Pictures to accompany this report and further information about Colonel Throckmorton P. Gladiolus' involvement in the Affair of the Feathered Fetish may be found on my blog. Click the pictures on the blog for larger versions. I have not yet worked out how to link the pics in the post as thumbnails to the larger versions on the blog. Sorry.
http://ctpgxi.blogspot.com/The Affair of the Feathered Fetish - Scene 10:The search for clues about the strange new tribe led the daring group to many temples along the Nyle. Their search was in vain, but it led them to an unexpected discovery. Osman had assured them that information about their goal lay in one of the many ancient temples that dotted the landscape alongside the great river. They just needed to find the right temple. He had heard it from his father, who had told him of his grandfather’s tales about this fetish that the Colonel sought. Unfortunately, he had obviously not been paying attention properly and so their quest was extended.
Then, one day, they docked beside the Great Temple of Bastet at Nasfuret. Their search of the temple was fruitless once more and the group were getting ready to depart after Cordelia had examined just one more set of hieroglyphs. Then suddenly a voice rang out; a challenging cry like a hunting hawk pierced the quiet of the temple. The three looked up and saw a towering figure standing in the main temple entrance, flanked by three similarly-garbed warriors. The figure was wearing old-fashioned armour and was carrying a huge sword. He had a large hawk-headdress on, with a halo of feathers around it, while the others had plain hawk-headdresses on. Two of the other warriors were armed with swords and bows, while the last carried a huge bronze pole-arm. The newcomer roared out his challenge.
"By Set's hairy nostrils, fiend, thou'llt not desecrate our lands with your quest. Return whence thou came and thou shalt live. Refuse and thou shalt die. I, Kamenwati the Wounded Eye of Horus, have spoken. Speak now, fiend. Wilt thou go or die?"
Throckmorton was not faint of heart though and would not be intimidated. His response was swift and to the point.
"Grimes, do you think you can bag that odd-looking bird in the middle there?"
Geoff lifted his rifle, took one shot at the warrior with the halberd and dropped him where he stood. The other three immediately ducked for cover behind the pillars.
"Thy strange magics shall not defeat me, foolish mortal. I am Kamenwati, son of Seti, son of Djefre. I have the power of my ancestors in my arms and have never been defeated."
Throckmorton won the Getting the Upper Hand test and got one shot off. All of the enemy ducked back when their fellow was wounded and put out of the fight, leaving no targets for Cordelia and Throckmorton to shoot, which was the only option available to them from the reaction test.Throckmorton followed up his advantage by moving out to the side so that he could draw a bead on the leader of the group. His Webley barked once and Kamenwati jerked as the lead slug tore through his body. He fell to the floor, but quickly leapt to his feet again with an eery screech of anger. Meanwhile, Cordelia moved up to shoot at one of the warriors behind a pillar, He saw her coming and hastily fired an arrow in her direction. The barbed arrowhead took her in the leg and she fell to the floor, blood pouring from the wound. Geoff moved out and shot at one of the warriors, his bullet chipping stone from the pillar behind which the warrior was hiding.
Although wounded, Kamenwati leapt to his feet and charged towards Throckmorton. His sword swung once and the Colonel dropped to the floor. He followed this up by dropping his sword and tying Throckmorton up. Cordelia leapt back to her feet and snapped off the arrow as the warriors prepared to flee. She and Geoff both moved to a position for a shot at Kamenwati, but both missed. Stunned by this turn of events they did not move quickly enough and before they could react, Kamenwati had thrown Throckmorton over his shoulder and run off, followed by the two standing warriors. Geoff and Cordelia gave chase but the fleeing warriors had disappeared as if into thin air by the time they emerged from the temple gateway.
Although Throckmorton won the initiative, his shot only wounded Kamenwati, who was able to get straight back up and charge Throckmorton, wounding him and knocking him to the floor. Kamenwati then won the initiative immediately after, so he was able to put Throckmorton out of the fight. Following that the heroes scored a 6 and could not act, while the villains were able to act and ran off with the tied up Throckmorton. The civilians in this fight were more like static terrain than anything else. I may have to try the flock of seagulls rule for them in the future.The remaining warrior still lay on the floor, bleeding like a stuck pig. The others had left him for dead, but a quick examination showed that he still lived. Cordelia tore up the warrior's tunic and patched up his wounds. Perhaps they could learn something from him. While patching up the warrior's wounds, Cordelia made an astounding discovery.
"Geoff," she cried, "Come here."
Geoff came over to join her.
"Look, it's not a mask! This man really does have the head of a hawk!"
The discovery astounded the pair of them but practicality soon took over. Quickly they brought the warrior round and Cordelia began to question him. He seemed to have a rudimentary grasp of modern English, although with archaic overtones, but she soon discovered that he spoke a dialect of Ancient Aegyptian. She was quickly able to determine that these warriors had indeed emerged from the mountains near the source of the Nyle but when she asked about the fetish, the warrior refused to speak further. It was clear that he considered it too sacred to profane by discussing it with an outsider.
"Do you think, Geoff, that these are the degenerate remnants of the Aegyptian gods? Think what this means for our study of the ancient Aegyptians. Think what this means for archaeology! These people may have direct connections to the ancient peoples of this country. This is fantastic."
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April 26, 2024, 01:15:49 PM
September 16, 2008, 08:02:13 AM
