Gary Gygax - Dangerous Journeys 1 - Anubis Murders by Gary Gygax Page B
Authors: Gary Gygax
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came among them. Besides, that act would speed the distribution of the gold "blessing" from Set which winked at them nearby.
"You can not detect him," boomed the masked cleric. "It requires the mighty eyesight of Set, the unerring nose of Anubis, to suss the enemy out."
There was an uneasy stirring at those words, and each person there tried to put a little distance between himself and any stranger nearby. Someone in the assembly shouted, "Set yer wolves on 'em!" It was an unintentional pun which made one or two in the big chamber chuckle softly. The Phonecian was one. There were glares at the offenders from all sides. The scar-faced man seemed oblivious to such threat and looked only at the angry priest on his dais there in the front portion of the temple.
From the entrance area there came a thud and the sound of metal on metal. "That was what I awaited, faithful servants, brothers and sisters. This place is now sealed tight and barred fast. The enemy cannot escape! Now I will point him out to you, and each may assist the jackals of Anubis in execution of the common foe!" The crowd growled assent, eyes fixed upon their masked benefactor, the priest whose hand would serve out the coins. With great drama, the man held forth his right hand toward the statue of Set, and the idol's ruby eyes shot forth bloody-hued light. As if it were palpable, the priest filled his hand with the light, withdrew it, and held it out for all to see. He appeared to be holding a transparent, glowing sphere of ruby. "Watch where the mark of mighty Set goes. The one it strikes is the one who must be slain!"
Shouting thus, the mock-priest hurled the ball of red brightness out into the chamber. At the same
instant, the hundreds of gold coins in the coffer shot up into the air as if they were the waters of a geyser and began to rain down throughout the underground temple. Pandemonium broke loose.
HUNTER AND HUNTED
"I haven't the foggiest idea what might have happened, Inhetep," Sir Aldriss said. "Are you quite certain she hasn't gone off to see the sights of Camelough?"
"Absurd! As much as Rachelle enjoys visiting plazas and shops, she would not depart before dawn without informing me or leaving a message."
They were together with the druid, Tallesian, and the man known as the Behon, in the royal citadel of Lyonnesse. Setne Inhetep had insisted on speaking with the three of them just a little after sunrise.
Tallesian noted that the wizard-priest looked drawn and tired. Small wonder, he mused, given the girl's absence. "The ostler knew nothing, you say?
Setne didn't look at the druid as he responded. "That I did say. Aldriss, tell me again what you two did last night!"
The bard looked mildly annoyed but complied, sighing. "We left your inn about the first hour of the night and came here until the festivities ended some four hours later. I then escorted Lady Rachelle back to her chambers. That was perhaps the second hour of the late night. The night porter let us into the lodging and actually into your suite as well—seems she had lost her key. Anyway, I bid her a good night there at the door, and the porter and I returned downstairs. Then the coach conveyed me here."
"I saw you in the game room at the end of the second hour—Tallesian, too," the Behon chimed in to remind Aldriss—perhaps to prove to Inhetep that the story was true.
"Yes, of course you did," the bard said affably. "We had a tot together, and then I retired."
"The porter agrees, Behon," Setne informed him rather acidly. "I am not questioning Sir Aldriss' veracity. I am quite sure of that matter. I am merely trying to pin down the time when Rachelle . . . disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
"Just so, magus. She has vanished, whether of her own volition or due to foul play remains to be discovered, but discover it I shall."
The chief judiciary of Lyonnesse stood up. "Come, you two," he called to Aldriss and Tallesian. "We brought Magister Inhetep here, and now he fears he has lost
"You can not detect him," boomed the masked cleric. "It requires the mighty eyesight of Set, the unerring nose of Anubis, to suss the enemy out."
There was an uneasy stirring at those words, and each person there tried to put a little distance between himself and any stranger nearby. Someone in the assembly shouted, "Set yer wolves on 'em!" It was an unintentional pun which made one or two in the big chamber chuckle softly. The Phonecian was one. There were glares at the offenders from all sides. The scar-faced man seemed oblivious to such threat and looked only at the angry priest on his dais there in the front portion of the temple.
From the entrance area there came a thud and the sound of metal on metal. "That was what I awaited, faithful servants, brothers and sisters. This place is now sealed tight and barred fast. The enemy cannot escape! Now I will point him out to you, and each may assist the jackals of Anubis in execution of the common foe!" The crowd growled assent, eyes fixed upon their masked benefactor, the priest whose hand would serve out the coins. With great drama, the man held forth his right hand toward the statue of Set, and the idol's ruby eyes shot forth bloody-hued light. As if it were palpable, the priest filled his hand with the light, withdrew it, and held it out for all to see. He appeared to be holding a transparent, glowing sphere of ruby. "Watch where the mark of mighty Set goes. The one it strikes is the one who must be slain!"
Shouting thus, the mock-priest hurled the ball of red brightness out into the chamber. At the same
instant, the hundreds of gold coins in the coffer shot up into the air as if they were the waters of a geyser and began to rain down throughout the underground temple. Pandemonium broke loose.
HUNTER AND HUNTED
"I haven't the foggiest idea what might have happened, Inhetep," Sir Aldriss said. "Are you quite certain she hasn't gone off to see the sights of Camelough?"
"Absurd! As much as Rachelle enjoys visiting plazas and shops, she would not depart before dawn without informing me or leaving a message."
They were together with the druid, Tallesian, and the man known as the Behon, in the royal citadel of Lyonnesse. Setne Inhetep had insisted on speaking with the three of them just a little after sunrise.
Tallesian noted that the wizard-priest looked drawn and tired. Small wonder, he mused, given the girl's absence. "The ostler knew nothing, you say?
Setne didn't look at the druid as he responded. "That I did say. Aldriss, tell me again what you two did last night!"
The bard looked mildly annoyed but complied, sighing. "We left your inn about the first hour of the night and came here until the festivities ended some four hours later. I then escorted Lady Rachelle back to her chambers. That was perhaps the second hour of the late night. The night porter let us into the lodging and actually into your suite as well—seems she had lost her key. Anyway, I bid her a good night there at the door, and the porter and I returned downstairs. Then the coach conveyed me here."
"I saw you in the game room at the end of the second hour—Tallesian, too," the Behon chimed in to remind Aldriss—perhaps to prove to Inhetep that the story was true.
"Yes, of course you did," the bard said affably. "We had a tot together, and then I retired."
"The porter agrees, Behon," Setne informed him rather acidly. "I am not questioning Sir Aldriss' veracity. I am quite sure of that matter. I am merely trying to pin down the time when Rachelle . . . disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
"Just so, magus. She has vanished, whether of her own volition or due to foul play remains to be discovered, but discover it I shall."
The chief judiciary of Lyonnesse stood up. "Come, you two," he called to Aldriss and Tallesian. "We brought Magister Inhetep here, and now he fears he has lost
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