Lost Mine of Phandelver

"Well that would explain the odd tracks. At least that's one mystery solved. Now where are the dwarves? Hear me!? I said Where. Are. The dwarves?" he shakes the snoozing bugbear roughly.

Garet will look around the room for other clues regarding the things bugbear siad  Perception 19 

OOC: If investigation then -1 to roll above

Weakly, the bugbear replies to Rigel's command: "East...they are in the cavern directly east..." and then his eyes roll back into his head an he appears to be unconscious again.

Searching the chamber, Garet finds nothing of value.

"Alright , I guess East it is." says Rigel. He then asks Garet "Anything?"

Garet just nods "no"

Marcon stood there grimacing at the rough treatment, but had neither the heart or energy to stop Rigel in the moment. Once things are settled though, the ex-farmhand looks between the two doors of the chamber before settling his gaze on the one they /hadn't/ entered from and scratched his head. "Uh... hmm.... Hold on." He squeezes his eyes shut and nearly gives himself an aneurism working the old hamster wheel to figure...

(Ignore spoiler. Purely there to help me decide character response as per usual)

"Yea, I got nuthin. Which way is east down here?  And do we gotta go through there then?" He asks, gesturing towards the table barricaded door.

.

Ronk frowns down at the unconscious bugbear. "Do we try to ask him were east is?"

"Uhh... well, I ain't the brightest candle in the tavern, so take what I say with a grain of salt. But pretty sure if he gets slapped around any more, all we'll get is probably gibberish." Marcon replied, frowning as well as looking to the unconscious bugbear. "That's assuming of course some of that hasn't already gotten mixed in as-is... But either way, I'll follow ya'll lead." 

Vanzaren looks around, "Well ita going to be hard to figure out down here. Perhaps we just go through the door that's barricaded? And not leave friendly wizards behind if they're lagging behind."

"Actually it won't be hard at all." states Rigel. Drawing the Rod he obtained from Harlen, Rigel thumbs the 6th button. The Rod of Lordly Might hums softly for a moment as the ranger spins slowly around in a circle while pointing the rod straight out in front of him. At one point the hum gets louder then softens again as he continues his arc. Reversing his direction he returns to the place where the hum is at its peak. Pointing in the same direction as the rod he says, "Well that's north, so that's east." He indicates a direction perpendicular and to the right of the rods direction. It's clear he's pointing at the barricaded door. He also tells the.group how far down they are.

Rigel lowers the rod, thumbs another button and the rod takes the now familiar axe shape.

"Guess we might as well see why it's boarded up."

He strides over to the door and begins to move the barricade material.

Marcon sighed and shook his head at Vanz remark, but again bit back any retorts. When it came to the rod's usuage however, even Marcon couldn't help but let out a low whistle in astonishment. "Lot more nifty than I expected. Though I... I still..." He frowned and furrowed his brow, seeming unable to find the right words. But with no others voicing any opposing opinions, he soon shrugged off his concerns in favor of assisting Rigel in tearing down the barricade.

With Marcon’s help, Rigel is able to clear the broken table and other debris away from the door in about 10 minutes. The door itself is similar to the one at the opposite end of the room to include a locking bar instead of a keyed lock mechanism. 

"Everyone ready?" asks Rigel. He'll wait for approval from everyone before lifting the bar and opening the door.

"Bout as ready as I'll ever be. Let's see if we can rescue ourselves a dwarf." Marcon replied in a lackadaisical matter, before glancing over to Vanzaren. For a moment, it looked as if he might say something as well, but seemed to think better of it. Instead following a shake of his head, Marcon squinted at the other door to make sure it stayed bard, before also belatedly lighting another torch in anticipation of more dark caverns.

Van draws his sword, "Let's do this thing."

Ronk shrugs and hefts his spear. "Yeah, ok. Let's go."

Before they move Garet asks "But why d.did they b..barricade f..from this site?"

Marcon opens his mouth as if to respond, hesitates for a second, and then tries a second time to speak only to furrow his brows and look askance. "... Ya know, I'd been wondering the same thing in hindsight. But uh-..." He looks to the scattered remains of the barricade before turning his gaze back on Garet with a frown. "A bit too late init to not follow through? 'cause if nothing else, we could at least take a peek?"

Rigel finds a short hallway beyond the barricaded door with a side passage that leads south down some stairs. Ahead, he sees a large blast furnace and a mechanical bellows powered by a waterwheel at the center of a large chamber. The furnace is cold and dark, but heaps of coal are piled nearby, along with carts full of unrefined ore. The waterwheel sits in a ten-foot-wide channel cut into the floor of the room, but the channel is dry. Passages exit to the west, south, and east from the chamber. The empty waterway exits to the north and east. More than a dozen withered corpses are scattered around the room. These slain dwarves and orcs are still wearing the remnants of their armor.