She was was a graduate and scholar in Mythology and Occult studies at Cloverton University, Essex, United Kingdom. Twenty six years old, Penelope Godfrey, or "Penny" for short. She had spent most of her life in the safe comforts of the university studying and researching with hardly any time for a social life.
The occult studies was her life. A true prodigy in her field, the university hired her immediately after her graduation. She had an undeniable passion to learn the sacred rituals of the past and the many lore passed on from generation to generation. What little personal life she did have was spent at home watching Japanese animation, playing online roleplaying based video games, and reading literature.
A recent excavation in Eastern Europe has unearthed a buried castle. Many of the recovered relics had been brought back to Cloverton University for study. Since the arrival of the new relics, Penny hardly left her studio except for use of the restroom, shower, and sleep if she chose to sleep outside of her office studio. Many of her colleagues have gone and returned throughout the day only to find Penny still glued to the artifacts.
"Penny, you need to leave work at some point," one colleague advised her. "I mean really, you can't stay buried here forever."
Penny replied with a distracted tone, "Well, these old relics won't study themselves."
"They've been here a long time, trust me when I say they'll still be here," her colleagues insisted. "It's the weekend, our life and the future are beyond these halls."
Yet, she didn't respond. All they saw was the back of her wavey brown hair as she was so immersed in her research. Soon she was left alone in the studio. Her emerald green eyes piercing through her eyeglasses then onto to her magnifying glass, her gentle brush on the surface of the relics, such work is the closest sense of intimacy she's ever felt. This truly was the only life she'd ever known not once suspecting that soon her world was going to be turned upside down.
Penny had been working hard examining the many relics. The one she focused on the most was a strange box of unusual origins. The markings surrounding it had various hieroglyphics. She had yet to fully analyze the meaning of the markings, but she felt compelled to open the box.
"Okay, Penny, whatever's inside could be the find of the century," she thought. Her fingers reached out to touch the lid and then stopped for a moment. "But what if the markings are a warning? Then again do these stories of curses ever come true? Bugger! Here goes nothing."
She lifted the lid, but before she could even see what was inside she suddenly felt dizzy. Her vision became a daze as her eyes rolled back causing her to collapse on her desk passing out.
Her mind entered a state of dreams with fragmented visions of a strange ritual. She was in the center of a masked crowd watching her in a strange gown, she had on ancient silk revealing much of her body. She couldn't understand the words being spoken, but a strange chant rang in her head as the crowd repeated over and over. Until a brief flash of a silhouetted man with horns appeared before her.
She then woke up suddenly looking around her surroundings in a confused state while fixing her eyeglasses. As her eyes began to focus in, she saw two men standing on the other side of her desk staring at her. They both seemed strange to her, the one standing to her left was in a dark suit, with a vest underneath his coat and a sharply tied dark necktie. He held a fedora hat in his hand and a suitcase on the other. He had dark black hair combed in a fauxhawk style, golden brown eyes with a stubble on his face.
The other looked much younger like in his early twenties and taller with a slender frame. He was dressed rather differently in expensive designer clothing. Dark pants with pin stripes and elegant dress shoes. He also had on a a black peacoat, his necktie was worn loosley and his shirt unbutton on the the top. His skin was pale with red lips and curly blonde hair tied in a loose ponytail. Oddly enough he also had sunglasses on, even though he was indoors and in the dead of the night.
"Greetings, Ms. Godfrey," the man on the left greeted her with a stern American accent. "My name is Mister O, and my partner and I would like to ask you a few questions."
"Hello, darlin'," the other man greeted with a smile,
"ya can call me Beau."
Penny looked up at the both of them disoriented. First at Mister O and then at Beau. She was confused at the situation and as reality had barely started to set in, she took off her eyeglasses to rub her eyes only to put them back on and then began to laugh hysterically.
"This must be some kind of joke," she commented, "did Randolf put you two up to this?"
Both Mister O and Beau looked at each other not expecting her reaction.
"Ms. Godfrey, I assure you this is not a joke," Mister O said. "We are here in regards to the recent excavation that your university funded, and from what we understand you're the subject matter expert."
Penny didn't look the least bit believing, instead she continued to nod with a skeptical smile. "Wait.. Who are you guys with? Well, certainly not MI6 with those accents," She continued to laugh uncontrollably. "I know, you two are American FBI!"
Beau chuckled a bit and then tried to explain. "Well, hold on a minute there, Cher."
"You can't expect me to believe any of this!" Penny interrupted as she snorted from laughing too hard.
"Now enough of the gumbo ya-ya and let me finish," Beau continued with a hint of irritation in his tone. "Myself and mah partnah here, we're fixin' to ask ya about yer dig."
She looked at him a bit confused and then asked, "My dig? Who talks like that and who are you people?"
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we are not at liberty to disclose that kind of information," Mister O replied. "Do know we are here for your best interest as well as the best interest of your project here."
"Bollocks!!" she responded. Penny seemed to have maintained her composure and began shaking her head as she took a deep breath in. "I've really had a great laugh, tell whomever put you both up to this thank you for the great laugh, truly I needed it. But, I'm all knackered for the night and I have lots to do tomorrow so please kindly see yourself out and do have a good rest of the night."
Mister O walked around the table observing the box on the table and then looked at pictures of the excavation team's photos of the castle interior.
"These relics were not originally part of the castle you guys found," he began to explain to her with a stern grin.
Penny rolled her eyes at him, feeling a bit insulted that random man in a suit from nowhere would attempt to challenge her at her own expertise.
"These symbols," pointing at the pictures from the excavation site, "the interior decor would mean this Castle belonged to the Knights Templar." He then approached the box, "The characters in those markings are performing something called Hieros Gamos. The Templars weren't very fond of such sexual rituals, as a matter in fact I wouldn't be surprised if they buried the whole castle just because of that box."
"Okay, thank you for the lecture, professor," she said sarcastically, "but please leave."
