SUMMARY 32: THE TEMPTATION
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You know them. You've seen them before. Not all at once, not anymore, not since they first arrived, but... never alone, either.

You are not important enough to know their names, of course, so you've given them each your own. You haven't been told exactly why you're watching them, either- that's for The Master to know, and you not to question. At first, you thought you'd observe them for a week, perhaps ten days if they proved to be a difficult target, and then make your move. But the order never came. So you wait, and continue observing.

The two women emerge from the house, and you wake from your daydream. They wear native dress, but cannot hide who they are. Well, one of them can't, at least, and that names the other one. The first you've named Priss- no native woman walks with her head so high, with the gait of someone used to being taken seriously. The other... you've nicknamed her Anna, after the first woman who taught you that women couldn't be dismissed in tactical observations, and her namesake is but a pale shadow. You are very relieved indeed that the order never came about that one; you are not sure you'd survive. You've had a difficult enough time not being spotted.

They are not the object of your observations today, though. You signal to one of your men to take note of them and resume watching the house.

Soon enough, your targets emerge: both American, you've nicknamed them Clark (after the movie star) and Father (for he can only be a priest). They are easier to follow. You tail them to a clothing shop on Darb El-Hamar, off the Street of Scorpions. They emerge some time later with the filthy Frenchman, and take him to the public baths, and then back to the house. Clark is muttering the whole time, and the Father seems impatient. Clark drops them off at the house, and then leaves. Your attention remains on the house.

Later, Clark returns with some god-awful scimitar wrapped in cloth. He must have been to see Najir's old shop. You didn't ask questions about that one, either.

The next day, Priss and Father and Clark go back to the clothing shop. She emerges first, looking satisfied. She barely waits for the others to keep up. Definitely not a native. You shake your head.

As you are returning behind them, you see the one you think of as William. You can't think of a more British name than that, and he reminds you of your old Professor William at University. He strides along purposefully, not noticing much around him. You laugh to yourself, thinking about what you know of him. (Things, you'd wager, that he doesn't know himself.)

He heads to the library again, emerging about an hour later. He seems filled with a secret smile. You wonder what it's about.

The next day, you see them all head out together. This is what you've been waiting for. You follow them to the train station to confirm, and then go to make your report.

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You receive the human's report with ill-concealed impatience. He is one of the best humans, even interesting to converse with when you can bring yourself to his primitive speech level. But not today. You dismiss him, barely noting the sick look of ecstasy on his face after you massage his brain so that he will forget what you asked. If you were forced to describe your mind with human words, you would call the emotion you feel glee. You make your way to the passages, and wait.

You hear them before you see them, noisily paying off the so-called guards at the North Gate. They rummage around the corridor and in the chamber, then leave. You follow, unseen and unheard. They sneak around to the West Entrance without raising the guards' attention. The priest finds it almost immediately, but they inspect the funeral chamber first, taking their time. Arguing amongst themselves, they eventually push the hidden door open a bit. The small one- part of your mind searches, and comes up with Wesson- scrambles up and looks over. Excitedly, he tells the rest that there is a staircase, and describes how the door works. One by one, they go inside. You follow, closing the door again after they are out of sight.

After the stairs start descending again, several of them note the change in rock. They peer into the gap, trying to discern the carvings. Apparently failing, they continue descending.

Not one of them ever looks back until it is far too late.

Soon enough, they reach the part of the staircase where it becomes slick, and the stairs are not so well defined. One of them- Don, your mind supplies- slips and falls, screaming, down. You send part of yourself with it/him. The others attempt to stop it/him, but before they can truly get underway, the rest finally hear the Children behind them. Wesson and the other (Adrian, you note with glee) move towards the sounds, until they see what's chasing them. Then they empty their guns and fall backwards, sliding down just as Don had. (Katya), (Elizabeth), and (The Father) soon follow. The Father loses his gun. You race along, waves of anticipation washing over you.

Adrian and Wesson get separated as well, and you take a moment to break off part of yourself and follow them. The rest of you, though, follows the three.

They pass through the second break in the passageway, and eventually stop at the bottom of the ramp. Faced with three corridors, they go left. They tie Elizabeth in the middle of the rope, and Katya in the front. Your anticipation heightens as Elizabeth leans over to whisper something in Katya's ear, and (for the briefest of moments) Katya looks truly and only happy.

Then they begin to hear the sounds of pursuit, and they slowly, cautiously, move ahead. The sounds follow them, of course, and they move with an increasing speed. Their already frantic minds rise to a frenzy when the Wind examines them, and they begin to run down the tunnel. You push Elizabeth's mind, and she realizes where she is. Screaming, she brings the rest of them to a halt.

Though Katya, with her gun and determination to protect Elizabeth, takes several of the Children down, they are quickly overwhelmed and separated. The pain in their minds feeds you, soothes you. The Father and Katya are taken to some of the cells.

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When Don awakes, he assesses his situation (bottom of a long tunnel; tunnel curves sharply up in one direction, and out of sight in another) and waits. Eventually, holding his head, he crawls down the only corridor he can get through. When that passageway takes him to one of the main hallways, he goes left. One of the Children starts to follow him; he begins to run. You gain some pleasure out of the fear coming from his mind, and summon another of the Children to edge him on. And then more. And more. And more. At your bidding, they funnel him to The Chamber. Using his blade, he jams the door shut. You slide through; the Children scratch at the door, making a horrid noise you know he can't ignore. Heading past the columns, he strides towards the altar. The look of greed on his face when he sees the rods fills your hunger, and you lose yourself for a moment.

The door bursts, and he crosses them. Floods of the Children pour in, and he bursts them each into flame, one at a time. You soak in their death, and feel The Will approaching. The last Child alive bows. The puny human, feeling nothing, thinks much of himself.

At last, he turns. He sees The Will; it is too much for his mind in this form. You savor the bits of chaos dripping from him as he slips into unconsciousness.

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You feel Adrian break his arm in his travels down the corridors. He lands in a similar place to Don in topology; he fades in and out of consciousness for a time. As he gains more strength, he makes a sling for himself and moves slowly down the passageway. Eventually, the walls turn to sandstone, and he comes to one of the larger corridors. He goes right, moving quickly past the side halls. After quite a bit of time passes, he turns around. You quickly summon one of the Children; he races the other way. You summon more, and more, and even more, once you realize he can understand their speech. You see his happiness at the mention of the Storage Chamber; they easily drive him there.

Once inside, he pauses for a moment. He notes Shatki's name on the boxes, and slips into one when he realizes the Children are searching the room. He waits patiently; observes his situation. Eventually, he comes to the right conclusion. You feel genuine relief, then more than a bit of ecstasy yourself as he casts the spell. You move one of the Children to flank him, one of the Leaders. The Leader brings him and some others (enough that he can't get away) to one of the Sacrifice Chambers. Gently communicating with the Leader, you arrange for a human child to be handed to Adrian. It serves a dual purpose; you don't think he could hold a full-sized human. He strains to hear the chant, heart beating rapidly. You feel the delicate torture of his intentions fighting his survival instinct. You realize his attempted compromise, and jostle the Child behind him. The knife makes a shallow cut in the human's throat; Adrian trembles and gently rests it on the pile of other bodies. He continues, looking back as often as he thinks he can.

You savor the torture in the hall, as he follows the Leader. Eventually, he gets another Child to take his place in the team and heads back to the Sacrifice Chamber. He watches the human die, doing nothing.

As he leaves the Chamber, The Will dismantles the structure around him. Adrian catches a glimpse of The Will laughing at him, before his mind shuts down.

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Wesson winds up near the Throne Room. No need to summon the Children; he makes his way there unaided. He takes in the six pillars, the maps, the bas-reliefs, and the Throne itself. You can feel his mind shy away from the asymmetrical lines of the room, and the bas-reliefs. He makes his way over to the maps.

He dismisses one, not comprehending. He looks at the Earth Map for quite some time, tracing the triangle formed by the rubies with his finger.

Again ignoring the bas-reliefs, he studies the throne. You shudder helplessly as the shard in his mind loosens, and the (frantic?) terror pours out. He edges back to the map. Eventually, impatience increases (for he has realized there is no conventional way out), and he makes his way back to the throne. Wesson turns to sit on it, and the emeralds activate. He pauses.

The Will enters, sits on the throne, and addresses Wesson.

"Hello."

Wesson turns.

"It is a pleasure to meet you at last; I've been watching you for quite some time now. But, I must say that it's time to stop your foolish endeavor."

Wesson, uncomprehendingly, asks The Will's identity. He does not feel good when he hears it.

"The Will of Azathoth, of course. Your.... persistence has been admirable. But, all for naught, I'm afraid."

The Will shows Wesson the Carlyle group, heading on horseback through plains at night. The night The Will shows is peaceful, until the screaming starts. Even just through the faint window The Will has painted, the sensation of human emotion is sweet. Byakhee swarm out of the sky, worms from the ground, devouring and tearing the humans. The Will fades it back into a wall. Wesson is deliciously horrified.

The Will offers Wesson The Choice.

Wesson asks The Will its goals. The Will shows him the briefest of glimpses; you feel Wesson's mind strain like a bowstring about to burst.

The Will smiles, and offers Wesson his deepest desire. Showing Wesson the building of one of the Pyramids, The Will beckons him to enter and take. The Will then tempts Wesson with visions of earlier humans.

"One bow, and give up your foolish pursuit. That is all I ask."

Wesson's mind breaks; you revel in it. Rapturous, you hear Wesson ask for a secure, untaxing, and successful life as an archaeologist.

Then he bows.

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You feel the Father wake in his cell. He takes in the manacles, and examines the door. Taking out the crowbar you instructed the Children to leave with him, he pops out one of the bars in the window, and lets himself out. You watch him creep down the corridor, making almost no sound. Eventually, he sees the faint light around a Door. He opens it, and then another, and finds himself in a small church; perhaps in Italy somewhere. Stained glass windows, rows of pews, the like.

The crucifix is made of ebony. The human doesn't realize anything, and bows before it. You see The Will take form, and the human catch it out of the corner of his eye. You see the Father stand and regard The Will.

"A man of Christ, is that right?"

The Will shows the Father visions of some recent actions; denying beggar humans money. You see strain on the Father's face; it increases when The Will shows him pictures of himself buying books, and fake antiquities. It increases again when The Will shows him the fate of the beggar human children. All of them dead, one by one.

"You cannot be a man of Christ, for you are not a man."

The Will turns a wall of the church into a Mirror. The Father sees a reflection of what he is to become; a serpent, vaguely human in shape. It moves as the Father moves. You feel the strain in the Father's mind climax.

"It hasn't been so long since Saint Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland."

The Will sits. The Father catches a glimpse of The Will in the Mirror as it moves; The Will holds back the effects from the Father's mind.

"The Old Blood will come out in you eventually. But it need not be that way. Bow to me once, and you can continue to live as a human."

"I'll bow." You feel the strain fade from the Father's mind.

"But not to me."

"But not to you."

The Will causes the Father to pass out, and allows the Father's mind to experience the full effects of what it saw. You feel something akin to sadness as it happens.

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You become aware of Katya moving around in the cell into which the Children threw her. After waiting for the Children to leave the area, she breaks the door open. She searches through the other cells, doesn't find what she seeks. You push reality a little bit, and she finds her gun down the hall, closer to where The Will means her to go. Once down that path, she continues on her own, down to the torture chamber.

You see it all very clearly: Elizabeth, nude, cleaning torture implements with the remains of her clothing. She doesn't see Katya slip into the room, doesn't hear Katya as she moves silently away from the door. You feel The Will push her mind again, and she turns, sees Katya. The look of happiness on her face touches even you; she runs to embrace Katya. The chaos and pain on her face as Katya's elbow connects with her midsection are so pure that you almost forget yourself enough to become visible. It only gets better as Katya tortures Elizabeth to within an inch of her life, and Elizabeth screams for her to stop.

You can also see it from Katya's view, as The Will shows it to her: As she sneaks into the room, she sees an Arabic man cleaning torture implements with the remains of Elizabeth's clothing. He turns, shouts an insult at her in Arabic. He runs to attack her; she brings her elbow to his midsection, immobilizing him. She asks: "Where is she?"

"I will never tell you."

She breaks one of his (her) fingers. He still refuses to speak. (Elizabeth's screams, audible only to you, are sweet.) After the fingers are gone, Katya gets nasty. Quickly after his (her) eyes are removed, Elizabeth's mind shuts down, unable to comprehend what is happening to her. The Will ensures that Katya still hears what it wants her to hear. As Elizabeth's body slips into shock, coughing up blood, minutes from death, The Will lets the Arabic man ease out of consciousness as well.

The Will starts slowly allowing Katya to see things as they are. The rush of pain as she realizes who she has been torturing pleases you, though she controls herself admirably for a human. The Will materializes, and Katya smells smoke from a cigarette. You watch her speak without turning around. Remarkably well-controlled. You feel anticipation. If she Chooses correctly....

"Can I help you?"

The Will chuckles. "No."

"But you can help me."

"Oh yes."

"There is no peace, I presume?"

"Of course."

They bargain. The Will offers her The Choice: One boon, later, and Elizabeth lives. Katya demands that Elizabeth be left alone, that The Will not hurt her. That she be safe, let go without being harmed.

"Done."

She asks for clarification on the 'boon'.

"At one point in the future I will ask you for a possession."

"An object?"

"Yes."

"Fine."

She Chooses correctly. You feel.... sated. You watch The Will remove a cigarette case, and pulls one out. Some of the cigarettes in the case are lit; this one isn't. The Will lights it.

"I will do nothing to her; she leaves here alive and unharmed. I will leave her alone after this."

Inhaling, The Will steps over to Elizabeth and exhales for a long time. Black smoke flows into her nostrils, her ears. Her body reforms, heals itself. She appears to be in a peaceful slumber. The Will takes the now-lit cigarette, and puts it back in the case with the others. You see Katya nod at The Will.

"I am pleased we can do business."

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You feel Katya being transported; feel The Will implant a vision in Elizabeth's mind. It implants a sacrificial scene from a painting she once saw; her being tied down on an altar, about to be sacrificed by some of the Children. As the knife is lowered and the chanting comes to a climax, Katya enters the room and kills all of the Children. She removes Elizabeth from the room, and out of the pyramid. You feel the peace in Elizabeth's mind as the true version of events is buried and the new version replaces them.

The contrast of pure happiness from Elizabeth and the torture from Katya is very pleasing to you.

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You feel them all awake, outside the pyramid, the next day. You vanish back into your realm, your task completed, for the moment.