Those of you who continued ahead and abandoned your fellow adventurers to their doom find the following at the bottom of the staircase:

The spiral staircase leads to a long, narrow room with a door in the far wall. There are several ledges holding miniature clay solders and two tables with armies of opposing soldiers are laid out around buildings and hills.

Pyke pauses at the entrance to the room and surveys the clay soldiers along the ledges and table. He considers adding soldiers from the ledge to the table to see if he can help one army defeat the other. But which one to help?
ooc - Is there a way to tell which soldiers belong to which army? (I.e. Are they a different colour, race, or styled differently.)

make a Search at DC 10

In reply to The Judge (msg # 3):
Erm... nope.
20:06, Today: Pyke the Astrologist rolled 3 using 1d20 ((3)).

Spying the tables laid out like battlefields in miniature, Aelisyr, who in her heart of hearts is fond of the mysterious, the unexplained, the relics of bygone times and civilizations, suppresses a gasp of delight. She hurries toward the tables, but the moment she notices Pyke also eyeing them, her momentary wonder swings sharply toward the usual disdain.

"Don't even think of touching it this time, clumsy one," she snaps, "lest you ruin yet another mystery of the ages."

So speaking, she too begins to examine the armies in close detail.

17:10, Today: Aelisyr the Wanderer rolled 16 using 1d20.  Aelisyr, also searching!

The Elf notices four of the clay soldiers appear to be generals, and they are actually solid silver under a heavy layer of dust! [worth 20gp each]

"Hey, uh, pal?" says Pyke to Aelisyr in a voice so strained it's near tearing. "What have you got there?"

Stanis looks around the room. "Would there FINALLY be something of value..."

"Ugh." Aelisyr can't help the roll of her eyes. "I shouldn't even cater to your obvious greed, but... those soldiers are likely worth some coin." She points out the four. Primly, she then adds, "In return for sharing that knowledge, I shan't be the one to touch them first lest you call down some curse upon your avaricious heads. But, should you survive, I hereby lay claim to one of them."

It seems there are three things constant in life: death, taxes, and Aelisyr's overabundance of caution.

Pyke carefully plucks one of the clay generals from a shelf then holds his breath.

You stand there dramatically for a few moments...

The tension builds....AND....

...nothing.

In reply to The Judge (msg # 11):

After seeing that nothing happens Stanis with never before seen speed tries to take everything he possibly can from the statues.

In reply to Wade Lane Squad (msg # 12):

The other statues are just clay. Gotta catch ‘em all.

Aelisyr seems almost disappointed when nothing happens. Still, the elf steals forward and snatches one of the silver statues from the table, scoffing again in disgust as Stanis barges in to grab whatever he can get his hands on.