"Ach! Wonders will never cease in this household!" this from Seonaid as she entered the great hall. "A letter, by special courier no less, and from an old friend of Haarkon's. All the way from Anatolia." She held out the envelope to Valkyrie.

"Anatolia?! That could only be Professor. Bey." Valkyrie tore into the envelope. Her eyes scanned the letter and then became brighter and brighter as she read out each line. 

To: Professor V. Gerehardt, (By Private Courier) From: Professor İsmet Bey, Istanbul University, Anatolian Section Date: March 12th, 1889

My Dearest Valkyrie,

I write to you in the gravest secrecy, urged by the memory of your father and the staggering news from London. The reports of the Nephilim specimen have thrown the European academies into a panic- a panic that has now descended upon Mount Ararat.

The established powers- the British and German archaeological teams- are not truly seeking the Ark of Noah; they are seeking to contain the truth your paper ignited. They dig with shovels, but their true weapon is denial.

I have spent my life translating the archives of the region. Recently, near the ancient Armenian monasteries, I uncovered a cache of pre-Ottoman scrolls. They speak not only of the Flood's recession but of a specific geological anomaly that sheltered the Ark. These texts predate all current maps, describing the vessel's resting place with chilling precision.

Valkyrie, the scrolls confirm that the site holds more than timber; it holds a second, more dangerous truth connected to the "giants of old." I fear the established diggers will find and destroy this evidence before it is ever recorded.

You and Dr. Wren, with your specialized knowledge of the pre-Diluvian era and the Magma-scope's principles, are the only people equipped to understand what I have found.

The dig is chaotic and vulnerable to interference. You must come. Reply to me by telegram, using the code "Architectural Proof Required."

Your loyal friend,

İsmet Bey

As soon as she'd finished she thrust the letter into my hands with a firm "We must make immediate preparations for travel!" With that said she exited the great hall.

I glanced at the letter already feeling the nausea of the Black Sea Steamer and the dust of the Anatolian plains settle on my shoulders. "Valkyrie, that is a two-week journey!" I managed, the protest weak even to my own ears. But her revolutionary light was infectious. "However," I conceded, more to myself, "if Professor Bey is calling, then the truth must be vital."

I tried to ignore Seonaid's stifled laughter. 

"Ach, Doctor, you look like you've swallowed a sea urchin!" Seonaid exclaimed. She caught Valkyrie's eye and instantly grew serious. "The long road then, my love. Will it be the same way as before?"

"Faster, Grandma. And farther," Valkyrie replied, moving toward the hall closet to retrieve hers and Thaddeus' thickest tweed coats. "We take only what we need, Thaddeus." To Seonaid. "Grandma, the Sentinel must remain on guard, listening for the Society's next move. If anything unusual is detected- a spike in the local magnetic flux, or the reappearance of the black coaches- you must send a coded telegram to the address Professor Bey provided."

Seonaid nodded once, her fierce, loyal intensity to her granddaughter went beyond any feeling of concern for her safety. "I ken my duty. The fire will be kept low, and the Sentinel's coils will never run cold."

I watched them, realizing this was the moment of departure. I turned to find James, standing near the great hearth, his small face serious. He offered me his hand, which I shook with gravity.

"Slàinte mhath, Thaddeus," he said, using the Gaelic phrase I was slowly learning. Good health.

"And to you, young Laird," I replied. "Be safe."

Valkyrie knelt and took James into her arms and kissed his forehead. "Slàinte mhath, James."

With that, she handed me my own packed case and with only two small, serviceable bags containing essentials, Valkyrie and I were soon seated in a crofter's hay cart. Our first stop was the Fort William post office, where Valkyrie's movements were precise and swift. She dispatched two separate telegrams: one to Professor Bey with the code phrase "Architectural Proof Required," confirming their immediate departure, and a second, encrypted message to an associate in London.

She thanked Gordy, the crofter, for the ride into Fort William and we made our way, on foot, to the steamer quay with all haste.

"My father's network," Valkyrie explained, pulling her coat tight. "It runs deeper than the Admiralty. Passports, tickets, and travel documents for each leg of the journey- they will meet us as and when we arrive, waiting at pre-determined points at each major city. We travel light, Thaddeus. The world will provide the road, but my father's friends will provide the speed."