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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: 5667750" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter 55 "Dinner with the General” (Episode Two, Chapter Fifteen - Friday, September 8, 1882, 10:00 A.M.</strong></p><p></p><p>As they pull up to the area Ruby had already scoped out a surprised look crosses her face. "Will you look at this, how exciting! This certainly isn't like the desert back home." She hops out of the carriage and helps the Princess down herself. "I hope I won't make a fool of myself, I'm not very good with my history to know exactly what has been going on here."</p><p></p><p>For the next few hours Champollion leads the group room-by-room through the ruins, explaining in detail every object that they found and what each chamber and item was used for by the Egyptian priests of old. He makes many comments to justify his having shipped all of the objects found back to museums in France during the last half-century. </p><p></p><p>George pays close attention and takes page after page of notes in his notebooks. By noontime Ruby is bored stiff. Both Ruby and George become slightly nervous when he now leads them in the vicinity of the secret door to the other part of the chamber that they had recently discovered.</p><p></p><p>“There sure are a lot of rooms in this place," Ruby comments dully. "I don't want to be a party pooper but the Princess and I have some business back in the city when we are done." Ruby pauses. "Are we almost done?" she asks hopefully. Champollion says, "The tour? I guess so. Our lunch should be ready by now."</p><p></p><p>He leads them back to the entrance chamber. Much to Ruby's surprise there are several tables with fine linen tablecloths, silverware, crystal goblets, wine buckets with chilled wine, and silver coverings atop the plates. Ruby exclaims, "Isn't this fancy! Just how did you arrange all this?" </p><p></p><p>The Frenchman diplomat Passy gestures to a quartet of servants standing in the corner and says, "They were told to have it prepared promptly at noon." Passy and Champolion both sit with the Ogre Prince and his half-ogre advisor while the Princess insists that George and Ruby join her at the other table. The platters are lifted up to reveal a meal of lightly-roasted medallions of veal prepared in a wine sauce over a thin bed of cheesy-rice.</p><p></p><p>Back at the temple, it is closer to two hours when Sabah returns, by which time Callum and Abigail have completed their private time together. She informs them that at sunset three of her cousins will meet Callum near the east gate with a dozen camels and supplies. </p><p></p><p>Abby states, "Thank you, Sabah. You've been a greater friend than I could have imagined, all in the course of one day. Now that we're as settled as we can be with Cal's business, what about ours? Champollion is camped out at one of Bast's temples, and there look to be battles happening nearby. I'm wondering if we need to work toward preventing the fighting altogether."</p><p></p><p>Sabah says, "Bast would have brought both you and Mr. Stuart here, so these events must be interrelated. Helping him should therefore help accomplish all of the goals. His goal appears to be the most time sensitive, so that is where we will begin." Abby replies, “I won't argue with you. My experience with gods and goddesses is... remote, I suppose. Do you have any more need for us here? We, or at least I, should go meet Mrs. Parker and see who she might want to send along with us." She replies, "We are done here. I will meet you at the South gate at sunset."</p><p></p><p>By 3:00 PM all three groups have managed to finish up their morning and early afternoon activities and reconvene at the first hotel. They sit down for light refreshments and beverages and exchange information that they had obtained. After listening to everything Mina comments, "Well, we now know a lot more than we did when we woke up this morning. What do you think our next step or steps should be?"</p><p></p><p>"I suppose that depends with whom we decide to lend our aid," say Fish, reaching for his third fig. He leans back, "I imagine that whatever we decide to do, it'll be a mite more challenging that stealing that fez was!" He grins mischievously, "I'll have you know, Lawrence looks quite fetching dressed as a bellhop!"</p><p></p><p>Mina suggests that one of the men accompany Abby on her rescue mission. Abby looked over at Mrs. Parker and nodded her thanks. "I think this helps us as much as Cal. Who knows what his colleagues have learned there. Things seem to be falling together too neatly to ignore." Mina says, "Agreed, so two or three of us should assist your friend Cal while another two or three of us should continue to interact with the Frenchmen and Egyptian Princess." Abby adds, “With the side benefit of keeping them distracted. A pragmatic woman, that Princess.</p><p></p><p>Ruby interjects, "I can spend time with the Princess, helping her plan her wedding. But what of the Frenchmen?" Mina says, "I can help with the Frenchmen, I already know some of them. You might also need my skills to help identify what it is that they are cooking up." “So, who wants to do on a daring rescue?" Abby asked with a laugh. </p><p></p><p>Fish looks from one woman to the next to the next. He smirks. "Tell me where you want me!" He then opens his palm, revealing a thick curtain tassel embroidered with gold thread. He shrugs, "You didn't really expect me to leave the froggy's suite completely empty-handed, did you?"</p><p></p><p>Mina smiles and says, "I would suspect you were an imposter if you had. Okay, George and Ruby will take Princess duty, Abby will rescue the archaeologists and I will deal with the Frenchmen." Pointing to both Fish and Lawrence she says, "One of you should stick with me, the other should accompany Abby, decide quickly who takes which assignment." Fish shoots up his hand a little too quickly, "I'm with Miss Marsters!" Catching himself, he adds rather sheepishly, "Besides, Lawrence speaks French." As they left to pack up, Abby said to Fish, "Thanks for coming with me. I don't know any of our group very well yet, but I did know that if anyone has the skills for this mission, it's you."</p><p></p><p>The teams decided upon, Fish and Abigail pack for a multi-day expedition. The other four return to the Zakazik Grand Hotel where Lawrence makes his way in through the servant's entrance and the other three head through the front doors and back to their rooms. </p><p></p><p>Lawrence soon finds his way to Mina's door and she lets him in to plan their next step. Lawrence slips into Mina's room. He removes his headscarf. "Hello, Miss Mina. OK, we know where the Frenchies are and just as important, who they are. If they're planning some sort of ritual, we need to put a stop to that."</p><p></p><p>Mina retrieves a small wooden box, from which she removes several ceramic vials with rubber stoppers. She tells Lawrence "I'll need you to continue with your hotel servant routine. I notice that the other five Frenchmen have not returned as of yet. Why don't I try to get their elderly chemist to take me to dinner and you can see about obtaining samples of whatever it is he is working on."</p><p></p><p>Lawrence nods and replies, "I can do that. So far no one suspects me. I told Fish servants are ignored most of the time." He takes the vials from Mina. "Anything special I should look out for? Or just get what ever looks interesting?" She replies, "He's a chemist, so any type of chemical compound or elixir would be the main target."</p><p></p><p>An hour later she is attired in a fancy dress with considerable jewelry. Lawrence waits discretely behind the next corridor. She knocks on the door and after what seems like forever to Lawrence it eventually opens. She suggests to the man that they go to supper together. He declines but he is persistent, using her feminine wiles and powers of persuasion. He eventually relents, telling her it will take a few minutes to square things away. They soon depart for the staircase down to the main dining room.</p><p></p><p>Lawrence waits for a moment to make sure they don't come back. Then he approaches the door. Lawrence jiggles the handle and is rewarded when the door opens with a creak. He slips into the lighted room and quickly goes to work. First he quietly checks each room for other people. Then he goes back to the laboratory. "If I were an important compound, where would I be?"</p><p></p><p>In short order Lawrence manages to collect samples of four different liquids and two different putties. Two of the liquids are almost at a boiling point, making the transportation of them a bit of a challenge. In looking for things to sue to carry the hot containers with Lawrence stumbles upon a short stack of four papers with what appear to be Atlantian writings.</p><p></p><p>Lawrence says to himself, "Hullo, what's this? Atlantian papers? James and Mina are going to want these." He tucks the papers into his shirt. Then he remembers the towels he and Fish had brought up to the room before. He takes one to insulate the vials containing the hot samples. He then leaves the room and makes his way back to the others.</p><p></p><p>After she returns from lunch Mina copies the Altantian script and then has Lawrence return the originals during a delivery of fresh towels. She decides it is best to get these out of the Zakazik Grand Hotel as soon as possible and she and Lawrence take them back to the other hotel where she translates the writing and begins tests on the various samples. She gives Lawrence instruction on how to continue the tests when she heads back to join the others for dinner with the Princess and General Orabi.</p><p></p><p>Ruby fixes herself up, then goes off in search of the Princess with George in tow. George is made to stay in the anteroom with the ogres guarding the Princess while Ruby is admitted inside to help her prepare for her meeting this evening with General Orabi. Ruby asks, "So tell me, what do you wish to accomplish today? We have much to do to prepare you but I want to make sure I understand what we need to get done at the very least."</p><p></p><p>She replies, "We must do everything we can in the next hour to make myself become the most beautiful and most desired person in world." "I don't think you need to do much Princess, you are already beautiful and I might add quite desirable! Have no fears, the General will have the same feelings, I'm certain. Now let me help you with your hair."</p><p></p><p>Ruby gathers some pins and begins pinning up some of the Princess's hair, letting the rest of her long locks hang free in the back. "Do we know where we will meet the General?" Ruby asks, pinning a large curl into place. "I must admit, I am curious to meet him myself."</p><p>She replies, "This hotel is preparing the formal dining room today for just us. And by us, I mean him, me, and our dozens of retainers and guests."</p><p></p><p>"Sounds romantic," Ruby says sarcastically. "I think it's important, at some point, you two spend some alone time together. So you can really talk and figure things out without everyone looking over your shoulder." Neferka replies, "Which is exactly what I want you to help with the most. The people who work for both myself and General Orabi will follow orders, not so with those Frenchmen. I may need you and your intended to occupy them so that Ahmed and I can be alone." "Ah, I see. I wonder who they will be more enthralled with," Ruby laughs. "We can definitely help you with that." Another hour passes as both women do their best to make each other beautiful. </p><p></p><p>Fish and Abby arrive at the eastern gate at sunset. Sabah is there with a dozen camels and three men. She introduces them as her cousins Ahmez, Hakar and Takeleth. Callum soon arrives and approaches Abby to be introduced to her companion.</p><p></p><p>Abby greeted Sabah's cousin and added her sincere thanks for their help. When Cal arrived she waved and waited for him to reach her. "Our group is spreading out for the night. We have the good luck to have Benjamin Trout here with us. He goes by Fish for some odd reason," she grinned. "Fish, this is Callum Stuart, son of... some right noble bastard whose name I'd rather not say again."</p><p></p><p>The young Scotsman Callum shakes Fish's hand and says, "My lineage is not of importance. What is important is that a group of innocent British archaeologists will soon perish unless we act quickly. I worry for Abigail's safety on this quest and am thankful that you have volunteered to assist us." </p><p></p><p>Fish grips the Scotsman's hand and smiles sheepishly and replies, "I can fire a gun, although I won't vouch for my aim. On the other hand, you might never see me sneak up close enough that once I'm there, aim matters much. Pleased to make your acquaintance!" He replies, "Splendid, I am hoping that stealth will be of far more importance than firearms abilities.</p><p></p><p>"While the two of you are being oh, so noble and worrying about my safety, I'll just be taking care of business," Abby said and pulled back the over-robe she was wearing and pulled her sword from it's sheath with a sharp, schling! "Really boys, I'm hardly defenseless."</p><p></p><p>Callum replies, "I never said that you were, but it is a potential war zone that we are traveling to. Artillery is rather indiscriminate once it begins to fire. The short-term separation from you was painful enough; I do not know how I would be able to handle the situation if the separation became permanent."</p><p></p><p>Abby slid the sword back into it's sheath, using the movement to hide her own face. She and Cal had never discussed any kind of future together, but obviously their time apart had gotten him thinking, and she wasn't sure what she thought about that. "Let's hope Fish can help us be stealthy enough to artillery won't be in issue. Like you said, it doesn't discriminate. We have a long trip, we should probably get a move on."</p><p></p><p>"Agreed" Callum stated. While entering the city took considerable time at the gate, departing is simple as the guards just let them pass. An hour after their departure the setting sun is gone and the starts begin to appear in the sky. Their camel caravan is led by Sabah's cousin Hakar, who appears to be very familiar with both the trails and navigating by the night skies, as they leave the main roads on several occasions, taking short cuts to speed their journey. </p><p></p><p>Back in Zakazik, as the sun is setting to the west the outline of the large motor-powered balloon become visible on its return to the city, and this hotel in particular. Ruby notes the Princess's cool demeanor has shattered, with beads of perspiration appearing on her brow as well as the biting of her lower lip. "Now, now, it will be fine," Ruby assures her. "Try to be confident, men love that." Ruby squeezes her arm and looks into her eyes. "It will work out the way it should, I truly believe that." Ruby wipes her forehead gently with a kerchief then takes the woman's hand. "Let us go be prepared to greet your beloved. He will appreciate the warm and waiting sight of you after his long days and nights."</p><p></p><p>Ruby leads them down to the lobby and looks for the entourage to lead them to the meeting spot. The princess, along with Ruby, George, Mina, the Frenchmen Passy and Chamberlain, the Ogre Prince, and around fifteen retainers and guards head down to the lobby. </p><p></p><p>A group of thirty enter the hotel. Most are wearing a uniform of some kind, which looks to be based upon that of the Greek military but with Egyptian insignia. With them are a group of eight well-dressed men, two of whom are recognized as the Frenchmen Daguerre and Giffard, who had left that morning with the balloon. Mina smiles and nods to the youngest of the new group of arrivals who returns the gesture. In the center of the group is a man wearing a brown uniform with a white collared shirt. He has a brown fez atop his head. His chin is clean shaven, with the most prominent facial feature being his handlebar mustache. </p><p></p><p>The entourage stops and the man steps forward, heading directly to the Princess. He stops before her, goes to one knee and bows his head in a downward fashion stating "Princess Neferka, I am honored to accept your invitation to dinner." She smiles and says, "Rise Ahmed, let us dine." </p><p></p><p>The group head into the dinning room where a lavishly set table has been laid out for them. </p><p>An Egyptian Priest recites a prayer in Arabic, French and English and then the group sit to dine, roast lamb on long-grained rice being the main dish. Wine glasses are continually filled as the dinner progresses. Table conversation avoids any mention of the current conflict, being centered around the current health of the Princess's parents and current conditions in Zakazik. </p><p></p><p>Ruby tries not to stare at the opposing Ogre Prince. He was quite tall and had the look of someone very serious in all matters. "Excuse me, your highness," she says addressing him. "I've heard so much about you. I was wondering if you could tell me of your homeland. I mean, where you live. I'm very interested in different areas of our wondrous world and curious to hear about different traditions and customs and even of the land itself."</p><p> </p><p>The Ogre smiles and states, "Nubia is a beautiful place. The Nile River intersects the kingdom which is south of Egypt. During the last three millennia is has been a part of Egypt under some Pharaohs and an independent Kingdom under others. And although the Egyptian humans do not highlight this fact, the Pharaohs of Egypt's twenty-fifth dynasty were Nubian Ogres. </p><p></p><p>It is a fertile land, due to the Nile and its tributaries. It can also be harsh at times, with the great Sahara Desert covering much of it. We also have mountains and even jungles in some parts. It is also the oldest Ogre civilization in Africa, believed to be where our race originated in what is now the city of Meroe. Our greatest treasure is gold, with some of the finest mines in the world. </p><p></p><p>Our capital city Khartoum situated where the great Nile forks, the White Nile flowing from there to Lake Victoria and the Blue Nile flowing into the Ethiopian Kingdom. We have a population of 40,000 and my palace is one that I would welcome you as a guest at. As for our customs, we pay great homage to our deities, which humans often misunderstand. My son is a High Priest of the deities that humans call 'The Great Ogre'. He was given the vision of a prophecy, showing the fall of Khartoum by the British military some eighteen months from now, with Nubia being swallowed up into the British Empire. It is that prophecy which I seek to change through this intervention."</p><p></p><p>"It sounds absolutely lovely." Ruby paused, unsure if she should say the next words. But knowing Ruby, she said them anyway. "I understand why you would fight to keep from losing your kingdom. I understand your goal of this... intervention... but how do you think you can go about this?"</p><p></p><p>He smiles and says, "Through love rather than war. A union between the Princess and General Orabi would end the conflict. The Egyptian King may not like the union, but he would not go to war against family. The British are here upon the invitation of the Royal Family, who could just as easily ask them to leave. Otherwise I fear that Egypt will be swallowed up by Britain, who will later set their sights upon Nubia, in order to control the entire Nile River."</p><p></p><p>The remainder of the dinner party goes rather uneventfully. Ruby notices Mina spending quite a bit of time in conversation with the youngest of the Frenchmen. Towards the end of the evening when, over champagne, the Frenchman Passy negotiates the terms of the marriage between the General and the Princess. The key points to the negotiations center around her dowry, which is unfortunately under lock and key back in Cairo. It is suggested that an equivalent amount in value, roughly $425,000, be withdrawn from the Royal treasury from the Zakazik bank the next morning and held in trust by the French until a peace can be negotiated. The wedding would then take place the following evening. Once the evening festivities are completed George, Ruby and Mina make their exit and return to their rooms in the Grand Hotel.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 5667750, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter 55 "Dinner with the General” (Episode Two, Chapter Fifteen - Friday, September 8, 1882, 10:00 A.M.[/B] As they pull up to the area Ruby had already scoped out a surprised look crosses her face. "Will you look at this, how exciting! This certainly isn't like the desert back home." She hops out of the carriage and helps the Princess down herself. "I hope I won't make a fool of myself, I'm not very good with my history to know exactly what has been going on here." For the next few hours Champollion leads the group room-by-room through the ruins, explaining in detail every object that they found and what each chamber and item was used for by the Egyptian priests of old. He makes many comments to justify his having shipped all of the objects found back to museums in France during the last half-century. George pays close attention and takes page after page of notes in his notebooks. By noontime Ruby is bored stiff. Both Ruby and George become slightly nervous when he now leads them in the vicinity of the secret door to the other part of the chamber that they had recently discovered. “There sure are a lot of rooms in this place," Ruby comments dully. "I don't want to be a party pooper but the Princess and I have some business back in the city when we are done." Ruby pauses. "Are we almost done?" she asks hopefully. Champollion says, "The tour? I guess so. Our lunch should be ready by now." He leads them back to the entrance chamber. Much to Ruby's surprise there are several tables with fine linen tablecloths, silverware, crystal goblets, wine buckets with chilled wine, and silver coverings atop the plates. Ruby exclaims, "Isn't this fancy! Just how did you arrange all this?" The Frenchman diplomat Passy gestures to a quartet of servants standing in the corner and says, "They were told to have it prepared promptly at noon." Passy and Champolion both sit with the Ogre Prince and his half-ogre advisor while the Princess insists that George and Ruby join her at the other table. The platters are lifted up to reveal a meal of lightly-roasted medallions of veal prepared in a wine sauce over a thin bed of cheesy-rice. Back at the temple, it is closer to two hours when Sabah returns, by which time Callum and Abigail have completed their private time together. She informs them that at sunset three of her cousins will meet Callum near the east gate with a dozen camels and supplies. Abby states, "Thank you, Sabah. You've been a greater friend than I could have imagined, all in the course of one day. Now that we're as settled as we can be with Cal's business, what about ours? Champollion is camped out at one of Bast's temples, and there look to be battles happening nearby. I'm wondering if we need to work toward preventing the fighting altogether." Sabah says, "Bast would have brought both you and Mr. Stuart here, so these events must be interrelated. Helping him should therefore help accomplish all of the goals. His goal appears to be the most time sensitive, so that is where we will begin." Abby replies, “I won't argue with you. My experience with gods and goddesses is... remote, I suppose. Do you have any more need for us here? We, or at least I, should go meet Mrs. Parker and see who she might want to send along with us." She replies, "We are done here. I will meet you at the South gate at sunset." By 3:00 PM all three groups have managed to finish up their morning and early afternoon activities and reconvene at the first hotel. They sit down for light refreshments and beverages and exchange information that they had obtained. After listening to everything Mina comments, "Well, we now know a lot more than we did when we woke up this morning. What do you think our next step or steps should be?" "I suppose that depends with whom we decide to lend our aid," say Fish, reaching for his third fig. He leans back, "I imagine that whatever we decide to do, it'll be a mite more challenging that stealing that fez was!" He grins mischievously, "I'll have you know, Lawrence looks quite fetching dressed as a bellhop!" Mina suggests that one of the men accompany Abby on her rescue mission. Abby looked over at Mrs. Parker and nodded her thanks. "I think this helps us as much as Cal. Who knows what his colleagues have learned there. Things seem to be falling together too neatly to ignore." Mina says, "Agreed, so two or three of us should assist your friend Cal while another two or three of us should continue to interact with the Frenchmen and Egyptian Princess." Abby adds, “With the side benefit of keeping them distracted. A pragmatic woman, that Princess. Ruby interjects, "I can spend time with the Princess, helping her plan her wedding. But what of the Frenchmen?" Mina says, "I can help with the Frenchmen, I already know some of them. You might also need my skills to help identify what it is that they are cooking up." “So, who wants to do on a daring rescue?" Abby asked with a laugh. Fish looks from one woman to the next to the next. He smirks. "Tell me where you want me!" He then opens his palm, revealing a thick curtain tassel embroidered with gold thread. He shrugs, "You didn't really expect me to leave the froggy's suite completely empty-handed, did you?" Mina smiles and says, "I would suspect you were an imposter if you had. Okay, George and Ruby will take Princess duty, Abby will rescue the archaeologists and I will deal with the Frenchmen." Pointing to both Fish and Lawrence she says, "One of you should stick with me, the other should accompany Abby, decide quickly who takes which assignment." Fish shoots up his hand a little too quickly, "I'm with Miss Marsters!" Catching himself, he adds rather sheepishly, "Besides, Lawrence speaks French." As they left to pack up, Abby said to Fish, "Thanks for coming with me. I don't know any of our group very well yet, but I did know that if anyone has the skills for this mission, it's you." The teams decided upon, Fish and Abigail pack for a multi-day expedition. The other four return to the Zakazik Grand Hotel where Lawrence makes his way in through the servant's entrance and the other three head through the front doors and back to their rooms. Lawrence soon finds his way to Mina's door and she lets him in to plan their next step. Lawrence slips into Mina's room. He removes his headscarf. "Hello, Miss Mina. OK, we know where the Frenchies are and just as important, who they are. If they're planning some sort of ritual, we need to put a stop to that." Mina retrieves a small wooden box, from which she removes several ceramic vials with rubber stoppers. She tells Lawrence "I'll need you to continue with your hotel servant routine. I notice that the other five Frenchmen have not returned as of yet. Why don't I try to get their elderly chemist to take me to dinner and you can see about obtaining samples of whatever it is he is working on." Lawrence nods and replies, "I can do that. So far no one suspects me. I told Fish servants are ignored most of the time." He takes the vials from Mina. "Anything special I should look out for? Or just get what ever looks interesting?" She replies, "He's a chemist, so any type of chemical compound or elixir would be the main target." An hour later she is attired in a fancy dress with considerable jewelry. Lawrence waits discretely behind the next corridor. She knocks on the door and after what seems like forever to Lawrence it eventually opens. She suggests to the man that they go to supper together. He declines but he is persistent, using her feminine wiles and powers of persuasion. He eventually relents, telling her it will take a few minutes to square things away. They soon depart for the staircase down to the main dining room. Lawrence waits for a moment to make sure they don't come back. Then he approaches the door. Lawrence jiggles the handle and is rewarded when the door opens with a creak. He slips into the lighted room and quickly goes to work. First he quietly checks each room for other people. Then he goes back to the laboratory. "If I were an important compound, where would I be?" In short order Lawrence manages to collect samples of four different liquids and two different putties. Two of the liquids are almost at a boiling point, making the transportation of them a bit of a challenge. In looking for things to sue to carry the hot containers with Lawrence stumbles upon a short stack of four papers with what appear to be Atlantian writings. Lawrence says to himself, "Hullo, what's this? Atlantian papers? James and Mina are going to want these." He tucks the papers into his shirt. Then he remembers the towels he and Fish had brought up to the room before. He takes one to insulate the vials containing the hot samples. He then leaves the room and makes his way back to the others. After she returns from lunch Mina copies the Altantian script and then has Lawrence return the originals during a delivery of fresh towels. She decides it is best to get these out of the Zakazik Grand Hotel as soon as possible and she and Lawrence take them back to the other hotel where she translates the writing and begins tests on the various samples. She gives Lawrence instruction on how to continue the tests when she heads back to join the others for dinner with the Princess and General Orabi. Ruby fixes herself up, then goes off in search of the Princess with George in tow. George is made to stay in the anteroom with the ogres guarding the Princess while Ruby is admitted inside to help her prepare for her meeting this evening with General Orabi. Ruby asks, "So tell me, what do you wish to accomplish today? We have much to do to prepare you but I want to make sure I understand what we need to get done at the very least." She replies, "We must do everything we can in the next hour to make myself become the most beautiful and most desired person in world." "I don't think you need to do much Princess, you are already beautiful and I might add quite desirable! Have no fears, the General will have the same feelings, I'm certain. Now let me help you with your hair." Ruby gathers some pins and begins pinning up some of the Princess's hair, letting the rest of her long locks hang free in the back. "Do we know where we will meet the General?" Ruby asks, pinning a large curl into place. "I must admit, I am curious to meet him myself." She replies, "This hotel is preparing the formal dining room today for just us. And by us, I mean him, me, and our dozens of retainers and guests." "Sounds romantic," Ruby says sarcastically. "I think it's important, at some point, you two spend some alone time together. So you can really talk and figure things out without everyone looking over your shoulder." Neferka replies, "Which is exactly what I want you to help with the most. The people who work for both myself and General Orabi will follow orders, not so with those Frenchmen. I may need you and your intended to occupy them so that Ahmed and I can be alone." "Ah, I see. I wonder who they will be more enthralled with," Ruby laughs. "We can definitely help you with that." Another hour passes as both women do their best to make each other beautiful. Fish and Abby arrive at the eastern gate at sunset. Sabah is there with a dozen camels and three men. She introduces them as her cousins Ahmez, Hakar and Takeleth. Callum soon arrives and approaches Abby to be introduced to her companion. Abby greeted Sabah's cousin and added her sincere thanks for their help. When Cal arrived she waved and waited for him to reach her. "Our group is spreading out for the night. We have the good luck to have Benjamin Trout here with us. He goes by Fish for some odd reason," she grinned. "Fish, this is Callum Stuart, son of... some right noble bastard whose name I'd rather not say again." The young Scotsman Callum shakes Fish's hand and says, "My lineage is not of importance. What is important is that a group of innocent British archaeologists will soon perish unless we act quickly. I worry for Abigail's safety on this quest and am thankful that you have volunteered to assist us." Fish grips the Scotsman's hand and smiles sheepishly and replies, "I can fire a gun, although I won't vouch for my aim. On the other hand, you might never see me sneak up close enough that once I'm there, aim matters much. Pleased to make your acquaintance!" He replies, "Splendid, I am hoping that stealth will be of far more importance than firearms abilities. "While the two of you are being oh, so noble and worrying about my safety, I'll just be taking care of business," Abby said and pulled back the over-robe she was wearing and pulled her sword from it's sheath with a sharp, schling! "Really boys, I'm hardly defenseless." Callum replies, "I never said that you were, but it is a potential war zone that we are traveling to. Artillery is rather indiscriminate once it begins to fire. The short-term separation from you was painful enough; I do not know how I would be able to handle the situation if the separation became permanent." Abby slid the sword back into it's sheath, using the movement to hide her own face. She and Cal had never discussed any kind of future together, but obviously their time apart had gotten him thinking, and she wasn't sure what she thought about that. "Let's hope Fish can help us be stealthy enough to artillery won't be in issue. Like you said, it doesn't discriminate. We have a long trip, we should probably get a move on." "Agreed" Callum stated. While entering the city took considerable time at the gate, departing is simple as the guards just let them pass. An hour after their departure the setting sun is gone and the starts begin to appear in the sky. Their camel caravan is led by Sabah's cousin Hakar, who appears to be very familiar with both the trails and navigating by the night skies, as they leave the main roads on several occasions, taking short cuts to speed their journey. Back in Zakazik, as the sun is setting to the west the outline of the large motor-powered balloon become visible on its return to the city, and this hotel in particular. Ruby notes the Princess's cool demeanor has shattered, with beads of perspiration appearing on her brow as well as the biting of her lower lip. "Now, now, it will be fine," Ruby assures her. "Try to be confident, men love that." Ruby squeezes her arm and looks into her eyes. "It will work out the way it should, I truly believe that." Ruby wipes her forehead gently with a kerchief then takes the woman's hand. "Let us go be prepared to greet your beloved. He will appreciate the warm and waiting sight of you after his long days and nights." Ruby leads them down to the lobby and looks for the entourage to lead them to the meeting spot. The princess, along with Ruby, George, Mina, the Frenchmen Passy and Chamberlain, the Ogre Prince, and around fifteen retainers and guards head down to the lobby. A group of thirty enter the hotel. Most are wearing a uniform of some kind, which looks to be based upon that of the Greek military but with Egyptian insignia. With them are a group of eight well-dressed men, two of whom are recognized as the Frenchmen Daguerre and Giffard, who had left that morning with the balloon. Mina smiles and nods to the youngest of the new group of arrivals who returns the gesture. In the center of the group is a man wearing a brown uniform with a white collared shirt. He has a brown fez atop his head. His chin is clean shaven, with the most prominent facial feature being his handlebar mustache. The entourage stops and the man steps forward, heading directly to the Princess. He stops before her, goes to one knee and bows his head in a downward fashion stating "Princess Neferka, I am honored to accept your invitation to dinner." She smiles and says, "Rise Ahmed, let us dine." The group head into the dinning room where a lavishly set table has been laid out for them. An Egyptian Priest recites a prayer in Arabic, French and English and then the group sit to dine, roast lamb on long-grained rice being the main dish. Wine glasses are continually filled as the dinner progresses. Table conversation avoids any mention of the current conflict, being centered around the current health of the Princess's parents and current conditions in Zakazik. Ruby tries not to stare at the opposing Ogre Prince. He was quite tall and had the look of someone very serious in all matters. "Excuse me, your highness," she says addressing him. "I've heard so much about you. I was wondering if you could tell me of your homeland. I mean, where you live. I'm very interested in different areas of our wondrous world and curious to hear about different traditions and customs and even of the land itself." The Ogre smiles and states, "Nubia is a beautiful place. The Nile River intersects the kingdom which is south of Egypt. During the last three millennia is has been a part of Egypt under some Pharaohs and an independent Kingdom under others. And although the Egyptian humans do not highlight this fact, the Pharaohs of Egypt's twenty-fifth dynasty were Nubian Ogres. It is a fertile land, due to the Nile and its tributaries. It can also be harsh at times, with the great Sahara Desert covering much of it. We also have mountains and even jungles in some parts. It is also the oldest Ogre civilization in Africa, believed to be where our race originated in what is now the city of Meroe. Our greatest treasure is gold, with some of the finest mines in the world. Our capital city Khartoum situated where the great Nile forks, the White Nile flowing from there to Lake Victoria and the Blue Nile flowing into the Ethiopian Kingdom. We have a population of 40,000 and my palace is one that I would welcome you as a guest at. As for our customs, we pay great homage to our deities, which humans often misunderstand. My son is a High Priest of the deities that humans call 'The Great Ogre'. He was given the vision of a prophecy, showing the fall of Khartoum by the British military some eighteen months from now, with Nubia being swallowed up into the British Empire. It is that prophecy which I seek to change through this intervention." "It sounds absolutely lovely." Ruby paused, unsure if she should say the next words. But knowing Ruby, she said them anyway. "I understand why you would fight to keep from losing your kingdom. I understand your goal of this... intervention... but how do you think you can go about this?" He smiles and says, "Through love rather than war. A union between the Princess and General Orabi would end the conflict. The Egyptian King may not like the union, but he would not go to war against family. The British are here upon the invitation of the Royal Family, who could just as easily ask them to leave. Otherwise I fear that Egypt will be swallowed up by Britain, who will later set their sights upon Nubia, in order to control the entire Nile River." The remainder of the dinner party goes rather uneventfully. Ruby notices Mina spending quite a bit of time in conversation with the youngest of the Frenchmen. Towards the end of the evening when, over champagne, the Frenchman Passy negotiates the terms of the marriage between the General and the Princess. The key points to the negotiations center around her dowry, which is unfortunately under lock and key back in Cairo. It is suggested that an equivalent amount in value, roughly $425,000, be withdrawn from the Royal treasury from the Zakazik bank the next morning and held in trust by the French until a peace can be negotiated. The wedding would then take place the following evening. Once the evening festivities are completed George, Ruby and Mina make their exit and return to their rooms in the Grand Hotel. [/QUOTE]
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AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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