Donagar hearing Mai knows that she has had another one of her female moments as he goes back out to bring her inside the fence through the open gate....
"Yah can't be leavin a girl outside wit tha tradesmen."
As soon as Drakus' starts kicking at the door, Gregor's eyes go wide, "Sergeant! What has gotten into you. We are here to investigate, not perform a breaking and entering." He pulls out his 'investigator's' tools, and tries to work on the front door as Sgt. Drakus continues to bash at it, hoping to open before they have to pay for damages out of their own salary.
After 30 seconds of sustained kicking, the doors are scuffed and visibly damaged, but still intact (7 HP damage). The noise of armoured boot against the mahogany is impressive... And no doubt the repeated impact is bruising.
Gregor fiddles with the lock, but it's far beyond his skill (DC 30). Evidently the nobility know how to protect what is theirs!
"Just climb or jump of the fence."
Gregor puts away his tools in irritation, holding a hand up to get Drakus to stop his bashing that is getting them nowhere. "Pai, given that you have the blood of elves, might you be able to make it over that hedge and see if there is a way to let us in. Maybe a servant's entrance, or the like?"
Disgusted at the strength of the door, Drakus leaves off.
"Hmph. Alright. Maybe a window then?" He considered aloud. He starts looking for a likely victim.
"Once we get in there best be ssomething tah drink."
"No drinks until we're done here."
Donagar looks up as well looking for an unbarred or possibly open window.
If he spots one he will fly up to it and tie off a rope for anyone else who wants to climb up, otherwise people can wait at the front door for us to open it from the inside.
Looking up, Drakus and Donagar fail to spot any open window . However, they do both see the gleam of polished brass - a balcony some 15 feet above the front door. From the balcony, there's probably a less sturdy door (or at least, with a simpler lock) that would give access to the upper floor of the house... It would be a simple matter for Donagar to fly up, attach a rope and let everyone climb (DC 10 climb check).
Alternatively, there are windows on the ground floor either side of the main entrance, and a green hedge that could - one imagines - be climbed over to give access to the garden.
Decisions, decisions...
Gregor waits impatiently for a response or reaction from Pai from his previous request, "You could possibly climb the hedge or up to the balcony to let us all in could you not? Despite looking like we are breaking and entering, I would like to hasten our entrance with as little property damage as possible."
Mai looking at the options and thinking
"I think the hedge is the best option here."
She heads south on the map and goes over the hedge.
New map here
Mai easily climbs over the hedge and drops lightly into the grounds beyond. She is completely hidden from the view of the rest of the party.
Fine, I need a Disable Device roll for the door and a Stealth roll, please...
New map here - if any of the rest of you have moved in the last couple of rounds, let me know and I will alter it accordingly.
Mai opens the outside door easily, but it squeaks as she slips in. Slowly opening the north door a fraction, she looks into the room. It is lit only by the light streaming in from the open door beyond - at a guess, that is the main hall.
In the half-light, Mai glimpses a flash of green satin - the gown of a richly-dressed lady sitting in a lavishly upholstered chair. The chair is facing away from the door so Mai is not at risk of being seen by her.
Beyond the chair, Mai catches sight of a sofa, on which is lying the figure of a man in full evening dress; wearing a jewelled mask in the form of an owl, his eyes are staring directly at the door Mai just opened...
This is getting Creepy.
Mai can just make out part of a long table covered in a (badly stained) white linen cloth; directly in front of her is a high, carved chair of fine hardwood, its occupant facing away from her. Light shines down from a magically-lit crystal chandelier.
The sitting diner is dressing in a long, scarlet silk gown and her blonde tresses are piled in an exquisitely complex knot upon her head; the knot has slipped badly, however. She is stabbing with a spoon into the plate in front of her - the rhythm is off somehow; mechanical, almost.
Mai can see nothing of the other diners, or the rest of the room unless she opens the door.
Their fine clothing is stained; their skin is blotchy with the signs of the blood veil; even the gems they wear are marred and shattered, the silver and precious metal settings tarnished.
The door to the hall is open and Mai can step easily out into the well-lit hall.
An assortment of fine furs and expensive woven cloth coats are hanging from hooks on either side of the main entrance; but Mai's attention is on the doors. There is a simple latch on this side; it is well-maintained and opens easily - you may wonder what Gregor was fussing about...
You watch as Mai fleet-footedly and confidently steps toward the fence and nimbly jumps over it. 30 seconds pass: half a minute.
Then one minute.
Then another 30 seconds.
Finally, after two full anxious minutes - the main doors in front of you open and Mai reveals herself.
Re-united again, and the front door open, what will you do next?
"I think you'll find everyone in there is dead.
Some look to have died from the Blood Viel, others well it is not pretty."
Gregor seems not to be surprised to see Pai open the front door for them, it just confirmed one more thing he thought about those with elven blood. "Well, 'everyone dead' does not bode well for this girl's brother. Nonetheless, we should still look about the place to confirm what happened, and if anyone is still alive that can be helped, we should do so. I have the mask with me, it aids against contracting the disease. Anyone feel that they would be more susceptible to it is welcome wear it as we investigate. Otherwise, I will wear it myself."
"And not everything in there is dead dead, I think."
"Nah, you wear it. Let's go in." Stated Drakus, who then advanced through the door and into the building.
"Then let's go slow an careful. If yah comes to a closed door let me see it first."
"Or let me peek through and check for danger."
Donagar opens his hands showing off his fingerless gloves of reconnaissance.....
"But I ken use divination an see tha room on tha other side o tha door!"
A peal of girlish, giggling laughter interrupts your discussion:
"WELL!!!!! Don't just STAND THERE on the DOORSTEP!!! Come IN!!!! I think we're going to have SUCH together!!!!"
The sudden shriek of a female voice startles you - but you can see no one. It's not even clear where the voice is coming from.
With no one requesting the mask, Gregor goes ahead and puts it on and drwas his blade as they enter the building. As the voice calls out he calls into being a light on his blade, to see better, and focuses on what he heard and where. "We are here investigating a possible crime. Show yourself that we may carry on a discourse in a proper manner."
"ooooohh, someone's got a stick up their backside!!! It's not a CRIME to kill a few rich bastards!! There's TOO MANY of them anyway!!!!!"
The voice pauses. Then:
"Won't you come in and play? Come and find me, come and find me..."
The last few words are sung in a rather childish tone, before descending into another peal of - slightly manic - laughter.
Where is it coming from?
"Pretty sure that is a crime!"
Donagar rushes in to find the owner of the voice.
"Ok, do we leave or enter the manor with the creepy voice, play, and kick her psycho @$$"
The voice cheers manically as Donagar rushes in to the entry hall.
"Hooray, hooray, SOMEONE'S coming to play!! Hooray, hooray, the - oh dear, it's a DWARF!!! Do you know HOW to play, mister DWARF-DWARF???!!!!!"
Donagar rushes into the hall - and skids to a halt. The great hall is slick with blood. A massacre took place here.
Upon the marble floor, and heaped in the corners, lie more than a dozen corpses, each clad in garish oufits: purple sequinned velvet robes; revealing skin-tight turquoise silk dress; colourful feathers - an assault to the senses. Masks of all shapes and sizes - gods, animals, magical creatures - adorn the dead, each competing with their neighbour in terms of elaborateness. In several instances, though, these fanciful, vain fripperies have fallen away, revealing withered, rotting flesh and nauseating open sores.
Most horrifying of all, upon the blood-slick marble at the room's centre sway three couples, shuffling and jerking like hellish dancers, all obviously dead.
The garishly-clad dancers slow to a halt as they become aware of Donagar's clattering entrance...
"Do you LIKE them, MISTER dwarf-dwarf??!!!! I made them MYSELF! Being dead is VERY in this season!!!! Do JOIN them!!"
Donagar goes down in a heap.
"That's too slick. But I have a cure fer wobbly knees!"
Donagar casts fly upon himself.
The voice squeals in outrage as Donagar rises off the ground - he could swear on a stack of gold coins this high that the owner of the voice is pouting...
"No FAIR!!! That's CHEATING!!! I HATE dwarfs!!! DWARFS are HORRID!!!!!"
"All right then, if YOU won't play then I'll send them after your FRIENDS!!! And then maybe I'll send them into town to see who they can play with THERE!!! How do you like , mister "
OK, I'm going to wait for the others to post before we do the next round.
Drakus marched steadily on, even as Donagar raced ahead of him.
"Hey! Wait up Donagar!"
Reaching the Entry Hall, Drakus halts and slams the butt of his Bardiche to the floor and sets his tower shield facing the dancers. He looks on the scene with disgust.
"Yep; about what we figured."
He looked around, not really expecting to see the source of the voice.
"Hey! You! Mysterious voice man!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "You want to confess why you did all this?"
Mai goes in with the rest
It's a woman, Sargent.
Who needs a good lesson.
Gregor strides into the macabre scenery, his expression hidden by the odd bird mask he wears. "Sgt Drakus is right dwarf, we need to stay together. We could also use your energies to destroy these deadless." Meanwhile he tries to discern anything useful in combatting them otherwise.
The voice reacts with outrage to Drakus' remarks "Man??? MAN????? Are you flat-headed round-eared humans SO that you can't tell the difference!!!???!?!?!?! I HATE humans - they get everywhere and they SPOIL EVERYTHING. I'm GLAD they DIE so quickly. I wish they would ALL JUST DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"And as for YOU, you red-headed little CROSSBREED, well I'VE got a LESSON for YOU - do you KNOW what we call YOUR sort behind your BACK??!!! Well I'll TELL you:
The voice pauses as Gregor appears: "Oh and now there's a BIRD-mask - I'm sorry, SIR, but it's not NEARLY nice enough to interest ME - there's a much nicer one on the dancer there, don't you think???!!! Did you not dress up for the PARTY???!!! Some people just don't make an EFFORT!!!! Or maybe you're just a BIRD-BRAIN!!!!" The speaker dissolves into giggles at her own joke.
Sure enough, one of the approaching walking corpses does indeed have a very striking eagle mask - possibly made of real feathers.