The Ganoltir Project Forum

"You can tell me who you are," Renault answers, matter-of-factly in a quiet tone. "Because it is clearly not the Bishop."

[sblock=Jacques]While his voice does sound slightly familiar to you, you have met enough well-groomed blond men of high station that you cannot quite pick this particular man out in your memory from all the others you've interacted with. As you ponder, the man's gaze continues to be fixated on you as the two of you continue the slow dance around the room.[/sblock]
[sblock=Évrard]"What sort of information?" Hector asks, sounding a bit defeated "You know I'm not one for this sort of courtly intrigue. I'd not even be at this grandiose event if not for the rumors of the Bishop's secret entrance. And for it to all be a ruse..." he adds, now glancing around the room a bit.[/sblock]
[sblock=Renault]The man before you leans in closer and lowers his voice, enough so that the others behind you in line cannot hear. "Perhaps another time, Father Renault. But not now, and not here," he says, before leaning back in his seat. He speaks again, this time with the same volume he'd spoken with initially. "A fine jest, my child. But if you've nothing to speak of in earnest, I do have many others seeking my guidance this eve," he continues, motioning with one hand towards the line descending the stairs. A few of the other guests in line begin to laugh at the supposed joke, some murmuring to one another about the Bishop's sense of humor being still intact.[/sblock]

"Well I'm afraid I'm at the disadvantage here," Jacques replies with a somewhat embarrassed smirk, not capable of pinpointing who the mystery man may be. "I'm sure I'd recognize your face, but I can see that's not an option here," he adds with a weak chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood.

He arrived after me, and yet he could pick me out with ease, Renault notes. "Very well, Your Holiness. Thank you for the insightful words," he offers, before stepping away calmly. He turns back, eyeing the man once more before retreating nearby to sip at a beverage. Perhaps a security measure. But why? And why tonight?

Renault sighs, having too many questions and too few answers. Fippe'll have my head unless I glean something useful tonight. Time to find Durand once more, the priest decides, looking around for the clothier.

[sblock=Mechanics]Find vampire man: 2(1d20) +7 = 9[/sblock]

"Well that's what we need to figure out," Évrard replies, half answering Hector's question. "Listen, go get some food, have a drink, do some dancing. Enjoy the party. But keep your eyes and ears open. I'll do the same."

"Let's be smart about this. Come find me if you see or hear and anything - and don't do anything without finding me too," he says, his voice slipping into its more authoritive tone he usually reserved for his own men aboard the Fortuitous Encounter. "Okay? You never know, maybe someone else is goimg to try and kill him."

[sblock=Jacques]The song and dance begins to die down as you speak, and the man does not react much to your answer. "It's alright, it will come to you," he says, reaching his hand to briefly stroke your face. His voice sounds more consoling this time, less rigid and theatrical than it had been before

Pulling his hand back, he adds, "Thanks for the dance, but I do have business to attend to. Think on it more and find me later, if you'd like to continue where we left off." You can tell he is smiling again behind the mask from the shift in his eyes, and the man begins to walk away to the buffet area, leaving you once more alone on the dance floor.[/sblock]
[sblock=Renault]As soon as you leave, the next person in line behind you excitedly approaches the false Bishop and begins to speak, asking for advice on a personal issue you don't care enough to fully listen to. Scouring the party, you do not initially see any signs of your quarry, though given the sheer size of the crowd at this time it should not come as a surprise that it is difficult to spot the man.[/sblock]
[sblock=Évrard]Sensing the shift in tone, Hector perks up more, assuming the more rigid stance of a soldier receiving orders rather than the prior stance of a dejected man who'd had his plot foiled. "Yes, sir," he responds, more out of habit than out of a true sense of duty to follow Évrard's commands. "I will do what I can. Though if someone else, who do you think might have it out for him?" he asks, more to himself than to you as he wanders off towards the food.

His departure is followed shortly after by the end of the slow song that had been playing, which gives way to a short break in the music before a new one begins. Some of the musicians look towards you with confusion, you being the only person standing so near to the stage. You do not get the sense any of them caught wind of your conversation, but it does seem like they had been aware of your presence.[/sblock]
[sblock=OOC]Unless anyone has some pertinent things to do immediately, I plan to leave your characters in a state where I can jump ahead to midnight. Essentially in a plot-unimportant state of activity similar to the earlier time jump. Feel free to roleplay the lead-up to whatever you'd like that to be.[/sblock]

Jacques is left in somewhat of a state of shock by his dance partner's reaction, with the thought of the man's identity simultaneously eating him from the inside. Who the hell is it?? Shaking his head to bring himself back to reality, the vampire-man vacates the middle of the dance floor, moving off to the edges. However, still hoping to dwell on it, he vacantly watches the other dancers, mind racing.

Eventually, he gives up, seeking out his sister so that she may help. The two continue to talk for the duration of the hour.

Satisfied that Hector won't act and his mission for the Swords is complete, Évrard nods to one of the musicians looking at him and makes his way towards the buffet tables. There he finds Alicia talking to a group of her friends he'd met a few times before. After grabbing a plate of food from the buffet, he joins their conversation, although he keeps an eye on Hector, making sure he's always aware of the man's rough location in the party.

For the next hour or so, Renault continues to prowl for Durand. However, he also keeps an eye on the false Bishop, unsure of the situation.

I suppose it makes sense. Masked men and women everywhere. Maybe the Bishop pulled out at the last moment out of hesitation or threat but needed a stand-in.

[sblock=Jacques]It is not difficult to locate Adrienne once more, off to the side of the party speaking to someone she knows. After she finishes speaking with them, the two of you share light conversation until midnight rolls around...[/sblock]
[sblock=Évrard]As you sit in chat, you notice that Hector does not seem to stray from the buffet area. He eats at a table with a few people and chats, one of whom likely being the person he arrived with to the party. Eventually, midnight rolls around...[/sblock]
[sblock=Renault]It takes a bit of searching in the crowded ballroom, but in time you are eventually able to spot your quarry once more. He speaks with a half-dozen others in a cluster near where the eating and dancing areas meet, and from the little you glean from their conversation it seems that at least some of the others are also in the fashion industry. You listen and watch as best as you can, until midnight rolls around...[/sblock]
The party continues to grow in size, though much more slowly now. A half hour or so passes, and the clock moves closer still towards midnight. A few minutes before it is set to chime, the musicians begin playing a piece known to end in a spectacular crescendo, likely planned just for this occasion. The crowd appears noticeably more excited as it begins, with most of the dancers pausing to listen rather than continue their glides along the floor.

As the piece reaches its climax, the anticipation in the room is clearly reaching a peak as well. The first toll of the midnight bell chimes only moments after the musicians stop playing, and they set their instruments aside to watch towards the staircase where the Bishop had been seated. The second toll, and he stands, beginning to move towards the foot of the stairs.

A servant rushes up the steps as the third toll comes, intent on removing the makeshift throne. The fourth toll and the line on the stairs disperses, with the servant following close behind. The staircase is emptied slowly, but by the seventh toll of the bell all is clear. The Bishop stands at the front of a crowd now gathered around the base of the stairs, as most who'd been mingling or eating have all stopped what they are doing to gather around.

The last few chimes of the bell are tolled until the twelfth, the longest of them, rings through the estate. The servants have stopped their duties as well to watch the entrance of the Twins. Each year it is always said to be more grand an entrance than the last, and all who've attended before are murmuring to one another, making guesses at what will happen. The chime stops, the crowd is silent, and...

Nothing.

The doors at the tops of the split staircase do not open, and no one descends. A minute passes, and the silence is broken. Whispers can be heard as the party-goers try to make sense of what is happening, or guess what sort of entrance will occur. A few more minutes pass, however, and nothing changes. The whispers become normal speech, and the confusion starts to turn to worry.

Jacques cannot help but feel the excitement as the lead up to midnight begins, the triumphant music only serving to build up the moment. The twins sure know how to set the stage for their entrance! He and his sister approach the staircase and watch with glee as midnight draws closer. "I've heard the party is even better after midnight," he mentions to his sister as the chimes begin.

His anticipation builds with each passing chime, only to be met with confusion. It turns to dread as further minutes pass with no appearance from the famed twins.

"This isn't supposed to be happening, right?" Adrienne asks nervously, her expression growing concerned as she stares at the vacant upper landing.

"I don't think so, no," the vampire replies, looking around at the other worried faces. This had better not be some kind of cruel joke. I don't think the twins are the type for that.

After a few moments of nothing happening Évrard leans over to his sister. "Can you be fashionable late to your own party?" He asks.

"Maybe they're just trying to built some more suspense," Alicia replies, paying little mind to her brother's comment, however as the seconds and then minutes tick by she grows concerned. "Do you think somethings wrong?" She asks Évrard, her voice slightly louder and the noise level in the rooms starts to creep up again.

"Perhaps..." Évrard says, looking around the room trying to judge the servant's reactions. "If they were planning a twist on their entrance, I think they've missed the perfect timing."

Renault pouts during the build-up to midnight, watching his quarry with a bored sense of duty at this point. I'm not sure. If he truly is the Moon Prince, he's not out here to claim another life. Tonight, at least.

As the excitement builds throughout the chamber, the Father becomes more and more anxious. I never did like surprises, he notes with an inward sigh.

Upon the stroke of midnight, Renault watches with wide eyes at the lack of the Twins' appearance. Goddess bless our safety, he prays quietly, and to himself. I don't believe this was the plan.

The muffled voices of the party-goers is interrupted suddenly by a loud shriek coming from the upper floor of the estate, somewhere past the door at the top of the left-most side of the split staircase for those facing it. The shriek causes most of the guests to become uneasy, and their muffled chatter rises in volume to nearly match what it had been before midnight struck.

A few of the more excitable guests run towards the entrance stairway, in a mild state of panic. When they attempt to go through the door they find it does not budge, however. The panicked state of the guests only increase, as some now move towards the semi-hidden servant's doors lining the walls near the banquet area, but they are met with the same difficulties. The musicians likewise find that the door on the stage, leading back into the rest of the manor, is unable to be opened as well. The moments seem to fly as the party-goers become increasingly frantic. They remain initially fearful of venturing up to the higher floor, but when it becomes clear that they have no other way out a brave few decide to move in that direction.

No sooner than they've moved a few steps does the left-most of the doors burst open, with a servant woman rushing into the room in a panic. "So much..." she says, through pained breaths, as it becomes clear that she is wounded and bleeding. "So much... blood..." she continues, before collapsing and falling the remainder of the steps to the landing where the Bishop had been seated mere moments before.

Jacques' feeling of dread is confirmed as the shriek erupts through the ballroom, likely piercing every party-goer at their core. His eyes widen and a pit grows in his stomach, mind racing as the events unfold. I have a feeling this is going to go from bad to worse.

His fears come true as the servant emerges from the doors above, mumbling of blood as she grips her own wound and subsequently collapses. Mouth now agape as he witnesses the horrors, he can only mutter, "Goddess..." as his thoughts whirl around in a flurry.

Adrienne's reaction is similar as she looks on, helpless to the events unfolding. She's, however, able to muster more words. "By the Goddess, what could have happened?"

As Jacques continues to look on at the bleeding servant, he finds himself having to resist his primal urges. No... Now is not the time for this.

"A murder mystery theme?" Alicia thinks aloud as the bleeding servant appears, although her face quickly drops when the servant collapses.

"I'm going to go take a look," Évrard says, standing up from his chair, never one for sitting around waiting for someone else to take the initiative. He pushes his way through the crowd to the front, despite objections from Alicia.

He climbs up the stairs quickly, taking them two at a time. At the top he pauses, and takes a knee next to the collapsed servant. He puts the back of his hand to her mouth to check if she's breathing and then checks her pulse.

[sblock=Mechanics]Check For Signs of Life: 15(1d20) +6 = 21[/sblock]

This is all wrong. Renault is too far from the bleeding woman to help break her fall, but he firmly moves his way through the crowd of party-goers. Noticing another figure arrive before him, Renault stands by, uncomfortably.

"Is she still breathing?" Renault asks the man before him in a low tone, keeping his eyes toward the door where the woman emerged from. I need to get in there.

As the two make their way to the collapsed woman first, a few others are close behind. Three of the other servants in the room rush across the room as well, reaching the staircase after Évrard and Renault do. As they are coming, another man - one of the party-goers - moves through the crowd, though does not quite reach the staircase before Renault's comment.

[sblock=Évrard]You notice faint signs of life, but given the woman's breathing and the amount of blood she is losing, she doesn't seem to have long left without medical attention.[/sblock]

"Not for much longer," Évrard says to the man beside him as he stands up.

"Is anyone a Doctor? This woman needs medical attention," he shouts to the crowd. Of all places, this party has to have some of the city's best medical practitioners in attendance.

"You look like you can handle yourself," he says to the stranger beside him, lowering his voice once again. "Shall we investigate?" He asks him, nodding towards the door.

Renault grimaces at the woman lying before him, scanning the crowd at the man's call for a doctor. He meets eyes with him once again, nodding to his question.

"On your call," he offers in a low tone, gesturing toward the door. The Father's grip on his cane tightens and loosens anxiously. Do I really want to know what has caused all of this chaos? There is still time to leave. Nobody would likely remember I was here.

"Aye, I'm a doctor!" the man who'd been weaving through the crowd calls out, as he draws closer, heading up the stairs in a hurry. As he approaches you can see that he wears a mask that covers the sides of his head in addition to the face, the entire thing designed to replicate a starfish wrapping around the man's head. He is dressed well, though it is clear from his attire that he is less well-off than many of the other guests attending the affair

"How is she? Is she still alive?" the man asks once he makes it near Renault and Évrard. While waiting for a response he quickly begins rolling up his sleeves while dropping to the ground next to the woman. After doing so, he removes a small dagger from his hip and cuts a strip of the woman's clothing and begins fashioning it into a bandage.

Many of the other guests look on in shock as the events play out, but their attention is quickly drawn back towards the top of the staircase when a loud crash is heard coming from above.

"For now it seems," Renault replies, eyeing the doctor with interest. "Stay here and tend to her. The two of us will—"

Renault's words fall short as the crash booms through the auditorium. "You," he says, pointing at the other man before him. "Let's go."

Without waiting for an answer, the Father climbs the stairs, heading toward the left-hand side door. "Goddess bless our steps," he mutters to himself.

Jacques stays at the base of the stairs as the two, eventually three, men examine the downed servant woman, not eager to examine a dying woman. As if I could focus with all that blood.

His eyes shoot wide open as the crashing sound erupts from the floors above. There's no way that was anything good. Spotting the men making their move towards the door, he turns to his sister. "Stay here and stay safe," he hastily says, to which she replies to only in a solemn nod. Wasting no time, he dashes up the staircase, intent on joining.

"I'm right behind you," Évrard says to the man. Quickly following the man towards the door.

"Of course, I will do what I can," the man responds, looking a bit shaken after the next crash that is heard echoing doing the dark hall ahead. At the top of the stairs Renault and Évrard are able to see a short distance down the hallway, lit by the ambient lighting of the ballroom, but past a dozen or so feet the area ahead seems to be engulfed in darkness.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

You are not currently in combat, but the exploration of a dark place is easiest done with a visual reference. Feel free to explore the manor, though you may want a source of light first. I will update the map as areas are revealed.

Map

[SHOW]

[sblock=Map]

[/sblock]

"We'll need light," Renault mutters, looking around for a lantern or candle.

OOC

[SHOW]

Anything?

Renault

[SHOW]

There were numerous sconces lining the wall of the ballroom, though they appeared more permanent in nature, and not easily removable. In addition, you did notice - while scouting the room, especially early on - that there appeared to be a number of nobles who smoked pipes, meaning some of them might have matches on them that could be used to light some other flammable object. Plenty of chair legs could reasonably be fashioned into a makeshift torch if provided a with a more flammable source material, though not without odd looks from the party-goers.

"Could snap off a chair leg and cover it with pitch," Renault grunts, spinning on the spot and finding the third man trailing them. "Jacques," he says, surprised to see his brother beside him.

Jacques follows the two men up the stairway. into the darkened corridor. He squints into the darkness, hoping his eyes adjust but to no avail. Though he finds himself agreeing with the one man's sentiment, he fails to respond as his thoughts race instead. That voice... it sounds so familiar. His eyes widen behind his mask as the man addresses him by name. Though unexpected, it finally clicks. One never forgets the voice of a sibling.

"Renault," he utters bluntly, still in shock at the man's presence at such a party. "Not how I expected our next reunion would be," he adds, his shocked expression transforming into his signature smirk. "We can catch up as we move. For now, let's get that light."

"Yes..." Renault agrees, uncomfortably. "Unexpected indeed." He nods at his brother's suggestion. "We need cloth. Light, pliable. Tear a tablecloth or—no. We have serviettes."

Bounding down the steps, Renault turns to the other man. "Find us some oil. There should be some at the buffet table." As he makes his way to the ground floor once again, the Father shoos the crowd away from him with a dismissive wave, stepping over to a nearby chair. Flipping it over, he sets it against the wall at an angle and uses a heavy boot to kick in where the leg meets the base with a loud splitting noise. He does this three times, once for each of the men.

"Right then, let's get moving," Jacques replies to his elder brother's instructions with a nod. Seeing Renault dash down the stairs, the vampire follows suit. He stops momentarily, seeing his sister standing by herself, looking increasingly anxious. "Did you know Renault is here?" he asks her quickly.

"Wait, what? What's he doing here?" she asks, her expression now more confused than worried.

Jacques replies simply with a shrug and continues on his way, walking towards the dining tables where he'd eaten earlier in the night. He grabs a handful of unused serviettes and returns to the grand staircase once more for their rendezvous.

Évrard raises an eyebrow at the revelation the two other men know each other, although he thinks relatively little of it. Parties like this tended to have very similar guest lists. Without the masks he imagined that he'd probably recognise or at least know of a quarter or so of the people in attendance. Alicia would probably know even more than that.

"Very well," he says as the man apparently named Renault tells him to look for something they can use as oil. Not normally one for taking orders from random strangers, he however decides the situation takes precedent and heads for the buffet table where he looks for anything that should serve their purpose.

Évrard

[SHOW]

While you don't find any pure oil of any sort around the room, you do know there are large quantities of alcoholic beverages being served that, when lit, could burn for awhile. In addition to many varieties of Imardanian wines you did notice a few stronger, foreign drinks that might work better, such as a Kurnish vodka and an Andoran whiskey.

Évrard grabs a bottle of Andoran Whiskey off a serving tray and heads back up the stairs. "This should do the trick," he says pulling the cork out of the bottle. He takes a quick swig before passing the bottle to Jacques to douse the serviettes.

Jacques stands, mouth agape, as he watches the man take a swig of the whiskey straight from the bottle. Seems like he's not letting the party die, even with all of this going on. He takes the bottle and quickly douses the serviettes in the pungent alcohol. Eager to get the torches lit, he passes off the soaked rags to his brother to prepare.

Taking each chair leg, Renault firmly wraps and ties the soaked rags around the ends. He passes an unlit torch to Jacques and the other man, before lighting his on a nearby sconce on the ballroom wall.

"Here," Renault offers, carefully lighting theirs as well. Shaking the makeshift torch lightly to check the fit is snug, he nods toward the dark room ahead. "Onward," the Father beckons, cane in one hand and flaming torch in the other.

The party-goers, many still in a panic, are mostly unfazed by the men breaking a chair apart to use with serviettes as torches. Some look on confused, and a few scoff, but most who are paying attention are simply happy to stay safely in the ballroom while others investigate the commotion going on up above. Many are still trying the various doors in the rooms to no avail, and, seeing the group's willingness to damage Dupuis property, a few have start to dismantle a table in an attempt to create a rudimentary ram.

With makeshift torches in hand the group now arrives at the top of the steps once more, and the hallway is now much brighter. Their line of sight does not extend much further, however, as the likely source of the earlier crashing sound becomes apparent. Blocking the hallway ahead is what seems to be a large pile of crates and barrels, some of which seem smashed to pieces, but others of which seem fully intact. The pile reaches almost to the ceiling, and appears quite heavy, meaning removing the items from it safely would probably take awhile to accomplish.

In addition to the pile ahead, you can see a little ways out of a window off to the right, which appears to be looking out onto a balcony area. From the direction you are looking you can also see part of a wall that runs perpendicular along the balcony away from the wall the window you're looking through is on.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

You may each add one torch to your inventory and be considered holding it until further notice. While as bright as a normal torch, you doubt the alcohol-soaked rags have enough fuel to burn for more than an hour or so.

Map

[SHOW]

Renault stares as the mess of barrels and crates blocking the hallway. Who did this and why? Shaking his head in confusion, he steps into the room to investigate the balcony.

As his elder brother finally enters the hall, Jacques follows closely behind. His eyes widen as he spots the barrel wreckage blockading the end of the hallway, the apparent source of the crash. "Well," he says, walking towards the wreckage. "I'm not sure it'll be easy to get past this."

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Perception to see if there are any spots to easily remove and climb over or something: 11(1d20) +4 = 15

Both men can see that the hallway appears to continue around the staircase, passing by a set of large patio doors leading out to the balcony visible from the window. From their current angle they cannot see how far the hall continues in that direction.

Renault

[SHOW]

Approaching the window you can see that the balcony is fairly larger and features a number of tables with chairs, benches, and potted plants for decor. The tables appear to be covered in tablecloth and decorated with small vases, suggesting that the party goers may have been given access to this part of the estate at some point in the evening, assuming the current strangeness was not going on instead.

Jacques

[SHOW]

The pile seems quite large and unstable, so anything that looks like it could be easily removed looks like it could also easily cause parts to come crashing down, likely in unpredictable ways. It would take time to dismantle entirely, even more to do so safely.

Map

[SHOW]

Closely examining the pile blocking their path further down the hall, Jacques remarks, "Well if we want to be safe, it will take awhile to remove everything." Pacing between the others and the blockade, he adds, "Or, we can just remove a few unstable bits, stand back, and see how much more of it falls." I doubt we can afford to waste time doing it the safe way.

"That might not be the only way through," Renault notes, already looking down the path to their right. "Let's find out first." He begins to step down the hallway opposite the barrels and crates.

OOC

[SHOW]

Move me til I encounter another door, intersection, new window, etc

Renault

[SHOW]

Moving further down the hallway you find that there are more windows looking out over the balcony, which reveals more of the same things you had seen before. Additionally, up ahead you can see that the hallway appears to wrap back around the staircase the same way it did through the doorway you'd come through. You also see another set of large patio doors, also leading to the balcony.

Map

[SHOW]

Noticing his brother investigating the other side of the hallway, Jacques follows behind. "Let's hope the two sides meet somewhere, or we'll have to deal with those barrels." He continues on past where his brother had stopped, remarking, "I suppose it's not much of a mansion if it's not a labyrinth of halls."

Évrard follows the other two men through the door and looks over the barricaded door with Jacques. "There's no way the servant did this in her condition. She must have come from the other way," he says, following Jacques after Renault further along the corridor.

Jacques, Évrard

[SHOW]

Continuing further down the hallway, past Renault, you find that the hallway does indeed fully wrap around the staircase on the other side, and you can clearly see the other door from the top of the staircase leading the direction you did not take. You can see through another window that looks into one across the balcony, into a room that appears to have some bookshelves.

Évrard

[SHOW]

As you round the corner and continue a little further down the hallway, you can spot very faintly some red droplets on the ground in the distance, something you'd not noticed prior to now.

Map

[SHOW]

"Over here, there's some blood on the floor," Évrard says, calling back Renault as he spots the droplets of what he assumes is blood. He moves over towards them and crouches down to take a closer look.

"But whose blood is the question," Jacques remarks as the yet-unnamed man brings mention of blood. "The servant's? Or someone else's?" Such a shame, going to waste like that. I'd be feeling a little peckish if the situation were different.

"Likely the servant's," Renault reasons, moving past the other two to continue exploring. "I suppose we'll find out soon enough."

Everyone

[SHOW]

Moving further into the hall you see that the blood is at the base of a door, likely leading to the room visible from the balcony through the windows. The blood appears to have dripped on the ground from the handle, which has some partially-dried blood on it as well. You can see that further down the hall is another doorway which appears to have similar blood droplets at its base. Additionally, you can see that the hallway in this direction appears to end, though a branch going to the right is visible in the distance.

Renault

[SHOW]

Moving past the others to the branching of the hallway, you can see that there is much more blood heading in this direction than there was in the section of hallway before. You see what looks to be a trail leading to a set of larger double doors, one of which is slightly ajar. The trail seems to end at the door itself, though slightly past it you can see a set of bloody footprints leading away from the doorway.

Map

[SHOW]