(( Horatio would not take so much that he was slowed, bit he would ask the others to carry as much as they could as well. ))

Quote from cbaer8 >>

Make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be pricked by the thorny brambles, which thrash out at Matilda as she tries to damage Bavlorna's portrait.

 6

As Matilda reaches out with her cleaver to slash Bavlorna's portrait, the thorny brambles reach back and prick her. The prick deals no damage (and nor does the cleaver) but the portraits suddenly change.

Instead of a painting of Bavlorna, this portrait is now one of Matilda, holding her cleaver and looking wary and suspicious. The painting remains animated; Matilda appears in the artwork to be looking around and shifting uncomfortably.

The other paintings shift as well. The next one transforms into Matilda's little brother Wirrun, trapped in a bubble, a look of fear upon his face. The one next to Wirrun is of Matilda's absent mother, wearing an awkward smirk. Next to that is one of Matilda's aunt, and finally one of her blocky and clueless father.

Matilda looked at the paintings carefully, after a few moments, " Well, its not like she wasn't going to know it was us anyway."

With another backward glance she followed Will...

Ben:

Looking at the paintings nervously, Ben says, "Yes, let's move on and rescue the children before we are discovered."

He does try and remember where he saw the non-hag woman that was in the portrait before Matilda slashed one of them.

Intelligence:  12

(the sleight of hand roll was a straight roll)

Titaani, who is a little behind everyone else as she is laden down from carrying pots and pans for Horatio, looks up curiously at the portrait of the strangely familiar lady. She jumps a little as it changes thanks to Matilda. 

"That woman seemed familiar..." Titaani murmurs, before walking over to the image of Wirrun. "Hey Matilda, are these people members of your family? Is this your brother?"

(None of you got a great look at it, but the woman formerly depicted in the painting reminded you of the mannequin you saw in the glass cabinet outside the Hall of Illusions at the Carnival.)

Will shrugs and opens the door to the south. "We have to go through the Cupboards," he whispers.

Through the door is a dark hallway, Moths cluster around a lantern that hangs from the ceiling in the middle of the hall, casting flitting shadows on the walls. The hall contains three sliding doors along the walls, and a heavier hinged door stands at the opposite end.

Matilda nodded to Titaani, " Yes....my brother. Trapped in a bubble somewhere....I guess the bubble is new information....not sure it helps much."

Matilda snuck down to the first door and listened to it.

Stealth:13

Perception:13

Matilda quietly slinks ahead to the first sliding door. It's very quiet, and there are no obvious locks or latches.

Quote from cbaer8 >>

Matilda quietly slinks ahead to the first sliding door. It's very quiet, and there are no obvious locks or latches.

 She'll move onto the next checking for any 'suprises' as she does so.

Investigation: 17

"We'll find him," Titaani insists to Matilda. "And I'm sure we can figure out a way to pop that bubble."

She then wanders over to the moths that are clustered around the lantern in the room, and uses her racial feature to speak to them. "Hello, little moths. Have you seen anybody pass through here recently? Do you know if it's safe to continue forward?" 

Animal handling if needed: 11

("Our friends!" cry the moths to Titaani. "Our friends are behind the door!")

Matilda finds the second closed sliding door as quiet and ordinary as the first.

"We have to get through the barracks to get to the dormitory or the sewing room," whispers Will, pointing to the southern door. "If the tin soldiers are still outside, we might be okay, but if they're back..."

Matilda nodded, understanding.  The tin soldiers were housed behind the sliding doors....

She moved up to the end door, waving Titaani up if they needed her on the lock.

Stealth:9

Perception:17

Horatio leans in close to Ben and whispers, "This narrow hallway might save our lives. If there are soldiers in there, we can lure them down the hall to the room we just left. Then we can beat them up one or two at a time, instead of taking on a whole room full at once. We could even throw grease or something on the floor here to trip them up."

Ben:

“True enough,” replies Ben, “Let’s just try to rescue as many people as we can—I am astonished by how many prisoners she has here, and we still haven’t heard anything about the missing unicorn.  Maybe we set up in the hallway and let a stealthy person check out the barracks first.”

"The moths say that others are imprisoned behind the door," Titaani says, walking up behind Matilda, and gesturing for the moths to come with her. "They can guide us to where the prisoners are, if need be." 

(The moths seem to be drawn to the third sliding door, the single exit to the west.)

Will is at the far door at the end of the hallway, with Matilda. He seems impatient to open it. Matilda listens, but detects no sounds on the other side of it.

Ben:

"Well then, let's open the door," responds Ben, moving over to the sliding door to the west and opening it.

Titaani will follow both Ben and the moths.