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AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 7050538" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter 126, "Back to Paris", September 13, 1882, 6:30 PM.</strong></p><p></p><p>Callum and Abby approach the carriage. The driver holds the door for Abby as she gets inside, the other passenger Maracita already there, with a small trunk, a leather satchel and a large hat-box near her. Abby takes the other seat as Callum climbs up top with the driver. Maracita notes this without comment at first. Only after the carriage is around a mile from the estate does she ask Abby "He won't even sit with me at this point will he?"</p><p></p><p>Abby answers, "I didn't get a full accounting of the meeting, but I didn't get the impression he's angry with you, although he is upset and sad. Perhaps he just wants to avoid hashing over something when more talking obviously won't change it. I think he was more worried about you being angry with him." She replies, "Well he would be right then. The vote for her to become Chief Mage was three-to-one, with Pepe abstaining since he was not planning to be present during her six-month term. If either Callum or Charles had sided with me she would not have gotten the job, a majority was needed."</p><p></p><p>Abby answers, "In my completely uninformed and unasked for opinion, you're right. She shouldn't have been allowed to attack and cut down others and be rewarded for it. Plus with Cal going away again, and you and Pepe gone, there will be only Charles here to counter her. If nothing goes wrong she will take it as confirmation that she is right for the job and use it to try and keep it, and if something goes wrong... Well, then something will have gone wrong with Charles here to try to undo it. Obviously I don't know the day to day operations, so I don't know how wrong it could go. But it seems if no one ever had any intention of her having this job, they should have stood behind that instead of hoping she'll hang herself with the rope they gave her and then have to fix it."</p><p></p><p>Maracita says, "Well, Chief Wizard, now Chief Mage, is far more than just the five of us. We are just the Stuart Magic Council. We have nearly one-hundred wizards, sorcerers, bards, clerics and druids employed here between the Stuart estate and the four mock farms. I am certain she will fail, Charles actually thinks that she will succeed when finally given a chance. We will see, but I know for a fact that I could not work for her. You and I spoke yesterday of my native Peru and I have been thinking of it since. A time for a trip home is in order."</p><p></p><p>Abby sighed. "I have met some people I couldn't work for, I do understand that. But it can't be easy to leave something you've been working toward for so long. And to go knowing Pepe intends to return? The whole situation makes me uneasy and sad, and I have only the slimmest connection to it." Maracita places her hand on Abby's and says, "Do not overly concern yourself. You humans spend far too much time planning for the future. At my age you come to have learned that the future will take care of itself. What happens between myself and Pepe will most-likely resolve itself in due time. In the meanwhile, he made a decision and needs to live with the consequences. If he thought that I would just sit here and take orders from that witch while he runs off with his great uncle to who-knows-where he has another thing coming."</p><p></p><p>Abby says, "There is a reason we plan for the future. We don't have much of it. Things will surely resolve themselves with time, but it's often far more time than we have. So we scratch and fight now for fear that tomorrow will never be. I will never reach your age, so I will never have as much wisdom as you do. I will have to trust yours. I am sure that Cal is hoping I'll talk you around. He didn't say so of course. But men seem to think that we have some magical power when we talk to each other." Maracuta says, "Callum, or should I say Sir Callum, is a wise man. We do possess this magical power, it is called love. I am glad that you two found each other again, I have never seen him this happy."</p><p></p><p>Abby looked down for moment, obviously pleased. Color climbed up the back of her neck and into her cheeks as she lifted her eyes again. "I'm not sure what I feel. When we were separated... I knew it had to do with his family and I knew it wasn't his idea. But neither of us had any idea of being truly in love with one another. So after he left I was angry at his family, but I mostly mourned the idea of our relationship and then got on with my life. When I saw him again in Bast's temple... all the feelings I'd had for him came rushing back. I'm touched by how deeply he's come to feel for me, how he hasn't forgotten. But I don't want to confuse that with love. Or maybe it's the other way around. With this recognition from the Queen his family's objections to me shouldn't be a problem anymore. But I'm just not sure of myself right now."</p><p></p><p>She smiles and says "He and I have not spoken of this, I just know what I have seen. But I will ask you for one huge favor, one that is unfair of me to ask. If he should ask you to marry him, please say no. He is not yet ready for that level of commitment, but his love will blind him to that fact." She replies, "Maracita, I am not ready for that commitment. when I chose to be educated and pursue a career, I knew that love or marriage was far less likely for me. Now, it might be in my future. But I have a lot of adjusting of my expectations to do. I told you last night I wasn't ready to be a lead on this kind of dig. I need more experience.</p><p></p><p>I need more experience in life before I decide if I will be a wife, too. And marrying Cal isn't just become a wife. Now, it's becoming Lady Stuart. It's becoming a part of aristocracy, even if it's a minor part. It's taking on a lot of new responsibilities that I'm not sure I want. I just hope if he does intend to ask, he doesn't do it in some public place where we will be forced into a long engagement while we wait for both of us to be ready." She smiles and says, "Good, we are of one mind then. I only want what is best for him. As I said, he and I have not spoken with this, and while he won't even sit inside the same carriage with me for a half-hour that is unlikely to occur in the near future. I wish both of you well, in whatever path the future takes you."</p><p></p><p>Abby says, "I refuse to believe we won't see you again. Even if it's a day far in the future, if he does ask that question and I can accept. And try not to feel too badly that he isn't inside with us... if you want to have a few words with him in Paris, I can stand a few feet off. But don't part without friendly words between you. Even for you, life is too short not to tell those you care about how you feel."</p><p></p><p>Maracita says "I am certain that we will say cordial good-byes to one another. He probably is correctly assuming that you are here calming me down from my earlier tirade. Men, how foolish they can be at times. The last thing I would want is to be up top in a open carriage at the speeds we are now traveling at. It will probably take him multiple cantrip spells to fix his flyaway hair. And he is probably also having to use both of his hands to hold down his kilt to keep it from ballooning up." Abby laughed. "I can just picture it. If he's smart, he's tucked the fabric under his legs so it can't, but we both know he's not smart. He's sitting uncomfortably on top instead of inside with two beautiful women!"</p><p></p><p>She sat smiling for another moment. "I know this knighting is the best thing that could have come from the situation for him, but I'm just not sure how I feel about being recognized myself. And meeting the Stuarts... Won't that be fun." Maracita says, "Take the accolades when you can get them, women still do not get enough well deserved recognition. And this rescue that you did with Callum? Were you really his assistant or did you play an equal role?</p><p></p><p>Regarding the Stuarts, Callum's mother is a sweetheart. As long as you don't swear in front of her and mind your manners you will do fine. His father is easy to manipulate too, you just have to encourage and compliment him without it being totally obvious." Abby says, "I have no interest in impressing Callum's father. I ought to, I suppose, but he passed judgment on me long ago. I won't go out of my way to offend, of course. But I fear warmth may be beyond me.</p><p></p><p>As for the rescue... The impetus was Cal's, of course. He had the magical potions we used to make it all work, as well. I used one of them to disguise myself as Sarah Bernhardt, which got us into the camp and the tent where they prisoners were being held. The most important thing that happened to me there had nothing to do with the rescue. Bernhardt's mentor saw us and wanted to talk, and that's where I learned of the plot to poison a royal feast and murder most of the Egyptian Royal Family. After we returned from the rescue I spent the next day making sure that didn't happen. Anyway, I got Cal into the tent with another friend of mine, then talked to Bernhardt's mentor. Once I returned they were about ready to go, and it was a matter of getting out unseen. There were enough elixirs to get everyone out in various ways."</p><p></p><p>She paused and thought for a moment. "I'd say I was closer to an equal than an assistant, but considering what the writer of that story saw, that would have been his interpretation and I can't expect otherwise." Maracita concludes, "So by your own admission your deserve the recognition. Take it and stop complaining. Ah look, we're almost to Paris. Callum really must want to get rid of me, we made almost record time, less than twenty minutes for what would have been a full-hour trip in a normal carriage."</p><p></p><p>Abby says, "Or he realized what a terrible idea it was to sit on top of the carriage and wants it to be over as fast as possible. If I stop complaining, then you have to stop thinking Cal actually wants to be rid of you," she said with a bit of a smirk. "I'm sure he'd listen for hours if he thought it would make you stay. And yes, I suppose the recognition is happening whatever I think of it, so I might as well enjoy it. And it's not as if most of the places I work in the world will realize or care, so it shouldn't really interfere with my ability to move about unnoticed."</p><p></p><p>Maracita says, "Correct, it will probably only be remembered in British aristocratic and academic circles. Outside of those arenas who remembers beyond the day's news story? Last year at least half a dozen people were similarly recognized by Queen Victoria, can you name even one of them off the top of your head?" "I'm an uncultured American, I couldn't have named them the day it happened," she teased.</p><p></p><p>"Alright, alright, I give in. To be honest, I was just rather shocked by the whole business. Don't fret, I have a pretty good handle on my own worth, and I don't hold it cheap. It sounds like I don't feel like what I have done these last few days is extraordinary, but that's not it. It's that it shouldn't be. As far as I was concerned it was just what had to be done, so to be recognized simply for doing what is right and necessary, that's what surprises me." Maracita answers, "Doing what just had to be done. This is probably the best definition of heroics that I have ever heard. And the majority of heroes feel the exact same way, they never reflect on what they do at the time, only after the fact."</p><p></p><p>"My arms sure wish I had considered at the time. I jumped off a flying carpet to unlatch some kind of magical boat engine and it took off with me. They are still aching something fierce. How's that for heroic reflection?" she laughed. "Maracita, I am sorry to see you go. I know I'll be leaving tomorrow, but whatever happens I'm sure I'll be back and it would have been a pleasure to spend some more time with you." She replies,"Or you can visit me in Peru, I am easy to find."</p><p></p><p>The carriage comes to a stop outside of a tavern on the outskirts of the city. The driver opens the door and Abby sees that the signs on the tavern roof and walls are all in Spanish rather than French. Callum has also climbed down and looks immaculate. He approaches Maracita and they hug and say goodbye to each other, with minimal conversation. She heads into the building with the driver following while carrying the three pieces of luggage.</p><p></p><p>Abby stuck her head out the door and said to Cal, "You're a fool if you didn't tell that woman that you love her like family, that you appreciate everything she's done for you, and that you'll be there in a moment if she ever needs you." He looks at Abby, is silent for a minute, and then says, "You're right." He turns and heads into the building. The driver returns and holds the door open, waiting for Callum to return.</p><p></p><p>Abby stares briefly at the driver. There was something very disconcerting about the man. This was the fourth trip that she had made in the carriage in the past day and he had never spoken or shown the slightest emotion. Nor had anybody ever addressed him by a name other than 'Driver'. She now notices that the man does not blink. Abby sat back in the carriage. Gods, people from other planets, now some kind of automaton. Well, at least she didn't need to feel guilty about keeping the driver up and waiting for them.</p><p></p><p>Callum soon returns, with a little more spring in his step. The driver shuts the door after Callum enters and heads back up to drive the carriage. "Thank you Abby, that was very much needed. I trust that you and Maracita had a nice conversation." Abby says, "We did. She helped me sort out my thinking on a couple of things, and basically told me to stop feeling sorry for myself," she laughed. "That wasn't precisely what I was doing, but I was worrying over things that aren't worth worrying about. And you're welcome. I didn't want to see you chewing yourself up with regret for letting her go without saying the important things."</p><p></p><p>She paused then said, "So what sort of automaton is driving this carriage?" He smiles and replies, "It is a clockwork man, it even made a loud ticking sound until we put a magical sound suppression device into it. Approximately 125 years ago a group of those automatons attacked the Palace of Versailles. A visiting physician was able to deactivate them and King Louis XV then put them into storage.</p><p></p><p>When Meagan's mother heard about these devices she made a formal request to study them and three were sent to our castle for examination. She suspected magic, but it turns out there is nothing magical about them, only mechanical. She was never able to reactivate them. But when my Torchwood associates first visited here it only took Captain Nemo a couple of hours to get them working again, he is a mechanical genius. They had previously worn over-sized porcelain masks, but Doctor Jekyll was able to fabricate the more human-like heads for them to wear."</p><p></p><p>We never did find out exactly who made them, other than that it was clearly an enemy of King Louis XV. We suspect that the maker was probably Austrian given Louis's role in the War of Austrian Succession. He had other enemies too, but it is the people of Germany, Austria and Switzerland who are best known for their watch making expertise, so that is the most logical answer." Abby says, "If they were designed to attack, you're sure it's entirely safe to be using them? Sounds like the kind of thing that might have been better left alone."</p><p></p><p>Callum replies, "Oh, they're absolutely safe now, Nemo gave them new orders. And nobody other than Nemo now knows how to give them instructions. The only possible exception to that would be the original creator, but that person is very likely long dead. The only still living person who we deduced could potentially be the creator was Dwarven, as they are a longer lived race. That Dwarven clock maker lives in Austria, so he could have possibly fabricated them. But we secretly searched his workshop and laboratory, and found absolutely no evidence that he had made them."</p><p></p><p>"You say that so casually 'We secretly searched his workshop.' She shook her head. "Your career path definitely took you to a lot more interesting places than mine did. But I can't say I'd want to trade with you, not after the past few days." He laughs and clarifies, "When I said 'we' I meant Torchwood, I personally was undergoing archaeology training in England at that time, so your career path and mine were actually on parallel tracks then."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 7050538, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter 126, "Back to Paris", September 13, 1882, 6:30 PM.[/B] Callum and Abby approach the carriage. The driver holds the door for Abby as she gets inside, the other passenger Maracita already there, with a small trunk, a leather satchel and a large hat-box near her. Abby takes the other seat as Callum climbs up top with the driver. Maracita notes this without comment at first. Only after the carriage is around a mile from the estate does she ask Abby "He won't even sit with me at this point will he?" Abby answers, "I didn't get a full accounting of the meeting, but I didn't get the impression he's angry with you, although he is upset and sad. Perhaps he just wants to avoid hashing over something when more talking obviously won't change it. I think he was more worried about you being angry with him." She replies, "Well he would be right then. The vote for her to become Chief Mage was three-to-one, with Pepe abstaining since he was not planning to be present during her six-month term. If either Callum or Charles had sided with me she would not have gotten the job, a majority was needed." Abby answers, "In my completely uninformed and unasked for opinion, you're right. She shouldn't have been allowed to attack and cut down others and be rewarded for it. Plus with Cal going away again, and you and Pepe gone, there will be only Charles here to counter her. If nothing goes wrong she will take it as confirmation that she is right for the job and use it to try and keep it, and if something goes wrong... Well, then something will have gone wrong with Charles here to try to undo it. Obviously I don't know the day to day operations, so I don't know how wrong it could go. But it seems if no one ever had any intention of her having this job, they should have stood behind that instead of hoping she'll hang herself with the rope they gave her and then have to fix it." Maracita says, "Well, Chief Wizard, now Chief Mage, is far more than just the five of us. We are just the Stuart Magic Council. We have nearly one-hundred wizards, sorcerers, bards, clerics and druids employed here between the Stuart estate and the four mock farms. I am certain she will fail, Charles actually thinks that she will succeed when finally given a chance. We will see, but I know for a fact that I could not work for her. You and I spoke yesterday of my native Peru and I have been thinking of it since. A time for a trip home is in order." Abby sighed. "I have met some people I couldn't work for, I do understand that. But it can't be easy to leave something you've been working toward for so long. And to go knowing Pepe intends to return? The whole situation makes me uneasy and sad, and I have only the slimmest connection to it." Maracita places her hand on Abby's and says, "Do not overly concern yourself. You humans spend far too much time planning for the future. At my age you come to have learned that the future will take care of itself. What happens between myself and Pepe will most-likely resolve itself in due time. In the meanwhile, he made a decision and needs to live with the consequences. If he thought that I would just sit here and take orders from that witch while he runs off with his great uncle to who-knows-where he has another thing coming." Abby says, "There is a reason we plan for the future. We don't have much of it. Things will surely resolve themselves with time, but it's often far more time than we have. So we scratch and fight now for fear that tomorrow will never be. I will never reach your age, so I will never have as much wisdom as you do. I will have to trust yours. I am sure that Cal is hoping I'll talk you around. He didn't say so of course. But men seem to think that we have some magical power when we talk to each other." Maracuta says, "Callum, or should I say Sir Callum, is a wise man. We do possess this magical power, it is called love. I am glad that you two found each other again, I have never seen him this happy." Abby looked down for moment, obviously pleased. Color climbed up the back of her neck and into her cheeks as she lifted her eyes again. "I'm not sure what I feel. When we were separated... I knew it had to do with his family and I knew it wasn't his idea. But neither of us had any idea of being truly in love with one another. So after he left I was angry at his family, but I mostly mourned the idea of our relationship and then got on with my life. When I saw him again in Bast's temple... all the feelings I'd had for him came rushing back. I'm touched by how deeply he's come to feel for me, how he hasn't forgotten. But I don't want to confuse that with love. Or maybe it's the other way around. With this recognition from the Queen his family's objections to me shouldn't be a problem anymore. But I'm just not sure of myself right now." She smiles and says "He and I have not spoken of this, I just know what I have seen. But I will ask you for one huge favor, one that is unfair of me to ask. If he should ask you to marry him, please say no. He is not yet ready for that level of commitment, but his love will blind him to that fact." She replies, "Maracita, I am not ready for that commitment. when I chose to be educated and pursue a career, I knew that love or marriage was far less likely for me. Now, it might be in my future. But I have a lot of adjusting of my expectations to do. I told you last night I wasn't ready to be a lead on this kind of dig. I need more experience. I need more experience in life before I decide if I will be a wife, too. And marrying Cal isn't just become a wife. Now, it's becoming Lady Stuart. It's becoming a part of aristocracy, even if it's a minor part. It's taking on a lot of new responsibilities that I'm not sure I want. I just hope if he does intend to ask, he doesn't do it in some public place where we will be forced into a long engagement while we wait for both of us to be ready." She smiles and says, "Good, we are of one mind then. I only want what is best for him. As I said, he and I have not spoken with this, and while he won't even sit inside the same carriage with me for a half-hour that is unlikely to occur in the near future. I wish both of you well, in whatever path the future takes you." Abby says, "I refuse to believe we won't see you again. Even if it's a day far in the future, if he does ask that question and I can accept. And try not to feel too badly that he isn't inside with us... if you want to have a few words with him in Paris, I can stand a few feet off. But don't part without friendly words between you. Even for you, life is too short not to tell those you care about how you feel." Maracita says "I am certain that we will say cordial good-byes to one another. He probably is correctly assuming that you are here calming me down from my earlier tirade. Men, how foolish they can be at times. The last thing I would want is to be up top in a open carriage at the speeds we are now traveling at. It will probably take him multiple cantrip spells to fix his flyaway hair. And he is probably also having to use both of his hands to hold down his kilt to keep it from ballooning up." Abby laughed. "I can just picture it. If he's smart, he's tucked the fabric under his legs so it can't, but we both know he's not smart. He's sitting uncomfortably on top instead of inside with two beautiful women!" She sat smiling for another moment. "I know this knighting is the best thing that could have come from the situation for him, but I'm just not sure how I feel about being recognized myself. And meeting the Stuarts... Won't that be fun." Maracita says, "Take the accolades when you can get them, women still do not get enough well deserved recognition. And this rescue that you did with Callum? Were you really his assistant or did you play an equal role? Regarding the Stuarts, Callum's mother is a sweetheart. As long as you don't swear in front of her and mind your manners you will do fine. His father is easy to manipulate too, you just have to encourage and compliment him without it being totally obvious." Abby says, "I have no interest in impressing Callum's father. I ought to, I suppose, but he passed judgment on me long ago. I won't go out of my way to offend, of course. But I fear warmth may be beyond me. As for the rescue... The impetus was Cal's, of course. He had the magical potions we used to make it all work, as well. I used one of them to disguise myself as Sarah Bernhardt, which got us into the camp and the tent where they prisoners were being held. The most important thing that happened to me there had nothing to do with the rescue. Bernhardt's mentor saw us and wanted to talk, and that's where I learned of the plot to poison a royal feast and murder most of the Egyptian Royal Family. After we returned from the rescue I spent the next day making sure that didn't happen. Anyway, I got Cal into the tent with another friend of mine, then talked to Bernhardt's mentor. Once I returned they were about ready to go, and it was a matter of getting out unseen. There were enough elixirs to get everyone out in various ways." She paused and thought for a moment. "I'd say I was closer to an equal than an assistant, but considering what the writer of that story saw, that would have been his interpretation and I can't expect otherwise." Maracita concludes, "So by your own admission your deserve the recognition. Take it and stop complaining. Ah look, we're almost to Paris. Callum really must want to get rid of me, we made almost record time, less than twenty minutes for what would have been a full-hour trip in a normal carriage." Abby says, "Or he realized what a terrible idea it was to sit on top of the carriage and wants it to be over as fast as possible. If I stop complaining, then you have to stop thinking Cal actually wants to be rid of you," she said with a bit of a smirk. "I'm sure he'd listen for hours if he thought it would make you stay. And yes, I suppose the recognition is happening whatever I think of it, so I might as well enjoy it. And it's not as if most of the places I work in the world will realize or care, so it shouldn't really interfere with my ability to move about unnoticed." Maracita says, "Correct, it will probably only be remembered in British aristocratic and academic circles. Outside of those arenas who remembers beyond the day's news story? Last year at least half a dozen people were similarly recognized by Queen Victoria, can you name even one of them off the top of your head?" "I'm an uncultured American, I couldn't have named them the day it happened," she teased. "Alright, alright, I give in. To be honest, I was just rather shocked by the whole business. Don't fret, I have a pretty good handle on my own worth, and I don't hold it cheap. It sounds like I don't feel like what I have done these last few days is extraordinary, but that's not it. It's that it shouldn't be. As far as I was concerned it was just what had to be done, so to be recognized simply for doing what is right and necessary, that's what surprises me." Maracita answers, "Doing what just had to be done. This is probably the best definition of heroics that I have ever heard. And the majority of heroes feel the exact same way, they never reflect on what they do at the time, only after the fact." "My arms sure wish I had considered at the time. I jumped off a flying carpet to unlatch some kind of magical boat engine and it took off with me. They are still aching something fierce. How's that for heroic reflection?" she laughed. "Maracita, I am sorry to see you go. I know I'll be leaving tomorrow, but whatever happens I'm sure I'll be back and it would have been a pleasure to spend some more time with you." She replies,"Or you can visit me in Peru, I am easy to find." The carriage comes to a stop outside of a tavern on the outskirts of the city. The driver opens the door and Abby sees that the signs on the tavern roof and walls are all in Spanish rather than French. Callum has also climbed down and looks immaculate. He approaches Maracita and they hug and say goodbye to each other, with minimal conversation. She heads into the building with the driver following while carrying the three pieces of luggage. Abby stuck her head out the door and said to Cal, "You're a fool if you didn't tell that woman that you love her like family, that you appreciate everything she's done for you, and that you'll be there in a moment if she ever needs you." He looks at Abby, is silent for a minute, and then says, "You're right." He turns and heads into the building. The driver returns and holds the door open, waiting for Callum to return. Abby stares briefly at the driver. There was something very disconcerting about the man. This was the fourth trip that she had made in the carriage in the past day and he had never spoken or shown the slightest emotion. Nor had anybody ever addressed him by a name other than 'Driver'. She now notices that the man does not blink. Abby sat back in the carriage. Gods, people from other planets, now some kind of automaton. Well, at least she didn't need to feel guilty about keeping the driver up and waiting for them. Callum soon returns, with a little more spring in his step. The driver shuts the door after Callum enters and heads back up to drive the carriage. "Thank you Abby, that was very much needed. I trust that you and Maracita had a nice conversation." Abby says, "We did. She helped me sort out my thinking on a couple of things, and basically told me to stop feeling sorry for myself," she laughed. "That wasn't precisely what I was doing, but I was worrying over things that aren't worth worrying about. And you're welcome. I didn't want to see you chewing yourself up with regret for letting her go without saying the important things." She paused then said, "So what sort of automaton is driving this carriage?" He smiles and replies, "It is a clockwork man, it even made a loud ticking sound until we put a magical sound suppression device into it. Approximately 125 years ago a group of those automatons attacked the Palace of Versailles. A visiting physician was able to deactivate them and King Louis XV then put them into storage. When Meagan's mother heard about these devices she made a formal request to study them and three were sent to our castle for examination. She suspected magic, but it turns out there is nothing magical about them, only mechanical. She was never able to reactivate them. But when my Torchwood associates first visited here it only took Captain Nemo a couple of hours to get them working again, he is a mechanical genius. They had previously worn over-sized porcelain masks, but Doctor Jekyll was able to fabricate the more human-like heads for them to wear." We never did find out exactly who made them, other than that it was clearly an enemy of King Louis XV. We suspect that the maker was probably Austrian given Louis's role in the War of Austrian Succession. He had other enemies too, but it is the people of Germany, Austria and Switzerland who are best known for their watch making expertise, so that is the most logical answer." Abby says, "If they were designed to attack, you're sure it's entirely safe to be using them? Sounds like the kind of thing that might have been better left alone." Callum replies, "Oh, they're absolutely safe now, Nemo gave them new orders. And nobody other than Nemo now knows how to give them instructions. The only possible exception to that would be the original creator, but that person is very likely long dead. The only still living person who we deduced could potentially be the creator was Dwarven, as they are a longer lived race. That Dwarven clock maker lives in Austria, so he could have possibly fabricated them. But we secretly searched his workshop and laboratory, and found absolutely no evidence that he had made them." "You say that so casually 'We secretly searched his workshop.' She shook her head. "Your career path definitely took you to a lot more interesting places than mine did. But I can't say I'd want to trade with you, not after the past few days." He laughs and clarifies, "When I said 'we' I meant Torchwood, I personally was undergoing archaeology training in England at that time, so your career path and mine were actually on parallel tracks then." [/QUOTE]
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AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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