An offering by GM Valen.
Each of you is a member in good standing of the Starfinder Society. You have been hastily summoned to the Lorespire Complex aboard the vast, artificial construct known as Absalom Station that serves as the Society's home.
The summons, which arrived via comm message, was issued by none other than Venture-Captain Arvin, a tall, confident lashunta, known both for his no-nonsense approach to Society affairs as well as for having a penchant for magic, although he would likely never refer to it as such.
The comm message contained only sparse information, but held the promise of an opportunity to recover some information critical to the Starfinder Society and indicated that urgency is required if this opportunity is to be seized.
Upon arrival at the Lorespire Complex, an assistant ushers you into a waiting conference room with an assurance that Venture-Captain Arvin will be with your shortly. There above the conference table floats the blue-hued, holographic image of a spacecraft bearing the markings of a Starfinder vessel. Appearing on the side of the holographic vessel is the name, "Unbounded Wayfarer".
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A tall, darkened red shirren walks into conference room. In his hands is a weathered-looking staff that has a dark glow to it. He is slightly hunched over and looking at the ground, trying to focus away from those gathered. He makes his way into an empty corner of the room, separating itself from the rest of the gathered group. In a very chittery voice, the arthropod says, "K'zict, here. Tell me where to go."
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A male android enters next. His skin is somewhat waxy looking and that new car smell wafts in with him. He wears low level freebooter armor and a tactical baton is on his belt. A tactical crossbolter is across his back. Running up his left arm are a series of exposed circuits, controls and small screens. Blinking as he focuses first on the room and then on K'zict he interacts. Greetings K'zict. You are Shirren. Are you singular or multiple? I am Rig. He takes a seat, and waits for a reply.
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A unusually tall half-orc with a Tactical Doshko strapped to his back enters the conference room. Even now after having served with the Society for a time, the Akitonian Dust of the gladiatorial arena falls from his large frame to floor; its redish hue similar to that of the Shirren already in the room.
Locking eyes with the Shirren Morroda looks at him with a cold stare Do I know this one? Didn't I fight him months ago in the arena? That was a truly wonderful battle the crowd loved the way we blitzed eachother without a care for the world about us.
Moving faster than expected the Orc stands before K'zict. His stern face morphs into a large smile; grinning from ear to ear Morroda speaks "Ay Laddy! Well Met, tha names Morroda, of Clan Metalbender." The Strange orc with a dwarven accent extends his hand in only a way another Gladiator would know. "I think you an' I fought a few cycles b'fore. T'was the battle that earned me ma freedom from the arena. Looks like we are on the same mission ta'day."
"An look we have more coming in. By me recollections I saw one other on that message Arvin be senden us." Extending his hand again to Rig he says "I be betten your the Mechanic, am I right?"
and to Jchak-Chtal he greets her in a gracious bow noticing the glimmering symbol of Hylax across her brow. "Respect to those of the Mystic Arts."
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Gripping Morroda's extending hand, K'zict bows in reverance. "I do remember you. Nice fight. Now we fight together," xe says directly to the half-orc telepathically. After the exchange, xe presents his favored weapon, the shadowstaff xe has called "Dark Justice", in a familiar gesture gladiators would know completes the greeting.
As you are talking, the swishing sound of the automated door alerts you to the entry of a lashunta man, who enters the room. It is Venture-Captain Arvin. He gestures to several functional chairs, inviting those of you still standing to sit.
“Thank you for arriving so quickly.” says the Starfinder. “As I mentioned in my comm message, we have an urgent opportunity to recover some critical information.”
“Several months ago,” Arvin continues, while directing the the Starfinders’ attention to the hologram hovering over the conference table, “a crew of Starfinders took a ship called the Unbounded Wayfarer into the Vast to explore a series of uncharted planets. They never returned.” The Venture-Captain accents his statement with a brief, sorrowful pause.
Arvin then continues, “Earlier today, a vesk pawnbroker in the Downlow neighborhood contacted us, offering to sell us several Starfinder insignias. These insignias belonged to the lost crew of the Unbounded Wayfarer, and that immediately caught the Society’s attention. The pawnbroker—named Julzakama—doesn’t realize the true value of the insignias. We negotiated a purchase price in exchange for the insignias and information about the seller. We hope this seller can lead us to the Unbounded Wayfarer and its crew.”
“We’ve remotely transferred the requested credits to Julzakama. Now, we need you to collect the insignias and all the information you can from the vesk regarding whoever sold him the insignias, and then track down that seller. Learn where to find the Unbounded Wayfarer and its crew. I’m worried that the seller might not be on the station for long, so act quickly.”
Vesk are a common, reptilian species that are predatory and war-like both in practice and appearance. They are heavily muscled and covered with thick scales and short, sharp horns. Though they have long since adopted technological weapons, vesk retain the thick claws and teeth of natural predators and enjoy using them to intimidate “softer” races. For that reason, a vesk is always considered to be “armed”. In addition, they have long, powerful tails—while primarily used for balance, some vesk martial arts incorporate formidable tail slaps.
I must get out more I guess. I have not heard of Julzakama or this Downlow. Perhaps I can research this area on the net and find out more... Rig pulls his datapad and begins typing.
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Ah, here is a reference. Julzakama is a vesk pawnbroker which means he should have a strong sense of honor and pride in fulfilling his agreements and dealing fairly. And from what I am seeing on this Downlow, we should go armed and be ready for trouble there. There is no telling what we might meet up with on the streets in broad daylight.
You make your way to Downlow, a poor and densely-populated section of the Spike that extends below Absalom Station.
Julzakama’s shop is less than an hour from the Lorespire Complex, the headquarters of the Starfinder Society, and reaching the run-down store is fairly simple. Based upon directions provided by Venture-Captain Arvin, the party has no trouble locating the alley where the shop is listed as being located.
Although some areas of Downlow are clean and trendy, this narrow alley of concrete and metal buildings drips with oil and sparking wires. A wide, red neon electric sign reads “Julzakama’s Loans” on a building sandwiched between a Kuthite sensation house and a derelict building covered with graffiti. The shop’s solid metal door contains a single, small window too grimy to peer through.
Upon entering the store, your nose is hit with the acrid smell of a reptile house that has not been cleaned in months. You find the interior of Julzakama’s Loans to be crammed with shelves containing all manner of near-valueless items, from small appliances to VR game consoles and jars of colored powders.
Behind a low desk in the rear of the shop, enveloped within a series of metal bars anchored into the ceiling, stands a massive vesk in a muscle shirt stands, who looks up from what appears to be the carelessly disassembled remains of an old computer as you enter the shop. With a visible glint within his reptilian eye, a smirk begins to form across his scaly face.
"I always welcome paying customers," he says, displaying a toothy smile, ”but it appears to me that you folks must be lost.”
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Morroda looks over the vesk, some may notice he is sizing up the reptilian and wagering within his mind if he were to fight him who might win.
"Lost? Ha! We've been sent ta retrieve the batch o' Starfinder Insignias that ye be selling ta the Society and ta get tha information on who it be who sold'm ta you." Morroda stares sternly at the man and waits for his reply.
“So you’re Starfinders, eh?” the brutish vesk replies knowingly, with a wide, toothy smile. Well, why didn’t you just say so, orc-ling?”
From behind a place of protection, Julzakama reach reaches down to a low shelf, close to his feet. As he does so, his thick, lengthy tail flies upward, whipping against the protective bars. Once he is again standing upright, the vesk clutches a small, metal box within his clawed, scaly hands. “Thank you for your business.” he says as he slides the box towards you, pushing it with one clawed hand through a small opening in the bars.
Once he has removed his hand, he urges, “Go ahead, orc-ling. Open it.”
As he waits for Morroda to comply, the vesk looks past the half-orc and matches eyes with the studying Rig. “Don’t worry, droid-ling,” he says, still sporting a broad, reptilian grin. “You can trust ole Julzakama.”.
Glancing over at the two shirren Starfinders, the pawn dealer calls out, “I know you ren-lings like makin’ choices. Well, you’re in luck ‘cause good ole Julzakama’s got plenty of goods here in his store for you to choose from.” He reaches down to a low shelf, once again and produces a very antiquated portable viewer with two bent, metal antennae protruding from one side. The vesk holds it up in front of him as if comparing its silhouette to that of the two shirren Starfinders.
"So, what else can I interest you in?" asks Julzakama.
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Morroda opens the little box inspecting the goods and peers over his shoulder to his brother, not in blood but in deed. "K'zict the goods look good don't you think?" giving a wink to the red colored shirren he begins turning back to Julzakama the "orc-ling" continues "Alright now to the other part of the agreement. What can you tell us about who sold these too you? Are they still on station? Did they mention anything specific? What do they look like?"
As he listens with a grin to the half-orc and android posing questions, Julzakama scratches the scaly skin between his bony beardspikes with a clawed hand.
In response, the vesk merely says, “Seems I’m now fully paid for those trinkets there. I remember Arvin said something about wanting information, too, and I can do that. But information costs extra.”
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K'zict snaps back to reality when xe hears the android, Rig, getting forceful with the caged vesk. Xe decides it's prudent to join in, "We have numbers on our side and will stick to the deal. If you will not, we will make you pay in other ways." K'zict flips Dark Justice over as a ball of dark energy starts to form on the end of the staff. Xe levels the staff at the crooked shop owner, "What will it be?"
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"I think what my associates are trying to say is that you should give us the information and we’ll be on our way. The alternative, of course, is making an enemy of the Starfinder Society. Now, I’m no weapons expert, but that…" Jchak pauses and gestures to the ball of energy forming on K’zict’s staff, "looks unstable, and I don’t know how long K’zict can keep it in check. I’m not sure I want to be around to find out, either."
"All right! All right!” Julzakama cries out as his prior bluster quickly fades. As he speaks, he backs away from the bars.
"The seller was named Exegara. he blurts out rapidly. "And she wasn’t from around here. Definitely an Eoxian. She looked like a manling, but didn’t breath or blink or anything. Wore a flight suit, like she had come off a long trip. Once she had her money, she asked about where to purchase clean skeletons.” He points to the littered shelves around his shop. "I don’t carry goods like that!"
"So I sent her to the Vat Garden." Julzakama continues. "And she stormed out of here. Mentioned something about hiring some local muscle. ‘Just in case’, she said.“ The vesk pawnbroker raises his clawed hands in protest. "That’s all I know. Honest!”
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Given hours, Jchak asks around the Downlow to find information on the Vat Garden. "It seems like it is a garden, although the property used to contain bio-active substances many years ago. The ysoki family that now owns it takes any sort of biological waste to use as fertilizer. I suppose they might have bones of some kind."
Asking around Downlow, the party learns the location of the Vat Garden, which is about 10 minutes from Julzakama’s Loans. Walking through the corridors of Downlow, your ears get accustomed to hearing a constant din filled with conversations, commerce, and the sounds of every-day life. Parts of Downlow are fairly crowded, as people go about their daily business. After walking for a few minutes on approach to the Vat Garden, however, you notice there appear to be fewer people travelling through the corridors, as if they are purposely detouring around the area.
Soon, the station passageways open into an enormous sunken pool filled with a riotous growth of plants. A narrow walkway leading to other parts of Downlow encircles the overgrown vat, and a spire of some kind of machinery stands in its center. For such a busy section of Downlow, the area is surprisingly quiet. Two ladders and a steep staircase pierce the foliage and lead down into the vat.
Down within the vat, a lanky, female figure dressed in a flight suit and wrapped in a concealing cloak is busy adding skulls to a small pile near the base of the machinery in the center of the garden. Two humans pace around the grounds, watching the access points to the garden, and brandishing assault hammers as an apparent warning to any that would dare to approach.
Asking around Downlow, the party learns the location of the Vat Garden, which is about 10 minutes from Julzakama’s Loans. Walking through the corridors of Downlow, your ears get accustomed to hearing a constant din filled with conversations, commerce, and the sounds of every-day life. Parts of Downlow are fairly crowded, as people go about their daily business. After walking for a few minutes on approach to the Vat Garden, however, you notice there appear to be fewer people travelling through the corridors, as if they are purposely detouring around the area.
Soon, the station passageways open into an enormous sunken pool filled with a riotous growth of plants. A narrow walkway leading to other parts of Downlow encircles the overgrown vat, and a spire of some kind of machinery stands in its center. For such a busy section of Downlow, the area is surprisingly quiet. Two ladders and a steep staircase pierce the foliage and lead down into the vat.
Down within the vat, a lanky, female figure dressed in a flight suit and wrapped in a concealing cloak is busy adding skulls to a small pile near the base of the machinery in the center of the garden. Two humans pace around the grounds, watching the access points to the garden, and brandishing assault hammers as an apparent warning to any that would dare to approach.
The two humans keep an eye out, waiting for any sign of trouble.
Round One Initiative Order
Humans - delaying
Jchak-Chtal
Rig
Cloaked Figure
Morroda
K'zct
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Jchak-Chtal sends a brief telepathic message to her allies before making her way along the walkway as quietly as possible. "I'm going to try to distract them if I can."
Then, she stops for a moment to summon some magical energy. A second later, the sound of footsteps and hushed whispers emanates from within the plants (where the red dot is on the map).
The two humans turn to see the source of the new sound emanating from among the plants.
As one begins to head into the plants, he is struck by a bolt from above. "We have company!" he cries out. The human races up the steps and swings at the android with the crossbolter.
The human thug seems to relish inflicting pain on the shooter.
"The sound was a trick you fools!" hisses a female voice from under the cloak. The cloaked form draws a laser pistol and enters the thick foliage of the garden, vanishing from sight! Following suit, the other human likewise disappears into the growth.
Round One Initiative Order Cont'd/Round Two Begins
Jchak-Chtal
Rig - 8 SP
Human (purple) - 4 HP
Cloaked Figure
Human (green)
Morroda
K'zct
Jchak-Chtal
Rig - 8 SP
The human mercenary is struck twice more. He still stands, though barely.
Round One Initiative Order Cont'd/Round Two Begins
Jchak-Chtal
Rig - 8 SP
Human (purple) - 12 HP
Cloaked Figure
Human (green)
Morroda
K'zct
Jchak-Chtal
Rig - 8 SP