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”The Expedition Emporium? Oh, of course. Gearing up for another trek into the ruins?” At your attempts to deflect, he laughs. ”Oh, come now, everyone knows about the last Starfinder mission out to Talgradur. And it’s no secret who made the arrangements and set her reputation on the line to send you. So what did you think of old Miss Elthel? Or the Cloud Imperium, for that matter? As I said, we so rarely get offworlders, we really don’t know how you all perceive us.”
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Grump stares at the inquisitive giant, listening to their attempts to draw out information.
"Look - while we might've been the topic of discussion in the past, that doesn't relieve us of our contractual obligation to not discuss the particulars of our current contract with anyone other than those who signed those contracts. So, we're going to be on our way & you can tell the High Marshal &/or the Chancellor that we're unable to discuss this matter."
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"This is such a fascinating world! I've been delighted to meet all the giants so far. Everyone has been so friendly. I don't know what you've heard so far, but really, we're just here for a beach trip. Starfinders never get involved in politics if they can possibly avoid them. It gives one wrinkles and makes your hair fall out. And we wouldn't want that, now would we." Tari tosses her pink hair over her shoulder and flutters her eyelashes at the inquisitive giant.
"Now, I can't believe that you just *happened* to be here when we showed up. I know I'm a catch, but that's can't be the only reason. What brings you to this odd corner of the town?" She smiles playfully, waiting for an answer.
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"Look - while we might've been the topic of discussion in the past, that doesn't relieve us of our contractual obligation to not discuss the particulars of our current contract with anyone other than those who signed those contracts. So, we're going to be on our way & you can tell the High Marshal &/or the Chancellor that we're unable to discuss this matter."
“See, I knew you Starfinders were bright! Yes, I do work for the High Marshal. And I do so in order to protect my home. You would do the same, I presume, if it was your home that was at risk.”
They take in what Tarifa and Kōlēfō say, weighing it against what Grump didn’t. But in the end, they seem not to buy their story.
“Let me be frank with you, my friends. There are legitimate threats to Anduwar already at our door. War is brewing. Offworld rebels and spies from Agrishall stoke unrest and turn our own people against the Cloud Imperium. They aim to weaken us before they attack—shatter our bonds of community, sow doubt, and nurture discontent. Then, they will act. Elthel is old, and I know she comes off as shrewd, but in her heart, she’s nothing but a naive idealist. She doesn’t understand how deep tensions run in Anduwar. She doesn’t see that her plans will get this city and its people crushed in the coming war. Agrishall is not our ally. They never were. We don’t have peace; we have a détente—one that Agrishall will soon end. Elthel’s deluding herself. If we don’t act against Agrishall and these rebels soon, Anduwar will fall.”
They lead you around the corner of a main road, and gesture to a shop across the extremely broad and crowded pedestrian way. ”Here we are, as promised, at Expedition Emporium.” They reach into a satchel at their side and withdraw a cloak and small jewelry box which they hand to Tarifa with a smile to match hers. ”As a gesture of good will, my dear, from High Marshal Taviss. And with the hope that it will help you return safely.”
“You’ve allied yourself with the wrong side, Starfinders. Elthel is a fool. High Marshall Taviss is the only hope Anduwar has. Wouldn’t you rather be on the right side of the coming war? I’d appreciate a small consideration in return, though it’s absolutely not required. When your exploration of the ruins is complete, provide me with a full report and any data you collect. Wait a few hours and I’ll return your data. Then report to Elthel. Easy. You’ve nothing to lose.”
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Tari takes the gifts with a smile. "I don't think we could possibly make a decision without knowing what the data is ahead of time. We will consider your offer and the information you have given us, but please understand that we are outsiders and don't have all the background on the situation." She looks around for anyone else who might be paying attention to their little group.
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Azzirm listens to the giant...thinking.
After her speech he nods. "I will think on this, and as my friends here says, we can not make an agreement without knowing the data first."
Azzirm will look over the items after the giant has left...just to make certain there is no....surveillance devices in them
He does look around to make certain that this conversation was not being observed by others...and to check out the lay of the land...so to speak.
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Kurvasyr nods smilingly at Tarifa’s and Azzirm’s agreement to at least consider their offer. They bid you farewell before turning away and walking back the way they brought you, obviously not planning to stay with you while you shop for outdoors gear.
Standing as you are at the corner of a pedestrian shopping area and a main vehicle thoroughfare, you watch Kurvasyr leave. Grump, Azzirm, and Yith each realize that a certain stone giant has apparently been following you. She appears to be pushing a sleeping infant in a carriage and even now is just loitering a little ways back up the road.
You can try to slip away into the crowd with a DC 20 Stealth or Survival check.
You can ask nearby bystanders about her, or try to recognize her from the bios in your briefing package.
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"Don't look, but do you happen to know who that lady with the carriage is?" Azara asks some passersby.
"Oh really?" he says, getting an answer before passing it on to the group.
"That's one of Chancellor Sereveg's 'assistants.' Names Grannock and her kids are too big for a stroller, so it's either just a clever ruse or full of something dangerous. We should lose her."
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<I hope Azzirm can manage. That suit is large enough to cover some of the giants. Maybe I can distract her?>
Tari makes a show of looking at the nearby stores, starting to enter one before changing her mind. She twists her fingers through her hair and chews gently on a fingertip, the very picture of indecision.
The human then slips away carefully, keeping an eye on the assistant to see if the party all gets away unseen.
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Working together to provide distractions and cover for Azzirm, you dodge and weave your way through the mass of large pedestrians to the front door of the Expedition Emporium. When you glance back to check on Grannock, you spot her scanning the crowd looking for you in vain. You slip in through the door, and as it closes a chime at the back of the shop signals your arrival.
At the sound of the chime, you’re greeted by a booming voice from behind the far counter. ”Welcome in!” the female hill giant calls out. This is Gyli Bakmor, the owner and the person you were sent to meet. Gyli has the broad shoulders and square jaw of a former marine. Her neatly kept, minimalist appearance evinces decades of training and readiness, though the slightest of sags in her belly and the graying of her short-cropped hair betray that it’s been years since she’s seen any real action.
She looks you over as she steps out from behind the counter, specifically notes Azzirm’s large-sized combat-ready frame with an appreciative nod, and asks what she can do for you.
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Tari smiles cheerfully at the looming giant, taking a quick look around to see if anyone else is around.
"Good morning! We're on our way for an expedition out into the wilderness and our dear friend Elthel suggested that we stop in your fabulous shop for any supplies we might need. She misses seeing you and would love to catch up sometime. Perhaps over coffee?"
Tari looks directly into the eyes of the proprietor to stress the urgency of the request, belying the breezy tone she uses for the conversation.
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With no one else in the shop, it’s easy to pass on the message. Gyli quickly takes in Tarifa’s hidden meaning, and her expression noticeably softens at the invitation.
”Well, sure, I’d be glad to get together with Elthel,” she replies with barely contained pleasure. ”Though pardon me if I’m mistaken, but a bunch of offworlder shorties who know Elthel makes me assume you’re the Starfinders back again for another archaeological excursion. That’s fine if you are - I’ve no dog in that fight - but knowing will make it easier for me to equip you with the right gear.”
If you succeeded in noticing the pin, you can try to know about its significance with a DC 22 Culture check:
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If you want to get Gyli talking, you need to impress her as a team. Each of you can attempt one of the following skill checks:
Culture check to show Gyli the customary respect due to a local veteran
Survival check to assure Gyli of your competency
Acrobatics or Athletics check to demonstrate physical prowess, bearing in mind you're inside her store
Diplomacy check to convince her to talk about her past
Profession check with a suitable profession, such as first responder or soldier to recount your own old war story.
There is no penalty for different characters using the same skill, but at least half of the team must succeed.
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Gyli watches nervously as Kōlēfō bounces from shelf to floor and back again, only barely managing not to break anything. She sighs in relief as the skittermander finally comes to rest and she’s able to turn her attention to the much more intriguing Tarifa.
She half-listens to Grump and Yith discuss the equipment needs of the team and decides that you all do indeed know what you’re doing.
"So how do you know Elthel? Or would this be a new friendship?" she settles in for a nice chat as her companions wander around the store.
”Oh, new for sure,” she begins as she leads Tarifa to a section of chairs surrounding a map table in the corner of the store. ”I’ve heard so much about her, even from back in my time in the Frontiers.” She gestures for the rest of you to join her as she settles into a large chair at the table. Gyli pours herself a drink, and offers you each your own keg-sized mug of hard liquor as well.
Once everyone is settled, she looks up to the ceiling and takes in a deep breath. “Back in the day I was a warrant officer in the Frontiers - sorry, officially the Pholskar Frontier Forces. We just call it the ‘Frontiers’ cause saying “PFF” just sounds wrong. One night we were patrolling Talgradur, and I was on sonar in the CIC.” She stops again to chuckle. ”Sorry again. I gotta remind myself to speak civilian here. I was monitoring the sonar in the combat information center. Everything was quiet as we made our way through the heart of the Talgradur ruins, when suddenly a seaquake shook the area and a massive sonar contact appeared, moving directly at us!”
Gyli takes a long sip of her drink before excitedly resuming her story. “The skipper ordered an emergency crash dive, and we just barely scraped past that thing, whatever it was. Just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone—off into the ruins somewhere. We searched for hours but never saw it again. I had heard tales of giant sea monsters haunting the old ruins, but the old salts telling them were usually three sheets to the wind! It’s hard to write them off now, though, once you’ve seen something the size of a sub suddenly appear and disappear deep within the wreckage of Talgradur.”
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Azzirm looks over at some of the equipment on the side shelves...noting that some is obviously older ex-military equipment. Some of it being equipment that is good for what they will be doing.
"I assume you know your way around some demolition equipment...say I need some for underwater. Not to demolish it, but to breech through doors, or even break up some debris, maybe you can help us with that?"
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Azzirm pops the chestplate of his power armor so that he can get to the mug of obviously strong spirits, takes a few sips and listens as she continues.
"Okay....I know enough terminology to not always need the background info, but some of my friends might, so thanks for breaking down all the military jargon. But when you say you were patrolling, were you in a naval ship, navel sub or an hovering or flying plane with a sonar bouy? Sorry...just the crash dive makes me think you were in a submarine, and in which case if that thing blasted by above you that fast...that is worrisome."
Thinking on this, he remarks to all, "I don't know if invisibility will work underwater correctly...and To Be Honest, even if it stopped a person seeing you visually, would that invisible thing be visible to sonar? I would hazard to say it would, as sonar is not a wavelength of light, it uses ultrasonic waves, so visual obscurement shouldn't work. If so...this thing might be invisible?"
"Anything else about Talgradur? Could you give us a rough size representation of it. Heck, if you happen to have any 'acquired' sonar or CAD maps of it that might help."
" Oh, and I was not kidding...if you do have some explosives that might help with breeching and safely making debris disappear I probably should get some. I haven't replenished it in a while. And I definitely will come back to look more at other items in here...some give me ideas for her." He pats his armor affectionately.
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”Underwater demolitions, huh?” Gyli says with an appraising and appreciative look at the Big Guy. ”Well… I think you’d want these*. They were made for exactly the kind of work you might - or might not - possibly be doing,” she says with a knowing wink. As Azzirm looks over the offerings, Gyli steps away into another aisle and returns a moment later carrying a long thin sword specially designed for underwater ops. She offers it to Azzirm along with the advise to watch your backs “wherever it is you’re going.”
”As to what we were in, I can’t reveal capabilities to offworlders, of course, and no I don’t have sonar or CAD maps - nor can I confirm or deny that the Frontiers would either. But the ship was a light sub that would hold about a dozen people. Well, giant people, to be precise,” she finishes with a smirk towards Azzirm’s little friends.
Just as Azzirm (or anyone else) finalizes their purchases, another customer enters. Gyli greets her regular by name, excuses herself to take care of him, and wishes you all the best.
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As the Starfinders push open the door to leave the Expedition Emporium, Azara, Kōlēfō, and Yith spot something … odd. There’s that same stone giant lady from before - Grannock - and her carriage. But the “baby” in the carriage seems a bit big (even for a giant baby). More oddly, the “baby” is attempting to push off from the door you just opened, as if to purposefully make the carriage careen out into traffic.
Before anyone can act, Grannock shrieks, ”Watch it, you shorties! Oh no! My baby!”
She’s clearly trying to set you up for pushing the carriage into the street.
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Very unusually for Azara, he is largely silent as they wander through Gyli's Emporium and listen to her tales and advice.
He nods a thanks to her as she moves on to other business. He practically wanders into traffic himself as he heads outside but makes a grab for the carriage.
He moves fast for himself, but not as quick as Kolefo.
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Three alert and agile Starfinders jump into action! All of you manage to get your hands, arms, and claws onto the carriage. Grannock stops screaming and starts looking around like she's about to bolt, but then realizes that her baby accomplice is still in the pram. She turns and looks sheepish as the rest of the team steps out onto the sidewalk.
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Azara climbs up onto the carriage to check on the baby.
"You okay little fella?"
Azara notes that the little fella could really use a shave. Grannock might want to get him a new blankie, too; his current one has several cigarette burns in it. The baby (who is almost certainly a halfling adult) glances up to Grannock as if waiting for her to take the lead, and then simply glares at Azara.
"Peh. Who we aren't ain't no business o' yours, shortie. Just get back on yer little ship and get gone, if you know what's good fer ya," the stone giant woman says dismissively as she reaches into the carriage to lift her accomplice up and out.
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"And why would not minding our own business be bad for us? I know the usual reasons why minding our own business is good for us, but what specifically is the problem with being interested in business that is not ours, currently?"
"And not to be too personal but you guys aren't playing pat-a-cake, are you?"
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Kōlēfō playes bad cop, and Tari and Azara (with an underhanded assist from Azzirm) play good cop. It’s enough to take the edge off the situation, and Grannock relaxes a bit. ”No,” she answers Azara’s query indignantly, ”we ain’t into that. But I heard you got a thing for big women,” she finishes with a sophomoric smirk to her associate.
”Everyone knows about it, Mr. Thenason,” the halfling male says as he swallows a swig of a very dark rum and sets the inky-black bottle down in the carriage. In his surprisingly eloquent and deep basso voice, he continues, ”There’s no shame; it’s just not how we roll.” He glares up at Grannock for her insensitivity, and she looks away abashed. ”But to answer your question, Chancellor Sereveg paid us to publicly discredit you Starfinders. We have no way of knowing if he has other contractors on the job also, but suffice to say that caution is warranted. I won’t apologize for just doing our job, but there’s truly nothing else I can tell you.”
Grannock sets him down on the sidewalk, and they depart back the way they came.
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Elthel’s next task takes you to the Felicitous Morsels tavern in the Sicantro district of Anduwar. The letter you are to deliver is an actual physical letter and is in a sealed envelope. In this district, nearly everything is sized for Medium-sized people and there are few if any giants in sight.
When you arrive at this cozy, dimly lit tavern, you can easily locate Chireet Zrill by asking around or noting their image on the tavern’s posted list of entertainers. Having recently finished a long song set, Chireet is relaxing with a drink and mingling at the bar. They’re difficult to miss even amid the crowd, as they wear a sparkling white, purple, and yellow bodysuit, and their wings transition from color to color in a brilliant spectacle, from black, to yellow, to purple, and back to black again.
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Azzirm nods to the halfling, acknowledging that the bottles is now his. And listens to the info....filing it into his custom rig on things they might want to talk to Ethel about.
Heading toward the tavern he remarks quietly, "Ethel certainly has....opponents it seems. I probably understand the political issues as good as the next, but this one Chancellor wanting to discredit the Starfinders makes little sense....except to just get mud on Ethel. The pettiness..."
With that...he keeps his eyes out for any other possible tails or traps...and heads into the tavern
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Azara looks around guiltily as the con people's revelation about the public nature of his personal life.
"Does everyone really know?" he asks the group as they start their way to their next destination.
By force of will as much as anything else, he concentrates on the task at hand. "Maybe it's just Elthel's enemies, but given what we found last time and how eager a lot of people were to cover it up, maybe this is just more of the same. Maybe they're afraid of what we're going to find on this expedition and want to make us seem unreliable so that no one will believe us."
When they spot Chireet, Azara looks expectantly to Tarifa. It at least felt to him like Elthel intended this to be a task for her to handle.