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Lady Vanessa seems to have satisfied the perfumed Grand Raga Peejay in his fine silk robes, at least for the moment. He's no stranger to her eccentricities, including her odd acquaintances. "Madame, your are a marvel, as always." He shakes his head, and his sly grin indicates he fell for her improvised line. The Keleshite royal probably wanted to believe her anyway.
Warmaster Loovingel's wife turns green and clutches her bladder through her brocaded satin gown. "Excuse me," she sputters. "Husband! You will escort me to the ladies. Now! I'm afraid I must powder my nose."
It would normally take you about 10 minutes to work your way through the crowded ballroom without drawing unwanted attention to yourselves. Lady Vanessa's bold gambit cut that time in half, though at a price.
The good witch Fran casts guidance on her colleagues, then tries to charm her way out of the center of attention.
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With Lady Vanessa's help and her patron's guidance, Fran makes her polite excuses and extricates herself from unwanted company. With similar assistance and her magically dry-cleaned homespun attire, Einn manages to bluff her way through the crowds, too.
Fuzzfoot slips through the shadows, unnoticed in his servant's disguise. Thanks to Fran's guidance, Thysius makes a stealthy exit, too.
Barbo trips over a dimly lit everburning torch, heads turning at the commotion. He murmurs apologies for his clumsiness, as the eminent guests shake their well-coifed heads, "Poor man obviously can't hold his liquor. Sip your cocktail, don't chug it like a commoner."
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The South Gallery (A12) is separated from the ballroom by the same manner of curtains as the north gallery, and it stretches from the staging area past an open door to the foyer before ending at a door and a smaller hallway that continues to the southwest. Just east of the doors to the foyer, along the southern wall of the long corridor, are a couple of tall racks currently being used as a cloak check.
Like the north gallery, the south gallery is extremely busy with servant traffic. There is no chance to move between the gallery and the staging area without being noticed, and moving through the densely packed hallway will take time.
Fuzzfoot notices all the servants are carrying something, trays of food and drink, table linens, bottles, barrels and other sundry items to keep the reception provisioned. He seems to be the only guy in a servant’s uniform who isn’t carrying something.
One of the other servants, a skinny, fastidious Varisian man, grabs Fuzzfoot's arm. "Stop malingering, slip. Here take this tray of fresh spittoons and replace the full ones in the grand ballroom."
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As the rest of the party makes their way through the curtain, they find Lady Vanessa calmly sipping a fresh glass of Chelish red wine. Her other hand waves her black lacquered fan at a modest pace.
"Vell, vasn't zhat simply vuuunderful? So many people I haven't seen in sooo long. And some new ... friends, too. Maahvelous!"
But when the maitre d' directs his attention at Fuzzfoot, she quickly casts a spell at the distracted Varisian.
She then *snaps* her fan shut, the crack echoing down the hall so as to attract his attention as she steps over to the man with a pleasant smile. She addresses him in Infernal, assuming he's fluent given where he works.
"My good mahn, zhis slip is indeed performing certain ... tasks ... for me at zhe moment," she begins, leaving Barbo's implications to the man's imaginations. "But it seems zhat ve're needed in zhe residences. I understand zhey're down zhis hall somevhere, yes?" she asks, waving her fan in the general direction to the west. "I'd verrrry much appreciate it if you vould clear some ov your people from our vay. Or perhaps you could escort us zherrrre," she purrs at him.
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Ohhh...oh...oh dear...I don't like this, this doesn't seem very nice...
Fran shifts uncomfortably from foot to foot as Lady Vanessa attempts to work her magic - literally and figuratively - on the man.
"Um...but don't worry, we'll be sure to return him once we're finished," Fran coughs. "I know you've all got a lot of work to do and we don't want anyone to get into trouble..."
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While Fran and the others are preoccupied with talking their way out of yet another sticky situation, Mr. Sunshine's curiosity begins to get the better of him. He glances at Fran and then down the hallway to the east.
Just a little peek will not hurt, surely...
Hunkering down along the curtain, he attempts to blend into the shadows as he creeps down the hall.
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Lady Vanessa is shocked when the maître d' somehow resists her considerable divine charm. Falling back on her equally impressive old-school powers of persuasion, though, the dhampir impresses the man, who gives her his full attention. Barbo, Thysius, and Fran do their best to keep him distracted.
Fuzzfoot uses the opportunity to swipe a tray of canapés from a passing server. Now, his disguise is complete.
No one notices the kitten slipping between a hundred legs on quiet cat's paws.
Mr. Sunshine's larger companions, however, have a much more difficult task, trying to push their way through the crowded corridor. Politely excusing yourselves every time you bump into yet another busy servant takes more time than you'd like, but you eventually make it to the end of the hallway.
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You eventually make your way past the cloak check to the west end of the gallery.
Glancing at the cloak racks, Einn and Fuzzfoot spot a familiar cloak, bright red with a triple-asp on the back, one belonging to Muno Dans, a low-ranking but nonetheless important Aspis Consortium agent. He must be at the gala tonight. You’ll recognize him by his distinctive hairstyle, Garundi crop-rows, highly unusual for a Chelaxian. Einn recalls that the Grand Lodge has been trying to get some sort of surveillance to stick to him for some time, but he’s quite careful. Ambrus Valsin gave you a small tracking bead you can stick discreetly into a pocket of his clothing, so the Society can track his movements long enough to come up with a 'more permanent solution.'
A short passage leads to the southwest. A nearby door just past the cloak check rarely stays closed for long as servants pass back and forth, attending to the gala's many important guests.
Through an open door to the north, you see the elegant foyer is in the throes of the gala. Various dignitaries mill around talking in small groups or promenading around the premises.
The door directly ahead of you and the door near the end of the hallway to the southwest are both closed.
This area is considerably less obtrusive than other parts of the embassy. Moving between the servants’ passage, the foyer, the cloak check shouldn't be too difficult. You might be able to time your movement so as to avoid notice.
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(looking at Fran), "Sounds like a good idea to me." (looking at the group as a whole), "If we split into two groups we can cover twice as much ground in the same amount of time."
(looking at Einn), ""If you need any help creating a diversion... I can summon forth a magical hand to knock over some dishes or a couple of other breakables...should help in creating some pandemonium." (smiles and nods his head).
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Barbo smiles and waits for the bead to be deposited. This is much easier than setting up an ambush in a warehouse. Just a little bit of magic...
Afterwards, Barbo is reticent to split up. "I'm not sure we should split. It seems Lady Vanessa's charms are the only thing between us and getting thrown out of here. " He peers down the hallway. "Lets try one of the doors on the left. Those look like they might lead where we want to go. "
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Smiling graciously at Barbo's compliment on her social skills, Lady Vanessa fishes from her handbag the set of keys given to them by Amara Li just a few minutes ago.
It vas only a few minutes ago. Feels like it's been daaays since ve saw her.
As she idly dangles the key ring from one of her long, gloved fingers, she's reminded of what they were told.
"Amara told us zhat vun ov zhese keys fits dear Zarta's rezeption room door. And it vas supposed to be here in zhe 'southvest corner' of zhe embassy. So, likely not vun ov zhese zhat leads back toward zhe east."
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"Ah, excellent memory, Vanessa. Yes, let's try the key in the Western door. " He reaches for the keys then stops. If Seltiel couldn't open a door safely, then neither can I. 'Know your limitations.' She always said that. Or was it her god? Goddess? He shakes his head and pulls his hand away. "These eyes aren't what they used to be. Not much for seeing traps, or flesh-eating vines. Fuzzyfoot, would you do the honors? "
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Fuzzfoot watches and plans his way. As he sees the Aspis scum, and gets handed the bead to deploy, he makes and approach and tries to drop the bead in the man's pocket.
Once all looks clear, Fuzzy nods at Barbo's request, and takes a look at the door to make sure there will be no surprises when Lady Vanessa starts playing with keys.
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Fuzzfoot shakes his head at Einn's request. He forsakes the easy way out, ignoring the hanging cloak, and instead seeks out the Aspis agent himself. With substantial skill and the dumb luck of the over-brave, the halfling succeeds in planting the tracking device on the unwitting foe of the Pathfinder Society.
Pushing his luck even further, he moves into the short southwest hallway, and checking the door, discovers it's unlocked. He cracks the door open and peeks inside.
Scattered servants’ outfits hang over the edges of bedposts in the sparsely furnished private quarters (A11). He realizes he could--if he wanted to--spend a few minutes in the unpopulated room to assemble a servants’ outfit that would pass muster with the guests.
His impeccable timing, the result of a career spent skulking around in plain sight, enables him to accomplish all this undetected.
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Barbo shakes his head at the offer. "I don't believe I will be as dexterous or as light footed as you,sir. I'm not sure I could even get over there... " He looks at all of the servants wandering through the hall. " undetected. Let's just try the next room. "
As Fuzzfoot moves on, Barbo whispers to his watching companions. "When it is time to head into the bedroom, a large group like this may be seen. I think we need a distraction. "
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While the others do their things, Lady Vanessa takes Fran by the elbow and steps boldly to the door to the west as if she had every right to be where she is. Which as far as she's concerned, she does.
Vell, Amara said ve needed to go to zhe southvest corner, and it's clearly not zhose doors vhere Einn and Fuzzyfoot vent. So, it must be tsrough here...
"Fran, my dear, be confident. And stand just behind me in case anyvun is vatching."
She uses the key Amara indicated to unlock the door, then points her finger at Thysius and whispers to him using Amara's message spell. "Have zhe ozhers join us in here as if zhey vere answering a summons for servants."
She opens the door, steps through, and waits for Fran and Mr. Sunshine to join her.
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Barbo watches Einn and Fuzzfoot disappear into the servant's quarters with a smile. Perhaps we won't end up sacrificed to a Devil today. This might just work out. He keeps an eye out for any servants coming to investigate, but ends up quite distracted by his invisible servant. He chastises the thin air quietly. "I told you to stay right behind me! Oh ya? Where were you when I tripped in the ball room?" His eyes bulge out and a single vein appears in his forehead. "What do you mean, I'm 'to heavy'?" He shakes his head and follows Thysius through the door.
"You just can't find good help anymore." He check's out Thysius' more armored form and nods. "Impressive that you can weave spells with all of that weighing you down. I haven't learned that trick yet."
Fran looks left. Fran looks right. Trying to time the ebb and flow of people moving about and looking around the area, she snatches Mr. Sunshine up by the scruff of his neck and darts across to the door directly in front of her.
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Though the task proved far more difficult than the team had thought, eventually everyone makes it across the hall to door Lady Vanessa unlocked with one of the keys Venture-Captain Amara Li had provided you. Fuzzfoot and Einn join you a minute or two later, Einn now fully disguised as an embassy servant.
The furniture in Zarta Dralneen's former luxurious sitting room (A14) is covered by drop-cloths, and buckets of paint sit against walls where erotic murals are in the process of being replaced by a neutral institutional taupe. An enormously tall gilt frame leans against the wall. A door to the east leads to a hallway, while to the southwest a door is propped open by a bucket and displays the half-dissolved inscription, 'Where Love
Comes to Die.'
Searching the room, you quickly locate a crumpled and roughly folded canvass with a full length artistic rendition of Zarta in scanty red apparel, along with several other pieces of art apparently considered too lascivious to remain. The open door leads to Zarta’s bedchamber. The bucket holding open the door is full of a mixture of turpentine and varnish.
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Fuzzfoot sees the painting, and wonders why the Chelaxians are painting over such fine art.
He shrugs, and quickly downs an extract . Then starts searching the room for clues, paying special attention to finding secret compartments or doors.
"We might also try removing some of this new paint in case they have covered any clues. But that might not go unnoticed..."
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Not wanting to be useless, Mr. Sunshine also decides to have a look and a sniff around the sitting room - well aware that sometimes things lie hidden where humans can't easily reach or see.
Remember that time I found that gold coin under the couch, Fran? Maybe there'll be something to find under these couches too!
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As the group looks at the paintings of Zarta, Lady Vanessa muses to herself under her breath.
"Hmmm, I don't remember ever seeing Zarta in zhat particular outfit. Zhough it looks like zhe design of Carina Geelson, if I'm not mistaken. Now I simply muuuust go to Magnimar and have her make vun for me!"
She steps through the propped-open doorway into the place where love goes to die. Dear Zarta, if you only knew..., she thinks with a smile.
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Fran peers through the propped open door into the next room, but then Lady Vanessa saunters right past her, almost as if she's been an invited guest here before...
This extravagant bedchamber (A15) is dominated by a massive four-poster bed that takes up half the room. Red-varnished wardrobes and vanities complement the black silk sheets on the bed, which appears to be in the process of being dismantled. The walls of the room have been stripped of the portraits that once hung there, faint outlines of the art pieces being all that remain. The exception to this is the eastern wall, which is occupied by an elaborate woodcutting depicting but a single nymph in a seductive pose, garbed in nothing but a necklace bearing an amulet shaped like the Asmodean star.
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(Paint and brushes? What are these sadistic dregs trying to hide?)
"It might be necessary to check this room and the next for any magical auras which may still be active or lingering."
(Looking at Einn), "Might I suggest you go into the next room and do the same while Fuzzfoot uses more conventional means of detecting hidden items or evidence?"
Action: Casting Detect Magic (CL4)
Action: Will scan 360 degrees from the center of the room. Spending 1 round per section (detecting for presence or absence of magical auras).