'Over-think?' Penny queried with upraised eyebrow, seemingly not understanding. There was no such thing! But she didn't miss the sign Loki made with his hand, but assumed he didn't mean to flash her the notorious two-fingered salute. So, the Vatican then. She wouldn't get more than that, but considered it quite likely that if she took too long or struggled to much then Loki would doubtless get impatient and hurry them along, yet Penny wouldn't rely on that or drag her heels.

She made a wry smile at the banter between Ian and Lily, wishing all their adventures could be so amusing after all was said and done. 'Not so fast. We need to know where we must rob the scroll from first. I propose we visit the Vatican archives and libraries and there research the history of the Knights Templar, find which properties they owned or had access to in Rome, within the present borders of the Vatican. They were legendarily wealthy, so there may be many. But this shall be time-consuming and we shall almost certainly be watched, by not only the church, but aslo the allies of Belial.' Penny laid our her typically careful plan.

She looked to Loki, figuring he might know and at least answer some questions tangential to the task at end. 'So, was it true what the inquisitors said, that the Templars engaged in blasphemy or idolatry, or even worship of a demon called Baphomet – or even Islam's Mahomet, Muhammad, of which the name seems to be a corruption? Or was it all just politically motivated lies to be rid of them and erase the French debt?' It wasn't only for idle curiosity that she asked; knowing if the Templars had been corrupted by demons would tell her if they were walking into a trap.

Alice spoke up, but she is clearly distracted. "There is supposedly a vault in the catacombs beneath the Vatican. The Black Vault, where things to dangerous to destroy are kept. This seems about that, too dangerous to destroy."

Penny looked across the table to Alice with interest in her eyes. Could it be that easy? 'Oh? Where did you hear of this? If there is such a thing, it should be the first place we consider.'

Alice is still only half in the conversation, so she simply stated his name. "Abraham Van Helsing."

At Penny's question, Loki, having just taken an enormous bite of pastry, speaks with his mouth full. Both. The answer is both. Some templars were good and some definitely sucked. Most of the Templars were in the dark about what was really going on. Too bad.
Then, at Alice's suggestion of the black vault, a cheeky grin crosses Loki's face and he gives the woman a playful wink as though to say, "exactly." He says nothing though, merely pours an obscene amount of sugar into his coffee.

At Alice's mention of Van Helsing, Lily leans forward in surprise. Wait. You've met him? In person? What's he like!? Her face glows with excitement.

Penny's face fell with worry with Loki's revelation about the Templars. To have such a holy order truly become corrupted, if only in a small but significant part, did not bode well for others like the Men of Letters. 'Then their secrets could have been betrayed too. We shall have to be wary still.'

Penny also looked toward Alice with keen interest as she name-dropped the great Abraham van Helsing – her father, she recalled, from one hot-tempered declaration to Emma and Tabitha. An illustrious heritage indeed, but they'd not had the chance to talk about it at the time. Although she was more concerned with this Black Vault right now, they had the time and they could all do with a good story.

Alice's voice is bitter at the words she speaks, "He is a jerk. He cheats at cards and women." That is the extent of the conversation.

ooc: Sorry, I should have moved this along sooner than I did. For some reason I thought I was waiting on someone, so my apologies.

IC: Breakfast is finished fairly quickly, now that you have a fair game plan. Loki brushes the crumbs off his shirt, talking business. Alright. I can "hot and cold" you to where we need to be. Your job is going to be to figure out what to do if you run into someone. Anyone here good at lying? Or taking out priests without killing them? Because you're probably going to need to do one or the other... he trails off with a shrug.

ooc: Ok, I'm going to move things along to the actual vault and skip ahead. Start thinking of your strats or a good story in case you're caught. If you come up with it in advance I'll give you bonuses to your bluff. Also, please roll spots/listens, move silently and hides so I have them at the ready. Then we'll move on to the vault.

'As underhanded and possibly blasphemous as that may be,' Penny started after a sip of her espresso and looking coolly across the table at Loki, 'I have some skill in both departments and may come up with something, or knock out someone, if we must.' She sighed as she lowered her cup, musing 'If only Father Simon were here, he could negotiate our through the church hierarchy far better than us.'


OOC: I don't have plan, I'll wait to see what the situation at the vault is like.
Rolls using my levelled-up skills:
Listen 26, Spot 15, Hide 26 (corrected from roller), Move Silently 11

Mary smiled, "I'm good at lying but not good at taking out without killing. Maybe I should take the lead in the lies and Penny in the clobbering of priests. Who is Father Simon?"

Penny sipped her espresso whilst pondering what to say. So much had happened in recent weeks that her time working with Father Simon seemed like years ago now. Yet she recalled the better moments rather than the times they'd butted heads. 'A priest and a member of the Men of Letters. He worked with us early on in this quest. We had our differences of opinion, but he's a good and wise man.'

Alice nodded in thought. "A priest would be good to have around."

Lily falls silent at mention of Father Simon, her eyes tight yet she says nothing.

Soon you find yourselves playing a rather unenthusiastic game of hot and cold until you at last end up outside of the Papal Palace. Rather than enter, however, Loki guides you to a small, run down shack stuffed at the end of an alley. The shack itself is empty, little more than a half standing room with rotting wood, but Loki gestures you inside and bids you to dig, materializing shovels while happily "supervising." It takes a bit of doing, but you are able unearth an extremely old looking, copper door, now tinged green with age. As you look down you see darkness and a rather unstable looking ladder leading down. Loki goes first, volunteering to make sure its safe and though it creaks awfully, it holds. At the bottom he materializes a strange looking item he informs you is a flashlight, and you follow suit, ending up in a dusty chamber with marble floors and an inordinate amount of cobwebs in the corners. Loki leads the way, making a face at the state of the place. This place has secrets so old that nobody remembers them but people like me. Handy, am I right? he winks. Now, this is where we'll run into people, I'm betting. We need the archives because that's where we'll access the way to the other knight. I doubt anyone alive remembers that either, but that's the whole reason this place was built where it was, to be on top of that and protect the portion of the scroll. I know where to go but staying unnoticed will be...difficult.

You travel through the dark hallway, eventually ending up at a stone wall, blocking any further progress. Loki merely runs his hand along, feeling for a catch and the wall slides away, revealing a massive room with endless corridors of shelves. You can soon hear voices of men at work inside. Murmurs in Italian to each other, mostly just talking of categorizing and the like. It seems as though there are only about four or so, at least from the sounds of them. Unfortunately, before you can formulate any kind of a plan, Lily accidentally bumps her elbow into a shelf and a massive dusty tome falls off with a thud. The Italian voices stop and Loki, eyes wide says, Hide! Easier said than done, of course, and though most of you are able to scramble to and fro behind shelves and the like, Ian is not fast enough. Two of the men, robed in priest attire, rush towards him, looking more than a little stunned at his presence. A slew of Italian leaves their mouths and he just grins helplessly, unable to understand them. Uh...just looking for the bathroom? We could leave him behind, let him distract them while we go to the knight? I mean, they probably won't kill him Loki shrugs, whispering to Penny and Alice with a look of mischief in his dark eyes.

Alice rolled her eyes at Loki and decided that he was half right. Ian can be a good distraction. She would take advantage of that by sneaking up behind them. Her plan is to use her pistol butts to try and knock the priests out before they can raise an alarm.

10:15, Today: Mary-Alice Reussoe Conner rolled 4 using 1d4+2.  #3.

10:15, Today: Mary-Alice Reussoe Conner rolled 4 using 1d4+2.  #2.

10:14, Today: Mary-Alice Reussoe Conner rolled 4 using 1d4+2.  damage #1.

10:14, Today: Mary-Alice Reussoe Conner rolled 10 using 1d20+5.  #3.

10:14, Today: Mary-Alice Reussoe Conner rolled 25 using 1d20+10.  Strike #2.

10:14, Today: Mary-Alice Reussoe Conner rolled 27 using 1d20+10.  strike #1.

10:12, Today: Mary-Alice Reussoe Conner rolled 11 using 1d20+10.  Move SIlently.

She went for three strikes, using paired weapons to get the third attack. She hopes to KO the priests, so she will hit three of them.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:18, Mon 10 May 2021.

'"People like you?"' Penny echoed quizzically, following Loki through the passage, peering curiously ahead at what the electric light revealed. 'Norse gods, you mean?' She could've gone on probing, but left it there – secrets were secrets for a reason. Instead, she changed the topic, knowing the salacious should distract Loki. 'A thousand years ago, the priests here kept concubines, which may explain some of these secret passages...'

In the archives, Penny lunged to stop Lily and catch the book, but without success. Reacting faster, she ducked into hiding, before fearfully realising Ian hadn't made it. She frantically tried to think of some ruse she could use to rescue Ian and maintain secrecy, but most ran up against the simple fact that she did not speak Italian. Drat! She nodded to Loki; as much as it pained her, it was a good plan: subtle, clever, minimising risk...

And then Alice went ahead and did the complete opposite.

Sighing, Penny followed suit, dashing out and swinging left and right with her cane, trying to knock two priests over the head and knock them out, safely and without committing some kind of sin by beating up a priest.


OOC: Using Nonlethal Force
#1: cane attack 16, nonlethal damage 7
#2: cane attack 17, nonlethal damage 7
Defensive Martial Arts: +1 dodge Defense vs melee attacks
Dodge: +1 dodge Defense vs nearest priest
Agile Riposte: If the target of Dodge makes a melee attack against Penny and misses, then Penny may make an immediate melee AoO against the target. Once a round.

At Penny's words of "people like you," Loki's eyes flick to hers sharply, and a long, knowing moment passes between you for a split second before the mirth in his eyes is suddenly returned by the sight of Alice's sudden actions. Well, that's fun.


Somehow, Alice manages to sneak up on one and strike with the butt of her gun. He staggers in pain but doesn't completely black out. Before the second priest can react, the gun finds his skull too. Ian, by now, actually yelps in surprise. His eyes are so wide it's comical.

A third priest tries to help but Alice's strike immediately drops him to the ground. By now, Penny comes in and finishes off the two guards that were half felled by Alice's initial blows. Lily promptly finishes the fourth priest with a large wince on her face. If we ever see him again, not one word to Father Simon about this, alright everyone? she wags a finger at you all. Ian, just stares down at the still, robed men, and shakes his head. We're all going to hell I tell you. Straight to hell.

The sound of Loki's laughter interrupts the man and he looks far too amused. Wow. That was just...wow. Well, you should probably tie them up, or we're going to have a lot of trouble when we get out of the passage.

He waits while Lily expertly does so, the woman knows her way around a rope. You definitely
feel a twinge of guilt, seeing them lying there, though, to her credit, she tries to make them comfortable.

Soon, Loki has gone to the stone wall and placed his fingers in such a way that it slides open, revealing stone steps going into darkness. He shines his flashlight, going down with a sigh. You know what?, I know there's traps. But we're in a hurry. I guess I'll just go first. He says with a sigh. With that, he simply tromps off in front. The ensuing half hour is excruciating to watch. The poor man is sliced, stabbed, impaled, every combo you could think of, and he bears it all with a grunt and a minor look of annoyance. Either he really is a Norse God, or something extremely powerful. When at last the corridor ends, you find double doors, brilliant red, covered in keys hanging off small hooks, each one different, ornate, and beautiful. Loki frowns, stares, and swears. Well, this is new.

ooc: Ok, go ahead and roll search/knowledge/spot/anything you think would help. Also, please roll a listen too.

Alice went to the door and did her best to understand it.

08:19, Today: Mary-Alice Reussoe Conner rolled 12 using 1d20+4.  Listen.

08:18, Today: Mary-Alice Reussoe Conner rolled 11 using 1d20+6.  K:Theology.

08:18, Today: Mary-Alice Reussoe Conner rolled 13 using 1d20+10.  Spot.

08:17, Today: Mary-Alice Reussoe Conner rolled 23 using 1d20+4.  K:Arcane.

As soon as the priests were felled, Penny crouched to check their pulses and breathing, to ensure none had taken a serious head injury from either the floor or their weapons. Walloping a man unconscious was such delicate business. She rolled them into recovery positions and rose to check on her own team. She gave Lily a relieved, teasing smile. 'Only to make confession and beg forgiveness.' And she stood by Ian and touched his shoulder in reassurance, adding 'Oh, we have a lot more stops to make before that happens.' She helped Lily with the ropes, and reasoned that they couldn't hide the bodies any better than where they were right now.

She followed after Loki, wincing as he set off each and every one of the traps. He might be an immortal, supernatural being able to survive all such injuries, yet somehow that just made it so much more horrific. 'Do forgive me for not joining you.' Penny said apologetically. 'But thank you, so much.'

Finally at the keys, Penny raised her eyebrow as she remarked to Loki 'Really? Not even in your Indiana Jones? Now, let's see...' Penny gazed curiously over the keys, tapping her lips in thought while wondering at each one's purpose, examining them for dust or the marks of use, their design and history. It seemed a puzzle based on observation and deduction and it intrigued the detective greatly. She explained her thought processes as she worked through them. 'It seems likely that only one of these keys fits the door, while all the others fail or trigger an alarm or yet another trap. The issue is to identify which. Is there a clue in its design, or it merely a secret known only to a keeper? Or is all this but a red herring, distracting from the real means of entry?' Ducking, Penny peered into the keyhole; after all, it was more "key" to this than the many keys.


OOC: So many skill checks! Search 21 (free check to find a clue), Spot 28, Craft (mechanical) 18, Knowledge (theology & philosophy) 27, Disable Device 30, Listen 30

ooc: Dang! That IS a lot of checks! Lol

ic: Alice doesn't come up with much, but her knowledge of arcane lore does help enough that you recognize symbols of alchemy on the end of each key, which Penny also recognizes. Besides that, Penny notices a little transcription around the edges of the door itself, repeating the same phrase over and over in latin. Should you need to translate, you can always equip your glasses to do so. It reads, "Heart of gold, mind of silver, only the poisoned wilds of man can enter here. One, two, three, and four."

Meanwhile, you both can hear something from the other side of the door. Laughing. Wild, muffled, laughing.

ooc: Ok, so since you both recognize the symbols, here is a link to alchemy symbols to see if you can figure out the puzzle. Not the most complex thing in the world....

https://blog.prepscholar.com/alchemy-symbols

Perching the spectacles upon her pert nose, Penny peered at the inscription. As the letters swam and shifted before her gaze, she read out the message. '"Heart of gold, mind of silver, only the poisoned wilds of man can enter here. One, two, three, and four." Then it repeats, all the way around.' Rising, she assessed the clue. 'The rhyme and meter are better in Latin, of course, but that should be it... It refers to the alchemical symbols on the keys, of course. Gold represents heart, and silver the mind, but they may just be red herrings. The "poisoned wilds of man" is more obtuse, but it can only be antimony, which is alleged to represent the wild element of human nature. Look for the antimony key!' Penny concluded with satisfaction, before clarifying exactly which that was. 'The one with an empty circle surmounted by a cross.'

Yet something still bothered her, causing Penny's brow to furrow in concentration. 'But the numbers, I still do not see their purpose. Do we need four keys, do we need to turn the one key four times? Or is just another red herring to complete the meter?'

At last, Penny sighed, pinching her nose as she removed the spectacles. 'Perhaps I'm just over-thinking this, as I tend to do. Let us try the antimony key, and then see what's so funny.'


OOC: Sorry, I was distracted by other things. And I couldn't work it out! It was either too complex or not complex enough for me. :) I got "poisoned wilds of man" is antimony, so we probably need that key, but the rest I can't be sure on.

Alice said, "No I don't think so. Ain't you ever been to a square dance. The caller says 'One' pause 'Two' pause 'Three' pause 'Four' so maybe the pauses are important?"

Penny frowned, thinking over what Alice suggested and how this might apply here. 'Do you mean we might have to count to four?' she clarified. 'It's possible. I shall try it first.'

Alice shook her head, "No I am saying it is a song. You have to sing it."

Ian frowns at the puzzle. I only sing when I'm drunk so...someone else can have at it if they want. He chuckles. Meanwhile Loki just gives a non-caring shrug. You all wanna turn this into Hamilton, be my guest. Sing away. He conjures himself a chair and sits on it, a plate of cookies appearing in his hand, which he gestures are up for grabs to any who wishes, of course. Too bad you can't just ask the lunatic on the other side of that door, he shakes his head, mouth full of cookie.

ooc: Feel free to roll knowledge or intelligence checks if so desired to get clues!

Penny shrugged, and then did just that! 'Hello?! Can you hear us?!' she asked, rapping on the door and raising her voice, just loud enough to be heard on the opposite side, and not all through the catacombs.