D&D 5E [IC] THE CURSE OF AMBERSTAR

[@Greenmtn, feel free to create anything you want to. If we haven't discussed details and you feel like using them, write and I'll adapt, ok?]

Surprisingly enough, the image on the pane reproduces the servant's salutations towards Harfik, identifying herself as the lowest of helpers in his own hierarchy. From then on, they play around with each other, their social rituals building up through seconds of a silent dialogue that subtly blurs the relative positions they should assume. The image finally smiles, saying she serves all sentient beings, but showing gratitude towards Harfik's respect.

After he questions her, she begins to re-tell an already known tale. The Teraphim requests material sacrifices; the Wellingtons overstep their boundaries, enslaving, killing and sacking; the apex of tensions is reached when living sacrifices are presented before the Teraphim altars. The Wellingtons, denounced and abandoned, attack the Sanctum. From then on, the Teraphim decide to employ the Fallen Star, saving those they can and leaving the rest to die. Nothing's said about agreements, votes or councils, though.


[Ok, @Greenmtn, give me a History test or a Diplomacy test in order to deepen the conversation and obtain more conclusions. All others can roll for History or Diplomacy as a group skill check. Thulwar and Lyllie get a plus 2 in History, since they just now browsed through some documents together.]
[MENTION=24380]Neurotic[/MENTION] [MENTION=6855102]Greenmtn[/MENTION] [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] [MENTION=6776182]JustinCase[/MENTION] [MENTION=23298]industrygothica[/MENTION] [MENTION=8858]hafrogman[/MENTION]

Thulwar is excited to learn so much, but it is too much information in too short time. And history that he knows is more focused on his people and deep underground. This is mostly news to him. He soaks what he can though.

History check: 1D20+7+2 = [6]+7+2 = 15

Icosa considers Jocasta's words for a long moment. To the best of his understanding, his will was not being subverted...though it was a disquieting notion. He did feel strongly that he wished to enter this place and learn what he could from it. Was that his own desire, or one being imposed on him? Without a detailed understanding of his own mind...how could he be sure? Then again, perhaps the 'damaged' nature of his memories and self was what was protecting him from the influence Jocasta described?

There WAS a call from this place. He had heard it, but not until he was close. This implied that his decision to go at least that far was his own. He had experienced no interruptions of continuity since then, nor abrupt or unexplained shifts in priorities or goals. And he felt...protective towards the others with him. Icosa didn't get the sense from speaking to the giantess that whatever intelligence ruled here cared a great deal for the individuals living in its domain. Perhaps that could be a benchmark then.

<Very well,> he communicated back to the disembodied voice. <I will assist you, as I am able, until and unless I determine that our goals are incompatible. Is there anything else you can tell me about these rooms, or the intelligence controlling them?>

(OOC - Switching to a different dialogue indicator for 'wireless communications' so as not to confuse folks about when Icosa is speaking aloud.)

ICOSA

"I believe I can help in that regard. Even though I haven't been to the rooms, some information became available to me throughout the years. The structure goes three more stores up, and seven more down. The fourth below is, as your draconian ally mentioned, the heart of the terraforming facility. The ones below it are still occupied by the Teraphim. They have abandoned the upper strata after the events that destroyed their delicate alliance with the species of this world. Odds are they are overrun by loose experiments, now. I know for a certainty of a mad watcher that dwells above, controlling mutations to do his bidding, and an army of undead that faces him on a regular basis. All are the results of the Teraphim experiments involving the soul and the longevity of the mortal coil."

"We must decide how our interests coincide: bringing the station down would be very useful, but I must warn you, you'll be vulnerable to anything that dwells within. The station is protected by barriers that prevent the passage of the experimental subjects through these halls, and once the power is cut they'll trail around freely. Another possibility is to assume control of the facility. That would grant controlled access to all of its parts. But to do so we'd need to reach their control rooms. The one that coordinates the areas above lies at the top of the structure, above ground level. The other one, the one I need you to reach, lies at the seventh floor below yours."


THULWAR

Even though the gnome holds little knowledge of surface matters, he grasps that between the documents and the explanations given, many inconsistencies persist. Mixing both sources would lead one to doubt the reasons for the conflict, making it impossible to know who began the hostilities.

Also, if the dates at the documents are precise, the Fallen Star's appearance coincides with the earthquakes that took the Underworld by surprise, decades ago....

[Ok, [MENTION=24380]Neurotic[/MENTION], every time Thulwar confronts new technology, I want you to roll investigation against DC 20. Let me know when you succeed. Since you're actively trying to learn how the their tech works, I'll add markers for your successes. When you have enough, you'll be able to move around the interface, and maybe eventually even tinker with the stuff, although it would be easier to do so after formal training.]

[Ok, I need [MENTION=6855102]Greenmtn[/MENTION]'s test and @ndustrygothica's, if Lyllie wants to join. I take it that Aanzu won't bother, given his impatience, and Icosa is too caught up with the mysterious voice in his head. ]
[MENTION=24380]Neurotic[/MENTION] [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] [MENTION=6855102]Greenmtn[/MENTION] [MENTION=6776182]JustinCase[/MENTION] [MENTION=23298]industrygothica[/MENTION] [MENTION=8858]hafrogman[/MENTION]

"What can you tell me about the Fallen Star?" Harfik cuts to the point realizing that he is already testing Aanzu's patience and must soon follow the group away from this room.

[roll0] - door inspection
[roll1] - altar inspection
[roll2] - greeting screen inspection
[roll3] - current screen with the documents

[Sorry to hear that, [MENTION=6855102]Greenmtn[/MENTION]! If we can help somehow, count with us! Take your time, man!]


EVERYONE/HARFIK

Despite the hasted manners, the woman begins to answer in a rehearsed tone, as a flow of schemes and images flashes out nearby her figure. She proceeds to tell him that the Fallen Star was developed for defensive purposes by the Teraphim. It consists of a projectile device fed by the same material that keeps the energy cores working. A Fallen Star shatters above ground, covering large expanses and bringing annihilation to everything within its reach, turning the targeted areas unsuitable for further life development.

"The Fallen Star triggered over Wellington and its neighbors is, by all accounts, the seventh to be employed during the lifespan of this station. Judgement determined that defensive measures were a necessity at the time it was launched, even though the final decision remained, to all effects, exclusively a Teraphim affair. The measures were taken as a response to aforementioned agressions, but reports from the commanding officer also mention a growing concern with uncontrolled populational development outside of mount Amberilan" - the entity answers, indifferent to the events described. She then proceeds to a gruesome description of the launch, as well as how the Fallen Star shattered during descent, in order to increase the area covered by what she calls 'starfires'.


[Ok, [MENTION=24380]Neurotic[/MENTION], marker's up for one success so far.]
[MENTION=24380]Neurotic[/MENTION] [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] [MENTION=6855102]Greenmtn[/MENTION] [MENTION=23298]industrygothica[/MENTION] [MENTION=6776182]JustinCase[/MENTION] [MENTION=8858]hafrogman[/MENTION]

Harfik Human Monk



With a little excitement in his voice. "Can you tell me how the land or the survivors can be healed from the damage the fallen star caused?"

Thulwar joins the questioning. "If something went wrong and the systems were compromised, what would be standard recovery procedure? Especially in case of contamination by uncontrolled and dangerous biological specimens." Used to reading others scripts and prying knowledge from obscure tomes, the alchemist quickly picks up on terminology even if he is not hundred percent sure of their meaning.

Aanzu growls a bit.

"Words," the dragonborn prince mutters, starting to walk away from the interface. Instead, he starts to focus on where he saw the mysterious woman disappear; the woman who promised help if he destroyed the so-called totem. How did she end up here, and what did it have to do with the bird?