Society Point Chart
Annual fees, Society of Geography and Foreign Studies were £10, s10; for the British Museum, £7.
| Museum | Student | Scholar |
|---|---|---|
| Friend of Museum | 1 | 4 |
| Reading Room | 2 | |
| Classical Archive | 2 | |
| Map Room | 3 | |
| Egyptian collection | 3 | |
| Sculpture gallery | 2 | |
| Zoological ref. | 3 | |
| Fossils | 3 | |
| Minerals | 2 | |
| Black collection | 8 |
| Society for G&FS | Base cost | Dist.Looks | Woman |
|---|---|---|---|
| Membership | 1 | +1 | +1 |
| Dining Hall | 2 | ||
| Explorer's Lounge | 2 | +1 | +1 |
| Reference Room | 2 | ||
| Hall of Oddities | 2 | +1 | |
| Upstairs | 8 | +2 | +2 |
Late 1888. At Shisur, the beginning of the caravan route across the Rub'al Khali.
When the dust settled, there were two Omani guards still alive, the Party and Qidan, and a sinkhole. The guards were in shock, all their comrades and acquaintances from the tent town were dead. Dr. Davis did what was medically feasible to calm and sooth them.
Voronika turned to Penrington as he dusted himself off. "It is good to see you alive. We held a very nice funeral for you."
Penrington: "Why, thank you." He placed his old slouch hat over his heart and bowed slightly.
The hunter retold his story several times over the course of the next few days as stores were rescued from the downed tent city and what order could be restored to the outpost was. Camels and horses from the corral had, by and large, survived the djinni assault.
Penrington added details to his story over time. Blake and Forester eventually had to remind him that hypothesizing that the trogs were Iremites was a different statement from knowing that they were.
Qidan asked, "Did the troglodytes recognize the young prince as the betrayer, 'Katool', surely their most hated enemy?"
Penrington nodded sagely, "If they did, I know right where they took him. There were vats of the silver frankincense stuff!"
Forester sighed when Penrington admitted that he had brought back no samples of the trog's mosses.
Penrington shrugged, "Scientists!"
Po: "We're glad you're back!:
In a few days, the regular messenger from Thumrait arrived and the Party arranged to ride back with him. As they traveled through the area of frankincense-producing trees, Forester engaged Penrington to help him get another tree cutting to replace that destroyed by djinn. The group continued on to the Omani capital, Muscat, where Qidan made his report to his sultan.
The Party, taking Ava and Qidan's advice, gifted the sultan with half the silver frankincense that Penrington had brought out of the lost city of Oog. The sultana arranged for traveling clothes and packing cases for the visitors. Voronika carefully did not notice that Madeline did, indeed, pack her gorgeous (and revealing) harem outfit.
The Party thereafter learned that Col. Miles, during his early visit, had left a signal device in case the sultan had need ever of summoning an Anglish warship. Of course the sultan would never need to make such a summoning, but he was willing to loan the Party that flare gun so that they could return home. A short discussion ensued amongst the Party as to whether a camel trip around the eastern edge of the peninsula and on into India would be more cost effective, but we decided to avail ourselves of the sultan's kind offer. (Besides, it would allow the Anglish earlier notice that the sultana had persuaded her husband to take her on a sight-seeing trip to Anglia.) The warship dropped the Party off at Karachi, (the nearest Anglic military base - a dry, rugged, inhospitable place), India, from which Ava was able to cable for funds and book passage on a liner.
Steele was pleased to be in a place where good Welsh anthracite was again available.
In Anglia, the group assessed its resources.
Penrington allowed Miss Costorari to touch the pearl. She had a vision. There was a great trumpeting sound which she realized came from the fantastically decorated elephant in front of her. Riding in a small chamber atop the elephant was a young woman in garments similar to those she recognized from her vision of Sirina of India. Around the woman's neck was a long string of perfectly round pearls. There was an elephant in front of this one and another behind. The setting had bright green trees.
Sadly, the Times recounted the death of Professor Turnbull who had helped the party in Egypt. He had uncovered a previously unknown tomb, and was found dead with a strip of cloth around his neck.
Shortly after the Party's return from Arabia, most of them attended Professor Challenger's new lecture at the Society. He announced that, having discovered an ancient race beneath London, his expedition had traced their origin down some 113 meters below the geomagnetic isoquant. There they discovered a secondary geomagnetic isoquant at this lower level, with the troglodyte civilization above it. Peculiar features of the isoquants limited the ability of electromagnetic and other radiations to penetrate these layers. Challenger discussed their primitive tribal society and gutteral sub-vocalizations (although he didn't mention "oog".) He also described the life cycle of the mosses which were an essential element in the troglodytes lifestyle, providing light, nourishment, etc.. Daniel Oliver, also attending this lecture, proceeded to heckle the eminent Challenger on his mosses. Challenger did not hesitate to call Oliver a fool to his face.
Various of the Party Members took advantage of newly opened doors at the Society and Museum, adding to the resources already available to the Party:
| Miss Costorari | Museum scholar (4) which gives the right to bring guests, Reading Room (2), Map Room(3). |
| Penrington | Society membership (1), Dining Hall (2), Explorer's Lounge (2), Ref. Room (2), Hall of Oddities (2) |
| Mr. Steele | Museum (1), Minerals (2), undecided |
| Forester | Museum scholar (4) |
| Po | undecided |
| Smith | undecided |
There was an Announcement of the engagement of Lord Ava to Dr. Madeline Davis. Maddy bid farewell to her adventuring friends and moved out of Mrs. Oliver's boarding house to take up pre-marital residence with one of his lordship's aunts.
Mr. Blake, too, decided that he would forego the adventurer's life for the nonce and set himself in business.
The remaining adventurers occasionally met around Mrs. Oliver's breakfast table to discuss what their next expedition might entail.
Miss Costorari investigated the Habiri connection at the Museum. Sir Madden told her, "The glyph is Habiri. The Habiri were a widely-distributed tribe, possibly of Syrian origins, known for scholarship and literacy. Many ancient recorders were Habiri; their language was ideally suited for record-keeping, being terse and compact. One Habiri sect believed in 'the One'. This glyph," gesturing to the gypsy's stone, "means 'of the One' and is pronounced 'hud'." Miss Costorari in turn told the Keeper what she had learned of the story of Hud on the most recent expedition. Madden added that records indicated that the Habiri were concentrated on the western coast of Arabia and the Mediterranean abyss. Very little is known about their presence in SE Arabia.
Later Miss Costorari asked her family about the Habiri. The gypsies call them "Hebrew" and her contacts could point to a few known Hebrews in London. She was told, "They are crafty. The steal using local laws. Do not trust or deal with them." (But then gypsies say that about most peoples. Except other gypsies. In their family. Er, close family. Ah, when they are in earshot.)
Dr. Davis had written to Pere Sauniere and turned over his response to Miss Costorari. He was very pleased with his refurbished parish. It was a beautiful place now, easier to get to. They got many pilgrims. The Party was uncertain as to what the good priest attributed this change in fortune.
As time passed and it became clear that expenses were mounting, Po released Mr. Forester from the (lucrative for the pedagogue) £10/mo teaching contract Mr. Blake had arranged. Forester offered to renegotiate; some agreement was reached? With Mr. Blake retired, the Chinese boy seemed restless and ill-at-ease. He visited an Ashram.
Po: "It seems that it is not as safe for me here in Anglia as was predicted."
Priest: "One must believe in the cycle of universal force in which we can find a balance. It is clear that the focus of your points have gone into your chakrakhan...."
Po considered that it was just as likely that, by telling the traitor prince about himself, he had set his pursuers on his trail himself.
Po mentioned, during one Party discussion, that he was planning to return to China and possibly follow the one clue to Tibet.
Miss Costorari turned to the hunter, "Mr. Penrington, do you have any interest in going to Tibet?
Penrington: "I'm interested in following any clue that leads to adventure and profit."
Costorari: "That is where Po is going whether or not we go.
Penrington: "If Po needs help, I'm willing to consider it. If we can make a profit, it's even better. I hear that there're silks and spices out there...."
Costorari smiled at him in complete understanding.
Penrington turned to the Chinese boy: "Let's review the facts about you."
Po: "There is a person who wants to take over the world. He wants to use my still-beating heart in a ritual to do so. The fact that I may not be the person whose heart is useful for this ritual will be of little comfort to me once he has used mine."
Costorari: "My first vision about our group was of people like those the Prince sold Po to..."
Forester: "The other photographer on our ship to Egypt took pictures that included a foreigner in a fur hat such as Po has described. Such a person also showed up in the photograph I took of Mr. Steele in Paris."
Po: "There is still no proof that I am the person they want, but it seems clear that in the process of following me, they have acquired fabulous wealth."
Penrington looked very thoughtful.
Miss Costorari did some research on Tibet at the Museum, learning that the language there is Chinese, and few people have been there to write about it. It is not marked on the map and all information about it comes from China. The Chinese seem to think it lies between them and India. No Indian records, however, mention a Tibetan border. The prayer wheel was used in China as well as Tibet. There are mountains on the northern Indian border.
Steele: "I suspect I'd have difficulties in Tibet. Would it not be cold there?"
Lok (whose Anglish was clearly improving): "All the places I know there are quite hot."
Steele: "I would expect a mountain climate to be rather cold."
Po (in Mandarin): "Father, you're not from Tibet."
Lok (in Mandarin): "Oh, I thought we were going home."
Po to Steele: "Father was mistaken about where we are going."
Miss Costorari sought out the Punjabi druid Sanjay who had been introduced to her via Dr. Davis' father back in October. He was characteristically pleased to see her and invited her out for a "warm beer."
"Do you have a sister?" he asked.
"Yes. She's shorter and 10-years old."
"Ah, not your age?" He had an interesting smile. "It is not a problem."
Sanjay knew of Mohenjo-daro. "It, with Harappa, is one of the two cities from which all others came. It is told about in the greatest legend in all of India. It will take many days to tell the tales of five brothers, the Mahabharata." Miss Costorari decided to visit with the Indian regularly over the necessary period of days.
The story was complicated and the culture alien. Miss Costorari didn't really understand that much of it. She gathered that there were two sets of brothers, 5 cousins, who gambled for India and traded off parts of it between themselves. The gods got involved. She did note that Sanjay mentioned a part of India famous for the 'finest pearls'. She caught one part about a god in a chariot talking to the heroes. Another part, which Sanjay clearly fancied, told of a war where the brothers fought against their uncles. One brother has second thoughts but a god tells him, "Go for it!" All of the brothers seem to marry the same woman to become King of India. The tale seemed to end with the five cousins going to the NE to the "Holy Mountains" and there they ascended into heaven.
Periodically, Sanjay would pause to say, "It gets more complicated! There is a God of Memory who looked like an elephant with four arms. Ganesha. He is the only one who can tell the whole story and tell it clearly."
When asked what as the best way to go to India, Sanjay extolled the virtues of the Star Line's First Class ships. Wryly Voronika thought that the expedition might not have another Lord Ava along and so this "best way" might not be available.
Miss Costorari returned to the group to tell Po that the mountains seem to be holy places for both China and India (although the GREAT holy places of India, according to Sanjay, were the mighty rivers.)
Po, considering the prayer wheel spoke, asked if sandalwood grew at high altitudes. Penrington, from his earlier visit to Kew Gardens with Dr. Davis, could say that regular sandalwood grew in India along the coastal area. The director at Kew Gardens could not say where the prayer wheel wood might have grown. Besides, the prayer wheel bit had been found in Timbuktu, Africa. Miss Costorari pointed out that her readings indicated that silk found in Turkey had come all the way from China via the Silk Route. Timbuktu was not that much further along.
Next Run: A Simple Wedding?
The next run will be March 11th. Hope Marian feels better soon.
(a) Cumulative (b) Cumulative since Volume II
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