Picking Locks, and how to effectively search

The next few hours are a complete blur, but you scarcely notice as you focus you energy on taking in as much as you can from Trixie's lessons, as she teaches you how to effectively search a passageway what to look for, what to avoid and a couple of curative items to carry with you at all times, for some of the nastier magical and alchemical traps people set, in order to protect tomb, chests, you name and some asshole will of trapped it, to jab, stab, poison and otherwise maim or kill a person for trying to open or get by somewhere they shouldn't, you a given a brief lesson on various tools and their uses from a leather pouch, which can be affixed to a belt, a set of thieves tools, which Trixie helps teach you the sort of places that usually stock them should you need replacements, or eventually an upgrade in the hazardous line of work of disarming traps and opening locks.

You even end up running a small gauntlet along an long corridor in the house, trying to avoid trip wires, and hidden pressure plates, which you do so quite deftly much to both Roy and Trixie's surprise. Although when you are asked to test your flexibility you have doubts about the realism of the traps Roy 'helped' with as the entire corridor is full of trip wires, forcing you to slowly step and stretch to avoid them all, having no doubt that Roy was enjoying himself as you do a half turn to try and see the look on his face as he lies forward scribbling away in another book looking up with a smile, and even giving you a cocky wink as his eyes meet yours, you shake you head and carry on with a small laugh, not like you can blame him after all, as you choose to take the compliment rather than take offence at his ogling, although this is mainly because you feel so happy with the progress you seemed to of made, considering you had literally no experience today.

You finally reach the end of the hallway without tripping a single wire, and Trixie smiles at you as she looks up from a scroll she was reading as you made you path through the wires.

"Well, don't let it go to your head, but I think we just might make of rogue of you yet. You definitely have the gift that everyone else who makes the crossing does." Trixie says with a smile as she begins to untangle the wires and gather them up.

"What gift?" You ask as you help out untying the wires.

"It's loseley referred to as the knack, but people from the your plain have an uncanny ability to quickly pick up skills and knowledges, it's been debated and studied by wizzards and scholars a like, but none are any the wiser, you ask me it'll probably one of the deities who look after travellers." Roy says without looking up from his scrawling. You look to his mother a stunned look on your face, as Roy was the last person you expected to hear that kind of information from.

"Yeah he does that from time to time, I don't know where he picks it up, definitely not from books, least not books written to entertain." Trixie says with a smile.

"I hear a lot while training." Roy says calmly as he continue to write, looking up at you every so often before continuing.

"More like when you're out at the taverns." Trixie says a hint of disapproval in her tone.

"Like I said training." Roy says with a grin on his face, as he continues to write.

"Well I think we're about ready to give you your final test then, if you pass this I reckon you'll be ready to take on the easier jobs, just remember if you think it's filled with deadly traps, it probably is." Trixie says with a slight laugh as she gestures you to follow her once shes stowed all the wires into a nearby chest. Roy picks up his book and quill and follows you both.

You are led back into main hall and taken left, where you come across a large room, filled with bookshelves stuffed with books almost as high as the ceiling, although as you inspect closer you notice that the spines on some of them begin to repeat, and it's likley they've been bough just to fill the spaces, apart from a smaller space closer to one of the large chairs, which seems a mismatch of books some battered, and others almost pristine, and you imagine this must be the ones that actually mean something to Trixie. Your eye's scan the rest of the room and soon you spy the table in between some of the other large armchairs you see the metal case you brought with you.

"Alright your final lesson Emma, is to use what you've learnt and pick open this lock, you have an hour and all the tools in this pouch at your disposal, I'll leave Roy to supervise you." Trixie says with a smile as she places down a small leather box in front of you, much smaller and nowhere near as well decorated as the box from earlier, and upon opening you find a much more simplistic set of tools, very basic. You reckon you know how most of them would work but at least you have an hour to try.

"I wont let you down." You reply with a smile as you walk over to the metal case, and quickly find the lock, and reach into the leather box and fish out some of the simple tools, as you begin to slowly prod and probe at the locks innards to try and learn their workings of the lock as Trixie taught you earlier. You become so engrossed in your task that you don't notice Trixie leave, as the minutes soon begin to fly by, as you gingerly experiment with the tool, but unfortunately find the task a lot more complex than it sounded, and after a frustrating half an hour, are no closer to unlocking it, but at least you feel as though you know what you need to do to pick the lock, it's just getting the infuriating tumblers to stay in place as you try and move onto the next layer. You take back the tool after almost loosing your cool at the lock, and eyeing an Axe mounted on the wall wonder if your could smash the lock off. Roy is still scribbling away, as you look over to him, the light beaming through the large window complimenting his figure well as you take your mind off the task as Roy starts to whistle a song you are unfamiliar with, but pick up quite quickly as you begin to feel you foot tapping along, as you feel your annoyances melt away as you sit back down take a deep breath and begin to toil with the lock, this time finding that your hands are steadier, and you actually get close a few times fumbling the last tumbler. Unlike before you don't get annoyed, but in fact focus on the positives that in the space of a few minutes you're already close to getting the lock on.

You continue on for a couple of minutes, and begin to get annoyed again, and you let out a cry of frustration, as you curse this damnable lock. You wonder why you were getting worse, and you look over to Roy who is looking up at you.

"Are you OK Emma?" Roy asks in a calm tone as to not provoke you.

"No, I was so damn close before, and now I'm back at square one." You say in a tone as punch an over plump cushion.

"Well what was different a few minutes ago?" Roy asks as he walks over and sits next to you putting an arm on your shoulder.

"I dunno I was calmer, and relaxed, there was.......whistling." You say slowly as you begin to think back to something Thomas told you earlier. "Hey Roy how talented of a Story teller are you, and can you play any instruments or sing?" You ask quickly as you begin to formulate something in your mind.

"Errmmm yeah really good at both, I wasn't joking earlier when I said story teller extraordinaire." Roy says with a cocky grin that you ignore and smile as you reckon you might have an idea to get you in the zone to crack this metal case open.

"You were whistling earlier, something that relaxes you?" You ask quickly as you look Roy in the eyes as you still smile.

"Errr Yeah, something like that why?" He asks still not quite following you.

"Right you got anything that helps you think and concentrate, like when your writing and stuck for the right words or something?" You ask getting slightly more excited as your plan begins to piece together.

"Yeah sure." Roy says before you cut him off.

"Whistle it, please." You say with a big grin on your face as Roy looks confused for a moment before shrugging, and licking his lips as he begins to start whistling a new tune, again one you don't know, but you don't worry about that for now, as you turn back to the case, hold the tools and carefully and methodically begin to work the lock again, this time you find that your patience pays off as soon you're on the last pin, and you take a deep breath as you slowly lever the tool about keeping your hand as steady as possible as to not drop the rest of the tumblers. You slowly glide over the last bit, feeling it give slightly as your hands ache as you mentally hold back any itches or involuntary spasms they want to make. Finally you feel the last tumbler rise, and carefully your rotate the lock and hear the click. It sounds like the sweetest most satisfying song you've ever heard, and you lift the lid on the case, and find some dark leather clothing with small bits of metal in them, and a note on top.

"Well done." You hear from the side of you as your turn and see Trixie standing over you. "It looks like you were able to use your partners skills to help enhance your own and do an otherwise impossible task, that something that usually takes months for some adventurers to learn." Trixie says with a smile, as she picks up the note and laughs before passing it back to you. "Looks like Thomas read you pretty well." Trixie says with a smile as you read the note.

'Emma

If you are reading this, then the training is working, and you are close to becoming a new addition to the old adventurers path of the Rogue. You'll be keeping your adventuring party safe from tricky traps, and keeping them well equipped by liberating long lost treasure.

In this case you will find some armor that should see you safe for a good while, until you find some or buy some with magic weaved into it, making it surpass any mundane armor in it protection. Don't solely rely on it to keep you safe, as ultimately it's better to not get hit at all, but may this keep you safe in your travels.

Keep safe, and look forward to celebrating with you soon.

Thomas'

You smile as you lift up the armor and hold it against your clothes, Trixie smiles and then turns to leave, as you look confused for a moment, before she turns back and gestures you to follow. "Well come on, I recall reading that there was a celebration to get to." Trixie says as Roy hops up and joins you as the three of you set off to Thomas' tavern.