London, Anglia. Spring.
A constable arrived at Mrs. Oliver's Boarding House. "There've been some complaints of a disturbance here." He looked around at the rat corpses and the balloon of bats. "I'd like to speak to the proprietress about the mess." When the Party mentioned the dead wolves in the house, he blew on his whistle to summon yet more constables and a detective.
The wolf carcasses were taken as evidence. The window was boarded up. The constable promised to investigate the zoo for escaped canines. Mr. Ramsey ducked out of a detailed interview with the invalided Mrs. Oliver.
The next morning, crows feasted on rats while the Party decided on the order of their own investigations.
Mr. Ramsey and Sister Sunshine were to question the last of the 2nd class passengers: Mr. and Mrs. Fenwick, returning bureaucrats. Proposed questions included:
Miss Costorari took Mr. Steele into the Reading Room where he examined the book with the triangle-and-eye symbol on the cover. He decided that the strange writing was more complicated than a cipher. Then he noticed that the room was getting brighter while Voronika noticed the odd smell of overheated metal. Steel found that his upper right chest - the site of his cryptography engine - was, indeed, overly warm. He put the book away, saying, "That was different. I need to put new oil in that shoulder." Miss Costorari copied down some lines from the book for possible identification by the other linguists in the group.
Outside #47 Hasting Street, a cabbie waited, smoking. A young, well-dressed man (Lord Truro's secretary) greeted Miss Costorari's knock and led the visitors through an empty house to a room that occupied most of the 2nd floor, where they were introduced to Lord Truro, a gentleman in his early 50s, quite nattily dressed and sporting a fancy cane (just for show). With him was a slightly younger druid with bushy eyebrows, a beard, and a natural tonsure. Both ladies noted that the druid wore a simple ring with a flat upper surface where, normally, an insignia would be engraved. The druidess thought it remarkably similar to those worn by Mr. Homme's pragmatic detective uncle and the enigmatic Mr. J.A. Smutts.
Lord T.: "Miss Costorari, how very pleased I am to see you. What do you think of the room? I think it will do well."
Voronika: "What use would you put it to, your lordship?"
Lord T.: "Knowledge. A center for learning, Miss Costorari. It has that feel of learning, don't you agree?" He introduced his companion, Druid Woodward. Sunshine felt a bit of a shock, chagrined that she had not yet planned out her questions for said gentleman.
Lord T.: "And what was it that you wanted to discuss with me?"
The druid reminded him, "This is the group who is to bring back the books...."
Lord T.: "Ah, yes, you are mounting an Expedition to gather knowledge from the Far East. I supposed there's been some tawdry problems with funding?" He winked. "Constantinople, the only possible place that Roman knowledge might be preserved."
Voronika, grasping at a bit of history she knew, "The Library at Alexandria."
Lord T.: "But the Great Library was burned."
Voronika: "Perhaps some was saved?"
Lord T., beaming: "Exactly my thought! Those books should be brought back here for my center of learning. How much will you need?"
Voronika calculated quickly and added a significant fraction: "4000 pounds."
Lord T.: "It's so wonderful to find a like-minded person. I'll be happy to fund the entire expedition."
Voronika: "If there's a LARGE cache, what subject would you like?" [GM: She was asking about getting more money wired, not how many books he would want.] [Chronicler: Was she? I had a distinctly different impression....]
Lord T.: "If there's a large cache, I have pull with the Admiralty to get help in bringing it back."
As the gypsy kept his lordship expounding on his planned center of learning, Sister Sunshine approached Druid Woodward explaining that her father had told her he was the leading expert on Germany and the ancient evils associated therewith. The druid seemed a little nonplussed at this labeling so Sunshine mentioned the quest to avert the Plague Carrier, and asked about St. Germain.
Woodward: "In her book, Emily Gerard got many details of the Plague Carrier wrong, but some right. As for St. Germain, some say he was born in that area. Many would say he was a charlatan."
Sunshine: "We've been told that he has fought the Plague Carrier and we want to learn how to do so ourselves. I have a comrade - a friend - who is a victim of the Plague Carrier, and I would like to restore him."
Woodward: "Drive a stake through his heart and burn him." [Referring to Sunshine's friend, not St. Germain or the Plague Carrier.]
Sunshine: "It was the Old One Lungta who companions me who restored him to a semblance of life."
Woodward, again apparently slightly shocked: "Nosophorous and Lungta are enemies."
Sunshine, surprised to see that the druid knew about this particular Old One: "Lungta has shown me life. I respect that she has given to my friend."
Woodward: "An <Initiate in the Order>." Again Sunshine was surprised to realize he'd spoken in Tibetan. She nodded, barely, as he continued: "Know that you should not trust any in those lands. Do not trust the wolf, the bat, the rat, and the gypsy, for all of those serve Him." During this, the druid repeatedly brushed his nose with the fingers of one hand, repeatedly displaying the aforementioned ring. Sunshine failed to find a way to ask about the ring without seeming to be rude; she suspected that it might have to do with the "<Order>" Woodward mentioned.
As Lord Truro dismissed his visitors, the druidess continued to mentally chastise herself for learning so little of use from the eminent druid. He might have known what connection the scarab and the Blue Beetle from pre-diluvium Tibet have with the Plague Carrier.
Re: Turnball Expedition
Steele tracked down the Expedition notes. The early sections were, of course, all in Turnball's hand and described breaking the seal into the tomb and finding the sarcophagus. The notes started up several days later in Weatherby's hand, cataloguing the list of acquisitions to be shipped back to Anglia. The list included the sarcophagus and the mummy. Therefore the sarcophagus had been opened in Egypt, before it was placed on the airship, possibly (likely, given his manner of death) by Turnball himself.
Steele noted that the only part of the listed inventory currently missing from the Museum was the mummy itself. The Inventory had no mention of the Dagger of Tihuta or the mechanical scarab.
Re: Uruburu, manservant to the Turnball Expedition
Our Adventurers visited Uruburu's address, Apt. 2F, Portman Square. Steele and the druidess stayed below while the others went up. There was no answer to Miss Costorari's knock. Penrington urged an "accidental" opening of the door. Forester took offense at such ungentlemanly considerations and huffed back out of the building. At Sister Sunshine's query, the pedagogue remained with her and the mechanical man, albeit he did not explain his loss of temper to them.
Voronika jimmied the lock and Penrington entered. The room smelled of old food. Onion and garlic bulbs were scattered throughout the place. The bed was unmade. No socks, shoes or suitcase was to be found. A crumpled pair of wool pants and a shirt lay on the closet floor. Under the bed, Penrington found a coin: a Swiss franc. Voronika touched it but found no unusual impressions.
The outside party saw a group of constables converge on the building they were watching. The foursome upstairs heard the thunder of the Law ascending the obvious path of egress. The gypsy glanced at the window at the far end of the hall and decided not to try leaving that way. An officer demanded, "What's all this then." The neighbor in the apartment across from Uruburu's came out; he was actually a detective who had watched Penrington and Voronika's acts of breaking-and-entering.
Penrington, feigning innocence: "We were looking for Mr. Uruburu."
Officer: "Let's all go down town and talk about this."
Mr. Ramsey, Mr. Homme, Mr. Penrington and Miss Costorari were all taken into custody.
Soon Detective Gregson arrived to rescue his nephew Mortimer.
Gregson: "How were you involved, nephew?"
Homme: "It was like I wasn't paying attention for a moment. As I was looking, trying to spot your watches, they decided to 'investigate'."
Gregson: "What did they find?"
Homme: "I don't know. There wasn't enough time. Have you had any new developments?"
Gregson: "Travis goes on trial shortly."
Homme: "Did you hear about the animals that attacked our house?" Gregson seemed astounded at the attack although he seemed to have no pertinent insights.
Gregson: "Shall I tell your parents yet?"
Homme: "No. I should be left dead. I suspect that's how this all will end anyway."
Gregson: "Any idea what did this to you?"
Homme: "A mythic creature out of pre-history, known as the Plague Carrier."
Gregson: "It did all that damage?"
Homme: "There may have been two creatures in my room, one to rend and one to bespell me, to watch what would happen."
Gregson: "Why put a spell on you? What was it looking for?"
Homme: "Possibly Forester's beetle or his chunk of radium. Or perhaps the mechanical beetle, if it thought the valise belonged to the wrong Ramsey. To Captain Ramsey rather than our Mr. Ramsey. Bits and pieces of this almost make sense."
Gregson: "Why was an agent of the Sultan involved?"
Homme: "There's anecdotal evidence that the Plague Carrier was in the Middle East. If it were known that the Plague Carrier had or would reappear and need to be dealt with, acquiring the dagger would be a good idea. But that requires a good intelligence network."
Gregson: "The Sultan sent his agent to Egypt before the tomb was uncovered. "
Homme: "That implies that he had a good idea what would happen at the tomb."
Gregson: "Who did Akram Fahmi work for?"
Homme: "I'd expect you to have better information on that than I."
Gregson: "It seems that whoever Abdul al Saud was murdered Fahmi to get the dagger."
Homme: "Who in Anglia would want the dagger brought here?"
Gregson: "Good question. Who would want the amount of attention generated by murder? Was there anything unusual in the apartment?"
Homme: "The amount of raw onion and garlic was unusual."
Gregson: "You are not very familiar with foreign quarter cooking. Those are 'old country' foods."
Morty re-visualized the apartment; there had been no ritual placement of the ubiquitous vegetables.
Gregson: "The back of Fahmi's head was bruised. Therefore he was alive when drained of blood. It's possible that he was knocked out and the dagger stolen by one agent and that the blood-drainer showed up later."
"Most African airships are direct to Liverpool. Therefor the Dagger Contract might not have been with an Anglishman. It might be some complex plot in the Ottoman Empire."
Homme: "Is there any other kind?"
Gregson, wryly: "Sometimes they throw armies at problems."
Gregson: "Where are you going?"
Homme: "We seek a gentleman in Germany who may no longer be amongst the living."
Gregson: "Has he marks like yours?"
Homme: "I don't know. Perhaps thence we will take the train to Paris and then on to the Ottoman Empire."
Gregson: "I once worked with a detective in France when we broke up a smuggling ring of gypsies. Dupin. I'll give you an introduction.'
Morty tried following another loose end and asked if Fahmi had booked passage out of Anglia.
Gregson: "Fahmi had an alternate passport under another name. He booked passage for the Continent under that name." [I presume that Homme now knows the alternate name?][It is of only historical interest at this point.]
The police released Mr. Ramsey around dinnertime. Miss Costorari and Mr. Penrington were kept incarcerated for three days. Sister Sunshine brought them fresh clothing, etc..
Later the entire group shared Ramsey's galvanization.
Reporter Travis' Information
With great reluctance on the men's parts, Penrington, Mr. Ramsey and Sister Sunshine went to Westgate to interview Travis again. Catcalls directed at the druidess added to the general cacophony of the wretched place. From a tiny, filthy cell, the equally filthy and unshaven Travis said: "Ah, Ramsey. Again. You've come. You came back."
Ramsey: "I heard you were charged in a death. Was the murder part of your experiment in everlasting life?"
Travis, madness in his voice: "He is strong. He's been fed. He is powerful." He made a lightning grab and came up with a rat. The madman bit off the rat's head. "He can feed you all you want." He offered the still-twitching rat. "He is eternal life. He knows the Secret. He will share the Secret."
Ramsey: "Did you kill Weatherby?"
Travis, venomously: "That obnoxious prick Weatherby."
Ramsey continued on the subject of the mastermind Travis called "the Master," learning that Travis thought the Master "beautiful".
Ramsey: "Where is the Master going? What is he seeking? Is he looking for more servants like you?"
Travis: "The Master doesn't need any more servants. He cares for his servants. He can raise his hand and all the rats follow. They come to you and feed you. He feeds."
Ramsey: "Does he feed on rats?"
Travis: "Not on the rats. They're for servants. He lives."
Ramsey: "Have you met his other servants."
Travis: "No, no. Not nice servants. Wolves with eyes. Rats much tastier."
Ramsey: "Gypsies?"
Travis: "Gypsies??" He quickly squishes a cockroach. "Nasty bugs. Not good to eat."
Ramsey: "How did you meet the Master?"
Travis: "Master has such eyes. Great eyes of power that shine like the whole moon. Move, move like the wind."
Later Ramsey reminded the group not to look into the Plague Carrier's eyes lest he had some mesmeric powers.
Penrington, aside: "Ask about the dagger."
Ramsey, muttered in return: "I'm almost afraid to mention it."
Ramsey to Travis: "There's a knife. Did Master ask about it?"
Travis: "Master fears no knife!"
Ramsey: "How about a beetle?"
Travis: "Nasty bugs!"
Ramsey: "How have you served the Master? What did you do for him?" However further questions seemed to elicit no further sense. The madman no longer seemed to have a sense of time or place, simply a confidence that his Master would save him.
Out of the fetid prison, Ramsey commented, "I no longer am worried that we helped imprison an innocent man."
Penrington: "No. He's going to get what's coming to him."
Sister Sunshine continued in silence.
Later Morty asked, "Is there an insect that is named Gypsy that anyone knows of?"
Voronika: "The Fat Man had an associate called 'The Gypsy'."
Next Run: Dutch Treat
Note: Barry will be in Chicago.
(a) Cumulative (b) Cumulative since Volume II (c) Cumulative since Volume III
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