switzerland ♔ the words tightening around my throat

[silverguardian]

WHO || Nyna, Cara, Felicity, Stiles
WHAT || The Knights are sent to hear about a prospective job from an art collector
WHERE || Bern, Switzerland
WHEN || April 13th, 2015
HOW || Actionspam

The streets of Bern swell with the myriad sights and scents of its industry: the wood and polish of carpenters' shops, tantalizing aromas wafting from dozens of bakeries, and the heavy oil scent of artists.  Meanwhile, hundreds of rich colors give the district an appearance of a holiday festival.  The townhouse of Asheron Coyl comes into view, perched on a small rise that overlooks the street.  A low fence covered in vines abuts the street.  A gate opens onto a flagstone path that wends past frozen flower beds, fountains, and sculpted shrubs to the front doors.  A bell hangs next to the gate, reading "Please ring bell" in several languages.  With an 11 disguise check, Nyna didn't really bother to dress all fancy, opting instead for her paladin armor, sorry guys.   She can be the sexy bodyguard.  

Comments

[killingtodeath]

[Stiles is going with since he helped come up with the plaaaan (spot 20 total, listen 5).]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ they pass a set of steps in the hall that leads down, beside which stands a recessed, sealed door. beyond the stairs the hall is flanked with two more doors on either side. there appears to be another on the left at the very end of the hall... and another corridor that splits off ahead to the right. they hear no movement anywhere on this end of the house. ]

[allmydreams]

[Felicity pauses for a moment, scanning each of the doors before landing on the sealed one again.]

This is ... too many options for my taste. But I would go with the one they don't want us going in.

[killingtodeath]

So...downstairs? [He doesn't seem too excited about that but he can't deny that Felicity has a point.]

[trebond]

[ In front of the sealed door opposite the stairs downward, Alanna skims her hand near it without ever touching, a purple haze probing at the seal as she casts detect magic. ]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ she detects no magic! ]

[druidisms]

[ gus steps up and fucking knocks. not the spell or anything, he just knocks. FOR A REASON OK, he's not useless. if it's wood, he will cast warp wood on it. and all the other doors within a 20 foot radius because he can. ]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ no one answers, but he does successfully warp the wood~ ]

[druidisms]

[ gus tasks mellie with trying to pry it open because she's a fucking bear and is way stronger than he is. (str 24) ]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ a large four poster bed sits atop a plush area rug. a bookcase next to a broad armoire holds a few leatherbound books and small curios, while in the opposite corner sits a dresser mounted by a tall mirror. a small desk is furnished with parchment paper and pens. several paintings of serene landscapes hang from the walls. people can make knowledge local checks if they examine the paintings. ]

[allmydreams]

[Felicity makes her way in, gun-first, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of trouble (spot 23). She will also check out those paintings because on this mission, paintings are dangerous (knowledge local 24).]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ felicity recognizes one of the paintings looks very similar - but not exactly - to one of the portraits that hung up for sale at Archerus' place. the initials IG are painted in the lower right hand corner. ]

[allmydreams]

[Felicity narrows her eyes at the paintings for a moment, before nodding up to them.]

I've seen these before. Or similar ones, at least. They were hanging in Archerus' house.

[There's a beat as she takes a step closer to look at the signature.]

Looks like they were painted by our guy.

[killingtodeath]

Please don't tell me we're going in there...

[mordsith]

[Cara smirks to herself at the comment from Stiles, but she's checking the rest of the room. (spot 24)]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ there doesn't seem to be anything else of interest in this little room, actually. ]

[allmydreams]

[She shrugs.]

That wasn't going to be my plan. I don't really see anything that indicates we should.

[killingtodeath]

So what is your plan?

[allmydreams]

[She shrugs.]

Keep checking the doors until we either find Archerus' servant or our bad guy.

[killingtodeath]

Okay, well I'm going to vote for torching the painting before we go in that case. The last thing we need is something crawling out and surprising us while we're down the hall.

[druidisms]

Sounds like a plan. Back up, kids. [ he means all y'all up by the paintings, but gus gathers a small ball of crackling flame in his hand, murmuring in korean under his breath and with a yankees pitcher's wind up, hurls it at one of the paintings at random. (produce flame, ranged touch atk 23, dmg 6) ]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ the painting starts to simmer, catching fire quickly. there's a noticeable lack of horrible death noises coming from it as it's destroyed, at least. ]

[allmydreams]

[That is a relief. She exhales a breath she didn't know she was holding and takes a step back to head back into the hallway.]

Let's keep looking. They have to be around here somewhere.

[She's still going to lead with her gun, keeping her eyes and eyes peeled as they search (search 20 total, spot 26, listen 28).]

[killingtodeath]

[Stiles nods and follows, glad to see the painting go up in flames. He sure crit failed his spot check and got a whole 5 on a listen check so... he's not here to be the look out, guys.]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ two more of the doors in the hall enter into similar guest rooms, both of which sport more paintings that felicity recognizes as being incredibly similar to some of those that were on sale at the other painter's gallery. there's also a bathroom with a large porcelain tub and polished wooden floorboards. a wide mirror is mounted on the wall over a marble countertop that holds scented lotions, bath oil, mint leaves, towels, brushes, combs, and hair cream. a shelf near the tub holds several carefully folded towels of various sizes in shades of plum, cream, and sage.

the rooms at the farthest end of the hall that curves to the right are simpler versions of the guest rooms - one of which contains two beds. the dust accumulated on the furniture shows no signs of disturbance for several weeks. felicity notices a letter fallen on the floor beneath a little writing desk.

it reads:

Your last sketch was lacking. If you expect to receive the agreed-upon payment next time, I expect a much better rendering and something a little different. I've had quite enough alien landscapes. And do be careful. Imron recently came by my gallery and left with a peculiar look. He may suspect. ]