The moon is poking out from behind a billboard for Zesta Gum...the Hot Chew! It leaves long shadows along the sides of the buildings, like streaks left from oily fingers on previously clean glass.

Haddigan Square at 1 AM in the morning is a bit like the cheese warehouse when someone left the door standing open.  Lots and lots of rats scurrying around.

The Eustace Casey Courthouse sits at the corner of Dunler and Haddigan Avenue.  It's six stories of concrete and secrets.  A drunk is sleeping in an alleyway on one side of it. Inside are three security guards.  Bill.  Tom.  Harry.

You've done your research.  So you know.  There are five ways in.  The front doors of course, though they are locked.

A side entrance.  Also locked.

A loading bay door around back.  Locked

There are fire escapes running up the sides of the Courthouse.  There are various doors on various floors leading out onto the fire escapes.  They should also all be locked.

And if you follow the fire escapes up to the top, there's the roof.  There's a door up there that leads inside too.  It's also locked.

On the fifth floor are the chambers of Judge Melvin Wyman.  He was the one who presided over the trial of Victor Bernard.  It was in his court that your father was shot and killed.

The little voices that sometimes carry you tidings brought you some tidings yesterday.  Judge Wyman has a full transcript of that trial.  The recorder's office said the transcript was lost.  Then they said they'd found it but it was sealed.  Then they said it was lost again.

You don't know what happened after that day your father was killed. You've heard different things. About a surprise witness for the defense.  About some arguments involving evidence.  You've never quite understood why the jury found Victor Bernard innocent of all charges.

But now, maybe. Just maybe.  You can find out.

You just need to make your way to the fifth floor.  You need to find a way into Judge Wyman's chambers.  Then locate that transcript.  And of course, not get caught by Bill or Tom or Harry.  Or at least Harry.  Bill and Tom make money moonlighting for a local gang is what you hear.

Alright.  So you are outside the building.  Which entrance would you like to try?

Mmmm... cinnamon-y, thought Van.



That is... very, very suspicious, thought Van.



Damn' right I don't understand it, thought Van.



UP seems to be the main direction to start with. Any security guard (dang, why are there three in the middle of the night?) would have the largest expectation of people attempting to come in on the ground floor.

Van will check the doors on his way up, as he doesn't know that they're locked, just that they should be.

If all the doors on the way up are locked, including the one on the roof... Van will want to investigate windows. After all, when he first... got... Calvaros, he'd chased someone out a window onto a ledge. So... let's (if necessary) see if they remember to lock all the windows around here...

(EDIT:) Also, if a door or window DOES seem like it might be unlocked, Van will study it first to see if it seems to have any alarm wires or anything attached first before actually opening it. Let me know if you need me to roll for that.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:54, Sat 08 Oct 2022.

In reply to Van Caldwell (msg # 2):

You silently stalk up the fire escape, checking doors on each floor as you go.

None give off the fire escape.  The first four floors seem to just be regular locks on the inside.  Floors five and up all seem to be alarmed.

You clamber up onto the roof.  The door up here is propped open with an old marble ashtray.  The ashtray is filled with butts.  At least one of the guars must come up here for a smoke.

Checking through the doorway, you can see a stairwell descending to the sixth floor.  Listening intently, you can hear some voices.  Not close.  Indistinct at this point. But you can tell there is more than one of them.

At the bottom of the stairwell is a light.  Looks like the lights in the sixth floor hallway are on.

Niiiiiice, thinks Van.



Van silently steps inside the door, noiselessly letting it close again on the ashtray. He waits to see if the guards will go away... If one or both sounds like it's coming up for a smoke break, he can always step out again. If they do seem to go away, he can attempt to stealth his way downstairs...
This message was last edited by the player at 00:14, Sun 09 Oct 2022.

Sorry.  Thought this posted earlier.

Just to keep things clear, I am going to assume you are not using one of Cav's powers unless you reference Cav or your shadow.  So when you say you will "stealth" your way down the stairs, I am going to assume it is normal sneaking.

The stairs are old.  Now that you consider it, this building might have been built last century.  The risers creak slightly.  Not enough to echo in the stairwell.  But enough to be a bother.

You make it to the landing.  The voices do not sound like they are advancing or retreating.  You crack open the door to the hallway so you can hear them better.

The hall runs right and left.  Across the way is a door labeled Maintenance.

The voices are coming from your left.  From what you recall of the schematics you studied, the buildings elevators are that way.

"So I tell her, "Look.  I don't care if she is your sister.  She can't just move in and start takin' up our couch as a bed."  And she gets all huffy on me."

Laughter from the other voice.  "C'mon Harry!  Have a heart!  Where else is your sis-in-law gonna freeload if not offa you!"  More laughter.  "Seriously though, is she good lookin'?  Maybe I could take you off your hands if she's built."

"Wife'd kill me if I pawned her baby sister off on some mook like you.  Anyway.  You check this floor?"

"Nah.  Not yet.  I'm just abou' ta."

"A'ight.  I'll head down to three then.  I think Bill's on five."

<goldenrond>"Yeah. Yeah."</goldenrod>

"Sooner we get it done, sooner we can dig inta lunch.  My missus sent along some blackberry pie.  She even added a couple a' slices for you mooks."

"Does her sister cook as good as she does?"

More laughter.  You hear a door open and then keys rattling.  One of the voices is on the move.

"I swear.  That guy's so on the level, he makes the horizon look crooked."

Someone is definitely coming this way.

(Oh. Well I mean, no, that's not what I meant. I WOULD have meant that, but I am under the impression that the bonus (rolling 2 dice instead of just 1) that Van gets for Stealth is tied to him using Cav to help. Therefore, I absolutely did mean that he would be using Cav's help.)



Ugh. Sounds like I'd better back up. They could be coming for a smoke break. Van backs up to the rooftop door...

(If the stairs are really that squeaky, he'll roll for stealth if he has to-- and yes, I do mean Cav-stealth. In fact, I assure you, any time that I say "stealth" or "sneak" and Van is in costume (like he is now), I will absolutely mean Cav-stealth, specifically.

Now, if you tell me "nah, Van's stealth bonus isn't necessarily tied to Cav nor to being in costume," then that's a whole other thing. But for now I presume that that's not how it works. Is it?)

In reply to Van Caldwell (msg # 6):

Nope. That clarification is what I needed to know.  Then I will assume all bonuses are active when you are Judge Midnight.  Thanks

The shadows seem to move under your feet, softening your steps as you move back up the stair well.

You can hear the jingle of the keys.  They're moving faster than you would have thought...

...and then pass by the door to the stairwell. Wherever he's going, it's not for a smoke break.

Whew!

After an appropriate amount of time seems to have passed, Van descends once more to peek out that door facing the Maintenance door for a new peek/listen.

In reply to Van Caldwell (msg # 8):

To the left, the hallway runs about thirty feet and comes to the elevators.  The door to the emergency stairs is next to it.

To the right, the hallway continues down a ways, with two more sets of doors set across from each other.

This floor is more or less built around a rectangular hallway.  There's six rooms in the center space, with roughly twelve rooms along the outer ring of the hallway.  You're in the southwest corner of the rectangle.

You can hear the keys rattling down to the right.  Seems like the guard...probably Tom...is checking the doors along the hallway around the northwest corner.

I need to go down one floor... so... Van heads left, for the emergency stairs...

In reply to Van Caldwell (msg # 10):

The stairwell is bightly lit.  Annoyingly so.  You cast more shadows than you can cling to here.

You slide down the risers...these are much more solid.  You could probably jump up and down on them and they wouldn't make so much as a peep...and towards the fifth floor.

As you are rounding the landing, you hear a door open below you.  Keys jangling.  Someone coming up the stairs.  They aren't close.  At least two floors down.

The fifth floor door opens with the slightest of creaks.  But not loud enough that whoever is below should be able to hear.  You step through and keep the door from loudly closing.

This floor seems to be a bit of a mirror image of the sixth.  The elevators are nearby.  The hallway is another rectangle.  If you read the schematics correctly, and of course you did, Wyman's chambers should be catacorner to the corner you're in now.  You can get there going left or right.  The distance should be equal either way.

The lights on this floor are mostly out.  Only emergency lights are on intermittently down the hallway.  Plenty of places to hide here.

As you start towards the chambers, you hear the "keys" coming up the stairwell.  They come to a stop outside the fifth floor doorway.

Don't know if I mentioned this before, but I am bad with maps. Like babytown-frolics kind of bad.  That being said, here's a map.  Tried to mark out the areas that are lit.
 Hope they show up.  Let me know which way you go to head to Wyman's office.  Let me know if there are questions.  Thanks.

Bah. Van heads for the middle of the long nearby hallway, which is the darkest part of it.

Hopefully, if guard leaves the stairwell on this floor, he'll start walking straight ahead, or else get preoccupied with checking a door nearby. If he makes a left and heads straight for Van's location without stopping, maybe Van can use Cav's help to just hide in the gloom...

The doorway opens.  One of the guards steps through.  He is coming your way...

So let's have our first roll of the game please.  Stealth check with your bonus.

Also, question about "What Have You Sworn?".  I was thinking this is an active ability, not a passive one.  That is, Van has to trigger it.  It doesn't just kick in like Spidey Sense.  Is that a fair statement?  Or is is passive?  It's your power so it's your call.  I just need to know so I can adjudicate when to require rolls from you please.

Thanks.

(--I was thinking that "What Have You Sworn" would be something that Van has to actually activate consciously.

I will mention, though, that the range of "50 feet" means it works through walls and doors and windows:
* if Van sees someone through a window less than 50 feet away
* if Van hears a guy talking on the other side of a door (or shouting on the other side of a wall)

As long as Van knows where someone is, if they are in range, he can try to trigger the power.

--As for the roll, let's see:

11:44, Today: Van Caldwell rolled 4 using 2d4.  shadowy stealth check..

So, two 2s. Looks not-good.

SO: Once Van is sure the guy's seen him, he's going to want to rush the guy and try to punch him and knock him out.

You want a roll for that now, or not yet?)