Synopsis: Trapped in the Mummy's Tomb (a Sir Differel adventure)

Featuring the return of the Princess in Orange.

Differel is returning to her bedroom suite after a rather grueling day; Aelfraed is with her, going over a few last details. She tells him to reschedule everything else for first thing tomorrow morning; she wants the rest of the evening free. He asks her what she intends to do. She tells him she wants to take a long, hot bath before going to bed. What she doesn’t tell him is she intends to masturbate. He wishes her a pleasant evening and leaves her alone.

She turns on her entertainment system and plays some slow, romantic music. She gets undressed, fills her tub with bubblebath, lights candles and incense, and steps in. When the water covers her she leans back and conjures up a fantasy involving Victor as a desert sheik carrying her off to his desert stronghold to ravish her. When she feels ready she wets a washcloth and begins rubbing herself. As she climaxes she becomes aware of someone else having an orgasm, then realizes that someone is in her bathroom. Snapping her eyes open she finds the PiO opposite her, also masturbating. She also discovers that they are together in a spacious sunken tub in an open terraced bathroom that resembles a Moorish pillared chamber. When she demands to know what’s going on, the PiO shows that she had been using a carpenter’s rasp with large teeth to stimulate herself. But she sets its aside and calls for refreshments. Naked beefcake men enter with platters of sweetmeats and coffee, and serve them both.

The PiO explains that she has finished her reevaluation and has come to a decision. She offers Differel a deal: she will suspend attempts to kill her if Differel agrees to allow her to play with her. She enjoyed the last three games they played, and she would like to continue it, but she wants Differel cooperation. Otherwise she’s prepared to kill her here and now, though in a manner both of them should find very exciting. Having no choice, Differel agrees, hoping circumstances will allow her to turn the tables on her later.

The PiO then admits that she was feeling bored, and wants to begin a game now. She asks her to describe the game. The PiO states that she overheard what she told Aelfraed, and that she knows what she really had in mind. So she decided to spice up her plans. As usual, the point of the game will be to see if she can bring herself to perform some kind of task she never would on her own because she would object to it. To win the game she must perform that task, though she assures her that overall the game will be a more pleasant experience than the last two times. However, she gets no clues; she has to figure out what she needs to do on her own. There’s also no time limit; she can take as long as she wants and thoroughly enjoy herself, and she need not worry about getting pregnant (winks), since as she said a previous time, the last thing she wants to see is her knocked up.

Differel asks about the setting. The PiO explains that she has entered a universe where she serves an Arabian Nights style potentate as grand vizier. She has a palatial estate and a harem, all at her disposal. She then says she hopes she enjoys herself, and disappears.

A chief eunuch approaches, bows, and informs her that her newest acquisition arrived that day and is being prepared for her enjoyment that night. He then leaves to see to her dinner. The men step into the tub and bathe her, rubbing their bodies against hers, fondling her, and giving her multiple happy endings, then give her a massage, during which they caress her with their penises as one gives cunnilingus. They give her a sumptuous feast which they feed her like she was a child. Finally they anoint her with oil and perfume and escort her to her bedroom to await her lover for the night. She sits in the bed and realizes that, while part of her considers everything so far as immoral, she finds that she actually did enjoy herself, and that she is getting excited as she anticipates the arrival of her bedmate.

The chief eunuch arrives and announces that her lover is ready. She lays down and closes her eyes. She feels him get into bed and lay on top of her, then tickle her face with a flower. She grins and chuckles, and opens her eyes.

And stares into the face of her son, Henry.

Shrieking, she throws him off and leaps out bed, and screams for the PiO. She appears with a towel around her head and covered in soap bubbles as if she just stepped out of the bath. She demands to know what’s wrong. Differel indicates that her new harem acquisition is her own son. The PiO tells her that’s the point; to win the game she must have sex with her own son. Differel calls her depraved, and the PiO leers and turns into an orange anthropomorphic shape with flaming hair, skin, and eyes. She says it took her long enough to figure that out; that is exactly what she is, in addition to being insane. Differel realizes that in her rage she forgot just how dangerous the PiO really is.

Nonetheless she will not corrupt her soul to save her life. She states that she will never sleep with her son. The PiO says she has no choice: she must play the game to the end, and she and Henry will remain in this universe until she does. If she continues to resist, she will restart the game as often as needed to get her to cooperate, even setting up an endless loop. However, if she gets bored she will terminate the game. When Differel expresses a desire for that, the PiO states that if she does, everything in it, including her and Henry, will cease to exist.

Differel pleads for mercy, begging her to create a new game that does not involve her son. The PiO states that she isn’t giving her an incentive. Differel realizes what she means. She gets down on her knees and swears before Almighty God that she will do anything the PiO wants, as long as she lets her son go. The PiO asks anything? Differel bows her head, closes her eyes, and says yes. She fully expects that to be her last act as a free person.

She feels nothing, but the PiO states okay, Gate, let’s negotiate. She opens her eyes and finds herself in some kind of room, but everything is so blurry she can barely recognize anything. Only the PiO is in sharp focus. She asks where they’re at. The PiO explains that they are in a sitting room in her quarters in the palace in Carcosa, but if she saw what it really looked like she would go insane, so she “translated” it into something her mind could understand. Even so, it would still be too stark and realistic for her to tolerate, so she applied a Gaussian blur. Differel tells her to get it over with, but when the PiO expresses genuine confusion she asks if she intends to make her her lady in waiting. The PiO laughs and reminds her that she gave up all claim to her; besides, she finds her so much more fun as a free agent. She won’t say she isn’t tempted; she has a luscious butt she would just love to ravage, but she’s a girl of her word; besides, she’d much rather have Differel give herself to her freely.

Differel asks why she’s here, and the PiO states that she has accepted her offer. Henry has been returned, safe and sound, with no recollection of what happened. However, she wants to establish some ground rules, to insure Differel’s future cooperation. They sit and the PiO conjures up tea. Differel asks for a robe at least, but the PiO states that presently she exists in a state between pure physicality and pure spirit. Her nudity is in her own mind.

The PiO states that these are the rules she will insist upon:

1. She can come and go as she pleases, and start any game she wants without permission or warning. This is non-negotiable. Differel agrees, provided if she wins everything is restored to the way it was. The PiO agrees to that.

2. Once the game begins, Differel must play it to the end, regardless of the circumstances, and if she refuses the PiO has the right to terminate the game, and Differel with it. This is also non-negotiable. Differel agrees, but conditional on what the other rules will be like.

3. If the PiO believes that Differel is going off in the wrong direction, or is trying to sabotage the game, she can restart it as often as she wants, with the option of terminating it. This is also non-negotiable. Differel agrees.

4. Each game will have a specific goal, something Differel must do or achieve to win, otherwise the game will go indefinitely, with the PiO having the option to terminate it. This is also non-negotiable. Differel conditionally agrees again.

5. In recognition of the fact that Differel’s refusal to perform the winning act has brought them to a stalemate, she is willing to grant certain wavers that will allow Differel to establish acts that are off limits. She will allow two. Differel wants six. After dickering and bickering, they split the difference and agree to four, provided Differel chooses them now. Differel selects incest; sex with any child below the age of 17; torture, sexual or otherwise; and consumption of bodily fluids and excrement, even by accident (which rules out any form of oral sex). The PiO agrees, but reminds her that anything else, such as necrophilia or bestiality, is permissible. Differel states she understands, and agrees to rule 4 unconditionally.

6. Differel requires that she have a sporting chance to achieve success; no games that are death traps, no impossible goals, no insurmountable obstacles. She accepts that the game must be challenging, with difficulties, risks, even danger, but she must have a reasonable chance to win. The PiO agrees.

7. Differel requires that none of her people or anyone she knows can be used as part of the games. The PiO counters that she must be allowed some additional free-will playing pieces and demands Team Girl, Billy, and one other to be chosen in the future. In exchange, she agrees not to use anyone else currently living in support roles. Differel agrees.

8. Differel asks that she be allowed to opt out of certain games. The PiO refuses. Differel knew it would be a long shot, but she persists. She states that as long as she has a chance to win, she can look upon these games as training exercises, of a type she would never expect to get. That’s why she’s willing to accept danger; there must be a credible chance that she might fail, or they would have no training value. As such, she would expect the PiO to create the most imaginative and challenging games she can think of. She might even come to enjoy the games, seeing them as a diversion much like the Dreamlands. But, she must protect herself. Until Henry can officially take over the Caerleon Order, she must be able to protect and train him. She cannot allow anything to jeopardize that.

The PiO mulls her request over as she sips tea. Finally she states that Momsy and Dadsy want her dead. She volunteered to do it, because the same purpose could be met by claiming her as a plaything, but after she managed to evade that fate, and after she did so well in the orgy game, she realized that it would be much more fun to torture her. Hence the continuation of the games, but they must be careful. She might be able to convince her parents that these games are meant to off her in some spectacular fashion, but if they come to suspect that they are really meant to fool them, they could take unilateral action, against both of them. That’s especially true if she allows Differel to drop out of a game to save herself. Differel assures her she would do so only under the most dire of circumstances. The PiO agrees to give three opt-outs, but on the condition that whatever would happen as a result continues to happen. Both are non-negotiable. Differel doesn’t quite understand that last condition, but she accepts without hesitation.

The negotiations finished, the PiO spits in her hand and offers it. Differel does the same and they shake. The PiO grins, and states that with the rules mutually agreed to, the show must go on....

...and Differel finds herself sitting at a café table outside a coffeeshop. She appears to be in a Middle Eastern town. A newspaper lies on the table beside her cup and plate of mince pie, and the date reads 1912. Looking down at herself, her style of dress would seem to confirm that.

The PiO emerges from the right breast pocket and waves, then ducks down again. Reaching in, Differel discovers a pocket watch. Opening the case, she finds that the inside cover bears an engraving of the PiO, which animates and speaks to her. She explains that she had thought of this game as they were negotiating. To begin with, if she needs to talk with her, all she has to do is open the watch and speak her request. Now, to the details:

“You are Dame Differel Van Helsing, daughter of Sir Henry Van Helsing, who died just recently. He had been funding half a dozen excavations in Egypt, and you have come to review them to see if you should continue the funding. You’ve already closed down four digs while leaving one open. There’s now just one left. You’re in the village of Abu Dayr Muluk to meet with the archaeologist in charge, to discuss his progress and arrange for a tour of the dig. Speak of the devil...”

As the engraving goes silent, a man approaches her table. Looking up, she sees her dead husband, Victor Plunkett. He asks to join her. She notes that while the other tables are occupied, there are numerous other free seats, but he states he’s interested in a familiar face, by which she assumes he means European. She invites him to join her, and they introduce each other; his name really is Victor Plunkett. She explains why she’s in Egypt, but he’s purposely vague, letting her think he’s a tourist looking for artifacts to take home. They have a pleasant luncheon and he offers to take her on a tour of the village, to which she agrees. It sits on the Nile, so it has a thriving bazaar, but there are also antiquities dealers. At one point, however, she manages to go off by herself and she asks the PiO about him. She states that he is the archaeologist she will be passing judgment on, which she already suspected. She also tells her that he has had a lackluster career. He excavated a few minor tombs in his youth, but he also had a couple of tombs pirated that went on to yield major finds. He is desperate to make a name for himself, and it has made him reckless. Before she can say more, Victor returns and she closes the watch.

They have an early dinner, and he escorts her back to where she is staying, but she invites him up. They kiss and it isn’t long before they are in bed together. She figures he expects her to be passive; instead, she acts aggressive and becomes the dominant partner. Using her experience, she holds him in check until she is ready, then they climax together.

Afterwards he compliments her on the best sex he’s ever had and asks where she learned her technique. She replies that he would be surprised by what they teach at a lady’s finishing school nowadays. He reiterates that she’s the best partner he’s ever had. She in turn says he’s a liar. Their meeting had not been chance. He knew who she was and why she was there before he even approached her. He tries to bluff her, but when she tells him something of his history he realizes he’s been found out. He asks why she allowed him to seduce her. She asks how he knows she wasn’t seducing him. They both laugh, then kiss, and she rolls over so he’s on top of her. She wraps her legs and arms around him and asks him to show her his since she showed him hers.

She awakens midmorning and finds herself alone. However, she finds a note from Victor asking her to meet him at the café where they had lunch. She bathes and dresses, and finds him at their original table. After ordering food he admits that he hoped that if he seduced her, she would be willing to continue to fund his dig. He offers to give her a tour and show her what he’s discovered so far. First, she wants to know why he’s digging here. He doesn’t want to discuss it in the open, where others can hear but promises to explain everything at the dig. She finds his reticence strange, but agrees to his condition. After lunch she packs her bags while he retrieves a car, and then he drives her west into the desert.

Once they get clear of the village, Victor reveals that he believes he found the tomb of Huni, the last pharaoh of the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Furthermore, he believes Huni and the legendary Nephren-Ka, The Black Pharaoh, are one and the same. They debate the issue, but when they arrive at his dig, he shows her his initial finds. Two canopic jars bear inscriptions of Huni’s many names, with Nephren-Ka and the cartouche for the Black Pharaoh included. Differel is not convinced; however, she realizes she cannot afford to take the chance that Victor hasn’t found the BP. So she agrees to fund his dig for another month to see if he can find the entrance to the tomb. He in turn introduces her to his native foreman, Kamenwati.

During the next week, Differel has her own tent, but she sleeps with Victor. She helps with the dig by cataloguing everything found, despite the fact that Victor would discard most of it. She even introduces the idea of sifting each bucket of sand. She figures he indulges her to keep her out of his hair, but she is enjoying herself. Her secret desire had always been to participate in a classic era Egyptian dig, except she was born too late. That was why she had funded and overseen the Hob’s Lane and Thetford excavations, as a way to fulfill her desire as closely as possible. By the end of the week, they uncover three steps leading down into the earth. They break off for the day to celebrate, and prepare for the excavation in the morning. However, in the night bandits capture the camp. They threaten to kill Victor and sell Differel into slavery, but she confronts the leader, named Muawiyah, offering herself to him if he will let Victor go. He accepts her offer and she lets him rape her, but in the night they are joined by a second man who takes her anally, and she recognizes him as Victor.

In the morning the bandit leader leaves, but Victor stays. She realizes they’re in cahoots, and he confirms it. He’s had too many claims stolen from him, but no more. When he realized what he had, he made a deal with the bandits. They would pretend to capture him, force the laborers to open the tomb, and then pillage it, but take only one item out of ten, though he suspects they will take the choicer items. In the meantime, they would guard his dig, giving him a chance to announce it to the world and thereby assure his claim. However, her arrival mucked it all up. They finally decided that they would pretend to take her away, but instead they would take her out into the desert and kill her. Then she had to go and be heroic, and that damned Arab had to accept. So he offers her a deal, though he warns her she has only two choices. She can cooperate with them, in exchange for a 10% cut of any artifacts, which could make her rich. The alternative is being taken out into the desert and shot.

She asks for five minutes to think it over. He states he would prefer an immediate answer, but for what passed between them he will give her some consideration. Once he leaves she finds the pocket watch and opens it. The PiO confirms that she would consider Differel making the second choice as trying to sabotage the game, and would start it over again, but she adds that she would wipe her memory as well, to keep her from using the “death option” to her advantage. Differel knows that the PiO would never reveal anything of the future of the game, or give advice on the best course of action, being as that would spoil the surprise and prevent her from acting spontaneously, but she wants to know one thing: has Victor’s desperation reached the point where he would sacrifice anything to achieve his goal, or does he have a modicum of decency left? The PiO answers both, but adds that if Differel plays her hand right, she can turn an enemy into an ally.

Differel gets dressed and goes outside. She tells Victor that she will cooperate, but on one condition: she wants to share in the glory of the discovery. He agrees. She asks him what last night was about. He states that he’s wanted to do that ever since they first met, but was afraid she would refuse in disgust. She tells him she will be sleeping alone from now on, and if he tries to touch her she will kill him. She sees fear in his face and understands that he believes her.

After another week, they uncover the sealed entrance after descending some 18 feet. The seal appears to have been broken and replaced at least twice, if not more. The door is made of plaster, so Victor is able to bore a hole through it, and test the air with a candle to indicate it’s safe. The workmen break through to reveal a corridor sloping down another 22 feet. A trio of bandits with their leader push past Differel and Victor, but when they get halfway they fall through a plaster false floor. The leader manages to grab the edge, and Differel throws herself down to grab his wrists. Victor helps her pull him out, and when they look down they see the three men, plus the dried carcasses of a dozen more, some 30 feet down, impaled on spikes. Victor instructs the foreman to have the laborers construct a wooden cover, but it will take a day. Differel, Victor, and the bandit leader edge along the wall past the pit with the foreman and a couple of workers. Those three go on ahead, probing the floor for more pits, but find none. They reach a second door, also made of plaster, but when one of the workers bores a hole, he and his companion are sprayed with salt acid. He succumbs immediately; his badly burned companion turns and runs, and falls into the pit; the foreman retreats as fumes fill the lower corridor, forcing everyone else to retreat as well. It will take a day for the fumes to dissipate.

While they wait for the cover to be made, Differel collects and examines debris from the upper corridor. They are mostly wood chips and fragments of enamel and such, suggesting that the corridor had once been filled with artifacts. Victor believes that in the two previous break-ins the thieves removed the items before falling for the traps, and that the people who resealed the tomb simply left the corridor empty, but she is suspicious: the debris looks too clean, as if manufactured to resemble debris. Victor offers advances but she rebuffs him. She eats alone in her tent, but later goes outside o have a smoke. The bandit leader approaches her and thanks her for saving his life. He owes her a debt, and in repayment he pledges in the name of Allah to protect her during the rest of the excavation; he apologies for taking her against her will; and he offers restitution. She in turn thanks him for his pledge and apology, and says she’ll think about a proper restitution, but she informs him that she volunteered to sleep with him, and she did not find it onerous. He salutes her, which she returns, and he departs. She wonders if he is meant to be the ally the PiO spoke of.

The next day the foreman declares the corridor free of acid and the workmen put the cover in place. Using a revolver, Victor shoots at the door, but no more acid escapes. The workmen open it, revealing a rectangular chamber 10 by 25 feet, which contains chests and furniture. Though of great scientific value, they have little monetary worth. However, Victor is certain that the burial chamber and the treasure vault lie behind hidden doors. An examination of the walls reveals another plaster door, but when removed it leads only to a smaller chamber containing the remains of embalming supplies. Victor is confused; a tomb with no body, but he is convinced it must be the tomb of Nephren-Ka. The bandits are angry that there is no gold, and Differel is concerned they may mutiny, but the leader assures her again that he will protect her. Even so, she doubts his sincerity, or his ability if the situation blows up.

While Victor pours over his notes and sources, trying to figure out where the treasure chamber might be, Differel inspects the traps. While she suspects the PiO could have fabricated them for the sake of drama and sheer excitement, she is nonetheless curious to see how they worked. Examination of the frame of the second doorway showes that above it is a plaster chamber that had served as a reservoir feeding into tiny tubes that descended into the door. When the door was breached, the tubes were exposed and the weight of the liquid in the reservoir forced the acid out of the tubes under high enough pressure to create a spray.

The pit seemes simple enough, until she realizes a plaster cover could not be poured in place without some kind of support. Muawiyah lowers her on a rope, and she discovers the remains of an ivory frame, and sees pieces of thin wood on the floor below. She cannot touch bottom because of the spikes, but she notices they appear to be driven into the rock to anchor them. And yet, it dawns on her that as closely spaced as they are, there wouldn’t be enough room to work once four-fifths of the floor had been covered, but there are no gaps. She tests one of the spikes and discovers that it is loose in its hole. The implication hits her like a physical blow. She has Muawiyah haul her up and she makes for the sarcophagus. Victor hadn’t checked the floors, but she figured the best place for a secret entrance into deeper chambers would be under the sarcophagus. With Muawiyah's help she finds a catch and the sarcophagus and its pedestal easily slide aside, revealing a 4-foor square shaft leading straight down.

They go tell Victor, and after he verifies what they found he orders Kamenwati to rig a frame so that they can descend. As that is being done, they assemble their equipment; Differel borrows a pistol and sword from the bandits. Muawiyah drops a torch, and it falls a long time before it stops. He estimates the depth is 100 yards. Once the frame is ready, they rig a block and tackle so that someone sitting in a rope harness can lower themselves down. Differel volunteers to go first, and Muawiyah sends nine of his bandits ahead on separate ropes. About 60 feet down she sees a shaft running sideways. She pauses long enough to crawl up its length into a chamber, and finds the spikes of the pit trap set into the floor and penetrating up through the ceiling. About 100 feet down, one of the bandits snags a tripwire. Above him, arrows shoot out of the walls and strike three others. Two fall and hit the first man, and they drop to the bottom. About 175 feet down, the wounded bandit snags another tripwire and above him a grate with sharpened stakes closes, impaling two others. The four remaining bandits break through, being as it is made of wood, and continue on. At 235 feet down the wounded bandit encounters another tripwire. It pulls taut before he can stop himself, but he shouts a warning and the three above him stop in time to avoid having sand poured down on them, but the wounded bandit is caught and knocked down to the bottom, and buried. Differel calls a halt, and passes them. As she descends she uses her lantern to spot the sheen on the wires. At 275 feet she spots another wire. She ties some string to it and pulls herself up about 10 feet, then pulls the string. Khopesh swords lash out just below her; she jerks her legs up in time to prevent her feet from being cut off.

Differel makes it down the rest of the way with no incidents, and whistles. The three remaining bandits join her and the rope and harness are drawn up. She lights a second lantern to provide light for the others, then scans the area. They appear to be in a small receiving chamber, but a corridor leads off in one direction. She takes the lead, looking for tripwires, as the bandits follow, but she doesn’t see any, and finally they reach what appears to be the end. She depresses a spot in the floor and a huge block drops from the ceiling. The lead bandit pushes her out of the way and he is crushed beneath it. It also blocks the tunnel.

Using the lantern she examines her surroundings. She is on a balcony that surrounds a large open area. A channel in the railing of the balustrade contains a pitch-like substance. She lights it using the lantern, and a wave of flame runs around the perimeter, lighting bonfires set at regular intervals. The light from these fires reveals that the balcony itself is two stories tall and the open area is as large as a gymnasium. Finally two fires light up in the area, revealing that it drops two stories below the balcony and has a ceiling that rises another three stories above the balcony. At what would have been the far focal point had the chamber been an ellipse, sits a stone sarcophagus, while a stone block, like a kind of altar, sits at the near focal point. Four colossal statues stand at each corner, rising a full story above the floor of the balcony. However, there doesn’t appear to be any way down.

She turns her attention back to the blocked tunnel. She assumes that since the PiO hasn’t restarted the game everything must be going according to “plan”, but she can’t be sure if she is meant to go on alone at this point or raise the block somehow. She examines the walls around the tunnel opening, and notices a curious hieroglyph looking like a huge eye. Though she recognizes it, it seems overly prominent. Acting on a hunch, she pushes on the large pupil, which depresses into a socket. She hears a hissing sound and sees the block slowly descend; she figures it is resting on a bed of sand that is draining away. When the top reaches eye level she sees that Victor is on the other side. The expression on his face looks genuinely worried. He asks her if she is all right, and she states yes. When it drops low enough he clambers over. She shows him the sarcophagus, and while there is no treasure visible, he nonetheless gets so excited he hugs her. When he realizes she had ordered him not to touch her he tries to pull away, but she pulls him close and kisses him.

The bandits rig a better system for descending the main access shaft, and begin lowering supplies and equipment to open the sarcophagus, while Differel and Victor search for a way down to the floor below, but cannot find one. Meanwhile, the four statues intrigue them: they depict Set, Sobek, and Sekhmet, the so-called triumvirate of evil, and a pharaoh, whom Victor believes is Nephren-Ka. However, Differel privately believes all four statues depict the same being: Nyarlathotep, in the guises of four of his avatars, the human being the Black Pharaoh. Victor is skeptical; as an academic, he rejects the so-called mythology of the elder beings as a fraud, and chides her for an overly simplistic representation of the deities, since they all had heroic as well as diabolical aspects, and did not become demonized until after 1000 BC. She states that he is over complicating the issue, being as he depends upon accepted records; that many Egyptian deities later depicted as good began as evil in the dim past and were co-opted by the Old Kingdom to weaken their ancient cults, and even those who were believed to oppose the evil gods were themselves not good in that they despised humanity as much as their enemies did.

During their argument they are joined by Muawiyah, who suggests they use one of the statues to make the descent. The three of them secure themselves with ropes held by the bandits, and as Differel goes first they climb down the pharaoh statue, being as it is closest to the entrance. Once they reach the bottom, the fan out. They discover two three things right off:

there are ten open entries in three walls that lead deeper into the complex, which Victor now believes is a funerary temple;

along the back wall behind the altar, hidden in shadow, are three piles of mummified bodies, sacrificed on the altar and then laid aside;

and behind the bodies is a sealed crawl space that leads into a secret chamber: the treasure vault.

With these discoveries, and with all their supplies and equipment brought down, they call it a day and travel back up. That night Differel, Victor, Muawiyah, and Kamenwati celebrate with a feast with champagne. Victor and Muawiyah argue over when to divide up the treasure, but Kamenwati persuades him to wait until after the sarcophagus is opened. He and his men may only be interested in the gold, but if Victor can prove that he really found the tomb of Nephren-Ka their artifacts will become even more valuable intact. Differel recounts the legend of Nephren-Ka, especially how he sacrificed a hundred of his followers to Nyarlathotep, supposedly for the power of prophecy. Afterwards, Differel agrees to sleep with Victor; she even allows him to penetrate her from behind.

The next morning they rig a block and tackle above the sarcophagus and remove the lid. Inside they find what appears to be a coffin of gold, but the weight of the lid suggests it is gilded wood; seven men can lift and remove it without the need for the tackle. The inscriptions on the lid match those on the canopic jars, including cartouches for Huni, Nephren-Ka, and the Black Pharaoh. Inside they find the mummy, except that the limbs are loose instead of enshrouded against the body. The head and upper chest are covered by a golden mask inlayed with lapis lazuli, carnelian, quartz, obsidian, turquoise, glass, and faience. They lift it off the body and the face appears normal, despite the weight pressing on it for several thousand years.

Before they can do anything else, the mummies in the back of the chamber reanimate and attack. The bandits fight back, but the mummies are impervious to bullet or sword and overwhelm them. The workers are trapped and caught. Muawiyah runs off with a couple of others, much to Differel’s disappointment and disgust. Victor stays by her side, but they are soon surrounded. Kamenwati reveals himself to be a traitor; in fact, a priest of Nephren-Ka. He had orchestrated everything so as to free his master from his deathless sleep, and to provide him with a bride. Differel and Victor watch helplessly as Kamenwati cuts the throats of five bandits, spilling their blood into the coffin. As he intones a chant, the mummy rises and stands upright in the sarcophagus. Differel and Victor are dragged before the mummy and forced to kneel. It examines them and speaks in some unknown tongue. Kamenwati states that his master approves of them. They are dragged before the altar, where one mummy pours a liquid into a bowl held by another mummy. Kamenwati takes the bowl and approaches Victor as the mummies holding him push him forward. His head is bent down over the bowl, but not low enough to drink it; Differel realizes he is being forced to breath the vapors. He tries to hold his breath, but finally he gasps and inhales. He moans; the mummies let him go and he straightens up, but he makes no attempt to flee, and his face displays a blank, thousand-yard stare. She is also forced to breath the vapors. Within moments, she loses her will to resist, her vision distorts as if dizzy, and she sees everything as if she were back in ancient Egypt. The mummies look human once more, the chamber is brightly lit and colored, and everyone is dressed in Egyptian costumes.

Women guide her and Victor into one of the side entries, which leads into a small antechamber. There they are stripped naked, their heads shaved, they are bathed and anointed with fragrant oils, and finally golden ornaments are placed on their arms, wrists, and ankles, and around their necks. A nemes headdress is fitted on Victor’s head while a wig decorated with gold is placed on hers. All the while she can hear screams. They are escorted back into the chamber, and she sees Kamenwati sacrificing the last of the workers and bandits while Nephren-Ka stands to one side and acts as if he is in ecstasy. When the last man is dispatched, he approaches Victor. He stares into his eyes, and what looks like a bluish-silver mist flows from his face into Victor’s. Victor then turns and approaches Differel, his penis erect, and she opens her arms to embrace him.

A shot rings out and Kamenwati falls dead. Instantly everything snaps back to normal and she regains her will. The mummy of Nephren-Ka lies as a heap of dust and fragments of bone and linen, while Victor’s eyes glow and his face is twisted into a leer of wicked glee. She strikes at him then evades him. The mummies close in to catch her, but she gets past them and runs into an opening that leads into a corridor. She hears the mummies pursuing, and she leads them on a merry chase through the labyrinthine temple. Her thought is to try to evade and escape back to the surface tomb, so as to find a way to seal it and prevent Nephren-Ka from escaping. However, she can’t find her way and becomes lost. At one point she stumbles into a tiny chamber that seems to be a shrine dedicated to Isis. That puzzles her, but she finds two things that might be of use. One is a silver ankh, the symbol of life, which she slips under one of her gold bracers for luck; she figures she can use all she can get. The other is a khopesh sword, new and sharp. With that she goes on the offensive, lying in ambush and taking off mummy heads, which seems to destroy them. During one encounter, a mummy grabs the wrist of her sword arm, but its arm dissolves to dust. She realizes the ankh has actual mystical powers; it may even be powering the khopesh.

As she passes a side corridor, Muawiyah pulls her inside. He has been searching for her; he knows the way back to the surface. She tells him to go on without her and use the dynamite to collapse the tomb over the entrance to the temple. She will create a diversion to give him the time he’ll need. He argues with her, but finally she persuades him to do as she says, otherwise Victor could get out before he can succeed. He leaves her, and using the ankh to keep the mummies at a distance, she follows them back to the main chamber. Even Victor is wary of the ankh, but all she does is use it to reach the altar. She then places the khopesh on the ground and the ankh on top of it, and lies back on top of the altar, gripping the corners above her head while spreading her legs. Victor takes the bait and mounts her, penetrating her immediately. She resolves that if she gets the chance, she will use the khopesh and the ankh to destroy Victor and the spirit possessing him.

Victor thrusts into her for what seems like hours. She cannot help becoming aroused and having orgasms, but she also feels exhausted, and doesn’t know how much longer she can hold out. He has climaxed inside her several times already, but each time kept going to do so again. Then an explosion breaks through her malaise. At first she thinks it’s from the tomb above, but it sounds too loud and close. A second explosion startles her; she opens her eyes in time to see a third. Looking above her, she sees Muawiyah lighting and throwing sticks of dynamite. She pulls away from Victor and rolls off the altar, collecting the ankh and the khopesh. She dispatches mummies that try to grab her, then confronts Victor as he tries to grapple her. She slams the ankh against his chest; he screams and collapses to his knees, and the glowing light streams out of his face. She raises the khopesh, ready to strike, but when the light is gone he returns to his senses. He remembers everything, and together they flee as Muawiyah provides cover. Once on the balcony they run up the tunnel to the base of the shaft as mummies swarm up the four statues in pursuit. They grab the rope as Muawiyah cuts a restraining tie and they rocket up to the tomb as the counter weight falls. They roll the fake sarcophagus back over the opening, remove the pit cover, and make it to the surface.

Muawiyah connects a couple of wires to a blasting machine. When Victor demands to know what he’s doing, Differel explains they will destroy the tomb and collapse it on the temple, so it can never be found. Victor goes berserk, screaming that they won’t deprive him of his gory. He knocks Differel out of the way and attacks Muawiyah, threatening to plunge a knife into his throat. Differel tries to get him to stop, but he refuses to listen. Just before he kills Muawiyah she takes off his head with the khopesh. She then pushes the plunger on the machine. The dynamite goes up; the ground shakes and starts to collapse. She and Muawiyah run back to the camp, and when it’s finished all they can see is a sand and debris-filled depression.

They collapse on the ground in relief and exhaustion. She thanks him for keeping his promise and protecting her. He voices the regret that they could not have claimed any of the treasure. Though he speaks tongue in cheek, she reminds him that the camp still contains the artifacts found earlier; they should establish the authenticity of the find, meaning they will be famous. There’s also the ornaments she’s wearing, which she will gladly share with him. He asks her if she would honor him by being his wife. She replies the honor is all hers, but states he might want to wait to have the ceremony until her hair grows back, and she removes the wig. He smiles and removes his headdress: he’s bald. They both break up laughing, which ends with them kissing as he lays her back and covers her.

Differel startles awake and finds herself back in her own tub. At first she thinks it’s been a dream, until the PiO, buck naked, rises up out of the water between her thighs. She leans forward, gripping the edge of the tub, until they are practically nose to nose, and she can feel her nipples brush her upper chest. She congratulates her on a game well played, and as a reward she will answer any question Differel cares to ask, about anything. Literally anything. She asks if that was a real world or just a theatre created for the game. The PiO replies it started out as a theatre, but once she created it it took on a life of its own, and now exists as an independent universe, with its own destiny. Differel asks if “she” still exists there, and the PiO says yes. In fact, she and Muawiyah get married, settle in Cairo, and have four children. The first is a boy. Differel asks who the father is. The PiO states it might be Muawiyah, or Victor, or even Nephren-Ka, but that’s a mystery for another game. Meanwhile, she wants to know if she’s ready to let her ravish her, but she says no. The PiO replies, “Be seeing you,” and gives a salute with an OK sign before bursting into a mass of soap bubbles.