A Midnight Masquerade — IC

[Namelessjake]

"It makes sense. There may still be clues at the Dupuis Estate and we may be able to access it without being seen," Évrard says before gesturing for Renault to lead the way.

[Fialova]

The route to Rue Tarfonne is initially as busy as the trip to the hospital from your homes. The street itself, however, is much less so. You notice almost immediately that, like Rue St. Guillaume, this is a primarily residential street. The homes on this road appear nearly as large and ornate as the ones on the parallel street, likely home to some of the wealthiest aristocrats in the city. The paved carriage-way is lined on either side with rows of trees like all the nicer parts of town, with a wide walking path between those and the estate entrances, most of which are separated from the path by private fences or small walls.

Without the burden of combat and hauling a near-lifeless body, you find the trip this morning much easier than the night prior. You estimate the total distance to be a bit further to 22 Rue Tarfonne, and you make that distance in around 15-20 minutes from when you began towards it.

Approaching the address, you find that it appears a little more modest than many of the other homes you'd passed by. Rather than a large wall it is lined at the front by a neatly kept, short wooden fence. There is a small, simple wooden gate that leads to a walkway towards the main doorway, which sits about 100 feet back. Further down the sidewalk you see a short carriageway leading from the main road to a stable at the building's side.

The yard in between the fence and the home itself is, like the rest of the estate, more modest than many of the others you passed. There are two small fountains on either side of the path to the door, but otherwise the rest of the yard is simply flat, well-trimmed grass that is unadorned by decoration or landscaping. The very edge of the building is lined with small, simple bushes, not trimmed into any unique shapes or designs like at some of the other homes.

[ratwizard]

"This is it," Renault says as they approach. "22 Rue Tarfonne." With unwary steps, Renault makes his way through the modest estate, eventually reaching the door and knocking upon it three times. Who lives here? he wonders.

[Fialova]

There is no sound initially after Renault knocks at the door. Within a minute or two, however, you can hear some shuffling coming from behind the door. Another short time passes before it begins to open. It swings slowly open, revealing a dimly lit wide corridor going forward, with a staircase in the back.

After it is approximately halfway open, a small elderly woman peeks out from behind the door. Though an orc she appears to be as tall as any human elder, a head or so shorter than either of you. She looks up at you through thick eyeglasses, pushing them further up her nose as she does so. Once she does get a good look at you she simply nods and motions for you to come in side, saying, "come, come, I don't have all day."

[ratwizard]

Offering a cursory glance at his companions, Renault nods to the older woman and steps inside. "Good morning," the Father says quietly as he takes in his surroundings.

[Scratcherclaw]

Jacques returns the nod to the woman, somewhat surprised that their contact is an elderly orc woman. I suppose few others would be more inconspicuous. He files in behind his brother, eager to get the business underway.

[Namelessjake]

Évrard too remains silent, following suit with Jacques and returning the woman's greeting with just a simple nod. He cranes his neck forward as he steps through the door, trying to get a better look at the interior of the house.

[Fialova]

Once inside the woman shuts the door behind you just as slowly as she opened it. You find the the foyer you are in quite impressive, though nothing compared to the Dupuis Estate. It strikes you as more the sort of house that would dominate the smaller dwellings of a country town, rather than something you'd see in Ellisport or other major cities.

Apart from the staircase in the back it has two large doorways leading to either side. The woman leads you wordlessly - and slowly - through the one to your left, where you find yourself in an ornate yet cozy living room. Floral-patterned cushioned chairs of blue and green flank a larger sofa of identical design. These both face towards a large, ornate mantelpiece decorated with various small statuettes of horses and a few other animals. The walls are lined with shelves, which feature an array of books, other decorative statuettes, and small boxes containing Goddess-knows.

Seated at one of the two chairs is the Father Noel, who now wears a simple doublet and slacks in lieu of his clergy robes. The man smiles and stands as you arrive, walking around the seats and towards you to shake your hands. Afterwards, he turns to face the woman and says, "Thank you for the hospitality, Mme. Istrec."

"Yeah, yeah," the elderly woman responds. "You folk just hurry up and get on with your business and leave me to enjoy my retirement. I swear, the nerve of that young woman, asking such a thing of me. Young folk have no respect these days," she says, shaking her head as she speaks.

[Scratcherclaw]

"It is good to see you, Father Noel," Jacques says, smiling slightly as he sets his eyes upon their apparent ally. He raises an eyebrow as the elderly woman says her piece, his curiosity regarding her background piqued. She couldn't possibly be a random woman. Perhaps a retired Apostle?

Leaning against a chair, he says, "Well we wouldn't want to keep you, Madame. Shall we get straight to business?"

[ratwizard]

Renault nods, eager to get their meeting underway. How my story twists and tangles. Did the Goddess set me on this path?

[Fialova]

"Yes, that would be good," the Father responds with a nod, turning to the orcish woman. "Would you be so kind as to direct us to the back door? We can take the rest from there."

The madame grunts in response, leading the four of you now back into the foyer. There you take a left and head towards the back of the room, past the staircase, and through a door. The door leads into a conservatory of similar size to the living room. The back half of the room has glass on three of the sides as well as the ceiling, with the area full to the brim of all sorts of beautiful and exotic plants of various shapes and sizes. Past these you are lead to a metal and glass door that opens into the back garden of the estate. She opens the door and waits expectantly for you to walk through it.

Once outside she quickly shuts the door behind you and you are left in the yard. It is much smaller than the Dupuis Estate's, but still well-kept and larger than a standard home could ever hope to have. There is a simple path of paving stones cutting through the grass leading both towards the stable on your left and a simple metal gate in the back. You can see that, unlike many estates, the stable extends all the way to the back of the property, with room for several horses or perhaps storage of goods. It presumably has its own set of gates leading to the alleyway at the rear.

Now alone, the Father turns to you all and gives a polite nod again. "Good to see you three made it without issue. I'd expected I'd be waiting awhile longer, though I am glad to say I did not need to. I could certainly tell I was unwanted company," he says, as begins to leisurely walk towards the gate.

[Namelessjake]

I suppose it's hard to refuse the Apostles no matter how unhappy you are with what they want, Évrard thinks as he follows the Father outside. "I'm assuming you already have at least the beginnings of a plan? Having already arranged this place," Évrard asks, keen to hear what their next steps are.

[Scratcherclaw]

"It would not do to keep a man of the Church waiting," Jacques says, shrugging as they walk through the yard. "Do you suppose all the fires have been put out? I am curious about what became of that serpent."

[ratwizard]

"Is the Madame... part of our organization, Father Noel?" Renault asks uncomfortably. "She seems unfazed by our combined presence."

[Fialova]

"Corinne gave me the basic instructions. Meet at this address, that the owner was expecting us. Use the back alleyway to approach the Dupuis Estate from the back, and return the same way when finished," the Father responds to Évrard. "As far as I know we will be safe from fire, but I was not told one way or another," he continues with a frown. As he speaks you reach the end of the yard and he opens the gate before you, allowing the rest through before he shuts it once more. There you are left with the decision to head to the left or right down the alleyway.

Turning to Renault, the man says, "as for our orcish friend, it is hard to say. She certainly seemed unfazed by the situation, though clearly not happy with it either. Your guess is as good as mine as to her stature."

[ratwizard]

"A question for another time, then," Renault says, happy with his peer's answer. Peering left, then right, he turns back to Father Noel. "Which way is the estate?"

[Namelessjake]

"Not knowing what lies in wait for us - remain vigilant when we reach the estate," Évrard says, assuming an air of command out of habit. "I would suggest our first course of action should be to look for anything left behind by the murderer or anything which can shed more light on the origin of the serpent and the other conjurations," he adds.

[Fialova]

Noel shrugs at Renault's question. "I can't say I recall to be honest, last night was a blur for much of it," he says.

OOC

[SHOW]

Feel free to roll streetwise to see if you can remember for sure, or you can just guess which way to go.

[Namelessjake]

Évrard racks his brain and the memories of the night prior, trying to piece together a mental map of the estate and surroundings.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Streetwise Check: 10(1d20) +3 = 13

[Scratcherclaw]

"It should be easy. It's the yard with a pile of rubble in it," Jacques says with a smirk and a shrug. "It's doubtful we find two estates like that, I'd think."

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Streetwise: 16(1d20) +8 = 24

[ratwizard]

Renault looks left, then right, trying to remember what this place looked like in the dead of night, with a serpent on the loose.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Streetwise check to know which way to go: 9(1d20) +4 = 13

[Fialova]

Évrard, Renault

[SHOW]

You aren't positive, but you seem to recall it being further to the left.

Jacques

[SHOW]

You are almost positive that it took less time to traverse the alleyway last night than it did the street this morning, which would place the estate further to your right.

[ratwizard]

Renault looks left once more, before pointing down the road. "I think it's this way," he says with uncertainty in his voice, beginning to walk.

[Scratcherclaw]

Jacques puts out an arm to stop his brother before the others begin to follow. "Your sense of direction always was lacking, Renault." He points towards the right, eyeing down the alleyway. "I'm almost certain the estate is this way," he says with confidence. "We'd spent less time in the alley last night than on the main road this morning. It has to be this way." He begins his stride, keeping an eye out for the ruined estate.

[ratwizard]

"Ah. Yes," Renault says, a pang of embarrassment reaching deep into his stomach. "I suppose that is why I joined the Church, and not the Navy." He nods to his brother, spinning around and following in his footsteps. "Lead on."

[Namelessjake]

Évrard chuckles at the brother's banter but remains silent and follows them to the right, ignoring his own sense of direction as the other two come to an agreement.

[Fialova]

The trek down this alleyway is much less scenic - and clean - than the main road. Where the road was paved in cobblestone and kept relatively free of debris and horse dung, the same can not be said for the alley. It is a mixture of dirt and loose gravel and riddled with the feces of horses and other animals. Given that typically only beasts or carriages make their way down here it is not really a surprise that the same care is not shown, but it makes for an unenjoyable walk when not being carried in such a way.

Jacques' memory proves correct, and it does not take too long before you approach the the estate from behind. The gate you'd opened the night before is still wide open, and you can see from a distance that the fire - while now out - did a number on the structure of the building. A large section of the right side of the building - from your position - is burnt away and partially collapsed. The windows of most of the exterior are blown out and the beautiful white facade that once was is now charred black for about half of the building. The left side is still intact from what you can see on the outside, but there is no telling how much damage was done to the interior.

[ratwizard]

"No serpent, no specters," Renault says quietly as he gazes at the ruined manor. "But that doesn't make the estate any less dangerous. Let's proceed with caution, and may the Goddess grant us safety."

[Namelessjake]

"It's a good sign. If they're gone for good we can only hope they've left behind some clues to their origin," Évrard says as he starts towards the fire damaged building.

"Let's go find away inside. The still intact part is probably our best bet, " he says, walking towards the left side of the building.

[Scratcherclaw]

"Care is certainly needed," Jacques says, eyeing over the scorched manor and its extensive damage. "Our investigation won't go very far if we're buried by rubble. Who's to say how sturdy the mansion is after a fire of that size." Not to mention an enormous fiery snake tearing through a wall.

[ratwizard]

"Whether by fire or brute force from that serpent, it's likely not of sound structure at this point," Renault says in agreement with his brother. He steps along behind the navymen, keen on beginning their investigation.

[Fialova]

"Perhaps," Noel responds, listening to the others' worries. "Though Imardanian construction is quite robust. If it is still standing after the events of last night, it may yet stand for quite awhile. The main structure doesn't seem very badly damaged, apart from the scorch marks. At least from here."

Moving into the yard you quickly find the path you'd escaped down the night before. Some of the lamps you lit still burn dimly, likely on the last bit of oil that remains. In the sunlight you can clearly see the various hedges, topiaries, fountains, statues, flower gardens, and fruit trees that decorate the grounds of the estate. Had things gone well you might have retired here with a new paramour for a romantic stroll, or viewed it all leisurely from the upstairs balcony with a nice glass of wine. The same balcony you had to frantically escape through for fear of imminent death.

While there are myriad branches leading in either direction along the path, the main one to the house is a straight shot after a certain point, and is able to be traversed quite quickly. Drawing near to the structure itself, you spot that under the balcony is a wide stone patio, raise a few feet above the rest of the ground and leading to a set of double doors that must enter into ground floor of the building.

To your right, you see clearly the damage that has been done. The inferno burned away most of the wooden fixtures dotting this part of the exterior, such as window sills and shutters. The stone structure, while still holding, has had its finishing mostly melted away, and in some spots it seems the stone itself was heated enough to melt some as well. Wooden debris on the ground at the foot of the structure suggest that the roof may have partially collapsed, as the large timbers and thin wooden rectangular pieces - now mostly charcoal - do not look like anything that would have decorated the facade.

The left, in contrast, seems mostly unaffected by the blaze. The fire brigade must have put the inferno out before it could make it that far, likely with the aid of magic rather than normal means. Many of the windows are shattered, with shards of glass littering the ground. However, apart from that there are very few visible signs of damage.

[ratwizard]

"Color me surprised. I was expecting there to be more damage than this," the Father says, nodding in appreciation of the stonework. He turns to his companions. "I suppose we should have a plan in place for if we happen to encounter trouble again. Any suggestions, other than retreat?"

[Scratcherclaw]

"Well that would depend on what troubles we meet," Jacques says with a shrug, gazing at the burned husk of a manor in awe and unease. "If the structure begins to collapse, we shall find the nearest exit. If we encounter a giant snake, I'll see you back at home." He pats his brother's back, stepping closer to the estate and peering through its distant shattered windows. Such a fine building, ruined. But what secrets might still be inside?

[Namelessjake]

"Based on last night, we all seem to have some competentancy in combat," Évrard says. "If we encounter more of the smaller conjunctions I think we should try to defeat them. It could provide us with more clues to their origins, or at the very least allow us to develop tactics against them should our investigation lead to further encounters," he says as the two brothers talk of retreat.

[ratwizard]

"Competency?" Renault asks, raising his walking cane. "I appreciate the compliment, but I am by no means a conditioned navyman. Nor a trained warrior," he adds, peering at the Father in a quizzical manner. "If we encounter trouble, then I ask that you keep that in mind."

[Namelessjake]

"You were beside us fighting those creatures last night while the other guests turned and fled. That counts for more than you might think," Évrard says to Renault. "Often it is the will to fight which decides the outcome of a battle and not the skill of the combatants," he adds, clapping the man on the shoulder as he would do talking to one of the men under his command.

[ratwizard]

"I suppose that means something," Renault admits, slipping a rare smile. It is replaced with a stern grimace as quickly as it came.

OOC

[SHOW]

Any details per Scratch's post now that we're closer?

[Fialova]

OOC

[SHOW]

Possibly, depends on exactly where Scratch intends to be. The ground floor of the estate is higher up than the ground outside, so the only place to directly peer into the windows is from the patio area. If you are getting that close I can give some details about what is seen through the windows. If viewed from the ground, though, the results will be different.

[Scratcherclaw]

"The Navy does not reward incompetency, but I doubt I need to tell you that," Jacques says to Évrard, shrugging as he looks on toward the mansion.

"Shall we take a look at the patio?" The vampiric man begins walking down the garden path, his destination in sight. "Our murderer seemed to escape from the balcony too, so maybe he left a clue."

[Namelessjake]

"And if the Navy doesn't root it out, the infidels and pirates in the Forelle will," Évrard adds to Jacques' comment on the navy. "The patio seems like as good a place to start as any," he adds following after the younger brother.

[ratwizard]

"I concur," Renault says, back on topic. "I had almost forgotten about our murderer in light of seeing those... creatures."

[Fialova]

"Did the murderer truly seem like more of a threat than those creatures?" Noel asks. "I did not witness them, but surely mysterious monsters are a higher priority," the man continues.

As you walk down the path you reach the patio. The steps up are shallow and easy to climb, though some debris from the damaged building is scattered around to walk past. At this height you are now more or less eye level with the many windows lining the back wall of the estate. Additionally, there is a large set of double doors in the center of this wall, leading into the ground floor.

From where you stand you can see a little into the windows, though not with much detail. All of then on the ground floor are to your left in relation to the door, with the right side being windowless and instead featuring a small seating area that is partially covered by a trellis. The trellis itself and the plants that once covered it have now burnt to a crisp, but the positioning is still clear.

Through the closest windows to your left you can see what appears to be a relatively large room with various chairs, though much more you cannot tell from a distance. Past that, further down the wall, appears to be a room containing bookshelves, which are clearly visible for a short distance.

[Namelessjake]

"I doubt the presence of the Murderer and the creatures on the same night was no coincidence Father," Évrard replies to Noel. "The threat is likely one and the same."

"Now, where do we start?" he asks the group as he surveys the scene in front of them.

[ratwizard]

"It all seemed so... orchestrated," Renault adds in agreement. He raises his cane to point toward the double doors. "I suppose we should start from within. We can investigate each room as we go, form a system."

He pauses. "When I was training for my Fathership, I was tasked with wiping down every single pew in the cathedral, twice a day. By the end of that stretch, I had it down to clockwork. One end to the next. The same method stands for our task here, even for a manor this large."

[Scratcherclaw]

Jacques nods along as the two men speak his own beliefs. "Indeed. Our murderer seemed to want to kill more than just the twins." Stepping onto the patio, he peers into the windows. Such a lovely home turned to ruin. Truly a pity. Listening to his brother's anecdote, he stifles a laugh. Such an exciting life he leads. "You know, I never pegged the Goddess as a stickler for cleanliness. I'm sure She's quite proud of your dedication, Renault."

"I suppose we can start on the leftmost side. It just looks like a bunch of chairs, so how hard can it be to sweep?" Then again, what is a cathedral but a bunch of chairs?

[ratwizard]

"The point of the task wasn't the cleanliness, it was to teach discipline," Renault explains, afraid his brother is missing the point. "Regardless, you have a good point. I'll follow you two navymen."

[Fialova]

Jacques

[SHOW]

Peering into the first window you come to, you see more clearly that this room seems to be a sitting room of some sort. Along all 3 walls not facing the garden are some writing desks with individual chairs facing them. Toward the center of the room are three separate clusters of nicer, lounge chairs in U shapes. These chairs are separated from one another by small end tables, and seem arranged to promote discussion. Under each cluster is a large, round rug of varying designs, and there are many other rectangular rugs throughout the room as well.

From a protrusion on the outer wall, between the 2nd and 3rd windows, you surmise that there must be a fireplace on the center portion of the back wall. One of the clusters of seats appears to face this supposed mantle, while the others face elsewhere, each roughly aiming towards one of the two sets of double doors that line the opposite wall. On the wall to your left there seems to be an arched doorway that leads into the room of books you spotted before, and you can see through it more shelves. All of this seems untouched by the previous night's inferno.

Apart from the furniture, the room is decorated with various potted plants, framed paintings and portraits, and small decorative statues and statuettes. Many of the paintings are your standard fare for an aristocratic household in this city - featuring images of the sea, ships, and beaches - while others appear to be portraits of family members, like ancestors of the twins.

[Scratcherclaw]

"Looks to be some sort of sitting room," Jacques says, peering through the window into the lounge. "Miraculously untouched by the flames, at that. I'm unsure if we'll find much in the way of clues, but it seems to be safe passage in, at least."

He peers at the family portraits, wondering if their murderer might be an estranged relative of some sort. "Shall we take a look around inside?"

[ratwizard]

"On your lead," Renault says, following after his brother. "Safe passage is all we can ask for."