Buruku's Lock and Key

What lock can never be opened.
What key can never be found?
A lock without a key is no lock at all. If there is no lock, there is no key, and if there is no key it cannot be found.

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Description

This is a brass-bound wood chest with a 2" circular indentation where the locking mechanism should be. The "key" is a 2" circular amulet with the opposite carving to the indentation (a series of tightly written runes). The chest holds roughly 2 cubic feet. It is not lined.

Translated from the Runic: What lock can never be opened.
What key can never be found? A lock without a key is no lock at all. If there is no lock, there is no key, and if there is no key it cannot be found." The quote comes from a Save-K'norian Priest Circle I Puzzle.

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History

The first chest of this type was created for a mad merchant in Shiran circa 670TR. Since then such chests have become very popular. A few Shiran master craftsmen know the secret to the chests, and in 708TR a Coranan Master locksmith learned the secret by studying a chest from Shiran for 2 years. Since then the secret has propagated out of the cities, but it is still only taught to very few craftsmen by their masters.

The maker's mark on the chest will tell you who made it, and the mark's location as much as its content will tell you when it was made. For example, Master Locksmith Warn of Lydar (Coranan #50) always places his maker's mark on the back of his lock - inside the chest. His mentor placed it around the edge of the keyhole. Both Warn and his mentor used the same mark - A Hârnic L, for lock.

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Powers

While not truly magical, it is expensive and almost impossible to pick. The circular amulet has very fine ridges that must be pressed against its opposite image simultaneously. The lock can easily be destroyed by an over-anxious thief trying to shove clay into the lock, or worse - trying to get the clay out. These locks are considered a level 8 to pick and require a fair amount of preparation. Without the preparation (clay, oil, a fine brush, a flat stick, patient hands, etc.) the lock is a level 10. If the thief does not care about breaking the lock, however, its difficulty is reduced to a level 5.

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This page was last updated on January 23, 2002
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