Having finally dealt with the acid and slime, Eristinian gives a cursory examination to the keyhole. He didn't think anyone would further trap this particular lock, but he didn't want to take a chance, either.
"Looks safe enough," Eristinian says, turning the key in the lock.
"Of course it's probably empty..." Tasius managed to keep a straight face although his eyes shone with amusement at his silly joke.
Caelryl helps as needed, impressed by the groups creativity.
Eristinian looks up, concerned for a moment that there was a complex trap he'd missed. When he realizes that the sound is elsewhere in the complex, he relaxes. "Well, sounds like we solved something we didn't even know was a puzzle," he says, getting out of the well. "Although that brings up a good question - what is so important that the designers of this place decided that the lock needed to be separate from the door?"
Tasius chews his lip for a few moments while he thinks. Not having any brainwaves he replies, "No idea. I guess we'll just have to find out. Oh and that grinding noise wasn't exactly quiet, assuming there's anyone here, they must know somethings up..."
Caelryl tries to determine the direction of the sound. He nods in agreement with the others. "Yes, very strange indeed. Maybe we can find some answers behind that secret door I noticed earlier. But before we leave this room, what should we do about the key? I imagine the lock was placed here by the original occupants so I don't want to help the goblins. I think we should take the key with us until we know what it is for," he says scanning the room for any creatures coming to investigate the sound.
"Take it with us I suppose. I'm very curious about where that npise came from. I guess behind that hidden door is a good a place to start as any." replied Tasius.
Caelryl nods. "The secret door it is then." After the key is removed from the pool, he leads the group over to the door and searches it.
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The secret door proves untrapped and after a few moments, Caelryl finds the trigger to open it, pressing two mosaic tiles on either side of the door at the same time. Beyond the portal is a crowded and cluttered room, the floor and walls of which are tiled in the same manner as the pool room. Within this room are tables, chairs, and a shelf with scrolls and stacks of old paper. The tables are covered with dried inkwells, pencils, dried erasers and ink pens, as well as papers. Scribbles are all over papers stacked everywhere, most of them geometric patterns and sketches of rooms, but a few have pieces of maps and other drawings and sketches.
"Look at all this stuff!" marveled Tasius, "How peculiar. Well I suppose I'd better check for magical auras..."
Tasius whispered spidery words that helped place him into a kind of trance which would open his senses to any magical auras that might be present...
Caelryl nods in agreement, smiling at all the potential information. Once Tasius finishes checking for magic, he picks a table and starts looking through the papers to see if there is anything related to the dungeon.
"Maybe the person who designed this place used this room. Hopefully we can find something that can be useful that explains what the key is for and what that noise was," he says as he begins to search.
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A magical tug comes from beneath one of the workbenches, where sits a large, locked chest. Best you can tell, the magic is divination, very faint. The box is secured to the floor with heavy iron bolts.
Searching through the countless papers and drawings, Caelryl manages to piece together enough to determine that they are proposed changes, expansions, and additions to the complex, by someone named Marevek.
"Hmmmm, Marevek," Eristinian says, closing his eyes in thought. "That's not a name we've heard before. Must be a newer player on the scene."
After examining the contents of the room and noting the box, Tasius muses, "How very peculiar - the box is enchanted with some kind of divination magic. I guess there's nothing stopping us from trying to open it, such enchantments tend to be harmless. Although I suppose it could be some kind of scrying focus, but it's not an abjuration so somebody would actively have to be watching for it to do any good."
Caelryl walks over to check the box for traps.
Eristinian also examines the box for unusual markings.
Caelryl shakes his head. "My time in the forests have honed my ability to notice things but I have not spent any time studying how to disarm traps. Eristinian seemed to know his way around that lock earlier. Perhaps if he takes his time, he might be able to disarm it," he says looking over at the elf.
Eristinian winces as Caelryl shows the makings of the trap. "Dammit, I missed it. How did I miss it?" He withdraws his tools, and begins to work.
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Eristinian kneels before the chest and sets about his work. He works carefully, taking his time, but to no avail. The device remains trapped, although he does not set it off. He tries again, coming a bit closer, but still not quite there.
Eristinian's brow furrows as he continues his work, trying his best to forget the consequences of failure.
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As Eristinian continues to toy with the chest, he hears a sudden click. "Uh-oh," he manages to utter. He withdraws his hands, but it is too late. He feels an electrical jolt go through his body.
Almost without thinking, the good friar steps in and places his hands on Eristinian's brow. "Cayden, this child still has service to offer this world. If it be your will, bring him back to us!" His hands glow blue and the glow extends to surround Eristinian's unconscious form. Suddenly, the elf's body jerks and his breathing resumes, soon falling into a regular pace. His eyes flutter open.
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Galfon grimaces when Eristinian decides to continue tackling the lock, taking a very prominent step backward. Once the inevitable comes to pass however, the halfling darts forward, his expression fraught with worry. He lets out a sigh of relief when O'Grady gets around to healing him right away.
"Like I said. Trouble," he says wryly, looking to the chest.
Eristinian's eyes flutter open as the blackened flesh on his hands falls away to reveal pink, healthy skin. "Clearly, that was the wrong rune to scratch out," he says weakly, trying to find his feet. "The only silver lining here is that a trap like this rarely can fire off more than once. Let me check that it's gone."
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The contents of the chest have been damaged by the trap, but you can find the following map and piece of paper, along with a number of bank notes that might have once been worth several hundred gold pieces in the name of Zelligar and Roghan. These are both out of date and damaged beyond use. You also find the remains of a magical scroll, but it is hopelessly ruined.
Tasius examined the charred remains of the box and it's contents. After a bit he told the others, "Well this map is paydirt, look here we are on it! Too bad about the other stuff, that note in particular is tantalizing but it's too badly burnt."
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"Well, it's something," Galfon says simply as they inspect the chest's surviving contents. Eristinian wasn't dead and they had more than they did before, so he could hardly complain. He squints at the charred map, trying to determine their current position. "We should probably mark off where we've already been somehow. This place is a damned maze."
Caelryl watches as Eristinian tries to disable the trap. Seeing the elf continuing to try, he starts to take a step forward to suggest he stop when the trap is triggered. He gives an audible sigh of relief when the cleric brings Eristinian back from unconsciousness.
"Maybe next time give it one try then move on. We need you around a bit longer. No telling what we will find as we explore more," Caelryl says with a smile.
He looks over the map and paper with the others. "It looks like the hallway running east-west between this room and the throne room leads to another room to the east. We should check that out before moving to the northern section of the complex."
"As far as the note, it mentions a vault. There also seems to be a section about the key we found in the pool. Maybe that grinding was a door opening somewhere. But there's also something about 2 levers. Maybe this key I found in the kitchen is part of that," he says trying to make sense of the scorched paper.
Tasius takes another look at the map before agreeing with Caelryl's plan. Sounding deep in though he told them, "All right then, lets try and find this hallway. I think it should be over here..."
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Tasius studies the wall before him carefully. Finally, with deliberation, he digs at a seam and soon the door stands revealed. It has been cleverly disguised to appear as part of the wall. Beyond the portal is an oddly-shaped bedroom, the walls of which are covered with vertical sections of rough-finished fir wood, each narrow plank running from floor to ceiling. In each of the four corners of the room are brackets, but only two still hold tattered, decaying tapestries (depicting scenes of battle). There is a very large and unusually well preserved bed here, upon which there is a goblin, hiding under the covers and peeking out, obviously hoping not to be seen.
The rest of the room contains a cabinet of wood, a wooden stool, and a large chest that is closed.
"Er... I think you'd better come out!" calls Tasius, hand on his sword. As he spoke, he realized the goblin almost certainly wouldn't be able to understand.
"Yeah I don't speak goblin. What are we going to do with this thing? So far it's not made any aggressive moves..." asked Tasius.
"I do, though," Eristinian replies.
"Możemy cię zobaczyć. Wyjdź, albo ustawimy łóżko na ogień."
"We can see you down there. Come out, or we set the bed on fire."
"To lepiej. Porozmawiajmy, ty i ja. Możesz nazywać mnie Eristinianem. Co robi twój plemienczyk?"
"That's better. Let's have a talk, you and I. You can call me Eristinian. What does your tribe call you?"
"Anything you all would like to ask her?"
Tasius thought for a moment before suggesting, "I guess the obvious question is where the heck are all the other goblins?"
Eristinian nods at Tasius' question. "Moi przyjaciele chcą wiedzieć, gdzie jest reszta plemienia. Widzieliśmy bardzo mało waszego rodzaju odkąd weszliśmy do tych jaskiń. Jeśli chodzi o to, dlaczego chcę twojego imienia, jesteś pierwszym goblinem, z którym się spotkałem, który miał wystarczająco dużo dowcipu, aby zdawać sobie sprawę z tego, jak by się mogło atakować samobójstwo. To rzadkie, Kell."
"My friends want to know where the rest of your tribe is at. We've seen very few of your kind since we entered these caves. As for why I want your name, you're the first goblin I've met who had enough wit about her to realize how suicidal attacking us would have been. That's rare, Kell."
Caelryl laughs when the goblin comes out of the bed. "I'm not sure what you said but that got her attention. What is she saying?"
"Speaking of which I don't fancy killing this one in cold blood either. Not sure what to do about her, mind. Keep her talking while I check this room out properly." replied Tasius.
He did however decide it was worth checking the room for any enchantments. Humming the chant that attuned himself to the ethereal, Tasius cast around for any evidence of enchantment.
That done he then thoroughly investigates the room for anything else of interest.