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Story Hour
AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 5317663" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter 47, ""Well dear, would you care to see Egypt?" (Episode Two, Chapter Seven) - Wednesday, September 6, 1882, 10:30 P.M. </strong></p><p></p><p>George sighs "I know, I know. I just we there were more choices." George faces the doorway and holds the statue of Bast before him and carefully recites the ancient Egyptian and Atlantean words that are now forever scribed in his brain. With a flash of light the barrier becomes visible then vanishes completely. Ruby notes that the aura around the doorway is gone. The packed dirt remains immediately on the other side of the doorway. Ruby comments, "So I guess someone needs to start digging..." </p><p></p><p>Lawrence looks around for a shovel. "I guess it never ends, does it? I've had a long enough rest. Let's get to it." Lawrence's shovel hits the dirt, and the entire wall of packed dirt collapses, it apparently being only a few inches thick. Beyond the doorway is a four-foot-wide corridor, the floor made of polished stone but the walls and ceiling being rough unworked stone. The corridor goes for ten feet and then forks, with the corridor to the right continuing at a downward angle and the one to the left at an incline. </p><p></p><p>George takes deep breath and holding Bast before him, plunges ahead into the tunnel. Benjamin follows, they soon reach the fork in the tunnel. Ruby follows them down the hallway. "Left or right... let's go left." She listens at the fork for any sound before moving. The corridor heads upward at an angle that varies from ten to twenty degrees. This corridor is rougher than those previously traveled in, with an occasional stone support pillar to keep the roof from collapsing. They travel for nearly two-hundred feet when it turns sharply to the right and continues on at a steeper twenty-five degree angle. "I wonder if this is leading us out?" Ruby comments before continuing the ascent. </p><p></p><p>The corridor continues for another seventy-five feet, ending in a twenty-foot diameter room. The room has a stone bench and table for furnishings. Markings on the stone floor indicate that there was once either furniture or containers of some sort but those have long ago been taken away. On the far diagonal wall from the entrance is a pair of three-by-six-foot stone doors at a sixty-degree angle. To either side of the doors are metal fittings that hold a pair of thick metal bars blocking the doors, however both the fittings and the bars are rusted and corroded. The rust appears to be thickest near the crack between the two doors, where a very thin gust of fresh air is also seeping through near the top. Ruby also detects a slight magical aura on the doors. </p><p></p><p>"Well, only one way to go, lets get a crowbar under those bars and open the doors up." says George. Lawrence hefts his shovel. "George, This will have to do. Stand back. Who knows what I might shake loose." If Ruby doesn't stop him, he'll wedge the tool between the doors and pry. The nearly 3000 years of exposure to the elements has weakened the metal bars enough that the combined efforts of the men managed to cause the bars to split and then be pried out. The door itself remains shut and based upon the placement of the bars they apparently open into the room, which would make pushing on them ineffective. </p><p></p><p>"Lawrence, try to get that shovel into the crack between the doors and let's see if we can pry this side up a bit," suggests George. Fish posts up near where the party entered the room to keep an eye out on our tail end. Nanuet pitches in to help and they manage to pry the door inward enough to get the end of the shovel into it. Some sand pours through the crack. They reposition and work out an improvised pulley and lever system to enable them all to help and the right side door soon gives out, opening in with several hundred pounds of sand following, it having piled up outside over the centuries. The doorway appears to be on the side of hill, with the desert sands stretching for several miles into the distance. Mina turns to Ruby and says, "Well dear, would you care to see Egypt?" </p><p></p><p>Abby asks, "Does anyone have the means to hide this door again? The sand isn't going to cut it anymore." They notice it is dark outside. Mina says, "Yes, it's a ten-hour time difference. Back home it would now be mid-afternoon, so it would be around midnight here." As they peer outside Mina thrusts up her hand and whispers "Quiet, I hear voices." Once everybody is silent they all listen intently. The voices are a good distance off, too far to make out what is being said, although they hear enough to determine that the language appears to be Arabic. </p><p></p><p>George holds a finger to his lips and listens carefully to the Arabic, suddenly grateful for that summer he spent in Morocco finding a silver supplier and learning Arabic. He only makes out a smattering of the conversation, a few names and the words for "camel", "rocks", "morning", "provide", "well-organized" and "navigator". He does detect that the conversation appears to be casual, with no indication of alarm or intruders in the area. "What next, friends?" quips Fish quietly.</p><p></p><p>George waves the group back a bit. "I would like to investigate the other branch, but now that this entrance it open, I fear leaving it exposed however. Does someone have a way to conceal the entrance?" asks George quietly. Lawrence wipes the sweat from his brow. He looks around and just sees sand. "I don't see any brush or trees. Can we use the bookcases?" </p><p></p><p>Mina says, "Well, if we're on the outside we can always just shut the door and pile the sand up again." Ruby says, "Good idea Nana, let's just go. It's kind of smelly in here anyway. We just have to be all quiet like is all..." Ruby tries to push her way through the group and out the door to peek out onto the land that she has been desperate to see since she was a child. She looks for where the voices are and if she doesn't see them she will cautiously step outside the door.</p><p></p><p>Mina follows Ruby outside. The air is cool, in the low sixties, with a slight breeze. The owners of the voices are nowhere in sight, the sound coming from bottom of the opposite side of the hill that they are on. The moon shines on the desert below, with miles of straight sand intermixed with sand dunes. Around two miles away is a large brightly lit community of some sort. Floating in the air around two-hundred feet above this community is a dark cigar-shaped balloon that appears to be between five-hundred and six-hundred feet in length. </p><p></p><p>Lawrence whispers to Ruby, "What do you see? Can you see who's talking?" He holds shovel at the ready. George follows into the cool desert night. "All right, what now? We have found a way outside. What is our next priority? And if we conceal the door how can we find it again?" </p><p></p><p>Mina motions for silence and for the others to follow. She makes her way up to the top of the hill and peers over. Down below at the bottom of the opposite side are the excavated ruins. On the sand situated near a stone archway at the hill's base are three canvas tents. Two men attired in western clothing and with head scarves are the two men heard speaking in Arabic. Mina points and whispers saying, "That archway is the entrance to Champollion's dig." Ruby asks, "So Nana, what are we actually going to do? We have to stop the French Wizards but how can we do that?" </p><p></p><p>Mina replies, "All of you stay here and keep an eye on things. I'm going back to the Florida house to let James know we made it here and to get some supplies." Nanuet says, "Mrs. Parker, you shouldn't be going through these caves by yourself." She replies, "Fine, you come with me. We should be back in an hour or so." </p><p></p><p>"Nana! What will we do here without you? I mean, what if something happens??" Ruby's cheeks turned a crimson color. After all, she had taken care of herself for many years and alone on the other side of the country from where her family had lived. But now she was on the other side of the world, as she always wanted to be, and was feeling a little overwhelmed by the fact they weren't exactly here on vacation.</p><p></p><p>She took a deep breath in and let it out. "Oh, we'll be fine, I was just being silly." She looked down onto the other dig site. "Perhaps while you are away I should get a closer look at that," she pointed to the archway. "Or maybe that big balloon thing, what the heck is that anyway?? Or that far off city, maybe we should go investigate that," she suddenly grinned at that thought. "Do you know the name of it Nana?" </p><p></p><p>Mina replies, "That is the city of Zakazik, which looks to be where the balloon is anchored, notice it isn't moving. Don't consider going towards the city yet until I return. You way want to just rest here and keep a guard. If you do decide to check out the men in the tents, or that lower tunnel, then please be careful. We will be back as soon as we can." Ruby nodded. "Yes Nana. And you be safe going back." She kissed the woman on the cheek and did the same for Nanuet. She didn't have to ask Nanuet to make sure her grandmother was safe in their travels. Mina and Nanuet say their goodbyes and head back down the tunnel towards the gateway.</p><p></p><p>"Well, Mr. Eastman, you're the only one with anything like a working knowledge of what the locals speak 'round these parts. What do you suggest we do next?" asks Fish sincerely. George replies to Fish, "I will head down and see if I can't scare up some more info." Turning to Ruby he gives her a kiss and says "Cover me" George, his face and hands stained dark with walnut stain in preparation for this, wraps some cloth around his head as a keffiyeh and quietly makes his way down the dune to eavesdrop on the men some more. Lawrence reaches into his pocket for a handkerchief and brushes the handle of the revolver Hardin gave him. He thinks, I forgot that was there. He draws it and thumbs back the hammer. "I have you covered, too, George." </p><p></p><p>Lawrence and George make their way down and around the hill, staying low and using the tents themselves to shield them from the pair of men. As they near they can see that the camp consists of four tents, two larger tents, approximately twenty-foot square and two smaller ones approximately eight-foot square, one of the smaller ones having been behind a bigger one. Snoring is coming from both of the smaller tents. </p><p></p><p>The two men are guarding the entrance to one of the bigger tents, the one closest to the archway to the temple. George listens to their conversation for around twenty minutes and draws a number of conclusions: (1) The men are brothers named Haaab and Rameri; (2) They are currently employed by Frenchmen; (3) The Frenchmen are staying at the best inn at Zakazik; (4) The men are very nervous about the British Army heading that direction; (5) They both have a great dislike for a particular lamb, carrot and bread meal that their mother makes; (6) They wish that they had brought more cigars with them. </p><p></p><p>Ruby pops up behind George and Lawrence. She whispers, "Find anything out?" After George fills her in she says, "I think I'll try to sneak up behind the back of the unguarded bigger tent and get a closer view." Ruby sneaks around the hill and making the least amount of noise possible she chooses the best route to go unseen to come up behind the back of the second tent. </p><p></p><p>Ruby manages to make her way into the tent unseen. It is fairly dark inside and it takes her a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light. She sees that the interior of the tent consists of several tables, two with books and another with maps. There are also three locked steamer trunks inside. Ruby checks the trunks for traps, searching thoroughly before attempting to pick the lock on one. </p><p></p><p>She finds no traps and is successful at picking the locks. The trunk is filled with standard archaeological supplies - lanterns, ropes, spikes, shovels, brooms, blankets, clear glass jars with some sort of liquid inside, and half-a-dozen more books. Ruby grabs a smattering of books, one of the clear glass jars and the maps off the table. She returns to George and Lawrence and shows them the newly acquired booty. "Does any of this mean anything to you two?" </p><p></p><p>With only the moonlight for illumination they are unable to make out exactly what the book is. They can see enough of the maps to determine that they are all of Egypt, and that many notations have been written on them. George are Lawrence are able to deduce that the balloon must have done some high-altitude reconnaissance of both the Egyptian and British forces, and it appears that several days still remain before either army reaches this location. </p><p></p><p>She says, "Let's get back to the others now. I think these guys are really just watching this site. Perhaps the French Wizard is sleeping here and I don't think we're prepared to face him without James and Nana. We need to figure out how we are going to make sure the armies don't meet up and fight here. At least, I think that is why we are here..."</p><p></p><p>Ruby is quiet for a moment while George and Lawrence discuss the findings. She listens to them talk and it bores her, not while something so magnificent waits so nearby. She peeks over the top of a dune and looks out, across the desert and towards the city. The quiet out there, the nothingness, then the lights, the ancient exotic calling to her... her heart swelling with excitement and happiness. Her body was literally itchy to go towards the city, out into the desert or at least into the other dig site. </p><p></p><p>She flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked back to the boys. She looked out into the desert, back to the boys, back to the desert then sighed. She would have to wait another day for adventure. "Alright let's go." Ruby led them back to the others where they passed on what information they gathered. "Should we just wait for Nana or should we maybe sneak into their dig site and see what they found?" George grinned at Ruby. He was calculating and methodical. She was impulsive and reckless. Yet at times she had the right idea and he had learned to trust that. "Let's go check out the dig site and see how close they are." </p><p></p><p>Being mindful to stay out of sight of the two guards, they are able make their way around about two-thirds of the dig. They find that a number of small structures have been unearthed as well as a small dry canal. Nothing of intrinsic value looks to be out on display. They can see the remaining third of the sight, including the entrance to the temple, but cannot venture into that area without being spotted by the guards. Ruby nodded at George. "I have an idea..."</p><p></p><p>She looked around the camp and thought for a long moment. "Okay, I figured it out." She cast some arcane words, a little more complicated than her normal spell casting. It took a few seconds but then both Ruby and George slowly disappeared from each others sight. George could hear Ruby giggle at her own talent. "Okay Babe, let's go get in some trouble! And find out what this French guy has found here," she whispered. </p><p></p><p>She stumbled around to find his hand then carefully chose the best path to get them inside the entrance of the temple. They moved slowly and carefully and as silently as they could. George smiled at Ruby's inventiveness and followed her silently down the dune, walking in her footsteps obscuring the tracks. </p><p></p><p>After Ruby and George disappeared into the temple Fish exclaimed, "Well damn! Somebody oughtta watch their tail!" He asks Lawrence, "What say me and you git back down there and keep an eye out near the temple entrance?" "Well, I guess that leaves me to be the responsible one and keep an eye on this door," Abby said in her thick accent. "That'll be a first," she laughed.</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong><em>NOTE - We are currently on a short break, having lost a few players due to life circumstances, and are actively recuriting one or two replacement players. This Story Hour is a wee bit behind, with the playing characters now up to Sept. 9th, having just discovered the plans of the Frenchmen. The British and Egyptian armies are on the verge of their first battle. If you are interesting in joining us please post to the following thread over on the Circvs Maximvs board. Thank you.</em></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.circvsmaximvs.com/showthread.php?p=1195937#post1195937" target="_blank">http://www.circvsmaximvs.com/showthread.php?p=1195937#post1195937</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 5317663, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter 47, ""Well dear, would you care to see Egypt?" (Episode Two, Chapter Seven) - Wednesday, September 6, 1882, 10:30 P.M. [/B] George sighs "I know, I know. I just we there were more choices." George faces the doorway and holds the statue of Bast before him and carefully recites the ancient Egyptian and Atlantean words that are now forever scribed in his brain. With a flash of light the barrier becomes visible then vanishes completely. Ruby notes that the aura around the doorway is gone. The packed dirt remains immediately on the other side of the doorway. Ruby comments, "So I guess someone needs to start digging..." Lawrence looks around for a shovel. "I guess it never ends, does it? I've had a long enough rest. Let's get to it." Lawrence's shovel hits the dirt, and the entire wall of packed dirt collapses, it apparently being only a few inches thick. Beyond the doorway is a four-foot-wide corridor, the floor made of polished stone but the walls and ceiling being rough unworked stone. The corridor goes for ten feet and then forks, with the corridor to the right continuing at a downward angle and the one to the left at an incline. George takes deep breath and holding Bast before him, plunges ahead into the tunnel. Benjamin follows, they soon reach the fork in the tunnel. Ruby follows them down the hallway. "Left or right... let's go left." She listens at the fork for any sound before moving. The corridor heads upward at an angle that varies from ten to twenty degrees. This corridor is rougher than those previously traveled in, with an occasional stone support pillar to keep the roof from collapsing. They travel for nearly two-hundred feet when it turns sharply to the right and continues on at a steeper twenty-five degree angle. "I wonder if this is leading us out?" Ruby comments before continuing the ascent. The corridor continues for another seventy-five feet, ending in a twenty-foot diameter room. The room has a stone bench and table for furnishings. Markings on the stone floor indicate that there was once either furniture or containers of some sort but those have long ago been taken away. On the far diagonal wall from the entrance is a pair of three-by-six-foot stone doors at a sixty-degree angle. To either side of the doors are metal fittings that hold a pair of thick metal bars blocking the doors, however both the fittings and the bars are rusted and corroded. The rust appears to be thickest near the crack between the two doors, where a very thin gust of fresh air is also seeping through near the top. Ruby also detects a slight magical aura on the doors. "Well, only one way to go, lets get a crowbar under those bars and open the doors up." says George. Lawrence hefts his shovel. "George, This will have to do. Stand back. Who knows what I might shake loose." If Ruby doesn't stop him, he'll wedge the tool between the doors and pry. The nearly 3000 years of exposure to the elements has weakened the metal bars enough that the combined efforts of the men managed to cause the bars to split and then be pried out. The door itself remains shut and based upon the placement of the bars they apparently open into the room, which would make pushing on them ineffective. "Lawrence, try to get that shovel into the crack between the doors and let's see if we can pry this side up a bit," suggests George. Fish posts up near where the party entered the room to keep an eye out on our tail end. Nanuet pitches in to help and they manage to pry the door inward enough to get the end of the shovel into it. Some sand pours through the crack. They reposition and work out an improvised pulley and lever system to enable them all to help and the right side door soon gives out, opening in with several hundred pounds of sand following, it having piled up outside over the centuries. The doorway appears to be on the side of hill, with the desert sands stretching for several miles into the distance. Mina turns to Ruby and says, "Well dear, would you care to see Egypt?" Abby asks, "Does anyone have the means to hide this door again? The sand isn't going to cut it anymore." They notice it is dark outside. Mina says, "Yes, it's a ten-hour time difference. Back home it would now be mid-afternoon, so it would be around midnight here." As they peer outside Mina thrusts up her hand and whispers "Quiet, I hear voices." Once everybody is silent they all listen intently. The voices are a good distance off, too far to make out what is being said, although they hear enough to determine that the language appears to be Arabic. George holds a finger to his lips and listens carefully to the Arabic, suddenly grateful for that summer he spent in Morocco finding a silver supplier and learning Arabic. He only makes out a smattering of the conversation, a few names and the words for "camel", "rocks", "morning", "provide", "well-organized" and "navigator". He does detect that the conversation appears to be casual, with no indication of alarm or intruders in the area. "What next, friends?" quips Fish quietly. George waves the group back a bit. "I would like to investigate the other branch, but now that this entrance it open, I fear leaving it exposed however. Does someone have a way to conceal the entrance?" asks George quietly. Lawrence wipes the sweat from his brow. He looks around and just sees sand. "I don't see any brush or trees. Can we use the bookcases?" Mina says, "Well, if we're on the outside we can always just shut the door and pile the sand up again." Ruby says, "Good idea Nana, let's just go. It's kind of smelly in here anyway. We just have to be all quiet like is all..." Ruby tries to push her way through the group and out the door to peek out onto the land that she has been desperate to see since she was a child. She looks for where the voices are and if she doesn't see them she will cautiously step outside the door. Mina follows Ruby outside. The air is cool, in the low sixties, with a slight breeze. The owners of the voices are nowhere in sight, the sound coming from bottom of the opposite side of the hill that they are on. The moon shines on the desert below, with miles of straight sand intermixed with sand dunes. Around two miles away is a large brightly lit community of some sort. Floating in the air around two-hundred feet above this community is a dark cigar-shaped balloon that appears to be between five-hundred and six-hundred feet in length. Lawrence whispers to Ruby, "What do you see? Can you see who's talking?" He holds shovel at the ready. George follows into the cool desert night. "All right, what now? We have found a way outside. What is our next priority? And if we conceal the door how can we find it again?" Mina motions for silence and for the others to follow. She makes her way up to the top of the hill and peers over. Down below at the bottom of the opposite side are the excavated ruins. On the sand situated near a stone archway at the hill's base are three canvas tents. Two men attired in western clothing and with head scarves are the two men heard speaking in Arabic. Mina points and whispers saying, "That archway is the entrance to Champollion's dig." Ruby asks, "So Nana, what are we actually going to do? We have to stop the French Wizards but how can we do that?" Mina replies, "All of you stay here and keep an eye on things. I'm going back to the Florida house to let James know we made it here and to get some supplies." Nanuet says, "Mrs. Parker, you shouldn't be going through these caves by yourself." She replies, "Fine, you come with me. We should be back in an hour or so." "Nana! What will we do here without you? I mean, what if something happens??" Ruby's cheeks turned a crimson color. After all, she had taken care of herself for many years and alone on the other side of the country from where her family had lived. But now she was on the other side of the world, as she always wanted to be, and was feeling a little overwhelmed by the fact they weren't exactly here on vacation. She took a deep breath in and let it out. "Oh, we'll be fine, I was just being silly." She looked down onto the other dig site. "Perhaps while you are away I should get a closer look at that," she pointed to the archway. "Or maybe that big balloon thing, what the heck is that anyway?? Or that far off city, maybe we should go investigate that," she suddenly grinned at that thought. "Do you know the name of it Nana?" Mina replies, "That is the city of Zakazik, which looks to be where the balloon is anchored, notice it isn't moving. Don't consider going towards the city yet until I return. You way want to just rest here and keep a guard. If you do decide to check out the men in the tents, or that lower tunnel, then please be careful. We will be back as soon as we can." Ruby nodded. "Yes Nana. And you be safe going back." She kissed the woman on the cheek and did the same for Nanuet. She didn't have to ask Nanuet to make sure her grandmother was safe in their travels. Mina and Nanuet say their goodbyes and head back down the tunnel towards the gateway. "Well, Mr. Eastman, you're the only one with anything like a working knowledge of what the locals speak 'round these parts. What do you suggest we do next?" asks Fish sincerely. George replies to Fish, "I will head down and see if I can't scare up some more info." Turning to Ruby he gives her a kiss and says "Cover me" George, his face and hands stained dark with walnut stain in preparation for this, wraps some cloth around his head as a keffiyeh and quietly makes his way down the dune to eavesdrop on the men some more. Lawrence reaches into his pocket for a handkerchief and brushes the handle of the revolver Hardin gave him. He thinks, I forgot that was there. He draws it and thumbs back the hammer. "I have you covered, too, George." Lawrence and George make their way down and around the hill, staying low and using the tents themselves to shield them from the pair of men. As they near they can see that the camp consists of four tents, two larger tents, approximately twenty-foot square and two smaller ones approximately eight-foot square, one of the smaller ones having been behind a bigger one. Snoring is coming from both of the smaller tents. The two men are guarding the entrance to one of the bigger tents, the one closest to the archway to the temple. George listens to their conversation for around twenty minutes and draws a number of conclusions: (1) The men are brothers named Haaab and Rameri; (2) They are currently employed by Frenchmen; (3) The Frenchmen are staying at the best inn at Zakazik; (4) The men are very nervous about the British Army heading that direction; (5) They both have a great dislike for a particular lamb, carrot and bread meal that their mother makes; (6) They wish that they had brought more cigars with them. Ruby pops up behind George and Lawrence. She whispers, "Find anything out?" After George fills her in she says, "I think I'll try to sneak up behind the back of the unguarded bigger tent and get a closer view." Ruby sneaks around the hill and making the least amount of noise possible she chooses the best route to go unseen to come up behind the back of the second tent. Ruby manages to make her way into the tent unseen. It is fairly dark inside and it takes her a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light. She sees that the interior of the tent consists of several tables, two with books and another with maps. There are also three locked steamer trunks inside. Ruby checks the trunks for traps, searching thoroughly before attempting to pick the lock on one. She finds no traps and is successful at picking the locks. The trunk is filled with standard archaeological supplies - lanterns, ropes, spikes, shovels, brooms, blankets, clear glass jars with some sort of liquid inside, and half-a-dozen more books. Ruby grabs a smattering of books, one of the clear glass jars and the maps off the table. She returns to George and Lawrence and shows them the newly acquired booty. "Does any of this mean anything to you two?" With only the moonlight for illumination they are unable to make out exactly what the book is. They can see enough of the maps to determine that they are all of Egypt, and that many notations have been written on them. George are Lawrence are able to deduce that the balloon must have done some high-altitude reconnaissance of both the Egyptian and British forces, and it appears that several days still remain before either army reaches this location. She says, "Let's get back to the others now. I think these guys are really just watching this site. Perhaps the French Wizard is sleeping here and I don't think we're prepared to face him without James and Nana. We need to figure out how we are going to make sure the armies don't meet up and fight here. At least, I think that is why we are here..." Ruby is quiet for a moment while George and Lawrence discuss the findings. She listens to them talk and it bores her, not while something so magnificent waits so nearby. She peeks over the top of a dune and looks out, across the desert and towards the city. The quiet out there, the nothingness, then the lights, the ancient exotic calling to her... her heart swelling with excitement and happiness. Her body was literally itchy to go towards the city, out into the desert or at least into the other dig site. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked back to the boys. She looked out into the desert, back to the boys, back to the desert then sighed. She would have to wait another day for adventure. "Alright let's go." Ruby led them back to the others where they passed on what information they gathered. "Should we just wait for Nana or should we maybe sneak into their dig site and see what they found?" George grinned at Ruby. He was calculating and methodical. She was impulsive and reckless. Yet at times she had the right idea and he had learned to trust that. "Let's go check out the dig site and see how close they are." Being mindful to stay out of sight of the two guards, they are able make their way around about two-thirds of the dig. They find that a number of small structures have been unearthed as well as a small dry canal. Nothing of intrinsic value looks to be out on display. They can see the remaining third of the sight, including the entrance to the temple, but cannot venture into that area without being spotted by the guards. Ruby nodded at George. "I have an idea..." She looked around the camp and thought for a long moment. "Okay, I figured it out." She cast some arcane words, a little more complicated than her normal spell casting. It took a few seconds but then both Ruby and George slowly disappeared from each others sight. George could hear Ruby giggle at her own talent. "Okay Babe, let's go get in some trouble! And find out what this French guy has found here," she whispered. She stumbled around to find his hand then carefully chose the best path to get them inside the entrance of the temple. They moved slowly and carefully and as silently as they could. George smiled at Ruby's inventiveness and followed her silently down the dune, walking in her footsteps obscuring the tracks. After Ruby and George disappeared into the temple Fish exclaimed, "Well damn! Somebody oughtta watch their tail!" He asks Lawrence, "What say me and you git back down there and keep an eye out near the temple entrance?" "Well, I guess that leaves me to be the responsible one and keep an eye on this door," Abby said in her thick accent. "That'll be a first," she laughed. [B][I]NOTE - We are currently on a short break, having lost a few players due to life circumstances, and are actively recuriting one or two replacement players. This Story Hour is a wee bit behind, with the playing characters now up to Sept. 9th, having just discovered the plans of the Frenchmen. The British and Egyptian armies are on the verge of their first battle. If you are interesting in joining us please post to the following thread over on the Circvs Maximvs board. Thank you.[/I][/B][I][/I] [url]http://www.circvsmaximvs.com/showthread.php?p=1195937#post1195937[/url] [/QUOTE]
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AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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