Puzzle box

The puzzle box was a riddle used by a Granous pack to torment their victims. It was taken by Barda during his quest with Lief and Jasmine to destroy the Four Sisters. It originally belonged to one of Seven Traitors.

Tales of Deltora
The Seven Traitors travelled through the Os-Mine Hills in order to tell their story to the humans above ground. They encountered many dangers on their quest that resulted in disaster and death. One of the goblins was dragged down in the Os-Mine Hills by a pack of Granous. This goblin carried the puzzle box that was found by the Granous while they devoured him.

Dragon's Nest
After Lief helped the Capricon Rolf solve the fish stick riddle, the head of the Granous pack procured the puzzle box and told Rolf to open it. Seeing the complexity of the box caused him to flail in despair, which exposed Lief and got him captured. Before either of them could be killed, Barda, Jasmine, and the Topaz dragon Fidelis scattered the Granous. Barda found the discarded puzzle box and decided to take it with him.

After Lief and the Ruby dragon Joyeu destroyed the Sister of the East, Barda managed to push a wooden rod out of one of the box's corners. To his frustration, the box remained closed. Lindal of Broome told Barda to toss the box into the ocean, since he would never solve it. Instead, Barda became more determined than ever to solve the puzzle.

Shadowgate
On their final day with the travelling group of acrobats, the Masked Ones, Barda challenged their leader, Bess, to open the box. She managed to unlock another rod, but even with two sticking out, the box would not open.

Isle of the Dead
After the destruction of the Sister of the West, the companions sat with the Amethyst dragon, Veritas, and the young Diamond dragon on the shores of the Finger. Barda managed to unlock a third rod from the box, but it still would not open. Enraged, Barda threatened to throw the box into the sea, but Veritas told him that, if he did that, he would never know what was inside. Barda kept the box in the end.

The Sister of the South
During the feast to celebrate the destruction of the Sister of the South, Barda brought out his puzzle box and tried once again to open it. Manus and Zerry both tried to help him, but Barda kept them at bay, saying that he would be the one to unlock the box.

He finally managed to unlock the final rod, at which point a clown doll shot out of the box and scared everyone, although Manus could not help make fun of Barda, commenting on how hilarious his expression had been when it happened. Barda tried to push the clown back inside, only to find that it would not budge. Enraged at wasting his time over such a toy, Barda threw it into the fire at Lief's suggestion. After seeing the gambit of the puzzle box Lief also realised the truth about the Four Sisters.

Description
The puzzle box was a richly carved, wooden box that contained four hidden pins. By fidgeting with the box the pins could emerge. When all the four pins had slipped out a clown would appear from the center of the box.

Trivia

 * The story of the Seven Goblins, who originally had the puzzle box, is a Tenna Birdsong Tale.