The grate on the main deck seems to go about 6 or 7ft down, you'd likely have to pull it up with something or use two people if you were to bring it up through the grate.

The trapdoor in the new room Ash just searched is still closed. 

Ash nods ‘yes’ to Ben and mimes ‘wait’, and ‘shh’, in a professional manner. Then she checks the trapdoor over, quietly, for traps…

Investigation for traps: 9 

Assuming she’s satisfied it’s safe, she quietly opens it and dangles the fishing-hand in…

"Monstrous vermin might have been these guys, maybe some managed to board the ship before it took off, and took out the crew, but weren't able to pilot it back to the island?"

Korrik goes along with the others plans.

((I meant the trap door that Ash is checking rather than the grate. How far down does it seem?))

"Perhaps, though I am not sure I would call them vermin? Perhaps the spiders. What have they been living on for three years?"

Ben tries to get a read on how fresh the skulls, bones and like are.

Med check: 7

Ben, Ash wasn't able to see down the trap door until she opened it. Regarding the bones and skulls, all you know is that they aren't fresh as the blood is dried up. 

Ash, you don't think that the trapdoor is trapped. You remove the bar that's in the rusted brackets that keeps the door shut, and open it up.

*crrrreakk*

You begin to fish with the hand. 

*splash*

Nothing happens, but you notice that dark, murky seawater fills the entire cargo hold. You estimate it to be a depth of three feet, sloshing against old, moldering crates piled against the ship’s port hull.

If Ben did come down and look down into the cargo hold, he'd clearly see the box aura and exactly where it is, nestled between some of the old moldering crates piled against the hull. 

I have added the location of the box to the map. 

Ben, the cargo hold has 3 ft of water in it, and there's an old wooden ladder leading down into the water.

What's next?

Maps are updated! Korrik if you didn't end up coming down, let me know and I will move you back up.

**scroll down on the maps to get to the lower levels

((Okay!))

Ben squints into the darkness.

"There it is. Between those other boxes."

He looks at the water for water spiders (or whatever) then looks for another way in than the wooden ladder before pulling his head out.

Perception: 18

Once up he'll have Ash shut and relock the hatch.

He'll whisper to Ash, Kay and Ess,

"Okay, down there is the main prize which is in a barred from the outside cargo hold. Suspicious. In there," he gestures to the spiked shut door, "are a number of magical items. I'm exceedingly tempted to take a look. We can open the door while three people aim in. If there is something we shoot it. If there are many something's we close and reseal the door."

Korrik sighs.

"I guess if someone has to go down, it's me. But I'm game for checking this one out too."

((OOC: just checking… Is the cargo hold a full-height floor of the boat, or is the whole space floor-to-ceiling only 3ft? Or is it a bigger space with only 3ft of water in the bottom? ie, can we all walk in there without ducking? Albeit standing in 3ft of water. Or is it a tiny space and filled to the brim with water? Can we stand and breathe down there? Thanks))

Ash says, “I’m tempted by the other rooms, and items, too. Believe me!… But if ‘that-box-there’ (that we can see, right there), is worth a fortune…  and is our top priority… I say we grab that now!”.

”And open doors, maybe, afterwards…”.

”A box in the hand, is worth.. well… a hells of a lot, this time, actually!…”. She looks at everyone with a look that says, ‘let’s just take it?!’. And ‘what if the bottom falls out of this boat and we lose our chance?!’. She says all this with her eyes!…

((I understood it to be 3ft of water on the bottom? With that understanding-))

"That's the spirit."

He looks at the little halfling and gauges Kay's height with his hand, no touching,

"Though, based on the amount of water I saw down there, you will be swimming rather than walking. With your helmet that isn't a problem but it may make carrying the box more difficult. It might be more of a job for Ess, the strong armed bruiser of the team."

He looks at Ess, closes his eyes like he is steeling himself for something painful, then opens them and says,

"You baller enough bro?"

((Following that response))

He goes over to inspect how they would get the door open, quietly if possible.

Investigation: 4

((Does it swing into this room or the other way?))

((Cross post))

"I would just like to take a look in the other room, if it is too much trouble we close it again an focus on the box below."

He smiles reassuringly,

"It won't take more than a minute, after which the box below will have my full attention."

"I was figuring going down with some rope around me, and another length in hand, and hopefully being able to tie the box to it, then you all haul us both back up?"

"Oh. Well that is a better idea than what I had."

He looks into the middle distance and the image he had of Kay carrying a box underwater fades.

"Then it is probably better since you are the lightest. You're off the hook Ess and you're back on it Kay."

Ash doesn’t understand and bristles a little, the heat of the moment and the heist overriding her normally chilled demeanour. Professional Ash is on a job. To Ben, “What are you talking about?!… what if the door sets off a fireball that sinks the ship?!… Eyes on the prize my friend!…”.

”Grabbing the box will take but a moment… and then we can all focus on the door!… Ahah.. I…”.

Ash also looks at Kay. “I will gladly accompany you down there. We don’t know what we will find and… don’t want to get jumped again…”.

Ben blinks,

"A fireball? Come now Ash! I am keeping my eyes on the prizes. Just a peek in. I can see more money. It won't sink in a minute. Besides we only have Aubreck's claim the box is worth what he says it is, which I believed or I wouldn't be here. Never the less, best to get it all, just in case."

He gives her his best smile, which is a very nice smile indeed.

Ash smiles back. She always smiles. Her face can only really smile, that fixed predator’s smile. She speaks through her toothy smile in a rasp. More so she keeps quiet than anything else...

”What are you thinking, man?! Those magical things you see could be magical traps for all we know!!!”, ((she doesn’t know how magic works, like, at all)).

”Or what if there are swarms of spiders in there and we’re forced to retreat?!… the door was barricaded closed from the outside for a reason!”.

((I feel both of them are waiting for Korrik to cast the deciding vote lol)).

"I can see they aren't traps, they are things."

(He might be fibbing a bit here, but most of the auras weren't abjuration right?)

"And the barricades wouldn't stop a swarm of spiders, so we can rule those out. Most likely it is another purple thing, which I'm confident we can easily handle if it doesn't jump out at us. We all stand with our bows and crossbows draw and shoot anything that moves when we open the door. We get the items and then, like you say, we can fish up the box, get it secured. Kay, you're with me on this? A minute in and out, then we get the box secured."

Ash whispers to everyone, “This is foolhardy!…”. And then to Korrik, “You’re with ME on this surely?!… Get the box under our belt and then we can loot this place at our leisure!?… You know this boat… what do you say?”.

"I don't KNOW this boat, I've just been on this boat before... standing around arguing isn't putting any coin in our pocket."

He lifts his helmet and runs a hand through his hair before seating it back down.

"We only have his word on the box, but at the very least it's worth what he promised to pay us for retrieving it. There's a chance what you're picking up on the other side of that door matches out fee, but there's a chance it's only worth a few hundred. If it was worth a ton, it seems like he would have at least asked us to bring it back for him in addition to the box. I agree, we secure the box first, then we can deal with whatever's on the other side of that door. If things go bad and we only have the chance to get one or the other, I'd rather it be the original target."

((Korrik's been acting antsy, you'd get the sense he's in a hurry to get this done, but is trying to temper that with a bit of caution after wandering in to the spider lair before.))

"Can we make sure I'm not gonna get jumped by something as soon as I drop down though?"

From whatever rope the party has, he'll be tying some about his middle and tying a sliding loop in the other to secure around the box once he's down there.