83 Empty Manor
==============
31st October 2023

The gang looked at the onward route from Emsworth’s manor into Port Royal. The tunnels spread like a web throughout the city and there were exits in the basements of a number of hostelries in Port Royal’s Seven Dials district that looked promising but Kat decided on Turners Inn. She would be venturing forth alone to re-establish her contacts, deliver some letters written by Nineveh to various members of the Twilight Order asking them to come to Corjen for a meeting and generally to gather any and all information she could.

In no time (literally) they arrived in what they determined was the basement of the Emsworth Manor. They heard the sound of a woman sobbing quite closely, and heard the distant shouts of a man somewhere upstairs.

They made their way cautiously through the basement, found stairs leading up, but they also saw there was an arcane Circle that blocked off part of the basement – the sounds of sobbing were coming from around a corner that lay beyond the Circle and so they couldn’t see who or what was making them. Disturbingly there were three rents torn in the air, rents that were big enough to allow them to see the Hellscape that lay beyond. The Circle was complex but seemed to be some sort of a ward. Mobius was exhorted to fly closer.

An arid plain was visible lit by a crimson moon, a massive Pyramid in the distance. The plain itself was covered with countless stakes embedded in the red sands, each with the skeletal remains of the victim still impaled upon them

They went past up the stairs into the mansion proper. They noted there were a lot of teacups lying about the place, both in the basement and again when they entered the hall above. Furniture, mantlepieces most everything was covered with white sheets.
Nineveh and Miles made their way to a door, Emsworth’s master bedroom. The shouting was coming from behind that door, which was firmly barred by a sturdy timber. From the outside.  The door was forced open to reveal a salt ritual circle had been marked out upon the floor at the centre of which there was an old man strapped to a chair; Lord Emsworth the elder.

The demon hissed in anger and promised death to all that had imprisoned it, then threatened the group if they didn’t free it. Unable to reason with the thing, it was left in its attic room and everyone returned to the basement. Kat left on her mission through a portal. The others studied the circle and what lay beyond.

Ninevah dispelled the illusion she had detected; there was a shimmering and then the cadaver grin of a large skeletal warrior appeared, bedecked in black. Here was a revenant; the Legba had used the bones of one of the champions of old and twisted them to their purposes. It summoned allies to the fight, three werewolves slavering with ill intent. With them was Panam standing with a shotgun which she pointed at Miles.

“Always fucking hated vampires.” she snarled.

Panam let Miles have both barrels, there was a burst of flame and down he went, Nineveh letting out a scream of anger. Panam advanced on her, sword drawn and filled with menace.

84 Death in the Basement
========================
14th November (11th January AR12)

A heavily disguised Kat determined that she would deliver the letters to the various members of the Twilight Order after she did everything else. From her investigations she learned the Ascalon Club had been disbanded, its reputation in ruins.  There was a new mayor, the incomer Lorenzo Visconti. He seemed to have arrived with a wave of merchants from a distant land called Garuda; they were colourful, wealthy and popular. Worship of the Church of Saints had increased, sponsored by the incomers’ wealth.

A number of aristocratic families had left Port Royal, removing themselves to country estates. In the power vacuum that left the merchants from Garuda had arrived and a new Mayor then followed. She discovered that a big celebration was being planned for early February, about a month away. It was traditional to mark the coming end of winter and the approach of spring. Many of the rich and famous would be there. Emsworth the younger could be found in the West End, an upmarket district. A gentrified quarter of Port Royal, rather picturesque, clean and well-kept it had its own harbour and lay on the estuary, but it was not a deep harbour, there were no merchant vessels or ships of the line moored here, just pleasure boats of the rich and the odd fishing vessel.

Sir Humbert Ashmere remained active and alone of all of them still bore some hallmark of the Ascalon Club in the shape of a signet ring. He was making all efforts to establish himself with the newcomers. As for the city defences, Kat could see that uniforms were new, better quality, old kit replaced, there was even a ceremonial guard posted in certain quarters. But for all that there was no mass mobilisation, no gathering of forces that Kat could determine, no indication that they expected any trouble come Spring.

Back in the basement of the Emsworth estate Panam was advancing toward Nineveh with deadly intent. Nineveh unleashed an eruption of green witch fire. Impressive, but not enough to lay low Panam or her packmate. Jack broke the shield around the Revenant it drew its blade.

“Always fucking hated mages too!” Panam snarled as Nineveh desperately boosted her magical armour. Then Henry’s axe flew through the air and felled her with a mortal blow. Jack twirled his trident and thrust it forward against the Revenant, gave it his best shot. Straight and true, amazingly it carved right through its defences, the three prongs of the Dread weapon biting deep through the cadaver’s black armour. The hungry, howling spirit held within was released; the Revenant simply folded in on itself until gone, taking the rents in the air with it.

In the aftermath they found a bedraggled lady, tied up painfully and looking bruised and much abused, by the name of Rosalin or Rosie. Panam’s corpse was decapitated, as was the remaining werewolf. Jack was rather taken aback at the rapidity and indeed finality of Henry’s decision; after all, Panam had been a brave comrade in arms. The Legba had done this to her.

Just who are supposed to be the ferals here?

86 Elegia
=========
28th November 2023 – 19th-26th Jan AR12

A meeting was urgently needed with the Ferals Nomads. The Champion could see straight away the need and it was arranged for a message to be sent asking for a parley via the Post Office back to whoever it was that had sent the telegram.

Meanwhile Nineveh magically examined various articles Jack found on Panam’s body. She established the locket contained the hair of a child between the ages of five to ten, clearly something personal to Panam. The Tobuscus Bros whose card she carried were known to Kat, but she could tell little about them other than their association with Percy. The stake was covered in vampire blood. The little woven doll was a poor facsimile of what the Oracle created to block scrying.

After receiving a telegram from Morven regarding the odd behaviour of Cpt. Gabiel Henry grabbed Nineveh to open a portal for him to Vlach to discussing the problems that had arisen from the death of Panam. Henry assured Morven that the matter could be handled by him.
A report from Maria in Puerto Blanco told of the arrival of merchants from Venetzia and of Lady Ashbury. Miles was selected to travel to speak to her. Jack then worked on trying to forge a set of rings for the Coven.

A travelling caravan arrived from the direction of Puerto Blanco led by Aurelia di Banco requesting passage so they could continue on to Port Royal. Kat mixed with them, found them friendly and welcoming, but there was one with them who seemed different, in travelling attire and worn boots.

She quickly established he was travelling with the Garudans but was not of them. He had business with Sir Henry and was the man despatched to parley. His name was Tommasu. He enjoyed his discussions with Kat, sharing tall tales of far-flung places.
Aurelia meantime was impressing upon Sir Henry the importance of joining the festival being held in honour the Mayor, Lorenzo Visconti. She asked if they could stay in Corjen. Henry refused, but agreed with Jack when he suggested that comforts could be provided. She could not explain how Visconti taken power from the Ascalon Club and was curiously evasive about her encounter with Sébastien Dugas, the Legba factor.
Henry and Jack arrived at the Black Mire tavern, met with Kat and were given a private room to discuss matters with Tommasu. He was steady, patient and intelligent. It was a welcome to finally find someone who could be dealt with reasonably. Once events were recounted, he asked only that the bodies of the fallen be returned, or their heads at least. Everything that Panam owned, except the shotgun shells and the raven’s feather was returned there and then.

Tommasu was content and he bid them farewell, thanking Kat for her hospitality. Off he went, refusing the offer of a horse or cart, rambling down the road with a final wave of his hand. Now it was a question of waiting. Nineveh was researching the feather; she was inspired and deduced it was far more than it appeared. It came from one of the Corvids; it was used to summon an individual by concentrating on it and saying the name.
Nineveh decided to hold a soiree, inviting Aurelia and her family to a party at her house. Jack happened to stumble across the event, calling in on Miss Nineveh before returning to the Forge. As Violet answered the door he could hear the sound of music, the clink of glasses and the pleasant chatter of a party in full swing. Ninevah was using the opportunity to entertain to the fullest.

87 Ashbury
==========
4th December 2023 / Late Jan-Early Feb AR12

It was decided that Kat would venture back into Port Royal, disguised she could make her way around the city untroubled and she had no difficulty locating the church where the Cardinal had once resided. There was no sign of the previous Pangool representatives. It seemed the Cardinal and those he led had been called back to Teslan. The new Archbishop was a firebrand preacher, had magnetic personality and a considerable presence; under him the congregation was growing rapidly. There were book burnings taking place in the square where the Cathedral stood. Art was also being consigned to the flames.

There was no tolerance for black magic, for the supernatural, for the rich, for advanced science.  Lynch mobs wandering the city looking for suspected Fae blooded. Other gangs made life unpleasant for the rich, harassing and intimidating them when they could. This was at variance with the position of the Mayor and the merchants he led from Garuda; the attack upon the rich was particularly problematic. Kat flew back to Corjen the next day, noting with interest that the railroad was under construction once again, and was approaching Alverton. The workers were all Port Royal navvies and engineers.

Back in Corjen, Nineveh contacted the Corvid with the feather from Panam. Ianto was his name, but his true name was known only to the Necromancer. He was given a short account of Panam’s demise was willing to help against the Legba, but in return he wanted his feather back.

Kat returned with her news from the city; meanwhile Miles had made contact with Lady Ashbury and she had agreed to a meeting in Abercoch. The meeting took place in a private residence Miles had obtained for the purpose. Lady Ashbury was cool, calm, collected. Beautiful indeed, but with a bare minimum of effort on her part. She told them Vrykolkas was very bitter and had a falling out with Earl Redgrave, who was still wedded to the task of retrieving the seals and summoning the Winged Vittoria. Vrykolkas was of the opinion that as three of the Seals had been lost ‘to the barbarians’ as he put it then they should concentrate on trying to break the weave that bound them.

He had found something, though Lady Ashbury wasn’t sure what. Vrykolkas hunted down Spirit Weavers. He brought one to the last club meeting, ripped out her throat and leapt upon Redgrave, impaled him with what looked like a broken thigh bone then drank his blood. The stones that held the weave in place around Port Royal were then destroyed and the weave that held the Elder vampires in place fell. Lady Ashbury fled the city.
Earl Pembroke decided to stay in Port Royal. He had saved the mayors life; when they made port he was sick as were a number of his entourage, Pembroke cured them.

In return for her good conduct, Ninevah placed the splinter that once imperilled Percy close to Lady Ashbury’s heart. She bore it stoically and did not complain. Henry went to the telegraph office where he had to disappoint the Duchess with news of the demise of the Ascalon Club and the need to open diplomatic channels.

Henry liked the idea of a joint celebration for St Brigid’s day, so the Venetzians finally and joyfully entered Corjen. As the sun began to set their music and singing filled the town as they built a huge bonfire in the central plaza.