The great hall has changed considerably since the dinner party last night. The tables have been upended and turned into barricades at the main entry doors to the south as well as the kitchen and pantry doors on the east side (where you just came from). Lady Aldori's guards man the barricades as well as gathering in front of the main doors to the west wing. These doors are sealed, with tapestries torn from the walls and wedged into the cracks to try to hold back the smoke leaking through. Apparently something is on fire back there, and the guards here don't know what to do about it. They don't seem too worried about the actual building burning down, though. The fact that it's made almost completely of solid stone probably has something to do with that. The northwest door stands open, but a portcullis similar to the ones you saw earlier blocks off the stairs leading to the upper floor.

Lieutenant Ivenzi, the second-in-command of Lady Aldori's guards, is trying to get things organized here, along with half a dozen other top guards. He's very pleased to see you. "Oh, it's you guys, thank the gods. Didn't need more bloody thugs. Thanks for taking down that giant! He killed a bunch of my people and we just didn't have the strength to stop him. Is there anyone else alive back there?"

Ivenzi is happy to be interrogated, as long as you answer his questions first. He knows quite a bit about what's going on here.

Sophia moved a little slower, bogged down by heavy armor but it felt good, protective. Also worth more money than she'd seen her whole life. Which also kind of felt good.

"I think we got them all," she nodded towards Amiri, Linzi and others who hopefully followed them through.

"But what's going on here? Shouldn't somebody be, you know, putting out the fire?"

She hoped that question was not going to lead where she was sure it was going to lead.

Wilkezag greets Lieutenant Ivenzi warmly, and gets him caught up on the status of the giant, the ogre, the assassins that were behind him, and Linzi, Amiri, Harrim, and Valerie.  He also acknowledges that the group picked up some weapons and potions from the treasury, in the hopes that they will help with the defense of the manor, promising to return whatever is unused at the end.  He doesn't mention that they also took the cash, for safe-keeping, since he is concerned that the overly-stressed man might take it the wrong way.  There's plenty of time to work that out later.

He finishes, So, what is the status here?  And what can we do to help?

The game map doesn't seem to have been updated.  I know it sometimes needs a hard refresh on the page, but that hasn't helped.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:46, Wed 23 Nov 2022.

No, I don't have a map for the great hall. There won't be any excitement here, just updates from Ivenzi. I'll put the west wing up once we move on.

Ivenzi slumps down on a handy bench. "I saw Sophia there had that pick thing. My Lady picked that up from some raiders a while back and hadn't decided what to do with it yet. Bloody weird kobold weapon. I'm sure she'll give you a discount if you like it. I see you've got her backup rapier, too. You, uh, didn't take anything else from the treasury, did you?" Ivenzi levels his best glare on you. He's a champion glarer. Ivenzi seems like a pretty good authority figure to guard the payroll more actively than sitting in a chest in a not-so-secret room.

"What's going on? We're under attack, is what's going on. A whole mess of those mercenaries, plus a bunch of giants, stormed the place a couple hours ago. As I'm sure you've figured out. My Lady rallied us here and held for now. Most of the attackers headed off into the west wing. Sounds like you did for the ones that went east instead. The Lady told me to hold here in hope that more help arrives and make sure no more of 'em get in, so I'm sure glad to see you. I'm glad to hear there are a few others that made it too, even if they're too beat up to help out much here."

He just shakes his head when you ask him about the fire. "Yeah, the hallway to the west wing is pretty much on fire, along with most or all of the guest rooms along there. We've heard some fighting from farther west just a few minutes ago, though, so the rest of the wing is probably safe. For sure, there's nothing left in the rooms that can be saved, and it's not like the building can burn down, so we're all just waiting for it to burn itself out. But you could probably get through if you're brave. Or if you want to put out the fires somehow, I sure wouldn't mind. For what it's worth, someone said something weird was going on with the Lady's shrine just off the hallway there; seems the fire and smoke just refuse to enter. I haven't been able to spare someone to check it out. Booker here said he had some kind of spell that would put the fire out pretty quick, but I don't have anyone to back him up.

"What you could to to help is to go find my Lady, and help her out cleaning up the rest of this mess. She headed into the west wing: her goal was to trap the thugs in the dueling hall at the far end of the manor. If she's not back yet, either she's trapped on the far side of the fire, or she found more trouble than she was expecting. Either way, I'm sure she could use some assistance, and I don't have the manpower for it."

Ivenzi here is giving you an Official Quest. This is the introduction to the quest system in this adventure. I've added it to your quest log. Most quests are worth 30 XP each (no matter when you complete them!), and most additionally provide some kind of reward.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:56, Wed 23 Nov 2022.

"Right," Wilkezag acknowledges, "we couldn't be sure that more of the Black Tears weren't hiding from us waiting to grab what we left behind, so we took all the gold out of the Treasury as well, for safe-keeping.  We have it clearly separated from our own money.  We also have some of the head chef's cash that we found."

If he asks for it, I'll encourage Sophia to hand it over, assuring her that he is a reliable agent for the Lady Aldori.

Will greets Booker amiably.  "It's great to have you join us.  I'm all for putting the fire out, but if the magic of the shrine is holding it back, then I think it might be more important to go see if we can help the Lady.  Of course, if there are any enemies that SHE has trouble with, I'm not sure that we will be able to do much, but I think we ought to try."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:11, Wed 23 Nov 2022.

In reply to GM (msg # 4):

Booker nods at Will. The lightly armored man with the dueling sword closed the book he was reading, and got up to greet him and the others. After listening, he taps his fingers on the spine of what he had been reading. "Booker Magestos, at your service. I have a spell ready to create a spout of water. If there is fire, that might help deal with it somewhat. However, its not large enough to douse a huge bonfire."

"Yeah," she slumped her shoulders a bit when he noticed the pick.

"Found it in the treasury and figured it'd do better stuck into a giant than sitting in a room that the bandits were going to discover sooner or later. We also, uh, well like he said, grabbed a bunch of gold from there too, just to keep it safe you see. Bandits everywhere and they were definitely looking for the Lady's treasury. Can we leave it with you?"

She happily handed the gold over if he wanted it.

"Looks like the fire is on the way, might have to deal with it to get to the Lady. Good to meet you Booker. I'm Sophia, Wilkezag, Dubh," she pointed to each companion.

"We can introduce ourselves better when we have more time. If you've got a spell to deal with the fire then great, let's get you to it. Otherwise, there's a spring back that way, if we could find some buckets or containers we might be able to get a bucket chain going."

I'd forgotten about poor Tirzendi!

Ivenzi looks at you skeptically when you cough up the cash, but as you explain your reasoning he nods. "Aye, probably good thinking. All the real valuables should be safe upstairs behind the grates, but I don't think anyone really knows how many of those thugs got in." He counts swiftly, weighing each bag in his hands. "Yeah, this is everything; looks like you got there before they did. You said an ogre was hanging out in the library? That would explain it. Too bad about my Lady's books, though."

Ivenzi aims you at the distraught head cook, currently acting as quartermaster for the guards and servants who have made it here. Tirzendi carries out this role with great melodrama and fanfare, but he certainly knows what he's doing. "Oh, my poor wardrobe! Pawed over by bandits! And a giant, slaughtering people in my kitchen! How can I be expected to work in these conditions!? Ah, you found my stash? Keep it. It's just money. I have my life, and most of my people too; money comes and goes. Did you need a snack, by the way? We have ration bread and... well, that's it, really, but at least we have plenty! Young Mickens there grabbed a full sack from the barracks stocks on his way into the main house. Don't know how I'm going to start the baking in a couple of hours..."

You can chat with Ivenzi more if you want, but he doesn't know much else that you would care about. The important points here are: 1) Lady A is somewhere in the west wing, past the fire; and 2) something weird is happening with the house shrine that you should investigate.

Ivenzi doesn't have anywhere near enough guards and servants (or buckets!) to get a bucket chain going all the way from the water garden. Also, it's not actually a spring or well; the same water is just kept purified and cycling by magic.

I've uploaded the map for the beginning of the west wing. We'll be in rounds as soon as you enter, until you find a way to reduce the dangers of fire and smoke inhalation. Remember that you can always run back to the great hall for a quick rest, if the smoke gets to be too much.

At Ivenzi's direction, the guards get ready to open the doors to the west wing, and close them behind you.

Dubh taps the brow of his mask in acknowledgment to Booker.

When it becomes clear that they are about to go into the smoked area he wraps his cloak around his head leaving only the eyeholes of his mask showing. This should give him some modicum of protection against the smoke but staying low would be more important.

"We should head to the shrine first. If there is an enchantment protecting it then hopefully it is on something portable and we can take it with us to keep the air clear while we fight the fire." He gives each member of the party a look to make sure that they understand what he is suggesting. "Okay, when we hit the smoke remember to stay low to keep your head out of it. If you can't keep your head out of it, Don't breathe."

The shift in his behavior is noticeable to the people he spent last evening with. The wry humour and relaxed manner has been completely replaced by a confident and serious individual who clearly expects those following to do as he directs.
He puts the back of his hand against the door to check heat before giving the 'ready' nod to the guards at the door.

The door into the hallway isn't particularly hot, but there sure is a lot of smoke leaking around the edges. You don't think it's going to be possible to keep your head out of the smoke, or stay under it.

17:42, Today: GM, on behalf of Dubh Oiche, rolled 17 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 10.  Survival for smoke protection. But I forgot your bonus from the coyote cloak, so actually this is enough! Assuming everyone listens to Dubh's advice and lets him help make masks.

You manage to remember that the trick to a protecting yourself from smoke is not only a cloth mask but a wet cloth mask. You wet a spare shirt and tie it around your face. Holding your breath as much as possible while you're in the smoke is probably still a good idea, but breathing gently should be possible.

We'll still do this section in rounds, at least until it's clear that you have a mostly risk-free system for dealing with the fire, which between Dubh's Survival knowledge and Booker's magic you should manage fairly quickly. You can go in any order you like.

You can hold your breath for a number of rounds equal to 5 plus your Constitution modifier, although you can't speak (or cast spells with verbal components) while doing so, and taking any other strenuous action costs an extra round of breath. If you're forced to breathe while in the smoke, make a Fortitude save at the end of your turn. Your well-made smoke protection will help immensely with this save, but you'll still suffer a little if you hiccup at a bad time. I don't recommend ending a turn inside one of the burning rooms.

The hallway is uncomfortably hot but not dangerously so. It's completely filled with smoke. Through the swirls you can just see a dull glow from the first guest room on the left; the hallway takes a gentle right turn toward the remainder of the wing, but the smoke is too thick to see anything down that way. You know (because Ivenzi told you) that the shrine is just around the corner on the right, and seems to be protected by some force from the smoke; the rest of the rooms along this hallway are guest rooms.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:00, Thu 24 Nov 2022.

From what Ivenze told us there is no reason to poke around the other rooms so Dubh heads for the end of the hall hoping that they can get to shrine before he will need to take a breath.

OOC: If we are doing rounds, All action are used for full out movement

Sophia, knowing this isn't her area of expertise by a long shot, does what she's told and follows Dubh, staying low and holding her breath, heading straight for the shrine.

OOC: Same

This hallway is considerably longer than the one in the east wing. Even Dubh only barely makes it to the end in 6 seconds of charging through smoke; Sophia's not even close. On your way, you see the other four guest rooms (also smouldering sullenly), but the first room on the north side is the shrine, which is indeed staying much clearer for some reason.

I'm telling you outright here: you really do want to take the time to investigate the shrine and whatever power is keeping it safe. Putting out the fire is just an XP reward (and a relatively modest one at that, given how much effort it involves) so you can just run through the rest of the hallway if you want, but Booker and Dubh (and maybe Lena) especially are going to want the shrine's aid.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:07, Thu 24 Nov 2022.

Wilkezag feels overwhelmed by the idea of dealing with smoke and fire.  He is very glad to get help from Dubh, and does his best to follow the instructions and use the mask.  Ugh.  Singing in this is going to be awful.  Once everyone is ready and the group gets moving, he follows along at the brisk pace, holding his breath as much as he can without feeling desperate.  That will just cause gasping.  When he does breath, he double-checks that the wet cloth is tight to his face.  Will focuses on staying close so no one gets separated, but he does glance in the open doors they pass on the way to the shrine.

I am also confused.  I thought that Ivenzi said that the shrine was just around the corner on the right, which makes me think it is the first door that is only 35 feet from the main hall.  Both Dubh and Sophia said that they were going straight to the shrine, but you moved them past that door.  Someone has misunderstood someone, clearly, but I'm still confused who and whom.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:34, Thu 24 Nov 2022.

I'm sorry, I think we've misunderstood each other. Yes, the shrine is the first room on the north side, just past the bend in the hallway. I was confused by you saying you wanted to head for "the end of the hall"; I thought I'd been clear that the shrine is off this hallway, not at the far end, but apparently not. I'll try to do better! I've moved you all into the shrine, as you actually wanted.

As you enter the house shrine, you feel a strange sense of peace and safety. It's still slightly smoky in here, but much less than you would expect; it's perfectly safe to breathe, no worse than a kitchen with the oven roaring and several steaks searing on top. Given the thick billows in the hallway just outside, and the lack of a protective door, this really doesn't make sense. It's clearly some kind of magical effect.

At the far end of the room is another marble statue of Milani, this one with her shield presented and grounded as though part of a shield wall and the rose clutched to her heart: a much more protective pose than the statue in the water garden, but clearly carved by the same sculptor.

Duhb approaches the statue of Milani as he does he takes a measure of the magic in the room.

OOC: Detect Magic
What is the size of this statue? Is there anything else of interest in the room?

The statue is certainly the source of the magical aura in the room. It's not like anything you've ever experienced, though. It's clearly not a direct protection of any kind, because the smoke can still get in, just... not very well. It doesn't seem to be a direct healing effect either. You just feel generally better, stronger, more relaxed and confident in the statue's presence. You're not as familiar with the gods, but this definitely seems to be something related to Milani herself.

15:51, Today: GM, on behalf of Dubh Oiche, rolled 10 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 6.  Religion to identify magic.
Maybe someone better at Religion (or just with hotter dice) will be able to discover more. Or you could just try things that you think might please Milani.