It sounds a lot like a lock, [ is what he says in confirmation after she does, and where he'd been sitting back on his heels now he leans forward to study it after Gideon's completed it. ] Still not like any that I've ever seen before, including elaborately magicked ones to keep trespassers out of places they weren't meant to go.

[ After prodding the notch a couple more times Claude sits back again. There's a limit to how much time he wants to spend in extremely close proximity to something like this, because - ]

It'd be worth seeing if the acolytes pay these things any special attention on their next trip through, since I think we'd better do some more research before we accidentally unlock something we can't put back in the metaphorical or literal box.

[ With a faint smile Gideon's direction since bleak humor seems to be where they're both at right now. Maybe it's empty in some cosmic joke of a misleading trail to give them hope. Anything's possible if being down here is anything to go by. ]

You and me both on the messages. Does it seem like the ones you get from people not here are... blurry, somehow? [ A second goes by where he frowns, then: ] Blurry's not the right word, but they don't read like they usually do. Almost like parts are missing even though that's never been the case before that I remember.