Hey @AvaronGansdell
At the time there was no merchant in the DM so it was on of the workaround. It's a role play "market" where you trade your stuff against others. But oc you're free to loot everything with no rp. Just read the lore part in shelves and books, you'll understand a bit more. :)

is the Shop Supposed to require I give something up, it seems like its a mix of empty chests and ones with rare equipment just sitting around for free.

Hello @Outlaw ! There is a button to open the closed door. It's on your left, on the wall, when you enter the "shop". Let'me know if all is good !

Hey man I'm stuck on this one, I've wandered around the cloister, but I didn't find the secret door referenced in the notes about the trials or tests of war. I feel like I've scoured every cell on the outside and found only the 4 spiders, and inside walked around the whole thing on stealth looking for a secret door mentioned.