Tivoli, Italy: the airfield
"How much can you tell me about Project Jericho?" asked the stranger.
?Not a whole lot?? began Lao.
?Just a damn minute!? Cat interrupted. She turned to the stranger, ?Who the hell are you? And what the hell are we doing here??
A lopsided grin spread across the strangers face, ?Sorry, I?m forgetting my manners. I?m Dr. Indiana Jones.?
?Please to meet you, Dr. Jones. I?m Cat Peters; you already seem to know Jack and Lao??
?Let me take you three back into town, and we?ll talk on the way.?
The trio loaded their gear into Indy?s car and proceeded into the town of Tivoli.
?Now, you were telling me what you knew about the Project?? Dr. Jones began.
Jack said, ?We don?t KNOW much of anything, except for the Germans care a great deal about it and were trying to kill us in Nepal over the whole thing.? Jack nodded at Lao Che, ?Lao here has some ideas, though.?
?I think that this project may have something to do with the horns used by Joshua to destroy the city of Jericho,? Lao said as they pulled up to a hotel.
They proceeded up to Dr. Jones? suite, which was scattered with old parchments, books, and artifacts.
?Pardon the mess,? Indy said pouring drinks for everyone, ?Please continue, Lao.?
?Not much left to tell. From what Jack and I read in the Bible, it sounds like there might be seven of these horns,? Lao finished and looked expectedly at Dr. Jones.
Jones smiled and nodded, ?Sounds like I have the right people for this job.?
?What job??
Indy hung up his battered fedora and jacket and made himself comfortable in an armchair. ?Let me give the whole story??
?You guys are right about the Horns of Joshua. After the Israelites settled in the Promised Land, the Horns were stored with the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple of Solomon. Though the Ark was later taken, the Horns remained there until the Roman Emperor Titus destroyed the second Temple in 70 A.D. The Romans took the horns back to the Emperor among the spoils of war.? Indy rummaged through some papers. ?Here you can see them bringing back the loot from the temple in this picture from Titus? triumphal arch in Rome.?
?But the Romans had no idea of the Horns? true power. All they knew is that, blown singly, these horns seem to strike fear in the hearts of their enemies.?
Indiana sipped his drink, ?Little did they know that properly placed and blown in unison, the horns were said to call down the power of God to destroy a target, even as large as a city. Now, I?m not a believer in a bunch of superstitious hocus-pocus, but the fact that Hitler is looking for it has the US intelligence people worried.?
?What happened to the horns, after they were taken by the Romans?? interjected Lao.
?Ah. Now that?s where the story gets interesting. Some years later, Emperor Hadrian put down Bar Kokhba's revolt in Israel. He was so enraged by the whole thing, that he made a concerted effort to wipe Judaism out forever. He prohibited the Torah law, the Jewish calendar and executed Judaic scholars. The sacred scroll was ceremoniously burned on the Temple Mount. In an attempt to erase any memory of Judea, he wiped the name off the map and replaced it with Syria Palaestina, as and insulting reminder of the Jews' ancient enemies the Philistines, long extinct by then. To further spite them, he is believed to have sent the horns to the far reaches of the known world, the very borders of the Roman Empire at the time. Hadrian was very much into building elaborate structures and fortresses, so he sent them to his commanders in these remote locations.?
Draining what was left in his cup, Indy continued. ?So that?s where you come in. The Roman Empire during the time of Hadrian was huge, and there are innumerable Roman fortresses and temples along the borders where the horns could have gone. So we need to find out WHERE the horns are and recover them before the Nazis do. The good guys have already found one and the German?s Project has already uncovered one in a Roman fortress near Baghdad, or what used to be Babylon. So that leaves five to go.?
Pulling out a battered leather journal, Indy pointed to some scribbled notes, ?I have reason to believe that one of the horns is here in Tivoli, at Hadrian?s Villa.?
?That site is hardly a secret. Tourists can stroll around the villa,? Lao said looking over the notes.
?True,? conceded Dr. Jones, ?but I believe that there is a secret underground complex known as ?Cryptae Adriana? -- Hadrian?s Crypts or Vaults. You see? Hadrian was almost fanatical about his building projects, overseeing many of them personally. I have found evidence that he had a huge complex of tunnels built beneath the villa and I think that one of the horns is there.?
?So, what do you want US to do??
?I need you three to investigate the villa, find a way into the underground and retrieve the horn, if it?s there. Also, look for clues about the other possible locations of the rest.?
?What are YOU going to be doing?? asked Cat skeptically.
?I?ll be trying to find the next lead. I haven?t investigated the Villa myself because people who may be Nazi agents are following me too closely. I?m hoping that if I leave, that?ll convince them that my research came up with nothing and that I?m moving on.? Dr. Indiana Jones sized up the three adventurers: an awkard academic, a brash smuggler, and a tomboy pilot. ?So you think you can handle this??
