Ornwin says "I have not wished to waste any coin on this fellow, but if the rest of the party feels he might injure unless he is paid off, I am willing to put up 15 gold pieces to bring his gift up to a round 100 (aside from silver)."

Still glaring at the Beggar, Brant holds up a hand to pause Ornwin's sudden burst of generousity. Then, with intent, Brant extends a muscular index finger and flips over the beggar bowl, spilling its contents onto the floor.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:52, Sat 10 Dec 2022.

Cassandra comes to the same conclusion as Otis at about the same time.  Despite his nod to the coin bowl, the beggar must actually want more liquor instead of coin. She follows Otis back into the lounge room and begins looking for a suitable bottle - then she hears the unmistakable sound of the coin bowl overturning back in the beggar’s room.

Otis keeps with looking for rum or whatever was there. If Cass calls him then of course he will attend immediately.

OOC: Otis, is Mush helping you?

Ordinarily, Brant could have been accused of "acting out" when he had indulged in some non-verbal communication of his own if his move had not been calculated, an unusual exercise for the ordinarily impulsive man. The couch surfer responds in kind. Inhaling copiously, it then exhales in equal measure, fumigating its crash pad and forcing the immediate retreat of the guests still nearby as they cough and choke on its alcoholic exhalations. The noxious cloud follows the guests into the formerly sacrosanct lounge. With no other choice, they stumble into the hallway, closing the door behind them.

Smoking room and salon are now subject to the effects of a noxious cloud. Guests will remain nauseated for 1 round. Where to?
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:46, Sat 10 Dec 2022.

Well. So much for an oasis away from home.  Cass will close the door between the beggar and the lounge - hopefully it will air out with time and once again become a sanctuary to which we can return.

Unless Brant has retribution or restitution in mind, our Merry Band will continue its trek along the hallway Eastward to the next room we come to...
This message was last edited by the player at 22:24, Sat 10 Dec 2022.

In reply to Cassandra (msg # 977):
Brant has neither, and follows along obediantly.

His mouth tightly closed, his pallor slightly green, Rasxif readily follows the rest of the company, silently unsurprised that the once welcoming chamber took a turn toward hostility.

You take the hallway 40 or so feet to the east where it becomes long southern corridor which eventually offers three doors, two leading east and one west, before turning back to the west.

Otis settles back into reaguarding Cass

We will examine the one room back to the West first before pushing further East.

Brant covers Ornwin.

If the sour mash of the homeless man's belch has been nauseating, it's nothing compared to the patchouli perfume permeating this hallway. Gratefully, the guests seek refuge within the Music Room:

The dusty, closed-in smell here reveals that the room hasn’t been visited in ages. Nevertheless, a concerto of erratic music is in progress as a large organ and a graceful harp try to harmonize their tunes without much success. Yellowed sheets of paper with musical notes are scattered on the floor.



Looks like a S and a W door as well. And, yeah, it looks like I missed that other Smoking Chamber door.

The rearguarding posts are ... superfluous. There is an established marching order in the Guests Thread. If you're going to deviate from that, do let me know.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:56, Sun 11 Dec 2022.

Ornwin continues in his usual position, ax at the ready just in case.

We will examine the music sheets lying about and the two self-playing instruments. There might be a rare and valuable piece of sheet music in the mix. We will also look for a random Rump playing card that might be placed somewhere in the room - even though we still have not determined a purpose or function for such magical cards.

Curious, Rasxif approaches the organ to get a closer look at the self playing instrument, wondering if it is being operated by an unseen spirit, or if what is being seen and heard is the work of an impressive illusion.

Upon closer examination, Rasxif observes the ivory keys of the otherwise decayed organ depressing under the influence of unseen fingers, of that he is sure. The sheet music falls to dust before the application of Cassandra's fingers, and no more images of the Rumps can be found in miniature, be they seen for the first or even, perhaps, the second time.

Brant opens the lid of the piana to see if there are riches secreted within. Riches or a nest of vipers. He will be prepared for either.
If the piano has no apparent opening, Brant will forcibly create one.

Melian keeps to the doorway while the others check the instruments and notes.

If there is nothing else of note in the Music Room, we will next check the room or hall through the door on the Western wall.

Ornwin will go whichever way the party decides to explore.

When Brant reaches to lift the lid of the piano, he feels the smart sting of a white glove that appears out of nowhere, no doubt adorning an invisible hand. A voice rich in pique chides the treasure seeker in certain select terms.

Alas, the inner workings of the piano cannot be converted to cash and no cash is stored with in.

The tinkling of the ivory keys resumes after this momentary interruption.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:13, Tue 13 Dec 2022.

Brant grumbles at the ethereal chastisement but falls into the party line without further disturbance.

Unseen fingers resume brushing the cool ivory of the keys as the guests leave through the door on the western wall and enter another one of Tegel Manor's empty, dusty rooms, its original and even subsequent purposes lost to time. This one does have a painting on the northern wall and another door on the southern one.