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James Wright

Heartbroken Veteran

0 · 493 views · located in Dining Hall

a character in “The Ivory Door”, as played by Red Comet

Description

Foreman

James Edgar Wright Jr. - Heartbroken Veteran
_______________________________________________

Physical Profile Image

Age:25
Height:6'0"
Weight:185 lbs
Ethnicity:Caucasian
Physical Description:Lean, muscular build, close shaved haircut, dresses in second hand suits which have seen better days, usually smells faintly of cigarettes and alcohol

_______________________________________________

Psychological Profile

Personality: Somewhat aloof and jaded, he's dedicated to his work and especially mission accomplishment. Sometimes a tad harsh toward subordinates, occasionally flippant toward superiors. Strong sense of loyalty to his assigned group of peers, puts up a front to hide any real emotion.
Likes: Combat, weaponry, history, hard work, women, cigarettes, alcohol
Dislikes: Laziness, incompetence, civilians, delays in work, hot weather, boredom

_______________________________________________

Background

Biography: Initially intending to be a career military man, Jim joined the Marine Corps at seventeen and led a storied career in the island hopping campaign in the pacific. During a holdover in Europe, he met and fell in love with a beautiful girl, which changed his mind on the subject of how he'd spend the rest of his life. After returning to the small European town, however, he discovered that the woman was a con artist targeting military men and fleecing them of their money, and was in fact a prostitute on the side. Crushed with this revelation and now nearly penniless, he drifts around Europe looking for work and purpose.
Work History: Work with farm equipment on his father's farm until 17, Heavy equipment operator augment from the infantry in the Marine Corps from 1938-1945, odd jobs and unemployment from 1945 to present
Skills: Heavy equipment operation, leadership, combat skills, land navigation

So begins...

James Wright's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Adam Knudson Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Douglas Dailey
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A light misty rain fell on the pair of coaches as they rumbled along the narrow mountain road. The sky was cast in pinks as the sun sunk low in the sky, and a rainbow stretched across the corners of the earth. Ahead, the castle loomed, a black tower against the colorful sky. Pinpricks of light dotted the castle itself, where torches were lit in windows to ward off the gathering dark. The hardy horses the pulled the carriages snorted from time to time, but like their drivers, were silent for most of the trek. As they neared the castle, the rain had turned into a light fluffy snow, that danced on the early autumn breezes.

In one of these coaches sat the leader of the expedition, accompanied by the language expert, the anthropologist, and a man of the Catholic Church. In the other was the Engineer and his foreman, accompanied by the pair of women lucky, or unlucky, enough to have joined the expedition.

The trip was a long one, and the chill of the mountain height set in quickly, but there was little to do, save conversation....

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright
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Victoria had woken up later than expected, so by the time she dressed herself in a red form fitting cocktail dress, a pair of seamed stockings, red shoes, an a snug black coat that hit right at her knees to cover it all up - along with styling her long hair in her favorite curls - she was the last to arrive at the carriage an apologized profusely once on-board.



The ride was too quiet for her taste so she'd somewhat unconsciously began to hum a tune she remembered hearing in a jazz bar she had performed in the other week, while staring at the beautiful scenery outside the carriage window.



It was nice when one of the men finally spoke up, inquiring about just what her and the petite blonde beside her were doing on such a journey.
"Well Donald, an 'old man', it's very nice to meet you both." she'd say with a genuine smile as she shook his bare hand with one of her gloved ones before again interlacing her hands over the knee of her crossed leg. "I'm Victoria, Victoria Xu, an I'm a photographer....but I do believe the fact I'm well studied in History is why I've been lucky enough to join the rest of you here."
Victoria would chuckle a bit at her comment as she switched which of her legs was on top of the other before addressing the man she now knew as Donald.
"What exactly are you doing here though?" she inquired of him, not really considering how brazen that might sound coming from a woman.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright
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James leaned against the carriage door, peering out into the drizzle with the slight frown that had become his trademark expression of late, dark eyes focused on the middle distance. His hands rubbed over the rough and threadbare fabric of his gabardine trousers of their own accord as if he were anxious to be doing something other than sitting idly.

He had worn his best suit for the first day of work on this project, not that it was anything special. Brown gabardine trousers neatly pressed but still well worn in the knees and faded from their original chocolate color to a more mocha hue. With them was a tweed jacket which was almost large enough to accommodate his broad shoulders and long arms, the leather patch at one elbow slightly loose. A crisp linen shirt was buttoned securely to the neck and complimented by a plain black tie of cotton, a bit frayed at it's tip but hidden beneath the buttoned coat. His hair was still shorn close to the scalp in the manner he'd worn it in the Corps, but he had a day's growth of stubble which roughed the otherwise sharp line of his jaw a bit. His possessions were all secured with the rest of the luggage in a single olive drab seabag.

He came to himself as conversation started, turning his eyes to the other passengers. He added his own name as the introductions were made, but otherwise said nothing. "Jim Wright."

Considering his introduction to be enough for the moment since he hadn't really been specifically referred to, he pulled a battered back of smokes from the inside of his coat and extracted a bent but serviceable specimen, lighting it with a plain wooden match. If the cold was affecting him in any way, he chose not to show it.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright
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"Elaine Langley." She couldn't help but wrinkle her nose, but still smiled politely as she shook Donald's hand. "Archaeologist. Perhaps you've heard of my work, the Tomb of Ten Knights in Egypt was my last expedition." The comment was directed more towards Victoria, as she hardly expected the men doing the grunt work of excavating to be up to date on archaeological happenings.

Shifting about in her seat to hold back a shiver from the chill, Elaine absently adjusted her simple, tight fitting jacket and smoothed down the long, loose brown skirts she wore. At least there wouldn't be sunburn or malaria this time, she mused as she fished out a cigarette and lighter from a pocket. She gazed across the other occupants of the carriage as she puffed out a small cloud of smoke, carefully examining each one for a moment, before returning to her silent musings on the expedition at hand. There would be so much to do and Elaine very much hoped they could begin their investigations immediately, especially after such a long and dreary trip.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Adam Knudson Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Douglas Dailey
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Soon enough, the carriages came to a grumbling halt in front of the towering black structure. Throughout the stones were streaks of red, in no particular pattern, as well as the scattering of greys and white, like unpolished marble. By this time the sun had nearly finished its trek across the sky, and was well hidden behind the distant mountains, leaving the land in violet twilight. White flakes fell silently, coating the ground in a thin white veil that sparkled in the golden circle of torchlight that lit the way. Outside of the carriages the crunching of boots heralded the servants tasked with retrieving the guests and their luggage.

The butler, seeming to be in his late forties or early fifties bowed politely as the guests left their respective coaches,"The master would like you to join him in the dining room. There is a dinner waiting for you there."

With that, the man turned and stepped though the massive oak doors, which were thrown wide to make way for luggage and the cheerful-looking folks that carried it indoors. For now, everything was neatly piled at the foot of the grand staircase, while the butler headed toward the aroma of home-cooked food, bidding the group to follow him.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Adam Knudson Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Douglas Dailey
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#, as written by Gasmask
Sigurd stood up and smiled at the two women and then sent his other foreman off to help the rest of the coaches and gazed at James as he jumped down onto the grubby path. "You shouldn't smoke." Sigurd finally said as they passed into the entrance hall, then shortly after with a hush in his voice. "Women." A subpar standard at making his only useful foreman laugh, if there was anyone that deserved to talk with old man, it was him.

Castle Waechter. It sounded german to him, and that was enough to make him despise it. "Nazi architecture." Sigurd said aloud, the engineer felt the bile rise in his throat and he spat on the floor, using his foot to rub it into the planks.

'That's from my boy' Sigurd thought. The old man made a grunt to get his foreman's attention and threw his head towards the dinner hall.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Adam Knudson Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Douglas Dailey
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Victoria smiled broadly at Elaine's question, "Tomb of Ten Knights, yes! We actually covered that in the TIMES. I do beleive I was called silly for taking interest in such things, but they ate those words when you gave me and my partner something nice to write about."

She had already taken a liking to Miss. Langley and couldn't help but laugh under her breath again at the jab she just took at the men she worked with, but before much else could be said the carriages came to a stop outside of the main doors.


Following the Engineer Victoria would carefully make her way out onto the stone walkway.
She'd crinkle her nose in disgust at the word "Nazi" before pointing out her luggage to the man helping unload the carriage.
"All the red ones, those are mine, like my lipstick and half my attire. Forget diamonds, Ruby's are this girls best friend" she joked, before offering to carry one of the bags herself.




The mention of food by the butler would put a glint in her eye's and cause her stomach to rumble softly.
"Food you say? Well that sounds wonderful, I'm starving."
In reality Victoria had eaten right before they left but for her every couple of hours could be considered meal time, so with a pep in her step she'd quickly follow the others inside - dropping the bag she was carrying atop the staircase and slipping out of her coat as she approached the dinning area.

"Though it's German it's still rather lovely." she'd whisper to herself, admiring the architecture of the castle more from a historical standpoint than anything else - wondering just how old it was as she threw her coat over the back a chair and then took a seat directly beside the head of the table, again without considering how her brash actions might come off.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Adam Knudson Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Douglas Dailey
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James was just taking a long draw on the smoke as he was reprimanded, to which he responded by shrugging, his breath coming out in a milky plume of cigarette smoke and fog in the frigid air. He snubbed the smoke on his heel as the man spat on the ground, and grunted out, "Expectoration in the presence of ladies is considered rude, sir."

He followed the group into the castle, not bothering to point out his seabag. It had his name stenciled in block print on the bottom, so it wasn't like one could mistake it for someone else's. he glanced around at the architecture in passing, but as none of it looked like a modern pillbox he wasn't about to consider it nazi in nature, since they favored practicality over appearances in his experience. He listened to the conversation, adding no input of his own. He was there to work, not chat, and while dinner was appreciated it wasn't necessary at this point.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Adam Knudson Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Douglas Dailey
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Elaine smirked proudly to Victoria. "Well, I am happy to provide a valued service. If it makes you feel better, silly is likely the politest of things I have been called." The carriage soon came to a halt outside the castle, and she stepped out with the others and flicked aside her cigarette stub.

She peered up at the castle, tiling her head back to see the very tips of the buttresses. "Most impressive." She said quietly. But her reverie was interrupted as she heard Sigrud. "I daresay this fine place has outlived several Reichs." Elaine stated dryly, wrinkling her nose at She was starting to remember why she preferred when the workers couldn't speak more then a smattering of English. At least then they would keep the uneducated opinions to themselves.

Perfectly content to let the servants handle her luggage, it was only a couple simple trunks. Of course, she did not envy whoever carried the one full of her equipment up the winding staircases the castle likely contained. But then again, that was his job. Elaine had her own job, which she was impatient enough to do, but then again conditions would likely be dismal enough in the castle's underground by day, much less an even colder night. "Dinner does sound nice. I do hope the owner can tell us some of the fine castle's history."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Adam Knudson Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Douglas Dailey
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"But I must admit that from what I'd been told, I was expecting more of an experienced crew. N-n-not to say you aren't experienced or anything! I was just..." Mr. Adam had Douglas, the little center of the attention at the moment, just until it Adam had gotten to that point. Doug's smile dropped instantly, and his eyebrows got a little furrowed. Experience? What's this fool know about experience? Look at how jittery he is.. Were the thoughts keeping Douglas from getting all roweled up. Douglas sat in his seat with a huff and puff, but he knew better than to get in a fight on the first day... Thanks to Adams continuous chattering, it was.

But what once was minimal furry boiling up inside, became a joyous humor, and Douglas just couldn't stop smiling. Who did this guy think he was, insulting nearly everyone on the carriage like that? It's the bee's knees now, Douglas thought to himself, hoping the other three passengers didn't catch his grinning. But again, his smile was stolen as another interruption came up. The carriage came to a sudden hold and Douglas had to hold onto his seat. "Wow, we're here already?" He question excitedly, grabbing his book bag and quickly following the other passengers out.

"SchÃļn einfach schÃļn.." Douglas mumbled to himself, German for "Beautiful, just beautiful.." Even though now, it seemed a bit more frightening than beautiful to him. Still, he marveled at it for a few seconds, imagining how long it would take to build such a thing. But soon enough, the mention of dinner sent him back in line to the dinning room. He eagerly but kindly tried to squeezing through and around people, wanting to get a first pick of seats. He sat down near an end of the table, two seats apart from the edge. He had a big smile on his face as he placed his book bag down by his feet, and patiently waited for everyone to sit down so the feast could begin.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Adam Knudson Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Douglas Dailey
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Father Darrow hated travelling. Always had, always would. Ships, carriages, they all set him on edge. He considered it a blessing that he slept through the carriage ride up to the castle, and was only awakened when the carriage shook as the others left. He looked around, muttered a brief prayer of thanks, then took his valise and exited the carriage with the other scholars. He didn't know any of them yet, but suffice to say they seemed...interesting, at least. He wondered if any of the were Catholic themselves, or even Anglican. Anybody to help him celebrate Holy Mass. He already had a dispensation because of the extraordinary circumstances of his study, but he still felt ill at ease at potentially missing three, four, even five Masses. His hand travelled to his pocket, fondled the bundle of twine crudely knotted into a rosary.

He got his larger bag from the driver, thanked the man, and looked up at the castle. The severe lines were a sharp contrast to the Italian architecture he knew, as well as Edinburgh and the United States. He overheard some of the other passengers discussing the castle's connexion, or lack thereof, to the Nazis. He let out a short but sincere laugh on hearing a quip about the castle's age from one of the women. "Nazi or nae, it's a beautiful castle," he said, his brogue thin but present.

Dinner sounded nice. Perhaps then he could catch up on what he missed while asleep.

The setting changes from Castle Waechter to Dining Hall

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Adam Knudson Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Douglas Dailey
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The dining hall was filled with the aroma of roasted lamb, garlic potatoes, and carrots, all of which were being set out as the guests entered the room. Fine china had been set out, along with crystal glasses, and fine silverware. Servants scurried about to make sure everything was just right, some of which were only young teenagers. At the head of the table sat an elderly gentleman, who stood as his guests entered. His movements were stiff, and assisted by a cane, but he seemed in good spirits, and in fact chuckled lightly under his beard.His general demeanor was like a favorite grandfather who was overjoyed that his grandchildren were visiting. He motioned to the room in general, his German accent ever present in his precisely pronounced words,"Welcome, welcome to Waechter manor. It has been some time since we have had so many guests, so we're all very pleased that you could come. Before we get to business, please, sit, warm your bones, and tuck in." He paused, motioning toward Darrow,"Father, if you would please say grace over the meal?"

Once things were settled, the old man shuffled back to his seat,"I am Lukas Waechter, as I'm sure you've guessed, but please call me Luke. Now I'm sure you have questions, and I will answer them to the best of my memory."

At this time, servants were offering wine and other beverages, ranging from water to beer, and including a few other things, such as hot milk. Lukas himself chose to drink beer, holding his mug up in recommendation,"Its brewed right here in the village, I have to say, it is quite pleasant for cold nights."

Meanwhile, the luggage was taken up to the second floor where it would be set in the hall, but not in the rooms.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Adam Knudson Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Douglas Dailey
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Leonard's eyes widened at the site of the feast before him. The strong aroma of hot food filled his head. Though he had not felt particularly hungry before, he certainly did now. He watched as the servants scurried about the magnificent hall. He removed the cap from his head and put on a small pair of glasses, the better to look around such an opulent room. He waited in silence as Father Darrow said his piece.

Once seated as close to Waetcher as possible, he found a rather large stein of beer before him. He took a grateful swig. It was dark and hoppy, and it warmed Leonard pleasantly. Deciding that he approved heartily of the drink, Leonard continued to sip deeply.

"It's a great pleasure to meet you, Luke," began Leonard. "My name is Leonard. Leonard Dreiberg. I'm the head researcher of this little expedition." He extended a large hand to the old man. "Your home is beautiful, and I thank you for accepting us all here. I believe we have much to discuss. For one, we were told you've discovered something curious here."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Adam Knudson Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Douglas Dailey
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James took stock of the room as he entered, glancing over the feast only briefly before examining their host. He nodded at the venerable man's introduction, but didn't offer his name. He chose to remain silent and allow his superior to choose to or not to introduce the foreman pair at his leisure, giving the illusion of more control over them and thus the sense of deference. He fully expected the other foreman to speak on his own despite the customary propriety involved in an employee-employer relationship, but he wasn't in charge of that man's tongue and as such wouldn't be the one to quiet it's waging.

His eyes strayed from the people to the room itself, noting the construction, egress routes, lighting, and other small details. His time in the trenches had marked him some, and though most might not notice it he always new the quickest way to cover, the quickest way to exit, the quickest way to any weapons which might be at hand. It wasn't anything overt, just a stiffness in his stance, the focus of his eyes. Once his inspection of the room was complete however, he relaxed and resumed looking over the food.

He specifically chose a seat nearest the door, but before he himself sat he was certain to pull the chairs for each lady, allowing them to be seated first. Once they were done, everyone of a greater age than himself should be allowed to sit, and as such he manufactured an excuse to speak briefly with the servant who had the beer, making a few inquiries as to it's manufacture. He realized his behavior was likely to be odd, but the rules of etiquette had been hard-wired into him, and he couldn't bring himself to break them. He took his seat, and accepted the offer of beer from a servant, having developed a taste for the more exotic brews favored in locations where the draft had no need of mass production.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Adam Knudson Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Douglas Dailey
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Elaine continued along after the group, her head moving about constantly as she admired the castle's interior. I could spend a bloody week going through the castle itself. She could only hope there would be time for such pursuits in between the excavation work.

As she filed in after the others, Elaine nodded politely to Lukas while he introduced himself. "You have a truly magnificent home, Herr Waechter. Perhaps you could tell us a bit of it's history?" She said as she smiled politely to him. She then took a seat beside Leonard, giving James a coy wink as he came to pull her seat for her. "Always good to have a gentleman around."

Sitting down, Elaine she leaned over to whisper to Leonard. "Do ensure our host will allow us to begin the excavation at first light. We have much to do." She smirked widely at him. Glancing over to one of the servants, she asked for a hot milk and settled into her seat. Elaine had little patience for the polite conversation that was to follow, but she would tolerate it so long as it ensured her opportunity to work in such a fine site. Certainly better then traveling halfway across the world to crawl about in muck, as she often had before.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Adam Knudson Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Douglas Dailey
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#, as written by Gasmask
Sigurd refused what was offered, he had some travel food to finish later on tonight. Instead, the swede opted to take out his flask and pour it into a nearby empty glass, the clear alcohol welling up in the glass and took a sip, craning his neck from side to side as it went down.

The mechanic settled into a seat next to his foreman. "Got to setup around midnight, get the machines up and running for the rest of them. Don't drink too much."

The setting changes from Dining Hall to Castle Waechter

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Father Darrow Character Portrait: Dr. Leonard "Twitch" Dreiberg
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Victoria would request a heavy Ale before crossing her legs and resting her elbows on the the table, but when a second server placed her plate down in front of her she'd remove her elbows from the table and thank the man, before promptly digging in - having to stop abruptly seconds into her meal when Prayer was mentioned.

If you were to catch glimpses of her as she ate she'd appear to be eating rather normally and proper, but if you made a point to stare you'd notice that though proper she was eating at a rather fast pace. However she'd catch herself after several bites and make a point to not only slow down but take intermittent sips of her beer.


Suddenly the silence that had fallen around her after prayer was said would be broken.
"It's a great pleasure to meet you, Luke, my name is Leonard. Leonard Dreiberg. I'm the head researcher of this little expedition."
Leonard would stop long enough to extended his hand out to the old man. "Your home is beautiful, and I thank you for accepting us all here. I believe we have much to discuss. For one, we were told you've discovered something curious here?"

Swallowing the last bit of her steak Victoria would dab her lips gently, as to not remove much of her lipstick, before speaking up herself.
"Indeed it's a pleasure to meet you sir an I too thank you for the generous invitation. I'm Victoria Xu, from the TIMES, I do hope this discovery of yours is well worth the hype...to say my interest has been peaked would be such an understatement."

The setting changes from Castle Waechter to Dining Hall

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Adam Knudson Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Douglas Dailey
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None of the servants seemed to know much English, though the young woman that James spoke to did her best, giving a bit of a girlish giggle, possibly due to dealing with a handsome young man. She quickly retreated however, only to chatter with another girl in the kitchen in excited German, the gist of which was considering the eligibility of the young men that had come on the expedition.

The elderly man shook doctor Drieburg's hand with a firm grip, though the professor would be able to feel every brittle bone in Lukas's hand,"Thank you, thank you, my family has lived here for quite a while, though I couldn't say how long...I believe there are some records in the library, however." He sat back down heavily with a soft 'whumph' of breath and nodded ever so slightly toward Elaine and Victoria, though he didn't seem quite so concerned with the women. He took a small sip of his beer before continuing,"We believe we found one of the old mines by mistake. You see, my grandson wanted to expand the pantry, so when they removed a few of the stones, the whole floor collapsed. No one was harmed, Gott sei dank." He paused for a moment seeming to try and remember what he was talking about,"Ah, ja, the mine. There is a door down there, though it seems that none of my staff wants to speak about it so much. You may ask them yourselves, but I have not seen this door."

He took a long draw from his mug, considering this information for himself, again seeming to forget what he was talking about,"My family has lived here for a very long time. I was even born within these walls. They built it here on top of the iron mines that used to be all over this mountain. Most of the mines are closed up now, not much need for swords and armor, you see. There were rumors that there was gold and silver here too, but again, no one mines much anymore, so its probably just stories. When I was younger my brother and I would always go sneaking in those mines but we never found much....Did I tell you about the hot springs we have here? They're quite refreshing, the water I mean. Though a bit smelly, like bad eggs."

Lukas started off on a ramble about his childhood again, but it was little more than reminiscing and held little more importance than to go on about all the mines that dotted the mountainside.

The setting changes from Dining Hall to Castle Waechter

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Adam Knudson Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Douglas Dailey
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Adam walked back into the room in the middle of everyone eating and talking, well after Lukas had finished speaking. "Sorry, everyone. Sorry, I just kind of got, well, sidetracked." Sitting, he turned to the head of the table and addressed specifically their host. "You have a wonderful library. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to learn the language, but I would love to look more at the library later, possibly with you, since it is yours and I'm sure you have some good books you could recommend. I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrupt anything all of you are talking about." He removed his jacket and lay it on the floor with the book on top. He looked around the table and saw Victoria.

"You know, I've been studying under Dr. Hooton back at Harvard on his studies into Physical Anthropology. He believes that the culture and advancement of a people is partially genetic and depends on race just as much as it does where they are or how they're raised. That's part of why they think..." He paused and remembered his dumb mouth. "Not, of course, that I agree with everything he says or thinks. I mean, science is forever, excuse the terminology, evolving."

The setting changes from Castle Waechter to Dining Hall

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Elaine Langley Character Portrait: Victoria Xu Character Portrait: Adam Knudson Character Portrait: Sigurd Vittring Character Portrait: James Wright Character Portrait: Douglas Dailey
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James sat mostly in silence for the meal, listening to the old man ramble on and taking note of some of what he was saying. Once he'd reached a lull in his story, James spoke up for the first time since the carriage ride up, addressing Luke.

"So what exactly is this project we're all up here to work on. I've been told something about a door or some such, and possibly a crypt. Excavation of a sort, in any sense, and compared to Tutankhamen's tomb. You've assembled a fine if eclectic group for the task, Mister Waechter, if I do say so myself."

He'd been hired on for his experience, mostly, and hadn't heard much more about the task at hand than what he'd been able to glean from the conversation on the way in, which didn't much suit him. He preferred to know everything about the job he was doing in detail, preferably with numbers and facts, measurements and maps, and as few vague areas as possible.

"Perhaps you could describe the cave-in site and the door itself to us so we know what to expect?"