Emfrid watches Yudumbox as he approaches the door, Morlan's pick in hand.

"If this works," she observes, "and it's what the tanar'ri pushed us in here to do..."

She glances toward the door leading out to the landing in the chasm. "I don't imagine they'll just wait around for us to leave on our own."

Meanwhile, Mellonion looks over the corpses.

"They've been arranged here, clearly. Presumably they failed to open the door and were tossed over here so the next in line could make an attempt. Judging from the state of them, this has been going on for awhile."

He nods to Emfrid's concern, but gestures back to the magical door. "I share Joshua's interest in what could be on the other side. The portal chamber appeared to be of Netherese origin, as does the script here. They were the earliest human empire on the face of Toril. If there is functioning Netherese magic in this place, then we owe it to the history books to uncover its secrets."

To Morlan: No, it's gone. We used a lot of magic that day.

To everyone: "If 'Box has trouble, I do have a scroll with a Passwall spell. If the wall is less than 10' thick, it should get us in. Come time to leave, it might get us up, too, if I aim it that way."

"I'm pretty sure, at this point, that we will be able to find another way out, one way or another. We've got portals we might be able to start up, and a tunnel that goes upstairs. I'm thinking now is the time to barricade that first door, the one with the demon-things behind it. A cambion and those other things will be coming, too, most likely, even if the buzzy demons don't. I'm surprised they haven't gotten here already. Can we maybe move some of those stone furnishings in front of the first door. And by we, I mean not me? I'm not so good at the heavy lifting."

Worried, Dunn will place his Dagger of Alarm near the door to the chasm, with instructions to sound off if any creature larger than a 'possum shows up on or above the landing outside the door.

Dunn will also take the time, as the others are doing their thing, to get to know the once-captive elves better, and ask them what they want to do. If the corpses have weapons and/or armor, Dunn will pass them out among the elves. Dunn will do this talking in the room with the stone tables, C, so they'll have time to run upstairs if trouble comes through the chasm door. He'll also ask them if any of them has skills that might be useful, like sneaking around or knowledge of portals.

Once the elves are armed, Mel and Emfrid help Dunn to blockade the door leading out onto the landing.

Box, with one last look to his friends, snaps the lockpick. When nothing seems to happen, he looks a bit deflated.

"Don't worry 'Box," Joshua says patting the Modron on its back, "someone put a lot of work into securing this door."

The modron nods his body.

"It is reminiscent of the puzzle door we defeated upon first arriving in this world, though the solution is exponentially more illusive as we do not understand the problem."

He glances to the others, then back to the door.

"I am prepared to interface with this device, if such a plan meets with approval after peer review."

From his position behind the metal door, Morlan says:

"Maybe you have unlocked it, though. Might be worth trying to open it manually now, just in case. Joshua, I'd get back here if I were you."

Box gives the door a cautious tap with one metal finger. Satisfied that he isn't disintegrated, he shoves against it. When that does nothing, he grabs hold of one of the rings of precious metal and tugs.

"Negative," he says. "Experimentation has confirmed that the door is in an unchanged state with regard to lockedness. That is to say that it remains locked. Detection of degree of door lockedness quest perimeters satisfied. Returning to current primary quest."

He hadn't been modron-y in a bit.

"Okay... er... affirmative. Proceed to interface the hell out of that device."