Pope Clement VII’s Zucchetto

Origins
Pope Clement VII was of the Medici family and oversaw Rome when it was looted and sacked by Charles V’s wild soldiers. Nearly all of the Swiss Guard were killed in battle to allow Clement to escape, but he soon surrendered himself and the Castel Sant’Angelo. After six months, he bribed some of the guards and escaped disguised as a peddler. He would later grow a beard to mourn the loss of Rome. It was violation of Catholic law to have facial hair, but not without precedence.

Effects
Will create a backdoor or exit to any building or enclosed structure. Activated by wearing on the head and touching a hand on the wall. The handprint will glow red-orange and an opening in the shape of a door will form. After exiting the tunnel leading to the outside, the user will rapidly grow a beard within a few minutes.

The zucchetto will make a straight path to the outside. It does not discern between safe and risky exits, so the exit is not always safe.

Collection
This artifact was originally in the possession of Subhas Chandra Bose, who used it with Nicholas Owen’s Mallet and Chisel  to escape his house arrest. It was collected by agent Sybil Pierce on July 1st, 1945.