The room behind the secret door was a large chamber, neatly and well-furnished. An overturned heavy bookshelf still partially blocked the entrance. The walls were adorned with tapestries, obviously expensive but depicting vile acts of torture and murder. Two elegant wooden chairs sat beside a delicate rosewood table on the east wall. The table had a few pots of ink, some papers, and a paperweight resting on its leather surface. A table bearing decanters and bottles sat beside a comfortable looking armchair to the west. A closed door stood in the middle of the south wall.
Aloysius entered the room shortly after the first group did. "So much for awaiting my return," he muttered to no one in particular. He looked around at the room as best he could in the dim torchlight. "Doubts have I that the black priest left anything useful behind when he fled. Shall we inspect this room more closely, or shall we continue through yon portal to the south?"
Rumer sheathed her sword and walked over to the south door. When she got there, she looked around. "Um, can someone hold this for me? I want to check out this door." She spoke in a soft voice, even though they had already made plenty of noise.
"Am I needed here?" Jana asked quietly, to no one in particular. "If not, I'll go back to the temple. Not," she added, muttering, "that I'm doing much of anything productive there." She shifted restlessly.
Aloysius took the torch from Rumer. "Yes, yes, indeed," he replied to Jana. "Perhaps we should check the room beyond afore thou dost return to the temple. Hopefully, we shall not need thy substantial martial skills, but it is impossible to tell."
"Uhm, okay," Jana said with a shrug. She pulled her sword back out.
"Nice tapestries, I must remember to burn them later." Blacky stood near the door he forced open and allowed the others room to explore and Rumer to work. "Aloysius, you might want to check those papers on the table."
"Oh....very well," replied the mage. He moved over to where the table and papers were. Without touching anything, he examined the document on top as best he could to see if he could determine what it was.
Rumer turned around to Kaileer and Blacky. "The door looks ok to me," she said. "I couldn't find any traps and it doesn't seem to be locked." She then pressed her ear against the door.
Aloysius was carefully studying the desk and the paperweight. He stroked his chin thoughtfully, but said nothing.
"I'll open it if you want," Jana volunteered. "In case anything jumps out," she added with a forced smile.
Aloysius thumbed through the papers for a moment, and then waved one of them about somewhat frantically.
"Janathell! Eric! Oh dear.......This appears to be a ransom note of sorts regarding Echo! It says we have to take some chests to the Gleaming Glade if we want to see her alive again."
Rumer was about to answer when Aloysius spoke. She waited to see Jana's reaction.
"What chests?" Jana asked sharply, spinning around to face Aloysius. She reversed her grip on her blade and slammed it back in the sheath. "Let me see, please," she said urgently, holding out her hand for the paper.
Aloysius handed the paper to Jana. "It says that we are to get a pair of chests from a room to the west and take them to him at the Gleaming Glade on the next dark moon."
Aloysius paused momentarily in thought. "The next dark moon is not until the 29th," he said. "Hmmmmm . . . . wonder does Stargazer why he would make an attempt to block the door only to leave us a message in the room beyond. Does anyone recall whereabouts this 'Gleaming Glade' is?"
"That's five days," Jana said softly, a note of fear creeping into her voice. She swore under her breath for a moment, then looked up, her eyes hard and cold. "Let's get the chests."
"Oh," Rumer added, "And I didn't hear anything beyond the door. Not that I really expected to."
"Well, we may as well see what is in the next room," said the mage. "Then, suppose do I that we will need to locate these chests the dark one mentioned."
Aloysius took the paper and placed it back on top of the desk. "Let us thoroughly examine the keep, and then decide a course of action. If this be a ruse, at least he has given us 5 days to fall for it." He drew a pair of daggers and waited for Jana to open the door.
"Keep the note," Jana interjected. "No sense inviting anyone else to this party."
"Oh, very well," replied Aloysius. He folded the note up and stuck it into his pouch. He then waited with his daggers for Jana to open the south door.
"Can we look behind this door first? Um, have you considered that might not be true and they may be trying to keep us here for five days?" asked Rumer.
"Of course," Jana replied, somewhat distractedly. She handed the paper back to Aloysius. "The note's a trap; that's a given. I just don't see any acceptable alternative... But for right now, yeah, let's finish here." She drew her sword again and started toward the door.
"We not talk plan now, not know if shadow have ear." the ranger said, shaking his head and looking around the room, concentrating mostly on the heavy tapestries that might hide any number of things. "Open door, we be ready." he said finaly as he aimed his weapon at the soon to be open portal.
"Let's check out this entire keep, find the chests, then burn this place to the ground. I seem to remember this Gleaming Glade from a tavern story." Blacky commented "I don't think it is supposed to be far."
"Ready?" she asked, before opening it.
"Born that way." Blacky added lightly
In spite of everyone's fears, Jana opened the door to a room that seemed just as abandoned as the one in which they currently stood. This chamber was larger and just as expensively furnished. Another table and a couple of chairs sat in one corner. A huge four poster bed, hung with silks and covered in silver fox and wolf pelts, and a nighttable were against the west wall.
Aloysius took a quick look around the room as best he could from his position in the other room. "There MUST be another portal of egress," he said. "Otherwise, Ranchefus would not have been able to barricade yon portal with the bookshelf."
He picked up a stack of papers from the desk. "I am going to review these papers. There may yet be clues as to the dark priest's whereabouts. I shall do so in the shrine where there is light enow for me to read by."
The mage headed for the door, intent on taking the papers to the shrine and examining them.
Arachne, after poking around the room vaguely, followed the mage. "I'd like to look at those papers also," she said quietly.
"Certainly," replied Aloysius. "Methinks the lighting shall be more suitable in the shrine, er, for myself, I mean. Dost thou find that the note I read afore is likely a ruse to lure us way from here, or simply an attempt by Ranchefus to ambush us?"
"You guys search that room for clues, valuables, and a door. I'll start in here. Oh and see if you can find any torches or candles." Blacky said as he began tearing tapestries off the walls and making a pile in the center of the room. He then did a thorough search of the walls and furniture in the room.
Rumer nodded. "Don't open anything without me looking at it first," she scolded.
Jana walked over to the bed and began to strip it. Destroy it, really. She used her sword to cut open anything she couldn't just rip apart.
