Play@YSDC

"Ja, let's go".

OOC,Group luck roll, 1D100: 64.

The courtyard is paved with a smooth, shiny black stone neither of you recognise. It's periodically decorated with trestles of plants, but it otherwise bare. You're almost at the building when its door opens and a white robed man emerges. His first response goes to confusion at the sight of you, rather than raising the alarm - "Who are you?" - though raising the alarm is sure to follow quickly unless you can stop him.

Without a word, Max takes out his club and clobbers the priest with it, trying to knock him unconscious. He hits him fairly hard.

The priest goes down - you can tell he's still breathing. One of the Dotherites glances quickly throught the door he came out through, and says "I see no one else." The other Dotherite takes the priest's shoulders and drags him through the door.

Inside is a room running what looks like the width of the building. At each end are altars set before clusters of statues. Opposite you is another door leading deeper into the building.

Max ties up the priest with a length of the rope they had the foresight to bring and gags him, then helps move him into some out of the way alcove if one is available. He tries to listen at the door, but all he hears is silence.

Karl is shocked by the violence, but he wants to find Helmut.

"Open the door."

The door opens into a cavernous room, that clearly takes up the whole rest of the building. Regularly interspersed through it are what at first glance look like brick pillars rising from floor to ceiling - but then you realise that the "pillars" are hollow, and mounted on axes, like gigantic prayer wheels.

"These are the cylinders," one of the Dotherites says. "They're here1"

Both of them rush into the room, looking from pillar to pillar, their body language growing more desperate with every moment. "They're blank!" he cries. "All of them are blank. There's nothing here."

More importantly, it's clear Helmut isn't in here either.

OOC,From this building the nearest ones are the main temple and the priests' quarters, with the library/museum on the far side of the courtyard from you - you also have three and a half wall's worth of cloister, although if those are constructed the same way as the length you walked down, there's no way to imprison someone in them.

"There are probably other cylinders elsewhere in the complex," says Max. "Shall we check the main temple next?"

"Yes, the temple," the Dotherite says, "and the museum."

"No," the other answers. "We should find their friend first - they and he have done all we asked."

"Thank you," says Max. "Once we've found him, we'll stay with you and help you find the cylinders."

The four central buildings are laid out like a diamond, but the door at the cylinder's building is at the end facing the main entrance to the compound - and so is the temple's. This means it's a longer run to get to the priests' qarters than the temple, because you have to go back along the length of the cylinder building - but the priests' quarters are the more logical place to keep somone prisoner - but relatedly, it's also where most of the priests are likely to be.

OOC,Group luck roll: 13.

There's no one outside, anyhow, so you have a chance to go for the one you consider the better option. The second Dotherite suggests the priests' quarters, while the first suggests the temple - but it's clear to you both he's thinking of finding more cylinders rather than Helmut.

"Maybe we should try the quarters first," suggests Max. "Our friend is most likely to be there, and once we have him free, our position will be strengthened. From there we can proceed to the museum afterwards, and finally the temple."

OOC,Group Luck Roll 44.

You're able to make it across the courtyard to the priests' quarters without incident. The shadows are lengthening into evening, and the noise of the city outside is muted, leaving you unable to tell whether your distraction is still ongoing.

The building has a wide set of double doors, with a smaller door set into them. Whichever you try opens without a problem, revealing a surprisingly normal-looking cloakroom lit lit by lamps and a few windows high up near the ceiling. The walls are lined with hooks on which hang grey garments that appear to be hooded shawls. You can grab some as you pass - there are enough for all of you - but their appearance suggests their likely use is for going outside at night.

There are two doors in the far wall - the one on the right is closed - the one on the left is ajar, and you can hear voices through it.

OOC,Karl's Listen 40; Max's Listen 55; Rolled 1D100 72, 94

You can't be sure how many.

The two Dotherites heft their clubs.

Max does put on one of the hooded shawls, as it will help when they do go outside, as it is night, and it will hide their faces as well. He gestures for the others to do the same. He gestures to the door on the right when they reach the end of the hall, not wanting to tangle with the priests just yet if it's not necessary.

OOC, You actually made a group Luck roll for us earlier, before we decided which way to go. That was successful as well.

The Dotherites nod and one quietly opens the right hand door.

It leads into a large kitchen - from the dimensions it must go from the central axis of the building to the rightmost outer wall. There's a cooking range along said outermost wall, a tall cupboard on the wall on the opposite side from you, a marble table in the centre, and a pair of baisins on the inner wall to your left. It appears that the baisins have plumbing.

There are two doors, one on your side of the room, and one on the far side next to the cupboard. The former door could only lead to a small room beside the cloakroom you just came from - one of the Dotherites checks it quickly, revealing it to be a pantry.

That leaves a far door, which opens into a hallway. It seems to stretch the whole length of the building, before turning left at the end. All the doorways are on the right.

Max points to the hallway, seeing as there's nobody in the kitchen or pantry, Max points to the hallway and mimes opening a door. Helmut could easily be kept in a small side room.

The first of the right hand doors leads to a small sleeping chamber - there's a bed and a chest, but nothing more.

As soon as you open the second, you hear the sound of light snoring. Easing it further open, you see a chamber of the same design and contents, but with a man sleeping in the bed - not Helmut, so presumably one of the priests.

There are four more doors in the hall before it turns, but from your new vantage, you can see the last of them is heavier than the rest.

Max gestures to the heavy door.

No sounds come from the other three doors you pass. The heavy door bears a large lock - you can't hear anything from within, but there is light coming through the keyhole.

Max looks through the keyhole.