Valerick assumes a position infront of the door, with his sheild held in front of himself. If there was to be a quarrel, he did not want to be slowed to participate by being unaware.

"Open the door if you can, Tram," Valerick instructs calmly, "and move away."

As he waited for the little one to act, he allowed himself a small stretch with his sword arm, wondering if Tram would agree or if some one else would take up the job. So many possibilities, and so little care over which one was taken.

Riaharan had a ponderous look he was clearly undecisive on whether the door should be opened or not but one swift memory involving a tree and a doorway he thought *why not* he mentioned to the others " I have already fallen down a hole today maybe this the bit of luck that i have benn looking for these past few hours lets open it and see.

After that he was buzzing he couldn't wait to see what was inside after thinking about an idea for a while Riaharan wants to do it, and gets very excited at the prospect of it. What ever could be behind the door?

Siegfried concurred. Tram could no doubt find any traps and safely open the door, and Valerick's shield would prove useful to protect the front.

That left the back... or front, whichever it was. Siegfriend made his way to what used to be the front, before they made their detour. Siegfried positioned himself with his back to the dead end they were approaching only a few minutes before. That gave him as clear a view as he could have in the dark.

Tram took a breath, then searched for any traps that might pose any danger. After that, he would open the door, picking the lock if need be. Once the door was open, his plan would be to head to the back of the group with his bow drawn. "Let's see what we're in for."

The group prepared this time, which was a first. As a group they readied themselves to enter the next room, whatever it may contain. The gnome examined the door carefully, finding no traps, though he wasn't surprised. The lack of a handle gave away the concept that there was no lock. He slid it aside, and didn't have much difficulty with the big stone door despite his small stature. When the door slid aside, the group was looking down more stonework. It was a stairwell, going down approximately thirty feet.

The roof was low, but not so low as to require the taller members of the group to duck. Instead, it simply blocked any view of what was below. The only visible information was that the stairwell emptied into a room below, and that room was dark. No light emanated from anything other than the torch. The stairwell was steep, meaning that view of the upcoming room would not be available until they were at the bottom step or two of the stairs.

Siegfried's scent glands were overwhelmed with an awful smell, and he nearly fell over, had Riaharan not caught his arm. The entire party heard a rather disturbing sound. The sound was a mixture of crunching, tearing, cracking, and breaking. It reminded Tram of the sounds he had heard when he ran from the white dragon not so long ago, though these sounds were only a room away. The sound was awful, and the smell wasn't too pleasant either.

Valerick's face contorts with disgust for a moment, then glances at his comrades. "What do you think that is?" He asks, then returns his attention to the stairs.

He pauses to consider how much longer his power can support the glow enveloping his symbol, then begins to carefully descend, step-by-step with his sheild held before him, and his sword one step behind.

The repulsive smell silently infuriated Valerick, as if it was curling up to his nose out of sheer mailice. He forced himself to ignore the smell and the affront it posed, keeping his growing irritation under the surface of his faintly sparkling skin, the increasing control required to stay calm manifesting itself with a semi-aloof expression on his face.