Owner	Pose
Peter Parker	The place is famous in a few literary circles, primarily in a young-adult book about two kids who run away and camp out in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, live on vending-machine food, and discover a mystery about a lost work of Michaelangelo. Peter Parker read the book at the same time he discovered the movie RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Put together, they fueled his desire to become an archaeologist. It lasted about a year. As hard as he worked at it, he had to admit that science was his great strength, not history. But he never forgot his first love. He continued to study ancient history even as he excelled in science. And sometimes...he ran across something that piqued his interest. And it drew him here. It felt...like fate, almost.
Inez Temple	Inez spent most of her high school career in fights and getting pulled out of fights, working her father's ranch, and largely just scraping by in her classes. Not because she couldn't but because most of it just didn't interest her at the time. Now, however, she's older and better able to appreciate all the fun of history and culture. Living in New York City means access to some of the best museums and galleries in the country, allowing her to explore things now that held little interest for her then. She's roaming the displays, pausing here and there as one or the other catches her interest. At the moment, she's standing in front of the Unicorn Tapestries, looking at them with a small smile, appreciating the work and effort that went into them.
Peter Parker	Peter unshoulders his backpack and opens it up to dig into it. *Come on, where is it, where is...* OOF. A good sound to make when you blindly blunder into a gunslinger girl because you're not looking where you're going. The young man with the brown hair and the startled brown eyes backs up quickly, holding up his hands. As he does, a few papers and a dog-eared copy of FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER tumble out of the backpack, landing on the floor with a quiet "whap." "Geez, miss, sorry! Sorry. I didn't mean to run into you like that..."
Inez Temple	Walking into Inez is like walking into a wall, she's a solid lady. Not the first time it's happened, though people usually aren't as nice about it as this young man. Inez turns, a friendly smile in place, "Hey there, pardner. Sorry fer missin' ya there. Yer all right?" She spots the fallen items and leans over to pick up the book and papers, "Here, lemme help ya with these.." Rising up, she blinks at the startled expression, chuckling, "Yer all good, darlin'. Here, ya dropped these." A glance again at the book has her smilin', "A favorite, I'm guessin'?"
Peter Parker	Peter blinks twice. "Uhm...yes, ma'am," he says, taking the book and looking at the faded cover, the line drawing of the protagonists walking up to the steps of the museum faded into near-invisibility. "It's about this museum. Tells a story about two kids who camp out in the museum itself." He looks up from the book to Inez, then blushes immediately. He was being rude. "Uhm, thanks. My name's Peter Parker. I'm...well, I guess you could say I'm an armchair archaeologist."
Inez Temple	"Really? Huh.. might hafta look that up then. Sounds like a fun story!" Inez flashes that easygoing grin to Peter, handing off the book and straightening with her hands hooking through her beltloops. "Inez Temple. Nice t'meetcha Peter Parker. Can't says I've ever been any kinda archaeologist, but I traveled a lot an' been all sortsa interestin' places. Figured mebbe I should start learnin' bout some of 'em."
Peter Parker	Peter gave Inez an apologetic smile. "Well, nice to meet you. And yes, it's nice to get a good grasp on history. I never did a lot of traveling. I've been as far as Metropolis and Gotham City, but no farther than that. Most of the travelin' I did was in books. I've 'been' to Narnia, Westeros, Klahd, Hogwarts, the past, the future...the most traveling a 98-pound teenage weakling could manage." He looked up at one tapestry, one showing hunters and hunting dogs. "The level of detail in these is pretty impressive."
Inez Temple	Inez gives a sympathetic smile and nods, "Yeah, I know that feelin'. Got pushed 'round a lot when I was little, picked on, bullied. Thought it woulda ended when I started growin' an' fillin' out, bulkin' up... but nah. People that are gonna be dicks, are gonna find ways t'be dicks no matter what." She lifts a shrug and smiles at him, "Ya disappeared into books, I disappeared into a ranch... we both found ways t'hide an' discover our own interests away from judgin' eyes." Looking back to the tapestry, she lets out a breath, "Amazin' what they could without much technology. People're creative, determined... they'll find ways."
Peter Parker	Peter nodded. "Listen...were you looking at just general stuff here? I'm actually looking for the older era, like starting at the first-century AD and working my way up." He pointed towards a hallway leading out of the UNICORN TAPESTRY exhibit. "I'm heading this way. If you want to come along, an extra set of eyes would be appreciated."
Inez Temple	"Yeah, jes' kinda meanderin' round, really. I never really took much interest in this stuff when I was younger... kinda enjoyin' it now." Inez smiles at him, then glances towards the hallways and giving a nod, "Sounds like fun, an' ya sound like ya got a better idea bout how t'go bout this whole visitin' thing." She shifts and turns to walk along with him.
Peter Parker	Peter shrugs and he puts his backpack on. "Well...there's, as they say, more to the story." Peter walks at a regular pace - not hurryin, but not dawdling, either. "While Spider-Man was busting up a gang of thieves, he found something that was hidden after the cops were done with the crime scene. I take pictures of him, so we have sort of a...SYMBIOTIC relationship." He chuckles. "Anyway, he showed it to me, and now here I am, showing it to you." Peter took out a thin sheet of paper, currently in a clear ziplock bag, with the text displayed on the unmarked side of the bag. "I'm having it deciphered, but there is a name here. 'Souvarich.' I'm trying to see what its relevance is."
Inez Temple	Long legs help to keep up with Peter, Inez moving at a pace that will keep them together, neither ahead nor behind. She lifts a brow and grins at him, "Ahhhhh, ya know Spider-Man? That's pretty neat there, Peter Parker. Yer a lucky guy. I hear he's pretty selective bout who he hangs out with." Still, as the amble along, she listens, looking to the piece of paper, then back to Peter. "I'm guessin' ya've already doen a computer search on th' name. Come up with anythin' interestin'?"
Peter Parker	Peter shakes his head. "There's a lot of stuff on the Internet, but most of it is coincidences and dead ends. However, there is one reference to an object in this museum - an old scroll recently discovered. Supposed to be a cache of scrolls taken from the library of Alexandria during the eruption of Vesuvius."
Inez Temple	"Well now, don't go discreditin' coincidences outta hand, Peter Parker. We live in a world where aliens fall from th' sky on a pretty regular basis, people c'n walk through walls, lift cars... where magic exists side by side wit' tech from future alternate realities." Inez lifts a shrug and smiles at him, "Not sayin' yer wrong, seem like a right smart young man. But jes' cause someone lived thousands o' years ago don't mean they can't still be alive now."
Peter Parker	Peter grinned wryly. "You know that old saying? 'If you hear hoofbeats, don't assume it's zebras?' I was thinking more along the lines of a family name, one passed down through generations." The decor shifts from medieval paintings and Rubenesque women to Roman mosaics and lean, athletic Greek statues. "Okay...there should be a display around here. They photographed the text in the scrolls at 108 megapixels to preserve the scrolls themselves from excessive handling. I just have to look up the right one."
Inez Temple	"Sweetie, if I hear hoofbeats, my first thought ain't of which animal, it's gettin' out th' way o' the stampede," Inez laughs and tips a wink his way before straightening up and giving a nod. "An' yer right, it ain't always somethin' crazy an' ridiculous. Jes' most o' th' time. High averages skewed based on location, population, an' diversity of cultures." She tucks her hands into her back pockets, sharp eyes darting from photo to photo, then pointing to one four down from their present position. "There. That's th' one with th' text like yer bit o' paper."
Peter Parker	Peter nods. "Yep, that's it. let's see what the rest says..." He leans a little closer to read the text better. He takes a tablet out from the backpack, then turns it on and taps an icon named "ROSETTA." As he passes the tablet over the image of th3e scroll, the old Latin is converted into 20th-century English. "It has been three months since the rise of the cult and the legates are unable to explain the groundswell of this movement. Even efforts to cull these followers of the one named Christ have limited success. There is even rumor of one family, Souvarichus. Rogues from the East. They had all decamped three months ago, and rumor has it that..." Peter stopped, then slowly continued, "...that they venerate the nail they stole from the cult leader's cross."
Inez Temple	Settling back, Inez lets Peter handle the tech part of this, making a mental note to look into this Rosetta app later. Seems handy! She lifts a brow as he reads, letting out a small laugh and shaking her head, "Oh boy, kid. Ya sure know how t'pick 'em. Yer lookin' fer nothin' less than a major religious artifact. It's prob'ly in the Vatican by now."
Peter Parker	Peter frowned. "Probably. Another word for 'don't know.'" He looks to Inez as he closes the tablet. "So we follow this family name Souvarichus. I take it you are familier with the legend of the Fourth Nail?"
Inez Temple	"Not even a little," Inez chuckles and shakes her head. "But I know a thing or two bout relics... been sent after thieves more'n enough to pick up a bit here'n'there."
Peter Parker	Peter finds a bench and sits, beckoning to Inez to join him. "The legend goes that the nails used to keep Jesus on the cross at His crucifixion - one of the worst ways to be executed - were nails through the hands and feet. Back then, the wrists were considered part of the hand, so the nail went in between the radius and the ulna. Because if they went through the palms, the body would fall off. Two nails for the feet. The legend says that one of the earliest of the Romani - Gypsies, as they are otherwise known - stole one of the nails, and provided some relief. For that, the Romany people believe that they are eternally forgiven for all the sins they commit. Theologically unsound, but it's still an artifact from the most infuential act of Christianity. The Romany fear that if they were to lose the nail, then their 'protected status' would end."
Inez Temple	Meandering over, she settles down and the bench and turns towards Peter with a smile. The story is pretty far-fetched and silly, as many legends tend to be, but she's learned not to discount such things out of hand. Isntead, Inez gives a couple of nods and cants her head at him, "So... yer thinkin' this Souvarichus is th' descendants of th' one that stole th' nail in th' first place. Or, at least, they'll think they are. Mebbe they are. Mebbe not. We'll suss it out."
Peter Parker	Peter nods. "We can follow the backtrail using old record, see how valid it is. There is one more thing, though. There is a Romany family here in America. The family name is Souvarich. They are always moving, using a series of vans and buses. They roll in, work a bunch of scams, then move on when the area gets too hot and the police start scoping them out."
Inez Temple	Inez chuckles as he explains further, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees. "Let me ask ya somethin', Peter Parker. Are ya thinkin' bout chasin' down these Romany folk an' askin' bout a stolen nail from Jesus' cross? Cause... if they don' like havin' cops sniffin' round askin' questions, ain't sure they'll be any happier with a young aspirin' archaeologist doin' it."
Peter Parker	Peter gave her a rueful smile. "This bunch? They lie as easily as they breathe. They may only have taken the name for its significance and may be from another clan entirely. Two of their clan were disowned three years ago because they were too HONEST. No, no...why ask if we're going to get lies? Better to track the historical record, piece together the genealogy, and put it all together. Even if they do have it...what can we do about it? Do we arrest them for theft? I think the statute of limitations of any crime definitively ends when a CIVILIZATION ends. I think the only crime that could be put to them would be if they claimed it was the real deal and it wasn't. Fraud...now THAT is something we can put in front of a judge and jury."
Inez Temple	"Ya sound like ya've talked to 'em already... Peter, I know we ain't real acquainted or nothin' but... yer not like... huntin' down dangerous people t'ask 'em pointed questions bout their family history, are ya?" Inez peers at Peter closely before giving a small nod and settling back again. She chuckles low and shakes her head, "See, an' I wasn't even thinkin' of turnin' 'em in. More bout findin' th' nail an' recoverin' it from 'em."
Peter Parker	Peter chuckles. "No, I didn't talk to any of them. But while i was doing a deep-dive on the name, the police records and news articles popped like weeds." He chuckles. "Are you interested in doing some research of your own on this family of grifters?"
Inez Temple	Nodding, satisfied he wasn't rolling up and knocking on the doors of potentially dangerous people, Inez blinks, the lets out a chuckle and shakes her head, "'Fraid I ain't much fer computers. We never had one growin' up, outside th' old laptop m'da used fer the ranch's books. But if'n ya need someone t' hunt down somethin', then I'm yer girl."
Peter Parker	Peter nods, then writes down a number on a piece of paper he pulls from his backpack - an envelope supposed to be for sending a payment to ConEd. Peter hands it to Inez, then says, "All right. We can communicate this way. I have text and voicemail on this number."
Inez Temple	Inez takes the enveloper, looking at the number with a nod. Tearing the envelope in half, she scribbles down her name and number for him and hands it over with a smile. "Here, so ya know it's me. I should prob'ly mosey on along, still gotta figure out dinner fer tonight. But this was fun. An' it were good meetin' ya Peter. If I catcha out again, remind me an' we'll stop fer dogs an' a soda somewhere."