Act 4: The Rescue - Breeze the Fairy

8:29 AM, 15th of April, 422
87 Longuemarche Street, Feuilledor

The three adventurers see a set of stairs going up to a second floor. The hallway in front of them also leads to a kitchen located in the back of the building. There's an arched doorway to their left that leads to a living room while the arched doorway to their right is closed.

OOC:

We're here.

Yes, I've been watching.

You'd better take over. Your ears are better than mine.

They certainly are, from what Konrad remembers of fiddling with traps in Samantha's memories. And now, in Konrad's body, Sam peeks around the archway, looking and listening for anyone who could be nearby.

Awareness 26

Steve and May look around at the house, taking in their surroundings.

What do you see, May?

Awareness 21

The adventurers observe their surroundings, on the lookout for any threat that may be lurking in the shadows.

They all notice that there are no stairs going to the basement in this hallway. There's only a small closet under the stairs. The way down must be elsewhere.

Steve and May see the telltale signs that the house is inhabited—a newly made rain cloak hanging on a hook, a bowl of fresh fruits sitting on the counter in the kitchen—but they also notice that the door of the front entrance is locked. It is unlikely that the inhabitant is present in the house.

Samantha's and Konrad's inspection however also reveals layers of dust on the couch and armchairs in the living room. The person who lives here doesn't spend time there.

As for Nick and Mihai, they hear the very distant noise of battle. Someone else might mistake it for the hubbub of the market, but Mihai recognizes the sound of urban warfare.

No one lives here.

Samantha heads to the kitchen to look for a way downstairs.

Stealth 30
Find Traps 21

We'll take up the rear.

Heh, rear.

Heh.

Steve attempts to follow behind the others as quietly as possible. Say 2 squares back at least.

Stealth 15

After examining the door leading to the room and determining it is most likely not trapped, Mihai opens it and finds a small study on the other side. The bookshelves are almost all empty, and the desk doesn't appear to have been used in a long time, if ever.

Meanwhile, Samantha enters the kitchen while staying on the lookout for any possible trap. The pantry is sparsely furnished, to which she concludes that only one person or two must live here, and sparingly at that. She also sees another closet, as well as a door leading into a narrow alleyway outside.

Steve stays near the entrance to the kitchen, next to the closet located under the stairs.

Samantha opens the closet by the kitchen.

Samantha finds a mop, a bucket, and several cleaning chemicals inside the kitchen's closet.

As prudent as ever, Mihai checks the last room of the ground floor, but finds only a normal bathroom. Looking into the sink, he can find some traces of very short hair. Most likely facial.

Samantha leaves the kitchen and returns to the hall to check the closet under the stairs.

Samantha gently moves Steve out of the way and opens the door leading to the small closet under the stairs. Except for a few shelves filled with insect repellents, cobwebs taunting said repellants, and an old carpet on the floor that has seen better days, there's nothing else here.

Meanwhile, Mihai moves the couch and armchairs in the living room to roll over the carpet, which does make a lot of noise no matter how careful he is, but he does find something interesting: an old issue of Invincibilly.

Nothing? Sam heads up the stairs.

Find Traps 27 (Take 10)
Stealth 31 (Take 10)

Samantha finds no traps on the second floor. There are two unoccupied guest rooms up there, one master bedroom (which has seen some use recently), a small empty closet, and one other large completely empty room.

Samantha starts looking for anything that could be intentionally hidden for the first time, rather than focusing on signs of life, starting on the second floor.

Awareness 18

Although she finds no hidden doors or the like, Samantha does notice familiar details when inspecting the master bedroom: the way the bed sheets are folded, the pillows placed, and the curtains left half-open. Her husband has been living here. She's sure of it. She even recognizes his smell.

Mihai continues to sweep down the ground floor, and when he looks at the inside of the closet under the stairs, he notices that the carpet is strangely out of place for such a small space.

The familiar signs make Sam shiver. She starts thinking about what she will say when she finally meets him. They're so close now. It feels like he's in the room with her. She heads back downstairs.

He was definitely here. Edward was here recently.

Samantha arrives just in time to watch Mihai lift the carpet in the closet under the stairways, revealing a hidden trapdoor.

Sam nods and examines the hidden entrance closely.

Find Traps 32 (take 10, aid +5)