And you can all take that Short Rest while you’re up here. Although Mayor Ormond won’t want to spend too long in this dungeon if he can help it. He wants to get the children out safely to Orlane. He’ll introduce them as Tye and Zoe, the children of Orlanes carpenter, who recently returned mysteriously to Orlane with his wife, sans children of course. The children will explain they somehow resisted the naga’s gaze, while their parents did not. They still seem very shaken.
Since the whole party other than Liarin is injured, I assume that everyone will be spending some HD to heal. Xanrym will tell a soothing story during the short rest. Instead of an inspiring story about heroic deeds, he just chooses a relaxing, humorous story to take everyone's minds off of the desperate fight against the naga, the stench of the troglodytes, and the death of Toska (and Whiskers!).
Song of Rest: If you or any friendly creatures who can hear your performance regain hit points at the end of the short rest by spending one or more Hit Dice, each of those creatures regains an extra hit points.
No more random encounters. You’ve killed or scared off all the wandering monsters.
You all head back upstairs to where you had the mayor wait with the children and Heckle. As you stomp up the stairs you at first don’t see anything. But after a few worried moments, the Mayor and his enterage emerge from the Troglodyte hovel to the west. He sighs a relief when he sees you, “Thank goodness, we heard a scream from downstairs and moments later had to hide from a group of Troglodytes fleeing up here. I had hoped for the best but prepared for the worst and just kept us in here. Were you successful? No casual…” His eyes focus on Toska’s body on Nithrissa’s back and puts his hand to his head, “I’m so sorry.”
Xanrym thanks the mayor for his kind words and says that he hopes that they yet find a powerful cleric who can resurrect Toska, but the party's first priority is to escort the mayor and the children back to Orlane safely. He and the party inform Mayor Ormond that, yes, they did kill the naga who was at the root of the cult and the cause of all of the trouble in Orlane. They have killed or -- apparently! -- driven off the naga's followers. And with the defeat of the naga, they expect that the people of Orlane should now be free of her enchantment. Xanrym concludes by saying, "But we can talk more about that on the long walk back to Orlane, once we've left this place and The Rushmoors behind and have a good road in front of us!" Xanrym doesn't think that any of them are ready to talk about or relive their desperate battles with the undead, Garath, the troglodytes, or the naga.
Xanrym is back to full HP after the Short Rest, but he doesn't currently regain any resources until he takes a Long Rest:
Xanrym has one LVL-1 spell slot, one LVL-2 spell slot, one metamagic point (probably for twinning the LVL-1 spell slot), and 2 uses of bardic inspiration left.
Xanrym had originally planned to use the afternoon after their rest to fortify this room and barricade the stairs down to the lower dungeon. With the mayor's happy news about the troglodytes fleeing, Xanrym thinks that the lower level of the dungeon may be largely deserted. After the Short Rest, the party could risk doing a thorough search of the naga's nest and that water-filled room they saw south of the will-o-wisp's chamber. He doubts that it would be worth the risk and the time to search the warrens where the troglodtyes apparently lived to the west of the naga's lake, but they could do that too if the others want.
That way, the party would be entirely finished with the lower level of the dungeon before nightfall. "Assuming that they make it through the night without incident," Xanrym says, "we can leave the cult's subterranean lair first thing in the morning, finishing our 'business' with Zgotar on the way to the exit." He does not tell the mayor that there's a guardian from another plane of existing in a chamber just a few hundred feet away.
So...modified plan? After the Short Rest, search the naga's nest on the shore and the one other water-filled chamber we saw before our Long Rest.
(OOC: Assuming Nithrissa is also allowed to spend HD to heal during a short rest, she spends 4 HD on healing for a total of 29 HP of healing = 18 (4d8 rolled in game log) + 8 (4 x CON bonus) + 3 (Song of Rest). That puts Nithrissa back up to 47/52 HP.)
So Nithrissa at this point will want to take her leave. She puts Toska down on the floor and makes a strange movement with her fingers pressed against her chest. “Thank you for allowing me to get my revenge on the naga, but now I must continue with my mission. Hopefully we can keep our relationship peaceful if we ever do meet again. However I just warn you, Iuz is coming to this land eventually. Nothing will stand in his way, and I advise you to not try. You will receive no other warning from me.”
She heaves the greatsword over her shoulder and leaves.
As for your exploration of the lower levels. Will you be sneaking or just moving as fast as possible to try and get out of the dungeon before nightfall?
As for your exploration of the lower levels. Will you be sneaking or just moving as fast as possible to try and get out of the dungeon before nightfall?
Xanrym was planning just to sneak back down as a group. It's similar to the previous plan but just searching those two rooms on level 2 before their Long Rest:
Return immediately to room 20b (where they spent the night last night) and make sure that Mayor Ormond and the children are safe.
We are here --> Spend a short rest to heal and regroup.
Return to the lower level to explore the naga's "nest" next to the lake and the water-filled room that they saw farther south (away from the troglodytes).
Go back to room 20b again for a Long Rest. (Set a watch to make sure that nothing catches us at night.)
The next morning, head for the exit, only stopping to collect the treasure that Zgotar, the red slaad, was guarding.
Leave the Rushmoors and escort the mayor back to Orlane.
From there, they can hopefully finally rest in safety and begin planning what to do next.
What Xanrym said earlier is that he guessed that most of the valuable treasure would be kept close to the naga or in that area guarded by the red slaad. He voted for not exploring any more of the dungeon than the areas listed above. Xanrym thinks that the risk-reward ratio is too high to risk more exploration than that even if it means leaving some treasure behind. If they have any evidence that captive Orlaners were held elsewhere in the dungeon, which I don't think that they do, then they'd have to search for them. Otherwise, Xanrym just wants to minimize their risk, get the treasure from the spots where they know / suspect it is, and get Mayor Ormond and the children back to Orlane safely.
FYI - Based on the map that Xanrym makes as they go along, it was about 250-feet from the door to the will-o-wisp room all the way north to the edge of the naga's lake. That lake stretched 80-feet west, and the troglodytes came from somewhere even farther west of that. So, that creates a big zone on his level 2 map that's at least 120' east-to-west by 250' north-to-south on level 2 of the dungeon. There could be a lot of narrow tunnels and 10 - 20 rooms (depending on size) in that space.
If someone else in the party wants to make a case for exploring more of the dungeon, Xanrym is happy to listen. But it would probably take them an extra day (or two) to explore the entirety of the 2nd level of the dungeon. Even if all of the troglodytes left -- and there's no guarantee of that -- there could still be reptiles (crocodiles, snakes, giant lizards), undead (zombies, ghouls, etc.), and other weird swamp monsters (oozes, etc.). Even if there are no monsters left in the dungeon, they'd still have to move carefully because there could be deadly traps or hazards (like hidden pits or quicksand). 🙂
Yep that’s cool. One thing that may throw a spanner in your plan is the fact that now the naga is dead, Mayor Ormond wants to leave this dungeon. He’s happy for y’all to do a Short Rest to regroup. But he wont make the children stay another night here. You would need to convince him to stay.
A point he would make is that if the village is clear of cultists, you would be free to come back later. If any of you individually want to come back to the dungeon in a few days, there would be no risk to the children.
Yep that’s cool. One thing that may throw a spanner in your plan is the fact that now the naga is dead, Mayor Ormond wants to leave this dungeon. He’s happy for y’all to do a Short Rest to regroup. But he wont make the children stay another night here. You would need to convince him to stay.
A point he would make is that if the village is clear of cultists, you would be free to come back later. If any of you individually want to come back to the dungeon in a few days, there would be no risk to the children.
Xanrym really doesn't want to have to trek back out here again. He really hates the swamp! Once they get back to Orlane, he was also hoping to turn his attention to finding a high priest somewhere who could resurrect Toska. He looks to the children and then back to Mayor Ormond, considering the request. Finally, Xanrym says quietly, "Listen, Ormond. I understand. We all do! After the ordeal you all endured, I'd want to get out of here as quickly as possible too. Trust me: we don't like it down here any more than you do!" He gestures to the other party members for their agreement. "But," he continues, "that does not make The Rushmoors safe! On the way through the swamp, we were attacked by blood sucking bird-like creatures, a truly giant snapping turtle, and a band of troglodytes. While these tunnels are unpleasant, they're relatively safe. We've already killed the naga and the leaders of her cult, and you yourself saw the troglodytes running away...." Xanrym was going to explain that it would be safe to spend the night here, and that way they would only have to spend one night in the swamp instead of possibly two nights before making it to the Dim Forest. But a thought suddenly occurs to him. He asks Mayor Ormond to help the children with something so that he can talk to his companions alone for a moment.
Xanrym says, "Mayor Ormond saw troglodytes running through here from the lower level of the dungeon. I thought that they were running away now that the naga is dead, but what if that's not right? We met troglodytes in The Rushmoors two days ago, and maybe there are more out there. Do you think that the troglodytes that Mayor Ormond saw run up the stairs and through here were running away and abandoning this place? Or do you think that they were just running into the swamp to get more troglodtyes? Reinforcements to fight against the invaders -- that is, us?"
If the consensus is that the troglotyes who ran away will actually be returning with reinforcements, then after the Short Rest, the party should finish up whatever searching / looting they want to do and then get out of the dungeon before the troglodtyes return. We've only found the 1 exit to the dungeon, so we definitely don't want to be inside the dungeon when an army of troglodyte reinforcements arrives. Even if it means spending 2 nights in The Rushmoors, Xanrym thinks that it's their best way to avoid another massive fight. The troglodtyes would probably need to search entire dungeon before confirming that the party isn't there, and even if the troglodtyes try to chase after them in the swamp, that would give the party a several-hours head start.
(Another change of plans?!)
Already done. --> Return immediately to room 20b (where they spent the night last night) and make sure that Mayor Ormond and the children are safe.
Just finished. --> Spend a short rest to heal and regroup.
Return to the lower level to explore the naga's "nest" next to the lake and the water-filled room that they saw farther south (away from the troglodytes).
Then head for the exit, only stopping to collect the treasure that Zgotar, the red slaad, was guarding.
Leave the dungeon before nightfall, escorting the mayor and children, and get as far away from the naga's lair as possible before stopping to camp in the swamp.
If the party makes enough distance today, perhaps they can push through and make it to the Dim Forest before the next night.
From there, they can hopefully finally rest in safety and begin planning what to do next.
Avery supports getting a short rest, check out what they can before any Trog reinforcements arrive, escorting the Mayor and the children out of the dungeon to safety.
"Not sure about all the moral implications of setting the Slaad free on this plane," Theldin says thoughtfully. "But I suppose it's a risk we could argue is worth taking."
He agrees the best way forward might be to take a shorter rest and then head back to town with the mayor and children, after looking into the matter of the Slaad and the treasure it guards.
DC 15 Persuasion check to see if Xanrym can convince Ormond to stay in the dungeon for a little longer: 16 with Silver Tongue.
Ormond agrees to let you stay in the dungeon, but not for any longer than a couple hours. He wants to be on the road to Orlane before nightfall.
I’m going to abstract your investigation of the lower level because you’ve already been to both these places and know there’s no more random encounters. Avery Perception roll with advantage from help: 16. Xanrym Investigatiok roll with advantage from help: 20
You head back down into the lower levels, heading straight to the lake of the naga. There you find her corpse still decomposing rapidly. Most of the bones have fallen away from each other and resemble an archeology site rather than a recently deceased corpse. They have even started to decay, going a brownish hew and smelling very rotten. No other interesting pieces are found here apart from that.
The water filled room you saw before does have something though. Water all over the floor, but a fairly well built roof above. A small chest sits upon a raised wooden platform in the north corner of the room.
The water filled room you saw before does have something though. Water all over the floor, but a fairly well built roof above. A small chest sits upon a raised wooden platform in the north corner of the room.
The room was to the south of the Will-o-Wisp room, so I guess the tunnel curved around? That is, I guess that we're not entering the room from the north, near the chest, right?
We have a 10-foot pole. If we poke the pole into the water, how deep is it?
Xanrym looks at the chest suspiciously and says, "Maybe this is some treasure that Garath wanted to keep separate from what the Zgotar claims to be guarding upstairs. But even down here, I don't think that the cult would just leave a chest defended by nothing more than water, do you? If that chest isn't another monster, like the thing that attacked us under the temple of Merikka, there must be a hidden guardian or trap hidden here."
Normally, Xanrym would volunteer to creep forward, but he suggests that it might make more sense for Avery or Liarin to approach the chest first. They both have ways to avoid drowning if something pulls them under water: Avery with his necklace and Liarin with her Wild Shape.
Xanrym sets down his lantern and holds his crossbow ready. He suggests, "Maybe poke the chest with your sword first? Can you just pick up the chest and bring it here? Or should I wade over there and see whether I can open it?"
(OOC: @drumdigby - The cult must have keys to these locked doors and chests. IIRC, we didn't find any keys in the quarters of the Naga's Teeth or on Garath himself. The only keys we've found since arriving here were in the desk of the prison cells.)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
As Avery picks up the chest, he noticed a rope set up underneath, tied to the top of the chest through a hole in the bottom. That rope is attached to a small piece of wood that comes loose as the chest is removed. That destabilises the entire wooden structure above it and the whole roof collapsed in, pouring wood and soil into the room. You all make a DC 14 DEX save (Avery at disadvantage for being up high) or take 13 Bludgeoning damage, (rolled in game log):
Avery: 16
Liarin: 4
Theldrin: 23
Xanrym: 10
You all stand in the collapsed room. The chest was empty
You all make a DC 14 DEX save (Avery at disadvantage for being up high) or take 10 Bludgeoning damage, (rolled in game log): Xanrym: 10
You all stand in the collapsed room. The chest was empty
Xanrym was so focused on defending Avery in case the chest was a mimic or in case some guardian reptile attacked that he wasn't ready for such an elaborate trap. He fails to dodge the debris from the collapsing roof.
Once the platform and roof collapse, Xanrym tries to get out of the room as quickly as possible.
Avery brushes the dust and debris off, "Well that about sums it up for this place."
"Yes," Xanrym admits, sorry that he advocated for searching these rooms. As he gingerly moves about and checks that he's not too badly injured, he says, "I just thank the gods that we didn't get caught in that trap right before our fight with Garath or the naga!"
With the possibility of more troglodyte reinforcements coming and Mayor Ormond's urgency to leave, Xanrym suggests that the party goes back upstairs and gathers the mayor, the children, and Heckle for leaving the dungeon. They can head for the exit, and while the mayor and children wait with Heckle at the top of the stairs, the party can take a brief detour to the slaad's chamber.
Theldrin gets back on his feet from where he tumbled out of the way of the falling wood and soil. "The sooner we leave this place behind, the better..." he says with a half smile as he checks to make sure nothing fell out of his pack.
So assuming you all want to move on the next stage of your plan, you return to the top level where Mayor Ormond and the children await. You all set out to the entrance to the dungeon, you hear the giant crocodile wading around as you sneak past his room.
You all leave Mayor Ormond and the children at the entrance to the dungeon and head quickly to the room with the Slaad Zgotar awaits. He waits there floating as you walk into the room, and opens with amphibian eyes as you do so. "So, you've returned, and Explictica Defilus is dead. But you did not destroy the crystal, that was not part of our plan. Why is this the case?" He speaks directly to your mind, with the same calm malevolence he did when you first encountered him.
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Since the whole party other than Liarin is injured, I assume that everyone will be spending some HD to heal. Xanrym will tell a soothing story during the short rest. Instead of an inspiring story about heroic deeds, he just chooses a relaxing, humorous story to take everyone's minds off of the desperate fight against the naga, the stench of the troglodytes, and the death of Toska (and Whiskers!).
Song of Rest: If you or any friendly creatures who can hear your performance regain hit points at the end of the short rest by spending one or more Hit Dice, each of those creatures regains an extra hit points.
Bonus healing from Song of Rest: 5
Xanrym thanks the mayor for his kind words and says that he hopes that they yet find a powerful cleric who can resurrect Toska, but the party's first priority is to escort the mayor and the children back to Orlane safely. He and the party inform Mayor Ormond that, yes, they did kill the naga who was at the root of the cult and the cause of all of the trouble in Orlane. They have killed or -- apparently! -- driven off the naga's followers. And with the defeat of the naga, they expect that the people of Orlane should now be free of her enchantment. Xanrym concludes by saying, "But we can talk more about that on the long walk back to Orlane, once we've left this place and The Rushmoors behind and have a good road in front of us!" Xanrym doesn't think that any of them are ready to talk about or relive their desperate battles with the undead, Garath, the troglodytes, or the naga.
Xanrym is back to full HP after the Short Rest, but he doesn't currently regain any resources until he takes a Long Rest:
Xanrym has one LVL-1 spell slot, one LVL-2 spell slot, one metamagic point (probably for twinning the LVL-1 spell slot), and 2 uses of bardic inspiration left.
Xanrym had originally planned to use the afternoon after their rest to fortify this room and barricade the stairs down to the lower dungeon. With the mayor's happy news about the troglodytes fleeing, Xanrym thinks that the lower level of the dungeon may be largely deserted. After the Short Rest, the party could risk doing a thorough search of the naga's nest and that water-filled room they saw south of the will-o-wisp's chamber. He doubts that it would be worth the risk and the time to search the warrens where the troglodtyes apparently lived to the west of the naga's lake, but they could do that too if the others want.
That way, the party would be entirely finished with the lower level of the dungeon before nightfall. "Assuming that they make it through the night without incident," Xanrym says, "we can leave the cult's subterranean lair first thing in the morning, finishing our 'business' with Zgotar on the way to the exit." He does not tell the mayor that there's a guardian from another plane of existing in a chamber just a few hundred feet away.
So...modified plan? After the Short Rest, search the naga's nest on the shore and the one other water-filled chamber we saw before our Long Rest.
(OOC: Assuming Nithrissa is also allowed to spend HD to heal during a short rest, she spends 4 HD on healing for a total of 29 HP of healing = 18 (4d8 rolled in game log) + 8 (4 x CON bonus) + 3 (Song of Rest). That puts Nithrissa back up to 47/52 HP.)
So Nithrissa at this point will want to take her leave. She puts Toska down on the floor and makes a strange movement with her fingers pressed against her chest. “Thank you for allowing me to get my revenge on the naga, but now I must continue with my mission. Hopefully we can keep our relationship peaceful if we ever do meet again. However I just warn you, Iuz is coming to this land eventually. Nothing will stand in his way, and I advise you to not try. You will receive no other warning from me.”
She heaves the greatsword over her shoulder and leaves.
As for your exploration of the lower levels. Will you be sneaking or just moving as fast as possible to try and get out of the dungeon before nightfall?
Xanrym was planning just to sneak back down as a group. It's similar to the previous plan but just searching those two rooms on level 2 before their Long Rest:
What Xanrym said earlier is that he guessed that most of the valuable treasure would be kept close to the naga or in that area guarded by the red slaad. He voted for not exploring any more of the dungeon than the areas listed above. Xanrym thinks that the risk-reward ratio is too high to risk more exploration than that even if it means leaving some treasure behind. If they have any evidence that captive Orlaners were held elsewhere in the dungeon, which I don't think that they do, then they'd have to search for them. Otherwise, Xanrym just wants to minimize their risk, get the treasure from the spots where they know / suspect it is, and get Mayor Ormond and the children back to Orlane safely.
FYI - Based on the map that Xanrym makes as they go along, it was about 250-feet from the door to the will-o-wisp room all the way north to the edge of the naga's lake. That lake stretched 80-feet west, and the troglodytes came from somewhere even farther west of that. So, that creates a big zone on his level 2 map that's at least 120' east-to-west by 250' north-to-south on level 2 of the dungeon. There could be a lot of narrow tunnels and 10 - 20 rooms (depending on size) in that space.
If someone else in the party wants to make a case for exploring more of the dungeon, Xanrym is happy to listen. But it would probably take them an extra day (or two) to explore the entirety of the 2nd level of the dungeon. Even if all of the troglodytes left -- and there's no guarantee of that -- there could still be reptiles (crocodiles, snakes, giant lizards), undead (zombies, ghouls, etc.), and other weird swamp monsters (oozes, etc.). Even if there are no monsters left in the dungeon, they'd still have to move carefully because there could be deadly traps or hazards (like hidden pits or quicksand). 🙂
Yep that’s cool. One thing that may throw a spanner in your plan is the fact that now the naga is dead, Mayor Ormond wants to leave this dungeon. He’s happy for y’all to do a Short Rest to regroup. But he wont make the children stay another night here. You would need to convince him to stay.
A point he would make is that if the village is clear of cultists, you would be free to come back later. If any of you individually want to come back to the dungeon in a few days, there would be no risk to the children.
Xanrym really doesn't want to have to trek back out here again. He really hates the swamp! Once they get back to Orlane, he was also hoping to turn his attention to finding a high priest somewhere who could resurrect Toska. He looks to the children and then back to Mayor Ormond, considering the request. Finally, Xanrym says quietly, "Listen, Ormond. I understand. We all do! After the ordeal you all endured, I'd want to get out of here as quickly as possible too. Trust me: we don't like it down here any more than you do!" He gestures to the other party members for their agreement. "But," he continues, "that does not make The Rushmoors safe! On the way through the swamp, we were attacked by blood sucking bird-like creatures, a truly giant snapping turtle, and a band of troglodytes. While these tunnels are unpleasant, they're relatively safe. We've already killed the naga and the leaders of her cult, and you yourself saw the troglodytes running away...." Xanrym was going to explain that it would be safe to spend the night here, and that way they would only have to spend one night in the swamp instead of possibly two nights before making it to the Dim Forest. But a thought suddenly occurs to him. He asks Mayor Ormond to help the children with something so that he can talk to his companions alone for a moment.
Xanrym says, "Mayor Ormond saw troglodytes running through here from the lower level of the dungeon. I thought that they were running away now that the naga is dead, but what if that's not right? We met troglodytes in The Rushmoors two days ago, and maybe there are more out there. Do you think that the troglodytes that Mayor Ormond saw run up the stairs and through here were running away and abandoning this place? Or do you think that they were just running into the swamp to get more troglodtyes? Reinforcements to fight against the invaders -- that is, us?"
If the consensus is that the troglotyes who ran away will actually be returning with reinforcements, then after the Short Rest, the party should finish up whatever searching / looting they want to do and then get out of the dungeon before the troglodtyes return. We've only found the 1 exit to the dungeon, so we definitely don't want to be inside the dungeon when an army of troglodyte reinforcements arrives. Even if it means spending 2 nights in The Rushmoors, Xanrym thinks that it's their best way to avoid another massive fight. The troglodtyes would probably need to search entire dungeon before confirming that the party isn't there, and even if the troglodtyes try to chase after them in the swamp, that would give the party a several-hours head start.
(Another change of plans?!)
Avery supports getting a short rest, check out what they can before any Trog reinforcements arrive, escorting the Mayor and the children out of the dungeon to safety.
"Not sure about all the moral implications of setting the Slaad free on this plane," Theldin says thoughtfully. "But I suppose it's a risk we could argue is worth taking."
He agrees the best way forward might be to take a shorter rest and then head back to town with the mayor and children, after looking into the matter of the Slaad and the treasure it guards.
DC 15 Persuasion check to see if Xanrym can convince Ormond to stay in the dungeon for a little longer: 16 with Silver Tongue.
Ormond agrees to let you stay in the dungeon, but not for any longer than a couple hours. He wants to be on the road to Orlane before nightfall.
I’m going to abstract your investigation of the lower level because you’ve already been to both these places and know there’s no more random encounters. Avery Perception roll with advantage from help: 16. Xanrym Investigatiok roll with advantage from help: 20
You head back down into the lower levels, heading straight to the lake of the naga. There you find her corpse still decomposing rapidly. Most of the bones have fallen away from each other and resemble an archeology site rather than a recently deceased corpse. They have even started to decay, going a brownish hew and smelling very rotten. No other interesting pieces are found here apart from that.
The water filled room you saw before does have something though. Water all over the floor, but a fairly well built roof above. A small chest sits upon a raised wooden platform in the north corner of the room.
The room was to the south of the Will-o-Wisp room, so I guess the tunnel curved around? That is, I guess that we're not entering the room from the north, near the chest, right?
We have a 10-foot pole. If we poke the pole into the water, how deep is it?
Xanrym looks at the chest suspiciously and says, "Maybe this is some treasure that Garath wanted to keep separate from what the Zgotar claims to be guarding upstairs. But even down here, I don't think that the cult would just leave a chest defended by nothing more than water, do you? If that chest isn't another monster, like the thing that attacked us under the temple of Merikka, there must be a hidden guardian or trap hidden here."
Normally, Xanrym would volunteer to creep forward, but he suggests that it might make more sense for Avery or Liarin to approach the chest first. They both have ways to avoid drowning if something pulls them under water: Avery with his necklace and Liarin with her Wild Shape.
Avery nods, and trusting in the necklace, makes the approach and looks for traps-Perception: 6; investigation: 6 (well snot)
You don’t notice anything untoward about the chest. Seems to be just a small chest sitting on a ledge.
Xanrym sets down his lantern and holds his crossbow ready. He suggests, "Maybe poke the chest with your sword first? Can you just pick up the chest and bring it here? Or should I wade over there and see whether I can open it?"
(OOC: @drumdigby - The cult must have keys to these locked doors and chests. IIRC, we didn't find any keys in the quarters of the Naga's Teeth or on Garath himself. The only keys we've found since arriving here were in the desk of the prison cells.)
Avery secures the chest and brings it to the group. "Well, let's see what we've have here."
As Avery picks up the chest, he noticed a rope set up underneath, tied to the top of the chest through a hole in the bottom. That rope is attached to a small piece of wood that comes loose as the chest is removed. That destabilises the entire wooden structure above it and the whole roof collapsed in, pouring wood and soil into the room. You all make a DC 14 DEX save (Avery at disadvantage for being up high) or take 13 Bludgeoning damage, (rolled in game log):
Avery: 16
Liarin: 4
Theldrin: 23
Xanrym: 10
You all stand in the collapsed room. The chest was empty
Avery brushes the dust and debris off, "Well that about sums it up for this place."
Xanrym was so focused on defending Avery in case the chest was a mimic or in case some guardian reptile attacked that he wasn't ready for such an elaborate trap. He fails to dodge the debris from the collapsing roof.
Once the platform and roof collapse, Xanrym tries to get out of the room as quickly as possible.
"Yes," Xanrym admits, sorry that he advocated for searching these rooms. As he gingerly moves about and checks that he's not too badly injured, he says, "I just thank the gods that we didn't get caught in that trap right before our fight with Garath or the naga!"
With the possibility of more troglodyte reinforcements coming and Mayor Ormond's urgency to leave, Xanrym suggests that the party goes back upstairs and gathers the mayor, the children, and Heckle for leaving the dungeon. They can head for the exit, and while the mayor and children wait with Heckle at the top of the stairs, the party can take a brief detour to the slaad's chamber.
Theldrin gets back on his feet from where he tumbled out of the way of the falling wood and soil. "The sooner we leave this place behind, the better..." he says with a half smile as he checks to make sure nothing fell out of his pack.
So assuming you all want to move on the next stage of your plan, you return to the top level where Mayor Ormond and the children await. You all set out to the entrance to the dungeon, you hear the giant crocodile wading around as you sneak past his room.
You all leave Mayor Ormond and the children at the entrance to the dungeon and head quickly to the room with the Slaad Zgotar awaits. He waits there floating as you walk into the room, and opens with amphibian eyes as you do so. "So, you've returned, and Explictica Defilus is dead. But you did not destroy the crystal, that was not part of our plan. Why is this the case?" He speaks directly to your mind, with the same calm malevolence he did when you first encountered him.