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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: 6424867" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p>Chapter 79, “Ra is Displeased” September 11, 1882, 12:30P.M.</p><p></p><p>Ruby leads them closer to the three main targets, the men her grandmother had pointed out. She focuses all her energy on the two in the back, trying to ascertain what they are thinking. She manages to move until she is barely within range of the spell. She is unable to read the thoughts from the High Priest. One of the men notices her and she is able to read his thoughts, with him thinking she is a "British Spy" and wondering if he is should have her apprehended. He then thinks that he should ask Abdullah that very question and softly speaks to his companion.</p><p></p><p>Hearing the man's thoughts as he speaks to his companion, the other one is Abdullah, who glances in Ruby's direction when his attention is called to her. Ruby immediately looks away. She grasps her grandmothers hand tighter, nods that she got what she wanted, then turns and fights the crowd, moving in the opposite direction. The parting thoughts from the man are his confirmation that she and her companion are indeed British spies, due to their quick departure once spotted. </p><p></p><p>Ruby waits to return to the men carrying the guns until she knows she is not being followed. Nobody from the crowd appears to follow. At this point the food vendors have arrived and are drawing crowds around their carts. Ruby takes a quick check of the surrounding buildings to get an idea of which would be best for their mission. They decide on one that is a little further back but higher, in order to minimize the chance of hitting any innocents. Mina, Ruby and the four soldiers enter through the back and go up the four staircases to the roof. George notes that Ruby and Mina are in position on the roof.</p><p></p><p>Callum says, "I see some people who I need to speak to." He gestures over to a building on the opposite side of the courtyard, some 300 feet away. Abby notes that he is pointing to a trio comprised of an older bearded man in Egyptian clothing standing next to a pair of young Egyptian boys. Upon closer examination she recognizes one of the children as the disguised young Henry Jones, last seen by her in Tanis. "I'd guess he wouldn't have stayed behind even if you asked him to?" Abby said and smiled. "Let's go see what he has to say." She started moving in that direction, but indirectly, making it look like they just end up in that area.</p><p></p><p>As they near that area the trio move further back and down a side street, away from any prying eyes and ears. A black cat is keeping pace with the two boys. Upon arrival the older man, who appears to be in his early-mid-fifties, states to Callum in an American Bostonian accent "Cal, is this your Abigail?" Callum smiles and replies, "She's Abigail Marsters, only time will tell if she is mine or not." He turns to her and says, "Abby, these are three associates of mine, in the same line of work. You've already met Henry Jones. His companion is also named Henry, Henry Jekyll to be precise. And my other friend (gesturing to the older man) is Mr. Maurice Boujoulais, we have known one another for over a decade." He then tells the trio, "She can be trusted, I no longer keep any secrets from her, you are free to speak." </p><p></p><p>Maurice says, "We successfully found The Armide in a hidden cove near Herakleion, a coastal town fifteen miles northeast of Alexandria. The French have a team of six wizards guarding her." Callum turns to Abby and says, "The Armide is an armored three-mast French Battleship built fifteen years ago. The wizard group purchased it from the French Government earlier this year, then made magical modifications to triple its cruising speed from 12 to 36 knots. It is where they are currently storing all of the Egyptian treasure given to them to hold by the Princess back in Zakazik." </p><p></p><p>The other lad, dressed as a beggar boy, interjects with a London accent "Mr. Stuart, things appear to be quite serious here. The man with Abdulla el Said and the Horus High Priest is not going to back down. He is a powerful Sheik and now that he has moved against the King he has no choice but to see this through to the end. He is the one financing this uproar in Cairo. Each of his six sons are intermixed with the crowds and he has supplied each of them with a Wand of Fireballs." Callum replies, "Thank you Doctor." While they are speaking the black cat moves away from the boys and starts rubbing against Abby's leg.</p><p></p><p>Abby leaned down to stroke the black cat rubbing against her leg. If the cat seems amenable, she'll pick it up to stroke it as she spoke to the others. If not she'll squat down to scratch it behind the ears. "Hello, lovely," she said quietly. The cat seems very happy to be in Abigail’s arms. The young man Henry Jekyll says, "Her name is Independent. I call her 'Indy' for short." </p><p></p><p>She raised her voice and said, "The people I'm with, we're trying to get the less dedicated to leave. Cal and I just spread a rumor about a run on the rice storages and about 1 in 10 of the people left. We're providing those food carts there with free food. A couple other things will happen pretty shortly that will hopefully scare off some more. But we never expected to actually stop this battle. We're just hoping to get most of the folk being used as pawns out of the way. But Wands of Fireball? That scares me. That's an entire city burned down.” Maurice says, "We believe the goal is to attack the palace, not the city itself, although you are right about the danger of fire in a mostly wooden city." </p><p></p><p>What was the purpose of finding the Armide? Hoping to use it for leverage somehow?" Callum says, "If the French plans start to fall apart they might be tempted to just take the money and run. That would complicate a peaceful settlement afterwards, given that the Princess and General Orabi both consented to the French taking the treasure. So we plan to prevent the ship from leaving Egyptian waters, even if we have to sink it."</p><p></p><p>She looked askance at Cal and added, "And I think we need to talk after this is all over." He nods but does not speak a reply. Abby says, "Alright. I need to get word to my people about what you've just told us. We knew that Abdullah was being riled up by someone. We thought it was a faction of the French. In all likelihood, it still is, just working with the Sheikh. Ugh, I hate politics. It gets complicated fast. Do you young gentlemen know what these sons look like? We'll need to get them out of play somehow, or at least get those wands away from them," she finished, still rubbing the cat behind her ears.</p><p></p><p>Maurice says, "The Doctor and I do, Mr. Jones just arrived shortly, after the boys had departed from their father. As to taking them out of play, I do have enough sleep powder to temporarily stop two of them, but it would hard to use it while they are with a crowd." Abby says, "I have some friends and I can cast at least one sleep spell myself. Right now I just want to make sure my friends all know who the men with the wands are. They can each take care of one in whatever way works for them. But I think we're getting short on time. Unless there's more to tell, Cal and I should get moving." She leaned down to put the black cat back down. "It was lovely, Indy," she said with a final stroke of the cat's fur.</p><p></p><p>Mina stands behind Ruby to shield her as she mutters and gestures to call forth her illusion. As she gestures as blazing sun appears over the palace in a dazzling burst of light. It burns brightly for a moment then zooms over the crowd before returning to its starting place over the palace gates. There the sun slowly has a twin grow next to it as the original sun becomes the left eye of the great Ra. The head of Ra looks down upon the crowd, undeniable anger and displeasure on it.</p><p></p><p>The illusion has the desired initial effect, as the crowds begin to panic and disperse. The Horus High Priest casts a spell of some sort. He then lifts up his staff in the direction of the illusion and begins to chant something in an ancient Egyptian language. George was expecting this and rapidly cast a quick little spell to disrupt the priest. The Priest finds himself on the receiving end of a deluge, which washes him to the floor of the stage. He does manage to hold onto his staff.</p><p></p><p>Callum and Abby return to the main square. She notices that the cat Indy has gone with them, following at their heels. They arrive at the crowds just as Mina's illusion begins, followed by George's water attack on the priest. Abby paused to stare at the illusion for a moment. "That is good." She chuckled as the water fell onto the priest. "Keep your eyes out for any of our people. Otherwise I'm heading back to the office to find Sabah. She should be able to help disarm the men with the wands." "You'll like her, Indy," she said casually to the little black cat following behind. "She's a Priestess of Bast."</p><p></p><p>Mina casts mage hand and uses it to lift the priest's robe up and over his head just as he tries to get up. So blinded the priest falls over again. Hardin calls out in Arabic "Look! The Priest has displeased Ra! He suffers now for it! We have been led to destruction. Run and hide while you still can!" The crowds run quicker now, knocking over two of the five food pushcarts in the process. Around a quarter of the 200 or so men with weapons clustered closer to the Palace also flee, but the others hold fast. </p><p></p><p>On the nearby rooftop Ruby notices the disguised Abby and Callum come out of a back alley and head back in the direction of where the soldiers are keeping their horses. Her gaze then shifts back to the stage as Abdullah and the man whose mind she read both jump from the stage together, leaving the priest alone. </p><p></p><p>The two rush off in the direction of the closest group of armed Egyptian men nearest them. "I think I've been adopted," Abby said with a smile as she settled the cat on the saddle in front of her. She got the horse started and rode to the office, looking for any of her others friends along the way.</p><p></p><p>On the rooftop, Ruby says, "Well, if Abdullah leaves, his followers should follow him, right Nana? That might thin the crowd out alone. And I've just been thinking, if he's as much of a coward as I think he is, if I just shoot a couple of warning shots off it should scare a good group of the crowd, and possibly him, away. Mina says, "That would probably work, but too many shots will draw their attention to where we are." </p><p></p><p>Ruby says, “We have to be careful now they think we're British spies. Though I think you may have actually BEEN a British spy Nana I don't want to open up THAT can of worms today." Mina says, "Oh no, I've never been a spy for the British, only the Americans. But I did help to save a British ship back during the Opium Wars, that's why they owe me a favor, which General Woolsley will be sure to recognize."</p><p></p><p>Ruby says, "I was thinking one, maybe two shots. I don't exactly relish the thought of possibly killing a man, even if he is crazy. Though I won't hesitate if I have to, to save the innocent people here." Ruby pauses and looks up at the clear sky. "It's so beautiful here. I wish I really had time to enjoy it. Somehow, things always seem to get a bit crazy. You've been through so much Nana, seems like I always get myself in trouble, just like you!"</p><p></p><p>She watched Abdullah and his companion try to slink away. "I'd better get that shot off now so Abdullah thinks it's meant for him." Ruby gets low on the roof and aims for a deserted area of the city. She waves for her grandmother to get low to be unseen. Once she is out of sight, Ruby takes aim at some large bags of rice resting on a nearby rooftop. She shoots and the sound of the shot seems to echo off every building wall around them.</p><p></p><p>"Wow, that was even louder than I thought it would be," Ruby says, peeking over the ledge to see if she can catch a glimpse of Abdullah running off. Abdullah and his companion do indeed scurry away, along with a small group of a dozen armed men. Given that the palace guards are still shooting at them nobody takes any extra notice that the shot came from a different direction.</p><p>"Well, duh. Guess we should have figured that, huh?" From the roof Ruby keeps an eye on Abdullah and watches where he and his cronies go.</p><p></p><p>They find good cover from the Palace guards, which also leaves them totally vulnerable from behind, which includes the top of the building that Ruby and Mina are on. Meanwhile, the soggy Priest has regained his footing and successfully dispels the "Ra" illusion with his staff. By now all but the 150 most loyal of the followers have fled, and those are spread out in clusters ranging from 6 to 20, continuing to fire at the palace guard.</p><p></p><p>George casts the spell message. A gentle zephyr whirls away and whispers in Ruby's ear "If you can shoot the priest's staff and break it" "Is he crazy??" Ruby laughs. "Nana did you hear that? George wants me to shoot the priests staff!" Ruby shakes her head back and forth and ponders. </p><p></p><p>"I suppose it's not much different than the targets Jake used to make me practice with back home. And Jake would never hesitate to try to shoot it if it was necessary. I'd like to know why but I guess we don't have time for that. Plus we have the advantage, they'll never know the shot came from up here with all the shooting going on down there. Stay down Nana I don't want anyone seeing you up here." Ruby lays as flat as she can to steady herself and the gun. She waits until she has a good line of sight on the staff with no one standing behind it and she takes the shot, aiming to break the staff.</p><p></p><p>The bullet strikes the staff with such force that it flies from the Priest's hand, going off of the stage and landing on the ground. The staff appears to still be solid, not being broken by the bullet strike.</p><p></p><p>Lawrence sees the priest get doused with water from the heavens. He hides a smile as he slides through the crowd back to the stage. He ducks when Ruby's shot disarms the priest. He whispers to Hardin, "Watch my back. I see an opportunity." The acquisitions expert scrambles on the ground for the staff while the crowd scatters.</p><p></p><p>Ruby exclaims, "Darn it! It must be magical because I hit it true, what a shot! We can't just run down and fetch it, we'll never get there in time, plus they already think we're spies. Maybe George is nearby and he'll run in and snatch it up!" She scans the crowd for any of her group. She does not see George. She does see the Priest stand back up and run to the side of the stage that the staff flew off from.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, George drifts through the remaining crowd in his disguise trying to make his way to Abdullah. Maybe if he could get a word to Abdullah he could stop some of this. George reaches the area where Abdullah and his companion are clustered with a dozen armed men, one of whom is holding a wand of some sort in his hand. Abdullah's companion appears to be the one in charge, telling the men to "Wait for the others to get into position."</p><p></p><p>Ruby spots Lawarence moving close to the bottom part of the stage in the direction of the staff simultaneous to the Priest reaching that same edge of the stage, where he could retrieve it by jumping off. “Ooohh, get it Laurence!" Ruby claps, rooting for her friend even though she doesn't know why. She quickly reloads the gun, in case he doesn't make it and has an altercation with the priest. Lawrence grabs the staff just as Abdullah jumps from the stage and grabs the other end of it. Ruby grits her teeth. "Darn it! George wants that staff and I don't know why. I feel so helpless up here! I don't want to accidentally shoot Lawrence." Mina interjects. "Why didn't you say so Ruby, I can help you with that." </p><p></p><p>The older redhead stepped up to the edge of the building and spoke some mystical words Ruby had often heard her friend Katherine speak. A spark of light shot from her hand and shot down directly to the priest hands. The magical bolts strike the man's hands, causing him to temporarily release the staff. Rather than try for it again, he steps back against the stage (giving him partial cover) and reaches inside his robe.</p><p></p><p>Lawrence stumbles back, when the priest releases the staff. He spins in a crouch, looking for a way through the crowd. Unfortunately the crowd has very much thinned out by this time. The man draws a revolver and points it at Lawrence, stating "Give me back my staff if you want to live." Lawrence's mind races. He swallows and puts his faith in Ruby. "Hermes, don't let me down." He slowly stands as if surrendering. Then he spins and bolts down the street with the staff away from the others. </p><p></p><p>George had filtered up to the group. As Lawrence bolts, George gives chase to the priest. The Priest does draw and prepare to fire. George fires but misses, but the shot draws the attention of other armed followers of Abdullah. Above, Ruby sees this also. </p><p></p><p>Ruby shakes her head. "George didn't do that very sneakily Nana, we may end up having to go down, though I think our position up here gives up an advantage." Ruby keeps a close eye on the action and keeps her gun trained, ready to fire. "Nana, be ready over here to fire off another missile if we need it. Things are getting crazy down there for Larry and George and, well, everyone.” Abdullah's Priest takes aim at Lawrence. Ruby curses then aims carefully. "I'm sure this won't kill him, he's obviously powerful but hopefully it'll knock him off balance." </p><p></p><p>Ruby shoots at the priest. The shot is on target and the man falls. This has the advantage of Lawrence being able to slip successfully away with the staff. However, the downside is that the group of nine men who had spotted George 80 feet away from them now believe that he was the one who shot the priest. Three of those men draw revolvers as another two reach for rifles on their backs. The remaining four run in the direction of the priest.</p><p></p><p>Lawrence ducks as the shots fly over his head. He runs as fast as he can, weaving to make targeting him harder. When he can, he slides around the nearest corner to catch his breath. Once he's sure that no one is following him, he pats himself for bullet holes. "That was a close one. I better get back to the others. I hope Hardin got away." Then he hunches over and hobbles away, using the staff as a walking stick.</p><p></p><p>George backs away from the men with his gun drawn as he makes an arcane gesture with his left hand as he incants "Somunos, sominum, sominiferum" (Casting a sleep spell on the men with guns drawn). Three of the men fall asleep and to the ground. One with a revolver and another drawing his rifle remain standing. "No!" Ruby shoots at the man with the pistol. "Nana, can you get the one drawing??" Mina replies, "No, I am unarmed," as Ruby hits the other man in the shoulder, causing him to drop his revolver.</p><p></p><p>George sees the other man start to point the rifle in his direction. George, with a drawn gun already fires off a snap shot aiming for the man's arm or shoulder. George's shot misses, but does cause the man to duck down, delaying a short back. George rushes up to the man and tries to wrestle the gun away from him.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 6424867, member: 8530"] Chapter 79, “Ra is Displeased” September 11, 1882, 12:30P.M. Ruby leads them closer to the three main targets, the men her grandmother had pointed out. She focuses all her energy on the two in the back, trying to ascertain what they are thinking. She manages to move until she is barely within range of the spell. She is unable to read the thoughts from the High Priest. One of the men notices her and she is able to read his thoughts, with him thinking she is a "British Spy" and wondering if he is should have her apprehended. He then thinks that he should ask Abdullah that very question and softly speaks to his companion. Hearing the man's thoughts as he speaks to his companion, the other one is Abdullah, who glances in Ruby's direction when his attention is called to her. Ruby immediately looks away. She grasps her grandmothers hand tighter, nods that she got what she wanted, then turns and fights the crowd, moving in the opposite direction. The parting thoughts from the man are his confirmation that she and her companion are indeed British spies, due to their quick departure once spotted. Ruby waits to return to the men carrying the guns until she knows she is not being followed. Nobody from the crowd appears to follow. At this point the food vendors have arrived and are drawing crowds around their carts. Ruby takes a quick check of the surrounding buildings to get an idea of which would be best for their mission. They decide on one that is a little further back but higher, in order to minimize the chance of hitting any innocents. Mina, Ruby and the four soldiers enter through the back and go up the four staircases to the roof. George notes that Ruby and Mina are in position on the roof. Callum says, "I see some people who I need to speak to." He gestures over to a building on the opposite side of the courtyard, some 300 feet away. Abby notes that he is pointing to a trio comprised of an older bearded man in Egyptian clothing standing next to a pair of young Egyptian boys. Upon closer examination she recognizes one of the children as the disguised young Henry Jones, last seen by her in Tanis. "I'd guess he wouldn't have stayed behind even if you asked him to?" Abby said and smiled. "Let's go see what he has to say." She started moving in that direction, but indirectly, making it look like they just end up in that area. As they near that area the trio move further back and down a side street, away from any prying eyes and ears. A black cat is keeping pace with the two boys. Upon arrival the older man, who appears to be in his early-mid-fifties, states to Callum in an American Bostonian accent "Cal, is this your Abigail?" Callum smiles and replies, "She's Abigail Marsters, only time will tell if she is mine or not." He turns to her and says, "Abby, these are three associates of mine, in the same line of work. You've already met Henry Jones. His companion is also named Henry, Henry Jekyll to be precise. And my other friend (gesturing to the older man) is Mr. Maurice Boujoulais, we have known one another for over a decade." He then tells the trio, "She can be trusted, I no longer keep any secrets from her, you are free to speak." Maurice says, "We successfully found The Armide in a hidden cove near Herakleion, a coastal town fifteen miles northeast of Alexandria. The French have a team of six wizards guarding her." Callum turns to Abby and says, "The Armide is an armored three-mast French Battleship built fifteen years ago. The wizard group purchased it from the French Government earlier this year, then made magical modifications to triple its cruising speed from 12 to 36 knots. It is where they are currently storing all of the Egyptian treasure given to them to hold by the Princess back in Zakazik." The other lad, dressed as a beggar boy, interjects with a London accent "Mr. Stuart, things appear to be quite serious here. The man with Abdulla el Said and the Horus High Priest is not going to back down. He is a powerful Sheik and now that he has moved against the King he has no choice but to see this through to the end. He is the one financing this uproar in Cairo. Each of his six sons are intermixed with the crowds and he has supplied each of them with a Wand of Fireballs." Callum replies, "Thank you Doctor." While they are speaking the black cat moves away from the boys and starts rubbing against Abby's leg. Abby leaned down to stroke the black cat rubbing against her leg. If the cat seems amenable, she'll pick it up to stroke it as she spoke to the others. If not she'll squat down to scratch it behind the ears. "Hello, lovely," she said quietly. The cat seems very happy to be in Abigail’s arms. The young man Henry Jekyll says, "Her name is Independent. I call her 'Indy' for short." She raised her voice and said, "The people I'm with, we're trying to get the less dedicated to leave. Cal and I just spread a rumor about a run on the rice storages and about 1 in 10 of the people left. We're providing those food carts there with free food. A couple other things will happen pretty shortly that will hopefully scare off some more. But we never expected to actually stop this battle. We're just hoping to get most of the folk being used as pawns out of the way. But Wands of Fireball? That scares me. That's an entire city burned down.” Maurice says, "We believe the goal is to attack the palace, not the city itself, although you are right about the danger of fire in a mostly wooden city." What was the purpose of finding the Armide? Hoping to use it for leverage somehow?" Callum says, "If the French plans start to fall apart they might be tempted to just take the money and run. That would complicate a peaceful settlement afterwards, given that the Princess and General Orabi both consented to the French taking the treasure. So we plan to prevent the ship from leaving Egyptian waters, even if we have to sink it." She looked askance at Cal and added, "And I think we need to talk after this is all over." He nods but does not speak a reply. Abby says, "Alright. I need to get word to my people about what you've just told us. We knew that Abdullah was being riled up by someone. We thought it was a faction of the French. In all likelihood, it still is, just working with the Sheikh. Ugh, I hate politics. It gets complicated fast. Do you young gentlemen know what these sons look like? We'll need to get them out of play somehow, or at least get those wands away from them," she finished, still rubbing the cat behind her ears. Maurice says, "The Doctor and I do, Mr. Jones just arrived shortly, after the boys had departed from their father. As to taking them out of play, I do have enough sleep powder to temporarily stop two of them, but it would hard to use it while they are with a crowd." Abby says, "I have some friends and I can cast at least one sleep spell myself. Right now I just want to make sure my friends all know who the men with the wands are. They can each take care of one in whatever way works for them. But I think we're getting short on time. Unless there's more to tell, Cal and I should get moving." She leaned down to put the black cat back down. "It was lovely, Indy," she said with a final stroke of the cat's fur. Mina stands behind Ruby to shield her as she mutters and gestures to call forth her illusion. As she gestures as blazing sun appears over the palace in a dazzling burst of light. It burns brightly for a moment then zooms over the crowd before returning to its starting place over the palace gates. There the sun slowly has a twin grow next to it as the original sun becomes the left eye of the great Ra. The head of Ra looks down upon the crowd, undeniable anger and displeasure on it. The illusion has the desired initial effect, as the crowds begin to panic and disperse. The Horus High Priest casts a spell of some sort. He then lifts up his staff in the direction of the illusion and begins to chant something in an ancient Egyptian language. George was expecting this and rapidly cast a quick little spell to disrupt the priest. The Priest finds himself on the receiving end of a deluge, which washes him to the floor of the stage. He does manage to hold onto his staff. Callum and Abby return to the main square. She notices that the cat Indy has gone with them, following at their heels. They arrive at the crowds just as Mina's illusion begins, followed by George's water attack on the priest. Abby paused to stare at the illusion for a moment. "That is good." She chuckled as the water fell onto the priest. "Keep your eyes out for any of our people. Otherwise I'm heading back to the office to find Sabah. She should be able to help disarm the men with the wands." "You'll like her, Indy," she said casually to the little black cat following behind. "She's a Priestess of Bast." Mina casts mage hand and uses it to lift the priest's robe up and over his head just as he tries to get up. So blinded the priest falls over again. Hardin calls out in Arabic "Look! The Priest has displeased Ra! He suffers now for it! We have been led to destruction. Run and hide while you still can!" The crowds run quicker now, knocking over two of the five food pushcarts in the process. Around a quarter of the 200 or so men with weapons clustered closer to the Palace also flee, but the others hold fast. On the nearby rooftop Ruby notices the disguised Abby and Callum come out of a back alley and head back in the direction of where the soldiers are keeping their horses. Her gaze then shifts back to the stage as Abdullah and the man whose mind she read both jump from the stage together, leaving the priest alone. The two rush off in the direction of the closest group of armed Egyptian men nearest them. "I think I've been adopted," Abby said with a smile as she settled the cat on the saddle in front of her. She got the horse started and rode to the office, looking for any of her others friends along the way. On the rooftop, Ruby says, "Well, if Abdullah leaves, his followers should follow him, right Nana? That might thin the crowd out alone. And I've just been thinking, if he's as much of a coward as I think he is, if I just shoot a couple of warning shots off it should scare a good group of the crowd, and possibly him, away. Mina says, "That would probably work, but too many shots will draw their attention to where we are." Ruby says, “We have to be careful now they think we're British spies. Though I think you may have actually BEEN a British spy Nana I don't want to open up THAT can of worms today." Mina says, "Oh no, I've never been a spy for the British, only the Americans. But I did help to save a British ship back during the Opium Wars, that's why they owe me a favor, which General Woolsley will be sure to recognize." Ruby says, "I was thinking one, maybe two shots. I don't exactly relish the thought of possibly killing a man, even if he is crazy. Though I won't hesitate if I have to, to save the innocent people here." Ruby pauses and looks up at the clear sky. "It's so beautiful here. I wish I really had time to enjoy it. Somehow, things always seem to get a bit crazy. You've been through so much Nana, seems like I always get myself in trouble, just like you!" She watched Abdullah and his companion try to slink away. "I'd better get that shot off now so Abdullah thinks it's meant for him." Ruby gets low on the roof and aims for a deserted area of the city. She waves for her grandmother to get low to be unseen. Once she is out of sight, Ruby takes aim at some large bags of rice resting on a nearby rooftop. She shoots and the sound of the shot seems to echo off every building wall around them. "Wow, that was even louder than I thought it would be," Ruby says, peeking over the ledge to see if she can catch a glimpse of Abdullah running off. Abdullah and his companion do indeed scurry away, along with a small group of a dozen armed men. Given that the palace guards are still shooting at them nobody takes any extra notice that the shot came from a different direction. "Well, duh. Guess we should have figured that, huh?" From the roof Ruby keeps an eye on Abdullah and watches where he and his cronies go. They find good cover from the Palace guards, which also leaves them totally vulnerable from behind, which includes the top of the building that Ruby and Mina are on. Meanwhile, the soggy Priest has regained his footing and successfully dispels the "Ra" illusion with his staff. By now all but the 150 most loyal of the followers have fled, and those are spread out in clusters ranging from 6 to 20, continuing to fire at the palace guard. George casts the spell message. A gentle zephyr whirls away and whispers in Ruby's ear "If you can shoot the priest's staff and break it" "Is he crazy??" Ruby laughs. "Nana did you hear that? George wants me to shoot the priests staff!" Ruby shakes her head back and forth and ponders. "I suppose it's not much different than the targets Jake used to make me practice with back home. And Jake would never hesitate to try to shoot it if it was necessary. I'd like to know why but I guess we don't have time for that. Plus we have the advantage, they'll never know the shot came from up here with all the shooting going on down there. Stay down Nana I don't want anyone seeing you up here." Ruby lays as flat as she can to steady herself and the gun. She waits until she has a good line of sight on the staff with no one standing behind it and she takes the shot, aiming to break the staff. The bullet strikes the staff with such force that it flies from the Priest's hand, going off of the stage and landing on the ground. The staff appears to still be solid, not being broken by the bullet strike. Lawrence sees the priest get doused with water from the heavens. He hides a smile as he slides through the crowd back to the stage. He ducks when Ruby's shot disarms the priest. He whispers to Hardin, "Watch my back. I see an opportunity." The acquisitions expert scrambles on the ground for the staff while the crowd scatters. Ruby exclaims, "Darn it! It must be magical because I hit it true, what a shot! We can't just run down and fetch it, we'll never get there in time, plus they already think we're spies. Maybe George is nearby and he'll run in and snatch it up!" She scans the crowd for any of her group. She does not see George. She does see the Priest stand back up and run to the side of the stage that the staff flew off from. Meanwhile, George drifts through the remaining crowd in his disguise trying to make his way to Abdullah. Maybe if he could get a word to Abdullah he could stop some of this. George reaches the area where Abdullah and his companion are clustered with a dozen armed men, one of whom is holding a wand of some sort in his hand. Abdullah's companion appears to be the one in charge, telling the men to "Wait for the others to get into position." Ruby spots Lawarence moving close to the bottom part of the stage in the direction of the staff simultaneous to the Priest reaching that same edge of the stage, where he could retrieve it by jumping off. “Ooohh, get it Laurence!" Ruby claps, rooting for her friend even though she doesn't know why. She quickly reloads the gun, in case he doesn't make it and has an altercation with the priest. Lawrence grabs the staff just as Abdullah jumps from the stage and grabs the other end of it. Ruby grits her teeth. "Darn it! George wants that staff and I don't know why. I feel so helpless up here! I don't want to accidentally shoot Lawrence." Mina interjects. "Why didn't you say so Ruby, I can help you with that." The older redhead stepped up to the edge of the building and spoke some mystical words Ruby had often heard her friend Katherine speak. A spark of light shot from her hand and shot down directly to the priest hands. The magical bolts strike the man's hands, causing him to temporarily release the staff. Rather than try for it again, he steps back against the stage (giving him partial cover) and reaches inside his robe. Lawrence stumbles back, when the priest releases the staff. He spins in a crouch, looking for a way through the crowd. Unfortunately the crowd has very much thinned out by this time. The man draws a revolver and points it at Lawrence, stating "Give me back my staff if you want to live." Lawrence's mind races. He swallows and puts his faith in Ruby. "Hermes, don't let me down." He slowly stands as if surrendering. Then he spins and bolts down the street with the staff away from the others. George had filtered up to the group. As Lawrence bolts, George gives chase to the priest. The Priest does draw and prepare to fire. George fires but misses, but the shot draws the attention of other armed followers of Abdullah. Above, Ruby sees this also. Ruby shakes her head. "George didn't do that very sneakily Nana, we may end up having to go down, though I think our position up here gives up an advantage." Ruby keeps a close eye on the action and keeps her gun trained, ready to fire. "Nana, be ready over here to fire off another missile if we need it. Things are getting crazy down there for Larry and George and, well, everyone.” Abdullah's Priest takes aim at Lawrence. Ruby curses then aims carefully. "I'm sure this won't kill him, he's obviously powerful but hopefully it'll knock him off balance." Ruby shoots at the priest. The shot is on target and the man falls. This has the advantage of Lawrence being able to slip successfully away with the staff. However, the downside is that the group of nine men who had spotted George 80 feet away from them now believe that he was the one who shot the priest. Three of those men draw revolvers as another two reach for rifles on their backs. The remaining four run in the direction of the priest. Lawrence ducks as the shots fly over his head. He runs as fast as he can, weaving to make targeting him harder. When he can, he slides around the nearest corner to catch his breath. Once he's sure that no one is following him, he pats himself for bullet holes. "That was a close one. I better get back to the others. I hope Hardin got away." Then he hunches over and hobbles away, using the staff as a walking stick. George backs away from the men with his gun drawn as he makes an arcane gesture with his left hand as he incants "Somunos, sominum, sominiferum" (Casting a sleep spell on the men with guns drawn). Three of the men fall asleep and to the ground. One with a revolver and another drawing his rifle remain standing. "No!" Ruby shoots at the man with the pistol. "Nana, can you get the one drawing??" Mina replies, "No, I am unarmed," as Ruby hits the other man in the shoulder, causing him to drop his revolver. George sees the other man start to point the rifle in his direction. George, with a drawn gun already fires off a snap shot aiming for the man's arm or shoulder. George's shot misses, but does cause the man to duck down, delaying a short back. George rushes up to the man and tries to wrestle the gun away from him. [/QUOTE]
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AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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