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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: 6899147" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter 92, “We'll make this stuff up as we go." September 11, 1882, 10:30PM. </strong></p><p></p><p>Staying low and moving quickly, the five of them manage to get across the distance without being seen. Looking under the canvas they now see the interior of the pyramid, which primarily is a large room approximately sixty-foot-square with a twenty-foot high ceiling and nine stone supports beams situated in the room each 15 feet from the wall and next beams (the beams hold up the upper part of the pyramid). </p><p></p><p>The interior of the pyramid has approximately seventy-five people, with the King and Queen both present, as well as many of the French. Among the people in the room are approximately 20 guards (15 human, 5 ogre) as well as around 20 priests and acolytes attired in robes, nearly identical to those which Sabah provided that the party are now wearing. "I wonder if the Princess is here," Ruby whispers. "I don't see her yet.” A quick look at the people present do not reveal either the Princess or General Orabi to be in attendance yet.</p><p></p><p>Ruby says, “Good thing we have these clothes, we can blend in. Should we split up or try to stick together?" "Let's stick together, and mingle as a group. We can mill around the edges, keep your hoods up and look devout" adds George with a grin. Walking around, nobody questions them although one of the real priests inside the pyramid does eye Ruby a little suspiciously for a few minutes. They spot four of the French who had been in the Palace in Cairo the previous day, specifically the former Empress of France Eugenia de Guzman, Victor Duruy, Edgar Degas, and Jean Faure. This quartet is staying close to where the King and Queen are at.</p><p></p><p>Ruby nods, "Okay, let's mingle. The Princess mentioned a private chamber, this may be that room. We should also keep a lookout for any French spies or intruders who may wish to disrupt the peace treaty." The group, as casually as they can, slips into the other groups of priests, trying not to engage anyone specifically. George and Ruby soon see that towards the very back of the room are the elder French wizards Louis Daguerre and Michel Chevreuel. Dagurerre looks nervous and checks his watch.</p><p></p><p>George moves to stay within earshot of Daguerre to see if he can overhear anything. George directs Ruby to covertly watch the priest who watched her with suspicion. It takes around fifteen minutes for George to piece together snippets of the conversation. They are apparently waiting for the arrival of the other dirigible with the Princess and General. It was apparently expected to be here a short while ago. </p><p></p><p>Ruby pulls up her hood around her red hair a little tighter before slowly moving closer to the group in the front of the room and trying to listen in to their conversation. Luckily she had spent many a lesson with her friend Katherine back home in Promise City learning how to speak French. Of course, she always thought it would be useful for her singing, it never occurred to her she's be using it for eavesdropping on the former Empress of France. Ruby hears that they are anxiously waiting the arrival of the Princess and her husband. Victor Duruy is confident that they will be able to bring a speedy end to the war, that getting the King and General together in the same room will be a chance to finally air their differences. </p><p></p><p>Ruby observes as the Priest looks around the room and then exits the pyramid. George motions Ruby to follow him. Ruby gives a nod of her head, acknowledging George then makes her way across the room to meet up with him. "Yes that one disappeared out. Perhaps he knows why the Princess is not here yet? Let's go find out." The two leave to follow the priest out of the temple. The Priest has joined up with another and is asking the other man if he knows why any followers of Bast would be present. The other replies that he is unaware of any having been invited, although he says that since the Princess was in Bast's city she may have ordered some to be in attendance. </p><p></p><p>Up to this point they had perceived all of the priestly robes to be identical. Upon closer examination of their garments, compared to the others, George now notes that there is a slight difference in the pattern of the silver threading on the sleeves. The two priests talking together have slightly different patterns as well. Ruby gives a nod of her head, acknowledging George then makes her way across the room to meet up with him. "Yes that one disappeared out. Perhaps he knows why the Princess is not here yet? Let's go find out."</p><p></p><p>George stays hidden in the shadows as he continues to listen, making sure their ruse continues undiscovered. One of the priests gestures upward. Three sphynx simultaneously take to the sky, one departing from each of the larger pyramids. They are flying upward. George watches the sphinx. "Um, that doesn't look good," Ruby whispers. "But what are we going to do against three of those? Maybe they are going to escort the Princess back here. They should be protecting her, right?"</p><p></p><p>"In theory yes, the priesthood I would think has not been influenced by the French. I want to see what the Sphinx are doing, but our job here is to ensure the continuation of the truce. It may fall to you and I to be Orabi's silent partners here and make sure the treaty is signed." muses George. Ruby stares at George long, unspeaking. Finally, "And how are WE going to do THAT?" "Well, we will use the tried and true method of Miss Constance West. We'll make this stuff up as we go." replied George with a smile.</p><p></p><p>Ruby tries to keep a straight face but a grin breaks out anyway. "I can't argue with that. Yet I hope it doesn't come to that. It will be hard trying to convince someone who it seems like mere hours ago locked me in jail and considered the death penalty to listen to what I have to say. It would have to be my greatest acting feat ever." The trio of sphynx fly off to the northeast. With the moon shining on the golden sections of their bodies it is easy to track their movement. They fly for nearly a mile and them stop and hover at a point over 1000 feet above the ground. Ruby says, "I sure hope that isn't our friends. I thought they were going to follow us as we went and I hope they did..."</p><p></p><p>Ruby comments after a long pause. "I sure hope the Princess shows up." George studies where the sphinx are hovering and estimating what may be there. "Get ready Ruby, we may need to have these priests not report something" whispers George. A distant shape soon becomes visible as the dirigble. It flies over the community of Gizah as the three sphynx fly towards it. The two smaller female sphynx each take up a position on either side of the gondola, still keeping a forty foot distance from the craft . The male sphynx flies before it, escorting it towards the pyramids.</p><p></p><p>George watches with relief as the sphinx take up escort positions. He waits with Ruby as the dirigible nears. "Ruby I think we should head out to greet the dirigible, hopefully you can signal the princess that you are here so she knows she has some allies present?" suggests George. Ruby replies, "I don't really know how I can signal her while she is up in the sky. I am sure she will look for us when she is landed. We don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves and get ourselves arrested before negotiations even begin. If there is a way I can signal her once she is landed I will. Let's just keep watching and see where they land."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, that is what I meant, be there to greet her as she lands. Though I do suppose I could try to send her a message with a spell" suggests George. She answers, "No, save your spells . I have a feeling we will need them." Ruby and George track the dirigible as it lands and if it's safe they will try to be in the landing area. The dirigible begins to get closer and starts to lower in altitude. They continue to stay close but not draw attention to themselves as the dirigible gets closer, intending to get the Princesses or the General's attention if either exits the ship once it lands. Lawrence hangs around the party to keep an eye on the French. He thinks, "Those shifty bastards look nervous about something."</p><p></p><p>The dirigible lowers in elevation and nears. As it gets closer they see that cables have been extended out from the gondola and that each of the sphynx flying on either side the gondola are holding the end of the cables. Circumnavigating around the three pyramids, the dirigible lands on the plain immediately below the Great Pyramid and the small pyramid that the King is currently at. The two sphynx hold the cables while most of the guards and servants under the awning head out to assist with the ropes.</p><p></p><p>The dirigible is secured and several guards take up position by the ramp moved up to the door. The guards take up position by the foot of the ramp and the first to exit the gondola are two ogre guards. Next to exit are two pair of Frenchmen coming off side-by-side. The first two are the elderly Jacquard beside another man who looks nearly as old, who the party has not met yet. Behind them are the diplomat Passy walking beside the archaeologist Champollion. Ruby let out a sigh and caught George's eye. "Of course there would be more," she whispered. "And them." They stayed hidden within the group.</p><p></p><p>Instead of following Ruby and George inside, Abby had hidden herself in the shadows outside. Someone had to keep eyes and ears on what was going on out here, and she suspected not everyone had arrived yet. She'd also hoped to spot Cal and his group again. When Ruby and George came back outside she detached herself from the shadows and casually made her way toward them. "All quiet out here so far," she said softly as the dirigible made it's way down. "Inside?"</p><p></p><p>The next pair to exit the dirigible gondola are Princess Neferka and her husband General Ahmed Orabi. Behind them are two more Frenchmen, who the party only met once during the initial dinner when Orabi first arrived at Zakazik. They are two of the six French assigned to the team to accompany Orabi in the field, these two being that group's leader Baron Gaspard Gouraud, who had been Napoleon Bonaparte's friend and biographer, and Hippolyte Adolphe Taine, an accomplished writer and vocal critic of war. </p><p></p><p>Ruby says to George, "There they are. They will be hard to get to, though probably harder once they get inside." Ruby glances at the dirigible. "It looks like that will be easy enough to get off the ground on this side but I don't think those Sphinx will exactly let us fly off with it once in the air. But for now we need to let the Princess now we are here. Let's go." Ruby begins walking through the crowd towards the Princess getting closer, looking for a spot she can take advantage of. </p><p></p><p>Once they are all off it appears that the dirigible gondola is now empty except for two men working inside at the controls. One has his back to the group but appears to be the French designer of the craft, Giffard. The other is attired as a pilot, although he is a different man than the one who piloted this craft before. The ten who exited remain in double-file rows and are led by the ogres in front through the area with the canvas tarp, with people partying to make way for them. </p><p></p><p>As the royals approach the pyramid Orabi says "Halt. I require further assurances of my safety before I enter this structure." Ruby moves closer but still stays a distance, she wants to see what will happen. But before they go inside the tent she will make her move to the Princess. A young man in his twenties soon exits the pyramid. From appearances, he seems to be one of Neferka's brothers. He tells Orabi, "The King cannot exit this pyramid, it would not be safe outside with the rebels from Cairo seeking to kill him. The truce stated to you is in effect and will be until midnight." Orabi says, "Very well Seneb, I trust the word of the crown prince." He turns to Gouraud and asks "The present time?" The Baron takes out a pocketwatch and says, "General, it is now 10:45PM" Orabi says, "Very well, we will stay for no more than one hour." The ten enter the pyramid. The crowds follow. </p><p></p><p>Ruby keeps her head down and approaches the group on the Princesses side, getting in front of the group. She stays towards the back of the tent but finds a small spare box to stand on. She stands on it but not above the crowd until the Princess is looking her way. Once the Princess looks her way, Ruby stands taller and pulls the hood partially off her head, revealing her red locks. She tries to make eye contact with the Princess to get confirmation that she has seen her. </p><p></p><p>Abby moved with the crowd, blending in and staying off to Ruby's side. When Ruby climbed up, she moved off to the right where she could see both her teammate and the Princess and observed. Ruby leans over to George. "We can only hope they know we're here." George sighs "I am not sure, we have to wait and watch. My confidence derives from the knowledge that the queen of improvisation, Ruby West is at my side." says George with a little smile. "You know, I'm mostly good getting me INTO trouble, not getting us OUT of trouble," she laughs. She locks eyes with Abby to acknowledge her position. Ruby steps down and recovers her fiery locks. "The question is, what do we do when stuff - the French plan - goes crazy. Do we know?" All they could do was wait.</p><p></p><p>The Princess and General do not take their eyes off of the King and Queen. Baron Gouraud moves to Orabi's right while Passy takes position on the Princess's left. Taine and Campollion fall in behind the Princess and her husband, so the French have essentially surrounded the young couple on three sides, with the two ogre guards flanking them as well. Jacquard and his companion head over to the far corner, joining Daguerre and Chevreul. </p><p></p><p>George whispers into his sleeve, casting "message" to General Orabi and saying in Arabic "You have hidden allies here to keep you safe. At least some of the French are not working for peace." The General looks noticeably shaken. For the first time since his arrival he takes his eyes off the royal family and begins to glance around the room. </p><p></p><p>The next fifteen minutes pass with Neferka and her mother the Queen doing almost all of the talking. Most of it is superficial, about wedding details and various small talk. The King finally steps forward. Looking first to his daughter he says. "Explain why you would marry this traitor, and do so without my permission?" Neferka states, "He is not a traitor, he is my husband. Do not speak unkindly to either of us or we will take our leave." A long silence follows. </p><p></p><p>The Queen is the first to break the silence, saying to the King "Once again she proves that she is indeed her father's daughter. You raised her to be as decisive as you, and now fault her for doing so." He turns towards his wife and says, "Silence woman." Turning back towards Neferka he states, "Very well my daughter, I will rephrase my question. Why did you marry this man? Did he or our foreign guests coerce you in any way?" Neferka says, "Coerce, no sir. Influence perhaps, but I chose my husband primarily to bring peace again to Egypt. How can that be a wrong decision?" </p><p></p><p>Ruby's body tenses. She watches the Frenchmen closely as the proceedings begin. She motions to her companions to move a little closer to the front of the room, where all the main players are and for all to be ready but is cut off off by an elder woman muttering in a language she doesn't speak. Luckily she has a lot of experience reading body language. She relaxes the best she can, takes George's hand and reads his body language, smiling if he does, nodding when he does, frowning when he does so it looks like she understands.</p><p></p><p>An older Egyptian woman attired in nice clothing who had been attending to one of Neferka's sisters breaks away from the royal family and heads over towards where Ruby and George are standing. George's eyes are on the king and queen, though he watches the approach of the woman from the corner of his eyes with indifference. Abby let Ruby and George keep their eyes on the main group and observed the woman walking toward them for a moment. She is trying to keep an eye out for any dangers in the room. </p><p></p><p>Ruby directs her vision to the main area so it looks like she is not paying great attention to the woman in front of them. The woman approaches the party and speaking very softly mutters in Arabic, "Priests and Priestesses of Bast, your presence is a welcomed sight. There is much tension in the room and the elder French possess the power to destroy everyone in the room should they desire too." Abby answered, just as softly, "We seek first, always peace. If that is not to be, we seek to protect all the Royal Family and the sovereignty of Egypt. The elder French will not find themselves unopposed should they choose to act without honor." </p><p></p><p>George still keeps his eyes on the action at the front but replies softly in Arabic "Thank you for the warning. Let the princess know her precious jewel of the west is here. We are here to insure peace for Egypt. Bast will protect her people." The woman replies, "I will let her know." </p><p></p><p>Before leaving the older woman leans over and whispers into Ruby's ear in English "The Mexican Fire Rod may soon be needed, my Golden Eagle." Ruby's breath caught in her chest and she had to catch herself from falling into the arms of the old woman, who had just identified herself to Ruby as in reality being her mentor, the Mexican wizard Manual Gonzalez. But she stayed strong and steeled herself. With a nod of her head in understanding she watches the woman walk away.</p><p></p><p>After the woman leaves George whispers the conversation to Ruby. Suddenly George was whispering in her ear. She whispers back. "I know who that is, someone very close to me. It's time for the very big guns. Literally. Things are about to get very bad and we must be ready. George, get into my pack and get the rod out and hide it in your robe so I have it ready when I need it." She slips her pack off her back. </p><p></p><p>Ruby motions for Abby and Lawrence to come to them. Once they are all together Ruby speaks quickly. "Trust me on this now, things are going to happen now and the time for talking is over. Prepare for battle the best you can." Lawrence says, "I was afraid of this. Battle is not something I look forward to. But prepare for the worst and hope for the best." He sighs and reaches into his pocket for his pistol. </p><p>Abby continued to watch, paying more attention to the other observers than the negotiations going on. Mentally, she noted the rifle, pistol, and sword secreted under the robe in case she should need them. Lastly, the fire rod, tied to her belt. George complies with Ruby's request and surreptitiously retrieves the Mexican fire rod and conceals it in his sleeve. </p><p></p><p>The Frenchmen Passy and Taine had held back, but once the discussion moved towards a negotiated peace they stepped forward and contributed to the conversation. With their guidance both Orabi and the King begin to negotiate terms of a truce. </p><p></p><p>The peace negotiations continue. The major terms to the peace treaty have been established. The General says that he will be departing with his bride as planned, and that since it will take time to prepare the treaty documents, that they follow the western custom and shake hands on these terms for the time being and sign the actual documents the next day at noon. The Kings consults with his Grand Vizer before agreeing to this. </p><p></p><p>The King returns from the consultation and says, "For the benefit of these Foreign diplomats who have helped with these consultations I will adhere to their custom." Orabi raises and extends his hand forward. George alone notes that while his thumb is up and index finger extended, his other three fingers are actually curved inward. George quickly casts detect magic to see if the general is under some kind of control or his hand is false or magical. George nudges Ruby and whisper "hand" as he nods in the generals direction. George notes a magical outline of what appears to be either a large revolver or a sawed-off shotgun in the hand that the General is now extending directly towards the King.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 6899147, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter 92, “We'll make this stuff up as we go." September 11, 1882, 10:30PM. [/B] Staying low and moving quickly, the five of them manage to get across the distance without being seen. Looking under the canvas they now see the interior of the pyramid, which primarily is a large room approximately sixty-foot-square with a twenty-foot high ceiling and nine stone supports beams situated in the room each 15 feet from the wall and next beams (the beams hold up the upper part of the pyramid). The interior of the pyramid has approximately seventy-five people, with the King and Queen both present, as well as many of the French. Among the people in the room are approximately 20 guards (15 human, 5 ogre) as well as around 20 priests and acolytes attired in robes, nearly identical to those which Sabah provided that the party are now wearing. "I wonder if the Princess is here," Ruby whispers. "I don't see her yet.” A quick look at the people present do not reveal either the Princess or General Orabi to be in attendance yet. Ruby says, “Good thing we have these clothes, we can blend in. Should we split up or try to stick together?" "Let's stick together, and mingle as a group. We can mill around the edges, keep your hoods up and look devout" adds George with a grin. Walking around, nobody questions them although one of the real priests inside the pyramid does eye Ruby a little suspiciously for a few minutes. They spot four of the French who had been in the Palace in Cairo the previous day, specifically the former Empress of France Eugenia de Guzman, Victor Duruy, Edgar Degas, and Jean Faure. This quartet is staying close to where the King and Queen are at. Ruby nods, "Okay, let's mingle. The Princess mentioned a private chamber, this may be that room. We should also keep a lookout for any French spies or intruders who may wish to disrupt the peace treaty." The group, as casually as they can, slips into the other groups of priests, trying not to engage anyone specifically. George and Ruby soon see that towards the very back of the room are the elder French wizards Louis Daguerre and Michel Chevreuel. Dagurerre looks nervous and checks his watch. George moves to stay within earshot of Daguerre to see if he can overhear anything. George directs Ruby to covertly watch the priest who watched her with suspicion. It takes around fifteen minutes for George to piece together snippets of the conversation. They are apparently waiting for the arrival of the other dirigible with the Princess and General. It was apparently expected to be here a short while ago. Ruby pulls up her hood around her red hair a little tighter before slowly moving closer to the group in the front of the room and trying to listen in to their conversation. Luckily she had spent many a lesson with her friend Katherine back home in Promise City learning how to speak French. Of course, she always thought it would be useful for her singing, it never occurred to her she's be using it for eavesdropping on the former Empress of France. Ruby hears that they are anxiously waiting the arrival of the Princess and her husband. Victor Duruy is confident that they will be able to bring a speedy end to the war, that getting the King and General together in the same room will be a chance to finally air their differences. Ruby observes as the Priest looks around the room and then exits the pyramid. George motions Ruby to follow him. Ruby gives a nod of her head, acknowledging George then makes her way across the room to meet up with him. "Yes that one disappeared out. Perhaps he knows why the Princess is not here yet? Let's go find out." The two leave to follow the priest out of the temple. The Priest has joined up with another and is asking the other man if he knows why any followers of Bast would be present. The other replies that he is unaware of any having been invited, although he says that since the Princess was in Bast's city she may have ordered some to be in attendance. Up to this point they had perceived all of the priestly robes to be identical. Upon closer examination of their garments, compared to the others, George now notes that there is a slight difference in the pattern of the silver threading on the sleeves. The two priests talking together have slightly different patterns as well. Ruby gives a nod of her head, acknowledging George then makes her way across the room to meet up with him. "Yes that one disappeared out. Perhaps he knows why the Princess is not here yet? Let's go find out." George stays hidden in the shadows as he continues to listen, making sure their ruse continues undiscovered. One of the priests gestures upward. Three sphynx simultaneously take to the sky, one departing from each of the larger pyramids. They are flying upward. George watches the sphinx. "Um, that doesn't look good," Ruby whispers. "But what are we going to do against three of those? Maybe they are going to escort the Princess back here. They should be protecting her, right?" "In theory yes, the priesthood I would think has not been influenced by the French. I want to see what the Sphinx are doing, but our job here is to ensure the continuation of the truce. It may fall to you and I to be Orabi's silent partners here and make sure the treaty is signed." muses George. Ruby stares at George long, unspeaking. Finally, "And how are WE going to do THAT?" "Well, we will use the tried and true method of Miss Constance West. We'll make this stuff up as we go." replied George with a smile. Ruby tries to keep a straight face but a grin breaks out anyway. "I can't argue with that. Yet I hope it doesn't come to that. It will be hard trying to convince someone who it seems like mere hours ago locked me in jail and considered the death penalty to listen to what I have to say. It would have to be my greatest acting feat ever." The trio of sphynx fly off to the northeast. With the moon shining on the golden sections of their bodies it is easy to track their movement. They fly for nearly a mile and them stop and hover at a point over 1000 feet above the ground. Ruby says, "I sure hope that isn't our friends. I thought they were going to follow us as we went and I hope they did..." Ruby comments after a long pause. "I sure hope the Princess shows up." George studies where the sphinx are hovering and estimating what may be there. "Get ready Ruby, we may need to have these priests not report something" whispers George. A distant shape soon becomes visible as the dirigble. It flies over the community of Gizah as the three sphynx fly towards it. The two smaller female sphynx each take up a position on either side of the gondola, still keeping a forty foot distance from the craft . The male sphynx flies before it, escorting it towards the pyramids. George watches with relief as the sphinx take up escort positions. He waits with Ruby as the dirigible nears. "Ruby I think we should head out to greet the dirigible, hopefully you can signal the princess that you are here so she knows she has some allies present?" suggests George. Ruby replies, "I don't really know how I can signal her while she is up in the sky. I am sure she will look for us when she is landed. We don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves and get ourselves arrested before negotiations even begin. If there is a way I can signal her once she is landed I will. Let's just keep watching and see where they land." "Yes, that is what I meant, be there to greet her as she lands. Though I do suppose I could try to send her a message with a spell" suggests George. She answers, "No, save your spells . I have a feeling we will need them." Ruby and George track the dirigible as it lands and if it's safe they will try to be in the landing area. The dirigible begins to get closer and starts to lower in altitude. They continue to stay close but not draw attention to themselves as the dirigible gets closer, intending to get the Princesses or the General's attention if either exits the ship once it lands. Lawrence hangs around the party to keep an eye on the French. He thinks, "Those shifty bastards look nervous about something." The dirigible lowers in elevation and nears. As it gets closer they see that cables have been extended out from the gondola and that each of the sphynx flying on either side the gondola are holding the end of the cables. Circumnavigating around the three pyramids, the dirigible lands on the plain immediately below the Great Pyramid and the small pyramid that the King is currently at. The two sphynx hold the cables while most of the guards and servants under the awning head out to assist with the ropes. The dirigible is secured and several guards take up position by the ramp moved up to the door. The guards take up position by the foot of the ramp and the first to exit the gondola are two ogre guards. Next to exit are two pair of Frenchmen coming off side-by-side. The first two are the elderly Jacquard beside another man who looks nearly as old, who the party has not met yet. Behind them are the diplomat Passy walking beside the archaeologist Champollion. Ruby let out a sigh and caught George's eye. "Of course there would be more," she whispered. "And them." They stayed hidden within the group. Instead of following Ruby and George inside, Abby had hidden herself in the shadows outside. Someone had to keep eyes and ears on what was going on out here, and she suspected not everyone had arrived yet. She'd also hoped to spot Cal and his group again. When Ruby and George came back outside she detached herself from the shadows and casually made her way toward them. "All quiet out here so far," she said softly as the dirigible made it's way down. "Inside?" The next pair to exit the dirigible gondola are Princess Neferka and her husband General Ahmed Orabi. Behind them are two more Frenchmen, who the party only met once during the initial dinner when Orabi first arrived at Zakazik. They are two of the six French assigned to the team to accompany Orabi in the field, these two being that group's leader Baron Gaspard Gouraud, who had been Napoleon Bonaparte's friend and biographer, and Hippolyte Adolphe Taine, an accomplished writer and vocal critic of war. Ruby says to George, "There they are. They will be hard to get to, though probably harder once they get inside." Ruby glances at the dirigible. "It looks like that will be easy enough to get off the ground on this side but I don't think those Sphinx will exactly let us fly off with it once in the air. But for now we need to let the Princess now we are here. Let's go." Ruby begins walking through the crowd towards the Princess getting closer, looking for a spot she can take advantage of. Once they are all off it appears that the dirigible gondola is now empty except for two men working inside at the controls. One has his back to the group but appears to be the French designer of the craft, Giffard. The other is attired as a pilot, although he is a different man than the one who piloted this craft before. The ten who exited remain in double-file rows and are led by the ogres in front through the area with the canvas tarp, with people partying to make way for them. As the royals approach the pyramid Orabi says "Halt. I require further assurances of my safety before I enter this structure." Ruby moves closer but still stays a distance, she wants to see what will happen. But before they go inside the tent she will make her move to the Princess. A young man in his twenties soon exits the pyramid. From appearances, he seems to be one of Neferka's brothers. He tells Orabi, "The King cannot exit this pyramid, it would not be safe outside with the rebels from Cairo seeking to kill him. The truce stated to you is in effect and will be until midnight." Orabi says, "Very well Seneb, I trust the word of the crown prince." He turns to Gouraud and asks "The present time?" The Baron takes out a pocketwatch and says, "General, it is now 10:45PM" Orabi says, "Very well, we will stay for no more than one hour." The ten enter the pyramid. The crowds follow. Ruby keeps her head down and approaches the group on the Princesses side, getting in front of the group. She stays towards the back of the tent but finds a small spare box to stand on. She stands on it but not above the crowd until the Princess is looking her way. Once the Princess looks her way, Ruby stands taller and pulls the hood partially off her head, revealing her red locks. She tries to make eye contact with the Princess to get confirmation that she has seen her. Abby moved with the crowd, blending in and staying off to Ruby's side. When Ruby climbed up, she moved off to the right where she could see both her teammate and the Princess and observed. Ruby leans over to George. "We can only hope they know we're here." George sighs "I am not sure, we have to wait and watch. My confidence derives from the knowledge that the queen of improvisation, Ruby West is at my side." says George with a little smile. "You know, I'm mostly good getting me INTO trouble, not getting us OUT of trouble," she laughs. She locks eyes with Abby to acknowledge her position. Ruby steps down and recovers her fiery locks. "The question is, what do we do when stuff - the French plan - goes crazy. Do we know?" All they could do was wait. The Princess and General do not take their eyes off of the King and Queen. Baron Gouraud moves to Orabi's right while Passy takes position on the Princess's left. Taine and Campollion fall in behind the Princess and her husband, so the French have essentially surrounded the young couple on three sides, with the two ogre guards flanking them as well. Jacquard and his companion head over to the far corner, joining Daguerre and Chevreul. George whispers into his sleeve, casting "message" to General Orabi and saying in Arabic "You have hidden allies here to keep you safe. At least some of the French are not working for peace." The General looks noticeably shaken. For the first time since his arrival he takes his eyes off the royal family and begins to glance around the room. The next fifteen minutes pass with Neferka and her mother the Queen doing almost all of the talking. Most of it is superficial, about wedding details and various small talk. The King finally steps forward. Looking first to his daughter he says. "Explain why you would marry this traitor, and do so without my permission?" Neferka states, "He is not a traitor, he is my husband. Do not speak unkindly to either of us or we will take our leave." A long silence follows. The Queen is the first to break the silence, saying to the King "Once again she proves that she is indeed her father's daughter. You raised her to be as decisive as you, and now fault her for doing so." He turns towards his wife and says, "Silence woman." Turning back towards Neferka he states, "Very well my daughter, I will rephrase my question. Why did you marry this man? Did he or our foreign guests coerce you in any way?" Neferka says, "Coerce, no sir. Influence perhaps, but I chose my husband primarily to bring peace again to Egypt. How can that be a wrong decision?" Ruby's body tenses. She watches the Frenchmen closely as the proceedings begin. She motions to her companions to move a little closer to the front of the room, where all the main players are and for all to be ready but is cut off off by an elder woman muttering in a language she doesn't speak. Luckily she has a lot of experience reading body language. She relaxes the best she can, takes George's hand and reads his body language, smiling if he does, nodding when he does, frowning when he does so it looks like she understands. An older Egyptian woman attired in nice clothing who had been attending to one of Neferka's sisters breaks away from the royal family and heads over towards where Ruby and George are standing. George's eyes are on the king and queen, though he watches the approach of the woman from the corner of his eyes with indifference. Abby let Ruby and George keep their eyes on the main group and observed the woman walking toward them for a moment. She is trying to keep an eye out for any dangers in the room. Ruby directs her vision to the main area so it looks like she is not paying great attention to the woman in front of them. The woman approaches the party and speaking very softly mutters in Arabic, "Priests and Priestesses of Bast, your presence is a welcomed sight. There is much tension in the room and the elder French possess the power to destroy everyone in the room should they desire too." Abby answered, just as softly, "We seek first, always peace. If that is not to be, we seek to protect all the Royal Family and the sovereignty of Egypt. The elder French will not find themselves unopposed should they choose to act without honor." George still keeps his eyes on the action at the front but replies softly in Arabic "Thank you for the warning. Let the princess know her precious jewel of the west is here. We are here to insure peace for Egypt. Bast will protect her people." The woman replies, "I will let her know." Before leaving the older woman leans over and whispers into Ruby's ear in English "The Mexican Fire Rod may soon be needed, my Golden Eagle." Ruby's breath caught in her chest and she had to catch herself from falling into the arms of the old woman, who had just identified herself to Ruby as in reality being her mentor, the Mexican wizard Manual Gonzalez. But she stayed strong and steeled herself. With a nod of her head in understanding she watches the woman walk away. After the woman leaves George whispers the conversation to Ruby. Suddenly George was whispering in her ear. She whispers back. "I know who that is, someone very close to me. It's time for the very big guns. Literally. Things are about to get very bad and we must be ready. George, get into my pack and get the rod out and hide it in your robe so I have it ready when I need it." She slips her pack off her back. Ruby motions for Abby and Lawrence to come to them. Once they are all together Ruby speaks quickly. "Trust me on this now, things are going to happen now and the time for talking is over. Prepare for battle the best you can." Lawrence says, "I was afraid of this. Battle is not something I look forward to. But prepare for the worst and hope for the best." He sighs and reaches into his pocket for his pistol. Abby continued to watch, paying more attention to the other observers than the negotiations going on. Mentally, she noted the rifle, pistol, and sword secreted under the robe in case she should need them. Lastly, the fire rod, tied to her belt. George complies with Ruby's request and surreptitiously retrieves the Mexican fire rod and conceals it in his sleeve. The Frenchmen Passy and Taine had held back, but once the discussion moved towards a negotiated peace they stepped forward and contributed to the conversation. With their guidance both Orabi and the King begin to negotiate terms of a truce. The peace negotiations continue. The major terms to the peace treaty have been established. The General says that he will be departing with his bride as planned, and that since it will take time to prepare the treaty documents, that they follow the western custom and shake hands on these terms for the time being and sign the actual documents the next day at noon. The Kings consults with his Grand Vizer before agreeing to this. The King returns from the consultation and says, "For the benefit of these Foreign diplomats who have helped with these consultations I will adhere to their custom." Orabi raises and extends his hand forward. George alone notes that while his thumb is up and index finger extended, his other three fingers are actually curved inward. George quickly casts detect magic to see if the general is under some kind of control or his hand is false or magical. George nudges Ruby and whisper "hand" as he nods in the generals direction. George notes a magical outline of what appears to be either a large revolver or a sawed-off shotgun in the hand that the General is now extending directly towards the King. [/QUOTE]
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AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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