(Adventure) A Tidy Profit... [Judge: Uriel]

[silentspace]

"Lots of good stuff here which could be useful, but let's keep searching for now... Later, we can study the maps for possible locations that match ours. And the clothing might make for good disguises. At least they're different from the ones we're wearing now, which might throw off any pursuers. Some of them might be worth something too. I'll appraise them in more detail later."

Assuming they don't find a key, Atella will search the locked chest and attempt to open it.

 

[Pbartender]

Stupid, cookie-swapping, post-eating, browser paralyzing message board.

 

[Jack Haggerty]

You find no keys in the room, the Captain must have hid them somewhere other than his cabin.

Concealed beneath the latch of the second sea chest, Atella finds a small needle coated with a soporific... Nothing deadly, but certainly a good way to catch a thief. He deftly removes the needle, and sets to work on the chest's lock. This however, surpases all the craftsmanship of other locks on board by leaps and bounds. None of Atella's experience, tools or tricks can pry the lock open.

What sort of treasure could a second-rate barge captain possess that would require such cunning locks and traps?

 

[Scorpio]

[OOC- what are the dimensions of this chest? Can we budge it in order to guestimate the weight?]

"Well Atella, well-done. That needle was lee-ward, I suppose? Damn, we need to take this whole boat out of here. It's going to take a while to get into that chest."

 

[Jack Haggerty]

[OOC- what are the dimensions of this chest? Can we budge it in order to guestimate the weight?]

OOC: It's a pretty small chest... we'll say about 2'x1'x1'... a typical strongbox. As opposed to the clothes chest, which is more the size of a footlocker. It's weighty, but not extraordinarily heavy for its size.

"Well Atella, well-done. That needle was lee-ward, I suppose?"

If your earlier estimations were correct, the needle was on the windward side of the chest, and it pointed aft.

 

[silentspace]

Atella will examine the maps, logs, and clothing before moving on to the next room.

 

[Scorpio]

Stopping a moment to admire the Map of EnWorld, D'Artagnon startles from his daze.
"Well, can we open this 'nicely' or do we need to bust it open? There is something worth locking up in this box."

 

[Jack Haggerty]

Atella will examine the maps, logs, and clothing before moving on to the next room.

...

The maps and charts detail the local coastlines around Orussus, and few other more exotic locales that you've never heard of before. One large chart even bears a beautifully detailed and illuminated map of the entirety of Enworld ( ).

The logbooks contain years upon years worth of weather reports, cargo manifests, passenger lists, bills of expense and course plans... The everyday accounts of a typical sailor.

Beneath the cot, one sea chest is packed with neatly folded clothing hailing from every known culture and designed for every known climate. The other sea chest is locked.

 

[silentspace]

"Hold on a minute..." Going belowdecks again, Atella retrieves the long metal handspike they used to open up the pump. Back in the cabin, he works with D'Artagnan, using the handspike as a crowbar to open the box.

 

[Jack Haggerty]

The prybar and two pair of strong arms opens the chest handily, though the magnificent lock and latch are damaged beyond repair.

Inside, Atella and D'artagnon find a bulging canvas sack, a leather bound notebook, a lidded jar filled with a pungent-smelling ointment, something that looks like a rather small waterskin, a small pouch full of leaden sling stones, and a pair of curious devices that are most difficult to describe...

They resemble one of the small one-handed crossbows thieves, brigands and assassins sometimes carry concealed within their cloaks. However, the weapons have no actual crossbow, and where the bolt would normally sit is instead a long iron pipe securly bound to the wooden stock. Above the trigger resides a complex arrangement of clockworks which culminate in a short flint-tipped metal arm.

Atella has never seen such a device, but D'artagnon, in his travels with the calvary, has seen one only once before. It is a pistol... An ancient weapon and heirloom from the heyday the artisans and weaponsmiths of Rivenblight. Few in Enworld possess the knowledge to weild such a weapon anymore, much less craft one.

OOC: Anyone seen Jo or Zhang around lately?