A report to the Governing Council, Order
of St. Jerome, regarding the Cowperthwaite Expedition to St. Damien
Island from interviews of the Survivors
(an excerpt)
...which brings us to the meeting with She Who Must Be Obeyed. After members of the Cowperthwaite party were introduced, She asked the significance of the insignia on the uniforms of Lt. Wooster and Petty Officer Caine. She made several statements which appeared calculated to provoke the party into an angry response. When the members failed to rise to the bait, the group was dismissed to guest quarters.
The Cowperthwaite party was taken to the guest quarters, near the rooms already occupied by the Gordons. Mr. Pym accompanied his wife, the priestess Zikali, back to her quarters.
The quarters provided to the party were large and well-appointed. The baths included hot running water. Mr. Ramsey, Miss Whitnell, and Mrs. Cuthbert attempted to cast a warding spell on the chambers, but the spell went awry, though not badly so.
The members of the party refreshed themselves and took advantage of the wide selection of food offered. During this time, they interviewed Miss Gordon and Professer Gordon at some length as to the circumstances of Mr. Andrew Pryce's disappearance and their subsequent inquiries.
The Gordons reported that after coming to the city of Kor, they had spent a great deal of their time exploring the temple library, which contains thousands of papyrus scrolls, ranging across approximately 2000 years of history. It wasn't long before they began noticing signs of missing strange gaps in the subject matter and time periods covered by the books in the library. Questions about these "gaps" usually received evasive answers.
During this time Mr. Andrew Pryce found a fragment of ancient papyrus rolled up inside an old scroll. After translating the writing on the fragment, Mr. Pryce asked the librarians and priestesses about some of the things referenced therein. Shortly thereafter he was summoned into the presence of She Who Must Be Obeyed and questioned extensively. After the interrogation, he was allowed to return to the guest quarters with the Gordons. He told them that She had said the "evil and dangerous" knowledge on the scroll from which the fragment originated was forbidden, and that anyone who persisted in seeking the knowledge would be put to death. Mr. Pryce believed that She Who Must Be Obeyed destroyed the fragment.
Two days later, the Gordons awakened to find
Mr. Pryce missing from his room. None of the servants had seen
him leave. Soon the temple guards were searching everywhere for
the missing man. The Gordons searched his quarters, noticing that
all of Mr. Pryce's papers, notebooks, and language texts were
missing, though his luggage and clothing had been left behind.
Prof. Gordon sent Mr. Pym and several other men from the expedition
back to the encampment, to see if Mr. Pryce had returned there.
Before Mr. Pym could report his findings, She Who Must Be Obeyed
summoned Gordon to her chamber, and showed him a vision of the
French Aerofrigate, Le Majeste. She explained that the airship
had attacked and destroyed a boat off the south shore of the island,
and that its soldiers had captured and or killed everyone at the
encampment. She demanded to know why these violent marauders had
come to her land.
And then the Aerofrigate flew up to the city and began firing on it. She Who Must Be Obeyed conjured a storm to blow the Aerofrigate away. She Prof. Gordon she would teach them the meaning of change. The Aerofrigate exploded. She then informed Prof. Gordon that he, his daughter, Mr. Cleves, and Mrs. Hardy, would remain under guard indefinitely, until She had determined what to do about them.
During the time between the date of his disappearance (11 April, 1870) and the arrival of the Cowperthwaite party in the city (15 May, 1870) no sign of Mr. Pryce had been found anywhere in the city.
Miss Whitnell, Miss Sinclair, Mr. Ramsay, Mrs. Cuthbert, and Mr. Rupert Pryce wanted to search Mr. Andrew Pryce's quarters for any further clues. Miss Gordon took them to Mr. Pryce's quarters while Sir Cosmo interviewed Prof. Gordon in greater depth.
Miss Gordon pointed out that Mr. Pryce's luggage included a small carpet bag which he was ordinarily in the habit of carrying with him where ever he went. Inside the case was found a few objects one would expect to find in the kit of one of the Order's field agents, though several some items seemed to be missing. With Miss Sinclair's help, Mr. Ramsay deduced how to open the hidden compartment within the bag, and located Mr. Pryce's Watcher's Chronicle, which they set aside to read later, when they could do so unobserved.
No other clues being forthcoming, they returned to their own quarters. Some members of the party next went with Miss Gordon to the library [Note: it is the committee's recommendation that a larger team of translators and scribes be sent to Kor at the earliest possible opportunity to copy the contents of the library].
Meanwhile, Mr. Ramsay tried to read Mr. Pryce's journal, only to discover that it was in some sort of code. Miss Whitnell was able to decypher the entry rather quickly. The full text of the final entry follows:
10 April, 1870
I have placed so very little information in this diary since arriving at the city of Kor. My notes are an atrocious mess. Mr. Travers would be appalled. Yet, the information comes faster than I can write it down, let alone translate or analyse it. When I return from this night's investigation, perhaps there will be time, at last, to organise the material into a coherent whole.
I should say "if I return," for the danger I dare is quite serious. Since I must wait until the next changing of the guard before making my attempt, I shall try to summarise my findings now, and leave this record in a safe place where others of the Order may find it if the worst eventuality comes to pass.
The more I learn about this city and it's history, I become more convinced that this is the very place mentioned in Edmundus de Pratta's translation of the Sherd of Amenaras, I do not know if She Who Must Be Obeyed is the self-same queen mentioned on the sherd, but that She is a creature of great mystic power who has lived for at least several centuries I do not doubt.
I have been troubled by disturbing dreams of a ghoul or perhaps a vampire, lurking in catacombs beneath this city. The dreams become more disturbing with each passing night. All my attempts to cast warding spells and to build mental fortifications have failed to keep the nightmares from plaguing me. In these dreams I sometimes see hordes of innocent people being murdered. Other times I am given visions of veritable armies of the living dead, sweeping across the world and leaving destruction in their wake.
If I can find the place which Amenartas called the ‘dark, twisted pit' which houses the ‘Pillar of Life,' I may be able to unravel the mystery that is She, and know once and for all whether She is a menace to humankind.
Some days ago I found a very ancient fragment of papyus rolled up inside another, slightly less ancient, scroll. On it, written in the coptic alphabet these people use, I found reference to ‘Imhotep's Convolution' and a gateway to the ‘eternal emptiness of the night which is sometimes called the pillar of life or the flame of change.' It also contained that rather disturbing declaration, "Death is only the beginning." When I tried to learn more about Imhotep's Convolution, I was summoned by She and questioned most severely. The fragment apparently comes from a taboo document, which contained such great heresy that even speaking the name of it's author was forbidden centuries ago when She had all copies of the scroll destroyed.
She informed me in no uncertain terms that seeking after the information once contained in that banished document will be punished by death.
Since then, I happened to hear a young man at work in the garden make a comment to another about making a pilgrimage to the Convoluted Tombs. I questioned the boy, and learned that the gateway that lies on the eastern rim of the crater, at the opposite side as the gate by which outsiders enter the land of Kor, is called the Convoluted Tombs. No one is buried there, he said, because the place has been haunted by vengeful spirits for generations. Twice a year, however, the people make an offering of rare herbs and certain other valuables to the spirits of the tombs. At other times pilgrimages are made by men seeking increased martial prowess. The spirits are not worshipped, of course, because only She is worshipped in this land, but She supervises the preparation of the offerings, and participates in the ritual presentation of the offering.
When I asked one of the priestesses about the Convoluted Tombs, she told me that they are a forbidden place. She refused to say more about it.
The Convoluted Tombs, Imhotep's Convolution, and the dark, twisting pit may all be one and the same. I will attempt to leave the palace this night and make my way to this gateway and find where the convolutions may lead.
The entry indicated that Mr. Pryce may not have been kidnapped, but had met with difficulties somewhere within the Convoluted Tombs. Mr. Ramsay and Miss Whitnell made haste to the library to quietly inform their colleagues of their findings.
The party was still exploring the library when a summons came for Sir Cosmo. She Who Must Be Obeyed wished to discuss diplomatic issues with Sir Cosmo, and Sir Cosmo could bring one bodyguard. After a brief consultation, Sir Cosmo and Mr. Caine went to speak with She Who Must Be Obeyed.
The hour growing late, most of the party retired for the night, though Miss Whitnell, Miss Chigwidgeon, and Mr. Salmalin waited for Sir Cosmo's return. Mrs. Cuthbert was visited by a spirit, perhaps taking the form of one of the pheasants. The spirit delivered to messages: ‘Death is only the beginning' and ‘Return home. Save yourself.' She could get no further information using her spiritual powers.
Upon his return, Sir Cosmo informed the others that he had petitioned for permission to search the countryside for any signs of Mr. Pryce. She Who Must Be Obeyed said that she would make her decision known to them in the morning. He suggested every get a good night's rest, as they would likely be very busy the next day.
Sometime just before Dawn, Mr. Salmalin awakened Sir Cosmo, informing him that Lt. Wooster was missing, and that Mr. Caine had been very difficult to awaken, as if he had been drugged. They roused the rest of the party, and soon determined that Wooster was the only person missing.
A search of the Wooster's bedchamber soon turned up a concealed doorway. Dr. Wilson and the household's dog led the way into the passage, while the entire party followed.
The long circuitous route eventually led them to a door with an elaborate puzzle lock. They quickly determined that the floor of the tunnel was a trapdoor. A rope was affixed to Edward (a former street urchin who has been unofficially adopted by Sir Cosmo; see Report on the Third Demise of Mr. Jerrold Moriarty for further details), who endeavored to unlock the door. He succeeded in opening the door without setting off any traps.
Beyond the puzzle door the party encounter two armed guards, who barred their way and indicated the party should turn around. The party equivocated. They asked Miss Gordon to inform the guards that one of the party was missing, perhaps kidnapped. The guards summoned more guards and a priestess. The priestess could speak some English, and she informed Sir Cosmo that he and the other should return to their quarters while the temple guards searched for the missing man.
Since the dog had been following Lt. Wooster's scent through the tunnel to the passage barred to them, the party argued. The priestess went to consult with She Who Must Be Obeyed. When the priestess returned, she informed that She Who Must Be Obeyed had detected the presence of "evil spirits" in the temple, and requested that the party return to their quarters while a search for the missing man and the evil ones could be conducted.
Mrs. Cuthbert and Miss Sinclair did not want to turn back, but Sir Cosmo announced rather loudly that they should all return. It was at that moment that several of the party realised that Mr. Salmalin was no where to be seen.
The party returned to the guest chambers, discussing possible action all the way. About an hour later, Mr. Salmalin returned with Lt. Wooster. Mr. Salmalin reported that he had removed Wooster from the bedchamber of She Who Must Be Obeyed. Wooster could hardly remain conscious. Mrs. Cuthbert determined that some of his life force had been drained away.
It seemed clear to the party that none of them were safe within the city. Most of the party believed that the only way to escape and rescue Mr. Andrew Pryce was to follow him into the Convoluted Tombs.
The Cowperthwaite party along with the Gordons, Mr. Cleves, and Mrs. Hardy, packed all their belongings and left the temple with great haste. They were stopped at the main entrance by more guards. Mr. Pym and his native wife were roused. Mrs. Pym intervened, reminding the guards that She Who Must Be Obeyed had said that Englishmen could leave with Sir Cosmo whenever they wished. Mr. Pym meanwhile whispered to the party that he and Zikali would try to delay the news of their departure from reach She Who Must Be Obeyed, and wished them godspeed.
The sun was just rising as the party made their way out of the city and toward the Convoluted Tombs. Some of the herders and farmers were just beginning their daily activities.
The entrance to the tombs was a gate, similar to the one from on the opposite side of the crater which one had to pathway to the bottom of the cliffs. This gate differed in that the statues with flanked the opening were male. The face of each statue had been chipped off. It also appeared that the arch had once been inscribed in some way, though that too had been destroyed. The only marking left upon the gate was a symbolic representation of a maze.
Before entering the Convolution, Miss Whitnell, Mr. Ramsay, and Mrs. Cuthbert cast a protective spell on the entire party. Then they strung out a rope, each member of the party grasping it firmly. The walked into the tunnels.
It was decided that the party would follow
the Right Hand Wall rule of solving a maze. They strung out cotton
thread from Miss Gordon's needle kit behind them, so they could
find their way back out if need be. The pathway twisted and turned
and branched quite confusingly. The slope of the passageway usually
downward. As the party descended into the darkness they became
disoriented. Eventually, a strange dizziness overcame them all,
and each one felt as if he or she dozed off for a moment.
Each one, upon coming to their senses, found themself utterly
alone in the tunnel. They had each lost their grip on the rope,
and had no idea where the others were.
Our best guess is that a Nightmare spell was cast upon the entire party. The caster of the spell must have gathered an immense amount of energy, because every party member, including a Seer, a Sorcerous, a Watcher, an Enlightened Thuggee, and even the one with the Gift of Quiet, were affected at least sufficiently to lose their way and be separated from the others.
Many of the members of the party were then, it seems, subjected to a waking nightmare in which they confronted one of their deepest fears. Understandably, most of the survivors were reluctant to discuss the details of the hallucinations. From external evidence and comments made to other members of the party, we have some notion as to the contents of some of the nightmares: Dr. Wilson believed he was fighting an "evil older version" of himself and felt threatened enough to fire two rockets at his opponent. Mr. Cuthbert was induced to empty his handgun. Miss Chigwidgeon was frightened to tears. Edward believed he had become a ghost. Mr. Ramsay was confronted by vampires. Lt. Wooster believed that his elder sister had been appointed First Lord of the Admiralty.
Several members of the party, including Miss
Sinclair, Miss Whitnell, Mrs. Cuthbert, and Mr. Salmalin, apparently
were able to resist the spell enough that they did not experience
any hallucinations. They soon found each other, and were slowly
able to locate Dr. Wilson, Dr. Shinnaig, Mr. Cuthbert, Lt. Wooster,
Edward, Owen, Mr Ramsay, Miss Chigwidgeon, and Miss Gordon. Mrs.
Cuthbert found an odd-colored glass or crystal ball on the floor
of one of the passageway. The object gave a soft, white glow which
illuminated much of the tunnel when she picked it up. Before they
located any other missing members of the group, they found Sir
Cosmo's topcoat, which had some blood on the color. There were
signs that someone or something had dragged a body from the spot
where the topcoat was found. The party set off following the trail.
While tracking what they hoped was Sir Cosmo's captor, they observed
that some of the passageways could close themselves, changing
the shape of the maze. Eventually the trail led to a blank wall.
Mr. Ramsay cast a divination spell, and confirmed that some supernatural
creature had dragged Sir Cosmo through the passage and that one
of the moving stones had closed behind them.
Meanwhile, Edward produced a pry bar, hammer, and some other tools from his bag. Mr.Salmalin tried to pry to stone open. With a stupendous exertion, he succeeded in cracking the boulder, though the effort broke the steel pry bar in two (See Report on Instances of Super Human Strength and Report on Secrets of the Ascetics of the Sub-Continent). The stone was clearly too massive to me levered with the tools available to the party. It was decided to use the broken bar and the hammer as a drill to place an explosive charge in the stone. Dr. Wilson, Edward, Mr. Salmalin, and Mr. Cuthbert set to work drive a hole in the stone and preparing an explosive charge, while the others moved back up the tunnel to a side passage.
The incessant pounding led Prof. Gordon, who had last his glasses somewhere in the maze, to the party.
Dr. Wilson set the fuse while everyone else got to safety.
The explosive was sufficient to break the stone in two and move half of it out of the way, leaving a large enough opening for the party to continue. The dog picked up the trail and the chase continued.
The rough tunnels eventually led to a more finished-looking passage with stairs. The stairs opened into an enormous gallery, with a ceiling over 40 feet high. The walls on either side were lined with columns. In the center of the gallery stood a statue, 12 feet tall, of a vaguely man-like monster, with four arm and enormous tusks. Behind it was an even taller statue of another man-like creatue. The second statue was over 18 feet tall, with 12 feet of the height in it legs alone. The statue was holding a glass sphere which looks suspiciously similar to the glowing ball Mrs. Cuthbert had found.
Other statues in the hall seemed to be life-sized representations of humans of various raises, as well as a caveman, a tall ape-man, an otter-man, a troll or gargoyle, an amphibian-man, and a few others (See Report on Astral Visitations to the Celestial Spheres and Report on Anthropomorphic Qualities of Gods, Demons, and Other Legendary Beings). At the far end of this gallery another set of broad stairs led down to another chamber. The dog ran ahead, but stopped abruptly at the entrance to the chamber with a yelp. The stood his ground at the doorway, but was clearly frightened by something.
Dr. Wilson and Mr. Cuthbert drew their guns while Salmalin took up the hammer. The three of them hurried forward. The others, weilding swords, sticks, and knifes, followed close at their heels.
The next chamber was smaller than the gallery. Eight cadaverous warriors, each holding a bronze kopesh sword and a rectangular shield. Each wore cylindrical helmet on their head, and a golden torc with rubies in the shape of a scarab. The warriors drew their swords in unison.
Dr. Wilson called out that he had found an amulet after he destroyed the "other me." He pulled it from his pocket and tossed it toward Miss Whitnell, who jumped back at the sight of its aura.
Before any discussion of further action could take place, the undead legion began marching toward the party menacingly...
Appendix: A translation, written in 1495 by Edmundus de Prato, licentiate in Canon Law, Exeter College, Oxford.
Edmundus claimed to have found an ancient potsherd, appoximately ten inches long and seven wide, in which was carved a text in uncial Greek. Edmundus translated it into Latin. Here is an English translation of Edmundus' translation:
"I, Amenartas, of the Royal House of the Pharoahs or Egypt, wife of Kallikrates, a Priest of Isis whom the gods cherish and the demons obey, being about to die, to my little son Tisisthenes. I fled with thy father from Egypt in the days of Nectanabes, causing him through love to break the vows he had vowed. We fled northward, across the waters. Four days after we left the mouth of the Great River, a storm befell us, which pounded and cast us about for several days, drowning most of our crew. When at last the storm ended, we were utterly lost, with no land in sight. The current took us where it would for ten days until at last we sighted an island, which was crowned by a mountain shaped like a tall column.
"Wild men took us captive, and carried us through the hollow mountain to where a great city stood and where there are caves of which no man hath seen the end. They brought us to the Queen of the people of that place, who is a magician having a knowledge of all things, and life and loveliness that does not die. She cast eyes of love upon thy father, Kallikrates, and would have slain me, and taken him to husband, but he loved me and feared her, and would not. Then did she take us and lead us by terrible ways, by means of dark magic, down into a dark, twisted pit, in the mouth of which the old philosopher lay dead, and showed us the burning Pillar of Life that dies not, whereof the voice is as the voice of thunder. And she did stand in the flames and come forth unharmed and yet more beautiful. Then did she swear to make thy father undying as she is, if he would but slay me and give himself to her, for she could not slay me because of the magic of my own people that I have, and that prevailed thus far against her. And he held his hand before his eyes to hide her beauty, and would not slay me. Then in her rage did she smite him by her magic, and he died, but she wept over him, and bore him thence with lamentations. She sent me to the mouth a small river, where a ship did come in answer to her summons, and I was carried far away on the ships where I gave thee birth, and hither to Athens I came at last after many wanderings.
"Now I say to thee my son, Tisisthenes, seek out the woman, and learn the secret of Life, and if thou mayest find a way to slay her, because of thy father Kallikrates, and if thou dost fear or fail, this I say to all of thy seed who come after thee, till at last a brave man be found among them who shall bathe in the fire and sit in the place of the Pharoahs. I speak of these things, that though they be past belief, yet I have known, and I lie not."
There is another version, of uncertain date, written in Greek of about the third century B.C., which is substantially similar, except in that version Amenartas says she was allowed to bring the body of Kallikrates away with her, and that she tried by ancient secrets of her people, to raise him back to life, but failed.
Proceed to 6. The Wonderful Library of Kor
Contents this page copyright 2002 by Gene Breshears. All Rights Reserved.