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It's not often you get an opportunity like this. You have a meeting with Lady Wachter tomorrow, and you know very little about her. She expressed a distaste of the Baron. Learning about her enemy may be the best way to get an upper hand on her, and gain insight into what she may want from you.
Carefully you step over to the door, looking out to see if the maid is still there. She isn't. The hallway is silent, save from some idle chatter coming from further down the walkway. The maid doesn't seem to be by the main entrance hall anymore either - the staircase is wide open, visible here from the doorway.
Acting as nonchalantly as you can, you stroll out the door, quickly but inconspicuously, and make your way to the stairs. You climb them swiftly but cautiously.
The staircase climbs twenty feet. You find yourself in a beautifully appointed gallery that continues toward the west, running almost the length of the mansion. Framed landscape paintings line the walls, and red silk drapes cover a ten-foot-tall arched window of leaded glass. On the far side of the gallery, hugging the wall, is a more narrow staircase that leads back down to the main floor. There is a hallway here that cuts to the right, and another on the far side by the staircase.
You pick a hallway: the one closest to you, to start.
You think you can hear footsetps above you. An attic? You look around for a potential way up, but can't find one. Instead you choose a door. It's locked... damn.
Taking a detour for now, you sneak to the other the hall. You try the far door. It's open - it leads to a master bedroom, its grandeur mostly faded. The furnishings have lost some of their color and splendor. A short pull-rope hangs from a wooden trapdoor in the ceiling. <span class="mu-i">There's the attic,</span> you think. There's definitely something up there. A useful place to return to, if you have enough time.
Wanting to cover more of this floor, you check out the other hallway. You think you can hear somebody in the room to your left. You're too far in now to go back without making as much noise as if you open the far door. You continue with great care, hoping the door might lead you to another room or corridor that leads through the mansion.
You try the handle. It's locked. It seems like a pretty small door, maybe one that leads to a closet or a small storage chamber rather than a full-fledged room.
You try the handle again, and you hear muffled cries from within - a man, gagged by the sounds of it, and the rattling of chains. Somebody is inside!
Before you can react, one of the doors you passed earlier opens!
(cont.)
