Lost Lab of Kwalish

Gravity will toss a platinum ring towards Raeland, expecting him to catch the item so that she can cast Warding Bond later. She uses sign language to deliver the message that they should take advantage of the situation and start rummaging around the tomb. Then she uses her fingers to blow whistle and command the steel defender to dodge, while addressing the Umberhulk to criticize its arbitrary decision:

"Hey critter, find something else to munch on!"

(@Wile_E_Coyote, let's do this for another round or two.)

As Kilis looks at the scene in front of her she notices that almost everyone is focused on the animated bird machine. It is quite fascinating she admits but she also realises this is a good time to take a stroll without being noticed.

She looks around towards the different entrances to se if one of them might look a bit more deserted at the moment.

Perception check: 6

Tetrevess looks at the situation, sighs, and disappears into the mouth of the cave.  (But out of sight of Moghadam, hopefully) A moment later, Moghadam appears. disguise self  In dwarvish, he says to the dwarf minding the umber hulk- “Let the bird go.  They work for me now”. to the dwarf.   To the group, he says, in common “come-  I will give you a tour of the construction so far”. And he quickly heads towards the middle tunnel. 

Perception to see Tetrevess ducking into the cave: 14

Insight that the Moghadam exiting the cave is NOT Moghadam: 25

Barril intercepts the faux Moghadam and shields him from the crowd but especially the floating skull.

”Woah, woah, woah.” He quietly whispers into Tetrevess’ ear. “”That skull is a projection of the ‘real’ Moghadam. He is directing and witnessing this ‘execution’. If he sees you, the gig is up.”

Barril will try to spin The “fake” Moghadam around quietly and usher him back into the cave.

(Lol- guess I wasn’t following closely) 

Raeland watches as the umberhulk is set upon the Gravity's steel pet. "They don't look that dangerous on their own, might be deadlier in a pack I guess." He whispers in Ana's ear as they watch the spectacle. Catching Barril in his peripheral vision, he does a double take as he see's Barril walking away with Moghaddem and points it out to Ana, "Now that's even more curious..."

Quote from BisAmandum >>

As Kilis looks at the scene in front of her she notices that almost everyone is focused on the animated bird machine. It is quite fascinating she admits but she also realises this is a good time to take a stroll without being noticed.

She looks around towards the different entrances to se if one of them might look a bit more deserted at the moment.

Perception check: 11

 

 You've seen a map.  The one opening just goes to Moghadam's office, the far one is the umber hulk pen ND everything else is through the middle.  You could have seen umber hulk tracks in the dirt, but you saw the thing wall out if the hole, so this seems redundant.

This broad tunnel is currently being shaped into the tomb’s elaborate entryway. This is an active site, featuring a number of artisans working by lantern light to plaster the walls and paint them with bright, colorful murals. Other artisans are covering the floor in an elaborate mosaic featuring a distinct winding path of red tiles, some of which cross over a series of open pits.

This area is noisy with the sounds of hammering and stone cutting coming from the west. A rumbling can also be heard to the east. But even over all that, the characters can hear a rhythmic chanting coming from the south. Twelve tiefling muralists work here, constantly mixing fresh pigments to be applied to the plaster walls.

Anyone looking over the pigments being prepared identifies the ingredients as including impossibly bright-red blood.  

"The scenes painted show fields with kine grazing, a copse with several wolves in the background, slaves (human, orc, elf, and strange human-animal mixture: pig-human, ape-human, and dog-human) going about various tasks. Certain of the frescoes show the rooms of some building: a library filled with many books and scrolls, a torture chamber, a wizard’s workroom. Chairs, windows, boxes, bales, doors, chests, birds, bats, spiders, and all manner of things are shown on the walls."*

*Text from original Tomb of Horrors (1975)

Random roll: 1 

One of the muralists descends the southernmost pit by ladder, carrying a pale.  Several minutes later he reemerges.  The bucket drips.witj bright red pigment and the dagger sheathed on the tiefling's belt is shifted a few inches from where it had been before he descended.  This all happens at impossible speed, a temporal contraction caused by the guide Kwalish gifted you with, it would seem.  

(For those unfamiliar. There is a mechanic built into this module that had extra secrets in every room revealed by using a charge of the Mcguffin, but players didn't take to it, so now its just random.  On the other hand, it's a parachute to teleport the whole party pretty darn far once every seven days.  It's following you even if you don't want it to.  It's name is Logan.)

The experienced 'Bounty Hunter' does not seem bothered by the fact that her steel companion has been reduced to useless pieces of junk, she's not even surprised at the peculiar passage of time.

Gravity will pull out her magically infused Shortbow which has intricate patterns etched on its surface along with a centrally positioned ruby (Ruby of the War Mage). She uses the weapon as a cane while holding one side of it to keep the other tip away from her body, then she will frequently use the tip of the bow to tap the surface of the passage and floor. She's been attempting to detect the presence of secret doors.

Intelligence: Investigation 10 (Advantage from 'Dungeon Delver' feat)

(@Wile_E_Coyote, Does Gravity have her own Mechanical Guide from Thessalar?)

Kili focuses on the red pigment. A chill runs down her spine making the blue, green and purple scales on her body shimmer. She needs to investigate what is at the bottom of that pit. 
she looks around at the others in the group but can’t see Tetrevess any where. The others she has not yet had a chance to speak with more than a introduction so she is not sure she can confide in them.

Instead she says out loud. “What a fascinating piece of art. I’ll go and take a closer look”

She will then, as calmly and nonchalantly as she possibly can, walk over to the group of muralists. She will stand an look at the mural for a minute or two, not quite understanding the motives.

”You do excellent work, I have never seen something like this in my life” she said to the closest tiefling. “Do you mind if I document it as part of my studies on dryfolks?” she asks and before she gets an answer she takes out pen and paper and pretend to write down a description of the mural in sylvan. Hoping the tie fling doesn’t speak it. 

She inches her way closer to the pit, pretending that she needs to take in a different point of view of the mural.

Deception: 3

Tetrevess (appearing as himself now, but with his spell still active if needed) comes around the corner to join the group in the cave.  “Thanks Barrill for the help. That was close.  I will be more careful.  I think my mind is still a bit scrambled from being stone yesterday.”    (Prior to coming in, he cast mage armor on himself).  

Raeland follows in, keeping himself in more or less the path that Gravity is tapping out. Seeing the Triton head over to the pit where the 'red dye' has appeared from, he casually casts his glance at the Tieflings watching their reactions if any.

Gravity briefly examines the expressions of Barril and Tetrevess, then she kneels down beside one of the pits while turning her back towards the two men, it's nothing but an attempt to mask her own facial expressions. She starts a conversation while making tapping noise on the floor:

"For how long have you been working for Moghadam? You must know your way around the place like the back of your hands."

She pauses abruptly to stare at the container that holds fresh blood and comments:

"It looks like they're running out of red pigment...by the way, what was that jeweled skull?"

“I’m new.  I joined right before our doomed expedition to the Temple- only a couple days ago- although to be honest it seems like much longer.  This is my first time to this Construction site.” Tetrevess replies, while he also , carefully,  looks into the pit.