Mysterious Stone; Owner?

[mrmitchell]

I awoke this morning to find a stone on my hut's doorstep with this inscribed on it:

| /-\|\|/| 1337 |-|4X()|2
3|2/-\|)|(4-|-()|2
61\/3 |\|/|3 |_||2 5Q|_|||) ()|2 |=/-\(3 -|-|-|3 (()|\|53|_||\|(35

What does it mean? I can't figure it out at all. Spamish says it might mean something about squid, but that's all he can figure out. (He says this language was commonplace where he came from before joining Spain, but his eyes aren't good enough to read all of it out.)

Any help please?



Sewfa Kengretard Mitchell
(OOC )

[Aidun]

Hmm let me see if I can help you. I'm a philosopher too as you might know. Where did your father Spamish come from? Looking to these insriptions I guess they might be runes, but looking at it, I can't say where they are from.

Aidun Cian the older,

Governor of Madrid;
First Priest of Luna el Salvador;
Philosopher at the Academia of Madrid

[History Guy]

Darn it. Filthy swine. Get off the top secret calamari recipe, or I'll have you prosecuted for theft!!! Don't give me any of that pamplona that you "found it on your doorstep"!

It's a good thing I encoded it, otherwise you might have...dare I say it?...discovered the Top Secret Family Recipe!!

Off with you now, else I let the dogs on you!

Fernand de History Guy Calamari
Squid Baron

[mrmitchell]

OOC /OOC

Señor Calamari, I wouldn't be so quick. I found it on my doorstep, and Thig (a slave of mine) can verify it for me, as he was tending the yard and saw me get it. (He says it was there when he came out and didn't pick it up, assuming it was a simple letter and I could get it. He had some nice time in the Happy Happy room for not delivering my mail. ) As such, I'd like to keep it until I can find out more of what it is; if you can prove that you are missing such a stone of your own recently however then I will go ahead and return it as it is probably not of any use. Besides, why would I want to have it? My great-grandfather is in the Squid business, not me, and he hasn't sold a Squid in millenia anyways.

Señor Cian, hes not my father, he's my great-grandfather (ooc IIRC ) and he grew up in a distant place near the "Afklands", he says. Back in his time there wasn't much (if any) study of surrounding geography, so he can't provide more than his general region, and it's not like anything known by our cartographers.

Sewfa Kengretardo Mitchell
(Nothing Important Yet)

[History Guy]

Look, young man...I can prove it by translating one line...

The Calamarquian runes: | /-\|\|/|

They say: Take the squid and...

There, now that I have proven it...give it me! It's mine! I wants it! Mine! My own! My precious!

[pikesfan]

Re: Mysterious Stone; Owner?

| /-\|\|/| 1337 |-|4X()|2

I am **** Haxor (?)

3|2/-\|)|(4-|-()|2

eradicator

61\/3 |\|/|3 |_||2 5Q|_|||) ()|2 |=/-\(3 -|-|-|3 (()|\|53|_||\|(35

Give me your squid or face the consequences

[mrmitchell]

---
Senor Calamari, I have decided to keep it for a suitable interval to see if anyone else claims it. If no one else claims it in one 24-hour period, you may have it. I don't see why you expect me to read it and find out your recipe, as I have already stated confusion over its text.

By the way, your lust for this thing is rather unhealthy; I'd get it checked out by a shaman sometime.

Sewfa Kengretardo Mitchell
(Nothing Important Yet)

[mrmitchell]

Considering Senor Pikesfan's new and different (and in my opinion more sense-making) translation of the document, along with the fact that it fits in with my own great-grandfather's limited reading, you'll have to come up with considerable proof, Senor Calamari. Not just a "translation."

Sewfa Kengretardo Mitchell

[History Guy]

Blast. How do I do that? What proof do you need, thief?

Look...thanks to you we've had to change the recipe drastically. Luckily, we've improved it. Thanks, guy. We don't need the stone anymore. Do whatever you want with it. Bounce it off someone's head, or eat it, or whatever. It's yours. Just don't try to read it...you won't understand.

We guarantee that.

Heh heh heh.

[mrmitchell]

Senor Calamari, your strange behaviour has been remembered, but I highly doubt it was your stone in the first place.

Sewfa Kengretardo Mitchell

[Nuclear Winter]

He... has got the....
oh you young magg*t! gimme that!!! NOW!!
*hits the mitchie in the head with his cane*
and this is for taking our relic! And this is for believing that fool old mitchie, and this is for... aww it doesn´t care!
Hmmpf
gimme this back NOW or you´ll get some serious problem boy...

[mrmitchell]

Argh! Many, many people claim the stone for their own. My best idea is to gift it to Grand Despot Togas when the 24-hour period is up, since no one can produce conclusive evidence of thier ownership.

[History Guy]

Gastronome Neecap runs out of the outhouse.

(bounces a rock off Mitchell's head)

"Give me that...you little thief!"

Immediately, an old washerwoman drops some laundry on Mitchell's head, and jumps down on top of him, throttling him.

"That's mine!! You little..."

A barmaid smashes the washerwoman on the head with her beer, and begins to go after Mitchell with the corkscrew...

"That's the birthstone from my wedding ring!! Give it me!!"

A midget runs out of a cupboard, trips the barmaid, and leaps onto Mitchell, clasping a long, shiny candle-stick, which he prepares to bash Mitchell with.

"Hey! You weasle! I know where you got that! Give it back!"

This sort of activity continues for the next two dozen hours, or so.

Calamari just shakes his head and walks off in disgust.

[Aidun]

Mitchell, almostunbelievable that so many people are so greedy. I suggest you solve it Salomo's way. Never heard of that story from a land far away?

Give it to the Despot and let him call all the greedy people before him and try to break it...

Aidun Cian the older

[mrmitchell]

ouch! ouch! ouch!

quick, grand despot! catch!!!

Sewfa throws the stone, hoping it lands in good hands.