Blag on the Interwebs

[A letter in Adelmar’s hand:]

Esteemed pursuer or pursuers,

I write to you from one week in the past to inform you that you are too late: this refuge is abandoned, and I am seven days ahead of you. Without prescience to compete with the likes of mine, I am certain you must tire of this chase long before I shall.

Why you deem it justice to seek my destruction for my failure to name some one of you as traitor to the fellowship is beyond my understanding.

Though you are bent on my undoing, I am not bent on yours and have afforded you what intelligence I can, save only this latest revelation: Erasmus does indeed walk the paths of the dead. Whether he seeks Chiara’s ghost remains to be learned.

Speaking of our departed Chiara, if there is someone or something that holds her captive, it is impenetrable to me for the time being. It must wait until later or never at all.

Semper servus,

Adelmar Krönnig

[Excerpt from a red-bound spell book:]

On the creation and usage of charms.

No spellcaster may utterly magnify his potential without the creation of magical charms. One speaks in terms of creation, but a more accurate designation would be development, for upon its creation, a charmed object is of no more value than the cost of the materials. Only after years of maintenance and investment does the charm enlarge the strength of the caster.

In order to maturate, the charmed item must reside in the caster’s den and be furthermore exposed to light.

Because misappropriated charms — speaking of the item and not the magic upon on it — offer an access by which to bypass its owner’s defenses, recommended practice is to conceal the nature of a charm, that it be perceived a mere bagatelle to any but the owner.

[In a ghostly hand:]

A cool draft is drawn beneath two girls at a well.

(The red-bound spell book is a tongue-in-cheek reference to The Red Bound Book, available in part on the repository at duck-of-doom.com.) We shall see later the importance of this lesson on charms.

The riddle: Two girls at a well refers to the painting hanging in the foyer. There’s nothing immediately below it, but exactly one floor down is the intake for an air duct. The next clue lies between the grate and the air filter.

[A letter in Chiara’s hand:]

I leave this letter against the event that I be killed in the endeavour at hand, that my purpose may be known and that this knowledge might possibly save whatever shall remain of the fellowship.

In the sanctum last night, I discovered a box, hidden and enveloped with a thick miasma of diablerie. I conjured the box disclose its contents, but it resisted my efforts and returned only a quiet throb. An attempt to destroy the contents of the box was frustrated as soon as it was begun, for the case is ensorcelled with a power which will not yield.

The apparition of this artifact attests that some one of the fellowship has made alliance with a terrible and potent entity. If the descriptions in the Voynich manuscript may be relied upon, the owner of the box is safe from mortal threat so long as the entity’s spell holds the box shut.

I dare not reveal my discovery to the fellowship, for the creature whose power seals the box must then know that he is found out and would surely undo us all. The strength of its hold on the box leaves little doubt of its might. Better to move against it in secret while I may.

[In a ghostly hand:]

Seek the latticed battlefield where Itrek faced Andad.

The story: The box to which Chiara’s letter refers is the chest for this quest. It bears two locks. Reference to the Voynich manuscript is made in idle fun. It has no bearing on the story.

The riddle: Deft use of a search engine should lead the treasure hunters to the legend of Tyrfing or the Saga of Hervor and King  Heidrek.

Google will return pages upon pages of results for ‘iTrek Canada’. You’ll have to scroll down to the end of the first page of results and click the link that reads ‘Show results that include only “Andad.”‘ (This is actually different from the usual Google ‘suggested results’.) Alternatively, you might give Bing a chance.

In this tale, Odin in disguise puts a series of riddles to King Heidrek. One riddle speaks of two thanes who ride to a moot and join battle. The answer to this is the white king (Itrek) and the black king (Andad) of the chessboard (actually tafl).

Opening our usual chess set and unfolding the board, the treasure hunters will find their next clue.