Mystery of the Temple

by Nathaniel Burns

  Again things blurred, and before she could collect her thoughts she was in another dark room. Again there were noises, moans, and screams. A small group of gold shabaties marched past her, their weapons held high as they struck anyone who dared to reach out to them. The victims soon thereafter fell down and turned into a heap of bones. Thereafter things grew very bright, blindingly so.

  Neti stirred, her shoulders at first twitching, which cased Shabaka to urgently call, “Neti!” He gathered her closer, looking down at her as her lids slowly lifted. A frown marred her forehead as she uncertainly asked, “Did I collapse?”

  Shabaka shook his head, breathing a sigh of relief before he spoke, “I don’t think so.”

  “Then how?” she asked as she made to sit up.

  Shabaka, realizing that he was still holding her, helped her to sit upright again. “One minute you were talking and the next you just went lax.”

  Neti looked about her before she asked, “For how long?”

  “I couldn’t say. It possibly felt longer than it actually was.”

  Neti nodded and then made to stand. Shabaka also shot up, “Do you think you should be standing already?”

  “I feel well enough,” Neti said as she reached for her satchel and water skin. Shabaka skeptically looked at her before gathering up his own things.

  Neti looked about the chamber before she flatly stated, “It was the curse that killed them, and there are many more.”

  “What?”

  Neti turned to look at him, “Whatever it is, it is on the shabaties.”

  “How do you know?” he asked, concerned.

  Neti made to answer, but then thought the better of it and instead said, “Just trust me.”

  Shabaka shrugged, “I usually do.”

  “Usually?” Neti questioned.

  “Well, you’ve never given me reason not to.”

  “Oh,” she said as she started to clamber over the remains of the door. “Come, the torches will soon burn out and we do not have much oil left.”

  Shabaka followed and they again entered the narrow passage between the hall of truth and the gallery. She carefully exited the passage and waited for him, her attention drawn to the images along the narrow wall. Again they seemed familiar, or as familiar as the scene they depicted.

  Shabaka came to stand beside her. “They have such detail.”

  Neti nodded. “It’s hard to believe so much time has passed since they were painted.”

  Shabaka nodded. “Are you ready for that narrow tunnel again?” he asked, his own displeasure evident in his voice.

  Neti nodded and turned to descend the passage, at times slowing to look at the images again. She shook her head, as if to dispel the thoughts that lodged themselves there, only for her eyes to land on the symbol. She stopped, causing Shabaka to run right into her, irritably exclaiming “Neti! Could you at least warn someone if you’re going to stop?”

  Neti hesitantly moved to the marking on the wall. She clambered onto the ledge and moved to stand before it. Carefully she ran her hand over it, but the surface felt no different than the rest of the passage.

  She placed her hand over the symbol like she had seen in her dream and looked about, but nothing happened. A sense of sadness overcame her and she pushed against the wall to turn around when the stone beneath her hand shifted, not far, but enough to cause her to turn and look at it again.

  Using more pressure this time she again pressed against the stone, and it gave way, until a moment later she could again hear the sound of stones scraping against one another.

  Shabaka looked uncertainly about him, “What have you done this time?”

  Neti looked about them but higher up. The torches did not light the passage all the way up, but provided enough light for her to make out a series of indentations. “There!” she said, pointing some distance away, the indentions in the stone just visible in the flickering light.

  “What is that?”

  “Steps,” Neti said as she moved along the ledge to the point. “They lead to a different chamber.”

  “How do you know?” Shabaka asked skeptically.

  Neti turned to look at him, “If I told you, you would possibly think me mad.”

  “No more than I usually do.”

  “What does that mean?” Neti demanded.

  “That sometimes you know things that you possibly shouldn’t.”

  Neti glowered at him.

  “It means that I’m becoming used to strange things happening when you are around,” Shabaka clarified. “And while there may not always be an answer for them, I have learned to accept them as well.”

  “Oh,” Neti said and then moved to the footholds. “That is strange,” she said as she felt the surface with her fingers.

  “What is?” Shabaka asked.

  “I thought these would come out, not sink into the wall.”

  Shabaka only shook his head and said, “I’ll get one of the torches.”

  Neti nodded and carefully climbed up along the wall. She tried not to look down, placing the lamp in every other indention as she progressed.

  It was not too long thereafter that she pulled herself into the passageway, which was roomier than she had thought it would be. She shifted deeper within and waited for Shabaka to join her.

  She jolted when the unlit torch rolled into the passage, quickly followed by Shabaka. He huffed as he said, “That climb was not planned with the need to carry torches with you.”

  Neti only smiled as she picked up the torch and again lit it. “Let’s just hope there is enough oil in it to last.” She handed him the torch and turned to move along the passage.

  A short distance later the passage opened up into another chamber.

  “By the love of my homeland,” Shabaka said as he moved the torch around, the gold catching in the light. “I have not see as much gold in one place in all of my life.”

  Neti only looked at the gold and baubles for a moment before turning to the wall, “The red hieroglyphs.”

  Her words caused Shabaka to look in her direction, then at the wall.

  Neti quickly moved about the chamber seeking the other torches but only found one. She quickly lit it and brought it back to the wall. Placing it in the holder, she held the lamp closer to the wall as she carefully read the hieroglyphs, at times shaking her head.

  “What is it?” Shabaka asked,

  “Whoever wrote this couldn’t spell,” she said as she continued to read.

  “But it is in a tomb.”

  “This is not part of the tomb,” Neti said moments later. “These were hurriedly done. See the lack of precision on some of the glyphs?”

  “What does it say?”

  Neti continued reading for several moments before turning to answer him. “It is about the mysterious sickness that broke out among the workers.”

  “What does it say?”

  “That some used the same water to wash and were infected. Many were so bad that they could no longer hear, while others became blind.” She read on for some time before she said, “That differs from what I was told.”

  “What?” Shabaka asked.

  “Well, it says here that many died of the sickness, which was more irritating than painful. It mentions nothing here about them being buried beneath the foot of the Sphinx.”

  “Why would they bury them there?”

  “Well, that is what the Keeper of the Truth told me. Actually, it was written on a scroll. But from this, the Sphinx was already there and the men were buried to the left side of it. The pharaoh then requested for the temple to be built, and that it was to be maintained until the last of their lineage passed on.”

  “Which is currently Sereb,” Shabaka said. “Unless he has children.”

  “…or his…you know, I don’t think that man is his father,” Neti suddenly said.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Because, well…the thought just came to me.”

  “Just came to you? How’s th
at?”

  “Well, where’s Sereb’s mother. I have not heard him mention her or any woman once.”

  Shabaka shrugged.

  “And if the place was to be maintained. Why is there nothing in the temple at the moment? And why would Zereth be eating as much if the temple was to be maintained? Certainly the Chief Priest would have had a record of such an instruction.”

  “Could be that with the death of the servants at the villa there was no longer a supply line.”

  Neti nodded.

  “Well, anything else?”

  Neti shook her head. “We know about the flower for the oil.”

  “It mentions it?” Shabaka asked, surprised.

  “It mentions that it eases the irritation, but not for long.”

  “How do we leave here?” Shabaka asked, looking around the chamber. His gaze for a moment landed on stone doors in the floor. “There are two doors.”

  Neti looked in their direction. Just as Shabaka made to grasp the brass handle Neti called, “Don’t touch them!”

  Shabaka jolted on registering her words and turned to look at her. “Why not?”

  “They are not doors leading out.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because not everything is as it appears.”

  Shabaka cocked a brow.

  “We leave the way we came in.”

  “What about this, if looters come now they…,” Shabaka did not finish his sentence, for as Neti reached to dislodge the one torch, it would not move.

  Neti looked around the room, but shook her head before again attempting to dislodge the torch, when the bracket shifted.

  Again there were the sounds of stones moving, although this time Neti knew that it was the same ones that had allowed them access to the chamber. Her heart sank as the last one slid into place, effectively sealing them within.

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking towards Shabaka. She could read his shocked expression and felt her entire body droop.

  Moments later the ground beneath them started vibrating. “Get against the wall!” Neti shouted and moments thereafter the gold and gems vanished. Leaving only a gaping hole.

  Neti cautiously looked over the edge, “That looks like a straight drop.” They heard a tinkle as the first of the objects hit the ground beneath. “And a long fall.”

  Neti slowly sank down along the wall, simply looking at the hole. “I don’t remember this.”

  Shabaka looked at her in question, “Remember what?”

  “The hole, the gems,” Neti said as she tried to remember what had come next.

  Neti looked at the wall, somehow hoping that there would be something that would guide her. Then closed her eyes and shook her head.

  Shabaka instead got up and went to check the entrance, but found it sealed. He moved to the torch and tried shifting the bracket again. Nothing happened.

  Defeated, he sat down besides her.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Neti sat watching the flame of the lamp as it flickered, her eyes shifting to the torch mounted on the wall. She knew that they should to put out any extra lights, yet could not bring herself to move. She again looked at the hole in the floor, then at the walls.

  “What are you doing?” Shabaka asked.

  But Neti did not answer him as she got up and walked along the wall. Her actions caused Shabaka to rise as well. “What are you looking for?’ he asked, watching her.

  “The more I think of it, the more there must be a way out of there.”

  Shabaka looked at the hole in the middle of the ground, “Other than the obvious.”

  Neti turned to look at him and then the hole. “No, not that.” She turned her attention back to the wall. “Something else. We needed to trigger a mechanism to enter. It only stands to reason we will need to trigger another to get out. This is a treasure room, so there would have been a different set of mechanisms put in place to protect the treasure. When I tried to remove the torch I triggered it. But no skilled workman will plan something that they themselves could get trapped in.”

  “Meaning, there has to be a way out,” Shabaka said.

  Neti nodded. “One that does not involve falling to your death.”

  “What am I looking for?” Shabaka urgently asked.

  “I don’t know. It could be a stone to press or something attached to a wall.”

  Neti again read the contents of the wall, but it gave her little indication.

  “I see nothing,” Shabaka said, frustrated.

  “Look for something on the floor.”

  “What?”

  “It is the last place anyone would look.”

  Shabaka moved around, “It would be a bit obvious, don’t you think?”

  Several moments later Neti said, ‘I think I found it.”

  Shabaka came to stand beside her, looking at the one stone in the floor that was just slightly elevated from the others. He looked at her and cocked an eyebrow.

  “I think it is best if you go stand there by the wall. I have no idea what might happen.”

  Shabaka moved and Neti waited until he was at the wall before stepping on the stone. Nothing happened; it did not even budge.

  Shabaka released a heavy sigh, “Well that is not it.”

  Neti looked at Shabaka, her eyes for a moment drifting to the torch near him. “Did you push it back?” Neti asked, indicating the torch.

  Shabaka turned to look and then nodded.

  “Pull it down again,” Neti said, causing Shabaka to frown. “Just let’s try.”

  Shabaka pulled the torch holder down again and then turned to look at Neti.

  Again Neti stood on the stone, but it only moved an increment. She looked down and then at Shabaka, “I don’t think I’m heavy enough.”

  Shabaka came towards her and gestured for her to move out of the way before stepping on the stone. His weight was sufficient enough to compress if farther, until it was just below the level of the others.

  For several moments nothing happened, causing them to look at each other, before the ground started shaking, excessively.

  “I don’t like the feeling of this,” Neti said as she pressed against one of the walls.

  Several moments later a slab of stone from the floor shifted, closing the hole while at the same time revealing another passage.

  Neti took the loose torch and held it over the entranceway. She then looked at Shabaka, who nodded.

  Drawing in a deep breath Neti started the descent. She had no idea as to where in the pyramid they were, but made certain not to bump anything.

  As they progressed downwards, Neti periodically looked over her shoulder if only to confirm that the doorway was still open. Shabaka followed with the lamp, its flame already low.

  The passage came to an abrupt end, which caused Neti to softly curse.

  Shabaka came up behind her, releasing a heavy sigh. “Seems like we are determined to reach dead ends on this.”

  Neti considered retracing their steps when Shabaka said, “Wait, feel that?”

  He held his hand near the wall. “There is air moving through it.”

  Neti turned to the wall again, moving closer this time. “You’re right.

  We must be at the outer wall of the pyramid. But even so, we are not strong enough to move one of these stones. Not with the casting stones in place as well.”

  “You forget where I am from,” Shabaka said indicating for her to step aside. “There is not a stone shifting method implemented in the quarries of Aswan that I do not know of. Besides, if this was to be an escape route I doubt it would be a full-sized block.”

  Shabaka ran his fingers over the joints, recognized the grooves on the edges, and nodded. “This stone was intentionally put in the wrong way.”

  He dropped his satchel to the ground and held up the lamp for Neti to take.

  “What are you looking for?”

  “Something that will ease the movement of the stones. Do you have any oil left?”
/>
  Neti pulled the skin from her satchel, “There is not a lot left.”

  “I don’t have any, but I have some water left so hopefully that will work.”

  Shabaka uncorked his water bottle and carefully allowed the water to flow into the cracks. “I don’t know if it will be enough,” he said as he took the remaining oil from Neti, adding it to the crack as well.

  He re-corked both the skins and handed the smaller one back to Neti.

  “What now?” Neti asked as she placed the skin back in her satchel.

  “We give it a moment. Hopefully the grooves are large enough to allow the water and oil through.”

  “And then what?”

  “We push.”

  And they did. The stone moved slowly before suddenly falling away. They could hear the impact it made on the other stones and Neti looked at Shabaka, “I think that could be considered as damaging the tomb.”

  “At least it was not done intentionally,” Shabaka said as they looked out into the night sky. “I hadn’t realized it was so late.”

  Neti nodded. “We should get back.”

  The trip to the villa seemed shorter somehow. The evening air made the trip easier on both Neti and Shabaka. Oddly, the villa was silent. There were no lamps burning and no visible movement within.

  Neti looked at Shabaka, moments before a concerned “Seota” escaped her lips and she raced ahead. Without heeding caution, Shabaka set off after her.

  Neti entered the quarters they had settled in, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw Seota curled up in a ball on the bed mat. The food she had left had been eaten and the lamp flickered against the night. But for the rest, the room was silent.

  “Seota,” she called, her relief obvious.

  The girl suddenly rolled over, her tear-stained face obvious. “You came back?”

  The girl’s words caused Neti to frown as she stepped closer. “We just went to the pyramids.”

  “He said you left and were not coming back for me,” the girl said, distraught.

  “Who?”

  “Sereb’s father. He said you would not be coming back, that I was tainted like all the others.”

  Neti lowered to her haunches. “I would never leave you behind,” she said as she placed her hand on the girl’s shoulder.