Morgathla Reveals the Secrets of the Mask (Book)

...so Morgathla revealed to him one of the secrets it was guarding, a secret that had been thought lost for a long time. And Arkhothep forged the parts of a powerful mask and assembled it on a demon altar. He had secretly erected this unholy shrine underneath the great pyramid he had planned to use as the final resting place for his father. So strong was this altar's magic that it fused the parts to form the famous Helmet of the Ancients as soon as they were placed on it. Eight helmets Arkhothep crafted, one for himself and one for each of his allies. But he did not fully trust his fellow conspirators, so he inserted ordinary rubies into their helmets, while his own helmet was imbued with the eternal power of a soul ruby. This way those helmets had only a fraction of his own helmet's powers. But Arkhothep's precautions against his allies went further than that. He only revealed the secret to forge one single part of the helmet to each of them, and each of them was taught the secret to forge a different part. Arkhothep clearly saw through his allies' greedy natures. He knew they would never share their knowledge with each other, and he foresaw that their greed would make them plot against each other rather than against him.