How DOES One Stop a Mummy?

Mr. Thorndyke was concerned. “Set has located us. That was quick, far too quick. I should have accounted for Djed-hor's presence when returning here.”

“Not your fault,” I reassured. “None of us considered it. Why should we? Who expects a mummy to wake and walk?”

“We must deactivate it quickly,” Mr. Thorndyke declared. “Set will be able to track us through it. At least,” he added, “I expect he will be able to do so.”

“We can try our Spectral Disrupter again,” Harry offered. “It worked downstairs.”

“You can try,” responded Mr. Thorndyke. “I fear Set will be expecting it now and it won't have the same impact.”

“But it's worth a try?” I confirmed. Mr. Thorndyke nodded. “Then let's do it. I've got no better idea.”

Larry once again drew the device I'd seen in the Jewels exhibit and activated it. The mummy stopped progressing towards us but didn't collapse as the undead gun men had downstairs.

Mr. Thorndyke looked glum. “I fear my theory was correct. The effect of the device is blunted.” He rubbed at his temples. With some strain in his voice, he continued. “An additional plan is necessary.”

“How does one stop a mummy?” I pondered aloud. I'm sure I know the answer, having read it at some point, but, now that I needed the information, it was lost to me. To be fair, it's not information I need on  a regular basis. I'm not often trying to stop a mummy from walking. I blanked on quality options and offered “We could set it on fire.”

Ms. Chapman exploded. “Are you crazy? Fire?”

“No one else was offering any suggestions,” I responded defensively. “I say that all the time as a joke. I don't want to burn old Djed here. I like Djed. I've been visiting Djed for most of my life. I remember when Djed was down on the first floor. He's already history and I would just as soon not join him just yet. If it's him or me, well, I'm going to try and make it him.”

“There are all sorts of ways to stop a mummy in the texts,” Ms. Chapman noted. “Ways that don't involve fire.”

“Just as?” Harry prompted.

“Well,” she started, “there's readings in the Scroll of Life, withholding tana leaves, counter-spells from the Book of the Dead...”

“Do we have access to any of those things?” Harry asked.

“No,” she admitted.

“Well, then that doesn't help us much at the moment,” Harry stated.

Larry piped in. “Why don't we just walk away? Mummies are slow, aren't they?”

For a moment we just stood there. “Sometimes the simple solutions elude us,” I noted.

“Where do we walk to?” Ms. Chapman asked. “We have no plan, no destination.”

“Does it matter at this point?” Mr. Thorndyke snapped. “Let's just go and be done with it.”

“It's dark if we go deeper into Africa, no pun intended of course,” Harry stated. “Or we walk past the mummy to the stairs.”

“The stairs are our best bet,” I observed. “We'll want to keep our access to the exits, retail our mobility.” Cautiously, I walked towards the mummy as it was unclear how frozen in place it was and not keen to have a wrapped hand wrapped around my throat.

There was a krackle. Larry frowned and thumped the device in his hand. Something had broken within it. The mummy silently stepped forward.

I spun on my heel and strode away. “On the other hand, I hear Africa is quite nice this time of year.”