[Game Thread] Chapter 6a: Breaking and Entering

[Makenshi]

Anorde was able to find a uniform, but had not only picked a Guard who was similar in build and general appearance to Leon but had had the guard 'occupied' by a 'friend' (which set Celi into giggling fits) for the evening. This allowed Leon, with the help of Morgan Crescent, to disguise himself using entirely mundane means which made his cover even stronger, especially as the guard was somewhat new to Lord Lucius' employ and was therefore not known especially well by the others.

True to his word, Mask provided the perfect distraction, stealing one of Lord Lucius' prized possession - a painting of Airis that was supposed to be almost half a millenia old. As a result, the guards were swarming around the compound, their eyes alight with magic to spot anything else amiss and busy searching for anything else that the notorious prankster might have taken. On arrival Leon was quickly and dismissively waved into the mansion by the guards at the entrance who obviously hadn't seen anything amiss with him.

The foyer was not as large as some of the mansions Leon had seen although still large by the former thief's own standards. Servants and guards were moving about in a rush, barely paying any attention to yet another uniformed guard entering the mansion. Anorde had also found out a few details about the mansion, specifically that it had a basement that reached down at least two levels that Anorde could find record of and that Lucius' room was on the 2nd floor, within which was the only entrance, a staircase, to his study on the 3rd floor. As far as Anorde knew, the basement was just used for storage, potentially making it a waste to search, however explaining away Leon's presence in Lucius' own rooms would be difficult and there were much more people milling about between here and there too, even if they weren't paying attention to him now.

The Elernan had a decision to make.

~MTWC

[Battlechaser]

Nice move, Mask. Léon hid a grin while he walked through the compound, trying to look wary and slightly on edge like a guard whose head could roll because some mangy cur managed to whisk away his master's favorite toy. Luckily that were two states of mind, Léon had ample experience with.

He knew his good fortune could end any moment now, when someone more suspicious would wonder why a new guard was going up to their Lord's room when everybody knew the thief was no longer there. So Léon searched for the cellar's door and stepped inside and closed the door softly behind him before descending the stairs. Out of habit, Léon sought out the shadows and seemingly melted with them before he continued. Let's find out what the prayerbeggar is hding down here.

[Makenshi]

OOC Forget to mention that I'll need a list of his active effects at the moment.

Leon saw the sort of fine foods and wine that he'd expect to see in a Lord's basement (the current floor anyway), certainly not anything out of the ordinary. It was the same for what he could heard, although that was all noises from above, muffled by the ceiling and heavy door. From what Anorde said, there was at least one more level of the basement that Anorde could find a record of, and it didn't take the thief long to find a note, not a 'trap' trap door, just a door in the floortrap door that led down a steep staircase cut into stone. A short pause to listen made him confident that there wasn't anyone down there, or that they at least hadn't heard him open the trapdoor if there was someone there.

~MTWC

[Battlechaser]

Carefully Léon made his way down the stairs. It was not because he did not hear anything that nobody was there - hell, he made his living out of it. And in his line of work the rule of thumb was The question is not of you're paranoid. The real question is, are you paranoid enough? So his breathing slowed down, his movements were short and efficient so to minimize the air streams that could reveal his presence. When he was sure, nobody was around, the thief continued his descent. Léon extended his senses and tried to find the secret door he somehow expected. Where better to hide something than in a basement nobody knows to exist.

 

heroism + 2 morale attack/saves/skills
Greater magic weapon +4
Spiderskin: + 5 NA and hide
True seeing
Mind blank
Touchsight
Freedom of movement psionic
Detect hostile intent
Steadfast perception

Powerpoints 80/102

[Makenshi]

The second basement was full of rare and expensive wines and other alcohols by the look of it. Leon even thought to check out some of the bottles more carefully to see if anything was strange about them, but he couldn't see anything out of place. He almost gave up, but for some niggling little sense that something wasn't quite right. It took him some time to see what.

There was a section of wall, tucked away in one of the far corners with the most expensive bottles, that at first glance looked just like every other section. Leon probably wouldn't have noticed it if it wasn't for his touchsight power, he wouldn't have noticed it either, but despite its appearance, that section of wall wasn't like the others. It was a very good approximation, but it didn't quite fit with the rest of it.

Examining the wall, he couldn't see any obvious way to open it, although there were many bottles nearby, as well as a pair of ever-burning torches in the nearby wall. It was also possible that there was a pressure pad on the wall itself. In any case, it was equally possible that one or more of them held a trap or other nasty surprise.

~MTWC

[Battlechaser]

Well, well. What do we have here? Léon whistled silently. The thief took his time to look for obvious - and less obvious- Taking 20 to search: total 43traps and any hidden triggers to open this compartment. Where is it? Flicking his wrist, the thief produced a small dagger and started to tap the walls to find hollow spaces. He was carefull not to displace anything before he was sure it would not set off a trap. Or worse, an alarm.

[Makenshi]

Leon's efforts prove fruitless, as the whole section appears to be of the same or similar thickness and he can't spot any irregularities that might indicate a switch, button or lever on the wall itself. He does, however, discover traps around several bottles and the torch brackets, no doubt put there to punish anyone foolish enough to start pushing or pulling at things without checking first.

~MTWC

[Battlechaser]

Right. No switch here. Léon pondered as he marked the traps in his mind. Where is it then? He glanced around the room before he decided to move about, taking his time to study everything that stood out - be it on his touchsight or just because it seemed off.

Or maybe it just needs to be pushed? Nah too easy. Why go through all the trouble of trapping the bottles themselves for crying out loud.

[Makenshi]

Leon doesn't find anything else amiss or any other traps. Perhaps the entrance required a password, spell or other special form of access?

~MTWC

[Battlechaser]

Nothing. Léon snapped mentally to himself. What are you? An amateur. I need to go logically through this. There is something hidden here. It's important enough to be trapped. No triggers or other traps can be found here.

The thief looked around. Maybe the spellbeggar has a token hidden in his room? Let's get back upstairs then. Léon crept forward as silent as he could, taking a non-trapped bottle of brandy with him. Out of habit he kept his eyes peeled open.

[Makenshi]

Leon manages to slip out of the basements with ease, not noticing anything amiss or getting any undue attention from the guards and servants. He quickly makes his way upstairs, where there are too few guards moving about for Leon to hide in the crowds and must instead please make a Bluff checkact the part in order to avoid attention.

~MTWC

[Battlechaser]

Right. Just look like you belong here. Léon purposefully strode through the corridor on the way to Lucius' room. He whistled a soft tune while he routinely studied his surroundings.

[Makenshi]

Leon didn't spot anything amiss and other than a few odd (and even one or two disapproving) looks for his whistling, he didn't attract any undue attention on his way to the master bedroom. A quick examination of the door revealed it to be simply locked. No traps or tricks that the Elernan could see, feel or otherwise detect, although it was likely the study that was going to be the difficult one to get into.

~MTWC

[Battlechaser]

Before Léon opened the door, he quickly looked around. Seeing no one around the thief put

Dice Listen:

1d20+22

(1)+22

Total = 23

his ear on the door. When all remained still, he swiftly opened the door and stepped into the lion's den.

[Makenshi]

OOC Sorry, kept meaning to post it, but the door is locked (as mentioned in the previous post), so you'll need to make an Open Lock check too. ~MTWC