The Mad God's Key (Bront Judging)

[Aristeas]

Sirrel's eyes sparkle. In order to cover her impulse to laugh, she reads through the documentation as Weapon finishes with it. "Thank you for your confidence, sir," she says. "It is not misplaced. These terms are acceptable to me." She looks around at the others for confirmation.

 

[Rystil Arden]

'Very canny. The unnamed "further" reward could be no more than his mother's recipe for home-baked chocolate-chip cookies, which leaves the inquisitive guessing and the greedy dreaming of riches--both of which tend to bring them back to resolve the mystery.'

"A contract? Ooh, how formal. This is going to be quite the thrilling mystery. We'll be the best mystery-solving team since the Merlock Gnomes," Alysina gushes.

"I'll take the case! Alysina Verani is always on duty!"

"Only one question remains...what shall we call our detective agency...hmm, we'll probably have to go searching about through dusty areas to find clues, but I think 'Lords of Dust' is already taken..."

 

[Someone]

"No names" says Tam. "It's better that way when after all you don't want to be named and the group isn't likely to last long."

Tam Aritz examines the document, and finds it satisfactory. "Nw that we have the job, what details can you provide? First of all, what value does the book have, and what's in it."

 

[stonegod]

Weapon makes his mark on the contract, then places it down.

 

[GwydapLlew]

Tam Aritz examines the document, and finds it satisfactory. "Now that we have the job, what details can you provide? First of all, what value does the book have, and what's in it."

'The book is a bit of a mystery - it was found by a team of excavators beneath the Cogs. We have established its date of origin as having been during the reign of Malleon the Reaver, the first non-goblin to rule this area." The Provost's excitement grows as he starts to talk about the book. "Unfortunately, the book has never been read; an ancient lock warded with unusual magic has prevented generations of researchers from studying its contents. This book is quite literally priceless - as an artifact from ancient times, even if it were a mundane list of foodstuffs, it would provide valuable insight into the minds of those who lived in those times!"

 

[Someone]

"Nobody, for generations, has been able to read the book? How unexpected, and interesting. Would a independent investigator be allowed to examine the book, should he have asked?" replies Tam.

 

[GwydapLlew]

"Nobody, for generations, has been able to read the book? How unexpected, and interesting. Would a independent investigator be allowed to examine the book, should he have asked?" replies Tam.

"Of course! We are a university, after all, not a vault! We often allow researchers to work with our own staff, although they have limited acess to the resources of the University."

 

[Someone]

"I'm asking because that independent investigator would have found easy to lie about he results of his investigation, provided he had some previous information on the contents of the book. In any case I'm sure it'd be much easier than use a group of thieves and assasins to retrieve it."

"So I'd say he's after the book itself, not what it contains. Surely, a collector of ancient and rare artifacts who doesn't mind to have them hidden. Do you know of any of those?" adds Tam.

 

[Aristeas]

"So I'd say he's after the book itself, not what it contains. Surely, a collector of ancient and rare artifacts who doesn't mind to have them hidden.

"Or else he wants to be the only one with access to the contents for long enough to unlock them. The ancients clearly considered the document important. I doubt they went to all the trouble of mystical wardings for a list of foodstuffs. Perhaps the thief is hoping to boost his reputation by decoding the book himself and publishing the results after the furor dies down. Or perhaps he thinks the book will mention some location that he can raid for archaeological findings at his leisure. There are any number of possibilities."

[sblock=OOC]Know(History) of 8 to see if I've heard of this book. Evidently I slept through that lecture.[/sblock]

 

[GwydapLlew]

[sblock=OOC]Know(History) of 8 to see if I've heard of this book. Evidently I slept through that lecture.[/sblock]

[sblock=OOC]You haven't heard of it before, but Morgrave has LOTS of research material, so it's not surprising.[/sblock]