Lore

[This frighteningly detailed analysis of the Strain is as disturbing as it is informative.]

Guide

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Blighthaven

1.

Uniblade Mechanics Quarterly #293

Lore

[An issue of a periodical quite popular among lowborn uniblade mechanics in the Dominion. This issue is open to a column from the magazine’s recently hired editor-in-chief.]

Oi! Watcha’! I’m the new lad in the shop, ain’t I? The high salt, the man behind the desk, if you know what I mean, and I’m not going to fanny about wit’cha. Old Uni-Mech’s up for some changes. We mean to take a new direction, return to basics old son!

Way back, when I was in knickers, I’d scope Uni-Mech for the technie,
wouldn’t I? It was where I learned the ways and means around a ‘blade’s go-go. Born wit’ a spanner in me hand, my dear old would say, and Uni-Mech was my daily bread. The geezers out there know what I’m talking about.

But look what she’s turned into. A second rate Lad Mag! There’s more ads for fancy togs than there are articles on reactors. Columns on how to spike yer hair just so, how to polish yer horns nice and gleaming-like, what color Uniblade goes wit’ yer fur. And don’t get me started on
all the pics of the pretty Bobs and Bettys in small clothes!

Well, that’s all done, innit?

Uni-Mech was a great mag for great mechs. As it was in the beginning, so it shall be again. I promise you words from the best and brightest ‘blade monkeys out there. I promise fair, in-depth reviews on parts and gear. Old son, I promise you’ll know more about unis when you put us down, than when you picked us up! And maybe, from time to time, a few lush tasties not wearin’ much.

Guide

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Blighthaven

1.

What or Who is Globellum?

Lore

[Doctor Claremont’s analysis details most of what the Collegium has been able to learn about Globellum so far. Unfortunately, it’s not much.]

The Globellum – what is it? Why does it infest Grimvault like the Strain that surrounds it? Our data is frighteningly limited, for a host of reasons. The most significant, of course, is that the damnable thing mentally enslaves anyone sent to study it!

One thing is certain – the Globellum and the Strain are not working in concert with each other.
Indeed, the bubbles in which the Globellum traps and keeps those it enslaves are completely resistant to the Strain. In fact, the Globellum may be the first organism of any kind that appears to have immunity to corruption. So far, at least.

Perhaps the Eldan created the Globellum to be a fail-safe, but this seems highly unlikely. There is nothing in the primal signatures of the few samples we’ve been able to to indicate an artificial origin.
All taking samples taught us was that every piece of the Globellum appears to be psionically linked to the central brain-mass. Even a single cell could be enough to regrow the creature, even if firebombed from orbit. Eradicating the Globellum may well be impossible. Therfore, containment is the best possible option.

Did the Eldan think so too? Did they imprison the Globellum in the Grimvault to prevent it from escaping into the universe?
There is little evidence to indicate this is the case. Indeed, the Strain more than anything is keeping Globellum in check.

If we ever do succeed in defeating the Strain, will Nexus simply trade one horror for another? We cannot take that chance. We must study the Globellum and understand it. We must ensure it understands us. And ensure it understands the Dominion is not an enemy even it wants to make.

With any luck they won’t know we’re bluffing.

Guide

Drink Untested Concoction.

These Bones Journal.

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Blighthaven

1.

These Bones

Lore

[A collection of manically horrifying poetry etched gruesomely on a skull. Its origins are as unclear as its existence in this hallucinatory realm.]

Clatter of white, creak of brown
Dead bone and sinew creeping ’round.
Lurkers left, lurkers right
Unwanted guests this gloomy night.

Reaching fingers, gnashing teeth
Unending hunger, they seek relief.
Warm of blood, and vigor restored
Meat on the bone, a smorgasbord.

Angry souls with envy full
Undying beings, they feel the pull.

To end the world, dowse the light
Devour the living, such is their right.

You try to run, or bar the door
Where ever you go there’s always more.
They were your friends, your family dear
Slavering monsters, and worse comes near.

To wish you died, never been born
As gobbets of your flesh are torn.
Life is the fantasy, the world obscures
Make no mistake, these bones are yours.

Guide

Step on the teleportation pad.

The Journal is in southern part of Mondo’s Manufactory.

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Blighthaven

1.

Drink This!

Lore

[A short note from Mondo to himself, reminding him to try out this bizarre concoction ICI agents stole from Mordesh alchemists. The Zax clearly respects Mordesh alchemy, as it is not clear whether the Chua scientist has actually followed his own directions yet.]

Mondo! This is Mondo. No not that Mondo. Not the other one either. And DEFINITELY not the Anti-Mondo that Mondo discovered during that one experiment where Mondo might just have torn apart the barriers
between dimensions before sealing it all back up again with hypermagnetic plasma tape. You know. The Zax!

So, Mondo. Friendly reminder, yes? Mondo drink this potion! Must see what happens.

Minions drink potion, go catatonic. Come back, crazy stories. Talking bones! Ghost skeletons! A huge, empty complex no one else knows about! Doesn’t make sense. Mondo must see for Mondo’s self!

But first Mondo put on haz-mat suit. Just in case.

Guide

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Blighthaven

1.

Scouting Report J-472

Lore

[A terror-fraught report describing the desperate last moments of a Dominion scouting party.]

– Forward Recon Camp: Cankertube Swamp: Lt. Adioni Tremio –

I don’t know how much longer I have. I hear Kaltaxa and Avatron out in the swamp calling for me. I think they’ll be coming soon and I won’t be able to stop them.

There were three of us when we arrived. Three of us. We made it through Wilderrun’s jungle, icy Whitevale, Deradune’s burning sands. All of it. With barely a scratch.
We were the best of the best. Legion Expeditionary Recon.

Damn this planet. Damn the Strain. Damn it all.

Kaltaxa went first, right after we made camp here. The Warbringer wanted eyes on the ground past Grimvault, so in we went. We’d never seen anything like this… I guess ‘swamp?’ Kal wanted to see what was inside the big blob. Crazy Draken just dove right in. Swam around like it was a day at the beach. Then she clutched her head, started thrashing about like she stuck a claw in a plasma
conduit. I was about to jump in after, but Avatron held me back.

A couple of days later Kal came back, but she… it wasn’t Kal. I’ve seen lots of things on this nightmare planet – squirg possession, augmented freaks, Strain corruption – but nothing compared to this. There was something behind her eyes, something alien and… evil. Avatron and me, we probably could have subdued her, but then the hookfeet came out. And the Corruptors swooped down. And together they swarmed the Mechari.
Avatron fought like a devil as they dragged him off.

I ran. I hid. Maybe that makes me a coward, but what else could I have done? I tried to hike out, but those damn tubes have blocked the way. I’m caught like a slank in a trap.

Now they’ve both come back. They’re here…

[The report abruptly ends.]

Guide

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Blighthaven

1.

The Flavorology of Taste, 3rd. Ed.

Lore

[The latest edition of Rav’s relatively famous guide to gastronomy introduces new gastronomically sound dishes cooked with Nexus ingredients.]

“Display to me what you consume, and I shall demonstrate that which you have become.”

If you are reading this volume, you are interested in the finer arts of cooking and gastronomy. You have an adventurous palate, and refined nose, and an appreciation for the unusual and the surprising as well as tradition and classic dishes.
I know this because I am interested in these things, and now I will share but a few of them with you.

Yes, if you are reading this, you are ready to join me on an odyssey of flavor on a collision course with deliciousness with a detour through the finest ingredients Nexus has to offer.

————

CONTENTS

————

SECTION 1: Meats and Poultry

– Ravenok Ravioli with Mother-of-Mollusc Foam
Why foam? Why not?

-Barbecued Boulderback Backboulders with Smoked Cubig Bacon
Perfect with Squirg Chowder! Don’t eat Squirg Chowder.

SECTION 2: Seafood and Invertebrates

– Squirg Chowder
Never, ever eat this.

– Flash-Fried Fraz Fries
Fresh and flavorful! From space.

-Walatusk Chunks in Splorg Gravy
Perfect with Squirg Chowder! Which you should never eat. Not ever.

SECTION 3: Fruits and Vegetables

–
Lollilopp Surprise
How many licks does it take? You’ll be too “Lopped Out” to tell.

Whimleaf Salad with Roasted Stemdragon Hearts
Eat the stemdragon before it eats you. Spicy!

Rootbrute Surprise with Squirg Chowder Garnish.
– What’s the surprise? Rootbrutes are hybrid plant-animal organisms – it’s the perfect meat for the vegetarian at your feast! Just don’t feed them the Squirg Chowder. I don’t know why I keep listing it.
Why would anyone eat Squirg Chowder?

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