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[CoC: HotOE] Arrival in Constantinople
2017-Jul-29, Saturday 19:31
Dramatis Personae
Constantinople was grand but appallingly dirty, with dead animals and garbage in the streets, but the hotel was clean and grand. The party checked their luggage carefully when they arrived, and soon after they got a call that their lost luggage had arrived. Everything was in order as far as they could tell, but as they sat down the countess and professor felt pain in their arm and leg, respectively, that struck suddenly and did not go away.
The investigators discussed their plans for a time. They had been given no contact and had no leads on finding the Shunned Mosque or the Sedefkar Scrolls they needed for the ritual. They eventually decided to store the Simulacrum in the vault of the bank associated with the hotel, and the hotel staff transported it without incident. The professor, Radovan, and Rosaline went to the British Consulate to check for messages from Professor Smith or Beddows, and received one from Professor Smith stating that the Simulacrum required all parts assembled and the scrolls to be destroyed. After, they reassembled at the hotel, they went on to the Topkapi Museum. Unfortunately, the professor's Turkish was not good enough to read the museum catalogue, so they retreated in defeat. Their next stop was the Great Bazaar, a madhouse of commerce. The professor bought some souvenirs:
The countess and the professor still felt stiff and unwell in the morning, and after breakfast went to the museum. Feyar was there, and they entered and searched the catalogue. Listed plainly was "Scrolls, Sedefkar," with a note that they were not on public display. They sought out the museum director, Professor Azap, and the professor stated that he was writing a book about Turkish linguistic history and wished to see an example of 13th century Middle Turkish. The director was insulted, stating that the scrolls were an embarrassment, but allowed them in. However, the tubes he provided were empty, containing only a note:
On the way back to the hotel, it seemed like they were being followed by a Romani man leading a trained bear. As he passed, it seemed that he said, "Take care, my friends" in English, and the vanished into the crowds. Back at the hotel, as the professor scanned old newspapers, he saw a note about a murdered British office who had been killed by a couple involved in criminal activity, Charles and Evelyn Drake. The article mentioned a skinned monkey left in her room, which seemed strange. The cult had never been reluctant to skin humans before.
The next morning, they went to the market again. Listening to the local gossip, the party learned that the children were continuing to go missing and that the child of a wealthy European had also gone missing, so maybe the authorities would do something about it now. A young woman seemed to know about the mosque but wouldn't answer until the countess reassured her, and then she revealed that the Shunned Mosque was also called the Red Mosque, but then ran in fear. They heard the name of Beylab the Perspirer, who can find out anything. Feyar said he could not be trusted, but was willing to draft a message requesting an appointment for the following day. Next the investigators went back to the university to look for the whereabouts of Professor Sadik, Demir's uncle. They found an address and followed it, and after drinking tea in the sitting room, Professor Sadik arrived. He was unsurprised at Demir's death, saying that he always expected that he would outlive his nephew. The professor explained how a Demir had died and asked Professor Sadik about Garaznet and the Red Mosque, and while they did not learn anything new, they had the information they already knew confirmed.
After speaking with Professor Sadik, the investigators went to the Hotel Oasis to look into the Drakes' murder of the British colonel. The hotel was slightly run down, with a large man staffing the front desk. They rented a room, claiming that they knew the Drakes and asking after them. The clerk claimed he had never heard of them but Yan could tell he was lying, and the professor noticed the Drakes' names in the ledger next to two days in then Sultan Suite. That was there next destination, and strangely the door was unlocked. The room had been cleaned, but the mattress still bore bloodstains.
Down in the lobby, Radovan and Rosaline noticed that there was a tall, gaunt man who seemed to be watching them. As the countess pretended to faint to distract the clerk, the professor paged through the register and found that Charles Drake and stayed in the hotel many times, but Evelyn Drake had only previously stayed once. As the countess went back to the room, Radovan, Rosaline, and the professor went to talk to the man. He gave his name as Maurice Cotting and said he was a writer. He did not answer the investigators' questions, but Rosaline realized that he was an opium addict and might be more talkative at an opium den. They excused themselves and removed to a safe distance to wait. After several hours, Maurice left and the investigators followed. He went into a cafe, then out the back and into an opium den. They followed and sat next to Maurice, who was much more talkative now. He said he frequently saw the Drakes and that Charles Drake claimed to be a carpet importer but was actually a gun-runner, and asked for a share of the reward. The countess promised a share, and as Maurice floated off into an opium haze, the group left.
On the way back to their real hotel, the investigators saw the man with the bear again. It seemed strange, like the two were blending into each other, but when they looked again, there was no one there.
I don't really have any other comments. This is the last slow point, then it's all a speeding train towards the ending!
- Luc Durand, French Professor of Linguistics
- Radovan Venclovic, Romani ex-soldier
- Rosaline St. Clair, American Antiquities Dealer
- Valentina Durnovo, Russian Countess/Gentlewoman
- Yan Nikolaev, Bulgarian police inspector
Constantinople was grand but appallingly dirty, with dead animals and garbage in the streets, but the hotel was clean and grand. The party checked their luggage carefully when they arrived, and soon after they got a call that their lost luggage had arrived. Everything was in order as far as they could tell, but as they sat down the countess and professor felt pain in their arm and leg, respectively, that struck suddenly and did not go away.
The investigators discussed their plans for a time. They had been given no contact and had no leads on finding the Shunned Mosque or the Sedefkar Scrolls they needed for the ritual. They eventually decided to store the Simulacrum in the vault of the bank associated with the hotel, and the hotel staff transported it without incident. The professor, Radovan, and Rosaline went to the British Consulate to check for messages from Professor Smith or Beddows, and received one from Professor Smith stating that the Simulacrum required all parts assembled and the scrolls to be destroyed. After, they reassembled at the hotel, they went on to the Topkapi Museum. Unfortunately, the professor's Turkish was not good enough to read the museum catalogue, so they retreated in defeat. Their next stop was the Great Bazaar, a madhouse of commerce. The professor bought some souvenirs:
Me: "I buy some souvenir garbage for my children."As they approached the scribes' section, they saw five Turkish men approaching them quickly and with purpose. Yan waved at them, but they continued around him toward a young scribe and began to smash his possessions. Rosaline screamed for help, the professor asked the men what the scribe's was and received a gruff reply that it is none of his business. After half a minute of beating, the men left and Rosaline hurried over to check his wounds. The scribe, Feyar, explained that the men had business with the government that went badly through no fault of his own, and offered his services. The investigators accepted, told him to meet them at the museum tomorrow, and win back to dinner at the hotel. After dinner, the professor scanned a local newspaper and noticed an article about a rash of child kidnappings. Greeks were suspected, but the group thought the Brotherhood of the Skin was more likely.mutantur: "Your beloved children."
The countess and the professor still felt stiff and unwell in the morning, and after breakfast went to the museum. Feyar was there, and they entered and searched the catalogue. Listed plainly was "Scrolls, Sedefkar," with a note that they were not on public display. They sought out the museum director, Professor Azap, and the professor stated that he was writing a book about Turkish linguistic history and wished to see an example of 13th century Middle Turkish. The director was insulted, stating that the scrolls were an embarrassment, but allowed them in. However, the tubes he provided were empty, containing only a note:
The director began consulting books, and the professor asked who the last person to see the scrolls was. The logbook contained an entry dated 1823 for a person named Selim Makryat, perhaps an ancestor of the Mehmet Makryat who had died three times in London at the start of their journey. With nothing else here, they left the archive. Yan asked Feyar about the Skinless One and Garaznet and the countess asked Feyar about the Shunned Mosque, but he had not heard of any of those. The screen suggested the university library, so that was their next destination. The professor looked up Garaznet, finding he was a Kurdish scholar four centuries ago, who had died without children and was buried in the Üsküdar. The countess looked into the Shunned Mosque, but didn't find anything matching the description from the records of the crusaders, and neither did Rosaline find any mention of the "Brotherhood of the Skin" by that name. She did, however, find a "cannibal cult" rumored to gather in a ruined mosque of roseate tincture. They left, with Feyar promising to meet them at the hotel the next day. After dinner, they went to a belly-dancing performance that was obviously designed for tourist pounds and francs.The Skinless One reclaims
what is his
Cursed be Garaznet the Thief.
On the way back to the hotel, it seemed like they were being followed by a Romani man leading a trained bear. As he passed, it seemed that he said, "Take care, my friends" in English, and the vanished into the crowds. Back at the hotel, as the professor scanned old newspapers, he saw a note about a murdered British office who had been killed by a couple involved in criminal activity, Charles and Evelyn Drake. The article mentioned a skinned monkey left in her room, which seemed strange. The cult had never been reluctant to skin humans before.
The next morning, they went to the market again. Listening to the local gossip, the party learned that the children were continuing to go missing and that the child of a wealthy European had also gone missing, so maybe the authorities would do something about it now. A young woman seemed to know about the mosque but wouldn't answer until the countess reassured her, and then she revealed that the Shunned Mosque was also called the Red Mosque, but then ran in fear. They heard the name of Beylab the Perspirer, who can find out anything. Feyar said he could not be trusted, but was willing to draft a message requesting an appointment for the following day. Next the investigators went back to the university to look for the whereabouts of Professor Sadik, Demir's uncle. They found an address and followed it, and after drinking tea in the sitting room, Professor Sadik arrived. He was unsurprised at Demir's death, saying that he always expected that he would outlive his nephew. The professor explained how a Demir had died and asked Professor Sadik about Garaznet and the Red Mosque, and while they did not learn anything new, they had the information they already knew confirmed.
After speaking with Professor Sadik, the investigators went to the Hotel Oasis to look into the Drakes' murder of the British colonel. The hotel was slightly run down, with a large man staffing the front desk. They rented a room, claiming that they knew the Drakes and asking after them. The clerk claimed he had never heard of them but Yan could tell he was lying, and the professor noticed the Drakes' names in the ledger next to two days in then Sultan Suite. That was there next destination, and strangely the door was unlocked. The room had been cleaned, but the mattress still bore bloodstains.
Down in the lobby, Radovan and Rosaline noticed that there was a tall, gaunt man who seemed to be watching them. As the countess pretended to faint to distract the clerk, the professor paged through the register and found that Charles Drake and stayed in the hotel many times, but Evelyn Drake had only previously stayed once. As the countess went back to the room, Radovan, Rosaline, and the professor went to talk to the man. He gave his name as Maurice Cotting and said he was a writer. He did not answer the investigators' questions, but Rosaline realized that he was an opium addict and might be more talkative at an opium den. They excused themselves and removed to a safe distance to wait. After several hours, Maurice left and the investigators followed. He went into a cafe, then out the back and into an opium den. They followed and sat next to Maurice, who was much more talkative now. He said he frequently saw the Drakes and that Charles Drake claimed to be a carpet importer but was actually a gun-runner, and asked for a share of the reward. The countess promised a share, and as Maurice floated off into an opium haze, the group left.
On the way back to their real hotel, the investigators saw the man with the bear again. It seemed strange, like the two were blending into each other, but when they looked again, there was no one there.
Annals of the FallenThis session was pretty meandering, because we arrived in Constantinople knowing that we had to bring the Simulacrum to the Shunned Mosque and recite the ritual but didn't know where the Shunned Mosque was, where the Sedefkar Scrolls were, what the ritual was, and didn't have a contact or any other way to find the information out. There have been in-game days that took multiple sessions to cover, but this one session was almost a week.
- Gianni Abbadelli, Italian Vatican Parapsychologist, arm torn off by čudovište in Vinkovci, February 8th, 1923.
- Demir Sadik, Turkish Revolutionary/Field Medic, devoured by the living lair of the Baba Yaga in the forests outside Orašac, February 13th, 1923.
- Jazmina Moric, Croat Linguist, killed by a thrown grenade during a battle with the Butchers at Sofiiski Universet, February 15th, 1923.
I don't really have any other comments. This is the last slow point, then it's all a speeding train towards the ending!
