The Isteran Chronicles Campaign, The Beginning!

Our story begins about 400 miles west of Llane, the City of Towers, where our intrepid adventurers have found themselves at the site of some ruins. The six of them have answered the call for a bounty that has been placed. Lord Gamin of Llane has offered a substantial reward for the group that successfully deals with the strange corruption and magics that have been emanating from the ArieBrias Ruins as of late.

The six would-be bounty hunters are as follows:
Talon, a roguish Luminai with a quite grandiose demeanor.
Beryl, a Stoutfolk mage who seems quite comfortable with bending the traditional understanding of morality.
Brokil, a hardy and fierce looking Primal seeking glory and a name for himself like the gladiators of renown had once.
Vavek, a massive Goliath with a propensity for magic. He seeks to avenge his fallen village by becoming as powerful as possible, and this bounty seemed a good fit for his skills and his pocket book.
Arnold, a Luminai mage seeking knowledge and power and wealth. Very little other than self interest motivates him, however what he actually cares about will surely be made manifest...right?
And finally, Sha'ki'Rah, a Centaur who seeks the riches of the bounty. However he also struggles to adjust and adapt to this land, where his people are quite foreign.

After some brief get-to-know-you banter outside the ruins, the group searches around and quickly finds the entrance, seemingly cleared away and easily accessible. The only way further into the ruins, it would seem, are the stairs leading underground. Using his spear, Vavek throws it to the bottom of the stairs in an attempt to check for any obvious traps. To everyone's surprise, the spear smacks the bottom of the stairwell and a loud 'ka-chunk' is heard.

Upon lighting their torches and making their way down, they discover Vavek's spear broken by what looks like a set of spikes protruding from the ground. "Well, that's one way to do it," Talon says dismissively. The team steps over the spikes and makes their way down the dim hallway.

What lay within the ruins?