"Strangler," Khatín growled in frustration, looking up at the ceiling. "I hate this place. I hate it. I hate stranglers. I hate the darkness. I hate everyone right now."
Turning suddenly at Khatin's notes of anger, Ashlynn's eyes start to get big and shiny, welling with barely held back un-dropped tears.
"Reall..y? Even...m...m...me?"
"Pay attention, Ash!" Khatín snaps, clearly flustered. "I'm not dying in this hole because you need a, a...a coddle. This is not a game. That is some kind of bloody stupid creature, and I hate it, and it is going to eat us because Erutzan was too cowardly to come in here himself!"
"Relax. It's an aberration, we're in its territory, so yes it's going to hunt us. If you can't handle that reality, then you probably should find another line of work. Erutzan is paying us for our skills and if he thought we couldn't handle the situation, he would have hired someone better. So just relax."
To Borden he says, "Sorry no liquid fire. That stuff's expensive and even if we had some, there's no telling how far back in there that crack goes. Might be easiest to keep an eye on our back trail and ignore it. If it's an ambush predator, it might just avoid us, since we've spotted it."
Fingers crossed, he says indicating for someone to take the lead.
Mac, already coming in contact with the strangler and not wanting to become its next meal, volunteers to take the lead.
Ashlynn blinks back her sudden tears and sniffles a bit, trying to keep herself professional and calm.
“I’m f-fine. I’m not afraid. If that thing comes back I will just spit fire in its face…”
She then renews her light spell on her crossbow and follows behind Mac.
The group advances towards the light streaming from the room on the right. Slowing each passes into the room, feeling the coldness in the air from the pile of strange mold....
The ceiling of this large chamber glows with what looks like natural sunlight, illuminating a series of worktables, vises , spinning wheels and blocks of unfinished marble that identify the room as a sculptor's workshop. A huge unfinished statue of an imposing bare-chested warrior wielding a staff-like rod in its left hand dominates the north wall. The hair-less figure looks similar to the bas-relief on the sarcophagus upstairs, but its clearly meant to be a different individual. A short red metal pedestal against the south wall displays what appears to be a jet-black stone egg the size of a small boulder. A gold glyph - an equilateral triangle with short hash marks through each leg - marks the face of the egg.
The glyph is the personal device of Ayrzul, the Fossilized King. , legendary evil elemental lord.
You remember a small passage in an obscure book that mentioned in passing that Ayrzul and/or his minions assisted the forces of Chaos in a great battle at a place called Pesh...long ago in Golarion's pre-history.
Whistling in amazement, Ashlynn points at the glyph.
"That is...is the personal device of Ayrzul, the Fossilized King!
He...it?...was a legendary evil elemental lord! I remember something...Ayrzul or his minions, assisted the forces of Chaos in a great battle at a place called 'Pesh.' Maybe that is Katapesh now? It happened a LONG time ago. Its very obscure knowledge becasue of it. I remember reading it in an old Pathfinder journey-log my grandfather keeps in his study..."
Smiling broadly, Ashlynn starts whipping hear head around...
"This must mean there are more traps here somewhere!"
...as she immediately starts looking for more traps!
Ash Lynn is clearly a woman with a plan and purpose as she starts navigating around the room looking for... traps? Yeah... that's a fair call, he reasoned silently.
He too started his own careful examination.
Mac will also join the search for traps.
Khatín takes a deep breath, calming herself, mumbling as the others poke around. "The fossilized king. Sounds delightful. Just wonderful. Didn't see that in the brochure."
You don't find any traps, but you do notice that the rod that the statue holds is not stone, but wood. It has six grooves cut along it's shaft, suggesting seven segments.
Nym and Mac examine the red metal stand and the round ball it supports. In his examination, Mac brushes the back of his hand against the ball.
Immediately , two sunken blazing eyes appear and glower at Mac.
In an instant, the ball unfolds and transforms into a roughly, humanoid figure about 3 ft tall, standing on the red metal stand.
A mouth appears below it's eyes, uttering a query in a language that sounds like two rocks being rubbed together...
"Who are you....where is the Architect, Nadroc? "
Anyone know what its saying? Mac asks hopefully.
Startled by the creature’s sudden appearance, Ash stumbles her reply.
Could be…Terran?”
Nym translates the elemental's question.
"We are explorers. I know not this Nadroc you speak of, but if they were the builder of this tomb, they have been gone years beyond counting."
Its all the same to me... can't understand a damn word. Should have actually studied.
The rocky creature had begun to look agitated as both Ashlynn and Mac respond in a language it didn't understand.
It's 'head' cocks to one side, though, as Nym responds in a civilized fashion. He responds in kind....
"So, the Architect Nadroc is gone? Good riddance! I had wondered after so much time had passed. Now I can return home, since he obviously has no more work for me!" it says, chortling rockily.
It then pauses ,asking, "You do have the means to free me?" it asks hopefully.
While the others are oohing and aahhing over the elemental creature, Ashlynn turns and attempts to lift the wooden rod from the statue's hand.
"I wonder what this is?"
If it is being restrained by something physical, I might be able to free it! Mac says after Nym translates.
Really sounds like he's gargling gravel, doesn't it?
"Perhaps? What holds you to this plane?"