MoN 042: At the Blue Pyramid Club

Dudley, Ikil and Charles, along with his trusty manservant Jeffrey, decided to visit the Blue Pyramid Club in Soho. It seemed the point of commonality in many of the so-called Egyptian Murders which had so interested Jackson Elias and was therefore worthy of a visit. 

Jacob and George had other plans, however. They planned an evening of light sherry drinking with Mrs Miggins. However, this quickly got out of hand, and the pair decided to go into central London. There they got so drunk they couldn't navigate the underground and ended up somewhere outside London! It would take the pair days to return to their lodgings and recover.

At the Blue Pyramid Club, the group quickly discovered it was a member-only club. Luckily, membership was available for only £5 a year, and so—having filled out their details and received their membership cards—the four entered the club.

The club filled the second floor of a large building and was predictably Egyptian-themed. The group had a lovely evening sampling Egyptian-style entertainment. Dr Dudley, however, found the belly dancing unseemly and, missing his beloved wife Eloise, quickly decamped from the ballroom to the drawing room.

The balance of the evening passed uneventfully, and the group left around 1 am.

Shopping at Empire Spices

Dudley, Ikil and Charles had hoped to see Zahra Shafik at the Blue Pyramid Club, but they didn't know what she looked like. This was easily fixed—they would just visit her shop. This they did with the cover story that they were American tourists whose's landlady, Mrs Miggins, wanted to make them a curry. Ikil was particularly loquacious and waxed lyrical about all the places they might visit after London: Australia, Kenya, Egypt and Hong Kong! Zahra seemed particularly impressed. 

With this initial meeting completed, the trio retreated to their lodgings to get some sleep, for they had another long night of drinking at the Blue Pyramid Club planned.

Back at the Club

That evening they arrived early at the Blue Pyramid Club and claimed a table in the drawing room. Here they sat and drank until Zahra Shafik arrived. They hoped that in this more convivial atmosphere, they might pump the beautiful Egyptian for information. The conversation was long and involved. 

The group shared their theories about the Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh, the possible connection with doings in America and Jackson Elias. Much was made of Jacob Rossini's journalist interest and of George's archaeological skills. In return, Zahra revealed she had done some work for the Penhew Foundation and had helped the Carlyle Expedition get ready for their Egyptian trip. Sadly, though, she couldn't remember much about them. The colloquy ended amicably, and the group settled back for more drinking and thinking. 

It was then a belly dancer, Yalesha Essam, sidled up to Ikil. She whispered that he should meet her under the arches at the end of the street at midnight. This seemed like an intriguing meeting, and Ikil readily agreed. Obviously, the group took precautions—Dudley, Jeffrey and Charles lurking nearby to keep an eye on the redoubtable bodyguard.

At midnight, Ikil—ready for anything—met with Yalesha. She breathlessly warned him that he was in great danger: the Brotherhood of the Black Pharoah ran the club—in fact, Zahra Shafik was its leader there! Every month just before the dark of the moon, she led about 20 cultists into a van, and they drove off out of London. Yalesha did not know where they went, but this new information greatly interested Ikil. Finally, a lead!

However, it seemed the group had unwittingly told their enemy all their plans and suspicions! As Yalesha revealed all—her hatred for the cult, the murder of her boyfriend and her burning lust for revenge—Ikil's companions spotted three swarthy foreign types loitering close to the arches. Certain these were cultists, Ikil's friends broke cover and loudly made their way down the street. The three men quickly fled.

Now, the group had a problem. They feared Yalesha was in mortal peril: after all, virtually everyone else who had informed on the cult to them was dead. Ikil demanded she come with them for her safety. Eventually, she agreed, and Charles "thoughtfully" offered the young 19-year-old dancer the use of his suite at the Savoy. However, the plan fell through when it emerged that her mother would also be going into hiding.  

Thus it was that the group repaired to Mrs Miggin's bed and breakfast with Yalesha and her mother. They felt sure she would be safe here while the group prepared to travel north once again to save Lesser Edale from the werewolf menace lurking in the surrounds. After all, the full moon was now but barely days away!

This post is a session summary for my weekly 7th edition Call of Cthulhu Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign.

We play weekly, so sign up to get our session summaries direct to your inbox.