The Vase of Sands

The investigators are approached by an elderly Egyptian Gentleman who says that a very valuable vase containing the ashes of his father have been stolen from his home in Bristol. The man himself is a silk merchant and his shipping business uses Bristol as a port to import his wares. He will pay handsomely for the return of the vase. But he will warn them not to look into the vase, for that would allow evil spirits to pollute the sanctity of his ancestors ashes. To retrieve it, the investigators will have to do a bit of classic investigation to find the vase.

Image from Artflow.ai

Possibilities

1 The elderly man is none other than Nyarlathotep, and the vase contains the Key of Sands, the only way to unlock the secrets of the lost city of Leng. If Nyarlathotep recovers this key then he will be able to return to Leng, and bring the Earth on step closer to being under the thrall of the Great Old Ones. He himself cannot retrieve the vase since it is protected from his and the eyes of his servants. Only a good person may see the Vase of Sands.

2 Well it is a vase with ashes. Ok. But instead of holding the ashes of the mans ancestors, it holds the essential salts of the evil magical Kneph-Ra. If the elderly man, who is none other than the magicians Great-Great Grandson, gets the ashes he will attempt to bring Kneph-Ra back to life, but will require a blood sacrifice to do it.

3 The vase contains not ashes at all, but diamonds. The man is a diamond smuggler and will be perfectly capable of killing those who have looked into the vase.

© Rik Kershaw