Current Games
A summary of events in each session of the game.
The Carlysle Expedition died three years ago, but investigator Jackson Elias believes he has uncovered a conspiracy to hide the truth. He is returning to London to report to this employer, Lady Cassendra Astor, what he has discovered.
Jackson Elias suddenly sends a telegram to Cassandra Astor from a ship, to say that he is on his way back to England. He will be in London by Tuesday 15 January. He has uncovered a conspiracy involving the Carlisle Expedition. He will explain further once he is in London. He needs a group of people to assist him in his investigation.
Cassandra has Jeziah send a telegram to Erica Carlisle in New York, telling her of Jackson’s return and inviting her to come to England to meet him. Erica responds by telegram to say she will depart the next day, but it will take at least four days to get to England.
Jeziah attempts to find out which ship Jackson is on, with the hope of meeting him at the port, but his search is not fruitful. There is no option but to wait until Jackson contacts them again.
A telegram arrives early from Jackson Elias, telling Cassandra that he is in London and he is staying at the Chelsea Hotel. They are to meet him there, room 410, at 4pm.
Cassandra has Jeziah and the Great Zalkador accompany her to the Chelsea Hotel. She also arranges for Alex Stevens and Tiger Johnson to meet them there at 4pm. She thinks they will all be useful in helping Jackson with his investigation.
At 4pm, everyone arrives on time and they proceed to take the lift to the fourth floor. Cassandra is keen and excited as she is finally going to find out what happened to Roger and she wants to know about the conspiracy that Jackson has uncovered.
As they approach the room, they hear the distinct sound of a gunshot come from within. Jeziah checks the door, but it is locked. He asked the strongly built Tiger Johnson to open the door. Tiger barges the door down and a man, who has been waiting by the door in case anyone enters, makes a swift stab at him with a knife, but misses. Tiger responds by punching the man, forcing him out of the room and into the corridor. Jeziah then trips him up.
Inside the room, Jackson Elias is lying on the bed, his throat cut, from which blood is gushing and a smoking pistol is still in his hand. Three swarthy, middle-eastern men in robes are in the room. One has a knife with blood on it on the bed. This man is in the process of taking Jackson’s pistol from his hand.
Another man has opened a leather Satchell and is trying to examine the papers that are inside. Startled by the sudden entrance, he begins to move towards the window.
The third man who attacked Tiger is now in the corridor. Zalkador is taken aback by this dangerous turn of events and backs away.
Tiger Johnson immediately goes to attack the man on the bed before he can bring Jackson’s pistol to bear on them. He is able to grapple with him but the man fires the pistol, grazing Tiger slightly on the arm with a bullet.
Jeziah attempts to grapple with the young middle-eastern man in the corridor, but the man is nimble and is able to twist out of Jeziah’s grasp and run away down the corridor.
Alex runs into the room and attempts to stop the man from climbing out of the window. He is too slow and the man is able to get onto the drain pipe outside, but Alex grabs him and tries to pull him back in.
Cassandra enters the room and attempts to stop the blood gushing from Jackson Elias’s throat. She is shocked by events and does not want him to die, she needs to know what he has found out. In the process, she is covered in blood.
Jeziah follows her in and uses his medical knowledge to staunch the bleeding and keep Jackson alive, but it’s a close thing and it takes his continuous attention to stop Jackson from dying there and then.
Zalkador heads down stairs to summon help.
Tiger gets into a messy struggle with the man he is fighting. He is finally able to head-butt him and stun him.
Alex tries to pull the man back into the room through the window, but he is not strong enough. He then notices a motor car parked below the window at the back of the hotel with the engine running. A middle-eastern looking man in the car is looking up at the window and when he sees Alex he takes out a pistol and shoots, but misses.
Alex is shocked by being shot at and lets go of the man, who then has nothing to hold onto and falls four floors to the ground. His body is then dragged into the car by the man with the gun.
The man Tiger is fighting draws a small knife, but in a surprise manoeuvre stabs himself in the neck with it. Tiger then knocks him out properly.
Cassandra is concerned that Jackson will die and she has Alex go to summon an ambulance.
Downstairs, Zalkador reaches the reception desk and tells the staff about gun shots in room 410. They should call the Police. He then heads outside to have a cigarette and recover from the shock of events.
Alex then comes down and has the staff also call for an ambulance. He then heads back upstairs, being out of breath by the time he reaches the fourth floor. As he does so, he seems the third middle-eastern man who ran down the corridor passes him heading down the stairs.
Alex immediately gives chase and follows the man down to reception. The man is quicker than him though and Alex calls out for Zalkador to help. Zalkador is too slow to stop the man from leaving the hotel, but discreetly throws a pin from out of his turban and hits the man, causing him to fall over in the street.
Alex is able to catch up and overpower the man. The Police then arrive and a constable arrests the man that Alex has caught, but not before Kalkador has retrieved his pin.
The two other Policemen then proceed up to room 410, along with Alex and Zalkador. The Sergeant asks Cassandra and Jeziah what is going on. Cassandra insists they summon an ambulance and the Sergeant sends his other Constable to do so. They then tell the Sergeant a quick summary of what has happened.
When he learns one of the attackers escaped out of the window, the Sergeant looks outside. He is then shot at by the man in the car. The Sergeant then departs to summon more help.
Tiger runs down to attack the man in the car, but as he approaches it drives away and escapes.
Alex takes all of the papers and anything else of interest he can find from the Hotel room before the Police return.
More Police and an Ambulance crew arrive. They take Jackson Elias away, with Jeziah and Cassandra going with them. Jackson is dead by the time they reach the Hospital. Jeziah discreetly empties Jackson’s pockets.
Cassandra is upset but resolves to return to the Hotel.
Tiger, Zalkador and Alex end up answering all the Police questions as best they can. They then wait for Cassandra and Jeziah to return. They make statements to the Police. Cassandra and Jeziah agree to go to the station tomorrow to give their statements, as Cassandra is covered in blood and wants to get changed.
They finally leave the hotel and Cassandra has them all accompany her back to the offices of Astor Motors, where she takes them to the main conference room. They all have a stiff drink, while Cassandra changes out of her blood-soaked clothes.
Alex then takes out all of the clues he found in the Hotel room and Jeziah adds in what he found in Jackson’s pockets.
- A hand-written Letter to Roger Carlisle from Warren Besart in Cairo, dated 1929. It is difficult to read but suggests that Roger wants something and the man in the letter is telling him for the right price he can have it.
- A business card from the Penhew Foundation in London with Edward Gavigan named as the Director. Cassandra recalls that Aubrey Penhew was a member of the Carlisle Expedition and went with Roger to Egypt.
- A book of matches from the Stumbling Tiger Bar, 10 Lantern Street “Shanghai Fun and Friends”. Jeziah determines there is not a Lantern Street in London.
- A photograph of a ship named “DARK” in a port with Chinese ships in the background. The rest of the ships’ name is not in the photograph.
- A letter to Jackson from Mariam Arkwright of the British Museum Library, dated November 1934. It is addressed to him at a P. O Box in Alexandria, Egypt. It tells Jackson the book he is looking for is not available but maybe there are others that can help him.
- A business card from Emerson Imports with an address on the London Docks and the name “Silas N’Kwane” written in pen on the back.
- A business card from Jonah Kensington of Prespero House, Lexington Avenue, London.
- A flyer from “The Cult of Darkness in Polynesia and the Southwest Pacific”, which is a presentation by Professor Anthony Cowles PhD of Syndey, Australia.
- There are also some newspaper cuttings that report on the activities of the Carlisle Expedition.
They realise that the only way to find out what Jackson Elias had uncovered is to track down every clue and try to piece things together, even if it means travelling to several countries. Cassandra vows to do so. She can leave the company in the hands of her new Managing Director.
Jeziah also discovers that a Telegram has arrived from Erica Carlisle. She arrives in Liverpool tomorrow and should be in London by the evening.
It is late and the group split up.
Cassandra and Jeziah work late discussing events and making preparations for her to disengage from the day to day running of Astor Motors. Jeziah suggests they meet the others at an expensive restaurant at lunch tomorrow. In the morning, Jeziah telephones Alex and Zalkador to inform them of the meeting at the restaurant at 1pm. He reminds them that there is a dress code.
Alex and Tiger begin to work out how to have someone else run their shop while they are away. Zalkador has an appointment that morning, but otherwise his calendar is relatedly clear.
Cassandra and Jeziah go to see the Police and are interviewed by Detective Inspector Poole. He takes their account of events and asks what they know about cults and what Jackson Elias was doing. He does not seem to want to give them any information about the investigation, but asks them to hand over all correspondence between them and Mr Elias.
He takes their formal statements and has them sign. As they leave, he asks about next of kin for Mr Elias.
Alex and Tiger arrive first, with Alex in a dinner jacket and Tiger wearing his old Army uniform. Zalkador arrives late in poshest outfit and has the waiter announce hi, but is disappointed that not everyone is there.
Cassandra and Jeziah arrive late, delayed by the Police. Cassandra tells them she wants to track down the clues and find out what happened. She will need their help in order to do this.
Alex immediately offers to help. Zalkador discusses money and proposes he is paid an hourly rate. Jeziah says a weekly rate would be more appropriate. Zalkador holds a tarot reading to determine if he should go with them, but it is inconclusive. He suggests that they look into more clues and see if things are clarified. Jeziah suggests he should follow where the money leads him.
After lunch, Jeziah has a telephone brought in to their room by the restaurant staff and begins to make calls. He calls Miriam Arkwright at the British Museum Library. He asks about her correspondence with Jackson Elias, but she is reluctant to betray any of Mr Elias’s confidences. She finally agrees to see what he wants to know if he comes to her office at the Library during working hours.
Jeziah then calls the Penhew Foundation, but is unable to speak to Direct Gavigan, who is busy. He says he wants to talk about the Carlisle Expedition and the secretary recalls that was several years ago. An appointment is booked for 3pm on Friday in Mr Gavigan’s diary.
Jeziah then calls Emerson Imports and speaks to the Manager, Mr Emerson. Jeziah pretends to be Jackson Elias and asks about his latest import of him, but Mr Emerson checks and there is nothing in his records. Mr Emerson suggests that he also check with Ju-Ju House.
Alex Stevens says he knows Ju-Ju House, it’s an African Antiquities shop that is a rival to his business.
There is no number for Jonah Kensington of Prospero House.
They then resolve to go visit first Ju-Ju House and then Prospero House. They leave the hotel and Jeziah drives them in the automobile.
When they arrive at the address for Ju-Ju House, they find it is in a dark and dingy arcane of shops along with other shops selling food and curiosities from other cultures. The shop front has African masks and head dresses, carvings and other paraphernalia.
They go inside and find an elderly African gentleman in a slightly worn suit and waist coat behind the counter, Silas N’Kwane. His English is not great and he is suspicious when he sees his rival, Alex Stevens, amongst this group of white people.
Jeziah has a conversation with Silas, but doesn’t get very far. He doesn’t know Jackson Elias and he doesn’t know who Jonah Kensington is. Silas relaxes a little when the Great Zalkador buys some masks from him and he makes them all tea. It is strong, African tea.
They decide to leave and head for Prospero House.
They discover it is a large, though not that expensive building. A small plaque on the door says
Prospero House
Publishers
Proprietor Jonah Kensington
They proceed inside and discover it is a large printing warehouse. There are books stacked everywhere and the sound of printing machines churning fills the building.
They approach a secretary, asking for Mr Kensington. She says he is the owner and she will need to know what they want. Jeziah mentions Jackson Elias, who she knows of and when he mentions Mr Elias is death, she rushes to tell Mr Kensington.
Jonah Kensington has them come into his office. He is a well-dressed man with a slightly bookish, clerical appearance. He wants to know all about how Jackson Elias died and they fill him in.
When they start to mention the Carlisle Expedition and Jackson’s investigation into it, he knows all about it – Jackson has been sending him regular updates. Jackson planned to write a book about the subject.
Jonah has a letter that Jackson sent him recently which was marked “Open on the event of my death.” He does so and the note basically asks him to complete his investigation into the Carlisle Expedition and avenge his death.
He also tells them he has several notes from Jackson while he was in Kenya and he takes them out. His secretary has written up short summaries of what each contains and he reads them out.
1 – Outlines the various tribes Jackson spoke to in Kenya.
2 – Jackson’s visit to the place where the Carlisle Expedition were massacred. There is no vegetation. The locals say it is cursed by the God of the Black Wind.
3 – Interview with Johnstone Kenyatta. He tells of the Cult of the Bloody Tongue and the Mountain of the Black Wind.
4 – Jackson’s investigation of the Cult of the Blood Tongue. No records exist of the cult, but there are many rumours and similar dark stories.
5 – A short section suggesting that the reason for the Carlisle Expedition’s trip to Kenya is somewhere in Egypt and more investigation is needed there.
6 – Interview with Lt. Mark Selkirk, leader of the group that found the remains of the Carlisle Expedition. The bodies had not decayed. Selkirk thinks the Nandis were not behind the death of the Carlisle Expedition. Also – none of the bodies were white people, despite what the inquest said.
7 – Interview with “Nails” Nelson, a mercenary, who says he met Jack Brady in Hong Kong two years after the Carlisle Expedition was supposed to have been killed.
8 – Notes from Jackson on how to structure the book.
Jonah admits he is not in a position to avenge Jackson Elias’s death. Cassandra tells him they are going to investigate it he agrees to hand over the notes he has into their care.
Cassandra gets the feeling Jonah is holding something back but is unable to find out what. Jonah asks if any of them are writers and Jeziah makes out that he is. He suggests that they could finish Jackson’s book for him, which Jonah agrees to.
They leave but are left with the feeling that Jonah is hiding something. Tiger Johnson agrees to stay behind to watch what he does.
They realise that Silas N’Kwane may know more about the Cult of the Bloody Tongue and decide to go back there. They arrive to find him packing up.
When Jeziah asks him about the Cult of the Bloody Tongue and the God of the Black Wind, N’Kwane becomes angry and tells them to go away, he is closed. Jeziah blocks him from walking away with his cane, but the old man is spritelier than he looks and ducks back into this shop and locks the door.
They consider what to do, but it is now dark. The dingy alley and the strange African masks in Ju-Ju house begin to spook them, so they leave.
Jeziah drops the others off. On the way back to Astor Motors recalls that Erica Carlisle was arriving today. When he gets there, Erica has sent two telegrams. The first this morning informing them that she will be in London for 3pm and another at 6pm telling them she has checked into the Hilton Hotel.
Jeziah calls Erica at the hotel and Cassandra tells her Jackson Elias is dead. Erica panics when she learns he was murdered by a cult in his hotel room – she is in a hotel.
They arrange for Jeziah to pick her up and take her back to the Astor Manor.
Tiger sees Prospero House locked up and Jonah Kensington head home, but there is nothing suspicious. So he heads back home.
Jeziah invites the other Investigators to Astor Manor to discuss the situation further. Lex and Tiger drive there, while the Great Zalkador takes a taxi, billing it to Aston Motors.
Erica and Cassandra chat in the morning, but social etiquette dictates that they avoid discussing business until the others arrive.
Jeziah has the household staff lay out a hot and cold spread for 10am brunch and they eat and talk. Jeziah summarises the clues they have obtained so far and Erica is shocked when she learns there were not white people amongst the dead bodies in Kenya and that Jack Brady had been seen a few years later in Hong Kong.
Erica shows them a document she obtained from Dr Robert Huston’s medical practice which has notes about the strange dreams that Roger was having. The dreams involve a figure with an inverted ankh on its head, a picture of Roger on the palm of one hand and a misshapen pyramid in the other. The figure then joins the two palms together.
The Great Zalkador has a feeling the meaning is that Roger should go to the misshapen pyramid.
Eric also shows them a note that Roger wrote, with crazy talk about pyramids and gods and wanting to slash his wrists. Clearly Roger was becoming unhinged at some point.
Erica tells them what she knows about the members of the Carlisle Expedition and she singles out “That Negro Woman”, the queen / priestess M’Weru as the person who corrupted Roger and made him do what she wanted.
If Jack Brady is still alive then Roger could be still alive. She speculates if the Negro Woman has him a prisoner in some cave in Kenya even now.
Eric does not wish to be involved in the investigation or go to that ghastly place Kenya again. She offers instead to fund their investigation and will pay $2000 (£500) up front and a further payment of the same if they need it. She would then like to return to New York. They should telegram her with regular updates.
It is now around 1pm and Jeziah agrees to take Erica to the bank to open an Expedition Account with a joint deposit of £500 from Erica and £500 from Cassandra. He can then drop her off at the railway station for the journey back to Liverpool and then New York.
Cassandra, Zalkador and Alex go to the British Museum in Alex’s automobile. They ask about Egyptian inverted ankhs and learn that the ankh was the symbol of life and inverting it was not the done thing, rather like inverted crosses in Christian literature.
They discover that Kenya is a British run colony in Africa, but there is no Mountain of the Black Wind in the official encyclopaedia of Kenya.
Tiger goes to the London docks with the photograph of the ship, but he is a little confused thinking it is in the London docks. He is told that looks like a port in China.
Jeziah calls his army contact to ask him if he has any Police contacts that could help him find out more about the Police investigation into Jackson Elias’s death. He agrees to ask around.
Jeziah also has him provide an introduction to his personal gunsmiths in London.
That evening they meet up at Astor Manor to exchange information and Jeziah suggests that he makes up rooms for everyone so that they can stay here from now on, speeding up communication and travelling time.
In the morning, Zalkador decides to go to the docks with the photograph and use his charm to find out more information. He is able to find out from a sailor that the place in the background in the photograph looks like the British Concession in the port of Shanghai, China.
Zalkador then returns to Ju-Ju House to speak to Silas N’Kwane. They talk about Dark Gods and Silas tells him that there is no protection again the terrible Dark Gods and even following them will not protect you. They do not care. He advises Zalkador no to go to Kenya, but Zalkador says he has no choice. Zalkador buys something that would impress a local and some hand-woven African fabric.
Tiger asks his contacts in Whitehall who have been to Kenya, but none of them have heard of the Mountain of the Black Wind. Sounds like a local name.
Jeziah, Cassandra and Alex go to see Miriam Arkwright at the British Museum Library. She tells them Jackson Elias was trying to find a copy of the book “Dark African Cults” but the book has been removed without permission from the Library. Its card is still there. The book was published in the 19th century, but was considered heretical and all but 13 copies were burnt.
She tells them there was a strange smell reported in the area where the book was missing.
She also tells them that Jackson was investigating an unnamed cult that was driven out of Egyptian in dynastic times, as well as the Cult of the Bloody Tongue in Kenya. Jeziah wonders if the two cults are actually the same.
Mariam is sceptical as the unnamed cult dates back to 4000 BC and Africans would not follow an Egyptian God. Jeziah points out from Jackson’s notes that the God of the Black Wind is acknowledged as not an African God. She accepts that it is a possibility but does not think so herself.
She was able to find a reference to the Cult of the Bloody Tongue for Jackson in a book called the G’Harne Fragments, but it’s hardly a great source of information, being mostly the insane ramblings of mad people. “We have all sorts of odd books here.”
The Library do not have a copy of that book, but the Penhew Foundation does and the Library has an arrangement with them.
As Zalkador leaves Ju-Ju House and heads back up the alley towards the main road, he suddenly finds his passageway blocked by two African men. One is carrying a kukri. They escort him back to Ju-Ju House, where Silas N’Kwane meets him and tells him he will not go to Kenya.
Zalkador tries to convince him he will now not go, but Silas says yes because he is going nowhere. He takes Zalkador to the back of the shop where he unlocks a large door, but Zalkador suddenly rushes past him and escapes.
Just before 3pm the Investigators begin to assembly at the Penhew Foundation. Zalkador is not there. Jeziah comments that he does not usually miss appointments.
They enter the Penhew Foundation building, which is a large and impressive Victorian building with marble floors. There is a desk with a concierge, who checks their appointment with Mr Gavigan and take him to his office.
Gavigan is a well-dressed, well-spoken and handsome man with an upper class accent with an expensive, oak-panelled office and wearing the latest fashionable item - a wrist watch. He welcomes them to the institute and listens as Jeziah, on behalf of Cassandra, tells him that their investigations into the Carlisle Expedition.
Gavigan is surprised by the suggestion that no Caucasians were found at the massacre site in Kenya and suggests that is not correct. He points out that the Expedition has been a legal nightmare for the Foundation and it does not want re-open that issue. He says he recalls being interviewed by Mr Jackson Elias but didn’t think he could be of much help to him.
Jeziah asks him about correspondence between the Carlisle Expedition and the Foundation, but Gavigan says they are private and he could not release them to anyone outside the Foundation without approval of the Board of Directors.
They also ask him for access to the G’Harne Fragments, but again he says that only Foundation members are allowed to access their rare book collection, along with certain partners. He would need permission from the Board to allow them access. The next meeting they would be able to consider such a request would be in June.
Gavigan does tell them that the Carlisle Expedition was based on a false premise from the beginning. Roger Carlisle was infatuated with a mysterious African woman who seduced and beguiled him. She told him they were going to Egypt to investigate a period of Dynastic Egypt supposedly ruled by a sorcerer. Such arrant nonsense.
After they were in Egypt for a while, this woman disappeared along with some £3,500 of the Expedition’s money. Carlisle was upset and they decided to spend the summer in the cooler lands of Kenya. One of the members of the Expedition was a photographer and they wanted to take pictures of the animals there on the Serengeti.
Unfortunately, while in Kenya they strayed into dangerous territory and fell victim to aggressive natives. A sad end to an unfortunately doomed Expedition.
Jeziah shows Gavigan some of Jackson Elias’s notes suggesting that the natives were not behind the massacre. Gavigan says it is hard to be sure in lands so far away, but he accepts the outcome of the investigation by the authorities there.
He tells them the Expedition did make some useful minor finds during its archaeology digs in Dhashur and other areas of Egypt. He offers to show them and takes them upstairs to a huge exhibition hall, full of Egyptology. Gavigan shows them around, talking endlessly about the various priceless items that the Foundation owns. He shows them things uncovered by the Carlisle Expedition, but they are mostly broken pieces of pottery.
Jeziah spends a long time sizing up Gavigan. He reveals their plan to travel to Egypt and Kenya, to investigate the Cult of the Blood Tongue. Jeziah gets the impression that Gavigan perceives them as a threat.
Gavigan does reveal that the Penhew Foundation is funding a new expedition in Egypt called the Clive Expedition, which is there now.
They leave the Foundation, concerned that Zalkador has still not arrived. On the way to the car, they discuss Gavigan. Cassandra thinks he wasn’t being completely honest but suspects he is embarrassed about the way the Expedition ended. Jeziah says there is something more and Gavigan is dangerous. Alex says he seemed like a marvellous fellow.
As they consider what to do next, Zalkador comes up to them and tells them about his experiences at Ju-Ju House. They resolve to return there, but first Jeziah suggests they need to protect themselves.
Jeziah has an appointment in the morning at an Armourers. The others should come with him and arm themselves. Tiger pulls out a pistol and tells them he has enough weapons. Alex has a licence and keeps a pistol in his aircraft, but Jeziah suggests they need powerful weapons as this is going to be a dangerous investigation.
They return to Astor Manor and pass the rest of the evening uneventfully.
In the morning, Jeziah takes them all the Hallbrothers and Co, an up-market armourers, where they purchase pistols and rifles for those who do not have them. Cassandra and Zalkador have smaller pistols as they are not experienced.
Cassandra then leaves them and the rest head for Ju-Ju House. Jeziah and Alex head into the shopl Zalkador and Tiger try to enter the alley behind the shop, but find that the gate is locked from the inside and cannot be opened from the outside.
Jeziah and Alex enter the shop. Silas N’Kwane comes out from the back of the shop to greet them, smiling inanely. Jeziah questions him, but Silas denies all knowledge of doing anything to Zalkador.
Alex heads through the shop, finding the door that Zalkador mentioned, but it is locked. N’Kwane does not have the key around his neck anymore.
Alex instead opens the back door of the shop and heads round to let Tiger and Zalkador in. Tiger is then brutal with N’Kwane and begins to inflict pain on the old man. N’Kwane initially resists the pain and continues to smile inanely, but eventually as Tiger hurts him more, he gives in.
He takes them to a floor board, under which a key is hidden. Jeziah uses it to unlock the side door and finds a small empty storage area. A slight anti-climax until they find a trap door underneath a mat.
Opening the trap door reveals some stairs going down into darkness and a strange smell, like rotting meat. They get a lamp and Jeziah leads them down the stairs, followed by N’Kwane then Tiger and the others.
At the bottom of the stairs, there is a doorway on the right. Jeziah cautiously walks through it, illuminating a large underground room that is mostly dark. As he begins to get his bearing, a loud African voice sudden screams something and a man with a machete emerges from the darkness and attacks him.
Then something responds to the scream of the African man. It gives off a guttural cry that mixes fear, terror, pain and hatred all in one mix. Then another scream in a different pitch responds similarly and then another and another until there are many horrible voices screaming and crying in the dark. This disturbing noise unnerves the Investigators.
Alex and Zalkador flee back up the stairs to the shop, leaving Tiger and Jeziah in the room. Jeziah has just a lamp and his cane, his pistol is not drawn. He swings his cane enough to prevent being hit by the machete. Tiger takes out his pistol and guns the machete man down.
Silas N’Kwane then sneaks away to the right, into the darkness, towards where there is some sort stone block on the floor.
In front of them is a curtain that seems to be twitching. Jeziah asks Tiger if they should retreat but Tiger says no, shoot them all. Jeziah draws his pistol as a figure emerges from the curtain.
The figure that stumbles out is an African man with his eyes and mouth sown shut. His throat has been cut and his tongue pulled out, painted with blood and dangling down his chest. Tiger and Jeziah recoil in horror, but open fire, but the bullets don’t seem to have much effect. The man keeps stumbling forward towards them.
This horrifies Jeziah and he throws the lantern at the figure, then flees. The zombie figure begins to burn a little, but not much.
Tiger and Jeziah withdraw, but find smiling Slias N’Kwane with a machete blocking their way. Jeziah shoots him and he collapses. They close the door to the room and head up the stairs to the shop.
Tiger babbles about the Africans taking over and they can’t be killed. They regroup upstairs, closing and locking the big door to the cellar.
The Great Zalkador is smoking a cigarette to relax. Jeziah takes out a cigar and joins him. Alex asks what is going on. Jeziah tells them about the tongue dangling dead men. Alex is sceptical. Tiger says he needs to get his shotgun. Jeziah says it is in the car, with his rifle.
They head for the car, discussing heavier weapons like explosives and aviation fuel. Tiger proposes to syphon some petrol from the car. The only danger is a fire causes a gas explosion that kills innocent people in other buildings.
They return to the house. Tiger has a shotgun and a can of petrol. Jeziah has his powerful rifle. They open the big door and see behind the door is some sort of Witch-Doctor, a man they have not seen before, wearing African robes and a bizarre head dress that covers his head and has the model of some heads on the top. He is wielding some sort of African style sceptre with hair on the end.
The Witch Doctor starts to chant something in an unknown African language. Alex shoots him with his pistol, then Tiger fires his shotgun and the figure goes down. Silas N’Kwane is at the top of the stairs and turns to run. Jeziah shoots through the wall and his him, but he keeps going.
The Great Zalkador stays upstairs, saying someone needs to watch the shop.
Alex, Tiger and Jeziah head down, Jeziah fixing his bayonet on the end of his rifle. They enter the room downstairs, which is now lit by a burning torch on the wall. There are four zombie figures with dangling tongues stood in the alcove, which has the curtain drawn back.
Silas is on the right hand side of the room, trying to lift up a large, round stone block that is covering a well of some kind, using a winch. As he does, the horrible, inhuman screaming of multiple voices comes out from the well.
Jeziah shoots Silas and he crawls into the well. Jeziah and Tiger step forward to stop him and catch a glimpse of an eldritch horror in the well. There is some sort conglomeration of human heads, bound together by some fleshy material. A bizarre fleshy abomination, the heads of which screech and cry out in terrible pain and horror.
The Investigator are momentarily shocked into inaction. Alex is particularly horrified by the sight, but manages to back off and look away.
Jeziah kicks Silas N’Kwane into the well, they releases the winch to replace the stone block over the winch.
The four blood tongue zombies now begin to advance towards the Investigators. Jeziah considers leaving, but he sees there are interesting things in the alcove and resolves to fight these zombies.
Jeziah shoots one of the zombies through the head, but it just makes a small hole in his head. The Butler is a little taken back by this.
Tiger puts both barrels from his shotgun into the nearest zombie and it is blasted back, stopping moving. Tiger reloads.
Alex shoots with his pistol, but bullets don’t seem to bother the zombies. The three remaining continue to advance and the Investigators fall back.
Jeziah now steps forward and tries to stab the nearest zombie in the back of the neck to cut its spine, which he does, but the figure keeps coming. He then stabs it in the front and catches it in the dangling tongue. The zombie then convulses and collapsed.
Tiger then guns down another zombie with his shotgun, while Jeziah stops the last one by stabbing it in the tongue.
With all enemies now dealt with, things suddenly go quiet. They carefully examine the alcove. They see and take everything of interest.
They discuss what to do next and resolve to get some petrol from the car, cover their ears and lift up the block from the well, pour petrol down and set the thing down there on fire. Jeziah leaves the block off so that the fire has enough air. The creature screeches and squeals loudly, but the voices slowly start to go quiet.
The Great Zalkador takes a few things that may be of interest from the shop, but there is nothing of much use.
They return to Astor Manor and relate a slightly rambling version of what happened at Ju-Ju house. She is initially sceptical and when she sees how earnest and shocked they are, beings to accept their story. They all suspect they have witnessed real Voodoo magic.
They eat and have some stiff drinks, then begin to discuss the implications of what they have seen and how this relates to their investigation into the Carlisle Expedition.
Cassandra remembers a flyer mentioning Polynesia and they find a flyer promoting a talk by Professor Anthony Clowes, from Sidney University, at the British Museum. The next session is on Monday evening. Jeziah telephones and arranges tickets.
Alex has a horrible dream in which he ends up back in Ju-Ju House and was taken down stairs. The lid of the well is lifted and he sees the creature again. This time he recalls that some of the faces of the creature weren’t African but white. He realises that he saw that at the time and the implications are that people have been thrown into the well and merged into the blasphemous creature by the cult.
In the morning, they lie in late in Astor Manor, but eventually Alex, Tiger and the Great Zalkador head home to attend to their own domestic needs and recover.
Cassandra wonders what the link is to Polynesian Cults. She begins to read the book, Dark African Sects, but it is hard work. It is rambling and difficult to follow, drifting from subject to subject and quite racist towards Africans.
She also wonders if they could contact the family of Jack Brady, as he has been known to be alive, but remembers that he grew up in the slums of New York. She arranges for Jeziah to telegram Erica to make enquiries when she gets back to New York.
Jeziah dresses in casual clothes to check out what is happening at Ju-Ju House shop. It looks like there has been a fire and the fire brigade have been and gone. The place is roped off and a constable is standing outside. He is pleased.
Monday daytime is quiet as well until the evening. Cassandra reads more of Dark African Sects that day. It appears to be the account of the author, Nigel Blackwell, as he travels around infiltrating strange cults in Africa after the Great War. Just before she has to go to the lecture at the British Museum, she realises that the author of the book is going to account his experiences in Kenya next.
They assemble early at the British Museum, before the lecture and Cassandra tells them how hard work Dark African Cults is. She wonders why a Cult Leader would need a book on evil cults and she suspects there is something important in there that the cult wants to keep secret.
The lecture begins and Professor Anthony Clowes gives his lecture in four parts.
Part One of the lecture introduces himself and his various qualifications. Then he moves on to the strange cults he has encountered in Polynesian islands. One believes that an ancient god sleeps under the sea and one day, when the stars are right, he will rise from the depths and destroy the world.
He then moves onto detail a strange cult he discovered in Australia amongst aboriginals, the deity of which is known as the Father of All Bats. His followers would carry out rituals designed to incite their deity to appear and when he did, he would “conquer all men.”
The cult engaged in human sacrifice and forced their victims to walk a gauntlet, during which they were beaten by clubs with the teeth of bats on them, coated in poison derived from bat droppings.
The leaders of the Cult were alleged to be able to transform into bats. It was believed to have died out many centuries ago.
Part Two details an Aboriginal song cycle, which mentions a place where enormous beings gathered, somewhere in the west of Australia. These gods were not at all like men and built huge cities, but the living wind threw down the gods and destroyed their cities. When this happened, the way was opened for the Father of All Bats to come to the land.
Part Three then focuses on four glass slides, on which is photographed sweaty white men standing next to enormous blocks of stone, covered in dim carvings. These blocks were discovered by Arthur McWhirr, of Port Hedland in 1919. McWhirr kept a diary, detailing how his expedition was regularly attacked by Aboriginals. Members were killed through poison and hundreds of small teeth-like punctures, suggesting they had been attacked by the cult of the Father of All Bats.
Part Four, the final part, tells a tail that he collected from Aboriginals near the Arafura Sea, in northern Australia. In it the Sand Bat, or the Father of All Bats, has a battle of wits with Rainbow Snake, the Aboriginal deification of water and the patron of all life. Rainbow Snake succeeded in tricking and trapping the Sand Bat in a watery place where he cannot escape and return to trouble the people. He also discovered that, while worshipped by some Aboriginals, the Father of All Bats is not considered to be a native Aboriginal God, but from somewhere beyond.
Professor Clowes then speculates that this cult has not really died out, it has simply gone to ground and is hidden. He thinks it is part of a pattern of ancient, hidden cults in that region of the world and possibly around the whole world.
Afterward, the Professor takes questions. At one point, Jeziah asks him what sort of practices would suggest that someone was a member of this cult. Professor Clowes says they would have be secretive, native-only exclusivity, it would have to date back quite far, involve murder and human sacrifice and would have to not based on a cult of personality. Also, the cult would worship a deity and their worship is designed not to save them from the end of the world, but to actually bring about the end of the world.
Cassandra then asks about the finds of Arthur McWhirr. Clowes tells her he found the remains of a vast stone buildings that appear to date back a long time. He wonders if he has found the city of the overthrown gods from the Aboriginal song cycle. Mr McWhirr has since passed away, so he pass on details of the person looking after his estate, a mining engineer called Robert McKenzie.
Cassandra then asks how he knows the Father of All Bats is not from Australia. The Professor says he can only tell them what the Aboriginals believe. He is said to have come from the stars, another recurring theme in Polynesian cults. Most Aboriginals talk very badly of the cult and those who follow it are not right in the head.
Jeziah then asks about the Cult of the Bloody Tongue and Zalkador shows him some of the items found in Ju-Ju House. Initially Professor Clowes says has not heard of it, then he recalls someone asking him about it.
It emerges that the Professor has been in correspondence with Jackson Elias for a while, as they share an interest in cults. Apparently, Elias asked him a lot about a Dr Huston and if he had seen him in Australia. This doctor was apparently a member of some cult, but the Professor did not know anything about it.
Elias was also very interested in the place in the desert that McWhirr had found. Professor Clowes then excuses himself as it has been a long day. He gives them his address at a hotel in London, if they want to communicate with him further.
They then go to a late dinner and discuss what to do next. The conversation turns to the Penhew Foundation and whether there is more to that place than they first thought. They also recall how Edward Gavigan was quite dismissive of their suggestions that anyone from the Carlisle Expedition could possibly have survived.
Jeziah resolves to investigate through his contacts the employees at the Foundation. He initially considers meeting with Gavigan’s personal secretary at a pub somewhere and Tiger offers to stay nearby in case of trouble.
The Great Zalkador then does a Tarot reading for Cassandra about the future and foresees there are journeys ahead, but she should not be too premature in starting those journeys. Also beware of a hidden enemy.
They then head home. That night, Cassandra stays up all night, reading about Nigel Blackwell’s visit to Kenya in 1916. He finds out about the Cult of the Bloody Tongue there and visits the Mountain of the Black Wind at a special time when there was a huge gathering of the cult. He saw fires on the top of the mountain and snuck up there. He sees the cult was led by an African woman of great power. The cult calls down their God and a huge being, the size of the mountain, appears. It had no face, just a huge red tongue where its face should be.
The monster raises its tongue and howls at the moon, a terrible noise that will forever haunt the author. The monster then reaches down and kills random members of the cult with its huge claws, which the followers seem to revel at.
The author then goes into rambling nonsense and questions his own sanity. He wonders if the world can be saved, or if these dark gods will just destroy the world one day.
Cassandra finds herself feeling a little unsettled by what she read.
Jeziah gets up early that day, dresses in casual wear and goes to talk to his contacts about the Penhew Foundation. He makes some enquiries and waits to hear back from them.
In the meantime, he resolves to watch the Foundation from a bench, reading the paper. He sees an Egyptian overnight security guard patrolling the grounds. He also notices an odd ventilation grill on the side of the building.
He witnesses a lorry arrive and deliver some large crates, which they take pains to hide from view. One of the drivers notices Jeziah watching and becomes suspicious. The Egyptian guard then keeps an eye on him. Jeziah tries to make out he is waiting for someone, but does not do a very convincing job.
When the dayshift starts, lots of staff arrive, some British, many Egyptian.
He meets with his contacts later and discovers that the Edward Gavigan’s secretary, Thomas Kinnery, was responsible for sacking British born workers at the Foundation and replacing them with Egyptians.
Jeziah tries to get in touch with the sacked staff member, but has to settle with talking to his friend, who heard some stories about some weird behaviour at the Foundation. Mr Gavigan seem to prefer Egyptian staff over British staff and appear to have more access to the manager.
He is then given the name of another member of staff at the Foundation who may be worth approaching.
Jeziah spends the whole morning checking out the Penhew Foundation. He goes to a Tea Shop and write a letter to William Gates, the employee from the Foundation he has been given the name of. He then pays a cockney boy to deliver the note to William when he finishes work at the Foundation and pays half a crown for a response.
William Gates then meets Jeziah later. He learns that more and more Egyptians have been employed at the Foundation. Gavigan seems to prefer them. He tells him about the many deliveries that come back and forth from the Foundation. Some are arriving from Australia. Others are sent to Shanghai. Yet more are being sent to and received from somewhere in the North of England. Jeziah asks for the addresses, but Gates is reluctant to reveal them as it’s more than his job’s worth.
Jeziah thanks him and they leave.
Cassandra reads more from Dark African Sects. The author is now considering joining a cult, because he is convinced the world is going to end. He attempts to join another cult north of Kenya, but during the initiation ceremony he is thrown down a pit into an underground network of caves and a massive cavern where there is a society of dead flesh eating people live. The walls of the cavern are layers and he has to spent months working his way up the layers until he is able to get to the top and escape.
The ordeal takes two years and the author resolves not to join a cult after all.
Alex spends the day training up his young assistant to run the shop while he is away. Tiger gets a spare shotgun for Jeziah.
The Great Zalkador is doing readings for clients that day and finds all his readings seem to be coming out negatively that day. He foresees the death of one of his clients, but decides to just tell her there is a life-changing event coming.
This disturbs him and he decides later to do a reading for himself. He sees there are many enemies aligning against him. There is some sort of vast conspiracy going on.
That evening the Investigators meet back up at Astor Manor to catch up. Jeziah tells them about the Penhew Foundation’s activities. They focus on their odd movement of goods and want to find out exactly where they are going in Northern England and in Shanghai. Also, why ship from Australia to Britain then back to Shanghai?
The Great Zalkador suggests hiring a Private Investigator to spy on the Foundation and find this out for them. Alex says he knows someone called Joe Quimbey, who is uses occasionally. He will get in touch with Joe in the morning.
Jeziah reminds them of the chronometer they found under Ju-Ju House and wonders if they are moving goods around the world for a specific, world-wide event at some point. As he does so, the lights in the house seem to flicker momentarily and the Great Zalkador feels like someone has walked over his grave.
Zalkador suddenly decides to go a Tarot reading, distracting everyone. He foresees that the world is going to end, in the not too distant future. Further readings suggest it may be possible to stop it, but it will be a struggle and there are several people in the way of doing so.
The fortune teller seems rather disturbed by this. Jeziah holds back a sarcastic response about this mumbo-jumbo, as it’s the first time he has felt Zalkador is serious.
Zalkador does a further reading to determine what needs to be done to stop the world ending. Travelling is required and there is a foreign princess involved too. Zalkador also sees his own death. On the plus side, he sees that he will not die until he starts travelling. So he is safe at the moment.
Cassandra wonders how things have moved from trying to find Roger Carlisle to the world ending! She understands that these cults do want to bring the world to an end, but how can they possible achieve this?
It will take a while for a Private Investigator to track down the information they need. In the meantime, Jeziah proposes keeping an eye on the Penhew Foundation, as more things are pointing to them. Cassandra wonders if they were behind the Egyptians who murdered Jackson Elias.
Alex contacts Joe Quimbey and has him start work infiltrating the Penhew Foundation and finding out where their deliveries are going. Alex then returns to his shop with Tiger for a time.
Jeziah begins watching the Penhew Foundation. Cassandra reads more of Dark African Sects. Zalkador returns to this other clients for a few days.
That evening, while watching the Egyptian staff of the Penhew Foundation, Jeziah discovers a group of them head on foot to Soho, to a building called the Blue Pyramid Club. It is a private members club with an Egyptian theme and the other shops around here have an Egyptian / Middle Eastern theme.
Jeziah decides to head to his own club and ask about this place. He finds it does belly dancing and Egyptian food. The area has a bad reputation. There have been several murderers in the area, which have been branded “The Egyptian Murders” because most of the victims have been Egyptian. They were all stabbed through the heart, a possible ritual killing.
That day, the Investigators assemble at Astor Manor to catch up. Jeziah tells them what he discovered about the Blue Pyramid Club and the murders. They could do with more information about the area.
They ask Zalkador to head into the neighbourhood and ask around, see what he can discover, as he wears a turban as well as most Egyptians. He is reluctant, but decides to do so, as he is now convinced he cannot die until he travels abroad.
He goes there and spends the afternoon and evening wandering around, visiting shops, drinking coffee, talking to shop owners and local residents when he can. He is able to discover that the Club has developed a bad reputation in the last five years or so. It is open 6pm to 1am every day.
One shop keeper is very angry about the place and rants about a mafia style group called the Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh. He alleges that the Brotherhood murdered the boyfriend of an employee of the Blue Pyramid club, after he took offence at a member of the Brotherhood hitting on his girlfriend.
He also tells them that every so often, a coach comes to the back of the Blue Pyramid club, picks up a large number of members and takes them off somewhere.
The shopkeeper then calms down and becomes worries, pressing Zalkador to not tell anyone what he said. Zalkador agrees, then leaves and returns to tell everyone at Astor Manor what he has learnt.
They realise that the Club’s deteriorating reputation seems to coincide with the Carlisle Expedition’s demise.
Joe Quimbey contacts Alex to tell him that he has traced the deliveries from the Penhew Foundation in Northern England to Henson Manufacturing in Derby. He also has the address where goods are being shipped to in Shanghai, to a company called Ho Fang Imports / Exports in Shanghai.
He tells Jeziah, who arranges a meeting of the Investigators at Astor Manor that evening, to let them know.
Cassandra speculates that they must be building something based on what has been found in the abandoned city in Australia.
Cassandra has now finished Dark African Sects. Towards the end, the author went back and told more about the mystical elements of the cult activities, including their worship rituals. Cassandra discovered that “M’Weru” was part of the chanting and is the leader of the Bloody Tongue Cult in Kenya. M'Weru was a member of the Carlisle Expedition and persuaded them to go to Kenya, where they were all apparently murdered by locals.
The author, Nigel Blackwell, also went into details about him eating human flesh and other bizarre and unsavoury things. It also outlines some supernatural spells that he learnt from the various cults at the end of the book. Cassandra wonders if Blackwell is still alive.
They also recall that Jackson Elias was after a different book that was held by the Penhew Foundation.
They look up how to get to Derby, the best way would be by train, the LMS service, which would take a couple of hours. Zalkador suggests they take a day trip on Monday to check the place out, which is agreed.
They consider driving, the possibility that they are being followed and the Penhew Foundation realising where they are going. They decide to drive to Watford and then get the train to Derby.
They have this day off.
They drive to Watford in the morning, with Jeziah keeping an eye out for anyone following them, which does not seem to be the case. They get the train to Rugby and then change for the train to Derby. The train is delayed so they do not arrive until the afternoon.
Jeziah hails a taxi to take them the Uttoxeter Road, the address of Henson Manufacturing. It is actually on the edge of Derby, on the road to Mickleover. The road is in a rural setting with old Victorian brick buildings along the side. One of the buildings is Henson Manufacturing. Jeziah pays the taxi driver to wait for them.
They consider what to do. It is daytime and the place has employees working there at the moment. There is a man on the door, who looks to be Egyptian, although British workers are coming back and forth occasionally.
Cassandra and Jeziah propose asking locals more about the place before approaching, possibly sneaking or breaking into the building after it is closed.
As they are standing on the road, staring at the place, they decide to become less conspicuous and head to the local pub just up the road.
Along the way, the Great Zalkador decides to stop at a neighbouring building and talks to an employee who is stood outside. The man is taken aback by his bizarre appearance and Zalkador tells his fortune for him with Tarot cards. This is sufficiently convincing to persuade the man to tell him what he knows about Henson Manufacturing.
Henson changed about four years ago when they were brought out. They have since become rather secretive. One of their people in the pub claimed they were working secretly for the government, the Ministry of War. They also have a lot of funny-looking, Egyptians working there.
They use a lot more electricity than they used to use and on dark evenings you can see bright lights on in there. They used to make machines for other factories. They are not that nosy, but their furnace is lit most of the time these days.
Zalkador then catches up with the others at the pub and tells them what he has learnt. They are sceptical that the company is working for the government.
They take the waiting cab and return to Derby city centre, hiring rooms at the Railway Arms Hotel, by the train station.
Alex agrees to go to Derby Council and find out from the records who owns Henson Manufacturing. He discovers that the business was brought by E. Gavigan four years ago. He is able to obtain Gavigan’s private address in London. The previous owner, Mr Arthur Henson, sold up and retired to Cornwall.
Zalkador wonders if Tiger should go visit Gavigan’s home in London. Tiger says he’ll punch Gavigan in the face, which will help make him talk.
Jeziah goes to the library to look through the local newspaper, looking for stories in the local paper that might catch his eye. He finds a story about the Beast of Lesser Edale, an odd tail about a wild dog that was shot but killings appear to have carried on. They do not seem to be related to Henson Manufacturing though.
They meet back up at the hotel and discuss the implications that Gavigan owns the business. They discuss breaking into the place that evening. Tiger is keen to break some heads, punch some faces and get some answers.
Later that evening, they hire a taxi and head back to the pub down the road from Henson Engineering. Cassandra stays behind at the hotel. They have a couple of drinks, then head down the road. As they pass Henson’s, they go around the back of the building, where they see an electric light is on and there is an Egyptian security man.
Tiger walks up to the security man and punches him in the face a few times, knocking him out. He then takes the keys off the security man and opens the back door to the building.
Jeziah stays on watch outside, while Alex, Tiger and Zalkador enter the building. They find the place is empty, with lathes and desks. There appears to be a small production line across several machine positions.
They find evidence of packages being opened, that originated from Randolph Shipping Company, Port Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Inside appear to be bizarre glowing green tubes and other strange technology, which is being de-constructed and reassembled according some detailed plans.
Alex tries to make sense of it, but it is quite advanced. At one point, there are some designs for a machine that mixes aviation fuel and air at high speed and lights it as a form of propulsion. Complex stuff that he does not really understand. There are signs that the completed machinery is then shipped back to the Penhew Foundation.
They check the offices on the side of the workshop. They find a large, locked safe, but have no way to open it. The manager appears to be Frank Marshall.
Alex grabs some of the schematic diagrams, while Tiger grabs one of the odd, green glowing tubes. They leave the building. The security guard is coming round, but Tiger punches him out as they leave.
They walk back into Derby city centre, making out that they are a little drunk. They get to the hotel late and inform Cassandra what they found.
In the morning, they discuss further what they learnt yesterday. The Cult and Gavigan will now be aware that their secret factory has been stolen from. Cassandra suspects that the Police will not be involved as they will not want them knowing about their secret work. She wonders if the strange glowing tubes are radioactive.
They wonder whether to investigate Frank Marshall’s house. Tiger offers to punch him in the face, but they turn down his offer. Cassandra suggests he is a member of a Cult and they are unlikely to have any leverage on him to get him to talk about what they are up to. He is likely to fear Gavigan more than them.
Alex proposes returning to London and get some engineers at Aston Motors who can look at these items and work out what they are. He does not understand what the plans are, except they are something to do with aviation.
They could also do with a chemist to understand these glowing tubes. Zalkador wonders if it is native to Australia.
Cassandra agrees and then head back, getting to Watford and driving back into London. They continue to discuss their plans quietly during the journey. They head straight to the Aston Factory and Cassandra arranges a private meeting with the manager. The staff are excited to see their female owner.
At the meeting, she shows him the plans and items they have obtained. Their cover story when he asks where it has come from is Zalkador’s suggest - that it was purchased at an auction from an aeronautical company that went bankrupt.
Zalkador suggests making photo static copies of the plans. They return to Astor Manor to plan their next move, as it will take a few days for the plans to be investigated.
They also recall that Jackson Elias was after a different book that was held by the Penhew Foundation.
Alex checks in with Joe Quimby, who says he is watching the Blue Pyramid Club between 6pm and 1am, when it closes. He has not seen any coaches turn up so far.
They consider what to do about Edward Gavigan and now they have his own address in Mayfair, London, they consider checking the place out or even breaking in.
Tiger offers to go check the place out and watch, holding off from punching him for the time being, after the others turn down his offer to do so. Zalkador offers to go with him, but he says he does not want Zalkador’s silly turban, it is too obvious.
Jeziah suggests giving him a lift and everyone except Cassandra ends up going. His flat is in a small apartment block in a posh street in Mayfair. There is a fire escape at the back. There is a door man at the entrance, making front entry difficult but Jeziah thinks the fire escape may facilitate entrance.
It is about 8pm, it is dark and nothing is happening when they arrive. There are no lights on in his flat. Jeziah speculates that Gavigan may be at a club at this time, may be the Blue Pyramid club, but he is quite posh and that may not be his style.
While they wait and watch, wondering where he is, they actually see him arrive and head into the flat. The lights come on both otherwise nothing happens.
After a while they get bored and Tiger stays behind to watch the place, while the others head home. Jeziah thinks they should try to break in during the day some time.
When Zalkador gets back to this flat, his landlady complains some of his customers have been trying to get in touch with him. Then she mentions a strange, brown-skinned man is watching the place.
This panics Zalkador and does a tarot reading, which suggests that while he is not in immediate danger, things are getting more dangerous. He sees a figure he thinks is Gavigan and sees there is an unknown woman opposing him.
Zalkador then decides to call Jeziah at Aston Manor. He keeps calling despite the late hour until a confused Jeziah answers as he gets in from dropping people off. Zalkador tells him an Egyptian is watching his home. Jeziah arranges for the fortune teller to pack his essentials and meet him outside the back of his property in 20 mins. Zalkador spends his time packing a trunk and then heads outside. He is picked up successfully and taken back to Astor Manor.
During the journey back, Jeziah suggests that he should try dressing less conspicuously, something Zalkador does not want to do. His appearance is who he is. Jeziah presses him with alternative suggestions and a reluctant Zalkador says he will think about it. He will go to see his tailor in the morning.
Zalkador is set up in his usual guest room at Aston Manor.
Tiger turns up at Alex’s place late in the night, saying the lights went off at Gavigans’ place a couple of hours ago and nothing is happening.
Cassandra learns Zalkador has moved in over breakfast. Jeziah looks disapprovingly that Zalkador is still wearing his turban. Cassandra agrees that he should look at changing his appearance.
Alex and Tiger make their way to Astor Manor in the morning. When they hear about what happened to Zalkador, Alex also suggests he should consider changing his appearance. Tiger mocks him for dressing in foreign muck.
They consider what to do next and Tiger talks about breaking into Gavigan’s place. Jeziah suggests hiring a professional. Cassandra thinks Gavigan would not be foolish enough to keep incriminating things at his own home. It is much more likely the important things are at the Penhew Foundation, which is protected day and night by security people.
Tiger then spends sometime talking about kidnapping Gavigan and making him talk. They reject this as they met get into legal problems and they would not be able to release Gavigan without him going to the authorities.
Cassandra then talks about what links there are between the Cult of the Bloody Tongue operating out of Ju-Ju House and the Egyptian Cult that Gavigan appears to be the head of. She wonders if they are rivals or are co-operating. M’Weru is the leader of that Cult and she was part of the Carlisle expedition, though possibly she infiltrated it.
She proposes stirring up rivalries between the Cults, by writing a letter from the Bloody Tongue cult to Gavigan accusing him of betraying them. She can use the information she gained from Dark African Sects to write in a manner that would be appropriate for the Bloody Tongue cult, including creating their symbol. They write it out and Jeziah takes it to the central post office in London.
Tiger suggests on top of that hiring Private Investigators to watch Gavigan’s house and the Penhew Foundation, on top of Joe Quimby watching the Blue Pyramid Club. This is agreed, with Cassandra covering the cost.
The rest of the day passes uneventfully, Alex and Tiger going home. That evening Alex is called at 9pm that night from Joe Quimby from a phone around the corner from the Blue Pyramid Club, saying a coach has turned up. He is going to try to follow it.
Zalkador goes to his tailor that day to change his appearance. He spends a long time there and emerges dressed in a dull, butler-like suit in brown.
Cassandra proposes to Jeziah having Zalkador in his well-known outfit go to get some more private investigators, one to watch the Penhew Foundation and another to watch Gavigan’s place. He should go in his usual outfit, as he is no longer living at his home place, anyone interrogating them would learn nothing new.
Jeziah picks Zalkador up from the tailors and is a little surprised by the new look, and he now speaks like and acts more like Jeziah. His new name is George Zimmerman.
Jeziah then tells him he needs to change back into his fortune teller outfit, in order the hire the private detectives, which he reluctantly does. They return to Astor Manor and there he changes back into the Great Zalkador.
Jeziah then drops off Zalkador at the private detectives’ office and hires two men to watch the Penhew Foundation and another to watch Gavigan’s place. He uses the cover story that the reason for the investigation is the Egyptian murders and they think they have a lead. From tomorrow someone will be watching the Penhew Foundation, but it will be Monday before someone else is free to watch Gavigan’s Mayfair flat.
Zalkador returns to the pickup point and Jeziah returns him to Astor Manor. There is does a tarot reading, but it is inconclusive.
The next day passes uneventfully. They lay low, waiting for their letter to stir things up, the private investigators to report and the Astor Motors engineers finish their investigation into the artefacts from Derby.
Zalkador is now dressing as George and acting much more like a butler, addressing Cassandra as “ma’am”, which draws sideways looks from Jeziah.
George calls the private detectives for an update on the surveillance of the Penhew Foundation.
Alex is contacted by a colleague of Joe Quimby, saying he has not been heard from and he has not returned to his family at the weekend. They ask if he has heard anything, which he has to tell them no. They tell Alex they will wait until Monday and then may have to inform the Police.
George calls the other private detective’s office to get an update on their surveillance. They confirm that on Friday their detective reported during the day the Penhew Foundation was relatively quiet, but that evening there seemed to be a lot of activity, with Egyptian types going back and forth. This contracts with the quiet activity with one delivery when Jeziah was watching the Foundation.
They wonder if this is due to the letter they sent.
A letter arrives from Erica Carlisle, New York, advising that her investigations in to Jack Brady’s family came to nothing, his family have not heard from him since the Carlisle Expedition. She also enclosed a cheque to pay towards the costs of her investigation.
Cassandra wonders if it would be possible to contact the families of other members of the Carlisle Expedition. Hypatia Masters and Dr Robert Huston are both American, too far away to investigate further. She focuses on Sir Aubrey Penhew, discovering he was a baronet, an only child, was in his sixties and did not marry. He has no surviving close family, his title was inherited by a distance relative once he was declared dead.
They have this day off.
The Police contact Alex to ask further about Joe Quimby and his disappearance, which takes up most of his day. He tells them the investigation was due to the murder of their close friend Jackson Elias, who was killed by Egyptians and the Blue Pyramid Club is an Egyptian Club with a bad reputation.
Detective Inspector Poole is called in to speak further to Alex, who is still investigating the death of Elias. He questions Alex further about what he knows, without giving much information out himself. Alex does not tell him much.
After a long day at the Police Station, Alex goes home late. He has a whisky with Tiger then goes to bed. He drifts off to sleep, but is awakened by noises in Tiger’s room. As he moves tries to listen further, an Egyptian man in his room suddenly jumps out of the shadows and tries to stab him with a knife!
Alex dodges out of the way and gets into a deadly exchange in which he attempts to avoid the knife man and get to his gun, which is in a draw on the side. Alex gets stabbed in the breast before he gets lucky and is able to distract the man and get his gun.
He shoots the Egyptian, but it’s only a flesh wound and he keeps stabbing. Fortunately, Alex is able to fend him off and shoot him again, this time shoot the Egyptian unconscious. Then suddenly a shotgun goes off in Tiger’s room and Alex hears him shout “Bloody fuzzy-wuzzies!”
Wounded, Alex heads out into the corridor and sees another Egyptian man with a club, who comes running at him, screaming. Alex shoots him in the chest and that staggers the man, but he continues to try to attack him with the club. Alex fires again and the man collapses back, though he is still alive.
With only six shots in his pistol, Alex decides to leave the man and head for Tiger’s room, where there are sounds of fighting. Two Egyptians are dead and a third is fighting with Tiger. Alex shoots at the man attacking Tiger, but misses. Then Tiger hits the man in the face with the stock of the shotgun and knocks him out. Tiger has a cut on his arm, but he is otherwise alright.
Alex now starts to find his wound is bleeding and starting to hurt a lot. He feels faint, but manages to stay conscious. Tiger goes to get something to help Alex, but when he leaves his room, he gets into a fight with the wounded man in the corridor who has the club.
He calls for Alex to get the shotgun shells while the man starts to escape. Alex fumbles for some cartridges before handing them to Tiger, who loads the shotgun and guns down the escaping Egyptian.
Tiger then gets the first aid kit and patches up Alex. Then he calls an ambulance and the Police. While they wait for them to arrive, they search through the possessions of the Egyptians. They don’t find much, but the man with the club has Alex Steven’s name and address written neatly on a piece of paper.