Miska takes the advice and walks inside.
i will try to push the borders, to se if the panels of the box slide in some fashion. Then i will start proving the box for any moving parts.
I'm not trying to give you advice! Just trying to make sure you're still tuned in. I'll be trying to NPC characters less going forward. Speaking of which, we may have lost Lamech, I think.
Hengist
[quote="Masov"]
'Eldritch puzzlebox. Clearly a job for the combined efforts of Kerrick and Kaul, or a well-placed axe. I'm not sure we have the time for this.'
[/quote]
"Wait, a puzzlebox? Don't worry guys, I've got this."
As I speak I'll give Dagmar a confident nod and and head back inside.
I'll handle the box, feeling each leaf to see if it will depress, or slide in any given direction. If I find one that moves, I'll assume it may have unlocked another and re-check each other leaf, and repeat the process.
If [when, Hengist's player speculates] I fail to solve it that way, I'll take that small piece of carved wood with the whorling leaf pattern out of my pocket and see if it fits anywhere on the box. Especially if there's any space on the box where it would fill a gap or an absence of leaves.
As difficult as it is to believe, Hengist approaches the box, squatting down before it. He then begins poking and prodding the carved wooden leaves upon its surface...
Hengist feels a slight give in one of the carved leaves protruding from the box's surface. It...moves, slightly...stopping with a "click" that is felt through the fingers rather than heard. Glancing over the carved detail on the box, he can see that the overall pattern of the leaves appears a bit like a gyre - following it with the eye is dizzying - and at the centre is a spot where he would expect another carved leaf to be. The spot is blank. Holding up the piece of carved wood from the workshop, the blank spot on the box is too small, but the general shape is a match.
Hengist
"These elves are even more fiendishly clever than the puzzle makers of my childhood! I suspect the key is a leaf, but this piece is too large." [As I try it anyway - tap, tap.] "Still, this leaf pressed in, which may be helpful to know if someone else wants to try."
"Or we can go kick down a door somewhere. I vote for the elves' cottage and look for another leaf."
Masov
'Hmm...perhaps just as well. I've heard tales of these sorts of boxes from ancient times; many are dangerous. One opened a portal to a daemon haunted world...constructed by a ...L'Mar Chend, I believe. I'd rather not release more adversaries into the village at the moment'.
'I'll support the cottage; let's eliminate it as a source of reinforcements or a source of information before tackling the temple.'
Kaul
"but if we open the box maybe we could know more about our enemy"
Sorry, I somehow missed that you had previously said this before I responded to Hengist.
Kaul returns from the second floor to see Hengist fiddling with the box. He pauses just as he is about to speak, watching the warrior fiddle with the leaves and an extra piece of carved wood, and an idea occurs to him.
Moving and squatting beside Hengist, Kaul's deft fingers begin probing and prodding the carved leaves adorning the box's surface. As the others watch, Kaul's ministrations move around the pattern of leaves, alternating every few leaves. As he works, some of the leaves appear to move beneath his fingers. After a few minutes, the outermost leaves in the pattern have been shifted, leaving a recessed gap between them and the next circle of carved leaves closer to the centre of the box-top.
Kaul
I will take a close look to the gap.
Andrew
Andrew follows them into the cottage silently when asked.
‘If the box is dangerous could we just burn it? Maybe we could gain information from it, but if we can eliminate a danger now, I’d vote for taking the quick, small victory.’
The box would presumably burn, although its craftsmanship would suggest that it might fetch a considerable price on its own. Burning it would also likely destroy anything inside.
The gap appears to have been created by the shifting of the carved leaves. It also appears to be about the same size as the next set of leaves in towards the centre, and is recessed slightly. Even seeing in to this gap, it's not entirely clear how the first set of leaves move; you can see no clear seams in the wood, and it looks as if the shifted leaves were impossibly, perfectly fitted.
Kaul
"wait... i thing i am closer to open it..."
I will then try to repeat the procidement with the next set of leaves.
Gwydion
Gwydion moves upstairs to maintain observation of the area surrounding the shop.
Aria suddenly realizes she has been lost in meditation. "Is that fur? I look great in fur," she says.
[quote="Gwydion"] Gwydion moves upstairs to maintain observation of the area surrounding the shop. [/quote]
The enchanter looks out over the street, mostly staying behind the shutters. As he glances up and down the street, such as it is, he spots someone coming from the direction of the main gate. The figure appears be one of the townsfolk, and they will soon be within sight of Kerrick.
[quote="Aria"] Aria suddenly realizes she has been lost in meditation. "Is that fur? I look great in fur," she says. [/quote]
As one, the party memebers in the house turn to see Aria standing in the doorway of the workshop, eyeing the bundle of furs. Most of the group had actually forotten she was present...
[quote="Kaul"] "wait... i thing i am closer to open it..." [/quote]
Kaul continues fiddling with the leaves on the box. The smaller number of leaves closer to the centre of the box proves easier, and after working out the pattern of their movement, Kaul manages to slide them aside, leaving only a few leaves surrounding a gap at the centre of the pattern. The secret motion of the leaves reminds him of something he can't quite put his finger on...
As Kaul moves the last of the leaves, it becomes clear that the box hasn't opened. The gap at the centre of the carved leaves is slightly bigger, but there is still no apparent way into the box.
Hengist
I'll hand the carved piece I'm holding to Kaul. "Maybe this will fit now."
“A local approaches,” Gwydion calls softly but urgently to his companions below.