[Yeaaaaah buddy! One Inspiration coming right up! (If you don't already have it).]

(I already have an Inspiration, but can I give this one to someone else?)

Morthos yells, running behind the pedestal only to find nothing. Whoever was there must have teleported away; nonetheless, they were being watched. He felt uneasy, worsened by the leering gaze of the demonic statues.

He takes a closer look at the bizarre mass of metal, trying to ascertain it's purpose. As he does so, he analyzes the metal skull containing the black rock. Was this another mysterious magical artifact?

Arcana: 15

After he inspects the object, he says, "Watch that hallway on the left. Those are some strange stone tiles; they must have some ulterior purpose. It appears Dakara has survived my spell as well as the fall. I'll take a peek through those doors." 

As he moves, he searches for any sign of Dakara's discarded bracers. His spell of Heat Metal would have lasted a minute; even if Dakara had a tiefling's resistance, the only way he could have survived that along with the fall would have been to remove them. Then, he checks the ornate doors to see if they are locked. If not, he'll just open them slightly and look through.

Perception: 9

[That's a generous idea, but I'm gonna say no to passing off Inspiration to others. I use it is to reward individuals not the party as a whole, and I feel like I give it out freely enough already. So for future reference, if you have Inspiration, don't save it. As long as you're awesome you'll probably be getting it back soon.

And as another note, try not to have your characters do too many separate things all in one post, otherwise it might be difficult to resolve everything. (Example, if the unknown results of one of your first actions would unwittingly contradict the things you write next in the same post). Although I certainly can't blame people if they get excited, maybe doing what Coolname does and try to really dig deep into one combat "action" at a time would be good, even though we're not in combat if that makes sense.]

Even upon close and careful inspection of the bizarre contraption, Morthos would still struggle to ascertain precisely what such a thing is designed to accomplish. Although, it was unmistakably magical. And based on how the clockwork all fit together and how the stone in the skull's forehead appeared to be nestled into a depression of sorts, it would be safe to assume the stone may function as some kind of activation button.

But ignoring the device for now, the inquisitive half-elf would discover no trace of Dakara's bracers in the chamber. Finding the large doors to the north unlocked (but quite heavy), a quick peek through would reveal another long corridor stretching almost to the very limits of his darkvision. There appeared to be more unlit sconces upon the walls, as well as nooks spaced ten feet apart he couldn't see into. This hallway had a super high vaulted ceiling, unlike the east and west corridors that had more normal ten foot high flat ceilings. The soggy footprints trailed off just beyond the large doors, and beyond that everything was eerily silent and still.

 [Updated map. Green dots are torch locations. Blue dashes are the wet footprints.]

Thad looks inquisitively at the skull and device, scratching his chin. Finally shrugging, he turns back to the others, readjusting his armour as he moves back towards the centre of the room. "What did ya all find? Any signs o' the girl?"

(Sounds good. I’ll keep that in mind).

Morthos closes the doors and replies to Thaedren. “No, nothing yet.”

He moves over to the metal skull before turning to his companions. “Does anyone want to see what this does? If not, I don’t blame you. But this may open some sort of secret passage to expedite our search.”

Assuming no one objects, he will press the button. 

Movement: Back to the mass of metal

Action: Press the button(if no objections)

Looking at Morthos inspecting the contraption Lilandra will move up closer. 

As Morthos asks to press the button she will say Wait! We dont know what it does. 

She will look a bit worried back into the hall, stressed for time she agrees they have to act. Hold on. She places her hand on Morthos's shoulder speaking the words May you be protected from harm. As she utters the last word a watery shield starts forming from her fingertips, still on Morthos's shoulder. It extends into an oval shape looking like a soap bubble that has formed around Morthos. 
Lilandra pulls her hand back as the bubble moves with her hand a few inches before snapping back again. The light from the many fireflies hovering around her causes the wobbling bubble to reflect light on various places allowing everyone to see something has formed around him. 

Lilandra nods Alright, go on. and takes a few steps back just in case. 

Movement: closer to the group, to the south of the room. 
Action: cast Resistance on Morthos
Concentration: on the Resistance spell. 

Morgan was looking over the strange device when it was suggested they touch the button to see what it does.  With a shrug he stepped away, wondering just what such an action might uncover.  He gave a slow nod of his head to indicate he was ready.

With all eyes upon Morthos and the strange contraption, the bard touched his finger to the black stone in the skull’s forehead and pushed.

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh…!

The skull’s jaw slowly unhinged, opening wide as it let out a deep, yawning groan. There was a sequence of overlapping noises and movements - the grinding of old gears, the snap of parts breaking free of rust, the pumping of pistons, the clunking of internal components.

As soon as the machine began chugging to life, there was a sudden yelp of surprise. It was the same small voice from moments ago.

Tumbling out from the machine came some kind of creature, passing right through the pedestal like a ghost. It looked like a tiny white deer the size of a dog, with slender legs, a long graceful neck, and a small set of antlers with grooves that emitted a soft pink glow. In its haste to escape the noisy device, it clumsily tripped over its own legs and rolled to a stop right in the middle of the group.

“Ow….” The petite feminine voice mumbled, shaking its head. It then looked up, and there was the sound of a gasp as it noticed all the strangers. The creature’s mouth never moved; the voice simply seamed to echo out of thin air. Almost immediately afterword though, there was a second gasp, one not of shock, but of elation.

“Lilandraaaaa!” it squealed. It scrambled up onto its hooves and practically threw itself at the young druid, pawing up at her with its forelegs much as a puppy would. “Lilandra! I thought I heard your voice! Oh! And commander Thadraes is here too! I’m so happy to see you! Are you all here to bring me home?”

Meanwhile, the contraption continued to sputter in the background.

Morthos is confused at the sight of the strange ghostly deer. Was it a trap or illusion? Or maybe he's being a bit too paranoid; it was just a childish, talking animal. Morthos allows himself to relax, and speaks with a chuckle.

"A friend of yours, Lilandra?"

He turns back to the mysterious machine. Now that it seems to have been activated, he tries to discern it's purpose. 

Arcana: 17

In short order, the strange, rumbling contraption began to operate. There was a sliding and tinkling sound that was revealed to be a series of eight colored glassy orbs the size of a fist that rolled down a railing from deep within the machine into the groove in the rim of the pedestal.

The machine’s movements were spastic, stuttering, and janky. An appendage swung out on a boom with a pincer-like mechanical hand with too many joints, and the skull positioned itself above the orbs. The hand lowered, grabbing hold of the red orb, and lifted it to the skull. The skull tilted back and the orb was dropped into its gaping maw with an audible gulping noise.

From the western corridor, there was a glimmer of light. A clear crystal in one of the tiles lit up a bright, shining red color.

The hand reached down again, blindly groping for another orb. When it found one, the yellow orb this time, it too was scarfed down by the skull. A tile in the western corridor flared with yellow light.

In the same way, the skull proceeded to eat the orange, pink, green, white, blue, and purple orb. When it had eaten the final orb, the machine’s components returned to their original positions and fell silent, but the lights in the tiles remained.

[Map updated to include tile colors]

"Not sure if that was a good thing or a bad one..."  Morgan said as the tiles in the hall lit up.  He frowns at the little deer-thing, but just shrugs as it seems attached to the druid somehow.  "Shall we try the hall with the glowing tiles, or head north to see about those footprints?" He asks the others with a grim tone.

As the small white deer spoke Lilandra recognized her immediately. Which a shocked look Caelia..how did.. its Caelia! Her shocked face turns into a somewhat smile as he graps hold of the deer. You're ok, are you ok? she rambles a bit flabbergasted What did they do to you? She looks up to the group and thinks to her memory. 

Would Lilandra know if Caelia has druid abilities or know of magic that would someone elses shape and change it back?

She will keep her arms around Caelia and check her for any wounds. Lilandra will hardly look at the orbs, only the few last ones she will notice, before that she will only have eyes on Caelia. 

We got you, we are here, your safe. She says to Caelia still not understanding what had happened. 

"No, this cannot be!" Morthos exclaimed when Lilandra recognizes the deer as Caelia. If she was shape-shifted into a deer against her will, then how could she talk? Even Lilandra couldn't talk while in the form of another animal. Not to mention how the deer glided through the pedestal like a ghost. Something was wrong. 

Morthos shares Morgan's grim expression as he begins to examine "Caelia" even closer. He was is serious now in his suspicions that the deer was some sort of illusionary creature. He searches for discrepancies in the image...

Investigation: 11

Then he says to Morgan, "Perhaps we should step on those colored tiles in the order the orbs were consumed by the machine. If you are alright with this experiment, I will step on the red, yellow, orange, and pink, and then you would step on green. I would jump on white before you continued to blue and purple. Maybe something will happen then?"

Action: Search for Illusion

Movement: Jumping on the tiles if Morgan agrees with the experiment

"I see no reason not to give it a try."  Morgan says with a nod.  He follows the way over to the hall with the glowing tiles.  "As long as you don't get blasted to small bitty pieces I'll do as you suggested."  Morgan says, his face still grim.

Thad puts a hand on the creature form of Caelia as Lilandra holds her. "If ya have any information, child, please let us know. We plan ta return you ta your family, but we also need ta fix... whatever this magics are that transform ya."

"Careful as ya make yer way down that hall, gentlemen," Thad calls after Morgan and Morthos. "P'haps check fer magics first."

“I’m okay. I’m really glad you’re here,” Caelia’s relieved voice emanated from the little deer. She nuzzled closer to Lilandra, who could recall that (at least to her knowledge) Caelia hadn’t displayed or spoken about possessing any shape changing abilities. In the past she would have mentioned to Lilandra attempting some rudimentary spellcasting with her mother Iridessa, but nothing more sophisticated then a simple prestidigitation.

Those inspecting her new, unique form would discover it to be in pristine condition. Unnaturally flawless, in fact. There was not a single wound to be found, not a gleaming white hair out of place, or even a speck of dirt anywhere on her. Even more curiously, although her deceptively lightweight body did feel solid to a gentle touch, a firm amount of pressure would phase right through her in the same ghostly way she passed through the machine’s pedestal. Between the semi-illusory form and the disembodied voice, it would appear that whatever happened to the girl had left her in a state more spiritual than physical.

The first time someone accidentally or experimentally discovered things could phase through her, she said, “Don’t worry, that doesn’t hurt. I don’t even feel it much. I can’t really describe it.”

In response to Thad, the tiny deer head gave a slight nod.

“Yes sir,” Caelia politely replied. “I think my brother made me this way, sir. I didn’t even know I had a brother, but he said it’s true. After they took me here, he started a long and complicated spell. I got really sleepy so I don’t remember some of it. I thought I was dreaming of when my dad took me to see the dawn harts, but when I woke up I was like this. I also thought I was looking at myself in a mirror except there was no mirror. Then my brother got very mad so I ran away. There were scary things and I didn’t know what to do so I was hiding.”

Burying her little head in Lilandra’s arms, Caelia repeated to the group. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

As she did so, the pink glow from the grooves in her antlers increased in intensity for a moment, and those in contact with her would feel a warm, rejuvenating sensation.

[LILANDRA AND THAD gain the benefits of a short rest – you may spend Hit Die to recover lost HP. Additionally you gain a similar benefit to the wizard class’s Arcane Recovery feature – you may recover spell slots equal to half your level (2). These can be two 1st level slots or one 2 level slot. All uses of your class features (such as Wild Shape and Divine Sense) are also fully recovered.]

Thad sits, bewildered as they recover from the previous bouts. "A brother, ya say? Do ya remember what he looked like? I hope there's an easy enough way ta reverse whatever spell he's cast on ya."

(using 2 hitdice for recovery 3 + 5)

Taking by surprise at the warmth given by Cealia Lilandra is at a loss for words. Unsure of what happened.

As Thad repeats the mention of a brother. Perhaps Iridessa.. she stops her sentence as she looks at Caelia  Perhaps Master Gernacht had a son. 

You did the right thing to run Caelia. We will find out what happened. She looks up to the others. Should we attempt to continue now, or do we return Caelia to the Baron first. She is why we are here, who knows what lies ahead. She must be kept safe. 

She will await their reply. 

(ooc im guesing we should move forward in the tunnels but i think Lilandra would struggle and want to turn back now with Caelia. Perhaps she is not in her normal form but she is alive and she is the reason why we are here. )

(Believe Morgan is headed to the glowing hall, not sure he is even close enough to overhear your conversation with the deer.)

Before heading down the glowing hall, Morthos kneels next to Caelia.

”I promised your daddy that I will do anything to find you. Now that you are here, I will do anything to bring you back home.”

He turns to his companions. 

“Do you think we should even continue? Caelia is in our hands; I’d think her mother can devise a spell that can dispel that magic keeping her in this form. Unless  you wish to confront this brother of hers...”

Morthos grimaces. If what Caelia was saying is true, Gernacht had a son capable of dark magic. He certainly would not want to face such a foe...

(Continues down the hall with Morgan)