Meanwhile, in the Westwoods...

"I can do without rest for now, so I'm willing to search with everyone," said Elwin, "but I'm not sure it's wise to assume the map lists ALL the traps. We should keep our wits about us."

As he spoke, Elwin dismissed his spear in a puff of icy mist, and doffed his shield, sliding it onto his back. He then summoned a glaive in its place, a large blade attached to a longer brass pole with ornate carvings, accented with a large blue gemstone (the one from his pic.)

(( Investigation Check: 16, Perception Check: 19; with the glaive, hopefully anything running up on us can be stopped at a bit of a distance. ))

(( He'll also use a bonus action to take Second Wind, regaining 6 HP ))

 Looking at the map, you would guess you are in the big square room with the rows of round pillars. It is pretty much empty, except for the party, three dead hags, and a chopped salad of vine blights..  As said before, there is a layer of dust on everything.  Judging from the pattern of the footprints, it looks like the hags were searching all the walls and pillars, probably for secret compartments where a pair of boots might be hidden.  The northern door on the west wall is the one that leads to the dungeon.  If Elwin is helping Raven search the hags, he finds gold coins and gems hidden in their shoes and the linings of their cloaks...130 gold, two diamonds worth 50 each, an emerald worth 100gp, and a bracelet of carved jade skulls worth 50.

Elwin--trying to contain his eagerness at collecting his own share--immediately divided up the gold coins (that's 26gp each.) After a moment of thought, he held out the gems and bracelet to Del and Quentin.

"These are probably more valuable as spell components, if either of you can use them? If not yet, then maybe one of you should hold them for later? I'm not much for working with jewelry, myself."

(( I've added everything but the gold to our Google doc. ))

(( I did too, removed the doubles ))

Wow, according to the map this place is large. We've been down the dungeon, let's start with the six rooms to the west

No objections, we start methodically going through the rooms as shown, paying attention to trap notes etc. I assume R continues to like going first. Del directs snakes to creep with us, and look down side paths. The rolls I posted above were supposed to be for exploring the place - I guess we will need more eventually?

The rooms to the west: the middle room seems something like a barracks and/or guardroom.  Nothing remains here but a couple of rough tables and benches, bed frames and dilapidated straw mattresses on them. The room to the south looks like it was once an armory.  Empty weapon racks line the walls.  There is a barrel with a few broken spears and swords in it. The three rooms to the west  have beds and simple desks and chairs.  It's possible they were once officer's quarters.  The long room to the north looks like it serves double duty as a corridor and equipment storage. There are some straw targets and practice dummies and such heaped against the west wall.  The north and east walls have some discreet arrow slits in them.

The impression the place gives is that somebody moved out and took everything of any value with them.

Raven will move ahead and help with any traps and searching of rooms.  Her passive perception is 20, so let me know if I need to make a check as we go.

Del suggests heading to the north then clockwise around, confirming the layout and familiarizing ourselves in case we ever need to come back. If this is a place associated with resurrecting the Arch Witch there may be a battle here someday, and it's too big to destroy like a gingerbread house. Maybe we'll find a few shinies and clues. Idiosyncratic stuff we should save, if just to deny their use to our enemies. Bringing back the Arch Witch, is it? Del says I guess know the plot of our epic...

"Well at least we kept the boots from them."  Raven says as they finish looking around the place.  As they search she would fill in her father in all that had happened since she received the letter from him, wanting to get his thoughts on the events. She would have made sure to tell him the full story of her dream, in this very building, as well.

You do a quick walk-through of the building.

The big 'light bulb' still has grisly tapestries on the southern bay, showing people dying horribly, pierced with huge thorns in an angry forest. Th round area is completely empty, but the walls are painted in an ornate pattern of roses and gargoyles, and the domed ceiling is painted with a scene of hags and devils dancing.  It must have been a ballroom and/or banquet hall. At the north, a pair of stairways lead up to a balcony overlooking the room. It looks like there was once some sort of railing along the stairway, but it has been removed, leaving only the sockets it was fitted into.

The rooms to the north give the impression of having once been opulent, painted in rich (if unpleasant) colors, with color differences on the walls showing where paintings once hung. But they have been stripped of everything, even the carpets, leaving  plain floors that are a solid slab of stone. Fireplaces have been taken away, leaving only the hearthstones. The X marked on the secret passage shows where an illusion spell hides a pit with iron spikes at the bottom...since the illusion shows a richly embroidered square of carpet, and the real carpet is no longer there, it is easy enough to identify.

The secret room to the northeast has a round basin carved into the stone, and there are still a few metal bits of hardware attached to the wall, heavy metal rings that might have had ropes or chains attached to them. Raven barely recognizes the secret room to the south as the Arch Witch's study from her dream, once filled with the Arch Witch's treasures and secrets.  It has been completely stripped, even the shelves torn off the walls.

There is no need to run the gauntlet of traps. With the map, you can easily bypass the flaming dragon heads and the spike walls and floor pressure plates by simply going through the ballroom to the War Room.  This room still has a huge, oak table in it...possible because it seems like it would have been difficult to remove it from the room. The north wall is covered by a large map of Talaveroth, and if Raven wants, she can easily press the trigger points on the map to open the secret door to the trapped passage.

To the west of the War Room is a kitchen, still lined with iron stoves, and with a great fire pit in its center, a chimney shaft over it.

The southeast block of rooms are not quite so cleanly stripped: but the furniture left behind is poor and rickety, and some has been broken up as if by someone desperately searching the place.  South of the kitchen, the west door leads to a broom closet with a few old mops and dusters still left behind.  The south door leads to what seems to have been a pantry, with stairs leading down to a heavy door with a lock (but it's been left standing open) which leads to what seems to have been a wine cellar.

Following the corridor, the first door on the east is empty, its purpose unclear. The next seems to have been a storage room with lots of shelves and two levels: the upper walkway can be reached by a ladder, or by a door leading down stairs to what are clearly a bunch of tiny servants rooms, the straw mattresses torn apart by boot-hunting hags. Under the stairs, cold air blows in through some ventilation holes piercing the stone wall.

To the north of the servants' quarters is a laundry, still with an enormous copper vat in it over a fire pit, clotheslines strung across the room overhead, and a small chimney hole. The room to the west has a well. An old rope winch is in the corner, and the floor shows signs of where a pump was once attached, but that has been removed. There are a few buckets and washtubs lying around.

Everyone can make one last perception and investigation check BTW. ^^

Raven will ask someone to aid her in checking one final thing...

Perception: 27 (If advantage is allowed: 22)

(Wow, nailed it in one. ^^ )

In the Arch Witch's study, Raven pushes against the east wall, and though she does not feel anything move, an almost invisible crack in the wall catches her eye.  Eventually she manages to figure out how to open another secret door.  It opens into a small room containing a teleport circle.  Either the person who drew the map kept this secret hidden from the searching hags, or they didn't even know about it.

A last Perception does not sound at all ominous when directed in red bold 15

Were there any takers for Goodberries? 30 HP of healing available, or savable until tomorrow's exciting adventures

When we all set, let's head out of the southern doors together ((do we get out??)) and once all are ready to ride Del will thank and dismiss the snakes if they haven't expired already, and Hail a set of Mounts for the trip back

(Raven already found it. :D)

The south doors open to show the Fens...you can leave any time you want.

(( If no one else asked, Elwin would have graciously taken 7 of the goodberries... 6 would top him off, and one to save for later. ))

"Well, that teleport circle might come in handy," murmured Elwin as he tried to commit the circle's sigils to memory. All in all, he was thankful there were no unforeseen traps, but a little disappointed that there was nothing else noteworthy or valuable in the dungeon.

"Well, I think that was the entire place," he said once they finished their investigation. "I could take that rest at any time now..."

(( Once everyone is ready, Elwin will take whatever mount Del provides to head back. ))

Quentin copies the teleportation circle mentioning, “I’ve been meaning to learn how to make these. They’re kind of complicated magic though.” 

Mindartis takes one last look around, "Let's hurry up and get going."

Wait, no one wants to dash through the teleportation circle to see where it goes, and if it allows returns? Maybe after our next mission, to see if it lends us an advantage 

"We've had rather bad luck with teleportation," Mindartis says. "But if you insist..."

After the next, or after that is fine, no rush. Del answers Hey! Let's block the door from the outside, prevent it being used as a destination until we are ready - the big table from the war room? Traps or something?

After that I guess we are ready to hop on some owls and go home?

Raven is ready to head out.  "Do we need to gather anything from those who fell outside of here?" She asks her father, referring to the dead bodies they saw on their way in.