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Jacques gestures forward, their path set upon the double doors. "Lead the way then. Perhaps our suspect was careless and left even more clues on the trail."

"Perhaps," Renault agrees, hopefully. He follows along behind the two men, holding the heavy candle at his waist.

Stepping through the doors in the library, you find yourself faced with a wide hallway reminiscent of the one you walked through upstairs. The doors open right into a corner of the hallway, heading both straight forward and to your left. The way straight forward leads passes two sets of double doors on the right, likely leading to the first room you entered through. Further still is a turn to the right, which might end up leading to the door to the gardens. Past that it is difficult to tell, as shortly past the turn is where you can see much noticeable damage from the previous night's inferno.

To the left you can see a number of doorways branch both off the left and right sides of the hall, eventually ending at a T intersection that branches either to the left or right. This direction shows no visible damage from the fire.

"Well this doesn't narrow down our options unfortunately," Évrard says as he steps out into the hall way. "These at least should be the other room we just came from," he says, opening the nearest set of the double doors to double check so they don't miss anything.

"I suppose splitting up may be out of the question," Jacques says, his eyes darting between the multitude of doors in the hall. "Covering more ground is hardly worth letting ourselves get lost in a maze such as this." He shrugs, staring down the hall ahead. "Shall we delve deeper into the fire, so to speak?"

"I suppose," Renault says, following after Evrard. "Just keep clear of any weakened framework. We don't need to make a second trip to the clinic."

As Renault opens the door he finds that it does indeed lead back to where they began, as expected. That means the other doorway in this direction can only be the second one in the sitting room. Noel follows after, not wanting to be left behind as the group moves forward.

OOC

[SHOW]

The last post was written before I remembered the house is basically dark as shit, so from now on take the map as gospel for how far you can see. Since Renault and Jacques have the best vision, I will rule that they both could barely make out the walls and doors in the darkness. Otherwise, at the moment the only light sources are the windows, and their light only extends so far. If you want to see more, someone will need to provide light.

Map

[SHOW]

"Makes sense," Évrard agrees, closing the door behind him, satisfied they wouldn't miss a room by moving on. He starts making his way further down the corridor in the direction of the fire damaged part of the house.

"It's quite dark in here, even for the middle of the day." Renault idly thumbs the candle in his coat pocket for a moment, before drawing it out.

"Perhaps you should take this candle, if you're to be leading the way." He hands it to Evrard. "Now we just need some method of lighting it." The Father pauses for a moment, grimacing as he recalls the events of the last night. "And that isn't consent toward using your pistol for such a task."

"Do you suppose a candle will be enough light? Perhaps we could make torches again," Jacques says, recalling the makeshift light sources they'd crafted the night prior. "Although tracking down more liquor for the cloth may prove difficult."

"That was a one off emergency situation," Évrard says with a chuckle as he takes the candle from Renault. "The candle might be enough to light our way until we find a way to improvise some torches," he adds in reply to Jacques.

"There's probably matches or something in the writing desks. You wouldn't want to go far looking for a way to light your candles in your own home," he says, turning round and re-entering the room with the writing desks and begins searching them for a way to light the candles and anything else of note.

Évrard

[SHOW]

Your intuition proves correct, and in the first desk drawer you open you find a small box of matches. It is only half full, containing about a dozen or so.

"Voila!" Évrard says as he finds the matches. He strikes one and lights one of the candles on the writing desk. He then pockets the matches and Renault's candle before picking the now lit candle up by the candlestick and rejoining the others in the hallway.

"Shall we?" He asks as he sets off in the direction that had planned to head originally, down the hall towards the fire damaged part of the estate.

"Lead on," Jacques says, smiling as the man emerges with a lit candle. "Let us see what else we can find now that we can light the way."

"I'll keep an eye out for anything we can use as a torch," Renault says as he follows the navymen, hoping to feel helpful.

Further down the hallway you reach the turn you'd seen. To your right leads to the doors to the garden, as expected. It is lined with a series of intricate marble columns, each of which features a statue of a figure holding up the rest of the column in various poses. Like the rest of the hallway there are sconces lining this segment, though none of the candles are currently lit. Everything seems more or less intact, though the entire side hallway to the outside, as well as the small segment you walked through leading to it, is covered in layer of soot and small bits of debris.

The way forward, however, is much less intact. In this direction the soot quickly gives way to more solid debris, and further down the hallway are entire large segments that appear partially or completely collapsed in places. No light streams through the ceiling, however, suggesting the area you've seen so far is not completely open to the sky. "By the goddess..." Noel says quietly to himself as the damage comes into view.

Map

[SHOW]

"That fire did quite the number on this place," Jacques says, staring at the scorched hall before them. "Tread carefully from here on out, lest we end up buried beneath rubble." He steps forward, eyeing his surroundings in the faint glow of the candle. That man really sought to bring the whole estate down, didn't he?

Évrard lifts the candle up to the nearest sconce, wanting to light the room up with more than just the one candle.

"Yes, let's tread carefully," he says as he follows Jacques forward.

"Hold on," Renault says, raising a hand. "Always leave an escape plan."

The Father steps toward the doors out to the garden, unlocking them and cracking them ajar if possible.

Stepping forward more, you can see that despite a lot of debris from the ceiling and floors above, the walls of the structure seem mostly intact. The thicker stone walls are certainly scorched in many places, and in some spots they appear to have shifted in place some due to the mortar melting, but by and large the building - at least on the ground floor - seems like it is being held together well in spite of the damage.

Further down the hallway you can now see far enough to spot one doorway off to the side. It is a large set of double doors and one of which appears slightly collapsed and crooked in its frame, though not enough to see past it. The entire hallway is littered with dust and debris, the bulk of which appears to be large chunks of the ceiling and floorboards from above. In a few places there are gaps that allow you to glimpse somewhat into the area above you, but it is not fully opened. What does remain above is as scorches as the remnants on the ground, and does not look very stable.

Renault, meanwhile, manages to open the doors in the rear of the estate with no issues, finding their locking mechanism to still be intact and easy to use. The doors swing open, revealing the area they'd entered from only moments before. Seeing this, Noel opts to follow after the others rather than aid Renault.

Map

[SHOW]

"That such a devastating fire could rage and yet the building still stands," Jacques says as he glances around the damaged hallway. "I suppose this is a testament to our fine construction practices." He sets his sights upon the double doors ahead and begins traversing through the debris towards it. What room might you be?

Satisfied with a possible point of exit, Renault regroups with the others. Goddess' grace, he thinks, delightfully surprised to see the brunt of the damage had been cosmetically. The priest follows after his brother, interested in the double-doors.

Stepping forward, Jacques can see the cause of the crooked nature of the door. There is a large ceiling beam that has collapsed directly onto it, leaning down from somewhere in the room and pushing the door slightly outward and sideways. The small gap in the doorway lets you see a little ways in, but the room is devoid of light apart from the faint glow coming from Évrard's candle. There are no windows from what you can tell, and if there are any they must be closed off very well, since no outside light is seeping inside. Most of what can be seen through the gap is more debris similar to what you are walking over in the hallway, but you do see a few nice-looking chairs as well, ones that seem to match the ones that had been in the ballroom the night before.

Map

[SHOW]

Évrard joins Jacaques in peering through the door, holding up the candle to the opening for a better view. "The fire really did a number on this place," he says. "Hopefully nothing which would aid our investigation has been destroyed. Although that is appearing increasingly unlikely," he adds.

With more light, Évrard and Jacques can now tell pretty confidently that this room must have been a storage room of some sort. The bulk of what you can see through the gap in the door consists of boxes, crates, and barrels piled up in various ways. Some of them have been busted open by falling debris, spilling their contents of primarily cloths and fabrics onto the ground. The few chairs Jacques had saw initially seem to be situated around a single crate further in, which also features on top a deck of now-scorched playing cards and some simple looking mugs. Other than that there appears to be little of note visible in the room.

Map

[SHOW]

"Just a storage room of some sort," Évrard says as the candle lights up the interior of the room. "I doubt there'll be any clues in there. It's probably not worth our time trying to get in through the debris," he adds, starting to move further along the corridor.

"It looks like this is where some of the servants meet on their downtime," Jacques says, noting the scorched playing cards and mugs on the crate. "Were they here during the masquerade, I wonder." Perhaps some of the staff saw or heard something. Shrugging, he trails behind the navyman.

"We can make entry later, if we need. For now, let's keep patrolling." Renault follows after the candlebearer, keeping his watchful eyes on his surroundings. I wonder if it is within our duties to question anyone who was there that night?

As you continue down the hallway you spot the end of this section of it. Straight ahead, past a large amount of debris, you can see a set of double doors - or at least what used to be. Where they once were likely as large and intricate as the others you've witnessed so far, instead you see their remains as charred husks of their original state. Had they not been so thick and sturdy originally they'd likely have burned away and collapsed entirely based on their current state, but they seem to still barely stand.

Off to the side of the hall you spot another doorway as well, similar to the one leading to the store room. This one, while charred and damaged by debris, is not caved in and thus you cannot see any of its contents at the moment.

Map

[SHOW]

"Quite the damage," Renault notes, stepping closer to the charred husks of the doors. He begins to try and pry them open.

"Careful there," Jacques says as his brother attempts to pry the scorched doors open. "I would hate for you to be flattened by debris. And I am not sure how mother would take her eldest being turned into a crepe." He makes a poor attempt at hiding a grin as he watches on.

I wouldn't dare grant her the satisfaction, Renault thinks, his brow furrowed at his brother's mention of their mother but saying nothing.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Strength check to pry door open: 11(1d20) +1 = 12

One of the double doors budges somewhat as Renault pushes it, but does not open fully. Instead, part of the charred remains of the door simply fall apart to the floor while the rest remains mostly intact in the now slightly-open state.

Through the gap that now exists you cannot see very far into the room, but the little you can see is alarming. In addition to a lot more debris, as you might have already expected to find, you can see straight ahead the charred skeletal remains of one of the fire's victims. It is crumpled onto the ground near a damaged and burnt table, on a floor that is noticeably lower down than where you stand now.

Map

[SHOW]

"There's a body there," Renault says grimly, disheartened at the sight. "Victim of the fire, it seems. Can one of you knock this the rest of the way open?" he asks, turning to the other three men. "Just be careful. It's hardly corporeal anymore."

"Did they become trapped, I wonder? I can't imagine being unaware of a fire that scale." Jacques says as he makes his way to the remaining door. Mustering his strength, he attempts to push the remains of the doors open.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Strength: 15(1d20) +5 = 20+2=22

"That's a nasty way to go," Évrard says, his mind flashing to images of men on fire aboard the ships he'd served on. "Not the way I'd choose at least," he adds, as he stands to the side to allow Jacques to force the door open.

Jacques is easily able to push the rest of the right-most of the charred doors. Instead of swinging open, though, it instead crashes to the door, entirely separating from its hinges. The mostly-solid piece shatters into splinters of charred wood as it hits the floor below, though the debris it adds hardly stands out at all with the nature of the room before you.

Inside you can see what appears to be a large room, with the ground floor of it being noticeably lower than where you currently stand by a few feet. At the edge you can see where there once stood a wooden ramp or staircase leading up to your level, but that has since been burnt and collapsed by the fire from the night before. Additionally, near the charred skeleton you can see what appears to be the remains of what must have been a very thick table, as it alone seems the most intact of the objects currently within your field of view.

Map

[SHOW]

"Well done," Renault applauds his brother. "Perhaps it wasn't the fire that took them first." He steps into the room, his eyes wide.

OOC

[SHOW]

Does this room seem to be a kitchen? Or a servants' hall? Or what?

"I suppose we will find out," Jacques says, wiping the soot from his hands as he watches the door collapse. He walks into the room, carefully stepping to the floor level. What secrets might you hold, skeleton?

Évrard follows after the two brothers as they enter the room, holding the candle aloft to give them light. "I wouldn't be surprised if the murderer had other victims we don't yet know about which died at his hand, rather than the fire. Any number of servants could have stumbled on his preparations."

"Well fire or no, there were certainly many victims," Noel says with a frown as the light from Évrard's candle reveals more skeletons and charred corpses in the rubble. The light also reveals more of the destroyed contents of the room. A number of other tables similar to the first come into view, all quite thick and clearly arranged in a line. Shattered and burnt plates and melted silverware, along with the many barrels and crates of charred foodstuffs, suggest the relatively large room is the estate's kitchen, the corpses likely that of the kitchen staff or servers who were moving in and out.

Like with the previous room encountered in this branch of the hallway this room appears to have nothing in the way of windows or natural lighting. A couple collapsed and damaged wrought iron chandeliers on the ground suggest those to have been the main source of light for the room prior to the damage. On the opposite wall you can see a fireplace as well, which likely provided light in addition to its primary function in cooking meals.

Map

[SHOW]

"This is awful," Renault whispers, covering his mouth as he looks over the charred remains of each fallen person. "May they find peace now."

The Father sighs as he steps toward the center of the room, careful not to trip on the debris. "Perhaps they were trapped, blocked by rubble? That would suggest why so many perished here."

"Awful indeed," Jacques says, a pit in his stomach forming as he takes in the morbid scene. He stops for a moment, lost in thought. "The giant serpent came from near the kitchens, did it not? Perhaps that is responsible."

"That's true it did originate around this part of the house. We should look for anything out of the ordinary. That is, anything you wouldn't expect to find in a heavily fire damaged kitchen," Évrard says as he walks further into the room, looking for anything that could be a clue related to the serpent and the murderer.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Perception to look for clues: 14(1d20) +6 = 20

"If I recall it right, the creature burst through one of the walls, coming through a servant's door," Noel says, stepping towards his left and moving more down the side of the room. "So probably somewhere in this direction. Where did it come from before, that, though?"

Évrard

[SHOW]

Looking around, most of what you see does not seem to stand out from what you'd expect such damage would cause. In fact, what stands out more is that the damage and debris seems so mundane. Though you've yet to explore the entire room, what you can see does not show any signs of visible entry. Had there been a hole in the exterior of the building it would have been clear from the light shining through, but nothing of the sort stands out. It is possible it came via the ground or the ceiling, but nothing you can see so far confirms that.

Map

[SHOW]

"A good question. Let's find the servant's door — or what remains — and trace its path in reverse." Renault begins to lead the way alongside Noel, to the left of where they entered.

"If it disappeared without a trace, perhaps the same could be said about its appearance," Jacques says, carefully stepping over the charred rubble and corpses. "It's possible it may have just... appeared, but I suppose we will find out."

He kneels down by a set of skeletal remains, wondering if the bodies might provide any clues.

OOC

[SHOW]

Are the skeletons mostly whole? Anything crushed/fractured? Anything otherwise out-of-the-ordinary with them? Dunno if you need a roll to find any of that out but I can edit one in if needed

Jacques

[SHOW]

Some of the bones of the skeleton do appear to be damaged, though it is difficult to tell if the fracturing occurred prior to the fire or as a results of it and the ensuing debris falling from above.

"A creature of that size would leave quite a sizeable hole entering the building. The damage is bad but we've yet to see anything close to what there really should be," Évrard says as he joins Renault and Noel. "I think you may be right Jacques. It could have been created or summoned in some way from within the manor," he adds.

"Well these bones have certainly seen some damage," Jacques says, examining the charred remains carefully. "Though I can't say whether it's from debris or getting crushed under a giant serpent."