December 2nd 2007

The session opened with Theodore sitting down on a bench outside the British museum in the rain, waiting for either Hito or Chambers to turn up, reading the London A to Z. A short time later he was rejoined by Michael who, feeling a little guilty about abandoning him to the night and wanting to find out more about the mission he had mentioned, took a taxi from the hotel and found him.

As they met Michael offered Theodore some fine Cuban cigars and a drink of good (by mortal standards) rum, he then listened in rapt attention as Theodore gave an impromptu lesson in the occult, explaining to him a number of details regarding the underworld that he had been unaware of.

As morning the sun rose Theodore spoke to various passers by, convincing them that it would be in everybody’s best interests if they would go to McDonalds and get him some Egg McMuffins, as well as getting some money changed for him. Michael also put in a call to his Einherjar, telling them where he was and asking them to go to the bridge and see if they could deal with any egg sacks they found there. This done, and Theodore having vociferously expressed his displeasure as regards the exchange rate, both of them headed into the museum. There they continued their discussion over coffee, taking a break after a while as Michael headed off to take a look at the Norse exhibit, and Theodore took a brief trip to the toilet as an excuse to get a closer look at a non-descript Asian man who seemed somewhat out of place. The man appeared to be absent-mindedly fiddling with some slender bone fragments, arranging them into a bowed triangle pattern – an arrangement that would only be noticed as significant to Theodore later in the day. While at the Norse exhibit, Michael wandered over to the part of the exhibit dedicated to Odin and spotted a book with open at a page showing someone that looked like Odin leading a party of Vikings on a raid. The scene itself was remarkable for the fact that it showed Odin standing with his hands wreathed lightning, not something he was traditionally associated with. As Michael continued to examine the book he got the strange feeling that the other pages where somehow important, and that they would merit further examination if the opportunity was made available.

Meanwhile Eric headed into the museum for his early morning meeting with Mrs Davies, spending most of the journey there gently mocking Haskuldr about his night of passion with the goddess Sif. He arrived at the museum on time and was led over to the elevator by the front desk receptionist, walking right past the rather dishevelled Theodore, on the way back from the toilet, on the way. When Eric met Mrs Davies she told him that she could arrange a private viewing of the exhibit "for him and his companions" as early as that night. Baulking at the idea of taking on his mission quite some early into his visit, Eric asked that the viewing be postponed slightly - a suggestion that Mrs Davies was quite amenable to.

Having made the arrangements Eric wandered back to the elevator, accompanied by a security guard called Alan who chatted with him for a moment and suggested that he might be able to show him around the exhibit later. Eric then set of to leave the museum, but ran into Theodore on the way out. Telling him that there was something he should see Theodore took him over to the Norse exhibit and introduced him to a rather bemused looking Michael. The two of them quickly established that they both represented the same pantheon and had a quick chat about what had brought them to London. Eric also mentioned that his guide was someone by the name of "Bronwyn Kincaid", though he professed that he knew little more than that she was a "Valkyrie". Michael, feeling slightly surprised at this then filled Eric in on a number of the details, focusing on the point that Eric should make a serious effort to "stay on her good side".

Satisfied that he had done his introductions, Theodore headed to the Egyptian exhibit to familiarise himself with the layout of the area, and investigate the specifics of the sarcophagi that Eric had suggested they would need to use to get into Duat. Having read everything of relevance in the Egyptian exhibit, and having caught sight of his dishevelled appearance more than once in reflections, Theodore headed out of the museum and found himself an internet café.

Meanwhile, at the Norse exhibit, Eric noticed one of the people in the tour group standing near them disappearing with a strangled choking noise. Looking slightly shocked Eric told Michael what he'd seen, drawing his attention to a small blob of mucus stuck to the ceiling, a blob that looked to Michael to be very similar to the stuff he had seen on the outside of the egg sacks hanging under London Bridge. Deciding that the matter warranted further investigation Michael reached into his pocket and brought out the small bag of runes, running them through his fingers and using them to cast a spell that would allow him to see traces of magic that would normally be hidden to the eye. The spell revealed a thick green strand of something that seemed to run straight through the room, heading up through the ceiling and down through the floor, he also saw a bright gold strand that hurt his eyes round Eric's heart and said "you are fucked." Michael alerted Eric to his discovery and the two of them set off up the stairs to the roof to see where the strand led. Using his persuasive abilities Michael gained the assistance of one of the security guards who allowed both him and Eric access to the roof of the building. There Michael saw the strand bend off and head in the direction of London Bridge, confirming to him that the two things were connected. He and Eric then followed the strand into the basement of the building, getting access from Alan who spoke to Eric and gave him access as one of Mrs Kincaid's agents.

They followed the strand to the very bottom of the building, sneaking past security camera and getting into a room which contained a large crate at which the green strand seemed to terminate. Feeling enthusiastic the two of them then proceeded to open up the crate, wanting to find out how the thing inside was connected to the creatures at the bridge, and to destroy it if necessary. Once opened they found that the crate seemed to be full of straw with what looked like some beetles hiding in the back. They prodded the straw repeatedly, trying to slowly remove some of it and get a better look. At first nothing happened, but continued prodding caused a swarm of beetles to erupt from the crate, flying straight past - and almost straight through - Eric on their way out. The swarm punched its way through the wall of the room and escaped, exposing in the crate the bones of what looked like a small child. Eric and Michael, both still dazed by the attack, looked at it for a moment - but found themselves with other concerns as the sounds of screaming started to filter down from upstairs.

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Breaking into a run the two of them arrived back to find the swarm of beetles attacking the visitors to the museum. The beetles seemed to fly into the people, hitting them like armour-piercing shells and tearing out great chunks of flesh. The crowd panicked and ran for the doors, but were unable to get through them in time. Eric and Michael then saw Alan running towards the swarm, being hit by a number of the creatures, but somehow managing to shrug off most of the damage.

Both Michael and Eric, realising that there was nothing they could do to attack the swarm then set about trying to help the wounded to leave the building. They were doing so when the swarm suddenly moved to follow those trying to escape and shot through the outer walls of the museum, starting to attack people on the street outside. Michael and Eric started to follow the swarm out when a wave of green flame swept out of the museum from behind them, incinerating most of the beetles, but leaving the people unharmed. Scorched by the blast Michael staggered to his feet and ran down the street shooting down those few beetles that had escaped the inferno with his silenced pistol.

As Michael jogged back to the museum Eric put a call in to Bronwyn, informing her of what had happened, and telling her that he might be out of action for a few days. She proclaimed the event a complete disaster, saying that the beetles had been part of a containment mechanism designed to prevent the creatures at the bridge from gaining power. She then told Eric that she would send someone to deal with the injured and told him to go back to his hotel room. Hearing this Michael called his team to tell them to fall back and stay away from the bridge - but as he spoke to them the creatures from the eggs attacked, and all Michael could hear was the screams of his men. Worried about what might have happened Michael jumped into a taxi and headed to the bridge.

Eric went back to the house that he was currently staying in to find that his Einherjar was one member short. Eric shouted for Halskuldr to appear but was informed that Sif had his scent and wouldn't be letting him go. The Einherjar suggest that they sear Eric's wounds to prevent bleeding by using a hot blade and alcohol. Just as the Einherjar were going to attend to Eric the door bell went and Alfarin answered it, finding a little girl at the door saying she was sent by Miss Kincaid to attend to Eric and that she would have to be invited in. After much debate if the girl was a vampire by Eric he finally invited her in formally so that she would be able to attend to him. The girl stared into Eric eyes and Eric felt all the breath being sucked from him and the painful knitting of his flesh, he never realized how good it felt to breath. The girl passed out from her ordeal and was taken away by the Einherjar to be left resting, even though they suggested she be taken back to Miss Kincaid straight away.

Meanwhile, Michael arrived at the bridge to discover that his Einherjar had been decimated, and that their rather mutilated remains were being dragged out of the river by the police. Unwilling to cause a large-scale incident by raising them in front of a crowd Michael followed them back to the morgue and charmed his way in to see them by saying that he was a family member. Once he was alone with them he commanded them to rise, offering them each a small amount of food and drink. Slowly they dragged themselves up and, once they'd had a few bites to eat, began to heal their wounds. When they had reached the point where they no longer looked like they'd just been dug up Michael led them out of the morgue and off to a local restaurant to get some food.

Oblivious to the chaos that was spreading around the British Museum, Theodore finished searching the web for information on London-based Vodou organisations, and looked into booking a room at a Bed and Breakfast in Brixton. That done, he then took a taxi to the B&B where he set about washing the Thames out of his hair and the clothes that he’d been wearing. Having planned to visit a nearby Vodou group, he changed his plan, and instead put on the bathrobe that had been in the B&B room and got a taxi back to the internet café. There he booked himself a personal shopper for the afternoon, and returned to the B&B, basking in the stares that he gathered. Once the shopper had arrived at the B&B, Theodore worked his charms on her and together they headed into central London to Saville Row and spent the afternoon shopping for new clothes for Theodore – and a new mobile phone (and some small waterproof bags just in case). As evening drew in, Theodore offered to take his new friend out for dinner (rather than pay her), which she graciously accepted, and the two of them left the B&B, Theodore now dressed immaculately in the latest smart London fashions for a west end restaurant. There they spent the evening, Theodore charming her whilst gathering more gossip about the London “scene”. At the end of the evening, Theodore took the shopper back to his hotel room. Neither of them got much sleep…

Shortly after his wounds had been healed Eric received another call from Miss Kincaid, ordering him to find Michael and report to her as soon as possible. He tried to ring Michael a number of times but was unable to get in touch with him, finally deciding that it would be unwise to keep Miss Kincaid waiting any longer and heading off on his own. He arrived at Miss Kincaid's office a short time later, finding it in complete disarray - Miss Kincaid had not taken recent events very well and had, by the look of it, broken everything in her office that could have been broken. Miss Kincaid herself evidenced barely controlled rage, and even Geb - the last representative of the Pesedjet on earth - cowered in the corner of the room, hiding behind a small wall of foliage he'd created to shield himself from Miss Kincaid's wrath.

Miss Kincaid quickly made her displeasure abundantly clear, explaining that the beetles had been in place to eat the flesh from the bones he and Michael had found in the crate as it regrew - stopping the creature, the matriarch of those in the river, from gaining power. Just as she was getting into full flow, Eric's phone rang; Michael had finally noticed the missed calls and called him. After a rather terse conversation Michael made his way to Kincaid Recovery and joined Eric as the two of them had explained to them exactly how badly they had screwed up. Miss Kincaid then told them that the only way to recover the situation would be to journey to the land of the creature's birth and destroy it there. She then sent them out of the room with Geb, who filled the two of them in on the details; telling them that the realm they needed to go to could be accessed through one of the three sarcophagi at the British museum. Worried about what was to come Eric and Michael headed off to gather the equipment and aid they would need for the journey.

Meanwhile Hito was also having an exciting time of things. He had arrived in London to track down the rogue agent of the Amatsukami responsible for the death of the FBI agent he had found in New Orleans and, with some effort, succeeded. The two of them met high on the spans above Tower Bridge and, finding that their differences were irreconcilable, fought an epic battle high above the streets. Both of them fought long and hard with neither able to gain a decisive advantage. After some time however, Hito's opponent landed a lucky blow of such force that it sent Hito flying along the length of the Thames, snapping of a pistol shot as he did so that sent his adversary plummeting off the bridge before he himself hit the water with nigh-concussive force. Badly injured Hito returned to his room to rest and heal for the night. The following day he went for a walk in the Chinatown district of London and met two strange individuals - Tommy Lee and Renji - who, it seemed, were representatives of the Celestial Bureaucracy and the Amatsukami respectively. The three of them chatted for a while and parted on good terms, Renji and Tommy both offering their aid in tracking down and killing the rogue Amatsukami agent. Hito continued his wanderings around London and, after some time, managed to once more track down the rogue. Once again they fought, Hito's quips driving his opponent into a nearly berserker rage. The battle raged on for some time before Hito gained the upper hand and incapacitated his opponent. Once he had done so he offered him clemency if he would agree to return to the fold of the Amatsukami, but the rogue refused even this, forcing Hito to kill him.

The deed done Hito found himself in the difficult position of being badly wounded and standing over a mutilated body in the middle of London. He called Eric for help, but even when he arrived he found that there was little he could do. Luckily, Tommy Lee arrived short time later, drawn by the commotion. He was able to take the body away so that it might be stored in preparation for funeral rites and summoned Renji who healed Hito's wounds.

As dawn broke the following day, Theodore left the now sleeping shopper and took a saunter through Brixton. Once he got some way away from the B&B, Theodore took a black London taxi back the B&B and insisted that the driver come into his room and share a drink with him. According to Theodore, it was a Haitian custom, and, would lead to considerable bad luck for both of them if the driver refused. With such a convincing argument, the taxi driver could only acquiesce to Theodore’s request, and he took a swig of the Baron’s rum. The taxi driver swayed, and dropped like a stone, as the rum took its effect. Stopping only long enough to prop the driver up in a seat in the room and check him for vital signs, Theodore picked up the drivers keys and headed out to the taxi. Briefly familiarising himself with the controls of the right-hand drive car, Theodore headed off into London for a day of taxiing. Never a friendlier taxi-driver had his customers met, and many of them listened enthralled by Theodore’s tales – even if some of them were rather strange. Pocketing his earnings at the end of the day, Theodore dropped the taxi off at the B&B then took the tube to the British Museum to meet Eric, Hito and probably Michael as well. Having been rather busy for the last couple of days, Theodore had not had time to catch the news, so was somewhat concerned to see a group of ghosts huddled in the coffee shop of the museum. He wandered over to them to find out what had killed them before promising to locate their bodies and send them on their way just as soon as he got back from where he was going. He then headed up the stairs to the Egyptian exhibit where Eric, Hito, Michael, the Egyptian god Geb and a small group consisting of Eric’s and Michael’s men (Einherjar) were gathered. Michael offered Theodore a rusksac containing jungle survival gear. Theodore proceeded to tell Michael that Duat was not a jungle – at which point it was explained to Theodore what had happened, and the need to travel not to Duat, but to the source of power of the skeleton that Michael and Eric had unwittingly discovered. Michael continued by telling Theodore what he might need on the trip as the Baron’s son looked on in disgust at the rucksac and how it so horribly clashed with his new clothes. Theodore listened however, and dismissed most of the items that Michael showed him, ultimately pocketing a few and leaving the rest in the tasteless rucksac. As Theodore finished selecting the few items that he wanted, Eric drew everyone’s attention and demanded that those gathered listened to Geb speak. Geb then stood forward and told the assembled that they would need to travel to an unknown location and deal with the source of power before London was destroyed. Theodore, naturally, questioned the god, and finding the answers wanting (Geb did not appear to know the nature of the power source, not where it would be exactly, despite it being of Egyptian origin), suggested that the Pesedjet’s ignorance may be the reason they fell. Never one to pander to gods not his own, Theodore added another to the list of gods he’d offended. Geb continued however, and it was decided that either Theodore or Michael, both sons of death gods, could open the gate to the beyond realm. Michael stepped forwards and offered his services. Geb informed him that only one of the three sarcophagi would open an easy route to the power source, and that one would lead to a most difficult route. Michael, calling on his gifts to seek answers to such mysteries, indicated which sarcophagus the group should travel via – that of the priestess. Theodore put his mobile phone in one of his waterproof plastic bags, and then drew in chalk upon his coat the Baron’s veve, along with his own name. Michael stepped into the sarcophagus and vanished. The rest of the group placed their hands on the sarcophagus and they too found themselves pulled through time and space.

Eric, Michael, Hito and Theodore found themselves at the foot of a set of steps leading up the side of a great stone pyramid. In front of them dozens of men stood, dressed in primitive animal furs, cloths, striped facepaint, and in some cases, human skin. As Theodore took stock of his location – and found himself to be no place on earth – indeed standing in the memory of what would become Egypt – the apparent leader of the men stood forward and welcomed the group – proclaiming them gods with the words, "See, the Prophecies are true! Hail the New Gods! The first, Black as Night herself, favoured of Tamula, accompanied by the four heralds of the Ascension, the shatterers of the Seal, one for each skin."