Adventures in Tomb Raiding

Evening hung quietly over the Croft manor, Lara's cup of coffee steamed gently in the cool air of the open-windowed study. As a global traveler, it was very rare that she ever stuck to a consistent schedule of sleep. It was still several hours before she wanted to be in bed but the jet lag was hanging just as quietly but oppressively over her. She could use a vacation, after all, she'd just thanklessly saved the world again. She was starting to lose track of how many times it was by now. It was starting to bother her too, she was getting jumpy. Starting to see Atlantean gods or worse, Natla, in every shadow. Maybe it was time for a vacation. There was enough money in the Croft bank accounts that she'd never have to leave the manor again, but that wasn't why she did this job.

She let the warmth of the bitter coffee soak through her body, the room was chilly in just her bathrobe. She was enjoying feeling a bitter chill again after a month in the Sahara. She had especially enjoyed her shower as well after a month in the Sahara. Maybe it was time for a vacation. Not somewhere dry and sandy ideally.

Lara sat at her desk flicked through the records of her expeditions in her computer. There was that one that still bothered her, the Egypt job. No matter how many times she went back over her own notes, the final line still bothered her.

"Unfortunately the key in its current state remains incomplete, nothing quite as useless as 4/5ths of a key."

Lara opened the drawer of her desk and grabbed the incomplete key. To complete it would be to open the tomb of Bofhadese. It was any 2-bit archeologist's wet dream. Lara was no 2-bit archeologist either. To open the tomb was to have your name etched into history, but the last fifth of the key could be anywhere. Once you introduce a crystal skull slipgate to any place on planet Earth into the mix, finding anything of mythic property becomes finding a needle in a multidimensional haystack.

Winston popped his head through the study door. "Is there anything else I can do for you before I settle in, Miss Croft?"

"No Winston, enjoy your rest."

"It seems as though there is something on the Madame's mind?"

Lara sighed "I swear you can read minds sometimes. I'm just... looking for something I may never find."

"Well, if I may suggest, I often find when something is well and truly lost, the best way to find it is to look for something else. Though that does lead to always not knowing the location of at least something."

"So you're saying I should look for something else and hope I find the key?"

"What I'm saying is that the worst that can happen is that you find something else valuable."

"I suppose that's hard to argue with." Lara mused as she leaned back in her chair. She tapped her foot on the floor and thought about her other jobs, some of them seemed like complete rubbish, of course, but it was better than sitting around playing bridge with Winston and the help. Not that it was a terrible way to spend time, but whenever she did one of the randier old men would suggest strip poker instead.

"If I may suggest Madame, I would say some vacation time might be better for you. It's been a dreadfully long time since you went somewhere and weren't shot at."

"I'll consider it Winston. Good Night."

"And unless you're going to France, you may want to put some knickers on."

Lara crossed her legs. "Good Night Winston."

The old man chuckled as he disappeared down the hall. Even if it was nothing Winston hadn't seen before Lara still felt her ears get hot. She stood up and pulled her bathrobe a little tighter around her. She sealed the windows and stoked the fire briefly before returning to her desk. She opened her inbox, scrolling through the new messages. Aside from the usual bevy of solicitations from land barons, museums, and adult industry sleazeballs, there was always a couple of new artifact rumors or news articles about discoveries. She had plenty saved of course, but there was always room for more.

Lara sat back and flicked through some of the meatier prospects. It's not like she needed to go back out so soon, money was no issue. Of course, if she actually completed the key, she'd have enough time for any amount of vacation considering she'd have made the biggest archeological achievement in history. Of course, there was nothing stopping her from spending some time at home first.