8 April 1872, Monday

~Very Early~

The discussions last night culminated in Mr Salmalin and myself joining Inspector MacGreggor, Mrs MacGreggor, Mr Frazer and Turgenov on the 0330 milk-run to Snodbury. While we were waiting on the platform I received an answer to my telegram from Mr Moody. I must ask him how he enchants owls to carry messages for him. It is a slightly more discreet mode of communication than the telegraph.

He thanked me for alerting him about the incursion of Beings. He had received similar intelligence from other sources but could not add to what I had reported. He did tell me that the Comte and Comtesse des Brabant arrived in London about a week ago. The Comte presented his diplomatic credentials as an “Imperial Commissioner” to both the Foreign Office and to the Office of the Lord High Warlock. He is a mage of mostly good reputation in France and is now officially attached to the French Embassy in London. He is a known member of the “Ancient Azure and Gold Brotherhood” and may be a Grand Master in that order. In addition he is suspected to be a member of the “Chthonic Time Order”

I told the owl that we were on our way to Snodbury and hoped to have more to report later. I then shared the information I had received with my colleagues, including sending a brief message to Sir Cosmo alerting him to the fact that the Comte is an Imperial Commissioner.

The train came not too long after and it was a relief to get out of the cold and clammy air. My husband settled me in the window seat with a blanket and I slept. Ravvi woke me a half-hour before our arrival at the platform in Snodbury. I took the time to fix my hair and update this record. Now the train is pulling into the platform and I must put this record away for a time.

~Morning~

We were met at the platform by both Constable Betts and a coachman sent from Brinkley Court. After a brief discussion, it was decided that Mr Salmalin would ride with Mr Chalk and our luggage to Brinkley Court and insure that proper arrangements were in hand to cope with the arrival of the Cowperthwaites and their household.

The rest of us joined the Constable in his wagon. It took a few moments to load Helen’s equipment. I expected the Constable to be either more puzzled by or resistant to the presence of ladies in the Inspector’s party but it seemed he couldn’t wait to turn this case over to the Inspector. On the carriage ride to Doverton Abby, the constable gave us his precis of events.

Friday morning (the same day we found Colonel Dunbar nearly dead on the train to Edenfield) servants of Sir Robert found him unconscious at the desk in his study. Dr Merrydew was sent for. Since Sir Robert is 80 years old the doctor thought it might be the final illness and had the family sent for. Mr Smethurst, the butler, handled the arrangements.

Sir Robert never married and has only two nephews and a grandnephew he can call family.
Mr George Plank is the elder and Sir Robert’s heir presumptive. He is a lecturer at Cambridge. Mr William Plank is the younger and is a MP for Snodbury. The grand-nephew is Mr George Plank’s son John. Mr John Plank is attending Oxford and is engaged to marry the Hon. Miss Carringford, the daughter of Lord Walbine. Miss Carringford and her brother travelled to Doverton Abbey in John Plank’s company.

Once the party arrived in town on Saturday, the constable stopped by to pay his respects. At that time Dr. Merrydew was convinced that an attack of apoplexy had felled Sir Robert and it was just a matter of time before he passed beyond the veil.

During his visit, the constable was approached by the foreign servant of Mr Oliphant, a guest in the house. It is the selfsame Mr Oliphant the League has encountered in previous adventures both at home and abroad. Mr Oliphant told Constable Betts that he believed Sir Robert had been done away with. He claimed that Sir Robert had received threatening letters in the past few weeks. Mr Oliphant also mentioned that Sir Robert had been the recipient of such letters nearly 30 years ago. The constable knew of that case. Those letters had been sent by a Mr Bill Grice and, roughly, they accused Sir Robert of being a Satanist and threatened him with death if he did not mend his ways. Mr Grice was eventually arrested for trespassing at Doverton Abbey and was prosecuted for malicious harassment. Constable Betts did not know what Mr Grice’s sentence had been– he was barely a child at the time and rumours in the village are contradictory.

Mr Oliphant suspected that the new letters were in a similar vein, though he did not have any in hand nor did he know if Sir Robert might have kept them. Sir Robert had shown him one of the letters.

The constable agreed this was a matter of some concern and received permission from the butler to secure Sir Robert’s study until such time as it could be examined more throughly.

When Mr George Plank arrived he and Constable Betts sorted thought Sir Roberts papers and found one of the letters referenced by Mr Oliphant. The constable had the letter with him and handed it to Inspector MacGreggor who allowed me to examine it. The letter was short and in a shaky hand. It accused Sir Robert of evil works and used the quotation “suffer not a witch to live”. It was unsigned. I folded the letter away for future study. When the butler Smethurst was shown the letter he remembered seeing several envelopes with similar handwriting come in during the past few weeks.

That same day, after the constable had left the house, Mr G. Plank and Mr Oliphant had a terrific row and Mr Oliphant removed himself as a guest of the Abbey and moved to an inn in the village of Littleton. When the constable heard of it and questioned Mr G. Plank he was told that Mr G. Plank believed that Mr Oliphant had poisoned Sir Robert. Mr G. Plank is pushing the constable to arrange a post mortem while Mr W. Plank has religious objections to such a procedure. Mr G Plank further said that he believed that Mr Oliphant was a madman intent on leading a New Crusade to the Holy Land.

From the butler Smethurst, the constable learned that Sir Robert was in the habit of taking tea around 10:30 in the evening and, if he planned to work late, he would send the staff to bed and set the tea things aside to be cleared away in the morning. On the Thursday in question Smethurst took Sir Robert his tea as usual. Not long after, Smethurst returned to the study on another errand. One of the kitchen maids was hurrying up the hall as he arrived at the door. Apparently Sir Robert had rung the kitchen. Smethurst and the kitchen maid entered to find a fractious Sir Robert claiming that the tea ‘tasted bad’. Smethurst was instructed to make a new pot. He returned to the kitchen and did so. He also tasted the tea remaining in the first pot and did not find anything wrong with it. Smethurst commented that it was not the first time Sir Robert had complained of food or drink– the butler himself is rather elderly and feels that sometime things just don’t taste as they ought once one gets older. So while the staff were somewhat put out by the request for a second pot of tea, there was nothing unusual in the request as far as they were concerned.

What did draw attention was the way Smethurst was treated when he returned with the second pot of tea (which he had made himself). Sir Robert was very rude and dismissive to Smethurst– something Smethurst could never remember Sir Robert doing to any servant in the time he had served Sir Robert. Smethurst also reported that Sir Robert seemed very distracted.

Smethurst further reported that Mr Oliphant had been seen in the kitchen that same night. His presence (and that of his Oriental servants) in the kitchen was not considered unusual by this time, as they were known to brew their own tea and other things in their rooms and frequently requested a pot of hot water in the evenings. It is apparently Mr Oliphant’s presence in the Kitchen that led Mr G Plank to suspect the journalist of poisoning Sir Robert.

Once we had been fully briefed by the constable he took us in to Doverton Abbey. It is a huge rambling house. Every room has its share of artifacts and there is no known catalogue or index of pieces– making it nearly impossible to discover if anything has been taken. The Abbey is also a locus of power. It has been a holy site for at least the past 1000 years. It was seized by Henry VIII and passed into secular hands. Sir Robert is descended, by the female line, from the last Lord Doverton.

Mr Frazer and I were shown to Sir Robert’s study to begin our work there while Inspector and Mrs MacGreggor were shown to Sir Robert’s bedroom to examine him and determine if he was clinging to life like Colonel Dunbar. Sir Robert’s study is what was once the nave of the Church attached to the Abbey. It is two storeys tall and includes library ladders that allow access to tall shelves of books, an Irish Elk skeleton, a human skeleton, at least 3 artifacts with conflicting auras, and a large painting (directly behind Sir Robert’s desk) of Angels ascending and descending Jacob’s ladder. The painting is of mediocre quality and was perhaps kept solely for its ability to dominate such a large room.

Whilst Mr Frazer and I were examining the contents of the room I noticed (from atop one of the library ladders) that an enormous Eye of Rimbaldi had been inlaid in the floor and Sir Robert’s desk was set at the focal point of the Eye. I found this very disturbing.

Constable Betts returned at this point and Mr Frazer asked to be shown around the house. I was left to my own devices for quite some time, but was not able to make good use of the time. I muffed the two history spells that I attempted. Fortunately, they dissipated harmlessly.

Inspector MacGreggor, Mrs MacGreggor, Mr Frazer and I were all rounded up by Constable Betts after a time. Mrs MacGreggor’s examination of Sir Robert confirmed the Dr Merrydew’s conclusion that Sir Robert had died, likely sometime on Saturday night. Further inspection of both his person and his bedroom produced three keys, a miniature watercolour of a woman done in the style popular in the 1820's and two rings. Sir Robert would have been about 30 when the painting was done. The rings were distinctive. One was gold and lapis, similar in style to the ones worn by Dr Kenyon and Colonel Dunbar. It only occurs to me now, as I am writing up these notes that Mr Moody mentioned that the Comte de Brabant is possibly Grand Master of the Ancient Azure and Gold Order. Other than the colours (blue and gold) there is not much to connect the two– still it is worth keeping in mind.

The other ring Sir Robert was wearing was rubies and diamonds set in the shape of a Rimbaldi Eye. The recurrence of this motif is beginning to worry me. Everything I learned of Rimbaldi during the past few months leads me to believe that anyone who follows Rimbaldi’s teachings has a dangerous disregard for human life and reckless disregard for the priceless human soul.

We had been at the house for several hours and Inspector MacGreggor concluded that it was time to return to Brinkley Court and consult with the rest of the League.

Constable Betts drove us to Brinkley Court where we found our partisans tucking in to a hearty breakfast. I was very happy to be reunited with my husband. He had done a splendid job sorting everyone into their right rooms. Tattvik, Violet, and Danu had settled their respective charges and Lady Cowperthwaite was none the worse for travelling so soon after her ordeal. Baby Galen was reported to be adorable and was settled into a nursery with the twins.

Mrs Frazer, Mrs Cuthbert and I briefed each other at the breakfast table. Mrs Cuthbert had one of her Dreams on the train ride from Edenfield and, so as not to forget the details, had told Ruth about it upon waking. I include it here for my own reference:

Mrs Cuthbert’s Dream

She wakes to an 18th Century headless queen standing over her. The Queen is carrying a head under her arm. The Queen walks away. Mrs Cuthbert follows. They are soon in a long room with many doors and a single shelf along one wall. On the shelf are a series of desiccated heads. The heads seem to be arranged in order by age, with the oldest head near where Mrs Cuthbert enters the room and the newest (freshest?) head at the far end.

The Queen sets her old head on the shelf and picks up a newer one. Mrs Cuthbert thought it looked like Sir Robert. The Queen tries to put the man’s head atop her own neck but the head falls off. The Queen, headless, wanders away.

Mrs Cuthbert hears organ music and someone crying from somewhere else. Mrs Cuthbert pursues the body and tries to get the new head attached. She finally ties it on. Suddenly the eyes snap open and glow red and the Queen asks: “What do you want?”

Mrs Cuthbert says: “Nothing, I want to help.” The body walks purposefully away.

Mrs Cuthbert pursues the music and runs into a very fashionably dressed man who says: “You’re not Mr Salmalin.”

Mrs Cuthbert says: “No, I’m not.”
He says: “You don’t need me.”
She says: “Who are you?”
He says: “Not who, what.”
She recognizes him as a creature of the dreaming: “You are the dark mirror of everybody.”
He says: “Yes.”
She says: “And I don’t need you.”
He says: “No, you know who you are. It runs in your family.”
She says: “Has Lillian met you?”
He says: “Of course.”
She says: “What did you see?”
He says: “I can’t tell you.” Then he smiles three smiles– one with his mouth and one with each eye.
She says: “I know where I’m going now.”

Mrs Cuthbert changes rooms and finds herself at a funeral in a church. There is organ music playing the background. Lillian is draped over the coffin, prostrate with grief. The body in the coffin is that of Mrs Cuthbert. Lillian notices that Elethia is there.

Lillian says: “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn't save you. I could only be in two places at once. But I saved little Eleanor. I saved your granddaughter.”
Elethia says: “When is this?”
Lillian says: “Right after you attached the head of the queen and avoided the claws from the sky.”
Elethia says: “What happened?”
Lillian says: “We lost against Them. Well, technically we won but we still lost.” She breaks down in to sobs.
Elethia says: “There, there it will be all right.”

Mrs Cuthbert tries to return to her bed and stumbles into Wilhelmina’s workshop. Wilhelmina is working with various coloured crystals. Emily is standing behind her rocking back and forth and saying: “Where’s my note!”

Wilhelmina says: “It sang to her.”
Mrs Cuthbert asks “What sang?”
Wilhelmina answers, "The thing in the sky."
Mrs. Cuthbert says: “Where and when did it the thing in the sky appear?
Wilhelmina says: “It didn’t appear. We disappeared.”
Mrs Cuthbert says: “What are the crystals for?”
Wilhelmina says: “Storing things, powering things.”
Mrs Cuthbert says: “Do they work?”
Wilhelmina says: “Watch this...”

And Mrs Cuthbert wakes up.

~Later~
After breakfast, and an abbreviated defence class, Mrs Cuthbert and I agreed to meet in one of the small parlours that has been allotted for our use. It transpired that Inspector MacGreggor happened to bring home the portrait that was found in the bedroom, while Mr Frazer had one of Sir Robert’s pens from the study. We are going to try to cast history spells on both items and see what is to be seen. I am hoping that I will be more effective now that I am away from that Dreadful Eye.

~Mid-morning~
Breakfast, a nap and the calm support of Mrs Cuthbert, Lady Cowperthwaite and Mr O’Flaherty improved my concentration greatly and we were able to learn much from the objects Benton and the Inspector gave us to examine.

Using the pen as a focus we were able to see Sir Robert’s Last Night. We saw him working at his desk with a large amount papers and books spread about. There was a flash of light and he folded up the book and put it and the papers away in a hidden compartment behind the painting of the Jacob’s Ladder. In the space behind the painting we could make out a green crystal Greek Cross approximately 18 inches square.

Sir Robert’s late evening tea was brought. He looked as if he were waiting for someone. He did not start any new projects and he was fidgeting with the tea things. He rang the bell for the servants and complained to Smethurst and the maid about the tea. They took the pot and service away.

When Sir Robert turned back to his desk the Seraph and young man were standing there.

Sir Robert did not appear at all surprised by this development and said, “ I am the Grand Master of the Vespertine Order of the Eye of Rimbaldi.”

The young man snorted and said, “That is what you call yourself.”

The Seraph said, “Who are you?” and a beam of light flowed between the Seraph and Sir Robert. The beam stopped and the young man caught the now-dazed form of Sir Robert and set him down in the chair at his desk.

The Seraph said, “It is not here, but I know where it is.” It gathers the young man in his arms/wings and they both disappear. Smethurst enters with the new tea. Sir Robert has recovered enough by this point to snap at Smethurst and be, as Smethurst later put it, ‘uncharacteristically rude’. After Smethurst left the room Sir Robert passed out at his desk, where he was found the next morning.

After we completed this spell, we took a brief break and Lady Cowperthwaite and Mr O’Flaherty was called to join Sir Cosmo’s party for a condolence call on Doverton Abbey. He had earlier decided that all members of the league not identified with the investigation would call upon the house in small groups. Sir Cosmo, Lady Cowperthwaite, Mrs Frazer, Miss Wilhelmina and Mr O’Flaherty went in the first group– with Mr O’Flaherty posing as Miss Wilhelmina’s history tutor. Later parties would include Mrs Frazer (who is a correspondent of Mr John Plank), Sir Spencer, and Mrs Cuthbert.

In the mean time Mrs Cuthbert gathered up our materials and cast the history spell on the portrait of the woman. What we learned from it was very disturbing. The portrait was of a Miss Botley and was painted by her fiancé in the 1820's. Her fiancé was the vicar’s son. She looked to be the daughter of a local farmer. We saw several scenes of him sketching her surreptitiously and one of them walking out where he proposed marriage and she accepted.

Then the scene shifted to an evening at a cottage. Miss Botley was crying and distraught. It was clear she had been attacked. Her fiancé and several other people (friends and family?) were trying to get her to tell them who assaulted her.

The scene shifted again and we were watching the vicar’s son using a farm implement to confront Sir Robert in Doverton Abbey. The vicar’s son believes that Sir Robert was the perpetrator of the attack but when confronted about it Sir Robert says “What is a worthless person like you going to do about it?” He then uses magik to throw the vicar’s son though a window. The vison ended as Sir Robert stepped through the ruined window and took the painted miniature of Miss Botley off the body of the vicar’s son.

Regardless of his guilt or innocence in the matter of the attack on Miss Botley, Sir Robert’s abuse of his power to belittle and murder her fiancé shows a side of his character that had not surfaced in Constable Betts’ summary.

I have sent off a coded telegram to Mr Moody indicating that there is a great deal of material here that needs to be evaluated and handled by experts. The Cuthberts have departed on their condolence calls, with the Woosters not far behind. Inspector MacGreggor has departed to interview Mr Oliphant. Sir Cosmo’s party has not yet returned. As I seem to have some time to myself, I will set this record aside in favour of a brief nap.

~Later~

Everyone has returned and Sir Cosmo has called us all together to share the information we gathered today and make a plan. Mrs Cuthbert and I summarized the information we obtained from our various spells.

The parties that called on the house today found out the following information (in no particular order):
1. Mr John Plank’s finaceé, The Hon. Elinor Carringford is the niece of Colonel Dunbar’s fianceé.
2. There is an old fresco in the Abbey that was brought over from India. It shows a picture of Kali and her son, Skanda. Mrs Cuthbert remarked that the likeness was so close to that of Lady Cowperthwaite as to be uncanny. Also the boy in the picture resembles what an older Galen Cowperthwaite looked like in a vision she had previously.
3. There is a large circle of dead grass on the property. Mr O’Flaherty and Miss Wilhelmina investigated it and discovered (by talking with a local woman) that the grass died off about a week ago. Both Mr O’Flaherty and Miss Wilhelmina reported feeling unusually tired after walking on the dead grass and Mrs Cuthbert noticed that both of them had been drained of vital energy.
4. A sample of the dirt was brought back to the house. The soil is dead both physically and magikally. Mrs Frazer examined it and said that whatever happened, happened suddenly because insect remains were present. Such insects would normally migrate out of an area of soil that was dying off.
5. Sir Comso’s party was invited into the house. He, Lady Cowperthwaite, and Mrs Frazer met with Mr George Plank while Mr O’Flaherty and Miss Wilhelmina were turned loose on the grounds.
6. Mr William Plank seems to know of Mrs Cuthbert and be a believer in some form of spiritualism. He is not in favour of allowing a post-mortem but does want to arrange for Mrs Cuthbert to view the body at some point in the near future. His brother does not support his beliefs and is pushing for a full post-mortem.
7. Mr John Plank is a correspondent of Mrs Frazer and has remained so even after she revealed that she was the author of her ‘cousin’s’ papers.

After we had all shared what we knew, it was clear that we would need to get back into the house for further investigations. After a long, and sometimes frustrating discussion, Inspector MacGreggor planned to return to the scene with Mr Frazer and I in our now-established roles as ‘assistants’.
The carriage is ready and we are off to Doverton Abbey.

Proceed to Forces rising around us

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