Atlantis

Prologue

"Is it true, then?" the doctor started, glancing between the two people seated at the table in front of him," Have we found it?"

Professor Berg, the oldest historian still working at the Society as well as one of Sullivan's oldest friends, clutched his cane and stood with effort, gesturing with one hand toward the mess of papers and objects spread haphazardly on the table's surface.

"See for yourself, my friend," he replied, his voice weak with age. Sullivan thought he heard a sign of nervous anticipation in his friend's short sentence but Berg's face was a mask of calm. The doctor stepped forward and there, sitting atop a large stack of research papers and maps, lay an obviously ancient piece of parchment, encased in a protective framed glass plaque. It didn't look like much considering its ripped edges and yellowing state, but to Sullivan and the others in the room, it was pure gold as far as they were concerned.

Dr. Sullivan reached toward the plaque with shaking hands and picked it carefully up off the table.

"I don't believe it," he whispered incredulously. What he held before him was the most valuable, not to mention dangerous, thing he'd ever discovered, much less held in his own two hands. "A page from the lost memoirs of Antony Grimwater, himself."

The person to his left stood as he studied the paper with wide eyes. She reached over, holding a large magnifying glass in her hand. Sullivan looked up at her and she gave him a wan smile.

"This might help," she said. The doctor cleared his throat and removed the eyeglasses from the pocket inside his plaid brown waistcoat, placing them carefully on the bridge of his nose before taking the magnifying glass from his associate's hand.

"Thank you, Ms. Topper, and not only for this," he replied, breathless, holding up the magnifying glass. The woman gave him a curt nod and sat back down, taking out a cigarette and lighting it. Jade Topper wasn't much of a conversationalist but behind her stoic expression was a mind sharper than a soldier's bayonet. She'd been sent from the government to keep an eye on Sullivan and his group of eccentrics and was the brave soul that had actually gone out and recovered the blasted piece of parchment from one of the ancient islands floating out in the skyways. She was a sort of specialist for locating and obtaining important things. The doctor wasn't quite sure exactly what her job in the government was or who she reported to but he couldn't object to her addition to the team. Several government officials had insisted, confirming his theory that they had invested much more into this project than they'd let on.

"This wasn't easy to find, Doctor. I just hope I've gotten it to the right person," she said, one eyebrow arched. Sullivan gave her a small nod, his face grave. The woman didn't seem to trust anyone.

"Let's find out then, shall we?" he questioned, glancing around the solemn but nervous group in front of him. The doctor took out a sheet of paper and a pen and sat down. He proceeded to read and translate the ancient paper in front of him, working quietly as the others sat around the table next to him. They looked on as he focused the magnifying glass on the words scrawled onto the paper in nearly illegible cursive. Sullivan cleared his throat after scratching down almost a paragraph of the journal passage. "This writing seems to be a form of old English, just like the other documents we've recovered. They're all from the same time period," he stated as he read. Jade leaned forward as the magnifying glass moved back and forth across the paper, her hands supporting her chin as she rested her elbows on the surface of the table. Even Berg seemed rather impatient as he asked Fox to refill the cup of tea sitting in front of him on a stack of books. The assistant obliged, hurrying out of the stiflingly silent room. A hot air balloon carrying city sightseers floated lazily past the floor to ceiling windows on the opposite wall but no one looked up for fear of distracting the focused doctor.