At The Town Of Hanga Roa - Continued

I began to ask asked Captain Manuel Pereira if we could examine the artifacts found at the dig site by the Ahu-Moai but was over taken by Trent and his smooth and fast talking. The artifacts were found under Ahu-Moai Structures buried under a burnt layer of material which, neither the archaeological team or our very own Professor and Scientist could explain its possible cause.

Gupta, having the best skill in archaeology, was allowed to examine the items taking case to protect from any possible harm or contamination. The 3 (1 foot) statues found were of humanoid in form and of squatted men.

The vase, also in the form of a humanoid, was of a similar squatting figure, with longer ears than the other statues and with webbed fingers and toes. The vase also had marking's, or Rongorongo, were exactly those found on the Arc of Vlactos.

Gupta also found, within the vase, a resin like substance of a blackish hue and emitting a sweet smell. Gupta could not discern what the substance could be. It was pure luck the Gupta’s description and the smell reminded me of the writing of Arthur Conan Dole and Co and Oil from the Black Lotus came to mind. I used my Trench Knife to scrape out as much of the substance as I could and left a good smear on the blade. This may give us an edge which may well need.

The mummified remains had been left institute at the dig site and we will need to go there to continue our archaeological investigations.

Before we left Captain Manuel Pereira office Irma asked if the Island had any visitors in the last 3 month and he explained that only the supply ship had visited the Island.

Captain Manuel Pereira explained how David Lee had informed him of our arrival in a telegram. This had allowed us to, even though questioned, to arrive at the Island without truly being suspects.

We didn’t see the lieutenant that brought us here again and all made our way from the military complex and out into the town of Hanga Roa.

The town of Hanga Roa was currently made up 1,000 – 1,200 local natives and within the military complex was made up of Chilean Military personnel, Chilean government staff and some Norwegian beach combers.

We all made our way to the lodging of Farther Jorge Haedo which was a small house next to the church. I introduce myself to Farther Jorge Haedo in Spanish and he replied in very good English. He was very excited to have us to dinner and asked if we would allow him 2 hours to prepare, I must be getting more like Gaidar than I would like because I was sure he was making an excuse so he could inform the agents of Carl Stanford. This was however, not the case.

While our initial conversation with Farther Jorge Haedo, a very corpulent and rosy checked man, was brief we could discern that his interest was in anthropology and Polynesians in particular. We can see many books in his library and his interest in Gupta, being a Sheik as he is.

We had some time to kill so we went looking for the Norwegian beach combers. After a short walk around the town Hanga Roa we find the Norwegian beach combers and Irma asks them some questions.

He asks about any strange happenings on or around the Island and if they had seen any new visitors to the Island. They let us know that some of Chilean Soldiers had claimed to have seen things, flying creatures near the volcano of Rano-Raraku, but they dismiss it as an over active imagination. They say also that nothing had been heard from the missing people that happened 6 days ago now.

We had asked Farther Jorge Haedo who of the locals we could possibly talk to, but he was vague saying that no one in particular was the head man in the town but gave us some names and told us to go and listen to the Sing Song which they held every night. We now asked the Norwegian beach combers, they could not help us either but did also suggest that we went to the Sing Song later on that evening.

We head off for Farther Jorge Haedo house and prepare for a lavish sea food meal. Throughout the dinner Farther Jorge Haedo does most of the talking and we can all see why, there must be much entertainment or simulating conversation, as Simon would say to a lady, to keep a man like him content.

We ask about the missing people, Trixie asks about the statues and their symbolism's, the Island history and finally Irma asks if he knew about Great Cthulhu. He did know about similar Gods and monsters but didn’t follow up and it appeared he knew about these things but dismissed them as just local superstitions.

The only bit of information that Farther Jorge Haedo gave us that was of use was that he mentioned the Bird Man who lived on the SOUTH tip of the Island on the volcano called Rano-Kau.

Late on that evening after much food and drink, most of which were fish and shellfish that we have never heard of let alone seen, we made our way to the centre of the town of Hanga Roa to listen to the sing song that all natives took part in. The song was very pleasant and all of the natives were singing together. They did not look at us like unwanted strangers and even though they didn’t invite us to join in they appeared to be happy at our presence.

Suddenly, as the night reached its zenith, as Gupta said, and the sky went dark and all the stars appeared, the song suddenly changed. Everyone was still joining in put the repetitive chanting was different, more like a chant or spell rather than the singing that they had all been taking part in.

After a short while we could see an older native was to the front of the crowd they all appeared to be facing in his direction. We went over and I began to speak to him. I asked him about the recent events on the Island and he explains that there is evil abroad and that we should take care. We ask what this could be and if he know about anything in particular but he couldn’t say.

I then asked for the reason for the song and he explains how it is a very old chant that has been sung for many, many years and that its true meaning has now been lost. More locals gather and they all agree that there is evil on the Island, in fact one man told us that he had heard that there were flying creatures appearing around the Island.

The town elder then explains how we need to go to talk to the Birdman who lived in a cave on the slopes of the volcano Rano-Kau. We thought the tradition had died out many years ago and no one participated in its traditions anymore.

Back to The S.S Semiramis

We made our way back to the ship by foot, using the mud tracks that crossed the Island. We took the coastal road and it took us a couple of hours to make it back.

Several thing happened next which alerted us to the presence of Evil on the Island which we had suspected but had no real proof.

As I began to signal the ship to let the rest of the squad that we had made it back, Trent was staring up to the summit of the volcano Rano-Raraku. Trent had seen a flash of light at the top of the volcano and he had alerted the squad on the Island to it.

Meanwhile, on the ship Gaidar was on watch and was seeing thing himself. He was keeping an eye on the Island and he also saw something at the top of the volcano Rano-Raraku. It was a large winged creature flying over or near the crater. He thinks, from the fleeting glance that he caught, that it could be either a “Hunting Horror” or a “Shantak”.

He rushed below deck and alerted Wesley, “All Hand on Deck”. He didn’t, or wouldn’t explain any further and ran back on deck. The squad on the deck all grab their weapons and all rushed on deck.

“They were not any birds or bats known elsewhere on earth or in dreamland, for they were larger than elephants and had heads like a horse's. Carter knew that they must be the shantak-birds of ill rumour, and wondered no more what evil guardians and nameless sentinels made men avoid the boreal rock desert.”

He explained to the rest of the squad how he had seen something, very large, flying over the volcano of Rano-Raraku. which he had caught a glimpse as it blocked out the moon for a few seconds. Here was something else to worry about and a flying monster which we had never encountered or knew anything about.

Meanwhile, back on the shore, Trent had pointed to the summit of the volcano of Rano-Raraku. saying he saw a flash of light as if 3 arcs of light had shot-out across the craters mouth. I quickly took out my binoculars and took a look towards the top of the volcano of Rano-Raraku. and as I focused on the area I saw something which made Gaidar's words come true. I was sure that one of the Ahu-Moai’s had its eyes open and then slowly closed them.

We signaled over to the squad on the ship and the crew rowed over to pick Me, Trixie, Trent and Gupta up. The short row back to the ship is rough and Trixie turns green at the gills. Once on the ship we clarified what we had all seen and the information about the Birdman.

With everything that had happened, the Captain of the ship now wanted to know what we were really up to on Easter Island. Irma explains that with what we were paying him he need not worry his pretty little head.

Gaidar spent the time watching the watchers to see if they animated again or not. That night we all took our watches and nothing of interest occurred.

The Birdman and Diving to The Cave of Noa

Rano-Kau was the nearest volcano to the Hanga Roa and we needed to ask for a guide and the 4 climbers were to make the journey, Irma, Gupta, Trent and myself. We sent the ship to the town of Hanga Roa and had also brought the Gate Crate © with us. We carried only small side arms, Death Rays ©.

The squad are accompanied by two guides that take then to the cave where the Birdman lives. The climb, they said, was not difficult for them and they all made good time. Once they reached the cave they were met by an ancient looking native in his 90s or older, with long hair and the strong smell of the sea emanating from every part of him. He was wearing some sort of cape made from bird feathers.

We were introduced and we asked about the recent goings-on and if he had any information that would help us recover all the missing people. I managed to understand everything the guide was asking the Birdman and his reply to our questions.

He asked us why we were on the Island and the responses were as follows:

• Joseph – We are here to capture an Evil Man, Carl Stanford that threatened the Island and the whole world.
• Irma – We are here to stop Cthulhu from being summoned.
• Trent – We are here to stop a Great Evil.
• Gupta - We are here to stop Carl Stanford and bring down the Knights of the Silver Twilight!

His talked to us about the Long Ears and how they were the first of the Islanders. They had worshipped Great Cthulhu and how they had fed the Ahu-Moai statues. It was Trent’s response, “I am here to destroy EVIL”, that the Birdman replied to and he explained that we would need the “Blue Gem” or “Crystal of Noa” to help us in our quest. He invited us into his cave and we could see a sparse cave with only a bed, of sorts, made from flotsam and feathers and a pile of other undesirable material.

He describes how the “Crystal of Noa” can be found in an underwater cave by the Island Motu-Nui and that someone would need to dive to down to cave below the sea to recover the “Crystal of Noa.” He would however, provided us with sacred items that would aid in this pursuit.

The “Crystal of Noa”, when words of power were spoken, would flash and produce a thin beam of light that would destroy our foes. It would however, extract a small amount of your power.

He went to the pile of items and mess and brought out two items:

A carved wooden mask, “Mask of Noa”, that when worn would allow the wearer to breath under water.

A spear, “The spear of Noa”, with intricate carvings which he said had the ability, when throw at a target, to hit it 100% of the time.

The Birdman also explained that if we were to descend from his cave, on the volcano Rano-Kau, to the standing stone at the base, looked for a frog symbol carved onto one of the stones and looked across to the volcano of Rano-Rataku we would be able to find a cave entrance to the evil on the Island.

Irma remembers reading about Noa and, from what he remembers, he is a good character and we can trust and use these items.

Wesley asked the Birdman if he knew about Carl Stanford and his crew of 88 other passengers but knows nothing about them.

At last we had a simple task to achieve which anyone of us could carry out and provide us with, what we hoped would be a powerful means to take on our adversaries. This was until there had to be a volunteer to go down to the cave with the mask and spear; this was not as straightforward as expected.

No one jump to offer to go down into the depths of the sea to recover this “Crystal of Noa.” The surprise candidate was Irma who began to strip down to his under things while we were all given good reasons why the other members of the squad should go.

We made our way back to the town of Hanga Roa and took one of the two boats from the S.S. Semiramis so we could row out to the point where Irma had to dive down to the cave. The crew were not too happy as they were in the process to unloading the 3 motorbike and sidecars. The other two bikes had been left on the other side of the Island when we had first landed.

We got to the location and Irma placed the mask on his face and also took Anne de Chantraine's Magic knife and the spear down with him. We also, for safety, tie a length of rope to one of his ankles so we can pull him up in an emergency.

The events are fairly sketchy as Irma did not go into much detail and I could see he just wanted to finish this latest adventure and get the hell off Easter Island.

He explained how he had swam down to the cave, 50’ down below the waves, and it was the strangest feeling to be able to breath underwater. He was met at the cave entrance by a DEEP ONE which was obviously protecting it and the “Crystal of Noa” in particular. He must have thought that at last we had found something that would aid us in preventing the events which were to unfold, better still, a way to destroy the DEEP ONES if they were protecting this “Crystal of Noa”.

He though the spear at the Deep One and managed to wound it and it swam off. He them recovered the spear and made his way into the cave. Inside the cave Irma found the “Crystal of Noa” hovering in the centre. He didn’t want to touch it, just in case and he was right to do so, and so he used the spear to push or move the “Crystal of Noa”. As a result the “Crystal of Noa” still emitted a blue ray and this caused Irma a burning electrical pain.

He recovered the “Crystal of Noa” from the floor and quickly made his way back to the surface. We helped him back onto the boat and quickly rowed back to shore. We now know that the Deep Ones know of our involvement and this is yet another enemy to deal with.

We made our way down the volcano of Rano-Kau to investigate the standing stones while Wesley attended to Irma’s injury. Wesley manages to heal him so he was back to full fitness. We all look for the frog carving and once we found it we could clearly see, following the Birdman’s instructions, the cave entrance on the side of the volcano of Rano-Raraku, “The entrance to Evil” as the Birdman called it.

Meanwhile, back at the town of Hanga Roa, Simon and Trixie made their way to the other bikes, on the other side of the Island, on the one bike that we had and began to transport the 2 bikes back to the town of Hanga Roa. The sailors were unloading the other bike and side-cars.

We were now all by the town of Hanga Roa with all 4 bikes, 2 side cars, the Gate Crate and all the equipment we could carry. Are next move would be to enter the possible cave system below the volcano of Rano-Raraku and find the kidnapped people, kill the Deep Ones and stop the raising of the Island of R’Lyeh.

Tune in for next weeks thrilling adventure of "The Lasts Days Of Joseph and Co."