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AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 4698875" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter Eight, “The Timucuan Conservatory,” September 1st, 1882, 2:30 P.M.</strong></p><p></p><p>After traveling for approximately eight miles north and east through farmlands since crossing the river on its southerly flow around Jacksonville, they once again come upon the mighty river. From this point onward the river flows primarily east to the Atlantic Ocean approximately eight miles away. </p><p></p><p>They soon approach a bridge over a stream with a small pond surrounded by houses to the south of the bridge. Immediately north of the bridge is a good-sized cove flowing out just south of the Saint Johns River. Docks with small fishing boats line the cove. There are also several mills along this side of the shore, each with driveways out to this roadway. It is mid-afternoon and all of the mills are in full production, the various mill workers looking to be an even mix of human and ogre. </p><p></p><p>A short distance after the bridge there is also a large wooden building with the signs “Mill Cove General Store” and “Saint Johns River Eastern Postal Office” above the doorway. James Parker stops the coach in front of the store and climbs down from the top. He stops to tell those inside “I’m just going to go inside to check and see if we received any mail today. We still have another two-and-a-half miles to go until we reach the house. Please feel free to get out and stretch your legs.”</p><p></p><p>He then adds, “This is also the closest store to the house if you should ever need to purchase anything. On weekdays one of us makes a daily trip here to check for mail. The proprietor is Casey Remmick and the postmaster is his uncle, Heath Remmick.” </p><p></p><p>Fish clambers out of the coach. He saunters up to the horses, running his open palm along their haunches. "Tough ol' girl!" he mutters affectionately to the mare he'd fed the carrot earlier. "You're so strong, and you're oh so-o-o brave. It's a hot day to have had to drag us all this far. I hope your groomsman gives you a good brushing when you get back to the barn!" He tousles her ears.</p><p></p><p>Ben then steps into the general store. "Mr. Remmick, I'd like your best bottle of bourbon." He peruses the fabrics on display. He locates the one he'd hoped to find, and has Remmick cut him a half-yard. With his bourbon tucked under his arm and the cloth wrapped up with twine, he bounds back into the coach. He tosses the black & white striped fabric toward Hardin's lap with a wink. "I bet you're grateful not to be wearing that pattern anymore."</p><p></p><p>Waking up for the first time during the trip, Roy catches a glimpse of the bottle in Fish’s lap. "You're gonna share that, right?" Roy says as he rubs his eyes and grins. "Trust me, I'm little so I don't drink much." With a grin that lights up his face, Fish replies, "I'd be honored to bend elbows with you, little man!" He looks across the cab and adds, "You a drinking man, John Hardin? Care to join us?" Hardin brightens up a bit at the prospect of a good bourbon, however. "Well certainly, Mr. Tro...er...Fish. I would be happy to sample that bottle. Although from the looks of Mr. Huggins there, you probably should have gotten two!"</p><p></p><p>Lawrence gets out of the coach, excusing himself as he climbs over people to get out. He raises his arms above his head to stretch out his aching back. He checks his watch and says, "At least we're making good time." Ruby had hopped out of the coach to stretch her long legs. She wandered into the store to have a good look around. She had grown used to the large and cosmopolitan stores of New York City and this was much smaller than that. "I'm glad I brought everything I need," she commented under her breath. </p><p></p><p>She smiled and introduced herself to Mr. Remmick as James's granddaughter-in-law. "I hope he hasn't been too bothersome Mr. Remmick, I think this one is a troublemaker," she laughed. Casey Remmick is a short man in his late-twenties who has already acquired a middle-aged-spread around his middle. He has light brown hair that has started to receed, with a bushy beard and mustache and gold caps on most of his teeth. He says, "No trouble at all, he's one of my best customers these last few months. Any friend or relative of his is a friend of mine." </p><p></p><p>"And if he trusts you, I do too. Would I be able to mail letters from here? I have a little brother at home who I promised I would write." He replies, "Certainly, my Uncle Heath is the postmaster here. There is no mail delivered on weekends and today's mail has already gone out, but if you get it to us by Monday we will be sure to send it out." "Excellent, thank you very much!" Ruby glanced to the door. "Well, looks like it's time to go, pleasure meeting you and I'll get that letter to you soon." She gave him a little wave before hurrying back outside and climbing into the coach next to George. "The owner was very nice." </p><p></p><p>James exits the store carrying a wrapped package around one-foot-square and three letters. He hands one of the letters to Dr. Crane stating, “Our timing is good, you have mail that arrived for you today from Bermuda." Still seated in the carriage as the others shopped in Remmick's store, Thomas looks up from his reading, surprise in his eyes, extending his hand to take the letter "Really? Hmmm, I certainly hope it's not bad news from Kuung Fong (Thomas' half-orc manservant tending his small estate back in Bermuda). </p><p></p><p>He then turns to several of his companions who had exited the coach and says softly, "You should all know that Mr. Remmick and I have an arrangement with the ship that brings in International mail from the Carribean islands, it gets dropped off here on the ship's journey down the river and therefore never falls under the inspection of United States Customs agents in Jacksonville." Abby kept her voice just as quiet and raised an eyebrow. "You find it necessary to do that? What have I gotten myself into here?" Keeping his voice low as well James replies with a smile, "Why, Nothing more than the secrets of Atlantis." </p><p></p><p>The coach resumes its journey, after a half-mile reaching a fork in the road on which they turn northward, following the road a half-mile inland from the eastern shore of Mill Cove. The passengers have an excellent view westward, seeing not only the cove but several miles of the main river to the west and dozens of islands on the river varying in size from a half-acre to a triangular island to the northwest that is almost two miles on each side. The road heads this way for over a mile before forking again, the wider road going left and heading out to a western peninsula above the northeastern side of the cove. James turns right onto the less traveled roadway. </p><p></p><p>Ruby leaned forward in her seat to get a better look out the window. "That water looks so beautiful, such a clear blue color like I have never seen! Will we be getting to swim?" Hearing that, Fish keeps his filthy thoughts to himself. </p><p></p><p>Mina laughs and says, "I imagine so." She gestures over to a sandy section of the cove where some young children are playing in the sand and says, "There looks to be a beach over there. The river itself is probably too swift but that cove appears to be calm enough." </p><p></p><p>They soon reach a point where the roadway it is blocked by a metal-and-wooden locked gate, with a wooden post-and-beam fence, running north for a half-mile until it reaches the river and south for at least a mile before turning eastward. Beside the gate is a large wooden six-by-four foot sign, painted white with dark red lettering. The sign reads:</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>TIMUCUAN CONSERVANCY</strong></span></p><p></p><p><strong>Established jointly by Bradford Academy of Massachusetts and the AGELESS Corporation of New York, this Conservancy is dedicated to the preservation of the cultural history and artifacts associated with the extinct Timucuan tribe of Native American Elves. </strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Per proclamation on June 23, 1882 by Florida Governor William D. Bloxham this tract of land in and around San Mateo Hill is hereby protected and any trespassers upon this land will be subject to immediate arrest and prosecution. </strong></p><p></p><p>Lawrence looks at the sign as they pass. "We're entering elven lands? The plot thickens." I knew someone in New Orleans who collected Timucani artifacts. Word is he couldn't keep track of 'em all!" says Fish nonchalantly. He casts a furtive glance at Wilamina.</p><p></p><p>The carriage slows but does not stop and as the lead horses approach the gate, with the gate unlocking and rising on its own from both sides, allowing the carriage to continue onward. Once they are through, the two gates lower again and appear to automatically re-lock. Once they are beyond the gate, the passengers see that running both north and south the full-length of the fence is a stone pathway two-feet across, with a similar stone pathway now running parallel to the right side of the road. Beyond the path are rows of citrus trees running parallel the roadway on its southern side, the north side remaining open for a view of the river. </p><p></p><p>Nanuet read the sign carefully, doing his best to decipher the written words that are still somewhat foreign to him. "Mr. James, what exactly made the Timucan tribe extinct, and why are you interested in preserving their cultural history?" </p><p></p><p>James replies, "That is one of the mysteries we are seeking to unravel. We are quite fortunate to have here working with us the nation's foremost historian on Native American culture and history, as she has lived over three centuries of it herself. The Timucan occupied quite a bit of land that is now northern Florida and southern Georgia. They were a people set apart from other Elves, up to a foot taller in height and with a language unrelated to all other North American native languages. They also were among the only tribes to refuse to participate in the Great Conclave. At the time of the first contact with Europeans they numbered 50,000.</p><p></p><p>Curiously, they took on a unique attitude towards the Europeans, viewing them as friends. That was part of their downfall, being too trusting of the Spanish. As happened with most elvan tribes, a great many of them died of diseases brought by the Europeans, although the Timucan appeared to have greater immunities to those than other elves. All but one of the twelve Timucan tribes disappeared primarily through intermarriage with the Spanish and abandoning their previous way of life, with several tribes relocating as a group to other Spanish colonies in the Americas, and upon reaching there then abandoning their own culture and adapting to that of their new homes. </p><p></p><p>The one exception was the Saturiwa tribe, who resided in this exact area. They disappeared almost overnight, a plague is suspected as the cause although no bodies were found. Many theories exist, by tomorrow I should know if there is a new theory about that." </p><p></p><p>The road makes a gradual turn to the left in the direction of the south shore of the Saint Johns river, going for a quarter mile before turning east a quarter-mile in and continues parallel the river from one-hundred feet away. "Well, looks like we can have fresh orange juice with breakfast every day!" She turned to her grandmother. "Nana, do you know how many other people are living or working here? Will we be meeting more people when we get there or are we mainly the team working on this project?" </p><p></p><p>Nana says, "There are at least three others who have been working the archealogical site that will be part of our team. During the summer there was also a team of students from the Bradford Academy listed on the sign, but they would have gone back to Massachusetts by this time." Ruby exclaims, "I can't wait to find out what we're doing. I admit, the thought of digging in the dirt every single day sounds boring but with this group you've assembled, I don't think that is what we're here for." She takes George's hand excitedly. "Nana, I know things will get very crazy here once we arrive but I'd like to talk to you about something in private, at some point when we get the chance."</p><p></p><p>She glanced around the group. Most were looking out the window, curious to see where they were headed, others were making small talk. "I am glad we're almost there. It's hard to make friends in a coach!" Though immediately after speaking those words Ruby recalled one of the first days of January of that very year, when she had met some special people who would change her life forever. And it made her smile. </p><p></p><p>A short distance later they reach a section where there is a long dock on the river that appears to be recently constructed. There are three boats tied to the dock, two being plain small sailboats approximately fifteen-feet in length, each with a fair degree of wear-and-tear. The other boat is a thirty-two-foot-long luxury sailboat that appears to be brand new. </p><p></p><p>Immediately after the dock is a pair of buildings, both twenty-five by forty feet in size. One is a dilapidated single-story building of clapboard construction with cotton curtains over the window openings and a roof made of a patchwork tin-and-steel remnants that have been welded together. Beside it is a freshly constructed two-story building made from solid wood timbers, with glass windows that have fancy hand-carved shutters, and with slate shingles on the roof. </p><p></p><p>Three men with brushes are busy painting the building white. One of these men is a human who looks to be around forty years in age. Another is a half-ogre who looks to be around thirty. The third is an ogre who looks to be around twenty. Sitting on the ground near the men is a quartet of hound dogs. The three stop painting and wave to Parker as the carriage passes by. </p><p></p><p>As the carriage continues to move away down the road, a young woman who appears to be in her late teens exits the building, bringing a platter with a glass pitcher of lemonade and glasses to the painters. She is a shapely and ravishing beauty with fully human features, the only indication of any ogre blood being her caramel-colored skin and six-and-a-half-foot height. </p><p></p><p>Fish again keeps his filthy thoughts to himself. Roy pours himself a drink and enjoys it. "Thank you, sir." As he drinks, his eyes make their way toward the tall woman bearing the tray of lemonade. "Oh what I wouldn't give to climb that tree," he says to no one in particular. Thomas eyes also following the coffee-skinned woman with obvious interest, then his head towering over the gnome as he looks down. "Indeed, Mr. Huggins, indeed," with a stern tone in his deep voice, but obvious mirth in his eyes at Roy's muttered aside. </p><p></p><p>Hardin’s eyes also follow the coffee skinned woman as the coach slides by, reluctantly tearing his eyes away after Roy's comment. He frowns a bit at the gnome, clears his throat and nods toward Ruby. "Mr. Huggins, have a care for our company." Roy turns quickly. "Huh? Oh yeah." Roy quickly downs his drink and looks at Ruby. "I'd be willing to climb you, too," he says to her with a sly grin, winking at George at the same time. He anticipates a slap in 3...2....1.... </p><p></p><p>Ruby's eyebrow shot up but she smirked. George would certainly be offended but the comment just made her want to laugh. "I realize that we don't really know each other yet boys, but you'll find that it's likely I've been in worse situations and places than some of you have." She set her hazel eyed gaze on Roy, her smirk growing. "I don't doubt you'd like to climb me Mr. Huggins. Unfortunately for you those days are over and my fiance here would probably not be too happy with the idea of sharing me with anyone. Nor my grandmother or her husband James either." </p><p></p><p>Roy smiles and turns back to Hardin. "Well, I tried," he says with a shrug. Hardin tries to give Roy his best "dead-eye" stare and fails... He just laughs, shakes his head and tips his hat to Ruby and Abigail. "My apologies, ladies" "None needed, but thank you. That's sweet. I'm sure Abby here knows how to take care of herself just as well as I do but it's always nice to have a valiant hero step in."</p><p></p><p>Ruby crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, crossing one leg over the other casually and says to Roy, "You didn't try very hard, now did you?" she laughed. "Well, now I feel left out," Abigail laughed, obviously amused by the whole conversation. She had been quiet since Mr. Parker mentioned Atlantis. It opened a whole new set of questions, including how much did he really know about her. Anyone who knew much about New Orleans would suspect that someone born and raised there would know a little arcane magic, and Atlantis was the lost seat of all Arcane knowledge. It seemed in this company she would have no secrets, and it was a relief. </p><p></p><p>"Oh you're always free to join us, miss," Roy says with a smile. She replies, "We're going to be working together, so you might as well call me Abigail. Or Abby, or even Gail. I'm not peculiar about it. Miss Marsters is so formal." "I'm just warming up," Roy says to Ruby with a wink. He turns to Abigail. "Well feel free to call me Roy because, well, that's my name." </p><p></p><p>Mina had been enjoying the banter between the group, finding it funny that the girls had already figured out how to counter Roy rather than be shocked by his antics. For decades Mina herself had been the main target of his letcherous comments and inuendo, but those comments stopped the very day she married James. And she was sure it had nothing to do with the marriage vows, her prior marriage never curailed the gnome....even when her husband was present. </p><p></p><p>Ruby laughed again at Roy. "You and I need to play cards, I think. You do play cards, right Roy?" Roy shook his head. "Never played a day in my life, Miss." Upon hearing that Mini has to turn her head away from others to suppress her laughter. Ruby says, "Well, then perhaps I can teach you. I'm okay... sometimes." Then she cracked up. "I like you Roy, you're interesting." Roy answers, "If by interesting you mean 'sexy in a dangerous kind of way,' then you've got me pegged." </p><p></p><p>She says, "Of COURSE that is what I meant Roy, what else would I have meant?" She flashed him her brilliant grin. Oh, this trip was going to be fun. Fish giggles, teasing, "She called you 'interesting'! Next thing you know, she'll be telling all her friends that you have 'a nice personality'!" Roy gives Fish a sly wink and a barely perceptible nod. "Don't fret Fish, you can earn a nice personality too if you try hard enough," Ruby teased. "Of which I have no doubt you will."</p><p></p><p>The continuous grove of citrus trees soon ends as the carriage approaches a slight hill rising to an elevation of no more than one-hundred feet. At the top is a flat thirty-acre plateau. As they continue to climb the hill to the plateua what stands out the most on the plateau is the newly constructed building at the top, presumably the ‘house’ that Parker previously referenced. Calling this building a house is a gross understatement, as before them is a four-story tall mansion with four-chimmnies that has a two story-wraparound porch on two of the sides that is supported by grand round columns. </p><p></p><p>The building is painted white with red trim that matches the color of the red bricks of the chimneys. It is rectangular, some seventy-five-by fifty feet in size for the first and second floor excluding the proch which runs ten feet out on both the entire north and west sides. The porch columns are spaced ten-feet apart except for a twenty-foot section on the front north wall facing the river with a wide front staircase down to the ground and a fifteen foot section at the southwest end of the porch with another staircase goes down to the ground.</p><p></p><p>A forty-five degree angled slate shingle roof comprises the third and forth floors. The third floor has six fifteen-foot wide flat-roofed dormers that have with large glass picture windows. Two of these are on each longer side wall with another on each of the front and back walls. The fourth floor has four ten-foot wide flat-roofed dormers with shuttered windows, one in the center of each side. The angled roof ends at a ten-by-thirty-five foot flat rectangular roof, with the building’s four chimneys at each of the four corners of this section and a white-painted iron fence on all sides. Several telescopes of different size are mounted to this area of the roof. </p><p></p><p>Ruby says, "Please tell me this is where we are staying. It's amazing!!" She leaned forward in her seat to get a better view of the house, maybe a little too far forward. Fish.again keeps his filthy thoughts to himself. Ruby states, "Is that a... telescope... on the roof? To look at the stars?" "I believe so," Mina tells her granddaughter.</p><p></p><p>The carriage crests the top of the hill. A barn is on the hill on the opposite side of the building. Two other structures are near the building, one being a twenty-by-fifteen foot storage shed with the barn-style doors open to reveal it filled with barrels, buckets, shovels, several wheelbarrow, mallets, poles and ropes. Leaning against the back wall is a group of eight bicycles, each with large front wheels and small rear wheels. Hanging on hooks on the wall above the bicycles Benjamin Trout also catches a glance of a pair of unicycles, a mode of transportation he is quite proficient with. </p><p></p><p>Grinning with what his comrades are beginning to recognize as his trademark mirth, Fish asks Mina, "Will I be sleeping the in barn again, m'lady?" He feigns a small frown, lip trembling. Smiling back she says, "I'm sure James has something more suitable for you. But depending upon your antics you might still wind up in the barn at some point." "Not if she values the sanctity of her sheep." whispers George to Ruby causeing her to snort as she tried to suppress her laugh. Ruby giggled, "George Eastman!" she admonished him but squeezed his hand. "I think I have been a bad influence on you!" </p><p></p><p>The other structure is a Native American style-building that is oval shaped being fifteen-feet-long and eight-feet-wide with a curved roof. The walls are made of deerskin. Five feet in front of the building is a stone fireplace with an iron cauldron handing above it on a tripod. Towards the southeastern rear of the hillside plateau is a small corral and adjacent twenty-by-thirty foot single-story unpainted barn of new construction with a pitched roof.</p><p></p><p>The thing that mars the possible beauty of this plantation-like setting is the total lack of a well-manicured lawn. There is no grass at all on the plateau, just plain dirt and gravel interspersed with several more of the two-foot-wide stone pathways. The ugliest and most prominent feature on the lawn are the dozens of large holes and dirt mounts dug throughout the hillsides and the plateau, some with posts and roped off areas around the holes. This destruction makes this plot of land surrounding the mansion to more closely resemble the craters of the moon rather than a fine southern plantation. </p><p></p><p>As the carriage passes them by, Thomas examines the holes with great interest. Poking his head out the window of the slowing coach the half-ogre states, "Parker, you do keep your cards close to your vest. I am most intrigued by the work that you've been doing here, and simply cannot wait to hear about it!"</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 4698875, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter Eight, “The Timucuan Conservatory,” September 1st, 1882, 2:30 P.M.[/B] After traveling for approximately eight miles north and east through farmlands since crossing the river on its southerly flow around Jacksonville, they once again come upon the mighty river. From this point onward the river flows primarily east to the Atlantic Ocean approximately eight miles away. They soon approach a bridge over a stream with a small pond surrounded by houses to the south of the bridge. Immediately north of the bridge is a good-sized cove flowing out just south of the Saint Johns River. Docks with small fishing boats line the cove. There are also several mills along this side of the shore, each with driveways out to this roadway. It is mid-afternoon and all of the mills are in full production, the various mill workers looking to be an even mix of human and ogre. A short distance after the bridge there is also a large wooden building with the signs “Mill Cove General Store” and “Saint Johns River Eastern Postal Office” above the doorway. James Parker stops the coach in front of the store and climbs down from the top. He stops to tell those inside “I’m just going to go inside to check and see if we received any mail today. We still have another two-and-a-half miles to go until we reach the house. Please feel free to get out and stretch your legs.” He then adds, “This is also the closest store to the house if you should ever need to purchase anything. On weekdays one of us makes a daily trip here to check for mail. The proprietor is Casey Remmick and the postmaster is his uncle, Heath Remmick.” Fish clambers out of the coach. He saunters up to the horses, running his open palm along their haunches. "Tough ol' girl!" he mutters affectionately to the mare he'd fed the carrot earlier. "You're so strong, and you're oh so-o-o brave. It's a hot day to have had to drag us all this far. I hope your groomsman gives you a good brushing when you get back to the barn!" He tousles her ears. Ben then steps into the general store. "Mr. Remmick, I'd like your best bottle of bourbon." He peruses the fabrics on display. He locates the one he'd hoped to find, and has Remmick cut him a half-yard. With his bourbon tucked under his arm and the cloth wrapped up with twine, he bounds back into the coach. He tosses the black & white striped fabric toward Hardin's lap with a wink. "I bet you're grateful not to be wearing that pattern anymore." Waking up for the first time during the trip, Roy catches a glimpse of the bottle in Fish’s lap. "You're gonna share that, right?" Roy says as he rubs his eyes and grins. "Trust me, I'm little so I don't drink much." With a grin that lights up his face, Fish replies, "I'd be honored to bend elbows with you, little man!" He looks across the cab and adds, "You a drinking man, John Hardin? Care to join us?" Hardin brightens up a bit at the prospect of a good bourbon, however. "Well certainly, Mr. Tro...er...Fish. I would be happy to sample that bottle. Although from the looks of Mr. Huggins there, you probably should have gotten two!" Lawrence gets out of the coach, excusing himself as he climbs over people to get out. He raises his arms above his head to stretch out his aching back. He checks his watch and says, "At least we're making good time." Ruby had hopped out of the coach to stretch her long legs. She wandered into the store to have a good look around. She had grown used to the large and cosmopolitan stores of New York City and this was much smaller than that. "I'm glad I brought everything I need," she commented under her breath. She smiled and introduced herself to Mr. Remmick as James's granddaughter-in-law. "I hope he hasn't been too bothersome Mr. Remmick, I think this one is a troublemaker," she laughed. Casey Remmick is a short man in his late-twenties who has already acquired a middle-aged-spread around his middle. He has light brown hair that has started to receed, with a bushy beard and mustache and gold caps on most of his teeth. He says, "No trouble at all, he's one of my best customers these last few months. Any friend or relative of his is a friend of mine." "And if he trusts you, I do too. Would I be able to mail letters from here? I have a little brother at home who I promised I would write." He replies, "Certainly, my Uncle Heath is the postmaster here. There is no mail delivered on weekends and today's mail has already gone out, but if you get it to us by Monday we will be sure to send it out." "Excellent, thank you very much!" Ruby glanced to the door. "Well, looks like it's time to go, pleasure meeting you and I'll get that letter to you soon." She gave him a little wave before hurrying back outside and climbing into the coach next to George. "The owner was very nice." James exits the store carrying a wrapped package around one-foot-square and three letters. He hands one of the letters to Dr. Crane stating, “Our timing is good, you have mail that arrived for you today from Bermuda." Still seated in the carriage as the others shopped in Remmick's store, Thomas looks up from his reading, surprise in his eyes, extending his hand to take the letter "Really? Hmmm, I certainly hope it's not bad news from Kuung Fong (Thomas' half-orc manservant tending his small estate back in Bermuda). He then turns to several of his companions who had exited the coach and says softly, "You should all know that Mr. Remmick and I have an arrangement with the ship that brings in International mail from the Carribean islands, it gets dropped off here on the ship's journey down the river and therefore never falls under the inspection of United States Customs agents in Jacksonville." Abby kept her voice just as quiet and raised an eyebrow. "You find it necessary to do that? What have I gotten myself into here?" Keeping his voice low as well James replies with a smile, "Why, Nothing more than the secrets of Atlantis." The coach resumes its journey, after a half-mile reaching a fork in the road on which they turn northward, following the road a half-mile inland from the eastern shore of Mill Cove. The passengers have an excellent view westward, seeing not only the cove but several miles of the main river to the west and dozens of islands on the river varying in size from a half-acre to a triangular island to the northwest that is almost two miles on each side. The road heads this way for over a mile before forking again, the wider road going left and heading out to a western peninsula above the northeastern side of the cove. James turns right onto the less traveled roadway. Ruby leaned forward in her seat to get a better look out the window. "That water looks so beautiful, such a clear blue color like I have never seen! Will we be getting to swim?" Hearing that, Fish keeps his filthy thoughts to himself. Mina laughs and says, "I imagine so." She gestures over to a sandy section of the cove where some young children are playing in the sand and says, "There looks to be a beach over there. The river itself is probably too swift but that cove appears to be calm enough." They soon reach a point where the roadway it is blocked by a metal-and-wooden locked gate, with a wooden post-and-beam fence, running north for a half-mile until it reaches the river and south for at least a mile before turning eastward. Beside the gate is a large wooden six-by-four foot sign, painted white with dark red lettering. The sign reads: [SIZE="5"][B]TIMUCUAN CONSERVANCY[/B][/SIZE] [B]Established jointly by Bradford Academy of Massachusetts and the AGELESS Corporation of New York, this Conservancy is dedicated to the preservation of the cultural history and artifacts associated with the extinct Timucuan tribe of Native American Elves. Per proclamation on June 23, 1882 by Florida Governor William D. Bloxham this tract of land in and around San Mateo Hill is hereby protected and any trespassers upon this land will be subject to immediate arrest and prosecution. [/B] Lawrence looks at the sign as they pass. "We're entering elven lands? The plot thickens." I knew someone in New Orleans who collected Timucani artifacts. Word is he couldn't keep track of 'em all!" says Fish nonchalantly. He casts a furtive glance at Wilamina. The carriage slows but does not stop and as the lead horses approach the gate, with the gate unlocking and rising on its own from both sides, allowing the carriage to continue onward. Once they are through, the two gates lower again and appear to automatically re-lock. Once they are beyond the gate, the passengers see that running both north and south the full-length of the fence is a stone pathway two-feet across, with a similar stone pathway now running parallel to the right side of the road. Beyond the path are rows of citrus trees running parallel the roadway on its southern side, the north side remaining open for a view of the river. Nanuet read the sign carefully, doing his best to decipher the written words that are still somewhat foreign to him. "Mr. James, what exactly made the Timucan tribe extinct, and why are you interested in preserving their cultural history?" James replies, "That is one of the mysteries we are seeking to unravel. We are quite fortunate to have here working with us the nation's foremost historian on Native American culture and history, as she has lived over three centuries of it herself. The Timucan occupied quite a bit of land that is now northern Florida and southern Georgia. They were a people set apart from other Elves, up to a foot taller in height and with a language unrelated to all other North American native languages. They also were among the only tribes to refuse to participate in the Great Conclave. At the time of the first contact with Europeans they numbered 50,000. Curiously, they took on a unique attitude towards the Europeans, viewing them as friends. That was part of their downfall, being too trusting of the Spanish. As happened with most elvan tribes, a great many of them died of diseases brought by the Europeans, although the Timucan appeared to have greater immunities to those than other elves. All but one of the twelve Timucan tribes disappeared primarily through intermarriage with the Spanish and abandoning their previous way of life, with several tribes relocating as a group to other Spanish colonies in the Americas, and upon reaching there then abandoning their own culture and adapting to that of their new homes. The one exception was the Saturiwa tribe, who resided in this exact area. They disappeared almost overnight, a plague is suspected as the cause although no bodies were found. Many theories exist, by tomorrow I should know if there is a new theory about that." The road makes a gradual turn to the left in the direction of the south shore of the Saint Johns river, going for a quarter mile before turning east a quarter-mile in and continues parallel the river from one-hundred feet away. "Well, looks like we can have fresh orange juice with breakfast every day!" She turned to her grandmother. "Nana, do you know how many other people are living or working here? Will we be meeting more people when we get there or are we mainly the team working on this project?" Nana says, "There are at least three others who have been working the archealogical site that will be part of our team. During the summer there was also a team of students from the Bradford Academy listed on the sign, but they would have gone back to Massachusetts by this time." Ruby exclaims, "I can't wait to find out what we're doing. I admit, the thought of digging in the dirt every single day sounds boring but with this group you've assembled, I don't think that is what we're here for." She takes George's hand excitedly. "Nana, I know things will get very crazy here once we arrive but I'd like to talk to you about something in private, at some point when we get the chance." She glanced around the group. Most were looking out the window, curious to see where they were headed, others were making small talk. "I am glad we're almost there. It's hard to make friends in a coach!" Though immediately after speaking those words Ruby recalled one of the first days of January of that very year, when she had met some special people who would change her life forever. And it made her smile. A short distance later they reach a section where there is a long dock on the river that appears to be recently constructed. There are three boats tied to the dock, two being plain small sailboats approximately fifteen-feet in length, each with a fair degree of wear-and-tear. The other boat is a thirty-two-foot-long luxury sailboat that appears to be brand new. Immediately after the dock is a pair of buildings, both twenty-five by forty feet in size. One is a dilapidated single-story building of clapboard construction with cotton curtains over the window openings and a roof made of a patchwork tin-and-steel remnants that have been welded together. Beside it is a freshly constructed two-story building made from solid wood timbers, with glass windows that have fancy hand-carved shutters, and with slate shingles on the roof. Three men with brushes are busy painting the building white. One of these men is a human who looks to be around forty years in age. Another is a half-ogre who looks to be around thirty. The third is an ogre who looks to be around twenty. Sitting on the ground near the men is a quartet of hound dogs. The three stop painting and wave to Parker as the carriage passes by. As the carriage continues to move away down the road, a young woman who appears to be in her late teens exits the building, bringing a platter with a glass pitcher of lemonade and glasses to the painters. She is a shapely and ravishing beauty with fully human features, the only indication of any ogre blood being her caramel-colored skin and six-and-a-half-foot height. Fish again keeps his filthy thoughts to himself. Roy pours himself a drink and enjoys it. "Thank you, sir." As he drinks, his eyes make their way toward the tall woman bearing the tray of lemonade. "Oh what I wouldn't give to climb that tree," he says to no one in particular. Thomas eyes also following the coffee-skinned woman with obvious interest, then his head towering over the gnome as he looks down. "Indeed, Mr. Huggins, indeed," with a stern tone in his deep voice, but obvious mirth in his eyes at Roy's muttered aside. Hardin’s eyes also follow the coffee skinned woman as the coach slides by, reluctantly tearing his eyes away after Roy's comment. He frowns a bit at the gnome, clears his throat and nods toward Ruby. "Mr. Huggins, have a care for our company." Roy turns quickly. "Huh? Oh yeah." Roy quickly downs his drink and looks at Ruby. "I'd be willing to climb you, too," he says to her with a sly grin, winking at George at the same time. He anticipates a slap in 3...2....1.... Ruby's eyebrow shot up but she smirked. George would certainly be offended but the comment just made her want to laugh. "I realize that we don't really know each other yet boys, but you'll find that it's likely I've been in worse situations and places than some of you have." She set her hazel eyed gaze on Roy, her smirk growing. "I don't doubt you'd like to climb me Mr. Huggins. Unfortunately for you those days are over and my fiance here would probably not be too happy with the idea of sharing me with anyone. Nor my grandmother or her husband James either." Roy smiles and turns back to Hardin. "Well, I tried," he says with a shrug. Hardin tries to give Roy his best "dead-eye" stare and fails... He just laughs, shakes his head and tips his hat to Ruby and Abigail. "My apologies, ladies" "None needed, but thank you. That's sweet. I'm sure Abby here knows how to take care of herself just as well as I do but it's always nice to have a valiant hero step in." Ruby crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, crossing one leg over the other casually and says to Roy, "You didn't try very hard, now did you?" she laughed. "Well, now I feel left out," Abigail laughed, obviously amused by the whole conversation. She had been quiet since Mr. Parker mentioned Atlantis. It opened a whole new set of questions, including how much did he really know about her. Anyone who knew much about New Orleans would suspect that someone born and raised there would know a little arcane magic, and Atlantis was the lost seat of all Arcane knowledge. It seemed in this company she would have no secrets, and it was a relief. "Oh you're always free to join us, miss," Roy says with a smile. She replies, "We're going to be working together, so you might as well call me Abigail. Or Abby, or even Gail. I'm not peculiar about it. Miss Marsters is so formal." "I'm just warming up," Roy says to Ruby with a wink. He turns to Abigail. "Well feel free to call me Roy because, well, that's my name." Mina had been enjoying the banter between the group, finding it funny that the girls had already figured out how to counter Roy rather than be shocked by his antics. For decades Mina herself had been the main target of his letcherous comments and inuendo, but those comments stopped the very day she married James. And she was sure it had nothing to do with the marriage vows, her prior marriage never curailed the gnome....even when her husband was present. Ruby laughed again at Roy. "You and I need to play cards, I think. You do play cards, right Roy?" Roy shook his head. "Never played a day in my life, Miss." Upon hearing that Mini has to turn her head away from others to suppress her laughter. Ruby says, "Well, then perhaps I can teach you. I'm okay... sometimes." Then she cracked up. "I like you Roy, you're interesting." Roy answers, "If by interesting you mean 'sexy in a dangerous kind of way,' then you've got me pegged." She says, "Of COURSE that is what I meant Roy, what else would I have meant?" She flashed him her brilliant grin. Oh, this trip was going to be fun. Fish giggles, teasing, "She called you 'interesting'! Next thing you know, she'll be telling all her friends that you have 'a nice personality'!" Roy gives Fish a sly wink and a barely perceptible nod. "Don't fret Fish, you can earn a nice personality too if you try hard enough," Ruby teased. "Of which I have no doubt you will." The continuous grove of citrus trees soon ends as the carriage approaches a slight hill rising to an elevation of no more than one-hundred feet. At the top is a flat thirty-acre plateau. As they continue to climb the hill to the plateua what stands out the most on the plateau is the newly constructed building at the top, presumably the ‘house’ that Parker previously referenced. Calling this building a house is a gross understatement, as before them is a four-story tall mansion with four-chimmnies that has a two story-wraparound porch on two of the sides that is supported by grand round columns. The building is painted white with red trim that matches the color of the red bricks of the chimneys. It is rectangular, some seventy-five-by fifty feet in size for the first and second floor excluding the proch which runs ten feet out on both the entire north and west sides. The porch columns are spaced ten-feet apart except for a twenty-foot section on the front north wall facing the river with a wide front staircase down to the ground and a fifteen foot section at the southwest end of the porch with another staircase goes down to the ground. A forty-five degree angled slate shingle roof comprises the third and forth floors. The third floor has six fifteen-foot wide flat-roofed dormers that have with large glass picture windows. Two of these are on each longer side wall with another on each of the front and back walls. The fourth floor has four ten-foot wide flat-roofed dormers with shuttered windows, one in the center of each side. The angled roof ends at a ten-by-thirty-five foot flat rectangular roof, with the building’s four chimneys at each of the four corners of this section and a white-painted iron fence on all sides. Several telescopes of different size are mounted to this area of the roof. Ruby says, "Please tell me this is where we are staying. It's amazing!!" She leaned forward in her seat to get a better view of the house, maybe a little too far forward. Fish.again keeps his filthy thoughts to himself. Ruby states, "Is that a... telescope... on the roof? To look at the stars?" "I believe so," Mina tells her granddaughter. The carriage crests the top of the hill. A barn is on the hill on the opposite side of the building. Two other structures are near the building, one being a twenty-by-fifteen foot storage shed with the barn-style doors open to reveal it filled with barrels, buckets, shovels, several wheelbarrow, mallets, poles and ropes. Leaning against the back wall is a group of eight bicycles, each with large front wheels and small rear wheels. Hanging on hooks on the wall above the bicycles Benjamin Trout also catches a glance of a pair of unicycles, a mode of transportation he is quite proficient with. Grinning with what his comrades are beginning to recognize as his trademark mirth, Fish asks Mina, "Will I be sleeping the in barn again, m'lady?" He feigns a small frown, lip trembling. Smiling back she says, "I'm sure James has something more suitable for you. But depending upon your antics you might still wind up in the barn at some point." "Not if she values the sanctity of her sheep." whispers George to Ruby causeing her to snort as she tried to suppress her laugh. Ruby giggled, "George Eastman!" she admonished him but squeezed his hand. "I think I have been a bad influence on you!" The other structure is a Native American style-building that is oval shaped being fifteen-feet-long and eight-feet-wide with a curved roof. The walls are made of deerskin. Five feet in front of the building is a stone fireplace with an iron cauldron handing above it on a tripod. Towards the southeastern rear of the hillside plateau is a small corral and adjacent twenty-by-thirty foot single-story unpainted barn of new construction with a pitched roof. The thing that mars the possible beauty of this plantation-like setting is the total lack of a well-manicured lawn. There is no grass at all on the plateau, just plain dirt and gravel interspersed with several more of the two-foot-wide stone pathways. The ugliest and most prominent feature on the lawn are the dozens of large holes and dirt mounts dug throughout the hillsides and the plateau, some with posts and roped off areas around the holes. This destruction makes this plot of land surrounding the mansion to more closely resemble the craters of the moon rather than a fine southern plantation. As the carriage passes them by, Thomas examines the holes with great interest. Poking his head out the window of the slowing coach the half-ogre states, "Parker, you do keep your cards close to your vest. I am most intrigued by the work that you've been doing here, and simply cannot wait to hear about it!" [/QUOTE]
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AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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