Roster for the raid on al Misr House

Imran Singh - Lee-Enfield rifle, .455 Webely, 6 grenades
Cynthia Holloway - 20ga. Hunting Shotgun, 10 ga. pump shotgun
Molly Fuller - Luger '08

Major Storm (NPC) - Winchester '94, Colt M1911, Colt Peacemaker, 1 grenade
   Faruk (NPC) - Lewis Gun + 1 drum, Luger '08
   Haji (NPC) - Luger '08, 3 spare ammo drums

John-Marc Falcon -  Lee-Enfield rifle, .455 Webley revolver, 3 grenades
   Karlheinz Bergmann (NPC) - Broomhandle Mauser, 3 grenades

Count Bathony - Fedorov Avtomat rifle, 2 Grenades
   Tom Perkins (NPC) - Scoped Lee-Enfield rifle, 2 grenades
   George Perkins (NPC) - Lee-Enfield rifle, 2 grenades
   CSM Will Jones (NPC) - Lee-Enfield rifle, 2 grenades

DS Darlington (NPC) Lee-Enfield rifle, .32 revolver
   Pelkingham (NPC) Lee-Enfield, .455 Webley revolver
   Sykes (NPC) H&H .375 Magnum Hunting Rifle, .32 revolver
   MacLeod (NPC) Mauser Kar98, .455 Webley

Dr. Weston (NPC) - 12 ga. Hunting shotgun
   Darragh O'Shaughnessy (NPC) - 12 ga. Sawed-off shotgun, 1 grenade
   Tim O'Hara - .22 revolver
   Sid McInnes - .32 revolver
   Tam Morgan - .38 revolver

Vehicles:

3x flat-bottom river boats with outboard petrol-powered motors (8 persons ea.)
2x rental lorries (transport from London and to the mansion area)
2x private vehicles (the Count's van, JM's Ford flatbed)
1x Bristol F1




This message was last edited by the GM at 22:48, Sun 02 Dec 2012.

This message was last edited by the GM at 13:29, Fri 18 Jan 2013.

You regained a number of texts that you previously lost, and gathered some more material. Some artwork and statuary was taken from different locations, as well as photographs of artwork that was impossible to take (like in the basement of the Penhew Foundation museum).

Important Cult-related Books:

The Pnakotic Manuscripts - English translation - ? Weeks Study. 15th Century AD, large bound manuscript.

Selections De Livre D'Ivon - French commentary on a Latin text - ? Weeks Study. Very confusing and muddled, an earlier reader left a marginal note in Medieval French suggesting he believed it to be written by someone named Eibon long before the rise of the Pharaohs. It describes part of his travels and exploits in unknown lands (possibly in dreams) and the blasphemous beings and monstrous gods that live there.

People of the Monolith - English Book (Bound in something unnatural; Cthulhu Mythos Roll needed when handling.) - 1 Week Study. A long and rambling poem written by Englishman Justin Geoffrey. From "People of the Monolith":

They say foul things of Old Times still lurk
In dark forgotten corners of the world.
And Gates still gape to loose, on certain nights.
Shapes pent in Hell.

The Monolith is a primordial black stone somewhere in the mountains of Hungary, and the bestial People worship the monolith with sacrifices. Geoffrey was committed to a madhouse in England shortly after the poem was written and he is still alive.

Life as a God - English book (Bound in Human Skin) - 1 Week Study. Describes an Englishman's descent into madness over a hundred years ago as he becomes a Priest in the Brotherhood of the Dark Pharaoh. Located somewhere in the UK, unknown exactly where. Egyptian motifs seem prevalent, no mention of sub-Saharan Africans or Africa.

Africa's Dark Sects: English Book by Nigel Blackwell - ? Weeks Study. Published in 1921 but already in poor condition (spine cracked, pages torn and dog-eared, copious marginal notes in unknown language. End plate inside the book cover indicates this copy belonged to the Harvard University's Widener Library. (The investigators learned Jackson Elias contacted the library to locate the book but found the book had disappeared. That is, literally disappeared from one minute to the next.)

g'Harne Fragments: English, by Sir Amery Wendy-Smith - ? Weeks Study. Published 1919. Medium-sized volume.

Book of Dyzan: English, author and publisher unknown - ? Weeks Study. A medium-thick parchment bundle.

---

The scrolls will take additional time to decypher. JM read an earlier scroll found at Tewfik's and now knows some kind of mystic ritual called "Body Warping of Gorgoroth" of unknown purpose. This cost him a small measure of mental equilibrium to read.

There were fifteen scrolls found at the Penhew Foundation, primarily in Arabic (6) and Latin (4), with some in Medieval French (2), Old English (1) and Egyptian Hieroglyphs (2). Ten seem to be poems and epistles in praise of the Dark Pharaoh and the Bloated Woman, possibly his mate or counterpart.

Five scrolls appear to be specific rituals of another sort. They have names such as Summon Winged Traveller and Summon Leprous Rabid Dog of the Dark Pharaoh (Egyptian Hieroglyphics), Bind Walker Beyond the Walls of Creation, Curse of Azathoth, The Casting of Dreams (Standard Modern Arabic).

---

Found at Tewfik's Spice Emporeum:

A papyrus scroll (Body Warping of Gorgoroth).
An ornate mirror in a golden frame.
a robe (black silk with inverted ankhs), skullcap and metal ankh of an unknown alloy.
Two sceptres of a strange black metal.
Two red-brown sandstone vials. One contains syrupy red substance, the other a black powder mixed with small rubbery crystals.


Found in the Penhew Institute basement:

Africa's Dark Sects, (English)
G'Harne Fragnents, (English)
Book of Dyzan (English)
Liber Ivonis (Latin)

Fifteen assorted scrolls.

• Many photographs were taken of paintings and artwork of bizarre and unnatural creatures, the originals being too many and too bulky to take.
• A jar with some kind of black powder inside, perhaps an oxide.
• Enough food and supplies for two to three days.
• Several passports for Gavigan under different false names (several for the UK, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, Imperial Russia, Hungary, British India, British Kenya).
• Hundreds of pound notes in different denominations.
• A .32 revolver and a box of 30 bullets.

Carved wood chest with two daggers.

Two cases. The larger one was very heavy, and was addressed in English (and presumably Chinese script):





From al Misr House

Literally piles of paintings and statuary, depicting the Dark Pharaoh in many aspects.
Copious cult-related jewellery (inverted ankhs, etc.) and black silk cultist robes.
A fat ledger detailing cult-related shipments over the last three years to Ho Fong in Shanghai and Randolph Shipping in Darwin. As well, many more to Cairo, Alexandria, Nicosia, New York, Bremen, Dublin, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Odessa, Leningrad, Calcutta, Los Angeles and Havana. Much is of substances like Turkish Opium and hashish, surplus rifles, but as well gold, silver and gemstones, tobacco, morphine, spices, textiles, etc.
Over 100 occult-related books, texts and scrolls.

---

Study Times:

Cynthia Holloway: Has read Selections de Libre d'Ivonis. Not the complete work.

Dr. Weston: Has read both People of the Monolith and Life as a God. 3 more weeks of study on Gharne Fragments.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:04, Tue 07 Jan 2014.

How to use Mythos Tomes:

1. Reading Mythos books directly increases Mythos Knowledge by a set percentile.
   
2. This takes a variable amount of time per Investigator, listed times are averages.
   
3. Those percentiles earned are also directly subtracted from max SAN.
   
4. Mythos tomes can also be used as tools to research subjects that are within those specific books.

Tony
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:49, Mon 15 July 2013.

Egypt Information

---

1.

BIG APPLE DATELINE

ROGER CARLYLE, the playboy whom everybody knows – or knows about – is quietly leaving New York tomorrow to check out the tombs of Egypt! You’ve seen the cuties ROGER has found in the nightspots. Who can doubt he’ll dig up someone – er, something – equally fabulous from the Egyptian sands?

---NEW YORK PILLAR/RIPOSTE, April 4, 1919

2.

CARLYLE EXPEDITION EMBARKS FOR ENGLAND

Led by the fabulously-wealthy playboy Roger Carlyle, the Carlyle Expedition departed this morning for Southampton aboard the crack British steamship Imperial Standard.

Contrary to earlier reports, the expedition will perform researches in London under the auspices of the Penhew Foundation before continuing to Egypt next month.

Readers may recall the enormous party which Mr. Carlyle, now 24, gave at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel upon reaching his majority. Since then, scandals and indelicate behavior have become Carlyle’s trademark, but he never has become tarnished in the eyes of Manhattanites.

Members of the expedition have been reluctant to reveal their purpose in Egypt.

OTHER EXPEDITION MEMBERS

Renowned Egyptologist Sir Aubrey Penhew is assistant leader of the team, and in charge of excavations.

Dr. Robert Huston, a fashionable ‘Freudian’ psychologist, accompanies the expedition to pursue parallel researches into ancient pictographs.

Miss Hypatia Masters, linked in the past to Carlyle, will act as photographer and archivist.

Mr. Jack Brady, intimate to Mr. Carlyle, accompanies the group as general factotum.

Additional members may be secured while in London.

---NEW YORK PILLAR/RIPOSTE, April 5, 1919

3.

CARLYLE DEPARTS EGYPT

CAIRO (AP)---Sir Aubrey Penhew, temporary spokesman for the Carlyle Expedition, indicated Monday that the leaders are taking ship to East Africa for a “well-earned rest.”

Sir Aubrey debunked rumors that the expedition had discovered clues to the legendary wealth of the lost mines of King Solomon, maintaining that the party was going on safari “in respite from our sandy labors.”

Roger Carlyle, wealthy New York leader of the expedition, was unavailable for comment, still suffering from his recent sunstroke.

Discussing that unfortunate incident, local experts declared Egypt entirely too hot for Anglo-Saxons at this time of year, and suggested that the young American had not been well-served by his democratic enthusiasm, rumored to have led him to personally wield pick and shovel.

---NEW YORK PILLAR/RIPOSTE, July 3, 1919

4.

IMPORTANT VISTORS

MOMBASA (Reuters)---Leading members of an American archaeological expedition arrived here on holiday from digs in Egypt’s Nile Valley.

Our Under-Secretary, Mr. Royston Whittingdon, held a welcoming dinner for them at Collingswood House, where the wit of Sir Aubrey Penhew, expedition co-leader, was much in evidence.

Accompanying Sir Aubrey are two Americans, youthful financier Roger Carlyle and medical doctor Robert Huston.

The party leaves inland tomorrow, for Nairobi and hunting.

---NEW YORK PILLAR/RIPOSTE, July 24, 1919

5.

CARLYLE EXPEDITION FEARED LOST

MOMBASA (Reuters)---Uplands police representatives today asked for public assistance concerning the disappearance of the Carlyle Expedition. No word of the party has been received in nearly two months.

The group includes wealthy playboy Roger Carlyle and three other American citizens, as well as respected Egyptologist Sir Aubrey Penhew of the United Kingdom.

The expedition left Nairobi on August 3, ostensibly on camera safari, but rumor insisted that they actually were after legendary Biblical treasures.

Carlyle and his party reportedly intended to explore portions of the Great Rift Valley, to the northwest of Nairobi.

---NEW YORK PILLAR/RIPOSTE, Oct. 15, 1919

6.

ERICA CARLYLE ARRIVES IN AFRICA

MOMBASA (Reuters)---In response to clues, Miss Erica Carlyle, sister to the American leader of the lost Carlyle Expedition, arrived in port today aboard the Egyptian vessel Fount of Life.

Several Kikuyu-villager reports recently have been received concerning the putative massacre of unnamed whites near Aberdare Forest.

Miss Carlyle declared her intention to find her brother, regardless of the effort needed. She brought with her the nucleus of a large expedition.

Detaining agents to coordinate supply and other activities with Colony representatives, Miss Carlyle and the remainder of her party depart for Nairobi tomorrow.

Her companion, Mrs. Victoria Post, indirectly emphasized Miss Carlyle’s purposefulness by recounting the rigors of the voyage aboard the Semite ship.

---NEW YORK PILLAR/RIPOSTE, March 15, 1920

7.

CARLYLE MASSACRE CONFIRMED

NAIROBI (Reuters)---The massacre of the long-missing Carlyle expedition was confirmed today by district police representatives.

Roger Carlyle, New York’s rollicking playboy, is counted among the missing.

Authorities blame hostile Nandi tribesmen for the shocking murders. Remains of at least two dozen expedition members and bearers are thought found in several concealed grave sites.

Erica Carlyle, Roger Carlyle’s sister and apparent heiress to the Carlyle family fortune, led the dangerous search for her brother and his party. She credited Kikuyu tribesmen for the discovery, though police actually found the site.

Among other expedition members believed lost are Sir Aubrey Penhew, noted Egyptologist; New York socialite Hypatia Masters, and Dr. Robert Huston. Many bearers also are reported dead.

---NEW YORK PILLAR/RIPOSTE, May 24, 1920

8.

MURDERERS HANGED

NAIROBI (Reuters)---Five Nandi tribesman, convicted ringleaders of the vicious Carlyle Expedition massacre, were executed this morning after a short, expertly-conducted trial.

To the end, the tribesmen steadfastly refused to reveal where they had hidden the bodies of the white leaders of the expedition. Mr. Harvis, acting for the Colony, cleverly implied throughout the trial that the massacre was racial in motivation, and that the fair-skinned victims were taken to a secret location, there to suffer the most savage treatment.

Miss Erica Carlyle, defeated in her efforts to rescue her brother, left several weeks ago, but is surely comforted now by the triumph of justice.

---NEW YORK PILLAR/RIPOSTE, June 19, 1920

---

. LETTER FROM JACKSON ELIAS TO JONAH KENSINGTON, SENT FROM NAIROBI

August 8, 1924
Nairobi

Dear Jonah,
Big news! There is a possibility that not all the members of the Carlyle Expedition died. I have a lead. Though the authorities here deny the cult angle, the natives sing a different tune. You wouldn't believe the stories! Some juicy notes coming your way! This one may make us all rich!

Blood and Kisses,
J.

P.S. I'll need some advance money to follow this up. More later.



2. The Nairobi Notes of Jackson Elias. Sheathes of paper stapled together in 8 paper-clipped sets, covered in one side in neat block handwriting.

SET ONE of the Nairobi notes sets forth the offices, officials, and tribes which Elias visited in Kenya, searching for material concerning cults and cult rituals. Nothing conclusive was learned, though Elias discounts the official version of the Carlyle massacre.

SET TWO describes his trip to the massacre site. He notes particularly that the earth there is completely barren, and that all the tribes of the region avoid the place, saying it is cursed by the God of the Black Winds, whose home is the mountain top.

SET THREE is an interview with a Johnstone Kenyatta, who says that the Carlyle murders  may have been performed by the cult of the Bloody Tongue. He says that  the cult reputedly is based in the mountains, and that its high  priestess is a part of the Mountain of the Black Winds. Elias is politely sceptical, but Kenyatta insists upon the point. In quotes, Elias records that regional tribes fear and hate the Bloody Tongue, that tribal magic is of no protection against the cult, and that the cult's god is not of Africa.

SET FOUR follows up on the Kenyatta Interview. Elias confirms from several good sources that the Bloody Tongue exists, though he finds no firsthand evidence of it. Tales include children stolen for sacrifice. Creatures with great wings are said to come down from the Mountain of the Black Winds to carry off people. The cult worships a god unknown to folklorists, one fitting no traditional African pattern. Elias in particular cites 'Sam Mariga, rr-sta.'

SET FIVE contains a single page reminding Elias that the Cairo-based portion of the Carlyle itinerary must be examined carefully. He believes that the reason which prompted Carlyle's Kenyan side trip is on the Nile.

SET SIX is a long interview with Lt. Mark Selkirk, leader of the men who actually found the remains of the Carlyle Expedition, and a Kenya hand since the Great War and the fight against the resourceful von Lettow. Importantly, Selkirk says that the bodies were remarkably undecayed for the length of time which they lay in the open - "almost as if decay itself wouldn't come near the place." Secondly, the men had been torn apart, as if by animals, though what  sorts of animals would pull apart bodies so systematically he could not  guess. "Unimaginable. Inexplicable." Selkirk agrees that the Nandis may have had something to do with the episode, but suspects that the charges  against the ringleaders were trumped-up. "It wouldn't be the first time:" he says cynically. Finally, Selkirk confirms that no Caucasians were found among the dead - only corpses of the Kenyan bearers were scattered across the barren plain.

SET SEVEN is another single page. Elias ran into Nails Nelson at the Victoria Bar in Nairobi. Nelson had been a mercenary for the Italians on the Somali-Abyssinian border, and had escaped into Kenya after double-crossing his employers. Nelson claimed to have seen Jack Brady alive (March of 1923) in Hong Kong, less than two years before Elias was in Kenya and long after the Kenyan court declared that Brady  and the rest of the expedition were dead. Brady was friendly, though guarded and taciturn. Nelson didn't press the conversation. From this report Elias deduced that other members of the expedition might still live.

SET EIGHT discusses a possible structure for the Carlyle book, but is mostly featureless, with entries like "tell what happened" and "explain why."


3. COMMENTS BY JONAH KENSINGTON, PROSPERO PRESS OWNER AND JACKSON ELIAS' PUBLSHER

"Gavigan? That's not ringing any bells. Penhew... isn't that those people in London that fund archaeological work? Maybe he mentions them somewhere in his notes; he sent me a big batch from Nairobi...

"As you know, Jackson had this idea of doing a book about the Carlyle Expedition massacre. I'm his publisher, so of course he kept me appraised of developments...

"He sent me this letter in August. Here, let me read it to you...

"I received those notes a bit later...

"Yes, he came in by steamship from London on the 13th, to my knowledge.

"Jackson sent me the notes, and a bit later I received a wire from him from Hong Kong -- he really was travelling a lot -- asking for an advance, which of course I sent.

"The next I heard from him was in the middle of December. He wired from London.

"The wire said he'd been to China -- I knew this already from the Hong Kong telegram -- to Africa of course, and to London for a few days, where he'd dug up a lot of material...

"Jackson said he'd seen unbelievable things, and mentioned some kind of plan or conspiracy of global proportions. He said there was a timetable for this, er, plot, and that he needed to find the missing pieces. But he didn't say anymore, just that he would be in New York soon.

"The last I saw him was on the 13th, when he dropped by...

---

Cynthia's research reveals the following facts:

1. The massive yet insubstantial figure in the background of the painting, overlooking the ritual, is a god called "The Bloody Tongue".
   
2. The cult that worships the Bloody Tongue is located in Africa, especially Kenya.
   
3. The Mountain of the Black Winds is supposedly in Kenya according to legend, but it's not certain where.
   
4. There is mention of the ancient and powerful race of "Serpent Men". They walked the earth hundreds of millions of years before the age of man. They worship a god named "Yig".
   
5. The bluestone statuette of the man-bat thing is of a god or great old one called "Cthulhu", supposedly imprisoned under the sea in the sunken city of R'lyeh.
   
6. There doesn't seem to be any connection between this Cthulhu and Africa, oddly enough.
   
7. This statue has something special and mystical about it, supposedly it can give power to one who wishes to cast spells.
   
8. The large and corroded brass statue is of a god called "the Bloated Woman". This statue can aid in the casting of a spell to contact the Bloated Woman.

This message was last edited by the GM at 13:01, Fri 13 Dec 2013.

Cynthia recalls that the statue is of the upper torso of woman with Asiatic features demurely hiding behind a fan, and the bottom torso is a formless mass of grasping tentacles and hungry mouths.


9) The Bloated Woman is mainly worshipped in China, and this is where the crate's shipping label said was the point of origin.

Tony
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:11, Tue 04 Feb 2014.

Americo Stroppa:



Tony

Very cool!

In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 48):

My Noni was a handsome devil, all right!

Tony

Indeed.

Probably worth keeping note of this. Can't imagine we'll use it again, but who knows.

Faraz Najir, crazy old bookseller was in contact with Carlyle regarding the Black Pharoah before he disappeared. Najir helped in a break in into an unknown pyramid of the black pharoah, where a mystic tambourine, and the bust and crown of the black pharoah were stolen. They were stolen by (from?) Omar Shakti, leader and thug of the Brotherhood of the Black Pharoah. Seems we've recovered the bust in the Al-Misr house. The statue is still with us.

Tewfik (who we also encountered in London) wanted Najir to steal the girdle of Nitocris from the mosque of ibn Tulum. This would be used to resurrect the Queen of the Black Pharaoh, who is the consort and priestess of the Black Pharoah, aka "Nyarlat-hotep". The girdle has black, upside down Tjet (or ankh) of Isis". The mummy of Queen Nitocris is already missing, connected with the disappearance of two local police.

Some historical information:
In the waning days of the Third Dynasty as a powerful priest and prophet known as "Nepren-ka" appeared, preaching of the Black Pharaoh, an early, foul god worshiped prior to Ra and the other Egyptian gods. He seized power from the descendants of Zoser and declared himself Pharaoh. It was then both Nephren-ka and the Black Pharaoh became one in the eyes of the people, although they may have been the same prior. The Black Pharaoh was eventually defeated and banished by the ruler Sneferu (who established the 4th dynasty) with the help of Isis. Almost all references to Nepren-ka and the Black Pharaoh were then extirpated but his cult survived in the lands beyond the last cataract.

In the Forth Dynasty, instead of destroying the body of the Black Pharaoh, Sneferu had it entombed in the first pyramid he built. An unusual measure as this was normally a sign of respect. I believe it was so that Egypt could be yet protected from the still-powerful corpse. This structure failed in construction and is now known as the Collapsed Pyramid, at Medium. The body was moved to Sneferu's second pyramid, the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur. No expeditions or research has discovered these remains, if they exist at all any more.

Nepren-ka was said to possess a great and terrible beast, of which the Sphinx of Giza is staid to be a small, inaccurate representation. The voice of Nephren-ka was also said to have been carried across the land by a mysterious Black Wind, which also destroyed at his whim.


Later, Queen Nitocris of the 6th dynasty was also a priestess who spread worship of the Black Pharaoh anew. She attempted to resurrect the Black Pharaoh but was thwarted and killed herself. But not before causing the deaths of many nobles and priests who opposed her in a massacre. The Great Pyramid of Giza is also said to have played an important function in her foul rituals.

Some say the Black Pharaoh was but one god of a pantheon that predates the gods of Egypt, likely by the name of 'Nyarlat-hotep. The Black Pharaoh created many bestial manlike creatures as servants and worshipers, of which their forms may be seen on walls and tombs as men with beast heads. They are said to exist still deep underground or in the desert, waylaying the unwary.

There is a prophesy that the Black Pharaoh shall arise again "fingers and toes" after the Great Good One. Many believe this refers to the prophet known as Jesus of Nazareth. A new age will then begin with the downfall of Man's Dominion upon the Earth. Freedom and a stark, mad truth will descend on the worshipers of the Black Pharaoh, both human and inhuman.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:04, Wed 18 Feb 2015.

Three names that he supplied are-

Ahmed: Great Market, maker of leather goods

Sayid the Persian: Street of the gold sellers

Mahmoud ibn Mohammed: street of antiquities sellers

He also spoke of M. Besart.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:04, Wed 03 Sept 2014.

In reply to Bahadir Sahin (msg # 53):

Warren Besart is a Frenchman who was Carlyle's agent. The French embassy might know his location.

Tony

Open Leads:
1) Visit where Queen Noticrus's mummy was kidnapped, using the museum's bona fides.
2) Find the European researcher who is probably still in Cairo (msg 783)
3) Probably walk in some of these pyramids because there's ALL sorts of resurrection things going on in there.

In reply to Cynthia Jane Holloway (msg # 55):

I like numbers 1 and 3

In reply to Molly 'Mungo' Fuller (msg # 56):


There appears to be inscriptions on the back.
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:37, Wed 18 May 2016.

Clive Expedition originally included: Sir Clive, the archaeologists Martin Winfield, James Gardiner and Johannes Sprecht. Sir Clive is somewhat taken by the occult, so accompanying us is Agatha Broadmoor, a noted London psychic or so I gather. Johannes is also knowledgeable about the occult. Later added Jan Van Huevelen, who came on in Cairo (and was later fired).

There's a crazy bag lady in downtown Cairo who feeds cats and talks to strangers.

The Mirror of Gal

“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.”

Newsreel about the Carlyle expedition:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...JI1R7qc9_glTDsRvIEvU

Roger doesn't have a lot of history so let's say he is a friend of JM (John-Marc), a Canadian who also joined the RAF. Perhaps they served together? Roger was kicking around Cairo when JM and his companions arrived and JM looked him up at the run-down hotel he was staying in. They needed another pilot as JM had transferred his 2 personal aircraft from England: a Great War-surplus twin-seater Bristol F.2 "Brisfit" (not demobilised and quasi-legally fully armed) and a Vimy Commercial aircraft (a Vickers bomber converted into a passenger aircraft by replacing the fuselage) operating from his home on an airfield by RAF Lympne in south-eastern England. (He had intended to start an air courier business from England to Africa and so has legal paper on the Brisfit's armaments.)

Since teaming up with them things were fairly strange. He joined them at the mansion of Alexander Mahfouz on the exclusive and wealthy Boulaq island in the Nile. There they told of clashes with cultists of the "Bloody Tongue" in New York and the murder of their friend, journalist Jackson Elias. Elias was on the story of the ill-fated Carlyle Expedition, supposedly all murdered in Kenya after taking a break from their digs in Egypt. But he uncovered evidence of rich dilettante Roger Carlyle's survival (via a witness in Kenya) and the investigators were hired by Roger's sister Erica Carlyle to find him, possibly in China (due to a matchbook found in Elias' personal effects).

They then traveled to London, following Elias' investigations. There they clashed (again) with more cultists, this time the "Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh". It seems they were behind the Carlyle Expedition via the Penhew Institute for Egyptology and its head, Edward Gavigan. A game of strike and counter-strike played out, with the investigators raiding the Penhew Institute a warehouse where illegal goods were shipped to and from China, and locating the decrepit freighter used as transport. Many cult artifacts and some tomes were recovered. (You got more tomes from Erica Carlyle, left to her by Roger before he vanished/was murdered.) Events in England culminated with a clandestine police raid on Gavigan's Essex estate, resulting in the deaths of many cultists including Gavigan, but also some of their friends (Maj. Storm, Howard Lampton, Francis Simmons, Phil Webley) and some police. (Plus the mysterious disappearance of an investigator, Imran Singh.) There was also some conflict with a probably-insane artist, Miles Shipley, who may have also been a cultist or even a high priest of some kind. (His house was burned to the ground but his remains were never found, instead an obviously fake/hoax skeleton combining the body of a man and the head of an alligator was pulled from the ashes.) One important cultist, an Egyptian named Tewfik al-Sayed, escaped without a trace.

Next was a trip to Egypt by aeroplane (the Commercial and Brisfit). While in France they learned that at that time near the end of February all the inmates of insane asylums behaved like lunatics for about a week. Artists also had dreams of cyclopean ruins rising from the depths. Travelling to Italy they stopped in Rome to conduct research in the Vatican archives but were again attacked by cultists, this time corrupted Catholic monks! (Also, Italian Fascists.)

Finally reaching Egypt they made their base at Alexander's mansion on Boulaq el-Gezireh island across the Nile from Cairo. There they learned of the Carlyle Expedition's finding a mummy. Dr. Khafour at the Cairo Museum informed them this was likely the remains of Queen Nitocris, bride of the (forgotten and shunned) Black Pharaoh. Cultists would then likely try to steal the Girdle of Nitrocris, being kept at the Mosque of ibn Tulun (currently an insane asylum). The investigators tried to transport the Girdle to safety at the Museum but were attacked by cultists (Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh) on land and tentacles by Nike (they split the party to provide a decoy). Somehow the girdle was switched by a cultist infiltrator at the Mosque and now it's in the hands of a powerful local cult leader, Omar al-Shakti. Using a mystic mirror gained in London the next day saw the Girdle in the hands of al-Shakti at a location they identified as being the "Lesser Bent Pyramid" in Dashur. They traveled to Dashur and entered the pyramid, hoping to catch al-Shakti. Roger stayed outside to stand guard. From Roger and Alexander's point of view the group vanished for 2 weeks! Finally, they were rescued from inside the Lesser Bent Pyramid by a hole being punched in the exterior blocks by... something.

Roger and Alexander are at Dashur, having met the group as they are hauled out of the hole in the face of the pyramid near the top.

This is the statement of Warren Bessart, Roger Carlyle's Egyptian agent:


“A lawyer contacted me. I agreed to act as purchasing agent for Mr. Roger Carlyle of the United States, who was represented to me as a wealthy American. On written instructions from Mr. Carlyle, I purchased certain artifacts from Faraz Najir, an antiquities dealer, and illegally shipped them out of Egypt to Sir Aubrey Penhew in London. I know the artifacts were ancient, but nothing more.

“When the Carlyle Expedition came to Egypt, I arranged for all their equipment and permits. Their main site was at Dhashur, in the area of the Lesser Bent Pyramid.

“One day at Dhashur, Jack Brady [Carlyle's bodyguard] came to me and told me that Carlyle, Hypatia Masters, Sir Aubrey, and Dr. Huston had entered the Lesser Bent Pyramid and then vanished. Brady was excited and suspected foul play, since the diggers already had fled the site and work had come to a stand-still. We did not know what to do, so we drank.

“The next morning, Carlyle and the others reappeared. They were excited by some tremendous find, but what it was, they would not say, nor did I learn, for Sir Aubrey was a fiend for secrecy. All of them had changed in some inexplicable way, and a way not for the better; I did not ask further.

“That evening, an old Egyptian woman visited me. She said that her son [Nyiti] had been one of the diggers. She said the diggers had fled because Carlyle and the others had consorted with an ancient evil, the Messenger of the Black Wind. She said that she could recognize that the souls of all the Europeans but Brady and myself were lost. If I wanted proof, I should go to the Collapsed Pyramid at Meidum at the time when the moon is slimmest—the night before the dark of the moon. God help me, I went!

“I took one of the trucks, pretending to leave for a night in the pleasure quarter of Cairo. But instead I drove the twenty miles south to Meidum, and secreted myself where she advised. There in the midnight blackness I saw Carlyle and the others disport themselves in obscene rituals with a hundred madmen. The very desert came alive, crawling and undulating toward the ruins of the pyramid. To my horror, the stone ruins themselves became a skeletal, bulging-eyed thing!

“Strange creatures emerged from the sands, grasped the dancing celebrants, and, one by one, tore out their throats, killing all until only the Europeans (and one other robed celebrant) remained.

“Something more loomed out of the sand, the size of an elephant but with five separate shaggy heads. Then I realized what it was—but it is madness to speak it! I saw it rise and in a great ravening swallow as one all the torn corpses and their hideous murderers, leaving alive only five people [the Europeans] amidst the stench of the blood-soaked sands.

“I fainted. When I recovered. I wandered into the desert. There further horrors awaited me. Stumbling up a rise before dawn, I saw beyond hundreds of dark sphinxes, rank upon rank drawn up and waiting for the hour of madness when they will spring to devour the world! I fainted again, and this time I left the world for many months.

“[The digger, Nyiti] found me [and brought me down the river to their village of Wasti]; for two years he and his mother cared for me—me, a man mindless and returned, I came back to Cairo. But I began to dream! Only hashish helps now, or opium if it can be found, My supply is low again, and my life is intolerable without it. Will you gentlemen please contribute some more? Only strong drugs keep me from insanity. Everything, gentlemen, everything is lost, There is no hope for any of us. Everywhere they wait.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:12, Sat 26 June 2021.

This message was last edited by the GM at 17:23, Mon 19 July 2021.