(Star Wars d6) Bo'non'as and Oopsa #6 - Dueling Faiths

Perseverance and Short Term Memory Loss

Defeating the Space Gods to the East 

and to the West, the three greatest Kurabanda 

Ever set their sights on the village of 

The Machine-Man

Completely forgetting these metal men and 

Their menacing minions had recently attacked them,

Bo'Non'as looked at a diplomatic or trade approach 

To stop the spreading violence, 

And reunite all of the Kurabanda 

The legends of the Yellowback tribe worked through the network of platforms in the forest canopy as far as they could.  There was a reason the Kurabanda never ventured into the far eastern woods.  When they reached the end of the platforms, they walked the forest floor until they reached the Great Stream representing the tribe's southernmost border.

Uha'ul, The self-declared prophet of the Moth-God, decided to hold judgement of the Machine-Men.  If full conquest was not possible, a truce and  trade with them then benefit all, and help them against the Murder God of the west.

Bo'Non'as seemed game for trade, so long as metal could be obtained to build a great shrine to the Moth-God.  His time was Warlord of the Kurabanda taught him anything, it was that big gaudy displays keep the masses happy.  "Metal parts from the Metal Men!"

Oopsa decided that Uha'ul was being practical, so this Moth-God religion sounded like a good idea convert.  They volunteered to become the Scribe of the Moth-God, and the first true convert to the faith.

The trees to the east were still a towering canopy, but this area was known for its large swaths of mushrooms that grew underneath.  Without the normal network of platforms and tree villages, a Kurabanda shuffling through the trees could encounter the flying snakes, and very well plummet to their death.  The mushrooms created a somewhat soft landing, and a long climb to get back up top. 

The flying snakes kept the expansion in the trees at bay, so where would the Gold Kurabanda set up their village? The answer was forthcoming.  

Oopsa was the first to stumble from the tree tops.  The fall looked horrible, but as to be expected, the mushrooms cushioned most of the damage, but the final bounce left them motionless.  The other two scurried down to check on their friend. 

Uha'ul stood over Oopsa and checked for vital signs.  The Kurabanda awoke to the sight of the Prophet of the Moth-God directly over them, and scurried to a standing position.

Bo'Non'as was truly impressed.  Uha'ul must have been granted magical powers by the Moth-God!

"Oopsa, you're alive!"

"Yes, but I did see the Moth-God flash before my eyes!"

"We can put that in the Book of Oopsa, once we know what a book really is..."

With the group still intact, they were immediately surprised by a lone *BEEP* emanating from some nearby trees.

The Kurabanda searched amongst the large mushrooms, finding a one of the Machine-God's machine minions, stuck in one of the tree roots.  The minion noticed the Kurabanda, let out a machine shriek, and began shaking side-to-side.  

   

Oopsa came up to the creature and tried to communicate with it.  Although obviously the creature was scared and trying to escape, Oopsa failed to discern the differences in the noises.  

Uha'ul took control of the situation, "Grab some vines, and tie this creature up, it shall lead us to the Machine-Man."

The machine minion futilely tried to kick Bo'Non'as in the shin, but it continued its series of beeps.  

"Lead us to your kind," Uha'ul demanded.

The minion complied, leading them to the ground village, makeshift shacks with mushrooms tops for roofs, spread out amongst the mushrooms.  Dominating the village, was a large metal structure, at least six or seven Kurabanda high.  It looked like the skeleton for the top of a mushroom, but simply gigantic.  Four or five Kurabanda seemed to be working inside this domed structure.  some of the lower pieces of skeleton were met with a solid material that you could see through.  Magic!

Uha'ul had completely forgotten of the Machine-Men's attack mere days before, possibly combining their attack with that of the Murder God.   "Let us be friends."  

There were dozens of Kurabanda in the village proper, most with a gold face paint on them. 

One of the Kurabanda walked up to the group.

"Hello, Bee-Boop."

"Hello, I didn't catch your name."

"Bee-Boop. Bop."

Their prisoner spoke up and began conversing with the Kurabanda. 

Uha'ul was amazed, "This Kurabanda can speak the Metal Man's language!"

That Kurabanda dashed off, stopping at each hut, looking for someone, but sometimes alerting the others of the visitor's presence.  A small crowd formed.

"Who-Who are you!"

"Why I am Uha'ul, High Priest of the Moth God.  I'm here to unite our tribes once again...ugh."

A quick jab to the ribs and Bon'Non'as took center stage, "You need to speak their language."

Bo'Non'as just spouted out a series of beeps and bop gibberish, which apparently insulted them, but not too badly.

Finally, someone of great importance, stilted walk, and far more Gold paint across their body emerged from a hut.

"Greetings!  I am Delta Delta Delta, the High Protocol Priest.  I have been hailed to facilitate you in any way to leave..."

Uha'ul was nonplussed. "I believe that contradicts our mission.  We wish to reunite our tribes."

Triple D responded, "We are unique people dedicated to the Machine God, we do not need your help.  Why have you detained one of our loyal subjects." 

"We found him trapped in the roots, we did not know what to do with him."

Uha'ul untied the machine minion and allowed him to rejoined the tribe.  There was a three minute exchange between the minion, the Kurabanda able to speak with it, and the Protocal Priest."

"You've treated this machine well.  For that, we may invite you into the tribe and will not have to kill you."

"Hoo-ray!"

Uha'ul stared at the mushroom top skeleton, pointed at it, and asked Triple D, "How did this come about."

"Why, it's part of the Machine-Man's infinite wisdom.  He has been aware of it since the beginning of time.  We are finally making it a reality.  And we are to grow tiny plants which will miraculously feed us."

Triple D offered an audience with the Machine God, Uha'ul agreed.

Oopsa, "Before you leave, do you have a copy of any religious texts?  We'd like to learn about gods beyond the one true Moth God."

"Moth God?  The Kurabanda only worshipped their ancestors and elders only five starflights ago."

Oopsa tried to explain, "To be honest, we turned to the Moth God in our time of need yesterday."

Triple D still waddled off into the metal mushroom skeleton, obtained permission, and came back for the group.  All would be allowed access to the god, if by all they considered Oopsa, tied up outside the building.  

Inside of the skeleton were a number or enclosed rooms.  For Bo'Non'as and Oopsa, something seemed strange. Gone were the flying contraptions... and the original Machine Man that had attacked the Yellowback tribe. 

This new Machine God was of the same height as the hairless ones, albeit one all bedecked in shiny gold armor.  Its eyes created in an aura with the power of the star.  Looking to the left and right, there were identical Machine Gods, all the same, all sitting in giant chairs (for a Kurabanda)!

"I am Uha'ul, Prophet of the Moth-God?"

In unison, the Machine-Men stiffly lifted their arms, "Moth God?  What heresy is this?"

"Um... the Moth-God.  The great winged being who came from the heavens to help defeat the Lightning God, and to subdue the very God of the Underworld, all in the name of uniting the Kurabanda tribes."

The Machine-Men chuckled, "Oh your race does make me chuckle with your wild stories, but it is still heresy.  Knowledge... and the dome will save us all.  Why are you here, really.... tell the truth."

"We are trying to reunite our tribe,   and those tribes found unworthy are gone, and I am the lone true god.  I bring knowledge far greater than you petulant fools can understand."

"Well then, perhaps we can trade."

"What do you have?"

Uha'ul paused, "I'm not sure what you needed, the other gods brought death and enslavement to the Kurabanda, you do not."

"I do following a higher programming after all..."

Meanwhile, Oopsa, sat outside the dome, unguarded.  The rope/vines tying them up essentially fell off, although they were still pretending to keep them wrapped up.  From their position outside, Oopsa could here the Machine-Men speak in perfect unison, but they also heard their words spoken by someone else, mere seconds before they spoke.  It seemed peculiar, but Oopsa wanted to avoid any other insults to the Gold Tribe while they were in the village.

"What do have to trade with the Machine-Man's Gold Tribe."

"Plantains, Potass, Water, and excess in religious fantatics."

"Excellent, we can provide different food, some knowledge.  In fact, I offer our scouts to map your territory for the benefit of all. "

"I agree, the stronger we are together, the stronger we can repel the true threats, the flying snakes, the razor grass, the roller tuskerss, even the Ul-Mor themselves."

And with that, the Yellowbacks and the Gold Tribe made an unsteady truce and trade agreement.  

Bo'Non'as had been completely quiet.  He was completely unsure as to which of the three gods he needed to talk to.  It was not until they exited the dome, until he finally spoke up, "We kinda forgot to ask to trade for metal for our shrine..."

They turned around back into the dome to ask for metal.  The Machine-Men declined the idea at that time, "But let us conduct this first trade and we can arrange a second one.  We need our metal for our dome."

Bo'Non'as finally burst out, "But our shrine to the Moth-God is more important than this stupid dome..."

"Stupid dome?  That is heresy!!!"

Bo'Non'as quickly retorted, "Excuse me, that was a private conversation between us," pointing to Uha'ul.

"Silence!"

"Excuse, which one of you should I be addressing???"

"Guards!"

"We wouldn't even be in this mess if our other friend had simply gotten the religious texts he had requested."

"Guards! Come quic....what?  There is another and they want to learn of the faith of the machines."

"Yes!"

"Did he get the knowledge he requested?"

"No"

"Who prevented the request."

"Your high priest guy."

With that, the Machine-Men screamed for the guards again, and ordered them to bring Oopsa inside.  Once inside, the Machine-Men provided some religious writings made plantain peals.   He then order the Protocol Priest to come inside, it was time for him to ascend to a higher level of knowledge.

The excited Protocol Priest dropped his stilted mannerisms in excited and stood in front of the center Machine-Man.  The God turned him to face the Yellowbacks and the guards and espoused a speech about higher consciousness that was beyond everyone in the room.  

As it finished the speech, the central Machine-Man's glowing eyes turned red and electricity crackled from its hands.  The god grasped the priest by the head, and he didn't even get a chance to scream,  He was electrocuted instantly, and within second, his corpse was smoldering,  Another thirty seconds, and the corpse burst open. 

By then Oopsa and Uha'ul had already dashed out of the building during the explosion.  Bo'Non'as quickly followed suit, without anyone noticing.

On the way out of the village, they did successfully kidnap one of the other robots. A cylindrical unit with a dome, many parts colored green.  It was deactivated and placed in the center of the Yellowback village, the base to the future shrine to the Moth-God.  

It's name was R2-H8

GM Notes: The Bo'Non'as and Oopsa Campaign is an on-again, off-again filler campaign for when we don't have (and we need) a full company of players for our regular Star Wars d6 game.  While some have favorites, players have rotated through the cast of Kurabanda characters.  This game marks the first time that my 12-year old daughter Maja joined us, taking up the role of the wise Oopsa.   Most amusing to Dad was that she joined the online game and was perfectly content to game across the hall from me.  Who needs face-to-face socialization?

Next:  #7 - The Second Worst Travesty of the Day