Desiccated corpses hang from the ceiling of this vile larder in long, irregular rows. The maze of swaying bodies obscures the chamber’s deeper recesses. Stridermander whelps scurry around, nibbling on corpses. When they see you, the whelps shriek in panic and flee into the walls or deeper into the complex.
Most of the corpses can be identified as humanoid hunters (primarily vesk and pahtra). The rest are subterranean animals.
An oldfashioned entertainment unit riddled with bullet holes rests against the east wall. Examining the walls reveals the metal was painted with inconsistent bright patterns. The paint is chipped, and the walls are dented from bullet impacts. Longarm bullet casings litter the floor.
"Ah, yes! Now we are getting somewhere! Prepare for battle, comrades," Brigadier Teshgari says. Mimzy and Jomp both look horrified. Mimzy covers her backpack of baked goods protectively, refusing to offer anyone food or drink while in this room.
Harrac can hear louder skittering noises coming from deeper in the room. It sounds like some larger creatures are lurking nearby, but the hanging corpses block the vesk's line of sight...
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"This place is in need of serious interior decoration." Talc remarks at the corpses.
"Hey-hey! Check this puppy out, Rock? Ever seen one of these things before?" the soldier says, blowing hte dust off the entertainment unit.
Nodding to the sounds ahead, Talc readies his rifle. "Let's ROCK!" he says, punching Harrac in the shoulder to pump him up.
As Harrac leads the way forward through the corpses, two full-sized stridermanders suddenly leap out from their hiding spots, snarling, their feeding tendrils waving menacingly!
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Karyn was still looking at the entertainment set when the sound of large things headed their way snapped her back to attention. As the larger stridermanders showed up, the snapped off a shot, using the entangling goo in her weapon to try and force the creatures' own biology to work against them. She should have taken the time to aim. She really should have.
Skrivix employs another elaborate fake-out on the nearest skittermander with his arc pistol.
"You forgot the moves Rei-bot! That's the best part!"
Rei supercharges Talc's weapon before he blasts the nearest stridermander, leaving it badly wounded! Karyn's shot comes up short.
"Jomp! The psychic wave cannon!" Brigadier Teshgari commands. Jomp moves to comply, taking one of the many guns off of his back and handing it to the vesk. She moves up beside Talc and unleashes a mental blast on both stridermanders.
Skrivvix successfully feints against one of the creatures, leaving it flat-footed. Hissing in fury, both stridermanders lash out at Talc with their feeding tendrils. One of them scores a hit!
Skrivix pops off cowboy style at the nearest skittermander. His performance seems to have more focus on style than accuracy.
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Talc chuckles and says "Baby, when you charge me up it's always an above average performance!"
he shouts excitedly, pumping another blast of plasma out of his rifle.
Before he can pull the trigger however, the tendrils get him and he screams in pain. "You sonufoa-" he growls, pulling the trigger as the plasma rifle becomes ready to fire again.
Harrac slices into the other stridermander, burning it badly with his solar blade. Rei blasts the one Talc shot with her arc pistol, taking it down with a critical hit and causing the energy to arc to the second creature! Talc blasts it as well, and it falls to the floor with several smoking holes in its body!
Brigadier Teshgari walks up to one of the corpses and kicks it disdainfully. "Bah! A pair of average specimens. We must find the bigger ones!"
re: A pile in the southwest corner has clothing and equipment the stridermanders stripped off their prey before hanging them from the ceiling to dry. Objects of value include 25 scattergun shells, basic defrex hide, enforcer armor I, graphite carbon skin, squad defiance series, field tactical shield, infrared sensors armor upgrade, an efficient bandolier, and a ring of sustenance.
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"Bigger ones? They get bigger? Talc, did you bring your Mobile Artillery Battery with you?" Karyn scoffed inwardly at the idea that they wanted "bigger" ones. Still, they had handled these without too much trouble.
"Onward, then!"
"Does anyone have a clue what this place is? I mean, it looks old, but it's obviously manufactured. There wasn't anything listed under the original site survey, was there Brigadier?"
Brigadier Teshgari shakes her head. "No. But based on the ridiculous paint job, this could only be the work of skittermanders. I have no idea why they would have built this complex, but it doesn't surprise me, for skittermanders and foolishness go hand in hand."
Mimzy and Jomp share a look at the comment but say nothing.
The doors behind you lead to the lavatories. They are filthy, but functional.
The doors in front of you open onto a semi-circular room. Six bullet-riddled alcoves dominate this room, each cradling an empty bed frame, broken shelves, shattered glass, and heaps of debris. The walls in each living space are painted a different color and feature a different word along the back wall in bold font.
Brigadier Teshgari looks around the room briefly before declaring it clear. "Let us leave. There is nothing of interest here."
Mimzy and Jomp examine the names and forgotten possessions with curiosity. Jomp remarks “This place needs cleaning.”
Mimzy nods, “Yes! Can I help?”
Brigadier Teshgari immediately interrupts, “No! You’re helping me. Stay on mission.” Mimzy and Jomp snap to attention, brandishing warm rolls, bottles of water, weapons, and a polishing cloth wildly. Brigadier Teshgari shakes her head. “Skittermanders are undisciplined; useful, but easily distracted. You must remind them of their tasks often if you expect them to get their work done.”
A provincial skitterstaff, a surge rackarack, a tactical infinity rifle, a charge cloak, a spell gem of invisibility, a spell gem of laser net, and a spell gem of supercharge weapon can be found among the living spaces.
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"Much like a child, or so I'm told, but, with twice the heart and a warship's size sense of helpfulness. There are certainly worse qualities to have in a companion. Perhaps when the brigadier's hunt is done, we can come back and put this place to rights?"
Karyn carefully inspected the dormitory for anything non-obvious.
Karyn doesn’t find anything else hidden in this room.
Rei manages to reroute some power to the speaker. It begins to play cliché folk songs about friendship, sung by a vocalist with a manic feminine voice.
The corridor leads into a large room. This computer station is filled with damaged monitors, electronics, and an array of rotten stuffed animals and plastic toys. A swivel stool stands in the middle of the chaos.
The electronics are bullet-riddled and bloodstained. The computer must be repaired, and the power turned on, before the computer can be accessed.
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Rei shows her first sign of emotion as she exhibits shock and awe. "Surprising. You are awfully close. You just happened to miss a few key components. Let me show you"
She pushes Talc to the side, and shows him the cabling that he got mixed up when attempting to repair the station.
Once the power is turned on, Rei takes her time looking through the computer for any useful information.
Though repaired, the computer still has no power. You’ll have to find a way to turn the power on throughout the complex. Perhaps in another room?
Harrac finds power cables running through the floor to the room to the northwest. This maintenance room is filled with tools, cleaning supplies, and a massive panel covered in clearly labelled buttons and levers that control the power grid, automated sprinklers, and ventilation system. Turning on the power illuminates the lights in all rooms and activates the computer now that it has been repaired.
Useful tools in this room include a tactical core hammer, 6 batteries, 3 gear clamps, 6 flashlights, 6 lanterns, an advanced medkit, an engineering kit, a hacking kit, a dermal stapler, a fire extinguisher, a grappler, microgoggles, a nightvision scope, and 1,000 ft. of titanium alloy cable line.
As the computer powers on, the AI speaks cheerily. “Uh-oh! You’re not in my facial recognition database! Are you new? Hi nufriends! I’m Compy! Just say the password and I’ll add you to my database! Go ahead! What’s the password?”
Brigadier Teshgari sighs in exasperation, shaking her head at skittermander absurdity. Mimzy and Jomp are wide-eyed with amazement at the talking computer!
”Nope! Guess again!” Compy says cheerfully. ”Want a clue? What do you need?”
"That is the clue! What do you need?"
An electronic bell rings. "Help! I would love to! What can I help you with today?”
The computer grants you access to its systems. Those looking through logs and records on this computer (or asking the AI) learn it was accessed by six different users, although Tipps was the only one with root access. The users, their files, and the information that can be uncovered about them is listed below.
Bixby was the founder of this commune, called Allsix Assist,and Viverivim’s husband. The few files in his section of the computer are vague lists of completed missions and blueprints of public places and Veskarium buildings.
Prismacora recorded hundreds of videos of herself performing cheesy folk songs about friendship, helping, and her love of the Veskarium, which she composed herself. Though cliché, her music is quite catchy. One of her song’s lyrics, ‘There’s No Them, Only Us,’ is reproduced below. Playing any of the videos causes Mimzy and Jomp to dance.
Razzlefrazz researched how to make home-made bombs and fireworks. There are also hundreds of video recordings. Most show a purple-furred skittermander with a long beard testing fireworks and bombs in a bunker. The rest show Razzlefrazz’s public fireworks displays (which clearly took place during Veskarium announcements or parades). Razzlefrazz can be heard whooping with glee and shouting “Allsix Assist!” while the fireworks explode. In the background, angry vesk arm themselves and shout “We’re under attack!” Razzlefrazz’s finger or beard regularly blocks part of the recordings.
If asked, Compy explains that Razzlefrazz wanted to help the Veskarium make their boring events more exciting, so skittermanders would enjoy them. Compy also admits Razzlefrazz was bad with technology and is the primary reason the computer AI was created.
Sprout kept records of the plants she grew (mostly herbs, vegetables, and flowers) and monitored how each responded to varying degrees of artificial sunlight, humidity, and water.
Tipps was the creator and primary user of the computer. The majority of their files are cartoon episodes. Their favorite was Nufriend Yufriend, although Glitter Surprise was also a frontrunner. Tipps was also the group’s accountant. Their records show the Veskarium paid Allsix Assist the funds to build this base and paid them again after each of their three hundred self-assigned missions. Tracking down the payment information reveals Tipps hacked into the Veskarium’s accounts and transferring money to Allsix Assist on a regular basis.
Viverivim kept thousands of photographs of paintings he created throughout Vesk-3. Most of the paintings are graffiti plastered on homes, Veskarium complexes, signs, and roads. The graffiti is beautiful, often a color explosion or landscape with a bold phrase such as “Allsix Assist,” “Allsixers Unite,” or “We help! You should too!” Many photographs show the Allsixers smiling and posing in front of the art. While you examine these photos, Compy explains, “Viverivim was bringing skittermanders and the Veskarium closer with his art.”
"Compy, what do you know about stridermanders?"
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"Okay, that explains who built this place and its purpose, I suppose. Nice to see the skitters got paid for all their help. I am sure the Vesk would have gotten around to it eventually. Tipps must have just seen this as a way to help the Vesk by removing tedious money transfers from their list of things to do."
"Still doesn't give us a clue about the stridermanders, though it does make this place far more interesting than I thought it would be."
While Skrivvixx and Rei interrogated teh AI, Karyn opened the other door to the computer room.
”Sorry, nufriend! Nothing about stridermanders in my database!” Compy says happily.
The other door leading out of here is a heavy blast door. The door is stuck tight.
This soot-stained bunker was the site of a large explosion. Bits of twisted debris are piled neatly in the back of the chamber. In the center rests an incomplete vesk corpse composed of a torso, head, and one arm. Dangling awkwardly off its left side is a useless prosthetic arm, cobbled together from melted plastic and hunks of metal. The vesk corpse turns its head, empty eye sockets glowing with black flames, and gasps. “Saviors! Have you come to rescue me?”
"Saviors! Exactly what we are. Could you kindly enlighten me on who or what you are and how you came to be in this... predicament? That might help me define exactly what we're saving."
”I am Adrovor, a Veskarium soldier. A group of skittermander rebels calling themselves Allsix Assist had been stirring up trouble in the region for years. Their reign of terror started with acts of petty mayhem—graffiti, interrupting government events, and spreading propaganda— but soon became violent. They attacked citizens, foiled peace negotiations, set off homemade explosives at public functions, and even mailed soldiers volatile fireworks and incendiaries.
“I was part of the team sent to destroy the Allsixers. I discovered one of the terrorists holding explosive ordinance. I ordered the skittermander to surrender, but he fell on his own bomb and blew us both to smithereens! Ashamed over my dishonorable death, i refused to face Damoritosh’s judgement and awoke here in this sorry state. I did not have the strength to open the doors, so I have languished in despair for a long, long, time...”
At the sight of Brigadier Teshgari, Adrovor looks shocked, then ashamed. He salutes her fearfully. When he sees the skittermanders, he hisses half-heartedly and tells the ‘rebel terrorists’ to stay back. It’s obvious his heart isn’t in either the greeting or threats.
Mimzy and Jomp burst into tears at the sight of the sad vesk. They swarm the undead with hugs and try to fix his arm, causing it to crumble into dozens of pieces. Adrovor shrieks, terrified of the skittermanders’ “help”. ”Ah! Get them away from me!”
"Mimzy! Jomp! Step back! I have a very important task for you! Please go take a few pictures of the scenes in the nearby rooms to show Adrovor, that might help calm him down to know that his detachment succeeded in their mission of quelling the Allsix Assist."
Once the skittermanders depart Skrivix makes a move to block the doorway from them returning.
"What will you do now?"
"What year is it?" Adrovor asks. When you tell him, he lets out a rattling sigh. "It has been over 200 years, then. I already told you how I died. One of the terrorists blew me up!"
He awkwardly turns to regard Skrivixx. "Now? Now I hope you will help me. I can hardly move on my own. I wish to get to the surface and acquire some prosthetic limbs so I can regain my mobility and independence. Then I'd like to leave this planet, hell, the entire Veskarium! Either to find an honorable death or to live my unlife in peace."
Brigadier Teshgari scoffs. "This man is a disgrace. He died dishonorably and faced his death like a coward. We should leave him here to rot."
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Talc looks between the dead-ish Vesk and Brigadier Teshgari. "Hang on a sec, BT. What if there was a way to give this man an honorable death? He has literally been waiting here TWO HUNDRED YEARS to die honorably. I do not think he is a coward, in fact, I think he's a hero. Let him accompany us on our expedition here and I bet he can find a way to prove himself to you."
Brigadier Teshgari grunts. "Fine. But he's only got one arm and no legs. I'm not going to carry him."
Skrivix claps Talc on the back. "Agreed, we can help him. He might not have died the way he wanted, but rarely do we get to choose how that plays out. Rei - can you rig up a sled for us to haul Adrovor on? That might make it easier than having to carry him around and there should certainly be enough material around here to work with."