PrP: The Duty of Shadows

The four adventurers have been chosen for a very particular mission: sneak into the estate of Sagast White Eagle, a distinguished Arcanist who lives outside of the city. Once inside, find two crystal balls - one of white quartz and the other a polished sapphire the size of an adult fist - and touch to each a device that you have been given. Once the light on the device has turned from red to green with each crystal, replace the crystals and sneak back out. Ideally, this should be done without being detected at all. However, if you /are/ detected, your employer (a severe-looking elven woman who identifies herself only as a representative of Alexandria) will disavow all knowledge of your actions. If you succeed, however, you will be well-compensated. This day is supposed to be a time when Sagast will be away from his estate all day, along with his most powerful retainers, leaving the estate as quiet as it's likely to get.

<OOC> Solace says, "Also, anyone can roll Knowledge (Nobility) and/or (Arcana), if you like."

GAME: Laoise rolls knowledge/Arcana: (15)+10: 25

GAME: Schneider rolls knowledge/arcana: (20)+4: 24

<OOC> Laoise says, "Behold, my one decent roll for the day."

GAME: Gwendolyn rolls knowledge/nobility: (6)+9: 15

You paged (Laoise, Schneider) with 'Sagast White Eagle is a Master Arcanist in good standing with the Guild; he's been known to teach classes, he used to adventure, and he currently has three apprentices. He's Highborn, and tends to /very/ conscious of status and class - he's got a reputation as a bit of an ass, really, but he's powerful, ambitious, and has important friends. He's also known to be a bit paranoid, since his favorite wand was stolen about five years ago. His usename, 'White Eagle' comes from his familiar, which is exactly that; a snow-white hawk-eagle who is rumored to be more clever than the average bird.'

You paged Gwendolyn with 'Sagast White Eagle is also known as Sagast Olendor, of the House of Olendor, a minor house of Alexandrian nobility.'

Laoise, sitting on a chair made for a human sized person, legs dangling off the edge, raises a hand. "Question. What are the crystals -for-, and will the replacements be of such a quality that Sagast won't know the difference? He's not exactly known for his carelessness and inattention to detail." The effect is somewhat spoilt by the fact that the blonde Lucht lady is munching on a cookie between sentences.

Tatyannah is finally going to be able to steal stuff! LEGALLY! It's really all Tatyannah can do not to break out into a dance right there. Though she takes a moment to peer at the rest of the group, then herself, then back to the group. She does go, "Um. You want to steal with these guys? I don't suppose ya know that Tak or Susie is around. Or even Vennan?" Then to the others, "No offense."

Schneider is, perhaps, not the best qualified for stealth, but at least he won't clank around in armor. He's gathered up with the others, chuckling to himself as he says, more or less to himself, "This should be an interesting prank." He laughs at the questions, and snorts at Tatyannah's request for substitutes. "Never fear. If we can't do this thing, we'll just burn the place down!" He seems amused by this thought. Laoise perks up visibly at Schneider's suggestion, but forces herself to sit down and shut up. No burning stuff. No burning stuff.

The Representative shakes her head. She offers Laoise a small, velvet box. Inside the box is something that looks like a pen...after a particularly deranged artificer has gotten ahold of it. "Not replace the crystals with other crystals. Merely use this device on each. When you touch it to the surface of the crystal, a red light will shine. It will eventually turn green, and then you are done. Do this to each." She smiles, a bit sympathetically with Tatyannah. "This is who you have to work with. I'm sure you'll be fine," she says, with the serenity of one who will not be facing arrest or an angry wizard. Even Schneider's response doesn't shake her calm. "I'd rather you didn't. As would the city."

GAME: Tatyannah rolls bluff: (20)+9: 29

"Ah. The "replace the crystals" part had me wondering," says Laoise, turning the box in her hands and inspecting the device within carefully - though without actually touching the "pen" itself just yet. "Any chance you'll explain to us what this does, or is that on a need to know basis and we don't need to know?"

Laoise adds, "Also, are the crystals themselves mundane or magical? If they're magical, that might make the search easier."

Tatyannah nods her head, managing not to look at all disappointed by this fact, despite the fact that she asked the questions. She looks over the crowd, before she remarks, "If you'll trust me about thieving, I am going to need to ask you guys to do a few things before we go." Though she falls silent as more questions are asked. They can wait until later, besides the others might ask questions she won't think of. The Representative thinks over Laoise's question. She eventually says, "It is a...recorder, of sorts. In order to confirm suspicions that the city has. And yes, the crystals are magical, if that helps with your search." She's still smiling, just a little. It's like she has no other expression.

Gwendolyn, PALADIN OF DAEUS... Gives a rather critical eye to the elven woman. "You are asking us to infiltrate the manse of a noble, however minor, and to commit /sabotage/? On which charge? For what purpose? This is..." She frowns. "Slightly shady." She offers, from her position leaning on the wall. Her grin is genuine, but... troubled.

Schneider eeeeeehs. "He'd probably be pretty angry as well. We'll save it for a last resort." He chuckles at Laoise, and but asks, "Who cares what it does? This is either some collosal prank, or a preparation for burglary. And I don't know that one or the other is better, though I think I'm leaning towards the first." At the reveal, he looks disappointed. "That's not nearly as /funny/," he complains.

The Representative nods to Gwendolyn. "It is, indeed, 'slightly shady'. But there is no sabotage involved. Merely investigation. We wish to avoid the possible loss of life and weakening of the city that could come from a formal investigation until we are certain." A pause. "It is possible, indeed, even likely, that Sagast is exchanging information about vital matters to other governments. And possibly other parties," she adds, serenely. She just smiles at Schneider. "Please ensure that it is the very last resort."

GAME: Gwendolyn rolls sense motive: (4)+10: 14 GAME: Tatyannah rolls sense motive: (18)+12: 30 <OOC> Gwendolyn says, "Also I surrepticiously cast Detect Evil." GAME: Solace rolls 1d20+10: (18)+10: 28 <OOC> Gwendolyn says, "I'm pretty sure she doesn't ping that." <OOC> Solace pages! You paged Gwendolyn with 'She seems totally sincere, and also is not evil.' Gwendolyn pages: Totally legit.

You paged Tatyannah with 'She seems...there's a hint of desperation under the calm. There's /something/ very important about this mission, that she's trying not to let be obvious, but she doesn't seem to be lying. Just controlling her emotions.'

From afar, Tatyannah nodnods.

Laoise shrugs expressively, and performs a small flourish with her hands. The box seems to disappear in midair. "Works for me," says the diminutive blonde. "You do understand, though, that if it comes to possible capture, we will resist most strenuously. I, for one, don't particularly fancy ending up... wherever it is Sagast prefers to dispose of intruders."

The Representative says, "I will say that there's no indication that Sagast's servants and guards are involved in any criminal proceedings. Which is why we would like this to be quiet, and preferably without causing any further...chaos." A pause. "There has been far too much chaos of late, yes? But neither do we expect to go quietly into death or prison. Just try not to cause too much damage in your escape," she says, smiling yet more.

Schneider ahhhhhhhs, "Well, who cares what it's for? We sneak in, tap the things, change colors, steal his spoons, and wander off." Schneider is winging it, it seems. "Well, maybe not the spoons. If we can get in and out, that's fine. But there's got to be some way to make this interesting." He nods. "Oh, I'm not getting caught if I can help it. You folks say you'll disavow knowledge. That's fine, but that means this is something other than a Guild prank." He nods about not causing too much damage. "A last resort. Honest." He smiles smarmily.

Laoise leans back in her seat, seemingly satisfied, and continues munching on her cookie. It's chocolate chip, after all. Can't let it go to waste. Her free hand is turned over, and a small flame dances from one fingertip to another. Oh, she's one of -those-.

Tatyannah rubs at her forehead slightly as she listens, contemplating this, "Can we at least get blueprints of some sort to Sagat's place, and any known security details, please. Don't tell me what we're doing recon /and/ stealing all in one go."

The Representative has the grace to look embarassed at Tatyannah. "I...can only tell you a little, I fear. His estate is outside of town. He has two dozen guards, but many of them should be gone with him and his apprentices. They will be here at the Arcanist's Guild for the next day. His personal rooms are probably on the fourth floor of his tower, but we have no agents who have been there. This was, ah, a little sudden." One hand reaches up, flutters as if she'd like to rub the back of her neck or make some other nervous damage, then drops back. Smile. Smile. Smiiiiile.

"So. If I understand you correctly. You wish us to enter someone's private residence, without warrant or charge levied against him, to tamper with the items of his employ, without explaining the why or how."

She shoves off from the wall, crossing her arms. "I wish your charge, signed in writing, and endorsed by the guild. There shan't be any bloodshed with that. We can sneak in, and out, but if we are caught, I would think a /paladin of Daeus/ would bring the rest of the legitimacy to the task."

GAME: Laoise rolls sense motive: (5)+0: 5 <OOC> Gwendolyn says, "Thaaat was me"

The Representative smiles at Gwendolyn. "I have already been endorsed by the Guild. You may check with them as to the legitimacy of my origins. But I fear I cannot commit this task to writing, nor offer any official legitimacy whatsoever. I am sorry," and she does sound it, "and if this is too much for you to bear, you are free to go." Damned elves. She seems both perfectly sincere, and perfectly unmoved by Gwendolyn's unhappiness.

Schneider ehs at Tatyannah, "C'mon, this is what makes it interesting. If it were easy, /anyone/ could do it." He frowns at Gwendolyn, and demands, "Where's the fun in that. I'll write up some charges if you want. Malicious doughnuts. Foully fraking his contablulator without a permit. Fish sandwiches." He winces. "Anyone who does fish sandwiches has to be bad." He looks over at the representive and says, "Legit? Then why can't you commit? It's a dodge, of course," he says, answering his own question, if not particularly satisfactorily.

Laoise shrugs again, and brushes cookie crumbs off her skirt. "Eh. I've done worse, and for less forthright employers." That's... not a ringing endorsement, Laoise. "Dodgier things were done during the Sendor war, and I think we won that one."

"So then you will not object to revealing your endorsement by the guild, to me? Because I do not think you understand your position." Gwendolyn smiles, broadly. "Because if you do not prove your legitimacy, you will have proven your intention to bend, or, break the laws of Alexandria. To which I will be, as my sworn oaths of duty to Daeus, be reporting this /crime/ to the city watch. And then I will stand watch inside the residence until such a time as the master returns, and /availing/ him of the situation." She lets her hands fall to her side. "This, however... Won't be a problem, right?"

Tatyannah does /not/ quite whimper, but to say she looks dismayed, wouldn't be incorrect. She notes to Schneider, "Look, when it comes to thieving, I take that quite seriously. And no, even if were easy, not everyone could do it. That'd be like me saying, if magic were easy, everyone could do it." She snaps lightly. "And not everyone can. Also, I'm rather fond of living. Having died once and been resurrected? I cannot recommend it. It /hurts/."

The Representative inclines her head, just once. "And I will be arrested, and confess to having planned to steal from the wizard for my own selfish greed. I will be incarcerated, likely for quite a while, and another person will attempt to fulfil my duty. With the wizard warned, they will likely die, and the information will be lost, and Alexandria will be the worst for it. Innocent people will die. The city may fall, or perhaps only be at a disadvantage when we can least afford to be." Her voice is perfectly calm, and she's still smiling. "But if that is the path your conscience leads you on, then I shall wait here for the Watch." She folds her hands over one another on her lap and looks to the others. "I suggest you be gone by the time they arrive."

Schneider nods to Laoise about having done worse things. To Tatyannah, he says, "Magic isn't easy, though. If a thing is easy, anyone can do it, if they can't do it, it must not be easy." He winces about having died and come back, and agrees, "We don't want that, definitely." He's totally lost as Gwen challenges the representative, but ... this could be interesting, too. "Ah, well, there'll be a fight either way, so I'm good with that." He doesn't go, it's getting interesting now. He waits to see how this plays out.

Tatyannah gives a short nod to Schneider, but then falls quiet to watch the battle of wills between the paladin and their temporary employer.

Laoise hops off the chair, brushes her skirt off with her hands... and tilts her head to the side, glancing from Gwendolyn to the representative. She seems quite prepared to take the latter's advice and hoof it outta there, but remains for, at least, curiosity's sake. Gwendolyn pauses. And then, slowly, sighs. "Before we set out for the Arcanist's residence, you will surrender yourself at the temple of Daeus. Then, we shall deliver the information to the guild - not to yourself. /Proper legal channels/ will be followed. But if this will be for the greater good - AND prevent loss of life, as you are so adamant to accomplish this goal, then so be it. At the first sign of foul play, however, there will be prices to be paid.

"That's fine," The Representative says without hesitation. "Provided that /why/ I am surrendering myself is not mentioned. But I am happy to go and sit there for a while, if will make you feel better. And giving the device to the Guild poses no problem at all, since you were recruited through there and would be paid through there at any rate."

Schneider hrms about the fellow turning himself in, but points out not-so-helpfully, "We're not gonna get anything done just arresting this guy." Though a more reasonable person might find that acceptable. "Lets do this thing," he urges. "And if there's any evidence, than we can fight the bad guy, or someone, and if not, we can fight this guy, right?" Schneider-logic. There'll be a fight, regardless. "Anyhow, there's no harm done. We're not taking his stuff, or roughing him up." He looks surprised as the representative agrees, though. "Ah, that was easy."

The Representative stands. "I will leave immediately. I trust that there are no more concerns to be addressed." It's not a question. The paladin, it seems, has worn out whatever patience exists behind the elven woman's smiles.

Gwendolyn sighs, rubbing her face slightly. "Then that is acceptable. Let us be done with this task." She grumbles, her own good mood rather soured, though a weak grin still tugs at her face, almost more out of habit then anything.

Laoise breaks into a big, bright, 400-watt smile. "I do so love it when people can come to an agreement! Let's go break into a wizard's house and rummage through his stuff FOR JUSTICE."

The Representative then takes herself to the Temple just as promised, pausing along the way only long enough to buy a series of broadsheets and a cup of hot cider with which to pass the time as she waits. Meanwhile...

The Sagast Estate is about an hour outside of the city and definitely built with an eye to impress, and to make it impossible to ignore that a wizard lives here. It's dominated by a large, central tower of pale stone. Magelights in soft blues and cold whites adorn the sides, densely at the bottom, becoming more scarce as the tower rises. It's probably about four to five stories high, and is topped with a frosted glass cap which might be a conservatory or other room. Less lofty buildings cluster around the bottom. A squat, single-story barracks for Sagast's personal guard is to the left, while the right has a small stable and servant's quarters. The grounds are well-tended, with sculpted hedges, flowering plants, and small decorative guard towers by the two gates. Each of the two gates (one on the road leading to Alexandria, and the other on a small, disused track leading into the forests) has two guards. The wall around the estate is only about chest-high on the average human, topped with short spikes that are clearly meant more for ornamentation than keeping anyone out. A couple of patrolling guards can be seen winding their way through the gardens, looking bored but professional. Lights from the narrow windows of the tower suggest that - although the master of the house is away - there remain at least a few people inside to make the mission 'interesting'. There are three ground level entrances to the estate: the front doors are beautifully carved oak with a bas-relief of the White Eagle crest, and seem unguarded, but closed. The rear of the house has a far more modest single door of dark wood, which probably leads to a kitchen area. Finally, there seems to be a covered walkway from the stables to the main tower that could possibly be accessed from inside the stables themselves - the stable doors are open, but there seem to be grooms working around (and possibly inside) the building.

Tatyannah eyes Laoise for a moment but waits until the Representative leaves, before she states firmly, "Please tell me you are going to listen to my suggestions, some of which will be actual orders when it comes to the sneaking and thieving part of this." She stands up for her full height, which is - still short against Schneider, but crosses her arms over her chest. That means this is SRS BZNS. "First, everyone dresses in dark blue. EVERYONE." She looks to Laoise, then Schneider, "And I do mean, you cover your skin up. No running around in a bloody loin cloth. Dark blue." She is opting for the night sneaking. Then "Laoise, if we climb, you ride on my or his," Schneider's, "back." Eyeing Gwendolyn, "You, I don't know, but I know paladins and you need armor that doesn't clank."

Schneider ehs to Tatyannah, and wonders, "Why don't we just tell them we're from the magic globe inspection team, come to check out their magic globes. We'll get the head butler or whatever to take us to them, which'll save a bit of effort on our part, tap it with the wand, tell them that when it changes color, it means the inspection is fine, and then we'll head off. I'll write up a certificate and make it look official and everything, if you like?" The odds of Schneider being able to actually even write is .... slim.

<OOC> Solace says, "Tat, roll Stealth, DC 10? If you get it, I'll let your advice count as Aid Another for everyone who follows it and gives them a +2 on Stealth checks. So...don't roll a 1, probably. :D"

Laoise wrinkles her nose. "Dark blue? But that clashes horribly with my--" Pause. Sudden cheery smile. "Fine. You're the expert." The Lucht woman has the grace not to look offended at the suggestion she hang on to someone else's back for a climb - her folk may be generally prickly when it comes to comments about size, but one's got to be practical. "I've got some tricks that can help with distractions and diversions, if that helps." She's being useful!

GAME: Tatyannah rolls stealth: (8)+12: 20

Gwendolyn nods. "I will be acquiring some darker clothes and leaving my armor and shield behind. It shan't be needed.

The paladin nods, to the notes about dark blues. "As you say. It is... your field of expertise?"

<OOC> Solace points. "Follow the rogue's sneaky-advice, get a +2 on stealth." :D

Schneider relents on the clothing thing. Ironically, he looks very dashing all in dark blue, his hair held back by an embroidered headband, loose, flowing pants and a blousy shirt that shows off his shoulders to good advantage. A bit of soot on his cheeks makes him look quite roguish, though he needs absolutely no help in looking disreputable.

"Because they're not /idiots/. Just do what I freakin' say and put on some /damn/ clothes." Tatyannah is trying hard to keep her temper. She gives the Lucht a nod and says, "Thank you." Then to Gwendolyn, "It is." She does not elucidate, particularly having just seen Gwen in action. She wants no lectures or to be arrested any time soon. "Dark blue looks more like night. Black stands out in the dark, actually." So, she's done a lot of - experimentation on the subject, apparently.

Laoise turns up in a really rather fetching ensemble that, despite her penchant for frilly, flouncy dresses, actually looks kind of practical. She's wearing -pants-, for one, and unheeled, soft leather boots, and a discreet coat that'd look inconspicuous pretty much anywhere. Her hair's flowing free, though; it defies attempts at being tied back, actually -flickering- weirdly at times if such is attempted. Damned magic-blooded types.

When Gwendolyn turns up, she is wearing a simple long-sleeved blue shirt, black gloves, a dark green hood, long trousers, and soft boots. It's a motley of dark greens and dark blues, which the firey redheaded paladin gives a simple shrug. "Borrowing from the Temple of Althea on short notice. Please forgive me." She offers quietly, the blade she bore wrapped in cloth over the top and not bearing any shiny bits of metal. "I am not... apt at skullduggery and less then legitimate activities."

Tatyannah nods at Gwendolyn, "I had gathered, yes." Still, she eyes the outfit with a 'good enough'. Turning her attention on the estate, and the things she can espy from their position. "If we can get to the stables, we can use that to get to the tower." She muses, "The guards seem competent, but too few." She asides to Laoise, "We might need to use your tricks to distract people from their posts." Gesturing towards the back of the estate, "It's easier to go through there, than through the front, but it would require going through the house." Scratching at her cheek, "I think we should try the stables first."

The patrolling guards seem to spend more time out in the gardens than near the stables, which is promising. One groom is wandering in and out of the open stable door with a pail of water, going to fill it up at the local well. Schneider will follow along, lurking as much as he's able to lurk. Though it's unfortunate to have to hide when you look this cool. Well, he'll just have to accept that his coolness will ooze out and affect people even when they can't see him. Watching the stables, he looks to Tatyannah, waiting to see what comes next.

Laoise makes furtive gestures with her hands. It's clear to anyone who knows Handspeech that she -doesn't- know Handspeech. Finally she hisses, "Should we just try and run past when the stable boy is out?"

Tatyannah glances sidelong at Laoise and her hand motions, a touch dubiously. She gives a nod, "We're not going to run, so much as sneak, but yes, that is the plan."

<OOC> Solace notes that this will involve two checks - an Athletics check to get over the outer roll (or Climbing, if that's better for you), and then a sneak check to get in without being scene (at +2). GAME: Tatyannah rolls climb: (7)+11: 18 GAME: Tatyannah rolls stealth: (6)+12: 18 GAME: Schneider takes ten on climb: (10)+8: 18 GAME: Laoise rolls stealth+2: (6)+7+2: 15 GAME: Schneider rolls stealth+2: (4)+3+2: 9 GAME: Gwendolyn rolls 1d20+2: (5)+2: 7 <OOC> Gwendolyn the worst. <OOC> Gwendolyn says, "OH WAIT climb." <OOC> Gwendolyn says, "Two more? =D" GAME: Solace rolls 1d20+4: (14)+4: 18 GAME: Solace rolls 1d20+2: (20)+2: 22

Tatyannah leaps over the fence with ease and she sneaks over to the fence with ease, before she looks back at the rest of them. Part of the problem, she's used to doing these things alone. Thieving, not really a group amateur project. Schneider is at an advantage in going over walls, being seven feet tall and fairly athletic. He puts his hands on the top, pulls himself across and drops to the shrubbery inside the wall without too much difficulty. Landing in the shrubbery wasn't part of the plan, but it just takes a bit to pull himself free, and he looks back to see if the others have made it.

Laoise is small and light. It's not hard hauling her over the wall. She also seems to have a kind of natural knack for being quiet and unnoticed that goes beyond simply, well, being small and light. That said, though, she's looking like she's having the time of her life emulating a stage actor being stage sneaky, tiptoeing exaggeratedly and sidling up to lurk behind fenceposts or beside bushes. Someone really ought to remind her that this is -serious-.

The fence gives Gwendolyn some trouble, as she climbs over it with some difficulty, getting her cloak snagged on the wall before finally managing herself over, looking quite flustered. "This... this is not my forte!" She breathes quietly, trying not to make a huge ass of herself. That paladin stick up her ass is not helping her on a sneaking mission. No sir.

The groom reaches the well, and is drawing the water when there's the sound of someone landing in shrubbery. He turns and looks around, frowning through the gloom in the direction of the group. "Heya," he calls out, tentatively, into the shadows, "Someone there?" Unfortunately, the second groom coming /out/ of the stables is in a position to get a much better look in that direction, and from the way her eyes widen, she sees /everyone/. There may be a bare moment to act before she shouts to bring the guards. The hands of the blonde Lucht woman flash in sudden motions. Abruptly, a terribly gruff male voice appears -right behind- the two grooms: "What the HELL are you two doing, dawdling about! GET BACK TO WORK!"

<OOC> Tatyannah will throw her bolas at groom #2. GAME: Tatyannah rolls 1d20 + 8: (2)+8: 10 <OOC> Schneider says, "It the near one within partial-charge distance? Barbarian move, so 40'." <OOC> Solace says, "Sure, you could charge." <OOC> Schneider is hoping for a subdual hit/KO. GAME: Schneider rolls 1d20+6: (4)+6: 10

Tatyannah is a tiny bit regretful, that even while Laoise is doing her thing, she's up and swinging around her bolas and launching them towards the groom who has seen everything, taking her down. She scoots towards her, almost immediately afterward.

Schneider leaps over the half-destroyed bushes to the groom by the well. Luckily, he's not wearing the loincloth, though it doesn't help her much. He clears the space in a flash, and with one mighty fist, blam, punches the groom out.

The grooms go down with the /whoosh/ of air being forced out of their lungs, the female groom by the stable door because she topples over onto the ground, and the male groom by the well because BARBARIAN. Down he goes, out like a light. The female groom is still awake, her eyes wide and fearful as Tatyannah approaches. She twists, trying to look behind her, clearly expecting that voice to come and save her from the invading horde. When it doesn't, she looks bewildered and fearful, and tries to squirm away and regain her breath. "Shhh," Tatyannah puts her finger over her mouth. She crouches down by the groom. She puts a rag in her mouth, and then binds her hands, before recovering her bolas, "Shh," she repeats, "I am not going to hurt you. I'm going to put you somewhere safe, but first I need to know if there's anything you can tell me about your master and that tower." No threats, not with the paladin along. "I'll make this as painless as possible."

You paged (Gwendolyn, Laoise, Schneider) with 'Would you three give me Perception rolls, please?' GAME: Gwendolyn rolls perception: (20)+2: 22 GAME: Laoise rolls perception: (12)+2: 14 GAME: Schneider rolls perception: (6)+6: 12

You paged Gwendolyn with 'Hey! You notice that one of the guards is winding his way back towards the stables and where y'all are. He doesn't /seem/ to have noticed anything yet, but...'

Laoise tries to remain in shadow. No sense in exposing her face to the groom more than the glimpse she's already seen; it's all about minimising risk, really. Not at all to do with letting Tatyannah be the only one easily identifiable, no no.

Standing like a deer in headlights, Gwendolyn sort of stares dumbly at the two grooms, one asking what she's doing, and another nearby. She sort of stammers, looking between the two, and then looking around, sort of hopelessly clenching and unclenching her hands. "I... err... yes... uh..." She starts, INCAPABLE OF LYING. She was totally the best to come on this mission. Totally. But then, she raises her finger. "Hey! Psst! Hey! There's... someone! A guard, coming!" She is very distraught. "What do we do?"

The groom blinks, wide-eyed up at rogue. She says something, muffled by the gag, but it's probably along the 'please don't kill me I'll do anything you want' lines. She is not paid enough for this.

Schneider dusts off his knuckles and picks up the groom by his belt, hauling him back to where we've assembled by the wall. He gives a 'Shhhhh' gesture to the woman and as friendly an expression as he can manage. "Don't worry," he says. "We're not here to hurt anyone, or take anything. Just sneaking in, sneaking out." He offers a big, if somewhat cheesy, smile, then acks at a guard coming. "Into the stable, with everyone?"

Tatyannah hisses, "Get the other groom, get over here and we go inside!" She gives the girl a gentle smile, "Shhhh. I promise." She, too, lifts her prisoner and goes /inside/ the stable. To Gwendolyn, "Trust me. Just - trust me, and don't lie. It's better that you don't even try." Once she settles the girl back down, she peers, "Now, I am going to take off the gag, and no yelling, promise? Everyone wants to get out of here well, ok?"

Laoise follows inside the stable. Quietly. And remains near the wall, behind some bales of hay.

Schneider carries his fellow into the stable, running with a crouch for what little good that does. In the stable, there should be lots of useful things for tying up grooms who are too alert.

The stable is warm, lit with magelights, and smells of hay and horse...unsurprisingly. There are eight stalls, only three of which are in use at the moment, although the others look like they're usually inhabited. Three horses raise their heads as the adventurers enter, and whicker a bit uneasily. The female groom nods very emphatically at Tatyannah.

"Good, good," soothes Tatyannah. She brings out a platinum piece, showing it to the prisoner, "If you're honest, I will give this to you." See, she's being good. She's going to /pay/ her prisoner. She sets it down so the girl can see it and reaches out for the gag and undoes it. "Hello. What's your name, little one?"

Gwendolyn follows after the rest, keeping her head down and her mouth shut. She hoped that the clothes she was wearing would hide the fact that she was a huge, well-built woman who screamed 'Front Line Fighter' from her build and a buttstick a mile long. But... But... THE SAFETY OF ALEXANDRIA!

She had to /try/. If someone was willing to go through her litanies of rules for the greater good, then /she/ had to follow through as well.

The groom looks around as the gag is removed. She gawks openly at the huge Schneider, and the deeply uncomfortable-looking huge woman, then at the Lucht and finally back at Tatyannah. "Are y'here to beat someone up?" she asks, her country accent thick. It's clearly all she can see happening at this point. "An I'm Mia." A moment of canniness, or what she thinks is canny, "Who're you?"

"We're the people you're going to forget you ever saw," says Laoise, voice thick, clearly doing -something- to distort it and make it sound unfamiliar. She's still lurking in the shadows and undoubtedly failing to look very menacing, what with all the giant people around. "You're a clever girl, aren't you, Mia? Clever enough to understand that we're going to be asking the questions."

"It's not important, Mia," Tatyannah says, before looking at Gwendolyn, "You say nothing." Then back to Mia, "No tricks, Mia, or I won't give you the platinum. Tell us about the tower and any protections he has on there and I will give you this and another."

<OOC> Laoise will, meanwhile, check if there's any magic around. Other than the magelights, that is.

Schneider ties up the other fellow, making sure he's okay before gagging him up. He'll set him up so he can see the other woman. And that we're not mistreating her, and just chatting quietly. Hopefully that will reassure him. Then again, Schneider has a fist like a ... like a giant's fist, and it hits /hard/. This guy may be snoozing for a bit. "Haha," he whispers, "we can't say who we are, that'd spoil the game. We're just here for a quick visit, and we'll be off again. Nothing taken, no one hurt." He looks at the guy he punched, who's going to be sporting a black eye. "No one hurt much, anyhow."

Gwendolyn nods vigorously at Tatyannah over the 'don't say things', well aware that she could only, say, lie to a demon or other evil entity, and only to protect the greater good. So keeping her trap shut was the BEST plan for this.

Mia's eyes flicker to the platinum piece. It is so shiny. And to the invaders. With the exception of Laoise, they are so big. She swallows, hard. "Um. There nothin' on the first two floors, cause them's where the guests stay. Except servants, but they'll probably most be abed, by now," she says, the words tumbling together in her haste. "Caitlyn and Joshua are guardin' the third floor until midnight, and then Ollie and Row'll take over for them. The third floor's off limits. I never go up there, or to the fourth - them's His Lordship's private chambers. Although Lily tol' me he's got a magic thing guarding one of the doors. And some of them is trapped with stuff. Like, not to kill, but it makes you weak, puts you to sleep, stuff like that. Couple years ago, a new boy tried to sneak up there and steal something, and when His Lordship tossed him outside the gate, he was a funny color and all groanin' and stuff."

You paged Laoise with 'Magic! There's one tack chest over in the corner that seems to have a magic aura about it. It's got the White Eagle sigil on it, and is locked.'

Laoise seems suddenly distracted; eyes gleaming oddly in the semi-dark of the stable, she turns towards a corner, frowning. "That chest," she says ominously, "has magic on it. Mia, what's in that chest?" It's a tack chest, looking much like any other in any number of stables around the city, but it has the sigil of the wizard on it, and, well. Like the diminutive blonde says, magic. "Oh, that's very good, thank you, Mia." Tatyannah tucks the platinum piece in Mia's clothes, "Just for that, I am going to give you another. Now. I'm going to put the gag back on, and we're going to put you behind some hay, with your friend. You need to stay there til morning, or until you're found. Don't try to escape. Do you understand?" She pauses when Laoise asks her question. Schneider hrms thoughtfully as the girl spills the beans on how things are laid out. He'll stash his groom in one of the unused stalls, with the hay and whatnot to keep him from casual view. "This infiltration thing is interesting," he remarks quietly, glancing curiously over at what Laoise has found. "What's that?"

Mia's eyes flick from the platinum's passage, to Tatyannah, to Laoise, then to the chest. "'s His Lordship's tack. For when he rides out all special. He don't trust us to look after it. It's impossible to open, it is," she says, with the firm certainty of someone who has tried, when the shift got boring."

<OOC> Solace says, "Also! Everyone give me Perception checks, if you would." GAME: Gwendolyn rolls perception: (3)+2: 5 GAME: Laoise rolls perception: (11)+2: 13 <OOC> Gwendolyn too busy contemplating morality. GAME: Schneider rolls perception: (6)+6: 12 <OOC> Laoise too busy contemplating magic shinies. GAME: Tatyannah rolls perception: (5)+14: 19 You paged Tatyannah with 'Faintly, you can hear the sound of footsteps on gravel, approaching from the gardens, towards the stables.' "Hide!" Tatyannah hisses! She grabs Mia, putting a hand over her mouth and ducking behind something, anything. <OOC> Solace says, "Stealth checks! Still at +2." GAME: Tatyannah rolls stealth: (20)+12: 32 <OOC> Solace says, "If you're hiding. If you're not, then, well. :D" GAME: Schneider rolls stealth+2: (18)+3+2: 23

At Tatyannah's warning, Schneider hustles into the stall he was dragging his victim into, and huddles in a corner. Nothing to see here, just a shadow inside the stall.

GAME: Laoise rolls stealth+2: (4)+7+2: 13 <OOC> Laoise sigh. :( <OOC> Solace patpat. GAME: Gwendolyn rolls stealth: (10)+1: 11 <OOC> Gwendolyn says, "YEAH" <OOC> Gwendolyn says, "Oh, +2 more."

Laoise ducks back in behind the hay bale she'd been standing near, though she's unlucky and happens to bump into a piece of harness hanging over a beam, causing it to jangle softly.

GAME: Solace rolls 1d20+2: (16)+2: 18

Gwendolyn seems to look around, her ability to stealth distinctly limited by her size, her skill set, and NEVER BEING CALLED TO HIDE SUDDENLY IN HER LIFE. Life in Ecclesia was pretty religious and paladin-y even as a kid.

She ducks behind a stall, and huddles down, hoping the HUGE PALADIN WOMAN won't draw attention.

Soon, everyone can hear what drew Tatyannah's attention, the sound of footsteps. The guard appears, pausing at the entrance, and peering inside. "Mia? Eddard? Is that you?" He steps inside, turning towards the sound of jangling tack. "Mia?"

Thinking fast, Laoise moves her hands quickly, whispering the words of an incantation... and then there's the sound of a girl's voice, giggling, just outside the stable. It's pretty unmistakeably Mia's. Eerie.

GAME: Laoise rolls bluff+2: (7)+16+2: 25 GAME: Solace rolls 1d20+3: (7)+3: 10

The guard, frowning, takes another step into the stable...then freezes as the sound of feminine giggling is heard. He laughs, turns, and starts to look for the voice, leaving the stable. "Damnit, girl. Just because the master's gone doesn't mean you gotta scare the whole lot of us..." His voice is fading as he moves away to look for the 'hiding' Mia.

Laoise releases a held breath in a puff of air. "I think we'd better move, -now-," she hisses. "And find somewhere to hide these two that isn't the stable, or when he returns he'll find 'em and, yeah."

Schneider breathes a sigh of relief as Laoise distracts the guard. When it's safe to come out, he rises and looks around. "This is going to get hairy really soon," he says. "Because they're going to come looking for these two, eventually. And they're going to find them unless we do a really good job of hiding them." He chuckles as Laoise comes to the same conclusion, and he wonders, "Over the fence?"

"You got distracted by the chest," Tatyannah says severely. Still, she gags Mia again, there's the second platinum piece. "Now, Mia, remember what I said, you and your friend stay where you are until you're found or until morning." She climbs up to the hayloft, "Someone pass them up to me."

Schneider will do the passing up, it's not too difficult for him.

Mia doesn't argue, or struggle, as she's passed up into the hayloft. The other groom, well, it’s not really an option for him.

Tatyannah arranges the couple to be hidden behind a false wall of hay bales and under a hay pile. Then she jumps down, saying, "Let's go," with some irritation. She does say to Laoise, "Nice job on the distraction."

Laoise comes out again, looking a little wide-eyed. "I thought this'd be fun... my nerves are all jangling now." She looks determined still, though. "Let's keep moving, yeah? No telling how long that guy will think Mia's playing hide and seek."

Schneider nods about going, and follows Tatyannah, since she seems to be the expert in these things. For his own part, he's amused and enjoying the thrill. "Anyhow, this place is full of hay. One little fire, and it'll go up beautifully."

Tatyannah thins her lips as she listens to Laoise, but says to Schneider, "I am /not/ becoming an animal killer or am I killing Mia and that other one. I /promised/ they'd be safe and you do /not/ want to see me get ugly about that sort of thing." She glances to the paladin, "And I am sure she would have something to say about it. So. Let's go. No fire."

"Long enough for us to be far away, I hope." Gwendolyn finally mutters, under her breath, as she smoothly transitions over the fence she had ducked behind, falling in with the rest, before shooting Schneider a dirty look. "First, no. The stablehands would be burned. Second, no, arson is a crime. Third, no, that would call the watch here. Fourth, no! Just... no." She protest, quite strongly, her trademark grin /nowhere to be found/.

At the far end of the stable, there's a door that indeed leads to that covered walkway. It's a lovely, stone-cobbled path lit with magelights so that the nobility doesn't have to get their feet wet. There's another, closed, door at the end of it. Presumably, it opens to some part of the tower.

GAME: Tatyannah rolls perception: (10)+14: 24 Tatyannah gets to the door and looks it over for traps. JUST IN CASE. You can't be too careful.

<OOC> Laoise says, "Are any guard patrol routes involving that walkway?" <OOC> Solace says, "Nope. The walkway is actually walled, so they can't see inside. As long as none of them come /in/, you should be fine."

You paged Tatyannah with 'No traps that you can see!'

Schneider frowns as everyone takes umbrage at his ideas and walks along Hey, Laoise didn't protest the burning! Then again, she didn't say anything to support it either. The tiny blonde waits as Tatyannah does her thing, having wised up to the fact that the big woman actually knows a thing or two about these kinds of missions.

From afar, Laoise will sweep the areas they're moving through at regular intervals with Detect Magic. 'Cos it pays to be paranoid. :(

You paged Laoise with 'You're, of course, pinging off the charts with auras because of the mage lights /everywhere/, but I shall also alert you when you see other auras!'

Laoise pages: Great. Fantastic for keeping one's focus and concentration when EVERYTHING IS RADIATING MAGIC. @.@

Tatyannah determines there is no trap, and so begins to open the door, slowly, standing back from it, waiting to see if anyone responds to an opening door. If there is no immediate response, she will stick her head through and do a quick look.

GAME: Tatyannah rolls perception: (8)+14: 22 <OOC> Tatyannah says, "For the look around the corner."

You paged Tatyannah with 'The door opens out into an interior coat room. Large, roomy, and filled with coats, boots, etc. Clearly so that nobility can put on and take off their outdoor clothing without messing up any of the true interior rooms. There's another door at the other end of the room.'

You paged Tatyannah with 'You do not see any watchers or guards, and you can't hear anything moving or approaching on the other side of the other door.

Tatyannah glances back to the rest of her group, "Large coat room. Door at the other end of the room. No one is coming. Go now." She gestures at them to go in swiftly.

Schneider doesn't hesitate, goes in, checks out coats. "Nice. This one's kinda ugly. But I like this one. I wonder where I can get this in my size?" Sadly, none of these will fit him. "It'd be a better disguise for inside," he considers aloud.

The door does indeed lead into an interior coat room. Large, roomy, and filled with coats, boots, etc. Clearly so that nobility can put on and take off their outdoor clothing without messing up any of the true interior rooms. There's another door at the other end of the room, closed, but not locked. /It/ leads out into a central landing of the first floor.

The foyer and front rooms of the first floor of the tower are clearly meant to be the 'public face' of Sargast, and are designed for entertaining and to impress. The floor is polished stone, with inlaid tiles in arcane, geometric patterns down the hall to the central staircase. The central stair is all wrought iron and carved wood, large and pretty much designed for someone in wizard robes to look impressive while descending. There doesn't seem to be anyone around and about right now, with the master out.

You paged Laoise with 'You get another aura from one of the coats. Faint, but there!'

Laoise pauses along the way through the coatroom, gesturing at the others for a halt. "Magic. Coat," she explains, and then reaches up to rummage through the pockets of said coat. Hey, you never know, right? Could be an inconspicuous place to hide something in "plain sight". "Shut. Up. Keep all talking to a minimum," Tatyannah stares at Schneider. "Unexpected noises brings uninvited guests which leads to bloodshed and/or jail time, so shut your damn mouth. Quiet and sneaking, communicating /only/ when important." She is growing more and more cranky as the minutes pass. Still she does pause enough for Laoise to check the coat.

You paged Laoise with 'There's a vial of something in one of the interior pockets! Some sort of liquid, a dark emerald green.'

Gwendolyn needs basically no further urging, heading inside with some spring in her step, to get to the part where HUGE DUMB LUNKHEADED PALADIN WOMAN wouldn't be a walking liability.

She is about to add something to the conversation when Tatyannah calls for total operational silence unless needed. Well, her own personal qualms aren't exactly critical, so she shuts her gob right quick.

Laoise withdraws... a vial. Dark green fluid in it. "Mnope, not what we're looking for," murmurs the Lucht woman... and puts the vial right back into the jacket. Well, they're not there to loot, right? Just to do a job.

Schneider may seem to not be taking this one hundred percent seriously. He just gives Tatyannah an amused look as she berates him, but he shuts up for now. Smiling, smirking really, he moves on when told to.

Tatyannah gives Laoise a nod, and then she heads for the next room, with the stairs and she starts to lead the group up them, going first, to keep an ear and eye out for anything unexpected.

The second floor is almost as lavish as the first. Paintings by notable Alexandria artists - each one worth a tidy penny to a collector - cover the stone walls, and several doors radiate outward from the circular landing. More magelights provide the lighting - Sagast has clearly spared no expense. Three doors are unlocked and half opened: two lead to guest bedroom suites, and one to a guest bath with a large, marble tub that seems to have some manner of artifice that could circulate heated water as desired. Two are closed. The spiraling staircase continues up to the third floor.

<OOC> Solace says, "Also, everyone can give me Perception checks when you get up to the second floor. :D" GAME: Schneider rolls perception: (12)+6: 18 GAME: Tatyannah rolls perception: (8)+14: 22 GAME: Laoise rolls Perception: (7)+2: 9

You paged (Schneider, Tatyannah) with 'You can hear the murmurs of at least two people having a conversation near the stairs on the third floor. They seem to be engaged in a game of dice - you can hear the rattle of dice on the polished stone floor, and the sound of wagers being made. They might not be paying too much attention to the stairs, but they /are/ very close.'

Tatyannah peeks over the edge, then gestures back down the stairs, so they can talk without being overheard, hopefully. Once she judges it safe. "They're close to the stairs, and it's hours still til their relief. To Solace and Gwendolyn, "You should probably rush them and hit them, to keep them quiet. Then we can tie them up."

Schneider nods to Tatyannah, and draws his greatsword from the scabbard at his hip. While Laoise prepares to bait the guards down, he speaks a few words of great power in Jotun, commanding the spirits of fire to guide his aim and allow him to find his target unerringly.

GAME: Schneider casts True Strike.

Holding her hands up, ready for the quick, practised motions of what is fast becoming her most useful magic trick of the evening, the blonde Lucht woman waits for the signal. When it comes, Laoise gestures deftly and whispers arcane words... and then moves her lips, but the sound that comes is not from her direction, nor is it her voice: the downstairs guard, the one that poked his head into the stable, appears to be calling up to them, "Caitlyn, Joshua, come on down for a spell! Cook's got some mulled wine left over if you want some!"

<OOC> Solace says, "Bluff, if you would!"

Gwendolyn doesn't exactly have any words of power that will see her aim true. She does, however, have a sword. She uncovers the hilt of her bastard sword, taking it in her grip, and readying herself. "All of my powers that would help me drop the guard in one strike are far too... Bright." She admits, quietly, simply waiting with her weapon readied, turned such that she was swinging with the flat of the blade.

<OOC> Laoise says, "Here goes... <.<" GAME: Laoise rolls Bluff: (16)+16: 32 GAME: Solace rolls 1d20+3: (17)+3: 20 GAME: Solace rolls 1d20+3: (10)+3: 13

There's a pause in the guard's conversation. Faintly, a woman says, "What sweetened /him/ up?" Her compatriot, a man, answers, "Hell if I know. But some wine sounds good. And it's not like there's anyone up here. We'd hear long before they got to us," he says, his voice wheedling. The female guard sighs, then there's the sound of dice being gathered, and footsteps approaching. The female guard is in the lead going down the wide staircase, followed closely by the male. The two are chatting unconcernedly.

GAME: Schneider rolls 1d20+7+20-4: (18)+7+20+-4: 41 GAME: Schneider rolls 2d6+7: (6)+7: 13 GAME: Gwendolyn rolls 1d20+10-4: (8)+10+-4: 14 GAME: Gwendolyn rolls 1d10+6+6: (6)+6+6: 18

Schneider rushes up the stairs as the guards come down. He actually goes past the first guard, past the second, and turns on his heel. He sort of pirouettes, though he'd never admit it, and with his eyes closed, he reverses the grip on his greatsword and lunges, catching the guard at the base of his head, right in the back of his helmet with the pommel of his greatsword. The man falls forward faster than Schneider can catch him, but at least he's out of it.

Gwendolyn, for her part, is a bit hesitant. She is assaulting a completely legitimate pair of guards! WHILE ENGAGING IN TRESPASSING AND UNLAWFUL ENTRY! She will be in penance for /days/ over this, she just knows it. As the first guard comes down the stairs, she draws up, turns her blade carefully... And with all of her strength behind it (and some backup from the 'team leader', who thankfully was set up to run clean up, if she failed), swings her bastard sword more like a club, cracking the lead guard over the head with the flat of her blade. She whispers a soft. "I am really truly sorry!" As the guard crumples into a pile.

"Good job. We'll leave cash with them." Tatyannah explains as she begins to tie up the first person, then the next. She does, in fact, pay them both a platinum piece. She's more doing this to assuage Gwen's guilt than her own. "Let's pick them up and bring them with us and put them on the other side of the second floor door." She hefts the lighter one and begins to ascend the stairs, expecting everyone else to follow her.

Laoise follows along, hands behind her back and looking quite pleased with herself. Hey, she's managing this whole "distract guards, don't burn anything" quite well! At least she isn't humming.

The third floor is clearly not designed for general public consumption. Fewer paintings here, and the ones that are here are mostly of…Sagast, actually. As well as his deceased wife and a beautiful elven woman with a perpetually remote expression, no matter the setting of the painting. The floors are polished stone, but without direction. All five doors coming off this landing are closed more plain and closed. The spiral stair goes up no farther, although from outside, it definitely looked like there was another story above this one.

Schneider sheathes his sword. He has no intention of leaving anything with them, but won't stop Tatyannah. He picks up the larger guard by his belt and carries him like a piece of baggage to where Tatyannah plans on stashing them. "OK, now what?" he wonders as we get to the third floor.

Gwendolyn carefully hefts the larger one, catching him before he tumbles too far down the stairs, and handing the guard to Schnider, as he grabs him by the belt. She sheathes her sword, and re-covers the hilt with cloth, before hurrying on after the rest of the party. Tatyannah exhales in a murmur, "Now we see if I can figure this out." She mutters additionally, "I bet she never pranced in the woods," as she goes by the picture of the elven woman.

You paged Laoise with 'Yes! The middle door has a magical aura.' <OOC> Laoise says, "Or, well, anything else for that matter." GAME: Tatyannah rolls perception + 1: (11)+14+1: 26 GAME: Tatyannah rolls perception + 1: (8)+14+1: 23 GAME: Tatyannah rolls perception + 1: (10)+14+1: 25 GAME: Tatyannah rolls perception + 1: (2)+14+1: 17 GAME: Tatyannah rolls perception + 1: (20)+14+1: 35 <OOC> Tatyannah says, "That's for five doors and traps." <OOC> Schneider will put up a detect magic also, just for ... general principles. GAME: Schneider casts Detect Magic.

"Might want to be careful about that one," says Laoise, pointing at the middle door. "There's magic on it." She steps a little closer, carefully, squinting at it as if studying it, leaning this way and that. "Probably the magic trap thing Mia was talking about..."

You paged Tatyannah with 'Going from left to right: Locked, not trapped; locked, not trapped; locked and trapped; locked, not trapped; not locked, not trapped.'

You paged Schneider with 'The middle door has an aura of magic. Also, all the magelights.'

Laoise pages: What kind of magic is it? <.<

You paged Laoise with 'That's a really good question, because the trap description does not say. We will say...necromancy.'

Laoise pages: Ooh, nasty!

You paged Gwendolyn with 'Nothing stands out to you as Evil at the moment.'

Still carrying the unconscious guard in his free hand, Schneider calls out, "Spirits of magic, obey me! Grant me your sight!" He closes his eyes, then opens them, peering around the room critically. But he can add nothing to what Laoise says. "I assume that's the way up, then? That'd be the thing you guard most, yes? I have a spell that can open doors, but it won't unlock them.'"

As others call to the spirits, or just cast spells, Gwendolyn's eyes glow golden, as she hopefully looks around the room. She takes a good 20 to 30 seconds to scan the whole room, then checks up and down, and frowns. "If only it were that easy. There is not a whit of evil taint here. Nothing that could possibly justify our actions, were we to tread anything less then carefully."

"SHHHHHHHHHHH!" Tatyannah hisses at Schneider. "What the blue blazes did I tell you about /sound/?" She asides in agreement with Laoise, "The middle one, yes. The other four are locked but not trapped." Back to Schneider, "I'm sure that the spirits of magic can hear you if you whisper just as well. And drop the guy, put him next to Caitlyn over there."

Moving a little closer to the door, Laoise squints. "There's a necromantic aura on this door... if you want, I can try and let you know when you're in danger of triggering it," she murmurs, studying the traceries of magic overlain over the wood, raising her hands but not touching it, as though feeling the magic as it radiates out.

GAME: Laoise rolls Spellcraft: (20)+10: 30 <OOC> Tatyannah wolf-whistles. <OOC> Laoise says, "Oh -now- I roll high. :P" <OOC> Solace says, "Um. Yes. That would help! +4 to the Disable Device, since it was a nat20." GAME: Tatyannah rolls disable device + 4: (12)+14+4: 30

Schneider shrugs off Tatyannah, snarling, "We just hit two people over the head. Do you know how loud the sound of a steel sword hitting a steel helmet is? It's pretty damn loud, and echoes down stairways. Anyhow, I'm not speaking any louder than that." He falls silent, then, and tosses the fellow unkindly next to the other guard.

You paged Tatyannah with 'Inspecting the trap reveals a magical and mechanical trap. A complicated and delicate apparatus uses the movement of the hinges to trigger...what appears to be steel needles coming up from minute holes in the plain, stone floor. Obviously, this is the sort of thing that one would want a bypass switch for, and with that DC, you actually find it - a carefully concealled switch at the bottom of the door's handle. You can allow people to pass without disabling the trap entirely, if you like.'

Tatyannah ignores Schneider, and just gives Laoise a little nod, "I'd appreciate it." She heads over to the middle door to give it a look over again, then she exhales, before tracing the lines of the trap, before she indicates the door hand and a concealed button, "See this? This is our bypass." Then, "I'm going to open this up and you should be able to get by." She pauses to look at each of them, "Understand?" She wants no accidental triggering here.

Laoise seems to understand. After all, she's got a good look at the inner workings of the magic part of the spell, while Tatyannah is handling the actual physical connection between the magic and the mechanics. She dutifully awaits the go-ahead to pile in through the door! "Necromancy? Protecting a /door/? Gwendolyn wonders incredulously, approaching the door with an outstretched hand, before... well, thinking better of it.

"Erm... Sorry." She whispers, to Tatyannah.

"That's ok," Tatyannah murmurs, as she triggers the safe button and moves the door just so much that everyone can get through the door unharmed.

Beyond the door, there is a narrower set of stairs upward. It opens up into a large, ovalish room. This, clearly, is the wizard's private chambers: thick, Veyshanti rugs protect feet from the chill of the stone floor, there are bookcases and elaborate hangings everywhere. One end of the room has a large bed, a wardrobe, a chest at the foot of the bed, and a vanity with assorted hygenic products on it. The other side has a small dining table, a sideboard, an impressive view of the estate, and a vase of fresh flowers. To either side of the room, there are two doors, both closed. The door on the left has something carved into the upper half of the door. The door on the right is unmarked. Schneider, having dumped off the guard, is now watching the magic auras as Tatyannah fiddles with the locks and traps. "I can speak to the spirits of the door," he offers up, "and they will open it for us. Well, if it's not locked." But it seems that's not needed. When we're hustled through, he heads on with the others, and takes a look around, still relying on the spirits to let him see the auras of magic around him.

GAME: Tatyannah rolls perception + 1: (18)+14+1: 33 GAME: Tatyannah rolls perception + 1: (9)+14+1: 24

<OOC> Tatyannah says, "Left and right doors.""

You paged (Schneider, Laoise) with 'So much magic. The chest is magic. The Something carved into the door on the left is magic. There are very minor enchantments on several of the cosmetics.'

<OOC> Laoise will have Detect Magic still up and scanning actively. <OOC> Solace says, "You're inspecting the left door? :)" <OOC> Solace says, "Will save, if you would! Actually, everyone."

"Hold on, hold on," says Laoise, catching Tatyannah by the ar-- er, knee, as the much taller woman makes her way towards the doors. "There's mag--"

GAME: Tatyannah rolls will: (7)+3: 10 GAME: Laoise rolls will: (17)+5: 22 GAME: Gwendolyn rolls will: (9)+9: 18 GAME: Schneider rolls will: (12)+3: 15

As the rogue looks at the left-hand door, the carving in the wood glows a strange, eldritch green. It flashes bright, and a wave of beautiful, wonderful, lovely /sleep/ tumbles over people. Tatyannah collapses. Laoise is able to shake it off, as is Gwendolyn, but only barely. Schneider also succumbs to the deep, lovely, wonderful...sleep.

Tatyannah starts to examine the doors, as is customary. Then as the green glows, she begins to yawn, before passing out entirely, splaying out various limbs. She probably shouldn't have been so eager to explore without checking on the magic first. Schneider yawwwwwns, lays down on the floor and curls up, resting his head on his arm. "So tired," he mumbles, and then he's out like a light. Looking more than a little panicked now, Laoise frets. "Shitshitshitshit. Okay. Look for something... enchantment. Gotta be an enchantment effect to break the enchantment from the sleep. He's probably got something to help guests if they succumb... think, Laoise, think, what can it be?" She's babbling to herself as she gets up again and starts scanning the room , pacing up and down rows of baubles and trinkets, chests and toiletries.

<OOC> Solace says, "Perception check, for you and Gwendolyn too, if she's joining in the search." <OOC> Laoise says, "Joy. Perception."

GAME: Laoise rolls Perception: (4)+2: 6

<OOC> Laoise cries. ;_; <OOC> Solace says, "You've got Detect Magic active, so that will help. :D"

GAME: Gwendolyn rolls perception: (6)+2: 8

<OOC> Gwendolyn blind as a baaaat

GAME: Gwendolyn rolls knowledge/arcana: Trained Use Only: 0

<OOC> Gwendolyn says, "DAMN YOU GAME"

GAME: Gwendolyn rolls intelligence: (14)+1: 15

<OOC> Laoise says, "... would destroying the runes dispel the effect?" <OOC> Gwendolyn says, "Okay. I KNOW A LITTLE"

There is so much stuff. Just...so much. And with wizards...is it this book that maybe wakes them up? Or this odd-looking powder that Laoise finds on the dresser. It's certainly /enchanted/, and it smells terrible, so maybe some version of smelling salts? Maybe? Or is it this potion Gwendolyn finds under the bed? Or is something in the chest? The...locked chest?

GAME: Laoise rolls knowledge/arcana: (15)+10: 25

<OOC> Solace says, "It would not. It would, however, keep you guys from potentially getting caught by it again. You could also cover up the runes."

"Wouldn't it be... some other school? Not enchantment, that affects minds, perhaps... the other one? A-something? I am not a wizard! I am a soldier of Good and Law, not a cleric of Althea!" Gwendolyn complains, looking frantically over the area.

"Daeus damn this wizard. Traps within his house!"

"Okay... throw a blanket or something over the door with the runes, it's too tall for me to reach properly," says Laoise. "Don't look directly at the runes! But cover 'em up. We don't want to get caught by it again. Let me think..." She's picking things up, putting them back down, and looking -terribly- indecisive.

Tatyannah is still blissfully asleep. Possibly dreaming of gold and other such lovely things.

Going through everything outside the chest comes up with four enchanted items that /miiiight/ dispel the effect. Maybe. There's the foul-smelling powder. There's a potion of some sort. There's a crystal (sadly not a spherical one) of obsidian. There's a book of ostensible gibberish that radiates a faint enchantment.

Schneider snores blissfully, his long hair splayed out around his head like a large halo.

"Fine. Powder it is. Tryin' that first." Yes, she's just going to experiment blindly. SUCH SCIENTIFIC RIGOR. The Lucht woman moves over to Tatyannah, cradles the large woman's head in an arm... and holds the nasty-smelling powder under her nose. "Here goes nothing!"

<OOC> Solace says, "Bwuahaha. Tatyannah, Will save again at +2" GAME: Tatyannah rolls will + 2: (16)+3+2: 21

You paged Tatyannah with 'You awaken! You feel like you need to throw up.'

Tatyannah pulls herself up, "What the-" She scrambles on her hands and feet towards the nearest receptacle so she can have a few dry heaves, and that godawful noise of someone throwing up.

But Tatyannah's skin is /beautiful/. When she gets done. It's practically glowing.

"No, don't throw up in the--" Bleugh! "-- incense holder." Laoise just kind of... puts a hand over her face and sighs.

Laoise also trudges over to Schneider. "Whatever we're going to get paid for this, it will not be enough," grouses the small woman, lifts the Giantborn's head and holds that powder under his nose, much like with Tatyannah. What can you do.

<OOC> Solace says, "Schneider, Will at +2!"

GAME: Schneider rolls will+2: (14)+3+2: 19

You paged Schneider with 'You wake up! You need to throw up. And your skin is /gorgeous/.'

Tatyannah sits there against something, shoving over something that looks like a bowl to where Schneider is. "Well, that was awful." She exhales. "So."

Schneider wakes up, facefull of powder, and grimaces. Despite the gorgeous tone of his skin, he feels awful, and rolls away from Laoise to retch on the floor. Blargh!

"So," grates Laoise, "I guess pretending we were never here is out. Someone want to take a look at that chest? I suspect there's stuff in it. Magic stuff." Such precise terminology.

Tatyannah grunts and scoots over to the chest. Yes, please, let's move past this embarassment of things and work on the proper stuff. Like thieving.

<OOC> Solace says, "Perception roll?" GAME: Tatyannah rolls perception + 1: (5)+14+1: 20 <OOC> Schneider says, "Prestidigitation can clean, yes?"

Gwendolyn kind of... flails about at this, trying to make sure that everyone is okay and being UTTERLY USELESS AT EVERYTHING. "Oh! You're awake. Right! Cover the door!" She nods, looking around, before finding a large towel from a hamper, bin, or drawer, and stuffing it against the wall.

PALADIN USED HELP! ... It's not very effective.

You paged Tatyannah with 'It's locked, but it doesn't seem trapped.'

<OOC> Solace says, "I believe so, Schneider!" GAME: Schneider casts Prestidigitation.

The ward is covered! It will no longer infect the unwary with its blissful dreams.

GAME: Tatyannah rolls disable device: (18)+14: 32

You paged Gwendolyn with 'Also, from the way the door moves when you put the towel on, it doesn't /seem/ that the door is locked.'

Tatyannah is able to get in the chest with great ease, leaving the tiny Lucht to examine the magic stuff without doing it herself. She's learned her lesson. "Is the door safe to work on now?" Work, just focus on work.

The lock is fiendishly difficult on the chest, no doubt due to magical assistance. It takes a while, but eventually it yields to Tatyannah's work. Once it does, she can see several things in the chest: On one side, a pile of scrolls. Several winter blankets. And a large, velvet covered box, like for jewelry or something.

Schneider wrinkles his nose at the collective yuck, but he shakes his head about pretending we were never here being out. "Hah, the spirits are mine to command," he says, and he chants in Jotun. Soon, the air is vaguely active and the messes we've made are slowly ... going away. Magic. "I'm not leaving my yak on the ground for some wizard to use to trace me and send some kind of summoning after me," he declares. Laoise seems to have lost a great deal of patience with the whole ordeal: as the contents of the chest are revealed, she simply reaches in(with the tip of a knife, no less, not her hand) and flips the jewelry box open to reveal....!

A quartz sphere! It's about the size of an adult fist, and it /shines/ to mage-sight. This is a fairly powerful Thing.

Curiously, as she places the towel over the door, Gwendolyn hears the distinct rattle of an /unsecured/ door. And, since their mission was mostly to 'find the orbs' and as to her knowledge, none have been found yet. So! Carefully, she opens the door, quite eager to keep that sleepy-sleep rune covered. But... She needs to be /useful/! So, into the next room she goes.

There's a flourish of hands and sleeves. No, really. Laoise produces the box with the slender pen-like object they were given with the grim theatrical flair of a street magician plying her trade for a bunch of INGRATES who wouldn't know REAL sleight of hand if it hit them in the FACE and, ahem. Anyway. She holds out the arcanotech pen towards the sphere.

You paged Gwendolyn with 'You're in...well, it's a wizard's workroom. Herbs hang from the walls, there's a silver circle engraved in the floor, shelves with...good lord, is that a fiend's eye? Anyway, lots of stuff. Also, at the far end of the room, there's a small altar to no particular gods, and on that altar is a bundle wrapped in velvet.'

When the tip of the pen touches the sphere, the whole thing starts to glow red. It hums in Laoise's hand, like someone enjoying their work. Little gears spin. The sphere begins to glow.

Tatyannah doesn't know who to look at first, between Laoise with one of their objects and Gwen splitting the party, "No, don't do that!" is what she settles for.

The door she just left through creaks anew as Gwendolyn pokes her head into the wizard's quarters. "Ahem. Ah... I believe I have found an orb, in here? I wish to neither approach or touch the object, as I am the least expert on these matters. However, ah, this door? It is unlocked." She mentions, gesturing for someone to come with her. Someone with a MAGIC PEN!

Schneider is mostly watching Laoise at this point, since she seems to have fonud the thing that we were looking for. One of them. "Ah, you found it, good," he says, then looks around. "Hey, want happened to Gwen?" He missed her exit.

You paged Laoise with 'Focusing your Detect Magic suggests that the sphere and the pen both have some sort of Divination spells, and powerful ones at that.'

Tatyannah just sighs at Gwen's announcement and shakes her head. She has done a bad job of thieving. She might have to go stealing someone's stuff later and for real to make herself feel better.

Laoise only has the one MAGIC PEN, don't rush her. She's watching the pen... do its... thing, with the uncertain flair of someone trying to convince the rest of the room she's in on the trick of what's going on, no really, and trying hard not to jump when the inevitable surprising thing like a "Bing!" or similar happens.

<OOC> Solace says, "You can roll Spellcraft to try and identify the properties of a magic item, Laoise. :D Or anyone, really." GAME: Laoise rolls Spellcraft: (19)+10: 29 GAME: Laoise rolls Spellcraft: (10)+10: 20 <OOC> Solace says, "Which is which?" GAME: Schneider rolls spellcraft: (14)+5: 19 <OOC> Laoise says, "Pen, sphere." <OOC> Schneider says, "Sphere. Not really caring about the pen." <OOC> Solace pages!

You paged Laoise with 'The pen is a peculiar sort of device that seems to be able to read a scrying record off of other divination-oriented artifacts, and then pull that record and store it within itself. Presumably for later playback, although this device doesn't seem to have that ability.'

You paged (Laoise, Schneider) with 'The sphere has a strong divination aura. It seems to function similarily to the spell Share Memory, but on a larger scale, allowing for more complete memories to be shared with the sister orb, which is probably somewhere far away.' The pen turns green. It does not go bing! but it does seem to radiate satisfaction, like someone who has done a job well and deserves a cookie.

Laoise does not give the pen a cookie. She does, however, gingerly close the lid of the jewelry box again and glance over in Gwendolyn's direction. "Oh, you... you opened the door. Okay! And there's another sphere in there? Well, maybe we're in luck!"

To (Laoise, Solace), Schneider pages: So ... we found his cell phone?

Long distance to (Laoise, Schneider): Solace snickers. More like a Google Glass camera: you could attend meetings or whatever, and then share the whole memory over the spheres, and someone else could pick through those memories for the most relevant details, even if you didn't know them yourself.

To (Solace, Schneider), Laoise pages: That's... pretty useful, actually.

To (Laoise, Solace), Schneider pages: Yeah, and a nice thing to eavesdrop on. But it could definitely be a spy thing.

You paged (Laoise, Schneider) with 'And, unlike a traditional scrying device, you have nothing on you at the time that radiates magic, and anti-scrying protections wouldn't work on it. You just remember what you need, and unload it later. But, yes, being able to eavesdrop on something like that would be nice.'

Laoise, of course, ambles on over to the door. And keeps her gaze well averted from where the runes -were-, even though they're currently covered up, because seriously. No sleepin'. And she peeks in through the opening.

It's a wizard's workroom. Herbs hang from the walls, there's a silver circle engraved in the floor, shelves with...good lord, is that a fiend's eye? Anyway, lots of stuff. Also, at the far end of the room, there's a small altar to no particular gods, and on that altar is a bundle wrapped in velvet.

Schneider looks around as Gwen seems to have found the other orb. His spirits have left the place clean and pleasant smelling, as if nothing untoward had happened, while he looks at the sphere and examines its aura. "That's ... pretty clever. And ... if this does what I think it does, then .... well. Hrm." He shrugs, asking Tatyannah, since Laoise and Gwen are occupied, "How exactly are we getting out? Just like we came in? Are we waking people up and everything, or just escaping and letting them get found?"

Tatyannah murmurs, "We're going to untie everyone and let Caitlyn and Joshua get in trouble for sleeping on shift, then we undo Mia, before we run. Unless you have better ideas."

So, yeah. Laoise moves up directly to the orb. She does pause to gawk at the fiend's eye for a moment, though. "This place..." Yeah. She leaves it unsaid. Seems unnecessary. So she reaches up and carefully unwraps the object on the altar-like thing, taking care to memorise how it was wrapped in case she needs to leave it looking entirely undisturbed.

The object is the sapphire orb; the occlusions within the precious gemstone catch the light, sparkle, and draw one in. Just the stone alone would be worth...it's hard to even imagine. And the way it glimmers, and gleams. It's just so attractive...

<OOC> Solace says, "Will save?" GAME: Laoise rolls will: (18)+5: 23

Schneider says, "We-elll. It's not like we were invisible. And the guards are going to have knots where we smacked them. And they saw us and all. So .... unless we can /make/ them stay quiet, or frame these guys somehow, they're just going to rat us out." He grins in a way that seems dishonest. "But what I was thinking was ... there's a few items here... we could slip into people's pockets. Each of them, so that they all share a little guilt, and then again, it /sounds/ like they're making up a story about intruders to cover their own illicit actions. The stuff won't stay stolen," he insists, aware that actual robbery isn't going to fly."

"Don't come in!" Laoise warns, sternly. And then she's hurriedly rewrapping the thing, blinking rapidly and shaking her head as if to clear it. "Magic, uh, stuff still happening!" Aaand... there. She's got it mostly covered again, just the very top ever so slightly uncovered. Tap, goes the pen against the damnable thing.

From afar, Laoise still wants to figure out what's goin' on with this one, too. <.<

This time, it takes the pen very little to turn from red to green: only about five seconds after she touches the tip to the cold gemstone, it goes green.

GAME: Laoise rolls spellcraft: (13)+10: 23

You paged Laoise with 'This is essentially an enchanted stone that makes you WANT it. More than anything. To want it and keep it and treasure it and be willing to do anything to keep it.'

Laoise covers it up completely, and hurries back out of the room, holding up the pen. "We're done," she announces, sounding about as relieved as she feels, which is significantly. "Pen went green twice, we're good to go, I think." Schneider heeds the warning not to come in, but glances around the outer room and looks for a couple mundane items that someone might grab that they might think will go unnoticed. Small enough to put into someone's pocket and not actually be noticed, either. The size of a tieclip or earring, is what he's hoping for. "Sounds good," he says to Laoise, and then explains the plan again that he told to Tatyannah.

Gwendolyn says, "Then we should go. Put the towel back, close the door, relock the case, and make haste back outside. Release the stablehands, untie the guards, and make out before anyone notices we were here. And then, to the temple. With the pen going to the Guild. I feel like I need to shower. But I can't wash the /broken laws/ off!"

There are a number of those items. Small bits of jewelry, cut crystal sculptures, jeweled compacts on the vanity, even some of the buttons on the clothes in the wardrobe are gold and silver or polished gems. They are so shiny!

"Good," Tatyannah pushes herself away from the spot against the wall. "Make sure that everything is reset as it was. Well, except for that," and she gestures to Schneider, though she does say , "Mia said she never got up here. Might want to take the objects from a different floor." She gets distracted by the shiny of it all and trails her fingers over most of it, before slicing off a button or two and a ring. "These, these will do."

Schneider nods about them not being in here, nods slowly. "That's right! And we don't want them to think about this room in particular. We'll get it from the third floor, if there's time." He nods to Gwendolyn about cleaning the place up as if we'd never been, he sets his spirits to making that so. It's good to be the sorcerer.

Laoise, unsurprisingly, has some abilities in that direction too. Between herself and Schneider, the room is soon empty of incriminating evidence. She looks more than a little keen to get the hell out of there, though.

"I am not here I am not seeing this I am /not/ /endorsing/ /these/ /actioooons/!" Gwendolyn cries softly, holding her hands over her eyes and, deep down in her LG Paladin of High Law and Justice and Good, the God, is weeping bitterly. While a small part of her tries to frantically caress the weeping part of her, whispering 'its for the greater good' and 'its for the good of Alexandria'.