Knowing the little lizard is too small for stone levers, Badger dismisses the little guy and announces to the group: Small cramped tunnel, fifty feet long, with a stone lever at the end. Anyone wish to do the honors? Mal?

Looking down at Badger, Mal comments, "Ummm, if it is small and cramped shouldn't you make your way down the tunnel?"

"What way does the lever pull?  Can we tie a rope and pull it from here?  If not, who wants to risk a drop like that first lever pull?" Grenk asks while smiling.

Replying to Mal, Badger stammers: W-well I just thought jobs like this were more ... congruent with your skill set. I'm more of a thinker, and you're more of a do-er. Then seeing the pointed look he receives, he quickly responds: I suppose I better go. Just in case there's anything else that requires special attention and thought. Another look and the gnome shuts up, save to ask Grenk: Just tie a rope around me first, okay?

Badger is going into the long slender tunnel to pull the lever at the end...

With a rope tied around him, the gnome crawls down the long tunnel.  Looking back towards the group he sees the small square of light a rather long way back....the rope a thin line back to his allies who faces are crowded around the entrance peering at the gnomes butt, waiting to see what happens to his ass. With all the trust of a baby lamb walking into a swamp of grinning crocodiles, Badger gulps once and then pulls the lever. Above him,  a portion of the ceiling seems to slide aside. Poking his head up, he sees he's back in the control room.  The main lectern holding all the controls has slide aside to reveal the passage he's in. 

Badger momentarily contemplates fiddling with the controls and traversing the pentagonal rooms and spinning passages again, to sneak up behind his companions in the planet room and surprise them... But decided it's too risky. Instead he calls back down the crawlway: I'm back in the control room. Looks like we aren't cut off after all.

Silas will follow Badger through the hole and pops his head through the hole, looking around, "Should we be able to hold this open, the time spent to keep the door open open was a waste then,"

Silas figures that the lectern sliding over as a cover won't have enough force to break anything significant.  It should be easy enough to jam this open so that it won't close again on its own.

Well this tunnel would have been nice to find days ago bypassing all those damn fights, Mal thinks. "Yea so I guess I should be looking for more secret passage ways in this god forsaken place. Well at least we know about it now." Mal sheepishly says.

In your defense, the lectern appears to completely conceal the entrance, and without the lever on the inside, it might be IMPOSSIBLE to open from the other side.  *DM shrug*

Badger replies to Silas: Not a waste. Two pathways are better than one. But it means we do not have to climb out of the poison garden room to escape this level. We can return the way we entered.

(OOC: This would also be a good place to rest, considering the only current way in is the crawlway. As long as the slime pipes stay blocked.)

"I do not need a rest so I can keep watch most of the night if others need to. This is probably a better spot to rest than any other place in this place." Mal says.

(OOC: Long rest then?  You had one only an hour or two ago though.  You long rested, then went down the passage, and then fought the flying things and explored the armillary sphere.)

(OOC: Sorry, I meant in general. Badger doesn't need a rest yet.)

(wasn't it the wardrobe(s) fight then short rest after some stone shape of the iron bars then the drone fight. I remember people just using some Hit Dice)

(maybe..? I could go look.  Either way, you guys taking a short rest or long rest?  Either way, the rest resolves without incident in this location.)

Assuming it was a short rest, Silas is in favor for a long rest. he's sitting at 0/1/2/2/0 spell slots.

[OOC: I was assuming a long rest was being requested, which is perfectly fine with Mal. She understand that this dungeon is just going to get harder when we go down and would want her companions at full strength.]

The group decides it's best if they sit and prepare a bit before going on to their next challenge in this place. 

(Long rest occurs). 

The time passes slowly in the control room.  The grey sludge gives off a strange buzzing feeling that isn't a problem in short bouts, but after the 8 hours people are ready to move on. 

"Should we return to your ship thing to locked room with skeleton keys?" Silas questions after resting and adjusting his spells through prayer.