In reply to Marian Holroy (msg # 854):

Rosabelle had been listening quietly to the exchange and was startled at being suddenly addressed. She jerked when Marian snapped at her and allowed her forbidding demeanor to 'slip' slightly, as if she'd been putting on a brave face in light of their arrest.

Y-yes, Ma'am, Rosabelle stammered. My apologies. They just didn't trust me enough to speak of anything important in my hearing. She looked down in shame, clasping her hands in front of her for effect, and to subtly show her Vril tattoo to the other man, lest he should doubt her position.

She hesitated to say any more, not wanting to reveal her almost complete lack of knowledge of the situation. She'd let Marian continue to take the lead, as she seemed to be doing quite a good job so far.

In reply to Bellgrove G. B. Wander (msg # 853):

Grimsby answers heartily "Indeed it is" and continues on his way towards the building with an expression of cheerful enthusiasm. As they get closer, he makes another slight gesture to suggest they approach from different angles, to make it harder for anyone within to attack them simultaneously.

Mercy had followed behind Marian and Rosabelle and the Vril and the guard that took them to the jail, keeping enough distance to not alert the Vril.

She found this whole ploy rather interesting... and intriguing, which is what it was supposed to be. That, however, wasn't the way mechanics worked; it was a rather knew experience for her. Oh, sure, she'd had to finagle a few business deals when men wouldn't deal with a woman, especially a woman who didn't know her place and was clearly smarter than they were. Although she'd resorted to a form of blackmail on occasion--threats, at any rate, not the actual follow through--leverage, the men called it, but a rose by any other name... She'd been careful not to hurt their feelings too badly, though, for, in the end, they'd made lots of money and she still had to do business with them.

She kept out of sight, but listened to the process of registering them, and discretely followed them to the holding cell. She was able to keep out of sight while she listened to their conversations. She could see anyway that the Vril could hurt Marian and Rosabelle, but she was prepared anyway.

Once he gets close to the building, Grimsby's casual (though quick) walk turns into something like a charge, with his pistol ready in his hand.

"We figured the ticket booth was just the right height for the gun," the Vril agent responds to Marian, "and everyone would flee out the front. But then we realized that they'd all flee away from the explosion, not out the gate. So we set the gun up in the Graustark booth. Taris even has credentials that say he is a native citizen of Graustark."

"They were cooperative enough to need three booths, since Axphain and Dawsbergen had to be represented. Naturally, the central Graustark booth had to be bigger, so they built a loft. That is where Taris set up the gun. It does not have to be accurate, since the people will be all crushed together as they try to flee."

"Now, I do not know what will happen."

Bellgrove moves along with Grimsby, but as he does so puts several feet between himself and the Englishman as they pull out their weapons. Having served in the military himself he knows what a machine gun is and figures that if it the position is manned he may as well make it as difficult as possible on the gunner to take them both out.

Marian nods at this, frowning in thought. Yes, I can see that would have been very clever indeed. Now though...you're right. I will get word to Taris. I think it best he abandons his post, or at least moves it. They are too close, they know of the gun. No sense wasting a good weapon and a good agent for very little return. Alright... she starts to dig in her pocket for a small pad of paper and pen, two things as a writer she is never without. She scribbles a note, "Taris, move the gun from the Graustark booth and lay low until further orders. Abort mission. Wait for instruction." It would be easily interpreted by her friends, but if for some reason the imprisoned agent wanted to see it, it would hopefully pass muster. She then hands it to Rosabelle. Here Caroline. Tell the guard you have to go to the privy. Surely he wouldn't expect you to do it here in front of a man she gestures to the other prisoner. Leave this in the loose floorboard, third from the right. Jenkins knows where to look. He knows I've been imprisoned and he's waiting for my next move. Don't mess this up! she adds with a glower, thrusting the paper at the woman. Then she turns back to her "fellow" Vril. Anything else I should know before I send this out? I can only chance one communication. Jenkins is...nervous. He only takes so many risks. Rest assured though, he'll get me out soon. Probably some pretense or another about needing to question me. she hoped Rosabelle caught the slight look she gave her. She needed to get out of here somehow after all! Hopefully when the woman left with the guard she could orchestrate such a thing. Luckily the guards were in on all this, and could arrange such a show easily, provided Rosabelle caught her hint. Once I'm free, I'll find a way to get you out of here. Just be patient and don't tell them anything, no matter what? Understood? Now, think man. Is there anything else I need to let Taris know! she hisses in a hurry. Acting rushed tended to give people less time to think in such a situation, and she didn't want to give him a chance to doubt any of this.

Mercy had managed to position herself where she could keep an eye and ear out for Marian and Rosabelle's effort. She couldn't hear all of it but she heard when it was time to get Rosabelle out.

She quickly went to Forget and told her it was time.

Gendarmes went and got Rosabelle out. Once they were together, she listened to what Rosabelle had to say. Even Forget smiled at the results.

"We have to warn the others! Wait about ten minutes and then get Marian out. Say she's going to be interrogated."

She then ran outside and started heading for the exposition.

As she reached the outside, she saw the black ship still hovering overhead.

She called up to Dash.

"DASH! THE GUN IS IN THE GRAUSTARK TENT!" She'd repeat it if she had to, but she was waving him in the direction of the fairgrounds.

Grimsby and Bellgrove reached the ticket booth, and see that it is still closed. There aren't even any lines forming in anticipation of it opening. A sign on the door says it'll open at 8 a.m. It's still about 6:30--pre-dawn, sun just starting to rise over the ocean.

Of course, the shed/shack is more than just a ticket booth. It's where Mercy had gone to purchase a booth. It's just a large one-room wooden structure. It's got a peaked roof simply because of the rainfall.

Peering in through the windows, neither of you can see any way to get up into the attic space. Looking around the outside, it definitely has the appearance of solid construction. There's no obvious way to get up into the attic. The pitch of the roof isn't very steep because it never snows here, so there's no need.

While one man and a Gatling gun could fit up there, the man would probably have to be laying down.

In reply to GM StarMaster (msg # 863):

Grimsby looks over at Bellgrove and says dubiously,"Somehow this does not seem a very likely site for a machine gun now we are here. I wonder if we have been misled."

Bellgrove scans the area again and responds with a slight shrug, "Well...

"They would position themselves to spray the greatest number of people as they fled the explosions in the stands. We have presumed that this would be a position outside of the fairgrounds, but perhaps it could be within?"

In reply to Mercy Kincaid (msg # 862):

Rosabelle follows Mercy as she hurries to inform the others the location they were given. She's a bit at loose ends now, unsure if she can do anything further to be of assistance. She'd have to retrieve Thorn from the airship at some point. For the moment, she lingered outside the police station, waiting for Marian to be released. They could regroup and see where they were needed next.

In reply to Rosabelle Descant Tinker-Plumist (msg # 866):

Keeping one eye on the strange draconian clockwork - expecting it to start spitting flames which will detonate the hydrogen of the dirigible at any moment - and another eye on the ground, Dash does spot Mercy down there, waving to obviously gain the attention of the airship.  Leaning out the already open window, Dash tries to hear past both the rushing wind and the buzzing engine pod, aft of the bridge gondola.

While Dash can see that Mercy is gesturing in a direction leading into the exposition, he could barely make out what she was saying. He gestures with a shrugging of his shoulders and holding up his hands, and Mercy shouted out again, gesturing into the fairgrounds.  Again, Dash barely heard what she was saying - all he could make out was she was shouting something like "Gunstock".

** What could she mean by that? ** Dash thinks to himself, looking out along the line that Mercy was pointing, ** I thought we were looking for some kind of artillery piece?  What kind of artillery piece has a... **

Dash's thoughts come to a halt as his eyes fall upon a flag fluttering in the early dawn light, over a grand tent flanked by two lesser, but equally decorous, tents.  It was a flag he recognized easily, for he had been within it's royal palace mere weeks ago.

The Flag of the Principality of Graustark.

** Graustark, not Gunstock! **

Having been leaning halfway out of the dirigible, Dash pulls himself halfway back in and looks over at Cap'n Remi, shouting and pointing,

"Remi!  Over there!  Head that way, towards the Graustark tent!  Try to come in from the side, if you can, don't approach from the front!  Mercy says the gun is in that tent!  Get us close enough, and I'll unload my Mauser into the higher part of the tent - hopefully that's where the gun is!"

In reply to Bellgrove G. B. Wander (msg # 865):

Grimsby responds, "I suppose it could be within the grounds, if it could be properly positioned to cover a wide range of fire."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:25, Sun 22 July 2018.

Nodding affirmatively, "Quite so..."

Turning to look back into the fairgrounds Bellgrove moves a step in that direction as he tries to get a sense of likely locations for an 'interior' machine gun placement that would be most effective against the masses fleeing the explosions that his companions have ensured would not be occurring.

Grimsby, looking around the fairgrounds, notices Captain Remi's vessel swooping towards the Graustark pavilion and calls it to Bellgrove's attention, pointing toward the airship and saying "It seems our aerial allies have found a target. It may well be the machine gun we seek." He starts moving rapidly towards the pavilion with his pistol in his hand.
OOC:The GM assures me it would be natural for Grimsby and Bellgrove to notice what the airship is doing.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 03:09, Mon 23 July 2018.

In reply to Grimsby Baskerville (msg # 870):

OOC: Big-assed Black Zep cruising 100 feet over the exposition; suddenly half the engines ramp up to make a mid-air spin-turn?  Oh, yeah.  Noticeable is putting it mildly...

"Indeed!", Bellgrove replies as he drops any attempt to hide the shotgun under his trenchcoat and joins Grimbsby in moving towards the Graustark pavilion.

The gendarmes approach the cell where Marian is being held.

"You are to be interrogated... now," one of them says as he opens the cell door. He then glances over at the Vril agent.

"You'll be next... probably sometime tomorrow."

As he leads Marian out, he gives her a wink to indicate he's not serious about the Vril agent.


As Grimsby and Bellgrove approach the Graustark tents, you can see that the layout is strange, with the central tent being taller and larger than the side tents. For some odd reason, the central tent has ceiling in it rather than going straight up to the top of tent. Like most of the tent booths/pavilions at the Expo, these are highly colorful tents... red and yellow stripes, blue and white stripes, black-green-yellow stripes...

The ceiling in the tent is decorated with some kind of mural; it'd be hard to do on the sides of the peaked tent.

There are actually people there. As Grimsby and Bellgrove approach, you can see what appear to be guards... at least, they are dressed in uniforms.

Grimsby says very quietly to Bellgrove, "I suspect these guards are Vril or Vril puppets, but it would be deuced awkward to shoot real Graustark guards. Shall we try to talk our way in?

Seeing the guards from the distance Bellgrove begins to slow before Grimsby speaks and puts the shotgun away again.

When his English comrade speaks he pauses and smiles, "Quite so, old man. It might be easier to do that when we get up there if your pistol was not drawn."

In reply to Bellgrove G. B. Wander (msg # 875):

GRimsby says "Quite" and slips his pistol back in his pocket.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:02, Thu 26 July 2018.

Marian gives a stubborn and stoic front for the other prisoner but as soon as she's clear she gives the guard a hearty and grateful handshake, incredibly happy to be out of there. Hopefully her little ruse worked....

Finding Rosabelle she has to restrain herself from giving the woman a hug, she's so pleased to see her. You did fantastic! Oh I'm so glad to be out of there! Do you think he believed us? I hope his intelligence is credible. Come, let's go find out shall we? She's already fast on her way as she talks, eager to help the others as best as she can.

In reply to Marian Holroy (msg # 877):

Rosabelle smiles at the other woman's enthusiasm. He certainly seems to have done so.

She follows in Marian's footsteps, walking quickly with skirts lifted clear of the ground. It looks as if they've sent the airship into the grounds to deal with the problem, Rosabelle panted, gesturing toward the sky. She wasn't accustomed to having to move so quickly.

As Grimsby and Bellgrove reach the Graustark Pavilion, someone within calls the others' attention to the approaching black airship.

Grimsby and Bellgrove can see that the back of the main tent is open, which is how the people saw the airship.

One of the 'guards' notices the two of you at the entrance and turns to greet you.

"Hello! I'm afraid we're not open yet. Our guides won't be here for another hour. However, if you have a question or two, I may be able to answer them," he says to you.

You realize that he may be only a ceremonial guard. He seems to be dressed in the traditional garb of his country. In fact, the others also seem to be in similar uniforms/costumes, some for Axphain and some for Dawsbergen.

He does not have the demeanor of a trained soldier.

Now that you are closer (standing in the opening of the central tent), you can see that there is a concealed hatch in the ceiling, off to the right, though, technically, it is only concealed by the elaborate mural painted on the ceiling.

You can also see the top edge of a ladder laying on its side against the left-hand 'wall' behind a bench and some displays, which leads you to believe that the 'attic' is used for storage. This is significant because it indicates that the ceiling might be sturdy enough to support a Gatling gun and a person.