In 1923, Jackson releases his book, The Hungry Dead.

Published by Prospero House

and edited by longtime collaborator, Jonah Kensington, it released to mixed
reviews. It talks about a Bolivian/Peruvian death cult that dates back to the time
of the Conquistadors. He describes its members as having joined out of feelings of
inadequacy, brainwashing, etc. He omits the grisly and supernatural details. Cate
receives a signed copy.

Over the few years apart, Pierre and Cate keep in touch with letters. Cate updates
the other two with her findings on the occult. She still runs her mortuary home and
frequently gives tarot readings for a rather wealthy clientele.

Jackson also frequently writes to the three, but his constant traveling makes
replying difficult. He also frequently sends non perishable food stuffs as little
gifts for the holidays. After 1923 however, it seemed harder to get a hold of
Jackson.

In January 1925, the group received separate radiograms for Jackson, asking us to
join him on the Carlyle expedition as he required a trusted team. He asked us to
meet him in NY on January 15th. All 3 went down to the local library to look up
more information on this expedition. Numerous news articles revealed the following
information.

The namesake of the expedition belonged to famous New Yorker billionaire playboy
Roger Carlyle. He had previously embarked on an archaelogical expedition to Egypt's
Nile Valley to the pyramids. The actual purpose of the trip remains unknown. The
other members included renowned Egyptologist Sir Aubrey Penhew as assistant leader
and in charge of excavations, Dr Robert Houston, fashionable "Freudian"
psychologist who pursued parallel researches into ancient pictographs, Miss Hypatia
Masters, as photographer and archivist [Miss Masters had been previously linked
with Mr Carlyle] and lastly Mr Jack Brady, best friend of Mr Carlyle for general
errands.

Tragedy struck however. Under the pretense of a safari hunt to unwind after the
Egyptian trip, the Carlyle expedition traveled to Nairobi. There they went missing.
Rumours abound that the team had gone there to seek out the biblical treasure of
King Solomon. Mr Carlyle's sister, Erica, then traveled to Nairobi to organise the
search efforts for her brother. With what she described as assistance from the
Kikuyu tribe, the remains of the team were found, believed to have been murdered by
Nandi tribesmen. 5 Nandi men underwent a trial and were promptly executed. Miss
Carlyle flew back to New York immediately after. Though the tribesmen never
revealed the reason for the vicious attack, it was believed to have been racially
motivated.

We catch each other up via telephone on our research and where to stay/meet up in
NY. After making the proper arrangements, we travel to NY. Orson takes a train to
arrive a few days earlier. Pierre does to arrive the day before. Pierre had
received a call from Jackson to meet at Hotel Chelsea, room 410. He sounds
uncharacteristically anxious and almost afraid over the short conversation. He
asked to keep the details of the meeting amongst ourselves.

New York is deathly cold while in the midst of heavy snow fall. We arrive at Hotel
Chelsea at the arranged time and date. Pierre asks the front desk if anyone had
been up to see Jackson or asked about him. Front desk clerk says no. Pierre gives
his surname when prompted by the clerk. Jackson had left word with him that he was
expecting guests.

We head upstairs to the room. Everyone feels uneasy, as if something was terribly
wrong. Pierre knocks, no answer. We listen through the door but hear nothing.
Pierre tries to pick the lock but it's a slow process. Fraught with tension and an
unnamed urgency, Orson asks Pierre to step aside, kicking down the door.
Immediately, a machete swings out at him. Thankfully it misses.

The attacker is a man wearing an ill fitting suit and a headdress with strip of
cloth hanging off it. He appears livid and hysterical. He is shouting in an unknown
African language. On the bed in a room in the back, Orson makes out Jackson. He is
not moving.

Cate moves up and fires at the man. He is soon missing a knee. She also sees two
men leaving through the fire escape in the bedroom where Jackson is. One of the men
is clutching papers gathered haphazardly. One is a white man, and the other
African. The latter wears a similar headdress.

The white man dashes for the fire escape. Pierre chases after the white man. Orson
gets a shot in to the African man holding papers and blows his head off before he
can do the same. Undeterred by his getting kneecapped, the first attacker crawls
towards Cate.

We decide to chase the fleeing white man. He is attempting to jump to the fire
escape on the other side but slips. He has a similar appearance to a drug addict,
like Larkin. He tells us we're going to die. He has a New York accent. Orson
catches up with him and slashes him behind the knee to immobilise him. He passes
out. We go to check on Jackson.

Jackson lies on the bloodied bed, disemboweled. He has a strange bloody symbol
carved on his forehead. Moving quickly, Cate searches the first attacker. She
stabilises him from bleeding out. She finds no personal effects on him other than
the machete and headdress. He also has the exact tattoo that Larkin had but on his
back. Pierre takes a photo of the wound on Jackson's head. Cate observes that it
resembles a lamprey's bite.

Orson gathers up whatever the men were tring to steal. They appear to have been
taken from Jackson's belongings. We hear voices, and surmises that the gunshots
have alerted the front desk and police. We ditch the first attacker and wrap up the
white man in a spare bedsheet. We take him down the fire escape with us and flee
the scene via the alleyways.

After we have gotten far away enough, we stop in a deserted alley to question the
man. Orson rifles through the papers to see what is relevant.

a. matchbook from Stumbling Tiger Bar, 10 Lantern Street. Has the phrase "Shanghai
Fun & Friends"
b. A grainy photograph of ships at sea and a building in the background. The ships
are Chinese junks and a yacht in the back with only the letters DAR visible. The
rest is blocked by a passing Chinese junk. The building behind has a clocktower.
c. One business card from Emerson Imports with the name Silas N'Kwane scribbled in
Jackson's hand on the back. It has a NY address and a phone number.
d. One business card for Edward Gavigan, Director at the Penhew Foundation. It has
a London address.
e. A letter addressed to Mr Carlyle from a M. Warrenbesart dated 1919 from Cairo.
It is recommending someone who can sell Mr Carlyle curios for the right price.
Seller is Faraz Najjar located in the Old Quarter in the Street of Jackals.
f. A letter to Jackson from one Miriam Artwright from Harvard University dated Nov
7th, 1924. He sought a book from their collection but it isn't available anymore.
She sounded helpful in the letter.
g. A pamphlet for a lecture by Prof Anthony Cowles fo the University of Sydney and
Fellow at Arkham University. It is on the Cult of Darkness in Polynesia and the
South Pacific. It was scheduled for 8pm 'tonight' and slated to last 2 hours. It
was at the Schuyler Hall, NY University.
The pamphlet was tucked into one of the books on one of the attackers. Orson slaps
the white man awake. He keeps repeating he wants us to die and appears very
agitated and angry with us. Orson discerns that he will not break from torture. He
checks his arms for needle marks. There are marks however the last one appears
about a couple of weeks old. He does have a similar tattoo to Larkin's on the left
side of his body. Unlike Larkin he is well aware of his tattoo. Pierre slits his
throat.

Remembering that the clerk has at least Pierre's surname, and our description, we
head back after cleaning up to check out of Hotel Gerard and check in at the
Waldorf Astoria under different names. The hope is that the upscale hotel might
deter the police from sniffing around too much. Remembering her friend and the
distinctive architecture of the building in the photo, she phones a friend. He is
pretty sure it's off the Huangpu river in Shanghai.