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Pieces of 8: Bones of the North

I reiterate.

Pieces of 8: Bones of the North

As the elvish necromancer began to fuss and fit, Sethan took it upon himself to ease her discomfort. Only now had he actually taken the time to notice what the rest of the assembly was getting up to, and was none to pleased to find that they were on the verge of blows. The precipice of their expedition was not a time to be bickering, and so any tensions needed to be resolved as quickly and painlessly as possible. He may not have possessed the wisdom of Solomon to diffuse their argument (despite having about two thousand years of age on the man), but there was a certain something that he could manage.

He strode up behind Anastasia and boldly laid his hands on her shoulders before drawing her close to him. He worked his thumbs into her upper back, seeking to relax her tensed muscles, and shared with her the warmth of his glamoured body. He wordlessly massaged the elvish girl for a few moments, before drawing even closer to her in what was essentially an intimate embrace, his sturdy frame enveloping the smaller woman. He held her close, and with his free hand stroked her jawline with the cool metal of his gilded hand as he turned to speak to her.

"Easy, now. Let us be calm; we are all allies. Misunderstandings are to be forgiven and resolved. There is no reward in quarreling." Sethan said softly, almost whispering in her ear.

Pieces of 8: Bones of the North

Sethan eyed the goings-on patiently, his arms crossed in front of him and a reserved expression on his chiseled features. The appearance of Isis meant little to him; he had always scorned the gods which the Egyptians had worshipped, and saw them as little more than dangerous lunatics. If Sethan was actually any sort of son of Ra, he was a bastard at best. The presence of the "mother of the Nile" only confirmed Sethan's suspicion that this "ankh" they sought was actually the divine phallus of her brother-husband. How very uncouth. Regardless, he now had to take the time to talk out the details of this expedition with its architect, Atticus.

Sethan motioned to the demon from afar. "Atticus, if I may have a word?"

Walking a fair few paces away from the stone circle, he eyed Isis distrustingly as Atticus joined him. Sethan clenched his fist, and the pressure of the air around them shifted dramatically. A miniature cyclone of wind a dust formed around the two of them, which howled like a chorus of the damned. In Arabic, this was known as Al Azif, the sounds of night. While it would not protect their conversation from divine ears, all other eavesdroppers would be sufficiently dissuaded.

Sethan again crossed his arms and spoke in a low and serious tone to Atticus. "I needn't comment on why you asked me here this evening, so I will get straight to the point. I will manage this treasure hunt for you, and you will have your friend back." He held up a hand before continuing. "Though I do not want you to misunderstand; I have empathy for you and your subordinates, but I am fulfilling a personal matter in my homeland. This 'Max' will be resurrected, but only as long as you keep my presence in Egypt under wraps. Bain and Holye, they do not want me returning home. Why, I do not know, but you must not let them know I am there until my business is finished. This is all I ask of you."

Atticus looked up to the dead king, suspicion clearly forming behind his eyes. “All you ask of me? What I am doing for Max is nothing against the direction of the Company, it is simply not under their direction. You are asking me to willingly go against an agreement that you made as a condition of B&H bringing you back into this world. This is no mean request you are making of me, Sethan.”

The mummy's jaw tightened and lips pressed together before explaining himself. "There was no 'agreement,' my friend. They have used idle threats and bureaucracy to keep me in their palm, and I frankly tire of it." His expression then softened as he locked eyes with Atticus. "I owe them my life as well as you do, but my life is still my own. I must find what they are keeping from me. I am a man without a past, and a king without a kingdom. Do you know what it is to be stripped of all that makes a man himself?"

The incubus' brow knitted together as he closely examined Sethan's face, studying him for any possible traces of treachery or deceit. “Listen,” he said, releasing the breath he had been holding, “Sethan, I have sympathy for what you have lost. I can't say I know what that’s like, but I do know what it’s like to live without knowing who or what you are.” His voiced lowered and his tone softened as he tried to reason with the other man. “My friend, it pains me to say, but what will returning truly gain you? With your kingdom gone, what is left for you there?”

Again, Sethan's expression stiffened with his conviction. "I want, no, I need to know why, Atticus. These... voids in my memory, they gnaw at me from within. I feel like I am not all here, and that most of me died with my kingdom." His eyes darkened as he found himself at a loss for words, unable to further express his internal suffering. "Perhaps I will find peace, perhaps not, but at the very least I will know the reason for Irem's fall."

Atticus gave a long pause, still carefully watching the other man, his own uneasy thoughts visible in his expression. “If I do this, no one must know that I let you go willingly.”

"Worry not." He held his hand up again, now as a sign of assurance. "If I find what I need, I will make sure that there is nothing to connect the two of us." He paused, before a slight smile worked its way onto his face. "Perhaps someday, as I build the foundation for New Irem, you could be there with me; sowing the seeds and laying the bricks."

“Someday, perhaps,” Atticus returned his tentative smile, knowing that this was the closest thing to an acknowledgement of true gratitude that he would receive from the mummy, “I suppose I may grow tired of this job in due time, and a change might be pleasant.” He extended a hand to Sethan. “You have my word. Do what you must, and your secret will be safe with me. I will do what I can on my end to keep B&H off your trail. But make no mistake Sethan, I will not betray Reginald Hoyle’s trust. I have my own convictions to uphold.”

Rather than shake his hand as they did earlier, Sethan took the demon's hand in his two and leaned down to place a kiss on his knuckles. He returned to his feet, and though he said nothing, stared Atticus dead in the eye with an expression of pure solidarity. With a wave of his hand, the small cyclone vanished, and Sethan wandered back to the stone circle, though still trying to avoid the gaze of Isis.

Pieces of 8: Bones of the North

It... it almost fits too well.

A dark and foreboding bog in the lowlands. Thick mist and the smell of rot in the air. A chill creeping up your swamp. Then you hear it, a whisper like the crunch of an onion.

"It's all ogre for you."

Pieces of 8: Bones of the North

This is a bit of a slippery slope we're treading here. This leads directly to this which can quickly become this.

Pieces of 8: Bones of the North

After brushing up a bit on my Egyptian mythology, I'm pretty much positive that the "Ankh" in this case is a euphemism. This, ahem, item, not only resurrected Osiris, but also impregnated Isis with Horus. And now, in-thread, this marks the second time that Osiris has been robbed by Set of this invaluable treasure.

Proposing a vote to re-name the thread, "PIECES OF 8: QUEST FOR THE GOLDEN DONG"

Pieces of 8: Bones of the North

There is a slight imbalance between the Ankh/Hoyle parties, but I'm sure that will be resolved with the remaining "free agents."

"Page 3 of 2"

Clicking "newest post" link for the IC of this thread results in a blank page with that page listing. The actual post is the last one of the second page.

Pieces of 8: Bones of the North

A slight smile graced Sethan's features as Makraov greeted him. This man held matters of respect quite highly, and was not one to dally as he spoke. The dead king quite appreciated that, and found himself fascinated by his short story. There was almost a tinge of guilt in Sethan's heart for judging the man so harshly when he was actually quite personable. Makarov could have very well served at Sethan's side millennia ago. He considered extending to him that opportunity in the future, once Irem was reborn.

"I have a moderate interest in your nation, yes. Nothing more really than any other, as none of these provinces existed when I was king, but Russia's role in the last century of history was quite interesting to watch unfold. 'Communism;' very novel." He said, as though commenting on a book he had just read. "Now to whom do you suppose all of this gold belonged to? The formal royal house, I assume, though I'm certain you have a better idea."

However, before they could delve deeper into their discussion, Atticus stood before the group and made his proclamation. A private rescue mission? Off the books? To Egypt no less? This was very interesting. Sethan paid rapt attention to his infernal associate as he continued his summary. The dead king had his own obligations to Hoyle, but at the same time, he had much unfinished business in that corner of Africa. And to reiterate, this endeavor would remain unknown to the larger company, which had subtly forbade Sethan from returning to his homeland over the last century. This Ankh was another matter as well. If it could resurrect a god, he supposed that there was little else that it could not revive.

The others bickered, but Sethan paid them little mind. He stared at Atticus as he stroked his chin, deep in thought. It was clear that Atticus had contacted him for this part of the mission, and why he had been addressed by letter rather than some other traceable channel. This was off the record, after all. There was the matter that Sethan was not an Egyptian, nor had he ever been in "Egypt," or even met a person that resided in the country. But the Ankh was once wielded by a god, and Sethan was not called a God-King merely because he wished to be. The pieces were falling into place, one by one. Sethan laughed, loud and heartily over his arguing coworkers. He threw his head back and continued to laugh, his teeth of gold and ivory shining in the moonlight. His laughter then lessened, but did not stop as he began to clap, looking straight to the incubus. Slowly and almost sardonically he applauded the incubus, his laughter then fading to silence.

"Hail to you, Atticus, hail to you." He said, and ceased his applause. "Finish your explanations. Then we will have words."

Pieces of 8: Bones of the North

Igraine said
First and foremost, congratulations on how well MEPS went for you, DC! Delayed entry program I assume, but still an exciting time nonetheless, and all the very best to you!

Thank you, thank you. I am technically in DE, but I'm filling in for someone else's job, so my process is being accelerated a bit,

Anyway, I was musing about having a post up earlier, and now I'll be finishing it.