Thurodim's dark eyes briefly goes wide with awe as the tower appears before the team, readying Skullcleaver in case the old wizard would suddenly emerge. "Be careful now, we want to end threat to Soft's Rest, not create a new one by setting loose what may be sealed into this tower." He grunts but does not stop Faera from proceeding inside, ready to quietly move in after her to hopefully not disturb what might just be resting.

Stealth: 12
Perception: 20

"Can you guys see this?!  I wonder who left the fire burning?"

Faera cautiously steps inside and takes a good look around.  She especially looks over at the picture above the mantle, and checks out the mosaic underfoot.

The painting is a rather bombastic, dramatic portrayal of a human male, clearly a wizard. Book and staff in hand, he looms over the landscape in purple robes, larger than life. In your opinion he looks typical of eastern wizards, especially humans, who tend to over dramatise compared to western Elven wizards, where the emphasis is on combining practicality with beauty.

The mural takes the form of an eight-pointed compass, as you saw in the picture. However instead of the cardinal directions the points bear numbers written in Elven script, 1-6, as well as the Elven script for the letters R and P. The points lead towards archways set into the wall of each of the eight sides of the tower. The P points towards the image of the wizard, followed by the numbers counting clockwise around the compass, ending at the R to the left of the P.

Thurodim, with that perception check, you see all this as well. You likely recognise the script on the mural as Elven, but being unable to read the language you don't know what the symbols mean. At Faera's mention of the fire you go to have a look and see that it is formed of a neat pile of perfectly cut logs, all of which seem entirely untouched by the fire that crackles around them. Within the fire, on the logs, you see shimmering red specks. You're no expert, but you would judge it to be ruby dust. You also realise that you feel no warmer standing by the fire - it gives off no heat at all

Mala follows inside the tower,  taking a look about the place herself.  (Perception: 9)

"Magic." Thurodim snorts and walks the perimater of the chamber, scanning it for threats, Skullcleaver at the ready. He has a suspicion the elven symbols are important, but that were for others to figure out while he watched for signs of the peryton or that old wizard in the painting.

Perception: 8 

Ghurr moves into the chamber with the others and looks about. He spares a glance at the lettering on the floor but it doesn't mean anything to him and ignores it.

"Who's wizard?" Ghurr asks. "Think he one that was imprisoned? This way he remember what look like?"

He spins around the room, looking at all the doorways then shrugs.

"Which way?" Ghurr again asks then points in the direction of the wizard. "That way? Maybe like big road sign."

"I'm not the biggest expert on how magical stuff works. But let's not jump into something and release this old wizard," Mala says.  She turns to look at Faera. "This is perhaps your area of expertise. Any thoughts one what is going on?  Could the doors be some sort of magic portal?" 

Faera stares at the mosiac on the floor and then relays the numbers and R and P that are in elvish to the others.  She then walks over to the mural that Thurodim was looking at assuming he points it out, and deciphers the elvish.  

Hearing Ghurr ask about the wizard picture, "Probably?  He definitely isn't dressed like a wizard from where I come from.  This man has no sense of style." and she flips her hair with her hand as she says so.

Turning to Mala, "Yeah, we definitely need to be careful here."  

Arcana  9

Mala gives Faera a small smile. "Not everyone can be as stylish as you, Faera."  She waits for her to consider the mosaic and doors.

(That arcana check was mainly to look at the mosaic and doors and anything else that seemed to make sense)

A high roll!

As there are no stairs anywhere visible in the room, you pair this with your knowledge of magic to ascertain that the empty archways are almost certainly short range gateways to the other floors and rooms. The floor mural is likely the key to activating them. This is high level magic, and someone capable of this, or capable of employing someone capable of this, will not want to mess about with activation phrases just to go up and down floors. It is likely as simple as starting in the middle and moving in the direction you desire.

You judge that the numbers relate to the floors of the tower. What R and P might relate to, impossible to tell at this stage. Other floors? Other locations?

Quote from Oberon99 >>

"Magic." Thurodim snorts and walks the perimater of the chamber, scanning it for threats, Skullcleaver at the ready. He has a suspicion the elven symbols are important, but that were for others to figure out while he watched for signs of the peryton or that old wizard in the painting.

Perception: 8 

 The room is still and quiet. You neither hear or see anything that would suggest any creatures beside yourselves are close by.

Confident there are no mundane exits or threats that he can grasp in the chamber, Thurodim returns to stand by Faera'a side, hoping the elf will figure out whether and how the team should proceed.

Faera smiles brightly at Mala, unsure if she is being sarcastic or not, but not really minding either way, "Why thank you!"

"Ok... so it looks like this mosiac with numbers and a few letters most likely take us to the floors of the tower.  I don't want to just start playing with magic knowing that there could be something dark lurking.." she glances at the wizard painting over the fireplace as she says this.

"I think I'll start with floor 1?  The R might mean the roof, but as for the P.. could it be a prison level, below maybe?  Anyways, I'll call out for you to follow if you want once it hopefully works?"  she smiles finding the whole situation interesting and a bit absurd, but her curiosity trumps all.

She walks to the middle of the mosaic, then heads directly for the 1, her pace not slowing as she intends to just walk over it. 

As he slowly realizes the elf is intending to let herself be teleported into some unknown place, Thurodim's eyes goes wide with worry and he reaches out to stop Farera, but is too slow.

Ghurr watches it all. He loves talk of magic and is curious about it but just doesn't understand most of it. But as soon as she starts to move, he gets in step behind her.

"Maybe let Ghurr or Thurodim go first?" Ghurr says. "You smart. Maybe we need smart to survive. Ghurr good at getting hit. Let Ghurr go first."

Faera smiles up at the big bugbear and nods, letting him slide beside her and she follows right on his heels.

Ghurr continues in the direction that Faera has started on, across the number 1, and if nothing happens, continuing in a straight line through the archway directly ahead of the number 1.

Seeming relieved that Faera isn't the one to go first into the unknown, Thurodim stands ready to follow Ghurr.

As you walk from the centre of the mural, over the Elven number, the number begins to glow beneath your feet. The archway immediately in front of you shimmers and fills with an image of a smaller room. From this angle you can see another mural on the floor, and another archway in the opposite wall next to a wooden door.

Do you still continue through?

(Speaking mostly to Ghurr here, as he is in front.)