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Laboni giggles. "Ohmigosh guys that was so fun! So fun!" She hops out of the racer and approaches Ratrod. "Hey, Ratrod--I'm sor--" The ysoki turns away, in disgust, eyes closed and arms folded on his chest--until he peeks through one eye and notices the ysoki kids filming from the stands. He sighs, and turns back around. "FINE. I accept your apology. Are you going to go away and leave me and my league in peace?" Laboni says, "Actually, I... was going to keep racing. You've got another race next week, right?" Ratrod sputters. "But-but--why don't you--" Laboni adds, "I mean, if you don't want a rematch..." "Fine! You win! Well, uh... well-raced, young lady." Laboni grins in the direction of her "pit crew" as she takes the winner's podium. Velocity can't seem to wipe the smile off their face. Halfway through the winner's ceremony, Lemgem finally barrels through the finish line and crashes into Velocity's podium. "Sorry! Wasn't watching!" ======================== Radaszam takes in the scene from the pit with all of you. "Salvage Union thinks Laboni's the next big thing, for some reason, so they've offered a sponsorship and sent over a down payment as a token of good will. Laboni let me know that you can take some of it. I guess Ratrod's been kind of put off by the whole ordeal, but they're going to try to smooth things over so he has a credible opponent." "I'm glad you salvaged something out of this mess. Wasn't expecting new contacts in the Salvage Union though, that's a hard place to get traction in. Kind of strange how that whole thing worked out. Oh, and they sent you these Murderhobo-brand t-shirts. Did you know Lemgem is their most popular racer? And she's last every race! I don't get how any of this works. Maybe I can pawn this off on Historia-7..." Radaszam rolls his eyes and exits the pit.
In the early scrum, Brivarius pilots Laboni's unusually fast ship to the front of the pack as less-than-lethal weapons criss-cross the racing field behind her. Winston grabs control of the cannon and gets a shot off at Ratrod, who returns fire! Ratrod's hotrod speeds up as the laser fire that would scorch it overpowers a battery. Velocity launches what looks like a bowling ball at the rat's racer, though, directing it's burst of speed into a wall, which Ratrod barely steers through--creating a shower of sparks! Nyizin fires at Orsis, grunting something to the effect of "Not this time, pretty boy." The shot hits, but Orsis pulls out of a collision just in time, and maintains speed. Lemgem's round "rolling pin" careens into a wall, and the crowd hears Lemgem's gleeful laughter! You can tell she totally doesn't care. Brivarius keeps steady hands on the virtual wheel, and it's Laboni in first, followed by Orsis, Nyizin, Velocity, Ratrod, and Lemgem! The crowd is silent. An ysoki in the stands yells, "Are you really gonna let her push you around like that, Ratrod?!" ============= Perhaps remembering Lemgem's warning, Winston starts taking aim at other racers--this time, tracking Orsis as the lashunta pulls up close, and Winston fires another winning shot! Ratrod fires a desperation shot from the back of the pack, while Lemgem (aided by her insane laughter) fires an assortment of junk in the air, giggling, and an assortment of tin cans, teddy bears, and what might be half of the print edition of the Arcanamirium Dictionary of the Common Language at the second-place racer. Velocity keeps firing at Ratrod, and laughs, "This is SO FUN!" Nyizin isn't sure what to do with all the laughter and fires aimlessly in front of her. Brivarius's hands slip on the controller and Laboni skids along a smooth section of wall. "Hey! Watch it! I spent hours on that paint job!" yells Laboni into comms. Behind you, Winston's shot sends Orsis skidding, and then he's knocked off his racer by a dictionary! Ratrod looks frustrated. "GET BACK HERE YOU PIPSQUEAK!" he yells in your direction, and he begins accelerating. Nyizin and Velocity keep pace behind you, but Lemgem has apparently given up on the race at this point. The field is beginning to take shape! Laboni remains in the breakaway, but Nyizin, Velocity, and Ratrod are all chasing! ============= Winston has a plethora of targets to choose from, and fires at the lead racer in the chase group, Nyizin, who begins to swerve. Another barrage of junk blankets the track, and a beachball drifts into her left intake, melting all over the frontmost compressor! Already swerving, Nyizin loses thrust and flips, nearly getting run over by Ratrod and Velocity! Velocity giggles. "Ratrod, you're such a good target!" Ratrod yells. "I'm TRYING to beat this Starfinder noob! Get out of my WAY!" Velocity doesn't care, and fires another bowling ball into the ysoki, who loses control--but the talented pilot regains control just before entering another turn. He fires another shot at Laboni, and yells at Velocity, "GO AWAY!" From the ground, Nyizin also gets her craft to fire at Laboni--which is quite a feat, really--just as Brivarius begins steering the racer away from the barrier, and the combination of blasts pushes the racer back into the sheet metal! Laboni moans. "Those door handles were a pain to find! And now they're gone, just like that!" Ratrod yells, "I've almost got you!" Velocity tries to keep pace, but keeps falling further behind. Orsis gets back in the race. Lemgem calls out, "Hey, where'd everyone go?" ============= A series of misses sends laser fire, stuffed renkrodas, and--medical waste? Where did Lemgem get AbadarCorp medical waste from??--all over the track, to terrifically little effect. Nyizin sees an opening, and the black runes on her racer glow bright. A gout of purplish flame erupt from the tail end of her craft, along with a gout of smoke. "I need to get back in it! For--" she begins, before the track shakes. "Damn. I thought I FIXED the engine-rich combustion problem!" Brivarius recognizes a good tactic when they see it, and copy the strategy--down to the melting engine! Laboni yells, "I don't even care anymore! We're almost there!!" Orsis, Velocity, and Ratrod hold steady behind the leader. Lemgem pulls out a datapad and begins steering with her knees, to predictable effect. ============= The crowd goes silent as the burned-out husk of the Shooting Star crosses the finish line just before the entire combustion chamber explodes in a burst of flames, and Laboni's doused with flame retardant. Behind her, Nyizin's wreck slowly drifts to the back of the pack--at least, the part of the pack that cares--while Velocity holds off Ratrod and Orsis just long enough to pull into second. Ratrod screams in frustration and just barely out-muscles Orsis for third.
Round 1:
Shots Fired
Laboni (energy): Winston, with a 15, against Ratrod (because Ratrod) - hits! Ratrod (energy): (because Laboni) vs. EAC 14 hits! Lemgem (kinetic): (ally) - misses! Nyizin (kinetic): - hits! Orsis (none) Velocity (kinetic): (ally) - hits! Piloting
Standings
Round 2:
Shots Fired
Laboni (energy): Winston, with a 23, maybe not against Ratrod: Orsis? - hits! Ratrod (energy): (because Laboni) vs. EAC - misses! Lemgem (kinetic): (ally) - hits! Nyizin (kinetic): - misses! Orsis (none) Velocity (kinetic): (ally) - hits! Piloting
Standings
Round 3:
Shots Fired
Laboni (energy): Winston, with a 19, maybe not against Ratrod: Nyizin? - hits! Ratrod (energy): (because Laboni) vs. EAC 14 - hits! Lemgem (kinetic): (ally) - hits! Nyizin (kinetic): vs. EAC 14 - hits! Orsis (none) Velocity (kinetic): (ally) - hits! Piloting
Standings
Round 4: Shots Fired
Laboni (energy): Winston, with a 7, maybe not against Ratrod: Orsis? - misses! Winston, Vreelin, and Feghnswelle all fight over the cannon! Ratrod (energy): (because Laboni) vs. EAC 14 - misses! Lemgem (kinetic): (ally) - misses! Nyizin (kinetic): vs. EAC 14 - misses! Orsis (none) Velocity (kinetic): (ally) - misses! Piloting
Standings
Velocity seems aloof, but winks at Feighnswelle as they approach the starting line. The booming voice of the announcer calls out, “Welcome to Ratrod’s Scrap Battle! Sponsored by the Salvage Union. Our reigning champion, Ratrod, will be facing off against a new contestant, Laboni of the Starfinder Society.” As the announcer continues his introductions, the junk racers get into position. You each log into Laboni’s remote system allowing you access and control of the weapons and the wheel. You can also see from the cameras installed in her helmet. With one last announcement from the sponsors, the signal is given and the racers are off!
Laboni will be your official pilot, but one of you can play pilot remotely! ======== Normally this race takes place in turns, each turn having two phases, but we're going to compress things a bit. We're going to break this up into the opening four turns to let things shake out, take stock, and then we'll run the rest of the race to the finish! First, we need a pilot. Our top pilot appears to be Brivarius with a... +3? Well, this'll be interesting! Let us know if we have any challengers for that particular crown! Once we settle on a pilot, I'll need four piloting checks from the pilot. The pilot will receive an additional +2 bonus from your racer! For everyone else, you get to play Twitch Plays Pokemon--I mean, Fitch Plays Poketron--with the cannon! Please make four attack rolls, each at a -3 penalty because you're going so darned fast. Alongside each attack, choose a target! Your valid targets include:
(Lemgem's friendly!) Whoever has the highest attack roll has control of the cannon that turn, and they choose the target! If one of these choices turns out to be an ally, attacks against them will be converted to attacks against whoever's in first. Attacks don't cause damage, but they do provide a penalty on the target's piloting checks that round!
Laboni says, "Wow! That's... that's fast! What do you want to call her? And who's piloting? As for the gun..." Laboni holds up a number of control pads. "I read about this time the infosphere did this crazy thing where they let everyone input commands to a single vidgame simultaneously--what was it, Flinch Plays Plays Poke-tron? Something like that! I wasn't sure how many guns you'd add, so I made a bunch of these! I guess everyone who's not piloting gets one!"
Velocity is a beautiful android with silver hair and skin. They have self-modified to have both masculine and feminine attributes, and have decorated their clothing, eyelids, and lips with bright, colorful patterns. He pauses at Velocity's pit, feigning shock. "Auntie Ethel, is that you! Why, I haven't- Oh, wait." He eyes Velocity's colorful shirt. "Apologies, old bean. With that on, I mistook you for someone I knew. Good thing. Beastly creature." He mock shudders and continues on. Velocity stares in... shock, perhaps, as Winston passes by, most definitely not like a ship in the night. Brivarius, Osho, and Vreelin sneak up beside Velocity as they stare at Winston. The android gives a start. "Oh! I. Uh, didn't see you there!" "Greeting, Velocity! Your colors are fantastic. They remind me of home. I do not suppose you would be willing to share any advise? I have never been at one of these races before." Vreelin: Diplomacy Velocity: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27 "Oh! Thank you! I went quite conservative today. I hope to show off on the track. Maybe leave some scorch marks on the other racers!" Osho peeks around Velocity's racer, but can't make head or tail of the machine. The dynamic trio make fast friends with Velocity, who notices Osho's investigations and whispers, "Could you help me? I've been itching to race something faster, but I'm not half the mechanic I want to be."
Thank you! - Did we encounter any "named NPC aristocrat, noble, ambassador, or similar figure" I could recruit for the Sovereign Court? A certain Jeggare scion comes to mind as the obvious choice. So yes: raise that star high!
Orsis is a stoic, dark-haired lashunta who looks unfairly good in black and gold. The party approaches Orsis with several strategies. He seems to look long and hard at each of you in turn. GM screen:
Sir Feighnswelle confronts Orsis. "Those antennae don't appear to be too aerodynamic, My Boy. Are you sure that you have the teeth to race?" Orsis sits, looking pretty, leaning against his racer. His antennae seem to point toward each of you. "My teeth might not be as big as yours, sir morlamaw, but I assure you they're sufficient for racing. And eating lunch. What brings you by?" Orsis Engineering: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (8) + 0 = 8 What kinds of weapons or I can ask for one what energy weapon? "Oh, I see you're just here to scope out the competition. Don't worry. I'm just as big of a threat as you think I am." Osho is unable to get a good read on Orsis's weaponry as he shifts back and forth to block whatever you're trying to look at! "Hello, Orsis. You look very stylish. Is that your own personal brand? Would you be willing to share any tips for a new racer? "I'm glad you're being polite. To respond in just as polite a manner, I must regretfully decline." You don't get as great a read on Orsis as you do on the others.
Later, he shuffles to Lemgem's pit. "Quite the colorful mane, you sport there. I reminds me of one of my relatives." "Lovely paint job," he says enviously to Lemgem. "One can barely see the rust beneath it!" You approach Lemgem's pit, Lemgem being a blue-haired gnome covered in piercings, tattoos, and augmentations. She's almost as augmented as her racer. The gnome throws caution to the wind and greets you. She looks Feighnswelle up and down. "What, you're one of my opponents? BO-RING! But your relative must have awesome taste. You got any pics? I really wanna see a blue walrus!" "Not you, though, you big lug." She says to Winston. "C'mon, you're trying to embarrass me with rust on a " Her voice carries... an amazing distance. Diplomacy Lemgem: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16 Vreelin has a pleasant conversation with Lemgem, who says. "Aw! That's so CUUUUTE! Sure I'll help you and your friend out! Watch out for Ratrod, by the way. Little twerp has some sort of mod on there that uses energy weapons to power his racer. Use kinetic on him!" Lemgem Engineering: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (14) + 0 = 14 What kinds of weapons or I can ask for one what energy weapon? Osho investigates Lemgem, and realizes that she's lacking a certain flair... a particular panache... perhaps a modicum of talent for racing? He doesn't think she's going to be particularly effective at either racing or gunnery. "Hi, Lemgem! You look like you take no prisoners. Any advise for a noob?" Brivarius asks a bit awkwardly as he tries to sound casual." "Yeah, sure! You hang out with a cool crowd. I say, uh... keep the other racers on their toes! I like to mix things up and always go a different speed. Means they don't know where to shoot!"
Sorry to go AWOL on you guys a couple of days there. I, ah, made a critical error in how I chose to speed up the race and it made my side of things super time consuming, at least for a PbP noob like me. So I've been trying to get through a post an evening, but I've also been incredibly busy (COVID's completely wrecked my anticipated schedule!) so I've had a couple of evenings in a row of falling asleep on my keyboard working on posts for you. :( I'm sorry. For once, I actually have free time tonight! I'm working on wrapping things up with the pre-race tonight so we can race tomorrow. Winston / Jeff: One way or the other, I'll make sure you get a chronicle in time.
Shaine and the Decemvirate who have been observing listen intently. As far as you can tell. The two masked Decemvirate members turn toward each other, as if sharing a silent conversation. One of them turns toward you, and in the neutral Mask-influenced voice, says, “These secrets have remained hidden for too long—from the Decemvirate and the Society both. In doing so, the organization defamed an upstanding agent. What we have learned here grants us an opportunity to correct past crimes. Well done, Pathfinders.” Shaine nods, quietly, and waits for them to leave the research library. He returns his attention to you a moment later. "Excellent work, team. We'll have more tasks for you soon! In the meantime, take a few days off. You've earned it."
Nyizin bears still-fresh scars, both on her body and on her junkracer--it looks like she's got some seriously unstable mods! "Why the dour look? Don't tell me you already know that you are going to lose." "I have lost enough already." she says. "You wouldn't understand the loss of a bonded dragonkin. They were everything, and now they are nothing, and I am nothing." "Brilliant coiffure," he says to Nyzin. "Looks the same before and after the race. Perhaps less dust in it now, though." "You might be surprised how one races when you have nothing to lose." To Vreelin, she shakes her head. Looking at Vreelin and Brivarius, "I don't trust anyone now. I can't. But you two seem nice enough... tell you what. I'll show you a trick. See this valve here?" She points at a rough-cut flap on a feeder line. "If you were to, oh... inject some nitrous in here, you'd get a burst of power. Don't do it to any engine you have long-term plans for, though."
Osho lurks around, but can't make head nor tail of the black-market dragonbone-and-arcane-magick modifications here. He's pretty sure that Nyizin wants to win or die, though.
Weapons:
Basic energy weapon on the vehicle (imposes a –4 base Piloting penalty on a hit).
Basic kinetic weapon on the vehicle (imposes a –4 base Piloting penalty on a hit). Upgrade a weapon to impose an additional –2 penalty to enemy Piloting checks on a successful hit. Undecided Upgrades:
Now that you are all fully back in the present, Master Shaine slowly approaches you. "Ah! Welcome back to the world of the living! I recognize that look from personal experience. You'll feel better in a moment--depending on body weight and metabolism, of course." "So--what message did Eylysia leave for you?"
Vin and the Butcher knock Helven woozy. Idril's blade explodes with energy, blasting off both of Helven's arms, which fade into mist. Spectral Helven stumbles forward, his mouth agape, before he trips on something and falls on his face. Salazar stomps where Helven used to be, but he has already stopped moving. His body fades into the mists he tried to hide himself within.
Eylysia floats up above the pit, and casts a grim-looking spell into it. Spellcraft DC 20:
She turns to look at all of you, and says, “That went differently this time; I like this ending better,” before fading from view. As the scene shifts and fades in front of you, the world spins. The broken strands of magical mist explode in a whirlwind of rainbow light as Eylysia’s vision concludes and the battered old spell finally ends. You black out for a moment before coming to in the Grand Lodge--with a new memory, in addition to what you just experienced.
The remaining visible Decemvirate member mutters at you all. "You'll see. Jeggare couldn't stand before me, and you're no Jeggare!"
A purplish-black explosion erupts from the helm, briefly sucking the light out of the room.
The domino-masked Decemvirate discovers she is nearly unable to climb the wall, even bracing herself against a corner. She continues orating.
Initiatives!
Feighnswelle notices Ratrod himself as he unearths what appears to be yet another tactical nuclear missile deployment platform that someone has run out of tactical nukes. (Where are people finding all of these things?) Feighnswelle verbally jabs at the ysoki's build quality, just as Winston flippers the ysoki in the back and congratulates him on his impending loss. The rat is nearly small enough to share a square with either of the two morlamaws. "Shove off, you--you big walruses!" the ysoki with mottled gray-and-white fur yells. "You couldn't even beach yourself on one of my junkracers!" A crowd around him giggles. Sense Motive, DC 11:
He might be laughing, but he's secretly really ticked at the challenge!
If you want, you can attempt a DC 17 Intimidate check to raise the stakes with even more trash-talk...
Spoiler:
Ratrod sputters. "You-you-you big buffoons! I'm gonna stick a harpoon on my racer just for YOU!!" Vreelin and Osho step in afterward, and tries to "patch things up." The rat is very clearly rat-tled. "You can't be my biggest fan with those two lurking around here!" he steams to Osho, gesturing at Feighnswelle and Winston. "Nice to see a friendly face though, yeah? Welcome to the big leagues! Try to lose gracefully! Oh, and my secret? I dunno, I've just got a certain energy nobody else seems to know!" He grins at Vreelin. "You too, hot stuff. Tell those buddies of yours to lay off or I'll have something special in store for 'em!" Vreelin keeps tabs on Ratrod, and notes that while he isn't the best pilot, he's both an excellent pilot and perhaps the best shot here. Ratrod, to nobody's surprise, might be your toughest opponent on the course. Osho thinks Ratrod emphasized "energy" a little too much. Maybe there's some secret about energy weapons? Why does the rat have a laser rifle in a vise pointed at the junkracer? Osho has questions.
Sir Feighnswelle finds a lot of components! Heavy cannons, light starship cannons... is this a starship shield generator here? And it's even the Mark II edition! Unfortunately, none of these are even close to the right size for a junkracer! Winston, on the other hand, does have more luck. Vreelin keeps finding all sorts of smaller components that are in great shape--like here's a perfectly good turbopump! Sure, it's attached to a 60-year-old engine, but the turbopump is in peak working condition! Osho pokes around, and doesn't find a lot going on, so he moves onto bigger and better things. Brivarius finds a Speed enhancement--an engine shroud that actually fits Laboni's junkracer's engine! Dr. Apati does some digging as well, and finds some familiar-looking injectors... those could be handy! The doctor has two prescriptions for speed! (Okay, maybe not that kind of speed.)
Weapons:
Basic energy weapon on the vehicle (imposes a –4 base Piloting penalty on a hit).
Basic kinetic weapon on the vehicle (imposes a –4 base Piloting penalty on a hit). Upgrade a weapon to impose an additional –2 penalty to enemy Piloting checks on a successful hit. Undecided Upgrades:
Both opponents fall into the pit! You hear a nondescript "Oof" followed by a yelp. Eylysia yells, "That's it! Take them out of the fight!"
Vin's blast pummels Zaul. Both the spectral blast and the real one are impressive, but the spectral blast leaves a smoking crater behind! The helmed decemvirate yells something at his pet wolf, and turns tail and runs away, fleeing his smoking crater and disappearing into the mists! "Just wait until the rest of the Ten hear about this!" he cries as he leaves the reenactment!
The wolf braces itself against opposite walls of the pit , and tries to speed-climb out of its predicament! It shimmies up the pit and scrambles onto flat terrain! It angrily lunges toward the party, which immediately presents itself as another predicament to the poor wolf. It snaps at the butcher, who retaliates right in the face. The wolf goes down in a bloody heap. Initiatives!
13: Zaul Blystone: fled
The Decemvirate in the three-tiered helm moves forward, drawing his weapon from behind a podium. The Decemvirate in the diamond-studded mask begins reciting dwarven heroic poetry from the Quest for Sky! No hiding identities now, it seems. This is for keeps. Eylysia draws out a strange dark iridescent ioun stone that seems to change shape as it rotates her head. "It pains me to use such dark tools, but we cannot allow corrupt individuals like you into our leadership!" the gnome cries! You all hear the faint sounds of feedback, but your three helmed opponents clutch at their heads as if in pain. The dwarven oration is weaker now, as though Veldrid's been weakened somehow... Initiatives!
As it turns out, running games all weekend (or, rarely, getting to play games...) has not left me very much time on those aforementioned weekends for anything else! D: It has been a learning experience. Far easier to keep up as a player I must say. I suspect this is news to absolutely zero of you, but it was news to me. Apologies, and thank you for your continued patience! I've been asked to report, and I will be doing so tonight! We are very close to wrapping up.
Improve Laboni’s Junkracer You can look for useful parts in the scrapyard. Common checks for this would include Computers, Engineering, Perception, or Physical Science. There may be applicable Professions as well. If you are successful, you can pick one of the possible improvements from the list to install on the Junkracer.
Investigating the Competition You can investigate all your competitors (Sense Motive) or all their vehicles (Engineering) with this action. You’ll get one piece of information per success. (Roll your check 5 times and let me know if you are after something specific.) You can also choose to socialize with one competitor instead of rolling one of these checks for them. (See Socializing.) Sabotage
Socializing You may socialize with your competition during the Improve and Investigating actions. This lets you learn a bit more about them, perhaps gets some tips, make some friends or taunt your enemies. Finish Upgrading When you all stand back and admire your work Laboni exclaims, “This is so cool you all! I’m super excited. What should we name it?”
The plain white doors of the office slide open to reveal a stark, dimly lit room. The chamber is bleak and expressionless in its emptiness—no vanities line its smooth black walls, and no signs of use mar its smooth black furniture. The only occupants of the suite are a bug-eyed tadpole wriggling in a glowing blue aquarium and a reptilian vesk seated behind an onyx desk. The vesk gestures to a number of chairs in front of him, his features sharply illuminated by the light of his desk’s green holoscreen. “The new graduates,” he greets, in a low and pleasant voice. “Good day. I am Radaszam, though since you are here, I should hope you already knew. “I trust you are aware of our Society’s traditions, so I will cut to the point. I have a minor situation that needs resolution. One of our members, a human named Laboni, had a rather public altercation with a junk scavenger from the Spike. You might be more familiar with the scavenger than I, actually; he is a ysoki who fancifully calls himself Ratrod. I am told he runs a popular racing competition that has, hmm, several hundreds of thousands of viewers on the station’s infosphere. For some reason, Laboni felt the need to tell him that any ‘real’ mechanic could easily beat the garbage that Ratrod and his associates slap together. Now that Ratrod has issued an infosphere-wide demand that she race him and prove it, Laboni doubts she can back that claim up. “Embarrassing, isn’t it? Not really the sort of troublemaker that suits our Society. Perhaps she would be better suited to the bottom of a trash compactor... Well, we cannot afford to throw her out, not after so many Starfinders were lost in the Scoured Stars. Besides, we can’t let people think we are so weak that we can’t control our own members, or that we cannot stand up to a scrapyard junker. No, I would like you to assist Laboni in winning this race. Show our detractors that even the least of our Society is not someone to be trifled with.” Radaszam sends you directions to the race’s location in Botscrap and hands them badges marking you all as Laboni’s official pit crew. He suggests you not delay. "You'll need as much time as possible to dig Laboni out from under this burgeoning disaster, I wager." As you head into the Spire, you find that Ratrod’s racing circuit is a hollowed-out section of a mountain of spare parts in Botscrap, the track specifically sanctioned by the ysoki-dominated Salvage Union that controls most of the yards. When you arrive at the competitors’ entrance, a small robot approaches you, scans your badges, then, in a recorded announcer-voice, they play, "Greetings. Welcome to the Botscrap, Pit Crew. Here are the basic rules: (1) Racers and their pit crews are to build and improve their vehicles from the available scrap around the racetrack. Vehicles built at previous junkraces can return. (2) Racers can fire upon other competitors during the race, but firing into the audience is grounds for immediate disqualification. (3) racer weapons must be nonlethal and may affect only opponents’ vehicles. Good luck!" Laboni is easy to find in the crowd due to her paisley clothes and bright white lab coat. She is in her late teens and when you approach she sheepishly says "I'm for this whole debacle! Radaszam must be so ticked. I was just aping the opinions of my seniors in the field and ahhh... got a bit carried away. I'm really glad you all are here to help. I'm super in over my head. I want to apologize to Ratrod for being a jerk, but I'd really like to win first to save face for the society and myself. Let me show you what I've put together. It's not good enough to win yet. And when I got the message they were sending over help I decided to focus on making the junkracer controllable remotely. I expect all of you are better at piloting and weapons than me! I'm just a mechanic!”
Screen:
Morlamaws on Ice makes a stunning debut, and Lan and Si clap and hoot excitedly at the show! Vreelin and Brivarius manage to calm down the strange shapeshifting creature. It sits on Vreelin's head as Brivarius attempts to pantomime to it that power cables are not food. Osho looks at a tangle of knots in the wall with clearly disconnected wiring sticking out of one end of the knot, and realizes there's going to be a lot of work for the engineers to fix here. Fitch excitedly puts the Wayfinders' latest recruit into a large transparent aluminum crate, where it turns into a vase of tulips. "Well, I wasn't expecting that! Excellent work, Starfinders. It's strange what you can find in the nooks and crannies of an old ship like this one! We'll see what we can do to start communicating with this old girl here. I've got a team of linguists coming by." "For your efforts, we've got a credstick for you. I understand that one of my engineers, the father of those kids you found, wanted you to have this as well: a Mark I ring of resistance. Take good care of it! It's a memento from his wife, who we lost in the Scoured Stars... debacle. Use it as a reminder of how much we've all lost."
The research library blurs as the relics on the shelves seem to age in reverse. Items and furniture shuffle rapidly about the room until finally the movement comes to a halt. The room is now arrayed much differently than it was before, and strange swirling clouds of blurred space wend throughout the area. At the center of the library stands a gnome woman with faded teal hair. Alongside an elven woman you instinctively know to be Myrin Goldeneye is a ghostly boar that seems out of place, but no less material. “About time you got here!” the gnome exclaims. “I’m expecting Veldrid any minute! We need to confront her with what we know and convince her to turn on the others. Once their deeds are revealed, they’ll have no choice but to resign.” The door opens, admitting three figures wearing Decemvirate helms: one eyeless and triple-flanged, another topped with stag antlers, and the third a crystal-studded black domino mask. Eylysia blanches, but quickly covers it up with a smile. “So... I take it you aren’t willing to play nice?” “It is the Decemvirate’s will that your investigations cease,” declares the antler-helmed figure. The figure behind the eyeless helm nods, and the domino-masked figure hesitates before also nodding. “I wonder whether your other colleagues would agree.” Eylysia draws herself up to her full height. “I doubt they’ll agree with your perspective once they know what I know.” The figure in the eyeless mask draws his sword. “Then you understand why we cannot let you live.” Initiative:
"Birds don't grow from seeds, dummy! They hatch from eggs!" calls Si, helpfully. The pile of birdseed opens up an eye, cautiously, and looks around. Then it opens up six eyes in a concentric ring and a tiny little mouth opens up and it begins screaming again!
It grows little birdseed legs and scampers about, in a panic!
As you complete the ritual, the research library blurs as the relics on the shelves seem to age in reverse. Items and furniture shuffle rapidly about the room until finally the movement comes to a halt. The room is now arrayed much differently than it was before, and strange swirling clouds of blurred space wend throughout the area. At the center of the library stands a gnome woman with faded teal hair. “About time you got here!” she exclaims. “I’m expecting Veldrid any minute! We need to confront her with what we know and convince her to turn on the others. Once their deeds are revealed, they’ll have no choice but to resign.” The door opens, admitting three figures wearing Decemvirate helms: one eyeless and triple-flanged, another topped with stag antlers, and the third a crystal-studded black domino mask. Eylysia blanches, but quickly covers it up with a smile. “So... I take it you aren’t willing to play nice?” “It is the Decemvirate’s will that your investigations cease,” declares the antler-helmed figure. The figure behind the eyeless helm nods, and the domino-masked figure hesitates before also nodding. “I wonder whether your other colleagues would agree.” Eylysia draws herself up to her full height. “I doubt they’ll agree with your perspective once they know what I know.” The figure in the eyeless mask draws his sword. “Then you understand why we cannot let you live.”
Master Shaine finishes handing out supplies, and eventually makes his way to Mercutio. "Ah! A connoisseur! Such a fun Galtan word. Well, ah, you might be a little out of your range today. I have... hrm. Looks like a basso profundo for you. Sorry! You know dwarven music. It's like they've never heard a tenor." Shaine leads you up several flights of steps to an expansive, low-ceilinged research library. Two masked Decemvirate members—one with a helm that resembles flowing water and the other a steel whorl with three eyeholes—await you; they nod in greeting but do not speak. Shaine asks you to pull your hoods up, put the statue on its missing base, and sing along to the music.
Osho and Winston each try following the tracks and lose the trail, but they end up staring at each other. Simultaneously, they look at the wall, where the poster hangs... The weird man with the muttonchops on the poster blinks, slowly, at each of them and opens his mouth in a weird little wordless scream! the poster grows weird little spatula legs and scuttles up into a vent before anyone can react! Lan and Si rush into the room. "He woke up!" yells Lan. You hear some rattling in the room that you all just vacated. Returning to that room, you might look around a bit... ...and realize that the HVAC system is spewing freezing water all over the room! The floor is ice!
"Oh she learned how to use the thermostat!" says Si. "That's so cool! And... cold." Culture or Perception DC 16, or Survival DC 18: Huh, that... block of birdseed is new. You bet that's the strange creature!
Returning to Absalom and the Grand Lodge is a slow, plodding overland experience until you catch a river barge to the port. In just under a week, you find yourselves back in the Grand Lodge. You get a good night of sleep in your own beds, and then you find a missive from Kreighton Shaine that's been slid under your respective doors.
A weary Shaine still has some reservoirs of energy when he greets you in his office. "AH! My favorite agents! Let's make sure it stays that way, shall we? I've been reviewing your notes--it sounds like you've found quite the story! And several times over, at that!" "I understand you've found three pieces to Eylysia's puzzle? My research indicates that those are the only three you shall need! Here," he says, as he hands one of you a figurine missing its base. "I believe you're acquainted with this piece. I also have some spare cloaks here, and we've had the, ah... printers make some copies of the sheet music for that song you discovered!" "Oh, but I'm getting ahead of myself--thank you for adventuring in my absence! I hope you found my letter's useful. I've been performing my own research over the past month and a half, and I believe the key to using the keys you've found is locating the lock--and it's right here in Skyreach! The Decemvirate--some of them, anyway--are interested in observing the outcome of our investigations. They believe that there's going to be something of great significance--maybe a recorded message, like the one you just found!--and in the event that its magic has waned, they want to be there to see what fragments remain for themselves." "There's a small research library here on the third floor--it's left been blissfully untouched in the recent renovations, so perhaps I should stop complaining about the funding cut--where we think Eylysia left her final message. We need to be there in... oh, half an hour or so. If you have any scrolls you need to buy, now would be the time! Or, I suppose, more mundane objects as well."
Lan says, "It keep changes what it looks like! I don't know where it is now!"
Survival DC 18:
You follow a trail of slime across a wall and... to a poster? Hey, that Pathfinder Society recruitment poster is... okay, so what in the Nine Hells is the Pathfinder Society? Is it a parallel of the Starfinder Society? And why is it upside down? And... why is the dude in the poster with the super weird facial hair blinking? Si yells from the other room, "Shut up, Lan! And our dad's an engineer! I tied the cables in knots and everything! I even used fancy spacefarer knots just like they showed me in Star Scouts! Even better than Dad's knots!"
Investigating the remaining chambers, you find a leather sack full of things you don't particularly want to investigate, but one of those things appears to be a wand, with 45 notches cut into it! Spellcraft DC 20:
Looks like a wand of prayer! In the background, you hear hoots, hollering, and the faint yelps of someone being beaten to death by a horde of exotic monkeys. Thankfully, they wink out of existence before they become endemic to the region. Of the things that haven't been put in a sack, many of them are bits of statuary that have been rearranged into new figures and painted with green and red. Several of them have jagged Zs over their mouths--goblifying them, perhaps? A few stone tablets remain somewhat legible. When you touch them, you receive a brief vision of an elderly gnome woman (her visage appearing on slide 12) whose ghostly voice speaks The tablets themselves are more difficult to wrangle. Knowledge (history or local) DC 15 (10 if you're a dwarf!):
The tablets contain an ancient ballad that tells the story of a dwarf named Jorgar Ironbellows, an ambitious noble who murdered his father to secure his inheritance, only to be assassinated by his own son in turn. The fable serves as a cautionary tale, warning others about the folly of favoring one’s own ambition above the lives of their fellow dwarves. Returning to Helga and Urgrin, you find the dwarves excited about the prospect of reclaiming some lost history from the tablets. Urgrin especially is embarrassed about the goblins, however. "Y'fought what? Goblins? Here?? Trudd's oath, we should not have let silly stories keep us away from the cavern!" Helga adds, "Ours were not the only mistakes made there, Urgrin. Let us learn from it. Dwarven memories are long." She turns to you. "When you publish, can you send us a copy here? I'd be excited to read your report! Pathfinder Chronicles are hard to find..."
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