|
Khubelu can do little to help Bodo now except to clear the threat so the rest of the team can get to work.
> if die was 6 or less,
> if die was 7 or higher,
vs. higher of 10 + Sense Motive bonus or 15 + 1½ × CR
> success - target is flat-footed until end of my next turn
> failure - target is flat-footed against me until end of my next turn
vs. KAC
Deep Blue curses and douses the troop in crackling electricity. It is just enough to stop the driftwarped from feasting on Bodo brains.
---
Leaving the welcome area, the only way is to descend further to the sprawling middle deck.
---
Our sprawling middle deck is home to all recreational activities possible. Shaped like a miniature city, here's you'd truly wish you'd lived all your life. Bathe in the neon lights of our shopping mall, where you'll find every deal imaginable...
---AbadadarCorp Travel Virtual Brochure for the Revelry
The place has truly turned into a nightmarish mockery of itself. The lights are out and the landscape of the city-like structure is frozen and lifeless, with trash and dead bodies littering the streets and buildings. If the welcoming area was bad, on the passenger deck, the situation is even worse. There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of similar creatures milling around, searching for something to attack. Facing the horde in combat would be surely too much.
The only hope here is to follow the 'trail of wrongness' and find the source of all of these abonimations.
As the group steps into the shopping mall, the blinding neon lights that are still operational in some of the establishments give a stark contract to the darkness outside. The lights form a trail. Inside these stores, it appears as though people are still shopping.
|
Bodo! Atu descends quickly to the fallen halfling. They withdraw a serum and inject the fallen ally. Are you all right?
There, take a moment to catch your breath.
--
As the shopping centers aboard the pleasurecraft warp and form into a maze-like warren, Atu nods towards one of their stelliferan friends. I think this may be the best way. But you can move softer and more fluidly than we can. Perhaps you can guide our way.
|
Nikko pulls out his commlink, makes sure that the volume is set to mute & the screen set to dim, then consults some images they've saved in the past from various cooking vid-zines - some of which look very similar to the decks of the Revelry.
(Nikko's tapping into their Paradox again - taking the 18 this time.
"I think that I have some behind-the-scenes pictures from this ship, showing the kitchens & crew spaces." whispers Nikko
|
|
Nikko offers Bodo a Mk1 Healing serum & pulls a set of Jump Jets from their backpack.
"If you don't have a way of getting off the ground, these are good for bouncing to a higher level. Maybe one of the engineers can install them for you?"
Additionally, they cast Biome Adaptation on Bodo & Khubelu as well, presuming that neither has special insight with stealth.
Deep blue floats, stealthily and nearly without sound, sure not to attract any undead attention, while Atu and Nikko looks for an optimal way through the shopping mall. Finding a backdoor in an Ab-Mart allows Nikko to take a massive shortcut into a surf shop.
---
Smell the relaxing air of our open-air spa, where the waves in our pool gently roll onto a long beach of white sand. Lounge in one of the deck chairs or take a dive and snorkel around the artificial reef.
---AbadadarCorp Travel Virtual Brochure for the Revelry
The once luxurious wave pool has become a place where gravity waves violently crash and collide. It's a chaos of chopping waves chaotic at first glance, but there might be a pattern to this madness.
--Shopping mall---
(P/P)
--Spa area---
Nikko
Bodo
Atu
Khubelu
Deep Blue
---
A raxilite who has definitely been with the group the whole time examines the waves.
"Yep, that's water."
Deep Blue navigates an inflatable paddleboat across the waves, while Atu and Kaqkoj look out for patterns and calmer spots. From under the waves, the leering eyes of undead can be seen, and every now and then one grabs the boat, only to be swiftly thrown overboard by steering maneuvres.
The shore on the other side is home to delapidated gardens.
---
Take a moment to unwind in the calmness of our garden, where our cherry trees blossom no matter the season and the soft rustling of artifical wind soothes the senses. See squoxes frolick through the underbrush and beds of fragrant flowers.
---AbadadarCorp Travel Virtual Brochure for the Revelry
There's a trail of strange winds sweeping through the once-beautiful gardens. Dead trees and shrubs lining the path grow rapidly, taking over nearby buildings and forming a tangled maze.
--Shopping mall---
(P/P)
--Spa area---
(P/P)
---Gardens---
Nikko
Bodo
Atu
Khubelu
Deep Blue
---
Bodo seems to be completely recovered from his encounter with death, and races across the garden, spurred on by Khubelu. The nature knowledge of Deep Blue and Nikko really helps here.
---
For those more culturally inclined, our art gallery showcases replicas of the most exquisite art pieces of the Pact Worlds and beyond. Marvel at statues, paintings and wood carvings in our multi-story complex.
---AbadadarCorp Travel Virtual Brochure for the Revelry
The trail leads to a wing of the museum complex filled with haunting paintings of people crying, which now move and shift on their own. Cries and sobs form a trail to follow.
--Shopping mall---
(P/P)
--Spa area---
(P/P)
---Gardens---
(P/P)
---Museums---
Nikko
Bodo
Atu
Khubelu
Deep Blue
---
|
|
As all of the paintings wail in pain and spiritual anguish, Atu offers prayers and entreaties on their behalf.
These dead did not wish for this fate Queen of Forever. Of my own will I ask you to guide us to the source of their bindings so that they may enjoy their freedom once more, even if it is a freedom beyond this world.
Nikko curates the spooky portraits, and find the common patterns linking them in the gravity-themed accessories in the portraits, while Atu and Deep Blue manages to detect and avoid the painting haunted by the more dangerous poltergeists.
The trail leads into what must once have been a very glitzy casino.
---
Feeling lucky? Why not come down to our casino deck and try your hand at one of our roulette wheels, crabs tables or slot machines? Our friendly blackjack dealers can introduce newcomers to the rules of the game, and our poker tables carry every variant, from one-card Shobhad to five-card aces-high nines-wild black hold-em
---AbadadarCorp Travel Virtual Brochure for the Revelry
The threadbare carpets and peeling walls contrast with the glittering
chandeliers on the casino deck. The air is thick with the smell of cigars, and 8-bit music from automated games echoes through the halls. The slot machines seem to spin by themselves, showing winning hands and losing hand alike, with the occasional cacophony of a large payout of archaic, fake coins. The pattern of wins and losses contain a clue to the path to take
--Shopping mall---
(P/P)
--Spa area---
(P/P)
---Gardens---
(P/P)
---Museums---
(P/P)
--Casino--
Nikko
Bodo
Atu
Khubelu
Deep Blue
---
Khubelu stares the undead croupier in the eye with a straight poker face, while Atu manages to rig the slot machines to cash out more often.
The trail of bright lights leads to the dining area.
--
And if after a day of relaxation you feel famished, why not visit our restaurant? We serve food from all major Pact World cuisines, so whether you have a craving for Arabuk, Nightarch Caviar or Mama Fats, you can eat your fill here!
---AbadadarCorp Travel Virtual Brochure for the Revelry
The once-lavish décor of the restaurant area is now dilapidated, and the undead sit at the tables, clawing at empty plates and groaning hungrily. The place is covered by the overwhelming smell of decaying food, but a sweeter smell lingers in the air, forming a trail for the group to follow.
--Shopping mall---
(P/P)
--Spa area---
(P/P)
---Gardens---
(P/P)
---Museums---
(P/P)
--Casino--
(P/P)
--Restaurants---
Nikko
Bodo
Atu
Khubelu
Deep Blue
---
The group makes it all the way down to the passenger deck, following the strange otherwordly trail down. Only a few scratches and bumps from the undead, but no serious injuries. Better still, Bodo doesn't seem to have developed a taste for brains so far.
The south-west section of the area is a nightclub with a stage for dancing and musical performances, and two pentagonal speakers near the stage. Screens mounted on the speakers show a red-haired human woman wearing a flight jacket singing karaoke on a stage, in stark contrast to the mutilated corpse of the flight-jacket wearing, red-haired Pinjatar, sprawled on the stage.
On the right side of the room is an arcade, where two large screens show advertisements about a VR racing game, with two halfling presenters speaking slogans like “Can you drift?”. The lifeless bodies of two halflings can be seen between the consoles, one still clutching a piece of paper.
Finally, the far part of the area contains small cabins for budget-class passengers as well as a terminal connected to the Revelry’s own infosphere. The terminal shows a screen saver, in which a barathu drifts through an ocean of tumultuous blue and purple gas. The deflated tentacles of a barathu can be seen sticking out.
Loki recognises the oddness of this place... the Karaoke stage, the drift race gaming console, the infosphere booth, they all seem to be haunted by the dead crewmembers. Better not get too close.
The raxilite pops out again to auto-aid all of Deep Blue's checks.
Atu figures out that the crewmembers, though all dead, are still anchored to the place they died, and haunt the area. Soothing them would easier if you bring any material or story from their past lives.
Deep blue and Nikko work on calming the restless spirits. He moves around the area, first to the karaoke stage, where the red-uniformed Pinjatar’s haunted karaoke show switches on to start playing Abysshead’s “Doom Boom Engine,”, probably at eardrum-melting volume. Fortunately Deep Blue manages to soothe the haunted soul of Pinjatar, and instead the song is played at it's regular, still quite painful, volume.
Lipuvar's ghost lingers around the infosphere terminal, and a ghostly tentacle is about to hit Nikko as they form a conduit for the magical energy, redirecting the ectoplasm to another terminal. The ghost winks out and the area returns to normal.
Finally, the drift racing arcade games hold the competing spirits of the two halflings. The doors to the racing consoles open, with the intention of trapping their victims in a deadly racing game, but also here the magical energies are dissipated by the work of Deep Blue and Nikko.
---
The map in Rosm's cold dead hands points to a 'heart of gravity' below the engineering deck, and beyond a descending flight of stairs is a large room. This spacious room is a twisted, chaotic mess, with broken machinery and exposed wiring scattered throughout. A shimmering light floods in from a nearby tunnel, painting distorted shadows on the walls of the otherwise dark space.
A tunnel exposed to the void of space runs between two halves of the room, and only two bridges, each 10 feet wide and high, connect the two halves. Small doors facing the void are sealed shut. Beyond the bridges, four empty fuel cylinders stand half-open.
|
Deep Blue's body shifts to display a calming shade of deep blue, flecked with spots of white like sea foam.
May you all rest in peace.
More than a little alarmed by the destruction to the engineering deck, Deep Blue cautiously peeks around the corner to try to get a look at the light source, hoping that it isn't a pile of radioactive material about to go critical...
Carefully moving closer to the source of light, the source is none other than the solarian Aurinkar. The damaya is glowing a pulsing red, like the color of a red supergiant, a dying star - the light expanding and contracting while the damaya writhes in pain. It's as if the damaya is trying to break free while his solarian is trying to collapse onto itself. Uaaaarghhh...
|
|
Atu also approaches the screaming solarian cautiously. Have any of you any experience with attuning to the stars? they ask. Specifically ways to soften their energy?
The spathinae colony draws out a minor healing serum in one hand to possible soothe Aurinkar's pain...and their arc pistol in the other in case knocking the Starfinder unconscious might be required to break the feedback loop.
Deep blue sees the deeply concerning state of the Solarian, and works hard together with Nikko to drain some of the mystic energy affecting him. This dissipates the Solarian aura, causing the pain to cease, but the solarian collapses on the floor, and it looks as if he's breathing his last breaths.
What is even more alarming is that a creature, looking like a squat skeleton intertwined with an incorporeal stretched out ghost appears, taking advantage of the chaos. Light itself seems to bend around it, creating something of a lensing effect when it moves. Towards the starfinders, that is...
---
Deep Blue
Khubelu
---
Monster
---
Atu
Bodo
Nikko
---
Aurinkar (DYING)
---