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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 6960995" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter 112, "Prisoner Interrogation" , September 12, 1882, 9:45 AM. </strong></p><p></p><p>Fifteen minutes after the guards are dispatched they return to Barrister Sefu, and inform him and George that in the room where the fake General Orabi's body was being held they found a pair of unconscious and invisible men. The invisibility magic was dispelled and one of the men was recognized as Henri Moissan, a Frenchman who had been a member of the diplomatic group who were guests of the King in Cairo. The body of the fake Orabi was also gone. The two Frenchmen were woken up, but both denied knowing what happened to the body. The men are now under guard.</p><p></p><p>Shortly thereafter Lawrence attempts to enter the throne room and is aggressively stopped by guards who detect his invisibility. He is made visible by a "Detect Magic" spell and is being placed under arrest when George hears the commotion and intervenes. Lawrence tells George. "I stopped the French from getting rid of Meissonier's body. I moved it to another store room just in case. I saw that Dagurerre and most of the other Frenchmen have already been captured. I think the body is enough for leverage." George tells of the plan to have Lawrence inform Daguerre that the body was destroyed. Arrangements are made for the Frenchmen's guards to temporarily rotate to allow Lawrence access. </p><p></p><p>Lawrence goes out in search of Dagurerre. Upon finding the Frenchman, Lawrence says in French, "The job is done, Mister Dagurerre. I am still unsure why it had to be so. The others did not tell me." He looks around and adds, "I don't know where the other two are. We got separated. I thought they came back under their invisibility." Hands and feet tied, and with a gag over his mouth, Dagurerre is unable to respond. He moves in hands in Lawrence's direction, gesturing to be untied. However, the guards for this group of rooms begin to return in this direction, giving Lawrence an excuse to depart instead before being spotted. Lawrence slips out of the room and returns to the others.</p><p></p><p>Ruby is getting impatient and tells "This is ridiculous! Back home we could just threaten or beat someone until they told us what we wanted to know. All this dealing with wizards, it's so exhausting, we have to be so much more careful," she sighed. "If only we had our own wiz.." She stopped short, then stared pacing back and forth. She held up her hand, looking intently at it. Finally she looked up to the others. "I will disguise myself as the Princess, errr... Pharaoh, then go down and visit the prisoners and find out what they are thinking. I think if they see the Princess it will have them thinking more about their plots and schemes then if they just see me. What do you think?" She asked the group. "We have to do something." </p><p></p><p>George replies, "Before we do that, let us see what resources the crown has. Sefu, what do you have to extract info from these wizards? Obviously we have a laundry list of charges, and as they are French nationals, enough damning evidence to cause a diplomatic headache for Paris. Hell even if they were not sanctioned by Paris, there is enough to declare a legal war. That alone would not convince them though. I think they may need more personal, er persuasion. Whether by magical or physical means, we need to wrap up every loose end these French have left scattered about the country." This delays Ruby from leaving as yet.</p><p></p><p>George gestures to the Barrister who comes over to the party and George makes his request. Sefu replies, "I believe that from this point forward it is neither my decision or yours. Egypt now has a ruler." Mina interjects, "Barrister, ever since Bast relieved you of the responsibility of choosing the next Pharaoh you have avoided making decisions. I am under the impression that Queen Neferka's security is still your primary task. As such, any preliminary actions that we choose to take in regards to the French would still fall under your authority and jourisdiction. We can let her pass final judgment, but she does not need to conduct the investigation." </p><p></p><p>Watching Neferka continue to be greeting by the remaining Egyptian guests from the ceremony Ruby adds, "The Queen I'm sure is busy with all the new changes of her new position and also mourning the murder of her family. I feel confident she wants us to figure out the information we need for her to ultimately bring these men, or women, to justice. It probably would be easier, Sefu, if you had a someone who could cast some sort of truth spell." He says, "This is a temple dedicated to Bast. I am certain that one of the Priestesses here would know that spell." Ruby answers, "Excellent. Please have someone retrieve a priest who can cast the spell. Then we shall go and have a nice little conversation with the traitor." </p><p></p><p>After ten minutes Sefu returns accompanied by a middle-aged woman who introduces herself as Anneke. She says that she knows the spell, and is able to use it twice this day, so could be used on two recipients. George leads the group down to interrogate the wizards. They reach the lower level of the temple, where Egyptian guards have been posted. All of the French wizards are currently gagged, with the hands tied, but beyond that there appears to be different "levels" of supervision. </p><p></p><p>One room contains the five diplomats who had been visiting with the King in Cairo, consisting of the former French Empress Eugenia Maria de Montijo de Guzman, her contemporary and diplomatic team leader Victor Duruy, the opera singer Jean Baptiste Faure, the philosopher and historian Maximillien Paul Emile Littre, and the painter Edgar Degas. They are apparently considered low risk, have no restraints and minimal guard, and are seated on comfortable furniture with food and beverages available to them. </p><p></p><p>The next room has seven French under heavier guard, each with gags and also tied to solid wooden chairs with their hands a feet bound. They consist of the Egyptology expert Jean-Francois Champollion, the philosophyer Hippolyte Adolphe Taine, the diplomat Frederic Passy, the physicist Joseph Louis Gay-Luccac, the writer Prosper Merimee, the very elderly inventor Joseph-Marie Jacquard and historian Francois Pierre Guillaume Guizot who George has just delivered from the battle at Tel El Kabir. </p><p></p><p>The next room, under very heavy guard and also gagged and bound to much heavier chairs are the trio that Lawrence and Callum have just brought in from Heliopolis, consisting of the alchemists Henri Moissan and Charles Robert Richet and their ally Rene Belloq.</p><p></p><p>The fourth and final room, under the heaviest guard, are three men and a woman who are lying gagged on the stone floor with steel manacles on their wrists and ankles. The men consist of the pair that the Princess and Freya had brought in, the inventor Louis Jacques Mande Dagueree and the chemist Michel Eugne Chevreul, the third man is Napoleon Bonapare's friend Baron Gaspard Gouraud, who had previously been identified as the man who handed the fake Orabi the invisible gun used to assassinate the King. The woman is the actress Sarah Berhardt, who had been impersonating Princess Neferka.</p><p></p><p>Heading to the third room George approaches Belloq, he squats down beside him "So Rene, care to have a chat?" Ruby hurries after George, casting detect thoughts quietly outside the room before she enters. The bound a gagged man nods his head to the affirmative. George signals to Mina and Ruby. Mina moves behind Belloq and places a knife at his throat. "Merely a precaution of course Rene. Now where shall we start? How about the need to destroy the body?" asks George pulling down the gag. Bellocq replies "Body? What body are you talking about sir?" "The body of Meissonier of course" replies George.</p><p></p><p>After a long pause Bellocq says "Ah, the soldier told you that I gather." George replies, "Please answer the question Rene." He answers, "Very well sir. Both you and I have fallen victims to an insidious plot launched by a group of Germans known as The Asgardians. My colleague Jean-Louis Messionier was charmed by a Dwarven priest of these Asgardians named Gunther and forced to carry out acts made to incriminate us French ambassadors, who seek nothing more than a peaceful solution for Egypt." George says, "Interesting, a peaceful solution. is that why you cried out in Arabic when the French airship attacked the royal palace?" Bellocq replies, "There was considerable yelling from all parties while that attack took place. I recall that I did yell in Arabic for people to get away for their own safety." "Ok Rene. If you have no desire to be cooperative, we have no need to talk to you. Enjoy the scarabs." says George placing the gag back in Belloq's mouth. </p><p></p><p>Under the mind reading spell Ruby heard a whirl-wind of thoughts from the man, most of which concerned his trying to deduce what George might have known and where George might have heard it from. He was initially upset that George knew about Meissonier, and reflective of his comment to George, assumed that the soldier screwed up. The only two Asgardian names he knows are the woman Astrid and the dwarven cleric Gunther, which is why he used Gunther for his tale. In reality, he has no idea if Gunther is in Egypt or not. Ruby gives George a raised eyebrow and a nod to keep going.</p><p></p><p>George nods to Ruby. "Ok, Rene, if you won't be cooperative, we have other methods. Perhaps we should bring in the priest? Have him cast a spell that forces you to speak the truth? It might be the first time in your life you ever have" smiles George. With a condescending look, George makes sure Rene's gag is secure before gesturing to Mina and Ruby and leaving the room. Together they head to the fourth room. Ruby makes sure to keep concentrating so her spell will continue to work. They head to Daguerre first. </p><p></p><p>The guards pull Daguerre out of the room and into the corridor, so he is out of earshot of the other prisoners. George signals to Ruby that she is ready and He has Mina again get into position with a knife at the throat of Daguerre. "Bonjour Louis. Care to have a chat?" asks George pulling the gag down. Daguerre replies, "Oui, yes, absolutely! I welcome the opportunity Mr. Eastman to discuss this matter with somebody such as you who will view what has transpired with an open mind. Things have not been as they appeared." George says, "Enlighten me messier" </p><p></p><p>Daguerre says, "Very well sir. First of all, that German woman Astrid has been misleading you from the onset. She is affiliated with the Egyptian rebels who sought the death and destruction of the royal family. However, her real goal is to bring about the destruction of myself and my colleagues." (Ruby notes that he has been 100% truthful in believing what he has stated thus far). George asks, "And why would she align herself with the rebels and why would she seek your destruction?" He replies, "I do not know why the Asgardians joined the Egyptian rebellion, you would have to ask her yourself. Why they seek our destruction is a centuries old disagreement between her people and mine that has nothing to do with Egypt." (Ruby again notes that he is being truthful.) Ruby keeps nodding at George, a little surprised the Frenchman is being honest. </p><p></p><p>George asks, "And if the Asgardians are aligned with the rebels you were here to support the monarchy?" Daguerre continues "The Asgardian Astrid, she has been manipulating you and your friends into seeing us in a bad light." (again, truthful to this point). "It is her and her fellow Asgardians that are using the current chaos to falsely incriminate myself and my friends, making the royal family think that we were responsible for the king's death, when in reality it was the Asgardians. (and his truthful streak comes to a grinding halt with that last whopper!) "No sir, we are here seeking to support neither side." (truth) "We seek only to bring peace to Egypt" (not true). Ruby continues to shake her head in a wide no to that last statement. </p><p></p><p>George says, "Ok, well that puts my mind at ease. So it was Astrid who kidnapped the princess and Orabi and locked them up on YOUR ship.It was Astrid who forced Sarah to impersonate the princess, it was Astrid who made a doppelganger of Orabi and had him kill the king. That is quite an accomplishment for her." Daguerre replies, "Oh no sir, that is exactly what SHE wanted you to see. She did not personally kidnap the Princess and Orabi, her allies did, while she was with you. She held them not on our ship but on the Egyptian Royal Yacht. She brought you there only AFTER we had rescued them from the yacht and transferred them over to our ship." </p><p></p><p>Ruby detects his thoughts, and what he just spun is the exact opposite of what he had hoped to accomplish at the ships, planning to have George and his friends rescue Neferka and Orabi from the Royal Yacht to then incriminate the Asgardians. George says, "That doesn't explain Sarah" Daguerre answers, "In order to blame us, several of my less powerful wizards were mind-controlled by the Asgardians." </p><p></p><p>Ruby again shook her head no. She was enjoying listening to this yarn, though she was getting antsy not getting to threaten him herself. George says, "And French artillery targeting me? That was Asgardian mind control as well?" He says, "No, that was the chaos and confusion of a war. The Dreadnaught went to the palace to protect the Royal Family from the rebels." (Ruby detects that this thought is mostly true). George says, "Odd that in the middle of a cease fire, where no other troops were present, land based magical artillery targeted me, and from that location a French wizard was found." </p><p></p><p>Daguerre says, "I assumed you meant the attack on the palace, there was no cease fire between the royals and the rebels at that time. That is why we transported the King and his family from Cairo to Gizah. If you are talking about something else, I am not sure exactly what. Was this something that I was present at?" George answers, "Oh yes, you may yet learn of that, as to the dreadnaught, why was it that Bellocq was heard, his voice magically amplified, from the dreadnaught speaking in Egyptian, denouncing the royal family?" </p><p></p><p>Daguerre replies, "I do not know sir. At that point I was in Gizah. As to Bellocq, I barely know the man, he is an associate of my colleague Chevruel, not myself." (Ruby detects this response to be truthful.) George replies, "Fair enough. Tell me Louis, what card are you? And to whom to you report?" He replies, "I report to no one. I am the Ace of Hearts, and in theory all of the aces are equal, although each of us here in Egypt have our own area of expertise to which we take the lead. </p><p></p><p>Mr. Henri Gouraud is the Ace of Spades, the grouping that represents the Inventors and Explorers. He is in charge of the Egyptology services that we are providing, helping to protect and preserve Egypt's treasures that could potentially be damaged by this war. To maintain this he also supervises the use of our airship, to transport the various teams to the archaeological sites.</p><p></p><p>Mr. Michael Chevruel is the Ace of Clubs, the grouping that represents the scientists and mathematicians. He is in charge of security, ensuring that magical or scientific means are not being used to harm those who we seek to protect as well as members of our own group. Clearly he has not had much success in that area, particularly in our attempts to protect the Egyptian King. Mr. Victor Duruy is the Ace of Diamonds, the grouping represented by performers and politicians. He is in charge of diplomacy, trying to bring about a peaceful solution to this conflict. </p><p></p><p>My role as the Ace of Hearts, the grouping comprised of artists, mostly painters and sculptors, we have the roles of cartography and photography. It is probably the least important of the four main areas of responsibility, but one that as a photographer yourself you can appreciate the need for. Ruby notes that his responses appear to be primarily half-truths. His biggest untruths are at the beginning and end, where he says all Aces are equal and that his role is the least important, as his thoughts reveal that he is the ringleader of the group.</p><p></p><p>George replies, "Tell me then Louis, why if Freya's allies had kidnapped the princess, were French wizards spotted carrying her away and moreover, why once you had rescued her from the royal yacht, she and Orabi were still shackled?" He replies, "There had not been time yet to free them. You arrived within ten minutes of when we did the rescue. Since they were unconscious at the time, removing the shackles that the Asgardians had put on them did not appear to be the top priority. As to who carried her away, that was more misdirection, them using the charmed and disguised Sarah Bernhardt to incriminate us." </p><p></p><p>George says, "Well, Sarah was in our custody at that point and was not released." Dagureer says, "I think you are confused about the timeline Mr. Eastman. The Asgardians made her removal from Zakazik very visible with us to blame BEFORE they took her to Gizah. But I am not here to debate you sir, I am merely trying to point out to you that things are not what they appear to be."</p><p></p><p>"Ok, we will leave this to Ma'at." says George stuffing the gag back into his mouth. George signals for Louis to be returned to the cell. Ruby indicates that her spell is about to end. George turns to a soldier and says, "Go and fetch the high priest and Freya. We are getting to the bottom of this now." While they wait, Ruby fills in George on the truths and half-truths Louis uttered. </p><p></p><p>The two women are quickly brought to George's location. As the women come forward George says to Freya "The French are blaming you of course. Merely as part of a thorough investigation I will have the priest cast a zone of truth. I wish for you to be present to fully dispel any blame on your part before I further interrogate the French wizards. I would hope you will consent to this." "I concur," she states. A few questions follow that confirm that Freya has been truthful to them.</p><p></p><p>George also has Ruby re-cast her spell and gives her time to have it be in effect. He then signals to have Louis brought back out alone into the hallway. There he states "This priest is casting a zone of truth. The Asgardian is here and under the influence of the spell as well. We will resolve this situation very clearly." says George as the priest begins to cast the spell. Daguree says, "What is this Sir? I spoke to you Gentleman-to-Gentleman, and told you the express truth. I will NOT state anything about what I told you in the presence of the German murderer Astrid. She is once again manipulating you Mr. Eastman, and is more-likely-than-not, in collusion with this Priest that you mention." </p><p></p><p>Ruby walked around the prisoner, concentrating on his thoughts. However, she was growing bored with her passive role in these interrogations. She walked in front of him and stopped, peering down into his face. In a sweet voice she purred, "Poor Mr Daguree. So abused." She ran a finger across his cheek. "Do you recall, have we met before?" He says, "We met Miss West at the formal dinner after you arrived in Zakazik." She says, "And when we met, was it apparent what kind of skills I possess?" Daguerre says, "I believe that I heard that you were some sort of tavern singer." </p><p></p><p>George turns to Freya and whispers "Ah crap, he's in trouble now." Ruby replies, "Tavern singer? Really? Well, I suppose to the small minded that might be true." She walked another circle around him again. "It seems you haven't guessed my other skills. You and your friends aren't the only ones who possess the skills to manipulate magic. Now, perhaps you don't know that the Princess, well, now Queen, is one of my very good friends." </p><p></p><p>She stopped in front of him again and bent at the waist, getting in his face. "Now would be the best time to admit to any and all wrong doing. This is your last chance to come clean. I'm getting bored and have way better things to do with my time." She started to pace then, then stopped suddenly. "Though, I admit, you've already admitted all we really need to know. He says, "Woman, I do not know what you think, clearly this Astrid woman has you under some sort of charm. She's spun her lies to incriminate both me and my allies and you appear to have bought into those lies." </p><p></p><p>She says, "Oh no, it actually has nothing to do with her. You, yourself have told us all we need to know. While Freya has been working alongside of us, we have always had our own agenda. As she has hers. But trust me, Sir, I am under no control of hers. Also, she has already agreed to submit to questioning under the truth spell, while you refuse. Obviously another strike in your favor." Ruby stands up straight and steps away. "Guards, please return this man to the dungeon with the highest degree of security we have. He is the mastermind behind all these wizards and the plot to ruin Egypt." He resists but is soon subdued by the guards and returned to the room with his fellow prisoners. </p><p></p><p>Ruby says, "Alright friends, it is time to go see the Queen. Some of what he told George was true but definitely was thinking he pulled one over by trying to say all four aces are equal. In his mind, he is full on command. I am sure there are many other questions, we probably should have asked about his guilt in murdering the royal family. Hmm... should we go ask him about that?" Mina says, "He does not appear to be very forthcoming, I am not sure how fruitful further discuss with him would be. Perhaps it is time to see the Queen. But are there any other French who we might want to talk to?" </p><p></p><p> Ruby asks, "Who were the two wizards who took off after the fake Orabi killed the royal family? Let's question them." Mina says, "You were just speaking to one of them. The other was Chevruel, but he is the anti-social one and based on our past encounters he probably won't be very forthcoming either." George says, "Yes, I think we have all we can get without removing fingers. Let's go report to the Queen." They all head up to see the Queen.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 6960995, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter 112, "Prisoner Interrogation" , September 12, 1882, 9:45 AM. [/B] Fifteen minutes after the guards are dispatched they return to Barrister Sefu, and inform him and George that in the room where the fake General Orabi's body was being held they found a pair of unconscious and invisible men. The invisibility magic was dispelled and one of the men was recognized as Henri Moissan, a Frenchman who had been a member of the diplomatic group who were guests of the King in Cairo. The body of the fake Orabi was also gone. The two Frenchmen were woken up, but both denied knowing what happened to the body. The men are now under guard. Shortly thereafter Lawrence attempts to enter the throne room and is aggressively stopped by guards who detect his invisibility. He is made visible by a "Detect Magic" spell and is being placed under arrest when George hears the commotion and intervenes. Lawrence tells George. "I stopped the French from getting rid of Meissonier's body. I moved it to another store room just in case. I saw that Dagurerre and most of the other Frenchmen have already been captured. I think the body is enough for leverage." George tells of the plan to have Lawrence inform Daguerre that the body was destroyed. Arrangements are made for the Frenchmen's guards to temporarily rotate to allow Lawrence access. Lawrence goes out in search of Dagurerre. Upon finding the Frenchman, Lawrence says in French, "The job is done, Mister Dagurerre. I am still unsure why it had to be so. The others did not tell me." He looks around and adds, "I don't know where the other two are. We got separated. I thought they came back under their invisibility." Hands and feet tied, and with a gag over his mouth, Dagurerre is unable to respond. He moves in hands in Lawrence's direction, gesturing to be untied. However, the guards for this group of rooms begin to return in this direction, giving Lawrence an excuse to depart instead before being spotted. Lawrence slips out of the room and returns to the others. Ruby is getting impatient and tells "This is ridiculous! Back home we could just threaten or beat someone until they told us what we wanted to know. All this dealing with wizards, it's so exhausting, we have to be so much more careful," she sighed. "If only we had our own wiz.." She stopped short, then stared pacing back and forth. She held up her hand, looking intently at it. Finally she looked up to the others. "I will disguise myself as the Princess, errr... Pharaoh, then go down and visit the prisoners and find out what they are thinking. I think if they see the Princess it will have them thinking more about their plots and schemes then if they just see me. What do you think?" She asked the group. "We have to do something." George replies, "Before we do that, let us see what resources the crown has. Sefu, what do you have to extract info from these wizards? Obviously we have a laundry list of charges, and as they are French nationals, enough damning evidence to cause a diplomatic headache for Paris. Hell even if they were not sanctioned by Paris, there is enough to declare a legal war. That alone would not convince them though. I think they may need more personal, er persuasion. Whether by magical or physical means, we need to wrap up every loose end these French have left scattered about the country." This delays Ruby from leaving as yet. George gestures to the Barrister who comes over to the party and George makes his request. Sefu replies, "I believe that from this point forward it is neither my decision or yours. Egypt now has a ruler." Mina interjects, "Barrister, ever since Bast relieved you of the responsibility of choosing the next Pharaoh you have avoided making decisions. I am under the impression that Queen Neferka's security is still your primary task. As such, any preliminary actions that we choose to take in regards to the French would still fall under your authority and jourisdiction. We can let her pass final judgment, but she does not need to conduct the investigation." Watching Neferka continue to be greeting by the remaining Egyptian guests from the ceremony Ruby adds, "The Queen I'm sure is busy with all the new changes of her new position and also mourning the murder of her family. I feel confident she wants us to figure out the information we need for her to ultimately bring these men, or women, to justice. It probably would be easier, Sefu, if you had a someone who could cast some sort of truth spell." He says, "This is a temple dedicated to Bast. I am certain that one of the Priestesses here would know that spell." Ruby answers, "Excellent. Please have someone retrieve a priest who can cast the spell. Then we shall go and have a nice little conversation with the traitor." After ten minutes Sefu returns accompanied by a middle-aged woman who introduces herself as Anneke. She says that she knows the spell, and is able to use it twice this day, so could be used on two recipients. George leads the group down to interrogate the wizards. They reach the lower level of the temple, where Egyptian guards have been posted. All of the French wizards are currently gagged, with the hands tied, but beyond that there appears to be different "levels" of supervision. One room contains the five diplomats who had been visiting with the King in Cairo, consisting of the former French Empress Eugenia Maria de Montijo de Guzman, her contemporary and diplomatic team leader Victor Duruy, the opera singer Jean Baptiste Faure, the philosopher and historian Maximillien Paul Emile Littre, and the painter Edgar Degas. They are apparently considered low risk, have no restraints and minimal guard, and are seated on comfortable furniture with food and beverages available to them. The next room has seven French under heavier guard, each with gags and also tied to solid wooden chairs with their hands a feet bound. They consist of the Egyptology expert Jean-Francois Champollion, the philosophyer Hippolyte Adolphe Taine, the diplomat Frederic Passy, the physicist Joseph Louis Gay-Luccac, the writer Prosper Merimee, the very elderly inventor Joseph-Marie Jacquard and historian Francois Pierre Guillaume Guizot who George has just delivered from the battle at Tel El Kabir. The next room, under very heavy guard and also gagged and bound to much heavier chairs are the trio that Lawrence and Callum have just brought in from Heliopolis, consisting of the alchemists Henri Moissan and Charles Robert Richet and their ally Rene Belloq. The fourth and final room, under the heaviest guard, are three men and a woman who are lying gagged on the stone floor with steel manacles on their wrists and ankles. The men consist of the pair that the Princess and Freya had brought in, the inventor Louis Jacques Mande Dagueree and the chemist Michel Eugne Chevreul, the third man is Napoleon Bonapare's friend Baron Gaspard Gouraud, who had previously been identified as the man who handed the fake Orabi the invisible gun used to assassinate the King. The woman is the actress Sarah Berhardt, who had been impersonating Princess Neferka. Heading to the third room George approaches Belloq, he squats down beside him "So Rene, care to have a chat?" Ruby hurries after George, casting detect thoughts quietly outside the room before she enters. The bound a gagged man nods his head to the affirmative. George signals to Mina and Ruby. Mina moves behind Belloq and places a knife at his throat. "Merely a precaution of course Rene. Now where shall we start? How about the need to destroy the body?" asks George pulling down the gag. Bellocq replies "Body? What body are you talking about sir?" "The body of Meissonier of course" replies George. After a long pause Bellocq says "Ah, the soldier told you that I gather." George replies, "Please answer the question Rene." He answers, "Very well sir. Both you and I have fallen victims to an insidious plot launched by a group of Germans known as The Asgardians. My colleague Jean-Louis Messionier was charmed by a Dwarven priest of these Asgardians named Gunther and forced to carry out acts made to incriminate us French ambassadors, who seek nothing more than a peaceful solution for Egypt." George says, "Interesting, a peaceful solution. is that why you cried out in Arabic when the French airship attacked the royal palace?" Bellocq replies, "There was considerable yelling from all parties while that attack took place. I recall that I did yell in Arabic for people to get away for their own safety." "Ok Rene. If you have no desire to be cooperative, we have no need to talk to you. Enjoy the scarabs." says George placing the gag back in Belloq's mouth. Under the mind reading spell Ruby heard a whirl-wind of thoughts from the man, most of which concerned his trying to deduce what George might have known and where George might have heard it from. He was initially upset that George knew about Meissonier, and reflective of his comment to George, assumed that the soldier screwed up. The only two Asgardian names he knows are the woman Astrid and the dwarven cleric Gunther, which is why he used Gunther for his tale. In reality, he has no idea if Gunther is in Egypt or not. Ruby gives George a raised eyebrow and a nod to keep going. George nods to Ruby. "Ok, Rene, if you won't be cooperative, we have other methods. Perhaps we should bring in the priest? Have him cast a spell that forces you to speak the truth? It might be the first time in your life you ever have" smiles George. With a condescending look, George makes sure Rene's gag is secure before gesturing to Mina and Ruby and leaving the room. Together they head to the fourth room. Ruby makes sure to keep concentrating so her spell will continue to work. They head to Daguerre first. The guards pull Daguerre out of the room and into the corridor, so he is out of earshot of the other prisoners. George signals to Ruby that she is ready and He has Mina again get into position with a knife at the throat of Daguerre. "Bonjour Louis. Care to have a chat?" asks George pulling the gag down. Daguerre replies, "Oui, yes, absolutely! I welcome the opportunity Mr. Eastman to discuss this matter with somebody such as you who will view what has transpired with an open mind. Things have not been as they appeared." George says, "Enlighten me messier" Daguerre says, "Very well sir. First of all, that German woman Astrid has been misleading you from the onset. She is affiliated with the Egyptian rebels who sought the death and destruction of the royal family. However, her real goal is to bring about the destruction of myself and my colleagues." (Ruby notes that he has been 100% truthful in believing what he has stated thus far). George asks, "And why would she align herself with the rebels and why would she seek your destruction?" He replies, "I do not know why the Asgardians joined the Egyptian rebellion, you would have to ask her yourself. Why they seek our destruction is a centuries old disagreement between her people and mine that has nothing to do with Egypt." (Ruby again notes that he is being truthful.) Ruby keeps nodding at George, a little surprised the Frenchman is being honest. George asks, "And if the Asgardians are aligned with the rebels you were here to support the monarchy?" Daguerre continues "The Asgardian Astrid, she has been manipulating you and your friends into seeing us in a bad light." (again, truthful to this point). "It is her and her fellow Asgardians that are using the current chaos to falsely incriminate myself and my friends, making the royal family think that we were responsible for the king's death, when in reality it was the Asgardians. (and his truthful streak comes to a grinding halt with that last whopper!) "No sir, we are here seeking to support neither side." (truth) "We seek only to bring peace to Egypt" (not true). Ruby continues to shake her head in a wide no to that last statement. George says, "Ok, well that puts my mind at ease. So it was Astrid who kidnapped the princess and Orabi and locked them up on YOUR ship.It was Astrid who forced Sarah to impersonate the princess, it was Astrid who made a doppelganger of Orabi and had him kill the king. That is quite an accomplishment for her." Daguerre replies, "Oh no sir, that is exactly what SHE wanted you to see. She did not personally kidnap the Princess and Orabi, her allies did, while she was with you. She held them not on our ship but on the Egyptian Royal Yacht. She brought you there only AFTER we had rescued them from the yacht and transferred them over to our ship." Ruby detects his thoughts, and what he just spun is the exact opposite of what he had hoped to accomplish at the ships, planning to have George and his friends rescue Neferka and Orabi from the Royal Yacht to then incriminate the Asgardians. George says, "That doesn't explain Sarah" Daguerre answers, "In order to blame us, several of my less powerful wizards were mind-controlled by the Asgardians." Ruby again shook her head no. She was enjoying listening to this yarn, though she was getting antsy not getting to threaten him herself. George says, "And French artillery targeting me? That was Asgardian mind control as well?" He says, "No, that was the chaos and confusion of a war. The Dreadnaught went to the palace to protect the Royal Family from the rebels." (Ruby detects that this thought is mostly true). George says, "Odd that in the middle of a cease fire, where no other troops were present, land based magical artillery targeted me, and from that location a French wizard was found." Daguerre says, "I assumed you meant the attack on the palace, there was no cease fire between the royals and the rebels at that time. That is why we transported the King and his family from Cairo to Gizah. If you are talking about something else, I am not sure exactly what. Was this something that I was present at?" George answers, "Oh yes, you may yet learn of that, as to the dreadnaught, why was it that Bellocq was heard, his voice magically amplified, from the dreadnaught speaking in Egyptian, denouncing the royal family?" Daguerre replies, "I do not know sir. At that point I was in Gizah. As to Bellocq, I barely know the man, he is an associate of my colleague Chevruel, not myself." (Ruby detects this response to be truthful.) George replies, "Fair enough. Tell me Louis, what card are you? And to whom to you report?" He replies, "I report to no one. I am the Ace of Hearts, and in theory all of the aces are equal, although each of us here in Egypt have our own area of expertise to which we take the lead. Mr. Henri Gouraud is the Ace of Spades, the grouping that represents the Inventors and Explorers. He is in charge of the Egyptology services that we are providing, helping to protect and preserve Egypt's treasures that could potentially be damaged by this war. To maintain this he also supervises the use of our airship, to transport the various teams to the archaeological sites. Mr. Michael Chevruel is the Ace of Clubs, the grouping that represents the scientists and mathematicians. He is in charge of security, ensuring that magical or scientific means are not being used to harm those who we seek to protect as well as members of our own group. Clearly he has not had much success in that area, particularly in our attempts to protect the Egyptian King. Mr. Victor Duruy is the Ace of Diamonds, the grouping represented by performers and politicians. He is in charge of diplomacy, trying to bring about a peaceful solution to this conflict. My role as the Ace of Hearts, the grouping comprised of artists, mostly painters and sculptors, we have the roles of cartography and photography. It is probably the least important of the four main areas of responsibility, but one that as a photographer yourself you can appreciate the need for. Ruby notes that his responses appear to be primarily half-truths. His biggest untruths are at the beginning and end, where he says all Aces are equal and that his role is the least important, as his thoughts reveal that he is the ringleader of the group. George replies, "Tell me then Louis, why if Freya's allies had kidnapped the princess, were French wizards spotted carrying her away and moreover, why once you had rescued her from the royal yacht, she and Orabi were still shackled?" He replies, "There had not been time yet to free them. You arrived within ten minutes of when we did the rescue. Since they were unconscious at the time, removing the shackles that the Asgardians had put on them did not appear to be the top priority. As to who carried her away, that was more misdirection, them using the charmed and disguised Sarah Bernhardt to incriminate us." George says, "Well, Sarah was in our custody at that point and was not released." Dagureer says, "I think you are confused about the timeline Mr. Eastman. The Asgardians made her removal from Zakazik very visible with us to blame BEFORE they took her to Gizah. But I am not here to debate you sir, I am merely trying to point out to you that things are not what they appear to be." "Ok, we will leave this to Ma'at." says George stuffing the gag back into his mouth. George signals for Louis to be returned to the cell. Ruby indicates that her spell is about to end. George turns to a soldier and says, "Go and fetch the high priest and Freya. We are getting to the bottom of this now." While they wait, Ruby fills in George on the truths and half-truths Louis uttered. The two women are quickly brought to George's location. As the women come forward George says to Freya "The French are blaming you of course. Merely as part of a thorough investigation I will have the priest cast a zone of truth. I wish for you to be present to fully dispel any blame on your part before I further interrogate the French wizards. I would hope you will consent to this." "I concur," she states. A few questions follow that confirm that Freya has been truthful to them. George also has Ruby re-cast her spell and gives her time to have it be in effect. He then signals to have Louis brought back out alone into the hallway. There he states "This priest is casting a zone of truth. The Asgardian is here and under the influence of the spell as well. We will resolve this situation very clearly." says George as the priest begins to cast the spell. Daguree says, "What is this Sir? I spoke to you Gentleman-to-Gentleman, and told you the express truth. I will NOT state anything about what I told you in the presence of the German murderer Astrid. She is once again manipulating you Mr. Eastman, and is more-likely-than-not, in collusion with this Priest that you mention." Ruby walked around the prisoner, concentrating on his thoughts. However, she was growing bored with her passive role in these interrogations. She walked in front of him and stopped, peering down into his face. In a sweet voice she purred, "Poor Mr Daguree. So abused." She ran a finger across his cheek. "Do you recall, have we met before?" He says, "We met Miss West at the formal dinner after you arrived in Zakazik." She says, "And when we met, was it apparent what kind of skills I possess?" Daguerre says, "I believe that I heard that you were some sort of tavern singer." George turns to Freya and whispers "Ah crap, he's in trouble now." Ruby replies, "Tavern singer? Really? Well, I suppose to the small minded that might be true." She walked another circle around him again. "It seems you haven't guessed my other skills. You and your friends aren't the only ones who possess the skills to manipulate magic. Now, perhaps you don't know that the Princess, well, now Queen, is one of my very good friends." She stopped in front of him again and bent at the waist, getting in his face. "Now would be the best time to admit to any and all wrong doing. This is your last chance to come clean. I'm getting bored and have way better things to do with my time." She started to pace then, then stopped suddenly. "Though, I admit, you've already admitted all we really need to know. He says, "Woman, I do not know what you think, clearly this Astrid woman has you under some sort of charm. She's spun her lies to incriminate both me and my allies and you appear to have bought into those lies." She says, "Oh no, it actually has nothing to do with her. You, yourself have told us all we need to know. While Freya has been working alongside of us, we have always had our own agenda. As she has hers. But trust me, Sir, I am under no control of hers. Also, she has already agreed to submit to questioning under the truth spell, while you refuse. Obviously another strike in your favor." Ruby stands up straight and steps away. "Guards, please return this man to the dungeon with the highest degree of security we have. He is the mastermind behind all these wizards and the plot to ruin Egypt." He resists but is soon subdued by the guards and returned to the room with his fellow prisoners. Ruby says, "Alright friends, it is time to go see the Queen. Some of what he told George was true but definitely was thinking he pulled one over by trying to say all four aces are equal. In his mind, he is full on command. I am sure there are many other questions, we probably should have asked about his guilt in murdering the royal family. Hmm... should we go ask him about that?" Mina says, "He does not appear to be very forthcoming, I am not sure how fruitful further discuss with him would be. Perhaps it is time to see the Queen. But are there any other French who we might want to talk to?" Ruby asks, "Who were the two wizards who took off after the fake Orabi killed the royal family? Let's question them." Mina says, "You were just speaking to one of them. The other was Chevruel, but he is the anti-social one and based on our past encounters he probably won't be very forthcoming either." George says, "Yes, I think we have all we can get without removing fingers. Let's go report to the Queen." They all head up to see the Queen. [/QUOTE]
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AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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