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Fengsai tries to keep the older residents busy and entertained with a brutaris trivia game. Fengsai removes her rebel poncho to show her Rafemii Hellcats brutaris jersey.
"Who scored the winning point in the AG 267 brutaris championship game? I bet some of you might have even been there"
"Here's an easy question, how serious does an injury have to be, to stop the game?"
"Bonus round, what team am I on?"
Laurel, it turns out, is nowhere to be found.
Because he is obviously the first Snek!
"Of course, Nufriend!" Grizzi chimes. "I would be happy to help with everything that I can!"
He starts by trying a hand at gardening.
And another hand at entertaining the children with stories he gleaned from the infosphere.
He holds up two more hands, getting ready to assist with the older residents.
Careful there Dr. Sani! Things must go back in the right places!
Your right or my right?
A class of 12 preschool children visit the classroom most mornings, with an after-school program for all ages meeting in the afternoons until the last kid is accounted for. While curfews are in place, volunteer teachers Aer and Zagka are leading all-ages activities nearly around the clock to help emergency responders’ families in need of childcare. The big vesk enjoys reading storybooks and playing with the youngest children, while Aer tutors the older students.
Laurel does a good job of keeping the children attentive and engaged. Zagka seems impressed!
Jazz and Sanity are a little less impressive. Joia seems to have some doubts about Sanity's medical credentials. "Where did you even get--are those from the kitchen?"
Upstairs, a short hallway runs between three doors: an office with three cubicle workstations, a storage room crammed with everything from sports equipment to pallets of R2E rations, and roof access. The roof access door leads to a metal scaffold connecting to the roof, where turbines spin among garden plots. A dented metal park bench provides a place to sit and enjoy the view.
Older residents are struggling with their routines while their caretakers are busy or missing. This task involves delivering meals and doing check-ins with light conversation for elder community members like old man Ozdabaki. Most of them seem engaged enough in Fengsai's trivia game, but the old vesk seems unimpressed. He challenges her to a game of Strig, a strategy game played on a hexagonal board or if she "can't even do that right," to prove that she can outshoot him .
Zashodu has considerably more success at the first aid area. Patients are patient enough to wait for him.
Overall, Joia seems more then satisfied with the party's work. "Well, we'll have cots for all of you upstairs, as promised. And the community pulled some other equipment together for you." She gives them two commercial medpatches and a tactical hypopen. Joia gives them a pair of magboots with the logo for Sunny-6’s diner emblazoned on the side, stating “the fit isn’t quite right for me.
"We have some time until dinner, if you'd like to look around some more!"
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"A game of Strig? Ok I'm in, but if I win we get Pulonis back."
"I'd challenge you to best 2 out of 3 but looks like you are saved by nap time."
As Fengsai walks away she whispers. "This ain't over gramps, we will get our planet back."
Fengsai checks out the tenement block trying to get the game off her mind.
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Hey, if it's good enough for steak, it's good enough for surgery.
Sani's methods may be questionable, but he does a great job of taking the optionality out of 'get surgery or die', as any good battlefield medic should.
Do you think they have a bathroom in the bodega?
"Hey, I was on Pulonis, but I left to join the Stewards longer ago then you can remember. *^%&^*$ tyrants."
As Fengsai and Sanity move towards the tenement block, the party gets text messages for Julzakama, who originally hired them for the job that... never happened due to unforeseen events.
<Are you all okay? When I couldn't get a signal to your comms I thought maybe you'd made it out of the station before things got weird, and I was kinda worried about you because I bet it would have been worse to be outside. Now I'm guessing you never made it out? That's fine, forget the job--pretty obvious you won't be able to do that now. If you still want it let me know, and I'll keep you on the list when I try to hire people to try that again after all this dies down. I'm riding it out at my pawnship in the Downlow. Hope you didn't get stuck someplace weird.>
Garments of all sizes and types hang from clotheslines stretched between
four squat tenement buildings made of corrugated steel storage containers. A few rectangular windows have been cut into the sides of the buildings, offering glimpses of colorful curtains, potted plants, and hanging bundles of dried produce inside. The buildings huddle around a courtyard covered in grassy ecomats. A vegetable garden thrives next to an above-ground irrigation pipe. Children scurry between hunks of scrap metal that has been welded into misshapen playground equipment, smoothed of all edges, and painted cheerily. Delicious smells waft from a communal cooking pit in the center of the courtyard, where people have gathered to prepare a meal.
Laurel approaches him ”Hey buster, where’s my money. You be thinkin’ I’m workin’ fer free you gotta nuther thing comin!” he shakes his fist ”Dont go an’ tell me bout another job til’s we putta kep in This one!”
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Zashodu decides it's time to check the infosphere to figure out What's Going On! Obviously there are major network headlines, but he suspects it may be productive to check the dark parts of the Sphere as well, including SphereChan.
He tries to find a place in the tenements where he can sip coffee while he scrolls and researches.
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Sani has racked up quite the appetite from all this kitchen-equipment surgery, and goes to check out the communal meal. Protein mush? he asks expectantly.
Julzakama answers Laurel's text. <Think you might have the wrong contact? This is Julzakama, the vesk you met with earlier today. I only just hired you before the
<...
<Whatever it is that happened. I know you obviously never did the job because of the emergency shutdown, so I'm just saying don't worry about it for now. We may pick that one up again later when you're allowed to leave the station again.>
And Fengsai's. <Elevator crashed? Dang! I guess I need to be glad you're even alive. And the Ghost Levles? Thoes are realt? No idea hwat happeend. Were r u now?> He seems to be typing too quickly.
Zashodu finds a lot of information that is vague, a lot of information that is clearly sensationalized, and a lot of information that is dubious at best.
"Well... not wrong!" A human smiles and shakes his head. "You're welcome to add some flavor if you've got some, and you're welcome to join us. We're doing this every night while we're locked down. Most of the neighborhood should be by, if you're stayin' for dinner."
Laurel stares at his phone like he is flabergasted in it's use. Chucks it back into his backpack.
His tummy grumbles at the mention of "Dinner. Ok. Hope they git some ♪♪♪home-fried grubs in gravy♪♪♪ cookin up" he sing-songs the same tune that Sunny-6’s had used the Sun to advertise him too, stuck in his head still as it were.
And turns to the group "Whutcha say we hit up that scrapyard tomorrow!?" all excited hoping someone will say "yes"!
Laurel nods to Fengsai, cocks his gun dramatically, and brandishes it forward "Let's go!"
Running towards the Tenement block now, he arrives and declares himself "Ok we are here - m'name's Laurel and this is my gang. Who needs help?" he scans for volunteers...
Sani ducks when Laurel points his gun, even though he isn't having it at the doctor. You're not going to shoot up the tenement block, are you? Because if you are, we'll have to make a detour past the kitchen for some more equipment.
Grizzi eagerly follows the others.
<Wait, you're in Little Akiton?> Julzakama texts, <Oh, I definitely do have a lead for you, then! You should check in with my friend Nikk-Nakk at the east end scrapyard.>
The resident's prediction that most of the neighborhood would turn up proves fairly true.
Old Ozdabaki turns up shortly. He sits at the head of one of the tables eating very little and brandishing an electric flyswatter, giggling gleefully when he zaps a bug. Ozdabaki enjoys telling youngsters about how he left Pulonis to join the Stewards and how much he despises tyrants. He’s eager to talk with anyone who puts up with his cantankerous ways.
Joia arrives in the middle of dinner and wolfs down her meal while participating in about three different conversations; everyone wants Joia’s help and her conversations are constantly being interrupted, so she only has a few moments to talk to the adventurers if they approach her.
Sunny-6 stops by after dinner with a box of sticky sweet rolls, only slightly stale from sitting out on the diner’s counter all day. Joia aggressively ignores him until she leaves (Sunny-6 leaves a few minutes later).
Nikk-Nakk is a Ysoki, and he's chatty at dinner, showing off and promptly giving away things he’s been tinkering with at the scrapyard. He gifts the children a souped-up plasma scooter, and they fight for turns taking it for a spin around the courtyard.
A pahtra named Courier Lotus sits alone at the far end of a table and eats quietly, dousing each morsel in spicy seasoning.
After dinner, a group of children play with a deflated, patched-up ball near the garden. Somehow, the ball keeps rolling over to one of the adventurers while they’re eating, exploring the area, or talking to other adults. Every time they throw the ball back or look to see where it came from, they notice the children staring at them.
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To the team
"Hay guess what, I just got a text message back from Julzakama, when we go to Nikk-Nakk’s scrap yard tomorrow looks like there might be some work for us there."
Fengsai thinks to herself, maybe all vesk aren't so bad after all. Before going over to talk to the pahtra sitting at the fat table, Fengsai stops by to say hello to Old Ozdabaki.
"I haven't forgotten about our rematch maybe we can do that later tonight, although this time we can just play for fun, and I wouldn't mind hearing more of your story about joining the Stewards."
Next Fengsai introduces herself to the other pahtra in the room.
"I'm Fengsai, mind if I have a seat? What's your name?"
Sani takes a moment to look at the kids recklessly driving the plasma scooter, just imagining the potential for trauma, before turning to Nikk-Nakk. Hey there. It's great to see you make good use of scrap metal. Do you want some used hypodermic needles?
"I don't own the seats," answers the pahtra , somewhat guardedly. "Courier Lotus. Urban explorer. I don't live here, but I guess I'm stuck for a bit--the lady at the community center is nice, though, I'm staying there."
"Yeah, I do try to--" says Nikk-Nakk "--did you say... No."
Laurel spends the entire time playing ball with the younger kids. He hands his gun to Zashodu with a "Um hold this" and drops the 3 clips onto the ground - oh, and his backpack - and takes off like the wind.
Like a highschooler dunking on 5th graders, he dominates them with his size - even at Strength +0! - and the game turns into 5-vs-1 as they team up to overwhelm him.
I'll keep 'em to myself, then. Never know when somebody needs an injection. By the way, Julzakama says hi. He mentioned you, and said you could be of help with whatever is driving this station nuts.
"Around here? Not really. Just the community center."
The kids play ball with Laurel, but he notices that they really don't seem interested in the game. They weren't staring at the party because they wanted them to play. They had another motive.
They want to hire adventurers.
The boldest kid, a human boy named Aurie, asks the party to find Spike, their missing pet squox. They offer the neighbor kids’ combined savings as a reward.
Zaza, a vesk girl and the second-boldest kid, says Spike has a boyfriend at the bodega, a silver squox the bodega lady calls Rasputin. Aurie and Zaza saw her escape into an irrigation pipe in the courtyard near the garden.
"Oh, it's you guys. Yeah. Yeah, he texted me. I can't help with all that, but I might have a job you can help me with. Let's not talk about that here, though. Can you come by my shop tomorrow? I'll, uh, I'll... show you my tomato plants. I do also refurbish and sell equipment."
Laurel takes his gun back from Zashodu "Nevermind, gotta go, oh yeah, you gotta come. And the others" are his instructions.
Cocked and loaded, he brandishes it in the air (making sure to point it up - at the Sunny-6-sponsored "sun"), and stands between the first- and second- boldest kids - Aurie and Zaza - and declares that "Yessir, we will help you find the pup" and asks them "Tell me more about this Rasputin lady..."
"It's--I'm--It's Lotus, I'm a courier. It's a title." Lotus seems pretty guarded. "I'm a refugee, and an orphan. I grew up here. Absalom Station 'here,' not... not this neighborhood."
"No no!" Zaza answers Laurel, "The bodega lady has a pet squox. The squox is Rasputin. Rasputin is Spike's boyfriend."
Aurie gives Laurel Spike's leash, and Zaza hands over a half-full box of pungent squox treats.
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Fengsai has a funny feeling about Courier Lotus and tries to learn more.
"Silly me of course courier is your job title, who do you work for? I might be looking for some work. I'm sorry to hear that, did you lose your parents in the fighting on Vesk 4? We're staying at the community center if you are up to it later we could play a game of Strig."
Ah yes, tomatoes, very healthy. Don't feed them to Barathus, bad for their stomach lining. And they're basically all stomach lining so... Sani makes an 'explosion' gesture. See you tomorrow
The ysoki then moves over to Ozdabaki So... dangerous job being in the stewards? Get injured a lot?
Laurel raises an eyebrow when handed the leash.
He samples one of the treats. Pungent. Spits it out (back into the box).
"Whatever is a squox - we'll gettim!" he heads straight to the bodega "Less go!"
"Uh, I'm independent. And yeah, yeah I did. Probably. I was really little then. I--I gotta go."
Finishing their meal, Lotus abruptly stands to leave. "Shifty" might not be the right word, but "guarded" and "evasive" might be.
Sani has chosen the right topic to get Old Ozdabaki talking. It might be more of a challenge to get him to stop.
The kids can also point to the pipe where they saw Spike escape.
The bodega is close by. Wedged into a space on a noisy street corner, a hardlight curtain shimmers in a crumbling stone archway. The room inside has the atmosphere and architecture of a sunbaked desert temple, but it’s crammed with disordered shelves and bins overflowing with brightly wrapped snack packages, colorful bottles, and sundry goods. A glossy gray squox basks in the artificial sunlight, draped over the contents of a fruit display. A reinforced glass booth faces the door at the opposite end of the tiny room. Inside, a towering shobhad in flowing silk garments and glittering jewelry busies herself with some task.
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Fengsai is suspicious of Courious Lotus, the Pulonis rebellion was on Vesk 6, not Vesk 4 so odd he would say yeah, yeah I did to losing his parents in the fighting on Vesk 4 Fengsai thinks to herself "Odd the Vesk around here are more friendly than the Pahtra I've met here." Fengsai decides to follow Courier Lotus. As she leaves she whispers to the party what she is doing.
"Courier Lotus is acting strange, I'm going to follow him, If I send a text it's a call for backup."
"You shouldn't go alone, Nufriend Fengsai. Let me help!" Grizzi urges as he starts to follow.
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As they approach the bodega Zashodu spots the squox. He knows better than to approach it eagerly. He stays back and watches it.
You focus on the target, gathering data as magical holograms display information. When the casting is complete, you learn biometric information about the target, including its fingerprints, medical conditions, and other basic physiological information. You or anyone you advise about the analysis gains a +1 circumstance bonus to Impersonate the creature, on Medicine checks to Treat Wounds, and to Recall Knowledge actions about the creature. If the creature is illusory or under the effects of illusion magic, you detect this only if the effect’s rank is lower than the spell rank of your analyze target spell.
Careful, it might be feral, Sani warns zashodu, though I think they only eat acorns. And Squoxxie snacks... he adds, glancing at Laurel, waiting for the inevitable while reaching for the suture kit.
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"Thas the Squix!" Laurel can't help but exasperate "Hold still while I pounce 'em!"
He approaches the squox and it's owner and holds out his hand in the universal sign for 'halt' "On behalf of the Auria and Zaza, we've got to question your squix, ma'am, for you see, there is a Spike that is missing, the alleged boyfriend of this here squix!"
"Rasputin, will you perform your civic duty and anser the questions? They is: Where did you last see Spike? Is Spike okay? Is Spike hungry? Anser when you is ready!" he crosses his arms, very serious.
Lotus heads back to community center. Before opening the door, they pause and then loudly announce that they're going to bed. In case anybody might be secretly following them.
Of course it's possible they only noticed Grizzi and not Fengsai. Or perhaps the other way around--it's possible!
Zashodu knows that squoxes are animals native to Castrovel. Their Common name came from humans, who thought they resembled a cross between foxes and squirrels, two animals from lost Golarian.
This one seems pretty domesticated and quite tame. Friendly but haughty, the silver squox lounges among the fruit bins and shelves. He acknowledges Laurel, but does not answer.
The shobhad comes over. "Now honey," she says, "they say squoxes are some of the smartest animals in the solar system, but they're still only the smartest animals. And I think Spike is a girl. Did you say she's missing, though? Well, I'm afraid I haven't seen her. Manee Moonpuncher, at your service. Maybe some of my dumplings could draw her out. They're my great-grandfather's recipe you know, from Akiton."
Manee considers for a moment. "And maybe once you've found Spike, you could help me out with something here. My basement is a mess, and I could use some help clearing it out. There's almost certainly somethin' living in last week's shipment."
"I'd'a hefta inspeck them dumplings before proceedin'" Laurel declares. If Manee Moonpuncher hands one over, he pops into into his mouth, and if it's good, licks his fingers - either way "Okee. We can go on"
He shrugs off doing physical work. Chores. Yeah right! Being a full grown adventurer means you ain't gotta do no more, right?
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Fengsai waits until the door closes behind Courious Lotus before going over to Grizzi. "Something seems off with Courier Lotus, I'm not sure what it is yet. I was hoping to have a rematch against Ozdabaki maybe he can tell us more about Lotus."
Fengsai waits outside of the community center for Ozdabaki to get back from the diner, while she waits she keeps an eye on the door to see if Courier Lotus leaves.
"Grizzi if you want to stay here and help maybe you could check to see if there is a back entrance to the community center while I wait for Ozdabaki, or maybe we should just find the rest of the team? I wonder if they need help."
"Grizzi if you want to stay here and help maybe you could check to see if there is a back entrance to the community center while I wait for Ozdabaki, or maybe we should just find the rest of the team? I wonder if they need help."
"I am ready to help!" Grizzi replies. "Give me some time and I could do both!"
The skittermander runs off looking for a back entrance.
He then rushes back to Fengsai to report his findings, before preparing to seek out the rest of the team.
"Sure thing hon," Manee answers, "Just five credits per order. Meat or vegetarian?"
There are several entrances to the community center, though only the front entrance is unlocked after hours.