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"Do either of you gents want to be invisible again?" Pendleton asks Neegan and Dare. "It might be useful if you plan to scout ahead."

Neegan says Dare if you do not want it, I'll use it.

Here's an updated map:

Smiling, Able walks up to the statue and tells it to, Shut up 'fore o have my dwarf brethren show you what they can do to stone. He walks away and tosses the silencing stone back to its feet. He looks for any signs the statue is aware that it has been silenced.

Able then returns to the right-hand door and enters the room. We'll. Then sniffers got some brains left. An' they know we're a real threat to 'em. We'll keep doin' 'em that same way,
but let's have the lot of you'ns target one at a time. Try an' send 'em back to whatever hell their from. Able looks through the archway, ready to block it if the demons return. They're in two groups now. Let's not get surrounded.

Brother Idriss, if yet done getting insulted, do ya think we should use a stick of that incense?

Neegan- Are we going to see if the goblins will aid us?

Idriss

has some devotional incense. Not sure what it does though, never tried it. Hands it to the fellow Eruannan. Entering the furniture room, he will note the puddle. The other rooms didn't have leaks in so unless drips come from the ceiling, he steps in wary that the pool is connected to the previous 'sea goddess' stuff we found. Can he spot any salty crystals or briny splashes about, rusted metal items?

"I can stay visible for the time being," Dare says, turning down the invisibility spell.

Before we get too comfy, Dare will check the room for traps or hidden mechanisms, then listen at the closed doors.

Brother Mylo said this'd lead us to the source of infernal power. Then we can dispel it with yer scroll. He waits for Dare to finish checking the room, then, as he lights the stick of incense, he replies to Neegan.Them gobbers're a treach'rous lot. I wasn't inclined t'trust 'em before we left that lot unconscious. I'm less likely t'trust 'em now they might have a grudge. Let's push ahead on our own. If we run into them, we'll deal with 'em then.

Pendleton makes Neegan invisible again.

Ablesforth moves the silencing stone back to the statue, telling it to be silenced. The statue's mouth doesn't move further, but whether it has cognition of being silenced is difficult to tell. Pendleton ensorcells Neegan, rendering the dwarf once again invisible from the sight of his party members. The party moves on into the new room of trash and debris.

Idriss moves to inspect the puddle of water near the western door. It is very shallow - just a film on the floor, really - and he does note that it has concentric rings of salt crystallization on the floor around it as it shrinks through evaporation. There are no rusty items in or near the puddle - it is just wetness on the stone floor.

Moving further into the room, Ablesforth's lantern illuminates the full scope of the debris. You can now see that the northern archway contains a wooden portcullis dropped into place across its opening. It takes some time, but Dare carefully inspects the large room. He finds no traps in the main chamber, but does point out to the others that the black-tarnish on the scattered and discarded plates and utensils mixed in the debris is indicative of fine-quality silver. The others are able to collect together 50lbs (just under one large sack full) of tarnished plates and silverware. Dare finds that the two southern doors don't appear to have locks and are ajar. The eastern door is closed and appears to have a high-quality lock. The western stone door is behind the puddle, but closed. The portcullis doesn't appear to have a locking mechanism, but his keen eye spies an arrow trap pointed at it from the far-side wall - he is unable to find and disarm the mechanism.

Through the northern portcullis, you can dimly see the next chamber: you're in the center of the south wall of a 50' square room. A group of demonic faces have been carved into the east wall and jagged steel blades project from cracks all over the chamber the west wall is painted in some kind of lurid mural. You hear nothing through the other doors, but the distinct smell of burnt ash is detected near the easternmost door on the southern wall.

Ablesforth lights a stick of incense, carefully holding it on a small ceremonial dish. The thin tendril of aromatic smoke rises from it, perfuming the room, but it doesn't diffuse as much as you'd expect. Instead it wafts in a long thread, carried on the still air as if there were a strong draft. The smoke passes through the northern portcullis and across that chamber to the still-shadowed far wall.


Date: 23 July 2021, 12:10pm
Light: Ablesforth's Lantern (until 2:00pm)
Effects: Silence 15' radius near statue (until 1:30pm), Invisibility (Pendleton, Grimble, Neegan) Protection from Evil (Ablesforth, Idriss, Dolph)
Injuries: None

Neegan will help Dare see if he able to disarm the mechanism.

Idriss

"We should follow the scent of burnt ash. I don't think they have gone through the portcullis." Idriss looks through the eastern door of the south wall, carefully opening it just enough to peer through a crack.

Idriss peeks through the other southern door into the dark room beyond. By the overpowering smell of charcoal and the sight of ruin and ashes, he surmises a great fire happened there. He doesn't see the sniffers.

Date: 23 July 2021, 12:20pm
Light: Ablesforth's Lantern (until 2:00pm)
Effects: Silence 15' radius near statue (until 1:30pm), Invisibility (Pendleton, Grimble, Neegan) Protection from Evil (Ablesforth, Idriss, Dolph)
Injuries: None

Idriss Doorkeeper

Pushes open wide the door. Not stepping in yet but wants to see into the room as more light is shed through the door frame. He steps aside so that sneaky goblins or more arrow traps don't target him outlined in the doorway. Once the others can dismantle the traps or raise the portcullis we can decide which way to go.

Neegan tries to help Dare with the trap mechanism on the portcullis, but neither is able to find anything they can reach to do so, as the cleverly-concealed hole is on the far side and pointed this way.

Idriss pushes open the door and sheds light into the next room to the southeast, Dolph lighting a torch and holding it aloft above him. The reason for the smell of ash is soon obvious, as the entire room is charred by some long-passed conflagration. Mounds of soot on the floor, roughly human-shaped, cover up parts of an engraving of runes etched in concentric circles on the open floor. The room is about 30x30' and you stand at the east end of the north wall. There is a wooden door with a lock mechanism on the north end of the west wall, and a plain archway with an open wooden portcullis suspended above it on the north end of the east wall. The walls have ornamental iron sconces for holding torches, spaced about every five feet along all the walls. The south wall, beyond the concentric circles, is lined by sturdy marble-topped tables which are covered with faintly-sparkling broken glass, as much as you can tell in the dim light of Dolph's torch.

Date: 23 July 2021, 12:30pm
Light: Ablesforth's Lantern (until 2:00pm) Dolphs' torch (1:30pm)
Effects: Silence 15' radius near statue (until 1:30pm), Invisibility (Pendleton, Grimble, Neegan) Protection from Evil (Ablesforth, Idriss, Dolph), smoldering incense (until 8:20pm)
Injuries: None