Entry 14 - Shanghai: library research and intro to Brady himself!

From Lin’s house in the old city, we travel to the British-sector library to research the latest news offered by Lin. Turns out the “Gray” Dragon Island is a reef atoll sporting a dormant volcano. Surrounded by treacherous reefs that accounts for the small village of shipwreck survivors stranded decades ago.

It’s 6:30 and closing time when the librarian kicks us out. With a planned rendezvous at the Stumbling Tiger Bar to exchange news with the Japanese captain Isague, we decide to stroll past HoFong’s warehouse once more to observe security for the off-change of breaking in tonight. And there, tied-up behind the warehouse, lies the Dark Mistress, being loaded with crates! Field glasses reveal at least 6 china-men and another 6 stranger men with unnaturally long arms. We send Guinn to the bar to bring Isague, as the rest of us sneak closer (“We’ll observe till you get back.”).

Norman and Khatan sneak to the front of the warehouse, opposite the activities. James stumbles; drawing notice from the dock-workers. Who lose interest when James portrays a drunk. But during those tense moments Khatan has noticed the glowing eyes and cat-blink eyelids of the strange men.

With the front of the warehouse draped in darkness, we find an unlocked door. Confirming silence on the other side, we enter with Norm’s penlight guiding the way. A back office offers bland ledgers of expected daily transactions. Another door opens to the scheduling room. Another door reveals a simple bathroom with hole open to the river below. We finally chance the rear door that opens to the docks behind the warehouse.

Norman sneaks onto the dock hiding behind stacks of ropes and boxes. With field glasses, he reads English lettering on the crates (“To Penhurst, care of HoFong Enterprises”). But he also realizes why the bartender Fergus described the others as frogmen, when he notes blackish water bubbling from gills on the side their necks!

A momentary shutter before he signals the others to join him; James making it safely into hiding. But this time it’s Khatan who draws attention, stumbling at the surprised 2 inch drop between door and dock. “Sorry, found the door open and need to pee. Too much rice-beer.” The China men know better as they slowly lower the crates they carry, draw blades, and advance despite the doctor’s Mandarin attempt to calm the situation. James and Norm hunker down in hiding as Khatan turns to re-enter the warehouse. The Chinese split up; 3 follow him while the other 3 enter the open loading door to cut him off.

Khatan almost succeeds hiding in the bathroom, till the last china-man hears his breathing. Khatan silences him casting his spell to constrict the slant-eyes throat. The Dr. exits the bathroom, stepping over the dying man, as he returns to the dock. Anyone who speaks Mandarin would hear his pursuers, “Don’t kill him! You others, get HoFong. Our master would want him alive for his spell abilities.” Thus it’s 2 china-men following the doctor thru the door to the dock. Except Khatan is ready: he kicks the back of the opening door, slamming the 1^st china-man who sails off the dock! As a follow-thru, the doctor draws his magical sword (stolen from the astrologer), and blindly stabs at the 2^nd pursuer on the other side of the door. A gurgling sound confirms a solid hit to the man’s lung!

By now, lights radiate from the 2^nd floor windows as other china-men peer out with rifles in hand. And the frogmen advance. Which is Khatan’s clue to retreat back into the warehouse to exit thru the front door we originally entered. Norman and James realize they too are about to be discovered; so, they roll off the dock with a splash into the fast Whangpoo river. Relief no-one pursues as they eventually swim to the bank to crawl out of the cold water.

Eventually Khatan finds James and Norman; the trio stealthfully moving back to their original hideout. From there they observe a china-man hack up the dead, removing their appendages before tossing the core-body onto the deck of the Dark Mistress. Where the frogmen take over, reaching into the core to pull out the heart…and eat it! Cars full of more china-men arrive, but no sign of Isague. So when Guinn arrives, “Isague plans to shadow the ship as it sails in the morning. Too risky to try anything…Why are you guys wet?! And why is the warehouse lite-up with all those china-men running around?!” Per James, “It sounded like a good idea. At the time.”

March 5^th: A rainy day and surprisingly the Dark Mistress is still docked. About to get underway. At least the Japanese are in wait and watching. James and Khatan go to the library for more research as Norm heads to the newspaper asking Lee Wing Chang’s help looking for international articles that speak of cults or strange events. Mostly focused on Australia; Darwin to be precise. And there it is: 1920 expedition found an underground city, scaled larger than human. One expedition member claiming he led them there…”I was there in a past life.” And sure enough, the location matches the Bent Pyramid map with inlaid rubies…one over Darwin! Another 1921 footnote of a rival expedition team running them off. That team led by an older white man…the picture of Dr. Huston himself! So, the Carlyle team was not slaughtered!

As the group rejoins at the library, James notices we are being watched…the Japanese run off at our approach. But they are easily followed, leading us to a local restaurant. Where we find captain Isague sitting at a table with a European. IT’S BRADY! “I hear you’ve been looking for me. Danger lies ahead. I can use all the help I can get. And from what the captain tells me, you’ve seen some of the shit we’re about to face.” Brass settles into a long winded explanation of events he’s faced these last 6 years:

1.   I warned Jackson Elias these cultists play for keeps. His death is no surprise.

2.   Roger’s blackie girl was trouble. The source of his crazy dreams.

3.   In Cairo, Faraz offered up a map, drum, and statue of a black pharaoh. By now Penhew and Huston were acting just as crazed and transfixed, saying how they would meet a god as soon as they destroyed the “eye and opened the path.”

4.   Well the “eye” was the sacred brick of the Red pyramid Roger blew up!

5.   Two days later they slipped inside the Bent pyramid. Nowhere to be found. Then just as suddenly they appear. Claiming to have been to the “real” Egypt.

6.   At night they’d talk creepy lingo. Roger offered to show me the power he’d learned. A trek into the desert with a passel of Arabs. Penhew beating that drum as all screamed weird words and songs. Then creatures coming out of the sand to eat the Arabs!  Holy shit! And Roger and the others just laughing.

7.   Off to Kenya as Roger claimed to have found a true god to rule the earth…them ruling beside it as the chosen.

8.   Penhew seemed younger every day. Now goes by Penhurst.
9. Patty sicker each day – Huston claiming she’d been impregnated by a demon! That blackie M'Weru took her to the Kenya mountain where the crawler demon will be born later this month! Yes, the “Ides-of-March” as you say. A 5 year pregnancy! They say some animal parents eat their young. I'm guessing THIS evil will eat it's parent!

10.   I owed Roger. So drugged him and whisked him away in the night. Been on the run ever since. But Roger went off the deep end.

11.        I put him in a sanitarium in Hong Kong, where I ran into Nails.

12.        I sailed on for Shanghai thinking I could lay low. Escape the nightmare. Till that day I happened to peer thru my naval glasses seeing Sir Aubrey Penhew preening on the deck of the Dark Mistress!

              <Click on the image to enlarge for reading>

“I think it best we move across the river to join my small army. And plan our storming of the island to stop whatever HoFong and Penhew are up to.” It’s James who suggests, “Let’s stop at the astrologer’s shop. It’s along the way. Maybe we’ll find more of these protection amulets.” The shop is dark and deserted. The inside a destroyed mess. Lung’s hiding cabinet…destroyed and no sign of his body. But we do find 2 amulets and 4 scrolls that will come in handy warding off evil.

At Brady’s warehouse we find about 100 young Chinese. Believing they are preparing battle against the Russians who infest their land. “Sure buddy, sure. Whatever keeps you going.” We spend 10 days in training and preparation. Counting down till the kickoff of our planned invasion…and it’s collapse at first contact.