Inkwood Box

Reginus Buca

If I didn't know better, I'd have said the artisan who crafted this box used a dark stain to get this unique color. But no, this is inkwood straight from Apocrypha. What did it contain, though?

Ugron gro-Thumog

Interesting. This container held some form of glyphic. See how the inkwood has a slight purple sheen to it? I've seen this kind of discoloration when this type of wood is exposed to a glyphic for a period of time.

Reginus Buca

Look closely at the lower right inside corner. See that partially obscured maker's mark? If I'm not mistaken, that's the Girvayne family's symbol. They crafted pieces for musicians in the First Era. So, this may be part of an instrument.

  Rune-Etched Cylinder

Reginus Buca

The etchings on this cylinder indicate an arcanist prepared it. But they don't look like any I've run into before. Perhaps they indicate a form of runic magic I'm not aware of. Regardless, the dark metal acts as if imbued.

Gabrielle Benele

This metal most certainly is imbued! And these runeforms indicate sound manipulation of some sort. As if when matched with another rune, a sound would ring out.

Reginus Buca

This metal puzzles me still. This isn't wispmetal quenched in tomeshell gore, is it? Given the slight striations I'm seeing ... yes, it must be. An Oblivion rarity!

  Rune-Scribed Comb

Reginus Buca

The runeforms on this strange metal comb are all the same. And they all seem to set off some form of arcanist's magic. So, a triggering comb? Definitely not something for hair. And it's definitely made from wispmetal.

Verita Numida

I see a tiny symbol on the edge - a golden eye. Of course that points right to the Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge. What use would Mora's adherents have for this bit of metal, though? I agree it must be part of a larger item.

Reginus Buca

Perhaps it belongs to an arcanist's locking device, where you need to line up symbols exactly to open it. That said, the overall shape of the comb reminds me of a music box's mechanism.

  Fortified Green Calcite Gears

Reginus Buca

Why would anyone make gears out of green calcite? It's such a soft mineral. But perhaps this rich mauve sheen strengthens it enough to make it a worthwhile material for gears. My ruby won't scratch it.

Amalien

The unusual coating on this gear must be from an unguent arcanists use to strengthen tome bindings. If you ever see a row of books with a strange mauve shimmer to them, chances are an arcanist bound them in Apocrypha. Oh to have such a volume!

Reginus Buca

A faint rune on this gear marks it as being something an arcanist crafted. My sense of it, not knowing what greater machinery it once ran, is that it means eternal. Not a bad thing to ask for when working with gears.

  Intricate Winding Shaft

Reginus Buca

No questions about this one. It's a grooved shaft that one uses to tighten or loosen something. What would this have opened ... or closed? A tomb maybe? And it's crafted from wispmetal - a rare Apocrypha metal.

Ugron gro-Thumog

If it has anything to do with burial chambers, whatever was buried must have been extremely tiny. In other words, I think this belongs to a mechanism of some kind. Not a tomb. And not Dwemer given the nature of the metal.

Amalien

Oh, you're right, Ugron! There's an arcanist's rune right on the tip, too. I think it's a rune of bonding of some sort. Adherence? Not adhesive. Maybe if we find its mechanized companions, it will magically stick to the correct piece.

  Rune-Carved Key

Reginus Buca

Well, this is a winding mechanism if I ever saw one. But what does it wind? I've seen something similar used for drum heads, but this one is so delicate.

Verita Numida

Given its wispmetal construction, I'd say be careful of what it winds up or opens since it likely originates from Apocrypha. Perhaps it's a portal key of some sort to that realm?

Amalien

It's so tiny. And cute. And I think built to go flush with whatever it belongs to - so that it isn't easily seen. And that makes me think this belongs to something artistic. Oh, and that rune hiding inside it? I think it means find. Interesting!

  Dark Metal Cubes

Reginus Buca

A giant's handful of metal cubes. All the same size. What purpose do these serve? And, yes, they're crafted from wispmetal. Are these cubes used in some sort of Apocrypha game that servitors of Mora play when not finding obscure lore?

Gabrielle Benele

I've run into these before in a ruined temple to Mora, neatly placed on a copy of Musica Ephemera. Sadly, a tomeshell nearby took the book after I moved the cubes off it. Maybe they're wards of some sort?

Amalien

I think your tomeshell didn't like being near something crafted from a dead friend, Gabrielle. I see two smaller runes on each one. I think they mean attract and oppose. So, some form of movement is involved with these, I'd say.

  Dark Metal Mesh

Amalien

This has to be the finest form of Apocryphal wispmetal I've ever seen! It's almost like a fabric. A weighty fabric. But it's such a small swatch. It must have covered something sacred.

Reginus Buca

If you hold it up to the light, you can see a faint arcanist's rune. I think it means "move away." Is this some sort of repelling device that only arcanists can use?

Amalien

Shift it a bit more in the light, Reginus, and it says attract instead. I think. Depending on the light, it can either draw something in or push something out. Oooh, I need to study arcanist runes more!

  Darklight Gemstone

Gabrielle Benele

Well, well - a darklight gemstone. These give off a light that makes unseen colors glow. Explorers in Apocrypha once used a special chalk to mark their way through book mazes, then used these stones to make their formerly invisible marks visible.

Verita Numida

It's cut into a cabochon and almost flawless. Yet, I see a rune inside it, almost as if it's floating. The artistry and magical skill needed to form this gemstone is prodigious. Could an artistic arcanist have crafted this stone?

Reginus Buca

That rune is the maker's mark of Adonia of the Heart's Ache - an artist from the First Era. Adonia's voice sent many an erstwhile suitor to their graves when they got too ... persistent. And anything Adonia crafted involved music in some form.

  Dark Metal Springs

Amalien

What's a mechanical device without springs? But to make them from Apocryphal wispmetal seems a bit much when normal springs would work. Seems like they sought to match metals throughout the device.

Verita Numida

It is a bit odd to see mechanisms using materials from Apocrypha, but there must be a purpose to it. Perhaps the device required certain similar resonances within its metal workings. So, sound-oriented?

Amalien

I can see an argument for the metal choice being pure aesthetics. But look more closely at the wispmetal wire holding the springs together. It's an eye. Hermaeus Mora. The device these came from must have honored the One Who Knows. I'm sure of it!