Horatio:

Awkwardly makes his way to the mirror while testing the stability of the floorboards. As it is struck and visibly chips, he stops. A cold feeling tingles at the back of his neck. He turns towards the pool. "The stone pillar is hollow. It's the only thing that explains this pool. The pool... it's like a giant mirror you can't break..."

Ben:

After listening for a response, Ben starts looking around as well, hoping to catch a glimpse of the stolen items—maybe that stag’s head, at least.  He will also make his way over to the spiral staircase and look up, though he won’t try going up the staircase just yet—might as well check out the doors on this level first unless there is something obvious up the stairs…

Investigation of the room::17

Perception at the stairs:  14

Matilda frowned, " Mirrors are bad."

She headed towards the stairs, sweeping the area for danger as she did so.

Investigation: 3

The one-sided, now partially-cracked mirror is standing in the pool, facing the center of the pool. The only way to look into the mirror closely and directly would be to wade into the nasty-looking pool itself, which only has about a foot of brown water in it. (The moldy tiled pool is about three feet deep in total.) The taller members of the party can just see that the stone well in the center is filled to the brim with calm water.

The floors seem safe(ish), the doors are closed, and the stag's head is nowhere to be seen.

The wooden staircase spirals up to the next floor and opens into a pitch-dark hallway of some sort. The mossy wooden plank treads look as old and rotten as the rest of the building. A window next to it is hinged to be openable but is latched shut from the inside and covered with enough grime to render it opaque.

(( Horatio checks out the mannequins at the top right of the map ))

Ben:

"It would seem no one is ready to make an appearance yet," says Ben, looking down into the well, "though we will have to consider this a possible entrance as well, presuming Bavlorna is at least partially amphibious."

"Let us start checking doors on this level once we are finished searching this room," he suggests, moving to the door on the south wall nearest the trap door through which they came.  He listens at the door and checks for any obvious traps.

Perception:  19

Titaani nods, avoiding the water and checking the door on the west side for traps. 

Investigation: 19

Ben examines the rotting, ill-fitting door to the south. It appears to be neither locked nor trapped from this side. The window next to it seems to let in exterior daylight, although it's too grimy to see through at the moment.

The mannequins, Horatio learns, consist of seven humanoid-shaped dressing dummies standing in the corner—four of Medium size and three of Small size. Six of them are adorned with shoddy, home-stitched garments. The other one is bare except for an ugly, black pointed hat.

Titaani circles the pool and examines the door to the west. It is silent, unlocked, and apparently untrapped.

Titaani opens the west door as quietly as possible, readying her boomerang as she does. 

Stealth: 10

Quote from queen_of_ashes19 >>

Titaani opens the west door as quietly as possible, readying her boomerang as she does. 

Stealth: Dice rolls not yet available for this section.

(well, that doesn't seem to be working. I'll roll in the campaign log, and record the results here)

Stealth:  9

The door, swollen in its frame, opens with a loud squeak. 

A horse’s head leers at Titaani with glossy eyes, its lips drawn back from pointed yellow teeth. The head is affixed to a large, eight-limbed armature made of wicker and wire, situated so that it faces the doorway where you entered. Near it is a wooden crate.

Flies buzz about this disordered room, landing occasionally on animal carcasses that lie strewn in small piles. On a low table rests an assortment of tools—saws, knives, scrapers, a hand-cranked drill, sewing thread and needles, and awls—around several taxidermic subjects in various stages of completion. A shelf that looks on the verge of collapse leans against the wall between two windows and bears the weight of dozens of stuffed horrors. Each one is an artless combination of two or more animals.

Titaani drops her boomerang with a gasp, her eyes going even wider than usual as she takes in the room. She stifles a gag, taking in these poor creatures who have been cruelly slaughtered and sewn into amalgamations, a mockery of the beloved creatures that she, as wood gnome, treasures. To see this display is like having a deep, integral part of who she is and who her people are, ripped away and twisted into something horrific. 

This is too much for her. She promptly loses all composure. 

"Beeeeeeen!!" She wails, running across the room towards the paladin. "Cad! Horatio! Matilda...I..I can't..." she breaks down into sobs, clutching onto Ben in tears. "It's terrible in there! It's horrible, horrible...I...what if Tiny's next? No, not Tiny...please..." 

Ben:
     Holding Titaani protectively, Ben grimaces at the cruelty depicted in the room he can see from where he stands.  As she calms down, he says, “Well, I think this at least tells us what we need to know about Bavlorna’s character.  We should at least see if the stolen stag head is in there before we shut the door and move on.”

     When Ben heads over towards the open door to look for the stag head unless someone else has searched the room while he has been consoling the traumatized gnome.

Horatio:

Seeing Ben taking care of Titaani, Horatio gives him a knowing nod and heads towards the room. He gives it a thorough search. (( Investigation 16, in DDB Campaign log ))

( I'm going to assume the one being taken care of is actually Titaani).

Matilda moves into the room to back Horatio up, disconcerted by the dead wildlife but not as traumatised as her gnomish friend.

Horatio and Ben begin a cursory search this unsettling taxidermy workshop. No stag heads appear to be here, nor anything else of obvious value. Horatio finds a small box on the table (among the tools and specimens) with drawers that contain glass eyes in a variety of sizes. One of the eyes is made of wood.

Cadwallader:

Cad was surprised to find himself disappointed when the witch didn't appear. Not that he was looking forward to a battle they were unlikely to win, but at least it would be over, for better or worse. Watching the others poke around through the witch's home didn't help allay his fears.

"Surely she must be here?" he asked no one in particular. "The king wouldn't have sent emissaries to an empty hut, right? She's probably right up the stairs, and I doubt she will appreciate her workshop being rifled through." As he speaks he walks to the bottom of the stairs. "Madame Bavlorna?" he calls. "We have been sent by King Gullop. Are you there?"

Horatio:

Almost jumping as Cad calls up the stairs, Horatio, like a kid caught with his hands in the cookie jar, runs out to stand next to Cad. "Hey!" He sort of whispers, "Let us get ready first!"

There is no response. The dark hallway above remains still, dark, and quiet, punctuated only by the croaking of the occasional frog and the rasp of a modest breeze blowing against the creaky structure.