Ch2-14 Coffee table discussions

A chance occurrence in London's Heathrow Airport leads to a desperate search to find answers to terrible lost knowledge.

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Ch2-14 Coffee table discussions

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Three days later Westerlund invites everyone to his home in Cheltenham a fair drive from the niversity at Brichester, but as Westerlund points out, its far enough away he doesn't have to worry about bumping into students. Over a cup of coffee Westerlund hands over copies of his report.
[b]The book[/b] Stored within a small thinking:   unadorned stoneware box itself placed within a well-made velvet lined wooden box: A codex with four pages of what appears to be solid gold sheets - The book measures 8 centimetres in length and 4.5 centimetres in width. It is bound together by gold wire. Each plate is covered in what appears to be text of some kind. Although the characters are indecipherable at the centre of each page is a single image: they are a horse, a boat, the sun and a knife or possibly a sword. Know roll – the gold is of high quality workmanship (it is only 3mm thick) . The gold is of an exceptional purity (just under 24 karat) the whole implying a highly developed metallurgical ability. There's a marked similarity between the script in the book and the as yet un-deciphered 'hieroglyphic' script, Linear A, although the script seems more developed. Noble Gas Analysis of the gold dates the book to around 11,000 BC years old, which pre-dates any similar book by at least 10,000 years and any previously recorded gold artefacts by 5500 years. [b]The Golden Femur[/b] Wrapped within a velvet cloth and sealed within a hard leather map case: 20 inches in length the two ends of a human femur have been carefully covered and capped the whole thing has an embossed design of a naked male with upraised arms the head however is that of a the sun or more likely a star, the whole thing is covered in flat, thin sheets of gold (2mm thick) which have been carefully beaten around the bone. Analysis of the bone indicates it is that of a human male or of a tall woman. Noble Gas analysis of the gold and/or Carbon dating on the bone will indicate the artefacts age as between 9-10,000 years. There is a hand written note on the paper here in Westerlunds handwriting says reminder: show them the special!!! [b]The Coin necklace[/b] Stored in a blue velvet lined box, the necklace consists of 18 ancient coins hanging on a heavy gold 9" chain. The coins have all been crudely struck on fragments of other coins. Noble gas analysis indicates the gold in the coins to be 12-15,000 years old, although the gold in the chain is around 3000 years old. Designs on the coins themselves is unrecognisable The oldest known coins date from 900 BC, whereas the age of the gold would seem to imply these are considerably older examples. While the gold can be dated, the coins cannot. [b]The faded ceramics[/b] Wrapped in a yellowed copy of the Times dated 12th October 1913 are three large pieces of ceramic. Two bear heavily worked painted decorations incorporating equine motifs. The third, larger, piece was also decorated, but has been defaced: At some point in time someone has scratched the same pattern of symbols into the pottery over and over again. The equine motifs are unique and cannot be matched to any known culture. Although they bear a striking resemblance to Palaeolithic cave paintings, they are far more refined. There are several stylistic connections to cave paintings such as those in Lascaux, The design of the ceramics itself is more in keeping with the Hellenistic style, which should date them as being from around 323 BC to 146 BC, but the fired glazing would date it much, much later Thermoluminesence dating of the ceramics confirmed with radiocarbon dating of organic material found in the clay indicates they are around 10,000 years old. There is a marked similarity between the symbols on the ceramics and those symbols in the Gold book.  
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Westerlund waites until everyone has finished reading. Under normal circumstances I'd say these were all very expensive and well made hoaxes. But I never knew Adrian to misrepresent his work, or to present it in the most honest manner possible, even when even a little bit of exaggeration would have carried his case. I have to ask, do you believe these artefacts might have been related to his death?
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Re: Ch2-14 Coffee table discussions

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"That's what we believe," says Liz. "His killers might have wanted to keep his monumental discovery quiet. I can't think of any other reason that makes any sense. These finds could change everything! So, what's the special?"
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Re: Ch2-14 Coffee table discussions

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As Liz says, we can't be sure of the motive but it certainly seems that the artefacts and his death are related. You can understand why we are wary about them. If someone or someones are prepared to kill for them or what they may reveal then we, as their current guardians need to be cautious. he pauses a while So, what is the special that must be shown?
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Re: Ch2-14 Coffee table discussions

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This can't be true
Jacob says
The sumerians, akkadians and Israelis were among the first recorded civilization in the cradle of Mesopotamia. These artifacts are dated thousands of years before.
how can it be and what is the special you wanted to let us see in the femur ?
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Re: Ch2-14 Coffee table discussions

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"Right yes" says Wersterlund. "So as you can imagine I apart from having the tests conducted on these items I took time examining the artefacts myself in not inconsiderable detail I might add" Westerlund walks from the room talking as we does so "Do you know anything about what happened in Adrian life, prior to the horrible events on Brichester high street?" Westerlund returns with a small canvas shopping bag he places besides his chair. "Would someone like to pick up the sceptre and hold it firmly in both hands?"
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Re: Ch2-14 Coffee table discussions

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I'm not going to go batshit crazy and start spouting some proto-language if I hold that am I? Albert grins sheepishly and points at the sceptre. He leans forwards to grab the sceptre, pausing just before he does so and looks quizzically at his colleagues, looking for confirmation or an indication that he should pick it up.
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Re: Ch2-14 Coffee table discussions

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"I'll do it if you don't want to," Liz pipes up. "I'm already nuts!" She nods to Westerlund. "We know about the mysterious fire at Westerlund's home that happened before he was killed, and a few other details about his life."
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Re: Ch2-14 Coffee table discussions

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I don't believe its actively dangerous no...although I may have found the source of the fire0 He lifts a small kitchen fire extinguisher from the bag. says Westerlund. "Although to be honest, I can't guarantee it....Anyway, hold the sceptre and read this." He hands Albert a piece of note paper on which he's scrawled a single sentence. "OK so when I was examining this I had it under a microscope, and it looks as though at some time the sceptre itself had writing on it, over time and use the writing was ...for want of a better explanation smoothed out, gold is a soft metal after all. Anyway it turns out its its some kind of poem. It may also be akin to a key a bit like the Rosetta stone In as much as someone at some time has inscribed what looks to be a Greek translation over the top. Anyway, there is some kind of benediction or prayer at the end which I've transcribed onto this paper.

On the piece of paper is written: ph'nglui mglw'nafh Verbti Fomalhaut n'gha-ghaa naf'lthagn
OOC:   if you want to try and read the prayer then you'll need a POW roll as you struggle to read the strange words.  
Transcription,He hangs motionless in black, forbidding sky in the deeps oh gleaming orb which floats before this dreamers vision . Fearsome dark are the marks upon thy dull/dread/fearsome face/surace marked by columns of spinning flame arced uponn thine rim.... [indecipherable] the titan sunspots drift slowly across thine face, you roar your insatiable anger against the chains of the Ancient/Elder/Old Gods which had bound you there for an eternity.... Oh great Verbti we shall free you.
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Re: Ch2-14 Coffee table discussions

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It's alright Liz, I'll do the honours this time

Albert picks up the sceptre and starts to read the inscription from the piece of paper, a look of mild-apprehension across his face.
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Re: Ch2-14 Coffee table discussions

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There is a woosh of warm air as a small fire starts burning in the centre of the kitchen table.

And voila says Westerlund, aiming the small CO[sub]2[/sub] extinguisher and giving the flames a couple of bursts to put it out. Actually, not as big as the one I started in the lab, for which I suppose we should be thankful.
Albert,Feels drained as though he's just stepped out of the sauna.
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Whoa, Holy smoke batman! Albert exlaims

So what, you're telling me I just did that?
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As far as I can tell yes. says Westerlund.
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Liz stares wide-eyed. "Oh my giddy aunt!" she says. "Wow! Well, that would explain the fire at Gosshamm's." And other things, she thinks, like maybe those living flames they sent at us. "He must have figured out the same thing you did. But how does it work? Scientifically, I mean."
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Westerlund looks at Liz for a moment then bursts out laughing. I have no bloody idea he says. I reckon we'd need a physicist and or a chemist to tell us that.
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"I don't know if even they could," says Liz. "I've studied physics, and it's got me baffled. How can speaking the words possibly cause that? I mean, I suppose a voice-activated microwave device could do it, but this thing is thousands of years old and doesn't contain any electronics. If it had, i'm sure the report would have said so."
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Re: Ch2-14 Coffee table discussions

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Clay took about 2 seconds to look at the report and toss it down, no way he was going to read all that. Then after the fire display with the scepter.
"Holy crap. What kind of voodoo bullshit is this?"
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I have no idea says Westerlund. "The first time it happened I was struggling to read the inscription when woosh all my desk papers burst into flames, the second time I was actively trying to repeat the process I found it a lot easier but the fire was a lot easier. Both times I found the effort quite tiring, although not much effort is required to create the fire, beyond concentrating on the sceptre and reading the words"
Magical Hand Wavium - read if you wish to see behind the veil,The sceptre creates fires of variable size depending on how many MP's (MAX 4pts) are put into casting the spell. The sceptre must be held and the words read out. The fire appears where the caster is looking.
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Adonai Ishmor!! Mysterious are the paths of god ...
Jacob backs away from the sceptre, trying to find a reasonable explanation as he asks Westerlund
Could be a burst of an unseen gas from the sceptre ?
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"Microwaves, particle accelerators, whatever. As I've said, I honestly have no idea, As Arthur C Clarke said "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" says Westerlund Although who knows how. Look the most interesting thing about this is if the Greek is a translation of the script which its overwritten we might actually have our own Rossetta stone to start a translation of the codex He gestures at the golden book.
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Re: Ch2-14 Coffee table discussions

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"Oh, yes, it would be good to translate that," says Liz, "as long as we can examine the shards safely. It's a bit odd to make a book out of nearly pure gold, but not near as odd as that fire-making sceptre. Of course, it is a short book with only four pages. I'd hate to see the price tag if they wrote a novel!" She looks over at Jacob. "Do you know Greek?"
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