"Because human ghosts can't see in the dark!" Tarn said, and then proceeded to laugh at his own joke.
"Gnomes would have a secondary illusion or more traps." He replied with a wink.
He laughed at the human ghosts joke.
" Its just a suggestion. I mean there could be other ways down. I will follow the census of the group." Drusilla says as she goes over to pull out some soot and mark the trap door.
" As for this place, if it were spruced up it wouldn't be that bad of a place to rest your head and study in real-time quiet" Drusilla says with a smile. Something she hadn't done in awhile.
”Anyone got climbing gear. I can’t see the door yet talkin’ of but a few climbing pitons at angle might work.”
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Kwin takes out his mess kit, and kneels by the trapdoor. Close to where it opens, he'll set the tin box open in a sort of A frame, with one side on the trap door and the other on the floor. He'll put the cup and cutlery at the apex of the A frame, so that if someone opens it from below, it will likely make a clatter. That should be enough to warn us if someone comes up from below while we are exploring.
"That'll do Kwin. And easier than takin' time to hammer something in place I garuntee."
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”Hey, wait a minute!” Tarn said, his head sticking out of the trapdoor. ”Im in charge!” He continued. ”So…Uhm…let’s do what Kwin suggests. Now, let’s go and clear out the top, make sure it’s safe. Then we go down below, and find the ghost! Or gnome. Whatever.” He concluded, climbing out, and feeling quite proud for having taken control of the situation.
Badger nods, at Tarn's words. Keeping watch on the door leading from the room bow in hand while Kwin sets the mess kit alarm.
Deciding not to go down the trapdoor and instead setting an alarm on its opening, someone eventually opens the only door in the room. The door opens into a 30 ft hallway with closed doors on either side.
The opposite end of the hallway opens into another large room, at least 20 ft across from your vantage point, with an open staircase along the far wall heading to the second floor.
Argyri was just about to climb down when Kwin mentioned getting trapped down there.
"Huh. That's a good point!"
After the makeshift alarm is set up, Our Dashing Hero says, "Alright then! Down that hallway, Tarn? Not that standing around her makes me nervous, because it totally doesn't."
”Aye, exactly what I was thinking.” Tarn replied to Argyri. ”Eh…the big room it is. We go there first, get it out of the way.” He said, decisively.
Kwin nods approvingly at Copperlocks decisiveness. He pauses just long enough for the others in the established order to go before him, then he follows along.
Your dwarven captain leads you into a musty, dirty entrance hall from the hallway. Along the way, you pass closed doors on the north and south walls without sounds beyond them.
In the entrance hall, you see the front door of the mansion leading outside, an open staircase heading to an overlooking balcony on the second floor, a hallway into the north wing with three visible, closed doors, and a hallway into the east wing with two visible, closed doors.
The walls are bare and bits of smashed furniture lie upon the floor. Although the balcony rail is broken in several places, the staircase appears safe to climb.
Badger hangs back with Blacklock and keeps his eyes open. He won’t pass the side doors in the hallway until a need arises not wanting attacks from the side. ”Keep an eye the back kid I will cover the hall.”
Tarn whistled as he walked into the large room, looking around with wide eyes. "Big place. Too bad that it's all ruined junk." He said, oblivious to the idea that they might be in danger. "Looks like staircase is safe. Let's take a look." He said, as he began to go up.
At the top of the stairs, Tarn arrives at a hallway that traverses the entire mansion east to west. Along this hallway, he sees five closed doors. Across the balcony, he sees another hallway that traverses the mansion north to south.
When Tarn reaches the T at the top of the stairs, Kwin catches his eye. He jerks his head to the left a little, indicating they should go that way. "This place is old. Watch for weak spots in the floor and ceiling. If we go left, at least we have an idea of what's below us."
”Aye, careful does it. Left it is, open one door at a time. Go in each one, watching out backs. Do it right quick, one after another. Loot what is worth something, make sure it be clear, and move on. Leave doors to rooms we already saw open so we know it’s done.”
As the group moves up the stairs Badger steps up behind them going about two thirds up the stairs where he kneels and keeps an eye on the 1st floor and the hall from where they came. He nods at Tarn's words and if he needs to move to keep an eye on the main group he will.
About 10 feet west of the top of the stairs, a section of the balcony collapses under the weight of Tarn.
Tarn dives back just in time toward Argyri who catches him. Wood and plaster collapse in a thunderous cacophony. After the plaster dust settles, you see a 7-foot-wide gap in the upstairs hallway.
After just being warned, Tarn still managed to cause enough sound to alert every gnome and every ghost present. He gave a sheepish smile and dusted himself off…
Argyri looks over the gap, and thinks of her mother teaching her to leap from the deck of one ship to another...or trying to. (It hadn't always worked out, admittedly.)
"If you have anything heavy, I can cast a spell to pile the stuff on it and move it across. Its a handy spell for large hauls and equipment, This is just a suggestion" Drusilla says as she looks at the gap and then the others.
"I can try the hop. If that side is rickety too. Better a light foot." He looks up at Drusilla and then Argyri, "Ahh no offense."
Badger puts his bow away takes a few steps back swinging his arms to get the blood flowing. He breaths Hah Hah into his hands. He darts forward to the jump and . . .
. . . lands on the other side his feet sliding forward through the dust. He stands and sinks his weight a little like a kid testing a thin branch while climbing a tree.
”Are we checking for ghosts or looting the place?” Tarn asked as his companion sailed through the air. ”I’m nay jumping. Me weight would bring it all down. Once we have looted what we want, let’s just destroy the supports. Bring this top down, so nay anything up here can disturb us when we search below ground.”
Badger makes the leap with 6 feet of air to spare and kids into the intersection between the two orthogonal hallways. The hallway into the north wing has two closed doors and opens into a room 10-feet across. The floor on this side feels as strong as the top of the stairs.
You're not a carpenter, but you think the problem is the ceiling above it that has been saturated with rain water from an obvious leak in the roof.
"I'm no carpenter but the spot that fell looks like it has some soggy to it. I think its sturdy here. Well at least as sturdy as it is at the top of the stairs."
"Why would I be offended?" She then watched the gnome leap over and Drusilla blinked wondering what she was gonna do then smiled.
" I wonder if I cast my spell and set it near the edge, we can place a door on it and then walk across like a bridge!?" She says looking at the others.
The slender Elven woman was reluctant to leap over as she hasn't really ever recovered from her accident all those years ago. Her muscles atrophied enough that it took a few years to really get back what she did now.
Argyri says, "Hey, you two jump like orcas! I'm fine if everyone just wants to leap across...but if folks want a little protection, we can probably use my rope."
She pulls out fifty feat of braided silk. "We could tie it around your waist and hopefully catch you before you fall too far...or maybe see if we could work up a way you could hand-over-hand across, if you'd prefer that...though the jump looks easier to me, honestly."
... and Blacklock leaps across the gap with a dozen feet to spare.
As everyone is looking at ropes and magical discs to get across the gap, Badger thinks he spots another set of stairs to the ground floor at the far end of the north wing.
So, the gap obstacle may not need to be jumped...
"Toss me the rope." He rethinks a moment. "Toss me one end of the rope. I can tie it off, or oh yep I see another set of stairs down this way."
”I’ll…uh…take the other stairs. Short legs and all. Would be bad to break me neck like this. I’d never live it down.”
So, the adventurers have mapped out the hallways of the mansion and discovered that it is essentially three wings (North, East, & West) which are connected by a two story Entrance Hall.
There are two open stair cases: the main one in the Entrance Hall and a stair case far in the North wing, which was probably used by servants.
Eventually, you'll need to pick one of the many closed doors to open...
"Thank you for scouting and finding a safer route for those of us less springy in stride. We'll go down and come up the other way. If we're more than a minute, charge down the other stairs and surround whatever is holding us up!" With that, he turns back down the stairs. If Tarn, Argyri and Drusilla follow him, he'll go onto the ground floor, into the north corridor, and open the door at the north end of the corridor. He'll glance around inside, looking for any threat and the start of the other staircase.
"Oi, everyone! See that there elf?" Tarn pointed a finger at Kwin. "He's got the right idea. Let's follow after the elf and open the doors one by one. Stick together so no ghosties ambush us. Do this together and do it right quick."
Badger moves back and forth where he can look down hall ways and down to the first floor by the first set of stairs. Keeping eyes on things that may try to come at them. He moves in close to the others when they are ready to open the door.
Kwin goes onto the ground floor, into the north corridor, and opens the door at the north end of the corridor. This kitchen is dirty and damp, with patches of gray mold and cobwebs on the floor, walls, and ceiling. In the southwest corner is some iron cooking equipment with a chimney above. Next to it, under the window, is a cracked and discolored stone sink.
To the right of the sink, a small, closed wooden cupboard is fixed to the wall about five feet above floor level. Against the far wall, a flight of wooden stairs leads upward from west to east; the woodwork of the staircase is decayed, and a few of the treads are missing.
Looking at the floor Kwin also notices a foot trail from his open door leading to only other door in this room on the east wall.
Badger hears a door open in the room that the staircase in the north wing descends into. Yes, he hears Kwin enter the room below.
Sorry Blacklock, don't know which door is selected.
Badger clicks his tongue in Blacklock’s direction to get his attention he points to his ear and then toward the noise.