Billy will spend the next 10min in meditation to Abadar to Refocus.
Cirri spends some time Refocusing so she can call upon the surf when she needs to.
"Oh? Right. Well, giant apes are pretty hairy. Sometimes I have some resonance when I change back." She stands up and stretches a bit. "Um, what's next? Oh right, we should secure the rest of the outside of the temple, then we can search for traps!"
10 minutes
Aoibhean @ ??
Billy @ Ward Medic w/ Cirri, Slick, ??, ?? (rolled ☑☑□□)
Cirri @ Refocus
Slick @ ??
Yagon Suel @ ??
20 minutes
Aoibhean @ ??
Billy @ Refocus
Cirri @ ??
Slick @ ??
Yagon Suel @ ??
XX minutes?
Aoibhean @ ??
Billy @ ??
Cirri @ ??
Slick @ ??
Yagon Suel @ ??
...
After resting for 20(?) minutes, Cirri's Corsairs circle the compound, observing at least three different potential entrances near and around the western "half" of the structure...
While Billy tends to his wounds, Slick cleans the green ichor off his sword and then taking out a small sharpening stone, whets his blade in even, rhythmic strokes. As he works, Slick watches the fire he lit earlier burn away the spider webs.
When Billy is finished, Slick stretches out his arms and flexes the muscles in his back, causing his armor to creak dangerously. He relaxes with an audible sigh of contentment. "Good as new, Billy. I knew there was a reason why I kept you around. Har har." He's about to smack the halfling on the back in gratitude, but remembering what happened the last time he did that, he winces and puts his hand down.
After scouting the compound, Slick says, "As we're guests here and not the help, I think we should go in through the main entrance rather than use one of the side doors."
After meditating, Billy notices Ingdani has re-appeared. "Ahh, excellent. Our biggest (only?) fan. So far, anyway! Did you enjoy our performance?" Indicating the bandaged druid, he adds, "We could admittedly use a bit more rehearsal." When Cirri suggests securing the temple, Billy nods.
As he's getting up, he snaps his fingers and rummages in his pack. He pulls out a small sealed jar with a strikingly colorful goldfish swimming in perfect circles. "Look everyone! This is my pet, Axis." Billy continues, "He mostly just swims and looks pretty. But he helps energize me." Billy instructs Axis to restore focus. Axis blinks his little fisheyes.
With the perimeter secured, Billy follows the others through the main entrance.
"I'm sorry about the dinosaur," Aoibhean tells Cirri, once it's clear that the immediate danger has passed. "But we didn't have much choice. How are you feeling?"
While Billy works on patching Cirri up, Aoibhean sits under a nearby tree, flipping through her spellbook and frowning occasionally.
20 minutes pass while the party patches eachothers' wounds, refocus, and burn the rest of the spider webs in the northwest section.
Passing through the large pair of wooden doors bearing numerous intricate carvings, inside this room a series of paintings line the walls of this large chamber, depicting a faceless man undergoing various trials. The man wades through the river, balances atop a tall tree, and meditates amid a terrible storm. Several small tools and some partially eaten food lie in the room's northern alcove, before a depiction of a faceless man picking a flower among a field of brambles. Opposite the western wall with the wooden double doors the party arrived in lies an eastern wall that leads into a hallway.
...
A small humanoid positioned upside-down with it's feet casually "standing" upon the ceiling remains motionless as it watches the party walk around this room!
...
Aoibhean (140/140) in Middle w/ Staff of Evocation (1h) to Search
Billy (127/127) in Middle/Back w/ Lute (2h) to Search
Cirri (101/151) in Front w/ Staff (1h) and Shield (1h) to Search w/ Trapfinder
Slick (173/173) in Front w/ Greatsword (2h) to Search
Yagon Suel (151/151) in Front w/ War Flail (2h) to Search
...
Inside the temple, Aoibhean finds herself fascinated by the painting, and she walks along the wall examining each of them in turn.
Slick enters first and his eyes skitter over the intricate carvings without a great deal of interest. His eyes then fall on the tools and food. "Looks like someone's been here recently." He looks about to see if he can find any other trace of who that might be.
He almost immediately spots the small humanoid standing on the ceiling. Looking up, he says, "Oh, there you are. I take it that these tools and food belong to you?" Despite the creature's small stature, Slick remains wary and grips his greatsword in case he'll need to use it. "Come on down. We won't hurt you unless you try hurting us. So tell me about the tools. What are you up to here?"
While he's sweet-talking the small humanoid down from the ceiling, Slick is racking his brain to figure out what kind of creature it is.
"¿Mida sa siin teed?" it seems to demand, the humanoid expression on it's face communicating perhaps more than the words it chooses.
Go ahead and roll!
Billy, would you want to spend an hour treating Cirri's injuries? That would double the amount of healing you do, up to 98.
Billy follows the others into the temple. Being a lover of art, he is drawn to the series of paintings.
Clearly fascinated by the artwork (to the exclusion of anything else), he remarks, "These paintings are most expressive. Notice the fine detail." He gets even closer to get a better look.
When Slick points out our guest, Billy tears himself away from the artwork, looks up, and studies the humanoid.
Aoibhean @ Draconic, Elven, Minkaian, Taldane, Tien, Undercommon
Billy @ Common, Halfling, Celestial, Draconic, Tien, Senzar
Cirri @ ???
Slick @ Common and Tien
Yagon Suel @ ???
So far, nobody seems to be able to understand the creature on the ceiling...
"¿Mida sa siin teed?" it seems to demand, the humanoid expression on it's face communicating perhaps more than the words it chooses.
Slick doesn't understand a word of what the small humanoid just said. "Well, that's inconvenient. I don't think the little feller understands me, and I certainly don't understand them. What now? Anyone here got any fancy polyglot magic available? Billy? Seems like that would be right up your alley, no?"
Hearing the strange language, Billy looks to the others to see if anyone understands the little humanoid. When Slick asks about polyglot magic, Billy nods excitedly. "Indeed. I've found it helpful to be able to speak the languages of all my adoring fans." After a brief pause, he chants, "my fascination with communication" and casts Comprehend Language on himself.
He tries speaking to the creature, in an attempt to get him to continue talking. "Greetings, friend, we mean you no harm." He looks upward, in what he hopes is a non-threatening manner.
"I'm sorry about the dinosaur," Aoibhean tells Cirri, once it's clear that the immediate danger has passed. "But we didn't have much choice. How are you feeling?"
Cirri gazes at the sea. "I know, I know. Sometimes nature takes its course. But I always try to save whomever I can." She flexes her left wing. "It never hurts to help whomever is vulnerable."
Cirri perks up as they enter the temple. The art is beautiful. She wonders about its age, and who made this. What is the significance? Did the ancient society value trials? Are the flowers generic or valuable?
Slick yanks her attention to the small guest. "Oh. Hello." She waves. The creature's response throws her off. "Oh! I'm terrible at languages. I always forget this kind of stuff."
Billy focuses on talking to the creature. "See, that's what I need to learn- the power to speak many languages. Par and Dad were much better at this than me."
"Hello there. Do you understand me?" Aoibhean says in Tien, turning to look up at the creature. When that doesn't work, she tries again in each of the languages she knows, watching its face for a sign of recognition or understanding.
Yagon stands by allowing Billy to do the talking for now. He keeps an eye on any exits.
The small ceiling creature addresses Billy Bardy, without moving nor making any sudden actions.
...
"Who are you. What are you doing here? And why did you kill the dinosaur?"
This creature seems in many ways like a Fey creature, but somehow you are able to rule it being so out.
It looks tied to the elemental planes, rather...
Earth! And is probably speaking Terran!
This creature is called an Anugobu, a small humanoid skilled in Crafting and Engineering, and beholden to what it refers to as it's "Wonder" which roughly translates (in it's language, Anugobu) to "Life's Work" - you consider it likely that this particular creature's "Wonder" has something to do with this Temple.
...
Aoibhean @ Draconic, Elven, Minkaian, Taldane, Tien, Undercommon
Billy @ Common, Halfling, Celestial, Draconic, Tien, Senzar
Cirri @ Common, Strix and Druidic
Slick @ Common and Tien
Yagon Suel @ Common and Tien
...
Listening to the creature, Billy translates for the group. "He's asking who we are. And also, why we killed the dinosaur." The bard turns back to the humanoid above.
Billy explains, "Greetings, friend. I'm Billy. I play music." He strums a chord on his lute, and continues non-threateningly, "These are my companions. We mean you no harm. We're here because the organizers of a nearby tournament wanted us to use this temple as a home base." He quickly adds, "But only for a few days. We won't be here long. They probably didn't know this was your home. Perhaps we could share it for a short time. Maybe we can help each other?" Billy pauses to see what he thinks.
When asked about the dinosaur, "Wasn't it a lovely beast? I was sad to see it die. I've never seen one up close." Billy sighs. "Some spiders had captured it. In fighting off the spiders, the dinosaur took some damage. It was unnaturally chaotic and we were trying to defend ourselves." Billy pauses and adds solemnly, "Was he your friend?"
Billy then remembers where he's seen such creatures. He excitedly says, "Wait. You're an Anugobu, aren't you? I've read about your people. You're excellent crafters. Is the work in this temple what you call your Wonder? It's amazing!" Billy considers and offers, "If you don't speak our language, With your permission, I could cast a spell that would allow you to speak and understand our Common tongue." Billy awaits a response.
he points to Slick accusingly.
"I speak a common tongue, but I don't like it. This temple is my life's work, yes, I fix it. You can stay if you don't break it. Your friend has fire. Tell him not to use it here. I will return to my work now."
Remaining on the ceiling, it waits to see that the party will do...
Billy nods to the Anugobu and turns to the group. "I offered to cast a spell so he could speak Common, but he already knows it! He just doesn't like it. But it means he can understand if you wish to speak to him directly." Billy pauses and continues, "This temple is his life's work. We can stay if we don't break anything." Finally, turning to Slick, the bard says, "He requests we don't use fire. Your spell scared him." Billy shrugs as if to say "I'm only the messenger" and turns back to the Anugobu.
Billy responds, "We understand and we thank you for your hospitality. If I may, what shall we call you? And more importantly, can we help you with anything? Maybe gather materials? Some of us are quite resourceful! Did I mention I play music?" Billy starts to strum a chord, and realizes he already did that. He waits patiently, hoping he and the group can prove useful to the little guy.
"Strange creature. I wonder how it stays up there without falling down. Neat trick that."
Slick frowns when the humanoid asks why they killed the dinosaur. "Well, that's an easy one to answer. We killed it because it tried to kill us and damn near succeeded. If it'd run away or gone after the spiders, we wouldn't have stood in its way... What? Why the looks? It's true isn't it?"
When Billy explains that they're dealing with an Anugobu and that it is apparently fixing up the temple, Slick looks about and says, "Looks to me like he's got quite a ways to go yet." He then shrugs. "As long as he doesn't get in our way, I guess we'll try not to get in his."
When Billy finally gets around to translating the humanoid's latest tirade and finger pointing, Slick raises his hand defensively. "Whoa there little buddy, no need to get so worked up. Sorry if you got a little spooked there. The fire was to burn off the webs; I didn't mean to damage the temple." Once the humanoid appears to calm down a little, Slick continues. "How about this. We clear out the bad guys from the temple while trying real hard not to damage it" "too much" "and you can go back to fixing it up. Once the tournament is over, we'll leave and you can have the whole place to yourself. Deal?"
Ooohh...
"You're from the plane of earth. And you'd prefer to speak Terran." Cirri nods along with Billy.
"We're really sorry about the dinosaur. I was hoping to drive the spiders away and then calm it down, but then it attacked us and we had to defend ourselves. I'm so sorry." She bows in apology, staff held in both hands across her waist. Also Slick was trigger happy, but let's leave that part out.
"I've heard this is a temple dedicated to the gods, but I'm certain you have learned more. I'd love to hear more about the history of the temple, especially the last hundred years or so. What repairs have you made?"
"I don't speak Terran, unfortunately. But Billy can translate for a limited time. And you do understand what I'm saying, so maybe you can just confirm or deny my questions."
Cirri wonders about the Anugobu's level of maturity - is this a wizened elder on retirement, or a youngun' staking their claim on a Life's Work?
"Ok, me saame templit jagada. Ma andestan sulle dinosauruse pärast. Ja jah, palun ärge puudutage tuld. Täname, et saatsite ämblikud minema."
With one last glance at Slick, the creature walks across the ceiling as if it were a walking across the ground - although notably never having less than one foot in contact - and, crossing the threshold where the ceiling meets the wall by seemingly shifting it's weight to navigate the transition, walks down the wall, and corners onto the ground, flush with the party, and approaching them now.
Arriving it says, bowing before "Billy" then collecting a few of it's tools - and it's half-eaten snack! - "Ma näitan sulle ringi"
...
"Ok, we can share the temple. I forgive you for the dinosaur. And yes, please don't use fire. Thanks for sending the spiders away"
"I'll show you around"
...
Put any questions you scored with Recall Knowledge in spoilers!
...
2) What is their most common alignment?
Cirri tries to match their bow.
When the Anugobu bows, Billy returns the gesture respectfully. Turning to the group, he says, "Everyone, this is Ahmitar. He's willing to show us around." Billy smiles warmly at the fascinating creature.
What types of things do Anugobu respect? (i.e. what might we do to get on his good side?)
Slick beams as the Anugobu comes around to the idea of them being there. "See, little buddy? I knew we could all be friends. I promise I won't use any more fire." "...not until tomorrow morning at the earliest, that is." Now that the immediate danger has passed, Slick takes a more interested look around the room. "Great place you have here, by the way; very, um, quaint. I don't suppose you know if there are any more nasty surprises waiting for us anywhere? More bugs to exterminate, that sort of thing?" Slick keeps a grip of his greatsword, but tries to hold it in a less menacing manner, and tries to avoid scraping it against the walls.
Aoibhean returns the bow, even if it wasn't directed at her. "Aoibhean. While we didn't exactly cover ourselves in glory upon arrival here, we're quite good fighters. It would be a privilege to help clear out any other nasty creatures infesting your Wonder."
Ahmitar - upon hearing Slick's promise - approaches him, and bowing to his word, accepts it as binding "Teil on au" he declares, before looking around, then back at Billy "Millise poole tahad minna?"
"You have honor" and "Which way do you want to go?"
...
Q) What do I know about anugobu culture and beliefs?
Q) What is their most common alignment?
There are three phases in an Anugobu's life, roughly defined as before, during, and after in relation to their "wonder". This delineates their culture greatly, and lends perspective to any project or situation that they might find themselves in. Too, they are known to have an appreciation for the messiness that comes with creativity generally, and specifically as it applies to construction and engineering (in which they tend towards greatest facility), often so absorbed in their work to dabble much in the ethics of right and wrong in absolutes.
Legends tell of people having lost their homes to freak accidents being rebuilt overnight, or unfinished projects abandoned by other civilizations given new life and carried mysteriously to completion, and other similar stories, as being attributed to these small humanoids.
Q) Cirri wonders about the Anugobu's level of maturity - is this a wizened elder on retirement, or a youngun' staking their claim on a Life's Work?
There are "apprentices" and "wondercrafters" and Ahmitar appears to have the telling signs of age to put him in the latter category, further evidenced by his declaring this Temple as his "wonder". This likely means he has travelled the world and having arrived here, specifically chosen this site from numerous possible subjects to begin and eventually complete his life's work.
Q) What types of things do Anugobu respect? (i.e. what might we do to get on his good side?)
Anugobu become so impassioned with their "wonder" that it comes to define them in their mature to elder years, only before and after taking up such activities as wandering, learning new skills, or passing on what they have known. Their "wonders" can include restoration of buildings, exploration of sites, hunting of particular creatures, or other similar challenges. As such, they could all come to respect the qualities of dedication and singleminded hard work, as well as any skills that might align with their particular "wonder".
...
Cirri watches Ahmitar bow to Billy. "Oh, this is the site of your Life's Work? Incredible... Billy, ask him to show us around, I want to see his work. Unless he needs us to clear the place for him?"
Cirri's wings twitch with curiosity.
Slick squints and has a closer look at the intricate carvings showing a faceless man undergoing various rituals. "I'm no expert, but as this is a temple of Irori, I'm guessing this guy here..." he points at (but makes sure not to touch) one of the figures of the faceless man, "...must be Irori. Odd that he doesn't have a face." He looks even closer to see if that is how it was originally carved or whether the face was iconoclastically removed.
Not only is he not an expert, but his interest in the religious significance of the images is quickly exhausted. Looking around, he sees that the only other exit from this vestibule is an open doorway through which he sees a courtyard beyond .
Slick points towards the open doorway. "Hey little bud... uh, Ahmitar was it? Yeah, so what's out thataway? Anything we should be worried about?" He moves over to the open doorway and pokes his head out for a better look.
"I'd be surprised if it's a depiction of Irori himself," Aoibhean muses, examining the painting of the man picking a flower. "Those are quite rare. It may be that the figure is deliberately faceless so that the faithful could more easily imagine themselves performing these acts, as part of the path to enlightenment."
"Selles hoovis elavad langenud sõdalaste vaimud" pointing to the courtyard due east "Soovitan ringi käia" than adds, thoughtfully "Või ole vait ja järgne mulle" crouching low, dropping it's snack once more upon the floor, and looking to move quietly in the next room...
...
"The spirits of fallen warriors live in this courtyard" and "I recommend going around" and "Or be quiet and follow me"
...
When Cirri asks Billy to translate her request, he reminds her, "Ahmitar says he can understand Common just fine. He just doesn't like speaking it. But he knows what we're saying." Billy then turns to Slick, "Regarding your promise not to use fire, Ahmitar said 'You have honor.'" Billy begins to follow the others into the courtyard.
Before leaving the first room, Billy turns to Ahmitar, "Are these wonderful wall paintings done by your hand?" If he answers yes, Billy follows with, "Can you tell us what they represent?" When the group reaches the entrance to the courtyard, Billy cautions the group, "Our host is warning us that the spirits of fallen warriors live here. He recommends being very quiet and carefully follow him. Or better yet, we should go around." Billy continues to take in the sights on the temple tour.
When Slick hears that there are ghosts in the courtyard and that Ahmitar suggests that we should avoid them, he frowns and purses his lips in annoyance. "I don't think so. If this place is our headquarters then I'm not going to pussyfoot around this courtyard the whole time we're here just because of some lousy ghosts. I say we walk right in there and kick these spirits right out on their ass."
He pats his sword. "This baby will go through them like a hot knife through butter, and because of Tino's generosity, both Cirri and Aoibhean can smack them around as well. Whadaya say? Shall we go in there and say hello? Maybe we'll make friends with them, just like we did with Ahmitar here."
"You should always be respectful of the dead. If this is a burial ground, we should indeed be quiet and mark the room as off limits." Cirri wonders if Slick solves every problem with his longsword.
"However, if the area is h-h-haunted." Cirri takes a long swallow. "If it's haunted, then let's exorcise them."
"Uh, Billy? Could you help with the rest of these wounds? Those spider mandibles are sharp!"
"Slick is a little... overenthusiastic, but he's not wrong. We can't use this as a base if it's haunted by the unquiet dead, and they deserve to be put to rest. It may as well be us who does it. We're certainly equipped for the job."
Billy cringes at Slick's abruptness. "Perhaps we should ask our host?" After Ahmitar answers him about the wall paintings, Billy suggests, "As you may have heard, my colleagues are asking if you'd like our help in putting the courtyard spirits to rest?" He adds, "We're happy to do whatever we can to make you safer as you continue your amazing work here." He waits to translate for the group.
"Okay. If we're gonna do this, let me patch up these wounds." She stows her striking staff and pulls out her white staff adorned with ruby-studded crosses.
Cirri uses her >Staff of Healing< to cast >Heal< on herself.
"That feels a lot better." She switches staves.
Slick rolls his eyes at all the chit-chat about respect for the dead, "Yada, yada, yada." "Look, guys. Our job here is to secure this temple for our headquarters, find a Phoenix Necklace and three Silver Feathers, and do all this before tomorrow at sunrise. So we don't have a lot of time to sit around a campfire and sing Kumbaya. My experience is that the fastest way to exorcise ghosts and generally get rid of bad guys, is to cut them up into tiny bits. Pharasma can deal with the Kumbaya part once they show up at the Boneyard."
He waits impatiently as the others prepare themselves. Once it looks like they're ready, he says, "everyone ready? Great! Let's go," and heads for the courtyard.
"Slick, if you just go in and bash their incorporeal heads in, they tend to come back. We've got to put them to rest if we don't want our beauty sleep ruined by rattling chains and ghostly wails all through the night. If all it took was an ass-kicking, they wouldn't still hanging around."
"All that aside," Aoibhean adds as she hefts her staff, "an ass-kicking is probably still part of the equation."
Billy nods when Aoibhean makes her point about putting the spirits properly to rest.
It doesn't surprise him that Slick is being a touch rash and abrasive with his snarky kumbaya talk. He calmly smiles and explains, "My friend, you know Ahmitar can understand us, right? We agree that time is of the essence, but it's probably no excuse for being rude to our host in his own home." He continues, "I'm sure we can spare a few minutes with Ahmitar. Perhaps he can give us valuable information in putting the haunts to rest. At the very least, we can let him know our plans, so he can prepare accordingly." Billy looks past the courtyard and says, "Our host was spending his valuable time showing us around. Perhaps it's wise to complete our tour, and then make an informed decision of what needs to be addressed first?" In case the group thinks it's best to wake the dead immediately, Billy grips his lute and starts composing some inspirational lyrics.
Ahmitar waits patiently, even picks up his snack again to take a quick bite, for the party to make their decision. Indeed, he seems the patient type. If he felt disrespect at the way party members were talking, he concealed as much. But you suspect his indifference only brooks for his "wonder" - the physical state of the Temple itself!
1) What implements are you wielding?
2) Exploration Mode activity?
3) Roll Initiative!
0) Where are you going instead?
1) What implements are you wielding?
2) Exploration Mode activity?
Since our host doesn't seem bothered by the talk of defeating the ghosts in the courtyard, Billy asks him, "Ahmitar, would it help you in your work if we handled the courtyard spirits? If so, is there anything you can tell us that would help us put them to rest?" Billy tunes his lute.
Once all the chit-chatting is done, Slick leads the way through the doorway, his hands gripped tightly around the handle of his greatsword. He pauses at the top of the split flights of stairs leading down into the courtyard and scans the area from left to right; right to left; looking for anything vaguely spiritual. Seeing nothing, he quietly gets Cirri's attention. "You take the southern steps down and I'll take the northern ones." After confirming that everyone is ready, he heads down the northern steps and onto the courtyard floor proper. Unless something impedes him, he'll walk towards the column (?) thingy in the middle of the courtyard for a closer look.
"W-wait. This time, I'm going in prepared."
She nods and heads south, clutching her staff. Okay. Just remember, you're helping them out. They don't mean to tear out your soul, they're just really cranky.
Aoibhean takes up a position behind the vanguard, holding her staff in a defensive grip.