The notary spoke at a blistering pace, reciting the Governor's Mansion's regulations from the scroll in a single breath as though he had memorized them.
Only after the last syllable fell did the notary roll up the parchment again, set it at the corner of the long table, and raise a hand to signal the participants below to quiet down.
Once the lengthy disclaimer was over, a guard quickly hoisted the first item up onto the long table.
It was an exquisite wooden chest about two feet across, made of dark hardwood with copper corner guards. Its surface had been polished smooth and gleamed a mellow, dark red in the sunlight.
Only a small iron lock secured the seam of the lid, its design sturdy yet attractive. But what truly drew the eye was not the lock itself, but the pale blue magic runes winding across the entire chest.
The magic runes extended from the bottom edges all the way to the lid, intersecting at the corners in intricate geometric patterns. At regular intervals, a node gave off a faint glow.
The magical aura enveloping the chest was barely visible in the sunlight, but anyone who moved a little closer could feel the fluctuations of magic power flowing through it.
It was Arcane Lock. Unless someone spoke the corresponding unlocking incantation or had the caster cast Dispel Magic, forcing it open without damaging its contents would be difficult.
The notary raised a hand once more to quiet the noisy crowd, then adopted a tone entirely different from the formal delivery he had used for the disclaimer and began a vivid account of the chest's origins.
This wooden chest came from an oceangoing merchant ship bound for the New Continent. Supposedly, it had been stored in the most secure hidden compartment