Lucas shrugged, walked up to a random patron, and preceded to slam his fist into said patrom's face. Repeatedly.

"Leh get in on this!"

Leh

"With pleasure" Leh said and entered the brawl with Lucas

HP Update

Lucas: 35/60
Exile: 91/100
Leh: 76/100

Civilian: 20/30
Civilian 2: 20/30
Guard 1: 40/40
Guard 2: 40/40
______________________________________________________________________

The ruse worked! Exile sneaked by the guards as they were distracted! They are now coming to break up the fight.

Lucas:
1. Run through the guards and towards the archives
2. Run away from the guards and the archives
3. Apologize for the fight and hope the guards forgive you

Leh:
1. Run through the guards and towards the archives
2. Run away from the guards and the archives
3. Apologize for the fight and hope the guards forgive you

Exile:
1. Run down the dark corridor to your right (direct path to the archives)
2. Run down the well-lit but empty corridor straight ahead (longer trip, but at least you can see.)

"I'll stop to apologies and you run. Maybe they will keep them preoccupied," Lucas whispers to Leh as he takes one final punch into a patron before raising his hands as the guards come over.

Leh agrees and hopes that the guards won't notice him running away :)

Lucas expresses his apology to the guard, who caves in rather easily....

"Very well, then," says the guard. "But I shall escort you out of the ballroom, nevertheless. We cannot stand for this type of behavior."

Lucas:
1. Plead for mercy, asking the guard to allow you to stay at the party (hoping to get into the archives somehow, someway.)

2. Use your telekinesis to fling his weapon away from him, attempting to distract him so you can make your own break for the archives.

3. Comply with the guard's request.
Leh Dzebo escapes to one of the far corners of the ballroom, where a young raven-haired lady takes him by the hands and starts dancing with him.

Relieved that the girl is providing him some cover, he has these options:

1.) Continue dancing, but keep your eye on Lucas, hoping to re-join him when possible.
2.) Break off the dance and try to work your way back to the archives while both guards are distracted.
3.) Strike up a conversation with the woman you're dancing with.

OOC: Do we just have to place the note then leave right?

Leh

OOC: option 3

"well hello there milady" Leh said with the best charming voice he could summon.

While dancing with the lady Leh becomes so intrigued, that he totally forgets the whole mission he has.

OOC: That would be the goal as described by Ruk, yes. You can explore the palace further afterwards, though that could land you in serious trouble.

"Why, hello there, handsome," she says, winking.

A brief moment passes before she lets out a hearty chuckle, then whispers in Leh's ear:

"I can't tell who is luckier: me, to get a dance with you... or you... because I'm on your side. Why, I had you wrapped around my little finger before you even saw me."

Before Leh can respond, she adds,

"Move rapidly but quietly towards the door, join your ally. Fear not, for the next minute, no eyes can see you but mine!"

As she finished speaking, she faded into a cloud of dust and glitter, leaving Leh Dzebo heartbroken once more.

She has cast an invisibility spell on Leh.

1.) Wait to see what happens with Lucas.
2.) Join Exile in the hallway near the archives.

"I'm dearly sorry for starting such a ruckus my good sirs," Lucas said before allowing himself to be escorted out of the ballroom.

The guards have swept Lucas back out into the courtyard.

A bit of good fortune: the side door is now unwatched. You wait for the guards to return to the party, then promptly venture into the side entrance.

The map you have been provided is of poor quality, but you reason that you can do one of the following:

1.) Walk up a long, winding stairway to get to the 2nd level. There, you may explore the 2nd level. However, you will still have to venture some distance to get to the archives and this area of the palace is dimly lit, leaving you at risk of falling prey to a sneak attack.

2.) Proceed along a well-lit corridor and look for direct access to the archives from another stairway.
Your options have changed. You see Lucas sneaking along to the side entrance. You can,

1.) Take Lucas' route (side door)
2.) Take Exile's route (main door)

He slips down the dark corridor, relying on his hearing instead of his sight to get to the archives

You have passed through the corridor unharmed, with some luck... you narrowly missed falling victim to a pincer trap.

You walk up a stairway and into the archives. However, you did not predict this: the archives require a password.

You see these numbers carved onto a wooden panel:

16
26
46
86
166

Next, you see 10 sliding panels. You must choose the correct 3 numbers in the correct order to unlock the door.

There is one sliding panel for 0, another with a 1, another with a 2, a 3, a 4, a 5, a 6, a 7, an 8 and a 9.

He blinks at the puzzle, thinking for a moment before he reached out, sliding down 1, 8, 6