Mal looks at the secret door.  It doesn't appear to be locked or trapped. Grenk asks to kick down the door. Mal looks back at him, shrugging, and backs away.  Nobody seems in a hurry to stop him so Grenk steps past the undead perched on the chair and slams his foot into the door.  Right as he does so, he smells a bit of a rotten egg smell, but his foot is already moving. The door flies open, a spark from a chunk of metal on it that drags against the wall and a thunderous explosion of flame bursts out of the secret passage sending chair, undead, and Grenk flying backwards.  (Dex Save DC 15 or take 25 fire damage or half as much on a save.). 

That was reckless! Shame on you! scolds Badger with raised voice. Turning to Mal he continues: And did you not check for traps? Surely this should be second-nature by now! We can't afford to risk getting blown up or stabbed or poisoned or electrocuted or the gods-know-what-else every time we open a door. He huffs a little bit, and then says and little more softly: Let's not be hasty and go charging downstairs like stampeding hadrosaurs. Hold a moment while I check ahead. Badger then casts Arcane Eye and sends the magical eye exploring ahead.

The arcane eye descends into the still smoking passageway. Whatever exploded here exploded down in the tunnel as well and the smoke of the flash flame is slow to clear. The passage leads down a flight of stairs which winds down ten feet and descends into a sluggish underground river that runs right to left in a winding cave with five feet of clearance over the rivers surface. The river looks muddy and you can't see how deep it goes.

Grenk's dex save 10

Grenk goes flying back at the blast.  The flames chare the edge of his clothing and would burn a little bit of his hair.  He stands himself up and dusts himself off.  "That's a good way to get the blood pumping."  This time he will wait for Badger to check.

(Is there any more passage across the river?)

(Nope). (Why are we whispering?)

Mal will look at the door and then Grenk and then back to the door and then back to Grenk with a confused look on her face, Odd I checked that door and did not discover anything, guess I will have to pay even closer to the minute details.

She will then grimace at the harsh words from Badger and mutter, "Yea sure, check for traps, why didn't I think of that." as she puts her tools away. "Let's see how well you do at the next door."

Don't be ridiculous, Badger mutters back to Mal without looking, focusing on the vision in the eye. Unlocking doors is your job. Now let me do mine.

He stares off into space for a few moments and then announces: There's nothing down there but a muddy river. I don't even want to imagine what might be lurking in there - definitely not worth the danger. I say we return to the fountain and rest, that seems to be the safest and most defensible room.

Mal heads back into the fountain room and prepares a spot to sleep in the corner. "I can take first watch."

The group just spent 8 hours sleeping /resting near the entrance. You've been walking around for 45 minutes tops. No one is remotely tired.

(OOC: And yet Badger recommends holding up in the fountain room) We still don't know where that skeleton creature went. It could come back at any time, he says. 

[OOC: Right good point on the rest thing, totally forgot about that minor little detail.]

Grenk wouldn't mind stopping for breakfast and spending some hit die to heal up that burn but he can easily keep going too.

"Sigh, a short reprise (short rest) i guess.  When we move on and try to keep your hands to yourselves. I have minor healing abilities this day and what he has done to himself, i can not quickly heal," Silas points his thumb at Grenk. If we take a short rest, when that is over, Silas will cast Death Ward on himself. He'll cast it on himself when no one is looking if there is no short rest and we just move on. 

Sickle goes to Grenk’s side, examining the burn wounds.  “I can assist with this, or we can rest here.”

If we choose not to rest, Sickle will cast Cure Wounds at 2nd level. 14

“Badger, send your eyes down here,” and Sickle will indicaré the stairs down from the hall they came from. (Assuming we can see those.)

After, he will ask, “What can you tell about the nature of the ring? The plaque mentioned a ring.”

With a fresh magical ring and an injured companion, the group settles down for a short rest just to catch a breather and let the wizard investigate his new toy. 

After an hour of rest in the silence of the dark underground vault, with only the splashing mysterious (likely poisoned or cursed) water....the group is ready to go. 

Badger, you've identified the ring as a Ring of Protection 

 Actually, while the arcane eye is still active, Badger will use it to explore as many passages as possible, starting with the stairs nearby, and if they go nowhere then back to the big central stairwell. When the spell runs out he will use a ritual to identify the ring.

Genk sits down and takes a quick meal.  As he chews the rations he thinks to the explosion that he caused.  He frownes with self disappointment as he could have ended their lives and probably the best chance at ending the soul monger.

Hit die healing 10

Hit die healing 9

Hit die healing 10

The arcane eye travels down a stairwell that has two switchbacks before emerging into a room. At the 2nd switchback, a strange skeleton clings to one wall, near the ceiling, hidden from the room below, staying silent.  Once the eye descends into the room you look around.  Old wooden benches and shelves along the walls of this chamber are covered with gears, chains, trap components, and cages filled with rats. Lit iron braziers hang by chains from the ceiling. Along the north wall, a stepped dais is set with a bulky contraption: an iron maiden of sorts, attached to a network of steaming pistons, tubes, and bubbling vats of blood. Four undead masked dwarves operate the contraption, while one fiddles with some metal parts on a table.  

Taking a moment to listen from the top of the stairs, you can hear the occasional thud or clink as they move around. Though they don't seem to talk much, just the occasional grunt or word. A strange metallic mixed with rotting smell can faintly be detected.

That can't be good, mutters Badger. Turning to the others, he says: There is some kind of dwarven torture chamber down there. It is clearly a trap, and far too dangerous. I think we should return to the fountain room and plan our next move.