30 September 2012

CoC - Gaslight: A Strange Meeting

After receiving the metal figurine we immediately went of to see Mr Roquefort's friend, whose name was Emily.

We arrived at a tall building which had served as an observatory in previous times. The first curious thing I noticed was the door-knocker which hat the form of a cat's head. Mr Roquefort knocked and a few moments later an intimidatingly large, bearded Arab opened the door and bade us in. He led us upstairs to the top of the tower to a curtain and told us to walk right in. We did.

I don't know what I had expected but certainly not this. A very old, blind, white-haired woman was sitting on a large cushion smoking a sheesha. I was unable to guess her age. But she was certainly old enough to be Mr Roquefort's mother. But they had definitely no family relation. The room itself was circular and must have been the observation room. Models of the planets were hanging from the ceiling and a lot of rather strange objects and apparatuses were standing all over the room. I also noticed some cats strolling around.

As we walked in she greeted us both first Mr Roquefort and then me. And she knew my name and judging by her manners maybe more about me. I was slightly taken aback by this. Where did she get this knowledge? My companion couldn't have told her about me before. At least I wouldn't know how.

After the exchange of the usual pleasantries on catching up with someone one hasn't seen in a while, she wanted to know about his business in Egypt. He told her about the events of the last weeks. And as he mentioned the "Fire of Ra" her face and voice became very serious.

She told us that the Ibis-Dagger could be a potent weapon for us but if used improperly could be the ruin of the one wielding it. She asked me explicitly about my motives concerning the "The Book of Secrets". I told her, I had no desire at all to possess such knowledge and that my main concern was the safe return of Sir Thomas Kincaid to his family. She looked at me with a penetrating stare as if to penetrate into my mind to see if I was being honest.

She was obviously convinced of my motives and continued to tell us that the "Fire of Ra" is capable of storing a vast amount of energy which could be used for good or evil. But ultimately the knowledge in the "Book of Toth", as it was also called,  was not meant to be discovered by any man. She made as vow to destroy the Book, if we ever came to possess it. We both agreed without hesitation. At that moment I realised that this whole affair could be more serious than I had imagined.

She knew a lot about the history of the Book and shared it with us. It was supposed to be hidden in a place called "Toth's Shadow". Nobody knew exactly where it was. Its location was estimated a trip of five days and five nights distant of the "House of Toth". Legend has it that a man called Meheret had once found "Toth's Shadow", and his heirs were looking for the Book. She advised us to start our search at Hermopolis Magna.

Before had left she gave us a vague warning about some danger from the inside. This was not really helping my mood, as we were already suspecting Dr Laydon and the Egyptian League of using us to their own benefit.

We then bade our farewell and left the room. We were both deeply in thought after these informations and dreadful warnings. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, we became suddenly very alert. On the threshold lay the corpse of the large Arab. We heard the flapping of wings and Mr Roquefort was instantly very agitated. I myself was to shocked to do anything for a few moments. Mr Roquefort pushed his revolver into my hands and told me to stand guard at the door. He was running upstairs before I could utter a single word of protest. Finding myself in this unfamiliar situation, I assessed my surroundings.

It was very dark outside and the entrance was lit by several oil-lamps. I suddenly realised that I was quite a target and rushed to put out the lights. Standing guard as had been rudely suggested by Mr Roquefort, I faintly heard him call from upstairs. I shut the door and ran upstairs. I entered the room just in time to dodge a knife that was thrown at me. Without thinking I aimed at the attacker and pulled the trigger. I had never been a very good shot, but I got lucky. He fell backwards and didn't move at all.

After recovering from this shock of actually having taken another human being's life, I looked around and saw Mr Roquefort engaged in hand-to-hand combat with a second assailant. Before I could act he took his knife to the attacker's neck and slit it open. Up until this moment I had never thought of him being capable of such grim behaviour.

But the strangest thing in this whole struggle had been Emely's behaviour during the fight. She had been sitting absolutely still, as if she had known that things were going to happen the way they did. Afterwards she only rushed us to go and not to forget what she had told us. We did as she had asked.

As I looked back at her a last time, I saw lots of cats emerging from the dark corners of the room and starting to feast on the dead bodies of the attackers.

21 September 2012

CoC - Gaslight: Ah, Egypt!

We arrived at Alexandria on the 1 December 1890. It was a glorious day and the wind carried with it the first scents of the exotic country we were about to enter. As I disembarked I was immediately fascinated by the smells, the people, and the atmosphere. A few hours later we were to board our train to Cairo. So there was no time to explore the town.

In the evening we entered Cairo and were brought to our accommodations in the Shepheard's Hotel. We were all tired from the journey. Hence we all went to our rooms and retired for the night.

The Shepheard's Hotel (1880)
The next morning we all met for breakfast. Even Dr. Burnside was in an agreeable mood. I guess to have had the opportunity to share his pain with us without being judged had taken a big weight of his shoulders.

We knew we had only one short day in this city, so we accepted Mr Roquefort's proposal to show us a little bit of this amazing place. But he had some urgent business to attend to that morning. So we agreed to meet at 3 pm.

I took the opportunity to walk around a little bit in the near vicinity of the hotel. And I started to like the surroundings. If Cairo has one major flaw, it is its climate. The heat and the absence of even a slight breeze was nearly intolerable. I guess you had to grow up with it, to really get used to it. Nearing noon, I fled the heat and went back to the hotel where I met Sir Jeffrey, who suffered in the same way as I was. We exchanged pleasantries about the weather and the city and distracted ourself with a game of Cribbage. Afterwards I left for my room to change and get ready for our private tour of Cairo.

It is no secret that I sometimes cannot agree with how Mr Roquefort behaves or handles matters. But I have to admit, he showed us parts of Cairo which not many Europeans will ever see. Most of the time we were the only non-Egyptians in the streets. He provided us with very useful insides like not to drink the water but to drink peppermint tea instead. The reason being that the water would almost certainly make you sick. Also warm tea should be better to quench one's thirst in this heat. It took a while getting used to it, but he was absolutely right. For the conclusion of our tour he brought us to the local equivalent of a café. There we had some coffee which is called Mocca here and comes in a rather small cup. But it had to because it was pretty strong stuff. Afterwards my transpiration increased and I felt my heart pounding in my chest. But overall it was not an unpleasant experience. Then he ordered something called a Sheesha. It is some strange smoking-apparatus, where the tobacco-fumes are bubbling through water before they get inhaled through a long tube. I had never been the smoking before, but I gave it a try. It was not particularly bad but I guess I am just not the smoking type.

We had a vivid discussion about our situation, and who we could trust. Dr Burnside pointed us to the fact that Inspector Fox seems to be rather attached to his bag. I don't remember how brought it up, but in the end we all suspected he might carry the Ibis-dagger with him which was used to kill Higgins, the butler. We also agreed that if push came to shove Fox might be the only person on this whole expedition, who would not be working against us. Unluckily he appeared more and more exhausted during the journey.

Our - in hindsight - rather paranoid conversation was interrupted by a young boy who delivered a small metal figurine of a cat to Mr Roquefort. He was rather upset about seeing it and told us that an old lady-friend of his must be in trouble, and that he had to meet her immediately. Since Mr Roquefort couldn't tell how long this would take, Dr Burnside didn't want to come along. He pointed out he had to attend to Inspector Fox this night, because he had had serious trouble sleeping because of some rather strange dreams. Hence only I accompanied Mr Roquefort to his friend. What I heard and saw there, I will never forget in my life.

11 September 2012

CoC - Gaslight: Towards Egypt

The remaining days before our departure were rather event-less. Craig attended to most of the necessary preparations for us. I spent my time mostly at the club more or less enjoying the quiet.

On 20 November 1890 we boarded the steamer Rule Britannia. I was rather surprised to see that inspector Fox was also joining the expedition. Maybe it was to keep an eye on us or some kind of punishment by his superior.

Anyway the journey was a very quiet one until we entered the Bay of Biscay. There we were hit by a heavy storm. This resulted in the tragic death of two seamen. And the ship was so damaged that we had to make an unplanned stop in Gibraltar for necessary repairs. These would take two days.

I took this opportunity to get something of my chest which bothered me since my conversation with Sir Theodore Huntington. I couldn't get the rumours about Dr. Burnside out of my head. And the quiet time at sea had given me a lot of time to ponder about this. On the first afternoon I picked up the courage to talk to Dr. Burnside.

I told him about the gossip that was brought to my attention, and that I had to hear his side of it. I made clear that I do not easily believe such things, but that this was too serious an accusation to ignore. At first he was quiet uneasy about my direct approach. But I thought I saw a hint of relieve as he agreed to tell me about, what happened, but that he wanted to also invite Mr Roquefort lest he couldn't bear to tell this twice. I agreed and we three met later that afternoon in a little café.

There he told us about the pregnancy of his wife. Nearing the end of her term she suffered a severe haemorrhage. He had been unable to save her life. There had been nothing left to do but to fulfil her last wish to save the child. But his child had outlived its mother by only a few hours. I have never before seen a man so heartbroken. At the same time he showed some kind of relieve as if a heavy weight was lifted of his shoulders. He excused himself and retired for the rest of our stay in Gibraltar. Understandably, Mr Roquefort and I were in not in the mood for any kind of conversation. So we also went our separate ways for the remainder of our time ashore.

For me the remainder of the journey went by in some kind of blur. I was thinking about the trust which was put in me by Dr. Burnside to share his darkest memory with me, a young man he had known only for a couple of weeks.

The first thing I clearly remember was our arrival at Alexandria.

09 September 2012

CoC - Gaslight: My Last Days in London

I arrived on time at the Egyptian League's House. As did the other two co-investigators. We were ushered in and led through a rather pompous hallway to a room where we were greeted by Sir Jeffrey Hull. He revealed to us that he is also a member of the League. This came as a surprise to us. Amongst other things he told us that an expedition to Egypt was prepared by the League scheduled to start seven days later. He asked us, if we would consider joining in. After a short deliberation we agreed to join. To our surprise Thomas Roquefort was appointed as the scientific leader. He was puzzled by this honour but accepted.

Then Sir Jeffrey introduced us to a Captain Haydon of the 19th Husars who should ensure our safety during our travels through the desert. He looked very keen and was certainly cut out for a career in the military. I disliked him on the spot. And not only because he was military.

After a few pleasantries we concluded our meeting and Sir Jeffrey led us out. On our way down the hall Mr. Roquefort noticed an open door and took a look inside. We followed him. The room was a lecture theatre which was dominated by a replica of Cleopatra's Needle. Mr. Roquefort seemed a little bit disturbed by the room or something in it. He inspected it closely and talked about the obelisk with Sir Jeffrey. After they had finished their small detour, we went out and bid our farewell until the start of the expedition.

I went back to the club hoping Dr. Laydon might be there this evening. This would be the easiest way to start my little surveillance.

And I got lucky. At the time I arrived he was having lunch. We greeted each other and he continued eating while I sat down to have a glass of sherry. After finishing his meal Dr. Laydon came to me to have a little talk.

He seemed genuinely concerned about the recent events. Especially Mrs Kincaid's involvement was troubling him. I assured him of my resolve to do everything in my power to end this madness as he called it. I also told him about my trust in the discretion of my companions. He seemed not entirely sure regarding Dr. Burnside. Which I found a little strange. Something had to have happened between them in the past. I couldn't believe he would give credit to the rumours about Dr. Burnside. But this shouldn't be any concern of mine. Over all, he made the impression of a broken man with something heavy on his conscience.

After he had left, I followed him to his house and waited, if something would happen. And as expected a black coach arrived after a short wile. While the driver was inside the house I hid on the rear foot-board and waited for them to drive to their destination. To cut a long story short, he was driven to a country estate where he was obviously attending to a sick nobleman. So this whole venture was for nothing.

So after our return to London I went home. After a good night's sleep I started my preparations for my departure to Egypt.

No change on the outside

Don't panic. I haven't forgotten about the butterfly. I just haven't got around to post the pictures. Although, there is no visible change. According to various sources the metamorphosis should take two to four weeks. Due to the colder temperatures at the moment my estimate is on the longer duration. Here are the photos of the last few days.

5th September


8th September

04 September 2012

todays update

A new photo of the pupa. it seems to be a little bit darker now.

03 September 2012

State of the pupa


Over night the pupa has fully developed. And there were no significant changes till this afternoon. As I took it out it wiggled a little I don't know if this was a defensive reaction to the movement of the stick. But I guess so. Letting the light shine through it is clearly visible that the top is almost empty at the moment.

02 September 2012

Back to our main programme


Two new photos I took today. The first one is from this morning the second from this evening. The changes in colour and form are subtle but visible.

intermission - SQUIRREL!

In the botanic gardens in Hamburg my first officer spotted this squirrel. It was clearly upset about us being there.

01 September 2012

Ch-ch-ch-changes

This afternoon it had turned around and and buckled up. It found its final position. The first changes are clearly visible. This is exciting because I have never witnessed this process. O cause, I have seen this in documentaries before. But it is a quite different experience to see it first hand and in its real speed.

time to grow up

Yesterday evening the caterpillar had finished the big leaf. This is what was left of it.


The little bugger was desperately searching for a place to metamorphosise. It didn't like the horizontal stick I had put into the jar. So I added a horizontal twig with leafs and a put in a stick at a steep angle. The caterpillar took the latter option. This is how it looked like this morning.


30 August 2012

And back on top

My caterpillar is back on the upper leaf. I guess the other one was simply to small for a decent meal. Hence I will give it a new bigger leaf tomorrow. I hope the few green leaves still available will be enough.

29 August 2012

Alive and munching

One leaf was nearly gone, so I replaced it with a fresh one. I could position it only beneath the big one. And what do you know, the caterpillar obviously likes to hide. It snug in-between the two leaves. In the picture I folded back the top one. The fact that it's eating is a good sing. :-)
Bottoms up!


28 August 2012

Butterfly-Experiment

I have some withering monks cress on my balcony. I just didn't have the time to get rid of it jet. And I was really surprised to find some caterpillars grasing on it. A quick research revealed the species: Gonepteryx rhamni (Common Brimstone). I decided to get one of them and put it in an open jar with some leaves and a twig where it could build its chrysalis. Now I am waiting for it to happen. This is how it looks like today. It is approximately 5 cm long.
And here a picture of the jar itself.



09 June 2012

CoC - Gaslight: Flow of Information

It is Thursday the 13 November eight o'clock in the morning, and I was just getting up to have a quiet morning starting with a prolonged breakfast as Craig, my loyal manservant, announced two men from Scotland Yard requesting me to accompany them to the Yard for an unscheduled meeting. This was to commence at nine o'clock. So much for breakfast.  I had just enough time to get properly dressed and grab a sandwich for the way.

After having arrived at the Yard, I was - to my surprise - guided to the top floor of the building, where I was lead into an office where most of the so far involved persons were gathered. Lady Kincayd was obviously not attending this meeting. At first I was relived that she had decided to let us handle the investigations, since this is not a suitable  matter for a Lady to be involved in. I was so painfully wrong.

I also noticed a shamefully heavy man standing behind a desk looking out of the window which I didn't know. He was clearly the proprietor of this office. Sir Jeffrey Hull introduced him to us as commander Leslie Devine the head of the homicide department. We were also introduced to him. First Dr. Burnside, second Mr. Roquefort, and my last. I had to calm myself at the insult being introduced after a bloody Yankee.

Inspector Fox revealed to us that there was a fourth murder in the East End the night before. And if this wasn't bad enough, Lady Kincayd accompanied by Dr. Burnside, as well as Inspector Fox and some other Policemen were in the East End at that time following some leads. Made aware of this I was unable to remain calm. I regarded as highly inappropriate for a Lady to be at the East End any time, but especially at night. She was seriously injured in the events. I was shocked, to put it mildly, that Dr. Burnside could act so irresponsible taking her to this place. I was assured there had been no force on earth that could have stopped her from going there short of locking her in a deep cellar. It was not really calming me down, but I had no reason to doubt this statement. One important detail of the events that night was the involvement of a black coach with four horses. At that moment I knew Dr. Laydon was holding back something.

Mr. Roqueford reported his findings concerning the work of Dümmichen, which he had told me already at the Club. But hearing it a second time helped me remember some more details. The Toth cult was supposed to have possessed a book called "The Book of Secrets" which contained details about something called the "Fire of Ra". Also some Roman sources had mentioned a mysterious energy source which could be interpreted as the "Fire of Ra".

Dr. Laydon - after being assured by Lord Hull it was all right - told us about the real state of healt of the duke. He was abusing alcohol and addicted to opiates. (my thoughts at that moment)
This corresponded to what I had read in his journal when I was "visiting" his house. So at least in this matter he is telling the truth. But if he could never the less have been involved in this.
We were all slightly outraged that this could have happened at all. But Dr. Laydon assured us that there was nothing he could have done to prevent this.

After the meeting I asked Sir Jeffrey and me co-investigators for a word in private. There I revealed that I had seen someone arriving at Dr. Laydon's house in a coach similar to the one seen at the last murder. And I expressed my deep concern about Dr. Laydon's honesty. All agreed to this conclusion. Everyone had his doubts about him. Not the least due to the fact that he had survived Sir Thomas' abduction. So we decided it would be best to put the good doctor under discreet surveillance. I volunteered for this task because my flat was in the same district as Dr. Laydon's house. So it would be far less suspicious if I would have been seen by him in contrast to the other two or even a policeman.

It was late in the morning and so I decided to go to the club for an early lunch. The door was opened by an impressively tall man who introduced himself as Arthur the new butler. His manners were excellent and I think he will be able to fill the gap left by the untimely death of Higgins.

I ate my lunch with more hunger than pleasure. Not that the food was in any way bad. But without having had a decent breakfast, I ate for sustenance not for enjoyment.

As I was drinking my cognac afterwards Sir Theodore Huntington, my friendly adversary, challenged my to a break of snooker. I accepted and we bet the usual price. He always had a good technique. Admittedly slightly better than mine. But his impatience was always his weak spot. This time I was again able to engage him in a series if safeties. And as usual he tried to soon to end this by potting a difficult red. This failed and opened the table for my to victory. During the game he tried mentioned my strange choice of company the last days. I thought he was talking about Mr. Roqueford, but he meant Dr. Burnside. I was stunned for a moment and demanded to know what he meant.

He told me that Dr. Burnsinde had supposedly killed his wife and child a few years ago or at least contributed to their death by irresponsible behaviour. And that that was the reason for his long absence. I couldn't belief this horrible story and demanded from him to state his sources. He said that "everybody" knew about this. Not being satisfied by this evasive answer I insisted of him to state the real source. He than revealed that some former servants of Dr. Burnside were the source of this "knowledge". I stated my opinion about the reliability of servants who dare to gossip about their employers. Hence I wouldn't take this rumours at face value, but I thought I would have to have a private conversation with Dr. Burnside about this. And I guessed i would have to tell him on this occasion about my night-time endeavours.

Afterwards we went back to the fireplace room. And I started to read the available literature about Egypt. The service provided by Arthur was as expected. He was polite, considerate and definitely a good choice. during the afternoon he brought my a note. At first I was startled by the memories of the recent events which had started with a similar note. But I quickly regained my composure and read it. It was an invitation by Sir Jeffrey Hull to the Egyptian League for five o'clock this afternoon. Again a very short notice. I really did not appreciate this. But I guessed this was the only way this whole affair could be solved.

So I went back home to get properly dressed for this occasion and arrived at the Egyptian League a minute before five.

13 May 2012

CoC - Gaslight: A Walk in the Night

After this very strange audience I was really troubled by what I had witnessed. Hence I was not able to get any sleep. Therefore I decided to do something useful. I took a walk in the misty November night. Around midnight I arrived at the house of Dr. Laydon.

To read what had happened there please click here. (This is not yet meant for player's eyes)

As I knew from yesterday's observation, the house's servant's entrance in the back could not be seen from the street. So I made sure the street were empty and went around the house. The lock gave me some unexpected trouble. After a lengthy but futile attempt of picking it I was for a moment afraid that I had lost my touch. But I soon realised that I had selected a lock-pick which was a wee bit too small. With the right-sized tool I had no trouble of opening the lock.

Inside it was dark and quiet. I silently made my way to the main entrance hall. I expected Dr. Laydon's office to be in on of the adjacent rooms. And I was right. I found the filing cupboard with the medical journals of all his patients. A took out the Prince's records and began browsing through it. My main concern was to be able to identify it as the genuine record, if Dr. Laydon would show them to us. I also memorized the most important diagnoses. There was written something about opiate abuse, malfunction of spleen and liver, and gout.

Being satisfied with my discoveries I put everything back in place and left. And then I became a little bit careless. Because on my way back to the back-door I stepped on a loose floorboard, which produced a very audible squeak. I froze in place and waited two tense minutes, if someone might have noticed it. But I was in luck. The house was still silent. Taking more care not to make any further noise I walked out and locked the door behind me.

As I was about to leave for good a black coach with four horses appeared and stopped in front of the house. After a man had stepped out of the passenger compartment and had gone into the house it left. A few minutes later a window on the first floor lit up. The light stayed on for about thirty minutes. I suspected this person to be Dr. Laydon. But unfortunately I have not been able to identify the person or the coach driver in the misty dark.

Getting rather tired I left and went home.

The next day was uneventful for a change, since me co-investigators had to attend to some research of their own, in which I would have been not much use at all. Dr. Burnside wanted to have a closer look at the latest victim which I had no desire to observe. And Mr. Roquefort wanted to consult someone, who could translate the books of the German archaeologist.

So I spent a quiet day at the Club. In the evening I was joined by Mr. Roquefort who told me about his discoveries. I have to admit, I understood not half of it. It was mainly about an ancient Egyptian cult which worshipped Thot who was seen by them as the adversary to Ra. One curious detail of his findings was that in the close vicinity of one of their temples Dümmichen (the German archaeologist) had discovered the remains of two human bodies. The gear that had been found with them, was identified as that of soldiers of Napoleon's army. Neither Dümmichen then nor Mr. Roquefort now had any idea why they should have been there in the first place. It is well known that Napoleon invaded Egypt, but this soldiers had no apparent reason to go to this place.

This night I went home early. I was really tired from the recent events and was hoping for a long undisturbed sleep. But this was once again spoiled ...

06 April 2012

Coc - Gaslight: Unexpected

11th November 1890
After the discussion Dr. Burnside decided to take a closer look at the body of the last victim. Mr. Roquefort wanted to have a look at his private library to see, if he could find out more about the phrase on the knife. I had nothing urgent to do and decided to offer the little help I could be in this task. I had no Idea research was so tedious. Now I know for certain that I will never pursue any kind of academic work. The research itself was not fruitful at all. Neither Mr. Roquefort nor I did find anything useful. For me it was rather frustrating. All this professional gibberish was barely comprehensible for me. After a tiresome two hours I decided to look for something relaxing in the fiction part of his library. There was a very fine collection of adventure novels.

Mr. Roquefort had no better luck than I had. So he decided to try the Library at the British Museum. Because of my lack in research skills I excused myself from this task; and we agreed to meet for dinner at the Club to put together his findings with the results of Dr. Burnside's examination. I went to lunch and took a walk through the streets of Mayfair. At early afternoon I arrived in my flat, where a letter of my dear sister Serena was waiting for me.

She wrote me of the inevitable visit that Scotland Yard had paid my parents. The Earl was not amused, as was expected. But my mother took it really hard. The problems she had with her heart were getting worse. Serena begged me, to stop with whatever I was doing in London. She even suggested for me to join the military. I, who could not shoot a fox on the hunt, in the army! In my response letter I told her of the events that had happened in the East End and promised her, that I would stop with my nightly adventures. What I didn't tell her was, that I was planning on entering Dr. Laydons home to have a look at the medical records of the Prince.

After writing a response it was time to get ready for dinner at the Club.

We met there at seven o'clock. And how did I miss Higgins! The girl was polite and made a great effort, but Higgins knew exactly what to bring at the right time. I didn't blame her. She had have no formal training in this matters and did the best she could. I did hope, they found a proper replacement soon. Then she could have returned to her original duties, which she had performed flawlessly, from what I had heard.

But back to the business at hand. Dr. Laydon reported on his findings, which confirmed his suspicion that the murderer knew exactly where to cut to get to the wanted organ. The whole task would have taken a trained man no longer than ten to fifteen minutes. Mr. Roquefort was looking into the works of a German archaeologer named Dümmichen, because he found his name while examining yesterday's crime scene. He was surprised to find out that Thomas Kincaid had read the exact same books shortly before his abduction. He was also surprised to find Catherine Kincaid at the library looking into the same matter. But in the end the books of Dümmichen weren't a big help, due to the fact that they were written in German, which no one of us understood.

Around eight o'clock we received a message. We were nearly startled. It was an invitation to an audience with the Prince at nine o'clock this very evening. I have to say, I was a little amused by the fact that I was the only one of us three, who was dressed appropriately for such occasion.

We arrived at St. James Palace at the appointed hour. A servant led us to the Prince. While going there I couldn't help but noticing the slightly dusty smell in the hallways. It gave me the impression of walking through a museum. And the sight as we reached the royal highness' reception hall was overwhelming. The whole room was filled with Egyptian artefacts, ranging from strange to beautiful. It was awe-inspiring. But as I saw the Prince himself, I was shocked, to say the least. He is not much older then myself, but he looked like a broken old man. We knew that he had health issues, but this was beyond our wildest imaginations.

He crouched on a sofa and was barely able to move. As we came closer we saw his haggard face and emaciated body. His hands were shaking with an uncontrollable tremor. This whole situation was really awkward for me. I was bereft of words. Fortunately, Dr. Burnside was able to lead the conversation. And also Mr. Roquefort regained his composure. But this view must have confused him, because he was addressing him as "Your Majesty", which is clearly inappropriate. But nobody made a fuzz about this. The situation was too serious.

I can't remember the details of the conversation for two reasons. First, I was rather tired after the short night I had. And second, at the end the strangest thing I had ever felt happened. After being given his medicine, he regained some strength, stood up and walked - as good as he could - in my direction. He fixated me with his eyes the whole way. Shortly before reaching me he stumbled and fell. I was just able to catch him. He was as light as a feather. He looked me straight into my eyes and for a moment I had the impression of looking deep into his soul. And his soul was like an abyss. And the abyss stared back at me and into my soul. This was a really unnerving feeling. Maybe the shock of seeing him so weak in combination with my weariness made my mind playing tricks on me. But maybe I was only rationalising this event not to lose my mind. With this event the audience was concluded and we were asked to leave.

I was expecting this hunt to be dangerous and exciting; but I definitely didn't expect something like this.

14 March 2012

Intermission

Unfortunately, there was no 7th Sea role-playing last Friday. Normally, we should play every fortnight. But with half of the players unavailable due to other engagements we had to call it off. I am eager to continue the adventures and hope, nothing will interfere with our next scheduled session. So, be patient; I have to be, too.

07 March 2012

Coc - Gaslight: Things, I did not need to know and did not want to do

On the next day, 11 November 1890 a few minutes to 9 am, I was on my way to Whitehall Place. Breakfast had been adequate, but a bit hasty. I arrived at New Scotland Yard on the first chimes of Big Ben. A constable led me to the designated meeting room. It took a while to get there, so, unfortunately, I entered a few minutes after the hour. But Inspector Fox gave me a look as if I had arrived half an hour late. I got the distinct feeling, he didn't like me.

Besides him, Dr. Burnside, Dr. Laydon, and Mr. Roquefort, also a Sir Jeffrey Hull, her majesty the queen's counsel, and Lady Catherine Kincaid were also attending this meeting. The later being the daughter of the missing Sir Thomas Kincaid. Seeing the queen's counsel here, gave me the impression, that there was a bit more going on, but a simple abduction. I could not have been more right.

First, Dr. Laydon gave his account on the events that had happened at the club yesterday. After going upstairs, the guest had shown Sir Thomas some documents, which had really upset him. Suddenly, four Arabic men had entered the room through the window and overpowered Sir Thomas and his guest. Two of these men had dragged these two out of the window and then had left with their price. The other two Arabs had stayed and the struggle had commenced, which had led the unfortunate killing of Higgins. This was in principle not new to me, except some of the details. But the news, which Inspector Fox and Sir Jeffrey revealed to us, were definitely troubling.

In the last few weeks there had been three murders in the East End. All three victims had been prostitutes. The modus operandi was the same every time. All three bodies had been cut open and an inner organ had been skilfully removed. Hearing the details made me rather indisposed. Maybe the hasty breakfast did its part in it. But nevertheless, I took my leave and left the room for a few minutes to catch some breath and regain my composure.

As I went back inside Dr. Burnside was still looking at photographs of the victims. The police suspected the murderer to be a professional like a butcher. But Dr. Burnside suggested, the murderer could as well be a medical practitioner. The mere thought of it appalled Dr. Laydon. And I had to silently agree with him. Why should a men who swore to save lives do such terrible things.

The other common finding at the places of the murders was even stranger. Crude drawings of the symbol for the Egyptian god Thot had been found on walls near the victims. This was the reason Scotland Yard consulted Sir Thomas Kincaid on these cases. Sir Thomas was well known to be an expert on Egyptian mythology. For the same reason the police suspected a connection of the murders to the "Egyptian League". Its goal is to collect and preserve Egyptian artefacts. Its chairman was none other than Prince Albert Victor the Duke of Clarence. This explained the involvement of Sir Jeffrey Hull, because it was important that the League and by this the Prince himself had to be cleared from any connection to this crimes as quickly as possible.

From Dr. Laydon's accounts on this matter it became clear that there was something wrong with the Prince, that could have had some significance for the case. Due to professional discretion he wouldn't tell as more. Sir Jeffrey offered to get an audience with the prince for Dr. Burnside, Mr. Roquefort and myself.

Up to this point it was all very interesting and, beside the sad nature of the crimes, a fascinating morning. But they really expected me to get personally involved in this. When I pointed out, that I was neither an expert on medicine nor on Egyptian mythology, and that I had nothing to offer for this investigation Inspector Fox took me aside on a word. (players might want to refrain from opening this part, not to spoil possible surprises in the game)


He told me, that he knew about my reputation due to nightly adventures and that my skills to this effect might be useful in the investigation. Oh, bugger! I knew this would backfire on me.

Life as a second son of a noble can be very dull. So, I was looking for some excitement in my life. Hence, I started to break into the homes of rich gentlemen to borrow one or two of their valuables. It was never about actually stealing anything. I always returned the goods as soon as the dust had settled. As I got gradually better at it, private homes began to lose their appeal. They were just too easy to get in. So I started breaking into museums. And last month the unthinkable happened: I got caught while looking for something worth borrowing in the British Museum.

My family was shocked and embarrassed. But due to my father's influence the incident was hushed up under the one condition, that I would refrain myself from doing anything like this again. They also advised me to leave London for a while. Until a few days earlier I hadn't decided to actually go somewhere. If I had only made up my mind earlier! Then I would not have been dragged into this murder business. But what had happened had happened.

He was very certain, I had something to contribute to this matters. So, I agreed to help in this investigation to the best of my abilities.

One last thing was discovered by Mr. Roquefort, as he took the dagger, with which Higgins was killed, under closer inspection. He discovered and deciphered some Hieroglyph inscription on the blade. It translated to "There is no peace on the other side of the gate." What ever that meant. He also told us, that the Hieroglyphs could also be regarded as the representation of syllables. In this case the translation would have been: "Ni har lat hotep". He knew he had heard or seen this phrase before, but he was not able to place it.

Because there was nothing more to discuss for the moment, our meeting was adjourned. We agreed to keep Inspector Fox and Sir Jeffrey informed of our findings, as well as Lady Cathrine. After all, it was her father that had been abducted.

I hoped this whole business would be as exciting as it sounded but not as dangerous as is could get. In the end, we were hunting a murderer.

05 March 2012

Game Master appreciation day

A day late, but none the less I'd like to thank all the great people out there, who spend hours after hours in developing worlds and adventures for us, the players. I am into role-playing since more than two decades now. And I know, I will be for many years to come, because there is this amazing species called game master.

I thank each and everyone of you. I will certainly never enjoy a gaming session with most you. But knowing, that everywhere I go, I can find a game master, who might be willing to have me as a player, is  awesome.

Role-playing is the one thing I did in school which I still do today. This would have been impossible without all the imaginative game masters I had - and still have - the honour to play with.

Thank you very much.

CoC - Gaslight: A Monday evening at the club

My name is Richard George Thomas Lumley I am 25 years of age and the second son of Aldred Frederick George Beresford Lumley, the 10th Earl of Scarbrough. Usually I don't do many exciting things. Most of the time I am attending the few family and official duties I have. But this all changed on Monday, 10 November 1890.

After another quiet day in London I went to the Albert's club at 8 pm as usual. On my arrival two other members I haven't seen in a while were also just arriving there. One was Dr. Jasper Burnside a medical practitioner. He was wearing mourning. Maybe whoever had died was the reason for his long absence. The other was Thomas Roquefort an archeologist. As usual he was dressed a little to casual for my taste. But I guess, if one is professionally concerned with places which are rarely spotless clean, making sure one's clothes are clean is more important then having every button in place. From his dark taint I suspect he had been in the more sunnier regions of the empire for the last year. I don't know them both that well, but from what I know they are both renowned experts in their respective fields.

The clubs butler Higgins relived me of my coat an hat and I went into the fireplace room. Sir Thomas Kincaid, a well-respected archeologist, and Dr. Mortimer Laydon, the royal family's personal physician, were sitting in armchairs near the fireplace. They were engaged in what looked like a very serious conversation. Minding my own business I sat down in an armchair at one of the windows. Higgins brought me my pipe, a glass of cherry, and the latest issue of the Times. Dr. Burside and Mr. Roquefort engaged themselves in a game of chess and a light conversation.

I could not really get myself to concentrate on the reading of the Times, because of the little incident last month. Except for the people involved nobody knows about it, but I think I will leave England for a while. But I haven't even begun to think about whence I should go. So I asked Higgins to bring me one book each about Egypt and India from the library. The book about India was very comprehensive concerning the country, its inhabitants, and the culture. But its style was a little dull. So I switched to the other book. While doing this, I saw Higgins deliver a message to Sir Thomas and Dr. Laydon. They seemed to have a visitor. They followed Higgins to the entrance room and form there upstairs; I guess to one of the secluded rooms.

After a while - I was really taken in by reading the fascinating book about the valley if kings in Egypt - I heard a curious noise from a room above. It sounded like metal on metal or something similar. But that was all. At least for the moment. Shortly afterwards I heard again the same kind of noise. But this time it was followed by a noise that sounded like something heavy hitting the floor. Slightly annoyed and also a little bit concerned about what was happening up there, I stood up to check what was going on upstairs. Dr. Burside and Mr. Roquefort also stood up, but they must have heard something else, because they where starting to run upstairs. Therefore they were ahead of me when I reached the first floor. What I beheld there was the most horrible sight I had seen in my life so far. The door of the room where the noise must have come from was ajar an I just saw Higgins with something sticking from his chest falling backwards like a tree. A black clad and hooded figure was leaning over him. But being disturbed by the arrival of Dr. Burside and Mr. Roquefort he cursed (I didn't understand his language, but from the sound of it had to be a curse) and vanished back into the room. Mr. Roquefort drew his revolver and ran into the room while Dr. Burnside attended to Higgins injuries. I myself went into the room next door in search for a weapon. Then I heard two shots from the other room.

I grabbed an old sabre from one of the walls and went out through the window to cut this hooded figure of. But I wasn't fast enough. He was already out of the other window, and down on the roof of the shed inside the courtyard below. I saw him jumping down to the ground and leaving through the side-gate. In hindsight I don't know why, but I jumped down on the shed's roof to follow him. Unfortunately, I missed the spot I was aiming for by a few inches. So, I stumbled on landing and went right over the edge. Fortunately I was able to grab hold of the edge. For a moment I was contemplating my situation and the stupidity of my actions. Going after a villain with an old weapon which I cannot wield in any efficient way. How wise is that?

Reaching the decision to let me fall the last two or three yards to the ground I was grabbed by my wrists from above. It was Mr. Roquefort who must have followed me. With his help I reached the ground safely and sprinted to the side-gate to look for the villain. But in the dense London fog I was unable to see, where he had gone. Mr. Roquefort, who had followed me, had no better luck. So we went back into the courtyard to look for a way back into the club. The only way would have been through the shed, were it not locked with a sturdy pad-lock. We went around the building to the main entrance. We were met there by a few constables of the police force. We were all requested to go into the fireplace room and stay there. Realizing the spoiled nature of my suit, I refused to comply. I let one of the constables deliver a message to my manservant Craig, requesting a clean suit. I waited in one of the secluded rooms for his arrival. An hour later he arrived and I a short while later I was dressed properly again.

I thanked Craig for his quick response at this late hour - it was way past 11 pm - and went at last into the fireplace room, where all the other people were already gathered. Dr. Burnside wasn't in the room, so I sat down with Mr. Roquefort to find out what else had happened upstairs.

The first sad news was that Higgins was dead. The club will never be the same again without him. He was stabbed to the heart with a curious looking dagger. It had a bronze haft with an ibis head as its pommel and a silver blade. On entering the room Mr. Roquefort had seen two hooded figures. One was leaving through the window, the other had shot at him, but had missed. He had returned the favour and had hit his target. The injury must have been minor, because this was the man I had seen moments later jumping down onto the shed. Also in the room they had found Dr. Laydon. He was lying on the floor, unconscious but not seriously injured. Sir Thomas was missing. On the table he and Dr. Burnside had found a small papyrus with a drawing of an ibis. Mr. Roquefort explained the significance of this symbol to me, but I have to admit it was a little bit to elaborate for me at this late hour and after this shocking events. The only thing I could memorize at the time was, that it was the depiction of the Egyptian god Thot, who is associated with wisdom an science.

After waiting for what felt like hours a sleazy looking man who introduced himself as inspector Fox of Scotland Yard began to take our evidence of the events of this evening. Afterwards he had the nerve to ask me to come to a gathering the next morning  at 9 am at New Scotland Yard on Whitehall Place. Dr. Burside and Mr. Roquefort were also invited. They seemed rather eager to attend. Which was perfectly understandable. Mr. Roquefort being an expert in Egyptian history and Dr. Burside making sure that his colleague - and for the moment patient - Dr. Laydon wouldn't over-strain himself. But I? I had no idea, what my contribution to this matter could be. But in the end being an upright citizen and gentleman, I had no choice but to comply and to find out the next morning.

So I went home in a cab not knowing what lay ahead of me.

28 February 2012

7th Sea: What to do, if faced with the inquisition


So, there we were running into eight henchmen of the inquisition abducting our "recommendation letter". Not to lose any time, we engaged them immediately.

Taigh drew his claymore and rammed the pommel in one of the dismounted minions dealing only marginal damage. But this must have made his target very aggravated because he returned the favour by causing three nasty wounds to his attacker. This must have been some kind of wake-up call for Taigh. He stopped fooling around and slashed his opponent with one clean cut. (One down, seven to go)

Don Pepitos started the fight by getting into a stance like a torero, rapier and cape ready for action. Not that the abductors were much more intelligent than bulls, but a behaviour like this could be regarded as an insult. It was most likely meant that way. Don Pepitos avoided the first attack by waving his cape in front of him thus confusing his assailant. In return he stabbed him, thus putting him out of action. (Two down, six to go)

Sebastién was attacked by one of the horsemen. But his weak strike only caused a minor scratch on his right forearm. He repaid this by sparing the man and striking with his knife at the horse instead. This wasn't a nice but very effective thing to do. The physical damage was negligible, but it made the horse rear up, rendering his former rider prone on the ground. With a well-directed strike Sebastién rendered him unconscious saving him for later questioning. (Three down, five to go)

Pjotr focussed on the coach. He ran to it and jumped onto the coach box. He attacked the drivers with his bare hands and little effect. The man riding shotgun attacked him with no luck at all.

The awakened Taigh took one swing at the remaining horseman and removed him from his horse and from the fight. (halftime)

Don Pepitos ran to the coach and jumped into the passenger cabin. This was now crowded with two inquisition minions struggling to hold and bind the major domus and a castille "torero". The latter took care of the minions with two skilled slashes. (Six down, two to go)

Meanwhile the driver spurred the horses and the coach started to move. This met the disapproval of Pjotr. So he relived the driver from his duties by pushing him of the box. He then took a slight hit from the remaining henchman and the reins in his hands. Remembering an "old trick" he had picked up somewhere, he pulled with all his strength at the left rein to stop the coach. Doing it like this wasn't exactly by the book but it did the job. Then he took care of the last man, who was really annoying him with his fruitless attacks. (all clear)

Sebastièn had just mounted one of the available horses to follow the coach, when the skirmish ended. So he dismounted and dragged his prize into the building and bound him to a pillar. The four victors now made sure, the major domus was unharmed and let him go to write the letter.

While he was gone they woke up their prisoner and started questioning him. As expected, he wasn't very cooperative. So Sebastièn started staring at him in a very unnerving way and stepped "accidentally" on his left hand. This made him talk like a waterfall. He told them that the inquisition is also searching for Professor Olivares, but that he didn't know why. Sebastién was not quite convinced that this was true, so he asked him, if he knew how the inquisition questions their prisoners. He said he did. Sebastièn then took his violin case and put in front of him stating, that it starts with the showing of the instruments and that he had brought some of his own. Seeing the panic in his interviewees eyes he opened it in a manner that the content was hidden from the henchman's view. This scared him to death and he swore on everything holy to him, he didn't know anything more. This convinced Sebastién and he shut the case.

The major domus on his return was instructed to keep him in a cellar providing food and water for as long as the money found on the minion would suffice. For the 20 guilders he had in his pocket this could be very long time.

The four companions now decided what would be the best way to travel to San Christobal. After some deliberation taking into account the Montaigne blockade of the Castille ports, they decided to travel along the eastern coastline of occupied Castille.

What will happen on this journey and if they will find Professor Olivares is yet unknown to them ...

24 February 2012

7th Sea: Strange Companions

The year is 1668. We are in San Augustin in south-east Castille and the Montaigne generals are still feeding soldiers into the meat-grinder at La Muralla al Ultimo.
The Montagnier Sebastién Moreaux was sent to the university of San Augustin because the spy network had heard rumors that a strange group of people are looking for professor Olivares. On arrival Sebastién found the university abandoned. Guessing the other people haven't allready been here he sat down in one of the courtyards and waited. To pass the time and because it helps him to think he was playing on his violine.

Around noon two Castillians appeared at the other end of the courtyard. By the looks of it they were a nobleman with his servant. After a short rest the servant began to unpack some tapas and wine for a short lunch. A few moments later another two strangers appeared. The instant Sebastién saw them he knew that they must be the men he was looking for. One was a very corpulent man with a large rucksack. Strapped to it were a lantern, a heavily furred blanket, and other gear obviously used for exploration. The other man was dressed in traditional clothes from the Highland Marshes. Hanging from his back was a large two-handed sword, obviously a claymore.

The explorer addressed the nobleman in Castille with a slight accent which revealed his nationality to be Ussuran. The mode of this conversation was a little strange. The Ussuran spoke with the nobleman in Castillian and relayed this conversation to his companion in Avalonian. After figuring out that this wasn't a very sensible thing to do they agreed to continue their conversation in Vendel, because this was the only language they all could understand. After exchanging the usual platitudes the Ussuran Explorer asked the noble, if he knew where everyone was. At this point the nobleman invited them to join him for his meal. Having noticed that Sebastièn had ceased playing he invited him to.

Over the course of the lunch they introduced themselves to each other and discussed their respective reasons to be at the university. Pjotr Ivanovich and Taigh McLennon were looking for professor Olivares to ask him for his help in interpreting some maps. The noble Don Pepitos and his servant Jorge were just resting in the shades after having concluded a personal matter in San Augustin. Sebastién pretended to have fled from conscription into the Montainge army.

Suddenly they heard a sound from the long gallery above. They called out to the person who was angry with himself to have been discovered. He was the Major Domus of the university tasked to take care of things until the return of the staff - whenever this should be. He explained that all but him were evacuated to San Christobal. This includes professor Olivares. He agreed to provide them with a letter of recommendation for the professor, so they will have no trouble gaining access to him.

Immediately after he was gone inside to write the letter the joined party heard the Major Domus' cry for help. They followed the noise to the outside of the building and saw a delegation of the Vatticine Church abducting the Major Domus. Two were trying to drag him into a coach, another two were sitting on the coach box. They were guarded by four riders, two of whom were dismounted to tie loose a horse that was, seeing his reaction, left there by Don Pepitos.

A fight started which will be depicted in the next post.

16 January 2012

Start of a new Life

It is not exactly my life that starts anew. It is the Life or Lifes of a bunch of new characters in my pen & paper fantasy roleplaying life. What the future will have in store for them, I do not know. Let's find out together.