Aelin enters the room, stepping to the side to make sure the corridor is unobstructed. "A carnivore, eh? My rations are a mix, but if you're persistent, you might separate out the jerky. Are your appendages deft?" The half-elf takes out his rations, and places them on the floor, stepping back and watching how the jellyfish processes its meal.
"You'll forgive us, but neither you nor we expected to encounter each other, wouldn't you agree? We aren't welcome in these halls, and if you were really hungry and could leave, you would have. Do I have that right?"
Olf remains vigilant at the top of the queue, handing over food as needed, but not lowering his guard.
"We don't want any trouble, neither," Olf adds warily.
Slightly taken aback by the AirJelly’s forceful almost bubbly proclamation about not being an AirJelly, Hamarr approaches cautiously and pulls out a slimking fish jerky. He breaks it in half and starts chewing on one half while gently tossing the other half onto the ever growing pile of rations.
”Sorry,” he says, glancing at both the AirJelly and Kalendra, then addressing the AirJelly. ”I thought my ignorance in this matter would be self-evident. ‘AirJelly’ just seemed to fit. I was right about the scholar part though. May we ask – what is it here that you are studying?”
It's not safe to feed the animals... is all Halvar can think.
Aelin enters the room, stepping to the side to make sure the corridor is unobstructed. "A carnivore, eh? My rations are a mix, but if you're persistent, you might separate out the jerky. Are your appendages deft?" The half-elf takes out his rations, and places them on the floor, stepping back and watching how the jellyfish processes its meal.
He dives, more quickly than you’d have anticipated, onto the pile of food. His tendrils deftly pick out the meat products (and fish!) pulling them up to a mouth - hidden under the body. Some fluid drips a bit as he consumes the food - all the meat that is offered. It seems like he ate more than could possibly fit in so small a creature. He seems quite ravenous.
- - -
"You'll forgive us, but neither you nor we expected to encounter each other, wouldn't you agree? We aren't welcome in these halls, and if you were really hungry and could leave, you would have. Do I have that right?"
”Oh, I’m not particularly welcome here either I should think. But the statues are so short, I just fly above them. I’ve been trapped down here for an age it seems like. I came in through a small fissure from the Cypress Academy - I should have known better. It collapsed, very nearly on me, as I passed through. And so here I am. There were some rats (ew) early on, but nothing now for a bit.”
"We don't want any trouble, neither," Olf adds warily.
”You seem like nice folks (burp!) and I too want no trouble - just a way out if you please. My name is Thoxos (image). Pleased to meet you all.”
”Sorry,” he says, glancing at both the AirJelly and Kalendra, then addressing the AirJelly. ”I thought my ignorance in this matter would be self-evident. ‘AirJelly’ just seemed to fit. I was right about the scholar part though. May we ask – what is it here that you are studying?”
Thoxos seems to shrug, which is more of a slight change in his bobbing as he floats. ”Oh this?” he gestures with his tentacles to the book on the dais, ”Naturally, as I’ve been unable to eat properly, and have nothing to read of my own, the gods decided to give me a cookbook to study! I must admit though, this recipe has me intrigued, though I’m carnivorous.”
He gestures to the book for you to review. The book, is merely a book of recipes as far as you can tell. It's open to a rather interesting looking spicy chili dish using turnips as the foundation instead of beef. Looks tasty, but unhelpful without any ingredients. Still, referring to the text while cooking provides a +2 circumstance bonus to Profession Cook and is worth 200gp to the discerning buyer.
”So is the way clear to get out? I assume so as you’ve been so kind to come down here in the first place.” he eyes the food pile again, though it’s devoid of meat at this point. He ‘looks’ back up at all of you wondering what comes next.
Perception
"Nice to meet you, Thoxos," Olf dances away from the acidic drool, a practiced action from having to have family meals with Halvar for years. "I'm Olf, that's Halvar, and Hams, and Gertie, and Aelin, and Kallie."
"The way should be clear to get out, but before you go, can you answer some questions? How did you get here? How long have you been here? What do you know of the surrounding area? Do you know any of the history of this place? Uhm...uh..." Olf looks to the WanderKin for more ideas of what to ask.
"What brought you to Crimm, and when you are not trapped, what do you like to study? You know, there's a whole library up stairs," Hamarr adds pointing up.
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"And what, pray tell, are you, Thoxos? It's... it's nice to meet you, I think. Should you become free, where would you go? I'd hate for people to think you were, well, a monster, and try to hurt you."
”Acid. Useful, but also inconvenient.”
Gertrude admires the fine tome, immediately beginning wondering whether they could somehow obtain it in a fair trade.
”Which god gave you this fine tome?” She knows it is not likely to be a literal god, but she would like to hear what he thinks of as one.
Halvar keeps an eye--not his better one apparently--on things from a distance and lets the others talk.
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"Nice to meet you, Thoxos," Olf dances away from the acidic drool, a practiced action from having to have family meals with Halvar for years. "I'm Olf, that's Halvar, and Hams, and Gertie, and Aelin, and Kallie.”
”Greetings. Hello. Hi. Hello. My, quite a large group you have here don’t you?”
"The way should be clear to get out, but before you go, can you answer some questions? How did you get here? How long have you been here? What do you know of the surrounding area? Do you know any of the history of this place? Uhm...uh..." Olf looks to the WanderKin for more ideas of what to ask.
”I told you, through a fissure which collapsed on me. Oh, I dunno, I suppose I’ve been here a few months. Kinda hard to tell time in a room with no windows. I know a bit. Mostly it’s just tunnels, but there are three doors I haven’t tried yet. There are two unusual doors at the end - you’ll see what I mean when you get there. I didn’t try ‘em. In between there’s a door behind which I could not see behind - it’s locked. Or rusted shut. Either way I couldn’t shift it.”
”I don’t know the history - other than to say there are a lot of references to Hel about. Those statues…” he shudders a bit. ”Odd though, I didn’t know the Hel cultists gathered, you know?”
"What brought you to Crimm, and when you are not trapped, what do you like to study? You know, there's a whole library up stairs," Hamarr adds pointing up.
”Yes, I know of the library - it’s why I came to Crim initially. I studied there some time, though the librarians were starting to get suspicious. I don’t like being in the public eye, so I snuck around. Easy enough to do in the stacks, but an imperfect art. I really should be invisible don’t you know.”
”Which god gave you this fine tome?” She knows it is not likely to be a literal god, but she would like to hear what he thinks of as one.
The creature chuckles, bouncing up and down, ”Oh, just a figure of speech, but considering, I should think Loki - the trickster!”
Olf ponders, figuring out the mental map in his head...and thinking about the drooly drool from the creature.
"And the acid? Both the stairs and the room? That's not from you, is it? I'm sorry...I just don't know why there would be soooo much acid down here. Why hasn't it dried up or evaporated or drained away or whatever? Give it a good bought of sunshine, and I think it's go away eventually, unless there was a source for it...so do you know anything about that?" Olf asks.
”Yes, I know of the library - it’s why I came to Crim initially. I studied there some time...”
"What did you come to study?"
Halvar suddenly feels less well-traveled than he thought he was. He might have spent many years outside of Crim, but he did not venture far.
"Where do you call home? Are there many of you?"
Aelin admires the creature, listening to its eloquence, how it describes its recent escapades. The half-elf considers the encounter, and doesn't have much to add, hearing similar thoughts in the questions offered by his betters.
Aelin rolls up a sleeve, and approaches Thoxos. "Would you do me a favor before you seek your next station in Crim? Here, on my skin, could you lash one of your tendrils onto it, so I might understand your manner of consumption better?"
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Kallie listens through the answers so far, then says, "And what, pray tell, are you, Thoxos? It's... it's nice to meet you, I think. Should you become free, where would you go? I'd hate for people to think you were, well, a monster, and try to hurt you."
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Kallie listens through the answers so far, then says, "And what, pray tell, are you, Thoxos? It's... it's nice to meet you, I think. Should you become free, where would you go? I'd hate for people to think you were, well, a monster, and try to hurt you."
”Oh, I’m a flumph. Should I become free? I am free, unless you’re slavers?” He puffs a bit, not believing it, ”I might sneak back into the library, or head somewhere else until the heat dies down. I dunno exactly.”
"And the acid? Both the stairs and the room? That's not from you, is it? I'm sorry...I just don't know why there would be soooo much acid down here. Why hasn't it dried up or evaporated or drained away or whatever? Give it a good bought of sunshine, and I think it's go away eventually, unless there was a source for it...so do you know anything about that?" Olf asks.
”Nope. That’s not me. It was here when I got here. Couldn’t tell you, I’ve not seen water-acid pits before.”
"What did you come to study?"
"Where do you call home? Are there many of you?”
”I came to study whatever was there!” Thoxos bobs up and down excitedly, ”Don’t you ever do that? Research something simply because ?”
”Oh, I come from the stars, more or less. I could point maybe, but we’re underground and so I dunno. Been a long time since I was ‘home’ as you put it. We’re natural wanderers. Dunno about others. I haven’t seen any others since I was a kid. And that was a long time ago now. Even then it was just one wise one to pass on the knowledge to a new generation. I studied with her for just a few years before she passed on and I came here.”
”I’m supposed to be spreading the word about some guy named Tar-Baphon and the destruction he’s gonna cause. But I think I ended up on the wrong world, ‘cause nobody here knows what I’m talking about. So I just read a lot instead and try not to worry about it.”
Aelin rolls up a sleeve, and approaches Thoxos. "Would you do me a favor before you seek your next station in Crim? Here, on my skin, could you lash one of your tendrils onto it, so I might understand your manner of consumption better?"
He looks at you like you’re the odd one! but agrees and grasps you by the tendril. He scrapes off a little piece of your arm (-1hp) and tucks the meat into his mouth where the acid begins to go to work. There’s some strange chewing/bobbing that goes on too to help with digestion. But that’s basically it.
Hamarr thinks before speaking, should he happen to recognize this 'Tar-Baphon' collective label.
"'Tar-Baphon' anyone? ... Thoxos? Who is Tar-Baphon?"
He watches as Thoxos obliges Aelin with a tendril and raises an eyebrow. He looks at Aelin pointedly and says, "Dad bounced you on your head a lot, didn't he?"
Don't feed the animals, especially not yourself.
Halvar resists the temptation to try to keep his older brother out of trouble but realizes it's pointless. He has no more questions for the floating alien.
"Dad bounced you on your head a lot, didn't he?"
Olf watches the exchange, both of words and of acids, with narrowed eyebrows. He doesn't understand it, but he never has had complete understanding of everything.
He will make way for the 'flumph' to smurf it's way out of the room...and then he will look around.
Perception
And then he will move to the guardian statue area and look around there.
Perception
And then he will look into the acid filled room.
Perception
Eventually, to the locked door with hopes that someone might be able to open it.
Perception - locked door
"Dad bounced you on your head a lot, didn't he?"
Aelin grimaces mainly wryly, observing the jelly up close while the tendril does its thing, then observing his forearm in detail, before rolling down his sleeve.
"Imagine the look on people's faces when I tell them this burn came from the stars. They ask 'what do you mean, 'the stars'?' and I go on to describe this chipper floating soap bubble. Their reactions alone, Hamarr..."
Aelin turns back to Thoxos. "Yes, you could tell us about this Tar Baphon, and we can carry your prophetic warnings forward for you?"
"'Tar-Baphon' anyone? ... Thoxos? Who is Tar-Baphon?"
Aelin turns back to Thoxos. "Yes, you could tell us about this Tar Baphon, and we can carry your prophetic warnings forward for you?"
Aelin turns back to Thoxos. "Yes, you could tell us about this Tar Baphon, and we can carry your prophetic warnings forward for you?"
Neither Hamarr, nor anyone else, has ever heard this name.
Thoxos the flumph deepens his voice with a great breath of air, and in a slightly booming voice warns,
He sort of deflates a bit and chuckles, ”There’s a second juicy portion about how to kill him, very lilting. But it’s been so long that I’ve sort of forgotten that bit. If this Tar-baphon fellow ever shows his face though, I’m sure I’ll remember it.”
...and then he will look around.
Other than the cookbook, which Thoxos seems to be leaving behind, there’s really nothing much in the room. Oh, a couple of nice statues of Hel. These are a bit larger than the ones in the hall - and really rather pretty.
And then he will move to the guardian statue area and look around there.
Very much like the first two statues, except these don’t move. So you’re able to admire the skill of the craftsperson who created them. Very fine. In fact, you have trouble seeing chisel marks, leading you to believe the statues may have been created magically. You’re not sure.
- - -
And then he will look into the acid filled room.
You climb down the stairs and begin to head to the acid pool room on your left, when the floor crumbles before you! Reflex DC 12 or teeter and fall into a pit, taking and landing prone in a small pool of acid (1hp damage per round including this one). The walls are rough, Climb DC 15.
Reflex
Olf avoids an unscheduled bath, dancing away from the crumbling area.
"Well, that was decidedly unsafe. There should be a warning sign around big acid pools," Olf notes, scrambling to explore in another direction entirely.
That was close.
Getting around the pit might be tricky for some.
There's a small uneven ledge around the crumbled portion of floor. It's a DC 10 acrobatics (you can of course take-10) to get past it at present.
"You forgot the part about how to kill him?" Halvar sighs.
"Do you have anything more than a name? A race, an age, a hometown, anything?"
--
When the time comes to explore further, Halvar will take the time to take off his armor so he can safely cross the acid pit and then put it back on since they're not under any time constraints.
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”Whoever made these statues used Stone Shape, so we can determine they are or were a reasonably strong spellcaster.”
Gertrude jumps at the floor collapse. ”Well, we can try jumping it. I think I can manage it. How about the rest of you?”
Aelin looks at Hamarr, flicking his thumb back the way the others went. "Suppose we should take our leave, and continue on." Aelin looks back to Thoxos.
"You are an interesting entity. Hope you're able to find your way." The half-elf heads out, catching up with the others.
Aelin copies Halvar, uninterested in taking unnecessary risks. Armor comes off, armor is donned after traversing acidic pit. The half-elf will assist the weight transfer across the pit, should the need arise.
"So, guardian statues, acid pits... this place is so hospitable."
Hamarr pauses a second, apparently lost in thought.
”You forgot the part about how to kill him?" Halvar sighs.
”Easy” Hamarr croaks just quietly enough to only be heard by his siblings. ”Maybe he did get hit on the head really hard by that cave-in.”
"Suppose we should take our leave, and continue on."
Hamarr nods and grabs the cookbook and uses it to point to Thoxos, ”Keep in touch…” He then jogs to catch up with the others, looking over his shoulder at the ever shrinking-in-the-distance Creature Not From Around Here.
He pauses briefly to briefly gander at the statues. ”Stone shape, you say? Pity to waste such a fine spell on such a distasteful subject.”
He turns to Aelin. ”So, was there any disease to worry about? Were you really checking for vampires back there? Dare I ask –” he adds a bit jovially, ”Was it as good for you as it was for Thoxos?”
He looks at the pool of Acid as Gertrude sizes it up herself. ”I’m probably good to jump it also, but will go more slowly to avoid getting too far ahead of the less sure-footed. But, oh," he adds as Oldon heads in the opposite direction, ” I guess we’re going this way first?”
He follows the others.
”Oh, I’m a flumph. Should I become free? I am free, unless you’re slavers?” He puffs a bit, not believing it, ”I might sneak back into the library, or head somewhere else until the heat dies down. I dunno exactly.”
'A.... a flumph. Well. It's the first time I've ever met one of you, so thank you for the education, and the, er, warning about this Bar Taffon person... if you do recall how to kill him you might want to write it down. And no, no, I don't mean 'free' as in you're a captive-- but it sounded like you were trapped here. The way is safe now, so I wish you safe journeys."
She moves after Aelin to inspect his arm and ask him what on earth he was thinking, but catches up with the boys as Olf nearly drops in some acid. "Ack-- one of us is gonna lose an eye at this rate..."
"Do you have anything more than a name? A race, an age, a hometown, anything?"
"Nope. We're supposed to be... mysterious." He bobs up and down giggling. "But it is a lich, so I don't think age really applies." He adds seriously.
Aelin looks at Hamarr, flicking his thumb back the way the others went. "Suppose we should take our leave, and continue on." Aelin looks back to Thoxos.
"You are an interesting entity. Hope you're able to find your way."
”Thanks! You lot are interesting too. I hope we meet again.”
Hamarr nods and grabs the cookbook and uses it to point to Thoxos, ”Keep in touch…”
”Will do!”
He bobs his way past the crushed statuary in the hall and toward the stairs and freedom.
Those in heavier armor may remove them to pass the pit, and re-don. No rush. Eventually, you make it to the other side and up to the locked door.
It is indeed locked, and the lock is quite rusted. Without some oil as a lubricant, it seems doubtful you’ll get it to budge - and may break the tools needed to open it. So you can oil the lock, and then disable device (feel free to take 20 since no traps have been found) to unlock and open the door.
”Anyone got any oil?” Hamarr asks, examining the lock.
"So...do you think that Tar Buffoon is a real thing? Maybe it's like another name for Jörmungandr, the serpent that circles the world, maybe that's it?" Olf ponders as he watches Hamarr work and guards his back.
Hamarr twists and turns his tools in the lock but to no avail. He might be able to force it, but it’d be a roll (can take 10, can’t take 20) and failure will break his tools.
Perhaps you can come back to this door after supper? It is supper time, but only just. You could also try the other two doors and see what Thoxos was talking about - he said the doors were strange, so he didn’t mess with them. This one is firmly locked without some lubricant.
"Do you want me to try to break it down? I ain't got no crowbar, not much for one when one is wandering from here to there," Olf asks, willing to give it a shot.
"Nah, maybe this lock is holding back thousands of zombies or whatever waiting to eat everyone's brains. We'd want a way to re-lock it if that's the case. I bet we can borrow some olive oil from the pub. That and a little of that acid from the pool should do the trick. Or maybe we can 'milk' Thoxos for the acid," he adds facetiously, glacing at Aelin.
"In the meantime, maybe we can check out those other doors Thoxos was talking about."
Gertrude rouses, having been caught up in an intense internal thought journey through the possible implications of this flumph creature and the powerful lich it speaks of. Hopefully, the lich has been taken care of by other means.
”Oh I can assist with the locks.”
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"See, milking Thoxos, petting Thoxos, those would debase the flumph..." Aelin initially speaks to the hallway, before looking over at Hamarr. "Ah, you jest." Aelin gives his brother a finger crossbow gesture, nodding to continue on to the other doors.
"We're finding ourselves under-prepared for this adventuring business. One of these evenings, we should storm our brains together and strategize about every possible thing that could arise to prevent us from further infiltrations, uh, I should say 'investigations'."
Halvar heads to the other two unusual doors.
"Let's wait until we have some oil. I agree it would be prudent to be able to close the door again if necessary. And, agreed Aelin, we should do some planning."
Olf moves up carefully, with hand on cloak/shield, and examines the yellow door.
Perception
You follow the passages, finding a little more acid-water pooling on the floor. You do eventually come to the two unusual doors.
The first (western) is bronze, and glows with a continual flame all its own, making the door both brightly lit, and looking like it's on fire - though it’s not hot to the touch. The second (eastern) is steel, with faint veins of adamantine, to give it a slightly purple-ish tinge.
Neither door appears to have a lock, nor do they appear to be trapped from an initial glance.
Olf moves up to prepare to open the bronze door, waiting for the Wanderkin to get into positions first.
Then he will open the door.
Bow? Sword? Bow? Sword? Halvar debates which weapon to ready--sure that the world will mock him as it being the wrong choice. In the end, he decides to stick with his preferred weapon and knocks an arrow.
"Ready when you are."
Hamarr trots forward and nods 'ready' to Olf and Halvar.
"Is that.... adamantine? That alone is worth a pretty penny," Kallie wonders from the back. "And a spell to cause a door to blaze and glow so brightly - that's certainly beyond any magic I can cast... This place is getting stranger the further we go."
She stands ready at the back, aware of how little she has been able to contribute in combats so far. But her sling is loaded and in hand.
Oldon plunges his arm into the flames and turns the handle, opening the fire wreathed door.
He reveals the horrible stink of rotting flesh, and a long chamber, very brightly lit with continual flame sconces. At the far end is another statue to Hel, this one very large indeed - towering 15' to brush the ceiling. Before it sits a low altar, stained with blood.
But there are others here as well. Bowed in worship before the statue are three figures. The central one rises - a middle aged human and a strange sight down here. He wears the priestly garb of Hel, with a red skullcap and a white scarf tied around his forehead and a full beard. He struggles a bit to stand, apparently having been prostrate for some time, and demands to know what you are doing interrupting the service. "I demand to know what you are doing interrupting my service!"
The other two human figures remain prostrate to the statue - totally un-moving.
Zombies are the animated corpses of dead creatures, forced into foul unlife via necromantic magic like animate dead. While the most commonly encountered zombies are slow and tough, others possess a variety of traits, allowing them to spread disease or move with increased speed.
- - -
Halvar considers just letting an arrow fly at the priest but figures it might be possible to get some information from him before he dies.
"A service for zombies? They must be the most obedient of disciples."
Olf inches forward, giving others time to talk, but also has his own pressing question.
"Where is the exit? How do I get out of here?"
A rather surprised Hamarr covers his nose with his sleeve, charges in, and pulls the rug out from under the demanding priest.
"Obedient? This why this rug is so ... messed up?"
Aelin moves forward, extremely interested in seeing the face uttering the indignant words.
"Priest of Hel? Do we have you to thank for the undead inhabiting these halls? Pray, what would you expect from a worshipper of Bragi, here before you? I've got a nagging feeling we're supposed to destroy those zombies of yours."
"A service for zombies? They must be the most obedient of disciples."
”These?!” he gestures at them in a haughty voice, ”…are useless. But they’re still a far sight better than any of you!” He practically spits the words at you in his arrogant fury.
"Where is the exit? How do I get out of here?"
”Why back the way you came!! You bleeding idiot! What they teach in schools today makes you wonder.”
"Obedient? This why this rug is so ... messed up?"
You tear away about a third of the rotting rug and so the jolt never makes it to the priest, and as such he is not tripped. Your words however confuse him and he doesn’t immediately recognize it as an attack.
”Why are you messing up my rug?! Is this some sort of youth culture joke?! I am your better, and I am telling you…” He takes a deep breath…
And with that shout he dislocates his jaw. It takes him a moment to realize it, and when he does he snaps it back in place with a loud,
"Priest of Hel? Do we have you to thank for the undead inhabiting these halls? Pray, what would you expect from a worshipper of Bragi, here before you? I've got a nagging feeling we're supposed to destroy those zombies of yours."
”I’d expect the usual small minded foolishness of such blind following! Bring it. I’ll just make more from your corpses.” He continues with slightly less force as he’s clearly trying not to shake his jaw loose again, though his anger is unabated.
Everybody please feel free to make a Will Save.
Also, you may take a surprise round action (move or standard) and we’re in initiative.
Further, if you succeed at a Knowledge Religion DC 12 (trained), you may read the below spoiler. You may not take 10 on this check.
Huecuvas are the risen corpses of heretical clerics who blasphemed and renounced their deities before meeting death. In unlife, they hate and seek to destroy those pious souls who keep their vows. Although easily mistaken for zombies or even skeletons, huecuvas have a spark of intelligence that makes them cunning and deceptive foes. During daylight hours, a huecuva becomes shrouded in an illusion that causes it to appear as it did in life - at these times, a huecuva might seek to infiltrate society to dwell among those it hates. When night falls, it emerges to seek out its prey. Fortunately for the living, the typical huecuva has only fragments of intellect remaining, so it is usually not long before the undead creature makes an error of judgment or simply reveals itself for the monster it is.
- - -
- - -
Also, Aelin is pretty sure these are general zombies. Nothing particularly special as far as he can tell from their unmoving prone positions.
Surprise round
Halvar fires his arrow at the priest since he already knows it will be less effective against the zombies.