March 17th, 1925

My dear Betty,

I'm sending on the unfinished manuscript of my previous letter, as then I don't have to attempt to explain what happened. Frankly, I don't know what to say.

They came running out of the pyramid, eyes wide with crazy stories of speaking with a god. They claim to have been shown things menacing me, which could either be a group hallucination or a convenient excuse once they finally realised just how strange and frightening that place was.

I won't recount all of what they claim happened as it would read far more like fiction than I care to repeat. They claim to have met Nyarlathotep which of course is not possible as no one else entered the pyramid while I sat outside and he does not exist. He is the fiction of the crazed minds of those we have been reading. The others seem quite adamant though, and I do not know what happened to our guide, but certainly something occurred. 

I'm comforted by knowing that even if they did meet who they claimed to that I have read enough to know that anything said by him would have been lies. He offered them all sorts of inducements, of which none were taken, even going so far as to offer to resurrect Searle. 

I might have believed them had they not offered that tidbit, for it would be impossible for such a thing to happen. Although, considering what has so recently happened to me, I have to question the motives of their saying such a thing. Surely they would know what pain such an idea would cause me? Surely they would not take a joke so far as to hurt me like that? I cannot come to a satisfactory conclusion on why they should say such things.

We returned to Cairo for a quiet evening. The others seemed quite out of sorts after the events of the day, although I could hardly wait to begin my new investigation into the stone poor Nyiti gave me. Doctor Webber and Lord Covington I believe spent a goodly amount of the night propping up the bar, but myself, Violet and Louis seem to have had an early night.

Today I went to the Egyptian Museum. It is situated in a palace and is simply full of wonderous things. After a tour, I arranged to meet a Doctor Kafour after lunch who it was thought might know the symbol on the stone. 

Kafour himself was quite pleasant, short and thin in a surprisingly tidy office for an academic. (Does it surprise you I often speak of academics with such ease, as if accustomed to them? It surprises me. It is certainly not where I thought my life would be.)

I gave him a rubbing of the marking on the stone, which he believes to have been a protective ward, much like Lord Covington thought. The stone he believes to be limestone, which I was surprised by. Apparently the only time limestone was used in any great amount was for the facing stones on the red pyramid of Dhashur. However, the stone itself has a pink hue and that is surprising as the red was only used internally, not on the outside.

Another uncommon feature is that it certainly is not usual for pyramids outside to be written on. If this is part of an arcane ward, it may be the first knowledge of such a thing on the outside of a pyramid! To think, such secrets kept in the bottom of a basket of an old woman. If it was part of the original design built by Sneferu then it certainly would have some significance. It could turn the entire construction of the pyramid into a massive ward. Kafour was reluctant to assume such, but if the readings are to be believed, then it would seem possible. I cannot help but speculate if there was external warding, what did it want to keep out? Perhaps the God my friends claim to have met?

At any rate, Kafour identified what he believes the ward to be, although he thinks it is broken in half. He calls it "the eye of light and darkness" although warned that it may be a more literary version of the name than the original meaning. The complete design should be an eye with an Ankh up and down on either side, which does seem to fit with what I found. 

Doctor Kafour gave me some titles of other texts, quite a few a bit more esoteric and speculative rather than strictly academic, but was otherwise quite helpful. He did warn me not to remove the stone from Egypt without permission. I don't particularly feel as if he has any rights to it, as I believe Nyiti to be the one who had the choice. She clearly wanted me to have the stone, and I feel a genuine responsibility for it. 

The cats were quite affectionate upon my return. Moza has gotten quite bold now, almost expecting his saucer of milk as if it was a right. Quite the little imperator I've found it seems. Sometimes it makes me wonder who is domesticating whom in this situation. I think I may consider buying a cat when we return to New York. They are surprsingly good company.

Regards,

Rose

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