Residue
Adventure by Layne K. Saltern
The alliance of Volturnus' forces to defend the planet from the last
full-scale Sathar attack has caused a unification among the Ul-Mor,
Edestekai and Kurabanda--three races that were formerly enemies.
However, recent events have caused some of this critical friendship
to crumble.
The Edestekai, a devoutly religious race, worship a deadly creature
called the Quickdeath. A live Quickdeath, named Justice,
has been held in captivity within the Edestekai Holy City.
Justice is considered by the Edestekai to be sacred,
bringing prosperity and the favor of the gods to the city.
Not long ago, Justice vanished.
The Edestekai were quick to blame the Ul-Mor race for this blasphemous crime,
since the Ul-Mor practice a ritual where they kill Quickdeaths.
The Ul-Mor denial of any involvement only increased hostilities
between the two peoples.
The Edestekai sent out seven search parties to search for their
revered beast. Only two returned.
Since the disappearance of the search parties,
frequent raids have occurred in Edestekai villages.
Edestekai egg-layers and nurturers have been kidnapped in every raid.
(Note: The Edestekai are trisexual, consisting of fertilizers,
egg-layers and nurturers. Fertilizers are the dominant of the three,
performing most of a village's work and active duty.)
This has put the Eorna to great concern,
for they fear that these events may escalate to planetary warfare.
In response to their request, the UPF has assigned the players to
investigate what is going on and, if possible, to put a stop to it.
During a visit to the Edestekai Holy City, the players meet with
Reo-chon, an extremist considered to be one of the people's greatest religious leaders.
Reo-chon claims that he had long ago prophesied that great evil
would befall his people once the "infidels came from the sky."
He blames the coming of the players and other Federation visitors for
the slavery of his people to the Star Devil pirates and the Volturnus war with the Sathar.
He expresses his belief that the thefts and raids in Edestekai
villages are part of this evil, and will only end when the
Federation leaves Volturnus permanently.
While the players are standing guard during the night,
an army of about 40 spear-laden Edestekai swarms a small section of the Holy City.
The attackers seem intent on carrying away helpless nurturers and egg-layers.
The players manage to fight the attackers off, but before they can pursue
or make sense of things, a patrol of priests and soldiers shows up,
swarming the players and placing them in chains.
The following day, the players find themselves the defendants in an Edestekai trial.
Reo-chon, the lead prosecutor, claims that the players' presence has
displeased the gods, bringing the misfortune of these raids.
Only by sacrificing the players, says Reo-chon, can the gods be appeased.
The next events depend upon the players' skills in negotiation.
If they succeed in convincing the Edestekai of their innocence and their
intention to help, the players are freed and assigned a small
number of fertilizer soldiers to assist them in finding out who is performing these raids.
If, on the other hand, the players are convicted, the Edestekai
tie them spread-eagle to stakes in the desert where they are to be mauled
and devoured by another Quickdeath that the Edestekai have in captivity.
If the players participated in
SF0: Crash on Volturnus
and became official Ul-Mor tribe members,
the Ul-Mor show up at the last minute, killing the Quickdeath
and rescuing the players.
In this case, a team of Ul-Mor soldiers accompanies the players
for the rest of the mission.
In either case, the players must use their own wits and resources
the find out where these raids are coming from.
This can be done by tracking previous attacks, waiting for another
attack or any method that the players think of.
The players find that the Edestekai who are performing these raids
are coming from a cave in the desert.
The cave is sealed off by an electrified force field
that must be disabled or destroyed.
This adventure takes place on Volturnus, after the events in
SF2: Starspawn of Volturnus
have occurred.
A=Force Field Generator
B=Boulder
C=Oxygen Generator
D=Door
E=Wall Partition
F=Test Equipment/Computers
G=Test Bed
Areas
1=Main Area: Contains Edestekai fertilizer soldiers and natural spring
2=Holding Cell: Contains Edestekai nurturers and egg-layers
3=Storage: Filled with Edestekai eggs and scientific supplies
4=Ventilation Tunnel: One meter (3 feet) high and wide
5=Cave Rear: Contains salt deposits, 3 Slithers and 1 Quickdeath
6=Science Lab: Contains test equipment, test subjects and five Sathar
Investigation of the cave's interior
reveals teams of Edestekai fertilizer soldiers,
rooms where egg-layers and nurturers are held in captivity,
and storerooms filled with tagged Edestekai eggs.
The players find that all of the Edestekai, including the soldiers,
seem to be in a hypnotic trance and have no idea where they are.
The deeper sections of the cave are guarded by a second force field and a number
of Sathar genetically engineered attack monsters, including
3 Slithers and a Quickdeath that is unmistakably the missing Justice.
Beyond this section, the players find a makeshift lab
where a small team of Sathar are performing experiments on
a number of Edestekai and eggs.
The Sathar were left behind during the retreat at the end of
their last major attack on Volturnus.
They have used their natural powers of mind control to hypnotize
the Edestekai they captured from the five missing search parties.
The Sathar then forced them to raid their own
people, bringing back egg-layers and nurturers that could
provide Edestekai young. The purpose of their research is
to genetically modify the egg-layers so that their young become
mutated attack monsters that can be used in a planetwide strike.
A fierce firefight breaks out in the lab,
the outcome of which may very well determine the fate
of Volturnus.
Legal Notice:
STAR FRONTIERS is a trademark owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc.
Site created and maintained by Layne K. Saltern
(layne@xmission.com)