A Long Time from Home Pt. 02 Ch. 02

"The devourer Amemet shall not be allowed to prevail over him, and meat-offerings and entrance into the presence of the god Osiris shall be granted unto him, together with a homestead for ever in Sekhet-hetepu, as unto the followers of Horus" Neferure sang, as Nofret ended the dance and I got ready for a new attack.

It wasn't needed. As we watched, the golden hieroglyphs on the royal mummy lit up in a flash of light and then faded away, causing the mummy to crumble as they gradually disappeared to the sound of its jewellery hitting the stone tile as their foundation became dust.

For a moment, there was silence in the room. A silence I used to cancel the illusion that covered my head. That was a mistake. Creating the illusion had gone smoothly, but when I cancelled it, the release of energy went back into me, giving me a thundering headache and a nosebleed.

"Blood and aches." I cursed, holding a hand to my nose.

Nofret handed me a piece of cloth with a worried expression on his face. "Are you hurt, Avatar of Maahes?"

I accepted the cloth, holding it to my nose, feeling the Ars Mentalis kick in again to heal it. "Yes, but please don't call me that. That'll cause so many problems, I wouldn't know where to begin to explain it."

To my relief, she nodded and I looked at Neferure. "How in the name of Set, did Amenmesse or someone else get hold of a royal mummy?"

"I don't know." She said in a shaking voice. "In theory only the Pharaoh and the crown prince have the authority to activate those and as far as the story goes, they cannot be used against any of them." She paused and then continued. "And don't worry about there being more mummies outside. The soldier mummies are linked to the royal mummy and when it dies, so do they."

"Good to know." I said and removed the cloth from my nose. "And thank you for the ritual."

"No problem. All Bastet acolytes dance to funerals, so I know it by heart by now."

"You forgot to mention, that only someone of royal blood can finish the creation ritual outside their sarcophagi," said Nofret drily. "If you hadn't been here to chant from the Book of the Dead, we would have been in real trouble."

"I still am." Sighed Neferure. "Amenmesse wants me and I would rather die, than lay with that creep and give birth to his cursed offspring. If it wasn't him that sent those mummies after me, it had to be the Pharaoh or Seti and while I haven't got a clue why they would do something like that, it's an even bigger problem."

She wasn't wrong about that, but it was also highly unlikely. If Merneptah or Seti wanted her captured or dead, they could do that without any trouble when Neferure was in the palace. There was no reason for them to send a team of mummies after her. Especially not now it was impossible to make new mummies. I didn't even know how they had avoided being destroyed when Baylon disappeared, but they clearly had.

Neferure's problem with Amenmesse was harder to get around. As a son of Merneptah, Amenmesse wasn't far from the throne and when Merneptah died, he could expect to be appointed to some important position, like Overseer of the Army or Viceroy of Kush. Both positions came with a lot of power and if Amenmesse managed to marry a daughter of Ramesses the Great, he might be able to overthrow Seti. More to the point, if he had the cursed Pulcher sword, that was almost certainly what he would try to do, with the off chance that he would try to make Kush a nation of its own if he became Viceroy there.

"Anybody else who can activate a royal mummy?" I asked. "There's no reason for his Highness or Crown Prince Seti to use those to get you, and yet they were here, so there has to be another way."

Neferure was silent for a moment as she thought, but then shook her head and said, "These mummies were created long before I was born, during my father's reign and I'm afraid that I don't know much about their creation."

That surprised me a little, since I had expected them to be centuries older, but I accepted her knowledge with a nod, just as Nofret said. "All that aside, what do we do now?"

"I can't go back to the palace." Sighed Neferure. "Amenmesse is there and even if it wasn't him that sent the mummies, he still wants to marry me." She looked thoughtfully for a moment and then added. "It's strange. I've been prepared to marry some high noble or royalty my whole life and when it finally happens, it's my disgusting nephew!"

Nofret raised her eyebrows at that. "Would you be fine with marrying somebody else?"

"Anyone but him."

Nofret looked thoughtful, prompting me to ask. "What's on your mind, Nofret?"

She looked at me. "I'm trying to think of some royalty that could use a wife."

Neferure snorted. "Forget it. That only happens as part of trade- or peace agreements and there're none of those at the moment."

"Then spend a little time thinking about what you're going to do, while we clean this place up a little." I said and sheathed the Diucultro as I turned towards Nofret. "Do you have a sack or large bag?"

"Sure." She said and walked into the bedroom, only to return a moment later with two large bags. "Are those big enough?"

I nodded and started to collect the items the mummies had left behind when they turned to dust. It was mostly swords and jewellery, but there were a few gemstones between them as well, and they might be useful at some point.

"I need to leave Kemet." Neferure suddenly declared., taking me by surprise. To hear an Kemetian say that was about as rare as rain. Most of them are convinced that they live in the greatest nation in the world and for the most part they're even right.

Nofret looked stunned. "And go where?"

"I don't know yet, but I will rather be a merchant or a merchant's wife, than married to Amenmesse."

A knock on the door made all three of us look in that direction.

"It's most likely the guards." Said Nofret and walked over to the door. "Neferure, go hide in the bedroom."

"Yes, priestess." The redhaired princess said and did as she was told.

Nofret waited until she was gone, before inquiring who it was and apparently, she recognized the voice answering, because a moment later she opened the door, revealing a pair of guards.

The one in front bowed. "Sorry to disturb you, honoured Priestess, but have you talked with some royal guards? A group came by a little while ago, looking for your quarters, but we haven't heard from them since."

"No, we haven't seen or heard a living soul here. We were... busy."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, the expression on the guard's face was priceless. A mix between envy and curiosity, I had no doubt that he wished that he had been the one to be 'busy' with Nofret.

"Yes, Priestess." He said with a smile. "We will take a look around and see where they have gone."

"Yes, do that. Have a nice evening."

"Likewise."

They walked away and Nofret closed the door.

I waited a few heartbeats, before I chuckled. "That was genius."

Nofret bolted the door and turned around. "What was genius?"

"The 'we haven't seen or heard a living soul here' comment."

She smiled. "Well, it was the truth."

"Yes, it was." I looked over as Neferure entered from the bedroom, still looking thoughtful. "This might be a foolish question, but what do I need to leave Kemet?"

"Valuables." I said and lifted the bag in my hand. "And more than there is in here."

She nodded slowly. "If I get more valuables, will you help me?"

"I'll need more than you have valuables." I said as I thought it over. Considering that I was preparing to leave Kemet as well, it wasn't a bad idea, though it gave me less time than I would like. "How much time do we have?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you don't want to return to the palace, so how long can you stay here without anybody sending people out to get you?"

She shrugged. "If I send a runner explaining that I have priestly stuff to attend to, I'll have about thirty days. That's how long I'm usually gone. It helps that His Highness is busy planning a stele to celebrate the victory over the Sea People."

That was longer than I had dared hope for, but then again, her status as an acolyte wasn't just for show and they did have a lot of things to attend to.

"I'll think it over," I told her. "But there's a few things you'll need to be aware of. First of all, you'll no longer be a princess, which means that you'll have to work for a living."

Neferure smiled a little. "I do that now."

"No, you're a priestess... or rather an acolyte in a religion that does not exist outside Kemet. That means, that you'll have to work as a healer."

"Oh..."

"Secondly, you'll have no power." I continued. "People won't automatically do what you say, unless you're the one paying them... and while we're on that subject, unless you can get some valuables from somewhere, you won't have servants." I sent her a smile. "Granted, if you're travelling with me, you'll have a few, as I generally don't cook or wash clothes. You'll have to do almost everything else by yourself."

She nodded. "No worries. I've done all of that as an acolyte." She sent Nofret a smile. "Though I'll have to say that I didn't enjoy it."

"No, that was pretty clear." Replied Nofret drily. "But in all fairness, you did get to do a lot of manual labour just because you're a princess and we wanted to test if you really meant it."

Neferure looked shocked, but it caused me to laugh. "Good thing you did, or she would be helpless now." Turning my attention back to the redheaded princess, I said. "You'll need to give Nofret a huge 'thank you' later, because that training is a major part of me agreeing to help you... and I will help you, if you're willing to go where I'm going."

She looked both confused and happy. "Where're you going?"

"Sabah or Dilmun, I think. I haven't decided yet." I told her. "I didn't plan on moving this soon."

"But you are willing to help, right?"

I nodded. "Yes, I am, so I'll plan it, while you figure out if you have any valuables, you can take along with you. I don't want somebody chasing us, so whatever you do, be sure you don't accidently take anything that doesn't strictly belong to you."

She looked somewhat insulted but managed to keep quiet and just nodded.

Satisfied, I asked Nofret. "Can we leave through the temple? I don't want to leave the obvious way."

She nodded, walked over to the back door, and removed the bolt. "Here you go. When you get into the temple, turn right. That will take you past the lions and very few people take that path."

"Thank you." Looking over at Neferure, I added, "You're coming with me for a few days, just in case Amenmesse sends out more people."

She nodded eagerly and after checking for enemies, we said goodbye to Nofret and walked quietly through the dimly lit temple.

The unusual surroundings set me enough on edge to use Vis Meditation to activate Oculos Cati (Baylon: Eyes of the Cat), a Vis power that enabled me to see as well in the dark as a cat. It helped, but just to be on the safe side, I drew a knife and held it hidden by my side.

Neferure saw and whispered. "Don't worry. The lions are locked in."

"It's not the lions I'm worried about. I'm worried about the soldiers that should have been covering the back door. I haven't seen anybody out here or anything resembling mummy remains."

Nofret looked stunned. "What? Are you sure?"

"Yes, but they might be in a place I can't see." I shrugged lightly. "Let's get home."

"Just like that?"

"Not much else we can do."

"I guess you're right," she sighed. "Lead the way."

Placing a hand on her back, I led her through the darkness of the city to my house.

*********************************

Leaving Kemet

The harbour of Vicus, Kemet

A month later, I was standing on the quay at the harbour of Vicus (Baylon: Quartz Harbour. Modern day El Qoseir) looking at the ship getting loaded. Fortunately, it was a ship from Dilmun, which was exactly what I had hoped for. For all their talents, Kemetians weren't good sailors and the ships from Dilmun was much better than the Kemetians.

It had taken almost two weeks for Neferure to get ready. Mostly because she had heard rumours.

that Amenmesse's people were looking for her, so she couldn't get to the palace and get the things she wanted to take with her.

I didn't mind, as it had given me time to look through everything I owned and select the few things that really meant something to me. I had already done that once, when I had moved from Pi-Ramesses to Men-nefer, but this time it was final. I could feel that whatever I left behind would be gone forever. I could try to hide some items in various places, but chances were that they would be gone when I came to retrieve them. If it had been before Baylon and the energy node disappeared, I could simply had hidden them inside rock, but considering how erratic the use of both Ars Mentalis and Ars Magica was, I simply didn't dare. I might fry my brain, blow myself up or something like that, and the value of the items simply wasn't worth the risk.

I had also traded most of my gold for precious stones that were far easier to store and transport than the much heavier metal, while losing nothing of their value. There were some cultural differences in what types of precious stones were considered the most valuable, but all in all, having gems were far better than gold, though I did keep some gold and silver handy since I could use that for less expensive things.

My house had been a bigger problem, since it would have taken time to sell, so after having considered the situation, I had decided to simply let Renef, the Chief of the Household, and his wife Henut take care of it for ten years. If I weren't back by then, the house would be theirs to keep and eventually it would pass on to their sons, which was far better than just letting it decay.

In the end, I had just enough belongings to fill two camels and as soon as Neferure came back with a few belongings as well, we took off, joining a caravan heading towards Vicus, disguised as a foreign merchant and his wife and slaves.

The trip had been uneventful to the point of being boring, but at least we reached the harbour without having to fight, which was always good.

Something moving at the corner of my eye made me look in that direction and I smiled to myself, when I saw Hori come walking towards me. In the last two weeks I had come to like his calm presence and I would have preferred to take him and his wife with us on the journey, but I had other plans for the two of them.

"We're done loading it all, sir." He reported in his low, almost rumbling, voice as he came up to me.

"Good." I said with a smile and handed him a small bag. "Here this is for you."

With a confused look on his face, he accepted the bag and opened it, blinking in surprise when he saw the blue Lazika gemstones in the bag. Closing the bag again, he looked at me. "Sir?"

"The ship over there is departing for Punt with the evening tide." I told him calmly. "I want you and your wife on it when it departs. It's time that the two of you went home."

He was still for a moment and then blinked again, this time to remove the tears from his eyes. "You're setting us free?"

"Yes. The transport has already been paid for, so collect your wife and board the ship. The bag of gems should ensure that the two of you can get a place to live."

The Lazika gemstones would be vastly more valuable in Punt than where I was going, so I didn't lose much by giving him the stones, but he would gain a lot by having them.

Trying to comprehend it, he shook his head in wonder and then surprised me, by kneeling before me. "You're a kind person, Herysesta. May the Gods watch over you on your travels. I know that my family shall remember this as long as we exist."

"Live in peace, Hori." I replied. "And for the sake of the Goddesses, get up before people start to think I some kind of noble."

He stood, looking like he didn't know what to say, so I sent him a smile. "Get moving. The tide is coming in and they won't wait."

"Thank you, sir." He said and hurriedly walked away, heading toward the camels, where his wife, Merit, Tutu, Kiya and Neferure were standing.

I followed him at a slower pace, arriving just in time to get a deep bow from Tiye along with a "May your generosity be repaid a thousandfold, Master.", before they both collected their meagre belongings and walked towards the other ship.

Neferure looked after them and then turned to look at me. "You set them free?"

"Yes."

She nodded, while Merit, Tutu and Kiya looked surprised, with Tutu asking, "Why them, sir? Why not us?"

I shrugged lightly. "You're all women and in most parts of the world, women simply do not travel alone. At least not over long distances without armsmen to protect them. Hori can protect his wife and his belongings. The four of you are not that fortunate, so you'll stay with me for the time being."

I didn't add that I planned to find suitable husbands for them later, but that was exactly what I had in mind. Since I would stay young, I would need to move again in a decade or so and by then I wanted to be sure that they were protected and cared for.

Kiya opened her mouth to say something, but the arrival of a group of horsemen interrupted her. Looking at the group, I cursed silently. They were wearing the King's livery, making them part of the royal guard.

"Go to the ship." I told the women and walked towards the incoming horsemen.

Kiya, Merit and Tutu did as they were told, but Neferure placed a hand on my arm, stopping me. "There's something you need to know."

I stopped and looked at her. "You did something I had told you not to do, didn't you?"

She nodded and handed me a small staff in the form of a flail with three separate and highly decorated heads. I immediately recognized it as a Nekhekh, one of the ancient symbols of the Pharaoh along with the Shepherd's crook. "While I was in the palace to get my things, Amenmesse and His Highness were attending some royal affair and I looked through Amenmesse's room." She smiled a little. "I was raised in that palace and I knew that there was a secret compartment in that room. So, I opened it and found this. As far as I remember from the stories from my childhood, this sceptre can be used to control royal mummies."

I sighed. I understood that she had taken it to prevent Amenmesse from sending more mummies after us, but at the same time she had made us even more of a target than we already were.

Accepting the sceptre, I said, "Go to the ship" and turned towards the incoming riders. By now, they had dismounted some twenty cubits away and were advancing with their weapons drawn, looking like they were begging for a fight. I breathed a sigh of relief when I recognized the man leading them. It was Captain Huy, the captain that had not only been there when I had healed both Ramesses and lately the two princes.

He had proven to be a reasonable guy and with him being here, there was a chance that this could end without bloodshed.

Bowing slightly, I said. "Greetings, Captain Huy. What brings you here?"

He wasn't smiling, as he said. "You, Princess Neferure and the heirloom she took from the palace."

"Yes, I thought that. How did you find us?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation light.

"I remembered what you said about leaving Kemet and this is the nearest harbour." The Captain said with a slight shrug. "So, why're you taking a princess out of Kemet? It made both His Highness and Prince Amenmesse angry. Especially after Amenmesse discovered that some of his jewels were missing."

"I honestly don't think you'll believe me, but I'm trying to save Kemet."