Crimson Sands of Time

From the hall leading north. You hear something.  It's not instantly recognizable.  It sounds like someone shuffling some objects, light clattering noises accompany some flickering of the candle light from the north end kf the corridor.

Chadderlay: make a check of your choice, either investogsrion or insight as you try to puzzle out what it could be.

Anyone can venture a guess, at any rate, without the need for a check.  

(Are we now in the room with Akame?)

I thought we already passed that from Angus' post 868.  It's possible I misunderstood.  I am counting her among the group now,  so you can all move through passages as one. Without setting iff alaems. You can still go back to the library if you want to.

For now, notice there's something in this hall, past the VIP stables and rhe bunk room.

My phone is dying, so I'm just going to tell you so we can move along: it's a skeleton. He's replacing rhe candles on the wall sconce.  There are 50 of these things doing menial chores around here at all hours, but most are just standing around somewhere.

It sees you, but you're not a candle or a lantern, so it doesn't care.

"Let's head up to the guard captain's quarters.  Chadderlay, can you think of a way that the skeletons can scout the room for us, or take a message to whomever is in the captain's room sending them elsewhere?"

<check the map.  The spiral staircase on the northwest corner is a small chapel on the second floor.  Thsts the knight-commander's quarters (correct name, I'm sure I've called him a guard captain or some other bastardized misnomer).  At the bottom of the spiral stairs are rhe knights' quarters.  There are 8 Knights plus the commander.  Most are probably there, asleep, as it is night at the moment.

There are also 2 dozen guards, who are local Mulman, but sleep in the guards' quarters due to the nature of their work, rather than out in town as most other non-Thayans do.  If your force of numbers is off-site in an emergent situation, they're value is decimated- hence they sleep in shifts there by the storage area and dining hall.

Anyhow, the spiral staircases might be tough to access, is all I'm saying.  That and the skeleton would probably have to wake the Knight commander to get him to leave the room.

These are all things Chadderlay would know.  I'm just assuming he'd tell you all this information.  Of course, people are unpredictable at times, so not everyone will always be where they're expected to be.

Last clarification: the incriminating planar rift research is still up there on the second floor of the library- Akame had seen it, but only via arcane eye.  They do have it tattooed on them, however.

>Bump<

Feom the other direction, where you entered by three staff entrance, you hear the sound kf approaching footsteps.  The bolt of the door rattles as the footsteps stop.  A moment later, the sound if their approach continues, drawing ever nearer.

Group hide check, (or just opt not to hide if you prefer)

Sam

Tetrevess 

Angus

Akame 

Chadderly 

Make a stealth check, state whether you hide or not and if you'll be moving toward the skeleton, northbound, falling back into the meeting room behind you, or heading west toward the approaching footsteps. The VIP stables and other things are north, so if you want to get to those, just state as such. 

You do still have one staff badge, and it csn be used to command any undead (seems they're all skeletons - still dressed in funerary garb) on this level or upstairs.  That one going around lighting the candles is headed yiir way, but (as a reminder) really doesn't seem to care rhat you're there, unless you're standing in front of a candle, but even then he'll just stare through you with hollow eyes till you get out if hus way

You're all in the general area of the orange circle.  The skeleton is the teal(?) / Blue 'S' and the footsteps are following the path of the purple arrow / dashed line. Light is dim from candles except if you cross into the central courtyard, where it is magically daylight.

<I know that it should light the hallways as well, but I think it's by design that it doesn't.  If you're walking around at night, maybe you don't want to pass through a hallway flooded with daylight before stumbling out into the street or down a flight of stairs.  It's practical magic.>

Tetrevess tries to step into the shadows (15 stealth in roller)

Stealth 3 +10 due to pass

(Angus has it as well)

Angus will move north, towards the skeleton, and enter the double doors leading into the banquet hall on the east.

Stealth DA with bonus from Sam 20

15+18+20 / 3 = 17

So far, looking good 👍 

Tetrevess, Angus, and Sam hide successfully.

Chadderlay and Akame: also stealthing or will you try to engage the approaching entity?

Angus finds the former common room has been converted into an elaborate ballroom.  A set of stairs leads down into the floor below, mirrored by another headed in the opposite direction.

>Edited, again<

Sam would also do some looking around 

investigation 18

Angus suggests heading down the ramp to the basement to search for the artifact

The entire party successfully avoids detection by the approaching guards, who conduct thier inspections without noticing anything amiss.

At the bottom of the stairs, you find it opens to a wider area, allowing access to an adjoining perpendicular ramp, inclined upward.  At the top, there is a row of carts covered with silver domes.

You are in the dining hall, behind you, open doors reveal the kitchen. Its industrial scale is suited to preparing hundreds of meals a day.

Chadderlay is aware that the kitchen is flanked by towers on either side.

<Also, you guys have a map, so even if he wasnt here, you would know this.>

The kitchen is surrounded by livestock in the walled yard outside.  

<edited>

(Uh... I entered the banquet hall, room `16 on the map.  the kitchen is room 6.  the ramps do not lead to the kitchen, but down to the crypt (6) and the brewery (1/2) in the basement.)

In truth I think I got a bit turned around between dining hall and banquet halll, especially since these rooms are labeled differently on the player and DM maps.  I still think it's more useful to state that it gives you access to the kitchen than to the disused brewery.

Edit: it looks like the ramp actually goes from the dining hall to the storage are under rhe kitchen.  Really seems like it would be more useful to go to the kitchen directly, as I see it.  In no case do these details matter at the moment, though.  You can move freely between the kitchen, dining room.and storage area.

*Text above (posts #886, #890) has been edited (slightly) to reflect the change from ramp to stairs and arrival in storage/ brewery with access ramp to dining hall and kitchen.  

I also stand by the fact that this is where you end up, despite your reasonable expectations of finding the catacombs based on a correct interpretation of the map, which would suggest you need to travel south of the banquet hall to reach the catacombs.  If you tried the other way, you would have seen the stairs were filled with webs, as by the web spell.

<This is actually a spoiler, but might help explain the situation and ensure you that I'm not just confused, which otherwise would be justifiable.>

Quote from Brian_Avery >>

Chadderlay's Investigation (to see if he knows what's up north?): 10

That was revealed to be a skeleton some time ago.  Or do you mean the rooms up north? If so, I mentioned those in #890 above.