Main RP: Evenkeel

[AlphabetFish]

Farmer Errol Stewart

With a deafening krr--aack!, the stump would pull loose from the ground as Cymbre pulls it out. "You did it!" Farmer Stewart would cry out. "Now we can finally get back to plowing." But as he would move closer to the stump to help Cymbre move it out of the way, he would pause. "Wait," he would say, "what's that?" He would point at an object caught among the roots of the tree.

It appears to be a chest, about two feet wide and intricately decorated. It is made of a dark stained wood, covered with carved swans and inlaid with many, many green gems that seem to glitter as if from an inner light. Three fastenings of black metal hold it closed along the front, but they have no visible keyholes. It is encrusted with dirt and encircled by small, spidery roots, but still looks wholly intact.

"I've never seen that chest in my life," Farmer Stewart would say. "It certainly isn't mine."  

[SCN_ Grey_fox]

"See children, this is why it is a good idea to keep your distance and an open mind about strangers. Some can tear trees from the ground." The human would joke as he drew his sword to clear the chest from the roots.

"Now, what do we got here?"

(History to date the chest: 7)  

[AlphabetFish]

SCN_ Grey_fox

"See children, this is why it is a good idea to keep your distance and an open mind about strangers. Some can tear trees from the ground." The human would joke as he drew his sword to clear the chest from the roots.

"Now, what do we got here?"

(History to date the chest: 7)

Rhaun can't determine much of anything about the chest. Clearly it's been in the ground for some time, but whether it's been 100 years or only 2 he can't be sure. He doesn't recognize any of the carvings or the style of the chest either.  

[SCN_ Grey_fox]

Rhaun would take a look at his comrades, then back at the Farmer. "Mister Stewart, Do you have a cart we can borrow? If at all possible, I would like to take this to the Justiciar. He may be able to point us to someone who would know just what we are dealing with."  

[Kowsauni]

Filling the stump finally break free Cymbre would toss the stump to one side so it wouldn't fall on her, then declare triumphantly. "Ha ha, yes! I did it. Cymbre one, stump Zero! Huh, there's something underneath it?"

Cymbre would peer curiously down at the chest. She could feel her dragon born greed rise up inside her. "Oh, wow, that pretty nifty looking chest. Why don't we crack it open and see what's inside? Mr. Stewart said it's not his and if it was under that tree I doubt whoever left it is coming back for it. It would probably take an elf for them to even still be alive."

Cymbre would begin to try and count the rings on the tree stump to try and determine how old t was and possibly how long the chest had been buried there.

(30 Nature check to determine the age of the tree))  

[AlphabetFish]

Kowsauni

(30 Nature check to determine the age of the tree))

Cymbre isn't surprised to see the wide rings that winebark trees are known for, and easily counts them. The tree was 181 years old when it was felled--mature but not particularly old for this type of tree. Winebark wood isn't particularly hard, and the good condition of this stump means the tree was probably cut down less than a year ago.  

[AlphabetFish]

Farmer Errol Stewart

"Ah! Of course!" Farmer Stewart would say to Rhaun. He would turn to the female farmer with him and say, "Autumn, could you?" Autumn would nod and head off across the field to a distant farmhouse. "And if you want to open it," Stewart would say to Cymbre, "be my guest. I do owe you all for tearing up that stump for me. And as I've said, I have no knowledge of the thing. No people of any kind were known to live here before Evenkeel was founded last summer. There's no telling who originally owned it."

Olin the guard would meander back to the village while the attention was off him, but his counterpart Maya would stay, eyes trained on the chest. "What do you think, should we let Rustbeard check it out, or... should we open it?" she would ask, as Autumn returns with a handcart.  

[Kowsauni]

Cymbre would look up from the tree stump she had been studying meticulously. "Of course, we should open it. People don't usually take the time to bury empty chests. This tree is over 180 years old. By how buried that chest was underneath, it had to have been in the ground for a long time. I think it is safe to call finders keepers at this point and, come on, for that chest to look that good after being buried unprotected in the ground for that long, there has to be something magical about it."  

[SCN_ Grey_fox]

Running his hand through his hair, Rhaun would sigh as he listened to his dragonoid comrade. "There is a multitude of reasons someone could bury something. From trying to protect something, to try to forget something that is too powerful to destroy."

"I am not saying we don't open it, just airing on the side of caution. More so if magic is involved. I will not do a hard sell, but at the same time, we aren't alone. So, if the others agree and are inclined to see it open. Can we at least move it far away from the town first?" He added, not really wanting to see the chest opened.  

[PupSage]

Guards had been mostly motionless. He finally speaks again. "Wisdom says that a chest buried beneath a tree with no clear way to be opened was likely put there in the hopes that it wouldn't be opened."  

[Kowsauni]

Cymbre would cross her arms and roll her eyes. "Fine...just as long as we open it eventually. Just as long as we open it eventually...and I want the gems from the case when we break it. Don't see any other way to open it."

Cymbre eyes would suddenly light up. "Say, as far we know this thing could have been buried here long before this tree even grew on it. You think it came from some long lost ancient civilization that crumbled underneath the weight of its own machination? Ah, that would be so cool! This chest could be the last remnants of the hubris that led to their downfall." Cymbre would let out a maniacal laugh.  

[AlphabetFish]

Autumn would set down the handcart and look at the chest doubtfully. Cymbre would earn her own doubtful look from the silent farm girl, too. She keeps her distance from both.

Maya the guard, on the other hand, would move forward and say, "So should I load this thing onto the cart or what? I can help you take it far from town if that's really what you want; you guys found the thing after all. But I can't stay much longer; Farmer Darrow on the other side of the village asked me to catch his escaped pig and that thing is probably just getting deeper and deeper into the forest by the minute."

She would touch the hilt of her longsword thoughtfully. "I mean, to make it quick, we could bust it open right here. I really wanna see what it is now." A sideways glance at Cymbre. "I don't know what hubris is, but it sounds like it could be worth a lot of money, even if it is dangerous."  

[Alzzak]

"Puny people talk too much, and should leave dreams behind eyes." Bahl finally spoke, as he walked up to the box, the pick still in his hands. "Open box" (if it is lock he will take a swing at the fastenings otherwise he would let someone else open it)  

[PupSage]

Guard would try to stop the guard from trying to open it, "I am unsure as to if moving it into town or opening it are wise courses of action. It could be sealing away an undead creature or demon of some kind, or it could be sealing away a curse or a poison or ... " Thats when the Bugbear tried to smash it. If it was magically sealed, as he imagined it may be, the goblinoid would likely be disappointed in the lack of results. He would toss in, "There is a reason people bury bodies. The soild decomposes organic material. Tree roots survive by virtue of being alive, yet this box is unscathed after weather, time, and other means of erosion. It is likely magical."  

[AlphabetFish]

Alzzak

"Puny people talk too much, and should leave dreams behind eyes." Bahl finally spoke, as he walked up to the box, the pick still in his hands. "Open box" (if it is lock he will take a swing at the fastenings otherwise he would let someone else open it)

The chest is shut tightly with metal fastenings driven into the wood with nails. There are no visible keyholes, dials, keypads, moving parts or any noticeable way to unlock it.

Bahl strikes out at the chest with the pick, but lands merely a glancing blow. The chest appears untouched.

((Strength check: 7))