You have been hastily ushered into modest sleeping quarters located on a small Near Space fuel and supply outpost freighter named Safety Flare.
First Seeker Ehu Hadif stands behind a black desk with a holographic projector in its center. He flicks a switch on the side of the projector, and it lights up, displaying a projection of a glass vial filled with yellow liquid. “Starfinders, I’m glad you’re finally here. Sorry to pull you away to such a remote location so suddenly. The Society has just made a breakthrough, and I wanted to get some of our agents on it as soon as possible.” He gestures to the projected image in front of him.
“After analyzing samples of the drug Shimmersheen, we discovered that the serum is made from a mixture of shimmerstone and kinwood sap. However, the sap we found in the serum differs from samples of the sap from Ghorus Prime, where kinwoods originate. The shimmersheen sap has been corrupted somehow, leading me to believe that something dangerous and nefarious is happening on the planet.” He quickly waves a hand across the holographic display, changing the image to a translucent hologram of a green, forested planet. “So, we’re sending you all to Ghorus Prime to investigate. Begin your investigation in the capitol city of Memory Willow. Find out what’s causing the corruption, and stop those involved from harvesting more corrupted sap. We suspect that High Despot Jularaz of Vesk-8 may be personally involved, based on his connections to raw shimmerstone and this serum. While you’re planet side, see if you can find any evidence that might prove his guilt.”
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Joe hears that a High Despot might be involved...and possibly an accomplice to this drug. "Umm....First Seeker....I know you are the one who gives us direction....are you saying that you are wanting the Starfinder Society to find evidence to prove that High Despot Jularaz is making an illegal drug? You DO realize that most if not all of us skitters being sent are either citizens of the Veskarium, or at least have close relations with them? And," she looks around to her other skitters, "to be honest...some Skitters have a irrational ability to see that Vesks are perfect, and to listen to them and follow them to the best that a skitter can, even sometimes modifying how they think something happened that didn't? Are you certain that we are the best choice of agents in these matters?"
"Interesting....kinwood sap. Can we get the data on the drug...and do we have any idea on the specific corruption of the sap might be? As Ayoka said...could it be post tapping process...or maybe it is a corrupted tree or grove? Is there any way I can get a 'pure' sample to be able to compare any analysis we get on any sap we might find?"
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"Good thing I bought that scanner and itegrated it into my Comm Unit for our last mission," Szama says, holding up the device, "Could come in handy for recording any evidence we find to support Jularaz's guilt.
"Any hey, maybe if we prove that Jularaz is a bad guy, he'll get sacked and he can be replaced by the greatest vesk that's ever lived: Radaszam!" She taps a button on her comm and turns it around to show an impressive image of her hero striking an epic action pose.
Either that or the sap is being altered post tapping. Is it causing the drug to be even more dangerous?
“Shimmersheen is a serum made by combining shimmerstone with corrupted kinwood sap, we're still trying to determine some of the finer points, but it is possible the kindwood sap enhances it. We know that it can induce rage and a significant increase in strength, but also causes symptoms like difficulties speaking coherently and reduced awareness when used. The shobhad scientist on the planet of Preluria was creating shimmersheen to sell on the market as a performance-enhancing combat drug and unlikely to have been acting alone, but thankfully, you all managed to stop the shipment in time and procure samples. Since then, our scientists have been studying it. We don't have all the answers yet”
COnsidering Joes words for a moment, the Venture Captain smiles "In some ways it makes you the perfect choice, if a bunch of Skittermanders can find the High Despot guilty then he truly is - as you say, not many would accuse you of bias, at least bias against him"
You board your ship and travel to Memory Willow on Ghorus Prime to begin the investigation.
Five days later you land your craft at the spaceport. The space dock opens into a crowded cityscape. Intertwining vines support and connect the streetlights on either side of the roads. Buildings are shaped irregularly to fit around branches and sections of trunk that extend upward—and occasionally also sideward—into the footpaths of the city. The spaceport itself is crowded with many different species from across the galaxy, but the plantlike humanoid ghorans vastly outnumber them all.
Upon departing from the spaceport docking area you begin exploring and keeping an ear out for local rumours.
Kinwoods are island-sized sapient trees, the foundation of Ghorus Prime’s entire ecosystem. The planet’s settlements are built inside, around, or atop them.
When they arrived on Ghorus Prime, the ghorans awoke the kinwoods from their slumber. After this awakening and regrowth, new kinwoods formed most of the forests that exist on the planet today.
The word around Memory Willow is that suspicious people are entering the forests under cover of night carrying equipment and large containers. Most residents believe they’re transporting something illegal based on how much effort they take to hide their actions.
In passing conversation one of the locals points you in the direction of Vineside and gives you directions to the Xenowarden Headquarters, "It offers tours to curious off-worlders, come and learn about our beautiful planet"
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Joe nods as the Venture Captain gives his explanation...it makes sense.
Not seeing Mujina joining them, Joe attempts to not show she is a little crestfallen.
***
Joe finishes up a few more serums of healing mk1 ....knowing she will need a few extra of Buddy is going to be the only one in the front lines.
***
"Buddy, you know that some people might think we look funny....6 arm, 2 leg balls of fur and all.....and then you have creatures like the formian and even the comtemplative. We are all unique creatures, and that is what I love about the Starfinder Society. We welcome all creatures, big, small or even six arms with multicolored fur. And while I hear some creatures consider Ghorans tasty, I would never want to eat another sentient race. We should all know that from when we met the Dromadas."
Shrugging a little Joe continues with a little history lesson, " What I was able to piece together on the way here is that Kinwoods are actually sentient trees, or at least plants resembling trees and such. And that it is pretty common knowledge that they were actually hibernating or sleeping until the ghorans arrived on this planet....and that somehow caused the kinwoods to awaken. Pretty amazing. With that, the Ghorans and a couple of other races has used the kinwoods to build their settlements around, inside or even on top of the kinwood trees. Almost a true symbosis between the ghorans and the kinwoods. It is speculated that almost all of the forests here on Ghorus Prime are either completely or mostly comprised of kinwoods, with a few other non-native species of trees being added...my guess is for their nuts, berries and other renewable resources. Of course this all comes from Universal Geographic, set 'Into the Veskarium: NEARSPACE!', Volume 2. I highly recommend the whole set of 18, along with the original 'Into the Veskarium: Vesk 1 to 8'. Though I think most of us grew up in the Veskarium, and learned about our solar system in primary school...."
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As the group begins moving around town gathering information about the city and its people, Szama taps everyone with a bit of magic to help with their efforts.
"Sounds like we're not the only strangers here though. Apparently some people have been sneaking into the forests under cover of night carrying equipment and large containers. Most folks believe they’re transporting something illegal based on how much effort they take to hide their actions. Could be the people coming for the Kinwood Sap the First Seeker mentioned. We should probably see if the Xenowardens can point us toward a location where these sun people are heading into the forests."
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Ayoka is definitely curious about the tour.
So .. philosophically speaking, if the kinwood trees are sentient, is tapping them for their sap the same as stabbing someone for their blood? Or is it more like a blood transfusion. Of course it depends if the trees have given consent.
After listening to Szama and doing some clever searches on the local greyish area of the Infosphere.
Yeah. I can verify that ... so it seems that the kinwoods haven't given consent which means ..... I'm not sure what it is but I KNOW it's wrong
The outskirts of Vineside District are lush with greenery and plant life. Smaller trees and flowering bushes sprout from the living wood that surrounds the entire city. The scenery changes as pathways wind deeper into the district. The wooden walls of shops and houses weep a gritty white sap that emits a foul odor. After turning down a more secluded footpath, the noise of the streets recedes into the background and is quickly replaced with a more industrial sound; the noise of metal scraping against metal emerges from deep underground, a loud scraping that seems to be coming from beneath your feet, and an intermittent vibration from below the streets, as though someone is drilling.
Twenty minutes later you arrive at the Xenowarden Headquarters, a small wooden building covered in flowering vines near the entrance to a hollowed tunnel leading from the city and into the surrounding forest.
Bright natural light fills this sparsely furnished front office. Around the room, windows without blinds or shutters let sunlight flood into every corner of the room. A young ghoran leans against the wall, standing just over three feet tall with numerous green vines curling upward from the top of his head. He lifts his face toward the sunlight and smiles before turning his attention to the doorway.
“Oh! Sorry, you caught me taking a bit of lunch break there. Wasn’t expecting any visitors today, especially not off-worlders. My name’s Mossgrove. I’m one of the Xenowardens stationed here in Memory Willow.” His cheerful tone changes to one of disappointment as he continues. “If you’re here for a tour, I’m sorry to tell you that we’ve put those on hold for the moment. I can get you some informational brochures if you’d like, but we can’t risk taking outsiders
into the forests right now. I’d be happy to tell you about the kinwoods, though.”
He appears very enthusiastic, but there is certainly the feeling that they are troubled about something.
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Ayoka has collected a sample of this gritty white sap which is now sealed.
Oh Ayoka replies, also sounding just as disappointed. We're visiting Starfinders .... um .... is this raw kinwood sap? I scraped it off a wall. So what's the problem?... and maybe we can help. As you can see, we're skittermanders. That's what we do.
Mossgrove looks at the sap “I transferred here a year ago to work under the great Xenowarden Ainveln, but a lot has changed since then. At first, it was just oddities like saplings crying out in pain from time to time. Then I noticed sap leaking from them that was a very unusual color. This used to happen only sporadically, and whenever I saw it, I would go out and spend some time healing that area of the forest. But it’s happening more often now. Dangerous fey are attracted to the unusual sap, and they’ve infested parts of the forest. That’s why we decided to put tours on hold. The last thing we want is to put visitors in danger.”
"Drilling? There's a lot going on, the whole place is unsettled"
"I'm not sure how you can help or what skills you have, what can you do? I’ve been trying to investigate and put a stop to it, but I haven’t been able to make much progress on my own. Between the sick saplings and the fey, I’m at a loss.”
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"Drilling, are people allowed to drill into the kinwoods? I mean of course some small tapping might be allowed, as it makes certain sense that taking a small amount of the sap would be like taking a blood sample from creatures like us skittermanders....a little is fine, but you should only be taking a hundred or so milliters or so. Any more and you could cause us to lose consciousness or even die if taking to much. But I know you all live around, in and even on top of these wonderful beings, so some small 'modifications' would be allowed like slowly adding a door, or even helping mold or even shape the growth to allow even rooms inside, but it sounded like large amounts of drilling."
"Oh, we are all skittermander! I think we forgot to tell you who we are. I am Joe Bones--not my real name, but people get bored when I say my full name--I am a combat medic, and pretty much expert on most things living--and some dead. That is Buddy Joe, he is good at being hit in his face and mostly still stand--but not as good as Mujina-chan who isn't with us--that skitter could take a beating--usually in the face which is why I had to reset his nose like 5 times. And that is Ayoka, she is good at working on all things electrical and mechanical, and sometime muttering and doing weird mystical things. And last is Szama, a great pilot and also good at that weird muttering...though usually it is to summon little angelic or demonic skitterwelps to help us, though sometimes she is able to force her reality onto the real reality making things real weird. We are all good at helping. And good at fighting...though without Mujina, Buddy is likely to be the one face tanking all the hits, which means I will be likely poking him with more needles."
"You say dangerous fey like this wear sap....it does have an unusual color? Any idea why the sap does this...is it because the kinwood is in sever pain? Or maybe fear? What about depression? Anger maybe?....though really, with something that big and lives that long it must take a lot to make it angry or depressed...or even afraid...been around as long and seen about everything possible."
“Quite possibly. Kinwoods are sapient trees native to this planet. Their structures are what our cities are built upon, and we respect them as a part of our world’s society. You may not understand this as off worlders, but the kinwood and their smaller children are like siblings to us. They are very much sentient and accepted citizens of this world, so when they hurt, it’s up to us Xenowardens to help them as best we can.”
Mossgrove looks at the group a bit more closely then speaks in a quieter tone "I could take you on a patrol to investigate the trouble in the forest. I will require your group to store any weapons that will burn or blast the woods until the patrol is done, and ask you to refrain from using magic or grenades that might damage large areas of forest. I can in turn lend you some safer weapons."
"Deal?"
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Deal Ayoka replies handing in her weapons. Presumably he's referring to indiscrimate uses of fire, acid. cold .... that sort of thing. Basically anything that spreads over an area. My shooting stars should be okay.
She hefts the blindmark rifle. So .. what does this do ... and if it's any good, I might get one. Been thinking of something new
She also removes the batteries and ammo out of her old weapons before handing them over - just to make sure they're safe.
Mind you .... the Frostbite Class Zero is pretty cool
"Fire, acid, electricity - things that normally damage trees"
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When Joe introduces them Buddy adds
"You forgot the Squizzer! It is she who is summoning the creatures. Did you mistake your skitternufiends Joe? " asks raising his brow
When asked to give up their weapons Buddy puts nicely the things into the chamber:
Hail cannon followed by his doshko, as well as his hand-crafted grenade.
"It might be ticking, but it is perfectly safe. Don't you worry. Can I leave my shield?"
Buddy will pick up what guns are remaining.
"Did you try to aid the Kinwood with a bit of music? I heard it can help plants grow."
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Joe looks at her puny caustolance rifle. "This is actually meant to inject things into living organisms...it does do a little acid damage, but isn't like fire or anything, it won't corrode or keep on eating its way into things. I kinda need this to be able to hit my allies with biohacks...or hit the enemies with them. But if you say it has to be left...none of the weapons you are offering will be able to deliver serums and injections...."
"As long as things don't burn and blast, I do not want chunks of forest destroyed by well-meaning but thoughless helpers"
"Lastly, you may need these. The Kinwoods have spoken to me of Fey wielding venomous blades" Mossgrove fishes out six autoinjectors, the labels identify them as broad-spectrum antitoxins.
***
Mossgrove leads you into the forest, static arc pistol in hand. You realise the sense in having him guide you as he makes traversing the greenery look so simple - when you can clearly see it would have been a bramble-filled and confusing trek through great unpleasantness over the next hour.
Eventually, he leads you to an area that is clearly different; this part of the forest is blighted, with trees covered in blackened bark and leaves that slough off when touched. An immense kinwood towers above this area, providing shade that only allows a dim light throughout this area.
As you come down one of the trails you happen upon an abandoned campsite. The remnants of a burnt out firepit are covered by dirt. Scattered around it are empty R2E containers with matching disposable cups and utensils. A half-open traveler’s backpack lays discarded a couple of feet away.
"People littering, really..." Mossgrove moves to start cleaning up the mess.
You begin cleaning the trash and checking the pack.
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Joe takes one of the anti-toxins, and hopes everybody takes one.
"I am assuming that some of the Fey might use poisons?"
***
She does her best walking through the woods, though Mossgrove's skill is well beyond anything she might even attempt.
Seeing the camp, she frowns. "Litterbugs...always clean and break down your campsite to leave no trace....I know a bear who would likely beat their behinds with her shovel...."
Joe will pocket the 2 serums, and load them into her autoinjector pistol...knowing that they have likely had the name "Buddy" on them....
She does look around to see if she can make anything else out
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Szama keeps her eyes peeled and her camera at hand through the trek, pausing to take a few moments of footage as they get into the blighted area for the Starfinder records. When the group reaches the clearing and discovers the pack, her head tilts to the side slightly, "That's quite a bit of gear for a camper. And definitely not just something one would carelessly leave behind. Seems more like someone who probably shouldn't have been out here got caught and couldn't make it back."
Despite her suspicions, though, Szama sees a nufriend in need of help, so she hops to it, clearing away the trash. "Does anyone see any tracks or anything leading away from this site? I wonder if this site belonged to some of the people that are been taking the sap."
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Buddy was hoping that Joe will not be able to bring her needle down here. But his dream did not come true.
As he looked through the camp he says
"Normally, operations do not leave such equipment behind. Which means that something has happened here."
says as he begins to help to clean singing
"She put de lime in de coconut, she drank 'em bot' up
She put de lime in de coconut, she drank 'em bot' up
She put de lime in de coconut, she drank 'em bot' up
She put de lime in de coconut, she called de doctor, woke 'im up..."
You finish tidying up, Buddy drawing an ominous conclusion.
Is that a noise you heard way off to the south?
There is certainly a sound way off to the south - it sounds like some wicked laughing and giggling!
A deep gloom clings to the roots and branches of trees in this well-shaded portion of the forest. Deep gashes mar the trees’ clustered trunks. White sap oozes from their wounds, and psychic cries of pain echo through the thicket. Glimmering, winged creatures flit among the branches of the trees, using their curved blades to strike the ravaged trunk of the tallest sapling and laughing with cruel glee.
You can feel rather than hear the cries of the local kinwoods as wordless psychic emanations of anguish. Mossgrove clutches at his forehead in sympathy "They're in agony!"
Buddy
Joe Bones
Squizzer
Szama
AYOKA
ENEMY
R1
Szama
Ayoka
Buddy
ENEMY
The ear-splittingly loud shot goes off, making the Feys ears bleed!
R1
Szama
Ayoka
Buddy - attacked
ENEMY
B 8
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"Oh, I wonder if those are some of those nasty fey creatures Mossgrove was telling us about! Better be careful, everyone!"
to ID
Seeing the creatures flying there with blades in hand, Szama calls on one of her alternate realities and summons a chunk of air from another world where tiny violent pockets of turbulence buffet flying creatures around.
Ayoka zaps one
Szama creates a patch of turbulence.
Neither knows what these Fey may be.
They fey fly into the cover of the trees as they advance in towards the party, forced to detour rather than attack by the appearance of the turbulence.
R1
Joe Bones
Squizzer
R2
Szama
Ayoka
Buddy
ENEMY
B 11