In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 142):

As the Count moved off down the left tunnel he stopped and turning to Mr Falcon;

"Agreed, but this would be the likely location of the holding cells for any more unfortunates and I can't in good conscience leave any prisoners behind."

He then continued on hopefully with Miss Fuller and Mr Falcon covering him.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:02, Mon 25 Feb 2013.

JM nodded.  "It wouldn't be sporting to flee without trying to save as many of the poor victims as possible."  Before following the Count downstairs he reloaded his pistol and turned to Rashid.  "Are there cells down below Rashid?  Are there other prisoners or guards to be expected?"

In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 144):

Following the gentlemen was the wisest thing to do but then Mungo wasn't known for being wise all the time.  This time however she did keep inbetween them.  They had proven they could handle guns and while she might be able to "handle" them, she had proved she certainly couldn't shoot one reliably and she didn't want to injure her own party.  With a "carry on then" to John-Marc and the Count, Mungo followed.

Having alerted the two men upstairs, Cynthia will wait for a reply, then head downstairs (whether they're in tow or not). She wanders into the sacrifice room, now empty.

"Hello?"

"Huh? Yes! There are prisoners down there. But no guards."

They headed down the left-hand stairs, finding an unlocked iron door (padlock hanging from the outside but unsecured). Inside was a chamber and narrow hallway with several brick and stone cells with iron bars opening to either side. These were complete with large iron rings and shackles. Inside were 3 prisoners, 2 old men that looked like derelicts and a young woman (perhaps a lady of the evening).

The area was lit by a single electric bulb, which left copious shadows.

Cynthia heard the Perkins brothers come down behind her. Over by the fireplace she spied Rashid and Ai'yesha. In the massive fireplace itself were two small, formerly hidden, doors. Behind these concealed doors, twin stairs led downwards.

As fast as he was able the Count searched the rest of the lower level before releasing the prisoners if it has not already been done. He keeps his revolver pointing forward as he searches the shadows.

JM looked around carefully, keeping watch while the Count worked to rescue the three prisoners. "Hold still now, we've come to get you lot out of here."

Cynthia will go to Rashid and Ai'yesha. "You two will want to be heading to safety. There's something out there, so you may want to stay close and we can all leave together, unless you know a safe way out. Which way did the others go?"

Upstairs, Rashid answered, "your friends are downstairs. They took the left stairs, the ones behind that door hidden in the fireplace, there. I don't know of a safe way out. There's no escape tunnel or anything, as Allah is my witness!"

Indeed, there were 2 doors hidden there, both now open, leading down on the left and right.

Bathony and Mungo searched the underground chamber by the light of their torches and the single dangling electric bulb. Three things were clear: there was no exit other than the stairs, this was a separate chamber from wherever the right-hand stairs led, and one of the ways the prisoners were kept docile is be feeding them alcohol, as evidenced by an some empty bottles of cheap gin and a full one, outside the cells.

Using the keys they took from Gavigan's corpse, JM freed the sour-smelling wretches. One elderly sot with a thick florid face and enormous white sideburns slurred, "oi, thanksh thar, mayte! Oi'm juss' goin' ter find me way out, mush obliged... Naow, wheresh th' blooody door then, ey?" The other 2 (a thin man and slatternly middle-aged woman) were quiet, not understanding what was going on but relatively docile.

In reply to The Keeper (msg # 151):

Molly went over to the woman and held out her hand.  "Come on now.  This is what we call a rescue.  You don't want to stay here do you?  Let's get you out."

The Count gave the dark and dank cells one last pass with his torch before ascending with the rest of the group.

JM kept watch on things, took the bottle of gin and then headed upstairs with the others.  "I'd guess that the other passage leads to a secret way out.  We may want to fire our flare saying we are retreating and then heading out through that exit. It might avoid whatever is on the roof.  Then we can burn the place down."

In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 154):

The Count replied to Mr Falcon as they climbed the stairs:

"Yes lets check the second tunnel, but I think burning the house mite be a tad extreme we would need to confirm the tunnel has a exit first. I would surmise the Inspector would want to investigate the house more fully for evidence and suspects. Also we do not know where the good Mr Singh has got to yet."

He thought for a minute before adding;

"Could we not occupy the residence until morning and make a decision then once we have regrouped ?"

Before he checked the second tunnel he riffled through the Member of Parliament's pockets.

Cynthia is waiting by the doors as the remainder of the party regroups. "Good evening, gentlemen. I believe it's time to be off? Unless you think the house sufficiently fortified to permit a proper search ... but I don't know that I'd bet on it."

JM listened to both the Count and Cynthia.  "I'd rather not spend a moment longer in this house than necessary.  We should both trace the course of this escape tunnel as well as find Mr. Singh.  With the lack of noise outside I fear for his safety."

There was nothing else to find in the MP's pockets, other than a watch on a chain, a billfold, handkerchief...

The other stairwell led down to a larger room than the cells. Molly recognised this as an older room than downstairs, a "Priest Hole". This must have been a torture chamber as well, due to the implements (table with manacles, boot, rack, tongs, pincers, knives, unlit braziers, etc.) that were present.

There was also a wide range of occult materials, from statues and pictures to books and scrolls. There was a desk, perhaps Gavigan's, down there under an electric reading lamp. On the desk were letters, books and a ledger.

In reply to The Keeper (msg # 158):

Molly went over to the desk since a lot of good things were usually found at desks and picked up the ledger.  What kind of ledger would such a scumbag have?  Hmmm.  Perhaps a clue or two could be found in it.  She shall see.

Yes, any thoughts Cynthia had of a quick escape are popped when she sees Gavigan's personal affairs, just left out for borrowing. She follows Molly and begins picking up whatever papers and books seem valuable. She pauses for a moment, at a loss for sufficient pockets, and will look for a sack or briefcase.

The effect of the room; once a haven for men of God, now a den of torture, is one Cynthia tries aggressively to shut out, keeping herself busy in shuffling through papers rather than looking too much anywhere else.

JM looks about the downstairs room with distaste.  Seeing the women working to recover the papers and things of interest he looks about the room for a further exit.

The Count gravitated to the books and scrolls, but also cast an eye over the other collected occult materials. He tried to categorise them in his head as he made a mental inventory.

CSM Jones and the Perkins brothers remained upstairs with Ai'Yesha and Rashid.

Things were somewhat rushed downstairs, but for one it was clear there was no secret exit. This was just another chamber, albeit one bigger than the cells.

A great mass of occult statuary, etches and paintings were piled about the room, along with occult adornments, robes, more sceptres and clubs. The statues seemed to be of a pharaoh figure in black stone or metal. The sheer amount of material is dismaying. (Everyone please make a SAN check. Pass means 0 SAN loss, fail means 1D3 SAN lost.)

On the desk was an unfinished letter that Cynthia found very interesting. It was written in what she recognised as Gavigan's own hand, using black ink on fine cream-coloured linen stationary. It was dated the day previous.


Dear Aubrey,

Elias has been dealt with in New York. You must
take this opportunity to silence Brady.
It is stupefying he has evaded us for so long!
This man has become an obstacle to
our Great Lord. If you wish, I will


And there it ended.

There was a ledger. Flipping through the pages Molly saw it contained neatly hand-written entries for shipsment to mainly "Ho Fong" in Shanghai, several to Randolph Shipping in Darwin, Australia. Others were to Cairo, Rio de Janeiro, Calcutta, Rangoon, Odessa, New York, Los Angeles, etc. A typical ledger entry from the latter part of the book:

4/9/24 - Invoice #32121 - 2ft. statuette of Yig. Solid Gold. Ho Fong Imports, Shanghai

There were perhaps close to a hundred of what Bathony recognised as rare occult books in various languages, and dozens of scrolls.

Additionally, there were racks beside a work table that looked like ingredients to some wizard's or alchemist's workshop: small wood boxes, glass jars and stoppered vials, cloth bags, sacks, tins, and leather pouches. A smaller wood rack contained a dozen strange metal vials sealed with wax.

Growing in several pots under a sickly electric lamp were several sickly diseased-looking plants, spiny and unpleasant-looking. In fact, they seemed to writhe slowly in the corner of one's eye but when looked at directly were found to not be moving at all...

Finally, there were some of the items stolen from the hotel room. The missing firearms, of course, but as well there were your occult tomes and scrolls. The jars of powder and black metal sceptres were present. Oddly, the mirror from Tewfik's shop (where the jars/scepters were taken) was also there. It was set up on the wall. An unusual occult-seeming pattern was drawn on the floor in chalk.

Cynthia keeps gathering her documents, trying to ignore the feeling of being watch. Once she's done, she breaks up the magical circle with her boot and kicks over the plants, stomping them into a smear. She'd break the mirror too, if it were glass.

JM shudders at the sight of the occult and disturbing objects especially the plants for some reason.  He did not object as Cynthia destroyed the nasty things as well as marked out the circle.  "Well done Miss Holloway, those plants were particularly disturbing for some reason."  He glances down at the letter;  "What do you have there?"  Then to the larger group.  "Now much of this do we take with us and how much to destroy?  We probably should have Miss Mungo come down and record it on film for later use in any event.  Personally I say destroy the lot of it."

In reply to John-Marc Falcon (msg # 165):

The Count thought for a minute before adding:

"The books and scrolls are not cult related they seem to just be part of a research collection, I would take what had been stolen from the hotel room as well. The mirror and scepters as these seemed to have a strong connection to the cult and to Gavigan. The rest the inspector may need for evidence I would suppose. It would seem we have found and hopefully destroyed the base of operations for the cult in this country."

The Count then began to selected the rarest or unique books beginning with the manuscripts, scrolls and books in that order.

JM nodded, leaving the Count to his work for now.  He headed up the stairs and leaned out.  "Molly, we've found the treasure trove of books and cult items.  Can you bring your camera down and get pictures?"