The Expedition Begins, Pearl & Topaz Necromancers, Archaeology

[Styx]

At last, the mystery of the Chimerate Empire was to be unveiled (if only by a little) through the Amestrian Necromancy League...or at least by two of its members. Soleil Sirenus had introduced Strife Renwald, the Topaz Necromancer, to Emily "Circe" Aeolia, the Pearl Necromancer, earlier in January, and let it out that Circe was planning on going on an archaeological dig with some folks from New Hiesgart out to the Xerxes Desert to find out more on the Chimerates. Since Strife had an interest in Chimerate history, the librarian honestly couldn't turn him down for wanting to help with this.

"You're going to be taking care of my house while I'm off in the desert, I hope," Circe said seriously as she packed her things, almost ready to get on the bus. She'd be with some of the greatest historians, Alchemists, and archaeologists in Amestris momentarily, as would Strife, but Circe owned a small house here in Rush Valley...and since her son, ex-husband, and brother weren't in town for the next couple of weeks, that only left her closest (but otherwise homeless) friend to "man the fort" while she was out, and Yoki wasn't exactly the most loyal of fellows. "If I come back and find anything missing, I'm kicking you out for good."

Yoki giggled nervously at that, twisting his mustache a little in frustration. "Come now, Emily; I'm not stupid. There isn't anywhere else I can go except your house; why would I ruin a good thing?" He smiled in the manner of a Cheshire cat after that, beaming at his best. "Your house is safe with me."

'I seriously hope so,' the Pearl Necromancer thought to herself as she left the Garnet Necromancer to take care of things in Rush Valley...that bus was calling for her.

[Cocytus]

Strife was standing at the entrance to a bus what was almost filled to the rim with books, and most of them were his."I hate to sound motherly, but you should make sure you don't have to use the bathroom. We're not stopping until we hit Ishbal to head south." Strife said." Oh, by the way. Allow me to introduce the famous Prof. Wilhelm Eilstein, who inwhich I recieved a Philosepher's Catalyst feather from, and his daughter Armony." Strife said as a man in his late forties and a girl in early teens walked out.

Wilhelm was much older, and wore a tan tunic over a red outfit. His blue eyes were visible through his gray bangs of his long hair. Armony was much younger and free spirited. Her red hair was short, and her ran jacket matched her father's." It is a pleasure, Ms. Circe." Wilelm said as he slightly bowed. Armony followed her father's movements, and then cocked her head up and gave a quirky smile." Nice to meet you!" She said.

"We have two more guests who came along." Strife said. Then a woman who looked like she could peel paint off a wall came out followed by a man with prurple hair, and had a smile on." This is Greta." Wilhelm said." She is my assisstant." "Pleasure to make your aquantince, Ms. Circe." Greta said." This is my young prodigy, Ovid. He is highly intelligent, and an excellent alchemist who can help with the excavation and planning." Ovid bowed slightly." Pleasure is all mine, Ms. Circe."

[Styx]

"Please, Circe's just my nickname," Circe insisted, smiling at the group as best she could. Her voice still held a very heavy Aerugan accent, even after living in Amestris for nearly fourteen years. Those violet eyes of hers looked toward Armony for a moment as she shook the girl's hand. "My son, Miguel, is about your age; it's very nice to meet you, too." Unlike the majority of the people in the Amestrian Necromancy League, there was nothing refined or elegant about Emily "Circe" Aeolia; the Pearl Necromancer was the child of adventurers and had become one herself, quite the wild woman.

Her attention went for a moment toward Strife, giving him a friendly wave, then hopped onto the vehicle. That Greta woman over there didn't seem the chummy sort, so Circe tried to ignore her. Ovid, however, looked nice enough, as did Wilheim. "Unless my spirit guide failed me in my ouija board session last night, I'll be able to guide us to the site without any difficulties," she said, putting on her sunglasses. By no means was she a beauty, but she was far from a hag. This was what made her pulse quicken, and here she was among fellow scholars.

[Cocytus]

"Bingo Bus is leaving!" Strife called out as that group got back on. Armony giggled at it, Wilhelm smiled, and Greta still looked like she could make paint peel. Strife sat in the back on a nailed down desk with a lamp as he began checking through his books. Greta and Wilhelm took a seat at a table, and Armony stared out the window.

Unlike most buses, this one was probably more placeable as an old RV. It was as long as a bus, but was almost the same double size as one someone would see in London. The steps that lead from the door went up to a one level terrace where the driver's seat was, and then going to the left, it would go up a pair of stairs to the second level. On the left was the small couch/chairs and a nailed down table. On the right were seats, like the one Armony was sitting in looking out the window on her knees. Farther in the back was a small cooler, which Ovid took the time to pack drinks(wine included as well as juice), sandwiches, and anything else for the road trip. Farther back was the desk the Strife sat at. All of his books which pilled to half of the size of the bus and were in four piles stood to his left. All the way in the back was a map room where they could plan the dig out, which was where Ovid was as he started charting the area while Strife yelled out coardinites as to where some things may be found. Hooked to the very back of the bus was a large wagon filled with all of their equipment. The whole thing was thanks to Wilhelm's great enthusiasm and deep pockets.

[Styx]

Circe walked around the bus a bit, then tapped Strife on the shoulder after nabbing a ham sandwich. "Hey, you," she said in a slightly teasing maternal voice. After all, she was at least twenty years the kid's elder, and therefore old enough to be his mother. "I hate to tell you this, but I couldn't get talk the Garnet Necromancer into going on the expedition with us to conjure up spirits and what-not. He's housesitting for me." For a moment, she paused to re-evaluate the situation; was that honestly a good idea? 'He's a grown man; surely he knows the meaning of responsibility by now!'

~~~

Meanwhile, in Rush Valley, Yoki had managed to find Circe's secret money stash (the "Girls' Night Out" jar under the kitchen sink) and purchased himself a really nice (and outrageously expensive) bottle of champagne; God knows it was better than that sour apple schnapps stuff Circe kept buying. He cranked up the radio, listened to a recording of tonight's opera in Central (Don Giovanni), and started downing the booze...having a one-man party.

~~~

"This'll be fun, though; I brought my camera so we could keep a visual log of how far we get in the expedition!" Circe definitely felt energized by this trip, even if she was already getting a little car-sick. "Say...guys? Does anyone have something to prevent nausea? I'm getting a little queasy..."

[Cocytus]

"Hold on." Came Ovid's voice from the back. He came walking out with a large back pack, and slowly unzipped it. Inside were jars and bottles, and only God knows whayt else. He looked through them, and grabbed three bottles. He placed them on the table no one was sitting at, and took a very specific amount from each bottle. He took out a small circle on a piece of paper, and clapped his hands. His hands stayed above the items, and then in a magnificent explosio of color, the ingredients were fused together into a pill. He took it up, and handed it to Circe." This should cure any nausea you have." He said as he put all of the bottled back in the backpack, and set off to return it to the back.

Wilhelm looked at Circe." Ovid used to be a State Alchemist called the 'Pitch Black Alchemist'. Although his main suite is with darkness alchemy, his is very well rounded in everything. That's why I asked him to come." He said as he turned back around, and continued the conversation with Greta.

[Styx]

"My, you're quite the man to have around, aren't you?" Circe said to Ovid, chuckling as she swallowed the pill sans liquid. "I wish I could say the same for my ex; he's nothing but a two-timing fruitcake." Yeah, and that "two-timing fruitcake" currently had custody of Miguel; she only got to see her son on the weekends and whenever he stopped by the library...that royally pissed her off. 'I could've been a good mother if it weren't for that bastard,' she thought angrily as she scrounged around in the cooler. 'Oh my God; how did they know I loved this stuff?!' she thought. There it was...schnapps!

[Cocytus]

Strife peeked over Circe's shoulder from the desk to see her hovering over some of the schnapps."I told Ovid that you liked schnapps when he was paking. Also, it seems Wilhelm has the nack for the stuff. Sorry, but I still say that Red wine is better, but that's just me." Strife said ending with a smile." I second your opinion, Mr. Renwald." Ovid said as he came out of the map room." I told you, Ovid. Please, call me Strife." Strife said.

[Styx]

'Now, this is what I call service!' the Aerugo-born woman thought to herself as she unscrewed the top on her bottle with her strong tan hands. "Thanks for packing my favorite kind of booze, man," she told Ovid in that casual tone of hers. "I really owe ya one." She then turned toward Strife and tapped him on the shoulder. "Also, I've got a little question for you." She leaned in a bit and started to chuckle. "Aren't you a bit young for alcohol?"

[Cocytus]

"People constantly tell me that, and technically I am. However, I seem to be immune to Red Wine's alchol. It never makes me drunk, and since I often try to keep a mature exterior, no one ever knows that I am too young. The only way for them to know is if they actually looked at my birth record, which doesn't exist at all." Strife said. He looked over to check on everyone really quick. Armony had fallen asleep, and he red hair starting to cover her eyes. Wilhelm had began to read one of Strife's books, and Greta was now driving as the driver was taking a nap where Greta was once sitting across from Eislstein.

[Styx]

"Well, just don't get caught by somebody who'll actually get on to you for being an underage drinker, alright? It'd suck to see a licensed Necromancer get arrested for something that petty," Circe commented, patting Strife on the shoulder. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll see what's up with that surly broad and chat with you again in a bit, okay?" She just wanted to get to know the whole crew before they made it to their destination. Sitting next to Greta in the front, Circe gave off a slightly tipsy grin. "You sure you know how to drive a land yacht like this?"

[Cocytus]

Greta kept her eyes ahead, and did not say anything for a moment." I have been around since the creation of these mechanical monstrosities. I can handle myself quite well, thank you." Greta said. Her voice was slightly in a bark more than a 'how-do-you-do' kind of way. That was just the way Greta was. Especially since she hated every single person on this bus. Especially Armony, but for very elusive reasons that were unknown to everyone else. Everyone else didn't even know she hated them.

[Styx]

"Okay, then..." Circe said, getting quite comfortable in the shotgun seat. She was a little tired, seeing as the sun was already down, and this place seemed so quiet in comparison to some of the other parts of the vehicle. She pulled her backpack off her shoulders and decided to use it as a pillow. 'Maybe I'll get to know more than just the Renwald kid by the time we get to Xerxes,' she thought, taking one long yawn before she dozed off, finding herself in yet another crazy dream of hers. 'Yoki, you jerk; if I find anything missing in my house, you're going to be homeless again,' was her last thought before meeting her fantasy guy in her dream world.

[Cocytus]

The rest of the night went on without anything interesting. Everyone(excluding Armony) was either reading or sleeping. Armony was just watching out the window, and not listening to her father's rambling on about her getting sleep. Greta stayed at the wheel for much of the night, and about 5, the regular driver took over while she slept.

As the sun slowly tipped up over the horizon, both Strife and Ovid were yawning. They had not gotten a wink of sleep at all. Strife was too indoused with his books, and Ovid..... Well, Ovid was pretty much talking to himself while he looked at the maps. Armony started to wake up, and Strife saw her stand up." Armony, you mind waking everyone up?" He asked." Nope. I'm on it, Strife!" She said chirperly, and went on her task to wake everyone up. Starting with her father, then Greta, and then she walked over to Circe. She poked her in the shoulder." Circe, wake up please." She said softly.

[Styx]

Circe had been in the middle of a very wonderful dream; sexy men clad only in the uniform black speedo were giving her all sorts of massages with therapeutic oils by the Aerugan coast. God, it was nice...but it was just a dream, as she soon came to realize yet again. "Antonio, I--huh?" she woke up after getting tapped by a certain little redhead a couple of times, then gave Armony a smile. "Sorry about that," she apologized, brushing herself off. "Maybe I should head to the lavatory and start brushing my teeth; God knows nobody wants to smell dragon breath. Thanks for getting me up, kiddo."