Greetings, felicitations, and fluffy dice.

GREETINGS, FELICITATIONS AND FLUFFY DICE

Now, you probably don’t know me, so let me introduce myself. My name is Jack Rowlands, although people tend to call me Mad Jack. I can’t think why.

Anyway, for my day job, I am an Alley Cat. What’s an Alley Cat, I hear you ask? In a very strange voice, I might add. Well, the Alley Cats are the Bomb Disposal team of National Security Command. So, if you’ve got something that you think is going to blow up, just give me a ring.

It’s a real man’s life in the Alley Cats. We do real man things, like weight training, marathon running, knitting, and highland dancing. And don’t believe everything you hear. One ballet lesson, ONE. Do they let you forget? Do they drumsticks! So, by way of relaxation, I entertain the team with a few of my hilarious stories. Well, I think they’re funny.

In among my own totally awesome original stories are ones based on tales I have heard. Some of them could be described as traditional. My grandfather would have heard them. Others are more modern. Now, I have tried to establish the copyright of these stories, but I have not been able to trace the authors. If you feel I have breached your copyright, first know that it was not deliberate, and accept my apology. Secondly, please let me know, and I will be happy to amend future issues. Now, is that or is that not fair?

Thursday 3 December 2015

The Assassins' Tomb

In the Eighties, the Israeli government commissioned a number of settlements to be built. One such settlement was Ain Makvim Chezh in the Negev. Work was suspended when surveyors discovered a sealed cave, partially underground. Benjamin Sukenek of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was sent to investigate.

The team marked off the area to be investigated, then took photographs and measurements.  The ground around the cave entrance was carefully examined, and the artefacts that were found were photographed in place, extracted, and then catalogued. They found several coins and pottery shards, but nothing extraordinary.

It was a full three weeks before they turned their attention to the cave itself. The surface of the cover stone was examined for inscriptions, and then a portion of the substance used to seal the stone was sent to the university for identification.

Once they had formulated a plan to remove the stone with the minimum of damage, they prepared to enter. Inside, they could see that they had found a tomb. There were six vaults along the sides five of them were occupied.

The corpses were wrapped, indicating they had gone through funerary procedures. It was likely that the bodies were well preserved. Carefully, they transported the figures to the university for further study.

Beside each corpse was a pottery jar. These jars were also sent to the university. With their usual care, the team opened the jars, which each held a parchment written in Hebrew.

The first parchment told of Enoch. A soldier in the Israeli army. The parchment told of how he had gone to Egypt and Babylon on secret missions for the King. The team soon discovered that this man was more than just a soldier. He was a spy and an assassin. The scrolls in the other jars told similar stories. These were the King's elite agents.

The bodies were scanned using a variety of methods before being unwrapped. As hoped, they were well preserved. So much so that it was evident that each soldier had had their tongue surgically removed. The explanation for this was recorded in other parchments found in the cave.

The spies were part of a group created around the 10th Century BC for King Solomon in order to keep an eye on neighbouring nations. They voluntarily allowed their tongues to be removed as a test of loyalty, to show that they would never give away the King's secrets. All their communication was in writing, or in a series of pre-arranged signs and gestures.

That is when Sukenek  realised what they had discovered, After all this time; all this searching. They had found the secret of King Solomon's Mimes.

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