The wreck of the Malice sits floundering in space, the surviving crew will no doubt take a long time to get the thing in any sort of state to limp home.
***
Your ship now sits over the Drift Bog, able to scan the surface with your ships sensors.
Darkwinn determines there are life forms in the bog and there is gravity, and you can locate a safe landing site.
Computers check by the Science Officer (Or Mystic!)
Using their ship’s sensors you discover the remaining atmosphere in the Drift Bog is thin and highly toxic, and gravity is unstable near the swamp’s edges. You also determine the Drift Bog is deteriorating, with atmosphere and water leaking off in places, and large hunks of land breaking away.
Using the ship’s sensors you are able to piece together a rough topographical map of the Drift Bog.
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Darakwinn grumbles a bit something about "leaving someone to stab you in the back" but makes no larger protest and, more importantly, doesn't just blast the Malice.
She doesn't touch any of the computer interfaces but some strange data comes across the screens and some of the ordinary data presents itself in unusual ways, the larger format forming additional symbols.
"Oh...what a pleasant place," she mutters. "There's not much atmosphere and what there is is highly toxic. You're going to want to keep your armor on. It also just happens to be coming apart, so don't be surprised if the piece of land you're standing on just floats away."
You land the ship in a viable location and check your surrounds.
The Drift Bog is wet and muddy, its warm, murky water flecked with bits of red and black plant matter. Twisted, gnarled trees sprouting sickly black leaves grow throughout the swamp, blocking line of sight and creating shifting shadows. The leaves sway as if blown by a breeze, though no wind exists. Swarms of biting insects form clouds in the air, nearly blocking out the kaleidoscopic, swirling sky of the Drift. The beating of their wings creates an inescapable droning that makes it difficult to hear.
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Kippi seals her armor's environmental seals and (assuming that the area the group wants to explore is small enough to cover all of it in an hour based on the map) downs a Tier 1 antitoxin.
As she flaps her way out of the Pegasus, her wings take on an iridescent glimmer. "Ooh, this place is downright gross icky disgusting. Glad you guys are the ones wading through it and not me." She checks her comms for the map Zapp created "Hmm, where exactly is that weird house that Jules was talking about? I don't see it anywhere. Maybe we just wander? I'm happy to wander."
She immediately gets to examining the insects and plant life near the starship.
Inspecting the insects Kippi discovers that nearly all of them are toxic or transmit disease. It is probable that the larger species here do as well.
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Darakwinn doesn't have much skill or knowledge in things like "Science" or "Medicine." Bugs are to be swatted, plants make nice decorations and that's about all the attention she gives them.
She makes sure all her seals are tight before stepping off the ship and looks around with more than a little distaste when she realizes how much worse wading around is going to be for someone with her build and stature.
"It's going to take me a week to clean this place out of my armor," she grumbles.
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Zapp fires up his environmental protections upon disembarking. "I'm sure we can afford to wander for a time," he agrees. "The swamp will not break up so soon, at least I hope." He then takes to investigating the local wildlife with surprising curiosity, if not great results.
Afterwards, he turns to Kif for the alien's impressions on this area.
Zapp concurs with the findings on the insects.
Inspecting the atmosphere, Kif finds it is similar to insanity mist, causing confusion, hallucinations, and paranoia. This atmosphere could have caused Captain Winks’ belief that the painting was cursed.
Inspecting the earth and mud Kif learns about its composition.
You move off and begin navigating the swamp... the journey is a long and unpleasant slog. It seems that there are endless opportunities to get lost or traipse into deep patches of sucking mud that would require significant effort to escape. Clouds of insects buzz around you, gnawing on your armour and attempting to find tiny gaps to wriggle through.
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"Well, as far as I can see there's insects just about EVERYWHERE. Do you think some of them flew off into the Drift? Imagine flying your starship and then suddenly SPLAT there's a bunch of mosquitoes on your windshield?" Distracted by the funny thought, Kippi isn't too helpful in navigating.
But even so, her elevation over the rest of the team gives her the ability to spot some obstacles before they're reached.
Travelling in the Drift Bog is tiring and completely unpleasant. You are continually distracted by the to the clouds of insects and their consistent buzzing.
The water in the Drift Bog is muddy and thick, ranging from knee-deep to hip-deep throughout most of its area. Worse, writhing vines seem to snag and tangle you as you travel, and you eventually realise that the trees purposefully reach for passersby and cling to them.
After what seems to be a long and tedious slog through the mud you spot a couple of out-of-place glints in some shallow water...
Floating in the water is a silver tactical spear and a mud-caked diffraction resonator.
The items floated here from deeper in the swamp.
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If it wouldn't be completely exhausting, Darakwinn would just start blasting everything with magic. Her natural paranoia is only enhanced by the fact that it seems like everything here actually IS out to get her.
She fishes the two technological items out of the bog then watches a few leaves float past before following them from where they came with her gaze.
"These came from deeper in," she says, brandishing the items. "Whoever they belong to won't mind if we borrow them, I'm sure. Any takers?"
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Ryu shrugs as the others present a different path and casually goes along with the group. He uses his starknife to stab at some foliage and declines the use of the pistol. He prefers his rifle.
"Maybe we should try to find where they came from. Their owner could still be alive." He is doubtful, but hopeful.
You push deeper into the Drift Bog and it doesn't take long before you all come across an expanse of still, black water - but about 40 feet from the edge you notice five humanoid bodies dressed in matching black and gray fatigues floating on the surface.
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Darakwinn shrugs and shoulders the sonic weapon after handing the spear to Zapp. She'll have no more luck with it than Kippi but it seems a shame to leave behind such a valuable weapon.
When they find the pond and bodies she pulls out her tactical pike and looks around for the trouble that is inevitably going to come...probably from that black water.
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"Don't worry Ryu, I've got it. Just watch my back. Or the water. Probably just watch the water, really. My back's not going to do anything too exciting." Kippi flies over the surface of the water and swoops down to pick up a body and drag it towards the shore.
"Oof, they're heavier than I expected."
Darakwinn and Ryu both notice three black glass orbs near the bodies.
Kippi has got the first body and is dragging it back slowly...
Dara senses no magic in the balls... they appear to be made of glass, around the size of tennis balls and just floating in the water near one of the bodies under their own buoyancy.
Kippi gets the first body back to shore.
Kippi is collecting the balls as the large tangle of bodies start getting towed in.
Kippi notices a few ripples that rapidly turn into the bow-wave of some large submerged creature chasing after the flying...food...
Flying as hard as she can she just managed to stay beyond the wave, and as she crossed the shore the wave stops about 10' off the edge and falls away. In a few moments, the inky black water is completely still once more.
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Darakwinn backs away from the wave and the creature, her eyes widening. They widen even more as some of the water is tossed over the side and disappears into nothingness.
"I'm glad I didn't swim," she comments. "I may never swim again, actually."
With that out of the way, she turns to examine the orbs, knowing that she's not going to know much about the bodies.
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Kippi drops the orbs off near the group so the more magical members of the party can examine them, and instead goes over to look at the people that the group pulled out. She tries to work out what kind of humanoids they are or were and if they have any identifying personal effects.
She especially checks to see if the gear the group recovered is similar to that on the three people.
Inspecting the Tiefling bodies uncovers the insignia of the Devil’s Talon on their combat gear (which matches the insignia on the hull of the Malice). They appear to have chunks taken out of them. What is clear is that these mercenaries were well equipped and heavily armed.
thinplate, a runner spark knife (Armory 10), 10 silver carbonedge shuriken, a silver tactical handaxe (Armory 8), a static arc pistol, a thunderstrike pulse gauntlet, three tactical semi-auto pistols loaded with silver bullets, and 40 rounds of small arms silver bullets. enforcer armor I (Armory 69), a mercenary NIL grenade launcher loaded with six screamer grenades, a sheet lightning pistol (Armory 15), a silver carbonsteel curveblade, a sonorous resonant staff (Armory 13), and a thunderstrike sonic pistol.
Medicine check
The Devil’s Talons bled out from large circular bite marks and were partially eaten.
Surpassing the DC by 5 or more also reveals that many of the mercenaries are infected with a disease that liquefied their brains.
Separately, the black glass spheres are beautifully made and clearly very valuable pieces of alien art. Anyone taking them?
Not long after leaving the lake behind you discover signs of civilization, with a few toppled pillars and slick stairs rising up out of the bog.
You hear a mumbling voice ahead, though no words can be discerned.
The architecture is made of worked stone.
You discover the stonework is millennia old and in exceptional condition for its age, likely created in the ancient past.
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Ryu looks over the gear with the others. "You think they're trying to tell us something?" He takes some silver ammo for his own auto-pisol (18 rounds) and the silver curveblade, just in case.
Ryu looks over the stonework. "This is old. Ancient even. And in magnificent condition for its age." He speaks reverently about the architecture as he continues to inspect it.
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"Does anyone else think it's weird that there's no house attached to this stuff?" Darakwinn asks.
"Also, does anyone else hear that voice? Can you understand what it's saying? I can't," she continues.
Stairways to nowhere are creepy enough for her. A mumbling voice sets her hackles on hedge and she pulls out the tac pistol, checking the chamber before proceeding.
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"I hear something too. Speak up, over there! If you mean no harm, there's nothing to fear!" Zapp yells ahead.
When an immediate response doesn't come, he finds a distraction, snapping pictures of the house with his helmet-mounted camera. "Old enough to merit cataloging, certainly. We'll figure out what we can before it's gone."
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Kippi picks up one of the tactical semi-autos with silver bullets, and makes sure to separate the rest of the stuff so that the team can bring it back to the starship afterward.
"You're right Darakwinn! Maybe they were afraid of facing were-ysoki?"
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"I don't hear anything. What kind of voice? Is it creepy? I bet its creepy, right?" Kippi floats up into the air to get a better look in all directions in case bog ghosts and descending on the team's location. "Does the voice sound like it wants to fight?"
While Kippi doesn't understand much about the ruins, it seems her allies are well informed. "Maybe we should look around for some ancient thing that's portable enough we can take it back to our ship? An secret mysterious surprising stone tablet?"
"It's promises are only lies! It asks me to speak, only to find something to use to blackmail a false hope of freedom - it's just tricks!"