Season 2, Episode 8: "Illuminant Heart" Report
General Summary
The Dream Team climbed aboard the Sun Diver, taking stock of the strange ship designed to survive the harshest conditions in Mataras. After some quick calibrations by Nib and Taeress (who joined the expedition as a research assistant), the group left the Burning Archipelago, with their course set for Ezorod.
The beginning of the day passed with little fanfare, as Mist took the time to repair his bow, and Abelina and Isra discovered a way to combine their powers to create short-range portals. But as the party settled down for dinner, a call came over the comms, transmitted by Captain Hamat of an Efreeti ship dubbed the Ashen Rain. He demanded they turn over Nib's tablet with the codes to open Ezorod, and gave them 10 minutes to comply, or be fired upon.
While Mist and the captain were able to speak calmly, it became clear that neither side was willing to budge, and the two sides manned their combat stations. The fight was tense, with the Sun Diver outnumbered and outgunned, but in the end skill won out over the numbers. With one supporting ship destroyed, and the Ashen Rain on the verge of a hull breach, the honorable Captain Hamat called a cease-fire, seemingly unwilling to risk the lives of his crew. He openly admitted defeat, and set course for the core of Mataras, leaving the party to their business.
As the evening wound down the Dream Team settled in to rest, but the Dreamer promised a restless sleep. The group saw the fractured past of Shalema, starting on an asteroid at the edge of the galaxy. A sentient, mercurial goo entered her space suit during a botched expedition, but didn't show up on any scans, and thus the Lashunta was allowed back into Station 9. Alas, a deeper search found that Shalema was pregnant, despite a total lack of romantic partners. The political board member at the time, a peculiar gentleman by the name of Serat, had Shalema stripped of duty, and committed to the labs of Doctor Uma Pencile.
There, we saw more visions, each shorter than the last. Shalema going into labor, birthing a yellow-skinned Lashunta with mercurial eyes. Tesin and her mother, enjoying their secret life away from the world. Five years later, Serat returned, and demanded that Tesin be added to the training roster for Project 9. Although Shalema initially refused, she realized she had no choice but to submit... But rather than wiping her daughter's memories -- which is standard for all new recruits -- she Splintered Tesin instead, keeping the memories stored away in her psyche... Then the dream faded, and the party found themselves on the border of Ezorod.
Worried about the condition of Varos Mining Team 1, the party shelved discussion of Tesin's past for the moment, and used the tablet to open the city's protective barrier. Tesin was immediately overcome by a message from Carrot, warning her that Shalema was already inside the Illuminant Heart, and that Dominic Altraeza had followed her. Worse yet, Mining Team 1 had inadvertently opened a dormant portal in the main hall, allowing Skittles to infiltrate Ezorod from Aucturn.
The clock had started ticking long before the Dream Team had arrived, and they were late on all accounts. Unfortunately for the group, they chose stealth over speed, a decision that quickly subjected the party to Carrot's cursed aura. Isra and Lockette became ill almost immediately, and the creatures of Ezorod sensed this weakness, and swarmed the loading bay.
The stop-and-go battle began in earnest then, as the party forced their way into Ezorod room-by-room, walking over the corpses of those who failed to meet the challenge. But after the first of three major chambers, the party found their first reward. Mining Team 1, hanging on by a thread after a weak trapped in the darkness, kept alive by Pin's strange attunement to the eldritch energies nascent in the bubble city.
A breath of relief, and then the medical work began. But all the commotion attracted a new enemy -- one that was yet to appear around the corner...
Rewards Granted
The party gained a wealth of smaller items between Episodes 5 and 9, mostly equipment-based. As I am behind on episodes, I'll be focusing on major updates, likely listed at the end of Season 2.
Created Content
I am very behind on reports, so I don't know what was updated between Episodes 5 and 9. The full list of updates will be given at the end of Season 2.
Tesin Movahesh
Thunder in the Mist
Lockette Endrinmaster 12 2.0
Isra
Chad
Report Date
22 Jan 2021
Primary Location
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