SUMMARY 30 - THE MEETING
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[Note: this summary goes not to Hatch, but to our trusted confidante who knows about the Sons- did we say Saul?]

We have met with the Sons of Mamluk, and learned much about our quest. Not the least important thing that we have learned is that there are various factions within the Sons themselves. The ulama is fervently against any kind of magic use, and yet his partner has an elder sign above his door.

We exchanged much information, us telling them all about our fight, them telling us who it is we're fighting. They proposed a beginning of a plan to fight the cult, and asked for our help in carrying it out. Their plan is thus: the cult meets near the front of the Sphinx every new moon, and (through some ritual magic) enters the catacombs underneath. (The Sphinx was said to represent a 'pet' of Nephrim Ka.) The Sons say that there is no mundane entrance to the catacombs. This month, their ritual is feared to be particularly nasty; the Sons think that they will try to revive Nitocris, whose body lies in the stolen sarcophagus. There are usually around 150 cultists at these rituals; the Sons have proposed an ambush plan before they enter the catacombs. They asked us to procure Thompson sub-machine guns for the assault. We are still debating this plan.

They let us know that Shatki is several thousand years old, which did not make us feel any better about confronting him directly. Then they said that he is attended by two demons which kill on his command, which made us feel worse.

They told us much of the history of the cult we fight. It all started with the Black Pharoah, who revived worship of there-is-no-peace-at-the-gateway in 3rd Dynasty Egypt. Snaferu, with help from Isis, defeated the Black Pharoah (who had come to be confused with the god he worshipped, and is also called Nephrim Ka), and buried him in a pyramid at Dashur. The pyramid was said to protect Egypt from his evil. Something happened to the pyramid, and the Black Pharoah was interred in another (the Bent Pyramid). The third pyramid at Dashur was said to seal some kind of ward of protection.

Then, in the 6th Dynasty, Nitocris revived worship of the Black Pharoah and there-is-no-peace-at-the-gateway. She was eventually defeated and buried 'not quite dead' in a pyramid. She was revived in the 12th Dynasty. When the cult was defeated at that point, she was buried in the pyramid at Giza (and now the cult has her sarcophagus) and the remnants of the cult were exiled up the Nile river. It was widely believed that they were eradicated, though we now know that this is how the Cult of the Bloody Tongue got started. So the history and relations between the cults seem to be something like this: they were originally all in Egypt. After the 12th Dynasty, some remnants were driven up the Nile, to later become the Cult of the Bloody Tongue as those in Kenya and New York practice it. Some remnants must have remained in Egypt, also, and these formed the present day splinters in Cairo and London.

The Carlyle Expedition did something magical while they were at Dashur; the Sons believe that they broke the protective warding there.

We left them, arranging for another meeting the next day. At that meeting, we primarily discussed movement of the artifacts (we're dropping them off at the Museum tomorrow evening), and got more specifics on the guns (if we were to supply them, we wouldn't want them used for civil fights, and we could only get a couple of cases in any event).

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SUMMARY 30, PART TWO - THE LETTER TO HATCH
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Our friend-

Not much to report this time, I'm afraid. We have continued with our studies, and resolved some personal differences within the group. That alone makes us all feel better, I think, though it may not fight the cult directly. Though our holy friend cannot tell us some of his secrets, at least he has admitted he keeps them, and has assured us that they are holy in nature. We have all vowed not to knowingly do something that would hurt our cause, or aid our enemy.

Of course, we've talked with you. Don and our new friend did some reconnaisance near the Sphinx, which is where we've learned the cult meets every new moon. (The cults in London and Cairo seem to be closely related.) We are considering an ambush plan to take out cult members at their next meeting, which is soon. The area around the tombs in front seems to be fertile ground for such an ambush, though more scouting is necessary.

Word on the street is to be wary of Shatki; apparently he is so old that there is only a magical explanation, and two demons apparently attend him. Not sure if we think this is true, but he certainly seems at least as powerful as our enemies in London, and they would have had no problem killing us.

In fact, we're all becoming increasingly nervous about why they didn't. What could their goal be with respect to us? If they've taken control of Adrian's brain somehow, why not have him kill us all immediately? Why did they not kill us with the heart attacks? It's all very confusing.

For now, in good health.