[Luck] Stumble upon a clue, quite literally

You'd always had a knack for finding just what you needed, right when you needed it. In a bit of karmic balancing, you quite literally tripped over the clue you were searching for, sending it spinning under a nearby dresser while you ate shit, falling face-forward onto the hardwood floor. The saintesses spared a moment to help you up, while you kept your eyes rooted on that spot under the dresser.

The bottle you'd tripped over was empty, but there was something interesting about it: a cute, decorative red ribbon, tied around the bottle's neck. It looked that the ribbon had once held a note, but you weren't that lucky-- the note had been removed, ripped down to just a stub, presumably to allow Mertz to drain it more effectively. There was one more point of interest still remaining, however. The bottle's label displayed its point of origin: the Wiseman Winery.

That might be a pretty spotty clue to leave off on, but you managed to discover something else even more important: a secret hatch, just underneath the rug you'd displaced in your fall earlier. You threw it open quickly to reveal a ladder, leading down into a cavern below the barracks. It was dimly lit and seemed recently used. This could be your way to safety, as long as the guards following you weren't aware of its presence.{if Belit = True}

"There's our getaway route!" Belit cheered. "You guys go on through first and I'll put the rug back behind us. Let's get a move on! The sooner we get going, the sooner we can nick a bottle of royal red from that winery, hm?"

The party's thief appeared to be in high spirits, despite the sounds of guards beating at the door.{endif}{if Helmid = True}

Helmid led the way down into the cavern. There was probably a part of her that would have preferred to stay at the back in case your party came to danger from the guards, but truth be told, the way forward was just as likely to be perilous.{endif}{if Bangaal = True}

"See you on the other side, Lavender Vin!" Bangaal laughed, phasing through the bed and turning into a fiery wisp inside the cavern. You envied her, not having to hold onto that suspicious ladder and work her way down, rung by rung.{endif}{if Amulette = True}

"Descending, down into darkness. Will we wander into the Wiseman Winery? Or will we become breakfast for my bastardly ex-boss's cave-dwelling bats?" Amulette snickered, looking over her shoulder at you a moment longer before plunging straight into the hole. Would she be okay? You hadn't seen her grab the ladder...

... A moment later, you realized she'd transformed into a bat herself.{endif}

{if Rosary = True} "After you? I'll go in last, since, erm... It could be... Just a bit awkward if you were to accidentally look up my habit as I was climbing. N-Not that I suspect you would! A-And even if you did, it would be purely an accident! Nothing to blame you for!" she explained at length, waving her hands over-excitedly while waiting for you and the other saintess to climb in first.{endif}{if Liens = True}

"Ugh. Great. Ladder. And a cavern too? Long cavern? Leading all the way to the winery? Sucks. Not going. I'll let them capture me. Bail me out of prison later," Liens complained, sticking out her tongue.

You moved behind her and began pushing on her-- you found yourself reminded, once again, that she was not light.

"Fine. Going. Don't push. I'm blaming you if I fall."{endif}

You and the saintesses locked the hatch behind you as well as you could, then proceeded down the ladder through dim lantern light.