The Masks of Nyarlathotep:
A field report by Capt
Sandy Wood
In to the Bent Pyramid…
We went to Al Wasta
for our appointment with Ahmed to be shown the pyramid at Meidum.
Black Cat had some business “with cats” (which I am taking as his way of saying
“don't ask”) and Sphinx was adamant that he wasn't going near the place again, but
the rest of went in one large car.
Whereas I wasn't really expecting an ambush,
I wasn't sure that there wouldn't be one, so it made sense to be careful. Accordingly
Shadowman and myself went to
scout out the area first, dressed as locals. On approaching Ayesha's
home it became clear that there were a lot of men walking in the same direction.
As we got closer, it was clear that there was a gathering at her house. Some of
the men seemed to be expecting us to join them, but we thought it wiser to watch
from a distance, until we had worked out what was going on. It became clear when
a smallish wrapped corpse was brought out of the house with Ahmed in attendance.
We immediately realised that Ayesha was dead and this
was her funeral.
As the funeral procession moved off we fell
in with it. We attended the funeral and afterwards we queued up with the others
to pay our respects. Ahmed was surprised and, I think, initially angry to see us;
unsurprising as he associates us with their tragedy. He remarked that his mother
had died because she had nothing further to do; a reference I think to our having
taken responsibility for the artefacts that she had been keeping. However he seemed
to recognise that we genuinely wished him well.
The planned visit to Meidum
came up in the conversation as our reason for being there. We indicated that we
were willing to reschedule for any time at his convenience. To my surprise he suggested
after
We collected Ahmed from the mosque after
On our return to
In the morning six of us: Ice Queen, Shadowman, T-Shirt, Sphinx, Ibis and myself
set off for the Bent Pyramid. Black Cat, it seems, is still “chasing cats” (I do
wish he would tell us what this is really about). The letter that has been issued
to Ibis got us past the guards, who we cause a little trouble for as there was a
bunch of American tourist there at the same time, who were aggrieved that we were
allowed in and they weren't.
We entered by the northern entrance (the one
used by tourists when it is open to the public; not the one used by Clive). From
there we made our way to the main chamber, which was presumably intended as a burial
chamber, although it does not seem to have ever been used for that purpose. The
access to it is also far too narrow to accommodate atypical sarcophagus, so either
a different style of burial was intended or the pyramid had an entirely different
purpose.
On one wall there are a pair
of alabaster columns framing a very large single stone block. For such chambers
it is remarkably lacking in inscriptions. This, along with the ancient scaffolding
still in place on the way to the chamber, makes the place seem unfinished. Examination
of the block between the pillars showed gaps around the edges and that it is actually
quite a thin slab that can quite easily moved.
It is wholly implausible that the enormous number
of archaeologists who have examined this room could all have missed this. So it
seems inevitable that it has been opened for the first time comparatively recently
and in the process the grout that had sealed it has been dislodged. Having opened
the door we found that it led to another empty room with one other exit, a ramp
leading upwards. I cast Detect Enchantment and concluded that the room was
magical.
The ramp ran straight for a short distance and
then there was a right-angle turn. After about the same distance there was another
turn in the same direction. Every ram was the same length and ended in a similar
turn, forming a square spiral. This went on for a few hundred feet. The pyramid
is only 101m high and the floor of the main chamber is a little above ground level,
so it was rather surprising that we could have gone so far and still be inside the
pyramid. Finally we arrived at the top of the final ramp which ended in an irregular
arch beyond which was a large chamber with a black throne at the far end. We cautiously
entered the chamber.
The chamber was about 18m deep and about 10m
wide. On each side there were three pillars, each topped by a large crystal of precious
stone. The throne near the far wall was encrusted with precious stones.
There were no obvious other exits, so I decided
to check the one part of the room that was hidden from view, behind the throne.
I found no further exit but the back wall was covered in hieroglyphics. Among these,
in addition to the normal ancient Egyptian script, I noticed a number of Mythos symbols. Ice Maiden had come over to look as well when
Shadowman suddenly screamed. I turned round and found
that he seemed to be having some form of fit. Ice Maiden, as our main medic, went
to attend to him. Then Sphinx shouted that the door way was blocked. Actually it
would be more accurate to say that it had disappeared. The wall opposite the throne
was now complete, with no sign that there had ever been an entrance.
If anything this made finding out about the
place more, not less, urgent. I called over to Ibis to ask if she could read the
text behind the throne. She did and said that it was a prophecy of the birth of
a child of Nyarlathotep at Mountain of the Black Wind, 2000 miles to the south which
would bring about great destruction on the earth.
Then all of the crystals on the tops of the
pillars lit up and there was a strange tittering sound, and I saw that someone was
sitting on the throne! I had not noticed him arrive from anywhere. He was slightly
built, even puny, with jet black skin. He was dressed as an Egyptian pharaoh with
a golden mask, like a death mask, which was odd on someone apparently living. I
remembered a reference in one of the reports I had read to someone dressed like
this who had been encountered by another MI13 operative. I don't remember the full
details but the important point was that you didn't want to see behind the mask.
Then he started to speak, in English I think;
certainly we all understood him. He greeted us as though (at least some of us) were
old friends, and asked to be introduced to the ‘new friends’. John Zwaiter, ever the diplomat, introduced himself.
Then Eliza asked what had happened to
Then he offered us all knowledge; Nyarlathetop asked us each in turn what we wanted. I was confused.
I really couldn't think about anything other than the appalling images that we had
just seen. I asked for knowledge of the Mythos and he
gave me a book.
Finally the Crawling Chaos took his leave. He
disappeared and the entrance reappeared. On the throne there was a flail and a sceptre
made of gold, lapis lazuli, gems and similar materials. Shadowman
and Sphinx took them. We went out the way we had come.
Once we were back in the main chamber we closed
the door. Inspecting it again we were unable to see the
gaps any more, nor were we able to re-open it. It seems that it is a magical portal
and that we were allowed through it.
On the way back I inspected the book; it seems
that is a pristine and complete copy of the Necronomicon.
Clearly this needs to be in the MI13 library. As soon as we had access to secure
lines again I phoned HQ; Contessa answered but almost
immediately Tulip came on the line. He had very grave news; Cruella
is dead. Tulip fears that without her personal influence, and with an unbelieving
and hostile Prime Minister, MI13 is imminent danger of being disbanded, quite possibly
within the hour. We might be recalled without warning. He strongly hinted that we
should avoid calling again as our next contact with HQ may have us recalled.
I am not unduly worried for the moment at least.
I have written orders seconding me to this unit to provide military consultancy
and protection. Until such time as I receive a countermanding command, I am justified
in, indeed required, continuing the operation. The worst that can happen is that
we get recalled home. If that happens then, given how dangerous this operation looks
like being, and how unlikely any proper recognition for us is, I shall not be particularly
disappointed.
I had intended to leave the Necronomicon in the embassy to allow MI13 to collect it, if
anything should happen to us preventing me returning to HQ with it. Tulip thought
this unwise. We will just have to hope we will be in a position to return with it.
I spoke to Sphinx about this and found that
Ice Maiden had left for the airport to return to HQ, ignorant of the risk that there
won't be an HQ by the time that she gets there. I went straight to the airport,
managed to talk to her and persuade her to stay in
Night of
We have another evening of necromancy planned.
This time we intend to dig up Farez Najir, the shop-keeper with black-market connections who apparently
died in a fire at his shop. This time it is a Muslim cemetery so it will be harder
to hide what we are doing.
I am glad that I won't actually be immediately
involved in necromancy. I will be more useful on the perimeter preventing the operation
being disturbed. Ibis was once again successful in raising the shade, and again
it seemed willing to tell all. It seems that Najir had
been murdered. Apparently he had been commissioned to steal some items for Rifat Abassi, who was a priest in
the cult of the Black Pharaoh. He had stolen a bust of the Black Pharaoh and an circlet. It seems that of these the circlet was far more valuable.
Najir also mentioned that he had hired a (presumably
bent) policeman, Omar Shafik, to shadow Abassi. Shafik reported that Abassi had gone to the
There was more than this but I didn't get every
detail as I was busy keeping the locals away from the dig.