The Fez’s curse weighed heavily on Madame Zorba as the Orient Express carried the investigators towards Constantinople. The strange artifact seemed fused to her head, its powers already draining her life force when she used them to heal Scott Myers. The group gathered in the Baron’s cabin, urgently seeking answers in the ancient tome known as the Whispering Fez.

Per Oskarson and the Baron pored over the book, the Baron’s knowledge of Persian allowing him to slowly translate the dense text. Yet strange hieroglyphs remained indecipherable, their secrets locked away. As the two scholars worked, the others pondered the Fez’s dark requirements. Clinton Lake mused that it may demand the blood of a prince, eyeing the Baron speculatively.

Zorba, perhaps sensing her time growing short, commanded Myers to cherish what intimate moments he could with his wife. Then she and Clinton sought momentary respite in the bar car, the bartender politely averting his gaze from the uncanny Fez.

Clyde Corning, ever vigilant, prowled the train in search of threats. He slipped into the room once shared by Menkaph’s man and the Russian Count’s bodyguard, finding it still inhabited but empty. Continuing on, he encountered a woman who introduced herself as Ilsa von Hofler, the Baron’s daughter. Disguised and desperate, she pleaded for Clyde’s aid in drugging her father and removing him from the train, fearing his growing obsession with the occult. Clyde agreed, sensing the Baron’s potential to become a liability.

In the Baron’s cabin, Per observed the man’s feverish drive to unravel the book’s mysteries. He seemed entranced, consumed by a selfish desire for the Fez’s power rather than any noble aim to save Zorba or Myers. The Baron scoffed at such limited ambitions, hinting at grander schemes to reshape the world to his whims. Madame Sutcliffe and Per exchanged knowing glances, recognizing the danger in the Baron’s hubris.

As the train raced through the night, the group plotted and planned, weighing the merits of betrayal against the urgent need for answers. The specter of death loomed over them all, the Fez’s curse threatening to consume Zorba and unleash untold horrors. In the flickering lamplight of the Orient Express, they clung to fragile hope, knowing that failure could doom far more than their own lives. The secrets of the Whispering Fez beckoned, promising salvation or damnation, and the investigators steeled themselves for the trials ahead.

Session Notes
  • The investigators are on the Orient Express train, having dealt with the police last session. Madame Zorba put on the cursed Fez, which now seems attached to her head. She used magic to heal Scott Myers, but felt some of her life force drain in the process.
  • The group is gathered in the Baron’s cabin discussing the Fez and an ancient book called the Whispering Fez that supposedly contains secrets about the Fez’s powers. The Baron has been researching this book.
  • There is urgency to translate the book quickly, as wearing the Fez seems to rapidly age the wearer, as happened to Myers and a student who attacked the group earlier before dying.
  • Per Oskarson and the Baron begin studying the Whispering Fez book together, as the Baron can read the Persian text. However, there are also untranslatable hieroglyphs that they hope to find a key for within the Persian sections.
  • Clinton Lake suggests the Fez may require the blood of a prince, and a “baron is the poor man’s prince”. The group ponders if any Russian royalty like a count onboard would suffice.
  • Madame Zorba commands Myers to take his wife back to their cabin to spend intimate time together, possibly their last chance before his impending death from the Fez’s effects.
  • Zorba and Clinton go to get drinks at the bar. The bartender tries not to stare at the strange Fez on Zorba’s head.
  • Clyde Corning goes to walk the train looking for trouble or scheming, while Viola Sutcliffe stays with Per to ensure the Baron doesn’t drug him again.
  • Per and the Baron continue the slow process of dense translation, hoping to uncover secrets to save Zorba and stop the Fez’s curse before it’s too late. The transcript ends as they are still in the early stages of studying the complex tome.
  • Zorba and Lake are in the bar car drinking and having surface-level conversations. They realize they can’t have the conversations they really want to have in this public setting. Other train passengers come in and out but don’t bother them.
  • Clyde decides to go investigate on his own, heading towards the room of the man who was with Menkaph. The room is adjacent to the Myers’ room.
  • Clyde listens at the door but doesn’t hear anything inside. Occasionally, Henri the porter walks by. When Henri leaves, Clyde slips into the room.
  • Inside, Clyde finds the room still lived in, with luggage and personal effects like a shaving set. There are some penny dreadful type books in Russian. Clyde recalls the Russian Count also had a male attendant/bodyguard staying in this same room with Menkaph’s man.
  • Clyde leaves the room and continues walking the length of the train. In the sleeper car where the Baron is, a woman who looks like Chuchu but with an Austrian accent pops out of a room. She introduces herself as Ilsa von Hofler, the Baron’s daughter.
  • Ilsa brings Clyde into her compartment to speak privately. She’s worried about her father’s obsession with the supernatural and wants to get him off the train, with a doctor waiting in Budapest. The Baron seems very interested in Clyde and his companions.
  • Ilsa is disguised, not wanting her father to recognize her. She has a sedative she wants to use on the Baron to get him off at the Budapest stop. She asks for Clyde’s help in doing this, as the Baron won’t listen to her.
  • Clyde agrees to potentially help, realizing the Baron may be a “wildcard” even if he’s currently assisting them with the supernatural matters on the train. He tells Ilsa to keep her room well-lit overnight.
  • Meanwhile, the Baron is attempting to translate something, making a language skill check. The next train stop is at 11pm, with the one after not until 5:40am the next morning.
  • The Baron is slowly translating the book, revealing it to be some sort of magical user manual, but the specifics of the magic are still unknown.
  • Despite his claims to scholarship, the Baron’s Persian language skills are not sufficient to translate the book quickly or thoroughly.
  • Per suggests they start looking for the key to deciphering the hieroglyphs in the book, hoping to make progress on that once the Baron inevitably leaves.
  • Per observes the Baron closely, noticing he is completely engrossed and entranced in trying to decipher the book, driven by a strong desire to learn its secrets rather than any altruistic motive to help Madame Zorba or Myers.
  • Per theorizes the Baron wants to understand the fez’s powers so he can eventually use them to benefit himself, likening it to a “fountain of youth” for the rich and powerful.
  • In a conversation with Madame Sutcliffe, Per probes the Baron’s motives by discussing the allure and danger of the fez’s power, seeing if the Baron will reveal his true intentions.
  • The Baron seems to scoff at the idea of only using the fez’s power to save someone, implying he has grander, more selfish ambitions.
  • They discuss the meaning of needing the “blood of a prince”, speculating it could refer to royalty or a dark entity like the “Prince of Darkness.”
  • The Baron remarks that with the right power, one could reshape the world to their liking and make people obey their ideas.
  • Madame Sutcliffe sarcastically suggests the Baron wants to use the fez’s power to “save the world from itself”, which seems to go over his head. She subtly winks at Per to convey her suspicions about the Baron’s motives.
  • Through this exchange, Per confirms the Baron is solely interested in the fez’s power for himself, though he doesn’t seem to have a specific plan beyond obtaining that power and knowledge.
  • Per refuses to let the book out of his sight while the Baron is handling it.
  • Clyde reports he did not find any evidence of Menkaph’s man on the train during his search.
  • Zorba is curious why Madame Sutcliffe is so afraid of the Baron and desperate enough to request help from a doctor and a woman to get him off the train.
  • Clyde remarks that once the Baron is tranquilized and off the train, Madame Sutcliffe can say whatever she wants since she’s the highest ranking royal present.
  • The group discusses the possibility of the Baron’s daughter slipping him a tranquilizer to subdue him, as she seems genuinely concerned about his obsessive behavior.
  • They consider using more tranquilizer if the opportunity arises, as it has proven effective in the past.
  • Some members of the group question whether the Baron’s daughter might be seeking power for herself, as she doesn’t seem to care for the group’s motivations.
  • If Madame Zorba can speak and read Persian, she is more inclined to allow the Baron’s daughter to do her “dirty work” if she agrees to stay on board and read a book that will likely lead to Madame Zorba’s death and possibly the rest of the group’s as well.
  • The group acknowledges that they may have to take drastic measures before Madame Zorba turns into a “freakish demon poop monster,” though they clarify that there was no mention of poop in the previous encounter with the old man with the long tongue who tried to kill them.
  • The session concludes with the players applauding the GM’s portrayal of the Baron, which was inspired and reminiscent of double-speak used by certain political figures.
  • The players also comment on the realization that Clyde Corning’s character has an Australian accent, which was apparent after listening to a recent episode of another podcast.
  • Overall, the group found the session to be very enjoyable.