The Indigo room

[Glaurung]

A point of information: what is "flushwork"? It's not an architectural term I know.

EDIT:
Further questions, but now put in a separate post.

[Jubal]

Wiki explains better than I can:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flushwork

Basically a form of flint walling, quite common in parts of East Anglia - you've probably seen plenty!

[Glaurung]

Ah, so flint then. And "poorly made and maintained" would suggest I can prise out individual flints, yes?

Also, while I think of it, some further questions:
- Am I carrying anything with me from previous rooms?
- Can I open the desk drawers and read the book without triggering some hideous death?
- How flexible / fragile is the quill pen?
- What is the inkwell made of?
- Can I slide anything under or around the steel-plated door?

[Jubal]

And "poorly made and maintained" would suggest I can prise out individual flints, yes?
Correct.
- Am I carrying anything with me from previous rooms?
I'm going to say "no", because it will make my life easier from hereon in. You can be carrying the book you picked off the shelf I guess, which is a book on rubicund fishes :p
- Can I open the desk drawers and read the book without triggering some hideous death?
You can. The book appears to be some sort of bestiary, not completed. You're unfamiliar with the script used. The drawers are all empty.
- How flexible / fragile is the quill pen?
Reasonably solid, apart from the tips at either end. It's a decent size goose feather.
- What is the inkwell made of?
It's an inset inkwell - it's part of the desk.
- Can I slide anything under or around the steel-plated door?
It's a normal door - there might be a very thin gap at the bottom, it's not airtight, but you couldn't easily push a postcard under it for example.

[Glaurung]

You can be carrying the book you picked off the shelf I guess, which is a book on rubicund fishes :p

Particularly those of the family Clupeidae, perchance?

- How flexible / fragile is the quill pen?
Reasonably solid, apart from the tips at either end. It's a decent size goose feather.

Will it fit in the door's keyhole, and is it suitable to pick the lock with?

[Jubal]

Yes, indeed


And no - it's actually quite a small keyhole, and the lock inside looks like it really needs a proper key.

[Ierne]

I decide to try and look for the key.

I use the flint to light the candle, and the candle to heat the blank pages in the book, to see if there are any invisible ink instructions.

[Jubal]

Interesting idea, but unfortunately, the wick of the candle is too stubby to catch easily from flint sparks.

[Ierne]

I'm guessing that if I lit a fire in the fireplace, using the flint and the straw, and used *that* to light the candle and heat the book, I still wouldn't find any invisible ink?

Ok, I have a look up the chimney. I also check for false bottoms to the desk drawers, and for anything hidden inside the binding of the book.

[Jubal]

You can light the candle that way, and you do indeed find no invisible ink. You see nothing up the chimney (I'm going to be nice and assume you looked up there before lighting the fire!

What do you want to do with the (nb, still burning) candle now you've heated the book pages with it? It's a sizeable candle.

You find nothing in the binding. One desk drawer has a false bottom but the only thing underneath is a dead spider.

[Ierne]

So, the lock can't be picked, there are no further instructions, and I'm getting the feeling that I'm not going to find a key just by looking in *more places* at random.

I have a candle, and I'm getting the impression that I'm supposed to use it, but I have no idea what for. Unless there's a trapdoor I've somehow missed, leading to a long, dark passageway? But that seems unlikely.

. Would it be helpful to make a wax impression of the lock???

[Jubal]

Again, neat idea but you risk gumming the lock up.

Hints:

Spoiler

Yes, there is a key. The question is where.

Hint 2:

Spoiler

Consider how the items you have could have been made.

[Ierne]

Do I find a pan and a candle mold I haven't noticed before, one of which has the key in?

[Tusky]

I wonder if waiting for the candle to burn down would reveal a key that was set within the wax, or render a vital part of the puzzle useless

[Jubal]

I wonder if waiting for the candle to burn down would reveal a key that was set within the wax, or render a vital part of the puzzle useless

Yes, the candle was in the wax My initial thought was that the quickest method would just be to chuck the whole candle in the fire, but letting it burn down also works.

Oh gosh, I need to think of another problem now...