Erik Soong's Call of the Netherdeep

Nivi pads to the other side as well, and if she arrives unimpeded, reaches out with her ongoing aura (30' radius centered on herself) of Detect Magic in case she can discern any additional magical effects from further along the hall.

In a low voice, just loud enough to reach her companions on the other side, she observes:  "Almost got cold feet myself.  Here I am pissing on the deal Desu made with demons, but what if the blood sacrifice is how the deal got made?  Just... Sky didn't sense any demons.  Or undead.  Guy hasn't been wrong so far.  So yeah.  Gotta trust something, right?  Not for nothing, I don't feel like I just made any deals, standing here on the other side now."

Morgan follows the others in silence, letting the more stealthy ones move ahead.

" Need to come back after and see if there's a way to release those people....or at least destroy the mechanism so they can die....", Randa says plainly as they move on.

Sky finally coughs up a drop of blood as well, the same way the others did.

Ylis cringes when blood flies out of Sky's mouth. Eyes wide, she asks, "Are you ok?! I didn't know you were so badly hurt!"

DM: Sky and Frekor please deduct 1 HP. 

Sky's drop of blood causes the mural to cease to watch him and Frekor, last of all, follows along. 

The group moves into the next room and...

Nothing happens. 

They enter into a room from a descending staircase that has no guard rail. It turns at a 90 degree angle and continues down into the room. It appears to be a mess hall with some long tables and stools along the north wall and southeastern side of the room. A round table that seems to double as a game station sits on the southwestern corner. A waterfall styled fountain pumps water into a large bowl. A washing station and a place to get water, no doubt. 

There are three doors, north, west, and south. According to the map that Morgan made for the others, the north door is the correct door. 

Nivi doesn't sense any magic in this room. One might have expected magical traps and dangers under every tile once passing the murals, but this room seem to be just a regular mess hall. 

As Sky enters the room, he initially senses nothing out of the ordinary. But as he walks deeper into the room, his senses burn with the stench of fiends. To the south, beyond this room, there is one. He follows his extra sense, walking to the southern side of the room and walking west. We he does so, more fiends fall into his sensory range. Two, three, five fiends. Then... four? Odd. 

If Nivi attempts to join Sky to use her extra senses, she is unable to detect anything with her more limited range. 

Morgan motions for the others to be quiet, placing a finger to his lips, then nods toward the north door.

Meanwhile, he checks whether the door opens inward or outward, trying to see if they could block it with the tables in the room.

DM: Morgan can see that the hinges on the north door are visible, suggesting that the door swings open into this room and can be barricaded from this side. 

Randa looks to Ylis and then to Sky, and places a hand on Skys shoulder with a frown.

Cure Wounds- 15 HP.

Then she knocked an arrow and sighted on the northern door over Morgans shoulder....

(( OOC: Sorry there was a misunderstanding.  Sky only took 1 damage; no need for Randa to burn a Cure Wounds. ))

Sky shares his information.

"I don't quite understand it, but there are numerous Fiends to the south.  I sensed four, then five, and then four again.  We should be prepared before we head into that room."

Quote from Erik_Soong >>

DM: Morgan can see that the hinges on the north door are visible, suggesting that the door swings open into this room and can be barricaded from this side. 

 
(OOC: Morgan was actually thinking of blocking the doors to the south and west, while moving quickly north, based on what he saw in the cutthroat’s mind.)

Morgan points at the hinges to the others.

"Do we clear every room, or do we block them and move faster?" he whispers. "I don't like the idea of leaving fiends behind, but... clearing everything could take ages. Maybe we're more effective if we head straight to the center."

He pauses briefly.

"In the bandit's mind, I saw some kind of disturbing ritual going on... right now, I believe. What do you think?"

Frekor thinks for a moment before saying his idea.

-We should hurry then to stop that ritual, but maybe we could try to block the other doors so it would be harder for any enemy to get there as reinforcements.- says the ranger.

Nivi looks uneasy.  As usual, she keeps her voice low.

"Got to say, feels… wrong.  All of it, not just the demons.  No Clasp sentries in the hall?  Just all snoozing in their rooms.  Demons behind the doors, not out here in our faces.  Almost has to be a trap.  Don't know any other way but to spring it though..."

She sighs.  "You ask me, we keep eyes on the prize.  Straight to Desu and crash her little ritual.  Wedge south and west doors if you can, sure.  Got some caltrops and ball bearings I can lay down, front of the doors.  Might slow down whatever comes out for a second."

(If she takes a quick circuit of the room and senses nothing with Detect Magic, Nivi switches back to concentrating on Blade Ward.)

DM: Nivi does not sense anything magical as she patrols the room. The silence is heavy, like a weight bearing down on the heroes, then they hear a scream. 

A male voice. Distant. It has the muffled echoing effect that comes with sound traveling down a narrow hall. It comes from the north door. 

OOC: I'm waiting for the strong people actually able to move the tables to move the tables or for somebody to say forget it and go north.

Sky shrugs but immediately nods at Morgan and Frekor's idea; the party has seen him do this enough by now to understand that is his shorthand for "I've no better idea, so I'll go along with yours."  If he can move the long table to the north by himself to barricade the north door, with his 16 Strength, he does so.  If not, he lifts his end of the table up wordlessly, making it clear to the others that he will need assistance to move it.

Either way, he would not loudly drag it across the floor so as to alert anyone.

Morgan moves to help Sky. He's not strong, but a table won't defeat him... probably. (Athletic: 14)

He lifts the other side of the table, then nods to Sky to carry it toward the west door... not north.
"Randa, Frek, block the south door with the other table..." he suggests.

As he hears a voice from the north corridor, he tilts his head and points toward the north door for Nivi.
"Caltrops and ball bearings? Nice. Do your worst," he says with a wink.

Randa moved to shift the table immediately.

Once Sky and Randa (and to some extent, Morgan) have used their strength to quietly move tables and blockade the west and south doors, Nivi applies caltrops to the area just outside the west door and ball bearings just outside the south one, pointing them out so the party knows.

"Right.  Let's move.  Gonna check the north door and past.  Sky with me in front as muscle?"  Nivi casts and concentrates on Blade Ward.

Without a backward glance to check if the goliath (or the others) are following, Nivi lopes to the north door, giving it and its hinges a quick once over for anything suspect (other than opening inward) and checking if it is locked.  If it is unlocked and she notices nothing untoward, she opens it quietly and peeks both ways along the hall she thinks must be on the other side based on the image Morgan had earlier displayed, finding she sorely misses Shiv.

Nivi's Perception to check door and hallway beyond:  18 (or 17 if at disadvantage, looking into darkness with darkvision)
Nivi's Stealth to open door and move quietly as advance scout:  29 (or 16 if at disadvantage, though come to think of it, why would she be...)