DM Ray Council of Thieves (Closed: DM Dragon Cat's Group)

Game Master Molech

Westcrown, The City of Nine Stars, has long suffered from a nighttime curse of Shadows. For nearly 100 years the formerly glorious port-town has been much more aptly nicknamed, 'The City of Twilight.' In Westcrown all the days are short, are overcast. For 100 years. And at nightfall ephemeral Shadow Creatures appear in the streets and parks, alleys and squares, claiming living souls for blackness and death.

Three Lord Mayors have been appointed in this century of twilight; at least the first two strove to improve Westcrown. But for the past twenty-odd years, current Lord Mayor and GrandCount, Aberian Arvanxi, has allowed the city to fall deeper and deeper into disrepair and despair.

Crime is up.

Trade is down.

A curfew that the second mayor (Dargentu Vheed) instituted temporarily at the nascence of his tenure has now lasted for generations -- with no new dawn seeming on the horizon.

This late morning of summer a handful of restless souls converge separately on Vizio's Tavern in Parego Spera, an old public house nestled near the waterfront, a tilting warehouse next door providing a modicum of buffering from the shipyard and salty brackishness beyond.

Vizio's Tavern is a one-story affair, its walls contrast greatly with the eroding, detritus-coated stonework of the warehouse on the eastern side and the other neighborhood structures flanking it -- walls of quietly proud oak, coloured a healthy brown and polished to an almost-mirrored sheen in the late morning sun. Vizio's Tavern is just one of several buildings in this little neighborhood recently restored in the gentrification of the neighborhood.

Only minutes prior the tavern's interior was alive with the chattering of dockhands and other labourers stopping in for a pint in the shade, listening to the blue-haired, Half-Elven flautist.

The crashing interruption from HellKnight Armigers, however routine it may have become, disturbed and soured everyone's day. "ATTENTION, PATRONS OF THIS ESTABLISHMENT MASQUERADING AS A TAVERN! EVERYONE UP AGAINST THE WALL. WE HAVE ALREADY CAPTURED THE SEDITIONIST OWNER OF THIS ESTABLISHMENT -- IF YOU RESIST, IT SHALL BE A WASTE OF YOUR FREEDOM!" Even the blue-haired flautist lost his smile.

But the Armigers were charging through the door to the private room, obviously chasing the handful of restless souls who had, only minutes prior, converged upon Vizio's Tavern individually, and gradually made there way to the private room.

A room with a secret door. With a passage leading to a Portal to The Shadow Plane. One step ahead of the HellKnights.

Nine of them, perhaps like Westcrown was once "The City of Nine Stars," get their bearings in the Shadow Plane reflection of today's Westcrown: "The City of Twilight."

The half-blind Gnome speaks out in direction, as inauspiciously as that sounds to everyone, "Look out for the stone head of an angel representing Shelyn. Should be in the eaves of a two-story house along the canal." Only a moment later, several of them see what has to be the structure Nita Cobbles assures them ought to be a good place to hide: Two stories tall, crenelated with busts of the beatific goddesses' facade, yet with perfect rows and columns of mithril needles piercing face and head, and Shelyn's visage on each one a frown of stern melancholy rather than pastoral beauty. A row of Shelyn heads decorated like Hellraiser Pinhead. The place to hide from HellKnights.

Like Cobbles, Bobbles and Bows cartography shop a few doors down -- at least on the Material Plane Westcrown, this structure is long rather than wide, its center entrance a vaulted door that is both stories high, and itself arched by an alabaster statue not of Shelyn, as per the crenelations, but rather The Midnight Lord, Zon Kuthon.

The sound of footfalls and startled Armigers is not too far behind. They sound as disoriented and disturbed of the atmosphere as Nita Cobbles, Janiven Keyes, and the rest. But behind them a stern, more confident voice calls: "Stand fast, little Armigers, this is The Shadow Plane; we have left our world. We will not find our quarry here; it is beyond your abilities. Shanwen, Contractor Scriptus of Asmodeus will bring you home, where you better pray to all Nine Hells that information can be gleaned from the prisoners we do have."

Standing at the tall door to a sanctuary of the Cenobite Zon Kuthon, the nine of you wonder what to do. And who can answer what questions.

The half-blind gnome is breathing heavily. Her advanced age is not suited for running. Finding a pew and pulling her small body into it, with her dog nosing her to make sure she is okay, Nita pulls off her glasses to clean them. A milky eye finds where she thinks Janiven is and asks "Did you have any other plans other than get us together?" her tone is not accusatory, just curious.

Janiven Keyes

.

The common tavern-hostess / turned Gatewalker smiles mildly, she speaks in sotto voce, "It was quite a feat just to learn about you all and, bluntly, risk so much opening up to you. Honestly, though I have some ideas, they're generic, non-specific. I was hoping that you would be open to discussing plans and specific gambits. This was as far as I got: Learn about potential allies and get them safely to me. Obviously, the 'safely' part didn't succeed. I spent a while weighing the pros and cons of bringing you in individually, for more assured safety. But truthfully, I was never going to be perfectly assured of a safe meeting. And though I know a little of each of you, I don't know you all well enough to have made plans based on your particular strengths. Besides, as a group, whatever we can propose and discuss will be better than a gambit I came up with by myself."

Nita nods at this, accepting the logic with ease. She puts her glasses back on then decides to ask another question. "The owner of the establishment they captured?" she asks, her voice dipping slightly in sympathy, assuming they were friends. But the cold logic of her brain wonders about how much the new prisoner knows.

A pair of thorny horns poke out the side of the entrance, followed by a scalp full of black hair, a bronze-skinned forehead and finally a pair of eyes, peering out into the gloom of the plane and eerily glowing, as if backlit by flames.

"They turned back," Cassynder comments quietly, before withdrawing back into the building. "If these are the kind of tricks you can pull off, Janiven, we may just have a fighting chance after all. I've got some questions, if you feel it's a good time to talk. Otherwise I'm fine with holding them until we're out of the dark and somewhere safer."

Whisper's tail flicks nervously. The eerily pale woman peers from under her dark cloak's hood. "Hoped to sell a warning the armigers were coming. Too late. No idea what to do with..." She gestures about. This. Are we stuck? What lives here?"

Janiven Keyes

.

Pressing her ear to the massive door of the building for a moment, Janiven Keyes attempts to gently, quietly open the 20-foot tall door for everyone to enter.

Still in sotto voce she answers about the 'other owner' who is apparently captured. "His name is Arael, a Half-Elf. I'm uncomfortable going into too many details but, perhaps even more than I, Arael is passionate about trying to help the common people of Westcrown by affecting change: The Shadow Creatures of the night, the corruptible Dottari -- who seem have tainted their "Wardens of Westcrown" moniker, the lazy Lord Mayor who seems to have made 'Nepotism' the principle of his reign, and of course violent and petty crime: "The Bastards of Erebus" are just the latest example of a gang with more power than the Dottari, heh, our 'wardens' of Westcrown."

Janiven Keyes peaks into the long building for a moment before taking a cautious step forward and answering Cassynder's remark, "Don't be mislead, this 'trick'," she points to the enchanted Rod that opened the Portal, "really is just a trick for emergencies. It only works once every 101 hours and can only open the Portal to the point of entry. In other words, in four days we can use it to go back to the exact spot in the secret tunnel under Vizio's Tavern -- even if there's a patrol of HellKnights waiting for us."

Quirry

.

The violet-skinned Tiefling with deep black hair, silver eyes, and something odd about her hands, looks more afraid of her surroundings than everyone else. Eighteen years old and usually far more cynical and unimpressed, the girl looks out of her depth. Perhaps seeing a bit of a kinship in Whisper, she lets out a little of an answer to the other Tiefling woman's question, "What lives here,?-- my guess is "nothing Good." Quirri looks toward Cassynder for guidance, almost the way a younger sister looks up to an older brother.

"four days" the gnome woman says flatly. Her eyes drift to her dog "good thing you came with me." there is a sigh after that. Looking up at her fellow residents "We will need food and water, if there is no other way out?" the last word is raised in question, in hopes others know more about alternate planes than she does.

Janiven Keyes

.

Pressing her ear to the massive door of the building for a moment, Janiven Keyes attempts to gently, quietly open the 20-foot tall door for everyone to enter.

Still in sotto voce she answers about the 'other owner' who is apparently captured. "His name is Arael, a Half-Elf. I'm uncomfortable going into too many details but, perhaps even more than I, Arael is passionate about trying to help the common people of Westcrown by affecting change: The Shadow Creatures of the night, the corruptible Dottari -- who seem have tainted their "Wardens of Westcrown" moniker, the lazy Lord Mayor who seems to have made 'Nepotism' the principle of his reign, and of course violent and petty crime: "The Bastards of Erebus" are just the latest example of a gang with more power than the Dottari, heh, our 'wardens' of Westcrown."

"Hmm," Cassynder replies. "It sounds like this Arael and me will get along just fine."

I forget, did Cassynder hear the Bastards and Palaveen referenced in the same conversation Other Players? I know he name-dropped Palaveen in that conversation, but can't remember if the Bastards were named in that same conversation as being Palaveen's gang. I don't want him to make a connection without context, you know?

Janiven Keyes peaks into the long building for a moment before taking a cautious step forward and answering Cassynder's remark, "Don't be mislead, this 'trick'," she points to the enchanted Rod that opened the Portal, "really is just a trick for emergencies. It only works once every 101 hours and can only open the Portal to the point of entry. In other words, in four days we can use it to go back to the exact spot in the secret tunnel under Vizio's Tavern -- even if there's a patrol of HellKnights waiting for us."

Cassynder shrugs. "Even so, that's some expensive magic to use to save a few nobodies like us. I've known people who'd kill to have that kind of magic on-hand for less noble purposes."

Whisper nods in response to Quirri and looks to see if the eyes have followed them as they've moved to their new location.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

"So..." Cassynder says, turning to Quirri, noting Janiven didn't give him a yea or nay on asking questions. "You said you wanted out of Palaveen's new operation...Is that these 'Bastards' the others are talking about? That why Janiven got in touch with you, because they're in bed with the Rackknights and she wanted someone on her side with eyes on him?"

Everett was far from happy, clearly he'd blundered into a trap. He gave a few sidelong glances at his fellows as he wondered can I trust these people? He trudged through Shadow westcrown, wrestling with this question while simultaneously feeling adrift in this most peculiar environment, he'd never had so much as an inkling that such a thing was possible!

When it became clear they were stuck here for four days he realised he had no choice but to trust them - at least for now. Another question occurred to him, one that was likely to be very important if and when they got out.

So he asked Janiven a pointed question, "It seems to me the Armigers knew about your plans, perhaps they know the details of this 'trick' as you put it too... Is there another way out?"

He had another question too, "Suppose one way or another we do get out of here, then what? I mean somebody must have tipped them off. It's difficult to see how we can help the townsfolk while on the run."

Whisper nods at Everett. "They knew about the tavern. Don't think they knew about this." She waves, then shrugs.
"Till they followed, anyway. But it scared them, so... they didn't know."

She sighs. If she wanted to get out of this, she needed to work with these people, and her information was now outdated. "Found a letter. Armiger dropped it. Asmodeans captured Arael--to go to his business afterward isn't odd." She pauses, recalling. Letter just mentioned Arael, orders to," she makes air quotes, 'investigate' tavern. And work with Bastards." She pauses again, licking her lips. "Oh, and blame it on fool named Shanwen if it goes wrong."

She spreads her hands. "No tipoff about us. How could there be? We just met."

The gnome woman nods at the logic. "we just met" she decides to add some of her own "I was led to the meeting by a pathfinder and a shadow, I believed to be my former business partner. A shadow and now we are in the Shadow Plane." she does not know there is a connection, so she doesn't say so, but sharing information might lead to them living.

Everett's lips formed a thin line as he considered whisper's words, "I guess it's somewhat reassuring that all this wasn't directed at us, but what of this Arael? What sort of man is he?"

"According to those hunting him... a charismatic Iomedaean. Too dangerous to be let free." Whisper looks to Janiven for her opinion.

"Sounds like we might have more in common than I expected," Cassynder comments.

Nita nods, looking off to the shadows, petting her dog. After moments of silence, she rises "Since they have left, should we look around? For the fleeting hope there is a way back to our world that doesn't involve waiting here for four days?" the small woman looks around at the collected peoples to see if they agree.

Janiven Keyes

.

After poking her head into the massive, creepy front door for a moment's look around, Janiven Keyes returns to the quiet conversation of introductions. "Well, it looks completely empty; I think our Gnome cartographer was right about this place." She turns to Nita and responds, "I certainly like the idea of looking around, and was also going to vote to try to find another way back -- the four days is less of a concern to me than is the going right back to Vizio's Tavern. A Spellcrafting of the Portal may actually clue them to how long it takes before we can return, though I honestly don't know."

Janiven Keyes takes a few steps into the structure, presumably to continue to see if it can be a safe-house of some kind until everyone gets their bearings in Shadow Westcrown.

Next she turns back to Cassynder, "Sorry, I missed something a minute ago, what were you asking?" She pauses to concentrate on your words from a moment ago, "Oh, yes, my 'tricks' and a few other questions. Yes, I think if this place turns out to be a good hideout I think we all have questions. As for tricks, I'm just a common gish with some Roguish talents, and who only knows a couple spells. And as long as we keep our wits about us, I think I can answer your questions as we search this place."

Meanwhile, Whisper looks for the burning eyes she saw in the alley back from where you came but sees nothing. Nonetheless, the trickles of shadow and mist, the bends and weaves of darkness, the damp muffling of all sound and light, well, one may feel as those though very same eyes are hiding right behind you, and one may never know.

Shadow Westcrown

.

The long rectangular building -- crenelated as it is with gargoyle-like busts of Shelyn, but a sad or stern Shelyn in a Cenobite style, mithril needles piercing her face and head in perfect columns and rows -- opens in the middle through a massive, two-story tall door. But inside it appears empty.

At first glance, half entering the structure, it appears to be a typical long-building in three 'parts.'

The center part, in which you begin to enter, is a one-story Great Hall with a forty-foot tall ceiling, only haphazardly strewn, broken pews and benches here and there remain. To your left and right the great hall, or main room, extends about 80 feet in each direction, making the total length of the main room greater than 160 feet. There are tiny windows on the exterior front wall but they are high up, 25 feet above the floor, and allow very little "light" (if one could call it light) from the gray outside. The average person can squint for about 30 feet of vision, while those who can see in low light conditions can see about 60 feet.

At least, this is the first two-thirds of this Great Hall.

Directly across from the massive front door, about fifty feet away, is a massive, double-sided fireplace. This fireplace demarcates the great hall as there is another 25 feet or so of space behind it. Presumably, there will be entryways to the other two parts of this structure, the left and right wings of the building.

EDIT:
Structure

Aidonas

.

Nita Cobbles' mysterious customer, who gave her a missive to meet at Vizio's Tavern, enters the conversation. He nods a smile to Cassynder at the Tiefling's 'will get along really well with the captured Half-Elf Arael, who worships Iomdedae and is more of a rabble-rouser than Janiven Keyes' remark. "Well that's all well and good, but if this Arael has been captured and is being held by some Armigers and whoever this "Shanwen" guy is, fact is, we may never even get a chance to meet him." And the look on Aidonas' face reveals the feeling, 'What a shame.'

He gestures to Nita Cobbles and answers the group, "Well, I'm not a Pathfinder anymore, exactly, but I did lead you to meet Janiven Keyes. I arrived recently in Westcrown from Absalom where I used to know Bobbles (of 'Cobbles, Bobbles & Bows') through the Pathfinder Society.

"And I'm in agreement with Nita, I don't think we can last four days without food and water -- I've only studied the Shadow Plane, never been her, but as I understand it, food and water here is as much likely to be nothing as it is to be something. I can't really explain it, it would be almost like having illusory dinner: Consuming Shadow and Fog may make you feel sated, but it's not real.

"I think we have to find a way back to The Prime Material Westcrown, our Westcrown."

Calseinica

.

The opera singer, clearly out of her depth and frightened, huddles close to Sanchia Corvus, but goes eyes-wide at Everett Radcliffe's earlier question about 'What to do even if we *do* escape the Shadow Plane'; when he mentions living "on the run" from Armigers or the Temple of Asmodeus, she is visibly disturbed. "We have to clear our names; we can't be outlaws!" For a moment her voice raises to a decibel somewhat louder than anyone feels safe with, but the actor covers her mouth instantly, as if she could take back her loud noise, and whispers, "We have to join a play or opera or something and redeem ourselves."

She clearly has missed Whisper's point about the authorities having no clues or any information about the individuals here -- other than Janiven Keyes.

Quirry

.

The violet-skinned Tiefling looks up at Cassynder as she slinks cautiously into the long building. "Yeah, Palaveen has been calling his gang 'The Bastards of Erebus' for almost a year now, and has been getting Nikrus (my Boss) to get more aggressive in the Spera. And I'd like to get out from under Palaveen's thumb; Nikrus is," and Quirry shudders in revulsion, "a dirty old creep." Her tone and words are of the uncomfortable greasiness that makes one want to kill Nikrus *First.*

Feeling perhaps a little too confident and foolhardy, she looks around the massive Great Room of the empty, long building, "This place is cool! Let's explore!" Unlike the opera singer Calseinica, Quirri is obviously streetwise enough to have not raised her voice at all. And she does not stray off on her own, excited as she is to explore.

Everett wasn't at all wasn't sure what to make of the gargoyles, this wasn't a wasn't an aspect of Shelyn he was used to seeing

Can he take 10 on deciding if the depiction is sacrilegious? He'd roll a lowly 14

When Quirri suggested exploring Elliot readily agreed, "Yes lets. Maybe that will answer my question that Janiven wouldn't: Is there another way out of here?"

I expect that just got missed, but it sounds like she doesn't know.

Before entering the building, Everett Radcliffe looks up again at the disturbing crenelations of his goddess Shelyn.

The Paladin of Shelyn knows that the crenelations of The Eternal Rose are most certainly not appropriate, not a facade 'The Lady of Chrysanthemums' would appreciate. They are blasphemous; likely they are dark, twisted heresies from worshippers of Zon Kuthon, Cenobite Midnight Lord who dwells deep in The Shadow Plane.

Truly, the Shelyn objets d'art that adorn the empty long-building in Parego Spera may be old and crumbling from lack of maintenance, but these obscenities are deliberate.

Janiven Keyes

.

After poking her head into the massive, creepy front door for a moment's look around, Janiven Keyes returns to the quiet conversation of introductions. "Well, it looks completely empty; I think our Gnome cartographer was right about this place." She turns to Nita and responds, "I certainly like the idea of looking around, and was also going to vote to try to find another way back -- the four days is less of a concern to me than is the going right back to Vizio's Tavern. A Spellcrafting of the Portal may actually clue them to how long it takes before we can return, though I honestly don't know."

Janiven Keyes takes a few steps into the structure, presumably to continue to see if it can be a safe-house of some kind until everyone gets their bearings in Shadow Westcrown.

Next she turns back to Cassynder, "Sorry, I missed something a minute ago, what were you asking?" She pauses to concentrate on your words from a moment ago, "Oh, yes, my 'tricks' and a few other questions. Yes, I think if this place turns out to be a good hideout I think we all have questions. As for tricks, I'm just a common gish with some Roguish talents, and who only knows a couple spells. And as long as we keep our wits about us, I think I can answer your questions as we search this place."

"No sense in wasting time, then," Cassynder replies with a nod.

Calseinica

.

The opera singer, clearly out of her depth and frightened, huddles close to Sanchia Corvus, but goes eyes-wide at Everett Radcliffe's earlier question about 'What to do even if we *do* escape the Shadow Plane'; when he mentions living "on the run" from Armigers or the Temple of Asmodeus, she is visibly disturbed. "We have to clear our names; we can't be outlaws!" For a moment her voice raises to a decibel somewhat louder than anyone feels safe with, but the actor covers her mouth instantly, as if she could take back her loud noise, and whispers, "We have to join a play or opera or something and redeem ourselves."

She clearly has missed Whisper's point about the authorities having no clues or any information about the individuals here -- other than Janiven Keyes.

"Pardon me for asking, Miss...?" he says, not quite remembering if he'd heard Calseinica's name. "But how will performing on a stage allay suspicion of us as dissidents? I'm not even sure any playhouses in the city would allow a tiefling as obvious as me on-stage."

Quirry

.

The violet-skinned Tiefling looks up at Cassynder as she slinks cautiously into the long building. "Yeah, Palaveen has been calling his gang 'The Bastards of Erebus' for almost a year now, and has been getting Nikrus (my Boss) to get more aggressive in the Spera. And I'd like to get out from under Palaveen's thumb; Nikrus is," and Quirry shudders in revulsion, "a dirty old creep." Her tone and words are of the uncomfortable greasiness that makes one want to kill Nikrus *First.*

Feeling perhaps a little too confident and foolhardy, she looks around the massive Great Room of the empty, long building, "This place is cool! Let's explore!" Unlike the opera singer Calseinica, Quirri is obviously streetwise enough to have not raised her voice at all. And she does not stray off on her own, excited as she is to explore.

"He's gotten worse, then," Cassynder says, his brow furrowing as he follows Quirri. "He was always Palaveen's eager yes-man, but we all used to be equals in the group as kids. Organizing things into a hierarchy and giving Nikrus some power in it seems to have brought out the worst in him. Losing my composure and striking first may have been shameful but...I'm not sorry I broke his jaw. If he's smart, he'll run, or we'll break much more."

Everett wasn't at all wasn't sure what to make of the gargoyles, this wasn't a wasn't an aspect of Shelyn he was used to seeing.

When Quirri suggested exploring Elliot readily agreed, "Yes lets. Maybe that will answer my question that Janiven wouldn't: Is there another way out of here?"

Cassynder steps up to join Everett in the search.

Nita listened to each of the speakers, turning her ear to them as they spoke instead of her eyes. Those milky eyes did narrow and her pointed ear twitched as Aidonas spoke of knowing Bobbles.

She didn't know. And not knowing always bothered her. When it was not knowing something about someone she held dear it bothered to the point of pain.

But that is for another day.

At the mention of exploring, Waldrop looked up at his mistress and low woofed a question. Nita rolled her eyes just a little but then nodded.

The two then joined the artist and tiefling, ready to go.

Janiven Keyes

.

The bartender's eyes open when Aidonis says that food and water on The Shadow Plane may not sustain them. 'Always learning something new.' Four days of waiting is clearly not an option.

"I support a group vote, but perhaps a few of us should stay up front by the big door, and the rest can go explore this long structure. Um,..." Janiven Keyes looks at the group superficially, "Perhaps I can stay guard at the door with Aidonis, Calseinica and young Quirri. And you four can search the place. ...Oh," Janiven Keyes turns to Sanchia Corvus, "Do you want to stay with us at the main door or go search?"

Janiven Keyes looks to everyone to see if splitting up sounds good. While normally it would be foolhardy, she clearly likes the idea of at least a few people holding back to guard the entrance.

Calseinica

.

The opera singer squints at Cassynder in confusion. "I don't know what you mean. ... If we all join the opera we would be appreciated all over the Spera and maybe even into the Regicona. We could become celebrities. The Lord Mayor himself is pouring half the city treasury into Opera. Nightshade Theater, just two blocks away, has been completely rebuilt and refurnished to open new plays. Sanchia's practically Opera-royalty already because of her parents and I've been understudy to Baroness Delour Aulamaxa." She pats Cassynder on the shoulder in a friendly gesture of playful camaraderie, "And as much as the audience may disparage Tieflings outside of the Opera House, on stage, when there's a real Tiefling playing a villain or antagonist!, well, the House always cheers more when it's not a person with a Masque."

It is apparent Calseinica lives in a very different Westcrown than the one of Cassynder and Whisper, even a different Westcrown than Everett Radcliffe and Nita Cobbles. She hasn't said more than a few words at all until now, and then gushes and praises for Opera.

Her logic is obviously flawed, if not foolish -- but it is what she knows. The world in which she lives.

"Playing a villain...or an antagonist..." Cassynder repeats, raising an eyebrow. "And what of those tieflings who aspire to be more than that, whether on-stage or in real life?"

He tries to maintain a neutral expression. The naivete on display rankled him, but he could tell from Calseinica's tone she was talking from a position of unexamined privilege.

Whisper just shakes her head at Calseinica. "Shame I can't sing," she says dryly, all the drier in her hushed, raspy voice.

To Janiven, she nods at her proposal possibly as she is already walking toward the giant fireplace to look--carefully--into its ashes and up into the chimney with her darkvision.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

Calseinica looks blankly for a moment considering Cassynder's words, then it occurs to her how she may have sounded. She tries to think of something to say, to find some words, but comes up blank.

.

Whisper moves the distance to the massive, double-sided fireplace separating the Great Hall from whatever is in back of the huge room. A cursory glance doesn't reveal any danger or even recent activity.

One could build a five-by-five bonfire here, Whisper notices as she realizes one could walk through the fireplace to the other side of the room -- a very tall person wouldn't even have to tilt while walking to the other side. Whisper can just imagine the heat such a conflagration would produce.

The rest of the fireplace, to the left and right of the 'pit,' is brick. Shelves, or perhaps shallow alcoves allow for adornments facing the Great Hall.

And the area behind the fireplace appears congested with objects considerably moreso than the mostly empty Great Hall.

She gestures to the others, who might have to strain to hear her. "More stuff on the other side."
She goes to investigate.

Cassynder follows Whisper, leaving Calseinica to consider his words.

While the bleached gnome did not like surprises, she does LOVE nooks and crannies. Her pale eyes widen, and she almost smiled, before catching herself. "Interesting discovery" she says to the whispering one, following close.

Cassynder arrives near the massive fireplace in time to see Whisper briefly glance up the chimney for three seconds. Nita Cobbles arriving only a moment later. The whole centerpiece looks like it would make for a good backdrop for a small stage or pulpit area with a large number of shallow shelves and indentations on the fireplace walls.

In the back, walking through the fireplace, kitchen tables, massive cauldrons, and community food-prep accouterments litter the floor, mostly broken and unusable. Superficial viewing also reveals what looks to be a pump to an indoor water-well, and even a nondescript back door.

Noting Cassynder following Whisper, Everett tags along. He mused, "This shadow westcrown is most strange. I think perhaps it'll inspire a painting when all is said and done."

He kept his eyes open along the way in case they came across anything out of the ordinary, as much as anything in this extraordinary place might stand out.
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

Nita has never been prone to looting, and the shambles this place is in does nothing change that. She does keep a nearsighted eye out for details that might help.

perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

"Out the back door?" she asks, noticing the extra entrance when she gets closer.

Moving through the back area, between broken tables and giant pots filled with dust, toward the rear entrance, it seems as though the infamous Shadow Beasts of 'your' Westcrown are hiding behind every right angle, just out of sight. It's obvious that half the room and half the fireplace are still unknown to your eyes, hampered as they are by darkness and shade. Is that a giant spider ready to pounce?! ... No, squinting at the shadow by your feet it is merely a few tarnished forks and spoons clustered together to look sinister to those with weak eyes.

The exit door to the outside seems stuck at first, sealed with age. You manage to force it open with less noise than you fearfully expected: Apparently the muffled, even muted nature of The Shadow Plane that dampens down sound works in your favor as often as it works against you. Had this door been forced open on The Prime Material, the creaking or screeching would have alerted half a city block. Here, it is just a brief, muffled 'squeuish'.

Glancing outside in the cool outdoor air once again seems odd. You didn't really notice it upon entering this long building, but exiting, well, the fresh air outside seems to be the exact same as the stale air inside. Air pressure doesn't change. Or, perhaps, somehow the air outside is identical to the air inside. No breeze. No feeling of stifling indoor air compared to fresh outdoor air. Or something.

Noticeably, while the exit door is plainly visible inside -- it is a Secret Door outside. Thus, if you are outside trying to enter, you must find the hidden seems and open the door. It automatically locks upon closing.

"...That's handy," Cassynder comments. "Don't like the feel of this air. It's like it's in...stasis. Uncomfortable as the hot Wiscrani day or the cold mountain air is, at least it can change."

He casts his eyes about, looking for any signs of a change in the air or any signs of movement.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

Not really sensing anything, he tries to take a closer look around.

Taking 20 for a total of 26.

Whisper watches Cassynder's back as he investigates the contents of old cauldrons and clears away cobwebs.

Reasonably confident of security -- as well as an exit close by in addition to the cluster of allies across the Main Hall at the front door -- you begin to slowly search the kitchen and the other areas.

Cassynder the Crownless is the first to really look around and, within a minute, finds a secret door in the brick-work around the firepit. Within moments, all four secret doors are found in the brick-work around the firepit and, with only a little searching, their original use is made clearer.

Facing the Main Hall, from within the chambers flanking the fire pit, are small holes one could use to not only view, but even manipulate objects in the alcoves and shelves on the exterior of the fireplace. Actors and performers could change costumes in here and then go out in front of the main hall to perform in front of the firepit. Others could stay in the secret chambers placing props through the small holes onto shelves and through the backs of alcoves for performers outside to use as part of their performances.

Now the rooms are completely empty.

Except for one of the tiny alcoves, in the back, is a Silver Necklace with a beautifully crafted Silver Songbird whistle, certainly sacred to Shelyn. The Silver Necklace can be worn as jewelry, and perhaps the whistle still works.

To the left and right of the massive firepit are small altars to The Lady of Chrysanthemums, just beatific shrines where one could offer a poem, song or art object, perhaps show off a new hairstyle, or fashion statement.

Sadly, profanely, both small altars have been defaced, as Cenobites or disciples of Zon Kuthon have corrupted that which was Sacred to Shelyn in vulgar, disturbing manner.

Inside the kitchen, in addition to the exit door outside -- which is a one-way door (opens easily from the inside but is hidden and extremely hard to open from the outside) -- there is also an old water-pump that has been sealed.

Nonetheless, with a little work it can be 'unsealed' and, either used to pump water (if there is water in the well or cistern below) or even opened further to allow a person to go below, to either a cistern or well.

What can not be known is whether the pump was sealed for mundane reasons -- or to prevent sewer residents or creatures from intruding into the kitchen. Rats or Kobolds or Otyughs or whatever.

Exploring the wings is just as easy, but time consuming.

Both wings look to be identical. Opening into large, community-privies, one could relieve oneself in any of 20 privy-seats, just without any privacy.

A broken, spiral stairwell leading to a 2nd-floor room ascends from both of the community privies.

And both wings appear to be large barracks where broken bunkbeds and other rotting personal belongings lay strewn about.

Everett was more than a little put out by the disrespect show to the altars and he murmured, "That's not right."

Does it look like the altars could be cleaned / repaired?