Against the cult: the Forest Ruin (1.5)

"Good work everyone!" Xana runs around the railing and enthusiastically joins Albertus in kicking the decapitated body of priest two. "I see you're all getting the hand of things!" Theran steps back to make room for others to carry bodies past. Kragga rushes into the dormitory and drags the pallet bearing priest four out of the dormitory with a tremendous scraping noise. Joseph steps aside to make room for the furniture; Ogbar rushes over and grabs the head of the bed. Together, they lift the pallet with the body of the fourth priest and carry it over to the railing overlooking the first floor and the hidden pit. Two beautiful golden beams pass through the ceiling; one goes down to the first floor (disappearing into the illusory floor) and the other flows into the body of the fourth priest on the pallet. Its eyes light up and the corpse lurches into motion just as Kragga and Ogbar heft the pallet and tip the body over the railing. The body falls, arms flailing, bounces off of the headless body of the fifth priest, and disappears into the floor.

"So..." Xana comments drily, "Any insight on that light from above?" Aanbo exchanges his staff for Kragga's dagger, then grabs the decapitated body of the second priest that the party were kicking and begins to drag it down the stairs. Albertus sheathes his sword and takes an arm with his free hand, and together the monk and the paladin shift the corpse down the stairs and roll it into the illusion; the body drops through the floor and out of sight. Aanbo and Albertus are down on the first floor by the illusory pit, the decapitated body of the fifth priest, the sparkling doorway with the inscription of a phoenix inside a snake & sun, and the door into the dining room. The rest of the party are upstairs on the second floor mezzanine, which is dim again now that all the light sources are downstairs (Albertus holds one lit torch, the other is sputtering on the ground in the doorway). Like Kragga, Theran hears the scraping sound now, too.

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On 23: Xana (8/9) IN:23
On 16: Theran (4/8)
On 16: Joseph (6/8)
On 15: Kragga (7/8)
On 15: Ogbar (11/14)
On 11: Albertus (13/13)
On 10: Undead figures
On 4: Aanbo (1/11)

Note that I've adjusted the previous text to reflect this exchange.

As the party considers what to do next, a beautiful golden beam emits from the ceiling, the eyes of the first priest illuminate and its body lurches into motion from where it lay on the pallet in the dormitory. Joseph sighs and starts to chop it down, but then thinks better of it. He backs up, the corpse shuffling slowly after him, and only when it is by the railing does he nod to everyone: "Now!" Theran whacks it with his staff, Joseph stabs it twice, Xana blasts it, Ogbar chops into it with his axe, and, as it is reeling, Kragga cracks a home run on its head, using his new staff to send it toppling over the railing and through the illusory floor.

"This way I didn't have to carry it!" Joseph observes brightly.

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None of the five dead priests remain on the second floor; four bodies and a head are in the pit, and one body and one head are lying on the first floor, immobile. Aanbo and Albertus are standing just inside the entryway with a view of the sparkling doorway with the inscription that matches the shape of the medallion that Joseph carries. The monk and the paladin can also see the archway to the north that opens onto an east-west passage and a doorway opposite that opens onto a dining room that is still producing a delicious aroma. They are joined a few moments later by Theran, who uses his staff to lever the headless body of the fifth priest over until it slips away and disappears under the illusory floor.

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Upstairs, Xana, Ogbar, Kragga, and Joseph see three exits from the mezzanine other than the stairs down: the door to the dormitory (now empty of priests), the door opening onto stairs leading up, and the west wing that has five doors opening off of it, including one (the SW door) that is open and beyond which the party upstairs can hear a regular, rhythmic scraping noise. Ogbar and Joseph got quick glimpses of these locations earlier, so they remember what they looked like, but there is no light source for them to see into these areas presently.What do you do next?

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Xana (8/9)
Theran (4/8)
Ogbar (11/14)
Kragga (7/8)
Joseph (6/8)
Albertus (13/13)
Aanbo (1/11)

OK, Theran is downstairs with Aanbo and Albertus now.

A quick glance downstairs to see their slumped silhouettes (as they are backlit from all the light sources) will confirm for anyone upstairs that Theran and Aanbo are operating at half their usual vigor, at most. Ogbar and Joseph can't see much more than that without their own light sources or somebody bringing one of the torches up from downstairs. However, now everyone upstairs - Xana, Ogbar, Kragga, and Joseph - can hear the soft, very regular scraping noise...and Xana and Kragga see the two open doors (the one with the noise and the one with the stairs going up to the third floor) as well as the four closed doors that have yet to be investigated.

Downstairs, there's the glimmering archway with the phoenix symbol that matches Joseph's medallion, the archway leading to a corridor (and the wonderful aroma of the dining room), and a short passage to the east. There's also a severed head lying in the dust near the first torch by the front door.

Are the Dungeon Busters:
a) heading outside to have a snack and short rest for an hour (to spend hit dice and, in some cases, regain expended abilities), or
b) are they continuing to explore now?

The first rule of Dungeon Busters, the one that was drilled into all of you by Cecily herself (or repeated frequently enough by everyone else in the party if you haven't yet met the elven guildmaster) is DON'T LEAVE YOUR TEAMMATES BEHIND.

So when Aanbo, Ogbar, and Albertus head outside to catch their breath, get a boost with some food, and take stock of the situation, everyone else follows.

Short rest:
1. Choose whether you are resting, or doing something active like watching.
2. If you are resting, declare how many hit dice you are rolling, then roll them in chat (make sure to add your positive CON bonus, if you have one, to the result of each die), and recover that many hit points for your PC.
3. If you are resting, consume 1 ration or equivalent such as a goodberry.
4. If you are resting, regain your spell slots and expended abilities at the end of the rest, as appropriate to your PC's class.