Video

[seekingmyfortune]

[A month without smokes. That's all it's been, but it feels like it's been a year. Sam had thought that the ability to get to a new world would give him some semblance of relief, but all it did was leave him even more disappointed and more frazzled than he was already feeling. Apparently, finding cigarettes is harder to achieve than locating lost pirate treasure.

As a last resort, he turns the people for help, and when the video turns on it reveals one Sam Drake sitting on a couch in his shared living space. His appearance could be better, and his leg shakes nervously as he travels a coin across the back of his hand to keep it busy.]

Okay, you know what? This is--this is just unbelievable. I mean, we get thrown into space, on a ship that is supposed to be advanced, and is even capable of opening portals into other worlds, and yet you're telling me that nobody at all has cigarettes? There's dinosaurs running around like rodents here, but you can't even buy a pack of cigarettes??

[Did his voice just break a little at the end of that? Clearly he's getting too frustrated, as he grabs the coin as it slips between two fingers into his palm. Sam takes a deep breath, closing his eyes as he slowly inhales and tries to compose himself. When he's ready, he looks back at the camera.]

If anybody's got anything--any information, any extra packs, or just even one--I would be extremely grateful if you could let me know. The name's Sam Drake. 

[text] a puzzle

[ryuuzaki]

Greetings, Avagi. A puzzle for you.

While exploring some ruins, you come across the remains of a chamber with several intact items in it. Your knowledge of the culture associated with the ruins suggests that the items and the groups in which they were displayed were significant to their original owners in that they found them interesting or amusing rather than sacred.

In no particular order, the items on display are:

- a small log from an alder-type tree
- a globe of the planet where your exploration took place
- what appears to be a carved, wedge-style doorstop, with no indication that it was ever used
- a rough wooden cube, about 1 inch by 1 inch by 1 inch, with a different symbol on each side
- a sheet of parchment
- a model of a simple house with a peaked roof
- an oddly shaped hard, clear wand

On further examination of the wand and the way it reacts to light, you understand what it is... except that it appears to be broken. However, after you consider the other items again, you realize that it was purposely cut in half from the end to give it its place in the group.

What is the wand?
Why were the items displayed as a group?

Rules:

1. Search with your mind, not your feet. This is for entertainment purposes only. I don't know of any such room here.
2. Send answers privately. Don't spoil it for anyone else.

[OOC note: I didn't write this -- i.e. I didn't actually design this puzzle -- but I did rewrite it pretty significantly. Credits coming in a couple of weeks, so it doesn't spoil the fun for anyone who's into trying to solve it.

By "send answers privately," he just means to set them to private ICly. OOCly, you don't need to PM me or anything!

Edited to add: SOURCE. This post was a rewrite of the puzzle at that link. The solution has to do with the number of different sides on each object, from 1 to 7.]