Lathir removes the cloth from his face and declares for the party. "It took me a second to realize this, but much of this, including the stench, has been fabricated with magic. The horrible smell is part of an illusion. The rest of you may have means of distinguishing what is real from what is not, before we move forward. Certainly we need to move forward."
Vale's axe, the vessel for Val Copperbeard's soul, speaks up in its usual, blustery tone. "Yes, he's sure, shrimpboy! Grow a pair! And if you're worried about traps, then put those locksmith skills to good use!"
As Lathir stands, trying to convince everyone of the need to move forward, there is suddenly a glowing portal, about 2.5 feet in diameter, which opens near Respen's feet. Disembodied female laughter (obviously that of Dame Clare) fills the corridor, as the entire hallway is lit by a -Light- spell. Out of the portal leaps a small, 18" high, purple-skinned, Fey creature of some sort, who laughs and giggles and turns somersaults! He chuckles, "Yes, Mistress! This will be fun!"
Before anyone can think or act, the creature begins to glow, and he draws a pair of (weapons?) that look like little garden trowels and begins to spin them! He takes off running down the hallway, clanging the little weapons against the floor on each side of him! The trowels hit the floor hard, causing a shower of sparks to trail behind him! He gets to the end of the hallway and comes to a screeching halt. Then he cackles, "It's not trapped, mistress! But there's a big, glowy thing down here!" Clare's voice booms through the hallway, "It's ok, my pet. Come home to mommy!"
The little Fey creature comes running back down the hallway, and leaps into the portal, going back to whence he came, without so much as a "howdy-doo" or "by your leave." The portal snaps shut and winks out of existence the moment he enters it. Everything is now quiet, and thankfully, the hallway is still lit. All down the hallway, the party can see burn marks and deep scratches where the magical garden trowels dug into the solid stone. If there was a trap, the creature would definitely have set it off. But nothing happened. Therefore, the party surmises that there are no traps here, at least on the floor plates.
Respen considers the force it took to carve stone that easily and comes to the conclusion that a certain degree of thankfulness is called for; those weapons must be vicious indeed, when applied to an enemy's flesh during melee combat. Respen was glad that the little creature was on their side.
The hallway is massive; it is twenty feet wide, and the ceiling is about 40 feet high. At the end of this massive hallway, there are three doors: A single door to your left, and a pair of single doors that are set side-by-side, almost like double doors, straight ahead. The left door is small, comparatively, the ornate frame being 8 feet, which makes the door itself about 7'7" tall. Both the frame and the actual door are made of a smooth stone, covered in ancient runes. (The runes look Draconic. Any spellcaster can likely read them without too much trouble.)
The two close-set doors are massive; each door is 18 feet tall, surrounded by a 6-inch frame that is equally as ornate as the smaller door. These massive doors do not have Draconic runes on them, although they are covered in Dwarven runes.
The names of 12 Dwarven craftsmen are written on the double doors, six names on each door. None of the names are immediately familiar, in terms of "famous Dwarves," but nevertheless, the names are: [1st Door]: Cedric Stoneheart, Felix Ironhand, Lendar Stoutshield, Bremond Truebeard, Thalen Boldbrew, and Marin Silverforge. [2nd Door]: Nester Stoutshield, Warvan Boldbrew, Gallek Finesight, Dember Brightblade, Perrin Ironhammer, and Harlen Stonebeard. If you'd like to know more, you can make a skill check for Knowledge (Nobility & Royalty) DC 25.
These 12 Dwarves were "locally" famous in their time, which was about 300 years ago. They were well-known craftsmen in the Principality of Ulek, especially the two pairs of brothers (the Stoutshield brothers and the Boldbrew brothers.) The Stoutshields were known for their precision stonecutting, which meant that their traps and secret doors were almost impossible to detect. The Boldbrew brothers were known for their almost-indestructible stone masonry. Rumor has it that they used enchanted stone to make everything, and that the enchantments they used made the stone twice as sturdy, while also making it half as heavy. This group of craftsmen were known to have been part of a trade caravan, which was raided by Orcs, and they were never seen or heard from again, although their bodies were never found, and were not among the bodies that the Orcs left by the roadside. You get the feeling that whatever lies beyond these doors is going to consist of dangerous stonework traps, and secret doors. You question why Dwarves with such a good reputation would work for an insane zealot such as the sphinx queen, and you surmise that they were likely controlled or coerced somehow.
15 feet in front of the two close-set doors, there is a glowing orb set into the floor. The orb is roughly 5 feet in diameter, and only the top half of it protrudes, the other half being buried. You question the wisdom of approaching it, let alone actually touching it.
