Elara noticed his hesitancy to hand her the locket, so she smiled.
"I'll give it back."
She held up the locket to the chest...nothing. She sighed. She examined the locket more closely. Nothing. She handed it back to Nik.
"Well, it was worth a try."
Her eyes scanned the room, looking for any potential hiding places. Her eyes found the desk, and she frowned, walking over to it. One drawer was slightly bigger than the other. There must be a space above the drawer, but she didn't see any indication that there was. She knelt down and pulled the drawer open, and there wasn't any keys. There was, however, a bottle of whiskey, and she grinned and set it on the desk.
Elara idly fiddled with the knob on the desk drawer, and she heard a click.
No way that's a puzzle desk. She's had experience with a few, maybe she could figure this one out. She cautiously turned the knob, listening for another click. It clicked, and the bottom of the drawer slid open, revealing a hidden compartment, and a small cylinder engraved with various runes. She picked up the cylinder and turned back to Nik.
"I think I found it!"
She turned to Kkärsvig, who was messing with the small chests.
"Can you gather our crew and start to make your way back to our ship? We've been in one spot long enough," she said.
Kkärsvig nodded, and left.
She took the cylinder and walked over to the chest. There was a small hole where the keyhole would normally be, so she cautiously put the cylinder in it. The lid to the chest made a clicking sound, so Elara slowly opened the lid.
Red light shot out, and Elara took a quick step back, cautiously watching the chest. Nothing happened, so she continued to open it. Wisps of smoke were curling out of the chest and swirling around the room.
Elara quickly reached inside of the chest and drew out a piece of parchment.
"That's it! A map? I can't even read what this chart says. Oh well, maybe someone onboard our ship can translate it." She shrugged and turned to Nik.
"Let's head back to the ship"—-Aikios burst in the room.
"Cap'n! The elf escaped, and we can't find him!"
Elara groaned.
"Is our crew safely back on board?"
Aikios nodded.
Elara sighed, and turned to Nik.
"If you're up for it, want to help me find that elf?"