A sarcophagus
You're closer to the walls anyway, so you decide to try one of the sarcophagi leaning against them first; upon approaching the one closest to you, you struggle to move the heavy lid... but after much strain, it falls off. Unfortunately, within the sarcophagus, there seems to be nothing but mummy wrappings and a wooden jackal mask. Suddenly, before you have any time to react, the wrappings whip out of the sarcophagus all on their own and wrap around you, cocooning you in a tight grip with your arms pinned to your sides; the mask floats in the air, turns around, and places itself upon your head, and you feel an invisible force pulling you into the sarcophagus. You struggle in vain, your cries muffled by the mask as you hear the heavy lid lift off the ground and seal you inside; panic rushes over you at first, but then you hear a strange voice—one that seems to come from all around you, from right next to you, and from far away, all at once—and you find yourself straining to hear. It speaks in an ancient tongue, and you can't seem to understand it at first... but slowly, the words begin to make sense to you:
Listen and obey...
Fear not the dark...
Listen and obey...
Fear not the night...
Listen and obey...
Let out a bark,
And your worries shall be swept away...
The words repeat over and over in your mind, and you could swear you hear the sounds of barking amidst the words. As you listen, you find yourself almost wanting to join in, to do as the voice says and bark as well... and eventually, you can't control it anymore. You let out a bark... and feel a wave of calm wash over you, as you suddenly find your arms and legs slightly more mobile. The mask feels a little tighter, though, which makes you worry for some reason, but the voice promised that your worries would go away if you just barked more. So you bark again, and the lid of the sarcophagus slides just a bit, your arms and legs being just a bit more mobile as well. The mask presses further against your face, but somehow it doesn't feel uncomfortable; in fact, it feels almost natural, like it belongs there. You bark again, and again, and again, and at last the lid slides off, freeing you; you look down at your body to find that you are still wrapped up like a mummy, but your arms and legs are wrapped in such a way as to allow movement. A strange sensation of something behind you startles you, but then you realize that it's just your tail. You feel so calm that it takes you a while to notice that the braziers are all out, leaving you in total darkness... and yet you can see as clearly as ever. All the other sarcophagi in the room open up to reveal others like you, with Jackal heads and wrappings like yours. They emerge and begin barking, and you lend your own bark to the chorus as all present—yourself included—prostrate yourselves before the statue of Anubis, Lord of the Dead, who made you in His image so that you may serve His will. Your tail wags at the thought of aiding your Master in guiding the souls of the newly-dead towards their final rest, and forever serving at His side.
Written by CoggerD on 12 October 2023
The end (for now)