06/07/2025 – Arrival in Nairobi (1)
Wednesday, 15 May 1935
Norfolk Hotel
They land at the Wilson Airport. As they are white, they are asked their nationality, but no one checks their passports. They get a couple of taxis to the hotel. Jeziah wired ahead from Cairo and made a reservation at the Norfolk Hotel, which is a prestigious hotel on the edge of Nairobi, overlooking the grass plains.
They check in, but discover that their three rooms are not altogether. Two of the rooms, one for Cassandra and Jeziah and another for Agatha and Tiger, are together on the third floor. One other room, for Monty and Eddy, is on the level below. Jeziah requests that if a room next to them comes free, they move Monty and Eddy next to them.
Racial Social Structure
They soon notice the racial social structure. The porters are black Africans, the men behind the desk are Indians, while those in charge are White. There a separate toilets for Blacks, Asians and Whites. Non-White staff do not generally talk to them unless spoken to first. Agatha puts her bags down and heads for the bar. She is slowly joined by the rest of the party. They are questioned by some of the other white residents of the hotel. Cassandra tells Monty and Eddy she is there looking for information about the Carlisle expedition and her love, Roger Carlisle. Monty is surprised to learn it was 6 years ago.
Summarising their Leads
Agatha has been reading through the notes of Jackson Elias. She lists several people that he spoke to in Nairobi.
The most important seem to be:
- Lieutenant Mark Selkirk, who found the bodies of the Carlisle Expedition, but said no Caucasian bodies were found amongst the dead.
- “Nails” Nelson, who told Jackson in the Victoria Bar that he saw Jack Brady in a bar in Hong Kong about 2 years ago, three years after he was supposed to be dead.
- Johnstone Kenyatta, who claimed the Carlisle Expedition were murdered by the Cult of the Bloody Tongue.
- Roger Corydon, Colonial Undersecretary
- Also mentioned are Sam Mariga, Railway Station, Neville Jeremy, Dr Starret and Colonel Endicott
Victoria Bar
Eddy asks about the Victoria Bar. A hotel worker tells him where it is, but suggests it is not a good place for English Gentlemen. He decides to go out on his own and check the place out. After getting lost a little, he finds the Bar in a seedy street corner in the Asian District. When he looks in, there are no white people in there. He decides to leave and tell the others.
Tiger decides to go there in a group. He, Eddy and Monty head back and enter. Everyone in the bar stops and looks at them, before continuing their conversations. They get a drink at the bar and speak to the barman. They discovers that Nails Nelson used to drink here, but was thrown out for not paying his bill. He is believed to drink at the Loyal Defender, a bar opposite the barracks, where a lot of soldiers drink. They drink up and head for the barracks.
The Loyal Defender
When they get to Fort Smith, they see the Loyal Defender on the opposite side of the street. It has a picture of Queen Victoria. Inside are a lot of soldiers. The barman is Australian. He serves them three beers and points out Nails Nelson sitting in a corner on his own. He mentions the man owes him 12 shillings.
Tiger buys an extra drink and they go over to speak with Nails. He looks up slightly drunk and suspiciously. He is pleased to be given a drink and thanks them. He has a South African accent and is rough-shave with dirty clothes. They ask him about his conversation with Jackson Elias about Jack Brady.
A Few Drinks to Jog the Memory
He drinks a lot of his drink and says that was a long time ago. He’s going to need a few whiskies before he can remember back that far. Monty gets a bottle of whisky and a glass. He puts the glass down in front of Nails and pours him a whisky. This quickly gets Nails talking. He eventually remembers speaking to an American about the Carlisle Expedition and Jack Brady.
He confirms that he worked for the Carlisle Expedition when they came to Nairobi. He took them out on Safari. They were based at Colonel Endicott’s Lodge, northwest of Nairobi. He got to know Jack Brady that way. Then about two years ago he bumped into Jack Brady in Hong Kong, while he was travelling looking for mercenary work.
He gets Monty to pour him another whisky and then gives them the name of the bar where they met. Brady was not particularly pleased to see him and very secretive. They did not chat for long and Brady quickly left.
The Carlisle Expedition
They ask him about any other members of the Carlisle Expedition. After another whisky he “remembers” that he’s not seen any of them since. He tells them his opinion of the members of the Expedition while they were here. Penhew and especially Dr Huston were very snooty and arrogant. He especially remembers Hypatia Masters, who was a cute young girl who didn’t wear much due to the heat. Roger Carlisle was an oddball. He would talk a lot of weird talk about stars, mountains, gods and Pharaohs. Jack Brady rarely said anything, unless you annoyed Mr Carlisle.
Nails has got rather drunk by this point and he begins to slur. They leave him the bottle of whisky and leave. They return to the hotel and update Cassandra, Jeziah and Agatha on what they have found out.
The Spirits are Agitated
Agatha has begun to sense a feeling of expectation on the spirit plane, feeling like tension building up before a storm breaks. She suggests they go to speak to Lieutenant Mark Selkirk, who found the massacre of the Expedition. Monty says they know where the barracks are and that if she’d mentioned it before, they could have asked at the bar.
Jeziah then takes them into dinner at the hotel. Agatha keeps talking about the agitated spirits, but in the main they refrain from talking about serious things during dinner. Afterwards, they decide to try to speak to Lieutenant Selkirk.
Thursday, 16 May 1935
Looking for Lieutenant Selkirk
In the morning, they head to the barracks. Cassandra comes with them, as she was disappointed that they did not bring Nelson to her at the hotel. They return to the Loyal Defender and the soldiers respond to the presence of a young lady by standing and taking their hats off, giving her a nice welcome. Jeziah gets drinks for their group and then asks for Lieutenant Selkirk. The barman directs them to Sergeant Vaughn at a table.
Agatha asks Sergeant Vaughn about the Lieutenant, but they learn that he has died. He passed away a few months ago when his house burnt down unexpectedly. Cassandra reminds them about the shop keeper in Cairo, who’s shop burnt down after he upset the local cult. Agatha then asks about Colonel Endicott. Vaughn tells her he is retired and lives in a private hunting lodge, some miles north east of Nairobi.
While they chat, Eddy overhears some private soldiers commenting that more tourists are here. He buys them a drink and learns that tourists from South Africa, Australia, Egypt, America and various other places have arrived recently, many of them wanting to visit the Aberdare mountains north west of Nairobi.
Notes and Clues
Agatha consults the notes from Jackson Elias and sees a reference to Johnson Kenyatta. Eddy asks the soldiers he spoke to about Kenyatta, but they do not know much about “darkies”. Agatha then asks about Colonel Endicott’s lodge, but they point out Colonels do not invite private soldiers to their homes. They should speak to an officer, who do not drink here.
Eddy walks over to one of the native servants at the bar and asks if he knows someone who can help them carry things and he tells them to go to Swahili Town, the shanty town on the edge of Nairobi where the natives lives.
She sees in the notes that Kenyatta talked of the Mountain of the Black Wind and wonders where that is. They need to ask some natives where it is. She also notes that Sam Mariga, at the local Railway Station knew how to contact Mr Kenyatta.
The Railway Station Gardener
After some prevarication, they decide to visit the Station, requiring them to cross the centre of town. They ask for Sam Mariga and find he is an elderly gardener working on the flower beds. Cassandra asks him about Jackson Elias and Sam remembers the American man. Sam tells her they talked about the Carlisle Expedition. He was the one who originally found their bodies in the mountains. They had already been dead many months. He then told Johnson Kenyatta at the Kikuru Central Association building, who alerted the authorised and Lieutenant Selkirk went to the site to investigate.
It was horrible, they had been killed by monsters. The ground is now cursed, none of the locals go there. He confirms there were no white bodies, only locals and pack animals. Equipment was lying on the ground, no one wanted to take it. He recommends that they visit Johnson Kenyatta at the Kikuru Central Association, who is a politician. Cassandra has Jeziah tip the man.
The Kikuru Central Association
They discuss what he said. Tiger wonders if the Carlisle Expedition joined the local cult and together they sacrificed the natives. They then agree to go to the Kikuru Central Association, which is the headquarters of a political organisation that tries to promote rights for Africans. There are lots of pictures of white and native people working together, with signs in Swahili and English.
They meet a very well dressed Johnson Kenyatta. He greets them in educated English. Cassandra asks to speak in private and he takes them into his office. They find the office has an old printing machine and leaflets lying around, but there is a desk and they sit around it.
They ask him about the Cult of the Bloody Tongue and he looks surprised, but tells them they are dangerous people who worship and dark and evil god. The white authorities are not really interested in them unless they pose a threat to British rule, which at the moment they do not, as they only kill Africans.
The Mountain of the Black Wind
He has heard rumours that something big is happening, a gathering in the mountains. A number of tourists from all around the world seem to be passing through Nairobi. Agatha asks about the Mountain of the Black Wind. Johnson tells them it is a terrible place and they do not want to go there. He tells them the British call it Mount Samita, but all the African locally refer to it only as the Mountain of the Black Wind.
He says it is a very dangerous place. They could die if they go there. There is spiritual danger there, dark forces gather there. He has seen enough to believe in such things, but does not know much about it. He has a friend, though, who knows much more and he can help them. He can arrange for them to meet him. His name is the Great Bundari. It means “Wise Man” and other things. He is a Shaman or Witch Doctor.
Cassandra asks if he knows of M’eru, a Priestess of the Cult of the Bloody Tongue, but he knows very little about them. He tells them to come back at 6pm, he can arrange for them to meet the Great Bundari.