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Overnight Notes: Once everyone was bedded down the active day turned into an inactive night. At least as far as the PC's go. Everyone is able to get some sleep, on level to what your character normally would. Oddly enough, there are no dreams or nightmares for the ones that had gotten them in the past and that brought them initially together. Maybe it is the fact you aren't technically anywhere but on the water, maybe since you are together now for the most part it has canceled out, maybe enough already died to stop the connection, maybe the Sandman just took the night off. Either way those that had nightmares and dreams didn't this night.

Morning comes early in Egypt in October - The sun rises are 5:51 A.M. (I love google.) Now, for those on the Elite and the Secondary decks, this is important as the sun will shine through the larger windows and such of your rooms. So yeah, chances are it will wake you up even if you don't want to be. Now those on the lower decks, that sun isn't going to be a problem, do your characters will wake up most likely due to the noise instead of the sun. Upstairs quieter but lighter. Downstairs, no light issues but people moving about to get things ready for the upper floors of the boat - yeah. Like someone mowing their lawn at the crack of dawn.

Now that generalizations are up, on with the show.

Haring: Clothing is dry - yay! (It did look fabulous on him lol)
Keystone: There is a note slipped under his door. Please, do join me for breakfast at 8 A.M. on the Sun Deck. Bring your companions if you wish. Sincerely, The Captain.
Vera: If only the light had woken her, it was not feeling well and the urge to vomit that did.
Gene: Hey, that door is good for backs! She wakes up well rested but with the sun streaming right on her face. Damn it.
Lauren: While it might have been nice to wake up to sun and the smell of eggs, you only wake up to one and they are rotten. Seems Vera is leaning over the edge of her side of the bed, hurling in a bucket.
Josephine: Seems someone made sure the curtains were drawn, so only a small sliver of sunlight is coming in when the sun comes up. It's bright and concentrated but at least the warmth from the concentrated beam hits her chin first before slowly crawling over her face - it is probably the easiest wake up for anyone.
Mosi: Porthole shaped and sized beam hits her face as she rolls over - fucking hell - you're up you're up!
Mahendra: You wake up to some bright light and a bone chill. God you need something warm to drink.
Richard: You wake up to the sound of a thousand plates breaking. Outside your door there is a mess and one very frustrated worker trying to pick up the glass. Shattered plates all down the hallway from a cart that got turned over. At least there was no food on them yet.
Faye: You wake up to the same noise as Richard but luckily for you, you only have the tail end of the mess in front of your door.
George: Did you even sleep last night? Or just stare at a wall? You need coffee.
Nora: You woke up before the sun rose, some how that is just how it works.

*Do remember that depending on your tickets, depends on where you can get breakfast. Same as what it was for dinner. This will remain the same during the duration of the boat trip. Now, having said that - don't worry about going into detail about breakfast or finding out specifics. You have a decent breakfast that is in line with the level of your rooms. Just go with it. Try not to drag things along. We don't need 3 rounds of posts to eat some damn eggs.

The Next Day - Breakfast: Vera groaned as she finished spitting into the waste bucket. She wished she had been able to make it to a loo but that wasn't happening. By the time she came awake enough to move it was coming and there was nothing to hold it back. She couldn't even remember what she ate the night before but whatever it was and whatever she had eaten five years previously had made its way out of the bowels of hell and into the waste basket. Setting the basket down she curled up and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. She hoped that was the last of it but if her body decided to reject anything, they could have organs at this point because that was all that was left other than bile.

Apparently even though she had gotten changed out of the wet clothing she hadn't fared well over the night and now had a fever. Maybe it was better this way. Sure having a fever, feeling like you had been run over by a camel, and throwing up tea she drank when she was five was not the best way to start a day but we have to remember how easily it is for Vera to get hurt. Perhaps a day in bed sick might actually save her life. Either way, she knew she wasn't moving from where she was and she curled up tighter, pulling the blanket over her head. All she wanted to do was sleep. Who could blame her?

Now George, he had slept but not much, mostly dozing in his chair as he nursed a drink. The best part of the evening was when he got back to his room and was finally able to take off the tin mask he wore to cover his war wound. By the time the sun had broken light in his room he was dressed, cleaned up, and ready for the day. Making his way out of his room he locked the door behind him and made his way to the stairs. Showing his ticket before moving quickly up to the Elite Deck and down to where Lauren's room was since Vera had stayed there the night before.

Going to knock he stopped himself. What if the girls were still asleep? Sure, something could have happened over night but his sister could handle things if it did and he was sure she would have let him know. She had traveled all the way to Egypt to just inform him of their friend. Taking a breath he turned and leaned back against the wall near the door and slid down it. Pulling his knees up and draping his arms over them as he waited for one of the girls to get up and come out. He didn't just want to stand there so just got comfortable. Checking his watch, it wasn't too late passed sunrise yet, so there was plenty of time. He was in no hurry. This was a boat, not like there were a lot of places one could go and go things.

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Lauren slowly opened up her eyes as she started to smell something really foul, as she groaned slightly to herself Lauren turned her head to look at Vera seeing the poor woman puking into the waste bucket by the side of her bed. Lauren felt bad for Vera, she nearly plummeted to her doom just the night before. She was also freezing as well, Lauren sat up as she looked towards her with a concerned look for her friend as she watched Vera bringing the covers over her head. Lauren thought it was best to not disturb her right now anyway. "Vera, are you okay?" Lauren asked her.

As her attention turned over towards Gene who was sleeping by the door, she gently started to move herself out of the bed so to not disturb her friend. "Can I get you anything, or have someone send you something?" Lauren asked Vera, she knew that being sick wasn't a good thing. And being cooped up in her room probably for the rest of their trip over the river wasn't all appealing either, as Lauren started to get changed for the day, folding up her clothes neatly from the night before slipping them into her bag.

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Mahendra's waking hour was far from as comfortable as he had exected one to be when traversing the Nile on a dedicated and reasonably luxurious passanger steamer, as the sunlight shined upon his sleeping face. Now the light that woke him up he was no stranger to, but the shivers? Mahendra woke up to find himself cold to the bone, shivering and clattering teeth a little as he came to an consciousness after a long rest. He rose from his slumber, looking around the room for the source of this winter's cold that could be flowing through his university window back in England.

But he was on a steamboat in Egypt, and the chill was his own fault. Mahendra slowly got out of bed, remembering the past night's events with growing clarity as he went on with his traditional Hindu morning-ritual for a new day; cleaning and praying to the Gods. Eventually he went on to shiveringly get dressed. It was slower than usual, but what would you except? That morning Mahendra dressed in a blue-striped three-piece suit, though that did little to alliviate the spine cold that had grasped around his very soul. He really needed some warm drink to warm up. Perhaps the burning sun of the Nile would warm up his cold corpse?

That's when he noticed it. Lying on the floor, having been slipped underneath his quarter's door was a ticket. Mahendra picked it up, reading it was his new ticket for the one he lost yesterday. At least the crew were competent at something, he thought as he unlocked the door, exited his room and locked the door before he stood out in the hallway. Mahendra only hoped that his cold disposition would not bring a bad view of the others upon him. Especially not the Lord Major, as a former soldier of the Empire. The others might view him as weak...

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"...ugh...Will you for the love of God stop that racket!"

Richard hadn't been dreamning anything particular that night, though he wasn't a person that enjoyed dreams. They usually revolved around some unsolved case, his missing daughter or the nearly-losing-his-nose-event back in New York, all cranked up to a hundred and seriously messing up his sleep. Tonight he hadn't dreamt anything, at least nothing he could remember as he woke up to the sound of a thousand plates breaking, so he couldn't complain about that. It was the breaking plates that made his morning sour.

Now he was a New Yorker, used to most disturbances an overly-filled city of dubious people could offer, but the private detective was equally used to shouting at said disturbances. Waking up from he commotion outside, Richard rose slowly and annoyed from bed, staring at his quarter's door with half-closed eyes and his hair looking like a Welsh sheep. "Jesus Christ, who put that bright idea in their head of breaking every plate on a passanger steamer in the morning?" He mumbled, rubbing his face with his hands and ruffling his hair. He looked at his wrist watch lying on the sink, it was sometime before 6 am. Time to get up he guessed.

Richard started his normal routine of the waking day, perhaps with the exception of thinking about his dream; he hadn't dream, so so far the morning had been okay except for the circus outside. He washed his face and hair, combing his hair back in his usual fashion before he turned to the part he always dreaded. Shaving. After the Portugese Barber Incident, he had always done his shaving himself. He couldn't pass a barber's shop without taking those walking strides that much quicker and avert his eyes from it. But he still had to shave, or else he'd look like the hobo he was in danger of becoming. So with extreme caution and dread in his body, Richard started shaving, glad that he was alone in his quarters without anyone seeing him like that; afraid.

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Gene groaned slightly. With the light streaming onto her face, she at first had mistaken it for someone from back home coming to wake her up. He was always rather punctual. Instead, as she pushed herself slowly up off of the ground, yawning and squinting, she remembered in an instant everything that had happened the day before. However, the smell of vomit reached her senses and Gene plugged her nose. "Wow, for a proper British lady and all, your puke smells nasty," Gene quipped. "Guess we aren't so different after all."

Lauren seemed to have the compassionate aspect of this down, asking Vera if she needed anything. Gene, however, couldn't help but think it would be a good idea to get a preemptive strike done on airing out the room. In her experience, vomit scent tended to linger and even though the damned sun's rays were able to get in to wake her up, that smell had nowhere to go. "Let's open a window or somethin' if we can - air out the place a bit," Gene suggested. "Fresh air might do her some good too."

She then walked over to the door, intending on opening it and catching a whiff of fresh air - and to see if she could flag someone down to bring Vera some food that would be easy on her stomach. Instead, she found her brother. "Oh, hello Georgie. Your special friend is having an excellent start to her day already."

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Nora had woken before the sun rose - she figured perhaps it was nerves or worry that was preventing her from getting a proper night's sleep. Ordinarily, she would have gone to find Spot and sit down next to her dog, scratching away in her journal until morning's light. Even though she had tried to fall back asleep on the boat, sleep eluded her - primarily because of the absence of dreams. It was freeing, not to have a premonition visit her in her sleep... but after having spent so long with those dreams, night after night, she felt almost hollow to have not have had one.

She had become accustomed to them - they were her normal. She had spent some time getting dressed and ready for the day, and then she simply sat in quiet contemplation until sunrise. Figuring that it was now a decent and acceptable time to get breakfast - she was starving - Nora gathered what she needed for the day, ensuring she had her ticket on her, and she locked her rooms behind her before heading down the hallway towards Lauren's rooms. She wanted to see if the other girls were up and would like to join her for breakfast - eating alone was never quite as fun as having company, she had realized.

"Oh, good morning," Nora said softly, surprised to see George in the hallway outside of Lauren's rooms.

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There was a really peaceful like atmosphere as Mosi was sleeping in her room. She had hugged her blanket and turned to the right with a really huge grin on her face. All that was missing was for her to have someone to hug instead of the blanket, but ehh she could make do and her dreams were of a greater importance to her mind at present. She had sweet dreams of a nice beach and of people walking around in togas and she herself sunbathing, enjoying a really cold beer. There was also a shark in the water, but for whatever reason it got fished out and then BBQed, filling the air with nice smell.

It was around this time as the sun started showing up and the beam of light crept towards her face in bloody force. Then suddenly in her dream it was as if the sun exploded as the light hit her in the face and she subconsciously rolled over to escape it. Rolled over all the way over the edge of the bed." Flare.. Umph!" She made a paintful sound as she hit the floor, still wrapped in her blanket." Ouch..." She groaned, waking up properly as the haze around her mind cleared and she spotted the light where her head used to be." Damn... so this is an egyptian morning... Note to self block light tomorrow." She groaned and stood up, moving over to her clothing and dressing up. What time was it? She wasn't sure, but didn't feel like too long of a sleep. Whatever, she was going to grab some grub and start exploring the ship afterwards. There was bound to be something interresting.

With a yawn, she walked out her room, locking it behind herself and turning around she soon spotted Mahendra." Hey, Mahendra, how are ya feeling today?" She asked him with the usual cheeriness she had and walked to him, patting him on the shoulder." Up for breakfast? Come, let's go!"

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It was the first night in quite a while wherein the Lord Major was not wading through a flood of odd imagery and Egyptian Mythology. The mental silence was most welcome. While he did have the odd dream or two, it seemed the common, ordinary sort from which he still arose refreshed and ready to meet the day, at least better than most people of his approximate age and roundness of torso. As his eyes gradually opened, squinting against the morning light streaming into his stateroom, he gave a reflexive look to the walls near his bed and readied his sword arm to spring forth and grab his saber. A bad memory involving a camel spider from a couple of days ago came to mind; as improbable as that exact thing would be to happen again, and on board a boat, it did at least serve to wake him fully. Lucky day, he was alone in his room.

There was one detail that was different and/or unexpected in his surroundings, however. Upon the floor, near the main door to his stateroom, a rectangle of paper lay quietly within the directed glow of the ante meridiem. Reginald set his feet upon the comparatively chilly floor and shuffled over to the piece of paper, which he was fairly convinced was a note of some kind slipped underneath the aperture of his door. The tiniest amount of satisfaction crossed his features as he bent down and picked it up, to realize that he was correct. He held it out a little bit to better read the writing thereupon:

"Please, do join me for breakfast at 8 A.M. on the Sun Deck. Bring your companions if you wish. Sincerely, The Captain."

Ah! Invitation from the Captain to take breakfast at his table. How quaint. It would be horridly ungentlemanly to refuse, as well. Reginald retreated to the nightstand to recover his pocketwatch. Sure enough, it was about two hours prior to the time mentioned, which should be ample time to freshen up and contact the others in his group staying on the Elite Deck. If they wished to involve those attached to them from the Second Deck, that was their decision. Considering the abrupt nature of the Corporal, the man attached to him in that regard, he was unsure as to whether it was the wisest course of action, himself. Conversely, if the Fellowship was otherwise the Fellowship, regardless, and should remain together throughout. Tactic might suggest that, with others on board that were acting against the best interests of their group, putting everyone in one very visible place wasn't the best idea.

Reginald rallied himself against the thought, remembering the simple and direct fact that he was not in charge of this expedition. That honor belonged to Lady Munn. She might be considered foolish not to listen to the advice of the Lord Major as it was given, but nonetheless it was her decision, not his. The only man he could order about was the Corporal. Just to avoid the man's iconic response, he might keep even that to a minimum.

Well, it was a good time to get himself dressed. He wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon.

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Corporal Reddish rose with the sun, curious and optimistic about the coming day. Why, he even whistled a short tune that he picked up during his time in the trenches of the Great War, though the piece of music was better performed on a harmonica. Regretfully, he had never taken up an instrument that might have sufficed to properly communicate the nuance of the tune in question, and so whistling was the best that he could offer the situation. Reddish's own internal debate on the propriety of harmonica vs. whistling aside, all anyone who might have happened to be listening at the time would have known was that there was someone whistling a jaunty, wartime tune, quite possibly in a British accent (if such a thing were possible).

There was a brief period wherein he adjusted to the fact that he was indeed upon a boat. Nothing upon the open seas, granted, but a tiny moment to adjust footwork and he was good to go. The first order of business, after washing up for himself, was to neatly fold and stack the now clean and moisture free apparel of Miss Josephine Clarke, Hollywood Starlet. The whistling picked up for a little bit more as he lined up seams as perfectly as a non-commissioned man could when readying for inspection, folded without creasing, and arranged presentably, as if he intended to display them within the front window of a boutique or clothiers' establishment. Once satisfied that they looked as tidy as was humanly possible, he moved to see to his own duds for the day.

Class Bs, it seemed, positively radiated propriety. Standard marching wear, not dissimilar to what he had worn the previous day. If nothing else, it served to allow for the carrying of his more obvious means of defense without persons suspecting anything nefarious. A soldier of the British Empire carrying a revolver and bayonet was part and parcel with the scenery. A random tourist outfitted similarly was not, generally. Questions were potentially asked. With that last thought in mind, Reddish gave a moment of contemplation in the selection of his bayonet for the day. He settled on the same one as the previous, it was functional and could be pressed into immediate service if necessary. Not that it mattered, they all fit the same scabbarding or webbing as needed for the occasion. But it was just nice sometimes to have the option.

Well, first things first: Reddish promised to have Josephine's laundry ready for her by morning. And morning it was. Likewise, he was promised that the photographs taken yesterday would be ready for him by morning. Running up to her quarters twice in a short period might prove to be awkward, so he resolved to kill the proverbial pair of birds with one stone and wait on his delivery before making hers. He couldn't even say for certain if she was going to be awake yet. It made sense.

So, no problem at all! A bit of stretching, maybe a poached egg and toast, and then to business! ...and then to different business.

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Notes: The ship is back to it's normal speed right now. It had upped the speed overnight to get back on schedule but things are status quo right now. You will dock at your destination tomorrow midday and everyone will disembark before the boat reloads and resupplies only to head back to Cairo. There will be a stop midday in Benha for the afternoon, people will be allowed to leave the boat during this time to look around the city and see the sites. They will leave the docks at sunset.

*Okay, you know the drill by now. We are on round 2 now of "breakfast", after the next round I will be moving on. As I said last round, not spending 3 rounds to get breakfast, we are pushing forward.

Mid-Breakfast: Vera shook her head. She obviously wasn't feeling well. "No, just am going to sleep, please tell my uncle I am just under the weather and I will catch up with you all later in the day if I feel up to it, if not, I will rind the steward later on for something to eat," she said. Granted it didn't come as gracefully as it is read, she stuttered and had to force down the want to vomit again before throwing the covers over her head. The last thing she wanted to do was try to walk right then, or even eat. It would pass, she was sure of it. Right then she just needed some more rest. The last few days had taken their toll on her.

The servant looked over at Richard. "So sorry sir, will get it cleaned up post haste," he said as he scrambled to do just that. Breakfast was already well underway and the minutes ticked by quickly. It always did this time of the day on a ship filled with passengers. People were eager to get the day started and there had been a lot of talk of Benha. Granted it was one of the small towns right then but it was more modern. There wasn't a lot left over from ancient times but there was some nice sites to see. The big draw was that the city was famous for it's roses. They were used in perfume's the world over.

Poor Vera didn't seem to be able to respond vocally to Gene. It wasn't that she was ignoring the woman it was just she felt horrid. She peaked out from under the covers and nodded a bit before slipping back beneath them. George stood up quickly as the door opened and looked at Gene before looking over her shoulder and seeing the mound of Vera beneath the covers. He nodded a bit. He had hoped she wouldn't have caught cold from being in the river the night before but it seemed she had afterall. Looking towards Nora he smiled slightly but there was a worried look in his eye. "Mmmm, morning," he said in a raspy voice. Turning his attention back to Gene the smile faded. "Mmm, maybe let her sleep. If mmm you would like, mmm I can sit with her mmm while you all get breakfast," he said offering to give them a bit of a break after a night all cooped up in the room together. It wasn't the worst accommodations but it was a bit crowded in that room.

Vera peaked her head back out and spotted George. She gave a slight nod, indicating she was fine with that idea. Granted she probably shouldn't be alone in a room with a man since she was not wed but right then, even the proper blue stocking didn't care. She felt terrible and she didn't want the girls to have to watch over her but she knew her uncle wasn't going to let her be alone right then, not after everything that had happened over the last several days. George did seem a decent fellow after all and he had been friends with Peter. She felt she could trust him, she hoped the others felt the same.

During this time, stewards made the rounds. One slipping a note beneath Josephine's door. Inviting her to accompany the Captain and the Lord Major for breakfast on the Sun Deck. Another came to the door and George turned his head as he stopped. "Oh, this does make my travels shorter," he said before handing over similar notes to both Nora and Gene since they were standing there. Bidding them good day he headed back off. People were gathering and taking their seats. Some looked like they had had too much to drink, others looked like they needed far more sleep. Most though looked eager to start the day. There was security making their way through the ship, checking rooms and such and double checking tickets to try to figure out who had had a hand in the robberies the night before and yet they were coming up empty handed.

The captain of the ship sat on the Sun Deck, sipping his tea as a crew member came over to him. "All messages delivered," he said and the Captain checked his watch.

"Good, good," he said before the man went on his way and the Captain set down his tea cup. Pulling out a book he thumbed through it as he waited for his guests. He wasn't sure if they would show up. He wouldn't be offended if they did not. It was a last minute invitation and all and the lot of them had been through quite the ordeal the night before. For all he knew they would skip breakfast or have it in their room this morning. He would begin eating in a moment if no one showed up.

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Josephine was awoken with the morning light entering her room window. She had slept as comfortably as one could given the circumstances. No one had entered her room again in order to steal more from her (or worse). She sat up in bed, scanning her environment before she got up and walked to the washroom to freshen herself up. She would face the day like she faced the others. Only difference now was she had a goal. She would find who stole from her. After that, well, she wouldn't be responsible for her actions.

After she splashed some water on her face she got to her wardrobe to pick today's ensemble. She wanted to be comfortable, but not dressy. There was no need to get glamoured up right now. She opted for Black Cambridge Pants and A Sailor-Stlye Blouse along with a clean Mary Jane heel. Satisfied, she brushed her hair and gave it the necessary treatment and applied her make-up before grabbing her handbag. She checked the contents, aware of what she had on her, before she exited her room. She made a beeline for the dining room, anxious to share her discovery with the others.

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Faye was woken up by the sound of a large amount of glass breaking. She hoped it wasn't serious, but since she didn't hear panic she assumed the ship was all right. She sprang out of bed and opened her door a crack to check and saw the remnants of plateware on the ground. It seemed one of the crew had dropped it. Thankfully, there wasn't a large amount in front of her door. She closed it and went to get ready for the day.

Today, she opted for her Pink House Dress along with her light purple hat. After she checked herself out she grabbed her tools and went into the hallway. They had plans to meet in the dining room and she was a bit hungry. She moved around the dropped plateware. The crew would handle that and without the proper equipment she wouldn't be much help anyway. She would just injure herself. She made her way to the dining room and wondered what the day would bring her. More people overboard? A paranormal encounter? She could hardly wait.

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Meeting up Haakon was great and all, but a certain hunger was overpowering her senses right now. She frowned and looked at her coincidental companion." Well, I'm heading ahead and will reserve you a seat, meet up with me there!" She stated and started walking in inxredible pace towards the Dining area of the ship. She in post haste located an empty table and sat down and kept the seat next to her reserved for Haakon if he decides to show up.

With that she ordered her humble breakfast now that her stomach felt better somewhat. She didn't order alcoholic drinks though. Alcohol first thing in the morning was bad, instead she took a simple glass of water to go with the meal. Then she devoured said meal with immense abhorence as if she had a blood vendetta against it. It was rather tasty, she noted and ate the last few bites, finally relaxing back in the chair, patting her stomach." That was good, could have done with some fruits, but this does nicely too." She smiled to herself.

"What should I do today...?" She mused to herself, pulling her notebook to write her plans for the day. First on the list was ship exploration. Second was lazying at noon in the shade, had yet to decide the third.

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Lauren looked over towards Gene for a moment, she tried to hold back a slight giggle but she didn't mean to be mean she always did find the British were always proper and what not. Vera was still her friend and she did feel bad that she had gotten sick overnight which was a bad sign since she had a little dive in the Nile the night before. "I'll ask someone to bring you back something light for you Vera." Lauren said to Vera as she started to grab her purse as well as her cabin key as well as her ticket to. Lauren came out of the door looking over seeing George was standing outside and smiled towards him.

"Good morning George." Lauren said, as she looked towards Vera after George made his suggestion seeing that she was okay allowing George in her room. She then pulled out her cabin key and handed it over towards George, the man was nice to her and everyone else thus far and felt like she could trust him. "Here you can have my cabin key if you need to leave for whatever reason." Lauren said as she handed it over towards him, and noticed Nora as well. "Good morning Nora." Lauren said as she looked towards Gene, she was pretty hungry right now, and she did want to get out of the room for a bit.

She certainly wasn't expecting so many people within her cabin last night either, and felt her stomach growl. "Lets get some breakfast, do you want anything George?" Lauren asked him, whatever he wanted she would make sure to bring something back for the two of them as well. Lauren then started to make her way towards the stairs, and held out her ticket to give to the man outside of the stairs to the upper deck and allowed her to get past.

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The teeth-gnawing cold that was gripping Mahendra's mortal vessel must have knocked his sense of surroundings quite out, as he failed to take any coherent notice of Mosi's appearance and her talking to him. The Bengali geologist gave her a fatigued look, his mouth moving but no words leaving his shivering lips when he slowly turned to face her, but she was far too quick for him. Whether he trying to answer her honestly about his state of being, or simply giving the quite eccentric lady a polite answer mattered little, as Mahendra was left by himself as quick as Mosi had arrived.

It wasn't until she had left that his brain was back to functioning properly again, and he realized his grave mistake; He had failed to answer the fairer sex's question! Mahendra shook his head slightly, trying to get his brain into the right socket, before he realized where she had gone. Without any further wait, Mahendra followed.

Mahendra was quick to find his way to a buffet table, grabbing various assortments of vegetables, bread, an pair of eggs and a big, BIG cup of steaming tea. It was just freezing body needed in his state! Mahendra found Mosi having saved a seat for him, to which he gave her a slight smile as he sat down and held his cup of godly tea with both hands. The warmth spread to his fingers, which was nice. "You must excuse me, dear Mosi, for not answering you earlier! To be honest, tonight has not been kind to me, and in my freezing state I couldn't answer you. You know, being a Colonial and all as the honorable Lord Major would put it." Mahendra tried to explain to Mosi, slowly taking sips of his tea as it cooled down enough for him not to catch fire.

His breakfast went down in a similar manner, mannered but rapidly. His body needed the sustinance. "How are you feeling today then? All better than me, I hope? What are your plans for the day?" Mahendra The Shivering enquired further, soon finishing his breakfast and seeing that serving was soon over. "I do hope none of us have a repeat of yesterday's events. Too many strange events and accidents for my liking..."

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"...Jesus Christ...Don't think about it..." Richard muttered in response to the poor sod of a servant that had made the terrible accident of dropping more plates than the White House had. He was annoyed at him, whoever who was, but he had bigger fish to fry. And by that he meant worse cases to deal with; His shaving. His hands were shaking like a Catholic nun having told a lie for the very first time in her life, and he could have sworn he was about to cut off his own damn throat several times! But in the end Richard managed to shave himself decently enough not to look too shitty. He felt shitty, but at least he was presentable enough to go dine.

Richard got dressed in the same pair of awful ex-wife pants from the day before, but sported a more fitting grey jacket and white shirt underneath. And in contrast to the day before, Richard took off his bandages of his nose, revealing a pretty deep-scarred sight to behold. He hated looking at himself in the mirror like that, but then again he never really thought to highly of himself, so why start now? Dressed and shaven, Richard exited his quarters and went to the dining area.

As to be expected, the dining room was full. Strangers, even if Richard perhaps had seen their faces before. None stuck, except a certain paranormal enthusiast Yank Richard had the pleasure of baby-sitting, and not in a necessarily negative way. Richard walked up to his companion, today in a new dress. His younger self might have given her a compliment for the nice color of it, but that Richard was long gone into hybernation. "Morning, Faye. How did tonight treat'ya?" Richard asked her in his New York accented voice, all rough and tired from just waking up. "I really need a coffee, a strong black one." He commented, going over to the table and grabbing a cup of coffee while Faye could do whatever she wanted to. With the steaming cup of coffee, Richard was satisfied with his first meal of the day; Coffee and nothing else. The PI's perfect breakfast, now with less hard-boiled eggs. "So what's the plan for today? You wanted to do some nosing around the higher decks? Personally I'd like to either dig up something on Mr. Gould, or find my 'good pal' from last night."

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Dressed and ready to meet the challenges of the day, which may or may not include fisticuffing it up with ruffians and/or defending the honor of the Empire, The Lord Major Reginald I. Keystone, pride of the His Majesty's Royal Air Corps, took up the invitation to the Captain and set out to inform any and all of the others in his group of the breakfast above. Many, it was quite possible, had received a like summons. He didn't carry his message of upper-crust breakfasting to the Second Deck, for a couple of reasons: Firstly, propriety stated that those marked as attached professionally to the Elite Deck Ticketholders should be contacted by the persons to whom they were attached. Secondly, and most importantly to his nerves that early in the morning, Reginald did not want to suffer through the obnoxiously loud affirmations of Corporal Reddish. The mere thought of it before his morning constitutionals made him shudder involuntarily.

Reginald was a man who had faced war, turmoil, and loss in his lifetime. He had made massive mistakes and shown himself an apt example of heroism at its finest. Noble birth aside, he had carved a place of respect by the strength of his own actions and character. With this in mind, it said something solid when he shook his head and noped the hell out of that potential meeting. At least, for a while yet. The Corporal wasn't a bad guy. Damned efficient at his job, and attentive to detail. The optimal noncommissioned officer to handle ground work and day-to-day affairs. Reginald just didn't want to deal with him right at that moment. He did make it a point to inform whomever he found on the Elite Deck to pass it along to their Second Deck counterpart.



The sun was warming this early in the morning, as the sun in Egypt tended to be. They were dining in the ruffling breeze of the Nile, and though they were technically out-of-doors, Reginald had taken to a point of etiquette that would have been undoubtedly in place were they under a roof, and removed his cap to dine. It was respectful to the Captain as well, showing in some token way deference to his authority on board his boat. Before he sat, the Lord Major extended a cordial and semi-formal, "Good morning, Captain. How do you fare on this fine day, sir?" and waited patiently to officially join the table until he received a nod to do so.

He kept his morning repast simple, not wishing to appear overanxious nor impolite. Eggs and thick toast with marmalade dominated his plate, though he did have his eye on a tidbit or two elsewhere on the table. For the interim of the meal, he kept the subjects of conversation focused on pleasantries as best he could; health and the weather, the way things were versus the way things used to be and some of the ramifications thereof, things of this nature that could be best visualized by the three letter descriptor of "etc." It wasn't until very near to the logical ending point of the meal that Reginald broached a more professional topic. "Well then, Captain. I am grateful to your hospitality on this fine morning, but if I may - How fares the investigation into our little dilemma from last night? Any progress reported from your fine staff?"

There came over the Lord Major a sudden foreboding sense. A glaring, jittery sort of proprioception or extrasensory awareness that he used to get back during The Great War that served as something of a warning just prior to something horrible happening, like a sudden attack or a bomb dropping on their location. It was the awareness of an old soldier, a thing which made him brace for the coming fray.

It came in the form of a whisper in his ear. "Lord Major?"

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The plan was to give it a wait until his pictures came back from the photographer, then deliver both Josephine's apparel and the images serving as memento to their evening to her stateroom. That plan, in hindsight, seemed to conflict with the need for the Corporal to check in with the Lord Major that morning. As it stood, he was given a good amount of latitude with his being "Off Duty", yet it was still good policy (as well as protocol when off base) for a valet to report to his officer at the start of the day to allow for any changes to his situation or standing orders. It shouldn't be that long of an ordeal, and he could then get back to his appointed task at hand.

Unfortunately, that would require him to venture up and into Elite Deck territory. Such an undertaking might require a touch of skullduggery to accomplish without being noticed. He would have to be especially Reddishy that morning. Now, the actual ascension to the deck above was routine. He had a ticket that allowed him access with the idea that he would be handling the affairs of the Lord Major. Remaining subtle once he was upon the Elite Deck... that was the trick.

As expected, the initial ascent was standard. Reddish showed his ticket and made his way solidly toward Reginald's stateroom. A moment of disappointment struck him as he came to learn that his superior had already left his quarters, making his simple task a tad more complicated. The old man had not passed him on the stairs, and the only general reason that Reddish could think of as to why he might be down there would be to check on Cargo. Well, he had people for that. Namely, Corporal Reddish. So if he was not on the Elite Deck and he was not likely to be below, it stood to reason that he would be on the Sun Deck. It was breakfast time, right? Okay, there was his excuse to be on a deck to which he had not received invitation, just in case he was found out.

Reddish needed cover. So along the way, he stopped by the kitchen and began confidently explaining in passable Arabic, "Marhaba? Marhaba! Nem, 'ana malhiq shakhsiun Bialluward Majur Kistun, 'ana huna liaistiqbal qahwat alsabah." He tapped his foot and put on the appearance of impatience. "Qahw! Nem, qhw! Alquhwat alddamiat Lilwarad Majur! Ladayk khidmatan qahwatan , nem? Arjwk bsre!" His face brightened for a moment, "Lishakhsayn, min fadlika. Shukraan jazilana."

A smallish serving platter containing two demitasse and a stylized, silvery coffeepot was hastily but deftly appropriated by the Corporal which he used to obscure his face from casual glance, and a decanting towel laid over his opposing forearm, at least partially hiding the armament at his belt. This was his stock and trade, and Reddish was damned good at it. The very image of his face turned toward the jovial and he gave a parting, "Thank you ever so much once more, sirs! I shall inform the Captain and the Lord Major of your amazing service!" He bowed stiffly at the waist and strode out of the kitchen, gunning for the Sun Deck.



He came out of nowhere. Seemingly, literally nowhere. There was no warning, he did not appear to walk up from anywhere. He just appeared. Quickly, he bowed his head down to ear level with Reginald, and rasped out a quick announcement of his presence.

"Lord Major?"

Reginald knew that something was coming, but it didn't matter. Shock slapped him like a wet steak, flailed in a fit of hysteria."Dwaaaah!" he screamed, involuntarily flinging his cup of tea into the walkway nearby. "Blast it all, man! What the devil is wrong with you? We were just having a pleasant breakfast and you -"

"Oh, I should just love to join you, Sir! Absolutely, but first..." Reddish lay the towel over Reginald's shoulder and poured the older soldier a cup of stiff, black coffee to replace the tea that he had just lost, followed y a quick pat down to eliminate and errant drops of the steamy beverage that may have sullied his uniform. "There you are sir, good as new. I've come to see if the Lord Major requires anything of me this morning, or if the "Off Duty" status remains, if you'll follow me Sir. But as you've been as gentlemanly as to allow for my presence among my betters (that being yourself and your associates present, of course), I am frankly honored to accept. How ever could I not? Thank you, Sir. A thousand thankyous. Please, enjoy your coffee."

The Corporal plopped down in an empty seat and poured his own cup. He then, rather abruptly, fetched two slices of bread and a couple of poached eggs, a bit of crumbled cheese, and what appeared to be some form of spiced hummus. He stacked it all into the form of a rather irreverent sandwich and took a massive bite, the entire time making various grunts and affirmations of its deliciousness. "Mmm. Oh, this is just heavenly sirs! Lord Major, Captain, just heavenly. This must be how the other half eats in the small hours. Mmm. Simply delightful." Half of the sandwich was gone in an instant, after which he casually inquired, "Plans for the day that include me, Sirs?" His food was likewise almost done in extremely short order, as was his demitasse of Egyptian coffee. He flashed a smile that could have been interpreted as either smug genius or overt ignorance. It was hard to tell with him.

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Gene paused for a moment, looking at her brother as he offered to stay with Lady Munn while they ate. He really was becoming attached to her, but Gene had to wonder if that was really needed. The sort of people Lady Munn had gotten mixed up with seemed to prefer indirect confrontation whenever possible. They didn't strike her as the sort that would gun down an innocent woman in bed. Of course, maybe her brother was just hoping for some quality time with her - the thought caused Gene to smirk slightly.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Georgie," Gene told her brother, stepping out into the hallway once she was all ready. "And don't do anything I would do. There's a fine grey line there in the middle that you can work with," she told him, chuckling a bit to herself. Unfortunately, she recognized the reality of the situation - George would sit in the room with Vera and just watch her sleep. He would fetch her damp towel if she needed it, help her get in and out of bed to vomit, and nothing interesting would actually happen. He was so boring sometimes.

"Good morning," Nora said to Lauren, returning her greeting. She popped her head inside the rooms briefly. "Feel better, Lady Munn," she called out softly. She knew that loud noises weren't the best when one was feeling ill. She had spent far more time in bed sick than she would have liked and every time someone would shout, Nora was tempted to smother herself with a pillow back then just to get some quiet. Giving Vera a slight smile, Nora then followed Lauren, heading along with the others.

Both Nora and Gene showed their tickets, with Nora herself a bit curious as to why they had been invited to breakfast with the Captain. She imagined it was because of the entire ordeal with the near drownings the day before - but she certainly hadn't expected him to invite them all. If anything, she imagined that he would have just indicated that Lady Munn and Mahendra would be welcome - as well as the man who had attempted to rescue them.

Once on the Sun Deck, the two ladies sat down and each of them had a contrasting dining style. While Nora was refined and took small bites, Gene had no sense of shame and was willing to eat large portions of food in huge quantities. She was such a little thing she probably burned it all off in hyper energy in order to stay slim. "Oh," Gene said, talking with a mouth full of toast. Was she trying to be rude on purpose now? "Lady Munn - or Vera or whatever - she's really sick. Lots of vomit," she finished, swallowing her food. "Like loooots of vomit."

Nora started to feel queasy. Did Gene really have to talk like that while they ate?

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Notes: Pushing forward, Breakfast is ending and being cleaned up right now. Moving forward.

*Alright, said it last round - ending breakfast, any character already not seated and eating at the beginning of this post is S.O.L. when it comes to food until lunch now. (Beginning. Not middle, not end.)

Breakfast is Over: George had shook his head before Lauren had left. He didn't want anything. He wasn't particularly hungry and the way that Vera was acting, it would probably be best not to have any smells in the room that could trigger her vomiting again. At Gene's quip he looked over to her and smirked. "MMM, guess that counts out playing cards," he said in a slightly snarky voice but there was a grin on his lips before he went to fix a cold compress for Vera's brow. Once they were alone, Vera tried to sleep and George kept a simple but diligent watch over her. He had to, it's what Peter would have done. He kept telling himself that.

Breakfast was done being served by this point and things were getting cleaned up. The Captain took a look at his pocket watch before looking over towards the Lord Major, raising a brow slightly at the outbrust caused by the man who had come up. Clearing his throat. "Nothing as of yet I am sad to report but I have cancelled leave for the crew once we dock in Benha. The passengers such as yourself will be leaving to tour, we will be conducting a more thorough search then," he said before glancing towards man who had disturbed them and then looked back towards the Lord Major. "The more that leave the faster this search will be," he added before the girls came over and joined them. It seemed that Gene had no problem telling them what was going on with Vera. "If she should need anything, just ring the steward."

Raising from his seat he pushed in his chair and gave a slight smile. "If you all would excuse me, we will be docking shortly in Benha, I must ready the ship. Please, do take in the sights, it is an interesting town, who knows what could turn up in the bazaar. So many things are sold there," he said in a knowing voice. "Once found my own passport," he said before tipping his hat and heading back in the direction of the bridge.

He wasn't lying, it wasn't long before they were docked in Benha and the gangplank was down and ready to go. People were filing off the ship quickly, more were going than normal as an announcement had been made that lunch would be cancelled on the ship but vouchers for local places were handed out. Since there wouldn't be another meal on the ship until supper people were ready to go and were filing down the Gangplank, people being reminded to take their ID's with them and tickets so they could board again that afternoon.

The place was bustling, talk of the bazaar, places to eat. More about the roses of the area and the honey that seemed sweeter here than in other parts of the world. There was dotted talk about Leontopolis, it was just southwest of the town and known to be a place for treasure seekers, especially those who prized Egyptian tiles. So many people in the crowds, it was hard to keep track of who was there and who wasn't.

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"No worries, I can understand why you were airheaded back." She replied with a smile to Mahendra, her good new friend who apparently had the random tendency to fall overboard from ships. Luckily this wasn't the atlantic or by the heaven's lucky dice that could have ended in a tragedy. Well luckily he was here with her as they finished up their meal.

"Not much, probably going to be spending the time exploring the shi...p, hm?" Then there were the announcements about them docking to a city an the food vouchers being handed out for local places then her plans immediately shifted gear and turned from ship exploring to city exploring which was times better." Well apparently fate had other ideas in store, I'm heading out to the town to explore. Try to find interesting things and maybe buy myself a lil souvernir. I invite ya to join, if you wish." She added as sure enough, soon they had docked and people were starting to file out of the ship.

Mosi was with the others, in fact it wouldn't be a mistake to state she was one of hte first as she had lined ot disembark way before they got closer to the docks even. Now down on the docks, she basked in the sunlight, the architecture and smiled. People were milling about, going their destinations and chosen targets, but she wasn't quite sure. No, she suddenly decided to just venture into the city and seek out the old market places. She was really wanting to see what htey had on sale here at the less tourist streets and more the ones where locals usually frequented.

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Lauren found some of the others as soon as she had gotten up to the sun deck she gave a slight smile towards the captain as she joined everyone else at the table. She sat in her seat and quietly enjoyed her breakfast that was already set up, and looked over towards Gene for a moment. She did feel a little bit awkward when she started to mention Vera being sick, at least the way that she said it about her friend but continued to eat. "Good morning everyone." Lauren said softly as she smiled to the group as she went to continue and eat her breakfast until they were finally at the docks of Benha. Lauren stood up, and made sure that she had all of her things as well as her purse with her, slipping her ticket into her purse along with the vouchers that were given.

As Lauren walked off of the gangplank she took in the sights before her as her eyes scanned around the docks seeing that everyone was out shopping around. Lauren turned to look at some of the others that were there and figured that maybe it would be a good idea to stick together. "So should we stick together, or go out our separate ways and meet back up at the ship?" Lauren asked as she noticed Mosi from the day earlier was there as well and smiled slightly and nodded towards the woman.

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Jo quickly made her way to the breakfast area, knowing she had missed it. She spent too long getting ready. Still, she looked good and that is what counted really. As she entered, she saw the others, or rather some of them, sitting down. She made her way over to them. "Dreadful news everyone. Just dreadful. It seems Lady Munn isn't the only one who was robbed. Someone came in and stole my grandfather's watch! Nothing else was taken so they knew what they wanted. Oh it is just horrible!"

She sat down at the table. "I am besides myself. And now we have stopped here and I was so looking forward to going into town, seeing the little shops and tasting the local cuisine. But I cannot leave the ship without knowing where that watch is. Is Lady Munn not available?" She hoped to be kindred spirits with the woman seeing as they were both pilfered from. She was not around so Jo gathered she was busy. Perhaps looking into the thefts?

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Faye had entered the dining room and helped herself to the food she deemed edible as well as some coffee, though she had had better coffee before. Befoe she found a spot to sit, Richard came in and helped himself to some coffee too. "Good morning Richard. As far as plans today, I believe Gould is a good line to check. I'd like to look into the recent event of people going overboard too. Just to satiate my curiosity. As for the upper decks, we may have issue as we are strictly lower deck or main deck. The upper deck we would have to be with someone."

Since breakfast was over she finished her plate and put it away. "Finish the coffee quikckly. We also docked so I am sure we can explore where we landed. I am eager to get started. I feel today is the day we'll come into some clues. Call it a premonition." Faye didn't really get that feeling, but she had to assume that yesterday's lack of results would mean today they would find something. Who knows, perhaps something happened during the night.

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"Sighseeing around the town?" Mahendra repeated Mosi's plans for the day, taking a moment to consider what his own plans were as well, before she promptly offered him to join her. In all honesty Mahendra hadn't thought too much about what the whole new day could be filled with. He hadn't been on these kinds of tours before, and the only thing that had crossed his mind was to rendevous with the Fellowship and explain the strange events of the previous day. But as Mosi spoke, it dawned on him that a city-visit wouldn't necessarily cross that out. "If I may, then yes I would like to join you. But I'd like to find the others as well, if just to say good morning."

Mahendra had finished his most pleasent cup of tea before he followed suit after Mosi. The sight of Benha in front of him was, if not breathtaking, certainly one enjoyable one. The closest Mahendra had to witnessing this was when he first travelled to England long ago, or him arriving to the Middle East as a soldier even further back. Today he was a civilian though, and had only the duty of a free man to contend with; Or rather a free assistant to a most respectable lady of a expedition leader. Mahendra took note of the voucher handed out for lunch on land, and carefully tucked it close to his body alongside his new ticket and other belongings. He hoped today would be less falling into the Nile and more pleasent things.

On firm land again, Mahendra took a good breath as he felt a little surer that he wouldn't fall into any massive pool of water, sticking close to Mosi. "About yesteday, my dear Mosi..." Mahendra was about to explain the events of yesterday, perhaps hoping that she would not completely throw his brush with the unexplainable away, when he noticed Lauren at the docks with them. He halted his words, giving his dear friend a smile and a wave. "Oh look, I do think I found some of our fellow companions."

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"What? The high-ups don't want the lower classes to mingle around their tight-assed noses? Well that does complicate things..." Richard was done with his coffee as Faye finished her elaborating on the plans for that day. He put the now sadly empty cup on a nearby table, just tasting the slowly dissapating spots of coffee left in his mouth one last time before he was left dry Rirchard continued to listen to Faye as she suggested they head out to the city to search for clues. Now that didn't sound like a bad idea, even if Faye sounded like said clues would drop from the sky by angels or something. "Now that's a fancy word, "premonition". Remind me to look it up in a dictionary. Come on, we've got work to do." Richard half-wittedly said, standing up and heading towards the main deck and the gangplank.

"So let's see, first of we've got Mr. Gould, that's our primary vic'." Richard stated as he walked calmly through the ship and towards the stairs, pulling out his box of cigerattes and preparing a smoke, as if back in his office talking to himself before starting a case. "Secondly we've got our funny bunch from yesterday, Mr. Fraklin the Journal man and our Olympic Swimming Team." Richard continued on, placing the cigarette in his mouth and fiddling for the lighter. "I hope you're right about us getting some clues, 'cause my gut tells me it ain't gonna be a walk in a park. Especially with Mr. Gould, much less with the others. But the Gould-case is what we're getting paid for, so..." Richard found the lighter as he had ascended the stairs and made his way to the gangplank, grabbing a voucher on the way as there wouldn't be any lunch onboard today. Or for Richard, breakfast. "...so we should prioritize that. Let me think for a moment..."

Richard lit his cigarette and took a good, deep first breath of nicotine in and a good look at the city of Benha lying in front of them. His detective-brain was at work. "What do you think is a good first place to start nosing around? Perhaps a local hospital or something. If Mr. Gould got seemingly sick just after his little dinner date with King Tut, perhaps he went there before going home?" Richard mused out-loud to Faye, his detective-partner as he began descending the gangplank. In all honesty they didn't have a whole lot to go on, except grieving widow's suspicions and a most-likely coincedental path crossed by a mummy. But unless Faye had something better to think of, Richard would try that approach. At the very least perhaps he could get something for his nose? "What'ya think, Miss Masterson? Any premonition about that?"

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To hear the Captain, it sounded very much like there was an investigation proper about to get underway. Moreover, the more clearer the boat was of nonessential personnel during this period, the better. Naturally, nonessential personnel meant guests, paying or no. The thoughts here had to go toward possible pitfalls of this plan. For Reginald, that came in the form of wondering if it was members of the staff perpetrating these acts of theft and not a guest. It was a difficult time for many people in Egypt; country in transition and whatnot. There was no telling if the motivations of those responsible were simple survival, simple profit, or something more sinister.

In better composure since the incident with the Corporal, Reginald addressed the Captain with optimism in his voice, if not completely in his head. "Ah excellent, my good sir. I wish to thank you once again for looking into our dilemma, and for your continued hospitality this morning. I've no doubt this shall be handled readily." He gave a curt bob of his head and rose from the table, intent on meeting the day head on. Of course, he really wasn't sure what that would entail, so perhaps it was best to simply go with the flow of the day and react accordingly, until such time as they could get back underway.

Part of this philosophy of taking things as they came was to keep primarily out of the conversations around the breakfast table that did not directly involve himself. Oh, the Lord Major listened. He liked to listen. Maybe not so much concerning the vomiting habits of Vera that morning, but the rest was an interesting collection of observations and such. Most especially, he took note when the Captain described a place just outside of town were persons interested in Egyptian tiles might take a look. Of the persons in his Fellowship, the only person that Reginald knew of with knowledge of ancient tiles and other items of that nature was Vera, unless someone eluded him. Possibly her new assistant, that Mr. Zalil? Hmm... he may have to bring something up when they were ready to disembark for their day spent locally.

He did finally reenter the discussion when Josephine reported another theft, and wished to speak to Vera. "With regrets, the Lady Munn is quite indisposed. If Miss Benaszewski is to be believed, it is an illness most violent in nature that keeps her bedridden for the day at least. Perhaps our fortune in the matter lay elsewhere this day." The last bit was spoken with a hair of derision. But he could not deny the fact that some force or another seemed to be channeling them in a specific direction.



Necessary paperwork was tucked away; meal vouchers, ticket, identification, etc., and Reginald was feeling the coming curiosity of the town of Benha. Being as he was in the area for a good, long while in comparison to most people not native to the area, he had been to many ports of call along the Nile on business, though strangely he could not recall if he had been specifically here before. Or if he had, perhaps he just sent off underlings to handle his affairs while he sat back and made the big decisions. He waited near the gangplank for a little bit, eager to speak with whomever of the Fellowship was going to be joining them in town that day. One such person was the American lady, Lauren, with a highly valid question. He responded, "Oh, Miss Ridgeway, I've no doubt that we shall be arranged as the fates would have us, be it together or separate. Perhaps a happy medium to planning against destiny would be to agree to meet at one of these local eateries for the midday meal, wot wot? We do as we shall, within reasonable expectations of making safe decisions, and reassemble for luncheon. Tell our tales then, hmm?"

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Reddish was animated as he ate. Improper in action, certainly, but nothing in and of itself impolite in nature. He responded to the eyebrow raise of the Captain with a friendly smile and warm expression, made around a mouthful of food that was never meant to be a sandwich, yet here was given that very form. The monosyllabic mentions that he was making concerning the quality of his breakfast were like wise quieted for the sake of conversation, eager as Reddish was to understand what the Captain was saying. One point grabbed his attention in particular - the one about him finding his own passport in the town's bazaar once. Yes, this was an avenue of investigation that he was going to have to look into.

"Ah... Lord Major?" he spoke slyly, after having swallowed the last bit of his poached egg & hummus breakfastwich, "Is this to mean that you shall not be requiring my services, nor do I have any standing orders in the interim Sir?" He placed one hand atop another and leaned forward, an expectant look on his face.

In a dry voice; ever so dry of intonation, Reginald responded, "No. That will be all for the foreseeable, Corporal. You are dismissed." And then he braced.

Reddish rapidly stood to attention, snapped a salute so crisply that his hand seemed to ruffle the very air around his brow, and replied, "Yes, Lord MAJOR!!!" and moved to bound off of the Sun Deck, doggedly in pursuit of his own ends (which were to involve the acquisition of developed photography and delivery of articles of laundered clothing, in the extreme brief). The arrival of Josephine paused his hurried egress in its tracks, as did her emotional report concerning the theft. Reddish took the initiative to reply to the young starlet, his words coming as a realization to himself even as he was saying them aloud. "Madame? Miss Clarke, if I may be allowed, please?" He gestured toward her and gave an eager, hopeful nod, "It occurs to me that they shall be postponing services on this vessel because the staff will likely be tearing the place apart, looking for the missing items. Likewise, it occurs to me that as soon as we dock, the items may very well leave the boat. There is a bazaar just in town, Miss Clarke. The ne'er-do-well responsible might consider it quite the cunning move to rid himself of it there for fast profit, if you take my meaning, ma'am. Whist the riverboat's dutiful men handle things here, p'raps we might ...hmm... yes! Broaden our chances, if you will, of locating your grandfather's watch on shore."

Reddish moved to stand beside Josephine, motioning out toward the city docks growing steadily in the view from the side of the boat. "Let us most certainly see the little shops. Let us taste the local cuisine as well. And while we do precisely that, we shall be doing something about the situation that the lads on the boat cannot. Otherwise, I will just have to go ashore and beg, borrow, or pilfer every pocketwatch that comes into the bazaar this morning and hope one of them is yours. I should much rather have your help."

He flashed a smile the he assumed might be disarming and began to make his way off of the Sun Deck. "Do please join me, if you would be as understanding of my social shortcomings, Miss Clarke. I've a task ahead of me." The Corporal continued on his way down to the gangplank, awaiting the push of the crowd departing the riverboat. He could handle the delivery of clothes and developed pictures later on that day. For now, it was clear: The fates had their group pointed toward Benha. Far be it for him to tempt fate. Except for the times that he did, anyway.

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Mosi was rather pleased with the way the docks were brought to live with all the people milling about. She threw a look at Mahendra and nodded. She had also spotted Lauren surely enough as the woman gave her a distant greeting, a greeting she returned with a smile on her face and a wave cause why not." Well you are right, there are a few of the company there." She indeed nodded and threw him a glance." Not all of them though, some of them are missing." Mosi added with a shrug and started walking over to Lauren.

As she got close she heard the old guy speakig a rather on point suggestion." Good morning." She gave a proper greeting as she was close enough." That's a fine suggestion, Lord Major." She agreed and looked at Lauren." Well I'm personally a little bit too eager to get going through. I'm thinking of going straight in that direction." She said and pointed to the Rose Gardens. There was no reason why she chose that, she just did.

"Though I personally am not sure if I will be sitting down to eat for a long time. At most I might grab some food for the way cause I'm really wanting to explore as much of the city I can before we depart later." She smiled and gave Lauren, the Major and Mahendra a quick set of bows with her head and tipped her cowboy hat." So you have an idea of where to meet? Might meet you all later there or who knows, maybe we will even cross paths in the city, if fate has decided." She added with a grin, but before she walked off, she turned to Mahendra as she walked near him." Look, I know I asked you if you want to acompany me on my exploration to the city, but if you want to wait for the rest and go somewhere with them, that's also fine." She was basically restless to start walking towards the Rose gardens.