MoN 045: London Calling

Dosing Ikil and George up with extra morphine so they could not interfere with his scheme, Dudley went to Castle Plum to speak with the Vanes. When he eventually returned, after checking on his patients, he declared that he had made a deal with Lord Arthur. As long as the group immediately left Lesser Edale and vowed never to speak of the events of recent days, the group was safe from the Vanes.

With little option but to agree, Jacob helped Dudley prepare his two patients for travel and to pack everything into the group’s car. While he did so, however, he discovered that all his films from the last few days had mysteriously disappeared. This exasperated the intrepid reporter as this was at least the third time something like this had happened to him! He seemed cursed to be beset by minor thievery wherever he went!

In any event, the group made it safely back to London, but it turned out that London was not safe for them! Arriving back at Mrs Miggin’s bed and breakfast, they discovered the place had been broken into and ransacked. The weary travellers panicked until they remembered Mrs Miggins, Yalesha, and her mother had moved into Charles’ suite at the Savoy.

Relieved, the group checked into the first nondescript hotel they could find and collapsed.

The Next Day

While Dudley looked after George and Ikil, Jacob telephoned the Savoy to talk with Charles, not realising the antique dealer had switched hotels. He got through, instead, to a panicked Alice. Three days ago, a half-dozen swarthy Egyptian types had broken into Charles’ suite and kidnapped Mrs Miggins, Yalesha, and her mother. Believing Alice was dead, the group had chuckled about the trio’s staring role in the “Grand Rite” and “Misr House”. Alice was terrified, so Jacob rushed over to comfort her and bring her back to stay with the diminished group.

The mystery of Charles’s and Jeffrey’s disappearance would have to wait! Sinister doings were afoot, and if the group had any chance of saving the three kidnapped women, they would have to move fast.

A Fact-Finding Frenzy

The next few days (the 16th - the 22nd) were a blur of activity. Eventually, Charles resurfaced from his brief rest and finally made contact with the rest of the group. He settled his bill at the Savoy and had all his possessions moved to his new hotel—the Hotel Grand Central. He also reclaimed Alice as clearly, she needed looking after (and, of course, he wasn’t completely sure how to draw his own bath).

While Ikil and George rested, the rest of the group engaged in a frenzy of fact-finding. It transpired that Misr House was not in London but was, in fact, on the Essex Coast. Some research in Chelmsford revealed that Edward Gavigan—the director of the Penhew Foundation—owned the house. This tremendously wealthy and influential figure seemed to be also part of the cult! If only, as more than one investigator wished, the group had a powerful friend in English society able to help them move against such a formidable, well-connected opponent.

By the 22nd, the group was all but ready. George and Ikil had made tremendous progress under Dudley’s expert care, and both were ready to return to the fray. However, Dudley then dropped a bombshell on the group. He had received word several days ago that his wife—Eloise—was pregnant and that he would return to the States to be with her. His boat left in but a few days. The group—particularly Ikil—were dismayed as the doctor’s decision seemed irreversible. Luckily, though, it seemed they had a few days left of the expert doctor’s company.

That night, the group laid out their plan. They would first break into Empire Spices and the Blue Pyramid Club to see if they could find any clues. After that, they would travel to Essex to disrupt the Grand Ritual (whatever that was) as the dark of the moon was but a few days away…

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

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