Wreck of the Innocent Daughter [WFRP]

[Another_Poet]

"Quite worth it, I'm sure."

He gives a confident wink.

"As for what's inside... I suppose we would have to open them, hmm?"

He sets his urn on a low table and surveys it. The lid has been caulked shut and is smooth, with no handle to turn or pull it off.

[Teucros]

"You...you don't even know, do you?"

Vitto restrains himself. With considerate effort. He also takes a careful look at the lid.

Spoiler

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Perception: (1d100)[40] vs 44

[Another_Poet]

"Well, only in general terms," Conrad says.

Vitto looks closely at the urn. It definitely looks as if it was sealed, even designed, in such a way so as not to be re-opened. The easiest way to open it might be to simply break the urn. Otherwise, some time and patience with a scraping tool might be able to get through the caulk and pry the lid off.

[Teucros]

Vitto tells the rest of the group of his findings. "We need to know, wouldn't you agree? I believe we shouldn't break the urn.A little patience and a nice tool will do..."

He looks at the urn again. His anger momentarily forgotten, the Tilean is definitely intrigued, his eyes flashing. "Like a new territory to be charted. Hm..."


Vitto will search for any tools that can be used to open the urn and use them, unless he's stopped of course.

[Another_Poet]

Deciding a simple belt knife will work, Vitto sets to scraping. In relatively short order he has the caulking off, and pries up the lid.

The inside of the urn is packed with squiggly little wood shavings. They seem to act as cushioning for its only other resident: a metal cylinder.

It's lead.

Lifting it out, Vitto sees that it's a container in its own right. It's made of a single lead sheet, rolled into a tube and closed at both ends with poorly-soldered lead caps. The top cap opens easily.

Inside is a small brass lantern. From the wear and stains it's quite old and been through more than just cellars. There is no glass around the wick. On close inspection, the "wick" seems, in fact, to be a strand of some fine metal.

There is a stylized A imprinted on the bottom.

[RossN]

Felix

Felix is at first puzzled, then downright alarmed as the lead cyllinder and it's contents are investigated.

"Lead? I'm no magician thank Sigmar but that could mean that lamp is dangerous; the tool of strange Arabyan sorcery and the like. Quick put it back before it does something to us."

Throughly unnerved Felix takes the lantern, grabbing it if neccessary and tries to stuff it back inside the cyllinder.

[Teucros]

"Intriguing. Does anyone recognise what this lantern actually is or at least what the initial stands for? Perhaps you, my lady Isobel?" he says nodding at the Brettonian mage.

[Another_Poet]

"'Strange Arabyan sorcery'?" Conrad sniffs. "More like strange Imperial sorcery. It's one of ours."

He points at the A on the bottom. "See, it's in Reikspiel letters. Arabyan uses a different alphabet."

His confidence is impeccable as always, but then he pauses.

"I think."

OOC:

Spoiler

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Isabel can try a Academic Knowledge (Arcane) roll in addition to anything else she tries. Here's one for Conrad:

(1d100)[71]

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

Spoiler

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Here goes that roll, (1d100)[12]

"Now that you mention it Vitto..."

[Another_Poet]

Isabel always had studied harder than Conrad. She recognizes the stylized A as the insignia of Adolphus the Bold of Hollum, better known to initiates of magic as simply "Adolphus."

An early Magister from the time of the Formation of the Colleges, Adolphus was a personal student of Teclis the Elf. He was known for his cunning solutions to unwinnable battle scenarios.

But this lantern can't possibly be the lantern...

After the war, Adolphus wanted to find a way to detect daemons. He was said to have spent four years perfecting a lamp that would glow when daemons and other Aethyric entities were near. It was meant to be reproduced and given to teams of mages to root out Chaos.

But according to College legend, only one was ever made... and all the teams that tried to use it in investigations met with horrible ends. Eventually, it was ordered destroyed...

((I don't want to assume you share all this information, so I'll leave it up to you to share it. But feel free to just shorthand it if you tell them everything.))

[Teucros]

Vitto watches Isabel examining the lamp. She's certainly bing more thorough than Conrad. Hopefully it will lead up to somewhere.

[Another_Poet]

Slowly, Isabel relates the story of Adolphus' legendary lantern to all of you.

Conrad nods along. "It does sound familiar," he muses.

"Did you know we were carrying this?" Isabel demands.

Conrad hesitates. "Well, no," he admits.

[Teucros]

"Demon-detecting...horrible ends....ordered to be destroyed but somehow still intact...how nice. I assume that we will keep our hosts in the dark about it, correct? " says Vitto.

[RossN]

Felix

"We should find a way to dispose of it as soon as possible." Adelbert said flatly. The barber surgeon was careful to keep as much distance between himself and the lamp as possible. "If it can detect daemons, they might be able to detect it and I'm not willing to take that risk."

He shivered. "Even if it doesn't draw them like moths to a flame if any servant of the Ruinous Powers so much as guesses what we have our lives will be in constant danger."

[Teucros]

Vitto scratches his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe, maybe not. I understand it is an one of a kind artifact. In addition, our host is definitely hunting something...and so far, it's our only asset and potential bargaining chip. I suggest we keep it. Hidden, of course."

[RossN]

Felix

"I suppose all the magicians who met 'horrible ends' also considered it an asset." Felix said sardonically. The barber surgeon gave the lamp a frankly doubtful look before glancing at the others.

"How do the rest of you feel?"

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

"I say we keep it. If we get rid of it someone else is bound to pick it up eventually and nothing good will come of that."

[Teucros]

Vitto smiles sadly. "I'm a tradesman, Felix...assuming the, eh, item's properties are not required, we need something to bargain with should the occasion arise and I believe it will."
"Besides, we are deliberately told too little things of our host and this land...we can not throw away anything, can we?" he adds in a much lower voice.

[RossN]

Felix

Felix laughed though there was no humour in it. "Vitto are you seriously suggesting we consider bargaining an artifact like that? Who knows what it could be used for in the wrongs hands... and frankly from what I've heard there doesn't seem to be a right pair of hands."

Another bitter laugh. "However I can see I'm outvoted."

[Another_Poet]

"I say Isabel should hold onto it for safekeeping," Conrad says.

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

Isabel, dozing after so long without sleep, jerked awake as Conrad spoke and quickly launched into a flustered counterargument, "And I say Conrad should keep it! You all may not feel it, but he's certainly the most magically inclined of us! If something bad happens and we need it stopped, he should be close at hand to fix it!"

[Another_Poet]

Conrad doesn't immediately respond, but when no one speaks he looks at Isabel.

"If... if I have to."

He gently picks up the lantern, not as eagerly this time. "Adolphus himself...."

After a moment he looks up. "I wonder what's inside the other one?"

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

Isabel shrugged, "It's probably not the safest idea, but I'll admit I'm curious too."

[Teucros]

"Well...fine by me."

[RossN]

Felix

Felix said nothing but took a few steps back just in case.

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

A faint grin crossed Isabel's face as she saw Felix take a step back. "You might want to move a bit farther back, magic tends to be a bit... explosive."

[RossN]

Felix

"I only have to be far enough back to have time to shoot you an 'I told you so' look." The barber-surgeon brusquely replied.

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

Sighing and turning away, Isabel muttered something under her breath,"What a wet blanket. Not even giving the next one a chance to make up for the Lantern."

[Teucros]

"Very well...here goes."

Vitto careflully opens the second urn.

[Another_Poet]

With time and effort the next urn is pried open, and Vitto finds it is similary lined with a roll of lead sheeting. What's inside the roll is quite different, however. At a glance, it looks like nothing more than some tangled metal wire.

Dumping it out onto the table reveals it to be much more than that. Made of thin filaments of grey, silvery and dark-tarnished metal is a braided metal cord. This cord has been formed into the perfect shape of a noose.

It's almost pretty, when it catches the light.

Academic Knowledge (Arcane) (Isabel): (1d100)[93]
Academic Knowledge (Arcane) (Conrad): (1d100)[31]

Isabel and Conrad look at each other. Conrad gives a shrug and a shake of his head.

"No idea, I'm afraid," he says. "These seem like things.... they don't talk about in the towers."