Napoleonic Wargame Club (NWC)

Salute!

There is a fun new game to play!

But it is a bit of a mystery...

More clues to be provided as we move along.

Regards,

Salute!

First Clue: You have to be observant...
Paying attention to your environment...

Regards,

Would this be:

GEO-CACHING??

Salute!



Good guess Tim, but not quite.
Though it does involve cats and mice, mathematics (nothing too complicated), and as I said, awareness of one's environment.

Particularly changes to it.

Regards,

Salute!

Timing is everything.

Coup d'oeil.

Regards,

Salute!

The Scribe looked up from where he was writing in his journal, to see the approach of his friend.

Le Chevalier set a narrow wooden box upon the table, then, removing his cavalryman's riding gloves, laid them down beside it.

The Scribe found his eyes drawn to a series of intricate designs carved below the metal framed edges.

They and the box they adorned looked well worn, and very, very old.

"What is this?" he asked.

"A merchant in Italia with whom I do business found it for me," Le Chevalier explained.

Helga, walking from a nearby table where a knot of Russian officers, from their boisterous gestures, were deeply involved in a contest of imbibing many shots of their favored native liquor, stopped to speak to them.

"What can I get you, sir?" she asked, bending down to pet the head of Josephine who twirled about, rubbing against her legs.

Le Chevalier looked over, and seeing the empty tumbler aside the journal, ordered two more of the same for them both.

His fingers played with a catch fastener, and slowly he raised the box lid...

The Scribe leaned over to see what would be revealed...

(to be continued...)

Regards,

Salute!

Peering into the open box, the Scribe can see a slightly smaller box was fit within, also with a closed lid, engraved with more glyphs of foreign origin.

Resting a top the lid of the second box were two rolled scrolls bound with silvered twine.

These Le Chevalier pull out and set to one side; then carefully fitting his fingers around the edges of the second box, raising it up to set upon the table as well.

Naturally, the Scribe's interest is focused on the rolled parchments, and his hands reach to pick one up - but Le Chevalier stops him with a gesture, and bidding him wait.

"Here you go then," said Helga returning with their whiskey tumblers.

Thus distracted, the Scribe thanks her kindly and raises the drink to his lips.

Now he watches as the lid of the second box is removed, to reveal within... sand... the color of yellow and brown.

"What in the world?" the Scribe mutters.

"It is a garden," Le Chevalier explains.

"A sand garden? What can you grow in sand?"

"No, it is not for growing in the sense that you are thinking... it is for growing..." Le Chevalier taps one finger against his temple.

"Growing the mind?" the Scribe takes another sip of his drink. "How do you grow your mind using a box filled with... with sand?"

Josephine appears beside the box, resting one paw upon the edge...

Le Chevalier pulls out a small dirk, the only weapon that officers are allowed to brandish in the confines of the tavern common room.

From the corner of his vigilant eye, he notes a uniform of the Osterreich armee stumble as it passes by their table.

He begins to trace something within the grains of quartz.

The Scribe squints to see better.

It is but a single stroke, like a slash.

Le Chevalier, gazing upon the simple mark he has made, begins to intone softly...

"Even though I draw a mere line on the ground and defend it, he will not be able to engage me in battle because we thwart his movements..."

(to be continued...)

Regards,

Salute!

Le Chevalier picks up one of the small bound scrolls and opens it...
He reads it silently first to himself, then hands it to the Scribe.

His friend studies it for a moment, then reads the words written upon the delicate paper aloud:

I have just come to a realization!
This scroll by Broken Sword contains no secrets of his swordsmanship.
What this reveals is his highest ideal.
In the first state, man and sword become one and each other.
Here, even a blade of grass can be used as a lethal weapon.
In the next stage, the sword resides not in the hand but in the heart.
Even without a weapon, the warrior can slay his enemy from a hundred paces.
But the ultimate ideal is when the sword disappears altogether.
The warrior embraces all around him.
The desire to kill no longer exists.
Only peace remains.
King Of Qin