Gazette II

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28 April 1894

The fog is settling thick over London. Hey, it's London. Fletcher gathers the four of us into a conference room.

• "We have a client with an odd situation that I'm not quite sure what to make of. I called the four of you because of your recent success with the Saywell incident, and I'm sure you can figure this out. If you are willing to do this, I will introduce you to Donald Burell."
• "That's what we do. Let's meet him."

Malcolm leaves the room and returns with an older gentleman with a nervous air about him.

• "Eh, uh, hello. I believe you are the people to help me with my problem?"
• "Hopefully. What does the problem happen to be?"
• "I might be under a... uh... " (quietly) "curse."

At this point, Sophia brings out her deck and starts a reading.

• "A few days ago, a group of us were at an unwrapping party, um, and er well later that day, um, one of our number, Mr. James Goulding died of a heart attack. He was older, and a bit overweight, so we didn't think much of it at the time..."
• Sofia: "Are you married? Do you have children?"
• "Uh, er, no. And no. Um, so we thought nothing of Goulding's unfortunate accident. Tragedy yes, unexpected no. The next day, Susan Hix was out walking, and um, by um Canterbury abbey, and um, one of the stones from the abbey fell on her!"
• "Sir, who was the first to touch the mummy?"
• "Well, young Mister Carter was the one who brought back the mummy."
• "Who started the unwrapping?"
• "Er, it was my party, at my place, so uh, I started the unwrapping."
• "You're well-to-do? Your profession?"
• "I'm a businessman. Well, I uh run a bank. And, er, yesterday, the most disturbing of all, William Braddock was run over by a carriage! And from all accounts, including the driver of the carriage, the horse went right for him! And, uh, I'm concerned for my own safety and uh those of the other five at the unwrapping party. The others were, of course myself, Howard Carter who brought the mummy from Egypt, Braddock's wife Hazel, Hix' husband Peter, and Violet Payne from er, the London Museum. Er, Miss, what's wrong?"
• "So, why did you do this?"
• "Mostly on a whim really. It's the thing to do."

Sophia gets the feeling that the divination she's running is not completely about Donald.

• Sophia: "Are you feeling quite yourself lately?"
• "Besides the business with the curse, I've been feeling quite, um, well, really."

The strongest feelings Sophia gets about the reading are a split in person, a rebirth, seeking immortality, and crazy badness. Agape wanders in and decides she just... doesn't like this guy.

• Sophia: "Well, you're not crazy. You soon might be facing death and destruction."
• "Um, well, I don't think I'm crazy."
• Cliff: "Well then, what do we need to do?"
• S: Where's the mummy? And all the wrappings?
• DB: Um, we were disposing of it. It didn't seem important.
• S: Huh. The rebirth and atonement means we may need it. Does this museum lady read and speak Egyptian?
• DB: Oh, yes. Though Howard did most of the reading.
• S: And the results?
• DB: Nothing upsetting. Would you like to see it?

At this point, the group goes to his house, with the idea that we need to save the mummy bits. On the way, we run into a pen full of dogs. As we get closer, they go... crazy! Sofia realized that they were all barking "Kill! Die!" and Fei Hung goes slightly comatose after trying to see from one of the dogs' perspective. The dogs manage to break down the gate and storms the party! Donald proceeds to hotfoot it away. He doesn't have to be faster than the dogs, just faster than someone else.

Cliff puts himself between the dogs and everyone else, as Milton rigs up a sound grenade in the background. Sofia runs after Donald and forces him to... not panic. Fei Hung breaks himself from the bad vision, focuses his Chi on strength, then rallies beside Cliff. The dogs try to rush past Fei Hung and Cliff, so Cliff tosses one back into the pen.

Donald is now relatively zen-like, taking deep breaths and thinking about things... Milt tosses his makeshift crybaby into the mix, calling out "Cover your ears!" - the dogs frakkin' hate this thing and start whimpering unhappily. Sofia tells Donald to stay, then dashes back to the mix, making a huge flash burst around the dogs, blinding them! With the dogs now nearly comatose from sensory deprivation, Fei Hung and Cliff shuffle them all back into the pen and lock the gate again, tightening the locks a bit.

Donald suggests going down a side alley to avoid the dogs this time. Apparently, they've never been like this before. Fei Hung reveals that when he tried to see through a dog, he caught something more sinister and powerful behind the rage - a picture of a dark place with... glowing eyes? And the group continues on towards Donald's house. Which is rather large and buttled. We are led to the place of disposal of mummy, which is a bit of an icky pile with rats and maggots and such.

• DB: I disposed of him a bit away. Hrm... where did he go?
• S: Oh, $#!*. Did someone take him? We still have the wrappings?
• C: I can try to track it... It was dragged... this way! By... nobody? It dragged itself? Rats seem to have followed it.

The group splits up - Milton, Cliff and Agape go off to track the mummy, while Fei Hung, Sophia and Donald check out the sarcophagus. The sarcophagus is rather plain, except for a bunch of markings, mostly standard hieroglyphics. Right where the box would close, there happens to be a different script - Sofia believes these are Arabic enchantments. It doesn't look like a recent burn. Opening the sarcophagus, there doesn't seem to be much except a couple wrappings in the bottom, though relatively clean.

• S: They must have used a table...
• DB: Oh, um, yes, here in the parlor. (points)

Sofia finds that a powerful magic spell happened in the parlor. Which is where the sarcophagus was originally opened. Without magic - with a crowbar. Donald mentions that Violet reads Arabic and might know more.

Meanwhile... Cliff is finding that there are not enough rat tracks to carry a mummy. Eventually, they come to a small shack-like building filled with junk. And a cot. With a mummy in it. A very immobile mummy. Which Cliff strolls over to examine. It seems to be quite a dead, ancient, mummified corpse. As to be expected. But we expect the unexpected. So, in an attempt to generate the unexpected, Cliff and Milton start carrying the mummy back to the house, by using the cot-blanket as a stretcher.

• M: Mummies are known for sleeping during the day? Just because he's dead doesn't mean he's not ornery.
• (on the way to the house) Policeman: Er, sirs, you seem to be carrying a dead body.
• M: Yes, he's for a friend.
• P: And how long's this one been dead?
• C: By the decay, I'd say 2800 years?
• P: Oh. It's one of those. They should all be left in Egypt.
• C: Thank you for stopping us, I agree completely, I enjoyed our conversation, have a cigar.

(back at the house)

• Butler: Oh no, not that bloody thing again. It took me forever to clean the parlor. Put it back in the box please.

When putting the mummy back in the box, the letters have shifted because the box doesn't fit right. And Fei Hung, Sophia and Donald are not there. Agape is, and starts yowling. Resulting from.... the rest going to get Violet:

• Violet: What can I do for you?
• S: We would like you to come read some Arabic on the sarcophagus.
• V: Arabic?
• S: You didn't notice the writing on the side of the sarcophagus?
• V: No, we turned down the lights to set the mood. Why though?
• S: Some of the others involved have died, and Donald believes a curse is in effect.
• V: Ok. I need to let them know I'm leaving.

As she goes to inform her supervisor, a sort of shadow-being shimmers into form and strikes her with a sword, knocking her shivering to her knees. Fei Hung rushes over to examine her, finds that she's probably suffering from hypothermia, but doesn't really pick up much from the shadow-being. Sophia dashes over, commanding Agape to yowl, and channels positive energy into Violet. The shadow whirls around to strike at Fei Hung but misses. Donald runs towards the fighting as yet another shadow shows up in the museum. Oddly, he seemed to glance at the shadow before it appeared.

Fei Hung notices this, guesses that he may have something to do with this, goes invisible and knocks Donald out with a nerve pinch. Sofia puts herself between Violet and the shadow, and makes a blinding light pop up in his face - the shadow recoils back and starts to fade away! The other one dashes up to Donald and Fei Hung, seeming to notice the invisible Fei Hung. Who then fires a blast of chi... right through the shadow, knocking a rope barrier across the room. Sophia slaps Violet, tells her to calm the &*$# down, then blasted a light beam through the two shadows. One of the shadows manages to hit Fei Hung, who slumps slightly under the immense cold of the shadow-blade.

Outside:

• Ticket lady: Can I help you?
• Cliff: (rushing past her) No, I'm helping you!

Fei Hung manages to shake off some of the cold, focuses his Hadoken into the shadow spectrum, slamming the shadow across the room, and making it run away. Just... as... Cliff and Milton run in from outside! Violet is more interested now in making sure this stuff doesn't happen more, so we all head back to Donald's house. She takes a look at the Arabic, claims that it is "very old" and that it says that it is to keep the one inside to stay asleep forever. But she can't make a certain one out. Sofia manages to identify it as a locking rune, although it's been broken now.

Much in the way of planning and deciding goes on. Can it be relocked? Can we do it? Will we get everything if we do so?

• Fei Hung: Donald, do you remember what happened before I knocked you out?
• DB: That was you?
• FH: Yes. I saw something that made me think you were an unintentional threat. Do not take offense.
• DB: Um... ok. I was very afraid, and then I saw that shadow-thing.
• Sophia: Anyone in for an experiment? Let's go outside.

Everyone except Fei Hung and Violet (for protection) go outside. Sophia washes Donald in fear, just to see what happens. And he bails. As fast as he can.

• Milton: (leaping after Donald) Oh $#!*

Donald looks at him, and for a moment Milton feels very out-of-place, but he manages to shake it off.

• S: Do you see any shadows?
• DB: Nothing! Everything is out to get me, nothing... everything... wah!! No shadows... *gasp*

Sophia calms him back down, and Milton lets them all know that Donald has a disorient bizarreness with his eyes. Donald did see darkness for a moment before Milton got him. The fear-test group heads back in to where Fei Hung and Violet are enjoying buttled tea. Fei Hung convinces Donald to try a mind-scan. He starts to see through five sets of eyes! Apparently, two of them are Donald and Violet. And that fades out into the same black screen as before with the dogs. He starts to hear something... perhaps... "The sleeper has awakened, and will not be put to sleep again!"

The shock is enough that Fei Hung rushes out to the courtyard, sits down in seiza, and re-centers his chi for a minute or so. It's postulated that this thing is still waking up, so perhaps is not yet at full power. It's decided that perhaps we need to gather everyone, so that we can be a magnet of some sort. Perhaps killing all the people there will make it more powerful... The question becomes, how did it leave the first time? Donald suggests that with dog control perhaps comes rat control. In any case, we're gonna bring the victims participants together, come up with as many ways to deliver bright lights as possible, and go from there.

• Next - Gazette III
• Next in story arc - Gazette III