Journal Entry: EE-45
By Dr. Gina B. Diggers
Location: Central Egypt.
My party and I arrived here on a search for answers, and there was far too much to see and do. It was decided that our party would split up into two groups. I was paired off with my half-sister Brianna. My sometime-rival Penny went with not only her bodyguard, the harpy Charlotte, but my on-and-off boyfriend Ryan Talbot as well.
This split up was done in the hope of covering more ground to find clues to a secret that had plagued my missing sister Britanny's heart for too long. Secrets of her past.
Some would say I'm doing this expedition out of guilt... They'd be right. I know it was not any fault of my own for what had gone down when I was with my group on an expedition in Jade. But still, the knowledge that I wasn't around to help when my shattered family needed me most is rather difficult to emotionally handle.
Perhaps I need the time away to adjust. Perhaps I'm trying to finally fulfill a promise that I kept putting off to a lost and loved sister to ease my own guilt. Perhaps, I want to find this out for Tifanny, someone who is deserving of this truth and would benefit from it. Or perhaps... I'm just trying to keep going to keep the pain in my own heart from overwhelming me.
Guilt is a powerful thing.
Brianna and I were returning to the agreed rendezvous, when by pure chance we had discovered what could possibly have been the greatest archaeological find of our time! It was one of the finest Egyptian burial tombs we had ever laid eyes on.
And the tomb door was open and intact...
(------)
"I don't like this, Gina," the trigger-happy Lycanthropoid said as she holstered her SPFG 1200 (Pocket Edition) close to her. "A building this size could NOT have gone unnoticed out here. And the fact that that door's open only makes me wary..."
Looking over from the hieroglyphics adorning the edges of the door that had the main body etched with the symbols of the left and right eyes of Ra to her sister, Gina pointed out, "There were a few sandstorms that went for days straight before we got here, Brianna. It could be that this place had been buried by such an occurrence for thousands of years, and by chance, the right movement of winds and sandblasting uncovered it again."
"Still doesn't explain the open set of doors!" Brianna quickly pointed out. "I mean, those things are, what, a ton apiece?" The lycanthropoid narrowed her eyes. "No way can someone get a set of doors like that open WITHOUT the right kind of construction equipment, Gina. Face it. We need to get back to camp and tell the others about this. They can help us figure out this place more and explore it."
Shaking her head vehemently, Gina gave her sister a sour expression. "No, Brianna. I would have seen the markings, scratches from such tools if they had opened these doors. These were opened naturally, probably by the shifts of the same." The Gold Digger stood up and looked up into Brianna's eyes. "It's better to go in and stake a claim now. Who knows who could find this place by accident while we're away and claim it for their own archaeological site? This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, Bri!"
Clucking her tongue in annoyance, Brianna calmed a little. "Well, there better be a living mummy or two in there..." She pumped the pressure pump gauge on her firearm, making a rather audible 'ka-chack' sound. "I really need to relieve some stress."
"Don't say things like that! Are you trying to jinx us or something!?" Gina snapped at her sister and immediately regretted it at seeing the Lycanthropoid's hurt expression. "I... I'm sorry, Brianna," Gina apologized. "It's just upon getting home from Jade..." Her shoulders slumped lightly. "I don't think I've gotten over it yet..."
"...You're not the only one..." Brianna said slowly. "Goddamn rats..." She hissed angrily and started towards the door, slowly opening the one on the right by pushing her body against it. It took some effort from the half-werecheetah since she couldn't get as strong a foothold into the sand as she would've liked, but with about three minutes work, she opened the door enough that a person could get in comfortably rather than try to squeeze through.
In the meantime, Gina had taken out a flashlight from her backpack and when her sister had gotten one of the doors opened further, she started walking in, flashlight illuminating the darkness of the empty hall which served as the entryway.
"Hey, I should go first!" Brianna shouted as she went in after her sister. "I'm the one with the gun!"
Looking over her shoulder, Gina said, "I don't think that thing's necessary, Brianna," the older sister explained. "The air in here is so dry, so arid... It's kept the hieroglyphics in near-perfect condition!" She motioned around the hallway, adorned from ceiling to floor with markings of the ancient Egyptian writing. "I really don't think ANYONE'S been in here for centuries."
"But, Gina..." Brianna tried, something about this whole place giving her a weird feeling. It was odd, since she never felt jittery about the expeditions, rather, she reveled in them. But this place...
"Brianna, look!" Gina said as she walked over to the wall, and specifically pointed at one of the markings, one depiction the scene of workers in a field. "The vegetable dyes are as rich and vibrant as when they were originally set down. This is an absolutely stunning find, possibly greater than that of King Tutankhamen!"
Still, the youngest Diggers sister didn't look all that convinced of what her sister was pointing out. Just something about this place was screaming at her senses, and making her feel a jumble of different emotions all at once. "I don't know... Besides, aren't we supposed to be looking for the roots of the werecheetah race's past? My past?"
"...I'm sorry, Brianna," Gina said softly. "But this is a find I just can't pass up."
Nodding her head, Brianna sighed as she followed Gina down the hallway, her flashlight going over walls and support pillars adorned with more hieroglyphics. Not only were there the usual markings, but there were also the usual scenes which depicted scenes of every day life...
...Yet, both she and Gina were quick to note it was more or less the everyday life of the Egyptian society, rather than any specific person. "Hey, Gina? Aren't these things supposed to, you know, show the life of the person buried here?"
Nodding her head, the blonde scientist was quick to offer, "Perhaps there will be when we find the main burial chamber... I can honestly say this is the largest burial tomb found in recent times. It's no great pyramid, but this place is certainly bigger than anything found in the Valley of Kings."
"Maybe..." Brianna conceded as they continued to tread carefully along the stone floor. You never knew where a trap would be set.
It was nearly five minutes before they reached the end of the hallway, the first clue being how it started to open up into a wider area, the second being a reflection from the light of the flashlight, which was revealed to be from GOLD as they got closer.
"...Gina..." Brianna whispered softly. "Is that..."
Gina nodded her head. "A sarcophagus." Her eyes went wide as she was looking around the room. This was IT! The burial chamber! And it was decorated richly! Just a quick movement of flashlight showed a glimpse of two more connected rooms on the left and right walls, meaning there were more riches than just those around the room. Looters had never sacked this great tomb, and now she and her sister were about to cash in!
As Gina's gaze wandered about, trying to take in the sight of everything this room had to offer, Brianna's eyes were still glued to the center of the room, where the sarcophagus lay. The burial container was huge and richly decorated with gold carvings and lapis-lazuli.
But the top of the sarcophagus was what really caught Brianna's attention. Again, there were gold symbols of the left and right eyes of Ra at the head and the feet of the artifact, but atop the lid was a solid gold statue of the protectorate icon, the tomb's guardian.
A cheetah. A rather large and intimidating state of a cheetah, head turned towards the entrance of the chamber, mouth open in a snarl, showing off teeth of ivory and a brow furrowed in anger over ruby eyes that glinted opulent drops of blood. And as she looked over the statue, a very distinct detail caught her attention. "GINA!"
Taken out of her thought and back to reality by her sister's yell, Gina turned quickly to Brianna. "Wuh-what!?"
"The statue! Look!" She shouted as she grabbed Gina's wrist with one hand and turned the flashlight towards the sarcophagus.
Gina's eyes blinked in surprise. "It's a cheetah. An interesting choice of a tomb guardian, but not uncommon..." She said slowly. "I mean, cheetahs were often revered as a majestic and-"
"GINA!" Brianna snapped. "Take a GOOD look at it!"
Blinking her eyes, the blonde looked over the statue closely. It was obviously an expensive piece of work, priceless by today's standards. It was amazing how closely accurate it was to a real cheetah, although it was done a little larger than the real animal... Too bad the paws were off, elongated as...
Wait a minute!
With wide-eyes, Gina stared at the protectorate icon in shock. She had to gulp, trying to get moisture to a suddenly dry throat. "Does that thing have human hands and feet?"
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(Posted Mon, 20 Feb 2006 01:53)
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