Obstruction

To the four adventurers standing atop the semi-visible floating platform, the descent seemed to take forever.

Belphanior: A useful spell, this...much more useful than Tenser's floating disc.
Ged: Of course it is. That's why I invented it.
Bosco: Well, that figures.
Mongo: Quiet, all of you. We need to pay attention to where we are and what we're doing.
Belphanior: Right.

They looked down, but there was nothing to see besides the walls of the shaft...walls that were fashioned of the same smooth, black metal as the rest of the tomb thus far. They had descended perhaps three hundred feet, though it was hard to tell. Even when they looked up, they couldn't see their companions above.

Shortly, however, Belphanior found something else they could look at instead.

Belphanior: Stop the disc.
Ged: Huh?
Belphanior: (pointing to the wall) Look there.

The elf had spotted a long furrow in the metal of the shaft. It was about two inches deep, and basically vertical. Just below this gash were some scattered stains that could only be one thing.

Bosco: Blood...
Belphanior: My guess is, something clawed at a target in this shaft and succeeded in snagging its victim.
Ged: (touching the metal, he puts two fingers in the furrow) It had to be something really, really strong. I mean, this is solid metal!
Bosco: A fight in this shaft...hmm.
Mongo: (shaking his head) It wasn't a fight, necessarily. Look closely at the furrow there.
Belphanior: (nods) It was a downward swipe.
Ged: As if someone was fleeing up this shaft...
Bosco: ...and didn't make it.
Belphanior: The mystery deepens.
Ged: Yea. (he looks down) Maybe you'd better get a wand ready... in case something nasty is waiting for us down there.

However, yet another surprise awaited them a bit further down: the shaft was blocked by a wall of stone.

Belphanior: Is it a wall...or a plug?
Ged: A wall serving as a plug.
Mongo: Hey, who gives a fuck? It's blocked.
Belphanior: (to Ged) What would happen if you cast a wall of stone in a confined space, like this shaft?
Ged: (gestures to the stone) This.
Bosco: Maybe we'd better go back up and consult the others.

They did so, and Alindyar replaced Bosco on the disc before they went back down.

Alindyar: Walls such as this are Lyra's forte, but this is definitely a wall of stone. When cast in a small space, the stone simply squirts wherever there is space.
Ged: Yea, yea, yea. Shall you dispel it, or shall I?
Alindyar: You may do the honors.
Belphanior: (preferring to conserve his magic, he simply waits)
Mongo: (preferring to avoid the workings of wizards, he stands back, examining the stone as it butts up to the metal shaft, forming a tight seal) This stone wasn't always here...it doesn't belong here.
Alindyar: No. My guess is that someone put this here intentionally, to block the shaft.
Ged: But we know they never came out...why would they block themselves in this place?
Belphanior: We'll find out, once we get rid of this stone and keep going.
Ged: Yea. (he begins spellcasting)