"Fascinating," Hiram says as he pulls up his pants leg to watch the effect of the cockatrice's bite, worry and scholarly interest jockeying for position on his face.
"Phew! That... That was scary! I thought we were done for... though I guess at this point turning back isn't really an option..." Dovak trails off.
"What do you suggest, Mr. Dovak? I don't know what to do!"
Cyniq looks back up at the tower to see what the man that had addressed them is doing.
"Let's look around... maybe we can find an animal who will help us!" says Zirt, trying not to look at the dead creatures on the ground.
Waiting just long enough for everyone else to raise any objections, she wanders off to explore the yard.
The approach to Flint Tower is a gentle slope, littered with boulders and strange twisted statues of painted men and women. Each statue is dressed in a set of cloth garments and one even has a satchel slung across his shoulders.
Zirt examines the statues, careful not to disturb anything. The little gnome shudders periodically as she realizes that these were probably real people not too long ago.
"I'd wager, the Pathfinder Society will come for their casualties eventually," Hiram said, putting a hand on the gnome's shoulder and leading her away from the statues. Out of curiosity, he returns and checks the contents of one of the satchels.
"Interesting that the clothes are not stone." Cyniq casts detect magic and stats looking around the garden with Zirt, thought she is checking for something other than animals.
Dovak attempts to use the long hammer he retrieved from the ground to get the pack off the statue wearing one. He also takes a close look at several statues, wondering if they are in positions that people can even take.
He shudders a bit thinking of what must have happened to these folks... but proceeds to look inside the pack.
As the party examine the statues, they realize that the statues were indeed once living people. Inspecting the satchel. Hiram and Dovak find that it contains a letter of credit worth 1000 gp, destined for a noble's estate further out in the countryside. There are also two metal vials in the satchel that Cyniq deems magical, most likely potions of healing. While the party conducts their examination, they begin to hear a gravely grumbling coming from the north, within moments they see a dwarf emerge from the shrubbery, talking to himself.
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Swatting at the branches of the shrubs as he noisily makes his way through, the dwarf is visibly frustrated. His backpack gets snagged causing him to stumble just a bit, you see him turn around and kick at the shrub in response.
... simple matter of loyalty. YA DON'T LEAVE MEN BEHIND ON THE BATTLEFIELD! Still breathin' no less! If I don't see his blasted face on these statues he better be well hid 'cause I'll find 'im an' give 'im a piece a my mind. Common decen... SOOT! Startled by the party, the dwarf pauses mid-rant pulling his shield in front of his body defensively and raising the hammer in his right hand slightly.
Realizing the party may not present immediate danger he relaxes a bit and calls out to the party. Ho there! If lootin' is yer business, take care 'less ye wanna end up a statue yerself!
"Uh, no good sir, we have business with those in the tower but were given a rather chilly reception. I'm expecting violence from them if we press any further and was looking to see if these poor souls possessed anything that might give us an edge." Hiram leaves the letter of credit but does take the two healing vials.
Zirt squeals with excitement when she sees the new arrival. Composing herself carefully, she speaks welcomingly in Dwarven. "Eshon alod, Kìn durad alud! Nil durad alud ashok ashok ducim!"
The little gnome beams with pride at her ability to remember (and pronounce) the traditional cross-racial greeting.
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The dwarf seems surprised to hear a gnome greet him in his native tongue.
"Hah!" He lowers his shield and hammer and begins walking toward the group.
"Thkazpona waururkark azrt az zhazhl 'aazhk' kur our', wahaart. A tat rurk aqrhazik kur 'aazh zhurhtth thur waazlanaazh. Rhah'azrhth Kurhazk k'atath k'a arkahthazikaurr urwa ur'h rhazk'th k'ath tazo."
"I'm Jaraim of Torag. I assume you're with the Pathfinder Society, then?" He looks slightly confused. "The team I was with took some casualties. Two members were turned to stone and I was paralyzed for a moment and when I came around I saw the others running away like beardless, flimsy spined, unreliable grubs." He spits on the ground and becomes visibly frustrated again. "And I swear to every stone if I see them again their mouths will taste the fury of my fist like a smith's hammer on hot iron."
"Err, Pathfinder Society? No, we're not with them. We're just here to collect a debt from the owner of this place. We passed some Pathfinders on our way here... Maybe they were the... 'beardless, flimsy spined, unreliable grubs?'" Dovak says, pausing to carefully repeat the Dwarf's words. "They mentioned something about retrieval from this man as well. Perhaps you'd like to join us?"
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"May have been the very same grubs." Jaraim looks down the road. "If I return to Absalom now my hot head might get the best of me."
He scratches his beard.
"Serid* didn't give me much information about what we were seeking, he brought me on after the assignment was given to him at the lodge. Basically all he said is we're going to the tower to collect things that shouldn't fall into the wrong hands. I had my doubts at first but he and his crew seemed like sharp axes. First sign of danger, though... PFT."
He takes a moment to look the party over.
"I'm in. But let's be in agreement. Nothing careless and if retreat is our plan, we ALL retreat; no one rushes in and no one is left behind."
"We have an accord Mr. Jaraim," Hiram said extending his hand to the dwarf.
"I am Professor Hiram Morrow and these are my associates, Sir Dovak Iomed of the church of Iomedae, Ms. Zirt Fzerkinkrat, and last but not least Ms. Cyniq al'Vysin."
Zirt smiles happily at the dwarf, but a moment later her face clouds over. "But now what? Mr. d'Aponte wouldn't let us in, even to talk! And those not-birds..."
Her little shoulders tremble in a shudder. "Whatever shall we do?"
"Force our way in, Mr. d'Aponte is in gross violation of scholarly and basic ethics."
"Well sure, but I like that blouse, think you could get that off without tearing it? Then I'm ready to go!"
Cyniq nods at the dwarf, and smiles listening intently to the exchange between the pathfinder and Zirt, need to learn dwarven...
"He lets highly dangerous beasts wander his grounds and performs questionable research with more within. At the very least he runs the risk his monsters escaping and at the worst, he does not care. These cockatrice for instance, if we had not slain them, they would of matured and become remarkably efficient killers outside of anything resembling a cage."
"But but... we aren't the law!"
Zirt is clearly disturbed and uncertain.
"We most certainly are not, but that does not mean we cannot enforce the local law, nor, dare I say it, Iomedae's will. It's a task that, alas, has been laid at our feet as part of what should have been a simpler mission. But we shall not falter, and will do what must be done." Dovak finishes his speech and pauses. "Or, well, that's what it seems like has been set before us anyway... Whether we like it or not..." his follow-up, significantly less motivating and inspirational, trails off.
Zirt looks suddenly concerned when Dovak mentions it being Iomedae's will. "Eep! Do you really think..." Her eyebrows furrow in deep thought as she looks around the group. "Well... if you all really think it's okay..."
Hiram nods in agreement and then heads towards the tower.
The party gathers their things and begins to make their way to the breach in the tower, the only obvious way in. Looking in from outside the breach the party can see two sets of stairs to the left and right and what appears to be dormitory straight ahead.
Zirt looks around, her face worried. "What do we do now?" she whispers to her companions.
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'Suppose knockin' won't be necessary...
Jaraim cranes his head around the opening to see if he can see anything worth noting inside.
He's also going to have a closer peek at the hole in the wall and the stairs to see if there might be any stability issues or traps.
(+6 to notice unusual stonework, such as traps and hidden doors in stone walls or floors)
The guy that called to us was upstairs. It would only be polite to call upon him first.
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"Well, if he's dangerous we'll put our health in jeopardy if we do announce our arrival and position."
Jaraim looks around to the group. "He is dangerous, right?"
Giving a momentary pause he continues "I don't want to rush in all menacing if he's just a weird guy who lives in a tower. If he's a danger to locals, then we should talk to him if possible. If it's not possible to talk to him, well, may the gods guide us. One thing is sure, though, I'm not keen on fighting someone up a stairwell so if we can avoid that, let's do so. Perhaps we should root around the ground floor here first and keep an eye on the stairs in case he comes down."
Zirt frowns. "Mr. Zeke didn't say that Mr. d'Aponte was dangerous, just that he wouldn't share what he'd learned anymore."
"Well, if the man who sic'ed the... 'not birds' on us was d'Aponte, he's a danger to anyone nearby; those things were vicious! We'd best be careful no matter what we do." Dovak slowly moves forward, his lucerne hammer in hand, but not particularly pointed anywhere.
The gnome follows, watching carefully all around.
The party moves cautiously into the tower and find it quiet, disturbingly so. You realize that you have actually entered the upper floor and that the stairs go down deeper into the tower. Moving into the barracks, you see three made up beds.
"If I were to convert this into a workspace, I would place any laboratory equipment and specimens at a lower level and keep the upper spaces for living and study quarters," Hiram says.
"Going up is probably our best bet."
"How do we go up when there aren't any stairs up!? I can't fly!"
"Perhaps we should look around this floor, then go down if we don't find a way up." Dovak says. He starts a short prayer to Iomedae, asking for her guidance.
"Okay. Let's go, then!"