Chapter 3b - The Box; Angus, Arnulf, Chet, Hyde, Yenny

[Zhym]

Agnus starts to wonder what kind of gang he got himself mixed up in. This is why I usually stay in the woods, he thinks to himself.

"Gussin' that's too pretty to chop open. Want I should try to poke at the lock?"

Can non-thieves try to pick locks?

[AleBelly]

Of course! He will need tools, though.

[Zorroroaster]

Arnulf starts a low, tuneless whistling as he sidles towards whatever part of the room is furthest from the box. He's not entirely certain the trap is completely inactive, and doesn't want to be rubbing poisonous gas from his eyes.

"Umm, I'll just be over here, okay? Call me if you need anyone to do something stupid!"

[Zhym]

"Can I borrow them tools, Chet?"

If Chet will let Angus use the tools, the hunter will try his hand at lock picking.

[CAI4]

Chet replies "have you been trained how to use them?"

[Zhym]

Angus shrugs. "No better time to learn. Unless you want we should stand here staring at the box?"

[CAI4]

"I guess you're right" says Chet. He spends a couple minutes showing Angus how to use the relevant tools and steps back, leaving Angus to give it a shot.

[Zhym]

Angus accepts the lock picks from Chet and squints at them. He squats down in front of the box and pokes a random piece into the lock. With a look of intense concentration, he starts waggling the pick in the lock. "Just about got it," he says. "Almost...almost..."

After a moment, he stands up. "Nope. Not gonna happen. That pickin' is harder than it looks!" He hands the tools back to Chet.

"Anyone else wanna have a go?"

[CAI4]

Chet nods. "Nice try, Angus." The monk takes the tools from the woodsman and tinkers with the lock. He grunts. "I can't do it either. But I can try again in a week after I get some more training from my masters. Hyde, do you want to try?"

[AleBelly]

Angus and Chet fiddle with the locks Chet rolled a 65 for opening locks, FYI, but neither are able to make the delicate moves necessary to budge the lock.

Yenny stands ready with a spell in case things go south, while Arnulf watches from a corner. Hyde seems to be pondering an attempt.

[Zorroroaster]

Arnulf quietly raised a quivering palm.

[Zorroroaster]

Arnulf cracks his knuckles a few times before taking the tools from the mangy ranger. He looks at them, flexes one of the picks thoughtfully and approaches the box.

"When I was a kid, this local church used to have organized contests for kids...dexterity type stuff. You know, picking dead flies out of jars of black currants, that kind of stuff. I was actually pretty good at it. Had my own team of kids. We were the Red team. I was their Leader. Red Leader, they called me. It was a happy time. Anyway. Let me see what I can do."

Arnulf bends down awkwardly and starts poking at the lock with one of the picks. His tongue sticks out between his teeth, turning a bright cherry red as he bites down in concentration.

"Almost there....almost there...almost there..."

His hand slips with the sweat and exertion and he stands up abruptly.

"It's away!"

He pauses, then looks back down at the hole.

"Negative, negative. It didn't go in, just impacted on the surface."

He stands and moves back, clearly dejected.

[AleBelly]

Arnulf cracks his knuckles a few times before taking the tools from the mangy ranger. He looks at them, flexes one of the picks thoughtfully and approaches the box.

"When I was a kid, this local church used to have organized contests for kids...dexterity type stuff. You know, picking dead flies out of jars of black currants, that kind of stuff. I was actually pretty good at it. Had my own team of kids. We were the Red team. I was their Leader. Red Leader, they called me. It was a happy time. Anyway. Let me see what I can do."

Arnulf bends down awkwardly and starts poking at the lock with one of the picks. His tongue sticks out between his teeth, turning a bright cherry red as he bites down in concentration.

"Almost there....almost there...almost there..."

His hand slips with the sweat and exertion and he stands up abruptly.

"It's away!"

He pauses, then looks back down at the hole.

"Negative, negative. It didn't go in, just impacted on the surface."

He stands and moves back, clearly dejected.

Oh my.

[tkrexx]

All this while Hyde has been fondling the tools he was "bequeathed" from Arlandria, seemingly hopeful that someone could manage to squeak by the obviously masterful lock on the silver chest. He finally clears his throat (Sounding much like the grunt of a very large pig), and steps forward, smiling weakly. He stares at the box for a bit, as if trying to bully it open, then gingerly begins tinkering.

[1d100] = 1

The lock POPs and the short Half-Orc nearly jumps out of his pants. He quickly looks back and forth, as if expecting to be scolded. Heheh, he half-heartedly chuckles. There was this time, when them Orcs were causing the townfolk fits, and they took afta me, yeahh. The city guards locked me in a cell to protect me, and then forgot me. So I hadda figure my own way out. And there was this otha time, when...

For God's sake, someone cut him off!

[Keehnelf]

i for one am just glad we've got another thief now that jaspar is gone!

[AleBelly]

Hyde, batting cleanup in the lockpicking lineup, strides forward with his tools and nearly immediately opens the lock. He reminisces about his boyhood, locked up and forgotten.

The box springs open. As they peer inside, they see an object wrapped in velvet. By now, they have drawn the attention of the guards. Hyde carefully reached in and carefully grabs the bundle. He is the first to see the object as he carefully unwraps it. He gasps, as do the others upon seeing a flawless emerald the size of Yenny's fist. An examination of the box reveals nothing else within.

The party barely notices a guard sent to retrieve the elderly gnome. His face betrays no surprise. "The duty on these exquisite items will add nicely to Alleborg's coffers."

He delivers an order to the guards. "Take these items to the appraiser. We'll keep the escort to just the two of you to avoid unwanted attention."/dialog]

He turns to the party. "It is none of my business from whence this item came, but I must ask nonetheless. Will you part with such information?"

Chet carefully wraps the emerald in cloth, leaving a bit sticking out to avoid shutting the box completely, and the group prepares to find out how much their new treasure is worth.

[Zorroroaster]

Arnulf completely forgets himself as he sees Hyde's exultation at opening the lock.

"Deftly done! I'm so proud of you for managing to...shit! That's the biggest fucking jewel I've ever seen!"

He leaps into the air, or at least attempts to. He doesn't get very far before gravity reminds him of how unfit he is for such activity. He clears maybe an inch off the ground with each little jump, and when he's finished with the cheerleading, his face is red and blotchy with the effort.

"Yay for us! Yay for the Red Team!"

[Zhym]

Angus's eyes darn near pop out of their sockets.

"Uh...you guys find stuff like this all the time?" he asks in a voice that tries but massively fails to be nonchalant.

[AleBelly]

The emerald:

Sigyllus emerald.jpg (12.71 KiB) Viewed 197 times

if you want to continue to converse in this room, please do it here; otherwise check private forums for the visit to the appraiser

[Zorroroaster]

"I should let my master know what we found. He was interested to know what was inside. Are we going to sell it?"