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Prelude
Early morning, somewhere near the Jatembe Park an Half-Orc is opening a building that could serve as stables. He unlocks the doors and walks in. After he turn on the lights one could saw that he is wearing casual clothes, trousers, and a shirt over which he carry a Carbon Skin armor, his black hair is slicked backward and his face is covered in burn marks. He has keen eyes that light up on what he sees.
"Come here Smiley! Who was a good boy?" On those words from the other corner comes a weird creature. The Head is of rectangular shape with four eyes, at the bottom of the head are mandibles like on an insect. The whole body resembles a bit one of a cat, four paws covered with fur, and ended with four talons, a squox like tail helps to keep balance and express emotions. The animal walks closer waving the tail and opens its mandibles bringing its head closer to Aravon.
Aravon smiling pats the creature on its neck and walks towards the saddle.
"We will go for a ride Smiley! After the last incident, we will stay low for couple of days."
Aravon remembers it very well. He was riding in Jatembe Park when some Embri spotted him and said to his entourage.
"Last Ambassador brought a squox as a pet, I want that big mount! Starfinders get me one!"
He remembers Embri fat finger pointing at Smiley and fresh agents approaching him with the all-knowing attitude. Let's say that after a few pleasantries when Aravon expressed in great detail where and how deep should the ambassador shove his order. One of the agents attacked him with some pipe.
All in all, it ended with one agent with some bruises, the other bitten by Smiley, and Aravon had a nasty bump on his head.
Storm in Lorespire Complex was even worse. But then Ziggy bailed him out. His reputation and connections that he got while fighting Jinsuls twice finally paid off. Ziggy told him that there is a mission that would take him out of Absalom Station for some time.
Aravon mounted smiley and rushed through the park...
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After the early morning exercises, Aravon leaves Smiley at the stables. He double-checks the saddle and collar with environmental protection to make sure that whenever they need to go Smiley will do just fine.
After that, he goes towards the Lorespire Complex. Today he had a meeting for the mission briefing. Ziggy told him that Naiaj had a task that he could be a good fit for. Half-orc walks through the streets looking at the vast space above his head.
Absalom Station always felt odd to him. He preferred proper planets, with gravitation, plants and animals.
He was getting hungry. It is good that he had around an hour so he can stop for a quick breakfast...
He wonders who his fellow agents gonna be.
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Venture-Captain Naiaj watches a map holographically projected onto the spherical wall of the dimly lit chamber in the Lorespire Complex on Absalom Station. This meeting room is aptly named the “Starscape Chamber” and hosts various important strategic meetings for the Society. The pale bleachling gnome slightly nods a greeting when you arrive, hardly looking away from the stellar map. “Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice,” she says, as she finally turns away from the map. “As you should already know, the Starfinder Society lost not only many agents but also a great deal of equipment in the Scoured Stars incident. Since then, we’ve been dealing with a shortage of guns, ammunition, armor, tools, and provisions. Over the past four months, the Society has recovered to the point that we are able to start replacing some of the equipment we lost. While we are explorers, right now, battle-ready firearms are sorely needed.”
Naiaj momentarily turns to face the map and makes a request: “Starscape, show me Nightarch.” The map on the wall zooms in on one of the outermost planets of the Pact Worlds, showing a gloomy, air-sealed settlement on the small gray planetoid identified as Apostae. “After calling in a lot of favors and holding lengthy negotiations, we managed to secure a deal with the drow of Apostae to obtain a shipment of weapons. House Zeizerer arranged a deal between the Starfinder Society and House Xicton, a lesser drow house with a solid track record on sales. I personally oversaw the negotiations, and only recently returned to Absalom Station to deposit the down payment owed to House Xicton.”
“My intention was to send you to Nightarch, the drow’s surface settlement on Apostae, to guard this delivery. However,” Naiaj pauses briefly, staring blankly at the map on the wall before continuing, “I just received word that the weapon shipment has been stolen. According to my contacts in Nightarch, the thief is a minor noble of House Zeizerer named Villyth, who went rogue and stole the weapons. We do not know her motives or the current whereabouts of the shipment, but I’m sending you to Nightarch to find the weapons and bring them to Absalom Station. As you may have heard, the interhouse politics of the drow are lethal and treacherous, and you will find only trouble if you start searching blindly. For this reason, I’ve arranged for you to meet with Ceobarn Zeizerer, who represents House Zeizerer in this specific matter. You are to discuss how the Society can get its shipment back without causing a diplomatic incident."
“Your shuttle will be ready in less than an hour, so I expect you to get your things and get going as soon as possible. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask, as well as log your names into our records system and introduce yourselves to each other.”
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I apologize for not getting any "getting started" posts together yet. My week is not going anywhere near what I planned.
Aravon walks into the room, he nods to Venture-Captain Naiaj. She knows better to not irritate her, she might not be a might warrior but she is very good at what she does. And she takes no crap from anyone.
He puts his custom made shield made from the hatch of a transporter. He still recalls the dwarf that made it for him when fighting Jinsuls.
Aravon scratches his green cheek, his tusks are always visible as he listens to the briefing. His stiffens when he hears Nightarch and his fists clench whenever he hears the words: 'drow' and 'Apostae'.
"Isn't there any other weapon vendors that we could use? Do we have to give money to those forsaken creatures? " Aravon spits the words out, his eyes are glowing with anger.
He notices how strongly his fists are clenched and he stands up and walks for a glass of water.
"Bloody water, they should have brought booze for this meeting!" speaks quietly.
"Is there investigation happening among the houses? Are they slaughtering themselves while searching for the weapons? How can we be sure that this Ceobarn is not part of this? They are form the same house right? "
After asking his questions, he turns towards the others
"I am Aravon! Nice to meet you." He looks at the others seeing a Dwarf, three Humans, one of which is a bit pale and a Lashunta.
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A tall, gaunt looking human walks into the conference room. Weirdly he keeps his helmet on, even during the presentation. Even with that it is obvious that the 'man' has a severe medical condition.....apparently he is dead.
While sitting in the back of the conference room, he pulls out his datapad/comm unit and takes notes as Naiaj talks. When hearing he is being sent to Apostae, he shrugs and continues taking notes.
He patiently listens to the questions from the other Starfinders, though having no other questions himself.
***
As they are dismissed, and the large half-orc walks up for introductions, the gaunt human nods, and takes off his helmet.
Better get this over with...., he thinks.
"Hello Aravon, I am Eleazar Amasa. It is a nice to meet you too. You look like you want to get in the face of the enemy. That is good...I prefer to not get close where I can die again."
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A staunch unkempt dwarf strolls into the conference chamber about five minutes late.
"Glad y'all decided to start without me! The name's Kent Dwarfman, degenerate scholar and somewhat accomplished academian"
He meanders amongst the party with an air of self-importance...
"It's no picnic being the smartest guy in the room inside of three Parsecs, but I'll manage somehow. If _they_ called me here it must have been because they needed something requiring my special brand of expertise..."
Doubling over the group exchanging pleasantries, he sneers...
"Yes, yes, I'm sure you're all capable Starfinders, and we won't all end up nearly dead like the _last_ time... "
He pays ear service to Naiaj to hear the basic spiel, but doesn't seem interested in digging deeper.
"Well, that must be all we need to know, shall we?"
...as he gestures toward the entrance of the conference chamber.
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As the teenaged girl tapped her feet on the floor, thinking of all the promotions she had to do for her technically still employer on behalf of the new animated series about the new incoming squad of girls, people were starting to talk. The Venture Captain, decidedly uncoolly lacking in color for a gnome; some green dude; some guy who looked like he needed a lot more sun; and a short dude who claimed to be some kind of degenerate. At the claim, Mina giggled.
"Hi, I'm Mina. Like I guess I've got my work cut out for me, cause, like, bounty hunting is my day job." Her side hustle with Vidgaming was more fun, and she was still glad she was on temporary, soon to be permanent loan from the Roselight Office of Commerical Interests, to the Starfinder Society. So much more fun apprehending marks intergalactically than mostly smelly dudes illegally mining around the Liavaran moons.
She stood up, brushing her blonde pigtails over her shoulders. The human girl wasn't really very tall, about five foot four inches. Definitely of Tian heritage, somewhere...
"So, Venture-Captain, shall we, like, say for the sake of swiftness, that this Villyth Zeizerer is our mark? And we need to contact one Ceobarn-" She broke out in giggles at the name before continuing. "To get more info?" Her nose creased with efforts to stop from giggling more and she dusted her short pleated skirt to distract herself.
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"Hello Aravon, I am Eleazar Amasa. It is a nice to meet you too. You look like you want to get in the face of the enemy. That is good...I prefer to not get close where I can die again."
Aravon shakes his hand
"Yeah I will be in the heat of battle. Let me take the blows so that you can finish them off. "
He looks at the dwarf and is speechless. He himself is not a scholar so he is glad to have some educated aliens on his side. He nods to dwarf called the Dwarfman.
He is even more surprised seeing Mina. He wanted to object and say that mission to Nightarch is no place for teenagers. But there was something in her to tell him that there is more to her than meets the eye.
"Hi Mina." He sits back
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Sephia looks up as she enters into the Starscape Chamber, the images of Nightarch reflecting in the visor of her Zeizerer diffractor armor that even in the middle of Lorespire is fully sealed. She slides into one of the seats absent any weapons.
"Forsaken creatures?" Sephia looks over at the comment that simply moves the faceplate of the helmet. "Does the society reject then out of hand such concepts like Sarenrae aspect of redemption? Hylax's aspect of diplomacy? Calistria's revenge and trickery? Yet we walk among the servants of Asmodeus and Hellknights among our ranks?" Her voice holds the accent of Eox though not what most hear on televised stations. "Or should all Forsaken creatures be cleansed from the Pact Worlds?"
Before getting a response she turns back to Naiaj. "I get the preference is to return the original shipment instead of arranging for replacements and holding those that lost it accountable. Is there is specific about this shipment that means we need the original? What other than general weapons we should be looking at in this shipment?"
"Do we know anything about this Villyth that we need to know? A reason they would have for wanting this shipment other than pure credits? Is this an unknown third party."
~~~
"Pilot, Information, elemental damage, for the most part." Sephia with great reluctance raises her hand up to the latch on the helmet. Regretfully with an audible sigh lowering the mirrored mask. The face is gray skinned but human, pale enough not to have seen solar energy for a while with white streaks through what may have been red hair. Grey eyes take in the party streaked with black. The voice lacking inflection as she replies. "Sephia."
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Saeron leant back in her chair and stretched. She had just finished uploading the latest vidlog to her channel. Her viewers would get a real kick out of what she had documented in Aballon's Ice Wells.
Her comm chimed with a notification. It was from Naiaj. She had another job for her and needed her to report to the Lorepsire without delay.
Sighing as she rose to her feet, Saeron noticed a new notification from her channel stream. A new subscriber had commented on her latest post.
[ANoneMouse]: Saeron, haven't you been busy since you left! Know that you are not forgotten and that there are some who await your return to Castrovel with anticipation.
It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
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Garbed in a practical ensemble of plain cut pale green coat and trousers, the slender fair-skinned lashunta arrived at the Starscape Room with barely enough time to remove her satchel and find a vacant seat before the venture-captain commenced the briefing. One leg crossed over the other, she listened intently to the gnome.
Apostae? she wondered, surprised. Not exactly my area of expertise. Far from the fresh recruit she had once been, the comment from the unknown sender had shaken her more than she cared to admit. I'm sure Naiaj has her reasons for including me, Saeron thought, nervously tapping a sturdy-booted foot in the air.
Last time it was the corruption of nature, this time it looks to be the corruption of power, she reflected inwardly, as Naiaj continued with her explanation.
Saeron ran through her initial impressions of her crew mates: Aravon seemed earnest and direct, that was good; Kent seemed like a self-important jerk (much like most other academics she'd ever met), abrasive, but tolerable; and Mina seemed young and, like, energetic, but certainly nothing that couldn't be worked with. The other pair were proving much harder to get a read on.
Memories of Zo! and his cronies washed over her in waves at Eleazar and Sephia's revelations, turning her stomach with remembered distaste. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Again. It was turning out to be quite the day for unpleasant surprises.
More than a little shaken, the questioning by her companions was quite thorough and, having nothing further to ask of her own, Saeron waited to hear the venture-captain's replies.
At the conclusion of the briefing, she joined in the introductions with the rest of the crew. "Nice to meet you all," she said with a smile that turned a little sickly when her eyes met those of Sephia and Eleazar. "I'm Saeron. Science and mysticism consultant."
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Eleazar smiles wanly as Sephia seems to go off on Aravon comment about forsaken creatures. "What I think Aravon was trying to comment on is that the Drow--as a whole--have this....aura of miasma around them of being no-good-double-dealing creatures that keep half-orcs and even other races as basically slaves, and consider anything not a Drow as 2nd class citizens--if not the scum on their boots. I do not think Aravon has problems with working with ones that have turned their back to the stereotypical profiles. If he did, he would hardly work with a Hellknight that is in the society, let alone an undead."
Nodding to Kent and Minako, Eleazar's cataract dull eyes turn in her direction as the new lashunta speaks up.
"It is good to meet you Saeron. I dabble a little myself in mystical aspects...mainly for my own edification on my 'life'. Nice to meet you, and do not worry yourself at all about my condition. It just gives me a rather...unique...perspective on things."
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She looks over at Eleazar; "The Pact Worlds have accepted planets for mutual defense that use these same tactics. Indeed it was the first to sign and be accepted. It's practical to know where the line is this week." Sephia shrugs. "Perhaps their attention is drawn to far to the loud and the colorful, where the camera tells them to look. At least the Drow eventually die."
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When Sephia calls him out on his hatred towards Drows he stands up and shows his fangs. He was ready to yell at her when Eleazar began to speak.
Aravon walked towards the window and looks outside. He counts to ten as he tries to calm himself. After his anger got a bit under control he turned around just to see Naiaj looking at him with her stern sight. He walks back to his place and sits. Taking another sip of water.
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Venture Captain Naiaj is indeed looking straight through Aravon when he turns to face her, keeping that stare until he sits. Her cold gaze then moves to Sephia, locking on that featureless mask for several long seconds.
"Now, if our prejudices and political leanings are all out on the table, maybe we can get back to the matter at hand, Starfinders?"
She clears her throat, tapping a button on her wrist computer, playing back faint audio that she captured.
"Is there investigation happening among the houses? Are they slaughtering themselves while searching for the weapons? How can we be sure that this Ceobarn is not part of this? They are form the same house right?"
"So, Venture-Captain, shall we, like, say for the sake of swiftness, that this Villyth Zeizerer is our mark? And we need to contact one Ceobarn-" "To get more info?"
"Is there is specific about this shipment that means we need the original? What other than general weapons we should be looking at in this shipment?" "Do we know anything about this Villyth that we need to know? A reason they would have for wanting this shipment other than pure credits? Is this an unknown third party."
Naiaj's wrist computer beeps as it finishes its playback. "All astute questions. Keep that kind of attention to your task when you're in Nightarch. Any slip-ups or loss of focus," she looks to Aravon and Sephia briefly, "could prove fatal if you're not careful."
“Like it or not, Apostae is not only a member of the Pact Worlds, but also the weapon capital of the solar system. Their firearms are high-quality and come at reasonable prices. Despite their fearsome reputation, drow are generally as good as their word when it comes to selling and trading weapons.”
"Villyth Zeizerer is a minor noble in the hierarchy of House Zeizerer. I understand that she is something of a rebel, and as far as I know, her actions were not sanctioned by her house.
House Zeizerer as a whole are by far the most powerful drow household on Apostae, controlling the major surface settlement of Nightarch. They are demon-worshipers and arms dealers like the rest of them, but as far as drow houses go, they are quite reliable because they have a reputation to uphold. Complications like this are bad for the business. Our representative with them, Ceobarn Zeizerer, has always been extremely blunt and up-front with me— how I prefer to handle most of my social interactions.
"As for House Xicton, they are a minor house under House Zizerer's auspices. They deplore the incident, but don't have the clout to go after this themselves. That's why I'm dispatching you - as outsiders, you might be able to take more...direct action, without upsetting the political balance. Because House Zeizerer controls the city of Nightarch, you’ll be meeting with their representative, Ceobarn Zeizerer, as soon as you land.”
When she finishes covering your questions as best she can, she adds one more note of her own.
“While the surface of Apostae is otherwise airless, Nightarch is a sealed city. Its towers, domes, and halls are all constructed with contained environmental systems similar to those on starships, so you won’t need any special equipment. Armor and openly-carried weapons are not only permissible, but everything short of mandatory while wandering the city streets. Be sure to keep your wits about you, Starfinders. Dismissed.”
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Culture or Diplomacy (Gather Information) checks -
The city has a sizable orc and half-orc population, but they are treated as second-class citizens at best, and slaves at worst. Most orcs and half-orcs are destined to live and die as mercenaries, or, as some drow houses prefer to openly put it, cannon fodder.
House Arabani has a reputation for treating orcs and half-orcs with more respect than most of the other great houses on Apostae. House Zeizerer, as the largest and most powerful house, goes out of its way to ensure that there are no public-relations faux pas regarding its orc/half-orc employees, but whether those efforts are genuine or just to help with sales is difficult to know.
Weapons are Nightarch’s main export, and many drow houses are involved in arms trade. What most people don’t know is that there are thousands of miles of tunnels and numerous vaults of alien technology beneath the surface of Apostae. Many weapons designed in Nightarch are reverse-engineered from this technology.
Of the many bizarre technologies that drow are known for, fleshwarping is perhaps the least understood. It involves mutations and magic to transform a humanoid creature into a hate-filled abomination. While originally a punishment, a more refined form of fleshwarping can be used to create augmentations which—while gruesome to behold—greatly enhance the individual’s physical qualities. In the most drastic cases of fleshwarping, the target often suffers from incredibly reduced intelligence, limiting the creature’s tactical acumen.
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A private shuttle, paid for by the Society, takes you on the week-long trip to .
As your shuttle approaches the dull gray planetoid, several fighters emerge from a hulking capital ship identified as part of the local fleet defense: the Blood Armada. These fighters whizz past like a swarm of angry wasps. The navigation computer lets out a blaring alert as the capital ship scans the shuttle, but soon after, the alert ends and the fighters fly back to the massive carrier. The shuttle descends into low-orbit, and several small settlements with sealed atmospheres come into view. Further out, beneath clouds of dust, several mile-wide blast doors, many large craters, and miles-deep crevices can be seen across the planetoid’s surface. The shuttle soars closer to Apostae’s surface, fast approaching the dark city of Nightarch. The eponymous arch and various tower houses can be seen within the city limits. Nightarch’s vast spaceport is alive with hundreds of blinking red and purple lights, which guide the shuttle into the gloomy capital of the drow.
Once you land, you are met by two dour and untalkative guards bearing the icon of House Zeizerer on the shoulder plates of their armor - Laibross and Sirendeil. Accompanied by annoyed grunts at being forced to attend to offworlders, they escort you through a labyrinth of air-filled, enclosed tunnels to Mileshadow, a tall corporate building owned by House Zeizerer.
The guards open the door to a spacious office on the top floor of the tall building, and without even a hint of emotion, one drow barely mutters, “Wait here" before shutting the door behind you. The green-tinged windows in the room offer a majestic view over the gloomy Nightarch. Several statues and holographic devices depicting grinning fiends sit on shelves on the walls and on a darkwood desk at the far end of the room. A curious fixture reminiscent of a demonic spider looks down from the ceiling with many glistening eyes.
You realize that the statues and holograms depict different aspects of the demon lord Abraxas - lord of secrets and forbidden knowledge.
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Kent grins wryly as Naiaj puts the group back on task. "Next you all will be assuming that since I'm a Dwarf that I'm also an expert miner...and you'd be correct" Kent cackles.
Before the shuttle departs Kent smoothes over the group a bit.
Kent gazes at the curious looking spider statue.
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The trip passes uneventfully and Aravon spends it mostly training Smiley. Yasakaja seems to be a curious animal that enjoys activities. Every now and then Smiley spends some time climbing walls and looking for rodents or food hidden in the compartments.
Smiley is an easy-going being that befriends whoever is willing to spend time with him.
During one of the meals when still traveling Aravon shares
"I don't know how much do you know about Nightarch, so let me tell you what I remember from when I was there. Nightarch is the largest city on the Apostae. It has more than 1 million inhabitants most of them being drows. They are following the matriarchal structure, their females being even more wicked than males. However, males with money and contacts can raise in power as well. Their structure is the result of culture more than laws. Beside drows Nightarch is populated by Orcs and Half-Orcs who are either slaves or mercenaries. Mercenaries are sometimes economically dependent on drow houses and their options are limited."
He shares the information with others. A couple of times his voice breaks down, which makes you wonder if it is connected to his burn marks or is this topic so difficult for him.
On the Apostea
Aravon gets ready. He takes all of his gear, and before they land he makes sure that his pistol is loaded, and all his weapons are available. He puts saddle and collar on Smiley and turns on his environmental protection. Then he does the same with his own.
He walks after guards not even trying to speak to them. He looks at the city giving firm looks to whoever is observing them. He keeps Smiley close and takes him to the room. After the guard leaves Aravon says
"Stay calm Smiley, everything is ok. We will be out of here in no time."
He looks at the spider
And then turns towards the windows.
"It is not uncommon to make your guest wait on Apostae. Drows believe that to be part of their culture. Makes you wait and let them feel superior. Of course, Ceobarn could simply be busy."
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On the week long trip to Apostae, Eleazar is generally keeps to himself, talking to people if they want to.
Getting to the planet, Eleazar gets mentally ready. Knowing that effectively they are all walking into a lions den to ask for carte blanche in getting their equipment back, he feels oddly calm.
Getting to the Mileshadow building, Eleazar is hardly surprised with the opulence of the place, and of the office they are escorted into.
Grunting a small laugh."Of course Abraxas," he says.
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After you are kept waiting for 5-10 minutes, a wall panel at the back of the office slides open, and a middle-aged drow walks in and settles into a red armchair behind the desk. “I am Ceobarn Zeizerer.” His speech is slow and deliberate, as if tasting each word before speaking it. He gives a nonchalant wave of his hand, and the demonic statue in the ceiling starts shedding a purple glow, illuminating the room. “I take it that your eyes haven’t adjusted to the light levels on Apostae. You are Naiaj’s Starfinders, correct? I heard about the shipment. A most unfortunate setback. Villyth has always been a troublemaker.”
After a brief silence, he spits out, “But it is not our fault. House Zeizerer officially disowned her months ago. Why should I help you?”
While waiting for your reply, you notice his eyes sweep across the room and all of you. He almost seems impressed that nobody touched anything in his office, but when his eyes land on Aravon, he scowls at the half-orc.
"She sent you? What was Naiaj thinking? ...Just try to keep your head down while you're here!"
~~~
six
- * Speculate how news of the incident may affect House Zeizerer’s reputation as reliable arms traders across the Pact Worlds.
- * Posit that the attack made House Xicton look weak, and if Villyth goes unpunished, House Xicton may seek retribution against House Zeizerer.
- * Explain the benefits of helping the Starfinder Society out, especially.
- * Maintain that letting a wayward noble do as she pleases makes the house look weak in the eyes of their patron demon lord.
- * Notice that the search term “Villyth Zeizerer” is visible on Ceobarn’s computer screen, which indicates he is not as indifferent about the rogue noble as he says.
- * Use business logic and subtle pressure to cajole Ceobarn into helping.
- * Notice and make a good argument that Ceobarn is clearly annoyed that Villyth acted without the house’s permission.
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Aravon turns to see the drow entering the room, his scowls seeing him. But he does not turn from the window. He tries to keep his anger under control knowing very well that attacking their host would have harsh consequences. However, spreading his throat to pieces would feel so good.
He finally turns to hear
"She sent you? What was Naiaj thinking? ...Just try to keep your head down while you're here!"
He growls exposing his teeth
"I am a representative of Starfinder Society and you would have to swallow it!" speaks raging
He refrains from speaking, to not cause a fight.
He walks around the room looking for any clues to aid them. But as soon as Aravon gets any closer to Ceobar computer the drow looks at him with hatred and disregard. But that creates an opportunity for others.
Aravon tries to think about what he knows about houses to use is as a leverage
But Aravon is steaming and can't think straight.
Aravon moves to another side of the room and he speaks
"So did you figure it out? Why Naiaj send me as a part of this group? Could she possibly be not aware of how offensive it was to you? " Aravon smiles
"We just walked escorted by your guards through the main alleys of Nightarch. Everyone saw a Half-orc heading to your conference room accusing you of not doing enough to deliver the shipment that we paid for. What a shame for your house and to you! If you want me out of this planet and for your reputation to not suffer more, find Villyth and deliver the guns!" there was an edge in his voice, an unspoken threat.
Aravon turned silent, his heart pounding as adrenaline rushed through his veins. He hoped to control himself enough to leave this room without an incident.
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Eleazar does his best to remember things about the Demon Lord Abraxas that might help with the discussion. But can't remember anything else about Abraxas or connect to anything that will help.
With the others talking about how this is making his house look week, Eleazar does his best to do some unobtrusive snooping.
Listening to Ceobarn talk, Eleazar does his best to see if what he is saying is correct and in sync with his emotions. Unfortunately Eleazar is unable to notice anything unusual, probably because the drow is good at hiding his emotions.
Finally, Eleazar sees a bit of an opening in one of the off comments that Ceobarn says and responds, " Ceobarn, being such a shrewd businessman, you have to know that working with the Starfinder Society has benefits, and helping us out here can only help you. Just think, seeing house Zeizerer's equipment on Society members when they are shown on the holovid will only increase your reputation. While the Society is not a military or police force, they do have lots of agents out doing good for the Pact worlds. Helping us get back our equipment can only help you out."
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"It is good to meet you Saeron. I dabble a little myself in mystical aspects...mainly for my own edification on my 'life'. Nice to meet you, and do not worry yourself at all about my condition. It just gives me a rather...unique...perspective on things."
Oh, gods, that's so unnerving! Saeron thought as Eleazar's milky eyes seemed to see right into her soul. Mouth dry, she nodded her head. "I... imagine... it would," she replied stiffly.
...Saeron openly conversed with Kent, Mina and Aravon if they chose. She enjoyed spoiling Smiley with treats or attention any chance she could. Whilst polite, she generally shied away from extended interactions with Eleazar and Sephia.
When word spread throughout the ship that they were only a day or two away from their destination, Saeron approached her fellow Starfinders (some with more reluctance than others) with an offer. "I'm not sure what to expect is waiting for us on Apostae, other than it probably won't be what we expect. To help alleviate some areas of concern, I am able to manipulate a small area of atmosphere in a pocket around your body to keep it clean, breathable and at a suitable temperature. It will remain active for 4 days."
Saeron inspected the room while they awaited the arrival of their host. Ah, Abraxas, Saeron thought, her suspicions confirmed by Eleazar's comment.
On Ceobarn's arrival, she listens intently to the Drow's words, ignoring his comment about the light level.
She nodded in agreement. "It is, indeed, unfortunate. Unfortunate for House Xicton. Unfortunate for the Starfinder Society - so much so that they felt it necessary to send us here to sort it out. But most of all, very unfortunate for House Zeizerer." Saeron moved closer to Ceobarn as she spoke, joining Aravon in an effort to draw the Drow's attention and open a clear view of his computer display for her companions.
"Your House has been planted firmly in the middle of this, Ceobarn. Regardless of whether it was directly or indirectly, House Zeizerer will be held responsible. The other houses will believe Zeizerer either orchestrated the theft or that it is incompetent, incapable of managing its own affairs."
"But what does it matter what the other Houses think? Or even clients?" she asked, shrugging and spreading her hands. She slowly lifted her eyes to regard the figure hanging above them, illuminating the space. "What of your great Lord Abraxas?" she asked in a near whisper, emphasising the final word.
She pauses a moment to let it sink in. "Fortunately, the Starfinder Society has sent us to help you."
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As Saeron comes around offering life bubble to the party, Eleazar will smile at her, "My dear, I appreciate the thought and the effort to ask. I have some other abilities to help sustain me in low and no atmosphere, but this spell could be useful. Thank you for offering it."
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Sephia looks at the glowing holograph without touching it not wishing to draw attention towards those working with the computer. "Would it not be a boon in your honor to this one? Bringing Villyth either dead or alive for reckoning. I'm sure that arrangements could be made that it be done in proper fashion without directly linking it back to you in the eyes of your fellows, but of course anything as farseeing will realize the proper care taken."
She shrugs, "would take something negative currently into a dual benefit of no longer dealing with these issues with their threads of weakness into a boon that you were able to clean house without getting your hands dirty and turn it into something useful."
"You can also look at it this way we are business partners, it might not look good in the long term to have lost a legitimate shipment, the fact that we can do that and other types of transportation would be a long term benefit to you. If we can establish that this is a one off and not something we should be expecting long term."
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Ceobarn lets out an exaggerated sigh as Aravon shouts and carries on, looking up towards the demonic statue above him and shaking his head a little bit as if mentally pleading a case to a higher being (so to speak). Judging by the lack of reverberation, incidentally, you can safely assume that this office is soundproofed.
The elder drow returns his gaze downward. "I should have predicted an emotional outburst, but I suppose seeing a half-orc standing as full-fledged member of a Starfinder team, I allowed myself a brief iota of optimism that you would understand without needing things spelled out for you.
*I* have no issue with your heritage, dear boy, and I doubt anybody else in this office building does either; or else they would not hold the kind of standing and mindset required to work at the highest levels of our House. It is the year 320 AG and we live in the Pact Worlds. SROs, ghasts, and barathu stand...or float, shoulder to tentacle in the plenera on Absalom Station. Racial prejudices are for lesser minds and lesser beings.
He ponders his next words after Aravon is finished, again speaking and seeming to savor them. "I can clearly see that you belong among your peers, and probably have a long and storied career as a Starfinder agent ahead of you, Aravon. *I* have the clarity to recognize that not all who live in our system are as elevated in their mindsets, however. Take the Castrovelian elves, for instance, launching "crusades" against drow interests every century or so for reasons they can barely even remember. In that way, I would safely wager that El has far more law-breakers, going by the Stewards' records, than Nightarch. I'm glad Naiaj didn't send any elves along with you, by the by.
"By that same token, not all who live on Apostae see things the same way. When I say 'keep your head down,' it is a word of advice - you don't want the common rabble among the drow to thing that the Starfinders hire orc thugs the way they think noble houses do...do you?"
With a twinkle in his eye, as you are left wondering if that was a compliment, an insult...or both, he then turns to the rest of you.
To Eleazar and Sephia, he nods his head a bit. "Mutually beneficial arrangements are always the best kind. ...I believe that was even a phrase Naiaj once used with me, some years ago."
In response to Kent's mining-pick-blunt approach he just turns the corner of his lip up a tad and nods a simple acknowledgement rather than verbally admit to what the dwarf correctly saw. He taps a button on his keyboard, changing the hue of his computer screen making it a bit harder to read.
When Saeron drops her voice to a whisper, a broad grin crosses the drow's face. "Oh, I *do* like you," he begins. "But true supplicants of Abraxas know that perception is only stronger than reality to the weak-minded. ...However, those knowledgeable of the lord of secrets can earn the favor of his servants with a simple tithe of credits...tax-deductible, of course. The standard donation amount is based on his holy numerology - 300 - not a credit more."
If the PCs fail a check by 4 or less, they can bribe Ceobarn to treat the check as a success—Ceobarn even encourages the party to pay him off in such a manner. The PCs must pay 300 credits for each successful bribe
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Remaining options:
* Speculate how news of the incident may affect House Zeizerer’s reputation as reliable arms traders across the Pact Worlds. (Bluff, Intimidate, or Profession: counselor or lawyer)
* Posit that the attack made House Xicton look weak, and if Villyth goes unpunished, House Xicton may seek retribution against House Zeizerer.
* Explain the benefits of helping the Starfinder Society out, especially. (Diplomacy)
* Maintain that letting a wayward noble do as she pleases makes the house look weak in the eyes of their patron demon lord. (Mysticism)
* Notice that the search term “Villyth Zeizerer” is visible on Ceobarn’s computer screen, which indicates he is not as indifferent about the rogue noble as he says. (Perception)
* Use business logic and subtle pressure to cajole Ceobarn into helping. (Profession: corporate professional, manager, merchant, or similar)
* Notice and make a good argument that Ceobarn is clearly annoyed that Villyth acted without the house’s permission.
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"I see," Saeron replied, her pale cheeks colouring under Ceobarn's attention.
"I suppose I shouldn't be entirely surprised by a flexibility of principles given the application of just the right amount of fiscal pressure," she continued, picking up on the Drow's hint.
She turned to face her friends, raising a brow in question.
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Kent subtly picks up that Ceobarn is more bothered than he's currently letting on, so still standing directly in front of his desk, he attempts to use his vast intellect to get inside the head of Ceobarn a bit...just as his other compatriots have done in passing as the discussion has progressed...
His knack for reading people and other big brain activities serves him well but it seems some cosmic force sets him back a bit and he didn't quite get the result he was expecting. "Huh" he mutters quietly "We must have traveled more than three parsecs"
Kent seems to revel while hearing Ceobarn speak but is fairly obvious that Kent's dwarvish impulses puts a large damper on his ability to produce eloquent speech...
Grasping for straws he attempts a shot in the dark with a Bluff...
"Don't try and pass this off as this unimportant, Drow. The ripple effects of this calamity will affect House Zeizerer for generations to come"
Building on that, Kent switches gears a bit and digs deep in his mental Rolodex of the histories of the various families on Apostae in an attempt to bolster Minako's next move...
"I wouldn't be surprised if House Xicton attempts to save face with some sort of retribution against House Zeizerer. Spite can be a...powerful motivator"
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Mina shook her head hearing the rabblerousing attempting to go on. Carefully skirting the rabble, she bobbed a curtsey to their esteemed taskmaster as far as her decidedly short skirt would let her. "Pay no heed to, like, the morality police. They're just snoozeville." She shot the drow man a wink. "So, tell the nice corporate bounty hunter a little more about her mark." And suddenly the teenage girl was wearing a grin like a cat that was about to push an extremely expensive crystal wine goblet off a counter.
Pausing to do multiple things at once, she had a quick assessment of the revengening coming her target's way if she evaded capture.
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Ceobarn chuckles a little bit at Minako's demeanor and her words.
After a moment or two of consideration he will type a few keys, and you will hear a ping on your comm units as a file is transferred to you.
“Very well. It is true that Villyth’s actions are bad for business and she must be stopped. Therefore, on behalf of House Zeizerer, I grant you twenty-four hours of diplomatic immunity. Use this time to retrieve the weapons using whatever means you deem necessary. I've just transmitted a document to your comm devices that proves you’re acting on my authority. If the situation requires it, kill Villyth. But rest assured, if you abuse the power I bestow you, there will be consequences. The drow never forget.
“I know Villyth well enough to know that she will have guards and other defenses wherever she has made her lair. The more you know, the less likely you are to walk into a trap. So use your twenty-four hours wisely. Remember that before the time is up, you must locate the weapons, plan your heist, travel to the location, get the weapons, and most importantly, get off my planet!"
After letting you look over the document (which you are certain is 100% legal), he types in a few more things, causing your comm units to ping once more.
"In that email you'll find the names and locations of a few informants I know who might be able to help you. There is also a code that will give you limited access to my personal infosphere credentials. In addition..."
He pulls something small out of a desk drawer and tosses it to Aravon - it's an electronic key for a vehicle of some sort.
"Try not to scratch the paint or get too much blood on the hood.
"That is the key to one of my all-terrain transport vehicles. Local traffic tends to move out of the way when they see official House Zeizerer vehicles driving nearby; it should help you move around Nightarch more swiftly than rental vehicles. Any damage to the vehicle will, of course, be billed to the Starfinder Society's corporate account.
"Lastly, when you are prepared to make your move against Villyth, call the number at the bottom of that email. Especially after Aravon's speech, I'm inclined to trust that your team has what it takes to get this job done the right way. To that end, I will alert one of my personal snipers, Zirachaun, that she is to lend some assistance to your assault on Villyth's base of operations."
After sending you the documents, he looks at the time on his computer. "Now, I do have a teleconference to attend with parties who are calling long-distance through half a dozen drift beacons. Good luck, Starfinders."
Punctuated by Ceobarn's words, the doors open and the guards stand ready to escort you to the building's garage where a midnight-blue (with silver trim) armored corporate ATV is waiting, large enough for a driver and 9 medium sized passengers.
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For this segment of the scenario, you are "on the clock" and need to find the weapons with enough time to travel there, secure them, and return to the spaceport. You have two main avenues available to you, and you can split your party into two teams or work on one avenue all-together. Within each team, everyone rolls - the highest roll is automatically the "lead" and anyone who gets a 10 or better is considered to be "aiding another" for the check.
Hacker Team - Data-mine the infosphere to find relevant information. Speaking the drow language will give significant bonuses, since most data on this world is not in the Common language, and translation via computer software takes time.
Step One - Locate relevant information
Step Two - Access secure data
Step Three - Analyze the data
Street Team - Chase down and interrogate an informant (chasing required because you are non-drow).
Step One - Track down a source who has the right kind of information
Step Two - Chase the informant as they try to slink away
Step Three - Interrogate
GM Note - There is no failure on any check in this section...the results of the rolls simply determine how much time you spend. The only potential downside to splitting into two groups is that you use the "timing" of the slower team. The upside is that you will get more intel. If you are swift enough, additional information-gathering options may become available.
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Swooping to the ground next to the drow's desk, the girl declared. "Oh dear, this was just sitting here on the ground. Like, we'd better make sure someone hasn't lost it." Tossing another wink to the drow, she placed a pink, glitter embossed credstick with advertisement for the Roselight Office of Commercial Interest's new animated tv show on it on the desk. It had 301 credits on it. She stood and walked back to the Starfinder group.
Being dismissed, she waved, before tugging on the arms of her colleagues and attempting to pull them out of the office. "Come on, leave the nice man to his work whilst we do our's."
Being escorted was almost a pain. Mina's nose crinkled. "So, like, we have some files to look at. Or we can track contacts. Personally, like, it's gonna so much faster if we track info first. Going in armed with knowledge is best practice." She didn't feel like running until after she had time to stretch. "Something something, not going in prepared, armed with knowledge and proper understanding of situation; get yelled at, by like, the blue haired faction leader and the CONSTANT VIGILANCE gnome."
Leaving her opinion said, she put on her best teenage girl pout, hoping her colleagues did not suddenly feel like running after probably criminals before lunch.
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Following Sephia's lead, Kent assists the Hacker Team as well.
"The funny thing about pre-Gap languages, well all languages for that matter, is that most of them can be boiled down into a sequence of n-grams that allow the astute linguist, well maybe just the ones versed in computational analytics to derive the base language common phonemes"
He walks up to the computer terminal and starts pressing buttons to figure out what a common Drow password might look like...or perhaps in this instance this password is just simply in Common leafing through the personnel files...
"I'm beginning to realize why I was selected for this particular Starfinder mission" he mutters quietly as he works. He punches the following into the computer terminal which shows up on the screen as and hits EXECUTE.
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Saeron checked her comm unit, verifying the documents in question had been received from Ceobarn. Satisfied everything was in order, she nodded to the drow. "That should speed things up a little. We plan on being out of your hair as soon as we can," the lashunta said.
Swiping through her comm unit, Saeron reviewed the available data during the drive. "I can help with either going over the data or questioning the witness - where ever I am most needed." She clears her throat. "Although, I hope it doesn't involve actually having to chase them down."
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*I* have no issue with your heritage, dear boy, and I doubt anybody else in this office building does either;...
After hearing Ceobarn revelations Aravon simply comments
"A land of opportunity!" with sarcasm dripping from the sentence. He does not seem necessary to explain how drow society is stale in their way of thinking. And even that there is no reason parents are happier when having a daughter than a son. He did not come here to state the obvious.When given the keys Aravon simply nods hiding them and checking his comm unit and reads through the documents.
As they leave the office Aravon asks his allies
"Anyone knows how to drive a vehicle?"
"Although, I hope it doesn't involve actually having to chase them down."
"Oh there will be a chase, trust me on this. You can mount Smiley, he is both strong and agile and can climb when it comes to that."
"I would prefer to get knowledge from more than one source. I am not certain if the story that we were told is true."
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Seeing the computer nerds already drooling at being let into the candy story that Ceobarn gave them, Eleazar decides to go old school and look around for contacts outside of the net.
Eleazar takes the lists of contacts and thumbs through them mentally. Looking over he randomly picks the 10th name on the list. "Let's go after him...it should be easy.
With that he will start to look for said informant.....
Step 1:
After finding the informant, he does his best to keep up with him, knowing that his undead body doesn't get as tired as other's flesh and blood ones does.
Step 2:
Knowing that he is not well suited for actual interrogation--that is what the stars are for when on movies after all, they get all the face time--he does his bet to stand menacing and help his allies.
Step 3:
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Aravon joins Eleazar and Saeron in the hunt. He splits off and works on the street to track the individuals.
But he lost touch with Nightarch and how to work your way through the complex society structure. He intimidate a few wrong people and got massively delayed by doing that.
The chase itself didn't go much better, Aravon tripped on every occasion, bumping into few stalls and whole set of Half-orc mercs.
Aravon tried to intimidate the contact but it lacked in many ways.
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Kent cracks his knuckles and approaches the nearest computer terminal. He starts to judiciously tap on the console even though he does not know the language of the user interface. You hear a muffled "Beep boop, beep, bloop boop beep" however it is not emanating from the terminal but rather Kent.
Step 1:
Having discerned a likely access password in Step 2, he sifts through the data looking for a common thread in the data tying everything together.
Step 3:
...Kent's Reaction
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- Sephia (25), Kent (30), and Minako (17) have all made their attempts at step 1 to locate relevant info (Computers/Culture). (+2 from Ceobarn's assistance)
- Kent (24) is the only one to attempt step 2 to access secure data (Computers/Sense Motive). (+2 from Ceobarn's assistance)
- Kent (29) is the only one to attempt step 3 to analyze the data (Computers/Perception). (+2 from Ceobarn's assistance)
- Step 1: Total of 40, which takes 3 hours.
- Step 2: Total of 30 (minus Sephia and Minako), which takes 4 hours.
- Step 3: Total of 35 (minus Sephia and Minako), which takes 3.5 hours.
- Saeron (22), Eleazar (20), and Aravon (9) have all made their attempts at step 1 to track down a source (Diplomacy/Perception/Survival). (+2 from Ceobarn's assistance)
- Saeron (10), Eleazar (23), and Aravon (8) have all made their attemps at step 2 to chase the informant (Acrobatics/Athletics/Stealth). (+2 from Ceobarn's assistance)
- Saeron (12), Eleazar (16), and Aravon (16) have all made their attempts at step 3 to interrogate the info source (Bluff/Intimidate/Sense Motive). (+2 from Ceobarn's assistance)
- Step 1: Total of 28, which takes 4.5 hours.
- Step 2: Total of 29, which takes 4.5 hours.
- Step 3: Total of 24, which takes 5 hours.
The Hacker Team finishes up in 10.5 hours, and starts making their way to meet up with the Street Team, who are working for a total of 14 hours.
While the hackers head over to meet the street team you catch that suspicious and glowering passers-by are giving you the side-eye, and you even catch a couple of them whispering, “Those are the ones. Just wait until their 24 hours are up and see what happens to them.”
After a total of 14 hours, you are able to find the location of Villyth's headquarters - a single-story office building at the edge of town. Using Ceobarn's ATV, you think it will only take you 20 minutes to get there from your current location and less than 10 minutes to get to the spaceport afterwards.
Because you have 10 hours of diplomatic immunity remaining, and because you utilized both approaches to tracking down Villyth, you now have additional intel options!
Available intel:
* Floor Plan
* Building Access Codes
* Guard Posts
* Security Network
* Troop Composition