Sam wanders off in the hut

As Sam approaches the jars, the heads suddenly turn their gazes upon him. One of the heads appears to be Sam!

The head of Sam says, "Oh shit! I'm here! Or you're here. We're here... whatever. Time is stupid and this hut is stupid. Look, just listen okay? We're about to get in a lot of trouble. Everyone else is dead, and I'm the only one left unless you keep it from happening before it happens. I didn't listen when I was told, but you had better, alright? First, I need you to very carefully open this jar. Do not open any of the other jars. Just this one. If everything is going as it did before, you have about a minute before Baba Yaga arrives and does this to us, so be quick about it, okay?"

The other heads in the hall also begin to talk in their jars. The dragons chime in first. One with green scales says something in draconic that Sam does not understand. Another with bronze scales seems to disagree with the first dragon, but Sam can't understand what it is saying either. A human head with an old steel helmet says something in western common that is incomprehensible, but seems to agree with the bronze dragon. The demon does not speak, but Sam can hear its thoughts, "You cannot trust anyone here, but if you release me, I will owe you a favor."

The head of Sam says, "Shut up, all of you! You're going to confuse me and make me waste time! Oh and whatever you do, do NOT look at the head with all the snakes on it."

The beholder head seems to laugh at all the confusion. At least you think it's a laugh. It's hard to tell. Amid the noise, Sam also hears further shouts from a gnome, an elf, and a medusa head, but he doesn't understand any of them. There is the head of a Desian female human who appears quite beautiful. She says, "Please, let me out of here. I only came out here on a dare. I've been stuck in this jar for years now."

Sam is startled by the door closing behind him, which had only previously happened in the chess room. Up until this point, the doors closing seemed to have been triggered by the next door opening.

But, even though he's in a room all by himself that he hasn't had a chance to map yet, he's pretty confident he'll be able to find his way back to the others. He just needs to find one room that he recognizes, and work his way through his map back to the kitchen. Hopefully, the others stay put until he can get back to them.

Sam checks his notes. He knows that he wrote down something the first goblin told him about this room, which is why he made a b-line for it.

The goblin told him to look under the jar containing the beholder, but not to touch any of the other jars.

Sam decides that the goblins he's interacted with have seemed to be kind and honest, and so he decides to trust the goblin's instructions and warning over the magical apparition of himself for the time being.

Sam makes his way over to the beholder jar, careful not to touch any of the other jars. He carefully lifts a corner of the jar, being sure not to drop it, trying to see what it underneath.

The Sam head says, "Damnit! This is EXACTLY what happened last time! I didn't listen to me because of the stupid goblin. Look, you see how I am just a head now? This was not a painless procedure. Baba Yaga knows how to inflict levels of pain you haven't even THOUGHT of yet. But I HAVE, alright? She's watching us RIGHT NOW and is on her way to capture you. She knows you are alone and is going to take this opportunity to pick you off. Then she'll do the same with everyone else, one at a time, until they are all dead or worse! Leave the beholder jar alone and let's get out of here! The circlet under there isn't worth an eternity like this!"

Sam tips the beholder jar up and finds a gold circlet in a recess beneath it. The beholder keeps laughing, though now that Sam is close, he seems to break into the creature's thoughts. "... escape. She'll be here any moment."

Meanwhile, the goblin that was dusting the jars stares at Sam with his eyes wide open in terror. He holds his hands up and does his best to calmly say, "Slowly put that jar down. Do NOT drop it. Just put it right where it was and slooowly step away. If you break that thing, we are both dead."

Sam is pretty strong minded. He chose a course of action, and he's going to see it through. So, the seemingly mind reading jar heads aren't concerning him at the moment.
The goblin's reaction does concern him, though.
((I need some information before deciding Sam's immediate next action. How large/heavy is the beholder head jar? Is Sam currently holding it with both hands? How safe does he feel that he could reach under the jar and grab the circlet with one hand, while holding the jar tilted with the other so as not to let the jar fall but grab the circlet?))

The particular jar Sam is lifting is quite large compared to most of the others, though the dragon ones are larger. Roughly the size of a large plant pot, Sam does have to use both hands to hold it up and he's unsure about his prospects of grabbing the circlet with one hand while he reaches with the other. Even if it doesn't break, it would not feel good falling on his hand.

Sam lowers the jar, gently.

"Is there a copy of my head talking to me from that jar?" Sam asks the goblin, indicating the jar with his head in it.

The goblin visibly releases his breath as the jar is lowered carefully. To Sam's question, he says, "Of course. Lots of other heads too. They talk to Loogie sometimes as well, but Loogie doesn't listen. See all those other goblin heads in the jars? Those were other goblins whose job was to dust the jars and Baba Yaga put their living heads in jars with the rest of everyone. You break any of these jars and she'll do the same thing to you!" He then glances at the jar with Sam's head in it and adds, "Again!"

The Sam head says, "We're running out of time! Once that door opens, it's all over!" His eyes shift nervously to one of the doors in the room.

Sam hurries to the nearest door, careful in his hurrying not to knock in to any jars. He opens the door and goes to whichever room it opens into. He shuts the door behind him.

The Sam head shouts, "No! Not again!" as Sam opens up the nearest door, runs in and slams it shut behind him. The door opens into a guest room. While it is doubtful that Baba Yaga has many guests, it seems she has a room prepared for them should the occasion occur. This room is fairly bland, looking suspiciously like a typical inn room. There are no bodies, creatures, riddles or visible deathtraps. Just two beds, some side tables, a small table with chairs, a wardrobe and a chest of drawers. There is only one door in or out of this room: the one Sam just came through.

Sam opens the door, hoping it will lead to a different room. If it doesn't, he tries cycling it one more time.

"No," Sam answers. "And, if you are taking suggestions, by far the best way to eat me is to wait until I have aged properly and died of natural causes."

"Aged, eh?" Baba Yaga says, "We can dry age you in the meat locker. Just wrap you up in cheese cloth, then hang you up there for a month or two and you'll naturally die. The enzymes in there should break down your muscle tissue and make for a delectable texture and flavor. This is an excellent idea."

The spider on her shoulder bounces up and down. Baba Yaga laughs and says, "Scarlett agrees. It's not often that a meal is so useful. It's always don't eat me this and I have a family that. This is the first time a meal has actually been helpful for a change. Don't suppose you have a name, soon to be dinner?"

"What name did I give you last time you cut off my head and put it in a jar?"

Baba Yaga opens her mouth to answer then quickly stops herself, saying, "I don't answer questions to my meals. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

Her sinister smile turns into a irritable frown as she says, "I thought you were different. I thought you were helpful. But clearly you're going to be just as difficult as the others. Maybe I should just deep fry you instead of the aging thing. A lot quicker that way. Before we do that though, were you sent here or did you come of your own free will?"

Sam considers the question a moment before responding.

"Yes," he says.

Baba Yaga squints at Sam, apparently scrutinizing every detail of his face. Then, she very slowly says, "By whom?"

"Harumi," Sam answers. "And the free will part was from me."

((weird, I thought I responded here days ago but it doesn't seem to have taken. Was wondering why I hadn't heard from you in a while))

Baba Yaga squints at Sam and says, "Never heard of her. Must not be someone important then. Which means you're as good as dinner. I'm thinking the deep frying thing is what we should really go for. Don't you agree Scarlett?"

The spider chitters a bit and Baba Yaga frowns, "Well, what do YOU know? You're just a spider. And my girlish figure is still as slender as ever, so one fried meal isn't going to hurt me."

The spider chitters again, and Baba Yaga says, "A moment on the lips, forever on the hips? When did YOU start getting into fat shaming poetry?"

The spider squeaks. Baba Yaga scowls and says, "FINE. No deep frying. What then? The aging thing? That takes forever though and I'm hungry NOW."

Sam nods vigorously.
"Definitely. I think that you should go with the aging thing. That is a very good idea. You could put me in a room with some sort of puzzle to solve. To pass the time. While I age. That seems like it will be fun for everyone involved."

"I'm too hungry to think of puzzles," she grumbles, "But, I don't really have the time to cook you up properly right now. I still have to deal with the rest of your friends and besides, they are taking up my kitchen. Who can work with half a dozen people bumbling around the kitchen? We'll just have to put you away someplace for now so you stay out of trouble. Those others don't look like they have the brains to solve a puzzle with the solution of the puzzle tattooed on their faces. Well, maybe the elf one. I'll have to get him next. But anyway, first you..."

She then pulls a jar out from her robes, unscrews it and aims it at Sam. Before he can do anything, he finds his body disintegrating until he is only a head, then is sucked into the jar with a slurping sound. She then places the jar with Sam's head in the now empty spot in the hall of heads where Sam's head once sat. "You stay right here, okay? I have guests to fry!"