The attic of Croft Manor was not someplace Lara tended to venture. It simply brought up too many memories. She hadn't been up here since her father had passed, she wouldn't even be here now had it not been for her father's barristers. Damned leeches needed a full accounting of her father's assets, and unfortunately that meant that they needed a full accounting of everything in the manor. Including the possessions in the attic.
They had offered to come and do the accounting themselves, but she would be damned if she let anyone else up here.
She sighed, collapsing into a dusty armchair. She'd been up here for nearly three hours, and she was fairly convinced that she hadn't even made it through a third of all of the shite up here. She loved her father, but he truly was the definition of a packrat. Spare journals, binders, books, all manner of things from his work were strewn about. To make it worse, she was fairly certain that most of it was utterly worthless.
Her father had been a brilliant man, but like anyone, he had moments where his imagination extended far beyond reality. The attic became his dumping ground for ideas and plans that ended up not going anywhere, or where there simply hadn't been enough evidence to back up his assertions.
Sighing, she rubbed tiredly at her face. She didn't want to be doing this right now, she'd much rather be doing research. Preparing for her next hunt. She hadn't been back in England for more than a handful of days before she'd started getting restless. It was a problem she'd discovered ever since she'd first begun these little adventures. She couldn't sit still any longer. She needed to be doing something, anything. Her mind simply moved too quickly, was too active. Prolonged periods of inactivity often lead to bouts of irritability.
She supposed that she got it from her father. At least she understood why he was always on the move when she was younger.
Standing up and stretching, she got back to work. She decided that she'd get to work on his abandoned desk next. There was an eclectic mix of notebooks, files, and odd little knickknacks that had been collected over the years.
She idly began flipping through one of the notebooks on his desk. It wasn't something she would need to record for the barristers, but it was always interesting to read through her father's work, and she thought that she deserved a bit of a break.
As she sifted through the papers, her eyes narrowed in thought and she took a second look at the documentation. There was something strange about what she was reading. It was an old recording in the journal. Taken a few years before he had met Lara's mother. He had been investigating a shipwreck off the coast of Greece, and had found an ancient script of papyrus locked in a chest in the vessel. Attempts at deciphering the Greek inside hadn't led to anything of substance. Her father had written that either the notation was outdated, or it had been so effected by the elements that it illegible. What followed were a series of symbols that Lara recognized as being Greek, but meant nothing to her.
Tucked safely under the journal was a large envelope. It was labelled with the date of the investigation of the shipwreck, and after opening the envelope, Lara found the papyrus paper trapped inside. It had been stuck between twin panes of glass and enclosed on both sides in an effort to prevent moisture and sunlight from further deteriorating the paper. Frowning in thought, she turned back to the journal.
Her father had several more notes and pages dedicated to the script. Her father had been part of an archeological team in charge of uncovering ancient shipwrecks, but soon after the discovery of the page, they had begun looking into something else entirely. Her father had apparently been left out of the initial discussions, but he recorded mentions of having been shunted around most of the Mediterranean and Greece while looking for more pages such as the one they had found.
As Lara read, she became more and more engrossed. Her father had clearly been intrigued by this particular mystery. As a man of history, her father often dated his entires whenever he had thoughts on something. But that was what was so intriguing. The notes had been abandoned for years, up until about six months after her mother's death. From that point and up until only a few weeks before he took his life, he had come back to the notes time and again.
However by that point, his mind had so far deteriorated that what he had written were little more than the incoherent ramblings of a man lost to his own grief and sorrow. It was difficult for her to read. It was like losing her father all over again, but her own curiosity overpowered her grief and she couldn't stop reading.
As the days progressed, her father's writing became more and more erratic and nonsensical. He'd begun writing in a strange amalgamation of modern and ancient Greek. At least that was what she assumed this was, the script looked a lot like the symbols on the papyrus.
There was only one word that she recognized, her own Greek was rather rusty and she didn't know of many who understood ancient Greek. But the word she recognized was clearly an important one, because it had been viscously circled and underlined.
"Garden."
She didn't have any idea what that could have meant, or even what it could have been in reference to. Her first inclination when she thought of a garden, was the biblical story of the Garden of Eden. But her father had never been a religious or spiritual man by any means. She supposed it was possible that in his growing madness brought on by grief, he believed that he had found a link to the mystical Garden. But that couldn't be right.
She meandered away from the desk, and plopped back down in the arm chair, her eyes scanning over the documents again and then darting back over to the papyrus. Whatever was on this little sheet of papyrus had been important to her father. So important that he had devoted considerable time and energy, decades after its discovery, into trying to understand what it could have been a link to.
She worried at her lip, as she thought over the pages. Her father had not left the mortal world with grace or dignity. It was something that she had been combatting for years now. His collapse after the death of her mother had been a highly publicized, and highly talked about national scandal. Was it possible that his meltdown was due in part to his inability to decipher the true meaning of this scrap of ancient paper? Such a thought first came across as rather ludicrous. However the more that Lara considered it, the more confident that she became that if nothing else, then the ancient text had at least contributed to her father's downfall.
Was it worth it to try and at least see what the script said? She had connections with the modern historical community that her father hadn't had. Modern interpretation and deciphering techniques had come a long way in the past several decades, and it was certainly possible that someone might be able to shed some light on what was on the paper. If nothing else, maybe it was worth it to see what it said. At least then, she might be able to put to rest some part of the mystery that had so clearly dominated her father's life for so many years.
Making her decision, she grabbed up the glass and her father's notes, tucked them safely away into a tote, and left the manor.
It was an hour before she was able to make her way into the city, but blessedly it was the middle of the week, and the London Natural history Museum didn't see too many visitors at the time of the week.
Lara was something of a regular at the museum. Like her father before her, she had made a habit of making frequent contributions to the museum, either monetarily or through the fruits of her many excursions into the world. She had even visited the museum only a few days previously, to drop off the Incan idol that she had obtained on her latest adventure.
After a brief meeting with the receptionist at the front of the building, Lara was greeted by Richard Hayward. A wirey, squirrelly man, Richard was about a head taller than Lara, and was so bone thin that Lara often worried that a too stiff a breeze might carry him off into the heavens. His wire framed, round spectacles dangled as they always did, upon the very tip of his nose. The frames so precariously perched that it appeared that they were forever at risk of falling to the floor.
"Lara," greeted Richard warmly, walking out from a side-entrance that led into the bowels of the museum.
"Richard," said Lara happily, embracing the man, "How are you doing?"
"Wonderfully," said Richard happily, breaking the embrace, "We've just been cleaning up and preparing the exhibit for that marvelous piece you brought us. One of these days, Lara, you'll have to tell me how you come across so many wonderful pieces." His eyes narrowed suspiciously in jest,
"You're not coming by these pieces by inauspicious means by any chance, are you Ms. Croft?"
"Caught me," said Lara, rolling her eyes, "I'm actually a member of MI6, I travel the world and steal important and valuable historical artifacts for the sole purpose of selling them to you."
Richard chuckled, and wagged a disapproving finger at her, "No one likes a fibbing Fran, Lara," They shared a chuckle,
"Now then," said Richard, clapping his hands together, "What can I do for you today?"
Lara reached into her tote and handed the piece of papyrus over to Richard. Richard paused, looking at the papyrus in confusion.
"Huh…" said Richard in confusion, "I don't…hm," he hummed in thought, and turned the piece over in his hand, "Looks to be at least the fourth or fifth century, but I suppose I'm far from an expert in Ancient Greece. Where did you find this?"
"It was in my father's collection, buried under a treasure trove of utter rubbish. It had this with it as well," she handed the journal over to Richard, who traded her the papyrus in exchange. He poured over the documentation for a moment, his brow furrowed.
"Well I'm afraid that I don't have much I can help you with here," said Richard, handing the journal back to her.
"Luckily for you, however," said Richard, cutting off her disappointment, "We recently came into possession of an exciting new hire, who just so happens to be something of an expert in ancient and classical Greece."
"Convenient," said Lara, though she was nevertheless pleased,
"Indeed," said Richard happily, as he turned around and gestured for Lara to follow, "He came to us highly recommended from New York University."
"An American?" Said Lara, arching an eyebrow, and Richard made a face,
"I'm no more pleased than you," he said facetiously, "But alas, sometimes we must sacrifice our principles in the name of history." He winked at her, "All the same, he's brilliant. Here we were, with a veritable treasure trove of ancient Greek history, and absolutely nothing to do with it. Now thought, we have an entire exhibit planned for the start of next month based around his work."
Richard had an excitable grin on his face, and his hands were wringing, a tell-tale sign that he was eager about something.
They walked down deeper into the museum, until they were in a sub-basement. They were surrounded by large collection of boxes. Each labelled with a different set of odd symbols that surely meant something to someone, but might as well have been gibberish to her.
They approached a large door which required key-card authentication. Richard swiped a key-card through the slot, and the door opened with a 'BEEP.' The sound of island music flooded into the hall, and Richard rolled his eyes in exasperation. Sharing a commiserating glance with Lara, Richard led the way into the room.
The music was loud, bright, and happy. If sunshine and warmth could be made into music, Lara was convinced that it was being played out through the music blaring through the speakers.
At the other corner of the room, hunched over a large tablet of some kind, was a man. He was tall, maybe a little over six foot. He was a large, athletic man. Broad shouldered, and a square jaw that was covered in a loose smattering of stubble. He had long, unruly black hair. While it seemed like it refused to lay flat or even, the strangely windswept look seemed to work for the man.
"Percy," said Richard loudly, his voice barely audible over the island music. The man, Percy, looked up. His bright, sea-green eyes blinked owlishly for a moment, eyes darting between Richard and Lara.
"Mind turning down the music for a moment, Percy?" Asked Richard. Percy jumped a little, before nodding, and turning the music off with a remote from his pocket.
"Sorry about that," said Percy uncomfortably, rubbing behind his ear, "Kind of lose myself when I'm down here,"
"I expected nothing else," chuckled Richard, "Introductions then. Percy Jackson, allow me to introduce you to Ms. Lara Croft. Ms. Croft is our chief benefactor. Ms. Croft, allow me to introduce you to Mr. Percy Jackson."
Percy smiled broadly, a bright and confident smile that showed off his brilliant white teeth, and he strode around from his work station and approached Lara, hand outstretched.
"You're the one who brought us that Incan idol right?" Asked Percy, "It was a beautiful piece, where did you find it?"
"Abandoned Incan tomb carved into the side of Machu Picchu," shrugged Lara, uncaring whether or not Percy actually believed her. She gripped his hand in a firm embrace. She was rather surprised to feel the well-worn callouses of a man who had committed several hours to hard labor.
"No shit?" Said Percy, and to Lara's surprise he seemed to genuinely take Lara at her word, "How the hell did you manage to get in there? I thought they didn't let anyone near the mountain passes."
"They do if you bribe a local sherpa," said Lara, smiling, and Percy tilted his head back let out a low, reverberating laugh.
"Yeah," said Percy brightly, "I imagine that would do the trick,"
"Yes, well," coughed Richard, breaking up the exchange, "As nice as this is, Lara here had something that I think you'll want to take a look at."
Percy turned his attention to Lara, eyes squinted in confusion. Taking the cue, Lara reached into her tote and handed the papyrus over to Percy.
"My father found this thirty years ago in a shipwreck off the coast of Ois." Said Lara,
"Take a look at the script," said Richard excitedly, "I think it's got to be at least fourth century."
"I think it's even later than that," muttered Percy, more to himself than to anyone in particular though, as he took the glass case into his hands and examined the paper. He muttered something under his breath that sounded like Greek, but Lara didn't recognize any of the words.
Without asking for permission, Percy turned around and took the glass with him back to his work station. Richard shot an amused look at Lara, before walking over and placing himself down in a seat. Frowning, Lara bit back an agitated sigh and walked over to watch Percy work. She didn't think he had meant to be rude, but she was still a little annoyed by him just taking off with her father's work.
She couldn't stop herself as she walked over behind Percy, and tried to watch what he was doing. He was scanning the lines of the page, trying to go line by line and interpreting it as he went.
"Not the fourth century," said Percy under his breath, "Based on the syntax and the state of the papyrus I'd put this closer to the sixth or seventh century."
"What does it say?" Asked Lara,
"That's the tricky bit," said Percy, biting at his lip in thought. Sighing under his breath, he reached into the pocket of pants, where he pulled out a pair of square-framed spectacles. The thick-black frames had strange, almost runic, designs engraved into the plastic. He placed the glasses on the bridge of his nose, and went back to reading it.
"Hang on, this could take me a bit," said Percy,
"Why?" Asked Lara, "What's wrong?"
"The writing is archaic…even by ancient biblical Greek standards. I can decipher the words, but taken together they don't mean anything. Hang on," He reached down into a drawer and withdrew a piece of paper and a pen. He then began work going to and from the papyrus, transcribing the writing onto the separate piece of paper. However Lara still didn't understand what was being said because Percy was writing in the strange series of symbols that the original text had been written in.
The process lasted for some time, and eventually, Lara gave up on watching Percy work and chose to sit down in a chair beside Richard,
"This could take a while," said Richard softly, "When he gets into a rhythm like this, it's rather hard to get him out of it. Best to leave him to his own devices until he snaps out of it."
"He do this often?" Asked Lara, watching Percy work curiously,
"Not too often," said Richard, "Normally the lad is all over the place. Poor man has ADHD and Dyslexia, makes for a devil of a time getting him to sit still and take anything seriously for more than five minutes. But when he finds something that really captures his attention, he sticks to it with a server I've seen only in the likes of you or your father."
That was high praise indeed. Still, to have not one but two rather debilitating learning disabilities and make it through university and to achieve a masters in such a challenging and trying subject as ancient Greek…It spoke to the man's dedication if nothing else.
More than an hour passed, and Lara was starting to regret her choice of sticking around the museum to see what happened with Percy and her father's work.
"This is…weird," said Percy, and Lara nearly fell off her chair in surprise.
"What is?" Asked Lara, as she got up from her chair and walked over to him,
"This writing," said Percy, frowning, "It's…disjointed. Almost like the writer was losing their place over and over again and kept having to get themselves back on track." He frowned,
"Hang on a second," said Percy, "This…no…" He had been tracing the writing with a finger, and then he darted back to the beginning, and began retracing the words.
"It's…I think it's a poem?" Said Percy, "It has the cadence and syntax of a poem from around that period, but the writing is…broken. Scattered. Like the person writing it couldn't complete a coherent thought. Hang on," He paused and opened her father's journal and began to scan through the contents quickly.
"There's no way…" Percy muttered to himself, and then excused himself over to a nearby computer monitor and began rapidly typing. Lara had to resist the urge to roll her eyes, as she followed Percy, but his back was too broad and was blocking her view of the screen entirely.
"Holy shit," muttered Percy in astonishment,
"What?" Asked Lara, roughly walking up and shoving Percy lightly to the side so she could see what the hell was going on.
"This," said Percy, grabbing her father's journal and shoving it under her nose. She thought he would have been referencing the section named the Garden, but inside his finger was pointing to a separate set of words and symbols. They meant nothing to Lara, so she raised her gaze and looked expectantly up at Percy. His eyes were wide, and his hands were wringing slightly, shaking the journal.
"Sappho," said Percy, as though he expected that to explain anything at all,
"And what exactly is a Sappho?" Asked Lara,
"Ancient Greek poet," said Percy happily, throwing the journal down onto the table, "Her poems covered the usual fare of love and life, but they've been missing for centuries. We only have a handful left!" He excitedly held up the piece of papyrus in his hands, "Your father thinks that he accidentally stumbled onto one of her poems in that shipwreck!" He looked down at the papyrus trapped behind the glass, he frowned, and looked up at her, strange apprehension on his features.
"Do you…do you mind if take this out of here? It might help for me to confirm that we have the genuine article."
Lara hesitated for a moment, before acquiescing. She supposed that if this helped her finish her father's legacy and fix his name, then she was all for it.
Percy beamed at her, before darting back over to his work station. Pulling on a pair of gloves and a face-mask, he set out about carefully and gently removing the glass lid from the frame. It was clear that he was trying to be careful to remove the papyrus from its storage without risking destroying the material inside. After about ten minutes of work, he managed to pull the top pane of glass off of the display. Gingerly, he reached down into the display, and wrapped his fingers around the page.
As though he were holding a newborn child, he raised the paper carefully and slowly from the display, and held it up to the light. However, that was when something strange occurred. An odd look crossed over Percy's features. One of immense concern and horror, but the moment was fleeting and he soon schooled himself back together. However he no longer held that excitable look about him. Instead, he held the air of a man who was extremely apprehensive. His eyes narrowed, and his nostrils flared. He scanned through the contents of the page quickly, before gently replacing it back in its storage. He then refitted the glass pane, and sighed.
"Well?" Demanded Lara, expectantly,
"Huh?" said Percy, and he looked confused for a moment, "Oh, yes. Yes, I believe it's the genuine article. No doubt about that. You father definitely found one of the missing poems…" he trailed off, apparently in deep thought as he absently tore the gloves and face-shield off.
"Well that's…that's incredible!" Said Richard, bouncing up from his chair where he'd dozed off. "What an absolutely remarkable discovery by both you, Lara, and your father."
"Indeed," said Lara absently, hardly noticing the praise. She was far more interested in Percy Jackson at the moment however. What on earth could have caused such a strange reaction in the man. He had, at one moment, been inexplicably excited about the prospect of finding such an ancient and undiscovered treasure. Once thought lost to time itself, and had suddenly become suspicious, and pensive.
Lara did not like it.
But Lara pushed the thought from her mind for the moment. There was a greater opportunity opening up to her. Lara had first got into adventuring in the first place, in the hopes of restoring honor to her father's name, which had become tantamount to little more than a curse since his death.
If what Percy had said was true, and the page her father had found indeed was one of the lost poems, then that opened up an entire world of opportunities for Lara. While she had no doubt been successful in her adventures, and had found countless priceless artifacts of history, the historical and archeological communities still thought scornfully of her father. Perhaps this was the opportunity that she had been looking for. Her moment to show the world that her father had not been a crazed old man, but that he truly was every bit the genius that Lara knew him to be.
But there was something else going on here. There was more to the story. While it was indeed incredible that her father had stumbled on something as desirable as a lost poem of Sappho, he had been enamored by something else entirely.
"What's the importance of the Garden?" Asked Lara abruptly, shaking Percy out of his stupor,
"The what?" He asked, confused, and Lara pointed out the passage in the journal that had garnered so much of her father's attention.
"The Garden," said Lara again, "My father clearly thought it was important, what are your thoughts on this?"
Percy worried at his lip for a moment, his eyes flashing in recognition as a worried expression crossed his features.
"I believe that it could be a reference to the Garden of Hesperides," said Percy, "The location of the golden apples which could grant immortality, and the original location of the golden fleece. But that's all mythological stuff." He tried to brush it aside as though it wasn't worth much thought, "There's some dialogue in the poem referring to the garden, and I'm guessing that's how your father deduced that he had found one of Sappho's poems. She incorporated a couple of the myths into her works."
That was most certainly a lie, but why on earth would he lie about something like that? What exactly was going on inside that head of his?
"Can I presume that it is your intention to begin looking for these missing documents then, Lara?" Asked Richard, and alarm flashed across Percy's face,
"Yes," said Lara, studying Percy's reaction inquisitively, "Yes I think I will. Clearly, this project meant quite a lot to my father, so I think it's rather fitting that I should follow in his footsteps and attempt to finish what he started."
"Why?" Said Percy quickly, then did his best to school his alarmed features, "I mean…people have been searching for these documents for centuries. They've been lost to time, I mean who's to even say that they're even still around. Chances are too good that they've been destroyed or lost to time entirely."
Lara arched a brow, "If every archeologist or historian shared your attitude, Mr. Jackson, then we wouldn't know much about anything, would we?"
Percy didn't have a response to that, so Lara turned her attention back to Richard,
"I presume that you would have an interest in anything I brought back?"
"Oh yes, very much so," nodded Richard enthusiastically, "I'm sure that the board would back me when I say that I'm certain we would be more than happy to compensate you for your services."
"Excellent," smiled Lara, as she turned back to Percy and made to grab her father's possessions, "Then I suppose I should be going. There are lots of preparations that need to be made, and research that-"
"Let me come with you!" Blurted out Percy, his face flushing somewhat in embarrassment,
"I beg your pardon?" Asked Lara. In all actuality, she was not too surprised. Percy knew more about the poem and her father's work than he was letting on. Something more was occurring here and she had been all but certain that he would have wanted to come along. The only trouble was that she couldn't quite understand the reasons why. She didn't think he was after fame or riches. She knew the signs of greed and vanity, and she was quite certain that wasn't his aim.
"Sorry," said Percy uncomfortably, idly scratching behind one ear, "Sometimes I speak without thinking and it gets the better of me. What I meant was, if you're really going to be going after these poems, you should take me along."
"I believe Mr. Hayward would be quite remiss to have lost someone of your caliber, Mr. Jackson," said Lara cooly,
"Oh nonsense," said Richard, looking as though he had just won the lottery, "I can't think of a better pairing for this story! You will, after all, need someone of Percy's expertise and skill if you want to have any hope of finding these materials. It appears to me as though these documents will lead you to one another perhaps, and Mr. Jackson is the foremost expert in the field of ancient Greek."
Lara hummed in thought, Richard raised an excellent point. As much as she wanted to follow in her father's footsteps, she lacked some of the more archeological talents he possessed. Chief among which was the fact that she didn't speak ancient Greek. Moreover, it was clear that Percy knew more than he was letting on. Likely, he knew more about the documents and was after them as well. If her instincts were correct, then he would likely follow her regardless. Therefore it would most likely be in her best interests to allow him to come along, if for no other reason than it would allow her to keep an eye on him.
"If it helps sweeten the pot a little," said Richard, "I'll even offer to compensate Mr. Jackson's services on your behalf. After all, should the pair of you prove successful in this endeavor, then the museum and the board will all be better off for it. I trust that they'll stand behind my decision."
"That's not necessary Richard," said Lara dismissively, cost wasn't going to be an issue. She would compensate Percy herself. Even if he had questionable motivations, that didn't mean that she would let the man's work go unpaid. Besides, it wasn't like it would even put a dent in the totality of her inheritance.
"All right then, Mr. Jackson," said Lara, "Consider yourself as part of the team I suppose." She walked over to a nearby table and grabbed a spare piece of loose paper and pen.
"This is the address of Croft Manor. Be there tomorrow morning at eight o'clock sharp." Lara turned on her heel and strode from the room,
"I have a feeling that we have much to discuss and plan for."
AN:As always shoutout to Double0Sxvxn for being an awesome Beta and dealing with my bullshit and as always if you enjoyed this but haven't checked out my other work, give them a try you never know you might find something else you like. I'm also on discord now, where I and a bunch of other writers hang out, chat and brainstorm ideas, you just have to copy the link that's in my profile bio if you want to come and hang out with us. Stay safe, stay healthy and have an awesome week
All My Love,
LilDB
P.S. Give my Beta Double all the love in the world. My mans is the best and deserves it!