Qaw's page

”Thank you. I appreciate you performing the ritual. Winter’s formed is better suited to magical items than spell completion rituals. It is good to be back. Now I just need to become human again.”

"Well, don't look at me for that." says Tezuzu, with obvious mild distaste for the human condition.

”So, did you bring clothes or am I giving Bulvi a problem he needs Maka to alleviate?”

"Oh." says Tezuzu. He stands and pulls off his housecoat wrap, leaving him in his loincloth and hat. He hands this over to Selena. "Sorry. It's my first time resurrecting someone ex nihilo. One is bound to stumble over the odd detail. Return it when you get a chance."

His curiosity gets the better of him. "Tell me, how do you feel? Are you hungry? Were you actually suspended inside the fox, or do you have memories of the afterlife?"

Tezuzu arrives fashionably late for his breakfast, as usual, and stares disapprovingly when he notices that someone has broken into the jar of preserves he'd been saving. Was nothing sacred? With an indulgent sigh, he scoops some spicy potatoes onto his plate, pointedly avoiding the oatmeal. He helps himself to a cup of tea.

Feeling the need to talk, he makes his way over to the new girl child, Anastasia, and practices his Russian, asking her various mundane questions about her home, her garden, her studies and giving responses about how a sturdy young tengu scholar would be raised. She still seemed nervous around him, as if he were some enormous pink elephant demon, instead of an old fellow just trying to be friendly. Even for a human, she seemed remarkably unwelcoming of diverse races. No doubt that was partly her aristocratic mindset. These people all spent far too much time and energy rationalizing their superiority.

It was at this moment that Zilvazaraat popped into the room, and Tezuzu nearly fumbled his teacup as he flinched in surprise. He didn't really care for the merchant -- too smooth, too eager to please, like all salesmen. He felt the urge to refuse everything offered to him by such people, strictly on principle. But as the little chest was unpacked, Quasit presented him with the simple bronze scrollcase containing Selena's resurrection spell.

Wordlessly he accepted it, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, but in truth he was quite curious to see it. He laid it out on a table and began pouring over its calligraphy and iconography, making mental notes about the materials that likely made up the ink and the probable provenance of its creation. The rampant lions against a sunburst background in the corners marked it out for a Sarenrite scroll, but manufactured within Taldor, or ... no, it was Qadiran, but quite old. Yes, those were desert lions. Charming. He pulled out a notebook and began copying the details. He catalogued as quickly as he could, knowing that the others were anxious to have Selena returned to them. He implied that he was researching the ritual itself, though it seemed straightforward enough.

But soon he was ready. He didn't exactly exclude the others, but implied very strongly that he preferred them not to be present in the room, as he'd need to concentrate. Frankly this was true --Maka would be certain to chatter while he worked, and Kachine would likely bring his enormous monkey who would be certain to touch things. Picking an unused room of the Hut, he tidied it up and set about preparing the ritual space with etchings on the floor filled in with pigments, incenses to clear the air and pillows for himself and the fox. Winter was key--she would be the conduit through which the soul would be called back. The little creature seemed to understand what was expected of it, and sat patiently in its spot, watching Tezuzu in expectation, as if awaiting a scrap from the table.

His preparations complete, Tezuzu set about the initial incantations, invoking the indulgence of Pharasma, and naming the soul he sought, drawing on a temporary mental connection with the familiar to properly visualize the lost little witch. Rocking as he sat, and moving his hands in broad waving motions, like one polishing a tabletop with both hands, Tezuzu settled into the redundant portion of the chant, repeated 12 times, interspersed each time with a new phrase of the spell. The magic breathed out of the scroll like a smoke, mingling with the incensed air, and glittering like the diamond dust it was originally made of. The sparkling dust collected wisps of energy from the air, little crackles and wisps of color, settling in little whirlwinds over the central area of the ritual, until after a few minutes a small mound of ashes had collected into a roughly humanoid shape. And like a gingerbread cookie baking, the ashes seemed to harden and solidify into a form that looked more and more like Selena as she had been, but still waxy and unreal, like a mannequin or a poppet of her.

Winter stared soundlessly at the forming body, as if helping to will it into existence, her canine lips pulled back to reveal her sharp little teeth in an eerie little vulpine smile.

And now was the moment of truth. Tezuzu began the final repetitive chant, calling for the spirit of Selena to enter this construct or magic and diamond and ash and give it reality. If her spirit chose not to leave the Boneyard, the construct would quickly melt away now, like snow in an oven. But if it came, the waxy substance would rapidly transmute into actual flesh and bone as the spirit slipped into the material, infusing it all with life. In the center of the body, the interplanar connection had formed, a conduit to the dimension of the dead. Tezuzu could hear the winds of eternity and feel some of his pinfeathers pulled toward the void. And he could feel the cold stare of Pharasma upon him, judging him and his claim, weighing his worthiness to beg her boons, holding the spirit of Selena like a protective mother. But it was up to Selena now, to come if she wished, before the conduit closed.

Tezuzu holds out both his taloned hands toward her, toward the body, a gesture of beckoning welcome, and expectantly waits...

Tezuzu’ s eyes widen a little, and he nods approvingly with newfound respect. “Some of my best friends in the old country were dragons, and they tended to be haughty as well. I shall of course do my best to be civil. However, if she tries to dominate me with Abyssal wiles, I reserve the right to chop off her pretty head.”. And he pops a bit of winter tuber in his mouth to seal the point.

"Don't tease her, Tez. We don’t even know if there are talking birds on this planet."

"What an appalling thought. What sort of barbaric backwater have you all dragged me to?"

"Anastasia, this is Tezuzu. He's like the group dad."

Noting that Maka uses a language other than the Common tongue to speak to the girl, Tezuzu's linguistic instincts and curiosities are aroused.

"I greet you, Anastasia." he repeats back to her in Russian, using her inflections quite effectively. He immediately and enthusiastically begins engaging her in the sort of show-and-tell pantomime that characterizes any person trying to learn a new language from a foreigner, swiftly committing a collection of new nouns to memory, and employing Maka and Bulvi to coach him on grammar and phrasing. At least until the girl is led off to a bath and a bed.

"Charming girl. A bit haughty maybe." is the tengu's judgement. "You're quite sure she isn't a doppelgänger or a succubus in disguise?"

As Anastasia sates her hunger, the sound of shuffling feet and creaking boards heralds the entrance of Tezuzu into the room, spectacles still perched on his beak and a book cradled in one arm, his finger marking a page.

”Do I smell salted drake and winter tubers?” he says over the audible rumbling of his belly. ”Oh! We have a visitor! Another fresh-faced young monkey, I see.”. He shuffles over to Maka’s pan and daintily helps himself to some herbed taters and stewed varmint, plucking the pieces onto a tin plate with his talons. As he does so, he cocks his head to the side a little to get a better look at her. ”Make sure you keep her away from the candy room. Little girls can never resist sweets.”

He then settles himself at the table and looks over his glasses at her. ”Does she speak? And shouldn’t she be in school? Dear me, what time even is it? I can’t even tell if this is breakfast, lunch or dinner. Would it have killed the old witch to put a window or two in this extradimensional coach-and-four of hers?” He studies the girl for a moment. ”You mustn’t be alarmed if I don’t smile at you child. I have neither teeth nor lips.”

GM, would you like to write him out of the story or shall I RP out a farewell scene to the group?

"Yeah, even is she is magically compelled I'd probably still trust Quasit to know what best to do. She's so good at thinking and words."

"Except when the magical compulsion is coming from a satyr, I suppose." Tezuzu points out while he's being crushed in Maka's arms. "Or when she's drunk so much honey mead that she completely loses control of herself. But she's glib enough, that much I'll give you."

Once released, Tezuzu walks off and finds himself wandering the halls in thought, but he knows what he must do.

After retrieving his pack, the shaman finds a nice quiet, dark place where he can be sure of being alone and uninterrupted. He takes the time to purify and bless a bowl full of water, mixes a unique combination of herbs and incense within a brass censor and lights it, allowing the smoke to fill the room. Then sitting crosslegged on the floor, staring into his bowl as he rhythmically shakes his bone rattle, he reaches out to the spirit world for answers...

Casting 'Commune', looking for answers about (a) whether it's wise to find and free Baba Yaga, and (b) whether he himself should continue this mission, among other things.

Tezuzu's mouth hangs open for what seems like several seconds, then he exhales.

"Yes, well, I suppose it was always going to come down to that, wasn't it?"

"Return to you training. I'll speak with her quietly when the opportunity arises. In the meantime, I can see nothing wrong with our plan to help these Triaxians against Yrax. That still seems like the right thing to do."

"I don't know. I was hoping you could tell me." says the tengu with a shrug.

"Let me ask you this -- let's say we find Baba Yaga. We find her looking like a sweet helpless old woman locked up in a cage. She promises to give each and every one of us an unconditional wish once we release her. Would you trust her? Would you let her out?"

"Or you would you remember that she's a demigoddess of terror and secrets and lies with a heart as black as night and pause, knowing that the moment you set her free she might change everyone in the party into gingerbread men and gobble you all up?"

"Or she might even grant you your wish -- and attach some sort of wicked curse to it that made your remaining life a living hell."

Tezuzu shakes his head and begins to pace again. "In the Hut, you didn't spend any time in that library. Most of the books are just inane things she's filched over the years -- books on gardening and cooking and dressmaking. But every once in a while, I would find these books of fairy tales and poems, all filled with grotesque little yarns about naughty children being eaten or punished or mutilated. Look at how she treats her own daughters -- she makes them queens and gives them everything they want, and then one day she comes for them and kills them. It's always the same story. She offers you all the candy you can eat, then throws you in the oven once you're full."

"But this is a creature we expect to feel grateful to us? I have my doubts."

"Good, good..." says Tezuzu as he begins to pace back and forth. "Well. I won't beat around the bush. I'm beginning to wonder if we're doing the right thing. Seeking to free Baba Yaga, I mean. I wonder if future generations won't curse us if we succeed."

He throws up his hands and raises his voice, as if arguing with himself.

"I know! I know! Queen Elvanna and her portals and her mad war! But honestly, her war has no chance of succeeding, does it? She can't hope to conquer the world simply by making it cold. And the world of Golarian has many, many powerful elements in it that won't sit still for her attempted tyranny. A few dragon flights, a couple arch-liches, the Chelaxian hordes... her war will be destabilizing for sure, but ultimately hopeless. She may even come to realize this and be content with the eternal crown of Irrissen once she's been checked in battle. At any rate, she faces many dangers aside from a ragtag group of adventurers who have stolen her pet Hut."

"And why are we doing it? Baba Yaga is a nightmarishly evil creature who literally fuels her magic with the souls of innocent children. She is a paragon of wickedness. We should be viewing her disappearance as a boon of fate. If we free her, will we not be responsible for every child she steals from that day onward? How will we answer the combined peoples of our world when they come to ask us what we were thinking? Shall we be content to tell them 'Well, it just seemed to us like the lesser of two evils'? Will the world agree with us?"

"Maka, you and I have something in common. You and I never met the Black Rider back in Taldor. I believe he may have laid a sort of magical compulsion on the others to free his mistress. You and I have aided the group because they are good people who seem motivated by noble intentions. But this whole quest may all be a tragic mistake."

Tezuzu stops pacing and crosses his arms, cocks his head to one side and looks at Maka with one eye.

"There, I've said my piece. Tell me I'm wrong, if you can."

Tezuzu shows up where Maka has dragged Bulvi off to. He watches for a while as they spar, and comes forward once they take a break.

"You may want to stop hitting Bulvi in the head. At least for a while. The way his attention wanders these days, I wonder if you haven't given the poor fellow a concussion. Work the body... well, you know what I mean. Ahem."

He scratches at his beak thoughtfully, then pipes up with his real reason for being there.

"Maka, may I speak to you? I consider you the most sensible person in this group. There is something that's been bothering me. Well, nagging me might be a better way of putting it."

Tezuzu bursts through the door suddenly.

"There you all are! I got lost in this maze of a fortress again. I've never seen such a confusing layout! What did I miss?"

He notes the Triaxian war council glowering at him, which causes him to adjust his hat and spirit amulets. He starts edging toward an empty seat.

"Dreams are full of symbols and symbols don't have the exact same meanings for any two people. I would have to know you better to know what your dream means. Also, I would need to know what a 'lion' and a 'mouse' were,"

"A lion is a large jungle cat, a little bigger than a full grown man, with razor sharp claws and tremendously sharp teeth specialized for tearing flesh. A mouse is not." says Tezuzu as plops down at the table with a big steaming bowl of some sort of porridge.

"My dear Quasit, your dream is perfectly simple to interpret. Anytime you dream about being in a large familiar house, it's simply a symbolic representation of your mind. Passing into a basement reflects the deeper levels of your consciousness, parts you may not always be aware of. The underground river is another symbolic element suggesting deep emotions or memories. You drift about and find a room full of empty shelves and tables that reminds you of a library, but the lack of books suggests that the facts and learning of your everyday life are not useful.

"And the room full of incestuous Dreamtigers? Why clearly they represent something that's been locked up and hidden away within the walls of your mind, stewing and festering, like an abscess. The mouse went into the wall and broke it down -- that's why it was the same color as the cats - it represented a sort of key that set them loose. I'd guess they represent some guilty memories or feelings that have recently broken loose. They're threatening, which is why you see them as predators. And yet confronting them doesn't frighten you, even as they nuzzle in for a first bite. I suspect that's mostly because at the shock of seeing them, your mind immediately decided it was time to escape and wake you up. Or perhaps there was some relief at seeing those tigers finally freed from behind the barren walls."

"Perhaps I could interest you in some beads? Or some herbal tea? As a protection from future bad dreams?"

As the others file out of the bathing area, Tezuzu has moved into the shallower parts of the pool and is stamping his feet, as though marching strenuously in place. Every once in a while he dunks his head under water with a sharp flexing of his torso.

After a solid minute of this, he steps out of the water and extends his feathers out like a big black soft pinecone and gives himself a good shake, sending out a rain of water in all directions.

"Ah! Nothing more relaxing than a nice quiet soothing bath." he announces. "You know, I ..."

"Where did everybody go? I wonder if the yeti carried them off to its lair?" He looks about and notes that everyone's gear is gone too, except for Quasit's undershirt, which lies soaked and forgotten by the side of the pool. Tezuzu picks up the flimsy garment, looks at it, then begins to use if for cleaning off the bottom of his feet.

'I suppose if I had EARS I would have heard them going." he huffs to the empty room.

"Well, none of you seem quite as affected as these two, but whatever curse stole your fur and mangled your ears, we'll have to deal with. Have no fear, it will be dealt with."

"Me? Fur? Inconceivable! I try to avoid snap judgments, but I can't say much for your skills as a healer if you can't tell a perfectly healthy tengu when you see one." snorts Tezuzu.

Mustering all his dignity, he makes his way to the pool, quickly sheds his robe, then hops down into the water and and begins violently frizzling and quaking his feathers, kicking up an enormous spray in literally all directions, pausing occasionally to run his beak through some of his longer more prominent feathers.

"Ears! Preposterous! The idea!" he huffs, mid-flurry.

Sakitu shrinks up against the wall...

Tezuzu turns a corner and finds Sakitu.

"Good gracious! Miss Sakitu! What are you doing, playing hide and seek with the Quasit? You could hardly find a better place to do so, I myself have been lost in these blasted corridors for the last 20 minutes. I've wandered the Ice Caverns of Khan-pei, and they seem positively simple by comparison."

He wanders past Sakitu and sees the large shaggy beast in the doorway to the baths.

"What is that? Some sort of yeti? Well, this won't do. Come along."

He gives Sakitu a few robust pats on the shoulder and then shoves her forward into the corridor with himself. He walks up behind the beast, pulls out a bone rattle, and shakes it vigorously to get the creature's attention.

"I say, could you step aside? The lady and I would like to go inside. There's a good fellow." the tengu says in draconic, then adds a few more shakes of his rattle for emphasis, cocking his head sideways. "Or perhaps you'd care for a bath as well?" he adds, a trifle pointedly.

”Maka, before she leaves, can you ask her where we can wash off? Erastil’s antlers, I long for a hot bath!”

Tezuzu pipes up in draconic to help explain things.

"Yes, our friend Findurel here comes from a ancient and noble race known as 'Aquatic Elves'. If they are not regularly able to immerse themselves in water, they grow weak and sickly and despondent. They will lie about listlessly sighing, pining for their native fjords. It's quite heartbreaking, I assure you."

"Never fear, I shall inform them that you are not speaking because of an unfortunate congenital mental defect, which should satisfy them." Tezuzu answers cheerfully as he pats her head. He then steps forward and speaks in Draconic.

"Well, all things considered I think that went remarkably well, but we have all sustained injuries. Does Spurhorn have facilities for treating its wounded, or shall I continue to call upon the spirits to aid us? And once everyone has their wounds seen to, perhaps we could meet with someone here and formalize our ... partnership? I'm sure there are many questions to be addressed on both sides."

He pulls out a little lacquered wooden box from his pack. "I shall be happy to draw up the contract." He actually seems quite eager to do just that.

Tezuzu flies to Efrixes and Bescaylie.

"Allow me to heal you." he says in Draconic.

If allowed to proceed, he gives some healing to Efrixes.

Cure MOderate: 2d8 + 10 ⇒ (6, 5) + 10 = 21

Saki, don't forget the healing (24 hp) you got last round.

Tezuzu flies over to Bulvi to give him a bit of healing.

Cure Moderate: 2d8 + 10 ⇒ (7, 3) + 10 = 20

Tezuzu flies over to Sakitu and casts a healing spell upon her.

Cure Serious Wounds on Sakitu: 3d8 + 10 ⇒ (2, 4, 8) + 10 = 24

"There are better ways to stay warm, my dear." he says as his spell washes over the kitsune.

"Quite the audition we're having. I hope your friends in the Keep are seeing all this." Tezuzu shouts to Bescaylie.

Shivering within his new coat of wintry rime, Tezuzu quickly casts a restorative spell.

Cure Moderate Wounds: 2d8 + 10 ⇒ (4, 2) + 10 = 16

He then goes sailing off after Beyscalie and Efrixes.

Relfex Save: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

Desna frowns upon the tengu.

Tezuzu casts Bit of Luck on himself as he awaits the charge of the enemy drakes.

Tezuzu flies over to Bulvi and casts Stoneskin on him.

Tezuzu will cast Overland Flight on himself and Fly on any party members who need it.

"All dragons are descendants of the ancient gods, are they not?"

"Yes, I believe that must be true." agrees Tezuzu. "But it would be fascinating to learn how dragons travelled between planets."

"I'm afraid I've never seen or heard of anyone like you," Beyscalie states when the tengu asks. "There are plenty of monsters around, but the only people our size are we Ryphorians and the Adlets."

"I hope you're not inferring that I'm a monster, dear lady." says Tezuzu with an ironic tilt of his head and a twinkle in his eye. "But alas, I guessed it was likely so. There aren't many of my people anywhere it would seem. Perhaps it's just as well. Being unusual has its advantages."

Tezuzu pulls out a long pipe and begins to smoke as he trudges through the snow. He continues to speak to Bescaylie in draconic.

"This is all most interesting. Our cultures are not all that dissimilar. The fact that we can communicate in a common language in addition to all the other similarities to our planet, fish and crops and all that-- I suspect there must have been some sort of common origin of our two planets very long ago. No doubt the elves. On our world, elves are a very ancient race, very skilled in magic. Or perhaps it was the dragons who went exploring the planets and brought along flora and fauna with them."

"I wonder--are there any other people on this world... well..."

"...like me?" he asks hopefully.

Tezuzu answers Maka first.

"I did. Fortunately I have excellent hearing. What I want to know is, why won't the defenders of Spurhorn shoot us out of the sky as we come flying toward their walls? Even if we follow Bescaylie, they are liable to think we are chasing her."

Then he turns to Findurel.

"Someone will have to carry Selena, unless she can manage her own flight spell. And I will assume Maka can manage her own flight. Then an Overland Flight spell for me and regular Flying spells for you other four. Yes, I can manage it. Oh, and someone will have to carry your crocodile. Unless you want to leave him here with Zorka. Honestly, a planet this frigid is going to be a sore test for Izzy, even with his adorable sweater-- he might be better off staying in the Hut, dining on kippers."

Speaking as Tezuzu's puppeteer, I imagine he probably didn't translate his exchange with Quasit about teleporting and flying, simply because he was answering a personal question and would thus have considered it a side matter. Basically if someone is directing speech at Bescaylie or she is speaking to us, Tezuzu translates that. That being said, he wouldn't consider his side talk with Quasit confidential per se, and if Bescaylie indicated interest in what was being said, he would have diplomatically summarized the conversation. And he wouldn't object if Maka or someone else translated that dialogue.

"Tezuzu, any chance of teleportation magic? Otherwise flight spells will probably be our only option. I don't fancy our chances tiptoeing through a besieging army."

Tezuzu makes a huffing sound, letting everyone know that the question was ridiculous.

"I'm not a wizard. Nor am I a demon. Teleportation magic is arcane and highly technical. Perhaps you'd like a nice rain of frogs instead? The alien army would no doubt be highly discomfited by a slurry of alien amphibians raining down on them."

"I can prepare flight spells if needed, as I did at the cliff face at Artrosa. Though I'm not sure we'll be able to outrun dragon riders, if the enemy has those as well."

"I'll need a few minutes to prepare it, but yes, I can manage a translation spell." says Tezuzu. "But I'm fully versed in the draconic tongue. Perhaps a spell won't be necessary. And it sounds like Maka speaks it too. No doubt she'll greet them warmly and challenge them to a nice friendly duel."

He pops a cricket in his mouth and shakes his head. "I think this is as bright as it's likely to get here. Whatever this planet is, it is quite a long way from the sun. I suspect it's probably snowy year round. And food is likely scarce. Lucky for you there's not much meat on your bones, they'll probably go for Bulvi first."

Upon learning that the party was stuck on some new planet, Tezuzu had seemed more amused than anything. He opens the door of the Hut and takes a few steps onto the landing, looking about and sniffing the air long and curiously. He even goes for a short walk circling the Hut, ambling about with his usual slightly bouncy step, humming lightly to himself. When he returns to the Hut, he shudders the frost off his feathers and stamps his feet loudly, then settles down to a delicious dinner of toasted crickets.

He offers to take the first watch, sitting in the upper room. Throughout his watch he sits crosslegged in the middle of the floor and casts his knucklebones over and over...

"Do you think that Fin's assessment and mine are exclusive somehow?"

"I did not say so." huffs the tengu pedantically. "Mind you manners, whelp." he adds, wagging a taloned finger at the halfling.

" Staying here Tez?"

Tezuzu cocks his head at the question. "I wasn't planning on it. Though it seems like a nice enough cramped little attic." He looks about the room impassively, then his head suddenly turns sharply to look at Selena again. "Ah, the ravens. It was a joke at my expense. Yes, I see. Most clever." His tone of voice does not suggest he finds it all too clever.

"Umm, doesn't that seem like a few keys for the cauldron? And a mirror to see with too."

"Certainly they are keys, that much is clear." says Tezuzu. "But I agree with Findurel -- I think these items are meant as clues. To help us find 'the breadcrumbs' that will lead us to the actual keys we need."

"And I have no clue who Baba Yaga's son is. To be honest I didn't think it was possible -- I imagined the old girl spawned parthenogenetically... like a wasp, or a flatworm. Perhaps she adopted? Most interesting."

He trails off as he casts detect magic and examines the items.

"Ah yes, the paste will help one fly. And the outfit is ensorcelled to protect one from the cold, and even to help one hide in snowy environs. It's actually quite a clever bit of survival gear."

Tezuzu finally stands up and addresses the group.

"The spirits say we should break the gem and release the entity within." he announces solemnly and simply.

He then collects up his bones and other paraphernalia and begins to clean them and put them away without further comment.

After getting a nod of agreement from Quasit, Tezuzu sets to work on his ritual.

First he spends about ten minutes with his eyes closed, hopping slowly from one foot to the other in a circle, muttering some chant in a rumbling bass tone. Then, still standing, he takes out an earthen bowl, throws some herbs into it, crushes them, then with a sharp arcane word, sets a spark to it, sending up a thick aromatic cloud of smoke. He wafts some of the cloud into his face, inhaling deeply, murmurs in a curious singsong voice, then wafts in some more and chants some more, and repeats this routine several times.

Suddenly he snatches a handful of knucklebones out of his satchel and tosses them abruptly into the air, letting them fall where they may. He then rushes to one of them, throwing himself to his knees and lowering his face to study the bone intently, then scrabbles off wildly on all fours to repeat this up close inspection of another bone, then another, then another.

Finally he stops, pulls himself up into a seated lotus position, cradles one hand gently in the other, then returns to his rumbling bass tone chant, eyes open but seeing nothing. This goes on for a couple minutes, then stops.

Casting 'Augury' for the question: 'Will breaking open the gem bring us weal or woe?'

Fin nods. ”I say we free it then. If it was trapped by these guys, it must not be as powerful, nor as evil as these guys were. If it turns out to be friendly, maybe it can tell us more about this version of the hut and perhaps what awaits us outside…if hostile, we should be able to dispatch it quickly enough…I think it’s worth the risk…but how would we go about doing that?”

"That doesn't necessarily follow, my friend." says Tezuzu, unconsciously fluffing his feathers up a bit as he does anytime he's about to lecture. "We don't know how these fine fellows here came across that gem -- they may have found it in a dragon hoard or stolen it from a king's treasury or merely picked it up along the side of the road. And the figure inside may simply be a trapped, relatively harmless humanoid -- or it might be a demon or an elemental lord or an undead abomination. We simply don't know."

"I propose we ask the spirits for guidance. This seems like a relatively straightforward question -- will breaking open this gem bring us weal or woe? I shall need about 15 minutes to prepare the ritual and get myself into a good trance. If we have the time?"

"It does seem like something we should resolve now, as opposed to just carrying it around with us.

Knowledge Arcana (assist Selena): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (6) + 14 = 20

"Doesn't look like a Soul Gem... not exactly anyway. But I'd wager that figure in there is alive somehow--doesn't look like an illusion either. Hmmmm."

The Dire Bat spends the next 30 seconds whooshing about the rafters, always banking and reeling about in a frantic effort not to run into something at every turn, and shrieking at a pitch and frequency all too close to nails on a chalkboard. Tezuzu steps into the room and watches it, seeming to enjoy the spectacle, and when it suddenly vanishes, he gives off a little burp and simultaneously hops in place. Only then does he come over to examine the frog blob creature curiously.

"Well, well, my friend, what were you up to in here? Not for the carrots I wager." he muses.

Tezuzu finishes his summon and releases a Dire Bat into the room!

Bite!: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Tezuzu begins to cast a spell.

Summon Nature's Ally III, full round cast

Tezuzu moves up and casts 'Fly' on Bulvi. He shoots a look through the door at the cackling Selena. "Well, it's nice to see her finally have a good time." he says.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

Tezuzu leans toward his companions and whispers.

"I think I see now why our new friend wants us to meet his nice, sweet, kind, CHARMING master..."

Tezuzu stiffens a little. "I believe she's referring to me as 'birdie'. I'm guessing 'Froggie' must be our new friend's master." He uses a claw to scratch under a neck feather. "This is a most peculiar meeting."

"You scarcely seem the sorts to rob me. "

"There doesn't seem to be much worth robbing..." comments Tezuzu quietly to Quasit as he looks over the crates and barrels in the room.

"Tez. That would never work. You know that the first thing she would do it slice the rope with her sword.

"Cut my red silk rope? She wouldn't dare. It's a family heirloom. She couldn't be so heartless."

"Oh, and you know, I don't know why you keep calling her a monkey. I mean, you're a bird thing and I'm a fox thing but she's not a monkey thing. Unless there's some trick that she knows that I haven't seen."

Tezuzu cocks his head and looks sideways at Sakitu. "I don't see your point. She looks as much like a monkey as I do a bird--well except for the tail. In any case, it is a term of endearment--I have no bad feelings about monkeys. Now foxes... I was always told as a youngster never to trust a fox. It was said that their smiles conceal hunger and their laughter conceals cunning. I like you immensely fox-girl, but I shall never entirely trust you."

He wags his finger dramatically at Sakitu, clearly teasing.

"When we were crossing the Crown of the World, we'd tie the youngsters to our belts so they wouldn't run off too far. To keep them from falling into crevasses or falling into the jaws of Polar Worms. Gave 'em about 15 feet to work with. We could try something like that with you, Monkey. I'm sure I've still got my red silk rope about somewhere." says Tezuzu helpfully.