The hound makes a growling sound, but something about Sonny seems to calm it and it goes back to idly chewing on the still twitching flesh of the troll and troll-hound. Sonny feels a sudden and odd camaraderie with the hound. He sense that both of them have died and come back and the experience has given them an odd kinship.
"That seems to have calmed him down. I wonder if we should let him keep munching on the creatures or pour some acid on the two of them so they are dead. It's sort of a continual meal for the hound, be he can't do this forever."
"He seems to find it entertaining enough..."
Risbeth shrugs. "We could chain the troll hound down, then he'd have food forever. The troll, on the other hand, I believe we need to hit with acid or fire."
"Do we feel like pushing forward?" says the prof in a timid tone.
Risbeth shrugs. "Give me something to damage the trolls that will stop it from regenerating, and I'll go apply it. Maybe the creature will recognize we are helping it and not harming it."
The party approaches the gnawing flesh golem, but any attempt to affect or touch its 'food' seems to meet with deep growls and snaps.
"Sonny, I see that you have quite an affinity with this beast, could kindly try to "tell" him to let us pass?"
"I don't think it's preventing us from passing but protecting its dinner." As Sonny walks past the golem he says to it in a slightly high voice, "Good guard doggy! Kept the bad things out! Enjoy your dinner!"
The golem hound wags its bony tail and doesn't make any move to stop you, but if you try to do anything to its 'meal', it growls and snaps.
The arched bridge ends at a small cobbled terrace with a curious looking
iron door depicting a scowling sun being devoured by ravenous clouds. To the left, two hundred feet below, a huge waterfall plummets into the depths.
"I thought your friend lived here?" Risbeth asks, looking at the door. "Should we knock?"
Smiling the big Caesare adds.
"It would be.... polite!"
You knock at the door and after a moment, a viewing panel slides open to reveal... nothing at all. A second later the viewing panel slides back closed. For the life of you, you can't see anything through the panel that would have opened the panel!
This bizarre moment makes the prof wonder about it...
Quite spooked by this unnatural behavior Caeasare dismisses his extract, shrinking back again.
"Prof, if you do not mind me asking, what in Nethys name was that?"
"Perhaps an invisible being of sorts? Or perhaps this place is haunted as well. Gods please let it not be. I had my fill of the undead, present company excluded...for now." Xerice sighs.
Risbeth shrugs. "Worst case scenario, I can knock the doors off their hinges, so it isn't as if waiting a bit will be a problem. They don't look all that sturdy..." She says, with a small smile. Compared to the trees she shattered earlier, the doors are probably not all that sturdy...
"Oh! I see, just an invisible servant! Nothing too complicated. Look!"
The old man begins to chant arcane words and at the end of it... Nothing. Satisfied, the prof waves at a spot near to him with a big smile.
"My friends, this is Norbert. Say hello to him!"
After a moment, he says to Norbert "Dear, would you mind lighting this torch so they'll know you're here? Maybe you could try yourself to knock at the door!" ends the man with a giggle.
Norbert lights a torch, revealing a floating torch and a slight ripple in the air around the torch. A moment later Norbert knocks, but no response comes this time.
There seems to be no traps as near as Zanu can find, but unfortunately the key is not under the doormat.
Cesare works the lock and the door finally opens with a soft click. The room beyond looks to be an entryway. A huge portrait hangs above an enormous, lit fireplace in this large entry chamber. A set of steep stairs rises to the right. Two doors exit to the north, while one heads east.
So far, it seems to have noticed you, but hasn't done anything combative. It looks almost curious about you.
Sonny starts walking into the room and then stops as he stares under the stairs. "Nice spider thingy. Are you a friend of the Beast and the doggy out there? Won't you be nice and let us pass too?", he says in that annoying high pitched voice used for children and animals. Sonny then tries to walk up to it to see what it does.
The odd construct makes soft cooing noises and steps out from under the stairs. It hesitantly creeps closer to Sonny and pauses.
Sonny pets the construct and nods to the others, "Looks like we can come in. Where to first? One of the doors north or east. I think up should be done after we check out this floor."
Risbeth follows along, letting Sonny take care of the constructs. She keeps an eye out for things.
"Ha.. it seems that the constructs here are full of surprises. and some decent loveability. I think one can get used to the chique."
Checking out the door to the north, you open it to find a small storeroom. Inside are bins of coal, seemingly for the heating of the manor. Another door lies to the north. Through that you find a large kitchen with an oven, roaring fire and extensive collection of spices. Another door lies to the east.
When you head north, the odd construct retreats back under the stairs, turning around three times like a dog before plopping down.
The prof follows the party, asking Norbert to light the way for the others.
"I wonder what the trolls were doing here then. It seems the constructs are like pets to whomever made them. It's a welcome change though." Xerice notes.
"It looked to me like the constructs were keeping the trolls out. Who know what they wanted here but they won't get that free meal, and I still wonder why those goblins had that symbol."
"I could imagine that the owner of this castle, happy researching, is not unhappy of those trolls, as his constructs keep them at bay and they keep intruders away."
"Possibly, but doubtful. They also keep away people bringing supplies. No one is an island, we all need water, food, and leaves." Risbeth says with a shrug, watching the creature go back under the stairs. She looks at Sonny. "I'm assuming we are not looting your friends home, so perhaps we should call out to him? Or at least open the next door to search for him? It does not appear the trolls made it inside, at least so far."
Risbeth looks around inside the kitchen, and sighs. "This is taking too long lovelies, one moment." Risbeth searches through the kitchen to find some thing to eat, salted pork, cheese, and then moves away from the others. On the other side of the kitchen, she then begins making squeaking noises while setting the food on the floor.
"Come out lovelies, I have a wonderful hunk of salt pork, and a nice chunk of cheese for you, all I want is to talk lovelies."
"Speaking to the vermin again? That is really incredible. I'd love to do that. Well not that it would be useful to me or something but... Imagine the possibilities! They could describe what they feel during the experiments we make on them!"
The prof continues speaking nonsense on his own for a moment but is interrupted by a lazy and loud squeak from his rabbit.
"Oh, yes, we should go on, you're right!"
A few moments pass and a thin rat, looking quite timid, peers out before darting out to begin devouring the food.
"Hmmm they say the old men is taken up the hill by some undead smelling things." Xerice translates for the group.
Risbeth raises an eyebrow, not aware Xerice could talk to vermin as well. She nods though. "Quite correct. I suspect your friend is not here then. Perhaps we should check up the hill." She reaches down to scritch the rat behind the ear.
"Good lovely, that was very useful information. Is there anyone else in the house that's not dead or a made thing?" She asks. "I'll see if I can arrange some more food for you. If you and the guard animal outside are on good terms, there's a hound outside bleeding out that regrows it's meat when it's eaten. The guard might share with you if you are nice asking. Or if you are good at sneaking."
Risbeth gives out a long winding set of squeaks and mumbles to the rat. "Anyone have any questions for it? Remember, it's a rat, so it's not going to know things we do, only things it would know."
The rat seems to think for a moment while chewing the cheese.
"The big wobbly thing with Heavy Feat, which you petted is in the house. To the north, there's a place with three skitter bugs, probably some type of vermin sentry. They don't bother the rats. East of there, is a not good place. A dead two-legs that walks, and abox that is not a box, perhaps a mimic? And a big not dead two-legs with little two-leg helpers that are like the creature the good Professor has. Up the hill, past the falling water, rats don't go. Those that do, don't come back. The dead smelling two-legs took the old man that lives here up there. The man that lives here makes his creatures up there." Risbeth translates.
"It sounds like we need to go up the hill then and deal with those undead."
Sonny makes sure his holy symbol is handy and is ready to go.
The rat looks up at Risbeth to see if she has any more food or need for information. If she has none, it scampers back to a nearby hole and is gone.
Risbeth gives it a scritch on the ear again.
"Thank you again Lovely, I'll try to get some more food for you. Or get your nice old man back so he can leave some out for you."
The rat squeaks a pleased sort of noise and heads off, belly full. With the rat's advice, you search the rest of the house with reasonable peace, though something looks odd in the master bedroom.