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

[trebond]

[ You know, Alanna is going to just ... rip the monster portrait in half as she moves past it. Some paintings don't need to live. It seems like the safer choice. ]

[druidisms]

[ mellie is freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee to sniff everyone before lumbering after them into the painting chamber. ]

I'm staring to hate art. [ he peers around for clues whilst mellie sniffs around for the trail they were following. (spot 30, survival 31 + scent & track) ]

[allmydreams]

[Felicity will do the same, searching through the various paintings while keeping an ear out for trouble (search 21, listen 15).]

I'm certainly never going to look at art museums the same way again.

[behindcloseddoors]

[ felicity notices a painting of a frumpy man sitting on a bench reading a book out of the corner of her eye, when she swears she sees him turn a page. as she walks closer, she'd notice that his eyes move back and forth as he reads.

mellie follows the trail to an apparent dead end at a wall beneath a wall sconce, while gus notices a strange painting of black smoke, which seems to roil beneath the surface of the painting. ]

[allmydreams]

[Her gun comes up when she sees movement, but when she sees the man sitting on the bench she hesitates, waiting to see if there's any sign of attack.]

Anyone see any other paintings with monsters in them?

[She isn't sure if this painting is a threat, the guy they've been looking for or just a magical experiment, but she's not taking any risks with anything else.]

[mordsith]

[Cara moves through the room, looking at the images in the paintings (spot 24) to see if anything seems more monstrous than first glance.]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ as felicity watches, the man raises his hand... and scratches his head. yep. then goes back to reading.

cara finds a few other paintings with other disturbing creatures on them, but nothing seems to be moving, at least. ]

[druidisms]

I'm not sure this counts as a monster or not. [ but it's creepy as fuck so that's close enough. he leaves the painting for now, checking on mellie's progress and looking around the wall that she paws at insistently. (spot 26) MAYBE IT'S A SECRET PASSAGE IN THE CREEPY DEATH HOUSE!!!!!!! gonna grab the sconce and try to twist it like this is some national treasure bullshit. gr8 idea. ]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ annnnnd it's a secret passage! stairs descend into a dusty chamber filled with crates and boxes, lumpy soot-covered sacks, picture frames, frayed rugs, tools, stacks of clothes and linens in need of mending, a few pieces of lumber, and an old broom. ]

[allmydreams]

[Felicity steps away from the old mam in the painting, but keeps her eyes on it just in case.]

I've got an old guy reading a book over here but ... I'm not sure if he's dangerous or not yet.

[killingtodeath]

[Stiles hangs back and watches everyone else get to searching, which means he can see Gus use those sweet Nic Cage moves.]

Uh... Are you for real? [He hasn't noticed yet that it worked.]

[trebond]

Looks like we had quite the paranoid homeowner. [ Building secret passages and all. She claps Stiles on the shoulder and moves past his incredulity over to Gus. ] As criminal behavior goes, it's the next best thing to a "this way" sign. [ and she'll lead the way down inside because it's a habit to bear the brunt of whatever might be waiting and protect others. ]

[druidisms]

If you've got a creepy house and no secret passages, you're just not trying hard enough. [ gon' follow alanna ofc. mellie waits in the room, eyeing the smokey painting bearishly. ]

[allmydreams]

[Felicity pats Mellie's side gently as she makes her way past, heading down to follow the others, with her gun still up just in case.]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ it just seems??? to be? a cellar??? as described above. it's a little musty. ]

[druidisms]

[ dryly, ] Well this was anticlimactic. [ and gus is just going to head back, disappointed with his find. national treasure is a sham. ]

[trebond]

[ Alanna will hunt around a bit before heading back up, looking around for anything significant down here (spot 22). ]

[killingtodeath]

Cool creepy murder basement. [Stiles pokes his head in and is just like nah. Gonna go back up and hang with the bear.]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ alanna grabs hold of that old broom as the others go back upstairs and... finds its actually attached to the wall? when she pulls it, there's a loud grinding noise, as it's actually a lever, and the entire western wall swivels 180 degrees, taking her with it into a simple dressed-stone chamber that lacks furnishings save for a single large antique portrait depicting a gloomy library. in the library, a stern-faced man with a thin dark beard and striking blue eyes wearing red and gray robes sits in a plush, high-backed chair. he holds a staff across his lap and one ringed hand rests atop a small table holding a crystal ball.

beside the painting, a large suit of armor stands, that looks a little more... robotic than the ones they just fought. when she enters, it slowly turns its helmeted head towards her, staring her down. ]

[allmydreams]

[Felicity, who had been bringing up the back of the group, still has her eyes are still focused on the contents of the room, which means she gets to see as the wall slams around and Alanna suddenly disappears (spot 28).]

Shit!

[So eloquent, this one.]

[trebond]

[ WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE FUCK, ARDEN. I WASN'T EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE HERE TODAY.

Alanna looks up wildly as the wall swivels around, thrusting her into an alcove of a room. Her eyes catch the painting, and she watches the man as if to see him move, but she's quickly distracted by the turn of a helmeted head.

Oh. Fuck.

With a will save of 22, she's going to ... pull on that broom again to try and spin around and get back up because this looks like exactly where they need to be judging by that painting tbh. PLEASE TURN AROUND AGAIN, WALL. ]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ annnnnnd

around it spins slowly, the armored creature watching her as she leaves ]

[trebond]

There's another armor suit in there waiting for us, but a painting as well, with a man holding a crystal staff. He— [ She cringes, something head-splitting striking her. Her hand tightens around the crystal sword in her hand. He looks familiar—not like she does know him, but like he reminds her impossibly of someone she did, once. ] Might be who we're looking for. We need to go this way.

[mordsith]

[Cara is just like 'Man, this mission is ridiculously complex. Paintings that are alive. Walls that hold secret caverns.'

Still, she's gonna follow wherever someone tells her to and hope there's something she can hit.]

[killingtodeath]

Does this feel super Scooby Doo to anyone else?

[I am stiles. Stiles is me.]

If the bear starts talking, I'm gonna lose my freaking mind.