Discovering the Secret Underground Chamber

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I mean, guide back can gum if you want. goodood. I may need an extra pair of hands. Here if you could step aboard want a Poseidon Yes, please. Lkeie, Lirkie. If you'd like to just rest yourself just in here. In the speedbat? Yes. someomeone will take us back, I'm sure. You don't want me to come in. No problem at all. T ticks. Sut God Oh, hello there darling. ever so sorry. No problem. N nice yacht. Isn't it just? You should see the inside. I'd love to. A no time. My friend and I. comeome on you. Oh, hi. All right. I'll take the wheel if that's allright with you, John. U How do you? Oh, I just do just do. And Wha whoa wait, wait. You hung. Hold Oh my c! my c. Damn shame. seem to fine chap. I rather like the eyebrows. Oh, they have a car marvelous.! E so sorry, John. Jesus Right, o, John boy. Mehinks a couple of the island's finest ne Gronies. They call us, do they not? Like sirens beckoning us to the rocks. But it is not us who shall be on the rocks, but them. Hey dear man. John? No, The Diogenes is this way. I don't care. Whever you are, just leave me alone, okay John, this is What the actual John, You must try a chorus mask. Cornelian Cerry. That cherry's out of my face. Oh. Yeah. Oh. Time for you to leave. Marianna, call the Greek police. The Greek police. Yes, call them. I'm sure you speak Greek, so just do it. Call the police on Sherlocks Brother? Yes, Colden What John, this is my brother Mft So what is it, little one? Am I a workaholic? or a lazy sn worshier? I am merely making observations. And I have made one for you. Which is what, exactly? That your work means as much to you as mine does to me And I can prove it to you. How so? By presenting you with one right here in Nkonos. You cannot solve it yourself I cannot Mr. Melas, a Greek interpreter. Ancient Greek, really. He stumbled across something rather remarkable. What exactly did he stumble across? He'll tell you himself. M croft I'll bring him by tomorrow. And before you know it As Mum would say, The game is a foot. The game is a foot. Sve No Harry, is that you Marry on Is that you leaving See. Sherlock. I was just popping out. For what? For some fresh. Greek Air Is that is that a euphemism? For what? exactly? For smoking, for you know, for opioid related hyjinks? Yes, that's exactly what it is. I'm feeding my addiction. W me al. S Sllock Hello Listeners John Watson here currently Lking down on our friend, Sherlock Holmes In more ways than one I am sat on the hillside, roughly where our hotel is, I followed him out He was unaware of it. Thank you very much. and I watched him walk along the beach in pitch black, get into a rowing boat and get over to a yacht out there. Not the Poseidon. We're in a different bay, but it would seem that there is some sort of drug boat out there. if that's a thing, Dt know could be. Well, evidently it is And I'm going to sit here all night if I have to, and I will pounce on him when he comes back up this hillside This is a new low, a new low Now why he thinks that hanging out with me a mariana for an extended period of time is that painful that it must be remedied is beyond me. Maybe it's the brother. You know, Mbe Minecroft got him into this and yeah, this has stimulated a need for it There's a light on in the yacht always nothing going on Could do some shoutouts, couldn't I? I suppose. Got a pretty sizable backlog of those, let me tell you. It says me right get shot. Uight, shout out to Basla in Brunei. Shout out to Faith and Bluebell in loveovely Cornwall. Good luck with the GCSE's faith and for the A levels Bluebell. Let us know how you get on, yeah. Happy fifteth birthday to Jim Thompson. Sorry, I'm a bit late there, Jim. Happy birthday, mate, haveave a good Oliver hasn't ask for a shout out, but Oliver is one of the brilliant Wikipedia folks that keeps the show's Wikipedia all alive and well. so thanks, Oliver and any others that listen And oh yes, my mum has asked that I shout out Elizabeth from France who sent a lovely email when I was Yeah under the weather. as Carol put it the other day. I mean that's one way of saying, o, hold on Hold on a second. there's another person who's just gone along the beach and is now Rowing Looks like he's heading to the yacht that Sherlock is in kind of older looking guy, short. Black hair shirt and tie, I think, a bit formal for a bit of the old. O smack, but there you go, takes all sorts, I suppose Noase cllimbed a board, gone inside And once again, Spymaster John Watson has gone unnoticed in the darkness I have not only gazumped his smartly dressed dealer, I' totally fooled Sherlock Holmes as well. The Sherlock Holmes. Hell Hello. If you're going to sit up there playing Sy Master, you may as well come aboard sake. Yeah, yeah Hh Yeah Hh Hh H Oh, God bit annoying that. Shitt in hell, that's knacker in that. There wasn't enough boats on the bay I had to strip off God ced I had to swim one handed because of the mic. I got seaweed wrapped around my leg at one point and I thought it was a shark. I just kind of thrashed around it there for a bit. Oh Lnd yeah Yeah, gathered myself. Buth yeah, here we are on the yt. I the otters, so I bet I could adjust them Wh. H doctor John Watson. Darling underwear. Yeah, I had to get undressed to swim out. You're very excited, I see. No, no, that's just the cold has made it kind of shrivel and now it's protruding the World Cup. Huh? The pants. Ah. Yeah. Yeah, Th linions on a shirt. England Yeah, well three lions on my underwear. White underwear. You're a braver man than I. Come through. I was just wondering, Mcroft, could I could I maybe get a dressing gown? or even just hello. Hi there. Hello. Hi, u You could have dressed. I did dress. You're missing a few items. They're on the beach Dressing gown. There you go, dear boy. Oh thanks Mcroft. Thank you B. There's u Hm what? A gun? In the pocket? A Bugger. Yes. There she is. Why do I need that one wearing this? I don't know. Completely slip my mind. Take a seat. John Watson, this is Yorgos Melas. Good to meet you. You too. Yorgos is quite the paradox. He has a truly monstrous intellect quite fairly large. I'm surprised we're still afoat with the big brain of his on deck. However, they say that those who are most arrogant, sure of themselves and boastful are big headed. Then if we extrapolate in the opposite direction, those most modest, most humble must have small heads. So they have it, John. The biggest brain in the smallest possible head. Thank you, Mcroft. Rather long winded, I thought. What are we all? Doing on a yacht at midnight in Myichonos, gents Because if this is what I think it is, then yeah, I would rather Sherlock withdrew from this aspect of life Oh goodness. I am quite frankly, disappointed. Mcroft, that you, a man of exceptional health and fitness, would allow him to tear his body apart like this. It's part of the job. I'm sure you of all people would agree. No, it isn't, and I don't. I fear it is, John. I fear that my friend is being taken advantage of by his own brother. He does this willingly Oh, does he? Yeah. Is this true, Sherlook It's true. God's sake, when were you gonna tell me Tell us when? Come on in, let me see it. See what? I want to watch. I want to watch this unfold. Let's see you feed his addiction then come on. Right. Mr. Mellas. Yeah, Mr. Melas, you're gonna to whip it out are you? and stick it in him. Do it, mate. Do it Sorry? Come on, let's see it Show him a good time, mrter Melas. And guess what? I'll be the one who wakes up next to him in the morning. Yeah, when he's full of guilt and shame. I'll have to deal with it. Firstly, it's Melas, not Milas. and secondly, John, I don't think you know what this is. Oh I know exactly what this is. Yeah Blokes. Meeting up on a yacht at midnight I know what he is as well. Who? Sherlock. Yeah, I know exactly what he is. And what is that exactly? You're addicted to it, mate. you're an addict. I am addicted to crime. Is that a crime? What You What do you mean me? you, mate? You John. U I had asked Sherlock if he would partake in a sneaky little case, while you were enjoying some much needed R and R Case. Yes, A case. Feeding Your addiction Tw Paces. Problems, detective. Right? yes. Sorry, yeah, that that makes more sense than the drug thing. You don't have to be part of it. Well, I you know, what? Just haven't done one in a while. and I basically missed out on the last one, so you go. Let's take these gents on deck. I'd rather like some se air As you can tell by my name, not necessarily my accent, I am of Greek descent. Even from when I was very little I I was always captivated by the well, by mother Greece, you know, Hellas. I studied Greek mythology relentlessly so I took advanced classes in the ancient Greek languages spanning Mycaenian Greeks through to Archaic and Homer, then my doctorate and I, along with Sophie Critides, became the Well, the leading experts in the world for ancient Greek Good for you, Georgeos? When addressing a person of Greece, one would say Yorgo, Sans S. But if referring to him when not in his presence, it would be Yorgos. Sall I stop smirking. It's Melas. And Yorgo. More whiskey? Thank you, thank you Yes, I don't know if you've heard of Sophie, but that may help. I have. Great. I haven't, sorry. Don't be, donon't be. She and I are both based out of London. She is was I don't quite know how to put it, but Sophie's the professor of Greek epigraphy in ancient history at University College London I was the curator of Greek antiquities for a while at V andA, and now I'm an independent epigrapher and Proidence consultant. You said you don't know how to put it. but Sophie, what do you mean? Well, so Sophie sent me a message about six weeks ago and called me into the college. I had gotten a bit overexcited I assumed it was forort a short term contract position. those places have a lot of money, you know, so I was rather keen. and actually I immediately realized that her excitement had somewhat trumped mine. So I ask her what's going on? and she says she had had a meeting that day With a man, Harold Latimer. Right. That's who you were searching for, right, Mcroft. I was on a different job entirely with the Micau situation. But it doesn't hurt to ask to help my friend here. Nothing? Nothing So what happened to Harold Latimer? The question, rather, Dr. Watson is what happened to Sophie Cratides. Okay. She talked about that meeting she had had with Harold. He came to her out of nowhere. He had hit a dead end. I'm sure you've noticed the digs around here at the moment. Yeah, we've seen a couple of archaeologist types here. It's a lift of restrictions from the Greek government. Things are popping up all over the place. Harold had much earlier inherited a diary of a British traveller from the late nineteenth century, Charles Hardy. Hardy had mentioned in his diary that the locals of the islands of the Aegean spoke of a theft by the British, of a, well, a rather ubiquitous and ordinary inscription stone Fragmentary one at that, mid third century BCE attributed to Fillin of Naxos. Latmmer dives into research to track it down and lo and behold, he doesn't have to go particularly far. It's in the vast storage rooms of the British Museum, covered away, collecting dust. Not on display or now No. Why does he want it? Just 'cause Hardy put it in his diary? Hardy said the locals spoke of it like a treasure map Treasure Yes. So Lapler asked the British Museum about it. They turned down his offers to buy it, but they allowed him to view it. He did so. And and it was very plain. an ordinary script from an ordinary Greek of the time. notothing remarkable at all. A census of goats and olive trees. He asked to buy it again and they declined. He still wants the boring stone with nothing on it, J take a picture, surely Well, he got his way. He tells my friend Sophie in this meeting that he eventually secured the fragment. How exactly? I do not wish to know, but he was backed by a significant AI startup, US based. He didn't want just a photo of the tablet he wanted the whole thing They ran an RTI and a multispectral imaging scan on it. They fed the results into their AI and it read something. something that was scratched off and overwritten nearly two thousand years ago The AI read it, yes But it cannot understand it Neither can his team So he went to Sophie. Had she seen the fragment by the time of your meeting with her? Yes. And that was the reason for her near explosive excitement. There was something written in ancient Greek, but in English it would translate to walk where goats refuse, whereere the sky breaks the sea, Find the stone that swallows the dying sun If Sophie, such was her brilliance, could understand not just the language, but the inference of the text Phylon of Naxaw scried on the tablet in the mid third century BCE. This deep shadow of a riddle once carved onto its surface was likely from two hundred years before that The Glden Age of ancient Greece, fifth century BCE, she was able to match the handwriting as it were of a man from the time known as Vasils this mass, Tisniso Apolonos The King West of the Island of Apollo He later became known after his death as the Moon King. The island of Apollo is Delos. Yeah, that's east from here, so the island west of Apollo is right here, Nikono. That's right. Sophie felt like the fragment was telling her how to find the Thalos The crypt of the Moon King. It was very exciting. very very little is known of him And there has been recorded descriptions of his mask of gold How? I left her to her research. I said I would go through my work I did on Delos a few years earlier. I could also secure some artifacts that she would be able to use Lapmer's machine on few days passed and to my real shock, because this was just so thrilling for Sophie and I, I heard nothing from her. Nothing. I checked in with the university a week later. It could have been ten days later She hadn't even attended since the day I had seen her. God, She had totally disappeared Her brother had been asking over too, but even he had become uncontactable I informed the police And the last that was recorded of her was at Gatwick Airport. Boing a flight To Myichonos You're hungry or you're cheap. and you're trying to get the most out of the breakfast that come to the room. Is it both? It's both right? I've been up most of the night. Really? Why? I followed Sherlock at the hotel last night. He left the hotel? H Oh andigestion. come on, come on beet through it Please move the story along. He left the hotel. Microft found him a case or at least needed his assistance on a case I thought we were relaxing. It're not something the great detective is that great at. He's the great detective. I'm the great relaxer. We've got to stay in our lanes O how? What? What it? What's the case? Not. It was u So there's this Eminent u Ancient Greek kind of academic, really? that can interpret and translate all this old ancient stuff. Like in a bigiger Yeah That's what I meant. Yeah. See how I interpreted and translated the stupid words coming out of your mouth? Yeah. Exactly. you're a Watonian epigrypher. So anyway, there's two of them actually. One is called Sophie Crtinez, the other is Giorgios Milas alo. Minecroft says it's Mas Sherlock is saying, Meas, I'm pretty sure to annoy Minecroft. Georgios doesn't really seem to mind. I'll stick with me teeam Sherlock and all that. So anyway, I met Georgos last night. He tells me there's this artifact, a golden mask of the Moon King. O, o, I like this. Uhuh knew you would suspected to be off the mainland in areas like Mcinos. So Sophie with the backing of this Harold Latterateragu in finance and tech goes to find it John, can you please just get the story out? then you can finish the breakfast In fact, can you stop drinking tea in boiling hot Greek weather? So she goes Spanish. Not seen since. Nope. How long? Three weeks. Wow, that's crazy. It is. But here is the really, really crazy bit. What? Georgios tells us he was visiting his parents just outside of Athens last week. Yeah. He gets an email from a potential client. Georgios is a freelance Epigraufferiger freelance epigrapher onsultancy type guy. The client is in Athens says he's got a project he'd like to use him for. Milas goes, great. And he heads out to meet this guy at a bar in Athens He's talked on the email about a very large payment, which is great of course, but also a stake in the item, should it be discovered He's very much laid the groundwork to get me there. Money is no issue I eventually get to the bar He's not there Wait a while Nothing. I ask staff Nothing again, but As I come out this voice, Hey, Mas It's coming from this big black BNW I go over. The guy is talking through a slit in the glass I can just about see his eyes. He says there's this big breakthrough on his dig and I should come right away in all this and he passes five thousand euros out of the window of the car. just like that, says the finding in the landsale post excavation will make him Millions I L, I stupidly get in the car. It's shooting along before I've even put my seatbelt on There is a man next to me sunglasses, bearded Before I know what's going on There is an eye mask, like from a flight over my eyes, they say it's insurance for them that I don't locate their dig, their discoveries and sell them out. My heart is is really going by this point. And I can tell by the traffic noise I'm being taken out of Athens. It's not long until I hear the ocean And they moveved me from the car to a boat They don't talk. And if they do, it's vague. It's about football or parties or girls. Nothing that helps me determine landmarks or direction The boat journey must have been Over an hour It could have even been too. I was allowed a sick bucket. They didn't trust me to lean over the side and vomit in the sea in case I made a break for it. I don't know. I tried. Of course I tried to work out what direction we were headed, due to the location of Athens almost entirely south But there was a turn leftward, so possibly eastward and a change of wind. thirty minutes after that, we're on land I try my best, but no I can smell nothing, no industry as such I can feel just sand and rock beneath my feet can't make a determination on anything, but But there was a creacaking of wood, thick old wood. No metals or mechanisms as such Before I had a chance to kind of process that, I was back in another vehicle I know we took a straight road for some time then, two left turnons After that, A long winding road that climbed terrain that I'm absolutely certain of. It was weaving, but we were gaining altitude. I could feel the pressure in my ears. All movement seemed to be following this road But then a very deliberate r, which shifted into a much more uneven road And then this very slow final right turn We pulled up in a very thick, sharp gravel and they walked me across it Door open I was in a building This mask came off and the door closed This is when I met. man I believe to be Harold Latmar Oh, he was there in the secret house. Yeah. And John, come. I'm filling Mariana in. It would seem you're filling your own face in. Sorry, this is called breakfast. everyverybody does it. Mariana. wouldould you like to see the Greek Islands? I would. And what about Athens itself? Oh, totally. Then you can escort Georgios Milas home He must go by ferry in two hours, but I would not like him to go alone. Then Mcroft? Going with Mcroft would be even worse than going alone. Risk askks John here. He's right. Guns, gangsters? But I get to see Athens and come back here. And I don't have to go with you to snooping around some creepy house in the middle of nowhere That's right. Cool Would you like to search for a missing woman or would you like more bacon? Num The woman thing So this happened to Milas a couple of days ago and Sophie was taken three weeks ago. Yes, all rather recent. Time is pressing Is this the old town? Is it all up there? Indeed. loveoly place Really nice. a few cafes along there. I just said time was pressing. I'm not saying we go and have a bloody coffee in butcklver, I'm just pointing out there's an attractive place. No time, Watson. Sake. We must trace the movements that Milas was able to give us. He said himself they were vague. They were detailed enough, thank you. He doesn't know for a fact it's Mykonos, does he? He woke up in Athens, didn't he? Well he came back here for a Mcroft or because he was certain he was taken out to this island. The man can interpret many things, as Watson the right set of components to guide his well trained mind He knew of Sophie, and he knew albeit vaguely of Latimer. We have only his blind recollections, and if that's where we must begin our case, then so be it So I take it you're getting us to where you think his boat from Athens came ashore in the middle of the night last week. That's exactly right. The islands of Tinos and Andros sit to the northwest of Mykonos. They directly obstruct any northern approach to do such a thing would require a longer journey or to circle this island at a much slower speed s not something that Milas mentioned, so we know the northern half of the island is not where they terminated their journey Giorgos did however mention a change of wind and possibly direction. The discernible wind change was not in fact, a shift in the weather pattern, but actually the island of Cyirros. They turned eastward and the hilly outcrop of Cyus blocked that southern wind. From that, straight shot to the west coast of Mykonos, right where we are now I'm pleased. sure, but he said the man escorted and gave nothing away. He couldn't smell anything distinctive nor feel anything under his feet that could help him come up with any idea of where he was. There was a clue, actually. Yeah. The groan and creaking of thick old wood. Boat, I would expect, the boat he was on He said it was a mix of aluminium and fiberglass composites. It had a powerful motor. He was seasick No It was a modern vessel, Watson. And what's the old wood m? It's four hundred year old wood, and it's not Greek, it's Venetian. Well, at least in craft, perhaps not origin. That's extremely specific. Yes. You look absolutely certain of this, how come? Well, if you stop looking at me and look to the left, you will see Windmills Kate two Milli The windmills of Mykonos. sixteenth century Venetian wheat grinding marbvels. And our first clue. Look, there's the straight road. Then we follow it. In this heat. You want to walk all the way along that? Oh no, not at all. And what stomach. I'm holding it so I don't fall off and die. Thank you very much I feel sick. It's because you are bloated after an enormous breakfast. We pay for a room with breakfast. I'm gonna nibble at some toast and have a sip of orange juice, am I? It's not an obligation. You just need to not get so excited about food and being cheap out day. You know what That's right, If you want to break the bed by going over ps and tracks of the road, you're only hurard in your own deposit. No ye good point. when' my there? Fast one is coming up, I'd say. The high ground is to the north. George're sp climbing in altitude and yes, there is left Nber one Y and left turn complete And I'd say the next one would most likely be a fork in the road. Judging by the landscaake we need to orientate ourselves towards. Yeah, probably more of a veering to the left. The sharp left will take us back down. Yes, Forgivable from Georgeios Blindbolded, seizing and very tired. I think I can see yeah up their heads. You see that? The rope foralls and yes, look, the one on the left begins to rise towards the hills. Okay, here we go veering left onto the dodgy winding roads. C can't believe you wanted to walk this. No I didn't. Yeah, you did. didn't you? Why would I putook them over high I was walking. Now, why would you keep an older brother secret for over two years? That's the real question, mate, isn't it? I knew this come up would come up like it's some minor inconvenience. L you didn't do the washing up or something. Which you always nag me about anyway. Yeah, but this is bigger, isn't it? Is it? You know it is It had this smell to it. I can't quite placease what it was. somethinghing inorganic. something something new, I think The man called himself Sam, but he resembled what Sophie had told me of Latimer. Sam. It was almost like he thought it up on the spot. I tried to be kind and naive with my eyes, but I couldn't help when they would burn into his with suspicion Anger I concluded the best I could do was do the work he wanted and get back to the authorities. Load of bloody help they'd been. I noticed he had three men working for him. One was armed, big, formidable. The other had an English accent like Sam. He was much more stick over carrot when it came to my treatment. Let me tell you that. Then there was a final man, rake thin. his black overalls dangled off his body, this thick tape on his mouth, dried blood in his nostrils, really gruesome energy to this entity I didn't meet his eyes because were so horrifying to look upon emmaciated, bleak and terrified rolling around in their sockets as if there was some powerful intoxication in his system. The Sam fellow pushed this paper thin man to one side and I heard his body thud against the wall. And hoo We carried on down this tight hallway This man I suspected to be Latimer, this Sam, just talking near total nonsense, just irrelevancies over and over again Until he walked me down some steps. It felt at first like a basement until the air got cooler and cooler and cooler. I could smell dirt And Within seconds, I could feel it under my shoes He finally stopped talking and walked me to a cut in this dirt trench under the house. No foundations. just earth. There were industrial spotlights all pointed at this rock right in the center He said that he required my services to understand the ancient cipher that stood before them He would triple the fee, he said. said I hadn't named a fee, and he said that I could pick any number and he'd triple it I looked at the stone Observe. The sharp gravel, Watson. Yes, Mates no cars parked up. No cars, but we do have our house. Yes. Weird place for a house. Walk where goats refuse. The sharp rocks. This is like an ancient quarry. Maybe there's vegetation. I thought goats could eat anything. Not this. What is it? Mandragora, a fishionara It's native to the Mediterranean. Poisonous? Yes. known as Mandrake. The root can kill you. It's also a pungent sedative, can leave you very confused and delirious if consumed it would appear, somebody may have done just that It's been picked here and here. So we are where the goats refuse to tread. Yes. Wh the sky breaks the sea. The sky breaks the sea There's no vegetation. Be of like the sea spray, the salts, it's dried out. Yes Find the stone that swallows the dying sun. We have a lot of stones And a house? The house sits low in this landscape The dying Son is a setting sun which comes down over there so the light that is first swallowed J sit there On the house A house in a pretty rugged old quarry And of. Fairly small house for a guy that has all this money. Perhaps it is larger on the inside. Well, let's go find out, eh I saw the etchings and words on its surface and I knew. Straight away what it was. It was his writings Writings Of the Moon King. Hey, the door It's open I can have a qu move. You see someone? Do not move? What is it Blood Don. Blood dirt collected in my throat I let out a cough in just a single second after that. I heard her scream