IC-Ep 3-The Rescue(Elliot Webb/Valerie Soames)

[Mr. Handy]

Valerie and Elliot cleared the remaining distance to the main house once the man - or whatever he was - was out of sight, having gone behind the mansion. They had seen two entrances so far: the front doors, a pair of stout oak doors at the top of wide marble steps, and the side entrance from which the man had emerged.

[BenTheRat]

Not happy with either choice, Elliot prefers the roof for access, but without the proper climbing gear, Val would surely struggle with that. The side door it is, and once the coast looks clear Elliot heads for the side entrance.

[Mr. Handy]

Elliot and Valerie made their way to the side entrance to the mansion. Valerie put her ear to the door then nodded and tried the knob. It turned, and she cracked the door open and peeked inside. Giving a thumbs up, she opened the door and slipped in, motioning for Elliot to follow her.

[BenTheRat]

Elliot follows but doesn't feel safe by an obvious employee entrance. We quickly move to a room and out of the hall.
.

Spoiler:

did we get any info on where the good Dr. is being kept? upstairs, downstairs?

[Mr. Handy]

The door led directly into a large kitchen that smelled strongly of fish. A counter divided the room nearly in half, and everything looked clean and spotless. There were a big table, a lengthy range with three ovens underneath, a dishwasher, a cutting board with several large knives in a rack above it, a toaster, a huge refrigerator/freezer, a dumbwaiter, and numerous drawers and cabinets. A short set of stairs led down to a plain wooden door on the left, and a more elaborate door was on the opposite side of the kitchen from the exit, which Valerie silently closed behind them.

Spoiler:

You only know what Leonek told you, that she's in the mansion.

[BenTheRat]

Elliot takes one of the knives that looks like it could be used in a knife fight. And see if there is a nutcracker pick set that could be used for a lock if needed. We won't take long. Check a couple drawers that look like they would hold utensils.

Then we will head for the smaller wooden door.

[Mr. Handy]

Valerie also helped herself to one of the large kitchen knives, which she slipped into her purse. It only took a couple of minutes to find a nutcracker pick in one of the drawers, which Elliot took. She put her ear to the smaller door for a moment, nodded, and opened it.

On the other side of the door was a large pantry, filled with sacks, boxes, and barrels of various foodstuffs. On the right wall was a large metal door, and a set of stone stairs at the rear of the pantry led down into darkness.

[BenTheRat]

Elliot looks for a flashlight in the kitchen. If not, he will look for a light switch and we will head down the stairs.
.
He figures the metal door is to the cooler, so he puts his hand on it quickly to see if its cold to confirm his suspicions.

[Mr. Handy]

There were no flashlights in the kitchen that Elliot could find, but he did recall that he had that lighter from the museum gift shop. Feeling the door, he could tell that it was in fact cold.

Using the lighter, Elliot was able to locate a pull cord that lit up a bare light bulb in the ceiling. Valerie followed him downstairs into a large underground area filled with rack after rack containing numerous wine bottles, as well as a few large casks. Valerie pulled out a bottle at random, peered at the label, and slid it back in. "This one's older than I am," she said.

[BenTheRat]

Elliot didn't like it, "Hmmm, wine cellar. I hate dead ends." We do a quick sweep to make sure there isn't a small door that could lead to a holding room, then backtrack.

[Mr. Handy]

The wine cellar did not have any other exits, so Elliot and Valerie returned up the stairs. Valerie pulled the cord again to turn off the light, then peered into the kitchen to make sure that the way was clear before exiting the pantry.

Spoiler:

Elliot and Valerie, please roll Idea.

[BenTheRat]

OOC:   idea Roll: BenTheRat rolled 1d100: 96 target = 80

"What do you think Val, I'm pretty clueless as to what to try next. Head upstairs?" Elliot says putting on his dunce cap.

[Mr. Handy]

"Yes, I agree," said Valerie, "and I know just how we should get there. There may be traffic in the halls, and even more likely on the stairs." She went over to the dumbwaiter and opened the sliding panel, revealing a large wooden compartment with two ropes running through it. "Yes, I'm sure you'll have no problem fitting inside, and I can probably fit too. We'll have to go one at a time, of course."

[BenTheRat]

"Great idea, Val. I'll go first and make sure its clear." Elliot climbs into the dumb waiter and starts up to the next floor.
When he gets there, he will just open it a crack to see if its clear or not.

[Mr. Handy]

Elliot climbed into the dumbwaiter and pulled the rope to raise it up to the next floor, where there was another sliding panel. Peering out through the crack, he saw a limited glimpse of a hallway extending to the left and right.

Spoiler:

Elliot, please roll Luck and Listen.

[BenTheRat]

Elliot hopes their luck continues:
Luck target = 60

BenTheRat rolled 1d100:
10

.
So he listens as well to make sure the coast is clear.
Listen target = 50

BenTheRat rolled 1d100:
14

.
If I hear nothing and see nothing, I will open the panel further and peer up and down the hall.

[Mr. Handy]

Elliot heard nothing but silence, so he opened the panel and looked out. The hall was elegant and came to an end shortly to the right at an oak door. Similar doors lined the hall on both sides to the left, where it rounded a corner to the left. He recalled from looking at the mansion from the outside that the front entrance had been on a higher level than a side entrance due to the steps leading up to it, so he was now on the same floor as that entrance. There was also a floor above this one, in addition to the attics above that.

[BenTheRat]

Elliot will continue to go up to the next level and go through the same routine, cracking the cover panel and listening.
.

OOC:   Luck roll target = 60 BenTheRat rolled 1d100: 87 Listen roll target = 50 BenTheRat rolled 1d100: 12

[Mr. Handy]

The hallway on the upper floor looked identical to the one below. The dumbwaiter would rise no higher from this point. It was mostly silent, but Elliot could make out the faint sound of a woman sobbing. It came from behind one of the doors to the left, the first one on the opposite side of the hall from the dumbwaiter.

Spoiler:

Your first Luck roll was good enough that it covers you for this floor too, so the second roll wasn't needed.

[BenTheRat]

I climb out here and put a small note in it to say 2 floors up. And then Lower the dumb waiter back down for Val.