AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess

Chapter 60 "The Royal Wedding” (Episode Two, Chapter Twenty) - Friday, September 9, 1882, 8:00 P.M.

As the afternoon rolls into evening in Zakazik, the entire dining area has been reserved for the Royal Wedding. General Ahmed Orabi is attired in a traditional Egyptian robe and carrying a staff as the Priest and Priestesses move toward the alter. The other guests begin to gather around.

Ruby stands in the entrance way, waiting for the princess to arrive to help her adjust her gown. She had spent some quiet quality time with George before getting herself ready in her outfit. Brightly colored veils covered her body making a robe and she was wearing a traditional gold headband in her hair that ended in jewels on her forehead. She gives George a kiss then sends him inside to find a seat while she waits for the Princess.

The Princess descends the stairway, attired in a shear ivory gown bespeckled with strategically placed jewels that leaves little to the imagination. Ruby gasps at the exotic beauty of the woman before her. "Princess, you are amazingly beautiful and look just perfect. Are you nervous?"

She smiles and says, "No more than any bride." Ruby notes that an attendant follows with a long white silk cape-style shawl also interlaced with jewels. The Princess says, "Thank you for the compliment about the attire." She gestures back towards the shawl and says, "Unfortunately that will be draped over me before the photographers take any formal pictures, as it is unlikely that any British or American newspapers would print a picture of my current attire. But this is how I will stand before my husband and my Gods as I make my vows."

"You and I have much in common. I have been chided for my wardrobe choices before. People can be such prudes." Ruby sighs, "But the shawl is beautiful also and hey, the rest of us will know what's on underneath! Now, is there anything you'd like me to do before the ceremony? Otherwise I will join the others and say my prayers to Aphrodite to bless your marriage."

She replies, "Your blessing will be welcomed. Please, go join your fiancé, marriages should be spent with those joined in union or planning to do so." The musicians begin playing their trumpets, flutes drums and an odd-square-shaped stringed instrument, playing the Egyptian version of a bridal march. The various attendants each take their places as incense bowls are lit.

Ruby kisses the Princess on the cheek. "Be blessed," she says, then goes into the main room. Finding George, she slides next to him, under his arm. He leans down and kisses her forehead, "Everything alright?" Ruby smiles and nods, then they wait for the wedding to start, taking in all the amazing and new sights and sounds.

The tempo of the music increases. A group of twelve dancers, four male and eight female, come out attired in form fitting gold and silver veils. They perform an elaborate routine that at various points in the performance includes wild acrobatics, twirling swords, flaming batons, and live snakes.

The musicians then change to soft background music as the priest and priestesses begin the ceremony. Neither George or Ruby can understand the language that the words are being spoken it. Mina appears to understand and gives a signal that she will fill them in later (as talking or whispering during the service would be very inappropriate).

Ruby grips George's hand in hers tightly. He is really paying close attention, as he always does. Ruby stares up at his handsome face until he looks down at her. She smiles, "I love you," she barely whispers as she squeezes his hand. Ruby had been leaving a lot of her own wedding planning to George. He wanted to have a large formal affair at his new home that was currently being built to satisfy his mother and his business associates.

Ruby didn't care as much about the wedding, and she didn't care to admit, she still had some reservations about "getting married." Not that she didn't want to marry George, it was just a mindset she still had to get over. However; this wedding was filling Ruby's heart and head with notions and the smile on her face grew as she watched the festivities.

George squeezed her hand in return and whispered "I love you" in return. His eyes though stayed fixed on the ceremony. The anthropologist in him was very curious as to the rituals and his ear was straining to catch the phonemes in the language.

The priestesses bring forward a pair of brass braziers which the fill with oil and light. A powder is then dropped into them which cause a thin smoke to fill the room with a violet tint to it in color. The bride and groom both turn to face the audience and then hold hands while the priest steps forward and places a hand on each shoulder of the General and the Princess.

As they speak George and Ruby both hear the words in perfect English, even though the lip movements do not match the words. Similar comprehension is registered on the faces of those present. What follows is a recitation of vows, but they are not vows to each other, but rather to all of Egypt. The Priest begins each section and both the bride and groom then reply in their own words. They vow to rule with fairness to all, to treat the clergy with dignity, to treat slaves with kindness, to respect the Nile River and the gods of nature, to not provoke war against their neighbors, and lastly to be good listeners to all.

As the wedding nears its conclusion those in the audience view a part of the ceremony that is far more sensual than the traditional kiss used in western society. The two stand facing one another as the groom places his hands atop his bride's head. He then slowly lowers his hands along the front and sides of her head, gently passing them over her ears, eyes nose and mouth. He continues to lower his hands over her slender neck, breasts and torso as he kneels down before her. His hands continue to descend, crossing briefly over her genital region before continuing down her legs and her feet, ending him with bowing before her and stating loudly, "I take you as mine, Princess Neferka."

She reaches out and places her hands atop his head. He begins to rise, with her hands slowly flowing down his face and neck in a similar manner as occurred moments ago. As he rises to his full height her hands lower across his chest and she kneels down before him. Her hands linger briefly over his genital region before descending down his legs to his feet. Bowing before her she stands "I take you as mine, Prince Ahmed." He holds out his hands and she clasps them, him pulling her up to her feet.

Ruby watches the ceremony with just as much, if not more, intensity as George. The sensuality of it all courses through the room and her skin tingles as her senses heighten. She squeezes George tighter as she watches with wide eyes and a large grin on her face, her excitement for the later festivities growing. The Priest declares the ceremony concluded and the hall is filled with the sound of trumpets blaring. Fireworks are then shot off from the roof outside and a loud cheer rises from the people of the city below.

She claps and cheers loudly as the ceremony ends. "After a ceremony like that I wonder what is in store for tonight!" she laughs mischievously. Mina says, "They modified the ceremony for the benefit of us Americans and the French. With the traditional Egyptian Royal wedding that final portion of the service would not have been a symbolic consummation but rather the actual consummation with all assembled as witnesses."

Ruby's eyes go wide, this time not in curiosity. "Really Nana?" Mina replies, "Absolutely, it is seen as a way to honor Isis, the Goddess of Magic and Fertility." Then Ruby chuckles. "Should we get married here, George?" she teases. "When in Rome....." replies George with a wink. Ruby crinkles her nose, confused. "But we're not IN Rome...,"

George smiles "No my pet. There is a saying 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do'. It means to adopt the local customs of where you are." "Oh." It takes a moment before the recognition crosses her face. "Ah, I get it. Silly George." She playfully smacks him. "So which part of that were you referring to? The wedding part or the, uh...," her eyes sparkle, "...Other part?" "Well, we have to abide by all local customs my love." replies George with a wink. Ruby stands on her toes and kisses George. "I suppose we must...," she kisses him again.

Nana decides not to interject into the conversation and heads across the room to converse with one of the younger Frenchmen, the same one who she had interacted with the day before.

Laughing, Ruby says, "Look we chased Nana away. I wonder if we should just have some fun tonight or actually try to gather some information to help our mission here? Either way I should check on the Princess soon and see if she needs me for anything." "Why Miss Ruby West, you have the most fun when you are working" says George as he smiles. "I am sure we can do both" "Well darn, I was hoping it'd be all play and no work but I suppose... you are right... I do always have fun!"

Meanwhile, Abby has now been flying west for several hours as the sun set. She can see Zakazik in the far distance as explosions then fill the air above the city. At first Abby suspects that it is under a bombardment of British artillery until she notes the flashes of fireworks. Abby looked for a good place to cross over the wall and land, close to where the fireworks are coming from. That's where Mrs. Parker and the others would be.

Back inside the Grand Hotel, Ruby takes George by the hand. "Let's go." as they walk towards the Princess they both take a good look around to see who they recognize at the party. "Your Highnesses!" Ruby calls out as they approach them, "Congratulations!" She gives Ruby a hug and kisses George on the cheek. She tells George, "Daguerre and Lippmann are getting their cameras to take the formal portraits. Would you like to take some as well?" "Thank you for the privilege your Highness, I would love to." says George as he signals a young boy by the door to bring in his camera. George Eastman came prepared.
The next half hour is spent with the trio of photographers taking formal portraits of the wedding party and assorted guests.

It has taken another half-hour for her to reach the city. The city-wide celebration is going on, although the guards atop the tower appear to be on full alert, not surprising given the fear of an impending British attack. A caravan of empty carts and wagons is approaching the city from the southwest and Abby has no difficulty landing unseen inside one of the larger wagons with canvas walls. The driver speaks to the guards in Greek and explains that he has come with empty wagons to help one of the wealthier families evacuate. The family is apparently known to the guards and he is hastened into the city without the wagons being searched.

Abby stayed in the wagon, deciding that a wealthier family probably lived in the same area as the palace where the wedding was taking place. She stayed until the wagon took a turn away from the area she wanted to get to, then slipped out and walked the rest of the way, asking for Mrs. Parker when she arrived at the gates.

The palace guards surrounding the grand hotel check their list, and seeing Mrs. Willamina Parker as one of the invited guests, lead Abby inside. They tell her to wait in the hallway outside of the main dining room as they head inside and inform Mina that her servant would like to see her. Mina follows the guard out into the hallway to Abby.

"Mrs. Parker," Abby said with relief. "I learned a lot more today than I bargained for. Is there somewhere private we can talk?" Mina brings Abby upstairs to her Grand Hotel room where Lawrence is waiting. She then returns to the wedding reception to inform Ruby and George that Abigail has return. She tells they to stay at the reception for a while longer and then find an excuse to leave and to meet upstairs in her room.

Mina heads up to her room to see an exhausted but frantic Abigail waiting for her. Abby took a deep breath and began explaining. "The French are planning to assassinate the King and his sons, then rule through the Queen as a puppet. A lot of other people will probably die too. Sarah Bernard and some man named Gerome Sardou are to sneak in to the Palace with an elixir. They are trying to convince a man named Abdullah, some kind of fanatic, to attack the palace to cover up what really happened.

Sarah is to impersonate a Druidess, and they're supposed to capture shepherds on the way to Cairo for some reason, I'm not sure why, without attracting attention. The shepherds protect the royal flock and aren't to be harmed. Apparently they tried once before to break into the Palace using magical disguises, but were caught. Now they're trying mundane disguises. They want to take over Egypt because they're losing France. There's chaos within their organization and France may soon become like England and America, off limits to wizards."

Mina exclaims "What! Tell us exactly what happened and was stated." Abigail spends the next half-hour relaying the story in detail." Mina's comment afterwards is "Almost unbelievable, but not entirely. My guess is that the majority of the French wizards don't know of the murder conspiracy, they are probably only aware of their own roles in this Egyptian campaign. It's probably just a handful of their leaders that are manipulating all the various pieces of this puzzle. So what do you think we should do?"

Abby shook her head. "Sorry, I'm exhausted and my mind is about spent. Obviously we can't let this happen. I don't care what your cause is, mass murder is not the answer. Perhaps we need to find the real Sarah Bernhardt. It seems this thing can't happen without her." Mina replies, "You say that she is at Heliopolis, which is a short distance North of Cairo. That is also the same location where Alsoomse and John Hardin have gone off investigating."

"I assume we have some way of contacting them, but dumping this on them doesn't seem right. They could get started looking into it for us on that end. Planning isn't my strength," Abby said and started to pace. "If we told the Princess we'd end up with a lot more people to call on."

Mina says, "The problem is, who can we actually trust? Our main advantage right now is that they don't know that we know. My gut feeling is that the Princess isn't part of this conspiracy. She might enjoy being Queen but I don't get the impression that she would knowingly murder her parents and siblings. But if we tell her I get the impression that the very first thing she would do is share that information with her new husband. I'm honestly not so sure about General Orabi. He appears very tight with these Frenchmen and we already know he openly opposed the King. This plan would leave him as the new King of Egypt, which was basically the goal of his revolution. He could easily be a part of this."

Abby says, "I agree about the Princess, I don't think she has anything to do with this. I haven't spent much time with her, but her goal seems to honestly be to stop this conflict. I wish I understood what the thing with the shepherds was."

Mina says, "The Royal Flock is a special breed of sheep raised and kept exclusively for the Egyptian Kings and Pharaohs. It was cross bred almost millennia ago from the Tunis breed that is prominent in this region and the Skopelos breed raised exclusively on the Greek island of Skopelos and adjacent mainland province of Magnissia. It has a deep auburn color wool and its meat is considered exquisite. It is used as the main course of special ceremonies."

Abby states, "So Bernhardt disguises herself as this Druidess who also guards these sheep, then gains access to the palace delivering them with her accomplice. Merimee never said what the elixir actually was, but it must a poison.” Mina says, "That makes sense. You said that the Frenchmen Moissan and Richet were referenced, both of them have expertise in poisons."

Abby says, “If we go simple, we stop Bernhardt from defeating this Druidess, but then we never find out how far this conspiracy goes. And does that matter?" Mina says, "It may matter, they seem to have multiple things going on at once. Perhaps you should take the next Cairo bound train and meet up with Alsoomse and John to carry through your idea while the rest of us continue to operate here."

Chapter 61 "Cetan” (Episode Two, Chapter Twenty-one) - Saturday, September 10, 1882, 6:00 A.M.

Cetan was born to the Lakota Tribe. As a young Centaur he gained the attention of the Medicine Man and apprenticed caring for the many wounded in the wars the humans brought against the Centaur Tribes of the central plains. Later life on the reservation was hard and Cetan took work with the blue coats as scout. Many blue coats also came to him 'off duty' for his skills as Medicine Man.

From there he was offered work in Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show . The pay was good, but the 'performances' slowly ate at Cetan's soul. The show traveled far and wide, even across the Atlantic Ocean. Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show toured England in the summer of '82. Cetan left the show and General Woolsley then hired him as a civilian Scout to work with the British Military during their Egyptian campaign. But over the last few months of the campaign he became disillusioned with the British and resigned. The British then washed their hands of him, leaving him in Egypt.

Cetan was north of Cairo in the town of Heliopolis when he came upon an old acquaintance of his, an elven druid and friend of the Lakota named Alsoomse. She was on a mission along with a gunslinger friend of hers named John Wesley Harding. The three are now heading back to the town of Zakazik where the rest of Alsoomse's team is waiting.

So the elvan woman Alsoomse, human gunslinger John Wesley Hardin, and Lakota centaur Cetan reached the Heliopolis train depot shortly after dawn. They boarded the northbound train from Cairo for the hour’s ride to Zakazik. The train was comprised of twelve cars: The Locomotive, fuel car, a water tanker, a Pullman 1st Class Passenger car, 2nd Class Passenger car, and a Working Man 3rd Class Passenger car, two box freight cars, a cattle car, two flatbed car and a caboose.

The station conductor sought to make Cetan ride in the cattle car, which was filled with horses, donkeys and mules, but Alsoomse made an impassioned plea for better treatment, and so the conductor allowed them access to the 3rd Class Car. The only other passenger on that car was a reporter from the London Times. He said that very few people wanted to head into a war zone, the only others being the opportunists in the forward two compartments.

Cetan spoke in Elvish a word of thanks to Alsoomse. He was confused at all the fuss, and wasn't sure what to make of it. This was Cetan's first ride on the iron horse in a car that had windows. He was having a hard time understanding the need. No buffalo here for the two legs to shoot. At least no two leg was handing him a pox laden blanket, or talking about scalps or such.

The two leg who was the only other person on the train seemed nervous. Perhaps engaging him in conversation would help. Holding his hand up palm forward as he was taught in the Wild West show Cetan says, "Ug, you speak'em English pale face?" Cetan holds up some desert hare hides, "Trade wampum?" Making a wide hand motion encompassing the train car, "Why they makem you ride in centaur car?"

In what Cetan recognizes as a British accent he states "Yes, and I speak the Queen's English, not that corrupted version spoken in the former colonies. As to the 'centaur car', I had this car to myself since the train departed from Cairo, so it is you who is in the Reporter's car. I am pleased to make your acquaintance sir, did I not see you performing last summer in London with that ostentatious Mr. Cody?"

Cetan feels more comfortable with the two leg speaking his mind. He doesn't trust the quiet sneaky ones. Somewhat embarrassed about being recognized from the show, he none the less introduces himself and recounts some of the more interesting tidbits in the broken English and hand motions the two legs seem to expect. Then he asks, "What bring'em heap big British Gentleman this way?"

He replies, "I am a newspaper reporter for the London Times. There is a considerable interest in this Egyptian Campaign, and I plan to write a first-hand account of what transpires. Zakazik appears to be the closest community of any size to today's anticipated skirmish, and as long as the conflict remains to the southeast rather than southwest of Zakazik, this rail line should allow me to file my stories in Cairo."

Cetan replies, “Ug, What Newspaper man knows of Egyptian war? What makem war so interesting?” He replies, "The interest is in the canal, the Suez Canal linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. That allows ships to travel directly from Europe and Asia without having to sail around Africa. British banking interests financed the building of the canal, so retention of a stable Egyptian government, who will honor those financial commitments, is essential."

If the newspaper man can get a hot kettle of water, Cetan will offer to make an herbal tea to lift their spirits and continues conversation. The conductor is able to retrieve tea for them from the front Pullman car. With slightly less broken English and dramatic hand gestures he will introduce himself as Cetan, Hawk Spirit. Allowing the newspaperman time to give his name. He'll ask if the man has covered wars before and how he goes about watching them without dying?

The newspaperman introduces himself as Bosworth Rugglesby III, and says that he has been with the London Times, a paper nearly a century old, for the past eight years. Prior to that he was a reporter for the rival London Gazette, and worked as a reporter covering the American Civil War. He adds, "Avoiding dying is easy enough, when the shooting starts move some place where it isn't."

Cetan asks where Mr. Rugglesby will be staying in the event that he stumbles on some news worthy information. He then proceeds to compare notes with the reporter on points of interest about the blue coat soldiers. Cetan, doesn't see the Blue coats in a favorable light, from the Indian wars and from years of actually working as scout with them. Mr. Rugglesby indicates that he will be staying at the "Parlor of Bast's Providence Inn", on the northeastern end of the city. When discussing American soldiers, the man indicates that he found them too crude and unimaginative for his liking.

Meanwhile, at the train’s destination in Zakazik, Willamina Hamilton Parker and Abigail Marsters were preparing to leave their hotel for a trip to the train deport, to await the arrival of the very same train bringing their companions. Unaware that the others were returning, Mina and Abby were preparing to take the return train back to Heliopolis. Once there, they hoped to find their friends and then stop a French assassination plot. Lawrence Cantrell says goodbye to them and wishes them luck.

As Abby and Mina head towards the train deport they see that they are not the only ones with the same idea. They arrive to discover somewhere between eight-hundred and a thousand people already there. Some of the city guards have positioned themselves on the train platform to hold back the crowds once the train arrives. The manager of the Depot is explaining to the crowds that four more trains are scheduled for later the day, so to be patient, that there should be no difficulty getting everybody on board at least one of them.

As they stood waiting for the train to come in, Abby tried unsuccessfully to stifle an enormous yawn. "I'm sorry Mrs. Parker. I didn't get that long to sleep and even that wasn't very good; I was worrying about Ben and Cal. And we won't hear anything about them before we leave. I'd best just get used to it, I suppose." Mina says, "Both are very capable young men. I do not know your friend Callum, but I can assure you that Benjamin Trout would have had not difficulty evading trouble....no, let me rephrase that...avoiding capture despite any trouble. So with Benjamin watching Callum's back, I am confident that both are safe.

Abby replies, “Worrying isn't generally my nature. I guess Cal suddenly being here just threw me; I really thought I was never going to see that boy again. And then... 'Oh, Hi Abby, I'm here. I'm not really an archeologist, but I didn't lie about my noble bastard parents hating you even though they've never met you. And by the way, I've been a British Spy for years! But I'm out of that now since my cover's blown! Let's pick up where we left off!'" Despite the words Abby's tone was light. "It was good to say that," she laughed. "He'll survive just to drive me crazy. How difficult do you think it'll be to find Sarah Bernhard in Heliopolis?"

Mina says, "Probably very difficult, she's both a wizard and one of the world's greatest actresses, she could be anybody and we'd never know it. The only real clue would be that I could should be able to detect magic on her, but this is also part of Arabia, where one in ten people know and use magic." Abby replies, "If we have to, we can fall back to finding the Druidess instead and plan a good defense against Sarah when she comes. We should probably work both angles."

Mina says, "Only if we manage to locate the other two, I would not recommend the two of us splitting up otherwise. They probably don't know who you are, but I'm too well known in magic circles." Abby interjects, "Oh no, no splitting up. I've always been adventure-prone, but I've never been involved in something like this. It was bad enough having to go off on my own when I was disguised. And unfortunately I tend to be memorable, at least to men," she said with a hand to the honey-colored hair twisted behind her head. Then she laughed and added, "Well, it's not always unfortunate."

Mina smiles and asks, "Men or man? You have been far more animated ever since you ran into Callum Stuart two days ago." Abby answers, “Let's put it this way, Cal isn't the first man to remember me. But as far as me remembering a man... I really am thrilled to see him again, even though he's so cavalier about everything. It's not just Cal, though, the more being more animated. Mrs. Parker, I've struggled to find my place in this group. Not my job, that I know, but my place. In school I was "that smart girl who wanted to go to college".

Then I went to college with a whole bunch of girls, and I was "that gorgeous, uninhibited girl". As I moved up further in my career I earned the respect of the people I worked with and I was happy with being "colleague". I fear here I'm a little bit too much like you, a little too much like Alsoomse, and a little more too much like your granddaughter. When it comes to Cal, with him, I know where I stand. At least as far as how we relate to each other. And knowing where I stand always makes me more confident. But not to worry, time will shake things out. On both fronts."

Mina replies, "Ah, but you do have a special role to fill with this group, you're my friend and confidant. Normally I have no choice but to bond with the only other female on the team, but not now, half of our team is comprised of women. Furthermore, I am the team leader, something that has never happened before. And while I value the counsel of Alsoomse and Ruby, one is the grandmother of my husband and the other my granddaughter. We are of no relation Abby, your view point is more objective, not clouded by family and history."

Abby's smile was genuine as she said, "Mrs. Parker, I'd be pleased to be your friend. And have someone to confide to in return. And as long as I'm not trying to work out my own love life, my vision is usually pretty clear." Mina says, "Well, I for one see a very positive side effect to your former love reappearing at this time. Our team's two acquisitionists, Lawrence and Benjamin, have both been somewhat smitten. Mr. Stuart being here will help them both to focus on the mission at hand rather than potential romantic entanglements."

"I must have been focused on the mission; I didn't notice. Good to know I haven't lost my touch," Abby chuckled. "We'll all become friends quick enough and then you won't have to worry about romances. A lot of times I like men for friends better than women, but then again, most women aren't like us." Mina replies, "True, true, and I know what you mean about being too busy for romance on missions. I'd worked with James for almost a half-century, with us even posing as a married couple on many occasions, with never any indication of romantic feelings. That's why his proposal a few years back came as such a surprise

"You didn't have any inkling? At all? You must have felt something yourself since you said yes." Mina laughs, "We were always fond of one another, but on most of our missions together either or both of us were married to other people. There's also something comforting in being regarding as "one of the guys" when everybody's life is on the line."

Abby states, "I'd say it's essential. If you're working with men who don't think you can take care of yourself, suddenly they're paying more attention to protecting you than to getting the job done. That's where Cal might be a problem. He's never seen me deal with dangerous situations, we were on a dig together in England. It's not that he doesn't think I'm capable, but he doesn't KNOW it, and he has a noble streak."

Mina laughs and says, "Let him spend a little time with myself and James, we'll set him straight in no time." As they are talking, more of the city guards arrive to quell the potential riot that might appear when the train arrives. Mina says, "I fear we will not be able to make the first train out just waiting in line behind this crowd. Perhaps we should think of another way to board."

Abby says, "That's been in the back of my mind, too. Wouldn't be the most comfortable ride, but we could try to get into a freight car. It'd get us where we want to go. Otherwise we could try to charm someone. I really hate changing people's minds over their own wills though. Anything much more serious, that isn't mundane, is beyond me at this point."

Mina says, "The freight car is possible, nearly everybody here has a suitcase or trunk with their most valued possessions, I imagine that is where they will stack it all. But the guards will most likely be closely watching that as well, given how anxious people are to depart." She replies, "Disguise ourselves as railway workers, then carry someone's luggage onto the train?" Abby chuckled. "We can cross the world in moments, but can't get on a train!"

A mile to the east, nearing the city gate, are Benjamin ‘Fish’ Trout, accompanied by Hakar, the cousin of Priestess Sabah, after a very long night of traveling across the desert from Tanis, while evading capture from the French Foreign Legion. They note a steady stream of people fleeing the city, the two of them being the only people approaching it.

"I'll let you do the talking to Sabah, should the need arise," sighs Fish. The sand in his undershorts is chafing him. It's enough of a distraction he gives hardly a second thought to all the loot that passers-by have stowed in their steam trunks and saddlebags. One of the guards knows Hakar well, which facilitates their quick entry into the city. Just for practice, Fish takes note how securely the guard's sidearm is secured.

Once past the prying eyes of the guards and inside the city gates, Fish quickly steps into the nearest alley or deep alcove, pulling Hakar with him. He immediately reverses his own cloak and tucks the hood under the collar, transforming its appearance from a dull grey road garment to a mustard yellow overcoat. He pulls his ponytail from its tie-band and shakes his hair loose over his shoulders. He pulls a thin silk bag from the top of his boot and yanks Hakar's cloak off, stuffing it in the sack.

"That should get us past the first glance, which is all that usually matters!" whispers Fish, slapping a simple, wrinkled fez atop his companion's head. "Now let's go meet up with the rest of the party!" Hakar replies, "I have to first let Sabah know that we are back and that we were successful." "Lead the way!" quips Fish, as they step back into the street. He remains especially observant of their surroundings as they proceed.

Nobody gives them a second glance. Ben notes the heightened tension within the city. They arrive at the temple to find it packed, with tens of dozens of people there offering prayers and making sacrifices to Bast. Sabah is up on a podium saying prayers. She then makes eye contact with Hakar and Fish.

"Do we just wait until she's free, Hack?" whispers Fish. He idly inspects the clasp on the finely-braided gold necklace adorning the pretty neck of the young woman standing ahead of him. He replies, "No, she's seen us, and is smart enough to put one and one together. Staying would actually make her think something was wrong and we needed her. If we go now we won't interrupt her work, these people need her more than we do."

"The streets are even more crowded than this blessed sanctuary, Hack. Let's be on our way," says Fish with some impatience. "If I'm not mistaken, the masses are making their way to the train station."

Chapter 62 "The Golden Age of Ballooning” (Episode Two, Chapter Twenty-two) - Saturday, September 10, 1882, 6:30 A.M.

Back across town at the Zakazik Grand Hotel, the industrialist George Eastman was preparing to exit the suite that he shared with his fiancé Ruby West. He was dressed for traveling and packing his most portable camera equipment. He had been invited to join a team of French balloonists and photographers to make history by photographing from a dirigible the opening salvo of the upcoming battle between the British and Egyptian Rebel Army.

Despite having been up late drinking, dancing and singing at the Royal Wedding between Princess Neferka and General Orabi, Ruby was awake and alert. Normally not a morning person, her internal body clock hadn’t fully adjusted from Florida time.

Ruby sat at her dressing table, brushing her long hair. "George, please be careful. I'm very nervous about you being anywhere near this battle. And even though you will be in the air, you're still going to be in a... balloon... which I assume can pop and crash. And since you can't fly, I don't think that would be a fun ride."

She paused to stare at herself in the mirror, tilting her head as she gazed at her reflection. "I have decided something myself. I hate to bother the Princess on her honeymoon, however; I fear what I have to say cannot wait. I will go see her today, wish her luck in her new marriage and while I am there speak to her about what we have learned. Especially about my fears about the General. Even though he is her husband, she is sensible and will hear me out."

He replies, "It's a dirigible dear, not a balloon. And yes it could get a hole, but not pop. Which would mean a rather quick decent, but the main chamber is comprised of several chambers of gas, so losing one isn't grounds for well grounding" says George with a smile at his own word play.

"Besides, I think you may have the more dangerous task if you are interrupting a honeymoon. So you take care as well. Our craft should be high enough that we are out of danger. This opportunity to take photographs no one has ever been able to before, and in color! I just can't pass it up. Though I have to say I will be anxious to return back to your embrace." adds George as he bends over and kisses Ruby on the top of her head. Ruby tilted her head up and returned George's kiss. "It shouldn't be too long before we are together again darling."

She finished dressing. "I wonder if the new couple is still in the hotel? At least, I hope they are. Then again, it may be a little early to find them. Perhaps we should have some breakfast together before we both set off?" George agreed and together they made their way to the dining room.

"I must admit, I am STARVING," Ruby said, emphasizing the word dramatically. "I've been so hungry since we've been here, perhaps because of the new, exotic foods. I just love it! Or maybe because we danced so much last night at the wedding, who knows? Whatever the reason, I just want to eat! And you should eat a good meal too, who knows when you will eat next?"

Despite the early hour, the dining areas of the Zakazik Grand Hotel are packed and they are told it will be a twenty to thirty minute wait for a table. Ruby and George note that nearly half of the people dining are wearing traveling clothes and many have suitcases beside the table. George checks his pocket watch and nods "That will be fine" as he nods that they will wait for the table. George escorts Ruby to a bench to wait for their table. "Are you sure the general will still be here, won't he be needed on the front?" asks George.

"I don't know that he will be here," she shrugged. "He probably IS needed at the front. But I'm not sure he would take his new bride to the front of a battle, do you?" She looked off into the crowd of people eating. "I'm surprised we're still here ourselves, frankly. I know we are to try to stop the war but I'm not sure we are being successful. Looks like it might happen anyway. And, I'm a little worried about us not being together when the fighting does start."

George pats her arm reassuringly. "I know my love. But you are quite capable in a fight. And I will be high above the fight. We will both be quite safe, Athena and Aphrodite I am sure will see to that. Heck even Bast at this point I think too." says George with a smile. "Now if you are successful in your mission, what do you think the princess will do?"

"I really don't know," she shrugged. "But I can't think of any other way to try to stop this madness. I understand why the French are doing what they are doing... but it's just not right. So perhaps the Princess will try to warn her father or maybe she will believe speaking to her new husband will be best. But since it's possible he may be IN on this... I don't know what she will do. Maybe she will have another, better idea." She gazed longingly into the restaurant. "We should have done more eating last night and less drinking, maybe I wouldn't feel so famished!"

"Well, the old adage is to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. What better way to see what the French are up to that to be with them. Besides, I intend to try to learn a spell or three while I am up there." adds George in a whisper.

"That's not a bad idea, actually." Ruby sighed. "I do miss Mr. Gonzales. I feel like I haven't seen him forever. Or anyone back in Promise City. Maybe that time in my life is over but I do miss it. I guess there are other ways to learn new things." She scrunched up her nose. "Do you think they are planning to do more up there than just take pictures? It's possible, isn't it, that they will try to manipulate things from up there with their... skills? I'm not clear on if any of them are in on this whole plot but it seems likely."

"Well, let us remember the facts here Ms. West. While yes there is a war here, and while some of the French are here to purportedly document it, how did we get here, hmmmm? Recall that the French had a dig where we arrived and were close to discovering the passage. It may be that they wish to stop the war merely because it will interfere with their archeological expedition. That is still our way home, at this point at least. It is still our key to many mysteries. Mysteries we do not want the French to know or master." replies George in a quiet voice only Ruby can hear.

"I suppose. I mean, yes it is our way home but who knows why or what they are up to. Maybe they are trying to protect it, maybe they are trying to get the power of it for other reasons. If that makes sense. All I know is, we are running out of time. Doesn't this place know it should feed us so we can try to stop a war?!?!"

Ruby notices the hotel owner's relative, who she had spoken to when they had first checked it, sees her distress from across the room. He speaks to the head waiter who wastes no time to find a table for Ruby and George to sit at. They are led to the table, ignoring the angry stares from dozens of people who had been waiting longer. George offers an apology to the guests as he passes "Sorry all, goddesses first" he quips gesturing to Ruby. George takes Ruby's arm as they follow the waiter to their table, giving a nod of thanks to the worried relative. "I guess they have heard of your singing here my dear" says George looking over the menu.

"I'm sorry but they will be glad they let us eat first later when this is all done. I hope." Ruby ordered a full breakfast. "Like I said, who knows when we will be eating next? Besides, the food here is good." While they wait for the food Ruby asked, "So, is there anything else I need to know? Where should we meet when we are done with our respective plans? I would hate to be sitting in the hotel all day nervously awaiting your return."

As they are wrapping up the conversation the French photographer Daguerre arrives at the dining room and starts looking around, most likely for George. "Baby, your ride is here. I guess this is it for a while. Please be safe and be careful. Don't trust anyone. And don't forget that they are very proficient in you know what, so things, people, whatever might not be what it seems." "Ha, that is a good one. The Infamous Ruby West telling me to be careful." laughs George.

Ruby waved the other photographer over. "Good morning Mr. Daguerre. Early start today I see. Have you already eaten?" He replies, "I had a light meal two hours ago. I am sorry to interrupt, but the Dreadnaught will be landing momentarily and needs to be on its way as quickly as possible.” She asks, "Any idea when you might be returning?" Daguerre says, "Not we dearest Miss West, I will be remaining here, warships are too much for these old bones. As for your intended, wars are unpredictable. However, since we cannot take photographs after the sun sets it is safe to say that they will be back shortly thereafter if not before." George stuffs a few more mouthfuls of food in as Ruby interrogates Mr. Daguerre.

"True, these wars are dirty, dirty business. So what will you be doing today then, if I might ask? Staying out of trouble, I hope." Daguerre says, "There is still plenty to do here in Zakazik. My colleague Champollion needs to secure and protect his Bubastis project from the weapons of war, and we also have a Princess to keep safe if there is any hope of securing peace." She replies, "You mean the dig that we took a tour of? Oh and funny you should mention the Princess..." He replies, "Yes, that archaeological site must be protected from the ravages of war. And the Princess is the key to negotiating a truce. If she should die neither her father or husband would have any incentive to stop the bloodshed."

George decides to save the poor man from further questions by standing, kissing Ruby and saying they must go. "I will send you a message my dear, I am sure we will return no later than an hour after sunset." "Alright then, good luck and be safe." She stood up and kissed him in return. "I'm off on my own adventure!" Once the two men departed Ruby returned to the hotel where the wedding was to look for the Princess.

As they make their way upstairs to the roof Daguerre says to George "There will be five separate groups on board the Dreadnaught: the soldiers, the medical team, the photographers, the pilots and the engineering team. You are being brought on board as a guest and participant to the photographic team. Before you board I need your assurance that you will in no way interact with and bother the other four groups. They each have very important jobs to do, jobs necessary to guarantee the safety of you and the others on board, and cannot afford to be distracted."

George says, "Well Mssr. Daguerre, that all depends of course upon whether their jobs distract me or interact with Me." replies George with a disarming smile. With a stern look Daguerre says, "No sir, it does not. If you cannot give the assurances that you will not interfere with the operation of the craft you will remain behind." "But what does the Dreadnaught need a team of soldiers for if this is, as I was told, merely a photographic expedition meant to document the battles and terrain?" queries George.

Daguerre replies, "Why for self defense. The dirigible will be operating as more than just a photographic expedition. As you are no doubt aware, the primary cause of battlefield casualties is the lack of immediate medical attention. Our vehicle may also be serving the role of the world's fastest ambulance. We have made arrangements with both sides that if any of their military leaders, Colonel Rank or higher, should receive a mortal wound then we will land a safe distance back and take them on board. We will then transport them quickly to their designated military hospital. We expect both sides to honor that agreement, however there is always the chance that one side may see our actions as an opportunity to eliminate an enemy leader, at least for the short span of time that we are near or on the ground."

George answers, "You must understand Mssr. Daguerre that you are asking me to accompany an expedition that suddenly has a very different purpose, scope, scale, and perhaps intent than that of which I was informed of. The intimation however is more insidious. Why do you have some fear that I would interfere with anyone? For you to extract such a requirement of me, makes me wonder what motive you have for that. Why would I interfere with a solely humanitarian effort? Perhaps your lack of trust in me is reflected in you lack of trust for the combatants in regards to them keeping such a truce. As such I think it is quite reasonable for me to have qualms about giving assurances since I am not receiving any from you as to your level of non-inference. Do you fear espionage? Sabotage?

Do you fear that I shall sway the tide of battle? Should I not be concerned for the reverse? That you and your countrymen will seek to sway the tide of battle? I am very willing, nay eager to give you my assurances, so long as you are willing to vouchsafe for my safety as well as the intent of your mission. For with me airborne in your ship, I am culpable and accomplice to whatever actions are performed there. So Mssr. Daguerre, do I have your assurances?" asks George indignantly.

Daguerre ceases ascending the staircase, stopping on a platform between the third and forth floors and tersely states "Mr. Eastman. My assurance is that we wish for this conflict to come to a peaceful conclusion. We have advisors with Generals Orabi and Woolsley, who feel that both men are reasonable and will negotiate a peaceful settlement. Both of those men, however, have fiercely loyal officers beneath them. If either of those men were to die, they would become martyrs to the cause, then their subordinates would more likely fight with greater intensity and refuse to negotiate. Given that both of those men believe in leading from the front lines rather than the safety of the rear only heightens the chance of a mortal wound. So we are doing what we can to keep both men alive, to facilitate peace.

I doubt that either side would break the agreement if we are transporting a Colonel or lesser General, but if they know that the military leader of the other side is the one we seek to help, well, that might be too tempting an opportunity. That is why we need to have a show of physical force, to allow us the opportunity to help in this fashion. All that I seek from you is the assurance that you will allow us to do so. As much as Gabriel Lippmann would like you to accompany him, I will not permit it if I think that you will in any way interfere with the operation of the vehicle or its humanitarian mission."

"Then you have my word I shall no interfere with the operation of the Dreadnaught in carrying out it's humanitarian mission" replies George stiffly. "Very well sir", Daguerre states. They resume the ascent up the stairs, soon reaching the rooftop. George notes that there is a large group of ten French Foreign Legion soldiers huddles along the far corner. Near them is a group of six men in suits and ties standing alongside a small cart Based upon the bedding on the top of the cart and black doctor's bags on a shelf beneath, it is assumed these are the medical team.

George follows along taking careful note of the personnel. He gestures to his own bags of photographic equipment. "Where shall I place my own equipment Mssr. Daguerre?" He replies, "Mr. Lippmann will be here momentarily. He will show you on board." The Dirigible arrives and is tethered to the roof. A ramp is lowered from the lower passenger compartment and the soldiers and medics board. The Frenchmen Lippmann and Poincare soon arrive carrying large satchels of equipment and usher George to follow them.

They enter the lower level, comprised mostly of the arms and armament, and then climb a spiral staircase up to the top level. This level has a fifteen foot high ceiling, but George notes the springs and braces that could condense the ceiling to half that height if or when the floor rises due to the cannon recoil. George looks around "Is this where we will set up gentlemen?"

Lippmann says, "Oui, stay clear of the pilots and engineers, but we can move around and set up at any of the other areas by the windows. Note that there are grommets and latches throughout the floor, we use those to fasten the legs of our tripods to, so that the cameras stay as steady as possible. Henri Poincare heads to a metal table in the center of the room and secures a map of this section of Egypt to it. He then removes a number of magnetic markers of various colors which he places on his end off the table.

"It is too bad we do not have a port in the floor to take pictures from directly overhead" replies George as he sets up his equipment. Gabriel Lippmann says "We actually do in the other dirigible. We can't do that here due to the cannon below. Unfortunately it would be unsafe to bring the other dirigible anywhere near a war zone, as it uses a flammable gas."

After his tripods are set up, he heads over to the maps to study the area, where he may want to take pictures, and what the markers signify. George notes that the markers indicate both troops and cannon for both sides of the conflict. The dirigible departs, heading in a southeasterly direction.

Chapter 63 "Will the real Princess Neferka please stand up” (Episode Two, Chapter Twenty-three) - Saturday, September 10, 1882, 7:00 A.M.

Outside the Princess’s door stand a pair of heavily harmed ogres standing guard. Neither address Ruby but both give her icy stares. She says, "Good day gentlemen, I am a friend of the Princess's. Is she up yet?" One steps forward to block Ruby from attempting to enter while the other opens the door to head into the room. When the door opens Ruby notes several servants and some more ogre guards inside the central room. She does not see either the Princess or the General.

"Tell her Ruby West is here to see her!" she called after the guard, hoping perhaps one of the servants who knew her would alert the princess if the guard did not. She took a couple of steps away from the door to put the guard at ease and waited. In short order she is ushered inside and towards the master bedroom. She is surprised to see the Princess awake and alert, attired in of all things a large cotton flannel men's shirt in a red and black Rob Roy plaid pattern and a very loose pair of denim jeans. She is sitting in a chair at a desk, looking over some documents with a magnifying glass. A pair of large men's boots are on the floor near her chair. A steaming pot of coffee is beside her next to an empty mug with coffee on the bottom.

"Good morning! How is the new bride this morning? It was such a beautiful wedding, I had a wonderful time and I can't tell you how much I appreciate you letting me be involved." Ruby moved to the coffee and gestured to the pot. "Would you like me to pour you another cup?" "Yes, please," Neferka states adding "I've been up for an hour or so." "How do you like it?" Ruby asked as she poured the princess a cup. "And my goodness, up an hour? After all that partying you did last night?" She sighed. "I guess with everything going on it's hard to sleep."

Ruby looked around the room. "Where is your new husband?" The Princess replies, "He left two hours before dawn to go fight his war." "I'm so sorry Neferka," Ruby said as she squeezed her arm. "You must be terribly nervous." She shrugs "About the war? Somewhat, but Ahmed is a very experienced General, with considerable troops and firepower. Plus he grew up right here, he knows this region like the back of his hand whereas it is new terrain for the majority of the British. I am far more nervous about myself being kidnapped, which by my calculations, will take place in another ninety minutes or so."

Ruby doesn't seem all that surprised. "Kidnapped?" She paused to think things though for a moment before continuing. "Actually that is sort of why I am here. But first tell me, why do you think you will be kidnapped?" She replies, "As we speak, the French diplomat Passy is boarding the southbound train to Cairo, to deliver photographs of last night's wedding and personal notes from myself and Ahmed. Another French diplomatic team is currently visiting my father the King, led by the former French Empress, who was wife of Napoleon III. The French have high hopes of persuading my father to end the war.

But Ahmed and I know my father far better. We estimate that within ten minutes of receiving the news he will have dispatched his chief wizard to here, via a magical transportation spell, to abduct me and take me back to Cairo. He will then declare that coercion was used to force the marriage and declare it annulled. Ahmed and I, however, have other ideas."

"Aye Aphrodite, this is a mess. Princess, do you believe I am trustworthy and have your best interests at heart? I mean to say, that I don't want to see you harmed nor see a war happen here? I would like to hear your and Ahmed's plans, if you trust me enough to share them, but I also have some information for you, which may or may not change whatever your plans may be."

She replies, "I trust you absolutely, Ahmed and I have both discussed that very fact. That is why I wish to ask you a great favor. I would like you to make a personal appeal on my behalf to my father." Ruby nodded her head. "Why do you think your father will listen to me over any of the French diplomats?" Neferka replies, "You know what is in my heart." Ruby says, "I do, I know you love him."

Ruby sighed. "Princess, are you convinced of the depth of his love for you?" She replies, "Yes, and also convinced that he cares deeply about Egypt. Ruby, this is the best for everybody, to end the war peacefully before more blood is shed." Ruby answers, "I agree, ending the war without more bloodshed is in everybody's best interest. And if you wish for me to speak to your father, I will do it. I promise." She squeezed the woman's hand and left her doubts about her new husband to herself.

"Now, let me tell you what I know. I think there is a plot to assassinate your father. And I believe the French are behind it." She paused and considered. "They also want to murder your new husband, and think they will be able to rule Egypt though you, the Queen. I believe they are afraid of a non magic supporting country, as their own country is becoming. I am not entirely certain which Frenchman we can trust and it makes me nervous you now mentioned two parties of French being sent to your Father. And that the General is surrounded by French he thinks are his friends."

A look of shock comes over the Princesses face. "What! How do you know this? What evidence do you have of this that you could show to my father?" Ruby says, "I don't have actual physical evidence of this. But I absolutely trust where the information has come from. I think you know that I am here with my grandmother, and some other friends of mine. While I have been here with you, others have been off getting into their own trouble and have come to this information by way of that. I have no actual proof, myself.

But believe me, none of us have any intention but to try to help stop the war. There are other details that I have of some of their nefarious plots and plans of exactly how they will try to accomplish the murder of your father. However, I don't know that much about your Dad or his schedules or plans or whatever so I don't really understand how the French will put these plans into motion. Something about disguises and sheep...?" Ruby scrunched her nose. "We've all been wracking our brains at what to do but in the end I felt it was best to trust you and tell you what I've learned."

"More important I think that you tell my father," states Neferka, "I am not sure how much you know about magical items, but one that higher-level wizards frequently craft is a magical disguise. This is placed on a piece of jewelry or clothing, and when a command word is stated, the people physically resemble who the items was designed to represent. I have two such items, one that will make somebody resemble me, the other to change my own appearance. Ruby, I am asking you to take my place, to be the one who gets kidnapped. You would then explain all this to my father."

"I have heard of such items." Ruby slouched down in the chair next to the Princess. "Do you think he will listen to me? And, will you come with me, even if as someone else?" Neferka says, "I think he will have no choice but to listen to you. And no, I cannot come. The Royal Palace has special magical protections, the disguises will be stripped the instant that you appear there."

Ruby says, "I heard that - apparently some of the French tried that approach to get to your father already. And I am concerned that once my disguise is gone your father will throw me in a dungeon, or worse. I am just not sure I can force him to listen." Neferka says, "Begin by telling him that you are the Granddaughter of Willamina Hamilton Parker, a close friend of the British Military. That should enable him to at least listen to what you have to say."

"George is going to kill me." She rubbed her eyes and sighed. "I don't think I have a choice though, I feel like I must go. Is there anything else you can tell me to help me to get him to listen? Or anything else I need to know?" She hands Ruby a silver and platinum ring with a tiger-eye stone. "This is the item that will transform you into me. The command word is "Isis". She also gives Ruby an amulet and says "This will help you too, it will enable to you to hear and speak all languages."

The Princess pours herself a drink of some type of juice and then asks, "So what can you tell me about the American folk hero named Paul Bunyan?" Ruby answers, "Paul Bunyan? The guy from the fairy tale? Uh, nothing really. My grandmother or even George would know more than me. And George would be happy to talk about it, he's a history buff. Why do you ask?"

The Princess lifts up a gold ring and states "Because that is who this will transform me into. Why else would I be wearing these absurd pieces of clothing? Ahmed thinks it best that I don't try to resemble anybody Egyptian, and was able to obtain this. Once transformed I will go find your Grandmother, and pretend to be her bodyguard.

"Oh, well Nana and a friend are trying to catch the southbound train right now! You will have to leave soon, now, to catch them. It's good, when you find her, tell where I went, she will need to know. The only thing I know about Paul Bunyan is that he was supposed to be a big, tall lumberjack and has a big blue ox. Not very helpful, I'm sorry." Ruby laughed. "I didn't want to say anything about the clothes... I am glad you told me though!"

The Princess calls one of the Ogre guards forward. This one is attired in fancier garb than the others, with gold trim on his jacket and rank insignia. Ruby recognizes him from the wedding as one of the personal guards to the Ogre leader. The Princess orders him to the train depot immediately to locate Mrs. Parker. Ruby is then shocked when the ogre rushes to a window, opens it, and jumps out despite being five stories up. Ruby's eyes widen. "Um, did your guard just kill himself??"

The Princess laughs and says, "No, he had on a magical item developed for top officers of the French Foreign Legion. Our guest had loaned it to him, it's called a Legion Flying Belt." Ruby nodded her head. "Of course! I forget how amazing it would be to have people openly accept magic. You can probably find some amazing items here, even in the streets! I hope he catches Nana and Abby, that will make me feel much better to know you have someone to watch out for you, especially with this war breaking out today. Maybe.”

Ruby's mind was completely distracted by what was going to happen. She glanced around the room, finding some paper and a pen. She sat at the desk and quickly wrote out a note. "Please make sure George gets this, in case I don't return." She handed the Princess a quickly scrawled piece of paper.

Ruby then asks, “Is there anything I need to know about your Father? I will tell him who my grandmother is but I am wondering, what is his temperament like?" Neferka replies, "His temperament? He's an absolute ruler that had a previous loyal follower of his mount a revolt against him. He will now be learning that the same follower has now married his daughter on the same day they mount an attack against his allies. It is safe to say that he won't be in the best of moods."

Ruby says, "I figured as much. Will he try to have me executed? You do realize Princess that this is a life threatening mission you are sending me on? I'm good at getting out of trouble... the trouble I usually get myself in... But this will be a huge test of my skill, I think." She smiles and says, "You don't have to worry about execution, you are a very beautiful woman. The worst he would do is have you added to his harem as a sex slave." "Oh, is that all?" Ruby said while rolling her eyes. "While I enjoy sex the whole slave thing is a turn off, I gotta admit. At least if that is the case it should buy me a little time to figure a way out.” Neferka states "Absolutely, all of the new girls go through a several day orientation. By that time we'll have gotten you out of there."

Ruby asks, “Is there something, an item, a memory, anything that I could give or show your father to prove I am actually sent by you? And didn't just steal your precious magic item in an attempt to break into the Palace? How about a letter with you backing up what I am to tell him in your handwriting? Or anything else you can think of to even prove I know you?" She says, "I can write you a note, a letter of reference so to speak. I'll let him know that you firmly believe what you are telling him to be the truth."

"Thank you. I really just want him to see that you actually know me and I'm not some crazy person just trying to kill him. I am sure he's very on guard right now and perhaps just seeing a letter from you will make him understand that you know me and that you care about him." Ruby got up from her chair and stretched. "You don't happen to have any spirits around here, do you? I'm going to be needing some right now, I think. Just enough to sooth my soul. So I think once I am teleported in, all magical disguises will be gone. What about other magic, say, a charm spell I might have cast on myself?"

As Neferka pours Ruby a glass of the special fruit liquor she replies, "All activated magic and active spells will be negated. Some permanent magical items, such as the amulet, will reactivate within a minute or two. You theoretically would be able to cast new spells, however it is unlikely that you will find an opportunity to do so, as you will be surrounded by guards from the moment you arrive."

Ruby nodded. "Alright then, I will just have to use my natural charm and..., "She cleared her throat, "...Way with words to convince your father. Do you have clothes for me then? I suppose I should change while you are writing your letter." She took the fruity beverage and drank the entire cup down. It has a sweet fruity flavor with a mix of apricot and lemon. It has a kick to it, the alcohol content being rather high.

The Princess gestures to the rather full clothes closet in the adjacent bedroom and says "Help yourself, it'll all fit since you'll be wearing my body." Ruby chooses a royal purple and sheer two piece skirt and top from the closet. It's a bit snug as the princess is slightly smaller than Ruby.

Neferka says, "Ah yes! Just like a Princess... almost." She hands Ruby the royal amulet. "There, that will help." Ruby puts the amulet on and gazes at herself in the mirror. "Not too shabby a princess, I must say myself. What do you think?" she asks, while helping herself to another glass of the fruity alcohol.

Neferka gives Ruby the tiger eye ring and has her state the command word "Isis". Ruby feels the magical transformation. She has used similar items before, but this time the magic and change seem to be more of a natural flow than a forced change. Looking into the mirror, they appear to be identical twins. "Well, normally I don't like to pretend I'm someone I am not but I could get used to the life of a princess," she laughs. "How long do you think I have before the show up to kidnap me? I mean, you?"

She replies, "At least another hour, the train would just now be leaving." Ruby states, "Oh, I guess I had some time then. But, you should probably be leaving soon anyway, just in case they show up early." Ruby tapped her lips in her familiar way but it looked funny watching the Princess do the motions in the mirror. For a moment Ruby considered just how much fun she could have as the Princess..."Ahem, so, assuming that no magic is involved, will this transformation last indefinitely?” She replies, "It will last until either magically dispelled or until you remove that ring."

Ruby says, “Will they be assuming you will put up a fight? I could go with them easily as it is actually my goal but I don't want to make them suspicious ahead of time." Neferka replies, "That will depend upon the orders given to the wizard. He would never do anything to me without my father's express permission. But if father is angry enough, who knows what the instructions might be."

Ruby says, "Alright then. I think you should change now and give yourself a little bit of time to get used to the new, larger body. Bunyan is huge I'm pretty sure. Then get going before someone shows up here early. I think I'm as ready as I am going to be." The Princess places the ring on her finger and says the word "Lumberjack". She then transforms into a huge, robust man standing six-and-a-half feet tall, with curly red hair and a thick beard. She looks into the mirror and says, "It looks like we've switched our hair color."

"Well, now you can find out if red heads have more fun," Ruby laughed. "Though," she looked the "man" up and down, "I'm not so sure about this look on you. Still, you should be safe.” She replies, "As long as I don't have to talk, the magic is visual only and my voice doesn't fit this body.”

Ruby says, “Gather up what you need. Oh, is that guard going to come back for you or will you meet him here?" Neferka states, "I assume that he will be bringing Mrs. Parker back here." Neferka says, “You will need to try to mimic my voice, at least for the confrontation with the wizard." Ruby will just spend the next 30 minutes practicing speaking like the Princess.

Chapter 64 "Together Again” (Episode Two, Chapter Twenty-four) - Saturday, September 10, 1882, 7:15 A.M.

As Mina and Abby consider their next move the train arrives. The soldiers move forward and force the crowd back. From the front Pullman car exits a sheik attired in silk robes with gold and platinum embroidery. He has a harem of scantily clad women following him and over a dozen burly male bodyguards carrying large, sharp scimitars. Following them are a dozen ogre laborers carrying large trunks.

From the next car exit an Egyptian man in a suit with nearly four dozen workers who head back toward the freight cars. Half of these men then begin unloading barrels and crates with firearms sticking out of them. The other half begin unloading horses and mules from the cattle cars. Other unload empty wagons and carts tied down to the flatbed cars. Abby says, "The second car, I get. The first car... that comes into a war zone with his harem? Well, I guess a guy who's really confident he's coming out on top of whatever happens.”

Four passengers depart the final car. Mina and Abby immediately recognize two of them as their friends Alsoomse and Hardin. Accompanying them is a Centaur and a bearded man in a dark suit carrying a well-worn suitcase. Abby exclaims, “Alsoomse is here. Guess we're taking the next train out." Abby lifted her hand and waved at the others.

As Fish and Hakar near the train depot they are startled by the sight of a flying ogre, dressed in military garb, and of fairly high rank based upon the various ribbons and insignia. He is flying overhead approximately thirty feet above the ground and at a fairly quick pace. Rather than flying directly towards the train it then stops and hovers above the crowd, looking intently below. Dozens of people stop and look up, several pointing in surprise.

Neither John Hardin or Alsoomse notice Abby and Mina at first. Then a flying ogre arrives, hovering over the crowd, and lands immediately before Mina and Abby. Seeing them, Cetan uses his size to clear a path for Alsoomse and friends. The ogre exclaims, "Mrs. Parker, the Princess has need of you." This captures the attention of everybody around, including John, Alsoomse and the Centaur friend, as well as Fish and Hakar at the other end of the street.

Abby says to the ogre, "I'm guessing that telling you we're in a hurry and the Princess would really want us to get where we're going isn't going to persuade you to let us send her our regrets?" The Ogre turns to Abby and says "You can go where ever you wish, it is only Mrs. Parker who the Princess needs." Abby replies, "I go with Mrs. Parker. There is too much going on right now for any of us to be acting without an idea of what the others are doing. Beside that we also need to talk to our compatriots who just got off the train."

Alsoomse, Cetan and John Harding approach Mina, Abby and the Ogre. Hakar and Fish move closer to them from the opposite direction but still keep their distance. "Come on over, y'all," Abby said with a wave. "This nice gent wants to take us to see the Princess. Well, he just wants Mrs. Parker but I don't think he'll mind too much if we tag along."

Given that the crowd is still staring Hardin drops back, more out of sight, and waits for Fish and Hakar to approach. The crowd is now redirected to the train, which has started taking on passengers. A group of well-dressed men are escorted to the Pullman car. Regular passengers are then allowed to enter. Rather than stacking luggage in the freight cars people are just keeping them with them, turning the freight cars into passenger cars too. Rails are put up on the flatbed cars, which also then take on passengers (albeit those that have livestock with them).

Abby looked up at the Ogre and said, "Looks like we're goin' to have a large group. Do we just follow you to where the Princess is? That is, if Mrs. Parker is actually agreein' to go. And our friends actually get off their backsides and get over here." She looked over at Mina. "You are agreeing, aren't you?" Mina says to the Ogre, "It seems to be the best choice, lead the way." He takes them through the city.

Entering the fanciest hotel in town, eyes turn to stare at the centaur, but nobody makes any attempt to stop them. They head up the stairs to the top floor and Presidential suite. As they walked over Abigail dropped back near Alsoomse and spoke very quietly. "We've learned a lot since you left for Heliopolis. You may hear some things that will shock you when we talk to the Princess. We'll get you up to speed as soon as we can get a bit of privacy."

Approaching the door to the Princess' suite Abby moved forward again to stand with Mrs. Parker. "I'm ready when you are," she said, half to her companion and half to the Ogre mage who had led them here. The door is opened and the group are led into the center room of the suite. A number of ogre guards and human servant girls are present. The Ogre who led them there approaches a closed bedroom door and knocks.

Moments later the door is opened from inside by a large man with red curly hair and red beard, wearing demin pants and a plaid shirt. Also in the room is the Princess, attired in a purple and white Egyptian style dress. Cetan thinks to himself, "The princess is fooling around with a lumberjack? This can't be good!" The Princesses head snaps to see who the visitors are. "What's the meaning of this intrusion??" she asks. Abby looked to the Ogre mage, who looked just as stunned as some of her companions. She thought to herself, “She called for Mina, you'd think she'd know what this is all about.”

Ruby’s impression of the Princesses voice fools everybody except for her Grandmother Mina, who just smirks and plays along. Abby spoke up, saying, "Mrs. Willamina Parker, as you requested." The tall lumberjack in the corner nods to the Ogre. The ogre then exits the room along with the servants and other guards. The lumberjack steps forward and looks from eye to eye at Mina, Cetan, Abby and Alsoomse. Once all the guards had left the Princess said, in Ruby's voice, "Well, that worked." She ran over and hugged her grandmother. "Nana, I am so glad you are here! And you too Abby." Abby says, "I was wondering why we didn't see you here. Feels so strange to wear someone else's skin, doesn't it?” "Yes, it's very odd.” Ruby replies.

Abby asks, “So what's the situation? We were just trying to figure out how we were going to get ourselves on the overstuffed train when Alsoomse appeared. We can catch the next train, but time is still short." The Princess attempts to speak in as deep a voice as she can, but it still comes out surprisingly high-pitched and not what the others expected from the tall man. He (she) says "Before we begin, you should know that we may be interrupted. The Princess's father may have his wizards come to take her once he receives word of the wedding. If that happens, do not resist. I also have one favor, if they ask please say that I am Mrs. Parker's bodyguard, otherwise things may not go well for me."

Abby says, "If there might be interruptions we should get started. Time is of the essence for all of us.” The lumberjack speaks up and says in her regular voice, "I am Princess Neferka." Abby pauses the says, “Princess, you called for Mrs. Parker and she's here. If you don't want us to interfere with the interruption, how can we help you?" Ruby says, “I don't really like it, being someone else, but the Princess," she nodded toward the tall man, "Needed our help desperately. It's a magic item and it will deactivate the moment I hit the palace. I'm a little concerned about this plan but for my end, I don't see any other way. Once I am in the Palace and myself again, hopefully I can get the King to listen to me. I plan on telling him that the Princess actually loves the General and was not forced to marry him but also some of the information you told me Abby, about the French plot to murder him. The more explanation you can give me to give him, the better! I realize I am missing some of your information."

Abby says, “I can go over everything I learned with you again, but what I meant was how in seven hells are you getting to the Palace, and why would it be dangerous to you? Obviously if the Princess just wanted you to go as a messenger, she'd send you with a note of introduction and some guards..." Abby looked at the lumberjack/princess for a moment. "That skin must be even stranger to wear. It seems Ruby has some kind of mission for you, what can WE do for you?"

Neferka replies, "You can claim that I am Mrs. Parker's bodyguard if the wizards do come to kidnap me. That is merely speculation on my part, it may not happen at all. You can also give Ruby any evidence that you may have discovered regarding the duplicity of the French, as she will have to convince my Father." She replies, "Princess, I don't have any physical evidence. No notes or messages. I was masquerading as one of the French wizards to help rescue some British archeologists. I even fooled her teacher and he discussed the plan with me.

We think most of the wizards don't actually know the entire plan, only their part. But Sarah Bernhardt, the actress, is supposed to get a druidess out of the way. She helps guard the royal sheep. The shepherds are to be kidnapped but not hurt. I think Bernhardt and her companion are going to try to sneak in using mundane disguises and poison most of the people in the Palace. Someone is trying work up some fanatic named Abdullah, trying to get him to attack the palace to cover up what really happened there.

And Princess, I don't have details of how, they plan to get rid of your new husband as well. The end goal is to rule Egypt themselves, though you as its Queen. Much as I'd love to see their faces when they find out you won't be ruled, I'd rather stop it before people die. Mrs. Parker and I were on our way to Heliopolis to try and stop her. Bernhardt, that is."

Alsoomse states "I have just come from Heliopolis. There is indeed a fanatic there by the name of Abdullah El Adin who is trying to stir up the population in support of the rebel causes and against the King. I saw no evidence of any French, however an actress of Miss Bernhardt's talents could easily disguise herself as an Egyptian." Abby says, "That's the idea. The wizards already tried to get two people into the palace using magical disguises and they were caught, tortured, and killed. That's why they sought out actors, people who could disguise themselves without magic."

Abby turned to Ruby and added, "I think you skipped something Ruby. You're going to the Palace to talk to the King. I mean, that's good. If he'll listen to you he'll be warned if we can't stop those wizards. But.. You left a lot of why's out of your explanation." Ruby says, "Oh, right, that... Well, it's much faster for me to travel this way and as you know, time is of the essence. So the Princess asked me to use her magic item to make me look like her. She is convinced that once the Frenchman who is almost there delivers news of her wedding to her father, he will send a wizard to magically transport her - me - back to the Palace. Instead they will kidnap me and once I get to the Palace, the magical disguise will wear off, and I will try to convince the King of these things. I will take the note she has written as proof I have not harmed the Princess and hopefully that will work. If not," Ruby grinned, "You all will have to come save me! Easy peasy."

Ruby asks, “So, Nana, Abby, your plan now is to find the actress. If you do find her, what will you do then?" Abby says, "Find a disguised actress in Heliopolis, and rescue a red-head from the royal palace, all in day's work, honey. Just don't get yourself absorbed into a harem, alright? I don't wanna answer to your fiancé on that one." "Oh trust me, I'm not planning on THAT happening," Ruby laughed. "I love my guy and don't plan on losing him! He'd fight for me too but I don’t want to put him up against THOSE odds. Okay so you all now what I'M doing... what are YOU doing? Do you think you’ll be able to find Bernhardt? I'd like to get some time to talk to her, after all, she is one of my idols. Even if she is involved in some highly suspicious warmongering. "

Abby says, "Mrs. Parker and I were heading to Heliopolis to find Alsoomse and see what we could do. But since she's here now we can plan now. Finding Bernhardt won't be easy, we may have to look for the Druidess instead. At least her mentor thought Bernhardt would be upset by her role to play. He wasn't surprised to see her in the camp, and thought I was there to object. Why don't we all sit down, this could take a bit of time."

"Sure," Ruby said as she waved her arm around the suite, "We have a lot of room here. Have a seat. Alsoomse, did you find out anything new for us?" The elvan woman replies, "I found out that there are a group of six French wizards visiting the King at this palace and offering him advice, specifically, the former French Empress Eugenia Maria de Montijo de Guzman who was wife to Emperor Napoleon III. With her is Victor Duruy, who was a chief advisor and top mage to Napoleon III. Both of them are very highly ranked in the French wizards group, holding the positions of Ace and Queen of Diamonds. I know both of them, and can assure you that neither would be involved in an assassination plot."

Ruby says, "What about the other four with them? Might it be them or one of them? Or do you think it's a completely different group of French? I hate to say this but the Princess herself sent a French emissary to her father after the wedding." The Princess speaks up and says "I believe that diplomat, Mr. Frederic Passy, is totally sincere in his desire for bringing about peace. He too is fairly highly ranked in his group, the Jack of Diamonds I believe. If there is a conspiracy among these French wizards it clearly is not the entire group. A rogue faction perhaps." Ruby nodded. "I'm just not sure who to trust anymore. But it's good to have these opinions, they mean something.”

Abby says, "All the people you've mentioned are part of the Diamond suit. When I was talking to Merimee, he said that the Diamond suit is no longer trusted by the others. The Empress and Duruy have lost their positions on the French council because of their attempt to get those Atlantean artifacts. I think you're all right, none of these people probably know of the assassination plot. Someone called Gay-Lussac is the team leader for the plot. The wizards who died trying to get in before were Montblanc and Pascal.”

Alsoomse says, "Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac is a chemist, physicist and wizard. His expertise is in gaseous objects and acidic compounds. He was the inventor of the Potion of Insubstantiation. He is over a century old, and also fairly highly ranked among these wizards." Abby continues, “Merimee said the only reason he was approached was because they need Sarah and someone named Sardou, because they could act and use mundane disguises.” Mina says, "Victorien Sardou, a well known author of plays who began his career acting on the Paris stage. His specialty is the ability to write masterful plays of every genre. He will be dangerous, due more to his ability to improvise and adapt to any changing situation."

Abby says, “As for Miss Bernhardt, what we do will depend on what SHE does. I don't want to hurt anyone, but I will to prevent mass murder." "We all will," Mina states. Abby nodded and was quiet for a moment. "Perhaps we need to go after Sardou. If he's trying to rile up this Abdullah, he would be easier to find.
If we can find and watch him, he might lead us to Bernhardt." Ruby says, "That sounds like a good plan Abby. Perhaps he is the key to all this. But where might he be?" “

Abby says, "Sardou should be wherever Abdullah is. And it shouldn't be too hard to find a frothing at the mouth fanatic who wants to kill the King of Egypt." "Very true. A little information gathering should do the trick. Unfortunately I can't help as my ride will be here soon. But I bet Fish could really help with that. If you can find HIM," Ruby laughed.

Mina says, "Okay, it's decided then, Abby and one or two of the others should head off on the next southbound train. The Princess should be able to write them an official note to get them into the Pullman car ahead of the crowds. I will stay here with Ruby and the Princess for the time being while we wait for George to return. If Callum or Benjamin manage to return I will apprise them of what is going on." Ruby says, "I'm not sure George will be back for a while Nana, he is photographing the armies. Maybe not until tonight he said."

Abby comments, "I'll have time before the next train. We should check the hotels for Ben and Cal. It'll probably take longer for Cal to get back, especially if the people he made insubstantial moved away from Zakazik instead of toward it I probably shouldn't admit I'm nervous about going on our own out there. The consequences if we fail are enormous." Mina says, "Alsoomse and Cetan could accompany you as well. You're also looking for a druid, both of them ARE druids."

Cetan asks, "What you want'em druid to do?" Abby replies, "I want you to think like what you are. When we get to Heliopolis we might have to track down a powerful druid. I wouldn't know one if she sat on my lap. You'll know where a druid wouldn't be and where she would be. You'll know what she'd consider a threat and what not." Abby paused, for a moment losing a bit of confidence. "You used to be in a show right? You don't need to put on a show for me, so be yourself, warts and brilliance."

Abby, Cetan and Alsoomse head over to the other hotel, expecting to find John Hardin and Lawrence there, but also discovering that Benjamin 'Fish' Trout has also returned. "Fish, you made it back!" Abby gave him a hug that wouldn't ever hint that they hadn't known one another long. "Not that I thought you wouldn't. Heard anything about Cal?" Fish has no new information as they split up in Tanis.

Abigail, Alsoomse, Benjamin and Cetan pack up and head down to the train depot for the southbound train to Cairo and Heliopolis. Alsoomse looks towards Cetan and says, "We'll come back to Zakazik some time later, there really is more to see here than these two hotels."

They arrive at the train depot, where despite one train full of people already heading south, the crowds are larger than before. The note given to them by the Princess gets them to the front of the line and into the depot itself, where two dozen of Zakazik's most wealthy citizens are waiting to depart in the Pullman car. "Don't worry Cetan, I haven't seen much else yet either. Just add the temple of Bast and you've been everywhere I've been."

Abby looked around the station. "I feel like a bit of a heel taking up space on the train when so many people want out. I have to keep reminding myself what we're doing is important." She swept her eyes over the crowd, looking for any familiar faces. She spots a distance back in the crowd the Scotsman named Robert Lewis Stevenson, who had been held in Tanis by the French who mistook him for Callum. She realizes that he will not possibly recognize her, as she was wearing the face of Sarah Bernhardt when he last laid eyes upon her.

She leaned over to Alsoomse and said, "I see one of the men we smuggled out of the French camp. I'm going over, I'll be back." Abby made her way through the throng and came up behind Stevenson. "Sir, my name is Abigail and I'm here to get you out of here," she laughed, repeating what she'd said in the prison tent and using her distinctive accent. "I see you made it out of the camp just fine."

He does a double take and has a look of confusion on his face at first. The realization of who she is then dawns on him and a smile comes to his face. "Yes, I did, and I thank you for the assistance yesterday. The archaeologists were all united with the British military, and are on their way back to England as we speak, but I am not ready to return home as of yet. The political unrest in Cairo is something that I wish to witness first hand."

She asks, “All the archeologists? The ladies too? We haven't heard anything from our friend who went to get the ladies out?” He replies, "He headed back to Tanis once we were all safely on our way. He was still invisible, so should be safe." She asks, “You're not concerned about being mistaken for a Stuart again and arrested?“ He smiles and says, "No, the British Colonel we connected with drew me up some papers." With a smirk he adds, "If they execute me, it will now be under my own name."

Abby nodded. "I'm not sure what he still had to do in Tanis, but it's good to know everyone got out safe. I'm not his mother, I guess he'll let us know what he's up to if he wants to. As for executions, I try to avoid them under any name. Doesn't really matter what they call your corpse. Are you at least trying to get out of Zakazik?" He says, "Oh yes, this isn't the safest town to be in with a British accent. Cairo is my next stop, provided that I can get on the train."

Abby said, "Stick with me, I can get you on the train. I never could resist a lad in distress. You can repay me by telling me anything and everything you heard while you were in the French camp. Come with me, honey." She started him over toward her group, still wondering about Cal. After he'd been so excited to see her he sure hadn't taken any pains to make sure he even let her know he was alright. Abby gave her head a little toss, throwing a bit of hair back over her shoulder. He'd come back around or he wouldn't. She had work to do.

Chapter 65 "Heliopolis” (Episode Two, Chapter Twenty-five) - Saturday, September 10, 1882, 8:00 A.M.

They manage to board the train without incident. In fact, having the note from the Princess affords them the best seats in the Pullman car as well as private attendants. Cetan notes the difference between now and the ride up where they wanted to put him in the cattle car of the same train. "It's nice to be important," Abby said with a sigh. "Mr. Stevenson, you're about to learn some things. I'm trusting you to keep them to yourself. I don't know who you'd tell, but then, I don't know who you'd tell," she smiled.

"I'd appreciate anything you can tell me that you might have heard in the camp, it may help us with what we're doing now." Stevenson relates all that he heard or deduced, most of which Abby was already aware of. The man named Prosper Merimee had been in charge of the group at Tanis and was searching for a magical gateway, that he was convinced was located there. Three other possible locations had also been identified, the next most probable site being Bubastis, which also had a team searching for it.

Most of the Frenchmen assigned to Merimee were engineers, who were far more interested in returning to Port Said, where the Suez Canal's main engineering works were located. Apparently the canal is the main prize in this war, and the French planned to use the control of it as their main bargaining chip, feeling that the British would concede to any other terms if they were given the operational control of it. Before that happened the French engineers wanted to install some magical traps and safeguards, in the event that they ever had to take control of it back from the British.”

"Thanks honey. Robert? Can I call you Robert? Most of that I knew, but it's good to keep the canal in mind. And I didn't know they were planting magical booby traps, that's especially good to keep in mind." She looked to Alsoomse, Fish, and Cetan. "So our main goal is to disrupt Sarah Bernhardt's mission. We can either find her, the Druidess she's supposed to get out of the way, or her partner. Maybe we'll need to do all three. I'm ready to hear some ideas, friends. I'm a kinda "fly by the seat of my pants" kind of girl. A plan is probably better this time."

It takes a while for the multitude of crowds to board, with a near riot breaking out once artillery fire is heard from the southeast, originating twenty miles distant. Even as the train is pulling out, dozens of people who were told to wait abandon their luggage and grab onto the exterior rails of moving train. As the train continues southward it remains a good fifteen miles from the closest point of the conflict, with the artillery fire sounding louder and clouds of black powder forming in the sky to the east.

"I wish I didn't know that those aren't fireworks," Abby said. "Alsoomse, Cetan, what can you tell me about Druids? I'm ignorant here. Maybe if I know more I can hypothesize about what Bernhardt might try to get her out of the way." Alsoomse says, "Druids are priests, followers of the various gods of nature. While many of the spells we cast are comparable to those of other priests, others are more specific to the natural world. Druids are very powerful here, as many of the Egyptian deities are animal personifications, for example, their supreme god Ra has the head of a hawk. Bernhardt is a magician, not a druid, her magics are different. Once I see this druidess cast a spell I should be able to tell if she is real or fake."

Abby replies, "If she works for the King, I'm sure she's going to be the real deal. So Bernhardt knows she would be facing a foe who could turn the natural world against her. If I were facing someone like that, I'd want to be invisible if possible, but expect they might hear or even smell me in the area.” Alsoomse says, "Unlikely, although the druid priestess probably would." Abby asks, “I wonder if Bernhardt has a familiar that she might send to scout first?" "Alsoomse says, "Unlikely, she travels as an actress and most hotels do not allow pets."

The train continues southward, with nothing but sand and sand dunes to the eat. To the west are fields of crops, being irrigated by canals from the Nile further west. Abby was quiet for a while, thinking about a lot of things. Wishing now that she had learned more magic more quickly. Wishing her own power was greater. Wishing she felt more up to the task ahead of her. The weight of the lives of people who didn't even know they were in danger sat on her shoulders, and her shoulders weren't ones used to bearing so much responsibility. "How do you do this, Alsoomse?" she finally asked. "How do you take so much on yourself without being crushed beneath it?"

Alsoomse moved Abigail three rows further down the train car and sat with her, taking her hand in hers. "There is only one way to look at life, with both intelligence and optimism. You need to take things one step at a time and not be overwhelmed. The elvan equivalent of one's 'teenage years' were difficult for me. The humans arrived at Plymouth, and our Chief Massasoit sought a peaceful coexistence with them. He was a great man, leader of a vast tribe of 12,000, who occupied most of what is now Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and the eastern half of New York's Long Island.

He died four decades later, of European-borne diseases that we had no natural cures for. His eldest son, Wamsutta, died under mysterious circumstances while negotiating with human officials in Boston. His son Metacom, known by the English as Prince Phillip, went to war against the humans. It was a disaster, we were all but eliminated. Only 400 of our tribe survived, mostly women and elders, and we were forced onto reservations on Cape Cod and the island of Martha's Vineyard.

In the 18th Century a new group of people came to Martha's Vineyard, whaling men, who sought their fortunes from the largest creatures in the sea. I met such a man, James Parker's Grandfather, and fell in love. You may have seen the portrait of us with our daughter in my office back in Jacksonville. He taught me the life's philosophy I live to this day, waking each morning with an optimistic viewpoint and trying to move forward despite all obstacles."

Abby nodded and held the other woman's hands. "Alsoomse, I'll never stop trying to move forward, and generally I've got a pretty sunny disposition. Only a fool is never afraid, but I've never let fear stop me, and I won't let it today. But... I've always been the student. I learned magic from my Nanny, I went to college, and I worked on the Pitt-Rivers estate. I KNOW I'm competent at almost any task set me, but now... Now I feel I must lead. And that terrifies me more than anything. Baptism by fire, I suppose."

Alsoomse says, "Relax, a leader's strength is derived from that of their followers. I know that you've only known myself and Benjamin a short while, but we are both extremely good at what we do. Cetan is all but a stranger to you, but has unique talents of his own that will help our mission. You could not ask for a better team." "I've got no doubts about y'all's talents," Abby said with a smile. "And we'll all do what we have to, but I wouldn't call any of y'all followers! At least not of mine. Compared to you and Ben, I haven't felt so inexperienced in a long time."

Alsoomse says, "The only way to get experience is through experience. And you have special talents that neither of us other three have. What do you think we should do first when we arrive at Heliopolis." Abby says, "I'm not sure. Like I said, I tend to fly without a plan. If we're looking for Sarah Bernhardt, then we may want to check into a hotel. I doubt she's staying in some rag of a place, she'll treat herself well. Maybe not to the best, but well.” Alsoomse adds, "Unless they have friends in the area, or purchased a building outright. They would have the resources to do so."

Abby says, “We could act more defensively, and try to find the Druidess. That's probably simpler, it shouldn't be hard to find the royal flock." Alsoomse says, "No, but it would be well protected and the locals might question strangers asking about it." Abby replies, "Well, our other option that I can see is to track Sardou through the fanatic, Abdullah. But I have less idea of what his job is in all this. He'd have to meet up with Bernhardt at some point, he is the man with the poison."

The train pulls into a station and stops. Alsoomse says, "Well, we need to decide soon. We're at Sabara Depot, Heliopolis is the next stop, just five miles further south." Abby says, "The other paths seem easier, but my gut tells me to find Sarah Bernhardt. I think she's the weak link in all this. Her teacher wasn't surprised to see her in the French camp, convinced she would hate the orders she had to follow. If she doesn't truly believe in her mission, she may be easier to throw off, to disrupt."

Alsoomse says, "Well, we don't know where either of them are, so we may want to split into pairs and meet back up in an hour or so.” Abby replies, "Absolutely. We should take advantage of our numbers and follow every lead we have. Since the train station is the only place I'll be familiar with, we'll probably have to meet back up here unless you can tell me of a better place. You just spent some time here.”

Alsoomse says, "The train depot is as good a place as any. Heliopolis is an ancient city, as it is situated where the Nile forks as a single river flowing south but two separate branches flowing northeast and northwest from here to the mouths at the Mediterranean Sea, on what are called the Rosetta and Damietta arms of the Nile. Cairo is five miles to the south.

It was also the religious center of ancient Egypt, where the high priests received their training, and remains so to this day. Three-thousand years ago Pharaoh Ramses III built several temples in this city. The gods Horus and Set are both actively worshipped here, as well as the greater god Ra. It was given its current Greek name approximately two-thousand years ago, for the two-centuries or so of Greek rule over this region following the collapse of Alexander the Great, a name that the Romans retained during their semi-occupation. The great obelisk called Cleopatra’s Needle was originally here by Pharaoh Usertsen I, in honor of Ra, before the Romans moved it to Alexandria and renamed it.”

Cetan says that he would like to get away from trains and buildings with stairs and human sized door ways. He asks Alsoomse, in Elvish, if there is a particular place she thinks the Druidess might be? He volunteers to go look. Cetan also suggests he might scout outside of town to see who and what is coming in and out. He could meet here or somewhere when the sun is at the same place in the sky tomorrow.

Alsoomse suggests that Cetan and Abigail head off together and that she will stay with Benjamin. She suggests that they start on the fields to the northwest, as that in the general direction that the livestock would be raised. She says they should meet back here at the train depot at sunset if possible, otherwise they will try again at midnight, dawn, and high-noon until they reconnect again. "How long is it to sundown?" Abby asked.

Fish had kept quiet for a very long time. His face had been a mask the entire ride. He had smiled broadly when Miss Marsters embraced him, but had said precious little ever since. He'd not pressed the centaur for details why he had joined the motley crew, although he choked back a snicker to hear Cetan's pidgin English. He knew it was a ruse: the centaurs that had traveled with Ben's circus had a "public voice" they adapted for the marks, and their real voice when they joining the rest of the carnies after hours. Centaurs certainly could hold their liquor! Glancing to the northwest, Fish breaks his silence. "I'll follow your lead, ma'am. I know you know I'm not much help with blades or bullets, but I have a good head for avoiding ... staying ahead of ... escaping trouble, should the need arise!"

Cetan turns to Abby and asks in Elvish, "Are you ready to examine the fields to the northwest?" She smiled at Cetan and said, "English, Francais, or Egyptian, honey. Otherwise I have to cast a spell to understand you." With dramatic gesturing Cetan replies in English, " You make'em ready and we go to fields where heap big Elf say." Fish is unsuccessful stifling his snicker. Abby replies, "Honey, Alsoomse brought you to us, so I KNOW that your brains outstrip just about all your other attributes. If that accent makes you happy you go right ahead, but you're not foolin' me." "Squaw sound ready", Cetan says without the hand gestures. He turns and heads for the fields to see what can be seen.

As they prepare to depart they see a large gathering in front of the temple to Ra at the end of the street. Rather than a religious affair, it looks more political in nature given the number of people carrying and waving firearms. A large bearded man is standing atop the temple steps and several people start to chant "Abdullah". Mina says, "Let's switch to Plan B and all stay together, I think we've found our fanatic." Abby says, "Well, that didn't take long. I wish I knew what Sardou looked like."

Abby says, "Let's go round the crowd as we head out. I want to hear what some of this crowd are saying. If Sardou did his job too well they could be an issue for us. Plus, they may be able to lead us to the Royal flocks." She drank one dose of the potion Alsoomse had given them so she could understand the language. Abby set off, leading the others and trying not to be ridiculously annoyed by the word Squaw. Fish sticks close to Alsoomse, watching the crowd to see if anyone seems to be paying special attention to them, and takes note of anyone taking special note of the big centaur's progress to the northwest.

As they near they see that the crowd of Egyptians represent a large cross-culture, as every age, gender and social class seem to be represented. Abdullah's name is chanted several times until he calms them and exclaims, "King Takeleth VI has failed us, and he has brought foreigners into our land to fight our brothers. The great General Ahmed Orabi seeks nothing but peace, having wed the King's favored daughter Neferka to that end. That should have been enough for most, but not this despot, as he now fights a blood relative! Is this the way true Egyptians would act? I say thee nay! Brothers, sisters, kinsmen, spread the word. We gather here tomorrow at dawn and march to Cairo!"

"Dawn tomorrow," Abby said quietly to the others. "They're marching to Cairo. Bernhardt would be heading there before the mob. Let's get a look out at those fields then have a look around Heliopolis. I wish we had one of those airships." Alsoomse pulls the group back and says, "Hold on, I detect significant amounts of magic on seven different people, one of them is probably the French actor. Abby, take Cetan and head off to find the druid. I'll stay here with Ben and we can hopefully figure out which is the man we want."

Fish feels the hair rise up the nape of his neck. He steps back to guard Alsoomse's flank, all the while keeping his eyes peeled. He reaches inside his vest to secure the pearl-handled little two-shot derringer he'd "liberated" from a buxom lass earlier that day. Abby tells her, "Alright. We'll meet you back here at the train station. Good luck." Abby ran after Cetan to head out toward the countryside. She tells him, "We probably want to look in whatever direction Cairo is in. That's where they'd need to move the sheep to if they wanted to take them to the King."

Alsoomse pulls Fish back a few feet to point out the seven that she identified. One appears to be an Egyptian priest of Horus, and is flanking the man Abdullah. She says that his staff, ring and belt are magical. Another two are a well-dressed couple who appear to be of great wealth, with magical clothing and jewelry covering both of them. Next appears to be a beggar boy who is keeping close to the assemblage, but has on magical boots, a magical ring and magical amulet hidden under his cloak.

The fifth is a young woman of some financial means, who has on a magical dress, magical belt, a pair of magical rings and magical flute attached to her belt. She has a pair of ogre bodyguards beside her. The sixth is further back in the crowds, a rather tall evil looking man wearing a black cloak over black clothing. Alsoomse says that his entire body appears to be covered with a magical spell, and the scimitar in his belt also appears to be magical.

The final person with considerable magic is a young man dressed in flamboyant western-style garb, a white silk suit with silver ascot, with a diamond pin and gold cane. She says that not only are the pin and cane radiating magic, but that he has something magical under his white hat, and that she also detected magical bullets inside the pistol concealed in a shoulder holster. Gesturing to the last man, "Alsoomse, I wonder what he's doing here! He certainly looks outta place." mutters Ben.

She replies, "I have no idea, but he probably isn't the French actor we are seeking. One wouldn't want to appear as a westerner while trying to blend in." Still whispering, Fish suggests, "If I were trying to blend in, I might choose an otherwise-inconspicuous beggar boy as my cover..." Alsoomse replies, "I was thinking the same, although the big man with the scimitar is another possibility. Sure he stands out, but it is unlikely that anybody will intentionally bother him."

"Alsoomse!" continues Fish in a whisper, "What say you I sidle up to the beggar boy and try to figure his motives in this crowd? I am quite practiced at 'blending'!* You can keep an eye on the big dude and attempt the same?" Alsoomse heads off as the large man in black departs, following him from a safe distance. Benjamin stays, as the beggar boy does not immediately leave, instead holding out his bowl and asking for coins from the departing crowd.

Fish moves nearer the boy to observe him more closely. He uses his own skills at subterfuge to appear bewildered by the crowd as it departs, acting as though the surge of people might in fact push him up against the boy. If it's an elaborate disguise the boy has adopted, Fish watches for some sign of the ruse. Despite the surging of the crowd, the boy makes no attempt to pick anybody's pockets, maintaining his observation on the departing fanatical leader. The boy then opens his palm enough to reveal a small two-by-three in notebook in his hand, which he then makes some notes on with a pencil, before storing the notebook and pencil in a pocket of his tunic.

Ben fishes out a little talisman wrapped in copper wire that he has pinned behind his lapel and, upon spying Alsoomse, cups his hand over his mouth and whispers a Message to her, reporting what he has observed. She nods upon hearing the message. She heads off after the man in black with the scimitar, leaving Fish to deal with the beggar boy.

Chapter 66 "The Battle of Kassassin” (Episode Two, Chapter Twenty-six) - Saturday, September 10, 1882, 8:00 A.M.

It had been approximately forty-five minutes since the dirigible departed from the hotel and they have slowly traveled the distance twenty miles to the southeast. Hovering approximately eight-hundred feet above the town of Salinyeh, they begin to photograph approximately 10,000 troops of the Egyptian rebel army traveling eastward. George continues to take his photographs, but makes sure to keep his eyes and ears open to the operations of the airship and its crew.

They photograph the troop movements out of Salinyeh heading eastward. Poincare show's the top officer the map and comments "They're moving towards Kassassin, hasn't that town suffered enough?" The dirigible's Captain, the Frenchman Montgolfier, looks George and says, "The British and Egyptian Rebels had a rather significant skirmish at this same location two weeks ago. That was the campaign's only previous battle in this area east of Cairo."

As they get closer they can see British forces entrenched near the town. Montgolfier says, "Interesting, the British have apparently decided to use the dug fortifications made by both sides here during the previous battle." Poincare is busy moving the various markers on the board while looking at the troops below through binoculars. He says, "There appear to be only around one-third of the total British forces below at Kassassin, while approximately half of the Egyptian Rebels were at Salinyeh and heading here now."

"I wonder if this will be another Rorke's Drift here." George wonders aloud. "Of course the Egyptians are no Impi, but still. I wonder if the forces are smaller, where they are? Flanking maneuvers? And if so, where are the generals we need to be most watchful of?" Montgolfier has been looking below with binoculars and states "General Woolsley is leading the group below. I know not where the other British troops are, but these are the premier troops of their forces."

The very elderly Frenchman Joseph Marie Jacquard has been watching the distance with a telescope and exclaims "There's the other half of the Egyptian forces, coming from the southeast, the direction of Tel-el-Kabir. They are also moving towards Kassassin." "An interesting strategy, throwing all of their forces at this one group of British." Montgolfier ask Jacquard "Should we move the dirigible to better photograph the new arrivals?" The older man replies, "No, that would alert the British to that movement. We need to remain neutral in this conflict."

George spots the new group of rebels with his own binoculars. He moves back to observe the British forces, spying General Woolsley outside his command tent, George calls aloud "Does the new Egyptian column contain their general?” Poincare says, "Hard to say where Orabi is, unlike the British, these Egyptian rebel leaders tend to not advertise their positions unless leading a charge. But this appears to be the entire rebel army, so he's down there somewhere.”

George then says, “I heard they may have some artillery pulled by camels, are there any there?" "They appear to all be with the second group," Montgolfier comments. “Well, we need to watch for their charge then if we are to keep an eye on the general." says George as he shifts his camera to take pictures of the new column of troops. As the French continue to study the rebel forces, George is staring intently at the British forces silently mouthing words a message directed at General Woolsley "General Woolsley, second column of rebels approaching from southeast."

[DM’s Note: Up until this point I had been following the Historical account of troop movements for the September 10th Battle at Kassassin. George’s intervention here dramatically changes the whole script. I actually love it when players do this in historically-based campaigns.]

The troops move in, and George notes this group of Rebels is hauling over fifty cannon with them. Henri Poincare is looking out the other side and exclaims, "The British must had had scouts to the northwest, they're moving out a column of cavalry and repositioning their own cannon towards the new group of Egyptians." "Well, how smart of General Woolsley." remarks George. "Though we are still missing a good portion of the British forces. I think we may miss a battle today gentlemen."

The battle begins as the first group of Egyptians discharge their cannon towards the British cavalry flanking northwest. British cannon follow, and the scene below quickly turns into one of organized chaos. Despite their being outnumbered, the British forces are well organized, particularly those who moved out to take on the incoming group. They soon manage to cause those rebels to pull back and even split into two groups, one of which is forced to retreat.

Poincare continues to move the markers on his map and comments "Interesting strategy on Orabi's part. If it wasn't for the advanced notice by the British scouts this would have easily been a victory for Orabi's forces. Their using the previous battle's fortifications give the Brits the best protection, but would have left them hopelessly trapped by Orabi's flanking reinforcements." [DM’s note: That is what had happened historically according to General Woolsley’s report of the battle.]

Fifteen minutes later a flare goes up from the British encampment. Montgolfier comments "That's the signal for us. Prepare to descend to the east behind the lines." A group of British have gathered at a large canvas tent well behind the lines, which is where the balloon is lowering towards. When they get within a quarter mile and are still 150 yards aloft it is noted that a group of nearly 400 Egyptian rebel cavalry have managed to circumnavigate around the British forces and are charging in that direction. Montgolfier yells out, "Turn to put the ship at a right angle to those horsemen and prepare to fire a full broadside to starboard."

The photographers all rush to the starboard side of the dirigible in order to be able to have both 'before' and 'after' shots of the cannon broadside. Montgolfier then counts down from five to prepare everybody for the recoil. The cannon are aimed to hit a sand dune immediately before the Egyptian horsemen, obliterating the dune and showering tons of sand and rubble onto them. The recoil causes the floor on the upper level to rise, and only braces keep it from totally sandwiching them to the ceiling. The floor then resettles.

When the dust clears, half of the horsemen and riders are lying on the ground and the remaining two-hundred or so are still standing but dazed and wounded. The photographers take another shot and Montgolfier then orders a swift descent to where the British are grouped.

By the time the dirigible reaches the ground the Egyptian Rebel cavalry has regrouped, most of the downed horses having just been temporarily dropped. Montgolfier notices them preparing for a charge and orders the four portable Gattling Guns in the corners of the lower section to be "Wheeled out". The French soldiers quickly position the weapons in a firing line. This causes the Rebel cavalry commander to reconsider, and orders a retreat. They take their dead and wounded men with them, also stripping the two-dozen or so dead horses of their saddles and barding.

The British quickly load their wounded General onboard, along with a French physician who assists the British medical team. The mortally wounded man is not General Woolsley, but is identified as General Drury Curzon Drury-Lowe, a man in his early fifties. George recognizes the name as being a British cavalry hero, who had been promoted to Colonel due to his exploits in the Crimean War in the late 1850's and later to General during the Anglo-Zulu War of the 1860's. The dirigible takes to the sky and proceeds eastward at a rather fast pace. They are a good twenty-to-twenty-five miles distant before George spots another large contingent of British troops moving westward. "Looks like General Graham will be a little bit late today," Poincare states.

They continue for another ten minutes before landing at the ruins of Tanis, where a mobile hospital has been set up and fortified. general Drury-Lowe is off-loaded, but the French physician remains on board and is joined by another Frenchman from the Tanis site. The dirigible takes to the air again and proceeds back west. George soon notes that General Graham's forces are making good time, having covered nearly three miles in the short span between when he first saw them a half-hour earlier. Montgolfier laughs and says aloud "What hypocrites, the British claim they are opposed to magic but there is no way they could travel this quickly across open desert, hauling cannon and supplies, using only mundane technology."

George has been busy taking photographs as they traveled. George replies to Montgolfier as he changes rolls of film "The British are not opposed to magic, merely arcane magic Montgolfier" chastises George. "And under forced march they could have made this time. General Graham's forces are fairly fresh." As they return to the air above Kassassin, the battle scene has changed considerably. The Egyptian rebel army now has the British surrounded on three sides and are pressing the assault from the south, trying to close off the remaining southeastern-to-eastern corridor that the British appear to be holding as an escape route.

Poincare moves his various pieces around the map board and gets counts from his associate Joseph Renan, a young French historian whose area of specialty is this region of the world. The photographers continue to shoot off film, Woolsley himself leads a charge at the northern line and breaks through the Egyptian forces. The British troops then pour through that gap like sand through an hourglass. "Now see, if the Egyptians had standard regiment formations with say the box formation, that would not have happened" states George. He adds, "Still with Woolsley out and about we need to keep an eye on him." George is suddenly struck with an odd thought though and a suspicion, but keep both to himself.

Keeping an eye on Woolsley appears to also be high on the agenda of the Frenchman Renan, whose binoculars follow the General's every movement. The Egyptians rush to take on the British troops flowing into and behind their ranks, but with a noted lack of coordination. After ten minutes of intense fighting, the overwhelming number of attackers causes the British to retreat back through the gap to their ranks.

The tide of battle then shifts once more, as a group of 400 camel-riding advanced cavalry from General Grahams forces arrive, having circumnavigated around to the north and come in behind the Egyptian northern troops, whose cannon are pointed southward. These Egyptians are taken completely by surprise. This location was where General Orabi himself had been leading the fighting, and the rebel leader appears to be the primary target of this group.

George keep a close eye on Rena keen to spot any surreptitious spells being cast. George does keep an eye out for where the airship might head next, which general might be more in trouble. George searches for General Orabi through his camera lens. Finding the General, George under his camera hood, quietly mutters this message is in Arabic. "General Orabi, this is the jinn Kulan of the desert. Take heart, hold firm, turn your cannon and I shall shield your men from harm. Cast out the white men.".

Taking the message to heart, Orabi orders his cannon turned just as the lead Egyptians engage his forces. They are unable to prevent the first 100 from entering the rebel forces ranks, but the cannon fire upon the remainder, forcing a temporary retreat. Not wanting to be surrounded or captured, the forward group of British camel cavalry push onward, cutting down many of Orabi's personal guard but are unable to strike the General himself.
They then proceed forward, slashing swords and firing pistols upon rebel cannon crews that they come in from behind, before preceding onward and back to their own lines of troops.

Another hour of battle follow, both sides gaining and then loosing ground, with the Egyptian rebels having a slight upper hand. That then changes as the remainder of General Graham's reinforcements come onto the scene. George heads over and gets a drink of cool water. The hot desert sun coming through the windows makes the cabin warm. After his drink he stops to examine the board for a moment before heading back to his camera. He comments, "It is sad that so much death and destruction cannot be stopped."

Montgolfier walks over to George and says, "But it can be Mr. Eastman, that is why we are here. Hopefully today's battle will be more than enough for both sides, and they will be inclined to negotiate a truce." "If only that were the case Mssr. Montgolfier. Too often pride; nationalistic, idealistic or jingoistic pride interferes and prevents otherwise rational men from negotiating. And that speaks nothing to the vast financial interests involved with war. I wish I were as optimistic as you." replies George as he continues to photograph troop movements.

With the arrival of the new reinforcements one would think that the tide of battle would now shift if favor of the British, but that does not appear to be the case. For the next forty-five minutes the British forces under both General Woolsley and General Graham mount changes and attacks, but with no coordination between them. In some instances the troops converge on the same area and actually get in each other's way, in other instances they move in opposite directions, leaving vast openings for the Egyptians to move forward. General Orabi's forces however, fail to take advantage of these openings, keeping to their current lines rather than surging forward when the opportunities present themselves.

As they watch, a wizard on the Egyptian side stands and casts a Lightning Bolt spell into General Herbert MacPherson, the leader of the Indian Contingent, striking down him and his senior staff. This leaves the three battalions of goblin troops from India without any human leadership. The 29th Baluck Infantry troops react as less-disciplined troops often do when facing powerful opposition, dropping their weapons and running away. But the 7th Bengal Infantry and the 20th Punjab Infantry take the opposite approach. These troops immediately shed their red jackets and forced British discipline, but instead of retreating they act as...well...goblins.

The Egyptians are unprepared for the massive onslaught as dozens of claws, teeth and dagger stabs that overwhelm them. The goblins soon cut down all immediate opposition and swarm into the adjacent groups of Egyptian troops. Events move rapidly from this point forward. The large gap in the Egyptian line created by the rampaging goblins has the British General Edward Alison drive forth his Highland Infantry. Hundreds of kilt-wearing Scotsmen comprised of the Cimarron Highlanders, the Grant Highlanders and the Royal Highlanders (aka The Black Watch), swim into the fray.

To the call of their bagpipers and drummers, the Scots make short work of their opposition. The greatest challenge to the highlanders is actually the still berserk goblins in their midst that attack all humans, friend or foe alive. Within a half-hour of entering the battle the Highlanders have captured twenty of Orabi's cannon, approximately one-third of his total artillery. This has a domino effect, as this group of cannon were all that were keeping General Russell's cavalry at bay, and they swarm Orabi's command, cutting down all opposition.

The Egyptians soon fall into a disorganized retreat. Those in the dirigible lose sight of General Orabi himself, but see that most of his personal guard were slain by Russell's troops. A short while later a group of Egyptians gather slighting behind the others and send of an emergency flare, indicating that one of their leader's is mortally wounded. "Time to descend again. I wonder if you fellows could not have developed a spell to be able to see the generals without giving away their position to the enemy. That would have been useful to be positioned well for faster recovery. I just hope that we land sufficiently away from those goblins" grins George.

Montgolfier says, "We can't land where that flare went up, it's too close to the fighting and artillery. I'll land a few hundred yards further back and let them come to us." The Dreadnaught does exactly that, and unlike the ambulance service on the other side, the attackers stay clear of the airship. It takes the rebels a while to get their wounded leader to the ship, and he is also surrounded by another group of six Frenchmen, one of whom is a physician. The wounded man turns out to be General Ahmed Orabi. Once on board, Montgolfier wastes no time in getting airborne and returning to Zakazik at the maximum speed. Within fifteen minutes they are nearing the city.

"Well at least the English, even their crazed auxiliaries, will abide by treaties. If only all parts of war were as civilized." states George with mixtures of irony and respect. "What happens once night falls? We here cannot take more pictures. Will we remain airborne to watch for flares?" Poincare states "No need, today's fighting should be winding down as General Orabi's last order before he lost consciousness was for his troops to withdrawn back to the town of Tel el-Kebir. And while it is possible that the British might pursue them, based upon my knowledge of General Woolsley, I do not think that will be the case."

"Where will we be docking tonight then, and will we return to flight before dawn to be ready?" asks George. Montgolfier says, "The Dreadnaught will not be docking here, just letting everybody off. We need to go re-supply the cannon and the troops will need room for maneuvers." Poincare adds, "Plus the hotel owner doesn't want this weapon on his roof." "Oh, I can't understand why they wouldn't" replies George with a smile. George begins to pack up his equipment as the airship moves to the landing zone.

As soon as the Dreadnaught touches down the medical teams hurry out with the wounded General. They are followed by the Frenchmen on the lower deck and then the Frenchmen on the upper deck, along with their guest George Eastman. The photographers carefully handle all of their equipment. As he arrives at the doorway to the Royal Suite and is admitted in, George notes that the medical team is working passionately on the unconscious General Orabi, who is covered with blood but most wounds appear to be superficial in nature. This indicates that either he wasn't wounded as badly as originally thought, or that significant clerical healing has already been applied to him.

Chapter 67 "The Shepherds” (Episode Two, Chapter Twenty-seven) - Saturday, September 10, 1882, 10:30 A.M.

Cetan and Abby head southeast, staying clear of the Nile and towards the rockier terrain where the livestock grazing is done. They soon come upon a field with nearly four-hundred sheep of the Tunis variety. A quartet of shepherds approach. They have long knives attached to their belts and the hands move to the knife handles as they watch the centaur with looks that vary from curiosity to hostility. Abby held her hands out to her sides, palms facing the approaching men and stopped moving forward. "Looks like we're going in the right direction," she muttered to Cetan.

She waited until they would be able to hear without the need of raising her voice and said in Egyptian. "Good afternoon. We mean no trouble to yourselves or your charges. We have information we would share with the Druid who protects the King's lands and flocks." One of the shepherds steps forward and says, "Meren would be with her charges, for what reason do you seek her company?" Abby states, "I have learned of a threat to her safety, and to that of the King himself. I wish to give her warning."

He appears to still be very skeptical and says, "Who are you? Why would anybody wish harm to the shepherdess? She is the most gentle of souls." Abby replies, "They consider her an obstacle. Many French have come to Egypt. Most have honorable motives, but a few seek to take advantage of this war to assassinate the King. One of these has whispered in the ear of Abdullah the fanatic, and Abdullah marches on Cairo at dawn.
Two French wizards will use his attack to move unnoticed. Their plan involves using the Royal flock to gain entrance to the Palace. To do this they must remove the flock’s guardians. They consider Meren a danger to their plans."

He says, "That may be true, but you still have not told me who the two of you are, and what your involvement is in this situation." Abby shook her head as if to clear it. "I'm sorry. My name is Abigail Marsters, my companion is Cetan. I'm a student and archeologist, and I recently became employed by a group who is concerned with protecting places of importance, like the temples here. After we arrived I helped to rescue some innocent people who had been imprisoned by the French, that's how I learned of this plot. We, especially I, could not let mass murder happen without trying to stop it. I could not live with myself if I did."

Cetan smiles at the little two legs with hands on their knives. Cetan says in Druidic, "We are friends of nature, and friends of those that work the druid ways to the betterment of mother earth." He is looking to see if they might be trained in druidism or recognize the sound of the speech druids’ use. The man calms noticeable as he smiles from Cetan to Abigail and says, "Ah, truly you are kindred spirits and I sense that you speak the truth." He gestures to the smallest of his companions and states "My brother Ababbas will take you to Meren."

Abby let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Thank you." She looked over at Cetan and nodded. She didn't know what he'd said but it had certainly helped. "We're grateful to you and your brother." Cetan makes small talk with Abaddas as they walk. He asks how the flocks are, how long they've grazed here, when will the next rain come, mundane stuff, in Druidic.

Ababbas leads them for approximately three miles, passing several other fields with grazing sheep. He waves to the various shepherds as they pass. Along the way he tells the two how the Royal Flock are a group of special sheep, a breed raised only for the King, and that it is a great responsibility for Meren to watch over them. He says that she is a wise woman, that all of the shepherds of the region look to her for guidance and spiritual support. Abby says, "I could see from yourself and brother your deep respect for her, and to earn such respect she must indeed be wise, skilled, and kind. It will be my honor to meet one so worthy of respect."

They reach a place where the trail ends by a small mountain with a sheer cliff. As they approach the young man waves his hand and casts a Druidic spell that Cetan is not familiar with. A cave opening appears in front of them. Ababbas says "It is not an illusion, the wall was solid. You are indeed worthy individuals, it would have remained sealed if the earth sensed that you were not. Come, we will meet with Meren." He steps forward into the darkness. "You are well protected here," Abby said as she followed him into the darkness. It occurred to her that she had been pretty free with information, and that Ababbas could very well be working with the French for all she knew. But she didn't really suspect that and followed him inside willingly. Paranoia was no help here.

The cave is completely dark, with no light at all from outside visible. They follow the young man's voice, and soon exit the opposite side into a secluded valley surrounded by cliff-side. The valley is approximately one-half-mile by three-quarters of a mile, and filled with grazing sheep of a reddish-brown breed neither Abigail or Cetan had ever seen before. Cetan knows that some sheep are bred for the meat and others for the wool. This particular breed appears to be a dual-purpose flock. The entire flock appears to be a cross breed of two types, one of which is clearly the red-coated Tunis breed, originally from Tunisia and common in this part of the world. He is uncertain of what the Tunis was crossed to that produced the superb animals before him.

They continue to follow the young man past the flock, heading in the direction of three small cabins. As they near they see five people, two male and three female, gathering around wooden stands on which three sheep are secured and having their wool shorn off. Tethered to a tree nearby are three other freshly sheered sheep. These are the people the guide is leading them to, and Cetan gives the full greeting "May mother earth and father sky continue to bless you," followed by introductions.

The older of the three women steps forward, a woman in her late thirties, and says, "I a Meren, chief representative to the Phoenix Valley, welcome to our home." Abigail gave her a slight bow. "We thank you for the kind welcome and the trust you have shown us in allowing us into your beautiful home." Meren says, "I will have to apologize for my colleagues, we need to get these animals sheered as quickly as possible, so will not be able to break to show you our full hospitality. But I can spare the time, come, I will offer you some tea." She gestures for them to follow her to one of the cabins.

Thoughts of fitting into a two-leg sized cabin and sitting down to tea in such a place, seems a set-up for social catastrophe. Cetan excuses himself, with a small shudder and swish of tail, to go sheer sheep while Abigail and Meren have tea and talk. While they sheer the animals the shepherds explain that these are animals of the Royal Flock and that six need to be transported to the King this afternoon as the main course for an upcoming feast.

Cetan makes small talk as he helps those working with the sheep. Asking “What will the wool be used for, is this a special occasion?” They explain that this is a special breed of sheep, cross bred from the Tunis breed common to north African nations and a breed exclusive to one of the Greek islands. It was originally bred for Alexander the Great and then later for the Egyptian Kings. The color spun from its wool is a unique reddish-brown, and it is against Egyptian law for anybody else to attempt to dye regular wool to match the shade. Wool garments from this yarn are therefore exclusive for the Royal Family.

This breed also is used for meat, with it having a rich flavor. Taking sheep from the flock is only done on special occasions. It is therefore necessary to sheer the sheep first, so that the wool will not go to waste. In fact, none of the animal will go to waste, as the shepherds and druids will collect the bones and unused portions of the carcass and find uses for them as well. Even the blood drained from the animals will be used, as a component to a special series of elixirs.

Abby continued on with Meren. "I'd enjoy some tea. I hope what I've done to tell you doesn't upset your plans too much, but I do believe we've arrived in time for our information to be helpful to you." They enter the sparsely furnished cabin. A cast iron stove has a kettle full of hot water. She pours them both a cup of a Peppermint-based herbal tea. Meren asks, "So what brings you to our valley?" Abby says, "I wish it were just the desire to meet you. Since we encountered the first of the shepherds we've heard nothing but praise of you." She took a deep breath, then a sip of the tea. "I'm not sure how far back to start. I'll give you the short version, then I'll answer any questions you have.

I came here with a group of Americans. I'm an archeologist, and our concern was to protect some of the important sites here in Egypt from the war. Through a series of events, I ended up helping rescue some British archeologists from a French camp. I was disguised as Sarah Bernhardt, a French actress and wizard. Her teacher was there, and apparently my disguise was good because I fooled him. He thought Sarah was there to object to the mission she'd been given. I don't have all the details, it's hard to get someone to give them when they think you already know them, but the French actress and a compatriot named Sardou are to sneak into the Palace and poison the feast. They are supposed to get yourself and the shepherds out of the way somehow. I think they plan on delivering the sheep themselves to get inside.

Sardou is whispering in the ear of Abdullah, and he plans on marching on Cairo tomorrow. They hope to blame the deaths in the King's household on the fanatic. Meren, I don't know enough about this war to know who may be right or who's wrong, but I know I cannot let a mass murder happen." Meren says, "We received the summons just a few hours ago, to prepare a half-dozen of the Royal Flock and deliver them to the palace for an upcoming feast. We optimistically interpreted that to mean a celebration ending the war. If what you say is true, it appears this is a plot to prolong the war, with the King as innocent as we are. My loyalty is to the King, I will do whatever I can to protect him."

Abby replies, "The battle was starting as we left Zakazik. I don't know what's happened since. Merimee, the man who told me the plan, didn't say anything about sending a fake request for the sheep, but it makes sense with the rest of the plan. I have friends looking for Sarah Bernhardt in Heliopolis, hoping to stop this before it starts. What the French who are plotting this really want is to be the shadow rulers of the country. There's upheaval in France, and it may become unfriendly to wizards there."

Meren says, "The request was legitimate, the man who came here was known to us, and outsiders would not have been able to get into the valley. We are planning to leave for the palace within the hour." "It seems too coincidental," Abby said thoughtfully. She paused and sipped the tea. "There are a lot of French wizards in Egypt right now that belong to a powerful fellowship. Mrs. Parker thinks only a few know of this plot, but many may have small parts to play. It's possible they have taken actions to help the British on behalf of the King, hoping there would then be a victory celebration...But that doesn't matter now. I hope you might allow Cetan and I to accompany you as you move the sheep. I am only an apprentice wizard, but I'm good with a sword if there's one I could borrow, and we can be extra eyes, ears, and hands on the journey."

" We would welcome your presence," she replies. "Thank you," Abby said and sipped the tea again. "I have to say you're taking this all quite calmly. I suppose working for the King, you learn to keep her head about you."
More paranoid thoughts raced through her mind, wondering if Bernhardt had already infiltrated here, if there was more in this valley than she was aware of. For now she resolved only to keep her eyes and ears wide open. Casting even a detect magic would seem suspect just now.

Merem smiles and says, "Our valley is safe. Even if somebody came here disguised as one of us, while the people might be fooled, the animals would know." "Animals have amazing senses like that," Abby said. "Am I so transparent?" Meren says, "You are a good person, I like that. Let us head back outside and I will speak to my companions. We must take extra precautions given what you have told us, bringing additional weapons and armor. You should speak with your friend as well, his senses and speed might be useful. They head back outside to confer with their allies.

Cetan says in French to Abby,” When there is time to meditate, I'll be able to detect poison three times in a day. If we are in trouble I can usually just run right through most two legs. I'm not sure what the bad guys’ plans are. Seems like normal security would be checking for poison. When we head out I think I should scout just ahead of Meren and the shepherds for an ambush." Cetan asks Abby in French, " What do you think about taking the sheep to the feast?" "Will we be ambushed, or do you think they are going to poison the meat as it is prepared?"

She replies, "I think we'll be ambushed. The French have tried to get into the Palace in magical disguises and were caught. They're going to try mundane disguises this time, and I think they need to get Meren and the shepherds out of the way so they can take their places. Merimee said they weren't to hurt the shepherds, just get them out of the way." He asks, Abby, what skills do you have that might help avoid an ambush?” She answers, "Little to none, skill that is. I've been a city girl all my life, I learned other things. I'm good with a blade once a fight starts, but not much good at helping avoid it." Cetan thinks he should simply 'scout' ahead of the group. "Cetan be scout for two leg armies for many moons."

Three of the shepherds are soon ready to depart with Cetan and Abigail. Each has a small rucksack which they wear on a strap over a single shoulder. Meren warns all of them to be alert, but adds that it is two-legged wolves rather than four that they need to be wary of. They make their way through the cave and out the hidden entrance with the half-dozen sheep from the Royal Flock.

Cetan scouts ahead. Making a circle to the left and then to the right of the route the Shepard’s are taking. He'll take time to trot over any spot that might be a good spot to lay in ambush. He expects to see the ambush, but if he doesn't, he'll be stepping on anyone laying in wait. He also gets with Abby and the Shepard’s to let them know if he sees trouble he'll leave an arrow in their path. If it points left or right they should be careful and go around the trouble following the arrows. If it points back, they should head back. If it points forward go cautiously forward. An arrow stuck in the ground means wait here. Cetan makes sure they know what his arrows look like.

Abby walked with the others, keeping her eyes sweeping around their surroundings. The beautiful country and pleasant company kept trying to lull her into comfort and she wished she could have been here only to enjoy it.
She kept her hand on the hilt of her borrowed sword and waited for the ambush. It was almost more frightening to think that it might not happen, that Bernhardt and Sardou had changed the plan and all their effort to get here and give warning would have been in vain.

Traveling the first three miles south proves uneventful. Cetan successfully scouts out each potential area for ambush well in advance of the shepherds. They begin to exit the countryside and its fields and start to head back into a slightly more settled areas, with homes still spaced well apart, approximately a quarter mile between large multi-story stone homes, surrounded by smaller garden plots and vineyards. Some of these have a small number of people working the fields or making repairs to the houses. Other buildings appear to be lived in but no people are present.

Meren explains that these structures were originally build as dormitories for student-priests studying in Heliopolis, that each building housed students specializing in their own deity in the Egyptian pantheon. Religious students now reside primarily in the city, and these buildings now serve as seasonal vacation homes for wealthy sheiks, businessmen and nobles who reside in Cairo and Alexandria.

The more populated the area becomes the more Cetan stays close to the shepherds. He suggests the shepherds lead the herd through less populated areas. A quarter mile later, while passing what appears to be a vacant estate, the sheep and all of the shepherds except for Meren suddenly collapse onto the ground. "Damn, here it comes," Abby said quietly. She quickly turned her back so she stood in a rough circle with Meren and Cetan and cast detect magic, looking for where the attack had come from.

Chapter 68 "Waiting to be Kidnapped” (Episode Two, Chapter Twenty-eight) - Saturday, September 10, 1882, 10:30 A.M.

Back at the Grand Hotel, time seems to be dragging on. Looking at the clock the Princess states "By now the train will have arrived in Cairo." "Perhaps your father has been the light, so to speak, and is okay with your new marriage, and won't be sending anyone here. I don't think I would complain about that," Ruby laughed. The Princess sighs and says, "Perhaps, but I doubt it. It's possible that those French diplomats are having some influence on him, but I still think he'll try to get me. If not the wizards, he'll probably dispatch a group of soldiers on the next train back here."

"So then, we may be here for a while. Cards anyone?" Ruby asked sheepishly. The imposter Princess sits down to play cards with her grandmother, her lumberjack friend and a pair of ogre bodyguards. Mina comments "Ruby, I'll bet there never was a table of gamblers looking like us back at the Saloon you owned in the Arizona Territory." The actual Princess exclaims, "Really? You owned a saloon in the American west? With real cowboys?"

Ruby smiled and laughed. "Yes Nana, I think you are right! And yes, I still DO own a part of that Saloon, fanciest in Promise City! And yes, real cowboys and real Indians too. It's a very exciting place, though you would probably find it boring Princess. It's much more exotic here. But yes, the West was my home for some time." The Princess says, "One of my brothers has a collection of dime-store novels about the American west, and he loves reading them. I'm sure that they are wild exaggerations, that you never actually saw any gunfights, cattle stampedes and bank robberies."

Ruby chuckled and pulled the Princess's hair off her face in her own familiar fashion. "I wouldn't want to lie to you, I have actually seen or been involved all of those things! However, they sure don't seem so glamorous at the time they are happening. I thought I might die in a couple of those gun fights and bank robberies." The Princess laughs in reply and says, "Gun fights and bank robberies! My, you seem to be a magnet for trouble." Ruby laughed heartily. "Yeah, you can say that again! It's not always a good thing," she rolled her eyes. "But I've sure had some really fun times."

The poker game continues. Ruby notes that one of the ogres does not know how to play well. The other appears to be an excellent player, who doesn't hesitate to beat Ruby and Mina, but always folds when it appears that the Princess has a good hand. Time continues to march onward. The game helps to pass the time until it gets towards noon. The Princess asks Ruby what she would like to have for their mid-day meal. Ruby replies, "Surprise me. How about a local delicacy of some sort? If you haven't figured it out, I'm an adventurous sort. What is your favorite dish?"

The Princess orders up a roasted lamb, marinated in a mixture of exotic Arabian spices that Ruby has not had before. It is served with a long-grain rice side dish and a fruit salad made of dates, pears, lemons, limes and pomegranate. For dessert a chocolate fountain is rolled out, with various sweet breads to dip. It had seemed so long since breakfast and Ruby ate down her delicious meal with enthusiasm. As the chocolate fountain was being wheeled in her mouth momentarily dropped but remembering she was dressed as the Princess she quickly regained her composure. She exclaims, "This Is. Amazing. Do you eat like this every day?"

The Princess replies, "No, normally only when father has special guests. But the hotel staff, like most of the people of the city, fear that today is the city's last day so why not make the day special. While they support the Egyptians in this conflict, they have very little confidence that General Orabi's troops will be successful at holding back the onslaught by the British. As this city is the home for Ahmed and his other officers, they expect the British will inflict full punishment upon this place."

"That's sad really. I hope it doesn't come to pass. And you have my word I will try my best to make sure that doesn't happen." Ruby smiled. "Though I really am enjoying this chocolate!" The Princess smiles and says, "Eat all you want. No need to worry about putting on weight too, as neither of us will be keeping our present bodies.” A few minutes later Neferka says, "I know that you are worried about your fiancé. You should not be. Neither side in this conflict would want to risk angering the French by firing upon their balloon." Ruby looked to the ceiling and let out a guffaw. "I hadn't even thought of that!" She scooped a little more chocolate onto her bread, obviously uncaring of the calories.

Her smile faded. "I AM worried about my fiancé. My job is dangerous, but it's not actually in the middle of potential fighting. I admit, I'm very worried. And I don't like being apart. So I hope you are right and the balloon stays safe. It just seems one of the biggest parts of this riddle is who to trust. I've been involved in skirmishes but never a full scale war like this. It scares me." She replies, "I know what you mean about trust. I married a man who is literally at war with my father, who may or may not truly love me. I am now expecting my father to take me away from here by force. So I don't fully trust either of the two most important men in my life. You are fortunate to have that trust with your George."

"Well..." Ruby paused a bit too long. "I have a hard time trusting anyone. I know George loves me and I trust him probably more than I trust anyone in this world. But there is always a little room for..." She fell quiet. "There was someone not too long ago that I trusted, the first person in a long while, and in the end he broke my heart and my trust. So there is always a chance of being hurt. I sure don't have it like you do. It's very lonely not being able to trust anyone, especially someone who will share your life. I hope when things settle down you can find some peace and someone to love unconditionally and with all the trust and confidence in the world. I mean, that you find that with your husband."

The Princess begins to break down into sobs and hysteria, which looks very incongruent given her burly male lumberjack disguise. She says, "Ruby, do you hear that artillery in the distance? My husband may already be dead. Unlike you fiancé, who is hovering thousand of feet above the battle, mine is down in the thick of it." Ruby hugged the Princess tightly. "Let's say a pray to Aphrodite to keep him safe, shall we?" She took the lumberjack's hands in her own and led them in a short prayer. "Most revered Goddess, please watch over the General, and George, and all our loved ones affected by this terrible war. Help guide us so that through our actions we may help end his hatred and bring your love and peace to the world."

Another hour passes, during which the commotion outside appears to have increased. Rumors are brought to the Princess of the war status, ranging from an outright victory by the Egyptians to an outright victory by the British. The fact that the artillery is still firing, and does not appear to be any closer or further away, fails to support both extremes. "I would sing you a song to calm you but then our identities might be discovered. Be brave," Ruby said, squeezing the Princess's hands, "And do not believe everything you hear. We will know the truth soon enough.

She adds, “I have a question for you. If your father is behind at his Palace, who is now leading his armies? What do you know of this man?" The Princess replies, "He has several Generals, some of who are serving as advisors to the British, but for this battle Father is letting the British bear the brunt of the action against the rebels. He feels it better this way, to have Egyptians fight Egyptians would be bad for morale." "So the British are fighting for Egypt?" Ruby furrowed her brow. "I'm afraid to say I don't know much about politics and things like that. I assume the British are Egyptian allies then?" She continues hesitantly, "And they are fighting because they don't want the rebels to get control... why?"

The Princess replies, "It is all about the Suez Canal. Not only does the canal allow the British Empire far quicker access from Europe to Asia, but it was built by loans that my father made with primarily British banks. A new government could potentially block access to the canal to the British military and merchant ships, and also default on the loans, which would throw the British banking system into chaos." Ruby says, "Ah, that makes sense. Sorry you have to explain all this to the dumb American. I just never really paid much attention in school or to the news."

Once it became clear that the King wasn't going to immediately kidnap his daughter, Mina had headed out to see what was taking place in the city. Mina returns, having been out and about the past hour, and reports that the battle appears to have reached a stalemate at the town of Kassassin, with neither side gaining any ground. The townspeople are less worried of an immediate siege or assault by the British, but most civilians are still looking to leave. A third train for the day from Cairo has now arrived and is filling up with passengers.

She also reports on the pair of opportunists who had arrived on the morning train. One was a Cairo merchant, who had brought run-down wagons, carts and draft animals well past their prime, to sell at outrageous prices to townspeople wishing to escape with their belongings. He is apparently almost sold out, despite selling well above what they were worth. He is now busy with his secondary inventory, antiquated single-shot firearms, being offered to unarmed townspeople to defend against the British.

The other opportunity seeker is a wealthy wizard sheik, who has set up his inventory in the dining room downstairs. He is apparently seeking to sell magical items to the wealthiest in the town, to facilitate either their escape or protection. Ruby exclaims, "Oh, well, let's go take a look downstairs. Perhaps there is something there of interest." She leads the group to check out the wizard sheik. Three ogre bodyguards fall in on both side of Ruby and another behind as they head out the door, with the disguised princess and Mina following.

The Princess tells Ruby "Based on your grandmother's description this would be Sheik Antuf el-Heru. He is not a nice man and cannot be trusted. If he shakes your hand be sure to count your fingers afterwards." Ruby nodded. "I understand. You keep yourself safe no matter what." They head downstairs to find the Sheik and his wares.

The dining room has been usurped by the wealthy merchant, with the various items spread out among the tables, with very attentive guards watching over them. The sheik's harem girls are modeling various items, not just clothing, but also weapons. The sheik makes his way across the room with a wide smile on his face and approaches Ruby. "Princess Neferka, let me be among the first to congratulate you on your marriage. Please, take the time to look over my magical devices, as a special wedding present to you I will provide you an item at half the regular price."

Ruby did her best impression of the Princess's voice but kept it short. "That would be quite generous of you, thank you." She went to the first table to see what was there. He shows her that the first table has items for sale to facilitate the departure from Zakazik in the event of the arrival of the British. He shows her Shoes of the Zephyr, which are horseshoes that grant the animal flight. Next is a magical carpet. The third item is a Stone of Teleportation, a single use item that could transport the person to anywhere in the world that they desire.

She says, "A flying carpet, really? That might be interesting. What else do you have here?" The sheik says, "We have several items to protect you from the British soldiers - Elixirs of Strength, Invisibility, Diminution, Invulnerability and Transformation. I also have a ring that will allow for Levitation, an amulet that will allow one to pass through solid objects, and a cloak that will let you blend into your surroundings. I also have a variety of magical weapons that your guards could be supplied with."

Ruby nods nonchalantly. "Yes, yes, I have heard of all this before. What else do you have? Excite me or I shall leave." His eyes light up and he says, "Ah, you wish to see only the reserve items! Very well." He gestures to a quartet of burly and well-armed guards, who come forth with a large trunk that is placed on the floor before him. Three separate keys are used by the sheik to unlock it, and he also casts a pair of spells. It is opened to reveal three objects inside, each cushioned in red velvet.

The first is a jeweled rod, two-feet in length, with a diamond on the tip. He says tells her "This item was once used by the Egyptian high priests to ward off invaders. It can cast a number of powerful spells in the hands of a high-priest." Next is a long sword, with a gold and jeweled hilt. The sword radiates a yellowish-pink light. He says, "This sword can cut through any surface as though it were a hot knife to butter. Nothing will stop it, not stone, not metal. It will also glow as bright as the sun if the person holding it wishes so."

Last is a lavender silk dress attached to a ivory hanger which he lifts up to display. It has platinum and gold embroidery throughout and rubies sewn into a white collar. "Each is these items is suited for Royalty", he states. He adds, "This dress was once worn by the Greek Goddess Venus, known to the Roman's as Aphrodite. It affords protection to the wearer as though they were attired in the strongest of magical armors." Ruby hides her excitement at the last item. She longs to reach out and touch it but holds back. "I said don't bore me." She sighs,
"How much for the gown? How much for any of these items?" she says, waving a hand over them.

He is taken aback by her retort and meekly replies, "This gown would sell for 150,000 Pounds*, but as I said before, you could have it for half if that is the object you desire. The sword sells for 175,000 and the staff for 200,000." Ruby runs her hand over the gown to feel the quality. "How do I know you are not trying to take advantage of me, Sheik?" A shocked look comes over his face. He says, "How could you even think such a thing? I have offered to give you any item at half-of its value. If anybody is being taken advantage of, it is I."

"Of course you understand, I need to be very careful, especially these days. I will consult my counsel and return momentarily. Please hold these items for me for now." Ruby leaves the room and finds a private area. She turns to the large burly man. "What do you think? The items have very powerful magic. Is it a trick? If it isn't, I MUST have that gown. I know George would buy it for me. If it truly is from Aphrodite, she must have sent it here for me." The real Princess says, "Well, it is something that I would purchase. It is probably overpriced, but at half, he may well be loosing money. I say we buy it for you."

"Yay!" Ruby gave a little excited jump. "How does the money exchange work? I usually let George handle that and since I am, you know," she whispered, "You... I don't want to come off not knowing." She smiles and says, "Actually, we have no money here, the French took it all away. You need to convince him that my father will pay him the agreed upon amount." Ruby says, "Hmmm. How are relations between him and your father?" The Princess replies, "A combination of mutual respect, fear and loathing. My father actually hates him, but the sheik is a powerful man who rules over a significant part of the Kingdom. He, in turn, also needs my father since the King is the supreme ruler of all the land." Ruby says, "Of course. Thank you for sharing that and helping me with this."

Ruby leads them back to the Sheik. "I am ready to do business now. Here or someplace else?" He states, "Let us go to the bar and partake of beverages prior to our discussion." "We may go to the bar, certainly." Ruby follows the entourage to the bar and waves the bartender over. "Now, what are your terms?" she asks the Sheik. He replies, "Please, we must drink and relax first before discussing such crass things as currency exchange." The bartender serves them both some of the hotel's finest whiskey.

After each have had three drinks the Sheik says, "Very well now, I had quoted the dress at 200,000 pounds, so half of that would be 100,000 pounds, a true bargain your majesty." She replies, "No, actually you quoted the dress at 150,000 pounds. So half of that is... I would say that it's 75,000 pounds. I am certain the original number must have just slipped your mind because I know you would not try to cheat me or my father." "Oh no, I would never do such a thing," he says what another shocked expression on his face.

Before the conversation can continue a group of people rush into the room, announcing that the French airship has returned and that the Princess's husband Ahmed Orabi is mortally wounded. He has been brought to the royal suite upstairs where his physicians are attending to him. The Princess does the best to maintain her composure, but Mina and Ruby both pick up on her immediate concern. They excuse themselves from the magic merchant and hurry upstairs.

Chapter 69 "Ambush” (Episode Two, Chapter Twenty-nine) - Saturday, September 10, 1882, 2:00 P.M.

After the sheep and all of the shepherds except for Meren suddenly collapse onto the ground. Cetan smiles and thinks, “Praise to Father Sky here it comes..”. “Damn, here it comes," Abby said quietly. She quickly turned her back so she stood in a rough circle with Meren and Cetan and cast detect magic, looking for where the attack had come from. She notes two distinct magical aura's over by the house approximately sixty feet away. One is a person-shaped outline on the roof, although nobody is visible. The other magical aura is behind a second floor window where the curtains have been drawn.

Cetan checks to see if the shepherds are sleeping or hurt. They appear to only be asleep. Cetan's tapping of the three shepherds causes one to reawaken, but the other two remain in their deep slumbers. "They're in the house, one on the roof, one inside," Abby said from between her teeth. "They cast that spell from quite a distance, they're a lot more powerful than I am." Abby laid her hand on he hilt of her sword, ready to draw. The centaur then pulls out his rifle and gives his best Lakota war cry.

Abby's Detect Magic spell notes further movement, this with another pair of magical auras over by a storage shed south of the house. One of these auras is holding what is clearly a powerful magical wand based upon the amount of magic that it is radiating. Cetan also casts a detect magic spell and charges, shooting at the one with a wand. He continues his Lakota war cry. The charging centaur has the effect of causing the one with the wand to place it in his belt and begin to cast a spell. After Cetan's rifle shot blows away part of the shed immediately next to the invisible wizard. His or her companion grabs the individual and pulls them both back under cover behind the shed.

Cetan puts away the rifle and gets out his coup stick to see if he can count coup on the bad guys. He'll attempt to tag those on the ground with the stick and then try to think of a way to get the one on the roof down. All the while giving his best Lakota war cry. He thinks, “Ha! Living tales of bravery at last! Praise Father Sky for this fine day, a warrior's day!” Abby swiveled her head around to spot Meren. She held up four fingers to indicate the number of invisibles. She hesitated to run forward, knowing they were all likely to be more powerful wizards than she. Instead she cast her mage armor, pulled her borrowed blade and readied to back up Cetan who had not hesitated to move forward at all.

Cetan and Abby get over to the shed and look behind it, with the shed door closed. The pair of magical auras are gone, and there is nothing near that would have covered their escape. He also looks over his shoulder to make sure Meren and the others are ok. They then hear a softly spoken spell being cast from inside the shed. Knowing that not being able to see was a problem, Abby focused on the sound of the spell and quickly cast a magic missile, aiming at the source of the sound. Cetan summons a wolf inside the shed and gets ready for the mages to come running out.

The missiles fly from Abigail's fingertips and make their way through the cracks between the doors and inside, just as the wolf-form assembles inside. What follows are a series of exclamations in French and high-pitched sounds which Abby recognizes as the French phrases for 'rabid wolf' and 'kill it'. She next hears a man say "Sarah's been bitten." A new voice says in French, "Keep it away from me and we can leave."

Cetan kicks in the shed door and tries to prevent the new voice from casting so they can't get away. He'll try to simply overrun the caster and then when the caster is prone simply strike them if they try to cast. The shed door collapses inward under the force of Cetan's hooves, knocking to the group a man who looks identical to Meren's male companion who Cetan had revived a short while earlier. Also in the room is a woman who appears identical to Meren save for the nasty bite on her arm from which blood is spilling.

Cetan yells "Surrender or I'll bring the wolf back" in French. He and Abby see no other people in the small building, but dirt, splinters and drops of blood from the woman hang in the air near her, presumably over a companion otherwise covered with invisibility. A voice from behind the woman then speaks and Cetan finds himself enveloped in a thick and sticky web-like substance, the heaviest coating across his head, the eyes in particular.

Abby looked back for Meren, uncertain what the Druidess planned to do. Abby sees that the real Meren is actively engaged in a spell battle with the person on the second floor of the building. She then cast a Shocking Grasp spell on herself and hoped to get past Cetan and touch the invisible person behind Sarah. She is unable to get around the centaur due to the tight enclosure of the storage shed. Cetan attempts to grab the fake Meren/Sarah and step out of Abby's way. The webbing prevents him from reaching as far as he would like, the woman just out of his reach. The male voice in the rear completes another incantation and the woman and her male companion totally vanish.

Abby saw the magical aura sweep over the four foes and them dissipate. She had seen Transportation spells cast before, realizing that to cast it to take three others with him, then the senior member of this team who had been previously identified as Gay-Lusssic was an extremely skilled and high-level wizard. She remembers that the spell could take them anywhere known to the caster, so they could be as close as the nearby building or as far away as the opposite side of the world.

Abby kept the spell up, careful not to touch Cetan, and backed up. She turned to spot Meren and said, "Keep your eyes open, they transported themselves. They could appear anywhere!" Abby sees Meren get struck by a magic missile spell thrown from the person inside the window, indicating that at least one foe still remained. The aura of the person who had previously been on the room can no longer be seen.

Cetan takes a knife and tries to cut the sticky web, so that he can move and see again. The webbing cleared from his face, he sees Abby by the door and the young man helping his Druid friend. One foe is visible in the 2nd floor window.

Abby ran for the house, hoping to run up to the second floor and use the shocking spell on the person attacking Meren from the window. As he reaches the door she sees Meren fall a lightening bolt spell shots out from a first floor window, striking her. The shepherd near her immediately grabs his Druidess and begins to cast a healing spell onto her. Abby charged into the house, looking to strike the spell caster who must have thrown the lighting bolt spell.

She reaches the room with the spell caster. He is male, looks to be around thirty years of age, with a distinct mustache with waxed handlebars. He is still staring out the window and despite having clearly heard her footsteps, does not even turn his head. He then says in French "Hurry up Rene, we must get the druidess." Sword in one hand, spell on the other, Abby leapt at the spell caster intending to use the shock against him. The sword strikes the man on his left arm. He lets out a scream, far louder than one would expect from the relatively minor slash inflicted upon the man who now turns to face his attacker.

Hoping to take advantage of his surprise, Abby balled up her fist hit him in the nose. They hadn't come here to kill these people, just stop them, so she held the blade in reserve. The man howls out in pain and then stares down at the cut on his arm. He yells out in French, "You killed me woman! This is the death of me." He then bursts into tears and sobs, holding the wounded arm with his other hand. Abby is a bit taken back by this reaction, as the cut is not deep and the bleeding is already starting to cease, and yet he acts as though it was an amputation.

Cetan goes over to where Meren is with his rifle out, and ready to summon a wolf if Abby needs some help. Cetan will get Meren up on his back so he can get her to safety. Meren sits and looks to both her male companion and the centaur. She appears to be no worse for the wear. Out of the corner of Cetan's eye he spots somebody moving along the far side of the lawn over to the storage shed. Cetan asks Meren in Druidic if she is ok.

Waiting only long enough for her to respond (thinking a fake/switched Meren would not know Druidic), and with a wild war cry, Cetan charges with his bayonet the somebody moving to the storage shed. Cetan wheels around the bend to see a lone man staring into the storage shed and speaking in French, clearly awaiting a response from people who are no longer there.

Cetan taps him lightly with the bayonet, and asks him to "Surrender, si vous plait" Cetan is making a mental note that tapping him is official for counting coup. The man turns and surprises Cetan by speaking to him in the Lakota language, saying "Ah, noble centaur warrior, we are on the same side here. I am seeking to protect the Druidess and her companions. I am a friend to your people and have great respect for your way of life. We should be working together."

Cetan notes that while the man's syntax and pronunciation is perfect for the aspects of the language common to all Centaur tribes, many of his Lakota words are close but not perfect, and for the word 'Friend' he actually used the word of the Hopi centaur tribe. Remembering that the two legs often talk of peace and working together when they lie, Cetan has his rifle ready and asks in Lakota, "In what way can we work together? and where did you come from?"

He replies, "I come from a small town along the southern coast of France. My name is Rene Belloq, and I seek to save the lives of your friends, they are in great danger. If we work together we can help to avert a tragedy. Do you already know of this?" Cetan takes a look around to make sure Rene isn't just distracting him. He checks to make sure Meren looks ok. Abby is still inside the building. Meren and her companion appear okay, and are in the process of waking the other two shepherds. He listens and looks for Abby. Then Cetan asks, "In what way can we work together?"

The man states "A religious fanatic named Abdullah plans to murder these people. I was attempting to stop them before they put themselves in danger." Cetan says, "Rene, I'm am called Cetan. Come with me. Some of these people may still be in danger." And Cetan runs to help Abby.

In the building Abby states, "Considering you're here to commit mass murder, I don't feel terribly sorry for you. Stop being such a baby, it's stopping already. Who's upstairs?" In a fit of sobs and screams he states, "You vile woman! Do you not even know who it is that you have mortally wounded! I am Jean-Leon Gerome, one of the most renown and beloved artists in the world. How will I ever be able to paint, to sculpt, ever again after this grievous injury! You will have cost the world far more than you can ever realize with your brash and violent actions." Abby had vaguely heard of Gerome, a third-rate artist at best, and cannot recall ever seeing any of his works off-hand.

She was about to turn around and ignore him, but paranoia struck and she suddenly wondered if this woe is me act was designed to make her do just that. Abby stepped forward and grabbed the arm she'd cut and twisted. "Call your partner down," she hissed from between her teeth, "And maybe I'll let you keep your pretty face." "My Face!" he screams, as he throws his hands up against his cheeks. He then faints dead away, collapsing on the floor.

Abby bit back several curses. Then she pulled the belt from around her waist and tied the man's hand behind his back with it. A moment later she was running up the stairs to make sure it was clear. There does not appear to be anybody upstairs. Looking out the window, she sees Cetan charging across the lawn with the man who had previously been on the roof now chasing him.

Cetan quickly reaches the door to the building. Looking back, the man Rene is following on foot. Cetan yells up to Abby, "Are you ok? This man said he is here to help." She replies, "I'm fine. There's a gutless coward tied up downstairs. And that man," she said pointing at the one following Cetan, "I saw on a rooftop, so he has some explaining to do before I'd believe him. I'm on my way down." She got back down the stairs and went to the doorway where she could keep an eye on the "artist."

Once back inside, the man says, "Madame, my name is Rene Belloq. As I told your Lakota companion, I am attempting to save the lives of the Druidess Meren and her Priest companion Partah. They are walking into a situation where a religious fanatic named Abdullah was going to kill them. If you truly saw me upon the roof you will note that I did nothing more to them than put them to sleep."

Abby states, "And what you did fit exactly with the plan of the other Frenchmen here trying to take the Druidess. Are you going to try to convince me you didn't know that French actress was going to impersonate her and sneak into the Palace to poison the King? Abdullah is a distraction and a scapegoat." Belloq replies, "Abdullah is the one who wished to kill the King. My colleagues and I were only trying to help. Yes, two were to temporarily portray Meren and Partha, but only for as long it took for the rest of us to get the real ones to safety. I know not who you are, or where you get your information young lady, but it is not accurate. From allies of Abdullah perhaps?"

She replies, "I got mine from the mouth of Prosper Merimee. How about you?" He nods and says, "Ah, that explains much. Merimee is the superior of my two thespian allies, and knew only enough to give them instruction. The plans of our Wizarding society were compartmentalized. He does not know the entire story, and it appears he may have incorrectly 'connected the dots' from what he does know. Listen, why don't we simplify this. I am personally acquainted with your colleague Professor Alsoomse da Rosa. She and I both work in the same field, the study of Linguistics. While I do not claim to know her well enough to vouch for my character, she should at least be able to confirm that I am a scholar and not a mass murderer."

Abby says, "You certainly know a lot about me. Let me tell you something you don't know. I snuck into the camp where the British Archeologists were being held as spies. Since they weren't I thought they ought to be freed. I used an elixir to impersonate Sarah Bernhardt. So Merimee was quite frank with me. He thought she'd returned because she objected to the mission Gay-Lussac had given her. The mission to sneak in and poison the King. Your instructions certainly are compartmentalized. If I were helping to commit murder I'd want to know."

The man stares at her without speaking for well over a minute. He then says, "One unique thing about the study of linguistics is that you learn how to read subtle nuances of speech. By watching and listening to you right now, well, that has allowed me to ascertain that you truly believe what you have just told me. However, that does not necessarily mean it is the truth.

Prosper Merimee was Miss Bernhardt's mentor. I find it highly unlikely that he failed to see through your disguise. What he told you was therefore false information to throw your team off of the trail you were on, specifically, his trail. The fact that you are here chasing shepherds rather than down in the ruins of Tanis or Zakazik proves that he was successful."

Cetan hauls the wizard Abby tied up out where we can all keep an eye on him. He then looks towards the Druidess Meren. Up until this point Meren was preoccupied with getting the six sheep awakened. She looks surprised when Cetan and Abigail return with one bound prisoner and one walking free of his own accord.
Cetan asks in French, "Who exactly is in danger? and what is in the ruins of Tanis or Zakazik?"

Rene replies, "These shepherds are in danger from the fanatic I spoke of. Lots of Egyptians are in danger from this civil war. As for the ruins, I personally believe that there is nothing to find there, but the aforementioned Mr. Merimee strongly thinks otherwise. He would have said whatever it took to get your friends to leave." So Cetan slings the tied up two-leg across his back and motions every one to move forward. He asks Rene, " So who is this we have tied up here?"

Rene replies, "His name is Jean-Leon Gerome. He's a painter of some sort, nobody of any real importance except that he is politically connected. He is very close friends of some high placed mutual acquaintances of ours." As they move along, Cetan asks Rene “How he thinks we should avoid the civil war, and are the shepherds still in danger?” He says, "I have no idea how to stop the war, but I do know that the last place these shepherds should be going to now is the palace." Cetan asks, "Why should they not go to the palace?"

Rene replies "Because the fanatic Abdullah is planning to kill everybody there." Cetan replies, "How is he going to do that?" "In whatever way Sardou has been whispering in his ear, I imagine," Abby said, still highly suspicious of this Rene person. She certainly believed HE believed what he said. She also believed he was the one lacking information.

Rene says, "Abdullah plans to stir up a large crowd and cause a demonstration outside the palace. This will be a distraction, to allow loyal followers of his inside the palace to slay the Royals and all others inside who are not part of Abdullah's cause." Continuing on toward the Palace, Cetan asks Rene, "What are your plans when we reach the palace?" He replies, "I assume that our role would be to warn the King about Abdullah. Although I do not feel it is safe for us to bring these people there to be killed, or safe for us either."

"Sounds like a good but vague plan." Cetan, coup stick in hand, would like Rene to explain, "Why we should believe he isn't just going to betray us as soon we get to the palace and he sees some Frenchmen or Abdullah's agents?" Rene emphatically states, "Sir, I am sorry that you do not trust me. Have I given you any reason at all to indicate that I am not sincere? What can I do to convince you that I am trying to help?" Cetan asks, "How is it that you where at the site of the ambush?" He states, "Because it was an ambush sir, that I participated in, but the intention was only to put them to sleep in order to save their lives."

"I don't believe you're insincere," Abby said in Cetan's place. "I just think you're wrong. I think if we meet up with the others you were with you'll side with them; believe in them. Merimee wasn't feeding me a line. A couple men called Chevreul and Daguerre tried this once before. They send in someone called Pascal and someone called Montblanc in magical disguises, and they were caught and killed. And yes, I know the official line in your organization is that they died in a fire. France is falling apart politically. Soon, wizardly may be illegal, or at least looked-down on there. Your organization is loosing it's power, unless it can find a new power base. Chevreul and Daguerre at least are trying to make it Egypt."

Rene states, "An interesting theory young lady. You appear to know more about this French wizarding group than I do, although I will admit to being one of its newest members." Cetan asks, "So what do you plan to do once we reach the palace?" Abby interjects, "Here's the promise I want from you. No matter if the others you were with show up, your goal is to warn the King about the threat from Abdullah. Distraction or not, Abdullah's goal is to kill the King; we agree on that. You won't try to stop Meren and the shepherds any further. They've been warned of the dangers and know what they're doing. And you'll keep your mind open if your compatriots show up with some new kind of plan. I suspect they may have just gone to the palace in their disguises and claimed to have been attacked." Rene agrees to those terms.

Cetan asks Meren if she is afraid to bring the sheep to the palace. Meren reiterates that he sole responsibility is to deliver the sheep to the palace. Pointing at the two leg he has been carrying, "And what should we do with him?" Abby says, "I don't trust either of them as far as I could through them. But Abdullah, despite being a distraction is also a threat. Sardou has been whispering to him, and I'm sure that he was considered a fail-safe for the main plan. And we have to consider that the other three may return. We took them by surprise this time, next time they may be the ambushers. I think we need to drag these two along, keep an eye on them at all times, and get to the Palace."

They begin to reach the outskirts of Cairo, making good time until they reach a Nile tributary that requires a ferry boat to cross. The primary ferry will only take passengers rather than livestock, so Meren has to find another boatman willing to take them and the animals across. While they are waiting for her to make the arrangements Cetan notices that the bound and 'unconscious' has minor body movements indicating that he is actually awake but is faking still being out. Cetan does non lethal damage with his coup counting stick to put the artist out. Then covers him so it doesn't look like a dead body.

Meren manages to secure the services of a ferry barge. It is a wooden vessel around 40 feet long and ten feet wide, that will be guided across the river by a pair of sails and a quartet of oarsmen/polemen. Abby, Cetan, the four Shepherds, two Frenchmen and six sheep are guided down to the boat.