"We did try that one" she made a note known. Then she bent down and picked up the tom cat "Think you can help us?" She held him near the door so he could touch the cubes if needed.

"Meow Meow."

"Padros!  Lady Xi you are brilliant.  This ragged tom IS giving us the answer!  Meow meow...TWO that's how it starts isn't it, kitty?"  He rubbed the clever kitty under his chin and then faced the door again, pretty sure he was right this time...sort of...



[2]x[3]=[1]+[5]
 "   "   "   "
[2]  [3]  [1]  [5]
 "   "   "   "
[2]+[3]=[1]x[5]

He stepped back and did the mathematics in his head.  It worked, now hopefully they could finally open the door.  He admonished himself for not listening to the cat sooner.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 06:41, Sat 12 Aug 2017.

Looks at the cat a moment "Two?" She hoped the animal was intelligent.  It would be so much easier.  "Try two"

 He rubs circle eights around Lilbug's and Xi's legs, purring loudly as lilbug pts in the numbers...

 The door seems to hold it's breath then you hear a much lighter sound than the last time..."tink dadink, bing dading errrrrr" as the door unlocks and creaks open.

 The cat runs inside and starts sniffing everything, doing a complete checkout of his domicile.

"Eight?" She called them each by number.  Finally it clicked open.  "I really did not expect that to happen"Still she then scooted past crow and the others to make sure the room was safe.  When secured she waved the others in.

"Phew, glad we got past it safely, I wasn't worried though...um...okay maybe a little...or maybe a lot; alright I was terrified!" he admitted as he followed behind Lady Xi, Crow, and sparrow.  He looked around the room, then smirks as he sees the ragged kitty checking things out.

Sparrow crouches and extends her hand to the cat. "Thank you very much, friend. We might not have gone past this door without your help."

 He deliberately blinks at Sparrow, curls tail into a question mark and marches his fluffy backside around the room sniffing.

 The room seems to be a study with a few book shelves holding books, knick knacks and rocks, shells and seed pods, and small picture frames. There was a small fireplace with more odds and ends on the mantle place.

 A book lies on a small comfy chair near the fire place. On the hearth was a small iron water pot with a hot pad wrapped around the handle. The hearth and pot are cold, dead embers and ash lie on the fire pit and hearth.

 In front of the chair a small rug has a corner turned up. A throw lies across the back of the chair. A tiny window is set into a rounded wall on the other side of the hearth.

 "Well done everyone! You all show such promise! I can see why the Empress picked you!"

 She too praised the cat then started looking around for clues.

04:37, Today: Fairaday rolled 11 using 1d20+7.  search.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:39, Thu 17 Aug 2017.

Beaming, the happy slave boy turned at the sound of his glorious Mistress.  He watched as she entered and gave the cat her praise.  He started looking for clues as well, but was too distracted by his beloved Lady Fairaday to be of much help :P

21:41, Today: lilbug rolled 7 using 1d20+6.  Search the Mages Tower.

Xi looks about as well making note of the area with the chair and book.  "I am guessing this was his respit.  An area to relax when not working on things." she continued to search as well.

19:07, Today: Xi rolled 19 using 1d20+10.  search.

 Xi finds a small hidden cache in an alcove that had some personal papers and a stack of letters tied with ribbons. They appeared to be old love letters from decades past from an old love. There was also a small cache of coins of various denominations.

Perhaps we can get a lovers name.

ooc: not sure what happened.  most of my post disappeared.

bic:  Xi took a few moments to take one of the notes and opened it, hoping to get who is 'love' is.  She sat the other treasure out for the others to divvie up.  Looking up at the others she spoke "Perhaps we can get a lovers name"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:57, Sun 20 Aug 2017.

"Well... eh heh... looks like it all worked out in the end after all, huh?" Crow chuckled nervously after the door finally opened.  He immediately set to work on searching the room along with the others.

21:36, Today: Crow Reeds rolled 20 using 1d20+5.  Search.

He peered curiously over at the stack of old letters that Xi had managed to find.  He wondered if there might be a clue as to what the mage who lived here was like.

The slave boy nodded to Master Crow, though he was not at all certain he wanted to know what would have happened had things not "worked out in the end."  Still, he had to admit, the Bard was right; they had puzzled out the door lock and none of them had been hurt.  There was something to be grateful for in that.

"Indeed sir, I do hope there aren't many more riddles like that.  One was all my heart can endure I think."

Quickly, lilbug made his way over to the Vandian warrior woman.  "Whatever did you find, Lady Xi?  Something of the old Mage's?"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:40, Wed 23 Aug 2017.

"Looks to be old letters from a lover.  A few coins and such." She looked over again "...And a few other papers." She pulled them out for others to peruse.  She continued to read the love letters to make heads of tails out of them.

 The letters all seem to be between two young impassioned, perhaps teenagers or very young adults, filled with hope and excitement, speaking of dreams of their possible future together. They seem sweet and caring, and eager to marry, even though they had only met a few times.
 Unfortunately, after a year or so, the girl writes a tear stained letter saying her father has gone back on his word and betrothed her to an older man, a much stronger wizard who seemed to have some hold over her father. That seemed to be the last letter from her. Then there was a letter from the girl's old nanny telling him she had died in childbirth a short time after her marriage to the older wizard. A letter to the family from the broken hearted wizard giving condolences had been returned unopened.

 In with the letters was am locket with her picture and a lock of golden hair.

Perusing the letters, lilbug felt his sorrow grow.  What a tragedy was recorded here.  Had the ill fortuned events of long ago caused this magus to isolate himself in his tower?  To literally build walls around himself to shut out the world beyond, and in so doing hide from his own grief?  It was hard to be sure without more evidence, but looking at the portrait in the locket finally made lilbug weep.  It brought home to him the reality of the situation.  Even as the big tears tumbled down his cheeks, something else occurred to him

"If...if the girl died in childbirth shortly after her marriage to the older wizard, was the child a result of a union between the young mage and her?  If so, did the child survive?"

For a moment Xi was silent as she thought about it.  "No.  I think the child was from the older mage or another.  It says they were apart about a year before getting married, then she became pregnant." she looked up at the others.  "I do believe that perhaps the girls family, father perhaps, sent men to kill him.  Or the old mage who she did marry at her fathers word.  So...we have 2 suspects now.  I wonder if the 'nanny' is alive.  It is possible the babe survives."

 return addresses are on the letters envelopes...

check to see where the letters were sent to and returned from.  Anything within the city?

"Are the letters dated? How long ago was it?", asked Sparrow. "It might give us some idea of how old the child now is. Yet I hardly see in these letters a motivation for murder - or if so, it would be more for the young mage towards the elder. Odd."

The letters are dated twenty years earlier.

The place of the girl's residence was way outside the city, and near the border to another country, in a mountain region.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:56, Tue 05 Sept 2017.