In reply to Count Sigismund Bathony (msg # 892):

Using his handkerchief, the Count dabbed at his forehead and neck as he started to sweat profusely. Suddenly, he keeled over in a dead faint. He regained consciousness soon after, and was shocked to realise (by the presence of the dark starry sky) it was now night.

Mr. Perkins followed the others out of the tunnel as perplexed as the rest of the group. He had remained on the periphery of the group as they investigated the tomb to better provide security and had still not witnessed anything that made his in the least suspicious.

He saw the Count stumble as he tried to rationalize the days events in his mind. Mr Perkins caught the Count as he fell lowering him to the ground and he began to loosen his collar as the Count seems to come around.

The Count gets a vague sense of someones arm coming towards him as he abruptly ends up sitting on his rump. The desert night swirls around him as he suddenly feels quite detached from reality and his surroundings.

He tries to utter some words of reassurance to those around him that he is alright; "I...I... am somewhat overcome. Ah... a few minutes and .... I should be fine." He sits upright and as his vision starts to return and then clear he sees Mr Perkins at his side. A few more seconds and he stands and although a little unsteady at first seems to regain his strength. "Some water I believe and I should be fine... and maybe a seat."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:24, Thu 23 Apr 2015.

"Count, are you alright?" Cynthia hurries to the man's side, checking his forehead and helping him to lay or sit comfortably. She checks him over quickly for signs of injury or causes of shock, then eyes the water.

"Are you able to walk?"

In reply to Cynthia Jane Holloway (msg # 896):

"Yes... I am quite myself again. Thank you for your concern Ms Holloway." He moves to seat and looks rather relieved to have made it."Perhaps the examination of the tomb was more taxing then I thought."

JM was lost in thought as they exited the tomb.  He listened with interest to Alexander's explanation but before he could ask a question the Count suffered his attack.  He headed over to help him, lending a hand to get the other man in a chair.  He looks curiously at the Count for a moment and shakes his head.

"I don't know about the rest of you but my watch shows that it should be 4 PM not night.  Something odd happened in there, something perhaps associated with the intense chill that we felt.  This could have affected the Count as well."

Mr Perkins took a seat once the Count had waved him off with a smile. He to drank a glass of water and then a thought came to him; "Could this time distortion be a residue effect from the moving of the sarcophagus ? I would have never believed it in the past, but given what we have seen over the last few weeks perhaps it is not out of the realm of possibility ?"

JM shook his head.  "I would not beleive it myself had I not experienced the events of the last month myself.  I would guess that the two are related George."

"Removing the sarcophagus would be quite easy if the thief was able to slow time itself down. Imagine it! Although, I suppose it would be a mistake to assume that was the order things played out. Perhaps it was the result of the mummy itself, or something about the tomb which resulted in it.

"Have any of you heard of such a thing before?"

JM shook hsi head. "The effect for us was the opposite of what would be needed to get the sarcophagus out of the tomb.  We lost four or so hours of time."

"Was this documented by any parties who visited before? Or did they take particularly long? I suppose I'm wondering, is this change recent?"

In reply to Cynthia Jane Holloway (msg # 903):

Alexander shook his head. He seemed more able to absorb the strangeness of the sitatuation than his friend, Nigel, as he had been briefed on what had occurred back in England.

"There were no reports of such oddities. It could be someone has altered time and space inside there, and we felt the aftereffects."

Nigel didn't have anything to add, and indeed seemed to have wandered off in the direction of the nearby dig and was blissfully unaware of the strangeness of what was being discussed. Although he did keep within a safe distance of the others so as to remain under the protection of the guards.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:18, Mon 27 Apr 2015.

In reply to Alexander Hussein Mahfouz (msg # 904):

Molly thought and thought, something dangerous for her to do, and finally shrugged.  "It is strange of that there is no doubt.  I would think that the most likely explanations would be some sort of chemical or something that we inhaled and didn't realize it which caused us to be unaware of our surroundings.  Speaking of which, perhaps we should check what we brought with us to see if anything is missing."

Molly started to go through her pack that she had carried to see if everything was still there OR if something had been added.

In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 902):

The Count placed the empty glass onto the table and replied to Mr Falcon; "Could this time distortion be some sort of residual affect, say if they speed up time it is now slowed in the tomb. Either way without some concrete proof we can only speculate. Let us return to the estate and try to draw up plans for tomorrow ?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:17, Fri 01 May 2015.

"Alright, let's return. But if the expedition reports are available anywhere, I think we should read through them."

JM shook his head.  "There doesn't seem to be much more to be gained here.  I'd say we return and read what reports we can manage."

Molly at what everybody was saying.  "We appear to be spinning our mental wheels so we might as well do it some place else then here."

In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 909):

"Noting odd like this caught my eye when I was reporting on the dig and the theft for the Bulletin. I will send over what articles I can find in the Cairo Bulletin archives, tomorrow morning. As well, I have contacts among the local workers. Good friends in low places, one might say."

He lit a narrow cigar using a Lucifer.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:30, Tue 05 May 2015.

In reply to Molly 'Mungo' Fuller (msg # 906):

Alexander conducted an examination of the items that had been left in the care of Salim, his Bedouin assistant.

"It appears everything is here. According to Salim, my guards that were posted outside do not report anything strange."

In reply to Nigel Wassif (msg # 911):

"Tomorrow I will also go through the Cairo Museum's documents and paperwork. Perhaps there is something there.

"If I may, what will our next step be? Will it to visit the Clive expedition's new dig in Memphis to the south? Visit the Mosque that the Black Brotherhood was interested in? Or seek out the foreign scholar that left the Clive expedition and is still in Cairo?"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:33, Tue 05 May 2015.

A check revealed no personal items missing among their possessions.

It being evening, they returned by motor-car (and Alexander on his Norton motorcycle) to Alexander's estate on Boulaq Gezirat island.

Nigel bid them adieu and hired a motor-taxi to take him over the other bridge into Cairo itself.

There wasn't much reading to be done that night. In the morning they received a packet of clippings from the Cairo Bulletin's archives. While many concerned the theft of the mummy and 3-ton sarcophagus without a trace, none seemed to indicate the kind of strangeness which they'd experienced.

Cynthia is up early to peruse Alexander's library, looking through for history books that might be relevant, or if she's very lucky, anything on the recent discoveries in the tomb. She'll take tea before breakfast, although if anyone seems in the mood, she'll see about shaking up a bloody mary, or a similar morning drink to take the edge off.

Headlines:

KING AND PRIME MINISTER CONSULT WITH AMBASSADOR ALLENBY (Ambassador and war hero George Allenby was soon stepping down as High Commissioner of Egypt and the Sudan)

CLIVE EXPEDITION STILL IN MEMPHIS (Expedition still plagued with misfortune and accidents, some even fatal. A number of members and local assistants have been dismissed and/or suffered various problems relating to their physical or mental faculties.)

NO SUSPECTS IN GIZA PYRAMID MUMMY THEFT
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:39, Tue 12 May 2015.

In reply to The Cairo Bulletin (msg # 916):

Using the records at the Museum, Bahadir tracked down the address for Janwillem Vanheuvelen, the Dutch scholar that was dismissed from the Clive expedition.

The address on record was a flat out by Heliopolis, an upper-middle-class neighborhood just outside the city to the east. It was a quiet, respectable neighborhood. The ride by tram was through Cairo's mostly-clean streets, washed nightly (with soap!) and at least in many areas Cairo was more orderly and presentable than European cities (the Old Town excepted).

Departing the tram, Rashid and  walked a short distance to the whitewashed block of low-rise flats. Each entrance had its own outside access, but they stopped at the landlord's flat to send a note. The old Egyptian woman sweeping the walk outside looked at the name. She didn't seem to need her husband's permission to talk to them and she scowled as she said, "the Dutchman? He's gone, left two weeks ago. I don't know where. And he owes me back rent!"