Noble's Mansion

A long driveway leads to the beautiful mansion of Lord Wilburn, a rich noble. The fountain in front of the steps to the entrance flows gently. When you reach the front door, an elegantly-dressed butler opens it wide.

He looks you up and down, not hiding the disgust on his face. “Such dirty people as yourselves, daring to step on the lord’s expensive rugs…” He mumbles under his breath, but you hear his words clearly enough.

You shrug, looking at each other. You’re adventurers, not the usual visitors of the lord’s mansion. But Wilburn has granted you an audience, so why does the butler find it necessary to point out how out of place you are in such a high-class setting? You step over the threshold into the main hall which houses a large staircase leading to the upper story. Your footsteps echo on the marble floor… Yes, in truth, you don’t feel like you don’t belong here. Still, you have a quest to accomplish.

The butler guides you to a door on the right that leads to a cozy living room in which the master of the mansion is seated. He’s a black-haired human in his late 40s dressed in a deep red tunic and black trousers. Lord Wilburn. The man sips red wine and looks at you over the rim of the glass.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” He asks in a deep, gravelly voice.

You explain that your employer asked you to retrieve an item she lent Lord Wilburn two years ago – a golden necklace with emerald embedded with gems embedded.

The man sneers. “You and your client will get nothing from me. Begone.”

Before you can protest, you’re ushered out of the mansion. Standing in the driveway, you wonder how you’re supposed to accomplish your task. After exchanging a few deep looks, all of you share a smile. The people of this house haven’t been accommodating to you, so you won’t feel bad about returning at a more opportune time and taking what’s rightfully yours.

When night falls, you sneak back onto the mansion grounds. You enter from the rear this time, sneaking through the picturesque garden lit by moonlight. You climb the small stairs to the terrace and open the back door to the mansion.

The first room you check is to your left – a study. Here might be a good place to hide an emerald necklace. However, once you check all the shelves and the desk, you’re certain this isn’t where Lord Wilburn has stored the item. Next is the living room. You search thoroughly, but again you don’t find anything. Across the mansion is the dining hall. The room has two tall decorative sculptures flanking a long table with eight chairs in the middle of the room. Another door leads to the kitchen, pantry, and servant’s quarters from where you can hear the staff’s loud snores. You don’t think you will find the item there.

Careful to avoid any noise, you make your way up the stairs to the upper floor. The first room, facing the front of the mansion, is a play room for Lord Wilburn’s son. The next room is his wife’s bedroom, where she sleeps quietly. The next one is the child’s bedroom, also asleep.  Only two doors remain. You open one, fully expecting the lord’s bedroom, but you see a storage room instead. That makes sense; since there’s no cellar or attic in this mansion, the family has to use a spare room to store unneeded belongings. The item may be here if the lord has not moved it to his room. A search is worth trying.

You enter and carefully check the dusty room, eyes peeled for the jeweled necklace. But it’s nowhere to be found. You sigh in annoyance. One of you leans against the wall as you frantically gesture to each other, trying to figure out what to do. Suddenly the surface moves slightly. There’s a hidden door here!

You open the door to look inside. In the middle of the room sits a box. Inside… is the necklace! You take it and exit the mansion as quietly as possible.

Hopefully Lord Wilburn will take a while to realize you’ve secured the item. By then, the necklace will be back in your client’s possession and you will be long gone, off on another adventure. Here’s to a successful heist!