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Grelthe probably would have been next in after Zadira.
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Grelthe follows Zadira into the room protectively, with her flail drawn and ready to bash heads. When no enemies greet them she looks a little disappointed and drops her weapon while watching Zadira suspiciously. At least she's not touching it, she's learned that lesson by now. When the steam envelops them she cries out and leaps toward Zadira to pull her away... too late.
Once the steam clears she exclaims "Zadira! The magic made you a giant!" in a teeny, tiny pipsqueaky voice. She looks surprised and says "Is that MY voice? Oh dear." Looking back at the rest of the party near the door, the realization of what has happened slowly dawns on her tiny green face.
Zadira pick Grelthe up in her palm and looks at her.
I hope this isn't permanent she says. But if it is, I bet we could join a carnival and make a lot of money. She grins.
"I hope it isn't permanent too. In the meantime (or in case it is permanent) what should we do? I cannot protect you very well like this. I can sing for you, but that won't help your spells or Kayla and Catarya's dextrous attacks." she looks dejected.
"So.. Shall we open the next doors? Or sit around and wait for a few minutes to see if it goes away? Should we just try to avoid the statue, or does someone think they can disarm it?"
Well, um... maybe you can ride on my haversack. It never goes up in weight, no matter how much it carries. How about that?
Zadira lifts Grelthe back to her Handy Haversack, so she can see things from a semi-normal perspective.
Don't worry. We'll find some way to get you back to normal.
I'll try disarming it... although that keeps backfiring on me. I am just trying to make the place safe for explorers, you know.
The head itself turns out to be just a conduit for the steam. The steam itself is produced somewhere else and isn't accessible from here.
Just as you finish, the magic wears off and Grethle is abruptly her normal size...
Grelthe is so excited she gives Zadira a hug and does a happy dance, which is rather hilarious to watch as she is not graceful. She then composes herself, awkwardly clearing her throat and readying her weapon.
"Well I'm ready to explore! Left or... right?
Oof
As Grelthe becomes normal sized again, her body expands well past standing on the Handy Haversack, and topples Zadira over backwards, but she is still happy, and hugs Grelthe back, glad that she is back to normal.
"Well, tat was... strange. But being tat size could haf its uses. You could sneak in trough a fery small passage."
Zadira finishes sketching the room and says Let's try left first. She then proceeds to the eastern door and casts open on it.
There is a large statue of a head, ten feet in height, against the southern wall of this room. A large, circular flagstone, five feet in diameter, is set into the normal flagstones of the floor directly in front of the statue. When Zadira enters the room, the statue’s mouth animates, and it speaks: “What do you wish? Experience or a reawakening?”
Erm, hello disembodied mouth guy. I guess I wish a reawakening?
The statue doesn't respond. You now see that it's eyes are fixed on the circular flagstone in front of it.
Zadira, now with the space to think through her choices, wonders what the words mean.
"Reawakening" sounds kind of life after death sort of a thing. I don't want to be a ghost. Hmm. And "Experience" might make me old. What do you think, guys? Is it good or a trap? Maybe reawakening brings someone back from the dead. Do we have a dead body to try it on? ... Well, no... okay, even I can see that is a bad idea, unless someone we LIKE dies. Then it might be worth trying. Err... does anyone want to try it? Or, do you think we could all stand on the circle together?
This seems like a fabulously cool magic thing that she wants to try, but she doesn't want to get killed, so she looks to her friends to see what they think... knowing they are usually smarter about danger than she is.
"Experience seems like a good thing, but might also be dangerous, maybe we'll be attacked or something. Reawakening seems more innocuous, unless you're right about the 'life after death' thing. Our third option is to just not step on that flagstone. Although the last room didn't do anything permanent, so maybe we are over thinking this?"
Kayla had been following along this whole time. trying to keep out of trouble. she gave Lady Z her requested chocolate, which Kayla has re-stocked.
she got a little chuckle out of the shrinkage incident, but was happy that it was not permanent.
now we come a point of decision. Kayla ponders the possibilities, but all of them do not lead to a good outcome.
If it was up to me, the dead are best left that way. nothing good ever comes from messing with the dead. so that leaves us the choice of experience or nothing at all.
Okay, let's try experience then.
All four of them stand on the circle...
... and Zadira says Experience.
She hopes that their request for experience won't result in them being thrown into a pit with a giant monster, thereby gaining an "experience." However, she is glad that at least they are trying it together, so she won't be the ONLY person in the monster's jaws.
"Tere's a saying... 'nefer look a gift horse in te mout.' I nefer understood tat. I don't trust any gifts from tis place."
"So wait chust a moment before you actifate someting."
Catarya examines the statue and the face for traps, then scans it with detect magic.
There are no physical traps or hidden doors here that you can see. There is magic in the statue, transmutation and a trace of illusion and compulsion to be specific (but not enough to produce anything immidiately harmful). As you look closer, the statue seems to be able to animate, but not move, which makes sense given the talking mouth. In the end you decide to go with it.
You all cram yourselves onto the circle and Zadira makes her wish. Youall feel a palpable wave of magic build, then release into you...
Like a movie on fast forward you watch your efforts to flee from your past in general and your uncle in specific, but from this perspective you are able to analyze your actions and see your mistakes. There aren't many, but they are there. It's almost as if you are put in charge of critiquing your own performance.
The playback lasts up until you meet your current party where it abruptly ends. You find yourself refreshed and enlightened. Having seen your mistakes and your successes, you realize what you could do better in the future and even a couple ways to improve right away!
The playback lasts up until you meet your current party where it abruptly ends. You find yourself refreshed and enlightened. Having seen your mistakes and your successes, you realize what you could do better in the future and even a couple ways to improve right away!
The playback lasts up until you meet your current party where it abruptly ends. You find yourself refreshed and enlightened. Having seen your mistakes and successes, you realize what you could do better to earn your freedom in the future, and even a couple ways to improve right away!
The playback lasts up until you meet your current party where it abruptly ends. You find yourself refreshed and enlightened. Having seen your mistakes and successes, you realize what you could do better in the future and even a couple ways to improve right away!
"Fery strange... I feel like I lifed my whole life again."
Grelthe snaps back to reality feeling as though she had been screaming... many of those memories she relived were painful... emotional and physical. And to re-experience them in such a short amount of time was overwhelming. Looking around, she saw Kayla's face looking a bit drawn, and knowing some of what she had gone through, assumes everyone had a similar experience.
"Well that was... enlightening."
Personally, I feel hopeful. I feel like I can do better. Things are GOOD, Grelthe. Cheer up. :)
Grelthe returns Zadira's smile. "You are right. I am glad to be adventuring with trusted friends."
"Well, let's go back and try the other door."
Sounds good says Zadira, and (unless there is something left to search here), she walks over and casts open on the next door.
The room is completely empty and devoid of anything interesting.
Look for secret doors?
Zadira maps yet another empty room, thinking that if they could get this place cleaned out, it would make a pretty good underground city. Lots of unclaimed space.
If Grelthe's search doesn't turn up anything, she goes back out to the hallway to see what's around the next corner.
"Hmm... I don't see anyting. Let's keep mofing."
No secret doors are discovered. The corridor broadens into an open chamber here, with a very high ceiling (60 ft.). The northern wall is lined with five statues of gargoyles in niches.
With our luck, those gargoyles are going to come alive and eat us.
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In a rare case of youall not getting immediately screwed over or wildly over-rewarded, the gargoyles do not move.
Zadira is surprised that the Gargoyles didn't come alive and try to eat her, so she ventures further into the room/expanded corridor, searching it to make sure they haven't missed anything.
As you're searching the middle one, a stone hand suddenly animates and swipes at you! Dangerous, stony claws miss your head by inches and the gargoyle growls, "Go Away!"
Err, sorry, mister gargoyle sir. She backs up a few steps. What are you guarding here?
His face scrunches up and, with all the nasty of an old man guarding his lawn, orders, "Noneya business. Now git! And stay gone!"
Is there anything we could bring you to help you out perhaps?
Are you all deaf Oracles? GET OUT!
It roars
Catarya puts her hands to her ears, trying to hear.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" she shouts.
The gargoyle harumphs, "The second set of adventuring murder-hobos this month and they're both immature idiots! Now Scat! Before I add your gear to my collection!