Guatemala Maxx

and Eye of Horus

A story by Tygon Panthera

After an idea by Pflarrian Collifox

This story is © 2005 by Marc-Dennis Horn. This story may not be sold or used for commercial profit in any form or fashion. This story may not be modified in any way. This story may not be posted on a mirror site or any other Internet site without the written permission of the author. This story may not be distributed on print, magnetic, electrical, optical or any other mediums.

David ‘Guatemala Maxx’ Celis © by himself

Michael Joseph Regan III and IV © by themselves

Pflarrian Collifox © by Brian Empanger

Markus White © by Mark White

Victoria Panthera © by Joshua Fox

All other characters are © by Marc-Dennis Horn

Chapter 3

- The city of Al Minya, Egypt, Africa

11:54 am, Monday, 13th of May, 1939 -

      “Why in the world did I agree to go with you?”

      “If you would think back,” Maxx replied with a chuckle. “Then you would realize that it was you who insisted to come with me to Egypt.”

      “Well, you could at least have warned me about the weather!” Mike snapped back to the feline.

      “But I did.”

      “No, you said it would be hot, not that this country is one big frying pan.”

      Maxx chuckled at that description, which he had to admit was pretty accurate. However, having been born in Guatemala, which had no cold seasons worth mentioning, as well as his many years in the field, the feline was quite used to hot weather.  Mike, on the other paw, had spent most of his life in the halls of Furnet College’s library, which stayed rather cool, even in the brightest sunshine.  He also had never left Colorado in his entire life and after that Egypt must have felt like hell itself.

      “Don’t worry, Mike,” he said as he looked around. “Once we are on the way the wind will cool you down.”

      On the same day they had found the map of Asyuot, Maxx had contacted Tygon Panthera.  In a span of time so short as to be miraculous, their transportation to Al Minya had been arranged.  The journey had been pretty uneventful.  Even Mike, who was not used to traveling such long distance, had been rather quiet, at least until they had arrived. They had made stops on the Azores, Hammamet, a city in Lybia whose name Maxx had forgotten, and then another stop in Cairo.  From there a small plane had flown them to Al Minya. The feline was impressed by Tygon Panthera’s resources.  Normally one had to wait at least a week until the necessary work was done for a journey like this.  But from here they would need other transportation.  Not even Tygon Panthera was able to contact someone who could take care of that on such a short notice.  Fortunately Maxx had his own contacts here.

      “What are you looking at?” Mike asked after a few minutes. “I hope you don’t plan to just ask a random fur to take us to... wherever we need to go.”

      “Nah, don’t worry,” Maxx replied, still letting his eye roam their surroundings as they walked down the dusty streets of Al Minya. “I’m looking for... that!”

      Mike’s head turned in the direction Maxx was pointing, but the only thing he saw was an old, worn building that did not distinguish itself from the other buildings around it, except for the large sign above the entrance.  The sign was written in Egyptian and the raccoon had no idea what it said.

      He was about to ask Maxx what he wanted in there when the feline grabbed his left arm and dragged him into the house.  A moment later the raccoon found himself inside the building.  He could not suppress a sigh of relief as he finally got out of the burning sun.  The downside, however, was that he could see almost nothing.  After the brightness of the Egyptian day, the inside of the building seemed almost completely dark.  Before he could really see anything, he heard a rather loud ding and moments later he recognized something that looked remotely like a reception desk with a large bell on it.  Even as Mike began to wonder if this was a hotel and if Maxx intended to spend the night, a slightly muffled voice came from rear part of the house.  Again, it was in Egyptian and the raccoon could not understand a thing, but Maxx seemed satisfied for now so he did not ask any questions.  Instead he took the time to look around the room.

      On the inside the building looked old and worn as well, but it was well kept, but aside from the desk there was not much that needed to be kept.  Mike could see a few old chairs arranged around an equally old table and some maps on the walls that Mike guessed represented the surrounding areas. Nothing that helped the raccoon decipher what Maxx wanted here, but he really hoped that Maxx did not intend to spend the night in this place.

      A few moments later there was the sound of a door opening and closing and as Mike turned around he could see a tall canine enter the room from the chamber’s only other door.  Before the raccoon could get a good look the canine opened his eyes wide and jumped forward to embrace Maxx in a crushing hug. “Maxx!” the fur exclaimed in almost perfect English with only a slight accent. “Old buddy, great to see you! What are you doing here? Why didn’t you call me?”

      “Nice to see you too, Pflarr,” the feline replied, hugging the canine right back.  “To answer your last question, I didn’t call you because you guys don’t have phones out here,” he added with a grin.

      “Oh, yeah” Pflarr replied, ginning a little sheepish. “But tell me, why are you here?”

      “Before I do that, let me introduce you to someone,” Maxx said and turned towards Mike. “This is Mike Regan.”

      “Mike Regan?” the canine asked astonished.  “The son of THE Mike Regan.”

      “Exactly that one,” Maxx replied with a wide grin. “Mike, this is Pflarrian Collifox.”

      Pflarrian moved forward to shake Mike’s paw. “Great to meet you,” he said. “You guys take a seat, I’ll get something to drink.”

      With these words the canine disappeared again. “He’s not always like that,” Maxx said with a grin.  Mike’s expression telling him that the raccoon was somewhere between being surprised, overwhelmed and confused. “He just doesn’t get visitors from back home very often.”

      “So he is American?”

      Maxx nodded as he sat down on one of the simple but sturdy chairs. “From Minnesota, I think.  He has spent the last six or seven years of his life in Egypt.”

      “Why?” Mike asked.

      “Mostly because he likes it here,” the feline replied, reclining in his chair. “Pflarrian is a history major with an interest in the Egyptian culture. He earns his living as a mapmaker, a researcher, and a guide for expeditions, wealthy visitors and pretty much everybody else who needs a guide.”

      “Plus the weather is much nicer,” Pflarrian said from behind the raccoon.  Mike almost jumped out of his chair, not having heard the canine approach.  “Minnesota is so terribly cold,” he went on, seemingly taking no notice of Mike’s reaction as he put down a tray with a large bottle and three glasses. “Egypt is much warmer.  A little too warm, in a way, but the sun and the wind make up for it.”

      As the canine turned around to pull another chair closer to the table Mike got his first good look at their host.  Pflarrian looked pretty much like his house.  Simple, but sturdy. His clothing was exactly the same at the locals, made of heavy fabrics that could stand a heavy beating.  His fur was rather long and a little dusty, but that seemed normal around here.  Said fur was mostly various shades of brown, with a white patch on his chin and throat that Mike guessed continued down his front.  To the raccoon he looked like a rough coat collie.  The only things that disrupted that impression were the black ears and the long, red fur on his tail. Both looked like they belonged to a fox and not a collie.

      “Pflarrian Collifox, just in case Maxx hasn’t told you already,” the hybrid said with a smile and offered his paw to Mike for another pawshake.

      “Yes, he has,” the raccoon said, blinking but accepted the offered paw. “Just a moment ago.”

      Pflarrian looked at Mike with a surprised expression but smiled a moment later. “He indeed did, didn’t he?”

      “He did,” Mike said with a nod. “And just in case you forgot it, I am Mike Regan.”

      “Yes, that is hard to miss,” Pflarrian replied. “You look just like him.”

      “Umm… thank you.”

      “Now, what brings you to Egypt, and subsequently into my humble abode?” the canine asked while filling their glasses.

      “This does,” Maxx said, putting the Eye’s diary onto the table.

      “Nice book,” Pflarrian replied, reaching for the small book.  “The Eye of Horus, eh?” he asked after reading over the first few pages.  “Walking in your father’s steps,” he added with a wink to Mike.

      “We are trying to find him,” the raccoon replied, his eyes narrowing lightly.

      “I see,” the canine said, slowly leaning back.  “So, where are we going?”

      “Asyuot,” Maxx stated.  “But we need to get a team first.  There is nobody who really knows much about the ruins and such I think locals would be the best choice.”

      Pflarrian stroked a paw slowly over his muzzle, his eyes wandering over the large map on the wall.  “Hmmm... you might be right there,” he murmured.  “We might be able to find the right furs in Naritot.”

      “That’s not really on the way to Asyuot,” Mike interjected.

      Pflarrian looked at the raccoon for a moment before he turned to Maxx. “He has done his homework, hasn’t he?”

      “I read a lot,” Mike said before the feline could reply anything.

      “I see.  Anyway, you are quite right,” Pflarrian went on after a moment.  “Alas, there is not much at all between here and the ruins of Asyuot.  If we go to Naritot we can hire the furs we need, lose only a day or two and can still try to get a guide who knows the ruins on our way there.  Sound good?”

      Much as the raccoon hated to admit it, what the hybrid said made sense, and after a few moments he nodded.  What followed was a long conversation about what might be needed for such an expedition, which was mostly between Maxx and Pflarrian.  Mike did not really have much to do, aside from taking small sips from the clear liquid in his glass, which turned out to be mostly water, mixed with the juice of some local fruit and it didn’t take long for him to doze off.

      Eventually the raccoon was jolted awake by a paw that was shaking him by the shoulder. “Come on, sleepycoon,” Maxx said. “Time to go into a proper bed and get some sleep.  Tomorrow at sunrise we will be on our way.”

      With a nod and a long yawn Mike got up and followed Maxx through the house.  He could not remember much afterwards.  Only that the feline told him to lie down at some point and only moments after that he was asleep.

#

- The Desert between Al Minya and Naritot, Egypt, Africa

9:22 am, Tuesday, 14th of May, 1939 -

      “Proper bed my tail,” Mike groaned, rubbing his back for the what seemed to be millionth time.

      “Sorry, I don’t have guests very often and I’m not really prepared for any,” Pflarrian replied.

      “Nevermind him,” Maxx said. “He still slept like a cub so it can’t be too bad.”

      Mike grumbled to himself but didn’t really reply anything.  Right now he was more worried that his stomach might rebel against the control through his brain anyway than about his strained back. The roads between the cities in Egypt were not the best, to say it in a friendly way.  The car, an old all-terrain vehicle that looked almost as old as Pflarrian himself was jumping and shaking as they made their way through the desert. Fortunately it was not a full sand desert but more like dry, sandy plains.  Still it was not exactly a pleasant ride.

      “How did you two meet?” the raccoon asked after a few moments of relative silence.

      “College,” Maxx said simply.

      “I studied history at the Whitetail University in Minneapolis.  Back then they did regular student exchanges with Furnet College,” Pflarrian elaborated. “That is how we met and we kept in contact afterwards.”

      “Pflarr here is an expert in everything Medieval, and I was never good at that,” Maxx added with a chuckle. “So everytime I had to do something that had to do with that I asked him.”

      “Then how did you end up in Egypt?” Mike asked, leaning forward so he could understand the other furs better.

      “A variety of reasons, but mostly due to one of your father’s expeditions,” the collie-fox replied. “I accompanied it to get some experiences with archeology and I fell in love with the country.  Mind you, the fact that I can research the Medieval Mameluk culture more easily here doesn’t hurt.”

      Mike leaned back again, his head turning as he allowed his gaze to wander over the landscape. “Strange love,” he muttered.

      “Ever been to Minnesota?” Pflarrian asked after a short snicker. “It will freeze your tail off,” he explained after Mike replied no. “I much prefer weather like this.”

      “I guess I can concede the point, but what about all the sand?”

      Pflarrian sighed in mock depression.  “It does get everywhere, doesn’t it?  You get used to it after a while,” he added with a smile.

      That made a certain sense to Mike, and it confirmed Maxx’s comments from the previuous evening.

      “So, who is this Ohmar fur we are supposed to meet?” Mike inquired, leaning forward again.

      “An old... friend.”  Mike did not miss the pause Pflarrian made.  “We haven’t seen each other in quite a while,” the canine said after Mike asked him about that.

      “Not since the last time, I would guess,” Maxx said, turning his head slightly to glance at the hybrid, who sighed.

      “No, not since last time.”

      “What last time?” Mike inquired, but he was not granted an answer.  He leaned back into the seat, which seemed even more uncomfortable by now and they drove in silence for a few minutes before the raccoon spoke up again.

      “Are we there yet?”

#

      “So, this is Naritot?”

      “Yep,” Pflarrian replied as Mike looked over the small group of houses. They looked pretty much like the ones the raccoon has seen in Al Minya, with the exception that in the other city the houses were built leaning against each other.  In Naritot every house stood alone, and they weren’t lined up neatly for streets either but built seemingly at random around a surprisingly big marketplace.

      “Not very much,” he muttered.

      “True,” Pflarrian agreed. “But it doesn’t have to be.  See, most furs who come to the market live in small settlements in the area around Naritot,” the canine explained.  “Quite a few of them are nomadic too.”

      “Ergo most furs who live in Naritot are the shopkeepers of the market,” Mike stated, finishing the hybrid’s explanation.

      “Exactly,” Pflarrian replied with a smile.

      The two furs were walking through the market of Naritot, seemingly at random. Now and then Pflarrian moved closer to one of the stands and exchanged a few words with the keepers, which Mike could not understand.  Otherwise they were pretty much just joywalking, which annoyed the raccoon to no end.  He wanted to get going to Asyuot and start digging, so to speak.

      “So, where is this Ohmar fur we want to hire?” he eventually asked.

      “That is what Maxx is finding out,” Pflarrian said between swallowing pieces of meat that he had purchased a few minutes ago.  “Ohmar does not have an office or anything like that,” he elaborated as he saw that Mike was not very happy with that reply. “Sometimes he is here and sometimes he is there.  But don’t worry, finding him is just a matter of asking the right furs.”

      “But why is Maxx doing that?  You are the local guide here.  Shouldn’t you be much better qualified for such things?”

      “Good thinking,” the canine said with a nod.  “However, Maxx is just as good at these things as I am.  In the meantime I am making sure that we will have enough to eat during the expedition, and at that I am better than Maxx.”  Mike did not reply so Pflarrian guessed the raccoon accepted that explanation.

      They continued to explore the market of Naritot for about two more hours during which Mike fortunately kept relatively quiet. The raccoon was eager to go onwards, but he knew that some things took time and in this particular case there was nothing they could do about it.

      Eventually, however, they met Maxx at one of the shops and judging from the feline’s expression he had been successful.

      “Great news!” he called as soon as they had spotted each other.  “I found several furs who agreed that Ohmar is in a small restaurant in the eastern part of Naritot.”

      “Excellent,” Pflarrian replied.  “We are about done here as well, so let’s not waste time and get there right away.”

      It was not much of a walk, since Naritot was not big to begin with.  However, because the city was build so randomly, Mike felt lost after only a minute of walking. Maxx and Pflarrian looked much more confident as they steered through the narrow gaps between the houses and eventually they ended up before one that was a bit bigger than the others, with a tall jackal was guarding the entrance.  Again Pflarrian said a few words to that guard that Mike could not understand and then the jackal let them in with a nod.

      The inside was not much cooler than the outside, but Mike was still glad to be out of the glare of the Egyptian sun.  The raccoon could see that this was indeed a restaurant, but it was unlike any he had ever seen.  The dark atmosphere compared poorly to the bright light outside, and to Mike it felt like only individuals of a dubious nature would dine at such a place.  Indeed, the few furs that occupied the tables seemed to prefer to keep their matter private and turned as soon as the raccoon looked at them.

      Maxx grabbed Mike by the shoulder and pulled him deeper into the dark restaurant towards a door that was guarded by two more jackals.

      “Tell Ohmar that Pflarrian Collifox would like to talk to him,” Pflarrian told the guards.  They both grinned widely and one of them disappeared through the door.  A few moments later he returned.

      “Please enter,” he said in heavily accented English.  Mike did not at all like the way the canine was grinning and Maxx and Pflarrian seemed uncomfortable as well, but they followed the fur through the door nonetheless.

      As soon as all three were in the room behind that door everything happened almost too fast for Mike to follow.  A large figure clad in purple robes walked quickly towards them.  Pflarrian extended his arms as if to hug that fur but the figure pulled his right paw backwards and with astonishing quickness punched Pflarrian in the face.

End of Chapter 3

On to chapter 4

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