.
Nako here.
"Quonx ready to give it my allsix!"
The six armed heroes of Skitter Shot and Skitter Crash have earned a break and are heading to the skittermander home world of Vesk-3 for a planet-wide celebration! But things are sure to be anything but relaxing...
Chapter 1: The Festival of the Eclipse
Vesk-3's two moons are known as the Big Mother and the Firstborn, witht the latter being the smaller of the two. The Big Mother eclipses the Firstborn on a semi-annual basis and when this occurs, the planet's skittermanders hold a festival known as Reetamander, which loosely translates to "The Great Birthing." The days prior to the celestial event are spent decorating the streetsand large fields outside of large metropolises where the eclips can be viewed safely. While the hours leading up to the eclipse are spent in games and revelry, the festivities don't begin in earnest until after the larger moon has fully eclipsed the smaller.
Festival participants then gather together to light scented bonfires and perform traditional rhyming chants, believing that these efforts will ease the Big Mother's "birthing pains" as the Firstborn moves out of its shadow. As the smaller moon begins to appear, the songs become more boisterous and course of delicious food are brought and consumed long into the night. The celebrations reach an apex when the Firstborn becomes fully visible again, as the skittermanders rejoice that the moon is now free to hunt and grow on its own like any newborn.
The skittermanders Dakoyo, Gazigaz, Nako, and Quonx work for Nakonechkin Salvage, a small but scrappy company that operates all throughout the universe under the management of its owner, the vesk whose name the company bears. After some tough missions, these skittermanders have arrived in Morandomandrana- Vesk-3's oldest skittermander city by far- to join in on the Reetamander festivities and perhaps soak in some of their home world's culture that they might have been missing.
Welcome to Morandomandrana!
The seaside city of Morandromandrana is an architectural wonder, made even more stunning by the thousands of colorful decorations hanging from every building and streetlight. Built around a series of wide canals that alow the pink waters ofthe Vermilion Sea to surge and wane between the buildings with the tides, the city many outsiders simply call "Mandrana" also boasts expansive plazas surrounded by skittermander-owned and operated businesses advertising special sales for the festival of Reetamander.
The streets and plazas are packed with residents and visitors- mostly skittermanders , with a few members of other species of he Veskarium standing head and shoulders over the rest- all excitedly chattering and laughing. The revelry of Reetamander is already underway, though the eclipse that is the focus of the celebration is still a few hours away.
Our intrepid helping heroes arrive in the Central Common, the largest of the Morandomandrana's open-air plazas, just after dusk. It is currently packed with festival-goers and stalls presenting all manner of goods, games, and contests. It is a riotous, raucous affair, lit by hundreds of small, electric lanterns strung up between poles, As they wander the plaza, the sight of a stall boasting a contest draws them closer, a pungent peppery smell wafting their way as they approach...
Quonx looks on in wonder at all the festival has to offer, and continues drifting towards the stall.
"This looks like it could be super interesting. I wonder if the boss is having fun too?"
"As much as I love helping the boss with his business, it sure is nice to be home! What do you suppose is going on over here? A contest?!? Should we win it for the boss?!"
Make smiles her sharp-toothed smile and rubs her six hands together in anticipation.
Gazigaz rushes over to the stall.
OOOOOOD!"
A stout vesk in sunglassed and a neckerchief emblazoned with chilis named Yoloveda in the stall displays baskets teeming with the spicy aroma of jojokolea peppers. She loudly attempt to entice festival-goers to a jojokolea eating contest with the winner getting a secret magnificent prize!
Jojokoleas have seeds that produce high amounts of capsaicin and are highly spicy. For an entry fee of 2 credits, contestants can see how many jojkoleas they can eat before the spiciness overwhelms them.
[ooc]If you choose to participate in the contest, make 8 fortitude saves, which will be counted in order for each pepper. The DC starts really low but will increase as more peppers are successfully eaten. When a save fails, the character begins retching and cannot eat any more jojokoleas that day.
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Dakoyo begins salivating, and grabs the delicious inferno snacks and starts to chomp them down one by one.
Delicious!
Even better!
Oh Ibra, what did I do?!
Oh Ibra, the pain!
Oh Ibra, why did I do this?
Oh Ibra, why is this happening to me?
HOW DID I GET INTO THIS?
WHO AM I?
Nako anties up the 2 credits and gets down to eating!
"Only 2 credits? How could I possibly say no?"
Quonx will pick up each pepper and talk to it, before munching them down.
"Heh, stand aside, friends, and watch Gazigaz show you how its done."
Gazigaz immediately begins screaming after eating the first pepper.
Yoloveda laughs with glee when each of Nakonechin Salvage employees succumb to retching before they achieve eating eight peppers.
Ah haw haw haw haw! Your bravery is commendable, little handy-dandies, but the jojokolea has bested you in combat. Here, I have some little individual packets of coffee creamers I grabbed from the hotel lobby. Maybe they help salve your wounds, no?
Yoloveda then puts away the case of mk 2 serums of healing that would have been awarded to anyone who could consume eight jojokoleas.
Undeterred by the unsuccessful venture in jojokolea eating, the stalwart multi-armed helpers continue on in taking in the sights and sounds of the festival. They spot a lavender furred skittermander calling for participants to take part in his clever game of building and stacking random assortments of various objects, called "Gin-Jaaah".
On your mark, get set, BUILD!
Quonx checks over the building materials as fast as her arms and eyes will allow.
After looking at only one piece. ”These all check out! Let’s build a statue of the boss.”
Nako begins moving heavy pieces in place to make a good base.
"Good idea Quonx! The boss wears heavy boots!"
Gazigaz takes a shot in the dark.
The next 5 rolls, not counting bonuses from aid.
The statue of the boss looks exactly like the cranky vesk. That of course is assuming that he looks like a bunch of squared off pieces of random building materials that have been slapped together and piled as high as the short skittermanders can manage.
"C+?"
As the buzzer goes off singling the end of the contest, our intrepid heroes place second to a group of well muscled vesk teens whose strength stacked a very high edifice of parts. But the teens, in a fit of back patting and self congratulating, rush off to another contest when one notices a particularly comely vesk harking for who can eat the most of the galaxy's spiciest peppers.
The contest operator gives a six shouldered shrug and turns to the second place winners.
I guess-guess my tail wasn't shapely enough to keep them here to get their prize. Saaaaay, would YOU like to help me out? Maybe you could find them later and give them their prize? No hurries, ok? Take your time. And if you can't find them, just drop it off at a recycle center.
He them hands them a shiny platinum ring.
”Oh, that’s shiny. Yep, we’ll find them and give them the prize. Even if I gotta zap em, they’ll take it and be happy.”
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"Yaaaay!"
After our esophagus-burned and muscle weary yet jubilant heroes have had time to enjoy the festival while keeping a look out for the winners of the magic ring, other attendees begin to chatter excitedly. It is clear that the eclipse, the main event of the festival has begun! Skittermanders around Central Common pick up various musical instruments and commence playing upbeat melodies, many of them singing lyrics they've concocted on the spot, while most everyone else looks up and marvels at the lunar phenomenon. Over the next hour, the Firstborn slowly disappears behind the Big Mother. The crowd then lets out a massive cheer...
...which quickly turns to startled screams of sheer panic!
Event 1: Decorative Danger!
Havoc breaks out all across Central Common as strings of lights and colorful pennants snake down to grapple and squeeze any festival goer within reach. Of course, all the skittermanders in attendance attempt to help those who get grabbed, which leads to more ensnared victims!
Quonx recognizes evidence of nanites as the source of the decorations' unnatural movements.
"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over."
Nako rushes to the nearest entangled being and tries to pry them loose.
Where the heroes stand, three animated strands reach down to grasp at them and other revelers.
Initiative
Gazigaz
Nako
Quonx
Dakoyo
The ribbons strand lashes out at an aquamarine fur colored skittermander who screams in surprise and terror. She has no weapons nor looks particularly combat effective.
The light string and banner lash out at our heroes!
The lights string lashes toward Gazigaz!
The banner snakes towards Dakoyo!
Both Gazigaz and Dakoyo are grappled! The aquamarine furred skittermander screams in terror!
Continue round 1, players actions.
Quonx will try to disable the one holding on to Dakoyo first
Nako will attempt to break Dakoyo free.
Gaz draws his tactical baton and swings at the strand grappling him.
Decorative Danger round 2
Gazigaz
Dakoyo, -5 SP, grappled
Nako
Quonx
Dakoyo concentrates and utters a simple incantation that causes a disruption amid the technomagical connections within the nanites in the animated banner.
Gazigaz is almost wrapped up by the light string but swats it away with his baton but not hard enough to cause damage.
Quonx attempts to use her engineering know-how to initiate a simple wave pulse to temporarily disrupt the connection in the banner's nanites but swipes the wrong button.
Nako flexes and her muscles in such a way that would make even a seasoned vesk veteran go "whoa" and tries to yank the banner off Dakoyo but it stays wrapped around her comrade.
The aquamarine furred skittermander struggles ineffectively against the ribbons holding her.The ribbons trand maintains its grapple on her and squeezes tightly as she screams in pain.
The banner attempts to continue wrapping around the wriggling Dakoyo...
... and continues holding onto him and squeezes!
The lights stand now whips about towards our heroes...
,
... and lashes out at Quonx but missed the marvelous mechanic!
Our heroes must act quickly to save the helpless bystander and themselves from these malicious decorations!
"That one. KILL IT!" Gaz says with adorably murderous intent, pointing at the strand grappling Dakoyo.
He then draws his static arc pistol in one of his other hands.
"Tougher than it looks." Nako mutters before flexing her muscles again, trying to break Dakoyo free.
Quonx pulls her gun and tries to blast the offending nanotentacles.
"Keep your bits to yourself!
Decorative Danger round 3
Ribbons
Light strand
Banner, flat footed
Gazigaz
Dakoyo, -10 SP, grappled
Nako, grappled
Quonx
Gazigaz confidently inspires his comrades against the banner!
Dakoyo concentrates and utters a simple incantation that causes a disruption amid the technomagical connections within the nanites in the animated banner.
Nako attempts to yank the animated banner from Dakoyo but fails to get a proper grip.
Quonx draws a gun and shoots but her aim does not meet her expectations.
The ribbons strand further squeezes the young girl.
The aquamarine furred bystander squeaks in pain once more then goes silent and still, her eyes bulged wide as the strand drops her limp body.
The banner continues to wrap tighter around Dakoyo.
It squeezes him tighter!
The light strand whips about to grab at another target...
... and lashes at Nako!
Nako struggles against the wired lights but it manages to wrap around her!