Play@YSDC

Duc's Palace, Armory - Vyones, Auvergne, France
5:30 PM - Monday, April 20, 1517

Gui, Jean Luc, Story, and Brook slipped through the door, which Story quietly closed behind them. The room they found themselves in had no windows and was fairly dark, but an orange glow came from the door at the far end. So did the rhythmic sound of metal striking against metal. Though the light was dim here, they could see that there were weapon racks containing weapons of fine quality: swords, polearms of various varieties, bows, crossbows, and even a few pistols and muskets. There were no suits of armor in this room, though.

Gui stepped over to the racks and quickly withdrew a rapier, giving it an experimental swish. ”No automaton here,” he said. “Let’s push on and explore.”

"He is merely borrowing it, mesdemoiselles," said Jean Luc before the ladies said anything. "In case we end up in a fight. After all, the Chevalier is not around to protect us."

”Merci,” said Gui through gritted teeth. “We wouldn’t anyone to forget the Chevalier’s baseless accusations that I am a thief…”

OOC:   "The locked armory door looked like it led to a room that shared a wall with the alcove." So...

"Let's see if there's one of those viewing ports or a secret catch in here that might connect to that alcove. For that matter..."

*Story looks down at the floor and hopes to spot some tracks*

Spot Hidden :

Passing: 38%, Roll: d%

Story could see that the floor was scuffed, which showed people had come and gone, but there was no sign of any secret passage in this room.

Gui moved over to the door on the far side off the room, listening intently. The noise and the orange glow suggested it was a smithy but he wanted to be sure.

Gui will listen at the door. I don’t suppose there’s one of those little inspection windows, is there?

Listen (35%) 1d100

There was no inspection window. If Gui wanted to see what was on the other side of the door, he would have to open it.

Gui could hear grunting as metal struck metal, and the sound had to be that of a blacksmith hammering something out on an anvil.

”It sounds like the forgeron,” said Gui quietly, indicating the door. “Do we take a look? We might give ourselves away. Mind you, if the automaton had come through here, would everything be carrying on as normal?”

"Well it would if the smith was in on it. Maybe crafting some modifications or something? And if not, we just say we're on specific business for Master DaVinci. Let's try it. But be prepared in case of trouble. "

”Comme tu veux, Mademoiselle,” replied Gui. “But be ready to leave in a hurry if it does not go well…”

Very carefully, he turned the door handle until the locking mechanism disengaged and he was able to open it, just a crack.

Gui cracked open the door. On the other side was indeed a forge, with a round stone structure containing a fire in the center of the room, beneath a chimney that passed through the ceiling. A bellows rested there. The blacksmith stood before the anvil, stripped to waist to reveal a muscular back, hammering out a sword. His back was to them, and he did not appear to have noticed them yet. The room had two more exits: closed doors in the left and right walls.

”I do not see how the automaton could come through here without the blacksmith noticing, Mademoiselle,” whispered Gui. “It cannot travel without someone working the controls and that surely would have attracted his attention. My instincts tell me that we should retrace our steps.”

Philulhu wrote: ↑Sat Oct 08, 2022 6:54 am ”I do not see how the automaton could come through here without the blacksmith noticing, Mademoiselle,” whispered Gui. “It cannot travel without someone working the controls and that surely would have attracted his attention. My instincts tell me that we should retrace our steps.”

Passes eyes around briefly and does some mental spatial analysis...

Then Story points towards the left door and says in quiet whisper:
"But through that door should be the other side of the alcove we were investigating earlier. It might never have made it in here, but may be right through there...we need to convince this nice smith that we should be allowed to proceed unhindered. Any ideas?"

”Perhaps one of us might try flirting with the blacksmith, to try to attract his attention?” suggested Gui.

Philulhu wrote: ↑Tue Oct 11, 2022 2:10 pm ”Perhaps one of us might try flirting with the blacksmith, to try to attract his attention?” suggested Gui.

"If flirting with the smith is your suggestion, then be my guest, however, we could simply ask, or perhaps a little lie might work better?" Brook spoke softly, although her displeasure with the suggestion was clear.

Gui shrugged. ”As you wish. We could attempt to pass off our presence in the locked armoury as a sign of favour with the Duc,” he suggested.

Story barely manages to stifle a little giggle...

"And maybe lower that weapon..." *smirk*

Gui looked at the weapon in front of him and waved it from side to side experimentally. ”If you insist, Mademoiselle,” he said, tucking it away out of sight.

"Here goes..." Story thinks

(whispering to her companions) "OK you two; look like you know you're supposed to be here."

*Then Story clears her throat loudly - surprising herself a little when hearing herself, forgetting for a moment how very less male she was now*

"Ahem...excuse me, master smith. We don't mean to startle you...we're just passing through on some official business. Don't mind us. We'll just be going through thataway..." *gestures casually towards the left door while gently prodding Gui to start slowly moving in that direction*

Gui nodded to the smith, in the time-honoured tradition of one man greeting another. Words were not needed; there was unspoken acknowledgment that they were both men going about their business.

The smith turned, indeed startled. "How did you get in here?" he asked. "The door is always kept locked."

Everyone may attempt a Fast Talk roll. Also, Gui, please roll Conceal.

Conceal 40% 1d100
Fast Talk 55% 1d100

“Pray forgive our intrusion, Maître Forgeron,” replied Gui. “We are pursuing an automaton who means harm to the Duc and the good folk of this castle. Tell me, have you seen such a creature - like a Chevalier in his armour, but with even less charm and social grace, were that even possible? Quickly now, lives may be in danger!”

"A suit of armor?" said the smith. "We have a few in here, being polished. Whenever the servants notice one of the suits in the alcoves in the hall outside the armory needs touching up, they bring it in here." He pointed to the door on the right. "Make sure you return the blade when you are done with it, monsieur."

Smith's Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) to notice the sword:
d%

“I will, Maître Forgeron. I merely borrowed it to protect the mademoiselle, should the need arise,” replied Gui smoothly. “So you have seen no such automaton in the last few hours?”

"I have seen a few suits of armor," said the smith, "but they were carried by the servants, not walking on their own. I did not even know such a thing was possible."

“The great inventor, Leonardo Da Vinci, is a guest of the Duc. It is one of his inventions but, alas, it has gone missing,” said Gui. “We must track it down and it is possible it has made its way to the room over there. If you will excuse us, we must take a look.”

"Of course," said the smith, returning to his work.

“Merci,” said Gui, crossing over to the door. “Ready?” he asked Story, then, with the rapier held ready, he carefully tried the door.

Gui's Fast Talking seemed to do the trick, so not bothering to roll.

Story will do their best to appear to be glad of Gui's protection and make a (likely 1st-ever) attempt at a quick curtsy in the direction of the smith.
Then moves along to the door for which we are bound.

Gui opened the door, revealing a large room containing a few suits of armor. Most of them were standing against the walls, but one lay on its back upon a table in the middle of the room. It was the automaton. A servant was busy polishing it with a cloth.

”Stand back!” Gui snapped to the servant. “Monsieur, that creature is very dangerous and has killed already!”

Story will make a quick assessment of the contents of the room, if any, other than the servant, table, armor, and The Automaton...

"What creature?" asked the servant, looking around in confusion. "There is nobody here but us." He was a young dark-haired man, scrawny, but with long, deft fingers. The table on which the automaton lay was large and sturdy, as it would have to be to support a suit of armor, made of solid oak. The automaton was completely motionless. It didn't look much different than the last time they had seen it, except that it was perhaps a little shinier now. The other suits of armor were of high quality, though they looked like they could use a good polishing too. The room itself was big, and the only other exit was a door in the right wall. The only other thing of note in the room were a glass bottle containing some fluid, presumably polish, sitting at the end of the table.

”How did it get in here?!” Gui asked the servant.

"How did what get in here?" asked the servant, still unsure what he meant.

"That." Story points at The Automaton. "How did that get in here? And who instructed you to attend to it?"

"Oh, the armor?" said the servant. "Someone saw it in one of the alcoves in the hall outside the armory and noticed that it could use some polishing, so we brought it in here. It's my job to polish the suits of armor when they need it. These are the Duc's standing instructions. He likes having his suits of armor kept polished."

"Very well. But you really should back away. That thing is not safe."

Story glances at her companions...

"OK. So we've found it. Now what do we do with it? Chain it to that table and find Signore DaVinci?"

Story tries to recall if she's seen chains or the like anywhere along their walk: armory, smithy, wherever.

”Step away, s'il vous plaît,” Gui said firmly, stepping towards the automaton. There was something about the servant that was setting his teeth on edge…

None of them could recall having seen any chains around.

"But it's just an empty suit of armor," said the servant, though he still backed away. "If you want chains, the smith makes them. There's some in the dungeon."

”Then call for someone and have some fetched immediately,” said Gui. ”We will stay here and keep an eye on the automaton.”

The servant nodded and rushed out of the room through the door by which they had entered, leaving Story, Brook, Gui, and Jean Luc alone with the automaton, which remained motionless.

Can we spot-weld it to the bench?!

Gui looked around the room, trying to find something with which he could poke the automaton. He’d considered using the rapier but didn’t want it thinking it was under attack, if such a thing were even possible for a creature made of metal…

There was no source of fire in this room to be used to weld the automaton, nor was there anything in the room to poke it. There were such things in the forge, however. Gui remembered seeing a few iron pokers there.

A Repair/Devise (or Mechanical Repair) roll would be required to weld the automaton to the table.

Without taking his eyes from the automaton, Gui backed up to the door. Pushing it open, he called out, ”An iron poker s'il vous plaît, maitre forgeron.”

The blacksmith soon arrived at the door and handed Gui an iron poker.

”Merci,” said Gui, taking the poker. He paused and said, ”Where did the servant go? Did he say anything to you before he left?”

"No, he just left the armory," said the smith. "He seemed in a hurry."

”Pardon, Maitre,” said Gui, quickly crossing the room and opening the other door. Where had that servant gone?! Was there any hue and cry?!

Gui could see that the servant had already left the forge room by way of the door through which they had originally entered, which was still open. Through the open door, he could see the servant had just left the armory to the hallway and closed that door behind him.

Gui (and anyone else who follows), you may roll Listen.

Listen (35%) 1d100

God forbid I should get a successful roll when it would be useful…

Try as he might, Gui was unable to hear above the noise of the forge.

Story steps back into the forge seeking some chains or similar to strap down the Automaton, if possible...

"Good Forgemaster, have you any chains or manacles or the like that might fit around that?" *points towards table*

Listen (34%) : 94 ( I am still finding the die-roller thing problematic for some reason. )

"I make them here," said the blacksmith, "but we don't keep them here. They're kept in the dungeon."

Gui quickly crossed the armoury and carefully opened the door to the corridor beyond. He looked out, trying to see where the servant had gone and also to try to remember what he looked like.

Everyone is moving to the thread linked below:

Lost and Found