/dot in - the adventure starts soon!
The inside of the White Sands Lodge’s crystal dome is balmy compared to the frigid Triaxian winter outside. The copper dragon Zafeldrin sits on a platform surrounded by flickering holoscreens. Several other Starfinder agents wait nearby, conversing with one another or fiddling with comm units and datapads.
After a moment, the dragon diverts his attention from the screens to the Starfinders gathered before him, offering a toothy, excited grin. “Ah. The last to arrive. Welcome, agents, to the White Sands Lodge!” The tip of Zafeldrin’s tail twitches with barely contained anticipation.
“Now that everyone is assembled, let’s get right to it. Have you ever heard of Cadascon?” The dragon waves a claw and the aerial image of a partially buried, ruined city built into the side of a mountain appears on a holoscreen.
“Cadascon is a city in the Drakelands that dates back ages before the Gap. As far as we can tell, there are few existing records of who resided there, or why they don’t reside there anymore. When the Society finally managed to acquire the necessary permits and permissions to investigate the area, I put out a call for the sharpest minds we have. This initial foray won’t be going into the city proper. I identified four locations through aerial surveillance. I know this doesn’t sound like the most exciting of missions, but I’d be prepared for the worst regardless. If you determine the area is safe enough, we can begin establishing a base of operations nearby and prepare to bring in scientists and archeologists to examine the site more thoroughly"
“It’s my hope that a new archeological discovery will get the Pact Worlds thinking about the good things the Society has had a hand in. But still, I know things have been stressful for many of our agents, which is why I’ve decided to throw a little soiree for you all before we depart tomorrow. In fact, I was hoping you could assist me in finishing the preparations for dinner while I finish checking the equipment for the mission.
“Lastly, I hope you’ll all use this joint mission as an opportunity to get to know your fellow agents. The Society’s strength comes from the bonds between us and our ability to work together to accomplish things we never could alone. While investigating the city, I expect you to look out for one another. Now, does anyone have any questions?
|
The lovely golden android steps forward and offers a graceful curtsy to Zafeldrin.
"What do we know about the people who lived here pre-gap?" she asks.
"Were they humanoid? And if so, how big?"
Then after a moment she adds "What more can you tell us about the locations you spied from the air? And if this place is abandoned... why do you suspect trouble?"
She turns to eye up the rest of the team.
"I don't think I have had the pleasure of working with you before. I am Kultanien Vaimo. Negotiator and diplomat. I guess I am here in case there is still a remnant population - in which case I'll try to make first contact."
"Well Ryphorians are native to Triaxus, so as a guess.. about Ryphorian size?"
“The dangers? Aside from seismic activity or mundane Triaxian predators, it pains me to admit that I don’t know. Most of the city appears to be underground, and the drones we’ve sent to scout the area lose their connection to us if they venture too close. The interference doesn’t appear to be intentional tampering. I believe it might be perpetuated by certain elements in the ground.”
|
"Home sweet home. Just would prefer if it wasn't winter...growing up in the spring is so much nicer." Altorin sighs with content as he disembarks.
---
"Well, I save being prompt for special occasions so it has more impact! You have my apologies though...I was enjoying the terribly frigid winters I have missed so much." he says with a small bow to the dragon.
As the dragon answers Kultainen's question he waves his hands over his body modelling the size of his species with a wink.
"Wonderful to meet you, Lady Vaimo! I am Altorin Cyrido...no fancy titles here but a traveler with a penchant for sunny locales. No lofty motives for taking on this mission other than visiting home but this soiree does have me excited." he says giving his own introduction.
"Still going into something so dangerous requires a little bit of effort before the festivities. Are you sure there is nothing else from the drone feeds or an expert of wildlife of that area that can brief us? Either way point me in the direction to help with the party setup." he asks probing for more information.
"Ahhh, perfect, yes. Yes about that size" the dragon gestures towards Altorin.
Triaxian culture is largely defined by the long conflict between the dragons of the Drakelands and the humanoids of the Allied Territories. Between them is the Skyfire Mandate, home to the famous mercenary company, the Skyfire Legion. The trade port of Cumo sits on a river delta on the southern shore of the Mandate on the Sephorian Sea.
True dragons first appeared on Triaxus ages before the Gap in the center of the continent now known as the Drakelands, many immediately setting about to enslave all “lesser creatures.” Long ago, the Drakelands was divided into a chaotic mess of independent city states and nations constantly warring with one another for dominance. Nowadays, the wars occur not on battlefields, but in closed door meetings and with corporate espionage between dragoncorps in bids for economic dominance.
|
|
Kultanien has a think about what she has heard of the area over a dinner party.
"Can you tell us any more about the interference? Would it affect our equipment... or our communications?" she asks.
Of course Kultanien has also studied a lot of different worlds and peoples...
But was maybe a little distracted when she was reading about Triaxus.
As Altorin Cyrido introduces himself, the android blesses him with a radiant smile. "Your own homeworld! Which part do you come from? Have you heard about this ancient culture before?"
"If the interference is impacting our drones then there is every chance it may do the same to other devices. Whether this is localised or across the whole of the place is something we are going to have to walk the ground to find out"
Cadascon, also known as also known as the City of Brimstone, is an ancient city that had its heyday long before the Gap. It was ruled by a tyrannical dragon named Brior the Unblinking, who forced ryphorian slaves to work crystal mines that were zealously guarded from outsiders. Due to the hazardous terrain surrounding the city, it has lain empty and mostly undisturbed for centuries, save for scavengers and reckless, would-be
Some legends claim that the crystals Brior the Unblinking hoarded had some kind of devastating magical power, and that before the Gap, she planned to use them to dominate the surrounding dragon-ruled nations, and perhaps even the Skyfire Mandate and the humanoid nations beyond it.
|
|
"Well.. I was having dinner with an eminent historian just the other night." smiles Kultanien.
"He told me a bit about Cadascon, although much of it you must understand is speculation and rumour. The City of Brimstone is an ancient city that had its heyday long before the Gap. It was ruled by a tyrannical dragon named Brior the Unblinking, who forced ryphorian slaves to work crystal mines that were zealously guarded from outsiders. " Here she offers a sympatheic glance toward Altorin.
"Due to the hazardous terrain surrounding the city, it has lain empty and mostly undisturbed for centuries, save for scavengers and reckless, would-be explorers."
As she speaks about Brior her eyes enlarge slightly.
"Anyway Some legends claim that the crystals Brior the Unblinking hoarded had some kind of devastating magical power, and that before the Gap, she planned to use them to dominate the surrounding dragon-ruled nations, and perhaps even the Skyfire Mandate and the humanoid nations beyond it."
She offers another beaming smile. "Of course, I am wondering if those same crystals might have something to do with the communication difficulties. Do any of you have skills in the magical arts?"
Looking back to Zafeldrin she asks "How are we to get in, given the terrain? And do you have any further stories about Brior the unblinking?"
|
Entering the White Sands lodge and shivering just a little after coming in from the cold winter outside, you see a small, six-armed, bright orange male skittermander. The skittermander is dressed in a silky, cream-colored suit. The skittermander enters with five of his six arms extended, with his lower left holding onto a can of orange soda.
"Hello Nufriends!" the skittermander exclaims to the room. "My name is Zoombo Deskarin, but my friends call me 'Zoom', and that's all of you now! Hello hello! I'm a detective, and it will be my pleasure working with everyone here. It's wonderful to meet you Ms. Vaimo, and Altorin, and any other nufriends that show up!"
"And to you, Zafeldrin, congratulations on this lodge! How wonderful! I've never been here before, but it's very impressive!"
Zoom takes a sip of orange soda before he pulls out a small datapad from his suit jacket with his middle-left hand. He eagerly (maybe even aggressively) takes notes as Zafeldrin gives the briefing. He thinks back to see if he remembers anything about the places or people.
Upon mention of a "soiree", Zoom nearly jumps out of his seat.
"I would love, love, love to help in any way I can! I'll be giving it allsix in any task to make this party happen!"
He pauses, takes a sip of soda, and then begins speaking very quickly.
"One question... How do we deterimine if the area is 'safe enough'? What kind of stuff should we look for while we're in Cadascon? Who lived there before? Why they left? What kind of artifacts there are? Everything? I want to be on the lookout for the right type of clues!" Zoom finishes by taking another gulp of soda.
|
|
A Ysoki with a blaster strapped to his back which is almost as big as he is and modified with an underbarreled grenade launcher and a scope adding even more mass to it looks up at the dragon and raises one eye brow as he stick the index finger of his right hand into his right ear and scratches the inside
"...this is not what I was expecting today, but I've seen stranger.."
'So explore 4 locations while possibly having to miss out on getting to use devices, gotcha. Are we talking advances automatons here or every kind of electronica? I would hate to find out my blaster won't fire at the ....wrong time"
|
|
"Oh nowhere special, Zo. A large port...probably where I get my wandering spirit but a lot of this is new to me as I didn't stick around too long." he says before explaining some history and geography about the planet to his companions.
"You are like a bright sun bouncing in here! Gonna enjoy working with you, Zoom!" he greets his nufriend warmly.
He thinks about the interference more.
"I was thinking the same thing. We might need some weapons that won't be as affected by the interference. Better be prepared than not and I can't hold back much with my bare fists alone...I'll try though!" he jokes to the ysoki.
"One question... How do we deterimine if the area is 'safe enough'? What kind of stuff should we look for while we're in Cadascon? Who lived there before? Why they left? What kind of artifacts there are? Everything? I want to be on the lookout for the right type of clues!" Zoom finishes by taking another gulp of soda.
"Excellent questions, but alas as the area has not been surveyed in detail those are the precise things I have requested the teams to go and investigate...perhaps they were Ryphorians that inhabited the place? Well I suppose if you disappear in a burst of flame or are shot into the heavens in a cosmic vortex we will know the place has hazards!" the dragon jests kindly. "There are a lot of teams going in, surely some of them will find something of interest we can then warrant calling in more hard of skill but soft of skin academics to look into"
"You will have the opportunity to go all six at the dinner party"
"As to you my good friend Rocket, and pleased to see you again I might add, it was the drones we sent forward that experienced connectivity issues - we have just made the assumption it could be a natural phenomenon giving us problem - perhaps atmosphere, or metal surfaces creating a problem - unsure"
"Kultainen, we will provide some All-terrain vehicles for you to drive in, it will be a bit of a long drive but not to horrible"
You look around the room and at the other Starfinders. They appear to be in two teams.
Team B:
female summerborn ryphorian
female borai
male izalguun
Team C:
male kasatha
female ysoki
male nuar
The teams listen in, and then speak amongst themselves.
Zafeldrin pipes up "I have two tasks I need completed today, I need volunteers to go to Cumo to pick up the ingredients for dinner, and I need some set-up done in the garden, feel free to help with either task, or both - tick tock though" the dragon smiles.
Supplies:
Kultainen.
Altorin.
Others?
|
|
Zoom's eyes brighten as he takes another swing of orange soda.
"Ohohoh! I can go help get supplies, or set up in the garden, whatever you need! Maybe I can go to the garden since we already have people getting supplies!"
Zoom begins hustling over to the gardening area, looking for a skittermander sized spade, rake, or other gardening implement.
|
|
" ...nothing good can happen when you split up the party..."
Seeing Kultainen and Altorin head towards the supplies Rocket starts to follow - believing that strength lies in numbers - as he notices Zoom hustling past by himself
Sighing Rocket turns around and follows after the skittermander
"You guys go handle the supplies. I'll try to go lend a hand to our resident multi-armer. Raise me on the comms if you need my assistance"
Shopping excursion:
Kultainen & Altorin.
You pile into a people-mover and find yourselves heading into the nearby city. Team B is in the vehicle with you, and the summerborn Ryphorian turns around to talk ”Hello! I’m Navaret, and this is Swift” she lets a small squox out of her travel bag. ”This is Cailis” she indicates to the corpse-like borai who just glances in your direction with a wan smile, ”and this is Iko” she indicates to the Izalguun.
”You are Kultainen - saved the elected First Seeker from a notorious assassin saved and have journeyed to Salvations End, and you are Altorin - the Mystic and healer. I’m such a fan!”
***
Frolicing in the garden.
Rocket & Zoom
Team C has headed to the garden. The male kasatha, female ysoki, and male nuar are already working when you arrive and are busily setting up tables and chairs in a beautifully manicured garden. ”Hey can you give us a hand setting up?” the Kasatha enquires as he moves a stack of chairs.
|
|
"What a team! Recruitment must be going well with all the different faces we are seeing! And whoa...looks like we have a reputation! It is a pleasure to meet all of you." Altorin cheers warmly after finding out people were learning of him. He shimmies in his seat chuckling.
Wonder how large of a supply run this is to need more than a full team...
"Should be an easy supply run with a full carrier like this! I may be a healer but I am no slouch at the muscle work either."
"Apparently the list is being finished off shortly - it was still being drawn up as we left"
Iko the Izalguun looks over to Altorin, "Are you a local?"
|
|
Zoom blinks. A huge smile spreads across his face as he extends all of his arms in the kasatha's direction.
"A hand? Of course, nufriend! I can give lots of hands!"
Zoom takes one final gulp of his orange soda before tossing it into a nearby recycling bin, leaving all six of his hands free for helping.
Zoom rushes forward to grab the nearest unattended chair, but still moves carefully enough to avoid getting dirt from the garden on his cream-colored suit.
As he begins to lift the chair (which is probably much bigger than he is), Zoom inquires, "What is your name, nufriend? My name is Zoom! Let's get this party set up!"
Shopping excursion:
Kultainen & Altorin.
Navaret replies - "We're all pretty new, I thought this sounded like a great mission, but it's horrible wandering around out there with winter setting in, I hate the cold - I'm used to Castrovel! Joined up to get out and see the galaxy, and so far I have seen a cold rock"
Kalis keeps to herself, the undead Starfinder being very quiet.
Iko leans over - "Hey the shopping list is ready..." and true enough it is displayed on a screen along with a pile of directions to the various stores. The transporter pulls up out front of a store and you do a double-take when you realise the first address is not for a supermarket, but actually an enercycle dealership.
Navaret looks at the shopfront "Huh? What is this?"
***
Frolicing in the garden.
Rocket & Zoom
"I'm Kalet" the smiling Kasatha responds, "and that is Ritska our ysoki friend, and Kran the nuar" - they all join in laying down tables and chairs, and following the diagrams for how the place should be laid out.
"Zoombo, you going to give it allsix?" the Kasatha chuckles in friendship.
|
|
Rocket nods at the others as he gives a small shrug at Zoom's enthusiasm before joining in on the distribution of the chairs after taking a look at the diagrams, turning the diagrams to a different perspective, looking at them again..and finally giving up and just picking up a few chairs and walking after someone who seems to know what he's doing.
"The name is Rocket. I'll have to say this is change from what I'm normally assigned to do. Have you guys got a lot of experience with seating arrangements?"
Shopping excursion:
Kultainen & Altorin.
Navaret replies - "Mostly to Absalom station and Castrovel, maybe the next wrong address will be a sauna"You all stare at the enercycle store, "Shall we check the next address?"
|
|
"Wow, maybe they want to keep us fit to counter all the food we will be eating?" suggests Kultanien with a smile.
She gestures for Kalis to exit before her. "You must have quite the story to you as welll." she says, fishing for an opening with him.
She eyes up the store.
"Might pay to go in and check that store really is a mistake. This won't be the first time a venture captain has led me on a surprise hunt."
Shopping excursion:
Kultainen & Altorin.
Kultainen stops to check the store and finds it is exactly what it seems, the staff confirm their business has been there for ages. The team moves to the next location and finds it is the address to the local swimming pool.
Kultainen completes the realisation that she was correct - the directions Zafeldrin sent to their comm units make no sense as written; they are in fact a carefully worded puzzle relating to Cumo’s buildings and distinct landmarks.
Navaret takes the news badly "This is stupid - I'm really not vibing with this at all, shopping is one thing, a silly treasure hunt is another, let's just ask some locals for the answers"
Cailis and Iko don't seem to agree "We've got some smart people, we should solve it by ourselves"
***
Frolicing in the garden.
Rocket & Zoom
"No experience whatsoever, certainly didn't expect setting up a dinner function was going to be a feature of Starfinding"
A flight of drones flies in from your host, providing music and lighting for the party, but you notice three of them appear to be malfunctioning significantly. Luckily, Talet manages to catch a drone and he and Kran begin working on debugging it, but Ritska seems annoyed by the two bugged ones - "Hang on, I'm just going to shoot them, this is stupid". Talet interjects "You can't just shoot them!"
|
|
"We are starfinders. Puzzles are almost our middle name. And even if we are not smart enough to figure things out, we surround ourselves with folk who are even smarter to give us a hand!"
Kultanien considers the themes and common things between the pool and the other shops.
Kultanien turns to the woman next to her. "Jopsie... do you have any ideas what is going on here?" The lovely lady in a lab coat shakes her head.
With a sigh Kultanien looks around, spotting an information kiosk.
"Excuse me... we are from out of town and think one of our friends is playing a trick on us.."
|
|
"A puzzle! It never is simple...well guess I can through in my thoughts after I look at the list." Altorin sighs heavily while peering over.
Seeing that Kultainen has a lot more knowledge on the topic he instead tries to assist her.
"This really seems like your kind of thing but I can try to add in anything this Ryphorian brain has going on." he struggles to add in points but only has fairly obvious additions.
He toss an arm up and scratches his head.
"We sure are lucky to have you with us Lady Vaimo...heh." he chuckles a bit embarrassed.
Shopping excursion:
Kultainen & Altorin.
Kultainen is smooth as glass as she works with Altoring on a couple of local passers-by who get super enthusiastic about helping. Between the group you manage to work out that the clues pinpoint a location in town, and sure enough when you get there there is a hovertruck full of supplies belonging to a delivery company, and a driver waiting there for directions to a party....
Navaret seems happy - "Good to see you took the smart and expedient way, rather than hang around in the cold for hours trying to puzzle out a stupid game"
The other two Starfinders look a bit disappointed.
***
Frolicing in the garden.
Rocket & Zoom
Rocket pulls down the drone, Zoom put on a good show but is too short...|
|
|
Rocket makes sure the one he's brought down is secured and won't fly of again before he takes of after the last one
"Uhrm..yeah, we only need one to figure out what's wrong with them..we don't need that last one....unless you want to catch it..."
Rocket comments as he misses his turn.
Landing and examining the one he did caught he spits out some tools from his cheek pouches and tries to figure out what's wrong with the drone
"I sure hope it's a mechanical error and nothing do with it's programming 'cause I failed to pay much attention when I took that computers course.."
|
|
Falling to the ground after his first attempt, Zoom clambers back on top of another chair and, waits for the right moment.
"I'll see if I can catch it, Rocket!"
Zoom flings himself into the air again.
Falling short once again, Zoom picks himself up and sees if he can help with the reprograming, even though Rocket seems to have the mechanics of it well in hand.
Exasperated by his lack of success in helping, Zoom cracks open another orange soda and sighs.
"Oh no. Maybe there's somewhere else I can help? This isn't going very well for me!"
|
|
"You aren't wrong about it requiring teamwork. I can't charm a person but I can read them fairly well...plus I am a hoot to be around. It all works out. I will just have to show off a little later if I get the chance." Altorin replies with a large smile to his comrades reassurance.
"Food, can't be upset about that and I am sure the action to come is going to be grand fellas!" he says backing up Vaimo.
Shopping excursion:
Kultainen & Altorin.
The vehicles arrive back at the Lodge, you are delighted to see they must have the BBQ going as there appears to be a light smoke trail in the garden.
***
Frolicing in the garden.
Rocket & Zoom
Rocket is looking at the programming - it appears to have been deliberately set up to malfunction, and very recently too, in the last few minutes.
Zoombo misses the last drone and grabs a soda, and the impatient fellow starfinder simply shoots it out of the air. The other two Starfinders look a bit annoyed at the shooting, "Hey you pair did great, good work there - a shame old trigger happy here couldn't be more patient"
***
|
|
His nose twitching Rocket whispers to Zoom without anyone else overhearing
"This was done very recently... I can feel it on my whiskers that _if_ I was to sabotage some drones I _might_ try to cover up the evidence by shooting them down when people start to take action against them...I'm not accusing anyone of anything, I'm just saying how I'd handle things if they were to occur"
"No... hey, what's with the blasted drone?"
Everyone looks at the shot drone for a moment quizzically.
|
|
Rocket holds up the one he's been examining
"A few of them started to act up. And someone.."
Rocket points at the impatient trigger happy - just to be clear, not himself ;) - Starfinder
"..decided to take care of the problem in what I've experienced to o be typical Starfinder fashion. Shoot first, ask questions later."
Rocket's brow wrinkels
"Which to be honest is most of the time the prudent form of action in my experience"
|
|
"Oh, I can help clean up!" Zoom rushes off to get a dust pan.
Upon returning, he comments "These are Starfinder Society drones, right? They were here for the party. Odd somebody would make them malfunction before the party actually started. We're the only ones--Starfinders, I mean--that would have access to them, right?"