Access to the Treasure Rooms

Maggie left the woman in the dragon's bath and was now free for the moment to explore the caves - subject to the checks. She had managed to infiltrate the caves before, but could not find the jar. She had managed to search the baths when nobody was around, as the jar would be ideal for storing spices. No luck. She also had managed to sneak into the main pantry in case the jar was part of a dining service set. No luck there either.

The most likely place was in the dragon's 'raw' hoard in the dragon's original lair. The 'raw' hoard was originally the dragon's main hoard. A variety of booty was mixed together. After some time, the dragon decided that he wanted to organize the hoard to show off his treasures, and to display the treasures to the best advantage. Coins and bullion were stacked and placed under guard in their own cavern, and the dragon was pleased. The stocking of two more rooms were underway - a cavern that displayed weapons and flags from victories of the dragon and his servants from those he defeated, and a cavern of jewelry and art that he and his servants had plundered from the adjacent lands. The original lair of the dragon was now filled with either items freshly acquired, items that did not fit neatly into the other three caverns, or were simply items that the dragon liked to use while relaxing or sleeping in the original lair. Maggie had pieced together this information by eavesdropping on conversations between bored guards and tired servants, along with one particularly enlightening conversation between Belboz and Princess Exotica.

Maggie's problem had been that these rooms were guarded tightly, and she had not been able to figure out how to gain access either by stealth or deception. Armed men stood watch. Magical wards blocked access to all but the dragon and those to whom he gave permission. And it was those wards that had given her the most trouble. While the dragon could set them to allow chosen people to pass for a time so that he could show them some of his treasures, she not only had no idea as to how he was able to do that, but had no idea as to how to find out.

Maggie asked herself, "Now that the dragon is dead, has the ward been broken? Is the lair now blocked for everyone? Or do the wards at this moment allow some of the dragon's company to pass?"

Maggie had to make a decision. Go to one of the guard posts to the treasure complex, find a way to get past the guards, and hope that the power of the wards had been broken? It would be difficult to talk her way past the guards. Or should she play a long game, and go to the kitchen and explain that she was a new servant, and do as she promised to the woman in the dragon's bath? By making herself useful during this chaotic time, she might be able to win the trust of some key people, and then get someone to look for the jar by using some pretext - for use in the dragon's funeral rites, or to complement a red table setting for a banquet, for example.

1. Maggie decides to go to the guard posts and hope that she can get inside.
2. Maggie heads for the kitchen to get help at the bath.

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