Council of Thieves
Game Master Mug

To clarify I'll duck into the servant quarters rather than the hallway if thats the way we're going.

No, the secret hallway! Get in there, you big walking carpet! I don't care what you smell!

Did, did you just call me a carpet? D:

Lucon, I believe the appropriate response should be a deep, gutteral, "Aaaaarrrggggghhhhh!!"

With Enko's warning, and despite a confused Lucon nearly walking out into the hallway right in front of them, you all make it into the secret passage just in time. With just the hidden door between you, it's not difficult to identify the voices of merrimakers, headed into one of the bedrooms. A few seconds later, a door closes, and then relative quiet.

Well! Let's check this hallway out!

Ava will head down the passage and listen at the door on the other end. If she doesn't hear anything, she'll gingerly test whether or not the door is locked.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

She hears nothing and the door is unlocked!

Ava will quietly open it up a bit and take a peek inside.

Stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

But it seems the hinges defeat her, letting out a low creak as the door moves.

Ava peers through the crack, but luckily no one is there on the other side to hear the creaking door. What she does see is a long north/south running hallway, not a secret or hidden one, but plain. There are several doors on the sides of the hallway, the western one (1 door) likely leading back into the large public areas, and the eastern doors (4 doors) hide the unknown. On the far northern end of the hallway, a single door door sits.

Ava turns back to the others, giving them a shrug. "Doesn't lead to any secrets..." She says. "Why would this passage exist?"

She pauses for a moment, thinking over what to do next.

"I'm going to look around the servant's quarters." she says. "We'll meet back in the guest lounge?"

With that, she'll take the guise of a female servant and head towards the stairs where the voices were coming from. She'll wait for them to be engaged in conversation before attempting to pass through inconspicuously. Would trying not to draw attention to oneself be Stealth or Bluff? I'm not sure.

Disguise: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (19) + 17 = 36
Stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19 or 21 if Bluff

"Servant passageway, perhaps," Enko says. "I shall continue this way."

He goes to listen at the eastern doors.

Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

@Ava - I'd say bluff would be more appropriate in that situation.

Ava, with a remarkably authentic servant disguise, heads downstairs to the where the voices came from below the guest rooms. When she slips into the room, no one spares her much of a glance. Servants are frequently coming in and out of this room, from various doors. There are a few chairs, and several mirrors, and servants are taking a few minutes off their feet, chatting together, and straightening their hair and checking their appearances before heading back out to the guests. There's a maximum of three in there at any one time, and just as quickly it can completely empty, all in the space of a minute. Needless to say, everyone's too harried and tired to notice one more servant using the room.

A7. Servants’ Entrance:
Servants are encouraged to use this plain room to come and go from the manor. The exterior door is currently unlocked as some servants enter and leave; the key for it hangs on a wall nearby. Three other doors lead from the room, two to the north, and one to the east. Several servants have entered and exited from the east, revealing a short hallway. One of the northern doors sees frequent use, and Ava can see a plain but large dining area for the servants, where one or two are using a break to catch a meal and an extended rest. The second northern door remains closed during Ava's observations.

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Enko (as the others look on) carefully and quietly listens at each door on the eastern side of the hallway, but all is silent.

"As I recall, these are the dungeons. I'm not sure why there is a secret passage to the dungeons, but it is intriguing. I also vaguely recall something having given me the impression it was unlikely the mirror we seek would be in the dungeons, but I don't recall exactly what it was that gave me that impression... Oh yes, Oberigo said Aberian’s Folly consists of three distinct regions: the manor itself, the dungeons below called the Nessian Spiral, and the manor vaults named the Asmodean Knot. He said the entrance to the Nessian Spiral is 'beyond a well protected door just east of the dinner table, while the entrance to the Asmodean Knot is hidden elsewhere.' He also, by the way, said even he would 'hesitate to try to enter' the Spiral. This secret passage has taken us to the area East of the dinner table. I don't know if all of this area East of the dining room is the Spiral, or if the Spiral is some deeper part. In any event, while I'm fine exploring a bit here, I don't think we should enter the Spiral itself, or spend too much time back here. But I could be mistaken."

Just a little context.

While the secret hallway you traversed was sparse and plain, the eastern area most of you now sit is anything but plain. It's both richly carpeted, and has many pieces of art and hangings on the walls. The doors are solid and elegant. If this is a dungeon, it's a dungeon fit for a king.

"... but this area certainly doesn't LOOK like a dungeon, and they are clearly trying to keep guests out of this area, so it does seem worth exploring."

Sabinus will look around with detect magic.

Doing a scan of the eastern doors, and whatever lies behind them, Sabinus detects no magic.

"I wonder if there is anything up here worth noting," says Enko.

As long as she's going unnoticed, she'll take a cheeky peek into that northern door and slip in if there's nobody in there.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Her cheekiness earns her entrance into a small washroom.

A8. Baths:
A large metal and porcelain washtub sits in this room for servants to bathe in—as with the sinks, the tub has hot and cold running water (and it’s just as easy to scald oneself with the water here as in the sinks). There is a single door on the east wall, a quick inspection tells Ava the door is locked by a fairly standard lock.

Disable Device DC25 to open the door

Ava wonders if it's worth bothering with, but decides it couldn't hurt as long as she's quick. She unfurls her tools and starts at the lock, glancing back at the door every couple of seconds, unable to devote 100% of her concentration to the task.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22
Disable Device: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
Disable Device: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27

It takes only about 20 seconds for Ava to crack the lock, and she smiles as she hears the familiar sound of tumblers falling into place. Removing it, she takes a look at what's inside.

A9. Mediocre Chambers:
This is a decent-sized room with the items and decor to suggest a single occupant. A small cabinet at the foot of the bed is locked. There is a chair, a mirror, dresses of quality but no opulence, suggestive a female occupant of some station, in some position of trust. Perhaps a senior maid, or the like. There is a door to the south, and Ava can estimate it likely connects to the short hallway she caught a glimpse of in the servants room.

"Better." Ava says under her breath, closing the door behind her. She'll take a quick look around before setting to work on the chest.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Ava holds her breath as she twists and rolls the inner mechanics of the lock, steady hands freezing for a moment as she waits to see if it pops open.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14
Disable Device: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29

If it doesn't, Ava will take 20 for a result of 30, risking the extra two minutes it takes.

Her quick but thorough search of the room reveals nothing new or interesting. Footsteps and voices of passing servants in the nearby room, and hallway to the south keep her nerves on a razors edge the entire time. But it's not until Ava really settles down and works at the lock for a couple of intense minutes that it finally pops open with a satisfying *snick*.

The chest contains several small bags of gold, 260 gp in all, along with schedules, ledgers, and other paperwork associated with running the mundane aspects of the manor. Three items of possible interest among these papers include 1) a relatively recent set of partially completed paperwork for the hiring of a new maid, 2) what seems to be a garishly random page filled with bad poetry, 3) and an iron key.

"The lock." Enko narrows his eyes.

Ava licks her lips as she appraises all the gold ripe for the taking. The thought of leaving it be doesn't even cross her mind, and she stows them in her pack. Best not let the others know about this one...

She'll also grab the key, wondering whether or not to take the papers as well. "In for a copper, in for a crown..." She doesn't want to risk spending anymore time here, so she'll pocket the paperwork and poetry to read later.

She'll close the chest and relock it, doing the same for the door as she makes her way back to the guest lounge to meet with the others.

Stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

Reminder; Ava has been solo on the first floor for around 5 minutes, cleverly disguised as a servant, and on the opposite end of the building as everyone else. Also, everyone else is on the 2nd floor. :)

Using a combination of stealth and innocent servitude, Ava makes it up the stairs cleanly to the guest lounge on the 2nd floor, just a secret hallway away from the others, but the rest of the group has yet to arrive from their own exploration of the east side of the building. Are you still in disguise Ava?

I think I'll drop it for the time being, and return to the normal Marina-As-Monris. This is the guest lounge, so I should be fine staying here for a bit, pretending to take a break from the revelry.