Where was I? Oh, yes. We'd just had dinner with an undead, and he'd given us a way to kill a very strong undead named Peribsen. Very well and good, but we were about to learn our next lesson in things not being exactly what they seemed.
This time, it was not one of our number, but one of the enemy...
25 Thuthi, Inundation, Year 4 of the Reign of Rameses II (August 14th, 1275 BCE), evening
We set up the doorknob a ways away from Khafre's boat, and began to discuss the proposal he'd given us. I thought about our encounters with Khafre, and with Peribsen, and concluded that perhaps not was all it appeared.
After all, it takes a magic-user to control wights. Peribsen showed no signs of being one of those. We'd blamed the wights on him simply because he'd been in the right place at the right time. Yes, he almost slew Terik, but he pulled the last blow that would have left him truly dead. Such control is far more frightening than him simply being a good swordsman. If he'd wanted to kill us, we would have died.
I grew uncomfortable with wanting to kill this unknown person based on such circumstantial evidence. And Khafre had, after all, been a magic-user, probably a sorcerer from the look of things. I mentioned this to the others, and slowly they began to come around a bit. I wanted to go see the inside of the pyramid that Imhotep built, to see what sort of interesting things he'd left behind. The portal sounded interesting, too, but I was becoming less and less certain that we truly wanted to kill this person--at least right now.
We decided, in the end, to go check out the pyramid. If it looked too dangerous, we could simply go back, after all.
(I am aware that this is faulty reasoning, as often by the time it starts looking too dangerous, it's far too late to back out.)
So we slept, and early the next morning, we set off for the step pyramid of Zoser.
26 Thuthi, Inundation, Year 4 of the Reign of Rameses II (August 15th, 1275 BCE)
We arrived at the step pyramid, and scouted around a bit. Terik found the tracks of a man in armor heading into the pyramid, and we thought it might be Peribsen. We proceeded cautiously.
The tomb had shown signs of being raided, but not past a secondary corridor. The tracks led off into another corridor, a very small passage that led down and out of sight. Checking for traps down the secondary corridor, we saw that there were a pair of very nasty linked traps. from this, we surmised that down this corridor was likely Imhotep's workshop, the place we truly wanted to go.
Tetikare shifted to her mist form and went down the corridor to see if she could disable the trap from the other side. She came back and explained that there was yet another part of the trap that would set off three fireballs in the corridor if she made a mistake in disarming the trap. She took our last protection from elements potion and went back down, looking as determined as a cloud of mist can.
Fortunately, she was successful. We walked down the spiral corridor, reading the very boring hieroglyphs on the walls as we went. Lots of stuff about Zoser and all the things he had done, and not one peep about the coming back as a revenant thing. Hmph.
Tetikare, walking ahead, squeaked. There was a stone in the wall marked with a glyph of a whirlwind, completely out of place in the writing on the walls. She looked around, checked for traps, and then hesitantly reached out and touched the glyph.
The stone disappeared. Behind it was a ring, made of silver and in the place where a stone might be, there was a cunningly crafted whirlwind symbol. Tetikare looked anxious but eventually picked it up.
We continued. A while down the corridor was a symbol of a hyena. Mine, I supposed. I did the same as Tetikare and was rewarded with a bracelet made of leather with spikes to the outside of it. I didn't put it on, not feeling that daring right at the moment. Let someone else take the first risk there.
Another symbol--something that looked like the Osirean longsword. This was starting to get very suspicious. Behind that stone Terik found a necklace made of what seemed to be mithril, with a teardrop-shaped gem dangling from it. There was the symbol of Anubis, but it was--scratched off? That was Pepy's, a ruby with some sort of sticky back to it, the same color as his shield.
Terik, at this point, decided to take rash action, and put on his necklace. When he settled it on, he touched the stone. Our from it folded armor, surrounding his flesh. He experimented and found that the stuff was reasonably light and marvelously flexible, as if it had been made for him alone.
Pepy decided to try his, as well, putting it on the inside of his shield where it would be n contact with his skin when he wore the shield. He reported that it somehow extended the shield's reach invisibly, becoming as tall and as wide as a tower shield without the weight or the fuss.
Emboldened by their success, I tried mine. I yelped in surprise as the spikes suddenly reversed and drove themselves into my wrist, but the pain was brief and passed completely in a few seconds. If it had any other effect, I could not tell; I felt different, somehow, but what had changed I could not precisely stay. I tried removing it, but doing so hurt, and after a few experiments I decided it was best to leave it be.
Mayet received a small Hathor crown like the one she usually wore, only prettier. Raam found a gold ring, like Tetikare's but with a different symbol. Amunet found a little ring that, on inspection, was probably an earring. When he attempted to identify it, he said with a frown, "It says that it's beyond the spell's ability to tell what it us. Strange."
Imhotep knew we were coming. Had known we were coming when the pyramid was built, it looked like, 1700 years ago.
The question that is beginning to grow more urgent is, why us?
At this point we were about a half a mile or so down, and the corridor opened into a large room. On the floor, there was a pool of energy that moved like water, and from a side corridor those same tracks came down, disappearing into the pool.
When the last of us came into the room, Amunet turned and gasped. The wall had closed behind us. It seemed to be, strangely enough, as if there had never been an opening there at all.
I like Imhotep. The man's mind evidently worked--works?--in fascinating ways. I could almost forgive him for being a god. (Besides, Usi noted, he wasn't one of the ones who betrayed us.)
Anyway. The pool of energy looked a lot like a portal, probably the one that Khafre had mentioned. As long as we were there, we might as well find out what was on the other side, right?
So we went through and found ourselves in the middle of a desert, facing a long rise before us. Over that rise appeared tall, shrouded figures, likely the Unas who evidently lived here. Seven detached themselves from the group and came towards us. Definitely Unas, they were. One bowed, slightly. He greeted Pepy, using the name Alalunas. Eyebrows were raised at that; Pepy evidently knew these people? Strange. He asked if we were here to see Peribsen, and we looked at each other. After a bit of dithering, we said yes, in a manner of speaking.
Evidently, Peribsen built the city long ago, and was still its benefactor. A far cry from the murderer we'd supposed him to be. The Unas asked if we would like to see Peribsen.
Well, it couldn't hurt. Much. We said yes.
We were escorted through the Unas city, everything build at a scale that made all of us except Raam feel very small indeed. Especially Mayet, who is no more than a slip of a thing. She carried her cat in her arms and looked around her, eyes wide.
The Unas brought us into Peribsen, who looked somewhat surprised to see us. We spoke of Khafre, and it was revealed that Peribsen had a difference of opinion over the Unas with Khafre. He asked, finally, "Why are you here?"
I finally shrugged and decided to tell the truth. "Khafre told us to come destroy the jar that holds your soul. We think that may not be the wisest idea, honestly."
He reached behind him and took from a shelf a canopic jar. He tossed the jar lightly at me, and I caught it. (Never thought having two boys would come in handy, but at least I've learned how to catch things that are thrown at me.) I looked at him, confused, and he said, "That's it. Do with it as you see fit. Break it, and I die."
I realized after a few moments that I was staring, my mouth hanging open, and shut my mouth. The jar seemed strangely warm in my hands, and I looked down at it, weighing it.
A few more things were revealed, mainly that though Menes had brought many people back form the afterlife, some, like Peribsen, were unhappy to have been so brought back. Peribsen had, in his time, fought to keep the Unas race alive. He discovered the herb that now keeps them dull and docile, in effect keeping them alive by enslaving them. When he came to judgment, that act meant that his heart was heavier than Thoth's feather.
His only motivation, now, was to free the Unas from what he had done to them. Possibly a worthy quest, but, as he noted, those who got in his way tended to die.
And he gave us one more caution. The ones who broke the jar would be bound to his quest, ensuring that his work would outlive him.
I finally could stand no more, and handed the jar back to him. He accepted, but raised his eyebrows and said, "What happens on the day that we stand on opposite sides?"
I gave him a half-smile. "We'll deal with it on that day."
I did not mention how unnerving it was to literally hold another's life in my hands. It was an oddly familiar sensation, but far, far out of place. The last time I had that sort of power over anyone else's life, I was pregnant with my last child. And that...did not work out well.
While I had these disturbing thoughts running through my mind, Peribsen offered his jar to Raam, who declined to take it, even though he admitted that Peribsen's quest and his were similar. "At least, that's what Rameses thinks my quest is."
Ears pricked at that. Confirmation of a suspicion achieved. I smelled a secret come to the surface and then dive down deep once more.
Khafre, Peribsen said, had never been killed by him because he had been smart enough to surround his boat with a shield against undead. Peribsen could not go through--but neither could Khafre ever leave his boat.
Then Peribsen made a generous and quite unexpected offer. He offered, if we would stay, to train us in the art of battle as he could. We would learn things few other people knew.
After much talk, we accepted. It would be a month, Peribsen thought, for us to learn what we needed to know.
I am looking forward to the teaching. I was never a fighter, but I have been convinced that proficiency with a blade would be a valuable asset in the corners I tend to get myself into these days.
28 Paopi, Inundation, Year 4 of the Reign of Rameses II (September 15th, 1275 BCE)
A month passed.
Peribsen worked with us first in duos and then singly, showing us how to best use our chosen weapons. My daggerwork has improved a thousandfold, and it was almost worth all the damned bruises he gave me. Not one to be easy on an old lady, he is.
Mayet gained much confidence, both on the battlefield and off. And the rest all seemed to have enjoyed the time off from running around, even if it did come with quite a bit of pain as Peribsen ruthlessly pounded us each into the ground.
I could look at my granddaughter now and say that she'd be all right, no matter what. She was likely to survive whatever happened to her. I needed to speak with her about the wisdom of marrying as powerful a man as she can manage, because while she's going to be nigh-unkillable, children--and she needs to have some--are fragile. Best that she have as much protection as she can manage.
My last responsibility, finally grown past the need for my protection. Still rough around the edges, she was, but the world has done her more good than harm, and I had to grudgingly admit that most of our companions have been good influences on her.
For the first time since I was thirteen, I was completely free.
That had its own consequences.
I fell into a circadian rhythm much like Usi's; awake at dawn and dusk, dozing during the night and sleeping deeply through the heat of the day. Usi would usually go out alone at dusk, but I often accompanied him on his dawn runs. At first, my wind was not particularly strong, but as I kept at it I became capable of moving in a tireless lope across the desert. Not as fast as Usi, of course, but for a tailless as old as I am, it was somewhat impressive. Even the arthritis in my hip seemed to get better.
And it was on these runs into the deep desert that I grieved. I often found myself shedding silent tears as I ran, thinking of memories of each of my children: brave Senit, far-roving Mshai, studious Ptahmose, gentle Nafrini who brought home every broken-winged bird she ever found. And the two who were never named, the girl who lived only a week and the boy who never drew a breath.
Finally, on one of these runs, I came face to face with my freedom, and I had to admit that looking at it was like seeing a chasm suddenly yawn open under my feet. What do I do now? I wondered. I have had a purpose ever since I was young, to take care of my children. My remaining grandchild no longer truly needs me, and I do not anticipate being alive long enough to see her children take their first steps.
I knew my children needed me. I did not know until now that I also needed them.
I spent much time talking to Usi, learning how to speak as much hyena as I can with only two legs and no tail. He also taught me the manners that were expected of me, fulfilling his promise to teach me to be more mannerly.
There are secrets yet in Usi, but I grow more and more adept at reading his words and the emotions behind them. We're settling into this partnership, and I find myself both wondering what Ay made him do and grateful that Usi seems to have no interest in making me do things I don't want to do. I am aware that day may yet come, but for the moment, he seems to be content with things as they are.
Xeres has grown silent and grave, and there is something in the way she looks at Pepy that breaks my heart. I cannot force him to do the right thing by her, but I wish he would see what he's doing to her. But the child is a distraction for her, and she often sits with us in the evenings, holding Rosetta as if she is the only real thing in the world.
And so our bruises began to fade as we came to the end of our training, and finally said goodbye to Peribsen. I almost like the man, despite the fact that he makes no secret of being undead. Before we left, I asked Peribsen about Ay. He told me he knew little about him other than the fact that he was still around, and quite the dark soul he was.
When we took our leave, Peribsen handed a key to Raam, telling him that he could use it to close the portal, or open the portal if we arrived and found it closed. The last piece of information that Peribsen gave us was that he had destroyed the crystal that he had taken from us. "Nothing should ever come out of that realm," he said. "The dead should stay there."
I could almost find myself pitying the man. Brought unwilling out of the afterworld, into a world where he was surrounded by the consequences of his somewhat misguided attempt to save the Unas. Knowing exactly how everything he's done has weighed on his soul.
Away we went. North, to find Khafre and see if we couldn't kill him, as we finally figured out who sicced the wights on us--and it wasn't Peribsen.
2 HetHert, Inundation, Year 4 of the Reign of Rameses II (September 18th, 1275 BCE)
Giza! Yet again, I regret that we're unlikely to be able to stay long enough to truly see any of the pyramids. We always seem to be in a hurry going through these cities.
Amunet, as we walked towards the barge, was rummaging in his armpit for something. He made a strange sound, and muttered, "What the..."
He pulled out Peribsen's soul jar, staring mutely at the alabaster that shone whitely in the sun. I believe all of us said some words that were along the lines of, "Oh, shit." Finally, Amunet stuffed the jar back into his armpit, and we continued on. There wasn't much else we could do.
We elected to take the direct approach, simply walking up to Khafre's barge and asking to be let on. To our surprise, it worked. Khafre met us on deck, saying, "Hello, what are--"
I interrupted him. With a lightning bolt. (My new favorite spell!)
Alas, I saw the familiar sizzle of a protection from lightning taking all of the damage it would have done to him. But battle was joined, and as his first action he threw out some marbles that unfolded into zombie Unas, who attacked us.
Mayet did a good job of turning most of the zombies, who could not flee as far as they wanted to because of that shield. We were making a good accounting for ourselves, and Khafre, evidently desperate, did something that enabled his Unas zombies to ignore the turn for a second or two. Each of them seized one of us and dove for the edge of the boat--they stopped when they hit the shield, and we kept going.
All of us except Raam, Mayet, and Usi were suddenly in the Nile. And there were crocodiles and other wildlife looking at us with a gleam in their eyes.
It looked like we were lunch. Oops.
Pepy sank down beneath the surface. I remembered he was immortal and ceased to worry about him. Amunet and some of the rest clambered up the side of the ship. I was making my way back to the boat, slowly--swimming has never been a strong suit of mine, and the fact that there were fish brushing against my legs as I kicked did not help. Terik, ever-helpful, cast a speak with animals spell and talked the crocodiles out of eating us, temporarily. I fished out that potion that lets me cast any third-level wizard spell and used it to cast Fly on myself. No damned swimming for me!
There was a commotion and then a sudden silence from the deck. Somewhere in the back of my head, there was a sort of ting, and I suddenly felt as if something was possibly terribly wrong. When I made it onto the deck, Mayet was standing among the bodies of the undead we had been fighting, looking stunned and happy. Evidently, she had cast a healing circle, and taken down Khafre and every other undead on the boat, since what heals us harms undead.
It was there on deck that I found Usi, still breathing but deeply unconscious. There was a handprint burned into his side, perhaps the hallmark of some spell that I do not yet know. Mayet roused Usi with a healing spell, I am sure only as a favor to me.
I sat down beside him as the others wandered about, checking bodies for interesting things, Amunet disappearing into the hold in search of the cutlery. My dress dripped water onto the polished wood of the deck as I asked, "Who was it?"
Usi closed his eyes. He looked, and felt, exhausted. It was Ay.
The dead hyenas, delivering a message. My children, each of them killed. I believe he has been following us, has Ay. And this too was a message: I can kill you any time I want, but you yet live. Think on that. If I had to hazard a guess, he was hurt by the healing circle that Mayet cast and elected to take that price out of Usi...which means he was somehow within the range of her spell.
I wonder how far we could travel, and how fast. There is a large world outside of Egypt, and I am thinking that running may well be an option...
Quotes:
"It's the only time Sitefnut is going to be happy about raiding a tomb. Since there's nobody buried there after all."
"We could change that real quick."
--Kris, Ray.
"What am I trying to do? I don't remember."
--Terik
"Raam, there's tall things looking at us. Do you speak Tall?"
--Mayet
"Consensus always makes me happy."
--Amunet
"I hate maths. That's why I became a programmer."
--Graham
"Lightning bolt--the gift that keeps on giving in close quarters!"
--Raam
"A hippo bites you."
"A hippo?"
"They kill more people in Africa every year than any other animal!"
--Storm, Derek, Ray
"She stubbed her toe and everyone...died!"
"She's small, yet dangerous."
--Amunet, Sitefnut.
