JM sighed.  He'd faced death time and time again during the War and afterward as he flew endless hours establishing his own flying service.  Yet this arcane work frightened him more deeply than the worst the war or the air could throw at him.  "Thank you Cynthia... I..."  he shrugged wordlessly.

"Tosh, we all have to carry our weight. No one expects me to be able to hit a target or drive a car. At least I can look in a mirror."

JM laughed and the tension in his shoulders relaxed.  "We all do what we must."  He took a deep breath.  "In this ritual is there aught that I can do to help?"

In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 31):

The ancient sage examined the object. He turned it over, translated the inscriptions on the back with the help of some recent German-Sumeria dictionaries he had in his library.

"This is Babylonian-era Sumerian. The common language of diplomatic correspondence in the ancient near east."

He spoke to himself as the academic in him took over and he took notes as he spoke.

“An ornate mirror with a golden frame. The frame is subtly asymmetric; strange figures have been worked into it.”

"From the ancient Sumerian: “Šen-šen ___ gal”, “The Mirror/Wrath of the Great ____” The Mirror of Gal is a Babylonian artefact and more than 3000 years old. It is made of speculum metal (a grey-white mix of 2/3 copper, 1/3 tin, adulterated with arsenic, which will hold a high polish), and so lacks a glass. The golden frame is a much more recent addition, being French Rococo of the early 19th century (the mirror was retrieved from an Egyptian tomb by Napoleonic archaeologists). Unpleasant, asymmetrical demons replace the more conventional cherubs.

"There is an inscription in cuneiform on the back, made with punches before the metal was completely hardened, which identifies the Mirror as “The Mirror (or Wrath) of the Great ___” but the symbol where the God or King’s name should go has been chiselled out. The cuneiform inscription continues that the Mirror was made in Lagash and is a gift from King (Lu-gal) Bur-ra Bu-ri-ia-aš to his “brother”, King of Egypt, Ne-Nefer-Ka-____ (the symbol which should represent the patron god of this pharaoh is likewise destroyed). “When the King my Brother wishes to view his enemy, anoint the mirror with Ub-ra-an (The sound of the drum of heaven: ub – drum; ra - to strike, bang; an - sky, heaven). When he wishes to strike his enemy, anoint the mirror with Ga-bé-se-gal (the milk sacred to/from the shrine of the great howling/buzzing one: ga – milk; bé - buzz or howl; se – shrine, sacred, dedicated to a god; gal – great, supreme). Let there be no misunderstanding between us.”

In reply to Cynthia Jane Holloway (msg # 30):

Cynthia knew what to do, as she had learned at least some of the secrets of the Morror of Gal from one of the ancient tomes she's read, the Libre d'Ivonis. The procedure is to draw an inverted ankh on the mirror using the silvery-black Ganesh/Gabre-se Gal powder.

As a precaution Dr. Khafour had her face the mirror against a blank stone wall. "If the target senses they are being scryed, they can turn the tables and see out the mirror. Best to give out as little information as possible in that case."

Keeper's Note: Cynthia knows what to do. trace the powder on the mirror in an inverted Ankh and concentrate on the target. Please RP how she does this!

Cynthia gets her niqab back on and adjusts the mirror until the wall is the only visible background (and she herself looks as common as stunning Cynthia can appear). She moves furniture and curtains around as well, to block off the side should the mirror be able to peer outside of its flat plain.

With that done, she dips a hand into the black powder and feels its weight against her skin. Carefully, with the tips of her fingers, she draws the inverted ankh. "Show me the girdle of Nitocris."

In reply to Cynthia Jane Holloway (msg # 34):

Cynthia donned the niqab and everyone made sure to get out of sight. Dr. Khafour had called for dropcloths brought in to cover the wall behind her.

Using the syrupy red substance she drew the inverted Ankh on the sickly shimmering surface and then waited. It began to simmer and something began to happen. Cynthia suddenly felt a surge of some kind of otherworldly power and her eyes grew wide as if in a trance...

JM watched uncomfortably as Cynthia prepared the ritual.

In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 36):

The strange activity continued. Everyone could feel like there was a charge building in the room. Not electricity but something equally powerful and mysterious.

"I see them... They have it on a mummy they are carrying. There is a priest with scepters. They are going to a small pyramid. Not Giza, but another one. They're going inside of it. They are about to perform the ritual. There are very many guards though. I don't think we could fight them ourselves. There's too many.

"What can we do?"

JM considered. "We could probably get help from the authorities with Alexander's help or through the Imam at the mosque.  They have an interest in seeing these people defeated."

In reply to Cynthia Jane Holloway (msg # 38):

"Miss, can you describe the pyramid in question? How do you know it was not Giza? How many such pyramids were there?" asked Dr. Khafour.

"It is small, and misshapen. Close to a larger pyramid. Perhaps those same we visited before. There are soldiers there loyal to the Brotherhood."

The Count watched the performance take place and made notes through out the ceremony while staying out of the way.

-

In reply to Count Sigismund Bathony (msg # 42):

Strangely, the Count could see nothing other than the wavery silvery surface reflecting only what a normal mirror would. That is, Cynthia and the wall behind her. He of course was able to note everything she said.

Keeper's Note: The Count's actions were a little ambiguous as to whether he was trying to directly observe the ceremony in the mirror or not, that is, whether he was in direct LOS of the surface instead of behind it like everyone else but Cynthia. Either way it seems he otherwise had no effect on the proceedings.

In reply to The Keeper (msg # 43):

Listening, Dr. Khafour commented, "I would guess that the priest was Omar Shakti.

"I believe the Pyrmamids were the Bent Pyramid and the Lesser Bent Pyramnid located in Dashur.

"It is believed the lesser pyramid is not from antiquity as there is no record of its construction or even presence until long after the end of the last Dynasty. Perhaps constructed only in Roman times or after. The record is confused. However, if it is what I think it is, then perhaps there are other reasons it has been erased from human memory and documentation.

"It is important that we have a look inside the Lesser Bent Pyramid."

In reply to Dr. Ali Khafour (msg # 44):

"The "Lesser bent Pyramid"? I was told it was erected by Napoleon. Or the Turk in mockery of the real Pyramids. And now it may be somehow connected. Astounding!

"Be that as it may, have we accomplished all we can here? The boys (Roger, Karlheinz, Dr. West, Prof. Fulty) are having a pint at a tavern near the RAF Base and Almaza Airfield in Heliopolis. They are trying to see if there's a different place to hangar the aircraft, as Almaza Airport is a little easy to get into and we can't keep them at RAF Heliopolis."

The Count put away his notebook and pencil and listened to the Doctor before nodding in agreement. "Yes it would seem this "bent" pyramid is somewhere we have to search."

OOCV: The Count was behind the mirror with everyone else, just making notes and observations for himself.


-

"We could take the aircraft to speed our travel to investigate this pyramid."
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:15, Fri 19 Oct 2018.

In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 47):

Alexander explained, "Dashur is about twenty-five miles south of Giza, on the far side of the Nile."

"Will we be able to rally our allies from Dashur? If not, we will need to do that here before we go--or agree we're ready for the tremendous loss of life we will face in a direct assault with our small numbers."

"It's only 40 kilometers away from here.  It's not worth the plane flight.  I do know of a couple of other fliers who are in country.  They are Americans but don't hold that against them.  I can vouch for their bravery and trustworthiness and they may be up for a bit of adventure."

"And do they carry weapons? I'm sorry, you said they're Americans. Yes, any help we can get. I wouldn't be opposed to hiring mercenaries if we can get them quickly, as well as pulling fighters from the mosque. They carry this debt more than we do."

JM chuckled.  "They are Americans.  They will be armed to the teeth."  He considered their options.  "The Imans of the mosque should be eager for vengeance against the evil doers.  Perhaps Alexander and I can talk to them immediately."

In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 52):

Alexander packed up the Mirror of Gal, in order to bring it back from the Egyptian Museum of Cairo to his estate on Gezirat Boulaq island, west across the Old Nike Bridge.

JM, Cynthia and Cound Bathony borrowed Alexander's Renault touring car to make the 7 mile trip out to the bar where Roger Bedford and Karlheinz were drinking with one of JM's American friends, a Great War veteran and pilot named Matt. Unbeknownst to JM, Matt's partner (another American named Bob) had decided to dissolve the partnership when their business ran into mechanical difficulties. Bob then fled Cairo with what little funds they possessed and Matt was reassessing his life choices, along with his remaining partner, Andres "Chalky" White.

The bar was run by quite the pair. Pierre was a Frenchman who'd served in the Armée de l'Air (although not as a pilot) while he was assisted by Mehmet, a Turk who was a former naval aviator in the now-former Ottoman Empire. As such they were reasonably popular with pilots from the nearby RAF Heliopolis and Almaza Airport.

Currently, Matt and Chalky were drinking with two Europeans, a Brit named Roger and a German named Karlheinz. Roger had served in the RAF as a combat pilot, Karlheinz as a Zeppelin crewman in the Imperial German Navy.