--- "Crimson Quill" Mercantile Office (Occult Influence) Map ---
[GROUND FLOOR] [Main Entrance (GF1) - Entrance] --- [Reception & Waiting (GF2)] --- [Client Consultation (GF3)] | | (Stairs Up) V [SECOND FLOOR] [Scribe's Chambers Landing (SF1)] --- [Junior Scribes' Pool (SF2)] --- [Records Filing (SF3)] | | (Stairs Up) V [THIRD FLOOR] [Senior Clerk's Landing (TF1)] --- [Manager's Office (TF2)] --- [Discreet Negotiations (TF3)] | | (Stairs Up) V [FOURTH FLOOR] [Executive Landing (FF1)] --- [Director's Study (FF2)] --- [Hidden Archives (FF3) - Objective]
--- Ground Floor ---
--- Area 1 (Main Entrance - Entrance) --- Description: The heavy, polished oak doors of the "Crimson Quill" mercantile house exude an air of quiet wealth and established power. A faint, almost imperceptible scent of old parchment and expensive spices hangs in the air. The marble floor gleams, reflecting the dim, elegant light. This is the primary point of entry. Exits/Connections: To Reception & Waiting (GF2) (North).
--- Area 2 (Reception & Waiting) --- Description: This spacious reception area features plush seating, intricate tapestries, and a grand, circular desk. While seemingly mundane, a subtle chill permeates the air here, and the shadows seem deeper than they should be, even in the elegant light. A few hushed conversations seem to linger. Exits/Connections: To Main Entrance (GF1) (South), To Client Consultation (GF3) (East). Creatures: It has creatures (type: occultists - disguised as staff/guards).
--- Area 3 (Client Consultation) --- Description: This private room is set up for confidential client meetings, with a large, heavy table and comfortable, high-backed chairs. The windows are heavily draped, and the light is always dim. A strange, almost inaudible hum resonates faintly within the walls. Exits/Connections: To Reception & Waiting (GF2) (West). Secret Passages/Areas: A cleverly concealed lever disguised as a decorative carving on the wall (Perception DC 16 to find) opens a secret panel leading to a narrow, dusty crawlspace behind the walls, used for discreet listening or passage.
--- Second Floor ---
--- Area SF1 (Scribe's Chambers Landing) --- Description: The grand, carpeted staircase ascends to this quiet landing. The hum from below is fainter here, replaced by the faint, rhythmic scratching of quills on parchment. The air feels heavy, almost stagnant. Exits/Connections: Stairs down to Reception & Waiting (GF2), To Junior Scribes' Pool (SF2) (East).
--- Area SF2 (Junior Scribes' Pool) --- Description: Dozens of individual desks fill this large, open room, each with neatly arranged quills, inkpots, and stacks of ledgers. While many desks are empty, a few scribes (occultists in disguise) meticulously copy documents, their faces strangely impassive. A few documents display the "strange, unfamiliar symbol" subtly incorporated into mundane text. Exits/Connections: To Scribe's Chambers Landing (SF1) (West), To Records Filing (SF3) (South). Creatures: It has creatures (type: occultists - disguised as scribes). Encounter Type: Battle Area (if detection occurs)
--- Area SF3 (Records Filing) --- Description: Towering wooden filing cabinets, meticulously labeled with arcane-looking symbols (mistaken for mundane filing codes), line the walls of this extensive archive. The air is dry and smells strongly of old paper and dust. A sense of meticulous, almost obsessive, organization pervades the space. Exits/Connections: To Junior Scribes' Pool (SF2) (North), Stairs up to Senior Clerk's Landing (TF1). Trap: It contains a trap (type: magically warded filing cabinet unleashing a burst of chaotic energy). Perception DC 14 to spot. Potential Damage: 1d8/T1, 2d8/T2, 3d8/T3, 4d8/T4 Psychic/Confusion.
--- Third Floor ---
--- Area TF1 (Senior Clerk's Landing) --- Description: This landing is more richly adorned than the one below, with heavy velvet drapes and polished wood paneling. The air grows noticeably colder, and the whispers from the lower floors seem to coalesce into faint, unsettling murmurs. Exits/Connections: Stairs down to Records Filing (SF3), To Manager's Office (TF2) (East).
--- Area TF2 (Manager's Office) --- Description: A large, imposing desk sits at the head of this office, overlooking the entire floor through a reinforced glass wall. The room is decorated with expensive, but oddly unsettling, artwork depicting abstract shapes and unsettling landscapes. A few closed, iron-bound chests sit in one corner. Exits/Connections: To Senior Clerk's Landing (TF1) (West), To Discreet Negotiations (TF3) (South). Creatures: It has creatures (type: occultists - disguised as high-ranking staff).
--- Area TF3 (Discreet Negotiations) --- Description: This hidden room, accessible only from the Manager's Office, is soundproofed with heavy padding on the walls. A small, round table dominates the center, surrounded by three empty chairs. Arcane circles are subtly etched into the floor beneath the rug, and a faint smell of ozone lingers. Exits/Connections: To Manager's Office (TF2) (North), Stairs up to Executive Landing (FF1). Trap: It contains a trap (type: pressure plate activating a mind-fogging gas from hidden vents). Perception DC 15 to spot. Potential Damage: 1d8/T1, 2d8/T2, 3d8/T3, 4d8/T4 Psychic/Confusion.
--- Fourth Floor ---
--- Area FF1 (Executive Landing) --- Description: This highest landing feels almost entirely removed from the mercantile bustle below. The air is still and heavy with an ancient, unidentifiable scent. Strange, almost imperceptible patterns seem to shift in the otherwise mundane wallpaper. Exits/Connections: Stairs down to Discreet Negotiations (TF3), To Director's Study (FF2) (East).
--- Area FF2 (Director's Study) --- Description: This expansive study belongs to the head of the mercantile house. A massive desk, carved with intricate and disturbing figures, dominates the room. Bookshelves are filled with tomes on obscure lore and forbidden arts, alongside mundane business ledgers. The "strange, unfamiliar symbol" is carved subtly into the desk itself. Exits/Connections: To Executive Landing (FF1) (West), To Hidden Archives (FF3) (South). Creatures: It has creatures (type: occultists - disguised as elite guards/personal staff). Encounter Type: Battle Area (if detection occurs)
--- Area FF3 (Hidden Archives - Objective) --- Description: Accessible only through a concealed entrance, this secret archive is filled with dark, forbidden knowledge. Scrolls written in unknown languages, strange artifacts wrapped in silk, and a few exceptionally large, iron-bound ledgers rest on dusty shelves. The "missing manifest" lies open on a central stand, clearly displaying the "strange, unfamiliar symbol" prominently at its corner, surrounded by other documents hinting at an "illicit side-deal" orchestrated by the occultists. Exits/Connections: To Director's Study (FF2) (North). Objective: This area serves as the central point for Bartholomew's objective. There is no traditional "boss fight." The challenge is identifying and reaching this hidden archive. The objective is to "find" the missing manifest and "decode the strange symbol" (by examining it here, possibly finding a key or context document nearby) which will "lead to an illicit side-deal" and expose the occultists' infiltration of the Goldcrest's operations. The "culprit" is the network itself, with the symbol and the manifest as the key evidence.
