In reply to GM (msg # 143):

"Madam, I thank you for your help in this matter. You have been invaluable." Johan bows and gracefully exits the residence to rejoin his associates.

In reply to Johan Braun (msg # 144):

Of course it's the cult. There wasn't really another possibility, but this truck clinches it. Vivienne seemed like a decent woman, one it would be a shame to know had been sacrificed by an ancient cult to their elder gods. Dermot reminds the party of Chaudhary's warehouse on Ropemakers Field, where what surely must be this very same truck is known to deposit the Brotherhood's eldritch contraband.

"If that doesn't do the trick, we can storm that Misr House of Gavigan's. She's got to be somewhere we know of!"
This message was last edited by the player at 00:36, Mon 31 Dec 2018.

It takes about an hour to drive all the way to the Limehouse Docks. It is very early in the morning, dark and snowy, and Bromley performs some driving maneuvers that leave you all quite nervous.

Puneet Chaudhary’s warehouse lies on Ropemakers Fields. The warehouse is close to several docks, convenient for loading of goods. As you approach cautiously, you see about five Lascars hanging around the area. Lascars are sailors from South and Southeast Asia, as well as the Arab world. Good sailors, but prone to violence.

You decide against exploring Puneet Chaudhary’s warehouse, and instead head out of London, towards the Naze.

Gavigan’s estate is situated on an island in the Naze, about 11 km southwest of Harwich, in the midst of the marshes at the edge of the North Sea. The Naze is a peninsula, densely forested with swampy marshes and small islands stretching out into the sea.

It is around 9 AM in the morning when you arrive at the small village of Walton-on-the-Naze. The village is just waking up to a sleepy Saturday morning and there are not many people on the streets. In the distance, you can see the imposing Naze Tower to the north of the village.

Asking around, you learn that Misr House is located on the nearby island and can be reached by heading west from Walton-on-the-Naze and then crossing the road bridge (over a moat of marsh and slough).

The Island Estate

The foundations of the estate’s mansion, built in the 17th century, have since settled into the boggy ground. The subtle distortions of its architecture and the wild aspect of its poorly kept grounds lend the place a gloomy and foreboding air, a place of palpable menace. The island estate is over 1,000 acres in area. Tall trees densely pack the island’s coastline, while the interior is a mix of rough ground interspersed with bogs and marsh. Thick fogs are common.

A dirt track road leads to a 2 m tall stone fence marking the outer border of the estate, with an iron gate barring the way. There is a small wooden gatehouse next to the gate, with smoke coming from a chimney.

Parking the car behind a clump of trees not too far from the gatehouse, out of sight from any guards, Vince creeps towards the stone wall. The rest of you watch his slow approach, bundled up in the small car and shivering from the chilling fog.

Vince easily climbs over the stone wall and disappears out of sight. After about half an hour, he returns to the car and reports what he saw.

Beyond the gate, a narrow road follows along the top of a levee, raised nearly 1.5 m above the land (centuries of tilling have left the fields far below sea level). Great dikes protect the land from the sea (the island is relatively higher). A turnstile, fitted to the bridge, rotates on its center column to allow small boats to pass. A small motor launch is anchored on the island, not far from the stone bridge.

It's about one kilometer from the bridge to Misr House. Vince didn’t make it all the way there, but he did see a few vehicles parked at the manor house, including a large truck.

In reply to GM (msg # 149):

Dermot spurs the party onward through the mist. Bromley and Gustav need no encouragement. Johan keeps a scholarly even keel, willing enough to see this escapade through. Crazy as she is, no one worries about Rachel losing her nerve. As for Vince... well, he’s no greenhorn like that Jonathan who went back to his piddly newspaper, but he seems reluctant to position himself within a direct conflict, understandably so. All told, they form as capable a raiding party as any group of civilians brought together by a late mutual friend could expect to be. And they’re bound together by tge memories of his tragic end, along with other unspeakable horrors. Whatever happens next may as well be the hand of fate herself, if fate is not, after all, a faceless representative of some vast cosmic entity we’ve yet to truly unmask.

As they stalk through the mist toward Misr House, Dermot stifles a shiver and subtly crosses himself.

As you stealthily approach Misr House, you become aware of the sound of a car approaching. Concealing yourself in some bushes, you see an elegant car pulling up to the main entrance.

A servant rushes out from the manor to open the door, and four men exit the car. A tall man greets them in the doorway. You're not 100% sure, but it looks like Gavigan.

You manage to persuade to leave Bromley outside, together with Rachel and then carefully sneak into Misr House.

The interior of the manor is unremarkable, except that it is dirty and dusty, and lacks the furniture and comfort one might associate with a man of Gavigan’s standing. The halls and the majority of rooms are wood paneled, although an occasional tapestry breaks the monotony. The furniture is old, doors creak, and pipework knocks intermittently when the boiler is turned on.

You enter what appears to be the breakfast room (9 on the map), with a number of tables, chairs and pantries. Doors leads west to the kitchen, and south and east to the rest of the house.  You can hear sounds of laughter and conversation to the south.

Vince sneaks back into the house and preps for starting the fire, gathering flammable materials and piling them against other more flammable portions of the room, such a drapes, wall hangings, wooden structures, etc. that will catch and spread the fire quickly upward to engulf the house structure.  Adding any accelerant he can find, he is mindful of trying to ignite the fire in a way that will block off the exit from being used as the fire spreads, funneling anyone fleeing from the house out the other main entrance, where the ambush is set.   Once the fire is prepped, he lights the fire and rejoins his friends for the ambush.

Vince quickly puts his skills to good use and starts a small fire. Soon, flames are licking up the walls in the breakfast room.

Sneaking to the front of the house, and hiding in some bushes nearby, you wait. Soon, the front door is flung open, and three people appear, coughing and yelling. They are all wearing white hooded robes, with a large inverted ankh on the front. They rush towards one of the cars, as more people appear in the doorway.

You can see some smoke rising from the back of the building. More cloaked cultists are scrambling out the front entrance, scuffling to get into the cars. A couple of servants are also rushing out. A man appears, wearing a red robe and a golden mask. The mask resembles an Egyptian pharaoh, but is covered with hundreds of small, golden eyes. The man appears to try to calm down the crowd but is not having much luck. A few cultists jump into the Bentley Blue Label Tourer, and the man in the red robe roars with anger.

More cultists leave Misr House, and in the confusion, you catch a glimpse of a slender figure in a black, hooded robe, pushing their way through the milling crowd towards one of the cars.

[Should anyone wish to fire on a target here, the range is about 25 meters, with one penalty dice for shooting into a crowd (this can be removed by aiming for one round). Base range for handguns is 15 m, so this would be Long range (Hard difficulty). Same for shotguns. Rifles would use normal skill.]

In reply to GM (msg # 155):

As the black-hooded figure emerges from the house and slinks toward the vehicles, Dermot nudges his companions. “In we go, lads! Be fleet of foot, but silent and deadly as the night. Fire when ye’ve got a shot!”

He quickly and carefully crosses himself with his knife hand, nods at Johan, and says “You take the left, I’ll take the right, and the others can come up the center after us.” Emerging from the bushes, Dermot runs in a crouch toward the vehicles to intercept the figure, fanning out a bit to avoid friendly fire.

You are spotted as you run towards the group of cultists. “It’s a raid!” cries one woman and ducks under the truck. Others scatter and a few even run back into the burning building. One man pulls out a revolver and fires three shots at Dermot, but they all miss.

The man in the red robe raises his hands to the sky and begins a chant in some strange, guttural language, while the woman in the black robe yanks a cultist from the driver seat of a nearby car and gets into it.

Before Dermot and Johan can close the distance, they are struck by bolts of electrical energy from the man’s hands, accompanied by a decisive sonic crack.

Johan loses 3 HP and Dermot loses 5 HP.

At the bottom of the stairs from the secret left-hand fireplace door is an unlocked iron door. Within are two rooms unconnected to the rest of the basement and soundproofed by reinforced brick walls. The first is a workroom, the second is a dungeon.

Along one wall, the workshop holds a bizarre array of medieval torture devices, including a rack and an iron maiden. On a workbench rest tongs, pincers, thumbscrews, and some modern-looking knives. A brazier stands in the center of the room. Against the opposite wall, sitting below some shelves, are a desk and three more tables, which are all cluttered with an assortment of jars, small boxes, and tins, as well as statuary, scrolls, and books. Sitting on the shelves are four unhealthy-looking plants in pots.

The dungeon contains ten cells with iron doors. Inside each cell is a pair of iron rings set into the walls as anchors for shackles. Three of the cells are occupied: one holds a battered and bruised Vivienne, the other two cells both contain young Arabic-looking men. All bear sign of mild torture.

Bromley quickly finds the large key-chain hanging on the wall, and unlocks Vivienne’s cell. She is barely conscious.




This message was last edited by the GM at 19:07, Mon 21 Jan 2019.

In reply to Bromley Aveline-Edgeware (msg # 158):

"Bromley keys SCHNELL!" Johan yells and takes the keys from Bromley.

Johan quickly unlocks the Arabic-looking gentlemen screaming, "تحرك بسرعة", (move fast in english) to them.

He returns to help Bromley carry Vivienne to what is hopefully safety....
This message was last edited by the player at 20:19, Mon 21 Jan 2019.

Johan manages to get the keys from the shocked Bromley and unlocks the two cells. The men stumble out, showering Johan with Egyptian blessings. The younger of the rushes up the stairs, but the older man is limping badly and will need help to escape the dungeon.

Bromley lifts Vivienne up in his arms and rushes after the young man. As Johan heads towards the stairs, he notices that the plants in the pots have gotten much larger, and their tendrils quiver and sway, seeming to grow longer and longer. The limping man shrieks in horror and stares at the plants, transfixed.

In reply to GM (msg # 160):

Dermot is hesitant to run in after them since his handicap doesn’t suit him to physical assistance. He carefully reloads his revolver, keeping an eye out for new dangers and plotting their escape. Adrenaline fading a bit, he feels tingly and notices a scent of burnt hair....

In reply to GM (msg # 160):

Remembering the darkest days of the Great War...the smoke, the death and with the ever present thought that horrors that man summons must not win, Johan launches forward to grab the man and lead him away from green horror.

You leave the burning mansion behind you and carefully make your way back towards the gatehouse. The gate is wide open and there is no sign of any guards. The car that the lady in black was driving in is parked in a ditch nearby, full of shotgun holes. The driver’s seat is covered in blood, and there’s a bloody trail leading to where the small launch was moored.

You eventually reach your car, but find that you’re not all able to fit into it, so you backtrack and take the damaged car as well. You head back towards London.

Stopping to search Gavigan’s corpse before you leave, you find that he is dressed in an elaborate red robe over his normal tweed suit, and he wears a mask resembling an Egyptian pharaoh, but covered with hundreds of small, golden eyes. The mask is caved in on one side from Johan’s cane, but still looks valuable.

The drive back to London feels like it takes forever. It is dark once you arrive at the outskirts of the city and begin to navigate the Saturday evening traffic. You finally arrive back at Bromley’s place and leave Bromley and Vivienne to recover in peace. The two Egyptians are happy to be dropped off anywhere – they both claim to have no idea why they were kidnapped and taken to Misr House.

Gavigan’s Mayfair flat is situated on Grosvenor Street, in the heart of Mayfair and close to Hyde Park. The flat occupies two floors: a hallway, reception room, and kitchen on the ground floor; three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and hallway on the lower ground floor.

After Vince discreetly breaks the front door lock, you search the rooms, but find nothing of particular interest except for some good whiskey, fine furniture, expensive clothes, and a well-stocked larder. The reception room does feature some pieces of Egyptian bric-a-brac (pottery, papyrus scrolls in frames, and so on) but all seem fairly mundane.



This message was last edited by the GM at 18:43, Wed 23 Jan 2019.

In reply to GM (msg # 164):

Dermot surveys the apartment.

“Well, the late Mr. Gavigan won’t be needing anything here. May as well grab dinner!”

Dermot grabs some choice provisions and a bottle of whiskey for the road. He strolls to the closet to inspect the fancy clothing. Everything is a bit large for him.

He calls over his shoulder: <DarkBlue>“Say, Gustav. Ye could use some fine threads to replace your gaudy clothing. Come take a look!”
This message was last edited by the player at 20:26, Wed 23 Jan 2019.

In the 1920s, the simplest way to get between the London and Egypt was by sea, docking either at Alexandria or Port Said (the most popular port for ships sailing from England, situated at the north end of the Suez Canal). The journey will take around 12 days.

Cost of a one-way first-class ticket on a passenger liner from London to Cairo is $300. Second class is $200, and Steerage is $100. Freighters and tramp steamers normally offer a single class to all passengers (if they accept passengers at all). Some cargo ships might accept steerage or deck passengers as well, and some tramp steamer captains might be prepared to take on extra hands who are willing to work hard in exchange for passage.

The experience at sea depends on the type of ship you are traveling on, and how much you pay. On an ocean liner there are three broad classes of berth: first, second, and third (often called “steerage”). First class travel means large sleeping cabins, often arranged in a suite with a salon or other private spaces. Dining will be of a high quality, with separate sittings away from the hoi polloi. First class passengers often bring some of their own servants, but can also expect attentive service from uniformed ship’s crew. Cabins and first-class amenities are positioned higher up the ship, with easy access to the decks for promenading.

Second class passengers have their own cabins, the size of which depends on the type of ship: the bigger and newer the liner, the bigger and more luxurious the cabin. Lower in the hull than first class, second-class cabins and spaces take up the upper middle portion of a ship.

Third class (“steerage”) passengers share cabins, often with several bunks in each, with each bunk being sold as a separate berth. Low down in the ship, steerage is cramped, and any recreational spaces are communal and limited. Noise from the engines is louder in these areas, and space is tight. The decks of ships are also segregated by class, with third class passengers having the most limited access.

While steamers are by far the most common method of arriving in Egypt, it is possible to make it there overland. If coming from London (or anywhere else in Europe), this is usually achieved by catching the Simplon-Orient Express to Constantinople, then transferring onto its extension through Syria and Palestine in order to reach Cairo. The trip involves catching multiple trains and ferries, as well as a jaunt in an automobile for one leg of the journey and takes around one week from Calais.

Arriving by road is a possible, though unlikely, method of reaching both Egypt and Cairo. The roads in Egypt and the surrounding countries are virtually non-existent, with such routes more often used by camel caravans than motor vehicles. Likewise, although flights with Imperial Airways between London and Cairo’s Heliopolis Airport are possible by the mid-1920s, a regular commercial service is not established until the end of the decade.

So, let's move on to Cairo.

You each gain 1D6+1D4 SAN for neutralizing Gavigan and the cultists.

I’ve done my best to keep track of stats, but please correct me if you think I’m wrong

Dermot; HP 8 / SAN 69 / Luck 74 / Mythos 4%
Gustav; HP 9 / SAN 73 / Luck 39 / Mythos 8%
Johan; HP 5 / SAN 42 / Luck 50 / Mythos 16%
Rachel: HP 11 / SAN 52 / Luck 46 / Mythos 2%

These are the skill checks you have for London. For each skill check you roll 1D100. If you roll higher than the current skill number, or the result is over 95, then you improve in that skill: roll 1D10 and immediately add the result to the current skill points. You can also do the process for Luck.

Dermot; Fast Talk 55, Firearms/Handgun 52, Library Use 20, Mech Repair 10, Psychology 30, Track 10

Gustav; Firearms/Handgun 67, First Aid 40, Listen 50, Locksmith 22, Psychology 47, Spot Hidden 60, Stealth 35

Johan; Arabic 40, Greek 50, Listen 20, Fighting/Brawl 60

Rachel; Fast Talk 65, Fighting/Brawl 40, Persuade 30, Spot Hidden 50
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:28, Tue 29 Jan 2019.

Okay, I have noted the following changes on your Fantasy Grounds Character sheets;

Dermot; HP 8 to 13  / SAN 69 to 75 / Luck 74 to 80 / Mythos 4%
Gustav; HP 9 to 12  / SAN 73 to 82 / Luck 39 to 42 / Mythos 8%
Johan;  HP 5 to 11  / SAN 42 to 48 / Luck 50 to ?? / Mythos 16%
Rachel: HP 11 to 11 / SAN 52 to ?? / Luck 46 to 52 / Mythos 2%

Johan and Rachel; Don’t forget to add 1D6+1D4 to your SAN

Dermot; Dodge Firearms/Handgun 52 to 55, Mech Repair 10 to 17, Track 10 to 18

Gustav; Listen 50 to 54, Locksmith 22 to 28, Psychology 47 to 56, Spot Hidden 60 to 69, Stealth 35 to 36, Brawl 50 to 51, Persuade 50 to 55, Climb 20 to 24

Johan (hasn’t rolled for skill gains yet); Arabic 40, Greek 50, Listen 20, Fighting/Brawl 60

Rachel; Fast Talk 65 to 74, Fighting/Brawl 40 to 45, Persuade 30 to 40
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:22, Thu 31 Jan 2019.