Dance of the Egyptian || IC

[ValidEmotions]

OOC

 

Story

The sound of stone crumbling echoed faintly through the silent corridor as beams of light broke the darkness as flashlights were switched on. A gasp of awe or two preceded the murmurs of excitement, gravel and sand crunched under booted feet. The group of four lifted their lights, slowly making their way through the corridor. "This is it, right? Look at these hieroglyphs..."

 

"Don't get too happy yet, John. There's still an entire labyrinth to navigate before we get to the Pharaoh's tomb. You sure the traps won't work, Ethan?" a woman asked, light brown hair covered with a layer of dust. Her lantern swung from her hand when she swept her arm out, illuminating the sparsely painted walls of the corridor.

 

Ethan, a short man, shook his head. "Come on, Lucy. You know there aren't any traps in these tombs. Those are just old tales, fashioned up to prevent anyone thinking about robbing the place. Obviously, it didn't always work." He shook his broad shoulders, shifting his hat aside to scratch his scalp.

 

"Besides," started John, "if there does happen to be a trap, everyone knows it's the women who sacrifice themselves for the good of the team," he teased, winking at both Lucy and the other lady.

 

"Oh cut it out," Lucy grumbled. "Susan and I aren't some pair of dolls, all dressed up as bait."

 

"Look," Susan interrupted, coming to a stop and pointing her light down a side path. "I think I found the doors that lead into the tomb."

 

Falling silent, all four gathered and shined their lights in the same direction, brightening up a short hallway with a massive set of stone doors. Statues of Osiris stood on either side, arms crossed over his chest. All four individuals pushed against the heavy doors, straining until they managed to ease them open.

 

Within, the room awaited them. Hieroglyphs, for protection and safe travel to the underworld, decorated the walls. Treasure, chests, and tomes were situated upon the ground while a set of urns stood on individual posts.

 

"Amazing... Quick, start taking inventory. Once done, let's grab the chests and get going," Ethan stated after setting his lantern aside and grabbing a journal out of his pack. The other three followed suit, spreading out through the room. In less than two hours, they had everything tallied and all eight chests moved outside.

 

As they left the tomb for the final time, the eyes of both Osiris statues glowed.

 

Setting

During school, back when you were a young child, your Social Studies class was probably the most boring part of your day. After all, who cares about dead Gods and languages, old government systems that didn't work, and which king married his first cousin? But some of you, the kids with some level of actual interest, cared enough to listen to the lessons.

 

As you grew up, you learned new things and either forgot about your early-schooling lessons or expanded on them. Whatever your path in life, you live a pretty normal one. Within the limits of a bustling, average-sized city, you're surrounded by modern sights that contain influences of previous eras. The city has three different museums, a handful of theaters, several schools (ranging in grades), two malls, a river that cuts it in half, and a pretty popular lake about thirty miles out.

 

This is where you live, where you work. Your friends are here, your family. Everything is normal.

 

Until you decided to attend that tour at the History Museum...

 

Plot

You're human, an Average Joe. Or will be until the start of the RP. We're going to be going on a bumpy ride in this thread. The plot will have two parts. For now, all you need to know about Part One is that some chests were removed from an Egyptian pharaoh's tomb a few months ago and that caused a little disturbance. Every character will be attending this History tour at the local museum where things will get a little strange.

 

What's the problem? Those chests. You're going to need to search for all eight of them and bring them back together. What? Did you think they would all be in one spot? Sorry, but no. They've been spread out across the country by now!

 

When Part One is concluded, then we'll move on to Part Two. Don't worry! You'll be learning a lot of fun stuff along the way. I promise.

 

Significant Locations

 

Heather Hills Mall - The largest of the two malls found in the city. It has an expansive food court, hosting several different "restaurants". Throughout the mall, you can find a few different jewelers, plenty of clothing shops, some knick-knack stores, candy shops, game stores (both video and board or card varieties), and a small bookshop. Heather Hills lays just outside of the downtown area, across the street from the History Museum and east from the river.

 

Heather Hills History Museum - This will be your starting location. It's a nice looking two-story building with granite pillars decorating the outside perimeter, your average museum decor. Inside, you'll be met with a wide Information and Customer Services desk. Just to the right of it is a Tour Booth. Tours are scheduled for every hour from the minute the museum opens to two hours before it closes. Display cases around the entrance and desk are riddled with information and fossils from the pre-dinosaur eras. As you move further back into the museum, the historical facts will progress through time. Looping up the stairs to the second floor and back towards the front of the museum, the displays showcase more modern events.

 

The Laid-Back Café - One of the most popular, local cafés that's situated next to the river and almost in the middle of downtown. True to its name, it gives off a very relaxed atmosphere with a quiet color scheme of blues and grays. Bean bags line the left-hand wall where people can lounge on their laptops or with books; the latter is certainly encouraged with daily deals. A handful of dark oak tables are spread across the shop, each with two or four chairs that can easily be rearranged to fit larger (or smaller) parties. The counter is a simple blue and gray bar table with pastry dishes and coffee bags on display. Behind and above, a long chalkboard lists the various drinks and food items that are available for order.

 

River Springs Park - A little ways west of The Laid-Back Café, River Springs Park can be found. Nestled against the river, on the opposite side, this park is one of the larger ones in the city. With an impressive playground for kids, there is also a basketball court, a tennis court, and a "water park" that is run every summer. The water park is really just a circular patch of concrete designed with several small grates that allow jets of water to shoot upward at regular intervals.

 

Rules

1. Follow all DC Forum rules. (Respect, god-modding, power-play, language, etc.)
2. We are only using Egyptian Gods/Goddesses. If a God/Goddess is already taken, you need to pick another one; no repeats.
3. Powers will be gained over the course of the RP. I will let you know when everyone learns something new.
4. Please post a minimum of four (4) complete sentences per character. Good grammar and spelling is expected.
5. There is no character limit, but I expect you to be able to handle the number you create.
6. Do your best to be active please. I expect a regular post schedule (kind of a medium pacing). However, if you can't post - for whatever reason - then let me know. I cannot stress this enough. I am tired of people not talking to me about whether or not they will be posting.
7. If you have not posted (or updated me on your status) within a week, I will assume that you have gone inactive and will move your character to the side. It will then be your job to contact me and tell me that you are back before you are allowed to post again.
8. All character sheets will go in the OOC thread. I will not accept them in the IC thread or PM'd to me.

Character Sheet

[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b] No younger than 18 years.
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b] No pictures if you can avoid it please.
[b]Personality:[/b] At least a paragraph.
[b]God/Goddess:[/b]
[b]Animal:[/b] The animal that the God/Goddess's head is depicted as. For example, Anubis has the head of a black jackal, so this character's animal would be a black jackal.
[b]Relic:[/b] A single item that is consistently found in the God/Goddess's possession. For example, Osiris is always seen holding a crook and flail so this character's relic would be the flail.
[b]Abilities:[/b] For now, characters can only shapeshift into their animal. More abilities will be revealed later.
[b]Other:[/b]

 

Taken | Reserved

Anubis

Apep

Bast

Isis

Ra

Sekhmet

Set

Thoth

Edited March 5, 2017 by Narvix

[ValidEmotions]

List of Characters

 

Username: Valid

Name: Liam Orner

Age: 24 years

Gender: Demi-male

Appearance: With short, black hair and dark brown eyes, Liam has tanned skin. He stands at about 6'2" with a narrow face and an athlete's build. Though, he's more of a runner than a fighter possessing long legs with more muscle development in his core and legs; not really his arms. In loose clothing, he looks lanky. His nose is slightly broad and flat, looking a bit too big for his face, and rests above thin lips. His brow line is shallow and his cheekbones are mostly concealed. He favors wearing a lightweight, gray vest over plain t-shirts or tank tops with dark blue jeans and sneakers.

Personality: Liam will be the first to admit he's scared and completely out of his comfort zone. However, that won't stop him from taking initiative if no one else will. He has an innate desire to help people, no matter what the situation looks like. While he isn't a genius by school standards, he does have decent street smarts and can talk his way out of trouble. Or, at the very least, he can try.

Having more of a serious nature, Liam prefers fewer jokes and more in-depth conversation. As such, he's not brilliant with small talk. Comforting people isn't in his list of skills, more likely to have a blunt approach without meaning to. So he avoids situations with people who are crying or extremely upset.

God/Goddess: Apophis [Or Apep, whichever name you wish to call him]

Animal: Horned viper

Relic: Flint in the shape of a circular pendant

Abilities:

-> Shapeshifting [Active]

Other: N/A

 

Username: Valid

Name: Tamara "Tony" Larp

Age: 18 years

Gender: Female

Appearance: Tony likes to wear pleated or layered skirts with a blouse or collared shirt underneath a lightweight sweater. She keeps her long brown hair free, allowing the curls and waves to drape over her shoulders and down to the small of her back. Her eyes are hazel in color naturally but she likes to wear grey, non-prescription contacts. Standing at about 5'4", she has darkened, olive skin and a slender build and angled facial features. Her hands are soft with delicate fingers. On her feet she usually wears flats that match the range of colors in her outfits.

Personality: Tony is always smiling, always giving off the impression that she's a happy-go-lucky type of girl. And, for the most part, she is. She enjoys having fun and being around friends or family. She likes to move around, to go out and do something like bowling or just a trip around the city. She's usually always at ease. Though, when she's tired or in need of food, she'll often get grumpy and short tempered. So long as she isn't grumpy, she's a friendly person who will almost always approach first and strike up the conversation.

She has arachnophobia and will not take kindly to someone who wants to pull a prank based on this fear. She doesn't tolerate being picked on and isn't afraid to give her blunt opinion about someone who thinks they can get away with bullying her. She's developed into a loud and bold personality, giving her the appearance that she just might go looking for trouble to have fun.

Tony avoids stress as best as she can with her laid-back behavior. However, this has turned into her simply stuffing down what's troubling her into a mental bottle until it breaks, resulting in a torrent of thoughts and emotions that haven't been dealt with.

God/Goddess: Anubis [Or, lesser known as Anapa]

Animal: Black Jackal

Relic: A golden Ankh pendant

Abilities:

-> Shapeshifting [Active]

Other: N/A

 

Username: Coryn02

Name: Brandon Moore

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Appearance: Brandon is an unassuming guy with Caucasian skin tone, short brown hair, hazel eyes, and he stands with a relaxed posture. He generally wears his favorite brown hooded jacket overtop a plain T-shirt and baggy pants. His facial expression is most often calm. Brandon is 163 cm in height and weighs roughly 145 pounds.

Personality: Brandon is generally laid-back in most situations, preferring not to cause trouble. When a problem does arise, he will claim responsibility for any part he played in it, even a relatively minor one. Should conflict arise that he cannot defuse, Brandon is often rude in his assertions and stubborn to the point of being thoughtless. His main goal in life is to get by while absolving himself of blame he cannot ignore. Above all else, he wants whatever life he lives to be one he would deem having an overall positive effect on the world around him, though it doesn't exclude flaws or mistakes so long as he can control them.

God/Goddess: Set (or Sutekh, depending on who you ask)

Animal: The sha is a lean canine creature with long squared ears and a forked tail. It is covered in crimson fur with lighter undersides. The head of the sha is that of an anteater, save that its jaw opens to reveal sharp teeth and oversized hippopotamus fangs. Its yellow eyes are lined with kohl, black eyeliner, and the beast's presence has an overall unsavory feeling, due to its chaotic nature.

Relic: Set's relic is a was, a wooden quarterstaff topped with a simplified animal head and a forked end.

Abilities:

-> Shapeshifting [Active]

Other: N/A

 

Username: Avialae

Name: Rita DeLuca

Age: 20

Gender: Female

Appearance: She's fairly tall, about 5'10 or 11'', with jet black hair that falls to the middle of her back.  Her light brown eyes are hidden behind a pair of metal-framed glasses, and she doesn't usually bother wearing makeup as it's too much of a hassle. Her outfit usually consists of a T-shirt or long-sleeved shirt, depending on the weather, a pair of blue jeans, and some old, scuffed-up sneakers.

Personality: Maggie is a sophomore at a nearby college, living on her own in the dorms. She has a wide variety of eclectic interests, ranging from various TV shows to music to video games to science fiction and fantasy novels to anime to biology to world history to paleontology to whatever happens to catch her interest. She spends her free time in between studying for classes, increasing her knowledge in these subjects. The one drawback with this way of life is that it gives her little time to make friends in the real world. Maggie has never been one to be very dependent on social interaction, however, so that's fine with her. It's not like she doesn't have more than enough to keep her occupied as it is.

God/Goddess: Isis, also known as Aset

Animal: Black Kite

Relic: Tyet or Knot of Isis (magical amulet resembling an ankh; considered her symbol)

Abilities:

-> Shapeshifting [Active]

Other: N/A

 

Username: Avialae

Name: Jace Bates

Age: 26

Gender: Female

Appearance: She is unusually tall for a woman, over six feet tall in height, with long blond hair, tan skin, and hazel eyes. She has a naturally sturdy build covered in muscle from long hours spent working out, as she used to be an amateur boxer after she left her parents' house, and although she quit several years ago still keeps up her training. Jace is currently wearing a pair of dark green shorts, a white sleeveless top under a black jacket, and a pair of sneakers.

Personality: Jace was abused by her parents as a child, and she still carries the emotional scars from that ordeal to this day.  Although she tries to hide it with a facade of bold confidence, she has a deep sense of self-loathing, and finds it difficult to believe anyone could ever accept her. Jace is always emotionally on guard to the point she doesn't know how to back down, and tends to lash out unpredictably whenever she perceives a possible threat, at times surprising even herself. The combination of all these personality traits adds up to a somewhat hostile attitude, meaning she has few friends, but when someone does manage to earn her trust, rare though that is, she is incredibly loyal to them.

God/Goddess: Sekhmet

Animal: Lioness

Relic: Sekhem scepter - a long staff ending in the shape of a flat paddle

Abilities:

-> Shapeshifting [Active]

Other: N/A

 

Username: Fangirl05

Name: Alexander "Alex" Price

Age: 24 (April 9th, 1992)

Gender: Male

Appearance: Alex is an unimposing figure: He's fairly short at about 5'8" and weighs a slight 125 pounds. He has short, slightly scruffy black hair, very pale skin and brown eyes. He wears large, round glasses for farsightedness - think Harry Potter's glasses, but slightly thicker - and typically dresses in dark, slightly loose clothes. He looks a bit like the quintessential nerd.

Personality: Despite looking like the quintessential nerd, Alex is... Decidedly not. Although his parents have always insisted to him that he's smart, he has a mild form of both dyslexia and dyscalculia, which makes schoolwork of any kind difficult. As a result, he's unsure of himself and fairly meek, usually reluctant to speak up. He usually acts hostile if someone he doesn't know tries to talk to him

God/Goddess: Thoth

Animal: Ibis

Relic: Scroll.

Abilities:

-> Shapeshifting [Active]

Other: N/A

 

Username: water_angel

Name: Anna Astraia Sanzio

Age: 25

Gender: Female

Appearance: 5'5" with pale skin and shoulder length dark brown hair with natural red highlights that is always in a ponytail. Hazel colored eyes. Dress style is comfy casual, usually jeans, and a nice top and a cardigan/sweatshirt depending on the weather. She loves jewelry and has a silver necklace with multiple charms, a bracelet with amethyst stones and various earrings to match the shirt she is wearing at the time.

 

Personality: A shy person who prefers the company of a book over the company of other people. Although adverse to people, she is always willing to lend a hand to those in need; she believes in using her skills to benefit others.  She values the few friends she has very deeply and takes dishonesty and abandonment very personally. She is a hard worker and believes in doing things the right way no matter what, and has little patience when co workers take the easy way out or don't complete their share of the workload.

 

In recent years she has grown more confidence in herself and of trying new things, which has led her on some amazing adventures and experiences. Her love life is non existent; she believes in not being tied down and being free to live life as she chooses.

 

Despite trying to go back to school while working full time, she still makes time for fun with archery, video games reading and visiting museums. Growing up she loved to go to museums and has made it a personal goal to visit them all. When she graduated high school she went to school to study chemistry where she learned about the field of forensic archaeology and decided to pursue this career further. She grew up in a small town so moving to the city makes her feel both excited and anxious.

 

God/Goddess: Bast

Animal: Cat

Relic: Sistrum (a musical instrument of ancient Egypt consisting of a metal frame with transverse metal rods that rattled when the instrument was shaken.)

Abilities:

-> Shapeshifting [Active]

Other: N/A

 

Username: Epyon

Name: Xavier Enders

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Appearance: Brown hair with hazel eyes, Xavier stands at a modest height of 5'7", not the tallest member of his family but by no means the shortest. Xavier played soccer and lacrosse quite often growing up, as a result he has a lean, athletic build that has a nice olive color to it.

Personality: Xavier could be considered a mischief maker due to his sly and witty sense of humor. He usually ends up making jokes of some kind or getting dragged into the mischievous antics of his childhood friends in which case, he's all too willing to join in the fun. He tends to be serious in most occasions but he loves to laugh and is somewhat of a social butterfly once he's familiar with someone. Growing up, he loved to learn about ancient societies and their deities to make no mention of wars, both ancient and modern. As a result of this, he can tell which weapons are which at a glance.

God/Goddess: Ra

Animal: Ferruginous hawk

Relic: Khopesh

Abilities:

-> Shapeshifting [Active]

Other: N/A

Edited March 5, 2017 by Narvix

[ValidEmotions]

Updates and Important Things

• RP Started. Everyone's intro post should eventually place them in the History Museum for a tour. For simplicity, all Player Characters will be in the same tour group, Group Number 3. Time of tour: 9 AM. Weather: Mid-Summer, hot and sunny.

Edited March 2, 2017 by Narvix

[ValidEmotions]

Reserve

[ValidEmotions]

Why did she agree to come to this?

 

A yawn parted her lips, hazel eyes squinting shut as she tried to stifle it with a hand. It was way too early for her liking. However, she did promise her mother that she would come on this boring tour once a year. Tony's mother worried about her forgetting about important, historical events of the world but was often too lazy to do the teaching herself. So, the fresh-out-of-high-school girl was attending someone else's rehearsed lecture. At least the museum had working A.C., washing away the blistering heat of mid-summer.

 

Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, Tony impatiently swept a strand of dark hair behind her shoulder. Someone bumped her arm and she glanced at them quickly, noting the man's height and grey vest. "Oh, sorry," the man mumbled, adjusting his stance to fit more comfortably among the crowd.

 

Shaking her head, Tony waved dismissively. "Don't worry about it. It's kind of busy in here," she replied. It seemed like everyone was just trying to beat the heat but it could have been the 'Family Day Extravaganza!' the museum had been advertising to promote itself. Tony guessed the museum was losing customers and needed to earn more money some how.

 

"Alright people! Are you all ready for the tour?" Tony looked forward at the sound of the overly upbeat voice, spying a moderately tall and blonde woman in the museum uniform. The pastel pink polo shirt didn't really flatter her light skin tone but it didn't seem to detract from the fact that it was a size too small for her chest. Maybe that's how the museum was bringing in some of its revenue - shoving eye candy into receptive faces.

 

There were a handful of unenthusiastic responses and several nods. Looking pleased, the tour guide waved her number card above her head. "We're group three today! So, if you get lost, look for this flag!" she instructed, pointing at the pink card stock paper glued to a thin stick of pale wood. A large 3 was printed to the paper in bright green.

 

The woman quickly laid out familiar rules while everyone was a visitor to the museum. Tony liked to paraphrase the batch of rules as "don't be an idiot and use your common sense". When the guide finished, she started moving the group, heading further to the right of the entrance as she began rattling off a story about the beginning of time.

 

[information updated.]

Edited March 2, 2017 by Narvix

[water_angel]

As the tour guide directed everyone through the entrance, Anna could feel her excitement growing. The move to the city had been a scary one for her, mostly because city life was very unfamiliar to her. She had only been in the city for three days but had to come to the museum as soon as possible; their website showed some very interesting exhibits that would raise her spirits in no time.

 

She looked around at the crowds of people and cringed at the noises of screaming kids and crying babies. She tried hard to ignore them and scanned her map, planning the rest of her visit after the tour was finished. Looking around her own tour group, she was happy that there were only adults there. She trotted through the group to get to the front of the line and began listening to the tour guide's story.

[Avialae]

Rita tried, but was unable to stop herself from yawning as the tour guide droned on from the front of the line; the young woman had already stopped paying attention to the far too perky blond, especially since the woman who had been assigned to them didn't seem to be the most studious of people; Rita could already tell she probably knew more about most of the exhibits than their so-called guide did.

 

That being said, Rita hadn't yawned because she was bored, but because she had only gotten up about forty-five minutes before now. She had never been a morning person, but her schedule was erratic at the best of times and ever since classes had gotten out for the summer, she pretty much just ate and slept when she felt like it. After realizing that she had actually gotten up at more or less the appropriate time of day for once, Rita had noticed that it was a beautiful day outside, realized she hadn't gone outside for anything besides a basic supply run since classes let out, found this place online, threw on a clean set of clothes and grabbed a quick bite to eat, and here we were.

 

Rita wished that she was nearer to the back of the group, but she seemed to have gotten stuck near the front somehow, and there wasn't enough room to move - apparently the museum was crowded today. Rita wasn't a huge fan of personal contact, and she couldn't help fidgeting uncomfortably while secretly hoping that the crowds would thin out later on.

[Epyon]

Would this idiot tour guide just get moving already? She was just droning on and on about random tidbits that didn't even pertain to the tour itself. Just prattling on about a new haircut she recently got. Honestly, it didn't even look that great and he was certain that it was covered in so many layers of hair spray that he was certain it was visible from space and bulletproof. He didn't see many people his age around, mostly just older couples and families that were trying to get some time together. None of that in this tour group though, least not babies. Honestly they have some good pipes to make their cries so loud.

 

Finally, the little "flag" went up and they moved to the right, listening as the tour guide went on about the beginning of time. Thankfully it wasn't a creationist version of it, he heard enough of that growing up. He was in the middle of the pack, eyes sweeping to and fro as they passed exhibits.

[ValidEmotions]

Liam didn't listen as avidly as he probably should have been. He'd been through this particular tour maybe two or three times already and honestly just came now for the cheaper entrance fee. He liked to study the exhibits, see if anything new had been added or if something old was removed. After all, science changed over time and that affected how humans saw history. Especially when it came to their own history, where their roots sprouted from.

 

On average, the tour ran maybe for about two hours but it varied a little based on the tour guide themself. The woman holding their flag seemed to prefer the short and simple version of the script as the group seemed to move from one exhibit to the next without dawdling. Before he remembered to keep up, the group was done with the pre-historic ages and were entering the era of early civilizations.

 

That included the Egyptians. It was, perhaps, his favorite exhibit of the museum. Though, that was only due to the aesthetic. Liam caught a glimpse of urns, a pair of sarcophagi, and props that were supposed to mimic treasure. The walls were painted, top to bottom, with hieroglyphs and the entire room was illuminated with a synthetic orange light that gave the place a kind of golden look. Sometimes, he wanted to write a letter to the museum, telling whoever designed the exhibit that they were wrong in a handful of details. But he kept his opinions to himself.

 

The guide was rattling on about something involving King Tut when Liam's eyes fell upon a rather ornate chest. Metal lined the edges of an otherwise wooden object, the copper polished for the exhibit. Resting across the lid of the chest, the metal was shaped into a Goddess - Sekhmet from what Liam could discern.

 

He didn't realize something was wrong until someone gasped. Looking over, he spotted the girl he'd bumped into at the beginning. She looked terrified, her eyes wide as she twisted frantically. That's when he clued in that the rest of the group of frozen. The tour guide had stopped speaking, her face paused mid-sentence and unblinking. "Whoa..." Liam breathed.

 

"I-I'm not the only one?" the girl asked, zeroing on him when he spoke.

 

Shaking his head, he continued to look at the rest of the group. "No. I guess not. But, look." Liam spotted a few others who were still moving. Six if he counted right. "What's going on?" he questioned.

 

"An intervention."

 

The voice boomed in his head, causing him to grunt in discomfort. Apparently, the others heard it too if the girl's reaction to cover her ears were anything to go by. "What?"

 

"I need your help." That time, it was less uncomfortable to hear... feel... something. Liam rubbed at his left temple, trying to figure out if this was just a weird dream. As he tried, a figure seemed to pixilate into view. It was feminine, which fit the kind of voice he'd heard. She was human (when you ignored the ethereal transparency of her body) and wore a white dress, the same sort that was commonly painted in the hieroglyphs.

 

Her hair was straight and black, maybe a very dark brown. Her eyes glowed gold with no sign of pupils or even a separation of sclera and iris. Her tanned skin had an olive hue, contrasting the golden ankh that so many Gods and Goddesses wore. "Please, I know this is very surprising. I need your help. You have been selected by the Gods," she explained. Motioning towards the chest beneath her feet, she continued. "All of you will have questions and I can answer them. However, right now, there isn't much time left. You must hurry if you are to soothe them. The Gods have become restless. Jace Bates."

 

Liam jerked, glancing around for the named individual. Surely it was a prank if this... being, knew a specific name?

 

But she continued. "Jace Bates. Step forward for this chest is yours." The being waved her hand again and warmth surrounded Liam's neck. Panicking, thinking that something bad was about to happen, he shot a hand up to his throat.

 

His fingers touched a thin chain and he looked down. From his neck hung a small, bronze key, kept there by a silver chain. "Each of you have a chest that contains an important relic. These keys will allow you to find them, and unlock them. Jace Bates, you were awoken by Sekhmet, the warrior goddess of healing."

[Avialae]

The museum was much too crowded for Jace's liking, with not only all the people milling about leaving her constantly on edge, but the numerous young children who apparently hadn't learned the definition of 'inside voices' yet who seemed to be all yelling and screaming nonstop. Jace was tempted to leave, but she had already paid good money for this tour. And at least it was cool in here. That was the main reason she had come here, for the air conditioning, since her ancient air conditioning unit had finally broken down earlier in the week and Jace hadn't gotten the money together to get it fixed yet. During the day, her small apartment was uncomfortable enough without it for her to need to find someplace else to go, and she could while away the entire day here without looking out of place, even if she had no interest in the exhibits.

 

Seeing that the tour guide was leading the group into the next room, Jace quickly hurried after her, almost bumping into a dark-haired young woman who had been closely inspecting the exhibits. This new room was significantly less crowded than the one they'd just been in, which had been full of parents corralling young children who wanted to see the dinosaur skeletons; finally, Jace felt like she could relax somewhat.

 

It was just then that the room went completely silent, the chattering of the tour guide as well as the quiet conversations among the rest of the museum guests coming to a very abrupt halt. Quickly looking around the room, Jace saw to her immense shock that everyone else there had become frozen where they stood as if by some otherworldly force. No, wait, not quite everyone -- the dark-haired girl from earlier was still slowly walking around studying the exhibits, apparently too engrossed in what she was doing to notice what had happened, and Jace could hear two other people nearby still talking as well. But if more people had been spared that made even less sense. If it was just her, Jace could believe she might have been overlooked, but now she had no idea what might be happening.

 

She almost had a heart attack when the hologram . . . ? Was that it? No, she couldn't think of any reason the museum would put on a show for only six or so people, and no one could act as well as the motionless museum patrons anyway. Some of them were still frozen mid-movement - appeared and called her name. Jace had only the vaguest idea of what the - woman, she was going to assume for now the apparition was a woman as she appeared to be - was talking about and no idea whatsoever why she would need their help since, after all, she at least appeared to be able to incapacitate so many people at once, but never let it be said that Jace Bates would walk away from a challenge. Clenching her hands into fists at her sides and trying not to look intimidated by what was going on, whatever it was, Jace walked forward the third time the hieroglyphics woman said her name, took the key that had suddenly appeared from around her neck, inserted it into the lock of the chest, and turned it, keeping an eye on the translucent woman the whole time.

[water_angel]

Once away from the children and large groups Anna quickly immersed herself in the artifacts that lay before her. Her excitement grew when they entered the early era civilizations, a smile across her face when the familiar hieroglyphic symbols came into view.

 

"This is fascinating." Anna thought to herself, drowning out the voice of the tour guide and examining the sarcophagus, tracing each line of the symbols with her eyes. Moving onto the urns, she studied them, wishing she knew how to read the hieroglyphs.

 

she suddenly became aware of an eerie quietness. Not the kind of quiet that she openly invited, but the kind that sent a chill up her spine. She had become so involved in the artifacts she didn't realize the tour guide had stopped talking. she slowly stood up and turned to find the group frozen solid! scanning the group back and forth, she saw something moving on the opposite end of the group. She slowly made her way over there, being careful not to touch any of the unmoving people. She arrived to the tall kid with short black hair and suddenly heard the feminine voice calling for their help. she followed the boy's gaze to what seemed like a woman. She stood frozen, listening to the woman's plea for help and her calling the name "Jace Bates" Glancing at the chest, she instinctively reached for her necklace of charms, one of which happened to be an ankh, only to feel something other than her thin chain.

 

Looking down, she saw a key hanging there, bronze glinting in the golden light that bathed the exhibit. looking around her again, she counted six people who were not frozen, and judging by the look on their faces were seeing the same thing she was. Turning her attention to this Jace as she turned the key in the treasure chest before them.

[Fangirl05]

Alex just sort of naturally fell into step at the edge of the middle of the group, listening to what was relevant and tuning out what wasn't. He'd decided a while ago that he didn't genuinely like these museum tours but, practically speaking, they were one of the few ways he could learn anything, so he tried to go on as many of them as he could. He drummed his fingers against the brochure he'd taken to torture himself with later; he was pretty sure he was getting better.

 

Like swimming through quicksand.

 

He eyed the walls of hieroglyphics sourly; these things would never have given him as much trouble as these Roman and Arabic SOBs.

 

... When had it gotten so quiet?

 

His back was turned when it started talking. What the hell was that thing?! Was this part of the tour?! There wasn't a picture of it or anything like it in the brochure!

 

He wasn't sure why, but his pulse raced apprehensively as 'Jace Bates' bent down to unlock the chest.

Edited April 20, 2017 by Fangirl05