OOC: Assuming Briny and Uragum are ready to follow as well.

Leaving the small room, you find that a majority of the bookshelves in the nearby hall have also toppled over, causing a domino effect that has rippled through the Archives. "Master Openrael is not going to be pleased with the prospect of cleaning up this mess," Cassra gasps.

Once out in the hallway, Cassra slows. "That door leads deeper into the Archives," she says, pointing to a door visible around 40 feet away, then wincing in pain and grabbing at her arm. There is no clear path to the door, with a mess of bookshelves scattered across the ground between you. "That has to be where our killer went, since we didn't run into them on our way to finding Garda. I'm afraid I must turn back. I believe my arm may have been broken in the chaos," she says.

Does the trail lead that way?

OOC: That would line up with the direction that Sylyra was headed.

Hex gives Cassra a sympathetic look and pulls out some spare clothes. Gesturing to her broken arm, Hex asks, "Do you think you can stick around, just for a little longer? I can try and make a sling to ease the pain a bit. Not the best but at least its something? I'd just rather we not be left alone in here without a guide. I'd also rather not have you head back by yourself without any protection. You might bump into the killer or you could get caught by another earthquake."

Cassra shakes her head. "Someone will need to update Master Openrael on what we've found, and you won't catch up to our killer with me slowing you down. Finding an entrance to the Library shouldn't be nearly as difficult as it was to find Garda," she says, her face turning down at the mention of the murdered scribe.

"No problem, be safe Cassra." Hex gives Cassra a reassuring pat on the back before turning back to the door. Looking at the mess of bookshelves in front on them, Hex steps forward first and attempts to climb over them, careful to try and not damage the books anymore than they've already been. 

"Such a waste..." Uragum said with disgust.  "Growing up I had to fight tooth and nail to access a book as they were so sparse and here people wantonly damage them."  He turns to spit but then refrains recalling where he is at.  "Lets get this done."  He too follows Hex.

Aside from slowing down to look back when Cassra first expressed an interest in heading back, Sylyra-dog has continued along the path toward the door.

Briny follows the group, trying not to step on the books as much as possible. She splits her attention between looking for a spot of shelving to step on and keeping up with the group.

OOC: Sorry for the delay, got swamped at the end of the week.

Climbing over the bookshelves to reach the door takes a little time, but isn't terribly difficult. When Cassra sees that the door is unlocked and you are able to access the stairs, she nods, then heads back toward the main level of the Library, along with the light of her lantern.

The stairway leads down for a short time before opening up into a larger room, colder and more damp than the Archives above. Distant moans, scuttling, and scratching greet you in the darkness.

OOC: For those without darkvision, what will the party's light source be (It's been hours since your initial arrival, so Hex's torch from earlier would have extinguished).

Sylyra-dog waits for someone to produce some light before continuing to follow the trail.

Hex will wait for everyone to catch up before bringing out another torch. "Sounds like there may be some undead down here. The light is gonna attract them so be ready for a fight." When everyone is ready to go, she'll light up the torch

OOC: Removed torch from Hex's inventory.

Hex's torch reveals the huge room that you've entered, littered with the ruined remains of bookshelves, desks, and other furniture. The ceiling is 15 feet high at the outer edges and vaults up to 30 feet high in the center of the room, which is itself an enormous square, 100 feet to a side. The toppled shelves extend 40 or so feet out from the walls (considered difficult terrain). The middle of the room is barren, but is blackened with the soot of century-old flames, and charred bones are strewn about.

A huge hole appears to have been blasted into the far wall. The ground there is littered with bricks and debris.

OOC: Ready to advance once the next action is taken.

Hex takes a quick look around to see if she can spot the source of the noises they heard before or any other potential enemies. If it seems there aren't any nearby, she'd continue to lead the group towards the hole blasted in the far wall, careful to check their surroundings for any traps.

Sylyra follows the trail. He isn't going to leave the light, but will "help" lead as long as that's the way the trail is leading.

Uragum nods in agreement ready to continue.

(If mage armor is down, he will cast it.  Otherwise I believe I requested it up before entering the archives)

OOC: Uragum's mage armor is indeed still active.

Seeing only shadows from the torchlight, Hex moves the party forward with Sylyra toward the hole in the far wall - until the shadows themselves begin to move.

As you reach the center of the room, three shadows along the wall move from the wall itself and throw themselves toward you.

Initiative:

Hex and Sylyra are able to back away from the oncoming shadows, but Uragum, noticing his slightly late, is engulfed by one. Momentarily, he feels strength and life being sapped from him in the shadow's presence, but he pulls himself free, ready to strike back.

Round 1 Order:
Shadows
Players <=====

Placement:
All combatants are within movement range.

Health:
Briny is lightly wounded.
Hex is lightly wounded.
Sylyra is lightly wounded.
Uragum is lightly wounded.

DM, you have in the past rolled for my wild shape hp. I don't believe you've done that for this shape. I might be wrong.

Sylyra in his "big dog" form, decides to try fighting back with his teeth. He lunges at the nearest shadow with a growl.

Bite attack: 15 Damage: 6

If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 11 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.