Leann feels the statue beneath fabric and the energy pulsing, solid strands of ivory which envelope her hand and wrist in a cage of webbing. 

She had previously discovered that a blade seemed to have no effect on the strange material, and would only succeed in covering the area in darkness if she removed the fabric. Perhaps Damh would be able to assist her in removing the magical item when they are safe. It would seem that some counter-spell or disenchantment is needed to remove the item. 

As everything unfolds, Hadar has also set his mind on being in line with Tunist's needs and thought process to try to figure out just how much this strangely intelligent dog really knows or understands. She now seems to give him meaningful looks and projects an understanding to him that they are allies and she will give him support when she is able. He feels as though reaching out to her will certainly be of benefit to him. 

Hadar tries to reconcile all the information, but the riddle perplexes him. With his senses renewed, he's concerned he missed something in the lighthouse that could've helped here. He also laments not finishing the job with the tower. It wasn't like him to cut and run like that, not to mention the other thing... He lets out a big sigh and looks at Tunist trying her hardest to be helpful.

Hadar grabs his tankard from his pack, fills it halfway with water, and places it in front of Tunist. "You must be thirsty." He takes a swig from the waterskin and offers it to Damh first, then Leann (as she's preoccupied with her hand).

"I think I missed something back at the lighthouse that could help us here," he says aloud to the room. "Let's clear off the rest of the sand to see what we're dealing with and if we really are missing something."

Looking to the bard, "Dahm, could I take a look at that coin up close? Here's my spade to aid in the clearing."

Giving up on the figurine for now, Leann pulls out the wand thing she took from the tower.  "Is this of any use here?" She asks.

Tunist gratefully laps away at the water, the first she's had all day. Spittle flies everywhere as she moves between drinking and giving Hadar appreciative looks. 

Damh takes a swig of water, handing the skin back to Hadar. "My thanks. We're going to be needing more of that if we're going to have a chance at survival. Hopefully that beast will move on once it finds whatever it has come to retrieve... and hopefully the well isn't completely filled with sand."

He glances between Leann and Hadar and shakes his head - "As for that item from the Lighthouse, Leann, I'd need some time to examine it. I do not recognize it, so it must have been a tool Erin used for his duties. Perhaps a key to activate the Lighthouse, but it's hard to say. For all I know, it could be a back-scratcher."

Damh retrieves the coin and hands it to Hadar. "It looks like standard old-world currency to me. Platinum bears that mark if I recall correctly." Scraping away the sand with Hadar's spade, he reveals a disc of marble three feet wide and with a total of four pressure plates set into it. The bard pensively runs his fingers across the plate closest to the door, finally pressing down with a nod. Another loud clanking can be heard within, and another slot near the base ejects a stream of coins, forming a small pile in the sand. 

Jimmer and Twinly continue to monitor the situation up North as the strange creature continues to shred the roof of the Hall. The sound of splintering wood makes its way through the din as well. It sounds as if the Drider is ripping the crates apart. "Please tell me you're making progress down there!" Jimmer shouts to the others.

Hadar mutters aloud, "More coins. Seems this merchant was fond of his money."

Walking over to look at the third plate, "My bet, heh, is that this last one also piles out coins and we must balance them all against each other. Hmmm,  unless there's a twist."

Looking to the others, "Any chance either of you know what the exchange rate was or is for old kingdom coin?" Hadar beings to pace, "OR! We must balance something of equal value to the amount of coins it spills out." He pauses, "It also could be the weight of an object in opposition to the coins." Hadar growls in exasperation at the multiplying options and goes to help Dahm clear the last plate off.

Damh shrugs as the last of the 4 plates is wiped clean of sand. “I guess we might as well see if these next two will kill us or not.” With that, he steps onto both of the other plates at the same time.

The sound of clanking within the door begins, this time with a more labored, grating noise. It almost sounds like the ancient mechanisms within might seize, but then, in a clattering torrent, two more piles of coins spill from the base of the door.

Damh crosses his arms and steps away, letting the plates come back to position. “Well, we’ve either come across a nice some of money at exactly the wrong time, or these are the key to finding our way into this tomb.”

Crouching down, Damh examines the coins. “Well, it looks like we’ve got everything besides copper here, including that Platinum coin you have, Hadar: Gold, Electrum and Silver. That platinum piece converts to 10, 20 and 100 of the other three, respectively.”

(OOC - Images are examples, not indicating the actual amount of coins dispensed)

Hadar scratched his head, "I feel like I'm in training again. Are you askin' me to do figures?"

He scrunches up his face, "So let's put the platinum on one side of the scale and have an equal amount of coin on the other. Unless we're going for weight or something equal in the value to the coins. I'm still not sure which way to go there."

The toothy half-orc looks up at Damh and Leann, "Maybe we're supposed to equal out the coins on each side of the scale, creating a balance that way?! I guess we better just start trying out theories and hope we land at the right one before dying. Let's start with equaling the coins, feels like the best option...until it's not. heh."

"Fine with me." Leann says with a shrug.  "I'd prefer to just try to kick it down, but that seems less than optimal..."

“Balance! Yes, that’s the answer to the riddle - see?"

Damh counts out the money – “1 Platinum, 20 Electrum, 10 Gold…” after a couple of minutes go by “and 100 silver!”

Handing the pile of Electrum to Hadar, he scoops up the large pile Silver and dumps it on the plate he stepped on to release it. The scale tips dramatically to one side on the door as the plate descends. Taking the small pile of gold, he repeats the process and watches the scale shift again. 

“Place the Platinum and Electrum and we’ll see what happens, friend.”

The bard frowns and his eyes widen as a crackling energy stands everyone’s hair on end and Tunist begins wining and growling.

Twinly and Jimmer run to stand next to Leann, surprised expressions on their faces.

Jimmer turns back to face the opening of the large crevasse and nocks and arrow, drawing the string until taught and raising his weapon to prepare a shot if necessary.

Twinly digs through a small padded bag at his hip and retrieves a thick glass vial from within, hefting it to test its weight. He unscrews the cap slightly and greenish, noxious fumes puff out and up into the rocks above.

“We need to get through that door NOW.” He takes his place besides Jimmer to guard the others.

Hadar does what he is told with a thorough appreciation for Damh's cleverness. 

Taking a step back he tries to shield Tunist from whatever is about to happen if she is close.

Leann takes the dodge action...

Learning of such dire information, Ashissa orders Baku to head directly to east to gain more insight of what happened on the trail while she stashes away the woman's glove before riding her broom back to the only bastion of civilization as she attempts to inform her fellow intrepid survivors of what is coming.

The metal door creaks and stops, then slowly begins to grate open into the rock to their left.

Cool, stale air exits the passage with a soft, ancient pressure. This breeze is a short reprieve from the dry, hot air of the desert.

Within the short door, the group can see an antechamber, spacious, yet unadorned with any sort of kingly riches. The room is lit well from the bright light of the desert, even through the small door. On the walls to the left and right of the room, shadows fall across ancient relief carvings of what appears to be merchants counting on a large abacus.

In the center of the back wall is a hallway, dipped low from the 15-foot ceiling of this room, similar to the small entryway. It is less than 6 feet tall and 5 feet wide, and it looks very claustrophobic. Everyone would have to duck to enter there.

Down the hall, those with Darkvision can see intricate paintings all along the hallway. It appears the end of the passage has another door. The hallway is only dimly lit, so the paintings are a wash of ashy colors in this light.

Ashissa breaches the canyon wall on her flying broom, only to see the Great Hall ripped to shreds, the crates within thoroughly rifled through. The strange half elf, half spider creature has come out of its stupor and seems to be retrieving items from one of the wooden boxes.

The mucky, flailing creature composed of slime, limbs, eyes and mouths is ambling to the South of the Canyon at an alarming rate.

Baku continues to fly East, following the seemingly endless footprints in the sand. The sand dunes are becoming more and more massive the further it flies, and it can see the massive bones of dead ancient creatures even closer now. Even these epic beasts fell under the power of the demon’s rampage.

There is a stirring in the sand below as its shadow passes along the tracks from above, and there is a sudden eruption of movement and a burst of sand. Two fiery tornadoes spring forth from the sand, rising almost instantly to Baku’s height and spinning to a stop, flaming projections spinning out and taking the shape of small, winged forms.

They seem to examine Baku, gaps opening in what appear to be their heads as if they are trying to communicate.

"Well done, Damh! Let's make sure there isn't another surprise before going inside." Turning to Tunist with a quiet, reassuring voice, "Stay."

Hadar takes out his long pole from his bag, then grabs a large handful of sand and tosses it across the threshold. 

Ashissa's Perception: 6

Baku's Perception: 18

Leann moves up and helps Hader check the entryway for traps.  Giving him the help action.

Quote from Afadoven >>

"Well done, Damh! Let's make sure there isn't another surprise before going inside." Turning to Tunist with a quiet, reassuring voice, "Stay."

Hadar takes out his long pole from his bag, then grabs a large handful of sand and tosses it across the threshold. 

If nothing occurs, he will then try to poke and prod at the floor and around the threshold for any secondary traps. He will repeat this as he gets closer to the door and the pole further into until he knows there's room for the group to safely enter.

Quote from DragonDenn >>

Leann moves up and helps Hader check the entryway for traps.  Giving him the help action.

The sand falls quietly to the floor as it crosses the threshold, as Hadar's movement sends a rush of warm desert heat into the stale tomb air.

As Leann and Hadar carefully examine the floor, Hadar tapping the tiles methodically, they find no trace of danger in the chamber. The hallway before them stretches 30 feet deeper into the tomb at a gentle decline. As they approach, they can see the paintings along the hallway in more detail. They are strange and disturbing, depicting contorted and unfamiliar creatures and structures. 

As they stand at the entrance to the hallway, they can see the plain looking door at the end of the hall. It appears to be warped, ancient wood of some kind.