Room 410  Jan. 15, 1925

Our intrepid adventurers arrive in NYC and get a room at the Waldorf Astoria (on Tex's dime). Ambrosch receives a phone call from an unusually nervous Jackson Elias, who asks to meet at his hotel room, at the Chelsea, 8pm. Upon arrival the group gets no response to their knocks, busts down the door, and is promptly attacked by three men.

Two of the men are black, and one is white, and all three are wearing a bizarre headdress, like a silly attempt at Mardi Gras in January. The front man slashes Oscar with a long African knife, nearly killing him, while Pancho dives in and starts punching. Mickey joins the fight, berating himself for going anywhere without a shotgun. Hank tries his hand with a dropped African knife, and decides that his fists will work better. After several rounds of fight, the two black cultists are dead, and the crazy-eyed white guy is subdued.

The characters now see what is left of Jackson Elias. His corpse is horribly cut open down the front, and his intestines are strung around his own neck and the bedposts. Strands of the intestines have been sliced out, and now everyone understands what is dangling from the cultists' horrible headdresses. There is a symbol carved into Jackson's forehead:

Mickey and Ambrosch try to get information out of the white cultist, but he has gone from crazed to completely unresponsive. They take him down to the lobby where the police take over, dragging off the cultist and questioning Mickey and Ambrosch.

Back at room 410, the rest of the group find a collection of new evidence, forming a trail that leads to all parts of the globe: London, Cairo, Shanghai, Australia, and Africa.

Next Steps  Jan 16, 1925

While Mickey and Ambrosch speak to the police, Pancho helps Oscar to a hospital, while the rest make their way to NYU to see if they can catch the end of Prof. Cowles' lecture. Turns out that the lecture was a week ago.

The next morning, after acquiring some new weaponry (That's kind of a bulky coat, Mickey...), the group splits up to investigate both Prof. Cowles and Emerson Imports. Prof. Cowles is back at Arkham University, where he is lecturing for the semester, but Mickey is able to speak to him over the phone. Cowles mentions his research into the ancient Sand Bat death cult of Australia, and how it might be connected to other modern death cults.

At Emerson Imports, Arthur Emerson says that J. Elias was interested in any imports from Mombasa (Kenya). He provides one connection to the investigators, just as he did to Elias: the Ju-Ju House in Harlem. Once in a while that place receives oddities from Mombasa--weird little ritualistic stuff that makes Emerson uncomfortable (masks, African fetishes).

The investigators get more money (another grand!) from Tex's secretary, but also 6 invitations to a black-tie party tomorrow night at Erica Carlyle's mansion. "Get yourself some really nice clothes and don't embarrass yourselves. This is a high-class event. Try to squeeze her for info. She's tough."