"No, I used to be on the expedition here, but I left."

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

The boy nodded. "It is much more luxurious here than on the streets in Cairo. But not as nice as Effendi's estate. The mistress here was with the Clive expedition but decided to leave it. Her tent and belongings are safe here at my uncle's home.

"Are we proceeding to the Lesser Bent Pyramid?"

"Andrew White, but you can call me 'Chalky' miss."

He shifts his rifle to his off hand but still looks about in the dark, searching for barkeep=butchering cultists.

In reply to Andrew 'Chalky' White (msg # 33):

"Nice to meet you, Mr White." Chi'yin replied, smiling.

"Yes, well, we can't hang about all night flapping our jaws. Onto the pyramid. We're expecting a bit of a tussle. Do you know how to handle a weapon?"

In reply to Cynthia Jane Holloway (msg # 35):

"Of course I do." Chi-yin answered.

JM lowered his rifle as Alexander indicated that the boy and those with him approaching in the darkness were friends. "I'm John-Marc Falcon," he stated as he greeted the newcomers.  He had brought a full set of cultist robes for all of them as well as a few extra just in case.  It seemed that his instincts had been good.  "We are headed for the lesser pyramid and expect trouble from the cultists there." He assessed the two women and the boy.  "If you can protect yourselves then we'd best proceed while there is still darkness to conceal us.  Did you come from the area of the pyramid?" He asked having noted from which direction they had come.  "If so what did you note?"

In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 37):

Matt takes a set of robes that look about his size from John-Marc. "Might as well get in this thing now, it does stink a bit though."

Chi-yin took another set of robes, and slid them on over her head easily.

"Who's taking the Lewis Gun?" Says Chalky as he grabs a set of robes and puts them on, his hands coming away bloody.

In reply to Andrew 'Chalky' White (msg # 40):

"Guess that means you want me to lug it. You so lazy!"

As the group met up with Mah'mud (who they previously knew in Cairo) they heard the sound of a train approaching from the south. The group noted that Chi-yin was armed with double-barrel "coach" gun, a 20-gauge over-under shotgun. Alexander offered to stay behind with his men. If the party got into trouble they would come looking for them, and come looking if they didn't reappear in an hour and a half or so.

The train passed by without stopping as they remained unseen. It billowed smoke, hissed steam and threw up clouds of sparks. They began walking along the lightly-traveled dirt road west through the green farmlands along the banks of the Nile to the plateau where the Lesser Bent Pyramid lay. Along the way they passed over several canals, most were ditches but there were two large ones in use that had standing water and a smaller, ancient one that no longer carried water but was choked with vegetation and trees.

After a few miles they began climbing the slight rise to the low desert plateau where a line of massive ancient pyramids stretched from north to south. The pyramids sat mute, like ancient guardians at the boundary between the sandy wastes and the green cultivated strip along the Nile. The bulk of the Lesser Bent Pyramid loomed to the west.

In reply to The Keeper (msg # 42):

"It is good to see you all again!

"Earlier tonight there was some kind of strange procession. Foul cultists, I'll wager! They arrived by barge in the evening, after dark. They tied up at the bank, then they followed an old causeway to the south. They visited the Lesser Bent Pyramid. I think the soldiers guarding the north entrance are in their pay as they let them pass into the main entrance. They stayed for several hours, then departed an hour or so before you arrived.

"When we looked at the pyramid, the Mistress and I saw the north entrance, which is guarded. But there is another entrance, an old one, boarded up on the desert side. To the west."

"Yes, that's true.'' Chi-yin affirmed. She glanced down at the robes, and adjusted the sash just a bit.

The Count finally arrived at the small group. He gave a nod to the new comer as he also donned a set of robes and hid his rifle under the bellowing clothing. He was quiet perhaps thinking about something else at that particular moment as they set off towards the pyramid.

He stopped and listened with the others as Mah'mud explained what had happened earlier in the night.


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This message was last edited by the player at 01:20, Wed 06 Mar 2019.

JM looked off into the distance as the boy spoke. "Did the cultists go back to their barge?  We saw an odd boat on the Nile as we approached.  It seems that absent a likely firefight with the soldiers we are best to take the boarded up entrance although with the cultists gone we may be too late."

In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 46):

"Let's go then, that looks like the best place to get in. Chalky you can carry my rifle for me as I've got the Lewis gun."

If Cynthia can find a set of robes still available, she will change. Otherwise her niqab still conceals her better than any of the gentlemen in their crude shirts lacking veils.

In reply to Cynthia Jane Holloway (msg # 48):

Mah'Mud quickly sprinted back to the lorry to get what they needed. The group put on the Cultist robes they remembered to bring with them. As Alexander wasn't going with them to the pyramid there was even an extra robe and cultist symbols to fix up Chi-yin if she liked. They proceeded down the dirt track towards the low desert escarpment whence the Lesser Bent Pyramid stood. Mah'mud, being too small to pass as even a female cultist, stalked along behind the group, hidden in the darkness. The climbed up onto the plateau and the star-lit desert stretched away from them to the west, all the way to Morocco. Before them was the bulk of the weathered and eroded pyramid, crumbling and seemingly a little slumped to the north due to the angle of slope being a little steeper to that side.

As the manned entrance was on the north side, they circled to the south in order to avoid detection. It was an hour before dawn. The moon had gone down. There was now only the stars above and a growing glow of dawn to the east across the dark waters of the Nile to guide them. With Mah'mud and Chi-yin's help they found the boarded-up west entrance. It had probably been a worker's passage supplementing the main passage on the north side. Now it was boarded up with weathered planks. Written on them was faded lettering in English, French and Arabic "NO ENTRY! DANGEROUS!"

"Mmm, this will be a problem." Chi-yin remarked under her breath."Now how will we get in?"

JM moved along cautiously with the others.  When they reached the boarded up entrance he shrugged.  "Danger certainly lies ahead of us," he whispered.  "Keep an eye on the guards while I see if we can get this open quietly." He will work at the boards to see if they could gain entry.

In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 51):

Several boards came loose in JM's hand. The nails were not rusted nor the wood rotten, given the desert climate. Someone must have pried them loose at some point.

In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 51):

"I can go keep an eye on the guards. If I see them move, I shall signal you by making the sound of the owl twice." He hooted once, it was a passable imitation of the pharaoh owl native to Egypt and the Middle East.

In reply to The Keeper (msg # 52):

Chi-yin sighed quietly in relief. "I suspect it was the cultists."

Chalky, trained soldier that he is, watches the surroundings carefully as his friends work on the barred door. His ears strain for the slightest suspicious sound.