Recipe for Adventure Pt. 01

"I don't see anything," I growled.

The Key began to vibrate in my hand. I moved it around and the higher I held it the stronger the vibration became. There it was above my head. I had to get on my tippy toes to slide the Key into the lock. There was a loud click and another hidden door swung inward. Electric lights clicked on and a long hallway was revealed. I hesitated for only a moment before entering the hall. It was ten feet wide but only eight feet high. There were oil paintings decorating either side of the corridor. The subject of the paintings was portraits of men in scarlet robes. Each of them wore a black sash with a silver triangle over their hearts. There was no family resemblance among those images assembled here. So perhaps they were just a closet coven.

The end of the hallway opened to a much larger chamber. My eyes were instantly drawn to the life size statue of the ebony pharaoh. I always thought that the rulers of Egypt were cast or layered in gold. This was an anomaly and I hated anomalies. He was a handsome fellow I had to admit that. He had heroic features that were carved to perfection. His nationality was easy to guess but it was the queer characters decorating the pharaoh that worried me. I had seen them scattered in the Mal Contentis as well as in the book of demonology. What nation had produced these symbols? Had it sunk beneath the waves as described by Plato? Was it even now secreted in some forgotten jungle in Africa? The other objects in the room were equally unusual. Protected beneath a layer of glass was a carefully folded robe, sash and a silver pendent. I bent down and stared at the triangular badge with its three swords forming the edge and the All Seeing Eye at its center.

Along the left hand wall was another statue but this one was old and weathered. It had to be thousands of years old. The strange thing is that the features had a strong European features. He looked like a king or an ancient deity. There was definitely a noble bearing to him. I wonder who he was. At the foot of the statue was a weathered wooden box. The barely legible Latin script said 'only the worthy' on the lid. I opened it of course. Inside was a dull silver ring with an Elder Sign engraved upon it. The Elder Sign was a kind of holy symbol used among the first peoples to lock away evil. This might just come in handy. I placed the ring in my pocket and decided to leave since the Key had fallen strangely quiet. I had a few hours before either Carol or Felicia returned so I decided to do some more exploring.

I returned to the main portion of the basement and examined it carefully. I found an old fashioned electrical lever. It reminded me of the classic Frankenstein movie with all the machines and gizmos all over the walls. Curious I pushed it upward and a small spark preceded the grinding sound as hidden machinery came to life. I waited patiently as the metallic door slowly opened and a dry path stood before me. I guess the sounds I heard were pumps that removed the water and sent them into the sewers most likely. I was underground after all and it only made sense to divert the water somewhere. A second circuit came to life and a loud humming sound announced the ancient lighting that now lit the passageways. I had to be careful there were enough tunnels for even the cautious to get hopelessly lost down here.

I picked the closest opening on my right and headed down there first. The lighting ended after fifty feet or so and without a flashlight there was no way I was going any further. I returned to the lighted chamber and tried the next tunnel. This one had the scent of a sewer. It was weak at first but the further I went the stronger the smell got. It got so bad I almost threw up. The light continued ahead and so did I. I forced each step forward knowing that something worthwhile was just a little further down the tunnel. I was nearing the corner when I heard it. The sound reminded me of the sound that jackals make when they hunt. The queer laughing sound came a second time and I stopped cold in my tracks. What the hell is creeping around these tunnels?

I saw a shadow cast upon the wall and it appeared human. I waited for him to reveal himself before I continued. I didn't have long to wait. Whoever it was they were sniffing the air as they rounded the corner. He was dressed in what looked like a hooded duster. I say he since he was wide in the shoulder and moved with a very heavy step that looked far more masculine than any woman could mimic. I couldn't see his face and a part of me was thankful for that. He sniffed the air again and turned in my direction.

"Greetings young master," he said in a low gravelly voice.

"Hello," I replied as I traced the source of the stench to this guy.

"Thank you for generosity," he said in his staggering speech.

"I don't understand. What sort of generosity are you talking about?"

"In pocket, very old power," he said as he bowed low.

"Do you live down here," I asked not wanting to discuss the ring I had just picked up.

"We do," he said and suddenly there were six more standing further back towards the corner. "They no speak. I speak. Come see treasure."

I perked up when I heard the word treasure. I let him lead the way. I did notice that when I got close to the others they let out that horrific hyena like cry and retreated to further into the tunnels. Just around the corner was a well-lit chamber and inside was something out of a serial killer's wet dreams. There were bodies in various stages of decomposition as well as dismemberment. Most of the corpses had been gnawed upon and both flesh and bone showed signs of teeth mark upon them. It took everything I had not to lose the contents of my stomach right then and there. The hooded figure made a sound of disgust as if I had walked into his home and found it untidy. He tossed limbs, skulls and even torsos out of the way to reveal what lay beneath.

"What are those?" I asked as my fascination overwhelmed my disgust.

"Treasures of the dead," he replied. "We fetch good but not good on... what is word...?"

"Sorting," I offered and he nodded.

"Old Master told us shiny things good, bring here. Young master take shiny things?"

"If you want," I said and again the solemn hood nodded eagerly. "I will see what you've found."

I kept to the older victims of this ghoulish cult. There were rings, watches and all manner of fine jewelry. I even found a diamond crusted ring with the same insignia as the badge worn by the demonologists. I cleaned it off with a piece of moldy cloth. I asked my guide what the symbol meant and he told me it was the seal of the old masters, the followers of Chthon. I had heard that name before in the Mal Contentis and the book on demonology. Chthon was supposedly one of the Old Ones. It was sealed away in the earth but would one day rise up with others of its kind and reclaim the world. I know it was grave robbing but I did take a few of the nicer pieces and among them the diamond ring. I felt that it was time to get back and wash up. I bet I smelled as bad as the hooded fellow by now.

"I have to go now," I said and that seemed to make the clutch of shadowy figures quite happy.

"Return you fine," the guide said. "No send others... very bad..."

"I understand," I said and walked out of the room.

I rounded the corner and headed back towards the basement. I wished I hadn't but I looked over my shoulder as I walked. I saw the face of the hooded thing that impersonated a human being. It was no mask and it wasn't human. I bit back the shriek as I fled back up the tunnel as fast as I could. I raced up the stairs and slammed the basement door shut. I shouldered the bookshelf into place and leaned against it. My heart was still tripping in my chest. I stripped out of my clothes, rescued the few treasures I dared to take and then went upstairs to take a long blistering hot shower. I had to cleanse my flesh after being so close to whatever the hell that thing was. I scrubbed every inch of my hands until they bled. I made sure I slipped the silver ring upon my hand for peace of mind once I had dried off. I slipped on rubber gloves and took my clothes out and set them in a rocky patch of the backyard and burnt them to ash. Only then did I take an unopened bottle of scotch out and begin drinking from it.

I don't know how long I sat there drinking. The doorbell rang and I staggered to my feet. I managed to get to the door and open it. My sister stood there so I smiled and waved her in. I reversed my course and returned to my chair. It wasn't until I was seated again that I realized that I still had the empty bottle of liquor in my grasp. Briana sat opposite of me and looked me over. Her expression screamed concern. I told her I was okay but that was a blatant lie and she knew it. She had that look mom gets when she caught me fibbing. Briana raised an eyebrow and I thought about how to broach this subject.

"Remember when we were kids and grandma used to scare the shit out of us with her stories about monsters and naughty children?"

"Boy, do I," she said smiling. "I used to have nightmares over them. What does that have to do with anything?"

"What would you do if you came face to face with a real life monster?" I asked and raised the bottle up. "Damn, it's empty..."

"What the hell is going on?" She said the smile falling from her lips.

"Long hours and little sleep," I said and waved it off. "I am going to Egypt." I said changing the subject.

"Congratulations, when do you leave?" Briana asked her eyes still narrowed in concern.

"A couple of months," I said getting to my feet and heading for the liquor cabinet. "I have to get my team together..."

"Wait, you are heading the dig that is amazing news!" She said the weirdness forgotten now.

I reached for a second bottle of alcohol and turned to face Briana. She had her hands on her hips. I knew that expression. She wasn't done with asking pertinent questions. I told her it was just stress but she wasn't accepting it on face value. I sat down but the bottle remained unopened. I fell silent and she patiently sat there waiting. It was difficult staying focused with all the damn booze coursing through my veins. The room was silent and I was about to try a long winded way of explaining my mindset when a noise interrupted my train of thought derailing it completely.

"Was that a scratching sound?" Briana asked.

"UM..." I began when the noise returned.

"Where is that coming from?" Sis asked her arms wrapping around her torso.

We both looked at the bookshelf that concealed the basement steps. I knew what it was. I knew who it was clawing at the other side of the door. The feeling of drunk evaporated in a heartbeat. My heart was drumming in my chest and I moved to protect my sister. I found my baseball bat and told her to stay back. For once my sister listened to me. I pulled the bookshelf towards me. My entire world narrowed to that damnable door knob. I reached for it even as I raised the bat for defense. I twisted the knob and yanked the door open. I expected to see that hideous visage again but the door way was empty. My sister was staring in my direction. She pointed and I looked at the door, the side that had been facing the basement. Etched into the wood was some sort of mystical design.

"What the hell is that?" Briana asked and I shrugged.

"I don't know," I said and closed the door. I pushed the bookshelf back into place. "I don't want to know."

"What is going on? No more bullshit... No more excuses..."

"He is asking me to meet him tomorrow night at midnight," I told her and waited for the string of questions.

I wasn't disappointed. I let out a deep sigh and moved the bookshelf again. I opened the basement door and pointed at parts of the design carved into the door. I pointed out the largest portion of the glyph and told Briana that this meant 'meeting' and the other parts were numbers and the last section meant night. She looked at me and then the door and back again. I closed the door and was about the put the shelf back and stopped. I walked around and seeing nowhere else to put it manhandled it and carried up the steps to the third floor. Sis followed me up to the studio and saw me place the heavy oaken bookshelf along a wall free of furniture.

"Is this going to be your office?"

"Yeah," I replied.

"Who carved that design?" Briana asked moving closer as if the shadows hid lurking terrors.

"If I tell you the truth I am afraid you'll never have a peaceful night sleep ever again."

"Well that was real comforting," she said frowning. "I guess ignorance is bliss."