They paused before the building in which the council-chamber was situated, and Thoth produced a small cake and divided it carefully. He ate a portion himself, and requested Daphne to eat also, saying it was the necessary antidote in case of need.
Then he said to her, “Be not afraid, for first of all only those who are bound to obey me will have ears to hear.”
They entered the building by steps descending into the earth, through a massive iron gate, which Thoth carefully closed after them. The clang of the iron sounded horribly, and the dim light made everything appear weird and sombre.
They passed through many devious passages, and every one, after they entered, was closed by a similar massive door.
At length they reached a spacious vault. In the centre was a kind of platform, and in the midst a curiously carved chair. Upon this chair sat a man with closed eyes and pallid face. To Daphne he seemed the image of Thoth.
She glanced round the immense chamber, and it seemed almost filled with similar stone chairs, and in each of them sat a pallid motionless figure. They were arranged in circles round the central throne, but for a radius of a score of paces there were none of the sleeping figures. In this open space, however, immediately before the central figure, stood about fifty men in the same garments as Thoth, but not masked.
Thoth, accompanied by Daphne, advanced to the front, and as they did so they were saluted by a profound obeisance, in perfect silence.
Thoth took up his position beside the central throne, and placed Daphne on his right hand.
“Are all the fitting preparations made? Have all our ancestors been brought to the light and set upon their thrones?”
A murmur of assent arose.