"STEAM LONDON" Game Thread

[Vienna Fahrmann]

     Inside the mansion, servants brought the guests their choice of Earl Grey or mint tea.  Oliver noticed that both were strongly flavoured and scented enough to conceal added ingredients.  He accepted a cup of mint tea and appeared to lose himself in enjoyment of the scented steam.  Lilli took a cup of Earl Grey, but merely sat holding it.  A significant glance passed between their abductors and their "host".
    Dr. Habib addressed Lilli "Your presence in my home honours me.  I hope you enjoyed my little collection of the artifacts of my country?".  Lilli smiled, but said nothing. "You have some interest in Egyptian antiquities yourself, I understand.  Perhaps you are familiar with the Orb of Nuut?  It is little known but for a few special collectors like myself, but you have, I think, seen it?"
     Lilli's smile broadened "Yes" she said dreamily "I've seen newts.  There are lots of them around Burg Lowenstein.  I like newts".
    Oliver decided to delay their "hosts" a little further by launching into a scientific discourse on the newt.  Dr. Habib made a swift gesture at one of the men, who rose from his chair to seat himself next to Oliver.  The man pretended to be very interested in Olivers lecture.
     Dr. Habib leaned closer to Lilli "The Orb of Nuut is very special.  Have you seen its lapiz sky and golden stars?  And perhaps the treasure that lies beneath them?".
     "Golden stars" Lilli answered, but seemingly without comprehension. 
      Oliver listened as the questioning went on in the same vein.  Their mysterious hosts were quite interested in the whereabouts of the Orb of Nuut, The Obelisk of the Portal, and the Casket of Opening.  Lilli sounded clueless about all of them.  She rambled on about any topic the questions seemed to spark, including the nuns at her convent school, Parisian landmarks, and the obnoxious personal habits of certain aristocrats.
     At last Dr. Habib tired of Lilli's rambling.  He made a sharp nod to the woman, who gently removed Lilli's teacup from her unresisting grip.  "A liquour?" she suggested "I'm sure you could use a little pick-me-up".
     Oliver didn't like the sound of any more substances that might be forced on them.  He thrust his teacup into the hand of his listener and deliberately wobbled as he got up from the divan.  "Let's ALL have some liquour!"  he exclaimed  "Let's have a party!  It's no fun if only one person has a drink!"  He crossed the room at a surprising rate of speed and grabbed the liquour bottle from the woman's hand.  He intentionally fumbled the move and the cut-glass decanter smashed on the tiled floor.  "Oops!" he said gaily.  He was wondering how he was going to get the still-drugged Lilli out of there and glanced in her direction.  Something, maybe the sharp sound of the smashing decanter, seemed to have shocked her out of her daze.  Oliver hoped he was the only one who caught the brief flash of intelligence in her eyes.
     Dr. Habibs face flushed dark with anger.  "Maybe Mr. Newton Chance would like to visit my collection of exotic Egyptian animals" he said tightly.  The two men began to move toward Oliver. 
     As one of them walked in front of Lilli's chair, she rose, clutching one of the cushions and swung it full force into the man's face "Party Games!" she caroled.  She followed up the cushion swat with a hard shove to the man's chest "Tag!, You're IT!" she called as she began to run across the room.
     "Hide and Seek!" Oliver exclaimed as he tripped the second man "you can't find us!"  He grabbed Lilli's hand as he ran and re-routed her toward a door he was fairly certain led to a balcony overlooking the central courtyard of the house.  He made a mental note to himself to do some serious drinking if they got out of this alive.

   

[bluestocking]

Through roundabout ways, Lakshmi led Miss Lighton through the mazes of the souk, ducking into alleyways and through shops. Finally, they arrived in the artificer's quarter of the great market.

This was a place of wonder and amazement, especially for the mechanically-inclined Emma. Everything from tiny, delicate watch components to hulking engines were displayed in the same profusion and seeming jumble as the butchers a few streets over had shown their meats. Brass, glass, and tool steel gleamed in the punishing Egyptian sun. Some of the shops were little more than a jam-packed stand, or even a tray from which a vendor sold a few bits and pieces; others were expansive emporia, offering everything from salvaged derelicts to the latest mechanical developments.

Lakshmi led the way to one of the larger shops. It was cool and dim inside, doubly so after the afternoon heat outside. Miss Lighton's eyes took a moment to adjust, but when they did, she contemplated a floor-to-ceiling array of parts and tools. Two younger men leaned against a counter toward the back, and an older gentleman, who by his striking resemblance to them could only be their father, was coming to the front to greet Lakshmi.

"Dr. Marleybone-Smythe! It's been too long! Come, sit, have tea!"

She laughed at his ebullient greeting. "Indeed, Ibrahim effendi, it has been too long! Tell me, how is your wife?" She moved toward the tiny cafe table and chairs set in a corner of the shop.  Miss Lighton moved to stop her, concerned.

"Aren't we still being followed by Captain Hieronymus' man?"

"I believe we lost him a few streets back. Don't worry; sit, have tea. It's quite good, and Ibrahim will be terribly offended if you don't." She sunk gracefully into one of the small wicker chairs. Nervously, Miss Lighton perched on another.

One of the sons brought delicate-looking glass mugs full of hot, sweet mint tea. Lakshmi sipped hers and engaged in what seemed to be sociable conversation with Ibrahim; Emma barely noticed as she slipped purchase requests  - "a dozen of size-seventeen gears, please," "five lengths of brazing rod, if you'd be so kind" - into the flow of the conversation. One of the sons drifted about the store, assembling her items. Emma tried the tea; it was, indeed, very good.

Her attention wandered out into the street. Passers-by in Cairo were certainly more colorful than those in London or Boston... suddenly, she realized that the burly aeronaut who had been trailing her was peering in the shop, and just as she did, he spotted her!

She put her tea glass down on the tiny table with an intemperate thump, disrupting the conversation. Lakshmi looked down at it, up into her panicked face, and to the doorway, which was now filled with the lumbering crewman.

"Oh dear," she said.

Ibrahim stood and started yelling at the man, his two sons moved to close with him, but Lakshmi moved fastest of all. She whipped a tiny atomizer bottle that would not have looked out of place on a lady's dressing-table out of her reticule, stomped one morocco-leather boot heel into his instep, and spritzed the bottle directly in his face as soon as he gasped in pain. The man went down like a poleaxed ox.

"Hmm." She fanned one hand in front of her face to disperse any lingering fumes. "That worked well."

Miss Lighton released her death grip on the table rim. "What was that?"

"A concentrated blend of laudanum and the extract of certain hallucinogenic mushrooms that grow in Siberia. Terribly effective; sadly, it's also terribly difficult to apply correctly. It's non-lethal; he should regain consciousness in a few hours." She turned to the shopkeeper. "Ibrahim, can you ever forgive me? I used your shop as a decoy, and I bullied the poor girl into accepting your hospitality, knowing that you'd protect her if I failed."

"There is nothing to forgive, Miss Lakshmi. Why would such a fellow chase this girl? She seems harmless."

Lakshmi turned to Miss Lighton. "Perhaps we'd better let her explain that."

[Ben Hudson, Esq.]

Ben continued to follow the youth into the souk. Colourful crowds bustled all around, and the air was thick with the scent of spices and animal.

Suddenly, a cart pulled by a mule broke into his path. On its back were stacked cages full of doves. Ben came to an abrupt stop as he waited for the cart to pass. The mule's driver dealt it a blow with a cane, forcing it to move on. He bowed an apology to Ben, and was gone.

As, incidentally, was the boy. He had disappeared into the crowd, and could have gone anywhere. Ben swore, and spun on his heel. There was no sign of him.

Suddenly, a hand clapped down on his shoulder. He turned around.

[Stella Gaslight]

Emma relaxed if Lakshmi could fell that beast of a man easily their was hope of her escape yet. 

"This is going to sound fantastical but I swear every world of it is true." She placed her left hand over her heart as an oath. "I was fresh off the boat from Boston with no friends or family and only the dream of becoming an actress to guide me. I lucky to find a job as an assistant with Professor Lewistine.  Sure he zapped me, accidentally shot at me and made a tiny automaton that would not stop trying to fly in to my face but he was a good a man. Once he knew I was tough enough to stay he stared to teach me all about science.  I am much better at science than acting."  Emma glared over her right shoulder. "You don't have to state it like that.  I don't care if they can't hear you I can and that is rude." She frowned  "Sorry about that, any way.  We had a brand new invention of our own to display for the first time.  The aether generator was going to be our ticket to funding and a decent lab. We were pining a lot of our hope on it but everything failed in a spectacular way.  There was an explosions and when I woke up in the hospital they told me George was gone and I would never use my right arm again."  She touched the scared and puckered skin hidden under her elbow length sleeves self consciously

"I was alone in London with no real friends, very little money and no hope of employment.  I was living in some crusty little inn that I had just given the last of my money when I woke to a miracle my right arm was moving all on its own. With George's help I have almost a full range of movement.  Something was in my hand I opened it to find two small silver tubes."  Emma pointed to the strange tarnished things draped around her ears.  "We named them artherphones and as long as I keep them in my ears I can hear George clear as day.  With him back so we built up a small consulting business on tinkers row.  It wasn't perfect but we had a roof over our heads

We do good work for fair prices and we had built a  reputation that was just starting to bring in bigger jobs.  Their was one we never should have taken, a commission to improve the engine speed of a merchant vessel called The Eastern Star.  I went aboard to take an estimate and the airships captain a mister Hieronymus black insisted we stay for dinner.  I think the wine must have been drugged because I was out like a light and didn't wake till late in the morning. 

We were in the air over France.  I demanded an explanation and fell for captain Hieronymus' story about a medical emergency hook line and sinker."  Emma was angry and sad at the same time.  I was a dammed fool she thought.  "He took me sightseeing in Paris to make up for my inconvenience.  I found a book among my things that I had not noticed before.  It was the notes of a French scientist detailing his discoveries in the Aether.  He had managed to send small samples of plant life through the aether for short distances and have them reappear unharmed.  It was the answer to my prayers but making a setup to repeat his results would bankrupt us many times over.  The captain offered me a deal if George and I would keep working on the ship he would pay for any other experiments we chose to do in out time off.  It was too good to be true and I should have never excepted but I liked being aboard the ship and the offer was much better than we could get at home." Hieronymus had been the first man since the accident to treat her like a woman and not some savant escaped from bedlam. Emma had loved him a little then but she would never admit it now. 

George was speaking again low and almost mournful she turned to him and smiled.  "I know you didn't mean any harm when you told me to accept.  How could we have known"  She patted her right hand and turned back to face them.  "George overheard the Capitan speaking to some one over the wireless.  He couldn't understand the other person through their thick accent but what the captain said was damming enough.   He talked of spies, assassins and thieves that moved from one place to another in the blink of an eye, completely untraceable all thanks to us. Our improved aether generator was going to cause chaos and destruction all over the world.  I waited until the captain and crew were all sleeping then I snuck out of my quarters. I took my notes and burned them then I destroyed the aether generator prototype."  It had truly broken her heart to see all that work gone but it was too dangerous to leave behind.  "I stole a life balloon and got as far away as I could but he caught up and has been closing on us ever since."

 She stood and bowed before them unsure if that was the proper thing to do.  It felt right and she supposed that was what counted. "Dr. Marleybone-Smythe and Mr Effendi you saved my life today I am eternally grateful and very sorry for geting you involved in the first place."

[HAC]

Meanwhile, back in London......

Underwood sat in a booth at Bucer's, nursing a drink.. He sighed, so far, nothing.
Of a sudden, he was aware of a man sitting across from him. How the man had managed that, he had no idea, usually his heightened senses would have detected the approach of someone,e no matter how stealthy that individual was...
 The man spoke.
"Good evening, my dear Underwood, no, don't speak, or rise, or think of doinganything foolish, but listen. It will be worth your time, no matter what the outcome"
 The man gestured, and at once the  barkeep brought a glass of red wine for each of them.
"My name is Lamont, and my master, whom you surely must know, has an offer of employ for you, a small task that he wishes accomplished. Few men, indeed, possibly no ordinary man could accomplish this and live, but my master is aware, of, shall we say, your unique talents and abilities."
 Lamont sipped his wine, and pulled a small purse from his jacket.
"Consider this a small enticement to hear me out.. That purse contains 50 guineas, yours only for listening"
Underwood reached out, and hefted the purse, yes, he could tell that there was gold inside, he could sense it.
"Ah, well then..." said Lamont  "to business, then. But first, I see by your eyes, that you wonder why you did not sense me approach. II know what you are, and you are not alone in being unworldly. In your travels, have you come across the "old language", ah, you have.. Then perhaps you know the words
" aes sidhe"?  In English, there is a word, "Changeling", but its current  meaning covers  but a mere part of the truth. That should suffice."
Lamont continued.
 "My master has a pocket that he wishes picked. A very large pocket, as it were. Such a thing was only ever attempted once before in England, by a Colonel Thomas Blood. Ah, you begin to understand.  My master wishes but one small item, a trifle, it would fit in your pocket handily... Does the offer of ten thousand pounds, in any form or currency you wish, as a fee, interest you?"
 Underwood's eyes opened wide, that was a fortune. He nodded, waiting.
"Ah, good, then," said Lamont.. "Here is the way of it. My master wishes you to fetch for him, the Black Prince's ruby from the State crown in the Tower of London.  No guard or person must be killed or harmed, indeed, you will be provided with a copy of the stone that you will replace the original with. That is a small task, as the setting is removeable, and my master has excellent forgers to hand. The hard thing is that no-one must know that the original is gone, or that any attempt to steal it has even occurred. You can see why my master would need, your, ah, skills. Why you ask?  Suffice to say this.
 It is a commonly known misconception that the ruby is indeed a spinel, but it is more than that, far more than that. In the right hands and circumstances, it is a vast source of energies you can only begin to imagine. My master would use it to his own ends. If you accept this little task, I will
have deposited to any account you wish, the sum of one thousand poun ds retainer, with the ten thousand payable upon delivery, to me, the stone..
We are agreed?"
  Underwood sipped his wine, and thought hard, then expended his hand...Lamont shook it, and looked over Underwood's shoulder... Underwood turned to see what he saw, but there was nothing. He turned back to speak, but Lamont was gone.. There was, however a note...
  "Fear not, the gold in the purse will be there in the morning light. Should you need to contact me, stand at the bar here and order a pint of shandy... You will be watched, and will be contacted."
  Underwood started to pocket the note, but as he did, it dissolved into a swirl of mist. He swore he could hear a very faint music, of pipes, just at the edge of hearing... Truly an interesting night.
 
  
  

 
 

[Vienna Fahrmann]

     Hirams agent explained what he had in mind.  He took his eyes off his new ally briefly to check his pocketwatch.  The message he had sent with the cab driver should have reached the aerodrome some time ago.  He guessed they had about 30 minutes before assistance arrived.  "Okay, Froggie" he said, "I'm going to need an extra pair of hands to open this door.  It's booby-trapped, so be careful to do EXACTLY what I tell you.  Got that?" 
     The Frenchman nodded.  "I am Henri Rousselle, sir, not "Froggie", but I will follow your orders to the letter."  He had not thought it wise to correct the Englishman as to his name while the man's knife had been at his throat.
     It took some very dicey work over the next 25 minutes, but at last all the traps on the waist-high door seemed to have been disarmed.  Some of them had needed four hands and all had been nasty.  The Englishman pulled a small metal tube, rather like a cigar case, from one of his pockets.  It had an obvious wax seal connecting the two halves.  "Okay, Henry, here's what you do next.  I want you to take this tube around to the front of the house and start banging on the knocker.  When they open the peephole, tell them that this is a sealed message for DR. Habib.  It's a time delay smoke device, set for 5 minutes after you click this button.  If you get in with it, fine; if you don't, just improvise.  Backups should be arriving shortly.  I'm going to be going in through here while you're at the front.  If you find the albino and the girl, get them out the nearest exit, we'll do the rest."  He pulled out his pocket watch again.  "Okay, lets synchronize our watches.  Good.  I'm giving you 3 minutes before I start the action back here." 
     Both men checked the street before Henri slid carefully out from behind the bush, glanced up at the watchtower, then scooted quickly around the corner before slowing down to a normal walking pace.  The Englishman was making some interesting alterations to his  large umbrella.  A slice of the shaft had slid out and turned upward, forming a rifle scope.  The handle had somehow acquired an extra brace or two, turning the handle into a stock.  The Englishman arranged some exotic-looking bullets into a strap inside his breast pocket.  He looked at his watch again.  Time to move.  He stepped from the bush, sighted on the guard in the tower and shot.  The man toppled out of sight.  He ducked in through the gate.
     At the front of the house, Henri acted according to plan.  He set the device just before he started to knock .  The door had been answered so quickly last time that he was sure someone was stationed just behind it.  He had been correct, the peephole was opened immediately.  "I must give this to Dr. Habib, most urgent!", Henri panted, as though he had been running.  He was certainly sweaty enough from the stress of disarming the traps to maintain the illusion.  "I must give it myself!  I have orders to give to none but Dr. Habib!"
     The gate guard was well trained.  When something like this happened, he called for his supervisor. Henri noticed a clatter of wheels behind him and risked a glance.  A bright red delivery van emblazoned with the logo "Batesons Fine Furniture.  Serving Cairo since 1869" was slowly trundling down the street.
     Henri was getting nervous.  If something didn't happen soon, the smoke bomb would go off in his hand.  He decided simply to throw it through the peephole grate with as much force as possible.  Just as he did so, the guards attention was distracted by a man's cry and a series of loud thumpings as though something was falling.   Henri barely noticed that the wheels behind him had stopped.   Someone pushed him aside and he realized that the van had disgorged about 8 men in scruffy-looking clothing.  Two of them were swinging grappling hooks.  The man who had pushed him aside was shooting through the grate.
     Hiram's agent emerged from his crouch into a storage-room of some kind.  He rounded the barrels in it and launched himself through the unlocked door as soon as he was sure that the next area was empty.  He ran along the corridor toward a streak of sunlight and a lot of noise.  From the smell, Henry's smoke bomb had gone off on schedule.  Halting momentarily behind a pillar, he thrust a smoke round into his umbrella's chamber and fired it into the centre of the courtyard.  As soon as that had fired, he re-loaded with a buckshot round.  The one disadvantage he had always found with his umbrella was that it was a single shot weapon.
    Oliver's hunch that the door would lead to a balcony was correct.  They burst though it and kept running, looking for a stairway.  They were three stories from the ground.  They reached the corner of the building and  found no stairway.  "Can you climb down" Oliver asked Lilli in a worried voice.  Their pursuers were already partway along the balcony. 
    "Sure" Lilli answered.  She hoisted her rump onto the railing and swung over and out.  It was a good thing she had a tight grip on the railing, because the sight of a hurtling body almost caused her to lose it from surprise.  A nasty "twip" sounded close to her ear.  She looked to find a small dart buried in the fretwork of the balcony.  Lilli looked down at the plantings below her and decided that the drop was the lesser of the risks she faced.  She let go, kicked outward slightly, put her arms across her eyes and dropped.  She landed with a hard "whump" in the middle of a nastily spiny bush.  She rolled away and down as Oliver followed her.  From the sounds of his low curses, she guessed that he had landed in the same bush.
     The interior courtyard looked like a battleground.  Smoke was roiling from several different directions and shouting figures were running everywhere.  "We came in that way!" Oliver pointed to a large gate that several men were attempting to open while dodging bullets from the uniformed staff.  At least the uniforms made it easier to tell the two sides apart from one another.  Lilli and Oliver kept low and began working their way toward the gate. 
     Hiram's agent had seen the two figures fall and ran toward them.  He fired his buckshot into a cluster of uniformed men who were rushing to cut the fugitives off from the gate.  It at least slowed them down.  He grabbed a regular shot and slammed it home.  He would have to shoot to kill now. 
   His progress was faster than theirs because the woman was somewhat hampered by her long skirts catching on the plantings.  Soon he was just behind the woman and the albino.  "I'm a friend" he said "from the aerodrome"  He hoped they would understand.  He never uttered specific names where they might be overheard.  The albino nodded.  They were nearing the gate, which the scruffy intruders had now pushed open.  Most of the intruders ran out of the gate and popped their heads around it to shoot.  The agent shoved Oliver and Lilli ahead of him as he fired to cover their backs.
       As soon as they were through the gates, many hands grabbed them and hauled them aboard a red delivery van.  A slender, older man was yanked aboard also, but immediately jumped off again, yelling that he must retrieve his coat.  He raced to a bush and back to the van, with a very heavy-looking coat.  "He's even crazier about clothes than I am!" Lilli thought in amazement.  It seemed to take forever, but must have been only seconds before the man with the loaded umbrella jumped aboard and the van took off.  When they rounded the corner, at least three identical vans raced away in different directions.  The sound of hooves behind them told them they were being followed.
    Lilli and Oliver caught their breath and took stock of their rescuers.  There were two older men, one moderately well-dressed, the other clutching his precious coat.  The rest seemed to be an organized gang of toughs, not ruffians, but obviously used to handling jobs that involved violence.  The small, closed van was hot, crowded and uncomfortable.  Lilli hoped they wouldn't stay in it long.  She still felt a little queasy from whatever drug she had been given and the jostling ride wasn't helping matters.
     The umbrella man said something to the driver.  Lilli could tell from the noise that they were probably near or in the souk.  Soon, he nodded to the others and propelled Lilli, Oliver, and the man with the coat out the back and whisked them through a series of narrow, filthy alleys.  At last he ushered them inside what seemed to be the back of a shop of some kind.  A short, plump woman covered by black cotton and veils hurried toward them.  The umbrella man said something to her Lilli didn't understand and she disappeared.
     "I'm from the aerodrome" Umbrella Man told Oliver "I saw your kidnap and followed you.  Now I'm going to get you safely back to your ship".  He turned to the man with the coat.  "Thanks for your help, Henry.  I assume you're going back to the aerodrome?"
     Henri noticed that the man was more polite now that the situation had calmed down.  "Yes, I go to the aerodrome.  I look for passage there."  He turned to Lilli and Oliver.  "I am Henri Rousselle, at your service".
     The plump woman had returned with an armful of robes.  There was a blue cotton one for Lilli and light coloured ones for the men, including one with a deep hood for Oliver.  Lilli's outfit also included a headscarf and a veil.  She saw the logic of covering up her bright red hair and put it on without complaint.
     THey exited the front of the shop at a leisurely pace.  Lilli was exhausted from the aftereffects of drugs and adrenaline and leaned gratefully on the Frenchman's arm.  Oliver kept alert and was surprised to see Lakshmi through the window of a machine shop.  He pointed her out to their guide as another member of the Boheme's crew and insisted on going inside.  In truth, he was more interested in the contents of the shop than the doctor, but it was a good excuse to go inside.  Their escort raised his eyebrows as they stepped around the prone body of a large young man.

[Stella Gaslight]

As soon as Emma lifted her head someone in a hooded robe stepped through the door fallowed by three others.  They didn't seem perturbed in the slightest by the body on the floor.  Emma had to admit she knew little of Cairo and perhaps people strewn about was normal here.  Nether Lakshmi nor Ibrahim had moved from their places so these newcomers might not be a threat but that didn't stop Emma from calculating how quickly she could find cover if the need arose. Machines she was good with fisticuffs not so much.  She fingered the goggels around her neck if it came down to that she could let George take over for a while.  Emma detested being out control like that but if he could keep them all from harm so be it.

[Vienna Fahrmann]

     Lilli looked at Lakshmi.  The doctor seemed perfectly at home in this shop, so she probably knew the owner, as well as the petite, mousy-looking young woman.  "Dr. Marleybone-Smythe" she smiled "would mind introducing us to your friends?"  
     Lakshmi introduced Miss Lighton and Ibrahim.  She decided not to introduce Miss Lightons invisible companion just yet.  When she had finished, Lilli introduced Mr. Rousselle and Oliver, then realized she didn't know the name of the man with the umbrella.  "Just call me Mr. Umbrella" he said, "it's as good a name as any for right now."
    The mousy young woman looked a little startled at Lilli's title.  She wasn't surprised.  She knew she didn't look much like a countess at the moment.  At least, what most people thought a countess should look like.
     Oliver was looking forward to talking to Jessica.  He knew she would be interested in the artifacts Dr. Habib had wanted so badly.

[bluestocking]

Ibrahim's sons bustled about, arranging more tea and removing the unconscious crewman.

"Gracious, Lilli, I'm surprised to see you here. I had thought your goal was the newsstand?"

"We were... well, shanghaied, just after... Mein Gott! I forgot! The article... I still have to contact the embassy!"

"What happened? What is it?" Lakshmi peered closely at her eyes, which were still somewhat glassy from the sedative. "Lilli, you've been drugged!"

"I... yes, the woman who abducted us. She put her hand on my arm, and I felt the tiniest pinprick, then I was off in Dreamland. It was like moving through a fog. Nothing made sense."

"Roll up your sleeve. Show me."

Lilli obediently unbuttoned her cuff and rolled her sleeve up. There was a tiny pinprick on her outer arm, which Lakshmi examined for signs of a more lethal poison or infection. Seeing none, she pushed Lilli's mint tea closer to her.

"From your description, it sounds like a euphoric of some kind. The best thing you can do now is drink as much liquid as possible, to flush any residual traces from your system." She looked around the now-crowded shop. "It seems that Cairo is an unsafe place for us to be. Perhaps it would be best to return to the Boheme, and perhaps depart earlier than planned. Can contacting the embassy wait until we reach Kabul, or is it sufficiently urgent to risk a trip now?"

[Vienna Fahrmann]

     Mr. Umbrella looked gravely at Lakshmi.  He didn't want to reveal too much in front of these strangers, but was certain hiss boss didn't want anyone from the Boheme making unauthorized communications.
    "I represent your captains current employer Dr. Marleybone-Smythe and I think he would agree that the Boheme should leave Cairo as soon as possible and that ALL communications should be authorized."
     Lakshmi nodded.  She understood what he was trying to say.  "Do you have any idea why you were shanghaied?" she asked Lilli.
     Lilli shook her head, but Oliver looked up from prowling the shelves for interesting bits and pieces.  "They thought Lilli knew something about, hm, the Orb of Nuut, the casket of Opening, and the Obelisk of the Portal".
     At the mention of these objects, Ibrahim and his sons spat and made gestures of protection.  Emma looked confused for a moment, then her eyes widened as George began feeding her information.  Lilli seemed as startled as the rest of them by Ibrahim's  reaction.  They all stared at Ibrahim.  "They are ancient objects of evil" he explained "the person who owns all three of them may wield great power, but only at the gravest risk of their mortal body and immortal soul".  Everyone turned to stare at Lilli.
     Emma piped up unexpectedly "George says that you need the casket to open the obelisk and you need the obelisk to open the Orb.  They have traditionally been kept separated so nobody could open the Orb and use the Amulet of Anubis."  The newcomers were now staring at Emma, wondering who "George" was.  "He says that the person who fulfills all the conditions to wear the Orb of Anubis can communicate directly with Anubis himself."
     Mr. Umbrella was taking all this with with a large grain of salt.  He'd lived in Egypt for years and had heard all sorts of similar mumbo-jumbo.  Every story always involved booby traps and ancient curses.  From what he'd seen in the souk, the stories sold a lot of junk to a lot of tourists.  His concern was with the present, and the present involved getting the boheme underway as soon as possible.

[bluestocking]

Lakshmi had grown up in India, and knew that there was frequently surprising truth to 'native mumbo-jumbo.' She was now more anxious to get underway than ever.

She pulled out her watch and checked the time. Gracious, it was almost half-past three!

"I would then propose that we return to the Boheme with all due haste. Ibrahim, could Salma perhaps procure another hijab for Miss Lighton? My thought is that she'd be best concealed in a similarly-dressed group." The shopkeeper indicated that this would be no problem at all.

"I've arranged to meet Captain Hudson at Shepherd's for tea. I suspect that's the best way of contacting him; he was following some sort of errand-boy when last I saw him. If the rest of you head back to the ship, I'll find him and appraise him of the situation. With luck, we can be aloft by nightfall."

Exhausted from their ordeal, Lilli and Oliver nodded their acceptance. Miss Lighton seemed slightly uncertain about the plan, but willingly donned the concealing robe provided by Ibrahim's kindly-faced wife. Mr. Umbrella hung back.

"Will you be all right on your own, Dr. Marleybone-Smythe?" he muttered.

"I'll be fine, sir. I am neither defenseless nor unknown in this city, and the hotel is not far. If it would ease your mind, I'll ask one of Ibrahim's sons to escort me there."

"It would indeed, Miss. We'll see you back at the Boheme shortly."

"Indeed." She turned to Ibrahim. "Now, as to the matter of the items I requested..."

[Stella Gaslight]

George was a disturbingly good spy and the more he told of the orb the deeper the chill down her spine. She almost hoped he was making it up but judging by the others reactions it was all true. To think that such things yet existed made her skin crawl.  Emma was glad he kept many of the less than savory things he picked up from ever reaching her ears, the world could be a very vast and frighting place indeed. 

The hijab was a little too big but it was such a lovely shade of blue that Emma didn't mind.  She noticed an interesting reflection in one of the many gleaming tools and it took her a moment to realize she was looking at herself.  It was amazing what a change of clothes could do.

Emma did not like the way the man with the umbrella looked at her.  She was used to nasty stares but he made her feel a bit like a bug under someones shoe.  He did not approve of her coming along but luckily he was in such a rush he didn't seem to be doing too much about it.  She stuck close to Lilli and tried not to meet his eyes.

When she figured out they were headed for the aerodrome a sharp sinking sensation told her their was no way her meager savings could pay for a ticket.  Perhaps when the captain arrived she could barter her skills for passage.  Emma would gladly sell the clothes off her back if it would get her safely in the air.

[Sir Nikolas Vendigroth]

It was 2PM, and Underwood desparately needed to sleep. The pot of coffee that had helped him stay up this late in the day had been drained, leaving him nervous and fidgety. He'd stayed up this late only to contemplate Lamont's offer. Robbing the tower of london! But still, the rewards were immense...
After Lamont had departed, Underwood remained in Bucer's for a quarter hour, finishing his wine, weighing the pouch in his hand. It had the heavy feel of pure gold coins, and clinked invitingly, and puzzling as to how the note had vanished in such odd circumstances.
In his chamber, deep below the surface of London, where no sunbeam ever penetrated, Underwood climbed onto his drab bed and resolved to contact Lamont first thing in the evening...

Later....

Underwood stepped out of a non-descript side door, of an equally mediocre building in a slum. The sun had only just barely spilled below the horizon, and its mocking fingers still prickled at his neck. He set off to Bucer's at a brisk pace. He wanted to see Lamont early in the evening, so that he would have time to procure some supplies afterwards.
While walking, he saw an attractive, but somewhat downtrodden young woman standing in the mouth of an alleyway. He resolved to visit her later, but certainly not for the reasons SHE was expecting.
He arrived at Bucer's a short time later. Without a moment's hesitation, he stepped up to the bar and said in a voice barely audiable over the background hum:
"Shandy. Quickly."

[AFGNCAAP]

Orbs...amulets...something Egyptian was going on that made Henri's head spin, even not counting the accents...nearly one per person. He only cared about one thing at the time.
Reflexively, he put his hand in his pocket and confirmed that the message was still there.
I almost lost you...
Really, if he had another pocket anywhere else on his dusty clothes, he would have thrown out the coat immediately; the heat was suffocating without it.
"Employer of their captain, Monsieur Umbrella?" He had decided a while ago that he would never use this man's real name. Never, and he prayed beneath his cool facade that he would not have to remember this rule for long. "You have put me through such commotion since I asked a favor of such an employer hours ago that I nearly forgot," he said sarcastically. He paused; the heat felt like it was boring into his head. Feeling a pang of nausea, and rolled up the sleeves of his coat--it did not help. If he couldn't take this Boheme out of here, his next destination would be whatever Cairo had for a hospital. He leaned into the Umbrella Man, half out of weakness. "Is this man of yours better, I said, than the one who flew me to Cairo rather than London?"

"Quite positive...though your story gave me the impression that it was you who took the wrong ship."

Henri counted to ten under his breath, Demetri's faraway voice pestering him in his head about how embarrassingly dark red his face turned when he let himself get angry. Was in a hurry...you would have been too. And I still am. Dear God, please let them cooperate... "If what I hear is true and the Boheme is en route to London, I have nothing to pay, but offer their ship whatever services they might ask of me. To get the urgent message I carry to my nephew, I'd spend the entire voyage counting stars or scrubbing floors." He said it all in a monotone, desperate to control himself.

"But," continued Umbrella Man, "the final decision on letting you aboard is up to the crew."

Don't say a word...take a hint from poor Demetri.

[Ben Hudson, Esq.]

Ben turned, but the hand which fell on his shoulder was just a passing stranger in the crowd. He checked his pockets as he walked on, and found nothing missing. A lifetime in ports had taught him to watch out for pickpockets. He pulled his half-hunter watch from his waistcoat pocket, and saw that it was nearly quarter to four.

He collared a passing urchin. There seemed to be a lot of them around. 'Could you direct me to Shepherd's, boy?' He pressed a small coin into his grubby hand. The child pocketed it and pointed to a row of brick buildings some distance away, the other side of the souk. Ben thanked him, and left. After a while, the market ended, and there was a short stretch of paved path before the tea-shop. There were several covered tables outside, but the afternoon heat was still rising, and Ben was tired. He went inside.

The interior was thankfully cooler. Metal ducts carrying cold air from ice-block convectors in the cellars kept the temperature slightly more comfortable. The ceiling and walls were covered with colourful cotton drapes, similar to those sold on the market. He sat down in a wicker chair, and waited for Lakshmi.

[bluestocking]

On her way through the souk (trailed by Ibrahim's hulking older son Faisal), Lakshmi stopped at a small stall and bought a jar containing a bright-green powder. She had noticed how greatly the blue headscarf had changed Miss Lighton's appearance, and had a few ideas in that regard.

She finally reached Shepherd's and gave Faisal a generous tip. Though the large plate-glass window, she could see Captain Hudson relaxing in a wicker chair. She swept into the blessedly cool, dark interior and joined him at his table.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting; has it been long?" she asked as she sat.

Her voice appeared to jolt him from a reverie. "No, not at all. I just got here myself."

"Oh, good." She nodded to the waiting factotum, who brought a steaming pot of Darjeeling. "It's been an interesting day; we'll have to keep this brief." As she poured out, she recounted the tale of the crew's adventures.

"...so as you see, we may wish to get underway with alacrity. Cairo, I fear, has not been the most hospitable city for us."

"I agree; that's quite a day! I had the dockmaster arrange for fueling and such before I left, so it should be feasible to depart by nightfall. Now, before we left the aerodrome, you said you had something to discuss with me. What was it?"

She reached into her reticule and pulled out a small notebook, and envelope, and a magnifying glass. "Two things, actually; the first is this." She opened the envelope and pulled out a single hair with a small tag of adhesive tape wrapped around one end. "This is the hair we retrieved from the escaped assailant. Look at it under the glass."

He obeyed. "For what am I looking?"

She pulled one stray hair from her neat coiffure and placed it next to the other. Ben re-examined the two. "Why, your hair is covered with scales!"

"Indeed, as is that of every human. The one we retrieved from our mysterious Russian assailant, though, is perfectly smooth. It reminds me most of some of the extruded fibers made from liquefied cotton shards."

"Egad! So you're telling me that our man..."

"Was either wearing a very odd wig - which, considering his tussles with Miss Lilli and yourself, I somehow doubt - or was not exactly what one might call 'human.' Speaking of Miss Lilli, that's the other thing, and I think the more worrisome, considering today's events..."

[HAC]

Underwood stood, looking at his shandy... How do people drink that stuff? No wonder the barkeep had looked oddly at him, still. it was the watchword..  He waited a bit, and experimentally took a sip..  After a short time, he felt a tug at his sleeve. Looking down he saw a small, street urchin.
 "man ter sees ya, booth in he back" said the urchin, and pointed.
Underwood could make out a figure sitting in the shadows of teh booth. Yes, he could make out that it was indeed Lamont. Tossing the urchin a groat, and walked over to the booth..
Lamont smiled, an un-nerving sight, and gestured for him to sit.. Underwood sat, and as if by magic, a barmaid arrived, bearing two glasses of red wine..
"My dear Underwood, " began Lamont. "As you have requested, I am here. You wish to discuss my masters offer? Is there something you need? Proceed, then, I am all ears..."
 Underwwod sipped at his wine, and began..

[SalieriAAX]

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAD HIM WITH YOU A SECOND AGO?" Dr. Pendleton raged at the youth, "How could you just lose someone?"
He looked over the boy's shoulder, where he could see the heavily-peopled grand foyer at the foot of a grand marble staircase.  His gaze shifted.  "Fine, listen, I need to see Mr. Everett immediately.  Go and fetch him at once."

As the youth tumbled down the stairs, the doctor turned and hurried back to his table, hastily gathering his scattered belongings and piling them into his leather satchel and under his arms.  Sufficiently laden, he spun about and almost cannoned into a very tall, western-looking man with a puffed-out chest and a faintly military air.

"If you don't mind, I haven't got time for portentious encounters with mysterious strangers." Said Pendleton, nervously adjusting his spectacles and avoiding eye-contact with the man before him.
"You're looking for Captain Hudson?" The voice seemed to filter down from planes high above the head of the stooping doctor.
"I'm... I'm not looking for anyone. Now if you'll excuse me."  he attempted a sidestep.
"The gentleman you're looking for has already left.  Perhaps I could be of some assistance?"
Pendleton steeled himself.
"Oh, I'm sure you could.  Assist me right into an early grave, I suspect.  Now I don't know how you've contrived to get the crew of that ship out of here so quickly, but you won't be manipulating me so easily, not in here. WAITER! Gin, please."
"Relax, Doctor Pendleton."  Pendleton met the man's gaze for the first time.  As he had suspected he had seen the man before.  He had seen him at the gala dinner the night before and again at his hotel reception.  As soon as Pendleton beheld the man's face, he saw him look to the waiter. Pendleton's gaze switched to the waiter whose eyes met with the tall man's.  The waiter nodded. The doctor's adam's apple raced up and down his quaking neck.
"Look here," he gasped "I don't know who you are, but your playing at spies and secret organisations isn't going to get to me, you hear?"  He refused the gin that was brought to him and, his knuckles whitening with their grip on his satchel and books, quietly went to introduced himself to family at another table.

[bluestocking]

Lakshmi tidied away the mysterious hair and magnifying glass and pulled out a small notebook.

"Lilli asked me to attempt to identify the substance used to tranquilize her prior to her arrival on the Boheme. She gave me a small swatch of handkerchief linen for the purpose. I tested it extensively, to no avail, until I attempted chromatography. You're familiar with the process?"

"Remind me," Ben said.

She took a sip of tea. "It's a method of separating various compounds in a solution. In this case, I soaked the linen fragment in water to dissolve any chemicals which may have adhered to it, placed a drop of the resultant solution on a strip of specially-prepared paper, and placed one end of the paper in a solvent solution. As the solvent saturated the paper, the various chemicals were absorbed at different rates..." She noticed that she was losing Ben's attention. "The details of the procedure are unimportant. The results, however... I was strongly reminded of a similar experiment I had performed during my training in Ayurvedic medicine. Look."

Ben examined the notebook. Two strips of paper were affixed to the top of the page. One was yellow with age, the other fresh, but the patterns on them were identical even to his untrained eye. Below were extensive notes written in a strange alphabet.

"The one on the left is from Lilli's fragment; the other is from a study I did on poisons and drugs in use by various cults dedicated to the goddess Kali. That someone in London had access to it in any form is disturbing enough; I had thought that particular drug, a fast-acting narcotic used in abductions, was only available in the form of a bright reddish-orange liquid, but the linen Lilli gave me was unstained. You can also tell from the saturation of colors on the chromatography strips the relative strengths of the compounds; as you can see, the sample with which she provided me was far more potent than the drug in its usual form. There's also the matter of her weapon of choice; in India, the garotte is widely used by the Thugee cult, some of the most violent followers of Mother Kali. The skill and expertise with which she uses it makes me believe that she may have had some contact with members of that cult."

"All right - so you think Lilli is somehow mixed up with the followers of this evil goddess..."

She shook her head. "No, Kali isn't evil. She's the force of destruction that gives birth to new creation, and that's necessary for life. It's just that some of her followers... take the destruction side to great extremes." She took another sip of her tea. "I'm not saying that I think Lilli's evil, or any sort of threat; I just worry about some of her acquaintances, or possibly enemies. I'm telling you this because if she does, indeed, have the sort of enemies I believe she might, they may not have any scruples about causing harm to those around her."

"Us included, is what you're suggesting?"

She nodded. It was obvious that the entire conversation was troubling her. "Quite." She sorted a few coins out of her reticule and dropped them on the table. "I think we should be getting back to the aerodrome."

[Stella Gaslight]

Cairo aeroport was the largest place Emma had ever seen.  She had thought the Paris docks were grand but they paled in comparison to this.   It was like all humanity swarmed beneath a sky of Nouveau tiling.  Emma was glad Oliver was so tall because she was nearly swept away by floods of arrivals and departures more than once and he made a very good landmark to catch back up with the group.  Perhaps she could talk with him later, he seemed like the type of man that would enjoy a scientific discussion.

Their was a mass of people waiting for the lifts but somehow Mr. Umbrella got them all aboard without a wait  Emma took a place as far from him as she could.  To part the crowd without a word like he did sent shivers up her spine.  The lift rose sharply and Emma clung to the rail until her knuckles were white.  She was sure she left her stomach somewhere very far below.  George tried to distract her from their ascent by pointing out some of the more interesting airships, secretly glad he had no body to feel the upward rush with. It slowed quickly and nearly tossed her into Mr. Rousselle.  She mumbled an apology but her head was spinning and the words came out garbled. How she managed to make it off the lift without tumbling to the ground is a mystery.   

The sight of The Bohème held gently in the dock knocked the dizziness right out of her.  The Eastern Star had been far bigger but nowhere near as lovely.  Its envelope was scarlet and gold, her brass rails gleamed with polish and the gondola was delightfully designed with lots of windows.  Emma wandered around the side to see just what kind of power this thing had in the air.  She broke out in a grin when she saw they were Condor engines a little older than ones aboard the Star but well cared for.  The Stars engines had been such fun to play with and she was sure she still had a few pellets of the power boosting fuel additive some where in her pockets.  Their affects didn't last long but they had one hell of a kick.  She leaned in closer wondering if the captain would allow her to optimize the air/fuel ratios.  The feel of a ships engines could be a very personal thing and she would hate to start out on the wrong foot with him but her fingers were nearly itching to open the safety panels and peer inside. 

George tells her to turn around Mr. Umbrella is there giving her the bug look again so she meekly abandons the engines and goes in the round brass door with the others.

[Ben Hudson, Esq.]

"I think we should be getting back to the aerodrome."

'Indeed,' he said. 'It's getting near to our departure time. I trust the ship has been refueled by now.'

The finished their drink, and left the money on the table. Outside, the sun was still fairly high in the sky, and keeping up the terrible heat. Ben couldn't wait to get back into the nice fresh, cold air. Slowly (for the heat and the dust rising off the desert made any effort exhausting) they headed towards the aeroport.

[Sir Nikolas Vendigroth]

Underwood paused for a moment before speaking. He inhaled gently, savouring the scent of the wine.
"I have decided to accept your offer. I am devising a few methods, but i feel infiltration is most likely to succeed. Obviously, a good infiltration takes time, but i'd wager i can have the gem within 2 weeks at the most."
Underwood paused again...and noticed something odd. Lamont had no heartbeat.
Slightly unnerved, Underwood continued.
"I did some research on Thomas Blood, the fool. He'll go down in history as a thug and a vandal, still, it's hard not to admire his enthusiasm. The only two things i need to get...what your master wants are the replacement item and a reccomendation, so that i can join the tower guards."
Underwood was following two trains of thought at once. The first concerned plans to infiltrate the Tower, the second, however, was more focused on the enigmatic Lamont. The man obviously had a secret, maybe a small device that somehow hid his presence. Then there was the issue of Lamont's master.
Underwood decided not to pursue the matter.
"May i ask for an adress from which i can collect the items i need?"

[Jessica Butcher]

Oliver, quite relieved to be back from his adventure, joined Miss Butcher; and once again ran over the possibilities concerning the owner of the hair. This time they came up completely blank. The thing was as out of place as a walrus in a concert hall. Oliver shook his head and put the hair back under the microscope. With a sudden soft "poof", it simply disintegrated into a pile of steaming soft ash, burning Oliver's finger. He shrieked.

[HAC]

Lamont smiled at Underwood, again, a most un-nerving sight...
"Excellent, I see that my master was right in selecting you. Any supplies you require can most easily be acquired. If you could be so kind as to provide a list, they will be delivered to you, at  a place of your choosing,  within the day. Should you need additional resources, simply come to Bucer's. There will always be a watcher here waiting to take word to me. My master of course, will supply all that you require.."
 Lamont looked oddly at Underwood, as if looking through him.. He smiled again..
"Do not wonder at what you do not find.. As I said before, I am descended of the auld people, the sidhe. I am changeling, left in exchange for a stolen human child, as is a custom of my folk... Like you, I am not entirely of this world. I must leave you now, for other business attends. Good day, Mr. Underwood"
Lamont rose, and seemingly dissappeared into the crowd...

[Sir Nikolas Vendigroth]

Underwood was unnerved. Lamont reassured him and scared him in equal quantities.
On the one hand, he knew that he wasn't quite alone in London's population of the abnormal.
On the other hand, Lamont came across as creepy, even to the practically immortal Underwood.
Brushing aside these thoughts, Underwood stood and left without finishing his drink. He strode out of Bucer's and relished the cool air on his face. He looked up and down the street and saw...ladies of the night...plying their trade.
He chuckled briefly to himself, and sobered up a passing drunk quite rapidly in the process.
He headed down a nearby alley and dissappeared into the shadows...



A short while later and a few hundred feet away, a pretty young woman walked down a narrow, shadowy street. The night had been kind, and she had made a good profit. She was returning to Bucer's in the hope of scoring another punter for the night before she returned to her bed. Alone, this time.



She never saw the gloved hand reach out from a pool of shadow. The only hint she got of Underwood's presence she recieved was when he grabbed the back of her collar and dragged her into the shadow. There were no more hints after that.....
Underwood wouldn't need to feed for weeks.