Rogram finds the door locked, and when Merric searches the courtyard, finding it empty, Rachael slams her shoulder into the door. With a loud crack, the wood of the door splinters around the locked knob, leaving the metal of the lock still attached to the frame, while the rest of the door flies open on its hinges, slamming against a desk inside of the room.

Rogram, Merric and Karib immediately note the difference in door construction - none of the rooms they had entered had locks on the doors at all. Inside, the room is more spacious and comfortable than the others in the roadhouse, with a larger bed, a sturdy writing desk, and even a shelf built in to the wall that is filled with leather-bound books and tomes.

Looking at the door's condition after breaking in, Rachel says, "That's going to be hard to explain. We best look quickly, find out whatever we can, then get out."  She steps in and heads for the desk to take a look for anything of interest. (Investigation: 10) 

Hono looks around, "Can always light it ablaze before leaving, nobody will notice the door..." only half joking. He will follow Rachel and help look in the lower areas thanks to his smaller stature. (Hopefully that will give Rachel ad advantage on the check)

(Rachael's Investigation if HELP is allowed for: 20) 

Rogram looks at Rachael. "I couldn't have done that," he says quietly, mostly to himself.

The half-dwarf follows the other two inside the room. "So, what exactly are we looking for?"

He immediately goes to the bed, kneels down, and looks underneath before moving on to search the desk.

Karib grunts as the lock fractures, then follow quickly inside. Turning back, he pushes the door it closed as quietly as he can so as to minimise any immediate suspicion and inspects the door and lock briefly, wondering if he could effect any quick repairs.

After his brief inspection, he turns his attention to the room, looking for anything out of place or clues as to the fate of the treasures. He shares any insights with his companions, then tries to help Racheal in her more detailed investigation, offering another brief prayer to Gond to help her. 

On the desk, you find a few scattered pages with notes written on them in a blunt, utilitarian fashion, short and to the point:

"Third bench from the door upstairs needs replaced - split leg."

"Roof leaking by west chimney. Patch won't last the season."

"Fourth stable gate sagging. Needs new posts before a horse breaks loose."

There are many other similar notes written on the pages, some crossed out with a thick line. Aside from a few writing utensils and some blank pieces of parchment, the desk is fairly empty, and you find nothing else of interest.

The space beneath the bed is empty when Rogram looks. Karib, meanwhile, examines the door. Repairs would take a while, as the door was shredded completely off of the lock, but would certainly be possible given enough time.

"Still clear out here," Carlon murmurs from just outside the door.

"I heard a door open upstairs," Jamna adds. "I'll go run distraction."

Rachel lets out a soft sigh. "Broke in here and nothing to show for it. I thought there'd be something. Some key or some information about this tunnel or whatever you guys are trying to get into."  She moves from the desk and takes a look along the shelves of books. "Maybe something up here? But we probably can't spend much more time in here."  (Perception: 24) 

Already tired of looking, Rogram sees Karib looking at the door and joins him. He touches the lock and the door. "I bet we could fix this before anyone finds it."

Hono looks at the others, "I still say we set the place a blaze and say we entered to save/help any inside and help put it out. Just decide fast." He holds his hand up, flame already floating above his palm.

Rachael finds a slew of books and tomes on topics of natural history and philosophy:

On Fate, Fortune, and the Weight of Gold

The Silent Lives of Reptiles and Scaled Things

Herbs That Heal, Herbs That Kill

The Common Man's Treatise on Virtue

On Dragons: Myth, Memory, and Biology

The Measure of a Man Is Not His Manners

...and many more that follow suit on similar topics. With the exception of "On Dragons: Myth, Memory, and Biology", the tomes do not look new, and the faded spines and dog-eared pages suggest these have been actively read.

Curious as to the newer looking book, and aware she has little time to look at much more, Rachael takes "On Dragons: Myth, Memory, and Biology" to look at closer. 

Karib is torn between Hono's plan, and his own desire to leave no evidence. I suppose neither leave evidence, he muses.

With only a minute to skim, Rachael gleans that the book is scholarly in nature, the purpose of which seems to be distinguishing between legend and fact when it comes to dragons, separated into sections that focus on habits and behavior, and others that focus on heroic tales. There is one underlined passage that emphasize that dragons often remember both insults and favors for a timespan that only elves could dare to challenge.

For Karib:

"Fire can explain broken door, anything missing..." staring at Rachael. "But choose as you will." Hono is deeming this as a failed attempt for information and sees just the retreat or discovery as the next issue to address.

Rachael nods briefly to Hono and places the book back on the shelf. She retreats out of the room. "I'm sure you would enjoy burning the door too. Let's go ahead, but no need to let the fire destroy anything beyond the door. I suppose that will cover our tracks. Anyone else think of anything to look for in there?"  Once out of the room she steps back from the door. 

Karib frown at Rachael's remark. "Fires usually need a start, and the last thing to go is the heavy structure."

He looks around for a lantern or other ignition source. "I'd suggest starting a fire wherever there is something that might burn, then Carlon can alert everyone and break the door down, while we look on, or help put out the flames."

Turning to Rogram, he adds "Sorry lad, I don't think there's time for finesse."

(Is there any flame source which might help be a "cause" before Hono sets the place ablaze, like a candle or a used hearth? If not he could set his wild spirt loose in here and they just happen to stumble upon it searching to place. Might give us an in to ask questions to why it would have been there.)

(Is there any flame source which might help be a "cause" before Hono sets the place ablaze, like a candle or a used hearth? If not he could set his wild spirt loose in here and they just happen to stumble upon it searching to place. Might give us an in to ask questions to why it would have been there.)

OOC: The only flame source you have seen in the building thus far is the hearth in the kitchens. The ground is additionally quite muddy from the overnight rain, so the only flammable things in the room would be the door/walls/furniture.

Hearing his name, Carlon peeks back into the room, leaning from beside the doorframe. "You sure we want to draw that kind of attention? This might be our only shot to get into that locked door in the warehouse. If we bring all the eyes down here..." he says, "...then again, if all the eyes are on this room, maybe the eyes won't be on the warehouse. Either way, though, it's risky. We can see the warehouse from here."

Muffled laughter can be heard from the balcony above, where Jamna is apparently buying you time.