AGELESS CAMPAIGN, Episode II, Part VI.

[Silver Moon]

"She turned back to her waiter, "Actually, just bring whatever your speciality is for the meal, also. I'll continue to be adventurous today I think."

She is brought a spicy lamb dish served over rice with a coconut-almond sauce on the side. Neferka is brought a turtle soup followed by a rack of roasted lamb ribs. Ela orders a fish dish with rice and pan-fried beans and carrots.

 

[Queenie]

She is brought a spicy lamb dish served over rice with a coconut-almond sauce on the side. Neferka is brought a turtle soup followed by a rack of roasted lamb ribs. Ela orders a fish dish with rice and pan-fried beans and carrots.

The girls spend a long hour eating, drinking and laughing. Over dessert Ruby asked, "So Ela, if you don't mind sharing, what happened to your husband? You seem so young to have lost him so early."

 

[orchid blossom]

"Gerome was very well politically connected. Ingratiating himself to rulers seemed to be his specialty. He was a favorite of both Napoleon III and Wilhelm I of Prussia."

Callum pauses a bit and says, "Gerome was also once very close to Neferka's father. I'm somewhat curious why Daguerre had him with the Heliopolis faction rather than those in Cairo, although he clearly was unaware of the poisoning plot that other embers of that faction were attempting. Maybe he was being kept not far from Cairo as a contingency."

"I don't know, either. But after the poisoning was done, if he was so close to the Pharaoh, he would have made an excellent and very visible mourner. I'd say he was there to help allay suspicion against the French, but I honestly don't think they felt they had to worry about that. They had tendrils everywhere, with every faction, and they were covering their tracks very well. I don't know enough about his skills to guess how he might have helped to subdue Meren and the shepherds."

She had continued to open the buttons on her dress, but waited to actually remove it. There was no reason to sit around being cold until Cal could actually but the salve on.

 

[Silver Moon]

The girls spend a long hour eating, drinking and laughing. Over dessert Ruby asked, "So Ela, if you don't mind sharing, what happened to your husband? You seem so young to have lost him so early."

She replies, "He was eaten by a giant sand snake. It is rare but it happens. There as nothing anybody could have done, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The desert opened up beneath his feet and it had him."

 

[Silver Moon]

"I don't know, either. But after the poisoning was done, if he was so close to the Pharaoh, he would have made an excellent and very visible mourner.......They had tendrils everywhere, with every faction, and they were covering their tracks very well. I don't know enough about his skills to guess how he might have helped to subdue Meren and the shepherds."

"Didn't you say that his main role was fainting after you scratched his arm?"

OOC: In our actual history Jean-Leon was indeed a favorite of both Napoleon III and Welhelm I. He also traveled many times to Egypt and was a main guest at the ceremony for the opening of the Suez Canal, which initially featured some of his artwork at the main building.

She had continued to open the buttons on her dress, but waited to actually remove it. There was no reason to sit around being cold until Cal could actually put the salve on.

The carriage appears to be nearing their destination as it turns off of a main road and slows. With the windows drawn they do not see outside. Callum activates a light inside the carriage. Once illuminated, Abby now sees that her arms and legs have become solid again.

 

[Queenie]

She replies, "He was eaten by a giant sand snake. It is rare but it happens. There as nothing anybody could have done, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The desert opened up beneath his feet and it had him."

Ruby's eyes nearly pop out of her head. "A giant sand snake? Here? I mean, near here? I had no idea such a thing existed! Though I'm not surprised to learn of it, I suppose I've seen such crazy things. I'm sorry Ela, that's very tragic and unexpected." Ruby paused to consider this then asked, "You haven't mentioned, do you have any children?"

 

[orchid blossom]

"Didn't you say that his main role was fainting after you scratched his arm?"

The carriage appears to be nearing their destination as it turns off of a main road and slows. With the windows drawn they do not see outside. Callum activates a light inside the carriage. Once illuminated, Abby now sees that her arms and legs have become solid again.

"To be fair, I scratched his arm, punched him in the nose, and threatened to cut his face. After he claimed to be ruined forever from a scratch that stopped bleeding in seconds, I figured I could avoid any more violence with a few well-made threats. It worked," she said with a smirk. "Although I was trying to get information out of him, not make him pass out.

But obviously they didn't bring him there for that. He had some sort of job. I think I'm almost ready here," she said, and began to pull the gown off so they could get a look at the wounds.

 

[Silver Moon]

Ruby's eyes nearly pop out of her head. "A giant sand snake? Here? I mean, near here? I had no idea such a thing existed! Though I'm not surprised to learn of it, I suppose I've seen such crazy things. I'm sorry Ela, that's very tragic and unexpected."

Neferka interjects, "It is extremely rare that they attack people. Usually they will make their home near large flocks of sheep or goats, where the occasional missing animal goes unnoticed. They have a slow digestive system, so a large animal will sustain them for a few months.

But our country is not alone in nature sometimes attacking people. I read in the newspaper not long ago about an incident in your county, when a logger in California was attacked and eaten by a grizzly bear."

Ruby paused to consider this then asked, "You haven't mentioned, do you have any children?"

She replies, "Not of my own, but I raised two of my sister's children so I think of them as mine."

 

[Silver Moon]

".....But obviously they didn't bring him there for that. He had some sort of job. I think I'm almost ready here," she said, and began to pull the gown off so they could get a look at the wounds.

While she cannot see the exit wound, the entry wound does look serious with a coin-sized section of skin missing. He says, "Worse than I thought, you outer skin must have still be a bit more solid than I had realized, and with essentially nothing behind to hold it back, it tore like a paper marksmanship target would. Not to worry, this salve will do the trick."

He takes a small ceramic jar out of the medical bag and unfastens the lid. Inside is a tan-colored paste which he holds his index and middle finger of his right hand over it. "At the first sight of blood I will apply it. Be warned, it will feel as cold as ice."

 

[orchid blossom]

While she cannot see the exit wound, the entry wound does look serious with a coin-sized section of skin missing. He says, "Worse than I thought, you outer skin must have still be a bit more solid than I had realized, and with essentially nothing behind to hold it back, it tore like a paper marksmanship target would. Not to worry, this salve will do the trick."

He takes a small ceramic jar out of the medical bag and unfastens the lid. Inside is a tan-colored paste which he holds his index and middle finger of his right hand over it. "At the first sight of blood I will apply it. Be warned, it will feel as cold as ice."

Abby nodded. "I suppose once I'm solid the wounds will actually start to hurt." She looked curiously at the entry wound. It was certainly odd, as if someone had just cut the layers of skin out while leaving the muscle untouched. "I'm just grateful I was as ethereal as I was, and that we didn't try to go through the side of the carriage any earlier."

She watched for another moment and she began to see some blood begin to seep. She immediately felt Cal put the salve on and tried not to jump. It felt like he'd just dropped an ice cube on her.