Nothing in here but stairs.
Back out to the hallway, Xavien checks over the double doors.
This large palace kitchen can provide enough cooking and baking to entertain up to 80 people at a time, but it is rarely staffed to handle more than 10.
After giving the kitchen a cursory look , Xavien moves over to check out the next door.
Xavien concludes that there's nothing of interest here.
The well-stocked closet includes enough beans, flour, rice, and water to feed the entire palace for 6 months, in addition to a huge collection of spices and pickled and preserved produce from all across Taldor and beyond. A small cabinet has been permanently enchanted to remain as cool as a late autumn morning, allowing the kitchen staff to store eggs, milk, and produce far longer than normal. A set of stairs descends down to the palace’s considerable wine cellar
Tempting, Kenton says, noting the wine cellar, but duty calls first. We've another wing of the manor to search, yes?
"Indeed. Please lead the way Kenton."
"Hasty, hasty," Xavien shakes his head, smiling. "Let us at least be sure there is nothing of immediate use here."
Xavien finds nothing of immediate use, but looting the wine here could be very lucrative.
"Making a mental note for later," Xavien winks. He moves to the next door and looks it over.
Xavien looks into the closet, and gives it a reasonably thorough look before determining there's nothing of interest or value.
"Let us return to the library."
The party advances and returns to the hall where the columns are stopped.
Xavien nods towards the stairs. "In a moment. Let us see to this floor first." He heads to the next door down the hall.
Aurelia keeps up with Xavien, her gaze more focused on danger. "Gul or Bartelby are our focus, though yes I suppose doing a quick search with the hopes of finding the deed will be helpful. That said, I doubt we'll find it in plain sight. But it's good to be thorough."
"Fear not, fear not," Xavien chuckles. "If they have not rabbited already, they certainly will not now. We have been in this game long enough to know that they in all likelihood wait for us to come to them."
This guest room is empty
Not long after opening the door though, Corran hears someone trying to sneak up on you. It's a pair of actual guards! Unlike the others, these two don't seem to have lost their nerve. Upon realizing they they don't have the drop on you, they lower their halberds towards the party!
INITIATIVE:
ROUND 1:
Xavien: Go
Ianthe: Go
Corran: Go
Aurelia: Go
Enemy: TBD
Kenton: TBD
-----------------------------
Location: Palace of Birdsong
Hearing Corran's cry of alarm, Xavien hurries back 'round the corner, drawing his blade as he goes. Once in view of the halberds, he stops, bows, and salutes, then levels his blade at the nearest soldier and belts out a verse with a grin.
As I was a-walking down Paradise Street,
A pretty young damsel I chanced for to meet.
To me, weigh, hey! And blow the man down.
Give me the time, to blow the man down!
Thankfully, Ianthe goes before Corran. I expect there maybe something... Hole-istic on the way...
Aurelia rounds the bend, sees the two guards, and immediately launches into a spell. She infuses her magic with additional stored power, and the burst of glitter that hits the two guardsmen is nigh blinding for the group.
PASS
FAIL
Xavien begins to pump the party up as Dendillion blinds one of the guards!
ROUND 1:
Xavien: Skalding
Ianthe: Go
Corran: Go
Aurelia: Glitterdust
Enemy: TBD
Kenton: TBD
-----------------------------
Location: Palace of Birdsong
Red:
Blue: (Blind)
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Xavien begins to pump the party up as Dendillion blinds one of the guards!
Xavien begins to pump the party up as Dendillion blinds one of the guards!
Ianthe steps forward into the hallway. With a quick incantation, she sends an acrid bolt at the farthest guard.
Corran stands alongside Xavien and lets loose an arrow at Blue
, Damage on hit:
Ianthe's acid arrow sails overhead and ruins a section of wall, while Corran's arrow draws Lotheed blood!
ROUND 1:
Xavien: Skalding
Ianthe: Miss
Corran: Hit
Aurelia: Glitterdust
Enemy: TBD
Kenton: TBD
ROUND 2:
Xavien: Go
Ianthe: Go
Corran: Go
Aurelia: Go
Enemy: TBD
Kenton: TBD
-----------------------------
Location: Palace of Birdsong
Red:
Blue: (Blind)
The blinded guard stumbles forth towards Corran with his halberd:
for
he connects with a grazing blow, and he's still blind.
The other guard takes a clear-eyed shot at Xavien:
MISS
ROUND 1:
Xavien: Skalding
Ianthe: Miss AoO on Blue
Corran: Hit
Aurelia: Glitterdust
Enemy: ATK
Kenton: Go
ROUND 2:
Xavien: Go
Ianthe: Go
Corran: Go
Aurelia: Go
Enemy: TBD
Kenton: TBD
Xavien parries the thrust of one guard and slips his blade towards his foe's lunging partner.
Xavien draws a serious amount of blood as he wounds the guard!
ROUND 1:
Xavien: Skalding
Ianthe: Miss
Corran: Hit
Aurelia: Glitterdust
Enemy: ATK
Kenton: Go
ROUND 2:
Xavien: Go
Ianthe: Go
Corran: Go
Aurelia: Go
Enemy: TBD
Kenton: TBD
Corran drops his bow and the family falcata is out in a flash, Xavien's song burns Corran's blood. He attacks with reckless abandon...
and it's TOO reckless...
/facepalm.
Kenton moves up and readies to step in when an opening presents itself.
Action: Kenton moves into the space.
She was round in the counter and bluff in the bow,
So I took in all sail and cried, 'Way enough now.'
To me, weigh, hey! And blow the man down.
Give me the time, to blow the man down!
Xavien jukes and jabs at the front of the melee, striking at the wounded guard while chanting out the next verse.
THREAT
Ianthe sends a trio of arcane darts at Blue.
Aurelia repeats the same incantation, bolstering her spell with her own innate (yet limited) power. A quartet of missiles appear, flying out at a guardsman.
Kenton readies himself. Xavien takes the guard's head with a clean stroke of the blade!
Meanwhile Ianthe and Aurelia send seven missiles into the remaining guard. Clearly only fanatics have stayed with Bartleby, and this guard is one of them as he doesn't turn and run.
Instead he shouts through blood-stained teeth and swings his halberd at Xavien:
for , spilling some of the skald's blood in the process.
ROUND 2:
Xavien: Kill
Ianthe: MM
Corran: Miss
Aurelia: MM
Enemy: ATK
Kenton: Go
ROUND 3:
Xavien: Go
Ianthe: Go
Corran: Go
Aurelia: Go
Enemy: TBD
Kenton: TBD
-----------------------------
Location: Palace of Birdsong
Red:
Blue: (Blind)
I hailed her in Taldane, and she answered me clear,
'I'm from the Black Arrow, bound to Cassomir.'
To me, weigh, hey! And blow the man down.
Give me the time, to blow the man down!
Xavien grunts from the blow, but hardly lets it interrupt him. He replies in kind, swinging for a second head.
THREAT
confident that confirms
This time Xavien brings his blade down and cuts the man sagittally down to his sternum!
So I tailed her my flipper and took her in tow,
And yardarm to yardarm away we did go...
Xavien mutters the next verse, letting the battle-lust fade from his blood. "That will leave a stain on the carpet," he chuckles, looking down at the mess he has made. He kneels down to rifle through the pockets of the dead.
Indeed, the guards have a standard kit that includes two potions of CMW each. They each also have a single vial of antiplague.
"A darker shade of blue than I expected," Xavien smiles. "The Count equips his men well. My scratch is light, however." He opts for the wand, saving the potions.
He heads back down the hall to the two unopened doors.
Aurelia keeps up with Xavien, hanging ten feet back from the smiling nobleman. "It would be ideal for there to be none. But alas, here we are."
Xavien sees a pair of abandon halberds at the door. Once he's sure it's safe, he opens it up to see what must be the Lotheed family fortune!
Three chests contain a total of
"These may be useful," Xavien says, stowing the oil, jar, and scroll. He leaves the coinage and star for now. "Let us be certain that the paper we seek is not hidden among these leaves here!"
Xavien inspects each chest thoroughly, looking for false bottoms and other hidden compartments.
Ianthe makes herself useful and starts going through the stacks of deeds and stocks.
I don't like this. Where is he?
"Agreed. I don't enjoy this game of cat and mouse, especially because I am becoming uncertain about who is which."
We have the role of the cat in this performance, Kenton says with certainty. He doesn't disagree with either Lord Clement or Lady Basri, but he is confident of their place in the play.
Once the vault room is secured and searched (cataloging can wait), he will guide the group through the entry hall to the western wing of the palace's first floor.
Ianthe looks through, concluding that it's a pile of countless property deeds and stocks in different companies (mostly useful only for Martella in untangling her family’s past associations).
Xavien is satisfied with his search; he finds nothing new.