Clive looks at the coffin he brought in thoughtfully. "Is it something to do with Anylla? Something's not right about how she died; that's for sure."
Booralu starts humming as he gets back to digging and the fireflies begin dancing once more.
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Rex deduces that the interference from the starmetal spheres has cut the broadcast range of this device to less than 100 feet, and that somebody activated this beacon remotely from within that range.
You enter the room. It is seemingly a storage room that was cleaned out long ago. A few pieces of modern gear rest on the tables at the center
Resting next to the beacon is a slipstream-class kalo shredder and an industrial welder.
Gideon records the spheres, then starts using the terminals to shut the blast doors, one by one. As you come in to the area, you all start to notice a signal coming through on your comm units. It is very faint to begin with, but it gets stronger as you move further down the walkway.
Efficient work there, everyone! Jacob, is this critter one that you wrote?
Unset holds onto the fey while Niksi boosts everyone's attacks, letting Rova and Kennari both get perfect shots. Thkrull gets a solid hit and Prism sneaks in for another crit. Unset finishes the fey off with one more big hit. Booralu and Clive stand with their jaws open. "What in the world was that? What was it doing here?"
Hero point to Unset for the groan-worthy pun.
Gideon identifies identifies the spheres as an alloy of the rarest starmetals in the galaxy, adamantine and horacalcum, the latter of which has properties that warp space‑time around it on a quantum level. He quickly realizes that the terminals next to him are non-functional, but it seems like the next pair of terminals just past the first blast zone would allow him to shut the first pair of doors, and so on.
The glow remains, despite Gideon's attempts at washing it off. You continue along the path pointed out by Jresspr until you reach a corridor. This long access corridor is host to four pairs of hybrid access terminals and three perpendicular hallways spread between them. The air down each of these crosswise corridors is visibly energized, glowing an eerie green color. Every few seconds, this coalesces into a massive blast of green lightning whose energy output is so high that the power levels of all nearby technological items, including armor environmental seals, fluctuate wildly. Tiny, up in front, can see into the chambers. Cordoned off by lead blast doors that are currently open, each of these chambers is host to a massive sphere of strange metal, a blend of dark copper and gray colors. Each sphere has numerous jagged protrusions, and spins in rapidly-changing directions inside a field of green energy. Research equipment is visible in the periphery of each chamber, but shimmering force fields at the thresholds of each room cause distortions in the air, making identifying anything else a challenge.
Rex determines that it is not dangeours. He's pretty sure that it is magical.
"Yes, it took me too long as it is! I've got to get back with these tears. The person you're looking for went that way, though." With that, Jresspr starts bounding off. if someone grabs the stalactite.: It weighs about 2 bulk, and it leaves your hands glowing faintly cyan.
"Let me put it this way; I'm not going to worry too much about what my new friends do once I leave. By the way, you're also welcome to this if you'd like. I scavenged it while making my way here, but it doesn't fit my armor." He hands you a jump jets armor upgrade.
Tiny, Rex, and Gideon each collect a droplet, while Calisst gets existential about the situation. Jresspr is overjoyed at your help. He pauses and then adds, "Hey, let me show you something." He leads you to a shallow part of the lake where a broken stalactite has sunk beneath the surface, and still pulses in perfect rhythm with the stalactites high above. Jresspr guesses that this stalactite broke off and fell during the turmoil a few months ago that shook this whole part of the station. "It would be taboo for me to touch it, but I'd rather you know about it than let a random passerby discover it."
Niksi keeps your offense and defense inspired! Rova impales the creature with an arrow, while Prism gets in a sneaky stab and Unset gets the creature in a bear hug! Candle Fingers, not being particularly talented at Athletics or Acrobatics, shoves his candle fingers into Unset's face!
His second attack gets Unset right in the eye! Initiative!
Jresspr exclaims, "Gosh, thank you!" He distributes a glass vial to each of you.
"Oh, I think I saw her a day or two ago. I hid when I heard the footsteps. Aaagh, the ritual. You see those glowing stalactites on the ceiling? They're pure quintessence—pure magic given form, created when condensation from the chamber surrounding the Starstone Reactor trickled down over decades into this chamber and then crystallized on the ceiling. At certain times each year, droplets called glowtears fall from the tips of these stalactites into the lake below, where their magic is diluted and lost. I had to travel here alone to catch pure glowtears in glass vials that can provide aid to the community’s mystics in the coming year. But I've been here for two days and I haven't caught any yet. I missed a couple by just inches!"
He seems to relax somewhat. "I'm Jresspr. Who are you? What are you doing here? I'm trying to do a ritual, but it isn't going very well."
Spoiler:
Rova is pretty sure this creature is a fey, but she's never heard of one with candle fingers before. Kennari uses a powerful dispel to eliminate the darkness!
Initiative!
As Prism disappears, the creature moves forward and is suddenly engulfed in darkness! Even if you have darkvision, you can't see well into the dark, and anyone in the area is concealed to you. if you enter the area of magical darkness:
You can see anything except his dimly glowing candle fingers! The way he waves his hand is quite hypnotic. You must succeed at a DC 27 Will save or you are fascinated. Initiative!
The creature is uninterested in shots from Rex, but she does seem more interested in Tiny and Gideon. She gets really excited when Gideon discharges electricity. You are able to guide the hexolin back to Fullbridge, then, using the footage from Gideon's bodycam, you find a shortcut to get back to the same place. Unfortunately, you soon reach a dead end. As you retrace your steps, you see passages that definitely weren't there the first time. However, you do see more of the pink marks from the missing engineer. This new path follows steeply down for several hundred feet, then opens into a massive cavern. You feel light on your feet as you enter into low gravity. This dark cavern is lit by stalactites that protrude from the ceiling hundreds of feet above, each pulsating with a faint cyan glow, and a lake of indeterminate depth taking up most of the chamber’s floor. The gentle sound of droplets hitting the lake is audible every so often, causing its liquid to luminesce in gentle blues, greens, and purples. Some of these drops illuminate another figure crouched at the lake’s edge. You see a lightly armored jubabnan--a human-sized toad who stands on one leg--at the edge of the lake. He looks at you very nervously, and you realize that you are a little bit scary as an armed adventuring party, and he probably thinks that you're gang members.
Have fun seeing the eclipse!
You all head north toward the sound, but the creature who emerges from the woods is not carrying a lantern at all, but rather has candles for fingers! It seems annoyed that you all came together. Initiative:
Initiative!
Prism is up!
Once you read the previous spoilers: If you as a group want to try to entice the hexolin to follow you, please attempt either a Survival check or a different skill you think would work for this at a higher DC. I will need everyone to try the check.
Is Gideon still using the camera like a bodycam?
Rex and Gideon agree that the walls aren't actually alive, just pulsing strangely. There does seem to be some magic present. Calisst uses mage hand to touch the wall. The wall pulls away from the hand with a small shudder. You continue along your path and soon come to a creature who is seemingly feeding from an exposed power cable. Rex immediately recognizes the creature as a hexolin, and notes that she is pregnant. She is not acting at all hostile to you. DC 12 Mysticism:
You know that hexoglins consume high-voltage electricity, dissipating it into lower-voltage energy that surrounds their tails and a magnetic field they can use to protect themselves. DC 12 Engineering check: Say! A hexoglin could serve as another method to step down the dangerous high-voltage power surrounding Fullbridge, simultaneously providing the hexoglin a healthy diet and providing safe energy transmission for the residents.
Sorry for the radio silence! It's been a super busy week, but I will get you moved along soon.
As you continue along, the walls flicker in and out of visibility. You catch glimpses of space outside, along with the armada orbiting Absalom Station. DC 12 Culture check: Based on the size of the armada, this appears to be in real-time, but with one major discrepancy: a barren planet at the edge of your vision shares Absalom Station’s orbit—this planet shouldn’t exist.
Vic shows you where the paths that lead deeper into the Ghost Levels are. There are quite a few passages, but luckily, Elymilra used a reflective pink permanent marker to indicate the paths shetraveled You follow the pink marker for some time. The thrum of machinery suddenly ceases after traveling around a sharp corner. Gone are the bulkheads and ubiquitous wires, now replaced by iridescent and interlocking hexagonal panels making up the ceilings, walls, and floors of the tunnels ahead. The panels shimmer even where there is no light shining upon them, and they contract and expand in ripples that run the length of each hall in a pattern that could be described as... breathing.
The voice does not answer you directly, but keeps calling out "Hello? Hello?"
Can I assume everyone is going along to check out this mysterious light and voice in the woods?
"I can't thank you enough. I've got a few things that might help you here, as well as your null space chamber back. Plus a couple of serums that are tokens of appreciation from the community for your help today." Vic hands you a serum of earthen stature and a serum of fiery vengeance, as well as 100 feet of titanium alloy cable line, a grappler, a serum of infinite air , and her backup rifle: a tactical arc emitter. She also returns a now-empty mk 1 null-space chamber to you.
The call repeats. "Hello? Hello?"
Gideon gives the residents valuable information about identifying scams, though some of the teenagers seem like they might be taking the wrong lesson as they ask very detailed questions about pulling off such a scheme. You are soon interrupted by a worried Vic. "My partner, Elymilra: she's missing. She's a human and another retired Knight of Golarion. And a hydraulics engineer. She’s most recently been working to tap into an unused water reclamation system to provide Fullbridge with enough fresh water and also connect it to the Spike districts to improve the water quality for thousands of others. She is now hours late, and something in the nearby bulkheads prevents comm units from transmitting at distances greater than line-of-sight. I wish I could go myself, but I need the powered armor at my age, and it make s me too large to maneuver in the cramped passages she works in. Please, can you go find her?"
"Sure, she was in her home. Kind of a hovel, but I can show you." The light has grown dimmer, and you see lantern light coming down the hill through the woods. "Hello? Hello?" you hear off in the distance.
Vic is aware of dangerous groups such as the Strong Absalom movement and the Bulkhead Bruisers gang, and hopes to teach able-bodied community members how to protect their own. She welcomes the assistance from Tiny and Calisst. Tiny tries to lead combat drills but gets distracted when a pack of children tackle him as they do Vic. Calisst has more luck leading observation exercises. Rex goes to find the medical facilities, such as they are. Nizrixy Vaylamra has bright blue hair with jagged yellow streaks. She was waiting at Absalom Station’s spaceport for her flight home to Verces when the Drift Crash occurred, following a failed job interview. Nizrixy has spent time working as a hairdresser, a tattoo artist, and an assistant at a specialist eye-augmentation parlor. Shockingly, she’s the closest thing Fullbridge has to a medic, and against her initial judgement, has found enjoyment in helping others. Rex is able to take on quite a few of the waiting patients, and Nizrixy is quite grateful. Mehzidig worked remotely as tech-support for a holographic interface company in the Marixah Republic before the Drift Crash severed communication with their home. Unable to afford rent near Bluerise Tower, they moved here and are the only thing Fullbridge has resembling a trained electrician. Gideon tries to help, but as soon as he touches one wrong wire, Mehdizig grabs the tools from his hands, with a grim warning about what happened to their predecessor.
"Well thank you! We can certainly use these supplies. And I'll even return the null-space chamber once we've distributed everything. I can't say I've seen any ghosts, but I have seen gang members. My partner and I are retired Knights of Golarion, so we can do a lot, but we can't be everywhere at once. There are definitely a lot of ways that you could help us out."
• Electrician: Computers, Engineering, Perception, Physical Science
She immediately warms up to you. "Oh, well that's great. We can always use more help. Call me Vic! Yeah, that water's okay. It comes from a main line that heads to another part of the station. Do you have any questions for me?"
Gideon identifies these as spark gaps that help regulate the flow of energy across electrodes and confirms that these instructions are correct to safely guide people in and out of the area. You follow the instructions and arrive in a well-organized town. The town center’s appearance belies how recently it was built. A water pipe set into the ground leads to a fountain wrought of hand-made glass. Though not currently flowing, it is in the shape of an ijtikri with its numerous arms and tentacles spread out in such a way to provide water that can be collected for use in the community. Glass and metal cabochons have been implanted into the ground surrounding this central fixture to give it the appearance and feel of cobblestones. Someone in a big suit of powered armor with multiple backup generator upgrades is currently circling the fountain, clearly feigning distress while being chased by half a dozen children. Rounding the circle and seeing new arrivals, the powered armor occupant opens the faceplate, revealing a bronze dragonkin with a kindly demeanor. “You don’t look like our typical new residents. Playtime’s over for now, kids. I’ll see you later!” The children protest as the dragonkin shoos them away and emerges from her armored shell. "I'm Lourvictrix. What brings you to Fullbridge?"
After some rrecovery time, you start moving again. You take a short trek past a bulkhead and then through several access corridors, guided by the lashuntas and the rhythmic hum of machinery. After 20 minutes of travel, you emerge into a massive open space. The ground is coated in dark green insulated rubber with numerous cutaways to the steel bulkheads underneath, which contain silver inlays arranged in obscure, elongated patterns. The area is populated with numerous towering metal cylinders arranged in orderly rows. Together, this chamber resembles a giant circuit board. In the center of this space stands a massive tower made of insulated electrical wire coils, rivaling a racetrack in size, each winding wire as thick around as a vesk’s torso. At ground level, there are four breaks in these coils, big enough for a large creature to comfortably walk through. Bolts of lightning zap across two of the four openings at any given time. Signs are posted warning new arrivals how to safely enter by discharging static electricity on a metal rod a few feet away from the entrances then walking briskly through the opening between 3 and 10 seconds after a spark finishes. The cut-off words “full bridge rec–” are scrawled in silver marker next to the opening to enter the area.
"Nothing to be done for her now. Her name was Anylla. She fell in with a bad crowd, but we always thought she'd turn around. She was found dead this morning without a mark on her. She has been acting strange lately, though, according to her neighbors. They said she’d looked haggard and hollow-eyed in the last few days, and she’d complained about terrible nightmares featuring a little girl." You realize you met Anylla once! She was in the group that tried to vandalize your camp.
With hits from Rex and Gideon, and an extra powerful hit from Tiny, the final gang member falls.
A crowd draws in due to the noise, and the lashunta refugees sing your praises. "The Starfinders saved us!" They seem very unsettled from the incident and ask for a few minutes to calm down before proceeding to Starbridge.
Booralu looks confused for a moment, then figures it out. "Oh! You're with the circus that's coming to town. That's nice! I do love the circus." Right about then, you hear a creak of axles and see the light of a lantern coming up the road from the gate. Soon, a human carter arrives, driving a small horse-drawn cart. The cart holds a single plain pine coffin. Booralu looks solemn. "This is the burial I was digging the grave for. Poor young lady. No family to even pay to send her out to the mortician in Kerrick."
Tiny brings down Yellow! Gideon and Rex both get shots off on Blue, while Calisst boosts Tiny's next attack.
Blue moves to get a shot at Tiny!
Initiative!
"Oh, well that's nice of my cousin! I do love to meet new people. What brings you to town?" As he stops singing, the fireflies disperse.
Rex and Tiny are both thrown off by the panicked sounds coming from the refugees, while Calisst and Gideon both easily hit. Yellow steps out of the flank, then tries to stab Calisst.
Calisst starts to bleed! Blue shoots at Rex, then moves away from the action when his pistol misfires.
Initiative!
I'm so sorry, everyone, I accidentally used the high tier stat block in the first round. Luckily, they both do a d6 of damage with their ranged weapons, and they all should have still hit even with the lower attack bonus, so I don't need to retcon anything, but I just wanted to mention it in case someone noticed their bonus changing!
Rex and Calisst give the enemies some warning shots of their own, while Tiny and Gideon both get hits. Tiny practically takes Red's head off, and he collapses. Yellow pulls out a knife and tries to stab Calisst!
Blue moves and takes a shot at Rex.
Initiative!
Calisst and Rex get themselves into position, while Gideon fires off a warning shot. Tiny charges in, his bear nature just allowing him to hit. Red steps back and fires at Tiny.
Yellow moves into the middle and fires at Calisst
Blue moves around the edge and fires at Gideon.
They all have surprisingly good aim! Initiative!
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