*Trinket, Uncommon*
*20 sp*
*An ordinary padlock made out of silver without its key. The lock is impervious to being opened without a matching key. The lock weighs as much as twenty silver pieces.*
*It exudes a strong magical aura, most likely due to the unopenable nature of the lock, and is widely considered useless.*
===
“You want the lock?” The old man in the shop asked, scoffing.
“Yeah, it looks cool. Besides, it’s silver right?” Luke shrugged, hefting the padlock up and down in his hand. He wasn’t sure why this lock spoke to him, but it did. “I pick locks for fun, this would be cool to add to the collection.”
The old man couldn’t help but laugh. “Kid, I’ve had that lock for longer than anyone in your family tree has been alive. The thing won’t open unless you have the key for it, that’s for sure! Tell ya what, I’ll give you the lock for free. I don’t even know why I keep it around anymore.”
“Deal.” Luke smiled and pocketed his prize. Nothing else was really calling to him in the store, so he made his way out after saying goodbye to the eccentric old shopkeep. Walking home, Luke kept fidgeting with the padlock, tugging at the hard shackle. Well, it certainly wasn’t going to pop open on its own, that’s for sure.
Back at home, Luke was having the same luck with his lockpicks. It’s not that he was an expert, but a lock this old should be essentially trivial to open with some basic knowledge of how to pick and rake. But, nothing happened.
Eventually, Luke had to admit defeat. He called up a buddy of his - an actual locksmith - and asked for a key to be made using fancy tools that could figure out what the key should be. If he could see the key, Luke reasoned, perhaps that would give him some clues to the lock’s nature.
Strangely, the lock was returned wordlessly to him, dropped off on his porch with the key under it.
Peculiar, Luke thought.
But, Luke had the key now, and wanted to make sure it worked. Sure enough, it did, unlocking the padlock as though it were brand new, and not an ancient device.
===
*Trinket, Rare*
*20 gp*
*An ordinary padlock made out of silver with a matching key. The lock is impervious to being opened without a matching key. The lock weighs as much as twenty silver pieces.*
*It exudes a strong magical aura, even when its magically locked nature is overcome. Other mysteries are hidden within the many layers of its spellwork.*
===
“Hey man, what’s that?” Luke’s roommate, Paul walked into the room, chewing on a sandwich that was still in hand. Luke cringed and groaned, shaking his head. It’s not that he didn’t like Paul, but it was more that living together had gotten on each other’s nerves. Not to mention that Paul exhibited several of Luke’s pet peeves all at once, Luke was easily annoyed by his roommate.
‘Geez, why can’t he just keep his mouth shut,” Luke thought as he snapped the padlock shut. An electric-like tingle ran through the air. Luke whirled around to look at Paul, who looked confused and baffled. Silently, Paul finished chewing, and then mumbled something.
“Speak up man, I can’t hear you. Why are you mumbling?”
Paul pantomimed, flailing his hands and pointing at his mouth and then to the padlock in Luke’s hands. Slowly, after many long moments, Luke pieced it together.
“Wait, the old lock?” Using the key, Luke quickly popped the lock open only to hear a loud and exaggerated sigh from Paul.
“Jeez dude, what the hell was that?” Paul approached slowly, baffled.
“I… I don’t know. I guess it keeps things locked shut, or something like that? But that’s crazy, right?” Luke mused. The look on Paul’s face immediately reassured him that, no, it wasn’t crazy considering it had just happened. Suddenly, ideas rushed into Luke’s head, and he ran off out the door.
===
*Trinket, Legendary*
*500 gp*
*An ordinary padlock made out of silver with a matching key. The lock is impervious to being opened without a matching key. The lock weighs as much as twenty silver pieces.*
*It exudes a strong magical aura, even when its magically locked nature is overcome. The true purpose of the lock is to put any object into a locked state. What defines “a locked state” is entirely up to the interpretation and understanding of the individual operating the lock.*
*If the object is a sentient creature and is aware of the nature of the padlock, they can attempt to resist the effects of the padlock. The effects of the padlock are overcome with a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw that the creature may attempt once per turn.*
===
“So yeah, that’s what the lock does! And I got it for free from this old dude out on the west side of The City, near the college campus. I wonder if he knew what it did… no, why would he give it away, then?”
“Luke, calm down,” Sally called out, snapping her boyfriend out of the trance. “It probably doesn’t even do anything, not that I’m doubting you, but… come on, do you hear yourself?”
“Can I use it on you? Do I have your permission?”
Sally thought for a moment, then shrugged. After all, it probably did nothing. She shuddered as it felt like static electricity moved through the air, and tried to say something. Surprisingly to her, she couldn’t speak, with her mouth sealed shut. Not only was it locked shut, it was locked in place, with Sally unable to move her mouth - and by extension, her head.
After a brief moment, the faux-shock filled the room again, and Sally could move. Her eyes lit up. “Can… can that lock anything?”
Luke, shrugged, looking at the lock. “I guess, let’s see.” He held up his hand, closed it into a fist, and then locked the padlock shut with his spare hand. After a moment of straining to open his fingers, he nodded, and fumbled to unlock the padlock. With a bit of help from Sally, he finally got it and freed his fingers again.
“Look,” Sally started, “I uh… you know I like to be held down and restrained when we…” She blushed a little. It was an awkward conversation, talking about your bedroom interests when not in the bedroom. “Safeword is three rapid blinks. Don’t let me move at all.”
After a long moment of confusion, Luke finally understood. “O-oh! Ok!” The padlock clicked shut, and there was silence in the room, but only for a moment.