The Case of Cairo - History

Calendar of Events

<eventCalendar> namespace = Event aspectratio = 1.3 defaultmonth = 1925-06-21 </eventCalendar>

Log of Events

Cairo, Egypt

June 21, 1925

The investigators (Charles St. Dennis, Dr. Victor Lester, and Father Quinn) arrive in Cairo. Victor feels an intense pull at his chest. Emerging from the alleyway we teleported into, we encounter Alister Trimble, who introduces himself and says that Omar al-Shakti wants to meet us. We're all very skeptical, especially since Victor remembers this man dying in London. He motions to his vehicle, a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, and we reluctantly get into the car. We're driven out the city to plantation mainly focused on cotton, away from the pull Victor feels. We're taken up to the house, a very nice Egyptian home. Servants greet and welcome us, offering tea that everyone but Victor declines. We're escorted upstairs. The decor is wealthy Egyptian with lots of antiques. Quinn looks around and spots a marine chronometer among the items in the room along with 2 crossed scepters mounted behind the desk. Victor notices a photograph that includes a woman, Zahra al-Sayed, from Empire Spices - the spice shop in London owned by Tewfik al-Sayed. al-Shakti attempts to dissuade us from our path. We roughly refuse in various ways. He offers us gifts and power if we cease our attempts to thwart his master. Father Quinn dismisses it all as lies from the devil. Victor claims to already have everything that al-Shakti is offering. Charles won't forsake the life of his cousin by treading down this path. Omar al-Shakti tells Charles that Carl Stanford retained Elise's spirit, preventing her from moving on to the promised afterlife. Charles wants to hear none of it though. Attempts to engage Alister Trimble don't get far, and he doesn't seem to remember anything about his days among the living. The group tires of being toyed with and leaves, going back to the car.

We're taken to the Shepheard's Hotel, where we unload our trunk and watch Alister Trimble drive off with Victor's car. There at the bar we meet Gunter von Schreiber who says he knows his way around Cairo. We agree to meet the next day to head to the local newspaper office.

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Skill Checks

June 22, 1925

We go to the Cairo Bulletin and talk to Nigel Wassif. He introduces himself as the editor, owner, and reporter of the Cairo Bulletin. He remembers Jackson Elias, but has no real information, though he seems to be holding something back. Quinn pushes him to give us more information, but he diverts the conversation with discussions of the history of the newspaper. Victor and Quinn both pick up on him deflecting. Victor tries to press on information about Jackson and who else might've tried following up on him, but he doesn't seem to remember anything additional. Quinn mentions Omar al-Shakti to judge his reaction, and Quinn gets the sense that Nigel is interested in the connections we're making and seeing where they go, but he doesn't have a strong reaction to the name drop itself. Quinn lays on the charm and makes a final attempt to get him to open up, but he seems to just get uncomfortable. He tells us that there's nothing more he can think of, but invites us to come back and talk to him as we discover more. Through most of the conversation, Charles and Gunter examine the back catalog and find plenty of articles that support what they already know about what's going on in Cairo. They also find a picture of part of the Carlyle Expedition - Roger Carlyle, Hypatia Masters, and Jack Brady - arriving in Egypt years ago. Wassif is noted as the reporter of record. There is also a note that Ms. Masters took ill and ended the festivities after the arrival. When Gunter and Charles return they ask about the photo, and Nigel says that Dr. Alli Kafour at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo was one of the Expedition's local contacts. Nigel says he only interacted with the Expedition enough to get the photo and found them to be dreadfully horrible people who were extremely standoffish. Gunter then asks about cats. Nigel does mention that he has noticed an explosion of cats lately, and they are often associated with an ancient Egyptian deity known as Bast, though that seems like superstition to him. He says we could talk Dr. Alli Kafour about the cats as well, as he is likely to know more. Quinn asks what Nigel knows about the Clive Expedition. He tells us that there's a big dig that's going on right now in the outskirts of Cairo and another near the Bent Pyramid. It seems like they're close to some major discovery. There have been stories of disappearances of staff or people associated with it, but that's common. He doesn't seem very impressed by Clive, and they've gone so far as to employ a medium. He believes her name is Agatha something... He says it's not Anastasia when Charles references her. Nigel does mention that there was a robbery of the Clive Expedition - a mummy was stolen, and the information was made public within the last few weeks. We also find another clipping at the Cairo Bulletin about Faraz Najjar's shop burning to the ground completely several years ago. Quinn lets Nigel know we're staying at the Shepheard's Hotel and he could contact us there. We take a copy of the latest issue of the Cairo Bulletin and see ourselves out.

In the afternoon, we go to the Egyptian Museum. We meet with Dr. Alli Kafour. Quinn notices a tattoo on his chest, but isn't able to place it. Gunter introduces us and asks about the Carlyle Expedition. Dr. Kafour says they uncovered some secret of the Black Pharaoh that led to their deaths in Kenya. Victor asks about the Black Pharaoh. He says at the end of the 3rd dynasty, a man named Nephren-ka came to Egypt. He was a powerful sorcerer. It was said he could bring madness or death to his enemies with the flick of a finger. According to legend, he was the Black Pharaoh or in other legends he was a priest of the Black Pharaoh. His symbol was an inverted ankh. Nephren-ka and the Black Pharaoh ruled for several dynasties. Nephren-ka was said to possess a huge beast similar to the sphinx in appearance. His voice was said to be a black wind that went through the lands destroying. The Black Pharaoh is still worshipped today by cults that are essentially inhuman in their behavior. The cults may have something to do with the evil Queen Nitocris. She's rumored to have been beautiful but horrible. The Clive Expedition recently opened a tomb and found a mummy that was rumored to be Queen Nitocris, but it was stolen. He confirms that the Clive Expedition has been digging in Giza. They are specifically interested in pyramids built by Sneferu. He consulted for both expeditions. He remembers Jackson Elias as nervous and driven, maybe to the point of paranoia. He also asked about the Carlyle Expedition. He left Cairo abruptly and missed a follow-up appointment with Dr. Kafour. Victor shows him the Cult of the Bloody Tongue symbol and he correctly identifies it. He believes the God of the Bloody Tongue is related to the Black Pharaoh, and that the cults have grown recently. Charles asks about cats, and he mentions Bast and acknowledges that there are a lot of cats these days. Dr. Kafour mentions Janwillem Van Heuvelen, a man he's used for translations of hieroglyphics that's had a lot of issues with cats. Van Heuvelen definitely worked with the Clive Expedition, though it seems that he had a falling out with them. We get his address. Dr. Alli Kafour mentions a legend about the Black Pharaoh that he was said to arise fingers and toes, 20 years, after the Great Good One. The Great Good One was said to possibly be Jesus though he thinks it more likely to be Muhammad. The legend also mentions man-like, inhuman creatures under the sands that would kill. He also tells us that the sphinx was a ritual site for the Black Pharaoh and especially the Queen Nitocris. He gives us a tour, and points out what he claims is the original copy of the Necronomicon. He and Quinn seem to reach a rough agreement that keeping that out of the hands of evil is of paramount importance. He assures us that it is extremely secured. Quinn pulls Dr. Kafour aside and confides that they are here to fight cults of the Black Pharaoh. He tenuously agrees that we're all on the same side. He agrees to help us make connections to people who've worked for the Clive Expedition. Quinn brings up the medium that the Clive Expedition hired, and he confirms that her name is Agatha Broadmour. He mentions other members of the Clive Expedition - Archeologists James Gardner and Johanna Specht. Asking more about the Carlyle Expedition, he notes that he met with Aubrey Penhew and discussed the Black Pharaoh, though Penhew explicitly didn't visit last time. He mentions that Penhew was very rude when Dr. Kafour visited the Carlyle Expedition. Asking about Besart and Najjar, he says they're associated with the Clive Expedition. He says that Besart is a hashish addict and will be out with the expedition, while Najjar can be found at his shop in town. The Clive Expedition has used their money and influence to ensure the government is hands-off with their expedition. We thank him for all the information and the tour, and take our leave.

We head back to the hotel and everyone, except Quinn, starts reading books recently recovered with the iron chest. Charles attempts to read Russian, but can't translate it. Victor and Gunter read books containing diary ramblings of cultists. We go to sleep.

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Skill Checks

June 23, 1925

Gunter goes to the lobby and gets the concierge to hire a dragoman for us. The dragoman is Saleem Naziz whose family has been guiding for generations and is noted for being extremely scrupulous. Victor does some shopping to buy better-fitting clothes. Quinn visits the post office and writes back to the Sacra di San Michele about another reported copy of the Necronomicon being in the wild.

At lunch Saleem joins us. We provide him the address of Janwillem Van Heuvelen, ask to visit Najjar's shop, ask him to look at getting us into the Clive Expedition dig in Dashur, and mention that we'd like to visit the sphinx as well. We go to Janwillem Van Heuvelen's place first. It's not in the best part of the city. We knock, but there's no answer. Looking around, there are a lot of cats... like, way more cats than normal. We catch a glimpse of a woman rounding the corner. She is a stunningly attractive lythe woman in her early 20s with thick black hair in a fashionable bob wearing western clothes. Victor quickly goes after her, but doesn't see her at all. Quinn and Charles break down the door, and the cats immediately start coming inside. We get the door shut when only 4 have come in. We hear some noise as we enter. Victor and Quinn head toward the voice and begin grabbing cats that got in. We manage to toss the cats out and talk to Van Heuvelen. He's an average height man, unkempt and unclean, with many cat scratches on his hands. Quinn and Victor notice dirt on the floor indicative of something hidden under the bed. Victor goes to look upstairs while Quinn talks to Van Heuvelen. He says the Clive Expedition let him go due to finances. He worked with them to find the mummy of Queen Nectosis, though he doesn't seem so convinced it was that mummy; however, though the expedition was. Quinn leads him upstairs with Gunter, and he starts swearing in German but isn't really capable of resisting. Gunter realizes that Van Heuvelen was his replacement on the Clive Expedition. Victor finds a German and Hieroglyphic scroll hidden under the bed in a hole and calls for Gunter to come help. Gunter translates The Black Rites of Luveh-Keraphf, though it seems it's only partially translated. There are references to Bast and Apep. The translation seems very rambling and seems to describe some rituals. There are many errors in translation, including Apep being Sebek. Gunter thinks he could fix the translation in 2 days and then another 2 days to finish it. Victor and Charles go through all the other scrolls on the desk and discover that they're the materials he was using to translate the scroll. He's basically assembled a German to Hieroglyphics occult dictionary. Quinn talks to Van Heuvelen, who's very honest except about his dismissal. He got employed because they were looking for a German archeologist that could pick up where the previous one left off. As a Dutchman, he speaks German. He confirms that they were digging in the Giza Plateau working Mykerinos' Pyramid before they left for Memphis. He interacted with Dr. Clive and Johanna Specht, whom he thought was great. She's a tall, blonde haired, blue eyed, Bavarian woman who hates Jewish people. It was one of the most secure sites he's ever worked on, and security was beefed up due to the missing mummy. He's aware of Agatha and that the expedition believed she could talk to the dead. He's not aware of Besart being involved with the Clive Expedition. Quinn gets him to admit that he was dismissed over alcoholism. We come back downstairs. Gunter asks how much it would be to hire him, and he says they could agree on a very reasonable rate. Charles asks who the scrolls belong to, and he says they're his for working on a personal project. He's willing to put that aside to work on a project for us. He believes the project will make him famous. He doesn't want to leave his place though. We leave, stealing the ritual scroll.

Saleem leads us back through the streets. Quinn notices that one of the cats is now focused on Gunter, and as we continue, more cats are interested in Gunter and begin following us. Gunter and Quinn notice a panther-sized cat stalking the group on rooftops. Cats everywhere converge on us as we head back to the hotel.

As we arrive at the hotel, the woman from earlier is outside. We push past her and get into the lobby. She introduces herself as Neris and says we have something of hers. She knows that Gunter has the scroll and wants it back. She has an amulet around her neck, which we cannot place. Her manner is very polished and regal. She offers that we will no longer be pursued. Quinn counters that we'll give it over in 4 days unless she has information to barter now. If Van Heuvelen can survive in his shack with it, we can make it 4 days. Quinn tempers the offer by saying that no one wants the Black Pharaoh to ascend and we need to work together. She offers us each a boon from the Goddess if we return the scroll now. We agree. She sensually traces a clawed nail around our necks, and we have a wooden cat necklace afterward. Then she leaves with the original scroll.

We go back to the room and Gunter works on the scroll translation that we're left with.

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Skill Checks

June 26, 1925

We work on our skills for the next 2 days while Gunter works on the translation. He learns that it contains rituals for Contact Bast and Bind Cat. Gunter tries casting Contact Bast to ask about the death of his fiancee. He sleeps for the next 15 hours, but learns that his cat was defending the home against demons and there was residual energies on his fiancee that caused her to get scratched. He also learns that binding a cat is fine as long as it's in the service of the goals of Bast, which is the protection and pleasure of cats. Charles attempts to wake Gunter, Victor checks his vitals, and Quinn prays over him until he wakes.

During the downtime, Victor and Charles work on reading and translating scrolls. Victor translates a Spanish text, though Charles fails to translate the unknown Russian text. Quinn keeps vigil and works on his skills.