The Realm of Ganoltir: Strife, Exploration, and Prosperity
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"A disappearing, and reappearing serpent?" Renault asks, uncomfortable at the thought. "I suppose one of that size would have difficulty moving throughout the city without some sort of similar means." He continues along the wall to the left of where they entered, intent on finding the destroyed servant's door.
"The city's sewers perhaps," Évrard suggests. "Although that doesn't explain how it got into and out of the Manor. And it assumes the serpent wasn't just a temporary conurbation. "
As Evrard mentions the city's sewer system, Jacques shrugs. "I'm not sure a snake made of flame would feel at home in a tunnel with all that water."
Moving further into the room additional fireplaces come into view on the far wall, as well as the lines of tables continuing. More charred corpses come into view as Évrard's candle light illuminates more of the room. Most importantly, however, is the apparent entrance of the serpent into the ballroom. Up ahead, Renault is able to spot a gap in the wall. It was clearly a doorway at one point, but the edges have bucked and partially collapsed, likely caused by either the fire or the creature making its way through the wall. The devastation of the estate seems to continue through the gap, which is unsurprising given the state of the room when you last saw it.
Évrard follows after Renault. He moves up to the destroyed door way, peering through to see what's on the other side, whilst also checking to see if it's still wide enough for a person.
"Goddess above," Renault whispers, drawing closer to the entry point. "It tore through this manor like a hot knife through butter." With a wary gaze, the Father begins to investigate the doorway and what lies beyond it.
"Well that creature was quite hot," Jacques says, staring in awe at the colossal path the serpent apparently created for itself. He steps behind his brother, curious to learn what awaits them behold the threshold.
Stepping forward towards the gap, you immediately see that there is debris in this next room as well, which you can see is the ballroom you'd been dancing and carousing in less than 24 hours ago. A large section of the ceiling has collapsed to the edge on your left, likely the source of most of the debris, and light streams in from above to illuminate the rest of the room. As before, you spot many corpses littering the initial part of the room, some you remember as servants slain in your brief battle with the serpent and specters that attacked the guests. Others nearer to your current position likely died when the inferno started, or when the ceiling collapsed.
In addition to the ballroom, you spot in the corner of the current room a series of destroyed barrels, their previous contents - fruits and vegetables - strewn out and partially burnt on the ground. This further confirms your suspicions that this room was once a kitchen. Past that is an open doorway, though you do not see much through the opening.
Lastly, at the center right-hand side of the ballroom from your current position you can see another open doorway, this one being the door you'd all entered the party from last night. You recall that it was closed and barred from the outside the night before, meaning someone - perhaps the fire brigade - opened it since.
"We should probably find some way to access the ballroom," Évrard suggests. "Although a grisly task - We should examine the corpses left behind, to see if they can provide any insight into the serpent or the specters."
"There's always the serpent's entry," Jacques says, pointing towards the hole the creature had carved through the wall. "A tight squeeze, perhaps, but an option nonetheless. Unless one of you has been overeating." He eyes Renault in particular, curious if the disciplined man sneaks delicacies every now and then.
Renault climbs through the rubble into the ballroom, gingerly stepping around the bodies while looking for any clues. "It is a grisly act, but we should try and count the fallen. It would do well for the families and the authorities to know who is missing, and who has been found."
Renault dips his way through the rubble before patting down his longcoat to remove some of the dust and debris. He offers a hand to help lift his brother as the man goes down over the scattered remnants. "Careful, Jacques," he warns him in a caring tone. "There's only one of you in this world."
Looking around the ballroom, the Father sighs. "From my count, around a dozen slain so far, and likely many more missing. They seem a mixture of servant and guest, so it seems."
"I doubt we'll know the true number killed for some time. Not until people are reported missing by friends and family," Évrard replies, as he too starts to examine the ballroom, although he focuses his efforts on searching for anything relating to the snake and the other conjurations.
"The Goddess won't strike me down over a simple cut or bruise," Jacques says, smirking as he swats his brother away. Deep down, however, he feels grateful.
He takes in the grisly scene and frowns. "It's truly a blessing we got as many out as we did. But it still was not enough." He shakes his head, turning his attention towards the rest of the ballroom in search of any potential clues.
"Not nearly enough," Renault agrees with a sigh. As his companions begin to scan the ballroom, he checks all the doors to see which are open and accessible, and which are locked.
