With her eagle eyes, Brunella sees a bright flash. Instincts take over, and she dives to the ground, throwing her hands up over her head. Her forearms, legs, and back crackle and burn as the flames pass over her.

Frightened by the explosion, but determined to not let his friends die (...again), Inete cast upon Kurma, Isabella and Gertrude her most powerful healing spells:

Kurma: 4th level Cure Wounds: 16

Isabella: 4th level Cure Wounds: 15

Gertrude: 2th level Cure Wounds: 15

Artus: "For all Gods! This place is designed to blow any spark of hope out! We need to endure if we want to give any meaning to this journey."

Gertrude feels the blast around her neck and hears the deafening bang. Her companions scream. In the silence right after, she is sure, she just died right there. Then the pain sets in, and she knows she is alive. Her body reacted, when her mind couldn't. The cold of her homeland protected her and covered her right at the impact, taking away the most lethal of force (stones endurance 14 HP damage less - rolled in discord). When she looks around, two of her friends lie on the ground, unmoving. But brave Inete is already taking care of them. Her magic also soothes some of Gertrude's deeper wounds. 

I won't get tempted again. I'll let this be my lesson. Though guilt weighs heavy on Gertrude's shoulders for hurting her friends and destroying what could have been a valuable weapon, she stays silent. What was there to say anyway?

Kurma opens his eyes and sees the sweet face of Inete. "Thank you my child, I should have known. There is no lucky treasure in this  doomed place."
"Well, I guess I will need a bit a time to rest."

Hit dice: 17
Hit dice: 16

Irommek heard the boom and then everything fell silent except for a quiet, continuous high pitched tone somewhere in the back of his consciousness.  He had been thrown against the wall but somehow managed to find a small nook in the stone that saved him from some of the force of the blast.

Slowly the tone faded and as he staggered to his feet, the muffled sounds of Inete's voice caught his attention.

"I'm...somehow...in...one...piece...".  Looking down as his missing arm, he added, "Well, mostly".

Shaking his head and thanking Moradin for thick bones and a thicker skull, he made his way over to his injured friends.

"Does anyone else need more healing?  Valkauna can add her blessing to Inete's if needed."

Gertrude mumbles: "Thank you, I am good." and walks past Irommek without making eye contact. She quickly looks at the treasure box in the form of a cockroach and walks straight past it. Then she turns into the corridor indicated by Kurma. 

"Gertrude please don't rush. Let's looks for traps !"
Investigate: 7 + 4 (guidance)

After ten feet, this dusty corridor becomes a staircase that descends fifteen feet to a lower tunnel. Resting on the floor at the bottom of the staircase is an old treasure chest with a rusty built-in lock. Just beyond the chest, the tunnel opens up to a huge, dark chamber.

Quote from RonanKP >>

"Gertrude please don't rush. Let's looks for traps !"
Investigate: 7 + 4 (guidance)

 ... and to Kurma's senses, there are no traps between the corridor, the staircase and the dark room.

Kurma looks for a stone on the floor, cast Light on it and throws it in the middle of the room

Quote from RonanKP >>

Kurma looks for a stone on the floor, cast Light on it and throws it in the middle of the room

 From the top of the stairs, Kurma can see that in the room ahead twin staircases ascend to an upper gallery, where a carving in the form of a giant maze adorns the wall. On the floor in the middle of the room stands an opaque crystal sarcophagus that is constantly changing colour.

Gertrude picks up another pebble and throws it at the chest at the bottom of the stairs. Better safe than sorry. 

STR 23 

perception  15 

Quote from tiomila >>

Gertrude picks up another pebble and throws it at the chest at the bottom of the stairs. Better safe than sorry. 

STR 23 

perception  15 

 The pebble hits the chest with a thud. The damage isn't enough to break or open it, but something inside it produces a metallic sound in return.

Can Isabella see the maze as well? If she does she will sketch out the maze on a separate parchment.

Quote from BeastyC >>

Can Isabella see the maze as well? If she does she will sketch out the maze on a separate parchment.

 OOC Isabella can't discern the details of the maze from that distance. To examine it, she will need to go into the room.

She will proceed Into the room staying vigilant and looking for traps.

perception: 21

"Well if nobody is opening the chest, I will. But give me a moment, I want to be sure". Kurma cast detect magic as a ritual and then looks more closely to the chest for traps. Opening it if it looks safe.
Investigation: 14 + 2 (guidance)

Indeed, the chest seems trapped and locked. Underneath the chest, the tile seems to be a pressure plate which, according to Isabella's guess, would likely trigger the secret compartment at the top of the stairs.

The secret compartment can be jammed, though, with an iron spike or locked with thieves' tools.

From the inside of the chest, an aura of illusion is detected by Kurma.

"Hummmm this is trapped" Said Kurma pointing at the mechanism. "Anybody has anything to block it?"
"Also, there's some Illusion aura coming from inside..."