You make your way into the next room, stepping gingerly around the sprung spike trap, and with the light find it far more interesting than first appearances suggested. Only a small portion of the streaked, dark stone table is visible under the debris. Dark stains stretch from it (beneath the rubble) to a small hole in the center of the floor.
The light accentuates a faded mural about 1 foot tall across the entire right wall at head level above the table, most of it obscured behind the large pile of rubble. It seems to depict several humanoid figures with arms aloft, some holding tributes, some holding children, some holding or adorned with snakes. All of them face toward center, though the object of their attention is hidden, or perhaps destroyed, behind the rubble.
In the rubble to the left, the light glimmers against a piece of metal. Digging at it a bit reveals it to be a curved dagger with a spiral handle. The pommel jewel is green, but thoroughly cracked and likely of little value given its damaged state. The blade is stained red.
Spoiler: Investigation or Perception DC 14
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A few thin, skeletal fingers are visible beneath the rubble as well near where the dagger lies, perhaps its original owner.
In the alcove to the north, you can now tell the statue is of a humanoid shape, though many of the features have crumbled.
Spoiler: Investigation DC 10
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It's not hard to tell this figure was intentionally destroyed. The stone fragments at its feet must be pieces of the original statue. Among them you find a large fang.
Spoiler: DC15
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Examining it closely and picking up some of the more pronounced pieces you find parts of a hand with snakes for fingers, and it looks like something was broken off the back of the statue on either side of the spine indicating it may have been winged or something similar.
You may make a Religion check to try and glean more... it's a high DC with this piecemeal info though.
The stone's glow further illuminates the next tunnel on the west wall, and peering down it seems to have also collapsed about 10 feet in. The skeletal tails of two small snakes are visible beneath some of the rocks.
Spoiler: Aurix
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This hatchery does seem a bit strange... as you think on it further you note the air is significantly cooler here than above ground... maybe too cool to properly hatch the snakes, hence the need for a heat source. Though why the eggs are kept this far below the surface isn't quite clear - safety? secrecy? Maybe this was a way of selectively breeding these snakes or controlling their numbers?
Beyond beasts like snakes, several types of creatures are hatched from dragonborn to lizardfolk to kobolds... these eggs are a bit small to be any of those though. MAYBE kobolds but that even seems unlikely.
The structural motifs here are similar to other places in the city - the rounded edges, semi-circular doorways, chest/head level bands of decoration... the curved line decoration around the first room you even recall is found in one of the back rooms of Pelor's temple that now serves as a vestibule for Father Bremsky. Could it have once served a similar purpose as this place?
DETECT MAGIC: You get a very faint ping of evocation coming from the corner of the table that's visible.
Spoiler: Valmora
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It could be a trick of the eyes but... as you come into this room the light from the stone seems to dim, almost imperceptibly.
Re: [IC] Illistera - The Great Divide
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