Khale finds that the door opens with little resistance, creaking only ever so slightly as he pushes into the room beyond. The mournful howling you heard from beyond appears to be emanating from a stone well in the room's centre. This large chamber's walls, once painted with vermillion and gilded with gold leaf, are now splotched and crumbling. Unlike the walls, however, the tiles that decorate the well are untouched by the ages and gleam as if recently polished.
Nothing detects as magical in this room.
Li moves to the edge of the well, not detecting any sort of false play going on. Looking over the lip of the well, about twenty feet down the shaft, the flickering lights of the monk's torch dimly illuminate a long-forgotten skeleton at the base of the well.
Elysia can't determine if there was any writing on the walls, but it certainly seems like there was once a pattern, although only a decorative one.
"Join me... leap into the well... embrace your inevitable fate... suffer in the subterranean darkness for eternity with me..."
For a scant moment, the words are surprisingly compelling. And then you blink. Why on earth would you want to do that?
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Bendaxalon, who had been about to investigate the interesting screams, suddenly decides not to at Khale's reminder of what Maurit said about wells. "Ah, yes. Do you suppose this is the one that hungry creatures come out of, or the haunted one?"
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"Ah, yes. Do you suppose this is the one that hungry creatures come out of, or the haunted one?"
Trig walks a few steps back from the edge. "I'd guess the haunted one. Something was telling me to jump. And the only creature down there is a long dead skeleton."
He looks around. "Let's get out of here before it comes up with a better argument than 'spend an eternity of torment with me.'"
The bomb drops down to the bottom of the well with a thunk and then a dull explosion. That just seems to cause the howling to get even louder... it seems angered, in fact.
Haunts can be destroyed using positive energy, or else deactivated by various means--different haunts are susceptible to different things. Haunts can also usually be put to rest by soothing the angered soul haunting that place.
The door here appears to have become stuck, and will probably take some effort to dislodge. It looks like water has seeped into it from some crack in the ceiling and caused the wood to swell and bulge.
If one should listen at the door...
"I agree!"
"Tarka was here way before the Fire Speaker."
"Right I have! And you've been here with me the entire time!"
"Lurtil didn't. He came after his tribe got chopped up by angry Pathfinders the other month."
"Well, whatever. But you agree with me, right?"
"Right! Gogot never believe Fire Speaker!"
The conversation seems to be a more or less self-indulgent rant about "the Fire Speaker" who appears to not be treating the speakers very well at all. They seem to be trying to convince one another to rebel against them, although it's probably mostly braggado.
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:)
Elysia listens at the door.
She steps back and says quietly "Whoever is beyond this door is having a rather lame, if heated, argument. They apparently do not approve of one called the 'Fire Speaker'"
She pauses, then resumes "They sound rather yappy, and one is possibly named Gogot and another Tarka and yet another Lurtil? It is almost a certainty that other Pathfinders went through here about a month ago. As they are speaking in draconic, you need to brace yourselves, it is probable they are, and I do not say this lightly..." Elysia pauses for a few seconds "kobolds." She giggles.
Khale busts the door open with a powerful kick and shouts threateningly into the room beyond. The room appears to have once been a gallery, although it is now aged and refurbished, in a sense. Its once-decorated walls have been stripped of the original mosaics and its decorations replaced with Draconic graffiti, crudely etched into the walls. Other than the scrawl on the walls, the chamber is noticably cleaner and less dusty than the dungeon's other rooms.
Apparently taken completely unawares by the sudden break-in from behind, the kobolds screech in alarm, abruptly cutting off their discussion and arranging themselves in a relatively defensive position. Three of them hold their spears up warily, while the fourth hides behind them, grabbing for a sling bullet. They don't seem particularly pleased by your presence, but nor do they seem to be hostile, either.
"W-Who you?!" The kobold at the back with the sling shouts out in broken common. Those with some familiarity with the draconic language can tell from her voice that this one is a female.
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Bendy is delighted to meet kobolds who don't just attack on sight. The colorful gnome bounds forward, bowing respectfully while using Elysia's interpretation to his advantage.
He smiles, eyes glittering.
The kobolds seem rather surprised that you are talking to them now, and in draconic to boot. They eye you warily, shooting each other confused and nervous glances. Finally, the female kobold at the back waves the spear-wielders aside so that she may step forward to speak. She nonetheless remains rather guarded, however. One of the other kobolds seems especially scared at the mention of Pathfinders, however, its knees visibly trembling.
The kobolds stare at you warily for another few moments, but eventually they lower their spears and seem to relax somewhat. Tarka, the leader, addresses you again, this time making the effort to speak in Common.
"You hate Fire Speaker? Tarka hate Fire Speaker! He liar! Tricksy tricksy us!" She gestures to the door on the far side of the room. "Fire Speaker there. Other kobold four there, but they not think Tarka right. They fight if you fight."
Tarka struggles with the next part for some while, before deciding to switch back to her much stronger Draconic.