New York City, U.S.A:

12:20 PM:

Having returned from Westchester with Roger Carlyle’s 3 books we still wonder if we are puppets being dangled on a string like we were when we wandered pointlessly around Europe on the Orient Express at the whim of a vengeful deceitful Nyarlathotep or whether we are in any kind of control of our actions. Is Erica one of the puppeteers? We can, as usual trust no-one knowing that the only constant in our sorry struggles is deceit and betrayal.

Erica seems on the level, but then if she wanted us to study her books for her and risk life and limb for her that’s exactly how she’d come across isn’t it?

We’ll never know for sure if she’s on the level till we’re on the slab ourselves.

Now we’re off to London on the strength of a mad mans scribbled notes, a business card and a few delivery notes. Not much of a reason to go.

We travel back without being attacked, but then she’d want us intact if she wanted us to read her blasphemous texts for her.

Greg starts to skim the commentary on the Book of Eibon which he’d read previously.

Eibon was the greatest Wizard of the ancient realm of Hyperborean. In order to further his arcane knowledge he made a kind of pact with a being called Tsathoggua.

The symbol of Eibon is the Triskelion, very similar to the three legged symbol of the Isle of Man.

It was written by Gaspard du Nord of Avignon (?) and details the ancient theology of a pre-human possibly fantastic history. This includes an account of how a White Worm brought doom to Hyperborea and also details some history of the Serpent men said to exist millions of years before man. There are also some additional details of Eibon’s magical rituals.

The Pnakotic Manuscripts are a translation of a Greek document dating back to the Byzantine Empire (approximate. 395 – 1453 C.E) which is itself translated from the far older scrolls of Pnakotus. Like the Livre d’Eibon it deals with pre-human history.

While of interest to occult scholars there is little here of immediate relevance to our investigations but Greg will continue his studies of them in the coming weeks.

As Natalja was also exposed to the Livre d’Eibon and forced to study it in great detail by Rasputin while his student in Siberia, Greg send her a telegram “inviting” her to join us in the near future in London. His oblique telegram just reads:

WORKING ON CASE REQUIRING YOUR EXPERTISE: STOP 
ARRIVE LONDON IMMENENTLY: STOP 
GAIDAR

Visiting Lieutenant Poole:

09:00 AM:

While Greg is studying this, Trent was only vaguely listening and getting very bored, elects to go out and see Poole to find out if he is in the frame for murdering/blowing up Wilberforce and Mukanga and the third gathering of the Cult of the Bloody Tongue.

Trent makes the short trip to Poole’s precinct house, as it’s the weekend he has to wait around but eventually he is called to Poole’s office. Poole has photos of the blown up Warehouse on his desk. He seems resigned to the fact that it will be recorded as a war between rival bootleggers. He knows in his heart that we are involved and that we know more than we are telling but he feels he can finally close his case. Trent considers giving him our list of addresses of the cult members we have found, but since they are all blown up or shot there is very little useful information beyond finding out that we have illegally broken into every location.

As long as the matter is now closed Poole is content to cease his investigations even though this case remains officially open.

Trent still finds it incredible that of all the items founds none outlined any specific cult activities or listed any members. All the three notebooks recovered, only ever contained phone numbers not names. Nowhere at none of the cult members addresses was any evidence detailing cult activity located.

Was everything recorded by word of mouth? Were no books kept for the bootlegging operation or the deliveries to and from the UK and Kenya? He can’t understand how nothing was ever found but just has to let it go.

He takes it under advisement and leaves almost as frustrated by the case as Poole is.

Checking up on Curtiss:

10:00 AM:

Trixie, Simon and Gupta decide to check up on Curtiss who is working on the plane.

They head down the wharf where the seaplane is berthed and find Curtiss hard at work. They have never seen an active workshop so tidy. The plane has lots of shiny new parts and gleams in the sunshine. However it is still missing one engine. Curtiss is very friendly but barely pauses to greet them. He seems particularly driven and focused.

The trio look around, check that Curtiss doesn’t need any help with anything and then leave.

Other Activities:

11:45 AM:

Joseph goes to speak to the gunsmith and ensures that all our orders of custom bullets for the M-16, hunting rifles, Greener Far killer shotguns, tracer rounds for the Maxim machine gun and silver bullets for the .45 .38 Mondragon and Elephant gun are all being prepared.

Wesley speaks to Emerson to confirm the documentation required for transit of large machine parts to UK and Egypt. Well it worked for the Cult of the Bloody Tongue, why not for us?

He also sends a telegram to our British ambassadorial contact in Turkey to arrange a weapons permit.

Surveillance of The Wilberforce Residence:

19:00 PM:

In a final attempt to get some evidence or information on the missing ransom money or the cult itself, Wes, Trent and Joe watch the Wilberforce residence on Park Avenue.

At 7pm the Wilberforce family, consisting of mother, father and daughter leave for a function.

We seize our chance and Trent picks the lock and we sneak inside the opulent apartment. We quickly find Mortimer’s bedroom and search it. It is full of names and addresses. Names for once! Trent copies all the Harlem numbers to see if we have missed anyone. We also find a Pranga but nothing more. We are still no nearer determining where the money went.

Gupta is restless but has a brainwave and goes off to look up Edward Gavigan, the Director of the Penhew Foundation in Burkes Peerage a copy of which is held at New York library.

Burkes Peerage confirms that it is a private well-funded entity. Edward Gavigan himself is 55 years old, lives in a Mayfair apartment in Central London and also so has a large property in Essex near Walton on the Naze on the Thames estuary. It is called Misr house. “Misr” is an ancient name for Egypt.

Curiously Gavigan does not appear to have gone to public school or University, nor is he titled.

While checking Burkes Peerage Gupta also looks up the name Vane, the old family name of Roger and Erica Carlyle.

There is a Vane family still living in England at “Castle Plum” in Derbyshire. Sir Arthur Gordon Fitzhugh Vane 67, his son Laurence Arthur Ponsonby Vane and his daughter Eloise Gwendolac Eldreda Vane.

A Trip To London:

22:30 PM:

Despite having only limited information: a business card found on Jackson Elias’ body for Edward Gavigan, some vague details of deliveries of machine parts to Panchi Chabout in Limehouse by the Cult of the Bloody Tongue and the fact the Penhew Foundation is based there, we resolve to leave for the UK.

Four of us will travel by boat with dismantled telescopic and laboratory equipment disguising an arsenal of weaponry, while four others will fly.

We continue to work with Emerson to arrange shipping of our dismantled weaponry.

Speaking to Jonah Barrington at Prospero books about this he tells us that Jackson had contacted Mickey Mahoney of “The Scoop” in London. It is a lurid tabloid but could be a useful guide to events in London.

Curtiss needs a few more days to finish installing the new engine so we elect to leave for London on Wednesday 28th January 1925.

The next three days are spent procuring and packaging equipment and arranging passage.

Gupta, Simon and Trixie will accompany Curtiss on the plane while Greg, Joseph, Trent and Wesley will travel by boat. After some discussion it is decided that as we have so much luggage we will need to travel first class. The four reluctantly agree but promise to remain circumspect and unobtrusive during the voyage.

A telegram is received by Gaidar from Natalja. It just reads:

WHEN AND WHERE DO I MEET YOU? STOP

Looks like we’re heading to England then.