Play@YSDC

Duc's Palace, Secret Passages - Vyones, Auvergne, France
8:00 AM - Monday, April 20, 1517

Brook and Gui proceeded down the narrow hall. Since Story and Elizabeth had taken one of the candles, they now only had one. The passage continued for a short distance before they found a pair of panels, one on each side. It continued beyond them.

Both of you, please roll Listen.

Gui held up a hand to indicate a pause, then cocked his head to one side to listen for any sounds.

(35%) 1d100

[95] = 95
Listen 55 d%: [ 95 ] = 95

Brook cocks a quizzical look at Gui: she can’t hear a thing.

Gui leaned in to Brook and whispered, ”I can hear voices downstairs. A man and a woman are talking - he is asking what she is doing in there. I couldn’t hear her reply and didn’t recognise her voice so I don’t know if it was one of your friends.”

"Maybe they've got caught snooping: told you people would start looking for us," Brook says admonishingly. "Let's get back before we get into too much trouble."

She turns, making to return back to her chamber.

”If you go now, Mademoiselle, they are bound to see you,” cautioned Gui. ”If we hear them coming up the stairs, then we might have to hide in one of rooms. Otherwise, if we move quietly then we might be all right. What do you say?”

“I get the impression you’re used to all this sneaking around,” Brook replies.

“Okay, let’s go with your plan for now; we can always pretend we got lost if we get caught.”

Gui tried for his best innocent look but the grin ruined it. ”I’d prefer not to get caught, Mademoiselle. People get the wrong idea and it’s easier not to have explain.”

”Shall we take a look?” indicating the panels and searching for the peepholes.

Brook shakes her head, but only to dispel the infectiousness of Gui’s grin.

“Alright then. The peepholes have been around here.”

She points to the approximate spot that the other spyholes she’s found have been.

Brook and Gui each looked through a hole in one of the panels into the rooms beyond. They were less luxurious than their own rooms, but they still had a certain modicum of style. Presumably they were servants' quarters. Both rooms were currently deserted.

“Empty servants quarters I guess,” Brook mutters.

“Perhaps they use these passages to travel between rooms unobserved; y’know, so that the posh folk don’t have to look at lower-class plebs. Doesn’t explain the peepholes though - that’s just pervy.”

She looks up from the holes to Gui.

“I guess we keep going?”

”Someone is coming up the stairs!” Gui whispered hurriedly. ”What shall we do? Hide in one of the rooms?!”

“Hiding is only delaying the inevitable. You go if you want; I’m gonna play the little lost girl act,” says Brook.

Gui rolled his eyes. ”Where is your sense of adventure?!” he asked her.

‘Buried under half of London,’ Brook thinks to herself.

“Let’s just say I’ve had enough adventures recently. Look, if I get caught, you have a better chance of hiding.”

”Very well,” said Gui. ”If you draw him away, then perhaps I could hide in one of these rooms until he has gone.”

Brook nods. Quite why she’s helping such an obvious rogue she doesn’t know, but it seems the right thing to do somehow.

Wishing Gui good luck, she heads back towards the stairs, clumping her feet as noisily as possible.

“Hello? Can anyone help me? I’m lost!” she wails.

Brook took the candle, leaving Gui shrouded in darkness. The footsteps on the stairs quickened, and a guard appeared at the top of the stairs as Brook arrived, also carrying a candle. "You are with the other ladies, Mademoiselle?" he asked. "I ran into them downstairs and directed them back to your suite. You should not be in here. It is very easy to get lost. You will need to go downstairs one flight, then follow the hall until you reach the intersection. Turn left there, and the hallway will lead back to your room. I sent your friends back there. It is almost time for the Duc's court, and you do not want to be late. I came looking for that thief. He was confined to his guest room, but when I went to fetch him to appear before the Duc, I found his room empty. I reasoned that he must have escaped through these passages and came to look for him. Have you seen him?"

Brook shrugs in what she hopes is a suitably Gallic way.

“That shifty looking guy? No, I haven’t seen him since last night.”

“So what are all these passages for? Like a servants’ thoroughfare or something?”

She smiles innocently, hoping that Gui is using the time to make his escape.

Gui slipped quietly down the corridor looking for a place to hide.

Spot hidden (50%) 1d100

Brook waits for an awkward moment for the guard to answer her question, before heading back to her chamber.

"That is right, Mademoiselle," said the guard. In the narrow confines of the passage and stairway, Brook was unable to get past him. It didn't help that he was a bit portly either. "You will need to go back down the passage. I will open one of the panels for you so you can duck into an empty room long enough for me to pass. You should probably make your way back to your room through the regular halls and stairs. It's safer that way."

Yes, Gui has his money with him in a pouch. It makes sense that he'd have it on his person. After all, there are thieves about.

Brook nods in thanks before heading back, as per the guard’s instructions.

When Brook backed up past the secret panels, the guard followed her and triggered the one on his left, which swung open, admitting a little light into the passage.

Unfortunately, the passage is far too narrow for that, and both Brook and the guard are between you and the stairs. You couldn't move past them even if you didn't care if the guard saw you and he wasn't trying to stop you.

Gui, please roll Hide.

Fortunately for Gui, the guard was unable to see through the darkness and did not notice him. "Just go through this room and exit it through the door into the hall, Mademoiselle," he said. "Then turn right, and you'll see the main stairs straight ahead. Take it down one flight, and you'll be in the guest wing where you're staying."

Guard's Spot Hidden roll (50% skill) to see Gui:
d%

Hoping that she’s bought Gui enough time, Brook follows the guard’s instructions and return to the room.

With a swift prayer that he wouldn’t get caught, Gui quickly checked again that the room was clear, then quietly let himself into one of the rooms off the corridor.

The two rooms nearest the stairs were not an option, as the guard was standing right in front of them, which meant he would have to find another hidden panel around a corner in complete darkness. Without being able to see it, he would need to find it by feel.

Gui, please roll Luck.

(45%) 1d100

Gui pushed on, holding his hands against both walls to guide him in the darkness…

The guard closed the hidden door after Brook once she was in the servants' quarters and proceeded onward to the intersection. Gui had gone around the corner and felt along the wall for the hidden catch. He finally found it and flipped it, causing a panel to swing open and admit light into the passage.

"Aha!" called the guard, who had just reached the intersection and spotted Gui in the sudden pool of light, loud enough for Brook to hear. "There you are!"

Gui laughed and stepped through the doorway into the room beyond, ran across the room and opened the door, leaving it ajar.

He then quickly hid under the bed, hoping the guard would assume he had fled the room…

Gui, please roll Hide.

(45%) 1d100

Gui tried to hide under the bed but the space with taken with blankets, hatboxes and other detritus. On the plus side, he thought to himself as he waited to be discovered, it wasn’t his mistress’ other lover. He’d been in that situation before when her husband arrived home unexpectedly and he’d dived under the bed to find that he wasn’t her first gentleman caller of the day… …

The guard burst into the servant's quarters and spotted Gui's legs sticking out from under the bed. He drew his sword and pointed it at him. "Come out, sirrah!" he commanded. "You have been caught at last!"

Guard's Spot Hidden roll (50% skill) in the servants' quarters:
d%

”Well done, Monsieur,” replied Gui. ”I am indeed caught so you may take me to the Duc.” Who, though Gui, he could hope had a understanding nature and a sense of humour… …

"And so I shall," said the guard with a smile. "I shall be well rewarded for catching you. On your feet. We're going downstairs to the Great Hall."

”Very well, Monsieur,” replied Gui, climbing to his feet and straightening his clothes. ”Please lead the way.”

"Oh, no, Monsieur, after you," said the guard. "I insist." He gestured with his sword and marched Gui out into the hall and down the stairs.

Brook soon returned to her room, where Story and Elizabeth were getting ready. A servant came to fetch them for the Duc's audience, and all three ladies followed her down to the Great Hall.

Everyone is moving to the thread linked below:

The Duc's Court