The door silently, lightly swings inward to reveal the home of the Senior Avowed. From the doorway you gaze into that is the picture of utter chaos. Clothing and books are strewn across the floor and draped chaotically across the furniture. 

The layout is very similar to Ludolf's room at the mansion. The door opens into elegant common room with a fireplace flanked by two large wing back on the right. To the left is a large dark wooden bookcase. The books are in complete disarray along the shelves with many have spilled onto the floor. The floor is a dark wood with a finely woven soild grey rug laying between the library portion and the fireplace. Directly across from the door is a peaked arch way that leads into another area of the residence that you can't quite see from here. Flanking the archway are two brass busts whose features you can not make out from where you are standing. 

Daventry does not see any danger beyond the stray books laying on the floor. A clear tripping hazard if you ever did see one.

"Well... not gonna lie, but my gut's telling me this kind of chaos is very much not to Matreous' normal character..." Daventry says, looking around the room, one hand resting on the hilt of her blade. She closes her eyes a moment, as if resting. "What sings to me here, o' room?" She opens her eyes again, and looks at the room, walking carefully amongst the fallen books to the busts, glancing over the two brass figures to see if there are any tricks or traps about them.

Investigation: 18

"Yes, I agree," Triäsa says. "Just like the office."  She had taken a step into the room behind Daventry to look around, but she glances back towards Ludolf. "Had you checked Matreous to see if perhaps the intellect devourer had gotten to him?" 

She then continues into the room to look about, hoping perhaps to find what he might have been working on.  She'll start though by wandering over the chairs by the fire to see if anything is there. (Investigation: 11)

Not much for details, Pardot instead walks into the middle of the room, takes a deep breath, and just opens his senses… something clearly this isn’t right, and he’s hoping he can see some pattern in the madness… Are there any things that are *not* all messed up? Some shelves more so? Does it look ransacked by a familiar hand or a foreign one? Any simple deductions he can make from the overall shape of the room?

perception 24

Ludolf steps inside Matreous quarters after the others, carefully moving around the disaster area. "I believe I scanned him early on as we started our hunt for the Intellect Devourer but he could of course have been one of it's victims after that. Something definitely seems to have happened to him." The old man agrees with a nod as he looks around for any clues to this mystery.

Investigation: 10 Guidance: 1

(Is it possible to determine approximately how long since this intolerable disarray occured?)

You all enter the room and step carefully across the books and clothing strewn about. Triäsa looks carefully at the fireplace and can tell it has not been lit in a few days and it also has not been cleaned. A thick layer of ash and char litter the fireplace, nothing appears salvageable. 

Ludolf based on what you see you can not tell how long the room has been in this condition. The fireplace is long cold so a few days?

Pardot you look at the room carefully and take in the chaos and it dawns on you very quickly, this is not chaos... This is very intentional, the books the documents are thrown about but they are almost all thrown in the center of the room, not neatly in a pile mind you, but certainly they seem to be laid here with some degree of intention. The clothing are much more chaotic and perhaps this was done to hide the organization of the books in the center of the room. You ponder this for a moment as Daventry looks at the busts...

The busts are of two different human men. The one on the right is a man with large, square jaw and rather pronounced overbite. His features are otherwise gaunt as if he were a bit undernourished. His hair is short and parted neatly to his right. He has a prominent nose between two wide set eyes. He is maybe 30 or so. The second bust is a younger, handsome man. He has longer, wiry hair that is a mess atop his head. His face wears an expression of concern on his softer features. 

You don't recognize either man and there are no name plates on either bust.

Just as your gaze finishes taking in both busts their heads jerk to meet your eyes. The bronze statues smirk deviously as a sudden blue glow from under the books and rug can be very faintly seen by all of you... Just before the glyph erupts into a giant fireball.

Given Pardot's roll you may all have advantage on your Dex Save as he saw the strangeness. You are all caught within the blast

DC17 Dex Save from everyone please.

On a fail take 29 Fire Damage and half on success.

Daventry Dex Save: 22

Daventry attempts to roll out of the way, interposing her shield between her and the scorching heat.

(If anyone is within 10 feet of me, they get a +2 to their save. I dont think anyone was, though)

As Ludolf notices the sudden blue glow from under the books and rug his gray piercing eyes goes wide and he throws himself to get Triäsa out of the way of the blast.

Dex save: 19

"Everyone get down!" Pardot yells, trying to dodge the cleverly hidden trap.

dex save: 17

(Triäsa DEX Save: 16)

The room erupts in flames, Pardot and Triäsa are burned badly while Ludolf and Daventry manage to roll to safety avoiding the worst of the flames. The books and papers in the center of the room are vaporized in an instant. You cough and choke as smoke fills the air as the room burns all around you. 

The other rooms of the apartment beyond the archway and busts have not caught on fire (yet). Pardot can see through the smoke and flames what appears to be writing or scribbling on the walls but can not make out any more from where you are standing. 

You all can try to press on into the other parts of Matreous' home or retreat back into the hallway.

(My in person group loves setting the world on fire... I am not too sure what the actual rules for being in a burning building are but what we generally use 5 fire damage per round in a burning room. Drowning rules apply while you are holding your breath to avoid smoke inhalation, 1+con mod minutes then you fall unconscious,... maybe overly complicated but they are a bunch of unrefined heathens... fire spreads fairly slowly in most cases but this room is made of almost all wood with plenty of kindling scattered about...)

Forgot Fistandia is with you all

Dex Save: 6

"Bah, the madman'll burn the entire keep down with this damnable trap!" Daventry shouts. She looks to the others across the room and closest by the door, especially Triasa who looks pretty badly burned. "Get out of here and get the water brigade!" Daventry clutches a burn on her shield arm, and in the panic barely notices the radiant glow that suffuses from her hand and mends the burnt flesh. (Lay on Hands: 14 healing)

From her position on the opposite side of the room and all the fire, she rushes deeper into the chambers, where the fire has not spread yet. If there's smoke, she'll hold her breath. First, she looks to see if there are any viable secondary exits, then she looks to see if there is an office or bedchamber with perhaps a writing desk...

Perception 20

"Triäsa, we must get out of here!" Ludolf says, trying to get the half-elven bard out into the corridor while trying to figure out a way to save what's left of Matreous' quarters.

Ludolf (and Triäsa if she is willing) exit the room the cool, calm safety of the hallway. Fistandia is close behind coughing and gasping. Her eyebrows gone in the explosion she turns and says, "Well that was unexpected... Come we need help to end these blazes." She coughs clearing the smoke from her lungs and heads down the hallway the way you came yelling, "FIRE FIRE!" as she looks for assistance.

Daventry rushes into the next room, squinting through the smoke that has spread into this area. You see what was once an elegant sleeping area with large poster bed with dark purple and gold drapery and bedding. The bed is in disarray like the rest of the apartment sheets and heavy blankets strewn about the floor ready to go up in flames at any moment. The bed is flanked by two wooden end night stands, there is a footlocker at the foot of the bed and a large armoire along a wall.

The other side of the room appears to be wash area with a basin and ivory tub... unfortunately there is no water in either. There are towels on the hardwood floor as well as clothing all placed to help spread the fire.

While you see all of this quickly, the most striking part of the room are the walls. Not because of the once beautiful purple and gold paint but because of the white chalk graffiti that scrawled ceiling to floor. The script is some language you don't recognize at all. There are drawings of a strange foreign creatures and abominations scatter chaotically among complex (or nonsensical, you can't tell the difference) mathematical equations. You look perhaps too well at these literary ramblings of someone who appears very, very mad. 

You eyes settle on two drawings. 

One is familiar, the trapezohedron. 

One is not. A creature.... you think.... your mind bends trying to grasp the form depicted.... maybe it doesn't have a form but yet it.... has... every form.... A mass of pseudopods or  are they tentacles.... could it be a squid? or an octopus.... no that's not right... it has eyes... everywhere.... maybe it's a star? But why would a star have only one eye? Wait... I thought it had a million eyes.... You stand there fixated on the drawing.... fixated on the.... thing... paralyzed.... You want to run... It's hot in here... Someone should open a window.... Some air would be nice.....  so you can jump out, yes that sounds like a very very good idea. You'll just jump right out the window.... 

Roll wisdom save (I suggest rolling high on this one....)

Pardot pulls a cloth up to his face to help him breath less smoke, and follows Ludolf out, taking a breath of 'fresh' air, and says, "The whole place is set like a campfire... there'll be nothing left..."

Daventry Wisdom: Nat 20 (25 total)

"I... Have I seen something like this before...?" Daventry stammers to no one...

(Roll a nat 20 on a big save? Achievement unlocked...)

Daventry blinks and reality comes crashing back to you. Window? No there is no window in this room, just a very, very hard looking wall.

The heat is growing more intense and as you pull your eyes from the madness you look back and see the flames have spread to the bedroom and are quickly working their way toward you. 

(Daventry can stay and search the room but you will take 5 damage with each action from here forward. Crossing the room will require you get through the flames as well causing 5 damage. Your breath holding clock is at ~1min in)

Triäsa is reluctant to just allow Daventry to go off into the fire within Matreous' home. But she knows she is hurt and needs to get out.  Reluctantly she lets Ludolf help her out of the room.  Seeing Fistandia heading down the hallway, she forces herself up and does the same.  As she moves along, she too is shouting, "FIRE! FIRE! We need help over here!" 

If the group is running for help, Pardot will join, knowing that he can shape water to carry quite a bit back with him, if only he has it to control. So he'll run at full speed to get as much water as possible to float back with him to use to put out as much fire as possible.