Tabaqui drawls, "So here's the deal.  You've been stuck in here a long time.  Sylvene and Waltarn had a son, who grew up and had a son of his own.  Only that grandson of Sylvene's turned out to be a sociopath bent on conquering or destroying the world with the Stone of Creation, which he found here, in this crypt.  That's why the spirit sent us here, to try and find some way of stopping the brat from becoming the dark lord of everything.  Now normally I'm not much of a do-gooder, but I like my world the way it is, and I'm not interested in this Tyreus being in charge of it."

Hamish seems surprised.  "Little Tarin has a son?  He.. It must be decades since I was imprisoned in these lithic bonds.  So, Waltarn knows of his grandson and sent you here.  I don't know kw what he hopes to find here.  Sylvene and I trusted each other to the death.  I dont think she would keep such things from me.  They must have found d something about this place we missed as we fled.  That still doesn't explain how you have already been inside as you claim."

The galeb duhr interject, "Giant," one offers.  "At last you show signs of life.  You were rhe only stone whi h did not speak to us and now, you speak you move.  And yiu have these kindly folk to thank for it.  We did let them in, by way of some stone structure on the other side if rhe hill."

Hamish considers, "the serpent Shrine opens to the well?  So can thise things csn get out?!" He seems alarmed, but still and quiet. 

"No, no.  We know things down there not like the undermoor.  We sealed it up once these folk emerged." The gsleb duhr assures the giant.

"That settles it.  If Sylvene's grandson is the harbinger of doom you. Lair him to be, it is no doubt because waltsrn was not there to guide him.  For that, I am responsible.  If only I had not looked back, as I sealed the entrance.  I will go with you.  Whatever lies beyond this barrier, I must face it.  If you ha e rid the place of snakes, I fear that the guardians have already departed, but if they linger, I must face them with you."

<If you're all ready either Hamish or the galeb duhr can move rhe rocks blocking the way.  FYI, Hamish has 11 hp (significantly less than his hp maximum), so I imagine he looks a bit rough.>

Edit: also, his size is 'huge' so the axe is scaled for that.  From the DMG: "You can rule that a weapon sized for an attacker two or more sizes larger is too big for the creature to use at all." At a minimum it's disadvantage but it does triple dice damage, so the possibility is there, but those are rhe mechanics around it.

Marlyth will set the spider webs on fire when she casts Druidcraft on the flammable strings in order to illuminate the interior of the dark cave. The wild companion has advantage on perception check.

(@Brian_Avery, thanks for the inspiration)

"My gianty friend, you are looking a little run down, let me help you."

"Naralis Analor, I call upon your aid spare this soul from deaths embrace until it is his time to meet the darkness." The rabbit girl's hands glow and dark tendrils sooth the pain from Hamish and sew his wounds closed.

Channel Divinity for 45hp healing on Hamish the giant.

"Thank you, new friend.  That feels refreshing.  It has been a long day.  Csn I offer you a snack?" He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a handful of several full sized trail rations, which fit easily into his hand, which he hold out in offer.

<feel free to roleplay this further, but I am going ro keep the game play moving forward now>

... once the spider webs have been burned away and the Stone moved aside by the galeb duhr, who animate the huge rocks, then rolling off in their own, a 30ft wide cylindrical well is revealed.  Other than the light cast by the ball bearing and the small bit spilling in from behind you, it is completely dark.  The ball bearing, by the way has rolled its way to the center of the ... ceiling?  Looking at the design of the art, it's clear that that roof if the space, where the ball now rests, was designed as a floor. 

<Most of you already know this space.>

Something was held in place on a plinth down/up there, but now it's gone.   At rbe center us a 10ft metal seal (it looks to be silver).  There are also several *3 metal arms protruding from the sides of the well, but whatever was held in the center is now gone.

The shaft is co strutted if neatly cut and placed stones.  Aside from from entrance Hamish was guarding, there are 2 other cusmbers off of the central shaft: the snakes den, and the entrance under the Shrine.  By this point you've been to both if those locations and the ceiling/floor.  Assuming the hawk flew 'down' down, it's now at the opening you observed earlier, but can't see in the darkness. 

<Here's a map.  No initiative at the moment, so anyone and everyone may post at will>

"So where are we trying to get to?" Tauzin asks. "The far end I presume?" 

Tabaqui will begin the climb past the snake chamber to what appears to be an opening in the 'ceiling'.

Acrobatics 11

(edit- yikes!)

Angus will follow the rogue, climbing the wall (Is it acrobatics or just a dex check?)

Marlyth seems delighted by the fact that her wild companion is unharmed, and she will transfer the Hawk to the pocket dimension. Then she will use her 'Wildshape' feature to assume the form of a Giant Lizard and help everyone climb down the well.

Walks follows the group as best she can

Athletics 16

As the rest of the group moves,  Tauzin follows in climbing towards the opening.

(Acrobatics: 28)

The walls in the well are easy enough to climb, the stones being magically placed, they are so perfectly regular that they almost feel like the rungs if a ladder 🪜

As you near the hole at the bottom of the well, you look down to see light reflected back, as if rhe surface is wet.  In fact, yiu csn see gentle ripples on the surface if the pool.  Despite the fact that it is above you,  relative to the pull if Gravity, or whatever it is in thus well that pulls yiu skyward, the water overhead does not fall upon you.

"Heres the tricky part" Hamish offers, *You gotta kind turn and twist like this." The huge giant contort himself to flip around at rhe mouth of the cavern.  Hanging from the ledge, he plops down adjacent to the pool.  In this areas, gravity is pulling the same as it did on the surface.

The floor here is hidden in a dark-red liquid with the consistency of thin mud. Something like algae clouds it, too. A musty, slightly sweet pond-scum smell fills the air.

This area is within a walled structure.  Being underground seeming to obviate the need for any sort of roof. You stand in what appears to be an inner court of a small castle.  Looking around a bit, you find what appear to be living chambers and one ornate ceremonial chamber.

The former is eerily empty. A layer of rock dust and stray earth blankets the space. Nothing has moved through this area in a long, long time.

In the ceremonial chamber: a stone chair is the only furniture in this colorful room. It stands in the center of the space, beneath the peak of a vaulted ceiling. The walls are hung with once-lavish, rotting silks and abstract tapestries. The vaulted ceiling is painted with a flaking mural across four sections, portraying a tale of humanoid figures and a black slab of stone marbled with gold. From the ceilingwhere the four sections join, someone has hung a single metal chime on a simple cord.

Walks examines the mold to see if it is dangerous.

Nature roll 6

Survival roll 15

Angus will investigate the chair, and if he finds nothing too traplike, will sit in it.

Investigation 17

The water is 2 feet deep and the bottom is covered with pieces of broken statues.  Walks sniffs at the moldy water and decides its probably poisonous.

As she kneels to examine the pool, Walks notices something glittery at the north edge of the water, amid lose rocks on the ground.  It's some kind of brooch, stylized in the image of a snake.

Angus sits on the stone chair, finding it rather uncomfortable.  Presumably it once had a nice cushion atop, but alas, no longer.  As he looks around rhe room, eventually he glances up at the ceiling and gets a good look at the mural overhead.

The ceiling depicts four pieces of lore about the Stone of Creation:

• First, the Stone was placed inside the sphere, depictedby three wizards raising it magically into the grip of the three copper arms while a white male human and a green-skinned gorgon look on.

• Second, the Stone is carried away by tall figures, possibly giants, as depicted by figures that make the human and the gorgon look small by comparison.

They appear to be carrying the stone to a lake or inland sea.

• Third, the human and the gorgon are struck by a curse depicted as green flames that surround their bodies and replace their eyes.

• Fourth, the Stone is shown breaking into pieces by lightning, fire, and wind where a simple silver tuning fork touches it. Beneath it, towers turn to smoke.

Walks casts light on a javelin in order to see better then uses it to fish out the broach from the scum pond.

Tauzan steps over to where the metal chime has been hung.  He takes a close look at it without touching it.  (Investigation: 10)

Lizardlyth will climb up to examine the mural on the ceiling depicting four pieces of lore while attempting to remember any type of magical tradition/religious ritual that involves the exposure of green-flame and transformation of eyes.

Intelligence: Arcana/Religion 4

"Hamish, do any of those murals mean anything to you? recognize anyone?  Seen any silver tuning forks laying around?" wonders Tabaqui, as he gazes up at the ceiling.