The last two sessions with our heroes traveling steerage on the Surface World. After having been sucked through the “Hole in the World” in the Hollow Earth, they had been deposited in the Arabian Sea, where for four days they were adrift — kept afloat only by the high salinity and some scraps of canvas they were using as flotation devices. Hallucinating, half-dead, they were finally rescued by the RMS Majolo, out of Calcutta and bound for Tilbury in England.

They were nursed back to health over the next three days, and deposited in Aden with only a few pounds from the good graces of the ship’s doctor. Fortunately, Gus had operated out of the port before, and had a few contacts, as well as a small bank account here. With enough money to get some clothing and a cheap used Enfield rifle and Webley pistol, they set up in the Mariners’ Hotel. They were able to make inquires to the local consulates — a German, US and UK one were present — to get some kind of passport. Gus was in luck, the others not so much.

This lead to Hunter’s using his larcenous skills to pickpocket a few documents, a Greek passport for Amon, and a Spanish one for  Gould. Gus and Hunter, however, were able to get temporary documents.

That evening, a German official arrived to present Gus with his new passport (complete with swastika) and make an offer directly from Reichfuhrer-SS Himmler himself! He offered to meet them in Trieste, to discuss their recent adventure and offered to provide them with the passage to Italy. After some argument between Gould and Gus, they agreed to head for Britain and try to gain some kind of support from the Royal Geographic Society or British government, and barring that, try the United States.

They were able to buy steerage passage to London. Two days later, they stopped in Alexandria, where the Terra Arcanum has a “library” — a safehouse cum storehouse for artifacts. Hunter had worked out of the place and knows the librarian, a Sam Gilroy — a dissipate former academic from England. They’d already gotten word from the consulate about their having been discovered in the sea, and their original report in India had reached the masters of the organization! After quizzing them on events, Gilroy put them in touch with a VIP from the Terra Arcnum — Admiral Richard E Byrd!

The admiral had claimed to have seen the Northern Polar Entrance to the Hollow Earth in 1926, but it was never seen again. He posits that his co-pilot might have had Atlantean blood, like Gould, and that was why they found it, but never again. He is in the process of putting together funding for another Antarctic Expedition, but is willing to change their focus to the north pole, once more. He already has subscriptions from the American and National Geographical Societies, as well as the Navy. He was already putting together a large mission with scientists and sailors…just what they need for their return to the Inner World.

They jump at the chance.

Their next stop in Gibraltar hooks them up with American passports, to throw off any German pursuers, and they take a train north to England. Part of the deal was they would inform Lord Trevor, Zara’s uncle, of her disappearance, and attempt to get the philologist and archeologist on their team.

This led to a stop in Madrid, where Gould made an attempt to warn his brother about their heritage and the dangers, but realized how insane it sounded…then they ran into his former lover, the now-Marquesa Inez de Montealegre. After some character development, talk about our feelings stuff for Gould and Inez, they boarded their train north to San Sebastian.

The train was stopped by bandits, leading to a gunfight between the characters and the bandits, before they drove them off. With the marquesa’s support, the Civil Guard in Vallavolid hailed the characters as heroes of the day and released them to continue their trip the next day.

We left it there last week, as they were entering France and heading for Paris, then London…