Penance just listened to the words coming from those around them. It was definitely something that needed to be discussed, all things considering, but there was no way that they could do anything if they couldn't see a thing. Without a light source, they were essentially sitting ducks, and it was getting more then just a little bit annoying. She didn't really want to move too much, otherwise she felt like she'd knock someone else over who was attempting to find something, anything, that could be used to create a light source. Though a fire inside of a house in a not so controlled area likely was going to end badly.

"If you can shed some light in here quickly it would be appreciated, as for the door, we might not need too much in order to be able to open it or unlock. Would help if we could see something as mentioned before, however if we can see in here, I might be able to get the door open," she said simply in response to the others, shrugging slightly despite no one else really being able to see her. Penance didn't care much to see about explaining what it is that she'd do to try and open the door, deciding to just let the others potentially speculate about it. This wasn't how she had expected things to be in this little attic room, but unfortunately it was the best that they could ask for really. At least right now it didn't seem like they had anyone around to cause even more problems for them or something.

Rave quite well went through all of the things she had on herself in her mind, but found nothing that could be used to shed some light on this situation. Alas she didn't become a lightbringer in this case and as far as she could recall from the outwards appearances of the rest, she couldnt' recall of anything of use either. Who knew what they might carry though, but none of them were actually saying they could cause fire to happen either. She heard words of confirmation that they had gotten to the bed or the door, but Rave didn't really believe she could help in those tasks.

Instead she focused on not moving as much and being a nuisance, because if hse was to go ahead and collide with someone in the darkness, both of them could get hurt. So she just leaned on the wall and used her healthy leg to bear her weight, which admittedly wasn't the most pleasant thign cause a single leg wasn't made to carry the entire weight of a person for greater amounts of time. She frowned in the darkness as she readjusted her weight destribution a little, putting some pressure on her injury, causing pain, but it was bearable.

"Even if we do force open the doorway, what's hte plan then though?" Rave asked with some concern and curiosity." We can't just blindly wander about the place, who knows whom and what is out here in the attic. Going downstairs could cause the manor people to treat us as criminals outright if we encounter them after breaking out. Shouldn't we have a solid plan of action before actually finding a way out or at least plan one while the task of breaking out of here is happening?" She asked the others.

Doing what he could to mentally reign his impatience under his control again, Cobalt turned back to the doorway. In truth, he was expecting to find a locked door, seeing as it was more than likely that Titian had left through the other door, but he had to be sure. Once again, he reached out into the darkness. His fingers brushed against the doorknob, and he gripped it. Taking a deep breath, he pushed against the door and... it didn't move. Frowning, Cobalt adjusted his grip, putting his shoulder against the door and pushing again. And again, the door didn't move. It was still locked, and it was solid. Sighing slightly, Cobalt straightened up again. Hopefully the other guests would be having more luck.

By the sounds of it, someone had some sense at least, and had made it to the other door. It offered their best chance of a way out, and Cobalt had been about to try and make his way there himself. One of the two that had been making their way to the bed, the female guest, seemed to be suggesting that some of the bed frame itself could be used as a tool to ply one of the doors open. It was a sound idea in practice, but from what Cobalt had heard, it sounded as if one of the doors had been all but knocked off it's hinges already. If that was the case, then they wouldn't need the tool. It could certainly be useful as a weapon though, and Cobalt made a mental note of that.

The two guests whose lack of usefulness had irritated Cobalt earlier had clearly not heeded his suggestions. One of them seemed to be seeing sense about the doors, and it sounded like she might have some useful skills, but she was still apparently fixated on light. In truth, Cobalt had his own suspicions that someone in the room had a means of shedding light, but if they hadn't used it yet, then they likely weren't going to. It was the other voice that was really starting to grate Cobalt though. While most of the others at least tried to escape, she seemed content to sit there and cry out for a plan. Cobalt had a plan, and it was to get out of this room before he froze. What he did after that, he would decide when it was relevant. He kept his voice level as he spoke, careful to reign in his annoyance.

"The door we came through is still locked, so we're not getting out that way without some effort. You're welcome to come up with a plan, ma'am, if you're not going to be doing anything else, but I'd rather get out of this room sooner rather than later."

"You are quite the devious one, aren't you?" both questioned and observed Dr. Swamp. A slow smile spread across his face as he began to regard the Chanteuse in a new light. Metaphorically speaking of course, as the existing light sources were barely adequate for his work in the first place. The dim light, then. And as they both stood in that dimmer illumination of the Laboratory, Swamp raised his hands and began to softly clap in the air in front of him softly, as one might when entertaining polite behavior in an opera. "Bravo, Amaranthine. Bravo," he said earnestly.

The Doctor did not know if poking around the place would be conducive to building or maintaining a strong working relationship with the masters of the House, a thing which seemed to be in a state of flux at the moment but nonetheless a desired status for Swamp. There were certain facts that made staying put potentially undesirable, however. Certain lines of thought that, when carried to their logical conclusion, made staying put a liability. If the mystery of their presence was to be solved by people who actually wished to puzzle it out, keeping vertical became the priority. It was going to be a long winter, and that was only the most favorable of outcomes in this quagmire of a situation. At the very least, knowing other ways to move throughout the building would be of immense service in case maneuvering in the relative darkness became necessary.

Swamp toweled his gloved hands and took up his cane. He regarded the satchel of tools on the worktable for a moment, considering the appropriateness of them, but instead picked up a lamp. It was more practical, things considered. "Very well. I recommend we start here," he looked toward the nearest door, "and work in a clockwise fashion, if that suits you, Chanteuse." He unbuttoned the top few buttons of his coat and folded out the lapels; a practice almost as old as the style of coat itself, signifying that the labor necessary for its use has been suspended for the time being. A quaint custom in his field. He then hoisted the lamp and motioned toward the door. "If it pleases, of course."

Captain Moss felt and heard someone standing near him as he started to search around the bed, and noticed that the bed was pretty dry and smelled a little bit charred as well. As if someone had tried to use it as a fire, maybe they were in the same situation like they were? He didn't really know and listened to Professor Walnut's voice and nodded towards her, at least they could work together this way and then try and find a way to get out of the room. "Seems like someone tried to light this on fire maybe?" Captain Moss said, wondering how many people were cooped up in here in the past as well. "If we cant get the cross section to open the door, maybe we can try and set this on fire for warmth? It's pretty dry." Captain Moss also suggested if they couldn't get a way out of here.

Captain Moss turned his head slightly towards Rave's voice as she voiced her concerns on if they were caught and if the residents of the manor would treat them differently. "Well would you rather stay here and freeze to death? Because they certainly haven't made their way up here to try and check up on us yet." Captain Moss said, then he turned his attention back towards Walnut and agreed to her plan. "I'm going to try and flip the bed over, that way we can have easier access to it, if you could help me out that would be good." Captain Moss told her, as he went to get read and flip the bed over.

Amaranthine looked over towards Swamp as he called her devious and shook her head rapidly, denying that she was being devious. Maybe she was a little but it wasn't without pure intent on some level. "Survival instinct I suppose you could say. Hurting no one by being able to have a moment alone to know if anything might be of use or if there is a way to escape if it calls for it," she rationalized to Swamp as she spoke. Her eyes, even in the low light spoke volumes. She was truly not trying to be devious with her actions, just wanting to be able to have a path. Same as she did when she took the keys from Quinton. With all the talk, with the death, the scream, it made sense in her mind to have an exit plan. She wasn't exactly built to fight. She was built more for flight if she needed to, so she worked with what she had to gain what she needed.

Nodding she looked down at the keys in her hand. "Yes, of course," she said agreeing with him and his plan so far. Not that it was much of one but it made sense enough. Looking around, the door along the west most wall was closest to them. Motioning for him to follow her with the lamp, she moved over to it and looked at the lock as best she could. The keys were nearly all identical. "This may take a moment," she said as she picked a key and tried it. It didn't work. Another key, wouldn't fit. Third time a charm? Nope. Forth, fifth, nothing. The sixth though slipped into the lock and turned it. It click and slowly she pulled the door open. "Stairs... going down," she said as she looked back over to him and pulled the keys from the lock, making sure to keep a hold of them.



*Remember, roll request can be placed at the bottom of the post and results will be posted in the next update. Still dark, so remember the general rule of thumb, unless someone says something you don't know what they are doing. Rolls for movement because there is a group, have to see if you bump into someone or something.

Where Titian is the light fades as Quinton has now moved down the stairs and is on the floor below or even further elsewhere. Titian won't know otherwise.

Over with Swamp and Amaranthine, things are quiet in the room they are in and there is nothing on the stairs or on the walls. Seems empty from what they can see with the low light of the lamp that Swamp has.

In the Confinement room, as Moss tries to flip the bed, it does not go well the first time and Moss's grip will slip. Trying again, he is able to flip the bed over but it bumps into Walnut, she is able to get out of the way before it crashes on top of her though. With having to take two tries to get the bed to flip, Moss is unable to try to remove a cross section this round.


Seeing the light fade more and more until it was gone, Titian took a moment and just stood there. Listening to see if he could hear anything. Nothing was coming to him right then but now that the little light that the lamp that Quinton had been was gone, his eyes were readjusting to the darkness a bit better. It would suck and be painful if the lights were to come back on now but he wasn't hearing anything. More than that he wasn't smelling anything, which was good in his mind. If he smelled gas that meant that the gas was still running somewhere and could build up. If that happened and someone went to light a lamp, it could cause a much bigger problem than just being stuck in the dark. You know, boom wise. And they had had enough things go skyward tonight as far as he was concerned. No smell was better than any smell.

Reaching out, he took it slowly. Just as he had been since he left that room, and felt around. Making sure to keep one hand above him and one hand right in front of him. He refused to actually pick his feet up. Not wanting to step in a hole or down a set of stairs unknowingly. Sliding his feet across the ground meant he had a better chance of feeling a dip in the floor before the full weight of a foot tried to step. It wasn't something he really had to think about though, which was lucky for him. Thinking wasn't exactly his strong suit. This was more muscle memory. Gradually and slowly he made his way across the room and found where the stairs were. Stopping where he was he looked down. Everything seemed alright and clear for now but he would wait a moment before he started to go down them, still listening to see if he could hear anything. Better safe than sorry at this point.

Blush was forced to work with this bumbling assortment of imbeciles for better or worse. Their main goal was to get out of the room or risk freezing to death. The fact someone was questioning this (Blush had no idea who but assumed it was female by tone of voice) dumbfounded her. ”I don’t know who that is questioning what the plan is after we leave the room, but if you intend to stand there and provide more questions than solutions I would ask you to kindly refrain from speaking for the duration. We will freeze in this room if we do not do something and it is better to try.”

She still had the door near her. She felt it, but it would hardly do her any good to fumble with it without a tool or some light. ”I still need some tool or light over here with this door. If someone has either, it would be appreciated. Or use whatever that was to start a fire. At least we would have some warmth and a bit of light.”

Blush still had thoughts running through her head. Titian was now up there at the top of the suspect list. All of them were on her list, as far as she was concerned, but the man seemed hell-bent before he left them to die in this room. Even if he was innocent, he faced her wrath and hell hath no fury than a woman scorned.

"Whomever just said they could attempt to open the door with some light - please attempt to do so without a light source," Walnut instructed. She ignored the voice that was asking about the plan for a brief moment, but her irritation got the better of her. "As for the one asking about plans - if you plan to remain in here and freeze to death, so be it. The rest of us will be sure to tell people of how your final moments were spent asking questions without making any meaningful contribution." Others had said similar things, but it didn't matter - Walnut wanted to get that off of her chest and so she did. She then heard the voice near her saying that he was going to try to flip the bed over.

"Very well," Walnut replied. Before she could really ready herself, the bed bumped into her and she moved backwards quickly to get out of the way before she was crushed. She started moving her hands in the dark, trying to grab a cross section to pry off but instead, she ended up touching someone's leg. "Apologies," she said to the man in the darkness by the bed with her, as she pulled back and tried to find the bed in front of her again. Hopefully she wouldn't end up touching the man's leg again. She didn't want to give him ideas.

"I do not intend to just sit around and do nothing, we've already been doing that long enough since we got locked up in this room with no real reason for anything aside from the fact that the Lord of the Manor died even though clearly no one was really near him when he died, so I don't know about you, but I've about enough of this room, so to speak anyway since we are in the dark. However if you don't have any useful suggestions I suggest you keep your mouth shut about wanting to stay in here and freeze. If that is what you want to do, by all means, be my guest." she said towards Cobalt and Rave. Penance was more then just a little bit annoyed at this point since they all were essentially standing around in the dark doing nothing.

With that, Penance made her way over towards where Blush was by the door, figuring it would be better to try and figure out about potentially picking the lock on the door or something like that. When Blush asked about anyone having something to potentially pick the lock with or open the door with. "I might have something that could be useful potentially, depends on what sort of lock or such we are dealing with. Now I'm starting to slightly regret not looking at the door and such before hand."

Alright, Rave was more or less sensing that the comments at her were qutie hostile at this point. She frowned in the darkness and felt a little bit offended at the suggestions that she was just sitting around and not doing anything, basically just because and asking stupid questions. She didn't think those were stupid questions, acting without thinking was always a bad plan and she had a valid reasons not to be out there trying to play the rogue and break through doors or try to break furniture in complete darkness. She grid her teeth as she put some weight on her leg, only to feel the pain stab at her.

"Look, I'm not against getting out of the room." Rave stated and sighed." But just getting out of the room doesn't solve anything, does it? Once out it's going to be a lot of danger, we should decide what we are going to do while we are in the process of going out of the room." Rave explained her reasoning." As for why I'm standing around, it's because I can't really help with anything physical right now. I can't really put weight into a freshly stabbed leg and me wobbling around and bumping into someone seems like the least helpful thing." She added an additional explanation. She was starting to dislike these people more and more. Some more so than others, but to her mind they either didn't care for the consequences of their action, or were acting out on their own plans with little regard for the rest.

Still she thought about it a little as Penance asked Blush about the lock. Still somewhat displeased about being blamed for nothing she decided she might as well try to help as much as she could, given her situation." Look, if you need something for the lock, I've got my knife with me. It might be sturdy enough to help you pry a lock on a door. Will that help you?" Rave asked in the darkness.

As Captain Moss felt around, thinking that he had a good enough grip now at this point and started to try and flip the bed over now, but only for it to slip out of his hands causing him to grumble more under his breath. "Damnit." Moss muttered to himself, as he heard the bed landing and then knelt down again as he started to attempt to flip the bed over again, and succeeding this time and smiled slightly. He looked over his shoulder slightly towards the voice speaking up and shook his head slightly at the woman's voices comment. "Personally i'd rather be in trouble with the residents here rather than freezing to death." Captain Moss said, which he meant it and it was the residents fault for putting them all up here with no way to keep warm.

"Alright then, lets try and get the cross section now.." Captain Moss said, as he listened to Walnut's voice, and then felt her hand touching his leg and blushed slightly and shook his head slightly. "It's fine." Captain Moss said, as he continued to run his hands over the underside of the bed trying to search around for the cross section and rip the thing off. While he listened to the others speak one of them having a knife which could be helpful if they weren't able to get the cross section out and pry the door open with it.

Cobalt was a little surprised that the other male voice in the room seemed to be having some success with his investigation of the bed. He'd expected it to be a dead-end, but by the sounds of it, if someone could get a spark, then they could have fire, a primitive but elegant solution to the problem of both light and heat. The following series of thuds suggested that someone had indeed attempted to flip the bed. Judging by the fact the thuds stopped again, Cobalt presumed they had either succeeded, or given up. Or at least Cobalt hoped that was what the noise was. He heard a female voice apologize following the noises, and he decided that either no-one had been murdered in the darkness, or if someone had been, then the killer was very good, and surprisingly polite, in which case there wasn't much Cobalt would be able to do if she came to him next.

While he tried to orientate himself concerning where the others in the room were, Cobalt listened to the voices in the darkness. He was glad to hear that hear that several voices also seemed to turn on the woman who was clamoring about needing a plan. He allowed himself a slight smile, at least the majority of the guests he was trapped with seemed to have some sense. The female voice that had apparently reached the other door was asking for some light, or tools to help open the door, but Cobalt still held the belief that there wouldn't be a door to open. He'd definitely heard something collapse to the floor when Titian had fled, and unless the hulking man had taken the time to reattach the door, then Cobalt fancied that the doorway would be empty. Although if they did need tools, there was apparently no shortage amongst the other guests.

Cobalt glanced around, although it was useless in the pitch darkness, more of a force of habit than anything. He decided that he wasn't helping anyone standing by a locked door, so decided to head towards the other one, still sticking to the wall. Not wanting to take anyone by surprise, he spoke into the darkness.

"I'm going to try and get to the other door. Hopefully I can help you open it."

Before he set off, another voice came from across the room, and Cobalt frowned. The guest that Cobalt had already dubbed 'the planner' was apparently refusing to back down, but they did go someway to letting Cobalt know who they were. By the sounds of it, they were the same guest that had managed to stab themselves in the leg during dinner. Cobalt couldn't claim he was surprised. It stood to reason that somewhat who was foolish enough to stab themselves, was more than foolish enough to cling to needing a plan, rather than taking action. What really worried Cobalt is that it sounded like she was armed as well. He made a mental note to steer clear. Any one of the guests could be a killer, but 'the planner' was the only one who seemed likely to do it by accident...

"I apologize, Chanteuse," began the Doctor, a rather upbeat if mild smile on his face. "It was a compliment, of course. A splash of deviousness serves to assist in the face of greater wickedness. Or in this case, our continued survival while we solve these mysteries. The instinct for survival, as you rightly mention, is important." The tone of his voice lowered as he spoke. "As unwelcome as our presence might be among the residents, I do not believe that they wish us immediately dead. Especially if we prove useful to them. They, at least, appear to want answers."

He brought the light over into the now opened door. A staircase behind a locked door, Swamp assumed to a place not as immediately accessible. He looked back into the laboratory proper, to the doors elsewhere in the room. He had wanted to see what was behind all of the doors, to ascertain their options, if you would, before committing to a course of action. Knowledge was a vital part of his own survival plan, such as it was. But a set of stairs proved an interesting conundrum. "Dare we risk the time necessary to descend the steps, Chanteuse? Hmm." Well, fortune favored the bold, though he wasn't sure that he fully believed in such a concept. "Unless you would prefer to check the other rooms first, I believe we have an opportunity here before Mr. Quinton returns with whatever apothecarial tonic he is mixing to settle your stomach. Shall we?"

Amaranthine looked over towards Swamp and bit her bottom lip. She was trying to figure out if they should try to see what was below or if they should remain and check the others rooms. She was not sure what to do. "I do not know..." she admitted as she stood there. Whatever they did, they needed to do it quickly. She was not one for being to estimate how much time they might have but she did know something, she could move far quicker than Dr. Swamp could. She wasn't injured and she had always had to be quick in her life. On stage and off. Letting out a long breath she looked around and then back towards Swamp and pushed the door closed, yet not fully. She made sure it remained unlocked and could be pulled open swiftly if it was needed.

Looking back at him. "I will check the other doors, you keep here I think. If there is something, I shall inform you. This though looks to be our best escape as of now and should he return bent on harm, it would make best for you to be close to the door. It may be our only hope. I do not put anything past those that do not blink at death," she said as she took the keys and quickly made her way to the northern most door. Trying a key, it didn't work. Another and another. None of the keys worked for it. "We cannot open this one," she said before moving towards the door that Quinton had left through. It only took two keys before she found one that worked. "We now have two exits," she said before relocking the door. She didn't want Quinton to return and know she could unlock the door. She quickly removed the keys to the doors that worked and slipped them into her corset. One door to go.


*Remember, roll request can be placed at the bottom of the post and results will be posted in the next update. Still dark, so remember the general rule of thumb, unless someone says something you don't know what they are doing. Rolls for movement because there is a group, have to see if you bump into someone or something.

Feeling around the door, Blush is able to feel where the knob and lock is, it is a start. As she continues to feel along the door she will find the hinges as well and where they are screwed into the door and the wall. The door seems rather solid but where the hinges are it feels weaker, like it has some wear and tear over the years on it. If the lock cannot be picked, perhaps they can pry the hinges off to get out of this door.

Moss is doing well with the cross section. He will be able, after some work to pry off a piece of it. It snaps off and thankfully Moss does it well enough that he doesn't cut himself in the process. He will be able to note the sharp edge of the broken piece though and know to keep clear of it, it is sharp enough to cause some damage on flesh that is for sure. It may help get them out, if anything, it would make for a good quick stabbing weapon if it comes to that.

Swamp is figuring that Quinton knows the place well but that the fact that he and Amaranthine and considered locked away they are not high concerns. He needed to tell the Lady of the Manor Swamps results and have her decide what to do, as well as get a tonic for Amaranthine. Even with familiarity of the place, with it being dark and everything else considered, they should at least have ten minutes but could have far longer. Better to err on the side of caution and work as quickly as possible. With them having two possible exits, they stand a better chance now of getting away if Quinton comes back to end them instead of help them.


Titian took it slow going down the stairs and found himself back in the linen closet they had had to go through before being lead upstairs to the Confinement room in the attic. The door to the Grand Corridor was partially open and he could see a dim light. Stopping where he was, he felt it was best to wait a moment before trying to look out of the door. Stopping by the door he pressed his back against the wall and slipped his hand into his pocket. Just taking slow, quiet, even breaths as he listened for anything. He wasn't hearing anything at first and the light was getting dimmer. Was it Quinton? He didn't know but if it was moving further away, then that was fine with him no matter who it was.

Then he did hear something but he couldn't make it out. Not all of it. Broken words in two voices, neither he was able to figure out but one did sound female. "You." "Done." "Soon." "No." "Leave them." "What of." "Key." What in the world did all that mean and what key? The voices stopped and the light kept moving away and yet it was growing stronger as well. Two lights? At least two people were talking, one seemed to be coming down the hallway. Staying where he was, Titan kept his eyes down on the floor, looking at the space between the door and wall in case he could catch a glimpse of whomever was walking in his direction. It would be something, what he had no idea.

Blush was at least able to put a face to the voice now, and she was not surprised at who was complaining about their eventual escape from this cold death. ”Let us leave this room and decide from there what our next course of action is, yes? Makes the most sense, in my opinion.” Feeling along the door, she managed to find the lock. It didn’t feel particularly sway worthy, and she had no lockpicking experience to speak of. Perhaps one of her companions had. She would not put it past this lot to have some barbaric actions in their repertoire.

She also managed to find the hinges on the door. These seemed weaker and more likely to break. If they could not pick the lock, perhaps forcing the door would be better. ”Well, if one makes their way over here, I found the lock. It can be picked, but I imagine the effort will be tough. I did also manage to find the hinges of the door and they seem weak. If we had a tool strong enough, with enough force behind it, we may be able to pry them off and get out that way.”

She stood by the door, not wanting to move around too much, less she lose her place in the dark room. She prayed people would act soon. She did not want her final moments to be dying of cold with this lot. Imagine what people would say.

While the others continued their conversations, Walnut was trying her best to pry off a piece of the cross section in the darkness - she did not share in Moss' luck. As she felt about, practically as useful as a blind old crone, she couldn't get a solid enough grip to pry off a piece. Each time she thought she had one, as she pulled up her hands slipped and she had nothing to show for her efforts. To say it was frustrating was an understatement. They had been trapped in this cold pit of darkness for what seemed an eternity and they were no closer to escaping than they had been when they started. People kept on saying things like 'oh I might have something that would help' and as far as Walnut was aware, that was the extent of the progress. People needed to do something - and to add insult to injury, as much as Walnut believed in taking concrete actions to get results, her actions were all for nothing.

She would have accomplished just as much had she just sat down when the lights went out - or if she had joined the stabbing victim in whining about having a plan. There was no sense in trying to pry up a bit of the cross section a third time, as that was the definition of insanity: trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. They needed a new approach but the chill was setting in and she doubted they had much more time before it would start to have ill effects on their health. With individuals like Dr. Swamp practicing medicine, Walnut was of the opinion that it was best to avoid a doctor at all costs. "I cannot get this blasted cross section off!" she snapped.

"If you will give me one moment I will see what I can do about getting this door open finally and allow us to escape this horrid room," Penance said, responding to Blush's comments about it. She was standing by the door as well, and so she felt along the edges, attempting to feel the hinges that she had mentioned. If they were indeed a bit weaker then the lock, she had just the tool that would be useful in prying them off. After a moment, she found the hinges, smiling to herself as she kept one hand on the bottom hinge as she pulled out her nifty little tool. Well, it wasn't little, and she wouldn't go into detail for how she had been carrying it around really, but it didn't really matter.

With her crowbar in hand, she used it to pry off the first of the hinges on the door, and started pulling at it, until eventually it pried off and sort of clattered to the ground, as she hadn't bothered to catch it. Feeling the door again for another moment to ensure she knew where the top hinge on the door was, she then went about attempting to do the exact same thing. This time since it was higher up, she did sort of use her hand to slow the decent of the hinge, but it did eventually clatter to the ground. Holding her crowbar against her shoulder, she pushed at the door, before it eventually gave way, she stumbled slightly when it finally gave way and opened up, but she stood up straight and just walked out the door.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you an open door," she said, turning to look back into the room with a slight bow, before she stood up again.

Progress, by the sounds of it they were finally making some progress. The female voice coming from the far side of the room had found the lock, and apparently some weak hinges. Cobalt didn't have a set plan for what he was going to do when he got to the door, but he knew that it was the place to be if they were ever going to get out of this infernal room. Moving slowly, always keeping one hand on the wall to his left, and feeling forward with the other, Cobalt began the long journey around the edge of the room, and towards the far door, and the promise of freedom.

It wasn't long until his progress faltered. His previous foray into the darkness, to reach the door he was now leaving behind, had been fairly easy, because he had known there was nothing standing in his way, and the other guests had been elsewhere in the room. But now he was venturing into the unknown, and he had no idea where the other guests were. In theory, all he had to do was follow the wall, and he would reach the far door. But that theory was relying on no-one moving into his way, and more importantly, it was relying on Shadowell Manor obeying the laws of logic. And yet while Cobalt faltered, there was another guest who was clearly having no such issues.

There was a brief sound of metal straining against metal, and then the clatter of metal falling to the floor. Cobalt frowned for a moment, straining for some other clue. The same sequence of sounds came again, and then silence fell, a silence that seemed thick with anticipation. And then a heavy thud echoed through the room. Even the dim light streaming through the open doorway caused William to blink, his eyes accustomed to darkness. The slim silhouette, framed by the doorway, theatrically bowed as she stood in the midst of her presumed handiwork. Cobalt couldn't help but smile at the promise of freedom, calling out to their supposed savior.

"Bravo, madam. You have my thanks."

Rave could only sight at the disregard that she was seemingly receiving over her desire to get at least some basic idea what to do after they leave the room. It's not like she was asking them to spot getting out of the room or anything like that, right? All she asked was if the others had any actual idea as of what they wanted or proposed for all of them to do when they escaped, but they didn't seem to even want to plan things out. The way they were acting made is clear as bright day that there was no planning they wanted to do, they all sounded like they just wanted to run amok. If she wasn't pressed by the fact that she'd also freeze to death, she wouldn't be following them out of the room really, she still wanted to live and highly doubted the few of them could escape from this manor.

As she asked if they could use her knife, not a single reply to that came. At first they were being annoyed that she wasn't trying to help in any way, but when she actually tried to be helpful and ask if they could use it, they didn't even take any notice of the sentence being said? What did that mean? Did they don't really need her to help out, or were they just acting out that way as some form of punishment? In the end she decided to just keep quiet on this point after all. It didn't seem like they cared much anyways. Maybe if they find some of the staff, she could just ask if there's a place on the ground floor she could stay down even if she's tied up whatever.

While she was thinking about this, someone actually went ahead and somehow got the door open. There was noise and then after the noise there was a opened door that wasn't too visible admittedly. Voice sounded like Penance, probably. That said Rave had no idea how actually the door got opened." Good job." Rave added her humble congratulations and works of approval, though she was wondering if they might prefer her to keep quiet actually. So the door was opened, now the only thing they could need was a source of light.

There was one sentiment expressed by the Chanteuse that made Swamp ponder an issue or two. Not putting anything past "those who do not blink at death". It was curious. What might she think of him, then? While no great soldier, nor survivor of any calamity any more than anyone else, his occupation and chosen field of study had him around death quite a bit. Death was a fact of life. Did he fit into that category as well? Looking at it objectively (a thing he was actually good at), Dr. Swamp did just disembowel and alphabetically order the component parts of the Lord of the Manor with amazingly clean incisions and minimal cleanup necessary, while he was still warm from his former status of being alive, direct evidence that he had extensive experience with human anatomy and the disarticulation thereof. And he even hummed along to her music while he did it. Does that mean that he fell into the category that the Chanteuse talked about; one who does not blink at death? Or was the fact that he asked himself this sort of introspective question the very sliver of difference that made him stand apart?

Better yet, why was he worried about it to begin with? It was strange. Luckily, there were more pressing, life-threatening issues at the forefront. To begin, the amount of time they were left alone to familiarize themselves with their surroundings, lest their host return and find himself in a foul mood. Swamp made some quick estimations. "Provided that Mr. Quinton actually performs all of the actions he indicated; speaking with the new authority about our findings and my offer (with discussion about subsequent judgement), fetching your tonic, and navigating the house in the dark, I believe that we have a few minutes more than originally anticipated. I concede to your wisdom in haste, regardless. Better to have more time than not enough." Swamp nodded, "I also applaud your foresight and resourcefulness, securing two exits. Although," he stipulated, putting on a wearied look, "It's not the servants of the house that worry me, quite as much as the guests."

Swamp leaned on his cane and let the lamp in his hand droop in his grasp. It had been a day to remember, that was for sure. And his attempts to penetrate the mystery of their presence seemed to be garnering the ire of others; though why the search for truth was frowned upon by the very people it would have quite literally set free was beyond his intellect to grasp. Well, it would free most of them, anyway. Part of that truth came out just recently, thanks to his ability to do suss it out intelligently, systematically, and scientifically; a thing which might not have been possible without the environment of the Laboratory.

That thought stopped him dead in his tracks. The Laboratory. "This facility..." His words grew hoarser, "Such a place is not generally open to be lent." No, people who had places like this guarded them jealously, certainly not to some outsider who claimed to be a physician. "Whose laboratory, specifically, is this? I do wonder." There was a wiry edge of concern in his words. He needed to know more.