An October evening in Paris
The missing Pere Sauniere occupied the Adventurers minds for some time; lengthy discussion revolved around whether or no a trip to Rhenns le-Chateau would prove effective. The matter of timing was raised. It would take "4 days walking" plus a train trip to get to the French village and, presumably, the same getting back. Meanwhile, the Parisian Arabs and, presumably, the King of Yemen, would be expecting Our Adventurers to be trying to deliver Prince Abdul to the safety of Yemen. It would take but a day to go back to Anglia to get faster transit to Yemen than that which could be obtained here, without causing any difficulties for the King of Yemen or his son.
The discussion was interrupted by a message from Auf Shari Bahram: an interview had been arranged with Nuri Wuld Ali, the wealthy owner of the third statuette known to Our Adventurers. The date set was for afternoon on the morrow. Abdul explained that Nuri was a Sa'ud and thus likely to recognize him as the prince of Yemen. The boy did not believe that he should visit the Sa'ud and yet, he believed, the statuette was important. "People have died because of these statues."
Miss Costorari asked the group, "How do we get this third statue?"
Po: "Is it necessary to have all of them?"
Dr. Davis: "If it is part of a memory, then all seven may produce the whole memory."
Miss Costorari: "The two we have indicate a sequence; two points in a sequence."
Mr. Blake: "They are worth more as a set. Even the King of Yemen might have one."
Mr. Steele: "Does the Sa'ud speak Anglish?"
Abdul: "I believe he does. He is a merchant and has been several times to Anglia."
Mr. Forester: "What does he sell?"
Abdul: "The Wuld Ali are great breeders of Arabian horses. His main house is now here, in France."
Po: "What does he send home in exchange for the horses he sells?"
Abdul: "I believe he sends home artwork. But he is most interested in the mechanical man."
Po then warned Steele not to mention taduki to one who had world-wide contacts and, possibly, some interest in seeing some other soul controlling Nasmyth's engine. Steele's gears clanked thoughtfully.
Dr. Davis: "I believe that it is customary to take a gift when visiting an Arabian home." Abdul nodded. The bedouin culture believes in reciprocity: a gift for a gift, an obligation to give and return hospitality. The group decided that a photograph made by Mr. Forester of Mr. Steele with the Eiffel Tower in the background would make a fitting gift.
Subsequently the photograph was taken and displayed. Mr. Blake noted that, in the background of the picture, there was an individual in a unique fur cap. Po thought that it looked like a Mongol. Mongol? "A tribe in my homeland, a subsection of which is looking to come back to prominence via the heart ritual I mentioned earlier." Miss Costorari shuddered slightly.
The following day, leaving Abdul with his erstwhile guardians (per Mr. Smith's notion), Our Adventurers rented carriages to travel to their appointment. Mssr. Wuld Ali's mansion was well outside of Paris, amidst well-kept horse pastures maintained by serving men. Its approach circled a fountain in front of the house. The group was greeted by a French maid, "You are ze mechanical man, non?" Steele: "Oui." As they followed the maid in, Our Adventurers could see that the servants of the house were primarily women. The room to which they were ushered was hung with wildly-coloured, laconically limned, tavern scenes signed "T-Lautrec." In a sweep of flowing white and tan robes, a round-faced Arab (who undoubtedly kept a French chef) entered the room, flanked by two exotically exaggerated mechanical women. The mechanicals moved to either side of the room and assumed graceful - and motionless - poses.
Mssr. Wuld Ali was, as foretold, fascinated with the mechanical man. "He doesn't need to be wound up after every simple thing?"
Dr. Davis: "He is not clock work."
Mr. Steele: "I have an engine."
Wuld Ali: "Ah, steam powered. Is it all steel? It wears clothing."
Mr. Steele: "I am a civilized man, sir!"
Wuld Ali: "And its mouth moves in so life-like a manner!"
Dr. Davis: "We think of him as a living man."
The Arab collector offered hospitality. Steele required a sturdy chair and, in time, a bench was provided. Wuld Ali watched in fascination as the steel man politely consumed some few bits of food. Then he turned back to the rest of his guests. "What brings you all to France?"
Dr. Davis: "We are doing research on the type of statue we were told you own."
Wuld Ali: "Which statue? I have so many. The Montaņes? Or the Degas? Or my bronze study by that ex-priest Rodin?"
Miss Costorari proceeded to describe the basic statue type. Dr. Davis attempted to deflect the metaphysical aspects of the statue description: "It is constructed of an interesting material."
Mr. Blake chimed in, "In an interesting mix of styles."
Wuld Ali: "But to come to France for that...?"
Miss Costorari and Dr. Davis chorused, "It's not that far."
Po added, "And the food is very good here."
The portly Middle Easterner nodded and smiled at the boy.
There followed a tour of the stables and grounds, and then a tour of the house (except for one wing), ending in a study with a display of family heirlooms. On the mantle under glass was the statuette of a man with three swords and a shield. The figure had a frightening face; a menacing expression made horrible by a scar down the left cheek. "Katul, the warrior god," said Wuld Ali, "the god of valour and honour. It has been in my family a long time."
At that moment both the radiologists noticed a silvery bird looking in through the study window. Mr. Blake grabbed Po and turned him towards the window. Mr. Forester started towards the window himself. The bird took wing. Po, recognizing the mechanical fowl, shouted, "Dr. Davis, get it!" Madeline tried her mesmeric telekinesis but found no mind on which to operate. As the bird made distance, she tried again with her ability to lift inert objects but - alas -- it slipped away. Mr. Blake explained to his astonished host how they had been spied upon before by a mechanical bird in Anglia.
Miss Costorari directed the conversation away from clockwork mechanisms and asked about the statuette. Mssr. Wuld Ali was starting to tell of another he'd seen in Cairo when the entire assembly heard a piercing scream. The group, save for Miss Costorari, followed their host to a suite where a French maid stood screaming amidst a spilled coffee service. In the room beyond, a rather disordered sitting room, was another French maid also amidst a spilled tray, clearly dead. Mssr. Wuld Ali shouted, "Yasmin! Yasmin!" and ran through the fatal room to an open window where he shouted in Arabic down to some guards, clearly giving some sort of instructions to start a search.
Po headed back to the study. Various Party members tried to politely gain their host's attention, to no avail. The frantic man stormed out of the room. Dr. Davis moved to examine the victim while Mr. Blake warned the rest to stay back while he used his criminology skills. Mr. Forester bent to examine footprints in the deep carpet. The rest took after Mssr. Wuld Ali to try to be of assistance.
Back in the study, Voronika lifted the glass case and touched the statuette, receiving a vision of sands, the woman, and a glimpse of the entrance into the city. The way was blocked by a horizontal chain with a symbol, turning.
Po reached the study in time to see Miss Costorari replacing the glass. She repeated her vision to the Chinese boy who, in turn, urged her to come out to the rest of the group. Doing so, Miss Costorari peered into the room where the self-appointed detectives were working. Her mystic senses felt that "everyone is waking up" and, suddenly, the Romany beauty realized that it was the last day of October. Nonetheless, she entered the room and touched the body, only to be catapulted into Mr. Blake and Po, overcome with surprise and pain. As the gypsy was recovering, she explained to the wondering Chinese about Samhain. "I am so very afraid."
Meanwhile, Mr. Steele finally grabbed Mssr. Wuld Ali. "WHO IS JASMINE?!" the steel man shouted.
The distraught man focussed and switched from Arabic to French and then to Anglish. "My daughter," he wailed. "Where is my daughter?"
Mr. Penrington: "Who would take your daughter?"
Wuld Ali: "Many. Yemeni will steal anything. [Other tribes] too. None are here. Who would do this? She is only 16 and in terrible danger!"
Mr. Steel offered the Party's help and suggested that trackers might be fetched, but Mssr. Wuld Ali had no patience for waiting for investigators.
Back in the fatal sitting room, Miss Costorari noted that the white powder was in a natural place to put a hand if climbing down. The window was partly obscured by a tree. Dr. Davis and Mr. Forester joined the gypsy as she raced downstairs to pick up the tracks. Miss Costorari found evidence that the tracks hurried in a loping run, and that there were several of the runners. They were headed NW back to Paris. The tracks disappeared as the hunters reached the road. As they retraced their steps, the gypsy realized that the tracks were abnormal. There had been four individuals, but two had only left feet and two had only right feet; they traveled in a wild hopping maneuver, faster than she'd originally predicted. She made an exclamation in Romani and sped back to the house. Dr. Davis and Mr. Forester looked at each other, mystified, and then took off after their companion.
The sun was setting as Our Adventurers re-entered Paris. They stopped by their hotel to pick up weapons and such armor as had been brought (for Smith). The women each took a lantern as well.
Atop Montmartre, the silhouette of an old abbey could be seen juxtaposed against the scaffolding of a new temple still under construction. The group began to climb. The entrance to the gypsum mine was a third of the way up, casually roped off to warn interlopers. Voronika saw a group of miners troop out of the dark entrance although it was long after quitting time. She and Mr. Forester checked the ground for tracks. They found prints of cloven hooves, left hopping feet, right hopping feet, all overlaying the tracks made by the live miners who had left before sundown. Entering, a footprint was noted on the wall, like that of the trogs in the London underground. At the first junction, only the cloven print was visible on the path. The group entered into an unused part of the mines.
Mr. Penrington and Dr. Davis heard a clatter from behind. Alerting the group, the hunter stole back along the corridor - to observe skeletons slowly creeping along the Party's trail. He quickly joined the others and explained. Mr. Blake suggested Mr. Forester use his radiological Force Wall to block the corridor but, unfortunately, the tutor's spell went awry causing damage to himself. Dr. Davis gave a mental headshake over both radiologists' tendencies to self-destruction, and commenced healing Mr. Forester. A second attempt by that radiologist was successful; the shimmer of radiation filled the corridor.
As the worked area petered out, Miss Costorari identified a boulder (with convenient handgrips) that Mr. Steele moved (albeit the strength of four would normally be required to move such). A crevice was revealed. The red glow of fire reflected down the walls from somewhere up ahead. While Steele took and shielded her lantern, the gypsy edged forward.
Around a corner the gypsy saw a chamber. Four troglodytes danced around a fire by which a bound woman lay. Close to the fire stood a blue skinned being with goat-like legs, shaggy black hair coating face and lower body, pointed canines, and two brass armbands. As she watched, it seemed that small winds around the satyric creature disturbed the fire nearest him.
As Dr. Davis healed Mr. Forester, the others discovered that the nisnasis bodies decomposed with phenomenal rapidity. Two knives were found, one black with a red gem, the other black with a black gem. Then the doctor supervised Mr. Smith's lifting of their rescued (and unconscious) victim for transport. But - the return passage still held skeletons.....
Continuing to feel the discomfort of Samhain, Voronika was horrified to see a druid ghost with its head under his arm approaching her. Summoning courage, she asked if it spoke Romani. It left to be replaced by another. She asked, "Can I do anything for you?" The ghost answered, "I was decapitated because they didn't believe me, but the Secret will out." "Secret Will?" "The Secret of the Oldest of the Old." With that, the ghost faded away. Voronika noticed that it had been standing before a rock that might be removable.
Again Steele successfully revealed a crevice within which Voronika saw yet another decapitated ghost. "Eluthiere" bowed to the gypsy. Dizzy with the supernatural and the wounds she had suffered, Miss Costorari turned to the doctor who, apologetically and rapidly, acted to heal the damage. Thereafter the gypsy led the Party through the crevice which seemed to spiral up and become carved steps. Other ghosts, not headless, acknowledged the dusky young woman. The trip ended in another large chamber. The ghost of Eluthiere gestured at six points around where a fire might be set. He repeated the gesture. Voronika finally realized that the floor had traces of the shape of two interlocked triangles - a six-sided star - in a reddish ochre. It proved not to be a solid rock floor: there were 6 grooved areas that were press-able. Miss Costorari moved into the position the ghost had held and pressed the 6 points in the order the ghost had used. With a soft rumble, ceiling dust started to filter down as a flat stone lowered to become an open staircase to the stars.
Upstairs the young gypsy could see druidesses preparing wine in a courtyard. The rest of the group could make out stacks of barrels. The courtyard flagstones of the old church showed faint traces of the six-sided star. Voronika contemplated speaking with the druidic ghosts, but, sadly, realized that she could not yet make herself understood in French. However, Mr. Forester's Travel Guidebook revealed that Montmartre was the "Mount of Martyrs" due to a group of religious being decapitated there in the year 250. The old abbey nunnery still made wine that is sold cheaply in the Student Quarter.
Next Run: The Return of Yasmin
As I understand it, the current plan is:
1. Return Yasmin to her father (and, hopefully, let him deal with the French police on the subject of djinns and nisasis while we leave the country.) Hopefully, as a reward, he will let us take his 4-armed statuette (#3). As well, we should ask for specifics about the statuette (#4) he saw in Cairo.
2. Make our farewells and catch a train and the ferry back to Anglia -- a one day trip.
3. Make our discovery of the mistake in the Map of Potolemy known to the British Museum and garner a pointer from our contacts there to a sponsor willing to back our trip to Oman.
Check the Society records on Arabian Expeditions, then buy/collect what supplies we'll need.
3.5. See if our sponsor has a Clue as to other 4-armed statuettes in Anglia. (A long shot, but we'd like to find all 7.)
4. Book an airship flight to Yeman -- or as close thereto as the GM says we can get.
4.5. If that nearest port is Cairo, use the opportunity to find the statuette (#4) Nuri Wuld Ali started to tell us about seeing there.
4.6. Follow any clues garnered thereby about the other statuettes (#5-7).
5. Get to Yeman and deliver Abdul to his father.
6. Collect any clues the King of Yeman might drop.
7. Make our farewells and head east to Oman.
7.5 Follow any clues garnered about the other statuettes. They are probably a key for actually getting into the Lost City.
8. Try to locate the Lost City of Irem in Oman at the Potolemeic co-ordinates we've discovered.
[There will be no run the week of Nov.13. Aloha.]
(a) Cumulative (b) Cumulative since Volume II
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