The gang gets poisoned

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ChrisDDickey
Posts:1011
Joined:Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:02 pm
Re: The gang gets poisoned

Post by ChrisDDickey » Tue Jan 19, 2021 1:33 am

In the early morning Bernhard, who had met Mrs Blaine the evening before, tracked us down and then we presented our case(s) to Constable Millicent Hislop. She told us that Ft. Alice did not really have a civilian court set up, and was unready to administer civilian justice. We reminded her that the trains were military, and that the explosion and subsequent fire on the train was definitely a military matter, and that there was a witness in Burlington who got a very good look at Quick Eyed Sam sneaking off the train when it finally pulled into Burlington, and that aspect of QES's charges could definitely be tried in military court and need not wait.

We also reminded her of murder of Lady Hathaway in Burlington and that the suspect there is a person of Quick Eyed Sam's description, We suggested that the guard be sent for to make a positive identification and sign an affidavit. We also suggested that the waitresses and cooks working the dinner club when we were poisoned be given an opportunity to identify him and sign affidavits. I feel confident that there is an excellent case against QES for conspiracy to damage a military train, and for several counts of murder, attempted murder, and kidnaping (Dr Bouchett). 

Unfortunately the cabbage salesman had not yet awoken after his poisoning. We had been counting on his being able to make identifications, and his having lapsed into a coma made our accusations somewhat mistimed. Constable Hislop arranged for him to be transferred to the military infirmary under guard. Anyway, we wrote and signed our affidavits and accusations, and turned over all of our evidence against QES and the Sons of Thoth. Unfortunately we had no evidence to turn in against Lady Littleton. 

We inquired after Lady Hataways people, and wrote to them informing them that the military finally had a suspect in custody, however the accused had powerful friends that were hiring a fancy Barrister and pulling strings to impress the people in charge with their power. We suggested that if they wanted to see justice done truly, they would want to make direct inquiries of their own and make it clear that they were taking a keen interest in seeing that justice was done for their relative. We rushed that letter to the post office in hopes that it would help. 

We were discussing our next move when a young girl delivered us a note. it was from Big Teddy (of the Pocket Clock gang, some of the others had made inquiries of him) His note asked us to meet him in the warehouse district. When we arrived there, he stepped out, showed us a small suitcase as if we would recognize it, and said that he would not stand for us stealing from him. Then his gang ambushed us.  Somebody on the roof threw a dagger the hilt of which bounced off my head.  Somebody else threw a blanket into our midst, which flopped open to reveal several huge ants the size of dachshunds. They buzzed and started crackling with electricity. I learned later that they were called Galavants. I cast entangle upon the insects, and then we all just moved over to a cross street. I considered trying to somehow climb onto the warehouse roofs, but decided that whoever was throwing stuff had left the roof.

In the meantime Big Teddy was blasting away with a pistol, and not being very successful, he then moved inside a warehouse. There he was soon joined by the two martial artists from the roof, Shoeless Joe and Sneaky Pete. What was most successful was the three bear traps in front of the warehouse door. Both Burnhard and myself limped for a couple of days after those things snapped on our ankles. Finally we beat them down enough that Big Teddy surrendered, and we asked why he asked for a meeting then ambushed us. He accused us of stealing the suitcase full of tobacco he was smuggling. He said he found it in Burnhard's shack, right where Quick Eyed Sam had told him it would be. We informed him that QES had undoubtedly planted the suitcase there himself. In fact did he remember us asking if QES was the one person that had attempted to poison us a few days earlier? QES, knowing that we were closing in on him had played the pocket clock gang for fools, trying to get them to do the job he had failed at personally. The suitcase by the way was full of high quality tobacco that the gang smuggles from London to the Gruv, bypassing the customs inspector. We gave it back to him, minus one large package that Alvin inspected and then kept. 

He was able to give us one name, The Honorable Beatrice Grayson-Burnett.  A human female ex-Member of Parliament, who was working as a respected chemist at the airship fields (expert chemists are needed for the production of hydrogen and the other substances that power the airships and keep airships afloat). According to Big Teddy, QES was working for Grayson-Burnett on a new deal that involved smuggling something from the Gruv to London. They told the Pocket Clock gang that they were smuggling tobacco, but that made zero sense, since the trade in tobacco was the other way. They were in the process of setting up the smuggling route with talk of smuggling one or two crates per month. They did not know who else might be involved, but they did know that of the two, QES was the junior. 

350, 350 200 75- = 975 +100 journal. 

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

Re: The gang gets poisoned

Post by ChrisDDickey » Mon Feb 01, 2021 5:46 am

Cusa continues his story.

We decided to check in with Mr. Harrold Nuegaut of Broombacker Industries (Moving Through) who had hired us in the adventure of Dr. Bouchet. He was concerned and helpful and while he told us a lot about Lady Littleton and Mr Vance, it was mostly just confirming what we already knew from other sources. He was able to tell us that Mrs Bernice Grayson-Bernet lived in an apartment near the airfield, She spends a good deal of time with a Saurid Hulk. Mr Nuegaut had had dealings with Grayson-Bernet and found her capable and unsuspicious. The airfield is very big and busy. It has dozens of pylons. The military has a number of Giffords of various sizes and designs for scouting, and the movement of troops and supplies. Some civilian Giffards also operate out of the Airfield. 

At dinner time we met with Dr Blaine by appointment. She was extraordinarily nearsighted (splithy withdrawl had ruined her eyes). She was planning to go to Zion for a few days. She said that she had hoped to introduce us to a Zulu man (whom she did not name at that time, but we later learned was Funani Bhengu), but that he was late. Shortly thereafter a note arrived from him saying that he wanted to meet at a less public place and asking us to meet in the warehouse district of Moving Through. We mentioned to Dr Blaine that less than 8 hours earlier a false note had lured us to an ambush in the warehouse district of Staying, so she reexamined the note, but determined that it was indeed from Mr Bhengu. 

We arrived at our rendezvous with Funani Bhengu a few minutes early. We were a bit suspicious, so Sh'kem Raas ghosted ahead to check out the area, while the rest of us guarded Dr. Blane. We saw our new contact running towards us, sorely wounded and pursued by arrows. Then Lady Littleton rode towards and through us on a Hunchbeak. She was out of her mind drugged up on Bang Snuff. She shot a few arrows from a longbow, then charged among us lashing out with her bloody sabre. The Bang Snuff made her fearless, and she showed no awareness of the blows we managed to land upon her. She taunted us as if she had not concern at all that she was outnumbered 6 to 1. The drugs gave her much strength and courage, but were also her death, as she started bleeding from the ears and eyes, and then, after we knocked her off her hunchbeak the drugs killed her. But her mad assault had dome much damage and several of of were sorely hurt, Sh'ken Raas had a sabre slash that left him barely able to move around. We examined her gear and I found a locket with a compartment that had traces of Bang Snuff (which I had encountered before). Her equipment was very fine both the sabre and bow had been forged. 

The Zulu, Funani Bhengu, was in bad shape, he had 3 very serious sabre wounds. He told us that he was a technician in the British Museum offices. That he had learned of a Spithy smuggling operation and that if we could get him access to the Engines at the offices he could get for us evidence against Mr Vance and Hon Grayson-Bernet (false manifests and other documents). The BM Fort Alice engine is in the basement of the BM building here. It has fairly good security, but he mentioned something about cooling tunnels that we will need to talk about in more detail when we finally made our plans. He also knows that their old smuggling route had been disrupted several weeks ago, and he suspected that the smugglers probably had several shipments backed and, stored somewhere in town. He does not think it is at the museum any more, so thinks it is probably in Grayson-Bernet's apartment or facilities. 

350 + 400 +350 + 75 = 1175 + 100 

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

Re: The gang gets poisoned

Post by ChrisDDickey » Tue Feb 16, 2021 12:33 am

Cusa continues his story

We dealt quickly with the police, explained that we were lured there and attacked, and we turned over (most of) the evidence. Alvin caught up with us. He had been scouting out the Airfield outside of town.  We then decided to find a safe place to rest for the night. We decided that the cabbage salesman's flat was an unoccupied space that no bad guy would be likely to look for us, we obtained a large quantity of carry-out and repaired to his place.Dr Blaine and Funani Bhengu were still with us. The Reverend Rowen and myself applied much medicine and healing, and in the morning all of us except for Mr Bhengu felt like new men. 

After talking it over, we left Bhengu to spend the day in bedrest, and we headed out to the airfield. I dressed as a ditch-digger, and nobody gave me and "good boy" a 2nd look. The previous day in his reconnaissance Alvin had spotted a warehouse that he felt had a suspicious lack of activity. We decided to check that out. Sh'keem managed to open the locks on one of the doors and we entered. The Rev Rowan guarded the door while Sh'keem and Alvin went in search of whatever was making a faint noise, and I climbed to a catwalk in order to get a good overview of the warehouse. The two exploring the ground encountered and fought what they described as a "mechanical rabbit", a mobile automated sentry with a microsteam air gun. Up on the catwalk I encountered an enfixed version of the same thing, but it had enough flexibility to not only hang from the catwalk and fire below, but also to swivel it's gun up to cover the catwalk instead. Both devices were swiftly destroyed (I was wounded again), but the team down below said that they think that their device had raised some sort of remote alarm. 

I told the team that if they heard Good Boy bark 3 times to leave immediately via the door Good Boy was by. If they heard him bark more than 5 times, to leave immediately by some other door. Then I went outside to stand watch. I used Animal Talk to tell Good Boy that if I scratched my head to start barking, and to keep barking until I stopped scratching. I left him by the door and walked to where I had the best view of the approaches to this side of the warehouse. The others tried to ransack the warehouse as quickly as they could. Sh'Keem apparently found some papers that indicated that Grayson-Bernet was storing some small crates within the warehouse. Hurrying before the reaction force arrived, they all started prying open small crates at random. Finally one of them opened a crate that was stuffed full of gladstone bags, and the bags were full of small packages of Spithee. They took one of the gladstone bags, and opened several of the others and scattered the packages of spithee around, and then opened a few of the packages and scattered the actual drugs around. The idea was to make a big enough mess that it would take time to clean up, and give time for somebody to recognize that this was contraband. (I mean very few people recognize spithee on sight). They left the warehouse mere moments before a squad of soldiers quick-timed up. 

As we walked away, we saw a Human woman and a Saurid Hulk glaring daggers at us. We immediately guessed this was Grayson-Bernet and her constant companion. They turned and started sprinting towards a nearby steam car. 

350 + 300 + 350 + 75 = 1075 +100

supermooboo
Posts:38
Joined:Wed Aug 19, 2020 6:06 am

Re: The gang gets poisoned

Post by supermooboo » Sun Feb 28, 2021 4:14 am

(Journal Belongs at top of this page with first entry sequentially)

Alvin Baker,

Finally some action. Now I’m not saying I like being shot at, but I certainly don’t mind being the one doing the shooting. If I can be honest, my trigger finger has been getting itchy with all this poison and ‘polite society’ business that we have been put through lately. And what a mess being polite had got us into.

Here we are minding the favors the law affords us when we get a message from the Leader of the Pocket Clock Gang Big Teddy. Happy to talk to someone who isn’t afraid to get something done in this town I gleefully went on my way to his meeting point. One problem, he wasn’t nearly as happy to see us as we were to see him. The ants the size of er’rything else in the Gruv were though. Cackle did they seem with joy to meet up with us in a nondescript alley way (or maybe that was the electricity).

Fortunately our gentleman spellcaster Cusa was able to introduce them into the broadside of bush (?) that kept the ants busy while the rest of us went off to discuss ‘business’ with Teddy. I should ‘ave known not round that corner. But no, no, no I thought. No match was Teddy for Alvin Baker I thought. And no match was he, but his gun was another story. No sooner had I rounded the corner that Big Teddy had run behind did I find myself face to face with his gun and a lead shower. Right to the ground I went and a chunk of my ear with it. Way I see it this guy deserved a handicap if he was to fight the great Alvin Baker anyway!

So fight I did but not before things started to get weird. In the first place what was with the bear traps? Where did they even come from in the first place? No sooner had I regained my composure and kept chase did I run into a series of nasty traps. I managed to defuse the ones I saw (with grace!) but the ones I didn’t see found an unsuspecting Elf and Troll. So once again was it up to the great Alvin Baker to save the day.

Bang! Boom! Alvin Baker bursts onto the scene. The firefight began between Big Teddy and myself as I refused to give an inch. Teddy thought he could take me. Teddy was wrong. Charge did I into the belly of danger and pulled out the guts of victory. But right before the day was mine did circus goons show up. Spinning and Twirling with knives trying to give me the closest shave I ever felt in me life. No match were they for a Baker and certainly not Bernhard the hardiest Troll around. Thwack! Slam! And out they were. At which point not two shakes of pepper later did I pull my gun and let out the mightiest roar my gun has ever done. Thus Alvin Baker once again saved the day.

(the following is a factual representation of the events that occurred and in no way was dramatized by the author)

Afterwards we found returned to talking shop and found that someone (I’ll give you one guess as to who) had framed us for pulling one over on Teddy and his gang’s business. We sorted that out and I even managed to get a fine sample of their tobacco product. Not sure why they are smuggling it to the Gruv and back (especially considering the stuff is as good as it gets in London) but that’s neither here nor there now. Teddy was kind enough to fill us in on the one Beatrice Grayson-Burnett who was leading up there contract with the Sons of Thoth who have been bothering us up till now. So on we went. Or I did at least. I decided to let the party handle some of the ‘polite’ stuff while I snuck into the airfield that Beatrice is allegedly located and scout out our target. But not before some rest.

supermooboo
Posts:38
Joined:Wed Aug 19, 2020 6:06 am

Re: The gang gets poisoned

Post by supermooboo » Sun Mar 14, 2021 9:25 pm

Alvin Baker: The One Armed Master of Disguise,

Investigation into the airfield revealed several suspicious locations. Grayson-Burnett (our primary target) was an illusive figure. They don’t have a day job. They catch work as it fancies them or as they are required but other than that they find themselves wherever they please. They do have an apartment (or larger flat perhaps?) in the airfield area typically lived-in by those who work the fields themselves. I deduced that if we were to find our target it would be most prudent to check at the apartments, but unfortunately I was unable to determine which apartments Grayson-Burnett lived in.

I did however find an unusual warehouse. Fallen into disuse and avoided, yet goods still seem to get funneled around it. If any smuggling business would be going on, it would be there. I convinced the party we should start there to gather incriminating evidence on the splithe trade and hopefully draw a line connecting the illegal trade to our target.

First when I investigated the airfield I snuck in as a mechanic. “Easy enough. Those guards wouldn’t know a snake if it bite’em! But ya know, they say three's a crowd and now I know that’s true.” It was a little more effort to sneak in the entire group. That said we somehow managed to make it work. I suspect that whoever was on shift today was not long for their station. That said I led the group to the suspicious warehouse. Sh’kem managed to pick a lock along one of the less populated areas and let us inside. While inside we started to inspect the area when we heard an unusual mechanical noise from deeper in. Investigating we found a rabbit.

“A rabbit? Well not one I ever seen no. But a rabbit no doubt. One made of gears, steam and who knows what else. I’ve hunted rabbit before. Never seen one that didn’t fall after a shot of two of my rifle.” I shot the rabbit and where I did manage to damage the pack providing power on its back it did little in the way of finishing it off. I noticed the gears turning in it however and decided to take a crack at it with my wrench instead. Who would have thought my background in mechanics would have helped me out in such an unlikely way! After the encounter we examined the building. We didn’t exactly have much in the way of time however as our activities drew a lot of noise and a crowd with it. On the way out we managed to find that this warehouse was indeed the one that the splithe was being funneled through (leaving it out in the open as evidence) and found documents in the office connecting them to Grayson-Burnett (courtesy of Sh’kem). It was as we were making our escape however that we spotted the Honorable Grayson-Burnett alongside a Hulk. Making eye contact with one another they quickly started bolting in the direction of a steam power lory and the chase was on!

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

Re: The gang gets poisoned

Post by ChrisDDickey » Mon Mar 15, 2021 4:28 am

Old Cusa concludes his story.

As Grayson-Bernet and her Hulk friend dashed to the steam-car, we all swung into action. Rowen attempted to Taunt and Distract them, Skeem fired arrows,  summoned a water elemental and told it to "liberate" all of the water in the steam-car before the evil people could use fire to turn the poor innocent water into steam. The Hulk goaded a Garnicky in our direction and it almost trampled us. Alvin asked Bernhard to throw him, and caught up with the pair, cutting them off from the steam car. A more proper fight then ensued. 

Grayson Bernet threw several grenades which did much damage to us, and the hulks hammer was devastating. At one time both Rowen and Alvin were unconscious, and I was nearly so. Fortunately we were able to prevail. Greyson Bernet was rendered unconscious, and the hulk was talked into turning queen's evidence. As soon the fight was over the MPs (finally) arrived. At first they were very leery of arresting the "honorable" Grayson-Bernet, but we smooth talked them about how great they would look to their superiors. We got somebody to send a cable to Constable Hislop,and she told everybody about her investigations and finding. The officer in charge of the squad that had responded to the alarm at the warehow was a Lt Waters, and once the drugs he had found were firmly linked to Grayson-Bernet he was happy to throw the book at her. The Hulk was a bit of an idiot, and was happy to talk about his work and where Grayson-Bernet had her secret lab bench and storage rooms. It turned out that Grayson-Bernet (a very excellent chemist) and the Hulk were pretty much the entire production team for the Spithee trade. 

We were able to convince the MPs to raid the British Museum facilities in Ft Alice and Funani Bhengu was able to find faked up and doctored shipping manifests that proved that Mr Vance was smuggling stuff. We had weak links between him and the Spithee, but he was clearly smuggling something. Unfortunately by this time Mr Vance had disappeared and was on the run for quite some time before he was finally tracked down to face justice. 

All told, with Lady Littleton dead, and Grayson-Bernet and Quick-eyed-sam well and truly caught, and Mr Vance on the run, the Spithee trade was put to a quick and sudden stop. The drying up of Spithee was devastating to the Sons of Thoth, but even more devastating to the many highly placed politicians, judges, bureaucrats, academics, and many other of the rich and powerful that the SoT had addicted to spithee in order to control them. In the weeks and months ahead there was a mini-epidemic of the rich and powerful falling seriously ill and not a few went mad, or blind, or even died of withdrawal. 

Over the following weeks we made arrangements with the Faraday Firm to keep their office in Ft Alice open and staffed. Professor Blaine agreed to be the office manager until she can find a position more suited to her abilities. She  met with clients in need of Solicitor or Barrister work and took notes and forwarded them to the home office in London.  We handed the Investigative work and other oddball requests of people who needed troubleshooters. 

About this time I spent a few weeks with tribe of Saurids under the tutelage of a brilliant teacher of whom I will talk more shortly. At the conclusion of this time I was no longer a novice in the Shamatic arts. 

700 + 350 + 350 + 50 = 1450    + 100

supermooboo
Posts:38
Joined:Wed Aug 19, 2020 6:06 am

Re: The gang gets poisoned

Post by supermooboo » Sun Apr 25, 2021 9:15 pm

Two Arms, One Baker:

“Busy!” It’s been a rush since the incident with Grayson-Bernet. We got her and somehow the MPs agreed with her guilt but the questions. “I don’t get what the MPs are pretending at. Law? Order? We don’t got any of that in the Gruv so why are these people pretending at trials and prisons when we still have plenty of bullets left?”

Things didn’t slow down after we closed the case involving the Sons of Thoth. Faraday had appointed us the new bosses of the Gruv branch and we had some remodelling to do. Bernhard (my steadfast troll companion) was working hard on this and I had a mind to help. And help I did but I had a few problems of my own to handle as well. As much as Alvin the One Armed Baker has become a name I can put my pride behind, I do need to find some kind of substitute for my right hand eventually. Fortunately I have an eye for clockwork and mechanics both so I was quick to draft a substitute. “I have big plans you see. Baker’s One Arm ain’t some kind of scrap you see. It’s the best in the market and yes it’s trademarked. Don’t go copying me lest you want a black eye and hole in your back now.”

Dr. Bouchet would be my mechanic. He owed me a favor and he is a friend. He readily agreed (at first) to make my new arm if I could secure the parts. And therein lies the problem. “90 Pounds! 90 I say. Now I might have gone overboard drafting an oscillating machine and a clockwork device that runs a small electric battery to discharge an electric shock. But what? You wanted Alvin the One Armed Baker to settle for less? How about you come over here and say that to my face!” I didn’t really have many places I could turn to for acquiring parts on that scale. So I decided to turn to my more unsavory contacts. The Hesperidian Society. Now with a name like that you might think they are a well to do group in London but well that is simply just not the case here. “They sell drugs. And not the good stuff. Well, they make tobacco actually. Got my hands on a pack of the stuff and it’s the best I have ever had. But in general they sell the stuff that gets you hooked and gets you killed. And yes I should have probably steered clear. But no I didn’t exactly have a long list of people willing to help me here.”

Meeting up with the society wasn’t the easiest thing. Or so it would have been for anyone but the great Alvin Baker. “I don’t mean to brag but I have a bit of a nose for this thing. The MPs in the Gruv seem to think the organized crime in the Gruv are these elusive masterminds. That;s really not the case. There are really only so many places in a small place like Fort Alice criminals can gather. If you just know where to look and who to rough up it’s a simple matter.”

I found the entrance to the Society. Granted it wasn’t much of an entrance. It moves. At one point it was behind a bar the next it was in the brothel. “Strange thing having to sneak through somebody else's business but that’s how it goes. Big problem is the key. Not sure if I would call it a key. It must be some weird kind of sorcery because there is never a keyhole and never a key. A ring, a screw, or once even a scrap of paper.” As I watched these various entrances I noticed an interesting lot entering in. Most had some kind of disguise. An obvious one perhaps such as a mask but I think it is mostly a formality. “Don’t ask any questions. You don’t know anybody and nobody knows you.”

Now I wasn’t exactly invited in and it turns out neither is anyone else. To get in you have to prove yourself craftier than the last guy. Be that through pick pocketing, roughing up, or by circumventing the door entirely. I know at least one fellow who does that. “Dangerous business that is but it’s not my business. I turned to the pockets. Turns out my one hand is more than enough for most. Imagine how good I’ll be with two! And what a poor schmuck that fellow was. Didn’t know what hit them.”

It took me a couple days to find a door that was accessible (not inside someone's back room). I found one in an alleyway with my key (a small ring). I held it up to the door and sure enough it slid open. Before going I made sure to procure a small black mask that they tend to sell in the area as a formality. Making my way through the door I found a surprisingly well furnished area. There is a receptionist of sorts but mostly there is just a bunch of muscle and a person to help direct you to where you need to be. It seems I have a bit of a reputation of late with secret societies that handle drugs as I was quickly moved into a room as I entered and escorted towards one “Meatsplitter” whose name just about describes the troll. “Turns out everyone has a second name down here. Typically you are given one but I insisted on the name Claw. As for whether that will stick or not well…” Meatsplitter was a fine fellow. Rude, but fine enough. He was more than able to agree to my part acquisition terms. He said something about a “favor” but I wasn’t listening. “All I know is I got my parts and that’s good enough for me. For now. Baker’s back! Or so I would say but apparently it is going to take some time to get the parts in.” And no I didn’t ask where or how they would get them. Don’t be foolish.

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