There were all sorts of loose valuables to be found in the palace - silverware, golden candlesticks, and such - but they tended to be slightly larger than would comfortably fit on her person and, in the grand scheme of things, not worth that much. Worse still, most of the loose items were monogrammed with the Duke's symbol which would probably make them difficult if not impossible to fence. And then there was the matter of finding a fence in the city...<br/><br/>While cleaning and exploring the east wing, Shay had to refresh her spell of disguise once. There was a guardroom for guards on break where they played cards and snacked on peanuts and suspicious-smelling "juice". Used to the presence of maids, they hardly gave Shay a second glance (though their first glances were long and appreciative) and simply had her give the place a sweep and take out their refuse of peanut shells and empty mugs.<br/><br/>The other rooms were more academic. There was a study which was mostly unremarkable. Of more interest was a library which spanned the floor area of several regular rooms, filled with many old tomes and some newer books. Unfortunately Shay was not a skilled enough appraiser to determine which tomes were merely old and which were old and valuable. Finally she came upon the jackpot - a trophy room. Upon opening the door she was almost knocked a step back by the auras of abjuration magics emanating from the many display cases in the room. These glass cases were sealed with impressive looking locks and further reinforced and warded by magic. They were split into roughly four groups and each item labeled with its name and a short description. One group of cases showcased weapons, some ornate and beautiful, others glowing and clearly magical. Next to the weapons was a display of jewelry of all kinds. On the other side of the trophy room was displayed the many plaques thanking the Duke for his services to Seahurst over the years. The final display was slightly more grisly: the stuffed and preserved heads of various animals and monsters the Duke had hunted, displayed as proof of his mastery over them.<br/><br/>The Astronomer's Tower extended down all the way to the ground and was made of stone, the east wing had been built around it. So Shay had to pass through a stone wall that would have seemed more suitable for the outdoors instead of inside a pleasure palace. The single door to the tower was guarded by a lock as ornate as the key she held, and when she turned the key in the lock, she felt magics activating - then fading away as they recognized the key. The door opened without incident.<br/><br/>The lowest floor of the tower was an arcane laboratory. Currently unused, there was an inert summoning circle on the floor and a table inscribed with runes for the creation of magical items. Against one wall was a massive shelf stocked to the brim with all manners of magical and alchemical ingredients, locked behind a glass door. Shay recognized some of the smaller vials as rare reagents that were worth  more than their weight in gold (of course, the more expensive the reagent, the smaller the vial and the less it contained). There was another cupboard which was devoted to all kinds of potions - if she wanted it, she could probably find it here, again locked behind a glass door.<br/><br/>A spiral staircase led upwards and higher into the tower. The next level was a library, smaller than the other one in the east wing, but all the tomes here were devoted to magic. There was also a large pile of scrolls, again safely placed behind a glass case. Even higher up, the third floor was a lavish bedroom, its furnishings the most expensive and elegant that Shay had yet seen in the palace by far. For once, there was a chest at the foot of the bed that didn't have a panel of glass so she couldn't see its contents. It also sported the most complicated-looking lock and strongest magical aura out of all the locked containers she had seen so far. In one corner of the room was a large golden telescope, as long as a man was tall, though its tripod base suggested that it was meant to be portable.<br/><br/>The stairs continued upwards still, but there were no more rooms, and the steps went all the way up to a trapdoor at the top of the Astronomer's Tower that opened up to the open roof and the highest vantage point of the Ducal Estates.