Badger abandons his exploration of the demon face, but calls out to Silas: Did you say you were drawn into a face like this? And emerged somewhere else? Are they like portals of some kind? If the answer is uncertain, and if the party isn't in any hurry, Badger will attempt to ritual-cast Identify on the mask.

Badger begins casting his spell. He places his hand upon the carved face as he casts his magic. Eleven minutes later he completes the spell, and learns nothing.

After his ritual casting, Badger is astonished to see that no-one has moved in eleven minutes, so he trots over to see what the plan is. Are we following Grenk's plan to keep right? he asks no-one in particular.

Grenk scratches his head a moment.  "Well, depends.  Do we want to see everything on this floor or do we go down?  Not sure what the right answer is but the worse stuff is at the bottom right?"

Mal will creep back to the group and let them know what she has seen and heard. "So here is how I see it, whichever direction we go is going to be dangerous. I suggest we take this place level by level. If we go straight down and the situation goes south we will be surrounded and have to fight to get out. Then again going straight to the source might be a viable option as then the rest might flee. However we decide something is coming from that corridor and something gnashing is down those stairs behind a door. I can't imagne what could be making that gnashing sound and I am not so sure I want to know."

“Let’s deal with whatever’s coming then, so we don’t get taken unawares.” Sickle says.

(Somebody's going to have to step up and tell me which way you go....lol.....)

"OK, let's do this." Mal will then creep back down the hallway toward whatever was making that shuffling sound.

Stealth: 18

The group turns left into the large room with it's central open area that descends into darkness.  Following the bannister you reach the corner. The bannister turns left and goes down stairs but the group goes straight down a 5 foot wide passage instead. After only 30 feet the passage turns left. Mal creeps forward, glancing around the corner seeing a long dark passage. Silas shines his light around the corner for her and she moves down.  After 50 feet the passage seems to widen into a 15 foot wide corridor. The dim light reaches 40 feet ahead and just on the edge of the light she sees a strange looking skeleton. The thing looks in her direction.  It clatters over to a wall and begins climbing the wall, its knees bending backwards so it can climb like a spider up the wall and onto the ceiling where it begins clattering away into the darkness.  

Grenk sighs in frustration.  "You all mind if I light this sword up or is that too much of a becon."

"If you light up, expect a fight is my experience," Silas states from the shadows, Silas using his more visible able comrades to lead him through the darkness. 

"As much as I enjoy the darkness, I still do need to see and we will be fighting soon anyway as I just saw some skeleton creature climb up the wall and disappear further down this passageway, prepare yourselves." Mal says to the group.

Badger looks quizzically at Silas and says: I think we won't last long in here unless we expect a fight. Let's proceed, and be ready for whatever comes.

The gnome will prepare to cast Fire Bolt at anything that moves...

Grenk draws out the shield and the sword.  He again draws the blade lightly across his forearm and uses the magic in his blood to imbue it with radiant energy.  It begins to glow and then he activates the flame as well.

Damage to self 2

The hallway flares with flame as the group proceeds. You can hear the clatter of bones as the skeleton creature continues to move ahead, staying out of the fire light. 

The fifteen foot wide hallway proceeds for 30 feet before coming to an end. Two five foot wide passages lead off to the left and right. You see a rusting statue of a knight stands at the far end of this hall, gripping a large iron shield. Shards and flakes of rusted metal cover the floor around the statue's feet.

Mal, as you move forward down the hall you start to feel a strange force working on you. The two scimitars on your sides begin to clank and pull at your belt as if being pulled forward. Several things on your belt pouch and in your backpack also are pushing you forward. Even the tiny metal studs on your armor seem to be pulling forward towards the end of the hallway with the statue.  One of your crossbow bolts whips out of it's quiver and flies across the room.  It slams into the statue's shield where the steel tip instantly rusts into dust. The rest of the crossbow bolt falls to the ground on the floor undamaged.  (Roll Strength Check vs DC 10) .  

Everyone else, you can feel the gentle tug of something trying to draw your metal equipment forward, but you're not yet in the room so the pull is easily resisted. 

You can hear the sound of the skeleton clattering down the hallway to the left.  

Mal Strength: 18

Mal moves back a few steps, "We might want to avoid that hallway and specifically that knight for now. Seems metal is attracted to it and when I saw one of my my bolts collide with the shield, the metal tip just disintegrated. Also I believe the skittering skeleton thing went to the left."

It will be impossible to get to either the left or right hallway here without moving down the hallway and getting in range of the statue. Do you go back? Or try and figure out a way into one of the passages? 

[OOC: Ohhh, I think I get it, is the statue at the T-junction of this hallway with paths left and right, but we would have to pass the statue?]

[OOC: oh god my typing skills, I had to go back and fix.]

Yes!

 "Let us keep a distance from the face as much as we can but I have passed it without issue in the dark at least. Be cautious of them but not fear them," Silas states.