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Wizards, Whiskey and Wonderful Things - Concluded
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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 2309142" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter 40, “Commander’s Palace”, Tuesday, March 14th, 1882:</strong></p><p></p><p>Kate comments, "Very different from what I was taught. I didn't think I needed further education as far as history went, but it seems many things have been rewritten. History should not be mutable. A fascinating city, though. I wish I could spend more than one night." He replies, "You may get your wish, but it's too soon to say at this point. If we need to stay over I'm sure that Guillieaut will be able to provide us lodgings and a change of clothes for tomorrow."</p><p></p><p>Ruby says, "So, let's go meet this guy, Guil-li-eaut is it? And why are we meeting with him anyway?" Gonzales says, "He contacted me yesterday and asked for this meeting. He was rather cryptic but said enough to indicate that this could be a serious matter. He has a lot of power, but he is alone. He has never left France before. He doesn't know this county and doesn't really know anyone in it and he needs some help. </p><p></p><p>He was using a magical spell to contact me and all I could hear was his voice. That was yesterday, which is why I had left the note on my door not to be disturbed. I believe that you really need to be able to look into a person's eyes to be able to gauge their true feelings and intentions. Despite all of his power, one spell that he never mastered was the transportation spell so he couldn't come to me. So I agreed to come to him. </p><p></p><p>He then finishes by saying, “And it gives me a chance to show this wonderful city to the three of you." Ruby gives Mr. Gonzales a kiss on the cheek. "Well, thank you for taking me, well, us, on this grand adventure. And just let me know what I can do to help you." Ruby continues to hold on to Mr. Gonzales as they walk, as she looks around the city in awe.</p><p></p><p>Katherine smiled her thanks at her teacher while her mind busily worked. A powerful mage needing help. One Mr. Gonzales might be willing to help despite the fact the he suspected him of using mind-controlling spells. It would have to be a very serious matter to make Kate consider helping such a man.</p><p></p><p>As they walk he explains how New Orleans is sometimes called the "Crescent City" because it of the design shape to go around the bend of the Mississippi River as it flows by the city. This unusual shape means despite the attempt at a grid pattern there is no traditional "north, south, east, or west" mode of getting around, with curvatures of several major streets, so that two streets that may begin at one end of the city as parallel could actually end up perpendicular at the other end. </p><p></p><p>They are surprised to see the spires of a large Roman/Greek Church Cathedral from the direction of the historic French Quarter. He says, "Yes, one of the city's many contradictions. While wizard magic was promoted many of the early French founders were also believers in clerical magic who where persecuted in their home county so fled to here. It is not unlike your friend Minerva, who will have far more freedom to practice her religion here than she would have in her native Spain. The Cathedral that you see was originally built in 1724 and rebuilt twice after a hurricane and a fire. The present church is in Jackson Square and was dedicated in 1794." </p><p></p><p>They continue onward. Gonzales senses nervousness from the ladies and tells them "Relax my little birds, I was forewarning you about this mage simply as a point of caution. He is not an evil man, just a self-centered one. But he is seeking me out regarding a higher purpose than himself, so I do not believe that any of us have reason to fear him. I would not have brought any of you had I thought this trip fraught with danger. And if worst comes to worst we can always just leave, he won't be able to follow since he doesn't know the spell."</p><p></p><p>Gonzales leads his three "little birds" into the New Orleans Garden District, which runs from Magazine Street to St. Charles Avenue and from Jackson Avenue to Louisiana Avenue. The area is filled with mansions and foliage that give the district its name. "Are you ready?" he asks. "I'm always ready," Ruby smiles while fussing with her hair. </p><p></p><p>Kate was quiet as they walked through the Garden District. It had a sort of otherworldly quality, with the Spanish Moss hanging down from the trees and the thick, moist air. "Yes, I'm ready," Kate answered when Mr. Gonzales asked. "Can you believe I'm actually hungry?" "Good, that's a welcomed change. We're here!" They are outside of a large two-story wooden building painted teal green with white trim and a three-story clock tower in the corner. <a href="http://www.commanderspalace.com/new_orleans/index.php" target="_blank">http://www.commanderspalace.com/new_orleans/index.php</a> </p><p></p><p>They enter the building, which has multiple private dining rooms off from the main room. The host approaches the group and says something in French that Ruby and Sonoma don't understand. Gonzales explains who he is looking to see. The man responds. Manuel tells the ladies "He is here." </p><p></p><p>They cross the room and are shown a table where a man in a white silk suit is seated. He has a thin white-and-gray van dyke beard and a full head of gray hair. He has a gold vest with a matching gold necktie on his white shirt. Gold cufflinks and a gold necklace accessorize his clothing. Four gold rings with fancy gems are on his fingers, two per hand. Ruby stays behind Mr. Gonzales and waits for him to speak. Katherine blinked. She hadn't thought anyone could wear so much gold at once. Yes, this one had a high opinion of himself. Kate straightened her shoulders and put on her society manners.</p><p></p><p>The Frenchman stands and bows towards the ladies. He says in English, with heavy French accent, "Hello, such lovely women Mister Gonzales. Ladies, I am Marc Andre Guillieaut. You may address me as Marc." Ruby steps forward and offers her hand. "Pleasure to meet you Mr. Guillieaut, my name is Ruby." </p><p></p><p>Gonzales says, "Yes, these three women are my current apprentices. They had never visited this fine city so I thought they would enjoy the trip. I also value their counsel and opinions, so they may be of help in resolving your current predicament." Guillieaut says, "Yes, but discussion of business can wait until after the meal. This is the finest restaurant in the city." </p><p></p><p>Kate bowed her head slightly in greeting. "Bonsoir, monsieur. Je suis Mme Katherine Kale, il est un plaisir de vous rencontrer. J'espère que nous pourrons vous aider." <<translation: Good evening, Sir. I'm Mrs. Katherine Kale, it's a pleasure to meet you. I hope we'll be able to assist you.>> Vous parle le Francais!" he states. Gonzales says, "Oui, but I am afraid that my other two apprentices do not. Best that we stick with English. </p><p></p><p>A waiter is summoned and Guillieaut orders for the entire table. Kate tells the mage, "My mother is French. She and my father were married in Europe, then he brought her back here." The first course is served in short order, consisting of a salad made with artichoke leaves, prosciutto, oven-dried tomatoes, several cheese, olives with roasted eggplant vinaigrette dressing. For Kate it felt strange to be sitting in a fine restaurant, eating this kind of food again. The meal at her parents had been more than she was used to anymore as well, but it was home. Kate ate the salad and kept her eyes and ears open.</p><p></p><p>Guillieaut monopolizes the conversation, talking mostly of his native France, the beauties of Paris, and the wonderful wines that his family vineyards produce. That reminds him to call over the Wine Steward, and he notes that two of his family's wines are on the menu. He orders two bottles of each to be brought to the table. The next course is served, consisting of blue crab with cornbread stuffing, caramelized pork belly, wilted cabbage, quince jam and bourbon-sugarcane glaze. Kate sipped the wine out of politeness, but kept her actual consumption light. She was still careful of how much she drank, despite feeling better. Alcohol had a way of making your brain fuzzy, and she had the feeling she would need her head clear.</p><p></p><p>The next course is served, consisting of a five bean cassoulet croquette, mizuna greens, sunny side up quail egg and duck sauce. "Oh, I can't wait to see what dessert is!" Ruby exclaims as another extravagant course is brought out. "And this wine is very good. I would miss eating like this every day too."</p><p></p><p>Ruby readily drinks some wine. "I've always wanted to see Paris. My grandmother traveled around the world and she would send me letters from all over. I'm sure it's as beautiful as you describe." "And you are right about this meal, it is delicious." Ruby pushes her hair off her face. "When did you come here to New Orleans?" He replies, "A mere four weeks ago. I had never set foot outside of France until two months ago, and I miss my homeland." </p><p></p><p>Kate comments, "It's a difficult thing, leaving a home you love." He responds, "A home I love? I despise it. For the last decade it has been a cesspool, a place of vile filth ruled over my selfish and corrupt politicians. When I was made a very lucrative offer to participate in a work of greatness I jumped a the chance and took it." Kate says, "In that case it is the France of the past you miss, not the France you left. What endeavor pulled you away?"</p><p></p><p>Ruby comments, "Yes, a work of greatness? I suppose that has to wait until after dinner for an explanation?" He replies, "Yes that. I resigned from participating in that task on the first day. It was not properly researched and I had been misinformed about my role. The proposed project was a fifty-mile long canal between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, to be constructed in the Latin America. </p><p></p><p>They sought my participation to utilize my more powerful spells to cut down on the construction time. But the place was not one where magic could be fully utilized. The magical ley lines of the earth that we tap into not only were not there, but it was one of the rare places on the planet where a magical dead zone existed. I attempted a few spells, and what was produced was but one-hundredth of what it should have been. It was also a hot, miserable, bug infested place that was not suitable for man nor beast. So I came here instead. </p><p></p><p>The dessert cart is brought out. Choices are a Chocolate Molten, which consisted of a white chocolate cafe au lait and chocolate covered espresso beans, a boysenberry tart with a French vanilla whipped cream topping, or a spiced apple cobbler with cheddar cheese topping. "Chocolate for me please," Ruby says with a big smile. Kate waved away the desserts. She had already eaten more than enough to fill her, and their companion didn't do much for her appetite. Thankfully Ruby was up to the task of keeping the man talking. At least the talk about ley lines was interesting, she would have to remember to ask Mr. Gonzales about where more of these "dead zones" might be. </p><p></p><p>Ruby comments, "Now, that sounds like an impossible mission you just described. A canal between the oceans that is. I hope you have found a more attainable pursuit to spend your waking hours." He replies, "Unfortunately I have. Manuel, would you care to do the honors?" </p><p></p><p>He hands Kate a small bag of powder and says, "She has been getting good at this one." He gestures to the lit candle in the center of the table. "Do you hide in corners and watch me?" Kate teased as she sprinkled the powder on the flame. "But thank you for the compliment." The spell didn't have any visual effect, but Kate always felt a strange shimmering at the back of her mind as the spell's effect moved out. She shivered a bit. "We're all set."</p><p></p><p>The French wizard reaches inside of his coat and takes out a newspaper. He hands it to Gonzales who glances at the cover and tells his apprentices "This is a copy of yesterday's Times Picayune, New Orleans main newspaper." Guilleaut says, "The story is on page six." </p><p></p><p>Manuel turns to the page and reads: </p><p></p><p><em>Mystery at Sea The British merchant ship, the S.S. Jesmond, made an unscheduled stop in its journey on its way to our city. It had departed from Messina, Sicily with a cargo of dried fruits on February 26th. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>When the ship reached an area 200 miles west of Madeira and 200 miles south of the Azores they noted that the ocean had become unusually muddy and that the vessel was passing through enormous shoals of dead fish. The ship's Captain David Robson then saw smoke on the horizon, which he presumed came from another ship. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>The next day the fish shoals were even thicker and the smoke on the horizon seemed to be coming from the mountains on an island directly to the west, where, according to the charts, there was no land for thousands of miles. Captain Robson anchored offshore, worried that this uncharted island was surrounded by reefs. Even though the charts indicated an area depth of several thousand fathoms, the anchor hit bottom at only seven fathoms. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Robson went ashore with a landing party and found a large island with no vegetation, no trees, no sandy beaches, bare of all life. The shore they landed on was covered with volcanic debris. With no trees they could easily see a plateau beginning several miles away and smoking mountains beyond that. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>They headed toward the interior in direction of the mountains but found that progress was interrupted by a series of deep chasms. To get to the interior would have taken days. They returned to their landing point and examined a broken cliff, part of which seemed to have been split into a mass of loose gravel as if it had recently been subjected to great force. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>The sailors then found an arrowhead in the broken rock, and Captain Robson send for picks and shovels form the ship so that the crew could dig into the gravel. He and his crew soon uncovered crumbling remains of massive walls. They continued to dig near the walls for better part of two days, finding bronze swords, rings, mallets, carvings of head figures of birds and animals, and two vases or jars with fragments of bone, and one cranium. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Then they found what appeared to be a mummy enclosed in a stone case, encrusted with volcanic deposit so as to be scarcely distinguished form the rock itself. The rock sarcophagus aboard the Jesmond as dark clouds began to roll in off of the horizon, and Robson resumed his course. This reporter has examined the artifacts and they appear to be authentic. Robson's plans to donate the artifacts to the British Museum upon his return to England.</em></p><p></p><p>"Well, that story is quite exciting, a true adventure if I ever heard one. Where did the Island come from?" Ruby furrowed her brow. "But what does this have to do with you?" In answer to Ruby's question Gonzales turns to Kate and asks "Do you remember what I told you about the origin of all magical writings?" "If I remember correctly, the language used to write magic is Atlantean. Are you suggesting this island is Atlantis?"</p><p></p><p>Guillieaut replies, "Not just suggesting it, this is the island is Atlantis, or at least a part of the lost continent. French, Spanish and Portuguese scholars have been researching the location of Atlantis for several millennium and this location is consistent with what most have concluded. He pauses and says, "And therein lies the problem. These artifacts cannot fall into the wrong hands, the result could be disastrous to all who utilize magic."</p><p></p><p>Kate says, "The Jesmond is a British ship, and they are giving what they've found to the British museum. So these things would fall into a country aligned with Clerical magic. Could they use these artifacts to damage the ley lines somehow?"</p><p></p><p>The French Wizard replies, "That is just one possibility. The greatest risk is the sarcophagus. Only an Atlantian Emperor would have been buried in such fashion, and they were the mightiest of wizards. But while they were all knowing in terms of wizard magics their knowledge of clerical magics was negligible, as they did not believe in gods. If a grand high priest were to use clerical magics successfully bring this Atlantian back from the dead then his knowledge could be used or misused in any number of ways. It could be disaster for us all who practice magic."</p><p></p><p>"Back from the dead?" Ruby tapped her lip in thought for a moment. "How is it, sir, that you and Mr. Gonzales are involved in this? I mean, have you just taken it upon yourselves to remedy this situation? Seems like a very large endeavor for just two men to fix... And there is the question of why the island has surfaced... and why now... and who else realizes it is the island of Atlantis, if that truly is what this is... and who would try to bring back this man from the dead..."</p><p></p><p>Guillieaut says "Ah, so you've grasped several aspects of this problem. You are indeed a wise young woman.” Ruby blushes and bats her eyelashes. "Thank you for the compliment, coming from a man such as yourself it is a high compliment indeed." He continues, “To answer your questions in order, I knew nothing about this until I read yesterday's newspaper story. It was not safe for me to contact any of my associates in France and the only wizard I knew of in North America was Mr. Gonzales so I contacted him. </p><p></p><p>As to how we will remedy this situation that is what we are meeting now to discuss. Why the island surfaced, well, it sounds like a new volcano was the cause. That will probably lead to a war, as each sea power will claim the island as theirs. As to who will realize that this is Atlantis, I imagine that hundreds in the city read the article and have reached the same conclusion. A contingent of New Orleans police now surrounds the British ship to keep the curious away. And while bringing back the dead is both rare and dangerous I suspect that the leaders of many nations would deem this important enough to attempt."</p><p></p><p>Ruby says, "I suppose time is of the essence in regard to this. What do you propose?" Ruby looks to Katherine to try to gauge what she is thinking about another 'save the world' adventure.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 2309142, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter 40, “Commander’s Palace”, Tuesday, March 14th, 1882:[/B] Kate comments, "Very different from what I was taught. I didn't think I needed further education as far as history went, but it seems many things have been rewritten. History should not be mutable. A fascinating city, though. I wish I could spend more than one night." He replies, "You may get your wish, but it's too soon to say at this point. If we need to stay over I'm sure that Guillieaut will be able to provide us lodgings and a change of clothes for tomorrow." Ruby says, "So, let's go meet this guy, Guil-li-eaut is it? And why are we meeting with him anyway?" Gonzales says, "He contacted me yesterday and asked for this meeting. He was rather cryptic but said enough to indicate that this could be a serious matter. He has a lot of power, but he is alone. He has never left France before. He doesn't know this county and doesn't really know anyone in it and he needs some help. He was using a magical spell to contact me and all I could hear was his voice. That was yesterday, which is why I had left the note on my door not to be disturbed. I believe that you really need to be able to look into a person's eyes to be able to gauge their true feelings and intentions. Despite all of his power, one spell that he never mastered was the transportation spell so he couldn't come to me. So I agreed to come to him. He then finishes by saying, “And it gives me a chance to show this wonderful city to the three of you." Ruby gives Mr. Gonzales a kiss on the cheek. "Well, thank you for taking me, well, us, on this grand adventure. And just let me know what I can do to help you." Ruby continues to hold on to Mr. Gonzales as they walk, as she looks around the city in awe. Katherine smiled her thanks at her teacher while her mind busily worked. A powerful mage needing help. One Mr. Gonzales might be willing to help despite the fact the he suspected him of using mind-controlling spells. It would have to be a very serious matter to make Kate consider helping such a man. As they walk he explains how New Orleans is sometimes called the "Crescent City" because it of the design shape to go around the bend of the Mississippi River as it flows by the city. This unusual shape means despite the attempt at a grid pattern there is no traditional "north, south, east, or west" mode of getting around, with curvatures of several major streets, so that two streets that may begin at one end of the city as parallel could actually end up perpendicular at the other end. They are surprised to see the spires of a large Roman/Greek Church Cathedral from the direction of the historic French Quarter. He says, "Yes, one of the city's many contradictions. While wizard magic was promoted many of the early French founders were also believers in clerical magic who where persecuted in their home county so fled to here. It is not unlike your friend Minerva, who will have far more freedom to practice her religion here than she would have in her native Spain. The Cathedral that you see was originally built in 1724 and rebuilt twice after a hurricane and a fire. The present church is in Jackson Square and was dedicated in 1794." They continue onward. Gonzales senses nervousness from the ladies and tells them "Relax my little birds, I was forewarning you about this mage simply as a point of caution. He is not an evil man, just a self-centered one. But he is seeking me out regarding a higher purpose than himself, so I do not believe that any of us have reason to fear him. I would not have brought any of you had I thought this trip fraught with danger. And if worst comes to worst we can always just leave, he won't be able to follow since he doesn't know the spell." Gonzales leads his three "little birds" into the New Orleans Garden District, which runs from Magazine Street to St. Charles Avenue and from Jackson Avenue to Louisiana Avenue. The area is filled with mansions and foliage that give the district its name. "Are you ready?" he asks. "I'm always ready," Ruby smiles while fussing with her hair. Kate was quiet as they walked through the Garden District. It had a sort of otherworldly quality, with the Spanish Moss hanging down from the trees and the thick, moist air. "Yes, I'm ready," Kate answered when Mr. Gonzales asked. "Can you believe I'm actually hungry?" "Good, that's a welcomed change. We're here!" They are outside of a large two-story wooden building painted teal green with white trim and a three-story clock tower in the corner. [url]http://www.commanderspalace.com/new_orleans/index.php[/url] They enter the building, which has multiple private dining rooms off from the main room. The host approaches the group and says something in French that Ruby and Sonoma don't understand. Gonzales explains who he is looking to see. The man responds. Manuel tells the ladies "He is here." They cross the room and are shown a table where a man in a white silk suit is seated. He has a thin white-and-gray van dyke beard and a full head of gray hair. He has a gold vest with a matching gold necktie on his white shirt. Gold cufflinks and a gold necklace accessorize his clothing. Four gold rings with fancy gems are on his fingers, two per hand. Ruby stays behind Mr. Gonzales and waits for him to speak. Katherine blinked. She hadn't thought anyone could wear so much gold at once. Yes, this one had a high opinion of himself. Kate straightened her shoulders and put on her society manners. The Frenchman stands and bows towards the ladies. He says in English, with heavy French accent, "Hello, such lovely women Mister Gonzales. Ladies, I am Marc Andre Guillieaut. You may address me as Marc." Ruby steps forward and offers her hand. "Pleasure to meet you Mr. Guillieaut, my name is Ruby." Gonzales says, "Yes, these three women are my current apprentices. They had never visited this fine city so I thought they would enjoy the trip. I also value their counsel and opinions, so they may be of help in resolving your current predicament." Guillieaut says, "Yes, but discussion of business can wait until after the meal. This is the finest restaurant in the city." Kate bowed her head slightly in greeting. "Bonsoir, monsieur. Je suis Mme Katherine Kale, il est un plaisir de vous rencontrer. J'espère que nous pourrons vous aider." <<translation: Good evening, Sir. I'm Mrs. Katherine Kale, it's a pleasure to meet you. I hope we'll be able to assist you.>> Vous parle le Francais!" he states. Gonzales says, "Oui, but I am afraid that my other two apprentices do not. Best that we stick with English. A waiter is summoned and Guillieaut orders for the entire table. Kate tells the mage, "My mother is French. She and my father were married in Europe, then he brought her back here." The first course is served in short order, consisting of a salad made with artichoke leaves, prosciutto, oven-dried tomatoes, several cheese, olives with roasted eggplant vinaigrette dressing. For Kate it felt strange to be sitting in a fine restaurant, eating this kind of food again. The meal at her parents had been more than she was used to anymore as well, but it was home. Kate ate the salad and kept her eyes and ears open. Guillieaut monopolizes the conversation, talking mostly of his native France, the beauties of Paris, and the wonderful wines that his family vineyards produce. That reminds him to call over the Wine Steward, and he notes that two of his family's wines are on the menu. He orders two bottles of each to be brought to the table. The next course is served, consisting of blue crab with cornbread stuffing, caramelized pork belly, wilted cabbage, quince jam and bourbon-sugarcane glaze. Kate sipped the wine out of politeness, but kept her actual consumption light. She was still careful of how much she drank, despite feeling better. Alcohol had a way of making your brain fuzzy, and she had the feeling she would need her head clear. The next course is served, consisting of a five bean cassoulet croquette, mizuna greens, sunny side up quail egg and duck sauce. "Oh, I can't wait to see what dessert is!" Ruby exclaims as another extravagant course is brought out. "And this wine is very good. I would miss eating like this every day too." Ruby readily drinks some wine. "I've always wanted to see Paris. My grandmother traveled around the world and she would send me letters from all over. I'm sure it's as beautiful as you describe." "And you are right about this meal, it is delicious." Ruby pushes her hair off her face. "When did you come here to New Orleans?" He replies, "A mere four weeks ago. I had never set foot outside of France until two months ago, and I miss my homeland." Kate comments, "It's a difficult thing, leaving a home you love." He responds, "A home I love? I despise it. For the last decade it has been a cesspool, a place of vile filth ruled over my selfish and corrupt politicians. When I was made a very lucrative offer to participate in a work of greatness I jumped a the chance and took it." Kate says, "In that case it is the France of the past you miss, not the France you left. What endeavor pulled you away?" Ruby comments, "Yes, a work of greatness? I suppose that has to wait until after dinner for an explanation?" He replies, "Yes that. I resigned from participating in that task on the first day. It was not properly researched and I had been misinformed about my role. The proposed project was a fifty-mile long canal between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, to be constructed in the Latin America. They sought my participation to utilize my more powerful spells to cut down on the construction time. But the place was not one where magic could be fully utilized. The magical ley lines of the earth that we tap into not only were not there, but it was one of the rare places on the planet where a magical dead zone existed. I attempted a few spells, and what was produced was but one-hundredth of what it should have been. It was also a hot, miserable, bug infested place that was not suitable for man nor beast. So I came here instead. The dessert cart is brought out. Choices are a Chocolate Molten, which consisted of a white chocolate cafe au lait and chocolate covered espresso beans, a boysenberry tart with a French vanilla whipped cream topping, or a spiced apple cobbler with cheddar cheese topping. "Chocolate for me please," Ruby says with a big smile. Kate waved away the desserts. She had already eaten more than enough to fill her, and their companion didn't do much for her appetite. Thankfully Ruby was up to the task of keeping the man talking. At least the talk about ley lines was interesting, she would have to remember to ask Mr. Gonzales about where more of these "dead zones" might be. Ruby comments, "Now, that sounds like an impossible mission you just described. A canal between the oceans that is. I hope you have found a more attainable pursuit to spend your waking hours." He replies, "Unfortunately I have. Manuel, would you care to do the honors?" He hands Kate a small bag of powder and says, "She has been getting good at this one." He gestures to the lit candle in the center of the table. "Do you hide in corners and watch me?" Kate teased as she sprinkled the powder on the flame. "But thank you for the compliment." The spell didn't have any visual effect, but Kate always felt a strange shimmering at the back of her mind as the spell's effect moved out. She shivered a bit. "We're all set." The French wizard reaches inside of his coat and takes out a newspaper. He hands it to Gonzales who glances at the cover and tells his apprentices "This is a copy of yesterday's Times Picayune, New Orleans main newspaper." Guilleaut says, "The story is on page six." Manuel turns to the page and reads: [I]Mystery at Sea The British merchant ship, the S.S. Jesmond, made an unscheduled stop in its journey on its way to our city. It had departed from Messina, Sicily with a cargo of dried fruits on February 26th. When the ship reached an area 200 miles west of Madeira and 200 miles south of the Azores they noted that the ocean had become unusually muddy and that the vessel was passing through enormous shoals of dead fish. The ship's Captain David Robson then saw smoke on the horizon, which he presumed came from another ship. The next day the fish shoals were even thicker and the smoke on the horizon seemed to be coming from the mountains on an island directly to the west, where, according to the charts, there was no land for thousands of miles. Captain Robson anchored offshore, worried that this uncharted island was surrounded by reefs. Even though the charts indicated an area depth of several thousand fathoms, the anchor hit bottom at only seven fathoms. Robson went ashore with a landing party and found a large island with no vegetation, no trees, no sandy beaches, bare of all life. The shore they landed on was covered with volcanic debris. With no trees they could easily see a plateau beginning several miles away and smoking mountains beyond that. They headed toward the interior in direction of the mountains but found that progress was interrupted by a series of deep chasms. To get to the interior would have taken days. They returned to their landing point and examined a broken cliff, part of which seemed to have been split into a mass of loose gravel as if it had recently been subjected to great force. The sailors then found an arrowhead in the broken rock, and Captain Robson send for picks and shovels form the ship so that the crew could dig into the gravel. He and his crew soon uncovered crumbling remains of massive walls. They continued to dig near the walls for better part of two days, finding bronze swords, rings, mallets, carvings of head figures of birds and animals, and two vases or jars with fragments of bone, and one cranium. Then they found what appeared to be a mummy enclosed in a stone case, encrusted with volcanic deposit so as to be scarcely distinguished form the rock itself. The rock sarcophagus aboard the Jesmond as dark clouds began to roll in off of the horizon, and Robson resumed his course. This reporter has examined the artifacts and they appear to be authentic. Robson's plans to donate the artifacts to the British Museum upon his return to England.[/I] "Well, that story is quite exciting, a true adventure if I ever heard one. Where did the Island come from?" Ruby furrowed her brow. "But what does this have to do with you?" In answer to Ruby's question Gonzales turns to Kate and asks "Do you remember what I told you about the origin of all magical writings?" "If I remember correctly, the language used to write magic is Atlantean. Are you suggesting this island is Atlantis?" Guillieaut replies, "Not just suggesting it, this is the island is Atlantis, or at least a part of the lost continent. French, Spanish and Portuguese scholars have been researching the location of Atlantis for several millennium and this location is consistent with what most have concluded. He pauses and says, "And therein lies the problem. These artifacts cannot fall into the wrong hands, the result could be disastrous to all who utilize magic." Kate says, "The Jesmond is a British ship, and they are giving what they've found to the British museum. So these things would fall into a country aligned with Clerical magic. Could they use these artifacts to damage the ley lines somehow?" The French Wizard replies, "That is just one possibility. The greatest risk is the sarcophagus. Only an Atlantian Emperor would have been buried in such fashion, and they were the mightiest of wizards. But while they were all knowing in terms of wizard magics their knowledge of clerical magics was negligible, as they did not believe in gods. If a grand high priest were to use clerical magics successfully bring this Atlantian back from the dead then his knowledge could be used or misused in any number of ways. It could be disaster for us all who practice magic." "Back from the dead?" Ruby tapped her lip in thought for a moment. "How is it, sir, that you and Mr. Gonzales are involved in this? I mean, have you just taken it upon yourselves to remedy this situation? Seems like a very large endeavor for just two men to fix... And there is the question of why the island has surfaced... and why now... and who else realizes it is the island of Atlantis, if that truly is what this is... and who would try to bring back this man from the dead..." Guillieaut says "Ah, so you've grasped several aspects of this problem. You are indeed a wise young woman.” Ruby blushes and bats her eyelashes. "Thank you for the compliment, coming from a man such as yourself it is a high compliment indeed." He continues, “To answer your questions in order, I knew nothing about this until I read yesterday's newspaper story. It was not safe for me to contact any of my associates in France and the only wizard I knew of in North America was Mr. Gonzales so I contacted him. As to how we will remedy this situation that is what we are meeting now to discuss. Why the island surfaced, well, it sounds like a new volcano was the cause. That will probably lead to a war, as each sea power will claim the island as theirs. As to who will realize that this is Atlantis, I imagine that hundreds in the city read the article and have reached the same conclusion. A contingent of New Orleans police now surrounds the British ship to keep the curious away. And while bringing back the dead is both rare and dangerous I suspect that the leaders of many nations would deem this important enough to attempt." Ruby says, "I suppose time is of the essence in regard to this. What do you propose?" Ruby looks to Katherine to try to gauge what she is thinking about another 'save the world' adventure. [/QUOTE]
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