From Salmalin's journal:
21 July, 1870
We arrived in Metz well after midnight. We were met at the station by the Secretary to the Consul, Mr. Cedric Middleton. Mr. Middleton is married to Mrs. Cuthbert's daughter. He was very surprised to find his Mother-in-Law and Great Uncle accompanying Sir Cosmo. I believe he was equally confused as to why the "Royal Commissioner for Scientific Expeditions Abroad" was rushing into a war zone on diplomatic business.
As we were moving the baggage into wagons Mr. Middleton had hired, Sir Cosmo and Mr. Middleton made arrangements with the rail authorities to store the train temporarily, as well as sleeping quarters for the crew.
I was assisting in the transfer of the heavier trunks when Miss Chigwidgeon left the immediate vicinity of the rest of the group. I was so angry at myself for not noticing until the Marquis' flash powder was ignited. Of course, she was in the company of Mr. O'Flaherty, Dr. Wilson, the Marquis, and Miss Whitnell. She was not, technically, unescorted, and could hardly said to be unguarded, either. Dr. Wilson can be reckless at times, but no one can question his or Mr. O'Flaherty's bravery. And very few can best either of them in their chosen areas of combat.
I heard the details later, when Mr. O'Flaherty and Miss Whitnell was explaining, to Sir Cosmo, what had happened.
A stranger had approached Mr. O'Flaherty and, addressing him in German, told him that the carriage he was expecting was over this way. He then led Mr. O'Flaherty away from the others. Mr. O'Flaherty suspected that the man had mistaken him for someone else, but he also suspected that a German-speaking man acting furtively in a French city with war on the horizon might be connected with some of our adversaries.
The man, Herr Gruber, had mistaken Mr. O'Flaherty for "Big Roy McThorne," another American who has been the hero of a number of those novels of which Miss Chigwidgeon is so fond. Mr. McThorne and Mr. O'Flaherty have been mistaken for one another before. They are of a similar size, though McThorne looks decidedly unkempt and wild by comparision with Mr. O'Flaherty.
Mr. McThorne arrived upon the scene before Mr. O'Faherty had boarded the carriage. Dr. Wilson and Miss Chigwidgeon had both seen what was happening, and had each recognized McThorne. Miss Chigwidgeon went over to obtain McThorne's autograph. Dr. Wilson went because, he said later, McThorne is a ruthless man who will do any job, no matter how immoral, for the right price. Obviously Dr. Wilson and McThorne have some shared history, as well.
McThorne claimed to be touring Europe for business reasons. He was accompanied by a Dr. Jeffers, who Miss Chigwidgeon kept calling "the wizard of ballistics," Jeffer's daughter, who is approximately the same age as Miss Chigwidgeon, and a Mr. Roger Creed. They all seem to have had some past involvment with Dr. Wilson.
Dr. Jeffers was obviously terrified of Dr. Wilson. Mr. Creed and Dr. Wilson exchanged what Miss Whitnell described later as, "terse words." Miss Whitnell also noticed that Dr. Wilson wasn't comfortable turning his back on Creed.
Miss Chigwidgeon obtained introductions to the gentlemen, as well as a photograph with both Mr. O'Flaherty and Mr. McThorne. Miss Whitnell managed to extract Miss Chigwidgeon from the company. Dr. Wilson and Mr. O'Flaherty were careful to place themselves between the ladies and the gentlemen for the walk back. Dr. Wilson later confided to Sir Cosmo that Mr. Creed was not to be trusted, as "he would just as soon shoot you as say 'Good day.'"
We arrived at the Consulate. It is an old palace built in the 14th Century. I have since learned that the city is full of such old buildings. The journey from the railway required us to pass through two walls. The inner wall built before this palace when the city was a distant outpost of the Holy Roman Empire, the outer built later by French Kings.
The party was greeted by the Consul, Sir Robert Jennings, and Mrs. Middleton, who serves as the hostess of the Consulate, since Sir Robert is a widower. Mrs. Middleton seemed less than completely enthusiastic at the surprise visit from her mother, but proceeded to sort the league out into appropriate quarters. We were also unofficially welcomed to by young Miss Elinore Middleton, who had sneaked out of the nursery because she had foreseen that her grandmother was coming to visit. It was quite clear from the child's aura that she is Mrs. Cuthbert's grandchild. I have no doubt she will grow to be as formidable a mystic as Mrs. Cuthbert or Miss Whitnell.
Sir Cosmo spoke privately with Sir Robert, explaining why we had come along while the rest of the league was shown to their rooms. Before everyone was completely settled in, Miss Whitnell warded the wing containing the league's rooms. Other than a bit of furniture moving by Mr. O'Flaherty, everyone seemed satisfied with their quarters.
I was kept busy in the early morning hours assisting the Consulate servants. The unexpected arrival of a party as large as the league had thrown their usual routine into disarray. Breakfast was ready by the time the household was up and about.
During breakfast Sir Cosmo and Sir Robert discussed how best to get Sir Cosmo's information to an appropriate member of the French government. Mr. O'Flaherty needed to consult with Miss Whitnell and Mrs. Cuthbert about a spiritual matter. And Edward became quite fascinated with the walls, or rather the mice inside them. Miss Sinclair had to call him back to the table at one point.
After breakfast, Sir Cosmo announced that we would have at least the morning free to pursue our own interests. The ladies wished to resume their fighting lessons, and then went to work on their correspondence. The Marquis found a room in the subbasement to set up his photography chemicals. At lunch time he presented Miss Chigwidgeon with a nice print of the photograph he had taken of her, McThorne, O'Flaherty, and Wilson.
Before lunch arrived, there were a few events worth noting. The garden is inhabited by fairies. Mr. Ramsay had a name for them, "Kalurakin." I did not think to ask him how to spell it. They are small spirits usually concerned with the well-being of plants. These particular fairies have befriended Miss Elinore and young Master George, the children of Mr. and Mrs. Middleton. Mr. Ramsay said that they are not usually harmful, and have been known to protect households, or at least the children of households, where they have been made welcome.
The fairies can cause trouble, however, as we all learned later in the morning when one of them stole some brass buttons off one of Mr. Frazer's coats. The creature also knocked over the armoire in which the coat was hanging, causing some damage to the furniture. Miss Whitnell showed everyone how to tie a knot in a string, with a button or a bead threaded through, to create a charm which will keep the fairies out of cupboards and closets. Meanwhile Miss Sinclair sewed replacement buttons on the coat and Mr. Frazer repaired the furniture. There was a great deal of whispering and several exchanges of knowing looks between everyone while this was happening.
After luncheon, Sir Robert returned from his meetings with the French authorities with some unexpected news. Commander Wooster had sailed into the port of Metz this very morning. Because he was unexpected and would have had to cross the territories of Belgium, Luxemberg, Prussia, and France to reach this port, the French authorities were upset, and would not let Wooster, his crewmembers, or their passengers, leave the boat. Sir Robert had a note from Wooster, saying that he had arrived with a very important person who had urgent business in the city. He had originally written the words "the Slayer," but then crossed them out and changed it to "very important person."
Ordinarily Sir Robert would go to the port authorities to sort it out, but he had made progress in his other task. An official in the Emporer's staff had agreed to meet with Sir Cosmo concerning the information we had captured from the Prussians, though precisely when he could be seen this afternoon was uncertain. Sir Robert and Sir Cosmo were going to the Citadel, which is the larged fortified building in the city, to await the interview. George would accompany them, in case Sir Cosmo needed a bodyguard.
The rest of us were divided into two groups. One group would accompany Mr. Middleton to the docks to try to sort our Wooster's business. The other, under Mr. Cuthbert's direction, would search the streets and buildings in the immediate vicinity of the Citadel looking for possible locations from which Prussian assassins might spy on the Citadel or launch at attack.
Mr. Cuthbert's group included Miss Bertilde, Mr. O'Flaherty, Mr. Deveril, Dr. Wilson, Miss Sinclair, Edward, Miss Whitnell, and the Marquis. The dock group included Mrs. Cuthbert, Mr. Ramsay, Insp. MacGregor, Mr. Frazer, Miss Chigwidgeon, and myself. Mr. Hassan remained at the Consulate, pursuing avenues of research in the quest to find a method of defeating Schmidt. Miss Metzger, when she is not resting (her condition not being conducive to strenous extertion at this time) would assist with the research. David, Stuart, and Tattvick remained to look af Miss Metzger.
We arrived at the docks. There was Wooster, Caine, and their crewman, with their small ship, the rocket battery concealed under a tarp. Their passengers were one Professor Cremina, a member of the Order of St. Jerome, and his student, Magda the Vampire Slayer.
Wooster had been dispatched up the Great North Canal to stop the Prussian army from moving through Belgium using Belgium's railways. He had been forced to destroy the bridge to stop a train carrying an enormous cannon. While dealing with the captive artillery battalian, Wooster and Caine had met the Slayer. The Slayer and her Watcher had been travelling to Antwerp en route to London to meet with the ruling council of the Order. Their train was behind the Prussian army train, and thus was trapped on the wrong side of the destroyed rail bridge. Prof. Cremina was trying to arrange further passage when the Slayer discovered a vampire. She lured the vampite to a secluded area and set about trying to destroy it, which is where Wooster first saw her. The vampire was especially hard to stop, being the fifth vampire of the group experimented upon by the Comte d'Erlette.
It took the combined efforts of the Slayer, Caine, Wooster, and Prof. Cremina to stop the creature. While burning the body they found a dispatch box containing the same message we had intercepted from the other vampires.
Before they had de-coded the message, they had to fight a werewolf who happened to be a Prussian agent. The werewolf attempted to blow up the railcars full of gunpowder, which would have killed and injured a rather large group of people. Wooster, Caine, and the Slayer were able to prevent this. Though Wooster was rather severely wounded in the process.
Once Caine had explained who the Agent Schmidt mentioned in the coded message was, the Slayer became determined to find him and destroy him. Wooster decided transporting a warning about the assassins to the Emporer's staff was within his orders. So they had sailed the canal to the Rhine, then sailed up the Rhine to the Mosselle, and sailed the Mosselle until they reached Metz.
The port authorities were persuaded that the Commander and his six-man sloop was not a threat to the Imperial Army, and they were allowed to disembark. Mr. Middleton returned to the Consulate to handle other business. The rest of us escorted the Slayer to the chapterhouse of the Order of St. Jerome.
The Metz chapterhouse was once, long ago, an abbey outside the boundaries of the town. Over the centuries the city has expanded to engulf the abbey. The young man who gave us a tour mentioned that the Order derives an income from the rent of many of the nearby buildings, as the abbey still owns the land.
Mr. Ramsay, Mrs. Cuthbert, and Prof. Cremina were in consulation for some time with Abbot de Martigny. I performed a simple patrol of the grounds, then took up a position where I could keep a watchful eye on the others.
Then, in the distance, I felt something. A spell of great power. I could hear churchbells chiming in the same direction, and I was overcome with the certainty that our colleagues were engaged in a fight for their lives.
Mr. Ramsay, Mrs. Cuthbert, and the other mystics burst out of the Abbot's office, saying that a wild spell was loose. As we hurried to our carriages, Mrs. Cuthbert said that the spirit was raising the spirits of the dead from all over the city, and calling them toward the place.
For one moment I had a vision. Miss Whitnell and Miss Bertilde in a churchyard. A montrous man came at them, menacingly.
We knew we were getting close to the site when the going became difficult because of all the citizens fleeing. We reached the churchyard in time to watch the main body of the building collapse.
I should explain what happened that led to this situation. I pieced this together from the others afterward. And then got to listen to it again once we were reunited with Sir Cosmo.
Mr. Cuthbert's party had sighted a rifleman in the bell tower of an old church. A tower which appeared to have a clear view into the Citadel. A familiar carriage, the very one that had taken Mr. McThorne from the rail station the night before, was parked in front of the church.
Mr. Deveril snuck up on the driver and knocked him unconscious. He donned the driver's coat and hat and sat lookout in the carriage while the others went into the church.
Edward and Miss Sinclair began climbing up the sides of the tower. Mr. Cuthbert, Mr. O'Flaherty, the Marquis, and Dr. Wilson went inside. The first three began climbing the stairs. Dr. Wilson, ever impatient, fired a rocket trailing a rope. Moments later, he flew past the others, as a clockwork device carried him up the rope.
Dr. Wilson discovered Mr. McThorne, Mr. Creed, Herr Gruber, and a fourth man that he did not recognize, in the tower. They had a large number of weapons, and were clearly up to no good. Creed and McThorne shot at Wilson. Wilson clung to the back of one of the bells and returned fired. The bells were ringing in random order punctuated by many gunshots.
Mr. O'Flaherty flung the trapdoor at the top of the stairs open, knocking Gruber off his feet.
Unfortunately Mr. Creed had a pair of guns Dr. Wilson later described as Gatling Pistols. Mr. O'Flaherty barely avoided being injured. His top hat, however, did not fare as well.
Meanwhile, down in the churchyard, Miss Whitnell was casting a spell, a curse really, upon the guns of the enemies.
Mr. Cuthbert, standing on the stairs below O'Flaherty and the other combatants, had deduced where the man with the Gatling Pistols was standing, and shot through the floor boards. According to Mr. O'Flaherty, Creed was hit full in the face. Before his body could even fall down, the pistols in his hands exploded, victims of Miss Whitnell's curse.
O'Flaherty could see that the fourth man was a sorcerer, in the middle of a ritual. O'Flaherty grabbed Gruber and through him at the sorcerer hard enough to knock the breath out of both of them.
McThorne's guns had jammed, thanks to Miss Whitnell's spell. He lunched at O'Flaherty and the two were engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand combat. Miss Sinclair and Edward both reported that they could feel the tower shake as the two men pounded on one another.
Cuthbert and Wilson were trying to get a good shot at McThorne. McThorne knocked O'Flaherty fair enough away to give him a moment free. McThorne grabbed hold of the cross beam from which the bells hung and he heaved. The beam, the bells, and Dr. Wilson all fell down into the tower.
O'Flaherty and McThorne were back at it with fists, though now there was considerably less floor for either of them to stand on. At one point it appeared to Mr. Cuthbert that McThorne was going to push O'Flaherty down the tower. That is when Dr. Wilson arrived again, being borne aloft on his rocket powered scaling apparatus. The framework of the device struck O'Flaherty in the back and pushed him back upright, and McThorne was off-balance. O'Flaherty struck McThorne again, knocking him back.
And and that moment, Mr. Cuthbert finally got a clear shot. He hit McThorne between the eyes. McThorne fell.
During the fist fight the sorcerer had regained his senses and tried to escape out the window. Except Edward was waiting, and stuck him in the head, knocking him backwards. The sorcerer teetered on the edge of the abyss, and Edward attempted to save him. Edward was dragged down with the sorcerer, and if not for the quick reflexes of Mr. O'Flaherty they might have fallen to their death. As it was, O'Flaherty managed to get them both safely onto the stairs.
Edward had trailed a string behind him, which he quickly reeled up. At the other end of the string was a rope. He secured the rope to the the window frame.
The tower had been shaken several times by all the fighting, the rockets, and gunshots. Between the bells falling down the inside of the tower, and then McThorne following it, no one was certain the stairs were safe. Edward, and Miss Sinclair slid down the rope. Dr. Wilson noticed that it appeared that something was moving down at the bottom of the stairs, and decided to go down inside the tower, by unreeling the cable he had used to come up the first time. O'Flaherty hurried after him, taking the stairs despite their uncertain state. The Marquis had been taking photographs throughout it all. Mr. Cuthbert hefted the sorcerer over his shoulder, rigged himself a harness with some extra rope, and started down the tower on Edward's rope.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the tower, something was amiss. McThorne, though dead, had gotten back up, kicked the remaining door off its hinges, and lurched menacingly toward Miss Whitnell and Miss Bertild.
According to Miss Whitnell, the sorcerer's spell had gone wild when he was knocked senseless in the middle of the ritual. As the spell gathered strength, ghosts rose from the graves in the church yard and flew up to the tower. She could see other spirits coming from further away. The spirits merged with McThorne's corpse, reanimating him.
As he came at them, he uttered a strange phrase in Latin. Miss Whitnell said it translates to "From beneath it devours." She is not certain what that means, but Mr. Ramsay was very displeased to hear it later.
As the undead McThorne came at them, Miss Whitnell could see that more spirits were merging with in, making it stronger. She knew that she needed to stop the wild spell right away. Miss Bertilde leapt forward with her sword and knife and tried to fight the creature off. She said striking it was like hitting granite. She didn't seem to be injuring it, but she was keeping it busy while Miss Whitnell finished her unweaving the wild spell.
The other spirits ceased appearing, but McThorne was still up.
Edward, Miss Sinclair, and Dr. Wilson arrived next. Dr. Wilson shot the creature with his ordinary gun, but it didn't seem to have an effect. Edward directed Owen to distract McThorne, then leapt in and stuffed a small explosive device into McThorne's pants.
The explosion knocked McThorne off his feet, but didn't seem to damage him. He rose to his feet and turn on them.
Dr. Wilson dove between McThorne's legs and dodged back and forth, entangling the creature's legs. Then, he attached a rocket to the cable and ignited it. The rocket was strong enough to yank the monster's feet from beneath him, and lift him into the air, but not very far. The creature hung there, upside-down, grabbing at anyone who came near.
Edward had retrieved his miniature rocket battery from his bag by this point. Dr. Wilson and Edward fired rockets at the creatures, hurling it back into the church. Where the rockets all exploded.
We arrived in time to witness this last maneuver and see most of the church collapse. When the dust settled, the tower was still standing, by some miracle.
Unfortunately, the rubble was moving. McThorne still had some fight in him.
Mr. O'Flaherty grabbed a large piece of wreckage and slammed it onto the place we all presumed the creature was. Then he climbed onto the pile and being stomping, all the while angrily ordering McThorne to stay down. Miss Chigwidgeon climbed atop the rubble as well and stomped on any part that worked.
Our colleagues filled us in on what was happening. Mr. Ramsay and Mrs. Cuthbert helped Miss Whitnell start a spell to try to lay the spirits possessing McThornes corpse to rest. Since there were scores of spirits in the corpse, the spell would require a large reservoir of magickal power. They were need many minutes of uninterrupted chanting before they could complete the spell.
The creature clawed its way out, eventually. I had had enough time to focus my attack mantra. I hit it hard enough to crack solid rock. It barely staggered the monster. The Slayer hit it just as hard, with the same effect. O'Flaherty, the Slayer, and I kept hitting it from different directions, trying to keep it busy. The others tried various weapons.
Miss Chigwidgeon leaped up and thrust her parasol into the hole through the creature's skull. Before she was hurled aside, she pressed the trigger device. It was a very ingenious idea, since our external attacks had barely had any effect. Rocket succeeded in overbalancing the creature and temporarily pinning it to the ground, but the explosion didn't appear to inflict much damage.
Finally, the sorcerers had completed the spell, and the demonic glow faded from McThorne. He collapsed, finally lifeless.
Sometime during the fight the police had arrived, and seeing what we were up against, had fled. Soldier arrived next. They helped us form a bucket brigade (the explosion has ignited the timbers in the rubble), but then they took us all into custody and hauled us to the Citadel.
All except Mr. Deveril, who had managed to pass himself off as an uninvolved coachman.
They placed us in two large rooms, seperated by a hallway. We were locked in, but the rooms did not appear to be ordinary jail cells. Clearly they weren't certain what to do with us.
We had one live prisoner, the sorcerer. When he regained consciousness, it was clear that he was no longer sane.
After a very long wait, Sir Cosmo, Sir Robert, and a Monsieur de la Rue, an official of the French government, came to where we were and heard the story. M. de la Rue is a member of Mr. Ramsay's order, and he believed us when we explained that McThorne and the others were probably plotting to kill the Emporer.
He attempted to question the sorcerer, who we learned as a Monsier Ladeau de Nevers. Unfortunately something he saw when his spell went wrong has broken his mind. Miss Whitnell had more luck calmly talking with him. He admitted the plot to kill the Emporer and his supporters, most notably Admiral LeCoq. He seems to believe that LeCoq is a devil. He indicated that his instructions had come from Hans Bopp. He also described a mystical book which is hidden in his home, from which the spell he was attempting to cast had come from.
Mr. Ramsay and de la Rue were quite upset at the mention of the book, whose name in English is "Book of the Night." Apparently it is known to the Order and is full of demonic rituals.
Mr. Deveril arrived sometime during this, having come to the main gate of the Citadel and demanding to see Sir Cosmo.
We were all allowed, at last, to leave and return to the Consulate. Dinner was eaten in a rather uncomfortable silence, as Mrs. Middleton was displeased about our escapade. She took her leave immediately after dinner. The league gathered in a drawing room and finished discussing the problems of the day, and what our next course of action should be.
I asked Miss Whitnell to chaperone us so that I could discuss Miss Chigwidgeon's tactics in the battle. Miss Chigwidgeon was not very receptive to my critique. I must find a better way to reminder her that she asked me to teach her, and that will necessarily include telling her when I believe she acts unwisely in combat.
We still do not know Schmidt's location, or how many more agents the Prussians and Teutonic Knights may have in the city. Mr. Hassan's researches have not turned up anything useful.
The mystics cast another Seal of Solomon, to protect the entire building. Finally, everyone settled down for the night.
22 July, 1870
We were to have a quiet morning. Sir Cosmo and Sir Robert returned to the Citadel to meet with another official.
I had been on edge all night. I could not shake the feeling that danger loomed. Yet no matter where I searched, everything was well. I paused outside the door of each of the league, matching my breathing to theirs, using Namaste's Paradox to briefly align my chakra with theirs. Only when I checked Insp. MacGregor did anything seem amiss. He didn't seem to be harmed, but something was wrong. Then, finally, I dimly perceived a ghost hovering nearby, with an obvious connection to MacGregor. The spirit did not seem to wish any harm to MacGregor. It had the feel, to me, of an ancestor spirit watching over him.
The feeling of unease never left, but I never discovered its source.
After breakfast, Mrs. Cuthbert explained that she had had one of her prophetic dreams. She had dreamed about how Schmidt's mother had been captured by a German sorcerer. And how later, as a slave in the household of the sorcerer, she had met a fae. They had a relationship. These are things we had already guessed from other sources. Mrs. Cuthbert seemed a bit irritated that the dream hadn't been more helpful than it was.
Insp. MacGregor also mentioned a dream, though he did not go into details when I heard him mention it. Only that he was certain it was sent to him by one of our enemies. He felt certain of this because the subject matter was not something he would have imagined himself, and it seemed calculated to sow discord among out group.
Miss Whitnell and Mr. Ramsay went to consult with Mr. Hassan about his researches. Miss Sinclair took Edward out to the garden to practice sketching. Mrs. Cuthbert sat in a parlor reading to her grandchildren. Miss Chigwidgeon was with her, catching up on her own reading. Dr. Wilson borrowed some space in the carriage house to work on some of his rockets. Other members of the league either rested, continued their researches, or worked on their correspondence.
Mrs. Cuthbert was suddenly summoned to the garden by a spirit--the ghost of Mr. Frazer's father. Miss Sinclair seemed on the verge of fainting, when Mrs. Cuthbert, Miss Chigwidgeon arrived. (I arrived a few moments after them). When I first saw the garden, I assumed that Miss Sinclair had been upset by the fairies. One of the fairies was sitting, quite visible, on a branch of a pear tree. Another stood on the ground, talking to Edward.
Miss Sinclair told a rather different story. She had been drawing a bird in the tree, when she noticed that Edward was drawing the same tree, but in Edward's picture, there was a small person with dragonfly wings. When she commented upon his imagination, an unfamiliar voice behind her and commented on her own lack of perception. She found herself face-to-face with Sgt. Robert Frazer, our Mr. Frazer's deceased father.
Mrs. Cuthbert explained that the ghost had been watching over Mr. Frazer of late, and that she had spoken with him, as well.
This did not have a soothing effect on Miss Sinclair, since she has never before had to converse with spirits. She was most insistent for an explanation of why, after all this time, she was suddenly able to perceive such a spirit so closely.
It seemed to me that the most likely explanation was that the growing feelings of affection between Miss Sinclair and Mr. Frazer have created a connection to his ancestor spirits. However, Mrs. Cuthbert rather pointedly steered the conversation away from that and focused on trying to sooth Miss Sinclair's anxieties.
Miss Chigwidgeon drifted toward the Edward and the fairies, listening to their conversation. Edward was trying to explain which of the "witches" in our party was in charge of what. The fairies said they needed to talk to the one in charge of the others. Edward made a decision and went into the house to find Miss Whitnell. Not long thereafter Miss Whitnell, Mr. Ramsay, and severla other members of thehousehold came out to the garden to talk with the faires. There were now four of them gathered, and they introduced themselves as Peony, Birdseye, Foxglove, and Sweet William.
Birdseye had been sitting in the tree, appearing as a small, dark blue bird, when Miss Sinclair sketched her picture. Peony has appeared in the form of a sparrow. Foxglove takes the guise of a small fox. Sweet William tries to disguise himself as a common cat, though without great success. He is perpetually drunk, and seems to be responsible for stealing most of the alcohol that goes missing from the consulate.
Miss Sinclair was quite incredulous that most of the League could perceive the fairies, since she saw was ordinary birds and animals.
The fairies wanted to warn us of danger. A angry, powerful creature, something like a "big fairy," yet completely unlike one at the same time, had been trying to enter the grounds all last night. He was held out of the building by the power of the Seal of Solomon, they explained. The fairies were very concerned because the creature had clearly hostile intentions, and Peony, the leader of the garden fairies, does not belief that her group is strong enough to protect the children from him.
The description of the being made all of us suspect that it was Schmidt. Sweet William, with some persuading, as able to elaborate on the creature a bit more, since he observed it more closely than the other fairies, and despite his inebriated state, they say he is more experienced than they in such things. Willam, it seems, is the oldest of the small fairies in the region. During a war more than three hundred years ago, he attempted to stop a cannonball from hitting the house. He did not succeed, but he survived. Unfortunately, his brother and sister fairies did not, and neither did the human inhabitants of the house at that time, specifically some children that William felt responsible for. William took to drink after that incident. As the garden grew back, new fairies came to care for it.
Miss Whitnell thought it might be useful to cure William of his inebriation. Mr. Ramsay didn't think it could be done. This was said as aside from the main conversation, which was William explaining what the creature had done: he had tried to enter the building repeatedly. He tried most persistently to get into Miss Whitnell's sleeping room. When that failed, he went to MacGregor's room and attempted to influence MacGregor's mind. William described it as Schmidt sending his influence into the room, and the influence whispering into MacGregor's dreams.
This prompted a vigorous argument of how to proceed. Everyone was certain that Schmidt had found us, and seems more interested in exacting revenge on us than pursuing his mission to assassinate the French Emporer. The consensus seems to be that we should lay a trap for Schmidt and attempt to put his threat to a permanent end. Except no one can agree how or where. We would all prefer that such a confrontation happened away from this house and other innocents who might otherwise be harmed. It would be easier for the mystics to do something to Schmidt if the trap were laid on holy ground or a place of power. However finding one that is secluded may be difficult.
While the argument was wearing on, Edward went back into the building. He came out some minutes later with a glass full of liquid, which he offered to Sweet William. The drinking glass was almost bigger than the fairy, but he downed it quite rapidly. It was only as he was drinking it that I realized that the contents was Mr. Caine's potion for removing the effects of hang-over and overindulgence in drink. The potion had a very strange effect on the fair, temporarily transforming it into some sort of firework. When he settled down, he seemed to be sober, and somewhat confused.
Miss Whitnell is most insistent that none of us can leave the Consulate to search for such a place, or consult with the Order of St. Jerome about a possible location, for fear that Schmidt will harm us once we leave the safety of the Seal of Solomon. She didn't even want anyone to attempt to deliver a message to our allies.
Mrs. Cuthbert suggested that perhaps the fairies could deliver a note. They had brought her a note from Elinore while we were detained in the Citadel. Perhaps they could travel in such a way that Schmidt would not perceive or catch them. They agreed that this could be done. Mr. Ramsay went to his room to write a note to the local members of his Order, asking for a consultation with them and the Slayer here at the Consulate.
Miss Whitnell wanted everyone to begin packing, so that once we have a location to move to, we can all travel together, on the theory that there is strength in numbers. Before she can pack, Miss Whitnell agreed to go explain what is going on to Mrs. Middleton, because Mrs. Cuthbert doesn't believe that her daughter will take the news as seriously or as kindly from Mrs. Cuthbert.
David, Stuart, Tattvick, and I set about packing…
Proceed to Things to do
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