Seeing how vast and dark the space it, Vark creates additional light by illuminating Pathmaker's blade with a crackling red glow. He walks to the edge of one of the staircases and points the weapon downwards, trying to get a better view. "We should be on our toes. Matthew said it could be dangerous."

Jex nods "Keep a little way back and hold that light high, I will look ahead." Once more he heads on into the darkness, light on his toes, looking for signs of life and signs of traps. 

The path to the left leads to a dead-end where a balustrade overlooks a 30-foot drop to a walkway on the next level down. The edge beyond it descends further still into darkness.

Returning to the party where they wait cautiously by the elevator, Jex descends the left-most staircase to the lower level. From here he can see the paved floor of a wide open hall another 30-feet below. In the distance a dim, pale blue light shines at the foot of a staircase and the walls are draped in dark cloth at regular intervals. Half way along this walkway the path rounds a corner, passing between two pillars. Jex's eyes are immediately drawn to the bottleneck. This looks like a trap.

In the dank, cavernous gloom, Valen feels a constant twitch from his hand wanting to clap the visor shut on his helm. The whole place seemed like a prison where the inmates are left to their own devices; a sort of rule through anarchy. This tension was almost as nerve-wracking as the thought of any chained evil. The knight looked about, trying to distract himself with the architecture or strange clothes hung about.

With the fading light, a new glow shone from his eyes, previously unseen in the daylight and bright torches of the dwarven hold. Like two stars contained within his pupils, Valen had no trouble seeing or being seen.

Jex breathes deeply, holding his breath and looking carefully at the floor and the sides of the pillars from a little distance away. His instincts bite at him, this is exactly where he would place a trap. Sure enough he sees the signs of a magical trigger and an outlet at head height. Not his specialty. He casts his eye out over the side of the walkway instead, looking for any signs of movement in the room below. Perhaps a grappling hook and rope and we should avoid this section altogether.  He reaches into his pack to unravel the rope and secure it with the hook.

"Careful, there's a trap between the pillars. I think we can climb down here though. I don't want to leave the rope incase we need it, you all go down, then you'll have to catch me."

Aiden takes up the rear as the group descends the stairs, moving carefully, as if the entire well-chiseled chamber was a beast he was fearful of waking. The architecture provoked a sort of reverence from him. Great subterranean stone structures like this one were not common in either of the places he grew up -- at least, not that he knew of.

Seeing his new half-orc acquaintance's spear glow a startling red sheen, he gestures at the weapon. "A gift from your friend, Matthew?"

Val tenses as the contraption... this "engineering" begins to move downward with a large clank of steel upon steel. "Well, whatever lies below shall we know are coming."

She steps forward to guard the stairwell Jex descends while the group waits for his return. "Be ready for anything."

After several tense moments, Jex finally returns and Val nods as she gestures him silently up. She listens to his report with a frown. "Could we not just destroy it?" She says while patting Rook's stone head. "Perhaps I could smash these pillars? Then we need not take a rope down?"

"Wouldn't we risk to make the whole thing fall upon our heads? " asks Thurston " I mean, bashing things is fun but I can see why the Thane would be dissapointed with us if we make his throne fall into darkness... " 

Val shrugs. "I do not know anything about building tunnels, but I do not think the dwarves would design something to be so easily destroyed. One thing the dwarves know how to do well is make tunnels. Would that we had Brundir with us, he could tell us!"

Vark looks at Aiden, then down to Path Maker, then back up to Aiden. "Uhm n-no. It was a gift from the elves, a staff. Hurrig and Seid turned it into a spear." He answers, a bit awkwardly.

As conversation turns to destroying the pillars, Vark chimes in. "Is it a magic trap? I could... I could maybe disarm it."

"You could, or you might set them off. We know they are there, why are we all so afraid of taking the rope?" Jex points at the rope, clearly confused as to what the debate is about.

"We were just thinking of our options," he replies with attitude. "No one is afraid of the rope, give me." Vark gestures for the item, volunteering himself to be the first one down.  Before he begins to descend he adds "I can also make one or two people float down. In- in case anyone is scared."

Valen steps forward alongside Vark and pulls hos shoulder, "Please, allow me to go first. I would not forgive myself if anything were to happen to you, or anyone else here, before I had a chance to intervene. Aside from the mighty Thurston, there are few who could face possible dangers ahead quite so readily." Valen shrugs, causing a minor *click* in his pauldrons, and raises his shield for emphasis.

Before taking the rope, a thought strikes him, "Oh! But first, hand me a rock, or debris."

(Once provided, Valen will cast Light and drop it down below)

“I am not afraid, Jex, but tell me. If you take the rope, how do we get back up?”

"I can toss him up so he can tie the rope again" offers Thurston while Valen drops his illuminated little rock.

Or I can shoot it back up with my bow, or Vark can float it up." Jex shrugs. "Always plenty of options."

"Do you always deliberate this much?" Aiden asks, still holding his hammer aloft, straining his eyes to see beyond its crackling light.

Valen's rock clatters on the flagstones below, slightly illuminating the wide open area that Jex had seen from above.

"Only when they are here to second guess me." Jex answers Aiden's question but shoots a cheeky grin at Val. 

Ignoring Valen's request to go first, Aiden sidesteps the cleric and takes the rope. "Well, no time like the present," he says, and pushes over the edge, carefully descending to the next level. At the bottom, he turns and scans the area, holding his warhammer out once again like a torch, scanning for any movement.