8. Entryway To Lower Level

When the door is opened, a gnome that could only be Fonkin is found within. He is sitting on a box looking dejectedly at the door in the northern wall. He is startled at first but visibly relaxes when he realizes you aren't monsters and mean him no harm. He gestures to your party to close the door and come inside. The gnome inside this room is Fonkin, the one the party was sent to find. When they tell him that they were sent by the townsfolk to look for him, he explains that he isn't kidnapped or lost. He wound up in the ruins after pursuing an important item that was stolen from him. The thief was an old apprentice of his, and he tracked her down into the ruins and into this room. The trail led to the north door, but when he tried it he found the door magically-locked, with no spell or scroll to unlock it. He tells the party to meet him at the Laughing Dragon Inn when they return to Dale. He will then give the door one more dirty look before he twists a ring on his left finger, whispers some words, and disappears. Besides Fonkin and the empty crate there is nothing in this room of any value. The door to the north is made of thick unbreakable stone. The door is above the level and capability of the adventurers to get through without some outside assistance.