Mystery of the Temple

by Nathaniel Burns

  “Then what killed them?”

  “They killed themselves or each other.” A strange voice said, causing both Neti and Shabaka’s heads to snap around.

  There, in the passageway, stood a young man holding his staff ready to strike. Neti guessed him around Seota’s age.

  Shabaka held up his hands as he approached the boy, “We mean no harm.”

  The boy lowered his staff, “I know you don’t. You are the Pharaoh’s prefect, Shabaka. You visited here once – when I was younger. I don’t know her though,” he said, indicating to Neti. “But she also wears royal colors.”

  “I’m the prefect Neti.”

  “Why are you here?” the boy asked.

  “What is your name?” Shabaka asked in return.

  “Sereb.”

  “Well Sereb,” Neti said, as she rose to her full height. “We look into the deaths of important people, and people close to the Pharaoh.”

  “But who told you? No one left here.”

  Neti looked at Shabaka before turning her attention back to Sereb. “You are one of the people who work here?”

  The boy looked at them hesitantly and Neti sensed Shabaka’s preparation to pursue him if the boy ran.

  “My father is the guardian of the palace. He arranged with the head servant for me to help with the animals – we don’t have any of our own.”

  “But that would make your father the head servant,” Shabaka said, confused.

  “The palace at the base of the Sphinx,” the boy corrected.

  Neti looked at the boy in astonishment. “There is a following there? Sorry, I mean the palace is now used to honor a god?”

  The boy shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. He just said that one day it would be my responsibility, but I’d much rather be a shepherd.”

  “And you know how these people died?” Shabaka asked.

  The boy again shrugged his shoulders. “When the medicine ran out they started to kill themselves and each other.”

  “The medicine?” Neti eagerly asked.

  “I don’t know,” the boy said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, visibly stressed by the constant questioning. “They went really crazy if they did not have some, and a few even died after taking it.”

  “Do you know what medicine?”

  “I think it was that one they make from the flowers,” the boy replied hesitantly.

  Neti nodded her head.

  “You know which one?” Shabaka asked.

  Neti again nodded. “Flower essence. It is the strongest painkiller we know. It is also strong enough to kill someone if they do not know how much to take.”

  “So they took enough medication to kill themselves? It does not make sense,” Shabaka said, disbelieving.

  Neti replied, “As you said just now, nothing makes sense.”

  Chapter Ten

  Neti and Shabaka watched as the young boy tended to the goats, his love of animals obvious in his manner.

  “How is it that he is not affected?” Shabaka asked.

  Neti shook her head. “But out of twenty-three people he is the only one that was not infected.”

  “And your findings confirms that they killed either themselves or the others.”

  “There are signs of trauma on some of the bodies…” Neti said, but grew silent.

  “But you would have to prepare one to be certain.”

  “Yes,” she said hesitantly. “Not that I would want to. I also don’t have any of my equipment here.”

  “I don’t blame you for your reluctance, but we will have to do something with the bodies.”

  “The easiest would be to burn them,” Neti said.

  “What!” Shabaka exclaimed, astonished. “But you were the one against burning the bodies during the plague.”

  “This is different., Neti said.

  “How?”

  “I don’t know what this is, or even if we are safe from it.” Neti shook her head. “The safest thing to do would be to burn the bodies.”

  “You mean we may be…” Shabaka started, but then also grew silent.

  “I know nothing about this and it is not as though I could enquire with Sutten or the Keeper of the Truth…” Neti again grew silent, reflecting on the elder’s words.

  “What?” Shabaka demanded.

  Neti lifted her one hand but did not point to anyone or anything in particular as she spoke, “The elder, he mentioned a mysterious illness that had erupted here when they were building Khufu’s Pyramid. It is one of the reasons I thought we should come here. I thought it could be similar to the deaths in Thebes.”

  “It does not look the same.”

  Neti at first nodded, but then shook her head. “ There are similarities, but this is different.” Neti gestured to the boy, “He has lived here all his life and he has not been affected. I don’t know where the people in the villa came from, but from what I have seen of Ramesses’ servants, they are all from mixed origin. I don’t know who else could be from here.”

  “But he will know. Or his father will.”

  “It will have to wait until morning. If we were to leave now we will not have long to speak before it becomes dark again,” Neti said, looking at the skyline. “We also need to get back to the camp as well. I do not like leaving Seota on her own for so long.”

  “We will need to remove the bodies,” Shabaka said.

  Neti shook her head. “I am not strong enough, and I daresay the boy may be only slightly more so than me. Even if we could find cloth strong enough to drag them, it would take time.

  Just then Sereb joined them. “I have closed all the goats in for the evening, but I will have to take them farther tomorrow. There is not much for them to eat here anymore.”

  “We would like to speak with your father,” Shabaka firmly requested.

  “He will be at the temple. Everyone is welcome. You simply walk in.”

  Shabaka nodded. “Do you know where we can find some strong cloth?”

  Sereb frowned at that. “Whatever for?”

  “We need to move the bodies and burn them.”

  Sereb’s eyes enlarged at that. “The cloth doors of the servants might be strong enough…but some of those people are big.”

  “Why not make a drag dray for the donkey?” Neti asked. “It would be easier than pulling them out yourself.”

  At the word ‘donkey’ Sereb’s eyes lit up. “You have a donkey?” However, his excitement was overlooked as Shabaka said, “You would have a donkey in the halls of Ramesses’ villa?”

  “If it gets the work done, then yes.”

  “That is if we can find everything we need to make one.”

  “There is an old harness here from a chariot horse, it is not much, but it might work.”

  “We could attach that to one of the cloth doorways.” Shabaka said.

  “Then I suggest that tomorrow I take Seota to the Sphinx, while you two remove the bodies.”

  Sereb looked around them as if seeking someone, finally asking, “Is Seota the donkey?”

  Neti looked at the boy as if he were mad, but then shook her head. “Seota is looking after the donkey at the moment.”

  “He also likes animals?” Sereb keenly asked.

  Neti shook her head, “She likes fabric.”

  “Oh,” Sereb’s face fell.

  The following morning Shabaka took the donkey to the villa, while Neti and Seota set out for the Sphinx. The journey was not long, but Neti wanted most of it completed before it became too hot and the flies overly irritating. She glanced at Seota from time to time, but it appeared as if the day’s rest had refreshed her.

  The sun was already high in the sky when they approached the legs of the sphinx. Neti read the hieroglyphs, but then halted for a moment. “That cannot be.”

  “What?” Seota asked, coming to stand beside her.

  “When I was a student with Sutten, I had to copy a papyrus with the etchings found on the Sphinx, but these etchings are nothing like tho
se.”

  “It could be somewhere else on the Sphinx.”

  Neti shook her head. “I am certain it was here.” Neti looked at the area for several moments longer before finally moving. “Come, you have a chore to complete.”

  “I do?” Seota asked, confused.

  Neti moved to the one part of the Sphinx’s leg, close to the paw. “The Keeper said that there are etchings here of which they have lost the scroll of, or it was badly damaged. I don’t really remember. But I promised him that if we were here that we would write them down for him.” Neti pulled out several sheaths of papyrus that were all rolled up and handed them to Seota, along with a quill and earthenware inkpot. “Be certain to keep the ink closed, it will dry quickly in this heat.”

  “But I’m not that good at this yet,” Seota said, concerned. She held up the paper and ink. “These are expensive to barter. What if I ruin them?”

  “I’m certain you will do your best.”

  “But I don’t even know what those mean,” Seota said, pointing to the wall.

  “You only have to copy them, and your eyes are clear so you will not mark then incorrectly. It is the Keeper’s duty to determine their meaning.”

  Seota hesitantly looked at the etchings. “I will try.”

  Neti pointed towards the palace situated not far from there. “I will be at the temple over there if you need me.

  Seota nodded and then sought somewhere in the shade to sit.

  Neti handed Seota her water skin. “Here, you may need some extra water.”

  The girl took the skin from her and uttered a quiet, “Thank you.”

  Neti set off towards the temple. The shear scale of the Sphinx was both breathtaking and intimidating.

  As she approached the temple, it seemed oddly silent, causing her to hesitate. She glanced back the way she had come and could just make out Seota before again turning to face the entranceway. She had been to many temples in her life and knew that they were all, in some way, protected by a god and cared for by their servants or followers. However, this one was the most silent and eerie of all the temples she had entered. There was no lingering scent of myrrh or burning herbs. Only the breeze’s presence could be heard, brushing sand along the stone.

  Drawing in a deep breath, she gathered her courage and stepped forward.

  The sound of her grass sandals scraping on the stone was all that accompanied her as she looked about the temple. The open courtyard was devoid of anyone, yet Sereb had insisted his father would be there. She moved into the inner entrance and the halted. She knew that few beliefs allowed women into the inner sanctuaries of a temple. Most even claimed it to be blasphemous. There had been more than one priest that had demanded she remain outside while they perform rituals for the protection of the dead.

  However, even there, Neti could not detect the scent of any burning herbs, candles, or myrrh. She entered the hypostyle hall and halted at the first pillar, perusing the etchings. The hieroglyphs were familiar, however, instead of them being carved into the stone, they appeared raised, as if the background had been chiseled away instead. She lifted her hand and ran her fingertips over the writing. There was not a great amount of light in the hall, so she could only read the parts of the hypostyles that were lit.

  Neti heard the scrape of sandals on stone and thought it to be Seota, but jolted when an unfamiliar voice said, “It has been a while since someone has come here to read the tales, rather than loot the temple.”

  Neti’s heart pounded in her chest as she turned to face the man. He was an older version of Sereb, there could be no doubt of that. They shared the same body shape and eyes, not to mention the propensity to sneak up on people.

  “You son said I would find you here,” Neti said as way of greeting.

  The man looked at her for several moments, tilted his head, and then smiled. “And what has that boy done now?”

  “Oh, no, he’s not in trouble. Well, he is alive,” Neti nervously started. “He is helping my partner to clean out the villa.”

  “And why would they need to do that?” the man asked, obviously confused.

  “When last have you spoken to your son?” Neti asked.

  The man made to answer but then shook his head, “Things between us are strained, I only speak to him during festival time, and even then not much is said.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t approve of what he is doing.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “His insistence of caring for animals.”

  “But there is nothing wrong with such a task, surely?” Neti asked, her heart rate having eased some.

  “You do not have children, so I do not think you would understand.”

  The remark got Neti’s back up. “And why would I need to have any children to understand?”

  “It is a matter of duty,” the man seethed. “Our duty to our ancestors.”

  “You mean, he does not want to haunt a temple like you do, scaring visitors?”

  “It was not my intent to scare you, but I am wary of strangers. Too many come here in search of the secret chamber that does not exist.”

  “Then why do you remain here, if not to search for it yourself?”

  “Why have you come here then, if not to search for it?” he countered instead.

  “I have come in search of answers.”

  “There are no answers here, just as there is no hidden chambers or secret scrolls.”

  “Because you have already searched for them?”

  The man took a deep breath and Neti for a moment considered that she might have pushed him too far. “Our family,” the man started slowly, as if to gather his thoughts, possibly even to lie to her, Neti thought. “We have been watching over our ancestors for generations already, ensuring that their tale, that the story of what really happened here, is not lost. That, unlike the hieroglyphs on the Sphinx, or those on the hypostyles, even those on palace walls, the tales cannot be altered by others consumed with their ego and pride.”

  “What do you mean altered? They are etched in stone,” Neti said, pointing to the hypostyle next to her.

  The man approached her, and Neti felt the urge to step back but held her ground as he pointed to the pillar. “These have been altered.”

  “How do you know?” Neti asked.

  “Because my father’s father was in charge of the temple when it was done. They came with their tools and chipped away at the walls for many moons. They marked the new etchings and then chipped away the outside so that they would stand out. All because of the pride of one man, who sought to erase the traces of those before him.”

  Neti looked at the hypostyle, then at the man, “So these no longer tell the tale of Khufu’s pyramid?”

  At her question the man visibly stiffened, “Why would you want to know about that?”

  “That is why I came here. The papyri in Thebes are old, and I was hoping to find the answers here.”

  “Thebes? But that is a long way to travel for a mere question?”

  “We are examining the possible cause of death to two men in Thebes, and now the deaths of all of the Pharaoh’s servants at the villa.”

  It took a moment for the man to absorb Neti’s words, but when he had his reaction was alarming. “But you said you spoke with Sereb,” the man said urgently.

  “Yes, he is the only survivor. He is helping my partner to remove the bodies of the others.”

  “The servants, how did they die?”

  “Well your son said some took too much medication while the others killed each other. Why would it be important?”

  “And their skin, was their anything wrong with it?”

  Neti tilted her head, however her hesitation must have served as confirmation, since the man continued, “They had raw patches, as if they’d been burnt with oil?”

  “And the skin pulled from it,” Neti said, nodding. “Even the flies would not sit there.”

  “It is happening again,” the man said in obvious dis
tress.

  “What’s happening?”

  “The gods, the punishment. Someone has angered them again and thousands will die!”

  “You mean it’s a plague?” Neti asked, confused.

  “Oh it is far worse than that. It is the worst of curses. I would not wish it on my enemy.”

  “But do you know what it is? How we can treat it?”

  “He must come back! He must come back now! His defiance has angered the gods. I could not live if it was because of him.”

  “Who?” Neti asked, confused.

  “Sereb. He has angered the gods enough.”

  “I do not think one boy following his heart’s interests would anger the gods.” Neti said in disbelief.

  But the man insisted, “He has a duty here.”

  Neti took a deep breath and tried to gather her patience, for she knew there would be little sense gotten from the man, thus she changed her tactics. “How do you know they have been angered by his actions? Has it been written that such actions would stir their anger?”

  “How should I know? I cannot read these things. It may be.”

  “How then can you be the keeper of your ancestors’ history if you cannot read?”

  “Because I know the tales. I know what really happened here, and what is happening now.”

  “Well, if you know what is happening, then help us stop it.”

  “One cannot stop the wrath of a god. One can only right one’s course.”

  From his appearance, Neti knew she would get little else from him. Her suspicions confirmed this when he simply turned around and walked away.

  Chapter Eleven

  Neti and Seota returned to their camp just as the sun lowered below the horizon, the stench of burning bodies filled the air indicating that Shabaka and Sereb had completed their task. Neti handed Seota a mask. “It does lessen the smell.”

  Seota smiled as she took it, tying it over her nose and mouth.

  Shabaka returned not long thereafter.

  “Where is the donkey?” Seota was the first to ask, already having drawn water for it.

  “I left it with Sereb. In fact, he was so taken by the animal he literally begged me to leave it with him.”