Masks of Nyarlathotep 15

Monday, 16th February

Our train takes us to Paris, where we will connect to the Orient Express on the 17th to take us down to Istanbul. From there, there will be a variety of boats, coaches and trains to get us to Cairo.

We arrive safely in Paris, where we are booked into the Ritz. There is time to visit the shops and some of the cafes. I haven’t been to Paris since the end of the war, so it’s good to see the city in peace time.

Tuesday, 17th February

We are booked in first class, so have some rooms to ourselves on the train. However, there is an opportunity to mix with some of the other travellers, which include a theatre troupe and some RAF folk heading down to Mesopotamia.

There is also Max Mallowan, who is heading down to the dig at Ur where they have been uncovering libraries and death pits. We have a long and interesting talk about Cuneiform.

Wednesday, 18th February

We head through northern Italy, passing through Milan and Venice. That night we get to Belgrade. We can hear the coal tender being restocked, as the train stands at the station. I’m reading up on the difference between Hieroglyphics of different dynasties, when I think I hear a sound of someone dropping a glass from the room next door, but I’m not certain. Probably just the coal being reloaded outside.

Then there is shouting from Lefty, so I put on a robe and grab a hat pin before sticking my head out the door. Lefty is starting to try to break down Clayton’s door, and failing, whilst a conductor is hurrying along the corridor with a key. I stick my head out the window and call out for police since something seems to be going on.

Finally Lefty smashes through the door, revealing Clayton and another guy having a pillow fight on the bed. There is a glint of a blade though, and Clayton doesn’t seem to be in a great condition. Monty turns up, wandering back from the bar, and together with Lefty they pull the guy off Clayton and knock him unconscious.

The attacker was carrying a movie poster of one of Clayton’s films – “Tarzan and the Lost Pyramid”. He seems to have been a film critic, or maybe just an Egyptologist given what I know about the historical accuracy of Clayton’s films.

I try to check his wounds, but he’s a lot more badly injured than I had expected, and fail to stabilise him. Fortunately a local doctor turns up and is able to help. He highly suggests that Clayton is taken to hospital. However, Monty persuades the doctor to provide some nursing support until Istanbul rather than taking Clayton to hospital.

Before the station police arrive, we notice that the assailant had a white headband – though he wasn’t wearing it – with an inverted ankh. Maybe the cultists have found us.

Thursday, 19th February

We arrive in Istanbul. The English newspapers have stories about Clayton being attacked on the Orient Express. It must be a slow news day. Istanbul is in the process of changing over its government at the moment, bringing it under Turkish control. It is peaceful, and everybody seems friendly. I was expecting it to be a bit warmer, but it’s still a bit chilly here so it’d be good to find some of the famed coffee shops.

That has no bearing on our decision to spend a week here whilst Clayton recovers. There are markets to explore, as well as coffee shops. I pick up a nice lady-like knife to keep about my person, and also under my pillow at night.

During the next week, the assailant is found strangled in his cell with his bed sheets, which is put down as suicide.

Friday, 27th February

We take a ferry across the Bosphorus, ready to take a train for the next part of our journey to Cairo, which will take us to Tripoli. Dr Bedřich Hrozný is on this train, who I recognise as being famous for translating Hittite. I manage to have some conversations with him, and he’s very interesting.

Saturday, 28th February

We arrive at Aleppo, where we overnight. Whilst I am reading my book in bed, I notice the bolt on my door starting to slide open. I grab my knife from under the pillow, and sneak across to the door. As the door slides open, I stab and scream. I mean, I don’t want to appear unable to defend myself by just screaming, but I’d also quite happy to have help arrive quickly just in case things go horribly wrong.

There is a large man with a turban standing outside the room, who is surprised to see me standing there, but not so surprised that he isn’t able to block my strike. I scream. He yells something at my in Arabic, which I think includes the word “Tarzan”. My second thrust makes contact, and I cut him. He falls backwards out into the corridor. I think, more because he tripped rather than because of my cut.

I leap upon him with my knife, but he fends me off as others come out into the corridor. They pull us apart, pinning the assailant down whilst I collect myself together. Maybe I am being a bit emotional.

This train seems to have been expecting trouble, and there are some armed guards aboard it who quickly turn up and take my assailant away. I suppose he may have just been trying to deliver a night cap or something, but he should have knocked. He was also carrying another Tarzan poster, as well as a headband with an upside down ankh on it.

I really hope he doesn’t think I was Tarzan’s ‘Jane’.

Sunday, 1st March

We arrive at Tripoli in Syria, where we will be taking coach to Beirut. But that will be tomorrow, a trip which will take two days.

Wednesday, 4th March

We reach the British mandate of Palestinian, travelling along the coast road when we are passed by some fast travelling vehicles. I spot a passenger in the rear car standing up, and pointing something at the coach. There is a bang, and the engine explodes. Whatever they fired, was significantly larger than a shotgun.

The coach comes to a halt, and one of the cars stops ahead, with the second stopping behind. In the car behind us, they are setting up a machine gun.

I pull my rifle out of the luggage rack, and I join Lefty at the back of the bus, taking a shot at one of those setting up the machine gun. I’ve only ever learned to shoot birds back on the estate growing up, but despite that I hit a man, and he goes down. Lefty takes down a second.

Up near the front, Clayton opens up, but seems to have forgotten to load his gun.

Two more cars, plus a motorcycle with a sidecar come tearing down the road towards us. The passenger in the side car shoots at the guy with the large rifle, taking him down. Those attacking us, are wearing bandannas, as are those in the two new cars. Those in the motorcycle aren’t.

I shoot again at someone at the machinegunner, hitting him in the head. He drops instantly.

Clayton and Monty are shooting at the cultists running for the door at the front. I hit another in the stomach, and they go down straight away as well so I guess I hit something vital. Lefty takes down the remaining two approaching from the rear, though there is still the sound of gunfire from the front of the bus.

The two in the motorbike are Hargrove Thorpe and Richard Block, who we recognise from the cruise across the Atlantic. They are out here in a dig with Professor Fuda, and had come across the cultists whilst investigating another group that was harassing them.

We organise a trip on to our destination using the cars that the cultists had used. The other passengers on the bus are quite happy to get out of here as quickly as possible. Strangely, we find another movie poster with Clayton’s picture on.

We arrive in Haifa later that day.

We contact the local authorities, who take our details and head out to investigate. Fortunately, all the passengers on the bus are on the same page as to the fact that the locals attacked the bus, and that we saved their lives. The fact that the cultists were probably after us wasn’t apparent to anyone.

Thursday, 5th March

We head to Jerusalem to meet up with Professor Fuda. There is a small dig on Golgotha hill which is being run by the Miskatonic University. It is being run by Professor Fuda. They have found some inscriptions from the late bronze age, related to Carchemish.

He apologises for having taken the mirror from the incident on the ship. He had it destroyed, since he didn’t trust us, or at least Clayton, to have it. To be honest, I’d pretty much forgotten about that. He is also bringing things here to purify them and shows us a set of silver knives, which are designed to purify evil.

He tells us that a blade made of pure silver can be enchanted at a place of power, to help against evil. It’s the sort of thing that I wouldn’t have believed even a few months ago, but right now I’m not so sure. There’s been a lot of unusual goings on around us.

Saturday, 7th March

Finally, we reach Cairo. We are met at the train station by our dragoman Saleem Naziz who can arrange for our luggage, and ourselves, to be taken to our hotel.