As they head up the stairs, Zefla tries to avoid the rotted floor as much as possible, but checks out the suit of armor at the top of the stairs, the decoration of the house starting to interest her slightly.

When she pokes her head into the master bedroom, she wrinkles her nose up due to the sight of it all.  As Giles starts checking the room out, she leaves him to it and goes to open the door across the hall from the bedroom.

Giles, the remnants of the bedroom contains a vanity.  The drawers and makeup containers are all empty, but a glint catches your eye by the corner of the wall behind it.  A single gold ring is stuck in a crack in the floor behind the vanity.

Soren, you carefully stop and listen beside all of the closed doors on the third floor.  Moving counter clockwise, starting with the door closest to the master bedroom:

Zefla, following behind Soren's search, you open the first door immediately across from the master bedroom.  The door sticks, but not enough to give you any trouble opening it.  The interior is largely free of the mold and filth covering the rest of this floor.  This dark room contains a wooden tub with clawed feet, a small iron stove with a kettle resting atop it, and a barrel under a spigot in the east wall.

Soren waits for the others to finish.  Once they are, he points to the southern door with the noise behind it.

"Something alive is behind that door, moving.  I hear a solid, irregular thumping that is not in time with the gusting of the wind outside."

He waits until the others have come over and are prepared for an encounter before readying himself for attack and opening the door, stepping to the side.

" Alive....or just moving?", Burr ventures.

" Either way...lets smash it.", Burr grunted.

Initiative:- 8

Zefla checks out the room she is in a bit more to make sure she isn't missing anything

Perception  18

Then follows the rest to the third door.

Giles eyes go wide, he says “Why hello there….” and he reaches down, pulling the gold ring out of the crack, examining it.  

Quote from Damian_May >>

" Alive....or just moving?", Burr ventures.

" Either way...lets smash it.", Burr grunted.

"Moving irregularly, not in time with the wind or any other such immediately apparent force."

(Soren's lack of experience leaves him unfamiliar with undead, constructs or other things that can move in such a way without being living creatures).

Zefla, you toss the bathroom but find nothing of value.  The tub itself was certainly once valuable... its nicer than any you've ever come across and looks like the sort of thing a noble would lounge in whilst hollering for servants to fetch another pail of hot water.  But even preserved in this largely dry room, it shows the signs of age and neglect... it no longer looks capable of holding water.  After completing her search, she moves to join Soren and Burr.

Giles wipes a little grime off of the ring and it shines beautifully, a glimmering band of golden light in this otherwise filthy and decaying place.  It is thin and unadorned by jewels, perhaps once a woman's wedding band.  As Giles is preoccupied with his new treasure, he is distracted while the others explore the bedroom on the opposite side of the floor.

Soren opens the door and then steps aside so Burr can have a look.  

Dust and cobwebs shroud what was once an elegantly appointed bedroom and an adjoining nursery. Double doors set with panes of broken stained glass stand wide open to reveal a balcony overlooking the front of the house.  The bedroom contains the rotted and decayed remains of a large bed, two end tables, and an empty wardrobe. Mounted on the wall next to the wardrobe is a full-length mirror with an ornate wooden frame carved to look like ivy and berries.  Only the very center of the mirror still casts any reflection, the edges covered with caked-on dust and dirt. 

The corners of the room are filled with what looks like ghastly taxidermy... the desiccated bodies of small deer, foxes and other wild game are piled up, skin taught and dry and the bodies contorted into poses of agony.

As you ponder the meaning of this grisly menagerie, a shadow moves across the ceiling of the nursery.  Thumping its large forefeet to sense vibrations and glaring at you from a horde of tiny red eyes, a giant wolf spider skitters into sight above you!

• Burr:  Already rolled 8
• Zefla:  16
• Soren:  14
• Giles:   11 (Surprised for round 1)
• Giant Wolf Spider:  22

Round 1

1. Zefla
2. Giant Wolf Spider
3. Burr
4. Giles (surprised)
5. Soren

Zefla squeaks in surprise as she sees the giant wolf spider, but moves deftly past Burr, 15' down to be right by the door, and takes out her shortbow to shoot at the spider.

Attack: 12 Damage: 9

She then uses her bonus action to disengage and head 15' back away from it.

Zefla plants an arrow squarely in the face of the giant arachnid.  It screeches in pain.  Moving haphazardly and partially blinded, it skitters across the ceiling and out the balcony doors, dashing away from these powerful intruders.  These are not prey!

[And just like that, we're out of combat!]

Zefla puts away her shortbow and pats hands on her thighs, a gratifying smile across her face.  “And that’s how it’s done, boys.”

" Nice work...that was a very large spider...."

" Shall we check the drawers and cupboards? I doubt the spider had much interest in the contents."

Quote from kqstark >>

Zefla puts away her shortbow and pats hands on her thighs, a gratifying smile across her face.  “And that’s how it’s done, boys.”

Soren looks at Zefla in genuine, wide-eyed appreciation.  Quick like a lynx or a mongoose, but with bow and arrow.

"You fight well Zefla, and your arrow-claws are sharp!  That squeak you let out... I've never heard a battle cry like that from any person or beast."

(Soren intends this purely as praise.)

"There is one more door to check.  But also, am I mistaken, or is there an area here to the east where there is a gap between the bedroom and the central landing and stairs to which no door leads?  I am not familiar with how man-dens are laid out, but is that normal?  Perhaps someone else can check too."

Soren's own Perception plus Guidance:  10 + 3 = 13

Burr raised an eyebrow at Soren, " Well spotted, my homes have only ever had one room so I wasn't even thinking of it."

Soren quickly confirms there is a space inside the wall and finds the access.  In the third floor balcony area just outside the spider room, the paneled wall conceals a pocket door.  Its not so much a secret, as much as it was designed to be unobtrusive and blend in with the rest of the wall.  Sliding open the pocket door reveals a narrow, curved staircase that leads to a cramped attic space.  The area is dusty and full of cobwebs, and a section of it has collapsed over the master bedroom.  Other than a few pieces of old furniture and old birdnests, there is nothing else up here.

Looking through the end tables in the spider room, Burr finds a wooden prayer necklace; 12 wooden beads, each etched with a number 1-12 and a holy symbol reminiscent of a cross inside of a sun.

The last unopened door on this floor is stuck... a good hard shoulder is enough to pop it open, revealing a storage room.  Dusty shelves line the walls of this room. A few of the shelves have folded sheets, blankets, and old bars of soap on them.  In one corner a broom, mop and bucket sit ready, as if still waiting for a servant to fetch them for cleaning duty.

Burr tucks away his findings.

If he can see through the windows overlooking the front of the house, Soren takes a prolonged peek.  Scanning for signs of wolves or other life outside.

Also trying to discern whether the unnatural mists have closed in again.  Soren shivers uncomfortably.

" How late in the day is it? I'm losing track of how long we've been here....and the sky isn't helping.", Burr grumbled.

"It is still morning, I think, Burr.  We just woke up and came upstairs, I think.  You and I fell.  We explored a few minutes.  Zefla shot a spider."

Soren thinks for a moment.  "If there is nothing else in this house and the threats outside have receded, perhaps we should make good use of the long day ahead of us to strike out in search of a settlement.  I love to sleep in the outdoors, but I do not think these woods welcome that."