The Key
It was a plain wooden box with sturdy iron side straps. There was no handle, but there was an ornately decorated lock with a rather large keyhole in the middle of the seam. Or he assumed there was a seam. It was practically invisible if it was there at all. He had also assumed that the box would open with a simple persuasion but his broken thieves picks were evidence that wasn’t true. Some of them had just disappeared if they didn’t break first and that’s when he knew he had to ask the Wizards for help.
It wasn’t that he stole the box; it was rightfully his. His grandmother had died of natural causes and gave him her hut in the woods along with everything in the attic. Unfortunately for his brother, most of her magical belongings were in the attic and he was just about done sifting through them when he came upon the box. Not being able to open it and ignoring his internal warnings that Pandora’s box shouldn’t be tampered with, he had sent a note to a local guild specializing in magical boxes in order to get someone to open it.
So he wasn’t surprised when someone knocked on the door saying that she received his note and was willing to open up his box if he was willing to lend it to her for a little experimentation. What he wasn’t prepared for was her answer when he asked her for guild identification.
“I don’t work with a guild,” she said. “But here’s my card. I’m certified with the government.”
He checked it over and it looked authentic.
“I’m Carolyn Gray (which you can see by my card) and I work with solving keeper boxes.”
“How did you get my name?”
“I volunteer to take some of the new referrals from a friend of mine. It’s difficult working on the referral receiving line as well. Mind if I come in?”
“Not at all. I’m Luke Hunt, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you.”
The hut’s one room was sort of crowded, but Luke easily cleared off a chair for his guest and sat down in one adjacent to her.
“So, what is the principle behind the locks?” he asked.
“Every keeper box has a spell attached to it that has to do with the nature of the secret inside. The key is animated and created with the correct spell to open the lock. If the incorrect key is used it will dissolve and may damage the box, until the lock is so deformed no key will open it. Therefore, if you have something important to keep, a keeper box will maintain that not just anyone can get inside and if you find one or steal it, it’s to your best advantage to keep it locked until you find a key or your chances of getting inside are gone.”
“What makes you think that you can do this for less than a standardized guild?”
“I don’t work for anyone. Besides, what you’re paying for in the guild is a flat fee. You pay for about one hundred keys to dissolve and all the worst repairs to be fixed. You also provide food, shelter, firewood and any other supplies the business needs. Your box may not use one hundred keys and if your box is never broken, why should you pay for repairs of the worst kind? You pay for the worst-case scenario, even if that never happens to your box. Time is also an issue; I can also guarantee that this will be done in the least amount of time. Professional guilds have hundreds of people with boxes to be solved and if you go to one of them, they’ll just take your money and stick you to the back of the line. It can take a week to figure out a box, and that’s only the simplest ones with one spell. Imagine hundreds of people, each who’s box takes a month to figure out. You don’t have that time. I could start on it today.”
“How much do you charge?”
“Fifty gold per key. We’ve got to use star metal and it’s not cheap. We’re running out of metal before we run out of keys.”
“Actually, that’s quite cheap.”
“I’m the best in the business, too. I ran away from the guild because of the politics involved, not because they forced me out.”
“How would you go about doing this?”
“The first step is meditation. I’ve got to focus on the box and search it to find it’s fundamental theme. On a simple box, this could take two hours, complex, five days. Then, more meditation to figure out a gist of spells. Finally, key experimentation. Like an artist glances at their subject before painting and goes back and forth to see that they’re getting it right, I do that with the box as it whispers hints. Once the key is weaved, we test it out and if it doesn’t work, it dissolves and I try again. If it fails, I check the box to make sure it isn’t injured and go back to my tools to make another key. If we find the right key, both the key and the box are yours, as well as anything inside it. Most guilds don’t guarantee that everything inside box is returned to you. That’s another thing I didn’t like: thievery.”
She raised her eyebrow at the broken thieves picks. He blushed.
“Hey, I don’t ask questions,” she said after noting his expression.
“I didn’t steal this box, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“I’m not implying anything. You get income your way, I get it my way.”
“Does this arrangement include food and board?”
“No, I’ll camp outside. Or deduct that from what you’re paying me if you want.”
“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather you sleep outside.”
She smiled. “Fair enough.”
“Well, are you sure you want to start today?”
“Sure, I’ll start now.”
“That seems pretty soon.”
“I told you I work fast. I’ve got nothing else to do but to go back and find another commission. It’s your choice, though.”
He handed her a bag of money. “Fifty gold, then, and you can start right away.”
