Cami is a bit behind, still thinking about the things Pocket saw and told her about. She's speaking to herself and seems to miss a few things the group said. "So, Pocket saw bugbears fleeing this way, and now they saw fur on the floor, which means that of all paths, this is the one the two crossed through, probably."

She finally finishes her thought to look up and see Frilvoril asking for her and Pocket to hold in place. "Hm... Do we know if there's always gonna be a way back? I think being uncertain on that is one good reason to not go inside it no matter whether there are enemies behind it or not."

"That's the question," Frilvoril muses, "If there is a way back out, then we could be ambushed by the bugbears if they are just hiding inside the portal. However, if there isn't a way out, then we could be trapping ourselves by entering. Do you want to take a closer look? Perhaps your magical tinkering can give you some more insight into how this portal functions." He says looking to Cami. "Worst case scenario, we could just have Pocket fly through and you could just summon her back if it turns out to be a one-way portal or a trap."

"I want to do both. But the plan with Pocket will always work, and it'll give so much more information. I'm doing it right now." Cami really doesn't hesitate. She pulls Pocket out of her shoulder and says one thing to them. "Be careful now, okay?" Just like that, Pocket takes flight and passes between the two pillars. Pocket has been commanded to look all around themselves after that and make sure to remember as much as possible.

1d12 Roll: 7

Frilvoril raises an eyebrow at the levity that the artificer seems to taking with her companion but shrugs it off as he waits for Cami.

Korba, you avoid the pillars and take a listen to the door. You hear some type of sound, maybe muffled voices every so often? You can't tell. All you know is that you can hear something compared to all of the other doors which were silent.

(I will not open the door unless you want to proceed given that information.)

Frilvoril, you do not walk through the pillars and under the arch.

Cami, you send Pocket through the pillars. They fly through and under the archway.

Nothing happens. 

Frilvoril scratches his head as he stares at the archway. "Is it possible that the portal was disabled somehow? This makes no sense. Perhaps it only works on humanoids?" Frilvoril says looking at Cami.

Pocket starts looking around as commanded, but there's nothing to see besides the room they were already in. Cami temporarily dismisses Pocket back into their pocket dimension.

Cami puts a finger beneath her chin and another covering her mouth to stop and think about what just happened and how to proceed. "So the gate didn't do anything. Oh! I said I'd do both things, and I skipped the former to do the latter, so now we go back. I know exactly what I want to do." Cami grabs her smith's tools and pulls a pre-made thing out of it. She puts it over her face, revealing the item to be a pair of goggles with blue lenses. They let her Detect Magic, and she uses it to inspect the room.

Cami, the pillars and archway definitely give off a lingering aura of wild magic. Even with your spell active though, you cannot pin down what type of magic it is. All of the various types flash before your eyes, actually. 

Can you also roll an arcana check please?

"When you are ready, we may have found someone behind this door." Korba says, waiting for the others to complete their investigation.

Just before opening the door, he grips the hilt of his new sword tightly, and a small whirlwind of sand swirls around him, protecting him from harm.

Cami doesn't hear Korba speaking. She's still in thought, feeling especially confused by the results she was getting from her goggles. "A magical gate, huh? I was expecting Conjuration, but..." She doesn't finish that thought, as she was still making sense of it all.

Arcana Check: 23

Cami, it is only with your goggles and spell that you see what this structure is.

Or was, rather. 

It was a magic gate, and you deduce that this type of gate could've only been created by a powerful wizard. Likely created by Halaster himself. (See the 'Dungeon Lore' tab if you forget about him!)

It is clear that the gate has been destroyed along with it's original purpose. However, there is that lingering aura that you can sense, and you get the feeling that walking through this gate could lead to some positive or negative potential results given the wild magic that still remains here.

Anyone feeling lucky?

((Korba - roger that about the spell! I have it queued up and will implement in next post once we move past this room.))

"The gate doesn't work anymore. At least, as intended. Some magic remains, although it's more chaotic than it should." Cami looks at the portal with interest to see what it'll do if she tries to pass through, but then she looks at Korba just waiting at the door, with a spell prepared. "Oh, did I miss something? We're going? Right. I'll leave this for later."

Cami resummons Pocket and hands them the protector cannon she was keeping in her Bag of Holding. Pocket holds the rod with their two talons, and this time, they stay behind just above Cami. "We're ready."

"I agree that we should wait. This kind of magic is often best to be left alone." Frilvoril says as he approaches the door. "I am ready as well." He draws his longbow and takes to the air, hovering 5 feet above the ground.

Korba, you cast your spell and then open the door. 

Cami, you resummon Pocket and give them the cannon as described. 

Frilvoril arms himself and hovers.

Behind the door, you can see 2 bugbears. It's the ones that ran away from earlier. They knew you were coming. 

They see the door open and immediately start grabbing at their weapons and barking out loud commands which mostly are in goblin, although some of it is in common which you all hear as:

"it's them! it's them! The intruders!"

Everyone please roll initiative. So far, you see just the two bugbears and some hallways branching off toward the east. These sections will be uncovered as you proceed during combat.

Bugbears initiative: 8

? initiative: 7

Maps are updated!

Cami raises an eyebrow at Frilvoril assuming she'd leave it alone, but it was not the time for that.

Cami's Initiative: 14

Pocket's Initiative: 3

Initiative: 15

Frilvoril's bow, already drawn, shoots up to a firing position as he prepares to release the arrow.

Seeing the Bugbears immediately go hostile, Korba looks to the bugbear at the end of the hall and raises his free hand. From it two blasts of sand come flying towards the creature, hoping to stop it from escaping to warn any companions.

Round 1: Korba, Unknown enemies, Frilvoril, Cami, Pocket, Bugbears

Korba, the blasts of sand rush towards the bugbear at the end of the hallway, but it is able to react since they have the distance on you and cover up using their shields. They take no damage from the sand. 

You then hear a ton of goblin speak as many feet start to scuttle about. 

Frilvoril is up!

Maps are updated. (just added numbers on visible bugbears)

Goblin added to bestiary tab. 

Frilvoril flies to the ceiling and curses quietly that he is so cramped in this small space before diving down and around Cami. Stopping 5 feet in front of her, and still hovering 5 feet off the ground, he releases two arrows in the direction of the bugbear that is in front of them.