Galingal's mouth twitches a little as Jimjar speaks, another hint of a smile perhaps.

He goes inside the lock house to see about getting the lock open, hoping that this mechanism is in better shape than the last one they had to deal with.

At hearing his name be spoken, the usual glaze over his eye seems to flicker away slightly. They look much darker after the hag's spell.

"Hey, my eyes are not going to explode!" he quickly exclaims, huffs, pauses for a second, then adds.

"Probably. Yet." 

"And besides, FOG isn't my name," he says, seeming elated to, apparently, having remembered something of importance. As if to demonstrate, he pulls out the book he's been lugging around since yesterday, but it looks plainly different from then. What was once a plain (actually very dull) history book, now seemed almost inlaid, and the contents shifted, a faintly glowing ink on the inside. Runic spells fill the pages, now, but it is the first page only he wants to point out. Filled with a fancy runic symbol, and then written fancily at the bottom, in common:

[Property of Kolose Liburutegia]

"Koh-lohs? Kolo-see? How's that pronounced? I'm not even gonna take a run at that last name. How much you willing to bet your eyes don't explode, or you go blind or something? Say 5 gold if you make it a week with nothing weird, just being able to see in the dark as well as me?"

((Nothing from Stena's 20 perception if Gal thought he saw something with an 8?))

Stena ignores Jimjar's outburst and walks around checking things. She probably doesn't hear FOG's revelation about his name either.

Not that she'd care that much either.

Kolose points out that it's Kolo-see. He seems at least somewhat confident in that. He also seems somewhat hesitant on the bet however, but that is mostly because at the moment he is completely bankrupt.

"A week with nothing weird... I don't expect I'll be getting off unscathed, mind you. Whatever may happen, may happen early. But I don't expect my eyes to explode, I don't think fae humor is that... Crude."

((Whoops, got so busy with Jimjar getting snarky, I missed Stena's roll.))

"If you're only willing to say 'won't explode', how about 2 gold then?"

Stena's alert eyes see signs that the outpost has been occupied recently, the walks closest to the structure seem to have been traveled somewhat regularly, and the closest two piers show signs of the zhurkwood posts having been subjected to the rubbing of docking ropes, while those farther out seem to have not been tied up to in some time. Along with the vendor stalls that don't seem to have seen much action, she suspects that this was once a more busy trading post, perhaps those who came here to trade via water or the dry tunnels connecting to the switchback have had less reason to travel here. But it would make sense that if they are indeed relatively close to the Duergar capital, that they would have an outpost presence here, no matter how rarely utilized... unless the lock has been disabled long term, in which case, perhaps someone or something else has been living here. She sees no movement of beings within the lockhouse, and smells no cooking fire, just the soft glow of lanternlight. If someone does live here, or is stationed here, would they have a boat to be able to navigate the waters above the lock? They passed no boats or travelers down this winding tunnel, though it's possible that someone could have bypassed you in the eddy where you rested without notice. The draw of the whirlpool is not insubstantial, however, it would take effort... or magic, to travel against its pull up stream. If someone does currently occupy the lockhouse, they don't seem active, despite the lanternlight. That could mean they are resting, or just sitting in a chair reading, for that matter. It may be relatively easy to approach unseen and unheard if they are inattentive, though coming upon them by surprise could bring its own consequences.

After sharing her findings with Gal, Stena goes to examine the damage to the lock system while glancing around.

Investigation: 4

Too many gears on the forge cursed Duergars mechanical monstrosities.

Galingal went to the entrance of the lockhouse to take a look inside to see what he could find to make the lock open.

Kolose considers for a moment, then gives an amicable grin.

"Two gold, I'll take. That... Might have to be an IOU if it happens really soon, I admit, considering my current savings, but," he starts, pauses... Then shows his hand as he displays the fancy ring on it. On it a symbol that to the very astute watcher, is not actually the same as in the book.

"I lose, you get the ring..?"

"Done!"

Over by the door to the lockhouse, Galingal peers in and sees the back of a duergar, sitting in a stuffed chair facing away from the door. A lit lantern hangs from a central beam of the room. The duergar doesn't seem to have taken notice of his approach.

Galingal moves quickly and quietly back to the group. 

"Duergar in the lockhouse," Galingal says. "Alive, dead? Don't know. But maybe they are lockmaster. So lock should work. I'll go ask."

Once he's warned the others of the presence of the duergar, Galingal goes back to the lockhouse and bangs on the door.

"Hello," he calls. "Boat needs to use lock."

There is no response.

Stena will say after the lack of response in dwarven, loudly,

"You there in the chair, we need to use the lock."

If there is a lack of response to this she'll edge around to get a better look at the Duergar's face.

"I think more dead. Not so alive," Galingal says.

Galingal tries opening the door and going inside, keeping an eye out for anyone hiding behind the door out of sight.

"Someone dead? Goodness me, don't say..." FOG- Or Kolose, rather, seems to say with genuine shock. The old man might be in for a rather rough awakening still...

Gal and Stena cautiously enter the building, while Kolose remains nervously outside (?). The duergar figure still doesn't move, though as they get closer, they can see that he's breathing faintly, the white hair of his beard stirring against his dusky skin. As you circle around, you can see he is holding a gray sphere in his lap, clasped in both hands, and seems be looking down at it, though his gaze is somewhat unfocused.

Kolose is dead last to enter, and trails a fair bit behond the others, but eventually does join. Assuming he sees the sphere, does it recall any particular memories?

Arcana: 16

As Kolose steps into the doorway, the blindingly bright light of the lantern makes him wince. After a moment, his eyes adjust a bit, tears running down his wrinkled cheeks, and he's able with a fair bit of squinting and holding a hand to shield him from the lantern, to see the contents of the room. Beyond the windows and doors, he now sees only blackness.

((Kolose still has exhaustion levels, so Arcana at disadvantage: 15))

Kolose doesn't have any memories spring to mind upon seeing the sphere, but noting the duergar's slack expression, and the crust of drool forming on his lower lip, surmises that touching it and/or looking directly at it may be inadvisable.