To the Ends of the Earth: The Book of Thoth

E

Exvind

Guest
Original poster
The players are assembled.

So the scene must be set. Some adventures begin in a small little hamlet. Some in the daydreams of a youngster staring up at the sky. Some by pure accident, and some by virtue existing solely because another adventure ended. For the sake of narrative, this adventure begins high above the clouds over the Mediterranean sea on the great airship, 'The Promethean', piloted by the only person rich and mad enough to go chasing after phantoms across the world. The only man willing and perhaps capable of organizing said hunts for relics, treasure, and glory - Cornelius Fontaine.

Upon the end of his global tour of recruitment, a myriad of men and women from all walks of life were chosen to join his crew, at least for the time being - a magician's assistant, an engineering prodigy, a doctor, and a young scholar among them.

The prelude is finished. The course is set. The destination announced - Cairo. Day in and day out the thrum of the engines fills the air, and an air of exited tension builds.

What will they find? Who will they meet? What secrets will be learned, and what 'truths' forgotten? What lies inside...

​The Book of Thoth?
 
[DASH=orange]"You lot are all idiots!"

An uproar was taking place in the engines room. A group of mechanics crowded around a young lady was headfirst into an piece of the zepppelin's engine. Smoke was being vomited from it and the woman's entire upper half was submerged into the machines workings. The mechanics herded around her looked less than happy, some with worried or even annoyed faces. This young woman had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and barged in screaming at them. They weren't doing anything wrong...were they? Well, according to the woman, who went by the name Dayana, they were doing a lot wrong. After a few tense moments her body shot up from inside the engine. Some of the engineers flinched at the sight of her angry gaze. In her hand she held a metal piece while in the other she brandished a wrench.

"You call yourself engineers?!" Her dirty red hair was dishelved and covered with soot and oil. Goggles were firmly placed over her bright eyes. She waved around the metal piece. "This was jammed up in there good! Don't you guys ever check the workings to make sure they run smoothly? Not to mention some of the gears in there are way past due for their oiling!" She threw the small metal piece at one of the workers, who clumsily caught it. Dayana peeled off her filthy work gloves and stuffed them into her suitcase. She was taking off her goggles when one of the men spoke.

"Um, Miss Dayana..." His voice was quiet, as if he was scared of igniting the woman's fire even more. "We are engineers hand-picked by Mr. Fontaine himself..."

"Well, you guys wouldn't know the difference between an engine and your uncle's stubble!" She spat at them. Some of the men drew back from her words like they were poison being spit from her mouth. "Later, I might as well get back in here to make sure the other engines are working right!" Lifting up her suitcase, she stomped on past them. As she reached the door, she turned around to yell something.

"If Mr. Fontaine knew what conditions these engines were in, he'd chuck you from the zeppelin while it was flying!"

Then she turned around and stormed on out.[/DASH]
 
Betty hummed a tune as she prepared some coffee in the kitchen. She was not, perhaps, the best at coffee but what she made was drinkable after all. She found six cups, filled them, and then opened every door and jar until she located what she was after: cookies. Opening the cookie jar, she realized she had no tray to put those on. So, again, she started to make a mess, searching for one. Not exactly a mess, although, she did misplace some things after all. What she made was noise, lots of noise, as she carelessly searched for the tray. Not that she was a clumsy person, either. Not at all. In fact, Betty knew how to be quiet and remain unnoticed; but she was in a good mood today, and she was feeling relaxed, so she did not bother at all about it.

After all, nothing she made was ever going to get any worse than the noise that came out from the engine room.

Still humming, Betty placed the six cups and some cookies on the tray, and with her usual smile, and her quick pace, she made her way to the dining room, and plced her tray there. She picked up a cookie and bit it, chewing it fast. As she sipped her coffee, looking through the open door, she caught a glimpse of Dayana passing by. She wondered how was it possible that some girl chose such a profession. Being an engineer would mess up all her clothes.... Betty shrugged, and took another bite from her cookie.
 
One thing she hadn't expected was the zeppelin to be so... noisy. The engine could be heard to some degree almost everywhere, and she was just learning how to tune it out. Still no one could avoid the racket coming from it today. It worried Min Hee, who had never flown before. To calm herself, she decided to go make herself some tea, but soon realized something: she would have to walk past the engine room to get to the kitchen from where she was. After a moment of deliberation, she decided that her need for tea was greater than her dislike of the smelly room. So, she made her way through the halls. Closer to the engine room, she could clearly hear a young girl yelling over the engines. She sighed and shook her head, smiling in amusement. Apparently ever since Dayana had boarded, she had been hounding the engineering crew. She passed the room—where she swear she could hear Dayana throw something—and made her way to the kitchen.

Once there, Min Hee took her time brewing some green tea, the familiar ritual calming her already. She had adjusted to being in the air, but any time she passed a window or when the engine was particularly noisy, she rediscovered her fear of heights. She poured the tea in a cup and left the kitchen, just in time to almost run into Dayana. "Oh! Hello Dayana," she greeted, glancing worriedly at her tea, then at Dayana. Her first instinct was to look for any injuries, especially on those who came from the engine room. Many times they got cuts and the like from all the sharp metal parts, so she saw the engineers fairly often. "Are you okay?" she asked, knowing she was opening a can of worms, but unable to stop herself from asking the obviously angry woman.
 
[dash=#535273]Soren Kjeldsen never believed he'd be riding in a zeppelin, much less once of such majesty, much, much less than one belonging to Fontaine, but here he was, surrounded by all the finery Mr. Fontaine's wealth could amass. It didn't feel right for Soren to be next to such nice things, so instead he sat by a window looking out at the teal waters of the Mediterranean Sea as they passed over. In his hands sat a revolver, a parting gift from his father.

Soren spun the chamber before clicking it back in, the revolver was loaded. It was almost uncomfortable for him, one wrong shot and their zeppelin would be a nice splash in the sea. He shook his head and put it away in the holster strapped on his chest. He shook the thoughts of the vehicle exploding and crashing and looked back out the window. He was going to need to keep his head for when they landed in Cairo after all. How interesting it would be. He had been to Cairo once before when he was younger with his father but it was hard to remember, being so long ago. Soren stretched out in the comfortable seat and stared out the window, trying to be patient.
[/dash]
 
[DASH=orange]"Hmph, idiots. Stinking idiots..." Dayana mumbled under her breath, storming down the hallways loudly. Various staff members stared at her with slight horror, quickly scurrying out of the way when she passed. She thought of going to the kitchen to grab a quick snack. Though on her way, she spotted Min Hee. To Dayana
s knowledge, she was another person Fontaine had picked up. A doctor, maybe?

"Hey there, Min Hee." She greeted warmly, her bad mood almost forgotten at the new face. "Oh, yeah. I'm okay. Though those so called "mechanics" in the engine room make me want to throw my tools overboard." She let out a small chuckle. "Hey, do you know what's for lunch?"[/DASH]