Act One, Scene One - Arrival In Luxor.

[Tabs]

"No telephone," says Isopel to Aswald. "I think I'll follow Mr. Morton." She goes to open the east double door.

[DrPeterson]

Rawsonpales as he sees the two men and rushes towards them.

"My Lord! Timothy! William!"

He shakes them until he notices his efforts are in vain and then clutches the ornate fireplace, stabilising himself as he peers into the fire.

"What is this devilry, Mr Finn? What other horrors are we to find here?"

[Garrett]

Figuring he's better off not being alone Aswald heads in Terry's direction, blade out and moving cautiously.

[Cearlan]

Terry moves quietly and slowly along the south wall towards the open door. He looks around the corner across the two tables. When he can before he heads to the door to the outside and sees what lies out there.

When his head goes through the door-frame he quickly draws it back in when he hears the double doors behind him open. "What are you doing Miss G'lert, It's not safe here; please stay back in there with Aswald. At least till we can be sure the areas are clear. Did you manage to get through to the police at all Ma'am?"

[Mr. Handy]

"I don't know," says Michael, shaking his head, "but sure and we're going to find out. It's as I'd feared. I can only hope that some survived here." He examines the bodies to see if there are any clues as to how they died.

[Tabs]

"Oh, okay," says Isopel in a quiet voice to Terry. "Do be careful, Mr. Morton. And you, too, Mr.--er--Aswald." She stops by the door jamb, peering forwards into the dark room. "There isn't a telephone, I'm afraid."

[Aliktren]

Terry, Isopel, Aswald

As Terry checks the door to the outside it's obviously just a side entrance to Chicago House, probably the servants entrance, there is nothing of interest

Mickey in the Library

There's a faint whiff of something, nuts?, but no sign of any trauma

[DrPeterson]

Rawson takes his hand away from the mantle piece and looks in disgust at the dark red liquid sticking to it, he shows his hand to Mickey and just as he is about to look at the source of the stain, his eyes widen as he sees the fingers in front of the fire.

"Mr Finn, I believe there is something in the fireplace, would you be so kind as to take it out?"

Rawson pulls a handkerchief out of his pocket and wipes his hand clean as he kneels down to examine the fingers, his voice detached, almost as if something in his mind snapped and he is merely witnessing events and not living them.

"Something is rotten in the sta... Mr Finn, these fingers...", he can barely believe what he is seeing, let alone describing, "these fingers are arranged in Germanic Runes,...they signify a death by drowning..."

[Cearlan]

Terry sighs to himself. "Sorry Miss G'lert, I ain't used to women-folk handling this kinda situation well. Hell! I know a lot of men who couldn't. Beggin' pardon miss - I'm a sailor and it just slips out sometimes. Of course I'd be easier in my mind having both you and Aswald along with me. But please stay close to either Aswald or myself." Terry looks meaningfully at Aswald before he heads towards the double doors on the South wall that he passed as he went towards the open door by the tables. He gestures Aswald and Isopel against the wall "Stay close to the wall now - we don't know what may lay ahead and I'd rather you two be safe."
He tries the handle - opening it if it is unlocked and peering inside he sees ...

[Garrett]

Aswald makes no objection to being kept out of the line of fire, he just stays against the wall, keeps his machete out, and stays alert.

[Mr. Handy]

"Well, these two didn't drown, that's for certain," says Michael as he strides over to the fireplace. "No sign of injury either, so I'd lay my money on poison. I smelled a faint odour of nuts. If it's almonds, that suggests cyanide, which smells like them. I think I read that in an Agatha Christie once." He picks up a pair of fireplace tongs, kneels down, and looks into the fireplace to find out what's in there.

[Aliktren]

For Michael:

for michael,Their is a mound of smouldering ashes, you can just about make out that papers and possibly photos might have been the source but there is absolutely nothing recoverable, a single cube of a crystal/stone ? - sits atop the mound, it is also smoking gently giving off a very strong smell of incense (if you ask Rawson he knows what it is...) Written in a dark red liquid upon the fireplace mantle, now smeared slightly by Rawsons hands : A F W L A O K O E D N I O N L G D N O I N L E E S and before the fireplace, the severed digits arranged in what Rawson described as a Germanic Rune

[Aliktren]

For Terry

The double doors are unlocked, leading into a small passage with four further doors, 2 on either side, all shut, no lights are visible under the doors.

[Mr. Handy]

"Looks like some papers and maybe photographs were burned in here, Mr. Rawson," Michael says, "but they're too far gone to salvage. There's also a cube of something that smells like incense." He fetches it out with the tongs, then examines the mantle. "Awaken Old Ones. Flooding Nile. That's what the letters say, boss. You can decode it by taking every other letter. Of course, knowing what it says doesn't reveal what it means."

[Cearlan]

OOC,Heads to the left (East); tails the right;- heads it is!

Calling back to Aswald, Terry describes the scene before him. "Aswald; I got me four doors off a hallway here, two aside. I'm going to go clockwise from the first one on the left, be prepared to cover me and protect Miss G'lert if need be - alright." Terry tries the door-handle of the first room on the left and opens the door if it is not locked once Aswald has responded.

[Tabs]

Isopel steps into the kitchen [ ? ] and looks for a handy weapon: a knife or rolling pin.

[Garrett]

"Alright, be careful." Aswald calls back, as he casually strolls into the kitchen with Isopel. He continues to keep an eye out for an intruder or things worth stealing, but not expecting to find anything in the kitchen he pulls open the ice box looking for something to drink, preferably alcoholic.

[DrPeterson]

He nods, visibly impressed by Michael's quick wit. Rawson leans closer and looks at the frankincense cone.
"Most peculiar, Mr Finn, most peculiar indeed! Why would one burn frankincense after destroying these papers?"

Rawson shakes his head and straightens his jacket.

"Let us venture on and see what other calamity we shall encounter, I fear we have yet to see the worst."

He casts one last look at the two dead men and moves on.

[Mr. Handy]

"Whoever is responsible for this clearly isn't right in the head," says Michael, following along.

[Aliktren]

Terry in the Servants Quarters

As Terry rattles the door to see if it's unlocked you hear some subdued terrified cries from the other side of the door, the door appears to be barred from the inside as no amount of fiddling with the lock will open it.