"Well, I will let you and Aniel work this out, although she has been promised by me, the law of this land, that she will be properly compensated."
Mayor Varnsen pulls out a locked leather portfolio from behind the desk, removes the lock and removes a sealed weathered document. Breaking the sea on the papers, he opens it and begins reading aloud:
"The last will and Testament of Paytro NeMoren, Baron of the West Wood Region, heir to the NeMoren Manor and sole survivor of the respected NeMoren bloodline."
"Gathered to hear my final words should be 7 very fortunate people, each possessing a single silver key. How you received this key is unimportant; perhaps a relative gave it to you, perhaps an employer in payment for services rendered, perhaps it is the token of a loved one... However you came to possess the key, I hope that it was given in the spirit I initially intended: as a reward, as compensation, as a way to lesson my own guilt."
"Though noble of birth and heritage, in my youth I was a vain and pompous man, and did not live up to the ideals of my station. I have kept a dark secret during my lifetime, and it is a secret I will take to my grave. My shame was not always easy to hide, and often, I took drastic, necessary steps to protect my image and my good name. To each of those that suffered so I could live with false dignity, I gave a token: a single silver key. These keys have passed through generations, across borders, and between many hands, I am sure, but at last they are together to fulfill their true purpose."
“Hundreds of years ago, 7 brothers, my ancestors, ruled this resource-rich land. To oversee the new lumber facilities, a manor house was constructed, and under the manor house was carved a mighty vault, protecting the vast horde of the NeMoren clan. 7 special keys were created, all of which are needed to open the vault and reveal the riches within. The silver keys were passed down from generation to generation, until at last they were given to me.”
“I had hoped to pass the keys onto my heirs – but alas, it was not meant to be. Shortly after my marriage, a curse fell upon my wife, my name, and the good people of Weston. I was to blame for this horrible curse, and I knew that I was unworthy of the treasure that my noble ancestors had gathered. So, sealing the entrance to the vault, and giving away the keys to those I had wronged, I hid away the horde for as long as I lived…”
“And now, after my death, fate has brought the silver keys home – and with them, 7 deserving souls to reclaim the lost treasure. In the wine cellar, along the north wall, you will find a ten-foot section of wall that does not match the surrounding material. Take sledgehammers to this wall, and behind it you will find the doorway to the NeMoren family vault. Be forewarned: the vault will not easily yield up its riches. Generations of my family have installed deterrents, and who knows what may have happened to the structure in the many decades since it was sealed. Deep in the vault you will find a room with 7 evenly spaced keyholes. Insert your keys into the locks to activate the final mechanism, and the vast horde of the NeMoren Barony will be yours. Perhaps then I will have made amends for the wrongs I have committed, and my soul can rest more peacefully than did my living spirit.”
Signed, Paytro NeMoren
The mayor puts down the document. Well it looks like we should go down to the cellar. The mayor escorts the party to the wine cellar and asks Aniel to go find some large hammers or something else to smash the wall.
You are all standing in a room with finished stone walls lines with wine racks, several of which are full of dusty bottles. You can clearly see there is a section of wall that is not finished stone, but patched mud like compound that has dried rock hard. The Mayor is holding a candelabra and uses it to light the sconces on the wall.
