"As you wish Daventry." Ludolf answers and directs Edgar to keep a lookout around the house. He then follows the others inside.

Triäsa follows as well, spending just a moment focused on the changed appearance of Daventry's mage hand. She then focuses on keeping an eye out for dangers as they enter.

Pardot follows behind the others, obviously a bit creeped out by the town and this building, keeping an eye, and ear, out behind the group to make sure nothing is following them ((14)).

Another day, another creepy and mysterious house. Daventry's mage hand pushes the door, it starts to swing in gently but as it opens about halfway the door falls off it's hinges to the ground and the wood splinter's and shatters. As you all walk into structure

Dust covers everything in this wide hallway (H1). Moth-eaten cloaks hang from hooks on the left-hand wall. To the left and the right, hallways branch off into the gloom. Ahead, a stairway leads up to the second floor, and a door stands beneath the stairs, seemingly leading to the back yard. It is very dark inside the only light creeps in from the dust covered windows. (Perception/Investigation checks from here on are at disadvantage unless you have darkvision or light have some sort of light source.)

A dining room sits to the northeast (H4). This room holds a rectangular table with eight chairs. A sideboard sits against the far wall, with dusty ceramic serving dishes and bowls atop it. A fireplace is in the far corner. A search reveals ceramic plates, bowls, and teacups with saucers in the sideboard cabinets, as well as flatware and serving utensils in the drawers. The ceramics are well made but simple; the flatware is made of a silver-plated steel alloy.

Immediately to your right you see a parlor (H5). The parlor is empty except for four wingback chairs situated along the left-hand wall and a desk in the right-hand corner beside the window. A fireplace dominates the southeast corner. The chairs are infested with rodents; mouse holes and droppings are obvious with a simple glance. The desk on the front wall was available for public use and did not hold any personal papers. A few crumbling sheets of blank parchment, a quill, and a dried-up inkwell remain here.

The hallway extends to the west but from where you are you can not see into the rooms to the north and south.

Triäsa looks around the hall once inside and helps investigate the rooms. "Remember to stay together," she says. As she looks through the rooms, she scans for anything out of the ordinary. (Investigation: 26, if it matters she would focus more on the parlor) 

Once those areas have been explored she looks at the rest of the group. "Shall we look down the hall first?  Then we can try upstairs.  If we dare given the state of the door," she says with a brief laugh. 

Ludolf will stay in sight of the others but will investigate, particularly the desk and the fireplace and anything interesting there.
Investigation: 21 Perception: 6
"Let's start down the hall." Ludolf says as he is finished with his investigation, motioning again for Daventry to take point.

While the others look through the cabinets and furniture, Pardot leans down and pulls out some crackers from his pack and tosses them to the rats, once they trust him a bit he will ask, in Druidic, how long it has been since a big creature like them had been through the town, or at least this building.

"Yes some more light wouldn't hurt I guess." Ludolf says and looks to Daventry and Triäsa. "But as long as we stay together and don't go off on ourselves on a roof or something like that I think we will be fine Klin." Ludolf says and consults his black tome to cast detect magic as a ritual.

"Oh! Sorry!" Triäsa says.  "I guess I did not realize how dim it got in here."

She grabs her lute, playing a few notes as she sings:

'Magic bring swift illumination,
bright white with this invocation.'

With that she casts Light on her dagger, holding it out to provide light.

You round the westward corridor and find a pair of rooms. There are no doors on either room and so you are able to see into each. To the south (H2) you find a room made for meetings or assemblies of the village. Chairs are arranged in staggered rows with their backs to the door, facing a podium in the southeast corner. A sideboard sits on the left side of the room, and a bookcase stands to the right of the doorway, filled with tomes and knickknacks. A cold brick fireplace occupies the southwest corner. Along the bookshelf Ludolf finds a chunk of raw platinum, at one point you imagine this was a center piece of the collection and point of pride in the village.

To the north is a smaller meeting room. A round table with four chairs stands in the center of this room. Windows look out into the back yard. The fireplace in the corner is filled with broken masonry. A framed portrait hangs on the right-hand wall. The room is bare except for a painting over top the fireplace.  The painting is a portrait of a dark-skinned woman dressed in a cream-colored frock coat with a pale green cravat at her throat. Her dark hair is pulled up in an intricate twist, and she wears delicate platinum and diamond earrings. Her hands are folded in her lap. One finger bears a heavy platinum signet ring, inscribed with a snowdrop blossom.

@Pardot

The rats looks at you quizzically as you ask your questions. One of the larger, older rats squeaks at you. You get the impression of a loss throughout the mansion. Loss of food, loss of activity. It seems like the loss has been for a very long time but then it is a rat and time is funny. He takes the food and scurries back into the walls. 

Triäsa will keep with the others, but when she gets a chance she will check out the bookcase in the meeting room to the south.  Or more specifically, she will look at the books in the bookcase.  She is searching for anything that might stand out as interesting, or something related to the town or region. (Investigation: 9)

When in the north room she comments on the painting, "I wonder who that is?  A mayor or founder you think?" 

"Was this town quite well off?" Pardot wonders, after sharing what little he learned from the rats. "If the Mayor had that type of jewelry they must have had some income. What was this town known for?"

"Was the mines, right? Platinum, if I remember Ludolf's lecture on the roads. Would be a huge source of moneyed folk, were the mine running. Makes sense with the blade and board we found."

Daventry thinks on the long-winded lecture Ludolf gave on the road, wondering if between her desire for an ale and a warmed bed, she remembered him speaking of any founder-type who might match the woman of the portrait.

History: 22

The books Ludolf read from Matreous made mention of a Mayor Lei Duvezin. The painting is consistent with the description in his books. While you can't be sure if this is the ancestor or a Lei herself it is definitely someone in her lineage. Ludolf would also know the ring she is wearing bears the family crest on it, a snowdrop blossom.

You are certain that it was a platinum mine and the village was very well off before the collapse of the mine and disappearances. 

The clouds continue to cast very dark heavy shadows over the village but you can tell it has gotten rather late. The sun is very close to setting. The eerie fog and mist has grown thicker along the grounds. With the door in shambles the cold, wet mist has begun to pour itself into the house. It's cold in the house but at least you are dry as a light, miserable drizzle continues to hang in the air.

(So nothing from Triäsa looking at the books?)

"Hey guys, it seems like it is getting late.  Are we staying here tonight? Or heading outside of town?"  She looks a bit warily around this place. "If we are staying let's check upstairs first. This might be better than facing the elements outside, but this place has an ominous feel to it." 

Quote from Culuril >>

(So nothing from Triäsa looking at the books?)

"Hey guys, it seems like it is getting late.  Are we staying here tonight? Or heading outside of town?"  She looks a bit warily around this place. "If we are staying let's check upstairs first. This might be better than facing the elements outside, but this place has an ominous feel to it." 

 Sorry missed that part of the post. The books on the shelves are rather bland. They focus on the finer points of mining, there are a few philosophy books some focus on leadership and bureaucracy, there are a handful of small books that are completely illegible but might given the size they could have been children's books.. While interesting, all the books are rather  commonplace in appearance. This room may have double as a very meager library for the village. All of them are very difficult to read due to the poor condition.

"Resting here is likely better than outside." Pardot says looking around, "But we should definitely set a watch. There is more here than the abandoned town we thought it to be." He then begins to ponder, "And what's the plan for tomorrow? Check out the mine? See what else we can find here in town first?"