Wednesday, 3 August, 1870

We had the most stupendous fight!

After being made to feel a fool by those anarchists, who filled the air of our train carriage with a sleep potion, it was quite a relief to face a opponents one could punch. Salmalin tells me that I should practive the Mantra of the Swan of Knowledge more, so as to be less susceptible, in future to such attacks. I would have felt such a failure if anything had happened to Wilhelmina while I was unconscious!

Once the Anarchists had been defeated and we had been awakened, we had another of our long discussions about what to do. Fortunately, it did not drag on as long as they usually do. Everyone was agreed we should leave the train before it reach Konigsberg, as the evil sorcerer, Bopp, might now be aware of our approach. When the train stopped in the village of Kammerstein we unloaded our luggage. Sir Cosmo was able to buy several carriages and horses, and were soon underway over land.

Sir Cosmo had avoided the usually interminable discussion by assuring everyone we would have at least an hour during the overland journey to finalize the plans. Which was barely enough. Almost everyone, it seemed, had an idea for how to capture Bopp and recover the Bull of Damascus from the Teutonic Knights' compound.

Mr. Hasan said he could magickally transport himself directly to the Bull, bypassing any and all mystical barriers, because he had bound himself to the service of the four Guardians, and as a token of his vow he possessed a small amulet containing a sliver from each of the gemstones that the Guardians had originally been carved from. He had recovered a similar amulet from the body of the Compte D'Erlette, and he said that if one of our number would accept the amulet with a solemn vow to protect the Guardians until we passed the amulet on to another (such as back to Mr. Hasan), then he could take one of us with him into the temple itself. Once there, he could summon the Lion in its fiery chariot form, carrying a group of reinforcements.

Mr. Hasan planned to ask Bopp to surrender the Bull and allow himself to be arrested, and if he refused, then take it from him by force. Mr. Hasan said that if Bopp would not give up the Bull and his amulet peacefully, then the only ways to break the bond would be through Bopp's death, or if his own overlords (either the Archduke or the King) could be convinced to turn the artifact over.

Several of us immediately volunteered to be the person to accompany him. A bit of the usual disagreement occured on the points of which of us were most likely to be able to survive an encounter with Bopp and capture him without killing him, if possible. I must confess to being a bit confused. Everyone agreed that Bopp was a cold-blooded murderer who deserved the harshest penalties. Everyone also agreed that, if he put up a fight, he would use deadly force against us. Everyone was prepared to use deadly force to defend themselves in turn. Why, then, was there such a row about trying to take him without killing him?

Mr. O'Flaherty eventually won the right to go with Mr. Hasan, if we went with his plan.

Sir Cosmo and Mr. Frazer both had a slightly different plan. They believed that tunnels leading into the compound existed, and a small party could slip in and attempt to accomplish the same objectives and Mr. Hasan's plan. Several people pointed out that if we could find a tunnel, another group of reinforcements could enter the compound before Mr. Hasan and Mr. O'Flaherty and wait, in hiding, for their arrival. Edward and Miss Sinclair both immediately volunteered to accompany Mr. Frazer if a tunnel could be found.

Mr. Caine and Dr.Wilson had yet another plan. He suggested that a small group in a single carriage could get close enough to the main gate, that one of two people using Dr. Wilson's rocket belt, could fly into the guard towers, take the towers by force while the rest of their party follow on ropes the first two had carried with them. Dr. Wilson and Henri immediately volunteered to be the ones to fly up. Mr. Cuthbert and Insp. MacGreggor suggested that they should be in that party.

Miss Whitnell had a different plan, though her plan involved rather more of a distraction than an actual attack. She had noted on one of the maps Edward had copied a place called "Witch Hill" a couple miles from the compound, where the Teutonic Knights had executed heretics. The mystics could gather there and attempt to contact the spirits of some of the murderer witches, or perhaps Miss Metzger's mother, and either get the help of the spirits, or at least some information about the mystical defenses of the compound. In either case, the mystics could then start raising power for a spell, which would quickly attract the attention of Bopp, and perhaps keep him busy while one of the other attacks went forward.

It seemed clear that all of the plans would work rather neatly together. Mrs. Cuthbert had been meditated through much of the journey, and had learned some useful information. A policeman named Gruber (whom Mr. Frazer said he knew to be an honourable man), had been taken prisoner sometime recently while trying to sneak into the compound. He was trying to find evidence to tie Bopp to the murder that Insp. MacGreggor had reported to Kapitan Wymms. Mrs. Cuthbert also learned the location of a tunnel that led into the compound.

So we had a plan, we only had to decide who would go where. And we needed to modify one carriage, so the roof could be removed quickly.

Mr. Frazer, Miss Sinclair, Edward, Salmalin, Owen, and Turgenov would go to the tavern where the tunnel entrance was and creep into the compound. Their first objective was to free Herr Gruber. Their next priority would be to meet up with the others an offer reinforcement if needed.

Mr. Hasan and Mr. O'Flaherty would take the magickal route in.

Sir Cosmo, Mr. Ramsay, Mr. Deveril, and I would ride in on the chariot.

Mr. Cuthbert, Lt. Wooster, Mr. Caine, Dr. Wilson, and Henri would take the guard towers.

Miss Whitnell, Mrs. Cuthbert, Miss Metzger would contact the spirits (with Miss Chigwidgeon assisting with the chanting, and Emily standing guard).

The ghosts of Mr. Frazer's and Mr. MacGreggor's fathers would be used as a means to communicate with their parties. The rest of us would be on Witch Hill until signalled.

Witch Hill has become a residential district in the centuries since the Teutonic Knights routinely burned heretics at the stake there. We had a surprisingly easy time finding an abandoned house (Mr. Frazer, who is able to speak German in an accent that sounds as if he is from this region, asked directions and told us many houses are believed to be haunted). We found one with a large enough enclosed yard to set up the chariot in unobserved. Baron von Raalik was awaiting us. He had resigned his position with the Order of St. Jerome, and travelled here secretly, hoping we would try to use Witch Hill as a focal point for raising energy. He said he was there to assist us in any way possible.

His aura was still definitely his, but his was different. When he gave up his duties, he had turned several artifacts over to his successor. But he was still a powerful and skilled sorcerer. After some discussion, it was agreed he would join us on the chariot. He and Mr. Ramsay could add quite a magic punch to Mr. Hasan's efforts, if necessary.

Mrs. Cuthbert and the other mystics set up their magic circle inside a large "ballroom" with doors that opened onto the yard. First Mrs. Cuthbert tried to contact the spirits. Since this activity does not require raising mystic energy, they believed they could consult with the spirits without drawing Bopp's attention. Mrs. Cuthbert was successful. They discussed things with the spirits for some minutes. The ghosts of the witches were quite anxious to assist in any effort to revenge themselves upon the Teutonic Knights.

We were out in the yard. Mr. Hasan had drawn a chalk outline of were we should stand behind the Lion. When he summoned it, it would transform into the chariot and then carry us to the temple. The act of transforming would be the magickal equivalent of a gong, Mr. Hasan said, and Bopp would know where the Lion was, so the Lion would not transform until the last moment.

Miss Chigwidgeon rushed out to tell us we had received a message from Mr. Frazer's father. Mr. Frazer's party was in the sub-basements of the Temple. They had discovered an armoury full of experimental weapons, including etheric pulse guns, and some a very lage bomb made out of autonite batteries--one that scared Edward. Sir Cosmo actually went pale when he heard that. "I expected they would have the guns," he said, "but what madman would make an enormous autonite bomb?"

Mr. Hasan, meanwhile, hearing that Frazer was in position (and we later learned, sensing Bopp beginning to perform a ritual at the Temple), grabbed Mr. O'Flaherty's arm, spoke some words in his native tongue, and they simply vanished.

Miss Chigwidgeon was trying to explain further that Mrs. Cuthbert had been possessed by the spirits of the witches, who were casting their own spell, while Sir Cosmo was trying to give her a message to take back in to Miss Whitnell, when the chariots suddenly materialized around us and leapt into the heavens. Miss Chigwidgeon was dragged along with us. Less than two heartbeats later, we were inside the temple, where the fight was already in progress.

Mr. O'Flahtery was laying into more than a score of men dressed in uniforms, many with additional religious garments on. Mr. Hasan was on his hands and knees had been injured, and was on his hands and knees, trying to gather power.

I jumped from the chariot and knocked out one of the men who was turned toward us before he could draw his pistol. Sir Cosmo, Miss Chigwidgeon, and Mr. Deveril joined me, taking up positions in a protective square around Mr. Ramsay and the Baron, who were chanting like mad.

It was a stupendous battle! And hardly fair. They only outnumbered us four or five to one. And somewhere in the struggle Kali took control of Miss Chigwidgeon's body. I'm not sure if it happened with she was stomping on Bopp's throat, or when she pulled Herne's Dagger from his chest (and got herself covered in blood). But the goddess showed up and was in a fighting mood.

We could here gunshots, explosions, and shouts outside. We hadn't quite gotten all the bad guys in the temple taken care of when more soldiers came running in through the big doors. Most of them were armed with guns. I was really wishing that Master Tandu had taught me the trick to avoiding bullets. More importantly, I was wishing I knew how to shield the others from bullets. I needn't have worried. The Baron and Mr. Ramsay finished their first spell. I could see the power wash over the soldiers. Most of them dropped their guns. Most of those who didn't, seemed to have forgotten what guns are used for, and started swinging them at us like clubs. Mr. Deveril and Sir Cosmo quickly picked off the others while Mr. O'Flaherty and I waded into the rest.

It was difficult to keep track of what was happening. The spell Bopp and the others had been casting had gone wild. I'm not nearly as good at seeing and sensing these things as Salmalin. That also means I'm not as good at blocking them out when necessary. It was like I was fighting inside a very loud windstorm that most of the others could neither see or feel. Kali was standing near the center of the storm, impatiently taunting some being that seemed to be inside Bopp's corpse. I couldn't really pay attention, because it was a rather large crowd of soldiers coming through the doors.

There was magickal explosion behind us. I heard Emily wail, "Where's my note?!" The mystics had somehow been transported to the temple. Emily charged into the soldiers with a crazed look in her eyes. I got out of her way and let her take the lead.

There was another magickal explosion below us. Someone had been raising power (perhaps to try to reign in the wild spell) and had lost control of it. The mystics had two wild spells to deal with. We had lots of soldiers to worry about, so I missed some of the next bit.

Apparently the god that the Teutonic Knights secret worship physically manifested, hatching out of Bopp's corpse like a bird out an egg. Kali tore right into him. Mr. O'Flaherty, who had been trying to assist the mystics in raising power (Miss Whitnell told me later that she found she could pull power from both the Bull and the Lion through him!), suddenly rushed forward and joined the fight. He had been possessed, too. With all the mystical energy running wild, what with the ghost witches called up Herne, the two wild spells, and several of the artifacts in one place, apparently it was rather easy for the gods to step through the veil.

Kali and Herne, using Miss Chigwidgeon's body and Mr. O'Flaherty's body, knocked this other god (Mrs. Cuthbert later called him the Black Pharoah) right through the stone wall and out of the building. And they ran out after him.

Miss Whitnell believed the gods were getting out of hand. She and Mrs. Cuthbert remembered something from their earlier diviniations: Kali's blood could close the rift in the veil. Or Kali's love. Miss Whitnell grabbed Sir Cosmo and told him he had to go kiss Miss Chigwidgeon in order to get Kali focused on creation instead of destruction.

About this point was when Mr. Frazer's party joined us, having freed Herr Gruber from a cell in the basement. Mrs. Cuthbert began healing some of the most wounded our our number while the rest followed Miss Whitnell and Sir Cosmo. Emily, meanwhile, had run out of soldiers to defeat, and had charged after the Black Pharoah.

By the time I got out where I could see what was happening, things had gotten even more chaotic.

The Black Pharoah had grown to more than fifty feet tall. Mr. O'Flaherty was swiftly doing the same. Mr. Cuthbert and Henri had the canon in one of the guard towers aimed toward the Black Pharoah. Lt. Wooster, Mr. Caine, were firing the other one at him. Dr. Wilson was setting up one of his larger rockets.

Sir Cosmo had managed to stop Miss Chigwidgeon and he kissed her. I don't know how he survived kissing Kali. Lightning flew off of them, striking all around us.

Mr. O'Flaherty and the Black Pharoah were wrestling. Emily was somewhere in among their feet, stabbing at the Black Pharoah.

Lt. Wooster's canon exploded. Not in the controlled firing way, either. Their guard tower was completely engulfed in smoke. Stone and metal fragments rained down on the ground. Mr. O'Flaherty scooped Emily out of harm's way. The Black Pharoah reached into the cloud of smoke and plucked Lt. Wooster out of the ruins. Even from as far away as the temple, I could see that Wooster was bruised, bleeding, and smoldering.

He taunted the Black Pharoah. Apparently Bopp's mind was still in there, somewhat in control. Bopp and Wooster have a History, as Wilhelmina explained it later. Wooster's insults struck a nerve--the Black Pharoah was fuming and telling Wooster what horrible things would be done to him in the next world. And he completely ignored what was happening behind him.

Sir Cosmo and Miss Chigwidgeon were still bathed in lightning and fire, but Kali was rising as a physical manifestation from the flames. She grabbed the Black Pharoah around the neck from behind and lifted him in the air. She continued to grow, taller and taller. The Black Pharoah seemed to shrink in her clutches.

Wooster fell free at about this point. Fortunately Mr. O'Flahery caught him. Kali had raised the Black Pharoah high into the sky. There seemed to be a hole in the sky. It looked like water going down the drain. Kali shoved the Black Pharoah into the hole, then she seemed to take hold of the edges of the hole, somehow, and closed it. Then she seemed to fade away.

The soldiers and knights all the rest seemed to have finally come to their senses, and were running away. I was just thinking we should follow their example, when I heard Miss Sinclair shouting, all breathless.

I started toward the sound of her voice. I realized I'd lost track of Edward in the fracas. Miss Sinclair and Edward were running up the stairs from the sub-basement. Miss Sinclair was berating Edward non-stop about some plan or idea of which she did not approve. When Edward caught sight of me, he called out, "Good idea run away, now!" Miss Sinclair yelled simply, "Bomb! Run!"

Mr. Hassan commanded the Lion and the Bull to transform into chariots. Mr. Cuthbert and Insp. MacGreggor was already rounding up some carriages and wagons. It took only a few minutes to get all of the League into the vehicles and begin riding out, swiftly. Everyone seemed at least slightly wounded, but conscious. Except Baron van Raalik. He was dead, and Mrs. Cuthbert said she could do nothing for him. "He's been called to his reward," she said.

Most of the mystics had gone in Mr. Hassan's chariots to the house on Witch Hill. They imediately began casting a spell to continue the explosion. Those of us in the wagons were about halfway to the hill with the first bomb went off. It was followed immediately my more explosions than I could count. We learned later that Edward had set one of the autonite batteries to overload. Since the battery was only slightly larger than the one that had destroyed Jerrold Moriarty, Edward had reasoned that the explosion would be only slightly larger. Sir Cosmo explained later that twice as much autonite will release four times as much force. Also, the explosion caused the other autonite batteries to explode, as well.

The Teutonic Knights' temple was reduced to ashes and gravel. So were most of the other buildings inside the compound.

We tended our wounded, packed up, and left the city, boarding a train for Berlin.

Thursday, 4 August

We were met in Berlin by some agitated officials and a markedly un-agitated Kapitan Wymms. Wymms was very pleased to see Herr Gruber alive. He took Gruber aside to take his report before we were allowed to leave the station. Wymms spent sometime interviewing Mr. Frazer and Inspector MacGreggor, while Sir Cosmo and the British Ambassador sorted things out with the other government officials.

We have been set up in the British Embassy. The Berlin Embassy is not as spacious a house as that in Metz or in Antwerp, so we have placed a bit of a strain on their resources. I accompanied Sir Cosmo, Mr. Hassan, Miss Whitnell, and Mr. Frazer to the home of Archduke Wilhelm. We were met by Kapitan Wymms and Herr Gruber and one of the Prussian officials, a Prince Niklaus.

The Archduke was very pleased to officially return the Bull of Damascus to Mr. Hassan, who will conduct it back to Istanbul and holy men there.

After we returned to the Embassy, Sir Cosmo took Edward aside and told him that the Archduke sent his thanks to 'whichever one it was who snuck the warning note into his pocket.' Sir Cosmo also pointed out that most of the previous honour guard members were in jail, and that the Archduke was once more being watched over by soldiers from Austria.

Sir Cosmo has more meetings tomorrow with Prussian officials and at the Austrian Embassy. The rest of the household will be allowed to go shopping or see the sights, as they wish. Mr. Hassan and Mr. Deverill will be leaving us. Mr. Deveril is accompany Mr. Hassan as far as Walachia, where Mr. Deveril will return the Assyrian Book of the Dead to the monastery from which the Compte D'Erlette stole it. Inspector MacGreggor and Mr. Frazer have more reports to make. They do not know if they will be staying with us, or heading directly back to London tomorrow.

Proceed to Dark, deadly chambers

Return to the Others Index

Return to Main Menu

Contents this page copyright 2004 by Gene Breshears. All Rights Reserved.