Matsuo Shin and The Seal of Solomon

Matsuo Shin and The Seal of Solomon is story 12 in the continuing adventures of Matsuo Shin.

Plot

Arriving at the University one day, Matsuo was puzzled to hear what sounded like a scuffle coming from the next office. Going to investigate, he discovered a group of men angrily confronting Professor Satori, a member of the Archaeology department. Before he could intervene, however, he was quickly knocked out from behind. The last thing he saw was a dark man with a scar running down his cheek.

When Matsuo came to, he found Suzuki Otome, Satori's assistant, standing over him. Suzuki explained that the police are investigating the office. Matsuo quickly learned that Satori had been found murdered, his office ransacked. The police interviewed Matsuo, still groggy, which satisfied them of his innocence. After they left, however, Matsuo investigated on his own. Much to his frustration, he found that the police had taken away most of what was in Satori's office. However, he knew that Satori would often hide things, such as his lunch, away in little alcoves in the wall. Tapping on the walls, Matsuo eventually uncovered the hidden spot and pulls from it a file filled with papers. Quickly leaving the university, he was unaware that he was being watched by the man with the scar.

Back at the manor, Matsuo looked over the papers with Sir Reginald Maximus. The papers seemed to be some sort of notes written down in an ancient form of Hebrew. Unable to understand it, Matsuo was greatly relieved to find a few scratched out notes in Japanese--a translation? While most of the words were meaningless to them, they are able to pinpoint two words: “Beckermann” and “Seal of Solomon.” Uncertain as to what these words refer to, Matsuo was about to ask Reginald when Sally walked in, curious as to what the two were looking at. Though he attempted to hide the papers, she eventually (after climbing all over him) managed to grab them from him and learn the truth. Meanwhile, a dark car watched the manor, its occupant quickly contacting someone on their phone and reporting a “slight complication.”

That night in bed, Sally asked Matsuo why he was getting involved, since the case had very little to do with him. Matsuo admitted he wasn't exactly certain why; he just feels he needs to. Sally interrupted and corrected him: he didn't need to, but he wanted to. He was doing it out of boredom, she explained, as nothing had happened lately in life. She felt a bit hurt, wondering if she meant so little to him, but Matsuo stopped her questions with a kiss and a reminder that even if he does leave on these trips, he will always return home to her.

The next day, Matsuo returns to the university, intent on finding some sort of clue to the papers. Interviewing the secretary of the archeology department (and with some slight help from a psychic nudge), Matsuo learns that Satori had been in contact with a Dr. Beckermann from the University of Jerusalem. Before he leaves, however, the secretary also mentions Suzuki had been asking the same thing not long after he arrived. As he exits the building, he is suddenly waylaid by a group of thugs. Pinning him against the wall, Matsuo soon comes face to face with Suzuki, who demands the file. Matsuo, realizing she was the culprit behind the original murder, asks her what it was that was so important to kill the professor for. Suzuki admits that the death was unnecessary; as she only needed his research but that she had grown tired of “standing in his shadow” for so long. As Suzuki once again demands the papers, Matsuo notices a student drive up on a scooter. Thinking quickly, Matsuo blanks out the thug’s visual centers, causing them to think he has turned invisible. Escaping from their grasp, Matsuo commanders the scooter and rides off, Suzuki (who can still see him) ordering the men to go after him.

Thinking he has lost the men, Matsuo is surprised to see them coming after him in a car. Turning onto a street, he soon gets hit by the Tokyo traffic, but manages to swerve his way through the busy road, the car behind him attempting to plow through anything that comes in their way. While he does this, Matsuo pulls out his phone and manages to get in contact with Aes, attempting to ask him for a “favor”. Matsuo’s concentration is interrupted as several shots ring past his head, the thugs starting to shoot at him. Still trying to get his instructions through to Aes, Matsuo manages to make it through traffic but sees that he’s approaching a train crossing, the train rolling down the tracks quickly. Glancing back and seeing the car catching up to him, Matsuo desperately tries to get the last instruction to the ship, just as the scooter approaches the crossing. At the very last second, the scooter makes it across the train tracks, the chasing car forced to do a quick stop in order to prevent from crashing into the side of the train. As the last carriage finally passes, the thugs are dismayed to find the scooter crashed onto the ground, with no sign of Matsuo and no sign of any footprints to where he might have gone to.

Just outside Jerusalem, Matsuo winces, the teleportation having basically dumped him to the ground. Giving a quick thanks to Aes, he slowly makes his way into the city to find a hotel where he can stay for the night. He is unaware that the man with the scar is watching him enter and immediately calls Suzuki to report this. Suzuki doesn’t believe him at first, questioning how a man could get half way across the world in a matter of moments. After he swears to the truth, she tells him to keep watch and to get those papers when he has the chance, reminding him that she did not agree to back his efforts just for him to fail. After agreeing to this, the scarred man orders two other men to keep watch and trail him, as he might lead them to the person they require.

The next morning, Matsuo heads to the university, hoping to find Dr. Beckermann and possibly some answers to the mysterious pages. After several hours of searching, he finally manages to find the doctor’s office and is surprised to be answered by a woman. Introducing herself as Dr. Judith Beckermann, she reveals that while her father was a former instructor at the university, she has taken over his post in charge of Hebrew studies. After a few introductions, Matsuo shows her the papers, hoping she can make meaning out of them. Looking over the texts, Judith identifies the writing as being early Hebrew and that it references the seal of Solomon. When Matsuo presses her for more information, she explains the seal of Solomon was supposedly a signet ring that King Solomon used to control Jinn and Demons. She goes on to say that most of the information on this is in the Testament of Solomon, a document which had been dated to around the 1st century and had been written in Greek. She is astonished that this seems to come from a Jewish source and wonders where it possibly could come from. Matsuo remembers that Satori had recently returned from a dig in Jordan and had been quite excited though no one had paid much attention. He wonders that perhaps he had found some sort of writing there to substantiate this. Reading on the notes, they discover it claims the ring had been stolen, taken by a witch of the south to her death along the path shown. However, there seems to be no further information. Discussing it, Judith reasons that perhaps the witch mentioned is the Queen of Sheba, who was mentioned in some texts as being a powerful magic user. Likewise, it was more than likely that the place of her death would where Sheba once was, a place no archeologist is absolutely sure about. The first choice location is in Ethopia, around the city of Meroe, but Judith thinks it more likely the location they want to go to is the ruins of Ma’rib in Yemen, since it seems to match the legends more. As Matsuo agrees to this decision, he pulls out his gun and shoots out the window, killing a gunman who had been aiming at him. He quickly tells Judith that he realized he was being followed the moment he left his hotel and that he has to leave again before anyone else gets hurt. However, Judith insists on coming with, excited by the prospect of discovering this aspect of Jewish history. Begrudgenly, Matsuo quickly exits the university with Beckermann, taking the papers with them. Getting into her car, Matsuo briefly spots the man with the scarred face stepping out of the shadows, gun in hand, but sees him put it away as they leave the campus.

The scarred man takes out a cellphone and places a call, telling them to prepare for visitors and to alert their brothers in Yemen. He then mutters to himself how it won’t be long till they will no longer have to take orders from an “outsider”. After a plane flight, the pair arrives in Sana’a, Yemen. After enduring some checkpoints, including using a falsified ID for Beckermann, the two manage to rent a jeep and head for Ma’rib. As they ride past the Ma’rib pipeline, Matsuo notices Judith playing with a lighter. She quickly admits she’s not a smoker, but it belonged to her father and she uses it whenever she’s nervous. Matsuo admits he is nervous as well, as he isn’t certain it’s merely Suzuki who is after the seal and given the power of the ring, who knows what havoc they could cause. They are unaware three of the workers at the pipeline, a very large burly man and two smaller men are watching them go, each quickly removing themselves from the pipeline.

Arriving at the remains of the old city, Matsuo and Judith quickly start their search for any possible hidden catche that might uncover where the queen was buried. After several hours, the two are no closer to their mission then when they started. Deciding to rest before they go any further, Matsuo finds an anclove near one of the buildings to sit down. However, as soon as Judith sits down, the ground underneath them caves in and collapses, causing them to tumble down into a hidden cavern like room.

Quickly, regaining their bearings, Matsuo finds the room has a larger hallway leading from it. As they travel through it, they notice various writings along the surface, several of it similar to the story of Sheba’s visit to Solomon and one which seems to suggest in shape the first temple in Jerusalem. Judith becomes rather incredulous that they could have found her burial place purely by chance, while Matsuo jokes that perhaps a higher power is guiding them. As they reach the end of the path, they find themselves in a large burial room, an elaborate stone sarcophicius in front of them. From the designs on the surface of it, Judith becomes convinced this is the burial place of the Queen of Sheba. Eager to see for themselves if this is the case, Matsuo manages (with a little help of his telekinesis) to pry the lid off the case, only to find it completely empty. Despondent, Judith suggests that they may have been too late, or that perhaps it was simply a legend after all, causing her to feel that she wasted her time coming there. Matsuo, however, soon notices some designs along the side of the casket which they had fail to see the first time they entered. Alerting Judith to this, she is astonished to discover the design of the seal of Solomon printed on it, as well as the words written in the same ancient Hebrew text as the notes, something which should not be possible in that region. Looking over the words, Judith finds the inscription reveals this is simply a false tomb and that the queen upon death was moved to a secret location. Upon further reading, the location is told to be found beneath “the great tower in the city of the Kush”. With these words, Judith immediately realizes where it lies: the city of Meroe in Ethiopia. It also warns, however, of the power of a treasure buried there, one which must be used with wisdom and humility.

Having copied the location onto the notes, the two make their way out of the hidden tomb and back towards their jeep. As they drive along the pipeline, they are soon stopped by what appears to be a checkpoint. Growing suspicious of the three men in charge of it, Matsuo attempts to ask a question, only for the largest man to grab a large wrench and attempt to swing it at his head. Barely dodging the attack, Matsuo tumbles out of the jeep, the other two men trying to attack Judith as well. One of the smaller men pulls out a knife and tries to slash at Judith, the slighter woman barely moving out of the way, but getting a cut on her left arm in the process, dropping the papers. Missing another swing from the larger man’s wrench, Matsuo manages to kick the tool out of the attacker’s hand using his whip and then use a lonchiki move to dislocate his arm, before knocking him out with another move. Seeing the man trying to attack Judith, Matsuo spots a nearby joint in the pipe and using his telekinesis to burst it, spraying the attacker with oil. Thinking quickly, Judith pulls out her lighter and throws it at the man, causing him to burn alive. Grabbing the woman, Matsuo starts the jeep and drives away. As they head back towards Sana’a, Judith realizes that they had lost the notes and without it, their path towards burial location. Matsuo calms her fears, however, explaining that he had been copying the notes down since they began this trip and thus are still ahead of the game.

In a hotel in Sana’a, the third man hands over the notes to the man with the scars, who swears to him that the two outsiders will pay for the death they had caused. He then hands it over to Suzuki, who tells them they do not have a moment to lose and to contact the rest of their allies. They have a plane to catch.

Upon landing in Ethiopia, Matsuo and Judith spend the night in a hotel in separate rooms. Meeting in Matsuo’s room and looking over the notes they have so far, they get into a conversation over the treasure. Judith wonders if Matsuo is taking the enormity of what they plan to accomplish into consideration, especially if they do find the ring. Matsuo says he does but he tends to push it to the back of his mind. Judith accuses him of being only in this for the glory, as simply some kind of mercenary archeologist. This accusation troubles Matsuo and he doesn’t deny it to Judith, but he states that he came here to learn more and perhaps while he does find the chance to find the seal exciting, he is more interested in making sure it isn’t abused. Judith understands, but reminds him that with anything of that sort of power, perhaps it is better that no one have it, even them. Turning in for the night, Matsuo thinks on these words.

The next morning, after gathering supplies, the two arrive at the remains of the great city of Meroe. Looking over his journal, Matsuo and Judith realize the great tower much be the largest of the city’s many pyramids. While going through the area, Matsuo quickly realizes they are not alone, but does not tell Judith. After many hours searching, they finally find what appears to be a tower shaped monument, half sunken in the sand. Grabbing a shovel, they go to work in an attempt to discover a way in, finally pin pointing a loose stone in surface and with some effort, removing it to reveal a passageway inside. Just before they go inside, however, several men in camo appear out of the sand, pointing guns at the two of them. Glancing over, Matsuo sees the man with the scars approach, followed by Suzuki. She introduces the man as Ahmed Al Hasan, leader of a small band of “revolutionaries” and she had paid them to help her find the seal and in exchange she would help them financially with their operations. She then demands the two to enter the tomb, but Judith is sickened by this arraignment and refuses to go any further. However, she reminds them that she will not hesitate to kill them both, as they already have notes and so Matsuo with reluctance convinces Judith to go in with him.

Entering down the long passageway, Matsuo tells Suzuki that even if she does find the seal, that it will not bring her what she wants, as for any fame she might have, she is still simply a common killer. Suzuki simply ignores these words, however, as the narrow route suddenly widens, revealing a large set of gold doors, one door depicting the Queen of Sheba, the other Solomon. Ahmed signals his men to open the door and once done, reveals a gigantic room, filled with jewels and gold beyond imagining and in the center a large golden sarcophagus. Drawing closer, Matsuo, Judith and Suzuki see laying within it the mummified remains of a woman, decked in jewelry and on her finger, a single ring…the Seal of Solomon. Overcome with joy, Suzuki removes the ring from the corpse’s finger, holding it up for all to see. She proclaims that with this object, she will go down in the history books above any archeologist before her. Her excitement is short lived, however, as she is shot in the back by Ahmed, who collects the ring from her body. Matsuo is horrified by this, as while the woman was a criminal, she didn’t deserve to be shot in the back. Ahmed simply tells him that he was only paid to lead her to the ring, not to collect it and considers the deal done. Picking up the ring from the dead woman’s body and placing it on his finger, the tomb almost immediately darkens as a glowing green cloud appears above their head, sparking with red lightening. Ahmed then points to Matsuo, a jagged bold of light nearly striking him. Laughing, Ahmed continues to summon blasts of light from the cloud, each time just barely hitting Matsuo and Judith, toying with them, proclaiming how with this weapon, he will be able to do anything he wishes. Matsuo manages to throw up a telekinetic shield to deflect a bolt that nearly hits Judith and warns Ahmed that the seal is not a weapon but is meant to be used with wisdom and humility. Ahmed simply laughs at this, berating him for speaking to him as if they were equals and proclaiming that with it, he can even rival God himself! At these words, Ahmed’s men begin to scream and as he watches in horror, each of them catches on fire before exploding into clouds of ash. Looking up, he sees the green cloud turn blood red and begins to swirl around him. Starting to panic, he desperately tries to remove the ring off his finger, only to discover it stuck fast. Realizing what is happening, Matsuo quickly shields Judith as the red cloud consumes the screaming Ahmed and then explodes outward. Glancing back, the two see nothing but a mass of bones and ash and sitting in the center of it, the Seal of Solomon. Judith and Matsuo look at each other and then back at the ring.

At the Hotel Library, Matsuo walks over to a shelf and carefully places a small box on it next to several other items. Looking at it, he thinks to himself perhaps Judith was right after all. Perhaps it’s best that with an object like this, that nobody have it. Walking out of the room, Matsuo watches as the vault door is closed and sealed tight. In the darkness of the room, on the shelf, the box containing the ring glows slightly then goes dark.

Items Discovered

• The Seal of Solomon (recovered)