Indiana Jones & The Curse Of Rhan (Chapter 3)

[ Reply ] [ The Indyfan Fan Fiction Forum ]

Posted by Muppet from modem72.byers.kingston-internet.net on July 29, 1999 at 19:24:23:

Hi again,

In this chapter, Indy's having nightmares as things take a darker turn :) Please let me know what you think of this, it does help...

=================================
Chapter Three: Boston, 1956
=================================

"No sir, I’m sorry"

"Are you sure?" Indiana Jones asked again.

"Look, I don’t know anything more"

Indy had the day’s copy of the Times in his hand. He was on the phone to the reporter of the story in which Louis Belloq had been mentioned. Indy wanted it to be a coincidence, even a misprint. Louis Belloq - a brother? A son? It couldn’t be.

"You wrote the article, you must know something about him..." said Indy.

The reporter was getting annoyed. "Look, friend, I’m a reporter, not a biographer. I can’t help you". With that, he hung up and Indy was cut off.

So far all Indy knew was the Louis Belloq was an archaeologist and had announced a new expedition; some small dig somewhere in Greece. The article didn’t say what Louis Belloq was looking for, now how long it would take. Indy was intrigued.

"Coffee, Henry?"

"What?" Indy’s thoughts were disturbed by Anthony Brody walking into the room and motioning towards a simmering coffee pot.

"Want some?" he asked.

"Oh. No thank you"

"What’s the matter?"

Indy didn’t respond.

"Henry? Is something wrong?"

"Did your father ever tell you about Rene Belloq?" asked Indy.

"’Rene Belloq’?" frowned Anthony. "No, no I can’t say he did. Why?"

"He made a wise move."

"Are you all right, Henry?"

Indy leapt from his seat. "I don’t know" he said, and marched out of the staff room. He made his way out of the college, still holding on to the Times, and started the short walk home.

At home, sat in a chair by the telephone, Indy scoured the article in the Times again and again, trying to gleam a new clue. All he had at the moment was that Louis Belloq was an archaeologist who was headed to Greece to start a dig.

Indy reread the article. "Louis Belloq, part-time scholar of a major French institution..." Of course! Indy cursed himself for being so stupid. He quickly dialled a familiar number on the telephone. It answered after a few rings.

"Boston Times" said a receptionist.

"Hello...can I speak to Max Garner?"

"Hold the line, sir" There was a pause. Indy waited impatiently.

"Garner" came a gruff reply.

"I’m ringing about your Louis Belloq article"

"Oh! Look, buddy, I already told you..."

"Calm down," interrupted Indy. "I only need one answer. That’s all"

Garner paused. "Okay, shoot"

"You wrote that Louis Belloq was a part-time scholar at a ‘major French institution’...which one is it?" asked Indy.

"Hold on". Grundman scanned his desk, scrabbling to dig up the hand-written draft of the Belloq article. He didn’t know who this crazy man on the telephone was and simply wanted rid of him. "Got ya!" said Garner, pulling at a piece of paper.

"Found it?"

"Yeah, yeah. Hold on," snapped Garner, reading the article. "The place you’re looking for is the..." Garner struggled to read out the French "UniversitÈ de Nantes"

"But.."

The line clicked dead.

An hour later, Indy was on the phone to a mild-mannered secretary at the Archaeological Department of the University of Nantes, France.

"No, Louis Belloq no longer works here"

"And you have no contact address?"

"No sir. Only some family detail"

Indy paused. "I need to make sure I have the right person," he lied. "Can I ask a question?"

"Certainly"

"Is he related to a Mr. Rene Belloq?"

"Yes"

"And what relation to Rene Belloq is he?"

"His son"

. . .

Paris, France.
One month ago.

"Wrong!"

"Wrong?"

"It has to be..." muttered Louis Belloq.

In a lavish apartment somewhere deep within Paris, Louis sat at a table with Grundman, trying to figure out several things; the inscription on the scroll, the location of Rhan, the end of the quest.

Kas watched over the table with a menacing stare. Louis had told Kas to be extra vigilant whenever Grundman was around; Grundman didn’t trust Louis, and the feeling was mutual. However, they were currently both hunched over the brittle scroll which promised to further their quest for the Temple of Rhan.

"These are definite signs of worship; occult references" said Grundman. Louis had to admit that Grundman knew his history, but he was impatient; Louis was meticulous, always double-checking. "And this...this must be the temple" continued Grundman, waving a finger over a drawing of a large stone building, with carvings on the outside walls.

"Those...those are mountains?" asked Louis, pointing to a picture next to the temple. Grundman nodded. That was confirmation enough for Louis.

"Ach!" shouted Grundman. "The temple could be in any mountain region in the world!"

Louis shook his head. "No. Not necessarily. Look at the writing on the scroll, above and below the drawings. It is what I believe to be a ‘secret code’" Louis waved his hand to Kas, who automatically
picked up a book and handed it to Louis. Opening it, Grundman saw a line of drawings, similar to those on the scroll, with letters of the alphabet under corresponding drawings.

"I don’t have all the letters yet. But I found some during an excavation in Egypt...my initial guess of where the Temple is located...and I think I can decipher some of the words..." grinned Louis.

"Well hurry up and do it!"

"Patience, patience" Louis concentrated on the scroll, glancing at the
book, then the pictures, then a piece of paper he scribbled haphazardly on. "There are two lines of text. One I have never seen before. But this - this top line tells the location of the headpiece of the Staff of Rhan. Once we have the headpiece, we have the final clue to the Temple’s location" said Louis.

Louis continued scribbling. "C.....R.....N..." he said out loud. "...T....H" he concluded.

"CRNTH?" asked a bemused Grundman.

"I cannot work out the second and fourth letter" sighed Louis. He stared at the pictures, at his book of clues, thinking.

"Of course!"

"Of course?"

"I haven’t got the vowels in my book - I have never had them! That means that the second and fourth letter are vowels...now it is simply a matter of getting the right name!"

Minutes passed, whenever a name was deduced, it was checked on an atlas. Nothing. Until Louis scribbled in an ‘O’ and an ‘I’. "Corinth!" shouted Louis.

"Corinth? Where’s that?"

"Greece!"

"Greece?" shouted Grundman. "Enough of this trekking around! I want to find the Temple of Rhan now! I want my share of the find!"

Louis smiled. "If you want to find the Temple, you’re going to have to be patient. Once we have the headpiece, then we have the Temple...or, at least, a definite link to its location"

"You sure we can get the headpiece?"

"Who else would know of its location in Corinth?"

"Someone might do. That peasant may have shown the scroll to someone before us!" Grundman said.

Louis paused. "I am sure the headpiece is there"

"What if somebody has already found it?"

"Well then..." grinned Louis, "If they don’t give it back to us, they won’t have long left".

Kas nodded.

"Very well" said Grundman. "We leave tomorrow". With that, hid said his curt goodbyes and left Louis’ apartment, muttering to himself.

Moments later, from a window, Louis watched Grundman making his way home. Kas seemed to grunt. Louis, not turning, said out loud "Not yet, Kas. Not yet. Let him get us the headpiece first"

Louis paused. "Then you may kill him"

. . .

As Indy slept, he dreamt. Of a strange setting.

A cloaked figure stood in the distance, atop some sort of pedestal. He was clutching what looked like a staff, waving it slowly from side to side.

Indy was in a cavernous room, dark yet illuminated by the strange presence of the cloaked figure.

Indy couldn’t move. He was tied to a large metal circle.

Ominous noises - chanting?

Indy saw a woman’s face, screaming. The cloaked figure revealed his face. Rene Belloq!

He pointed the staff at Indy. There was a terrible surge of power.
Like a million rays of lightning crashing down on him, attacking Indy all at once. Indy's body writhed in agony...

. . .

Sweating, Indy jumped up, bolt upright. He was thinking a million thoughts. All of them worried him. Now that he knew who Louis Belloq was, it was only a matter of time before Louis found out who Indy
was - if he hadn’t already.

Sat upright in bed, Indy thought.

Of the future. Of the past...

“I need a drink”

=================================
Chapter Four Coming Soon...
=================================

-Muppet-


Follow Ups:



Post a Followup:

Name:    
E-Mail:  
Subject: 
Comments:

Optional:

Link URL:   
Link Title: 
Image URL:  


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Indyfan Fan Fiction Forum ]