Sandwitches> -----------------------------------------------------
<Sandwitches> After a quick skirmish with an unknown starship, the crew returned to Absalom Station where they found themselves hailed as minor celebrities.  Their adventure has been streamed live across the entire station and the new Starfinder team has become incredibly popular.
<Sandwitches> Ambassador Nor has thanked them and paid them for their services, and is quite happy that they kept the existence of his agent who was traveling on board the Aceron a secret.
<Sandwitches> Back with the Starfinder Spire, Chiskisk informed them that they had a lead on the runes they discovered in the Drift Rock.  He has a lead at the Qabarat University of Xenoarchaeology and Xenoanthropology on Castrovel, where a contact has agreed to allow them to examine documents that may be able to shed further information.
<Sandwitches> They have time in case there are any preperations they want to make at Absalom Station....
<RickDominated> Echo for her part rolls off to go look through any cheap occult pamphlets to see if there's anything about the world she can find out that way.
<Xanya> ED3N seats herself down with her datapad and checks over the internet for info, filtering out all tourist-y information. That would be stupid.
<Sandwitches> Castrovel is a hot, humid world with a rich atmosphere that gives life to continent-spanning jungles that are Home to saurian predators, mobile carnivorous plants, and devastating moldstorms during the periodic mass flowerings called “death blooms”.
<Sandwitches> While nearly every terrestrial biome can be found somewhere on Castrovel, it remains both thoroughly wild and densely populated, with modern cities and cutting-edge industrial complexes separated from the ravages of the primeval wilderness by electrified fences and automated weapons turrets.
<Sandwitches> Given its extreme biodiversity, it isn’t surprising that Castrovel fostered several major races, each with a unique civilization on its own continent.
<Sandwitches> Most prominent in the Pact Worlds are lashuntas, telepathic humanoids with a cultural emphasis on scholarship and self-improvement from the continent of Asana.
<Sandwitches> The thousands of hives of the ant-like and equally telepathic formians of the Colonies align readily to the directives of their ruling council. This philosophical battle of individualism versus collectivism (combined with telepathy’s advantage in communicating such ideas) sparked a millennia-long war that raged between the two races until just 30 years ago.
<Sandwitches> The elves of Sovyrian remain steadfastly aloof from this conflict—and everything else. They focus on their magical pursuits and guard their shores with stone-faced resolve.
<Sandwitches> Despite the planet’s tumultuous history, the three races are not as fractious as they seem. Outposts of all three can be found beyond the borders of their native continents.
<Sandwitches> The planet as a whole welcomes travelers from offworld, even if the elves largely restrict trade with non-elves to offhore ports designed for that purpose. The planetary economy is robust, due to the strength of Asana’s corporations and universities combined with the relentless efficiency of formian manufactory hives.
<Sandwitches> Despite the constant threat of megafauna, Castrovelians take pride in their planet’s wilderness, deliberately preserving large swaths of it for ecotouris
<Xanya> ED3N shadders at all this talk of plants and moldstorms. She doesn't want pollen clogging up her precious machinery...
<Seri> Krina pats ED3N's shoulder, once she's back from asking around the Society about further information.
<RickDominated> Echo meets up with both of them, stuffed to the gills in her flightsuit full of brochures for the planet. "I have an idea where to go."
<Sandwitches> The crew gathers back at the ship and takes off....
<RickDominated> The mighty ship heads towards the planet at full burner, Echo not wanting to waste time...!
<Sandwitches> They make excellent time, arriving down at the planet in less than a day!
<Sandwitches> Castrovel is a vibrant planet of sparkling blue oceans, continents blanketed in vividly green forests, and swirls of clouds.
<Sandwitches> As the Sunrise Maiden enters the atmosphere near Qabarat, the city-state’s aviation authorities hail the starship, ask for identification, and direct them to one of the landing pads at the city’s spaceport, Ship’s End.
<Sandwitches> As a matter of course, a guard and a customs official briefly interview the PCs about their business in Qabarat, whether they have local contacts, the expected duration of their stay, and whether they are importing any foreign life-forms—at worst, a PC might be required to endure a short disinfection procedure or register a pet. Carrying personal weapons is not illegal in Qabarat, merely frowned upon. After the customs
<Sandwitches> process, the officers issue the PCs travel papers to keep with them for the duration of their stay.
<Xanya> ED3N looks completely aghast at the idea of pets, and snuggles her drone more tightly.