The Case of Shanghai - History

Calendar of Events

<eventCalendar> namespace = Event aspectratio = 1.3 defaultmonth = 1925-04-01 </eventCalendar>

Log of Events

Shanghai, China

April 17, 1925

The group of investigators arrives in Shanghai at the Shanghai North Railway Station around mid-morning. Jack Falcon feels that it would be difficult to know if we were being followed in the dense crowds in this town. Li Wen-cheng suggests the Astor House Hotel as a hotel befitting our group's needs. It has high security and we won't stand out as much as we would trying to stay at a cheaper place with our high credit rating folks. We ask Li Wen-cheng where the local library is (Shanghai Public Library and Royal Asiatic Society), where to find info about people passing through customs (high class - Shanghai Club, Stumbling Tiger might be a good place for lower class people), and where to find info on local hot spots (i.e. Stumbling Tiger). Li Wen-cheng lets us know that in mid-January 1925, Chang Tsung-chang (a behemoth known as the “Shantung Monster” or “Dogmeat General”) of the Fengtian Clique and Sun Chang-fang (aka “the Nanking Warlord”) of the Zhili Clique push Chi Shi-yan’s army out of Shanghai and begin joint rule. Sun is left in de jure control of the police and the amenities, but Chang is friendly with the criminal Green Gang, the biggest, meanest gang in town. Records are maybe not the best right now.

Jack heads to the port to check out info on The Ivory Wind and The Dark Princess. He learns from the harbormaster that The Dark Princess is frequently seen in Shanghai harbor, but The Ivory Wind hasn't been seen recently but tends to show up ever 3-4 months. It's been about 3 months since The Ivory Wind has been seen. Lars Torvak is known to captain The Ivory Wind. Jules Savoyard is known to captain The Dark Princess, and Alfred Penhurst is her registered owner. Jack gives him $5 and says there's another $5 in it for the harbormaster if he sends a runner to our hotel when either ship arrives. He then heads to the catholic church on personal business before heading back to the hotel.

Victor, Elise, and Father Quinn go to the Shanghai Public Library. Victor learns that Yig and Yog-Sothoth are Elder Gods. Elise looks up Ho Fong Imports and learns it is one of the largest shipping companies in Shanghai. The proprietor, Ho Fong is in his late 50s. He is very wealthy and involved in the Catholic church. Wei Ching-lai was Ho Fong's wife, an attractive, Western-educated, and politically-minded actress, as well as a poster-child for the revolution. She often used her fame to champion opposition to the corrupt Qing Dynasty. A blooming romance saw Ho and Wei marry in 1911 (just months before the collapse of the Qing Dynasty), with their daughter Tzu-hsi following a year later. She and her husband soon became a popular attendees at Shanghai’s swank high society functions. Unfortunately, she soon slipped into drug abuse and public tantrums which hit a high point by 1919. It was also during this time that Wei had several affairs, including with her personal driver, Pao Wu-kung. Wei Ching-lai tragically died of a drug overdose on December 31, 1923. Father Quinn looks up the Stumbling Tiger. It's a dive bar. Articles mention many fights. It seems to be a place where shady stuff happens. Sounds like a hole-in-the-wall establishment. The purveyor is Fergus "McChu".

Everyone meets back up at the Astor House Hotel. We have dinner, then head to the Stumbling Tiger. The bar's sign is (unusually) written in English. There's a simple bar offering brown and clear drinks. This is a puzzle talk bar - a place where you can buy and sell information in addition to having a drink. Quinn asks the barkeep, Fergus "McChu", about Jack Brady. After some convincing, Fergus "McChu" says that he hasn't seen Brady in months and believes that he went to Nicaragua to run guns with Charlie West. Father Quinn fast talks his way out of revealing too much info in exchange. When Jack mentions Jack Brady to a fisherman at the end of the bar, Fergus gets weird. Quinn catches it and tries to get more info. Fergus slips him a note to meet at Noodle House at 12 Lantern Street. Quinn excuses himself and heads down the street, letting Elise know he's leaving. Elise waits outside to be in position to help if needed. In a few minutes, Fergus appears in the kitchen doorway of Noodle House and waves Quinn in. Fergus reveals that people are looking for Jack Brady, and that drawing the attention of those people is dangerous. It's dangerous for Fergus if he's connected. Quinn attempts to convince him that they're all on the same side, and Fergus says to meet tomorrow night, here in the kitchen of Noodle House, at 2am, and bring your friends if they can be discrete. Father Quinn has some noodles and rounds up the troops and they head back to the Astor House Hotel.

Back at the hotel, Elise discovers 3 people in her room looking to be of Chinese descent. A 4th behind the door grabs her when she screams. As we come running, the man sitting in between the 2 men with Thompson sub machine guns asks who we're working for. He's interested in what we're selling and wants a 30% cut for Mr. Du. They expect us to deliver a considerable payment to Hell's Kitchen nightclub by Monday. They depart; we dismiss Li Wen-cheng and discuss the events of the evening, and then retire to our separate rooms.

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Skill Checks

April 18, 1925

The group reads the local papers (in English) over breakfast, and we find a few articles that catch our eyes. Jack and Quinn head to the Wayside Police Station to investigate the murders on Lantern Street. People are frequently being murdered by having their arms cut off by a sharp object and then left to bleed out. Jack asks about Mr. Du, and we are told he is heavily connected to the police in the French Concession. Slipping them some cash, Jack learns that Madam Gee was the witness identified in the paper that saw the murder. With some extra cash, we are told that the autopsy revealed one or two slices or chops is all it took to remove the arms, indicating a very sharp blade. We leave, and Jack notices that the fisherman he was talking to at the Stumbling Tiger is following us on our way back. We turn a corner and Quinn grabs him when he comes around. At first he starts screaming for help, but Quinn convinces him to quiet down. He says he's looking for Jack Brady as well because he needs his expertise in procuring something. Asking if he works for the Pale Viper, we believe that he doesn't recognize the name. We tell him not to follow us, but if he drops by the lobby of the Astor House Hotel to check in with us, we could share info.

Victor and Elise go to visit Mister Lung, accompanied by Li Wen-cheng. There's a cat outside, but Elise keeps a foot out to keep it away and shuts the door quickly. Li Wen-cheng needs to translate everything for this exchange. Li Wen-cheng notes that everything in the place has great fengshui. Mister Lung seemed to be expecting more visitors together today. He seems to think that demons were coming to attack him and tried several things to detect or defeat demons on the investigators, always displeased that they weren't working. He has some coins that he can turn into a sword, which we find out when Victor reveals that he has no pulse. There is nearly a confrontation, and then they deescalate. Mister Lung does a few readings for them. They mention the cat, and Mister Lung can't get a sense of it looking at it out the window. Fearing this is a demon sent after him, they set up to ambush it, and let it in the house. It turns into an evil cat demon and combat ensues. Victor takes mortal wounds (again), but shrugs them off (again). Victor manages to take down the demon with Mister Lung's help. Mister Lung gives Elise his coin sword, which can harm demons.

We all meet back up at the Astor House Hotel and exchange information. Victor keeps his wound secret and spends time stitching himself back together. Then we head to Madam Gee's house. It's a house of ill repute, and we're taken back to her office. We slip her some cash and ask about the events of last evening. One of the other girls, Magenta Joy, actually saw it. She is currently in the hospital though. As we talk about recent events, we learn that Choi Mei-ling, one of the working girls, "ran off" or vanished 3 days before the attack. She was the regular girl for John or Jack Brady and presumably ran off with him. We talk to Quivering Jade, who was Choi Mei-ling's close friend. She tells us that Jack Brady and Choi Mei-ling used to use the room in which the attack took place. Choi Mei-ling has a birthmark on her left clavicle and was known at the house as Dancing Sapphire. As we're leaving Madam Gee's house, one of the girls, Falling Quartz, catches us and tells us that she thinks that Choi Mei-ling actually left for a different house, Madam Lin Yenyu on Yu-yuan Road in the Old City. Madam Lin's house is several steps above Madam Gee's and her girls are better protected. Madam Gee would be quite upset if she learned Choi Mei-ling left for another house.

We travel to Madam Lin Yenyu's house (which takes about an hour). It's an older, large, and very well maintained house. There are 2 hard-looking gentlemen outside who eye us suspiciously upon approach. Li Wen-cheng translates as Quinn says that he's looking to spend some time with someone who may be in Yenyu's employ. An English-speaking gentleman is brought out and escorts us in. Asking to see Choi Mei-ling, we're taking into an office to see Madam Lin Yenyu. Victor and Elise notice an occult book collection in her room. Turning on some charm, she tells us Choi Mei-ling declined her offer to work there, and believes that the girl ran afoul of The Order of the Bloated Woman. She tells us they're a very powerful and deadly group - they are devils we do not want to fight with. Another westerner came to call on Choi Mei-ling recently - he seemed very dangerous and, they had a short, tense conversation roughly 4 days to a week ago. Victor gets her to do an I Ching reading: p'i with 9 in the 5th place. She hands a slip of paper to Elise afterward. Victor notes that she's very interested in Elise. Madam Lin Yenyu reveals that she's interested in acquiring more occult materials. Victor notices a set of 9 bronze bells that would aid in summoning something bad (a Byakhee) if he knew the order in which to ring them. Victor also notices a very old Tibetan Thangka painting with tassels and cords made from leather from human skin with a ghastly rendering of Azathoth among the occult collection. Upon leaving, she gifts Elise a very nice silver and ruby necklace saying that it would help bring out her beauty if she wore it. She tells us to beware The Order of the Bloated Woman and give a man named Carl Stanford a wide birth. Quinn remembers a conversation in his order regarding an exceptionally powerful wizard named Carl Stanford - someone the order would normally seek out to bring down, but they deem him too powerful to approach. We leave.

We return to the Astor House Hotel. We eat dinner and take a rest.

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Skill Checks

April 19, 1925

We wake around midnight and then head to the Noodle House. Victor and Elise notice a guy milling across the street from the Noodle House. We proceed past the restaurant and head down the next street, then circle around from the back. We all notice a man hiding behind a delivery truck out back. Elise asks Victor to go make a distraction. The rest of us slip into the Noodle House, only to be confronted with 3 men, two with rifles and one with a pistol. The man going after Victor also had a rifle, and brings Victor in to join us. The fisherman from the Stumbling Tiger is brought in as well. Quinn doesn't think the guards recognize the fisherman. They put black bags over our heads and bind our hands behind our backs, and they take our guns.

We are driven around for a while, and we hear a bunch of other people as we finally arrive somewhere. They pull our hoods off, and it looks like we're in a metal works factory. We're seated on the main floor with lots of open space around us on uncomfortable metal chairs. Elise picks up that we're in the International Settlement. Jack hears the phrase "strong force" several times. We're seated in the following order: Jack, Quinn, Elise, Victor, and then the fisherman. Jack is taken into an office, asked to strip naked, given a cursory exam, allowed to re-dress, and then sent back out. Same process for Quinn, though they allow him to keep some modesty holding up his undershorts. They repeat the same process for Elise, but swap in a set of female guards when she's taken back. When Victor is taken back next, the doctors have an animated discussion of his wounds. They check his neck area very intently. Then he's told to get dressed and brought back to the rest of us. Then they take the fisherman back, there's shouting, a thud, and later he's brought back out but with a black eye. A black haired, stocky, communist hatted, younger (college-aged) Chinese man (the one that had the revolver at the Noodle House) comes out and asks why we're looking for Jack Brady. Elise says that Jack Brady was one of the last people known to associate with Choi Mei-ling and we haven't been able to find her. Jack understands them to say that they don't want to tell Jack Brady that Choi Mei-ling is missing because they need to keep him focused on the assault. Victor asks about the examination, and they say they were looking for features that would suggest we're not allies: narrow heads, flat noses, bulgy eyes. They indicate that if we prove our allegiance, they'll let us get close to Jack Brady. They identify themselves as the Firm Action Faction, and say those who seek a new dawn for China are allied with them. They want us to investigate Ho Fong, and say they'll contact us in 1 week.

We're taken back to the Noodle House. We have a conversation there with the fisherman. He introduces himself as Captain Isoge Taro of Japanese Naval Intelligence. He believes Jack Brady was working with the communists, but now he's not so sure. He believes Jack Brady has technology of interest, specifically, a weapon they are interested in. He was originally tasked to do a survey of Chinese ports, and then heard rumors of technology far beyond his government. It seemed to be developed by some unknown Chinese faction - unclear who. He believed it would be good for his career to recover the technology, which is why he's looking into it. He has been investigating for 2 months. He believes Brady's been planning something, possibly working with Ho Fong, but that seems unlikely after this evening. The weapon seems powerful, and he wants to secure it for Japan. We share some info on Brady's past and tell him to intercept The Ivory Wind before it can make its delivery to Ho Fong Imports.

We return to the Astor House Hotel and sleep until noon. We receive 2 messages at "breakfast". There is a gold and diamond ring from Madam Lin Yenyu for Elise. We also receive a note from the harbormaster that The Ivory Wind has arrived. Jack believes that it is unnaturally fast for The Ivory Wind to be here; it should've been another month. Victor sends a note to Mister Lung asking if he's ok and if he knows anything about Madam Lin Yenyu. Elise asks Li Wen-cheng to send some kids to the docks to check on The Ivory Wind.

Elise and Jack head to the Shanghai Public Library. Elise researches The Order of the Bloated Woman. Jack researches Mr. Du.

Victor and Quinn go with Li Wen-cheng to Ho Fong Imports warehouse on Kao Yang Street. Li Wen-cheng overhears a conversation among the sailors and dockworkers talking about body parts in the water at the docks - arms, many arms continuously washing up on shore. Victor asks an English speaker about it, who says he believes it was from a ship adrift in the harbor. We proceed to the warehouse. It's a large, 2-story wooden building with few windows, some guards gambling over mahjong. We case the joint. There are 5-6 heavily guarded entrances. There is a yacht named Luxuriant Goddess anchored at a small pier. Business offices are also located here. We head to the business offices. Several guards stop us at the doors. We try to persuade our way in, but a secretary comes out and says they don't do personal business and we must be mistaken. We leave.

The group meets back up at the docks, just as The Ivory Wind is being towed into dock. Arms are being recovered. Quinn notes that all the arms are white, and there are 14 of them (indicating the 7 crew members of the ship). The police tell Victor that the ship has no cargo and 7-10 dead bodies aboard, and they expect pirates. It was found floating in the fishing lanes outside the harbor. Victor bribes the police to let him and Elise aboard to investigate. There is lots of blood, and bodies are everywhere. Among the bodies of the crew they find the bodies of Lars Torvak and Edward Gavigan - dead between 24-48 hours. The arms removed from all the corpses - very clean cuts with a very sharp object. They find a broken Chinese sickle, very sharp. The bodies are spread throughout the ship and show signs of resistance. The door to Gavigan's room is busted open. Elise finds a medallion in the cargo hold and pockets it. There is no cargo in the hold at all. Looking from ashore, Jack notes signs that the ship was boarded. Quinn canvases the crowd and hears rumors that the Shanghai Courier has had strange stories lately - a building collapse and a fire.

We head back to the Astor House Hotel and discuss over dinner.

We head to Hell's Kitchen, and note that the staff and clientele are both very mixed. There is a cabaret. Sitting in the back is the person we encountered in Elise's hotel room, and he motions us into the back. We negotiate, and only pay him $500 for the evening. There's an Irishman in the building, and Quinn takes an interest. He's gambling and drinking in a crowd of women. He says his name is Patrick Devlin, an arms dealer who's paid some small-time fares to the Green Gang. He offers to hook us up if we ever need anything, saying we can find him here. We go back to the Astor House Hotel and sleep.

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Skill Checks

Map

Locations of Interest

International Concession

• Astor House Hotel
• Ho Fong Imports
• Noodle House
• Royal Asiatic Society
• Shanghai Club
• Shanghai North Railway Station
• Shanghai Public Library
• Stumbling Tiger
• Wayside Police Station

French Concession

• Hell's Kitchen