I had an odd dream the other night; it featured this statue.
A woman in a robe, seated with her legs crossed, hands in her lap, looking straight ahead.
The statue has a face, but no eyes, just a pair of empty sockets.
Dark stains run down the statue's face, making it appear tear-streaked.
Inserting a pair of fresh eyes does the following: the eyes begin to smolder, then blaze, before melting away, the residue leaving tear streaks on the dark stains. As the eyes burn, the statue speaks.
It speaks in the primary language of the source of the eyes, so if from a Goblin, the statue speaks in Goblin. Eyes from an animal only cause animal noises, so using eyes from a Dog nets a series of barks and yowls and such.
What is said depends on the source of the eyes; if the eye-donor is still alive, the statue speaks a secret that the eye-donor would prefer stayed secret.
If the eye-donor is dead, the statue speaks the secrets of the dead, which can be about anything.
Placing unmatched gems (or matched and low-value gems) in the empty sockets only generates mocking laughter that reverberates down the halls as the eyelids close and the gems are crushed to useless dust.
Should a pair of matched gems of at least 500gp value each be inserted into the socket, a light grows in the gems and then the statue blinks and its face animates, saying, 'ask and I shall tell.'
This allows for several questions to be asked by inserter and answered by the statue before the light in the gems fades away, and the gems lose their luster (and become valued at 10gp). The statue speaks in the language of the questions asked. If the statue doesn't know, it states it does not know the answer; it will not lie.
How much it knows is up to the DM.
No doubt the statue speaking (and the smell of melting eyeballs that may sizzle and pop) attracts wandering monsters.
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As always, feel free to use this in your own dungeon or game world.
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