Robert Langdon, #2
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
Contents
CHAPTER 64
Overview
Teabing finally opens the rosewood box and confirms that it contains the cryptex, which he believes is the long-sought keystone to the Grail. Langdon then discovers that the box itself hides another clue beneath the Rose, deepening the mystery just as the group seems close to progress.
The chapter abruptly shifts from revelation to danger when a pale armed figure attacks Langdon before the hidden inscription can be understood. This interruption threatens the fragile alliance around the keystone and places the newly uncovered clue at immediate risk.
Summary
Teabing sits with the rosewood box on his lap, overwhelmed that the keystone he has sought for more than a decade has arrived at his château. Sophie urges Teabing to open it, but Teabing slows the moment, reflecting on the Rose as a symbol of Mary Magdalene, the Grail, and the guiding sign he has long pursued.
When Teabing opens the box, Teabing finds a stone cryptex made of interlocking lettered dials. Sophie explains that the design comes from Leonardo da Vinci’s diaries and that Sophie’s grandfather used to make such devices as a hobby. Teabing understands that the Grail’s next secret must be inside the cylinder, though the password remains unknown and the vinegar trap threatens whatever is concealed within.
While Sophie and Teabing discuss the cryptex, its dials, and possible passwords, Langdon examines the empty wooden box under stronger light. Teabing’s phrase about the key being hidden beneath the sign of the Rose prompts Langdon to think of the phrase sub rosa, meaning secret, and to suspect that the rose inlay itself may conceal another message.
Langdon discovers a tiny hole on the underside of the lid and uses an unbent paper clip to release the inlaid wooden Rose. The piece pops free, revealing four lines of text engraved beneath it in an unfamiliar script that looks vaguely Semitic to Langdon. Before Langdon can investigate further, a pale gunman strikes Langdon on the head, and Langdon loses consciousness.
Who Appears
- Robert LangdonExamines the rosewood box, finds a hidden inscription, and is knocked unconscious.
- Leigh TeabingOpens the box and recognizes the cryptex as the long-sought Grail keystone.
- Sophie NeveuEncourages Teabing to open the box and explains her grandfather’s cryptex designs.
- SilasPale armed intruder who attacks Langdon after the hidden clue is revealed.