He sighed in defeat covering his face with his hands as he leaned over the pub table. Making the mask finally disappear from his face knowing he was safe inside the pub and that the people here already knew who he was.
As she was in a drunken sleep upstairs he had not been able to subconsciously travel into her dreams. She had been dreamless as far as he knew but what was worse is he had pried into the High Priestess's mind as well to see if she had tried to see into Ramuna's mind. To his surprise he had learned that Ramuna's ex fiance was interrogating her over the Book of Thoth.
How did that New Worlder know about their ancient book? How ironic that he not only find out Ramuna was imagining pages of the book but her fiance just happened to know about the book too.
What the hell was going on and how could he make the connections to all of this? He already was having a hard time connecting Ramuna to all the divine things that had been happening now he had to figure out how Seth Phisler got ahold of a damn sacred book?
Through his pitiful state he was in he felt a hand rest on his shoulder and smelled the strong scent of cinnamon start to burn on the table. He slowly uncovered his face and looked up to see a dark skinned man with dreads and dressed all in black with multiple gold rings decorating his hands standing over him.
He had never seen this man in all his time and knew that this man did not belong in Kemet. Yet here he stood showing compassion as if he was a long lost friend and a member of Kemet.
"I can not believe my eyes but it looks like Ramuna's jackal masked man so happens to be an icon." The man said sitting next to him and not going to sit across from him. "Ramesses the third, it truly is an honor to meet you."
He had not heard that name used on him in a very long time. It almost sparked something inside him, something he thought he had managed to suppress forever.
"And you are?"
"The reason why you are struggling to get inside Ramuna's head. That is who I am." The man said, waving his hand over the table. Where his hand had hovered over the table a small teacup appeared sitting on a thin porcelain plate.
Ramesses was impressed to see the man use Heka magic and so easily at that for not being someone from Kemet. He watched as the man took a sip of his tea and passed him behind the bar where the pub owner was. The owner looked at Ramesses worriedly but he shook his head at the bar owner and gave him a small smile as if to let him know that things were well.
"My name is Tafari. I came here to make sure you are not the marionette but now that I have caught you here without your mask I feel more at ease." Tafari noticed the communication between Ramesses and the pub owner. "Was perhaps rude of me to summon my own drink." With another wave of his hand over the table a pouch of coins appeared. "I feel we can help each other out, Ramessess."
"And how is that? You aren't the only odd stranger who has come up to me in Kemet you know. Wielding Heka in front of me as well." Ramessess started to smoke out of the hookah that Tafari originally lit for him. For once he was craving tobacco. Perhaps he was under way more distress than he imagined.
"Well I have not come to speak to you in riddles either or hide what I am. I am just a simple man who was born in New Orleans in the early 1900's. Surely not as old and wise as you. Nor do I have any idea how to convey myself in royal politics or elite social groups. I am just merely an ordinary man who was in the right place at the right time."
Ramesses felt like that was a jab at him. Was this man calling him out for hiding his identity to Ramuna? For not feeding her more information than he had already tried? Anyways, what did it matter?
"I see you are just as lost and confused as Ramuna. Unfortunately for you, you are just caught in something that is not meant for you." Tafari said rather dismissively. "But I do thank you for bringing her subconscious here. It would have been hard to do what needs to be done if I had to infiltrate the camp and risk her death."
Ramesses laughed. "What a way to start off explaining things by telling me I am irrelevant to whatever the hell it is that's going on. I guess I was only a matter of importance if I was this marionette you speak of?"
Tafari smiled and turned to look at Ramesses. His eyes bored into Ramesses. "If you were the marionette I would have killed you."
Those words took Ramesses by surprise. "What is this marionette you are seeking?"
"Lord Set's counterpart."
Ramesses wanted to stand up but he was trapped between the wall and Tafari at the table they were seated at. Now he understood why the man sat next to him. So he could not leave. "What the hell are you saying? Set has been a myth for thousands of years!"
Ramesses's mind whirled. The lord of chaos was alive? The same being that caused so many wars and families to fall to pieces? The god that caused many of Atann's people to separate from the continent? He had thought he had faded away as the era's past in Atann. As civilization continued to grow and become more advanced he thought all of the gods had faded and the only one's left of that era were the ones like him. The ones who could wield Heka.
Ramessess thought of the dream he had witnessed of Ramuna's and remembered the man that stood on the porch waiting for her. He sighed. Of course. Everything made sense now. Why Ramuna was so special and why her involvement in Atann's death was so important. She was Set's consort.
Whether she realized it or not, that was her fate and he just happened to be in this mess because he had been Ra's chosen one to live an immortal life and continuously slip his way into Atann's political affairs throughout eternity doing Ra's work. Ramesses was nothing but an immortal disciple who had lived under many identities. Tafari was right that his importance in this matter was nothing because this matter was way beyond him.
Ramesses understood who Tafari was because he and Tafari were the same. They were both disciples who learned under mentors. Mentors who were the ancient gods. The only difference between him and Tafari is that Tafari's disciple still existed and thrived and may very well possibly have a plan.
"Who is Ramuna?" Ramesses asked. He did not realize how quiet his voice was until he spoke. He had so many emotions running through him at once. Reality was hitting him. Reality that it wasn't the New World that truly killed Atann but ancient beings from Atann posing as New Worlders that caused this whole mess.
"I don't know. Possibly Thoth. Considering she wrote the Book of the Dead and the Book of Breathings but that wouldn't make sense would it? I feel Thoth actually truly was just that. A myth. A myth made by her a long time ago."
Ramesses could believe that. There were a lot of humans back in ancient times that made up stories about gods to explain to other humans how events occurred instead of confessing that they had magical capabilities. Even Ramesses was guilty of that. He would rather tell his men that a sandstorm was the doing of a god than him telling them he meditated and manifested the existence of a sandstorm to use in their favor in the middle of a war. Humans either did one of two things when they discovered magic was real and easy to obtain. They either tried to steal its power from the original wielder or they tried to kill anything with magic because they were scared of things they could not do or understand.
"I don't even think Ra exists anymore. I found an amulet. One of the only artifacts left that was rumored to have any of his essence left in it and.." Ramesses now felt the raw emotion he was trying to suppress the past month. Tears formed. He had never cried in front of anyone and he felt defeated that his first time was in front of a man he barely knew. Somehow he knew Tafari would not judge him. Afterall they both were disciples and he knew if Tafari realized he no longer had a master he would have felt as lost as Ramesses did. "And it was empty."
Tafari looked like he was in a daze staring down at his teacup. Ramesses noticed he was studying leaves floating around in the cup and realized that he had been using his tea to get readings as they were talking.
"The more I think about it the more it's coming to me that what you are saying is not true Ramesses. I truly do believe Ra is very much still here but just waiting for the right time to show."