The Eye of Anubis: Book One

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Self-recrimination later, movement now, please," Lia says briskly. "This way to the chapel. Ladies and gentlemen? If anyone has a weapon on them, this might be a good time to draw it, but keep it somewhat obscured so we don't cause a scene. After an appetizer" - Lia indicates the small puncture wounds - "it is usually custom to return for the main course."
'And the chapel would be a relatively safe place to talk,' she thinks to herself.

[yalenusveler]

Andre actually had to hide a somewhat of a chuckle "Strolling into a chapel, weapons drawn. I'm sure this will go over swimmingly." He considered things a moment "So...Anubis avatars, sand people, vampires, all before we leave Dementlieu. I'm almost afraid the rest of the expedition will be quaint in comparison."

After that particular jest, he turned towards professors Carter and Devereux "Once we're in the chapel, I'd like to check over your wounds. Because quite frankly, I don't trust anyone outside of this group at the moment. And even those within this group only slightly." He paused a moment, then continued "Plus, if we do face the haemovoric dead, I'd like to be the first to know, so I can prep everyone on what we're going to be facing."

[NeoTiamat]

It was nearly two in the morning when the entire Menetnashte Expedition, sans Samael, reached the University's Chapel of Ezra. The junior anchorite on night duty had been quietly reading a penny dreadful in the front pew, and was badly unprepared for twenty-odd people bursting in on his quiet reading time.

"Is there a problem?" The young man was shaken but clung to his sense of duty.

"Be a dear and go find the senior Toret here, would you?" Lily turned a devestating smile on the anchorite.

"Yes ma'am." The young man took the chance to scamper off.

Meanwhile, Prof. Carter and Prof. Devereux were led to the front pews and ordered to sit while Andre looked at the wounds, protests notwithstanding.

"I don't feel very drained. And any poison would likely kick in by now." Carter spoke quietly as the theologian examined the puncture. "Frankly, I feel fine, just a bit sleepy."

"Er... same here." Prof. Devereux just sat quietly, utterly unused to being the center of attention.

[yalenusveler]

Andre poured over the injuries of his fellow academics, giving them the same scrutiny he would one of his student's assignments. "Well, I've got good news, and bad news. The good news is, these aren't vampire wounds. Only one puncture."

He points to the injury on Carter's arm "This was made with a slender dagger..very carefully pierced, and went in far deeper than a simple bloodletting would require. Also, the wound was "Milked" if you will, to make it bleed more. This probably took a minute, two at the most, and likely before you were placed underneath the shrubbery. Probably someone trying to make us think vampire, and get all panicked."

[The Whistler]

That's a relief, then. Maybe the..."haemovoric dead" aren't involved in this at all...

Tumblers whirred in Otto's mind, searching for the correct pattern: flashing over Allikhain's witness report once again; considering the fact that her description of Lancaster might've been inaccurate; then that that it might've been *purposefully* so, with everything that implied; then discarding both possibilities--She was with us the whole time, and if she's the one behind this bloodletting scare then I'm a *terrible* judge of character--hurriedly skipping over the resulting fact that Lancaster may well have been...one of those; focusing again on the Anubite; simmering; then simply trying to reconcile everyone's reports into one cohesive whole...

"Well, it is certainly good to know that something in this mess has a rational explanation, yes? I am sure that our mystery attacker would be very upset to know that we have all kept our cool heads about us."

The gunsmith's demeanor shifted a few notches from cheery to concerted as he verbally reasoned through some of his thoughts. "What is interesting to note about this false wounding, though, is that it suggests a very wide variety of forces acting against us."

He grimaced slightly, but followed through: "On the one hand, we have our sand-man, who seeks to stop us from travelling, on the other, we have Miss Allikhain's Lancaster, who seems to want to commandeer the Expedition altogether; we can assume that these are not allied to each other. But then we have the one who attacked Profs. Carter and Devereux...we may hardly say that he is associated with Lancaster, but to say that he is allied with the Anubis cultist presents some problems as well."

"If one wanted to incite hysteria within our group and keep us from excavating the tomb, why make us think that *both* an Akiri god *and* a...Lancaster-type are united against us? It seems a bit haphazard, yes? And if the Anubite--or his controller--truly attacked the professors as well, then he would have had to stayed on the premises undetected for quite some time between the initial attack and this one...difficult to do. Perhaps if the Anubis cultist were part of a larger team...or if the one who attacked the professors was working as an entirely free agent..."

He broke off, looking up at the crowd again and smiling. "Forgive me...I ramble."

[Nathan of the FoS]

He broke off, looking up at the crowd again and smiling. "Forgive me...I ramble."

Charles, who has been in a brown study ever since seeing the wounds on the arms of the two professors, looks up and says, with a self-deprecating smile, "It's quite all right--you have several fellow-ramblers with you here." Charles gestures to indicate himself as he continues, "If we say enough our more introspective companions may be able to glean a few useful theories from our verbiage. With respect to the various parties who have demonstrated an unusual interest in our expedition--the mere monetary wealth of Menanashte's tomb, as described by M'sieur al-Muharin, is fantastic. To mention only the Eye of Anubis, it may represent a sacred relic or an arcane tool of numinous and transfinite value, or simply wealth beyond the dreams of avarice. It would be surprising if there were not a wide range of people interested in it."

Looking at Carter and Devereux, Charles continues, "My own worries about your wounds are along slightly different lines, Professor Carter, Professor Devereux. The creature on the roof was careful to take the knife belonging to M'sieur Khalil; I have reason to believe it or its master or compatriot has a knife of mine as well. Either might have inflicted the wounds on you. I wonder if these personal possessions, and your blood, have not been taken for some arcane purpose--to make it possible to track us, or to injure us, from a distance. The splinter may have been taken from you to prevent our using it in a similar way against our antagonist."

Pausing, Charles amends this to, "One of our antagonists."

[yalenusveler]

Andre scrunched his face at Charles' statement, an expression much like one would get had one expected sugar, and instead got lime juice. "Your rambling, quite frankly, holds a good bit of merit." The theology professor began to pace, running his fingertips along the wood of pews, fingertips occasionally drumming out a small beat.

"Scrying. Having a piece of someone...some blood, a bit of hair, a scrap of skin...it makes it tremendously easier. A personal possession can do much the same, though to not quite the same magnitude. " He continued to pace, drumming his fingers. "The cultist avatar werejackal vampire sandman competing expedition probably took their dropped items to prevent us from doing much the same to them." He looked towards Carter and Devereux "They...now practically give away our location, constantly." He then looked towards Charles "As do you, and M'sieur Khalil"

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Nondetection," Lia says. She flinches a little if people look at her, but carries on: "I have heard there is a spell called nondetection. It could help ... if anyone here knows how to cast it ... and if it is used at key moments."

[lostboy]

Khalil eyes both Charles and Andre before speaking "It is true, the false one on the roof" he pauses to spit on the floor. "Indeed took my knife, and despite a thorough search I did not find it."

"However Affendi I do not share your concerns regarding the ease with which others may find us. In the first we have made no secret of the goal of this expedition, and our route for anyone with any sense is most straight-forward. For the second considering the size of the party and the wealth we will be spending along the way it will be most difficult to conceal our location, fomr those with the intent to find us. And for the third I would be most happy to be found so I may finish that which I began with our sandy friend...." He finsihes with a note of menace in his voice.

He pauses again as if unsure whether to speak further, but shortly continues. "As we are free here to speak in this house of your western gods, I would be honoured to share something I have learned. There was indeed a jackal in the gardens, judging by the description from the well fed professor, the golden fox of the desert is well known to me, it does often have yellow eyes although three feet form the ground would be a very large Jackal. I would agree with affendi Samael this is no ordinary creature nor a conincidence that it appeared here, tonight."

[Nathan of the FoS]

"As M'sieur Khalil says, there must be any number of ways of tracking a group of our size," Charles remarks, bowing slightly to the dragoman as he addresses Professor Theroux. "However, if they can use scrying to observe our camp, overhear our conversations, observe our security measures...well, the prospect is not pleasing. I am also worried, myself, that we--M'sieur Khalil, the professors, and myself--will become the targets of some more obscure and perilous magic--strange Akiri curses, mind control..."

Shrugging eloquently and grinning with just a hint of embarassment, Charles says, "You will realize immediately that my idea of magical possibilities has been informed more by childhood stories and popular fiction than by systematic study. I leave it to our savants," nodding at Lia and Theroux, "to determine what we might actually face along those lines."

At Khalil's last observation, Charles' eyes narrow. "Well," he says, "score one for the werejackal theory...although I suppose it could have been the companion of an Akiri savant, as well. Its presence could hardly have been coincidental, in any case." Turning to Benoit, he asks, " I suppose it is too late in the day--too much rain, especially--to give Loup the scent of this jackal?"

[DocBeard]

Tomas sticks by the two wounded professors, letting the wordier members of the group converse about the possibilities while he primarily waits for the Toret. Still feeling ashamed about letting the Professor get hurt, Tomas takes a moment to get a better look at the puncture wounds...

(Heal Roll: 18.)

[NeoTiamat]

Benoit nodded to Charles's statement. "Too wet, too late, and I think Loup is too tired." The ex-militaman looked grim. "All this thrice-cursed rain..."

It was at this point that the Toret and the young anchorite arrived. The Toret was a middle-aged man with a beard, and looked less than pleased with the situation.

"Excuse me, I am Toret Grevaille, might I inquire what is the matter?" Noticing the two wounded professors, his manner changed immediately. "May I be of assisstance?"


It was at this point that Prof. Devereux attempted to say something, though gaining people's attentions did not come naturally to the small Dementlieuse man.

"Er...excuse me...but did someone mention the Eye of Anubis?" Devereux seemed to wilt slightly under the attention, but braved on. "Only...only I may have come across the name.... while doing research for my next book. It'd be with my notes at the inn."

[DocBeard]

"They've been injured. Piercing, aimed at the vein, we want to make sure that it was not anything...supernatural, Herr Toret." Tomas explains quickly, figuring the others will do a better job with the more complicated bits.

And then, that.

Carefully keeping calm, Tomas looks to the others, and back to the professor. "Would you like me to be getting your notes, Herr Professor?" Inwardly, his stomach lurches, as the dreadful possibility of the cultists finding the inn first manifests itself...

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"You should not go alone," Lia hurriedly says to Tomas. Next, she turns to professor Devereux: "And perhaps you would be so kind as to tell us what you still remember about the Eye of Anubis off the top of your head, professor?"

[steveflam]

Ulsaon eyed Loup warily. I don't care what happened to him before. What a magnificent dog. I think I'll try to sway him with some meat I acquired from the banquet hall before all the excitement.

Moving through the party until she judges she was a safe distance from Loup(fifteen feet), yet visible to him, she removed a generous piece of meat from her bag.Looking at Benoit then Loup, she held it out in Wolf's direction, she whispered his name, loud enough for him to hear.

Smiling at him, she waved it , and whispered to him. "Want it, Loup? I know you do. C'mon you now you do Loup." She kept calm, hoping he'd not have a fit like last time.
_____________________________________________________________

Allikhain sighed at Ulsaon's stubbornness. Well this time if that dog does something it'll be her own fault if he reacts. Nerver the less, I'll intervene in case it has any ideas of eating her. He's as big as her as it is..

Allikhain grips her quarterstaff with both hands, ready in case Loup decided to make Ulsaon his next meal.