We have just arrived back at No.12.

I had a strange dream on the train, through which Mr O’Flaherty’s portion of the Cosh Semkhet was trying to communicate with me. It was slightly clearer than trying to communicate verbally through Mr O’Flaherty, but still far from edifying. Others had dreams as well, but I suspect I am the only person who asked any sensible questions.

The dream began with my Father and I sitting in the Study at our home in Bridgwater. He asked me what I would most like to understand. It took some time for me to recognise that this was not merely a dream, and that the entity speaking to me was not merely a dream image of my father. The Cosh seems to have selected trusted persons in the lives of each of us, and appeared in those guises.

I spent a small amount of time indulging my curiosity about the nature of the Cosh, and wasted a bit of time having a debate about whether there is a God (though neither the Cosh nor I spoke of it quite that directly). I devoted most of my effort to trying to understand the exact threat posed by the Shadows and the best methods of keeping them at bay.
The Cosh never quite satisfied me as to why we should believe that the Cosh are good and the Shadows are bad.

According to the Cosh Semkhet, the Shadows can only take over a willing host. However, the Shadows are not scrupulous in convincing people to be their servants; they use any and all forms of temptation and deceit. The Cosh implied that such an one as myself could easily be swayed by the promise of knowledge, and thus was Mr Oliphant turned to their purpose. They can use all sorts of high principles to their advantage. Not unlike the Cosh.

I also asked about the part of Cosh which is responsible for the deaths of Dr Kenyon, Col Dunbar, and Sir Robert. According the part I was speaking to, there are actually three parts, in addition to the one held by Miss Botley, roaming about the earth. Each of them travels in a cart and each of them has a human assistant. They are in teams as follows:
1) Cosh “Kolef” with human Mr Clark
2) Cosh “Ulkesh” with human Mr Groom
3) Cosh “Nanok” with human Mr Marshall.

The portion I was speaking to could not tell me where any of those other parts might be, nor whether all the incidents we are investigating were perpetrated by the same pair or different pairs.

I asked what we could do to stop the destructive methods of the roaming pair or pairs, and was told we would simply have to find them and convince them to stop. I am hoping that we can track at least the human half of one or more pairs. They must eat something, live somewhere, buy train tickets, and have their washing done by someone.

Our piece of the Cosh Semkhet seems to be saying that the only way to get all these entities out of England is to find the missing piece of Cosh, which is probably being carried by Miss Botley, and rejoin it to the other pieces of Cosh. Miss Botley’s Cosh is evidently hiding from the others. Why?

If she or her Cosh don’t want to rejoin the others, I am not willing to kidnap her and force the issue. I think all the League will agree that protecting the girl’s interests is a primary consideration.

I just hope we can find Miss Botley before either the Shadows or the other Cosh.

We are about to set off again in various directions about London:

Sir Cosmo, with Lady Cowperthwaite, Mr O’Flaherty, Lt Wooster, and Mr Caine are going to the offices of the Times in order to learn Mr Oliphant’s address and examine his premises.

Mr and Mrs Salmalin are taking the still-unconscious Major Powell to the Lord High Warlock’s offices, where he can be cared for and, one presumes, face a reckoning for his unsatisfactory performance.

Inspector MacGreggor is checking at the Constabulary to learn if any of our inquiries after Miss Botley have borne fruit.

Edward, Mrs Wooster, Mr Frazer and I are checking with various sources in the streets.

Relevant to our current task is the news that over the past day or two, numerous people have sighted “angels” about the city. Some people have been mysteriously driven mad, and are either dumbstruck or raving about angels.

We hope we can find some physical traces of the so-called angels or their human assistants if we look to where sightings have occurred.

(Later)
One of the persons struck dumb is none other than the unfortunate Davy Hawkins. Davy had been working for the Wonka Confectionery, and we made our way there to examine the scene–the alley behind Mr Wonka’s shop.

When we arrived, we met up with our own Inspector MacGreggor, who had actually seen Davy at Bethlehem Hospital.

We found marks very similar to those we found in the alleyway in Manchester–small wheels. Shoe prints were difficult to sort out, as many have crossed over the trail since it was laid. The dogs were very clear that the same type of “bad” as they found in Manchester had been here, but they could not positively identify the same human accomplice.

I found a button, of the size and style I would expect to come from a man’s coat cuff, but of a material unfamiliar to me. It had a faint reek of salt and bitterness, almost like a dead jellyfish, which I had also smelled in Manchester.

Mr Wonka came out of his establishment. He is an interesting fellow. He was not at all surprised by our antics, and was anxious to help solve the mystery of what had happened to Davy.

He sprayed some sweet-smelling liquid over the tracks. I was astonished to see different sets of tracks turn different colors. He said the different colors represented different times. He pointed out that the wheel tracks were a particular shade of green, and we looked for shoe prints of the same color. We found some– a man’s shoe, of a very slightly larger size than Mr Frazer’s, with a smooth leather sole. It had few distinguishing marks, unfortunately–no maker’s insignia, no recognisable notches in the heel, no nail marks. The dirt in the alley was not quite deep enough for a detailed impression, and had been considerably disturbed.

Then Mr Wonka asked to examine the button. He produced a strange device like a compass, but made all out of hard sugar candy. He tinkered with it for a bit, putting our button inside it. He declared that the candy compass would now point to the person whose coat had lost the button. Mr Frazer took it, and we prepared to pursue the possible human accomplice of Cosh.

We asked Sgt Frazer to convey the message to Mrs Cuthbert back at Charles Street, as to the approximate direction of our quarry. The Sgt returned to tell us that Mrs Cuthbert and Mrs Salmalin had scried for the pseudoseraphs and had also received a message from Comtesse de Brabant, all pointing in roughly the same direction.

We all found one another on the green of the park at Bunhill Fields. Some of us arrived in time to see one of the pseudoseraphs flying up into the sky. I found this highly vexing, as I had been rehearsing my arguments to convince it to stop attacking people and leave the finding to us. Someone had the idea of asking Mr O’Flaherty’s part of Cosh to reveal itself, so that the just departed creature would return to investigate. The piece of Cosh would have none of this however, saying that we would not be able to convince the creature and we would all be in dire danger. This seemed to contradict the advice it gave me in our dream conversation, but it seemed to think I had misunderstood it. Very annoying, but I should hardly expect better from a dream.

Many of the party, attempting to follow the trail we believed to be that of Miss Botley, started meandering in strange weaving paths. Eventually Edward found a little straw figure which looked much like a rustic Christmas decoration–a little straw doll with wings.

The Mystics, with the addition of the Comtesse and also Mrs Cake (who seems to have come to Town at the behest of some premonition involving Lady Cowperthwaite), scried for its history and saw a woman they recognised as “Mad Hetty”. This eccentric old woman is a reputed witch living around the Dockside. The Mystics determined that this Hetty had created a decoy with the straw doll, infused with something of Miss Botley’s piece of Cosh. She had placed it here in the early afternoon, and surrounded it with small traps which cause mental confusion and tangled trails.

Once she had left, say the Mystics, Mr Oliphant and his servants came to investigate. This is surprising, since we left Mr Oliphant and his servants quite messily dead on the road from Worcestershire just this morning. It would appear that some kind of regeneration is among the abilities of the Shadows.

Mr Oliphant, after some circular wandering, left the area. Then came one of the Cosh and one of the human assistants. The Mystics could not confirm whether the human was missing a button from his coat. In any case, they also departed, and then we ourselves arrived.

This whole situation suggests that Mad Hetty may be protecting Miss Botley, and may therefore know where we can find her.

Edward and Emily Mrs Wooster, Lt Wooster, Mr O’Flaherty, and Sir Spencer are going to the Dockside to look for Mad Hetty. Fortunately, Mr Caine is going also, so there is someone with some sense along.

Sir Cosmo has a different task in mind. He reported that in his earlier visit to Mr Oliphant’s rooms, he and his group came across a reference in one of Mr Oliphant’s books describing an artifact which belongs to the Bishop Observatory. The description sounds remarkably like the medallion we found at Doverton Abbey. Sir Cosmo wants to have a look at it, in case it might be useful in our investigations, and to prevent it from being useful to anyone we find objectionable.

He will take Mrs Salmalin and Mrs Cuthbert with him, and George as well.

I must stay put for the moment. Not only is it past time to feed the babies, but Lady Cowperthwaite is still recovering from her labours, and baby Galen has probably had quite enough of traveling about. I must stay to set a good example of domestic motherhood. How nauseating. Though if past experience is any indicator, we will have some kind of excitement thrust upon us whether we will or no. Mr Salmalin is here with us, and I expect Mr Frazer will be returning soon. If any hazard approaches, I am sure we will be equal to it. Until then, this is a good time to try to rest.

Proceed to Certainly tricky

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