A Carved Brass Escutcheon

I slipped through the courtyard iron gate and navigated the lower stone steps into the alleyway of Baldur's Gate. Tucked beneath the recessed threshold of a quiet curio shop, away from passing boots, I found a discarded brass door escutcheon resting against the damp stone jamb. Its tarnished face was etched with concentric circular grooves and a narrow, keyhole slit. Keeping my red relic braced safely in my grip, I used my free left hand to clear away a cluster of dry lichen from its patterned border. Peering through the empty slot revealed the quiet, dust-moted interior of the shop floor—orderly, dim, and entirely undisturbed.