6/20/11 - ( Mission ) The Missing Mummy

[Alessa Shae]

Checking the board at the Pale Horse Inne, Alessa noticed that the Historical Museum of Carmathyn had a new exhibit and was inviting the public to come and take the "Ancient Rulers of Carmathyn" tour. Alessa was a treasure hunter and archeological enthusiast by nature and so naturally this caught her attention! Once she asked around for directions, the blonde strode off for the museum.

She arrived around midday, just as the tour was starting and joined the small crowd to listen to the docent leading the tour.

``Step up folks, take a look at this beautifully crafted sarcophagus from the Third Generation Ruler, Calix. He was a royal kh'ron noble who lived centuries and centuries ago, yet he is still perfectly preserved after all this time for your viewing pleasure.`` The docent enthused with gesture and exciting facial expressions. ``Show respect to Calix the Third, Ruling Noble of Carmathyn..`` He went on as fingers edged the lid of the sarcophagus prying it open while smiling at the crowd.

Alessa gasped along with the crowd, which seemed to please the docent until he realized it was a horrified gasp and not one of awe and admiration. He looked into the sarcophagus, which was nothing more than a fancy dusty, musty box. Disbelief and then outrage showed on his face. ``What is the meaning of this?! We had top of the line security!!``

Her curious nature got the better of her. With the crowd dispersing now that there was nothing to see, she pushed through and approached the docent. ``Excuse me.. but you seem to have a problem. Can I help you find your missing mummy?`` Alessa fought a slight grin at the last question, knowing that the docent wouldn't see the humor; and she was right. He was too outraged to notice the pun.

``Felix! It had to be him. He finally got us." The docent stomped his foot and bitterly grumbled and for a moment Alessa wasn't sure that was an answer or he was just thinking aloud and hadn't noticed her. ``Lord Felix is the richest man around and he has stopped at nothing in order to stop this exhibit from happening. He won't say why, and we think he wants to showcase it himself to earn more gold. The goldmonger!``

Alessa was blinking slightly, being new in town she had no idea who this guy was or what he was blathering about. ``Wait, wait, wait. Where can I find Felix? Maybe I can check the place out and report back. Then you guys can take it from there?``

``Madame, are you a tourist; or perhaps you live under a rock? Everyone knows where Felix lives! He's got the biggest house in the town; can be seen from every angle because it's right in the center of the city.`` As if to demonstrate, he took her over to the museum window and pointed to the building that rose up with roofs and towers that reminded her of a small castle and he was right; it was huge! This was going to be fun, she thought dryly.

``All right, mister. I'll check the place out.. but if I get the mummy back here, it won't be for free.`` Golden eye swiveled to give the docent a sideways glance. The docent slumped and sighed dramatically upon hearing her terms of cooperation and resigned himself to the fact. Something had to be done!

``Fine! But get it done as soon as possible, or we'll lose business!`` He agreed with a spirited disposition; was that possibly anger? Maybe, either way Alessa seemed amused and satisfied. She would get paid and have some fun at the same time. Nothing like breaking and entering to look for a kidnapped mummy to get the blood flowing.

Leaving the museum, the blonde with an eyepatch traversed the streets following the landscape where Felix's mansion towered the horizon line. Knowing this would be a very delicate situation, she waited for twilight so she could move under the cover of darkness. Always keeping a lockpick set in her gear, she crouched in the shadows until she was up to the back door leading inside and worked to pick the lock with delicate precision. Keeping an ear to the lock, she waited for that 'open sesame' click then carefully peered through the peephole making sure the coast was clear. When it was, she quietly slipped inside while pocketing her kit and took stock of the room she was in.

``Damn, this house is big.. it's gonna take forever.`` She muttered under her breath as she moved from room to room looking for any clues that may lead her to the missing mummy but so far, everything was clean. The house was dimly lit with moonlight from the windows but it appeared everyone was in bed or out. So, she relaxed a little moving through the halls. At one point, rounding a corner she nearly ran straight into one of the servants but quickly backpeddled with her back to the wall. Holding her breath until the servant had passed, she finally exhaled and moved on.

She was about to give up on finding anything of use in the mansion, until she passed one of the servants areas, finding a door that didn't look right to her. The molding was off from the rest of the room, and it looked more worn than the others. Turning her head to the left, then to the right to make sure she was alone Alessa tried to turn the knob. Locked! Why were all the important doors locked?! Once again she retrieved her lockpick kit and knelt down. She got to work, keeping her ear to the lock while feeling around with the pins until that magic click signaled she was in. ``Finally..`` She lamented and opened the door.

Alessa found a long staircase facing her rather than another room to search. Well, down she went into the inky darkness. She hated to do it but this room was so dark, she was going to have to nudge Dragonalessa to borrow the beast's infrared vision. Uncovered eye glowed golden for a moment as vision sharpened drastically, giving her a greenish night vision. ``Oh hush. This isn't the ti--`` Her grumble was cut off by the sudden grab at her throat. Hands instinctively brought to shield herself caught the arm keeping a barrier between her throat and the offender. ``What the heck?!`` Glancing down she could make out the arm which was completely covered in musty, stained bandages. Oh crap! Her mind spun a moment, and her first thought?

Her hands gripped the arm and she lurched forward, bending over to throw her attacker on his back sharply. The arm of the mummy was strong, but the body wasn't as heavy as a mortals! Alessa's saving grace, but for a moment she was coughing as the impact of the mummy hitting the floor brought a cloud of dust and ash up into her face. Regaining her composure she dropped into a fighting stance, her sword drawn. ``Come on, big boy!``She taunted, ready to slice once the mummy stood up.

``Wait!! You can't disable him that way!`` An unfamiliar male voice came from the stairway.

Alessa stopped dead in her tracks; busted! Then she glanced over her shoulder to find the male who'd spoke out. He was an aging man who didn't look like he could harm a fly, with a worried expression on his face. He didn't seem worried about her, but more for her!

``I knew this day would come.. that the museum would return to get what they lost. They certainly made it difficult to get! I had to do it though!`` He tried to explain with pleading for her to understand.

``Felix I assume? Look Felix, let's get ridda this guy first. We can talk later.`` The mummy was already coming in for a swipe as Alessa admonished the old man for distracting her from an enraged undead mummy. She dodged the swipe and swung her sword at Calix, but the old man was wailing again for her to stop that it wouldn't work. He grabbed Alessa by the arm and dragged her up the stairs and out the door, slamming it shut and locked it back before the mummy had time to give chase.

She wasn't exactly thrilled about being manhandled by this grandpa man and her expression revealed that sentiment clearly. ``You wanna tell me why we're not exterminating a live undead mummy from your house, buddy?`` Alessa's tone of voice should have told the man he better start talking or it would be him she exterminated.

Felix put up his hands in surrender and quickly explained himself. ``There's a better way.. My servant tried to put the artefact in before taking the mummy but security was too tight.. there was no time.`` Out of his jacket pocket, Felix produced a golden object that was molded to look similar to an egyptian headdress and handed it to Alessa. ``This.. this will seal the curse Calix suffers and put him to rest. Once the artefact is in place, I'll have the mummy delivered back to the museum.`` Felix had clearly learned his lesson about burglary.

Alessa took the artefact and turned it over in her hands, listening to the old man's story. One thing didn't add up in her mind so she had to ask him. ``So, why did you want Calix in the first place old man? Wouldn't the sarcophagus be worth more, and this artefact along with it?`` This appeared to be a pure gold object, worth quite a fair piece she was sure.

He shuffled a bit sheepishly, before answering. ``You're not from around here are you? My family is descended from the rulers of Carmathym, making Calix an ancestor. Calix was cursed during his reign which helped lead to his demise but the curse carried over to each generation thereafter!`` Felix paused a moment to let that sink in for Alessa. ``Which means eventually I'll be cursed, and so will my family! An alchemist offered to remove the curse for a fee and I've already paid for the job. He said I had to have the source of the curse for it to work, and it started with Calix. So you see, the mummy was of more value than the box he was in.``Felix was a mess by the time he explained the reason for his underhanded behavior. ``I'll have no fortune at this rate! That mummy chased my servant and everyone all over the house, breaking everything in his wake. The alchemist's fee was ludicrous and the gods only know how much I'll owe in fines for the kidnapping! Ohhh..`` His hands grabbed his head as worry began to overtake his good sense.

Alessa listened (because really, what else could she do?) to Felix and when he started groaning and wailing, she sighed. ``Well, I can't really help you with the alchemist or your broken stuff, buuuut.. maybe we can make a deal about Calix.`` Reaching a hand out to touch the old man's chin bringing him to meet her eye to eye, Alessa continued. ``You deliver that mummy back to the museum in one piece, and I'll see what I can do about those museum fines. But that only works IF I see the mummy back where it belongs, are we savvy?`` The question was met with a tilt of her head, tone of voice threatening trouble if those terms weren't met.

Felix nodded profusely, quickly agreeing to the deal. ``Yes, yes! It won't be soon enough if I never see Calix again. Thank you!``

With the deal sealed and the artefact stored in her pack, Alessa left the old man's house out the front door and made her way back to the Historical Museum of Carmathym to meet with the docent. She explained the situation to him and he was delighted with the missing puzzle piece, immediately taking it to the sarcophagus and fitting it in at the crown of the molding of Calix. A golden glow radiated from the piece once it was completed. After a day or so, the mummified body of Calix was indeed returned to the museum and when Alessa checked in to make sure it had indeed arrived, payment was received and the museum resumed it's Ancient Rulers of Carmathyn once more; of course Alessa attended so she could finish learning the history she had originally wanted to know in the first place!