A Day at the Races, The Lady Vanishes & The House of a Thousand Blossoms

One and all arrived to drain the bar of Chester's London club. Chester was not there but had left a somewhat foolish message for them to "help themselves". Save for League members, other visitors that night included Andreas Petrovich, a former Imperial Guardsman from Moscow and collector of dolls from his homeland, and Mr. Mustafa Majjiore, a befezed (alleged) trader of "souls" who had come to do business with the surprised Mr. Riley. Also, at the Professors invitation, Sarah met Dr. Matilda McGuire who took a sample of her strange ribbon for analysis back at the University in Glasgow. They were joined by fellow beneficiaries of Cranburys estate, Miss. Amy Fawcett from the British Museum and psychologist Dr. Henry Lawrence. Amy kindly translated assorted items that had been left to people in Cranburys will and began work on an unusual parchment that Waylon had swapped for the immortal remains of "Elizabeth Mountwell". Eddie and Chunky where to race the car at Brooklands for Lord Arthur the next day. Miss. Blume, Miss. Behrens and Miss. Mobury (plus escorts) had a notion to visit China Town. Amy, Flora, Waylon and others found themselves drawn to The British Museum. Reveling until the small hours, they were keen to get going the next day...

A Day at the Races NEWS OF THE WORLD - 22nd March 1923 OUTSIDERS STORM TO VICTORY
Rank outsider Eddie Braithwaite and his able mechanic Sgt Richard Baxter, recorded a surprise first win for the unknown Braithwaite-Baxter Race Team yesterday as they took the chequered flag at Brooklands Raceway. However Braithwaite's driving was not the only highlight of the race meeting. Throughout the day the crowd was enthralled and on the edge of it's seat by the hair raising antics of Sgt Baxter...	as he clambered about on the bonnet (and even at one stage underneath the hurtling car, held only by his braces and the strong grip of Braithwaite) to effect running repairs without the need for a pit stop. In a show of Great British sportsmanship, style and daring Sgt Baxter even found time to share a bottle of gin with Segrave's mechanic, Willcox, as the two cars sped along side by side at over one hundred miles an hour. The day kept it's biggest surprise for last, when Braithwite's engine exploded as he crossed the finish line. As the smoke cleared it soon became apparent that both men, although clearly shaken, were unhurt and the champagne corks were soon popping. When asked for a comment on the race, Braithwaite's sponsor Lord Arthur Christian said "You should keep your eye on these two, there's no telling how far Sgt Baxter's engineering and Mr Braithwaite's driving could propel them in the future."

The Lady Vanishes Arriving early at the museum to tidy her office, Miss. Fawcett was surprised to discover that there was indeed a sarcophagus hidden behind a crate of urns. Rather more worrying was that it had been forced open and was now empty. The others soon arrived and found Miss Fawcett translating an inscription of the front, which named the incumbent as Enheduanna, the many-fingered, priestess of Ur. Even stranger was a wooden plaque written in Aramaic and bearing a black sun, which had been nailed across the opening.

Suddenly, the league members heard a knocking from behind a crate and found a night attendant locked in a cupboard. The poor man was rather shaken, but Dr. Lawrence calmed him enough to discover that he had been locked away by the thieves, who had taken a glowing orb from the sarcophagus. Eerily, after they left, the figure of a woman was also seen to walk out of the chest.

The party immediately reported the theft to the Director and set about searching for clues. Upstairs, Mr. Riley stalked some businessmen in the North Gallery, while Lady Evelyn found a fragment of ancient linen behind some Roman statues. Mrs. Darling trumped them all, with the discovery of another attendant in a cupboard, this time he had been strangled by a six-fingered hand! Stranger still, he had a white sun tattooed on the back of his hand.

Retiring for lunch, the league members observed the three men from the North Gallery and decided to follow them to a station on the postal underground, where one of the men, a collector named Anstruther bought the Ornament of Heaven from a man with a French accent. The league members attempts to watch them undisclosed went somewhat awry, when Miss. Fawcett and Mrs. Darling were discovered and tied together in front of an oncoming train. Dr. Lawrence intercepted and knocked one of Anstruther's henchmen onto the track just as the train passed. Dr. Lawrence then attacked Anstruther and knocked the Ornament of Heaven out of his hands - it smashed into a thousand pieces. At this moment an enraged Enheduanna appeared and began to strangle Anstruther with her six-fingered hand.

At this moment, the remaining henchman revealed himself to be a member of the Order of the White Sun and enlisted the league's help in binding Enheduanna's soul "back into her body", using the symbol of power and Amy's handbag. With the help of some attendants' uniforms from the museum, the league were able to return Enheduanna's body back to her sarcophagus. Not so, Anstruther, who was left for the rats! Meanwhile, Mr. Riley's Uncle Phelan made a new box, in which the sarcophagus was to be placed, before sending it to Lady Evelyn's estate, Highclere, for burial. Alas, Lady Evelyn received news that her father had been taken ill and left at once for Cairo. When Miss. Fawcett and Mr. Riley returned to the stores a few days later, they found the sarcophagus had vanished. It had been taken away by some dark-suited men from the government for storage off-site.

The House of a Thousand Blossoms Miss. Blume and friends made their way into China Town. There was a dark fog hanging over the city as they reached The Jade Teapot. Questioning the friendly owner, Ling Wye, he told Madaline, Mr. Vorster, Rose and Jack that the elusive Fay Lung Tse (a signatory on Cranburys will) was a local business man and the owner of the docklands based Kirin East China Trading Company. They took tea and fortune cookies and pressed on towards the port by rickshaw.

The docks were full of sights and smells, livestock, dark alleyways, mysteries, and boxes of Chinese fireworks. A hideously scarred white man sold them trinkets and forced a crumpled notebook into Mr. Vorsters hands. The man babbled crazed warnings and disappeared into the docks. Eventually they found the offices of The Kirin East China Trading Company, there they were granted an audience with the Forman, Lung Tsang, a large oriental gentleman dressed in a suit that Madaline found indescribable. He was cordial, but suspicious. Ringing ahead to Fay Lung Tse's home, he arranged a car to transport them to The House of a Thousand Blossoms.

There they were met by the elegant red haired English woman Miss. Jade Fairfax, who was hospitable and answered their questions as they walked around the gardens and dojo's.

As they walked through the main building the group saw a painting of a tall gold faced man in robes petting a dragon and there where inanimate sun carved stone statues and lots of dragon motifs. She showed them around until they meet Lou Yung in Fay Lung Tses' private study. This younger man was Fay Lung Tses' Chinese nurse. He told them that he was with Fay Lung Tse when he attended Cranbury's will signing and answered their questions civilly. Rose noticed moving eyes in a painting and the wall rolled back to reveal an aged Tibetan gentleman in a wheel chair. This was Fay Lung Tse.

Fay Lung Tse was surprisingly forward, and enchanted by Celia and Madelain. He talked of Cranbury as a business associate and placed a piece of the metal puzzle on the table, saying that Cranbury could not afford it and that he had wanted Fay Lung Tse to "keep an eye on them all". He told the amazed group that this piece was called the "Tooth of The Dragon" and was from his old monastery in Fo Shung province. He granted Madelain a beautiful antique necklace as a gift and hinted at what he would consider a fair trade for such a prize as the which they sought.

Satisfied with a productive day the group made to leave when the old man claimed tiredness. They were on their way home by rickshaw when they were rammed off the road by six Chinese men in a beaten up car. They were armed and had murder about them. Celia vanished expertly into the crowd, taking charge of Rose and getting them a lift home aboard the cart of her theaters laundry service. Madelain returned to the House of a Thousand Blossoms and met Miss. Fairfax on the road who dropped her off at home. Jack and Mr. Vorster had a rough time of it, getting shot at and beaten. Jack took a bullet to the arm and Mr. Vorster had to dispatch one of the brigands with his pistol. The gentlemen searched high and low for the ladies, eventually regrouping back at Slim's.

Later, after a spanking fish supper, they all collected their thoughts over cocktails in the bar. Mr. Braithwaite and Chunky had made many a pretty penny on the Tote. Mr. Black met Dr. Lawrence and Amy for the first time and they received their inheritance. Dr. Lawrence read aloud while Amy translated grim tiding of predestiny in which many people recognized themselves.

To the surprise of many, the American treasure hunter Mr. Morton Bradock and the dusky Consuela Hawkes also arrived that evening. Morton received a hand drawn map of the Congo and Consuela discovered that her family inheritance was possibly not the simple jewelry she had always thought. She mulled over old photographs with old friends while Mr. Bradock drank American beers and won money from Mr. Flynn.

Jack harangued a weary Mr. Black for cash and Madelain avoided setting Evelyn upon her "protectors" when recounting events. Rose mixed revolutionary new cocktails while Mr. Riley recapped for all. Lord Arthur even managed to stay awake past the hour of eleven. Amy had deciphered a little more of Waylons' scroll and read it aloud to the amazement of all. It spoke of black suns and dark powers and the manipulation of souls. Sarah had a smashing evening, chatting with one and all. Flora kept a watchful eye on Lord Arthur. Dr. Lawrence mulled an old case, that of one Viscount Buffington and it's seemingly inescapable links to other names dotted through out clues from the turn of the century. The Professor thought over their lucky reclamation of the car and talked with the rest of the team. Flora offered to act as an informal secretary for the group. Celia smoked cigarettes and decided what to do next. It was two in the morning before the last of them returned to their hotels. Mr. Flynn's coincidence made him leave his winnings from the race to cover the ungodly bar bill.

< BACK