1.0 - The Marsh Bell

As they're waking the others Inar tells Robin about the music "It was like you were sleepwalking, I couldn't dissuade you from plunging into the pool and before I knew it the others had followed ya" his voice still a low rumble. "If Balin stumbled across this same peril he could be down here somewhere....can't say I relish spending much time down here but we need to investigate just in case he's here"

"Sure, sure," agrees Frór, after hearing from Inar about where they are and how they got there, "but does anyone have a torch that’s not soaking wet? I can’t see a damned thing in this black dark!"

Robin shakes his head, frowning as he realizes that his pipe must be damp now, too.

Thovétar also shakes his head, glancing around at the others.

Gilly shrugs and shakes her head.

"No use noddin' shakin' an shruggin' iffin I ain't can hear ya, is it?" asks Frór as he waits to hear from the others but only receives replies of soft shuffling in the dark.

Shaking off some of the water and grumbling to himself about wet gear, the son of Grór rummages in the dark through his pouches and his backpack, trying to find his tinder box. "What good is a dwarf that can't start a fire in the wet, eh?" he asks rhetorically and then feverishly begins trying to spark up a wet, smokey torch...

...failing that, he'll blindly grope around the room for a lamp or torch that someone might have left here, or anything else he could set fire to in order to see by, if all else fails.

It takes a few tries, but Fror is finally able to get a torch spitting out a bit of light and a fair bit of smoke. In the dim light, things look little different than it did in the dark. It's a dank room, with a thin skin of stagnant water along the floor. A single doorway on the opposite wall leads inwards.

Inar brings his shield round and takes point "Ready?" he asks quietly before moving into the open doorway

Frór follows their leader silently and lights the way from behind, over Inar's shoulder as best he can, using his walking stick in his other hand to test the ground as they go.

Moving into the next area, you come across a vast, vaulted chamber. Some light spills into the chamber from an opening on the far side of the room. You can easily make out two arched openings -- one to the left and right, and the suggestions of two more further up in the room. A third pair of openings are faintly visible from the light coming from the opening opposite you. One of them appears to have slightly more decoration or something going on about it.

"What is this place?" Robin thinks aloud, looking around wide-eyed and somewhat timidly.

Inar barely registers Robins words as he scans the floor for tracks.

Frór looks for sconces to see if there are any more torches or lanterns to light in here...

Eyes wide with wonder, Gilly looks around to see if she recognizes any of the stonework or decoration from previous explorations, and peers carefully to see if anything is written upon the arches, walls, or floor.

Inar looks about, but the thin film of water obscures any sign of tracks. It's not enough that it's super splashy, or anything, but it's sufficient that mostly all you can tell is that the ground consistently wet with puddles here and there. It also smells damp, and dark. Musty and heavy.

Fror is able to spot a few sconces, but at this point, nothing remains in them that would be lightable. He's suspicious that the age of this room is enough -- and the damp insidious enough -- that if there had been unused torches there when it was last occupied, they've long since decayed and fallen away. However, as a group, your eyes have adjusted somewhat to the dimmer light and you can see well enough to get by.

Gilly makes her way through the room, looking at the arches, one by one. All of them are identical, and nondescript, except for the one in the far right corner. It is larger and is decorated with stones of many colors that haven't faded in the long years since the place has fallen into disuse. Also, unlike the other archways, this one leads to a short series of steps leading a bit further down a short hallway.

Inar points towards the 'fancy' archway "I suspect that way is our best bet" he says quietly before starting to move towards the opening.

"Yes!" agrees Frór, "because lord Balin was supposed to be delivering a pretty gemstone, right? Good thinking, Old Stoutfoot!"

Robin, feeling rather uncertain about all of this, chooses to abide by his companions' judgment.

A few steps into the arch there are a handful of worn, marble steps leading deeper underground. At the end of the hallway there is a reinforced door defaced by claw marks.

"That is... worrisome." Robin says softly.