I shall for the sake of convenience commence with my earliest adventure after the demise of my dear parents. I may not continue in chronological order since the memory is a tricky beast and I may recall events in a different order than that in which they occurred. I pray beg your patience in this.

It was November 1892, my parents had been gone barely three months but I knew that my dearest mater and pater would not wish me to waste any of my life mourning them, and I have never had much regard for the niceties of social propriety so I resumed my activities shortly after the funeral service was concluded and within a few short weeks I had begun to organise my next expedition.

We were to travel to the Libyan Desert in search of the fabled Oracle of Thoth, or at the very least some local village that might give some reliable account of its existence. Our first port of call was to the Siwa Oasis, location of the temple of the oracle of Amon-Ra, where Alexander was declared divine ruler of all Egypt.

There were five in the party; myself, faithful O’Brien, Richard Carlisle and his batman Rajesh, who had accompanied my parents on many adventures. The final member of our little group was that world acclaimed marksman and adventurer Sir Daniel Moncrieff, my godfather. We also had taken on a dozen or so natives at Alexandria to act as porters and to undertake any excavations.

The natives of Siwa were of the Berber tribe and spoke an unusual dialect of that language, but within an hour I had mastered enough to converse with them. They were not content to deal with a woman, much less a white one, but I established Sir Daniel as leader of the expedition and gave the pretence that I acted on his behalf as translator since he spoke only a little Arabic.

Although fifty three, Sir Daniel wore it well; nothing in his frame or bearing belied his true age. Only his white hair and a single, deep scar that marred his handsome cheek gave any indication of his time upon this Earth. That and the wealth of experience reflected in the depths of his eyes. There were indeed rumours that he had drunk from that self-same well that had so long ago given succour to Queen Ayesha, but I never did ask him if it were true. Were it so, some calamity has since befallen him, for he does not, to my knowledge, reside in this time.

From my description one might think me enamoured of him and I will confess to something of a schoolgirl infatuation, but even had it ever been more, his only love was adventure; he had neither the time nor the inclination for a woman in his life.

They directed us to a previously unexcavated section of the temple and I soon set to work examining the ruins while Carlisle and Sir Daniel directed the men to set up camp and begin digging in the immediate surroundings.

On the third day we were successful. The men had succeeded in uncovering an intact room of the temple, which turned out to be the library and to our extreme good fortune several papyri remained intact, although incredibly fragile. The first one I touched turned to dust in my hands. After lengthy precautionary measures were taken, I was able to open and read the remaining documents.

Most were of little use to me personally, although fascinating; being temple daily records and copies of already known religious texts and rites. Two were far more exciting; the first was an account of a priest’s journey to the library of Alexandria, that once great store of knowledge, which gave detailed directions to its location, but also made mention of a storehouse in a separate location. This I stored away for a future investigation, since the possibility of a secondary store that may have survived the fire that devastated the library would indeed be significant.

The second papyrus held a similar account of a journey, this one being a visit to the oracle of Thoth. Filled with enthusiasm and the hope that I might find important details within, I settled down in my tent and spent the night translating the text, pausing neither for food or sleep.

The papyrus told the tale of a ‘Pure One’ of Amon-Ra who had crossed the desert in order to seek wisdom from Thoth. He set out two days after the festival of the Opening of the Year, it being an auspicious time for his journey; being the month of Thoth and close to the main festival of that deity too. He travelled upstream, as Egyptians described going south, and inwards, which is to say toward the Nile, which is of course east from Siwa. He journeyed for one week and six days, arriving one day before the Thoth feast; each Egyptian week being ten days in length, it took him sixteen days journeying on foot.

This information filled me with joy as in the Amelia we would reach the temple in three or four days.

The document went on to say that the priest reached the temple and performed the proper sacred rites to be granted an audience with the god before then returning home. The text then ended with praise to Thoth and Amon-Ra for blessing their servant and elevating him to High Priest. This made me wonder if the text were in actual fact a work of fiction in praise of the gods, or propaganda to legitimise a priest’s promotion. But it was the only information I had, so leaving my doubts aside I determined we should attempt to follow the directions. I informed my colleagues of my discovery the next morning and by the time the sun was high in the sky we were ready to depart Siwa and head into the desert.

To avoid the worst heat of the day and to travel as far as possible before having to make camp, we remained at Siwa that night and set sail shortly before dawn the following morning. All of the men were Copts so there was no need to pause for prayer and we breakfasted on board the Amelia once we were in flight. There was little else to do as we journeyed south east, hopefully towards our goal, so I spent that morning talking with my companions about what we hoped to find and our chances of success.

Richard Carlisle was a decent enough fellow, and though I did not know him well enough to form a true opinion of the man, he had travelled with my parents on several occasions and my father had always described him as dependable but rather average. Indeed, he was of average height and build, with mousy brown hair, of average intelligence and rather average and non-descript in general. I do believe the only reason he went on those endeavours was simply to have something interesting to say to people.

Rajesh by contrast was quite an extraordinary individual, lithe and athletic, softly spoken but trained in several fighting techniques. Highly intelligent, he might easily have become a leading scientist or physician had he been born under different circumstance. He was born to a poor family in Calcutta and so his only option for a better life was to enter the service of an Englishman. Fortune indeed smiled upon him at last when he was assigned personal manservant to Captain Richard Carlisle. Carlisle had a generous and good natured soul and he treated Rajesh better than most, to the extent that when Richard finished his time in Her Majesty’s armed forces and returned to England, he took Rajesh home with him. In the years that followed their relationship developed into a firm friendship.

Richard was in high spirits about my discovery at the temple, and felt sure we would find the Oracle by following the directions. I had not the heart to voice my own doubts. Sir Daniel, however, was less circumspect and declared that we were on a wild goose chase. I have to admit to a little disappointment at his statement; while I had some doubt to the veracity of the papyrus, I was certain the Oracle existed and the ruins lay in the desert somewhere, waiting to be uncovered. I had fondly hoped that Sir Daniel would treat me with the same level of seriousness and respect he had given my parents. I only hoped now that we should find our prize and thus allay any doubts my godfather had about my suitability to this life.

After luncheon I retired to my cabin to continue translating some of the papyri we uncovered at Siwa. Sadly, though a fascinating exercise, there was nothing of import or pertaining to our current venture within the scrolls. Frustrated, I took a turn about the observation deck as the sun sank slowly over the desert and searched the horizon for any sign of our Oracle but with no success. Finally, as the last rays of light departed, I ordered full stop and we weighed anchor for the night. Navigating the Amelia in the dark can be tricky, especially as there was no moon that night, and we did not have enough berths for all the men in any case. They were lowered to the ground with supplies in order to make camp.

We slept soundly that night, nursed to our slumber by the gentle stillness of the desert. Our first indication that anything was wrong came at first light when the alarm was raised in the camp below.

The supply tent had been torn open and food was scattered over the ground. What was more troubling was the discovery of the guard laying a little way from the outskirts of the camp, sightless eyes staring up at the sky. He had been gored by something or someone; a ragged hole pierced his sternum, through his entire body and out his back.

Upon inspecting the wound and tracks upon the ground, Sir Daniel and Carlisle concurred that the culprit seemed to be a rhinoceros, despite such a creature being unheard of in that part of Africa.

Rajesh suggested that it may be a karkadann that was to blame and I felt rather foolish for not thinking of that myself. The Persian unicorn, as it is better known, is a rare creature of the desert, considered to be mythical by the majority of scholars. Little is known of this fierce and elusive beast as few humans have even sighted one since medieval times when they were more prevalent in the deserts of Persia. Growing human populations and diminishing food sources drove them ever further west, until they entered the Libyan desert and found there the vast empty spaces they required.

I had once seen a karkadann, or rather the head of one, mounted upon the wall of a diplomat friend of my father. It is not a handsome beast, bearing more resemblance to a rhinoceros than a horse but, like a unicorn, having a single, straight horn growing from the middle of its forehead. Judging size from the head, and please bear in mind this was from the memory of a child, I estimated the creature to stand at least fourteen hands. I advised my companions that this specimen may be of equal or greater size and not to be trifled with.

Sir Daniel insisted that now the creature had the scent of us that he would follow us for more food. Carlisle and Rajesh agreed that we should hunt it down immediately. I would have preferred to travel on to our destination and simply post more guards at the new camp; the remains of the supplies were so badly damaged it was impossible to tell if any were missing. It may have simply been that we had encroached on the karkadann’s territory and moving on would appease it. The majority had spoken though and so it was that a hunting party set out after the beast later that day, following his tracks into the desert.

Much as I desired to see the karkadann, my duty was to remain and oversee the repairs to the camp. The party returned that evening, unsuccessful. They had sighted the karkadann once, confirming that Rajesh had been correct in his identification, but it had run off when Carlisle took a shot at it. Being on foot they were unable to give chase.

I insisted we journey on the next morning and the men agreed with me that another excursion would be a waste of our water supplies.

*-*

We were a sombre party that made way that morning. The losses of the previous day lay heavy on us, especially my godfather who took the whole incident as a personal failing, particularly as he had been unable to capture the karkadann.

Our hearts were lightened when, nearing mid-afternoon, the lookout espied trees on the horizon. We set course toward them and by sunset we were over the oasis. It was a relatively large body of water and a temple lay not too distant, half the pylon buried beneath the sand leaving only the top of the doorway and the distinctive dipped top of the pylon showing.

We were cautious as we made camp that night – no more supplies than were needed for supper were sent down and we posted extra guards in pairs at key points around the perimeter. Against my godfather’s advice, I took a tent that night, wishing to demonstrate to the men that there was nothing to fear. Although I slept uneasy in my cot the night passed without incident and it was hoped that we had indeed left the karkadann behind when we left its territory.

I instructed Rajesh to oversee the men as they unloaded the equipment for the day and then set off to make an initial survey of the temple with the rest of the party.

The temple was structurally sound, although innumerable sandstorms had so filled the building that the once lofty ceiling was now within reach. The fires of passing nomads had left soot marks on the otherwise vibrant and intact ceiling ornament. What was visible showed images of the night sky and of the gods, and although Thoth was present he was no more prominent than any other deity. We would have to uncover the walls and progress deeper into the temple to confirm this was indeed his shrine.

We were unable to reach the inner sanctum and the shrine itself as the accumulation blocked our passage from the hypostyle hall and so we exited and made arrangements to begin excavation.

We made good progress, and by nightfall we had removed enough to create a pathway to the next chamber. I ordered lamps lit, eager to uncover the vital wall inscriptions but soon it was too dark to work and we were forced to cease.

All slept well and we awoke refreshed to start anew at first light. We breakfasted with the men, a simple but filling and tasty meal of bread and fruit and a strong, bitter tea.

The second day passed much as the first; with one team continuing the slow but steady clearance of the first chamber whilst the second team continued to press deeper into the temple and clear a path to the shrine. Whether this was the fabled Oracle of Thoth or not, it was clearly a previously undiscovered temple that warranted further investigation.

By day’s end we had cleared several feet of the first chamber and I would be able to begin my translations at first light. A cursory inspection had shown that Thoth was not a prominent deity in any of the pictorial sections of the decoration, but he was present in many and so I was still hopeful we were in the right place.

Since we had passed two quiet nights since our encounter with the karkadann I deemed it safe to relay the remainder of the supplies from the ship to the base camp, but I decided to maintain the guard and I did not return to my cabin in order to quell any fears the men might still harbour.

We made excellent progress and by the sixth day had successfully cleared over half the first chamber, allowing access to the eastern wall. I began transcribing the inscriptions in earnest with the assistance of Rajesh while Carlisle, as the draughtsman of the group, began to copy the panels in their entirety as a record of our discovery.

That night, I returned to the Amelia, the lights on board being brighter and a much more conducive surrounding in which to commence my translations. As well as this, all my texts were still aboard; whilst I understand much I am hardly fluent! I suspect that even McAuley must occasionally refer to his own books.

After a fine supper of preserved meats and dates I retired to my cabin and began the lengthy task of translating the inscriptions. I had made a little progress when I heard an almighty cacophony from below and alarm bells were sounded. Unable to descend in the dark, we lowered a communication tube and spoke to a man below to discover to my distress that the karkadann had tracked us after all and was currently laying waste to our camp. Helpless until day, all I could do was listen to the shouts and gunfire as the men drove the beast off.

*_*

The following dawn I descended to utter devastation in the camp. Some of the men were trying to repair and re-erect the tents while others gathered what was salvageable of the supplies. More still were treating those wounded in the attack and it was to this group I first turned my attention.

Six men lay gravely injured, gored by the beast. Two had been killed; the supply tent guards, trampled by the karkadann as it looted us. Most terrible of all was poor Richard, who now lay comatose upon a stretcher. Not one prone to exaggeration, I hope, dear reader, you will believe me when I say he was near death’s cold embrace.

He had been a member of the party that had driven the creature off and had apparently gotten a good shot at it; a trail of blood led away into the desert. It seemed that, in retaliation, the karkadann had turned and charged Carlisle, catching his side with its mighty horn and throwing him some thirty feet where he landed and struck his head upon a stray block from the temple. The gash in his side was bleeding profusely despite the best efforts of the medics and his skin had taken on that ghastly waxen quality that so often means the end. I feared he would not make the evening.

Sir Daniel was incensed and began to gather a hunting party. He was determined to destroy the creature this time and would brook no argument. I had none to give in any case as the karkadann clearly now posed a threat to the party and I could sense that Sir Daniel blamed himself for what had occurred because of his previous failure to capture the beast.

Rajesh remained to tend to his stricken master and Sir Daniel insisted I remained behind. Despite being an excellent huntswoman, I had no taste for that particular kill and knew I was of more use at the camp, so I made no protest. It seemed that if I were to see a karkadann it was to be only as an exanimate trophy.

Sir Daniel selected a dozen men and, armed with rifles, they set off into the desert almost immediately. I did not watch them leave, instead busying myself with what aid I could give to the repairs and the succour of the men.

It was nearing midday and I was in the process of bandaging the leg of one of the injured men when there was a shout followed by a commotion without. I exited the first aid tent, blinking in the bright noon sun, and looked about for the cause of the stir. One of the lookouts was pointing into the desert and jumping on the spot in an agitated and excited manner.

By the time I had crossed the compound a small crowd had gathered and were peering nervously into the dunes. I followed their gaze out to the horizon and, about three hundred yards from the camp I espied the massive form of the karkadann.

My previous estimate of its size had been grossly misjudged; the creature was more akin in size to an elephant. In form it did much resemble a rhinoceros but for a single, slender, six foot protrusion from its forehead. It was black in colour, excepting the horn, which glistened with many colours like mother of pearl or opal. It was so unlike its African counterparts and much more like its mythical namesake.

I watched for ten minutes or so, fascinated by the creature’s behaviour. As I watched its surprisingly graceful movements I began to see a heretofore unseen beauty in its gigantic form.

As we watched it became clear that the creature was not coming close to camp. The creature paced around the perimeter of our compound, never venturing closer than fifty yards from us when it was on the opposite side of the camp from where we were standing. We could not understand its hesitation; last night it had rampaged through the camp with abandon, yet it now seemed unable to approach.

Rajesh had come to stand beside me and after I mentioned my observation he looked at me and said,

"Perhaps our friend has more in kin with a mythical unicorn than we might suppose."

I looked toward him and saw that he was smiling in a way that indicated he had some knowledge I did not.

"In what manner?" I asked, perplexed.

"Not wishing to be indelicate, ma’am, but since you are unwed, might it be assumed that your virtue is intact?" he replied. I pondered his question, ignoring its impertinence, and suddenly his meaning became clear.

The karkadann attacks had only occurred when I was not present in the camp. Just like the unicorn of myth it seemed to have a connection to maidens, although in this instance it seemed repelled rather than enticed by my presence.

Hypothesising that the creature would not charge while I remained nearby, I ordered the men to return to duty while Rajesh and I pondered our troublesome visitor.

In the short term the beast posed no threat to the expedition as long as I remained upon the ground. This was a small inconvenience to bear for the safety of the men. A more permanent solution was required however, and urgently, for if the karkadann remained at camp when my godfather and his hunting party returned then he was likely to shoot the creature on sight. I knew the hunting party had taken provisions for three days so I had one more day in which to drive the beast away.

I organised for some of my books to be brought down from the Amelia so I might continue my translations as I usually find the solutions to most problems come to me when my mind is occupied elsewhere.

By mid-afternoon repairs to the camp were completed and so, after a brief rest, I ordered the men to resume excavation of the temple lest idleness let their minds linger on unpleasant thoughts and their earlier fear return. After some protests about the presence of the karkadann, the men returned to the temple and continued digging.

Indeed, the day’s excitement seemed to spur their activity and they finished clearing the first chamber by dusk. Before the light failed completely I made a cursory inspection of the freshly uncovered section and discovered that one panel seemed to conceal a secret door.

The thought of a hidden chamber and what treasures it may contain kept me awake long into the night and I must confess all thoughts of the karkadann were driven from my mind. My anticipation was such that I awoke before dawn, despite having only a few hours slumber, and the men could not breakfast and organise themselves quickly enough! As soon as I had made my ablutions, eaten and dressed I made with all haste to the temple with only my notebook for company. I only paused on my way to visit the tent where dear Richard lay to enquire after his condition.

Sweet, devoted Rajesh sat beside the cot, mopping his master’s brow and I could tell he had not moved since Richard was brought to the tent. By God’s grace Richard had survived the night, but there had been little change in his condition and it had been for the worse as he had developed a fever. Infection meant that things could not look blacker. But that he had survived the night must surely be a good sign.

I attempted to get Rajesh to take some rest as he was clearly exhausted but he refused to leave. Such passionate loyalty! After much hushed debate, a compromise was reached and Rajesh agreed to eat and sleep as long as he could remain in Richard’s tent, so I instructed the men to bring a cot and food immediately. Satisfied I had done all I could for the moment, I left instruction to bring word the moment there was any change to Richard’s condition and left for the dig site.

The panel that had so intrigued me was located on the west wall of the chamber, furthest from both the entrance and the doorway to the rest of the temple. Placing the chamber on the west may have been significant as the ancient Egytpians associated it with death and the afterlife and they rarely did anything by accident.

I set about transcribing the hieroglyphs so I might translate them at my leisure in my tent but even as I copied the text I got a sense of its meaning. It spoke of a need for proper knowledge and that only the High Priest should enter, then proceeded with a dire warning of the consequences should the unannointed enter. Such warnings had been seen before and I was encouraged by its presence here. I felt certain I had located a hidden cache of papyri, or perhaps even statuary. Too excited to wait until the translations were completed, I decided to make an investigation to find the release for the door immediately.

There was no obvious lever or catch, but I had not expected there to be one; what use is a hidden door if any dull wit can stumble across it? I gently dropped sand around the edges of the panel and its neighbours, hoping a draught would give me an indication of the door’s location, but to no avail. Evidently, when Egyptians sealed a room for all eternity they did so with the utmost efficiency.

I realised with shock that I had been studying the panel all day when the light in the chamber began to fade around me. Frustrated, but knowing I could proceed no further without translating the text, I called a halt to the work and all returned to camp.

I returned immediately to my tent and ordered supper and lamps be brought to me that I might begin translating without delay. As soon as the light was sufficient, I opened my reference books and buried my nose in the text to the exclusion of all else that might garner my attention.

The first rays of dawn awoke me from where I had fallen asleep at my desk, one hand stained with ink that had leaked from my pen as I slumbered. I had managed to partially translate half of the text and I was able to get a sense from it of how to find and open the door. So with all haste I returned to the temple, without pausing for food or toilette or, I am now ashamed to say, to check on the condition of Richard.

I entered the temple and found my way back to the temple that had so captured my attention previously.

The inscription had spoken of ’one with true knowledge’ and who ’knew the names of Thoth’. I searched the panel for a good while and found twelve instances of the names and titles of Thoth.

I surmised that one needed to press the name of Thoth as a button to release the door, but I now realised that it was a pass key combination and that I had no clue which should be pressed or in what sequence. I daren’t attempt a random selection as there may well have been some sort of trap to ensnare the unwary or, worse still, destroy the precious papyri should the unworthy try to gain access. Cursing under my breath in a most unladylike manner, I sat down upon the ground and pondered in what possible order they should be pressed.

Frustrated but not to be undone, I pulled my notebook from my satchel and re-read my translation. I had initially dismissed it as a badly copied passage from the Book of the Dead, however I now realised that there was perhaps a deeper meaning encoded within the verse:

His mouth is closed by Ptah

His mouth’s bonds are tied by my city-god

Thoth has come fully equipped with spells

He binds the bonds of Seth to his mouth

Arum has given me my hands

They are placed as guardians.

Only those of Maat

Judged pure of heart and knowledge

May pass through this door

Those who keep Maat in their heart

And know the names of Thoth

May dwell in his city

Ancient Hermopolis was the city of Thoth, the Egyptian name for which was Hemenu. There were four sacred oil jars, the hieroglyph for hmnw at each compass point of a flagstone in the floor in front of the door panel.

Those judged pure of heart by Maat were those who had died and passed to the West, to the Field of Reeds, the Egyptian afterlife. Interpreting that line of the verse as an instruction, I pressed down on the westernmost depiction of the jar and was rewarded by a mechanical ratcheting noise like gears or cogs turning. To my great disappointment, no door opened; clearly there was more than one key to this lock.

It was just then that one of the men rushed up to me, gesticulating wildly and speaking in a most agitated manner. He spoke so quickly and in a dialect I was unfamiliar with so I could not make out what he was saying.

"He says there is great danger here, that there is a curse upon the place. You would be wise to leave the door sealed, good lady," translated another worked in surprisingly good English.

I thanked them both for their concern and assured them I knew what I was doing and that I did not believe in curses.

"I believe what I can see, not superstitions from long-dead religions," I replied, somewhat haughtily in retrospect.

"As you wish, lady, but in this instance it is perhaps better to believe than see,” he said before taking his leave with a bow. The other man gave me and then the wall a frightened look before scurrying back to his post.

Shaking my head at the poor education that led to the persistence of such superstition, I returned to my study of the panel. I noted that pressing the jar had in fact moved the panel, though only by a fraction of an inch. One solitary figure was now shrouded in darkness.

Of course!

My stupidity now became obvious and the method of opening became clear.

"Fetch a lantern!" I cried out.

Ptah, god that is the Hidden One, was shrouding the panel in darkness, metaphorically at least. I needed to illuminate the figure to open the ’mouth closed by Ptah’, presuming that the door was the mouth mentioned in the inscription.

The lantern was brought and I shone its light upon the darkened section. Once illuminated, I could see a small opening in the mouth of the figure that had been in shadow. I directed the lantern to the figure’s face and as the light fell in this gap a further sound of mechanics rewarded me. But still the wretched door remained shut!

Now however, I had a good sense of how the riddle fit with what was required so I hung the lantern on a nearby stand and cast an eye over the panel for further alterations. Sure enough, there was now a picture of scales that stood out in relief from the rest of the painted panel. On one side was an image of a feather in one of the pans, the other held a depiction of a heart. It was cleverly hinged and moved as a real balance would.

This riddle was simple; those judged pure of heart were those whose heart was lighter than a feather. All that was required was to move the scale so the feather was lower than the heart. Holding my breath, and fervently hoping this was the last part of the lock, I gently pulled the pan with the feather down.

There was a most satisfying sound of grinding stone as, finally, the panel drew back into a recess and slid open. There was a rich of cold air past me and I was surprised by a sweet, strange smell, somewhere between honeysuckle, incense and rotten flesh. I had expected the smell of stale air and old papyrus. Eager to continue, I grabbed the lantern from its stand and entered the door.