The servant who escorted you to this room motions for you to follow him.
Oh, no need for such preparations at this time, m'lady." he says to Devonalia, eyeing her bow and drawn arrow.
The servant leads you back through the estate and down a sturdy set of wooden stairs to a cool basement. You continue following him through several turns and finally end at a plain wooden door. The servant opens the door, stands to the side and motions you in with a bow.
A plain stone room contains three chests: a copper-banded chest of smooth, dark wood (chest 1); a red lacquered chest (chest 2); and what looks to be a cube of solid steel (steel cube). Behind the chests sits a low table holding a clear glass jar half full of liquid and a covered wicker basket.
After the party is inside the servant closes the door and locks it from the outside. On the back of the door is a message.
“Within these cases lies your quest and your way out.”
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"So the map lies here... good, does anyone know how to open a chest?" the halfling says adding some arcane words in the end to cast a detect magic spell he uses to inspect the whole room, and particularly all the chests, the jar and the basket.
He approaches then to inspect all three chests, then the jar and finally the basket.
The halfling invites everybody to help him with the search.
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Doubtful seems slightly upset, as the servant closes and locks the door behind them.
He tries it disconsolately anyway, just to be sure, then sighs.
He looks around half-halfheartedly as the others begin to examine the contents of the room.
"Do you suppose they'll keep us in here if we can't get the door open?" He asks morosely.
As Ledt concentrates on her spellcasting, Bralden, Doubtful, and Radagast carefully inspect the room and its contents within. Ledt discerns a magical aura emminating from the copper-banded and red-lacquered chests but is unable to discern what associated school they belong to. Soon afterwards, the rest of the party completes their search. The three determine that all three chests have sturdy locks with tiny runes etched around each keyhole. The glass jar on the table holds a clear, odorless liquid that seems to contain a brass colored object resting inside at the bottom of the jar. The wicker basket itself, also sitting on the table, seems uninteresting. It does not have anything apparent that would keep its lid secured in place on top of the basket.
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As Radagast pushes the basket, and before he can pour the contents on the glass jar, Ledt cast a mage hand spell and tries to magically retrieve the object in the bottom in a clean way.
Once the object is close to him, he let's it fly until laying in the ground, and examines it.
The halfling adds "The copper-banded and the red-lacquered chests seems to have some magic associated with them, but I don't know exactly what type of energies are on work."
Radagast topples the basket onto the floor. It lands with a heavier thud than expected as the basket lid topples away from the basket allowing its contents to escape onto the floor. Radagast can hear the telltale signs of a snake but isn't quick enough to react to it's lunging strike.
However, the snake wasn't as oriented as it wanted to be, reacting more than being focused in its strike. It lets out a dangerous sounding hiss while posturing itself to be larger than it really is.
Meanwhile Ledt is able to use her spell to lift the brass object from the jar, revealing it to be a brass key.
The other contents within the basket, a plain linen cloth and a blue metallic key, land on the floor. This, in conjunction with Radagast's attempt to soothe the snake, only seems to agitate it further. Once again, it strikes out at Radagast.
non-lethal
Once again, the snake seems to be more agitated than focused, again missing Radagast.
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With an unhappy frown, Doubtful realizes that whatever he does, it will turn out poorly.
With that he decides to at least try to help, leaping forward and trying to kick the reptile away from his companions with one thick boot-covered foot... doing his best not to kill it, in case its someone's pet who might get upset if they do so.
, for non-lethal
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Disgusted at the snake attitude Ledt points towards it an let's a ray of sparkling electricity break the atmosphere and hit the creature.
"That thing will not undertake you anymore Radagast. Promise." the halfling tries to sooth the druid.
He picks up the two keys and tries to fit the blue one in the three chests.
The combined efforts of Doubtful and Ledt have left a motionless snake on the floor.
The other contents within the basket, a plain linen cloth and a blue metallic key, land on the floor.
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"Probably would have just made it angrier." Doubtful offers, poking the unmoving reptile with one foot.
He will then gingerly put it back in its basket, place the top back on it, and set the whole thing back on the table where they found it.
"Maybe they won't notice." He adds, clearly not believing it for a moment.
Ledt tries the blue key on the lock of the steel chest, but soon becomes annoyed at how the key only seems to just spin inside the lock. Moving over to the red-lacquered chest, he notices that the rune carvings on the blue key similarly match the ones on the lock. As Ledt inserts the key, both runes on lock and key glow. Turning the key, Ledt notices two clicks.
The first, drops a small golden key fastened to a rope that's hanging out of reach from the floor from the ceiling. The second click opened the lock. Inside the chest is a golden scepter encrusted with gems. Attached to the scepter is a simple silver colored key.
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Doubtful looks up as the key drops from the small hole in the ceiling, flinching slightly as if expecting something bad to fall on them.
After a moment, seeing its just a key hanging from a rope, he glances over at Ledt.
"Can you magic that down?" He asks, dubiously. "Probably tied too tight though." He observes.
"Suppose we could slide the table over to reach it." He adds, after a moment.
He offers to give Bralden a lift up from atop the table, since the elf looks like he weighs next to nothing.
Radagast makes use of the availability of the brass key, heading over to the copper chest. He tries to insert the key into the lock...
...but then soon realizes that there is no chest at all.
Content with leaving it alone, he goes over to try the brass key into the steel chest's lock...only to break it off inside as he attempts to turn the key.
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Ledt nods to Doubtful, then casts another magic hand and tries to move the golden key down. If the spell is not strong enough to make it down, he looks at Doubtful "It seems we will need the table approach... have you ever done a casteller?"
The halfling helps the dwarf to move the table below the gold key and then goes up the table. From there, he waits for anyone to come up also and let him climb to his shoulders to retrieve the key.
If successful, Ledt tries to use the key in the remaining chest. If not possible, he starts to hit the chest in frustration.
With abit of teamwork, the party is able to retrieve the golden key. The only problem now is that there is a chunk of a brass key lodged inside the keyhole of the silver lock.
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Doubtful looks between the newly acquired golden key and the still locked steel chest, and sighs.
"Should have expected as much." He mutters morosely, looking at the lock with the broken bit of key currently gumming up the works.
"Don't suppose one of those," He indicates the golden key, and the key on the end of the scepter, "Opens up the door?"
He glances at the remains of the now broken brass key. "Was probably that one." He adds, convinced it will prove true.
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"That is weird." Ledt inspects the chest attentively, trying to guess how to unjam and open it "There was no magic in this chest, so it shall be a purely mechanical test."
The halfling observes the lock more attentively, trying to guess how the system work, and where the chest is opened, along with any information that lets the lock to open or unjam.
If nothing is noticed, he draws his dagger and starts to hit the lock desperately "Stupid lock! Break yourself!" he yells after each hit.
Fortunately, the key fragment didn't appear to be stuck inside the lock as the remnants come out of the keyhole with relative ease.