Last time, on Allons a la banque - The Explorers Guild were brought a unique coin to authenticate; dating to the reign of Alaric II but looking brand new as if just minted. Their investigations led them to a fence named Odon and the street-urchin Kalli who had discovered a map to an abandoned bank in Grayson lands. A myterious journal page with a map and a golden ring with Gild's symbol entwinted with two letter T's were also discovered at the fence's shop.

The girl and the map lead them to an diface carved directly into the rock. It stands nearly three stories tall, with weather-worn statues of maidens holding trays of carved coins. An urn sits atop a gabled pediment with doric columns supporting. The entrance is blocked by a massive cave-in. Over the door is the same entwined T and Gild's symbol as on the signet ring.

One quick squeeze through the side tunnel she and her companions had dug, and the party emerges into an office with old crumbling scrolls, a desk, and a closed door leading out into the unknown. %CN

Lou is crouched down by the desk, trying to rummage through it. If there are any doors that seem to be locked, she'll try to pick them as best as her mostly unskilled hands can; or ask someone else to do so! She seems to be in her element, enjoying every bit of looking around these ruins.

Lou drops A torn page of an old journal.

Lou drops A golden signet ring with entwined T's and the symbol of Gild.

Cassiopeia is curious, looking around and trying to get a better sense of what she is looking at. There is much that eludes her, these are new places and as a result, there's so much wonder in her eyes. The young woman loves a good adventure and so she is making good use to just observe and be a part of everything. The tall woman uses her height to her advantage, letting her gaze roam. "Well this is quite curious, I wonder what else we will find here, or if everything has already been pilfered. There are no doubt things that will mean a great deal to the families that lost them," she chews on her lip as she is still stuck on those words. "Maybe it's less what the words are, but more about what they represent. Or maybe it's...," she has no idea, but she'll muse on it a bit.

Titania had come along with Jan on the adventure, she could not say no. She had been in old ruins before on Malestrom in what seemed like a life time ago. Her eyes scanning the room and the scrolls as they move about the room, her blue eyes looking for anything that looks like it could be important.

A slight scuffle from the narrow opening leading outside heralds the arrival of someone, or maybe something else.

Kalli smiles at Cassiopeia and says, "I got the ring from in here. It was on the desk. So was the pile of coins and inkwell. And Jerold took the other desk to sell to Odon." She motions to an empty corner of the room. "We busted the lock on the outer door, it leads deeper into the bank. We never did find the vault."

Lou gets A torn page of an old journal.

Lou gets A golden signet ring with entwined T's and the symbol of Gild.

Titania makes a soft sound trying to get Lou's attention, her eyes look up from the scrolls she was looking through looking to where they came in at the sound of someone outside coming in. "Your highness, I found something you may like to see."

Lou checks dexterity and legerdemain at hard. Lou is marginally successful.

Canting her head to Kalli, Cassiopeia listens to her closely, giving the young woman an encouraging expression so keep her talking. "The vault, that's interesting. That should be good to uncover, if we can," she says to the others. "I imagine it's somewhere easy to protect, I mean most bank vaults are at the back, or underground, so they can be protected." Cassiopeia isn't sure, but that sounds legit to her.

Lou pulls a knife and starts jimmying the lock open, getting it about halfway before it jams. But she wriggles it free and opens the desk drawer. Inside is an ornate bronze key with the twin T's combined at the top.

"Oh! I found a key!" Lou exclaims excitedly. It doesn't matter that the key might land her in a dark, terrible place. She found it! That's all that matters. It's the exciting stuff about exploring. Finding thing! She picks up the ornate bronze keep and triumphantly shows it off to the others. "Now to find the door the key goes to," she declares in a determined fashion. "Has anyone else found anything looking around?" She glances over to the scuffling sounds, raising both brows as she waits to see what's causing them.

Titania gently moves to take the scroll she was looking at and gently puts it on the desk, "It has what looks like safe-deposit box inventories with lists of gold, jewels, precious artworks." she looks at Lou and the key she finds.

"Fuck, it's dark in here." Ian's voice comes out of the gloom as he squeezes through the gap, gruff and sounding just a little bit grumpy.

Luckily, Ian will have light when he makes his way into the office. The tarnished oil-lamps hanging from the walls cast surprisingly bright light for ages old oil.

Volcica is definitely still here, definitely studying the place. She doesn't seem to be looking for anything in particular, but rather just.. looking things over and drifting towards the door further in.

The door is closed but, as Kalli said, the lock looks jammed open.

Not hearing that anyone found anything else, Lou nods to herself. "Let's go have a look further in the bank then," she grins widely. She nods in Ian's direction as he arrived. "About time you caught up," she gently teases him before walking over to the door to test it out.

Cassiopeia watches as Lou picks a lock and then she has a key and brows lift upwards. The tall woman follows along, looking curious. "Yes, I wonder if we will find the vault.," she says as she takes long-legged steps deeper into the bank.

Ian scans the room, blinking as his eyes adjust to the change in the light. "You guys left me a pretty easy trail to follow."

The door opens with a creak of hinge and a bit of pushing. But it leads into a darkened rotunda with an inlaid crest on the floor that sparkles as the light floods out from the opened office. There are oil-lamps hanging on either side of the office door, which Kalli lights with her torch. The dancing illumination shows a collapsed tunnel to one direction, an area that looks like a sitting parlor, and then two sets of doors - one a single door similar to the open one, and the other a tall set of double-doors.

Part of the sitting parlor has collapsed in on itself with crumbled rock. Kalli pointedly avoids looking at the 'parlor'. "We weren't able to open the other two doors," she says.

Lou nods her head in Kalli's direction. "Well, maybe we can get one of them open with the key." She also scans the room. Unlike Kalli, she does look in the direction of the parlor, probably because the girl seems to be avoiding doing so. She furrows her brow a moment, shrugs, and then makes her way over to the double doors first, trying the bronze key there.

Lou checks perception and investigation at normal. Lou is successful.

Cassiopeia is clearly curious about the parlour because Kalli avoids it, it's like she has to go look, just because she probably shouldn't. Cassiopeia saunters over to take a closer look.

Cassiopeia checks perception and investigation at normal. Cassiopeia is marginally successful.

Ian hasn't committed one way or another to a direction he's intending on taking, and watches as people scatter through the space, his eyes moving quickly between them. His gaze returns frequently to Kalli, the only person who's really a stranger to him, but nothing in his severe features gives away what thoughts, if any, he has about her.

Since the parlor and the double doors are covered, Volcica makes her way towards that single door! She's focused on the area directly around it, looking for signs of.. purpose, before trying the door.

Volcica checks perception and investigation at normal. Critical Success! Volcica is spectacularly successful.

Lou studies the double doors a long moment, regarding the ornate scrolling around it. "The artwork around this door seems to match all the other things here," she observes. She slips her key into the hole and it goes in without any hindrance. She turns the key and there's a loud CLICK!. The key seems to have worked! She turns the knobs of the doors and pushes them both open and as she does she notices something. "Huh. This one says for employees only. Perhaps the vault is back here?" she's asking over her shoulder before stepping through the doors.

Ian checks wits and riddles at hard. Ian fails.

Lou checks perception and dodge at hard. Lou is successful.

As Lou starts into the darkened corridor through the double-doors, she feels the ground beneath her start to give way underfoot. Luckily she feels the weight shift and pulls back before the floor can collapse under her. It seems to settle back into place once she steps away.

Cassiopeia makes her way into the parlour area and she starts to take a look around. Nothing could go wrong. Then. There's a sudden gasp that comes from Cassiopeia and it becomes very clear why Kalli avoided the parlour. The young woman stumbles across it, or them pretty quickly and then she jumps. Making her way back to the room, there's a small frown on her face. "There are...," she presses her lips and it's obvious what she's about to say. "Three bodies in the parlour," she decides just to cut to the chase.

Volcica checks wits and riddles at hard. Volcica is successful.

Ian detaches himself from the wall at Cassiopeia's announcement. He gives Kalli a long, measured look before starting towards the parlor. There's definitely some distrust there. "How fresh?"

Volcica studies the door, and the shiny gilt catches her eye almost immediately. "This is the Bank President's office. Named Tiamore, with the same symbol." The rumble of the floor draws her attention, and she looks to Lou. "If the vault IS back there, it makes sense there'd be security. Like Whitepeak, but not.. Whitepeak. Maybe the controls are in the president's office." She does not sound certain.

"These are very old. I mean, I can't say how much, I really know nothing of medicine and how environment effects, but they are partially mummified. My guess, is they are from when this was an active bank, maybe when it...well whatever happened here. I'm not sure," she says thoughtfully, that seems about all she knows on the matter.

"Whoa!" Lou lets out a yelp of surprise as the floor starts to rumble and maybe move in preparation of a collapse. "Rookie mistake there," she backpedals quickly, sighing in relief when the floor goes back to normal. "I didn't think there'd be /that/ kind of security in a bank, of all places," she remarks to Volcica, quirking a brow slightly as she compares the bank to Whitepeak. "Pretty sure the types of security Felciia set off had more to do with the fact that she upset some ghosts while she was there, and they thought she and her team were part of Lorwroth Kinsbane's band of merry killers coming to kill them. They hadn't realized they were dead for over 800 years. They thought the attack had only been three days ago and so they sent the clockwork attack dogs chasing after Felicia's group. Or, do you mean other security?" she asks, curiously. Whitepeak is a beloved interest of hers.

Ian checks perception and medicine at hard. Ian marginally fails.

Cassiopeia checks perception and investigation at hard. Cassiopeia fails.

Ian follows Cassiopeia into the parlor and, again, is in no hurry to go dashing about; he takes a moment to let his eyes adjust to the light, before starting towards the bodies. "Well. That explains why I didn't smell them," he says dryly. "Nobody's got their heads caved in, looks like." This is the extent of his skill as a medical examiner, it would seem.

Cassiopeia looks over the dead bodies with Ian, she has zero in the way of medical knowledge, but she does look at the clothes in hope that it might help her. "The clothing is old. It was nice, expensive probably. They could have been staff or clients, or I suppose someone could have...put them here at the time, but...I haven't a clue really," she says after listening to Ian assessment of it as well. Then she is looking back where Lou is when she hears her yelp. That's good enough reason to leave the bodies and head back over, "everything okay?"

"I was with Felicia's group," is offered to Lou. Volcica herself is turning back towards the President's door, trying the handle. Giving it a little push. Looking for a latch, or a keyhole.

Lou checks wits and riddles at hard. Lou is successful.

Kalli starts walking around the rotunda and lighting the oil-lamps on the wall. Soon the darkness is banished and light fills the bank. It looks as if there's a section which is behind the cave-in, now that there's light to see it. The skeletons look as if they were laid out neatly on the floor after death.

On the floor is a mosaic of the entwined Ts and Gild's crest in gold inlay, with the words "Tiamore's Trust" above and below it. Some of the gold looks to have been pried up out of the flooring.

"There's a pattern to these floor tiles." Lou calls out to the others after she studies the floor for a bit. "I'm going to try it out. Someone come help?" she asks, as she's pulling rope out from her backpack and starts to tie an end around it. "I'll need someone with quick reflexes to start pulling me back of I accidentally get it wrong," she's telling them. She looks like she'll do this without the safety person if necessary.

Ian emerges with Cassiopeia from the parlor. "Anyone know what happened to this place?" He asks, to the room in general. "There's some dead bank patrons or employees or something in there. Looks like they've been here a while. Long enough that I don't know how to begin to guess at how they died."

Lou drops A torn page of an old journal.

"I wonder what happened and what caused the cave in. Was it an act of nature or...someone caused it or something......," she chews on her lips and then shrugs, she hasn't an idea. Cassiopeia looks at Lou as she talks about a pattern on the floor. "I'm pretty agile and athletic, I do climb mountains with ropes. I'm happy to help, unless someone else is more skilled or stronger?," she says, seeming to be

Lou checks wits and riddles at normal. Lou is successful.

Volcica checks dexterity and legerdemain at hard. Volcica fails.

"..Perhaps I'd be better with the patterns, rather than trying to open a lock." Volcica sounds..not at all surprised, honestly. "Could you still use a hand, Princess?" Dark eyes shift to Cassiopeia and the cave in, mulling that over as well.

Lou checks perception and riddles at hard. Lou marginally fails.

"Any kind of help would be welcome. If I fall it might take 2 people to pull me back up." Lou responds in Volcica's direction. She lets Cassiopeia and Volcica determine how they will help as she sstartst o make an attempt across the floor. There's a rope end for them to take or not, just in case.

Ian checks dexterity and streetwise at hard. Ian is successful.

Cassiopeia checks dexterity and athletics at normal. Cassiopeia is successful.

Volcica checks wits and riddles at normal. Volcica is successful.

Cassiopeia glances over at Volcica and then Lou, "I think if we find something to tie the rope too, and then we can both keep a hold and be ready to pull if need be, and at least there's something else anchoring it a bit?," she says looking around.

Ian gives whatever is shaping up around Lou a leery look, but he's had enough experience with her to know better than to try and talk her out of whatever it is that she's about to do. So instead, he starts looking the desk over for certain items -- a letter opener, maybe. A length of wire. A hairpin. And then he ambles towards the President's door while definitely not announcing what he's totally not about to do, because of COURSE Ian never learned how to pick locks while hanging out with Cullers and Ulbrans in the Lowers. Perish the thought! No, he's just gonna go look at it for a moment.

Eirene gets A torn page of an old journal.

"I'm not that strong, but I can definitely help pull." Volcica nods to Cass. "I could also try to help pick out the tile pattern? Give directions?"

Cassiopeia nods to Volcica, "if you feel more comfortable with the tiles, I can try to manage the rope. I'm not strong, but I'm pretty athletic. I can jump if need be," she isn't too sure how this will work, but they will sure try!

Volcica checks wits and riddles at normal. Botch! Volcica fails badly.

Ian locates a letter opener in the other office. Somehow, huh funny that, the door manages to get opened shortly thereafter. MYSTERIOUS.
Cassiopeia follows carefully in Lou's footsteps once the rope is secured around a column and the princess pathfinder. The two stand on the 'other side' of the tiled floor where the pattern shifts from tile a much more sturdy looking cavern floor hewn out of the rock. As Volcica tries to follow them she steps on the wrong tile and the floor starts to tip under her like scales being unbalanced.

Cassiopeia checks strength and athletics at hard. Cassiopeia fails.

Ian checks strength and athletics at hard. Ian is successful.

Ian turns away from the door that totally just had some stiff, rusty hinges and that's all, just in time to see what's been happening behind him. His gaze snaps along the length of the line that's been rigged up, years of sailing experience screaming at him all in a moment, and he's moving even before everything starts to go bad. He takes a couple of quick steps, not quite running, trips on something on the ground, and manages a last minute and not at all graceful dive on the rapidly disappearing rope. "Desk's heavy enough to be an anchor," he says to Cassiopeia in a curt voice while he's trying to get a better grip and also not slide over the edge himself. "Use a clove hitch."

One second she's fine, following the pattern on the tiles. Then, she does the foolish thing! She glances just a little bit ahead, preparing for the next moves, and loses her place on the floor. One wrong step and Volcica's starting to slip and slide, grabbing the rope that attaches her to Cass. There's just a bit of a yelp to signify the trouble.

Cassiopeia is trying to help, at the beginning she manages well enough, she's pretty agile and she seems familiar enough with rope from climbing and probably a bit of sailing, too. She's tropical, after all. But then she sees Volcica start to slip and slide. When Volcica grabs the rope, Cassiopeia tries very hard to hold onto it, but she's just not strong enough. Even if she's super tall, she's also a bit slight. At any rate, things are falling apart quickly, but Ian's suggestions are heard and Cassiopeia collects her thoughts enough to try to help Ian once he's taken grip. Everything moves quickly, but so are the way of things.

Between the two of them, Cassiopeia and Ian are able to pull Volcica up as the floor rocks and rolls beneath her, trying to slide her into a pit. They stabilize her and she manages to get across the rest of the floor without trouble.

Ian, once he's confident the others are safely accross, goes to investigate Tiamore's office. Behind a large antique desk is a skeleton in once fancy clothes slumped in an imposing high backed chair. There's another skeleton curled up in the corner.

Cassiopeia checks perception and investigation at hard. Cassiopeia fails.

Volcica checks wits and riddles at hard. Volcica is successful.

Ian picks himself up off the ground and dusts off his clothes; his offwhite linen shirt is REALLY offwhite now. He gives Cassiopeia, Volcica, and Lou one last worried look before deciding to stick his head into the office and just see what's there. The sight that greets him is enough to tighten his mouth into a line.

"..Thank you," is offered gratefully to both Ian and Cassiopeia, and the gratitude shines through the distant expression she normally wears. She takes a moment to steady herself before continuing-- not wanting to just rush further ahead. Slower, more carefully-- checking the walls, too, and eventually pressing her fingers against a worn-away carving.

Cassiopeia and Volcica look around on the other side, standing on terra firma. Volcica sees an indentation in the wall which looks fairly worn. Pressing it, the pair hear a whirring noise and a grinding of something sliding into place, and a bit of dust poofs up from the floor behind them. It's likely she's set off the 'okay it's safe now' mechanism.

Kalli tests the floor with a bit of her meager weight and then the teenager follows. Yes, safe now.

Cassiopeia looks relieved by the end of it and looking at Ian with appreciation, "that was close, I am glad everyone is okay!," she says breathing out slowly. Now, time for more spelunking, because that's exactly what she likes to do. Wander. Then she watches as Volcica touches something and sounds happen and her eyes go wide, because it's all so very exciting. Glancing about at Lou from time-to-time, she keeps an eye on their fearless leader.

Lou has, meanwhile, discovered the corridor ends in a mosaic of Gild - inlaid in gold with semi precious stones. Her art history nerd is coming out as she studies it. But there's no other side-branches or directions to go from here.

Cassiopeia checks perception and investigation at hard. Cassiopeia marginally fails.

Volcica checks perception and investigation at hard. Volcica is successful.

Volcica breathes a sigh of relief when the floor stabilizes, and Kalli manages to easily walk across. "..I was hoping that's what that was for.." She definitely wasn't certain. She inhales sharply, not -quite- a gasp when she sees the mosaic. "That's beautiful."

Volcica checks wits and riddles at hard. Volcica is successful.

Ian carries a ledger out of the office with a grim countenance. Leaning against the wall where he can keep an eye on what's happening with the others, he starts to read it. Slowly. Painfully slowly. Ian is literate (barely) but he is Not A Reader.

After a few long moments, Volcica's reaching out again! This time, she's shifting a little panel to reveal a keyhole, cleverly hidden in the work of art. "There's got to be a key, somewhere. Lord Kennex, did you check the office?" She hasn't turned around to see what he's got, naturally.

Cassiopeia is scratching her forehead and then nods, "it is very beautiful-- does it make any sense to you?," she asks Volcica hoping it means more to her than someone else. "Oh!," she exclaims when the woman finds the keyhole, then she's looking over at Ian across the way to see if he found anything too.

Ian looks up from his reading. "Two dead bodies and a ledger," he calls back. "I didn't want to go pawing around, but I'll see if this thing mentions a key. We're missing a body, by the way."

Cassiopeia checks wits and investigation at hard. Cassiopeia fails.

Cassiopeia is looking at everything and she smiles, "it's all so very pretty." That's all she has. There's nothing more. Then she blinks and looks at Ian, "how are we missing a body?," she looks around. "Did...did...," she doesn't finish that sentence because surely whatever she is thinking must not have happened.

And there they stand, confronted by a mysterious mosaic - a tale of woe - and an unfound vault of riches. To be continued...