Those who linger in the mists
Shall find themselves with out their wits.
For those whom wander where no hope is lost,
Will lose their own way, for such is the cost.
The tomb of forever, eternal like the sun,
you who trespass have no place to run.
Do not take of gold, gem or stones,
Or all that shall be left are bones.
Beware of the greed within your midst,
The traitors the worst kind of devils who hiss.
Beware the curse of ages past,
For the path of escape shall not last.
Ensnared by Moonlight of bitter tears,
Take the branch of lesser years.
For one of sky will lead you out,
The stones crumble to show the route.
In the heart of Canterlot, there was a grand building; three stories tall, marble columns lining the front, and a large gold lettered sign reading: The Equestrian National Museum of the History of Ponykind. On the top floor of the museum was a spacious and luxurious office; complete with plush carpet, high-backed armchairs in front of a grand fireplace, a large mahogany desk, cluttered with pens, calenders, thick files, agendas, half-drank cups of tea long gone cold, and a picture frame of an elderly unicorn mare with light pink fur,a blue and white mane, and a beaming smile. Also on the cluttered wooden desktop was a stone tablet with a familiar rhyme etched into its cracked gray surface.
On the wall behind the desk was a larger than life portrait of a spring green unicorn stallion with a dark blue mane, intelligent dark brown eyes, and a gentle smile with an open book partially covered by a magnifying glass as his cutie mark. The plaque underneath named him as Musty Tome, the Curator and Head professor of the museum. Tome's office was empty and silent at the moment, save for the abnormally loud ticking of a clock on the fireplace mantle.
The ornate office was not empty for much longer. Multiple hoof-steps echoed on the polished marble floor outside the office before the large Prench doors swung in gracefully and in trotted Musty tome, though decidedly much older, his coat faded a tad, his once dark blue mane and tail now gray shot through with streaks of white and silver, but his eyes still had the same spark of intelligence; and he wore a gray pinstripe suit with a red tie. Following him were two other stallions who paused before entering.
One, middle aged, was a light gray unicorn with a black muzzle and hooves, a slicked back dark purple mane and tail with a jagged black stripe running through them. His eyes were a brilliant lime green, his cutie mark of a few stacked coins. He wore a black suit with a gray tie, and on his face was an almost bored expression, though in his eyes was a sly glint. The other, a young pegasus stallion not wearing anything but a simple sky blue tie, had a navy blue coat, a short and spiky dark yellow mane striped with gold, and a cutie mark of a thunder cloud with lighting coming down. His cold and calculating ice blue eyes darted around the room, making sure it was safe for his employer.
Once the pegasus had made sure the room was safe, he nodded to his charge silently, who muttered a quick thanks to his bodyguard and trotted in, closely shadowed by the pegasus. They trotted up to meet Tome at his desk which he had already reached some moment's before. Standing behind his desk with a grin on his face, Tome waited until the two other stallions had settled themselves in the chairs in front of his desk before speaking. "Affluent," He addressed the unicorn in his thick Trottingham accent. "I wold like to thank you once again for funding this expedition of ours." "Oh it's no problem," Affluent waved him off. "It's an honor for me to be able to serve the ponies of Equestria in this way. I believe it's a very noble cause to be assisting them in learning about our history." He smiled.
The professor nodded. "Yes, but we here at the museum would like to thank you none-the-less." The two unicorns continued to talk about the ongoing recovery of the lost Civilization of Mareopotania, but the Pegasus guard was occupied with other things. Though he did keep an eye and and an ear out for things in the conversation that would prove useful or threatening to his employer, he was really using his training to listen to the corridors outside. For several minutes he was detached from the conversation before he was thrown back into it by Affluent asking him a question.
"So what do you think, Thunder Strike? Will you be able to handle accompanying me to the dig site?" Affluent smiled, though it did not reach his eyes. "Tome here has offered to take us there to supervise and oversee their progress as I've been supplying a lot of the money for this." "Yes, sir." Strike said in his deep voice, giving a knowing smile. "I think I'll be able to handle it."
"Splendid!" Cheered Tome, waling around the desk, hoof-steps muffled by the carpet, to shake their hooves. "I'll get preparations started right away." He said, giving Strike's hoof a firm shake. "I already have a navigator, well, an orienteering expert if you will, after all we're on land, not sea." He mumbled the last bit going off on a tangent before giving himself a shake. "I think you'll like miss Compass Rosette, she's the best one I know!" He ginned widely. "I think miss Compass is already downstairs along with some supply runners I've hired in the past, if you'd like to meet them."
Affluent shared a look with Thunder Strike before smirking and sliding off the chair to stand near Tome, closely followed, as always, by the faithful Thunder Strike. "I think that would be wonderful. It will be good to get to know the team before we head out." The trio began walking out of the office, Tome in the lead once more. "Just one thing." Strike spoke up as he shut the door behind them. "Of course." Tome said, trotting down the hall with the two younger stallions following. "What is it?" He asked. Thunder Strike continued checking out the hallways for any danger as force of habit as he asked the question. "Just exactly when are we leaving to get to the site?"
