The Strange Denizen
From Aput's journal
Year of the Eagle
 
Ophiuchus, 1 Scorpius: We returned to the complex behind the fall today, as at least one door remained closed to us (as well as my hatchet, forgotten in what remained of the wooden constructs). While it was mostly the same group of explorers as before, Hebert stayed behind to get a better feel for his new gauntlets. Zotis planned to join us just as soon as he finished praying for a new blessing from Rel. Tonrar & I moved ahead to ensure the way back to the shop was clear. Yullock, Yoxly, & Zik joined us again as we delved deeper into the caverns behind the falls.
While we awaited Zotis, we spent our time examining the door across from our entrance to the shop. The door appeared unlocked & it was of a heavy make, as well as being stuck in its frame. Pulling & prying failed to work, but I examined it closer while the others strained & noticed that the hinges were on our side of the door. While our scaled allies rested, Tonrar & I applied oil along the hinges & around the seal between the door & the frame. That proved to be enough, as the door slipped free with our next attempt.
Beyond lay a small room (perhaps 3 paces wide by 2 deep), with another heavy door across from the one that we’d just opened. We pondered waiting for Zotis but (as curiosity has a way of doing) decided to examine the next door. This door bore a carved image of a twisted humanoid head nested in a mass of tentacles. Tonrar moved to examine the lock while I looked closer, spotting several vine-like tubes snaking in & out along the frame. Tonrar confirmed that they were a trap, so all save Tonrar retreated to the shop.
Our hope was to give him room to work, but also to avoid any gas should Tonrar’s efforts prove less than successful.
We quickly realized that was indeed the case. I managed to see some pinkish mist released into the room when the first door closed suddenly, cutting us off from him. I hoped that it was neither corrosive nor a contact poison.
By the time we’d gathered at the door to force it open, a click signaled that it was no longer locked. It was still heavy, however, & once we managed to swing it aside, we discovered that Tonrar was a step or two into the next room, speaking to someone beyond the portal. Or, rather, some … thing.

A twisted human head floated amidst a mass of writhing tentacles & seemed engaged in a mental conversation with Tonrar, who moved erratically across the spacious library toward it. It spoke in my mind, cautioning me to ‘Wait, monkey – you & your sub-human lizard thralls – until I deal with this one.’ Tonrar stepped forward into the grasp of several tentacles. The encounter appeared intense but was quickly completed. Tonrar turned his attention to some nearby tomes & the nameless creature bade me to step forward. I did, the better to converse. I avoided the large pit in the center of the room, noting a hyperborean skeleton shackled perhaps 5 to 6 paces below atop a mound of glittering coins.
Our conversation began with insults from our host (calling us monkeys, subhumans, & primitives) & boasts about its superiority (we were once like you - before they changed us). As our conversation progressed, the creature became more confused. It seems I knew nothing of the notables that were its contemporaries as it asked of the rulers of Khromarium, who may be those who imprisoned it here. “Perhaps your jailers altered your perceptions of time?” I wondered aloud. “We noticed a ripple, perhaps in time, as we slipped past the runes & barriers to bring us to your library.”
Shock added to its confusion as its tentacle writhed. “What? No. It cannot be. They wouldn’t… Let me see your thoughts – mayhap you are just confused.” Glancing at Tonrar, I saw no ill after-effects from his close conversation, so I stepped near & allowed its tentacles to touch my face. The experience was strange as my memories flashed past, first in a retrograde sequence, then seemingly at random, faster & faster. What passed as moments to those watching seemed like hours? Days? And then, the connection abruptly ceased, severed as the nameless one’s tentacles recoiled. “But what you say is true, to the best of your perceptions.”
“Look away, sub-humans. Gaze not upon our superior form.” It spoke, perhaps aloud for the first time as it turned & moved to exit the library. Yoxly & Zik retreated before its advance, but Yullock stayed in the small chamber, averting his gaze as it floated past. It passed through the vestibule into the workshop where we defeated the wooden constructs, gathering the sundered bits & replacing them in their alcoves. “Not my best work, but the best I could do, with those materials.”
The strange creature flew back into the library, its task completed & moved toward a familiar 3-headed statue centered along a far wall. Deft manipulations behind the statue revealed a hidden space in the wall, only large enough to store small items. It selected several, then turned back to regard us. “I should destroy you, but your information seems useful, so I won’t. What remains here is yours, but try not to destroy this place, as I may yet return.” Then, with a wave of a wand collected from the niche, it vanished into the ether.
We wondered later if perhaps we should have challenged the creature, rather than to release it back into the world. I suspect that Khromarium is its destination – we hope that the city survives.
Zotis arrived just after our host’s abrupt departure & we began a detailed search of the room, explaining recent events to him. Compared to many of the spaces we’d found thus far, the library/laboratory was quite large (perhaps a dozen paces wide by ten deep) with shelves & bookcases lining the walls. Numerous pillars were spaced around the room as well, with odd lanterns hanging from them. Before we could start our search, the skeletal ex-Hyperborean animated & began to climb up the sides of the pit. “A former servant who rebelled.” was how our departed host described it. We dispatched it quickly with a combination of sorcery & blades. Yullock lived up to his title of Skeleton Smasher, delivering the final blow.
While Zotis & Tonrar examined the pit in greater depth, I started scanning for the area for eldritch items & noticed that the lanterns were magical, & that magic was growing in power as I watched. Zotis tried to disable whatever trap was present but succeeded in causing one of them to explode instead. My icy defenses saved me from any damage (at the loss of my armor) though one shelf laden with scrolls & tomes caught fire. Between our cryomantic abilities, Tonrar & I managed to quench the flames & Zotis’ power dispelled the lingering magics of the remaining lanterns. Having negated the arcane threat, we began a search for useful scrolls & tomes, eventually narrowing the group down to fourteen – seven spell books & a mix of seven utility tomes, tracts, & scrolls. We also found some items forgotten by our host – a magical ring (of Telekinesis) & three potions (Healing, Gaseous Form, & Invisibility). We then set to work hoisting several hundred pounds of mixed copper, silver, gold, & platinum coinage from the pit into the room. A tripod, block & tackle, & the magical crate we discovered earlier made this a much simpler task than it could have been.
During one trip back to the camp to deposit a mound of coins, we gave Zotis a tour of the spaces that we’d already explored. Fortunate that we did, as he noticed a hidden entrance in the troll’s cave – one that led deeper into the underside of the mountain, with steps leading down along the bones of an enormous ancient fish.

But we’ll wait until the morrow to explore…

(thus ends the third entry in Aput’s journal)