ENTRY 14: REALIZATION
---------------------

We join our stalwart friends where we left them, in the bowels of the
cruise ship Mauritania, battered, bloody, and not possessing of much
sanity.....

After taking stock of their situation, it was decided by all that
probably the safest place to hide on the ship is to beg for the
protection of the Count, who could presumably protect them all. Katya,
surprisingly, promised not to kill him while on the ship. They then
decided to examine the new loot they had to decide what to take.

Taking the notebook, the letters, the lens that Patterson had used,
the disturbing statuette, and the three books, they made their way out
into the hall. They noticed many metal things all over the hall;
watches, knives, jewelry, belt buckles, and some metal parts that
looked as though they may have been made for inside the body. The
party got spooked, and decided to gather up Thorpe and Don and make a
run for it.

After quite a few trials and tribulations, the gang made it back
to Elizabeth's suite of rooms. After cleaning up a bit, Elizabeth and
Smythe gathered Adrian, take him back to Elizabeth's room, and let him
in on recent events. Given the circumstances, he took it quite well.

Elizabeth and Katya decided that they should be the ones to ask for the
Count's protection, and go to see him. He was receptive to Elizabeth's
request, and secured a dinner engagement with her for that evening in
exchange for the use of one of his bodyguards. Katya, surprisingly,
didn't kill him.

Elizabeth went to dinner with the count, Katya stayed in her room, and
the others went to the dining room. The Count hinted at big plans in
his future, and alluded to how nice it would be to share them with the
right companion.....

Dr. Fuda finally came out of his trance, and it was discovered that he
spoke German. Since some of the letters found on the table were in
German, he offered to translate them for the group. They contained
information indicating that the Captain of the boat was a (somewhat
unwilling) German spy who was being blackmailed by the former purser
into remaining in the business, so to speak.

The next morning, it was announced that the ship was running at 2/3
capacity, and would take an extra 3 days to reach London. For the next
two days, not much happened; Elizabeth got an invitation to dine with
the captain, during which he mentioned that he would be retiring from
his position. She also spent more time with the Count, much to Katya's
dismay.

On the 17th night of the journey, Thorpe (who was feeling better by
that time) and Fuda announced that they were ready to try the
experiment with the candle again. Everyone was present at the show
after dinner. The show was more interesting, since Fuda actually
believed in what he was doing. Lo and behold, it worked. People
started asking questions. {Note: these are only the questions our
friends asked, not the questions the Miskatonic Trio asked.}

#1: Where is the Captain?

 - The group saw a picture of the Captain in the Water Closet.

#2: Where is the High Priestess?

 - The group saw a picture of a subterranean stairway,
   spiraling up. They also saw a Negro woman on a chair being
   carried up the stairway by a large man.

#3 - Where is Roger Carlyle?

 - The group saw a Roger in a cell, in a straight-jacket.

#4 - Where is Jack Brady?

 - The group saw someone who looked like Jack Brady sitting in
   a bar, drinking from a small cup, surrounded by Orientals
   (the group guessed coastal China).

#5a - Where is Doctor Huston?

 - Shadows, getting darker and darker, enveloped the room. They
   then saw a caravan crossing a rocky desert; in the distance,
   they could see a HUGE boulder.

#5b - Where is Sir Penhew?

 - The group saw Sir Penhew from the back. He seemed to be
   working in a subterranean chamber of some kind, laboring
   over a workbench.

{Note: Adrian thought this a good time to leave the room and then did
so.}

#7 - Does anyone know the group is coming to London?

 - The group saw three pictures: one of Elizabeth's father and
   two of two men they'd never seen before. The shadows
   lighten in the room a bit. {Note: Adrian entered the room
   again after these visions.)
 

...And then Katya, having decided that things just hadn't been
dangerous enough already, asked the question that the others thought
better of asking:

#8 - Who is the Mother?

The smoke billowed, and the group saw the inside of a large
underground chamber. There were peripheral pits on the floor, and in
the middle of the floor there was a large, 4 poster, Victorian style
bed. On the bed was a beach ball shaped thing the size of a large
sofa. It had two legs, two arms, and Hypatia Master's
face. Underneath the skin, something shifted. Two eyes opened, looking
out at the group. The group discovered that they couldn't move
away. The scene became frozen. The group got drawn closer, until all
the could see was the pupils of the eyes that had opened. The glass on
this 'still photo' broke, embedding pieces of the image in the brains
of the group. (Read: more san loss.) Within each piece of glass in a
group members' brain, there was a picture. The group blinked, and it
was gone.

They put out the candle. Elizabeth turned the lights on. The
Miskatonic Trio offered our friends their condolences, and said that
at least they felt better about their task now. The party drank
themselves into a stupor.

Two days later, the party arrived in London. It was now 1 March,
1925.