Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-36446807-20180803045826/@comment-4010415-20180803053823

Why make the vaults unlockable?

In case he needs to use the Relics at some point. I have a theory that the sword the King of Vale used in the final battle of the Great War was actually the Relic of Destruction, considering... well... the destruction that he caused and the fact that it's an orange-and-yellow sword like Vacuo's symbol. This theory has more weight to it now that we've seen that the Relic of Knowledge is a lantern with bright blue on it just like Mistral's symbol.

But any random shmo with Maiden powers can just walk in and take the Relic.

If they know about it and know where the vault is.

The elevator is easily accessible.

Only if you have the key, and apparently, the academy's headmaster is the one who has the key. Remember, Lionheart used his pocket watch to unlock the elevator. His pocket watch is something he has on him at all times. Ozpin probably had the Beacon Vault's key with him, and for all we know, there could've been a mechanism that made it to where you can only use the elevator to get to the vault if it's coming from his office.

They told Pyrrha about magic without swearing her to secrecy.

In order to even ask her to take Amber's soul and powers, they had to explain the situation to her so she'd understand the gravity of the situation and why they needed her to do that so badly. Qrow told her that they would tell her more once they were certain she was with them, so they do keep info about things like Salem and the Relics close to the chest. Qrow told RNJR about it because they've already been drawn into it and are definitely working toward the same goal as Ozpin's group.