Zook'itt's page

The elemental scamp shrugs. "I suspect there aren't many rocks that glow in the dark, so they shouldn't be too difficult to find."

He nods at Syper. "Come to the entrance and be ready."

He takes flight, performs a midair loop, and rockets into the tunnel.

A few minutes later, he blasts back out carrying a faintly glowing yellow rock which he deposits into Syper's outstretched hands. In direct sunlight its green phosphorescence is essentially undetectable, though by cupping your palms you can see a faint green glow.

"That it?" the scamp asks politely. Before you can respond, he adds, "It better be, it was the only one I could find without leaving sight of the entrance."

The little scamp is kindly disposed toward Jaym'row, clearly appreciative of the music. As she levels her request, he pauses to think. After wrestling with himself for some time, he nods reluctantly, then raises an admonishing finger.

"If it's out of sight of the entrance, that's to your misfortune, as I won't go any further without company. Now, how would I recognize the thing I am to seek?"

Moments after the mist stalker dissipates, the steam mephit emerges from a crack in the ground, floats down to the surface of the water, and immerses himself in the warm pool with a sigh of relief.

”At last, the miserable hunk of rock you mortals call home becomes tolerable,” he says, eyes closed in relaxation. Then they snap open and he says hurriedly, ”I mean, thank you, kind mortals, for putting an end to that vexatious beast! My erstwhile master’s effects are in that leather bag over there.”

He points toward the far wall, where you spy a waterproof leather bag.

"Aieee!" shrieks the creature. He dissolves into mist again and vanishes into a crack in the rocks.

"Well, what brings you to the hot springs?" he inquires pleasantly.

"What?" says the creature, which resolves into the form of a winged blue-gray humanoid the size of a toddler. "I am not a genie! I am a scamp! And I must warn you to beware the beast!"

As he calms slightly, certain that you have halted your progress and given him your full attention, he continues. "The basin is the domain of a foul creature that stalks the mist. A being of air and water and a single piercing eye, it will try to choke the life out of you!" He clenches two fists for emphasis. "It already killed my master, and since he bungled the summoning charm so badly I wasn't even released by his death."

"Every time I try to take a swim in the basin, the creature chases me away," he adds dejectedly. "I cannot renew my essence with it squatting there, and the nature of this plane wears away at me over time if I do not."

After a moment of thought, a calculating expression comes over his face. "I may not be a genie, but I might be able to help you if you can solve this predicament I'm in."

As you approach the edge of the basin, a small crack opens up by your feet and a tiny current of steam bursts forth, coalescing into a small cloud that then emits a piercing falsetto shriek, ”Mortals! Stop! Zook'itt must warn you! Zook'itt must save you! Aieeee!!!!”