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May 6-20-Shanghai to Rangoon, Burma.
May 21-Arrive Rangoon. Roget and Harvey to the Pow Tok bar to ask for Jack Brady. Gytha and Daisy to the bank. A hotel is found. Charles heads to the Golden Pagoda to make an offering, then looks for his contact Dave the Welshman. Dave tells him Jack Brady has been in Rangoon, but left about 2 weeks ago after making some enemies at the Pow Tok.
May 22-Return to the Golden Pagoda. Dale and Harvey speak to two monks who claim to have seen Jack Brady. Jack inquired after occult knowledge, but went away unsatisfied. One says he left 2 weeks ago, the other says he was here yesterday. The abbot warns Dale not to get off the boat at Madras. Dave gives Charles a load of rugs to go to Calcutta. Roy works on the boat. Nick gains a reputation in the beggar community.
May 23-25 —En route to Calcutta. Upon arrival, Charles delivers his cargo, and they depart without incident.
May 25-29— Sailing down the coast of India. Upon arrival in Madras, all heed the abbot’s warning, and only Roy debarks to refuel. Arrive at Pondicherry on May 29.
May 30—Exploration of Pondicherry. Inquire at the Catholic church for Jack Brady, and show his picture. The curate is unable to help them. Soon Roget, Daisy, and Charles find themselves followed by a mysterious French priest, Pere LaSade. He informs them that Jack Brady was indeed here, inquiring on various occult subjects, and headed off to a monastery in Ceylon a week and a half ago. When pressured, he gives them a letter of introduction to the monastery. They prepare to head to Ceylon. The rains have begun.
May 31-June 2—Battling poor weather, the boat finally arrives at Columbo.
June 3—Arriving at the monastery, the party finds that (surprise!) they have missed Jack Brady by two weeks! He did research in the monastery’s library, and left in the middle of the night, stealing a book. The monks are not sure what book it was, as the occult section of the library is not of great interest to them personally. Brother Ferdinand steers them to one particular book, which Jack had seemed interested in. A marked page contains an interesting passage, and a date. As the group ponders this, they are suddenly joined by a British journalist named Joe Thoutaname. A weighty discussion ensues about where to go next. Jack’s trail has gone cold. The passage refers to a northern Indian province called Rudriprayag, and many clues point to Kenya. The monsoon is in full swing. Unable to agree on a destination, the party splits up.
INDIA TIMELINE.....
June 4-5—Boat to Madras.
June 6—Connect with Nick’s sister’s college friend, Dr. Elizabeth Doulat. She invites the party to stay in her small, cramped apartment.
June 7—Dr. Doulat takes Nick, Akomo, and Daisy to meet Major Emmitt Teasdale, a retired British officer who might have an airplane to sell. They ask him and his house staff many questions about Rudraprayag and travel, and are advised by him to abandon all hope of travel during the monsoon season. Teasdale also suggests they visit the Theosophical Society.
June 8—See the sights of Madras. It doesn’t seem all that dangerous! A trip to the Theosophical Society introduces the librarian, Mr. Mehta, a friendly and helpful sort. An afternoon is spent researching dark subjects. That evening, on the way out for a curry, Elizabeth and Daisy are brutally attacked by men with garottes and tulwars. Despite a valiant fight, they are nearly killed, being rescued at the last second by the enigmatic Akomo. The attackers are killed or scattered, and the ladies are taken to the hospital. By virtue of Dr. Doulat’s status as a member of the staff, they are afforded a certain amount of privacy and quality care.
June 9-10—Harvey and Nick do a little digging of their own at the Theosophists’, and contact Major Teasdale again to discuss matters further. Harvey is presented with a mysterious note instructing him to be at San Thome Basilica at midnight. He and Nick keep the appointment and meet an ancient Indian man with a strange tattoo. Suddenly, Harvey is compelled to head for the train station.
June 10—Akomo, Daisy, and Elizabeth receive a note from Harvey and Nick informing them that they have gone on alone. Strangely, it does not mention actually going to Rudraprayag specifically. Akomo notices he is being followed as he travels around Madras. Daisy and Elizabeth notice that the food at the hospital is terrible.
June 11—Elizabeth is nearly the victim of a clever poisoning attempt at the hospital; only her superior medical knowledge detects the poison before a fatal dose is ingested. Elizabeth and Daisy check out of the hospital and into a hotel.
June 12—Akomo is caught from behind with a garrotte. His throat is nearly cut before he fends off his attacker with a well-placed kick to the groin. His attacker dies.
Akomo is taken to the hospital.
June 13—Daisy orders tea at the hotel, but receives poison instead. Another near miss. Elizabeth struggles out of bed to investigate the possibility of leaving Madras. Daisy suggests she check the telegraph office for messages from Harvey and Nick. Instead, she finds a telegram from Nairobi. She contacts a friend in Bangalore, and retrieves Akomo from the hospital.
June 14—Akomo, Daisy, and Elizabeth depart for Bangalore, with instructions to a local friend to forward any telegrams addressed to any member of the party.
June 15—Indeed, a telegram arrives from Harvey and Nick. They are in Ahmadabad. There is no explanation for their departure, but they plan to go to Rudraprayag from there, and ask that a return telegram be sent to them at Lahore informing them of the situation in Madras.
June 16-July 2—A series of telegrams between Bangalore and parts north inform the party that Harvey and Nick are having difficulties getting further than Lahore due to the weather and mountainous terrain. Finally they return to Bangalore to regroup.
July 3—A strange telegram is received. It states:
YOUR FRIENDS RETURN TO THE PLACE YOU LAST SAW THEM STOP MANY EYES ARE UPON YOU STOP YOU MUST MOVE SOON
OKOMU
The party makes arrangements to return to the monastery at Columbo.
July 4-7—Travel through southern India, hire a boat to Columbo. The group is assigned its own personal monk to assist in their fight against the doom of the world. He (Shihan Sidhartha) seems well able to take care of himself.
July 8-9—Wait for the Kenya party to appear.
July 10—Kenya party appears, minus several members. Stories are exchanged, plans discussed. A unanimous vote is taken to go to Australia; Roy is persuaded to continue to be their pilot. Strangely, two random people attach themselves to this group: Alexandra Garret, a Christian missionary, and Neville Phillips, an artifact researcher for the the British Museum.
July 11—Depart for Australia, via Indonesia.
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