Harrac delivers a devastating strike, but neither Rei nor Talc are able to finish off the elemental. It pounds Harrac again!
Harrac delivers another powerful slice with his burning blade, and the second elemental crumbles. As the dust settles from the battle, you notice a visible green light snaking through the air like a stream flowing through the cavern and into the wall before it dissipates.
Searching around the camp before departing, you find a backpack full of supplies, camouflaged against the surrounding wall by layers of dust. Inside the pack, you find two mk 2 serums of healing, some smart cable (50 ft.), an advanced medkit, two beacons, a grappler, a laser drill, a portable gangway, and a survival straw.
Once you have recovered, you follow the trail of bootprints through the tunnels. After a few minutes, you emerge into a carved chamber that features a small alcove in the southern wall with a stone altar. The top of the altar is carved to hold a massive gemstone or other angular object. Cracks spiderweb across the walls and ceiling.
The footprints of a booted humanoid clearly mark a path from the eastern entrance to the southern wall and altar, then back again to the northwestern wall, where a large crack in the stone leads to another chamber.
[b]"Welp, someone's been here before and didn't make much effort to hide it. Shall we follow the path?"
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"Where would you guys be without me? Lucky for you, I like you lot."
"What Rock is trying to say, is they slowed their pace and stopped at the altar. More importantly though, [b]"Everyone keep their voice down and do not move. That rock right there, it's likely to collapse the room and cause a cave-in if anyone is too loud or moves too quickly."
You quietly make your way across the room, pausing to inspect he altar. Somebody has left behind religious iconography here. The mk 1 planar runeplates bear an unfamiliar religious symbol that depicts a gold prism on a black field.
You squeeze through the crack in the stone and begin making your way through a series of tunnels that lead deep into the moon. The trek down the passageways takes over two hours.
Eventually, the rocky passage ends abruptly at a smooth stone wall. Carved glowing glyphs adorn the wall and create a high-pitched hum, but no obvious exits lead away from the passage. The words have a strong similarity to the Terran language. Rei is able to translate:
To outsiders who visit our land:
Welcome and be greeted.
Know our homes and discussions can be
Somewhat heated.
But do not bring religion to our door,
It is not permitted.
Those who push their beliefs on us
Will not be acquitted.
As you approach the door, a form that appears to be made of glowing gossamer floats out from the wall in front of you. The spirit's presence radiates calmness and a sense of peace. It reaches out a hand to you, as if beckoning you to make contact with it...
Skrivix looks tentatively at the spirit before reaching out telepathically to try to communicate with it.
"We come in peace. We bring no religious devotion unless you consider fanatical fandom to a musical superstar to be similar enough. If that's the case we'll leave the Vesk at the door."
The spirit cautiously approaches Srivixx, and he can hear its thoughts. "Peace. I long for it. I do not remember who I am; it’s been so long since I was anyone. All I can remember is that I used to live. Now I am dead. I want to move on, but I am anchored here. Let me help you. Let me bond." It reaches out a translucent hand.
The spirit cocks its head, then replies telepathically to Skrivvix, who can translate: "I do not know. This is as far as I can get from my home. But my task is to finish dying. To not be forgotten. To move on. To bond. In exchange, I will show you how to get to my home. Xaharee." The spirit points to the wall of glyphs.
Skrivix relays the telepathic conversation to the team.
"I feel for it, but I can't tell if it is trying to pull one over on us. I mean if I were a malign ghost spirit that's a pretty way to start the whole 'let me possess your body and wreak havoc on the galaxy' scenario."
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Harrac looks around, "That's kind of you to offer your fiance Talc, I knew you too were a little kinky. So spirit guy, what does this bondage entail? And how long is it? Talc's safe word is Fluggaenkoecchicebolsen, right Rei?"
Skrivix relays Harrac's questions on the details of bonding to the spirit. "What exactly do you mean, to move on? What kind of bond?"
”I will bond with you to take you to Xaharee. You will learn our story. You will tell our tale. Then, I can move on. And then, the bond will end.”
Skrivix looks at the spirit, then back at the group. "Can anyone actually read that wall or is possession our only option here?"
Searching the wall, you are able to find a secret door that opens onto another passage leading further down beneath the moon's surface. You can continue on without allowing the spirit to bond with you, should you choose.
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Rei gives Harrac her RBF look, per usual, at his antics. "I am not his fiance. I belong to no one, for now. "
Rei then turns back to the ghost spirit. "If you can explain this bonding process in a little more details, perhaps one of our party here will be willing to assist. If it is not apparently clear, we are frankly, a little skeptical."
"It is...a bonding. Of spirits. You will share my thoughts, but you will maintain control of your body. That is all."
Rei reaches out to the spirit, which seems to meld with her body and fade away. The android feels a strong impression from the spirit, instructing her how to touch the series of raised runes on the door to open the secret passage through it. The tunnel continues past this door deeper into the moon.
Rei finds herself still in complete control of her thoughts and actions though she feels occasional urges from the spirit, directing her which turns to take.
After another hour of travel, the passage opens to a vast chamber full of ruined buildings. Most of the city’s buildings have collapsed, though what may have once been a downtown district looks mostly intact. The underground city’s ceiling rises to an average of 200 feet; the occasional glowing wisp of a ghost is visible floating around and above the city.
As you explore the ruined city, you occasionally spot small piles of dust--the decomposed remains of the alien creatures that once lived here. Rei can feel the spirit's sadness at each such discovery.
There are three areas that look like they might be of interest. The first is a library, the second is a museum, and the third is the city square, which features a raised pedestal with the remains of a fountain in the center.
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"This place is a total shit-trap. I mean, even the former residents didn't bother to hang around. Let's hit the main buildings and be out of here. I'm pretty sure I'd rather be extracting flavenoids from rare plants than mucking about here any longer than I absolutely have to. Let's start with the Library. Probably the best chance of finding what we are looking for in there."
The library contains multiple data terminals for public use. Though the cataclysm destroyed most of the data banks, a single user terminal remains intact. As you explore the area, you occasionally hear someone shushing you if you talk above a whisper, though no source for this sound is evident.
Multiple datapads lay scattered around the library. Using the datapads with the computer system, you discover a series of diagrams showing how to convert planetary scale shields into barriers for repelling lava flows, a personal datapad journal, and information about a necromantic ritual for binding spirits.
The journal reads as follows (the spirit is able to translate the words via Rei):
They say a strange comet is headed towards our moon; a scouting force is being sent out to scan the object and deter it from collision. The Elders are not concerned; the bombardment shields and outer crust should protect us from any harm. Vichokchok’s nameday is tomorrow; I still need to buy them a present.
271st Orbit, 330th
The scouts have found the object and are returning it here, to Xaharee, for study. They say it is a golden prism and may have once belonged to Kadrical. If so, then that does not bode well for our people. Perhaps I will take Vichokchok on vacation to the ice caps; they like cold weather.
271st Orbit, 332nd
Vichokchok cannot get the time from work until next month, so the vacation will have to wait. I need to re-align the seismic sensors and clean out the relays anyway.
They verified the object as an artifact from Kadrical, but it hasn’t done anything yet. Well, the news reports haven’t reported anything. Apparently, they’re building a chamber near the surface to store it. The Elders do not think it belongs in the city. Others want to launch it into the gas giant and let it stay lost forever. If it comes to a vote, I’ll vote to get rid of it. The Elders say we must show Kadrical respect even if we do not follow his teachings, but he gives me nightmares.
271st Orbit, 341st
I am in trouble at work. I re-aligned the seismic sensors and somehow, it’s my fault we’re getting more quakes. I need to go re-align them tomorrow under supervision. I think we need to send a probe down to investigate.
271st Orbit, 342nd
The re-alignment went fine; the supervisors agree that there are no problems, but the sensors keep showing anomalous readings. We had a massive quake in the southern hemisphere that toppled a building. I will have to cancel our ice-cap trip; Vichokchok will not be pleased.
271st Orbit, 343rd
Massive quakes and lava flows. We detected them faster than most cities and were able to re-align the orbital shields to divert the flows away from the populated areas. I haven’t heard from Vichokchok since yesterday; I hope they’re okay. I’m scared. Some say that that Kadrical relic is to blame, that we shouldn’t have kept it. Others say we should have honored it more and Kadrical is angry. Who cares? I just want Vichokchok. Their residence was one of the ones consumed by lava and they’re not answering their comm. I’m scared.
271st Orbit, 344th
Vichokchok is still missing and the communication arrays are all damaged; we cannot contact the other settlements. Perhaps they are still alive somewhere, but the comms are down. The Elders have a solution; they’ve asked the Guild of Mages to help ensure our survival. I trust the Elders, but the Guild of Mages creep me out. I miss Vichokchok.
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"Oh be quiet, ghosts. No one is here to care how loud I talk, not that anyone ever really cared in the first place. That was an ill-conceived notion from pre-space times that should never have made the cut when we advanced societal norms. Sure, no one wants to hear some jackass yapping away on his datalink at full volume, but the idea of a library needing to be as quiet as a confessional is honestly idiotic."
"Interesting. Looks like the Tear Jadnura was talking about was here, all right. And that it caused some kind of catastrophe here."
In response to Karyn's chiding, a nearby shelf topples over! It nearly falls on the biohacker, but she steps away quickly and avoids harm.
Rei is able to learn that Kadrical is a god who supposedly dwells in the Scoured Stars system. Known as the Covetous Protector, he is a god of collections, order, and preservation.
There is no further information here about the Tear or Vichokchok. However, Rei does glean some more insights into the ritual, which may prove useful later...
There doesn't seem to be anything else valuable here, so you head to the museum. A tall building with four spires of varying heights stands at the corner of a broad intersection. Its large steep stairway leading to the front entrance gives it a cathedral like appearance while the four spires give the building the appearance of a four fingered hand grasping toward the heavens. The crumbling stone facade reveals a sturdy metallic structure underneath.
The four main exhibits include a series of rooms linked together, all with offline holographic displays. The final exhibit exits into a gift shop, though the cataclysm destroyed most of these objects.
The spirit bonded with Rei fills her mind with a vision of a ghostly mentrasi engineer passing behind a tattered curtain and opening a door there. Indeed, looking behind the curtain, you find the door easily enough. The door leads to the back hallways of the museum.
Eventually, the halls emerge into a control room. This room contains two large computers connected to a burned-out hybrid power relay covered in a scorch marks. The relay’s battery backup has long since been depleted.
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"Rei, looks like you're up! What do you need to get these systems going? I am sure no one would mind if you had to disassemble some of Harrac's audio gear. You know, for the team?"
Tech wasn't really Karyn's strong suit, but she knew which end of a battery went where. She assisted Rei to make the necessary repairs to get the computers up and running again.
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Rei examines the facility, grabs a few batteries in hand, and begins glowing with a blue light.
"There are numerous ways we could engineer a solution, but sometimes the simplest solution is the way to go. My technomagic comes in handy in this situation. Please hold and it should be charged in just a moment"
Rei's magic charges up the computer systems, restoring them to functionality. One of the hybrid computers runs the operations and security systems, which include internal sensors, cameras, lights, temperature controls, alarms, and a communications array. Dim light panels in the ceiling flicker to life, and holographic displays of the museum's public areas appear.
The second hybrid computer runs the museum displays. A power surge heavily damaged Its magical components and data storage devices, but Rei's skill in mysticism allows her to reinforce the magic and start up the displays.
You return to the main part of the museum to examine the displays. The first holographic screen flickers to life, showing a world similar to Kukanou-2b, but with pockets of rich vegetation. The screen shows depictions of mentrasi farming mushrooms and root vegetables, building rudimentary metal tools, blowing glass, shaping it with their bare hands, and working at forges. A sleek starship made of shining golden metal slowly lands in an open field where mentrasi flock to investigate. Four creatures step out from a glowing portal in the side of the metallic structure; they wear flowing black linen robes and golden metal masks, and they carry no weapons.
One figure removes their mask, revealing the features of a jinsul. The screen pauses and displays the creature’s name as “Dhurus.” Soon after this scene, the video scrambles and repeats before showing the other three figures. A pleasant mentrasi voice-over narrates: through the spirit, Rei is able to translate.
"Centuries ago, our people were a peaceful race of farmers and tinkerers, unlocking the secrets of metallurgy and glass blowing. Our people were happy, but advancement was difficult without a guiding hand. We had no central government and only a barter system of economics.
"One day, a starship descended from the heavens. Our ancestors immediately recognized these four celestials as heralds of the divine: Master of Conquest, Master of Preservation, Master Archivist, and Master of Nomenclature."
The next exhibit is heavily damaged but shows short holographic images of mentrasi worshipping some divine figure. The mentrasi tend to wear flowing black robes, metallic masks, and perform the following tasks: placing various crystals in neat rows within a glass container, scanning rock formations, performing data entry on modern computer systems, performing elaborately choreographed dance routines in perfect columns and rows, and cleaning and polishing surfaces until everything is spotless. Images of izalguuns, gaseous thyrs, jinsuls, and other races appear to be worshipping with the mentrasi. The occasional image of the jinsuls fighting with the mentrasi flashes through the chamber, as does a document with the name “Kreiholm Freehold” prominently displayed. The voice-over is so garbled as to be complete nonsense, but Rei experiences an overwhelming sense of fear from the spirit within her at the sight of the jinsuls.
The third exhibit depicts mentrasi building and flying modern-looking spacefaring vessels. A particularly complex starship launches from an underground bunker and into the atmosphere of a rocky planet. The spacecraft powers up a large engine that glows brightly and seems about to exit the planet’s orbit when a golden bubble surrounds the craft and starts to drag it back to the surface of the planet. The bubble gently sets the craft down on the surface before releasing the craft and disappearing. Several mentrasi shake their heads in confusion while others raise their faces to the sky and shout: pleading, accusing, weeping. The sky slowly fades to gold as a massive shield forms above the heads of the mentrasi. A view from space shows the planet slowly being enveloped entirely in a golden shield. The image depicts crying mentrasi, then several attempts to escape through the shield such as by launching more spacecraft, launching weaponry, and magically flying mentrasi casting spells at the shield. None of these attempts succeed in breaking the shield.
The voice-over is heavily damaged. "Bzzt—tried to explore the stars—Psst—overprotective—Thk. Thk. Thk—would not let us leave; we pleaded with Kadrical to—Thhhh—Became obsessive—Shhhhh—tried everything—ZZZZzzzzzP—could not penetrate the golden shield—Zrt-zrt-zrt-zrt—but Kadrical had fallen silent, fallen asleep. Using all of his strength to maintain the shield—Ktsh."
The final exhibit shows the mentrasi looking astonished as the golden shield above their world suddenly vanishes. They rapidly build starships, evacuate their homes, and flee on large transports. The mentrasi join ships from other planets during the exodus, but each group departs in wildly differing directions. The figure from the first display, Dhurus, is visible as a spectral image clawing at the ships fleeing the star system.
Shortly after their escape, the remaining starships scan the stars and find a new planet to settle in a small out-of-the-way system. They build museums to Kadrical, but not temples. Rei is again filled with a feeling of inescapable dread from the spirit at the sight of the jinsuls, especially Dhurus.
A pleasant voice-over narrates. "One day the shield vanished. Perhaps Kadrical stirred in his sleep, allowing us to flee as the shield dropped. Whatever the reason, our ancestors seized the opportunity and built the starships they had been designing and planning, should they ever get the opportunity to escape.
"We fled across the stars with the seven other groups, including the aggressive jinsuls who’d grown restless in their own captivity. Kadrical’s herald, Dhurus, the Master of Conquest, disabled several transport ships. Most of our people used our experimental engines to travel in stasis from one part of the galaxy and appear in another. The other seven groups scattered across the galaxy, each going their separate ways.
"We scanned the stars and found a new home, the very world where you stand today. Though we are thankful for Kadrical’s teachings and long-remembered protection, As a species we have vowed to never follow a deity again. Kadrical is respected as part of our history and traditions, but there he shall remain: in the past.
"The Mentrasi Historical Society would like to thank you for your visit today. Please exit into our gift shop—Bzzzt."
Though the seismic cataclysm ravaged the museum’s gift shop, some of the merchandise remains intact. Surviving items include: metallic replicas of a sleek golden starship, finger sized crystals with various mentrasi names laser etched on the interior and attached to short metal chains, plush mentrasi in clergy robes, and several copies of the “Escape the Shield” cooperative board game. Altogether, these gifts are worth 3,000 credits.
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"Sounds about right, from all I've heard of the Scoured Stars incident. It definitely seems that Jadnura was on to something. If this was truly the site of landing of one of the seven groups that fled the Scoured Stars, and a Tear was sent to each of these groups, then it ought to be here somewhere."
Karyn pored through the gift shop's remains, hoping to find something of use that wasn't too terribly broken. Most of it was kitschy stuff, though.
"Where to next? Who has the map? The city square should be...that way." Karyn oriented herself and then pointed to where she thought their next destination was.
Before you can leave the museum, your comm units begin to buzz as they pick up on a distress signal. "If anyone can hear this, please send aid. This is Iteration-177 and I’m in need of immediate assistance. This message is on a loop with my coordinates embedded; I am not able to respond. Please assist if able."
The coordinates indicate a small chamber away from Xaharee’s borders, approximately 20 minutes away by foot.
The message appears to be recent, within the past few days.
You follow the coordinates, arriving at the designated chamber. There, you discover the android Iteration-177 lying against the wall, their body partially dismantled. "Ah, Starfinders. How good of you to drop in. I’m having somewhat of a difficult time here, as you can tell. Surviving this place is more difficult than I anticipated, and I must admit to needing some assistance. Do you think you could do me a somewhat dangerous favor?"