Check out the house

Picking up the pick as you approach the house you wonder why looters would leave such a valuable tool behind when there were so many other targets to hit. The most obvious explanation is that they were chased off before they could finish the job. If that's true, there could well be a silversmith's house and workshop full of loot waiting at your fingertips. Moving eagerly to the swinging doorway you peer inside mindful of the looters that may be hiding inside the house.

The afternoon light streaming in from the windows high above the door reveals a large open entryway. A wooden table sits in the middle of the hallway and a open closet to your left has hooks for visitors to hang their outer layers of clothing. Closing the door behind you so it attracts as little attention as possible you listen for any sound that might betray ether the looters or the occupants of the house.

Much of the wealth of the house has been removed. Empty hooks on the walls indicate where pictures once hung, and a large cabinet with beautifully carved woodwork and expensive glass planes stands empty. Once, no doubt this case displayed the fine silverwork of the master craftsman. The house doesn't look like it has been looted, there is none of the smashed furniture or discarded trinkets that are usually found after a house has been plundered, the owners of this house must have saved as much as they could and then moved into a more defensible building. Maybe that is why the looters left this prize untouched, although it still does not explain why they would leave the heavy pick lying in the street.

A little disappointed you look around the open hallway. Open archways lead to rooms on either side and the large staircase beckons you to climb it and search the private chambers of this rich family. Finally, two undecorated polished wooden doors stand by the stairway. This house is much grander than any you have ever been in before (except for a whorehouse called Night Orchids that you visited two years before with friends). Even if the most valuable items have been removed there may well be something of value for you, and perhaps a serving girl or two hiding in the pantry.

Do you try a different house or spend some time searching this one?