Andrietta makes it across with all the help that she gets from Stali and the rope.
Meanwhile, Tharg attempts to go across...
...and slips, falls and goes swimming, again.
"Tharg meant to do that!" Tharg does manage to come out of the water without swallowing any, and grabs the rope and pulls himself out. His clothes are sodden and dripping and he looks absolutely miserable. "We go. Tharg done with swimming now."
The group heads downstairs to the small room to the south. A statue of a dwarven man strangling a snake stands in the northwest part of this irregularly shaped room.
From the very next room, you can hear a male voice asking, "Shirish, what have you brought me? Are they for eating?"
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Definitely not for eating, lizard lips, Hikaru thinks, hoping it doesn't read minds. He looks to Shirish with a quizzically raised brow, waiting to see how she answers that... His hand strays a bit nearer the hilt of his sword, though he doesn't touch it.... just in case she answers him in the affirmative.
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Seeing Tharg fall and get wet, "Oh Tharg, here come here and I'll help you, hold still, I will dry your clothes for you,"
She'll cast prestidigitation drying his clothes off, offering what passes as a smile for a Tengu.
As the male voice calls out, Sarano lets a small eep and heads to the back of the flock, "Guys. . .Don't let him eat me, I don't want to be a roasted Tengu,"
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"Thanks for bearing with me. Tharg, if y--"
The grandmother's start of an offer to help Tharg cross the area is cut off when the orc goes into the water and somehow manages to avoid drinking the tainted fluids.
"I'm also sure that Shirish could help Tharg warm up, but I don't think Tharg would appreciate that, would he?"
Despite not having a clue what's going on with the statue, Andrietta will document it's presence and appearance, on the off-chance more learned minds can make something of it.
When the voice calls out, Andrietta waits for Shirish to be the Seneschal and do her job, not attempting to disrupt whatever arrangement the apparent dragon and the pyromaniac have come to.
"Vault?" You can hear Karkadon's voice perk up.
Shirish sighs. "Yes, I brought you a proper thief, Lord Karkadon! The clever-winged brown one, Stah-lee, is good with tools. I saw him undo the trapped floor near the pyramid like it was nothing. The old one, An-dri-et-ta, has some new drink she wishes to share, called 'Tea.' They are ten-gu, and cannot do business without drinking tea first."
Karkadon claps his claws against the floor. "New drink and a thief? Have them talk to me!" The dragon is clearly young. He's about the same weight as you are, his long frame lithe and not taking up much space. "Well, who are you birds? Why do you travel in Karkadon's realm?"
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Yes, mighty and exuberant one, hale and hardy one, glorious and awe-inspiring one. Truly wise you are in selecting this Majordomo Shirish to be the one to steward, oversee and care for your realm. For she did recognize how resourceful, clever and ingenious us tengu are. We seek to return the remains, corpse and carcass of a human warrior who perished, died and was slain in your realm. We seek to give this honored soldier a fitting, proper and appropriate interment. Surely you would be gracious enough to listen to, hear and entertain our offer?
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Andrietta will straighten up when she is called out in specific, and then bow slightly.
"I am Andrietta Ebonfeather. I am an explorer for a historical society that is researching these ruins and in addition we've been requested to recover the remains that Chak mentioned, as they died far and away from their home."
"That is our goal, and exploring this place entire would be of immense benefit to all of us should you wish to allow it. We can all learn things and there will probably be insight on how to access the Vault if we do so."
The paladin will shift slightly, to lean on her quarterstaff once more. "We also have many and varied recipes to share for one who is possessed of an exceedingly refined taste."
For the *moment* she resists the urge to find out if the dragon is 'evil'. Aside from it being pretty blatant, it might give the dragon a good reason to attack the party, even in the best of circumstances.
"What might the Magnificent and Mighty Karkadon offer to a group of historical explorers?"
Karkadon looks confused. "A human warrior, what warrior... Wait. Are you talking about the dragon princess?" A little smoke comes out of his nose. "That was in the sacred dragon place. Why do you want to take her away?"
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I am no thief! I am a skilled scout and explorer.
Stali's crest rustles slightly as Shirish talks about him, and his body tenses slightly. He steadies his breathing and calms himself.
When the question comes up of why the body is wanted, Stali steps forward.
"To honor her in the way of her traditions."
"The shrine is a holy place, and we mean it no disrespect. The warrior in it played an important part of the history of this place. As such, her remains have remained here for many years. Now, we believe it is time for them to be treated in the ways of her people."
"Cremation of the body, the ashes returned to her people. The skull preserved in the manner of those who served Last Wall as a defender."
You like fire dragon. No cremation can happen without fire!
"Cremation?" Karkadon perks up with interest for a moment, then his head lowers, stubbornly. "But her people have not had her for many years. They probably don't even miss her, and she was important to a dragon. Don't you think that means she should stay?"
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Stali points out "Her people are from very far away, across the top of the world. She was one of the first explorers to come here from that area. Is it any wonder that it took a while for them to send someone to recover the body?"
Pausing a moment, Stali suggests "Would you like to hear about the dragon? Andrietta knows of it and could tell you much about it. The dragon is from the same area that the woman came from."
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Andrietta nods.
"Legends of power and might are told of the Empress of Heaven, known to mortals as 'Shizuru', the mighty dragon of the Sun. Many more tales are told of the way which She watches the sincerity and drive of all things. She also watches over one's ancestors, as well as those who would use steel well.
These tales are not often told in these lands, as She is from the far-off lands of Tian Xia, as Stali noted, over the Crown of the World. She holds the carp as a sacred animal, which is marked clearly upon the markings of the deceased.
We, too, were at an impasse as to whether to simply take the fallen warrior's remains or if there was something more that needed to be done.
And then the Empress sent me a vision, of one breaking free of this place and soaring to the skies... and also of a bereft mother who has lost a dear child.
Drawing upon that, we resolved to bring the warrior home, however we then encountered your Seneschal and began to discuss the issue, understanding that this land is sacred not just to the mighty dragon Empress Shizuru, but also you, and the people here who have adopted you as their patron.
If that was not complicated enough, this place is also sacred to the ones who sought the Sky, and they would at the very least like to know what happened to their holy place.
How do we feature in this epic? We are agents of an organization known as the Pathfinder Society.
We explore, we report, and we cooperate as best we can not only amongst ourselves but also those we encounter.
Thus far? We've done pretty good at it, which is why we were sent to explore this place."
The grandmother pauses and leans on her quarterstaff a bit, more from apparent exhaustion than any sort of fear of the draconic entity.
Please understand that if we do not report back, they will come looking for us, and they won't be as polite as we are...
"There is a dragon, the 'Empress of Heaven', who wants her to return, all the way to the other side of the world?" Karkadon is floored. "I knew she was a dragon princess," he says to Shirish. "Was I wrong?"
"What will you tell her people of us and of me?" The little dragon raises his head, as if now thinking through the possibilities. "If a cremation is needed, I should do it. As the gift of one dragon to another. Will her ashes be well guarded on her journey?" Then he pauses. "Also there was talk of a drink, and the vault as well. It seems like we have much to trade."
"What I've done?" Smoke snorts out of Karkadon's nostrils. "Who are you to question me? Of course I protected the shrine. It was a dragon place. A sign that I was meant to be here." He turns to you. "So you want to escort the dragon princess to her home. I want the vault opened. Was there anything else? And Shirish spoke of new recipes and a drink?"
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Raising his arms in a gesture meant to calm the dragon, Stali quickly explains "I didn't explain it well! I'm sorry!"
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he then says "I wasn't questioning that you have protected it. I was hoping for some of the details, such as tales of tribes that tried to loot that which you protect!"
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Karkadon puffs himself up. "I found the Scartooth clan. They were smashing everything in sight, using the stone statues of the short bearded men for practice. They did not expect me! I came upon them like death ITSELF!"
Tharg and Greenguts nod. "He eat MANY MANY of us!"
Shirish comes forward. "There was nothing more fearsome than my lord Karkadon. Our old War Chief, Scartooth, had told us to smash whatever we could... He was going to claim the honor of destroying the dragon statue in front of the dragon shrine, and then my Lord Karkadon came upon him. We fled and he hunted us, raging that we had invaded dragon holy place."
Karkadon laughs. "Only bold one was Shirish. How they ran! Hunting them was fun! But she convinced me not all orcs were pillagers of dragon-sacred places. I made them MY clan."
Shirish nods. "The Dragon Host clan! We are few but fierce, and when our name spreads many will flock to our banner!"
"Unless Karkadon eat them first," Tharg whispers. "You did bring food, right?"
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Maybe Shirsh could be a Pathfinder, maybe you too! As Andrietta said, our motto is explore, investigate, study, report, describe, communicate, cooperate, collaborate and assist. We would never destroy such ancient and exquisite, fine, and elegant works of art! So why don't we all partake of, ingest and devour some lovely tea, and I think we might even have some pie?
Looking to the others, Please tell us we have some pie. Pie is so tasty.
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"It is good that you protected this place, because it is holy and important. As mentioned, you want a vault opened, and we want to remove remains.
However, it is also important to learn all there is to know about the place, so with your permission, Magnificent Karkadon, we would explore this shrine entire, and respect the reverence with which you hold this place.
That'll be AFTER we all have something to eat. Fortunately, we prepared for a long expedition, and not having to fight with the Dragon Host clan means we have some supplies to spare for a grand meal, for everyone.
Just show us a good place to set up for a cooking fire, and we'll get to it. Don't want to smoke anyone out, after all."
For the stories about dragons of the chromatic dragons, this Karkadon seems sort of on the young side, a bit naiive. Maybe if we show him that things can work well without violence and fighting, he can start to see his way to Good. It won't be easy, but Grandmother knows easy is just a short-cut to Evil.
Karkadon eagerly partakes of the tea, liking it a lot more than the orcs did. However, the orcs continue drink every spot of liquid out of their cups.
Holding the cup gingerly in his claws, the dragon sips it. "More! So... You want to explore my lair? Alright. But I want this vault opened! I want to see what's inside!" He thumps his tail, impatiently.
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Andrietta will pour another round, sipping her tea quietly before nodding.
"Good research and exploration takes time. Everyone on our team has seen what happens if we rush into one part of a puzzle without figuring out the rest of it.
It's never pretty and it can even be fatal. And as you know, the dwarves were forced from this place, so the vault may very well have a key to any traps set within it somewhere in your lair, hidden in plain sight.
That's where we feature."
The grandmother considers and tilts her head.
"How is the tea, by the way?"
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My friends tastes are, perhaps, a little idiosyncratic. Perhaps you'd prefer a dish made by the people where I grew up. It is called a Tourtiere.
There are many versions but the one that I prefer is a pie made primarily with beef but also with whatever game was caught locally. Fortunately we caught a deer on the way in and venison will go well with it.
Together with the meat we'll add some thyme, sage, garlic and cloves. In addition to tripling the amount of pepper that I'd normally use, in deference to your tastes I'll put in a couple of Varisian Bonnet peppers.
After preparations it will take some time to cyook. Perhaps while it is cooking we can continue to explore the dungeon"
[ooc]Profession cook can be used untrained, right? (I'm DEFINITELY putting a rank in this when I next level up, mind :-)). So I have a +7 (wisdom and Travellers Any Tool and guidance). Maybe a circumstance bonus for the recipe book? Oh, and I'll use prestidigitation as well :-). Anybody beat that or did I just become the cook?
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Hikaru mostly watches and listens, having nothing really of import to add other than what's already been said, though he will have a cup of tea if there are enough to go around. "Grandmother here does a fine tea ceremony and I'm sure the pie will be more than satisfactory. Never seen Gallako make a bad one yet." Of course I don't think he's ever actually made a pie before, but I never actually said he had.
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Excited by Vralk and Gallako's mouthwatering description of the pie, Karkadon and Shirish watch each step of the cooking process. "You're mixing flour, lard, salt and a little water?" Shirish steps forward.
"Why are you flattening it out like that? Why not keep them as little balls to eat?" Karkadon's tail thumps as he asks Gallako more questions. "Are you sure you're adding enough peppers? Are you sure I can't get a taste now?"
Soon, Gallako has a tasty pie baking in a stone nook that gets heated from below by intermittent blasts of Shirish fire. It smells wonderful.
"When we get to eat?" Tharg asks Sarano.
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"Yes. It seems simple but like a lot of cooking, simple things can be made much better by experience, style, and study. Also, it's a tradition to watch when someone cooks, and not ask too many questions because a distracted cook can make mistakes..."
The grandmother gets a far-off look.
"Like that time little Zee cut his finger off and we had to sew it back on because we couldn't afford a healer. I don't think he's been the same around knives since..."
She snaps out of her reverie and blinks a few times.
"Leaving it as dumplings is one option, but Gallako is making a pie. That requires the crust to be stretched out to encompass a tasty something within. And no, it wouldn't taste very good if you ate it right now, it's not cooked. No chance for the flavor to come out."
Shirish gets a bit of a squinted look. If this is what you have to deal with for the safety of your family, you're one focused woman. I'd've whapped him on the back of the head by now, dragon or no dragon...
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Watching the process intently she doesn't even notice Tharg sneak up on her, Sarano lets out an eep of surprise and jumps back a few feet, before looking down and addressing Tharg. "Uhm. . well Tharg it has to cook first. . so after it cooks we can eat it. . .but like Grandmother says. . its best not to ask too many questions, just watch and enjoy."
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"The whole purpose of the cooking is to meld the flavours into one. It is a case where the sum is far greater than the parts. Its hard to explain why but I'll prove it to you. Here are the parts, in about the same proportions, but uncooked. Go ahead and eat them. They'll taste ok but nothing special.
Then later you get to eat the PIE. It will taste much, much, much better"
"Yes, taste test! Taste test!" Karkadon drums his claws on the floor and catches the unseeded pepper in mid-air. Smoke comes out his nose a minute later. "Oh... That's GOOD. Shirish, can you grow those? They're spicy and I like them!"
"Er... We can see if Greenguts can do so." Shirish looks wide-eyed. "Um, can you save some seeds for us?"
He then gobbles up the ingredients, tasting each one. "Interesting. Lard and flour are blah, but I like the venison. They're all different together? Are you taking notes, Shirish?"
"Yes, Lord Karkadon." Shirish is writing fast and furiously. "How do you know when it's done?"
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"Peppers tend to like sand, but you need a good source of water for them." Stali says. With a gesture to his own chest, he admits "I find it makes the food too spicy if you don't remove the seeds, but" swinging an arm in Karkadon's direction "some have a much higher tolerance."
Looking to Karkadon, he says "I'm glad that I judged correctly. Your seneschal" gesturing to Shirish "had mentioned how much you like spicy food."
Soon the pie crusts brown, and the filling burbles and then thickens. The smell of delicious meat pie is everywhere.
Shirish and Gallako try to divide the pie up fairly, but Karkadon gobbles up three times as many slices as anyone else. "That's amazing! When can we have it again?" Then he yawns. "We should talk again soon about that, but food always makes me sleepy... You say that you want to explore the whole dungeon? That includes the vault so you have to come back here anyway."
He lays his head on his foreleg, and curls up a bit. "I'll see you when you get back. Maybe we can have more pie then!"
With that, the audience is over. The orcs guard their dragon, and let you go on your way.
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The group backtracks through the shrine to Kols that they found.
So you go south. Imagery of skulls, dwarves in burial shrouds, and young dwarves praying adorn this long hall. Heraldic charts from several dwarven clans cover the southern wall. The skeleton of a large, serpentine creature is coiled on a stone pedestal in the eastern alcove.
The group veers north again, into the next room.
They find orc sleeping mats, broken weapons and dirty clothes. From the number of mats and weapons here, the orc tribe was clearly far larger than its current size at one time.
The group veers south again into the last two rooms.
These rooms appear to have been a combination latrine and refuse pile. They contain little else than broken weapons and the eye-watering stench of fouled smallclothes.
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Pointing to the skeleton, Stali indicates "Looks to me like the remains of a rock serpent. It looks like insects fed off the corpse."
Looking at the charts, he says "We should make a copy of these. As I understand it, dwarves take a lot of interest in their clan history."
Pointing to the pedestal, he indicates another statue was once there. "Should we investigate more closely, see if we can find anything indicating who it was a statue of?"
In the most recent room, Stali calls for a halt. He then investigates a loose tile. "Don't worry, I don't think it is a trap."
Stali lifts the loose tile and finds a sting of amber-colored beads with an amber colored pendant hanging from them.
The necklace can’t be moved by mage hand, and detects as magical. The moment one of you touches it, all the amber beads light up like they’re on fire.
You follow the sounds of hissing and bubbling water to the east.
A gargantuan square pool, twenty feet wide and four feet deep, occupies most of this chamber. The steaming water releases a pungent odor. Before you go in, you notice that the water burbles dangerously hot, and the room has a miasma hanging over it that would makes it hard to breathe.
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That necklace is a potent, strong, and powerful magic item that detects elemental creatures and protects against some of their attacks when they are close, nearby and in proximity. Plus there are some beads, globes and charms that can be tossed to explode in blast of flame. Careful not to get that too close to Sarano.
Also, that water smells like it is contaminated it could make you sick, ill and diseased just from inhaling the steam.
May I have a Knowledge Engineering check?
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"It's a disease, you say?" The grandmother, who has been relatively quiet during the exploration straightens up a bit. "Tie a rope to me, I'll go in and check it out. One doesn't get this old without living through a few plagues and what-not."