"Ahbut that is nice, very nice!" Dr A says as he examines the staff without actually touching Arcana (26) as well casting Detect Magic

A faint glow surrounds the staff as Dr A examines it.  It is clearly magical.  He recalls reading something about such a staff in his studies and identifies it as a Staff of the Python 

A faint glow surrounds the staff as Dr A examines it.  It is clearly magical.  He recalls reading something about such a staff in his studies and identifies it as a Staff of the Python 

"Ahbut I'm not sure that I'm that into snakes so if anybody wants it please say so otherwise I'll keep and see if I can make it work?" Dr A says.

OoC: I don't think Keyleth has any way of knowing this, but it can only be attuned by a Cleric, Druid, or Warlock, so of our group Dr. A is the only one who can make full use of it.

(Yeah - Kirinar ain't touching no snake staff... =)

((Dr. A would know that he is the only one who can use the staff))

Kirinar recommends leaving the room the same way the flaming skull did and finishing off this level before descending to the next area. He'll head out, looking for the skull creature in case it returns, and traps because that's the kind of place this is... !

Perception: 17

Ransyl looks to the others, “I’ll bring up the rear. Dr A, you should probably hold on to that staff. You never know what we’ll run into in this dungeon.”

Keyleth walks in front just behind Kirinar, helping him look for threats.

Perception: 27

Investigation: 20

Ransyl looks to the others, “I’ll bring up the rear. Dr A, you should probably hold on to that staff. You never know what we’ll run into in this dungeon.”

":Ahbut OK" Dr A says as he looks warily at the staff almost as if he expects it to bite him when he isn"t looking. 

That night as Dr A is resting with a cup of tea and contemplating the universe and his role in it a young women materialises out of nowhere and looks directly at him. In his mind he hears the following "the Weave is at real risk from the lich Acererak and i need you to exercise all of your efforts to stop him. I recognise that Acererak is more than you and your colleagues can cope with so I will lend to you, and those of your colleagues that need it, some of my own power!"  before the apparition disappears.  

(OOC: DM if the above works for you I can create a post where Dr A shares this knowledge with the others)

Works for me

As the party is getting ready to rest for the night anybody who is watching Dr A - and it may be nobody - notices that he goes very still for but a moment. Eventually he turns to the other party members and says "ahbut it would appear that the lich Acererak has accelerated his timeline. My patron - the Mistress of the Weave -  has advised me that she recognises we do not have the power to currently take on Acererak; she has therefore deigned to lend us some of her power in order to thwart - hopefully - his intentions, whatever they may be? I therefore suggest you rest well tonight because she muttered something about the update going through tonight. I must admit that bit of the statement made no sense to this old Tortle but i have faith in her!"

During the night, Kirinar has deep dreams. If you watch him, he looks like a puppy having dreams - his feet and hands twitch almost all night. In the morning, he is drenched in sweat, yet feels deeply rested! "Doc, you were right - I had some very vivid dreams all night - sparring with a young woman in glimmering armor that looked like a starry night but wrapped around her body! She taught me new tactics and techniques, and we drilled over and over. It felt like months passed by! But now I feel stronger, healthier, and even better with my weapons!"

Keyleth spends the first half of the night in her trance, which, apart from the creepy ambience of the tomb, starts off normally enough. But soon she feels a strange energy infuse her body, as though some hidden connection to the fabric of the universe had been unlocked. She feels an awakening of some rudimentary magical potential within her. Her connection to her immediate surroundings deepens as well, and she feels almost as though she has become merged with the physical darkness of this gods forsaken place.

OoC: Picked up some Ranger (Gloomstalker) levels. Keyleth is now invisible in darkness to anyone relying on darkvision, has a couple of spells and spell slots, and has been imbued with enhanced range darkvision herself as well as heightened senses and knowledge about undead (who have become her "favored enemy" after all of this time in Chult).

Kirinar easily sees the catch on the open jaws that are at the room entrance and shoves something in to keep them from closing.  Climbing out he sees nothing anywhere and for the moment all seems quiet.  He reports back and you see an opportunity to take a rest for the moment.  You set up a small camp and take some time to rest.  

Mystra blesses you in the night and strengthens you for the certain trials that lay ahead.  The following day you are ready to proceed.  Leaving the room you see that the north passage is blocked by rubble a short ways up the passage and the only place to go now is down.

Making your way down the stairs on the second level a bronze plaque is fixed to the east wall of the balcony, engraved with another of Acererak’s cryptic warnings in Common.  

A passage runs to the north, another east and a door is on the south wall.  Another stairway on the west side descends another floor.

Kirinar peeks around the corner of the norther passage, waiting for the group to catch up and prepare to move along. He'll check with Keyleth about any visible tripwires, pressure plates, or potential weak areas along the way as he leads the group north.

Perception: 12

Carefully moving up the hallway you reach a small room.  The walls and floor of this fifteen-foot-square room are cracked and carved with images of terrified humanoids falling. Set into the middle of the floor is a stone bas-relief of a bearded devil face, painted green. Forlorn cries echo from the black void of its gaping maw.

Dr A reads the plaque and then rereads it twice more before commenting "ahbut I thought i made statements that could be confusing but that one beats anything I might say!" What if anything does Dr A recall about stories of jewels and frogs (History = 19) 

Quote from GrantFromCanberra >>

Dr A reads the plaque and then rereads it twice more before commenting "ahbut I thought i made statements that could be confusing but that one beats anything I might say!" What if anything does Dr A recall about stories of jewels and frogs (History = 13) 

 The only thing Dr A can think of is perhaps the riddle refers to the trickster god Kubazan, represented as a froghemoth.  But he is unsure.