The hallway ends at a stone door. The group quickly checks it over for traps before testing it. Opening the door, this fifty-foot-square chamber is hewn out of rock. The floor is rough but flat, the walls show the chisel-marks of the original builders, and the ceiling is about ten feet high. Identical stone doors with iron pull0ring handles stand in the middle of the east and west walls.
In the center of the room stands a life-sized and lifelike statue of a dwarf warrior wearing a chain shirt, helm, and big boots. He carries a shield on his left arm and a battleaxe in his rigt hand. The statue has clearly been broken into, roughly, the head and upper torso, lower torso, and legs. These pieces have been reassembled and held together and upright in a stout wooden frame. a dagger along with several coins and gems lie on the floor in front of the statue, surrounded by a ring of fine gravel.
Dasim stays well clear of the ring and the coins inside of it. While he searches the rest of the room for and hidden passages, traps or other things of interest.
Glancing back over at the statue he frowns. "Someone has gone to a bit of trouble putting that fellow back together." He says. "Seems like a waste of time to me, unless there's some other scholar working the area. Odd that they'd keep it all secret though."
Ziyad doesn't find any obvious or subtle runes in the circle. It appears to only be a circle of gravel. Dasim sees an inscription on the base of the statue that reads "Petrified Ironstar (?) Dwarf, found 1459 DR in Red Larch West Quarry in broken condition." As you are inspecting the statue you hear the sounds or combat but it sounds like it is a few rooms away.
Dasim reads out the inscription, then turns toward the sound of combat. "Sounds like someone's causing a fuss." He says before moving in the direction of the noise.
Listening closer you hear the sounds of angry rats and steel ringing against stone.
Rrath nods and again follows Dasim towards the sound of battle.
"If they're approaching from behind, we should be safer readying ourselves to hold this room if their intentions are hostile," Tarandil says when Dasim stops in the floating rock room.
From this closer vantage point you can tell someone is fighting with the rats you convinced to let you by. It sounds like human voices coordinating the combat. Suddenly it goes quiet. The voices are slightly muffled but clear enough. "Everyone ok?" Another voice, "Damndable rats took a chunk out me." Still another, "Looks like we lost a few. They were weak anyway." The first voice again, "Hopefully we can still get the drop on those meddling adventurers. Let's move out."
A group of men all wearing leather armor bearing the same symbol you've seen before begin coming around the corner in the hall towards your room. They don't appear to have seen you yet.
Rrath places a finger to his toothed lips and moves to the wall just inside where the hallway empties into the room to attack the coming enemies.
Mags bites her lip as she hears the fate of the rats, but is cheered by the fact they went down fighting for their home.
Magmoria moves to the other side of the entryway, and murmuring a cantrip, enchants her staff for the coming battle.
Dasim nods at Rrath's suggestion and slips up to the door on the opposite side of the big outlander. With readied spear, he waits for the potential ambushers to step into the trap.
The bandits advance carefully but are taken off guard by the ambush.
Dasim lashes out with spear and fist as the first bandit steps through the doorway. Unfortunately, his spear slips slightly and simply bounces off the man's armor and his follow up punch does little as well. With a frustrated snort, he quickly regroups and this time the loud crack of hardened wood striking flesh rings out into the mysterious underground chamber.
Mags slams her staff at the first bandit head that pokes its way out of the doorway, then proceeds to hammer away at the unfortunate until they go down.
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Magmoira and Dasim work in tandem to bring down the vanguard of the men. Their comrades are shocked by ferocity.
Rrath flies into a rage as nd moves into the hallway to attack the light blue enemy.
Thee next two bandits in line slip and slide before falling to the ground. The next two manage to keep their footing. Rrath's rage cuts the two men on the ground in half, the gore making the footing worse for the remaining two.
Somehow the man manages to twist away from the fire as it springs up beneath his feet.
Tarandil will insult the closest bandit in the surprise round.
The bandit shakes off the insult and both attempt to make their way through the grease. In an attempt to avenge their comrades, they both attack Rrath but in his rage he mostly ignores their blades.
Rrath returns the favor against the Orange enemy.
Rrath cuts down another bandit foolish enough to challenge him.
Stepping up Dasim attacks the bandit wearing the yellow sash. Not seeing a spot of Ziyad's grease, he slips as he lunges with his spear, but quickly recovers and throws a punch to the bandit's gut.
Magmoria also steps forward and slams her staff into the bandit's midriff.
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The remaining bandit is felled by the coordinated efforts of the group. An eree silence falls over the room as the adventures catch their breath.
Rrath wipes his axe blade on the nearest fallen enemy, then proceeds to loot the bodies.
Shaking his head at the senselessness of the bandits attack, Dasim joins Ziyad in seeing if he recognizes any of the faces.
Ziyad, you recognize a couple of the men as transient workers that were staying in town working as miners. The rest aren't familiar to either of you.
Rrath, you find all the men have scimitars and light crossbows. They are all wearing leather armor embossed with the same symbol you found on the skulls of the bodies in the other room. In various belt pouches and pockets you find 25 gold pieces between them all.
"Outrageous indeed." Dasim says stroking his own luxurious mustache and full beard. "Those thin scraggles are an embarrassment. Like sickly caterpillars on their lips. Might at well be as naked as a baby from the womb." He says suppressing a smile and turning back toward the unexplored tunnels. "But we've no time for barbering tips now friend mage. I'll be happy to show you how to grow a nice full beard in no time at all. It's really all in the diet. More meat and dairy. But for now, we should return to our explorations. If I remember there were a pair of doors that needed opening back in that cavern with the old dwarf statue."
You tense as you wait for a trap to go off but nothing happens. You are able to inspect the dagger at your leisure. The item is very well made and has the name "Reszur" engraved on the pommel.
Rrath joins the others and stands up front with Fasom as they proceed to complete exploration of the complex.
As Ziyad speaks the name, the dagger begins giving off a dim cold glow.
The others investigate the doors but find no traps and see that it is unlocked. Beyond the door is a 40 ft passage 10 feet wide, 10 feet high, and hewn out of rock. A small lantern hangs from a hook in the wall next to a door at the east end of the passage. Sitting on a wooden stool is a balding beardless old man wearing faded and patched work trousers and a matching tunic. He is idly whittling a stick. As you take steps into the hallway, he looks up, "Grund? Is that you?"
Mags stops short as she sees the old man. She looks at the others and shrugs.
"Sorry grandfather it is not Grund. I am Magmoria and these are my companions. What are you doing in such a place? Where are you from?"
Dasim follows Mags up to the old man, looking all around the passage for some kind of trap or other deception.
"Oh! It's you! Please don't kill me!" Recognizing you as the group of adventurers in town he throws himself to the ground groveling for mercy. His surprise seems to have made him miss that you even asked a question.