IHMN: The War of the Witches Season Three

The War of the Witches is a series of adventures that take place in the fictional Victorian Universe of the the late 19th Century using the versatile rules In Her Majesty's Name. In Season Three, Sherlock Holmes starts to contact heroes and legends as the evil forces seemed to have paused in their plans.

Season 3. Episode 301: The Lord of the Apes.

John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke, better known as Tarzan of the Apes, raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes is greatly feared and admired throughout the world in the late 19th century. As a young adult, Tarzan meets a young American woman, Jane Porter. When Jane returns to the United States, Tarzan leaves the jungle in search of her, his one true love. After many adventures Tarzan and Jane marry and move back and forth between England and Africa. Tarzan becomes contemptuous of what he sees as the hypocrisy of civilization, and he and Jane return to Africa, making their home on an extensive estate that becomes a base for Tarzan's adventures.

  Chief Busuli of the Waziri, Jane Porter and Lieutenant D'Arnot.

Tarzan has become increasingly concerned of the rumors that have reached his home, particularly regarding the lost City of Opar. Various countries have increased the forces in and around his estate and he has ordered that all forces of the Witch King of Sokar to be attacked without warning. If the Witch King is spotted, Lord Greystoke will deal with him personally.

 Season 3. Episode 302: Going for the Gold in Opar!

One entrance into the Lost City of Opar

Chinese mystics have led General Ranglan and his Imperial Chinese Army to the lost City of Opar in deepest, darkest Africa. Ranglan, ever the practical man, is simply in search of gold to finance his operations to support the Empress Dowager and to line his own pocket - not to mention to help in his quest to destroy Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Engineer Yang Wei, inventor of the portable Chinese arc generator and rifle navigates the force successfully to the city, unaware that there are booby traps every where in the ancient ruins.

 General Raglan's Imperial Chinese Army that just happened to be in deepest, darkest Africa.

Unbeknownst to Raglan, the Gordan Highlanders were camped nearby and an epic encounter played out in Opar . . . and it did not end until the Lord of the Apes arrived.

Bydand!

The Gordons were to much for Raglans's forces, as was a huge, seemingly invincible snake that attacked who always attacked the nearest figure, and with the arrival of Tarzan, he beat a hasty retreat with only some of the gold he needed.

The Lord of the Jungle easily dispatches the Chinese soldier.

One complication that puzzled Tarzan . . . a snake of a variety he had never seen before. And when the snake was killed by his beloved Jane, it simply disappeared.

Jane nails the snake with a well placed shot

 Season 3. Episode 304: Astragard.

Since the discovery of the uncharted island name Astragard by the French dirigible Hyperion, the lost Viking civilization that has been cut off from the rest of the world for centuries is now making an impact at the end of the 19th Century.

 Don't let their use of "primitive" weapons fool you

Erik Niallson is one of the most imposing and ferocious of Viking leaders - he towers over ordinary men and has an intimidating stare that many in Astragard will swear are the "Eyes of Odin."  His constant companion is his wolf Fenrir who is officially classified as a War Poodle.  He believes he is destined to fight Surtr, the bringer of Ragnarök. Could this be the Witch King of Sokar?

Erik Niallson and Fenrir

 Season 3. Episode 305: The Hidden Kingdom of Natagala.

In a flashback it is told how in 1890 the famous Professor George Nightengale accidentally discovered the Hidden Kingdom of Natagala.  Our hero journeyed up to the big curve in the Merowe river that flowed out of Batal Colony and then west into the Great Desert, where he eventually found a rich, primitive culture in a hidden valley on the other side of the Great Desert; the Kingdom of Natagala. Professor Nightengale theorizes that the Natagala are related ethnically to the Matabele and Zulus.

 The meeting of Professor Nightengale and King Mehluli.

With war having broken out in Chaimbelastan and unrest in neighboring Batal Colony, it is unknown what impact the Natagala Kingdom may have on current events. Though long isolated, they are a vibrant and rich kingdom that is starting to adopt and use modern technology.  The backbone of the kingdom are it's fierce and formidable warriors - and the occasional witch doctor doesn't hurt either. And the Natagala have a legend of the creeping horror brought about by a diabolical other wordly creature.

Natagala warband on the move.

Season 3. Episode 306: Inspector Stanley Hopkins.

Inspector Stanley Hopkins is a Scotland Yard detective and a student of Holmes's deductive methods, who attempts to apply them in his own investigations. A promising detective, in whose career Holmes had several times shown a very practical interest. He is the youngest inspector in the Yard and often is assigned what appear to be mundane and investigations that may be the figment of other's imagination.

"Not what I was expecting on a routine robbery investigation."

Nothing could be further from the truth.  Though inexperienced as an inspector, his mentoring by Sherlock Holmes and his unmatched bravery for Queen and Country have made him a rising star; however, others would like to see him fail.  After the killing of the saw call the Mummy of North Piddle (The files disappeared) he has recently be reassigned on "extended" service in the small parish of North Piddle in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England.

Season 3. Episode 307: Allan Quatermain.

 Quatermain and Umslopogaas.

Allan Quatermain is an English-born professional big game hunter and occasional trader in southern Africa, who supports colonial efforts to spread civilization in the Dark Continent, though he also favours native Africans having a say in their affairs. An outdoorsman who finds English cities and climate unbearable, he prefers to spend most of his life in Africa, where he grew up under the care of his widower father, a Christian missionary.

 Quartermain's good friend Captain John Good

Physically, he is small, wiry, and unattractive, with a beard and short hair that sticks up. His one skill is his marksmanship, where he has no equal. Quatermain is aware that as a professional hunter, he has helped to destroy his beloved wild free places of Africa.

"If you can't do it with one bullet, don't do it at all."

Quatermain has recently been disturbed by dreams that hint at"The-thing-that-should-never-have-been-born" and the "Opener-of-Roads." Quatermain has also encountered Ayesha, "She Who Must be Obeyed" and is wondering if she is still alive and if there is some connection. Quartermain is contacted by Mycroft Holmes about a "vague" threat to the empire but Quartermain refuses to leave Africa.

Next: Season 4 - Open War