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Recife, "Anyone read hieroglyphs? More importantly do they read whatever language this would be in? I would guess Ancient Egyptian or perhaps Greek using hieroglyphs."
Recife then checks through his boxes for some of his occult books looking for one that would have hieroglyph examples and translations.
Note Recife has Occult at 4
Halifax steps up alongside Recife. Who knew that of all possible places and times, all the useless mystical gobbledygook his parents stuffed his head with might come in handy here and now?
Halifax has Occult at 4 as well. Might as well take a peek.
"Let me see if I can help you with that, Recife. I've done some reading along similar lines. I wouldn't want to go wandering blindly into an Egyptian tomb."
Millie has a 3 in Occult
"I can't read the writing very well, but if it's in Egyptian I can help," Hassan offers as steps up alongside the others. "We still use Coptic in the Church and at university I worked on comparing it to its origins." (Academics 4 [Linguistics])
Between Recife, Halifax and Millie they're able to identify the language and sounds, which are apparently Archaic Egyptian, from the Early Dynastic Period.
From there, Hassan is able to offer a translation:
Certain death for he who enters here with an impure heart.
While he's next to the doorway, Halifax will be able to see that the passage goes down roughly 23 feet, then takes a turn to the left.
"23 feet down, then to the left," Halifax says nervously. "So if you aren't afraid of heights or the dark, and you have a pure heart, step right up."
Halifax steps back pointedly.
Athens lights a cigarette and gives a short bark of a laugh. "I think they mean me, but 'certain death' is a phrase that seems thrown around too lightly anway. If someone will carry a torch with me, I'll go first."
Hassan sighs and gets a torch. "If Halifax won't come, we will need Recife or Millie at the very least, in case there is more writing."
Millie shrugs and says "I'm game." Looking around the group, she says "I figure my heart is at least comparatively pure."
"Oh, I'll go," Halifax says hastily. "I just didn't want to be first."
"I can't read any of that ancient mumbo-jumbo," says Sydney, shrugging, "but I'm willing to go in, too. I guess my heart's about as pure as anybody's here."
Recife, "I will go in. I will even go first but I would like a rope tied around me so I do not fall to far down a sudden pit. I also want nearly everyone to bring a lit torch and few spares. How many lanterns do we have?"
Hong Kong spends a moment hanging back, looking over the door and the intimidating entrance. He's not a physically strong man, nor is he one most would call brave. But it isn't every day one gets to descend into ancient ruins. Scholarly curiosity gets the better of him, and he steps forward.
"I'll go, too."
After looking through their supplies, there appears to be just enough rope to tie three or so people together. There's more on the ship, but that's a lengthy ride away. There are ten lanterns.
"Define pure." Berlin pauses taking a deep breath in through his nose to see if he can catch any interesting sents coming out from the darkness.
"humm, interesting. Okay I'm in, Just don't shoot me if I come up along side you, the torch light will reek havoc with any night vision I may have in there." he nudges Athens with an elbow lightly in jest.
Berlin is able to identify several scents from the passage for the rest of his party. Dust, frankincense (but no myrhh, which would be expected in a tomb), copper, ozone, and a single human being, though that scent is somewhat...off.
"If Berlin can see in the dark, maybe he should go first," says Millie as she examines the lanterns.
Recife, "Just get two fairly strong people behind me on the rope. That should help."
Sydney carefully winds the rope around his arm on belay, and asks Halifax to do the same. He claps Recife on the back, and nods for him to go on in.
Halifax takes the rope and his position.
Millie picks up a lamp and cautiously follows.
Inside the tunnel, it's cool in comparison to the heat of the sun outside. At about fifteen feet in the temperature seems to have settled at around sixty degrees. With their skin covered in sweat from having been out in the Egyptian desert, they now find themselves feeling a bit chilled by the change.
Twenty-three feet in, they reach the curve. There are stone steps carved into the tunnel, moving downward. At the bottom of the stairs is a surprisingly large doorway. Four theriocephalic statues flank it. The animal heads on the statue are difficult to identify. They look somewhat like narrow-snouted dogs. Recife, Halifax. and Millie will recognize it as the "Typhonian animal", the beast associated with the Egyptian god Set. Each statue is carved from a dark stone and stands at eight feet tall. Unlike the slender statuary favored by ancient Egypt, these are bristling with muscle and look quite brutish.
They also appear to be breathing, with their strange heads turned toward the party.
Millie gasps. She raises her lantern and moves it back and forth to see if the statues heads follow the light.
The statues' heads turn to follow the light, though they seem unable to focus on the party itself. If it were possible to blind a statue with light, that could be the cause. As Millie moves the lantern it also casts additional light on the bodies of the statues, revealing that each one carries a spear as long as its body.
Recife prepares to duck, dive or whatever is needed if they attack. He makes no sudden moves. He raises on hand slowly to signal a halt.
Halifax freezes in place. Out of the corner of his mouth, he says, "Anyone speak ancient Egyptian?"
Athens brings up the rear and steadies himself. Knowing better than to fire bullets at stone he stows away his beloved, although somewhat so far useless Thompson, and rolls up his sleeves. If these things really are made of stone then he has a better than fighting chance at attacking with his special power. If he can get past the spear he can bend it, and if he can leap at them he can go for the eyes, but not wanting to be rash he waits for them to make the first move.
Speaking in a low voice while continuing to move the lantern, Millie says, "They seem to be distracted, someone try moving toward the door."
Suddenly, the statues move. The four move to block off the doorway behind them with their bodies, their spears extended so that there's no way to approach without being faced with one.
From beyond the statues, a man's voice calls out. He asks a question in a strange language, then switches to another language. Then another. He cycles through six of them. Several sound extremely familiar, bearing vague similarities to modern Indo-European languages.
Hassan hesitantly speaks up. "I'm not sure, but I believe we're being asked, 'are you openers or closers?'"
"Do you savvy well enough that you think you could answer and they would understand?" Halifax asks. To the others, he says, "Personally, I think we're openers, but it doesn't automatically follow that that's what we want to tell these gents."
Hassan answers, "The vowels are all different, but yes. I think I can."
As all this transpires, Hong Kong gives a longing look back to toward the entrance. He's certainly not leaving, though he is questioning his decision to come.
"Can you ask them what opener and closer mean?" asks Millie. "I don't want to give these fellows the wrong answer." She goggles at the gigantic moving statues.
Recife, "Quite frankly, I have no clue. Giant scorps are easy to mentally deal with, if they are attacking, try to kill before we are killed. Riddles without clues are tough, did I miss any clues? If we are unsure I can flip a coin, I am usually right but it only absolutely turns out right for me."
"Wait a minute," Halifax says, looking at Millie. "Didn't that crazy rat back on the boat say something like the doors will open? And he relished the idea, which made it pretty clear that we shouldn't."
"Hassan, I think we're closers."
Hassan stumbles over trying to ask Millie's question. After a moment, there's a response. His brow furrowed, he repeats it to himself several times, then turns to Millie.
"Do we seek to open the gates for N-Ny--" Hassan pauses, trying to figure out the name again "Nyarlathotep, or to keep them closed? It sounds Egyptian, but it's not. It's just nonsense."
Occult: Does the name Nyarlathotep ring a bell to Halifax?
The name Nyarlathotep strikes a chord in Halifax and Recife both. It is recognizable as a deity associated with sowing chaos and madness.
At the halting mention of the horrible name, Halifax snaps his attention from Millie to Hassan.
"We are most definitely closers, my friend. Let's hope they are too."
"Openers, closers, what's the difference when we don't know? Ask that voice who the hell he is and what the hell is going on in this damned tomb before we all end up skewered by answering anything." says Athens to Hassan.
Hassan translates Athens' question. There is a long pause, rather than an immediate response.
A movement can be seen behind the statues as a man steps up behind them, squinting against the light. He's handsome and appears young, though it's difficult to tell. He could be anywhere between his early twenties or thirties. His head is shaved, skin bronze. He has light colored linen robes on, decorated in arcane symbols. He responds in annoyed tones.
"Para'emhab, priest of Set," Hassan translates. "He guards...I don't know what that word is. Something having to do with the gates. A lock, maybe? He thinks we're idiots."
"Can you explain to him that it's difficult to not be an idiot when you don't have access to much information?"
Millie has moved on from goggling to gaping.
"I've heard of that Nyarla-whatever cobber before, and he's no good," says Sydney. "No good at all. So I'd definitely say we're closers."
Hassan looks at the party. "Do you want me to tell him that?"
Halifax raises an index finger by way of affirmative vote, then looks around to the rest of the assembled party.
Recife has a coin handy but abstains.
"Sounds good to me," says Millie.
Hassan translates. The priest looks at them for a moment, then gives a small nod. The statues move out of the way as he comes forward. Now that they can see him clearly, the party will notice a large bronze sword in his hand.
He says something and Hassan translates again, "He wants us to prove that we're closers. A volunteer to come to him."
Halifax, his voting hand still raised, raises it slightly higher. Glancing around to see if anyone else is volunteering, he steps towards the sword-wielding priest unless someone objects.
Sydney would've volunteered, but is confident that Halifax is up to the job.
The priest nods, satisfied with that. As Halifax steps forward, he does as well. He places the tip of the sword over Halifax's heart, then thrusts forward with it. It slides through Halifax without pain or blood.