots an earring made of bone and a crumpled wrapper. You would have to move closer to get a better look. Her warning to the party reminds them all to take a moment to check out the area before proceeding.
Ziamat spots the concealed trap ahead of them. It appears to be a grenade lobbing trap with a simple tripwire.
You disable the tripwire and release the tension on the lobbing arm. You also salvage two mk 1 disintegrator grenades.
Closer to the items on the ground now, you discover that the earring appears to be a human finger bone. The shiny is a Ragemax candy bar wrapper, a popular treat on Absolom Station.
The Menhir and/or stairs await.
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Elwin was having a short discussion with Rhys on the theoretical mystic background of the menhir when he finally realized something was going on behind him.
It is fascinating. I guess we'll never know the true story. Maybe some scientist who comes after us will write a paper, hey.... are those new grenades our captain is admiring? Wonder where she got those? What's that? Oh yes. The stairs. Nothing else to really check up here anyway."
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"I agree an army of scientists can at least for decades write about this. So... Ah what are those grenades for?"Looking up from her talk with Elwin Rhys reaches for her pistol but then just looks at her battleglove, shakes her head and limbs up the path which is the shortest way to the menhir.
"I think after a full night rest i will feel better but now i don't feel like walking too much and take this path directly to the marker how our Quorlu friends are calling those mehirs." She gestures the others to follow her. "The sooner we do something about those manipulations to the holy stones the sooner we can kill or capture those cultists."
Sparkling stone stairs lead down into a pair of sunken chambers that have clearly been ransacked. Debris from broken furniture and shattered crystals litter the floor. Nailed to the wall by a rusty iron spike is the severed head of a Quorlu, dead at least a few days. Nearby a rusty serrated blade is also found, but the Quorlu's body is nowhere to be found.
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Vyviane's eyes narrow further. "Cultists! There's reasons I never worked with them."
She takes a good look around and almost starts for the stairs before she stops, thinks and does an about face, stomping over to the head and taking it down. "Anyone know about the Quorlu funeral customs? If not shall we make sure this one gets a proper non-denominational burial?"
Viviane's look around the ransacked room reveals silicon pages hat must have been the Quorlu's records, and perhaps the records Cantor Alvreein was sending. She also finds an empty aerosol container and a plastic bowl dusted with residue from a red powder. These appear to be of pact world origins. She finds nothing else in the room.
A stone pillar, tightly orbited by glowing symbols that hover mere inches above its surface, rises above this clearing. Most of the floating symbols are white, though the bottom third are blue. In the center of the menhir, a tarry black growth contracts every few seconds like a slowly beating heart. Bulging blackened veins radiate out from this grotesque tumor, creeping farther across the stone with every pulse. Around these veins the floating symbols glow a malign red and become jagged and malformed.
Around the menhir the world is changed. It’s hot, the plants are dead, and the air stinks of decay. The once-white accretion disk of the distant black hole glows blood red, cradling and ominous black disk in its center—the singularity’s event horizon impossibly made visible. The black growth beats. Its veins writhe. A blue symbol shatters, its shards of light darken to red, then rejoin in a new configuration.
The group approaches the Menhir and begins to investigate.
Beyond Yaraesa's Marker, the two stone Quorlu Guardian Statues stand inert, however they appear to have the same black, tarry corruption growing across them.
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Rhys looks disgusted at the black growing pulsing thing and investigates the mehir.
"So this growing thing is a physical manifestation of a magical ritual with the goal to destroy this holy stone. And here is a bit of red powder. Must be an igredient for the ritual."She points to where she found the powder.
"And no we can't harm the growth but we can counter it by solving the equations." Already her eyes are scanning the stone for any clues.