3-2 The Forgotten Abbey

ROUND SIX
(this is preceded by round five, followed by round seven)

Ishi swims upward and breaks the surface of the pool with a gasp. He hadn't been underwater that long, but it was still a relief to get a breath after half a minute of serious exertion. He smoothly pulled himself out of the pool and looked around to see how everyone else was doing. The only one he can see that is hurt aside from himself was Elysia, who is extracting a crossbow bolt from her side.

Meanwhile, Elowin reaches for the book and swings it back. There is a soft >click< and the whole bookcase shifts slightly. Apparently the book is a trigger to release the locks on this portion of the wall, which can swivel around a central axis. Lunea's love radiates from Elowin; every PC has 5 temporary HP now.

Elowin swings the bookcase carefully open and steps through. Eozindra is right behind her, motioning for the others to follow. Adran summons Mara through their mystical bond, and the construct carefully and laboriously claws its way up and out of the water just as Morik emerges in a wave. The bear immediately sees that the others have found a secret door and are moving through it. Morik can also see the flickering of approaching torches in the hall to the south, past a dead human that wasn't there before he was pulled into the pool, and voices that presage the imminent arrival of an angry fighting force. "They're back this way! I think they killed Lahri!"

Through the secret door, Elowin and the others behind her begin to see a vast, round room with a vaulted ceiling held up by four pillars. There's a lot of stuff here - tables, chairs, carpets, dirty dishes and mugs - that shows that this is the Lord Mayor's Men's main lounge, though it was once a grand room. A large pedestal stands in the center which once must have borne a huge statue; all that remains now are two feet, covered with graffiti. The room is well-lit by lanterns hung around the room; there is a vaulted ceiling with interesting decorations above, rising to a height of 30'. A large, closed door stands opposite the party in the east wall, bracketed by bas-relief statues of a man and a woman holding their arms up to form the archway over the door, their fingers touching. A narrow archway leads north; a red carpet runs south from the statue toward a broad archway to the south. As Elowin leads the way through, she sees the last of the robbers leaving the room through that broad arch, brandishing weapons as they run into the hall, presumably on their way to confront the party in the Library. They do not look back and so do not notice the adventurers coming out of the wall behind them.
"Aw no, not Lahri!"
"I didn't know you cared!"
"He still owes me 10 krugerrands!"
"Let's kill 'em! Maybe they'll have more!"

Just to recap: Tykus' map has led you through the sewers here, to the "abbey...founded to anoint the peace, and keep the artifact safe from evil hands" and "the Oath-bound Ones." On the way, you discovered that this ancient abbey has become the hideout of a gang of thieves led by one they call "the Lord Mayor." After surviving fights with two monsters, you've just now avoided the bulk of the Lord Mayor's Men, since they're taking the long way around and you're using the secret door...or at least most of you have. Morik and Mara would have to dash to get through the door, but then you could close it behind you. Or they could go back in the water of the pool, and the others could mostly close the secret door, everyone hiding in preparation of an ambush. Or you could announce yourselves and bluff your way through the Lord Mayor's Men. There's this huge room that those of you who've come through the secret door have just started to view...there are many options available to you.

What do you do now?

ROUND SEVEN
(this is preceded by round six, followed by round eight)

Elowin steps warily into the Great Room, arrow nocked. Realizing that her companions have fought their way free of the monster in the pool, she relaxes her connection with Lunea's power, and the glowing sparkles surrounding the bear fade.
Ishi moves into the Great Room on the other side of the secret door, javelin in hand.
Newly free of the holy starlight, Morik gallops through the secret door into the Great Room.
Adran signals Mara, and the construct clatters after him into the Great Room.
Eozindra steps through the passageway and uses the light of the lanterns in the Great Room to examine the map again, confirming what she remembered: the map definitely led them to this place, which is surely the Abbey it mentions. But now that they've arrived, the map has no detail of the Abbey itself.
Following her sister, Elysia brings up the rear and proceeds through the secret door. Is it possible the Lord Mayor's Men don't know about the secret?
The room is momentarily empty of any of the Lord Mayor's Men, as they have all rushed out to assault the party in the Library. The gang of robbers will arrive in the Library in moments. Everyone in the party realizes that the encounter with the robbers has been delayed/temporarily postponed, not fully averted. But you have a bit more freedom to choose the conditions of that engagement...

The secret door is wide open, but there is just enough time for someone to close it (or mostly close it and hope no one notices the bookcase out of position) before they arrive. On this side, it appears to be just a part of the stone wall.
Someone could roll an INT (Investigation) check to quickly discern if there's a way to reopen the secret door on this side.
If anyone cares to, someone else could examine the statue or the interesting decorations in the vaulted ceiling with an INT (History) check.
There are also plenty of places to hide (behind pillars, around corners, climbing up the very high walls, behind/under furniture, etc), the strewn signs of the Lord Mayor's Men's activities on various tables and chairs to examine, and the three other exits to explore...What do you do?

Adran sees that little remains of the statue other than the feet and a bit of a scaled, reptilian tail. Perhaps there was once a snake depicted on the statue, too? He can't tell anything further from the graffiti-covered feet. But, soaring high above, half visible at the edge of the lantern light, the artificer sees that the ceiling is actually a grand concavity: the interior of a dome. The pillars in the room rise up to the edges of the dome, and ornately carved supports curve up the dome's semispherical interior, effectively quartering the interior surface. Each quarter bears a faded, chipped mural that nevertheless clearly depicts a different image of a region of the Greenwold: the mountains of the dwarves, the woods of the elves, the rivers of the halflings, and the coast settled by the humans.

ROUND EIGHT
(this is preceded by round seven, followed by round nine)

Adran sees that little remains of the statue other than the feet and a bit of a scaled, reptilian tail. Perhaps there was once a snake depicted on the statue, too? He can't tell anything further from the graffiti-covered feet. But, soaring high above, half visible at the edge of the lantern light, the artificer sees that the ceiling is actually a grand concavity: the interior of a dome. The pillars in the room rise up to the edges of the dome, and ornately carved supports curve up the dome's semispherical interior, effectively quartering the interior surface. Each quarter bears a faded, chipped mural that nevertheless clearly depicts a different image of a region of the Greenwold: the mountains of the dwarves, the woods of the elves, the rivers of the halflings, and the coast settled by the humans. Eozindra assesses the cupola and statue as well; she sees the cupola dome and recognizes the different regions of the Greenwold, but when she looks at the disembodied feet of the statue, she notices a phrase that is layered throughout the graffiti and is distinct from all the others (which are generally along the lines of "Lord Mayor's Men" and "Jabus wuz here"): "Dweller in Black Waters"Morik heads south to investigate. A red carpet leads south from the statue plinth, and the wide archway opens onto a collonaded hallway from which everyone can hear the many voices of the robbers. Moving softly after the Lord Mayor's Men, Morik smells an unexpected petrichor aroma. Looking at the red carpet, he sees the mark of much foot traffic darkening the rug...except in one spot, which seems to have been studiously avoided by everyone walking through here. Undoubtedly, there is some kind of trap or hazard in that location (I've marked this in YELLOW on the map). Stepping a little further, Morik can see the back of one of the Lord Mayor's Men following the others more slowly.

Knowing that the robbers will return, Elowin heads northeast to crouch behind the pillar, ready to shoot. As she passes the open archway leading out of the room to the north, she sees that it is a short passage that then opens out into an illuminated room with pews. Ishi hunkers down and watches Morik's back, ready to leap out and defend his friends.
Elysia closes the door as quietly as she can. There is a soft click from the stone wall, making it clear that the secret door is latched shut. She does not see a way to reopen it from this side. Hopefully the Lord Mayor's Men didn't see the light as they ran into the Library.Everyone can hear their shouts.
"Where are they?"
"There's Lhari. I knew it! Dammit, Lhari!"
"They're gonna PAY."
"Where are they?"
"Looks like some of them got in the pool."
"Spread out; they've got to be here somewhere."
Judging by what they're saying, none of them noticed the secret door or the light shining through it before it was closed.