Sunday, 27 June 1875
(afternoon)
Today we are settling in, if only briefly, at Mhow. It is hot and
muddy, but we are settled as comfortably as may be. We are
occupying 2 houses in the British part of the town. We have the
assistance not only of Mr Nahaseemapetilon's relations, but Tattvick's
family as well. This outpost was Mrs Salmalin's home during her
unhappy first marriage, and she has been looking about her in the
bemused fashion of one returning to a familiar place after a long
absence and great changes in life.
I detect a certain frisson of nervous excitement among our traveling
"below stairs" staff. This visit home by Tattvick will certainly
bring the growing Understanding between Tattvick and our footman David
to the parental test. It is hard to guess what will happen. From
what I have seen, this manner of a girl finding her own husband would
be entirely unthinkable to a hindu family. And yet, Tattvick's
mother was willling and able to send her daughter half-way around the
world to accompany Victoria so many years ago. This suggests
either a complete disregard for the daughter's safety and happiness or
a remarkable degree of trust and forward-thinking. Given how
fondly Victoria speaks of Tattvick's family and how self-possessed
Tattvick is, I find the latter more likely.
Considering Tattvick's age now, quite old for a bride here, perhaps
they will be glad to see her settled well. I expect Lady
Cowperthwaite is quite ready to contribute handsomely to the Bride
Price or the Dowry. For all that the missionaries decry the Hindu
customs as heathenish, it is really not so different from the English
way.
Although below-stairs courtship is hardly my demesne (provided it is
conducted with correct decorum), I cannot help but feel a concern to
the outcome. Our staff is far more important to us than to most
households. In every house where I served as a governess, the
only notice that the Family would take of such goings-on would be to
forbid romantic involvements. Needless to say, the League is nothing
like such households. We have all been together through astounding
events, and have risked our lives for one another uncountable
times. I do feel a personal concern for David's and Tattvick's
happiness, and if necessary, I will Get Involved. Discreetly, of
course.
Sunday, 27 June 1875
(evening)
Today was not an enjoyable day.
The League of Shadows has revealed a significant infestation of their
fighters here, and although we have won the day, I am sure we will see
more in the days to come. Lady Cowperthwaite's connexion to Kali
has manifested in a manner which saved us, but has left me with a
powerful revulsion. I cannot forget the sight of her with the
blood of an opponent's heart running down her chin as she sucked his
life out.
The first hints of what was to come appeared while we were visiting
Tattvick's family-- the Pratijnyas. We were subjected to an
endless round of introductions as word got round the neighborhood and
all manner of people came by to see Tattvick and Mrs Salmalin, and meet
Lady Cowperthwaite, and so on. David stayed more-or-less with the
hired carriage (more of a wagon, really), looking extremely nervous the
entire time. Mr Salmalin moved in and out of the Pratijnya house
and courtyard. His intended station was outside, near the
carriage, but within call, where he could discreetly size up each group
of people as they came by. He had not counted on the enthusiasm
of the neighborhood to meet the man who married the former Mrs. Captain
Forrester. Of course he is not a man typically comfortable with
being the center of attention, but I expect he was secretly pleased
with the friendly welcome and particularly with the general adoration
of his daughter.
During this visit, we became acquainted with two young men who, after
various conversational convolutions, were revealed as adherents of the
local cult of Kali. They had been instructed to find the Avatar
(Lady Cowperthwaite) and protect her from harm. Specifically,
from the cult of Vritra, whose adherents would try to capture her for
sacrifice, but from any other threats as well. The cult of Kali
is significant in this area, including the large temple at Balaghat,
the destination of our expedition. We were all being scrutinized
by the local followers, including ordinary townspeople and the
dedicated local Thuggees. Mr Salmalin (and I later learned
George as well) received particular scrutiny and assessment. The
first signal I had was the sight of Mr Salmalin, outside, shaking hands
with a young man. They seemed to hold the grip a fraction longer
than usual, and look into one another's faces with a strange
intensity. The mere fact of the handshake was unusual--native
people here seem to greet one another with hands folded together before
their chests and a little bow or nod. This meeting seemed to be a
testing of mettle, a dominance display.
This young man, we learned, was Rishi. Also at this gathering was
his companion Viveck, who seemed somewhat older, considerably more
relaxed, and far less concerned with either ritual secrecy or keeping
up appearances. Lady Cowperthwaite found him in the garden and
immediately engaged him in conversation, and it was from him we learned
some of what was going on.
The circumstance of being surrounded and scrutinised by
Kali-worshippers filled me with some degree of unease, as thuggees are
generally feared, and for good reason. We may have our particular
Thuggee-trained persons, who have been somewhat tamed by living among
us--even so, they are usually inscrutable and often very frightening in
their motives and their abilitites. Allegiance to a goddess who
at various times thrives in bloodshed is not necessarily a
recommendation to friendship in my opinion.
It is somewhat like keeping a wolf in the house--its ferocious aspects
may be tempered by its sense of loyalty to persons it regards as part
of its pack, and it may often be as gentle and loving as any pet dog,
but it does not think in the same way, and anyone who forgets that may
be in for a nasty surprise.
Still, as long as they respected Lady Cowperthwaite as the Avatar of
Kali, I hoped we would be relatively safe, and they could potentially
be helpful.
Around 3:30 in the afternoon, we decided to explore the
marketplace. Some of the members of our group who had not joined
us at the Pratijnya home were going to meet us there--Mr Frazer and the
MacGreggors, Mrs Wooster, Sir Cosmo, Wilhelmina, and George. Sir
Spencer, Mr O'Flaherty, and Lt Wooster, however, were investigating the
possible gatherings of Soldiers where they hoped to find their sort of
amusement--it being Sunday, the Public Houses were not open, but we all
know that Soldiers can find a place to gather anywhere, at any time,
and can miraculously produce various spirits.
As we arrived at the market, I was surprised that many of the stalls
and shops were closing--none of our native hosts had indicated that the
market closed so early. I quickly surmised that this was not
normal closing--the people in the market were surreptitiously
fleeing. My surprise faded, to be replaced by annoyance and a
faint thrill of apprehension.
I was not especially startled when a group of men in Ligue des Ombres
pyjamas appeared before us and swiftly also behind--seven men
altogether. Their spokesman harshly demanded that we surrender
Lady Cowperthwaite to them, because they needed her to be bait in some
trap for the followers of Vritra. Since the followers of Vritra
are currently high on our list of Undesirables, I thought they might be
making clumsy overtures for an alliance. Lady Cowperthwaite
seemed to think so as well, and asked them for an explanation of their
plan, in case she might want to participate. They continued to be
rude and demanding, and paid no heed to our warnings. I was
surprised at their overconfidence--they had only seven visible
partisans, and though I could hear others moving quietly nearby, I
still thought they would be hard-pressed to take our party of five--Mr
Salmalin was with us, after all, and he could take seven as fast as I
could draw a hatpin. I could also hear the approaching sound of
Sir Cosmo's etheric pulse gun, the high whine as it was preparing to
fire.
The odds proved a little worse for us that my initial assessment.
The Ombres leader made a rather absurd dramatic flourish and the
curtains covering a number of the stall fronts were whisked away,
revealing more black pyjamas and the curved Japanese swords most
favoured by the Ombres. He declared that they had four hundred
fighters ready. Then our own partisans appeared from several
quarters--Sir Cosmo, Wilhelmina and George, Mrs Wooster, and the
MacGreggors and Mr Frazer. As the fight began, we were also
joined by a number of men in the clothing of ordinary villagers, but
with that economy of motion I have come to associate with trained
fighters. Among these were our new acquaintances Rishi and
Viveck.
Each of us fought in our particular ways. It was a difficult
battle, since even with all the local thuggees helping we were still
outnumbered. I sustained a collection of cuts and bruises in
surprisingly short order, despite my efforts to keep out of
reach.
Our situation became most dire when a trio of additional enemies
arrived, flying through the air and landing beside us. Each of
the three seemed to have a particular mystical ability. One
seemed to direct air or wind in a very tightly controlled way--he could
strike a single opponent or a whole line, and I suspect he had used
this ability to lift and carry himself and his companions through the
air. Another could produce fire, seemingly from the air, without
fuel, and direct it from his hands. The last man was very
large--on the order of Mr O'Flaherty, and seemed to be simply
exceptionally strong. All three seemed to be practically
invulnerable--shrugging off bullets, kicks, knives, and whatever else
we tried. I even sacrificed my overskirt, trying to entangle the
firey one. I had liberally doused the skirt with the water in my
canteen, and thrown it over his head, but the entire thing burst into
flame and was instantly gone. At least it wasn't one of my newest
ones.
At some point here, I heard Mr O'Flaherty, Sir Spencer, and Lt Wooster
join the fray from the other side of the bulk of the Ombres fighters,
especially seeing Sir Spencer's large-calibre ammunition tearing great
pieces from the powerful warriors, but scarcely slowing them.
Somehow Mrs Salmalin knocked down the fire thrower, just in time to
keep me from being charred. She was somewhat entangled with him
on the ground, but she got the upper hand and stabbed him very solidly
downward through the chest, chanting with desperate intensity.
Flame shot out of his chest and threw her backward, but Mr Salmalin
jumped in to keep him down as she lay scorched and dazed nearby.
Meanwhile, the enemy with the air powers had struck Sir Cosmo
down. Little did he know what that would bring about. Lady
Cowperthwaite was predictably infuriated, and out came the Voice of
Kali. After throwing the opponent about a bit, Lady Cowperthwaite
took the rather drastic hands-on approach of striking his chest with
her bare hand, driving right through the skin and the sternum, and she
pulled out his heart.
I can't imagine how it can work. The heart appeared to be his own
real heart, but it seemed to come very quickly detached from all
its vessels, when I would have expected them to trail along in a
tangle, or to be severed and quickly exsanguinate. Instead, the heart
continued to beat in Lady Cowperthwaite's hand, the man was still alive
and fighting. It must be some sort of a mystical metaphorical
process--something similar happened to Captain Forrester when he became
the Fist of Shiva.
Although the removal of the heart did not kill the wind man, when Lady
Cowperthwaite squeezed the heart, he screamed and writhed. It was
dramatic and horrible, but also effective. Mr Salmalin, seeing
this, grabbed the heart from the flaming enemy, though he at least had
the convenient hole cut by Mrs Salmalin, then enlarged with his own
knife, to reach through. He even poured Mrs Salmalin's holy water on
the flaming heart.
The giant fellow had flown off, I wasn't sure if he had been struck or
thrown, or if he had gone in pursuit of someone of our party.
I was just thinking we might have a chance, when all of the remaining
Ombres fighters other than the firey and windy fellows collapsed and
began to smoulder, seemingly spontaneously. Lines of light shot
out from each one, and came to one of the two special warriors.
Mrs Salmalin said the warriors were taking the life force of the lesser
fighters to bolster themselves. I could see some of the
lines bend their paths toward her as she captured the power and
prevented the two warriors from taking it. Preventing them from
regenerating themselves seemed like a good idea to me.
Remembering my success in keeping the spirit of Paolo Pilkington out of
his body with my mere proximity, I thought I could deflect the lines by
interposing myself. However, just before I put myself in the way,
I heard Sgt Frazer (more clearly that I often do) shout "No!" and I saw
him suddenly, throwing himself toward me as though to push me away from
the lines of light. I took the warning at once and stepped back,
but Sgt Frazer was committed to his trajectory and as he touched the
lines, it was as though he was pulled along the lines and toward the
warriors himself.
It was at this point that I realised that Lady Cowperthwaite had the
heart in her mouth, and she was sucking ferociously--all the lines of
light were passing into the wind warrior and were coming through him to
the heart and into her--this now included Sgt Frazer. I cannot
imagine what might have happened to me if he hadn't intervened.
Would some part of me have been pulled into Lady Cowperthwaite?
It's all quite beyond me. I am just glad that whatever Sgt Frazer
feared did not happen to me or my fragile Passengers. He was
later recovered, shocked and disheveled, but more-or-less himself.
The wind man and the fire man were both down, and all the other Ombres
fighters had disintegrated. We were left in the market square in
various states of injury (some quite serious, Mrs MacGreggor, Mrs
Salmalin, and Sir Cosmo among them). Lady Cowperthwaite, once
assured that Sir Cosmo would be alright, was ready to go off to find
the very large man.
We had one further complication, however...A small cart came rattling
into the square, driven by Galen, with Caroline, Robert, and Octavia
riding in back. Violet and Daru were not to be found, but they
were accompanied by Lord Vaughn, who rode his own horse solemnly beside
the cart. And well should he be solemn, for Octavia held him at
gunpoint. He seemed to understand that she was deadly serious,
and did not test her resolve or make light of the situation.
As it turned out, Galen had heard his mother and convinced the
others to come to the rescue. They had tricked Violet and Daru
into going into the butler's pantry and had locked them in. I am
not sure how they harnessed the horses. They had encountered Lord
Vaughn along the way, and when they challenged him, he indicated that
he was coming to investigate a disturbance. He attempted to
convince them to return home, but they did not trust his intentions or
allegiance, and they did not want him free to act against them or us,
so they insisted that he come along until they could find their parents
and assess the situation.
It would appear that we have further work to do regarding
self-discipline for these children. We have raised them to defend
themselves and use their wits against potential attackers, but (not
surprisingly for 3- and 4-year-old children) they lack judgement as to
what requires their intervention. I suspect that Galen will be
the core of the problem--he has the ability to hear when the Voice of
Kali is employed, and he inevitably comes running. The other
children follow him--it seems to be their natural heirarchy--and they
all (with the possible exception of Robert) want to be where the action
is. Since Galen's mother seems to find the whole matter amusing
rather than cause for concern, I will find it heavy going to halt this
behaviour problem. I may need to address my concerns to Sir
Cosmo, who seems to be the only person who can really influence Lady
Cowperthwaite. I digress...
Several of our party, led by Lady Cowperthwaite, went toward the river
to search for the largest warrior, who, it turns out, had been carried
off that direction by George. They did not find him. Some
bystanders reported that they had seen a large man emerge from the
river and flee away from the town.
It was only later that any of the large garrison of soldiers made an
appearance. We learned that most of the soldiers were being
handily distracted from the site of the marketplace ambush by the
simple expedient of the Ombres agents secretly buying them all
continuous rounds at the not-a-pub. We were lucky that our 3
gentlemen made it to us at all, much less sober enough to fight.
Perhaps it is just as well that the common soldiers were not present
for the battle. Not only would they have suffered great
casualties from the Ombres fighters, but it might have been difficult
to explain some of the goings-on.
Mrs Cuthbert has worked on many of us. My own injuries were not
so severe as to require her help, others needed her far more than
I. Once she assured me, quietly, of the well-being of my
Passengers, I busied myself with bandages and ointments for
everyone. I will have some interesting new scars.
Monday, 28 June 1875
In the aftermath of yesterday's battle, we had a few
new developments in the case, as well as a great deal of
mopping-up.
Inspector MacGreggor handled most of the reports to the local
constables and army officers--he offered reasonable explanations of the
noises and mess, which were gladly accepted. In this one regard,
the self-immolation of the Ombres opponents is rather convenient.
Both Daru and Violet have continued to be upset by the bad behaviour of
the children yesterday. Several of us have assured them that we
in no way consider the situation their fault, and in fact the children
are ashamed of their actions now that they must face the dismay and
distrust of their beloved nursery staff and their parents. The
point I made with the children was that if they really think that they
are needed to help their parents, then probably Daru and Violet are
needed also, and locking them up is a terrible mistake. But, most
of the time, having them nearby if there is trouble only makes their
Mothers and Fathers worry, which means it is harder to concentrate on
any necessary fighting. They seem chastened, but I doubt that
will last through the next sound of the Voice.
Dr Langtry had the temerity to call after luncheon. He was
received rather coldly, because he had interfered with Mrs Cuthbert's
intelligence-gathering efforts yesterday in quite an arrogant, cavalier
manner. At the time, she more-or-less sent him off with a flea in
his ear, but he obviously expected we would excuse it because of his
position. He seems to think his rank with the LHW gives him some
sort of carte blanche to tell the rest of us our business. He is
unable to comprehend exactly how unimpressive we find his credentials
in the face of his annoying personality.
Among the intelligence gathered by Mrs Cuthbert, and not shared with Dr
Langtry, was a vision of Count Lyndrom and Mr von Klatna seeking
sanctuary in the Mission of the Sisters of St Francis. In the
afternoon, a large group of us proceeded to investigate. We were
received by the sisters, two of whom we had met on the train. They
managed to indicate, despite the restrictions of their laws of
Sanctuary, that the two men had been there yesterday but had left
overnight. Lady Cowpertwaite has put the word out among her local
"protectors" that we would like to know where they went, and I'm
certain that will bring us some clues.
Last, several of us went to tea with the Pratijnya ladies. I
rather like Mrs Pratijnya. She bustles about seeming disarmingly
scatty, but I see that this masks a very shrewd person, making a
serious assessment of all of us. I wish the mothers of girls I
looked after in England had been half so clever, it would have averted
some unfortunate matches.
This evening, we had a light supper, after I sent the children to bed
early. I feel all my injuries stiffening, despite my efforts to
stretch, so I doubt I will sleep soundly.
Tuesday, 29 June 1875
Today brought an entirely unlooked-for
occurence. The largest of the Ombres fighters, the one who
escaped, came to see Lady Cowperthwaite and beg her forgiveness.
How astounding. As a member of the Ligues des Ombres, he
theoretically believes in the cleansing power of Chaos.
Apparently, he has seen the light and realized that there is no chaos
greater than Lady Cowperthwaite and Kali. I keep trying to tell
these people that, this is the first time one of them believed
it. And he hasn't even seen Galen at work yet!
Lady Cowperthwaite accepted his homage, but wisely chose not to employ
him immediately in our midst so freshly recruited. She charged
him with finding the strange holy man we met in the temple courtyard in
Bombay, the one who is still performing penance for his attempt to
abduct and sacrifice Namaste as a child. The giant man is to
follow the mentorship of that holy man in doing Kali's work.
Sir Cosmo has been out trying to contract a guide and enough Elephants
for our entire expedition. This is proving difficult, due to the
large number of gentlemen's hunting expeditions currently
underway. Really, I don't know why so many men seem to think it
amusing to kill a lot of animals with large firearms. They don't
even take proper field notes about the animals. Many of the
animals are not even taken for meat, only for trophies. What is
the purpose? We have important business, and all those men are
tromping about using the resources we need for their trivial and
wasteful entertainment. It drives me quite mad, especially since
we have two of them in our own party, and I am constrained from telling
them what I think of it all.
The weather continues hot and unpleasant, and is making me very
cross. I have tried napping through the hot part of the day, but
I cannot settle. Perhaps I can find a cup of that cardamom-laced
tea.
Wednesday, 30 June 1875
Today we had word that two European men matching the
descriptions of Count Lyndrom and Mr von Klatna left the town early
Monday morning on horseback, but information as to their direction is
inconclusive. I fully expect to cross paths with them again, and
soon. Mrs Cuthbert's information suggests that Count Lyndrom may
be held under some mesmeric state by von Klatna. We are certain
that von Klatna is a sorcerer of some sort, but it is unclear if Count
Lyndrom has any abilities in his own right, or how willingly he is
proceeding. If, as we suspect, they are a part of the cult of
Vritra, their goal is to capture and sacrifice Lady Cowperthwaite, the
Avatar of Kali, in order to take Kali's power for Vritra. If they
are loose in the jungle, they may try to move against us on our route
to Balaghat.
It is interesting to note that the Ligue des Ombres are working against
the followers of Vritra. But what are they working toward?
Some other deity's ascendance? An atheistic agenda? I hope
we can find out before we are caught between them.
The houses are full of chatter about the marriage prospects for David
and Tattvick. David managed to ask Mr Pratijnya about it
yesterday, and he was not so sanguine about the result. Various efforts
to reassure him have met with little success, but Mr Pratijnya came to
call on Stuart and David today, and was also received by Sir Cosmo, who
gave very good reports of David. I expect the resistance being
offered by Mr Pratijnya is essentially pro-forma, but that does not
make it easier for David to take.
Thursday, 1 July 1875
This morning I returned to participation in
exercises. Several of us are still working a bit tentatively in
respect to our injuries and Conditions. Mrs Wooster has been
primarily instructing Sir Cosmo in learning to fence with a set of
swords he got in Bombay. George has been helping the rest of us
keep fit, which is interesting. He lacks some of Mr Salmalin's
Gravitas, but not by much. I still know to respect his speed and
heed his instructions. Especially since I have not told anyone
about the Passengers. I think Mr Salmalin and George both know,
somehow, because they are not so ferocious with me as I know they can
be. Mrs Salmalin has told me that Mr Salmalin is trained to
perceive "auras," which I think allows him to see any extras that might
be along. He is very close-mouthed, though, and I think George
will follow his
example.
In household news, David's suit for Tattvick's hand has at last been
accepted, and suddenly the plans for a betrothal ceremony have everyone
in a whirl. This is tricky, since we are leaving town shortly,
and the time of our return is uncertain. David seems by turns
relieved and vastly more nervous. Stuart is grinning when he
thinks no one sees him. Tattvick is maintaining her composure
admirably, though I hear her humming very quietly to herself while she
is working, which I have rarely known her to do in England.
More Relevant to our actual work is the ongoing effort to find
elephants. Sir Spencer has prevailed upon an old acquaintance, a
fellow game hunter, to allow us to join his expedition, which is going
in essentially the direction we need. This man, Graf Baltasar von
Hammerstein, seems surprisingly willing to take on a great encumbrance
of women and children, mainly on the strength of his friendship with
Sir Spencer. Which hardly recommends him.
Part of the reason he had not already departed with all the elephants,
is that he had not yet found a suitable guide. Which is the other
reason he is willing to endure our company. We found the best
guide in the area. Unfortunately, he was already contracted by
none other than Lord Vaughn. Our solution? Invite Lord
Vaughn to join us. So, with this entanglement of Graf von
Hammerstein's elephants and Lord Vaughn's guide, we are prepared to set
out on Friday. I have great misgivings about the Graf in
particular, as we know nothing about him, and would rather he know
nothing about us. Lord Vaughn at least can look after
himself in case of attack, and he knows not to get crosswise of Octavia.
Proceed to Vicious acts of
barbarity
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