THE LOST OASIS

An adventure set in the world of Hive Queen and Country

By Alan Hamilton

Preamble

The competition was based on the idea of taking three books at random and taking ideas from them to create a scenario for Hive Queen and Country.  I decided to let my 2-year-old grandson select the books; one from my books, one from Granny’s books ad one from his own.  As he selected them I realised a serious limitation – he could only reach the bottom shelf !  The books he chose were:

• Grandad’s books – WE Johns: Biggles Flies South is set between the wars in Egypt where the WW1 air ace solves the mystery of Cambyses Lost Army.
• Granny’s books – W Shakespeare: Macbeth in which the main character treacherously gains the crown by murder and betrayal of trust.
• Grandson’s books – Dinomites: Slither and Squelch in which young dinosaurs get caught in the rain and flood waters and what starts out as a game ends up in a problem that is solved by teamwork.

The themes from these, in the same order are:

• The setting of the lost oasis and Cambyses Lost Army
• Treachery and betrayal
• The use of water to achieve the objective

Style:  This is a series of linked skirmish scenarios with a bit of role play thrown in for good measure.  It is written a bit like a pulp monster movie so that you can add extra scenes and parts as you see fit.

I use a fairly fluid narrative style during skirmish games as the folks at our club are devious, do the unexpected and sometimes unwittingly force a change of plot by suggesting a completely innovative approach or solution to the problem.   As a result I need to keep my wits about me and have a good idea of where I want the plot to go and then “directing” the characters along that particular route.

Notes:  I have deliberately not insisted that you use a particular set of rules at least until the “official” set is released.  Nor have I specified particular characteristics, statistics or whatever to allow you the freedom to use your favourite rules, favourite figures and some of those dusty ancients that you have in that box on the top shelf.  Of course feel free to change the Persians to Romans, Egyptians, Greeks, Amazons, Zulus or anything else that you have.  The important thing is that they have been cut off and do not have firearms or explosives.

I have also taken the liberty of allowing the Bugs themselves to control and farm a human society through human intermediaries.  I’m not exactly sure how – telepathy perhaps?  Maybe they can or cannot.  However, I need something more than killing and eating machines for this game to work.  This Hive, I decided, was one of the first deployed to Earth but landed in the wrong place – an isolated oasis with a distinctly finite food supply an no contact anywhere else.  Or maybe it was a lucky one that landed on dry land while the others ended up in the sea and drowned.  Having been cut off the Hive kept itself small enough but powerful enough to survive and still control the food supply.

Introduction

The bead of sweat ran down his forehead, rolled down his nose and pooled with the others in the eye cup of his binoculars.  It was immediately followed by another and another.   He pulled the glasses away from his eyes just long enough for the stinging salty liquid to drain away.  Peering through the haze he tried again to focus on the lonely mound on the horizon.  The only feature they had seen since the haboob had driven them well off course into the desert.  Was there a tinge of green on it?   He extended his arm towards it.  “Bring us round.  That way!”

The deck tilted as the flyer changed course its one remaining engine misfiring then picking up.  Would it last long enough to reach the hillock?

Background

A few friends were enjoying an after dinner brandy in Shepheard’s Hotel in Cairo. They were celebrating the completion of the renovation of an ex-military flyer from the West Country War sometimes colloquially but erroneously referred to in the yellow press as the Bug War.  Now they are ready for their first contract.  Just as the glasses needed recharged they were approached by a young Egyptian.  A worried young man in an immaculate white suit and carrying a red tarbush under his arm, he bowed and cleared his throat.  They looked at him and were immediately impressed by his determined expression and unusually grey eyes.  “Good evening Gentlemen,” he said in slightly accented English.  “I hear that you have a flyer and that you are looking for an engagement?”

What followed was an exchange of details, the young man is Khaled, the rich son of an extremely wealthy, but anonymous, family.  His story revealed an obsession with finding the Lost Army of Cambyses.  At first he appeared to be little more than an overenthusiastic playboy with more money than sense. However, as the evening progresses they became more and more impressed by his knowledge and sense of purpose.  The story of Cambyses the Persian and his lost army is familiar to almost all travellers in Egypt.  According to Herodotus, Cambyses II of Persia, after conquering the Nile valley in 525BC, sent an army to threaten the important Oracle of Amun at the Siwa Oasis. The army of 50,000 men was on its way across the desert when, it is said, a massive sandstorm sprang up, burying them all. Although many Egyptologists regard the story as a myth, many people have searched for the remains of the soldiers for many years.  And young Khaled is one of them.

The story intrigued our adventurers and in a brandy inspired moment they agreed to carry Khaled and a couple of his colleagues from Cairo to Luxor.  There to pick up the eminent Egyptologist Professor Impeccunio and his two assistants.  There to depart on an aerial reconnaissance to follow the likely route to Siwa Oasis.

So a few days later the Flyer Horus arrived over the grounds of the Winter Palace in Luxor.  On board were:

Jonathon Bigglesworth a former captain in the Army’s elite Rifles, The Honourable Tobias Montgomery  Lacey, his young cousin and former lieutenant in the Scots Guards, Stanley Smyth, Jonathon’s former Colour Sergeant and a mechanical expert, Euan MacGregor, Tobias’ former batman and Khaled.

On the ground they were introduced to Professor Ipeccunio and his two assistants, Hassan his foreman and Ahmed his guide. All their gear was swiftly loaded and  after the traditional welcome glass of hibiscus juice and  a cup thick and bitter coffee, the Professor insisted on an immediate departure.  The Horus rose, her three engines humming under the attention of Stan Smyth.  After circling in a clockwise circuit over the excavations at Karnak and Luxor temples they headed our over the Nile taking in the views of the Collossi of Memnon, the temples of Rameses and then out over Deir el Bahri and into the desert.  The professor and Khaled providing a fascinating commentary.

At first all went well and for two leisurely days where they discovered that Hassan was an excellent chef providing light lunches and excellent meals without any apparent effort.  Then on the third day the haboob struck driving them southwards into the far desert.  The engines soon faltered and died, choked by the sand.  In the sand filled darkness they lost all bearings and when the storm blew away leaving the Horus listing and hovering over a blistering and blindingly white desert.  A sun fix placed them well south of Siwa.

Smyth worked on the engines and eventually managed a repair on one by using parts from the others.  More serious, though, was the loss of most of the water to a severed pipe.  Only the list had saved it all draining away.  But once the stock of water containers in the expedition kit was added and careful rationing set up they estimated that they could last 3 or 4 days.  Just about enough to reach Siwa.

They turned northwards.  Progress was slower than expected as frequent stops had to be made to adjust the engine.  Not only that the engine was using a lot of water because it was doing the work of three.  It was apparent that they would run out of water long before reaching Siwa.  Anyone not needed to keep the Horus airborne kept watch through the binoculars for any sign of water.

Jonathon walked to the port side rail and raised his glasses scanning the desert.  The bead of sweat ran down his forehead, rolled down his nose and pooled with the others in the eye cup of his binoculars.  It was immediately followed by another and another.   He pulled the glasses away from his eyes just long enough for the stinging salty liquid to drain away.  Peering through the haze he tried again to focus on the lonely mound on the horizon.  The only feature they had seen since the haboob had driven them well off course into the desert.  Was there a tinge of green on it?   He extended his arm towards it.  “Bring us round.  That way!”

The deck tilted as the flyer changed course its one remaining engine misfiring then picking up.  Would it last long enough to reach the hillock?

The Horus

The Horus is a relatively small aerolyth flyer that was badly damaged during the West Country War.  Its wreck was discovered just after the war and was renovated by the adventurers.  Officially she is still listed as “lost with all hands” and hence her employment as a pleasure craft far from home.  Although much of her weaponry and equipment was lost she retains a well stocked armoury of service rifles, a Maxim machine gun and some small explosive bombs that used to hang on racks.

Scene 1 – Bir Sayyeed

Ground:  Open white salt desert interspersed with wind sculpted outcrops of salt and patches of stone desert cut by long dry wadis.  In the centre of the table is a Bir, a mound of sand covered in vegetation.  Most importantly, a spring of fresh water is bubbling up on the east side.  This flows down through a man made channel into storage tanks which in turn feed troughs for camel caravans, tanks for drinking water and cisterns for washing.

There are camel tracks in the sand leading north and approaching from the west and east.

To the south amongst the dunes one stands out.   It has one side fallen away revealing a dark interior.  It is about 500 yards from the spring.

Situation:

The crew of the Horus has to refill her water tanks.   The tracks around the spring are fresh, Ahmed knows this and will tell any of the crew who speak Arabic.  This is the only water in the region and is frequented by the caravans bringing salt and slaves across the Sahara.  Off to the west a caravan approaches.  The scouts are already within sight of the Horus.  A thing so strange that they are unusually wary even though they have to clear the spring of the strangers.  It is late afternoon and about 3 hours to dusk.

The Horus crew

8 men, all have rifles and revolvers.

The professor, Ahmed, and Toby are at the strange dune.  They have found what appears to be a tomb.  In it are a few remains these intrigue the professor as they are out of period.  In the tomb are the skeletons of a Roman officer and two Persians.  To Toby this means nothing so the professor explains.  The Remains should be about 600 years apart but here they are together at the same level of decay and laid side by side.  None are disturbed as he would have expected the Roman to be laid on top of the Persians.  However, he is buried hand in hand wife the female Persian.  Even more intriguing were the tablets with Latin and Persian script on them.  The

Professor is baffled by some of the names and collects a sack full of the tablets and a few other items for future study.  Ahmed is standing watch.

The rest of the party are refilling the water tank while Hassan prepares a meal and Smyth works on the engine.  Though they are alert nobody is actually on guard.

Once the Horus is ready with water tanks full and engine running they will spend the night here and fly on before dawn to make best use of the relatively cool morning.

Mission:  To defeat the Arabs with the Horus intact.

The Scouts

10 men and one slave boy, 11 riding and 2 pack camels.   All the men are armed with daggers, swords and rifled muskets.  The leader has a modern rifle and revolver.  All are mounted on camels which, at the moment, are hobbled and grazing on some thorn bushes in a gully watched over by a slave boy.  The slave boy has a camel whip.  The camels are not trained for war and so are no use for fighting.  The war horses are with the main caravan which should arrive the next day.  In plenty of time for the traditional pre-dawn attack.

They have watched the Unbelievers for a few hours since their flying ship landed.  Now they have separated into two parties one is by a dune about 500 paces away and the rest are at the sky ship.  Attack now and catch them split up or wait until dusk when they will be fatigued and eating or before dawn when they will be at their least alert?  Decisions, decisions.

Mission: to kill or capture the Unbelievers and capture their strange ship.

The Umpire

The professor’s first assessment of the tablets when he is given time indicates that the survivors of Cambyses Army are off to the south in an as yet unknown oasis surrounded by a range of hills.  The Roman and his Persian wife were returning there when they were ambushed by desert raiders.  Although the raiders were defeated the Roman officer was and his family were killed and buried in the dune.  The Professor and Khaled are determined to fly south now that the vessel is repaired.  Probably a dusk or predawn departure would be best.

Smyth has worked a small miracle and two engines have been cleaned and now work.  The third is stripped down and he reckons that he will have it working in time for a predawn departure.

By the time the professor heads off to the tomb and Arab Scouts are ready to attack the water tank has been filled and one of the damaged engines stripped for repair.  The one engine that was working is still working and its filters have been cleaned.  It can be relied upon to give about 65% of its normal power.  By late afternoon the second engine is working at about 80% power and the third is then stripped down.  At no time does Smyth allow the Horus to have all its engines out of action.  Nobody can sway him from this.

Ahmed the Wary, as he has become affectionately known, will advise that they should spend most of the time on the Horus, airborne if possible, with guards posted.

Scene 2 – Arrival at the Oasis

After the action at Bir Sayyeed the Horus made its way southwards until in the far distance the mountains became visible.  Just how impressive the mountains were became apparent as they approached.  A massive almost impenetrable barrier of cliffs, false passes and no water at all stretched unbroken in what seemed a rough circle.  Only those lucky enough to find a path and have enough water would have any chance of crossing it at all.  Unless, of course, they were able to fly!

Around the cliffs was a strange and disturbing sight.  There appeared to be a rim of white.  And on closer inspection this was seen to be bones.  Thousands and thousands of bones.  The bones of men, horses and other beasts bleached white in the sun.  Mixed with them were the remains of other long dead creatures.  Some stirred fearful memories of the recent war.  But “They” could not have been here.  Could they?

Over the cliff wall flew the Horus and what a sight greeted their eyes!  A walled town stood amongst fields, orchards, pools of water and behind the town was a huge ancient wall holding back a reservoir of water.  All of this was surrounded by a series of concentric walls; four in number.  With the ruins of a further five walls outside these.  Each of these ruined walls was long overgrown but showing through the gaps were the signs of a fearsome struggle – bleached bones and those terribly familiar but strangely small carapaces.  It took several hours to cross these tumbled fortifications.  Occasionally a furtive movement attracted the eye but vanished before any identification was made.  Were they real or just the imagination?

Suddenly a dart like flying creature swooped in and narrowly missed Hassan.  It circled for another attack and was joined by another and another.  Soon a flock of a dozen or so swarmed around the Horus.  The rifles were readied.  The creatures attacked almost in formation.  The rifles cracked and three creatures fell from the sky and one crashed on deck to be clubbed to death by Hassan.  The other creatures circled kept at bay by a barrage of rifle fire that brought down several more.  Even so more and more creatures flew in until the sky was full of circling and darting creatures.

Ground

Far below – open scrubland dotted with ruins, copses and woods.

Situation:

As described above.

Horus

Crew armed with rifles.  Jonathon at the helm.  Euan is below and sees what is happening.  Without orders he breaks out the Maxim from its box and takes it on deck.  He mounts it almost unnoticed by the crew.  He goes below and returns with two boxes of ammunition just as the second attack begins.

Mission:  Drive off the bugs and make contact with the people on the ground.

Bugs

A couple of dozen flying bugs.  These are quite small maybe about half man-sized animals.

Mission: To kill or capture the humans.

Umpire

The bugs should not succeed and should be driven off.

Scene 3 – The City of Cambyses

The Horus has, naturally, been a sensation.  It landed in the town square an hour or so after the encounter with the flying bugs.  The crew were treated like heroes.  Feasts and receptions were held in their honour.  The professor was able to confirm that the inhabitants were indeed descended from Cambyses lost army and the local population.  However, contrary to the historians agreed story the Haboob had not, in fact swallowed the army.  It had driven them southwards to this rocky citadel.  Their scouts found a cave that led into a land of plenty.  There was abundant wildlife, water and good farmland.  It did not take long to establish a thriving city.  Unfortunately every expedition beyond the cliffs disappeared.  The search parties disappeared.  This was strange and soon nobody left the safety of the cliffs.  About 500 years after the foundation of the city a party of Romans arrived.  They stayed for a year or more then returned northwards.  Their leader took his new wife with him.  They were never to return.

Not long afterwards a star fell from the heavens.  And soon the creatures arrived.  These creatures looked like scorpions and spiders but were larger and more ferocious.  They knew no fear and thousands died defending the cliffs.  The Patriarchs set about building enormous walls inside the cliffs and these have held back the creatures for almost a thousand years.

After dinner one evening after a few months in the peaceful city the party sat together on the balcony of their accommodation.  They overlooked a pleasant garden in one of the minor palaces.  The Horus was fully repaired and the engines overhauled.  The fuel tanks held enough fuel to get them to Siwa Oasis almost everything was ready.  Only the storage lockers needed filled with food and the water tank topped up.  As they sat they reminisced.  Ahmed recounted his role with the Maxim in chasing off the flying attackers.  Then it dawned upon them.  There had been no further attacks, even on the test flights.  Yet the people here always talked about the Scorpions, as they called them, as being voracious killers.  While they chatted they began to compare notes. The Professor’s work indicated that the creatures were a lot more recent than the Patriarch had led them to believe.  The tumbled walls were at least two hundred years old and had all fallen about the same time.   Toby had found that there were tunnels below the city that were used as stores.  He had only seen stuff going in.  Nothing ever came out.

They were interrupted by the serving girl.  She brought fresh fruit juices and food.  They ate and talked until they grew drowsy and fell asleep where they lay.

They awoke in a brightly lit room.  They could not move.

Ground

The action takes place inside the pillared courtyard of a temple complex.  At one end of the courtyard is the main entrance and at the other is a smaller temple.  The temple is dark inside and its floor slopes downwards.  The whole complex is surrounded by a formidable wall that is designed to prevent anything coming out rather than stop anyone going in.  Three of the party are bound to rings attached to the pillars that surround the courtyard.  Someone is bound to each of the other pillars as well.  All appear to be recovering from the effect of being drugged.  Suspended from each pillar is a man or woman.  All are naked.  Through the entrance of the temple the robed priests march slowly across the courtyard chanting and spreading incense.  From somewhere music accompanies them.  Each priest has a crimson disc upon which is emblazoned a gold scorpion of the unique type favoured by the artists in this valley.  Warriors in heavy armour and armed with powerful bows and long spears stand immobile on the cross pieces above the pillars.

Situation

The drink was drugged and the party were destined to become part of the sacrifice.  However, the drugged food and drink had arrived at a time when most of the party were ready to retire for the night.  Only three were captured, the others escaping into the night aboard the Horus.  They are about to return to save their comrades.   In the meantime they have been joined by the few citizens that rescued them and who now reveal the true horror.  The leader tells them that the party were betrayed to the creatures and are participate in the Festival of the Sacrifice by becoming part of the human sacrifice.  The Professor had asked about this festival and had been told that it commemorated those who had been killed fighting the creatures.  She gave a different story.  The sacrifice was to be made to the Masters of the creatures.  These Masters, as she called them made sure that the people lived safely so long as they provided a large percentage of their harvests, no disease, no crime, no hunger and no pestilence.  However, every 10 years the sacrifice is made up not only of the usual harvest products and animals but also 100 humans.  The party had been selected by the Masters as they represented a significant threat.

Horus

The reduced party, with the addition of 6 citizens (2 female and 4 male) are on the Horus.  The locals are dressed in ancient armour and armed with bows, swords and spears.  They all carry shields.

Mission: To rescue the missing party members and free as many of the sacrifices as possible.

The Temple

There are 7 Cambyses’ priests who are summoning the worker bugs to collect the sacrifice.  Along the upper part of the pillars and around the walls are heavily armoured archers and spearmen to contain any workers that try to leave the courtyard.  Suspended from each pillar is at least one sacrificial victim.  Just how many will depend upon your model.

Mission:  To summon the workers and get out before they start to collect the offerings.  To prevent any interference with the ritual and also any escapes by workers into the city.

Bugs

The humans have delivered something to be collected.  A force of workers is all that is required for this operation as the humans are docile.

Mission:  To collect as many of the sacrifices as possible.  Any less than 75% and the workers will start to make up the numbers with priests, warriors, musicians or others in the temple area.

Umpire

This scene depends a lot on how you  set up the temple and how many pillars it has.  You need a substantial amount of victims.  They do not need to be naked any unarmed figures will do.  The priests need to summon the workers using sound, vibration and scent.  This will take some time.  They then need to escape themselves.  They are skilled at this and it should not be too difficult but it does allow the gates to be open for quite some time.

The warriors can be represented by any Ancient type figures.  I used Greek Hoplites and some Arab/Persian archers because I had them.  I told myself they were Greek mercenaries in the pay of Cambyses.  I’ve no idea if he had them or not.

The rescue party should be allowed some success in getting their own people out.  The local “helpers” will concentrate on freeing the locals.

If the party comes in on foot let them get in about half way through the ritual giving them a few turns before the workers start to arrive and before the workers emerge.  But not too long as their needs to be a considerable risk.  Maybe allow the Horus to arrive at the key moment to rescue them if it looks like they will be annihilated.

Scene 4 – Escape

The survivors are on the Horus.  They have enough fuel for  about 36 hours flying on one engine or 12 on all three.  Probably enough to get to Siwa and a bit further if they are careful.  The water tank is full.  The Maxim is still mounted and there is plenty of ammunition.  There are some seismic blasting charges in the Professor’s equipment as well as the four small bombs in the magazine.   Any survivors of the last scene can be used here too.

The creatures and their human subjects are mustering to prevent their escape.  Some flying creatures are already airborne.  The ground search continues.

The party are hidden hovering tethered above the ground to reduce the chance of vibrations attracting the creatures.  The party have been discussing their options and plan a breakout after dark.  They intend to place the bombs against the dam and detonate them using the seismic charges.  They intend to flood the entire city and drown the creatures in the tunnels.

Situation:

Just after dusk the party is at the dam with the Horus hovering in the shadows cast by the cliffs.  They are placing the charges in a section of the dam that the professor (or another if he has not made it thus far) has calculated as being weak enough for the small bombs to breach.  The seismic charges have a fuse length of up to 4 minutes each though they can be cut shorter if necessary.

There are patrols of Cambyses guards searching for them and also some flying and soldier bugs in the area.

Neither Cambyses’ troops nor the bugs know anything about explosives or fuses.

All of the adventurers appreciate how much is resting upon blowing the dam and destroying the queen in the hive.  It is clear that the hive here could expand, albeit more slowly that the West Country Hive.  It is therefore essential that the Horus escapes with the message or ensures the destruction of the queen by flooding the tunnels.

Ground

The main features are the dam and the cliffs.  The city is on a lower level on or off table as you see fit.

The dam is made of large blocks of stone eroded by many years into a cliff like mass.  There are some cracks and along the base a few, now empty, rooms.  There are a few leaks at these cracks and others have been repaired over the years.

The cliffs are steep but have a few paths that zigzag to the top so that the dam can be inspected.  There are also some caves reaching back inside the mountains.  These are decorated with numerous paintings from prehistory to the present day.  It is in the overhang of one of these that the Horus lies concealed.

Right at the top of the dam on the opposite side to the cave which shelters the Horus is a watchtower with a large signal fire to warn the city of a major leak.  There are 4 guards here all of the time with at least one on duty.

The rest of the terrain is rocky ground with bushes, thickets and small stands of trees along the line of a long dried watercourse leading from the foot of the dam.

The Horus

The Horus has dropped off the bomb party and now lies hidden in the shadows of the cave.  The Maxim is manned and ready with the whole crew standing to.  The engines are warm and can be started easily.  The Horus is ready to sweep down like a falcon to pick up the bomb party.   The bomb party has a signal lamp to call the Horus down.  Climbing lines and nets are ready on the hull sides.

Mission: To escape over the cliffs and recover the bomb party after the dam is breached if possible.

The Bomb Party

The bombs are to be placed in a crack in the stone blocks or piled by it and covered with loose blocks to channel the blast.   The selected position is on a ledge about two thirds of the way up the wall of the dam where there is a wide crack.  The Horus slipped in quietly to the cave and the bomb party climbed over the sides and along the dam.  Silence is essential even though the site chosen

Mission: to blow a hole in the dam and escape if possible.

The Tower Guards

Only one guard is on duty at night and they are not yet aware of the events in the city this afternoon.  The sentries are armed with knives and short swords.  They are not combat troops.

Mission: to watch the dam and give early warning of any leaks or breaches.

The Messenger

The messenger was sent out by the city leaders quite late when they remembered about the sentries in the high places.  He is unarmed and carries a message tube.  The message tells the sentries the light the signal flame if they see the white men.

Mission:  to deliver the message.

Cambyses’ Patrols

There are several patrols of light infantry backed up by forces of armoured warriors.  The light infantry are armed with daggers and javelins – maybe some have bows.  The heavies are as described in the previous scene.   The patrols are sweeping the valley heading towards the dam.

Mission: to find and capture or kill the intruders.

The Bugs

Realising the threat posed by these particular individuals the Queen has despatched a sizeable force of soldiers with some workers to bring back the bodies to the Hive.  The soldiers will attack Cambyses’ troops as well as the intruders if they are close together.

Mission:  to bring back the intruders, dead or alive as well as any Cambyses’ bodies that can be acquired afterwards.

Umpire

This game is a race against time and you need to foster and promote this.  The adventurers and their allies (if any) have to blow a hole in the dam before they are discovered and overrun.  They face overwhelming numbers of men and bugs.  They should have a reasonable chance of setting the bomb and the fuse but it should be pretty dodgy trying to escape.

There is more then enough explosive in the bombs to blow out enough blocks for the dam to crumble if they are set properly and some tamping is placed on top of them.  If they are rushed and no tamping is in place then the explosion has a chance of about 65% to 85% of breaching the dam immediately.  It  will probably collapse after being weakened at some time say a 15% chance at first and increasing by 5% every turn thereafter until it collapses.

Possible twists and Notes

The Resistance:  Some of the citizen’s have realised what is going on and will assist the adventurers when they can.  Probably the best times are at the Temple and again at the dam.  Perhaps a small party of the resistance attacks and silences the tower guards in a coup de main attack.

The Infestation:  The Horus is infested with one or more bugs that appear at some inopportune moment in the last scene either to betray its position or give that extra edge to the closing scene.  These may be as small as the infamous Tomb Scarabs or as large as a single soldier.

The Love Interest:  An extra complication for the heroes.  A local woman becomes infatuated or falls in love with one of them.  She then becomes a source of local knowledge but is an influence when deciding to escape. Do the heroes seek her out?  Does her paramour search for her?  Is she one of the victims chained up in the temple?  Does she hold some decisive secret only to be revealed in the last scene?  Does she know the only tunnel to the outside where the Horus can lie up?   Letting the Horus fly through is stretching it a bit when it can fly over but, who knows?

The search party:  The flyer has been gone so long that the families of Khaled and Toby have used their influence and an Anglo-Egyptian relief force has been despatched aboard an aerial frigate.  It may be attracted by the explosion at the dam.

Why did the Bugs not expand? This caused me a few problems to start with.  So I decided that there was not enough food stocks to maintain the Hive, support the food sources and expand across several hundred miles of desert.  Even the bug patrols that went beyond the cliffs died.  Other groups reaching the cliffs were killed by the Cambyses citizens and the Bugs.  It is a bit tenuous but it works for me.

Extra Information

The Party of adventurers: The British in the party are all ex-military and have recent experience in the West Country War.  Exactly why they left the Army is unclear but it may centre on their somewhat dubious acquisition of an aerolyth flyer after the war.  Most likely this had more to do with Lacey than Bigglesworth.  Khaled is an enthusiastic and capable young man and the professor, though older that the rest has been hardened by his time in Egypt and the Western Desert.  His two assistants are Bedouin and well used to the desert.  Bigglesworth, Lacey and Smyth are straight lifts from the Biggles book.  I have had to give them new first names to represent the previous generation of the families.  Essentially Biggles is an honest and upright chap who can fly any aircraft.  Lacey is his nephew and is from a rich aristocratic family.  He is a superb horseman, excellent shot and has all the virtues and vices that his upbringing.  Smyth is the honest British workman who can fix anything – a bit like Scotty in star Trek.  The others are inventions to give a decent crew and create all sorts of language problems – English, Arabic, Italian and French.  French was widely used in Egypt as a common language.

The priesthood:  led by the High Priest these men and women are controlling the population on behalf of the Bugs. Whether they are doing this knowingly for personal gain or unwittingly because they are under some form of mind control is up to the umpire.  If it is knowing then the Resistance has more chance of being active whereas a mind control needs to be more thought out.  For example the golden scorpion with ruby eyes may well be the conduit through which the mind control is effected.   Thus the adventurers may have an alternative ending by destroying the idol.  The Bugs retaliate leading to a mighty battle at the end.  However, the breaching of the dam remains the best (only?) way to destroy the Bugs here.

The Bugs:  these are not identical to the types in the West Country War.  They are similar but have more than a passing resemblance to desert scorpions, centipedes and scarabs as well as other local beasties.  They are generally man sized or smaller.  I used some plastic toys of spiders, scorpions, beetles and dragonflies.  While they were formidable opponents they were very susceptible to gunfire.

The Caravan Scouts: These men are not Arabs but Berbers.  They are about a day ahead of the main salt and slave caravan.  All are hardened to the desert but only the leader and one other are veteran warriors the others are on their first raid.

Cambyses Troops:  These are not the warriors of old.  They are well drilled for ceremonial but they have not engaged in warfare since they lost out to the Bugs.  They are quite soft as desert soldiers go. In-breeding has also taken its toll of the leadership.

The Hive:  This is a small Hive under the city.  It has one Queen (I used a big beetle) and a few drones (smaller beetles), the bulk of the Hive is made up of Workers (spiders), Soldiers (scorpions and ants) and flyers (dragonflies).

Alternatives to Cambyses: I have use Cambyses Lost Army in this game for a number of reasons.  I like Egyptian history.  We have travelled through the desert to the Gilf Kebir (my setting for the lost Oasis), visited Siwa Oasis and stood where Alexander was crowned Pharaoh, swum where Cleopatra bathed, crossed the white and black deserts and finally because my brother loaned me some of his Persians!  Alternatively, it would be quite possible for the citizens are descended from a Roman Legion, a Greek expedition, an Egyptian Force that became lost searching for King Solomon’s Mines or a cross country route to the lands of the Queen of Sheba.  Maybe a lost tribe of Africans that bears a more than passing resemblance to Zulus.  If you move the story geographically it could be set in Central/South America with Aztecs or Incas, deep in India or Outer Mongolia or maybe an island in the South Seas?