Lyra peeks out from behind the tall wizard, curious about what he has found. "Oh? Eldrin, what do your elf eyes see?" she asks, then laughs softly. "I heard a ranger say that once—been dying to use it." She smirks, and mumbles, "...veeeery handsome ranger, if you ask me..."

 Eldrin,

As you walk over to the pillar, you see it's decorated with intricate stone carvings of devout dwarves in various forms of worship. They all wear evil grins with hooded cloaks. On the North face of the pillar, you see a small stone carving of a devout dwarf looking at you with his hands cupped together as if waiting for some offering. The indentation is about the size of a thumb or a small gemstone. The indentation glows with an aura of abjuration magic.

Meira,

You notice the same area that Eldrin honed in on. Your keen eyes spot a tiny hole in the stone directly in the center of the dwarves' outstretched palms. You suspect this hole contains a spring-loaded needle that triggers when pressure is applied to the stone in that spot.

Gareth tears his eyes away from the gemstones, beautiful as they are. He has a feeling they are tied to a trap in some way, sitting out in the open on the altar like that. Eldrin mentions something about a magic pillar so the ranger joins the others gathered around it.

"What's this about a handsome ranger?" Gareth says, one side of his mouth drawn up into a half-smile. "If you were talking about me, I'm sorry to disappoint, but I am happily taken."

Eldrin pauses mid-step as the carvings come into clearer view, his expression tightening with distaste. He studies the leering, hooded dwarves with a scholar’s eye and a cynic’s wariness, his fingers absently brushing dust from the embroidery on his sleeve.

“Hm,” he murmurs, voice clipped. “Pious. Grim. And thoroughly unsettling.”

His gaze settles on the dwarf with cupped hands. He crouches down, eyeing the indentation, the faint shimmer of abjuration magic catching the light like a subtle ward. One brow arches, and he exhales through his nose, a sound dangerously close to a dry chuckle.

“How very quaint. An offering socket, likely keyed. There’s something sealed within. I’d wager a gem might earn us a peek. Or blood, if we’re leaning dramatic.

"I think that's trapped," Meira says quickly. She steps forward to point out the tiny hole - without touching anything! "Not sure if a gem stone would block it? Or I could try to disarm it."

She tries to figure if blocking the hole may be sufficient. Otherwise she will pull out her tools to try and neutralize the trap.

(Investigation: 9 - to see if blocking the hole works)

(DEX/Thieves' Tools: 12 - to disarm trap of needed - note rolled Sleight of Hand because it is DEX w/proficiency also)

Meira,

You're unsure how strong the spring is. It's possible blocking the hole might prevent the needle from coming out of the hole, however, it might just push through/past the blockage. 

SoH is perfectly fine for disarming traps/picking locks. Unfortunately, you've never encountered this type of lock/trap before. The mechanism that controls this device is protected from tampering by the stone pillar. You don't see any way to effectively use your tools.

Yarina tries using her Divine Sense. If this is a shrine to an evil god as the dwarves said, perhaps she can find some kind of clue.

Meira is clearly frustrated by her inability to find a way to dismantle the trap. "I'm not sure how strong any mechanism might be, so I can't be sure if putting something like a gem there would block the trap.  Maybe someone could magic a gem in there so nobody's in the way of whatever the trap does?"  She slowly turns to give Eldrin a questioning look. "Totally as a precaution."  Then as she continues to look at Eldrin she adds, "And maybe we all should just step over there closer to the exit. Just in case." 

Eldrin studies the indentation a moment longer, then turns his head slightly toward the others without taking his eyes off the carving.

“I don’t have a suitable gemstone,” he states plainly. “We’ll need to find one.”

He steps back a pace and smooths a fold of his sleeve, his voice calm as ever. “When we do, I can guide it into place from a distance. No reason to be directly in front of whatever this is.”

His tone carries no real warning, just an unembellished practicality. “If it triggers something, better the magic be scorched than any of us.”

"Oh, please, Gareth. If I meant you, I'd have said dashing ranger, not just handsome," Lyra says with a wide grin.

The grin fades as she overhears Eldrin and Meira. "I suppose taking the gems from the altar would be a bad idea. The God of Greed probably won't appreciate that."   The hafling glances down at the moonstone hanging from her neck and sighs. "I was supposed to return this to Mrs. Adabra... but I guess the proper way to fight greed is by being generous."

Lyra unclips the gem and hands it to Eldrin. "Looks like I'll have to find another moonstone to replace this one."

Eldrin regards the offered moonstone with a subtle lift of an eyebrow, his expression unreadable but thoughtful.

“A symbolic gesture,” he murmurs, taking the gem with careful fingers. “The god of greed challenged by an act of selflessness. Fitting.”

Without further ceremony, he steps a measured distance away from the pillar. One hand rises, tracing a smooth arc in the air as he murmurs a short phrase in Elvish. A faint shimmer appears beside him, forming a pale, spectral outline of a hand that flickers softly in the torchlight.

He gently places the moonstone into the ethereal grasp and points toward the carved dwarf’s cupped hands.

With precision, the spectral hand glides forward, its movement deliberate and smooth, holding the moonstone aloft like an offering. As it nears the indentation, Eldrin narrows his eyes, watching the reaction of both the magic and the stonework with quiet intensity.

The hand hovers for the briefest pause, then slots the moonstone into place. Eldrin keeps his stance still, gaze sharp, prepared for whatever comes next.

Yarina,

Your divine sense doesn't detect signs of any celestial, fiend, or undead within your senses' range, or any signs of the hallow spell corrupting the area.

Eldrin,

You accept Lyra's proffered moonstone and place it into the pillar's indentation. As you do, the needle hidden within springs out and pierces the stone, shattering it. The stone and all of its shards disappear in an instant. You sense another magical ping at the bottom of the pillars' now accessible cavity.

Everyone,

You hear a click within the pillar, and a five-foot-high section of the pillar opens on hidden hinges. The door is indistinguishable from the pillar itself until it is opened. As the door bursts open, several dwarven skulls cascade onto the floor before you. The bottom portion of the hollowed-out pillar is still filled with dwarven skulls.

Gareth takes a step back from the pillar as it reveals its macabre treasure. He grimaces at the grisly sight. "Well, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't that," he says.

Gingerly, he picks up one of the skulls from the floor and examines it.

Eldrin watches the remnants of moonstone vanish, his eyes narrowing at the precise click that follows. When the pillar silently yawns open, revealing a hidden chamber, he leans slightly forward, only to straighten sharply as the first skull topples out and rolls across the floor at his feet.

He exhales through his nose, faintly.

He watches Gareth pick up one of the skulls, but doesn’t intervene. Instead, he steps closer to the open compartment, now cautiously peering inside, eyes scanning for the source of the arcane pulse he still senses deeper within. His tone is academic, though tinged with a quiet grimness.

“Monks of Abbathor, I presume. Likely interred with care. Or… something worse, sacrifices, twisted though it may be.” 

He kneels near the base of the cavity, brushing a skull gently aside with a gloved hand as he begins a careful search through the pile. “Let’s see what magic they deemed worth burying with a monument of greed and grinning death.”

As the cascade of skulls rolls to their feet, Lyra can barely contain a shriek. She leaps back—probably stepping on someone else's toes—and clutches a hand to her fast-beating heart. A moment later, once she's calmed down, she lets out a nervous laugh. "Well, that wasn't horrifying at all !"

With her composure fully regained, the cleric crouches to inspect the skulls, murmuring, "Hmmm… if there are only skulls, where are the rest of the bodies?" A pause. "Actually, I'm not sure I want to know."

Lyra then peers into the hollow pillar. "So, this was kind of a secret storage room? For skulls?" She squints. Does it look like it contains anything else?

"Well, we are well stocked on dwarf skulls now!" Meira says jokingly. "You still see something there Eldrin?"

She then turns to Lyra. "Sorry you had to give up your moonstone. But it was very kind of you." She gives the halfling a tiny smile. "Are you saying you don't want a skull?"

Zephyros laughs at the surprise behind him, seeing Lyra's reaction.

"Comrades, I believe I found another secret passage!" Ironheart joyfully lets out.

The grizzly man steps forward slowly, drops his torch on the ground and places his now-free right hand on the door, and attempts to open it.

Ironheart, resting the trident on his left shoulder declares, "Hopefully this'll have more than just old bones in here!" He bellows out a hearty laugh.

Investigation: 20

Gareth,

You pick up a dwarf skull. It looks to have been sunbleached even though it hasn't seen light in countless years. Not a hint of skin or flesh remains on the bone.

Eldrin,

As you kneel and move several skulls out of the way, you spot a small lockbox resting at the bottom of this cavity. The lockbox is locked, but you can easily lift and move it out of this hiding space.

Zephyros,

You drop your torch and move to the wall where you spotted the hidden door. It doesn't take you long to identify how to open the door. Putting pressure on the Western side of the door causes it to open, revealing a dark passageway leading South. The hallway disappears into the darkness after only a few feet.

Seeing that the pillar appears to be free of immediate dangers, though the skulls are certainly cause for concern, Yarina lights her own torch and moves over beside Zephyros to peer into the hidden passage.

Perception: 13

Eldrin rises from his crouch, the small lockbox in hand. The iron cold against his palm, edges worn smooth by time. He doesn’t shake it, doesn’t inspect the lock, just turns, already scanning the room for Meira.

His steps are deliberate as he crosses to her, the box cradled in one arm.

“I found this beneath the skulls,” he says without preamble. “Still locked.”

He offers it out to her, his gaze steady.

“I’ve no skill with mechanisms, nor reason to pretend otherwise. If you’d be willing.” A small nod, simple and respectful. “Best in capable hands.”