The Great Race of Isz. An ancient race of precursor humans who once inhabited Kokotha, thousands of years before the first human civilizations. Their understanding of magic was far beyond ours; powerful runes that could use any magic, magic constructs that seemed to last forever, rune machines with simple designs yet more complex than anything Kokotha's engineers have made and understandings of how it worked that we can't even fathom. Yet, as if someone simply turned the light off, their society perished and died out, with no real sign of struggle. To this day, how or why, it still unsolved by scholars around the world.
-Intro passage to the book "The Unanswered Mysteries of the Ancient Race by Wingate Ipswich"

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While the Great Race was wiped out long ago, their tombs, temples, and structures still remained, long abandoned and falling into disrepair. Such a tomb had recently been discovered, by an excursion by the White Tooth Men, just north of New Wickborough. Any information held within the tomb, written on the tablets on the walls, could sell for a modest price. But, with so few in the White Teeth with the ability to translate, they were left to seek out a translator; one who happened to live in the city of New Wickborough.

A school teacher by the name of Wingate Ipswich.

Lucy looked at a clock on the wall after reading her assignment, making a note of the time.

~School's out, so Winnie won't be there anymore. Might be at the library~

Lucille Barlow was glad to have seen the folder come across her table that evening, an assignment that involved both the ancient lore that she so loved to read about and a lovely woman she had met a number of times. Wingate Ipswich had quickly come to be a person of interest in Lucy's life, as they shared a great deal in common, including some less than common academic interests. Lucy stood up and stretched, her arms going behind her back in a way that would imply she was double-jointed, before heading out the door and towards the library she knew Wingate to frequent.

The local library of New Wickborough was a nice place and bustling with Casters, researchers, and students alike. A large cylindrical building, lined with book shelves. To think such a place started as a small bookstore founded during the first years of Kokotha's founding.

Wingate usually could be found in one of two sections, either the history section looking for books about the various countries of the world, or the children's book section; after all, when you're a school teacher for young children, you have to find books to keep them entertained.

Entering the building, Lucy pauses for a second to admire the sight, as she always does. She's been frequenting this library for almost a year now, but she still enjoys just taking in the atmosphere, so different from anywhere else in New Wickborough. Wandering around for a bit, she eventually finds where Wingate has settled in, and walks up to sit down beside her. Thinking of this as more of a casual mission, she is dressed in one of her swinger-style dresses, sun hat on her head and neat ponytail trailing down her back.

"Thought I'd find ya here, Winnie. Got somethin' that'cha might be interested in. Bit of a job that I think'd benefit us both." Lucy says in a soft tone, respectful of the library's atmosphere.

Lucy carefully slips a single photograph out of her pocket. It's a picture that would mean very little to most people who saw it, but she knew Wingate would recognize the strange scratchings as the Isz runes that they are. She holds the photo in two fingers, offering it to Wingate and raising an eyebrow expectantly.

Wingate wasn't too hard to spot. Noticable by her expensive black outfit and hat, with her stylish drill hairstyle.

Hm? Winnie? Only one person called her such a name, so she quickly knew who it was. The young White Tooth, Lucille. Looking up from her book, a history book about an old war between Xiao and Yiskin, she eyed the photo for a bit. Hm... Inspecting the runes for a bit, she put her book to the side, I recognize a few of these words at a glance. This one right here is the Isz symbol for the word "Hero." She said, pointing to one of the words.

What kind of benefits are we talking about here, hm?

Lucy lowers her voice even more.

"Well, I can tell ya that there's more where this came from, an' if that don't excite ya, then I'll have to ask what ya did with the real Wingate." Lucy whispered with a chucle.

"But if ya don't mind, could we continue this convo someplace a bit less public? This is sensitive info here, needless to say." Lucy motions her head to a table over in a quiet corner of the library.

"Rambunctious and smart mouthed as ever, Lucille." she said with a chuckle, amused by the other woman's vibrant personality, before standing up. While standing just below 6 feet tall, her shoes made her stand above that, she continued as she made her way over to the quiet table. She knew about Lucille's associates, but never wanted to tell law enforcement on her; after all, she'd hate to sell out a fellow researcher with interest in ancient history, plus it wasn't in her nature to rat someone out like that. "Perhaps I can teach you how to read those runes while we're at it, my dear, but then you would have no more use for me."

"Well you're lookin' as fabulous as ever, Ms. Ipswich. But that's enough pleasantries, it's time for business." Lucy says, putting on a mock serious facial expression and tone of voice.

"I got some intel from a couple'a friends that there's a whole friggin ruin, filled to the brim with stuff like this. The shame is, these friends don't know a whole lot about what exactly they got into, and are havin' a heck of a time tryin' to figure it out. They knew I knew you, so I've been sent to see if you'd be interested in a bit of translation work. Needless to say, you'll get your fair cut, but I get the feelin' you'd be tempted to help for free. So, whadaya say, Winnie?" Lucy again raises the expectant eyebrow.

Hmmm... Well, the teacher job doesn't always cut it when it comes to pay, plus I can't turn down your group's stylish charm. She said as she inspected the photo, putting on a pair of librarian style glasses, recognizing a few more words off the bat. Now is it a tomb, a temple, or a ruin...? From the looks of it, it is the first. The people of Isz always made a new temple and a new tomb for each of their rulers, after all, never putting them in the same location; I suppose they never heard of the phrase "waste not, want not"

Playing with a lock of her hair, hair that she put so much care and attention into, she put down her glasses and gave a short translation, The runes in that photo translate literally to "A tomb belonging to a hero who isn't remembered." A less literal translation would be "A Tomb of Forgetten Hero"

"Tomb indeed, Ms. Ipswich." Lucy replied, serious facade lasting but one more second before she broke into a wide, grinning smile.

"Ugh, I can never keep that up too long. But can ya blame me? This could be big, Winnie, like real big. 'Course I can't know for sure, but somethin's tellin' me that this is the big one. The one to blow it all open. And we get to be right in the middle of it." Lucy intones as she practically squirms with excitement, before calming herself again.

"Ah-hem. But I am glad ta hear that you're in for it. This'll be the best decision you've made in a long time, trust me on that. Hope you ain't busy this evenin' by the way, 'cause you got an appointment at 8 tonight at the Grapevine. You know the drill, just gotta make sure everyone's on the same page and whatnot."

Lucy leans forward, resting her chin on her hands, elbows up on the table, and looks pointedly at the school teacer sitting across from her. "I trust you'll be there?"

"A tomb of a hero of sorts will very well unlock a lot of information about Isz's culture and history. If they were buried with their weapons, we could maybe find a Isz Weapon that collectors so love to find." Or for all they knew, it could just be an ordinary tomb. But she had hope, and she couldn't say no to Lucille's adorable face and attitude.

But nevertheless But I will be there sharp, I have a habit of coming a bit early. I will bring my archeological tools and some food for the boys. Whenever she was surrounded by a large group of people, adults or children, her motherly side always had a habit of coming out; packing lunches, bringing snacks, even if it's a group of grown men that she's working for.

@Patches
"Hun, it's the Grapevine. Y'know they serve food there, right?" Lucy said with a sly grin. Wingate really was quite the interesting person. Man, how different would her life have been if she'd had a mom like Wingate?

Lucy stood herself up from the table and turned to leave. "But yeah, feel free t'come early. We can do a bit a socializin' before we hafta do business. It'd be nice to catch up." she threw over her shoulder at the older woman as she strode away.

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~I love my job~ was the simple thought floating through Lucy's mind as she sauntered through the streets of New Wickborough towards the Grapevine.

Force of habit i suppose, she said, playing with one of her hair drills. She just can't help herself sometimes. Then it is settled, I will see you there, my dear.

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Wingate made her way to the Grapevine, a dufflebag full of various tools useful for this kind of thing; brushes, chisels, and even a crowbar. She felt a bit cautious about going to these kinds of places, she couldn't let her students know she frequently hung out with the White Teeth, but at the same time, she couldn't resist a dig like this.

When the time came close to when she suspected Wingate to arrive, Lucy claimed a small table in the middle of the room. She would spend enough time in a private booth tonight, she might as well do the socializing out in the open.

When Wingate arrives, she's let in with little fuss. She was expected, after all. The bouncer would inform her that Lucy is waiting for her, pointing to the table she's sitting at. Noticing Wingate enter, Lucy smiles and waves, then motions for Wingate to take a seat.

Lucille is in more formal dress now, full dress pants and black tuxedo shirt with a white undershirt beneath, and even a nice prim black tie to "tie" it all together. She didn't bother with a hat, however, brown hair let out into the open, noticeably shorter than it was just a couple hours ago. Since it was later in the day, she sat with a colorful drink in front of her, no doubt alcoholic. Enough to get in a good mood, but she knew better then to actually get drunk before a meeting as important as the one tonight would be.

@Yomojo
Every one of Wingate's outfits looked like they constituted as formal dress. As someone who cared almost too much about her appearance, she did her best to look great everyday. As she made her way through the Grapevine, she made sure to greet those she passed by, a wave here, a hello there, it was best to be polite when you're a guest at someone's place.

Greetings, Miss Barlow. she said, setting her dufflebag aside. It made a quiet clinking noise as it touched the ground, the various tools jumbling against each other. "I must say, that this outfit suits you. You should go for the formal look more often.

@Patches
"I love the look too, wear it all the time, actually. Ya just don't meet me while I'm on th'job very often." Lucy straightens the collar of her tuxedo.

"So, Winnie, feels like it's been too long. How's things? How's th'teachin' gig goin?" Lucy asks, then takes a sip of her drink.

A waiter approaches the table, seeing that Wingate has arrived. He walks up to Wingate and offers a menu to her, asking "Anything I can get you, miss Ipswich?" in a formal, professional tone.

Ah, the kids are fine. Teaching children has its ups and downs, such as the ability to be a bit childish myself when it comes to lessons. She never knew why she choose such a job. Maybe it was the one job where her motherly nature and her love of knowledge could find a happy medium. Other than that, things are going well for me, a bit too slow for my tastes. This is a nice change of pace,I might add.

Do you have any wine? she asked, a bit hesitant. She loved the taste, it eing one of the few alcoholic beverages she drank. But to drink while the country was under prohibition? It felt so criminal. Was it alright when she was in the presence of criminals? Was it worse...? ~How humorous~ She thought to herself.

The waiter pulls out a small pamphlet-looking menu and slips it in front of Wingate without a word, standing back up to wait for her order. To his credit, he does a good job of looking like he isn't listening to their conversation. The wine list itself was a decent size, about a dozen different red wines, about the same number of whites, and even a few rosés.

Wingate and Lucy have a pleasant conversation, catching up on how each other have been doing, until someone comes out from a back room and taps Lucy on the shoulder. She brings Wingate into the back, where there are a couple of White Teeth who make sure Wingate knows all she needs to know (and no more than that), and that she understands her place in this business deal. Everything going well, one of the men splits off and leads Wingate and Lucille through some corridors into a small, cozy room, mostly likely used for backroom deals. There's a neat, expensive-looking wooden table in the center of the room, covered in plastic, with a few stone tablets and small relics scattered on the table. Lucy and Wingate are left to inspect the items in peace, with a couple guards posted on each side of the door. Ones on the outside to make sure they weren't disturbed, and ones on the inside to make sure nothing funny happened.

"So, what can ya tell? I've told the boss you're the best there is, but he insisted ya prove yourself." Lucy asks, clearly very excited to be in the presence of these objects. "If everythin' goes well, we can head to th'ruin tomorrow."

They really did have a wide selection of wines. As expected from the White Teeth to go the full mile when it came to these things. She was in the mood for some red wine, her favorite. Maybe something white, to try something different. Might as well spoil herself a bit before she got to work.

As they chat, they mostly go into things like how their life has been going. Lucille talking about her experiences with the White Teeth, Wingate talking about her students or about past discoveries. A pleasant chat and a catch up with a friend was all she needed to get ready for a night of research.

Mmm~ You spared no expenses. Tell whoever brought them here that they kept them nicely intact. She said as she began to tie her hair back into a ponytail so it wouldn't get in the way. I've had people handle tablets roughly and break them and then expect me to read them. The nerve on some people.

While the tablets were intact to a degree, that didn't mean they were fully intact. There was still taking into account millenias of moisture and being slight erosion. A few words were gone, forcing her to fill in the blanks. She took her time. Translating of the language of Isz was a step by step process; first one had to figure out what each symbol meant, what sound it related to, then had to figure out what those words meant. Then, Wingate spoke.

Mmm... As mentioned before, these tablets seemed to have come from a tomb of someone seen as a hero. An'Kan...? I believe that must be their name. But from the sound of it, no one really knew about them... Or rather, they were some sort of unsung hero who got no credit for what they did. Carefully brushing away a layer of dust on one of the tablets, she continued How sad... Part of me considers taking the tablets back to the dig site out of respect.

Lucille went around, following Wingate's actions and helping where she can. The guards stood patiently, chatting under their breath with each other to pass the time.

"Well, can't say ya have much control over what happens to 'em, unfortunately. I can probably convince the boss to take 'em back to the dig site, but we both know they won't be stayin' there for long. Oh, and here are the rest 'o the pics of the place, too." Lucy remarked as she pulled a manila folder out of an inside pocket, taking out a number of photographs and lying them on the table.

"See, this tablet was there, that pedestal had that relic on it, and that there is a pic of the corner of that wall, that wall, and the ceilin' there." Lucy informed Wingate, pointing from objects to photos to other photos. "If this were a movie, I'd be guessin' there's a secret passage somewhere 'round there, but that might be wishful thinkin'." she added with a wink.