16 May 1837 - Nastasie Dementiev

The Necromancer has struck again! I do not know who is more foul - he or the Regent. One of Lady Wordsworth's servants came to her begging for aid, as her child had fallen ill. Some of us accompanied Dr Cross to their abode, where an Indian doctor was working on herbal remedies. The poor young girl was unconscious in her bed, with sores covering much of her body. Dr Cross summarily dismissed us all, except the mother, while she examined the patient. After an inordinate amount of time she and the mother emerged with word that it was an unidentifiable disease, and there was little she had been able to do.

A bit timidly, I asked Dr Cross if I might be able to attempt to help. She looked dubious, but agreed to accompany me back in to the patient. Lady Wordsworth immediately began talking to the mother to distract her from our re-entrance to her daughter's room. Looking more closely at the girl, I realized that her sores appeared exactly like the ones on the dead bodies on the Direption. Suspecting magic at work, I dove even further into the corners of my knowledge to remember seeing other adepts heal people. As Dr Cross directed me, I let the energies flow through me and into the child. Never having attempted this before, I was pleasantly surprised to see the child's eyes open and her sores begin to disappear. Even more amazing was the look on Dr Cross' face - as if she had just witnessed something she had never before imagined. The joy on the mother's face was well worth witnessing too.

With the girl awake, she related how she had found a box on the riverbank, filled with coins. She had been spending them throughout the East End. Dr Cross convinced her to trade this box of coins for a greater amount of (untainted) money, and examined them later - they were magically diseased, as we suspected. The Necromancer at work, and presently his magical plague will be spreading throughout the East End, probably providing him with an army of bodies to do his unholy work. And if I remember some of my teachings, he quite possibly could raise those bodies to form a real army, much like the stories from my native Transylvania. We should consult with someone from the church for assistance - I must remember to mention that to Lady Wordsworth.

I performed a Tarot Reading for our assemblage after this. Dark days are still coming, but there are hopes of light in there as well. Immediately after the reading Lady Wordsworth received a request from the head of the Duelling School for assistance. Duelling School - the Black Fox perhaps? I may get to see the beautiful Victoria again! But between the plots on her and this vile Necromancer, we must tread carefully from here on out.

13 May 1837 - Nastasie Dementiev

She is safe, thank the heavens! At least we are pretty sure of it. The execution was set for yesterday. The treacherous Regent had made a public spectacle of it all - the killing of her own daughter. She must know! None of Lady Wordsworth's charms worked on people of import, so it fell on me to improvise at the last moments. Calling upon the furthest inklings of knowledge I have gleaned these past few years, I somehow managed to apport the headsman's axe into hiding, then immediately crafted an illusion that I manipulated to the best of my meagre abilities. He believed he still had the axe in hand. Out of nowhere the Black Fox arrived to save the queen, but I twisted the illusion so that the headsman, and many in the crowd, believed the both the Black Fox and "Trinia" were killed there. Meanwhile the real, and very living, Black Fox spirited off the beautiful Victoria into the mass of London. My companions suspect I did something, but none of them have questioned me about it. They are confused over the multiple images that appeared there, but all of them are relieved that she escaped, and that the future of England is still alive. Where she, and the Black Fox, might be we do not know. What we do know is that our fates our destined to intertwine again.

7 May 1837 - Nastasie Dementiev

Oh, woe are we! I may be out of quarantine and have a new lead on the necromancer, but the soon-to-be queen has been arrested and is to be put to death, unknown to Londoners that she is their Queen! She slipped away somehow, or was spirited away, with an illusion of herself left behind. The Major then informed us that she had been captured. My efforts to mentally contact her were fruitless, as someone had blocked her whereabouts. We must find some way to save her!

But to fill in some back events - Dr Cross released me from quarantine two days past. She reasoned that I had not shown any symptoms yet, and therefore would not be a threat to the populace now. I met my friend Rats, who passed on some information concerning the dumping of bodies in a Jewish cemetery, and those bodies being dragged down into a mausoleum there. Certainly sounds promising! Then, more ominously, he also told me that the footman at Lady Wordsworth's had been talking to the police.

I quickly made my way there, and informed the Lady of this. She and the Lieutenant interrogated the footman, but to no avail. Then we discovered that the queen was gone. Too late had we uncovered the mole within the household! And now to the only task that truly matters in the near term - finding a way to rescue the beautiful damsel in distress before they remove her lovely head. If we don't succeed, all of England is doomed, and I fear for my heart as well.

3 May 1837 - Nastasie Dementiev

At last I can update my journal at a leisurely pace. I have little else to do at the moment, which I will explain for the nonce. But first I will catch up my story from whence I last left off.

I did manage to locate the Lieutenant (diligently searching for the assassin), and coaxed him into accompanying me to Lady Wordsworth's house. He was dubious, but gave me the benefit of the doubt. A reasonable thing for him to do, given all that we have been through together in the last month. He is the one person in our little assemblage I would trust with my life, although Dr Cross has proven herself trustworthy as well. I could tell it was all the Lt could do upon meeting "Trinia" to restrain himself from attacking us all. Once he realised that we were telling him the truth, he quickly bent the knee to the rightful sovereign of the land. Discussions led to her Royal Highness drafting a letter to send to her supporters in the north, which the Lt would post outside of the city (as one of the few who could traverse the boundaries without being searched).

As her Beautifulness, I mean her Royal Highness, left to craft the letter, the rest of our group headed towards the docks, where the Direption was due to arrive. (What a terrible name for a ship - the Direption, a word which means to plunder, despoil or snatch away!) This was the ship upon which the Necromancer was to make his return to London. What arrived was a ghost ship. Failing to slow down or heed any harbour hails (we found this out later), the city watch lit up the night sky with cannon fire, breaking the ship in two and sending it to a watery grave. Before it went down, however, I trod upon the wind to examine the ship, looking for my brother or this foul fiend who had taken him away. All that I found was death - everyone on board had died of some terrible disease, except for one man I found drowned, with what Dr Cross later identified as a medical mask on his face. That, and a coffer of dark wood, within which were ledgers detailing a most horrific crime. All of the passengers on board were listed as "specimens", the ship was deeded to a group called B7, and the owner was R. Davaulis - most likely the necromancer himself. Now we have a name we can research - but still no trace of him.

As a precaution against spreading this disease, Dr Cross has quarantined me in Madame Zellara's old residence, and the Lieutenant, who also went to the ship, has been sent from the city with his mission. How long she will hold me here is unknown - I certainly do not want to pass along any contagion to these already suffering residents of this city. This gives me time to ponder and reflect, and to perfect my art of reading tarot.

30 April 1837 - Nastasie Dementiev

I have met the future queen. Even more emphatically, I have tackled and pinned her to the ground. Under different circumstances here in London I am sure that I would now be dead, but it was all in the cause of saving her life. (Under different circumstances in Romania, we would probably now be wed...) It is rather a shame that she is so high-born as to be above my class, as she is rather appealing to the eye, if extremely haughty. But perhaps I should start from a few days ago...

My search for information on this necromancer continues to unveil clues. I had discovered that he is overseas on a trip to Bavaria, and that his ship is due back to London somewhere around today. This being the best lead we have had on him yet, I gathered my companion group together to tell them about it, and to start making plans on what to do, if any of them would choose to help when the ship arrived. I knew the Lt would, although he was the only one of the group not to appear.

As we were convening a Brigadier come in looking specifically for the Major and "his friends". The rumoured assassin, Trinia, had been spotted at a tenement in the Shingles, and he requested that we extract her before the mobs got there. We were to then hand her over to selected guardsmen if we succeeded. The Major, naturally, accepted the assignment, and we pledged to accompany and assist.

Finding the tenement building was easy - getting past the old Jewish guard-lady was a bit more challenging, but we convinced her to let us in. No one answered at the door of Trinia's flat, so I appealed to the next door person to let us hire his flat for an hour. He was more than eager to take our money, and quickly set himself off to the pub. Opening the window of his flat, I used my ability to walk on air to exit and approach Trinia's place from the outside. Just as I did so, we noticed a female on the opposite building's roof, moving away from us - and I noticed Trinia's window open. Immediately deducing that this might be her attempting to escape, we made pursuit. Due to my wind-walking ability, I was faster than my companions, and reached the fleeing damsel first. By some miracle I successfully grabbed and pinned her to the roof, preventing her escape until the rest could arrive and apprise her of her situation.

Much to our astonishment, this Trinia turned out to be none other than Her Royal Highness Victoria herself! She had taken on the artist image, and a maid in the castle was illusioned to appear as the princess. She was somewhat vague on the why of it all, but it is very suspicious that the Regent would have a bounty out on her daughter's own head. We promised to take her to a safe location, and not to turn her in to the guardsmen. Thus it was back to Lady Wordsworth's with the future queen in tow, using my knowledge of the Shingles to avoid detection on the journey. The Major went off to lead the rest of the guard astray. Now I must go find the Lt, and bring him in to assist. I hope to have him meet his future monarch tomorrow.

And, amidst all of this, we still need to meet the boat when it arrives. Will this craziness never end?

25 April 1837 - Nastasie Dementiev

Chaos, madness, conspiracy, death. What a wonderfully terrible place to call home! I long for the fresh air of the mountains, and the simple "honesty" of the gypsies - so much easier to deal with than this cesspool they call London.

The King is dead. Rumours are that he was poisoned, and did not die of natural causes. Of course, no medical examination of the King has been released to the public to confirm this, although it is widely public knowledge that the King had insulted the Regent several months back. In the newspaper yesterday was a story of a guard at the palace confessing to help a painter by the name of Trinia poison the King. The authorities then allowed him to commit suicide before anyone else could ascertain if he was telling the truth. Something is rotten here, and we are not in Denmark!

The Acadamae has been found. It is in Constantinople, and surrounded by a force screen of some type, so there is no communication with anyone inside it. This still leaves me as one of the few wizards left in the city. And the government knows it, as the Ministry of War summoned me to their aid. Well, attempted aid - they wanted to see if I could mentally contact the Duke of Wellington. In my studies, I never made it to the subjects on mind-to-mind contact - so much more I still need to learn! I believe that my companion Dr. Ming might be able to show me a few pointers down that path. He has attempted to hide his abilities, but I recognize the signs of another adept, no matter what he says.

My sources finally told me that the Necromancer who bought my brother was expelled from the Acadamae, and that he was a surgeon prior to becoming an adept. Not much to go on, but anything is better than nothing. At least I can be confident he is not in Constantinople, which makes the odds of finding him here more likely.

Our band of companions went after Mei Mei's sister at the brothel House of Clouds. This was one of 5 ships at Eel's End, a despicable part of the city, but one which obviously serves a purpose, judging from the number of clients to be seen. On our way there we rescued a noble who had been cornered by some street thugs. The noble had, or course, less than noble reasons for being there, and he went on his way with no more than a word of thanks.

After searching the House of Clouds, we stepped the quest up and confronted the King of Spiders himself, in his lair. The Lt played knifies with a few of the King's henchmen, and won the Lady Wordsworth the right to Mei Mei's sister. The King instead gave her Mei Mei, captured wandering around, and refused to give up our prize. Combat ensued, and my little burst of air took out the King himself, quickly ending the melee. We then discovered that the girl we were after had been taken the previous week by the Red Mantis, a group of Chinese assassins. We departed with Dr. Ming gaining a pet dragon, Lady Wordsworth gaining a pet boy, and all of us gaining more confidence in each other, but precious little closer to either of our missing relatives.

21 April 1837 - Nastasie Dementiev

The madness continues, and there are undercurrents swirling around that arouse my suspicions - all is not well within this city. All is not well with the crown. And I am somewhat at a loss as to how to move forward. I have tried, so far in vain, to find out more on my brother. The streets are so chaotic that it is dangerous to be out in them. I hope that wherever he may be, he is still OK.

Lady Wordsworth invited our group to accompany her to Windsor Castle yesterday. What a privilege! The necklace we had found in Gaedren Lamm's hideout actually belongs to the princess, our soon to be Queen, and Lady Wordsworth wished to return it to her. Unfortunately the princess was indisposed when we arrived. As Dr. Cross went to tend to her, the rest of us were instead brought to an audience with the Regent and her secretary Jane Conroy. The Regent thanked us profusely for the return of her daughter's necklace, bestowed a number of gold bars on Lady Wordsworth, and then dismissed us. Nothing too unexpected in all of that, except that I noticed the Regent didn't seem to be in complete control of her own words, and there were far too many glances from her to Miss Conroy for my liking. That innate sense that all Romani have kicked in, and I believe that there is something terribly amiss in the current situation...

7 April 1837 - Nastasie Dementiev

The city is going mad. No other words describe the chaos that has descended upon us. I wonder what the future holds, and ofttimes even wonder if there IS a future at all. But let me go back a bit and pick up from where my journal last left off. This might be so much easier if I only wrote more frequently!

Two weeks after our encounter with Gaedren Lamm, his henchman, a Mexican dwarf (the creature that hit me in the head), was found guilty at a court of law and sentenced to die by hanging. Those of us from that fateful night gathered together at a hotel to discuss the items we had discovered and talk about any future actions. The good doctor had fortunately recovered her lost niece, but my brother had not been found, nor young Mei-Mei's sister. I took Madame Zellara's Tarot deck, being the only one with The Gift, while the others quickly divided up the rest of the items. The doctor had studied some of the journals the criminal had left behind, and relayed to us that my brother appeared to have been sold to a necromancer "for parts". This infuriated me, but outward displays of anger will not achieve my goal of locating him, so I have brought it inside and am honing it to a fine point. At least Mei-Mei's sister is likely to be alive, having "only" been sold to a house of ill-repute, the House of Clouds.

No sooner, though, than we had finished distributing the items and discussing where the missing folks might be, then a huge ruckus emerged from outside. A mob had gathered shouting that the King was dead, the Prime Minister was missing, and then a dragon crashed into the square. The rider died on impact, but the doctor and myself tended to the wounded drake, and I guarded it fiercely until help could arrive. The rest of the party vanished into the night to get the ladies to safety.

So here we are. The King is dead, the Regent is on the throne, the Princess will become Queen in a few weeks. The Prime Minister is still missing. Riots are happening everywhere. The dock workers have gone on strike. And, worst of all, I am out of school - because the Acadamae vanished! Leaving me as one of only a handful of wizards left in the entire city. As if my meager powers are going to be of much use to anyone. I will do my best, and rely on my new-found friends for aid and guidance, as I will provide my aid to them. And I do all of this from my base at Sir Bairn's, who is my mentor, my sponsor, and my protector.

The King is dead - long live...the Regent? The Queen? Who is going to take over, and should I care?

27 March 1837 - Nastasie Dementiev

It has taken me most of this week to recover from the events of last Monday, the 20th. I had already described the incredible events that led me to be below an old fish factory with a dog and a soldier above me, but what happened after that was simply astounding, and I am still wondering at the eerieness of the situation.

In a flash, the Lt. had clambered up the rest of the ladder, toward the ferocious dog. With a move of amazing agility, he used the beast's own momentum to throw him toward the water, completely unaware that I was waiting below. This so surprised me that I and the dog ended up in the water. Clambering back aboard the skiff, it only took a moment to recover my wits - only to be astounded again! The dog was my very own pet, stolen from my family last year! Ilie was a friend I never thought I would see again, and here he was. 

No sooner did I recognize him then I noticed a disturbing fin slicing through the water toward my beloved pet. I again called on my feeble elemental powers to dissuade the shark, then hauled my friend into the skiff along with me. Ensuring that he was OK, I used the power of the air to lift me into the fishery. There I discovered what little battle there was had ended, and the lovely lady doctor appeared grievously injured, but being cared for by the old Chinese gentleman.

The Lt. and I left her to the old medicine man's care, and followed another pathway under the factory to an almost hidden door. Behind this was the object of our search - the vile Gaedren Lamm, counting up his treasure and talking to his pet alligator. I immediately hit him with a blast of air while the Lt. rushed at him. The next few moments are a blur, as something crashed into my skull from behind, sending me down to the ground, only to then be dragged into the water by the alligator. Using what little strength I had to break free of the beast I launched myself into the winds and walked to a place of safety, barely noticing that the Lt. threw the detestable Lamm to his own pet, which promptly ate him.

The doctor, somehow miraculously recovered, tended to my leg. Yet it was the discovery by the others of Madame Zellara's head and tarot deck (amongst other items) that really disturbed us all. How could she be dead here when we saw her alive just a few hours before?

Once I could walk, I determined to re-visit her house, only to be horrified to find it abandoned. And it appeared to have been so for weeks. This was no mere coincidence - all of us were summoned together by a great spirit to help it seek its revenge. And now that we have been brought together, that spirit force will bind us to each other for some time to come. I doubt if the others are aware of that - after all, none of them are of the true blood, and so are only vaguely aware of the forces that shape our destinies.

Session 5 - Royal Audiences

Audience with the Regent

As our heroes prepare to leave the palace, they are intercepted by a woman in a grey uniform. Though otherwise identical to that of a British officer, the uniform bears no mark or insignia. As she ushers them into the presence of the Regent, it becomes obvious that this woman is Ms Conroy, secretary to Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent and Strathearn.

HRH thanks the party for their service to the Crown, on behalf of her daughter, and rewards them with a gift of twelve bars of gold, stamped with the royal seal. Some mention of the recent troubles is made, and the need for heroes such as those present. They are then dismissed, though Mr. Dementiev fancies he senses an oddness in her manner of speech, and frequent glances passing between the Duchess and her secretary.

A Visit to Eel's End

Lady Wordsworth and her companions return to her house in the escort of Lt. Forrester to find an invitation to the home of Sir Bairn for dinner with the Prince of Persia.

After a light lunch consisting of a salad and cold Virginia smoked ham, the party, having no word from Dr. Cross, decide to embark on an expedition to Eel's End to see if the whereabouts of Chi Li (Mei Mei's sister) can be ascertained.

Upon their arrival and exit from the carriage, the party sees a party of workmen harassing a young gentleman for being a supporter of the Queen. Sharp words from the officers leads to an immediate dispersal of the riff-raff, perhaps aided by the presence of their firearms.

They are profusely thanked for their intervention by young Mr. Wilcox. Under questioning and with some embarrassment the gentleman admits he is here to partake of the delights of the opium den.

Our heroes proceed to the House of Clouds brothel, one of the five moored ships that make up Eel's End. Mei Mei quickly sneaks off the find her sister. After some confused questioning, the party is directed to see Weng-Chiang himself if they wish to negotiate the freedom of Chi Li.

Audience with the King of Spiders

Confronted by guards as they approach the owner's ship, Lady Wordsworth easily convinces them that the party is expected. Having gained entry to the throne room of Weng-Chiang, they find the King of Spiders is well named - for the walls and throne are festooned with webs, and spiders scuttle among them in great numbers. The King himself sits unconcerned as the creatures occasionally crawl over his skin.

Seated at a banquet table are a number of white-clad monks. Above the table, suspended in a cage, sits a miserable, cat-sized Chinese dragon. Clearly the party has interrupted some impromptu gathering.

After the party flatter Weng-Chiang and state the reasons for their intrusion, he agrees to sell them a servant on one condition: that one among them defeat one of his monks in a game of knivesies. Lt. Forrester accepts the challenge. The first challenger is dispatched before betting can even begin; a second challenger makes things somewhat more interesting but is again handily defeated by the lieutenant.

Lady Wordsworth then describes Mei Mei, believing that her sister resembles her. The guards sent to collect the girl capture Mei Mei herself, and she is promptly sold to Lady Wordsworth. Confused by this turn of events, Lady Wordsworth accuses Weng-Chiang of dishonorable behaviour, and hostilities immediately break out.

At this point, Mei Mei reveals herself to be Mistress of Crane Kung Fu, which easily intimidates the white-clad disciples of Spider-style. They flee in dismay, to be replaced by the red-robed monks who serve as guards. Things rapidly begin to escalate, when Mr. Dementiev gathers in the spirits of the air and sends Weng-Chiang, master of the Spider school, flying into the wall, where he is badly injured.

Dr. Ming, during the melee, is telepathically contacted by the imprisoned dragon, who promises to serve him for a year if he frees him. Dr. Ming assents, and uses his own kung fu powers to unlock the iron cage.

Believing himself to have been defeated by the superior kung fu of the Crane mistress, Weng-Chiang allows them to take a servant of their choice. However, it transpires upon close questioning of the brothel mistress that Chi Li was taken by the Red Mantis assassins as an initiate.

Session 4 - The King is Dead

6 April 1837 (Thursday)

After some time to recover, and the subsequent trial of Sr. Gonzales for his part in the kidnapping and assault of Miss Edwards and the murder of her mother, our protagonists find themselves once more seated around a table.

In this instance, they meet in the private dining room of Mivart's Hotel to discuss the disposition of various artefacts found in the possession of Gaedren Lamm.

The Tarot deck formerly belonging to Madame Zellara is claimed by Mr. Dementiev. He notes that upon returning to her home, he has discovered the building was clearly abandoned for some weeks. The appearance of Madame Zellara was clearly the spirit of the wronged woman.

Of the remaining artefacts, one was found to be particularly significant - a necklace that Lady Wordsworth clearly recalls having seen on the neck of the Princess some weeks ago. Dr. Cross remembered reading the details surrounding the theft of the necklace from a jeweler's shop - the gentleman in question had been contracted to repair the clasp. Lady Wordsworth took possession of it in order to arrange for its return to the rightful owner.

Dr. Cross, who has been perusing the ledgers found by Mei Mei, then appraises the groups of her findings. In short, Mei Mei's sister had been sold to a brothel owned by Weng-Chiang, while Mr. Dementiev's brother was sold to a necromancer referred to as Rolth.

As the heroes debate the best course of action, Lady Wordsworth has her attention drawn by a general disquiet in the main dining room. Upon investigation, it becomes clear that there is a general alarum amongst the citizenry.

As they watch, one of the capitol's dragon wings wheels overhead; one of their number, clearly wounded, crashes into the street, its rider unmoving. As our heroes rush to aid the city's downed defender, the Major is summoned to assist the Brigadier-General in restoring order among the troops. The messenger sent to locate the Major also is able to illuminate the current situation - the announcement of the King's death has inflamed some dock workers who were gathered to protest the Poor Law; this unrest combined with the sudden disappearance of the Acadamae and Prime Minister Greystoke has caused general rioting amongst the populace.

Dr. Cross and Dr. Ming immediately determine the rider is dead, but through quick action they are able to stabilize the injured dragon. Mr. Dementiev volunteers to stay and defend the helpless creature while Lt. Forrester is tasked with escorting the rest of the party to safety.

As the party makes its way to safety, they are set upon by a rogue group of imps - doubtless stirred up by the disappearance of the Academae. When one takes a fancy to the necklace being worn by Lady Wordsworth, she attempts to sweet-talk it into returning it; unfortunately, Lt. Forrester takes advantage of its momentary distraction to destroy the creature with a rifle shot. Luckily for our heroes, this in turn draws the attention of a flock of miniature dragons, which drives off the demons.

Despite the difficulties encountered by our heroes on this day, Dr. Ming is quite pleased to have gathered a number of rare components much prized in Chinese medicine.

20 April 1837 (Thursday)

Having requested an audience with the Crown Princess, Lady Wordsworth and her party are summoned to Windsor Castle. Shortly before her audience, the Princess sends word that due to ill health, she will not grant any further audiences. Dr. Cross immediately approaches the guard and offers her services as a doctor, and is let through to examine the Princess.