The shattered wood of the upper floor balcony provides excellent kindling for the third level fire spell as it bursts in a semi-explosion of flames. The heat is immense, and it quickly spreads from the wooden splinters to the balcony railing. Black smoke rises into the rafters and the domed ceiling, obscuring the dragon mosaic. The door doesn’t fit quite into place, but rather, leans where it had once stood. The view of the fire is at least obscured.

The three gathered at the second floor landing hear the slam of dissonant piano keys and a girlish shout. Clearly all is going well.

Meanwhile, Keimush finds the closet crowded with coats and scarves, cloaks and hangers. The room is lit only dimly by the distant window and the pattering of rain. An entire wall is overtaken in long, white coats like those used by scientists.

Within the pockets of these coats are pens, hair pins, and notepads. These notes are mostly filled with illegible scribbling, but one appears to be a list of passwords. Among them, a note reads, ’Tiger’s eyes behind piano strings. Blue library.’

Adjacent Rooms:

West Wing Hallway: The west wing hallway leads to the multitude of guest rooms where you would have stayed. Windows along the inner quadrant show an aerial view of the western courtyard. You remember that the servants had claimed to bring whatever possessions you’d travelled with up to these rooms.

East Wing Hallway: The east wing hallway leads to the quarters of permanent guests. Its current resident is the scholar Susan Stein. Windows along the inner quadrant show an aerial view of the eastern courtyard.

First Floor Entrance Hall: This grand room is a marvel of marble floors and ornate greco-roman statues. Four chandeliers hang from the ceiling, flickering with their dim and insubstantial light. The room’s centerpiece is a massive statue of a griffon set atop a great stone pedestal. It faces the heavy oaken doors leading to the lawn. They are currently locked.

Map Position: Click Here

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Genesis had been rather hoping that no one would ask about the smoke slipping out from under the broken door, but of course it was the first question out of the armored man’s mouth as soon as he returned from investigating the parlor. Well, it certainly wasn’t Genesis’ fault. He never would have cast a fire spell indoors if that brunette man hadn’t antagonized him. How had he gotten up to the balcony so fast anyway? It was suspicious, but it made it easier to blame him for the fire. It wasn’t as if the others could prove him wrong when they had all left the room to investigate other parts of the manor.

“I have no idea,” Genesis lied, touching a hand to his chest as he cast a despairing look behind him. “It was that man downstairs. The one with the white streak in his hair. Why would he do something like this?”

Well. It wasn’t entirely a lie. He really had been asking for it.

The bearded man shared his findings in the parlor, and Genesis had to raise an eyebrow at the revelation about the sickly looking portrait. Unless the count had a twin brother, it seemed odd that a relative would resemble him so closely, and he agreed with the brunette girl’s observation that the butler might know more about who it would have been.

“The wind sails over the water’s surface, quietly but surely,” he narrated for them from Loveless as they started to descend back downstairs, but before they could get very far, the last member of their group finally rejoined from his own explorations. The masked man’s search seemed to have been the most fruitful, and Genesis glanced over the note that he’d found a bit curiously.

“There’s Time materia that grants the abilities Haste, Slow, and Stop of course. But I can’t say that I’ve ever heard of a time mage,” he gave his own opinion as they reached the first floor landing and he eyed the heavy wooden front doors. “Those tiger eyes seem straightforward though. Has anyone seen a piano?”

The words were barely out of his mouth when there was a sudden crash of several piano keys being struck at once followed by a girl screaming. Well that was convenient.

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The double stairs lead back into the first floor entrance hall. This grand room is a marvel of marble floors and ornate greco-roman statues. Four chandeliers hang from the ceiling, flickering with their dim and insubstantial light. The room’s centerpiece is a massive statue of a griffon set atop a great stone pedestal. It faces the heavy oaken doors leading to the lawn. They are currently locked.

A team of three were meant to start with this room, moving towards the Eastern Wing through the Waiting Room. That team has already left, but the entrance hall is far from empty. A man stands with his back to the stairs, squinting at the griffon statue as though examining it. He’s dressed in blue and silver armor lined with dragon’s scales. Though he was in the ballroom with the suspicious man and the woman in a suit, he’s currently alone.

The piano doesn’t strike again. However, there are many other rooms connected here, and for some unknowable reason, you have a vague idea of the manor’s layout.

Adjacent Locations

The Parlor Room: You know that a team was already sent in this direction, and they might still be inside. Did the piano come from this direction? While you certainly could enter this room, there will be too much to take in at once. Talk to Fin.

Kitchen: The kitchen still smells of the ghost of a meal. Dirty plates pile in the sink. Used glasses show the residue of wine. The room is hot with the heat of the ovens. A door near the back leads to the pantry.

East and West Courtyards: The storm rages within these courtyards. It is a muddy mess heavy with rainwater. In the center of each, a fountain overflows with the swell. Atop the eastern fountain sits a stone dragon. Atop the western, there is a coiled serpent. In the back of the eastern courtyard, a hulking figure is barely visible.

The Breakfast Room: Though not the grand dining room, the breakfast room is quite cozy and grand in its own right. Ten chairs encircle a long table -- not currently set for guests. Weak candlelight sets the room in shadow. Though there are no plates or silverware, bottles of wine are gathered at the center of the room next to an array of crystal glasses. One bottle is open.

The Waiting Room: You know that the eastern wing team went this way. This room is cold and lifeless with only a vase of flowers to decorate it. Three couches face each other awkwardly. The storm rages against the windows, rattling the glass and obscuring the view with fog. Two bookshelves line one wall. The far door leads to the cloak room. 

Map Position First Floor: Click Here
Map Position Second Floor: Click Here

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“The butler and the piano then,” Genesis agreed on the group’s course of action, though he couldn’t help but scowl at the armored man’s speculations about what had been going on with the count. It wasn’t something to get into with three near strangers, but he had a particular loathing for those who abused scientific experiments and pushed the boundaries with people’s lives. The flecks of blood that had been on his sword suddenly made more sense, and he muttered his displeasure as they approached the entrance hall.

“Why do we even care what happened to the count then? If you ask me, it looks like we all killed him, and probably for good reason,” Genesis complained before noticing the blond man standing with his back to them as he examined the griffon statue in the center of the room. The man was tall and well-built and seemed to be some kind of soldier based on the blue armor he wore. Genesis had never met him before, but he recognized the man from his brief jump down into the ballroom.

“Oh, it’s you. What happened to your companions? Or is that man with the streak in his hair still setting fire to the building?” Genesis had accused that mysterious figure enough times that he was starting to believe his own lie that the man had been the one to set the balcony on fire rather than Genesis himself. That was for the best really. The best lies were always the ones that you believed yourself.

“Ripples form on the water’s surface / The wandering soul knows no rest,” he quoted for his own benefit before turning back to the blond man almost as an afterthought. “Oh yes, is that butler still in the parlor? Muscles here has a question for him,” he explained while gesturing to his armored companion.

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