Charles Plemons' Blog

Game summary for June 20, 2013, Carrion Crown Adventure Path campaign, The Haunting of Harrowstone adventure; PCs included Amras Amandill (half-elf inquisitor), Dinendal Ironbow (elf ranger), Gnok Thatek (dwarf monk), and Irnadette Steelsoul (elan psion), accompanied by NPC companion Thorkatla Foamflagon (dwarf cleric).

The team decided to hunt down Mel the Minstrel to see if he had discovered any information for them from the church of Pharasma.  Turns out, he had!  He was able to give the group the final bits of information on the Piper of Illmarsh.  The group thanked him and paid for his information.  They then returned to Kendra’s and did some additional research on the Whispering Way and discovered quite a bit more about them.

With night falling, the group went back to the Laughing Demon tavern for a meal and to see if anyone was going to the town meeting.  Seemed everyone but the party was going.  They watched as everyone gathered in the town hall.  Worried something may happen to the townsfolk, the party stayed outside.  After a while, the doors suddenly slammed shut and screaming began!  The team rushed forward and ripped the doors open just as the lanterns inside exploded in flames and powerful force knocked everyone to the ground.  Crackling flames raced across the floor and up the walls billowing thick black smoke.

The party rushed inside and began carrying the townspeople who were knocked out toward the doors.  They pulled Kendra to safety and rushed about saving others.  One man was lying near the flames and was ignited—Dinendal carried him outside where he and Thorkatla attempted to put out the flames but were unsuccessful.  The man died from the burning fires.  Irnadette, Gnok, and Amras cut things very close trying to rescue all the others.  The heat and choking flames caused Irnadette and Amras to collapse unconscious.  Thorkatla’s animate rope spell helped Dinendal and Gnok drag everyone out of the fire and to safety.

As the town hall burned, the party convinced the townsfolk that the spirits they briefly beheld were evil ghosts from the prison.  The townsfolk finally believed, after their heroic deeds, that the group was trustworthy.  The council offered to pay 500 gp each to clear the prison of the dangerous spirits.  The party agreed and went to Kendra’s to nurse their wounds and rest for the night.

Game summary for June 13, 2013, Carrion Crown Adventure Path campaign, The Haunting of Harrowstone adventure; PCs included Amras Amandill (half-elf inquisitor), Dinendal Ironbow (elf ranger), Gnok Thatek (dwarf monk), and Irnadette Steelsoul (elan psion), accompanied by NPC companion Thorkatla Foamflagon (dwarf cleric).

After finding the armory, the team packed up the weaponry and armor and took it all to Kendra’s home in Ravengro.  Several of the party changed into new masterwork armor for better protection.  Gnok, Irnadette, and Thorkatla returned to Ravengro to explore some of the areas on the upper floor.  First, they discovered a balcony that was once used as an executioner’s block, and a disembodied pair of arms appeared carrying a rusty scythe!  The vicious blade cut deeply into Gnok, and the team found it very resistant to attack.  Only the positive divine energy Thorkatla channeled by the power of Torag seemed able to harm the haunt.  Eventually, she was able to defeat it while Gnok and Irnadette kept it distracted.

The trio then went across the prison to the other balcony and explored a bit.  Gnok discovered a carnivorous xtabay plant that sprayed him with spores!  He shook off the effects, and the team busted the plant up in moments.  They then went out on the front balcony and encountered four bloody skeletons!  The fighting began immediately with Gnok delivering a flying spinning back roundhouse kick, destroying one in a single blow.  However, a second bloody skeleton sank its claws into his torso and dragged him unconscious to the ground where it began ripping out his innards.  Fortunately, Amras and Dinendal arrived at that very moment.  Dinendal, a ranger who despises the undead, charged one of the bloody skeletons with a masterwork mace he discovered in the armory and smashed the animated corpse in the ribs!  Inspired, Amras did the same!  The battle quickly turned as the skeletons started to fall one-by-one.  Dinendal noticed the one he fought seemed to recover from his blows to a degree, but he was still successful in smashing it to the ground.  The team then scrambled to pour potions of cure moderate wounds down Gnok’s throat to save his life!

Next the group sought an entrance to the prison tower and discovered a trapdoor they had not noticed before.  They ascended the ladder and found a catwalk and overlook giving a good, high view of the prison grounds.  Suddenly, the largest stirge they had ever since rose up and attacked!  Fortunately, Thorkatla’s armor turned aside its attack, and Dinendal staggered it with a mace blow.  In moments the stirge was a broken, dead heap.

From high above, Dinendal surveyed the prison grounds and spied some bones in the water by the prison.  They went to investigate and were attacked by a trio of skeletons!  Led by Dinendal’s destructive hatred of the unliving, the group tore through the undead in moments.  They then went to speak with Vesorianna again and gave her the warden’s badge.  She used some residual spiritual energy within it to eradicate the last bits of the clinging essence of the Lopper, the Piper of Illmarsh, and the Mosswater Marauder.  She also confirmed she could feel the presence of Father Charlatan and the Splatter Man within the prison.

Depleted of spells and resources, the group went back to Ravengro for lunch and learned of a planned town meeting that evening.  They ended up speaking with the sheriff and revealing they had the skeletal remains of Warden Hawkran in a sack!  Within minutes the entire party was back at the temple of Pharasma for some questioning under the scrutiny of Father Grimburrow’s discern lies spell which led to another multiple-hour exorcism.  Cleansed and under admonishment not to head to the prison ever again, the party headed back to Kendra’s house.

Game summary for June 6, 2013, Carrion Crown Adventure Path campaign, The Haunting of Harrowstone adventure; PCs included Amras Amandill (half-elf inquisitor), Dinendal Ironbow (elf ranger), and Malthus Brightray (half-elf cleric) accompanied by NPC companion Thorkatla Foamflagon (dwarf cleric).

The party ventured into Reaper’s Hold, discovering numerous empty cells.  They came upon a door they unlocked with the headless guardsman’s key and discovered a massive torture chamber!  An ominous iron maiden stood against a far wall, and a skeletal figure lay stretched upon the rack.  Upon further investigation, they discovered the skeleton’s hands had been severed.  Malthus smashed the rib cage, for safety, and they found a ring of keys and a warden’s badge shoved into the body.  Next to the rack was a large bloody basket which, when opened, revealed two severed crawling hands!  Both tried to choke the party, but Dinendal succeeded in slicing one apart with his rapier while Malthus smashed the bones of the other with his mace.

They continued to explore the room, and as they got closer, the iron maiden swung open!  Dinendal perceived his brother inside and rushed to rescue him!  The maiden swung shut upon the duped elf!  Inquisitor Amras deduced this was a haunt, and he and Malthus extracted Dinendal from within.  They discovered him pierced from the spikes but more physically drained and weakened than injured.  After comparing notes and thoughts on haunts, the cleric and inquisitor decided they needed to cleanse the torture devices and destroy the items to try and disrupt the haunt.  The group piled all the torture tools upon the rack, and Amras attempted a religious ceremonial cleansing that ended up so offensive and off-color that even the dwarven priestess blushed.  Mortified, Malthus stepped in to do the ritual instead.  After finishing the rites, he hurled alchemist’s fire upon the torture tools.  As the flames spread, the screams of tortured mean erupted from the cruel implements, and tears of blood flowed down the cheeks of the iron maiden.  The fire burned hotter and took on a supernatural force, consuming the wood and metal items alike and disrupting the haunt in the room.

Having purified another portion of the prison, the team moved on and found another guardroom.  Within lay several skulls and the rotting body of a red-haired dwarf.  As the group entered, tattered bloody flesh formed on the skulls as they floated up off the table and began to scream.  If that weren’t enough, a bluish spectral form rose up from the dwarven body and raised a ghostly hammer high in the air and cried out for the party’s skulls!  A brutal fight ensued as the team realized they faced the Mosswater Marauder himself!  Malthus was driven back between some cabinets while Amras tried to organize a fighting retreat.  Thorkatla channeled positive energy, which seemed to damage the Marauder.  Encouraged, Dinendal pulled the cork on his last haunt siphon!  The powerful magic ripped through the haunt but did not quite lay him low.  The team redoubled their efforts against the severed heads and the marauder himself.  Amras used a charge from a wand of cure light wounds to deliver positive energy straight into the heart of the Marauder, disrupting his form!  With the haunt gone, the severed heads were quickly dispatched.

Right before entering the room, Malthus had sensed the faintest source of magic, and the team found a secret cache of fine weaponry and magical items!  Amras and Malthus donned some masterwork chainmail while Dinendal put on masterwork studded leather.  They also divided up several fine quality weapons amongst themselves.  Better armed, and emboldened by another victory, the team prepared for additional exploration.

Game summary for May 30, 2013, Carrion Crown Adventure Path campaign, The Haunting of Harrowstone adventure; PCs included Amras Amandill (half-elf inquisitor), Dinendal Ironbow (elf ranger), Gnok Thatek (dwarf monk), Irnadette Steelsoul (elan psion), and Malthus Brightray (half-elf cleric) accompanied by NPC companion Thorkatla Foamflagon (dwarf cleric).

The party, battered by the Lopper, fled back to Ravengro to regroup.  They went to various establishments trying to see if anything new was happening in town.  They grew suspicious of the interactions between Sheriff Caeller and Jominda the Apothecary.  The team had lunch at the Laughing Demon tavern and heard of a minstrel in town.  The group went to listen to him play his lute at the posting poles.

While Mel the minstrel played, a pair of stirges flew over the rooftops and attacked!  Both Irnadette and Thorkatla were grappled and had blood drained, but the rest of the group sprang into action.  Gnok splattered one with an elbow, and Dinendal skewered the other with is rapier!  Soon after the attack, the team met another traveler, Malthus Brightray.  This cleric of Sarenrae was intrigued by their adventures and decided to help them explore the prison.  The team returned to Kendra’s to rest and recover spells.

Bright and early the team went to Harrowstone Prison and did some research.  They discovered the histories of both the Lopper and Father Charlatan!  Refreshed, the team cast several spells upon themselves and delved back into the depths of the prison.  They went down to find the Lopper and discovered him back in his oubliette!  A brutal fight ensued, with Thorkatla wielding the Lopper’s physical axe, Dinendal using ghost touch arrows, Amras using disrupt undead, Irnadette using energy ray, and Malthus channeling positive energy!  The fighting was intense, with bloody slashes of the spectral creature’s axe ripping through the characters.  However, some well-timed healing, good fortune during the battle, and a strong desire to put this spirit to rest propelled the team to victory!  They then went down into the oubliette and discovered a number of coins and valuable equipment, including a magical mace!

The team then went down another hallway, found a guard room, and raised an obstructing portcullis.  They peered into the Reaper’s Hold and prepared for whatever horrors lie beyond.

Game summary for May 23, 2013, Carrion Crown Adventure Path campaign, The Haunting of Harrowstone adventure; PCs included Amras Amandill (half-elf inquisitor), Dinedal Ironbow (elf ranger), Gnok Thatek (dwarf monk) and Irnadette Steelsoul (elan psion) accompanied by NPC companion Thorkatla Foamflagon (dwarf cleric).

Early in the morning, Gnok, Irnadette, and Thorkatla went out into the Restlands graveyard with Sheriff Caeller and Father Grimburrow to look things over in the day.  They found the deputy and acolyte asleep, huddled together either out of fear or cold.  They claimed cold.  Looking around, Gnok found a tombstone with Thorkatla’s name on it dated 4661 AR.  However, we he and the others looked at it again, they saw a different name altogether.  They discovered Father Grimburrow saw something similar.  They discussed the year of the Harrowstone fire and started talking about the stories of the prison being haunted.  Gnok mentioned the group was having conversations with the ghost of Vesorianna Hawkran.  This lead the priest to believe they were controlled by evil spirits, and they spent the next few hours undergoing a ritual exorcism and cleansing.

Irritated, the group went to breakfast at the Laughing Demon tavern to eat some wolf balls.  They then checked on Kendra and met up with Amras and Dinendal.  The five then returned to Harrowstone Prison and tried to research more on the Five Prisoners, with no success.  They then went back down a rope into the deepest part of the prison.

The team traveled through the room wherein they had discovered the ectoplasmic humans and found a collapsed stairwell and three other passageways labeled with brass signs:  The Oubliette, The Nevermore, and Reaper’s Hold.  As they read, eight skeletons clattered to un-life around them, and a brutal fight ensued!  Gnok and Thorkatla found their bludgeoning attacks very effective against the undead, as did Amras and his disrupt undead spell.  Before long, the undead were put down.

The group went south into the Nevermore and found an old guardroom.  Within was a lever system which Gnok promptly broke.  They then found a portcullis barring their way.  They turned back north and found another guardroom.  Within a headless flaming skeleton swinging an axe emerged!  The terrible undead staggered Gnok in one blow and nearly did the same to Thorkatla.  Dinendal, who hates undead more than anything, unleashed a couple of well-placed arrows into the monster.  Meanwhile, Irnadette used cold energy rays to harass it.  Amras dealt some more damage with disrupt undead.  Thorkatla bought Gnok the time to drink his potion of cure moderate wounds.  He then moved into combat and used flurry of blows only to cause the skeleton to explode into fiery shards!  This explosion almost killed Thorkatla.  After nursing their wounds, they went further north to find a large metal grate.

Gnok peered into the darkness about 30 feet below and saw a horrendous spirit dart up through the air and slide right through the grate like it didn’t exist!  This cackling axe-wielding spirit wounded Amras, drawing blood from his neck wound to heal itself of damage dealt by Dinendal’s ghost touch arrow.  Gnok recognized the ghostly axe as a spiritual version of the bloody axe they found in the property room, which they had left back at Kendra’s!  The group fell back and retreated, with the spirit giving up the chance after a few moments.  It stood laughing and licking the blood off its spectral axe as the team ascended the rope back into the old training room.

Game summary for May 16, 2013, Carrion Crown Adventure Path campaign, The Haunting of Harrowstone adventure; PCs included Gnok Thatek (dwarf monk) and Irnadette Steelsoul (elan psion) accompanied by NPC companion Thorkatla Foamflagon (dwarf cleric).

At the Laughing Demon tavern, Gnok and Thorkatla met up with Irnadette Steelsoul, an elan psion passing through the area.  Interested in their tales, she decided to join in their adventure.  The team decided to investigate the statue of Warden Hawkran and found Deputy Vrodish standing watch.  They spoke with him a bit and then knocked on the door of a ramshackle hut to find Gibs Hephenus within.  He fussed at the group for disturbing him but seemed a bit intimidated by Gnok.

The group headed to the Unfurling Scroll and traded a used haunt siphon for a scroll of heat metal and a scroll of knock as well as a few coin.  They then headed to the Temple of Pharasma and found the group still had no real use for them.

The team went back to Harrowstone Prison and went to the old warden’s office.  Irnadette attempted to crack the safe but realized it was beyond her talent.  She puzzled through the knock scroll and used it to unlock the safe with magical aid!  Within, she found hundreds of gold coins and a trove of magical potions.  Wanting an item to pry up a flagstone, they went back to the branding room where the haunt triggered and sent searing branding irons at them once again!  Both Thorkatla and Gnok were branded with the Harrowstone Prison mark!

The group then went to the cold spot and put to test a theory they researched on how to get rid of it.  They used the heat metal scroll to superheat a copper coin and buried it under a flagstone in the midst of the cold spot and then buried it in hallowed ground, disrupting the haunt!  Irnadette tried to pick the lock of the metal door beyond but found it beyond her talent as well.  With their newfound gold, they purchased another knock scroll and used it to get past the door.  Within the room they found lots of property once belonging to the prisoners.

Loaded down, the team went to town to pawn off all the items and have dinner with Kendra.  In their discussions, they talked about how odd it was they found no items belonging to the Five Prisoners in the property room.  They went back up the hill to the prison and started searching each room very carefully.  Within the property room, they discovered a hidden vault with five items within:  a tangled mess of holy symbols, a bloodstained handaxe, a moldy spellbook, a smith’s hammer, and a tarnished silver flute.  They quickly took the items to Vesorianna, and she confirmed they were connected with the Five Prisoners.  She warned them they were powerful weapons, but they are also tainted by the evil of their former owners.

The group then returned to Kendra’s home for the evening.  After a short while, they heard Jominda screaming outside.  Rushing out, they found her running from a pair of staggering drunks.  The party yelled at the men who turned and approached.  About thirty feet away, in the light of the half-moon, the team realized they were faced with zombies!  A brutal fight ensued, with the party nearly beaten to death by the undead, but finally Gnok was able to shatter enough bones to put the zombies down for good.  Moments later, Sheriff Benjan Caeller and his deputies arrived.  After learning what happened and finding that Jominda was safe and sound, the Sheriff warmed up to the team just a tiny bit.  The group then tracked the mud and worms fallen from the undead back to the Restlands cemetery to discover two graves ripped open from the inside!  The Sheriff posted a deputy and an acolyte from the church on guard duty while he and the other deputies, along with the party, stayed the night in the church next door.

While the priests and the law slept, Gnok made use of the temple library and found it an excellent source of information; however, he lacked the time to uncover tidbits they did not already know.  The group awoke bright and early the next morning and prepared spells and powers.

Game summary for May 9, 2013, Carrion Crown Adventure Path campaign, The Haunting of Harrowstone adventure; PCs included Amras Amandill (half-elf inquisitor), Dinendal Ironbow (elf ranger), and Gnok Thatek (dwarf monk) accompanied by NPC companion Thorkatla Foamflagon (dwarf cleric).

After the meeting with Vesorianna, the team met back up with Amras and Dinendal at Kendra’s home.  They sat at the table and discussed the situation for a bit.  Then, they returned to the prison where Gnok did some research and discovered the history of Hean Feramin, the Splatter Man!  They then spoke with Vesorianna some more and learned one of the spirits she had sensed with Abilard was not present.

The team then went back to the old training room with the gaping hole down into darkness.  The group tied Dinendal to a rope, cast light on the end of it, and lowered him into the depths where he discovered a shallow body of water.  He discovered it to be approximately waste deep.  He untied himself and looked around, seeing the ruins of an old lift and evidence of a collapse.  Amras followed him down into the water and went up on the shore.  Suddenly, two horrid ectoplasmic forms emerged and attacked!

Amras and Dinendal found themselves fighting for their lives as Gnok lowered Thorkatla safely down.  He then slid down the rope himself to enter the fray.  Dinendal took several deadly blows and was staggered.  Amras cut down one ectoplasmic spirit with his longsword but succumbed to the attacks of the other and collapsed in a bleeding heap.  Thorkatla channeled positive energy to heal her allies a bit and cast an ironbeard spell on Gnok.  The monk’s beard stiffened and grew into a shining metal barrier of armor which deflected at least one attack!  Gnok decided to hurl a flask of holy water at the remaining undead monster while Thorkatla again channeled healing power.

With Amras grievously injured but stable on the ground, Dinendal scrambling around for a healing potion, and Thorkatla nursing wounds, Gnok knew they were in dire straits.  He did the only reasonable thing—he grappled the ectoplasmic monster!  His plan, once pinning the creature, was to force his potion of cure light wounds down its throat!  Once he had it held, Thorkatla used her last channeling to surge the undead with positive energy, destroying it.  Gnok then rolled Amras over and poured his potion down his throat, reviving him.

Battered, bruised, and out of spells, the group scrambled back up the rope and returned to town.  They decided to go to the Laughing Demon tavern for lunch.

Game summary for May 2, 2013, Carrion Crown Adventure Path campaign, The Haunting of Harrowstone adventure; PCs included Abilard Athame (human magus) and Gnok Thatek (dwarf monk) accompanied by NPC companion Thorkatla Foamflagon (dwarf cleric).

Overpowered by the terrifying Piper of Illmarsh the party found itself temporarily scattered.  Gnok was rescued by a pair of adventurers, Abilard and Thorkatla, who were also exploring the prison.  The three of them regrouped at Kendra’s long enough for Thorkatla to cure Gnok’s injuries.  They returned to the prison and found the branding room.  Four branding irons surged to red-hot heat and flew toward the party!  Just as suddenly they fell inanimate to the floor.  Perplexed, Abilard took one of the brands with him.

The group then returned to the second floor and stumbled upon a trio of stirges!  The vermin began attaching to the party and draining blood!  Thorkatla and Gnok suffered the most from the little beasts.  Abilard cast magic missile to injure one, and Gnok’s flurry finished it off.  Gnok used flurry of blows on another to bring it down while Abilard cast shocking grasp and exploded the last one!  As the blood of the final stirge dripped down the wall, faint piping filled the air as the Piper of Illmarsh manifested!  Calling upon the power of their deities, and using a haunt siphon, the team directed sufficient positive energy into the Piper to disrupt the haunt!

The team then explored the rest of the upper floor but did not go out on either of the upper balconies.  They found a larger cell with a corpse within and days marked off with tally marks on the walls.  Abilard used chalk to add a few more, and as he did, Gnok caught a glimpse of an overweight spectral man sitting up from the bed, looking at Abilard, smiling, and disappearing!

The group then moved back downstairs to speak with the ghost of the warden’s wife.  They learned her name is Vesorianna.  She indicated she could sense a presence with them.  Gnok assumed it was the negative energy of the Piper contained in his haunt siphon, so he left the room, but she said the presence remained.  Abilard left the room, and the presence went away.  Vesorianna looked at him suspiciously and said she did not trust him!

Game summary for April 18, 2013, Carrion Crown Adventure Path campaign, The Haunting of Harrowstone adventure; PCs included Amras Amandill (half-elf inquisitor), Dinendal Ironbow (elf ranger), and Gnok Thatek (dwarf monk).

The team rested at Kendra’s and then went to the Laughing Demon for breakfast where they heard some locals dismissing the stories of Harrowstone being haunted.  They then proceeded to the Unfurling Scroll to do some research and came across a group of girls skipping rope and singing a disturbing song.  Amras scared the girls, but Kendra got them calmed down and talking.  From what they could gather the song, which seemed to reference the infamous five prisoners of Harrowstone, was a longstanding rhyme in the village.  The girls didn’t have any idea what it really meant.  The team then did research and discovered more about the history of Harrowstone including that the fire was started by the guards accidentally during a riot.  While at the magic shop, they traded for a scroll of knock.

The group then returned to Harrowstone to use the old offices to research the prisoners.  They learned about Ispin Onyxcudgel, the Mosswater Marauder.  They then returned to the workshop to speak with the spirit of the warden’s wife.  She told them shortly after they last left her presence, the Splatter Man somehow attacked her psyche, and she felt diminished somehow.  From their conversation, they also learned that the Piper of Illmarsh seemed to be haunting the upper levels of the prison.

The team sent Kendra back to town and ascended to the upper floor.  In the cellblock, they discovered numerous animated skeletons, some behind bars, and others free roaming.  A brutal battle ensued!  Dinendal unleashed arrows at the undead, but his bow was only of limited use against the skeletal foes.  Likewise, Amras struggled using his longsword.  Gnok’s crushing blows had great effect, but he caught several hard strikes from the skeletons and collapsed dying on the ground.  Meanwhile, eerie piping filled the air, terrifying the party in waves.  The fright was so great that Dinendal froze in place and could make out a gaunt spectral form surrounded by ghostly stirges floating toward him!  He shook off the effect just as Amras shattered the last skeleton.

The party is now face-to-face with the Piper of Illmarsh, and their monk is dying at their feet!

Game summary for March 28, 2013, Carrion Crown Adventure Path campaign, The Haunting of Harrowstone adventure; PCs included Amras Amandill (half-elf inquisitor), Dinendal Ironbow (elf ranger), Sealamin Laughshield (gnome fighter), and Stoella Carter (human evoker).

The group, after hours of research, decided to explore some more of the prison.  They discovered stairs leading down, which were blocked, and stairs leading up, which they walked away from.  They went into the old prison infirmary where they were startled by the sudden appearance of a poltergeist!  Everyone but Amras ran off in fear.  He instead stood his ground and vanquished it using numerous disrupt undead spells.  It was not without effort, however, because the spirit battered him with several medical supplies including smashing a beaker in his face!  Stoella, recovered from the fear, was able to help Amras in the end though with a well-placed force missile.

The party proceeded through a door out of the infirmary and found an old furnace room.  Amras noticed a haunt activating and pulled a haunt siphon, but the haunt was too strong for just one!  The haunt made the furnace seem to flare to life with licking flames and an evil iron face.  The flaming tongue shot forth and charred Amras to within an inch of life.  His unconscious smoldering form collapsed nearly lifeless onto the floor.  Thinking quickly, Dinendal grabbed Amras’ other haunt siphon off his belt and disrupted the furnace haunt!  Stoella spent some time trickling potions of cure light wounds down what remained of Amras’ throat while Dinendal discovered charred human remains within the furnace.  After Amras returned to consciousness, Stoella poured holy water over the bones which seemed to lift the oppressive force of the haunt from the room!

The group consulted their map and went to investigate a steel door they had yet to open.  Unable to get through, they went outside and peeked in through a barred window.  Within were numerous items labeled with little tags.  Stoella was able to extract a small pouch using mage hand and discovered it filled with a dozen masterwork shuriken which she saved for Gnok.

The group went back into the old training room and peered into the hole leading into darkness.  Amras cast light on a copper coin and dropped it down the hole.  It splashed into a not terribly deep pool of water approximately twenty feet down.  From what they could tell, the hole opens up into a larger cavern.

Faced with the options of exploring the second level of the prison or delving underneath, the party decided to instead return to town and rest.  They plan to then meet with Alendru Ghoroven at the Unfurling Scroll and see if he has any magic items that might let them through the steel door they discovered earlier.