Damn sand!

Present: Cooper (Ian), Felix (Kevin), Gazala (Richard), Jean (Jeff), Mesmer (Shane), Wonton (Darryl)
Absent: Bernard (Jamie), Fleur (Steven), Jacob (Chris)

The morning sunrise was accompanied by a fierce wind howling across the desert and whipping up great clouds of sand that pounded upon Gazala's desert tent like rain. Sand billowed in through the many tiny vents in the tent roof and walls and settled over everything. Sand had gotten into everyone's shoes, under their clothes, onto the breakfast crockery, and had settled onto every flat surface available. 

"I joined the navy to get away from this blasted sand" grumbled Jean as the party ate breakfast and spat out clumps of gritty sand that had gotten into their food.

The previous night the party had revealed all to Tariq and discussed how best to solve the problem of the baby skeleton and the intense Mythos beacon that extended from the hilltop directly above the collapsed cave containing the stone sarcophagus and its silver encased skeleton to the heavens above. 

Tariq had told us that putting the three pairs of symbols on the stone as we did, actually created the beacon effect, and that the symbols would need to be rearranged into the correct alignment or many Mythos infused creatures would infest the area and eventually overrun all the surrounding region, including Tunis.

Rectangular ammo box

"What shape was your silver lined box?" he had asked Mesmer.
"Rectangular of course" Mesmer had replied.
"You idiot" Tariq had yelled, "The containment must be spherical for maximum effect."
"It never said that in YOUR book" muttered Mesmer.

We had figured that it wouldn't be too difficult to have a new sarcophagus carved, with an internal spherical chamber and a spherical tin box to hold the skeleton's ammunition case. The silver encasement in the current sarcophagus could be removed, melted down, and recast around the spherical box within the new spherical chamber.

"Peese of cak" stated Wonton.
"We will order from Heroux during the 9am comms" decided Mesmer.
"So, how big does this spherical thing need to be?" asked Cooper, always the practical one.

Wonton waved his hands around and said "Dees bigger"

Coopers vision of a tin sphere

But all was not lost. We got hold of a similar ammunition case from the small armoury in the back of our truck, and Cooper took some measurements. Mesmer did the numbers and confirmed the necessary diameters of the various spheres we would need and passed it all onto Inspector Heroux at 09:00.

After that we supervised (from the rear) the advance up the valley towards the cave. Every so often we would hear the violent chatter of the heavy machine guns as they encountered strange and deformed creatures who always rushed towards them with mindless savagery.

The machine guns were leapfrogging their way forward up the valley. One of the Tariq's gunnery teams would setup in a forward position, under cover from the gun setup behind them. Then the rear team would dismount their gun, carry it forward past the front gun, and setup forward. It was a long and tedious process but kept one of the heavy machine guns mounted and covering the other at all times.

Jean kept a professional eye on the two gunnery teams as they progressed. He noted that one of the teams was not as thorough as the other in their mounting and dismounting process. They did not always clean the gun barrel out fully as they dismounted the gun for moving forward. 

Figuring Tariq would be happy for him to intervene, and no doubt save the gun from damage and potential misfire at a critical moment, he stood right behind them as they stripped the gun down for the next advance.

When they again failed to oil out the barrel, Jean channelled his training Sargent-major and yelled out from right behind the crew.

"You stupid Arabs, do you want to be ripped apart by one of those bloody 'wolves'?" he screamed.
"Oil that bloody rag and ram it through the barrel twice, every bloody time!"
"Otherwise, this damn sand will get in there and jam your bloody gun" he concluded.

Then he showed them how to do it properly.

Sure enough, ramming the rag through the barrel twice pushed out a film of sandy grit.

"Damn sand" muttered Jean as he carefully cleaned off the rags.

Meanwhile, Wonton had noticed a skull from a dead goat that was partially buried in the sand, but seemed to be in a slightly different location every time he looked over at it. Making some careful observations in his notebook, and many sidelong glances, he quickly concluded that the skull was slowly sliding up the valley. It would slide forward through the sand, in the same direction we were advancing, in little fits and starts, when no one appeared to be watching it.

"Rrrr" Wonton exclaimed, "Deer is beeg wagnet up deer"
"Ass anyone ills seen weerd sheet?" he asked.
"I saw a tree get spontaneously sucked into the ground" replied Cooper.
"Dis wery baad" exclaimed Wonton, "We mus chop chop hurry"

[switching to précis mode for timing reasons, will subsequently infill with detail]

The gunnery teams notice an old Berber staggering down the valley towards them.
He acts a bit suspiciously and Mesmer is concerned about his intent.
He gets killed by Gzala and the gunnery team in a hail of bullets.
We find a strange paper with a Baal symbol amongst his shredded flesh.

We next encounter a "wolf" racing towards the group, which is also blown away and shredded to bone dust by the gunnery team. The dust looks to be sucked back up the valley against the breeze.

We spot observers on the ridge top above us and decide to clamber up the canyon wall and advance along the ridge to avoid any high ground ambushes. Will take longer but be safer.

We see two figures on the ridge in the distance, and once Tala's mirror is taken out for the night, Tala notes there are about eight creatures up ahead where we saw the two figures. In the night, two of the figures approach and attempt to sneak up on us. Cooper with his night vision skill watch them coming all the way and we open fire once they are in range. So one sided. They also have the Baal symbols.

The watchers attempt to set up some grenade traps for us, but their attempt is pathetic, easily seen and avoided, and put together with old and dud grenades anyway.

We see another "wolf" creature on the canyon floor and Jean mans the machine gun for the long-range shot. We do some serious damage, but the creature manages to stagger away down the canyon towards Tariq and the main following party.

While waiting on the ridge for the morning so we can rush down into the canyon where the cave is and be there to set up a decent defensible camp for the next night, one of Tariq's men hurries up from behind and requests we send one of the guns back to support the rest of the crew. Seems that the "wolf" we had shot up but not killed had given them a bit of a scare and killed a few labourers.

Strange dreams occur during the night, although the customary watches keep us safe from attack.

We descend into the canyon in the morning, with a little bit of trouble from the creatures guarding the area around the cave. But we survive and they do not. 

Achmed and one of the gunnery crews take one of the heavy machine guns off down the canyon to support Tariq, with instructions to fire a round after any skirmishes to let us know they are safe. 

The remaining team, including us, set up a guarded encampment at the cave entrance and begin the excavation of the collapsed rubble blocking the cave.

A burst of heavy machine gun fire echos up the canyon, and then silence. 

We all pause and listen for the "safe" round. 

"Oh dear" whispered Mesmer, a few minutes later ....

Two Tales

 Present – Mesmer (Shane via Jitsi), Bernard (Jamie), Gazala (Richard), Jean (Jeff), Cooper (Ian) Felix (Kevin), Wonton (Darryl), Jacob (Chris).

Marmalading – Fleur (Steven).

By Gazala

From Bernard's perspective

The skeletons formed around the throne, bowing in respect and worshiping King Bernard and his Queen Nephrim.

 

Bernard was smugly confident that he could not only rebuild and rule Carthage, but that his power could extend to Tunis and beyond.

The crown upon his head gave him energy and he felt invigorated with no desire, or indeed need, to sleep. His army was forming and Carthage was being rebuilt. The great library would again be the sought out by the scholars of the world.

He now had the relic torch Tariq so badly wanted. It glowed the green flame of mythos.

Should he return to his "friends" outside the confines of Carthage? – the answer formed easily in Bernard's mind – no – here he had power and he could extend his influence.

Of course, there was an issue. The Baal baby was the one thing stronger than he, and its release would see his power diminish. Tariq and his "friends" wanted to release that power and so they must be destroyed.

"Your majesty, there are intruders above in Carthage – shall we deal with them?" asked one of King Bernard's followers.

Bernard cast his eye above ground (a new-found skill he had that he could see very long distances as if he were there) and whilst the sunlight caused discomfort, he could see Mesmer, Wonton, Felix et al above following something in the dust (tracks).

 

"Not at this point" Bernard responded.

Shortly thereafter his acolyte brought a rock to him with a note tied to it. "We found this at the bottom of the eastern shaft, your majesty".

Bernard read the note, written in French. 

"We won to have descant wif you" signed Wonton

Bernard scribes a return note. " Faites venir Tariq à Carthage avec ses hommes et nous pourrons alors discuter de notre chemin à suivre" (Have Tariq come to Carthage with his men and we can then discuss our path forward)

"Deliver this" he commands

Moments later, a rock, with note tied to it, hits Bernard in the side of his head [ the stupid skeleton fumbled his throw roll to get the note above ground ]. It was the last thing that skeleton would do.

"You" Bernard points to a cowering skeleton, "deliver this note." 

"yes, your majesty" it quivers as it scuttles off.

Moments later, Cooper is stuck by a rock in the side of the head "ouch" he stammers.

"Ah, a nuver mesaaage" smiles Wonton "wot it say?"

More messages flow back and forth with a final request for Bernard to meet at the edge of Carthage at midnight.

Bernard smiles, his red eyes flickering – of course. With 1000 of my followers amassing daily and with their fearsome armour and weaponry, we will be invincible.

Disturbingly and creating some unacknowledged doubt, Bernard discovers that not only do his followers not like the sun but it destroys them. In addition, they are unable to cross the city boundary without shattering. "I will solve that problem" muses Bernard. "I am invincible. - I will be invincible. – I hope I am invincible. Am I invincible?"

Midnight draws near and the never-sleeping Bernard amasses his followers, dressed in all their finery and weaponry, and head toward the meeting point. As he walks through the rebuild of Carthage he smiles at the speed and quality of the workmanship.

 

He arrives at the meeting point to see his old party waiting. Wonton, the annoying Chinaman, is there fidgeting with his chop sticks, Jean the sailor man is fingering his sub machine gun, and Gazala is standing still staring with intent. 

"Her knife is dangerous", Bernard thinks, "I need to deal with that"

Wonton approaches "I wan ta tork" – "you need to giv us the torch and come back to us"

Bernard responds, "Why would I leave his magnificent city and my Queen – Bring Tariq to me and I will give you the torch"

"No, you come ear and gim me torch now to prove yourself" 

The banter continues for some time and at one point a frustrated Bernard orders arrows to be shot above Wonton's head. Upon that Wonton et al retreat leaving Bernard in the solitude of his own imagined grandeur.

From the Party's Perspective

Wonton spits the marmalade from his mouth. "Wot we do now?" he stutters.

We have reported to Heroux the "issues" at Carthage and he has issued orders for Gendarmes to guard the ruin's boundaries, and we are now back at the Calomnie de Tunis newspaper accommodation for a night's rest.

Jacob collapsed, eyes rolling into the back of his head and marmalade spouting from every orifice.

"We need to return to Carthage and rescue Bernard" says Cooper.

"Leave him to rot, it's dangerous" warns Gazala. "Anyway a few days ago Carthage and this torch were irrelevant to us – and of course Bernard has been for some time" she muses to herself.

"Nah we have to try" Jean says in supporting Cooper.

"Fuck me" mutters Gazala rolling over to sleep.

"Yes, please murmurs" Mesmer a little too loudly drawing a cold stare from Gazala.

The night passes peacefully, no shadow and no strange dreams - this being unusual in itself.

The next morning, we have a hearty breakfast eaten in silence. Clearly there is dissention in the party however the ayes have it and we return to Carthage brimming with anticipation.

Mademoiselle Pelletier will not come with us however Atwa el-Cid, her side-kick, seems keen and agrees to come. How can she resist Gazala's charm?!

We meet the Gendarmes who confirm they have seen nothing unusual. Sceptical, we enter Carthage and find bones near the boundary and 100s of skeletal footsteps around a further shaft down, some 100m from where we went underground.

Cooper's soapstone eskimo is vibrating constantly.

"We white note to Bernard" says Wonton and immediately starts scribbling. "Ear throw this down hole" he says to Felix who does so.

"I ask to have descant wif him" 

"A what?" says Felix.

"You know – a discussion."

"Why didn’t you say that?" asks Cooper.

"I Chineese – that why" answers Wonton rolling his eyes

We wait for a while and after 20 or so minutes Cooper is stuck by a rock in the side of his head. "ouch" he stammers.

"Ah, a nuver mesaaage" smiles Wonton "wot it say?"

A note is attached which says " Faites venir Tariq à Carthage avec ses hommes et nous pourrons alors discuter de notre chemin à suivre" (Have Tariq come to Carthage with his men and we can then discuss our path forward). Signed Bernard.

More messages flow back and forth with a final request for Bernard to meet at the edge of Carthage at midnight.

'Why are we doing this?" questions Gazala.

"He show goodwill" says Wonton. "He communicate"

"Ok let's meet him" confirms Jean "but what are we trying to achieve?"

"We try rescue him and also get torch" answers Wonton

A sigh is heard from Gazala.

The rest of the day we gather supplies, ponder Bernard's stupidity and debate meaningless trivia. We eat dinner and head to Carthage.

An hour later we arrive at the agreed meeting spot and ask the Gendarmes to guard further along the wall. Time slips by like the counting of grains of rice (which ironically Wonton seems to enjoy) and finally midnight arrives. 

Just after midnight we see a skeletal army carrying sticks shuffling toward us with Bernard wearing a crown near the middle. At his side is a skeletal figure and they look to be arm in arm. 

A figure behind them carries a torch with a green flame.

  

"Myfos" mutters Wonton. 

"Agreed" says Mesmer.

"I'm going to knife him if I get a chance" thinks Gazala.

Wonton approaches "I wan ta tork – you need to giv us the torch and come back to us"

Bernard responds, "Why would I leave this magnificent city and my Queen? – Bring Tariq to me and I will give you the torch"

"No, you come ear and gim me torch now to prove yourself" 

The banter continues for some time. Tensions build and we hear Bernard order arrows to be fired over Wonton's head. We can see no arrows however do hear the sound of wind whistling past and upon that we all retreat leaving Bernard in the solitude of his own imagined grandeur.

"Let him rot" says Gazala "He has gone mad"

"I agree" say both Mesmer and Jean at the same time.

"Ahhh I think I do too; we leave now" confirms Wonton.

We have decided to leave Bernard at this point. His skeletal army is too powerful for us at night and underground however outside the confines of Carthage and during the day – he seems harmless. 

"Wot now"

"I think we report to Tariq" says Jean.

"I agree" Gazala says "maybe he can do something"

"In the morning" complains Felix "I'm tired"

We head back to the newspaper and sleep the rest of the night. Without Bernard's snoring we all rest peacefully.

We head to Tariq's compound however quickly discover he is not there with one of his men confirming he has gone into the desert. Putting 1 + 1 together, we decide to head off to the south to where we know he will be – searching for the Baal baby.

The trip south involves much debate. Essentially, on one side is that we should trust Tariq and tell him everything vs the other view that we can't trust him and should question him why he's in the desert. Wonton of course leads this debate and is the voice of mistrust.

We arrive at the exit into the desert about two hours later and sure enough a camp is set up just off the road

 

An Arab guard approaches. "move away" he commands.

"We ear to see Tariq" Wonton states.

"He's not here"

"We work for him to fin torch – we have information. That man over dare know us" argues Wonton

After a quick conversation and some pointing and nodding the Arab guard returns. "He's gone into the desert. You can follow his tracks", he says pointing west.

We take off on what is a well-worn path by us and after an hour or so come to the entrance of the canyon where the Baal baby is buried. Tariq and a large group of guards are there. Scattered about are numerous bones. There has clearly been some "activity here"

Tariq strides forward.

"What are you doing here?" he demands

"We ask you the same ting – why you breach your word?" accuses Wonton.

An argument ensures – heated by not violent. "you not tell us truff" claims Wonton. 

"You can't handle the truth" barks Tariq

"How can we twust you then?" replies Wonton.

Over time more information is shared and tempers reduce.

Wonton wanders over to the rest of us who are nervously watching the exchange. "I twust him now – we tell him everyfing" declares Wonton.

"10 minutes ago, you didn’t trust him" proclaims Gazala – "make up your mind"

"I Chinaman, I astute judge of character" Wonton answers as he wanders off with Cooper back to Tariq.

Further conversations ensue, none heated and all quite civil. We learn that there was rumoured to be a cursed throne in Carthage (clearly not a rumour!). 

Tariq knows little of the torch's power but is a collector of items. He was also very keen for us to get the Gendarmes to stop snooping around, which were able to achieve with a brief radio discussion with Inspector Heroux.

"Ok we work wif him" says Wonton. "We make mistake wif baby – we put hieroglyphics in wong order"

"That’s Mesmer's fault" chimes in Cooper. We all glare at Mesmer.

"Not just me" splutters Mesmer – "Wonton too."

"Can't trust these intellectuals" accuses Gazala - "all they’ve done is cause trouble and give us the wrong information"

"What you know – you just woman?!" responds a slightly agitated Wonton before realising what he's just said.

Gazala smiles at him with cold eyes before wandering back to the truck to clean her rifle and sharpen her knife. We will be needing these she correctly guesses.

We slowly move up the canyon. Tariq is very cautious with HMGs ready. Just as well, as another large skeletal creature comes hurtling down the canyon before us, but is cut to pieces before it can reach us. 

What will come next? Can Tariq be trusted? What is to become of Bernard? Will Gazala kill Wonton for his comment? Soon we will know…….

Bernard the Foolish

Present –Mesmer (Shane via Jitsi), Bernard (Jamie), Gazala (Richard), Jean (Jeff), Cooper (Ian), Felix (Kevin), Jacob (Chris)

Marmalading – Fleur (Steven), Wonton (Darryl),

By Gazala

The skeletons formed around the throne, bowing in respect and worshiping King Bernard and his new Queen Nephrim. 

Bernard smiled in quiet satisfaction. His dreams of power and glory were beginning to unfold. With the crown upon his head, and sitting upon his throne, Carthage would be his …  and then Tunis would fall to his army of the dead.

 

3 days earlier

We are at Tariq's compound endeavouring to convince him we are worthy of his assistance without disclosing too much. Felix wakes up wiping marmalade from his mouth, while Wonton collapses with marmalade cascading from his. Gazala is back at the truck by the Tariq's gatehouse.

"We like Wonton like this", suggests Mesmer.

 "Nice and quiet" agrees Bernard.

"Perhaps we could sew up his mouth like Hafsa" continues Mesmer. "I understand that that enhances one's Mythos power."

"Although I think it comes with some complications" he silently muses

"Enough of this side chatter" Jean interrupts. "We need to make progress"

Tariq interjects. "I have a proposition for you" 

For once everyone is silent.

"Prove yourselves by completing some work for me. I am looking for an item in the ruins of Carthage – a torch with mythos – find this for me and return it and I will consider assisting you. In addition, you may have access to my library. "

"Plus, we want you to give us Naseeba" Jean chimes in looking at the marmalading Wonton.

Naseeba

 

Even in his state Wonton on marmalade Wonton sighs "Yaaas we won dat – I won dat – I won her"

 

"Agreed" says Tariq. "I want you to also ask Mademoiselle Pelletier, who runs a souk in the Tunis Medina, to accompany you - I think you know her?"

"Yes, we do," says Bernard. "But why do you want us to take her?" Bernard thinks this is very suspicious – all of it – why would Tariq want us all plus Mademoiselle Pelletier to go to Carthage? Surely a trap?

"Se is mythos-aware" says Tariq – "she may be of assistance" 

"Agreed!" jumps in Jean, sensing Bernard's hesitancy. "and one last thing" continues Jean (stupidly – it was a night for that). "Do you know of Baal Pty Limited?"

Tariq silently looks at Jean. "What do you know of them" he asks with an edge to his voice.

"Oh, not much" Jean says in a slightly higher pitched voice realising the stupidity of his question 

"Inspector Heroux put us onto them as they seemed to have procured a fleet of Citroens"

"They are a dangerous criminal outfit – I would stay well away from them," warns Tariq.

"Of course," states Bernard ending the conversation

We now hastily get on our way.

"Why did you ask that?!" angrily mutters Bernard to Jean "Are you an idiot?"

Little did Bernard know that Jean's question paled in stupid insignificance compared to Bernard's act in a few days' time. 

We get back to the truck where Gazala is sitting innocently. As we are preparing to leave one of the guards approaches.

"Do not let that bitch point that knife at us!" the guard says pointing at Gazala.

"It's ok," replies Jean. "She is my betrothed and Tariq has given me this cane to discipline her."

"Beat her now!" demands the guard. Gazala looks up and smiles at Jean.

"Not now," replies Jean nervously.

We drive back into Tunis and to Mademoiselle Pelletier's. A discussion ensues and she agrees that her and her assistant, Atwa el-Cid, will accompany us.

"Why did Tariq want Mademoiselle Pelletier to join us?" muses Bernard. "Something is wrong."

"Perhaps because he knew two women would make the chance of success far greater" proposes Gazala.

"Don’t be stupid" says Bernard. 

We gather supplies and check in with Heroux (who can't understand why we are going to the Carthage ruins) for the rest of that day.

That night, we have the usual but now lieu commun (common place) dreams about being eviscerated by Gazala, and also engage Tala about Carthage. She has a wealth of useless knowledge having apparently lived at that time, but not in Carthage.

 

The next day, we proceed to the ruins of Carthage at the harbour entrance to Tunis, about an hour's drive.

Carthage ruins

 "How are we going to find this torch?" complains Cooper. "It will be like looking for a needle in haystack"

Three of the group can detect mythos: Cooper with his soap stone, Mezmer with his Detect Mythos, and Mademoiselle Pelletier's Atwa el-Cid, with a necklace she is wearing. At 10m-15m range this means we will require considerable luck in searching the 5km by 3km ruins.

But, as luck would have it - mythos we did detect, narrowing it down to under a slab of rock. In removing the rock, we find a shaft going down some three storeys. 

"We should keep searching" says Gazala. "I don’t like the thought of going down there and we should understand our options"

"Nonsense", says Bernard who was becoming rather uppity in Gazala's mind. "We need to find this torch and return it and we have to follow all leads" 

"How do we know what this torch even looks like?" asks Gazala.

"Because Tariq gave us this sketch" says Cooper.

Gazala sighs as the rest of the group seem keen to follow Bernard's lead. Down into the depths of Carthage we go.

 

Cooper volunteers to be lowered first. He descends 30' to a passage running to the right and left. He listens and it is deadly silent [ he failed his Listen roll ]. 

Jean follows, and, to the left, hears movement.  He quickly engages his SMG before a skeletal creature appears from the gloom and moving at surprising speed. Jean lets loose 2 bursts and does 25 damage sending bone everywhere.

"What was that?" calls out Gazala.

"A skeleton" states Jean

"Stop being so nervous!" calls out Gazala. "Save your ammunition for something real." (note Gazala has never failed a Sanity roll and Mythos remains at -1. She does not believe in mythos)

The vibration of Cooper's soapstone eskimo stops upon the destruction of the skeleton. We lower the stone slab into the hole to block the right hand passage (and to stop some helpful passer-by putting it back and trapping us) and proceed up the left passage.

Jacob has also resourcefully realised there is a 35' ladder in the back of the truck [ Jacob used his Talent Resourcefulness ]  and so this is a much easier way to go up and down the shaft, especially if we choose to do so in a hurry.

Jean and Cooper lead the way, shoulder to shoulder. Mesmer reluctantly drags his slippered feet at the rear. The tunnel is clearly cut through a graveyard.

Suddenly a skull emerges from the side and launches itself at Jacob. He bravely fires his pistol (I think for the first time) and does 2 points of damage. Gazala, who is next to Jacob, swings her knife and upon impact the skull shatters. That sure is a useful knife!

The passage narrows and Cooper is now alone at the front.

Jean is clearly nervous and shoots the ground with 1 burst for 33 points. He claims a skeletal hand attacked him. Gazala snorts.

We continue to slowly progress and the passage opens up into a chamber with exits to the left and right as well as the one we have come in from. A sarcophagus sits in the centre. 

"Open it" states Bernard. 

"No don’t" says Mesmer. "Let me look"

Mesmer carefully investigates he sarcophagus and finds the words "do not open", written in mythos. 

"'Do not open', it says. Only those who can read mythos would see this. it is a trap to the uneducated."

 

We decide to follow his advice and leave it. We are all quietly happy Wonton isn’t here at this point as we would have spent 30 minutes debating the merit of opening it or not.

We proceed up the left passage and suddenly Cooper's soapstone starts to vibrate. Carefully we proceed but before we know it Gazala and Mademoiselle Pelletier are attacked by skeletons from the ground. Gazala hits one with her knife and it shatters but Mademoiselle Pelletier is hit for 8 points (a major wound but she's still up). Jacob shoots and does 10 points (critical) and Gazala hits it with her dagger – destroyed.

Mademoiselle Pelletier is too injured to continue [ Major Wound ], and so we take her back to the truck before proceeding. We reach an ante-chamber with no exits and with nothing of interest and so return to the chamber with the sarcophagus and proceed up the right passage… slowly.

Again, we are attacked by skeletons from the walls and floor. This time Jean, Bernard and Mesmer. 

Mesmer fails to dodge and takes 8 points [ Major Wound], Jean lets loose a burst and does 20 shattering the creature, whilst Bernard criticals and does 16 points also shattering his attacker.

Mezmer is attacked again and takes 5 more points collapsing. Gazala hits with her knife and the creature is destroyed. Jacob bandaged Mezmer and brings him around and we walk him slowly back to the hospital truck.

"Why are we going this?" asks Gazala.

We descend again, and this time enter a chamber with no exits but with an altar and a throne.

"There is strong mythos in here" states Atwa.

"Oh yeah, so there is" supports Cooper

"Be careful," says Felix "don’t do anything stupid"

"Would we?" says Bernard as he lazily takes a seat on the throne, feeling rather weary after all this walking.

Bernard's eyes open widely and a menacing red glare comes from his eyes. "Stay away from me!" he shouts.

"Oh shit!" says Jean as he and Cooper lunge at Bernard and try and grapple him off the throne. Bernard dodges and remains seated but points his rifle at us.

Cooper shoots and misses. Gazala shoots and hits Bernard doing 16 points – but the bullet deflects harmlessly. She then quickly retreats up the passage with a shot from Bernard passing harmlessly above her head.

We have a quick conversation down the corridor and decide to rush Bernard. Skeletons are appearing (emerging from the walls) around him – worshiping him, and so we decide Jean will go first and use his SMG, and we will try and create a path to Bernard so Gazala can use her knife. The plans of Mice and Men.

We charge in – Bernard lifts his hand and a bolt of lightning hits Jean in the chest knocking him back and unconscious (17 points of damage). Cooper bravely grabs Jean as he retreats. We regroup and Jacob attends to Jean's wounds.  [ In hindsight, with this huge damage, Jean should have outright died – if you take more than your total hit points in one hit you die. However this lightning damage should have been 4D6 and not 3D10, so it was overlooked. Jean has a Major wound anyway. ]

"I will sneak up and see what's happening" volunteers Gazala.

Gazala fails her role and is seen but fortunately avoids the shot and scampers back to the others.

"Let's leave him," says Gazala. 

"Yes, bugger him," says Felix

We retreat to the truck and return to Tunis. We immediately report to Captain Heroux that we have discovered more creatures and he now needs to set guard on the Carthage ruins. 

[ Note: from Bernard's perspective, when he sat on he throne he had a surge of power and had no desire to get off the throne. With the crown on his head he realises he will be able to in due course. Skeletons are forming around him and worshipping him. Flesh is forming on the skeletons.

Bernard saw us as skeletal

He now has his Queen Nephrim sitting beside him – Carthage is his. He smiles ] 

 

Return to Tunis

 Present:  Bernard (Jamie), Cooper (Ian),  Gazala (Richard), Jean (Jeff),  Wonton (Darryl), Jacob (Chris), Mesmer (Shane)

Marmalading: Fleur (Stephen), Felix (Kevin)

By Cooper

Night Watch

This session brings us together in the Tunis desert. Felix and Mesmer slump to one side and marmalade encases their sleeping bodies.

The rest of the group are settling for the evening in their camp near the main highway. The evening dew is settling in on a moonless, but star lit evening. 

The first watch settles in. Always amazed at the immense beauty of the Tunis desert as the night takes hold.

[ A stranger appears (Shane out of game). This stranger, a short red haired man, carried an intriguing box. What could it be? Bombs? Grenades? Mythos items? Money? Even better than all that!!! Wine, lollies and chips!!!! The group thank the stranger for his mouth-watering gifts as he slips quietly into the cool night desert. ] Mesmer slowly awakens and shakes off the marmalade.

First watch hands to second watch (Bernard and Jacob). Jean awakens with a scream, arms flailing about. Gazala had just been opening his front with her knife (in Jean's dream of course). Through his panting sobs, Tala gets the groups attention and mentions a Shadow Creature behind Bernard. Not the imp the group are used to, but a humanoid shape. The Shadow is behaving very suspiciously, lurking with cold shadow hands caressing Bernard's shapely head.

The watch wake the rest of the crew out of their restless sleeping.

"Kill it" is the initial cry.

"No! Wait" Wonton exclaims, "Let's communicate. It may just want a hug and someone to talk to?"

"Great idea" the group agree.

In the meantime the creature has wandered out further into the desert away from the camp by about
30m. "You go out there Wonton and tap it on the shoulder", suggest the wider party.

"No way! Me not do that" Says Wonton with a sudden burst of rational thought.

Remember, the party can't actually 'see' the creature. Its location and actions are all translated through Tala (the mirror). Wonton did try a detect Mythos and could locate a glowing blob, approximately where the shadow was, but that is all - and only for 10 minutes before the detection wore out.

The next few minutes the party try speaking to the creature in various languages, with absolutely no
response from the shadow. It keeps its distance, but likewise, never acts aggressively. The group tried
waving and gesturing and got a good response with the shadow mimicking the party, as best it could -being a Shadow.

One different action from the Shadow Creature was to action the cutting off of its own head. The creature was clearly gesturing to Gazala. Pointing at Gazala, shaking the decapitated head at her. "Ok, so the Shadow Creature obviously has some kind of beef with Gazala" the group conclude.

Gazala moves toward the creature with her evil, ebony knife drawn. The Shadow Creature rapidly retreats further out of range. Another conclusion: Shadow Creature does NOT like the knife. The party surmise that it makes perfect sense for the 2 behaviours to be linked. 

Knowing that the Shadow Creature is both not a threat, and has probably been following the group for days, the party return to their watch or sleep and carry on through the night.

At some point Tala makes the watch aware that the Shadow Creature had moved back to the camp and was now behind Jacob who was on second watch. Its shadowy hands caressing Jacob in a dark embrace. Jacob felt a warm tingle of joy at this.

"Tala, can you describe how evil this Shadow Creature is?"

"Oh, easy" Tala responds. "Not very evil at all. MUCH less than Wonton, Gazala (her knife anyway) and Mesmer".

The Shadow Creature stands over the sleeping Gazala and imitates her brutal slaying. Kicks her, hits her. Cuts her throat. Nothing that Gazala notices of course.

The Shadow Creature moves around the group, giving everyone a good night caress.

Last Watch of the night goes without much happenings. Cooper wakes calmly with a start as the dream he had was Gazala skinning him alive. "Friking dreams" he roughly mutters and lights up a cigarette to calm the nerves.

Daylight

The party break camp on another glorious Winter's day in the Tunis Desert. Fine, dry and warm. Great day for adventuring.

At 9AM on the dot, the radio crackles into life as expected.

"Inspector Heroux calling. Anything to Report? Oh and by the way, I have a message from Tariq Nadir the trader that he wants to see you. What does that mean???"

The party jump on the comms. "Nope, nothing of interest to report. Not sure what Tariq wants? Barely

know the guy"

Heroux, "Ok, all good. See that you note all activities and report in as soon as you can".

The group head out into the desert toward the canyon they are all so familiar with. The truck is all

geared up and the party are ready to tackle the day head on.

"Why don't we go now, directly to Tariq???" Wonton pleads. "There is nuffing in the desert for us. Lets go straight back to town". Gazala eagerly agrees.

"Hmmm" the group ponders. "While it would be good to find out what Tariq wants, now that we are

HERE, we might as well check out the explosion site under the light beam and take that information back to town. Sorry Wonton and Gazala, we are heading to the valley"

"Ok" Wonton and Gazala agree immediately. [ Well, actually Darryl mentioned Wonton's desire to return to town EVERY conversation and at 5 minute intervals - without stopping, but I am not writing all that up. ]

After a short while of winding carefully across the sandy desert, the group notice a B2 Citroen moving

across in front of them - Left to right. Dust rearing from the wheels. The party quickly decide to follow to capture and question the occupants.

Cooper manoeuvres the truck on an interception course and quickly covers the ground to the escaping car. Interestingly the driver takes no action to avoid. Just stays on course. As the gap closes, it becomes clear that there is only one occupant, slumped over the steering wheel. No wonder there has been no attempt to evade.

Cooper gets the truck in front of the car and slowly applies the brakes. The car engages grill to tail to the truck. At the worst moment possible, the truck's left hand side drops into a sandy pothole and pitches. Everyone lurches in the truck, but the trailing car manages to wedge under the rear of the truck, leaving the trucks driving rear wheels off the ground, spinning in mid air.

The driver of the car is catapulted out of the car (an open roofed 'jeep') and slings loosely across the

desert for 15 meters. Ending in a squidgy tangled pile, covered in sand.

The group pile out of the truck and investigate. The driver of the car turned out to be headless. Roughly decapitated at some point before the chase. The car had a number of useful items:

• Small amount of money
• Water
• 1 set of Binoculars
• 1 riffle
• 1 can of Petrol (Party's truck is diesel)
• A map that showed a circle on an area in the canyon that was very much the source of the light
• column

While Cooper uses the jack and other advanced recovery techniques to get the truck off the jeep's

bonnet, the group cremate the body.

Eventually all carry on to the valley mouth camp site. Arrive mid day. Investigation finds the poor driver's decapitated head about 1/2km from camp. Many, many strange 'wolf' foot prints (Wolf is the term for anything Mythos and weird, including the ghouls, giant bone monster and anything else 'not normally explained').

The plan is to camp here at the valley mouth and leave first light to get to the collapsed cave sight for

inspection early, then BACK to camp before night fall. 12 hours normal walking. 6 to 8 at forced march. This avoids the valley during the dark.

Night Camp

The camp is set with the truck backed into a small defensible cliff face. Everything is secured and ready for a long night.

About 1 hour before dark, there is a scratchy scrambling noise approaching rapidly from the canyon. The party are on full alert and fully loaded, when a shambling Berber appears RUSHING at the group on all 4's. The movement resembled that of a monkey in a hurry.

Mesmer, Bernard and Gazala take the first round of rifle shots. Rounds go wild with Gazala and Bernard scoring lead on target for 15 points total.

As the creature enters machine gun range, the valley explodes with the rapid sound of a clip of

ammunition being dispensed. Terrific hit and the creature disappears in a pink cloud of human remains.

Total destruction.

A round of sanity checks passes with everyone passing with flying colours. All in a days work it seems. The group use some of the petrol to burn the squidgy pile of offal and meat that used to be a Berber warrior. 

As the distant sun sets in a blaze of orange glory, a movement in the distance draws attention. A large

'Dire Wolf' (shambling bone monster) passes by. No action taken.

Tala from the Mirror is awoken for a Mythos inspection;

"Um, this entire camp is in some kind of evil field? Its everywhere. A massive light pillar in the distance. Evil Wonton and Mesmer. Other than that, everything is normal. Ah, interestingly - the Shadow Creature is nowhere to be seen?".

The party know this is a hot Mythos site so buckle down for the night.

First Watch (6 hours):

• Jacob
• Bernard
• Mesmer
• Jean
• Tala from the Mirror

Second Watch (6 hours):

• Wonton
• Cooper
• Gazala
• Tala from the Mirror

Again the night is moonless and clear with the immense spectacle of the Milky way providing the only

light.

Not long into first watch, the keenest ears detect a bone crunching shuffle in the distance. Careful

inspection reveals 4 humanoid bone creatures quietly (as can be) sneaking to the camp. Evil is on the

menu.

The rifle team quickly and quietly signal to target one create. The one on the far left.

Round 1 - Blam, blam, blast - 3 rifles explode to life. This gets the attention of the sleeping party

members in an instant.  Only Gazala hits for a glancing shot.

Round 2 - Second volley with Jean and his machine gun.

• Mesmer scores 12 into the first creature
• Bernard and Gazala both hit for 10 points each
• Jean focuses on the far right creature and scores 36 in 2 great hits (17 and 19). Then scores 28 with the second clip into a third creature.

That leaves one humanoid bone creature, now rushing at Mesmer (We all rolled against luck - low is good  - and Shane rolled a 20! Oops). Mesmer is now in hand to hand combat with the creature and dodges as best he can, not being well-trained in the fighting disciplines.

Round 3 - Hand to hand

Mesmer takes a hit with a small injury. His dodging not as fluent as it could be.

Round 4 - Bring it on

Cooper, Jean and Gazala close in as shooting into combat is no longer an option.

Mesmer takes a large hit for 8 points of damage, leaving him on 1 point.

Cooper and Jean totally miss the mark.

Gazala with the black sword gets a hit and the creature evaporates into a dusty cloud. What the? That was good, but what the heck is that blade?

Jacob heals 2 points to Mesmer who is now sporting a serious wound.

Tracking the creatures reveals that they (again) sourced from the valley.

Gazala passes another sanity check and now knows that the creature was some kind of sandy dust cloud. Some weather effect obviously (not really).

"We have had enough of this. Its only the start of the first watch" complains the more timid party

members. "We will never last the night at this rate".

The group agree and break camp, moving 1/2km into to desert. They verify the 'evil field' is not in effect here. They keep going another couple of kms into the night desert and set camp again. More like find a flat spot in the truck and try to get some rest.

Second watch has the Shadow Creature return. Jean is disembowelled by Gazala (dreaming of course),

but otherwise the night passes uneventfully.

Valley Run

Day dawns bright and cool. Cooper clears the dew from the truck windscreen and warms the engine. As soon as everyone is set, the truck makes its way directly to the valley camp sight and parks. Cooper grabs a vital component for the diesel injection from the engine bay and packs it carefully in his backpack.

The entire group sticks together and starts its forced march to the cave site. Unfortunately, not far into

the tramp, Bernard starts wheezing and coughing (Jamie only player to fail his Toughness roll).

"Get rid of the poncy cigarette" offers Jean.

"Undo your cravat" Cooper suggests

"Stop carrying and drinking all that Cognac and Champaign" Jacob bellows.

The group slow their pace and eventually reach the collapsed cave site slightly later than expected.

The inspection begins with the following findings:

• Massive number of bony tracks around the site
• The collapse is still in place with nothing disturbed
• Probably 3 to 4 days to dig out silver chest with what the party have on them (nothing). Will need more organised effort to excavate the site
• Cooper's sandstone statuette is vibrating fiercely. Plenty of Mythos here it seems.

The party take all the notes they can and scramble as fast as possible back to the truck. The return trip in daylight is safe and goes without issue. Arriving just before dark.

The truck is safe and secure. Cooper reinstalls the component and the group jump aboard and head off into the night. They reach the main road and decide to just keep going while the going is good.

Arrive Tunis around 1AM.

Tunis and Meeting with Tariq

The party settle for the night. Catching a shower or bath and what remains of a good night's sleep.

Morning and the group decide what to do for the day?

"There is a lawn bowls tournament on at the moment, we should go to that" exclaims Cooper excitedly.

"Yeah, there is also watching the paint dry on the new church repairs" Gazala offers.

"Whatever we do we will NOT go to Tariq" demands Mesmer.

The party heads to Tariq's compound. On the way they discuss the plan and what to say.

"We should be careful on what we say" states Wonton. "We alway give away too mush".

"Yep" agrees Cooper. "That is because we are all retards. Just for once it would be good to just frikking arrive and start talking." he complains " Makes a change from pre-guessing what is going to be said and coming up for a plan for EVERY scenario. Such a waste of time", Cooper concludes with the flick of the butt of his cigarette, out the truck driver's window in a slick motion.

At the guard house, Hafsa, Tariq's young servant with the sewn-shut mouth who could see mythos pointed out the group's items including Gazala's knife. Gazala tries to charm the guard into keeping her sword instead of handing it in. Guard is not impressed and denies Gazala's charm offensive. Gazala decides to wait outside of the compound. The rest of the party continue to the meeting. The only Mythos items they have in possession (rest is back at the newspaper apartment) are: Cooper's eskimo Statuette and Mesmer's Amulet.

Wonton's dream: On the way in Naseeba meets with Wonton. Naseeba oozes "Oh Wonton, I missed you. We need to have sex - RIGHT NOW". Wonton is taken aback and blushes. He loves Naseeba so much.

"Oh Naseeba, I am so sorry. I am really going to have to disappoint you".

After they have sex; "So sorry.." laments Wonton.

The Meeting with Tariq

Tariq is his usual magnificent host. Offers refreshments and polite conversation.

Tariq asks immediately what the party know about the beam of light as he is aware the group have been moving around the desert, in that area.

"I have lost many men" sighed Tariq. "Many good men. Do you know what has happened to them?"

The party members all look nervously around at each other.

"Why no we don't? That area is very very evil and a group smaller and less equipped than ours would be in big trouble" suggests Cooper.

"Why are you so interested?" Tariq questions. "What is in it for you? Are you working for that Inspector Heroux?"

Bernard takes over, "Not exactly. He is a wonderful sponsor and we have a good working relationship with Heroux. We solve many of his problems."

"The recent troubles in the city were resolved by us and our motivation is to never have that evil occur again. That is why we are interested in the thing in the desert, whatever that could be?" Bernard honestly states.

"Why do we not combine resources and work together?" Bernard enquires.

Tariq pauses and contemplates. His hand rubs his chin and he looks upward.

Cooper asks "You mentioned you have a map of the area? Can we see it? How do you know where this light is when no one can see it?"

Tariq responds; "Sure here is the map. My youngling can see the column from here. We triangulated the spot to mark the map. I have sent my crews to the area but none have returned"

"Ahh" Cooper shows the other party members. "See, we were close" he fibs. "Seems that Mr Tariq is being honest. I for one would like to work together".

Tariq finally responds to the question on combining forces; "While I an intrigued by the idea, I have a business to run. You are a risk to me. I need to know more about you, your motives and what you are doing before agreeing. This is not a 'no' but a 'we will see'". Tariq openly states.

Wonton and Mesmer again try to convince Tariq to open his library to them. No luck this time.

Wonton again asks about Hafsa, the girl with the sewn-shut mouth, "Why you do this? Is bad."

Tariq calmly replies, "Well, it is part of a ceremony we performed years ago. It allows the child to see Mythos permanently".

The group eagerly look at each other. "Ahh" says Jacob. "Lets do that then. Trade Wonton's tongue and speaking ability for Wonton to have Mythos 19!!! Win / win for sure"

With that the session finishes

We Made a Big Mistake

Present:  Bernard (Jamie), Cooper (Ian),  Gazala (Richard), Jean (Jeff), Mesmer (Shane), Wonton (Darryl)

Marmalading: Fleur (Stephen), Felix (Kevin), Jacob (Chris) 

BY Gazala.

The Gods continued to chuckle as Mezmer strode boldly back down the canyon with Gazala muttering behind him, Wonton proclaiming "this is da wong ting to do" while Felix scuttled to catch up.

As luck would have it though, Mesmer and Felix collapsed 200m down the canyon with marmalade pouring from their mouths. "see I towld you" says Wonton. 

"Good" snapped Gazala. "Let's go back. I didn’t want to do this anyway. We've done all we need to do".

"Wheelie – I do not tink so" Wonton muses while Gazala stares are him menacingly.

Back at camp Cooper continues to work on the Citroen "Jeep" [Citroen B2] and Gazala offers to help. "Fuck off" says Cooper; "You are worse than hopeless"

"We should bury the bodies" Bernard says "they are beginning to have a very strong and unpleasant aroma".

"Let's go" says Gazala, looking for any excuse to gracefully exit from "helping" Cooper.

Jean and Gazala head off in the truck. "If we go about 10km that should be sufficient distance" speculates Jean. 

"And stay close to the hills so we don’t get lost" warns Gazala.

Jean drives off leaving the others at camp and Cooper continuing to swear under the Citroen

 

They drive 10km and find a suitable place to bury the bodies. "One grave for all four" states Jean, pensively looking at Gazala. 

"No, they each need their own grave, you'd better get to work" 

"I knew she'd say that" reflects Jean as he starts to dig. Several hours later and bucket loads of sweat Jean finishes. The bodies are lowered into the graves and Gazala says a few appropriate words after positioning several rocks.  

"Right, let's head back" Jean says as he hastily jumps into the truck.

"There's a sandstorm coming" states an emotionless Gazala "we can probably get half way and when it hits point the truck into the storm"

Sure enough in about 5kms the storm hits. 3 hours later it passes and they return to camp.

Cooper is again working on the car and this time with some success – "got it" he exclaims.

By now its only 1 hour until dark and we decide to camp that night and head off the next day. Mesmer murmurs something spitting marmalade our of his mouth. 

"Why aren’t we going back up the canyon" he says. 

"Because we aren’t" chime in everyone else except Wonton 

"I fink here are stwange tings going on" he says

 The night is not restful. Bernard and Wonton see Cooper twitching and wake him. He screams eyes wide open. "Aghhh – I'm glad that was a dream" says Cooper looking nervously at a sleeping Gazala. 

"Wot you see?" questions Wonton.

"Gazala and her knife cutting me open and removing my intestines"

Cooper refuses to go back to sleep and Gazala soon joins him on watch. Cooper keeps his distance while Gazala wonders briefly why Cooper is acting strangely.

The next morning, we hastily pack up and get moving driving the truck and the Cooper repaired Citroen. The truck tows the other. We arrive at the main (and only) road and stop.

"We need to cover our tracks" declares Bernard. 

With that we go back some 200m – 300m and brush away the tire tracks 

"That wont shop dem" says Wonton, who is still dubious that we have resolved "this matter". Mezmer mumbles his reluctant agreement.

Back at the road we drive toward Tunis a further 15km before turning off the road and heading south for 2 hours. At last we find a rocky outcrop where we abandon the Citroens. 

"Put sand in their fuel tanks" says Gazala.

"No no, don’t do that says Cooper at he looks to protect his handiwork.

"Ok" agrees Gazala fleetingly to satisfy Cooper as she pours sand into the tanks.

Safely back in the truck, we head Tunis. We are passed by several vehicles of no note but then see a Citroen B2 coming toward us with two Arabs in the front seat.

"Ignore them and keep driving" warns Mesmer. 

"Ohhh do not like" muses Wonton. "Dey look for something Mythos – we awaken"

Upon our return to Tunis we go back to our unit. The Calomnie de Tunis newspaper has reopened and the city seems to be returning to normal. After bathing and changing we head off to report to Inspector Heroux, as instructed (when we radioed in earlier he told us to report directly to him. Given we are no longer employed by him we liberally interpreted the term "directly")

We only tell him broadly our achievements. 

"J'ai besoin que tu répares quelques details"(I need you to tidy up some loose ends) " says Heroux. "Especially this skeletal hand that we have locked away in our secure storage"

"nous avons aussi quelques bouts en suspens. Nous aimerions connaître toutes ces Citroën. (we also have some loose ends, we would like to know about these Citroens)" says Bernard.

"I will see what I can find out" says Heroux

"Oh – can you also get us some more silver" asks Mesmer. (the group has decided that certain other mythos items – the hand and amulet – need to be encased in silver)

"I will see what I can do" says Heroux. "Now please deal with that hand"

"Can we have some weapons?" charms Gazala. 

"Of course," says Heroux staring longingly as Gazala's ample bosom. 'and you can have a coupe of my Gendarmes to boot"

We approach the storage area which is secured behind 2 doors - both locked. Cautiously unlocking he first we can here scraping from behind the second. Guns ready, Cooper bravely opens the final door but refuses to look in.

A stench, so foul it threatens to void or bowels, greets us.

"Whaaat are we doing ear? Who are deez pepoole?" says Wonton [ Wonton failed his Sanity roll and his sanity reduced to 9 when he saw the abomination that greeted us. The rest of us were unaffected.  The affect was minor and caused confusion for Wonton – none of us really noticed a difference. ]

Before us was a deformed Gendarme with the skeletal left hand attached. It shuffled toward us and we opened fire. With 79 points of damage (much of which was inflicted by Jean's submachine gun), it was plastered against the wall. (It is worthy of note that Mesmer was the only one who missed)

 

The hand though was still attached to an arm and is crawling across the ground slowly toward us. Mesmer steps forward and plants his slippered foot on it [ successful Brawl roll ] while Gazala nimbly used her knife to cleanly cut the hand from the arm [ successful knife roll ]. It stops moving.

"We need a safe place to store some of these items until we can encase them in silver" says Mesmer. 

"A bank vault?" Gazala asks

"You can keep them in this store room" offers Heroux who has now joined us.

That seems sensible and we decide to leave the hand, the amulet and the censer (albeit already encased in silver) in the room. The other items (Tala's mirror, the knife, Cooper's soap-stone eskimo and Mesmer's necklaces) we take with us.

We had a few things we needed to do. Bernard wanted to follow up the Citroens and decided to ask around his journalism contacts. Cooper needed rest and medical attention for his injuries incurred by the large skeletal creature. Wonton wanted to go to the library and was frustrated it was closed for a further 4 days. And we needed that silver.

All in all, this takes a few days and a few more restless nights. These nights are interrupted by dreams all involving Gazala and her knife removing various bodily parts of the dreamer. Everyone seems to be becoming cautious around the psychotic Gazala.

One evening Jean decided to talk to Tala in the mirror. After introductions are made (Jean hadn’t met Tala before) and whilst Mesmer was having a dream, Jean showed Tala the sleeping Mesmer. 

"There is a shadow behind Mesmer" says Tala. "It looks like Gazala" – Gazala however was sleeping like a baby.

Jean wakes Gazala and they decide to use her knife to poke the shadow, as they had done some time ago. This seemed to work a treat with the shadow immediately disappearing albeit Mezmer woke up screaming that Gazala was trying to kill him.

"Not yet " thought Gazala. "and it won't be your hand I cut off"

"You are safe with me" Gazala says to Mesmer.

"Keep away from me" says Mesmer cradling a rifle.

The other strange dream that Wonton had was one of a Citroen crashing into a large skeletal creature.

"I fink deez dreams are premonitions" says Wonton. 

Naseeba

Everyone ignored him.

"I dream of Naseeba, my bride to be" Wonton proclaims "I miss her but need 10,000 francs. Dats a lot of money"

 

"You cannot marry her" states Gazala " you must free her" 

"I Chinaman and she marry me" responds Wonton.

"You will free her" Gazala states as though there is no room for argument.

"We put on big banquet – lots of meat and rice – Chinese food - sweet and sour pork." 

"You don’t eat pig," says Gazala "you are truly ignorant."

"I eat wot I wan', pork good." 

The argument goes on for some time, Wonton taking some delight at Gazala's discomfort but not so much that he risks physical harm. Gazala stores this insult away for the future.

Meanwhile Bernard's journalism connections have discovered that the Citroen B2 "fleet" was stolen and is being stored in an old warehouse near the docks. When we say fleet, we mean 20 vehicles.

Heroux kindly supplies us the address and that the property is owned by a company called Baal Pty Limited with the directors being Iva Biggin and Midiks Enormous. Cooper found this hilarious and explains the joke in some detail to Gazala who he erroneously thought would also find it funny. Jean overhead the explanation and smirked with a sailor's carnal knowledge.

We scout out the property. It is clearly Arab owned and we decide to follow the next Citroen that leaves. 

"Why are we doing this?" questions Mesmer.

"Do you have a better idea?" answers Bernard

"We will be seen" argues Mesmer.

"I doubt it" responds Bernard. "We are in a non-descript and commonly seen truck, driving on the only road east from Tunis. Nothing unusual in that"

Citroen B2

Mesmer is silent in his protest. 

Sure enough, an hour or so later, a Citroen with two occupants heads out of Tunis travelling east. We follow at some distance.

The car travels to the point near where we exited the desert. We slow to help but they aggressively wave us on. We continue on for a kilometre or so until we are out of sight. We pull over near a rocky outcrop, put the bonnet up to make us loom as though we have mechanical issues, and set watch on the Citroen.

After not long the Citroen begins to head into the desert toward where the baby is buried.

"I told you something going on" says Wonton. "We should have gone back and removed those hieroglyphs" 

"You said you didn’t want to go back" corrects Gazala pointing out Wonton's hypocrisy.

"Did not" responds Wonton

The Citroen drives further into the desert and we lose sight of it. Night draws near and we set camp. The usual watches are maintained. During his watch, Jean engages Tala and shows her the night sky.

"Strong Mythos," says Tala. "There is a beam coming from those distant hills in the desert, shining straight up."

 

Jean wakes us and tells us all what Tala has said. We can see nothing however we know she has always been truthful.

"Oh no" says Wonton, "we make big mistake. Now beacon to all who know mythos. We need to fix".

Madman's Feast

This was all written by the AI of Chat GPT.

Provide you give it guidance, its results are very impressive.

Introduction

Madman McCreedy was a rich tycoon known for throwing lavish feasts at his sprawling mansion. These feasts were always attended by the crème de la crème of society, who came to indulge in Madman's culinary delights and to witness the depraved entertainment provided by his harem of slave girls.

On this particular occasion, Madman had decided to showcase the butternut pumpkins grown on the grounds of his estate, which were harvested by his harem wenches, naked, in preparation for the feast. As the guests arrived and took their seats at the long tables in the grand dining hall, they were greeted by the sight of the wenches, adorned in nothing but golden chains and brightly colored silk, as they used a complex system of winches and pulleys to lower the platters of food to the table.

At the head of the table sat Madman, a cruel and pompous man, who relished in the suffering of those around him. As the feast got underway, tensions began to rise, and it became clear that not everyone would make it out of Madman's mansion unscathed.

Invitation

 Dear esteemed guests,

You are cordially invited to attend a grand feast at my mansion on the evening of the 22nd. I assure you, it will be an occasion to remember.

The menu for the evening is sure to satisfy even the most discerning palates, with a variety of delectable dishes and fine wines. And as a special treat, I have arranged for the entertainment of my harem of wenches, who will serve and attend to your every need.

I hope you can join me for what promises to be a truly memorable evening.

Sincerely,

Madman McCreedy

Arrival

Bishop Pompous arrived at Madman McCreedy's mansion in his grand carriage, drawn by four white horses. His robes were adorned with gold embroidery, and he carried a staff of office adorned with precious gems. As he stepped down from the carriage, he glanced around at the other guests arriving, his eyes narrowed with greed and avarice.

Margaret Tannebaum arrived in a sleek black limousine, accompanied by several of her most prized wenches. She was a notorious madam, always on the lookout for new girls to add to her stable. As she stepped out of the limousine, she scanned the other guests with a calculating eye, wondering who might be interested in purchasing her wares.

Nonce Patriarch arrived on foot, his face red with anger and exertion. He was a local merchant, known for his short temper and violent outbursts. As he stormed up the driveway towards the mansion, he cursed and shouted at anyone who dared to get in his way.

Strepto Coccus arrived in a battered old van, which he had driven himself. He was a wild-eyed scientist, always on the lookout for new and bizarre experiments to perform.

The evening air was heavy with the scent of Madman McCreedy's prized butternut pumpkins as Strepto Coccus clumsily navigated his van up the winding driveway of the mansion. As he struggled to find the brakes, the vehicle careened towards the wall of the mansion, sending a shower of bricks and begonias flying. Madman McCreedy, the host of the evening's feast, stormed out of the mansion with a face redder than his prized pumpkins.

"You fool!" Madman shouted, his voice dripping with contempt. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to cultivate those begonias? They were to be the centerpiece of tonight's feast!"

Strepto winced, knowing full well that there was no appeasing Madman when he was in a rage. "I-I'm sorry, sir," he stammered, trying to placate the irate tycoon. "I'll make it up to you, I swear."

But Madman was having none of it. "Make it up to me? How exactly do you propose to do that? Those begonias were irreplaceable!"

As Madman continued to rant, Strepto couldn't help but wonder if he would even be welcome at the feast anymore.

As Nonce Patriarch and Margaret Tannebaum took their seats at the table, Nonce couldn't help but let out a growl of frustration. "Dammit, I can't stand these blasted fancy dinners," he grumbled, fidgeting with his napkin.

Margaret rolled her eyes. "Oh, do calm down, Nonce," she said, taking a sip of her wine. "You know how Madman loves to put on a show. It's just for one night, darling."

But Nonce was in no mood to be placated. "I don't see why we have to dress up like a bunch of peacocks and sit through these tedious courses," he continued, his voice rising. "I've got better things to do than twiddle my thumbs while Madman and his cronies prattle on about nothing."

Margaret sighed, trying to ignore the stares of their fellow guests. "Really, Nonce, you must try to be more civil. It's not like you to make a scene."

But Nonce was beyond reasoning, his anger boiling over. "I'll make as much of a scene as I please, Margaret," he spat. "I'm sick of these pompous assholes thinking they're better than everyone else. It's time someone stood up to Madman and his ilk."

As Nonce's tirade continued, Margaret could only shake her head in resignation. She had long since learned that there was no reasoning with Nonce when he was in one of his moods. All she could do was hope that he would eventually tire himself out and the feast could continue in relative peace.

Leek Soup

The first course of the evening was a rich and creamy leek soup, the aroma of which wafted through the air as the platters were expertly lowered by the wenches using their practiced hand at the winches. Madman McCreedy, the host of the feast, stood at the head of the table, a broad smile on his face as he welcomed his guests to the meal.

"My dear friends, I am so pleased to have you all here with me tonight," he boomed, his jovial tone belying the calculating gleam in his eye. "And now, let us begin with this delicious soup, served up by my loveliest of ladies."

The wenches, dressed in revealing garments and adorned with glittering jewels, moved smoothly around the table, ladling out the soup with practiced efficiency. The guests, dug in with relish, chatting and laughing as they savored the rich flavors of the soup.

Lampreys

As the second course of lampreys in aspic was being served, Madman McCreedy rose from his seat at the head of the table and addressed his guests. "My dear friends," he began, "I am pleased to announce that this evening's feast is dedicated to the most noble and ancient of all culinary traditions: the lamprey in aspic. For those of you unfamiliar with this delicacy, it is a dish that has been enjoyed by gourmands for centuries, dating back to the Roman Empire. The lamprey, a slender, eel-like fish, is cooked in a savory aspic made from broth, wine, and spices, and then served chilled on a bed of greens. It is a dish that requires both skill and finesse to prepare, and I am confident that my kitchen staff, led by the esteemed Greta Tannenbaum, have done it justice. Please, do not hesitate to indulge." With that, Madman sat back down, signaling to the wenches to continue serving the lampreys.

As Bishop Pompous eagerly dug into his serving of lampreys in aspic, he couldn't help but let out a satisfied moan. His pudgy fingers grasped at the slippery creatures, tearing them apart with his teeth and savoring the rich, salty flavor. Madman McCreedy watched on with a satisfied grin, pleased to see his guests enjoying the feast he had so carefully prepared. Despite the bishop's reputation for greed and corruption, it seemed that even he was not immune to the allure of Madman's culinary delights.

Margaret picked at her lamprey with a frown, clearly unimpressed by the slimy dish in front of her. "I don't know what Madman was thinking, serving such an unappetizing dish," she grumbled to the wench standing by her side. "I've had better food at the brothel." The wench, used to the guests' fickle tastes, simply nodded and refilled Margaret's wine glass, hoping to distract her from the unappealing entrée.

As Strepto looked at the slimy, writhing lampreys in aspic, he couldn't help but feel a sense of disgust wash over him. He had always been more of a meat and potatoes kind of guy, and the sight of these eel-like creatures, their mouths wriggling as they hung suspended in the jelly, was simply too much for him to bear. He tried his best to hide his disgust, turning his head slightly to the side and forcing a smile as Madman McCreedy regaled the guests with stories of his lamprey-fishing exploits. But despite his best efforts, Strepto couldn't shake the feeling that he was about to be sick.

As the lampreys were served, Nonce's face contorted in disgust. He glared at the slimy, wriggling creatures on his plate and let out a loud groan of revulsion.

"What is this?" he spat, his voice dripping with disdain. "I can't stand the sight of these things."

Madman chuckled, a cruel glint in his eye. "Oh come now, Nonce. You can't deny that lampreys are a delicacy."

But Nonce was in no mood to be placated. He slammed his fist on the table, causing the other guests to jump in surprise. "I won't eat these abominations," he declared.

Madman's smile faded, replaced by a hard, cold look. "You will eat what I serve at my table, Nonce," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "Or you will suffer the consequences."

Nonce's anger reached a boiling point. He grabbed his plate and, with a growl of rage, hurled it to the floor where it shattered into a thousand pieces.

The other guests watched in stunned silence as Nonce stood, chest heaving, his face red with fury.

Madman's eyes narrowed. "You will be punished for this," he said, his voice cold and threatening.

But Nonce was not about to back down. He squared his shoulders and met Madman's gaze with a fierce determination.

It was then that Margaret spoke up, her soft voice breaking the tense silence. "Gentlemen, please," she said, her tone conciliatory. "There's no need for this kind of behavior. Let's just enjoy the rest of the meal in peace."

Her words seemed to calm the men, and the tension in the room dissipated slightly. The wenches moved quickly to clean up the mess, and the rest of the course was completed in an uneasy silence.

Butternut Pumpkins

As the next course was served, Madman McCreedy called out, "To the winch, wench!" The wenches obediently began to lower the platters of butternut pumpkins, their muscles straining as they worked the winches.

Madman picked up a pumpkin and examined it closely, saying with a smug grin, "This butternut pumpkin is not the same as the other ones. It's the finest one I've grown all year." He took a bite, savoring the taste as the other guests dug in with relish.

Bishop Pompous, his face slick with sweat and grease from the lampreys, eagerly reached for a pumpkin, his eyes alight with greed. Margaret Tannebaum, on the other hand, wrinkled her nose in disgust at the sight of them, her appetite completely ruined by the slimy entrée.

Strepto Coccus, never one to hide his true feelings, openly grimaced at the pumpkins, muttering under his breath about the inedible nature of gourds. Nonce Patriarch, on the other hand, was in high spirits, his anger at the lampreys temporarily forgotten as he dug into the pumpkin with gusto.

As the feast went on, Madman McCreedy watched with pride as his prized pumpkins were devoured by his guests, his wenches scurrying around the tables to refill glasses and plate up seconds. It was a grand and lavish feast.

Trifle

As the final course of trifle was served, Nonce let out a loud sneeze and sniffled, drawing the attention of Madman McCreedy. "Ah, my dear Nonce, are you allergic to sherry?" Madman asked with a sly smile.

Nonce glared at Madman, his anger bubbling to the surface. "Yes, I am," he spat out. "I told you that when I accepted your invitation. You deliberately served it to me knowing I couldn't have it."

Madman chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "Nonsense, Nonce. I simply forgot. No need to trifle with me over such a small matter."

But Nonce was not placated. He slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his chair clattering to the ground behind him. "I won't be made a fool of, Madman," he growled. "I'm leaving."

Madman's face turned dark as he watched Nonce storm out of the grand hall. He turned to his guards and nodded. "See to it that he is thoroughly punished for his lack of manners."

As the guards set off after Nonce, the other guests looked on in shock and fear, wondering if they would be the next to incur Madman's wrath.

As the guests indulged in the rich, creamy layers of the trifle, the sound of Nonce's beating echoed through the halls of the mansion. Margaret, keen to distract from the unsettling noises, attempted to make conversation with her fellow diners. "I must say, this trifle is delightful," she said, picking at the raisins scattered throughout the dish. "I do love a good sherry in my dessert. Don't you agree, Bishop?"

The bishop, who had been preoccupied with shoveling spoonfuls of trifle into his mouth, looked up at Margaret and nodded. "Indeed, my dear. The sherry is a delightful touch."

But despite Margaret's efforts to steer the conversation away from the disturbing sounds emanating from the hallway, the thuds of Nonce's beating continued to hang heavy in the air. As the guests finished their dessert in silence, the tension in the room was palpable.

Coffee

As the guests sipped their coffee and nibbled on the dainty sweets, the sounds of Nonce's beating continued to echo through the halls. Despite the gruesome noise, Madman seemed undisturbed, enjoying his coffee and sweets with relish.

Once the guests had finished their final course, Madman stood up from his seat at the head of the table and cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentlemen," he began, a sly smile on his lips. "I hope you have all enjoyed your meal. It was my pleasure to host you all at my mansion, and I hope you will join me again for another feast in the future."

There were a few polite murmurs of agreement from the guests, although most of them seemed eager to leave and escape the sounds of Nonce's beating. Madman, however, seemed oblivious to their discomfort. "Before you go, I would like to thank you all for your delightful company," he continued, his voice dripping with insincerity. "I trust you will all have a safe journey home."

With that, Madman bid his guests farewell, and the group quickly dispersed, eager to escape the confines of the mansion and the cruel Madman McCreedy.