Vienna - to hotel, rooms there.
Message says where/when to meet - do so - his room.
Auction to buy ring - Ring of Solomon - + fears that he could be in danger once he's got it. - Discrete "protection" for a while until he reaches England - not obvious protection.
No pre-view - but auction moved up to tomorrow night.
Sir Martin will pay us 4000 ukp plus expenses.
Duvalier:
"Black Tie" is interpreted freely by everyone but Algie and Edward (and sort of O'Reilly)
Arrive - 3rd floor - buffet dinner - champagne -
+ ~20 other people. String quartet. Everyone here is titled
or faking it.
Algie fancies one woman (turns out to be Lady Mag(net?)),
but she fancies the magician (really??). There is a rich non-snob
Swede - rest are snobs.
After dinner, chars and display tables set up, podium fopr head of house (to run auction), champagne, brandy, cigars.
Auction cancelled.
Take items bought.
Investigate - (Aupsberg will pay us)
Archie will go down in dumb-waiter, others walk down - vault full of safes, boxes, shelves for auction items. Wall has been dug out + caved in behind dumb waiter. Call for servants + shovels.
Couple of hours digging - perhaps quicker to check sewers. - hole coming into sewers - [going / go in?] - 1/2 hour or so - realise gone - maybe saw ghoul.
Meanwhile, Vendredi hypnotises servant who passed out -- saw no ghouls.
Sleep.
Algie reads "The Magus" (loses 4 SAN)
Tell Charlie to look out for mechanical head among
his ghoul friends (yeah, sure!).
Charlie suggests - how would ghouls know it was
there? - date of auction changed -
Talk to Aupsberg - he had a good reason to change date - he suspects it was one of guests - argaret Jameson, Micheal D Borsavin (French), Klaus Hunderprest (Austrian). - these - each one offered + tried to buy head ahead of time - Hunderprest was very angry when wouldn't sell ahead of time.
Try to remember how those three reacted at the auction
- hypnotist helps us -
Hunderprest didn't seem as shocked as everyone else,
perhaps?
Go visit him. - Archie, Vendredi, Duvalier.
Hunderprest - in 50's to 60's, really rich guy, repellant
cast to face - slightly pointed head, face long, skin oily + coarse, olive
complexion + blond hair + beard - something v. strange about him.
Talk for a while - he is annoyed - reacted to "head
at auction".
- He lives in basement - weird! - door in back (no windows)
Edward's idea - take dog around H'pst's home - no
reaction in particular.
Vendredi + Duvalier go down into sewers to look
for way in. Can't find anything. - Rig up thread either end so can
tell if anyone goes through that section.
Go to Aupsberg - write letter explaining head found, available, + is it worth offering for auction. Aupsberg doesn't want to do that.
Everyone but Fishface in hotel, so no sewers to check.
Graveyards? an ancient one down the street
from Fishface's house. After cleaning up, Vendredi, Duvalier + Algie
go there -
Notive some police doing their rounds. We
hide - they walk through graveyard. The notice us - Duvalier throws
his darts - they miss?
Algie acts drunk, asks the way to the X Hotel.
They rush us, tackle us, Duvalier drugs one, the other goes for help -
Vendredi unlocks handcuffs. We run while he fixes the evidence.
Night. We sleep.
Go investigate the graveyard?
5 different graveyards have reported robberies -
go back + look - seems random - some ancient (+ some rich in jewelry?)
+ some others. - Twice have seen people from top.
Check pawn shops near him - over last year or so, sold about 5,000ukp worth of jewelry, some ancient - w/dates of sale, but no correlation w/robberies.
Algie shaves off moustache. O'Reilly finds
that Duvalier has not showed up + has his room locked. - he's not
in his room - the lockon the window has been forced.
Message for Duvalier @ front desk (in German) -
"The safety of your friend depends on leaving well enough alone." - left
sometime before late this morning. Don't know who left it.
Peter fetches 3 goons (2 shotgun, 1 pistol) to assault the basement.
Peter, Algie, Edward, O'Rielly,, + the goons leave
to assault.
Park right outside alley.
The goons go ahead to deal with occupants + get
door open. A gunshot (fairly quiet). One says it's clear.
We go in.
Fishface is dead. No one else here.
We find a secret door. Stinks - sweet - ghoul
smell. Light switch in tunnel.
Algie leads, from Peter, etc.
60' down. Walls marble slabs from mausoleum - tapestries from shrouds, interwoven w/filthy. Electric light. Algie goes into shock, recovers shortly.
2 doors -
door B opens - v shadowy - someone there!
It attacks. Peter shoots - it goes down. There's more!
Edward shoots, etc.
The next one - goes down.
Two more - One gets through
Short corridor to natural cavern - ghouls' quarters - some cloaks (huh?) + chest. There's a hole going down + out (in direction of graveyard).
In our room - small table + chair - book (Liber Tenebra) + head on platter (encrusted w/blackish substance - burnt blood). Some tombs in one of the walls. (O'Rielly takes the head) [take book]
Door A - hallway ending in room - a tomb - a woman laid out on slab (dead)
Check tombs in main room - 2 empty - one has body
of Duvalier - he's alive! drugged.
Chest contains old jewelry. leave it.
Back up to the apartment.
Leave it so police will discover, + leave.
Take Duvalier to hospital, us to hotel.
Aupsburg gives us each a gold signet ring w/crest.
Fly to Holland, chat w/Fokker factory, ferrry to
England, couple of days in England, leave from Southampton to U.S. on the
"Mauretania".