[Self-indulgent silliness. You have been warned!]

<TIAMAT> *Dinner has just been served. Bread, some thin (and mostly cold) soup and a few pieces of dried fruit.

<JETMODE> *Genoa, let's say, is doing her usual routine, practicing katas (though I suppose that's not really what you call them) and etc. Well, nightly. She does some in the morning and before she goes to bed.

<JETMODE> *As she's finishing up, she catches her foot and nearly sprawls, snatching onto the stone wall for support.

<JETMODE> *Grimacing, she shoves off the wall and stalks over to her food, grumbling at the meager fare (mostly for show, since she's hungry), and sitting down to partake of it.

<TIAMAT> *Well, when she shoved the wall, she might have heard a dull scraping sound, like stone on stone.

<JETMODE> *She glances over toward the sound, a piece of dried fruit in hand.

<TIAMAT> *A narrow strip of the back wall suddenly appears to be slightly farther back than the rest, like the stones weren't matched up right when built. Funny, it hadn't seemed like that the rest of time she was in here..

<JETMODE> *Genoa blinks, popping the rest of the fruit into her mouth, and frowns. "This place has finally driven me mad." She gets to her feet and ambles over to slap the wall and make sure it's solid.

<TIAMAT> *Oh, it's solid alright, but just slapping it won't be enough to move it. :) The stones are definitely aligned different in that one area, though -- right where she was leaning a minute ago.

<JETMODE> *She frowns again and feels along the wall, then presses harder, muttering to herself about idiots, dungeon designers, and cell assignments.

<JETMODE> *And as long as we're sitting here, we'll say she kicks the wall for good measure.

<TIAMAT> *Well, as she pushes, the wall inches forward slowly with a groan and when she kicks, it snaps back into a little recess behind it, revealing a passage that leads off to the right.

<JETMODE> *She blinks, then pokes her head out into the passage, wrinkling her nose. "Won't the guards love it when they hear about this." She glances behind her toward the door, then steps into the passageway without a second thought.

<TIAMAT> *As she steps further down the passage, she trods on a switch in the floor and with a snap and a dull thud, the door back to her cell slams shut. BTW, there is absolutely NO light down here.

<JETMODE> *She hears the door slam and spins, spitting a curse. She pats the wall down in the dark, looking for a switch that will let her back in.

<TIAMAT> *The floor switch might open it again, if you'd care to investigate.

<JETMODE> *She stomps on it, swearing furiously.

<TIAMAT> *Looks like she broke it, stomping on it like that. Oops. Sorry, Genoa.

<TIAMAT> *The door is shut and sealed.

<JETMODE> <Genoa> DAMN it. *she looks around, forgetting for a moment that it's pitch black*

<JETMODE> *After fumbling around in the dark for a few more minutes -- and even pounding and calling for a guard, which is even more ineffective than usual -- she pauses, sighs heavily, and mutters the spell for a small ball of light.

<TIAMAT> *Well, the passage is probably pretty straightforward, if rather small. She fits in it fine, I'm sure, but her head might graze the ceiling a few times and groups would have to take it single-file. The passage winds around so that eventually she probably loses all sense of direction, though it does seem to go steadily up.

<JETMODE> *Genoa gets tired of the passage very quickly, particularly after she bangs her head once or twice on a low outcropping -- but it isn't as if she has much choice in the matter. The ball of light, on the other hand, bobbles cheerfully nearby.

<TIAMAT> *I'd say she's in there for probably a good long time -- maybe a half hour or so -- and it would get boring pretty quick. There are no deviations whatsoever, not even so much as a fork that might lead to another direction, and no indication as to where she is or is going.

<JETMODE> *So, to keep herself company, she starts humming softly. One thing not many people know is that Genoa's quite a singer.

<TIAMAT> *Well, after a while (and another bump or two to the head) she very suddenly comes to a dead end.

<JETMODE> *She promptly swears at it.

<JETMODE> *And then kicks it.

<JETMODE> *Temper-tantrum past, she feels around a little, pressing the floor with her foot in case there's one of those switches, too.

<TIAMAT> *Well, kicking does NOT work. Neither does pushing, shoving, punching or, no, swearing. The floor -- there you go. A little ways back she might see a little bump rising out between two of the stones that make up the path, like a little switch, right there in the middle of the hall. Funny she missed it the first time through..

<JETMODE> *I don't think she was expecting a dead end. Whatever the case, she mashes it -- carefully this time.

<TIAMAT> *The dead end suddenly groans loudly as stone scrapes against stone, and a portion of the wall snaps back, revealing -- nothing? Well, not quite. It's still dark, though now it looks like light is being filtered through cloth, like there's some kind of curtain hanging over the new entrance.

<JETMODE> *Genoa looks puzzled for a moment, then pushes against the cloth, or whatever is -- again, carefully, in case there's someone inside.

<TIAMAT> *It is, indeed, a cloth, a fairly heavy one too -- it's some kind of tapestry, actually. On the other side is a nice little room (well, not THAT little) with a single window showing the now-setting sun. Ah, for a description of the room..

<JETMODE> *Genoa arches an eyebrow as she looks around.

<TIAMAT> *There's a large, rather nice looking bed against the opposite wall, next to which is a fair sized book case. In one corner is a desk with some neat piles of papers and writing unensiles, and along the wall are hung various swords, axes, shields and other equipment. There's a suit of armor next to the tapestry she just emerged from.

<TIAMAT> *There're two doors, one along the same wall she just came out of, which is currently closed (and locked), the other on the wall to her right, which is open but leads to darkness.

<TIAMAT> *Or a dark room, anyway.

<JETMODE> *She peers at the armor with interest, pinging one finger off it and noting that it's much too large for her.

<TIAMAT> *It's nice armor, though looks to be more decorative than functional, made of silver trimmed in gold and all highly polished. There's also a large wardrobe on the wall to her left (as she came out of the corridor), next to the window, which is also shut (and possibly locked).

<TIAMAT> *The wardrobe is shut and locked. The window is, er, possibly open a bit, but it's far too high for her to even attempt to get out of. :P

<JETMODE> *Having finished her survey of the room she wound up in, she tries the locked door, shrugs, and pokes her head into the other, ushering her ball of light inside.

<TIAMAT> *The room she just entered is quite obviously a bathroom. On the wall to her left is a nice-sized sink with a mirror above it, and next to that the toilet; on the wall to her right is another, smaller, closet-type thing that's open and contains clothes, towels, bathrobe, etc.

<TIAMAT> *The bathtub is against the opposite wall as she came in, and is very luxurious. ^_^ It's large and deep and possibly made of marble, or some other nice material.

<TIAMAT> *The whole place is very clean, BTW.

<JETMODE> *Genoa, on spying the bathtub, gives a rapturous sigh.

<JETMODE> *She glances back over her shoulder, then marches into the bathroom and shuts the door behind her, then trots over to inspect said bathtub further.

<TIAMAT> *There are a couple lanterns or something hanging on the wall, too, if she'd care to have a little more light.

<JETMODE> *She attends to the lanterns after a moment's thought and dismisses the light ball -- less to think about.

<JETMODE> *Genoa has clearly given no thought whatsoever to the potential consequences of getting caught in someone else's bath when she should be in solitary confinement. She starts running water and looks around for any kind of bath salts or bubbles or something.

<TIAMAT> *Well ... I don't know about bubbles (just doesn't seem like Teal's style, you know?) but there's plenty of soap and some of those gel bead things that make the water soft.

<JETMODE> *Sweet. She promptly indulges, stripping her clothes of once the water's warm and deep enough. Poor gal is filthy, and she hates it.

<JETMODE> *She also takes her somewhat dirty bandages off, noting with pleasure that she probably doesn't need them anymore anyway.

<TIAMAT> *The marble might be a bit cool, but it'll warm up quick enough. ^_^

<JETMODE> *Yes indeed. Since I didn't mention it before, she has, by then, hopped into the tub with a sigh.

<JETMODE> *After luxuriating in the nice bathtub for a while, she does clean herself thoroughly, but she stays in the water afterward, lounging comfortably.

<JETMODE> <Genoa> *low murmur* Wish I had one of these in my quarters.

<TIAMAT> *Well, after about an hour or so, Genoa might take note that the lock on the door back in the main room opens with a click, followed by the door itself opening and then shutting and locking again. Footsteps outside the bathroom door, though they pass it, for the moment.

<JETMODE> *She also might not take note. ^_^ She's singing to herself very drowsily. Amazingly, the water's still warm.

<TIAMAT> *Well, he doesn't hit the bathroom RIGHT away. He stashes some stuff on his desk and in its drawers, removes the dagger he carries with him during the day from his belt and placing it on the bed, random stuff like that. All the while not making much noise, but some.

<JETMODE> *Well, he might just notice the drowsy singing from the general direction of the bathroom -- and did he leave the lights on that morning?

<TIAMAT> *He's hand a long day. After a few minutes he wanders over toward the bathroom, rubbing his forehead as he opens the door. He can assume his maids turned the lights on for him, and he doesn't even NOTICE Genoa in the tub right away, as he's not looking at her (still rubbing his eyes. ;)

<JETMODE> *Genoa, on the other hand, stops in mid-lyric, eyes popping open. She leaps to her feet with a shriek, forgetting momentarily that she is totally, bare-assed naked.

<TIAMAT> *Teal looks up very suddenly, something akin to horror crossing his face as he stares at Genoa. "Wh-at..

<JETMODE> *Genoa, on the other hand, is alternating between pale and red with rage, one arm flung across to at least partly cover herself, and the other fumbling for something to throw at him.

<TIAMAT> *There's a towel sitting right on the floor there next to her, if she'd care for it, and on top of it is a glass champagne glass. ^_^

<JETMODE> *Genoa takes hold of the nearest item, probably the glass, and flings it, dead-on, right at his face.

<TIAMAT> *Teal barely has time to duck the glass, roaring furiously. "WHAT...IS THE MEANING...OF THIS!?

<JETMODE> <Genoa> *almost simultaneously* WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!

<TIAMAT> *Teal stands up straight, face suddenly going beet red (whether from rage or embarrassment, who knows!) though he's definitely mad. "How DARE YOU! *long awkward pause*

<TIAMAT> *Teal scowls fiercely. "Put...put your clothes back on, this instant!

<JETMODE> <Genoa> WHAT?!

<TIAMAT> *Teal's turned away slightly and is now staring furiously at the wall.

<JETMODE> *She forgets she's naked again, and splashes both hands down in the water. When the water splashes against her skin, she suddenly remembers and her face goes hot.

<JETMODE> *Furious, she scrambles out of the tub, snatching at the towel and wrapping it around herself. "OUT! OUT!" Never mind she's ordering him out of his own bathroom.

<JETMODE> *Then, to her intense irritation, she notes that he's directly in the path of her clothes. "Move!" She shoves him sharply aside, holding her towel on with her other arm.

<TIAMAT> *Teal stumbles back out into the main room, positively GLARING at her, then slams the door in her face. Her clothes are still in the bathroom, I assume.

<JETMODE> *Yes, yes they are, and she gets into them quickly fuming and swearing under her breath. Once she's done, she storms out into the main room.

<TIAMAT> *Teal, in the meanwhile, has retrieved his dagger from the bed and as soon as she opens the door, he holds the point lightly to her throat. He's trying very, very hard to keep his voice even and steady. "You had better have a very -- very -- good explanation for this, Rivermarch.

<TIAMAT> *It's quite dark outside now, BTW, but there're a couple more lantern lights hanging around the room to illuminate it.

<JETMODE> *Genoa resists the impulse to knee him in the groin and stands her ground, folding her arms. "Let me assure, you Baron Teal, if I had known this was your room, I would have starved in the passageway instead of setting foot in it."

<TIAMAT> *Teal barely contains a scowl, taking a deep breath instead. "How ... did you get in here?

<JETMODE> *Genoa tosses her head and stalks over to the tapestry she came in by, yanking it aside.

<TIAMAT> *Teal, still shaking slightly with rage, follows. "And this...leads down to solitary?

<JETMODE> <Genoa> *crossly* Directly back to my cell.

<TIAMAT> *Teal stares down the corridor for a moment, then sheathes the dagger, grabs Genoa's arm and starts dragging her toward the door and all the way back down to solitary.

<JETMODE> <Genoa> *jerks back* Unhand me! I can walk on my own!

<JETMODE> *Watch out, she might hit you.

<TIAMAT> *He might just hit back if she does. ^_^ He thrusts her in front of him, growling, "Move!"

<JETMODE> *She stumbles, calls him something extremely rude, and starts walking ahead as fast as she can.

<JETMODE> *As she rounds a corner, by now several feet ahead of Teal, she nearly smacks into Kender and Whisper, who are coming the other direction. She backs away from them just in time for Teal to slam into her from behind. ^_^

<TIAMAT> *Well, he manages to stop himself, sort of, and grabs her elbow (rather hard) to stop her from sprawling forward. Whisper's staring at the both of them. "Genoa..?

<JETMODE> <Genoa> *after jerking her elbow free* Whisper! .. I see they didn't kill you after all.

<JETMODE> *Kender looks from Teal to Genoa and back again and takes a nervous step backward.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper's looking rather confused and glancing between the two of them as well, noting the murderous look on Teal's face and following Kender back a bit. "Er...no, I--

<TIAMAT> *Teal interjects quickly. "We have to go. *he grabs Genoa's arm AGAIN and pulls her around the pair and down the hall.

<JETMODE> <Genoa> *calls over her shoulder* Lovely chat! *then turns back to Teal, kicking him in the leg* Let GO of me, you great, thundering oaf!

<JETMODE> <Kender> .. what was that about?

<TIAMAT> *Teal winces, restraining a yell, instead growling, "I swear, Genoa-- *before they turn to go down a set of stairs and out of sight. Whisper's staring after them, looking a little dumbfounded. "I have...no idea. ... Think we should follow them?

<JETMODE> <Kender> *remembering the look on his face* I dunno.. He looked really mad.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper watches them until they disappear, then turns back to Kender. "Yeah ... hope Genoa's okay. *and she starts off toward wherever they were going before. Teal, meanwhile, is cursing silently to himself.

<JETMODE> *Genoa, incidentally, snaps something about his having no right to call her by her first name, stumbling a bit on the stairs.

<TIAMAT> *Teal grinds his teeth. "I have every right to call you by your first name, Miss Rivermarch, and if you insult me one more time tonight, I'll see to it that your time in solitary is doubled. At a minimum.

<JETMODE> <Genoa> *ferally* Just you try it, Baron Teal. I'll make your every day a misery!

<TIAMAT> *They finally make it back down to solitary, where two guards -- yup, two tonight, dunno why -- are sitting at a small table playing cards. They glance up as footsteps decend on the staircase, then jump to their feet when they see Teal and Genoa, both going very pale.

<JETMODE> *Genoa looks at them both in disgust and yanks free from Teal's grip. Again.

<TIAMAT> *Teal completely ignores the guards for the moment, leading Genoa roughly down to the last cell on the LEFT and shoving her in, slamming and locking the door without a word. As he marches back up the hall toward the stairs, the two guards beging babbling, but he silences them with a cold stare. "Stay put. *and he disappears up the steps.

<JETMODE> *Genoa shouts several insulting things after him and flops down on the cot to sulk. At least she got a bath.

<TIAMAT> *Teal gathers as many of his guards as he can down to the main soldier office/barracks/room/area place thing and orders a very complete and very thorough search of every prison cell, detention, solitary and otherwise, for hidden switches, secret passageways and the like. The guards are terrified. Their commander hasn't been this angry in a long, long time.

<TIAMAT> *Oh, he also orders guards to check on Genoa every hour on the hour.

<JETMODE> *Genoa waves sweetly to the guards every time they drop in.

[There's an alternate version of the scene, but we liked this one better. ^_^]