Play@YSDC

Duc's Palace, Guest Quarters - Vyones, Auvergne, France
11:30 PM - Sunday, April 19, 1517

After the guards returned Gui to his guest chamber, they informed him that one of them would be posted outside his door if he needed anything, the implication being that he was not to leave. His room was luxurious, of course, but there were only two ways to leave it. One was the guarded door through which he had entered, and the other was the window, which was one story above ground level. It would be risky to climb out, especially given his recent injury, which still hurt.

Gui, you may attempt First Aid on yourself to try to recover some HP (1D3 if you succeed).

First Aid (30%) 1d100
1d6 1 HP recovered.

Gui looked through the drawers in his room and found a spare sheet tucked away. Nicking the edge with his dagger, he tore off a couple of strips to use as a bandage. Stripping to the waist and using the mirror to guide him, he sponged the wound and then bound it as neatly as he could. It would have to do until he could see a médecin.

Pulling his shirt back over his head, he moved the lamp so that it wouldn’t cast a shadow on the window, then carefully looked out to see how the land lay outside.

Gui felt a little better after treating his wound, but only a little. It would be at least a week until he was back to full health, but he could get by - provided he did not get injured further.

Looking out the window, he could see that a fall might do just that. The ground was about twelve to fifteen feet below the windowsill. There was a moat surrounding the chateau, and landing in there would be softer than if he hit the ground between the moat and the wall. However, he wasn't the best swimmer. It was too dark to see what lay beyond the moat, but he could make out trees near the waterline.

Gui, you may roll Idea. If you fail and you decide to climb out the window, you should roll Climb.

(65%) 1d100 Merde!

Gui looked out of the window, trying to judge the distance and weighing up the chance of getting away. He cursed himself for not paying attention to the surroundings and having a better idea of how he might get away. He stepped out onto the balcony and looked down, grimacing at the thought of a cold swim.

Craning his neck, he looked left, right and up, to see if there might be another route out.

There were other balconies outside windows to the left and right along the wall. While it was conceivable to leap to one of them, that seemed even more dangerous than climbing down.

Gui weighed up his options. He could try to climb down but he wasn’t sure what further obstacles he would face once he was down there. He considered what he knew of the Duc and whether he might talk him around, although that Chevallier would be sure to paint him in the worst possible light…

Can I try another Know roll to see what Gui knows about the Duc’s character and whether he might be forgiving of his misdemeanours?

Just in case - Know (50%) - 1d100

Edit: For goodness sake…

Gui knew next to nothing about the Duc. His silver tongue was good, but was it good enough?

Gui spent five minutes cursing himself for getting caught with all manner of Norman insults until at last he managed to get a grip on himself and calm down. It could have been worse, he reflected; he could have been the first fellow in Da Vinci’s rooms…

He looked out of the window again and decided to take his chances with the Duc in the morning, rather than an ignoble fall or drowning in the moat. Sighing, he stripped off his clothes and threw himself on the bed, hoping that sleep would come before dawn.

Gui fell asleep quickly, exhausted from the night's events.

I have one more thread to wrap up before we can proceed to the morning, so we'll wait here.

Gui awakened in the morning much refreshed, with sunlight streaming in through the window.

OOC, Gui looked over at Jacques, somewhat surprised. After the events of the previous evening, he was the last person he had expected to find in his bed… …

Gui stretched and yawned, then lay back to contemplate his situation. Perhaps he should have made a run for it the night before but it was too late now. Besides, something did for his fellow thief in the night and part of him felt that he should do something about that.

Hi thoughts turned to the people he had met the night before. The Chevalier was a going to be a difficult fellow to deal with - it seemed that a grovelling apology would be the place to start with him and he could only hope that he wouldn’t want to take it further. Gui would have to seek him out to make amends.

The three women struck him as most odd. They weren’t there one minute, but then they appeared the next. Their clothes were also very peculiar - perhaps they were travelling players and that was their costume. But if that was the case, what they were doing in Leonardo Da Vinci’s room after midnight? It was very strange!

Resolved on his course of action, Gui rose and began his morning ablutions, dressing quickly but neatly, before heading to the door to ask the guard to take him to the Chevalier.

"Do you require breakfast first, monsieur?" asked the guard.

Whoops! Copy/paste error, caused by lack of sleep.

No problem

At the mention of food, Gui’s stomach grumbled. ”Perhaps you would be so good as to send a servant to beg an urgent audience with the Chevalier, while I break my fast?” he asked. ”Please tell the Chevalier that I wish to apologise for my unconsciousable behaviour towards him last night.”

"It shall be done, monsieur," said the guard. He closed the door as he called for a servant.

While he waited for the servant to return, Gui explored his room again, hoping to find a lever than opened a secret passage or a secret door that lead to one of the neighbouring rooms.

Gui's instincts were correct. After a little searching, he found a hidden catch that caused a panel to swing open, revealing a narrow, darkened corridor stretching to the left and right at the rear of the room, parallel to the hall outside. It was difficult to see in there, but it was nothing a candle wouldn't fix, and his room was supplied with candles.

Taking one of the candles, Gui examined the hidden corridor for a dozen yards either side, to see what lay down there.

Within the corridor there was a similar catch on the inside to open the hidden panel. In both directions, on the same wall as the secret door leading to his quarters, were similar panels and catches. Those panels were closed, unlike the one through which he had entered the hidden passage.

Gui, please roll Listen.

Gui could barely make out the sound of women talking beyond the next panel on the right, though he could not make out what they were saying. He also could hear the sound of someone eating behind the panel to the left of the one leading to his room. Finally, he could make out footsteps approaching the door of his own room in the hall outside.

Gui quickly backtracked to his room, reasoning that it was the servant returning with news of his audience with the Chevalier. He quickly closed the door behind him, and was casually studying one of the paintings on the wall when the servant entered.

Gui returned in time before the servant returned, bearing a tray of food. The guard still stood watch behind him. There were fresh bread, eggs, and fresh fruit of several varieties, as well as some delicious-smelling strips of bacon. "I regret to inform you that the Chevalier has declined your request, monsieur," he said.

Gui rolled his eyes. He was really starting to take a dislike to the pompous Chevalier.

He thanked the servant and showed him to the door. Once he had departed, he quickly scoffed the bacon and eggs - he didn’t want to go hungry after all - then went to explore the hidden passages some more.

He pocketed a couple of spare candles then took his lit candle, let himself into the passage and closed it quietly behind him. Looking both ways, he decided to head to the left to see what he could find…

Gui reached the panel to the left of the one through which he had entered. He could still hear the sound of eating. The narrow corridor continued beyond into darkness.

Gui listened for a moment at the panel to see if he could hear anything other than eating noises.

35% 1d100

Gui could still hear eating on the other side, but nothing more.

I'd still count your earlier Listen success, even if the second roll had failed.

That was a successful roll (25% vs 35% Listen skill), wasn’t it?

Gui moved on further down the corridor. He tried to think of the layout of the building to see if that gave him a clue as to the inhabitants of each room.

Gui made his way further along until he came to a four-way intersection.

Yes, it was successful, but I would have taken the success of the first roll regardless of whether it had succeeded or failed, as there was no need to roll a second time.

Gui, please roll Navigate.

Gui couldn't be sure where in the palace these other branches of the secret passage went. He had lost his sense of direction.

Gui looked around, perplexed. As try as he might, he couldn’t picture how these tunnels related to their neighbouring rooms. He did however, know how to get lost and so he drew his knife and quickly carved a small symbol in the timber surround of the nearest door, indicating the direction back to his room and the number of rooms to pass.

As Gui looked around and marked the wall, indicating that his room was two doors away back the way he had come, he noticed a faint light coming from that direction, beyond the secret panel leading back to his room.

Gui held breath and flattened himself against the wall, alert for any shadow or change in the light that might indicate he was not alone.

A shadowy figure entered the corridor through the open panel and began to slowly approach.

Gui let the blackjack he carried in his sleeve fall into his palm and waited to see what the shadowy figure might do…

Is there any indication that the approaching figure has seen Gui?

Two more figures followed the first one, one of them carrying a lit candle.

Gui, please roll Idea.

Gui realized that of course they could see him. He was carrying a lit candle too, and it was the only other light source in the hallway.

The figure with the candle ducked back through the panel and out of the hall.

D’oh!

Gui cursed himself for being a fool and blew out the candle he was holding. He stepped quietly but quickly after the figure to see where he went, his blackjack held ready…

With the candlelight gone, Gui could no longer see very well as he moved through the corridor.

Gui, please roll Sneak.

45% 1d100

Perfectly balanced, Gui stepped lightly towards the opening, trying to ascertain who he had seen without further alerting the interloper to his presence.

Gui crept through the corridor, silent as a ghost. He passed the panel leading to his own room. The one beyond it was the one behind which he had earlier heard women talking. Indeed, two of them stood in the entryway of the open secret passage. Now that he was close enough, and that a light was shining from the room on the other side of the panel, he recognized them from last night when they had emerged from the blue box.

Gui paused for a moment, then stepped closer to the doorway. He was pretty sure that the person he had seen must be one of the women in Da Vinci’s room from the evening before. In a low voice, he called out, ”Madamoiselle, I mean you no harm. It is Gui, the poor, misjudged fellow from Monsieur Da Vinci’s room last night. If I can rely on your discretion, then I will show myself to you.”

Right before Gui spoke, one of the women squeaked “Quick, let’s go back to the Tardis!”

After he finished speaking, a different woman let out a long breath and replied "Slowly."

Gui slipped his blackjack back into his sleeve, and straightened his clothes. With his hands held open by his sides to show he meant no harm, he stepped into the opening.

”Please forgive my interruption, Mesdamoiselles. I found the passage and decided to explore. It seems you did the same,” he said.

Gui is moving to the thread linked below:

The Rats in the Walls