The Otherworld

[Ferrix]

Dr. Henderson's Office, Rm 212 Curtis Hall, 7:30pm
Christian: The latest puzzle to cross your desk was given to you by the anthropologist Dr. Francis Carey. He gave you several pictures of an artifact he acquired in Egypt the week previous. The object itself is a cylinder two feet long with a diameter roughly the size of a dinner plate and looks to be cast out of a single piece of metal. The cylinder is engraved with an angelic and demonic motif, and lines of script are written lengthwise along the body. The characters are Aramaic, but it seems to be written in some sort of code.

Analysis so far suggests that the engravings might be some sort of ancient skull and crossbones, but it's been a hard weeks work and writings are still refusing to unveil their secrets.[sblock=skill checks](take 10)
Knowledge (theology and philosophy) 14 = 10 + 4
Decipher Script 18 = 10 + 8[/sblock]

Christian ruffles through the photographs on the old oak desk he'd had since he entered university. Turning towards the Apple MacBook the university had supplied him with while he did his work here, he pulled one of the windows to the fore. It was full of the Aramaic script scanned in from the pictures, he hadn't broken the code yet, but he needed a break from his office at least.

Folding the MacBook closed, he tucked it into the main pocket of the worn leather satchel he had toted for years. Slinging it over his shoulder he headed out of his office, closing it and locking it behind him. The odd motif on the object still gave him pause, perhaps Carey could give him some more detail on where it came from. He headed towards Carey's office, the man had odd working hours and checking wouldn't hurt.

 

[Ion]

Muxin: You detect no hazards around the man's body. You do find several clues as to the probable cause of death. His body temperature is warmer than you would expect considering his time of death. His cheeks are hollow and his eyes are sunken. His tongue is swolen. His lips are cracked and caked with a thick material. These are all symptoms of death by dehydration.[sblock=skill checks]Spot 1 + 5 = 6
Treat Injury 10 + 10 = 20[/sblock]

Christian: The door to Dr. Carey's office is open; However the professor does not seem to be in. It's hard to tell if anyone has been through the office because it's natural state seems to be a quiet tornado of papers and artefacts resting precariously on every surface. On a table in the middle of the room you find the cylinder.

The carvings and Aramaic characters must have hid some sort of catch. One of the faces of the cylinder is open, and artefact is hollow inside. Three drops of sickly greeny black goo stain the table.

 

[thoumaster]

These are all symptoms of death by dehydration

Well Sgt Byrd, the subject appears to have died recently from severe dehydration. An autopsy will confirm this and may also establish if this is part of a general malnourishment, possibly associated with an abduction. As the body is not overly cold, I would place the death near 7pm tonight indicating the perpetrator was either aware of the victims imminent demise, or he leaves near by.

Do you have the forms ready for me?

[sblock=OOC]Did Muxin see any green stuff? Is it some kind of mucus?[/sblock]

 

[Ferrix]

Christian: The door to Dr. Carey's office is open; However the professor does not seem to be in. It's hard to tell if anyone has been through the office because it's natural state seems to be a quiet tornado of papers and artefacts resting precariously on every surface. On a table in the middle of the room you find the cylinder.

The carvings and Aramaic characters must have hid some sort of catch. One of the faces of the cylinder is open, and artefact is hollow inside. Three drops of sickly greeny black goo stain the table.

Leaning over the cylinder, Christian avoids touching the odd goo, but reaches out and traces his fingers an inch over the characters. Moving back to the door he closes it behind him, strange... I doubt Carey would have left his office open, especially with such a valuable piece lying out in the open.

He returns to the cylinder, forcing his mind to work quickly, he relates the arrangement of the code to the fact that it was a container, something was kept inside and the script assuredly related in some way to that fact. He leafs through the papers on the desk for any sort of clue or hint to aid him.