Nairobi, Kenya, Africa:

14:00 PM:

Natalie Smyth-Forbes meets us and introduces herself.

Natalie: “It’s good to see you. Would you care for a glass of sherry? It’s not chilled but it should have withstood the journey here. Are you here to give me a story? May I make a suggestion? Would you give me the Kenya exclusive?”

Irma: “Anything I can get I will share with you.”

Natalie: “What are you trying to find out about?”

Irma: “The Black Mountain. A mysterious cult.”

Natalie: “Oh goodness. After what happened to you last time?”

Joe: “Is it festival season? There are a lot of people around?”

Natalie: “Well this is not the coast, mostly Swahili here. Maybe Coolies being recruited for the farms? Or workers for mining? Not something I’ve noticed I must say. Tea?”

Joe: “Just the sherry would be fine.”

Info about the Carlyle Expedition:

Natalie: “They were a strange unhealthy lot. Carlyle liked his whisky. Tandoor Singh was particularly distasteful.”

She agrees to help us as best she can as long as she can get the exclusive story. She will also keep everything quiet.

We go for something to eat at the hotel. A tall man comes in. White, old time moustache, wearing what almost looks like khaki cowboy gear.

He walks to the bar:

Stranger: “Whisky.”

Drinks it down in one.

Stranger: “Scuse me fellas you don’t mind me sitting down do you? Asking some questions? Are you Irma Bloomberg, Joseph Donelly and Gupta Singh? I am a consulting agent. A detective. I am looking for Trent Duxford the Third? He’s my nephew.” (He’s in his 50s).

Stranger: “I served with the rough riders with Teddy Roosevelt.”

Gupta orders whisky for the man.

Stranger: “He threw a hell of a haymaker and great on a touchdown! I heard at college he was a coxswain. I must claim some responsibility for that. You gentlemen are all believed dead and missing! I’ve done some digging. How did he die? In the bomb? In Shanghai?”

Irma: “He died saving us.”

Stranger: “My name is Wilber Duxford Festerville.”

Uncle Fester: “Well I don’t know if to be proud or sad. I guess both.”

He has a .45 army revolver at his side.

We go for a drive with him.

Uncle Fester: “I’m here looking for answers. I’ve had a long journey and this is all very strange. I have bits and pieces. I get different stories from the police. He’s a bootlegger. Implicated in shoot-outs. Has crossed the Atlantic on an airplane. He escaped Somali slavers, naked? Mr. Gibson gave me some details. I ended up at Prospero Press before I met Curtiss who kept on explaining that the plane wouldn’t have crashed. Then I thought maybe you hadn’t died and I tried to find out more. What’s going on?”

Irma: “You wouldn’t believe us if we told you. The only important thing to us is our mission. If you decide to help us you can revenge the death of your nephew.”

Uncle Fester: “I have seen many things. I am a detective and I know what people are capable of.”

Gupta: “Curtiss went insane. I went insane. There are things more terrifying the people out there. The same can happen to you.”

Irma: “Let me tell you sir, no one would believe what we have done. I have been through this many times and you must excuse me if I am sceptical that you will be able to come to terms with what we face. We are suspicious for good reason. We will discuss without other colleagues and then when we are ready. We will share our story with you.”

Gupta continues to skim “The Ctharaquadingen”. The others get back at around midnight. Hungry.

We tell Uncle Fester that we are heading north of Mount Kenya.

Uncle Fester: “Why don’t you get the King’s African rifles involved?”

Joe: “They aren’t properly equipped.”

Uncle Fester: “How’s that?”

Joe: “They wouldn’t be able to cope with what they would see. And this is to be a discrete raid.”

Uncle Fester: “I see lots of names like Gavigan, Ho Fong and more. What is going on? Is this like the Comintern?”

Uncle Fester: “These people are mad. Like the Dervishes.”

Uncle Fester: “I have only one more question. How did my nephew meet his end?”

Gupta: “He faced a terrible evil. An evil that would have killed not only us, but also destroyed the whole world. There was a lot of dynamite involved. Your nephew died a hero and left no trace of himself except the fact that mankind still has a future.”

Full name: Wilber Duxford Festerville.

The next day we plan to get Sam Mariga and prepare for the journey. We are expecting hundreds, maybe thousands of cultists. Sam is coming with us and the Shaman. Plus the chameleon. We feed it lots of flies.

Sam: “You want to drive or walk? You want to see the massacre site? I will help you as much as I can. There are more things on this earth than can be explained by the white man. Bundari will need help as much as we can. He can walk but he is not strong. I will have to tell the station that I am ill.”

Fester notices that we are all equipped with top notch weapons.

He has a scotch for breakfast.

He had a dream that he was carrying a package through a forest.

In a clearing there were 3 white people and one black woman. Hypatia, Penhew, Huston and M’Weru (Anastasia) looked right at him, disdainfully.

Fester: “As I ran away I saw a torchlight procession snaking up the side of the mountain. I heard the cries of the dying. I cannot fathom it. Why would I dream of a young Penhew? Was it a Faustian pact?”

Joe takes Fester out to the bush to practice on the BAR.

Following outfitting etc., we plan to leave on the Wednesday 10th June 1925 on our mission to the mountain.

The bullet proof jackets etc. are heavy and uncomfortable in the heat.

Nairobi, Kenya, Africa:

07:00 AM:

We set off in 2 big cars:

The rear vehicle has Joe and Trixie, the machine gunner and loader. Irma drives rear vehicle, Gupta the one at the front.

Front: Gupta, Uncle Fester shotgun, Simon in the back, plus Sam, Bundari and ?????.

Back: Irma driving, Joe on machine gun, Trixie loader and Wesley (M16 in shotgun position).

The first day driving is uneventful and easy. We can get to the shadow of Mount Kenya in about a day. We make a camp for the night. We sometimes see lights. During the day there are people to be seen in the bush. Masai?

Bundari: “I will not come with you into the mountain. I am too old with too many grandchildren.”

We set watches for the night.

Fester and Sarge on first watch. Nothing.

Wesley dreams that he is in a hospital. A woman is giving birth. The doctor says: Induce birth!

Why?

Under his mask jet black ivory skin. There is a mirror and Wesley sees his reflection in it.

Aaaaaaaaarghghghghghg!!!!

Gupta wakes him.

Wesley tells the others what he saw.

Nairobi, Kenya, Africa:

09:50 AM

Irma drives car into the river and it stalls. Ambush!!! Wes deflects a spear that would have hit him! Wesley shoots dead the third who charges towards him. Irma tries to shoot one and does damage. Gupta brings his vehicle to a halt. Fester takes down another with his rifle!!

Wesley mows down the other two, before they charge (now five bullets fired)!! Irma has one right on him! Shoots him dead! We have dispatched them all. They all have prangers and are clearly Bloody Tongue cultists. They seem to be local tribesmen though. Uncle Fester takes a pranger.

Wesley sees vultures around some kind of remains. Looking closer he sees the partial remains of a man and a lion? It looks like he was left here to die and cut his own leg off? It was broken.

We continue. It is semi tropical almost Alpine like terrain.

The mountain begins to loom into view. Something about it is WRONG. The undergrowth is getting thicker, not thinner. We will need to continue on foot. Driving is now impossible. We find a distinctive place to park and hide the trucks. It is very fertile here because of the volcanic ash.

It’s getting dark. There are lights. Torches flicker. There are people moving through the darkness.

Bundari: “I am here. All my attentions are here. Who can protect a man from his dreams? Perhaps you can protect yourself from another man’s dreams?”

We set watches again. Dig foxholes and set traps.

During the night, Donelly has a nightmare… Gupta wakes him.

Joe: “It’s that Nyarlathotep! We’ve got him on the ropes. I woke up in the Chelsea Hotel. I managed to get out and there was a massive poster:

“Come see Nyarlathotep!”

“He ruled the world!”

“He’d taken over!”

“There were rotting bodies everywhere, hanging from lamposts!”

“There was some beast at Central Park. Then I saw a tri-legged thing and it looked at me, turn and haeded towards me.”

“As is drew close it opened it’s hands or claws and there where eyes on each palm. It had a massive red tongue instead of a head and it howled at me. There was stuff coming from the sky! I saw the bloody tongue!”

“The quicker we get to the mountain, the happier I’ll be!” Says Joseph.

Last watch Wesley, Trixie and Irma. Irma feels something to his left. Something is on him! Something large!!! He fires! Point blank! Wesley shoots too – four shots! It’s down.

Black panthers! Hunting in a pack??? They never do that… Something is not right.

Bundari: “But something has not been right for a long time.” Bundari whispers: “People are coming!”

Voices in Swahili. “Ilikuwa risasi ni nini? Je, wewe kwenda mlima? Wewe ni nani watu??”

Sam: “Tunaenda mlima ! Sisi ni wa Tongue umwagaji damu !”

Bloody Tongue cultist: “Wewe ni muongo ! Tutakuua ! machafuko kutambaa atakuwa sikukuu ya ubongo wako!”

Joe: “English? – Francais? – Espagnol?”

They get rifles pointed at them. Simon draws the symbol of the bloody tongue on the floor. They are confused.

Sam: “Should we let them build a fire here?”

There are three of them. Irma walks up to one and he pulls out his pranger. Irma punches him! Uncle Fester then shoots him. He is badly injured but still fighting. He gets shot in the head. The other one escapes.

It was the last watch.

Sam was trying to persuade them that we were going to the mountain. Then they started getting aggressive.