Kiplyn kicks at the skeleton with his foot. As mentioned prior, it is wearing a tattered silk robe with the sigil of a spider. It's not a "nice" looking spider, and Kiplyn probably wouldn't feel good about wearing this robe in public, is the vague sense he gets. Kiplyn also sees that the skeleton has a dagger on its belt (though the weapon never left its scabbard during the fight) and is wearing a silk lanyard around its neck. Hanging from the lanyard is a thin piece of bone, about the length of Kiplyn's little finger.
The skeletons retreat from the sacred Owl, allowing the party to move through the door into the secret room (Area 33). The undead fall back until
Dame Simonetta has them boxed into an alcove at the southern end of the room. The skeletons gnash their teeth and flail their claws at the Dame, but some invisible force prevents them from approaching within 10' of her. For as long as this stalemate holds, the other party members should be safe to explore the room unmolested.
There is a lot going on in this room; a lot to explore and a lot of details to take in. It would take the party at least a turn to search the area, possibly longer depending on the detail of the search. For starters there are 12 identical footlockers to rummage through (one at the foot of each cot), and that's just in the sleeping area at the north end of the room. There is also a living/dining area with tables and chairs, storage shelves, a kitchen/prep area, and then at the southern end (where Dame Simonetta has the skeletons trapped) is kind of a natural grotto area, dripping with water and overgrown with moss.
Dougal examines the first footlocker masterfully (6 on his roll) and finds no sign of any traps. Using this insight, he does a quick sweep of each bunk and declares all of the other footlockers safe to open, in turn.
OOC: I have updated
the map thread accordingly. The secret barracks (Area 33) neatly fills out the NE corner of the level map.
I feel like the current situation is not quite combat rounds, but also not quite exploration turns. I wouldn't allow you to, for example, take a Rest Turn here, not while the skeletons are still a potential threat. Athena has certainly smiled on Dame Simonetta here today, but the limits and duration of that power are yet-to-be-determined (from the Dame's perspective).
Can I get a quick sense of everyone's search priorities? Assuming that you can't take it all in at once, where do you focus your attention, initially? Are you searching the "bodies" of the fallen skeletons? Opening the footlockers? Spreading out and searching other parts of the cavern? Moving south to Dame Simonetta's location?
Also I am curious: Do you leave the secret door open, or do you close it behind you, while you search the room?