Shanghai

Session 48: The Stumbling Tiger

Their travel to Shanghai took a month but when they arrived Lee took the group to see his best friend, Solon Han, who is also the Chief Consul of Diplomacy with the Chinese government in Shanghai. Han set them up with some hotel rooms that his department keeps for visiting dignitaries - and thanked them for assisting Lee in returning the stolen art. They learned that the piece actually belonged to Yenyu Lin (better known as Madam Swallow). She has a great collection of art that she circulates through the Chinese museum circuit. Han said she would be very grateful to have the piece returned. The group left Han and got settled into their hotel rooms and then went with Lee to have lunch at the Golden Chopsticks - the restaurant his landlords own - and started discussing what they should do now that they had arrived in China.

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Harley, Jack, Sayed, Ted and Lee finished their lunch and decided to pay a visit to The Stumbling Tiger Bar. The cab driver told them that it was in the middle of Shanghai's 'Red Light District' - surrounded by Flower Girl Houses. When they arrived Lee noticed a few rough looking characters on the street near the bar that were carrying weapons and told the others to keep their eyes out for them. The bar itself wasnt too crowded when they arrived. The spoke to the bartender, Fergus Chum ("McChum") who told them that it usually gets busy in evenings and has a good mix of locals and out of town visitors. When asked if he knew Jack Brady - he said he did but that he hadn't seen him in a long time - didnt know if he was still in Shanghai or not. When the team asked about local gambling - he said if you came by on Saturday night he could introduce you to a group of locals that plays poker. Lee also spoke with a very drunk Japanese man who worked at the docks whom McChum said has been a regular for the last few months. After watching the establishment for a good long while no one noticed anything that seemed suspicious. However 2 members of the Green Gang (that Lee had spotted earlier) came in and started to threaten McChum. Lee stepped in and chased them out of the bar - he followed them into an alley way and gave them a beating and a warning not to bother the bar again.

 

The next day, the group made a trip out to the harbor to see if they could find the ship seen in the blurry photo from Jackson - but it was not there. They spoke to the harbormaster, who took pity on them and let them look through some of his logs from back in December/January. Lee and Ted found an entry for The Dark Mistress - a private yacht that was registered to an Englishman named  Alfred Penhurst. Lee further noticed that the ship seemed to dock for a few hours every 15 days or so. Following the pattern - the next time it should dock would be within the next week. With the harbormaster's help Lee was able to get hired to help unload ships at the dock. Then Harley made a quick call to Carlton Ramsey to update him on their situation and location.

 

When they returned to the hotel late that afternoon - there was a beautifully composed calligraphy letter from Madam Swallow waiting for Lee. In it she invited Lee and the rest of the group to dine at The House of Quite Repose the following evening as a thank you for retrieving her stolen art.

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Session 49: The House of Quiet Repose

The following day Harley, Jack, Lee, Sayed and Ted decided to visit The Shanghai Museum. Lee had arranged to meet his father's old partner, Ricky Tan who told him that the leadership of the Green Gang had been hard to pin down but their headquarters was somewhere in the Pootung District. The group toured the museum and took in the views from the tower - where they noticed that there was an out of place looking yacht tied up at one of the warehouses in the warehouse section of the International Settlement. However, they decided to head over to the Shanghai Courier next and met the young Editor-in-Cheif, Anthony Chang. Chang told them that Ho Fang was a prominent business owner of an Import/Export business that had locations in all of the major ports in China - but that was headquarted in Shanghai. He said Fang stayed out of the limelight mostly but owned a very nice mansion over in the French Concession. When they asked him about any strange deaths that might have been in the paper - he told them about a string of murders of unrelated victims who had all had their arms chopped off - but poo-pooed the idea that a 'monster' could have been behind it.

 

The group decided to move to the local library and do some research through the Courier's past issues. Sayed and Lee found 4 that stood out (aside from the reports of the armless victims and reports stretching back a few years of victims mauled to death during home invasions): Seamen's Club Damaged, Fire on Ching-Ling Rd, Violent Incident on Lantern St and The Stars Are Right. They decided to follow up on some of the articles and made their way to the Seaman's Club. Ted examined the damaged area from afar - it looked like only 1 room had been greatly effected and from what he could tell there was no way the damage could have been caused by seepage as the article had said. While helping Ted get a closer look, Jack fell into the water. When the group fished him out a policeman checked on them to see what had happened and mentioned to Lee about some drunken reports of 'fish people' being spotted in the area near the Seamn's Club. After a change of clothes the group spoke to the concierge and headed up to the Long Bar. After asking around they learned that the room that had been affected had been rented by "John Smith" - a square jawed American who hadn't been back since the incident. Showing a photo confirmed that John Smith was actually Jack Brady. Some of the bartenders mentioned seeing him with a Chinese woman with green eyes they referred to as Miss Choi.

 

By then it was time to change and head over to The House of Quiet Repose in the Old City to meet with Madam Swallow. They were lead by some of the house's beautiful staff and shown into a beautiful parlor decorated with exotic art and obviously occult related artifacts. Harley was drawn to a series of bells that seemed to decorated with Hunting Horrors and other flying creatures. As they settled in Lee thought he saw some movement behind the large curtained room divider but before he could investigate Madam Swallow arrived. They chatted about the artifacts in the room (she told Harley that the bells were meant to help summon a mystical dragon) and the recovery of her stolen art. She was intrigued to find out that Ho Fang was somehow involved. The group retired to diner and continued to talk about their past experiences. She inquired about Sword of Akmallah and asked if it was for sale. During the conversation, she consulted her IChing sticks and read a fortune out loud. It eventually came out that she was aware of the boat, The Dark Mistress, as she had to have its captain forcibly removed from one of her Flower Girl Houses (she runs high end houses all over China). She told them that the boat hails from Grey Dragon Island. It also turns out that she is aware of the Order of the Bloated Woman - and confirmed that Ho Fang is their leader - and they hold rites at Grey Dragon Island. They finally mentioned Jack Brady - which gave Madam Swallow the first visible rise all evening. She told them that the fates had brought them together as she too was looking for the thief Jack Brady because he had stolen a prize possession of hers: The Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan.

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Session 50: The Drunken Spy

Harley, Jack, Lee, Sayed and Ted finished their evening with Madam Swallow by agreeing to work with her to locate The 7 Cryptical Books of Hsan that were stolen by Jack Brady. Since they were in the neighborhood they decided to stop by the Garden of the Purple Clouds of Autumn to investigate the information from the Shanghai Courier article. Sayed noticed some fire damage and the same glass-fusion that had occurred when he had summoned the Living Fire. In the monastery directly behind the garden, they were able to confirm that "John Smith" had met with the monks about translating something in an ancient unused Chinese dialect. 

 

After leaving the monastery they headed over to The Stumbling Tiger Bar to check up on Fergus Chum. While they were there Sayed noticed the drunken Japanese man whom they had encountered the last time they were there spying on them from the back (and trying to sneak out) so the group cornered him. The man said his name was Taro Isoge and told them he would talk to them - but in a more secure location. They found a cheap hotel and rented a room that they could talk in. Isoge told them that he worked for the Japanese government and had been tracking Jack Brady. He had good intel on Brady saying that he was involved with a group called the New China - a militant underground army - and was involved in the creation of some super-weapon that was rumored to be able to cause mass destruction on a global scale. The group also agreed to work with Isoge to help him find Jack Brady.

 

The next morning they followed a lead that Isoge had given them. The leader of the New China, Min Chu, always went to a specific teahouse at 11AM and ordered the same thing every day. He is sure there is a purpose behind it but didnt know what. The group staked out the Tea House and Jack left him a note saying that "Nails Nelson" wanted a word with Jack Brady. Min seemed to ignore him but slight of handed the note with him when he left.

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Session 51: The Dark Mistress

After leaving the teahouse Harley, Jack, Lee, Sayed and Ted headed over to The Shanghai Museum where they requested a list of local scholars. They were given a list of 34 names (one being Madam Swallow) and devoted the rest of the day to trying to track down the names. They were able to cross 8 off the list - but Lee noticed that they were being tailed by what looked like one of Madam Swallow's hirelings who disappeared into the crowds when he tried to catch up to them. The next day they all went back to the Teahouse to see if there was an answer to their note to Min Chu the day before. Min arrived - ordered - ignored them and left. 

 

Lee and Harley left to check in at their 'new job' working on the docks while the other 3 stayed around to see if anyone would show up at the teahouse. As luck would have it The Dark Mistress was in port but would probably leave by the end of the day. They positioned themselves on a neighboring ship and watched the captain and his men - all of them had an odd look about them but the captain looked very sick (missing hair, skin spots, etc). When the captain and half the crew left towards the bars Lee crept on and looked around the ship which was mostly in disarray save for one locked room - the quarters of Alfred Penhurst which looked like it was rarely ever used. Down in the engine room Lee also discovered an unhealthly green heat radiating from the firebox - he sabotaged some valves - throwing them into the firebox before retreating. Harley caused a distraction to get Lee off the boat and then headed back to the hotel while Lee waited to see what would happen to the ship.

 

After an hour of waiting around Jack and Sayed took a short walk around the area of the Teahouse and noticed an unsavory looking man drag a woman into an alleyway. When they followed to help her they were ambushed by the woman and a gang of roughians. The 'leader' told them that someone wanted to talk to them and they went peacefully (ie with their heads in a sack and secured in a rickshaw). They arrived at what they thought was some kind of warehouse where they could hear military like training taking place. When they were secured to a chair and the bags removed Min Chu questioned them about what they knew about Jack Brady and Grey Dragon Island and Mei-Ling Choi. They were able to make some headway explaining their circumstances and Sayed offered to prove to him that what they said was true. He said if they could produce something that belonged to Miss Choi that he could help them find her. They said they would take them to a remote area outside of town that night where they could build a bonfire.

 

After his companions didn't return Ted decided to head back to the hotel. But on the way, he remembered one of the articles they'd found: The Stars Are Right and instead made his way to see Mr. Lung. Lung's address was the 1st floor a 3 story building with a freshly painted red door and plaques with Chinese writing sandwiching the door. There was also a cat yowling to be let inside. When knocking at the door didn't produce an answer, Ted found a window on the side of the building - opened it and let the cat - and then himself inside. Mister Lung seemed very surprised to see both of them but eventually offered to do a chart for him. Along the way to his work table Mr Lung showed him amulets, tiger scrolls, a brazier of slippers, a coin sword and other oddities - Ted's nonchalant reaction to all of these seemed to baffle him. He led Ted (and the cat) into a small room covered in fabric printed with astrological charts and symbols and began to work on his chart - when all of the sudden he threw some money down on the table and set it on fire before running out of the room, pulling a cord that released all of the fabric and locking the door. As the fabric fell, Ted saw that the room was covered ceiling to floor with mirrors. Feeling uneasy and as the cat began to claw at the door Ted cast Eibon's Wheel of Mist and tried to hold the cat within the column of smoke. As he did the cat grew into a whopping 250lb demon. The demon began to stagger around the room and decay in front of Ted's eyes. All the while he kept feeling an uneasy pressure in the back of his head and could hear Mister Lung's laughter and screams of "I've Got You Now" from the next room.

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Session 52: The House of Ho Fang

Ted waited out the death of the cat demon and held strong against the power of Mr. Lung's Demon Cabinet. Once it had perished, Mr. Lung crept inside to survey the scene - and Ted bolted for the street. He headed back to the hotel and began to drink the memory of the day away.

 

Meanwhile, Sayed and Jack prepped Min Chu on what he would see when they summoned the Living Fire and told him that they would need to follow the creature to find Mei-Ling Choi. He seemed skeptical but made arrangements (just in case). That night Min and some of his fighters drove Sayed and Jack to a deserted location on the industrial side of the Whangpoo River and prepared the bonfire. Sayed performed the summoning with both himself and Jack donating some of their blood to increase its potency. When the being arrived they showed the thing the Mei-Ling's locket and told it to find and kill her captors. When the creature flew off, the whole group followed it to the streets of the French Concession and eventually to Fang Ho's Mansion. They could hear screams and forces rallying inside the compound. As they tried to figure out how to enter the grounds there was a huge explosion - like fireworks - from inside. Then a thick fog seeped out of the grounds and filled the street they were in, closely followed by the arrival of a Hunting Horror. The group battled the beast and took it down with sub machine guns. As the fog dissipated the group forced their way inside the compound and was met with a battle with Ho Fang's men being led by a middle aged man who was casting magic from the shadows. The groups battled each other while Sayed took on the caster - losing some of his mental capacity but becoming savage as he lost some Sanity and beat the man to death. A search of his person found an id naming him Carl Sanford from Arkham, MA.

 

Jack crept away from the fight - looking for Mei-Ling. He came across a 13 year old child in one area but let her be. Near the back of the compound he found a garden of odd plants and a pool of odd creatures outside a Pavilion that house a large statue of the Buddha. He found that the Buddha could be moved and revealed a passageway within. It lead through a workspace that contained Botanical scientific equipment and vials of unknown fluids and then to a Shrine to the Bloated Woman. Upon entering the shrine, he triggered something that revealed a huge painting on the ceiling that seemed to move an swirl as he looked at it - but was able to resist staring for too long. Inside the shrine he found Mei-Ling Choi enclosed in a torture device meant to let diseased looking rats feast on different parts of her body. She was very drugged but he was able to free her and help her escape. He took with him the contents of a locked cabinet in the room as well: a cultist robe, a number of scrolls written in Chinese, a bottle of powder labled 'Tyuk', and 6 Western style books: The Goddess of the Black Fan, commentaries on the R’lyeh Text, and The Tale of Priest Kwan in Chinese, the Livre d’Ivon in French, True Magick in English, and the Necronomicon in Latin. Jack and Mei-Ling joined Sayed and the rest of Min's fighters and fled just before the authorities arrived.

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Session 53: The Interrogation

While Sayed and Jack were rescuing Mei-Ling Choi from Fang Ho's Mansion - Lee was watching The Dark Mistress. He saw the captain and crew return and discover that the ship had been sabotaged and then saw the captain go to the Harbormasters Office. As night fell he saw another yacht, The Luxuriant Goddess, arrive - and a man in an all white suit and hat spoke with the captain of the Dark Mistress. Lee had been entertaining some of the other dock workers who invited him to a local bar. He gave them money for a few rounds in exchange for them making a distraction on the street while Lee slipped into a better position near the Luxuriant Goddess. While he was crouched down watching the ship he saw a large figure swim between the boats and enter the Goddess. A few minutes later it leapt from onto the deck of the Dark Mistress and went below deck. After a while the Dark Mistress started its engines and left the harbor - leaving the Luxuriant Goddess and the man in white. Lee crept onto the boat and attempted to behead the man - but blade passed through him leaving him unharmed. The man in white, Fang Ho cast a spell that drained Lee of his strength and pinned him to the ground - then called out to an amphibious humanoid, who emerged from the waters and drug him down into the yacht. As Ho's magical hold on Lee faded, he struck out at the creature - wounding it. Ho again pinned him to the ground with magic, relieved him of the Sword of Akmallah and knocked him out. When he came too, he was bound and chained in a dark storage room. Ho and his men interrogated him about why he attacked Ho, his knowledge of the Order, Jack Brady and the Sword of Akmallah - but Lee said little. Ho then transformed one of his hands into a snake that bit Lee. He told him that he had 12 hours before the poison would kill him and if he wanted the antidote, he should talk.

 

Harley met Ted at the hotel bar - and the 2 decided to wait til their companions arrived. When several hours later, no one had, they ventured out to the docks again only to find The Dark Mistress gone and no sign of Lee. Harley saw some of the dock workers coming out of a bar and asked about Lee - they told him he was supposed to join them but never showed -but was interested in the arrival of The Luxuriant Goddess. They decided to retire for the night. In the morning, they received word from Jack that he and Sayed were ok and had found the girl. They decided to look up The Luxuriant Goddess in the Harbormasters Office -and learned that it was Fang Ho's and was registered to be docked at Ho Fang Imports/Exports. They steaked it out and Ted deducted that there was a part of the Warehouse that existed on the docks - probably with an access door for loading. They lifted a small boat and found they were right. They decided to create a sabatoge that would destroy one of the support beams beneath the dock near the loading door.

 

Ho gave Lee one last chance to talk - showing him the antidote. When he left, enough of Lee's strength had returned that he was able to break free of the bonds and will himself out of the chains. He injected the antidote and opened the loading door to find Harley and Ted setting up their sabotage.

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Session 54: The Safehouse

Sayed and Jack arrived back at New China's Warehouse with Min Chu and Mei-Ling Choi. While Min fetched a doctor to look at Mei-Ling, they rested and Sayed began to read through The Necronomicon - noting some differences between the version he had read in Egypt. After it was determined that Mei-Ling would be ok, Min had them moved to another safehouse - a bit farther removed from New China's.

 

Meanwhile, Harley and Ted maneuvered their "borrowed" raft down the Wangpoo River and helped Lee to find a veterinarian - but she refused to treat him. They decided to follow the note that had received from Sayed & Jack and stake out the teahouse (leaving all the groups belongings with Fergus Chum at The Stumbling Tiger Bar to be picked up later). Harley and Lee waited outside while Ted ordered some tea and a bun. The rice paper that his bun came with had an address written on it. They took a few cabs over to the address and met up with the rest of the group. After sharing stories they all started going through the reading material that Jack had swiped from Fang Ho's Mansion. Some of Min's men came to check up on them the next day - bringing a newspaper that had an article blaming the attack on Fang Ho on the Green Gang and their new leader, ex-cop Lee.

 

That night Jack and Harley heard someone approaching the warehouse around 3AM. Jack took the upperhand and discovered Min had led Jack Brady to meet with them.

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Session 55 & 56: The Plan

Harley, Jack, Lee, Sayed and Ted listened as Jack Brady told him his tale. He told them that the cult's current HQ was located off the coast of China on Grey Dragon Island - a tiny volcanic island that doesn't show up on most international maps. He also told them that the scholar he had working on the translation of the Eye of Light and Darkness would be finished in about a week. The team decided to lay low and study the books they had liberated from Fang Ho's mansion - and to study some of the rituals that might help them in the venture ahead. Min Chu arranged for his men to pick up the group's things from the Stumbling Tiger Bar - but Lee's was intercepted by one of Madam Swallow's underlings and replaced with an invitation for him to join her for Tea. He decided to politely decline.

 

Jack returned a week later with the original version of The Eye of Light and Darkness that he had retrieved from Cario - so the group could see what the whole thing looked like. He also had the Translation from 7 Cryptic Books of Hsan. The group decided to involve Taro Isoge to see if they could get the backing of the Japanese government. Min said his men would bring him here to talk. The group also asked in he could procure them a boat as they wanted to scout out the island before any assault was made as the timing of things would be important for the ritual to be completed.

 

A few days later Taro was brought to the safehouse (against his will) - after some convincing he agreed to speak to his superiors about military support - and surveillance of the island. As he left, Jack noticed a carriage parked close to the warehouse. Lee went to check it out and found Madam Swalllow inside, who introduced him to Everett Mayes - an associate of hers whom she thought would be able to help them in their endeavors. She grilled Lee about Jack Brady and her Books - and seemed placated by his answers. Before leaving, she asked if Lee would join her employment when all this was over. When he agreed - she agreed to procure the Sword of Akmallah from Ho Fang. Lee brought Everett back to the warehouse where he was brought up to speed on what was happening. After about a week they received the fruit of Taro's labors - an areal map of the island showing a small village on the coast - and a path that leads up the side of the volcano.

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Session 57: The Preparations

Harley, Jack, Lee, Sayed, Ted and Everett flushed out their plans with Jack Brady, Min Chu and Taro Isoge. There will be 3 assault teams: Taro's Japanese force, Min's New China soldiers and Jack & the team (including 3 monks from Old Temple that Lee recruited). Lee finished learning the Wave of Oblivion spell and will teach it to the others on the way to Gray Dragon Island. The team will approach from the smaller south opening and make their way via rowboat to the side of the volcano near the village under cover of darkness early morning on the day leading into the full moon. From there Lee will lead them in performing the Wave spell towards the village at daybreak. Min and Taro's boats will approach from the main entrance in the North and fight whatever forces are on the island that come to aid the villagers and clear out the island while the team makes their way up the volcano to a desired spot to perform the Eye of Light and Darkness. Ted will craft the eye out of metal and fix it to the volcano's side during the afternoon. When the moon rises at 6PM the ritual will begin with the Monks sacrificing their blood to the eye until 6AM the following morning. 

 

The team received word from Madam Swallow that Fang Ho had arranged for the purchase of the Sword of Akmallah the following week and that he was away on business all this week - the team is hoping that his yacht is docked at the island when they arrive. All preparations for weapons and materials were made and they are awaiting to leave on the 2.5 day trip to Gray Dragon Island.

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Session 58: The Fall of Grey Dragon Island

Harley, Jack, Lee, Ted, Sayed and Everett finished their preparations with Jack Brady, Min Chu and Taro Isoge. They collected the volunteer monks and all set out. On the trip to the island Lee taught the others enough of Wave of Oblivion to be able to lend their energy to its casting. Once they reached the lagoon they were able to find a spot where their ships would not be visible from the island to wait. From their position they saw Fang Ho's yacht docked at the small pier. From the angle it was docked Lee figured he could aim the wave at it and still hit a great deal of the village. As the night moved towards dawn, the group left the monks on the outskirts and used their canoe to row over to their vantage point on the side of the volcano. With Harley keeping watch, Lee and the 5 others summoned their energies and as the sun crept onto the horizion a huge wave buffeted Ho Fang's ship onto the shore - severely damaging it - and demolishing a good portion of the huts in the village. 

 

The 7 men then climbed the volcano, hearing the screams and crying of the villagers and eventually screams and gunfire of Min & Taro's approaching ships - though the view to that side of the island was blocked. Eventually they reached a section of the mountain that was suitable to create the Eye. Before they started to create it, they heard something emerge from the rocks about a quarter of the way around from where they were and descend upon the battle. They decided to climb to the top of the volcano to see if they could see "inside". Below them they saw Ho Fang and Sir Aubrey Penhew speaking amongst 50 or so slaves who were moving about a cavernous room who's center was a huge metal structure shaped like a gigantic bullet poised over a pool of magma. Everett, using his rifle to get a better view, was able to make out that Penhew was telling Ho that the Shoggoth would make short work of any invaders. Lee and Ted devised a plan. Ted gave Lee a bundle of the dynamite he had brought to aim toward the 2 men. The rest of the group worked their way around the volcano and down to the entrance into the chamber. When everyone was in position Lee dropped the dynamite. Ho, seeing what was coming, tried to duck into an off chamber but was shot by Everett before he could leave the blast radius. The explosion obliterated the 2 men - and Lee raced to join the group. Before the others could move on the metal structure - the slaves started to convulse and the black gloopy material they all had attached to their heads reformed in the center of the room as a 2nd Shoggoth. The sight of the creature effected almost everyone in the group - but mostly Ted. Devising a mad scheme he shouted a war cry and dove into the magma causing a huge explosion of lava and fire and collapsing a great deal of the room. The group made a run for it - meeting Lee at the entrance to the caves just in time to see the 1st Shoggoth envelope one of Taro's soldiers.

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Session 59: The First Eye of Light & Darkness

Harley, Jack, Lee, Sayed, Everett and Jack Brady stood mourning the loss of Ted and watching a Shoggoth devour one of the Japanese soldiers. Sayed decided he would try to call the Living Fire to their aid by trying to summon it directly from magma within the volcano. The group raced to the top of the rocks and he began the ritual. While it was occurring they noticed Min Chu and another man swimming along the side of the volcano from around the other side of the island, got their attention and waived them up. The men reached the top and introduced Jean Luis Bertrand (a friend of Min & Jack who had been helping to train the New China soldiers). Their boat had been attacked by amphibious humanoids similar to the ones that Lee had encountered with Fang Ho - the other New China soldiers and their boat were all destroyed. By this time Sayed had summoned the fire creature and sent it to kill the Shoggoth. They heard a battle taking place and when it was silent Lee crept to the other side of the volcano to confirm that both creatures were no more - just a pool of black sludge and magma. With Ted gone and afternoon approaching, Jack began to chisel the symbol of the eye directly into the volcano. 

 

There were still several hours before the ritual could be begin so Jack, Lee and Everett decided to scope out Ho Fang's wrecked yacht and the village - and then retrieve the monks form their hideout on the boat. As they moved from the rocky sides of the volcano and onto the sandy shore of the island they were attacked by a large mutated swam or sand crabs - but Everett's gun swiftly put them down. The yacht itself was moored on its side and waterlogged. While exploring the wreckage Everett came across the lifeless body of a 13 year old girl floating in the water - Ho Fang's daughter and Lee discovered the Sword of Akmallah wedged between Ho Fang's bed and the wall. Next the moved toward the village - which had been decimated by the tidal wave they sent in. They noticed that all of the bodies they came across were either women or children - and most of them looked like they had been crossbred with the amphibious creatures working with Ho Fang. Fearing for the safety of the monks they hurried to their canoe and began to power row across the lagoon. En route they were attacked by 2 of the creatures - one was mutated with huge crab-like claws for hands. Reaching the boat they were attacked by several more of these creatures. Once they were dealt with, the Monks (praying the entire trip) accompanied them to the volcano and climbed up to the others. 

 

Everett was able to set up some natural booby traps around the area where they would be performing the ritual - and with Jean Luis and Min Chu standing guard - Harley, Jack, Lee, Sayed, Everett and Jack all took part in the Eye of Light and Darkness while the monks took turns bleeding into the pupil. The long ritual finally drew to an end with the rising of the sun - and everyone involved felt the drain - as if part of their very essence had gone into the creation of the talisman. They watched as it glowed briefly with a blue hue and then faded into the rock of the volcano - becoming unseeable to the naked eye. Exhausted - and worried about the rising magma within the volcano that had continued to steadily rise throughout the night, the group returned to the last remaining boat and set sail for Shanghai. Jack thanked them for all they had done and wished them luck on the next 2 legs of their journey - but said he needed to stay and help Mei-Ling return to health. As the group watched the lava flow out of the volcano and cleanse Grey Dragon Island - they began to talk about how to approach the challenge of finding 2nd point of the Great Triangle in Australia.

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Session 60: The Chest

Harley, Jack, Lee, Sayed, Everett and Jean Luis sailed back to Shanghai discussing what their next move would be - and what evidence they had to go off of that lead to Australia. When they reached the port Sayed sent a telegram to Prof Anthony Dimsdale Cowles at Miskatonic University asking for any assistance he may be able to give and another to Dr. Ali Kafour at The Egyptian Museum - asking that any responses be forwarded on to the Port of Perth in Australia. While he was composing the telegrams Lee tracked down one of Madam Swallow's hirelings and requested passage to The House of Quiet Repose. Madam Swallow greeted them with tea and the group talked about the experience on Gray Dragon Island. She offered them rooms while they finished their work in Shanghai, the use of her occult Library and carriages (as Lee was still a wanted man). She also noted that they all seemed to have been drained of their Chi from the experience and posed an opportunity to Lee to have the group represent her at an auction in Austria where she wished to obtain the Blessed Blade of Tsang, and ancient artifact that is said to help its user absorb the life force of its victims. 

 

Once settled into their new rooms Everett led a charge to explore both Ho Fang Imports/Exports and Fang Ho's Mansion in more depth (now that he was out of the way). He stood guard on the docks while the others made their way into the warehouse and disposed of the guards. Unfortunately the resulting gunfight roused suspicion of the neighbors so Lee went to intercept the investigating policemen and sent them on a wild goose chase while Sayed and Jean Luis uncrated several odd items in the warehouses' locked storeroom, including skin-shoes made from two human feet and an exotic conch shell - and while Jack and Harley explored the office areas on the second floor. Jack found ledgers showing a series of 'art related artifacts' shipping between Edward Gavigan in London, Omar al-Shaktiin Cario, Ahja Singh in Mombasa - and shipments of mining equipment to Mortimer Wycroft in Cuncudgerie Australia via Randolph Shipping Company in Darwin. Further research into the logs showed a 2nd location of Randolph Shipping Company in Port Hedland also receiving several 'art artifacts' several years past (but none recently). The group reassembled and moved on to Fang's mansion - which was in a state or repair since their last visit. Climbing over the massive wall surrounding the complex, they explored the mansion (with Lee and Harley taking out any staff showing the Bloated Woman symbol). Not much new was discovered aside from Sayed locating an ornate chest in the room formerly occupied by Carl Sanford. While making a rubbing of the symbols he found inside the chest, he found he was transported to Sanford's room at the Silver Twilight Lodge in Arkham, MA. He searched Sanford's room and some of the surrounding bedrooms - coming across an ornate mirror in a gilt frame that was hidden away in a drawer. Taking the mirror, he returned to Shanghai via the chest and got the others to help him remove it to The House of Quiet Repose.

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They spent a week and half finishing preparations to travel to Australia and researching in Madam Swallow's Library. During that time Jack Brady returned the 7 Cryptic Scrolls and said goodbye to the party. Madam agreed to hold onto the ornate chest and try to procure its sister chest from the Silver Twilight Lodge. She was also able to identify and explain the use of some of the items that the group had collected:

 

• Two Scepters: If held crossed in front of a magic caster they make casting spells less draining and can absorb magical damage directed at the caster.

• Carved African Scepter: Though she was not familiar with the scepter, she deduced its purpose was similar to that of the Egyptian scepter.

• Stone Jar of Black-Grey Dust: This is the Powder of Ibn-Ghazi. It makes visible magically invisible things by blowing the powder against or over the invisible thing. 

• Skin From Two Human Feet: She had heard tell of such items being made to allow the wearer to move 'like the wind".

• Ornate Mirror In A Gilt Frame: She recognized it as the Mirror of Gal - a powerful scrying device. To make it work the user needs to draw a symbol that links them with the divine on the mirror using a red syrupy substance derived from obra'an stones.

 

Through his research Sayed discovered a ritual practice among the Aboriginals of Australia: They believe in Song Cycles, which are "living creation stories" that help teach the origins of the world and the values and rules of their tribes. Through rituals and trance, gifted members of the tribe can link people into the Alcheringa - the world of the living Song Cycles. By reliving these stories their people are able to gain knowledge and healing on massive levels. He also discovered that the Obra'an stones can also be found in Australia (and parts of Africa).