Present but asleep

[[Roll: 18]]

A trapdoor led down to the second level of the basement, where three women in ragged clothing lay strapped down in beds.

Runa initially panicked, running to check on the women. They seemed to be alive. And fortunately for Runa, each had a medical record kept on a bedside table near them. It seemed they had been **** to drink the potion Hal Jacobs was working on, which reduced their intelligence substantially. The one subjected to the latest (and most potent) dose could barely speak.

But fortunately the effects of the potion seemed to wear off over time. The woman who'd been captured first, about three weeks ago, was already returning to her normal self. The notes left by Jacobs showed he was torn between trying to increase the duration of the effect or simply creating a situation where he could give the victim repeated doses.

Currently, all three women were being kept asleep by a sleeping potion. There was no way Runa could get them out of here on her own, especially when there were guards outside.

However, she didn't have to. This was not only evil, but illegal as well. Runa knew some trustworthy members of the city guard who, if they received an anonymous letter with some of these medical records, would immediately storm the mansion to rescue the women and arrest Jacobs. It would be a simple matter for Runa to gather what she needed and slip it under just the right office door.

The one concern was what Jacobs would do in the hours between Runa leaving the mansion and the guards making their move. Were he to wake up and realize Runa had infiltrated the mansion, he could do all sorts of things to try to hide the evidence.

But unfortunately for him, Runa had just the idea in mind to keep him from interfering. All she had to do was slip him one of the sleeping potions he'd left here, and then tie him up for good measure. With Jacobs secured, his mercenaries wouldn't enter the mansion without his express permission, and weren't being paid enough to intefere with the city guard when they arrived.

All Runa had to do was head back upstairs and **** Jacobs with his own potion.