Mystery hands.

So, occasionally, I receive unusual packages from people.  Working at both N. Tep Enterprises and the Eldritch Studies Society, I'm used to the occasional bad ghost photo, doctored animal in a jar, and human organ wrapped in butcher's paper.  About...80% of the things we get are rubbish.  That other 20% ends up being either business related (deliveries of office supplies, letters for Mr. Tep esq., the Professor's correspondence, etc.) or something actually remarkable.

Enter the above pictured strongbox.  For those in the know, the sigil on the top is courtesy of Agrippa's Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy (The seal of Raphael, angel of Wednesday).  The front left are three symbols for good spirits (Also Agrippa).  The right is alchemy with an unknown language (I tried, but yielded nothing, more work on the translation to come).  Top to bottom:  Terra, ferrum, mercury (day and night within the symbol), and then an alchemic cipher for 20 and 7.  Bizarre, no?  Well, I'm a fool, so I broke the seals and opened it.

 

Oh joy! Cloth and things wrapped in cloth! 

I took the objects from the case and unwrapped them, I was very pleased with the find.

 

Wrapped in that red cloth were a pair of hands.  They seem to be stoneware and are unusually heavy even for stoneware.  They measure 7x29cm for the white and 9x24cm for the black one.

It gets better.

There was a few sheets of parchment in the bottom of the lockbox.

Tune in tomorrow.