Mike helped Peter to drag the chest into the hotel. Together, they heaved the heavy item through the main lobby and into the elevator. Both of their rooms were on the fifth floor, and neither wanted to carry the chest up the stairs.
They squeezed into the elevator and rode up. After reaching the fifth floor, they half dragged, half carried the box into Mike's room and set it on the ground. Peter collapsed next to the chest, breathing heavily, as Mike closed the door and flipped on the lights.
Mike knelt in front of the chest and examined the lock. He frowned. "Complicated," he commented. Peter looked over his shoulder at the mechanism and nodded in agreement.
"Yep," he replied. He reached into his shirt pocket and produced at small scrap of paper. "Good thing I've got this."
Mike nodded. "Okay, read it to me," he ordered, positioning his fingers in front of the lock.
"Ok…the first dial from the left is first," Peter read. "36 right, 54 left, 02 right." Mike moved the dial in the right places and a click was heard. "Ok, the next one is letters…turn right until you get to A, then left to W, and right to Q." Mike turned the dials in the correct manner, and another click was heard. "Last one," Peter read. "42 right, 22 left, 90 right." Mike did so. "Now you lift that lever over there and open it up," Peter finished.
Mike moved the lever and lifted the cover of the chest. "Shield your eyes," he told Peter, anticipating what was to come. Peter closed his eyes, and Mike put a hand over his.
The chest opened with a loud creak as Mike threw the cover back on its' hinges. From the inside, a bright light was shining. Both squinted through the light to see what was inside.
The glowing stopped after a few minutes and Mike and Peter could both see what was causing it. A large stone sat in the middle of the chest, on a pillow of velvet. A piece of paper sat next to it.
"This huge chest for one little rock?" Mike asked. He sighed. Peter shook his head and took the piece of paper.
To whom it may concern:
This is the stone of power. You have been allowed use of it until its rightful owner has reached the age of which it will be useful. Please return it to him when he has reached that age.
Lisabella Engle
Peter made a face. "I don't get it," he told Mike. He handed the paper to Mike, who read it. "Who is this rightful owner, who is Lisabella Engle, and how do we know when to give it to them?"
Mike shook his head. "I say we just follow our original instructions and keep the stone with us 'till the end of the tour."
Peter nodded in agreement. "I wonder what it does," he thought aloud.
Mike shrugged. "I dunno," he replied. "But I don't wanna find out. Let's move it to somethin' smaller. I ain't carryin' this big chest around everywhere under the sun if all it's got in it is a rock."
Peter agreed, and together they moved the small stone into a shoebox.
Back to part fourteen
Onward to part sixteen
