LaVoe Manor

**The LaVoe Manor** is the largest estate in Aelmere and has been home to countless generations of descendents that followed Lord Aloysius LaVoe and his wife Priya. LaVoe Manor is an estate fitted into the center of town as it marks the end of The Old District and the start of The King's District.

## Appearance

The estate itself is comprised of one main house that wraps around an outdoor courtyard and garden which is blocked off from public access by a metal gate along the main road. The manor itself is built with dark granite creating a towering shadow of a building that backs the sun in the west.

Every window that can be seen from the main road appears to be covered and there doesn’t seem to be any light poking through. At a first glance, the building could be mistaken as abandoned.

#### The Building Exterior

The manor looks more like a collection of stone buildings on the first floor from the town square while the upper levels are coated in plaster and held together with wooden beams. At first glance, the manor looks like a collection of separate buildings, but there is only one set of stairs up to a wooden door on closer inspection.

The door is carved of dark wood and features carvings boasting intricate woodwork designs depicting intertwining swirls, stars, and what looks like decorated spheres. To the right of the door is a metal fence scaling six feet up that leads down a stone corridor. All the curtains for windows facing the street have been drawn closed. Passersby are unable to look into the house and light doesn't seem to emanate from within the building.

#### The Garden

The Manor’s garden is walled off on every side by the buildings that face the town square as well as the side-streets. In essence, the manor is built in a loop with the garden at its center. For the most part, the garden seems to be overgrown but well kept to retain the lushness of the overgrown vegetation. At the heart of the garden is a marble gazebo with a single bench facing an inlet between two buildings. A singular stone headstone sits there with a tattered military capelet laid before it. It seems to be well taken care of and devoid of overgrowth. Unlike the windows at the front of the building, the curtains in all windows facing the garden have been drawn open, allowing those in the garden to see into the estate.

### The First Floor

#### The Main Entryway

The place has an eerie stillness like it hasn’t seen a living creature in years. The chandeliers hanging from the ceiling flicker with candles nearing the end of their wicks.

There are two doors in the hallway: an archway leading to a spiral staircase and a door at the end of the hall leading to the rest of the house.

This entryway seemed to be the place where visitors would be welcomed by the house staff and ushered into the home.

#### The Main House

After walking in through the door at the end of the hallway, there is a lavish stairwell ascending to the second floor. The room is dimly lit as well and leads off in different directions. The room is the hub that then leads towards a sitting room, a ballroom, an office and/or reading room, a place to entertain business guests, and hallways that extend to other parts of the building.

 The room itself is a standard study: desk, bookshelves, blank sheets of parchment, a quill, and ink.
When the first person walks into the room, the trap is triggered and separates the party with a metal grate that drops into the open doorway.
 There’s a suit of armor with a sword partially unsheathed in what looks to be a reading room. The arm on the armor that is holding the sword can be moved.
 The room itself is a small, intimate chapel. It boasts a stained glass image of a man and a woman in regal garb. There are pews leading to an altar and a book of marital rites. Despite the doorknob being able to turn, it refuses to open.
Every 30-40 seconds of people being in the room, something changes.
1. The room gets noticeably colder.
2. The candlelight begins to dim despite the candles looking recently changed out.
3. The image on the stained glass changes. The figures are gaunter with the man starting to look skeletal while the woman looks tired with bags under her eyes.
4. Voices start urging players to run.
5. Cries can be heard from right behind the stained glass.
6. Pews start moving on their own.
7. The candles are blown out, leaving everyone in the dark apart from an eerie light behind the stained glass. When the players look, the figures are missing.
8. Footsteps pace around the room.
9. A hand rests on someone's shoulder but when they move to check, no one’s there.

However, when someone reaches for the doorknob to leave out of fear, the door is automatically unlocked.

### The Second Floor

#### Second Floor Layout

Most of the rooms on the second floor are locked doors along a continuous hallway that stretches the entire way around the building.

 The room is a standard tea room with a circular table and decorative chairs. It can be accessed through the hallway on the second floor or from the stairwell unlocked in the reading room with the suit of armor on the first floor.
Everything in the room is safe. The only difference between what is seen and the reality of the room itself is that the furniture is technically several inches from where they appear to be.
 The room is furnished to be a smoking lounge. There are armchairs scattered about the room besides intricately carved end tables dressed with decorative cloths, pipes, and trays to dispose of ash. A few bookshelves line the back walls and a window facing the garden remains open, allowing light to stream in through the wisps of smoke from a magically lit pipe on one of the tables.
There are discrepancies between the room and the room reflected in the mirror:
* The magically lit pipe in one room isn’t lit in the mirror room.
* The curtains in the mirror room are covering the window while the regular room is drawn.
* There is a door in the reflection while the door in the room disappears once entered.

 There’s a door at the far end of the hallway past the staircase down to the first floor. In order to pass through, one must first solve the riddle inscribed on the door.
It says:
“Barriers Unbroken, Secrets Unspoken, Speak Freely in Confidence, Your Way will be Open.”
Speaking a secret will open the door to the way up to the third floor.

### The Third Floor

There aren’t many accessible rooms on the third floor as it seems to be set up like a small one-floor home accessed by the hidden room on the second floor. There’s a sitting room at the top of the stairs with a grand window facing the street. There are dark curtains covering it but all the lanterns, lamps, and candles in the room have been lit. Throughout the living space are boxes containing books, photographs, frames and other personal effects,

There’s a master bedroom that belongs to Desiree LaVoe.

One the dining table in the adjacent sitting room, information, interviews, and paperwork relating to Lord Aloysius LaVoe have been spread out for Desiree’s research and investigation efforts.