With the team having decided to wait out Beats' portal back to the Washington National Cathedral (in lieu of hiking back to the van and driving), Emend found himself with plenty of time to sort through the collection of unusual items with prime to determine their mystical properties.
Aside from Robor's sword, the only other magical item, recovered from the guardian fiend's hoard, was the old typewriter in the beat-up black case. It turned out to be a 1920s Remington Rand portable with glass keys. There was a profane resonance of hate, wrath, and mistrust about the thing - and just looking at it, brought unsolicited thoughts to Emend's mind, of all the people who had ever wronged him in some way or another over the years. It felt as though the typewriter was inviting Emend to sit down and express these various injustices through its keys.
Clearly the typewriter was cursed, and Emend suspected that anyone foolish enough to heed its urgings would find their minds inevitably lost to the machine's evil resonance. As if sensing Emend's concerns, a key of the typewriter abruptly snapped, showing the impression of the letter 'H' in its dried out old ribbon.
It was not clear if the key had just shifted while being carried - or the typewriter could actually will its keys to move of their own accord. Either way, no more keys struck - and it didn't do anything more to explain what could be meant by the letter 'H'. Still, Emend got the impression that the typewriter held some sort of historic significance.
As Emend considered the typewriter, UsdiYona emptied the contents of the dried-out saddle bags emblazoned with the fading red letters of the Wells Fargo logo. A pile of ninety two 1824 George the IV gold sovereigns (with Saint George and the Dragon on their reverse) fell out onto the ground.
"<Look at all that gold!>" Miguel remarked in Portuguese - his eyes widening at the sight.
Robor meanwhile, was emptying the jewelry out of the huge blue on white Ming vase. He counted eighty-one works of fine jewelry - representing nearly fifty pounds of gold, platinum, diamonds, emeralds, opals, sapphires, and rubies.
"<Ai yai yai!!!>" the conquistador gasped, having never before seen such riches - "<It is a king's ransom!>"
Following this, Robor checked the weathered stainless-steel combination briefcase with the rust-pocked chain and locking cuff attached. Both of the locks on the case were shut, but Robor was able to use his craftman’s eye spell to suss-out the combinations - using his knowledge of matter to analyze the locking mechanism itself as he fiddled with it.
After a small amount of trial and error, Robor popped open the locks - revealing one thousand 1950-1954 $100 Canadian bills and a typed note that read: “Here is your ransom. Now give me back my daughter!”
By this time, Usdiyona had put the gold sovereigns back in the Wells Fargo bag and handed it to Emend. She then went and removed the canvas covering the large paneled object, to find an old painting of ten noble-looking men on horseback in front of a rock outcropping with rolling orchards and alabaster castles in the background. The piece did not appear to be signed by an artist, but looked hundreds of years old.
Seeing it, Miguel started, then turned to the Saint (Killer) to exclaim, "<This painting, I have seen it before! In a book I think... Yes, it is called 'The Judges' if I am not mistaken.>"
The Saint (Killer) meanwhile, had flipped the 1970s cash register from 7/11 on end to shake out whatever was rattling around inside. Without power, the electric till release couldn't be activated so the register remained shut.
After a moment of vigorous shaking, an old driver’s license slipped out from under the cash drawer. Picking it up, the Saint (Killer) saw that it belonged to 'John Warner' of Lansing Michigan, Issued in 2001. The picture was that of a slightly younger Jack Eaton Jr.
