Grugga offers to take watch. Despite still being wounded, all his injuries are cared for for the moment - there's nothing else he can do except get some real sleep ((out of hit dice)).

"Hopefully whatever Deinochlorodon detected is still waiting for us." He says as he keeps an eye out the front doorway. "I wonder why it's all these things in this building." He points to the horde of dead chokers. "It's almost like these Breach creatures have factions, or something. I would have expected them to all be working together... but I suppose it makes sense." The artificer purses his lips like he's trying to make timelines and theories reconcile in his head.

The young noble nods his head in agreement. "It would of course be invaluable for the expedition to find someone we can communicate with that can divulge more about the breach and how these various strains of aberrations are organized." Aubrey says from his vigilant position watching the stairs while communicating with Furvus.

Aubrey:

 Leelan can can spend an hour examining the Chokers' remains.  He can make a Nature check.

     "Animals each have their own territory and keep others out," Raqisat notes to Grugga when he brings up the question of why this building is infested with these creatures.  "Could be nothing more than like sticking together for protection..."

Nature: 10

Grugga nods at Raqisat, agreeing, "Sure. I guess I just hadn't thought of them as animals... I expected them to be more like, I don't know, an organized invading force."

Leelan:

With this ample amount of subjects, along with your own - ahem - close proximity evaluations of their abilities and behaviors, you glean remarkable insight into these aberrations.  Had you more time, you daresay you could put together the cornerstone whitepaper on Chokers.  As it is, you are confident that you have learned enough to satisfy the mission objection, at least with regard to these particular creatures:

• You know everything on the monster page for chokers.  Not the actual game mechanics, of course, but an idea of what it can do and how much damage it can inflict, or receive before it falls.
• You gather, based on their behavior during the battle, that these are not coordinated pack hunters, but seem to have gathered here to rest or hibernate.  None of the ones you examined had any food at all in what passes for their digestive system, which might account for the mad dash to attack you all.  
• They don't seem much more intelligent than beasts, and appear suited to be ambush predators.
• You probably know just about anything else you could want to know about these, if you have additional questions.

As the afternoon passes, Aubrey conducts a sweep of the upper floors of the tower.  Having his familiar identify the location of individual Chokers, then casting his spell to summon the dark void upon them... resting an hour and then repeating the process.  As night falls, he clears the last of the Chokers within the Praetorium Magisterium.

Picking through the dim light of dusk, the party is able to explore without harassment.

The second floor of the tower is as open and vast as the first.  It was the main legislative floor; an Ampitheater with a raised speaking platform and rows of desks throughout.  At the center of the platform, a white marble orb the size of a grapefruit rests on a pedestal at the center.  Aubrey is familiar with this device from seeing a similar one back in Bardstown.  It is paired with marble strips on all of the desks in the room.  When one places his or her hand on the orb and speaks, any who are touching the strip on their desk are able to hear the speaker clearly, despite their distance or other noises in the chamber.  Otherwise, the room is empty but for piles of filth and few dead and desiccated Chokers.

The upper levels are mazes of winding halls, staircases, small offices and conference rooms.  There are some rooms with records, however a cursory inspection doesn't find anything historically significant.  The papers and scrolls left behind - those that are still in good enough condition to read - seem to be correspondence, letters, meeting minutes, and other mundane records.  More time could be spent searching this, if you are so inclined.  There are also some simple items found upstairs: ink jars and quills, reams and reams of paper, wax seals and sealing presses, and a good amount of furniture.  Some offices just have basic desks and chairs, while others have gorgeous antique writing desks or bookshelves that would surely fetch a fortune, if only one could salvage it from this place.

There are also remains throughout the upstairs.  You never come across any complete skeletons, but here and there you find odd bones, teeth, feathers or other remains.  All are picked clean.  At least a few appear to be human.  

The only area you cannot easily access is what seems to be a large conference room on the second-from-top floor.  It was barricaded by survivors, who seem to have perished inside.  Furvus can enter and see a half-dozen dried out corpses sitting in chairs or sitting on the floors with their backs against the wall.  They appear to be a mix of humans and elves.

Aubrey would carry out the slow and diligent extermination of the pesky aberrations with no small satisfaction, although if Leelan deems it helpful to his information gathering, Aubrey would suggest the team catches the last aberration alive for further study. Otherwise he would send Furvus to examine the barricaded conference room to see if there is anything that should be salvaged in there.

Furvus perception: 5
Furvus investigation: 20 

Either way he would bring back with him a wax seal as a personal memento from this visit.
After this he would suggest the team retires for the day and return to the pick up point for a well-deserved dinner and rest on the Golden Empress.

With the party having decided to end the exploration for the day, Leelan spends the better part of the afternoon scribbling and doodling on pages that are soon added to his manuscript. He takes ample notes and makes many sketches of the Chockers’s physiognomy. With so many subjects to study, the gnome has more than enough material to work with. 

He seems very much in his element in this gruesome endeavor. In fact, some of the party members might even catch him attempting to whistle while he works. 

"I do say, this encounter will have proved to be quite productive. However, I do find it unfortunate that we can’t bring back one of their appendages to send back to the emperor. I fear by the time it reaches Bardstown, it’ll have spoiled and decayed beyond use."

     "We'll need see if we can't find you a book on taxidermy," Raqisat quips in response to Leelan.

     While picking through the offices and such upstairs Raqisat, of course, keeps an eye out for anything valuable or interesting.  Alas he finds nothing both portable and profitable.  He does consider the marble orb despite not knowing it's purpose but decides he has no need to weigh himself down with what he assumes is nothing more than a knickknack. He scans the books a bit, books can be valuable to the right buyer but he's half as much also just looking for one that mentions taxidermy as a joke for Leelan... But I assume he finds nothing of real interest.

     "It is starting to turn dark," he notes when appropriate.  "We camping in the wilds tonight or heading back to the boat?"

With Aubrey certain of his easy success in the rooms and halls above, Grugga decides to stay near the front entrance and keep an eye out for trouble. He's probably the worst suited to this task, given that years of staring at sparks and explosions in loud workshops have dramatically dulled his sight and hearing; nonetheless, the Orc dutifully sits on the massive steps leading up to this old seat of government and tinkers with Zap while his companions do their work. Fortunately, the afternoon passes without incident.

However, once evening falls and Aubrey finishes his task, Grugga jumps up to explore the rest of the building. He walks the halls and room and especially the amphitheater with an appropriate sense of wonder. As Aubrey explains the use of the marble orb and strips, Grugga notes that the team could use this. "It's like a one-way sending stone, right? This could be useful if one of us has to go off alone while exploring." He looks to Leelan, imagining the Gnome being the only one to squeeze into some tight space.

((DM, can we remove these stones with some tools? I have a crowbar, hammer and pitons, thieves' tools, smiths' tools, jewelers' tools, artisans' tools...))

While he's exploring the place, the artificer keeps his eyes out for signs of what originally invaded this place - with Leelan's preternatural knowledge of chokers, does it seem like there's any damage to the walls, floor, furniture, etc. that couldn't be attributed to them or humanoids? Investigation: 22

Finally, Grugga would like to attempt to break through the barricaded doors. "These poor fellows have been rotting away in here for ages... the least we could do is give them a proper burial. Maybe not tonight, but some time..." He turns to Raqisat, "Could you give me a hand with this door?" Grugga uses the help action with his crowbar to help pry the door open while Raqisat forces it open.

While working on the door, he makes idle chat with Cosette and Raqisat. "I suppose this is just another day for you two. Have you ever been in ruins like this before? I'm in awe of the place..."

"That is not a bad idea Raqisat, maybe we can find some means in Amnifortis to preserve some parts of the aberrations we slay to bring tgem back to the Emperor." The young noble says with an encouraging tone. "We return to the rendez-vous point with the Empress and spend the night there as planned. With the threat of the Vrocks gone we should be safer there than anywhere else around here." 

"If we can find a way to bring the objects with us I agree they might prove useful, and possibly quite valuable too if we bring them to a collector back in Bardstown." Aubrey answers Grugga. "I appreciate your concern for the dead but I don't think we will be able to put all corpses we find in these ruins into the ground." He adds in a polite but a bit doubtful tone. "We shouldn't stay here after dark though and it's not long before we need to head back to the Empress."

“I’m curious ‘bout what’s on the other side of them doors.” Cosette admits. “An’ I’m willing teh help Grugga with the burial.” She could play a respectful tune to help put them to rest. “He’s more the body guy.” She gestures to the anthropologist with her thumb. Cos tries to reflect back on what she knew of the ruins of this place, or places like it. 

The young noble nods, and with a slight reluctance he gets ready to help out too, although he would be adamant about getting back to the Empress before dark.

     "Unique enough," Raqisat responds to Grugga.  "Not used to so many abominations and unworldly threats when I do my work, honestly..." That said, Raq is more than happy to assist in breaking down doors and such.  He does scoff a bit at grave digging though... At least tonight.

     "There's still plenty of unknown critters out in the wild and dark is coming on soon enough, I don't think we've time to be burying them now.  Someone saying a few words over them, a song to help them sleep," Raq adds with a nod to Cosette. "But proper burial?  I fear that's likely going to have to be someone else and definitely some other time."

((To quote DM - "As night falls, he clears the last of the Chokers within the Praetorium Magisterium."  So really no time if we want to get back to the boat before full night.))

[Narrator's voice:  'But it was already dark.']

As Grugga examines the damage to the building, most of the scratches and claw marks he sees could be attributed to Chokers.  The only things that don't fit:

• There are some... 'nests' for lack of a better term, near the corners of the ceiling of the great ground floor room.  Just collections of debris woven and wedged wherever they will hold up.  They are larger than birds' nests - and you still have seen astonishingly few birds anywhere in the ruins.
• On the first and second floors, there are places where the stone appears to have been scorched as if by magic.  There are gouges where it seems as if the marble itself has been blasted away by force, and other areas where it seems to have been melted.  Though, it is possible this was done by powerful magic users defending themselves against what must have been a nightmarish onslaught when the Breach occurred....

Aubrey's familiar doesn't see much of obvious value behind the barricaded door, though it is very dark inside (its an interior room with no windows).  Even looking through its eyes with his darkvision, Aubrey can only see a room of lonely corpses and muted color-blind drabness.

Cosette knows this was the 'legal' heart of the ancient city.  True power rested with the Prince, who shared control of the Empire with the rulers of the other five great cities.  But this building is where the nobles and their representatives met to pass laws and decide disputes among themselves.  Also, many diplomatic events would be held here... anything lesser than a head of state visit, which would likely have been handled at the Prince's castle instead. 

Grugga and Raqisat have little trouble forcing the door open.  Behind it, desks, chairs and shelves had all been piled up.  Forcing it all aside, they are able to reach the interior.  The room is still, with a few motes of dust lingering in the air.  The silence in the chamber is broken only by the sound of your own footsteps echoing off the stone walls.  As their eyes adjust to the dim light filtering in from the hallway, the full extent of the tragedy that unfolded in this room becomes painfully clear.

The chamber is a grim tableau frozen in time, resembling more a tomb than a place of refuge.  The room is devoid of windows, shrouding its occupants in perpetual darkness.  Dust and cobwebs coat every surface.  In the center of the chamber lies a large conference table, its surface obscured by layers of dust and debris. Seated around the table are the dry, desiccated remains of four souls, their gaunt figures frozen in eternal repose. Another two are slumped against a wall.  Altogether, four human men, their once-powerful frames reduced to skeletal husks; a lone human woman, her emaciated form hunched forward as if in silent prayer, her fingers interlocked in a gesture of desperate hope.

At the head of the table sits the final occupant of the chamber, an elven woman whose slim, pale face is the only one that retains a trace of the beauty it held in life.  Her delicate features are frozen in a mask pain, mouth slightly agape.  Alone among these people, she would have been the only one able to see in the darkness, watching as the others slowly fell to hunger and thirst, trapped in their sanctuary.

Advancing into the room, at once you all spot the 7th occupant.  She appears as if from nowhere, a doppelganger of the elf-woman.  Whereas the former was slumped, this one sits upright beside her, though her features are no less deathly.  Her fingers arch, nails lightly scratching the tabletop.  This one seems... erratic, her form ill-defined, as though her body cannot decide where it ends and the darkness of the room begins.  She turns to look upon you with empty eyes, and opens her mouth as if to scream...

Initiative:  

Aubrey:  18

Grugga: 7

Raqisat:  17

Cosette: 19

Leelan:  22

Banshee:  18

((Raqisat might have tried talking to her, wondering why she didn't die... but seeing as how she is listed as Banshee on the initiative list...))

     "We've a live one," Raqisat calls out and closes the distance between them while pulling his weapons intent on changing that fact...

Radiant Whip Attack:  15 to hit for 5 magical slashing damage...
Bonus Action Scimitar Attack:  25 to hit for for 9 slashing damage...

The young noble's eyes goes wide in both surprise and fear as he watches the undead elven woman appears out of the darkness, reflexively calling upon the powers of his talisman to send twin golden beams of eldritch crackling force towards it before scarmbling to get away from her, as far as possible.

Eldritch Blast: 25 Force: 6
Eldritch Blast: 19 Force: 13


(Intelligence check to realize this is in fact a Banshee, although the clues are all there I guess, in which case he would also cover his ears for what it's worth.)

Cosette feels a cold chill down her spine, peppering her body in goose bumps. It was time to play. "She looks like a screamer, boys." Cos notes the gaping mouth. "Pucker up an' git yer plugs. It's time teh prepare fer a wild ride." She immediately goes for the earplugs Grugga had created for them, sticking them in her ears.

Action: Countercharm
(As an action, you can perform until the end of your next turn. During that time, you and any friendly creatures within 30 ft. that can hear you gain advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed)
BA if I may: Grugga's plugs

"Good thinking, Cos! Better safe than sorry!" Grugga doesn't know what this creature is - though it reminds him of "Ms. Umn" from the Umbridge manor.

((Are earplugs an action or bonus action?))

Action: Earplugs if they're an action, otherwise...

Attack 1: 13; 9 magical slashing
Attack 2: 14; 6 magical slashing

He keeps a hand free for shield

Attack: 18 Damage: 11

Either way ((not part of the BA)), Grugga places Zap so that it can attempt to deflect a melee attack from the ghost.