Front door or back door...Bottom line is we need to get inside. Before we do that it may be best for us to gather information about the layout. If anyone has the ability to do so with magic, that would be safer. Less chance of us being found out. Once we get some details we can then make a decision about which way is best. So for now cast those spells and let us see what we...see
Very well. I can go in and have a look around.
Seltyn casts Message, Invisibility, Fly, and floats over to where he can get a look in a window before going in with Arcane Sight and Dimension Door.
Seltyn flies away to inspect the building. While most of the windows are covered by thick drapes, he does find some that allows him to spy inside.
This comfortable room is warmed by a large fireplace, its marble sides and mantle carved into a parade of capering monkeys and tigers. A large sofa is against the north wall, while a few cozy-looking chairs sit to the south.
A gracefully curving wall lined with tall windows presents a commanding view of the western palace grounds. The room is empty save for three human-sized statues, each depicting a Vudrani warrior holding aloft a glittering blue-green javelin with a head carved from bloodstone.
A magnificent mahogany table dominates this room, the surface of which is decorated by an immense cover fashioned from the brightly colored skins of various great snakes.
There is a second floor to the place, but none of the windows allows you to see inside.
Seltyn relays what he sees in the rooms to his companions through the Message spell.
He has to make sure no one is close enough to hear him whispering 3 times, going from left to right.
Using Arcane Sight, he will linger at each window long enough to spot any magical auras.
Kyras whispers If we are going in the statue room might be a good place to start.
"Assuming we can sort out any traps. Those javelins are probably more than just for show."
Sounds good to me...let us go then.
Looking for magical auras, Seltyn find that the statues each bear one. It is not a powerful one, in fact it is rather faint. Definitely not strong enough to animate the statues. Probably more an alarm of some sort.
Seltyn whispers that he thinks we should go in the back (yellow arrow) room.
He'll return to the party and teleport them inside, if they agree.
Good call. Not sure alarm spells can even be disarmed.
"Let's go, then."
Alistair nods his agreement with Garran.
Seltyn will use one teleport to transport 3 of his companions, then 2 dimension doors to get the 4th into the room with all the snakeskin.
All good.
The search begins!
You all make it inside the large dining room. For now you are alone and no sign of an alarm as being raised. There are multiples doors for you to inspect. There is a double door that oblivious leads back outside. On the same wall, there is another set of double doors that seems to lead toward the statue room. All that remains is the double door to the right and the single door across from the windows.
Alika stays quiet as she's displaced into the room. She points to the single door across from the window and raises her eyebrows questioningly.
Kyras prepares for conflict, drinking both a elixir of Heroism and Heightened Awareness. He then moves to check each set of doors in the room, taking 10 for a 36 perception. He holds his mutagen in his left hand in case he needs to drink it quickly.
Seltyn casts extended Mage Armor (18 hours) and an extended Shield spell on himself (18 min).
While Seltyn set up his defense spells, Kyras listens in at the single door. What ever is on the other side, there is no sound coming from it. Inspecting the door reveals no trap, so Kyras goes to the next step of exploring. Opening the door just a crack shows that there is a five foot wide by forty foot long corridor. He finds three new doors, one at the end and one on each side.
Alistair nods toward the door on the right.
Kyras moves first and quietly , alert for noises and traps, again taking 10 for 36 perception.
Garran rests his hand on his bastard sword, although he doesn't draw, and waits for Kyras to indicate it's all clear. He knows he isn't particularly stealthy, so he tries to limit his movements as much as possible.
I'm guessing there's a lower level. If they're being held, they're probably down there, the elf whispers.
That is a fair assumption.
Kyras walks down the corridor, keeping an eye out for any possible traps. He also listens at each door, but hears nothing but silence from the other side. No sign of traps anywhere, he is free to pick a door and continu the exploration.
Kyras looks back at the group questioningly and waves at the choices.
Alastair points to the door on the right.
You open the door and walk into another short hallway. Glass cases line this hallway’s north and south walls. The northern case displays exotic weapons, many of which resemble swords, spears, and starknives, hanging on the wall around a suit of bright blue leather and ivory armor. The southern case displays a gruesome tableau of a stuffed tiger feeding upon a extremely realistic sculpture of a dead Vudrani man.
Alika winces slightly at the tableau, wondering if these, too, will be magically animated to fight intruders, or just here for a gruesome display.
Seltyn's Arcane Sight spell has worn off by now. He casts Detect Magic and lingers at the top of the hallway, hoping to catch any magical auras.
He won't know much the first round, but it gets better.