The Fatima made her way along the coast for three days, passing Alexandria to the west of the mouth of the Nile river in the afternoon.

There was a haze of smoke from cooking fires. Towers and minarets loomed among the brick and concrete buildings of a city housing hundreds of thousands of Egyptians. Dozens of steamers bobbed at anchor outside the harbour, and the wide bay was jammed with thousands of fishing boats, barges, cargo lighters and water taxis, along with traditional Arab sailing craft like dhows and feluccas.

But this wasn't their final destination, as they would continue past the vast port city to travel up the Nile itself!

In reply to Doctor Phillip Weston (msg # 416):

"I haven't had the time to research all of the artifacts, although I suppose we have no shortage of it now. The scrolls are in Arabic of Hieroglyphics. Mr. Mahfouz, are you familiar with this ancient language? Perhaps you can make heads or tails of it."

Cynthia will stay in the shade of the cabin when the sun is beating down, but dusk and morning she'll read on deck and enjoy a little sunlight. With only a few days, and with Molly and J-M, well ... she has plenty of impetus to dig into the books.

Molly paused a moment to considered what Mungo would do and finally chuckled.  "Mungo would look at the liquor and think that Molly had better be careful how much she drinks around such a handsome man as you John-Marc.  At the same time, of course, she could be poking Molly in the ribs saying..."

Molly looked at her drink again and blinked.  She wasn't going to be telling John-Marc what Mungo would have said.  He didn't need to know that both Mungo and Molly approved of how dashing he looked and Mungo liked the thrilling daring dos that he did.

"Why yes. Due to my interest in archaeology I am fairly familiar with the symbols used in ancient times by my people. I am also fluent in Arabic. I'd be happy to examine these scrolls."

After hours of study as they sailed along, he announced, "there is one scroll written in Arabic and one in Heiroglyphics that I cannot comprehend. The other three interesting-looking ones seem to contain rituals. Spells, if you will. This one, in hieroglyphics on parchment, imparts the teaching of how to summon a winged servant from beyond the stars. This one in Arabic binds some sort of walker behind the angles of the Earth to one's will. The last one, also in Arabic, allows one to send dreams."

Mr Perkins takes a seat at the table and puts his pot of mint tea down. He has decided to subscribes to the notion that a hot drink lessons the effect of the heat. He eagerly watched the scenes unfolding in front of them as he takes a sip from his cup.

JM had a look of barely suppressed enjoyment on his face as he chatted with Molly.  She was certainly proving to be as interesting as she was both brave and attractive.  With a journey of a few days before them and a return to the pursuit of evil he vowed to learn more about her as best he could.

"Tell Mungo not to worry and put everything in my hands; adventure awaits us."  He chuckled as the warmth of the alcohol settled into his stomach.  JM thought for a moment but decided not to pursue what Mungo might have said.  There was no need to rush things no matter where they were or were not going.  The weather and the trip were lovely and the company equally so.

"So have you been to Egypt or the Holy Land Molly?  I would expect you could post a few bylines from Cairo at least under a pseudonym."

In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 423):

Molly grinned at John-Marc's question.  "I'll tell Mungo that you'll take care of me.  As for being in Egypt or the Holy Land befor?  I'm afraid that I haven't.  I have so many stories that I want to write right now but what do I do in my spare time?  Sit and drink with a handsome man.  Uncle will just have to wait for his stories for a bit longer."

"I'm not sure how much time we will have to sight see but you have to see the Pyramids and the Grand Suk, the marketplace in Cairo.  Both are magnificent.  I spent a bit of time in this area while in the Service although our host Alexander is the expert."  He filled his glass with more gin and a splash of tonic.  Tilting his head slightly he offered more to Molly.  "Refresh your glass?"

JM chuckled.  "Well, it is really my pleasure to sit with you Molly.  I almost feel bad about interfering in your stories but then it passes with a bit more gin."

At this point, after days of travel by both sail and steam motor along the Mediterranean coast, they passed Alexandria. The wide mouth of the ancient Nile came into view, choked with sailboats and other fishing craft. The Fatima turned to starboard, sails ruffling in the breeze. Soon, they'd need to go to steam power to fight the current upriver.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:50, Fri 10 Jan 2014.

"Eureka! I found something on some of these artifacts. The mirror is some sort of scrying mirror, by the name of the 'mirror of Gal'. Using a red substance called 'obra'an', you draw an inverted ankh and concentrate on what you want to see. Using the black "powder of Ganesh-Gal" you can curse the subject with a 'torment of damnation'.

"We also got a jar of powder called the powder of ibn Ghazi, which you blow on things that are invisible or obscured in this dimension, and they become visible.

"I didn't find anything about the scepters. There may be something in one of the other books."

Molly chuckled at John-Marc's comment about feeling bad.  "I think we both need more then.  I'd hate to be cause of you feeling bad so more gin it is."  Molly held out her glass to JM and smiled.  "The marketplace sounds like a wonderful place to drag you through.  I'm sure that Cynthia would enjoy it also especially with our own personal package carriers.  The Pyramids would be wonderful also.  They are so majestic to behold.  Why even I might be speechless...for at least a minute."

JM mixed Molly another drink.  "That's the spirit.  In the proper dosage a fine gin is the best of social lubricants." He then extended his hand.  "Come up on deck with me Molly, we are passing through the Alexandria upon the Nile.  You will want to see this.  As for the Suk I think we can find plenty to your taste there."  He will lead her up on deck to watch Egypt go by if she is willing.

"That's fantastic! We certainly could use something like that. It also explains why Gavigan and Tewfik seemed to know where we were and what we were doing, at least some of the time.

"Do you think there is another one like it, somewhere?"

Weston stared out at Alexandria as they sailed past, heading for the mouth of the Nile.

"Another mirror? The texts suggest no, but this ability is so very useful, I have to imagine someone has managed a similar effect. I'll keep reading; perhaps there is a way to avoid being scried, or at least make it more difficult."

"So what will our plan be once we are sorted and settled on Mr Mahfouz's island ?"

"I was shown the business card of a dealer in Cairo? I am somewhat familiar with the name although I've not met him personally. That would be a natural place to start our investigation. We would take care to obscure your identities.

"Then, we might try to find the dig site for the Carlyle expedition, but realise that as a matter of course such itineraries were kept secret to deter grave robbers and even rival academics. So we might find it difficult to gain information through normal channels."

In reply to Cynthia Jane Holloway (msg # 431):

"I suppose we could have those items shipped from London. It would take a week or so as they would come via train from France to Turkey, then boat from the Levant to Egypt."

In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 429):

Molly took John-Marc's hand and let him lead her.  The secret to being brave at times was to remember moments like this and know what you had to be brave for.  In Molly's case it was good friendship and family.  Molly smiled and blinked at John-Marc as Mongo slapped her up alongside her head and whispered to her "That's dribble.  If you like the guy then just go up there with him. You don't need all that sentimental dribble to do what's right."

Molly chuckled at herself and then looked at John-Marc.  "I think you have a wonderful idea John-Marc.  I'll look forward to you being my tourist guide.  Of course if you do a bad job of it Mungo might have to take over."

"Hm, the mirror would be handy, but without anyone in particular to scry, it wouldn't be very useful. After all, Carlyle is dead. But I suspect it will be quite useful at our next post, where-ever that may be.

"We have some information about this mountain. I truly suspect this is relevant, and as long as we're in a city with maps and geologists, I'd like to start doing some digging on that."

"As for people we can use the mirror to view, there's always Tewfik. As well, there's Roger Carlyle, the ultimate target of our searching, and his Australian bodyguard Jack "Brass" Brady. For objects, there are the hideous beings we've taken photographs of, and the subjects of the statues, but I would not recommend it."

The Count thought for a minute;

"I would suspect that if we were to send for the occult artefacts that they would not arrive. As it is I am unsure how they knew where they were being held and by who. If another attempt is made to steal them I left instruction for them to be destroyed and the information made public."

"I have two letters of introduction from the British Museum which I was hoping may gain entrance to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. I would like to see the archive and any information they may have on the dig or its members."

For the moment the presence of the beautiful and brave reporter allowed JM to forget the horrors of what might be yet to come.  Surely it was important to dig into the mounds of occult information they had gathered and make plans as to tracking down the Carlyle expedition.  Yet... for this moment he enjoyed the human presence next to him.  Later there would be time to do the difficult work.  He squeezed Molly's hand and smiled down at her.

He chuckled at her comment.  "I'd be honored to guide you in whatever you wish to do or where ever you wish to go Molly.  As to Mungo... I think I would enjoy having her along as well."

Leading them up on deck he set their drinks down on the railing and gazed out over the Nile.  Truly the old river of antiquity JM felt his heart stir at the sight of bustling humanity and the relics of thousands of years of the most complex civilizations.  "There we have Alexandria Molly, you can see the mosques and churches although the real treasures of Egypt are further up the river."

In reply to Count Sigismund Bathony (msg # 438):

"What if someone were to escort these items from London? They could be of considerable assistance."

In reply to Doctor Phillip Weston (msg # 440):

"Who would we trust to bring them and put themselves in incredible danger as well. I would think they would need a small army with them. That also leaves the question who will chance to use the items and preform a spell that could go horribly wrong if we make even a small mistake."

In reply to Count Sigismund Bathony (msg # 441):

"Do you not have friends in London?

"There is the Imam, as well as his congregation. Some of them might fancy a trip back to Egypt."