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Are you saying, this is the source of... all Ixiol?
"Yes, yes, as far as I know. Not sure how the farmer manages to keep it secret from the Corporation, and I don't really care. Though, if you want to sell me that key so I can keep the trade alive..."
Unlike his casual conversation with Joyrid, Slrrg appears genuinely shaken by Captain Alzura Frostflare's menacing tone. "That one's easy! Our agents sent word through the drift-relays. You may remember them. You beat them to a tar back at your fleet. They'd figured out it was your benefactor, Mr. Garlus Tylappar, that had the key, said having been stolen by one of Mr. Tylappar's associates when his vessel was here last." "It was their task to bring it back. Having failed, another Malthar ship was to attack you in the drift, but failed to lock onto your location. My vessel was here merely to put pressure on the farmer to figure out a way to produce the product. It was happenstance, or perhaps kismet, that you arrived the same time as I. If you'd been a day earlier, I might never have known where the key was, once my associates lost track of you."
The sun sinks low over the red-burnished grasslands as you approach the Northern outpust, casting long amber shadows across the scrub and hard-packed earth. The outpost — no more than a scattering of adobe buildings enclosed by a crude palisade of weathered logs — seems to rise like a mirage. Smoke curls lazily from the flat rooftops, the scent of mesquite and lard drifting on the cooling breeze. A few goats bleat near the corral, their sounds mingling with the quiet murmur of voices and the distant bark of a dog. A tiny temple with a wooden painted butterfly, bleached by years of sun, stands at the edge of the outpost, its single bell silent for now. The only road in is a narrow rutted trail, flanked by cacti. Inside the palisade, life moves slowly in the soft golden light. A soldier in a leather breastplate leans against the gate, nodding to passersby with the easy familiarity of someone who’s known every face for years. Women stir pots over open hearths, their silhouettes dark against the orange glow of cooking fires. The sound of a distant stringed instrument rises from one of the dwellings, its notes faint and wistful, drifting into the purple dusk. Though isolated and small, the outpost feels rooted—an island of stubborn life holding firm against the vast, wild silence of the frontier.
Stormfang does not waste time; once he is satisfied he's warned his allies of the danger, he bids you all farewell and takes to the air, "feeling a bit peckish" in his own words. Nothing accosts you on the trail that day, nor do you see any other travelers heading either direction. The night passes mostly without incident, though in the early hours of the third watch, all are briefly awakened by a rumbling of the ground. The horses are spooked, and Kaki takes to the sky. It only lasts a few seconds, however, and then all returns to normal. Kaki does not report stopping any dangers. Mayum 21 The day starts off cool and overcast, and for the most part stays that way. A welcome reprieve from the hot sun of two days ago, or even the warm humidity of the day before. Toward evening, you start to see travelers on the road again, coming out from the occasional farm lane or secluded hamlet across the plains in the distance.
What a terrible series of events for all of us huh? certainly not "the best of times", but hey, at least we're all still here to post about it. well, that and the game lol.
Yikes. Glad you were able to make a post, but definitely take care of yourself! Seems like a rough time for many of us. Yoltzin's player lives in Texas, as you saw above, and was indirectly affected by the flooding. For myself, Friday afternoon I left work with the beginnings of a pretty severe tooth-ache. I started my car, and it seems the vehicle is now relegated to a max RPM of 2500-3000. It shifts just fine (probably not transmission) but getting up to speed going up hill is SLLLOOOOOOWWWW, and St Louis, being between two rivers, has a lot of hills. So Monday, I get to try to find a dentist, drop my car off at the mechanic, and get ahold of a rental. Meantime I'm on max doses of three pain meds.
"We are kin! But...he probably has no love for your kind, certainly. Especially the Elf." Yoltzin shivers. She remembers hearing about a larger Wild Elf settlement, deeper in the woods, that encountered a Green Dragon. The tale goes that when they found the village, almost all flesh was melted off the bone. Few Elves survived, and some were disfigured by the creature's acidic breath.
The fearsome creature does an odd clicking noise that might be dragon laughter. "Of course it's me! I was just joking. I've seen your party traveling for the last couple days. Easy to recognize with that knight's gleaming armor, a gnoll fit for battle and an elf riding a skeleton!" "Since you did right by my kobold servants, I wanted to give you a warning. Last evening, I noticed a Green following you. He's bigger than I; haven't seen him before, must be from west of the mountains. Keep an eye out! I do not cross to the other side of mountains."
"Hmmmm. I took you for food. But you smell familiar, human!"
Slrrg chuckles. "Seems you all have a choice. You can give me the key and let my business continue, providing some level of comfort to its users, or you can cut us off, either turning the card over to AgroCorp, or destroying it." In any case, your fleet is outbound and will leave this sector soon. I don't intend to follow you, and the Malthar won't waste resources on following you away from our turf. Your decision."
"Heh, it's worse than that, I'm afraid," Slrrg interrupts. "Even the farmer himself can't reproduce his results without access to the data. Seems he used his machine to do the calculations, them deleted those out of paranoia each time. Not enough scientific know-how to reproduce it on his own. We came by looking for our supply, and with some finger-bending, figured out what had gone wrong."
Mayum 20 The weather starts out very similar to the previous day, but a mid-day shower keeps the temperatures from reaching the highs of the previous day, for which you are all thankful. Around mid-day, the sound of wings beating startles the party out of their thoughts. A Blue Dragon lands not far ahead of you on the path. The travelers think it's Stormfang, but no one has seen enough dragons to be confident in singling out an individual with any certainty.
Realizing what creature it is that's running off, Rocko snarls distastefully and heads off to start a morning cooking fire as the sun peeks over the horizon. Petrifying chickens make horrible eating. Mayum 19 Once everyone has eaten, washed some of the grit away in a nearby stream, and gotten fully equipped, it's time to hit the path once again. The gusty winds of yesterday continue, but by noon, the travelers are quite glad of them; the heat beating down off the prairie grass is unseasonably hot today. By day's end, you've also reached the point where the river, now a mere stream, originates in the mountains. From this point on, only serious travelers seeking to cross the Picos Cidaos will be encountered. No real settlements, aside from the northern outpost, exist up here away from the water source. Rocko estimates maybe two more days until you reach the outpost. Late that night, in the middle of the second watch, something is heard screeching in the sky. It might have been a certain dragon of your acquaintance. Or potentially a different one. But whatever it is, it never comes into visible range.
"Once said farmer was certain of what he had, he set out to find a buyer. He went to an illicit club in a nearby system and made contact with one of my associates; The Malthar are renowned for supplying this corner of space with the things their governments consider contraband. After examination of a sample, The Malthar were in. I myself was placed in charge of the project. Ixiol quickly became one of my top sellers." "Unfortunately, the farmer in his caution decided the only way to avoid his project being potentially discovered, or stolen, was to encrypt the data with a quite ingenious proprietary method based off an old cypher. And then someone stole the only decryption key. My suppliers were thus unable to produce more Ixiol. And perhaps now you begin to see my problem."
After listening to the crew's questions related to the decryption key, Slrrg finally gives some exposition on exactly why they've been after the key. "You see, it comes down to profits - AgroCorp's profits, and Malthar profits. A while ago, some of the researchers here did some genetic manipulation on a batch of seed-pods trying to find other potential uses, higher profit uses, for AgroCorp's foods." "This research didn't yield much, and was shut down about a year ago. However, one of the experiments was stolen by an 'entrepreneurial' farmer down on Mwangi Acres. On a visit to the Station, he managed to wipe it clean from the corporate database and retained all information on it himself." "This experiment produced the lovely dissociative drug you've probably heard of...Ixiol. Hearing this makes you think back to the addict you saw back in The Nebula Drift days ago. Ixiol has been heavily used (and abused, given its addictive properties) by many survivors since the Cyleerin attacks.
Oh crap I didn't even think of that! Are you guys in the flood area? Everyone okay?
Amideo strides up and takes two quick slashes at the remaining cockatrice, injuring it severely.
Yoltzin's arrow likewise hits it solidly. The unnatural fowl is quite injured, and decides to retreat and live to find easier prey. Rocko may act if he chooses.
Yoltzin fires an arrow, preferring to save her spellcraft for potential needs later in the day.
Given the Sathar's anatomy visually, Joyride would guess they eat garbage and muck. But they do seem to have rudimentary teeth, so they can probably eat whatever sort of foods they are offered. "Ha! Haha! This one I like!" Slrrg says, slapping Joyride on the back. "We try to blow you out of the sky, you defeat us, and then you offer to take us for dinner and drinks! I'd offer you a job in the Malthar, if I thought you'd take it." Slrrg nevertheless seemingly avoids answering the question entirely. He definitely doesn't seem like he's planning a backstab at this point. Slrrg seems resigned to his defeat.
A few minutes later, Betty docks with the Malthar vessel, and the crew boards. Clarissa and Garlus remain aboard The Betty.
Cherry begins a review of the ship's systems. It doesn't look great. Probably best salvaged for parts, rather than repaired. Meanwhile, Sub-boss Slrrg meets the Captain and the rest of the boarding party. Slrrg slithers into the chamber with a sinuous grace that belies his bulk. His rubbery, wormlike body is unusually thick around the midsection, the smooth segments bulging slightly beneath the dull sheen of his reinforced suit. His pinkish-gray flesh glistens with a faint sheen of moisture, and his eyeless head swivels slowly, the sensory ridge twitching as it took in his surroundings. Though his physical presence lacks the sleek menace of some of the rest of his crew, the weight he carries was is more than just physical—it is political, and dangerous in its own right.
"The decrypt key? You have it?" Slrrg's voice lifts in excitement, but then a stream of air seeps from him like a tire deflating. "Well, I guess it's useless, now. You're going to find out sooner or later. Send your boarding party; we won't resist. I'll explain everything once you get here."
Holding on Yoltzin and Amideo.
"Starship Betty, this is Sub-boss Slrrg of the Malthar Syndicate. We'll surrender, but the Syndicate is gonna be pretty peeved you've destroyed one of their ships and taken soldiers hostage."
Burlap's shots penetrate the poorly protective rear shields and, with a large explosion, the ship begins to list and float away with the physics of the coilgun's shots. The enemy ship is fully disabled. Joyride tries his best to dodge flying hull fragments, though there are many and a few hits are unavoidable. Combat over.
Between Djack's stab and Zia's missile, the horrid beast drops dead.
Zia casts Magic Missile at the one Djack just hit.
Djack almost skewers one through, but the attack is off-side slightly and the creature still survives. Nevertheless, a solid hit. Yoltzin, Zia, Amideo may act.
Initiative Order
Amideo:
Shooting them until they're out of HP pretty much means the ship is disabled. It's not "destroyed" until it reaches twice it's hull, though I'd probably not play it taking that long to do. In any case you're not likely to accidentally completely destroy a ship this big. If a ship is reduced to 0 or fewer Hull Points, it is disabled and it floats in its current direction of travel at a rate of half its speed until it is repaired, rescued, or destroyed.
Betty may act, or may choose to let the Enemy act first.
Joyride makes to catch up with the departing enemy vessel. Top of Round 6
Noted. Will bot as needed. Enjoy your activities.
No worries. Keeping to the hard sequence tends to slow things down on PBP, waiting for the right person to post. I'd rather just let people act as they pop on, a allow things to happen organically.
The night goes smoothly until the 3rd watch, just before dawn. Amideo is on guard duty, and as the light of the sun begins to turn the sky a purple-red, he spots what appears to be two wild chickens approaching the camp from the grasslands. On closer inspection, however, he notes the long, lizard-like tail, and wings more akin to a bat than a chicken. Amideo prepares to awaken the party. They've faced one of these before. Cockatrice; avians that turn portions of their prey into stone. Initiative
Vasco reassures Amideo he will not speak a word about this mission. Having completed your meal and giving yourself and the horses some rest, you're ready set off again. There are still several hours until sunset, and you can get a good head-start toward the northern outpost. Djack purchases some amount of foodstuffs with which to gift the Elders at her village. Breads of various sorts, some fine aged Galloan wines, and a plethora of other specialty items, carefully packaged and bundled, cost of 20 gp. A small amount from the party funds, to be sure, but quite luxurious for foodstuffs nonetheless. Saying their goodbyes, the party heads north. By the end of the day, they're reached the edge of cultivated lands. The road here, built during the initial colonization, ends. It is replaced with a fairly well-trodden path. Some people yet make their way between the northern outpost and Santa Merceda, but not many.
Vasco nods, knowingly. "Ah, trip home, eh?" It's actually a fairly knowledgeable comment. Yoltzin would like to have said the man was being prejudicial, assuming all Wild Elves were from that particular forest. But in this case, she had to admit her own people were rather xenophobic, and few moved outside the realm of the Mother Woods.
Can we attack and then move our do we have to move first? I'm kind of playing it timey-wimey with the rules; IDC if you move out of turn. If you'd like to move before the round ends, I'll leave you the option. The enemy is now at L-13 and looks to be running away, per my recent post.
Burlap's shot gets another solid engine hit; they're now just one step away from going offline. Additionally, Vaëlorin is reading significantly weakened structural integrity on the vessel. The enemy ship now seems to be rethinking this encounter. It attempts to run away, but its awkward movement due to both engine damage and its normal poor maneuverability causes it to have not moved far from The Betty at the end of its turn. (Enemy ship is now at L-13). It does not fire any weapons, but nor does it signal surrender.
The Station pivots once again, launching a missile from the first tube.
Vaëlorin watches on the scanner as the missile flies forth from the station. With a spectacular explosion so strong it actually shakes The Betty ever-so-slightly, the missile slams into the weakened front shields of the enemy! The hit seems to have done some moderate amount of damage to their power core, making rerouting of power more difficult. Betty may act. Their front shields are at 0 and they've had proportionately about as much Hull damage as you have.
My job is stabilizing the shields, right? Yup. DC 15 Computers to balance shields, Can pull from any quadrant to any other, effectively covering up downed or drained shields in vulnerable quadrants.
The woman touches Djack's arm to get his attention as he stands. "YOU are welcome. Our concern is in a representative of The Marques showing up too often in our area. While we concede the legal authority of the Marques, Santa Merceda is a free city. We'd like to make sure it stays that way." Her voice softens. "You've allayed that concern; you're just passing through. I'll relay your salutations to Emilio."
The woman gestures "sit" with her hand. Once Djack is seated, she looks up from under the hood. "You are known to me, Djack of Albarra. You assisted the Alliance with a problem not long ago. The Alliance and all of Santa Merceda gives you its gratitude. That said, it is odd that those known as The Heroes of Albarra find themselves again in our city." She definitely emphasized the word "our". The woman gestures, and shortly two drinks are brought to the table. The contents of the glass are clear. The woman takes a swig from hers.
Meanwhile, back in the marketplace... Everyone having obtained the food of their choice, or at least of opportunity, the party, minus Djack, sits together at a bench and table under a pavilion of thick fabric. "...so the farmer says 'It's because he doesn't want to be spotted!' Take my meaning? Spotted?" Vasco says, finishing the joke he began as you walked into the pavilion. "Well, it was funny when I heard it. So, anyway, what brings the Heroes of Albarra once again to our city?" the rebel-turned-captain asks as he takes a bite of multi-colored maize dipped in a thick cream.
The woman ducks into a tavern whose entrance is off the main courtyard in a narrow alley. There is no clearly readable name on the sign above the door; just the engraved image of an old manor house and a smiling man holding a large mug. As Djack enters the establishment, he notices how distinctly different it is from The Friendly Mesa. The Mesa was warm, festive and inviting. One never felt alone there, even if it was only the barkeep and one customer. But here, being alone, anonymous, seemed the point. There is little external light in the narrow room, and it is a good ten degrees cooler in here than on the street. Three people stand by the bar, and a row of benches runs along the outside wall. Squinting, Djack sees the hooded woman in one of the benches, her eyes on him.
Top of Round 5
So 2 systems were damaged? Yeah, just rolled off-screen. Will post in a minute on the Game side.
The enemy holds steady, firing two close-range shots at The Betty. Plasma Cannon:
Missile:
Despite Joyride's attempts to evade, both of the weapons slam into The Betty, rocking the entire vessel. On the bridge, sparks fly as systems get overloaded.
Burlap looks at his weapons system readout. The coilguns are still good, but it appears there is minor damage to the light particle beam. It will be less accurate (-2) until repaired (glitching). Likewise, Joyride's heart sinks as a section of lights on the Pilot's console goes dark. He can compensate manually, but the ship will not be as maneuverable (-2 Piloting) until repaired (glitching).
Not that I can tell. I'm not going to require it, in any case. Just wanted to make sure I had you in the right place before I take the Enemy ship's turn. |
