Continued Adventure

While Marev dons the armor found in the secret room, Borgo take some time to look at the far side of the Anvil room. Elspaeth and Berith stand near the exit to the main room keeping a eye out and trying not to let pitch drip on their fingers.

Marev's movements are ungainly and heavy with the added weight at his waist and the rope in his pack. His light-step feels slow and awkward as he makes his way out to the extent of the torchlight where it merges with the dim light coming down the stairwell to his left. He crosses over onto the central pattern and ends up near the mid-line of it. To his right, the empty center of the pattern is partially illuminated. Nothing moves in the light of Berith's torch but Marev and the dark does not divulge it's secrets easily.

After placing the rope down and reassuring the party that the way seems safe, Marev stands waiting for the others...

Berith begins to make her way carefully into the main room, moving off to the right of Marev at about 45 degree angle to keep him illuminated. She moves slowly with her torch held high studying the floor carefully. Slowing lest she miss something hidden in the floors design she deliverately makes her way onto it and beghind to traverse each row of glyphs towards the opposite side of it's central space.
Wondering if she should feel something after passing through the broad expanse of symbols, she suddenly freezes in place. There. Just ahead. Taking a few steps to the side, and bringing the torch closer to the floor makes her certain. A crack or seam in the running across this far side of the central space and into the border ahead and possibly behind.

Sweat beading her brow, Berith slowly kneels close to the seem and tracks it back where it enters the engravings and signs when she see that it turns away from her (towards the wall opposite the stairs). She is not encompassed by whatever this is. Signalling to the others that she is not in immediate danger, she moves forwards to the other side of the central space and see that the seam goes a short way into the engravings on that side as well before turning away as well. So this side at least is about 10' across. Given that the far wall is only about 15' away, she can guess this crack outlines something 10'x15' at most, unless it has some irregular shape.

Most of Marev's attention has been on Berith and her findings, but as her light came forward, an irregular patch glints in the light near door. It has the look of something wet and perhaps dark.

Creeping carefully forward towards the dark maw of the partially opened doorway. One large door opens to blackness with the torchlight failing to illuminate the interior. The pool of dark fluid is approximately the diameter of his opened palm, and Marev sees that is obviously blood. Relatively fresh blood. Blowing on it softly he can tell it has thickened, but as no crust has formed it is likely no more than about 30 minutes since it was spilled. Not necessarily a big enough puddle for whatever was wounded to have been struck a mortal blow but they would likely be needing immediate medical treatment.

Recalling his missing companions, Marev reckons that it's been around that long since they'd noticed them gone.

Scanning around, he doesn't see any more blood (or black fluid) nearby; only this small pool and a few drops but the traces of past traffic in and out are present. Not much trace given the stone floor, but the scant dust accumulated since whenever this place was first broached was enough for his trained skills to reveal that many shod feet had passed in and out of this portal. Who or what though, he cannot say but he assumes at least some of them are from the first group to come down here.

With careful observation, Borgo is able to circumnavigate a 10' by 10' square, well short of reaching the wall. After a few moments consideration he decides it's most certainly a pit trap of some kind. The size and position alone are big indicators, but the lack of any method for opening it, other than presumably stepping out into the space bounded by seams, clinches it in his mind. He expects that the application of enough pressure would trigger the trap, dropping whoever stood on in down a deep hole to who knows what grisly end.

Or, remembering Berith's slide into the Black Horror's lair, it might lead some where. But perhaps somewhere, you might not want to go in that much of a hurry.

Berith Torch: 20 Mins

....Borgo remembers the previous trap as an open pit with the only covering being an illusory floor. This one has a very solid looking slab of stone. He wonders how it returns to place and how quickly. The massive doors in this room swing quite easily once you get them moving. ...If the Dwarves were just as clever with this then perhaps the answer is immediately; would it jam on the rope or cut it? ...or him?