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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nebulous" data-source="post: 4381883" data-attributes="member: 31465">Adventure #31: Mr. Chang's Miraculous EscapePART TWO:  Gavigan!That's Chang's story, and the companions drink with him in solemn remembrance of Dodge, GiGi, and poor, poor MaMoud, the loyal Egyptian boy who trusted them for many adventures now [they first met him in Episode # 10: Hello, Cairo].  Maybe there's a chance he's alive, and Hans vows to find out (although Hans only met him once). Angry now, and realizing they're even more screwed than before, with barely any belongings left except for what's on their back and about $1000 left over from Ali Kafour, they discuss their options.Lester Cobblebottom suspects from what he knows about the Mythos, if they can completely <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> up one of the 3 holy sites, the ritual can be stopped.  The City of the Great Race is nearby,and Huston is alive and dangerous.  Lester is not sure though if that plan will work 100%, and they're also aware that a mysterious Terrible Machine is being built in China.  Still, The City seems like their best bet, so they ask around about where a plane could be rented, and a few locals point out that Mortimer Wycroft, The Deadfella Man, has been known to call in planes from time to time. They decide to sleep on it, because there is no way they can think of to get a plane tonight.In the morning they scope out Wycroft's Outrigger, and peeking through windows, can't see anyone inside.  But it's a two story building, so he could very well be upstairs.  Someone else confirmed that he actually does live here.The back of the building is shielded from sight, so after hopping a chain gate, they try to enter the back door.  The lock isn't hard to pick, but the heavy oak crossbar on the inside is impassable.  They try the front door too, risking being seen in broad daylight, but it's still early and the late night revelers are sleeping off hangovers. The front door is similarly barred, so Chad Slambody resorts to the old fashioned entry:  bash it down.They return to the backdoor, and with Chang's help, they start ramming the door.  It takes nearly a minute of concentrated effort, woods splintering under their combined weight, and finally the hinges give way.  It makes a lot of noise, but not as much as the double-barreled shotgun leveled at them inside! "Get the <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> outta here ya thieves!"  screams Wycroft, and unloads at Chang.  Chang ducks, pellets tearing  his arm, but most just rip out chunks of the door. Two black Abos on either side of the door swing machetes (or shortswords!) at Chad, but he deftly knocks their clumsy swings aside. Before Wycroft can shoot again, Chang grapples him, forces the gun down, knees him in the gut, and then throws him to the floor and starts strangling.<img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/Masks/mort.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />"Wait! We need him to talk!" cries Lester.  And then he plants a bullet through the neck of a cultist.  Blood squirts betweens the man's fingers and he falls dead.  Chang and Wycroft keep wrestling, the latter streaming garbled obscenities, while Chad slashes the throat of the second cultist.  He falls atop the corpse of his fallen comrade.  Wycroft can't fight back forever, he's outnumbered and they finally subdue him.  He's beat up, tied and gagged, and hauled upstairs while Lester and Hans try to barricade the back door, but it is very damaged. Then Lester checks the front window. Crap.The gun shots have gained attention.  There are people in the streets looking cautiously around, a few of them armed.  But the Outrigger isn't targeted quite yet, and Chad has the clever idea of sneaking out the back door and firing off pistol shots to lead them away.  It's a risky maneuver, and he's gone a long time in a desperate footchase to avoid pursuers or witnesses. In the meantime, Chang, Hans and Morty threaten Mortimer Wycroft.  They need a plane, and they need it NOW.  Wycroft is uncooperative at first, cursing them, telling them he knows who they are, but the investigators are relentless, and Wycroft finally succumbs (and all the while they passed multiple rolls that someone would come snooping around the Outrigger and see the busted back door)There's a radio upstairs, and an hour later Wycroft is able to get a chap named Lonnie Magoo on the line.  He sounds sleepy and irritated, but the investigators tell Wycroft to tell him that plenty of money is involved.  The cargo is 4 passengers, and they need to reach coordinates in the deep desert as soon as possible.  TODAY.  Lonnie Magoo perks up and says that he can be there in 3 hours, flying down from Port Hedland.  The investigators have already decided to return to the City of the Great Race, and using Han's knowledge and Lester's knowledge, map it out as well as possible.They're gonna kill Huston and blow the Sand Bat to hell once and for all.  Or, they can just kick back and rule Cuncudgerie like kings!  Nobody is going to argue with the hot end of a lightning gun (they still have three).Someone comes to the door of the Outrigger and starts knocking, asking for Wycroft.  Wycroft says that it's the local constable, but they force Wycroft at gunpoint to answer that he hasn't seen or heard anything.  The constable's investigation continues elsewhere. The PC's manage to maneuver their stolen truck around the back of the Outrigger and they start throwing in everything they can find. Wycroft is tied up and gagged and Chang stays behind to guard him. The others drive out to the landing strip.<img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/Masks/lonnie.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />An hour later than expected, they see a plane approaching.  It bumps to a landing, and out hops a jovial Aussie who introduces himself as "Lonnie Magoo, my services for you!" He has a few simple rules:  cash up front, and no questions asked by either party.  He doesn't care what they're doing or why, and they shouldn't ask too much about him either.  But there's no way the Silver Bullet can carry that much stuff, not with four people in it, so they strip it down to the necessities: guns, extra bullets, one lightning gun, and dynamite stolen from Wycroft.  Sparking a fat marijuana joint ("I never fly sober," he tells them) Lonnie takes them out to the coordinates of the City, and by pure luck they are able to find a suitable strip of road nearby used by the trucks at the dig site.They tell Lonnie to give them a few hours, and they'll pay him extra.  He agrees, kicking back and lighting another huge joint.   But he doesn't have to wait as long as they anticipated.  The entrance to the City has been destroyed.  The few trucks are burned out shells.  The tents are flattened.  They wonder if they have enough dynamite to blast their way back in, but it is probably a quarter mile or more of rock and sand.  They even briefly consider finding the Singing Stone and seeing if the Tall Man will let them back in, but that's a long shot and they scrap it. Discouraged, they load back up on the plane and tell Lonnie that they have had a change of plans:Plan B. They need to reach Shanghai. Fast. And try to stop the Terrible Weapon, whatever the hell it is.  No doubt, The Order of the Bloated Woman will make that difficult."Bloody Shanghai!" balks Lonnie. "You chaps will have to pay out the arse for that!"They're low on money, but Lester can get more wired to him. Even better, they make a deal with Lonnie.  They show him what the lightning guns can do by discharging a brilliant burst, it's electric glow kindling greed in Lonnie's eyes.  "Holy <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />!  What is that?"  Two lightning guns are worth an untold fortune, and the PC's lie and tell him the charges never run out.  He accepts the offer, and after packing up what they can at Cundcudgerie, they head north for Port Hedland.Mortimer Wycroft, the Deadfella Man of Cuncudgerie, is last seen writhing in the back of an abandoned truck, his wild eyes shooting daggers of hate at them...By January 2nd they've reached Port Hedland where Hans Hazzenbaum tries to put his affairs in order. He has been assumed dead and missing for several months now.  There is an insurance settlement that he picks up for his burned down house, and Hans makes inquiries as to what happened.  No one knows for sure, but the corpses of two women were found in the ashes.  They spend more time asking around if a little Egyptian boy was found, and they eventually hear that yes, one was seen in the vicinity.  MaMoud escaped after all.  Chad, Lester and Chang are especially relieved to hear this, and Hans goes the extra step to set up a fund and contact information for Ali Kafour at the Cairo Museum.  If MaMoud is found by the local authorities, he will have transport back home.  If the PC's can stop the ritual, even if they die trying, at least the boy can live the rest of his life in peace.  If they DO manage to return, Hans sets some money aside for himself to fall back on.[GM Note:  i particularly enjoyed the "Short Term / High Yield" trust fund joked about during the sequence above]And then they're off for China, for better or worse, to complete the final leg of a horrible journey. Lonnie Magoo, as an excellent smuggler, has actually transported opium and other illicit cargo to Shanghai a number of times.  He gets stoned and tells many stories, and the PCs can't avoid getting stoned in the small compartment and having to listen. It's four days to China, stopping as often as possible to refuel.  The load they're carrying is very heavy and requires them to hop to ports across the Indian Ocean.  Lonnie gives them the lowdown on the current state of China and Shanghai, and the PC's find that they're about to set foot in a political and social hothouse:1) The British opened Shanghai to occupation and imports in 18422) Population is about 2 million; 20,000 are non-Chinese, mostly Japs3) All layworkers are Chinese; upper crust management can be other races4) Economy is in RUINS; even the moderately wealthy can live like kings.5) 100 different political factions fie for power.  Very dangerous!6) Built on the Yangtze River7) Tuberculosis is a major problem8. Walls everywhere; guards everywhere; no one trusts anyone9) Uniformed Chinese are respectful and courteous; beware anyone else.10) Post WW1, there are daily riots in the streets. Ties directly to the ruined economyLonnie Magoo "My Services for You" is questioned by the investigators as well, although Hans tries to keep his line of inquiry subtle. Hans wants to know in particular if Lonnie knows about Mortimer's association with the Cult of the Sand Bat, and if Lonnie is a cultist or cult associate himself, like Wycroft.  But Lonnie keeps a cool (stoned) demeanor and they can't glean any deception from him. He seems to be shooting straight, but the PC's have seen too much to trust anyone. After all, Lonnie IS a ruffian. Lonnie is also asked about several islands, with red herrings thrown in there to confuse the real question: Gray Dragon Island.  Lonnie denies hearing about any of them.Four days after leaving Darwin, they come to a bumpy landing on a hidden strip between to wet rice fields. The air is mild, and they step out into the sun on January 8th 1925.  Six days until the ritual is to be completed. Chang can barely remember when this terrible ordeal started on January 15th, 1925.  Nearly a year ago...<img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/Masks/china.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Lonnie has proven himself trustworthy, at least for the right price.  They ask him about places to stay in close relation to The Stumbling Tiger Bar on Lantern Street, the only solid lead they have in Shanghai.  According to a matchbox that Jackson Elias had in New York (which Chang found), Jackson was there snooping around.All Leads:1) Stumbling Tiger Bar2) Jack "Brass" Brady was seen somewhere in Shanghai, and he's their main lead.3) According to cultist rumor and evidence, Brady is some sort of renegade enemy who can't be found. Only Chang has seen EVERYTHING about Brady and attests to his significance.4) Someone named H.F. (according to Huston's journal "Gods of Reality") is the leader of the Cult of the Bloated Woman.5) Bloated Woman is the Chinese branch of Nyarlathotep, although lesser known Masks exist in many other countries.6) Gray Dragon Island is important, once again, according to Huston's stolen journal.7) Someone or something named "Dark Mistress" is referred to several times in Huston's journal8. Although the ledgers are all missing now (burned or stolen from Hans's house in Port Hedland) Chad remembers a clue from China:  Ho Fong Imports received cultist items.9) Ledgers from New York (Ju-Ju House), Gavigan's estate in England, Mombasa, Nairobi, and Australia (in Toddy Randolph's warehouses) all collaborate and prove that these sites were exchanging items.10) According to Huston's journal, someone named Gavigan in Shanghai is helping H.F. with "a delicate matter."  The name Gavigan gives Chang pause.<img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/Masks/shang1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /><img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/Masks/shang2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /><img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/Masks/shang3.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Shangai is huge, bustling, manic and...stinking. Roting fish and exhaust fumes waft over the city from the Yangtze River. Walking in from the landing strip, the PC's are soon lost in the bustle and roar of 2 million people and a shattered economy. They navigate to their hotel with Chang's help, who is a Chinese native and speaks the language fluently.  Lester Cobblebottom speaks it as well, but it hesitant to make that fact known.  He prefers to keep it hidden.The Stumbling Tiger Bar sits unobtrusively on a dirty corner of Lantern  Street.  Upon entering, the tavern is a dingy dirty place, emanating twanging music and sour alcohol. It is one room, plastered with years worth of smoke and displaced saliva on brass spittoons. Lester cringes at the many diseases that might spawn in a place such as this. There are about eight people in here, some alone, some sitting in pairs. The bartender is a chubby Chinese man wiping the counter down.<img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/Masks/chum.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />The investigators saunter up to the bar and order drinks.  Chang asks the bartender if he happens to know an American named Brady.  The bartender looks around,  his face somewhat impassive, and simply says, "Knew man once named Brady.  Think he leave Shangai."Almost imperceptibly, Chang and Chad notice a man at at nearby table lean back in his chair at the mention of "Brady." As if to hear their conversation better. Sniffing, Chang takes his beer and approaches this other man.  Hans and Chad don't know what anyone has said yet, but Lester does. Chang is about to ask the Asian man a question, when Chang spots someone at a table further back.<img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/Masks/ed.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />A man he hasn't seen in nearly a year.  Edward Gavigan of the Penhew Foundation! He looks different, grizzled and coarse, certainly not the clean cut and charming socialite from before.  Their eyes briefly meet, but Chang doesn't know if Gavigan recognizes him or not. By all odds, Chang should have been dead a long, long time ago.  With mixed emotions, Chang stops at the table of the man who leaned back in his chair."Help you friend?" the man asks. [GM Note: the picture of this fellow looks suspiciously like the dude from Big Trouble in Little China]<img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/Masks/taro.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />"You know a guy named Brady?" asks Chang.  "Jack Brady? He's American. He's maybe been in this pisshole before."The man's eyebrows furrow together and he purses his lips. He glances at Lester, Chad and Hans and the bartender. "Perhaps I do.  Perhaps I don't," he whispers back.  "But this is not the place to ask such questions.  Meet me in the alley outside, alone, in fifteen minutes." He tips his hat, finishes his drink, and leaves. Chang  returns to the counter where the others are waiting.  The bartender is furiously rubbing the counter, eyeballing everyone."The other man!" says Chang in a low voice.  "I know him! That's Gavigan! From London! Leader of the Black Brotherhood before we screwed them over, and the son of a bitch looked right at me!"And there we stopped.P.S.  I think you'll level up here: everyone to 8 except Chang, he's 7.</blockquote>

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