Searching for the Corpse Fleet in the Diaspora

After the Gap - March 19, 317 @ 21:22 
 
With the middle of the month approaching, Yiris, Bratrizik and Nict each see their February's monthly pay of 2,600 credits deposited in their accounts. They spend some time shopping the bazaars of Qabarat and purchasing upgrades for their weapons and armor.

After completing their last errands, they board the Sunrise Maiden, and they prepare for their departure back to Absalom Station. Yiris finds a message from Chiskisk, their contact in the Starfinder Society, requesting an update on their mission. The android sends a generic message back advising the Starfinder representative they are fine and have completed their mission and are heading back to the space station to provide a personal account of what transpired on Castrovel.

 
After the Gap - March 23, 317 @ 9:22 
 
After an uneventful travel from Castrovel, they emerge from the Drift near Absalom Station. A message from Chiskisk sent two days ago invites them to tea on the day they arrive. Bratrizik contacts station security, which promptly directs them to docking bay 94, where their current adventure began. They complete the deboarding procedures, meet with security, and then secure the Sunrise Maiden before heading to the Lorespire Complex deep within the station.

 They arrive at the shirren's office. Chiskisk greets them excitedly. The shirren serves a wonderfully rich-flavored tea, which Nict finds lovely. Bratrizik shares the video footage of their expedition, while Yiris and Nict narrate the highlights of what they did. They share descriptions of the fauna and flora, and how the ruins correspond to the travel journal of Halkueem Zan. They report on the knowledge found in the Temple of the Twelve's library. They tell the shiren that they also found some intriguing information but wish to pursue it to determine its value before revealing it.

Bratrizik submits one of the vials of kaukariki poison acquired in the jungle of Ukulam so that the Starfinder Society's laboratory can study and possibly synthesize it. Chiskisk informs them that the Drift Rock was finally awarded to the Hardscrabble Collective. The shirren also reports that ships of the Corpse Fleet engaged in attacks on the outskirts of the Armada. Nict inquires about the station's gang fighting, but unfortunately Chiskisk is not familiar with those. 

After departing Chiskisk's office, the trio heads to the Starfinder Society's extensive library and they research any information they can on the location of the Gate of the 12 Suns. Unfortunately, they find no references to the constellation. Either it has not been observed since the Gap, or records have been deleted. Either way, they are no closer to find the exact location of the super weapon's hiding place. 

While on the Starfinder Society's infosphere, Nict searches various jobs boards, looking for an opportunity to earn some credits. There are three possibilities, all riskier than the next. After a short discussion, they decide to contact Ambassador Gevalarsk Nor and inquire whether he might have employment for them. They contact the Ambassador, and request an appointment. His secretary confirms that the Ambassador will meet them at 800 the following day.


After the Gap - March 24, 317 @ 8:00

After a peaceful night spent aboard the Sunrise Maiden, Bratrizik, Nict, and Yiris head inside Absalom Station and enter the Eoxian Embassy, where they are greeted by Ambassador Gevalarsk Nor. Nor offers them a light breakfast, but does not partake of the food. After discussing their most recent mission, Nor confides that a contingent of the Corpse Fleet has recently attacked ships in the Armada that floats around Absalom Station. He offers them 15,000 credits to chase the Corpse fleet contingent and report on its mission, including their current whereabouts and any contacts they might have with other ships. Yiris asks whether Nor could provide advanced equipment to boost the efficiency of their ship. Nor offers advanced medium-range sensors, but reduces the payment to 10,000 credits. They accept it.


After the Gap - March 24, 317 @ 13:17

The sensors are delivered to the Sunrise Maiden, and Nict begins to install them. The shirren mechanic estimates it will take three days to complete the process.


After the Gap - March 24, 317 @ 19:46

Chiskisk contacts Yiris and requests an urgent meeting, telling them that they had just received news from Professor Muhali in Castrovel from their mission, including their findings from the Temple of the Twelve. The trio reports to the Starfinder Society, and meet a distressed shirren. Chiskisk appears pertubed by the idea that the Cult of the Devourer is seeking to get their hands on a super weapon, and they express sadness that the party did not see fit to share this information with them. They extend 2,500 credits for them to pursue this forthwith. 

Bratrizik tells Chiskisk that they do not believe the Cult currently know the specific location of the Gate of the Twelve Suns. There is some evidence that the gate could be something else. Bratrizik further adds that they have agreed to a mission with another group, but there is no reason they couldn't complete both missions concurrently, and they accept Chiskisk's offer.


After the Gap - March 28, 317 @ 7:12

Nict completes the Sunrise Maiden's upgrade, and soon the ship blasts away from Absalom Station and enters the Drift. They head out towards the Diaspora.


After the Gap - March 30, 317 @ 10:11

The Sunrise Maiden emerges from Drift travel in one of the sectors most likely to have been visited by the Corpse fleet contingent they are tracking. Running a sensor sweep, Yiris detects a ship lying in wait at the extremity of their sensor range. Their previous sensors would not have detected them. As the Sunrise Maiden begins to move, the other starship maneuvers to shadow it. Bratrizik deduces that this ship is not aware that the crew of the Sunrise Maiden knows they are out there, so they begin planning a counterattack in case the other ship turns hostile.

As the Sunrise Maiden sails through space, it becomes clear the other ship is shadowing them and closing in on an attack vector. As the ship nears, Bratrizik is able to make the ship's ensigna. They fly the flag of the Free Captains.

The Free Captains

The enemy ship soon puts itself into an attack position and powers its weapons. Nict powers the weapons, while Bratrizik opens a communication channel. The captain of the other ship identifies herself as Alera Okwana, of the Rusty Rivet. She claims allegiance to the Free Captains, and request that the Sunrise Maiden pay a tribute or be attacked and possibly captured.

Rusty Rivet

Negotiations ensue between the crews of the Sunrise Maiden and that of the Rusty Rivet. The crew of the Rusty Rivet recognize Bratrizik as a celebrity involved with the Drift Rock as well as in Castrovel and are pleased to be dealing with someone famous. Eventually, Bratrizik agrees to pay 2,100 credits, but in exchange Okwana agrees to reveal the heading of a group of Corpse Fleet ships that passed through here two days ago. Bratrizik transports over to the Rusty Rivet, and exchanges the credit. The pirate crew takes selfies on their personal communication devices with the Vesk, before sending him back on his way. The Rusty Rivet soon departs the area, and the Sunrise Maiden is allowed to continue on its course to Asteroid K9204, the most recent known location of the Corpse Fleet!

Alera Okwana

The Stellar Degenerator

After the Gap - March 15, 317 @ 18:25 
 
Coming down from the mountaintop observatory, Nict, Yiris and Bratrizik are faced with a dilemma. With a rapidly falling night, they can either fight Panelliar the undead monk guarding the Temple of the Twelve and hope to gain access to the structure, or continue down the staircase back to the Forsaken City and retire to their shelter from the previous night to regain their strength and stamina. After a heated discussion, they follow the trail back to the ruined city, arriving back in their lodging just as night darkens.

After building a small fire, Nict prepares a delicious meal of local grubs, while Bratrizik spends his last spells and casts mystic cure on himself, healing fully. Yiris places herself in sleep mode, while the vesk takes the first watch.


After the Gap - March 16, 317 @ 7:38

The night is uneventful. Feeling refreshed and ready for action, the three of them depart their shelter of fortune, hoping not to have to return for yet one more night, and they head on the path climbing back to the Temple of the Twelve. Once on the plateau, they are once again confronted by Panelliar.

Nict is the first one to engage as he shoots and hits Panelliar. Bratrizik follows the shirren's attack with his favorite spell, mind trust, while Yiris adds an arcing surge. Panelliar closes the distance and releases his supernova solarian power, hitting the vesk and the shirren. Nict is able to dodge out of the way, but in a rerun of his previous encounter with the undead monk, Bratrizik enjoys the full blast of the undead's attack. The assault continues, and though a worthy foe, the ancient elf monk is eventually defeated. 

As he dies, Panelliar thanks them for releasing his soul from bondage but warns them of a trap. His body disappears in a pile of ashes, leaving only his equipment behind. Bratrizik carefully packs the armor so that he can either sell it or offer it to historians for its archeological value.

Now standing at the front door of the Temple of the Twelve, the party discusses how they should proceed. Bratrizik suggests looking through the stainglass windows. Yiris tells him they've already done that, and that they are at least 10 feet off the ground. Bratrizik says he will use his jump jets. Yiris and Nict agree to wait for the vesk. Flying around the Temple, he finds Dr. Solstarni in a room that appears to be the sanctuary. Dr. Solstarni is evidently reading something on a column. Bratrizik knocks softly on the window, but she can't hear him.

Meanwhile, back at the front door of the Temple, Nict notices that a trap has been laid. Explosives have been disguised and were nearly invisible to the casual observer. Designed to collapse the entire doorway, the trap would most likely have taken their lives. Taking a closer look, Nict realizes that this trap hides an even deadlier one. Any attempt to disarm the charges on the outside would set off explosives inside the doorway. The sheer quantity would have demolished the front half of the Temple.

Returning to the front of the building, Bratrizik proposes they look at the windows to see if they are trapped. A thorough evaluation reveals that they have not been trapped. Climbing the ledge to the window, they carefully break one of the stain glass pane, and they enter a study room once used by scholar priests and astronomers of the Temple but now in ruins. 

The adjacent rooms are also old study rooms. Opening another door, the android stumble upon five cultists piling explosives against two columns inside a large room. Everyone is surprised, but Yiris is the first to react. She casts caustic conversation, hitting one of the cultists square in the chest. Bratrizik fires at another, while Nict is also able to land a few blows as well. The cultists fire back, using automatic weapons, spraying bullets everywhere. Bratrizik and Yiris are both hit.

One of the cultists takes this ocasion to run towards the explosive to trigger it, but is killed off by Yiris' desperate attack. One by one, the cultists die. Nict disarms the explosives. 

In the next room, they locate Dr. Solstarni, who had taken refuge behind a large piece of furniture. After identifying themselves, she greets them and they escort her to one of the study rooms where she takes shelter. Returning to the sanctuary, the party proceeds carefully. They are attacked by lore guardians, but manage to eliminate both of them without too much difficulty.

Lore Guardian

In the inner sanctuary, they discover a library containing books that are thousands of years old. A large staircase leads to a platform atop the Temple, providing an excellent observation post. Bratrizik climbs the stairs but is shot. He uses his jumpjets, and rockets to the top as Tahomen, leader of this particular group of cultists and the lashunta the vest encountered at the observatory, throws a grenade. Bratrizik returns it to sender, but Tahomen had some magical protection on him and the impact of the attack is redirected straight at the vesk. Thrown off, the vesk grasps Tahomen and manages to hold on to him as he plummets back down to the floor, crashing down with the cult leader landing on top of him.

An epic battle ensues, and in the end the three of them are victorious. 


After the Gap - March 18, 317 @ 10:11

After two days of conducting research in the library with Dr. Solstarni's help, the party discovers several interesting pieces of information. The ancient elven monks that built this temple were astronomers who sought a quiet environment to study the stars. Through their stargazing activities, they discovered a strange constellation of 12 stars that formed a perfect circle. As they pursued their examinations over the decades, the monks began having strange dreams, including visions of a language unknown to them. Eventually the monks, in their mind travels of the galaxy, encountered Ibra, and with her help discovered that the constellation they now called the Gate of the Twelve Suns was in fact the construction of an impossibly advanced race, and what it was in fact a gateway. 

Strange and powerful energy pulsated from the other side, and though several theories were presented, the most widely accepted one was that behind the gate was a weapon of such incredible power that it could destroy entire star systems. Dubbed the Stellar Degenerator, it was posited that this weapon drained the energy of a system's star and used it to eliminate planets or other gigantic solar bodies. Unfortunately, the ancient elves never recorded the location of the Gate of the Twelve Suns, but, based on the records found in the Observatory, Yiris thinks that she can pinpoint the location with some accuracy. 

Unfortunately, so could Tahomen, and they recall the large communications array atop the Observatory. Nict heads up there, and is able to retrieve the communications the cult leader sent. In these communications, Tahomen stated that the Gate of Twelve Suns is in fact the access point to a demiplane that shelters a superweapon, and that the Drift Rock is a small section of it which was pulled in the Drift. He also recommended that the Cult of the Devourer should hasten to locate and retrieve this weapon to bring about the end of the galaxy. Nict retrieves the coordinates to where the communication was sent, and discovers that it was in a stretch of several hundred asteroids in the Diaspora. The mechanic also notices that the equipment belongs to DT43.

Using the communications' array, Nict contacts Professor Muhali back in Qabarat and reports that Dr. Solstarni is safe and informs her about what has happened to them in the last few weeks. She contacts the authorities on Turhalu Point and they send a shuttle to pick the party and Dr. Solstarni up. After hot showers and a short period of rest, they return to Qabarat where Muhali thanks them personally for their rescue of Dr. Solstarni. 

Armed with the knowledge that the Cult of the Devourer is actively seeking to get their hands on the Stellar Degenerator, they now face a stark choice. Go after the Cult, or walk away and possibly leaving the galaxy at the mercy of a superweapon ...

The Constellations Map

After the Gap - March 15, 317 @ 08:25 
 
The night does wonders for Bratrizik, who manages to heal enough from his encounter with Panelliar on the previous day. After a hearty breakfast, they discuss their options. They don't know who is left in the Temple of the Twelve, but the undead elf monk continues to guard the place and they will need to confront him again if they wish to get inside. After careful consideration, they decide to bypass the Temple and head up the second set of stairs up the mountain. BARGO must remain behind, so Nict instructs it to stand guard by the history pillars.

Departing the Forsaken City, the party ascends the mountain and returns to the plateau where the Temple stands proudly against the background of tall peaks, and take the set of stairs that continue to to climb the mountain. The steep staircase follows the ridge and enters a perpetual snow zone, and by mid-morning they catch a large snow-covered structure sitting atop Alhuenar Spire, the largest peak in this area of the Singing Range. 

Carefully coming close, they find a small landing with the well-preserved ruins of what appears to have been an observatory. The building is of the same material as the Temple, and is as well preserved. Two large wooden doors bar the entrance to the building, but they are not locked. Quietly opening them, Bratrizik surprises two Devourer cultists inside a large room, moving large crystal tubes of various heights and colors from one of the four corner altars to another. 

Surprised at the party's appearance, the cultists immediately take shelter behind overturned altars, and begin firing. Yiris uses overheat, while Bratrizik uses his trusted mind thrust to quickly dispatch the male lashunta cultist. Nict, meanwhile, fires back at the remaining cultist and scores a hit. Yiris launches an arcing surge, which weakens the last enemy, but does not achieve it. Nict successfully lands the death blow on the second cultist.

Bratrizik searches the bodies and finds a few credsticks but not much else of value. and piles them against the only door out of the building, preventing anyone from entering from the outside and surprise them. Examining the remaining two standing altars, they find crystals of various heights and colors placed randomly on each altar. Bratrizik takes a closer look, and realizes that they were trying to replicate the same pattern on the four altars. 

Aside from the altars and thousands of the crystals spread all over the floor, there is only a small wooden door in the corner opposite the entrance doors. The floor itself is made of a constellation map similar to the one Bratrizik noticed in the Temple of the Twelve and to the one they saw on the ceiling of the Stargazer.

Yiris opens the door and finds herself in a small room with a staircase heading up. From her vantage point, she can see the open sky, indicating the staircase leads to an exposed platform. Worried about a possible trap, she returns to the main room. Bratrizik decides to explore that staircase. He ascends to the first landing, where he is shot by a sniper. He returns to the main room, and closes the door.

While Bratrizik is busy being shot, Yiris moves crystals around. After several fruitless attempts, she reproduces structures similar to the seven pillars by the Temple on each of the altars. The constellations on the floor come to life, and form a three-dimensional map of the stars as viewed from this observatory. By adding other crystals, the android is able to manipulate time forward or backward. Playing with the crystals, they discover that the constellation of twelve stars was built about 150,000 years before the beginning of the Gap. Bratrizik videotapes the constellations.

Readying themselves to leave, Yiris melts water, then pours it on the door, effectively turning it into a large ice cube. This should stop the sniper from following them. As they head back down the mountain to the Temple of the Twelve, looking for answers to their questions, they notice the shadow of a large satellite antenna built on top of the platform where the sniper took shelter. That's what the communication gear they spotted on the video of Paqual's party before their departure of Qabarat was. Who did the cult of the Devourer contact?

The Temple of the Twelve

After the Gap - March 10, 317 @ 14:03 
 
Hoping to regain some stamina and health, the party decide to rest following their eventful encounter with Salask, the shirren sniper. They return to the Hall of Instructions, and prepare some defensive measures. Bratrizik completes the construction of the puppets with the dead cultists and position them by the door. Yiris adds several spent casings to each puppet, so if they are disturbed in the night the casings will drop to the ground and make a noise, alerting them.

Nict drops down to the ground in his sleeping gear and is immediately out. Not needing heavy sleep and having taken little damage in the previous day's encounters, Yiris plans on standing guard all night. Bratrizik eats some trail rations, then also lays down and close his eyes. 

Attracted by the dead broken shirren, two ksariks enter the clearing of the Stargazer. They then notice that there are more humanoids inside the statue. One of them, attracted by the vesk's scent, enters the Stargazer from the base and stealthily climbs the staircase. It launches its tentacles at the guarding form of Yiris, knocking the puppet guard down and dropping the shells on the ground. This alerts Yiris, but she's also taken aback by the stealthy attack of the creature. Nict is immediately awoken, but Bratrizik takes more time to regain his wits.

Nict and BARGO fire at the ksarik, and Yiris hits it as well. Bratrizik finaly shakes the grogginess from his eyes in time for him to be hit by the ksarik's dart attack. They all remember what happened to a victim of such a dart attack, so they renew their assault. Just as they chase the first ksarik, the second one, which climbed to the Stargazer's head, comes down the stairs and joins the fight. The ksarik hits Bratrizik, and the vesk collapses to the ground. Both Nict, BARGO and Yiris turn their attention to this second intruder, and they unleash a volley of fire on it, forcing it to retreat.


Following the battle, they hunker down again, and this time the rest of the day and night passes uneventfully. Before going back into sleep mode, Yiris uses her ability to recharge two batteries.


After the Gap - March 11, 317 @ 07:12 
 
On the ninth day, Bratrizik casts remove affliction on himself twice, taking care of the carrion spores germinating inside him. Nict wakes but does not feel rested. The shirren coughs up some of the spores he inhaled during the moldstorm, and he remains flat-footed for the day.

They return to the trail, and realize that their encounters of the previous day have set them back some and they are now about two days behind Paqual's group. They press on and soon the path begins to ascend into Ukulam's Singing Range, a chain of mountains that divides the continent in two. Over the next two days, the party continues to pursue Paqual but don't make much progress in catching up. The other group has also picked up its speed.



After the Gap - March 14, 317 @ 11:43 
 
On the twelfth day since their departure from Turhalu Point, they finally reach a large plateau nested between tall peaks covered with snow. They soon discover several hundreds of low pyramids ranking between 2 and 25 feet in heights and spread over a half mile. These ruins were identified by Halkueem Zan as the Forsaken City. Paqual's group continued through here and did not stop, so they press on. The path takes them through another pass and eventually to a staircase, and, as they crest a ridge on the path, it slopes gently downward to a small plateau. They see in the distance a domed building of of elegantly sculpted stone, with marvelous stain glass reflecting the light. Bratirik records a video.

As they cautiously come around a corner of the staircase, they spot an adolescent mountain eel making a meal out of a cultist. Bratrizik launches a mind thrust against the creature, while Yiris follows with a jolting surge. The mountain eel takes a bite of Yiris and realizes the android is not really food. It spits it out and switches its attention to the vesk. Nict shoots it, and BARGO delivers the killing blow.

Mountain eel

 
Walking up the last steps, the party find themselves on a large plateau, with the building standing a few hundred meters away. Seven pillars of stone stand on one side, with extensive images carved along the surface of each column, chronicling past eras and incorporating several astronomical maps and phemonena. Yiris examines the artwork and identify several elven figures. Clearly they have reached what Halkueem Zan referred to as a great temple. The android also realizes that the pillars themselves form the same constellation as the one they first saw in the Stargazer.


A medium-height humanoid emerges from the shadow of the closest pillar to the temple. Bratrizik notices that the humanoid is elven and wears antique gear. Closer inspection reveals that it is undead, but it appears intelligent. The vesk relates this information. Yiris wonders if it is an Eoxian agent, but based on the equipment, Bratrizik is certain this undead is from Castrovel. The undead positions himself between the party and the temple's doors, and assumes a relaxed yet is clearly ready to fight if needed.

Panelliar the undead warrior-monk of Ibra

Bratrizik, Nict and Yiris discuss among themselves what course to take. Bratrizik convinces them that it is probably safe to carefully move forward. When the vesk gets within 5 meters of the undead, it raises its weappon and blocks the path. It solemnly greets them in elven, and when it realizes none of them speak this language it switches to celestial. Bratrizik speaks celestial, so he translates to the others.

The undead introduces himself as Panelliar, a warrior-monk in the service of Ibra, ancient goddess of the universe's infinite, distant cosmological mysteries. He has remained here all this time to protect this holy structure, and he informs them that they cannot enter. As Bratrizik attempts to convince him to let them through, Nict and Yiris begin walking around the structure, looking for another entrance.

Bratrizik questions the undead, and soon discovers that Paqual's group arrived almost two days ago, and that the leader of the group somehow took control of Panelliar, most likely through a command undead spell. Though he wasn't able to break the monk's will, he was able to order it to prevent anyone other than the cultists from entering. Bratrizik proudly displays the symbol he picked up at the Stargazer, claiming to be a cultist. Reluctantly, Panelliar allows him to enter, but also no longer talks him.

On one side of the building, Nict and Yiris find stain glass windows about two and a half meters off the ground. Nict climbs on top of BARGO and takes a look inside. It appears to be a study room of some kind, but no one is here.

Bratrizik enters the Temple, and immediately notices that the floor shows a map of the constellation, similar to the one on the ceiling the Stargazer. Large doors lead elsewhere into the Temple. Not wanting to tarry in case cultists notice his entrance, Bratrizik comes out and tells Panelliar that he has failed in his mission to prevent him from entering, as he is in fact not a cultist. Panelliar reacts angrily with his mission having been interfered with. The elven monk engages the vesk in combat. Bratrizik casts a mind thrust, but he soon falls prey to the monk's own mystic powers.

Alerted by the sounds of combat, Yiris and Nict find the undead Panelliar standing a few meters away from the vesk's body, keeping a wary watch. The two of them approach carefully, and retrieve the body. Dragging an unconscious Bratrizik with them, Yiris, Nict and BARGO return to the Forsaken City and pitch camp for the night.

Temple of the Twelve

The Stargazer

After the Gap - March 10, 317 @ 06:21 
 
Following their encounter with the moldstorm, the party decided to rest and recuperate. The heat during the night remained oppressive, forcing the environmental functions of their armors to work overtime and depleting their batteries. Despite that, they manage to spend a quiet night in the trees. When he awakens, Nict feels ill, but he struggles through and gears up.


In the morning of the eighth day, they head back on the trail of Paqual's group, which has narrowed even more to a single file. Soon they near a clearing. In it is a gigantic statue of a female elf reclining with an arm stretched towards the sky, while the other props her head up. Though made of stone, the statue's clothes are made of metal that has weathered over the last thousand years, with several spots having completely corroded away. The hand stretches about a hundred and twenty feet in the air. Around the edges of the clearing are a number of ruined buildings that have collapsed over the centuries, leaving nothing but rubble.

Stargazer statue in Ukulam

As they emerge from the clearing, Yiris notices a sky fisher diving from the sky, and she reacts in time. Bratrizik and Nict are not so lucky, however, and do not notice the predator in the sky. All three of them are hit by the sky fisher's lasso attack, entangling them. Yiris replies with an arcing surge, severely damaging the creature, while Bratrizik adds to its misery when he casts mind thrust. Nict and BARGO also shoot at it. The sky fisher attacks a second time before it is defeated. Nict notices that Bratrizik has been shot in the back left shoulder during the combat, and that the bullet wound indicates it is from a large caliber. Bratrizik did not feel a thing, however. Where did the shot come from?

With the sky fisher dead, they make their way to the Stargazer's door. Both Nict and Bratrizik are shot multiple times as they attempt to determine where the attacks are coming from. Rushing the door, they quickly enter, and Nict spends a few minutes to regain some stamina. Inside this room they find a small cleansing pool, with several bas reliefs showing elven monks and priests doing ablutions. On the ceiling are several star constellations, with many of them not observable without advance telescoping equipment, something the ancient elves of Castrovel did not possess when this statue was built. One of them in particular seems very peculiar, but no one is able to voice why they find it strange. Bratrizik cleanses himself in the pool, while the others choose not to do so.

Two cultists ambush them as they climb the stairs. Yiris casts jolting surge and kills one of the cultists, while Nict shoots the remaining one and Brat breaks him by his last mind thrust . They loot the bodies and grab two defiant longswords, scatterguns, shells, field rations, and credsticks. They also find symbols of the Cult of the Devourer on the clothes of the cultists. Bratrizik removes one of the patches, and puts it in one of his suit's many pockets. Now they know who's backing Paqual's group.

Cult of the Devourer

Nict climbs the staircase to the Reflection Room, followed by Bratrizik. Both of them are shot by a sniper again, and Bratrizik takes significant damage as he gets hit in the chest and falls down the stairs. They gather their wits at the bottom of the stairs, and take the time to heal themselves. Bratrizik comes up with a clever plan. He will use the bodies of the cultists as puppets to draw the sniper's fire. They will use the longswords to maneuver them in place, hoping that they draw the sniper's fire.

Unfortunately, as they prepare to implement Bratrizik's plan, a grenade is thrown down the stairs and explodes. Angry, Bratrizik storms up the stairs, returning to the Reflection Room. The sniper must be in the extended arm of the statue, so he rushes up, closely followed by Nict. The vesk is shot one more time, but finds a shirren atop the outstretched hand. The shirren attempts to drop another grenade, but Bratrizik uses telekinetic object to deflect it. Yiris attempts to daze the sniper, but fails. Nict fires a few shots on the enemy shirren. Bratrizik's last mind thrust attack staggers the sniper. 

Salask, shirren sniper

Salask is captured. Nict takes Salask's specialist coil rifle, which sports a weapon fusion. The 22 bullets also have a fusion on them. Yiris takes her secured comm unit. Bratrizik then shoots her, and Yiris hits her on the head, dealing the killing blow. They throw the body off the statue, and return to the relative safety of the Hall of Inscriptions to recuperate.

Stargazer clearing

Ukulam's strange fauna

After the Gap - March 7, 317 @ 18:46

Finding themselves at the landmark Halkueem Zen identified as the ruined obelisk, the party agrees to take a closer look at the ruins. Nict begins clearing some of the foliage that covers the structure, while Yiris stands guard. Bratrizik uses his jetpacks to go higher and get a better view. Clearing the tree tops, he takes a look around him and sees the mountains in the distance. They are still eight to ten days away.

With much of the obelisk cleared, Nict finds a few ancient Elven letters. Using his computer's translation abilities, the mechanic determines that the ancient Elven appears to be some sort of warning, about “Loskialua, monastery of starsong, embassy of the spheres, and Temple of the Twelve.” Several other series of Elven runes are nothing but fragments that refer to paying respect, messengers from beyond, an academy, and “interpreters of the beacon.”

With the sun setting in the distance, Bratrizik uses his jetpacks to  return to the ground. As he lowers himself, he catches a glimpse of something shiny. He lands back near it, and finds what appears to be a ruined estex suite I of a fairly recent vintage, with several large lacerations on the chest and arms, rending it unusable. As he bends closer to inspect, he is attacked by a strange plant, and his environmental suit is damaged. Yiris determines that the plant is a vracinea. The android casts arcing surge, severely damaging the vracinea. Nict and BARGO, his drone (Battle And Roving Ground Operations) are unable to score hits, while Bratrizik casts mind thrust. The vracinea is finally killed.

vracinea

Noticing another shining reflection about twenty feet near the armor, Bratrizik rushes in and stumbles into another vracinea. Thinking himself outside its reach, he casts mind thrust and inflicts some damage, followed by Nict and his drone. The plant fights back, however, and Bratrizik was not in fact out of its reach. It shreds another part of his armor. The combat is quickly over, and Bratrizik takes this opportunity to heal himself. Near the root of this vracinea is a frostbite-class zero rifle with a chewed battery. Nict takes it and replaces the battery. The rifle is operable but will need a good cleaning.

Bratrizik spots one more shiny object. This time, Yiris heads carefully and shouts a ray at the area, hoping to trigger a reaction. There are none. The vesk walks over and finds a silvery credstick holding 290 credits laying on the ground. The kaukarikis have exploded in shouts of anger following the deaths of the plants, but increase the distance between themselves and the party. They decide to spend the night here so that Bratrizik can fix his suit as best he can, while the others heal the damage they suffered during their confrontation with the Vracineas

 
After the Gap - March 8, 317 @ 6:21

The night passed quietly, and as soon as they pack camp the party resume their chase of Paqual's group. The trail left by the larger group remains fairly obvious, with large cuts through the underbrush. The fourth day is quiet, but the air is infected with millions of mosquitos, though they are still trailed by the kaukarikis who periodically pelt them with small stones and rotten fruits.



After the Gap - March 9, 317 @ 9:04
 
 On the fifth day, they begin feeling like they are spied upon. Yiris is the first to notice that a ksarik is trailing them. She recalls that this is a semi-intelligent aggressive plant, but she cannot recall specific details about its diet. Brat takes a picture. The kaukarikis give it a wide berth.

Find a clearing, they walk the edge and set a trap. The ksarik fires a blob of acid at Bratrizik. Yiris casts arcing surge and wounds it, which is enough to scare it away. Within an hour, however, it has returned to trail them. They set another trap. The ksarik enters and seems to sniff the air, but this time its attention seems drawn to Bratrizik. Yiris casts two arcing surge spells and manage to slay the beast. Nict uses his medical skills to pull the thorn out without doing much damage to the vesk.



After the Gap - March 10, 317 @ 11:55

On their sixth day on the trail they come across a humanoid laying down on the edge of the path, in the middle of a clearing. This female lashunta is badly sun-burned and has suffered the bites of thousands of mosquitoes. She is also clearly wounded, having been gored by some large animal. She can barely breathe, and it is clear she has not much time left to live. 

Bratrizik questions her. She identifies herself as Ralkawi, a member of Paqual's group, and she confirms that Dr. Solsistarni is still with the group. Yiris asks her what happened, and she tells them she was attacked the night before by a ksarik and left behind by Paqual because she had become a liability.
 
Nict attempts to heal her, but is unable to do more than alleviate her suffering. Bratrazik suddenly notices that her eyes roll back in her head. Another ksarik emerges from the jungle and charges the group. Nict receives a thorn during the combat. They successfully wound the ksarik, which runs away back in the jungle. Bratrizik pulls it out, and heals the mechanic. A loud moan emerges from Ralkawi's lips, and they watch with horror as ksarik seedlings emerge from her stomach. Yiris fires her gun, while Bratrizik uses a flare to kill the seedlings, but Ralkawi dies in the process.

ksarik

Continuing their pursuit of Paqual's group, they soon notice that the wounded ksarik is still following them, but at a distance. Soon, however, it begins moving closer again. This time Bratrizik proposes to lay a trap. When they find another clearing, they hide on the fringe, and wait. Soon the ksarik enters the clearing, and they open fire. Bratrizik is hurt by by a thorn, which penetrates his armor, but this time they are able to kill the creature.



After the Gap - March 9, 317 @ 12:41
 
Midway through the seventh day, both Nict and Bratrizik begin to feel their skins erupt on fire. They use antitoxins to attempt neutralizing the ksarik seedlings inside them, without success. That afternoon, the wind shifts direction, carrying with it a tangy scent. The kaukarikis which had been following them since the Rune Obelisk scatter through the canopy and hide in large flowers, wrapping themselves shut. The first pink flakes begin to fly through the skies. Yiris identifies this phenomenon as a moldstorm, a particularly deadly strain of mold. They all climb the trees, and wrap themselves as much as they can in the flowers.

Yiris’s internal clock tells her about an hour and a half has gone by before the kaukarikis emerge from their shelters and begin their chatter again. They spend some time looking for the party, but not being able to find them, the monkeys return towards the obelisk. Only then do Yiris, Nict, and Bratrizik emerge from their flowers, and they move on. Nict feels a little off, and he notices that the holes in his environmental suits are covered in pink spores.

As evening falls, they are attacked by a renkroda which has been rendered mad by the moldstorm. Bratrizik is badly bit before they are able to defeat it. The party decides to shelter for the night and attempt to shake off the effects of the storm and of the ksarik attacks.

Renkroda

 

Of yaruks and stingbats

After the Gap - March 6, 317 @ 11:28

With the signs pointing to Turhalu Point as the location with the party that had kidnapped Dr. Solstami, the party decide to acquire some gear before contacting the smuggler Twonas En and traveling to Ukulam. Professor Muhali provides them with contact information for a local weapons facility where they can equip themselves, and, after a call placed to Qabarat law enforcement, secures purchase and carry permits for them. 

Yiris purchases 10 cartridges of bullets and a ysoki refractor suit.  Nict acquires five shock grenades. Bratrizik buys an Estex suit II armor equipped with two quick release sheaths and jump jets, one cartridge of darts for his needler, 10 flares, and one ultra-capacity battery. Nict purchases the same armor, also equipped with one quick release sheath. Each of them also purchase six serums of healing, mk 1.


After the Gap - March 6, 317 @ 15:00

Now equipped with better gear, Nict calls Twonas En and informs him they are interested in the smuggler's route to Turhalu Point. En replies he can arranges this for 2300 tonight, or he can be ready to go by 19:00 but it will cost more than the 1000 credits they had discussed the previous night. Time being of the essence, the group agrees to the earlier travel date despite the expense of credits. En arranges to meet them at a rundown hotel, the Classic Hotel in the Gateway district. 

Yiris sends an encrypted message to Chiskisk about what they discovered so far, and that they are heading to Ukulam in pursuit of Dr. Solstarni. Bratrizik purchases a tracker and provides the coordinates to Muhali so she can track them. She tells the vesk she has arranged for a colleague of hers, Dr. Khair al-Nuaf, to meet them at Turhalu Point and help them in any way he can, as well as provide the most current information about Paqual's group.



After the Gap - March 6, 317 @ 19:00

Arriving at the Classic Hotel, they meet En in the lobby. He takes them to a little used gate, and after some tinkering the gate activates. Bratrizik, Nict and Yiris step through the gate with their gear, and after a brief moment of feeling nauseated, they find themselves on the edge of a large clearing, with the scientific station of Turhalu Point about a mile southwest. It is a bright and steamy morning, as they are 11 hours behind Qabarat.

 
After the Gap - March 6, 317 @ 8:03

Looking at the ground, Bratrizik finds several sets of footprints on the soft prairie ground. A large group has recently transited through here. The footprints head northwest, towards the border of the jungle and the mountain peaks barely visible in the distance. The party takes the opposite direction, and soon find themselves at the science station. They meet Dr. Khair al-Nuaf, who explains to them that the scientific station monitors the climate of the eastern edge of Ukulam, and they are also tasked with keeping an eye on intruders. 

He provides them with a series of digital maps. Nict is able to use that data to merge the information they have from Halkueem Zan to create a possible route through the jungle. Bratrizik asks Dr. al-Nuaf if the station possesses a boat they could borrow. al-Nuaf replies that there are a few boats, but they would have to purchase one as there is a risk they will not return. The doctor is also concerned that if they were traveling on the river they might miss the tracks left by Paqual's group, as they may not be following the river. He is willing, however, to share medical suplies and equipment, and soon the party finds itself in possession of 4 tier-1 antitoxin, 4 doses of sprayflesh, 3 weeks's field rations, and two large tents. 

They also review video surveillance of the area. The footage shows the enigmatic Paqual cloaked from head to toe, Dr. Solstarni, in a state that suggests she is groggy or ill, and several heavily armed lashunta mercenaries pushing what appear to be heavy crates of equipment on hoverlifts. Labels on the crate seems to indicate it is some sort of archaeological survey equipment.

Having decided to trek through the jungle, they are driven to the edge of the jungle where Paqual's forces entered. The trail is evident and not hard to follow, as a path about ten feet wide has been cut through. Nict thinks of putting a blaze on trees, and he begins to mark them at regular intervals.


After the Gap - March 8, 317 @ 18:00

Bratrizik takes the lead and for the first day the tracks are easy to follow. On the second day they encounter a dead yaruk. They discover a camp site used by Paqual and his group. The remains of the camp fire are still smoldering, indicating that they were here less than 24 hours ago. The three friends have made good progress. Nict picks up charcoal to mark the trees. They decide to camp here overnight.


After the Gap - March 7, 317 @ 07:53

After a restful night, they continue on the trail. By now the width of the trail has reduced to five feet, and Paqual's group seems to now be moving in a single line. Bratrizik is the first to notice that spores have been widely sprayed on path, and yaruks are consuming them. There are over twenty of the animals, but the jungle makes it difficult to determine if there are more. Yiris mentions that these are probably the spores that Paqual had brought with him. They now face a decision. Should they attempt to go through the yaruks, or should they go around. If they go through, they risk spooking the great beasts, but going around will lose them precious time and they also risk losing the trail. They decide go carefully travel through the yaruks.

Unfortunately the great beasts are spooked when shots ring and one of them is hurt. A stampede occurs. Though they saw the flash of a muzzle in a tree a few hundred feet beyond, none of them are able to locate the exact spot, and the stampeding yaruks make it extremely difficult to travel towards it. Both Bratrizik and Nict are hurt during the stampede, with the shirren finding himself way off the path, but Yiris manage to find a safe spot beneath a large rock.

Following the stampede, Bratrizik finds himself by a rope bridge of elven origin. It is in bad shape. Bratrizik waits for a few minutes, but none of his friends come this way. Using the jump jets, he heads up and flares, creating a flashing light that Yiris notices. She heads towards the vesk. Nict also spots the rising vesk, and soon the party is reunited by the bridge.

The bridge looks treacherous, but there is evidence that Paqual and his group crossed it recently. Nict sends his drone across the bridge first, and when nothing breaks the shirren crosses, followed by the android and the vesk. Unfortunately the bridge cannot handle the vesk's weight, and Bratrizik slams into the cliff side. Nict and Yiris have to pull him to safety.

They soon begin to be trailed by a group of mischevious kaukariki, who do their best to annoy the party. They eventually arrive at a ruined obelisk, which is very similar to what was mentioned in Halkueem Zan's notes.

The kaukariki take this opportunity to attack them, but they are able to repulse the assault after killing seven of the monkeys. Bratrizik fills six darts with the kaukariki poison. Yiris, for her part, collects some of the poison glands off the body.

Taking a look at the ruined obelisk, Nict and Yiris notice that unlike Zan's description of a tall obelisk, this was in fact some sort of observation tower, and the stones that appear to randomly litter the area belonged to it. The ruins are covered with vines, other plants, and brightly colored flowers. They all notice that, through some of the spots where stone is visible, are elven letters. Deciding to spend the night here, they begin clearing the vines so they can read the elven letters...