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The gillman's eyes narrow at the sight of Nagagorjo, seeing the weapons he carries. He speaks with a lisping tongue, and you realise he's likely deaf.
"This place is not for your kind, landstrider. These sacred waters are not to be defiled by your hands. Leave now and bother me no more, ere you taste the power they grant the faithful."
He turns to Too-tuk, curious but wary of the feathered Pathfinder. He seems to have difficulty reading the tengu's lips.
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"We are very sorry for the intrusion..." Vaetta begins, dismissing her weapon to emphasize her lack of hostility. "We are not here to defile your peoples' sacred place. Our organization has tasked us with surveying this cavern system. If you are willing to assist us with this task, perhaps we can complete our survey without infringing upon your faith? She asks hopefully.
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Too-tuk pulls out a quill and paper and pantomime's writing as he speaks again, exaggerating the enunciation, although this does nothing to improve the ability to read his beak. "We are here to document the significance of this cave." He points at the miniature city. "We would like to take a look at that."
He pauses and stares at the gillman with a puzzled avian expression.
Both Too-tuk and Vaetta try to convince the gillman to assist them with their exploration.
He seems to understand their meaning, but his demeanour remains closed. Shaking his head, he slashes his hand through the air.
"No! Begone from this place. Defile not the waters with your touch. Outsiders are not welcome. They pollute the purity with their filth," he says, looking askance towards the northwest.
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"Fine, fine. I can see the city well enough from here." Too-tuk sits where he is, takes out his ink, and begins documenting what he can of the miniature city, including notes on the unfriendly gillman. "Water in the cave sacred to gillmen. Gillman bathing in pool seems to fear we will defile the water with our touch."
Once complete, he slides his writing implements away and rises. "Someone find Pelotita--maybe she is deciphering those carvings--and bring her along. Let us see what else is in these caves. Speaking of which, did you two see anything in the carvings? I am certain the Lodge would be interested in their meaning."
Pelotita examines the carvings carefully.
The carvings here are different in style from the petroglyphs found elsewhere in the caves, and they date back to long before the gillmen explored this area. Scattered throughout the cave are inscriptions from the History and Future of Humanity, the principle holy text of Aroden, and images that depict these passages. The carvings focus on parables that feature Aroden’s 12 guises, meant to illustrate his hopes for humanity: the artist, beggar, craftsman, farmer, fisherman, hunter, merchant, scholar, shepherd, soldier, tailor, and thief.
Only four of these parables are still decipherable. The sections of the holy text depicted are slightly different than those that appear in the known version of the History and Future of Humanity, suggesting that these might represent an earlier version of the work. A brief ritual is tied to each which appears to be linked to the sculpture in the other room.
The Artist is depicted painting murals on the walls of impressive buildings, associated with Aroden having painted the city of Absalom with beautiful colors so that it might awe all who visited. To complete the Artist’s ritual, one must paint or decorate one or more buildings in the model city.
The Merchant is depicted weighing and trading coins of different sizes, a reference to the holy text’s proverb that peace brings trade and prosperity to all people. To complete the Merchant’s ritual, one must place one of their own coins in the miniature city and take one of the other coins in return.
The Soldier is depicted bearing a lantern through the streets of a city, following the dead god’s prophecy that the vigilant shall carry light to the darkest corners of the world to banish the shadows. To complete the Soldier’s ritual, one must place a torch or other light source in the city.
Finally, the Thief is depicted stealing a gem from a shop while whispering a prayer, an allusion to a passage saying that larceny—though illegal—is a form of praise, for anything worth stealing is also worthy of praise for its craftsmanship. To complete the Thief’s ritual, one must steal one of the colored stones in the miniature city without anyone else commenting.
Pelotita conveys this information to her allies.
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"We should most likely document these rituals in as much detail as we can... I wish Janira were here to advice us on how to proceed." Vaetta says uncertainly.
"If these carvings truly predate the Gillmen's habitation of these caverns, than their claim to this space is specious at best... I am uncomfortable with the idea of killing the priest if we don't have to, but I doubt he feels the same way, nor is he likely to allow us to fiddle with the city model. What do you think we should do Too-Tuk?"
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"No, no," the tengu shakes his head, "Whatever the their claim to the cave, we are only here to record, not start a war with little fishy-men. You are right that the rituals are important to document."
Too-took waves Vaetta and Nagagorjo forward. "This seems like the most direct way forward. If there is nothing noteworthy, we can squeeze past the angry fish and try that other cave."
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Whispering to the party, Pelotita says, "Ya know, I ain't never met a gillman before, but I'm from the Mushfens, an' I've seen my fair share of toadmen. They can't be that different... right?"
She steps forward and shows a big toothy smile to the gillman. "Greetin's! My name..." she points to herself, "...is Pelo-tita."
She pauses, still smiling, and then points to the gillman. "What is your name?"
Firmly shaking his head at Nagagorjo, he refuses the coin. "Keep your own counsel, scaly one. I'll have no part in your folly."
However, his face lights up when Pelotita approaches. "Well met, small one," says the gillman, smiling at the halfling. "You keep unpleasant company but I greet you and ask you approach. You bear the symbol of Benorus, do you not? I know his followers often approach such places as these, beneath the earth, in search of knowledge. I fear not your presence, as I feel sure of your desire to preserve the sanctity of this place." He smiles mockingly at Too-tuk before ignoring the tengu completely.
"My name, to answer your question, is Uori. I have travelled far in search of the holy waters that run through this pool. Once this place was sacred to the human god Aroden, but that is of little importance to me. I seek a far more tangible force here, one gifted by the pure flow of water that blesses those who commune with its voice."
Uori pauses, shaking his head. "The influence of the dead god Aroden fades year by year. There is still some power left if you search for it here, but I have made this journey three times in as many decades, and each time the waters remain pure, but the dead god's altar crumbles and will soon wash away. If you wish to pray to a dead god, feel free to approach, though I believe it would be foolish to worship old echoes in a cave."
He looks at you thoughtfully, then nods towards the north-west. "If, however, you might render assistance to an old pilgrim, I might have something to assist with your endeavours. A foul presence has taken root in one of these tunnels, and I fear to approach lest it catch me unawares outside of the holy spring that keeps it at bay. Would you perhaps be willing to render aid?"
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Too-tuk rolls his eyes as the gillman lavishes praise on the halfling. He mutters under his breath in tengu, "Even gillmen as far north as Absalom are prejudiced against tengu. Will we ever get any respect?"
Still in tengu, a language of clicks, caws, and trills mixed with sounds from other tongues, he mutters a little louder, "At least the Pathfinders have proven accepting company."
Once Uori gets to his request for aid, Too-tuk makes an exaggerated bow, "Of course." Given that he is facing downward--and speaking through a beak--Uori never hears his words nor the droll tone.
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Making sure to remain facing the Gillman so he can read her lips, Pelotita brightens up further.
"Oh, gosh, yes! I think we can handle that."
Pelotita turns her face away from the Gillman and quickly says to the group, "Nod your heads and smile!"
Then, turning back, she adds, "You flatter me by knowing of Benorus. Most folks topside ain't got a clue! But I can't say I know that much about your people. Do others make this pilgrimage as well?"
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Vaetta nods vigorously at Pelotita's command, and tries to smile despite her apprehension. She was glad someone was able to befriend the priest, and that they wouldn't have to fight him, but was also very confused as to what she had done to be called 'unpleasant company'.
"I thought I was being quite polite..." Vaetta thinks to herself. She sniffles slightly, clearly upset by the difference in treatment, and pulls her long scarf in a futile attempt to disguise her pouting.
Uori nods at Pelotita, his face troubled. "Yes, others journey to commune with the holy water. Not all return from the journey. I fear the evil presence has taken them," he says, casting a worried gaze to the north-west.
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"Oh, dear. That is terrible. We'll absolutely help you! I reckon it might take a while... How much longer will your meditations take you? No rush, of course. But one thing we'd love to check out is that lil' city there, and we don't want to bother you. An' I'll do my best to make sure we don't mess up your pool. My family raises hogs so I know how bad it can get!"
Turning to the rest of the group, but visibly gesturing towards the exit, she adds, "Shall we?"
Uori nods to Pelotita, closing his eyes once more. "My pilgrimage will last until the full moon sets, some eight hours hence. Then I shall journey to rejoin my people, carrying the blessing of the waters' purity with me. I have no quarrel with you, servant of Benorus, but I ask your allies remain away from the waters unless they prove themselves pure of heart first. If you purify this holy place of the evil it contains, I offer what aid I may provide to assist your task in this place."
The group follow the twisting passage to the northwest, which corkscrews widdershins downwards beneath the earth. The cave’s damp air becomes increasingly stale as you continue down through this tunnel, and the stench of decay grows increasingly evident. After nearly a full circle down, the passage turns to the east and opens into a small cavern littered with bits of broken glass, rotting pieces of paper, and other unusable detritus.
The group moves cautiously forward as Pelotita calls upon her faith's divine blessing and Vaetta manifests a light within the eastern tunnel.
Moisture drips down the slick stone walls in small rivulets, the soft patter of noise creating a backdrop to the scene of decay ahead. In the flickering blue mage-light of Vaetta's spell, the cramped cavern buzzes with insect life around a crusted pool of inky blackness spreading from a bloated corpse. The fluids leaking from the rotted body writhe with maggots, an orgy of verminous delight teeming with nauseating motion.
The light elicits a rattle of movement, and reveals three figures of walking death. Two are little more than bleached piles of bone in humanoid shape hung with filthy remnants of rusted chain shirts, their calcified claws gripping ancient curved blades long since tarnished and pitted with verdigris. The final figure is engorged with necrotic flesh and naked save for the crawling layer of flies, maggots and other carrion feeders that burrow into its oozing putrefied hide.
Unholy pinpricks of cold blue light flicker within the empty eye sockets of the skeletons as they creak and move towards the group with shuddering, jerky motions. The shambling corpse releases a breathy moan of rotting gasses as its jaws start snapping uncontrollably, sensing living flesh nearby.
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Pelotita steps forward and ducks into a natural alcove.
"Vaetta, be careful!"
Bloated with diseased flesh, the shambling corpse moves in squelching motions towards Vaetta, arms distended forward. Its jaws continue snapping with rhythmic motions, eager to taste her blood.
The meteor hammer snaps out towards the zombie over Vaetta's shoulder, but Too-tuk's blow lacks enough energy to go the full distance, and he has to wind in the weapon an embarrassingly short distance before it reaches his claws once more.
The two skeletal figures lurch in motions resembling some form of puppet held with invisible strings, their weight seeming to hang off unseen strands of energy. One of them closes the distance enough to swing at Vaetta but misses her due to her myriad defenses, whilst the other simply pushes against the zombie's back, urging it toward the group.
Nagagorjo tries to spit venom at the zombie, but his attack splatters on the ceiling as it misses the undead abomination.
Vaetta strikes a mighty blow against the zombie! Her strike slashes deep into the corpse, which starts leaking foul fluids. It is still not yet enough to destroy the beast however, and it slams at her defences, trying to grasp her tender flesh. It manages to drive through her defence, hitting her with unrelenting force!
Too-tuk launches his weapon in an attempt to distract the creature but fails to draw its attention from Vaetta. The skeleton closest to Vaetta attacks her ineffectively once more, whilst the other seems eagerly waiting for an opening to advance.
Nagagorjo remains at the ready, eager to strike the undead but lacking the ability to manoeuvre past the tunnel's chokepoint where Vaetta holds back the enemies.