Gary Gygax - Dangerous Journeys 1 - Anubis Murders by Gary Gygax Read Free Book Online

the way from your own island?"
    "You are far too modest, Magister Setne Inhetep," the Behon chided. "If you aren't one of the most able practitioners alive, you are no Egyptian." At that he paused. Inhetep might have flushed a little, but his own natural coloration would have hidden it.
    "I am most surely a man of Egypt," Setne admitted.
    "You folk have thousands of gods," Tallesian chimed in, "but despite that confusion, your priests are remarkable in their potency! Why, if what Myf—the Behon has said about your magicians is half true, it's a wonder Egypt doesn't rule the world!"
    "We started once but found it rather a larger calling than we were able to answer for a protracted period." Only Rachelle laughed.
    "The point is, Magister, that you are a wizard-priest who stands above a nation filled with great ones wielding heka, as you say, magickal power. That I know for myself," Tallesian blurted. "The community of dweomercraefters places your art in an esteemed position as well. Not even the murdered sorcerer, Frontonac, for instance, would have challenged you to open contest from what I hear."
    "There is more, Magister Inhetep," the ovate firmly said. "Not only are you a priest and wizard of exceptional sort, but you are knowledgeable in matters pertaining to crime. Perhaps there are more influential and potent priests and wizards. There might be investigators and detectives more learned in the field of criminology. Neither the one lot nor the other combines what you possess. Does that explain why we have come so many leagues, spent so long, hunting you down?"
    The hawk face turned towards the bard, Al-driss. "Not quite, for I sense that your comrade here has something he wishes to add."
    "That's so," the man said. "There is certainly an evil force cloaking these hideous murders. It is all but impenetrable, but we have clues."
    "Clues which brought you three in search of Setne Inhetep."
    "Just so," Aldriss agreed. "The jackal is one. Black jackals, too, of monstrous size. The others are of such a nature that I am not at liberty to detail them. That will come if you agree to undertake the case and protect—never mind. What matters is that the Master of Jackals is certainly linked to your native land, Magister!"
    'Egypt?"
    "None other. All of the evidence points squarely to your own country and one of its most powerful deities. . . ."
    "You can refer only to Lord Anubis, I presume."
    "That assumption is correct," the Behon affirmed. He looked squarely into Inhetep's green eyes. "And we know that Anubis is the son of Set!"
    Rachelle gasped at the near sacrilege. "You are full—" she began. Setne lifted a hand, moved a finger, and the girl subsided.
    "Let that pass for now, Rachelle. Suffice to say, I accept your request. We will accompany you on your return journey to Lyonnesse."
    DEATH AND EVIL
    "The overland route is shorter, so why do we take a ship?" Rachelle was annoyed at the prospect, for she was not a good sailor.
    Aldriss stood at her elbow at the rail of the little sloop, hanging on every word the beautiful Levantine girl uttered. Before Inhetep could respond to her question, the bard took Rachelle's arm and explained as he steered her towards the prow, "First, the constant progress of a ship exceeds the rate of overland travel. Then again, the roads in Iberia are poor. There are bandits and all manner of feral things in the hinterlands, too. Near the Pyrannes, the mountains which divide this kingdom from Francia, it gets even worse, and then beyond things become worse still. There is comfort and safety only near the cities or great strongholds."
    Setne listened and watched surreptitiously but didn't interfere. The Kellt was busily pointing out landmarks along the coast as the ship weighed anchor and began its voyage westward.
    First, of course, they had to head south, then west beyond the Pillars of Herakles, then northward to the Isles of Avillon. This was a bad time of year for sailing, but there was no help