"I admire your spirit, Eldeth, but you will not be dying today. Not hiding in a corner, and not in battle." Caelynn places a gentle hand on the dwarven woman's shoulder as she speaks. Then, for the first time in weeks, she draws the longbow off of her back. Arrows are a precious resource that she's hesitant to use, but she has little fear of losing them in an enclosed chamber, and a powerful enemy such as this one warrants the use of a more powerful weapon. With a nod to Oak, she descends after him.

The party descends into the darkness of the tunnel. Your footsteps echo softly around you as you walk upon the carved steps. The air gradually grows cooler and dryer. Nothing has disturbed this passage for a long time. Curiously, there appears to be no dust in the tunnel. After walking for nearly a minute down the descending passage, the tunnel levels out. Ahead of the group, a ten by ten foot slab of marble encased in a thin layer of beaten bronze greets you. The bronze has attained a greenish tint from the weight of ages. Embossed into the bronze is an image of a hooded figure. The torch held by Jimjar reflects weekly across the metal.

@DM

The slab is set into the wall. Sorry.

Aimon examines the sob and the surrounding walls for anything that suggest it’s a doorway and anything that might act as a trigger to open it.

(Perception:  13 )

Oak approaches the marble slab alongside Aimon, squinting at it in the light of Jimjar’s torch...

He reaches out his hand, to touch the marble, and brushes its surface gently with his fingers, feeling the chill of the cold stone...

Then he softly touches the sharp edge of his axe against the slab without making a sound, and draws the blade across the surface like he did with his fingers, but this time enjoying the faint ringing, singing sound, of his weapon as it glides across the impossibly smooth surface.

”Do we need to go through this??” he whispers to the group, slightly in awe of the monolithic piece of stone. 

At your inspection, it appears to be able to pivot on a central axis. If anyone pushes it open, the heavy stone slab grinds across the ground as it rotates around its center. It's a tight squeeze, but you can make it through.

Aimon tells the others to be ready just in case something is waiting for them when they open the slab.

He pushes on one side, rapier in hand, ready for anything that awaits. And then steps through if it looks clear.

Oak steps back as the slab suddenly moves. He looks at Aimon, “What did I do?!”.

As the shock wears off, he follows Aimon through in case there is something immediately on the other side.

It’s even more of a squeeze for Oak. But his hide slides smoothly enough against the marble.

Caelynn nocks an arrow in her intricately carved bow, pointing it at the floor but ready to fire at a moment's notice. She follows Oak and Aimon in, glancing at the image of the hooded figure as she does to see if she recognizes anything about it.

(Whether you want history, arcana, religion, or just straight intelligence, my modifier is the same. 16)

The party cautiously makes their way into the chamber behind the marble slab. You come into a 20 by 30 foot room with an arched ceiling overhead. The floor is made of smooth, polished stone tiles. To either side of the room, a mural decorates the walls. This mural depicts a robe figure floating above a mass of people bowing and kneeling towards the figure. The robes figure has the meeting sun behind it, giving the figure as sort of halo. Floating cities and clouds for the sky. To either side of the mural, long dead torches rest in sconces. In each corner of the room, heavily decorated suits of armor stand in a proud pose. The metal is made of platinum, and gold makes up fancy ridges adorning the armor. A spear rests in one of their hands while the other is at their side. In front of each mural, a small shrine covered in partially melted candles resides. The center piece of each shrine is an ornate chalice filled with fresh blood. The opposite wall from where you just entered contains another heavy marble slab coated in a sheet of metal.

Caelynn, you recognize the suits of armor to be of an ancient empire. This empire was the Netherese Empire. The Netherese Empire once dominated Faerun thousands of years ago. Their mastery of magic was unparalleled. Their mightiest mages made the mages of the modern world look like toddlers. Civil war eventually brought the most powerful empire in history to its knees. With the empire shattered, many arcane secrets were lost.

“Where on earth did the fresh blood come from?” whispers, Aimon.

He eyes the suits or armor carefully, memories of the stone sentries coming to life still fresh in his mind.

But he also can’t help but notice the valuable metals that make up the armor.

”They’re worth a fortune.”

He examines the new slab carefully for traps and triggers, careful not to touch it in case that awakens the armor.

(Perception: 20 )

“Very creepy...” offers Oak...

And conscious none of this looks like his area of expertise, he makes a point of trying to stay towards the centre of the room away from all of it, whilst also trying to keep one eye on each of the suits of armour.

“And very, very old.” While Afamrail searches the slab, Caelynn trains her bow on one of the suits of armor, preparing to fire in case it moves. 

“Very creepy...”, Trill echoes in agreement.

Aimon, your search reveals no traps. It appears to be a normal slab, similar to the one you just went through.

Aimon shrugs and then gives a short bow to everyone.

”I’m still not convinced this won’t all get a bit festive once I push on this door so let’s all be ready.”

then he pushes on the slab to open it.

The slab grinds against the floor as it swings open. Beyond, a short flight of stairs descend for 15 feet before opening up into another chamber. This chamber is 30 by 40 foot. Across from where you in the center of the larger wall, a stone slab is set into the wall. Another one is set into the shorter wall towards your right. Along the wall towards your left, a follow shrine rests against the wall. The floor has several shredded tapestries stretching across sections. Friezes on the walls are defaced with deep gouges, making them unrecognizable. A thin layer of dust coats everything.

Oak will follow Aimon into the new room. Without touching it, he’ll look at the shrine to see if it’s just like all the others (candles, blood, etc)...

Then he’ll say “Oh no, it looks like we have a choice of doors here...” He looks over to Aimon, “Any ideas? Does your voice-friend know the way from here?!”.

Aimon calls to the sword in his head, telling her that they're in a room with two slab doorways with one on a long wall and one on a shorter wall, opposite a shrine of some sort.

While he waits for an answer, Aimon examines the slabs for any traps.

(Perception: 26 )