Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 4671718" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter Four, “Passengers on the Third Train”, September 1st, 1882, 10:30 A.M.</strong></p><p></p><p>John Wesley Hardin slides down the aisle of the train with practiced ease, avoiding wayward elbows and outstretched feet with with fluidity. Earlier, he had allowed to porter to stow his larger valise in the baggage car, but the hint of a frown and the hardening of his eyes had warned the elderly negro away from the smaller bag. The heavy bag that rings with the faint bell of metal upon metal as it brushes a seat back.</p><p></p><p>A flat smile, devoid of mirth, flits across Hardin's face as he scans the First Class car, searching. His eyes scan back and forth across the nattily dressed businessmen, so with their wives or mistresses, probing for hidden weapons. He notes a hideaway gun in a waistsash and another in a boot-top but the passengers, for the most part, seemed to be unarmed. Habit forces a quick look back over his shoulder to see if anyone is watching with too much interest. Momentarily mollified, the set of his shoulders relaxes and his free hand drops away from the butt of one of the Colt 1877 Lightening pistols sewn artfully into his suit-vest.</p><p></p><p>The ends of his mouth turn up a bit more as he says to himself, "Damn it's good to be free!" He notes a pair in a quad-seat that look a bit out of place - one gangly youth that looks like he made a wrong turn coming out of the big-top sitting across from a man that has "The Look" about him. That man glances up, meeting Hardin's steady gaze. His eyes flick down, taking in the well-concealed brace of pistols and taking the Texan's measure. He glances back up and nods imperceptibly. Hardin stops in front of their seats and tips his hat. "I suspect you would be Trout and Cantrell...I'm Hardin. Do you mind?" He motions to a seat with the bag-hand and waits expectantly. </p><p></p><p>Benjamin ‘Fish’ Trout is busy whittling a sturdy chunk of soft wood with an elegant-looking jacknife. The shavings fall around his ankles. "You must be that sharp-shootin' Texan just won himself a pardon, no? Please join us, Mr. Hardin!" he says, grinning earnestly. Cantrell looks up at Hardin. He says, "Your reputation precedes you, Mr. Hardin." The forger waves at the empty spot. "By all means, have a seat. Ben here was just telling me a story of his former life." </p><p></p><p>Trout says, "Larry, please. My friends call me Fish!" His pale blue eyes sparkle. "Lydia the Tattooed Lady gave me the nickname when I was 14. She said,'The boy needn't breathe, it seems.'" He grins lasciviously. Ben's voice is warm, almost melodic -- but there's a gravelly quality to it too, as though he is accustomed to shouting. His puckish demeanor is difficult not to like. Lawrence slaps him on the back and says, "Fish it is then." With a wink, Fish asks, "Mr. Hardin, sir: is it true what they say about a Texan and his hat?"</p><p></p><p>Hardin tries to suppress a grin and fails and starts laughing as he takes the indicated seat. "Well...I haven't been to Texas in a while...being otherwise occupied. But a gentlemen never shares such secrets anyway, so I might have ta let you wonder on that for a bit longer. If you ever get by El Paso again, though, ask around for Shady Sadie and I am sure she will tell you...for a price!" Hardin seems to think his own "joke" is quite funny and laughs again, slapping his own knee...</p><p></p><p> While the three men are making their introductions a young human woman also makes her way down the center aisle. She has long curly brown hair, a shapely body and a face that one would have considered pretty if not for her long oversized nose. Despite this, Trout still takes an active notice of her as she passes by. She takes an empty seat in the bench immediately behind where Cantrell and Trout are seated. While he is talking to the men the observant Hardin notices that she reaches into her shoulder satchel and removes a notebook and fountain pen and begins writing. </p><p></p><p>Hardin's smile fades and his eyes narrow as the woman produces reporter's tools. Cantrell is taken aback by the sudden turn in Hardin's countenance, from mirthful to deadly serious in the blink of an eye. He stares hard at the young woman, lips a razor thin line. "Damn reporters..." The whisper sounds like the hiss of an angry rattler... </p><p></p><p>Fish stands, as though in polite deference to Hardin's arrival. As he does, he deliberately fumbles the chunk of wood that he was whittling over the back of their seat into the lap of this mysterious woman. He then scoots past Hardin and, manufacturing a blush, introduces himself to her. </p><p></p><p>When Fish moves suddenly, Hardin's hands are a blur, moving impossibly fast... He has his pistols halfway out of their concealed vest holsters before he sees the falling wood. With a barely audible grunt and another flinch, his hands are back at his sides. He looks past Fish towards Cantrell and offers a slight shrug as he relaxes back into his seat. "Old habits die hard..." He smiles again, but it stops well short of his eyes...eyes that look like they belong to an old man...not someone a few months shy of his 30th birthday. </p><p></p><p>Lawrence raises an eyebrow at the display and says, "Mighty impressive Mr. Hardin. I take it you didn't learn that for show." Hardin chuckles grimly and says, "I was...intemperate in my youth. Fortunately age - and an extended holiday - have shown me the path of righteousness. I stay in form to guard against those who may not have faith in my redemption." </p><p></p><p>Cantrell guffaws. "Youth is the time for intemperance. My own youth in Delaware was ill-spent. The war forced me to focus on what was important. Did you serve?" Hardin shakes his head. At the next bench Fish states, "I'm terribly sorry, miss! Riding trains make me so nervous!" He studies her reaction. She smiles at him in a friendly manner while simultaneously shutting her notebook. She says in a Southern accent "No need to apologize Sir, just try to be more careful in the future." Fish crouches to retrieve his whittled chunk of wood from the floor of the train. He attempts to disguise the glance he casts up the woman's skirt.</p><p></p><p>Hardin offers Cantrell another crooked grin and slides his eyes back over to the young woman seated behind Cantrell and Trout. She notices Hardin's attention towards her and puts away her notebook and pen in her travel bag. She then gets up and heads down the train to an empty seat around ten feet further away. Hardin feels a slight twinge of guilt as the young woman moves away and silently berates himself, “C'mon, John, quit picking on little girls...it's not like she was a Ranger or someone else out to get you.” </p><p></p><p>Fish retakes his seat and looks out the window. "Not that I would know, but I've been told that a traveling circus provides great cover for moving covert intelligence..." Hardin returns to his seat and focuses on his new companions, but steals a occasional glance at the young woman to see what she is about. The young lady appears to now be reading a book while seated in the aisle seat three rows away. Cantrell replies, "I hear you, Fish. I hear journalists can get into all sorts of places too." </p><p></p><p>Hardin snorts, "I don't have any problem getting into places...my difficulty is more in getting out. "So...how do you two know Mr. Parker?" While waiting for them to answer, Hardin's mind wanders back to a very sticky situation on the wrong side of the Rio Grande involving Parker, some wizard magic and a very unfriendly customs agent... Cantrell replies, "James and I go way back., to the War as a matter of fact. We, uh, served together. Went all over the place. I haven't seen him in a few years, but we've kept in touch by cable." </p><p></p><p>Fish says, "I don't know Mister Parker, sir. I am acquainted with his wife, Lady Wilamina. I suppose one could describe what I have done for her as 'courier' work: 'retrieving' and delivering something she'd ordered. She pays well too! Charming woman."</p><p></p><p>The train continues for another hour and then makes a short stop at a major train depot with multiple train turnarounds. The Conductor pokes his head in the car and says, "Lake City, change trains here for Atlanta". An older couple get up and depart. Hardin checks both entry doors - out of habit - several times before the train starts moving again. </p><p></p><p>Back on the first train, reflecting upon the comments that she made regarding her current marriage, Wilamina Parker’s facial expression then changes and with a sigh she adds, "Our only real problem has been with James's daughter. Since he and I have known one-another for over a half-century she is now convinced that ours was a long-time love affair and that he was unfaithful to her mother. Her constant innuendo on that subject was what led us to move out of the Parker mansion in Newburyport, Massachusetts and to my house in Tarrytown, New York. They now haven't spoken in over two years." </p><p></p><p>Ruby says, "Oh, that's sad. You would think this girl would want to see her father happy! And you two are certainly happy," she grins. "What's this girl's name and how old is she? If I ever bump into her I'll have to set her straight." Mina replies, "Her name is Mary and you probably will meet her at some point, as James plans to use the Mansion again as one of the meeting places for the Guild. Newburyport will be one of the eight shipping offices, which the father of the aforementioned Roy will be managing for James. That probably will not help James and Mary's relationship much, as both of Roy's parents had worked exclusively for her these last few years." </p><p></p><p>"Roy, one of the men we're meeting here in Florida?" Ruby pondered for a moment. "His father is a house manager? What does Roy do? I mean, he got this job because of his father?" Mina says, "Oh no, Roy is a fellow adventurer, he got this job as a Guild member due to his skills and past experience working with James. Roy and his parents first came to America a little over four decades ago from an island in the south Pacific. They've worked for the Parker's ever since. Roy likes to travel but his father is happy staying in Massachusetts, and James wants somebody he can trust managing each of the commercial offices of the business. James's son and uncle will each manage two of the foreign offices." </p><p></p><p>"South Pacific you say?" Ruby's eyebrows came together, a sure sign she was thinking hard. "Is he not... human? I am ashamed to admit I don't know all my history and geography." She continued to speak to herself as if she was working out a complex problem, "I wonder, is that where my friend Chumbley the halfling is from or was that Australia? Kate would remember." She sighed and shrugged, "I suppose I will have to remember to ask her. Nana, what kind of people come from the South Pacific?" </p><p></p><p>Mina replies, "Roy and his parents are gnomes, little people, even smaller than dwarves." Ruby blinked a few times. "Little people? I wonder if I have ever met a gnome before? I didn't think anyone was smaller than a dwarf…except maybe a halfling... perhaps I have in my travels. Well, this Roy fellow sounds interesting I would say."</p><p></p><p>Ruby adjusted her legs and turned her body, the hard and straight seat was not exactly comfortable and they had been traveling so long already. She was just itching to get off this train and get started. "This Mary, I am sure we'll get along just fine, after all, we are related by marriage, right? How long can she hold a grudge over her father being happy anyway, that's just silly." Mina says, "I'm not so sure. The bad blood between her and her father predates our marriage. She still blames him for a broken engagement between her and a prominent Boston aristocrat, which occurred almost a decade ago. She also blames him for her parent's divorce even though it was her mother who initiated it and not James." </p><p></p><p>Ruby replies, "A broken marriage to a prominent aristocrat you say? Do you know the story, I am curious to hear it and why she would hold a grudge so. As much as I know James he is nothing but kind and helpful and you love him so much I can't see he would have any faults." Mina replies, "A broken engagement, not marriage, he refused to marry her after....." (Mina then lowers her voice and leans forward, saying softly to Ruby, so low that Nanuet and George can barely hear). "After Mary told him she would only be able to have one or two children. Having a son to carry on the family name was very important to him, so he ended the engagement." </p><p></p><p>Mina continues, "Mary blamed James because, well, it actually was his fault, a side effect of magic that we use to prolong our aging process. That's why I was only able to have the one child and James has only sired two, and each with a different former wife. The longer-life is also passed on to our immediate children, you'll notice that your mother for example looks at least a decade younger than her chronological age but you'll also note that she has only had two children, and each from a different father."</p><p></p><p>Ruby says, "Oh I didn't know that. About the children part of... you know." Now that she thought about it her mother did look quite good for her age. She knew her Nana did but she had been the one to use the magic, the same life prolonging magic Ruby was eager to use when she was old enough. She hadn't spoken to George about this yet and wasn't certain how he would feel about it. Nor had they really spoken about children, Ruby had conveniently avoided that topic. She glances sideways at her fiancé and realized it was not fair to him to not discuss these topics so she made a vow to do it... soon.</p><p></p><p>Mina says, “As for his divorce, it was actually his wife who left him, she ran off with a European Prince. But Mary is now convinced that she only did that because he was unfaithful first, which was not the case." </p><p>Ruby asks, "A European Prince? However did that happen?" Mina says, "In January of 1874 James and his wife Eleanor were invited guests at the wedding of Queen Victoria's son the Duke of Edinburgh to the Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia. Simultaneous to the ceremony a group of Italian thieves broke into the Queen's castle and stole a very precious heirloom. </p><p></p><p>So James and two of his friends decided to then follow the trail of the thieves across the English channel. Leaving Eleanor back in London, the trio were soon able to retrieve it, but an entire squadron of Italian thugs then following them back to England. Fearing that these men would go after his wife, James asked another wedding guest who had his own formidable group of bodyguards, the Crown Prince of Luxembourg, to help protect her. During the next month while James and his colleagues evaded and stopped the Italians that Prince courted and stole his wife from him." </p><p></p><p>"Well, that wasn't very nice, was it? Those Princes just think they can do whatever they please... Poor James, that is pretty tragic. Though I daresay it worked out in the end." She grinned at her Nana. Things in her life had started off poorly, just like Ruby and their family curse, but she had managed to take advantage of life and was living pretty darned well. Ruby only hoped she could be as happy and successful as Nana one day.</p><p></p><p>Ruby placed a hand on George’s face and kept it there while she kissed him again. Then she snuggled her head onto his shoulder, scorching down into the uncomfortable seat. "This is horribly uncomfortable compared to our last train. It feels like it's taking forever and I'm just so excited to get there." Mina smiles and says, "That custom Pullman spoiled you, it's probably the fanciest train in the country. It only makes runs between New York and Savannah, with stops in between in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, Richmond and Raleigh. Beyond that this type of train is more the norm. But we're almost there, only another twenty miles or so, should be less than a half-hour until our arrival. Ruby says, "It definitely did spoil me, it was beautiful. We were lucky it happened to be going our way. And only twenty minutes, thank Aphrodite!" Her legs were again starting to twitch, she was very ready to begin their adventure. </p><p></p><p>George patted Ruby on the knee. "I am sure the mosquitoes will have you wishing to be back on the train." he laughed. "Very funny," she said and leaned over to kiss him again to hush him. "You don't even want to know the places I've lived, mosquitoes are nothing! And I have dealt with much bigger blood suckers as you know."</p><p></p><p>Mina asks, “So Ruby, did you have fun this last month? I haven't seen that much of you other than at your mother's wedding." "Well, this month has been very busy Nana. We've been planning the wedding. We had a lot of discussing to do about when it should happen but I think we've chosen a date and church and all that. I thought we should do it quickly but George is right, we have a lot of people to appease and it should be a big event. We picked out a lot of the other things that go with planning a wedding of this size. You know, George knows a lot of people." She smiled. "Kate helped me choose a beautiful gown in New York City and it's being made as we speak. And caterers that will come up to Rochester for whatever various parties that will happen. I am certain George will find some other wedding details to bore me with." She squeezed his hand in hers. "Though I must say I'm warming to this big wedding thing."</p><p></p><p>"Then there has been..." Ruby leaned forward towards her grandmother and Nanuet, "Well, George... we've... figured out some things about George. Seems he has been blessed by the gods as we have, he just needed to listen to his heart and figure it out. He's been working tirelessly on that and I have been helping as I can. His goddess, Athena of course, has always been watching over him." She glanced sideways at the man beside her, Ruby considered how much to tell but determined it was his story, if he wanted to share it. She grinned. "So we have been practicing."</p><p></p><p>"Then George has had his work - getting ready for him to be away and also opening the Tucson office - but he's still taken the time to bring me in and teach me some of what he does. It's actually very interesting and my man is so smart to invent all these wonderful technologies that are changing the world." She had a proud grin on her face as she spoke of his accomplishments, anyone could tell how much she adored him.</p><p></p><p>"And I have been working on getting to know his staff better at home. You met them that day before... you know... THAT day. Al, Rosie and William are all very nice people and I think they like me. Though I still can't get them to eat dinner at the table with me." She pouted a little at that, she didn't like that they had to change their eating arrangement because of her, she never considered herself above them but they kept insisting that it wasn't proper now that she was there. "I have decorated a little in the house to keep me busy but I'm not sure George loves my exotic styles and tastes. May be a little too colorful for him," Ruby laughed. "I assume George doesn't complain because he doesn't want me to be bored."</p><p></p><p>"And of course it's the summer so we did spend some time outside, picnics and hikes and the gardens and swimming and things like that. We saw some theater too. And that little amusement park that has some rides, oh I love that place so much and George takes me there a lot. I do adore the summer but I forgot how much more humid it is here than out West!" </p><p></p><p>Ruby curled her long red hair around a finger as she spoke, stopping occasionally to think on more details. "I think that is everything." She paused and looked out the window for a moment, watching the land speed by. "Not exactly the life I thought I would be living at the beginning of this year I would say."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 4671718, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter Four, “Passengers on the Third Train”, September 1st, 1882, 10:30 A.M.[/B] John Wesley Hardin slides down the aisle of the train with practiced ease, avoiding wayward elbows and outstretched feet with with fluidity. Earlier, he had allowed to porter to stow his larger valise in the baggage car, but the hint of a frown and the hardening of his eyes had warned the elderly negro away from the smaller bag. The heavy bag that rings with the faint bell of metal upon metal as it brushes a seat back. A flat smile, devoid of mirth, flits across Hardin's face as he scans the First Class car, searching. His eyes scan back and forth across the nattily dressed businessmen, so with their wives or mistresses, probing for hidden weapons. He notes a hideaway gun in a waistsash and another in a boot-top but the passengers, for the most part, seemed to be unarmed. Habit forces a quick look back over his shoulder to see if anyone is watching with too much interest. Momentarily mollified, the set of his shoulders relaxes and his free hand drops away from the butt of one of the Colt 1877 Lightening pistols sewn artfully into his suit-vest. The ends of his mouth turn up a bit more as he says to himself, "Damn it's good to be free!" He notes a pair in a quad-seat that look a bit out of place - one gangly youth that looks like he made a wrong turn coming out of the big-top sitting across from a man that has "The Look" about him. That man glances up, meeting Hardin's steady gaze. His eyes flick down, taking in the well-concealed brace of pistols and taking the Texan's measure. He glances back up and nods imperceptibly. Hardin stops in front of their seats and tips his hat. "I suspect you would be Trout and Cantrell...I'm Hardin. Do you mind?" He motions to a seat with the bag-hand and waits expectantly. Benjamin ‘Fish’ Trout is busy whittling a sturdy chunk of soft wood with an elegant-looking jacknife. The shavings fall around his ankles. "You must be that sharp-shootin' Texan just won himself a pardon, no? Please join us, Mr. Hardin!" he says, grinning earnestly. Cantrell looks up at Hardin. He says, "Your reputation precedes you, Mr. Hardin." The forger waves at the empty spot. "By all means, have a seat. Ben here was just telling me a story of his former life." Trout says, "Larry, please. My friends call me Fish!" His pale blue eyes sparkle. "Lydia the Tattooed Lady gave me the nickname when I was 14. She said,'The boy needn't breathe, it seems.'" He grins lasciviously. Ben's voice is warm, almost melodic -- but there's a gravelly quality to it too, as though he is accustomed to shouting. His puckish demeanor is difficult not to like. Lawrence slaps him on the back and says, "Fish it is then." With a wink, Fish asks, "Mr. Hardin, sir: is it true what they say about a Texan and his hat?" Hardin tries to suppress a grin and fails and starts laughing as he takes the indicated seat. "Well...I haven't been to Texas in a while...being otherwise occupied. But a gentlemen never shares such secrets anyway, so I might have ta let you wonder on that for a bit longer. If you ever get by El Paso again, though, ask around for Shady Sadie and I am sure she will tell you...for a price!" Hardin seems to think his own "joke" is quite funny and laughs again, slapping his own knee... While the three men are making their introductions a young human woman also makes her way down the center aisle. She has long curly brown hair, a shapely body and a face that one would have considered pretty if not for her long oversized nose. Despite this, Trout still takes an active notice of her as she passes by. She takes an empty seat in the bench immediately behind where Cantrell and Trout are seated. While he is talking to the men the observant Hardin notices that she reaches into her shoulder satchel and removes a notebook and fountain pen and begins writing. Hardin's smile fades and his eyes narrow as the woman produces reporter's tools. Cantrell is taken aback by the sudden turn in Hardin's countenance, from mirthful to deadly serious in the blink of an eye. He stares hard at the young woman, lips a razor thin line. "Damn reporters..." The whisper sounds like the hiss of an angry rattler... Fish stands, as though in polite deference to Hardin's arrival. As he does, he deliberately fumbles the chunk of wood that he was whittling over the back of their seat into the lap of this mysterious woman. He then scoots past Hardin and, manufacturing a blush, introduces himself to her. When Fish moves suddenly, Hardin's hands are a blur, moving impossibly fast... He has his pistols halfway out of their concealed vest holsters before he sees the falling wood. With a barely audible grunt and another flinch, his hands are back at his sides. He looks past Fish towards Cantrell and offers a slight shrug as he relaxes back into his seat. "Old habits die hard..." He smiles again, but it stops well short of his eyes...eyes that look like they belong to an old man...not someone a few months shy of his 30th birthday. Lawrence raises an eyebrow at the display and says, "Mighty impressive Mr. Hardin. I take it you didn't learn that for show." Hardin chuckles grimly and says, "I was...intemperate in my youth. Fortunately age - and an extended holiday - have shown me the path of righteousness. I stay in form to guard against those who may not have faith in my redemption." Cantrell guffaws. "Youth is the time for intemperance. My own youth in Delaware was ill-spent. The war forced me to focus on what was important. Did you serve?" Hardin shakes his head. At the next bench Fish states, "I'm terribly sorry, miss! Riding trains make me so nervous!" He studies her reaction. She smiles at him in a friendly manner while simultaneously shutting her notebook. She says in a Southern accent "No need to apologize Sir, just try to be more careful in the future." Fish crouches to retrieve his whittled chunk of wood from the floor of the train. He attempts to disguise the glance he casts up the woman's skirt. Hardin offers Cantrell another crooked grin and slides his eyes back over to the young woman seated behind Cantrell and Trout. She notices Hardin's attention towards her and puts away her notebook and pen in her travel bag. She then gets up and heads down the train to an empty seat around ten feet further away. Hardin feels a slight twinge of guilt as the young woman moves away and silently berates himself, “C'mon, John, quit picking on little girls...it's not like she was a Ranger or someone else out to get you.” Fish retakes his seat and looks out the window. "Not that I would know, but I've been told that a traveling circus provides great cover for moving covert intelligence..." Hardin returns to his seat and focuses on his new companions, but steals a occasional glance at the young woman to see what she is about. The young lady appears to now be reading a book while seated in the aisle seat three rows away. Cantrell replies, "I hear you, Fish. I hear journalists can get into all sorts of places too." Hardin snorts, "I don't have any problem getting into places...my difficulty is more in getting out. "So...how do you two know Mr. Parker?" While waiting for them to answer, Hardin's mind wanders back to a very sticky situation on the wrong side of the Rio Grande involving Parker, some wizard magic and a very unfriendly customs agent... Cantrell replies, "James and I go way back., to the War as a matter of fact. We, uh, served together. Went all over the place. I haven't seen him in a few years, but we've kept in touch by cable." Fish says, "I don't know Mister Parker, sir. I am acquainted with his wife, Lady Wilamina. I suppose one could describe what I have done for her as 'courier' work: 'retrieving' and delivering something she'd ordered. She pays well too! Charming woman." The train continues for another hour and then makes a short stop at a major train depot with multiple train turnarounds. The Conductor pokes his head in the car and says, "Lake City, change trains here for Atlanta". An older couple get up and depart. Hardin checks both entry doors - out of habit - several times before the train starts moving again. Back on the first train, reflecting upon the comments that she made regarding her current marriage, Wilamina Parker’s facial expression then changes and with a sigh she adds, "Our only real problem has been with James's daughter. Since he and I have known one-another for over a half-century she is now convinced that ours was a long-time love affair and that he was unfaithful to her mother. Her constant innuendo on that subject was what led us to move out of the Parker mansion in Newburyport, Massachusetts and to my house in Tarrytown, New York. They now haven't spoken in over two years." Ruby says, "Oh, that's sad. You would think this girl would want to see her father happy! And you two are certainly happy," she grins. "What's this girl's name and how old is she? If I ever bump into her I'll have to set her straight." Mina replies, "Her name is Mary and you probably will meet her at some point, as James plans to use the Mansion again as one of the meeting places for the Guild. Newburyport will be one of the eight shipping offices, which the father of the aforementioned Roy will be managing for James. That probably will not help James and Mary's relationship much, as both of Roy's parents had worked exclusively for her these last few years." "Roy, one of the men we're meeting here in Florida?" Ruby pondered for a moment. "His father is a house manager? What does Roy do? I mean, he got this job because of his father?" Mina says, "Oh no, Roy is a fellow adventurer, he got this job as a Guild member due to his skills and past experience working with James. Roy and his parents first came to America a little over four decades ago from an island in the south Pacific. They've worked for the Parker's ever since. Roy likes to travel but his father is happy staying in Massachusetts, and James wants somebody he can trust managing each of the commercial offices of the business. James's son and uncle will each manage two of the foreign offices." "South Pacific you say?" Ruby's eyebrows came together, a sure sign she was thinking hard. "Is he not... human? I am ashamed to admit I don't know all my history and geography." She continued to speak to herself as if she was working out a complex problem, "I wonder, is that where my friend Chumbley the halfling is from or was that Australia? Kate would remember." She sighed and shrugged, "I suppose I will have to remember to ask her. Nana, what kind of people come from the South Pacific?" Mina replies, "Roy and his parents are gnomes, little people, even smaller than dwarves." Ruby blinked a few times. "Little people? I wonder if I have ever met a gnome before? I didn't think anyone was smaller than a dwarf…except maybe a halfling... perhaps I have in my travels. Well, this Roy fellow sounds interesting I would say." Ruby adjusted her legs and turned her body, the hard and straight seat was not exactly comfortable and they had been traveling so long already. She was just itching to get off this train and get started. "This Mary, I am sure we'll get along just fine, after all, we are related by marriage, right? How long can she hold a grudge over her father being happy anyway, that's just silly." Mina says, "I'm not so sure. The bad blood between her and her father predates our marriage. She still blames him for a broken engagement between her and a prominent Boston aristocrat, which occurred almost a decade ago. She also blames him for her parent's divorce even though it was her mother who initiated it and not James." Ruby replies, "A broken marriage to a prominent aristocrat you say? Do you know the story, I am curious to hear it and why she would hold a grudge so. As much as I know James he is nothing but kind and helpful and you love him so much I can't see he would have any faults." Mina replies, "A broken engagement, not marriage, he refused to marry her after....." (Mina then lowers her voice and leans forward, saying softly to Ruby, so low that Nanuet and George can barely hear). "After Mary told him she would only be able to have one or two children. Having a son to carry on the family name was very important to him, so he ended the engagement." Mina continues, "Mary blamed James because, well, it actually was his fault, a side effect of magic that we use to prolong our aging process. That's why I was only able to have the one child and James has only sired two, and each with a different former wife. The longer-life is also passed on to our immediate children, you'll notice that your mother for example looks at least a decade younger than her chronological age but you'll also note that she has only had two children, and each from a different father." Ruby says, "Oh I didn't know that. About the children part of... you know." Now that she thought about it her mother did look quite good for her age. She knew her Nana did but she had been the one to use the magic, the same life prolonging magic Ruby was eager to use when she was old enough. She hadn't spoken to George about this yet and wasn't certain how he would feel about it. Nor had they really spoken about children, Ruby had conveniently avoided that topic. She glances sideways at her fiancé and realized it was not fair to him to not discuss these topics so she made a vow to do it... soon. Mina says, “As for his divorce, it was actually his wife who left him, she ran off with a European Prince. But Mary is now convinced that she only did that because he was unfaithful first, which was not the case." Ruby asks, "A European Prince? However did that happen?" Mina says, "In January of 1874 James and his wife Eleanor were invited guests at the wedding of Queen Victoria's son the Duke of Edinburgh to the Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia. Simultaneous to the ceremony a group of Italian thieves broke into the Queen's castle and stole a very precious heirloom. So James and two of his friends decided to then follow the trail of the thieves across the English channel. Leaving Eleanor back in London, the trio were soon able to retrieve it, but an entire squadron of Italian thugs then following them back to England. Fearing that these men would go after his wife, James asked another wedding guest who had his own formidable group of bodyguards, the Crown Prince of Luxembourg, to help protect her. During the next month while James and his colleagues evaded and stopped the Italians that Prince courted and stole his wife from him." "Well, that wasn't very nice, was it? Those Princes just think they can do whatever they please... Poor James, that is pretty tragic. Though I daresay it worked out in the end." She grinned at her Nana. Things in her life had started off poorly, just like Ruby and their family curse, but she had managed to take advantage of life and was living pretty darned well. Ruby only hoped she could be as happy and successful as Nana one day. Ruby placed a hand on George’s face and kept it there while she kissed him again. Then she snuggled her head onto his shoulder, scorching down into the uncomfortable seat. "This is horribly uncomfortable compared to our last train. It feels like it's taking forever and I'm just so excited to get there." Mina smiles and says, "That custom Pullman spoiled you, it's probably the fanciest train in the country. It only makes runs between New York and Savannah, with stops in between in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, Richmond and Raleigh. Beyond that this type of train is more the norm. But we're almost there, only another twenty miles or so, should be less than a half-hour until our arrival. Ruby says, "It definitely did spoil me, it was beautiful. We were lucky it happened to be going our way. And only twenty minutes, thank Aphrodite!" Her legs were again starting to twitch, she was very ready to begin their adventure. George patted Ruby on the knee. "I am sure the mosquitoes will have you wishing to be back on the train." he laughed. "Very funny," she said and leaned over to kiss him again to hush him. "You don't even want to know the places I've lived, mosquitoes are nothing! And I have dealt with much bigger blood suckers as you know." Mina asks, “So Ruby, did you have fun this last month? I haven't seen that much of you other than at your mother's wedding." "Well, this month has been very busy Nana. We've been planning the wedding. We had a lot of discussing to do about when it should happen but I think we've chosen a date and church and all that. I thought we should do it quickly but George is right, we have a lot of people to appease and it should be a big event. We picked out a lot of the other things that go with planning a wedding of this size. You know, George knows a lot of people." She smiled. "Kate helped me choose a beautiful gown in New York City and it's being made as we speak. And caterers that will come up to Rochester for whatever various parties that will happen. I am certain George will find some other wedding details to bore me with." She squeezed his hand in hers. "Though I must say I'm warming to this big wedding thing." "Then there has been..." Ruby leaned forward towards her grandmother and Nanuet, "Well, George... we've... figured out some things about George. Seems he has been blessed by the gods as we have, he just needed to listen to his heart and figure it out. He's been working tirelessly on that and I have been helping as I can. His goddess, Athena of course, has always been watching over him." She glanced sideways at the man beside her, Ruby considered how much to tell but determined it was his story, if he wanted to share it. She grinned. "So we have been practicing." "Then George has had his work - getting ready for him to be away and also opening the Tucson office - but he's still taken the time to bring me in and teach me some of what he does. It's actually very interesting and my man is so smart to invent all these wonderful technologies that are changing the world." She had a proud grin on her face as she spoke of his accomplishments, anyone could tell how much she adored him. "And I have been working on getting to know his staff better at home. You met them that day before... you know... THAT day. Al, Rosie and William are all very nice people and I think they like me. Though I still can't get them to eat dinner at the table with me." She pouted a little at that, she didn't like that they had to change their eating arrangement because of her, she never considered herself above them but they kept insisting that it wasn't proper now that she was there. "I have decorated a little in the house to keep me busy but I'm not sure George loves my exotic styles and tastes. May be a little too colorful for him," Ruby laughed. "I assume George doesn't complain because he doesn't want me to be bored." "And of course it's the summer so we did spend some time outside, picnics and hikes and the gardens and swimming and things like that. We saw some theater too. And that little amusement park that has some rides, oh I love that place so much and George takes me there a lot. I do adore the summer but I forgot how much more humid it is here than out West!" Ruby curled her long red hair around a finger as she spoke, stopping occasionally to think on more details. "I think that is everything." She paused and looked out the window for a moment, watching the land speed by. "Not exactly the life I thought I would be living at the beginning of this year I would say." [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
Top