AGELESS CAMPAIGN, Episode II, Part VI.

[orchid blossom]

Maracita smiles at Abby's response.

Pepe says "You said that you might enjoy delving into the past of the Celtic people. What do you know of the Celtic faction known as the Carnutes? And have you had any experience at excavating Roman ruins?"

"I haven't done any extensive work in Roman ruins, although I was an assistant at a site excavating them shortly after I finished school.

I'm familiar with the Carnutes, but not in any great detail. They assassinated the puppet king set up by Ceasar and massacred the Roman merchants set up in Cenabum, which helped lead to the general revolt there. They managed to avoid being Romanized despite their eventual defeat, and did have self-rule under the Empire. Like everyone else, they had to provide fighters to Rome."

 

[Silver Moon]

"I'm familiar with the Carnutes, but not in any great detail. They assassinated the puppet king set up by Ceasar and massacred the Roman merchants set up in Cenabum, which helped lead to the general revolt there. They managed to avoid being Romanized despite their eventual defeat, and did have self-rule under the Empire. Like everyone else, they had to provide fighters to Rome."

Pepe says, "Ah yes, so most of what you know of them dates from the time of the Roman Empire. That is consistent with what we have found as well. Do you have knowledge of Gaul during the time of the Roman Republic?"

 

[orchid blossom]

Pepe says, "Ah yes, so most of what you know of them dates from the time of the Roman Empire. That is consistent with what we have found as well. Do you have knowledge of Gaul during the time of the Roman Republic?"

"Not any worth speaking of. The Franks, leading to modern France took over Gaul roughly 450 years after the Roman Empire conquered. The length of time they were Roman really depends on when you start counting. But during those years the Roman and Gaulish cultures merged together, some Celtic influences remained strong and even became part of the Roman culture, some faded as the people accepted more of the Roman culture into their lives.

It becomes very difficult to separate."

 

[Silver Moon]

Maracita says, "Thank you. That is very helpful. Now, what is it that you and Callum plan to do in Paris tonight? And do you know how long are you planning to stay with us here in France?"

 

[orchid blossom]

Maracita says, "Thank you. That is very helpful. Now, what is it that you and Callum plan to do in Paris tonight? And do you know how long are you planning to stay with us here in France?"

"I have no idea," she laughed. "I had no idea of even stopping in France at all. We were dropping off the remaining French wizards and the new Ambassador, and then returning the dirigible to Queen Neferka in Egypt.

We may stay 1 day, 2 at the most. I'm sure Cal will want to keep on friendly ground with the new Queen, and taking an inordinate amount of time to return her dirigible won't help with that.

As for what we're doing in Paris, again, I don't know! But I hope it involves eating. All those hours without sleep also came without much to eat. Just whatever I happened to have with me that I could eat in a hurry on the move. Now that I slept all the way down on the dirigible, my stomach is making itself known."

 

[Silver Moon]

Maracita says, "We should arrive at around 11:00PM, still rather early for many of the best restaurants, so finding a meal will not be difficult. We have been asking you a number of questions, it must have felt like an interrogation. Do you have any questions for us?"

 

[orchid blossom]

Maracita says, "We should arrive at around 11:00PM, still rather early for many of the best restaurants, so finding a meal will not be difficult. We have been asking you a number of questions, it must have felt like an interrogation. Do you have any questions for us?"

"Well, you'd heard something of me before, so you'd have questions. I knew nothing of you an hour ago. And I'm not sure what's safe to ask and what's not. I am insanely curious about what goes on our here. It feels like more than just magical research."

 

[Silver Moon]

"Well, you'd heard something of me before, so you'd have questions. I knew nothing of you an hour ago. And I'm not sure what's safe to ask and what's not. I am insanely curious about what goes on our here. It feels like more than just magical research."

Maracita says, "Most of what goes on in the 4,800 acres of The Land of Queen Mary is farming. It has a dozen separate tenant farms on it, most of which have been managed by the same families since Mary's time, and some even before then. Our principal agriculture is grains.

There are no towns or villages on our lands, but we are relatively equal distances to three towns, each of which four of our farms bring the annual crops and of approximately 400 acres to. In reality, only the eight perimeter farms are real, each harvesting approximately 600 acres, with each pair of them providing the bounty for the each of the four interior mock farms. The perimeter farms are also the only ones that receive any visitors from outside of our lands.

The tenants are good at keeping our secrets, they take pride in their discretion and know a good deal when they see it. We provide magical equipment which greatly eases the amount of work actually needed for planting and harvesting. And since fewer people are needed during the winter months we send half away on an all-expense-paid vacation to the Stuart estate along the French coast on the Mediterranean. So every tenant can look forward to that from November through March, every-other-year.

As for the four interior mock farms, you've already seen two of them. Small amounts of farming do take place there, enough to maintain the illusion, but each has its own purpose. Those details of which we are not at liberty to share with you as of yet. Although it is safe to say that the study of magic is a key part of it.

The manor house itself was established by Queen Mary, and was known at that time by the French population to be just a countryside retreat that she would go to when she needed a break from Versailles. We've basically maintained it as it was in her day, and occasionally entertain well-to-do guests and visitors there. Nothing on the upper two floors gives any indication that there is anything more to the site. Visitors going into the carriage house, the servants quarters or the storage barn would not find anything obvious there either. But there is more to the set of buildings than meets the eye."

Pepe says, "A number of mysteries remain about the site. Mary Stuart lacked the answers too, although she did her best to solve them. She realized that many answers lie buried on the grounds and was astute enough to bring in powerful druids from Ireland to examine the grounds before any of the buildings were constructed. So the exact spots that the buildings are on have no archaeological treasures beneath, but the land between those buildings, that is a different story altogether. Until now we have not had the manpower and skill sets to undertake such an operation, nor was it safe to bring in outsiders, given the need to keep matters secret."

 

[orchid blossom]

Pepe says, "A number of mysteries remain about the site. Mary Stuart lacked the answers too, although she did her best to solve them. She realized that many answers lie buried on the grounds and was astute enough to bring in powerful druids from Ireland to examine the grounds before any of the buildings were constructed. So the exact spots that the buildings are on have no archaeological treasures beneath, but the land between those buildings, that is a different story altogether. Until now we have not had the manpower and skill sets to undertake such an operation, nor was it safe to bring in outsiders, given the need to keep matters secret."

"Callum's decision to study makes more sense now. It's not a natural fit for him. He lacks the patience for the detailed work of getting the artifacts from the ground.

But it is a natural fit for me, which is what you wanted to know. My knowledge and experience aren't what you need, at least not yet. I have more learning to do." She glanced over at Cal. "And of course, we are getting ahead of ourselves. I will keep everything I've seen here in confidence, and you are right not to tell me too much.

I have employment elsewhere, and there is no guarantee I would be invited to help you here."

Abby paused, unsure what to ask next. It was such an odd position, to be trusted with this much information but not be part of what was going on. "What can you tell me of the Stuart family dynamic? Except for Meagan, is there any other threat to Cal's authority here? Anything else that threatens your mission? Only if you can tell me, of course."

 

[Silver Moon]

"What can you tell me of the Stuart family dynamic? Except for Meagan, is there any other threat to Cal's authority here? Anything else that threatens your mission? Only if you can tell me, of course."

Pepe replies, " The Stuart family is currently headed up by Alan Plantaganet Stuart and Lady Arabella Arthur Stuart, the current Lord and Lady of Galloway. Alan is Callum's uncle. They have almost no interest in this property. Lord Stuart was very content to let his spinster sister Baronese manage this land for the family.As Callum was her chosen successor, he is fine with that as well.

Lord Stuart has only been here three times in his entire life, once as a boy when his father showed it to him. The second time was after he married and took his wife on a world tour, they stayed here all of two days then. The final time was seven years ago when they hosted Queen Victoria here for a few days. They stayed a total of two weeks that time, most of which was before the Queen's arrival in order to prepare the property for the royal visit.

Callum's father, Randolph Henry Stuart, is a more frequent guest. His business dealings bring him to Paris several times a year. He usually stays at the finer hotels in Paris then, but will often bring business associates out here during those occasions to impress them. Thankfully he always gives us a few days notice if he plans to do that. He also has no real interest in this place. He is marginally aware that some here dabble in magic, but is fine with that as long as there is no evidence of that when he entertains here.

So I would say there is no real threat to Callum's authority here. He has no interest in ever turning it over to Meagan. But if his Aunt Baronese wanted the job back he would return it to her in a heartbeat. She was well liked here and Callum totally respects her."