John Schettler - Touchstone

“Forty-eight hours,” said Nordhausen.

“Two days,” breathed LeGrand. “Two days. That’s not much time at all, but then the important things never need much. Damn! I had better have my wits about me. I never thought I would have a hand in a major transformation, but here it is, right in front of me, and all because of a loose strap on that damn purse to set me on your trail.”

Le Grand’s eyesseemed to light up with the revelation that now filled his mind, his thoughts spilling quickly into animated speech as he considered the situation.

“First things first,” he said. “You must tell me why you’ve come. Oh, joy! What an honor this is. You really have no idea. Why, it’s livened up things quite a bit! This was the last month of my tour, you see. Napoleon is on his way here even as we speak. He’s received word that the Turkish fleet has appeared, but that wheezing old Mustapha Pasha is just sitting on the beach out there while his men try to secure the French garrison at Aboukir Castle. That’s where those two kind soldiers were off to when you arrived. Well, I suppose you know the history as well as I do.”

“Quite so,” said Nordhausen. “Napoleon left Cairo on the eleventh of July, but he will be twelve days getting here.”

“Too bad you can’t stay for the final battle! I’ve seen it twice now, and it’s well worth the wait. Oh, it’s not quite as spectacular as the Battle of the Pyramids, but it’s a darn site better than that nasty business in Palestine. Murat is leading the French Cavalry in the van. Napoleon won’t wait for Kleber’s Division. With the Turks picking their noses on the beaches, he just sends in enough foot soldiers to force the Pasha’s entrenchments, and then Murat dashes in with one of those cavalry charges that he becomes so famous for. It’s really quite a show!”

“Sorry we’ll miss it,” said Nordhausen, “but we came on… other business.”

“Oh, yes,” LeGrand rolled his eyes. “The discovery. You’re here for just 48 hours. You arrive on the 14 thand leave on the 16 th. The big day is tomorrow, of course. It’s nothing so grand as a battle, but the finding of the stone is something of a windfall for Western scholars. Being somewhat of a Savant myself, I always ride forward to Rashid here for the recovery. But why are you so interested in it? Did you pick up on the variation as well?”

“Yes,” said Nordhausen. “Damn lucky I suppose. As I have said, I was doing some research at the British Museum. It’s a long story, but suffice it to say that I wanted to have a good look at the Rosetta Stone to confirm a suspicion I’ve been brooding on. Imagine my surprise when I found it damaged.”

“Damaged? What are you speaking of?”

Nordhausen related the details of his mission to London, and the harrowing discovery that no one could read the glyphs upon his return.

“I see,” said LeGrand. He thought for a moment, then broke into a broad smile. “You want to see if it’s damaged upon discovery!”

“Quite so,” said Nordhausen.

“So, that’s what this is all about. The courier didn’t have any details, just a watch order. Still, it seems that the Order is now as interested in the condition of this stone as you two seem to be. I can’t imagine why, but what’s good for the Founders sits well with me.” He dipped his head in a bow and smiled again. “I am at your service then: Jean LeGrand, First Able Sergeant of the Milieu, Order of the Temporal Knights. How may I assist you?”

“We need to observe the discovery, of course,” said Maeve. “And we want to be as inconspicuous as possible. You say you’ve witnessed this event before?”

“Twice.”

“Well man—was it damaged?” Nordhausen was eager for all the information he could get.

“Not that I could tell. No, the discovery went off without any hitch that I could discern. Captain Bouchard is already at the Fort. He’ll be directing the improvements to the west wall tomorrow—that’s where they find it, embedded in the wall of Fort Julien.”

“You can take us there?”

“Of course. It’s just to the north a tad, at the edge of the plantation country, on the west bank of the Nile. We’ll use the carriage. The two of you can sit inside and I’ll lead it right past the dig site at precisely the moment the stone is uncovered. We’ll have a perfect vantage point.”

“Excellent,” Robert rubbed his palms together.

“If I may ask,” LeGrand put in. “What kind of damage are you talking about? Was the stone defaced?”

“Oh nothing as simple as that. It was broken clean across the top when I observed it at the London Museum. All the hieroglyphics were gone, and the curator of antiquities there claims it was always so.”

That news gave LeGrand a start. “I see,” he mused. “This is more serious than I thought. What do you hope to determine here?”

“The time of the damage, for one thing,” said Robert. “If it’s intact when they dig it up tomorrow, it will mean that the damage was incurred somewhere forward of this point on the continuum.”

“Obviously,” said LeGrand.

“I know it’s not much, but it is at least a starting point. We’re fairly hopeful that it will be uncovered intact.”

“Yes, if it was damaged somehow, that narrows down the window of opportunity to just a few years before it reaches London in 1802.”

“Better than that,” said Nordhausen. “The stone was taken to the National Institute in Cairo soon after it’s discovery. My research indicates that Napoleon ordered an inscription made of the writing. Two prominent lithographers were called from France. They’re going to ink the stone and roll paper over it to get a good image of the text. The damage must occur before that is accomplished.”

“I see, then that compresses the affair to just a few months. Very clever! Napoleon won’t bother to pay any attention to it in the next week or so. He’s busy planning his battle with the Turks at Aboukir Bay.”

“That means the time of greatest vulnerability will be the journey from the discovery site to Cairo.”

“Quite so,” LeGrand concurred. “If I were planning something, that’s when I would strike. All the French troops in the area will be converging here, their minds set on the Turks. Let me think… Yes. If I were going to make a move on the stone I would probably arrange an ambush along the road—and considerably south of here so as to forestall any interference by the French.”

“How long is the journey to Cairo likely to take?” asked Nordhausen.

“I’m not exactly certain,” said LeGrand. “I’m here for the discovery, but then I take up with the Engineers as they make ready to join Napoleon’s attack at Aboukir Bay. I usually go on to the battle, but not this time. The watch order didn’t give me any specific instruction but, given this news, I’m afraid I have to stay with the stone. Problem is, the damn thing just lays around here for a good long while before they get round to moving it. Now I’ll have to come up with some plan to account for my necessary interest in the artifact for what may turn out to be a very long month. Too bad you can’t stay to keep me some company.”

“You realize that this situation is likely to be dangerous now,” said Maeve.

“Dangerous? My lady, everything I do here is dangerous. I have to watch things like an owl, being constantly vigilant while also remaining discreetly uninvolved, as much as possible.