1879: The Expendables

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LexiLiegh
Posts:60
Joined:Wed May 29, 2019 10:53 am
Re: 1879: The Expendables

Post by LexiLiegh » Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:51 am

Lord Bentley is so....drab? He let that scum go freely, after all that he did. Didn't even consider just leaving him tied up, he could free himself eventually. But my head hurts so I guess we'll just have to follow Bentley's lead.

Stop for a quick bite at a pub, strategize, and then off to the warehouse that the scum told us about. There were lights on, and wards on the windows. A couple tries and I figured out how to unravel one. Slip in with the heat lenses onto better see in the dark. One person in there, so I let Smythe know. He climbed in, pushed and followed quickly by Doctor McFly.


At that point the near hidden assailant decided we were enough of a threat and shot Smythe. It looked like a solid hit, but thankfully did not appear to even tickle my large friend.

I thumped the thing a couple times, then noticed Bentley went down. I scooped him to his feet, kissing his cheek chastely, and sent a surge of healing energy through him. Then a shot and the world went black. After a short while Dr. McFly was awkwardly shaking me calling me naked spell lady.

After that I made my way into the main storage of the warehouse to see the wolf sleeping in the middle of the area in a cage. He is a member of the House of Lords, right? I wonder if he is pervy council as well. Either way, I am certain Lord Sters would like me to ask for his support.
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Psitanium
Posts:39
Joined:Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:01 pm

Re: 1879: The Expendables - McFly's Journal

Post by Psitanium » Sun Jul 19, 2020 5:34 am

After waking up our main suspect, I intimidated the chap with my jars of bees. Also quite intimidating was the trolldier’s hand wrapped around his neck. Which was more effective? Who can really say. We made an agreement to let him go in exchange for information leading to his sister, the real target. As he faded off into the distance, I knew we had made a mistake. No one that good at smug expressions is trustworthy. These things take years of practice to perfect. It makes one wonder how many smug expressions he has had on his face before this encounter. Too many by my estimate.

Finally, we had gotten to the mad scientist sister’s lair. That very description should have made me like her, but I feared the likely outcome of this encounter would be someone shooting at me. As soon as spell lady had dispelled the ward on the window and our team had crawled into a den of scum and villainy, I realized I was right. Also confirming my suspicions was the point where I was shot... and it hurt profusely. Once the fight was in full swing, it appeared the mad science lady had fled the scene, leaving us to clean up her lackies. Having left my emotional support bees in the carriage, I was fresh out of offensive capabilities. The best I could muster is turning a ruler into a stun baton. As much fun as it was to build, the execution was less impressive. One of the unsuspecting minions left their back exposed while attacking the others. I took the opportunity to shove this ruler in his back, an opportunity I somehow wasted a total of three times. Why I cannot hit anything, even at close range, feels like a flaw in my military training, of which I have had none. True, we did still win the conflict, with more than a few close calls to speak of, but I was quite dismayed by my ruler. This shall be the part of this day I remember most. Oh, also there was a werewolf in a cage.

Psitanium
Posts:39
Joined:Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:01 pm

Re: 1879: The Expendables - McFly's Journal

Post by Psitanium » Thu Jul 23, 2020 8:28 pm

After scouring the offices for pens, I joined the others in the main room. While the mad scientist was gone, it appeared the back door was wide open. The photo hunter had run out in pursuit, while the trolldier and spell lady attended to the werewolf, which is the kind of thing we often say nowadays. Since I preferred to stay away from lycanthropes as a rule, I went out to the back alley as well and provided some moral support to the hunter in his pursuit. Alas, she was long gone. And so, we returned to search her makeshift laboratory. Trolldier handed me a set of receipts for chemicals, which is admittedly not my field of study. I tried to look impressive while perusing them, but had no information to give. So I handed them to spell lady who was more interested in this kind of thing. I took to searching the mad scientists desk in the meantime, only to find a vial of strange liquid. Avoiding the urge to smell, taste insert this vial, I collected it for evidence. This felt like the smart decision, but not the most interesting one. Also, I found one more pen. While the rest of the party felt the evidence pointed to vivisection to uncover the secrets of lycanthropy, I had another theory involving hair tonic.

We turned the werewolf, vial and receipts over to the lord, who was appreciative and also disturbed by the events we uncovered. He offered me a drink, which I abstained from, although I briefly considered giving some to my bees. They definitely deserved it for all the moral support. But I was also concerned that it might... what is the term... kill them. Although this obvious rich lord could have paid us handsomely, the others decided his thanks was reward enough. It was around this time I realized why I can never afford my giant robot scorpion.

Having completed our quest, the hunter dropped me off at Danger Zone, leaving me to my work of building a grand apiary for my attack bees. I could also replenish my greatly diminished pen supply, thankfully. I suppose I should start working on my field equipment for the next inevitable death trap of an adventure.

ChrisDDickey
Posts:1011
Joined:Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:02 pm

Re: 1879: The Expendables

Post by ChrisDDickey » Fri Jul 24, 2020 5:42 pm

Lord Bentleys journal entry concludes.

When I reached the back alley behind the warehouse, the back door was open, but there was no sign of the mad scientist. A small crowd of riff-raff had been attracted to the sound of gunfire in the warehouse. I asked the group at large which way the kidnapper (gesturing towards the open door) had gone, but none of them were in a civic-minded mood, and they all carefully avoided looking in any particular direction. I was unable to pick up any specific direction they were all avoiding, so I made the guess that instead of running past them, she had gone towards the alley that connects to the next street. With McFly following me I ran down that to the intersection but we failed to spot her, so returned. 

When we reentered the warehouse we saw Miss Withakay and Smyth in the wolf cage, the wolf was now awake and looking a bit better, but still blood-encrusted and near death. We spent quite some time making a thorough examination of the warehouse. Neither the riff-raff outside, nor the police intruded upon us, so we had plenty of time. I was particularly looking for any lab notes, or papers that would identify the mad scientist. We found some delivery papers listing this building as the shipping drop-off. The papers were for various supplies and chemicals. The person to accept the order was a "Monika Blac", a very obvious false name (or blank moniker if you will). The other thing of interest was a series of vials with numbers upon them. They did not look like blood or any other bodily fluid I am familiar with (and I have butchered my fair share of game), yet from the wounds upon poor Baron Maxwell, I strongly suspect that the vivisectionist was extracting things from various parts of his body. I collected the vials in the hope that they might be of some use to some scientist or doctor in determining the mad scientists methods and progress. Unfortunately, we were unable to find any lab notes whatsoever, or anything with the mad scientists real name. 

After the wolf had been treated and fell asleep again, we wrapped him in a blanket and carried him on a cot to my carriage, and took him to Baron Dormor's. The Baron put him in a guest room to sleep, and Miss Withakay volunteered to also stay over and continue giving the patent magical treatments in the morning. We told the Baron that we were at a temporary dead end, but that maybe the clues we had gathered (and which we gave him) might possibly reveal something or another. We provided what sort of description of the mad scientist we could and suggested he warn his friends about her. We asked him to please feel free to call upon us again if he needed our services or he wished us to investigate further. 

After I dropped the others off at their various destinations, I told my driver and my footman that tomorrow I would be paying them a 2 week bonus to their salaries, but that they should forget all about wolves, chases and fights, and remember only that I went to my club and played cards. The next day, after paying them their bonus, I sent the footman out on a shopping expedition to obtain for me several sets of disguises. I had him buy outfits fit for a stevedore living in a flop house, a delivery person, and a junior clerk. I also had him buy, in my size, a footman's livery, Not the patent livery in the colors and with the sigils of a noble house, but the more generic livery that the nouveau riche or a good hotel might employ.

Having learned that Lady Julia and her mother both ride the Hyde Park bridle paths most morning, I have also taken up the habit. I  have not spent much time on a horse since I was a boy, and my equestrian skills were very rusty. I have also been frequenting my mother's salons, my mother has many excellent suggestions for making myself more pleasant.. 

Note, training Initiate Optional Skill Equestrian, Novice Optional Skill First Impression, and Free Skill Engaging Banter. 1250 ap + 100 journal.   +50 ap plant centrifuge. 
Last edited by ChrisDDickey on Sat Jul 25, 2020 7:59 am, edited 2 times in total.

LexiLiegh
Posts:60
Joined:Wed May 29, 2019 10:53 am

Re: 1879: The Expendables

Post by LexiLiegh » Sat Jul 25, 2020 2:57 am

So glad I traveled with my picks, it was simple work to release the wolf. He groggily tried to bite me as I explained what I was doing for him. I managed to cast my healing spell on him, and he certainly perked up at that if still heavily drugged. We got him back to his pack leaders home, where we quietly marked favors. Even Doctor McFly seemed remiss to ask payment for services rendered.

Personally, I was tired, dirty, and wanted to be sure that our new friend would be well in the morning. I took the opportunity to stay in the lap of luxury on the pretext of healing the injured one in the morning more.
Minion of GMAndi

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Psitanium
Posts:39
Joined:Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:01 pm

Re: 1879: The Expendables - McFly's Journal

Post by Psitanium » Thu Aug 13, 2020 11:11 pm

The following weeks were spent holed up in my workshop. Utilizing all my resources at the Danger Zone, I was able to improve my inventions for our next horrible outing.
The Fires of St. Elmo was now working better than before, as I realized Rachel placed a reduction valve on the side, apparently to keep me from shooting a hole through my foot. Well, that had to come right off. That has seen an improvement in it’s range and damage. I was so excited I almost shot myself in the foot. Lucky thing my aim is subpar.
I needed a more permanent design for the Honeycomb and spent some time improving it’s effectiveness. It should be able to stop light attacks and stay activated for a good while in combat. Whether my accuracy in deploying it will hold up has yet to be determined.
The Electric Bugaboo would be my third amazing creation I would take into the field, on the logic that a stun grenade would be a very good thing to have in a pinch. With this more permanent design, accidental activation will be less likely and effectiveness appears more stable. This is just from my observations throwing it at my training dummy in the shop’s scrapyard. I have named him Doug. Having regularly thrown my new pet grenade over a week, I feel more accurate in estimating the trajectory. Perhaps I shall not throw this at my feet on the next mission. Having accidentally done so a total of five times now, the idea of not being shocking by an explosive device of my own making would be a nice change of pace.
In preparation for my new deployment, I asked Professor Tyrell to teach me Ignite. She said she COULD but did not think she SHOULD and it was hard to argue with her logic. To keep my crew busy at the Danger Zone, I standardized a set of blueprints for my 16th Candle portable tandoori smoker. The wealthy elite of London who fancy themselves outdoorsman will inevitably flock to our new product. I also showed them how to properly care for my growing army of bees. I have a strong belief that jars of bees will one day be a marketable product in this city. I have yet to determine how to advertise for this though.

Lord Hastings has again summoned us to a dinner meeting. The last time this happened, I was nearly eaten by a dinosaur. Hopefully they shall have scones.
There were no scones. Hastings has tasked us with a new mission. We are heading to the Americas again, North this time instead of South. We are to meet a lion which has sprouted wings and now asks riddles of passersby. This magical creature resides in what must be an equally magical place called the “Bronx”. This was obviously a reference to the Bronxosaurus, a dinosaur that always let you know it was currently walking there. We have been given three days to get our affairs in order.

During this period, I memorized a book of riddles at the public library. Strangely, so many of these involve chickens and roads. I began wondering why the riddling wonder we were visiting was not a chicken. Perhaps that was a question for the lion.
Rachel stopped by the shop so I could inform her I was participating in another suicide mission, because it likely paid well. She took the opportunity to show me what she had been working on with her brassman friend. It was a scorpion tail, but one which could fire Bolt. She informed me of all the possibilities this could lead to and I volunteered my research in weaponized bee technology. If I do not return to London to the sight of laser bees swarming over the city, I shall be deeply disappointed in the professor.

Our travel to the colonies was uneventful. No giant bats on this trip. No reptilians either. So far this was a very good expedition. Then we landed in the city of insomnia and learned that the talking bird lion had flown away on a late night excursion to get jewelry. Ah yes, that old familiar feeling had returned...

ChrisDDickey
Posts:1011
Joined:Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:02 pm

Re: 1879: The Expendables

Post by ChrisDDickey » Thu Aug 13, 2020 11:57 pm

"Sphinx and Hijinks" 
From the Journal of Bentley Bootle.

We all got a note from Lord Hastings to meet with him at a private club. Not a gentlemans club, but more of a private members only hotel that caters to families. He announced (rather preemptively) that we would be leaving for America in 3 days. He asked if we would have trouble passing as investigative reporters. Miss Withakay agreed that she could impersonate a journalist, and I feel if I downgrade my wardrobe I can pass as a newspaper photographer. McFly's cover was to be a freelance paranormal expert, and Smyth a bodyguard. 

We were to travel to New York and visit the Bronx Zoo, where a Lion in their display is said to have sprouted wings and is asking riddles (in a bronx accented English). After learning whatever we can in the Bronx, we are to travel to Fort Thomas Kentucky, where there are (so far fairly quiet) rumors of a ghost of some sort. He wants us to investigate the ghost and if possible deal with it. (without specifying what "dealing with it" consists of. I would assume he meant exorcising the ghost would be the desired result, but it seems to me that making an ally of it would, if possible, be better). Our point of Contact in New York is Ms. Birks at the British Embassy.

We had several days to prepare, I spent some time talking to newspaper photographers, then I bought a cheap suit such as they wear. I also obtained a large case that could hold my rifle, but also several tripods. I carry it as a tripod case as well as my camera case. I also went to libraries and researched legends of the Sphynx and spiritualism. We flew over on a very fast airship, it took only 2 days to cross the whole of the Atlantic! We landed at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. The papers (passports, press passes, letters of introduction and reference, etc.) say that we work for the London Herald (not a newspaper I usually bother to read). We were each provided with $32 us dollars (about 8 pounds). Again we were advised to keep our receipts.

We dropped off our luggage at a midrange hotel and Miss Withakay went to check in at the British Embassy. I talked to a newspaper vendor, who told me that most of the Sphinx story was old news, except for a rash of stories in yesterday's papers. He told me the Bronx zoo was founded 2 years ago, One of their lioness sprouted wings 6 months later (six months after rabbit hole opened) (There were lots of articles about this in the local press when that happened). About six months ago, people started to claim that they could hear her speaking to them in their minds (allase, the part about the lioness having a bronx accent seems to be an exaggeration). Those that do hear her in their minds say that she asks them a riddle, and if they can answer the riddle, they are allowed to ask her one (but only one) question.

Then in the papers of yesterday and the day before, (which he still had a copy of, and which I purchased), it was reported that she flew away and came back approx 20 hours later with several pieces of striking jewelry. She now sports a bracelet on each of her four legs, a necklace and chest piece with green gem, and a spiral thing on her tail. The jewelry is a golden color, though there is some minor disagreement as to whether it really is gold, and nobody has examined it closely enough to say for certain. Almost certainly these all would have to be custom made and fitted.

We shall visit the Bronx Zoo first thing in the morning. I think that the group must think very hard about what question(s) we wish to ask should the sphinx choose to ask it should it choose to ask us a riddle, and we are able to answer it. I am thinking something along the lines of ether "Tell us about yourself." or "Tell us about the nature of this jewelry, where it came from and how you acquired it."

LexiLiegh
Posts:60
Joined:Wed May 29, 2019 10:53 am

Re: 1879: The Expendables

Post by LexiLiegh » Sat Aug 15, 2020 12:09 am

Several nice luncheons with Lady Dalphine happened over the next few weeks. She taught me how to behave properly among upper society. All in all, a lovely time had.

I also followed up on my promise to learn how to read objects. Of course, the first thing I read was the ring so graciously left to me by the French. I know that it aides in healing magics, if I successfully cast the spell that is. I felt the claws sinking into me, tearing me apart. But the worse part was the eyes. Larger than the other lizards eyes had been, and an odd color. This yellow orange. And they just stared at me. I was assured that it was likely just a lizard staring at the Frenchman, but it felt like so much more.

But alas, all good things must come to an end. Lord Hastings had another set of missions for us. This time going to the Colonies. First New York, to investigate a lioness that sprouted wings around the time that the Rabbit Hole opened. It has apparently begun speaking telepathically to individuals asking riddles of all things. The reward for answering correctly is a question.

After we settle the information there, we are to go to Fort Thomas, Kentucky. There are rumors of ghosts affecting the area. Not sure what to make of that, but likely people trying to make a draw to their dying town.
Minion of GMAndi

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Psitanium
Posts:39
Joined:Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:01 pm

Re: 1879: The Expendables - McFly's Journal

Post by Psitanium » Thu Aug 27, 2020 10:42 pm

This mission would require a level of discretion that is not normally in my repertoire. I was informed that we shall be using false identities. And so, from this point forward I shall be using my fake name, Dr. Ferris Wheel. None shall be the wiser!
And so, we arrived at the zoo to discuss the weather with the talking bird lion. I found some monkeys with red bums and it bemused me to no end. Everyone else seemed engaged with a new character approaching quickly from the walkway. His name was... Inspector Mustache, I think. He had come at the behest of that Hastings character, who thought we could use the assistance of a detective. Obviously we were perfectly capable of handling these situations, so I highly doubted the reason for this addition. I decided to ruminate over that while talking to the red bum monkeys.
The bird lion asked each of us a question. I knew that my advanced research into riddles prior to this journey would be useful. The creature, who has a name I believe, asked me something about shadows. I think the answer was chicken. The point is that I won and so I was able to ask why it exists. It gave me an underwhelming answer about existing because it can and also the passions willed it? This bejeweled telepathic winged cat was making no sense!
As we were still perplexed by the creature, we went to the source of all information for guidance: the public library. Unfortunately, none of the clues we were given led to answers in the texts here. Since the inspector was currently trying to solve the Case of the Prominent Jetlag, we decided to retire for the evening and revisit the zoo in the morning. Good, I never even got a chance to see the lemurs. That was going to be the highlight of the trip.

In the morning, we returned to the zoo. While the others questioned the zookeeper, Spell Lady insisted on having another telepathic chat with the lion bird. This was a sight I needed to be present for, so I followed along. What happened next left me completely in the dark, not unlike the shadows referenced in my original riddle. Spell Lady stared intensely at the creature and I gathered an amount of information was being shared. What it was I could not say for sure, but she emerged from this concentration satisfied with the experience. I also yearned for a satisfying experience on one of these adventures and attempted to communicate in a similar fashion. I offered the tiger queen a way out of this enclosure if she were able to solve my riddle. She responded that she indeed had wings. Little did she know that was basically the crux of both my riddle and escape plan. She was not impressed by my proposal to make her a set of Stranger Wings glasses either. I tell you, the things you need to do to impress cryptids these days...
To make matters worse, my red bum monkey friends threw feces at me, obviously not in the mood for riddles either. And the lemurs peed on me, not realizing what a big fan I had been up to this point. The otters gave me a knowing side eye, and I shuddered to think what they had in store for me. I suppose the real highlight of this trip will be finding an affordable dry cleaner in a three block radius.

LexiLiegh
Posts:60
Joined:Wed May 29, 2019 10:53 am

Re: 1879: The Expendables

Post by LexiLiegh » Thu Aug 27, 2020 11:25 pm

Lord Hastings deigned it prudent to send Inspector Cromwell from Interpol to assist us in our endeavors. So off to visit the lioness, who gave me a riddle in the middle of my interview. Her name is Rajah, I think it means Kitten in some language, but to each their own. I do not think she understood that I am a cartographer, and thus a riddle about a map was quite obvious to me. We were able to piece together that she was captured far north of where she should have been shortly after looking glass fever began spreading.

The next day Inspector Cromwell asked around and got an address of the broker for the deal. Really quite impressive that one. I had decided to make sure that Rajah was happy before we left, and promised to return to her before we left for home. She did say that 'gifted ones' are loud, but it is not just that I am a mage that makes me loud. Quite the riddle that one is.
Minion of GMAndi

Hey all, if you really enjoy these journals come check us out live or recorded. www.twitch.tv/gamemasterandij

Be warned, we are rated A+, for Andi(she trained me). We are also very educational.

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