<div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/Evvii1f.png)</div>"Then we might be working together in the near future," Abigail nodded. Before the silence could get too awkward, two women stepped into the room. One of them was Koriah Azmeren, and the other...<br/><br/>"I am Pathfinder Sheila Heidmarch, Venture-Captain of this the first and so far only Pathfinder lodge in Varisia. Thank for your answering my summons," she greeted Jin Feng and Abigail in an unusually deep and sultry voice.  "I trust you know of Pathfinder Koriah Azmeren here?" Both of them did, so she continued, "Pathfinder Azmeren has just returned from an expedition to the Darklands below Varisia with a surprising number of Thassilonian artifacts. I must spend a few more moments discussing the implications of this discovery with her, if you'll forgive the further delay..." she paused for a moment as if in thought. "Actually, please follow me."<br/><br/>Sheila led them into an adjoining room, the lodge library and study. The walls were lined with bookshelves, while several tables in the middle of the room were heaped with scrolls and books. One table in the center, however, supported only a single object - an ornate cubical stone coffer covered with Thassilonian runes. "Please, have a seat," she gestured to the chairs around the table.<br/><br/>"I apologize for the delay, as I must conclude my business with Pathfinder Azmeren before we meet. In the meantime, though, I thought you could help us with another minor issue. This stone coffer is an ancient Thassilonian puzzle, a cunning feat of magical engineering known as a paradox box. As you'll see from even a casual investigation, what appear to be seams on the sides are only shallow grooves there's no obvious way to open the thing. Each paradox box has its own secret method of being opened. Essentially, a paradox box substitutes hidden catches and magical triggers for a lock. Given time, anyone clever enough could figure out how to open a paradox box, just as given time, a locksmith can open any lock. This particular box was among those items recove red by Koriah - the scrolls next to the box are her preliminary notes on possible triggers or methods of opening it, but she's not yet had a chance to sit down and properly investigate the thing. So... why don't you put your heads together and see if you can't do that for me? Even if the box is empty, as I suspect it probably is, knowing the method of opening it makes it a valuable find anyway. I'll return shortly, and I hope to see that box open! Think of this as an audition, if you will - because the actual task I want to speak to you about soon will require as much wit as it will brawn!"<br/><br/>Sheila and Koriah headed outside to continue their discussion, leaving Jin Feng and Abigail to solve and open the paradox box. But the blonde seemed in no hurry to investigate either the box or Koriah's notes, instead content on observing Jin Feng to see how he would handle the situation.<br/><br/>(https://i.imgur.com/XQPDSpq.png)