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     In late July, Mr. Davis received a mysterious letter from Captain Delacy, requesting help in Athens! Word spread among Delacy's friends in the San Francisco area of his plight, and soon the group was on their way to Europe! The great trans-continental train delivered them to New York City by July 28th; then onward across the Atlantic on the ÃŽle de France to Cherbourg, and finally by the boat train to Paris.

     The attractions of Paris delayed the party for three days, then a fourth after several men were seen to be following them at the rail station! Eventually, however, the 'Rome Express' was boarded (see here for typical accomodation) and then onward to Brindisi by a further express train. A ferry carried the party across the Adriatic to Greece ...

     By August the 12th, they were in Athens; and Mr. Davis attempted to make a contact with Captain Delacy's agent in a remote, ruined temple. However, a group of thugs appeared, and the agent died -- perhaps from shock and age! Miss Cullin found some interesting objects among his possessions, and the group decided that a quick departure was called for.

     Thus on the morning of the 13th, the group boarded a Greek ferry bound for Rhodes. The only other first class passenger was Dr. Ilker Kanzik, who turned out to be an assistant curator at the Turkish National Museum of Antiquities, and was returning to Ephesus -- the destination of Captain Delacy's friends! At Rhodes, the party boarded another ferry, bound for Kusadasi (the closest port to Ephesus), and arrived at that dusty destination in time for breakfast on August 16th. Also in port was the Möwe, a German destroyer! Her crew were apparently enjoying liberty in the town; but her radiomen were hard at work ...

     Kusadasi: Population, 6000 - mostly fishermen and their families. A small fortified island in the harbor, the "Island of Birds", gives its name to the town (ancient Neopolis). One hotel, the "Hotel Zeybek", plus various run-down cafes and rough local lodgings. Post office, police station, a bank, train station (the Smyrna Cassaba Railway connects the town to Izmir (90 km north) and then on to Ankara and beyond), no telephone system of any sort. 1 US dollar is worth about 2 Turkish lira. Average daytime high in August, 97 F (varies from 77 F to 100 F). There are many historical sites near Kusadasi.

     Prof. Enwright, Miss Cullin, and Mr. Davis were driven out to the ruins of Ephesus (ten dusty, hot, dry miles away) by Dr. Kanzik, and given a tour of the digs. Professor Schmidt of the University of Berlin was present, and had recently (in the last few days) discovered an "anomalous" chamber near the Temple of Diana!

     The others have a relaxing day in Kusadasi, although they dine next to a party from the German ship.

     Beverages in Kusadasi: Ayran is a popular drink of water and yoghurt not unlike the Finnish/Russian "buttermilk" or Indian "lassi", but always served without sugar (and, in fact, typically with a little salt added). Turkish coffee (kahve), served in tiny cups, is strong and tasty, just be careful not to drink the slugdy grounds at the bottom of the cup. It is much different than the so called Turkish coffees sold abroad. Sade kahve is served black, while as sekerli, orta sekerli and cok sekerli will get you a little, some or a lot of sugar in your cup. Tea (cay) is also very popular in the country. Be careful, if your tea is prepared by locals, it can be much stronger than you're used to. Boza is a traditional cold, thick drink that originates from Central Asia. It is fermented bulgur with sugar and water additions.

     The local firewater of choice is raki, an anise-flavoured liquor double distilled from fermented grape skin. It is usually mixed with water and drunk with another glass of iced water to accompany as a duble. Raki is a national drink which Turks like to make foreigners taste. Make sure to try it but don't overindulge as it is very potent! Remember not to mix it with anything else. In addition liquory fruit wines of Sirince in Izmir are well worth tasting.

 

     The next day, most of the party visited the mysterious "Hittite level" chamber, and Mrs. Barnato and Miss Worthington experienced strange symptoms -- strange and disturbing. Dr. Kanzik is also puzzled by the disappearance of the four men he left on guard in the "Hittie level". A further day of testing and research provoked some extremely dangerous effects from the Wheel of Fate! And more disturbingly, the bodies of Dr. Kanzik's four Turkish guards are found in the "Hittite level", lying on the floor with beatific expressions on their faces and no signs of violence! While Doctor Kanzik discussed the possible repercussions of this with most of the party, Professor Enwright and Mr. Davis did some poking around in Kusadasi, looking for signs of Captain Delacy. Mr. Davis found a letter at the post office, written by Delacy and addressed to himself; he took the letter to Ephesus, where everyone but Professor Enwright (remaining in Kusadasi) spent the night at the nearby village. The letter's contents:

           August 5

Friends

   Had to give up waiting for you as I am not sure whether you will be coming. As I have been around for some time now, I have told most people that I am off to the last Christian Outpost on the Black Sea.

   The area is getting a little hot. The Hun arrived in force today. Our friends seem to be up to something big just up the road. The story is that it is a new site relating to the Eastern Church. I will be in the neighborhood keeping watch.

           AD

At 10 p.m., the Heroes in the village near Ephesus see a bright flash of light coming out of the hole leading to the "Hittite level".

Professor Enwright noticed that the German crew of the Möwe were returning to their ship, and that three German military Dornier seaplanes had landed in the harbor that morning! Professor Enwright began buying railway tickets for the next evening's train to Izmir ... here is a map of the Turkish railway system.

     Air Travel In Turkey: There are four civil airfields in Turkey, at Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and Trabzon. In May of 1933 the "State Airlines Administration" was formed within the Ministry of Defence, to operate the national airline. The initial fleet of aircraft were the "King Bird" (capacity 5 passengers), two Junkers F-13 aircraft (capacity 4 passengers each), and a single ATH-9 (capacity 10 passengers, not sure what manufacturer - possibly a Ford Trimotor?)

Saturday, 18 August, 1933

     Dr. Kanzik places the excavation at Ephesus off-limits, unless in his company.

     Quentin McCracken, Lillian Barnato and Nora Cullin descend with Ilker Kanzik into the excavation again. At the bottom of the ladder are 4 dead rats. Lillian sees that their eyes are white, perhaps from the light. Quentin McCracken handcuffs the briefcase to Lennie and has him stay up top. Quentin McCracken and Nora Cullin hold Lillian Barnato’s hands. They approach slowly, Lillian goes through self-hypnosis.

     At about the 12 foot level vapor start to come out of Quentin’s pocket, and he is cold. Lillian Barnato hears chanting. McCracken waves a Byzantine cross in front of him (Ilker Kanzik recognizes it as Constantine’s burial cross, which disappeared when his tomb in Constantinople was looted in 1453 by the Turks), and speaks in Latin (like a banishment). Vapor comes over his hand, and frost forms on his fingers. Voices get louder, the symbols light up on the disk. When he touches the cross to the disk, voices get louder and the temperature in the room drops significantly.

     Light is coming out of the cracks between the disk and the wall, those voices get louder, ?? is bleeding out of the ear. Having returned from town, William Davis enters the excavation and scares everyone. As they back off the disk starts to dim (the third, then the second, and last the first). The cross’s gems are glowing.

     There is a crumbling sound coming from the room. The PCs fly up the ladder.

     Dr. Kanzik directs them to take the truck and bring back a company of soldiers. Then come back with every gendarme that the mayor can spare. He then confronts the gang … Quentin McCracken tells him that the Germans are here to pilfer relics of occult significance, and that they intend to remove and take them back to Germany. By chance in Greece, we found Constantine's Sepulchral Cross, rumored to contain pieces of the True Cross, and the blood of an apostle. Every time he gets near the Gate, the cross gets cold. The disk may be antithetical to all the cross stands for. The cross is rumored to have defended Constantinople in a time of darkness; it could have great defensive powers.

     Qai Lin Worthington tends to Quentin's injuries. When she touches the hand, his hand feels better, and she gets a very bad headache and faints.

Dr. Kanzik sees three problems: the dingus, his director who is on his way here (and will take command of the area when he arrives), and the Germans; and he needs to summon authorities before he loses (more) ability to control events. He examines the cross. and hands it back, saying that he trusts that the cross, a Turkish national relic, will find its way to a proper location. Dr. Kanzik asks the Germans how long it would take to dig around the disk. Would it be feasible? Dr. Schmidt asked the same question, perhaps coming in from above through the ceiling. Ilker Kanzik announces that no additional excavations may take place until he has consulted with his government (in Ankara). Ilker leaves that evening on the railway to Izmir, leaving the Heroes with instructions to gather the local constabulary for the safekeeping of the Ephesian dig site.

     The Heroes return to Kusadasi ...

on to Night of the Ephesian Effigies