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D: Use hidden corridor to access the Sitting Room- turns out that when a small child attacks a wall, anything springy in that wall opens up.

Ohh...Ohhhh! Right! It was coming back to her now. She went to thank Fuschia, but the housekeeper had dismissed herself for something else that had caught her attention. Feeling slightly more confident and hoping she could get there before somephony else does, she uses the passage that little terror her brother called a "daughter" had accidently found into the sitting room. She remembered she could get into library from there.

C: Search the powder room lounge

Book Smart got out of the palm court, feeling lost and discouraged. He wandered into the direction of the powder room lounge, wanting to just sit and think. Outloud away from the others. Sitting on a plain blue plushie pillow, Book Smart began to monologue a bit.

".....If I was a rich phony, were would I put my most trusted records? IF I was he, I would put it in a library. But not a ordinarily library, a secret one that no one but I and one of the staff would know about....but this killer might know it because he/she hasn't been seen.....but how would the killer know unless...they are part of the family."

Standing up, he carefully looked at the walls closely for a switch of a sorts.

Obi was getting a bit miffed about not finding a book or a library.

(Investigate the Rug)

Seemed most of the room had cleared out. Sticky Fingers was bummed there was no phat loot to be taken here, but hey... Could have been worse. Seemed like there were things to be seen, including photos and other nicknacks. The phony he had been talking to left, and well... There was only the rug left.

Trotting closer, he gently moved it around with his hoof.

Scara! Let me know if we're getting too far ahead of ourselves with this and we can change things. (We weren't quite sure how many rooms would be acceptable for them to enter and such) (NAH, you guys are good! You're- well, you'll see where you are at later... :3- SF)


"T'ch. A life of adventure is better than a steady job." The stallion scoffed as he paced about.

Quarter Mane was sniffing about the library shelves, giving the occasional mutter . "A good hunter always pays attention to the tiny details. Even the smallest signs of disturbance in the wilderness can lead to a great beast." While this was said somewhat seriously it was punctuated by giggles.

Pulling out the blueprint again, he peered closely at the room that was indicated as the library in the layout. "Hmm. Well it seems to be in this corner..."

Habeus Corpses: The lawyer is still in the dining room, reading a case file.

Wine About It: The jury is back in. Wine About It is fussing around in the wine cellar, occasionally popping up to the kitchen to sneak some cheese.

Rank and File: SPIDER WAR

Fuchsia Fussbudget: Missing in action.

Chop Chop: In the kitchen, darlings!


Chop Chop and Wine About It are in here. Chop Chop is angrily slamming about pots and pans, while Wine About It is still looking for that missing list.



The dining room hasn't much changed, but additional investigation reveals the hidden panel has come ajar. It should be quite easy to access now... if anybody was still here.



Not much has changed in here. This room appears to be completely empty.



Rank and File grips the flyswatter tightly. "This is my flyswatter," he growls, teeth clenched. "There are many like it, but this one is mine. My flyswatter is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life."

Do NOT go in there.



This room has pretty much been abandoned.


The taxidermy eyes shine menacingly in the darkness. Creepy.


This room has been ransacked entirely. The furniture is all askew and no cushion has been unturned. The birthday cards have been knocked over, and somebody's been crawling around on the floor. This place is a bit of a mess!

You can:
A: Search the sitting room
B: Search the powder room lounge
C: Search the restroom
D: Search the library west
E: If you know where you're going (Penny), you can hurriedly sneak to the stairs.



Pulling up the rug, Colonel Whizbang is greeted with a welcome sight. Hot dang! A safe! Whizbang, who had known Moneybags well, knew just what to put in for the combination. 4-31-8. His children’s birthdates and the month they were born in. The safe popped open and the colonel found HEAPS of business documents. So many documents, all detailing ownership of stocks and stakes and claims. There was also a series of medical files, all about Moneybags. There’s everything in there, from childhood maladies to later-life medical issues. One thing does seem to be missing, however; one piece of paper is torn away, leaving a ragged stub behind. Something was going on with Moneybags’ health that someone else didn’t want anybody to know about. But what?

When Sticky Fingers investigates the rug, his hooves brush against the shattered glass of the CRT monitor. He’s fortunate he didn’t get cut! The glass shimmers in the light, but it’s interesting- the computer itself is fine. Just the monitor is destroyed, meaning that Moneybags probably wasn’t killed for information- and the killer didn’t think that there was anything worth destroying on his physical computer. This just seems like an accident… or made to look like one. After all, none of the furniture is destroyed, just toppled. Even the broken unicorn statue would be an easy repair. Would a real fight have left all of the valuable objects in the room largely intact?

You can:
A: Investigate the room further
B: Search the trophy room (roll a d20 if you want to use the spinning panel)
C: Search the great room


A thorough study of the coat turns out a few more things left behind. In the pockets, there’s a few things- a lipstick-blotted tissue that matches the shade found earler, a handful of cough drops, a tin of mints, a sticky nametag (folded in half), and a thin paper credit card receipt with a name on it. This coat belonged to Dr. Womb With A View, although the sticky nametag says “Visage.” If your name was Womb With A View, you’d probably go by Visage as well. This person was clearly in the house recently; perhaps somebody on staff knows who she is.

In addition to these things, an empty bottle of drain cleaner is found under the sink. It’s not just half-used; it’s almost completely drained. There’s a few drops of liquid left in the bottom of it. The back of the bottle is covered in warnings about how you shouldn’t get this stuff in your eyes or nose or mouth or anywhere you might have a mucous membrane. Pretty potent stuff there. It smells like lemons and ammonia.

You can...
A: Search the other half of the room.
B: Go back through the tunnel to the kitchen.
C: Go back through the tunnel to the dining room.
D: Head through the sitting room to the library.

Library
The western branch of the library bustles with activity. This is where you find a collection of first editions under glass. You hadn’t pegged Moneybags as much of a reader, but he has an amazing collection of first editions. Some names you don’t recognize, but others you do- for instance, he’s got a bound volume of Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories- The Fall of the House of Usher, The Cask of Amontillado, Hop-Frog… no “Raven,” though. He never was much into poetry. Another one is a book on economics from the late 1700s- it looks super fragile. The books in this section of the library are in slightly better condition, but the books on the shelves are pretty dusty. One book near the top isn’t dusty at all; it looks as though it has been taken out and replaced very recently. It’s an odd book for Moneybags to have- it’s all about ropes and sailors’ knots. Why would anybody need a book on knots? And who was in here recently enough to replace such a book? Looking up top, Cutie Honey gets a good sense of what the ceiling looks like- it’ll be obvious which panel holds the stairs should she choose to hit the second floor.

Not much has been found in the northern wing of the library- however, an investigation of the rug shows some mouse droppings. Ew. There might be more to find here, though...

The southern branch of the library has a set of stairs that drop down from the ceiling and clang up after the phony using them transfers their weight onto the floor above. While everybody in the library knows they're there- it's hard not to hear them- they are difficult to see; only phonies who know where they are can figure them out easily.

You can...
A: Search the library north
B: Search the library south
C: Search the library west
D: Search the sitting room
E: Attempt to use the stairs (roll a d20 unless you know where they are)

The Second Floor
Quarter Mane and See You Later Delagator climb the hidden staircase and find themselves on the upper floor of the sprawling house. They can see the top of the palm court from here, as well as a bit of the great room; a catwalk with banister posts leading up to the ceiling separates them. The stairs' landing has hallways that fork off; looking down them, a reading room, a lounge, and what appears to be an art gallery of sorts are visible. Directly next to the landing, there's a locked room next to a bathroom. The door is sturdy; there might be a key somewhere, but you'd have to look for it.

You can...
A: Search the reading room
B: Search the lounge
C: Search the... art gallery? Who has an art gallery in their home?
D: Search the bathroom


As Steelyard Rumble and Lucky Clover searched the house, they found a sliding panel. What luck! Maybe it was a shortcut! They followed the tunnel they found as it sloped downwards... further and further and further they followed it. Eventually, the ground's texture changed significantly, from wood to pressed concrete. Something chatters in the darkness.

That... can't be good.

C: Search the library west

It was getting pretty busy in here.

Edelweiss smiled softly (she certainly did not grin widely and make faces at everyone) and after walking past all the first editions, climbed up the ladder to take down and inspect the book about ropes and sailors' knots.