I wonder why things changed like that.
1) The losses were too great; the prince decided we wouldn't be able to cope if we didn't combine our forces.
2) He didn't like the hack with Sen and decided to play it safe. Because, basically, the rule had stopped being fun, and combining groups wouldn't fundamentally change anything, but it would make it harder to simply bind the hypnotized.
3) Something has definitely changed in the mansion. Maybe we won't find the old doors in the north wing anymore, and maybe the south wing will have a more complex labyrinth, for example. We'll see.
Have the wounded healed, if there were any?
I'm done for now. We need to decide who goes where to explore. I'm up for anything.