.
An opening view of an enormous tank with transparent windows, which contains a semi-opaque gas of sort, swirling and moving in slow-motion. Suddenly, the vapors coalesce into a reconizable, but faint form, which utters the words
A made real one runs for fear of untruths
A piece of the prize stolen brought close to the sun
Under the shadow of a false-made tower
(fade to black)
The Lorespire Complex bustles with activity as the doors to Venture-Captain Arvin’s private office slide quickly. The lashunta man jots down some quick notes on his datapad, and then he glances up and motions to sit down.
“Welcome, Starfinders. We have just finished compiling some intriguing news. The Society’s magical archive for divining potential new finds, the Communion Vaults, houses a perpetually sleeping Liavaran Dreamer named Whisperer of Solar Winds. The Dreamer rarely rouses from its torpor, but when it does, it spins interwoven dream stories that point us to promising finds. It awoke earlier this week and has given us an elegant story about a fractured sandstone tablet that could point the Society to a great treasure.
“Unfortunately, the three fragments of the tablet appear to be in very different locales based on the tales we’ve recorded. Luckily, each of these locations appears to be within the Pact Worlds. It’s your job to track each piece down and report back here so we can get everything pieced together and figure this dream out. Your first destination is the machine-driven world of Aballon. Based on the details of the first dreamspun tale, you’re likely to be looking for an android in a less-than-reputable city.
We’re sending you via shuttle to Towershadow, where you’ll have to figure out for yourselves what awaits. Time is of the essence, as things can change quite quickly. Any questions before you depart?”
---
Venture-captain Arvin sends an attachment, which contains a brief summary of the mission:
“A made real one runs for fear of untruths
A piece of the prize stolen brought close to the sun
Under the shadow of a false-made tower”
From our research into this dream tale, we can establish that the location is somewhere on Aballon. The reference to a tower likely suggests the “made real one” is somewhere within the Towershadow sub-settlement of the Aballonian Megaplex known as Striving. It’s clear that the being in possession of the fragment is some form of artificial or partially artificial life, likely an anacite or android on the run from some legal woes. You’ll need to search the Towershadow region to find any possible leads.
-VC Arvin
|
What little of Benacu that can be seen behind armor, a fishbowl helmet, and all manner of bulk-rate cybernetics doesn't look good. The kalo's fins and face are rotted, and small bits float freely in the sealed water before eventually reintegrating themselves. Still, he moves with an almost youthful spring.
"Benacu of the Manta Corps reporting for duty!" He snaps to attention before sitting down, despite not having to. He listens intently to Arvin's briefing. "My first question is about the Whisperer, actually. Where'd we get it? Is it okay being in a vault, spouting prophecies? I mean, if it's asleep most of the time, maybe so."
"As for Aballon, I've never been. Will they put up with..." the kalo looks ready to indicate himself, but then gestures vaguely towards a more fleshy Starfinder. "I assume there'd only be androids and the like here if not."
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Vaal Noor, the towering and flashy izalguun is polishing a medium-sized metallic humanoid skull that followed him inside, walking on 4 metallic spider legs, while at the same time paying attention to Arvin. “My, an actual treasure hunt? That is so quaint, venture-captain! I cannot wait to put my eyes on those ancient fragments and see what sort of materials and techniques were employed! We’ll find this mysterious android and buy or trade or take the artefact from him, not a problem at all!”
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"What? What?" pipes up a finely-dressed, purple-hued morlamaw withe a monocle over his left eye. "A trip to Aballon? 'Tis a tad bit more dry than my homeworld of Arniselle, I would wager."
"No matter, my biceps and tusks are up to the task!" he says, bending one of his his flipper-like appendages as a demonstration.
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A rather toll shirren join you all in the room. His antennas are in motion whenever anything moves in the nearest proximity. His bug-like eyes are scanning the surroundings and his mandibles are opening wide whenever he looks at one of the agents. He is wearing brown trousers, t-shirt and a jacket with a lot of music band patches. On one of his arms, he also has Exo-guardian emblem.
Shirren listens to the briefing and asks
"So we are supposed to track someone in the Towershadow<click>, what can we offer for the artifact?<click>"
Turning to the others, Shirren says
"I am D'vost and I am usually hired as a tracker. I hunt for different animals and aliens.<click>"
His mandibles make it hard for D'vost to speak as they make a lot of additional sounds.
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Benacu looks more on his toes upon noticing a morlamaw is present. Considering how little of his face is visible, it's hard to tell if this is out of agitation or respect.
"Actually, one more question. How accurate are these predictions most of the time? I'd believe this, but I don't expect it would show us the entire path."
You are certainly a more diverse team than usual, venture-captain Arvin remarks, then turns to answer the member's questions.
Whisperer of Solar Winds is a Liavaran dreamer, a long-slumbering creature from the Pact World gas giant of Liavara. When they wake, they speak of prophetic dreams that can lead to astounding fortunes, but they tend to drift back off rather quickly. They are already asleep after imparting us with the relevant information. Whisperer of Solar Winds came to us voluntarily, and we've never received any indication of a desire to return.
Whisperer's dreams are accurate enough for us to invest in sending a shuttle to Aballon.
Aballon is a planet known for its machines and robotic inhabitants. It’s very difficult for biologic life to survive with nonexistent atmosphere and other dangerous environs. Thankfully, its primary inhabitants, a machine race known as the anacites, have built self-contained megaplex cities. One of these megaplex cities, known as Striving, houses your destination region of Towershadow. As there is artificial atmosphere within the megaplex, you shouldn’t need anything more than your armor and whatever tools you already have.
You can use whatever means necessary to obtain the sandstone tablet. We've invested in this expedition, so if you need credits to pay for the object, that is no issue. Please stay on the lookout for alternative means of bartering for it, though.
---
The shuttle departs from Absalom station, and blasts off to a greyish dot close to the sun. After a few days, the shuttle reaches a blasted wasteland of a planet that—despite its dark and barren appearance—quickly shows itself to be covered in glittering metal cities under the full brightness of the Pact World’s sun. The shuttle goes through a set of blast doors into a city built inside and around what was clearly once a massive silver tower.
D'vost sets out to find traces of the android, and Sir Feinghnswelle asks around for information. The android doesn't appear to be any sort of celebrity, as nobody has heard of him. The rest of the team has their noses buried in their datapads, when Apikinzas manages to find an obscure blog post, just about the same time as Benacu finds a photograph, taken at a strange angle. Apparantly the android Lerecti is hiding on Aballon, on the run from murder charges in Verces. The androgynous dresses up in worker's clothes, and can usually be found in the grub'n'slurp convenience store in the Towershadow district.
The grub'n'slurp convenience store is... oily. A thick waft of deep frier grease hangs in the air, coating most of the interior and surroundings in a layer of sticky stuff. As the group approaches, a shifty-looking Ysoki warns: Whatever you do, stay clear of the noodles. before running of in the general direction of a back alley.
Inside the convenience store, the sound of technoid-rap legend I/O is blasting from the speakers:
I'm floating point binary
Adamantine construct
One for appearance
But zero for conduct!
Lerecti stands in a corner, with a blank expression in his eyes.
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"I say!" declares Sir Feighnswelle as he considers his odd band of allies. "It would appear that I, a pinniped of the ring, also happen to be the 'diplomat' among us." The walrus-like Starfinder exudes an audible sigh. "Very well."
The morlamaw nods at the izalguun and then waddles over toward Lerecti. He movementarily places a flipper-like appendage over a tiny ear, the one closest to the convenience store speakers, then announces, "Hey, ho there, my mechanical friend. I understand that you are Lerecti and that you have managed to find yourself in a bit of--shall we say? Legal trouble? If I am not mistaken, my colleagues and I may be of some assistance."
The android looks at the group with the blank expression that only an android can make. Without saying anything, he seems to check the nearest exist...
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"My apologies for being so abrupt," continues the morlamaw. "It would appear that I have inartfully 'sunk the lead', so to speak. I am Sir Feighnswelle, famed pugilist, defender of Arniselle, and a member of the Starfinder Society. We have come in search of a stone tablet that we have learned is in your possession. Over the course of our research, we have also learned that you, Lerecti--assuming you are Lerecti--have found yourself amidst some legal woes."
"As I and my organization, of which this fine assortment of gents are also agents," he says, pointing a flipper, "are of some means and influence, I suspect that we could reach an arrangement of mutual benefit in which we obtain the tablet we seek and you receive some much needed legal aid. Now, what do you say?"
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D'vost waits for the reaction of Android. He shares telepathically only with his allies
"Don't you think that he might be guilty of the murder? In that case, we could just give him to the authorities, first taking the artifact from him. I am all for aiding others but, this one might be mass-murder."
The android still looks unconvinced, but finally speaks, with the same lack of emotional amplitude as his face conveys:
I have a sandstone tablet, yeah. It’s somewhere safe, although I can’t really get it right now while I wait for my trial.
I was framed for murder on my home world, Verces, for finding out some scumbag of a club owner was engaging in android trafficking. Had to come here to get a proper trial from the anacites. If only I had my evidence...
...but some thugs stole it from a coworker. I don’t want to risk making a bad name for myself while trying to clear my name already. Although if you want that sandstone thing so bad, I’d be happy to give it to you if you could go and get the evidence back. The evidence is on a datapad with a red sticker that some verthani thug took to the slums
Lerecti’s information leads the PCs to a grungy section of Towershadow’s interior slums. The ground here is a grimy mix of soot and dirt, created from the runoff of various industries on Aballon and entirely unnatural to the normally sterile planet.
The buildings in this particular area are abandoned, with doors hanging open and interiors ransacked by gangsters and vagrants.
Speaking of vagrants, a group of thugs led by a small Ikeshti female advances on the group, as if expecting them. The ikeshti is aided by two thugs. A third thug can be seen in a corner, looking green, bent over and retching. Apparently, grub'n'slurp is not the only take-out to be avoided!
---
D'vost
Benacu
Feighnswelle
---
Red baddie
Yellow baddie
Blue baddie
---
Vaal Noor
OMID
Apikinzas
---
The morlamaw hits the ikeshti with a flipper before the thug can close in. Benacu misses the shot, but D'vost manages to land a hit.
The ikeshti moves in on Feighnswelle with a pike, stabbing the walrus-like creature in the blubber.
The two non-vomiting thugs advance on the Morlamaw, ignoring his flippers, to harass him with battlegloves
---
Vaal Noor
OMID
Apikinzas
D'vost
Benacu
Feighnswelle
---
Red baddie (14)
Yellow baddie
Blue baddie
---
---
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“Oh joy, I have been waiting for an opportunity to test out my new masterpiece! Let’s go, Bone!”
As a move action, Vaal Noor overcharges his drone weapon. As his second move action he directs it towards a clearer line of sight to the enemy. The drone uses his standard action to fire his weapon against Yellow baddie.
Apikinzas fills the air with the sound of an ominously charging pistol, which gets replaced by the sound of sirens. Before the thug can give in to full-blown panic, OMID manages to land a volley of magic missiles on the thug leading, killing her outright. This is enough to send the followers - except the puking one - into a panic, and they immediately surrender.
The thugs are oblivious to the plans of their leader, but a quick search of the body of the ikeshti reveals a datapad, which contains more than enough material to exonorate Lerecti.
Lerecti is still found at the grub'n'slurp, thick oil wafts swirling around his emotionless face. He eagerly hands over the sandstone tablet in return for the datapad. Thank you he states with a completely monotonous voice I wish you well in further business!
----
---
Not long after reporting success to him, Venture-captain Arvin replies:
Well done! Feel free to indulge a moment, and have a good dinner on the Society. There's a place, the brown bean, that is not far from your landing spot.
The second message from the dreamer is:
“Bandits stalk the fields
Two sisters long since passed
Allies feast upon stone”
We believe the “two sisters” represent the shattered worlds of Damiar and Lovo that now make up the Diaspora asteroid field. After following that lead, I found a local group of dwarven miners from the Silverbrew clan. It appears they happened upon the three fragments of the tablet, but lately they’ve been having problems with smugglers. They say the smugglers have uncovered and sold off the other two pieces, but the Silverbrew leader has promised us the fragment they were able to hold on to in exchange for dealing with these criminals.
I have ordered the Loreseeker to pick you up tomorrow. Please deal with the criminals any way you see fit.
---
Not only is the brown bean a surprisingly pleasant upscale place, but the starfinders manage to make it through the night without any reversal of peristaltic movements. The next morning, the Loreseeker arrives at the Abballon starport. Which is just as well, another trip in economy class would have been horrible, as the legroom (flipper-room?) is barely enough for a medium-sized creature on these shuttles.
The Loreseeker, one of the Starfinder Society’s most prestigious exploration vessels, lifts off from Aballon. The ship gracefully weaves through the light traffic of spacefaring vessels. Aside from a near-miss with an impatient kasathan transport, the trip out of the grey planet's orbit is uneventful.
The five days it takes to the diapora are quiet, apart from the onboard computer providing slightly too specific guidance on observational details, and occasionally overruling requests for music to be played by conveniently 'not finding what you're looking for'.
In the diaspora, the mining facility is inactive and surrounded by a field of varying sized asteroids. The telltale yellow hazard striping of dwarven architecture can be seen from cursory visual scans.
Vaal Noor performs a system scan, and detects several power signatures. The largest one is from a spacefaring vessel, while a number more are scattered among the asteroids - likely short-range defense systems controlled by the main ship!
As soon as he completes the scan, a slim, dagger-like vessel indeed emerges from behind two large asteroid clusters. The ship is olive-colored, and shows signs of recent and incomplete repairs. It approaches at a slow, cautious speed.
The hologram of an ysoki dressed in fine clothes and gaudy jewelry appears in the Loreseeker’s bridge, a wide grin on his face. “You’ve come a long way, travelers. You can call me Mr. Smiles. I’m everyone’s best friend around these parts.”
The ysoki looks off to the side, nodding at some unheard comment. “Of course. Crank, Stock, Shell, Shuffle, and Breach all say hi. So, what can Her humble grandchildren do for you?”
"Her humble grandchildren?" That's a saying used by by followers of Lao Suo Po, an evil goddess of assassins, rats, and thieves.
From Vaal Noor's scan, if might be possible to disable those defense system, but that would require enough time to hack into them.
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"These guys are ne'er-do-wells," Benacu says while he isn't being broadcasted. "Or they just worship one. Laoites are no Besmarans, but I think we found our pirates."
Sidling onto the screen, the kalo replies to the ysoki. "Depends. Are you merchants, mechanics maybe? We took a few hits from an asteroid that could use looking into."
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Sir Feighnswelle shrugs at the kalo's assessment. "If you say so, I suppose." he says from the captain's chair, the station where he first flopped as it was the biggest seat.
Turning his attention to the comm channel, he begins, "But, where are our manners? Perhaps, I should introduce you all to my crew as you were so kind to do so for our benefit. I am Feighnswelle of the planet Arniselle, Sir Feighnswelle by title, if you are into such thugs. Perhaps, you have heard of my world? No? In any event, I am Sir Feighnswelle of Arniselle, but I am here on behalf of the Starfinder Society. You have heard of that organization, haven't you? In any event, the crew member that you spoke with previously was Shallowspeaker Benacu. I believe that Shallowspeaker is a title, similar to my own. Say, do you have a title that you would like us to use when addressing you Mr. Smiles? Other than 'Mister', I suppose, which is a title. In any event, Banacu is also a member of the Starfinder Society, but he comes from a homeworld different than my own..."
No can do, we're too busy patching up our own junker, smiles responds to Benacu, then listens intently to the Morlamaw: Ah, so you're affiliated. Pity, we've could've used some new blood.
Smiles' attention seems to be wavering a bit, but for the brief moment that Feighnswelle and Benacu speaks, Vaal Noor rushes his fingers over the console, adjusting, scanning and hacking. The defense systems are hidden turrets, running on an outdated communications protocol. Theyare easily disabled by inserting a single 'Ping of Doom' on each of their channels, which Vaal Noor does without hesitance. He also manages to get a good signal sweep of Mr. Smiles' ship:
The hull reads 'RIVER RAT', and is a medium-sized explorer ship, with good maneuvrability, a single coilgun and a crew of 6.
Ah, it has come that, I see... Mr.smiles, looking annoyed, makes a hand gesture to an offscreen crew member, ending the communication.
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RED ALERT! Enemy ship dares to challenge this perfect unbeatable vessel. All crew to battle stations! RED ALERT! The ship computer blares out as the Ysoki ship raises shields.
----
Ship status: all systems functional
--
Enemy status: no damage observed
---
Vaal Noor
OMID
Apikinzas
D'vost
Benacu
Feighnswelle
---