"It appears to be some rejuvenation pool, little archer."
After Jostrum dries off, Julian gets into position... and opens the door. A brief headache encompasses Julian and Ki as the door is opened, but is then relieved.
Fresh blood splatters the white tile of this operating laboratory, which is lit by mirrored lamps hung from chains suspended in the shadows of the distant ceiling. A sturdy wooden table near the center of the room holds the lightning-charred corpse of a bald human man with a broom-bottom bearded. Smaller tables and bookcases nearby hold the gore-splattered remains of recent battle.
However, of more immediate concern are two figures; one is a man in red robes sipping a glass of wine as he waits adjacent to one of the bookshelves. Next to him is a dire tiger... which is only recognizable from its shape as all of its skin has been removed, only showing teeth and powerful muscles for its shape.
"Greetings; I was wondering who was using my bath. I assume you were sent here by Rozimus, yes?"
@Elindriel: The red-robed man finishes sipping his wine and grabs an intricately carved darkwood and ebon-lined staff, stroking it with the same affection as he did petting the cat abomination.
"Ahh, I do not mean to misrepresent myself. While I am not too familiar with Rozimus, my companion Vuzhon found the man as a perfect chance to escape this time-locked hell we've been trapped in... I cannot imagine the time."
The man pauses, then with a bit of an 'ah-ha!' moment on his face, he continues. "I apologize; I am Togarin, apprentice of Nhur Athemon.", the man giving a half-bow politely to the party.
@Ki: "Oh, you mean Puvvis?", scratching the large cat behind the ear, the beast instinctively nuzzling Togarin. "I simply had to do something to keep my pet with me for my plan to escape, which should free you, too, if you would be willing to listen."
"Good, good.", Togarin smiles. "See, we are stuck in a time lock, a machination corrupted by my former master. Vuzhon is clever... but I know more about souls and immortality that she does. So long as her true body remains affected by the time lock and her mind is in normal time, the magic jar allowing her to use Rozimus' body will never expire. She thought it would be best to have another group, hopefully more survivable than Rozimus' companions,", pausing to look at the charred human corpse on the table, "...come in for myself and my other fellow apprentice, Daegros, to use as our method of securing freedom." The ancient Azlanti then gives a disappointing frown as he continues.
"But, should the time lock fail, her body will age untold millennia in a moment, and it will no longer be a suitable receptacle for her soul. I will not let that happen to me. The only real way out for any of us is to destroy the time lock, and the best way to do that is to create a paradox."
"My apologies; I assume from your half-elf's eloquence that the rest of you were so enlightened. Simply put, the best way to cause a paradox would be to kill Rozimus somewhere in these halls. If a time-locked version of him is slain, then his body cannot exist outside of the lock."
@Julian: "No, no, no... the magic jar is an interesting way to bypass that. Now, if you could somehow get the Rozimus that escaped to come back inside, that would be a different matter... but Vuzhon would never allow that. Not to mention that you all, or at least he majority of you, are trapped in here."
The very beginning of a frown appears on Togarin's face... as if he knew that would be a viable solution and was hiding that knowledge.
"Hmm.... I guess that would do, although you'd have to do more than just take it; you'd have to destroy the crystal."
"So, do we have a deal? Wrest the ioun stone from Rozimus and smash it to tiny pieces, freeing us from the prison?"
"I do hope you consider. I do not wish to make any enemies out of potential allies."
He ponders a bit at Miss Dominique's question. "If knowledge about us and my former master would help persuade you, then I can divulge a few details. This floor is the residence of Nhur Athemon, a powerful wizard whose research and study did not go over so well with the pitiful Azlanti. We followed, seeing the brilliance of our master's study, but found his solution to handle the great cataclysm to be... undesirable.
He pours himself another glass of wine, taking a sip as he continues. "My fellow colleagues and I came up with a method of deserting our master and leaving us in a temporal bubble that would let us skip the next 10 years, well past the destruction and able to create our own empire out of Azlant's ashes. Master Athemon, though, apparently caught on to your plan and sabotaged it, extending the time bubble indefinitely. Thus, here we are."
After a deep drink of his spirits, he then asks. "So, roughly, how long has it been since the fall of Azlant?"
"Round indeed... ten millennia separate my history from yours."
"He was trusting it to the machinations of his personal throne, the Emerald Spire, and the everdeeper knowledge he was gleaming from the Darkness beyond."
"Iomedae? Who is that? Some icon of yours?"
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No, no, no. Aroden has fallen and Iomadae has risen. You know like Norgorber and Cayden Caillean. paying no attention to the man getting into the theological discussion with Miss Dominique. Besides the alphabet dictates the proper order.
"Iomadae rose before Aroden fell! And the alphabetical order depends on what alphabet you use. In Osiriani glyphs for instance it's the other way around. Some trivial information: In Osiriani literature the sentence 'The risen has fallen' is quite common as is the sentence 'The fallen has risen'"
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Iomedae was a herald of Aroden she only rose to prominence after the fall. Before that she was merely a Knight of Ozem in the Shining Crusade against the Whispering Tyrant. Since she was the last mortal to pass the test of the starstone she became a herald replacing the slain Arazni serving him until is death not 100 years ago.
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Once he understands Ki is full of questions. Speaking in common he asks about the cat. Why did you have to skin that tiger? I see that as cruel. Does the animal serve you willingly? Is it still in pain from what you have done? Did I hear right that both you and it are over 10,000 years old? What kind of wizard has an animal companion? Are you a wizard or a druid? He pauses for answers but his body language says he is not done with his questions.
"What tongue is that little man speaking?", Togarin asks Elindriel.
"Oh, Puvvis is in fine shape; it's just part of the preparation for our freedom. I assure you that he is in no pain. I am but a humble wizard; Puvvis is simply a pet."
"Very well; I look forward to your success in destroying the ioun stone and freeing us from this temporal prison."
Togarin pauses for a second. "As a sign of good faith, you may use rejuvenation bath. Please do close the door and knock before entering. An hour should do the trick."
"It rests your body my dear; an odd effect of being trapped in a time bubble is that ones internal energies do not replenish naturally. The bath was my solution to bypassing that hindrance."