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Journal of the Souls of Legend (completed)
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<blockquote data-quote="Nthal" data-source="post: 7554774" data-attributes="member: 6971069"><p><strong>The glass is always at half something.</strong></p><p></p><p><strong><p style="text-align: center">The glass is always at half something.</p><p></strong></p><p><em><p style="text-align: center">Working the gaming halls in Sigil has taught me a number of lessons that I use constantly. A smile opens as many doors as a pouting frown. Pretending that you know exactly what you are doing, gets you out of a lot of questions.</p></em></p><p style="text-align: center"><em>But most importantly, the ability to hold your breath is a very underrated skill.</p></em></p><p style="text-align: center"><em></p><p></em></p><p>Iesa and I stepped through the archway below the staircases, and underneath the trio on the landing. Underneath the mask of serenity that I wore I felt anything but. I was terrified; my heart racing and my hands shaking. I was expecting someone was going to cry beef and point their fingers at us at any moment. That this was all an elaborate farce and we were doomed before we even started.</p><p></p><p>As Iesa was leading me, I briefly closed my eyes and prayed. Prayed that we found our way out of this manor with our lives and our souls intact.</p><p></p><p>Opening my eyes again, I saw we were in a large hall. On one side of the hall a large sideboard had meats, such as smoked fish and hams, and all manner of sliced fruits and cheeses, near stacks of small plates. And everywhere were stewards ready to hand out a goblet and with another one right behind them to fill it.</p><p>I noticed that there seemed to be a small parade of stewards and servants entering and leaving a pair of doors that I guessed led to the kitchen. The ones that left the kitchen scattered everywhere briskly, making their way to the many rooms in the manor. But while the number of servants running around was surprising, it was the surprising lack of guards that stood out. I remembered that Daneath mentioned that there were about twenty on hand. The size of the manor might help us out in the long run; too many rooms to cover.</p><p></p><p>But the Drow had unnerved me. While I can’t say she wasn’t supposed to be here, it made me wonder who else might be also be lurking in the crowd working for the Waterbaroness.</p><p></p><p>A steward approached me with a goblet, and it was quickly filled. I sipped a little wine, hoping to take the edge off of my fear. It was likely going to be my only drink of the evening as I wanted to stay sharp. Iesa also took a goblet and we looked around the room.</p><p></p><p>The guests were...well...they were boring. Some of the richer folk had fine dresses and masks, and others…didn’t. If this was the gala to be seen at, the crowd wasn’t terribly impressive. I leaned over to Iesa.</p><p></p><p>“The crowd here doesn’t seem to be laden with coin, or am I missing something.” I whispered.</p><p></p><p>Iesa shook his head slightly and whispered back “No, Yartar wants to be a player but in truth the nobles aren’t quite there. Not compared to Waterdeep or Baldur’s Gate. They do try though…” and his voice trailed off as his focus changed, following a red headed woman, whose busty attire appeared to be more painted on, than worn.</p><p></p><p>“I know her though…I met her in the second tier two days ago. What was her…Zoe! That was her name.” he said quickly.</p><p></p><p>“And? Is it relevant, or are you planning on a final fling here?”</p><p></p><p>He turned to look at me with a bemused smirk below his mask, “Supposedly a friend of the Baroness. Why…are you jealous?”</p><p></p><p>I was taken off guard and looked at her; she was pretty, and she had an air of comfort and grace about her. She was at home in this arena. Her outfit was a good fit for her frame and complemented her eye’s coloring, being a deep violet. But I shook my head to clear my thoughts.</p><p></p><p>“What? No…focus. Right now, I’d rather be elsewhere with an ale, and not here with a wine. And right now, we need the others.”</p><p></p><p>We circled the room arm in arm, pretending to drink. Well I was at least; Iesa I wasn’t sure about as I was too short to look into his goblet as we walked. After some time, the gnome and human entered the room one after the other. Daneath casually walked towards me, but to my surprise, Beepu did not.</p><p></p><p>Beepu made a beeline to the sideboard and was steadily sampling each and every morsel on the table, all the while nodding his approval or discarding food he didn’t care for. I was still staring at this when Daneath came up to me and reached for my hand.</p><p></p><p>“Mi’lady,” and he kissed the top of it too my surprise.</p><p></p><p>“Gentlesir,” I replied nodding. And then I whispered, “What is he doing?”</p><p></p><p>Daneath turned to look at the gnome continuing down the table at a leisurely pace, sampling more food. “Well, he did say he was famished.”</p><p></p><p>“Sodding…we need him to get…”</p><p></p><p>“I said that too. Don’t worry yet. One good thing I noticed; a lot of folks were already in their cups before arriving.”</p><p></p><p>I thought a moment on that and realized the implication. “So, are we going as a pack to relieve ourselves, or do you have an idea?”</p><p></p><p>I could see Daneath’s teeth break into a grin. “Yes…Iesa follow my lead once we get near the kitchen entrance,” and he tilted his head backwards with his chin pointed to an open doorway.</p><p></p><p>“Should I be overbearing or just urgent?” Iesa asked.</p><p></p><p>“Just less than I, and enough so folks miss a gnome.”</p><p></p><p>Iesa nodded and led me over towards the far end of the ballroom. On this end, large windows with curtains flanking them gave a commanding view of a pool, that bordered the garden. The windows were all shut, but I could see outside clearly; the fog had not risen.</p><p></p><p>“So, you two had a plan?”</p><p></p><p>“A rough one,”</p><p></p><p>“You could have mentioned it.”</p><p></p><p>“Not really, you kept the other tailor busy when we came up with it.”</p><p></p><p>“Hardly fair. What did you need me to do?”</p><p></p><p>“Depends on the kitchen…the door to the garden is in that direction, so we need a distraction once we get there.</p><p>Daneath had reached Beepu at the sideboard and gently tapped him, and they both took a goblet and started to make their way to the kitchen door as well.</p><p></p><p>Fortunately, the guards in the room were few. Two distracted guards stood lazily near the passage to the Foyer, and two others flanked a door on the opposite wall of the kitchen. But the kitchen door itself was very busy, as servants kept bringing out more food or took back empty dishes.</p><p></p><p>But as we made our way there, I noticed that guests were opening side walls in the hall, with men and women waiting standing nearby. Looking carefully, I saw there were about four panels on the side walls, two on each side with attending servants. </p><p></p><p>They were concealing privys! That meant we probably needed to change our approach. An idea suddenly crossed my mind, and I pulled Iesa forward so we could pass by the doors, As I did so, a servant entered, and I got a good look inside.</p><p></p><p>The doors never really closed so as we slowly crossed in front of them, I could see a busy scene of cooks preparing even more delicacies for the evening. But I was more interested in following the path of a servant who entered with a pair of trays in his hands, and sure enough I saw him take them to a back wall, where there was a decent sized pile already accumulating in the back. </p><p></p><p>I smiled, “I have a better idea. Let’s move closer and just wait for the noise.”</p><p></p><p>Iesa frowned a second and then nodded, and soon we propped ourselves near the kitchen door way, crossing Daneath and Beepu. All Iesa did was hold his hand up, palm outward to Daneath and then that same hand point to his own ear.</p><p></p><p>Daneath seemed to understand the game was changing and he kept talking aloud, while Beepu looked confused on where he was being led. </p><p></p><p>Once we were positioned, where I had an unobstructed view of the Kitchen I waited. I was looking for a large number of servants leading out more trays of fresh food and a clear view of the pile of dishes in the back. And my patience was rewarded with a foursome of stewards bringing out a whole pig.</p><p></p><p>Just as they crossed the threshold, I could see the dishes, and as I expected it was a rough unorganized pile to be dealt with at a later time. The pile was a balanced mess of serving trays, pots, and pans. And once the servants and their pig passed us, I reached within.</p><p></p><p>Focusing on a piece of light within me, I mentally started to shake it. While some of my powers needed my pouch; this one did not. In a matter of seconds, I had shaken the energy enough that I released it near the precarious pile.</p><p></p><p>The kitchen staff could feel a small tremor in the earth beneath their feet. And they would have paid it no mind, if the pans had remained balanced. But they didn’t, and the dirty pile of cooking ware slid and fell hitting the ground noisily.</p><p></p><p>“You idjuts! Yer not stackin them right! Get goin, an clean up!” a deep voice yelled in the kitchen. The servants with the pig didn’t even turn to look and they were moving faster away in fear. And with that we made our move.</p><p>Beepu and Daneath went into the kitchen first, followed by Iesa and me. They quickly ran over to a hallway that let away from the kitchen, and past a wide set of stairs descending into darkness. As we did so, we passed behind, what I thought was a very large gnome. This was a woman in charge of her domain, and that domain had a pile of pans on the floor.</p><p></p><p>The mess had touched the head cook or ‘Gour’ deeply, and she was very occupied in the shouting at the servants. And so she never noticed us move behind her. And we found ourselves in a hallway that turned after some thirty feet to the left. The hallway continued, but now there were wooden doors down the length, and a large iron bound door at the end.</p><p></p><p>“What happened to the plan?” Daneath asked.</p><p></p><p>“The privys and chamber pots are in the hall, so I figured a simple distraction would be easier than a flimsy excuse.” I said.</p><p></p><p>“Where are we?” Iesa asked?</p><p></p><p>Beepu answered, “Servants quarters most likely. Guards as well. But that door on the end is the one in the garden.”</p><p></p><p>“You sure?” Iesa asked.</p><p></p><p>“Positive. I can sense Foggle now and he is near that door.” Then Beepu stopped and twisted his head a moment. Suddenly his eyes grew wide, “We need to move. The fog; it’s here.”</p><p></p><p>We ran down the hallway to the door. It had a large iron bar across it, which Daneath immediately moved out of the way. But as Iesa tried the handle, he realized that the door was locked as well.</p><p></p><p>He didn’t swear at all, but Iesa swiftly pulled from his hair a long piece of flattened metal. He dropped down to his knees and he begun to work the mechanism with it. Glancing behind us, I saw no sign of any servants, and I created a small ball of light and focused it on one of the ribbons holding the wrists of my dress together, so he could see better.</p><p></p><p>“Thanks,” he said quietly and after a couple of tense moments, we heard the click of the door. And with that I magically recalled the light, and Daneath opened it.</p><p></p><p>Foggle bolted inside in a rush, even before the door was fully opened, and landed on Beepu’s shoulder. And while Beepu quietly talked with his familiar, we looked outside, and our hearts sank.</p><p></p><p>We could see the gazebo, and the edge of the garden. But what alarmed us was the now visible fog. It was rising rapidly from the ground and what started perhaps mid-calf as we opened the door, it in a matter of moments was already waist high and growing quickly.</p><p></p><p>Daneath, quickly shut the door, and just as quickly, replaced the bar. He stood there with his hands on the bar, braced as if to hold it down, almost like he expected something was going to try to get inside. Moments passed, and he turned to look at us and said, “Well that’s a problem.”</p><p></p><p>Beepu nodded, “Yes…Foggle was already feeling odd, and the fog was not even that high. But he still has these.” First, he handed the poison vial to Iesa, who pocketed it. Then he handed me my small pouch of components, while he took his own and his spellbook from the bag that Foggle had.</p><p></p><p>I took it and raised my dress to knee height. With a small piece of thong I tied it around my left leg, just above the garters I wore. I look at Beepu, and he, rather unelegantly stuffed his own pouch into the front of his breeches. Then he took the book and a loop of leather, and hung the book beneath his left arm, under his coat. Considering the book wasn’t terribly large, it was concealed well enough.</p><p></p><p>“What about him?” Daneath said looking at Foggle.</p><p></p><p>Beepu without a word, and barely a glance made a wave of his hand and Foggle vanished.</p><p></p><p>I blinked. “Couldn’t he have just carried our stuff with him, and you just make him reappear with it, instead of doing this?” and I gestured at the door and us wildly.</p><p></p><p>“hmm. That is a good question. But probably not. Maybe some very small things inside of him, but I doubt it would work.”</p><p></p><p>“Fine,” I said. “So, we are missing some basic stuff though. Ideas?”</p><p></p><p>“Let’s hope the guards have a room here and see if they left some equipment behind.” Daneath said.</p><p></p><p>Door by door we quietly investigated, and we were lucky to find that one room had lodgings for some of the guards. Equipment options were limited, but we did scavenge two small swords and a chain shirt.</p><p>The shirt was just large enough to work with Daneath’s frame, and his shirt and coat were roomy enough that with my help we concealed the armor beneath them. The swords were short enough that they too could be hidden along the spine underneath both Daneath and Iesa’s coat. </p><p></p><p>But Beepu and I couldn’t find anything we could use for weapon. But if it came for that, our magic would have to do. Of course, if it came to that, we had other problems.</p><p>After we concealed what we could, we crept back to the hallway and listened. The Gour was still barking orders loudly and the sounds of servants entering and leaving continued.</p><p></p><p>“So…now what?” Beepu asked.</p><p></p><p>“Well, we should look around the rest of manor; we don’t know if there is any other way out, and we should at least find out where the other guards are before we do anything.” Iesa said. “So, split up two and two and look around. We’ll head upstairs.”</p><p></p><p>“Ok fine…so how do we get out of here?” Beepu asked with his hands spread. </p><p></p><p>“Easy…we walk out,” and I grabbed Iesa’s ear and started pulling him.</p><p></p><p>“Ow, ow, ow….what are you?...”</p><p></p><p>“You dullard! You can’t just wander off. You’re not going to embarrass me again!” I said loudly and pulled Iesa into the kitchen and without stopping said, “It’s bad enough that I had to recruit these fine gentlemen to find you wandering around. What were you thinking!?!”</p><p></p><p>Beepu blinked a second and caught on, “Yes…yes! I am glad I was able to provide assistance to your Ladyship.” And he followed the pair of us, with a look of pride on his face.</p><p></p><p>“As am I” said Daneath and he pushed Iesa forward to the door to the large hall we were in before. “Please let me know If you need help with your husband again.”</p><p></p><p>The Gour turned and glared at us as we emerged, “What…this is my kitchen. You aren’t supposed to be here!” she said with tired anger in her voice.</p><p></p><p>“You heard that dear,” I spat. “You aren’t allowed in here! Now move!”</p><p></p><p>Turning my head towards the Gour I said sounding still angry, “He wont be a problem again.” And quickly focus some energy on the cooking fire behind her, where a servant stirring a pot looked at us distractedly.</p><p></p><p>Suddenly, the flames by the cooking fire grew much brighter, causing the servant to suddenly swear and backed away from the flames. The Gour, turned to look just as I lowered the power to the spell, and all four of us calmly left the kitchen.</p><p></p><p>I let go of Iesa’s ear and took his arm again, “Lead on dear.”</p><p></p><p>He looked at me with a wry smile, “Sure thing, as long as we avoid the kitchen again.”</p><p></p><p>We left the grand hall and saw that Daneath and Beepu were headed to another wing in the manor, while we re-entered the foyer. The main doors were closed, with a pair of guards in front of them, presumably to prevent ill-behaved guests from opening them by accident. The landing had guests, but the Waterbaroness and her attendants were elsewhere fortunately, so we made our way to the second floor. </p><p></p><p>The upstairs floor was a vaulted gallery, which overlooked both the foyer and the grand hall below and bridged the upper floors between the two wings of the manor. On the what I remembered being the east side was a hallway, and an opening to a large room, while the west side had a set of double doors. A pair of guards were in attendance, covering the entirety of the floor it appeared. </p><p></p><p>And while I could count, this seemed to be far less than the twenty guards. So unless they were congregating somewhere else, I was at a loss on where they might be. What really concerned me was where the host of the party was.</p><p></p><p>We found a servant with another set of goblets and took them and walked the upper gallery and moved towards the double doors. As we walked by them, I noticed Iesa reach a hand out and trying the handle lightly.</p><p></p><p>“Locked,” he whispered.</p><p></p><p>I nodded and noticed that one of the guards was circling the gallery and would be near us in a moment. As the guard approached I also recognized him; it was Kingsley.</p><p></p><p>“Think you can work the lock fast?” I said.</p><p></p><p>“Sure, but not with the guar…hey isn’t that?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes it is. Get ready.”</p><p></p><p>Soon, Kingsley had circled the landing and was near us, when I dropped Iesa’s arm and stepped in front of Kingsley’s path. He was surprised momentarily. </p><p></p><p>“Ahem,” he burbled, “Oh it is you! Lady…?” Kingsley blinked and looked my mask in the eyes.</p><p></p><p>“Kingsley,” and I reached out and grasped his hand that was on the pommel of his sword he wore. “I wanted to thank you again for the favor you granted me.” And as I spoke, I turned him so his back was to the double doors, all the while keeping eye contact with the guard. Iesa moved quietyly behind him and using the burly guard as cover started to work on the lock.</p><p></p><p>“Oh! Of course, it was my pleasure Lady...?” and he looked at me expectantly.</p><p></p><p>“Elisna,” I said using the first name that came to my mind. “Lady Elisna.”</p><p></p><p>“Quite a unique name. Are you from near here?” Kingsly asked. As I watched I saw Iesa was still working the lock, and I knew I needed to buy some more time.</p><p></p><p>“No. No, I am not, I’m from…Baldur’s Gate actually.”</p><p></p><p>“Really? That’s a journey for this little gathering.”</p><p></p><p>“Is it?” I had no idea where the city was at all, as it only was discussed briefly tonight. “The world is such a large place I’m told. Near, far, its all the same when you are stuck in a wagon for days.”</p><p></p><p>“Days? More like a month or so. You must have been very bored?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes,” a month? How big was this place? “The days blended together horribly.” Iesa was still working the lock I could tell.</p><p></p><p>“And the dreadful political situation. Is Dillard Portyr the Grand Duke still?”</p><p></p><p>Sodding Baator. I should have asked some questions beforehand. “Well…the thing is while we were from the area, I never spent much time in the city. The town I came from had enough politics to deal with, let alone Baldur’s Gate.” At this point, I saw Iesa move aside from the door and look at me and nodded.</p><p></p><p>“Kingsley, could you do me another favor, my husband wandered off, and I’m not sure if he is still upstairs or went back down. Could you poke your head around and if you see him, to tell I’m waiting in the grand hall downstairs for him? I need to attend to some…personal matters.” I smiled beneath my mask and tried to put on an innocent voice for him.</p><p></p><p>“Of course, Lady Elisna, I’ll let him know.” And Kingsley with some purpose started to walk across the gallery, without even turning around.</p><p></p><p>Still smiling, I backed up and Iesa approached me. “Its quiet inside, we should move quick.” He said quietly.</p><p></p><p>“Let’s go.” And without turning around I covered Iesa opening the door, and I slipped in behind him.</p><p></p><p>The rectangular room we found ourselves seemed to be either a sitting room or an office. The long wall opposite of the door had several large curtains, covering up the windows to the exterior. A large desk, with a deep burgundy hue sat in front of the curtains. The walls had shelves with a mixture of books and objects on them. A closed single door was on the left of me on the short wall, and a double door was on the righthand short wall. </p><p></p><p>And more importantly Iesa was right; no one was here.</p><p></p><p>“Ok,” I said, “Now what?” </p><p></p><p>“Well, look around here, I’m going to check the doors there,” Gesturing with his head to the double doors.</p><p>I decided that the desk might the most interesting thing to look around at. So I moved behind it and looked at its top. Papers where haphazardly scattered on the top, and an ink vial and set of quills and a sharp knife lay in a wooden organizer, while an oil lamp with a low glass bottle sat, with the sticks of wax nearby.</p><p>I was beginning to look at the papers, when I heard fast steps. Looking up I saw Iesa swiftly moving to the curtains. I didn’t even think and dove under the desk and pulled my dress together, so it didn’t poke out anywhere and I held my breath.</p><p></p><p><strong>Session Notes:</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p>So yes, stuff was indeed stuck in the gazebo, and there was a rules pow-wow about if familiars could hide in their pocketspace with stuff. The answer was no per the DM, which I agreed with. Made the whole scene more fun.</p><p></p><p>So…the funny thing about adventure maps, the privy is frequently left out, or there is an outhouse outside. The reality in noble houses there were a fair number of chamber pot used for this, inside in rooms. But again, see maps.</p><p></p><p>But what is described here is how one took care of business in the formal halls. Well, at least it was in Inveraray Castle, home of the Duke of Argyll in Scotland the Home of Clan Campbell, which I toured in 1993. The paneled side rooms weren’t large, but they were private enough to take care of things and rejoin the main party.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nthal, post: 7554774, member: 6971069"] [b]The glass is always at half something.[/b] [B][CENTER]The glass is always at half something.[/CENTER][/B] [I][CENTER]Working the gaming halls in Sigil has taught me a number of lessons that I use constantly. A smile opens as many doors as a pouting frown. Pretending that you know exactly what you are doing, gets you out of a lot of questions. But most importantly, the ability to hold your breath is a very underrated skill. [/CENTER][/I] Iesa and I stepped through the archway below the staircases, and underneath the trio on the landing. Underneath the mask of serenity that I wore I felt anything but. I was terrified; my heart racing and my hands shaking. I was expecting someone was going to cry beef and point their fingers at us at any moment. That this was all an elaborate farce and we were doomed before we even started. As Iesa was leading me, I briefly closed my eyes and prayed. Prayed that we found our way out of this manor with our lives and our souls intact. Opening my eyes again, I saw we were in a large hall. On one side of the hall a large sideboard had meats, such as smoked fish and hams, and all manner of sliced fruits and cheeses, near stacks of small plates. And everywhere were stewards ready to hand out a goblet and with another one right behind them to fill it. I noticed that there seemed to be a small parade of stewards and servants entering and leaving a pair of doors that I guessed led to the kitchen. The ones that left the kitchen scattered everywhere briskly, making their way to the many rooms in the manor. But while the number of servants running around was surprising, it was the surprising lack of guards that stood out. I remembered that Daneath mentioned that there were about twenty on hand. The size of the manor might help us out in the long run; too many rooms to cover. But the Drow had unnerved me. While I can’t say she wasn’t supposed to be here, it made me wonder who else might be also be lurking in the crowd working for the Waterbaroness. A steward approached me with a goblet, and it was quickly filled. I sipped a little wine, hoping to take the edge off of my fear. It was likely going to be my only drink of the evening as I wanted to stay sharp. Iesa also took a goblet and we looked around the room. The guests were...well...they were boring. Some of the richer folk had fine dresses and masks, and others…didn’t. If this was the gala to be seen at, the crowd wasn’t terribly impressive. I leaned over to Iesa. “The crowd here doesn’t seem to be laden with coin, or am I missing something.” I whispered. Iesa shook his head slightly and whispered back “No, Yartar wants to be a player but in truth the nobles aren’t quite there. Not compared to Waterdeep or Baldur’s Gate. They do try though…” and his voice trailed off as his focus changed, following a red headed woman, whose busty attire appeared to be more painted on, than worn. “I know her though…I met her in the second tier two days ago. What was her…Zoe! That was her name.” he said quickly. “And? Is it relevant, or are you planning on a final fling here?” He turned to look at me with a bemused smirk below his mask, “Supposedly a friend of the Baroness. Why…are you jealous?” I was taken off guard and looked at her; she was pretty, and she had an air of comfort and grace about her. She was at home in this arena. Her outfit was a good fit for her frame and complemented her eye’s coloring, being a deep violet. But I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “What? No…focus. Right now, I’d rather be elsewhere with an ale, and not here with a wine. And right now, we need the others.” We circled the room arm in arm, pretending to drink. Well I was at least; Iesa I wasn’t sure about as I was too short to look into his goblet as we walked. After some time, the gnome and human entered the room one after the other. Daneath casually walked towards me, but to my surprise, Beepu did not. Beepu made a beeline to the sideboard and was steadily sampling each and every morsel on the table, all the while nodding his approval or discarding food he didn’t care for. I was still staring at this when Daneath came up to me and reached for my hand. “Mi’lady,” and he kissed the top of it too my surprise. “Gentlesir,” I replied nodding. And then I whispered, “What is he doing?” Daneath turned to look at the gnome continuing down the table at a leisurely pace, sampling more food. “Well, he did say he was famished.” “Sodding…we need him to get…” “I said that too. Don’t worry yet. One good thing I noticed; a lot of folks were already in their cups before arriving.” I thought a moment on that and realized the implication. “So, are we going as a pack to relieve ourselves, or do you have an idea?” I could see Daneath’s teeth break into a grin. “Yes…Iesa follow my lead once we get near the kitchen entrance,” and he tilted his head backwards with his chin pointed to an open doorway. “Should I be overbearing or just urgent?” Iesa asked. “Just less than I, and enough so folks miss a gnome.” Iesa nodded and led me over towards the far end of the ballroom. On this end, large windows with curtains flanking them gave a commanding view of a pool, that bordered the garden. The windows were all shut, but I could see outside clearly; the fog had not risen. “So, you two had a plan?” “A rough one,” “You could have mentioned it.” “Not really, you kept the other tailor busy when we came up with it.” “Hardly fair. What did you need me to do?” “Depends on the kitchen…the door to the garden is in that direction, so we need a distraction once we get there. Daneath had reached Beepu at the sideboard and gently tapped him, and they both took a goblet and started to make their way to the kitchen door as well. Fortunately, the guards in the room were few. Two distracted guards stood lazily near the passage to the Foyer, and two others flanked a door on the opposite wall of the kitchen. But the kitchen door itself was very busy, as servants kept bringing out more food or took back empty dishes. But as we made our way there, I noticed that guests were opening side walls in the hall, with men and women waiting standing nearby. Looking carefully, I saw there were about four panels on the side walls, two on each side with attending servants. They were concealing privys! That meant we probably needed to change our approach. An idea suddenly crossed my mind, and I pulled Iesa forward so we could pass by the doors, As I did so, a servant entered, and I got a good look inside. The doors never really closed so as we slowly crossed in front of them, I could see a busy scene of cooks preparing even more delicacies for the evening. But I was more interested in following the path of a servant who entered with a pair of trays in his hands, and sure enough I saw him take them to a back wall, where there was a decent sized pile already accumulating in the back. I smiled, “I have a better idea. Let’s move closer and just wait for the noise.” Iesa frowned a second and then nodded, and soon we propped ourselves near the kitchen door way, crossing Daneath and Beepu. All Iesa did was hold his hand up, palm outward to Daneath and then that same hand point to his own ear. Daneath seemed to understand the game was changing and he kept talking aloud, while Beepu looked confused on where he was being led. Once we were positioned, where I had an unobstructed view of the Kitchen I waited. I was looking for a large number of servants leading out more trays of fresh food and a clear view of the pile of dishes in the back. And my patience was rewarded with a foursome of stewards bringing out a whole pig. Just as they crossed the threshold, I could see the dishes, and as I expected it was a rough unorganized pile to be dealt with at a later time. The pile was a balanced mess of serving trays, pots, and pans. And once the servants and their pig passed us, I reached within. Focusing on a piece of light within me, I mentally started to shake it. While some of my powers needed my pouch; this one did not. In a matter of seconds, I had shaken the energy enough that I released it near the precarious pile. The kitchen staff could feel a small tremor in the earth beneath their feet. And they would have paid it no mind, if the pans had remained balanced. But they didn’t, and the dirty pile of cooking ware slid and fell hitting the ground noisily. “You idjuts! Yer not stackin them right! Get goin, an clean up!” a deep voice yelled in the kitchen. The servants with the pig didn’t even turn to look and they were moving faster away in fear. And with that we made our move. Beepu and Daneath went into the kitchen first, followed by Iesa and me. They quickly ran over to a hallway that let away from the kitchen, and past a wide set of stairs descending into darkness. As we did so, we passed behind, what I thought was a very large gnome. This was a woman in charge of her domain, and that domain had a pile of pans on the floor. The mess had touched the head cook or ‘Gour’ deeply, and she was very occupied in the shouting at the servants. And so she never noticed us move behind her. And we found ourselves in a hallway that turned after some thirty feet to the left. The hallway continued, but now there were wooden doors down the length, and a large iron bound door at the end. “What happened to the plan?” Daneath asked. “The privys and chamber pots are in the hall, so I figured a simple distraction would be easier than a flimsy excuse.” I said. “Where are we?” Iesa asked? Beepu answered, “Servants quarters most likely. Guards as well. But that door on the end is the one in the garden.” “You sure?” Iesa asked. “Positive. I can sense Foggle now and he is near that door.” Then Beepu stopped and twisted his head a moment. Suddenly his eyes grew wide, “We need to move. The fog; it’s here.” We ran down the hallway to the door. It had a large iron bar across it, which Daneath immediately moved out of the way. But as Iesa tried the handle, he realized that the door was locked as well. He didn’t swear at all, but Iesa swiftly pulled from his hair a long piece of flattened metal. He dropped down to his knees and he begun to work the mechanism with it. Glancing behind us, I saw no sign of any servants, and I created a small ball of light and focused it on one of the ribbons holding the wrists of my dress together, so he could see better. “Thanks,” he said quietly and after a couple of tense moments, we heard the click of the door. And with that I magically recalled the light, and Daneath opened it. Foggle bolted inside in a rush, even before the door was fully opened, and landed on Beepu’s shoulder. And while Beepu quietly talked with his familiar, we looked outside, and our hearts sank. We could see the gazebo, and the edge of the garden. But what alarmed us was the now visible fog. It was rising rapidly from the ground and what started perhaps mid-calf as we opened the door, it in a matter of moments was already waist high and growing quickly. Daneath, quickly shut the door, and just as quickly, replaced the bar. He stood there with his hands on the bar, braced as if to hold it down, almost like he expected something was going to try to get inside. Moments passed, and he turned to look at us and said, “Well that’s a problem.” Beepu nodded, “Yes…Foggle was already feeling odd, and the fog was not even that high. But he still has these.” First, he handed the poison vial to Iesa, who pocketed it. Then he handed me my small pouch of components, while he took his own and his spellbook from the bag that Foggle had. I took it and raised my dress to knee height. With a small piece of thong I tied it around my left leg, just above the garters I wore. I look at Beepu, and he, rather unelegantly stuffed his own pouch into the front of his breeches. Then he took the book and a loop of leather, and hung the book beneath his left arm, under his coat. Considering the book wasn’t terribly large, it was concealed well enough. “What about him?” Daneath said looking at Foggle. Beepu without a word, and barely a glance made a wave of his hand and Foggle vanished. I blinked. “Couldn’t he have just carried our stuff with him, and you just make him reappear with it, instead of doing this?” and I gestured at the door and us wildly. “hmm. That is a good question. But probably not. Maybe some very small things inside of him, but I doubt it would work.” “Fine,” I said. “So, we are missing some basic stuff though. Ideas?” “Let’s hope the guards have a room here and see if they left some equipment behind.” Daneath said. Door by door we quietly investigated, and we were lucky to find that one room had lodgings for some of the guards. Equipment options were limited, but we did scavenge two small swords and a chain shirt. The shirt was just large enough to work with Daneath’s frame, and his shirt and coat were roomy enough that with my help we concealed the armor beneath them. The swords were short enough that they too could be hidden along the spine underneath both Daneath and Iesa’s coat. But Beepu and I couldn’t find anything we could use for weapon. But if it came for that, our magic would have to do. Of course, if it came to that, we had other problems. After we concealed what we could, we crept back to the hallway and listened. The Gour was still barking orders loudly and the sounds of servants entering and leaving continued. “So…now what?” Beepu asked. “Well, we should look around the rest of manor; we don’t know if there is any other way out, and we should at least find out where the other guards are before we do anything.” Iesa said. “So, split up two and two and look around. We’ll head upstairs.” “Ok fine…so how do we get out of here?” Beepu asked with his hands spread. “Easy…we walk out,” and I grabbed Iesa’s ear and started pulling him. “Ow, ow, ow….what are you?...” “You dullard! You can’t just wander off. You’re not going to embarrass me again!” I said loudly and pulled Iesa into the kitchen and without stopping said, “It’s bad enough that I had to recruit these fine gentlemen to find you wandering around. What were you thinking!?!” Beepu blinked a second and caught on, “Yes…yes! I am glad I was able to provide assistance to your Ladyship.” And he followed the pair of us, with a look of pride on his face. “As am I” said Daneath and he pushed Iesa forward to the door to the large hall we were in before. “Please let me know If you need help with your husband again.” The Gour turned and glared at us as we emerged, “What…this is my kitchen. You aren’t supposed to be here!” she said with tired anger in her voice. “You heard that dear,” I spat. “You aren’t allowed in here! Now move!” Turning my head towards the Gour I said sounding still angry, “He wont be a problem again.” And quickly focus some energy on the cooking fire behind her, where a servant stirring a pot looked at us distractedly. Suddenly, the flames by the cooking fire grew much brighter, causing the servant to suddenly swear and backed away from the flames. The Gour, turned to look just as I lowered the power to the spell, and all four of us calmly left the kitchen. I let go of Iesa’s ear and took his arm again, “Lead on dear.” He looked at me with a wry smile, “Sure thing, as long as we avoid the kitchen again.” We left the grand hall and saw that Daneath and Beepu were headed to another wing in the manor, while we re-entered the foyer. The main doors were closed, with a pair of guards in front of them, presumably to prevent ill-behaved guests from opening them by accident. The landing had guests, but the Waterbaroness and her attendants were elsewhere fortunately, so we made our way to the second floor. The upstairs floor was a vaulted gallery, which overlooked both the foyer and the grand hall below and bridged the upper floors between the two wings of the manor. On the what I remembered being the east side was a hallway, and an opening to a large room, while the west side had a set of double doors. A pair of guards were in attendance, covering the entirety of the floor it appeared. And while I could count, this seemed to be far less than the twenty guards. So unless they were congregating somewhere else, I was at a loss on where they might be. What really concerned me was where the host of the party was. We found a servant with another set of goblets and took them and walked the upper gallery and moved towards the double doors. As we walked by them, I noticed Iesa reach a hand out and trying the handle lightly. “Locked,” he whispered. I nodded and noticed that one of the guards was circling the gallery and would be near us in a moment. As the guard approached I also recognized him; it was Kingsley. “Think you can work the lock fast?” I said. “Sure, but not with the guar…hey isn’t that?” “Yes it is. Get ready.” Soon, Kingsley had circled the landing and was near us, when I dropped Iesa’s arm and stepped in front of Kingsley’s path. He was surprised momentarily. “Ahem,” he burbled, “Oh it is you! Lady…?” Kingsley blinked and looked my mask in the eyes. “Kingsley,” and I reached out and grasped his hand that was on the pommel of his sword he wore. “I wanted to thank you again for the favor you granted me.” And as I spoke, I turned him so his back was to the double doors, all the while keeping eye contact with the guard. Iesa moved quietyly behind him and using the burly guard as cover started to work on the lock. “Oh! Of course, it was my pleasure Lady...?” and he looked at me expectantly. “Elisna,” I said using the first name that came to my mind. “Lady Elisna.” “Quite a unique name. Are you from near here?” Kingsly asked. As I watched I saw Iesa was still working the lock, and I knew I needed to buy some more time. “No. No, I am not, I’m from…Baldur’s Gate actually.” “Really? That’s a journey for this little gathering.” “Is it?” I had no idea where the city was at all, as it only was discussed briefly tonight. “The world is such a large place I’m told. Near, far, its all the same when you are stuck in a wagon for days.” “Days? More like a month or so. You must have been very bored?” “Yes,” a month? How big was this place? “The days blended together horribly.” Iesa was still working the lock I could tell. “And the dreadful political situation. Is Dillard Portyr the Grand Duke still?” Sodding Baator. I should have asked some questions beforehand. “Well…the thing is while we were from the area, I never spent much time in the city. The town I came from had enough politics to deal with, let alone Baldur’s Gate.” At this point, I saw Iesa move aside from the door and look at me and nodded. “Kingsley, could you do me another favor, my husband wandered off, and I’m not sure if he is still upstairs or went back down. Could you poke your head around and if you see him, to tell I’m waiting in the grand hall downstairs for him? I need to attend to some…personal matters.” I smiled beneath my mask and tried to put on an innocent voice for him. “Of course, Lady Elisna, I’ll let him know.” And Kingsley with some purpose started to walk across the gallery, without even turning around. Still smiling, I backed up and Iesa approached me. “Its quiet inside, we should move quick.” He said quietly. “Let’s go.” And without turning around I covered Iesa opening the door, and I slipped in behind him. The rectangular room we found ourselves seemed to be either a sitting room or an office. The long wall opposite of the door had several large curtains, covering up the windows to the exterior. A large desk, with a deep burgundy hue sat in front of the curtains. The walls had shelves with a mixture of books and objects on them. A closed single door was on the left of me on the short wall, and a double door was on the righthand short wall. And more importantly Iesa was right; no one was here. “Ok,” I said, “Now what?” “Well, look around here, I’m going to check the doors there,” Gesturing with his head to the double doors. I decided that the desk might the most interesting thing to look around at. So I moved behind it and looked at its top. Papers where haphazardly scattered on the top, and an ink vial and set of quills and a sharp knife lay in a wooden organizer, while an oil lamp with a low glass bottle sat, with the sticks of wax nearby. I was beginning to look at the papers, when I heard fast steps. Looking up I saw Iesa swiftly moving to the curtains. I didn’t even think and dove under the desk and pulled my dress together, so it didn’t poke out anywhere and I held my breath. [B]Session Notes: [/B] So yes, stuff was indeed stuck in the gazebo, and there was a rules pow-wow about if familiars could hide in their pocketspace with stuff. The answer was no per the DM, which I agreed with. Made the whole scene more fun. So…the funny thing about adventure maps, the privy is frequently left out, or there is an outhouse outside. The reality in noble houses there were a fair number of chamber pot used for this, inside in rooms. But again, see maps. But what is described here is how one took care of business in the formal halls. Well, at least it was in Inveraray Castle, home of the Duke of Argyll in Scotland the Home of Clan Campbell, which I toured in 1993. The paneled side rooms weren’t large, but they were private enough to take care of things and rejoin the main party. [/QUOTE]
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