Last time we left our heroes, they were in France, breaking up a death cult at a British military hospital. We've moved forwards in time, to 1920, and the war is now over. Pearce Topless and Humphrey Roade have been de-mobbed. Anne Thrope has returned to her convent. Peace has descended on Europe - except in Russia, of course.
At a loose end, Topless, who now employs Roade as his butler, accepts the invitation of old army buddy Will Mainwearing, to visit him in Egypt. Mainwearing is now working on an archaeological dig in the shadow of the Third Pyramid, on the plateau of Giza. The duo book tickets to Alexandria aboard a liner and enjoy a cruise through the Mediterranean, during which they make the acquaintance of fellow passenger, Irish alienist and arch-mesmerist, Filian Thrope, none other than the nephew of their old friend from the war, Anne Thrope.
Thrope is on his way to Giza as well, to meet with fellow mesmerist and expert in past life regression therapy, Doctor Freund. Thrope and Topless compare notes on what they know of the dig Mainwearing is on: they know the expedition is seeking the lost tomb of Nitocris, sister-wife of the pharaoh Menthuophis, who was killed by a conspiracy of Egyptian nobles at the end of the 6th dynasty, circa 2100 BC. Nitocris is notorious for having slain many of the nobles involved in that conspiracy against her brother/husband, by inviting them to a feast in an underground chamber and then drowning them by means of a secret conduit linking the chamber to the Nile.
Reaching Alexandria, the trio travel south together to Cairo. Roade cases the first class carriages for travelers he might be able to relieve of the burden of some of their wealth, but catches the eye of Clarke Fable. This dubious figure turns out of to be a private investigator, and Roade thinks better of any further larcenous activity.
Fable is in Egypt in the employ of Lydia Norton, an anxious house wife who suspects her new husband, Fletcher Norton, of cheating on her while he is away on an archaeological dig in Egypt. It turns out that Fletcher Norton is on the Galloway dig, the same one as Mainwearing.
The group reach Cairo and a taxi takes them up to Giza, where Topless, Thrope and Roade book into the rather lush Mena Hotel. Fable goes shopping for camping gear in Giza.
Topless catches the eye of a young woman with sultry Mediterranean good looks, who watches him from an upper gallery. He starts preening himself, but then notices a smartly-dressed young man enter the hotel lobby. He and the young woman greet each other and enjoy a drink together in the bar. Topless tries to listen in on their coversation, but can't get much from them.
Fable has finished his shopping, and is preparing to head up to the Giza plateau when he recognises Fletcher Norton entering the hotel. He shadows him, and watches him drinking with the young woman and Topless making blatant efforts to eavesdrop (blowing a Shadowing roll).
Upstairs, Thrope has managed to find which room Dr Freund is staying in and goes to see him. He and the German mesmerist have a lengthy discussion about their shared area of expertise, and Thrope also admires Freund's collection of Egyptian bric a brac. It turns out Freund is doing quite a lot of lucrative work with tourists and expatriates in Cairo.
Downstairs, the couple in the bar finally say their farewells, with Fable following Norton outside, where the archaeologist gets back in his car. The detective decides to follow him in a taxi, piling his camping kit in the back. The car trundles up the long and dusty road in the direction of the pyramids. Norton goes back to the Galloway dig site, in the shadow of the pyramids. Fable unpacks his equipment and quietly starts pitching his tent in sight of Norton's tent. Nobody pays him any mind.
Back at the Mena Hotel, Topless has followed the young woman back to her room, which turns out to be Dr Freund's suite. There, she is introduced to Thrope as Zita, Freund's daughter. Topless just manages to avoid embarrassing himself.
Freund has patients to see, so suggests Zita show Thrope the pyramids and the Galloway dig. Thrope invites the two Englishmen to accompany them. All are shocked to find Zita can drive and takes them in Freund's car. Topless is still recovering from this - despite having seen female ambulance drivers at the front in France - as the vehicle wends its way to the pyramids.
The afternoon is spent admiring the pyramids and looking at the dig. Topless is reunited with his army chum Mainwearing and they also meet Norton in person and Ronald Galloway, professor of archaeology at Miskatonic University. Fable introduces himself as a journalist to Galloway, over from England. Enough Disguise points are spent to reinforce this fiction, and Galloway accepts his story, allowing him to stay in the camp and observe the dig.
Mainwearing privately admits that the expedition is making little progress in finding the lost tomb of Queen Nitocris. They suspect that she might have somehow extended the tomb complex around the Third Pyramid, but are not sure where.
Topless starts to get the strange sensation that he has been here before - the place all looks so familiar to him. Thrope offers to hypnotise him when Topless confides in the Irish alienist, but Topless refuses. Thrope tries anyway but fails (the player fluffing her roll completely). The tourists decide to return to Mena House for dinner, as the sun is going down.
After dinner, while they are sitting smoking cigars with Doctor Freund, Topless notices that Zita is missing; he goes in search of her, but to no avail. Freund seems unconcerned, but his car is missing. Roade bribes a few street urchins outside the hotel who tell him that the woman drove off in the direction of the pyramids. Topless, suspecting something is 'up', decides to take a taxi and follow her. Roade and Thrope tag along while Freund drinks himself into a stupor on cheap schnapps.
Up on the plateau, Fable is sitting outside his tent making coffee, and keeping an eye on Norton's tent, when he sees the archaeologist leave his tent and head off into the desert to the west of the encampment. He decides to follow (making an amazing Shadowing roll) and slips effortlessly out of the camp. He follows Norton to a crumbling causeway 10 minutes' walk from the camp, where the land peaks before it descends gradually towards the Nile. Norton pauses in the shadow of the causeway to light a cigarette. He seems to be waiting there.
At this point Fable makes his Sense Trouble roll, and sees a shadowy figure crawling across the top of the causeway. It crouches just above Norton. Before Fable can cry a warning, it pounces on Norton, who cries out. His cry is echoed by Zita, who is approaching on foot across the sand from the direction of Giza....
Next time: the demise of Fletcher Norton?
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| L to R: Roade, Fable and Topless |
Thrope is on his way to Giza as well, to meet with fellow mesmerist and expert in past life regression therapy, Doctor Freund. Thrope and Topless compare notes on what they know of the dig Mainwearing is on: they know the expedition is seeking the lost tomb of Nitocris, sister-wife of the pharaoh Menthuophis, who was killed by a conspiracy of Egyptian nobles at the end of the 6th dynasty, circa 2100 BC. Nitocris is notorious for having slain many of the nobles involved in that conspiracy against her brother/husband, by inviting them to a feast in an underground chamber and then drowning them by means of a secret conduit linking the chamber to the Nile.
Reaching Alexandria, the trio travel south together to Cairo. Roade cases the first class carriages for travelers he might be able to relieve of the burden of some of their wealth, but catches the eye of Clarke Fable. This dubious figure turns out of to be a private investigator, and Roade thinks better of any further larcenous activity.
Fable is in Egypt in the employ of Lydia Norton, an anxious house wife who suspects her new husband, Fletcher Norton, of cheating on her while he is away on an archaeological dig in Egypt. It turns out that Fletcher Norton is on the Galloway dig, the same one as Mainwearing.
The group reach Cairo and a taxi takes them up to Giza, where Topless, Thrope and Roade book into the rather lush Mena Hotel. Fable goes shopping for camping gear in Giza.
Topless catches the eye of a young woman with sultry Mediterranean good looks, who watches him from an upper gallery. He starts preening himself, but then notices a smartly-dressed young man enter the hotel lobby. He and the young woman greet each other and enjoy a drink together in the bar. Topless tries to listen in on their coversation, but can't get much from them.
 |
| On the trail of Nitocris |
Fable has finished his shopping, and is preparing to head up to the Giza plateau when he recognises Fletcher Norton entering the hotel. He shadows him, and watches him drinking with the young woman and Topless making blatant efforts to eavesdrop (blowing a Shadowing roll).
Upstairs, Thrope has managed to find which room Dr Freund is staying in and goes to see him. He and the German mesmerist have a lengthy discussion about their shared area of expertise, and Thrope also admires Freund's collection of Egyptian bric a brac. It turns out Freund is doing quite a lot of lucrative work with tourists and expatriates in Cairo.
Downstairs, the couple in the bar finally say their farewells, with Fable following Norton outside, where the archaeologist gets back in his car. The detective decides to follow him in a taxi, piling his camping kit in the back. The car trundles up the long and dusty road in the direction of the pyramids. Norton goes back to the Galloway dig site, in the shadow of the pyramids. Fable unpacks his equipment and quietly starts pitching his tent in sight of Norton's tent. Nobody pays him any mind.
Back at the Mena Hotel, Topless has followed the young woman back to her room, which turns out to be Dr Freund's suite. There, she is introduced to Thrope as Zita, Freund's daughter. Topless just manages to avoid embarrassing himself.
Freund has patients to see, so suggests Zita show Thrope the pyramids and the Galloway dig. Thrope invites the two Englishmen to accompany them. All are shocked to find Zita can drive and takes them in Freund's car. Topless is still recovering from this - despite having seen female ambulance drivers at the front in France - as the vehicle wends its way to the pyramids.
The afternoon is spent admiring the pyramids and looking at the dig. Topless is reunited with his army chum Mainwearing and they also meet Norton in person and Ronald Galloway, professor of archaeology at Miskatonic University. Fable introduces himself as a journalist to Galloway, over from England. Enough Disguise points are spent to reinforce this fiction, and Galloway accepts his story, allowing him to stay in the camp and observe the dig.
Mainwearing privately admits that the expedition is making little progress in finding the lost tomb of Queen Nitocris. They suspect that she might have somehow extended the tomb complex around the Third Pyramid, but are not sure where.
 |
| Herr doktor Freund |
After dinner, while they are sitting smoking cigars with Doctor Freund, Topless notices that Zita is missing; he goes in search of her, but to no avail. Freund seems unconcerned, but his car is missing. Roade bribes a few street urchins outside the hotel who tell him that the woman drove off in the direction of the pyramids. Topless, suspecting something is 'up', decides to take a taxi and follow her. Roade and Thrope tag along while Freund drinks himself into a stupor on cheap schnapps.
Up on the plateau, Fable is sitting outside his tent making coffee, and keeping an eye on Norton's tent, when he sees the archaeologist leave his tent and head off into the desert to the west of the encampment. He decides to follow (making an amazing Shadowing roll) and slips effortlessly out of the camp. He follows Norton to a crumbling causeway 10 minutes' walk from the camp, where the land peaks before it descends gradually towards the Nile. Norton pauses in the shadow of the causeway to light a cigarette. He seems to be waiting there.
At this point Fable makes his Sense Trouble roll, and sees a shadowy figure crawling across the top of the causeway. It crouches just above Norton. Before Fable can cry a warning, it pounces on Norton, who cries out. His cry is echoed by Zita, who is approaching on foot across the sand from the direction of Giza....
Next time: the demise of Fletcher Norton?
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