The Disappeared (Inactive)

Game Master Akinra

It's hide armor, so it's -3, but yeah, I forgot to apply it. So the roll is 16, and Okawe is less surprised.

You all manage to make it across the garden, more or less undetected.

What likely used to be a side chapel is now in use as a staging area for the gala. Magnificent stained-glass windows and vaulted ceilings look down on the racks of platters, dishes, wine bottles, and glasses stacked neatly on long wooden tables.

This area is a hive of activity. The doors to the garden and to the servants’ passage aren’t seeing much use but the double doors to the south gallery are constantly opening and closing as platters of hors d’oeuvres and other gala necessities are shuttled through to the garden or ballroom.

It seems you could either 'lift' a couple serving trays and pretend to be servants, or perhaps even do so without. Other creative solutions are likely available as well.

Sorry, just to clarify, what area are we about to move through next? Are we actually moving through the ballroom?

Okawe unequips his garish armor, and does his best to hide his sword. Entering the staging room in his peasant's clothes, he picks up the first tray of hors d'oeurves he can get to and heads toward the most south-westerly door of the room, peeking through.

PS: I know it's not important now, but if/when we ever have a combat situation, I'd like to know where I am on the map--my photo hasn't been on there since the beginning

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

Dasim merely keeps the tray he is carrying. He attempts to sneak a look out the southwest door, but is distracted when a servant enters just as Okawe is slipping out of his armor.

Trying to fend off any questions, Dasim gives the servant an authoritative look saying, "Anstrella brought in some additional help for the gala. I'll see they know what to do."

Bluff: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

You are about to enter the area marked A9 on the map. It is the staging area for the ball. The Ballroom proper is listed on the map as A7.

Zander mentally notes Dasim’s plan and slowly works his way forward. ”Sir, with all the back and forth through the main hall, we’ll take these around the side to lessen the traffic.” he states, whisking up a tray of food before heading out the lower door. A10

Aid another bluff: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

"Tsk! You cannot eat here! Get back to the ball!" one of the waiters exclaims as Zander tries to take a tray.

should I roll bluff for what Okawe tries to do? Or do the peasants' clothes take care of that. Seems like everyone's bluffing...there was never any objection to my action though...

”My apologies.” stammers Zander, trying his best to look guilty for the crime his has been accused of. ”I’ll just be going.” He then continues toward the southern halls door as he intended, doing his best to hide his limp.

After the servant leaves, Dasim puts a few of the better pastries and cakes on his platter and then follows Zander through the southwest door.

This narrow hallway grants access to the servants’ quarters. The two ends of the hallway connect to the western edge of the south gallery and to the staging area, respectively. The hallway is deserted as all hands are on deck for the gala.

I am sorry I have been gone so long, some cancer related family issues. I am unlocking the map so we can move a little faster to get back on track. Thanks!

Praising Arqueros for protecting him, Okawe is relieved to finally be out of the eyes of onlookers, but doesn't forget that anyone may come in at any time. So, tray in hand, he tries the door to the southern bunking area.

Peeking into the servants quarters to the south, you spy quite a few scattered servants’ outfits hang over the edges of bedposts in this sparsely furnished private quarters.

Glad to see you back Akinra.

Moving up behind Okawe, Kiyoshi glances into the room, spying the servants outfits. Turning back to the others he gestures at the clothing.

"We could borrow these to assist in any further disguises?"

Are there any blankets in the servants quarters? If we do disguise ourselves as servants I'm thinking Kiyoshi could wrap his armour and weapons up in them as a makeshift sack?

"Good thinking, master cleric," Okawe boomed. It took him some time to find a set in his size, but he finally did, and donned them, happy to be rid of his sea-washed peasants' clothes, packing them away. What do the servants' outfits consist of? I'm contemplating trading them in permanently as Okawe's default outfit...

At a guess it's probably the same as an Artisans Outfit, which includes a shirt with buttons, a skirt or pants with a drawstring, shoes, and perhaps a cap or hat. It may also include a belt or a leather or cloth apron for carrying tools.

While the others change clothes, Dasim takes some time to search the servants quarters for any hidden journals, notes or other items that someone may have hidden that could help tell the story of what happened to Dralneen.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

Nothing of note is located inside the servants rooms. There is no official description of a servant's outfit, so I agree with the above, it is likely an Artisan's Outfit for Profession (Servant) and likely has some kind of Cheliax emblem so people know who the servants belong to.

Cool!
Okawe struggles with the belt (having never worn one before), but smiles at how well the clothes fit on him...and how clean they are. His expression dims, however, when his eyes come across the Chelish symbol on his right shoulder...I'll have to get this to a tailor once we're out...

Zander assists Dasim's survey of the room for possible evidence, doubting they'd leave anything is such a commonly trafficked area, but being thorough none-the-less.

Perception aid: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21

Theo grinned at Okawe as he pulled the tunic on and adjusted his bandolier and belt for comfort.

"I doubt this will turn any heads," then he spied the Chellish badge on the breast and picked at it "Although it'll probably turn all kinds of heads if we wore them out to the next Pathfinder's ball."

He did his best to make sure the disguise hid the bulges of his equipment and nodded to Dasim,

"This'll make moving around so much easier. But what kind of clues to Zarta's whereabouts are we looking for? Where do we go from here?"

"I'm not sure exactly." Dasim says to Theo with a shrug. "I didn't really expect to find anything in here, but it's good to be thorough in our search."

Running his hand over his hair a couple of times he says, "We should look for the ambassador's or perhaps Anstrella's quarters. That is where any documents or other hints to what happened are most likely to be found."

Seeing that everyone is changed, Dasim checks the hallway to see if it is clear and then slips across to the door opposite the servants quarters.

Moving to the door to A14

Kiyoshi finished pulling on the servants garb, wrapping his equipment in a makeshift sap made from a blanket. After listening to Theodores queries he spoke, keeping his voice low so as not to draw attention.

"I am not sure. Perhaps there are records of her location, or she may be held in plain sight here? Either way, if we hold faith in Qi Zhong he will enlighten us." Nodding and gathering up his belonging, Kiyoshi moves to leave.

"They said her former quar-ters were in the south-west cor-ner of the buil-ding, I be-lieve Dasim has the right i-de-a," he follows the rogue out into the hall.

Sorry, bad week.

Back onto the task. There is nothing of value in any of the servants quarters, and the hall is abandoned due to the goings on next door, int he ballroom.

Movingn on, you enter the room in the south west corner.

The furniture in this luxurious sitting room 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.”

Inspecting the area quickly (Zarta’s sitting room) reveals 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.

"Disappeared indeed," Okawe sounded,"My wards on Runaway Island could cover up a 'disappearance' better than this."

Okawe enters the room and searches in and around the paintings and along the floor and the doorways for any sign of where Zarta may have been taken.

Okawe takes 20 for perception for a 21, given that there aren't any interruptions or distractions

I don't wish to be a stick in the mud friend, but do we want to take 20 on this? It'll take a fair chunk of time and we don't know how long it'll take to get back

Well, I figured we were already here, so it wouldn't hurt to take a little time to do what we had to, but you're right, it would be quicker if people with higher perception bonuses just looked.

EDIT: Okawe does not take 20/a lot of time; he instead searches: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Zander tries to help the others, but it seems he and Okawe simply get in each others way and fail to accomplish much of anything.

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

Dasim take a few moments to help the others look for anything of interest in the room.

Dasim, have you changed class?

yeah, or face or last name...? And have you abandoned the Silver Crusade?
@Zander, I can just see the two of them searching and butting heads, lol

Theo nodded his agreement with Okawe as he observed the rushed attempts to redecorate the rooms,

"I agree friend, this is pretty sloppy. Good news is, it makes our job that much easier."

He began rifling through Zarta's effects and let out a low whistle as he uncrumpled the canvas,

"Our lady certainly has quite the opinion of herself." he paused and at it squinted momentarily, "Mind you, nice... birthmark. Do you think... erm... anyone would miss this?"

I'll make a perception check to search the room.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

Whoops, my bad. Was traveling and grabbed the wrong PC to post. Sorry about that.

The woodcutting on the eastern wall is actually secret door that leads to Zarta’s private study, and is of a noticeably tamer style than the paintings left in her sitting room. While examining the woodcutting reveals that the Asmodean star hanging from the nymph’s neck is actually a keyhole.

Kiyoshi seems perplexed at Theodores rhetorical question, not entirely following it. As an understanding dawns on him he can't help but smile slightly.

"Removing such 'artwork' may raise a few questions... And eyebrows."

Moving closer to his fellow Pathfinder, he places a hand on his Theodores and offers up a prayer to Qi-Zhong to bestow his knowledge upon the rogue.

"Can we progress further from here?"

Obviously, Kiyoshi is casting Guidance on Theodore.

Theo placed the canvas back on the table and turned his attention back to the woodcutting and the keyhole. He pulled his thieves tools from a belt pouch and span the picks through his fingers.

"I don't see why not. Looks like a fairly normal lock, to me leastways. I'm guessing she was relying on it remaining hidden, rather than being secure."

I'll make a Disable Device check, and I'll take the 'Guidance' bonus on this check.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 7 + 1 = 25

Teamwork yo!

As the door swings open, you notice two small imps! They seem to be defending the small hidden room, but are unlikely to pass on the opportunity to kill something, or someone.

Initiatives!

Okawe smiles wide and bellows, [b]"Finally! Arqueros forgive me, but I think my sword hand was starting to cripple!"[b]

initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10

I was actually hoping for a low roll, lol, I don't have to come up to them necessarily...

They are both imps, but it is easier to keep them separate with different pictures, so there you go. one male, one female . . . as imps go anyhow.
Edit:

Just as the imps are about to lunge forward, they are sucked back into the wood carvings, and disappear!

Oops, Imps appear when you use the key, you picked the lock, my bad!

This room seems to be in pristine condition, with little evidence of renovations. The chamber is full of a variety of equipment suggestive of a dungeon or torture chamber. The walls appear to be thickly padded and sustain hooks holding a number of whips, bludgeons, and other instruments of pain. Spaced between large mirrors are several extremely obscene paintings.

The small study is just beyond:

In contrast to the large and lavish rooms that make up the rest of this side of the embassy, this secret study is cramped, utilitarian, and sparse. Almost all of the room is taken up by a long desk topped by a series of cubbies full of papers and curios. The desk itself is clear except for a piece of paper and a small, framed portrait of Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin with a lipstick kiss-mark on it. The walls of the room are irregular and look as if the room was shoehorned into wasted space between other rooms. Like the rest of the personal chambers, this room is windowless, and is pierced only by the secret door and an air vent in the southern corner.

51 Minutes remain
On Zarta's Desk

We had a key?

"Drat." Okawe spat as the imps disappeared. He relaxed the hand from the hilt of his greatsword.

Okawe picks up the letters and reads them. If the writing in the corner is Osiriani, he can read it.

"Strange woman we're after..." He says simply, handing the letters to his comrades, "Anybody make sense of this one?" He indicates the code letter.

Theo shuddered at the sight of the implements,

"You know, I don't think I'm as enamoured with our lady as I thought."

He picked up at the letters Okawe discarded and inspected them closely.

"...look. The number of letters per word on the bottom right of this note correspond with the number of letters at the start of the letter. The punctuation too. See?"

He picked up a quill on the table, dipped it in an inkwell and scrawled on a fresh sheet of paper.

What a man! I just have to Vent. Every production he's...
Vqiw i gis! A mydw qiko we kosw. Okoxu zxehyfwaes qo'

"So if each letter replaces another letter then the cipher looks like..."

He kept scribbling on the paper:

A = I
B =
C =
D = S
E = O
F = C
G = M
H = D
I = A
j =
K = V
L =
M = J
N =
O = E
P =
Q = H
R =
S = N
T =
U = Y
V = W
W = T
X = R
Y = U
Z = P

"And if the other paper uses the same cipher, then the results should look like..."

NORAVIA A--US
IMPERI RA-IAN
PATRONICUS DRENDANE
TANCRED DESIMIRE
-URCO TANA-IAN
PAVANNI A-A-ARIO
AERODUS A--US
-RACMIUS RATARION

Theo straighten up with a satisfied grin, throwing the quill back into the well with a flourish.

"Not too shabby if I say so myself. What do you think friends? Names of places? Or people?"

That's what I had OOCly, was debating if Zander would have thought of it though

The keys were left in the door that unlocked for you. IIRC, someone grabbed them, though I may be mistaken. I will scroll back to check later if necessary. For now, you avoided the imps. You are to solve the cypher, and real time counts against you for solving it at the table. As I cannot observe anyone solving it, I will call it about 5 minutes. There is more to do still. You still have not found out where Zarta is!

"Well done, Master Field," Okawe gives the rogue a sharp, but endearing slap on the back. "But we still don't know where she's gone. What is this air vent over here?"

Okawe studies the vent to see if it's large enough for a person to fit through.

The vent is indeed large enough to fit through.

Okawe breaks down/removes any covering there may be over the vent, and begins crawling through, more or less hoping his companions see what he did and follow.

While the others work on the cipher, Dasim searches the rest of the rooms before following Okawe into the vent.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24