Above & Below

Kurama will examine each of the items in the second chest to see if he can tell if their mundane or magical.  He will also attempt to discern what their magical effect might be if they end up being magical items.  After examining the uncovered items, he'll carefully take out the clothed bag at the bottom of the chest and see what it may hold.

Arcana Check: 17

(Kurama will hold on to the items for the time being until we figure out what they are and decide if anyone wants to use them)

With Effort's help, and a little splash of guidance for good measure, the two of you are able to discern confidently that these items are all giving off arcane energy. You'd have to toy around with them a bit, but would ultimately come to the following conclusions about their nature:

Mystery Key 

Perfume of Bewitching 

Unbreakable Arrow 

Bag of Holding 

(As the most responsible one in the party, Effort should probably hold the bag of holding lol)

Quote from SteveThaiBinh >>

Brask nods at Pip.  Might be good to sell, though.  Magic crap can be tricky, but rich idiots will pay a fortune for it, if you find the right buyer.  

"You might be right about that Brask though feel free to keep any of these if you want them." Kurama replied as he an Effort finished examining the items in the chest.  "Though I think this one is worth keeping."  He adds as he hands Effort the bag of holding.  

Standing up once that business is settled, he will then carefully look around for the statues he had sensed earlier and move over to examine them if they're not too far off.

Perception: 11

Investigation: 18

(Just to note that I am back and can post again, sorry for the long wait!)

Effort takes the bag of holding with a nod.  "Did any of you happen to collect any of those energy-mushrooms from the room earlier?  I wonder if they lose their potency after a while, or if we can continuously use them as a sort of a ... living fungal map, if you will, to make our way through the rest of this fortress?"

There was only one of that kind of mushroom, although there were more of the hit die mushrooms and were a few other varieties you didn't investigate yet.

You all make your way back through the hall and into the room with the mushrooms. Effort continues to poke around a bit as Kurama peers into the next room. In it, as he predicted with the help of the strange fungal network, there are four statues inside. Three are on the near half of the room, standing up. They each hold up a weapon - two scimitars and a halberd. As Kurama studies them, though, he notices something strange about them. They aren't in some grand position, but in fact all seem...kind of scared? Their stone faces seem to be surprised, and their open mouths seem to be yelling out into the darkness. The fourth statue on the ground, across the room, appears as if it were chiseled there rather than as if it had fallen over. 

The room itself looks like it had some chiseling done to it, but is the most rudimentary you've seen yet. This seems to be where the actual mining and stone work stopped some eons ago. There is an exit at the far end, but it appears to be more of a natural tunnel through the mountain and less of a man-made passage. 

Let me know if you wait for everyone else or if you go inside to explore further. 

Effort would have made a rudimentary attempt to identify some of the other mushrooms, though not by eating them...

Survival or Medicine: 9 + Guidance 1

She'd also attempt to harvest some of the hit die mushroom for snacking on later.

"Is it safe to continue forward?" Effort asks Kurama as he inspects the next room.

Unfortunately these mushrooms remain a mystery to Effort. The only fungus you ever saw in Gorta was black or green mold growing on expired food, and while you can tell that the other varieties here probably have some kind of strange properties as well, you're not sure what those might be. You are, however, able to harvest four robust looking hit die mushrooms.

Stone statues that appear to be frozen in fear.  Brask spent enough time in the arena to know that stone statues are usually carved in other poses - dignified or heroic, not like this.  Would he know of anything that might cause a person to be petrified?  Nature 7 

I guess not?

These status are rubbish.  I could do better.

"These statues are indeed...peculiar."  Kurama commented as he took a closer look at them and their odd expression.  "I wonder what the purpose of something like this might've been."

History check? on the nature of the odd statues: 14

"And unfortunately this is where the 'map' ended, so I have no idea what might lay ahead from here on out.  Let us hope there are no more blobs."  Assuming there's nothing else left in this cavern, Kurama will slowly head forward toward the next tunnel

Perception check: 8

The statues seem to be wearing armor and wielding weaponry that might place them in a recent time in history. Certainly within the last few hundred years - there is nothing that would lead you to believe these have been here for millennia. 

Kurama, as you approach the rocky tunnel ahead, the complete darkness of the passage is suddenly washed in a light blue glow. You find a pair of eyes staring back at you from within.

Roll a DC12 Constitution save. 

Con Save: 17

You feel a strange sensation as you look into the eyes, but shake it off and blink furiously as you look away. Just then, a strange lizard-like creature emerges from the tunnel. At least six feet long and standing four or five feet high, its eight legs continue to propel it forward. As it bares its teeth, Kurama can make out the spike-like protrusions along its side and back. It attempts to bit down on the monk:

Attack: 19 Damage: 8 + 9 poison

Everyone, roll initiative. 

EDIT: Damn! 17 damage, sorry.

Also wondering about the statues, Effort would have made a nature check: 5 + 2

Initiative: 12
Cadmael Initiative: 19

Initiative: 16

Basilisk: 17

Burik: 4

Pip: 6

Brask's initiative:  12

Rd 1: Cadmael > Basilisk > Kurama > Effort > Brask > Pip > Burik

The rest of you watch as this creature chomps down on Kurama's shoulder, tearing into it and immediately drawing blood. It whips its tail back-and-forth and prepares for another attack...

Cadmael is up!

Cadmael will prepare himself to swoop by the basilisk to give advantage to the next party member attacking the creature.

The creature again lunges at Kurama, opening its jaws and attacking the bloodied shoulder of the monk...

Attack: 14 Damage: 14 + 7 poison

This time the lizard snaps just above Kurama, landing back down on its eight legs.

Kurama is up! Everyone, when you start your turn, you must choose between making a DC12 CON save or averting your eyes and looking away from the Basilisk (in which case you would have disadvantage on attack rolls). 

(Closing Kurama's eyes this round)

As Kurama holds his side from the wound the snake just inflicted on him, he reactivates his astral arms as he dodges another attack.  Determining from earlier that looking at the creatures eyes again would be a bad idea, he closed his own and attacked wildly at the creature's general position as he shouted "Don't look at it's eyes!" 

Attack: 25 Damage: 5

Bonus Attack: 8 Damage: 6