After quite a long delay we’re about to resume the Cairo chapter of Masks. We’ve all largely forgotten what was happening so I’ve put together a summary for the players… I thought it might be useful for anyone listening (or make a good jumping-on point for anyone who wanted to start):
SPOILERS FOR MASKS OF NYARLATHOTEP BELOW… I’m not using the spoiler marker as it would be the whole post… just don’t read further.
Masks: Egypt – refresher
It’s been nearly a year, and whilst we all know that you’re diligent investigators who forget almost nothing, a teensy refresher on a few important points might be useful. So, here’s a little reminder of: who you were, where you were and what the hell you were doing .
New York
Your good friend and bestselling author Jackson Elias, was murdered, surrounded by information about death cults around the world (as well as his spleen and such). You were contracted by his publisher, Jonah Kensington , and his lawyer, Carlton Ramsey , to finish his research and his novel, and find out who killed him. In your investigations, you learned:
- Jackson believed there was a mysterious purpose linking all the death cults of the world, and some singular entity behind it all… ‘ Many names, many forms, but all the same, and all towards one end.’
- He believed the Carlyle expedition was deeply involved. This expedition left New York in 1919, travelled to London, then on to Cairo, then to Kenya for a ‘vacation’, where the whole party was killed in an altercation with native Kenyans.
- The Carlyle expedition comprised: Roger Carlyle (wealthy socialite), Robert Huston (his therapist), Sir Aubrey Penhew (noted British Egyptologist), Hypatia Masters (photographer). Also mentioned are Jack ‘Brass’ Brady , Carlyle’s bodyguard, and an unidentified black woman with whom Carlyle was besotted.
- Jackson suspected at least some of the expedition were still alive.
- You discovered and destroyed the Cult of the Bloody Tongue, responsible for Jackson’s death. The cult did indeed appear to have worldwide connections.
England
You travelled here following in the footsteps of both Jackson and the Carlyle expedition. You learned:
- The Cult of the Black Pharoah operated here, led by Edward Gavigan, the man left behind by Aubrey Penhew to run his foundation whilst he was on the Carlyle expedition.
- This cult also had worldwide connections, and had penetrated the highest levels of British society, including Rabbit’s Foot’s father (who was later himself penetrated by his son’s bullets).
- You found a letter in the basement of Gavigan’s estate indicating that Jack Brady, at least, was still alive.
- The ‘Pale Viper’ was mentioned in the same letter.
- Zafira Shafik, a rival of Gavigan’s, attempted to enlist your help in disrupting his plans. Instead you killed both her and Gavigan, wrecked a perfectly nice car and a perfectly lovely player character.
Egypt
You have travelled to Cairo for several reasons:
- The Carlyle expedition visited here in 1919, and Jackson in 1924.
- Jackson had a letter from Warren Bessart , a French broker in Cairo, written to Carlyle and telling him that he could get some interesting arefacts for him from a local trader, Faraz Najjar .
- A ledger in Gavigan’s basement indicated the cult had sent several items to Omar al-Shakti
-
The Clive Expedition , a British expedition sponsored by the Penhew Foundation, is currently excavating in Egypt. Campion was rather surprised to discover his ex-girlfriend and ex-alive person Greta Brandt appeared to be with them.
Since arriving in Egypt you have discovered:
- The Carlyle expedition arrived in May 1919, dug near Giza then shifted sites to Sakkara, then finally Dashur. In July they suddenly embarked on a ‘holiday’ to Mombasa, Kenya (from which they never returned).
- Photos of Hypatia Masters, supposed to be from July, when the expedition left, were actually dated from May, when the expedition arrived.
- The Clive Expedition had been digging at Giza and uncovered a female mummy from the smallest of the three Great Pyramids. The mummy disappeared mysteriously very shortly afterwards, from a well-guarded chamber with only one exit.
- You learned the above from Nigel Wassif , debonair editor of the Cairo Bulletin .
- The mummy from the Clive expedition was rumoured to be that of Nitocris , an ancient princess mentioned in your book Amongst the Stones (from New York, in the Cult of the Bloody Tongue’s basement).
- You tracked down and spoke to Faraz Najjar . He confirmed the presence of yet another cult in Cairo – another branch of the Cult of the Black Pharoah.
- Najjar told you that Omar el-Shakti is the leader of the cult in Cairo, and warned you that he is A Very Dangerous Man.
- He also mentioned rumours that the cult wants something kept in the mosque of Ibn Tulun.
- He also told you that he ‘procured’ an item which sounded very like the Crown of Nitocris (from Amongst the Stones) for the Carlyle expedition.
- He suggested that if you wanted to know more about occult matters you should visit Nuri of El Wasta , a small village about 30 miles south of Cairo.
- Your dragoman, the reliable Saleem Naziz, also briefly worked for Carlyle, but left when they left Giza.
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Jonah Kensington and his secretary have been murdered back in New York.
Here’s the current situation as we enter the next session:
- It’s currently the (very) early hours of Wednesday 1st April, 1925.
- The entire party has been attacked in their beds at Shepheards hotel, by mysterious men with knives. Perhaps it’s an April Fool’s joke.
- You killed all but one of the men, who you are (presumably) about to interrogate. IMPORTANT NOTE: the police are aware you have a captive, that he is currently alive, and they counted how many fingers he has. They’re waiting outside for you to release him to their custody.
- You are arranging safe travel out of Egypt and future employment for Najjar, who was terrified of further reprisals by the cult and totally hasn’t been murdered in his sleep or anything.
- You’re due to have another meeting with Nigel Wassif this evening at 8pm in Shepheards.
Finally, and I hope this isn’t too proscriptive or breadcrumby as you all, frustratingly, have free will and are not afraid to use it, here are some leads you haven’t yet followed up (this isn’t meant to be a complete list or even a ‘we must do each and every one of these things’ list, but a reminder of what you were saying towards the end of the last few sessions):
- You still aren’t sure what Jackson Elias did when he visited in 1924.
- You haven’t yet tracked down Warren Bessart (the broker who contacted Carlyle)
- You haven’t investigated rumours of what the cult wants at the Ibn Tulun mosque
- You haven’t investigated El Wasta
- You haven’t investigated The Clive Expedition although you know a little about their activities
- You haven’t investigated Omar al-Shakti ( A Very Dangerous Man)
- You haven’t yet investigated the history of The Black Pharoah or Nitocris
- You still don’t really understand what the cults are up to, or what the Carlyle expedition was doing (I’m sure it was all fine though)
