LogFAQs > #985784744

You've chosen A. Your sense of obligation to your strange pactand a healthy dose of gnomish curiosityoverrides your instinct to flee. You need to see this through.

The sound of Vances theatrical sobbing from the bottom of the stairs provides the perfect auditory cover. He is completely distracted. This is your chance. You push yourself away from the wall and, staying low, creep down the hallway toward the open door of the balcony room.

Another Stealth (Dexterity) check is needed to approach the doorway without being heard by anyone who might still be inside.

(1d20 + 5 = 11 + 5 = 16)

You move with a practiced quietness, your feet silent on the thick carpet. You reach the ornate doorframe and press your back against the wall beside it. From here, you can't be seen from within the room, but you can hear the faint sound of movementa soft rustling, a quiet metallic click.

Someone is in there.

You slowly, carefully, peek your head around the edge of the doorframe, just enough for one eye to see into the room. The room is a lavish study. Bookshelves crammed with leather-bound tomes line the walls, a large fireplace stands cold, and a massive desk made of dark wood sits near the center. The window to the balcony is open, the magical ward now dispelled, and the velvet curtains billow gently in the breeze.

You see her. Vaela is there. She is crouched beside the desk, her back to you. She has a set of fine tools in her hands, and she is working on a small, hidden drawer on the side of the desk. The lock has already been expertly picked; she is now disarming what you presume is a trap.

She is so focused on her work that she hasn't noticed you. On the floor beside her rests her hand crossbow and a small, dark object. It must be the Whisper-box.

It is smaller than you imagined, no bigger than your two fists put together. It is carved from a wood so black it seems to drink the light, with strange, swirling patterns that seem to move if you stare at them too long. It gives off no sound, no aura of magic that you can feel, but there is a palpable wrongness about it. A void. A patch of nothingness in the world.

Suddenly, Vaela freezes. Her head snaps up. She must have finished her work. She reaches down, her hand closing around the Whisper-box.

This is your moment. You have fulfilled your bargain. You have seen the box. The smartest thing to do would be to pull your head back and vanish. But the box its silent pull is strangely compelling.

What do you do?

• A. Disappear. You've seen enough. You pull your head back, retreat down the hall, and make your escape through the back window or down the stairs.
• B. Announce Yourself. You step into the doorway. "Our deal is done," you whisper, reminding her of her promise for a closer look.
• C. Wait and Watch. You stay hidden, watching to see what she does next. Perhaps she will examine the box herself, revealing more about its nature.
• D. Intervene. You don't trust her. You can rush into the room and try to grab the box for yourself, believing it's too dangerous for anyone to possess.
• E. Anything else.