Session Thirty-Three | The-Stars-Whisper

[irongods]

Chapter 4, Session 33 | Valley of the Brain Collectors

Characters Present: Kaya, Kyontha, Silka, Alcyone, Aziza
XP Earned This Session: 5840xp
Neh-thalggus 1200xp
Interrogating The-Stars-Whisper 3840xp
RPing Bonus 400xp
Session Notes 400xp

Total XP: 167,305xp 
Next Level: 220,000xp (Level 12)

Loot Acquired:  16 yellow topazes worth 500gp each, 7 black star sapphires worth 1000gp each (Silka), +3 banded mail (Alcyone), staff of healing (Silka), blue veemod (Aziza), rocket launcher (Aziza), facet for AI (Kaya), 12 scent glands (Silka).
Summary: To be submitted as a comment here by any party member to earn further XP for the party.

Comments

[bloodrages]

fibrous doorways
ocarina of time when you're inside jabbu-jabbu
asuma gets out of the hideous grub room.
the ceiling in the room is fleshy material that has capsized in various places; the prolapsed uterus of a room. apparently i made that joke before. the air is full of these tiny little floating lights; if you look at them closely, they're itty bitty jelly fish creatures. colorful and bright, but taking up ... they're everywhere. you're breathing them in and out. there are two fibrous doorways at the south of the large room.
alcyone: kyontha kill the door!
kyontha: sighhhhhhhhh
with two chops, she cuts through the stuff. the fibers fall to the ground.
as soon as she chops it down and we get access to the room, we're hit with this horrible reeking odor of decay. when you look inside, it's kinda dark; as eyes adjust, the walls seem to be oozing with a yellow pus-like substance. the room beyond is hour-glass shaped. pussy labia.
silka: i used to live in a toxic lake, i can handle this.
she, kyontha, and alcyone head inside. it's sticky and pus-filled. you have to push it aside. in the room beyond, there are bony mounds and protrusions. alcyone thrusts her arms into the pussy labia but she can't find anything. :( it's her first time.
silka: i guess we're leaving this room.
kyontha: this place sucks.
a big glob of pus drops onto kaya's head. she's ready for the women's march now with her pussy hat.
as we approach the other door, we hear strange movement in the next room. kyontha, kaya, and aziza hear a clicking sound.
some of us can see a guy, but not alcyone. kyontha finishes breaking the hymen.
rancid chamber beyond, weird strings of tissue hanging down from the ceiling in bizarre strips here and there. what may have once been some form of partially biological controls are over there being penises. two large spider creatures with bulbous eyes on their legs and lamprey maws are here too. kyontha and aziza notice that it seems like there is some rotted brains in the sacs on their head.
alcyone stomps her foot through the membrane of this fleshy organic hell-creature, half-burying herself.
alcyone: i don't like this! i don't like what's happening!
silka runs over to protect her with a rage song that repels the creature. a voice picks up inside their head, gnashing at first. then in common, "brains for our collection."
these are, of course, the brain-collectors in the valley of the brain-collectors.
they talk about not wanting us to find the "ship-brain"
everyone hears more skittering noises coming.
when the three brain-collectors die they basically explode guts on everyone but it's fine we were disgusting already. silka takes strength damage to the tune of 7 over the course of the fight; kaya does her best to heal her, but she doesn't have enough weird remedies.
aziza: can we arm wrestle now? because i'm not very strong
silka: no. we cannot arm wrestle. not when you ran out of the room—
kyontha hacks open the next hymen. warm, humid air pours out. down to the southwest of the room, the ceiling rises up to about 25 ft high. there appears to be an immense iron-and-glass cauldron. it's hanging from weird coils of metal and muscle chains and cords. the inside of the cauldron churns with some kind of greenish, sickly yellow fluid. it seems to be shaking and making a thrumming noise against its restraints.
aziza has heard rumors of a lovecraftian nonsense shipmind, ships controlled by a creature that is a brain.
kyontha and kaya recognize it as an ooze creature.
something presses against our minds; another language, at first, cycling through bizarre sounds before landing on common. we all hear: "you will speak to me, intruders, and name yourselves."
aziza: hi
kaya: i don't think so
aziza: will you name yourself first
brain: they call me the star's whisper
kaya: what if you had a different name, like kevin?
aziza: can we call you SW for short?
star's whisper: did they send you to destroy me?
alcyone: who's they?
star's: the black ... the black ... they used me, left me to rot in this state. they have tricked me, deceived me, and they will pay. i have seen the truth. i have seen all they have destroyed.
alcyone: how about we bring it down a level. with, like, who the black are, other than racist, and what the truth is?
asuma: the dominion. the dominion of the black.
kaya: still sounds a li'l racist. but a li'l less racist.
alcyone: uh, who—
star's expels a long sigh of a noise.
star's: i have waited here, years, since our arrival here where we came searching for the ship divinity.
asuma looks down for a moment. divinity is the name of her ship.
asuma: you have sought us how long?
star's: some 9000 years we have traveled to find this ship. the rusheliks with which we infested it sent us knowledge of this world.
alcyone: can we go back to the truth of what the dominion of the black did?
star's: they create my kind to destroy us. we are fuel for them. they have killed and killed and all there is left to look forward to is void. all existence is decay.
aziza: yikes. have you considered putting your feelings into poetry or something?
star's: have you been sent by the dominion of the black?
alcyone: why would we ask who they are if we had been sent by then? come on, critical thinking, star's whisper.
aziza: you are a very big brain. yeah, no, we, haven't been sent for by the dominion.
star's: what do you wish for?
silka: i mean, short term, can you help with my strength drainage?
star's: why should i aid?
silka: if you get me on your side, i'd be in top condition.
star's: then my vengeance shall be known ... small flesh things ... you shall be my new body's instrument for my murder.
alcyone: silka, really????
silka: i was posing a hypothetical.
alcyone: see, now we have to kill the brain. you do this, and now we have to kill the brain.
silka: can you heal my strength drain?
star's: draw closer, fleshling.
silka: you're not really answering my question. we need to establish trust.
star's: then step forward.
silka: no. i need to know from back here if you can do it or not.
star's: i am everywhere on this ship. i would show you something.
silka: okie dokie. i'll step forward. ... how much forward?
alcyone: I'M GONNA WAIT FOR YOU BACK HERE GIRL. LIKE, I'M RIGHT BEHIND YOU, BUT LIKE SIXTY FEET. but good luck!
silka hears a noise like a bizarre puckering noise behind her. when silka turns around she sees a little alcove with another of those doors in it. it opens up and reveals a small chamber within.
star's: i cannot heal. but there are supplies in this chamber that may aid you.
silka: kay ... gonna step that way...
she enters the creepy dripping gross room. there's several fluid-filled, blister-like chests lined up around in here.
alcyone: does anybody know where silka went ???
kaya: i think she was absorbed into the ship. she's part of the ship now.
asuma: we should not leave her alone.
alcyone: are we gonna kill the brain?
aziza: not yet. we can't just kill things because they look like brains in jars.
kyontha: we've worked with worse things before.
alcyone: like satan? oh, wait. wrong game.
silka puts her fingers in nodules and they come away sticky and weird. the lid decompresses. 16 yellow glittering topazes. 7 black star sapphires. she stuffs them into her pockets. the next chest has +3 banded mail inside of it. the next has a staff; alcyone identifies it later as a staff of healing. next chest: neurochrystalin strips, blue (for v-mod goggles). next: gigantic looking gun with a huge barrel. it takes silka a second to figure out what she's looking at. this is a rocket launcher, aziza realizes. blue crystal for an AI brain. one last chest: smell hits first, amonia. 12 spongey spheres. black sponges.
silka shouts back to the brain: what's up w the black sponges?
star's: scent glands which can be used to confuse the walls of the dominion hive. you will need them to infiltrate the hive undetected.
silka closes the chest and takes the whole chest.
star's: if you go, you shall face many dangers. worse than what you have seen. intellect devourer who wears the skin of a reptile. and something such as you saw outside.
silka heals herself with the staff.
silka: thanks for the help.
star's: then you will go.
silka: are you responsible for all the things in here that tried to kill us? just curious.
star: the nathalguns.
alcyone: sure
star: they know of my anger at the dominion. they wish me to reveal nothing to enemies of their kind.
alcyone: they're gone now.
silka: we killed like a whole mess of things in the place.
star: i know. i saw you.
kaya: they started it.
alcyone: not really. they were just kind of there.
star rumbles. its case is cracked inside. it's broken down, the case is decaying.
silka: where are we supposed to go?
star: west of here the dominion has built their hive.
kaya: k.
star: you will find them at the far end of the valley.
silka: so how do you know that?
star: i know where they intended to set up their experiment.
aziza: little creepy.
silka: we kill those guys and come back and let you know and then what?
star: then i shall become one with the void knowing my vengeance is complete.
silka: oh. oh, so you're dying no matter what.
aziza: it's been cool, brain.
silka: you gave us some pretty cool stuff. there's a giant gun. that's pretty cool. no secret weaknesses we should know about?
star: i have aided you much.
aziza: you have.
silka: yeah. ok, i just wanted to check.
star: the dominion are not a single race. they are a collection, a conglomerate, an allegiance of many races, many beings, many creations, many of their own experiment.
silka: so it's a cult.
star: they are more than what you think of as a cult, a religion.
alcyone: well, thanks.
kaya: it's been real.
as we turn around, it expels another sigh noise. then it says: can fleshlings such as you even stand against the might of the dominion? if you cannot defeat me, you can't defeat them. i know what must be done.
plasma bolt comes at us.