K.I.N.A.A.'s spell misses and Burnham immediately shuts the door.
Everyone breathes a sigh of relief.
The crest-eater on the other side tries to break through the door!
for It's holding firm. 10 Minutes is a possibility....
ROUND 6:
K.I.N.A.A. (SP: 8/21 , CON: -3, 20% Miss): Miss
Twila-5 (SP: 16/24, -1 CON): Miss
Burnham (HP: 18/18, CON: -5): Shut the door!
Hostiles: TBD
Kyra IO (SP: 22/42, HP: 37/40, CON: -2): Go
ROUND 7:
K.I.N.A.A. (SP: 8/21 , CON: -3, 20% Miss): Go
Twila-5 (SP: 16/24, -1 CON): Go
Burnham (HP: 18/18, CON: -5): Go
Hostiles: TBD
Kyra IO (SP: 22/42, HP: 37/40, CON: -2): TBD
Black: 17
Door (10 hardness, 40 Hit Points, Break DC 22)
|
Wait ten minutes to recover then open it again?
... or .. was there not an open door on the other side?
K.I.N.A.A.'s spell misses and Burnham immediately shuts the door.
Everyone breathes a sigh of relief.
...
The impact shakes Burn off the door. He throws his shoulder back against it.
"Might have been. I think so. You want to try to circle behind it?"
The party quickly moves and prepares, knowing the door isn't going to last long enough for enough time to catch everyone's breath.
1
for 0
for 0
for 0
for MISS
for 0
for 0
for 3
for 0
for 2
DMG: 5
2
for 2
for 3
for 0
for 0
for 0
for 2
for 3
for 0
for 2
for 3
DMG: 20
3
for 3
for 1
for 0
for 0
for 0
for 3
for 0
for 0
for 0
for 0
DMG: 27
4
for 3
for 0
for 2
for 0
for 3
for 0
for 0
for 1
for 0
for 0
DMG: 36
5
for 3
for 3
SMASH
The party quickly puts their plan together. Once it's ready, the party lets the beast in and closes it in. Breath stops as the first pull works...
Then the second. The laser fire starts:
for
for
In the end, it only takes a few seconds. The Crest-eater is dead. The plan worked.
This room is now completely silent except for the faintest whistles of distant desert wind. Constellations cover the walls and floor, except for the back wall which has pinpoints of light shining on it to form an elaborate star map. Hanging in the very center of this wall is an incredibly large, intricately designed feathered cloak.
Kyra can immediately tell that the cloak is a magical item of power, and religious significance. The constellations.... are actually arranged from the point of view of Absalom Station, but pre-Gap... Curious.
The question now before you is, what do you do with this cloak and this information?
|
|
Burn looks at the little cauterized bits of cresteater. "Good thing we didn't try teamwork before patience."
He follows Kyra IO into the lair, rifle ready. Bends over slowly to pick up his sword. Then he looks around. He stops to stare at the cloak. "Look at that." He reaches toward it, but stops short. " Here's the real test, team. If they're half as good as they say, they could have taken those monsters. They want to see what we do with this. "
|
Choosing to enter through the open doorway in the north wall of the stacks, Twila-5 briefly assesses the damage as she takes her time to search the entire room for any other beasts. "If they had offspring, the fight may not be over. .... They sure made a mess of this place. I wonder how much of these books are salvageable."
Eventually she works her way around to the remaining room and spots the cloak and star patterns. She pauses, awe-inspired, especially after Kyra IO explains what they are.
" Here's the real test, team. If they're half as good as they say, they could have taken those monsters. They want to see what we do with this. "
"Agreed. We should leave these as we found them." She pulls out her data pad to take pics of the cloak and the star patterns. Afterwards, she continues to stare in reverence at the stars. "When we return, I'll show these photos to our hosts. If they request that they be deleted, I will do so. ... But I hope that we will have earned enough of their trust that they will allow us to take them back for studying. This star map is..." She trails off, at a loss for words.
Thankfully, there is no sign of crest-eater offspring. The books seem too esoteric to be of interest to any other than strix historians. Looking about the room you discover one jar on the
floor that’s not broken: a jar labelled “Ahusata” that contains a
brown feather. Additionally, you discover a red star plasma pistol and an autoclaw. It’s clear these two final objects are left over from a crest‑eater’s meal and do not belong within Shifting Nest.
-------------------
The journey back to the Aerie of the Sun is without incident. Koyonn awaits your arrival at the edge of the Aerie’s grounds and whistles loudly once you are in clear sight before flying to meet you. They escort you back to the training grounds, where Zaira and Daiwin have set up a small gathering space with a few elders from the strix community. Upon seeing everyone, Zaira stands and gives a welcoming wave.
“Ah, Starfinders. I’m glad to see you’ve returned to us in as many pieces as you left, albeit barely.” Zaira eagerly waves at the cushions across from her and her wife. “Please, please—tell us everything. Shifting Nest has been lost to us for a long time.”
|
|
Once Kyra is finished recounting the events, Twila-5 brings up the images of the cloak and the star map on her datapad. "We found these in the last room. The stars... It was an honor to see a map of the stars from before the Gap. With your permission, I would like to take these images back to the Starfinder Society headquarters for study." Even with the flat affect typical of androids, some of the reverence she feels comes through.
Zaira is overjoyed and claps in excitement, while Daiwin begrudgingly admits that maybe she was wrong about the Society. Zaira presents you with a gift: a hand-embroidered and beaded shawl that has been valued in the Aerie of the Sun for generations. “For your leaders,” she explains, smoothing it out. “Now they truly have a gift that shows they’re known to the strix.” She then gives Daiwin a long and expectant look until Daiwin sighs and pulls out a small bundle, passing it over to you and stating that, "...seeing as you want to mimic strix warriors so much, you’d better start gearing up properly."
Zaira and Daiwin accompany you back to your ship, where Zaira remarks, “This is the first step down a long road that should’ve been walked long ago. Still, I am happy the journey has finally begun. Healing will take time. Trust will take time. I look forward to working toward both with you, Starfinders.”
You can see Koyonn hanging in the back, looking like he'd like to say something, but not sure about it.
|
K.I.N.A.A. looks over the shawl. Although her experience is with metals, she can still tell fine workmanship when she sees it. "An impressive gift. I too regret the circumstances that led here, but I will ensure that it finds a place of honor." Her voice does not carry the exuberance the proclamation deserves, however, as she is still suspicious of the strix' motives.
"My.... my ancestor was besmirched by your Society. You have shone yourselves to be worthy, but I cannot let that go..."
"Ahusata died in prison as a result of Starfinder cruelty. I would ask... what will you do about it now?"
|
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"Thank you, Zaira and Daiwin, for your generosity and open minds. We will continue to work to earn your trust." Twila-5 accepts Daiwin's offerings with a respectful nod. Hm. Handy.
"Ahusata died in prison as a result of Starfinder cruelty. I would ask... what will you do about it now?"
"What do you suggest? Kyra is correct; we are correcting public perception of Venture-Captain Pallena Lervo and returning the artifacts she stole to their original owners. Prosecution for her crimes is a likely result. But if there is anything particularly meaningful that we can do, we will take suggestions."
"Letting the truth be known is all I can ask for. Coming here took bravery and I recognize that. I appreciate what you’re trying to do."
-----------------
Back at the Lorespire Complex, Celita and Fitch hear the party’s report. Your reputation grows with the success of your mission, but as word gets around that you went above and beyond in impressing them, your reputation grows even more!