Milloy in fact does detect magic in the cold room; the back wall made of ice is magical and he can surmise that it is some sort of permanent wall of ice effect.
Alice moves to the third door and a piercing shriek emits from the room!
Inside is a large supply of magical components for spellcasting and research, worth about 2500 gp in total.
If needed, Milloy will also take healing.
The company is joined by a stout dwarf. He rushes down the stairs and introduces himself to the group.
"So, checking out this basement, eh? Sounds like ya triggered a sonic trap of some kind. Sorry to be so late - Harsk McLarson at your service! Say," Harsk trundles over to Kurth, "got a ring here to offer you. No no - I ain't askin' ya to marry me. No, it's just that you seem like the type to get in scrapes and such. You wear this platinum ring, and I'll wear it's partner here see?" Harsk holds up his hand showing that he's wearing a duplicate of the platinum ring he handed Kurth.
"This'll allow me to shield you from harm - or at least as much as I'm able to."
Harsk readies his shield and steps up to the middle doorway in this hall.
"Well, let's see what's behind this door, shall we?"
Perhaps he feared this dragon. No one can say. Milloy smiles at the newcomer and says, Help is always quite welcome.
"Well, I, er ... that is, um ... ok?" Kurth mumbles as the strange dwarf appears bearing a ring. Shaking his head, he slips the ring on a thick pinkie and focuses on the less confusing task of door-kicking.
Harsk nods and notes Kurth's reluctance. "I know, I ain't one for wearing shiny baubles m'self. But, my specialty will be to protect you while you wail on those that want to harm us. These rings allow me to absorb half of the damage you take, and provide you an extra bit of protection. However it only works after I've done my incantations."
Harsk looks down as he kicks some rubble to the side, "But enough talk - let us resume our polite door-kicking."
Alice checks over the next door at the end of the hall, a thick, dark iron door etched with arcane symbols, and finds it safe enough to enter.
Entering the room, you find that this ten-foot square antechamber's north wall is an artfully wrought gate of bright metal that opens onto the larger chamber beyond. The walls of this chamber are covered with strange glyphs and runes, including one enormous word scrawled in one-foot-high letters across the north wall. The letters are in a strange script:
A guttural voice echoes from the pit on the other side of the gate, "Here to gloat over me some more, wizard? And without your usual greeting? You'll play that game one time too often, and on that day I'll enjoy supping on your entrails."
The arcane symbols are obscure glyphs employed to imprison dangerous summoned creatures. Please be on your guard.
I am a wizard but not the one who has imprisoned you here. Why does Hunclay keep you?
"Abadar's brass balls, that old bastard had a demon or devil living in his basement," Kurth says as he twists his fingers into a variety of gestures and wards against evil. "Oh hell, is it left to right for Iomedae's cross, or right to left?"
Harsk shrugs his shoulders at Kurth, "Not too sure of that. Torag's a little less fussy on that account." The smile on his face fades a bit.
"Keeping a devil or demon is not a good thing at all." Harsk dons his shield and draws his warhammer, to be at the ready should something unfortunate happen. He takes a few steps into the room, cautiously.
He calls out in response to the gutteral voice, "Show yourself! I command thee on behalf of Torag!"
Movement is heard from around the corner where the pit lies and a goat-headed humanoid covered in a mangy gray hide that only partly covers its gaunt but muscled frame emerges with a fiery look in its eyes.
Whispering to the others Milloy says, This is a schir demon. It has constant see invisibility, resistance to magic, and using weapons of cold iron or good is best. It is resistant to acid, cold, and fire, and has immunity to disease, electricity, and poison. Choose wisely if battle ensues.
Taking the chance that the word he sees is a proper noun and not a trigger to release the schir demon, Milloy tries to reason with the creature. Cthepaltangoulgi, Milloy says as best he can. Is that what you are called or does that mean something else entirely? We mean you no harm. Hunclay is dead. We are merely trying to determine what he was up to.
As Milloy speaks the word, the letters glow briefly and the approaching demon freezes, paralyzed.
Milloy watches the creature freeze up in his movement. My apologies. I was not aware the word had that power. As I said, we wish you no harm.
Harsk's eyes go wide as his companions start trying to talk to the demon. What in the bloody... Trying to reason with a demon. Nothin' but folly in that, he thinks to himself. But he keeps his mouth shut and tries to read the demon's body language to figure out what is going on.
"I don't like this one bit," Kurth says, his cold iron blade at the ready. He'll be prepared to attack the demon if it tries to get at them through the gate, or to konk anyone that seems possessed.
The demon begins to cast another spell.
Despite Alice's arrow hitting him in the arm, he continues to cast his spell.
[dice=DC 19 Spellcraft]He is trying to summon more demons.[/spoiler]
Besmara's balls! Open the damned gate so I can get in there and kill the thing!" Kurth says, readying his sword.
It is summoning! Realizing that the creature has many defenses to his types of damaging magic, Milloy elects to go defensive.
Milloy will cast Protection for Evil, Communal and will touch all of his allies. He then readies his wand of Web since more enemies may appear.
"We ain't gonna get too far if we don't get this gate open. Alice - anything you can do?"
If Alice is able to unlock and open the gate, Harsk will move in and close the distance between him and the demon. If Alice is not able to open the gate, he will cast shield other on Kurth.
Milloy protects his companions against evil.
On her first try Alice is not able to open the door. Harsk shields Kurth.
No demons respond to the schir's summons! In frustration, he casts another spell on himself.
Milloy does speak "the word" again, hoping the effect is the same. He then says, Yield! We need not fight!
In csse the word has no effect Milloy will use his wand of Web on the creature!
"I ain't getting caught up in that again," Kurth says as Milloy starts his spell. The big man sheathes his sword and draws a javelin to fling at the (hopefully incapacitated) demon.
Harsk readies himself to move forward, as it seems from where he's at that Alice is making progress with the lock.
As Milloy says the word again, the runes begin to glow and the demon howls out in pain.
Kurth hurls a javelin through the bars, hitting the demon but only leaving a paper cut behind.
Alice quickly unlocks the gate and Harsk moves into the room to assault the demon.
---
The demon closes the gap with Harsk and swings a halberd at the dwarf!
"This I can deal with," Kurth says, drawing his cold iron sword and advancing on the demon.
Alice puts an arrow in the demon as it howls in pain again! Kurth moves in but the demon dodges the figher's sword.
Harsk steps forward with his shield up, carefully closing in on the demon. He swings his cold iron hammer.
Submit, creature! Or you shall cease to be! Milloy then says the command word once more.
"Tricky bugger, aren't you," Kurth says, inching around the demon in an effort to flank it with Harsk. He attacks again with his cold iron blade.
Harsk swings his hammer, giving the demon a nasty wound. Milloy then speaks the word again, causing the runes to glow a third time and the demon to freeze in place!
There seems to be little else in this room except the 10x10 pit that the demon was being kept in and had clearly been using as a resting spot.
"Humph... Good riddance, am I right? Who keeps a demon in their basement? This Hunclay fellow made some poor choices, obviously." Harsk hangs his hammer from his belt and walks over to give Milloy a slap on the back.
"Good on you! Mudder always tried to teach me the importance of using my words - and you used your words well." The dwarf steps back out into the hallway.
"Now, let's see what else we can find down here, eh? Any more evidence of malfeasance?" He glances back, "I don't think that demon even touched us, did he now?"
No, though he wished to. Milloy says matter-of-factly. And I'm sure that will be worse than that creature ahead of us. Be wary as we go.
"Demons and ugly little familiars and blowing up towers. If old Hunclay wasn't dead, I think I'd do for him again," Kurth mutters, keeping his sword drawn as the party moves to the north. He waits for Alice to check the door.
The party moves back to the north and finds no traps on the door. Inside, six stone slabs sit on the floor of this chamber. Heaped upon each are metal tools, gears, springs, and other parts for the construction of mechanical creations.
Clockworks, hmm. Looks valuable. We can make a note of these items also.