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Under The Hill
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Qua Lin Worthington, Algernon DeLacy, Victoria May and Nora Cullin entered the land Under The Hill. The land resembled England in the Late Roman era, circa 500 AD. They were staying in Deva near where present-day Chester was. Distances and time were not consistent -- they seemed to vary. After a few days the characters adapted, but depth and height perceptions were still difficult. All three ladies were back up to par, sleeping well. Algernon found that his geas was no longer in effect while he was Under the Hill. The Heroes learned that they were expected, as they were invited. Curious about why the sidhe are willing to help, Mae explained that we had a common enemy in Romanescue's band, and had been successful in harming the band. They offered help. The sidhe offered choices to Victoria: they could remove the inlaid tattoo, help her learn to use it or finish the construction and educate her in its use. The advantage would be to "give her powers beyond the ken of normal mayflies." She could contact and use primal forces of the universe ( "You folks might call them 'angelic' or 'demonic'"). Algy told her that his service would be interested in her pursuing the "complete the tattoo" option. Thomas the Rhymer (aka True Thomas, fl. 13th Century) had two marks, which allowed him to woo audiences. She chose to complete the tattoos, and Algy thanked her for her service to the Crown. One medallion was silverish (left shoulder), one was gold-ish (right shoulder) and third one was copper-ish in color (small of back/base of spine) while also being twice the size of the others. The procedure was very painful, took about three weeks of lengthy sessions and there were long periods of numbness afterwards. When she awoke, she spoke the Sidhe language, dreamed in Sidhe. She needed to think about it to speak in English. She saw sparkles and different colors -- a whole new world! She felt better than she had in a long, long time. Nora learned that she could remove the anklet, but doing so would damage her soul. The sidhe could help her learn to use it to her own benefit. She learned how to attune her anklet, suffering severe headaches in the process. Her energy would no longer drain off, and eventually she would learn skills that are possible with this anklet. It was made of panchaloha, a ancient Tibetan alloy of gold, silver, copper, iron, lead and mithril. The visitors were taught to help with farming, while learning the language (a mix of Olde English with medieval French -- Nora's translator worked on this language). Qua Lin learned about Sidhe herbal healing. Algy researched the tapestry found in the Frangipani manor. It was from one of the lost Dark Sidhe tribes, and was aligned with the High Sidhe Autumn Court. Qua Lin and Nora accepted the offer to detox from Agent White. They drank a black tar sludgy drink, and were in seclusion for three days as the chemical left their systems in a variety of unpleasant manners. The sidhe offered to send the Heroes back the way they came, or to their original world, or to a different time. Algy wanted to speak with the Arcanists, in order to learn more about Gates. They went on another mind-bending ride, to a city known as Durovernum (located where present day Canterbury would be). There were more fey races, more young sidhe, some redcaps, some humans. It was one of their biggest cities, with a Roman wall going along the outside. The gates in the wall were manned, or perhaps sidhed?. Brother Timothy -- aka Caius Gabriel Cibber -- offered to help. He was rescued from a fire in London which he was caught in while 'chasing witches' ™. He was a witch hunter, and very, very old (from the late 1500s). After Elizabeth passed the Witchcraft Act 'agaynst Conjuracions Inchauntmentes and Witchecraftes' in 1562, a subtle war broke out in London between the Elizabeth's agents and the various heretical covens, cults, closes, and congregations and that had grown and flourished in Tudor England after Henry's anti-Catholic Suppression of Religious Houses acts. At the direction of Elizabeth's chief advisor Walter Raleigh, following the deaths of 17 royal guardsmen in an ambush near Bridewell Court, Thomas Harriot recruited a number of artists and men of science from in and around London with the help of members of the court of Lady Chrysogonee Helyoudis Gladebright, Princess of Autumn. Caius Cabriel Cibber (Timothy) and his cousin, Johann Gregorius Nãrgaar, a shipwright from Plymouth, were two of the first and came from a near-twin human universe in 1613. He worked for the Night School with John Dee, Walter Raleigh, Christopher Marlow, and others. Christopher Marlow (1564 - 1593) and some of the others were killed in the course of their work for the Crown while members of the Night School. This likely included efforts to locate the Dwemer and their creations, such as seeking the location of Tamerlane’s true tomb as some legends told of it holding a trove of dwemer treasures. One of Marlowe's more popular plays was titled, "Tamburlaine the Great" (written ca. 1588).
Tombs attributed to Timur/Tamerlane known to our Heroes so far: -- on top of Tengi Khan, in the Kok Shal mountains -- at Samarkand -- at Shahrisabz, his birthplace -- "A tomb of gold, with 999 servants to attend to his needs in the afterlife, built near a great lake far across the sea towards the setting sun" - from a scrap of vellum found in The Book of Knowledge
He took to Victoria May, and gave her a large box full of his great treatise of the "Foliage en (ancient and Renaissance) Arte". Timothy said, “You should look for John, Queen Elizabeth's son, who was taken away for his protection.” This son had two marks on his back, as though someone wanted him to have wings.Timothy sketched them -- they were a similar design to what Victoria May had. John had a bit of a tail, no ear lobes, and webbing had to be cut from between his 6-toed feet. Timothy claimed that John Edward Dudley was Elizabeth's bastard son, born January 6, 1561 O.S. and was last reported seen in March of that year, at Hunsdon House, Hertfordshire (Elizabeth was born 1533, crowned 1558, and died 1603). His father was probably a witch (Walter Raleigh?), although the date and his last name would point to Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, a childhood friend of the Queen's. Raleigh was said to have had frequent conversations with a talking head, brought back from the Holy Land -- Dr. John Dee (1527-1609) also supposedly hid and spoke with the head for a period of time. The original Gates dated back to the Hyborian Age. A particular sect of the Stygians made a deal with a god to learn to build gateways to other worlds. It ultimately led to their demise, since things came in through the gates. Brother Timothy said that we should never leave our own universe since it creates a hole which could be filled by anything, including demons. When the High Spring Court departed our universe, it left a hole through which eventually the Mongol Horde came (presumably during the Tang dynasty of China). The dwemer constructed a series of more stable Portals. The Mongols, with their great numbers and diseases drove the dwemer away. Our Heroes were told they might be to find the dwemer by speaking some with the Vandal tribes. Some that were specifically mentioned were the Cotini, or perhaps the Quadi, who allied with the Marcomanni (a powerful Eastern Germanic Tribe). Most likely they could be found in one of the Hansa towns, where they set themselves up as traders after tiring of fighting. Under the Hill was a dimension, not a universe. Universes can change, the continents can change, civilizations will rise and fall. The sidhe’s presence and lives support this dimension. When the last sidhe leaves, the dimension will collapse. The current sidhe do not know how to create another, since the knowledge was lost and the Courts are no longer in contact. After visiting Brother Timothy, they rode again to the Gate and emerged at London, nine days after they had left. |
meanwhile ...
Willoughby had traveled to Romania, White improved his French in Paris, and Davis was winning enough poker games that he needed to figure out what to do with his newly-won opium den in Paris.
Tuesday, April 25, 1933
An important confidential letter was sent to Bucharest, for Fred Willoughby.
Thursday, April 27, 1933
Those of Our Heroes who had been Under the Hill returned to London; telegrams were sent to the other team members. Nora and Qua Lin stayed in a women's hotel in order to "fly under the radar". They worked on securing bank accounts and financial arrangements (including some gemstone sales); then they departed for Oxford.
Obtaining funds from banks in California would take while -- at least two business days, and Whit Monday is a bank holiday.
The following week is filled with school holidays, fairs, boat races, and other celebrations.
Victoria May had a missive waiting for her ...
Friday, April 28, 1933
Willoughby received the letter from the Foreign Office, it contained a set of recognition instructions for Willoughby for a meeting the following evening. In turn, he sent a telegram to Clive White in Paris.
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CLIVE WHITE HOTEL GEORGE V 31 AVE GEORGE V PARIS
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BUCHAREST 47732 45 28 AVRIL 1130
SHORT WARNING MAY HAVE IMPORTANT BUSINESS FOR THE USUAL GROUP STOP EASTERN EUROPE AROUND MAY DAY STOP PUT EVERYONE ON NOTICE STOP I WILL TELEGRAPH AGAIN WHEN I KNOW MORE STOP = WILLOUGHBY BRITISH LEGATION BUCHAREST |
White responded with a telegram of his own that evening: "NO CONTACT FOR SAME".
First day of the Roman festival of Floralia. While it hasn't been celebrated for well over a thousand years, this date is somehow important.
The Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung publishes the last newspaper article in Germany critical of the Nazis.
The "propiska" system of internal passports goes into full effect in the Soviet Union. The system is mostly aimed at rural residents attempting to enter cities to escape from famine.
Saturday, April 29, 1933
Late in the evening, Willoughby met with Mrs. Marian Vanderwold at a restaurant in Bucharest, as arranged. She was a lovely blonde, clearly in fear for her life; but she absolutely refused any assistance or protection from the Legation. She handed over a large manila envelope -- making Willoughby's table the sudden focus for the eyes of the various spies, criminals, policemen (secret or otherwise) and other underworld types in the dining room. Willoughby awkwardly shuffled the Clearly Important Envelope under his napkin. The only information she provided was that the destination was "on a mountain near Brno ... ".
Mrs. Vanderwold left, and immediately afterwards Willoughby heard the squeal of brakes, a scream and impact, rapid footsteps, howling Romanian sirens, barked instructions, and other signs that Vanderwold was no longer playing the game. A bit shaken, Willoughby had the maître de call the Legation for a car.
At the Legation, just before midnight, he opened the envelope fully. It contained only an aerial photograph of a small village -- perhaps a dozen buildings -- along a road in a forest. Written on the photograph were the words "Zdravá Voda" -- a small village in the Moravian district of Czechoslovakia.. The photograph covered an area of only 600 yards wide, and there was nothing else in the photograph, or on the back of it, to indicate what was of importance.
The village name means "healthy water" if that's of any interest.
Looking at the calendar, Willoughby also realized that the first cricket game of the season would begin on May 3rd! M.C.C. vs. Surrey, at Lord's in London! Egad!
Willoughby sent a telegram to Clive White, and returned to his apartment to pack for the morning flight to Paris.
Sunday, April 30, 1933
In the morning, Clive White received Willoughby's telegram:
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PARIS TRANSMIS 29 AVRIL 1933 31 AVE GEORGE V HOTEL GEORGE V ATTENTION DE MSR CLIVE WHITE
EMERGENCY STOP OPENING GAME OF SEASON AT LORDS ON 3 MAY STOP I HOPE TO AVOID ANY FOREIGN ENTANGLEMENTS THAT WEEK STOP IN LONDON SOON STOP WILLOUGHBY BRITISH LEGATION BUCHAREST STOP END
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Meanwhile, Willoughby boarded a CIDNA airliner in Bucharest at about 8 a.m., and flew to Paris, arriving about 7 p.m. He hired a copilot at the airport for the flight to London in the morning, and serviced the Ju-52 tri-motor.
DeLacy had so far been avoiding reporting in, until he could figure out how to spin his story. He was called on the carpet for not knowing where Qua Lin had been for the past two days by Admiral Sir Alasdair Worthington, KBE (Qua Lin's father). He was instructed to bring Qua Lin for dinner at the Army & Navy Club, and he was to accompany her in uniform. The interview was abrupt, with threats of transfers to the South Atlantic.
Algy hastily traveled to Oxford, where everything was shut up on Whit Sunday; he requested assistance from the constabulary. Sirens were soon heard throughout the town and university, all searching for an Asian woman. Miss Worthington and Mrs. Cullin were "apprehended" in the women's section of the Eagle & Child tavern (on a Sunday!) and quickly driven to police headquarters. Captain DeLacy, and Admiral Worthington's limousine were waiting for them; after a quick stop at the hotel to pick up their luggage, they were rushed back to London in the car.
Nora Cullin joined Victoria May for dinner that evening at a small restaurant with a reputation for good shepherd's pie.
Meanwhile, Qua Lin and Captain DeLacy arrived at the Army & Navy Club for dinner. Qua Lin greeted her father icily; he responded with accusations of affairs with Clive White, suggestion of arranged marriage to DeLacy (if only he would convert to the Protestant faith). What would it take for him to settle down? Or perhaps Willoughby? The American (Bill Davis)? "Send me reports. It's not like I'll read them..."
Qua Lin was excused, then the Admiral told DeLacy that Frederick Willoughby had just been placed in charge of a foray into Czechoslovakia. Something about a factory that should not be built ... advanced aircraft, or fighter craft. He offered to have a squad of Royal Marines accompany the group, then threatened DeLacy in the event that Qua Lin was harmed in any way. In a round-about way, he confirmed that DeLacy was now a brevet Major.
Qua Lin now had a car and driver. She and DeLacy joined Victoria and Nora for many rounds of drinks that night.
The Austrian Parliament holds a fifteen minute session (the last until 1945), in which a new constitution is enacted, allowed the government to rule by decree.
A note on consulting with physicists: German universities are in a turmoil, due to the orders to dismiss Jewish faculty members.
Monday, May 1st, 1933
Willoughby, with his hired co-pilot, flew in the morning from Le Bourget - Paris to Croydon - London. After refueling the aeroplane and topping off the oil tank, he took a cab to the Alpine Club, on the hope that Algernon DeLacy might be there. Later he briefly visited his London apartment, and collected a lot of unread mail ...
Nora Cullin, Qua Lin Worthington, and Victoria May spent the day shopping in London -- Harrod's, Selfridges, the Liberty, etc.
In a previous time-loop -- or dimension, etc. -- Mr. McCracken, Mrs. Barnato, Mrs. Cullin, Miss Worthington, Mr. Davis,
and an entourage boarded two chartered sea-planes in San Diego, for a flight to Managua, Nicaragua.
Tuesday, May 2nd, 1933
Nora Cullin and Qua Lin Worthington cashed some checks at their correspondent banks in London as soon as they opened for business. After collecting the location of the hanger where it was being stored, Nora flew the Junkers tri-motor from London back to Paris, with Major DeLacy, Victoria May, and Qua Lin Worthington aboard (along with a lot of luggage). In Paris, they did more shopping -- Le Bon Marché, Galeries Lafayette, Printemps -- and looked for Bill Davis. Oddly enough, he wasn't in any of those places.
Clive White was disappointed to find that he could only get seats for the first day of the upcoming cricket match. Perhaps he needed to do something about his position on the wait list for Lords membership?
Wednesday, May 3rd, 1933
White and Willoughby watched the first day of a cricket match at Lord's, in London. Mrs. Cullin, Qua Lin and Victoria May did a lot more shopping in Paris.
Thursday, May 4th, 1933
Willoughby and White boarded the Golden Arrow at Victoria Station at 11 a.m., to arrive in Paris - Nord at 5:40 p.m. On the train, they discussed the (non) plans to marry Qua Lin Worthington, and pestered porters, ferry crew, and station staff for news of the second day of the cricket match.
Kevin said, "Your team lost"; not sure who that was. - It seems that in this universe, Surrey trounced Marylebone.
In the afternoon, Major DeLacy, Miss Worthington, Victoria May and Nora Cullin finally connected with Bill Davis in Paris, and met him in the rather shabby bar at the Hotel George V. They had all taken their seats, and Davis began to recount his rather sordid tale, when a tall man with an axe interrupted him by chopping off the bartender's head -- by accident, no less. Our Heroes recognized the axe as Ferracutus, last carried by one of Romanescu's minions in Rome.
The axe murderer began going from table to table -- tables with women at them -- sniffing about, and shouting (with slight variations), "Où est la tête?" ("Where's the head?") and "Donne-moi la tête!" ("Give me the head!"). He began to enlarge rather alarmingly. The other customers began to flee, as Our Heroes pulled out guns and opened fire! Unfortunately, the initial volley just drew his attention. Nora Cullin's anklet warmed up as the maniac approached; and Victoria May noticed that his gaze was fixed on Qua Lin Worthington.
Meanwhile, Willoughby and White had just arrived at the same hotel, to check in; they heard the screams and saw fleeing bar-patrons across the lobby. They rushed over to the bar, and saw an axe-maniac threatening patrons; a tall velvet curtain was pulled down as a means to wrap up the villain.
However, before any of the civil servants' plans could advance very far, two well-placed shots from Bill Davis brought down the tall man. The axe spun through the air, and crashed through the top of a table; the tall man's form shrank and shriveled down to that of a thin postman.
Just out of curiousity, what was Bill Davis' favored monster-killing pistol that day?
White and Willoughby advanced towards the fallen attacker, and then recognized the rest of their team. "Oh, good job, chaps, glad you were here. Today was already enough of a disaster without this fellow." White covered and wrapped the axe with the velvet curtain.
After a bit of hubbub, Our Heroes grabbed a fire axe from the back room behind the bar, tossed it into one of the large blood puddles, and hid the "real" axe in a laundry cart in the back room. Meanwhile, DeLacy tried to place a telephone call to the French Laundry -- unsuccessfully; fortunately he was able to ring up Lady Ceilagh.
Lady Ceilagh arrived at the hotel before anyone was arrested, and greeted DeLacy very warmly. She was able to contact the Outre French Authorities, which eventually arrived to take Ferracutus into safekeeping.
For once, Our Heroes had solid alibis for their actions; they were eventually taken to a police station for questioning. Willoughby and White were thanked and commended by the police; the hotel upgraded their rooms to suites.
DeLacy was warned by Lady Ceilagh that he (specifically) might not be safe that night. Bill Davis provided a not-entirely-needed warning about Ceilagh's plans. The major declined her personal attention, but did check his room very carefully that night.
Friday, 5 May 1933
After a silent awkward breakfast, the heroes departed by air, and flew the Junkers to Kbely airport, at Prague. The trip was 560 miles; the trip took about 5 hours, followed by a half-hour of refueling and maintenance, and then a trip into Prague proper for a hotel (the Hotel Europa, on Wenceslas Square) and dinner.
Sunday, 7 May 1933
Two days of research and delicate questioning in Prague led Our Heroes to conclude that the mysterious site was probably a facility of the Aero Vocochody company, a Czech firm that built aircraft.
Established in Prague in 1919. they have produced quite a few aircraft for the Czechoslovakian military, along with some commercial aircraft.
They in fact had a large hangar at the airport, on the far side of the (grass) landing field! It didn't seem to have any notable security, or anything notably odd -- most of the aircraft were biplanes. The company's manufacturing sites were in various buildings in Prague itself.
Aero Vocochody hangar near Prague
The town in Willoughby's photograph was near Žarošice hamlet, very roughly 40 miles southeast of Brno. Willoughby sent a brief letter to Montague of the F.O., mostly listing the members of the group and providing their itinerary.
Monday, 8 May 1933
They took a train from Prague to Brno -- about a three-hour journey. After some confusion, the group equipped themselves with horses and a wagon, which was quickly filled with long arms, golf clubs, and mountaineering gear. The night was spent at a hotel, in contemplation of an early start the next day.
Tuesday, 9 May 1933
The august band of heroes rode into the hills. The campsite, chosen by Clive White, develops puddles during the night's light rain.
Fort Rondet, a Legion post in the western Sahara, under siege by a native army, is relieved by the French Air Force.
The commanding officer, Captain Jean Fabien, is killed during the final night of the siege.
-- "The Devil's In Love", 1933
I just happened to see the last scene in this film as I was working on this page! -- Michael
Wednesday, 10 May 1933
Bill Davis and Major DeLacy crept up to the small hamlet of Žarošice. It had only a doctor's office, a schoolhouse, a small cafe and a closed-up store/post office. The dirt road passing through the town was heavily rutted. Only a few dozen Bohemian woodcutters, foresters, and other rural types lived in the immediate area. A few miles away along the rutted road, Davis and Delacy spied upon a strange structure -- a masonry building only five feet tall, with slightly-sloped rusticated walls and a flat roof. It was easily a hundred yards on a side; the forest had been cleared for a half-mile out all around the building. A dirt landing strip, roughly 360 yards long, had been laid out parallel to one side of the building. There were no obvious doors or windows, no guard towers, no smoke or steam, no power lines, no external lights -- all in all, a strange building.
While the two military men were out scouting, the rest of us moved our camp to a hidden dale a mile or two from the building. This camp also had some drawbacks ... we ate our dinner and began sleeping and watching in shifts, as another night's light rain began.
In the middle of the night Victoria got a stabbing pain in her back and saw a blue glow coming from the direction of the building. She woke DeLacy, who appeared in his dressing robe with his mica goggles. He saw a light shaped like a purple tear or flame, blossoming out of the northeast corner of the building (the southwest corner was closest to the camp). Victoria's sharp stabbing pain became a dull throbbing one.
The rest of Our Heroes were awakened, and urged to be quiet. Through binoculars, Victoria saw that the blue glow was some sort of perimeter or warding around the structure. Victoria walked away to the point where she was out of line of sight -- the pain went away. Gradually everyone returned to sleep (except the guards), and Victoria managed to find a rock to hide behind to dull the pain.
Thursday, 11 May 1933
About an hour and fifteen minutes later, all were awakened by the low bass throbbing, somewhat like the sound of a large diesel engine running, at first felt more than heard. After about 15 seconds, there was a thunderous crack-boom explosion and a bright flash rose into the sky. The noise quickly diminished, other than a whistling in the sky that receded like an artillery shell flying away. Bill Davis made a guess that it was a rocket. The mysterious glow around the building was gone after the bright flash..
Thinking about it later, the sound of the "rocket" (or whatever) was vaguely similar to the sound of Boulle's flying wings when they were taking off.
NOTE: The aircraft was similar in its excessive operating volume, its lack of visible propellers, the odd chemical exhaust smell, and the strange distinctive exhaust clouds (contrails) left in passing.
At sunrise, we had breakfast and made our gear ready in case we had to move. Then we settled down to observe the building.
Eventually, two Czech army trucks drove up to the building, arriving from the town (and presumably from Žarošice or beyond. They stopped about 10 yards from one side, and honked their horns; a door folded out, and they drove downwards into the building.
Our Heroes proceeded on foot to investigate the area around the building -- outside the cleared zone, at the start.
As before, we could see no electrical or communication lines strung on trees or poles. On the east side of the building there were three 3" diameter pipes leading off above-ground vaguely in the direction of Trencin. One pipe brought water, one provided diesel fuel (but was currently not pressurized), and the last held an assortment of electrical, telephone, and teletype cables -- the latter of the Siemens & Halske type). Concrete and steel supports held the pipes off the ground a foot or so; about every mile were cutoff valves (for the fluids) and an small access plate (for the wires). Metal signs on the supports had the Aero Vocochody corporate symbol (the word "Aero" in a script font), and a phrase in Czech none of us could read: "Před rušili obraťte se na MNO."
MNO is the Ministry of National Defense; the phrase means "Contact the MNO before disturbing."
The heroes split into two teams. Those who were psychically sensitive felt vibrations. Victoria felt it in her tattoos, Nora through her anklet, Qua Lin in her bracelet, and the gents in their chests. The sides of the building were made of concrete, purposefully obscured with a combination of paint, plaster, and cultivated mosses. The heroes walked up to see the roof. There were air and exhaust vents around the roof. There were also 2 large venturi exhausts and a large hatch, 40 feet per side, with tracks that helped it retract on the northern end. The large exhausts are where the glowing exhaust was the previous night. There were latched heavy metal hatches every 50 feet. There was another large door like the truck door, on the north facing wall; the truck doors had "light cells" over them, either as doorbells, or perhaps to automatically open the doors.
There was a metallic, actinic smell of toxic nastiness (similar to the Hyborian lich); backing away from the structure relieved the symptoms.
At one point, two men in pale blue coveralls came out to smoke; they put out their cigarettes and carefully kept the butts, before returning to the building.
Later that afternoon, Our Heroes heard the drone of an airplane approaching. It flew over to check the wind, dropping a drogue to check direction and speed, and then landed. It was an Aero Vocochody craft, twin-engined with a split tail, but not apparently of the "change the balance of world power" type. We noted the markings and tail number.
Two people got out of the plane carrying suitcases and entered the structure; the pilot remained in the open near the plane, performing a minor inspection and post/pre-flight check. About 10 minutes later, two others different men came out, also carrying small suitcases. One stopped, smoked for a few minutes, then both of these "new" men boarded the plane. The plane turned around and made a full power take off.
It was the middle of the afternoon ... the sun would set at 6:49 p.m., and civil twilight would end at 7:25 p.m.; the moon was full on the previous night, and would rise at 8:40 p.m. on this day. Weather at night was in the 40s Fahrenheit; there was about a 50% chance of rain each day, typically only a millimeter.
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