The Masks of Nyarlathotep pt2

Extracts from the Personal Diary of St John Cartwright-Fiennes

 

Afternoon Saturday July 26th

We didn't stop running until were in Walton-on-the-Naze. Belinda and Barbara both had wounds, and I was really shook-up. I didn't realise at the time just how badly. I do remember wanting to be close to others.

 

As I began to calm down a little, I grew certain that I knew what the creature making the tittering noise was. It was a Star Vampire.

 

Alex phoned in a preliminary report and we took refuge in the Naze cafe. Before too long (perhaps half an hour; I wasn't noting times) an army captain and a platoon of soldiers turned up. After being briefed by Alex, they went off to secure the perimeter of the estate.

 

Sometime later further muscle turned up in the form of Andy Price and Harry Wise. Harry is very much the same background and type as Andy, and I know of old that Andy is a border-line psychopath. Everyone seemed sure that I needed to be left out of the assault on the cultist and their Star Vampire. I cannot say that I was in the slightest disappointed. Adam and I sat the whole thing out in the cafe.

 

As I wasn't there, I won't comment on the assault itself. Apparently the butcher's bill was: our team: Andy wounded in the arm; Harry very badly burnt (?magically?) and evacuated by helicopter but both are expected to make complete recoveries. The cultists: five very dead (typically shot far more often than necessary to cause death), and one wounded but alive. Star Vampire: Destroyed, House: Extensive damage to the decoration, windows explosively blown out, inside of library very badly shot up.

 

In the library, they found a safe and in the safe they found:

1) A sealed Qebehsenuef (intestinal) canopic jar (seems to be a genuine ancient artefact)

2) One electronic key on the same pattern as used at the Penhew Institute

3) One small steel key

4) A letter dated 22-Feb-2008 reading:

 

Dear Aubrey,

I am happy to confirm we have found the tomb of the Queen and preparations are underway to translate the inscriptions of the Great Chamber in time for the ceremony of resurrection. We will relocate to Memphis to prepare. Broadmoor and Gardiner are with us as per instructions, but I have released Van Heuvelen as the man is incompetent and unable to obey even simple orders. We await the turning of the stars! Yours in blood, Clive

 

Memphis is the nearest town to the Saqqara necropolis, so the tomb referred to is almost certainly in Saqqara. Quite possibly it refers to the same site the Carlisle expedition was excavating. The date of the letter indicates that either Penhew survived or someone has been impersonating him after his death.

 

Having got back the cars we had abandoned earlier, we all drove back to London. By this stage HQ had shopped the Penhew Institute to Special Branch. The whole staff had been arrested and the building taken over. Using the keys we got into Penhew's sanctum in the basement. The first room was a makeshift place to sleep (extraordinarily so for a millionaire, clearly he was used to slumming it on digs). The second room (which I wasn't allowed in, on account of my fragile mental state) contained a lot of genuine ancient material largely depicting or relating to Elder Gods. The collection seems to prove a far strongly link between Egyptian religion and Mythos than has previously been established.

 

July & August

I wasn't involved in any of the further analysis as I was shipped off to this clinic in Buckinghamshire. It is a small specialist place. It specialises in PTSD and related conditions. There are a fair number of soldiers. I wasn't aware of anyone else with MI13 connections but then that wouldn't be advertised. I was there about a month. For the last week, Jules was around, so that she could be briefed about my treatment and what to look out for in case I seemed to be relapsing.