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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: 7139260" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter 138, "Beaujoulais Manor", September 14, 1882, 12:15 AM</strong></p><p></p><p>They smell the burnt out sections of the building before they can see it. The carriage turns the courner and they approach the outer gate and wall surrounding the building. They can see that outer wall of the large three-story building is made of stone, with four round towers in each corner, one larger than the other three. One tower was severely damaged by the fire as was the central part of the main roof, with entire sections caved in. The fire appears to have been contained to the western half of the building, the eastern half looking untouched. </p><p></p><p>They also see that dozens of French soldiers have taken up positions at all of the outer gates. They approach and come to a stop. Callum exits the carriage and is approached by a man who identifies himself as Captain Henri Defense. Callum does not offer his name but says that he is a friend of the new owner, Maurice Beaujoulais, and requests an audience with the owner. A corporal is dispatched inside with the message. Abby was only surprised by the number of guards present until she remembered that the people who might want to get in here had specialized talents. She began to feel that perhaps there weren't enough. Of course, getting through the guards the magical way would draw all sorts of attention that the newly disgraced wizards wouldn't want. She waited quietly, not wanting to startle anyone who was on watch and armed. </p><p></p><p>It isn't long when Captain Defense returns with a trio of individuals. Abby does not know the tall bald man in a dark suit, but she immediately recognizes the other man as Maurice Beaujoulais. The woman accompanying them is the Meren, the newly appointed Egyptian Ambassador to France. Abby looked brightly out the still open carriage door. "Ambassador, such a pleasure to see you again. "And you as well, this is a pleasant surprise!" she exclaims.</p><p></p><p>Abby stepped down with a smile now that the soldiers knew she was welcome. She gave a nod that bordered on a bow to Beaujoulais and said, "I hope you don't mind us stopping by so late." Maurice says, "Not at all." He turns to the woman and says, "You already know the Ambassador." He then gestures to the tall man and says, "This is Adrien Lejoie, he served as Chief of Staff for my parents when they owned this building." "It's my pleasure to meet you," Abby said. "Congratulations on your homecoming." </p><p></p><p>The tall man LaJoie says in French-accented English, "Indeed." He then gestures to Meren and says with icy sarcasm, "And wait until you see what she's done with the place." Meren places her hands on her hips and says, "Sir, the damage was unavoidable. And if we hadn't done what we did then this would still be the property of that wizard group!" Abby smiled with wry sympathy. "We want a beloved place to stay just as it is in our memories, so we can pick up right where we left off. But even undamaged, the Wizards must have made many changes in the years they were here. The most important change the Ambassador made was getting the Wizards out. Personally, I like that one." </p><p></p><p>As they approach the main entrance LeJoie says, "There could have been ways to get them to leave that did not involve throwing fireballs throughout the building." Meren replies, "Yes, if we had been willing to kill the occupants. Our chief wizard would not allow that, he insisted that there be no fatalities. The fires that we set successfully separated most of the hundred-or-so building guards from the part of the mansion that held the wizard's most prize possession." LeJoie replies, "Absurd, you destroyed priceless and irreplaceable artwork just to save the worthless lives of mercenaries. Your priorities need to be reevaluated." </p><p></p><p>Abby lifted an eyebrow, glad the man was not looking in her direction at that particular moment. She was suddenly glad that this man was not one she was going to have to spend more than a short time with. Meren stops and turns directly towards him, "Sir, there were other considerations. The Egyptian Queen was essentially committing an act of war against France. Our preventing fatalities was also to minimize the extent of the international incident. We were fortunate that the French Council took the position they did, but there was no guarantee that would be the case. Furthermore, we had no way of knowing if French Army reinforcements would arrive while we were still inside. By having all entrance-ways into the part of the building we were at covered in magical fire we had the time we needed."</p><p></p><p>Abby adds, "And of course, fights with the guards would have endangered the mission to break the Weekly Wizards group. An injury, or worse the deaths of any of the Ambassador's group could have prevented them from returning to Egypt with the item, and Queen Neferka would not have had the power over the wizards she did. The group would be intact and the house would still be in their hands." Maurice says, "Indeed. We'll clean up the mess. At least it's ours again." Abby smiled and took the gentleman's arm. "Now, could I convince you to indulge in a bit of pride of ownership and give me a tour?" </p><p></p><p>The main entrance has charred and damaged doors that are currently open, the stained glass in the door windows all broken and melted. The entry foyer is a burnt-out husk of a room with charred walls, a few burnt tatters on the walls of what were once tapestries. Slate tiles litter the floor and the night sky can been seen through the gaping holes in the roof. He takes them to the left and says, "Let's start with the part of the building that is still intact." Abby replies, "That sounds lovely. Have you found that the wizards made a great many changes while they were here?" </p><p></p><p>He says, "Yes and no. My parent's rooms are largely intact from before, and most of the other bedrooms on the second and third floor now actually have better furnishings, many of the weekly wizards resided here apparently and wished to live in luxury. The first floor furnishings are now rather sparse, as that was were their small army of guards were quartered. Interestingly, we've found no magic in any of the rooms, many of which look to have been hastily ransacked. My guess is that is was by either the wizards on their way out, or the French officials before deciding to return it to me, or possibly both. They must have swept through with 'Detect Magic' spells going and grabbed anything that lit up." </p><p></p><p>Abby says, "That wouldn't surprise me, the French officials, I mean. It might have been nice to find a few valuable bits left though, if for nothing else to offset the costs of the repairs." Maurice replies, "Oh, I'm sure that there are LOTS of magical valuables left behind, they are just well hidden. Remember, most of the wizard's group leaders died in Egypt, so would not have been able to retrieve anything they left behind here. Nor were they the type to leave their precious items out in the open. And it's not like I am in any rush to locate them, since I plan to stay here for the long-term."</p><p></p><p>Abby asks, "So will you leave your life of adventure behind and come home? Or perhaps just a long vacation in Paris to reacquaint yourself with it?" Maurice says, "Oh, I'll keep my job, but I haven't taken a vacation in years and am due. Plus my team needed a new base in this city anyway, as your place is no longer available to us Callum." Cal replies, "Who are you kidding? You've waited decades to get this place back, you wouldn't want to stay anywhere else." They tour the western half of the building, which is fully intact, with only a minimum of smoke smell in it. Each of the three floors hosts dozens of bedrooms as well as a dining room central on each floor. </p><p></p><p>Abby says, "It's certainly big enough for a base of operations. How did you ever fill it?" Maurice says, "My uncle and the my father ran the import/export business out of this mansion. The first floor rooms were usually mostly filled with product." "Well, that would explain that then. And it's a shrewd business move, saving the cost of a separate warehouse." Abby continued to chat pleasantly with him as he gave them the tour of the house. Somehow, she felt comfortable with Beaujolias, at her own level rather than needing to impress people of noble birth and walk on pins and needles.</p><p></p><p>Callum tells Maurice about what had transpired earlier that evening with the rogue wizards, and asks if they can stay the night. Maurice is elated and shows then to a pair of adjacent bedrooms on the second floor. "Callum, this one belonged to Prosper Merimee, please let me know if you find anything interesting left behind." He then gestures to the one next to it and says, "The actress Sarah Bernhardt stayed in this one, as you already have experience filling in for her it should suit just fine." He then dismisses Mr. LaJoie to go locate fresh linens for both bedrooms. </p><p></p><p>Continuing the tour back towards the more damaged sections of the building Maurice says, "I wanted to get rid of him before we see Miss Meren's handiwork. There is no point in her being on the receiving end of his criticism, and she will be more free to explain exactly what transpired without his interruptions." They reach the long burnt out corridor stretching north-to-south between the main entrance on the south wall and rear entrance on the north wall and then head to the foyer by the rear entrance, which looks very much the mirror of the damaged main entrance. </p><p></p><p><em>[DM's Note: The scenario that she describes had been designed as the climax battle for the module, but the party went in other directions instead. That is why a group of NPC's and former PC's went instead.]</em></p><p><em></em></p><p>Meren says, "We arrived outside at the rear entrance. Manuel Gonzales had previously viewed it from a distance so was able to transport us directly to that spot. There were six guards on duty, but Mr. Hardin managed to shoot all of them before any could react. He shot to wound and used some magical rounds given to him by Gonzales that induced instant sleep. I stood lookout while Hardin hid the guards in the shrubbery by the inside north wall and Gonzales retrieved the shrunken centaur Cetan and the Nubian Prince from his satchel and enlarged them to their normal height. Gonzales then used a spell to deactivate the magic from the door and we entered, with the Nubian Prince knocking unconscious the two guards inside the room, who were then moved out to the northern shrubbery. </p><p></p><p>We then went down the hallway to the south and performed the same procedure at the main entrance, rendering the night guards both inside and out unconscious and moving them away from the building. We had inside information about the wizard's routine, and knew that a pair of the weekly wizards were in a sealed room in the central eastern section of the building with the artifact. We had to prevent the plethora of guards sleeping in the western barracks from heading that way, so Cetan and I used druidic spells to remove all of the humidity from both entrance ways and also the main central corridor here that connects to hallways west. We then moved east while Hardin laid down well placed shots with pyrotechnic rounds, setting off fireballs in those building sections, to also keep out the potential enemy reinforcements."</p><p></p><p>As they continue eastward she says, "The Nubian Prince focused on rendering unconscious the next series of guards we encountered. We had a magic 'Bag of Holding' which Hardin would then stow the unconscious guards inside, as we couldn't leave them behind in a burning building. Cetan and I created wind spells to keep the smoke from the fires directed westward. Gonzales continued to locate and disarm magical traps and open magically sealed doorways. Finding the secret room was easy, as the route of the magical traps led us right there." </p><p></p><p>"This sounds extremely well planned out. How did you deal with the wizards guarding the artifact?" Abby asked. She says, "That was actually the easiest part. As the only four wizards left in Paris were relatively new members of the group they would not be very powerful, and therefore less likely to see through an illusion. And back in Egypt Gonzales had seen enough of Daguerre and Chevrul to create their likenesses and voices. So he simply opened the door and had them walk in, while the five of us stayed hidden outside the door. The illusions then walked to the opposite side of the room while talking to wizards, who continued to watch them and turned their backs to us. A pair of sleep bullets from Hardin's guns did the rest."</p><p></p><p>They reach the aforementioned room and Meren states an incantation then the door is opened. Inside is a vast magically lit treasure room, filled with shelves of jewelry and gems, a gold throne in the room center, two finely carved beds with mattresses with matching end tables, and a clothing rack with fancy robes, gowns and suits. Also Standing on the far wall are Egyptian statues and other Egyptian artifacts. Maurice lets out a gasp at the vast amount of treasure. Meren turns to Abby and Callan and says "We sealed it when we left, only the five of us knew how to open it, so nothing here was taken by anybody."</p><p></p><p>She then adds, "And yes, it was very well planned out. Mr. Gonzales said that he lived here in Paris for several years, where he and his great-nephew spent a considerable amount of time debating and devising methods to accomplish this. He had apparently recently revised the plan to potentially use his friends, the American group known as Arcade's Gang, as the assault team. That is why he specifically selected the four of us to accompany him. We apparently had a comparable group of skill sets. However, he made it clear that he was not to get the credit. This was a matter between Egypt and France, so the three North Americans were not to be credited as anything but being associates and assistans. If successful, then I would be team leader working for Neferka. If it was a failure the Nubian Prince was prepared to take the blame and say that Neferka knew nothing about it." </p><p></p><p>Abby let out a low whistle. "I shouldn't be surprised, but... wow. You're trusting us a great deal showing us this, and telling us about the arrangements. I know I don't understand the whole situation in Egypt, but the Nubian Prince being willing to take responsibility is remarkable." She says, "That was another reason why he was with us. Nubia is technically a semi-autonomous section of Egypt, giving him the flexibility of being part of an officially sanctioned mission or being a rogue operative who acted impulsively. The royal ogre swore his loyalty to Neferka back when she was only a Princess, now that she is the Pharaoh, there is nothing that he would not do for her." Abby says, "Queen Neferka is lucky to have the loyalty of such a man." Maurice says, "She is indeed".</p><p></p><p>Meren says, "And I am fortunate to be able to carry out her wishes as Egypt's Ambassador. The fact that the French Council is headed up by a Druidess greatly helps the situation. Furthermore, Mr. Gonzales clued me into a secret that the French Druidess would prefer to not be made public, which gives me even more leverage in negotiations with her." Abby's eyebrows raised at that and Meren continues. "Maurice and Callum already know this, and I am sure that you can also keep it private. It is believed that she was rescued last year from a French prison by her loyal druidic followers while in reality the rescue was conducted by Gonzales's associates, the Americans known as Arcade's Gang." Maurice adds, "My friend Nemo also assisted them, with the Nautalus." </p><p></p><p>Maurice turns to Meren and says, "I will leave you here to complete your appointed task. You are also welcome to stay the night if you wish." She replies, "I may, as I would like to spend some more time with Abigail." Maurice replies, "Very well, I will have Mr. LaJoie prepare you a room." The three exit, leaving Meren behind in the treasure room. Maurice explains, "She is taking an inventory of plundered Egyptian treasure. Champollion put them at four separate locations around Paris. She spent yesterday and this morning inventorying the Louvre. Tomorrow she will go to Versailles. After that will be the College de France, where he and Mr. Faucault were on the faculty."</p><p></p><p>As they continue Callum says, "So, when are you going to tell me that I've been discharged from her Majesty's Secret Service?" Maurice says, "You knew?" He then gestures casually to Abby. Callum replies, "My Uncle notified me of the newspaper article and Knighthood. I'm now too public to continue in that task, plus the French wizards had discovered that as well. And you may speak freely in front of Miss Marsters, I will keep no further secrets from her." "I have top level security clearance," she said with a wink. </p><p></p><p>Maurice states, "Well, I convinced Campion Bond to actually change your status to 'Inactive'. That means that you no longer work for Her Majesty unless she or Mr. Bond choose to recall you." Callum says, "But that means that I still need to find a new job." Maurice replies, "Any thoughts about that?" Callum answers, "I was thinking of asking Abby's boss, Wilamina Parker." Maurice answers, "A wise choice, the Parkers are good people and could probably use somebody with your skill set." </p><p></p><p>"World travel, good company... Employment with the AGELESS agency is always exciting," she agreed. "I take it you know the Parkers, Monsieur Beaujolais?" Maurice smiles and says, "You might say that. I believe that Mr. Parker may have shared with you a list of the fifty-two wizards and their background. It was from me that he obtained that listing. The information sharing worked both ways, he had a friend who was actually one of the lower-level wizards who he helped recruit as one of my operatives." Abby says, "He shared some of that, but honestly, there is no way I would remember all of them and all their histories," she smiled. "My mind is still boggled by all the people we had to keep track of while we were in Egypt."</p><p></p><p>Callum says, "You can put that behind you now, it's finally over." They return to the elaborate rooms that fresh bed linens have been laid our for. Maurice wishes them pleasant dreams. "I have no idea how late it is even is. But it's been an exhausting evening and I'm ready to sleep." Seeing they were alone in the corridor, she leaned forward and embraced him, leaning against him. "Goodnight my dear." He replies, "And Goodnight to you"</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 7139260, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter 138, "Beaujoulais Manor", September 14, 1882, 12:15 AM[/B] They smell the burnt out sections of the building before they can see it. The carriage turns the courner and they approach the outer gate and wall surrounding the building. They can see that outer wall of the large three-story building is made of stone, with four round towers in each corner, one larger than the other three. One tower was severely damaged by the fire as was the central part of the main roof, with entire sections caved in. The fire appears to have been contained to the western half of the building, the eastern half looking untouched. They also see that dozens of French soldiers have taken up positions at all of the outer gates. They approach and come to a stop. Callum exits the carriage and is approached by a man who identifies himself as Captain Henri Defense. Callum does not offer his name but says that he is a friend of the new owner, Maurice Beaujoulais, and requests an audience with the owner. A corporal is dispatched inside with the message. Abby was only surprised by the number of guards present until she remembered that the people who might want to get in here had specialized talents. She began to feel that perhaps there weren't enough. Of course, getting through the guards the magical way would draw all sorts of attention that the newly disgraced wizards wouldn't want. She waited quietly, not wanting to startle anyone who was on watch and armed. It isn't long when Captain Defense returns with a trio of individuals. Abby does not know the tall bald man in a dark suit, but she immediately recognizes the other man as Maurice Beaujoulais. The woman accompanying them is the Meren, the newly appointed Egyptian Ambassador to France. Abby looked brightly out the still open carriage door. "Ambassador, such a pleasure to see you again. "And you as well, this is a pleasant surprise!" she exclaims. Abby stepped down with a smile now that the soldiers knew she was welcome. She gave a nod that bordered on a bow to Beaujoulais and said, "I hope you don't mind us stopping by so late." Maurice says, "Not at all." He turns to the woman and says, "You already know the Ambassador." He then gestures to the tall man and says, "This is Adrien Lejoie, he served as Chief of Staff for my parents when they owned this building." "It's my pleasure to meet you," Abby said. "Congratulations on your homecoming." The tall man LaJoie says in French-accented English, "Indeed." He then gestures to Meren and says with icy sarcasm, "And wait until you see what she's done with the place." Meren places her hands on her hips and says, "Sir, the damage was unavoidable. And if we hadn't done what we did then this would still be the property of that wizard group!" Abby smiled with wry sympathy. "We want a beloved place to stay just as it is in our memories, so we can pick up right where we left off. But even undamaged, the Wizards must have made many changes in the years they were here. The most important change the Ambassador made was getting the Wizards out. Personally, I like that one." As they approach the main entrance LeJoie says, "There could have been ways to get them to leave that did not involve throwing fireballs throughout the building." Meren replies, "Yes, if we had been willing to kill the occupants. Our chief wizard would not allow that, he insisted that there be no fatalities. The fires that we set successfully separated most of the hundred-or-so building guards from the part of the mansion that held the wizard's most prize possession." LeJoie replies, "Absurd, you destroyed priceless and irreplaceable artwork just to save the worthless lives of mercenaries. Your priorities need to be reevaluated." Abby lifted an eyebrow, glad the man was not looking in her direction at that particular moment. She was suddenly glad that this man was not one she was going to have to spend more than a short time with. Meren stops and turns directly towards him, "Sir, there were other considerations. The Egyptian Queen was essentially committing an act of war against France. Our preventing fatalities was also to minimize the extent of the international incident. We were fortunate that the French Council took the position they did, but there was no guarantee that would be the case. Furthermore, we had no way of knowing if French Army reinforcements would arrive while we were still inside. By having all entrance-ways into the part of the building we were at covered in magical fire we had the time we needed." Abby adds, "And of course, fights with the guards would have endangered the mission to break the Weekly Wizards group. An injury, or worse the deaths of any of the Ambassador's group could have prevented them from returning to Egypt with the item, and Queen Neferka would not have had the power over the wizards she did. The group would be intact and the house would still be in their hands." Maurice says, "Indeed. We'll clean up the mess. At least it's ours again." Abby smiled and took the gentleman's arm. "Now, could I convince you to indulge in a bit of pride of ownership and give me a tour?" The main entrance has charred and damaged doors that are currently open, the stained glass in the door windows all broken and melted. The entry foyer is a burnt-out husk of a room with charred walls, a few burnt tatters on the walls of what were once tapestries. Slate tiles litter the floor and the night sky can been seen through the gaping holes in the roof. He takes them to the left and says, "Let's start with the part of the building that is still intact." Abby replies, "That sounds lovely. Have you found that the wizards made a great many changes while they were here?" He says, "Yes and no. My parent's rooms are largely intact from before, and most of the other bedrooms on the second and third floor now actually have better furnishings, many of the weekly wizards resided here apparently and wished to live in luxury. The first floor furnishings are now rather sparse, as that was were their small army of guards were quartered. Interestingly, we've found no magic in any of the rooms, many of which look to have been hastily ransacked. My guess is that is was by either the wizards on their way out, or the French officials before deciding to return it to me, or possibly both. They must have swept through with 'Detect Magic' spells going and grabbed anything that lit up." Abby says, "That wouldn't surprise me, the French officials, I mean. It might have been nice to find a few valuable bits left though, if for nothing else to offset the costs of the repairs." Maurice replies, "Oh, I'm sure that there are LOTS of magical valuables left behind, they are just well hidden. Remember, most of the wizard's group leaders died in Egypt, so would not have been able to retrieve anything they left behind here. Nor were they the type to leave their precious items out in the open. And it's not like I am in any rush to locate them, since I plan to stay here for the long-term." Abby asks, "So will you leave your life of adventure behind and come home? Or perhaps just a long vacation in Paris to reacquaint yourself with it?" Maurice says, "Oh, I'll keep my job, but I haven't taken a vacation in years and am due. Plus my team needed a new base in this city anyway, as your place is no longer available to us Callum." Cal replies, "Who are you kidding? You've waited decades to get this place back, you wouldn't want to stay anywhere else." They tour the western half of the building, which is fully intact, with only a minimum of smoke smell in it. Each of the three floors hosts dozens of bedrooms as well as a dining room central on each floor. Abby says, "It's certainly big enough for a base of operations. How did you ever fill it?" Maurice says, "My uncle and the my father ran the import/export business out of this mansion. The first floor rooms were usually mostly filled with product." "Well, that would explain that then. And it's a shrewd business move, saving the cost of a separate warehouse." Abby continued to chat pleasantly with him as he gave them the tour of the house. Somehow, she felt comfortable with Beaujolias, at her own level rather than needing to impress people of noble birth and walk on pins and needles. Callum tells Maurice about what had transpired earlier that evening with the rogue wizards, and asks if they can stay the night. Maurice is elated and shows then to a pair of adjacent bedrooms on the second floor. "Callum, this one belonged to Prosper Merimee, please let me know if you find anything interesting left behind." He then gestures to the one next to it and says, "The actress Sarah Bernhardt stayed in this one, as you already have experience filling in for her it should suit just fine." He then dismisses Mr. LaJoie to go locate fresh linens for both bedrooms. Continuing the tour back towards the more damaged sections of the building Maurice says, "I wanted to get rid of him before we see Miss Meren's handiwork. There is no point in her being on the receiving end of his criticism, and she will be more free to explain exactly what transpired without his interruptions." They reach the long burnt out corridor stretching north-to-south between the main entrance on the south wall and rear entrance on the north wall and then head to the foyer by the rear entrance, which looks very much the mirror of the damaged main entrance. [I][DM's Note: The scenario that she describes had been designed as the climax battle for the module, but the party went in other directions instead. That is why a group of NPC's and former PC's went instead.] [/I] Meren says, "We arrived outside at the rear entrance. Manuel Gonzales had previously viewed it from a distance so was able to transport us directly to that spot. There were six guards on duty, but Mr. Hardin managed to shoot all of them before any could react. He shot to wound and used some magical rounds given to him by Gonzales that induced instant sleep. I stood lookout while Hardin hid the guards in the shrubbery by the inside north wall and Gonzales retrieved the shrunken centaur Cetan and the Nubian Prince from his satchel and enlarged them to their normal height. Gonzales then used a spell to deactivate the magic from the door and we entered, with the Nubian Prince knocking unconscious the two guards inside the room, who were then moved out to the northern shrubbery. We then went down the hallway to the south and performed the same procedure at the main entrance, rendering the night guards both inside and out unconscious and moving them away from the building. We had inside information about the wizard's routine, and knew that a pair of the weekly wizards were in a sealed room in the central eastern section of the building with the artifact. We had to prevent the plethora of guards sleeping in the western barracks from heading that way, so Cetan and I used druidic spells to remove all of the humidity from both entrance ways and also the main central corridor here that connects to hallways west. We then moved east while Hardin laid down well placed shots with pyrotechnic rounds, setting off fireballs in those building sections, to also keep out the potential enemy reinforcements." As they continue eastward she says, "The Nubian Prince focused on rendering unconscious the next series of guards we encountered. We had a magic 'Bag of Holding' which Hardin would then stow the unconscious guards inside, as we couldn't leave them behind in a burning building. Cetan and I created wind spells to keep the smoke from the fires directed westward. Gonzales continued to locate and disarm magical traps and open magically sealed doorways. Finding the secret room was easy, as the route of the magical traps led us right there." "This sounds extremely well planned out. How did you deal with the wizards guarding the artifact?" Abby asked. She says, "That was actually the easiest part. As the only four wizards left in Paris were relatively new members of the group they would not be very powerful, and therefore less likely to see through an illusion. And back in Egypt Gonzales had seen enough of Daguerre and Chevrul to create their likenesses and voices. So he simply opened the door and had them walk in, while the five of us stayed hidden outside the door. The illusions then walked to the opposite side of the room while talking to wizards, who continued to watch them and turned their backs to us. A pair of sleep bullets from Hardin's guns did the rest." They reach the aforementioned room and Meren states an incantation then the door is opened. Inside is a vast magically lit treasure room, filled with shelves of jewelry and gems, a gold throne in the room center, two finely carved beds with mattresses with matching end tables, and a clothing rack with fancy robes, gowns and suits. Also Standing on the far wall are Egyptian statues and other Egyptian artifacts. Maurice lets out a gasp at the vast amount of treasure. Meren turns to Abby and Callan and says "We sealed it when we left, only the five of us knew how to open it, so nothing here was taken by anybody." She then adds, "And yes, it was very well planned out. Mr. Gonzales said that he lived here in Paris for several years, where he and his great-nephew spent a considerable amount of time debating and devising methods to accomplish this. He had apparently recently revised the plan to potentially use his friends, the American group known as Arcade's Gang, as the assault team. That is why he specifically selected the four of us to accompany him. We apparently had a comparable group of skill sets. However, he made it clear that he was not to get the credit. This was a matter between Egypt and France, so the three North Americans were not to be credited as anything but being associates and assistans. If successful, then I would be team leader working for Neferka. If it was a failure the Nubian Prince was prepared to take the blame and say that Neferka knew nothing about it." Abby let out a low whistle. "I shouldn't be surprised, but... wow. You're trusting us a great deal showing us this, and telling us about the arrangements. I know I don't understand the whole situation in Egypt, but the Nubian Prince being willing to take responsibility is remarkable." She says, "That was another reason why he was with us. Nubia is technically a semi-autonomous section of Egypt, giving him the flexibility of being part of an officially sanctioned mission or being a rogue operative who acted impulsively. The royal ogre swore his loyalty to Neferka back when she was only a Princess, now that she is the Pharaoh, there is nothing that he would not do for her." Abby says, "Queen Neferka is lucky to have the loyalty of such a man." Maurice says, "She is indeed". Meren says, "And I am fortunate to be able to carry out her wishes as Egypt's Ambassador. The fact that the French Council is headed up by a Druidess greatly helps the situation. Furthermore, Mr. Gonzales clued me into a secret that the French Druidess would prefer to not be made public, which gives me even more leverage in negotiations with her." Abby's eyebrows raised at that and Meren continues. "Maurice and Callum already know this, and I am sure that you can also keep it private. It is believed that she was rescued last year from a French prison by her loyal druidic followers while in reality the rescue was conducted by Gonzales's associates, the Americans known as Arcade's Gang." Maurice adds, "My friend Nemo also assisted them, with the Nautalus." Maurice turns to Meren and says, "I will leave you here to complete your appointed task. You are also welcome to stay the night if you wish." She replies, "I may, as I would like to spend some more time with Abigail." Maurice replies, "Very well, I will have Mr. LaJoie prepare you a room." The three exit, leaving Meren behind in the treasure room. Maurice explains, "She is taking an inventory of plundered Egyptian treasure. Champollion put them at four separate locations around Paris. She spent yesterday and this morning inventorying the Louvre. Tomorrow she will go to Versailles. After that will be the College de France, where he and Mr. Faucault were on the faculty." As they continue Callum says, "So, when are you going to tell me that I've been discharged from her Majesty's Secret Service?" Maurice says, "You knew?" He then gestures casually to Abby. Callum replies, "My Uncle notified me of the newspaper article and Knighthood. I'm now too public to continue in that task, plus the French wizards had discovered that as well. And you may speak freely in front of Miss Marsters, I will keep no further secrets from her." "I have top level security clearance," she said with a wink. Maurice states, "Well, I convinced Campion Bond to actually change your status to 'Inactive'. That means that you no longer work for Her Majesty unless she or Mr. Bond choose to recall you." Callum says, "But that means that I still need to find a new job." Maurice replies, "Any thoughts about that?" Callum answers, "I was thinking of asking Abby's boss, Wilamina Parker." Maurice answers, "A wise choice, the Parkers are good people and could probably use somebody with your skill set." "World travel, good company... Employment with the AGELESS agency is always exciting," she agreed. "I take it you know the Parkers, Monsieur Beaujolais?" Maurice smiles and says, "You might say that. I believe that Mr. Parker may have shared with you a list of the fifty-two wizards and their background. It was from me that he obtained that listing. The information sharing worked both ways, he had a friend who was actually one of the lower-level wizards who he helped recruit as one of my operatives." Abby says, "He shared some of that, but honestly, there is no way I would remember all of them and all their histories," she smiled. "My mind is still boggled by all the people we had to keep track of while we were in Egypt." Callum says, "You can put that behind you now, it's finally over." They return to the elaborate rooms that fresh bed linens have been laid our for. Maurice wishes them pleasant dreams. "I have no idea how late it is even is. But it's been an exhausting evening and I'm ready to sleep." Seeing they were alone in the corridor, she leaned forward and embraced him, leaning against him. "Goodnight my dear." He replies, "And Goodnight to you" [/QUOTE]
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AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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