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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hbarsquared" data-source="post: 3119181" data-attributes="member: 4550">Well, fine then.  Geez.  <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/nervous.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":heh:" title="Nervous Laugh    :heh:" data-shortname=":heh:" /> Chapter Two, Part OneAbrina walked aimlessly down Lava Avenue in the opposite direction of the church, dodging the merchants leading their wagons up the slanted streets and children running across the sometimes gravelly ground of volcanic rock in every direction.  She did not want to return to the church empty-handed, and she still had no more idea about the identity or whereabouts of this Last Laugh, despite the extra puzzle piece Patch had provided.  She fingered her symbol of Ninurta as she glanced upward at the cramped buildings lining the road, some seemed to be hewn directly from the volcano’s core.  Veins of malachite were everywhere, bringing a small bit of color to an otherwise gray and dreary city.As she turned down an alley a motion from the shadows caught her eye, a pale, fleeting figure in her peripheral vision that disappeared despite her keen sight.  Her eyes narrowed and Abrina tightened her cloak around her body.  The wind had picked up in the afternoon, and the overcast clouds had begun to take on a darker tone.  With a shrug, she continued but remained alert.  Abrina was determined that those from the Last Laugh not catch her unawares again.  If they were going to follow her among the crowded public streets, then fine.  They dared not enter the Temple when she returned, and she was not going to turn down any dark alleys anytime soon.Abrina raised her head at the sound of a wooden sign creaking in the wind, swinging back and forth on rusty hinges.  She paused in her walk and stepped back, examining the two-story black stone building that loomed in front of her.  A small turret dominated the façade, with iron bars embedded in the thick window frames.  Beyond the turret’s ground-floor windows, Abrina could see a lovely display of locks, from large to small, simple to complex, plain to intricate.  To the left of the turret, above a heavy oak door, swung the simple sign, and upon it, below a picture of a stylized key, read [smallcaps]Ghelve’s Locks[/smallcaps].    The locks are key to finding them, she repeated to herself.  Perhaps he might have some clue how someone got past them.Abrina knocked on the sturdy wooden door of the local locksmith, but was first greeted by only silence.  She waited a few moments before raising her hand to knock on the oaken door a second time, but a muffled voice finally called from within.“It’s open!” it said.  “Please, come on in!”Abrina pushed open the door and stepped into the small shop.  The storefront smelled of wood and pipe smoke, tickling her nose with a spicy aroma.  Two burgundy padded chairs flanked a hearth containing a small yet lively fire.  The fireplace’s carved mantle bore a tinderbox, a small vase of dried smoking leaves, and a finely wrought collection of pipes.A burgundy strip of carpet, a shade darker than the chairs, led from the entrance to the wall across from it, where Abrina could see dozens—perhaps hundreds—of keys hanging from tiny hooks.  A handsomely engraved mahogany counter stretched along one wall, and behind it hung a red curtain neatly hiding the rest of the store.  From around the corner of the counter came a dour man with bushy eyebrows, creased face, and graven frown.  His salt-and-pepper hair was cut short and he sported a well-trimmed moustache and goatee, in a fashion that Abrina had only seen among gnomes.  He wore long pants with a flowing shirt and walked stiff-legged as he came to greet her.“Welcome, welcome,” he said.  Abrina quirked an eyebrow, for he looked like a gnome, but he was nearly as tall as she.  “I am Ghelve of Ghelve’s Locks.  What can I interest you in, today?  A lock for your door?  Something fancy?”“You’re a gnome,” Abrina said, almost accusingly.The man took an awkward step back and chuckled.  “Why yes, I am,” he replied.  “And you’re a half-elf.”Ghelve bent over slightly and lifted the edge of his pants to reveal the stilts underneath.  “It’s easier to speak with customers when you see them eye to eye.”Abrina nodded, blushing.  “Why yes, yes, of course.”  She turned away and tried to casually glance around the room.  “Well,” she continued, “I am looking for a set of locks for my home.  A pair for the front and back doors.”“Oh yes, yes,” he said with a disarming smile, moving back behind the counter.  “I have just what you are looking for.  Wait but a moment?”Abrina nodded and watched him disappear behind the red curtain.  She walked around the store, tracing her fingers along the intricate carvings of the main counter, continuing along to the wall with the uncountable number of keys.  She noticed that more than one key hung on each tiny hook.  Reaching up, she took three from a single hook and examined their notched edges.  She was no locksmith, but even she could see that each key was unique, each pattern different from the rest.“What are you doing?”Abrina whirled around, surprised, with a key clenched in one hand.  “Oh, um, noth… nothing,” she stumbled, scrambling to place the key back on its hook.  The gnome approached the end of the counter, two simple locks in hand and a sly smile.“You need to match the key to the lock, my lady.  Not the other way around.”“Oh, yes, yes.  I understand.”  Abrina reached out for the locks and examined the keyholes.  They looked normal enough, as had the ones at the orphanage.  Just like any other keyhole.“I noticed that you have quite a number of keys already made,” she said, gesturing to the wall.  “If I were to purchase these locks, would I have to worry about a duplicate key?”“No, no need to worry,” he said, as if recounting a rehearsed speech.  “You see, each key is made expressly for the lock, and I make only one set at a time.  One key, one lock.”“Can you guarantee me that?” she asked pointedly.“Why, yes.”  He replied, though with a short hesitation.  “Uh, sure.”Abrina raised an eyebrow.  “And what about the kidnappings that I have been hearing about? And the orphanage?  They all had your locks and there was no sign of forced entry.”  Ghelve’s eyes widened as he began to shake his head.  Abrina took a step forward.  “Someone found their way inside and got pass your locks.  Did they have a key?  Do you give them one?”“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he choked, stepping back around the counter, clasping the two locks to his chest.  “I don't appreciate being accused of kidnapping in my own shop.  I think you had better leave.”Abrina came to the counter, putting her hands on the mahogany.  “I have not accused you of anything, Ghelve.  Should I?  I am not going to leave.  Did you kidnap those children?”“No!” he said emphatically.  “Of course not!  I would never do such a thing!”“And the other kidnappings?  What happened to them?  Where are you hiding them?”Ghelve lowered his head, shaking it furiously from side to side.  “Nothing,” he mumbled over and over to himself.  “I didn’t do anything.”Abrina sighed and stepped away from the counter.  Ghelve knew something, but she didn’t think he would kidnap three children.  The kidnapped victims from the orphanage were all human children, probably nearly his size.  How could he have managed to carry away four of them, unseen?  No, someone else was involved.  She turned to face Ghelve once again, leaning over the counter.“I know you did not take the children,” she whispered.  Ghelve looked up at her and nodded silently.“But you do know who did.”“No, I don’t” he replied stoically.  Then, he nodded and arched an eyebrow.Abrina tilted her head.  Was someone else here?  “Then how do you explain the kidnappings?”“How should I know?” he said, still arching an eyebrow and nodding his head toward the curtain.  “Perhaps someone picked the locks.  I make good locks, but maybe an expert got to them.”Abrina forced herself to relax and changed the direction of her questioning.  “Well, how can I know I’d be kept safe if I purchased one of your locks?”Relieved to have the conversation return to purchases, Ghelve visibly relaxed and smiled.  “How about I show you?  I have quite a selection back here.”  He nodded toward the curtain and invited her to follow him.Abrina reached behind her shoulder to touch the shaft of the spear still slung over her back, reminding herself of its presence.  Prepared, she stepped behind Ghelve’s counter and parted the curtain to the room beyond.</blockquote>

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