Expedition part 10: Going Home pt 1
Expedition part 10: Going Home pt 1
The Agents had finally felt thawed out after a long while in very cold temperatures. Their time aboard the Natalia had been stressful, at least until the mutiny had been stopped, and now land, with civilisation apparent, was close at hand.
No one save the Agents had gone anywhere near their cargo, fearing (justifiably) the horrible retribution that such an act would warrant. The dogs seemed fine, enthused to be in a new place, apart from Bruno, who seemed sulky. Ben once again laid an illusion spell on the Hellhound, so a gloomy Saint Bernard was sprawled on the deck, head down on his massive paws.
As the Agents prepared their gear for transport off the ship, seven of the crew came forward to ask for dogs, including Van Rooyen, who wanted two females as he had two daughters at home. Thorne took care of the transactions of money and trinkets, collecting two scrimshaw pieces, a gold chain, a jade Buddha, and about thirty dollars to part with most of the dogs, leaving them eleven huskies, which included Fritz's team leader and of course, Bruno. The dogs seemed perfectly all right with their new owners, including the one that de Vink got for Jannes. The Captain's son hid somewhere as the Agents left the ship, their cargo lifted off by crane and secured in a wagon that Thorne rented. Bruno accepted pulling the load, which was mostly their finds from the City of the Elder Things.
Captain de Vink waved them off the ship, and Van Rooyen bellowed, "Safe Travels !". As for travel home, it would take a meeting with the harbormaster to check on what ships might be sailing. The port was busy; there were steamers and even clippers, along with an array of fishing boats for local use.
"Gentlemen, we will take rooms at the Mount Nelson Hotel," Thorne announced, "As it is the best hotel in Cape Town. Orange Street. This way."
"I will telephone Washington when we get there," Ben said, shrugging a backpack of gear onto his shoulder. The warm air was too much for their furs. Their appearance was scruffy, unshorn and unkempt, but Thorne strode along like the King of the World. The beckoning hope of hot running water, real food, and clean clothes was very tempting. Trailing along with them were the remaining huskies, joyfully taking in the new scents of Cape Town.
Fritz fell into stride with Thorne, saying something too quiet for the others to catch. Thorne paused, looking at him, and said, "I'm sorry, Fritzi. I am."
"I'm not the one you need to say that to." Fritz replied, then looking to Spider. "Boss - see you in a few years." He waved once, ducked around a pile of crates and was gone.
"Dammit," Thorne muttered, and set off towards the hotel again. A bell began ringing out the hour - three in the afternoon.
The hotel staff might well have been shocked and dismayed to see such rabble arriving, but were far too well trained to say anything, especially since Thorne slapped gold coins on the counter and reached for the register book. "I would like a suite of rooms for the five of us, private baths, a great deal of hot water and soap, a barber sent to the rooms, laundry service, and a steak dinner. The dogs will be kept with us. Where is your telephone ?"
"In the cabinet, there, Sir," the concierge immediately replied, then snapped his fingers for the bellhop to take charge of their fur coats. Thorne began signing the book, then stopped. "I see Mr. Trachenberg is already here."
"He arrived this morning...Mr. Thorne. The fourth floor balcony rooms are most suitable, and adjoin Mr. Trachenberg's room. What time would you like dinner to be served, Mr. Thorne ?"
"Six o'clock. Where is the best jeweler in town ?"
"On High Street, Imperial Jewelers," the concierge replied. "Their diamonds are straight from de Beers and they do bespoke work for royalty."
"Excellent. Send whiskey - bourbon, if you have it -to the rooms. We will take most of the luggage up ourselves."
The hotel was posh, with Louis XV furniture, Persian carpets, lavishly ornate chandeliers, plastering and decoration. The staff were all properly uniformed, unfailingly polite, and accepting of all the eccentricities of the guests, even if it meant unkempt, unshorn men wanting to carry their own odd luggage into their rooms, with an entourage of yipping, yowling wolf-like dogs trailing along. The lift in the hotel could only accommodate one man with his gear at a time, making the transport upwards a slow process, but that gave the staff time to bring up a tray of light snacks with the bottles of alcohol. The porcelain clawed-foot bathtubs were a thing of beauty. Ben opted to telephone Washington at what was local time, 4 pm - which would be 8 am in the morning back in DC. Fritz - the one from 1925 - had arrived with four extra suitcases of luggage, including suits, shoes and other clothing for each of the Agents, a resupply of ammunition, and a tin of baked treats from Edith's kitchen.
Ben returned to the suite of rooms after the others had gotten their baths and a barber was calmly trimming Jack's hair. Spider was in the bath, but the door was ajar so that he could hear the conversation. Five of the huskies were spread across one of the beds, while the rest were sunbathing on the balcony, while Bruno idly chewed on a large bone the kitchen had brought up for him. Their treasures were heaped in a closet, under the heavy furs.
"All is well at home," their boss reported, "The office is in good order. Apparently some help was sent in from the other branch to keep the place running. The office manager is making some calls to get us home - we'll check in again after dinner."
"Good. I'm going into town to do some shopping." Thorne said, buttoning up his suit coat, his hair and beard already cleaned up quite fashionably.
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GM:: Glad you liked the Mountains of Madness. Actions, etc, for the next hour of game time, where are you going in the hotel, or in the town ? Please respond by Saturday, 27 January, next post Sunday
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This message was last edited by the GM at 22:19, Mon 22 Jan.