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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3251677" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter 210, “Searching for Aphrodite’s Priestess”,  Friday, March 31st , 1882, 11:30 A.M.After spending time with Deputy Marshall Barker learning the finer points of rapid shoot at different targets, Jake heads back to the Lucky Lady. The unexpected interruptions have passed most of the morning and he is famished. When he arrives back at the saloon it is nearly noon and he immediately seeks out Maria for some food and coffee.Not long thereafter Ruby arrives at the Lucky Lady and finds Jake devouring a plate of food. She sneaks up behind him and puts her hands over his eyes. "Guess who?" she whispers, letting her lips touch his ear as she speaks.  He replies, "As if I wouldn't know the sensual touch of those hands, the brush of those full lips, the scent of your perfume or your angel like voice whispering in my ear." Jake drops the fork from his hand. "Besides, if it was anyone else, Ruby would have shot her by now.""And that's why I love you baby." Ruby gives him a wet kiss on his neck before sliding onto his lap. "Mr. G. taught me a new skill,: Ruby says raising an eyebrow, "I need to go practice. Will you come along?"  "I'd be happy too. Where are we going?" Jake replies as he spots Minerva in the doorway.   Ruby says, "Out of town, our normal spot is fine." It is now noon and Minerva walks into the Lucky Lady with Luna perched on her shoulder. She observes the scene between Jake and Ruby for a moment and walks over. “Hola, mi amigos. Senor Jake may I have a word when you are not busy, por favor." She turns to Ruby and smiles. "I do not want to interrupt and I think that my stomach can tolerate food now," she says with a mock sick expression. "I will get some lunch for Luna and I and we can talk after. " she says to Jake.  He replies, "Si, Senorita in a few minutes." Minerva finds a seat far away from Jake and Ruby to give them privacy.   Jake asks, "Ruby, what is she talking about. What is wrong with her stomach?"   Ruby answers, "I don't know, why don't you ask her? She wants to talk to you anyway..."Minerva orders a light lunch of grapes, cheese and bread, unable to stomach much more after last night’s adventure and the awful tasting tea that Ruby gave her that morning, and inquires as to Nanuet’s whereabouts.  “Si, Priestess he is outback unloading wine for the festival.”  A smile lights up her face “Por favor, tell him to join me for lunch and could you please provide enough cheese and bread for the two of us? and a little plate of meat for Luna. Oh, and add two glasses of whiskey to the order, por favor.” Nanuet comes out shortly after. “Hello Luna,” he says scratching her between the shoulders. “What is all this, my Sweet Desert Flower?” He leans over to take in her scent and kisses her before he takes a seat opposite and eagerly begins devouring the food before him. Minerva’s eyes sparkle in amusement. “I thought that perhaps you would be feeling poorly after last night, mi amor, but I am obviously the only one suffering here. Perhaps I said yes one time too many?” she laughs as she holds her aching head. “How can you eat like that? My stomach feels like it is filled with Mexican jumping beans! And some of them have taken residence up in my head. I thought that perhaps the whiskey would help.” she says picking up her glass to sip. "Thanks" he says and grabs the glass to sip while continuing to shovel the food in. He looks up at her with twinkling eyes, talking with his mouth full.  “YES too many times? Oh no my sweet, the last YES was the best one of all!” he winks and goes back to his meal while she watches on in astonishment at his savage style.  Eventually he slows down and they spend their lunch time with their heads together teasing and talking the sweet nonsense of a couple in the throes of new love.Kate and Sonoma arrived at the Lucky Lady where Ruby was sitting having a drink. Kate went over and hugged her friend. "Good morning, Ruby. How would you feel about lessons? Our friend has something ready for us."   Ruby reaches up and hugs her back. "Lessons? What kind of lessons? Jake and I were going to head out of town so I can do some practicing..."   As Ruby speaks to Katherine and Nanuet heads back to work, Jake takes a seat at Minerva's table. Kate sat down close to Ruby so she could keep her voice low. "Our scrolls are ready. The ones to dispel Ringo's advantage. He wants us to come learn how to use them. I have used that particular tool once before, and Sonoma has on several occasions, but you haven't. I think he wants to have you practice with the scroll and the rest of us become familiar with it."  Ruby answers, "Oh? Do we need him to show us how to do it then?"Kate replies, “It's not a spell any of us knows, so yes. Do you think you'll have time sometime today?"     Ruby shrugs. "Sure, I guess so. Now or later, either way. Have to be back early tonight, I'm sure we will be packed and I need to take extra time getting ready. I spend the morning practicing with him already. Funny he didn't mention it." Jake asks Minerva, "What is it you need, Senorita?"   She replies, "When Nanuet and I went to see Kajika, he told us that a priestess of Aphrodite was working to control the people in town. Katherine said that the High priest in Greece said basically the same thing. I must talk to this priestess and set her straight. She is distracting the people and upsetting the balance of power. I have nothing against love, but her meddling is doing more harm than good. Now, I am sure that once I point out the error of her ways that she will gladly work with us to defeat Mars and Johnny Ringo since Aphrodite and he are on opposite sides of this war, but I do not know who she is. I think that Ruby knows more than what she is telling and I do not think that she will reveal the name of this priestess. I would not expect you to tell your lover's secrets but She could be in danger, Senor Jake and she DID tell me to ask you..." "Why would she not tell you the name of the priestess?" Jake suddenly looks troubled. "She told you to ask me who the priestess was?"   "Not exactly" she says fingering the charm that Kajika gave her, "but when I asked her about the adult entertainment that she is going to be performing in she said that I should ask you about it. Do you think that she is involved with this priestess? We must find out who she is. We do not have much time." she pleads "I have a sore feeling that the war of the gods is approaching quickly. I do not have time to play games with Ruby, You must tell me what you suspect before it is too late." "I have not met this so called priestess, though I could probably locate her. You think that Ruby won't tell you because she is playing a game?" Jake looks rather sternly at Minerva, "You should choose your words more carefully. If you have asked Ruby who is the priestess and she has refused to tell you I can only surmise that she is afraid of what you would do with that knowledge." Jake takes off his hat and throws it on the table. "Something is wrong, I am sure of it. I am not sure what to do about it. I do not doubt your sincerity, Senorita. Neither do I forget the aid and friendship you have offered at no small risk to yourself. However I wonder the outcome when the righteous priestess of Minerva meets the righteous priestess of Aphrodite." "I am not trying to be righteous. Nor am I trying to prevent anyone from worshiping their gods or goddesses. But from what I am told that is exactly what this priestess is doing. she must be fairly powerful, also. She was able to keep me from hearing the will of my own Goddess and was forcing me to her own. No one should be forced to do anyone else’s will. It is just plain WRONG! That is why Kajika gave me this charm. But others are not so protected. I am trying to keep Ruby and my friends and the town safe from such coercion.  Are you not willing to do the same? Do you disagree that it is wrong? I can tell that you suspect that she is hiding the truth from you also. That can only meant that she is doing something that she is afraid we will object too. It may be that this priestess is pressuring her into doing something that she is not sure is the right thing to do. I cannot think of any other reason that she would be so evasive with us. You could come with me and speak to this priestess if would make you feel better but somebody has to do something today. We are out of time.""I agree that no one should be forced to do anyone's will." Jake sighs. "Do you remember when you first discovered you were special to your goddess? What would you have done if someone meddled in that relationship? Ruby believes that her current good fortune is owed to her honoring Aphrodite. That girl has been through Hades and back, and I won't have her faith in a bright future crushed." He glances across the room to where Ruby is talking with Katherine.  Ruby in turn glances over at Jake and Minerva, "I wonder what they are talking about that Minerva couldn't say in front of me."  She turns back to Kate, "Anyway, do you want to do it now or later?"  "I told him yesterday that I would ask you last night, but you weren't here. He probably thought you already knew.  I have quite a few things to do today myself. Why don't we do it later, maybe around 4:00? Then we can all go make ourselves beautiful afterward."Ruby furrows her brows, watching Minerva hurry out of the saloon. She keeps her eye on priestess, "Sure, 4:00 is fine." She looks back to Kate. "Yeah, that's fine."  Kate asks, "Ruby, are you alright? You're a bit distracted."  "Um, yes. Sorry. I was just wondering what they were talking about. Minerva has been up to something lately." She puts her attention back to Kate. "Last night... I got a new dress. Mary made it for me and asked Jake to take me out to dinner so I could tease him with it," Ruby smiles. "I know, I'm so mean to that poor boy. But it worked, it always does."  "Ruby dear, no offense to Mrs. Kelley's fine work, but you could ask Jake to take you out to dinner and... other things wearing a burlap sack and it would work. He doesn't need inducement," she said with a laugh.   Ruby can't hold back the giggles at Kate's comment. "Still, I like to look good for him." "I don't know what Miss Florencia and Jake could be talking about. To be honest, I don't really want to think about it. I know it's wrong of me, Miss Florencia has been nothing but helpful and trustworthy, but she is still what she is and I have... difficulties... in allowing myself to trust her.""I can understand that, after the story you told me. I really think she' up to something and I don't trust her either right now." Ruby shrugs. "Oh well, I have other more important things to worry about."  "How about we go see Mr. Gonzales now? I'm curious now how to use the... you know... thing... he's going to teach. Can we go now instead of four?"  Katherine laughs, "That's fine Ruby." At the other table, Minerva sighs in frustration, "That is what I am trying to make sure is NOT going on. I want to be sure that this priestess, with all her good intent, is not interfering with Ruby's relationship with her goddess. Why would I try and keep Ruby from worshiping her Goddess? I am the one who helped her to find her way back to Venus in the first place." Jake scratches his beard as he considers her words, "I also won't have my friends harmed. I don't have the tangible power of the gods to help me, Senorita. I only have more ordinary tools and I am not afraid to use the ones I have no matter what the risk." Jake taps on the brim of his hat in the center of the table. "Would you recognize a priestess Senorita if you met one? One of a goddess not far from your own?" Jake scratches his chin before he continues quietly. "In a town like this, if I were looking for a priestess of Aphrodite and there was no visible church I would probably look for the fanciest whorehouse in town. I bet too if you talked to the town Marshall he would tell you that he watched some show last Saturday night after fisticuffs where a woman made a reference to the goddess of love. I believe Deputy Chester Martin was there too." Jake reaches out and grabs his hat. "I prefer not to search for this alleged priestess myself right now. I am still uncertain of my course. I will not stand for any of you to be harmed though. Cuidese, mi amiga. {take care my friend} Let me know if you need my protection." Jake stands and replaces his hat. His smile seems to be a tired one. "I'd much prefer that to avenging any harm done to you." She can see his smile change quickly from strained and tired to the mischievous look that she is more accustomed to on his face. "Le deseo un día agradable, Senorita." {I wish you a pleasant day} "Gracias, Senor! Minerva says her face relaxing as relief washes over her. I hope that I do not need to take you up on your offer but be sure that I will if the need arises. She reaches up and kisses him on the cheek. You are a good man Senor Jake, no matter what anybody says," she chuckles. "May the gods keep the wolves in the hill Senor." she says as she quickly departs.Ruby hops up and tells Kate, "Ok, let me go tell Jake we‘re leaving." She runs over to him and blurts out, "What were you two talking about?"   Jake chuckles, "Always have to know everything..." and bops her on the nose. Ruby pouts for two seconds before perking up again. "I'm going to go over to the El Parador with Kate. I'll be back a little later, ok? I'm not sure if I will still need to go out and practice but we'll see afterwards."  She kisses Jake then her, Sonoma and Katherine return to the Cantina. Kate and Ruby stood up and Kate linked her arm through her friends. "As for looking good, I think we girls all like to see a man's jaw drop to the floor now and then, don't we?"  When they reached the El Parador Kate waited downstairs for Ginnie to return from her lunch deliveries. Ruby heads up to Gonzales room with Sonoma while Kate fetches Ginnie.   Kate spoke a word or two in Ginnie’s ear and the two went upstairs to Mr. Gonzales rooms where Sonoma and Ruby had already gone.  "Here we are," Kate said cheerfully, trying to ignore Ginnie's sour face. "I believe you had a lesson for us, Professeur aime?"Once inside the secret mansion Mr. Gonzales hands out the scrolls and gives then instructions on how to read them effectively. Ginnie's eyes and ears perk up when she realizes she is getting a magic lesson and actually given something magical to hold onto and use.  He then has them exit the mansion together and return to the Cantina. He brings them downstairs and out to the stable where he checks to make sure that they are alone. Mr. Gonzales then instructs Ruby to attempt to use the dispel magic scroll on him. "But how will I know if it worked or not?" she asks curiously.  "You'll know," he replies and quickly mutters some words. Suddenly he vanishes from before their eyes. "But I can't see you!" "Ah, but you can hear me and you know where I last was," he says. "Ok..." Ruby mutters, only slightly hesitant. She begins reading the words on the scroll and 'aims' for the area where Mr. Gonzales was last standing. He reappears, explaining how any magic spells in his vicinity would have ceased to function. He also points out that magical items would stop working while the spell was taking effect, but that their magic would return shortly thereafter. He also warns them to never attempt to cast Dispel Magic while inside of his magical house, as "The result would be not very good as the dispelled area would cease to exist."  Ruby's eyes widen. "I could cast.. I mean I could do something that powerful?"  He replies "It is the nature of the house itself. It is carved out of inter-dimensional space, so once it is gone it is gone. The rest of the mansion would remain but there would be a blank void where the area of effect had been."  Ruby's eyes widen even more. "Good to know. Oh about that other spell... how long does that one last?"He replies, "Only right then, although spells are permanently dispelled and usually any magical elixirs caught in the area of effect will also lose any magic potency. Other magic will return to normal once the immediate effect passes."  "I meant the one that makes you," she continues in a whisper, "Disappear."  He replies, "As long as you want or until you do something to draw physical attention to yourself. Talking alone won't disrupt it, but casting an offensive spell will."  "Wow, that's a long time. Well, thanks Mr. G, If that's if for the lesson I should go and practice it so tomorrow I can learn the other part."Kate looked over at Ruby and smiled. "With what you said about magical items, it seems this spell can cancel more than one magical effect at a time. How much of an area does it cover? Could we cast it on a specific person so the effect moves with him?"   He replies, "There are three ways that you can use the spell. It can be focused upon an area of effect up to a thirty-foot radius, or it can be targeted on an individual creature or item, or it can be used as a counter-spell, to negate a very specific spell. I will warn you, it may not always work or the effects could simply be temporary, in the round that it is cast in. However, these scrolls being written as they were will help. The last item that you should know is that these are written so that they can be cast up to 190 feet away from the target or targeted area."Minerva begins rushing toward the Marshal’s office and abruptly stops to reconsider her actions "What are the chances that I will get shy Deputy Chester to talk to me about some dance that he saw in a whore house? I have a better chance of getting Mrs. King to take off her clothes and dance under the moon." she shakes her head. "Let me think" she looks up and down the street "Now what would Sr. Jake consider to be the fanciest whorehouse in town." She turns on her heel and strides toward the Palace.Minerva puts on her friendly face and steps into the Palace Saloon.  The Palace's bouncer, Prosper McCoy steps out in front of Minerva and says, "After your last visit here Mr. Adair asked that you not be allowed to return."  Buenos Dias Senor, Por Favor, I am not here to cause trouble," she says giving him her most charming smile. "I am here to see your Lead dancer could you Please tell her that the Priestess Minerva Garcia Florencia of the Roman Church requests an audience with her?"McCoy turns the door over to bartender Dave Carleen, telling him "Adair doesn't want this woman inside. I'll be right back."  McCoy heads upstairs, soon returning with a woman who Minerva remembers seeing with Adair during her previous Palace visit. The woman heads outside and says "What do you want? Is this about the festival?"  “Buenas Dias, No this is not about the festival. Is there someplace we can talk in private?" She smiles.  The woman nods her head west and says, "The Silver Dollar Saloon is two doors down, we can get a table there." The two reach the building which is small and nearly deserted. They sit at one of the tables while a woman approaches, introduces herself as the owner Alice Smith, and asks if they would like anything to eat or drink. The woman from the Palace says, "Yes, a glass of your Sarsaparilla." Minerva recognizes the name of the non-alcoholic drink as it had originated in Spain. Sarsaparilla got its name from two Spanish words: "zarza" and "parilla," referring to the thorny vines of the plant. It had been first introduced into Europe as medicine back in the 1500s.Minerva also orders a glass of sarsaparilla while studying her companion. "I am sorry I should have introduced myself. My name is Priestess Minerva Garcia Florencia. May I ask your name and are you the lead dancer at the Palace Saloon?"   She replies, "Yes, I am the lead dancer, lead singer and lead...well...entertainer at the Palace. My name is Kitty Trent. Now what is it that you wished to talk about? Are you wanting to make an apology to Evan?"Minerva raises her eyebrow and sips her Sarsaparilla "An apology to who? Oh Senor Adair. No I do not owe him anything. I asked you here to find out what part the Priestess of Aphrodite was going to play in the festival.”   Kitty replies, "Oh, the Palace will be honoring Aphrodite, as well as Hermes and Dionysus, as each is the patron deity to the three services that our establishment offers to our customers. I will also be playing flute for the dancers during three of the songs at the festival."Minerva asks, "Is it the Palace that will be honoring her or the Priestesses of Aphrodite who make their abode there?"   Kitty replies, "We will honor all three deities. Even refers to it as honoring those who believe in 'Liquor, Lust and Luck.' This idea of yours should be very good for business."   Minerva replies, “Yes well I need to speak with the priestess of Aphrodite before the ceremony to make sure that the gods are honored properly."  "Aren't you the Priestess of the Greek Gods?" Kitty asks.Minerva replies, "Yes I am, and as such, it is my job to be sure that the god's which are to be honored during this festival are worshiped in such a way that none of them will take offense. There are other darker deeds which may transpire also. If you are not the priestess that I seek it would be wise for you to lead me to her."   Kitty replies, "I am not aware of who you are speaking of. Three of my dancers previously worked at a Kansas City Brothel that was run by an Aphrodite Priestess but that woman died in a fire there last year.""Oh, that is sad!" she says in sympathy. "I must speak to them. One of them may be the Priestess that I am looking for. I would appreciate it if you introduced me to them immediately. We are running out of time."   Miss Trent replies, "I'm sorry but Mr. Adair left strict orders that you are not to set foot in the Palace again after your last confrontation with him. I will talk to them on your behalf and mention it to them."  Minerva responds with a sense of urgency. "Senorita, Por Favor it is imperative that you convince them to speak with me. The people of Promise city are in danger and I need their help. When you speak to them tell them that Venus has spoken to me in a dream and I must discuss it with them. I will walk you back to the Palace and wait outside while you relay my message."They walk back to the Palace. Kitty heads inside. Minerva waits for nearly a half hour until Miss. Trent returns. She tells Minerva "They're not the one you’re looking for. I would suggest that you maybe try either the Gay Lady or the Long Branch."  Minerva looks into her eyes "Are you certain?"   "Si, Priestess, I am certain." Senorita Trent responds sincerely batting an eye. "Gracias," Minerva says the smile leaving her face. " Stay safe Senorita Trent, and pray that this evil does not find it's way to your doorstep.""She is lying to me. "I will not find help here she thinks. The disheartened priestess, lost in thought, does not even notice the caravan of wagons, brightly showing off their wares as she finds her way back to the Comstock House.</blockquote>

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