21. pelikerta.
Our expedition, or what’s left of it now that doctors Paynesworth and Stafford are gone, boarded a steam ship Marlin on the 16th of September. We arrive in Shanghai on the 18th.
We check in to a hotel, and start our inquiries. Troxler visits the museum, and ends up wasting a working day’s time trying to get his point across to the personnel, while they have no common language to communicate with.
During that time, the rest of us wander the city streets, trying to find the Ho Fong Imports. When we finally find it, we’ve been walking in circles, and Mr. Walker’s wallet has been stolen. We’re tired, thirsty and in a bad mood. A quick plan forms up in Revelli’s mind – he’s to go knock on the door, and ask for work there. The chinese workmen don’t speak english, and their foreman can only tell Revelli to come back the next day, when their boss is around. We do see a dzonk sailing under the Union Jack, Luxurian Goddess, tied to the pier next to the company grounds.
We set out towards the Stumbling Tiger, which, luckily, we find much easier. It’s a seedy bar filled with people drinking cheap grog. Revelli pays the half-chinese-half-scottish bartender, Fergus Chung, one pound – and he promises we’d drink two days with that money. The bartender agrees to tell us about Jack Brady, when he’s finally paid $10 after haggling.
Jack Brady visits the bar often, but not right now – he’s in Burma, selling guns. The last time he was seen here was in march – six months ago. Chung also tells us of Albert Penhurst (alias of Aubrey Penhew), who owns the ship named Dark Mistress, which, in turn, has some strange crew. There are whispers, that the ship smuggles goods. Chung does not know, however, whether the owner, Penhurst, lives in the city. We do get one lead though – Brady had been seen in the bar, drinking with a customs worker, Patrick Devlin.
We wake up on thursday morning September 19th 1925 at 7 o’clock to the noises of the city. Following our lead, we find the british customs. We find out that the last time Dark Mistress was here was on August 4th. After that date, it has not dealt with the customs. There’s a long history of the Dark Mistress, mostly in 1924, and there have been many shipments from England. After February 1925 the Dark Mistress visits Shanghai more seldomly. We connect the dots, our raid to the Misr Mansion in England was in February. The customs official points us to Patrick Devlin, who is an older clerk with gray hair.
Troxler revisits the museum, but this time with Mycroft. Having an interpreter with him, they get some results too. Leaving the museum, they have six names of people, who know something about the cult, Black Fan, the monk Qwan or the Bloated Woman. We split the work and assign a name to a person. Descours visits an old nun, only to hear that she had passed of pneumonia last month. Mycroft visits a monk, and find out that he has committed to a vow of silence, but at least he can communicate with writing.
When Troxler leaves his informant, a small chinese woman walks up to him. She had been waiting for him on the streets, and tells him that Mr. Lin wants to see him, and demands an audience. Troxler isn’t impressed, and tells the woman, that if Mr. Lin wants to see him, he can come to him.
In the library later, some newspaper articles tell us that Mr. Lin is an importer/exporter for Ho Fong Imports. One article tells us that his wife passed a year ago. We also find an ad from a local astrologer, Mr. Lung, whose advert says that the stars are right. There are also two articles about the destruction of a seamen’s club, and some familiar sounding destruction of a monks home and their deaths, in a fire that seemed to follow them in a shape of a floating cloud of fire.
