 |
| The Gallery |
Inside the Gallery Theme
You climb the cramped stairwell, it stinks of mold and moisture. The ascension is brief, however, and you again come to a door, not nearly as fortified as the one that is now beneath you. It is ajar.
You peer into the manse. Though dark, the curtains to the left look to be closed to the night. You can see pale moonlight cutting like a blade across the richly carpeted floor. The chandeliers above you terminate in small brass faces, leering like tiny gargoyles.
On the right you find a series of portraits along the wall, coated with a fine dust.
The hall ends some 20 feet ahead of you, taking a right turn, but not before framing a doorway halfway down.
 |
| The Portrait |
[Lagormeth]
ReplyDeleteBeing at the top of the stairs, looking down the eerie hallway, I am not quite sure of which way to proceed. I turn around to sir Amberdin and ask, in a hushed tone, if he could, perhaps, return back down the short stairwell and inquire directions to the Aedhs' possible whereabouts?
[OOC]
ReplyDeleteWell, disregard last comment...so, is the doorway on the right, next to the paintings, or on the left, leading outward?
[Jenisys]
ReplyDeleteSeeing that Amberdin obviously does not want to ask the man, she quietly returns to the room they were previously in. She pushed the heavy door open and looks to the man. "Sorry to bother you again, however, I was hoping that you may know where Ser Aedh or may be?" She asks with a friendly smile.
'Pardon me miss, but seein' how you three are skulking about the grounds, and my bein' threatened by yer little friend, I don't think I owe ye all the honor.
ReplyDeleteTruth be told, if I see 'im first he's gettin' an earful o' you folk.'
He resumes his mortuary activities on Ricben, muttering to himself.
The caged crow cocks its head at you and squawks.
[Amberdin]
ReplyDelete"My friends, I am sorry. I was lost deep in thought." Amberdin sighs, as he shakes the dullness from his eyes. "I think we should investigate this door before us," he speaks as his eyes graze the dusty figures on the wall, " and maybe we should study these portraits a moment."
[Tech] Amberdin moves into the hall and starts analyzing the dusty figures on the wall.
Through the dust you see the silhouettes of figures in portrait, though it remains thick enough to obscure most of the finer details of each figure.
DeleteUpon each painting is a brass plaque depicting the title House Aedh, each with an incremental year.
[Lagormeth]
ReplyDeleteRemoving the cowl from my head, I move down the corridor and approach one of the paintings. As I examine one of the dust ridden portraits, I fill my lungs with air, and in a very long winded breath, I attempt to blow a majority of the dust off of the painting. After the flying dust has settled, I peer back up at the portrait before me.
[Tech]
I blow the dust off of one of the paintings. What do I see?
The dust scatters, billowing from the face of the portrait. It is musty, filling your sinuses, and your eyes begin to water.
DeleteThe portrait is of a young man, well coiffed in rich clothing (see above.)
[Lagormeth]
DeleteGazing at the dignified looking young man, I can only wonder who he could be. I lick my thumb and wipe the dust away from the brass title plate to give me a bit of insight.
The plate reads:
Delete'Lord Aedh de Grey XVI, Royal Dignitary.'
The date is somewhat worn and tarnished, difficult to make out.
[Jenisys]
ReplyDeleteReturning up the stairs, she sees her companions examining paintings. "The mortician was of no help, in fact he was quite displeased with us. Perhaps we should get a move on."
[Tech]
Jenisys reappears from the lower level and shares her conversation with Amberdin and Lagormeth.
[OOC]
ReplyDeleteHey guys, just to make things run a bit more smoothly, all of you automatically gain information from a particular conversation, unless I deem otherwise.
It just seems clunky to have a conversation and then go back and say you had a conversation, ya know?
I very much appreciate the immersion, though.
Delete[Lagormeth]
ReplyDelete"Peculiar" I say. Before wasting time by removing dust from the portrait, I walk over to a few more paintings and remove the dirt from the title plates.
[Tech]
I'm looking at the names on the plates, trying to determine if all of the paintings are of previous Aedhs or if there is a difference in the pattern. Also, checking if all dates are scratched out. If not, what is the nearest date to our current time?
The other paintings are in similar states of disrepair, though as you progress the numeric lineage continues to increase.
DeleteYou can tell that though the plaques are worn, the dates are not contiguous.
[Amberdin]
ReplyDeleteAmberdin moves closer to the door in the hallway, checking to see if it is locked.
[Tech]
Amberdin moves to the door and listens. He then checks the door handle to see if its locked and, if possible, carefully moves it open aprox. 2 inches.
As you stride down the hallway, you notice dark shapes fluttering past the shrouded windows; the squawking of crows as they pass.
DeleteThey tap on the glass as you pass, laughing.
You find the door is not locked. You ease it ever so slightly, waiting with bated breath for the hinges to creak. They do not.
The room beyond is quite large, and lit somewhat dimly. You can tell the walls are red trimmed with gold, and that you stand on an upper walkway.
You can see an ornate railing just beyond the door, twirling shapes centered around small busts. You cannot make them out from here.
You hear the sound of a single pair of boots echoing through the chamber.
[Lagormeth]
ReplyDeleteI turn around to see Amberdin cautiously opening a curiously quiet door. Looking over his shoulder, I get a glimpse of the enormous room that lay before us. Most notable is the bust directly in front of the door. I throw my hood over my head, taking on my less visible form, and slip into the room. Firstly, I move towards the bust to examine it. Immediately entering the room I become aware of the footsteps roaming about the room and I pull out my shortsword.
[Tech]
On the bust, I am searching for any inscriptions on who it might be.
I would like to keep an ear open for any approaching footsteps.
Cloak of Elvenkind- See OOC
Short sword- +1 ATK, 1d6 DMG
[OOC]
I am at work and I'm not sure of the cloak of elvenkinds percentages. Could you check those for me?
The door swings further open as you exit the hallway, kneeling to inspect the designs decorating the railing.
ReplyDeleteThough much smaller, they look identical to the face on the front gate. Beyond him you see a man striding through the hall. He is armored and armed, approaching large, gilded oak double doors.
Further down the hall, you see two men in boiled leather standing guard.
The first seems to have taken note of the door's movement, his hand moving toward the sword on his hip as he takes a step in your direction...
[Tech]
The guard has noticed the door opening but has not yet sighted you (79%).
[OOC]
ReplyDeleteCan you give me a better idea of the layout? I understand that we are on the second floor of a room, right? So, where is the hallway and the double-doors in location to us? And, are there stairs leading downward?
[OOC]
DeleteYou are on a balcony on the second floor of the main foyer.
The door opens, and to the left is the railing running along the balcony looking into the main foyer, to your right is a wall. The men are at the other end and one is moving towards you.
Here, you are the L and the guards are the G's.
__
__
.......__........
!L G
!_________________G
The ! represent the door you just came through, the ... is he railing, the ___is the wall, and the lines at the top are the stairs leading down into the foyer.
[OOC]
DeleteOk. It's is a little more clear now, but in the previous post describing the hall, it sounded like there were 3 guards, but the layout only shows 2; and, am I standing at the gilded oak doors? If not, where are those?
Sorry, the previous post was a little confusing. I just want to make sure I know the layout for the things I'm trying to do :)
This is what you know so far. Go with it.
DeleteThe door you just exited are not the gilded oak doors.
Delete[Lagormeth]
ReplyDeleteAs the well armed guard draws near, I take a short step towards the wall, hoping not to break my invisible state, to allow the guard to pass and investigate the door.
[Tech]
Cloak of Elvenkind- 90% invisibility in low-light in non-natural settings