Clinging to the door makes opening it difficult, but after thirty seconds or so, the pit doors begin slowly to close beneath her, eventually lifting her feet as she pops the lock and opens the door!
A single iron lever protrudes from the wall next to the door in this otherwise empty chamber’s west wall. To the east, a ten-foot-wide hallway curves to the north.
As soon as Eliastra opens the door, a whirring, clicking being steps into view. It is a three-legged, four armed metal being. In a tinny voice it says “Please present the crest for passage.”
Val moves into the room once the doorway is open. "What is it? I've never heard that sound before. We don't have a crest."
So Eli and Thorny make their way back to the long tunnel of mild acid. You'll need Acrobatics checks to get across safely!
Val will move out of the room and away from the pit, and wait for the other two to come back. "I'm not good at acrobatics."
Thorny makes his way across and looks back towards Eliastra...
You easily cross the acidic passageway and retrieve the crest.
On the return, you must balance again.
And swiftly return to the room with the pit.
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Let's switch momentarily back to Valena and Zatial:
With Thorny and Eliastra gone to get the crest, you're in the room with the trap floor. Suddenly, both doors start to swing shut. Not super swiftly. What do you do?
Val moves back toward the hallway, and tries to hold the western door open from the hallway side not the trap side. "Hurry up the door is closing." she yells down the hallway.
Zatial follows you out and the door slams shut despite your efforts. However, a moment later it can be easily opened again.
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That's odd. You wouldn't expect the doors to open so easily if they shut automatically. Furthermore, why put this defense in such a place?
Zatiel takes a few moments to inspect the doors, hoping to gleam some information to their purpose.
As he stoops to inspect the door for any carvings or symbols the blasted thing smacks him in the head!
Unable to deduce anything about the locking mechanism, Zatial and his companions are still faced with crossing the trapped floor again.
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"At least we know what to expect." He looks around the room, trying to engineer a way to avoid or soften the fall with his rope. "I'm not sure we can avoid this. I will go first. Once the trap is triggered, we can safely get the rest of you across." Thorny steps into the trapped room and plants himself, knees slightly bent in preparation.
Val waits for the floor to drop again.
As soon as Thorny enters the room, the voice intones “Please close the door before proceeding with the pass phrase.”
Val enters the room. "Who is saying that?" She still can't see whatever it is.
Thorny gets to the far door, but it is locked.
Val follows Thorney to the door.
The big, unwieldy crest has no legend on it, so Eli rushes across the room and addresses the locked door.
Sadly, that's when the bottom drops out of the floor. Again.
Val falls right down in the hole again.
Eliastra, Thorny and Valena crash into the pit, smashing armor into ribs and shields into jaws, landing in an ignominious heap!
Zatial manages to grab onto the lip of the door's threshold by his fingertips! Swaying, he gently drops down into the pit with the rest of you.
Status
Zatial (2 damage -2 Dex)
Thorny (5 damage)
Valena (2 damage)
Eliastra (5 damage)
She easily climbs back up to the door she's previously opened, but now it's locked again.
Eliastra works on the lock until she opens it, pulling herself up into the room beyond. Soon after, she is joined by Thorny.
Once again the weird three-legged mechanical man approaches. “Please present the crest for passage,” it says.
"A horrible place that really doesn't like us much. I'm almost sure I can hear that Imp laughing at us." She tries to climb out of the pit.
The construct peers at the plaque, its single eye telescoping and focusing for an instant. It then steps back out of the way, permitting you to pass!
"Finally. That was an odd creature." Val allows Thorny and Eli to lead the way.
"Why has no one been through here before? It's been just sitting here for years and years. You would think that someone had to have explored."