Editing Private Journals (section)

===Fiendish Foes===

* ''On [[The Marut Cult]]'': "In the course of my various investigations I have been force (at time, seldom but significant) to make certain compromises and assumptions.  For instance, when asked by the Lazarus trust to retrieve the Naga crown, I did so not from any sort of archeological fervor, but in the spirit of compromise.  The funding from the Lazarus trust is invaluable for my research, and thus I must occasionally satisfy their whims.  Likewise, I assume that the Naga crown is a valuable piece of history that needs to be preserved for the study of all mankind.  The Marut cult would seem to believe otherwise. <br> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;"Based in the region surrounding the Jog Falls in India, little is known about this mysterious sect of the Hindu religion beyond their fanatical devotion to the Naga Crown, which each and every member is sworn to protect with his life.  They were quite willing to slay us to protect their possession, or in fact to slay one another.  It was only by good fortune and a bit of dramatics that we were able to escape at all.  Even so, I find myself now wondering as we speed to our next destination (Vienna and its environs) why the Marut were so fanatically protective.  Was it merely a sacred artifact they were charged to keep in some forgotten antiquity? Is there more to the Naga Crown than was apparent in our cursory investigations?  If so, I'm certain the Lazarus trust will inform us of any unusual properties. <br> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;"The Marut typically shave their heads clean of all hair, wear cloaks and cowls, and apparently carry no weapons aside from their bows, which they use to some effect.  I do wish that I could have a reasonable conversation with them some day, if only to discover whether they actually were madmen protecting their fetish, or something more." <br><br>
* ''On [[Ruthven Vaneko]]'': "I hesitate to mention him here, as I have no real knowledge of whether he be friend or foe, but I must add Ruthven as, at the very least, he has been associating with Dipple for too long to be entirely free of suspicion.  I first Vaneko at the now infamous party at Doctor Dipple's residence.  He was worried at the time about finding a cure to some obscure venom; he suggested that Dipple himself would have reason to assassinate him soon.  Besides this morbid revelation, he mentioned that he was a sulfur miner and boyar of some sort in Romania.  I resolved to visit him when he was found to be mentioned in that curious passage in Dipple's diary that I have to taken to referring to as the 'Role Call of the Immortals'.<br> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;"Now that I am visiting in his castle, I find that he has devoted himself body and soul in devotion to his departed parents.  His chateau, perpetually shrouded in mists, is filled with the booming sound of his dead father's clock, always tolling midnight.  When we first discovered him he was overseeing the digging of his own grave.  More bizarre still, he does not appear to be entirely human; his hands leave no fog on cold windowpanes, for example.  I'm not one to be overly perturbed by such trifles, especially since I myself rarely rise above room temperature unless smoking (or in amenable company), but I did find this strange.  Exactly what sort of experiments did he perform with Dipple while trying to raise his parents from the grave?"