Weekend mission 1 (June 12-14th)

Pre-briefing (Ariadne):

“There is still cause for hope, Like-Traveller, even in the face of calamity. I have a plan…”

[Ask them about their plan]

“Trace the route ahead with knowledge stones, follow them towards a portal and heal this blight. As for my path?”

“We were not born to run and hide, Like-Traveller. The time has come.”

“I intend to face the cause of all these anomalies and disturbances myself, whatever the cost.”

Monolith

A transmission emanates from the corrupted structure. Between the screams of Gek cultists, one word is clear, again and again. It demands sacrifice. It demands materials.

‘Abyss’.

The cult was unable to feed its master. My service is demanded instead. I must bring resources here…

Offer materials (16 Vortex Cube)

The transmission has changed with the collapse of the anomaly. Instead, Gek voices speak of gratitude and friendship.

They tell me that this world could be a home for me. That I should stay. That the water is perfectly safe to drink.

They tell me they have been so lonely.

..

(Ariadne disappears)

Weekend mission 2 (June 19-21st)

Pre-briefing (Gemini):

“Ariadne has disappeared!”

“I tried to stop them — I tried to make them see reason! Oh, I hope they are safe…”

Gemini gesticulates, shaking in panic.

“How can you be so calm? Ariadne seeks the source of the Abyss itself!”

“If I were more reckless, if I knew where they had gone, I would follow them and make sure they are alright.”

“I cannot ask you to go through the portal, to seek knowledge stones… it would be your choice, and your choice alone.”

Holographic Comms Tower

The anomaly sings with voices of Travellers across time and space.

I hear their names in the static… Asteria, the Hero-Traveller… Narcissus, ally of the Last Spawn… They are countless.

The anomaly demands a sacrifice. It does not speak with malice. It is in pain.

Countless voices cry out for my help. I must provide resources. I must heal the world.

A mossy growth coats the structure. Its tiny leaves wriggle excitedly when I move my hand closer. Is this an offering? Something to aid me?

The compost falls easily into my hands. It smells sweet, almost appetising.

Offer materials (16 Tall Eggs)

The rift heals itself. I track the navigational data of all those who passed through this place.

Names fill my mind. Lazarus. Artemis. Hildebrand.

I transfer the navigational data to the Nexus. This data will take some time to decode…

Weekend mission 3 (June 26-28th)

Pre-briefing (Mercury):

“I often wonder about the nature of our existence, Portal-Adept. What Ariadne’s recent disappearance means for us.”

“There are some who believe the Travellers to be the same soul, split across countless iterations and universes.”

“How we might have been, had we lived different lives …”

Mercury sighs, tired, but nods all the same.

“Of course. The great work must come first.”

“We have located Ariadne’s ship. Or, rather, we have located hundreds of them, duplicated and morphed across the known universe.”

“The portal network is a blighted, dangerous thing. You must be careful, following in such steps.”

“Commune with stones of knowledge. Step through the gate. Discover the truth.”

At ship

Ariadne’s ship lies before me. My Exosuit screams, telling me to step back. Trying to save me from infection.

The Abyss is before us both. It demands tribute. It demands more.

Offer Materials (16 Sac Venom)

Corruption leaves this vessel, and with it a thousand duplicates disappear across the stars. I read the data-log.

Before this ship’s reality-splinter, it came into contact with a strange, vast freighter in the darkness between suns.

Its sole occupant managed to escape before the crash. Ariadne is still out there, somehow, somewhere.

My friend still lives.

Weekend mission 4 (July 3-5th)

Pre-briefing (Tethys):

“I once lived with a Vy’keen appearance mod for an entire year, you know? Did a lot of things I regret.”

“I don’t even know why I’m talking about it. We’re not friends. You’re a stranger.”

Offer to be friends

“Do this for me, maybe I’ll think about it, alright? I got a mission for you. A factory has been targeted… a clandestine operation I have some interest in.”

“It shifts from world to world to avoid sentinel detection. I need you to track down knowledge stones, find its current portal coordinates.”

“Don’t let me down.”

Gek Facility

Various species once worked in this place, gathering and manipulating genetic data to form appearance modifications.

The factory’s records are corrupted by the static, but I can access the final designs. The workers began creating appearance modifications of pure light, spheres in the place of heads.

All of them are now dead.

The structure demands new data. It demands sacrifice.

Offer materials (250 Pugneum)

As the corruption fades, I search the factory’s records one last time, trying to find evidence of its last days.

At some point, the workers discovered the holographic displays they’d created had replaced their real skulls.

WIth these spheres of light had come nightmares. The images seem familiar, somehow. Like I’ve seen this face before.

Weekend mission 5 (July 10-12th)

Pre-briefing (Hesperus):

Hesperus seems troubled. When I approach, they hide their data pad.

“Ariadne has sent word… they are returning to us, kindred. They are safe.”

“Tell me. Did you ever hear the story of the Hero-Traveller Asteria? One of the first of us to breach the gap between worlds.”

“Time flows strangely for our people. Asteria was preserved in a Mind-Arc after their death, dispensing wisdom from the grave.”

“It is a pilgrimage we have all made. It is time you seek your prophecy, kindred.”

“Find their world. Follow the knowledge stones and take their glyphs through the portal…”

At grave

The grave of Asteria hisses with a familiar corruption. All around, I detect the life signs of Travellers cut from reality.

A weary voice speaks, barely audible above the static.

Asteria tells me they once led the Vy’keen into battle against emissaries of glass. They once doomed a Sentinel fleet.

They tell me I will be betrayed. They tell me I will become a betrayer, too.

Corruption has come to this place. It wishes to bargain. It wishes to take all the matter and life that it can.

Offer materials (40 Sweetroot)

The Mind-Arc is cleansed. The soul within it thanks the Travellers for their assistance.

I ask Asteria for any prophecy they can give. I ask about the nature of my enemy.

They tell me the Abyss is not what it seems.

The voice goes silent. I leave, troubled by what I have heard.

..

(Ariadne returns to the Nexus)

Weekend mission 6 (July 17-19th)

Pre-briefing (Ariadne):

“I’m home. I am finally home. Like-Traveller, I am so glad to look upon your face.”

Ask where they have been?

“I went in search of The Abyss. I almost faced our adversary, and then …”

“I - I have no recollection of what happened to me in that void, Like-Traveller.”

“I only know that I awoke, and I was hunted. Haunted.”

“There was a ship, vast and terrible. Still the corruption undulates…”

The freighter was Vy’keen once. It was an inquisitor’s vessel, scouring the galaxies for heretics.

All it found was death. The corruption is here, now. It is everywhere. It yearns for tribute…

Offer Materials (40 Pulpy Root)

The corruption has departed. All that is left are the sad logs of suffering beings, protesting their innocence-

The parent of a Mech-Priest, claiming they do not know where their child is, claiming that they still follow the way of Hirk.

The data reveals all prisoners were executed, prior to a mutiny. The remaining crew members left into the dark.

Nothing beside remains.

..

(Hesperus disappears)

Weekend Mission 7 (July 24-26th)

Pre-briefing (Gemini):

“Ariadne has returned! Our friend is safe! Ah, rejoice!”

(“Would that our brethren shared your spirit”)

“Hesperus is avoiding us. They’ve been travelling into Korvax space, more and more.”

“And this is no time for secrets… Will you follow them? Find their coordinates, follow the knowledge stones. The portal will show you the way.”

My sensors detect the remnants of a thousand Korvax souls, spread all across this system.

They tried to simulate the Abyss. They succeeded only in gaining its attention.

It will take much to heal this void. Without sustenance, it will devour system upon system…

Offer Materials (16 Crystal Sulphide)

The rift healed, I discover the origin of the experiment.

Hesperus had been working with the Korvax… had been trying to solve our predicament.

Their failure here has caused devastation to this species. I do not know if my friend survived…

Weekend Mission 8 (July 31-August 2nd)

Pre-briefing (Mercury):

"Calamity has befallen us, Portal-Adept. A thousand Korvax souls have been severed from the Convergence.

“The result of a fellow Traveller's ambition exceeding their grasp. Hesperus was working with the Korvax to simulate the Abyss itself. It came for them instead.”

“If Hesperus returns to us, do you believe we can still trust them? They have so much to answer for.”

[Declare your trust]

“I hope you are right, Portal Adept.”

"Ariadne says we cannot afford to lose hope, not now. These anomalies continue to spread...Knowledge stones will lead the way. It is all we can hope to do. You will find the next incursion through a portal."

[Shake your Head]

"This pains me, Portal-Adept. Though I fear you might be correct."

"The knowledge stones will light your path, Portal-Adept. Go. Do what I cannot."

Vy’keen Plaque:

The corruption welcomes me, claiming that it has met me, time and time again.

I hear its static in my mind, now. It demands gifts. It claims to have given me so many…

Offer Materials (90 Meaty Chunk)

The anomaly ceases. I think back to Mercury’s doubts… to the failures of Hesperus…

My fellow Travellers are doing their best. We must help each other, I know.

And with the thought, another slithers down my spine. It is not my own. It is a voice within me.

I must help it.

..

(Ariadne, Gemini, Mercury disappear)

Weekend Mission 9 (August 7-9th)

Pre-briefing (Tethys):

Tethys seems uneasy. Their lidless eyes flick towards Mercury’s empty post.

“Tell me. Do you ever feel lonely?”

[ Everyone does. ]

“I’m not everyone, though, am I? I’m supposed to be better…”

They shift uncomfortably.

“Perhaps there’s more chance of survival if we travel alone. I don’t know how much longer we will be safe here.”

“The knowledge stones call to all of us, now. The portals need you.”

[ No ]

“No? Hm. You’re bluffing.”

At crash site:

Corruption boils through the crashed vessel, but somehow the captain’s log is unaffected.

The pilot was betrayed by one they considered an ally. The Abyss can only take what it is invited to consume. It desires so much more, even now…

Offer Materials (24 Albumen Pearl)

The corruption purged, I look more closely at the fallen vessel’s data. The Traveller pilot believed they heard voices, those days prior to the crash.

Whispers from their own Exosuit issued out into the void, bargaining for survival…

..

(Hesperus returns to the Nexus)

Weekend Mission 10 (August 14-16th)

Pre-briefing (Hesperus):

“Ah, kindred… do not fear. All my guilt has been purged from my mind. Nanite Clusters can transform neurons with ease…”

[Listen]

“I helped the Korvax create their simulation of the Abyss. I truly grieve their passing, kindred. But that work alone did not determine their fate!”

“Someone among us is a traitor… someone led the Abyss to us!”

“Do you not see? The knowledge stones are being hijacked!”

“Whoever is behind this betrayal wants us to go through the portals. They want us to feed the anomalies.”

“Step through the breach once more, kindred. I will try to free us from this terrible loop…”

At Traveller grave:

The grave crackles with exotic energies. The Traveller who once rested here is long gone, harvested by a Mind Arc from another universe.

The grave is a place of unending yearning, now. Its existence demands a tribute of resources.

Offer Materials (16 Vortex Cube)

The grave is purified. I attempt to find the name of the one who died here, but all I find is a null value.

I depart, troubled. It feels as if someone is watching me…

...

(All the missing NPCs return to the Nexus)

Weekend Mission 11 (August 21-23rd)

Pre-briefing (Ariadne):

“Ah, Like-Traveller. You have returned.”

Their face twists into something half-resembling a smile.

[Return the smile]

“Some believe all Travellers are one entity, split over untold forms and bodies.”

“I am you, and you are me.”

“This is why I believe in you, Like-Traveller. If we work together, we can save all that we are.”

“Knowledge stones are an Atlas-Gift. Who are we to refuse the portals’ call?”

At crashed freighter:

Devotees of the Atlas came to this world to pray, once.

An anomaly distorts their crashed vessel. It claimed the lives of those within long ago.

Now the anomaly desires more. It waits for our invitation to depart, for resources to quench its unfathomable thirst.

Offer Materials (60 Sweetroot)

The crashed vessel is purged of all anomalous traces.

Its log speaks of the Atlas who made all things... even loss. Even hate.

I wonder if, in their final moments, they trusted in their deity. If they hoped for salvation...

Weekend Mission 12 (August 28-30th)

Pre-briefing (Gemini):

Gemini looks at schematics for Exosuits. They don’t seem to notice my approach…

[Greet your friend]

They hide the schematics, hesitating as they turn to face me.

“So much of our lives are mysteries, my friend. The faces we are born with…”

“The clothes we wear. Who made the Exosuits? Who speaks with their voice?”

“The knowledge stones, the portals they lead us through… they are our birthright.”

“There is so much out there, still to be found.”

At Gek Observatory:

The structure once housed an artificial intelligence.

Corruption now festers within its shell, hating all that it once was.

This place desires only matter. It wants me to bring it more.

Offer Materials (400 Star Bulb)

I see the final vestiges of the AI as all corruption departs, the final fifteen minutes of its life…

It knew I would come here. It knew I would try to save it.

Worlds upon worlds seethe in the void. The Abyss spreads.

..

(Hesperus disappears — again)

Weekend Mission 13 (September 4-6th)

Pre-briefing (Mercury):

"These are grim times, Portal-Adept. Our community has fallen to strife.”

[Ask what is wrong]

“Hesperus has grown paranoid. They refuse to attend our meetings. They shun even Nada and Polo.”

“You must not become like our former friend. You do such vital work…”

“The knowledge stones will guide you on your path through the portals. They will show you the path to salvation.”

At Boundary Failure:

The structure has been infected, its anomalous calls echoing through the planet itself.

The Abyss requires resources. Without them, this planet will be lost forever...

Offer materials (16 Cable Pod)

I do my duty. The corruption fades. I hear its voice... I feel its feelings...

I feel malice, hatred, despair — all of it directed only against its own self...

I see memories of water...

Weekend Mission 14 (September 11-13th)

Pre-briefing (Tethys):

"Traveller… has your Exosuit been operating at proper capacity?”

[Say it has /not]

“I’ve been hearing strange noises from my own siot. Almost like it is whispering.”

“An associate of mine went to Korvax space to complete an analysis of our signals, but they’ve not yet returned.”

“Will you go and find them through the portal? The knowledge stones should show their path.”

At grave site:

Did a Traveller do this?

There is evidence that a Multi-Tool was fired upon the fallen friend of Tethys, their analysis never completed.

Around the grave corruption spreads, demanding its tribute.

A mossy growth coats this gravesite. Its tiny leaves wriggle excitedly when I move my hand closer. Is this an offering? Something to aid me?

[Collect Sweetened Compost]

The compost falls easily into my hands. It smells sweet, almost appetising.

Offer materials (90 Leopard-Fruit)

The grave is purified.

I examine traces of the battle, of the fallen Traveller’s memories.

I see a face that is not a face, an arm raised to fire their weapon.

I see the murderer.

It is Ariadne.

..

(Hesperus returns to the Nexus.

Gemini, Mercury and Tethys disappear.)

Weekend Mission 15 (September 18-20th)

Pre-briefing (Hesperus):

“The others will be back soon, kindred. We do not have much time…”

[Listen]

"Ariadne tells us the universe is burning with corruption, that only we Travellers can fight it.”

“But these missions… these lies… my kindred, we have been deceived.”

“I thought my scans must be wrong. I thought I’d dreamt the whispers I heard in my mind.”

Hesperus shakes, tormented.

“Ariadne crashed their ship some weeks ago. They never returned. The entity who now leads us is an imposter.”

“Find the knowledge stones, set your path through the portal. See the truth for yourself.”

At Monolith:

The structure sings with exotic energies. It sees me. It knows my mind.

In the song I hear names, distant, faded… I hear the number at the end of all things.

I see its whisperer. I see a nameless form banish Ariadne…

And I see a duplicate arising from the crash, returning to claim its shape.

If this vision is to be believed, then Hesperus is right. Ariadne is an imposter.

This place wishes to help me… if I can just provide it with resources.

Offer Materials (24 Albumen Pearl)

What has become of Ariadne?

Who is the imposter standing in their place?

..

(Gemini, Mercury and Tethys return to the Nexus.)