Val noticed there is a cleverly hidden door to B9 that blends into the surrounding wall almost seamlessly. The hidden door is locked,
(OOC: elaborating based on that discovery...)
As Valrieth opens the door and lets Octavian into the bedroom (B8), she sees something odd in her peripheral vision. For a moment, she thought that she saw another door, but when she turns to look, she only sees the wall of the hallway with its framed portraits and the oval mirror. She leaves the door for a moment to pad quietly up the hall a few feet, looking at the wall on her left. Stopping at the corner where it turns to the stairs, she peeks around the corner and then looks closely at the wall. She holds very still, listening, her whiskers twitching slightly. Val puts her ear close to the wall and feels with her fingers (just at the edge of the oval mirror?). She finds odd seams of what appear to be a cleverly-crafted door, disguised to look like part of the wall. She pushes at the door and even tugs gently on the mirror to see whether the door opens, but it appears to be locked. Then, with a glance toward the door at the end of the hall (to B10) and a little shake of her head, she tip-toes quietly back into the bedroom (B8) with the rest of the group.
She closes the door door quietly behind herself.
After glancing around and not seeing any immediate threats in the room, she explains her little diversion to Finley: "There's a hidden door in the hallway behind that mirror out there." She measures the width of the bedroom with her steps, and then looks at the east wall, saying, "I don't think that there's enough space for a whole other room. Maybe a hidden cupboard? Or a hidden hallway? Ooh! Do you think that it could be a secret way to get up to Bavlorna's room?"
"Aye it could be, maybe a secret place to store items that someone doesn't want anyone else ta find too." Finley grins, "let's give it a try, cannae hurt for us ta see what's in there." He glances around, "might be a smidge safer than out here."
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Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
"Aye it could be, maybe a secret place to store items that someone doesn't want anyone else ta find too." Finley grins, "let's give it a try, cannae hurt for us ta see what's in there." He glances around, "might be a smidge safer than out here."
Valrieth helps with a brief search of the bedroom (B8) for anything valuable. That is, anything other than the usual clutter of plates, half-eaten food, scraps of cloth, and taxidermy. Check the bed matress and pillow (and under the bed) and behind the shadowboxes for anything that might give them further clues (e.g., notes, old letters, valuables, etc.).
Then Val warns them, "Now, we believe Bavlorna is in the room at the end of the hallway. So, be very quiet. Finley and I cannot whisper, so we may have to use hand signals while we're in the hallway. If we need to flee, there's a spiral staircase at the end of the hall, and I think it's the one that leads downstairs to the pool room. We can drop through the trapdoor in the pool room down to the lake and our boat below. Vansel, you'll stand by the door to the far room (B10) to listen. Warn us if you hear them stop talking or if you hear anyone approaching the door. Octavian, you should guard the top of the stairs in case anything comes up from that direction. Ready?"
Val then leads the group out of the bedroom (B8) to the hidden door. (OOC: from the map, I believe that the hidden door is behind the oval mirror from the original description.) Val shows Finley the mirror and the outlines of the door. She'll help Finley to check the mirror and the wall for any signs of how to open the door.
Val then leads the group out of the bedroom (B8) to the hidden door. (OOC: from the map, I believe that the hidden door is behind the oval mirror from the original description.) Val shows Finley the mirror and the outlines of the door. She'll help Finley to check the mirror and the wall for any signs of how to open the door.
(OOC: to be clear, I was referring to this description from post #1999:
The walls of this dank hallway are covered with scores of portraits depicting grumpy, sad, frightened, and angry people. The figures include humans, elves, halflings, bullywugs, and goblins, among others. The portraits are rendered in a variety of mediums, including paintings, etchings, and sketches. All are displayed in gaudy, gilded frames. Octavian's portrait is here as well.
A framed oval mirror two feet wide and five feet tall hangs in the middle of one wall.
Based on the map from post #1845, it looks like the secret door must be behind the mirror.
Valrieth didn't see anything that would help them open the door, yet, and I thought that she'd just show Finley the door and let him lead the investigation.)
With the last word uttered from Finley the mirror surface becomes transparent revealing a dark narrow hall. B9
You can step in when ready.
"Oooh! Good job, Finley," Valrieth says excitedly, bobbing up and down slightly and noiselessly clapping her hands. You get the impression that she's quite excited and wants to hop up and down, but she's restraining herself because of the danger posed by Bavlorna's proximity. "Like the Lornlings said about the mirrors downstairs? I guess the password for her magic mirrors is Bandersnatch." Val makes a mental note to write that down in her journal once they're out of Bavlorna's hut.
Val looks back to Vansel and Octavian and waves her hand for them to come join Finley and her at the door. She's a little disappointed that it wasn't a hidden closet or cupboard with Clapperclaw's skull, but she voices her thought: "A hidden door like this must lead somewhere important, right?" As usual, if Val doesn't see anything dangerous, she lets Octavian go first, followed by her (for her perception) and then Finley and then Vansel. In case it's dark in the hallway, Val casts [Tooltip Not Found] before they enter so that they have some light.
And, of course, still trying to be quiet: Stealth15
As the party reaches the bend in the hallway it seems to become bigger. No actually the party has shrunk to half their size. At the end of the hallway is a tiny mouse sized door. Barred closed by a needle.
If you progress further, you shrink even more to match the tiny mouse door. There seems to be no threats in sight just the strange shrinking effect.
As the party reaches the bend in the hallway it seems to become bigger. No actually the party has shrunk to half their size. At the end of the hallway is a tiny mouse sized door. Barred closed by a needle.
If you progress further, you shrink even more to match the tiny mouse door. There seems to be no threats in sight just the strange shrinking effect.
When she sees that the hallway bends towards Bavlorna's tea room and that there's neither a trove of Bavlorna's treasures nor a stairway leading upstairs, Valrieth becomes alarmed. "Oh no! It looks like it's leading us right to Bavlorna's room....or....or to a dead end?" (This is before she tries going farther than the bend in the hallway.)
Val says, "Wait here. Do I go back to my original size?" Val goes back up the hall to the hidden door to see whether she grows to her regular height again. If she does, she smiles for a moment and giggles at the fact that she's basically as tall or taller than all of her companions. She's used to being among Tall Folk, and she imagines what it would be like to be teh tallest one of all of her friends all the time.
Val returns to the bend and tries going all the way to the end of the hall to see how small she gets and whether she shrinks enough to fit through the tiny door. "Fascinating," she says, her voice an almost inaudible squeak. She returns to the bend and goes all the way back to the hidden door and steps back into the hallway (B7). (She intends to take them all back to the bedroom at B8 to discuss whether to give up their search and go back to Downfall or to try the tiny door at the end of the hall. Perhaps it'll take them to a hidden space between the walls? But if they do that, how will they back to their regular size? She doesn't want to be caught by Bavlorna while she's the size of a mouse!)
As you go back into B7 you do not enlarge back to your usual size until 1 minute later. When standing next to the tiny door you are 1/20th your original size and can easiler enter the room next door once the needle barring the door is removed.
As you go back into B7 you do not enlarge back to your usual size until 1 minute later. When standing next to the tiny door you are 1/20th your original size and can easiler enter the room next door once the needle barring the door is removed.
(OOC: OK. Then maybe not necessary to go all the way back to B8 to make a decision. The group can huddle around the door near the small end of the hallway (B9), where their 1/20th scale voices shouldn't be so loud anymore.)
Valrieth says, "Finley, Octavian, what do you think?" Val doesn't really give Vansel a vote since he's just following along until they can get him out of the house. "It seems like the enchantment wears off one minute after we leave this big-to-small hallway. Since the door to this hallway was hidden, and there doesn't seem to be anything else here, It still seems like this tiny door must be important. With the size distortion, it's difficult to tell whether the door will open right into Bavlorna's tea room. Maybe there's a tiny treasure room or a secret mouse-sized passage between the walls? In either case, this tiny door could be the key to finding Clapperclaw's head. If it's a secret passage, we could follow it where it leads. If it goes into Bavlorna's tea room, we could use our tiny size to try sneaking upstairs without being seen. I can maintain pass without trace for a little bit longer. Should we press forward today while Bavlorna is distracted with a guest? Or do you want to use that time to go all the way back and check the rooms on the other side of Bloody Toes's kitchen?"
Finley grins, "ah think we should explore all o' our opportunities in this place so that we cover all of our bases. Since she's still up in her room, most likely, and as ye said it must be important for there to be this kind of magic involved. Especially alongside the magic password, let's go in, we can check th' normal rooms if we don't find anything through here!" He cracks his knuckles and looks eager to go in.
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Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Octavian says, "I agree with Finely as this door must mean something and who knows what could be hiding behind it. As to checking the other rooms I will leave that to you 2 to decide"
Valrieth says, "OK. Agreed! Trap or treasure, the Fates have lead us here for a Purpose. Remember that we're not here to fight Bavlorna today. If we stumble into her, we'll just say that we're here to ask for Octavian's heart back. But, if this door does lead to her tea room, we can hopefully just pass without trace to the stairs up to Bavlorna's room, where the Lornlings said that she keeps her valuables."
Everyone lines up at the door. As usual when entering a new space, they'll go through the door Octavian first, followed by Val, Finley, and then Vansel. Val nods nods, and Octavian lifts the needle and opens the door. Val raises her hand that's holding the flame, which is smaller than a candle flame now and only sheds bright light 6 inches and dim light another 6 inches beyond that.
(OOC: unlike light, produce flame sheds light from a flame, so I assumed that the range of the flame's illumination would also shrink by 1/20 in proportion to Val's current size. If that's not correct, then Val would dismiss the flame before they open the door, instead relying on the [Tooltip Not Found]'s darkvision, if needed.)
Lifting the needle allows the tiny door to be pulled open easily, revealing a moldy stretch of floor underneath the potion cabinet that stands against the wall in area B10.
You know that after 1 minute you will enlarge back into your usual size. Everything seems gigantic as the cabinet above you seem like a towering building.
Two creatures are having a conversation over tea in the middle of this room. The first figure is seated in a timeworn armchair. She is a tall, lean woman of gray complexion, dressed in black with a wide-brimmed hat obscuring her eyes. The other figure is a toad-like creature with bulging eyes and cracked skin. It is clad in a shapeless garment and sits on one end of a love seat with its legs pulled up beneath it. Flies flit into and out of its mouth, which hangs agape when it isn’t speaking.
The room is filthy. Dirty dishes and bits of discarded food lie everywhere. The furniture was perhaps once of fine quality, but now stains of mysterious origin mottle every surface, and the upholstery has been patched numerous times. Set with its back to the wall in one corner is a hulking wooden cabinet. Sturdy legs support the bottom of the cabinet six inches above the floor. A decrepit wooden staircase climbs up the wall in another corner.
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(OOC: elaborating based on that discovery...)
As Valrieth opens the door and lets Octavian into the bedroom (B8), she sees something odd in her peripheral vision. For a moment, she thought that she saw another door, but when she turns to look, she only sees the wall of the hallway with its framed portraits and the oval mirror. She leaves the door for a moment to pad quietly up the hall a few feet, looking at the wall on her left. Stopping at the corner where it turns to the stairs, she peeks around the corner and then looks closely at the wall. She holds very still, listening, her whiskers twitching slightly. Val puts her ear close to the wall and feels with her fingers (just at the edge of the oval mirror?). She finds odd seams of what appear to be a cleverly-crafted door, disguised to look like part of the wall. She pushes at the door and even tugs gently on the mirror to see whether the door opens, but it appears to be locked. Then, with a glance toward the door at the end of the hall (to B10) and a little shake of her head, she tip-toes quietly back into the bedroom (B8) with the rest of the group.
She closes the door door quietly behind herself.
After glancing around and not seeing any immediate threats in the room, she explains her little diversion to Finley: "There's a hidden door in the hallway behind that mirror out there." She measures the width of the bedroom with her steps, and then looks at the east wall, saying, "I don't think that there's enough space for a whole other room. Maybe a hidden cupboard? Or a hidden hallway? Ooh! Do you think that it could be a secret way to get up to Bavlorna's room?"
"Aye it could be, maybe a secret place to store items that someone doesn't want anyone else ta find too." Finley grins, "let's give it a try, cannae hurt for us ta see what's in there." He glances around, "might be a smidge safer than out here."
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Valrieth helps with a brief search of the bedroom (B8) for anything valuable. That is, anything other than the usual clutter of plates, half-eaten food, scraps of cloth, and taxidermy. Check the bed matress and pillow (and under the bed) and behind the shadowboxes for anything that might give them further clues (e.g., notes, old letters, valuables, etc.).
Then Val warns them, "Now, we believe Bavlorna is in the room at the end of the hallway. So, be very quiet. Finley and I cannot whisper, so we may have to use hand signals while we're in the hallway. If we need to flee, there's a spiral staircase at the end of the hall, and I think it's the one that leads downstairs to the pool room. We can drop through the trapdoor in the pool room down to the lake and our boat below. Vansel, you'll stand by the door to the far room (B10) to listen. Warn us if you hear them stop talking or if you hear anyone approaching the door. Octavian, you should guard the top of the stairs in case anything comes up from that direction. Ready?"
Val then leads the group out of the bedroom (B8) to the hidden door. (OOC: from the map, I believe that the hidden door is behind the oval mirror from the original description.) Val shows Finley the mirror and the outlines of the door. She'll help Finley to check the mirror and the wall for any signs of how to open the door.
Stealth 21
(OOC: to be clear, I was referring to this description from post #1999:
Based on the map from post #1845, it looks like the secret door must be behind the mirror.
Valrieth didn't see anything that would help them open the door, yet, and I thought that she'd just show Finley the door and let him lead the investigation.)
Finley nods, “ah’ll be as quiet as can be as soon as we figure this contraption out.” He moves to the mirror where Val indicated.
(Investigation: 23 with help from Val!)
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
There is nothing of note in B8 and as Finely examines the mirror he feels magic as if the mirror is waiting for the correct password.
Are you willing to guess the correct answer? Use what the Lornlings said as a guide to what the true answer is.
(OOC: Yes. I just wanted to give Snievan a chance to post first on this one since Finley was the one leading the examination. 🙂)
"We gotta guess hmm.. Bandersnork, Bandaclack, Bandersnatch?" Finley guesses with a shrug.
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
With the last word uttered from Finley the mirror surface becomes transparent revealing a dark narrow hall. B9
You can step in when ready.
"Oooh! Good job, Finley," Valrieth says excitedly, bobbing up and down slightly and noiselessly clapping her hands. You get the impression that she's quite excited and wants to hop up and down, but she's restraining herself because of the danger posed by Bavlorna's proximity. "Like the Lornlings said about the mirrors downstairs? I guess the password for her magic mirrors is Bandersnatch." Val makes a mental note to write that down in her journal once they're out of Bavlorna's hut.
As the door opens, Val peers inside. Perception 18
Val looks back to Vansel and Octavian and waves her hand for them to come join Finley and her at the door. She's a little disappointed that it wasn't a hidden closet or cupboard with Clapperclaw's skull, but she voices her thought: "A hidden door like this must lead somewhere important, right?" As usual, if Val doesn't see anything dangerous, she lets Octavian go first, followed by her (for her perception) and then Finley and then Vansel. In case it's dark in the hallway, Val casts [Tooltip Not Found] before they enter so that they have some light.
And, of course, still trying to be quiet: Stealth 15
The hallway is empty, but the light reveals it's an L shaped hallway.
As the party reaches the bend in the hallway it seems to become bigger. No actually the party has shrunk to half their size. At the end of the hallway is a tiny mouse sized door. Barred closed by a needle.
If you progress further, you shrink even more to match the tiny mouse door. There seems to be no threats in sight just the strange shrinking effect.
When she sees that the hallway bends towards Bavlorna's tea room and that there's neither a trove of Bavlorna's treasures nor a stairway leading upstairs, Valrieth becomes alarmed. "Oh no! It looks like it's leading us right to Bavlorna's room....or....or to a dead end?" (This is before she tries going farther than the bend in the hallway.)
Val says, "Wait here. Do I go back to my original size?" Val goes back up the hall to the hidden door to see whether she grows to her regular height again. If she does, she smiles for a moment and giggles at the fact that she's basically as tall or taller than all of her companions. She's used to being among Tall Folk, and she imagines what it would be like to be teh tallest one of all of her friends all the time.
Val returns to the bend and tries going all the way to the end of the hall to see how small she gets and whether she shrinks enough to fit through the tiny door. "Fascinating," she says, her voice an almost inaudible squeak. She returns to the bend and goes all the way back to the hidden door and steps back into the hallway (B7). (She intends to take them all back to the bedroom at B8 to discuss whether to give up their search and go back to Downfall or to try the tiny door at the end of the hall. Perhaps it'll take them to a hidden space between the walls? But if they do that, how will they back to their regular size? She doesn't want to be caught by Bavlorna while she's the size of a mouse!)
As you go back into B7 you do not enlarge back to your usual size until 1 minute later. When standing next to the tiny door you are 1/20th your original size and can easiler enter the room next door once the needle barring the door is removed.
(OOC: OK. Then maybe not necessary to go all the way back to B8 to make a decision. The group can huddle around the door near the small end of the hallway (B9), where their 1/20th scale voices shouldn't be so loud anymore.)
Valrieth says, "Finley, Octavian, what do you think?" Val doesn't really give Vansel a vote since he's just following along until they can get him out of the house. "It seems like the enchantment wears off one minute after we leave this big-to-small hallway. Since the door to this hallway was hidden, and there doesn't seem to be anything else here, It still seems like this tiny door must be important. With the size distortion, it's difficult to tell whether the door will open right into Bavlorna's tea room. Maybe there's a tiny treasure room or a secret mouse-sized passage between the walls? In either case, this tiny door could be the key to finding Clapperclaw's head. If it's a secret passage, we could follow it where it leads. If it goes into Bavlorna's tea room, we could use our tiny size to try sneaking upstairs without being seen. I can maintain pass without trace for a little bit longer. Should we press forward today while Bavlorna is distracted with a guest? Or do you want to use that time to go all the way back and check the rooms on the other side of Bloody Toes's kitchen?"
Val seems anxious but eager to try the tiny door.
Finley grins, "ah think we should explore all o' our opportunities in this place so that we cover all of our bases. Since she's still up in her room, most likely, and as ye said it must be important for there to be this kind of magic involved. Especially alongside the magic password, let's go in, we can check th' normal rooms if we don't find anything through here!" He cracks his knuckles and looks eager to go in.
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Remove the needle barring the door when ready.
Octavian says, "I agree with Finely as this door must mean something and who knows what could be hiding behind it. As to checking the other rooms I will leave that to you 2 to decide"
Valrieth says, "OK. Agreed! Trap or treasure, the Fates have lead us here for a Purpose. Remember that we're not here to fight Bavlorna today. If we stumble into her, we'll just say that we're here to ask for Octavian's heart back. But, if this door does lead to her tea room, we can hopefully just pass without trace to the stairs up to Bavlorna's room, where the Lornlings said that she keeps her valuables."
Everyone lines up at the door. As usual when entering a new space, they'll go through the door Octavian first, followed by Val, Finley, and then Vansel. Val nods nods, and Octavian lifts the needle and opens the door. Val raises her hand that's holding the flame, which is smaller than a candle flame now and only sheds bright light 6 inches and dim light another 6 inches beyond that.
(OOC: unlike light, produce flame sheds light from a flame, so I assumed that the range of the flame's illumination would also shrink by 1/20 in proportion to Val's current size. If that's not correct, then Val would dismiss the flame before they open the door, instead relying on the [Tooltip Not Found]'s darkvision, if needed.)
Lifting the needle allows the tiny door to be pulled open easily, revealing a moldy stretch of floor underneath the potion cabinet that stands against the wall in area B10.
You know that after 1 minute you will enlarge back into your usual size. Everything seems gigantic as the cabinet above you seem like a towering building.
Two creatures are having a conversation over tea in the middle of this room. The first figure is seated in a timeworn armchair. She is a tall, lean woman of gray complexion, dressed in black with a wide-brimmed hat obscuring her eyes. The other figure is a toad-like creature with bulging eyes and cracked skin. It is clad in a shapeless garment and sits on one end of a love seat with its legs pulled up beneath it. Flies flit into and out of its mouth, which hangs agape when it isn’t speaking.
The room is filthy. Dirty dishes and bits of discarded food lie everywhere. The furniture was perhaps once of fine quality, but now stains of mysterious origin mottle every surface, and the upholstery has been patched numerous times. Set with its back to the wall in one corner is a hulking wooden cabinet. Sturdy legs support the bottom of the cabinet six inches above the floor. A decrepit wooden staircase climbs up the wall in another corner.