The Bleeding Ruby
Page 5
“The Pestilence” is said to have procured the ring from a nameless runaway Egyptian slave. The slave was on the run from a posse of Egyptian soldiers, as he was wanted for a crime of theft. Encountering the Persian army in the deserts bordering Egypt, he told the ruthless soldier with his famous infectious blades that he had stolen the ring upon his finger from the secret tomb of the millennium and a half dead Amon-Seht. Amon-Seht was a High Priest serving the Pharaoh Ramses, to whom he was a spiritual advisor. The High Priest was revered by the Pharaoh for many years, and he used his wretched ring to manipulate his way into power, sly as a snake. Ramses would soon be at the constant bidding of the cunning Amon-Seht, black priest of the daemon entity Seht himself. The terrible reign of Amon-Seht would eventually come to an end on the day that the Pharaoh had awoken from the black spells of the Priest. Amon-Seht was put to death by live burial, in a secret tomb beneath the Great Sphinx along with his ring, never to be discovered again, that is, not until the slave would steal the ring from the tomb many moons later. The ring would change hands again on that day, when “The Pestilence” would kill the slave and steal the treasure he had plundered.
With this information from the Sultan's scrolls, it is clear that I will find further information within the hidden tomb of the dreaded Amon-Seht. I travel now to Egypt, to the Sphinx, to attempt to interview the corpse of the High Priest.
Edwin Walters' Journal Entry; dated 29th April, 1894:
29-4-1894
The dry, unforgiving deserts of Egypt have left me drained. I had found much more than I had bargained for within the secret grave of Amon-Seht. Why did the damned ring have to choose me as its object of torment?
Upon my first approach of the Great Sphinx, by dark of course, I could not even slightly imagine where to look or what to do. When from under the stand I had noticed a rope of some sort sticking from under the tail end of the great beast. I dug it out of the sand for endless hours through the night, as it was buried in a fashion that made me realise why no one had found it in all the centuries past. Finally, at nearly sunrise I had enough rope in my hands to pull it. As I pulled, a great trapdoor slid under the sand and revealed a door to me. Still reluctant even after all the work I had done, I had entered the tomb that was never meant to be found. I was about to find a man whose legacy was designed to be forgotten, a shame to his great civilisation.
The tomb was small, as would be any room that is meant to remain tucked away in a non-traditional place. The musty smell of mouldy sand struck me hard as I entered the forsaken place. The body stared right at me with its rotted bulging eye sockets as I strolled in, the cadaver's entire hand broken off. Clearly the ring had been stolen. The only items within the room were the traditional priest shawl, a magic staff, a ceremonial golden sword, a chalice, a copy of the book of the dead, and lastly, a cube with a carving of a ring on all sides. One of the sides looked as if it were designed to carry a ring. I decided to press the ring in my hands into the groove upon the stone cube.
The mysterious cube had opened! The box had sprung open in my hand, revealing a papyrus with strange hieroglyphs upon it. Another translation must be made, as clearly this journey of mine is far from over.
Translation by Dr. James Frank, archaeologist; dated 2nd May 1894:
To Dr. Edwin Walters:
You had requested a translation of the hieroglyphs you had found on your travels to Egypt. Quite a find you have made here, doctor! In all my years studying the wonders of ancient Egypt, I have never seen anything quite like this. I must enquire of where you found this piece? Never have I even heard of the man named in these documents, Amon-Seht. Just when I thought we knew all there was to know about the court of the Pharaoh Ramses, this mysterious new person seems to have suddenly appeared! We have to talk further!
You had paid me for a service, though, and here is your translation:
“To He who possesses the ring of Amon-Seht. Destroy it! You know not what horror you hold. The ring comes to this world by the carriage of the Forsaken Brother. We were warned by the Star People to destroy it, but alas, we cannot. It is up to you now holder of the burden. Destroy it, or leave it buried forever, as we have tried to along with its High Priest. Make haste!”
I assume you had found no ring, or you would have brought it to my expertise for thorough study. This other ring brings me deepest curiosity as well, and now the basis of my work will be on finding that ring! It will be worth a fortune!
The second note seems to be from Amon-Seht himself, as he has signed it. It reads:
“I, the High Priest Amon-Seht, have acquired the key to all power in the Universe! What a wonderful ring it is, and even the Pharaoh himself would eat out of the palm of my holy hands! It will not be long before all of Egypt, and then the world itself, will be at my mercy. I will rule them all!
I had acquired the ring from a merchant that travelled from Babylon, as we trade often with their great nation. The Bleeding Ruby had been sold to the Babylonian salesmen by a farmer, whose grandfather was an Assyrian soldier who had retired to Babylon so that his family would be away from the wars that Assyria was always fighting in his day. The ring was a gift from the soldier's grandfather, who had found it in the tomb of the ancient Sumerian Priest, Iakekutnum. He had pillaged the tomb at the Temple of Pazuzu, which lies just where the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates meet to the east. Iakekutnum was the first one given the task of destroying the gem by the Star People, and he was the first who failed. Now the ring lies in the hands of its true master, I the Great Amon-Seht, I who it has chosen to rule the Universe!”
I must know where you found these documents! We need to talk, write me as soon as possible and we will collaborate on the hunt for Amon-Seht. You have discovered history!
Sincerely,
Dr. James Frank
Letter addressed to Miss Lucia Walters from Dr. Edwin Walters; dated 5th May, 1894:
Dearest Sister,
You must have been worried not to hear from me in so long. I had told you if you have not heard from me by the next full moon to alert the authorities, but you know me well that I get absorbed by my work. Thank you for your patience! I have an update.
My trip to Constantinople to investigate the ravings of Ottoman Sultan Abdul the Necromancer has turned into far more. I have travelled to Egypt, dear Sister! The Sultan has told me quite the tale. He had found the ring in the home of a Greek family during the Turkish invasion of Greece who were descended from the Spartan sergeant, Telemachus the Warrior of Truth! Their Spartan ancestor had taken it as spoils of combat from an infamous Persian soldier known as “The Pestilence”, who was known and feared for his plague ridden blades.
The Persian warmonger had robbed a runaway Egyptian slave, who had stolen it from the very old and secret tomb of the High Priest, the dreaded Amon-Seht. Amon-Seht had procured it from a Babylonian peddler, to whom it was sold by a farmer in Babylon. That farmer had been given the ring by his grandfather, an Assyrian soldier, who had in turn inherited it from his grandfather. That man had found the ring within the Temple of Pazuzu in the former ancient Sumeria, where the tomb of the Priest Iakekutnum lies.
It does seem, dearest Sister, that my search leads me there. I know not when my return shall be, but I must not stop now. I know the end of my journey draws close, as I am at the humble beginnings of the history of humanity.
With love,
Your brother,
Edwin
Edwin Walters Journal Entry; 11th May, 1894:
11-5-1894
As I write this, I am speechless! The search for the origins of the Bleeding Ruby have forced me to question my beliefs about everything imaginable. I never would have imagined that modern science was even wrong about the origin of mankind, let alone that there are so many things in the universe that are unseen and that those are the most frightful and powerful things.
After much wandering in the desert between two rivers, I have finally found the Temple of Pazuzu, the Lord of All Fevers and Plagues. My n
ew found friend, esteemed archaeologist Dr. James Frank had accompanied me. It was a small temple, as the ancient Sumerians worshipped the dreadful daemon out of fear and not out of true virtue. Its four simple columns held semi-precious red jasmine stones atop, as they sat upon a base of gravel. Strange it appeared to the untrained eye, as the columns appeared to curve and yet be straight at once with its elaborately simple design of non-Euclidean geometry. How such a shape can exist in a non curved three dimensional world such as ours is beyond the understanding of human intellect. The floor panel at the base of the column with the lone discus shaped rock of the four was made of wood. I was inclined to break apart the weak link of the temple in the hopes that I would meet the Priest himself, for he had answers for me.
Inside the hole left behind was everything I had travelled this long distance from home to find. There lie the ill preserved remnants of the bones of the Sumerian High Priest, Iakekutnum! With him lie a semi-decayed clay tablet containing writing in the language of the time. The words were unlike any I had ever seen, as the ancient Sumerian language is not related to any other known language and knowledge of the lexicon is limited, so says Dr. Frank. Still the archaeologist attempted with his highest effort to translate the humble tablet.
With hard scrutiny, the