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Silt, still in Scrag form, attempts to assist whoever is bluffing.
In Aquan, he says We practice! The very smart locathah, and beautiful Karl, have eyeballs like knives. Almost see us horrible worms.
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"I hate it so much, but we’re gonna mess with the prisoners. You know how it goes."
Great, now we're talking to furniture.
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Attempting to participate fully in Silt's method acting ruse, Purpose Creche fixes his attention on the table and stands stock still.
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The table shifts around in place.
Silt grins at the table, showing his sharp teeth.
He makes a move to the stairs, squeezing between the walls.
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As far as Joli can tell, the table is not being deceitful. But it is hard to say, given that it is a table.
Or is it?!
There is no upper floor where the stairs would have led, but you can examine the map on the wall or poke around in the rubble.
Once out of earshot Riku will tell his friends:
”That’s no table, it’s a mimic!”
In Aquan, Joli says, "I guess you’d know how hard it is better than anyone, ‘table’. Man, I wish I could be a table right now. This tiny frog is crimping my style."
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”At least you’re not a wooden person. Having to affect ridiculous mannerisms. Clipped speech. Walking off to stare at things.”
Purpose Creche illustrates his point by going to stare at the metal map.
The table gives a gravelly laugh.
Purpose examines the map. This looks like a map of the island you're on now, but someone modified it from an earlier form; changing the coastlines and scratching out locations.
The lower half of the plaque has crumbled away, and what remains of the map shows only four locations on the northern half of the island. They are labeled “Watchtower III” in Azlanti, “Shipwrecks + ENEMIES” in Aquan, “Home” in Aquan, and “Wheels of Heaven” in Azlanti. Furthermore, the words “Hollow Forest” have been carved in large letters in Aquan. The map itself is labeled Zanas-Tahn, an Azlanti name that translates roughly to “sacred hills.”
Also, for anyone poking around...
Silt picks up the ring.
He conspicuously leaves the very nice backpack sitting on the table.
... then he grabs the bag and looks inside!!!
The map's note on northwestern threats and intimations of religious sites on the island pique Purpose Creche's interest. He is about to turn and ask the mimic about the former, but stops when he sees Silt snatching the bag.
Silt sees a large collection of smooth rocks, more than should be able to fit in a bag that size.
In Aquan: I wanted to admire them — so shiny! Here you go! Silt puts them back!
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"My friend has been play acting as that foolish bottom feeder too long. Those are theirs, ‘Silt’chum’.”
Unable to understand what's being said, Toby stands nearby, trying to convey an expression of boredom.
The GM pauses to see if anyone else is aiding.
What have I gotten myself into by agreeing to go along with these folks?
Not entirely sure what’s going on, Riku knows it’s best to stay inconspicuous. He whistles a little tune and attempts to add to the air of innocence.
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”Amazing rocks.”
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Aaaaaaaaand initiative.
Purpose
Table
Joli
The Harpoon
Toby
Silt
”Hm.”
Purpose Creche draws his bow and fires an arrow at the rock-loving sentry!
Purpose lets an arrow fly at the surprised table! It notches a corner.
The table takes a moment to study Silt, then slams into him.
Silt is automatically stuck to the adhesive-coated table!
Purpose
Table -8 hp, grappling Silt
Joli
The Harpoon
Toby
Silt, grappled
Everyone is up!
Purpose Creche puts a hand to his waist, and the rich scent of warm wood and the tang of iron fill the party's nostrils.
Joli sees his friend in trouble and summons help. A ghostly grippli appears and lashed out at la tabla slaya.
Silt goes berserk on the table.
Riku steps up to the table and lets loose a flurry of kicks and punches!
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Toby moves over into position, drawing upon his inner reserves to unleash a wicked blast at the table.
"Let him go, you overgrown nightstand!"
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The spiritual weapon doesn't quite hit, but then Silt's bite sure does! Unfortunately, his mouth gets stuck! He then claws, and his claw gets stuck! He claws twice with his other hand, which does not get stuck.
The Harpoon punches and kicks, but his peg leg gets stuck!
Seeing his friends caught in the table's grasp, Toby unleashes a ferocious blast that just barely takes down the evil furniture!
(Seriously, just barely.)
Out of combat!
The rock collection is stored in a handy haversack, and the ring Silt found is a ring of swimming.
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Riku pulls his leg free of the dead mimic, and helps Silt pull his face free as well.
"In Tian we respect our antiques, but..."
He looks at the bag of rocks and shakes his head. He then gives the battered table a short bow.
Magpie hides them in her nest
Like rocks in a bag"
"Could it have alerted someone? Perhaps an alarm has been sound. We should hurry."
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Silt respects the little ants, too, Riku. Mighty, tiny hills.
He then stares at Riku, waiting patiently for the translation.
Upon hearing it, he rummages about in the bag for any shiny geodes, gems, or especially colorful coral.
Purpose Creche picks his way back over to the map."I assume the prisoners are kept here," he says, stabbing a finger at the area marked home. "But we should probably check here." His finger traces up to the northwest beach marked shipwreck and enemies. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If we can secure allies then it could make extracting the colonists easier. I'll at least send my sight into the area."
Silt investigates the rock collection. Many of them are pretty, but none are particularly valuable.
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Riku looks confused when Silt talks about ants and hills, and even more so when Silt checks the bag for valuables, then he grins toothily.
"I'll have to explain metaphors and similes to you someday. You ever write poetry? You do have a certain way with words."
He nods as Purpose explains the map. "I agree with Purpose Creche. Let's befriend these enemies of our enemies."
"I would love to hear Silt's poetry."
"We should probably hide evidence of what's happened here,"Purpose Creche muses as he helps scrape mimic resin off his companions' gear. "Maybe hide the remains beneath rubble on the upper floor."
Once preparations are complete, he suggests they set out through the forest towards the northwestern beach.
Silt peers into the bag again. I do not see meta-phors or symm-ee-lees in the bag. These strange rocks you speak of must be elusive as a Karl stalking rass berry picking goblins.
Joli starts to belly laugh in spite of himself. He recovers and manages a serious face. "But really, we could've avoided a fight, Silt. Everything's not a rass berry."
Before they leave, Purpose Creche borrows the bag from Silt and thoroughly investigates any psychic residue lingering on it or its contents.
At 2nd level, an occultist learns how to read information from items he examines.
Examining an item in this way requires him to spend 1 minute handling the item. If the item is a magic item, the occultist learns its properties and command word as if he had successfully examined the item using detect magic and succeeded at a Spellcraft check. This ability does not reveal whether the item is cursed unless the occultist’s class level is equal to or greater than the caster level of the item. If the item has any historical significance, the occultist learns one piece of information about its past (as determined by the GM). Finally, if the item was last used no longer than 1 day ago per the occultist’s class level, the occultist learns one piece of information about the last creature to use the item. This information might be a glimpse of the creature’s appearance, a brief vision of what it saw while using the item, or perhaps its emotional state when it last used the item. The GM determines what information is gained in this way. This functions like the psychometry occult skill unlock, but doesn’t require a skill check and can be used at will.
Purpose pulls out a few of the stones and concentrates. Eventually, he gets the name of the creature: Karnax.
Is it time to go?
"Yeah, let's get a move on! Um, where are we going, anyway?"
”I believe Purpose Creche found a place on the map. A spot marked ‘enemies’.”