Chapter 3: Egypt Writeups Until Separate Plot Lines Warrant Their Own Sections.

Plot points/Scenes

Egypt: Session One

Our intrepid adventurers have arrived in Egypt. They departed their luxury steamship at the busy port in Alexandria, and caught a train to Cairo. Looking through their collective evidence, they pieced together some information from Jackson Elias’ belongings concerning the Carlyle Expedition’s activities in Egypt, as well as the Penhew Foundation’s dealings.
They arrived in Cairo late afternoon, and were immediately accosted by pushy salesmen and djellaba wearing barkers. Agreeing to take a pamphlet to the Hotel du Sud, their baggage was quickly hoisted off by a small gang of children. They briefly pushed back, but relented after realizing the children would either be paid to bring their belongings to the hotel, or they would never see their luggage again.
The Hotel du Sud offered reasonable accommodation, but urgent matters led the group to renting a car and making the trip out of town to the Shafik estate. Traveling along the Nile in the cool evening, they came upon a luxuriant homestead supported by cotton agriculture. The group was welcomed in by the staff and given accommodations. They were informed that Malala Shafik was out of the home visiting a ‘Mr. al-Shakti’, but would return the following morning.
That morning, Malala and an older gentleman arrived at the house and sat down for breakfast. The group realized that this man had correspondence with Edward Gavigan, the leader of the Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh in London. George confronted Omar, and was dealt a vision of horrifying vistas. Reeling from the trauma, George fled from the house as Omar left for his car. Bebe ran after George, attempting to aid him. In his still panic-stricken state, George took Bebe’s advances as a threat. He pulled out the Aztec death whistle, and blew it.

Egypt: Session Two

George blew the death whistle as Bebe approached. An opaque dome surrounded them, blocking out all visibility as Omar sped off. Coming back to his senses, George collected himself while the others looked after their belongings and called a cab. Lillie found a letter from Diamond requesting that she make contact with Janwillem Van Heuvelen, a Dutch archaeologist who may have something for Lillie to profit from.
Zahra stayed behind to tend to her mother as the group travelled back to the Hotel du Sud. They drove around the city, stopping at the Abdin Palace and the Mosque of Ibn Tulun to search for the influence of Omar al-Shakti. The mosque’s accountant agreed to compile financial records of alms and other charitable donations from the latest year at Bebe’s behest. As Byron was discussing theology with the imam, Lillie noticed their driver pulled out of the cab and dragged down an alleyway. She and Byron gave chase, but could not find the assailant until he was slipping his knife into Lillie’s back. Byron found the scene and reacted quickly by firing a single round into the attacker’s heart, killing him instantly. Lillie hid the body of the assailant with the newly found body of the cabbie and collected George and Bebe.
They travelled to the Egyptian Museum, where they met Dr. Ali Kafour. They brought him the painting of the Black Pharaoh under the guise of appraisal. Dr. Kafour shared what he knew about the Black Pharaoh, summarized below:
At the end of the Third Dynasty, a man known as Nephren-Ka came to Egypt. Nephren-Ka was a powerful sorcerer; he brought madness and death to his enemies at the flick of a finger. The stories say that he came from an ancient city in the deserts of Arabia, whose name was Irem, the City of Pillars. Nephren-Ka revived the worship of an old, foul god: the Black Pharaoh. Soon Nephren-Ka and that god were interchangeable in the minds of the people, and the sorcerer became known as the Black Pharaoh. Now, no one can distinguish between their deeds and legends.
For many years, the Black Pharaoh fought with Zoser’s successors of the Third Dynasty for control of the land; so great was the power of the Black Pharaoh that no record of them now remains. For a time, Nephren-Ka ruled the Nile and its peoples. At last Sneferu rose and founded the Fourth Dynasty and, with the aid of the goddess Isis, thwarted the evil magic and slew Nephren-Ka. Remarkably, a pyramid was built at Meidum, by Sneferu’s command, to contain the sorcerer’s body. Kafour speculates that this, perhaps, insulated Egypt from the still-potent magic within the corpse; however, the Meidum pyramid collapsed and a second, which was already under construction, was hurriedly repurposed. This second pyramid is now known as the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur.
Records imply that Nephren-Ka’s corpse was removed from Meidum and placed within the Bent Pyramid, but exploration of the site has discovered no trace, despite rumors of a hidden chamber within. Another pyramid at Dahshur, the Red Pyramid, is also attributed to Sneferu; this pyramid is said to guard Dahshur, lest Nephren-Ka rise from the dead.
Upon his triumph, Sneferu ordered all traces of the Black Pharaoh stricken from the land. Nevertheless, worshippers of the Black Pharaoh remained and schemed for the evil one’s return. In time, the worshippers were driven south, out of Egypt and into the hideous swamps beyond Sudan.
In the Sixth Dynasty, the cruel Queen Nitocris was thought to be in league with a new cult of the Black Pharaoh; though the proof of this is subjective, Dr. Kafour believes it to be true. In an aside, Dr. Kafour casually mentions that the Black Pharaoh is sometimes called by the name Nyarlathotep.
Legends of the Black Pharaoh Some say he was one of a pantheon of abominable deities more ancient than the gods of Egypt. These old gods were utterly inhuman and dedicated to chaos and madness.
• Nephren-Ka was said to possess a huge beast, of which the Sphinx at Giza is but a small, inaccurate representation. • The voice of Nephren-Ka is said to have been carried throughout the land upon a black wind, a wind which destroyed at his whim. • One prophecy implies that the Black Pharaoh will arise “fingers and toes after the Great Good One,” a reference which many have taken to mean 20 centuries after Jesus. A new age then begins, destined to end the dominance of mankind, and bringing “freedom” and “stark truth” to the Black Pharaoh’s followers. • Man-like but inhuman worshippers of the Black Pharaoh were said to lurk underground in the deserts, occasionally waylaying innocent passersby. • The Great Sphinx at Giza is said to have had an important function in hideous rituals held by Queen Nitocris. Dr. Kafour believes the Black Pharaoh and Nephren- Ka existed, as do the pantheon of gods of which the Black Pharaoh was a part. He calls these entities the “Outer Gods,” and says they are led by the demon sultan Azathoth.
Dr. Kafour has seen servitors of these gods in the desert, and knows for a fact that the Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh exists in present-day Egypt, though he knows nothing of its organization, leadership, or activities. He also suspects that worship of the Black Pharaoh is growing in other parts of Africa. For example, he has heard of a cult, called the Bloody Tongue, in Britain’s Kenya Colony. The cult worships a monstrous god, which he believes is another aspect of the Black Pharaoh.
Queen Nitocris According to Dr. Kafour, the unidentified mummy recently stolen from the Clive Expedition at Giza was undoubtedly the remains of that beautiful and evil ruler. She had been buried alive, but no trace of her was found until the Clive Expedition uncovered a secret room in the smallest of the Great Pyramids. How or why she was stolen he does not know, but he thinks that the theft relates to the prophesied return of the Black Pharaoh. Dr. Kafour also knows that one member of the expedition; a Dutch archaeologist called Janwillem Van Heuvelen was let go by the dig’s supervisor, Dr. Henry Clive. If the investigators wish to learn more about the expedition, then Van Heuvelen is the person to talk to.

Parent Plot

Masks of Nyarlathotep