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Josephine smirked at Reddish’s compliment. ”This is not my first time at the rodeo, as we say, darling. I have had to overcome quite a lot in my time. This would not be the first nor do I feel it is the last. Either way, let us be off quickly then.” Knowing she was armed had bolstered her esteem quite significantly. She did not have her handgun with her, sure, but she was not one to back down in a confrontation.

She moved gracefully along the deck, keeping an eye out in case anyone caught them. They had their excuses lined up. Reddish’s idea was very smart. She saw Reddish stumble and land hard, but he was quick to recover from the tumble. ”Are you all right, darling?” she asked as she moved.

Soon, they had made it along before she heard what sounded like a voice. She could not make out the tone, so thus she could not determine if it was a man or a woman’s voice, but she got somewhat of a gist from it. It sounded as it they were calling out. That typically meant they were in need of assistance. What’s more is that the voice was coming from Miss Ridgeway’s room, where she knew Vera was. She turned to face Reddish now. ”You hear that too? Someone is calling from where Vera is resting. We should check and see if she is all right.”

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Faye shook her head, both for Richard being so unlucky, but also because of his comment. ”Don’t make a comment like that. It was a spot of bad luck, nothing more, nothing less. We made it to our destination and just in the nick of time by the looks of things as something seems to be going on.” She got Richard off the train just as a storm of people all jumped on, eager to leave. It only solidified her opinion that this was a good lead. She moved Richard away from the crowd to let him attend to his own nose.

She couldn’t find anyone to help, but she noticed a woman crying along the side. She was saying something about a goat disappearing after nearly running her over and seemed distressed no one was paying her much mind about it. If Faye didn’t know better, she might have dismissed the woman herself. But she knew that there were unexplainable things in the world and people needed to understand that. ”There’s a woman over there I wish to talk to. Stay here and see about getting help for your nose if you want. She may not want to see a bloodied man.”

She moved over to the woman, turning on her comforting voice. ”Pardon me. I do not mean to bother you, but I could not help but overhear. You said a goat nearly ran you over and disappeared? Could you explain that to me further. I feel you are telling the truth.”

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Nora was a bit distracted, focusing so much on the mysterious things going on that Lauren asking her about getting a drink later threw her a bit for a loop. She couldn't quite remember what plans they had already agreed to - they had anticipated reconvening the Fellowship at some point, she was fairly certain, but she gave her friend a slight smile. Perhaps a drink would be a good change of pace, a way to reset her mind and allow her to approach things from a new angle. "I would like that - a drink might be what I need in order to take a step back and see the pattern," she told her friend quietly. It wasn't that she was hiding anything of course, just that she had a quiet presence.

Gene rolled her eyes slightly, as Lord Major made more comments about you Americans. The entire American-British rivalry was a bit pointless - not that she didn't firmly place her on the side of her fellow Americans of course. The British just couldn't compete! Of course, the more she concentrated on that tugging sensation in her stomach, the more confusing it became. She then looked at Mahendra, hearing him scold her. That was cute. "You really do not want to make me angry, hun," she told him, clicking her tongue slightly. "But it's cute that you think you can scold me."

Belladonna rubbing her stomach - Gene took that as a sign. She'd have to speak to her later when the others weren't around, but they seemed to be a largely unobservant lot. She couldn't help but still be excited though as they continued to walk along, the lighting getting lower and the sense of adventure and excitement increasing. Part of her wanted Mahendra to attempt to scold her again. She could use another bit of a laugh, especially since the Lord Major had stopped making jokes about the pitfalls of being old.

Nora then stepped forward, her earlier inclinations being supported by this development - the carvings resembled the ones they had seen at the museum. "If someone could produce a light, I would like to copy these down," Nora asked. It was getting hard to see down here. She pulled her leather bound diary and went to a fresh page, hoping to sketch these symbols and then see if she could do any quick deciphering of them. She did not speak or write this language fluently, but had some practice in deciphering them as long as she had her notes as a guide. Meanwhile, Gene was glancing around the area. Her gut was telling her that this wouldn't be the dead end it appeared to be. Maybe Lady Kingston would be able to shed some light on what the hieroglyphics meant and that would give them something more to go off of.

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"Alibi?" questioned the Lord Major, as Mahendra broached the topic of how they were to explain themselves were they caught by whomever spoke as authority in these parts, "Why, I haven't the foggiest, sir. Perchance if something of the nature were to come up, we might somehow feign ignorance, or blame it upon the dreadful Egyptian sun." He offered a couple of possible excuses, but it really wasn't in his heart to be untruthful at the drop of a hat, unless it was to save lives. Reginald was a man of action, once upon a time. Some habits of old fashioned chivalry were hard to break, even if knights had fallen out of favor as of late.

Reginald continued acting as escort to Bella, as it was likely the only overt contribution he could make to the group right at that second. His was a skill set that revolved around a lifetime of military affairs; organizing, tactics, and implementing these things on a battlefield or in the air above one. Archaeological digging, hieroglyphics, and the like were not within his wheelhouse. A thing that was, however, was gentlemanly accord of a situation when it was called for. Even if he wasn't completely certain exactly what was going on. Case in point, the moment that Bella mentioned that a drink sounded marvelous, Reginald's free hand was already locating his very expensive-looking flask, designed to contain a deceptive amount of hard alcohol. As he had refilled it the previous day and had not partaken, it was quite full of decent whisky of his home island. "If it pleases Madame?" he offered simply, holding it out to her. He likewise offered the flask to their remaining scientifically inclined member, Nora, with a charmingly befuddled, "Oh my, well, yes! Of course, if this is to be of medicinal or scholarly use, then by all means, indulge." He might not be the expert in this place, but he certainly would find some way to make himself useful.

The light was fading in their immediate environment. It was to be expected, inconvenience to their range of sight though it was. As he found a moment, the Lord Major fumbled about before producing a lighter, formed from what appeared to be a formidably large gunnery shell casing. "Battlefield souvenir, you see. Better than naught in a pinch of darkness, I'll warrant."

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The descent between decks put Reddish onto a sort of casual-looking alert that one might find present in a periodical illustration adventure strip. He took to his task as only a professional soldier might, until the unfortunate occurred and the heel of his boot slipped off of the next lower stair beneath him, sending the poor Corporal into a barely controlled series of very short plummets. His posterior thudded dully from stair to stair, thwumping in rapid succession even as he struggled to maintain his sense of stealth and decorum, both of which were fast falling away from him with each successive thwump. Reddish did find it a shame; he was doing remarkably well up until that time. Well, pencil it in his diary and give it some thought later on as to how he might never make that particular mistake again; it was far too late to shovel the shite back into the horse, as the saying went.

The last smacking of his rump against stair was used to bounce himself back to a standing position, with a little help from gravity and his lanky runner's legs. Back to a standing position, he very unconvincingly confided in Josephine, "Oh, quite alright; it was purely deliberate, yes..." before shaking his head no as a more honest answer, then continuing to move as if to put the whole mess behind him.

Reddish heard the noise too, and while it was not their objective it did fit very snugly into the arena of "extenuating circumstances", which would have been otherwise necessary to break from target. It wasn't far out of their way, really; or at all depending upon how one looked at it. And it was the right thing to do. That part helped. "Oh, why indeed, Miss Clarke. But if you would be as kind? Please do not stand directly in front of the door, just in case something is amiss. I'd not forgive myself if something preventable happened to you. Well, something else, anyhow. Very sorry about that last unpleasantness, of course."

Nearing the door where Vera was allegedly resting, the Corporal eased up along the wall beside it and moved one hand toward his "working tools" on his belt. The other moved up to gently knock on the door, before retreating back. "Housekeeping," he said simply, waiting for a response from inside.

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Notes: Remember - all directions are from the Docks. So if you want to go from one to the other you would need to head back to the docks and then go to another place. (Two rounds to get from one place to the docks, two rounds to get from docks to next place.)

To the left they would find the market and bazaar.
Straight ahead they would find the rose gardens and perfume dealers.
To the right there was a sign for Tours to Athribis and Leontopolis. Leontopolis was known for it's ancient tiles. Athribis was known as the birth place of Amenhotep and many artifacts in the museum back in Cairo held pieces from many a dig that had happened there, transported on rails by trains funded by a George Jay Gould. This is also where you will find the main train depot in the area.

*Roll requests can be made in chat or can be left at the bottom of your post for results in the next update. You can get a roll during your post and add another in the update at the bottom of your post! Ever in doubt of what to post, just drop me a message and we can talk.

---

Boat: There was the sound of things tumbling over and falling in the room behind the door. It sounded like a struggle was going on. Crashing sounded and one could hear someone in there out of breath and it was anyone's guess but it sounded like a fight had broken out in the room. Yet one could still not tell who was in there or was exactly was going on in the room. One thing was sure, it was muffled, at least the grunts and moans and gasps were. That was until one word came out crystal clear in intonation and voice. "Help!" Vera called out from inside the room,she sounded winded and in trouble If the door was checked, it would be found to be locked and wasn't opening just by turning the handle. "Help!" she called out again as another sound of crashing echoed through the door, sounding like a piece of furniture had just splintered under some force.

Docks By Boat: The man looked at the manifest as Mosi told him her name, his finger running down the names and searching for the name she had given. At least then if the name was on the list it was a start. "His finger tapped on the paper, seemed he had found her name. Then he stopped and looked at her oddly as she went on and on about bees. His brow quirked. Looking back at the paper, reviewing some things. "It has here that your ticket was funded by others and that you were part of a group. Perhaps you should have stayed with them instead of going off on your own," he said as he looked back to her. It was a good question, even if he didn't realize just how good it was. The woman was taken along on an expedition and she went off alone instead of trying to help. To go shopping instead of anything that could help the group. granted, if he had known that he might have been far harsher on her than he was being. He wasn't being harsh at all right then in fact, he was just simply asking a question.

Up on the boat the other man was coming back, the Captain in tow. As the Captain took a look at the woman while he walked down the gang plank he looked at her oddly, though one could hardly blame him. She had gone ten rounds with a hive of bees and came out looking like she lost the fight. "Bloody hell... she's a passenger?" he asked. The man that had been waiting with Mosi explained she didn't have a ticket but had given a name off the manifest and then showed her ticket was purchased with a group. Sighing the Captain nodded. "Take her to the infirmary. Once the doctor has dealt with this, keep her there until we can locate one of the people from her group and they can verify she is indeed whom she claims to be," he said. That was the best he could do right then.

Athribis (Above Ground): The woman looked over towards Faye and seemed relieved that at least one person wanted to listen to her and seemed to believe her. "It vanished I tell you! It was chasing several of us, baaing and charging. Just as it hooked my skirt I swore it was going to buck me over it's head and then suddenly there was nothing. I looked over my shoulder and I swore it was still there and then it just blinked out of existence! Itcouldn't have just run off or turned around or ran behind something. It's horns were in my skirt and it would have ripped it had it changed directions. I tell you it just vanished! Like a ghost!" she rambled on, her body shaking and trembling in fear. She knew it sounded like she was mad but she was sure of what she had seen and what had happened, there was no doubt about that.

Athribis (Underground): Bella took a step back and allowed Nora to get closer so that she could examine it. The more she looked at it, the more she was able to figure out. The number 45 was prominent there. 45, it was a number that would stick out, there were supposed to be 45 tiles. There were two other numbers woven or mathematically calculated 17 and 28. None of these numbers were together. Then she would notice the circular carving that was there, numbers 1-45 on it, all out of order. Could these be moved? Rearranged? Something?

"Thank you," Bella said as she took the flask while Gene was searching. Her hands moving and seeing if there was anything about. Oh there was. It wasn't a lever or anything but as she searched, one of the stones seemed to shift a bit. A little more pressure and it pushed fully to the side. There was the sound of something clicking around then, it working over their head and down the other wall before it was clicking below their feet. Bella lowered the flask from her lips and looked over towards Gene and quirked a brow. Slowly holding out the flask back to the Lord Major as she swallowed. There was a slight rumbling beneath their feet. "Oh dear," she said before the sand and ground fell away beneath her. The world seemed to move in slow motion for everyone as she plummeted into the darkness below. A fog forming in the hole before it vanished suddenly, dissipating quickly. No more sounds could be heard. It was silent.

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"I probably should have indeed." She nodded in some self awareness." Sadly my desire for exploration got the better of me." Mosi sighed." I happened to follow the scent of flowers and ended up at the Rose Gardens... since I was there, I decided that I might as well buy some souvenirs for friends and family and something little for myself before I continue to explore the city. On hindsight, maybe I should have went for a historical locaiton instead. But given I got nearly killed by bees, there's no guarantee that if I had tried to go somewhere else, something might not have gotten wrong... Instead of bees it might not have been avoidable... like a stone block to the head. Won't be surprised at this point... or the ground opens up and I fall into a random pit of snakes... this sounds vaguely thematic for whatever crazy nonsense is going on with this group."

"Yeah, sadly I lost the ticket... probably in the scuffle with the bees." Mosi nodded, her voice still tired from this whole situation. At least she escaped the bees. Worst case scenario, something would fuck up later and the people won't recognize her or something and they will decide she's not actually one of the passengers and they would leave her in this town or something... Or jail her for attempted fraud?

Thinking about this possible scenario, Mosi fronwed for a moment, before she rolled her eyes. Whatever, she'd deal with it when it came to it. She had to focus on the better parts of life right now... like being alive and not being dead. Why would she want to be dead? Being alive is the FUN part! All her friends were alive, for now anyhow. Besides if being dead was half as bad as the bees, it would be unpleasant to say the least!

"Thank you, Captain." Mosi stated with trully grateful voice as she finally pulled herself up from sitting on the ground." No matter what, you've got my gratitude. You won't have troubles with me, I will be a quiet and good until this is resolved." She added as she let the guards lead her whereever they had to.

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They were going down, into the unknown darkness that hid as many secrets as the desert dunes of Egypt were endless. With the sunlight disappearing behind them as they went downwards, Mahendra was unsuccessful in his diligent search for any tools useful in their endeavour. But his eyes did catch something else; torches! Mahendra picked up a handful of them, half burnt but still very much useable. They were making progress! Even if they did not know what they were looking for.

And not a second too late. As Mahendra had taken the torches, a voice up ahead called for some light to be produced. It was Nora, after Bella had called forth the group's expert on mathematics. And from what Mahendra understood from earlier, had been with Vera more than him. "Just a moment, Miss Kingston." Mahendra called back to the lady, shuffling the handful of torches to a better position with one in his other hand. He made his way over to whatever Nora was inspect, as he saw the little flame from the Lord Major's lighter. "Here, Lord Major Sir. This should do the trick." He told him, holding out the torch, ready for them to get some better light down there. Now how long these torches would last for, or how long they were planning on staying underground. Only the Gods themselves would know how this quest would end. Would they be caught, as Mahendra had voiced his concern about earlier, or something much worse?

"Do you know what these hieroglyphics stand for, Miss? Do they appear familiar?" Mahendra managed to ask Nora, just before the rumbling registered beneath their feet. "What was…" His words vanished in a loud gasp, as he turned around to witness Bella fall into a hole in the ground. And just as quickly as she was gone, so vanished the hole. Mahendra stood frozen in place, eyes staring widely at the spot she had stood in moment earlier. "Miss…Miss Bella!"

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It was a mess, all of it! The chaos enveloping all of Athribis it seemed, his nose, this entire investigation. Richard sighed audably as he looked around for someone standing out to him. Someone, anyone who could give them some damned answers! All Richard was able to take note of around them as they entered Chaos Central, was Faye's attempt at reassuring him it was only a rare case of bad luck, and the crazy goat-lady. "Bad luck, nothing more or less...I hope so, 'cause I'm getting real tired of this bullshit that keeps happening to us. "

Richard found another cigarette from his cheap pack stuffed in his pocket, having to put his fedora under one arm and fiddling with the smoke and lighter as he clumsly held the napkin against his bleeding nose. If he was going to be as miserable as he was at this moment, then he was sure as hell going to enjoy his god damned cigarettes! The bloodied detective, a newly lit cigarette now filling nicotine smoke into his lungs, turned as Faye went to talk with the goat woman. Clearly Faye found the woman interesting, rambling on about the goat vanishing into thin air and whatnot. It was her thing, the unexplainble. Richard raised his shoulder, giving Faye one last look as she left him. "Yeah sure, just be careful, Faye. I…I guess I will do that."

With so many people losing their collective shit about the mayhem, it was a pleasent surprise to see some people helping each other. People actually cared enough to help, even if they weren't neccecarely medical personell. But with his nose, was Richard in any position to be picky? Richard did head Faye's advice and went to look for some of the people doing their best to patch up the sorry sods around the place.

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"Drinks are on me later then." Lauren said towards Nora as she looked around the room as some of the others spoke, and looked towards Reginald for a moment when he offered Bella a sip of whatever was in his flask. She started to move closer towards Nora to see if there was anything that she could do that would be of use. While Nora started to do her thing Lauren looked at Mahendra for a moment about an alibi that they could use. "We could say that the goat made us scared and we quickly fled and stumbled down here." Lauren said shrugging slightly it sounded believable enough to her anyway. Lauren just hoped that they would be able to find whatever they needed as well and then meet up with the others back in town.

Lauren then felt the ground starting to rumble a little bit, and turned around she was worried if it was going to be some kind of cave in as well. Then the ground opened, and watched it swallow up she didn't want to move from where she had been standing as she noticed the hole sealing itself up. Lauren looked around as she bit her bottom lip, did the woman end up falling to her death or something she didn't know. "What should we do?" Lauren asked she didn't want to end up falling, or if that was a booby trap of something like that.

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Josephine hid her smile as Reddish made an excuse for them at the door. She listened carefully, sure she would hear some scrambling about the room for somewhere to hide or to hear further screams for aid. She was right on the money the second time as she could hear Vera’s voice shouting for help. The fact this could have been going on for a bit and no one else heard made her question the security on this ship. She would have to find someone to talk to. Either way, she gently pushed Reddish back. There was no need for him to get injured.

Weapon at the ready, just in case, Josephine steeled herself. ”Help is coming, darling!” With that, she summoned her own power and unleashed a devastating kick to the door, breaking it wide open. She was a bit stunned it was that easy or that she was that strong, but she had a mission. She entered quickly to see where Lady Munn was and what was going on.

Much to her dismay though, it seemed Vera was all right, save for the fact she was tied up in her sheets. She let out the sigh she was holding. A quick glance of the room showed she was alone. ”Darling, how did that happen? Well, let’s get you out of it.” She walked over and began to untangle the woman before a thought entered her mind. ”Wait, where’s George?”

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Faye figured if Richard needed her he would call out for help or she would hear the tell-tale sign of him running into a wall or blowing something up. So, she focused her attention on the woman and her story. It sounded far-fetched and she could see why no one cared. But she knew better. There was always an explanation, even if it seemed weird. ”I believe you. It must have been very scary to see something like that. Is there somewhere we can walk to where you can sit down comfortably, maybe drink some water to calm yourself down?”

Faye didn’t want to state it outright, but the woman could have been seeing things. The woman believed herself and, from what Faye gathered, she was telling the truth. However, the heat on top of the beating sun could very well explain what the woman saw. The mirage effect. If she could get the woman to calm down a bit, perhaps they could figure it out together and she would be fine.

She glanced around to see if anyone was nearby to help, but the crowd dispersed due to whatever was going on. Then she remembered the animal she saw outside the train window. ”While we walk, could you tell me what happened? When our train arrived we could hear shouting and I saw animals chasing people outside the window. What happened to get people so scared?”

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"Yes, thank you, quite." mused the Lord Major, igniting one of Mahendra's torches and clapping his lighter back shut. It was a much better alternative than the smallish flame put out by the converted shell casing. With more adequate illumination allowing the more scholarly of their number to assess the tiles in front of them, Reginald focused his attention there. Not to imagine in any way that he could be of any greater assistance than the minds already on the task; though he did have specific training in codes and cyphers, he did not read the pictographs of the ancient Egyptians except for the odd symbol or two that might have been pointed out by someone else. No, the proper heads were put to the task, such that they had available.

The clicking came as serious surprise to Reginald who, by sheer programming of a life of gentlemanly expectations, reached out in the midst of this to receive his flask back from Bella with a proper, "My pleasure," just prior to her vanishing down a mechanically opened aperture beneath her feet. When the events seemed to catch back up to his ability to process at a decent rate, the Lord Major was aghast. Her man, J.C., had not returned as of yet and he had pledged his service to the younger woman as escort. This was a pledge that others might have taken lightly, but when The Lord Major Reginald Illiam Keystone sets to the task, it is done to the utmost of his ability, even unto notable, glorious departure from this, our mortal coil!

Reginald unbuckled his sword and whipped off his dusty grey officer's coat and cap, presenting them to Lauren, along with the answer to her question: "We shall continue with the mission, dear girl." The words had all the noble bearing he could muster. "Make sure my Man gets these if I do not return, and tell him 'thank you' for his service - he now takes my role in the Fellowship. God help Vera and I pray she forgives me..." He plopped down at the side of the recently opened hole with his feet dangling inside, and with a deep breath (and oddly satisfied grin), called a rousing, "Tally ho!" before entering the darkness after Bella.

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Well, if nothing else, the lack of decent security aboard this vessel would have to be addressed. Why, they didn't even leave guards in front of the doors, and here there was such a fuss earlier over people staying aboard! Reddish figured that the story would be much, much different in the good fighting men of His Royal Majesty's Armed Forces were involved, yes indeed! No more of this mysterious missing ticket hooey, nor the random ransacking of their rooms for reasons as yet undisclosed, known, or suspected. No more magically disappearing items that were safely under lock and key just moments before, no sir! It was as if no one could ever be able to sleep soundly ever again! Not even if presented with the opportunity.

Well, all for the best, he supposed, that he never got the opportunity to work on his gifts of moving quietly nor making trained investigation of the immediate area. He would have been forced to change tactic anyway, due to the calls for help inside of the room - calls from the adoptive niece of the Lord Major himself! Such a thing would not do. As Reddish made ready to pull his service revolver and blow the lock out of the door, he was gently moved aside by Josephine. Stunned by the action, he watched as she proceeded to assault the door with a straight kick (and in stylish shoes, no less!), knocking it open like a ripe melon. She then entered the stateroom and began to handle the situation like a seasoned professional.

Stepping inside, Reddish's inquisitive nature got the better of him, as he began to scrutinize details of the room as best he could given the circumstances. As he looked, he remarked, "Sweet Fanny Adams, Miss Clarke! You just booted the bloody door to shambles, you did! Twixt that and the witchy-powers, if you'll excuse the expression, I'd feel safer if you'd be my escort, and not the other way about." He turned back around and gave Josephine an impressed look, all the while taking stock of their surroundings.

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Notes: Remember - all directions are from the Docks. So if you want to go from one to the other you would need to head back to the docks and then go to another place. (Two rounds to get from one place to the docks, two rounds to get from docks to next place.)

To the left they would find the market and bazaar.
Straight ahead they would find the rose gardens and perfume dealers.
To the right there was a sign for Tours to Athribis and Leontopolis. Leontopolis was known for it's ancient tiles. Athribis was known as the birth place of Amenhotep and many artifacts in the museum back in Cairo held pieces from many a dig that had happened there, transported on rails by trains funded by a George Jay Gould. This is also where you will find the main train depot in the area.

*Roll requests can be made in chat or can be left at the bottom of your post for results in the next update. You can get a roll during your post and add another in the update at the bottom of your post! Ever in doubt of what to post, just drop me a message and we can talk.

---

Boat (Infirmary): The Captain nodded. "I doubt in your condition you could cause too much trouble," he said before making his way up the gang plank and back towards the the bridge. One of the guards stayed at the docks just in case anyone else came up injured. This was turning out to be one hell of a shore leave moment. The other lead Mosi up to the infirmary - which was in the same direction of the Bridge, just a little ways from it and next to the Radio Room. Opening the door he looked around a bit confused. Something seemed off as he stepped in fully and found the Doctor laying on the ground out cold and the two that had been let on the ship earlier no where to be found. "Bloody hell," he said before reaching down and checking the doctor. He was alive just unconscious.

Boat (Lauren's Room): With the help from Josephine, Vera was finally able to get her head out from the sheets and blankets she had been caught up in. Sadly for Reddish, he wasn't finding anything out of sorts. Well other than the complete destruction of the room done by Danger Prone Vera. Looking around stunned and dazed Vera gasped and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself now that she was able to see. "I was feeling most untimely and decided I wanted some water, George said he would fetch me some. As I sat up I lost my balance and well..." she said blushing slightly as she took toll of the damage she had done. "Whoops..."

Then she looked around again. "Did you not see him? He was right here, just pouring water. Did he leave when you entered?" she asked confused as she blinked and looked around again. "George?" she asked out loud trying to see if he was somewhere in the room but he was no where to be found.

Athribis (Above Ground): Richard would be able to find someone to help him with his nose. It isn't as bad as one first thought. A lot of blood but after a quick jolt it snapped back into place. It wasn't fully broken but it took some clean up that was for sure and he was warned it would bruise and look bad until the swelling went down. Tomorrow it would probably feel a lot worse than it did today. The girl was willing to stand up and walk with Faye, telling her how a goat started bursting through baskets and turning over tables before it started charging people, chasing them, which caused the other animals to go crazy. She kept rambling this on and on, repeating herself. Apparently she hadn't seen any real details, just the over all thing but that seemed to be the whole thing as far as anyone else was saying as they walked. A goat, out of no where, came through and started the entire mess. Things were calming down now thankfully but people wanted to get the hell out of there.

Athribis (Underground): Lord help me. The LORD MAJOR in all his Britishness decides to pull a classic "LEROY JENKINS!" and charge headlong into battle, or in this case ass first into the big dark hole that might as well been marked "Death awaits and she's hungry." Sigh but by some odd chance, or shall we say - the right card came up in the deck of life, LLA has decided not to claim this victim, at least not yet. As the Lord Major jumps, he only falls a few feet. Only to get his belt caught on a jutting of stone out of the wall and is now hanging like Christmas Goose there and in the end is receiving the worst wedgy in the history of his Majesties Royal Army. God help us or in this case - someone help the Lord Major out of the fucking hole before his pants give away, I don't know how long that belt can hold all his pomposity. I need a drink.

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"I shall see, though I have an inclination that they will shed some light on these matters..." Nora informed Mahendra. She quickly sketched and jotted down some notes as she inspected the hieroglyphics, comparing to previous work she had done in order to try to find some sort of hidden meaning. It was fortunate that she was a mathematician, especially given that they had lost Peter, since she was able to find several numbers of significance. "The number forty-five is key - which I believe corresponds to the number of tiles..." she said softly, allowing the others to more or less follow her work as she went. "The numbers seventy and twenty-eight are also significant..." Her eye was drawn to the circular carving which had numbers one through forty-five present, though it was a jumbled mess.

While the mathematician was at work, Gene wasn't about to just stand around and watch. Her gut was telling her that there had to be some sort of hidden lever or something here - and she certainly wasn't going to find it if she did nothing! As she searched, she noticed that when she touched one of the stones, it moved slightly. "Wicked," Gene said, adding a bit more pressure and the stone started to slide. She glanced upwards at the almost mechanical clicking sound, before she lowered her head slightly and caught Belladonna's eye. There was a slight pang of guilt that filled her as the hole opened in the ground and Belladonna fell, but Gene was confident that Belladonna could survive that. Belladonna was a woman of mystery and had many hidden talents.

"...No one touch any of the stones..." Nora said quietly, her eyes wide as she stared at where Belladonna had been. She had just been thinking that maybe the stones could be manipulated and rearranged, and practically a second later, there had been clicking noises and Belladonna fell. She didn't dare to take more than slight breaths, the fear of more of the floor giving out and sending them to their deaths momentarily paralyzing her. While she was certain that this was all connected, they had already lost people and she did not want to add to that. She hoped desperately that Belladonna was alright, but she feared that the drop would have been significant - there was no telling how deep or shallow it was without placing some light down there, but... Her instincts told her they would have heard Belladonna if it had been only a slight drop.

Gene wasn't sure whether to laugh or gasp as the Lord Major then jumped into the hole. There was no calling out for Belladonna to see if she was okay, no shedding a bit of light with the torch into the hole, no dropping a rock to estimate the depth, nothing! "Well, you know what they say... Bravery is another word for stupidity," Gene mused. Maybe it wasn't the appropriate time for humor but that was the sort of person she was. And if this did kill the Lord Major, well, it was his reckless choice. Gene had to pause for a moment, amused that she was criticizing someone for being reckless. Was this how some of her people back home felt about her?

Gene then held out a hand for the Lord Major, in an attempt to help to pull him back up. She was skinny and small, but she wasn't about to leave him hanging and she figured some of the others would chip in as well.

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"Probably, but better make sure and confirm it myself." She replied with a shrug." Anyways... I think that once I get to the infirmary, I will just sit down and relax... yeah." She added as one of the guards stared to lead her to the infirmary. Well so far so good, hope was on the horizon! The gods of Egypt may have decided she still had things to do upon this land! Either that or they decided she was better used alive so they could mess with her more, time was to tell.

Overall it was all fine and dandy until they reacehd the infirmary. When the guard exclaimed and she followed him in too, she realized what was going on." Huh... should have figured." Mosi stated flatly as she observed a very unconscious looking doctor on the ground. She then proceeded to look left and right and generally around and at hte doctor too, studying for something that might have suggested what happened. She discovered two things! First, he didn't seemed to have been hit on the head and second, there wasn't anything seeming to be a reason for it. She had nothing! Well, that was fine too, hopefully the guy would wake up soon.

With that Priscilla finally walked over to the closet chair she could find and slowly sat down, feeling her tired body finally getting some rest now that it wasn't carrying her anymore." So... if you want to go inform the captain, I'm not going to be moving from here..." She eventually said to the Guard. Frankly someone had to go inform the captain of this anyhow. The doctor was a really important part of the crew and Mosi herself was kind of depending on him right now as well.

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Mahendra wanted to have an answer for Lauren on what they should do. The Bengali wished he knew exactly what to do in such a situation, and go straight on through it. Action was the name of the game! But as he stood there and stared at the spot where Bella had been a few moments earlier, his mind came up blank. It must have been a combination of shock at the unexpected, and that he had been a soldier in the Army, not an officer. The Lord Major though would surely know what to do!

What Mahendra did not expect to happen, was for the Lord Major to throw himself so eagerly into the same hole. Reaching down in search of their lost and strange lady, that was one thing, but this? This time Mahendra jumped into action, handing his lit torch to anyone able to hold it for him, before throwing himself at his knees before the hole. "Lord Major!" Mahendra shouted, looking down into the hole alongside Gene who holding out her hand. Even for her untimely comments on bravery, of which she couldn't possibly understand how brave a good Englishman could be, Mahendra felt a sense of relief that she was willing to help. "Lord Major, are you all right? We're here, try to take our hands if you can!"

Mahendra also stretched out his hand down into the hole like Gene, looking down into it to see the Lord Major hanging by his belt or something. If the Gods had been angry at their dearly beloved Lord Major, then Mahendra was more than happy that their anger didn't end in his death. After all, Mahendra had yet to prove his worth to that man. "Lauren, Miss Kingston? Could any of your bring some light here? It's quite dark."

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"All right then, just be carefu-GOD!" If one could say one thing that made Richard really stand out in his current crowd of people, it was his tounge. He didn't care, he was used to swearing back home and few people batted an eye at his words. Then again he rarely ran in the 'right' crowds, so who was there to be outraged? Here however, people were certainly giving him a look or two. Richard didn't care for the split second the friendly stranger snapped his nose back in place, as a jolt of pain shot through his head. But as soon as his nose was back in place, he could breath out in relief. The cleaning he'd gotten wasn't bad either, though he was warned that it would hurt even more tomorrow.

"Yeah sure, I guess that's as good a reason as any to get stupidly drunk? Thanks pal, I owe you." Richard said back to the one helping him, giving a last thanks and offering a cigarette, before he turned back to the case at hand. Richard looked around the area, his detective-eyes scanning his surroundings, looking for any signs of where to head next. He'd been good at that back home; a door left open, a clearly ransacked drawer or file cabinet, a car left running, you name it. Besides seeing Faye still talking to the crazy goat-lady, Richard took note of a few places. With all the commotion at this place, nobody were paying attention to what was going on there.

It was as good a start as any. Richard figured that if the Americans weren't in the area around the train, they might be at the actual dig-site. Richard looked back at where Faye was talking with the woman. He tried to get her attention, giving her a big wave and then nodding in the direction he was intending on going. If she was busy making conversation about supernatural goats and whatnot, he didn't want to waste any time, as Richard put his fedora back on his head and began making his way towards one of the areas he saw. His cigarette planted firmly between his fingers and the napkin wiping off whatever remaining bloodstains on his face, he was going.

Richard Barker was back on the case!

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Lauren looked over towards the Lord Major as he started to hand her some of his things, and accepted them as she looked towards the man with a confused look as well. And then a few seconds later the Lord Major decided it was a really SMART idea of jumping down into the hole after Belladonna. Lauren didn't move to far from where she was, she respected the guy a bit, but ultimately just jumping down a hole that just opened up without knowing how deep it was to just simply jump down into it. Lauren had to laugh a little bit at Gene's comment as she moved she looked towards her. "I guess he has a little bit of American in him." Lauren said jokingly before turning her attention over towards Mahendra and nodded.

Lauren then turned around and started to look around before she found a torch nearby and picked it up and started to make her way back over towards Mahendra and handed it over towards him. "You know that is a really stupid thing to do right?" Lauren said towards him as she started to think for a moment before handing the belt that the Lord Major had over towards Mahendra to see if he could use that to help pull the Lord Major up from the hole he so stupidly decided to jump into, she was also of course worried about Belladonna and wondered if she was alive or dead.

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DAMN! Damn, damn, and blast it! The fates once again conspired to prevent the Lord Major from exiting the world in a gesture of heroism, once again denied him the opportunity to die with valor! Was he to ever rot in his field command, soaking up decent scotch and reveling in the accomplishments of a younger, brasher man that occasionally stared back at him from the mirror? Why could he not have been riddled with bullets as he did a fly-by against a German or Austrian target, or even before then as he fought valiantly against the colonial Dutch and their native allies in the south of the African Continent? Nary a dirigible explosion to ferry him across the Styx, no; nor could he have been met in single combat with a single bloody duelist worthy of his skill with a long blade. Nor a single aerial combatant that could have possibly bested him in the exploding skies of a proper dogfight! And THIS, this latest insult slapped upon him by whatever powers that be... Reginald could not even jump into a pit in the darkest depths of chicanery that the ancients of this country had to offer modern men and presume to slip this, his mortal coil in a manner befitting an old soldier! It wasn't right! It wasn't fair! It was... It was highly, highly uncomfortable!

That wasn't a metaphor, nor a euphemism. His Leap of Faith caught him with his pants up - way up. An outcropping caught the back of his belt, slipping the waist of his precariously high pants over the rounder part of his belly, allowing gravity to do what gravity does: pull things downward. One could see the ventilated argyle of his neatly manufactured socks stand as muted opposition to the brightness of his eyes, crossed under the suddenness and painful abruptness of his trousers (and what lay beneath) hacksawing their way into parts unmentionable upon the Lord Major, as the man himself expressed his profound dissatisfaction with the ordeal.

"AHHhhhHHHHHaaHHHHHH!!! My Gluteal Crevasse! By JOVE, the monogram on my interior garments is imprinting itself 'pon my colon! Quickly! Lift! Lift, there's a fellow. And/or a madame! Come along, I believe I can barely make out the flavor of the stitching, it's so far be-crammed!"

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It was difficult to tell if anything was off, amiss, or other; not in the room occupied by the charming by painfully accident-prone Lady Vera Munn. The explanation for this might very well be Reddish's fault, being as he had been quite taken aback by the strange and fantastic goings-on of the party to whom he had been providing escort, Josephine. She had somehow been able to work her (alleged) witchy powers to close an open, bleeding slash across her face and just a handful of moments later throw a kick rivaling a battering ram through a stateroom door. Oh, the Corporal was impressed. A little scared, but highly impressed. Not scared enough to hightail it out of there and locate an exorcist to perform his stock and trade, but definitely enough to keep him interested with riveting fascination. Or to put it differently, if he wasn't on task for the Lord Major, he was going to keep close to the Starlet, provided she not threaten him with her amazing powers of the supernatural. He would hate to have to cry in public.

But definitely, Reddish would have to ask her more formally to be his bodyguard from now on. It made so much more sense.

Perhaps this is what he had been waiting for. Though it didn't happen to him specifically, he did just witness what amounted to a magical event that involved the Fellowship. He was present. It was revealed to him. Reddish had, if informally, crossed the line from bystander to MAN INVOLVED, if that involvement was purely in the periphery for now. It was a step in the right direction.

So far as the question concerning the presence or absence of the American, George, he could only relate what he witnessed. "Oh, no madame! This room was fully uninhabited, save for Your Ladyship, of course, ah... Your Ladyship! Yes. Likewise madame, no one left the room before Miss Clarke obliterated the door with her substantial reserves of," Reddish caught himself looking over the young starlet with something that looked very much like interest, and not of the academic variety, "...physical vigor, hmm." He cleared his throat and over-corrected himself by snapping promptly to attention, exhibiting the duty of his station among women of higher standing. "Please excuse the Corporal for his foray into a less professional demeanor, Lady and Ma'am. I am amazingly happy to see that you are perfectly canny, Lady Munn! I believe that we have business elsewhere on the deck, however, Miss Clarke, though I dare not leave the Lady unattended. Not with ruffians about." Reddish nodded somberly, and turned his attention back toward the open door, just in case.

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Notes: Remember - all directions are from the Docks. So if you want to go from one to the other you would need to head back to the docks and then go to another place. (Two rounds to get from one place to the docks, two rounds to get from docks to next place.)

To the left they would find the market and bazaar.
Straight ahead they would find the rose gardens and perfume dealers.
To the right there was a sign for Tours to Athribis and Leontopolis. Leontopolis was known for it's ancient tiles. Athribis was known as the birth place of Amenhotep and many artifacts in the museum back in Cairo held pieces from many a dig that had happened there, transported on rails by trains funded by a George Jay Gould. This is also where you will find the main train depot in the area.

*Roll requests can be made in chat or can be left at the bottom of your post for results in the next update. You can get a roll during your post and add another in the update at the bottom of your post! Ever in doubt of what to post, just drop me a message and we can talk.

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Boat (Infirmary): "Yes, you stay here, I will be right back," the man said to Mosi before heading down the hallway. The bridge was only a few doors down and one could see it from the door of the infirmary. Taking a breath he moved quickly and headed to the bridge door. Knocking rapidly until someone opened. There was a quick explanation between him and the crew before the Captain stepped over. After a few more words the Captain came back with the man and one other. The Captain rushed into the room and knelt down by the man.

"He looks to have fainted," he said rolling his eyes. Picking up a pitcher of water from the desk he took a step back and just poured it on the Doctor. The doctor gasped and sputtered but snapped out of his unconsciousness quickly. Jumping up and looking around like he had seen a ghost. He was mumbling and looking very confused. When he saw Mosi he screamed and jumped back. That he hadn't expected. "Good god man, take a breath, she's only been stung!" the Captain said rolling his eyes. This was too much excitement for a tour boat.

Boat (Lauren's Room): Vera looked around utterly confused to the entire situation. George wasn't there? Josephine had broken the door in? Just what in blue blazes was going on. Slowly and carefully sliding off the floor and onto the bed she pulled the remains of the sheets off her feet and blew out a long breath, fluffing and blowing the curls out of her face. "Oh dear," she said quietly as her eyes darted around the room.

At least she was dressed now and had been able to do so before the entire thing had happened. She had hoped to suck it up and go find the others. She so did want to see the dig sites while they were docked but at this rate, it wouldn't be wise to go off and try to find them. And what about George? "Ruffians? Oh my, yes, I will go with you. Something untoward could have happened to George, I do not believe he would have just left for no reason, he has been very attentive," she said not exactly knowing what to do but what she did know, she needed to stay in the back of this. She was no fighter and well the last thing they needed was her tripping over her town two feet. Which happened all too often.

Athribis (Above Ground): Richard is going to be able to work his way through the crowds. They are thinning out and most of them are now boarding or have boarded the train back to the city itself. They just want to get the hell out of there and who can really blame them. I mean if goat kept trying to butt my butt I would get the hell out of dodge as well. As he gets further away from where the crowds were running around having their own little catastrophe he is able to pick up on a few sets of foot prints that lead into the underground part of the Athribis dig. This looks to be the best way to go. Only a few sets of prints and moving at a steady pace instead of running around like mad men and women.

Athribis (Underground): Good god, okay. The rolls just fucking hate you peeps today. That or they have it in for the Lord Major. It is a good thing that more than one person is trying to help the Major get out of the hole. It took a combined effort of everyone that was trying, including the Lord Major himself, to get a high enough total to get him out of there and on the ground above the hole. I mean seriously. This was bad. 3 rolls added together gave you a success. This is not an easy thing to do and it is awkward, hard, and by the end the ones that were working on this, Lord Major included, are all winded and just glad the whole thing is over. Yeah, Lauren is right - probably wasn't the best idea but at least the man is out of the hole right now and isn't at the bottom of the hole, if there is one, because, well ain't no one looked yet, which is just funny as hell. Leroy Jenkins as been outdone folks. Now rushing head long into something without thinking will be known as a Lord Major!

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Josephine had checked around her, but she had not seen George since she busted down the door. ”I am afraid we have not seen George this entire time. If he had been in this room before we came in, then either he found a secret way out of here or he vanished. I would have naturally assumed the former before by trip to this country, but events have made me believe in the otherwise fantastical.” She eyed Reddish, who seemed to view her in a new light now. ”Well of course, darling. I am not some damsel in distress. This damsel can fend for herself.”

She checked on Vera and was sure she was not otherwise injured. ”I am glad you are well Vera. May I call you Vera? Anyway, I have been meaning to share with you but I have been robbed as well. My room remained orderly and the only thing taken from me was my grandfather’s watch. It holds dear, sentimental value to me and it was the only thing stolen. Not my jewelry which would have fetched a higher price. I fear the thief targeted that specifically and, if it is the same thief, they knew we would be on board.”

They would have to leave now then. ”Yes, we should leave together. Are you fit for travel Vera? If not, lean on Reddish. He has been an asset to me thus far.”

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Faye had listened to the woman as she led her to somewhere where she could sit and calm down. A goat appearing out of nowhere was up her alley. What would have been the reason for it though. One did not simply summon a goat or even cause the mess that happened with real animals unless it was for a specific purpose. It seemed to Faye there was another reason for it. A reason to spook the people here and get them to go away. Meaning whatever the reason was, it was still here.

She should check back with Richard, but she hadn’t seen him. Hopefully he had gotten his nose checked and fixed. ”You have been most helpful. I will investigate this matter myself and I give you my word I believe every word you have told me. I am sorry it has scared you so much. I would have been scared, myself. I need to go find my associate and we will look into this. I have a feeling this is the reason we are both here. If you do not mind one last question, where exactly did you see this goat appear? The closest you can remember would be helpful.” Once she had gotten the location, she would leave to go find Richard and confer with him. She was sure the woman saw what she did, but the explanation for it was the mystery they needed to further solve.

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"Not like I feel like moving anyways." She mumbled out a reply to the man as she relaxed down in her seat. Movement felt overrated right now, standing still felt so much better at this moment, especially with all her body feeling tight and hard to move with all the swelling that she had going on. To be fair she was pretty sure she had already went past the point of actual pain. Today she and pain became the best of friends! In a way... anyways, she threw a glance at the out cold doctor on hte floor. Something was definitely up on this ship. Supposedly they had been made to leave so they could perform a search of hte ship, but if the doctor was knocked out cold, maybe the ship turned out even more dangerous than being off ship?

Soon enough the captain rushed into the infirmary and went to check the unconcsious man." So he does, question would by why though?" Mosi said when the captain said an opinion about why the doctor was out cold. She watched with amusement as a pitcher of water was splashed on the downed man and soon enough he came about, waking up.

His initial confusion was probably explainable, but his near horrified reaction at seeing her stung a lot... bad choice of words. It hurt a lot!" How rude... I know I look horrible, but surely I'm not THAT bad. You're a doctor right? You must have seen worse stuff?" Mosi asked with a sigh." Actually don't mind that... can you help me with this? Is there something you could do about the swelling... I'm not usually alergic to bees... but given how much I got stung I'm not sure what's going to happen."

"Also why were you out cold on the ground?" She asked with quite hte curiosity, looking at the man." You feel alright?"

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Nora grabbed the torches that Mahendra had been holding, giving a nod at his request for her to shed some light on the area. She wasn't physically able to assist with them lifting him from his self inflicted prison, but this was something she was capable of doing. She had half a mind to shine one of the torches into the hole directly once he was clear, in order to see if she could spy Belladonna. It worried her that they hadn't heard any sound, though with the way the Lord Major was screaming and rambling, she figured that any words from their fallen companion would have been covered up. "Perhaps once he is clear, we can see about dropping a small stone down to gauge the drop... Or to simply call down for her..." Nora suggested softly. She wasn't an expert in these sort of things, but those actions struck her as logical measures.

"I could've sworn you were American with that accent," Gene pointed out to Lauren, though she chuckled at her not-so-veiled insults of the Lord Major all the same. It didn't change the fact that she was going to help the idiot and she rolled her eyes at the screaming and whining coming from him. "Maybe next time you decide to jump into a death hole, you think about how your best outcome is getting stuck by your underwear," she advised him. Even with everyone working together to get him out of there, it was an exhausting and draining process, with Gene wondering exactly what it was the man ate! Was he supposed to be this heavy and difficult to assist? Maybe they should have just pushed him into the hole instead of trying to get him out of it...

Gene was catching her breath, wiping her hands slightly on her arms in an attempt to get rid of some of the sweat. She loved adventure and excitement - this did not count. She hoped that his underwear and pants really had made an impression on him like he described, since he deserved it for the energy he just made them waste on him. "Bella... Belladonna!" Gene called out down into the hole, waiting to see if she would hear anything back. It also gave her a chance to try to regulate her breathing more. She always panted a bit when she was thoroughly drained and exhausted.

"Thank goodness you are alright..." Nora said softly, still holding the torches. She didn't say much more beyond that, wanting to stay quiet just in case Belladonna was trying to call out for them and her voice was too faint to be heard. Her eyes darted back towards the circular carving with the numbers one through forty five, knowing that seventeen and twenty-eight were numbers of significance. She didn't want to risk unleashing another trap on them, but her gut was telling her that they could manipulate that circular carving somehow. Perhaps they just had to press numbers seventeen and twenty eight? "I think if we move numbers seventeen and twenty eight, something will happen... Not something perilous, I mean."

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After what could only be best described as a titanic struggle between the very deities of Life and Death, where each side violently vied for control of the Lord Major's mortal soul and his rumpier parts, the combined strenght of the three of them mananaged to pull their beloved Lord Major from the brink of destruction and onto safe grounds. Mahendra, Gene and the Lord Major had to use all their strength, but they were successful. Mahendra found himself lying on his back for a moment, just breathing heavily after the ordeal.

"With all due…respect, Lord Major Sir…may I advise not repeat your valient charge into the darkness?" Mahnedra followed up on Gene's advise to the Lord Major, his heavy breathing interluding his words as he found his polite suggesting more fitting than what Gene threw at him. But Mahendra said no more of it, as Gene made the smarter decision of simply shouting down into the hole rather than throwing one's body down it's unknown shaft.

Yes, they had to be ready for any more of whatever surprises these tunnels were ready to throw at them. Mahendra got back on his feet, listening to Nora's theory of pushing said numbers in order to unluck something less dangerous to their lives, as he himself began to look around the tunnel. If Nora was looking for something that might be of use, Mahendra would see if he could detect anything of danger to them; Traps and the like. "If you are sure of that, please do. I will look for more dangers that we can avoid."

Mahendra was probably more in his element than he had been for a while, his trained eyes moving back and forth across the stone walls that surrounded them at all sides. And it was a good thing he knew what he was doing, more than he'd done more than probably his while time in the Fellowship. The more Mahendra scrutinized the stones and walls, he came to the same conclusions. "I think we are safe, for now. It does not appear to be any more dangerous holes or of that kind here." Mahendra informed the group, turning to face Nora as she investigated her own portion of the wall. "Miss Kingston? You may be onto something there. Just be careful, it might be of the outmost importance to us and our quest."

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This was how Richard operated. Alone. It had always been like that, only him and his own wits and fists to back him up, ever since he left the Force. His hermit-like attitude was both forced upon himself by the others in his precinct, his anger and frustration after the alleyway-ambush nearly got him killed making the others weary of Richard, but also put on by himself. He didn't anyone else out there to take a knife or a bullet for him.

Richard, he wasn't worth it.

Richard continued to make his way out of the crowded train-area of Athribis, glad that most people had the common sense to leave the poor American bastard alone and get the hell out of dodge. As he began to hear the sound of chaos behind him fade away, that's when he noticed it. The footprints. Richard crouched down, looking at the what appeared of a group of people moving further into the dig-site. "Well looks what we have here…" As Richard raised his head slowly, his eyes following the tracks up ahead and down into what could only be an underground part of the dig-site, he couldn't help but note the orderly condition these tracks were in. At least in comparison to the mayhem left behind him. The underground looked like a good lead. Progress!Making his way towards the entrance, Richard trained his eyes and ears into the darkness. His own footsteps and breath hushed down to the level of a long-fingered street urchin, his detective skills were ready and put for anything to happen. Perhaps much to his annoyance or relief, nothing came out of the underground to attack him. Nothing. It was quiet, dark and quiet. Even his New York night eyes needed some light in order to continue down unto the unknown. "And so, the usual way to go is down into the dark and dirty. Just like home…" Richard whispered to himself, his fingers searching for the lighter in his pocket and his eyes for anything to make a torch or anything.