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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Falkus" data-source="post: 3771249" data-attributes="member: 22634">Despite Meredith's pokings and prodings, she couldn't find anything unusual about the altar. No secret passages, no death traps, nothing. There was one thing she found, however. Markings on the altar suggested that, at some point, a burst of automatic weapons fire had ricocheted off of it. As she moved about the room, she found several spent shells lying on the floor.The book Nick picked up was indeed a journal, as Cade suspected. It was the journal of one Dr Alik Vasilev, a member of a group called the KGB Paranormal division. Many of the earlier entries had been destroyed by time, but the later ones were still legible.[sblock="The Journal"]June 19, 1959We have finally arrived at Greece, near the coordinate of the German dig site. I only wish I could have gotten permission for this expedition earlier. There are twenty of us, ten archeologists and ten soldiers. Captain Ivanov is heading up the military contingent, I command the archeologists.June 21, 1959I lead Project Foresight, a vital part of the USSR’s paranormal research. The goal of our expedition is to retrieve the Prophecy Stone that was used by the oracles of ancient times to control their ability to predict the future. We also seek the means by which the oracles achieved their precognitive abilities which, according to the documents we retrieved from Germany after we conquered Moscow, should be stored in the same site.With the ability to predict the future, and to control the oracle’s precognitive abilities, the Soviet Union shall reign supreme over the world.June 22, 1959Odd, the reports we recovered from Berlin after the war indicated that the dig site was simply ended because of the worsening situation for the Germans in the war, but we’ve found the remains of several dead German soldiers. It seems they died violently. We had them analyzed and disposed of. Probably nothing to be concerned about. No doubt they died from a military strike or some such event.June 29, 1959My God! I was in a more isolated area of the ruins today, when Captain Ivanov tried to inject me with something. I just barely managed to avoid it. I demanded to know what he was doing, but he just kept coming at me. I managed to draw my pistol, and shot him in the heart. My God, when he died, he just fell apart into a pile of sand. What was he? What happened? I dare not report it, for I know no one will believe me. Instead, I won’t mention it, and hopefully, the others will assume he’s gone missing or perhaps deserted and defected. I have a friend in the Moscow university chemistry department, I’ll send him a sample of the sand, and see what he can make of it.My God, I still can’t believe it.July 9, 1959The KGB Paranormal special operations group arrived in force today; they almost exposed the dig site when they arrived. Somehow, they found out what had happened, my friend at the university must have reported it. They interrogated me heavily about Captain Ivanov, and arrested two more people from the expedition, after performing blood tests. No doubt this is related to whatever it was that Ivanov was. The KGB told me never to speak of it again, under the pain of death, and that the only reason I wasn’t being liquidated was because of the importance of my project.July 12, 1959We finally reached the main chamber today, and finally found the artifacts we came here for. A medium sized, ornamentally carved stone was key among them. Odd, now that I look at it, the carvings are in Egpytian Hieroglyphics, not Greek. Perhaps it is older than we thought, and did not originate in Greece. I shall have to take time to translate them later.The other artifacts included a strange ruby that glowed with a powerful inner light, and about a dozen sealed, stone jars. They have resisted all of my analysis attempts so far. The readings I’m getting from the ruby simply cannot be true. I need more reliable equipment.July 13, 1959The artifacts have been shipped off back to the Motherland. I will join them once we have completed our studies of the writings here, and sealed the site. It seems a shame not to more thoroughly investigate this archeological wonder, but we cannot afford to let the Americans discover what was held here.July 14, 1959Rykov, one of my assistants, has gone missing. I’ve ordered some of the soldiers to look for him, he probably injured himself July 15, 1959My God, we found Rykov. He’s been torn limb from limb by some inhuman force. What could have done this to him? It’s set most of the expedition on edge.The replacement military commander has ordered us to make a final sweep of the premises for any valuable artifacts or information, and then he’s going to collapse it with demolitions charges. A shame, but, given the circumstances, understandable.July 16, 1959The legends were true, so it seems. I, and the survivors of the expedition, have barricaded ourselves inside the main chamber. Earlier today, two of the archeologists were killed, torn to pieces, before our eyes as we were preparing the demolition charges to collapse the site. It was a giant Minotaur; it matched the description of the Greek legends too closely to be anything else. We must have awoken it when we removed the artifacts. I suppose that if the legends of the Oracle of Delphi are true, then so must the other Greek legends. Fascinating, it must be the guardian spoken of in the histories of this place.July 17, 1959This will be my final entry, for I am trapped and bleeding to death. So much for my dreams of being the hero of the Soviet Union in my lifetime. Hopefully, my name and my research will live on. The Minotaur attacked us in the main chamber, tearing several of us to pieces, and severely injuring me. The last four soldiers fled in the confusion. I heard the explosives detonate at the entrance a minute ago, so I would be unable to leave even if I could walk.Thank God that the artifacts have been shipped to the Hammerfall Base. My assistant is there, he will be able to determine how they function. Long live the USSR.[/sblock]Suddenly, all the members of the team heard the echo of a bestial roar of rage coming from somewhere within the complex.</blockquote>

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