Resurrection City IV: Et In Arcadia Ego

[JimAde]

"Reading materials. Oedipus Aegypancus and Nameless Cults. A little bedtime reading, perhaps?" Diggory shakes his head. "I should be getting back. I think my contact ought to be here shortly. And I think he might be interested in taking a gander at these."

Trevor examines the Oedipus volume a bit more closely. "This might be worth a guinea or two," he observes. "Looks old." He continues, "I think I'll have another word with the clerk on the way out and ask him to alert us if Harrington comes by for her things."

[sblock]I'll offer him two pounds to keep an eye out for Harrington, with promise of a sovereign should he alert me in a timely manner of her return. I'll leave the address of my house in London for him to wire to (since all these mystical types seem to know who I am anyway).[/sblock]

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

"Certainly, Baron," the clerk says, pocketing the money. "I'll let you know if I see her about."

The men make their way to the station and are met there by Dr. Willoughby. "I think Mr. Vaughn shall be alright, his condition has stabilized. I brought him into town to get him to a proper hospital." As Willoughby finishes his statement, the train from London pulls in. Yeats comes out and greets the three. "Inspector, Baron, Doctor," he says, nodding to all three in turn.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

"A pleasure to see ye again, although I do wish it could be under better circumstances. We should probably find a place a bit more private to talk about this, though." Diggory pauses. "Have ye met Inspector Longtree? Inspector James Longtree, Mr. William Butler Yeats."

OOC: Longtree is still with us, right?

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

"Yeats. Truly? My wife is a great aficianado of the theater. Your name is well-known in our house," Longtree says in greeting.

"I thank you for your kind words, Inspector," Yeats says, nodding to Longtree. "Of course. Come, we shall find somewhere to eat dinner and then we shall discuss matters. You're welcome to join us, should you wish, Inspector Longtree, though I can't guarantee that the discussions will be of interest to such a practical man as yourself."

"Thank you very much for the invitation, but no. I should be getting to the Avebury station and await word from Skeats in Limehouse."

After a short walk, the men arrive at a small restaurant. Yeats selects a table in the back, and as you await your food, discussions turn towards more important matters. "About my telegram," Yeats begins. "As both of you may be able to guess, it is somewhat looked-down upon to belong to our organization, should you be a person of some note in society. Dr. Westcott, as you may know, is a prominent coroner in London. It seems that his employers procured some internal Dawn documents, documents that were 'accidentally' left in a cab that Dr. Westcott had left. His employers offered him a simple choice -- either renounce his membership in the Order, or lose his source of income. Unfortunately, we can guess which he chose.

"The Order is in turmoil now. Of the three Chiefs, all are gone. Dr. Woodman died a few years ago, as you know, Mathers has run off to Paris, and Westcott has now gone, as well. Leadership is in flux." He pauses and sips his water. "I can tell what you're both thinking. No, I don't believe it was nearly as accidental as it all seems. Both Ms. Farr and myself feel that the documents may have been planted by some agent of Mathers -- he and Westcott never did get along. And as Mathers and his wife are connected with the ceremonies of Isis, it may be that the hand of your Madame Sosostris lies behind it all."

 

[Old Fezziwig]

"One woe doth tread upon another's heel, so fast they follow." Diggory frowns and pauses before he speaks again. "Ye say the Order is in turmoil — has someone moved forth to assume a position of leadership?"

 

[JimAde]

Trevor clears his throat uncomfortably. "And, if you'll both forgive my asking, how important is this?" Turning to Yeats he asks, "The question of who will be president of your club doesn't really seem to rival what Harrington and her lot are up to, does it?"

 

[Old Fezziwig]

"All due respect, but that's not the point here, Baron. If Madame Sosostris has infilitrated the Order or compromised it by securing the cooperation of Mathers and his wife, she might be that closer to her goals. Theoretically, by disarming the Order, she eliminates a group that would probably include some of the only people in Britain aware of the danger of her plans and, perhaps, capable of or interested in stopping it." Diggory pauses for a second. "I think."

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

"First, in answer to your question, Diggory -- leadership would fall to the highest-ranking members, so at present Ms. Farr and Mr. Waite are filling in." He turns to Trevor. "As to your questions, you're quite right, and this would seem to have little bearing on your interests at present. But there may be more relevance than you think -- not to the question of who is in charge now, but the very fact this happened in the first place.

"Even if, as we believe, this character assassination was done by an agent of Mr. Mathers', consider for a moment the possibility -- not a very desirable one, but I fear a probable one -- that your Harrington or Sosostris is behind this all. Here is a scenario. Aside from you men, we at the Dawn are now the sole inhabitants of London who know of Harrington's identity as the Queen. If her plans do involve London, as it seems they do, would it not benefit her to make impotent the greatest threat to her?"

He pauses and eats a few bites of his dinner, his brow furrowed. "I would ask you gentlemen something," he says, swallowing. "If you would, of course."

[sblock]Mr. Waite = A.E. Waite, who helped develop the familiar tarot deck (Rider-Waite deck).[/sblock]

 

[JimAde]

"Naturally I am eager to help however I can," Trevor says. "In fact, I have a suggestion, but I'll hear you out first, sir."

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

Yeats nods to Trevor. "The favor I would ask is that you gentlemen would -- if you're willing, of course -- play spy for the Order and check in on Mathers? See what he's doing, try to ascertain what his feelings towards our group in London are, that sort of thing. And I think that a visit to Paris -- that's where Mathers is living now -- could be enjoyable, or more enjoyable than a return to London at any rate. But I would suggest that you take a short holiday before doing so and serve to alleviate some of Mathers' suspicions," he says. "And now, Baron, what was your suggestion?"