Game system: Call of Cthulhu 6th ed
Dramatis personae
Carl Blackwater | Foreign correspondent | 31 yrs | Martin
Edward Foxworthy | Big game hunter | 34 yrs | Flan
Slim Shady | Attorney | 46 yrs | Djuro
Walter Wannabi | Explorer| 44 yrs | Flan
Preben van Task | Treasure hunter| 40 yrs | Djuro
Herrman Germain | Spy| 42 yrs | Martin
Absent this session
Kent Bengtsson | Aviator | 38 yrs | Berndt (in New York)
H.P Rennfarth | NYPD Forensics Specialist | 27 yrs | Mats (in Egypt)
Link to background stories and portraits
Cairo, Thursday, March 5th to Thursday, March 12th 1925
R & R
The valiant investigators realize that half their number are wounded pretty badly, and decide it’s time for some well deserved rest and recreation. Walter and Edward are already receiving hospital care and now Carl joins them in the Anglo-American Hospital on the Nile island of Gezira, in hope of speeding up their recovery. While resting, the men use their free time to consolidate notes and further study the occult tomes acquired during their investigations.
Not dangerous at all. No Sir. Not at all…
Being slightly less wounded than the others, Preben stays at the hotel, also resting to regain his strength.
Cairo, Friday, March 6th 1925 | Morning
Deeper investigations
The two remaining healthy investigators, Herrmann and Slim, along with their trusty sidekick Muhammed, decide to make some investigations of their own during the R&R week.
Herrmann is going to visit his new friend Johannes Sprech at the Clive Expedition dig site in Memphis, while Slim and Muhammed will keep tabs on Janwillem Vanheuvelen, as they think that he is hiding something important from them.
The Clive Expedition
Herrmann travels the 20 km to Memphis via a horse-drawn carriage (“kalesh”) that he books via the hotel. After some 2 hours in the blazing sun, he arrives at the dig site, where he is greeted by a security arrangement which reminds him of the trenches of the Great War, except for the machine gun nests and barbed wire.
Entrance to the site is via a level crossing gate, guarded by two surly men in a small wooden gate house. Upon asking, the guard informs him in broken English that there is no entry for the public. Herrmann claims that he has an invitation and demands to see Herr Doktor Sprech, whereupon one of the men leaves.
Soon, he returns, accompanied by a tall blonde fellow in a white shirt, shoulder strap, riding trousers and impeccably polished riding boots, also carrying a horse whip in his hand. The man briskly introduces himself as Martin Winfield, head archaeologist.
Herrmann immediately develops a strong dislike, bordering to a hate, to the man. There’s something about Winfield’s cold fish-stare or the way he sneers when talking to those he perceives as of lower stature.
Herrmann explains his errand and talks about the invitation from Sprech.
“-Sorry old boy, but no civilians are allowed on the dig site. Have a nice ride back to wherever you came from.”
Without further comment, Winfield leaves Herrmann at the gate. Luckily, he sees Johannes Sprech coming out from a large tent and yells and soon the Germans are walking towards the dig headquarters, situated in a group of large rectangular tents, complete with wooden flooring, desks, beds and all modern amenities.
As they enter the tent, or office as Johannes calls it, Herrmann witness how Winfield whips up a worker besides a turned-over wheelbarrow.
After som pleasantries, Sprech introduces Herrmann to the rest of the Clive Expedition main members:
- James Gardner – an English archaeologist in his 40s. The man is a staunch follower of Carl Jung and is especially interested in the “collective unconscious”, whatever that means. He has an air of distant nervousness and Herrmann notices that he is armed with a .38 revolver in a shoulder holster.
- Agatha Broadmoor – an English woman in her 60s who present herself as a “medium”. Broadmoor is confined to a antique-looking wheelchair and dressed in layers of woolen apparel despite the heat. She offers to read Herrmann’s hands.
- Martin Winfield – tall and athletic English archaeologist in his mid-20s with dead eyes and a thousand mile stare. Correct and polite but something feels off about him. He also thinks that he is in charge of the operation.
- Johannes Sprech – athletic German archaeologist in his late 30s and expert in hieroglyphics and ciphers. Friendly and likable chap despite the fact that he doesn’t drink alcohol.
- Dr. Henry Clive – an English archaeologist in his late 50s and of excellent repute. The man emits an air of old aristocracy coupled with even older and expensive liquor. Clearly the leader of the expedition and armed with a Webley service revolver in a leather holster at his hip. An always half full glass of gin seem to be permanently joined with his hand:
“-Excellent for the malaria you know, old sport…”
At first, Herrmann is introduced to Gardner and Broadmoor. Clive joins in after a while and last, Winfield joins as well, still very skeptical towards the investigator’s presence. Upon asked about the security measures, Clive says that they have had problems with theft and tells the story of the missing mummy.
Apparently, the expedition found a secret chamber in the Menhaura pyramid, which contained the unprepared but rather well preserved remains of an unknown Egyptian queen. There were no hieroglyphs that identified the mummy, but the exquisite funerary trappings seemed to indicate the grave of a person of great importance. Preparations were made with the Egyptian authorities about the removal of the casket and the mummy but three nights later, terrible screams were heard from inside the pyramid. When the archaeologists arrived, the casket along with the mummy and all the artifacts was gone without a trace, as were the two Egyptian policemen stationed in the tomb to guard the finding. In fact, the only thing removed from the grave was an ornate gold coffer containing papyrus scrolls. Alas, the scrolls were sorely destroyed and illegible, probably due to improper sealing according to Dr. Clive.
Everyone concur that the theft is a great tragedy and moreover a complete mystery in itself, as no plausible explanation as to how the theft was made have been presented. The alabaster sarcophagus weighed several tons and there was no way that it could have been moved without heavy machinery. The dust was also undisturbed within the tomb, which is most peculiar. And the two policemen are still missing, and are now presumed dead.
Upon leaving, Sprech accompanies Herrman to the gates. As they walk, Herr Sprech talks about the next big ceremony and how magnificent and world-changing it will be. Herrmann tries to establish when this event is going to take place, but his inquiries are only met with intriguing smiles and vague insinuations.
As Herrman return to the hotel later that evening, he cannot fail to notice that a large number of cats have gathered in front of the hotel…
Cairo, Saturday, March 7th 1925 | Morning
The Mystery Woman
The next day Slim and Mohammed goes to see Vanheuvelen again. The plan is that Slim will lure out Vanheuvelen, giving Mohammed a chance to search the man’s room for the missing scrolls.
Seizing the opportunity to get drunk for free, Herr Vanheuvelen gladly accepts Slim’s offer of some food and drink and the men departs for a more upscale restaurant than the ones in Vanheuvelens neighborhood. As they walk, they are followed by a large number of cats of all kinds, some even following the men into the restaurant.
After a few glasses of wine, the Dutchman confides in Slim, telling that he upon several occasions have been approached by a beautiful young Arabic woman calling herself Neris, who have urged him to return what he has stolen.
“-Stolen!? I’m a world renowned explorer and archaeologist! We do not steal things. We explore in the name of science!”
Mohammed manages to break into Vanheuvelen’s dingy place and after some initial fruitless searching, he discovers a cavity in the floor under the Dutchman’s bed. There, under some old newspapers, he finds the scrolls “The Black Rites of Luveh-Keraph“, tucked in modern leather map tubes. As Mohammed takes his leave, he is beset by many cats. He also notices a serene Arabic woman standing in an alley, seemingly watching him and the cats before disappearing deeper into the alley. When he walks over to investigate, the woman is nowhere to be found.
A few hours later, Slim and Vanheuvelen return with an entourage of cats in their wake. From his place in a side alley, Mohammed sees a large black panther approach, seemingly in lead of the cats. The panther looks at them menacingly and growls before jumping onto a roof, disappearing in the dark.
Cairo, Sunday, March 8th 1925 | Morning
Consulting Dr. Kafour again
Going over the case again, feeling that they may have missed something, the PCs decide to go back to the Egyptian Museum, to consult Dr. Ali Kafour again. The man is working in his offices, but seems happy to be of assistance.
The focus of the investigation is to explore if there exist other entrances into the tunnel complex under the Sphinx. Dr. Kafour can provide the works of early Sphinx explorers like Giovanni and Mariette, whose maps seem to indicate that there indeed might exist alternative ways to enter the underground maze beneath the Sphinx. The PCs are even allowed to trace the maps in order to have their own copies, to facititate the search around the Sphinx.
After meeting Dr. Kafour, the PCs decide to talk to the old woman that the dope fiend Besart mentioned. All they know is that she is named Nyiti and that she used to live in El Wasta, a small town about an hour up the Nile.
El Wasta
It takes some time to locate Nyiti in El Wasta. No one is used to foreigners and the only language spoken is Arabic. Fortunately, Mohammed is there to assist, and after a number of hours, the PCs find the woman and her son Unba. Both are horribly disfigured, the son missing his right arm, shoulder and right side of the face. Nyiti’s lower jaw and both hands are missing, looking to have been burnt away. For some reason, the quite mad woman seems to recognize the PCs as friends and gurgling points them to a corner of the hovel, where they find a basket under some dirty blankets. Inside, wrapped in red cloth is a 7×9 inch pinkish stone slab, several inches thick, adorned with what looks like one half of an eye and an inverted ankh. The pinkish color suggests that this stone could originate from the Red Pyramid at Dhashur.
Back to Dhashur
The PCs decide to return to Dhashur to search the Red Pyramid for the other half of the stone, which according to their information should be some kind of cap stone. After having spent most of the day on a rented felouk, they arrive in Dhashur in the evening, and proceed by a crappy rented car.
At the top of the pyramid, they find the place where the stone fragment probably was set, but not the other half…
Here we had to stop for the day. To be continued.
With a Fistful of d20's 