Vidar looks Passoveloce up and down and rumbles “a battle between one of your stature and giant rats maybe but nothing any bigger!” He then leans down and grasps the grate to lift it (Strength check = 15). His muscles writhe and as he strains to lift the grate blades extend from the bars and slash into his hands doing 17 of damage. Vidar also feels a burning sensation as the blades slash his hands (DC 14 - Con) (Saving throw = 15 or take an additional 13 of damage.

Despite the burning sensation in his hands Vidar easily lifts the grate free of the pit.

Vidar nods and puts his glaive away before rubbing his hands together and attempts to remove the grate.

strength: 21

If i can use athletics, I get advantage at +9 (not +5), so second roll: 29

* Disregard my above post *

Vidar grimaces as the blades slash his hands as he removes the grate but he powers through and gets it out of the way. He mutters through gritted teeth, "Good eye for traps we have.."

Seraph has followed Vidar into the room and grimaces as he sees the goliath's hands cut. 

Vidar gets +5 on his saving throw.

Seeing as the door hadn't slammed shut after so many had entered the room, nor any great traps immediately sprung after Vidar popped the grate, Lucas breathed a small sigh of relief.

.... Buuuut even still, he hesitated about entering the room, before finally plucking up the courage to stride up beside the pit for a closer look at things. "Noodle arms don't fail me now." He jokingly muttered as he knelt down to pull out the items each in turn and set them aside. That is, after nearly falling face first down in it. "I don't s'pose wanna happen to be secretly part bloodhound or Dhampir by any chance? You know, if only to see if that blood down there is from a human or something else." He asks of the group while idly studying the parchments.

The notes contain detailed plans, including a map of the estate, details of movements, etc., to capture a local aristocrat named Indrina Lamsensetle. The papers also a suggestion that she knows an important secret about Lord Neverember. A scrawl in a margin in a different handwriting states “her secrets will make a worthy sacrifice!”

It took him a minute or so to fully parse the writing, but eventually Lucas understood enough to give everyone the cliff notes. "Still, Sacrificing Secrets? Da ****? Maaannn I can't tell if they mean, uhh, that in a literal sense, or this Lady Lamsensetle's been harboring baby celestials or somethin'. Either way, at least this sorta answers the angle these wack-a-doo are up to. Don't get why they left the stuff in a pit of all things, but maybe that's also part of some ritual? Or was this the site of one..." Lucas pondered aloud before looking to the others. 

"Indrina Lamsensetle," says Passoveloce, "She was the actor that has been kidnapped. This does not look good for her health. Well at least we know we are on the trail. We should move quickly if we are to get to them alive - we could already be too late." He looks around to see if there is anything else he may have missed when first inspecting this room.

perception: 29 

Assuming there is nothing else to see he says "W'ed best bring that evidence and move onto the next room" and then he exits this room and moves to the next door along.

"Eh, True True." Lucas admits, and upon getting back to his feet, carefully packed the notes away in his backpack. The harp, however, is kept in hand and given a few absent-minded strums as the "wizard" gave the room another once over. "... Ya'll go ahead and check out the other doors 'n all that. I think I'm gonna stick around just a little bit longer and see-..." He trailed off from there as it is around that time that he wondered over to a random wall in the grate room and gave it a few taps. "... See if I can find any secret doors 'n all that. But don't cha worry, as I'll catch up quick enough if need be. Ya'll have my word." He says as he continued his investigation of the walls for any secret doors/passageways.

-Investigation: 29. 

Between them Passoveloce and Lucas consider they’ve found everything there is to be found in the room. Passoveloce then moves onto the next door only to discover that it is padlocked shut!

"Considering the evidence found in the last room I belive that it would be pertinent to open this room as well."

Seraph says standing next to Passoveloce.

"I assume you have the skill, yes." He asks Passoveloce.

Passoveloce inspects the padlock and door carefully, being a bit more cautious having seen the trap that had been set on the grate.

investigation: 9

if any trap found: Disarm Trap: 22

He then reaches into his pouch and pulls out some fine tools and sets to work on the padlock. Pick a lock Dex DC 15 : 19

and shortly the padlock should be opened.

It takes a lot of fiddling but finally Passoveloce manages to get the padlock to open!

With Passoveloce finished Seraph pulls the door open and looks within.

Seraph opens the door and sees a five foot wide corridor which after 20 feet appears to open out. As Seraph is opening the door, Passoveloce gives the large room one more look over and realises that on the southern wall almost directly opposite to where they are standing there appears to be a narrow (2-3 feet wide) entrance next to the pile of rubble in the southeast corner.

Passoveloce puts the padlock in his pouch as he packs up and returns his tools to his pouch. After all he doesn't want anyone locking the door behind them.

As he scans the room, he notices the gap on the other side. 

"Hold up a minute guys," says Passoveloce, "there is a gap over near that pile of rubble. I think we should check these rooms out first - it must have been locked for a reason - then go up the stairs before we investigate through the gap too closely. But we may want to keep half an eye on it, just in case..." 

so saying, he slips through the doorway, scans the wall, ceiling and floor then advances to the end of the 5' corridor and scans what is beyond.

[skill]perception;Find Traps{/skill]: 25

and again

[skill]perception;Find Traps{/skill]: 15

The corridor opens into a room that is 15 feet by 10 feet. A single open coffin is against the far side (Northern wall), Passoveloce is standing in a doorway in the southern wall.

Passoveloce hads back to the door and says to the party: "We have an open coffin in a small room with no other exits, perhaps a vampire was locked in here. Do we investigate or just retreat and lock this door behind us? I do not think it will help us to find our missing people."

Taking Passoveloce words as an all clear (or as close to one as possible), Lucas languidly made his way into the coffin room after having only followed up up to a point. "Orrr~ Could be the coffin has one of'em hidden door things going for it. Or did you already give it the knock and kick test? Here? Let me show ya." Without missing a beat, Lucas stepped fully into the room if not stopped, and with something a swagger, continued on until he stood before the coffin and gave it's inner back portion a few knocks. Mostly to demonstrate, but also out curiosity in seeing if he could detect in hollowness to it..

Investigation: 14.