Quickly grabbing the expanding pole he'd been playing with for the last few minutes, Oomaq heads to the portal. "Well I guess there's no time the present. Shall we?" He asks as he sticks his head through to look.
"Azure, this is place where you from?" Fern asks his long time companion. "This place looks angry. I will protect others." It says as it secures the large maul to its back and then hefts the great ax.
Gage seems very unsure at first. He had read about such places in the Tome of Wisdom he keeps tucked away. But, trusting the Azure, he grabs an item and readies to step through.
The amulets drop the temperature in the room considerably and you feel no discomfort as you approach the swirling vortex of fire. Poking your head through the circle you find yourself sucked through. Standing in a large underground cave you can view dark pieces of cooling magma intertwined with bright patches of still hot rock. Your instincts tell you not to touch anything or you will be burned, but the amulet prevents that from happening due to the environment. The sounds of clicking picaxes can be heard from further within the mine. Following them slowly you peer around a corner and see several creatures made of fire working towards extracting precious stones.
"I think we should try to sneak around if there is a way. I doubt we could communicate with these creatures, but I could try. The Efreeti is the one we need to slay for Azure to be able to come back. What do you think?"
The group moves silently past the workers (passive perception 10) without being noticed. Moving further into the cave you pass several more groups and a few smaller tunnels to the side. After nearly a mile the tunnel connects with two others converging into a slightly larger passage which seems to veer off to your right. Sounds of workers can be heard echoing through each of the tunnels, but not down the larger path.
Moving as quietly as it possibly could Fern follows the others. "Do you know the correct direction my new friends?" It asks, voice modulated to the equivalent of a whisper.
Peeking around the corner you see the hallway expand into a large circular opening a large red giant sits atop of a throne with piles of rubies surrounding him. As you watch a creature like those you passed before can be seen coming into view from the side pushing a cart. The creature drops more gems into a pile near the throne.
You MAY want to apply his Menacing Feat or just do regular intimidation.
*Menacing (Unearthed Arcana 17)
You become fearsome to others, gaining the following benefits:
Increase your Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You gain proficiency in the Intimidation skill. If you are already proficient in the skill, you add double your proficiency bonus to checks you make with it.
When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can replace one attack with an attempt to demoralize one humanoid you can see within 30 feet of you that can see and hear you. Make a Charisma (Intimidation) check contested by the target's Wisdom (Insight) check. If your check succeeds, the target is frightened until the end of your next turn.
"You can not hide from us! We will reclaim this mine for its rightful owner!" Meddaar ignites the Lantern of Revealing and begins to shine the magical light around the area. If they could see the creature, then they could eliminate it.
Fern looks to where the creature was standing, confused. "Does your special light not work?" He readies his Longbow to fire if the Efreeti showed itself again. "Hello, where did you go? My friend wants his mine back so please come out so I can kill you."
Rurik readied his shield to help fend off any potential attacks heading towards the group. If he could see it coming he could hopefully deflect the attack.
Oomaq suddenly remembered what Meddar did at the Necropolis and realizing that they had been walking over lava patches without ill effect he snatches up a handful of the molten rock and tosses it in a rough arc towards the area the creature had been standing before disappearing.
The lava spreads forwards in front of the group as everyone watches carefully hoping to see any deviations in the path of the creature. The lava falls directly to the ground without any deviation in course. As the lava settles the creature can be seen moving back into view from the side of the cave out just out of your range of view. The creature stops in the center of the cave and looks towards the group, a look of trepidation on its face still and calls out. "Who dares to attack me!
The arrow strikes the figure directly in the chest passing through seemlessly and without effect.
Spoiler:
Everyone please make a wisdom saving throw DC 15 you get advantage because you saw the arrow pass through. On success the creature fades to barely a shadow as you realize it is an illusion. If you fail you still think the creature is real. Please act accordingly.
The group waits patiently untill the creature appears from behind the throne, mistakenly believing that the threat had left. The creature is surprised to see the group still there.