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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 6901427" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter 94, “Captive Audience" September 12, 1882, 12:00AM. </strong></p><p></p><p>The Royal Barrister continues "As to my loyalty, produce a Priest who detect Truthfulness and I will swear my devotion to the Royal Family and how I would never wish to see any harm to them." Gesturing to the Iron Gate over the pyramid entrance he says, "Mr. Dagurrre's spell will not dissipate for another two hours and before that happens I will take full advantage of this captive audience to uncover the facts of what has transpired." George smiles wryly "I have so many options at my disposal to test your assertion. However, perhaps we shall take you up on that offer."</p><p></p><p>Looking towards 'Neferka", the Royal Barrister says, "Now as to people not being who they seem to be, I would like the 'Princess' to go stand beside her deceased husband." He then turns to the wall where the Royal servants are standing and points first to the older Egyptian woman that had earlier whispered to Ruby and then he gestures to to a young male clerk and states, "And you may both go join them Selletta and Kator." </p><p></p><p>The Young Man moves forward and says, "That will not be necessary", as he removes a feather quill from his pocket. He immediately transforms into Neferka's Ogre Mage bodyguard, who had delivered the magical robe to Ruby hours earlier. He is attired in his fancy uniform, with the Legion Flying Belt around his waist. He states, "The Princess sent me here to help, a duty that I have clearly failed with until now. I should have acted earlier, but was confused as to exactly who to help. Mr. Eastman speaks the truth, the woman before us in not Neferka, however I have no reason to believe that the body lying on the ground before us is anybody other than her husband." </p><p></p><p>Ruby keeps her eyes trained on the "princess," waiting patiently for her clever fiance to straighten out the details, she was definitely not going to let that fake princess pull a fast one. George says "Thank you for your affirmation Mengesha. And I would ask you where the princess is now, but would accept if you declined due to security reasons. But you know we only seek to aid her in whatever way we can."</p><p></p><p>Turning back to the barrister George continues "There, you have some confirmation of the reason of our presence. I wish now to ask you some questions. You misrepresented my statement earlier. I merely said SOME of the French delegation acted as such, most of them have acted with the grace and dignity of their station, position, and mission and I commend them for that. But I do take issue with your assertion that the lightning bolts were fired in self-defense. Most of us would say they saw three bolts, all originating from the corner. I saw no attack on them first. It is easy to accuse the dead of crimes as they cannot defend themselves."</p><p></p><p>The Barrister says, "Three lightning bolts were indeed thrown, and all appeared to have originated from the section of the room with the elderly Frenchmen. However, I was close enough to Prince Rajjid at the time to hear his incantation, which was a different version of a lightning bolt spell than what the French were casting. His was a localized version of a 'Chain Lightening" spell, which bounces from one person to another, and draws upon each victim's life force to continue. You may have noticed that the bolt that killed the princes curved somewhat rather than being fully straight as the wizard version would have been. </p><p></p><p>The French began their spells first, and I presume Rajjid also heard them start to cast their lightning spells and decided to use that timing for his. However he acted too quickly, his version of the spell had a much shorter casting time. The wizard version taps into only Wizard Magic, whereas the other version taps into both Wizard and Earth Magics, which are both strong in the Cairo region and accellerated his spell even more. So Rajjid's spell was essentially speeded up, beginning slightly before the others. </p><p></p><p>I presume that the French saw it originate from where they were although they did not cast it. Their own spells then reached the end of the casting time and so they sent them at the Egyptian wizards, rather than at Orarbi, their most-likely original target. Furthermore, the French wizards were much more powerful wizards that Rajjid, if had been the ones to cast a 'Chain Lightening' it would have had the power to strike far more than just two victims. </p><p></p><p>However, you are correct in pointing out that mine is also just a theory. When Mr. Jacquard regains consciousness we can ask him directly. It may very well be that Azam, Rajjid and the other apprentice Kellif were their intended targets from the onset. However, it is still a fact that the bolt which struck the princes originated from Rajjid rather than the French wizards." George says, "No, it is your observation, not yet a fact until confirmed by other witnesses. It is plausible though I will grant you."</p><p></p><p>George next says, "I also will now send my finace to examine the body the Orabi, to determine if it is Orabi in truth. Although we have no way now to know if he was under some mental control of another party. Based on information I know of tonight I suspect as such. But again that will be difficult to determine. So, please do not shoot at her as she proceeds to help us discover more of the facts so say you crave. Back to the French, we have further evidence, facts as an Oxford man might say, would you care to hear such testimony?" </p><p></p><p>The Barrister says, "You may, but only after I first attempt to remove the magical disguises from these other two as well as Orabi if that identity is indeed false." The Barrister moves forward and casts the spell on the two servants as well as the body of General Orabi. The woman who appeared as Neferka is transformed into the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt. The older servant woman grows in height and transforms into the form of a middle-aged wood elf. As this occurs the French Empress loudly exclaims "Manny!" She jumps up and starts to move towards him until an icy stare from the Barrister causes her to stop. </p><p></p><p>Manuel Gonzales states, "Barrister Sefu, I am a long-time friend of the woman Selletta and assumed her identity with her express permission, in order to help protect the King. Obviously, I was unsuccessful in that endeavor, which I deeply regret. My apprentice Constance Grace West nearly died at the hands of that madman as well." The Barrister says, "A madman yes and as near as I can tell, he was also General Orabi, as this appears to be his normal form." </p><p></p><p>George says, "Indeed, I fear that there are many layers to this plot. Now we need to determine why Ms. Bernhardt was impersonating the princess. Most likely to provide a better cover for Orabi. I have my own observations for the behavior of Orabi. We cannot verify them directly since he is dead. But we can discuss those later. let us deal with the living. I would ask that my companion Ms. Abigail Marsters to come forward and provide personal testimony as to further evidence as to Ms. Bernhardt's greater role in this as well as again some of the French delegates." The Barrister says, "She may, but first I would like to hear from Ms. Bernhardt directly, otherwise she may pattern her words based upon the further testimony."</p><p></p><p>The wood elf speaks up again stating, "I concur that Orabi does not appear to be under the transformation of a spell or magical item. After my apprentice's bullet bounced off from him I cast a Dispel Magic to rid him of the "Stoneskin" spell. It would have stripped off any magical disguise as well." The Royal Barrister turns back to the wood elf and says, "And exactly who might you be?" He bows and says, "Manual Gonzales, originally from Mexico, now a resident of the United States. If you are familiar with Novarro's text about world magics, I was the author of the chapter regarding Latin American and South American magic." "I know that book," the Barrister states. </p><p></p><p>Gesturing towards the French Empress the Barrister asks, "And she was under you?" For the first time since Ruby has known him, Gonzales blushes and stutters, stating, "Errr, well, what exactly..." The Barrister impatiently replies, "Was she your apprentice?" Gonzales answers "Apprentice? No Sir, although the time that we spent together was rather magical." Several in the room briefly laugh at that response. Ruby steps forward. "I am Master Gonzales's apprentice Ruby West, though as we've already met barrister, you already know that. What I want to know is, where is my friend, the real Princess? And I hope her true husband is with her and this dead body is just a decoy. I would imagine the actress knows where the Princess is." </p><p></p><p>Turning to Bernhardt the Barrister says, "Ms. Bernhardt, what have you to say." The woman says, "Like Mr. Gonzales, I am here at the express request of the person whose place I was taking. Princess Neferka feared what her father would do to her, so just as she had done yesterday with Miss. West, she today asked me to use her magical ring to impersonate her. I am not involved in Mr. Gourard's plot, I did not know anything about an invisible gun, or the plan to kill the King." </p><p></p><p>The Barrister nods and says, "You too appear to be sincere, however you are also the greatest actress of our generation, so I will remain skeptical." He continues, "Well Ms. Bernhardt, where is the real Princess Nefeka?" The woman replies, "When I saw her last she was in Zakazik. If she is still there now I do not know. Her advisers were suggesting that she relocate, as a major battle may be taking place within that region at dawn." Ruby narrows her eyes at the actress. "The last I spoke to the Princess she was very committed to being here herself! She wanted to convince her parents of her love for her new husband in her own words. I think you kidnapped the Princess, stole her magic ring and you are lying!" </p><p></p><p>The Ogre Mengesha steps forward and asks to be recognized. He says, "Either or both of their statements may be accurate. When I left Zakazik many hours ago the Princess did indeed wish to appear before her father in person, however both her own advisors and the French diplomats were strongly opposed to the idea. General Orabi also was opposed, feeling that if the King obtained both of them then the couple would have absolutely no leverage remaining. But one of the main reasons she wished to come in person was to vouch for her friend Miss West. </p><p></p><p>Once Neferka found out that Ruby West was safely free of the castle dungeon that no longer became necessary. She still feared for her friends safety, and sent me here to return to Ruby the magical dress that had been purchased earlier. It is truly fortunate that she did so, or Miss West would now be dead. It therefore does not surprise me that Neferka may have sent somebody in her place." He then gestures to Miss Bernhardt and adds, "However, I have never met this woman before. As of early this afternoon she was not in Zakazik, and had never met the Princess up until then. I would be wary of believing this woman's story at face value, and would also very much like to know the current whereabouts of my charge."</p><p></p><p>The Barrister looks back towards George and says, "I will hear from your Ms. Marsters now." She steps forward and says, "I am Abigail Marsters, and if I may, sir, what I have to relate may shed some light on the motives of Miss Bernhardt. It may be easier to sift truth from lies if I tell you what I know away from her ears, so you may then question her without her being aware of what I've told you." He replies, "It might indeed, and under other circumstances I would agree with that suggestion. However, we are all confined to a single room and will all be here for the next few hours, so this environment will have to do." </p><p></p><p>Abby nods and states, "I entered a French camp seeking to liberate some British archaeologists who had been held as spies. They were not, of course. I disguised myself as this woman, Sarah Bernhardt, for the simple reason that I knew she was a member of the wizards group and I knew what she looked like. A man name Prosper Merimee saw me there, and believed me to be his apprentice and that Miss Bernhardt was there to discuss her role in Egypt with him.</p><p></p><p>From him a learned of a plot where Miss Bernhardt and a man named Sardou, another actor, would impersonate the Druidess Meren and her Priest companion and use the opportunity of delivering sheep from the royal flock to poison the feast in the Palace that night. These orders were passed to Miss Bernhardt by a man named Gay-Lussac. The attempt was to be made this way because two wizards by the name of Pascal and Monteblanc had tried to enter the Palace the previous year using magical disguises and we caught and killed, but without revealing their true identities. A man named Chevreul was the one who brought Merimee, Bernhardt, and Sardou into the plot. The poison was provided by a man named Moissan."</p><p></p><p>The lawyer stops her there and comments. "Very interesting, that dovetails with facts already obtained. Your friend Miss West warned us of the poisoning plot. And the fact that you know of what happened last year adds further credence to your story, those facts were not shared with outsiders. He turns to Duray and says, "Mr. Duray, your group that came as guests in Cairo numbered six. We know that Mr. Massonet went to convey a message to your colleagues, but what ever became of Mr. Moissan? We have not seen him since word of the poisoning plot first circulated yesterday. And isn't his scientific field alchemy?"</p><p></p><p>Duray replies, "Henri Moissan is a chemist and inventor. Yes, he has indeed worked before with toxic substances, but only for good intentions. As to where he is at, I cannot say, I have not seen him since last evening. Given all of the confusion at the palace earlier I just assume that he exited along with most of the other guests." The Barrister turns his attention back to Abigail. </p><p></p><p>Abby took a deep breath and continued. "Later, I went with a friend to warn the Druidess. She allowed us to accompany her as guards when she left to deliver the sheep to the Palace. We were attacked. We managed to wound some of the attackers and they teleported away. Only a man named Rene Belloq remained. He claimed that my information was incomplete, that Merimee know only part of what was going on and had incorrectly assumed what the purpose of the mission was. I did not trust him, but I also do not like to kill out of hand, nor do I think my own judgment infallible. I wish I had followed my instincts. When we reached the Palace Belloq spoke to the guards in Nubian and we found ourselves imprisoned for our trouble."</p><p></p><p>The Barrister says, "Actually, your imprisonment had far more to due with Miss West's words to the King and Grand Vizier than anything Mr. Belloq said to a guard. Once we knew of a potential poisoning plot involving the royal flock we left standing orders that any sheep brought to the palace were to be isolated along with the people who brought them." Abby replies, "And yet, Belloq was not quarantined with us. And when I accused him of being a murderer, he only smirked and said it was too bad I didn't speak Nubian so I could warn them. He was quite satisfied with himself, the bastard." </p><p></p><p>Abby continues, "I later saw Belloq on a dirigible that was firing on the Palace. The political situation in France is such that the wizards are losing influence rapidly. Soon, France may restrict wizardry, or outlaw it entirely. At least some of the members of the wizards group are trying to bring Egypt under their control, to keep their power and have a safe base to operate from. How widespread this plot is, I cannot say." </p><p></p><p>The Barrister says, "Thank you for your testimony." Turning back to Durey, the Barrister asks, "What can you tell me of this Mr. Belloq?" The man replies "I do not really know him, he is one of the newest members of our rather vast group, we have over fifty members. He is a linguist and rather charismatic, so I am not surprised that he managed to talk his way past a lower-level guard. She says she saw him on the dirigible over the palace, and we all saw that crash after the encounter with the transformed German wizard, so he is most likely now dead. Even if he survived the crash, that German wizard has deep hatred for our group, so she would have seen to his demise." </p><p></p><p>The Barriseter now turns back to Miss. Bernhardt and asks if she has anything to add. She says, "I stand by my earlier statement. I had no involvement with any plot to harm the King. I was indeed with the group who attempted to stop Miss Marsters from reaching the palace with the sheep yesterday, but only because we too had uncovered information about the poisoning plot. Keeping the poison from ever reaching the palace seemed the best course of action. I could be magnanimous and say that it was to save your King, but the truth is that our team leader Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac was primarily worried about the safety of our six colleagues visiting with the King at the palace and did not wish for any harm to come to them." </p><p></p><p>One of the ogre guards calls out "He is gone" in Arabic. It is one of the pair guarding Baron Gaspard Gouraud. As the others turn in that direction they see both guards still pointing their weapons where the elder French wizard had been, but he is no longer there. Ruby concentrates on the area where the wizard was, trying to detect if he is actually gone or just invisible. She spots an aura of somebody moving away from that area under the cover of invisibility. He is moving in the direction of the unconscious man Joseph-Marie Jacquard, who Abigail is still standing beside. </p><p></p><p>"He's there!" Ruby yells, pointing to the spot where the man is. She keeps concentrating while moving towards him in a hurried fashion towards Abby. Not able to see the man, Abby could only assume he was trying to come for the man behind her. She set herself between and began listening carefully as well as watching the floor for signs of the wizard's passing, planning to throw herself toward his feet. A guard fires at where Ruby pointed. The Barrister says, "Nobody shoot. I will cast a detect invisib...." He then stops mid-sentence and freezes like a statue. George swears to a host of gods in several languages.</p><p></p><p>Abby lays in wait. She does not hear anybody moving near her. Ruby rushes towards the man, scoops up some sand from the ground and throws it onto the invisible shadow. "Shoot him now! You probably need magic to harm him!" Abby attempts to use Ruby's guidance for a magic missile spell. Missiles shoot out from her fingertips and at least two connect. Ruby exclaims, "Nice shot Abby! The coward is hiding behind the pillar, he knows he is guilty!" The man quickly moves behind the nearest support pillar (and away from Abby and Jacquard). </p><p></p><p>Abby grabbed her rifle, again not as a gun but as a club. She ran for the pillar, then swung about where she would expect his mid-section to be. He manages to just miss her first swing (one disadvantage to not being able to actually see your target). An object is thrown out from behind the support column. It lands in the center of the room, not far from where George and the Barrister are standing. It looks to be a metal can with the smoke pouring out the top. Reflexively George kicks it back to the column, those days as a footballer in college serving him well. that goes up into the air and explodes, then falling to the group with a trail of red smoke coming from it and hits the pillar. Gonzales yells out "It's not magical, but may be poisonous". Ruby notes the man is still invisible and makes no attempt to get away from the can, and appears to now be casting some sort of spell. </p><p></p><p>Ruby hears the incantation, recognizing the spell as the "Transport" spell that Gonzales has used many times before, and remembering that Gonzales always had to use a brazier to first generate a colored smoke needed to make the spell work. "Oh no you don't!" Ruby runs over towards the Baron full speed and dives onto him, trying to knock him over and restrict his weight so his spell won't work. "You're staying right here in this room!!" Unfortunately Abigail is in her way and Ruby sees the aura disappear. Using the sound of his voice and her last swing to guide her, Abby re-aims and tries again. The voice stops and the rifle swings through the air where the voice had been. </p><p></p><p>Sighing, George swears again "Guards, obviously a little more alert" "He got away," Ruby says, disappointed. "It happens," Abby said, also disappointed. "But we kept him from taking his friend with him." She watched the guards as they restrained the French and was finally able to move toward the others. "Now there is just her to answer questions." Seeing that he isn't must help against an unseen foe, Lawrence scans the area just to make sure there are no more surprises.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 6901427, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter 94, “Captive Audience" September 12, 1882, 12:00AM. [/B] The Royal Barrister continues "As to my loyalty, produce a Priest who detect Truthfulness and I will swear my devotion to the Royal Family and how I would never wish to see any harm to them." Gesturing to the Iron Gate over the pyramid entrance he says, "Mr. Dagurrre's spell will not dissipate for another two hours and before that happens I will take full advantage of this captive audience to uncover the facts of what has transpired." George smiles wryly "I have so many options at my disposal to test your assertion. However, perhaps we shall take you up on that offer." Looking towards 'Neferka", the Royal Barrister says, "Now as to people not being who they seem to be, I would like the 'Princess' to go stand beside her deceased husband." He then turns to the wall where the Royal servants are standing and points first to the older Egyptian woman that had earlier whispered to Ruby and then he gestures to to a young male clerk and states, "And you may both go join them Selletta and Kator." The Young Man moves forward and says, "That will not be necessary", as he removes a feather quill from his pocket. He immediately transforms into Neferka's Ogre Mage bodyguard, who had delivered the magical robe to Ruby hours earlier. He is attired in his fancy uniform, with the Legion Flying Belt around his waist. He states, "The Princess sent me here to help, a duty that I have clearly failed with until now. I should have acted earlier, but was confused as to exactly who to help. Mr. Eastman speaks the truth, the woman before us in not Neferka, however I have no reason to believe that the body lying on the ground before us is anybody other than her husband." Ruby keeps her eyes trained on the "princess," waiting patiently for her clever fiance to straighten out the details, she was definitely not going to let that fake princess pull a fast one. George says "Thank you for your affirmation Mengesha. And I would ask you where the princess is now, but would accept if you declined due to security reasons. But you know we only seek to aid her in whatever way we can." Turning back to the barrister George continues "There, you have some confirmation of the reason of our presence. I wish now to ask you some questions. You misrepresented my statement earlier. I merely said SOME of the French delegation acted as such, most of them have acted with the grace and dignity of their station, position, and mission and I commend them for that. But I do take issue with your assertion that the lightning bolts were fired in self-defense. Most of us would say they saw three bolts, all originating from the corner. I saw no attack on them first. It is easy to accuse the dead of crimes as they cannot defend themselves." The Barrister says, "Three lightning bolts were indeed thrown, and all appeared to have originated from the section of the room with the elderly Frenchmen. However, I was close enough to Prince Rajjid at the time to hear his incantation, which was a different version of a lightning bolt spell than what the French were casting. His was a localized version of a 'Chain Lightening" spell, which bounces from one person to another, and draws upon each victim's life force to continue. You may have noticed that the bolt that killed the princes curved somewhat rather than being fully straight as the wizard version would have been. The French began their spells first, and I presume Rajjid also heard them start to cast their lightning spells and decided to use that timing for his. However he acted too quickly, his version of the spell had a much shorter casting time. The wizard version taps into only Wizard Magic, whereas the other version taps into both Wizard and Earth Magics, which are both strong in the Cairo region and accellerated his spell even more. So Rajjid's spell was essentially speeded up, beginning slightly before the others. I presume that the French saw it originate from where they were although they did not cast it. Their own spells then reached the end of the casting time and so they sent them at the Egyptian wizards, rather than at Orarbi, their most-likely original target. Furthermore, the French wizards were much more powerful wizards that Rajjid, if had been the ones to cast a 'Chain Lightening' it would have had the power to strike far more than just two victims. However, you are correct in pointing out that mine is also just a theory. When Mr. Jacquard regains consciousness we can ask him directly. It may very well be that Azam, Rajjid and the other apprentice Kellif were their intended targets from the onset. However, it is still a fact that the bolt which struck the princes originated from Rajjid rather than the French wizards." George says, "No, it is your observation, not yet a fact until confirmed by other witnesses. It is plausible though I will grant you." George next says, "I also will now send my finace to examine the body the Orabi, to determine if it is Orabi in truth. Although we have no way now to know if he was under some mental control of another party. Based on information I know of tonight I suspect as such. But again that will be difficult to determine. So, please do not shoot at her as she proceeds to help us discover more of the facts so say you crave. Back to the French, we have further evidence, facts as an Oxford man might say, would you care to hear such testimony?" The Barrister says, "You may, but only after I first attempt to remove the magical disguises from these other two as well as Orabi if that identity is indeed false." The Barrister moves forward and casts the spell on the two servants as well as the body of General Orabi. The woman who appeared as Neferka is transformed into the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt. The older servant woman grows in height and transforms into the form of a middle-aged wood elf. As this occurs the French Empress loudly exclaims "Manny!" She jumps up and starts to move towards him until an icy stare from the Barrister causes her to stop. Manuel Gonzales states, "Barrister Sefu, I am a long-time friend of the woman Selletta and assumed her identity with her express permission, in order to help protect the King. Obviously, I was unsuccessful in that endeavor, which I deeply regret. My apprentice Constance Grace West nearly died at the hands of that madman as well." The Barrister says, "A madman yes and as near as I can tell, he was also General Orabi, as this appears to be his normal form." George says, "Indeed, I fear that there are many layers to this plot. Now we need to determine why Ms. Bernhardt was impersonating the princess. Most likely to provide a better cover for Orabi. I have my own observations for the behavior of Orabi. We cannot verify them directly since he is dead. But we can discuss those later. let us deal with the living. I would ask that my companion Ms. Abigail Marsters to come forward and provide personal testimony as to further evidence as to Ms. Bernhardt's greater role in this as well as again some of the French delegates." The Barrister says, "She may, but first I would like to hear from Ms. Bernhardt directly, otherwise she may pattern her words based upon the further testimony." The wood elf speaks up again stating, "I concur that Orabi does not appear to be under the transformation of a spell or magical item. After my apprentice's bullet bounced off from him I cast a Dispel Magic to rid him of the "Stoneskin" spell. It would have stripped off any magical disguise as well." The Royal Barrister turns back to the wood elf and says, "And exactly who might you be?" He bows and says, "Manual Gonzales, originally from Mexico, now a resident of the United States. If you are familiar with Novarro's text about world magics, I was the author of the chapter regarding Latin American and South American magic." "I know that book," the Barrister states. Gesturing towards the French Empress the Barrister asks, "And she was under you?" For the first time since Ruby has known him, Gonzales blushes and stutters, stating, "Errr, well, what exactly..." The Barrister impatiently replies, "Was she your apprentice?" Gonzales answers "Apprentice? No Sir, although the time that we spent together was rather magical." Several in the room briefly laugh at that response. Ruby steps forward. "I am Master Gonzales's apprentice Ruby West, though as we've already met barrister, you already know that. What I want to know is, where is my friend, the real Princess? And I hope her true husband is with her and this dead body is just a decoy. I would imagine the actress knows where the Princess is." Turning to Bernhardt the Barrister says, "Ms. Bernhardt, what have you to say." The woman says, "Like Mr. Gonzales, I am here at the express request of the person whose place I was taking. Princess Neferka feared what her father would do to her, so just as she had done yesterday with Miss. West, she today asked me to use her magical ring to impersonate her. I am not involved in Mr. Gourard's plot, I did not know anything about an invisible gun, or the plan to kill the King." The Barrister nods and says, "You too appear to be sincere, however you are also the greatest actress of our generation, so I will remain skeptical." He continues, "Well Ms. Bernhardt, where is the real Princess Nefeka?" The woman replies, "When I saw her last she was in Zakazik. If she is still there now I do not know. Her advisers were suggesting that she relocate, as a major battle may be taking place within that region at dawn." Ruby narrows her eyes at the actress. "The last I spoke to the Princess she was very committed to being here herself! She wanted to convince her parents of her love for her new husband in her own words. I think you kidnapped the Princess, stole her magic ring and you are lying!" The Ogre Mengesha steps forward and asks to be recognized. He says, "Either or both of their statements may be accurate. When I left Zakazik many hours ago the Princess did indeed wish to appear before her father in person, however both her own advisors and the French diplomats were strongly opposed to the idea. General Orabi also was opposed, feeling that if the King obtained both of them then the couple would have absolutely no leverage remaining. But one of the main reasons she wished to come in person was to vouch for her friend Miss West. Once Neferka found out that Ruby West was safely free of the castle dungeon that no longer became necessary. She still feared for her friends safety, and sent me here to return to Ruby the magical dress that had been purchased earlier. It is truly fortunate that she did so, or Miss West would now be dead. It therefore does not surprise me that Neferka may have sent somebody in her place." He then gestures to Miss Bernhardt and adds, "However, I have never met this woman before. As of early this afternoon she was not in Zakazik, and had never met the Princess up until then. I would be wary of believing this woman's story at face value, and would also very much like to know the current whereabouts of my charge." The Barrister looks back towards George and says, "I will hear from your Ms. Marsters now." She steps forward and says, "I am Abigail Marsters, and if I may, sir, what I have to relate may shed some light on the motives of Miss Bernhardt. It may be easier to sift truth from lies if I tell you what I know away from her ears, so you may then question her without her being aware of what I've told you." He replies, "It might indeed, and under other circumstances I would agree with that suggestion. However, we are all confined to a single room and will all be here for the next few hours, so this environment will have to do." Abby nods and states, "I entered a French camp seeking to liberate some British archaeologists who had been held as spies. They were not, of course. I disguised myself as this woman, Sarah Bernhardt, for the simple reason that I knew she was a member of the wizards group and I knew what she looked like. A man name Prosper Merimee saw me there, and believed me to be his apprentice and that Miss Bernhardt was there to discuss her role in Egypt with him. From him a learned of a plot where Miss Bernhardt and a man named Sardou, another actor, would impersonate the Druidess Meren and her Priest companion and use the opportunity of delivering sheep from the royal flock to poison the feast in the Palace that night. These orders were passed to Miss Bernhardt by a man named Gay-Lussac. The attempt was to be made this way because two wizards by the name of Pascal and Monteblanc had tried to enter the Palace the previous year using magical disguises and we caught and killed, but without revealing their true identities. A man named Chevreul was the one who brought Merimee, Bernhardt, and Sardou into the plot. The poison was provided by a man named Moissan." The lawyer stops her there and comments. "Very interesting, that dovetails with facts already obtained. Your friend Miss West warned us of the poisoning plot. And the fact that you know of what happened last year adds further credence to your story, those facts were not shared with outsiders. He turns to Duray and says, "Mr. Duray, your group that came as guests in Cairo numbered six. We know that Mr. Massonet went to convey a message to your colleagues, but what ever became of Mr. Moissan? We have not seen him since word of the poisoning plot first circulated yesterday. And isn't his scientific field alchemy?" Duray replies, "Henri Moissan is a chemist and inventor. Yes, he has indeed worked before with toxic substances, but only for good intentions. As to where he is at, I cannot say, I have not seen him since last evening. Given all of the confusion at the palace earlier I just assume that he exited along with most of the other guests." The Barrister turns his attention back to Abigail. Abby took a deep breath and continued. "Later, I went with a friend to warn the Druidess. She allowed us to accompany her as guards when she left to deliver the sheep to the Palace. We were attacked. We managed to wound some of the attackers and they teleported away. Only a man named Rene Belloq remained. He claimed that my information was incomplete, that Merimee know only part of what was going on and had incorrectly assumed what the purpose of the mission was. I did not trust him, but I also do not like to kill out of hand, nor do I think my own judgment infallible. I wish I had followed my instincts. When we reached the Palace Belloq spoke to the guards in Nubian and we found ourselves imprisoned for our trouble." The Barrister says, "Actually, your imprisonment had far more to due with Miss West's words to the King and Grand Vizier than anything Mr. Belloq said to a guard. Once we knew of a potential poisoning plot involving the royal flock we left standing orders that any sheep brought to the palace were to be isolated along with the people who brought them." Abby replies, "And yet, Belloq was not quarantined with us. And when I accused him of being a murderer, he only smirked and said it was too bad I didn't speak Nubian so I could warn them. He was quite satisfied with himself, the bastard." Abby continues, "I later saw Belloq on a dirigible that was firing on the Palace. The political situation in France is such that the wizards are losing influence rapidly. Soon, France may restrict wizardry, or outlaw it entirely. At least some of the members of the wizards group are trying to bring Egypt under their control, to keep their power and have a safe base to operate from. How widespread this plot is, I cannot say." The Barrister says, "Thank you for your testimony." Turning back to Durey, the Barrister asks, "What can you tell me of this Mr. Belloq?" The man replies "I do not really know him, he is one of the newest members of our rather vast group, we have over fifty members. He is a linguist and rather charismatic, so I am not surprised that he managed to talk his way past a lower-level guard. She says she saw him on the dirigible over the palace, and we all saw that crash after the encounter with the transformed German wizard, so he is most likely now dead. Even if he survived the crash, that German wizard has deep hatred for our group, so she would have seen to his demise." The Barriseter now turns back to Miss. Bernhardt and asks if she has anything to add. She says, "I stand by my earlier statement. I had no involvement with any plot to harm the King. I was indeed with the group who attempted to stop Miss Marsters from reaching the palace with the sheep yesterday, but only because we too had uncovered information about the poisoning plot. Keeping the poison from ever reaching the palace seemed the best course of action. I could be magnanimous and say that it was to save your King, but the truth is that our team leader Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac was primarily worried about the safety of our six colleagues visiting with the King at the palace and did not wish for any harm to come to them." One of the ogre guards calls out "He is gone" in Arabic. It is one of the pair guarding Baron Gaspard Gouraud. As the others turn in that direction they see both guards still pointing their weapons where the elder French wizard had been, but he is no longer there. Ruby concentrates on the area where the wizard was, trying to detect if he is actually gone or just invisible. She spots an aura of somebody moving away from that area under the cover of invisibility. He is moving in the direction of the unconscious man Joseph-Marie Jacquard, who Abigail is still standing beside. "He's there!" Ruby yells, pointing to the spot where the man is. She keeps concentrating while moving towards him in a hurried fashion towards Abby. Not able to see the man, Abby could only assume he was trying to come for the man behind her. She set herself between and began listening carefully as well as watching the floor for signs of the wizard's passing, planning to throw herself toward his feet. A guard fires at where Ruby pointed. The Barrister says, "Nobody shoot. I will cast a detect invisib...." He then stops mid-sentence and freezes like a statue. George swears to a host of gods in several languages. Abby lays in wait. She does not hear anybody moving near her. Ruby rushes towards the man, scoops up some sand from the ground and throws it onto the invisible shadow. "Shoot him now! You probably need magic to harm him!" Abby attempts to use Ruby's guidance for a magic missile spell. Missiles shoot out from her fingertips and at least two connect. Ruby exclaims, "Nice shot Abby! The coward is hiding behind the pillar, he knows he is guilty!" The man quickly moves behind the nearest support pillar (and away from Abby and Jacquard). Abby grabbed her rifle, again not as a gun but as a club. She ran for the pillar, then swung about where she would expect his mid-section to be. He manages to just miss her first swing (one disadvantage to not being able to actually see your target). An object is thrown out from behind the support column. It lands in the center of the room, not far from where George and the Barrister are standing. It looks to be a metal can with the smoke pouring out the top. Reflexively George kicks it back to the column, those days as a footballer in college serving him well. that goes up into the air and explodes, then falling to the group with a trail of red smoke coming from it and hits the pillar. Gonzales yells out "It's not magical, but may be poisonous". Ruby notes the man is still invisible and makes no attempt to get away from the can, and appears to now be casting some sort of spell. Ruby hears the incantation, recognizing the spell as the "Transport" spell that Gonzales has used many times before, and remembering that Gonzales always had to use a brazier to first generate a colored smoke needed to make the spell work. "Oh no you don't!" Ruby runs over towards the Baron full speed and dives onto him, trying to knock him over and restrict his weight so his spell won't work. "You're staying right here in this room!!" Unfortunately Abigail is in her way and Ruby sees the aura disappear. Using the sound of his voice and her last swing to guide her, Abby re-aims and tries again. The voice stops and the rifle swings through the air where the voice had been. Sighing, George swears again "Guards, obviously a little more alert" "He got away," Ruby says, disappointed. "It happens," Abby said, also disappointed. "But we kept him from taking his friend with him." She watched the guards as they restrained the French and was finally able to move toward the others. "Now there is just her to answer questions." Seeing that he isn't must help against an unseen foe, Lawrence scans the area just to make sure there are no more surprises. [/QUOTE]
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AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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