IC-Ep 2-Intruder(Lucius only)

[Mr. Handy]

The House of Cicero- Rome, Italia
Mid-evening- March 14, 44 BC

Lucius quickly slipped over the wall and down the other side. The dust had indeed done the trick. He found himself in the central courtyard, an open-air garden. From here he could see windows overlooking the courtyard rather than the street, as windows did not typically look outwards in Roman houses so as to keep out intruders like him. One of the windows at ground level was illuminated by candlelight within. A few balconies looked out over the garden from the house, but nobody was currently on them. The interior walls of the garden were covered with frescoes and mosaics. One of the mosaics said "Cave Canem" - beware of the dog, and there was a drawing of a ferocious dog near the writing. Fortunately, the dog was not in evidence at the moment.

[mindrot]

Lucius carefullyt looks around, and especially the nearest balcony, searching ways to climb it. Then he crouched in shadows to the illuminated window, and then peer through it.

Spoiler:

mindrot rolled 1d100:
76

- in case I need it. How high are the balconies? Is it possible to climb them?

[Mr. Handy]

Lucius could see that the balconies were all raised some ten feet above the ground, and they were fairly far from the outer wall. The only way he could see to reach them would be by climbing up the wall of the house itself, which would be just as hard as climbing the first wall had been. He crept over to the candlelit window and peered through. Within, he saw the triclinium, where Cicero dined, reclining on a long chair. His old slave sat across from him, also eating. He also saw the dog, which was not quite as fierce as depicted on the mural, but he would still not care to run into it. It lay at the foot of the table, devouring the scraps dropped to the floor. None of them seemed to hear his approach.

"I do not know what to make of those Britannians, Tiro," said Cicero. "They seemed very odd. What business could they have had with Cassius? And that Roman who was escorting them, he had a familiar look about him. It's like I've seen him before, but I can't quite place him."

"I know not, Dominus," said the slave. "I don't recall having seen him before, or any of them. You are correct, though, they are most unusual."

Spoiler:

Lucius, please roll Hide.

[mindrot]

Lucius continue hiding at the window, watching and listening through it.

Spoiler:

mindrot rolled 1d100:
62

[Mr. Handy]

Lucius crouched in the shadows, unnoticed.

"Well, I'm sure it will come to me in time who that Roman was," said Cicero after a pause. He sighed. "I'm getting too old for this."

"What are your plans for tomorrow, Dominus?" asked Tiro. "Shall we take in the games?"

"No, I don't think so. Perhaps I'll visit Servilia again, see if she's heard any more juicy gossip. You may of course attend the games if you are so inclined, Tiro."

"They are not to my tastes - though I must admit I appreciate chariot races. I think the Reds will do well this year. You know, if you keep calling on Servilia, she is likely to think you are courting her."

Cicero chuckled, downing the last of his wine to wash down the last bite of his meal. "I could do worse. She is still a handsome woman at her age, but I am quite past my prime as well." He rose from the table. "Well, I think I shall retire for the evening."

[mindrot]

Lucius wait until Cicero left room, and then crouched back to wall and searches for any support, wich will help him climb it over.

Spoiler:

If Lucius found nothing, then he just tries to climb the wall.

Spoiler:

mindrot rolled 1d100:
55

[Mr. Handy]

Lucius almost made it up to the balcony, but he slid down the wall. Looking behind him, he saw Cicero and Tiro enter the garden from the triclinium, Tiro carrying a lit candle in a holder. The dog followed at their heels. Lucius quickly ducked into the shadows as they passed without noticing him and went into the main part of the house.

Spoiler:

Lucius, if you want to try again, please roll Climb and Sneak.

[mindrot]

Lucius froze and hold his breath, while Cicero and Tiro were passing. After they left, he slowly exhale and praised Gods for not beign spotted. He takes a couple of minutes to ponder situation and what to do next. And he continue to listen and watch carefully.

Spoiler:

I'm not familiar with Roman house, and I found this Is it similar to Cicero' house? And how much time passed since Lucius and Elisabeth went after Cicero.

[Mr. Handy]

As Lucius watched, the light faded from view. Before long it appeared again through the entrance of the upper room behind the leftmost balcony of the main house. The rooms behind the other two balconies were still darkened.

Spoiler:

Yes, Cicero's house is laid out similarly, though there are some differences. You are in the large central garden. Cicero and Tiro just left the dining room in the upper right and walked through the corridor in the lower left of the garden, heading left. It's hard to tell how much time has passed at night, but you estimate that it's been between one and two hours since you arrived.

[mindrot]

Lucius decide to make an effort to research more on Cicero's involvment, and made another attempt to climb balcony, the one with lit window.

Spoiler:

mindrot rolled 1d100:
14

Spoiler:

mindrot rolled 1d100:
70

[Mr. Handy]

Lucius easily made the ascent to the balcony when he tried the second time. However, he found that the opening wasn't a window, but an open doorway. He could hear Cicero, Tiro, and the dog inside the room. "Thank you, Tiro, that will be all. Rufus will keep me company." The dog yipped happily.

[mindrot]

Lucius ducks in shadow. He looked around carefully, thinking about retreat outside the house, if something will go wrong. He had slight hope that Cicero has habit to speak aloud to himself, and he will spill something about tomorrow, but he was ready to return to Elisabeth.

Spoiler:

Is it possible to jump over the wall from the balcony which Lucius at, or to jump to another balcony, and then over the wall?

[Mr. Handy]

Spoiler:

The balcony you're on is closest to the outer wall. You could jump there with a successful Jump roll, but failure would mean you'd fall and get hurt, and it wouldn't be quiet either. It would be better to attempt to climb hand over hand by standing on the balcony's railing and grabbing the edge of the roof. That would require a Climb roll to make your way over to the outer wall, but if you failed that, you would fall. Then you'd have to roll Jump to avoid getting hurt. Or, you could roll Climb to get up onto the roof. Failure would not mean you'd fall, but it would take time. Then you could get over to the outer wall and try to climb down there, which would require a second Climb roll. If you failed that, you'd fall, and it would be a longer drop. However, you would land outside. In the event that the second Climb roll fails, you will need to roll Jump in the hopes of reducing the damage.

Also, you'll need to make a Sneak roll along with your first Climb or Jump roll to see how much noise you make since Cicero and the dog are so close. If you fail, they'll only hear you if they succeed at Listen rolls. Dogs have good hearing, so you were lucky it didn't hear you earlier when you failed a Sneak roll.

[mindrot]

Lucius made a decision. He carefully stands up and climb on to the roof. After that he crouched to the outer wall and tried to climb down, but he slipped and fell down on the ground. "Ouch!"

Spoiler:

mindrot rolled 1d100:
37

Spoiler:

mindrot rolled 1d100:
71

Spoiler:

mindrot rolled 1d100:
74

Spoiler:

mindrot rolled 1d100:
69

[Mr. Handy]

Lucius was extremely lucky. He landed in a soft pile of refuse in the alleyway alongside the house's outer wall. He could have broken his neck from the fall, but instead he could walk away with bruises that were easily treatable. They still hurt, of course, and he would need a bath.

Spoiler:

Damage to Lucius from falling:

Mr. Handy rolled 2d6:
1, 1

[mindrot]

Lucius stands on his feet and shakes off his clothing. Then he looked around, hoping that nobody saw him, and went to the place, where he left Elisabeth.

[Mr. Handy]

Spoiler:

Lucius is moving to the thread linked below:

Together Again