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(Skeleton Keys) Keyhole

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  1. #1
    Aileen McFarlane's Avatar

    Aileen McFarlane

    1
    PRE

    As the lights from nightlife Sacramento started making way to the countryside, Aïleen started relaxing a little bit. She thought she might still be in trouble, but she was getting closer to the Chapterhouse.

    She had an appointment with a Gangrel scholar, and she hoped together they would be able to work out how to make a blueprint of some sort of the keyholes in the puzzling box going along with the torpid spanish elder. It made so little sense so far !

  2. #2
    Michael Redfill's Avatar

    Michael Redfill
    Michael Redfill

    Pre2 (scholarly)
    Aspect of the Predator active outside Elysia

    1
    PRE

    Bigpaw

    Michael waits for Aileen at the door. As she gets in he greets her in a somewhat hurried voice:

    "Good evening, Miss McFarlane. I'm sorry for not being able to devote much time to your request at the time: my work for the community has been keeping me pretty busy", - the Savage ushers her inside and they go to the library where the doctor waits for Aileen to tell him what all of this is about.
    Pre2 (scholarly), BP1
    Aspect of the Predator active everywhere because Deputy
    Status(Academia) 3 (PhD Scholar)
    Sanguine Scribe of Terror
    Default Vitae: 9/10

  3. #3
    Aileen McFarlane's Avatar

    Aileen McFarlane

    1
    PRE

    Aïleen was somewhat surprised by the Gangrel' hurried manners, which were somewhat unexpected. Still, with his duties as a Ranger, it was easily understood. The Mekhet nodded her assent and quickly followed him to the Library. In her arms, she carried with utmost care a wooden box she had fetched from a safe in the House.

    As they entered the Library, she opened it, and unwrapped the protective linen that had been covering another box. A much more puzzling and frustrating box.

    "For several reasons pertaining to Domain security, we are trying to open that box without harming it. The Grand Wyrm has managed to found those two small holes here..." she indicated one "and there." she showed the second.

    "We suspect them to be keyholes. We need to make a cast of the key without taking any risk with the box itself. And so we came to think of a laser scanner..." she said, and with a nod toward the Gangrel, implied that it was where he fit in.

  4. #4
    Michael Redfill's Avatar

    Michael Redfill
    Michael Redfill

    Pre2 (scholarly)
    Aspect of the Predator active outside Elysia

    1
    PRE

    If the Gangrel had bad eyesight, this would be the moment where he'd be putting on his reading glasses. Alas, he's 20/20, so Mike simply bends over the box, and rummages in his pockets, finally fishing out a looking glass and starting to examinine the surface:

    "This is truly fascinating, Miss Farlane. Are you aware of the origin and age of this artifact", - at the same time the doctor uses his considerable expertise to see if he can glean that information on his own from a cursory examination. After all, knowing who and when made the box might be the key to learning how to open it.

      Tell me your secretssss...=3xx
    Date Action Roll Result
    2014-04-05 01:37:54 Michael Redfill rolls 9 to see where and when the box came from (Int + Inv + Geomancy nexus + Spec) (1s Subtract) 7, 10, 10, 10, 7, 2, 5, 10, 1 3 successes

    As the doctor pores over the box he talks:

    "I'm sure you know you aren't the first ones to encounter such a problem. There are archaeological protocols for studying these things. I remember this family heirloom chest back in Britain that I found. It was locked with an elaborate riddle and two keys, in the end we determined the mechanism has jammed and needed to use a CT scanner to see whether anything valuable was inside. It ended up being a hair lock so we left the thing closed".

    Michael straightens his back, scratches his chin and shakes his head:

    "The problem with laser scanning is that any standard one will only be able to model what can be scanned from outside. You won't see the mechanism or any bumps or whatever is supposed to be on the key. So unless the lock is terribly primitive, it won't do much good. However", - the Savage scholar smiles, - "There are a number of much better ways. The most straightforward is to find an expert lock-picker. Pay him, manipulate him, use our powers - whichever you prefer. This isn't exactly a 21-st century hi-tech strongbox. Next, there is X-ray. Did you try that? Unless the thing is fully metal, you should be able to glimpse the mechanism. 'Persuading' a hospital employee and using a CT-scan is also an option but suffers from the same drawback - this is sometimes used in archaeology when we don't want to open something up. A tiny camera on a wire is also a possibility but I don't know of any that will fit into a hole of this size. But an optic cable will - you won't be able to see much but you'll see something".

    He makes a pause, clearly contemplating whether to add another piece of advice before sighing and continuing:

    "If the box can't be opened by a lock-picker without risk, is made of metal and you can't see anything useful in the holes, there is a reliable way to scan it but it'll take some work. You can't use a direct cast because it will pour into the mechanism and you won't be able to pull it out. So what you do is mix wax or anything you prefer with a bit of radioactive compound and pour that into the lock. Then you just need to get a hold of a radioisotope scanner for a while. Doesn't matter of what it's made - you'll be able to see the mechanism. Then you just dissolve the wax or whatever is used and make a key".

    He smiles gently at Aileen:

    "I hope I've come up with at least one idea that didn't occur to the team that's no doubt working on this. I must say I'm curious: if it's not a secret, how did you come by this box?"
    Pre2 (scholarly), BP1
    Aspect of the Predator active everywhere because Deputy
    Status(Academia) 3 (PhD Scholar)
    Sanguine Scribe of Terror
    Default Vitae: 9/10

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  6. #5
    Aileen McFarlane's Avatar

    Aileen McFarlane

    1
    PRE

    Having gone so far as to show him the actual box, there was little else for Aïleen but to extend her trust to the end. She answered as genuinely as possible Redfill's several questions.

    "We are unsure of the age and origin of the artefact. We might venture the guess that it comes from Spain, during the Reconquista. It was the outfit of the hidden sleeping Elder it was found with, after all..." she replied while scrutinizing the other Supplicant for any sign of foreknowledge.

    Seeing none, she went on, carefully weighing each of the doctor's suggestions. "The lock-picker is out of the question. The less people know about this, the better. You understand ?" Given what she had just revealed, she hoped it would be obvious.

    "X-Ray... sounds good. I might want to try that. Hospital, you say..." perhaps she could sneak in, operate the machine herself, and leave with the results, and noone the wiser.

    "As for the optic cable... that's another really excellent idea !" the more she thought about the various options offered by the Savage, the glader she was to have contacted him. And she still had the trump card of the radioisotope scanner to boot if all else failed !

    "All those ideas seem sound to me. I will just have to succeed at putting them to use." she said, while her mind was racing. It truely seemed to her that she had been meant to ask him, and she hoped it would go even further. Faith is an outstanding thing.

  7. #6
    Michael Redfill's Avatar

    Michael Redfill
    Michael Redfill

    Pre2 (scholarly)
    Aspect of the Predator active outside Elysia

    1
    PRE

    Michael nods at Aileen and takes a quick glance at his watch:

    "I'm glad I could help, Supplicant. If you're not successful by the time I have a bit of a break in my duties, I'd like to participate. And now I'm afraid I must go".

    Unless he's stopped, Michael bows and exits the Chapterhouse.
    Pre2 (scholarly), BP1
    Aspect of the Predator active everywhere because Deputy
    Status(Academia) 3 (PhD Scholar)
    Sanguine Scribe of Terror
    Default Vitae: 9/10

  8. #7
    Aileen McFarlane's Avatar

    Aileen McFarlane

    1
    PRE

    Aïleen thanked the Gangrel scholar for his very real help, and let him go to his duties, but was surprised by his lack of reaction at her disclosure, and decided it was worrisome enough to warrant a closer scrutiny in the next few weeks.

       Failure to Empathy
    Date Action Roll Result
    2014-04-07 16:10:24 Aileen rolls 7 to Wits 2 + Empathy 4 + Specialty (Emotions) 1 (10 Again) 4, 7, 3, 7, 6, 3, 3 failure

Closed Thread
     

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