[IC]Prologue 0.1: The Beginning - Lima, March 1921

[kabukiman]

"Usually the idea is to empty a temple of gold not the the reverse. And I still have doubts about that immortal flesh eater, but you can count with me".- says Anderson.

[Raiko]

Nemesio Sánchez hasn't personally seen that particular golden artefact before, but it is certainly the item referred to in Trinidad's notebook. It is clearly a broken section from a larger piece, and the markings are not Incan, nor the alphabet of any other South American civilisation that Nemesio has studied.

Some of the markings however, do resemble those of inscriptions at the Pre-Columbian ruins discovered at the Tiwanaku site in western Bolivia to the east of Lake Titicaca; and those ruins are at least three thousand years old. However the inhabitants of Tiwanaku had no known written language, and all inscriptions found at the Tiwanaku site are believed to have astronomical or astrological meaning.

If the mysterious pyramid that Augustus Larkin seeks was found to contain inscriptions made in a written language by the people of Tiwanaku, then its discovery would represent a significant milestone in the history of American archaeology.

"Okay, " says Jackson, "Do we visit Larkin now, or wait until tomorrow?"

[HelplessBystander]

"I reckon we wait until tomorrow, I'm sure we all need our beauy sleep." John said, yawning slightly.

[jp1885]

Cynthia, still weak from blood loss, begins to snore.

[Anatomist]

Dr. Sánchez sees Cynthia fall asleep and thinks he need to be ready to leave Lima at a moments notice. "Ill be back soon" he says to the rom "I'll go home and pack so i can be ready to leave on a moments notice"
Dr. Sánchez goes home and packs his field backpack, cleans his rifle and pistol, getts some rations and returns to the Hotel Maury.

[Mr. Handy]

"At least some of us should go to Larkin's hotel room now," says Amy. "If we wait, he could be dead or gone by the time we get there. He might be already, for that matter, but the sooner we go, the better."

[Silver Priest]

"Precisely, Amy." Marcus says. "If De Mendoza is working for him he'll want to report on what happened; and if he's not working for him he'll probably want to silence him. I don't think we can wait until tomorrow. Mind I don't think we all need to go; that's likely to attract attention. A small group would likely work best.

"In any case, I'm willing to go. I have a bit of experience with getting people to talk. It's not something I'm proud of or enjoy doing, but it sounds like right now we need that particular set of skills."

[Anatomist]

Dr. Sánchez return to the Hotel, dumps his backapck and rifle behind the door, adjust his pistol in his shoulder holster and puts on his jacket.
Seeing that Amy, and Marcus Ambler look like caged animals he asks "you guys want to go and pay Larkin a visit? Maybe we should wake your friend John over there Marcus? I recon the 4 uf us might get the job done quickly, im in"

OOC,Antoine D’Estaing - Professor in Linguistics from Paris, France - played by Mallet and Michael Anderson - Archaeologist - played by kabukiman. Might just jump in if they see our posting Raiko?

[Raiko]

"Five," says Jackson.

[Mr. Handy]

"Then let's go," says Amy. "I won't be much use in a fight, but I might also be able to get Mr. Larkin to talk, if we find him alive there, though my way of doing it is different from yours, Mr. Ambler. I think we should try my way first, and if that doesn't work, then we can consider your way."

[Raiko]

"Okay, let's get going."

Jackson holsters his revolver and opens the door.

[Silver Priest]

"I'm Mr. Smith's bodyguard, so I'd rather he not go out with us. Could be dangerous." Marcus states. He'd not press the matter if his employer felt differently, but he wasn't about to recommend it either.

He offers a genuine smile in response to Amy, a rare concession from him. "Rest assured Ms.Lawrence, I'd rather do things your way as well. Hopefully it works out.."

[HelplessBystander]

“Well, I suppose I’ll go with. It does sound terribly exciting.” John said in excitement.

OOC:   Apologies. I got confused whether it was nighttime or not.

[kabukiman]

"Well, with a group of 5, I think we are covered. By the way, if We indeed find that Mendoza again, any suggestion of how to stop him returning?"

[Anatomist]

"Well, with a group of 5, I think we are covered. By the way, if We indeed find that Mendoza again, any suggestion of how to stop him returning?"

Dr. Sánchez follows the others in direction Hotel España.

[Raiko]

Hotel Maury - Lima, Peru
4:10pm - Saturday 19th March, 1921

"Well he was definitely dead when I last saw him," says Jackson as he leaves the room, "So if I encounter Luis de Mendoza again, I'm planning to burn his body after we've finished shooting him."

Hotel España - Photo by David Almeida

Hotel España - Lima, Peru
4:20pm - Saturday 19th March, 1921

Investigators Present: Amy, Marcus, John, Nemesio, Anderson. NPC: Jackson Elias

If only takes about ten minutes to walk through the bustling city centre from the Maury to Hotel España.

In contrast to the quite grand Hotel Maury, where Augustus Larkin has booked the investigators and Jackson Elias, the España is a more modest affair. Located near to the corner of a busy shopping street in the heart of the historic Lima District, it is a small establishment with three floors. Like many buildings in Lima, its brickwork is painted bright yellow, while the rooms of the second floor are timber fronted and overhang the entrance. The building is adorned with well-maintained flowerbeds and shrubs, especially the third floor balconies.

Nothing appears to be immediately suspicious as the investigators glance around the busy streets outside.

[Zero]

Atauchi decided to remain behind in the room while the young woman slept. While the chances of another attack on Ms. Vallier were arguably remote, the Quechua man was loathe to leave her completely unattended. He quickly retrieved his belongings from his own room just down the hall, and then took position inside as a guard over the student while the others confronted Augustus Larkin.

[Raiko]

OOC:   Anyone who is not at the Hotel España should feel free to read along. I'll probably use split threads if you separate during the main adventure, but won't be doing during the prologue. I'm hoping that it won't take too long to complete this bit, but that could still mean it takes a week of play by post.

[Anatomist]

Buttoning his jacket Dr. Nemesio Sánchez adresses the manbehind the front desk, knowing his local status would help in comunicating "Hola caballero, mucho gusto, soy Dr.Sánchez de la Universidad San Marcos, estoy aqui en busca de un expedicionario llamado Larkin, un aventurero estado unidense, me podrias anunciar porfavor, en que habitacion se esta quedando?"


Translation

failed Fast talk 70%,[dice]0[/dice]

[Raiko]

Hotel España - Lima, Peru
4:20pm - Saturday 19th March, 1921

Investigators Present: Amy, Marcus, John, Nemesio. Anderson. NPC: Jackson Elias

Inside the España, there is no reception desk, although a small, white-haired woman in a woollen shawl sits in the foyer and greets visitors. The interior of the hotel is decorated in an eccentric manner, with its walls painted in bright primary colours and covered with paintings and photographs. The common areas are filled with an eclectic selection of statues, plants, and artworks.

The lady in unmoved by Dr. Sánchez's words and replies in Spanish, ##Hello Doctor Sánchez I am Petronila Cupitina, welcome to the Hotel España! I am sorry, Senior Larkin is not well and has asked not to be disturbed today. I have several rooms available though, if you would like to stay?##

OOC:   I'm fine with anyone using Google translate for their posts. My own language skills are very poor though, so I'll stick to writing in English as I have no way to tell whether Google's done a good job.