With her weapons at the ready, Setomi follows up behind Raziel.
Old tapestries depicting a seaside castle hang askew on the walls of this circular room and a thick layer of dust cakes the floor. The air is musty and weirdly cold. Two doors hang askew on hinges in a passageway to the south, while to the north, a third door lies in fragments on the floor, opening onto a flight of stairs leading down into darkness. A second staircase leads upward against the north wall.
The room seems eerily quite, but the presence that was so palpable moments ago is notably absent.
"I think we should head downward. Usually anything of value is kept in a strongroom, and they are usually located in the safety of solid rock"
"Any prisoners would be below, that is true. Lead on Setomi."
The stone stairway spirals downward, deep into the cold rock upon which the castle rests. After several minutes, a floor levels out before you, and you find yourself in a tight hallway. You do not go far before you come to an iron portcullis planted firmly in your path. The gate is in remarkably good condition relative to the rest of the castle; its thick bars extend into the floor and up through the ceiling.
Setomi tells the others what she has seen (see spoilers above).
"Do we have anything in our possession that resembles these depressions? If not I guess we are going back up to see if we can find them as I see no lock which I could pick. It must be magic that seals this gate."
"Then we go back up? And take the stairs upward to the upper floors, or choose another path on the ground?"
Alright I guess it is back up the stairs and onto level 2.
Climbing back up to the ground floor, you continue up the stairway on the other side of the room, and shortly find yourself in a similar chamber a story above. This room is picked clean of furniture and decoration. In various places on the walls, there are deep cuts in the stone, but the room is otherwise unremarkable.
There appear to be two single doors off of a short hallway to the south, and a large pair of double doors as well.
"Let's check out the smaller doors first."
The room has the same strange, serene feeling as the one below it, though no strange whispers come to your ears. As you open the first of the smaller doors, mist spills out and surrounds your feet, but it dissipates nearly instantly. This smaller chamber is entirely bare.
The other door opens with the same effect - mist briefly carpets the cold, stone floor before vanishing. This room too, is bare, though there is another door at the far wall.
We will move towards the door. Setomi will check it for locks or traps
perception:
Raziel will stand near to Setomi, ready if either healing or combat is needed.
Indeed we do open it. Setomi will move out of the way so the others can see where it leads.
"Back downstairs. Should we go back, or do you want to see where this comes out?"
"Let us explore more of this level first."
