Carthago !

The Abelessan Delve

This covers an exploration in the the fourth month of the nineteenth year of the reign of Pharaoh Ptolomy, son of Ptolomy.

From Sammus’s Boast:

175: E55 — Safe Arrival in Fort Boujje

We set off just before dusk on 2nd April. There was stinging stand blowing in from the east and it was very dark with no moon, so Agripinus produced the light of Tanit from his orb, to help us travel. Amphius went ahead and looked forward to preserve his night vision. The march was uneventful and just before dawn Agripinus blessed more water to be used by the skirmishers. He then performed a Divination and asked the Goddess about the green ring and the ivory bangle looted from the corpse of the Shedim.

In his trance he heard the following:

A verdant gem, this graven stone
By burning day a vibrant hue is shown
In night's embrace, a silent grace
So green echoes through time and space

and:

The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold
And his chariot was gleaming in purple and gold
A whisper of chance, a breath of fate
Cherish the moment before it’s too late

We then camped for the day and the wind had dropped by the time we resumed our march at dusk. The night passed quietly, while we again travelled by the light of Tanit. The wind was rising as we went on and during the day on the 4th April there was a sandstorm, with no visibility and it was difficult to get much rest. Toxoanassa moved a little way from the camp at one point to relieve herself and saw a yellow cobra. Quickly pulling out her dagger, she cut off its head and was able to return with the meat and snakeskin. The sandstorm continued into the night, and we could not travel on. Agripinus held the light of Tanit aloft for the night and spent some time practising with a mirror and the light to try and concentrate its rays.

By the early hours of 5th April, the wind and sandstorm started to drop, but our guides thought it best to stay put as there was little of the night left and more bad weather might arrive. During the day there was still stinging sand from the northwest. Si'aspiqo cast cantrips seeking the Shedim, darklings, jabba worms and ghouls, but felt none of them within a few hundred yards. All the same he set up a protection from evil around us.

In the afternoon there was a drumming of hooves, and a small group of gazelles was seen. Toxoanassa, Amphius and Asmun went after them. After an hour of stalking, they had got into shooting range and Amphius managed to bring down a small gazelle with an arrow. Messian prepared the deer and gave Amphius a small beaker of the blood. At dusk we set off and the night’s march was quiet, the wind died, and the stars came out.

We camped for the day on 6th April and our guides thought we were now halfway. Another four nights should get to the north reach and then another three or four more to Fort Boujje. We set off at dusk, with a light wind from the north and marched undisturbed until dawn. We camped for the day and then set off again at dusk on 7th April. Si'aspiqo cast various cantrips and suspected there were many darklings out there, but no Shedim, and the weather would be fine for the night. The weather prediction fitted the clear skies, but we were unconvinced that we were surrounded by darklings. Barsoom rode round and saw no tracks or signs of them. The night was again quiet, although the wind was rising from the southwest, bringing stinging sand as we camped at dawn.

The night of 8th into 9th April was also uneventful and the moon rose in the east, lighting our way for the last couple of hours until dawn. Our guides issued extra water as they believed one more night of travel should get us to the north reach. We set out again at dusk on 9th April and marched undisturbed until dawn but had still not reached our destination, Our guides suggested pushing on as it wasn’t far to the north reach and after a few hours on the morning of 10th April we saw a ridge of rocks off to the northeast with a gap and then reached an ancient kraal and camp and a hidden tunnel. The day was spent resting and the guides refilled the watersacks.

Si'aspiqo investigated the jade ring and bangle. He thought the jade ring similar to the one he wore and probably brought luck or protection. I agreed to wear the ring for the next while to see if I noticed any effect. He learnt nothing about the bracelet and Toxoanassa took it and put it on her arm.

At dusk on 10th April Si'aspiqo again cast his cantrips and this time he thought bad weather was on the way. Baal-Shaq and the guides discussed his prediction, and the Kel Ayr shrugged and left the camels in the kraal when Baal-Shaq decided to stay for a day. The moon rose early and as it set with a red light, the wind suddenly rose, and a violent sandstorm rolled over our camp from the northwest. Baal-Shaq congratulated Si'aspiqo on his prediction. By dawn several feet of sand had blown around the side of the kraal. The 11th April was a blur of hot sand. Si'aspiqo investigated the ivory bangle further but found nothing new. Towards midnight the storm passed over the top of the camp and the hot wind veered to come from the south, spitting sand. The guides decided to wait the day and hope the weather improved. At least we had plenty of water.

At dusk on 12th April, the wind had dropped a little and it was possible to travel. The night passed quietly with moonlight until midnight at which point Agripinus provided the light of Tanit, and we continued uninterrupted until dawn on 13th April. During the day Si'aspiqo looked at bracelet again but had no new insights. Si'aspiqo thought the next night would be clear and fair and we set out at dusk on 13th April with the moon high above as the sun set. Amphius spotted two or three bats flittering around in the desert, soon after we set out. They were circling around us, but these were not the large bats we had encountered before and when Si'aspiqo cast a cantrip and felt for large bats, he felt none nearby.

Something flew just past Mago’s ear, and as he turned to follow its flight, something hit him in the back and bit him. I knocked the bat off, with the pommel of my shortsword and it fluttered away. The caravan paused but resumed after a brief halt. There was a rustle in the rocks and Amphius saw something low to the ground slither off to the east away from us. It was almost as large as a person. He watched its track as the caravan passed, and something swooped past his head as he waited. Once the caravan was past, he resumed his place a little ahead of it. An hour or so later something fluttered out of the darkness near Mago, he tried to duck and missed with a dagger as another medium sized bat went by. Dawn arrived without further attack on 14th April.

The day was hot and quiet, and we set out again at dusk. As we marched Amphius spoke to each of us and he told me that he had agreed to open a gate in the desert for Boujje using the magic key, in exchange for the “daylight” hat band he had been wearing since we had left Fort Boujje. I told him I would be happy to accompany him.

The night was quiet and at dawn on 15th April, we were travelling in deteriorating weather, but as a sandstorm arrived from south, we reached Fort Boujje safely.

From Sammus’s Boast:

176: E56 – Negotiations with Boujje

We arrived at the exchange stone just outside Fort Boujje and sent word to the fort, that we had arrived. The same six Ajjer guides were waiting to take us on as arranged and had been waiting here for a while. A sandstorm hit immediately.

We said goodbye to our Kel-Ayr guides here. Baal-Shaq had doubled the payment he had agreed and handed it over to Barsoom to distribute. We also gave Barsoom all the mundane weapons we had taken during our journey, including a fine steel sword, and an iron sword and spear, along with a gold scarab and a gold necklace and Barsoom and the Kel-Ayr seemed very contented. We moved onto the fort and a few Numidians help transfer our goods.

There were still at least 3 weeks travel to Tamuda from here, although a fast rider might take a few days less. We would not arrive for the beginning of May which was only two weeks away, and we would clearly be overdue. Once it was into May, we were not sure how long Kallicrates would wait. We discussed send a fast message and Boujje told us that could arrange a message to be sent to Naguza via a Numidian horseman and then on to Tamudah. Each leg would cost 20 gold pieces, 40 gold pieces in total.

Boujje commented to Baal-Shaq that he had not brought much ivory back with him, but it looked like he had vessels with precious contents and Boujje asked what we had found in the desert. Si'aspiqo told him that this was loot from various places we had come to in the South, when ivory shopping and trading had been redirected due to auspices at our arrival, to take on supernatural events. We had dealt with ghouls and similar that had been troubling the area. In extirpating them we had found a certain amount of interesting stuff in the ruins.

After discussion Boujje offered to decant and seal what we had into smaller vessels, which he thought much safer and easier to transport. His share would be a third of what he bottled.

Agripinus spoke to Boujje about the advantages of forming trading contacts with Carthage and was very persuasive. Boujje was very interested in this and told us that he made healing and painkill potions that seemed similar to what we had found although he wasn’t sure how powerful ours were without checking the contents of our vessels. He also told us of tattoos he could for health, protection from evil, for luck, and to take pain from old wounds.

We agreed to his terms for rebottling our potions and Boujje inspected the contents. The seal of one of the gourds, which contained healing potion, had been damaged and the contents spoiled, but the rest had survived the journey intact. Boujje thought our healing potions were potent and would cure diseases or wounds. The contents would fill 72 bottles. The other potions were a powerful version of a painkill potion very useful for operations – resetting bones or amputation limbs or similar. The contents would fill 88 bottles. Boujje had over 100 bottles immediately available which would be just about enough for all the contents once his third was accounted for. It was difficult to know how much these potions might be worth, but Agripinus had bought some healing potions in Malaka for 100 gold pieces each. Si’Aspiqo offered to help and Boujje was grateful for his offer.

We handed over 80 gold pieces for messages and Boujje agreed to send messages on two consecutive days, with each messenger being unaware of the other. The message would ask Kallicrates to wait and tell him it would be worth waiting.

We then talked about the task that Amphius had agreed to undertake in exchange for the hatband that Boujje had made for him. It was about a week to get to the ruins in the desert and back and it would take between a week and two weeks to bottle the potions. Investigating the ruins and was something we could come back to later, as another year was not significant in the length of time the ruins had been there, but we thought it was worthwhile to at least go and look.

Si'aspiqo’s Footnotes

Party & company:

• Agripinus
• Amphius
• Baal-Shaq
• Mago
• Toxoanassa
• Sammus
• Si'aspiqo
• Six Kel-Ajjer Guides:
  • Axil
  • Badis
  • Egbeggi
  • Ghanim
  • Ijju
  • Ittu
  • (and some bearers)
• Kel-Ayr Guides:

Met:

Places

Party Loot

From Sammus’s Boast:

177: E57 – Opening the Sphinx

Boujje told us that we would need to head to Tilaf, two or three days north of Fort Boujje and then turn northeast for about three days from Tilaf, where we would see a line of scree slopes or cliffs rising from the sand. Boujje explained that where we saw scattered rocks around and a large carved rock this was the place. People had dug in the rocks around there and although Boujje had been here he couldn’t find a way in. We would need Ajjer guides to trade for water at Tilaf as there was no water where we were going.

Si'aspiqo decided to join us on our trip, and we took two donkeys to carry water and a pony for Si'aspiqo to ride. Baal-Shaq spoke to the Ajjer guides and Bardis and Ibegi agreed to accompany us.

We set out at dusk on 17th April under a full moon. It was cloudy but the moon and stars gave enough light to walk. Amphius and Baal-Shaq were at the front and Mago and I brought up the rear. Ibegi guided the party, while Bardis took the opportunity to talk to Si'aspiqo. When we camped at dawn Agripinus carried out a ceremony and provided water for the animals.

During the day a hot wind rose from the south and a sandstorm blew in. The sandstorm blew out overnight and it poured with rain on 19th April. By dawn on 20th April the rain eased to showers, and it was cool, so we set out again. As the day wore on it began to dry out, soon day steam started to rise from the desert, and it became humid. The guides suggested we continue at night as we should arrive at Tilaf by dawn, so after a rest, we pushed on and arrived at dawn on 21st April. Our guides negotiated and refilled the watersacks. The weather cleared, and it was hot. We rested in the shade of date palms for the day and resumed our march at dusk. We marched under clear skies to the northeast for the night. All was quiet.

A hot wind from the south brought stinging sand, but we set out heading at dawn on 22nd April and camped for the next day, when the guides told us the next night’s march should bring us to the cliffs. Agripinus carried out two ceremonies but was unable to produce any water and the animals drank quite a lot of our supply. The guides collected locusts for tea. We set out at dusk on 23rd April on a fair evening with a warm wind from the east and, just before dawn, Amphius sighted a ridge line of rocks and then a larger rock a short distance from the cliffs. We soon came to a large rock 50 metres long and 7 or 8 metres high. Around us were bits of stones that might once have been worked. We made camp in the shade to the north and west of the large rock. Agripinus once again called on Tanit and this time was able to produce some water.

We started poking around amongst the rocks and then Toxoanassa, who had walked out to the east and looked back, called everyone over to take a look. We joined her and could see that one end of the large rock was shaped unusually. It was very weathered, so it was difficult to make out clearly, but might be a woman’s head with a mane or even a cobra’s head. The head was buried up to the chin. Si'aspiqo had seen something similar beside the Great Pyramid in Egypt and told us it was a Sphinx. Agripinus found a quiet place and communed with Tanit, while Si'aspiqo meditated.

Amphius looked carefully around the buried head and started to clear away some of the sand. Just below the neck he could make out linear carving. It might be a pectoral, clothing, or an architectural feature but most of it was buried.

Towards midday we met up again and reported. Toxoanassa and I had looked around the scattered rocks but found little of interest. The scattered rocks were in semi-rectangular shapes and might have been crude and worn huts or dwellings. Agripinus told us that this area had not always been desert, and that this was a burial place for the dark people. Si'aspiqo thought that this was an ancient temple of Amun, and that the Sphinx was at the head of a processional way. He had had a vision of the Sphinx looking to the east, with the processional way behind here to the west.

We had a break and then resumed an hour before dusk as it started to cool a little. Agripinus carried out two ceremonies at different places and produced some more water for the beasts and then for the rest of us. Si'aspiqo cast a protection from evil spell and set up a ward around the camp.

Amphius had dug down a few more feet and found some hieroglyphs in a square or rectangle on the sphinx, which continued down into the sand. In the top corners of the square were holes that were clogged with sand. Si'aspiqo inspected and translated the hieroglyphs. He told us it said something like:

“Under the shadow of this mighty (something) (someone) slept”.

I used a spade to dig more of the sand and Agripinus used a shield to push it away. The rectangle with hieroglyphs was about 3 feet wide and 6 feet or more down. Si'aspiqo made out more of the inscription:

“Somebody spoke saying look at my son Carfre, I am your father or grandfather, giving sovereignty over something, supremacy over the living. Behold something then check my perfect limbs or arms. The sound of the desert where I am laid has covered me”.

He couldn’t make out the next part but then it finished:

“heart’s desire to become real. Carfre made it so and leaves these words to speak truth to those who read them”

He called this an Egyptian stela.

Si'aspiqo cast a focus luck cantrip and then tried a fortune telling cantrip to read whether deciphering this inscription brought good or bad fortune and thought it was more good than bad. He read again but could make out no more and decided to sleep on it. Amphius cleared more sand and found parts of what seemed to be stone mounds to either side, while most of us rested.

Just before dawn Agripinus rose and carried out two more ceremonies to provide more water for the animals and completely restock our supply. Soon after the rest of us rose and Mago climbed up to the top of the Sphinx and thought there was still a lot of the Sphinx buried under the sand – there might be metres of sand. The mounds seemed like legs or arms reaching out from the head. Si'aspiqo spent more time investigating the inscription. Toxoanassa dug around the rectangular inscribed stone with a broken arrow shaft and found two more square holes at the bottom, which meant there was one in each corner of the stelae. Looking at the size and shape of the stelae, I wondered if it was a door. Amphius looked, and thought it was set into stone. He looked at one of the holes at the top; it was at least two inches deep. The other one at the top was similar.

Si'aspiqo thought the height of the day, midday might be significant. He said the inscription re-read something like:

“Carfre the mighty one was here, sleep at the moment when Ra reached the summit of heaven. Something spoke to him. Look upon me my son Carfre, I bestow … over domain and supremacy over the living. May protect my mighty limbs. The sand of the desert that has covered me. Save me, heart’s desire become real. Carfre made it so and leaves these words to speak truth to those who read them”.

Si'aspiqo set himself between the arms and waited for close to midday when he would meditate again.

Mago couldn’t see why the square holes would be there. They couldn’t be for handling it, he thought. Perhaps they were for precise setting, but he had never seen something like this before. I poked a broken shaft in each one, thinking they might trigger some mechanism. They went in several inches after wiggling more sand out. Two came back out easily, but two were stuck. Amphius took over and cleared out the two holes where the shafts had not stuck and tried to push them in further. When cleared he could see something like the edges of stone in the holes. If it was metal, he would have thought it might be a lock. He took all the shafts back out. They were notched as though they were stuck in something sharp. He used his tools to clear everything out of the four apertures. He took out his magic key and tried to open the one at the top right corner. There was a clunk and the sound of something cycling. He tried the bottom left hole, and the key jammed but then he freed it and it this time it turned with a click, again something cycled. He repeated the process with the lower right hole and again there was a click and cycling. He was concerned the large block might fall, so we all moved out of the way and as he turned the key in the top left corner he prepared to leap out of the way. It took a while to cycle, and he had time to move out of the way and then the stelae fell out and landed with a thud in the trench Amphius had dug. Ahead was darkness.

It was now mid-morning and our debt to Boujje was paid! There were stairs going steeply down into the rock. Amphius took a closer look and tapped firm stairs. He descended 40 feet down the stairs and I followed. Agripinus, Si'aspiqo, Toxoanassa, and Mago followed with Baal-Shaq at the rear with a torch. Si'aspiqo also lit a torch. At the bottom of the steps was a five feet wide corridor, which immediately turned to the right. There was a narrow opening on the left into a small chamber or junction with options heading south, west or back to the east. It looked as though we were in another maze.

Si'aspiqo appends:

I suspect Carfre may be also rendered as Khafre or Khefren, a pharoah of the ancient times to whom is attributed one of the large pyramid tombs of the northern Nile and, interestingly, the nearby Sphinx monument.

My best rendering of the stela’s glyphs, worn by the sands they are now face down in, is:

Khafre the Mighty One was here, seated himself under the shadow of this mighty work and slept at the moment when Ra was at the summit of heaven
…(then something about:)… this spoke to him …(something)… saying look upon me my son Khafre I am thy grandfather …(forebear?)… I bestow on thee …(something)… over domain …(or kingdom?)… and supremacy over the living.
Behold …(something)… may protect my perfect limbs
the sands of the desert which have covered me saved me
…(something)… heart's desire becoming real.
And so Khafre made it so and leaves these words to speak truth to those who read them.

—
Earlier, in dreaming of this place, I heard a female voice singing in the old Egyptian tongue, perhaps a hymn to, or invoking, Amun, the creator god.
I saw the Sphinx in the distance from a south-eastern perspective (which I then confused, upon waking, with my own direction of view, I since realise – such is dreaming).

From Sammus’s Boast:

178: E58 – Maze and Traps

At the bottom of the steps was a five feet wide corridor, which immediately turned to the right. There was a narrow opening into a small chamber and a junction with options heading south, west or east. It looked as though we were in another maze.

Mago moved up past me to follow behind Amphius. The Greek labelled the junction 0 and the exits east, west and south, 1, 2 and 3 respectively. All was quiet and it was much cooler down here. Amphius led us East and after 20 or 30 feet there was an enforced left turn, and we headed north. After 20 or 30 feet we came to an enforced left turn which doubled back on itself and then through a series of right and left 180 degree turns gradually heading back to the west, until Amphius saw a door across the passage ahead of him.

As he advanced to the door, the floor suddenly collapsed beneath him – a whole length of corridor had dropped away into a pit. Amphius managed to grasp the threshold of the door, whilst I grabbed the narrow side of the floor which still remained, but I dropped my sword. Mago and Agripinus tumbled into the pit. Si'aspiqo almost followed them in, but Toxoanassa reacted quickly as the magician tottered on the edge and pulled him to safety. Agripinus had sprained his right ankle, and Mago was unconscious.

Amphius tried to raise himself up on the ledge and couldn’t but managed to grasp the edge and work his way around to where Toxoanassa was. Baal-Shaq hauled on Toxoanassa, and she grasped Si'aspiqo and helped him out. The pit was over 12 feet deep pit, as I could see by the light of Agripinus’s torch. I tried to work my way round the edge of the pit but lost my grip on the narrow ledge and dropped into the pit, where I picked up my shortsword.

The priest looked at Mago and saw he had a broken arm and possible internal injuries – probably broken ribs. He carried out a couple of rites to cure Mago’s wounds. Mago regained consciousness but was in a lot of pain. It hurt when he breathed, and his left arm was painful.

I climbed out with the help of a rope and joined the others, as we waited and watched Agripinus tend Mago. He set the arm and after another rite it no longer seemed broken. Mago gently and carefully massaged the ankle of Agripinus with his good hand and the ankle felt better. We lowered a rope and carefully hoisted Mago and then helped Agripinus out of the pit.

In the meantime, Amphius had climbed around the edge of the pit and checked the door. He decided that it was a fake door just carved into the stone.

We retraced our steps to the outside and after Mago had had a drink, Si'aspiqo put him into a restful and recuperative sleep. The rest of the day passed uneventfully and, in the evening, Mago awoke. He was still bruised but feeling much improved. Agripinus performed miracles at dawn to provide water for the animals and then a second one nearby to replenish our store of water. Agripinus also performed another healing rite on Mago, who now felt fully recovered.

We descended the steps once more and headed west along the passage previously marked 2. After 20 feet there was an enforced right turn, and after 20 or 30 feet there was a 180-degree left turn back on itself and we suspected we were close to where the trap had been. After another 20 feet there was an option on the right, closely followed by another option on the right which we labelled 4 and 5 respectively. We took the second option and there was an immediate no option left turn. After another thirty feet there was a no option right turn and after 10 or 15 feet there was an option on the left or the passage continued heading west. We labelled this junction 7 and turned right. This led down some stairs and as it levelled out, there was a door ahead blocking the passage.

Amphius was suspicious of a stone in front of the door, so we went back up the stairs and turned right at junction 7 and continued west along the passage. After 10 or 15 feet there was a no option right turn and then after 40 feet it came to a dead end. Amphius found nothing suspicious, but there was a narrow squeeze way on the left which opened onto a passage still heading north. We squeezed through it in turn, but it was particularly tight for Baal-Shaq and I. after 10 or 15 feet the passage turned to the right back on itself, then the passage ended but opened out on the left at 45 degrees into a 15 foot square chamber with an exit on the far side and an opening into a small 10 foot square room. Amphius checked the small room carefully and found no secret doors, so we headed back into the larger room. He found nothing here either and so we took the exit in the far wall which led back to junction 4.

Amphius led us right there, past junction 5 and then after 30 feet there was an enforced left turn and then after 15 feet it turned to the right and back on itself heading west. After 50 feet the passage turned left to head south and soon after the turn Amphius noticed something unusual in the brickwork on the left wall. He eventually found a mechanism for a secret door, which he opened.

From Sammus’s Boast:

180: E59 — Si'aspiqo Burns a Mummy

Amphius carefully reclosed the secret door and we retraced our steps to the junction marked 3, where a passage led ahead to the south. After 30 feet there was an option on the left, which we marked 9 or the passage continued. We turned to the left and headed east. After 30 feet there was a no option right turn and then another no option right after 20 more feet. After 25 feet there was an option on the right, or the passage continued. We marked this as 10 and turned right. After 20 feet there was an option on the right already labelled 9. We returned to junction 10 and turned right. After 20 feet there was an option on the right, or the passage continued. We labelled this 11 and turned right. After 50 feet the passage turned to the right and back on itself with stairs going down. Mago, carrying a torch and Amphius descended 30 feet or more and cautiously explored a landing at the bottom. There was an archway and a door.

As they decide to leave this for later investigation and turned to reascend the steps, there was a gasp and a twang of a bowstring from the rearguard, followed by a cry of alarm and a thud of something hitting stone. As I headed back, I saw Baal-Shaq had retreated looking alarmed, but Agripinus had lit up the area with his orb. By this light I saw the large figure of an undead ahead of him as he pushed past the rearguard. The priest tried to turn the undead as he raised his orb and symbol of Tanit and tried to spread his light, but darkness rose at the same time and the mummy, wrapped in cloth, stepped forward. It tried to strike the priest but missed and there was another thud as it smashed into the stone wall. smashed into the wall. The priest tried again, and this time checked the hulking form. A battle of wills took place between the massive mummy and the priest of Tanit. As I advanced past my comrades, I saw Agripinus quail before the mummy and recoil.

I passed the priest and fought off the fear emanating from the undead. I struck it with my shortsword, but it bashed me back along the corridor. Si'aspiqo cast protection from evil on the area around himself and then started to push forward carefully. I sliced through some of the cloth wrappings of the mummy, and it shuffled forward and grasped at me but missed. As it grabbed at me, I slipped past it. Meanwhile Amphius descended back down the stairs again to try and open the door at the bottom. He spotted what might be the trigger for a trap and he suspected it would cause the whole floor to collapse.

I clattered the undead on the head, but it barely seemed to notice and hit me with a huge arm, and I staggered back again. Si'aspiqo blew on a fire flute and a shower of burning sparks caught the mummy and some of the loose cloth wrappings caught fire. His protection was moving with the magician. I hit the figure again as it grabbed at me. Si'aspiqo stepped forward and lit the cloth on its back, which started to burn. I missed with another blow, and it started to squeeze me.

Si'aspiqo cast protection from evil on me and the powerful figure cast me down at the feet of the magician and backed into the corridor with the cloth around it burning strongly. It tried to put out the fire, but most of the burning cloth was on its back and difficult to reach and soon the figure crumpled into a burning mass on the floor.

The fire started to release a lot of choking smoke, but Si'aspiqo used cantrips to summon gusts of air that blew the smoke away down the corridor. We rested and Baal-Shaq and Agripinus recovered from their fear. After a few minutes, Si'aspiqo extinguished the flames, and the smoke stopped. I sifted through the debris and noticed that the bandages seemed to be stuck to the remains by something quite resinous.

We retraced our steps back to the entrance and were dazzled as we climbed out into bright light of day. We rested in some shade and Agripinus prayed to Tanit to give thanks for our deliverance from the undead. When he had finished and felt fully recovered, he healed me.

We returned down the stairs under the sphinx and made our way to the burnt-out remains down the corridor from junction 11. Amphius searched through them and found some gold on the remains of one arm, which might have been jewellery, and then something on the other arm that had some flecks of blue stone within gold. In the remains of the bandages, he found a gold beetle with hieroglyphs on it.

The Greek then led us right at junction 11 and after about 45 feet there was a no option right turn and then after 50 feet there was another enforced right turn. Just before the turn he noticed something suspicious about the wall on the right; he realised this was the secret door he had found previously. He marked it as 12 and then reopened it.

Through the opening was a narrow, 3 feet wide, passage ahead. After 15 feet there was a narrow aperture on the right, which was marked as 13. Amphius pushed through into a space that opened out ahead of him. Si'aspiqo lit a torch for me, and I followed through the opening. There was a huge block of stone on the floor in the centre of the space with Egyptian symbols carved on it and there were scenes painted on the walls.

The chamber was around 30 to 40 feet square, and we had entered in the centre of one wall with apertures in the opposite wall and the one off to the left but not the right. There were corridors to the left and right through the other apertures. The block of stone was polished with pink and black flecks and was maybe 4 feet high, and 6 to 7 feet long. Nearby were piles of crumbling wooden things. Amphius noticed that there were the remains of two wheels and what must once have been the frame of a chariot. There were some stone jars in one corner.

Si'aspiqo looked at the markings on the stone slab and told us that it said “Netharu, priestess of Amun”. He found two small holes near the floor at the western end of the block and a horizontal line around it a foot from the top, as though this maybe formed the lid of a sarcophagus or coffin. One of the scenes on the walls depicted many people making offerings of food and other things. The magician was unsure whether it depicted Netharu leading tributes for a goddess or whether the tribute was for the priestess.

We labelled the opening in the opposite, southern wall as 14 and the one to the left or east as 15. Amphius led us through 15 and turned left to see if it joined to junction 13, but after 40 feet it came to a dead end. He checked for traps and hidden doors but found nothing. He returned past 15 and after another 20 feet there was a no option right, which came to junction 14 after 20 feet and then continued another 15 feet to a dead end, which again had no traps or secret doors. We returned to the room and exited through 13 and turned right, which led 15 feet to another dead end, where the Greek again found nothing suspicious.

We decided to go outside and rest before trying to open the sarcophagus and deal with what was inside. We returned to the surface and emerged once more into the bright sun to rest once more.

From Sammus’s Boast:

182: E60 — Right Said Amphius

It was mid-morning of the 26th April. Agripinus carried out a ceremony to get some water — his first attempt did not produce anything but two more, in different places, produced enough to water the animals and top up our stocks. There was enough for Agripinus to bless three bottles of holy water to take back down below the sphinx. We rested until dawn.

The guides reported that rations were getting low, we had just enough to get home but no spare. However, Agripinus was confident he could stretch our rations with the help of Tanit. It was another hot, dry, fair day, with a cooler wind from the north. We discussed whether we should open the tomb. Si'aspiqo had reservations, as it had been useful in the past to be able to talk to undead spirits and assure them, that we were not tomb robbers. I was keen to open it as any talking with undead that I did was with my sword. Baal-Shaq and Agripinus had no reservations and Toxoanassa agreed.

Leaving Mago with the guides, Amphius led myself, Agripinus, Si'aspiqo, Toxoanassa and Baal-Shaq back down the stars. Agripinus powered up his orb with the light of Tanit. We headed west along the passage marked 2 and followed these past junctions 4 and 5 and then past the secret door marked 12. We carried on following the passage past junctions 11 and 10 and then circled an area where Sammus suspected there might be another hidden chamber. We turned left at junction 9 to complete the circuit, but Amphius found nothing. We then returned to the secret door and Amphius opened it and led us into the chamber with the plinth.

Si'aspiqo copied the markings on the plinth and made some notes, while Amphius inspected the stone jars. The Greek found some nicely made stone anthropomorphic figures, which he and Si'aspiqo decided were shabti. I thought they were a good size for throwing down on the enemy at a siege.

Amphius inspected the plinth. There were two small holes a little below the horizontal crack, which looked like it was the lid. They were on the north and south faces at the eastern end of each. Amphius checked for traps and hiding places or mechanisms but nothing. It felt solid, he said. Si'aspiqo set up a protection across the exit marked 13, while Agripinus chanted a blessing, then Amphius tried his magic key in one of the holes, but it did not engage with anything.

No light shone through the holes when Agripinus held his orb over one of them. He peered in and saw a dusty surface, which might be wood. We guessed there was a wooden coffin or sarcophagus within. Si'aspiqo thought the holes might be part of the rites of Egyptians, but couldn’t remember what the significance was, maybe an exit for the soul?

Amphius tried to see if he could insert the shovel in the horizontal line, but it was a very narrow gap. Si'aspiqo had two axe heads and Amphius drove them in, either side of a corner, which raised the lid high enough to insert the shovel. I tried to lever off the lid with the shovel, but it slipped out of the crack. Fortunately, the axe heads remained in place and Amphius tapped some silver coins in place and then the shovel and I gave a mighty heave.

There was a grinding noise as the whole top rode up over a tiny lip and opened several inches. Baal-Shaq, Toxoanassa and Agripinus all helped me, and we pushed it 6 inches, opening a triangular dark hole, into which the shovel dropped. With the light from the orb, we could see there was something under the lid — the corner of a large box. We all joined in and managed to push the lid further.

This gave a little more room and Amphius was able to rig a rope. Baal-Shaq and I pulled on either end of this, and the rest pushed, and we managed to get it slightly further. I gave another mighty heave, but this time I managed to pull the rope from Baal-Shaq’s hands. Si'aspiqo could now see something inlaid in the wood, maybe ivory, and could discern feet at the western end of the wooden box. The lid now moved askew, by about 20 degrees. Amphius set up two loops of rope so we could pull it so that it would topple off the plinth. We continued to pull and at one-point Si'aspiqo sprawled on the floor. Eventually the lid balanced near the edge and then slid off with an almighty crash. It ended up jammed on the floor leaning against the plinth.

Agripinus raised his orb, and we could all see a coffin inlaid with ivory and jet, with signs of paint, showing the symbolic features of a woman in repose. There were no handles, but Amphius rigged rope around each end, and we all leant in and pulled. Now Amphius could get loops of rope under the coffin. We got the feet end out first and then pulled the whole thing out of the north edge. Baal-Shaq lost his grip one one end, and it landed on Si'aspiqo’s leg. The coffin made a crunching noise but was still in one piece.

Amphius re-rigged the ropes to try to carry it outside, while Agripinus tried unsuccessfully to cure the magician. Looking back into the empty plinth we could see painted hieroglyphs and that the holes had symbolic eyes. With some difficulty we manoeuvred the coffin through the narrow exit marked 13, but it then crashed to the floor and splintered as part of the rigged rope slipped off. Amphius broke up the coffin and put the pieces back in the plinth, apart from the mainly intact lid . The mummy was laid face down on the lid and we took it out through the secret door and along the corridor to the left. We turned left at junction 10 and then made our way back to the stairs and up to the outside world. Under the brilliant sun and desert wind we shook off the grey dust of the tomb, which had swirled everywhere as the coffin was upended.

Amphius fetched some blankets and wrapped them around the mummy before we took it out into the sun and back to camp around midday. Mago massaged Si'aspiqo, and then we removed the blankets and looked at the bandage-wrapped figure of the priestess. Agripinus put a ward from evil around it and then Si'aspiqo cast detect magic. He told us there was one hit at the waist and another on the chest from his spell. Using a dagger, and starting at the waist, Amphius peeled away the bandages, which changed from black to brown to grey as he worked through the layers. Soon there was a gleam of gold and semi-precious green or blue stone: the handle of a dagger. Once it was clear, Amphius removed it from the crumbling sheath of leather, revealing a blue-grey metal blade. He then removed bandages from the chest and as he did so, dust blew from the wrappings and Si'aspiqo noticed there were markings on the bandages. Eventually a thick gold wire necklace was revealed with polished round stones of different colours. Finally, he found a pair of bracelets on each arm, which he removed, and then he rewrapped the mummy in the bandages.

We then carried the mummy back down the stairs and placed it back in the plinth. As we left, Amphius jammed two axe heads in the secret door to make it difficult to open. We retraced our steps to the outside world and rested for the remains of the day. Once more we had to shake off the grey dust of the tomb from our shoes; Amphius was covered after his unwrapping and re-wrapping the mummified priestess and took some time to rid himself of the resinous smears and dirt of the coffin. Fortunately, we had enough water to waste a little on washing ourselves clean. Agripinus carried out some healing on Si'aspiqo.

We packed up camp quickly so we could leave at dusk and just before we left Agripinus called on Tanit to supply water and the animals got a good drink before we set out. It was a fair night with stars above us. It soon became apparent that Si'aspiqo’s wracking cough had returned and I was coughing too — probably because of the dust that had blown around when the mummy was unwrapped.

184. Back to Boujje

Si'aspiqo’s wheeze:

Night of 27th April

As we walked across the desert towards the water hole of Tilaf — or in my case rode with Toxoanassa’s guiding hand to stop me coughing myself off the pony’s back — Amphius had been talking to us, suggesting we return to the Sphinx to clear up properly, take one or two steps perhaps overlooked in our rush to be away from the scene of our grave-robbing triumph. He particularly wanted to go back for the coffin lid and to fill in the excavated sand to cover the entrance to the tomb.

Initially BaalShaq was prepared to accommodate the suggestion of his blood-brother, but our Kel Ajjer guides were aghast when he put it to them on Amphius’ behalf, for they reckoned the place would be cursed and haunted after the despoiling of the tomb.

I was not against it at first, until I heard the guides’ opinion, but more concerned with checking the items we had recovered than going back for a few sparkly stones and broken ivory trim from the sarcophagus lid.

Agripinus was absolutely against a party return to the sphinx/tomb. His concern was that the reputation of the party as a respectful and responsible group to work with would be at grave risk if we ignored the strong advice of our friends the guides. He would push on back to Boujje with the party. He’d not stop Ampius from following his suggested path as an individual, but the formal party should follow the advice of the local people we’ve hired to advise us to show them respect.

Toxoanassa was unhappy with tomb-robbing now she’d tried it. It was not something she or the party as a group had undertaken before and she found she really did not care for the wrecking of a coffin and despoiling a buried person of their grave goods.

Mago hadn’t taken part with the actual corpse-robbing and saw no advantage to returning to the site. Sammus looked somewhat distant and took little part in the conversation, perhaps preoccupied with the unusual sensations of being ill through sickness rather than honourable battle wounds.

Agripinus praised Amphius for making his suggestion and initiating a discussion, but didn’t consider a return to be a good idea for the party as a whole. Anyone who agreed with Amphius was free to return with him though, while the main party and the guides proceed on their way back to Fort Boujje.

BaalShaq pleaded with his blood-brother. Any trip or sprain or mis-navigation there or back, or change in the weather like a passing sand-storm… Any of these would likely mean he would never be seen again. The desert was deadly to people on their own and to those not life-long familiar with its ways. Unless he was very, very lucky his only chance of success would be to offer a great reward to the guides and perhaps, perhaps one would agree to accompany him to the Sphinx and then back to rejoin the rest of us and make it to Fort Boujje.

Amphius was still supremely self-confident, as usual, and not for turning. He considered a solo run across the desert. The sphinx-tomb was only a five hour march behind us, but on his own he reckoned he could cover the distance in half the time. The cold facts of logistics turned out to be the decisive argument. Amphius on his own might be able to complete a return run to the Sphinx in what was left of the night, but on reckoning the water-load he’d need for the journey, the stay to find and strip the coffin-lid of valuable components and work for hours moving sand to fill in the excavation of the front of the sphinx, then return to join us in the main party, while we receded from the Sphinx — all accounting made these quite impractical in water weight alone without considering adding margins for error or misfortune…

Eventually we all pressed on together through the night and away from the Sphinx. The journey left some of us exhausted — by the coughing if not the travel — while Amphius made a point of running circles around us all, muttering something like “… night running in the desert? No problem, see!”

During another break, just before dawn, Agripinus called on Tanit to heal the coughs afflicting Sammus and myself, but it persisted in both of us. He also summoned water from the sands in Her name, but this too was not as successful as he hoped. It was enough to be going on with, but left no margin…

Dawn of 28 April — warm, sandy wind from the south.

Rather than rest up for the daytime we decided to press on to Tilaf and a sure source of water, travelling in the morning before the full heat of the day. I was a bit wobbly atop the pony, but braced by Toxoanassa. Amphius tripped, twisted his ankle and was reduced to a hobble, even after Mago manipulated the joint back into line. Nonetheless we reached Tilaf shortly before mid-day, traded for water and made camp in what shade we could find. We planned to rest and recuperate for what was left of the day and into the night. Agripinus particularly wanted to commune with his goddess about Sammus’ and my grave-cough, resistant as it was to his work-a-day healing invocation blessings.

Dusk of 28 April

In the coolth of the early evening Agripinus communed with Tanit on the treatment necessary for the cough. The news wasn’t ideal. Tanit confirmed that we were cursed, with the cough as a symptom, and that while Agripinus could manage it to some extent, a full cure would require a ceremony at a formal Shrine of Tanit. The closest we know of is at Sef, set up by Agripinus for a previous spiritual Cleansing of Sammus of the witch’s curse in the affair of the Black Lion. Only a few hundred miles away across the desert and we were starting by going the other way…

(Something Agripinus could cure was confident desert-runner Hopalong Amphius’s ankle, so he did.)

Morning 29 April — Sandstorm

While we rested overnight the wind rose into a sandstorm by morning so we were not going anywhere. BaalShaq emphasised to Amphius that this was why travelling in the desert alone and unguided was only for fools and the desperate. There would be no tracks to follow after the storm, even if the lone traveller carried enough water to last out the storm duration. Amphius acknowledged this wisdom.

Dusk 29 April — Sandstorm

Dusk came early in the cloud of sand. Agrippinus continued with the palliative prayers to keep the effects of the curse at bay from Sammus and myself, for which we were grateful.

Dawn 30 April — Cloudy, relatively cool.

Rather than sand everywhere above, below and all about, there were clouds in the sky by dawn and a relatively cool wind from the north bore hints of the scent of green growth and moisture, though rain felt a long way off still. The clouds encouraged us to take to the trail by day rather than wait further for the night. An uneventful day as we went south.

Dusk 30 April — weather unchanged.

The first watch of the night was Sammus and Toxoanassa, but she woke us with talk of what sounded like a prophetic dream, or nightmare. Unexpectedly, she’d dozed off on watch, and found herself in a bare desert place, approached by a wailing figure, likely a woman from its speech, but whose words and wails Toxoanassa could not understand. No one seemed in any doubt this was some manifestation of the tomb-curse…

I carefully marked out protective warding circle for ourselves and the guides, but slept poorly myself from the cough. The later watch, outside the circle, reported passing chills in the night, a sure sign of presence of spirits and likely, I thought, the activity of the curse.vOur guides however reported themselves untroubled overnight, no dreams, no chills, as they made to break camp and continue our journey south.

Dawn 1 May — a still and overcast day, ominously quiet…

In a small stroke of good fortune for us, but not for a gazelle, Amphius spotted some tracks which the usual hunting team pursued and brought back fresh meat.

Dusk 1 May — overcast, still, windless night and a new moon. Complete darkness for all (apart from Amphius).

There was in fact a little light from the campfire, but more to indicate location rather than illuminate at any distance. I made a protective circle to protect against supernatural malevolence overnight again. Toxoanassa, outside the protection for a watch turn, made the acquaintance of a snake in the night, and stamped blindly at a hissing at her feet, but tripped and was fanged in the arm as she lay in the sand. She drove the reptile off but an increasing ache in her arm and gradual draining of her vitality required her to wake the sleeping priest for his attention to a envenomed wound. He washed the bite with blessed water and made prayer to cure this small but serious wound and its consequences. While this was going on Amphius took petty vengeance on the snake, finding its track to a nearby rocky outcrop and a likely nest hole which he blocked with a stone kicked into place.

I dreamed, uneasy, of dark desert, winds and distant lamentation. In the distance a figure, a female voice wailing… but I was woken by the stinging sand of an oncoming sandstorm, even as the watch started waking us to move to a slightly more sheltered position on, of course, the snake’s rocky outcrop.

Dawn 2 May — Sandstorm

The sand lasted most of the day, even with a brief flurry of rain to turn encrusting sand and dust into gritty mud to which more dry sand stuck. We huddled down and endured until the ferocity of the storm died down, somewhat, in the pre-sunset. Agripinus successfully called Tanit to provide us with clean water for the animals.

Dusk 2 May

The guides told us we were only a day away from Boujje’s fort, but the storm was still strong enough to make travel unwise in the night. Instead there were alarms in the night from the slithering of snakes making their way from the crevices of the snake hill to go a-hunting in the desert.

And I dreamed. A little before dawn, from the light in the east, I woke into a dry dusty wind and a keening figure a ways off in the desert, again. Now I had time to leave the safety of the camp and investigate. The figure bewailed the loss of their possessions — in an old form of Egyptian and they had a female tone. She, then, is lost and appealed for help. She could offer nothing in return, she cried, because she had been robbed of everything, even sight in this desert. She asked for help to find her possessions: her necklace, her dagger and her coffin… She had been evicted from her very grave and forced to wander this wilderness, alone and unsighted. She sought to find those responsible…

This was clearly a dead spirit. There is no breath of life left, just cold, restless death. I told the spirit I would argue her case, but it asked where shall I argue, before which pharoah, and I answered that I would ask my companions to assist her. But she saw through my shading of the truth around this and attacked me, forcing me to defend myself with spells and retreat with curses ringing in my ears, naming me as a tomb robber, dooming me to the unrest she suffers and to pursuit as a robber… and I woke with a cry into the physical world of the third watch.

Dawn 3rd May

In the pre-dawn Agrippinus tried to keep the coughs under control, but Tanit was not hearing his pleas in my case. However the storm being abated we set forth urgently now, despite the heat of the day, and reached Regane by late afternoon and were within sight of Fort Boujje a little before dusk.

Si'aspiqo’s Footnotes

Party & company:

• Agripinus
• Amphius
• Baal-Shaq
• Mago
• Toxoanassa
• Sammus
• Si'aspiqo
• Kel-Ajjer Guides: some of
  • Axil
  • Badis
  • Egbeggi
  • Ghanim
  • Ijju
  • Ittu
  • (and some bearers)

Met:

• Boujje

Places

• Fort Boujje

Party Loot

• Healing potions (46), NB some personal advance transactions
• Sleeping draughts (55), NB some personal advance transactions

Party Loss

• Shaptis, sphinx
• Khopesh, Red Dune
• Necklace of Beauty
• Scarab, Sphinx
• Bangles(2), Sphinx
• Bracelet, blue, fire-damaged, Sphinx
• Potions, (some ‘personal share’ transactions)

From Sammus’s Boast:

185. E61 – Trapping the Shadow-Spirit

Late in the day on 3rd May, Mago and a guide went ahead to warn Boujje about the curse. Boujje told us to camp outside in the canton, in the same place as we had left our animals before, and he would come and hear our story. Mago returned to let us know and we entered the canton, and Hannibal and the other guides greeted us. When Boujje arrived in the evening, Si'aspiqo told him that we had managed to find a way in, between the paws of the sphinx, and had explored and found it to be a burial place of an Egyptian Priestess of Amun. He then told Boujje of the mummy that we defeated and explained that we had investigated the sarcophagus and took the possessions we found therein. It had soon become apparent that we were cursed, he continued. He explained that we were being followed by some sort of spirit, maybe the personification of the curse or a shadow of the priestess and that he and I had coughs. We showed him the loot, and his eyes gleamed.

These are ancient things he told us. Si'aspiqo told him that the inscription on the stone entrance mentioned the name of a pharaoh which matched that on the great sphinx in the north kingdom. Boujje said this was the strongest proof he had seen that the Egyptians had come this far west. Any debt to me was discharged, he told us, and he promised to advise us as best he could regarding the curse. He let us know that he had bottled the liquid from our amphorae successfully; he had 69 bottles of healing potions and 82 bottles of sleeping draft, giving 46 bottles of healing and 55 bottles of sleeping drafts as our share.

He outlined some options to deal with the curse: we could summon the spirit of the priestess and attempt to make peace; we could summon the haunting shadow and trap it in a small, symbolic maze — if trapped moving endlessly round the maze, he was not sure how long it would hold; Boujje could try to counter the curse with charms of health and tattoos to bind them. He told us he would only charge for his services if he were successful. He left us to rest and consider the options, and to divide the loot into two piles.

The priestess’s dagger seemed sharp and well-balanced to me and as a weapon was broadly similar in value to my shortsword. Si'aspiqo and Agripinus set up wards against evil and we set watches for the night. I was on first watch and felt very tired. It was very quiet, and I realized I was no longer anywhere I recognized, and the stars were unfamiliar. I must have wandered off into the desert. I heard a voice and realizing it was probably the spirit, I put rags in my ears and stood still. I tried to get back to myself and suddenly found myself in a heap at the edge of the stone wall of the canton. I returned to the camp. No-one else was disturbed.

Si'aspiqo spent some time trying to understand the three arcane items. The dagger was quite interesting, he told us. It was very old and something that old, made of iron, would be in itself magical, as it dated from weapons were made of bronze. There was something cold about it, and as well as being sharp, the magician thought he might be able to wield it in his dream. He guessed it was a ritual weapon. The necklace was a thing of beauty, he added, and he suspected it augmented the wearer’s beauty.

Soon after sunset Boujje returned to our camp. Si'aspiqo told him that he was still unsure of one item. He added that concerning the haunting, we were inclined to ask his assistance to trap the spirit, while we reached somewhere where we could make further arrangements. Boujje explained that to do such a thing, we must first build the small tomb ourselves; he had supplies in the desert for this close by. He would then prepare the shaptis to be laid in the tomb. We should each spend a drop of blood to be put on the shaptis in the maze. He would then summon the spirit to the tomb. If this were successful, we would owe him one artifact of arcane power. It would take at least a day to prepare the tomb, if we worked on it together. We agreed that this should come from party loot.

Si'aspiqo and Agripinus set up wards against evil and although Amphius nearly stepped out of the circle, he realized just in time, and no-one was haunted that night. Agripinus had to recover his mana at dawn, but when he carried out his ceremony, he was able to heal Si'aspiqo and I. My cough felt much better. After an early breakfast, we set out to prepare a maze. It was a hot day, and we needed to drink more than normal, but under Mago’s guidance we managed to construct a serviceable maze. Late in the afternoon, Boujje arrived and inspected it. He was pleased with our work and got out a pot. We all squeezed a drop of blood into it, and he added powder from various phials and placed some of the mixture onto each of the shaptis. He then placed the shaptis in the maze. He ordered us to complete the roof apart from one final piece, leaving a hole through which the spirit could be lured. Mago again supervised and the roof was completed safely apart from the final piece. Boujje carried out a ceremony, which Si'aspiqo understood enough of to know it was to summon the spirit of the dead.

Night fell and it felt very cold. With a wave of his hand Boujje dropped the final piece into place. “It is done”, he told us. Toxoanassa told us that she had seen the spirit come from the desert, just as night fell, and disappear into the hole. We walked back a few hundred yards to the encampment.

Boujje asked if we had decided how to make the piles, and when we told him that we hadn’t he told us we could do so tomorrow. We had a warm and peaceful night; no-one was haunted. By morning Si'aspiqo still had found no more about the scarab and we agreed to divide the loot into two piles anyway. One pile had the dagger, two gold bangles, and the gold bracelet with anthropomorphic designs, while the other had the other two arcane items, two more bangles and the damaged blue bracelet from the mummy. Once Boujje had inspected the piles, he decided to take the one with the scarab and necklace. We offered him the khopesh we had found under the red dune. He agreed that it was ancient and had power and was a fair price.

I paid Boujje one of the bottles of potion for a tattoo of health and vigour, as did Mago. These would be activated by a prayer to Baal each dawn. I was told to prick my thumb and rub my blood over the tattoo at dawn and then speak words I had been given. Amphius paid twelve bottles for the necklace of beauty. In the morning, I triggered my tattoo; I was not coughing. Whether this was due to Boujje’s ceremony, the lingering effects of Agripinus’s healing or the tattoo I was unsure. But I will give thanks to Baal, nonetheless.

Si'aspiqo’s Footnotes

Party & company:

• Agripinus
• Amphius
• Baal-Shaq
• Mago
• Toxoanassa
• Sammus
• Si'aspiqo
• Kel-Ajjer Guides: some of
  • Axil
  • Badis
  • Egbeggi
  • Ghanim
  • Ijju
  • Ittu
  • (and some bearers)

Met:

• Boujje

Places

• Fort Boujje

Party Loot

• Healing potions (46), NB some personal advance transactions
• Sleeping draughts (55), NB some personal advance transactions

Party Loss

• Shaptis
• Khopesh, Red Dune
• Necklace of Beauty
• Scarab, Sphinx
• 2 bangles, Sphinx
• damaged blue bracelet, Sphinx
• Potions, some ‘personal share’ transactions