So, the adventure says that freeing Artophanx is well beyond the PCs' power, but that they might be able to get some info out of him.
Then what?
Do you think Artophanx can be bluffed into staying behind while the PCs wander off, or do you think they will inevitably have to kill him? Honestly, I feel bad for the little guy.
This will inevitably come up, since the party wizard actually does have Terran and is pretty charismatic. It seems silly to include the note about a diplomatic approach is it's ultimately futile, and I'm kind of considering just changing Artophanx to be a slightly less murderous character.
Thoughts? Did any of your games have a guy who could speak Terran?
Nope, sorry.
Mine just detected his evil aura while still inanimate and wisely avoided to rouse him.
Guess he will have to wait til they come again, five or six modules later...
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My PCs put me in a similar situation. One spoke Terran, so I knew they'd talk to him. They rolled well on diplomacy, so I had Artophanx reveal his information in exchange for the promise that they'd free him in the future. I had decided that while in his egg form, Artophanx didn't even sense the passage of time (so he was confused when they first woke him up).
After finishing Encounter at Blackwall Keep, the Wizard returned to the Whispering Cairn and used dispel magic the free the elemental, who he then convinced to serve him as a new familiar. Of course, when he returned, Artophanx thought that he was being woken up immediately after going into his egg. I played him as not particularly smart and unable to quite comprehend how time passes while he's hibernating.
I think it's well worth giving Artophanx a lot to say when they first encounter him, if they're able to speak to him. He's the only NPC they'll speak with in the Cairn other than Alastor, and the best source for the sort of information that knowledge checks won't be able to provide.