NPCThe researchers grudgingly obey your order, and then communication with them is cut off. Hours later, only a small handful of survivors return to the ship. According to them, after trying to touch the impure technology of the xenos, strange green rays began beaming out of the walls, incinerating almost everyone who took part in the expedition.
YOU[Send a research team to the surface]
NPCThe group makes contact after quite some time. Their report states that the structure is a monolith of one solid block of black metal, erected by some powerful xenos civilisation. It is empty and abandoned. The only notable discovery was a huge, human-sized, shimmering prism on a plinth of black stone, with vague images flickering around it.
YOU[Order the group to activate the prism]
YOU[Call back the group]
NPCFinding no other notable artefacts in the ruins, the expedition team returns to the ship.
YOU[Send a research team to the surface]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Use the Elucidator to read the inscription]
NPCThe Elucidator resists your attempts to translate the glyphs for some time, but soon relents." The first inscription reads: "He who possesses the infinite possesses eternity. The second reads: "Thus shall every enemy of the Overlord fall." It is a clear warning to anyone who might lay claim to this star system. Including you.
YOU[Send a research team to the surface]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Use the Elucidator to read the inscription]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Leave the planet's orbit]
NPCThe mysterious planet continues its leisurely journey through the great void.
end of branch
NPCAttempts to translate the strange inscriptions only lead to the Elucidator casing overheating — the device's machine spirit begins to buzz plaintively.
YOU[Send a research team to the surface]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Use the Elucidator to read the inscription]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Leave the planet's orbit]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Leave the planet's orbit]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Use the Elucidator to read the inscription]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Leave the planet's orbit]continues where this line first appears above
Entry point 2 of 3
NPCFollowing your orders, the team tries to activate the prism, after which the vox-connection is jammed and interrupted. A few hours later, they return aboard, bringing with them a detailed pict-recording of what happened.
NPCThe recording shows the prism projecting a holographic diorama of stunning clarity in front of it. It depicts the battle of two opposing armies: strange, skeleton-like xenos, outnumbered, fighting for possession of this planet. Assuming the heraldic meaning of the signs borne by the warriors of each side, you understand this to be a confrontation between two great dynasties, during which the planet was destroyed. The artefact you have found is a kind of monument to the deeds of the past.
YOU[Send a research team to the surface]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Use the Elucidator to read the inscription]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Leave the planet's orbit]continues where this line first appears above
Entry point 3 of 3
NPCThe auspex readings scanning certain areas of the planetary crust are extremely unusual. They indicate that the world is undoubtedly of natural origin, but that many millennia ago, something happened here that turned the upper layers of the tectonic plates into a smooth layer of glass. Only partially melted tracts remain of the mountains, and the less noteworthy elements of the natural topography have been erased without a trace.
NPCDuring the scan, the planet rotates by a few degrees, revealing the outline of something lying on its surface, flickering with deathly fire. Lines and circles, visible even from orbit, come together to make strange-looking symbols, two colossal chains spanning the planet in the shape of a cross. The symbols are not merely impressed into the planet's crust, but scorched deeply into it. Starlight refracted in the glass facets is what makes the glyphs sparkle. Right where the inscriptions intersect, the auspexes identify some kind of massive structure.
YOU[Send a research team to the surface]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Use the Elucidator to read the inscription]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Leave the planet's orbit]continues where this line first appears above