UMBRA SUMUS

From Col. Edward Mustard’s Correspondence File

25: Lieutenant-Colonel Pepper upon on the Recruitment of Golems

Horse Guards, London
1st March, 1769

My Dear Colonel Mustard – or should that be Brigadier Mustard, which I believe is the Rank of a Command comprising two Regiments. May I offer you my Hearty Congratulations and assure you of my continued Support in the role of Lieutenant-Colonel of Mustard’s Dragoons.

You asked that I give some Consideration to the sort of Fellow who might be a suitable Volunteer to become a Golem in the Service of the Realm.

• I suppose they must be Strong and Capable in the Mind. Their physical Attributes are guaranteed but I think you wish them to become conversant with Enochian Techniques.
• They must have the Moral Endurance not only to withstand the excruciating Pain of their Transition, but also the Ennui of Long Life without the Emolument of Personal Attachments. Indeed, those who have strong Personal Attachments to Spouse or to Offspring, are probably not suitable to this Role.
• They must not be of Dissolute Disposition. I would be wary of Those who have turned in their Desperation (for most will be desperate) to Alcohol or Opium.
• They must certainly possess the utmost Honour, Integrity and Loyalty to the Realm.
• Their Physique alone is irrelevant. Indeed, I find it difficult to conceive of any likely Volunteer who does not find Incentive for such Drastic Change of Circumstance in some Physical Affliction, that makes their current Existence Infelicitous, or that threatens their Life.

As a Military Man my Thoughts, naturally, fell to the very many Unfortunate Soldiers who suffer Terrible Mutilations in the defence of their King and Country. However, it did occur to me that perhaps I should be looking more towards the Navy. For, let us face it, a keen Intellect is not a Pre-requisite for a Soldier – though I am sure we would both contend that it does not exclude such. However, a Naval Officer must have a strong Grasp of Mathematicks. It is also a Fact of their Service both that Severe Injuries are common, but also that they are more like to survive them aboard Ships with Surgeons than upon a Battlefield.

Captain James (Jack) Hobbs RN, is a retired Naval Officer, invalided out of Service some Ten Years ago after losing both Legs above the Knee to Chain Shot. He took his Loss phlegmatically and retired to a Cottage by the Sea in Deal where he was much supported and sustained by his Wife. He had some Store of Prize Money and he amused himself by working on Clocks and Mechanisms and even tinkered a little with Enochian Devices. Sadly, when Smallpox struck the Town, he and his Wife both contracted the Disease. She died and he survived. Meanwhile some Unlucky Investments saw his Financial Fortunes dwindle. He is increasingly finding himself cast upon the Kindnesses of Others. This he finds Irksome, but he has not entirely lost the Zest for Life. Some discreet Enquiries suggest that he might indeed be interested your Proposal.

It did eventually occur to me that there are those outside the Military Field who are subject to the outrageous Slings and Arrows of Misfortune. This caused me to have a Conversation with your good Friend, Dr Whiteman. He told me of the Case of an Eminent Lawyer of early middle years, based in St Albans, by the name of Herbert Sutcliffe — originally from York. He has been struck down by a strange Wasting Sickness, that progressively spreads across his body — while leaving his Mind all too Aware of his Reduced State. This Malady is invariably fatal. It will eventually spread to some Faculty the Loss of which will make Survival impossible. In the Case of Sutcliffe it has progressed to the Extent that it makes walking all but impossible, writing difficult and begins to affect his Speech. It is thus now beyond him to earn his living. He is a self-made man with no Independent Means. He is a Single Man, devoted to his Profession, although in his younger days he has been active in the Yeomanry, so knows something of Military Discipline. Apparently, he originally come from your part of the World — somewhere near York — but had gone down to Cambridge to study, where it was said he excelled. He too is interested in your Proposition.

These are but Two promising Candidates obtained from relatively little Effort on my Part. I should acknowledge the Role of young Wainthrop in all this. Not only has he carried out the Bulk of the Research, but he has shown a rare Delicacy and Sensitivity in Interviewing the Subjects. I confess that I have rather despaired of making a Dragoon out of him, so I am glad to find some Talent in the Lad. Perhaps it might be best for you to Consider offering him a Commission as an Aide in your new Regiment — though perhaps not in Combat Role.

On a Parting Note, may I say how Charmed I was by your Account of the Ghostly Library — for all that it had to be reached by excavating and entering a Grave at Midnight. The Prospect of such a Place of Peaceful Erudition and Contemplation between Worlds almost brought a Tear to my Eye. A stark Contrast, if I may say, to your usual Narratives of dark, doom-laden Vistas and Monsters to be banished, summoned or slain.

Your Obedient Servant (and Friend),

Nathaniel Pepper
Lieut. Col.

From: Mysoreans Abroad — News from the Benighted West.

26: Sri Nripendra Rao: The Folly of Youth

Beloved Bapu-ji,

England is a little country and young, for all its weight in the world, and yet I have seen of it littler still, for our business has kept us mostly around London: which you will know, is the capital city. However, recently I have travelled to other cities, Birmingham and Derby by name, and there is much to tell you of them.

Birmingham is in what they call their Midlands, though it if that is so then six Kathi make half a Pand, for it can be no more than a third of the way from utmost South to North.

We travelled there by way of new Canals that the English rely on greatly for the transport of heavy materials. I am somewhat of the opinion that they would never have conceived them without the inspiration of our more ancient waterways. Novel canals do not deter the ancient profession of dacoits though, and so we were set upon by a band of such as we emerged from a subterranean stretch of the canal. Fortunately, we were able to dispatch them in short order, either into the canal or fleeing over the hill.

Our goal in travelling to Birmingham was to visit the offices of Whithurst and Boulton, a company whose mechanisms we have encountered frequently in the course of our investigations. Although the city was not the least white, but red and black of bricks and soot, yet it brought to mind the White City of Akkad, of which I have apprised you before. The air felt like oils against the skin, yet lacking rich perfumes its touch was disturbing. It is a frontier, with other Lokas no more than a bent cog away, and we were glad to quit it.

Before we did, we essayed the aforesaid offices and made the acquaintance of Mr Boulton, a practical man as it turned out, concerned merely with the running of the business. For enquiries of our nature, it appeared it was Mr Whithurst we would wish to speak to, and he might be found at his manufactury, further North in Derby.

Taking ourselves thence, we left Birmingham, the Sambar of Phlogiston, to travel once more through the countryside, though with foresight we might aptly have retained our unease.

At Derby, on presenting our letter of introduction from Mr Boulton, we found that “young” John Whithurst’s secretary was none other than Daniel Whithurst — the presumptuous gāmpa who took it upon himself to meddle with the customs of the English in order to arrange a marriage to the beloved of Colonel Mustard. I know you would look ill upon so transgressing a custom, be the custom itself strange to you.

I say “young”, for John Whithurst, though now an elderly man, is the descendant — I think most likely the grandson — of Mr Andrew Whithurst, whom we met recently under the strange circumstances you will recall.

In discussion with this John Whithurst we discovered him to be an avid researcher in the matter of Gates and the consequent Engines for travel between Lokas — most particularly to the one which I have written of and believe to be the domain of the Pretas. It was he — so he claimed — that set the serpent slithering on such travel, with careless speech to William Ashton, the zealot who opened the first gate in Khadesh. I suspect him of more guile than he admitted, for he also supplied the necessary equipment, and more was to emerge as you shall see if you read on.

Whithurst was dismissive of the prospect of the Turks using gates to invade England — our major concern — but in this I also suspect he dissembles to diminish his own responsibility. Or he is more of a fool than he appears, but in that he would not be the first.

He also washed his hands — an Abrahamist allusion to denied responsibility — of the actions of the East India Company, with whom he panders the prerequisites of their follies. As the conversation turned this way, it emerged that the hand on much of the paperwork was of Daniel Whithurst, the nephew-secretary, whom Mr. Whithurst seemed eager to absolve of blame.

Seeking to interview this Daniel, we discovered that upon delivering us to his elder relative’s office, he had immediately fled! The Colonel’s sahayak, Tallow, went in search of him while we continued to speak with Mr John. Before long, however, alarums were raised and an expeditious flight of manufactury workers from the building could be observed.

Apprehensive of countering the flow, but knowing alarums unlike to be coincidence, both we and Mr Whithurst arose and made haste for their source. At first Mr Whithurst appeared to have a different priority and took a different route (followed by Mr Elmhall for security) but we arrived at the same place.

In a great hall of machinery, Daniel Whithurst and Sidney Tallow lay upon the floor, Tallow motionless. It seemed they had been cast low by a clockwork marionette advancing towards them. However, it soon became clear that the marionette’s behaviour was atypical — indicating to me by its gestures that we should enter the room it had come from.

Before more could eventuate however, Mr. Whithurst arrived and threw a large lever, by means of which all philosopickal devices instantly stopped, including the marionette. And with that, Sydney Tallow returned to consciousness; or, more accurately, consciousness returned to Sydney Tallow — for his Ātman, by mystickal means, had been transferred to the marionette.

Questioning of the Whithursts revealed what had occurred. Daniel, in fear of “Murderous Mustard” and perceiving himself threatened by Tallow, had intended to “ride” the marionette to frighten Tallow in turn. Tallow entered the room before the transfer of Daniel’s Ātman was complete, and by so doing his Ātman was transferred unintentionally to the marionette, while Daniel Whithurst’s was thrust violently back into its accustomed abode.

Mr John Whithurst explained that the marionette was The Explorer, a device of his own design intended to allow the Ātman to explore the Loka of the Pretas without risk to the physical person which might remain on Bhuloka. To the Whithursts, this was a work of genius which would greatly improve the safety of such exploring. To us, it betrayed that they knew not what was actually at risk — the Ātman itself. They remained dismissive of our warnings, despite our knowledge that such devices as the marionette infested Akkad’s London of the future, and Tallow’s observation that The Explorer had been in motion before either Ātman was transferred to “ride” it. Daniel assured us that was because his transfer had begun but was incomplete when Tallow arrived. We shall reserve our judgment on their lunatick endeavours.

The most useful information extracted from these wise fools was the knowledge of their sponsor — Mr. Appleton Finch of Albury House, a troublesome man self-confessed to be of “prodigious intellect”, and a cousin of the 3rd Earl of Aylesford. Also, a name-dropper of Royalty, professing friendship with His Majesty. We suspect him to be more of an acquaintance, and somewhat regret having previously delivered him from kidnap by the Asuras in the guise of Blackerby Canton and Frodsham Coward who first served, then slew, the hapless Belwether, and also from the critical malfunction of his own Stoßenknopf-engined panther.

Namaste,
Your dutiful Nripendra

From Col. Edward Mustard’s Correspondence File

26: Upon the Whithursts

For the attention of:
His Grace the Duke of Brunswick

HQ Derbyshire Yeomanry
March 1769

My Lord Duke,

I am writing to brief Your Grace upon the Progress of my Journey to Birmingham and the Outcomes thereof. I further wish to apprise Your Grace that I have made two Arrests, the Subjects being conveyed to the Tower under a Guard of Yeomanry. This Missive comes by the Hand of Lieutenant Sidney Tallow, whom I heartily recommend and who can furnish more Detail should Your Grace require it.

First, to rehearse the Reason for my Expedition to Birmingham. Every Enochian Gate to the Lands of Dust encountered to Date – including Captain Mainborough’s Original – has been based upon an Engine manufactured by a Birmingham Company by the Name of Whithurst and Bolton. Wishing to understand more about the Extent of our Exposure to these Devices (i.e. how many there be and to whom they have been sold), I determined to visit their Birmingham Manufactory and question Messrs Bolton and Whithurst directly. To keep things informal, I took with me but a Single Aide (Tallow) and three “Advisors” (Rao, Tonkins, and Elmhill).

I found Mr Bolton in charge of the Company’s Birmingham Manufactury. I found him helpful - welcoming even - if somewhat Phanatic in his Enthusiasm for Free Trade. Indeed, he offered a vital Observation: that the Mainborough Gate could not still function if not supplied with Parts and Expertise from Whithurst and Bolton. He denied that this had occurred, and I believe he spoke Truth as he knew it. However, he made it clear the construction of Gates and other “Special Projects” was the proper Sphere of his Business Partner, Mr Whithurst. Whithurst was currently out of Town but he was sure he would make Time to meet us. When Whithurst sent Word that he was in Poor Health and could not travel, we rode out to see Whithurst at his Mansion and Manufactory in Derbyshire. He received us in his office with his Nephew and Secretary, Daniel Whithurst. He did not seem in Poor Health.

Now, I have no Doubt that Mr Whithurst will make much (or have his Lawyers do so) of a prior Connection between Myself and Daniel Whithurst. In short, Daniel had attempted to force a Marriage upon a Lady to whom I am Betrothed. However, while I was aware that he was a Member of the Whithurst Family, I was unaware of his Position. In any case, to avoid making it a Matter of Honour between us, I had deliberately referred the Case to His Grace the Bishop of Winchester and taken no further Personal Interest. I am sure that His Grace will be able to furnish more Detail if required. Doubtless Daniel may have feared that I had come to wreak Revenge upon him and that it motivated his Subsequent Actions.

Returning to my Discussion with Whithurst the Elder, it began well enough. As Bolton before him, he at first appeared Honest and Open, yet as we questioned him certain Inconsistencies arose in his Testimony and there was Evidence of Tampering with the Documentation relating to the Mainborough Expedition. It was from the beginning plain that he was one of the Prime Movers behind Mainborough, not just the Provider of the Engines. He attended the same Dissenter Chapel as Ashworth, Mainborough’s “Spiritual Guide.” He had travelled himself to the Lands of Dust while testing the Gate. I also began to suspect that perhaps he had had subsequent Information about the Fate of the Mainborough expedition – Intelligence he could only have obtained from the Turk. As my questioning became more to the Point, Whithurst sent Daniel from the Room. Some of my own People, Tallow in particular, left at this Juncture, leaving Myself and Rao to question Whithurst.

We had hardly come to the Nub of the Matter when we heard what was clearly an Alarm. That this was a Serious Matter was apparent by the matching Look of Alarm upon Whithurst’s Countenance. He made an Excuse and hurried from Room. I made towards the Alarm, wading through a veritable Sea of Servants and Engineers fleeing in the Opposite Direction.

In the Room from which the Alarm issued I found both Daniel Whithurst and Lieutenant Tallow slumped upon the Floor with scarce a Sign of Life between them. Above them was some manner of life-sized Enochian Manikin. I immediately made to draw my Blade. However, its Demeanour was in no way Hostile.

In the Interests of Brevity, I will say that Whithurst Senior arrived with a Device which, when activated, quieted the Alarm and rendered the Manikin inert. It seems it was a Prototype designed to host a Person’s consciousness. Its purpose was to grant an Ordinary man Extraordinary Abilities and Martial Vigour in Hostile Environs. Daniel had intended to employ it against my Person. Tallow bravely intervened at a Critical Juncture, in fact believing he was saving Whithurst. Thus it was his Essence that inhabited the Engine, not Daniel’s. Fortunately, once deactivated both Daniel and Tallow returned to full Consciousness with no apparent Ill Effect.

All this became clear in questioning the Whithursts in the Immediate Aftermath. However, it was Apparent that they continued to dissemble and withhold Truth. Whithurst Senior, in particular, was very keen to suppress anything that his Nephew had to say. Eventually, I lost Patience with their Deceptions and arrested both of them.

I am no Lawyer but a Man of Action. I was appointed to ward the Realm against such Threats that the Whithursts appear to present. I hope the King will not feel that I have exceeded my Authority in this Matter. It may well be that their Sojourn in the Tower is a short one once their Lawyers obtain their Writs of Habeas Corpus and what have you. However, the deliberations of Lawyers are notoriously Lengthy and Tedious. I hope they will afford me the Time to Investigate the Whithurst Mansion and Manufactory more thoroughly and then to return to London, armed with more Intelligence, to question them more closely, in Circumstances where they may feel less at ease.

There is one more Matter worthy of report. It seems that the Manikin was in preparation for Mr Augustus Finch as a Vehicle for him to explore the Lands of Dust. Finch was the Fellow we rescued from Turkish Agents (or more probably the Agents of the Anonaki – the Shadowy Entities behind the Turks). I now suspect it was no mere Coincidence that the Agents arrived at Lord Albury’s Residence in Surrey where Finch was residing. I do not suggest Conscious Collusion, but it seems probable that his Enochian Experiments have drawn the attention of the Anonaki as a potential Weakness in our Defences to be Exploited. We saw the Havoc wrought by Deborah Gower and her Associates. Consider what our Enemies might do if they controlled of a Man of Influence and Resource such as Mr Finch.

I shall, of course, keep Your Grace, the Duke apprised of Developments.

I remain,
Your Grace’s most Obedient Servant,
Edward Mustard, Brigadier.