We decide to examine the dessicated corpse/mummy-zombie and Rex notices that it contains a couple of organic types stones (like a kidney stone) – like a bezoar. Molly tries shooting one of the bezoars to see what would happen. It shatters and a “sighing” like sound is heard and then the wisp of smoke is taken away by the wind.

We decide to try to shoot out the bezoar on the next mummy-zombie we come to. Molly decides she will take a shot at the bezoar embedded in the chest of the mummy-zombie. She picks it off from a distance. Then thinking that perhaps it might be dead (or not UNdead), Clara decides to chop the head off with a scimitar and in the course of doing so, manages to activate the mummy-zombie, and then Molly shoots out the bezoar in the head. It crumbles into a pile of bones (which Molly insists on burning anyway).

Molly and Clara repeat the shooting process with the next half a dozen or so mummy-zombies. Then we come over a ridge and see a whole lot of guys involved in some sort of excavation of a cave of some sort. We back up and try to take a look at the scene. The Lark volunteers to sneak down and see what he can learn.

While we’re waiting, we hear some people coming up the road. Much discussion and failure of action to find a place to hide or stash camels. It is then decided to set up for an ambush (that won’t work).

The party comes along up the path, we see they are the three guys from the village (the three guys who didn’t know one another) and a small contingent of Turkish mercenaries. They stop and tell us to come out.

Clara steps out, full of bravado and leveling her pistol coolly at them and asking whether they are with or fighting against the men at the cave. They seem confused and then uppity, and refuse to answer questions. More guns are drawn. Then they are undrawn. Then they ride past. Then they hang out for a few minutes, and then they come back to ask us questions.

We all go back to the ridge, and there is more spying and muttering. Molly and Alex each notice that the the equipment seems reminiscent of Baroness Blackheart, while another woman who may be Jack’s nemesis, The Dark Knife.

The Lark returns and tells us what he’s found (approximately 3 or 4 dozen of the couple hundred are armed, obviously). It is still not clear what is being mined.

The professor asks about the mummy-zombies. We explain. He wanders away.

A giant bird shows up and turns into a tall man who is attired in a conservative, yet fashionable European suit. He goes up to the three men and wants to know why they aren’t at work and then they point beyond the ridge and the magic-bird-man looks and mutters a curse and then wants to know why we’re there.

More muttering.

Rex is keeping watch on the valley and notices Jack is being marched across the valley floor (he’s walking funny, but it’s not clear why). Rex tells everyone else and they see Jack marched into the cave. It gets darker still and the floodlights come on and sentries are deployed further out from the encampment. We make a plan to tackle guards and steal their outfits, but before the plan can be implemented, the tribal mercenaries start whooping it up and charge into the valley.

New plan! We’ll use the distraction of the attack to sneak in. The magic-bird-man calls down a lightning strike, but it hits a bush. He redoubles his efforts. The Professor starts drawing out some sort of magical mandala. The Sufi starts spinning, spinning, spinning and goes rushing into the valley like a whirling dervish.

We then begin the sneaking, which goes rather well. We then notice Jafar coming out of the cave just as Baroness Blackheart and The Dark Knife come out of a tent and the three of them walk towards one another. They are focused on the cold monster, which Jafar immediately dispels. We sneak into the mouth of the cave.

We decide to rush out and unplug the lights so we’re able to sneak in the cave without being illuminated. We unplug the lights and we rush back to the cave mouth (which is covered by a tarp…)

We enter the cave and there are two guards there. Clara tries to get them to be quiet by leveling her gun at them and putting her finger to her lips. They opt not to do anything of the sort. Molly shots a guard. The guards attempt to shoot at us (poorly). Alex throws a knife at the guards and misses. Rex punches one of the guards but hits the rifle instead.

Clara fires and shoots the first guard; he drops. Molly shoots again. The guard shoots Molly. Alex picks up the guard’s rifle and shoots at the guard but misses. Rex punches him.

Clara shoots again and drops him. We head further into the cave.

Three men come charging up towards the front and then trip all at once (the work of The Lark). He tells us to “head for the light.”

We get down into a large, circular chamber. It is very smooth and the center contains raised alters. There are incandescent light strung around the perimeter. And the area being “mined” seems to be a pit in the center of the room (surrounded by the four alters). There are two passages out of here, so Clara suggests we split up to cover more ground.

Down the Rex/Molly tunnel, we pause briefly to examine some inscriptions/hieroglyphics in the tunnel. Only the sounds of Jafar’s voice in the larger circular chamber shake Molly out of her revelry. We move forward towards a light source.

Down the Clara/Alex tunnel, Alex rushes on ahead and then falls in a pit. After hearing Jafar’s voice from the circular chamber, Clara decides to jump down into the pit (which has a crawlspace in it) to hide and wait out their pursuers.

Rex and Molly rush into a chamber is that is effectively a gigantic geode. At the center of the room Jack is sitting there tied up and looking dejected. He says, “Don’t do anything sudden.”

“Why?” asks Molly in a sensible way. Jack is sitting on a bomb.

The team hires Irfan to lead them to the mountains. They hire two trucks, the first truck has the guide, Molly, Rama and Rex. The second truck is driven by Clara, with Alex and Lark in it.

We drive uneventfully to the Little Village with the Long Name just as the sun is setting. Irfan says he planned this as a way-station as the headsman’s brother is married to his cousin’s something or other. We are welcomed as honored guests.

We are offered food and some mint tea and some glasses and some sugar and offers raku (which is sorta like gin). The liquor is strong and pretty good.

Dinner proceeds without incident. Another Turkish gentlemen, Faruq Baz, in western clothes comes over and makes small talk about why we’re here, and does not veil his contempt for the local area and its denizens.

After dinner we retire to the widow’s house where we are staying and drift off to sleep. Then, in the middle of the night, a SCREAM! From the third room…

We bust into the room (still locked) and find that Mr. Baz (from earlier) is sprawled out on the bed, death with his throat slashed open and blood every where. It seems to be a locked room mystery — the only other entrance is a window which is closed (and we’re on the second floor). Then the widow shows up and starts screaming “Murder!” and not so subtly accuses us. She goes “running” out the front door calling for help and/or the police!

Molly, Rama, and Clara go downstairs and attempt to head off the mob with the pitchforks. Rex and Alex investigate. Alex sees nothing of any significance – it’s clear that Baz could not have inflicted his own wounds, but there is no trace of anyone else having been in the room. She then tries to look through his things for any mysterious vibes – she finds some “tainted money” and then the “police” arrive.

The police consist of an older gentlemen in various states of military uniforms who is not terribly thrilled at being woken up at this time of night. Some looking around and questioning of the women, he examines the scene and then asks us which of us would like to confess to the murder… There is some discussion and some threats of Turkish jail (the opposite of Turkish Delight), and Clara manages to get him to reconsider and he changes things to “just don’t leave town.”

Alex decides to get a reading off the body before they take Mr. Baz away… She gets a vision of his last moments. Which play out rather the way you think they would, darkness, struggling, more darkness. Oh, and some garlic breath. But that’s about all she learned.

Most of us go back to bed… Alex is troubled, however, so she decides to keep investigating. She determines that the blade that made the cuts was not particularly large, but was very sharp (like a straight razor). The locks and window don’t seem to have been tampered with, but she does find a small bit of fishing line that doesn’t seem to go with anything else in the room. Finally she found a small piece of paper that contains a copy of the same map we have shoved down inside the box spring. Alex and the Lark have a short conversation about who could have pulled this whole thing off.

We get up the next morning. We have a tasty breakfast (the widow is a good hostess even if she now thinks us all murderers) and then Rex takes a look around the outside of the building. He notices a small bit of roofing tile on the ground and makes sure the guard following him notices it as well.

When the constable shows up thereafter he asks the widow if she has a ladder, and once one is located, he sends the guard up on the roof. He cries out triumphantly and returns to the ground with fishing line. The locked room mystery becoming less so, the constable is relaxing his opinion that we are dangerous assassins and believes we might be allowed to leave town sometime after he wraps up his case…

Alex updates the rest of the Intrepids on her nighttime investigations.

Around mid-day three desert riders show up. They head to the meeting house. Clara suggests we head there for lunch. The team sees the head man go in, look around the room then call his men in, where they sit down for tea. The team sits down and the proprietor offers very nice lamb stew and other food. Molly asks the man who the other strangers are, and if he knew the dead man. The proprietor explains the new man is the leader of his clan. He had seen the dead man drive through on his motorcycle a few weeks earlier.

Soon a man drive up in a car, wearing western clothes, but with a fez. He is followed by graduate students. The two men glance at each other, but clearly pretend not to. The professor calls to the proprietor by name and sits down. Lunch continues with no contact between the two men. There is the sound of children playing and banging outside, and soon a Sufi man with bells on comes in. He does not look at the other strangers. He sits down and the proprietor brings him mint tea (lots of mint tea going on).

Molly and Alex get up and decide to talk to the professor. He greets them in English. “Did you just come in today?” says Molly. “Yes, we just got in from Istanbul,” he replies, “What brings you to the the little Town with the Long Name?” Cryptic conversation commences.

Next Molly and Alex go to talk to the Sufi mystic. He is very happy… If you thought the last conversation was odd, this one would knock it right out of the park.

The desert group leaves. We dispatch the Lark to keep stealthy tabs on them.

Clara takes the key ring from one of the (recently over-powered) guards and opens the door they were guarding. She then enters the room and promptly gets conked over the head with a vase. It turns out the “conk-er” was Mrs. Nur, who is in the room with her two children.

“Mrs. Nur, I presume…” Clara rubs her head slightly, “Your husband sends his regards.”

“Oh, at last!” she says slumping slightly against the wall as the adrenaline rush leaves her, “But I fear we don’t have much time…” She explains that Jafar comes to “visit” with her every day at about this time.

Thud, thud, thud. We knock out the guards and shove them in the first room. We then rush to the second room and lock the door behind us. We hear from the hallway the muffled sounds of the door being opened and then cursing in Turkish. Then shoving and more cursing in Turkish. Then the voice of Jafar, “Find. Them. Now.”

The Guard Captain (?) instructs the guards to “start with this hallway and fan out from there.” In a few moments there are sounds outside our door. The key is inserted into the lock. Rex uses his famed Inertia Induction Electro-Spanner to jam the lock shut of overclicking the tumblers. More Turkish cursing. Then the sound of a shoulder battering against the door. Looking out on the balcony a daring plan for escape is made (involving improvised rope and some curtain hardware for a pulley to make a sort of zipline).

Three hulking brutes burst into the room! Wielding scimitars with deadly efficiency, these fearsome elite guards set upon our heroes. Clara starts shooting. Followed by Molly. Alex picks up a vase and smashes it into a wall (instead of the guard). One of the guards go down. The guards attack with their scimitars. Clara’s jacket sleeve gets sliced open.

More shooting from Clara and Molly. This time Alex smashes a candelabra (into the wall… she really dislikes the wall!) More scimitar action. The battle continues while Rex works frantically to create a zipline and pulley system. Finishing his work, Rex tags out with Clara who picks up one of the children and run across to use the zipline. After some additional struggle, we take out the remaining two guards. As things get quiet that’s when we notice the chanting coming from down the hall (the room next door).

Molly goes over next and taking the second of the children. Green mist starts pouring into the room. Then Mrs. Nur goes over. The mist is resolving itself into a man-like shape. Rex turns on the ceiling fan. Then Alex goes over. The mist-man steps further from the fan. Rex goes and unties the rope and swings across.

The new room is disused and dusty and filled with women garments. Alex looks in the mirror and suddenly takes on the personality of Madame Jafar and takes a brief trip into fantasy-land.

Some vague back-and-forth involving looking for jewelry and going to dinner with Jafar and Alex changing clothes, and talking with her in different voices culminating in Mrs. Nur slapping Alex and returning her to her senses. Alex knows how to get us out of the palace safely and does so. Then we drive back to the hotel. Some arrangements are made so that the XXXXX the Airpirate from earlier could transport the Nur family to a nearby Century Club chapter house and onward to whatever safe port they desire.

Meanwhile, the Lark (who has rejoined the group during the escape tunnel) is reviewing his ill-gotten gains (i.e., stuff he stole from Jafar’s house). Alex notices that one of the daggers glows to her eyes and asks to look at it. Lark tosses it to her and she gets a vision of it being forged. She decides to keep it, but lets him keep the sheath. Molly looks at it, but sees nothing special.

We retrieve the artifacts from the safe at the Century Club and decide to take them back to hotel to see if Alex can get a reading off any of the objects that she hadn’t yet touched. She sits on the bed and clears her mind in preparation to look at the brass rotating cylinder thingy. She holds it in her hands and then it starts to levitate a few inches from her hands. She then has a (1st person) vision of putting the cylinder together and rotating it into a particular position and then setting it in a specific room. Then she has a second half of a vision wherein she sees someone taking the the scroll and then a repeat of a vision from the quartz earlier involving fire and a misspoken incantation.

Back in the present, Alex starts fiddling with the rotating brass cylinder thingy. She clicks them into a couple places and it turns out that the the phrases spell out the word for “fire” in a couple different dialects and then the cylinder thingy pops open to reveal a silk scroll pouch, an egg-shaped ruby, and a couple of knuckle bones (which may or may not be human). The scroll pouch seems to contain a scroll that has the instructions on how to create a bound Djinn (which is unusual in that traditionally, the Djinn must be tricked into binding itself.)

Then Alex tried her vision trick on the heretofore blank parchment, during which she had a vision of a map being drawn on the same. When she opened her eyes, she shows everyone the map (which we can now all see, on the no longer blank parchment).

An expedition is planned to the wilds of the Turkish hills.

The Intrepids meet over breakfast and decide their next move. Which is to go full frontal assault on Jafar’s palace. Then Alex goes outside the restaurant to meet with a woman that seems to want her attention — however, she’s the only one who can see her. The woman touches Alex and then Alex collapses (again), but she has the sense that she knows a lot of new information.

Separately, we find that Jafar is one evil and powerful fella. Powerfully Evil. We are advised against confronting him. That, of course, does not dissuade us, even a little bit.

We drive to Jafar’s palace. It’s beautiful, in a totally keep out of here kinda way. The Lark does some reconnaissance. It’s really, really tightly locked down. Two dozen guards and many of them have leopards. Yes, leopards (as opposed to lepers, which is a whole other thing…)

Alex listens for a while and hears water dripping from a drainage pipe down some rocks. We decide to sneak in through the aforementioned drainage pipe. We crawl along until we get to a cistern, the overflow from which has been draining out the pipe. The Lark and Rex boost Alex up to work the lock on the gate over. When partway through her action, The Lark calls for silence and then announces that there is a crocodile.

Crocodile wrestling ensues. Molly is making a lasso from Rex’s rope. The croc snaps at Clara. Rex and Clara both try to secure the croc’s snapping jaws. Alex attempts to jump on as well, but there is no room on team crocodile. Molly attempts to lasso the croc and almost chokes Rex instead. “Not me, the crocodile!” Then The Lark calls out and Rex rolls off and The Lark stabs the croc in its head. Then Clara almost shoots the croc but we all ask her not to spoil the whole stealthy bit we have going on.

Alex attempts to stab the croc but misses. Molly tries to lasso it again, and succeeds in getting the lariat around the jaws. Rex hits the knife further in and succeeds in doing so. The Lark attempts to get another knife in there, but misses. Clara then shoots the croc, killing it, and making a tremendous noise.

Back to where we were. We need to climb the remaining the eight feet of the the cistern. Clara makes a grappling hook out of the knives, more knives, someone’s belt, and some rubber cement, and gaffers tape.

Rex throws the hook and… misses. The Intrepids regroup and Alex tells him what to aim for, Clara helps steady him, and Rex tries again and nails it. Everyone climbs up, following The Lark’s lead. We find ourselves in a courtyard.

We skulk over to some cover and look about.

Alex “remembers” that she wants the upstairs stairway. So we sneak upstairs, Alex goes out into the hallway, using her feminine wiles to distract the guards, and everyone else takes them down/prisoner.

To be continued later.

When last we saw our heroes, they were about to be set upon by some nefarious folks…

CUT SCENE:

Desert, nighttime. Five men sit around a fire pit. One is a European (white suit, hat) but seems comfortable in the environment.

Man in the White Suit (MitWS): “The reason I’ve called this meeting, is that we need some local assistance.” He speaks with a British accent (and requisite disdain). “What can you tell me of this object and the legends surrounding it?”

“There are many legends.”

Ukul, the wiseman/dervish: “The legends must be treated with respect.”

MitWS gets very curt. “I was told you were a difficult people to speak with.”

“MY grandmother told me the best way to pay respect is with blood.”

MitWS: “This does not surprise me, nor should it be a problem. Can you provide men and of what quality?”

“I can provide as many men as you need. Strong backs.”

MitWS: “You can provide two dozen men within the week?”

“Of course.”

MitWS: “You can take care of the local folk and their superstitions around the legends?”

Ukul: “It shall be done.”

After some additional questions and arrangements, and the agreement that the gentlemen would meet again at this location in one week’s time. Then the MitWS walks out of the firelight and into a whirlwind/dust devil and seems to disappear…

Meanwhile, back in the marketplace…

Rex uses his Electro Spanner to pull an awning down on three of the men whirling staves. The fourth starts trying to get the awning off his fellows. Two other men without weapons, start making synchronized wavy hand-gestures.

Clara shoots at one of them and the bullet is deflected off of his GLOWING HAND.

Alex grabs one of the downed staves and swings it at the remaining staff-wielder, hitting him.

Molly, who recognizes the men as an obscure sect of Assassins™, decides to shoot at the mystic hand-wavers and notes they have a phylactery, which she aims at. The bullet strikes it, but ricochets into the one guys leg.

The mystic assassins coordinate their hand movements and send a blast of mental force at Molly (who has shown herself to be the greatest threat). She sees it just in time, and dives low just as the wave is smashing her downwards.

Rex punches the remaining staff-wielder, who in turn, redoubles his efforts to get the awning off of his fellows.

A seventh guy (very Jafar-looking) walks around from the other side of the truck. He coordinates his movements with the other mystic hand-wavers and a blast rolls out hitting everyone. Molly is knocked out. Clara and Alex are knocked down and are having nightmarish visions. Rex says, “What is your bidding, My Master?”

Thus begins the intra-group fight/everyone tries to snap out of it portion of our fight. The Assassin mystics, meanwhile, are trying to make a glowing, magic triangle to some nefarious purpose. Rex is beating on Alex, who has snapped out of her nightmare visions and is trying to ward him off with a staff.

The other staff-wielders are freed from the awning and take up positions around the mystic, glowing triangle.

Clara shoots Jafar. Rex and Alex do a coordinated attack on Jafar and crack him in the skull, but at that same instant he completes his incantation. Giant glowing triangle now envelopes the Intrepids. It’s shrinking.

Molly tries to teach everyone the counter-chant. Rex is skeptical. The Assassins toss bricks and rocks in at the group. Rex helps Alex vault over the wall (she does not land as well as she could.) Molly continues to try the counter-charm.

Rex realizes that the energy field is reminiscent of some experiment that Papa Tesla did and it reminds Rex that sound frequencies may be involved. Rex and Molly and Clara redouble their efforts to hit the right frequency. Rex cycles through the frequencies on the Electro-spanner. Clara hears him hit the right frequency and with pitch-perfect recollection recites the counter-charm and the triangle evaporates.

Alex, meanwhile, has been beset the three staff-wielders. She takes down one of them but then gets hit in the stomach and doubles over. She then jumps up and cracks one of them into the other, knocking them both out of it.

Clara shoots at one of the mystic hand-wavers. Jafar takes this opportunity to exit, Stage smoke puff. Molly shoots at one of the hand wavers. They opt to surrender.

The group takes the two prisoners, securely bound, and uses their truck to drive to the Century Club for a session of Interrogation and Cocktails.

Interrogating the prisoners yields some info. Jafar is a person of some power (terrestrial and not) and he likely desires the same thing/object that we do and he thinks we’re not working at cross-purposes.

Then Jafar remotely blows up their heads before we learn anything else. We have Rama take care of the bodies.