Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 6915698" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><em>There appear to be a large number of readers of this Story Hour. Reader comments are appreciated.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Chapter 100, “The Crystal Ball" September 12, 1882, 4:00 AM.</strong></p><p></p><p>Ruby paused and her eyes glazed over as she puzzled something out. "I wonder if the Sheik would remember if the French took the trunk or not? We should ask him." Mina says, "Ruby, that's brilliant." George is hit with sudden inspiration. He calls into the other room where Mengesha had been left after returning with Ruby from the princess's room.</p><p></p><p>George exclaims, "Mengesha, you are aware I suppose of our suspicions that the princess was taken by the French in the trunk from her room. The problem is that we have three possible locations the French may have taken her to. We are trying to determine to which we should head to first with our limited time. We also have discovered a more sinister plot to impersonate General Orabi and believe that the man killed earlier was not him and the real Orabi not only did not kill the King but is alive. Or was a few hours ago. Do you have any guess to where they may have taken her or better yet do you have some magical means of tracking her or locating her being her bodyguard?" asks George.</p><p></p><p>Mengesha says that an attempt to locate the Princess magically has already been tried, that as soon as they had exited the pyramids the Barrister ordered one of the nature-priests to cast a "Reflecting Pool" to find the real Neferka, but the spell failed to do so. He adds "The Barrister then had a wizard try a "Locate Object" spell on the Princess's magical earring studs, but that too failed." Mina says, "Chevruel and Daguerre have clearly done something to mask the Princess from detection. But we could still try a "Detect Object" spell not on her personal objects but on the trunk they took her in. Let's go confirm that with the Sheik." The Sheik is not far and he does indeed confirm that the French took the trunk. None of the wizards present have taken that spell today, however the Sheik says that the wealthy man with the harem who had sold the Princess the dress Ruby is wearing is still at the hotel, and among the magical items that the man has stored in the hotel's vault is Crystal Ball.</p><p></p><p>The group agrees to reconvene shortly in the Princess's suite while the Sheik who runs the hotel goes to get the Crystal Ball from the wealthy Sheik who is staying there. During that time the group gives young Henry Jones the exact wording of the telegram for him to send to the United States Navy in Alexandria. George gets some papers and jots down: "U.S. Naval Commanders in Alexandria STOP French warship Armide anchored off Heraklieon STOP British Navy will sink Armide if it leaves Egyptian waters STOP Armide might carry valuable human cargo STOP Prevent Armide from leaving Egyptian waters." Ruby comments "That sounds good George."</p><p></p><p>"Ok from whom shall the order arise?" George asks looking up from the note. Mina says, "Make it from Lieutenant Commander Lawrence Cantrell. With unknown naval commanders his name would probably carry more weight due to his gender." George replies "Done" and adds the name onto the end of the telegraph message and hands it to Henry.</p><p></p><p>Ruby says, "Hopefully the sheik doesn't give us trouble with using the crystal ball. That said, anyone know how to use one? I'm very curious to learn about it" Mina says, "The Sheik himself should know. Any spellcaster could use it, although if we're planning to have it focus on the trunk it should probably be used by the person who remembers best what it looks like. Mengesha, do you know how to cast any spells?" The Ogre says, "My Uncle was an Ogre Mage, he taught me a few minor magical incantations." "That'll work," she replies. Ruby says, "If it doesn't work for him I can try too, I've seen the trunk when I retrieved some clothes from it. Hopefully it just works the first time!"</p><p></p><p>The party reconvenes in the Princess's suite. Mina reminds Ruby that "When we met with this man a few days ago he had a number of items for sale, including Elixirs of Strength, Invisibility, Diminution, Invulnerability and Transformation, a Ring of Levitation, an amulet that allowed passage through solid objects, and a cloak that had the wearer blend into the surroundings."</p><p></p><p>Sheik Ali arrives and says "Sheik Antuf el-Heru will be here momentarily. He was less than pleased at being woken up in the middle of the night, nor was he fond of the idea of letting us use one of his private magic items for free. But he quickly reconsidered after I told him that the King and Princes were dead and the magic item was needed to help rescue the new Queen of Egypt, a personal friend of his who would then owe him a very large favor." Ruby nodded her head. "You are right, and so many of those items would probably help us. I wonder if he would give them at a discount. We can't always ask George to finance everything for this group. Perhaps we can also use the 'Queen owes him a BIG favor' thing."</p><p></p><p>She shrugged, "It's worth a shot. I'll put the charm on him and see if it works. It'll probably mean even more because he knows the Princess bought and gave me these robes, it might help convince him." Ruby smiled sadly. "I hadn't considered that Neferka is now the Queen. Bittersweet, really." Mina reminds her, "Actually, she's not until the Barrister declares it, and he won't unless he can confirm that she had nothing to do with her father's death."</p><p></p><p>They do not have to wait long until Sheik Antuf el-Heru arrives, accompanied by two burly bodyguards and one of his harem girls. His eyes immediately center upon Ruby, her chest in particular, and he exclaims "Aphrodite's beautiful dress! What did you do to it! It is ruined!" Ruby looked down at her chest curiously. No one had ever said or thought anything negative about that area of her. "Whatever do you mean? I think it looks perfect and it has been doing its job well. Aphrodite herself would be proud I'm certain."</p><p></p><p>George gives a wry smile "My good sir, I can attest that Miss West's chest is indeed quite perfect. But the dress was damaged protecting me, an eventuality I am quite sure Aphrodite herself would approve of. Once the current unrest is settle, have no doubt I shall spare no expense in having it repaired. You may hasten that glorious day by helping us find the future Queen." says George with a smile holding out his hand for the crystal ball.</p><p></p><p>The Sheik calms and has his servant place the crystal ball on the table in the center of the room. He explains its usage, how a spellcaster must say the specific incantation for this particular item in a prescribed order and then concentrate of a place, person or object while thinking of nothing else. The person must continue to give the item their undivided attention and then will be able to see the surrounding area of the object, be it a room, cavern or immediate area if outside. Those standing around would also see the image in the crystal ball. The chairs are cleared from around the table as the incantations are taught to Mengesha. Ruby says, "Good luck Mengesha, you know the trunk so well I feel we can't fail. Hopefully our instincts are correct and you find the Princess. It would be immensely helpful."</p><p></p><p>An over-sized comfortable chair is placed for Mengesha to sit in. The Sheik also gives him some magical ear protectors, made to protect the ears during desert sandstorms, but in this instance to keep him from being distracted by the conversations of others present. He begins the incantation and the image within the opaque soccer-ball sized crystal orb begins to change. Initially the image becomes that of the trunk in a dimly-lit area. The trunk is currently closed and has the ornate wood and metal construction that Ruby had remembered. The trunk appears to not be stationary, rocking slightly from right to left and back. The image then clears up beneath the trunk, revealing a wooden floor. Looking closely, it is clear that the trunk is flat on the floor, and that it is the floor itself that is slightly rocking.</p><p></p><p>Ruby whispers, "My first thought was the trunk is on a ship. But I doubt a ship would have wooden floors, at least I certainly wouldn't think it would. So that means, like our original guess, that the trunk, and hopefully the Princess, is on the airship. Unless they are deliberately trying to throw us off. But I doubt they would have had time for that, with us right on their tail. What do the rest of you think?" Mengesaha pulls the image back to take in the entire room. The room itself is vast, approximately forty-foot square, larger than the gondola room on the Dreadnaught dirigible. More telling are the walls on one side, which have a curve to them and have round windows approximately a foot in diameter near the top of the eight-foot high wooden ceiling.</p><p></p><p>George exclaims, "No, that is the hold on a ship. Most ships still use wooden decking even if overlaid over the metal both to reduce the weight and to provide traction and allow munitions to bounce off. Airships don't typically roll since the are buoyed by air currents at worst they would list to one side if they were tacking against the prevailing air current. No, this is an ocean going vessel. And based on Maurice's intelligence that ship would seem to most likely be the Armide. So we need to head there. Let me add a line to the American naval vessels to make sure they don't let the British ships sink her. Meanwhile we need to get the bomb out and ready for disarming or distraction and we need to get going to Heraklieon."</p><p></p><p>Ruby looked at George adoringly. "You are so smart baby. Thank Aphrodite you are here. Okay, so we're heading to the Armide unless someone has an objection." She paused, "Let's see if he can see anything else. I would hope they wouldn't keep the Princess in the trunk, especially since they are going to try to use her to rule." The image within the crystal ball now becomes even clearer and Mengesha pans around the room while still keeping the trunk as part of the viewing area. The group sees that there is one individual within the room, a man who is lying on the deck atop a mat, his hands shackled behind his back, the chain running to the nearest wall that it is bolted onto.</p><p></p><p>Most of the rest of the room appears vacant. Something of interest then shows up when Mengesha pans just beyond the man, there are two blurry outlines of light, each atop a mat, and each with a similar chain running to the wall. Maurice Beaujoulais starts to laugh and exclaims, "These French wizards think themselves so smart! Casting a non-detection spell on a pair of people! Sure, we can't see them, but by magically scanning the entire room we see the magical outlines of what we are unable to detect! Look closely at those two silhouettes, one is clearly male and the same build as General Orabi while the other is clearly female and the same build as Princess Neferka."</p><p></p><p>Lawrence says, "That's enough for me. There's no time to waste. If that battleship wants to run, it will need to overpower the United States Navy's ships." George grins. "OK, that is as good of a confirmation as we are going to get. Ruby, see if you can see anything else while Mengesha has the connection. Let me have the men over to the bomb and let's get the door jambs off and shave some ice and get that bomb outside so we can haul it to safety. Alright everyone, I want to take off in 15 minutes. Henry please get that telegraph out!" orders George.</p><p></p><p>Ruby nodded at George and kept watching the crystal ball for any more clues. A few other minor details of the room show themselves, waste and water buckets, that there are two doors into the hold as well as a double-hatch on the center of the ceiling, and that there are several bolt plates on the wall that more chains could be attached to. The magic item then appears to stop and Mengesha looks up, removes his ear protection, and with a smile to Ruby says, "I think we found her." Ruby says, "Yes Mengesha, I think you are right! This is good news."</p><p></p><p>Ruby exclaims, "Now, we have to get there in time! George wants us to get to moving the bomb so we can get out of here and save the Princess. How exactly are we going to shave the ice down?" Freya says, "I could transform and use my claws." Ruby nodded, "That would be much faster than using a dagger or sword. But you must be very careful! We need as much ice on there as we can to get it outside of the city. So you would have to take off just enough to get it out the window." George replies, "Ok that sounds good, Freya will shave the ice down, Lawrence can get the door frames off. Mina and I will go get the dirigible ready and over the street and drop ropes to secure the bomb." Ruby carefully watched over the bomb shaving, ready to jump in if she needed to.</p><p></p><p>Ruby sees the wealthy Sheik as he collects his magical crystal ball and carefully places it within its velvet case and hands it to main servant/bodyguard. "Hold on," she tells her companions. "One moment if I may Sheik. How much would an item like this cost? And the other items that you possess? We are interested in perhaps purchasing some things from you." "Which items?" he asks. "All of them." She paused and smiled sweetly. "Remember, this is all for the safe return of the Princess, the future QUEEN," she emphasized the word, "Of Egypt." He exclaims, "All of them? I came here with over 200 items for sale." George smiles quietly to himself at Ruby's emphasis.</p><p></p><p>She replies, "Oh, well, I did not realize that you had so much! I apologize. I was thinking of your Elixirs... I believe you had potions of Strength, Invisibility, Diminution, Invulnerability and Transformation. You also had a Ring of Levitation, an amulet that allowed passage through solid objects, and a cloak that had the wearer blend into the surroundings. I believe these would be helpful for our mission. I wonder what other items you have?" Abby says, "Honestly, Ruby, the only thing that's going to help me now is a good night's sleep. But Invisibility is generally pretty helpful. That cloak especially." Ruby comments, "Sure, I understand Abby." He says, "The elixirs are all sold, they were the most affordable. I have also sold the cloak, but I still have both the ring and amulet that you mentioned."</p><p></p><p>She turned back to the Shiek. "Do you have anything can refresh my friend here, make her or all of us feel well rested? Aside from that, how much is the amulet and the ring?" He says, "The Ring, why 25,000 pounds, but for you I will go 20,000. The Amulet, another 10,000 pounds." He turns to George and says, "So Mister Eastman, are you willing to part with 30,000 pounds to buy some jewelry for your fiance?" Ruby interjects, "And how much is the crystal ball?" He says, "It is not for sale, that is my own personal property." She says, "I understand. We very much appreciate your letting us use it."</p><p></p><p>George had been watching Ruby's negotiations with interest, but decided now to intercede, this after all was his specialty. "Pardon me Sheik, we are interested in the use of both the crystal ball and the amulet, not as mere jewelry but for a much more important and noble purpose. As we have said the safety and security of the Queen and the state are at stake. Would you please allow us the use of these items for this mission. I personally guarantee their safe return to you and will indemnify myself against their loss or damage. I will also make sure the royal family is well informed of your noble, generous and patriotic efforts to preserve the state you so love. The rewards to those that faithfully and dutifully serve the throne of Egypt will be handsomely rewarded. You have nothing to lose in this opportunity my friend" says George suggestively.</p><p></p><p>The sheik replies, "You will personally take responsibility for loss or damage?" Gesturing again to Ruby's damaged dress with the large scorch mark on the chest he says "I can see how well your protection is by the damage to that one-of-a-kind dress that your fiance has ruined. As to the throne, and my assistance, I HAVE done my part by allowing you to use my crystal ball, and without any charge. You MAY NOT take it. If you have need of it again it, and I, will be here, at least until the British overrun the rebel army. As to the other two items your fiance wishes, a written note with your banking information and guarantee of $30,000 in payment will suffice."</p><p></p><p>Ruby cut in, "It's alright, thank you Sheik, we will not be needing your items tonight. The Princess WILL know of your help to us. Thank you again." George is about to speak when Ruby interjects. George smiles and shrugs. He shakes the Sheik's hand. "Thank you for your help, but the lady has spoken." George turns and heads to the roof and the dirigible. The Sheik says, "Wait, by "The Princess will know of your help", you mean that you will tell her that this entire rescue was possible due to my letting you view her location through the crystal ball. Isn't that correct?"</p><p></p><p>Ruby laughed, this time much less friendly. "You think the ENTIRE rescue mission is possible because of you? Are you insane? All the crystal ball did was clarify something we already knew and made it more certain. Do not overstate your importance here. There have been people here working for weeks and months to keep the royal family safe from foreign enemies." She turned her back to the Sheik, making herself a drink. "The Princess will know exactly what you did, offer the assistance of the crystal ball and nothing more when there was so much more that you could have done. Oh, and that you have very vocally complained that I ruined Aphrodite's dress while in the scuffle defending her royal family."</p><p></p><p>The Sheik franticly says, "Hold on, don't rush off. It was the two pieces of jewelry that you wished to borrow. Perhaps that can be arranged." Ruby sipped her drink slowly then responded nonchalantly, "But we've been over that, you said you weren't interested. In case you haven't noticed," she waved her hand towards the block of ice, "We are busy and running out of time. I have no interest in wasting time talking about banks and such." He says, "I'll have my people go get those items from the vault. Consider it a loan. If you decide you like them we can renegotiate the price."</p><p></p><p>"Why thank you very much Sheik, we all appreciate it. You can leave the items on the table and we'll take very good care of them. Now if I was you I'd get out of here. We will be in touch." She gives the man a smile and a dismissive nod as she turns back to the ice. "How is it coming along?" She asks those slicing and chipping away at the ice. George turns away quickly so the Sheik doesn't see the smile that he cannot repress. Ruby was a formidable woman. Where diplomacy failed, never doubt the wiles of a woman. Between the two of them, George felt they could talk their way into and back out of Hades. George continued to smile as he made his way up to the roof to get the dirigible ready for the trip.</p><p></p><p>Freya remains in her human form and draws her hand-axe to assist with shaving the ice. The ice is soon shaved enough to get it through the doorway. Ropes and blankets are fixed to support it and Freya heads up to the roof. She transforms into her dragon form and begins to pull the ropes, with those downstairs helping to guide the block forward and up the staircase. It is soon on the roof. Ruby collect the two magical items from the sheik's guards.</p><p></p><p>Once outside Ruby gave their airship a quick look-over to determine where to fit the ice bomb. The ice block has been shaved down enough to fit in the gondola's door, but it will also occupy around 20% of the space inside. Ruby says, "So we jam the ice in here or have Freya carry it. Who is for what option?" Lawrence waves his hands. "Can't you do something magical? shrink it or something?" Maurice says, "Too risky. If we try to magically modify it that could set off the protection wards. Best to keep it intact and be a little cramped." Lawrence states, "Message received. In that case we'll just have to put up with some forced togetherness. It'll be better to keep the bomb under wraps as long as possible." Ruby says, "You're right. I guess it wouldn't be wise to fly a bomb out in the open over the city. Okay let's get in then and get going."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 6915698, member: 8530"] [I]There appear to be a large number of readers of this Story Hour. Reader comments are appreciated.[/I] [B]Chapter 100, “The Crystal Ball" September 12, 1882, 4:00 AM.[/B] Ruby paused and her eyes glazed over as she puzzled something out. "I wonder if the Sheik would remember if the French took the trunk or not? We should ask him." Mina says, "Ruby, that's brilliant." George is hit with sudden inspiration. He calls into the other room where Mengesha had been left after returning with Ruby from the princess's room. George exclaims, "Mengesha, you are aware I suppose of our suspicions that the princess was taken by the French in the trunk from her room. The problem is that we have three possible locations the French may have taken her to. We are trying to determine to which we should head to first with our limited time. We also have discovered a more sinister plot to impersonate General Orabi and believe that the man killed earlier was not him and the real Orabi not only did not kill the King but is alive. Or was a few hours ago. Do you have any guess to where they may have taken her or better yet do you have some magical means of tracking her or locating her being her bodyguard?" asks George. Mengesha says that an attempt to locate the Princess magically has already been tried, that as soon as they had exited the pyramids the Barrister ordered one of the nature-priests to cast a "Reflecting Pool" to find the real Neferka, but the spell failed to do so. He adds "The Barrister then had a wizard try a "Locate Object" spell on the Princess's magical earring studs, but that too failed." Mina says, "Chevruel and Daguerre have clearly done something to mask the Princess from detection. But we could still try a "Detect Object" spell not on her personal objects but on the trunk they took her in. Let's go confirm that with the Sheik." The Sheik is not far and he does indeed confirm that the French took the trunk. None of the wizards present have taken that spell today, however the Sheik says that the wealthy man with the harem who had sold the Princess the dress Ruby is wearing is still at the hotel, and among the magical items that the man has stored in the hotel's vault is Crystal Ball. The group agrees to reconvene shortly in the Princess's suite while the Sheik who runs the hotel goes to get the Crystal Ball from the wealthy Sheik who is staying there. During that time the group gives young Henry Jones the exact wording of the telegram for him to send to the United States Navy in Alexandria. George gets some papers and jots down: "U.S. Naval Commanders in Alexandria STOP French warship Armide anchored off Heraklieon STOP British Navy will sink Armide if it leaves Egyptian waters STOP Armide might carry valuable human cargo STOP Prevent Armide from leaving Egyptian waters." Ruby comments "That sounds good George." "Ok from whom shall the order arise?" George asks looking up from the note. Mina says, "Make it from Lieutenant Commander Lawrence Cantrell. With unknown naval commanders his name would probably carry more weight due to his gender." George replies "Done" and adds the name onto the end of the telegraph message and hands it to Henry. Ruby says, "Hopefully the sheik doesn't give us trouble with using the crystal ball. That said, anyone know how to use one? I'm very curious to learn about it" Mina says, "The Sheik himself should know. Any spellcaster could use it, although if we're planning to have it focus on the trunk it should probably be used by the person who remembers best what it looks like. Mengesha, do you know how to cast any spells?" The Ogre says, "My Uncle was an Ogre Mage, he taught me a few minor magical incantations." "That'll work," she replies. Ruby says, "If it doesn't work for him I can try too, I've seen the trunk when I retrieved some clothes from it. Hopefully it just works the first time!" The party reconvenes in the Princess's suite. Mina reminds Ruby that "When we met with this man a few days ago he had a number of items for sale, including Elixirs of Strength, Invisibility, Diminution, Invulnerability and Transformation, a Ring of Levitation, an amulet that allowed passage through solid objects, and a cloak that had the wearer blend into the surroundings." Sheik Ali arrives and says "Sheik Antuf el-Heru will be here momentarily. He was less than pleased at being woken up in the middle of the night, nor was he fond of the idea of letting us use one of his private magic items for free. But he quickly reconsidered after I told him that the King and Princes were dead and the magic item was needed to help rescue the new Queen of Egypt, a personal friend of his who would then owe him a very large favor." Ruby nodded her head. "You are right, and so many of those items would probably help us. I wonder if he would give them at a discount. We can't always ask George to finance everything for this group. Perhaps we can also use the 'Queen owes him a BIG favor' thing." She shrugged, "It's worth a shot. I'll put the charm on him and see if it works. It'll probably mean even more because he knows the Princess bought and gave me these robes, it might help convince him." Ruby smiled sadly. "I hadn't considered that Neferka is now the Queen. Bittersweet, really." Mina reminds her, "Actually, she's not until the Barrister declares it, and he won't unless he can confirm that she had nothing to do with her father's death." They do not have to wait long until Sheik Antuf el-Heru arrives, accompanied by two burly bodyguards and one of his harem girls. His eyes immediately center upon Ruby, her chest in particular, and he exclaims "Aphrodite's beautiful dress! What did you do to it! It is ruined!" Ruby looked down at her chest curiously. No one had ever said or thought anything negative about that area of her. "Whatever do you mean? I think it looks perfect and it has been doing its job well. Aphrodite herself would be proud I'm certain." George gives a wry smile "My good sir, I can attest that Miss West's chest is indeed quite perfect. But the dress was damaged protecting me, an eventuality I am quite sure Aphrodite herself would approve of. Once the current unrest is settle, have no doubt I shall spare no expense in having it repaired. You may hasten that glorious day by helping us find the future Queen." says George with a smile holding out his hand for the crystal ball. The Sheik calms and has his servant place the crystal ball on the table in the center of the room. He explains its usage, how a spellcaster must say the specific incantation for this particular item in a prescribed order and then concentrate of a place, person or object while thinking of nothing else. The person must continue to give the item their undivided attention and then will be able to see the surrounding area of the object, be it a room, cavern or immediate area if outside. Those standing around would also see the image in the crystal ball. The chairs are cleared from around the table as the incantations are taught to Mengesha. Ruby says, "Good luck Mengesha, you know the trunk so well I feel we can't fail. Hopefully our instincts are correct and you find the Princess. It would be immensely helpful." An over-sized comfortable chair is placed for Mengesha to sit in. The Sheik also gives him some magical ear protectors, made to protect the ears during desert sandstorms, but in this instance to keep him from being distracted by the conversations of others present. He begins the incantation and the image within the opaque soccer-ball sized crystal orb begins to change. Initially the image becomes that of the trunk in a dimly-lit area. The trunk is currently closed and has the ornate wood and metal construction that Ruby had remembered. The trunk appears to not be stationary, rocking slightly from right to left and back. The image then clears up beneath the trunk, revealing a wooden floor. Looking closely, it is clear that the trunk is flat on the floor, and that it is the floor itself that is slightly rocking. Ruby whispers, "My first thought was the trunk is on a ship. But I doubt a ship would have wooden floors, at least I certainly wouldn't think it would. So that means, like our original guess, that the trunk, and hopefully the Princess, is on the airship. Unless they are deliberately trying to throw us off. But I doubt they would have had time for that, with us right on their tail. What do the rest of you think?" Mengesaha pulls the image back to take in the entire room. The room itself is vast, approximately forty-foot square, larger than the gondola room on the Dreadnaught dirigible. More telling are the walls on one side, which have a curve to them and have round windows approximately a foot in diameter near the top of the eight-foot high wooden ceiling. George exclaims, "No, that is the hold on a ship. Most ships still use wooden decking even if overlaid over the metal both to reduce the weight and to provide traction and allow munitions to bounce off. Airships don't typically roll since the are buoyed by air currents at worst they would list to one side if they were tacking against the prevailing air current. No, this is an ocean going vessel. And based on Maurice's intelligence that ship would seem to most likely be the Armide. So we need to head there. Let me add a line to the American naval vessels to make sure they don't let the British ships sink her. Meanwhile we need to get the bomb out and ready for disarming or distraction and we need to get going to Heraklieon." Ruby looked at George adoringly. "You are so smart baby. Thank Aphrodite you are here. Okay, so we're heading to the Armide unless someone has an objection." She paused, "Let's see if he can see anything else. I would hope they wouldn't keep the Princess in the trunk, especially since they are going to try to use her to rule." The image within the crystal ball now becomes even clearer and Mengesha pans around the room while still keeping the trunk as part of the viewing area. The group sees that there is one individual within the room, a man who is lying on the deck atop a mat, his hands shackled behind his back, the chain running to the nearest wall that it is bolted onto. Most of the rest of the room appears vacant. Something of interest then shows up when Mengesha pans just beyond the man, there are two blurry outlines of light, each atop a mat, and each with a similar chain running to the wall. Maurice Beaujoulais starts to laugh and exclaims, "These French wizards think themselves so smart! Casting a non-detection spell on a pair of people! Sure, we can't see them, but by magically scanning the entire room we see the magical outlines of what we are unable to detect! Look closely at those two silhouettes, one is clearly male and the same build as General Orabi while the other is clearly female and the same build as Princess Neferka." Lawrence says, "That's enough for me. There's no time to waste. If that battleship wants to run, it will need to overpower the United States Navy's ships." George grins. "OK, that is as good of a confirmation as we are going to get. Ruby, see if you can see anything else while Mengesha has the connection. Let me have the men over to the bomb and let's get the door jambs off and shave some ice and get that bomb outside so we can haul it to safety. Alright everyone, I want to take off in 15 minutes. Henry please get that telegraph out!" orders George. Ruby nodded at George and kept watching the crystal ball for any more clues. A few other minor details of the room show themselves, waste and water buckets, that there are two doors into the hold as well as a double-hatch on the center of the ceiling, and that there are several bolt plates on the wall that more chains could be attached to. The magic item then appears to stop and Mengesha looks up, removes his ear protection, and with a smile to Ruby says, "I think we found her." Ruby says, "Yes Mengesha, I think you are right! This is good news." Ruby exclaims, "Now, we have to get there in time! George wants us to get to moving the bomb so we can get out of here and save the Princess. How exactly are we going to shave the ice down?" Freya says, "I could transform and use my claws." Ruby nodded, "That would be much faster than using a dagger or sword. But you must be very careful! We need as much ice on there as we can to get it outside of the city. So you would have to take off just enough to get it out the window." George replies, "Ok that sounds good, Freya will shave the ice down, Lawrence can get the door frames off. Mina and I will go get the dirigible ready and over the street and drop ropes to secure the bomb." Ruby carefully watched over the bomb shaving, ready to jump in if she needed to. Ruby sees the wealthy Sheik as he collects his magical crystal ball and carefully places it within its velvet case and hands it to main servant/bodyguard. "Hold on," she tells her companions. "One moment if I may Sheik. How much would an item like this cost? And the other items that you possess? We are interested in perhaps purchasing some things from you." "Which items?" he asks. "All of them." She paused and smiled sweetly. "Remember, this is all for the safe return of the Princess, the future QUEEN," she emphasized the word, "Of Egypt." He exclaims, "All of them? I came here with over 200 items for sale." George smiles quietly to himself at Ruby's emphasis. She replies, "Oh, well, I did not realize that you had so much! I apologize. I was thinking of your Elixirs... I believe you had potions of Strength, Invisibility, Diminution, Invulnerability and Transformation. You also had a Ring of Levitation, an amulet that allowed passage through solid objects, and a cloak that had the wearer blend into the surroundings. I believe these would be helpful for our mission. I wonder what other items you have?" Abby says, "Honestly, Ruby, the only thing that's going to help me now is a good night's sleep. But Invisibility is generally pretty helpful. That cloak especially." Ruby comments, "Sure, I understand Abby." He says, "The elixirs are all sold, they were the most affordable. I have also sold the cloak, but I still have both the ring and amulet that you mentioned." She turned back to the Shiek. "Do you have anything can refresh my friend here, make her or all of us feel well rested? Aside from that, how much is the amulet and the ring?" He says, "The Ring, why 25,000 pounds, but for you I will go 20,000. The Amulet, another 10,000 pounds." He turns to George and says, "So Mister Eastman, are you willing to part with 30,000 pounds to buy some jewelry for your fiance?" Ruby interjects, "And how much is the crystal ball?" He says, "It is not for sale, that is my own personal property." She says, "I understand. We very much appreciate your letting us use it." George had been watching Ruby's negotiations with interest, but decided now to intercede, this after all was his specialty. "Pardon me Sheik, we are interested in the use of both the crystal ball and the amulet, not as mere jewelry but for a much more important and noble purpose. As we have said the safety and security of the Queen and the state are at stake. Would you please allow us the use of these items for this mission. I personally guarantee their safe return to you and will indemnify myself against their loss or damage. I will also make sure the royal family is well informed of your noble, generous and patriotic efforts to preserve the state you so love. The rewards to those that faithfully and dutifully serve the throne of Egypt will be handsomely rewarded. You have nothing to lose in this opportunity my friend" says George suggestively. The sheik replies, "You will personally take responsibility for loss or damage?" Gesturing again to Ruby's damaged dress with the large scorch mark on the chest he says "I can see how well your protection is by the damage to that one-of-a-kind dress that your fiance has ruined. As to the throne, and my assistance, I HAVE done my part by allowing you to use my crystal ball, and without any charge. You MAY NOT take it. If you have need of it again it, and I, will be here, at least until the British overrun the rebel army. As to the other two items your fiance wishes, a written note with your banking information and guarantee of $30,000 in payment will suffice." Ruby cut in, "It's alright, thank you Sheik, we will not be needing your items tonight. The Princess WILL know of your help to us. Thank you again." George is about to speak when Ruby interjects. George smiles and shrugs. He shakes the Sheik's hand. "Thank you for your help, but the lady has spoken." George turns and heads to the roof and the dirigible. The Sheik says, "Wait, by "The Princess will know of your help", you mean that you will tell her that this entire rescue was possible due to my letting you view her location through the crystal ball. Isn't that correct?" Ruby laughed, this time much less friendly. "You think the ENTIRE rescue mission is possible because of you? Are you insane? All the crystal ball did was clarify something we already knew and made it more certain. Do not overstate your importance here. There have been people here working for weeks and months to keep the royal family safe from foreign enemies." She turned her back to the Sheik, making herself a drink. "The Princess will know exactly what you did, offer the assistance of the crystal ball and nothing more when there was so much more that you could have done. Oh, and that you have very vocally complained that I ruined Aphrodite's dress while in the scuffle defending her royal family." The Sheik franticly says, "Hold on, don't rush off. It was the two pieces of jewelry that you wished to borrow. Perhaps that can be arranged." Ruby sipped her drink slowly then responded nonchalantly, "But we've been over that, you said you weren't interested. In case you haven't noticed," she waved her hand towards the block of ice, "We are busy and running out of time. I have no interest in wasting time talking about banks and such." He says, "I'll have my people go get those items from the vault. Consider it a loan. If you decide you like them we can renegotiate the price." "Why thank you very much Sheik, we all appreciate it. You can leave the items on the table and we'll take very good care of them. Now if I was you I'd get out of here. We will be in touch." She gives the man a smile and a dismissive nod as she turns back to the ice. "How is it coming along?" She asks those slicing and chipping away at the ice. George turns away quickly so the Sheik doesn't see the smile that he cannot repress. Ruby was a formidable woman. Where diplomacy failed, never doubt the wiles of a woman. Between the two of them, George felt they could talk their way into and back out of Hades. George continued to smile as he made his way up to the roof to get the dirigible ready for the trip. Freya remains in her human form and draws her hand-axe to assist with shaving the ice. The ice is soon shaved enough to get it through the doorway. Ropes and blankets are fixed to support it and Freya heads up to the roof. She transforms into her dragon form and begins to pull the ropes, with those downstairs helping to guide the block forward and up the staircase. It is soon on the roof. Ruby collect the two magical items from the sheik's guards. Once outside Ruby gave their airship a quick look-over to determine where to fit the ice bomb. The ice block has been shaved down enough to fit in the gondola's door, but it will also occupy around 20% of the space inside. Ruby says, "So we jam the ice in here or have Freya carry it. Who is for what option?" Lawrence waves his hands. "Can't you do something magical? shrink it or something?" Maurice says, "Too risky. If we try to magically modify it that could set off the protection wards. Best to keep it intact and be a little cramped." Lawrence states, "Message received. In that case we'll just have to put up with some forced togetherness. It'll be better to keep the bomb under wraps as long as possible." Ruby says, "You're right. I guess it wouldn't be wise to fly a bomb out in the open over the city. Okay let's get in then and get going." [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
Top