New York City, February 2, 1890

The city streets gleam with the wet rain, the reflections of streetlights twinkle in the puddles and slick sidewalks. It is a miserable night, and one that you are not exactly happy to be out in. Still, you are all used to worse than this. Your thoughts turn to the letter you received. The letters that brought you all here, though you are unaware of each other for the moment. Should you read it again you will find the same polished immaculate writing:

You have been selected. The time has come for your skills to be called upon. Signs are upon us. You are needed. Come to W 318 Pennbury Ave on the night of February 2nd at 10:30 p.m. to obtain your orders. Should you choose to decline this invitation that is your right, but the world may be forfeit. Cordially yours, The Men of Letters New York Chapter, Mr. John Westbrook.

It is a simple letter, and not at all informative. But you are curious, and it does sound dire. For the men of letters to be so bold as to actually sign such a document and to be so blatant about their need, it has to be important. The seal on the envelope is proof enough of its authenticity. The mark of the men of letters is not something that just anyone can access. A thousand questions enter your mind. Why New York? No one else in your inner circles seem to have any such invitations that you could tell. Why you? Well, it is time to obtain answers. The building before you is massive. It appears to be a warehouse of some kind, though it is rather old looking and appears to be dormant at the moment. As you exit your various vehicles of travel, you can't help but notice each other, for the street is otherwise deserted. Father Simon and Jacob cannot help but recognize each other right away. The presence of the woman, alone at this hour is also something of note.

As he stepped out of the cab he felt the rain falling on his head and face. He looked up and blinked for a moment. Thank you, Oh God, for the rain. Please bless the people of New York with good water to drink and raise their crops. In your Son Jesus' name, amen.

Then he allowed his eyes to fall on the building. Were it not so plain he would have chastised them for misusing the wealth God blessed them with. Still unless they had a large staff or an equally large collection to maintain there was likely wasted space.

He turned as he saw other vehicles dropping off guests. Jacob caught his eye and he went over to the man, hand extended. "Its good to see you again, Jacob. I've been worried. You should stop by for a visit sometime."

The young woman alone also caught his attention. "Miss, are you alright? Do you require assistance?"

The sounds of the busy city were sometimes almost overwhelming as Jacob walked through the crowds. He pulled his jacket a little tighter in an attempt to keep as dry as possible as people walked by about their daily business.

Walking further down the street and finally coming to the destination Jacob can't help but notice how large the building he is standing in front of is. A smile creeps on his face as he watches Father Simon leave his vehicle.


Jacob was actually surprised at how pleased he was to see the man as he walked over and gave his hand a firm shake. " I have managed to stay out of trouble Father , my journey for salvation is still on going."

Removing his hat and feeling rain hit his head Jacob walks over to the lady as he gives a slight bow Greetings miss , I am Jacob Anderson and this is Father Simon Cole." Jacob says as he puts his hand out for a shake.

After regarding the apparently disused warehouse with some distaste, she reread the latter to confirm the address and time, although by this point she practically knew it by heart, having examined it many times in the course of the long ocean voyage from England. Quality letter-writing paper and a fine pen indicated some wealth and taste, though she was not familiar with the American manufactures. The Aquarian Star in the seal and watermark proved the authenticity and provenance. Judging by his penmanship, she supposed Mr John Westbrook to be a careful, precise man, but his actual sentence construction indicated a limited creativity or patience when it came to writing but no lack of portentousness. As to the actual content, it was far too brief and cryptic to tell her much. The address and time were indeed correct.

The Men of Letters, from what little she'd been able to learn from discreet inquiries and research, plus her own deduction, was a largely American organisation of occultists and would-be magi. Ironically so, since they no doubt took their name from the intellectuals of the Age of Enlightenment, who'd sought to dispel superstition and develop the scientific method. And, if Westbrook was anyone to go by, they were not men of letters in the modern sense of an academic writer or expert in literature. So, an American holdover from the Republic of Letters, fixated on the occult, mysticism, and magic.

And they were men. Obviously.

So, a typically patriarchal grouping of pseudo-intellectuals desired her assistance. She did not doubt why she'd been singled out for this, much as her services had been requested all over Britain and Europe. She was imminently capable, the world's only paranormal consulting detective. She might have ignored the crude invitation were it not for her sudden and pressing desire to travel abroad. —the knife at her belly, grab it, fight, fight, turn it— The recollections rose unbidden, as they always did. She'd learned to just let them come. —knife slid into his belly, hot blood spilled down her hands— Killing the Ripper had been a victory for all humankind, and a matter of personal survival. —hands like claws reaching for her throat, murderous and vengeful even in death— But even a spree killer had family, friends, associates, and the Ripper's rose high in the establishment. —can't breath, keep cutting, drag the knife across— Some people would always find it more comfortable to deny a fellow's atrocities, lest they be forced to confront them, and blame the victim instead. Especially if that victim were a woman. —can't breath, can't see, can't think, keep cutting, keep gutting— Oh, they wouldn't act against her outright, but they had influence, they had connections. —gizzards tumbled out, raining on her, tear them out! and yet he still lived— She soon found her business drying up, at least in all the high profile, profitable cases. Business in Britain was just no longer tenable. —up, up, at the heart, again and again and again— The most galling was the cover-up. It would be such a terrible scandal, it could bring down the country. —life went out of him, but his eyes stayed dead, that famous face— But to be denied all credit for solving such a high-profile case, her greatest triumph, after such a traumatic ordeal. It had left her bitter and dissatisfied. —keep stabbing and cutting and slicing until nothing remained but that famous face— But what else was a faithful daughter of the Empire to do? Well, she could run off to the United States. —she heaved the corpse, the innards off her, soaked in a killer's blood. The Ripper, ripped open like the women he'd butchered, by the one he'd tried to. It seemed like poetic justice.

*

After stepping out of her own cab, the young woman in the midnight blue dress and matching hat had erected an umbrella to ward off the soft rain. From her purse she drew a letter — each of the men present would be familiar with its contents. She perused it briefly, but after a time grew distracted, staring down the street into the rain-slashed night. Absently, she rubbed her neck and midsection. It was some moments before she noticed the two men approaching and speaking to her, and stirred from her reverie, hurriedly folding the letter and slipping it back into her purse.

'Mmm? Ah, no, I do not, but thank you.' she replied stiffly to the priest in a delicate English accent. Once Anderson had made introductions, she responded 'Good evening. Father. You may call me Penny Dreadful.' Ever since choosing the nom de guerre, and her initial amusement, she had become steadily more reluctant to use it aloud. Well, that couldn't be helped now. She had considered giving it a somewhat French accent, but that just made her appear tacky. 'I beg your pardon, but I am new in this city: is this W 318 Pennbury Avenue?'
This message was last edited by the player at 00:47, Sat 12 Oct 2013.

Jacob could only smile as he looked at the woman who seemed very prim and proper. He was a little puzzled as he wondering just what this was all about. It was not out of the question by any means but a female hunter was not exactly common place.

" Yes , this is the correct address. It would appear that you have also been called in on this case so to speak." Jacob said with a distinct Boston accent.

Not wanting to waste any more time and stand in the rain he looked back at the others as he walked to the door before turning around " Shall we see what is in store for us ?'

The Frenchman stomped through the puddles, the horseshit, and the other refuse that littered the streets as the result of a thaw in midwinter. His tuke and full length wool overcoat were saturated after his two mile walk in the rain. His cheeks were red and his breath steamed from his beard as he chugged his way to the warehouse. He approached the small gathering at the curb with a heavy carpetbag in his left hand and smiled at the first person to register his arrival.

"Bon soir! mes amis, What ees all dis aboud! I am Jacques, Jacques Debay. Some of you know dis already eh? "

He spoke a bit too loud and chuckled as his foot sloshed through the last puddle between them.

Stefan had been handed a letter by the orderly. He gave the man a slight bow and thanked him. He went into his office the sound of the cane tapping of the floor as he did. He closed the door behind him and opened the letter.

You have been selected. The time has come for your skills to be called upon. Signs are upon us. You are needed. Come to W 318 Pennbury Ave on the night of February 2nd at 10:30 p.m. to obtain your orders. Should you choose to decline this invitation that is your right, but the world may be forfeit. Cordially yours, The Men of Letters New York Chapter, Mr. John Westbrook.

Stefan looked at it strangely for a moment and a concerned look crossed his face.  He read it once more and sighed. He was not hoping that what he felt was true, but it seemed that it was. He had arrangements to make and they must be made quickly. He placed the letter in his breast pocket and picked up the cane and made his way back out into the hall. He went down to the end of the hall and tapped on the door. A deep voice told him to enter. An older man with grey hair sat behind the desk. "Stefan what can I do for you?"

Stefan came over and sat down at the chair in front of the man's desk. He reached in and took out the letter handing it to the man. He read it and a troubled look came over him. "This is not good news. You are going correct?" He nodded. "Yes, Fadher Mikel,  I am going. I felt sume dhing an knew it vas not good. I vill be leaving in da morning for da Amerikas. Dhis vill not put you out I 'ope." The older man shook his head. "No, Stefan you go where you are need. You know that."

Stefan stood and bowed to the man, who was getting up and coming over to him. He took Stefan's hand in his. "May the spirits watch over and protect you."

Stefan thanked him and walked out the door. He left the monastery and collected his belongings, well those he thought he would need and made arrangements for the caretaker. He then went to the docks made booking on a ship bound for America. The next morning he and his steamer trunks were bound for America.

Stefan slowly walked down the walkway his cane tapping as he went, when he seen a small group of people. He thought he recognized one as Father Cole and the woman he had seen on the ship. He slowly made his way up to them and introduced himself. "Good morning. It vould seem dhat I 'ave found da korrekt place.  I am Doktor Stefan Von Stein at your service." He gave the group a slight bow.

Penny took a step back, uncomfortable to find herself surrounded by so many rough men. Well, DeBay and Anderson, certainly, though Father Cole was nominally trustworthy and seemed genuinely friendly, and Doctor von Stein was apparently a gentlemen, but she'd learned to attribute little trust to that position. 'Bon soir, monsieur. Je suis Penny Dreadful.' she greeted DeBay in good though English-accented French, 'And greetings to you again, doctor.' For a moment, she worried that the peculiar German doctor had followed her from the RMS Leviathan, but it was becoming increasingly clear by their expectations that they were all here for the same reason: the letter from the Men of Letters. Curiouser and curiouser.

She glanced down, briefly taking in the men's hands under the street lamps. Strong hands, callused as if by a weapon or rifle grip, some with the indents of rings — four of them, knuckledusters. Even the priest. These Americans were rough men indeed, hard men, fighters, and had a wary stance in the darkness. And they were all summoned by the Men of Letters. They were what some in Europe called slayers, or hunters here in the Americas. Like, she supposed, herself. Maybe they were to be her assistants in an investigation?

'Well, shall we go in out of the rain, gentlemen?' Penny invited, then turned on her heel after Anderson to walk to the warehouse entrance.

The priest quirked a brow, "You are most welcome, my child. Dreadful? A nom-de-plume I presume. Your a writer then. Excellent. God always uses writers as his most trusted agents, how else would the deeds get recorded." He accepted her quirk with a bit of interest but in no way was he dismissive. "Yes, I believe this is the address..." Jacob cut into the conversation as easily as one might cut into a dance. Simon approved, opposites often attracted and God new Jacob needed someone in his life.



Simon smiled again, "Oh but Jacob, here are two more approaching with a sense of purpose. I dare say our three of a kind will soon be a full house."

He shook Panny's hand and noticed the quirk of her brow. This one was very intelligent and watchful. If she was equally resourceful then it would appear they had their leader.



Simon smiled and was genuinely pleased to see the big Frenchman, even if he was a bit odd. Those who hunted demons often had their little quirks, like Penny's name. Simon found that accepting the quirks of others was the first step in tending a flock. He greeted his friend warmly. "Jacues. Now you know I don't speak snail eater." It was a bit of good natured ribbing between friends. He expected Jacues to come back with something about how Simon spoke three languages, one of which was dead.



Simon recognized the man but not the name. Odd, he could usually match names to faces easily. He reached out to shake the man's hand. "Doctor, good to have you about, especially if Jacob breaks his nose again. I am a fair hand at treating injuries but I am not a surgeon. Have we met? You seem very familiar but your name I cannot place..."



He was cut off, thankfully, by Penny. She seemed to have a good instinct for keeping others from inserting foot in mouth. "I agree with Miss Dreadful. Only turkeys lack the sense to come in out of the rain." He gestures for them to go in first.

It had been a while since he had seen Jacques DeBay , the last time was over a year ago while with Father Simon. The crazy Frenchman nearly drank him under the table , the man had a twinkle in his eye that that was hard to ignore and often had Jacob laughing with his outlandish stories.

Grasping his meaty hands with his own Jacob greets him " It is good to see you again Jacques...."

The other man seemed almost as out of place as the woman , he was tall and slim and looked more studious but the way he handled himself. A doctor apparently as the man spoke with a foreign accent. This should prove to be a most interesting trip indeed.

Jacob nods his head and go to the front door.

Stefan gave Miss Dreadful a smile and nodded to her. "Yes, greetings to you as vell again. I 'ope you enjoyed da trip 'ere Miss Dreadful." He was a bit surprised, but he had heard of her, so it was not as much of a surprised as it should of been. Some woman were growing bolder as the years were going by.

Stefan smiled at the  good Fathers taking his hand and gave it a shake. "Let us 'ope ve do not need ta use dhose skills dhat much.  Ve vill talk more vunce inside." He motioned towards the door.

Stefan had not been introduced tot he other two, yet and was not too sure of who the older man was. He thought he recognized him, but he could not too sure. Jacob he had heard of and with him and Father Cole here it did mean his feelings were correct this would be bad.

Stefan limped along holding the door for the others and entered last.

As you enter through the surprisingly unlocked door, you find yourselves in a rather dusty and cluttered warehouse. You can't help but pause for a moment, for this place would look abandoned if it were not for the lit lanterns placed here and there, giving off far too little light. Across the room in the darkness a figure stands up from where he had been sitting. He grabs a lantern and strides towards you with purpose, though he manages to put an almost lazy swagger into his walk. He seems, confident and easy going just by his mannerisms. As he approaches into better light you see it is a tall young man of about thirty. He has brown hair and appears to have not shaved in a couple of days, making him look rugged. He is dressed in gray slacks and vest with a white shirt underneath, the sleeves partly rolled up. He does not appear to be comfortable in these clothes as he still manages to look somewhat rumpled in spite of the fine quality of the material. Penny in particular notices that he is extremely handsome and he likely knows this judging by the grin he gives her. You can't be sure, but you could swear you saw a wink along with it...

Ah! Looks like most of you are here. Good! He says with a thick Scottish accent. He puts the lantern down and pulls out a pouch with a silver dagger and a flask of something. I don't mean to be rude before proper introductions are made, but if you wouldn't mind....just want to be sure there are no stowaways so to speak. He hands the knife and flask to Penny first, pointing to the flask. Just a bit of holy water. Drink it or pour it on your skin, whichever suits you. And I do apologize about the knife. It will be a shame to mark such pretty skin. He shakes his head.

"Wait," Simon said, "Holy water isn't for drinking. Please allow me." Simon takes the flask and pours some into his hand. "I bless the in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." He draws a cross with the water on each of their foreheads in turn.

"Does that satisfy? Holy water should be treated with a bit more reverence, my son." He handed the flask back to Ian.

'A nom de guerre, actually.' Penny clarified for Father Cole. She referred to an old French military practice, a 'war name' granted to soldiers to distinguish them. It also was adopted by French slayers to disassociate their real lives from their work, and to protect their families from retribution. Penny had adopted hers to shield her family from scandal brought about by her peculiar occupation — and, perhaps, to shed herself of their own dark reputation. 'I'm afraid I'm not much of a writer, but I have been known to wield a pen.'



'It was a pleasant voyage, thank you, though ocean travel does not particularly agree with me.' Neither did the mermaid. 'I trust you enjoyed yourself too, sir?'

As they entered the warehouse, Penny closed her umbrella and shook off the water, then removed and folded her shawl. There was, of course, no cloakroom to hang them up, so she carried them with her as she ventured further into the warehouse, looking about at the lanterns in the darkness. A fine place for an ambush.

She observed the cocky fellow as he approached, but he must have misread her scrutiny by the sly smile and wink he returned. Penny quickly glanced away lest she be embarrassed.

She let Father Cole take the holy water and perform his ritual. She was a little reluctant to undergo it, though, but not for being a demon. Having been raised Anglican by default, she was a little wary of Catholic rites. But she submitted and was found pure.

Otherwise, she took the silver dagger in her left hand and extended her right. 'It would be more of a shame if I were something inhuman.' Without hesitation and watching their host, she pricked her thumb on the callous formed from regular needlework and sacrificial bloodletting, and a drop of red blood welled up. Otherwise, she suffered no great pain or unnatural effects. She passed the silver knife onto the next person, then put her finger to her lips to lick away the blood, tasting iron.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:40, Sun 13 Oct 2013.

In reply to Penny Dreadful (msg # 14):

Stefan gave her a sad apologetic look. "I am sorry to 'ear dhat. If I 'ad known I vould a given you sumdhing for dhat. I carry plenty a potions for all sorts a dhings, I 'ave found dhat ancient remedies do vork very vell even in dhis modern times."

Stefan removed his hat and slowly knelt down letting Father Cole perform his task. When Father Cole was done he made the sign of the cross and slowly rose. "Dhank you Fadher Cole."

Stefan then looked the young man. "I do 'ope dhat 'elps konvince you."

Kate Piper:

On the dusty wall before you there is a strange symbol that you've not yet run across in your years as a hunter. Perplexed, you lean forward to study it, tracing the outline with your hand. Suddenly, to your shock, there is a flash of light and you feel a great force pushing you forward into the wall. Expecting to collide you brace yourself, but rather than falling into the wall you find yourself pitched to the ground where the wall should be. It is cozily lit and the air is colder than where you just were. You know in that instant you are not in the same room anymore. In fact, you have no idea where you are, but upon closer inspection you see there are bookshelves and fine antique furniture indicating it is some kind of study or library, albeit a small one. Perhaps someone's personal office? That's odd, considering you were just in an abandoned ruin in a Connecticut mausoleum....There is an antique lantern lit on the desk, and what looks like some very fine single malt scotch in a square bottle. An open journal of sorts lies next to it, though the writing appears to be interrupted. The cursive is so fine and small that it is hard to read at first glance, but it seems to mention some plans for some kind of meeting. You'd have to really pore through it to understand the context. Needless to say, you are having a hard time not freaking out right now.

Penny returned her attention to the scruffy fellow, taking in more details of his appearance. Although she was uncomfortable looking at people too long or too closely, her brief, careful glances allowed her to scrutinise them rather more surreptitiously. And if a lady shyly observed a handsome gentleman, then what was particularly unusual about that? This man was becoming an open book to her deductions. 'While I am sure our host is not a demon or other inhuman, I'm afraid I cannot rule out vampirism. Father Cole, if you would be so good as to perform your blessing on him too?' she suggested, resting the iron tip of her umbrella against the warehouse floor before her and looking the man in the eyes. 'Carefully now, the officer has been under a great deal of stress these last few days.'

Stefan listened to what Miss Dreadful had to say and his eye brow raised slightly, but he did not act as though he was concerned. He moved a hand inside of his satchel until he felt the stake wrapping his hand around it, as he touched a button on the cane, which unlocked the case from the sword.

Stefan just stood there calmly waiting to see how this played out.

Kate let out a string of curses under her breath and snatched the journal up with shaking hands. The little office appeared to be empty for the moment but since the writing appeared to be interrupted it was obvious the author would be returning soon. "Okay let's see where we are here," she was doing her best to remain calm as she flipped through a few of the pages. The handwriting was annoyingly small but that was not what caught her attention. It was the date at the top of each page. "Eighteen Ninety?" So she must be in a museum of some sort, or a collectors office. Wherever it was she had a feeling she probably wouldn't be welcomed warmly if discovered poking around. Putting the journal back she reached into her pocket and found her can of pepper spray. She liked to have something non lethal on hand for those times when pesky security guards got in the way. It was easier than trying to explain what wouldn't be believed anyway.

Her plan was simple. Get out of the building and find out where the heck she was. If it wasn't Connecticut anymore then she'd haul her fanny back and see if she couldn't figure out what the heck happened. Finding the door she nudged it open cautiously her pepper spray raised and ready.

Ian looks a bit sheepish at the small reprimand, and gives Father Simon an apologetic smile. He allows for whatever tests anyone wishes to give to him and submits with a look of minor amusement. Upon Penny's words he gives a slight start and then starts to laugh. They told me you were sharp. Looks like they were right. Yes, I am, or rather was an officer. First with the Pinkerton agency, then with the New York City police department. He explains amiably. Things got a bit too corrupt in both places for my liking. When I became a hunter and the men of letters took notice of me, I was only all too happy to quit. I still have my friends in both places though. Comes in quite handy. His grin widens. Now, if everyone is satisfied, I think it's high time we meet with your host. He has much he wants to fill you in on.

 The man leads you deeper into the building, passing out a few lanterns for everyone to light their way. He makes conversation as he walks. He seems to be a very friendly and amiable fellow, answering questions with blunt honesty. You heard of Alfred Beach's underground transit system a couple of decade's back? Well, maybe you wouldn't. 'Specially you foreigners like me. Well, he started construction on some tunnels for his project, but he didn't get far. They are only just starting to get back to it now. He explains as you continue further in the building. Well, the point is that back when that was first attempted, the men of letters thought it was a great idea and secretly built a few tunnels of their own....and by a few I mean a lot actually. He laughs. By now you see where he is going with this as he opens up a trap door that had been covered by a large carpet. You see a ladder going down into blackness.

ooc: I'll give you a bit to decide if you want to comment on anything he said before I go further. There's really no need unless you think you would have questions or such. I tend to like to keep the story moving, so don't feel like you have to comment on everything an NPC says unless you think it relevant. Hence, if everyone seems ready by a day or so, I'll continue the story. Thanks!

Kate: You open the door to see you are in a hallway with a rounded ceiling and walls made of bricks. A tunnel of some kind, not unlike a sewer or subway system actually, but this was obviously meant for habitation. The floor is clean and made of cobblestone, the walls are lit with electric lights, albeit very antiquated looking ones. If this is a museum it is a very accurate one. So far there is nothing and you go a little ways with no sign of anything or anyone. Eventually though, you hear voices coming from around a corner. At first you panic, for there is nowhere to hide. Then you realize they are stationary and locked in their conversation. You cannot help but overhear some of it. Ian should be bringing them in shortly. Do you think they will help us? The other voice, a woman's answers back. If they are as good of hunters as their reputation would suggest, I think they will. After all, no one wants to do nothing when the world is about to end. Still, I need to read them. See what I get. The woman's voice pauses suddenly and your blood freezes as you hear, There is someone around that corner. Listening to us. I can sense them. She says it very calmly, but the sound of someone running towards you jolts you into panic.

Penny wasn't nearly as proficient as Holmes at the trick, so she was pleased that her estimation of the Scotsman had proved correct. She would have been quite happy to explain her whole chain of observations and inductive reasoning, but sadly didn't have the time. Her observations satisfied her as to the man's humanity. Regardless, she made certain that he was touched with both silver and holy water, and the iron tip of her umbrella, just to be safe.

She was impressed at his credentials, with the prestigious Pinkerton National Detective Agency. 'The Pinkertons? Excellent! I was hoping to work with them while I'm in the States. I may trouble you for a reference later.' The Pinkertons, she knew, had been the first to hire woman detectives, with the late, great Kate Warne.

Walking with him and the other hunters, Penny glanced curiously around the warehouse, shining her lantern in dark corners. Then, as the trapdoor was opened, she shined it down the hole that descended deep into the earth. 'No stairs?' she sighed. Since she was wearing a skirt, she elected to climb the ladder first, before the men. Draping her shawl around her neck and crooking the umbrella over her arm, she carefully manoeuvred herself and her skirt into the shaft without revealing too much leg. If I'd known, I would have worn trousers.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:41, Tue 15 Oct 2013.

 Every nerve in Kate's body urged her to run and hide but one step back away from the corner was all she allowed herself. It was a little creepy the way the woman sensed that she was there. She was used to creepy.

Kate flipped the little red safety tab on her pepper spray to the on position. The canister was small and fit comfortably in the palm of her hand. It was a new can, and she hoped the lever wouldn't stick. This was the perfect place to use it as there were no stray winds to blow it back into her face again. That had happened once. It had been very unpleasant.

The two had been discussing Hunters and something about the end of the world. It seemed now was as good a time as any to see where she was and what was going on. She'd wait to use the spray until she saw who it was that came around the corner and what their reaction would be.

Simon did as Ms. Dreadful asked, applying a blessing to the former police officer. As he finished he thought of how his earlier prophecy was already coming true. It seemed to him that Penny Dreadful was a natural leader. It was not so much that Simon could not lead, but more that it did not come naturally to him. Faith came naturally to him, as did intuition. An example would be his intuition about Penny's leadership ability.

The rest of the time they made their way through the tunnels, Simon spent in contemplation and prayerful supplication to God. He felt as though they were descending into a tomb. Italy had been full of such catacombs, and Simon never cared for them. He prayed through his nervousness, but it likely showed. He hoped not much, examples must be set for the flock to be properly tended. He went through his rosary quickly, and it made a feint click-click sound as he did so.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:59, Tue 15 Oct 2013.

Jacques stomped along at the rear of the group. The iron heels of his hobnailed boots made a solid thud on the floor with each step. He hummed the tune to his favorite reel as he followed the group through the dimly lit warehouse. When the trap door was opened, he peered down into the darkness and fiddled with the knife handle on his belt.

"Tunnels in de dark, bedder den paying de rents in Manhattan, Eh"

Jacob walks along with the others and was taking everything in , while the others were thinking about what was going on Jacob was paying attention to his surroundings. He rarely cared about the finer details as he the type that replied heavily on gut instincts. It had allowed him to survive this long as he watched and followed the others.

The man seems pleased that Penny has taken an interest in his history, though he doesn't have time to expound upon it. He laughs at Jacques joke and pats him on the shoulder as if they are already friends.

At the entrance, Ian grins at Penny's insistence of going first, doing his best to shine the lantern down for her as she goes down. As the rest of you follow, he goes last with the lantern handle in his teeth, closing the trap door behind him. He gives little mutters as he tries to maneuver down like this. At last though he reaches the bottom and you find yourselves in a large tunnel with brick walls and cobblestone floors. In the distance you can see lights coming from down the corridor. We're still working on getting electricity to this part. The rest of it is already wired and active, we just haven't quite finished yet. He explains, leading the way. Soon you are able to put out your lanterns for the electric lighting is more than enough for you to see by. He continues to talk as you walk.

Anyway, this is the headquarters for the men of letters in New York. So far we've done a good job of staying hidden and we have a surprising amount of resources down here. You are all welcome to stay with us whenever you are in New York. There have been rooms set aside for you. He says kindly. I am sorry I cannot be more informative about what's going on, but Mr. Westbrook would be unhappy with me if I started without him. He apologizes. By now he's led you down several tunnels and through a large room that appears to be some kind of armory. Past that is a massive library and you can't help but wonder how they got all of these books here. The place is buzzing with people, both men and women and people of all races. They look up at you with mild interest as you pass, but say nothing, instead going back to their work, whatever that may be. The Scotsman greets several of them cheerfully but does not slow. At last you find yourselves in a sitting room of sorts, finely furnished, even carpeted. A young woman appears to offer you tea and refreshments and Ian sits down, looking suddenly tired. You have a feeling the man has not slept much lately.

At long last your host appears. He is impeccably dressed in a navy blue wool suit with matching vest and tie. He has a silver pocket watch which he is scrutinizing as he enters, though he quickly puts it away. He looks to be around 50 years of age, and he has the look of a man who's seen and knows too much. He would be even more intimidating if he did not have about thirty pounds of extra flesh on him. Still, he has the air of a man who could more than handle himself if he needed to. He gives you a look of no nonsense satisfaction, clearly having expected you all to arrive without hesitation. As you no doubt have questions, I will get right down to it if you don't mind. He begins, looking at you all with an air of scrutiny. Our chapter has stumbled across something very important. So much so that we've kept it thus far from our sister chapters across the states and abroad. We have hand selected a chosen few to investigate our findings for us. That is where you come in. Before I impart any further information, I must have you swear to me your silence on the matter to anyone outside of this room. Even some of our own brothers will not know the extent of information I am about to reveal to you. He finishes firmly.

Kate:

As you hold your ground, a man suddenly rounds the corner, he has a small handgun drawn and looks very on edge. He is dressed strangely in antiquated slacks and shirt with suspenders and very shiny shoes. He appears to be in his forties and is very thin and tall with an angular face that does not exactly lend him appeal. He stops in his tracks at seeing you, looking confused at your appearance. You see him staring at your t-shirt and he mutters, ghost busters.....? confusedly, obviously reading your shirt. His attention snaps back though, his weapon still raised. Seeing your pepper spray and apparently not knowing what it is, he looks all the more threatened. Who are you?! What are you doing here!? How did you find this place!? He barks. He is clearly on edge for your appearance has thrown him.

In reply to Artemis (msg # 27):

Jacob looks around the room and is somewhat amazed at the amount of people down here in this place. As the man starts to speak the one thing that sticks with Jacob is the point of the rest of the order not being fully aware of what is about to be said right now. That causes a little concern with Jacob as he wonders the reasoning behind this , the only thing he can think of is that there are some in the order that can't be fully trusted.

Jacob cares not for why they are being told just that he has a chance to rid the world of evil and and try and attempt to find salvation of his soul. Standing to his feet once again Jacob looks at the man " You have my word it will not leave this room from my lips..."

Simon stopped in the room and looked around. He thought of how much money it must have taken to make this and how many people could have been fed with that money. Regardless of a need for secrecy, there was no need for opulence. The Church had its own problems with this very same thing, so he kept his views to himself. He folded his hands behind his back and continued to thumb his rosary in silent prayer.

The elderly man, very distinguished and statesmanlike, began by seeming to be in a hurry. A bored person watched the clock. If he was so bored why would he seem to want them to take this so seriously. Simon kept silent, until he was asked to forswear other contacts, even other Men of Letters. This was totally unexpected. Simon was not a good poker player and it showed on his face.

"Sir, If I may be so bold, you have asked us to forswear all others in favor of you and yet you have not even introduced yourself. I would make you this promise, outside of confessional I will reveal nothing I learn here today with anyone not within the sound of my voice. Does this satisfy?"
This message was last edited by the player at 00:00, Wed 16 Oct 2013.

Stefan made his way down the ladder much slower than the others. Once at the bottom he followed along quietly his cane tapping along. When the stately looking gentleman asked for his promise and the good Father made his comment he shook his head in agreement. "I vill agree vith da good Fadher on dhis."

As they scaled the ladder and walked down the tunnel, Penny inspected the construction, occasionally tapping with her umbrella: brick and cobblestone, no doubt quite sturdy, but she found the sense of so much earth and stone above her head quite ominous. She was reminded of the dungeons and crypts beneath Darkmoor Manor, or the tunnel in the tor, narrow, dusty, deep, and disturbing. At the offer of staying here, she jested 'Forgive me, but if I can stay at the New York Hotel, then a hole in the ground does not particularly appeal.' Still, she found the Men of Letters' establishment to be surprisingly extensive and well equipped and furnished, with a surprisingly cosmopolitan population. It would be a good place to seek sanctuary from dark forces. 'It is warded, I trust?'

At last they came to the sitting room, sitting down and gratefully accepting tea and a biscuit from the maid with a 'Thank you.' The Scotsman's weary posture in his seat confirmed her observations of his sleeplessness: the slept-in clothes, the dark shadows under his eyes, the neglect of his toilet. The contrast of his current unkempt state against his officer's bearing and fine clothes made his situation clear.

Westbrook was another matter. Penny did not miss his examination of his pocket watch upon arrival, but found several possible explanations: impatience, as supported by the terse letter, either checking they'd arrived on time or having some schedule to keep; a habit or affectation, nervous or otherwise; or simple happenstance. Her conclusion would depend on what else she read off him.

'I am used to working with discretion and secrecy, sir, and you have my word I shall not willingly speak of this to those outside this room.' 'Willingly', of course, did not include under duress or desperate need. She was concerned that Westbrook felt the need to conceal this from his own people, both from the other chapters and from those in his own chapter. He also apparently required the help of outsiders. It all spoke to some great internal division or mistrust in the Men of Letters, or paranoia on Westbrook's part, neither of which were good signs. She sipped her tea thoughtfully to begin her concentration.

"Sorry, I can only answer the first question. The other two I have no idea," Kate said honestly. She eyed the handgun warily. It looked old but she had a feeling it probably still worked.

"My name is Kate and I don't appreciate people poking antique guns in my face. I mean who knows how reliable those things are these days?" She kept her pepper spray in her hand but lowered her arm. Clearly this  guy was feeling edgy and the last thing she needed was to get shot. "I'm a hunter by the way," she finished lamely hoping that might settle him down a bit. After all he and the unseen woman had just been discussing them...

Your host listens to your words with a grim expression. He arches a shrewd eyebrow in particular at Father Simon and Penny's words. He pauses a moment and sighs. That will have to do I suppose. He shakes his head. I don't have much of a choice. He takes his pocket watch out and fiddles with it distractedly as he begins to explain why you were brought here. There are dark forces at work. A new enemy, one we have not yet faced. It is a secret cult bent on bringing hell to earth. Literally. It is called The Hand of Baal, and it is followed by both human and demon alike. He paces slowly across the room as he talks, clearly the topic has caused him stress but he pushes through nonetheless. They are recruiting right now and we hope to stop them before they get more organized than they already are. They have members in high places, hence the secrecy. At the current moment, we do not think they know we are aware of their existence. They are extremely difficult to penetrate and we are hoping that we can learn more of their activities and where their headquarters are. We need to cut the head off the snake before it grows too powerful. He finishes firmly. I need a small group of people I can trust. Right now I don't have many around me that I can speak for without any doubt. Ian here is one of the few. I need a team to investigate this under his and my direction and then discreetly report back to me. That's where I was hoping you would come in....You have all been very useful to the cause in your own way. It is dangerous though, and as you know you may not survive such an undertaking. Still, I have to ask anyway if you would consider my request. He finishes grimly, yet there is a trace of hope in his face.


ooc: If you wish, you may roll knowledge arcane or religion to see if you know who Baal is. Also, if you are a man of letters, you automatically gain +4 to all such checks. You may as well add it to your sheet if I didn't already tell you to.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:00, Thu 17 Oct 2013.

Kate:

The man looks at you with confusion. Antique? Why this is only a year old. What are you talking about woman? And why are you dressed so strangely? It is hardly appropriate for a woman to be dressed in such rags, let alone trousers. And yes, it is clear that you a hunter by the writing on your shirt. Ghostbusters eh? A bit obvious don't you agree? I don't know where you're from, but around these parts, hunters tend to take a more subtle approach on our activities. You must be new at this. He shakes his head in disapproval but does not lower his gun. Still, he seems to have calmed down quite a bit. Surely you have some idea of how you got here. Did you wander in through one of the tunnels? Did someone show you how to find us? This place is meant to be secret, I'm afraid I will need answers miss. He finishes firmly.

By now the woman has caught up with you. She rounds the corner and walks towards you with a quiet confidence. She doesn't appear to be worried about you at all. As she approaches you see she is a beautiful black woman. One of the most beautiful women you've ever seen actually. She is dressed in a very simple almost peasant style; wearing a long brown skirt and a cream old fashioned blouse. Her eyes are fierce, intelligent, and unnervingly piercing. You could swear she could see straight through you. Her hair is in tiny braids and pulled back into a ponytail. She motions for the man to lower his gun. She doesn't know Frederick. She does not belong here. It was....an accident I think. She frowns in concentration. You get the sense she is reading you.

Jacob listens and he has no idea who this Baal is , looking around the room he can see that some of the others seem to know him as they expression changes once the name was mentioned. Jacob can't help but look overhead and around him and gets that uneasy feeling , he was out of his element and wanted to just get this over with and get out on the road again. Looking towards Father Simon he speaks in a hushed tone " Who is this Baal he is talking about ? I am guessing he is on the other side ...."

11:39, Today: Father Simon Cole rolled 17 using 1d20+11. K: Theology.

11:39, Today: Father Simon Cole rolled 13 using 1d20+9. K: Arcane.

Simon listened to the pocket watch man and the Jacob's question. He nodded and then answered allowed for everyone. "Baal was worshiped in ancient Canaan, what we call Israel today, before Moses lead his people to that land. He was a fertility god - meaning a sex god, but also a god of weather, learning, and reason. Basically things that are still worshiped in society at large, except perhaps weather. Baal's worship involved temple prostitution, so it was popular even up into the first century. Many of the old testament prophets, most notably Hosea, were given the Word of God for the people of Israel to turn away from Baal worship.

After Christ, Baal was unmasked as a demon. Baal is a lieutenant of Lucifer, his mission is to make people believe that there is no Devil or God, that people are created by some means outside of God - such as the current fad of Evolution, to turn people to the worship of their own minds and bodies rather than God. he actually has a rather easy job, given that most people are geared for this anyway."

Stefan listened to what he was being told and his mind began going thru all names nad knowledge of demons he knew of. Baal was one he recognized. He knew the feeling he had, before coming here was bad, but he did not think it was this bad.

Stefan looked at the man, after a moment. "Do ve 'ave a name ta place vith da 'ead a dis serpent."

20:01, Today: Stefan Von Frankenstein rolled 18 using 1d20+14. Arcane knowledge.

Kate looked from the man to the woman. "What is the date?" She asked slowly, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer. Kate had heard of time travel before but had little experience with it herself. Not that she would take two walking antiques at their word if they told her it was 1890. She'd need to see for herself before she decided if it was time to freak out or not.

As Westbrook began his tale, Penny leaned back into her comfortable chair and steepled her fingers before her, in a pose that indicated great concentration and analytical thought. It didn't really help, but she'd seen Holmes do it. Her composure was only disturbed with a small blush as Father Cole spoke openly of such private matters as "sex" and "prostitution". Morals were loose indeed in America.

Baal. She recalled the name from her studies of ancient history and mythology, and those dusty grimoires kept in the library of Darkmoor Manor. She'd had cause to read the entries on this demon, along with many others in morbid curiosity, but was fortunate enough not to have encountered him or his cult before. Reporting what she knew, she couldn't resist correcting the priest on several points. 'The word "baal" is actually an old Semitic word for "lord", "master", and even "husband". It was applied to a number of gods of Canaan, Tyre, and Carthage, and even some kings, so it is difficult to distinguish one reference to "Baal" from another. They may have simply been gods of other pantheons, or maybe they were fallen angels, or perhaps some demon simply stole the title, and with it the history, culture, and power. Ironically, the Jewish and Christian demonisation of the old gods may have driven many of them to Lucifer for protection.'

'Regardless, the demon Baal, or Bael, first appears in the 16th century as one of seventy-two greater demons named in the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, and later in The Lesser Key of Solomon. The Dictionnaire Infernal summarises these accounts, describing Baal as a king of eastern Hell, in command of 66 legions. He is said to wear the forms of a cat, a toad, and a harsh-voiced king, or combinations thereof, but oddly the artist of the Dictionnaire placed the heads of all three atop the body of a spider. If summoned, he is claimed to grant wisdom and the power of invisibility. But, as is typical with demons, it is difficult to know what is true, what is speculation, and what are lies.'

'And Darwin's theory of evolution is no fad, but a perfectly reasonable and well-supported explanation of the natural world.' Penny pointed out to Cole, unable to let the priest's criticism pass unchallenged.

'But I must admit I have not heard of the Hand of Baal before now. What have they done, what crimes have they committed, and how did you learn of them?' she inquired of Westbrook again.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:55, Fri 18 Oct 2013.

Simon smiled at the intellectual woman. "I suppose that from a purely humanistic point of view those things could be seen as correct. From my point of view this," he slides a Bible out of his pocket, "Is the only thing that really matters. All else is human folly. There is an old theory among Bible scholars that no animal ever goes extinct because God place an invisible veil over them at creation. This has been disproven by the loss of the Dodo bird, which has sent shock waves through my community. The current thinking is that indeed God made the Earth as a changing environment, that species can change to match their environment, which is basic evolution, but we of faith still reject the notion that mankind evolved from a monkey or a monkey from an amoeba. Evolution holds up for the current environment, but discounts many things such as the possibility that nature has fundamentally changed. However we are not here to debate the Origin of the Species, but rather stop an ancient demon from bringing hell to Earth."

Penny would have been quite atheist if she hadn't encountered a demon, a vampire, several fey, a few Chinese spirits, an Indian Thuggee murderer, and more. Since then, she had adopted the position that if all myths and creations and faiths and monsters were true, then none could hold primacy in the world. And as their power rose and fell with human belief and fear, then the true dominant force in the world had to be humankind and the natural and physical world, including evolution. For her, the supernatural was the exception that proved the laws of the natural world. Belief and superstition fueled it, reason was the only defence.

Still, she wasn't about to argue her heresies with a Catholic priest with whom she would have to work closely. She tried to end the evolution matter with a compromise, which was rather difficult for her. 'We each understand what we can. Personally, I am happy to be a proud ape, and I do not take affront at God's tools... Though, if by "fundamental", you mean an extreme change, then evolution should occur more rapidly in such circumstances. If you mean a magical change, then no, the natural cannot account for the supernatural by definition. But I do wonder how the demons evolved.' Penny finished, raising her teacup and daintily sipping.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:54, Sat 19 Oct 2013.

Ian shakes his head at the conversation between Father Simon and Penny. As thrilling as this conversation is, mind if we get back to the end of the world discussion? He says with an amused laugh. Westbrook looks a bit irritated at having been overshadowed. Clearly he is not used to having to try to maintain himself as the center of attention, and it is just a bit gratifying to see him flustered. No doubt he is a fine man, but it is still nice to instil a bit of humility in such a person from time to time.

He continues though, as if he had not been interrupted. At any rate, we have a real situation on our hands. The information came to us little by little and only recently have we put things together. It started as more of a few details here and there. Noticing odd things in our research and the hunters we worked with were reporting strange activities. Sacrifices and the like. Baal kept coming up again and again. We realized eventually that it was a cult. We were even more surprised when we found out that the monsters and demons alike were worshiping it alongside humans. You don't generally see that kind of cooperation. I don't know if I've ever seen it before actually. Then, when we really started delving into it, well, that's when we started to discover the ancient texts and scrolls. In cultures throughout the world actually. They all mention the end of the world being brought about early should Baal's hand ever grasp enough power. We realized that it meant the cult specifically. I don't know what they are doing or what their endgame is. But the information we have is enough to scare me into bringing you all together. He finishes gravely. I only hope that I can count on your cooperation. You will have our facilities at your disposal, as well as any supplies you may need.

Kate:

She looks at you gravely and you are surprised to see she doesn't find the question odd. Instead she says simply, 1890. But I have a feeling you expected me to say something like that. I also have a feeling that is not the answer you wanted to hear.

Simon nodded, "Of course, as well as my discretion. How should we proceed?"

"No it's not the answer I was hoping for," Kate said with a frown. Her mind was spinning at the realization of what had happened. She'd fallen back in time. One thing was certain. "I need to get back," she muttered under her breath. It was unclear what time it was but Kate knew sometime or other in 2013 her fiance would be leaving to pick her up from the airport and she wouldn't be there. Her fingers itched to pull her phone out even though she knew if it really was 1890 it would have no signal.

The black woman seemed to have an idea of what had happened so Kate chose to speak to her instead of the man who had pulled the gun on her. "Will you give me an idea of where I am and show me a way out?" She wanted to see for herself just exactly what the 1890's looked like. If they let her.

'It is strange that I have not heard of this Hand of Baal before. They must not have been able to gain a foothold in Britain, of course.' Penny mused with a national conceit. She stirred her tea and watched the leaves bob under the surface as she reflected on Westbrook's claims. It was strange that such a niche cult as demon worship could grow so large and so widespread and become so entrenched without being more noticed. Perhaps they'd operated under the guise of Anarchists or as a criminal organisation similar to the Moriarty gang. She also wondered how it could attract so many people to work in concert with demons and monsters. No doubt they'd recruited the dregs of society, the ignorant, the poor, the villainous, and those lacking all hope. But she was making the capital mistake of theorising before she had the data. Westbrook had offered her only nebulous fears and portents again, but no real facts she could build on.

She put down her teacup and looked expectantly to Westbrook. 'Mister Westbrook, I am an amateur paranormal consulting detective, and I have already crossed the Atlantic to be here. Thus you have my time, discretion, and cooperation should you hire my services. But I need data, I cannot make bricks without clay. Do you have a specific case for me— for us to investigate?'

Westbrook listens to you with a nod. Well, it just so happens that we have come across some clues that point us towards a man in this very city. He is a tailor by trade, and a fairly successful one at that. Little is known of him. He seems to be quiet and keeps to himself. But we intercepted a letter from him during one of our raids that looks to be fairly suspicious. We would like you to investigate him. There have been some disappearances of late that we are wondering if he could be involved in as well. It is getting late though and I'm sure you must be tired. If you are all in agreement, perhaps you could start in the morning?

The woman gives you an apologetic smile and shakes her head. I am sorry, but this location is very guarded. If you do not know where you are it is best that it stay that way until we can determine if you are trustworthy or not. I feel that you are, but my employer will not agree with me without proof. I can tell you that you are in New York though, and that you will be safe as long as you cooperate. I also imagine that we can help you to return, once we find out why you are here in the first place. You must be very lucky to have arrived amongst our organization, perhaps the only ones who can actually return you to your timeline. She says reassuringly. If you would be so kind as to follow me, I will take you to my employer now. I think this is worth interrupting him for. Tell me, what do you remember about arriving here?

Simon was a little disappointed but nodded, "Yes, but I would prefer not to sleep here. I can make arrangements with the local parish for cloistering."

'You tease a detective, sir, but very well: I shall eagerly await tomorrow's meeting. I should like to begin with that letter.' Penny returned. The talk of the Hand of Baal had intrigued her, and now she wanted to get into this case, but Westbrook was right: it would have to wait for a new day and a fresh mind. Why Westbrook had requested a meeting at ten-thirty at night was beyond her.

She agreed with Cole on one thing: she did not wish to stay overnight at the Men of Letters' facility. They might be employing her, but she was not one of them, at least not yet. Nor did she trust them, especially if Westbrook couldn't even trust his own. Her room at the hotel would do well enough, though she might lay down some salt. 'I, too, should like to return to my hotel. Can you please have someone call us a hansom cab?' She finished her biscuit and drank some more of her cooling tea.

Jacob nods at the others " I would prefer to sleep somewhere else , perhaps a Inn close by would be a good idea. We can than start first thing in the morning and meet up somewhere."

Westbrook seems a bit disappointed that no one has decided to stay but he recovers quickly nonetheless. Very well. Perhaps it is best to keep you at arms length from the rest of the chapter. After all, I do fear I'm unsure of who to trust. That's why I'm putting you on this investigation. If any word gets to the tailor before you get there to question him, he will either flee or get rid of all the evidence. Unfortunately that seems to be a recurring happening as of late. That's why I think we have a traitor in our midst. Too many times we've gone to follow a lead and discovered they were prepared for us. He shakes his head. He then takes out a large envelope from a dresser drawer and hands it to Penny. Inside you will find a photograph, the addresses, and some general information on the tailor. His name is Richard Bently. He has a home and a shop. I'm thinking it would be wise to divide and conquer tomorrow, however, I leave you to what you think is best. I will make sure a cab is called for you. He finishes with a nod. Ian, I would be most pleased if you would be so kind as to escort these fine people to their places of residence for the night? And then perhaps look into that other matter I asked you about.... He trails off. The Scotsman gives him a nod and then proceeds to start to lead you down the hall. He stops though at the sound of approaching footsteps.

ooc: Sorry, I'm waiting on Kate to catch up here, so feel free to comment on what's been said so far. I will continue the post as soon as she catches up though, so it should only be a very temporary delay.

Jacob listens before asking " Is there something we can perhaps get from you that will identify us with those we can trust ? Perhaps a phrase or keyword , or a question we can ask. "

Penny finished her tea and examined the teaspoon closely. Sterling silver, she estimated, and she thought she glimpsed the Aquarian Star worked into the handle. How interesting. Maybe she could ask for one at a later date. She set her cup down to receive the envelope from Westbrook, then eagerly riffled through its contents, first drawing out the photograph of Richard Bently to fix his face in her mind. It would take time for a full examination, however.

As the meeting drew to a close, she returned the photograph and rose from her seat. 'Thank you, I shall examine these in the morning prior to our next meeting, and hope to draw some conclusions for you. I shall do all I can to investigate this matter for you.' Then Penny approached Westbrook and laid her delicate fingers over the silver pocket watch in his large hand. A brief glance at it confirmed her earlier theories. 'I assure you, you have made the right choice in hiring me. I am sure your father would approve.' She tapped the watch to indicate what she was referring to, hoping this demonstration of her observational skills and inductive reasoning would assuage his doubts.

Kate listened with interest not surprised that they wouldn't just let her walk out of the building. After a brief moment of thought she decided to go along with them for now and see where things led from there. "I was investigating a cult in Connecticut. There was this ruined mausoleum I was digging around in actually. I found this symbol, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and brought up the picture she'd taken of the symbol. "It just sucked me into the wall and poof here I am." She watches their response to her phone intently to see if there is any recognition of the device.

Kate makes no objections to following the woman finding herself curious as to what she's stumbled upon. And even more so if they could find her a way home.

Simon nudged Jacob and pointed in the direction of the footfalls. He pulled on his ear ("Do you hear that?") and then pointed at his eye ("I'll go and have a look"). He pointed at Jacob and then with a flat hand waved it over his head ("You cover me").

She stood, putting his bible away with his left hand and reach down with his right he pulled back his coat, revealing a Colt Peacemaker. He drew the weapon and thumbed back the trigger in a single motion, though he pointed it up rather than out. "Whomever you are, its time to reveal yourself. Into the light I command thee."

Jacobs nods at Simon as he slips a set of brass knuckles onto his hands and moves to the side watching Simon check out who was following them. Jacob walks into the dark shadows and starts to slowly walk towards the source of the footfalls as Simon orders the person to stand into the light.

At mention of a sign or password, Westbrook nods toward Jacob. Yes. I should have one ready for you by the morning. Use it at your discretion though. If you ask for it and someone does not know it, they may get upset if they find out that I do not trust them. I will try to have those I send provide it for you from the start.

At Penny's words he gives a small smile. I can see why you are so highly recommended my dear. I look forward to hearing your conclusions.

As the footsteps approach you all turn to see three people, one of whom is a rather strange looking individual. There is a tall thin man who looks a bit startled, an absolutely stunning black woman with proud eyes, and a young woman who is dressed in what appears to be denim pants and all manner of layers including a strange sweater and a shirt that has the caricature of a ghost and the words "Ghostbusters" in bold lettering. Her shoes are strange as well, a mixture of black and a shade of bright pink that would not look uncommon on a flamingo. Such clothes in the first place, let alone on a woman are surprising. She is holding a flat square device and the black woman was looking into it before being startled by Father Simon's orders. Westbrook turns in surprise. It is alright....I think. The two are some of ours, though the woman in the trousers is new to me. He sounds unhappy about her presence, no doubt not liking strangers in such a secret place. Who are you?

Kate:

The woman looks absolutely flabbergasted by the phone, but looks into it nonetheless, still walking as she does so, albeit slower. A look of recognition crosses her face but the sound of a voice from around the corner interrupts her. You hear a man say "Whomever you are, it's time to reveal yourself. Into the light I command thee." Upon rounding the corner you see a strange group of people, all dressed in Victorian style and all looking at you in surprise. ooc: See above for Westbrook's reaction. From now on I shall post for you at the same time as the others. Welcome aboard Kate!

Simon was glad he had not pointed his weapon, it would have been rude. He noticed the black woman and the small box she held first. Despite their being nearly a half century removed from the war between the states, a black woman in the company of whites was unusual. Simon himself held no racist sympathies, some of his colleagues did and gave lip service to racial equality, Simon believed that God created all mankind and in His view all were His children wayward or not. The skinny fellow was hardly given a second glance as his eyes fell on the extremely strange woman.

He holstered his weapon as he took her in. At first he thought she was one of those women's suffragists, who go around wearing men's clothing in an obscene way. Her shoes were too odd, and her sweater was completely wrong. "Ghostbusters? Madam do you think this is some sort of game? Who are these Ghostbusters pray tell?" This was the first time he had really showed anything close to anger. Even with the holy water earlier his reprimand had been gentle. This seemed an affront to him. Perhaps it was the combination of obscene dress and the flaunting of her profession as a Hunter.

He shook his head, "Perhaps I should take confessions here and now?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:49, Fri 25 Oct 2013.

At the sounds of a confrontation outside, Penny hurried into the hall, brandishing her umbrella defensively. There she found some odd arrivals. The tall, thin man and the beautiful Negress were no doubt members of the Men of Letters — so they weren't just men or white; Penny approved — but the other woman was... what exactly?

She stared in shock at the strange woman, then began analysing her peculiar appearance, her dress and accoutrements. Caucasian, mid-twenties, her hair bobbed short to a quite unfashionable degree. With denim trousers (on a woman!) and jacket, and a plaid flannel shirt, she was attired as an American working man. All this was quite unusual for a woman, but Penny was no stranger to cross-dressing herself when "hunting", so she took this woman to be in the midst of doing the same. The style and cut were unusual, but perhaps were simply obscure American fashions.

Shockingly, her shirt was open to expose her chemise, tightly fitted, too. Perhaps she'd been in a fight or cruelly ravished, but showed few signs of a struggle; the buttons weren't broken. Why not cover up? Bizarrely, the chemise bore some glossy painted design: "Ghostbusters", and a caricature of a white creature (a ghost, likely) in a red barred circle, perhaps advertising some band of hunters who specialised in the dispatching of spirits. What kind of hunters would advertise? Who on earth would paint on clothing? The paint remained flexible without cracking, beyond any current chemistry she'd seen or heard of.

Penny glimpsed a gun holster under her jacket, and a knife at her belt. A hunter or a criminal, a Pinkerton detective woman, or some outdoors trade? Her hands did not show a great deal of physical labour, nor did her waistline. But neither was she unfit or incapable, and her stance was ready for combat.

She couldn't get a good look at the rectangular object she was holding, perhaps a compact or slim case. Despite her low-class clothing, she wore some odd turtle-shell bracelet and an exquisitely expensive jewelled ring, likely an engagement ring. That suggested great wealth, or at least a wealthy fiancé. The shoes were unrecognisable, black and flamingo pink. Her shoes and clothes were speckled in dust, cobwebs, and dirt — dry dirt, dry clothes, she'd not come through the rain outside, at least not recently, yet Westbrook admitted she was a stranger.

Throughout this analysis of a few seconds, Penny stammered 'You... Uh... Um...' simply unable to classify this stranger and explain her state and presence. She went back to basics. 'By her weapons and male dress, I believe she is what you Americans term a "hunter". Specialising in ghosts, apparently. She has recently experienced some shock or ordeal. By the dust, dirt on her shoes, and that cobweb, she has recently been in an abandoned building, a crypt, or underground. She is dry, so she hasn't been outside recently. Unless she was spirited here by some magical means, then she may have entered your facility via a tunnel. Is this possible, or do you lack for cleaners? ...You've tested her, of course?' she inquired of the strange woman's escorts. All the odd features might be explained by the inexplicable behaviour of a monstrous creature or practitioner of magic. But given Ian Shaw's earlier precautions, she took that she'd been tested and found human as a given.

'And do stop staring, gentleman.' she chided the men staring at the undressed woman. She approached the strange woman, passed her umbrella to the tall man, and reached for her collar, intending to assist this other woman with what she'd forgotten in her shock. 'May I?' she asked, before attempting to button up her shirt and cover her chemise and womanly parts. The buttons were of an unusual type as well.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:52, Sat 26 Oct 2013.

Kate blinked in surprise at the newcomers. They fit in well with their surroundings, like characters from history. She realized that she probably looked as ridiculous to them as they did to her. The fair haired Priest seemed almost offended at her presence and his words would have been comical to her had the situation been different. She'd known a priest or two who had taken himself too seriously. They were a serious drain on her patience. She couldn't help but chuckle at his mention of confessions and wondered how that would work since her sins had been committed in the future. Did that mean she hadn't sinned yet? Did she even exist? Did people know she was missing? Suddenly her head began to ache with all the possibilities.

Time travel was tricky and difficult to understand. That's why she hadn't bothered to read up on it much. Her knowledge was limited to the movie trilogy Back to the Future and a few Star Trek episodes.

"No confessions needed at this time Father," she said as calmly as she could manage.

She was about to say more when a well dressed woman wearing what Kate considered a fancy costume but was probably everyday clothes spoke up. What proceeded was an interesting analysis of where Kate might have come from and why she was dressed as she was. It was surprisingly detailed. Kate was even more surprised when the blonde woman stepped forward and reached for the collar of her flannel shirt. In an attempt apparently to button it. The woman was a bit taller than she with strawberry blonde hair and her lack of personal boundaries was alarming. Kate stepped back uncomfortably.

"Okay, so obviously I look as strange to you as you do to me..." she wrapped her flannel shirt around herself getting the feeling they preferred she cover the t-shirt.

"My name is Kate, and I really don't belong here. Obviously...I don't...belong," she eyed the others in the room. I am a Hunter where I come from but I get the feeling we do things a little different than you. I don't know exactly how I ended up here or why. There was a symbol, and I got sucked into a wall." She finished lamely. It sounded stupid even to her.

Penny stepped back, fearing she had caused offence, and murmured softly in her English accent 'Forgive me, I meant to help, one woman to another. I felt you might have forgotten your attire, or been... roughly treated.' She shyly indicated Kate's opened shirt versus her own buttoned-up frilly dress. She would have liked to have examine the flexible painted design on Kate's chemise or whatever the article of clothing was, but not in the company of men. She took back her umbrella from the tall man. 'I am Penny.' she introduced, leaving out the 'Dreadful' for now.

Standing so close to Kate, Penny got a better look at the rectangular object in her hand. It wasn't a make-up compact or a cigarette case. A glass front covered a perfectly painted image, of boxes, designs, and an image of some symbol, likely the one Kate referred to. And then the painting moved. Magic! Penny stepped back in surprise, lest she be sucked in too. '...Where did you come from?' she asked slowly, stunned, finding all she knew and expected evaporating like mist.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:35, Sun 27 Oct 2013.

Stefan stood there going over the information in his head on Baal, as well as listening to the conversations. He was intrigued when the conversations turned to creation, but held his tongue. He did not think this was the best time for such a conversation, for there were other more pressing things.

Stefan turned to Mr. Westbrook. "I vill be staying at my 'otel room as vell. I dhink it vould be best if ve did not all leave at vunce."

Stefan noticed the exchange between Father Cole and the hunter with curiosity as well as a bit of humor. They were worried that the traitor would know and move against them already, but that would not be the case. Information was the purpose of such a person at this point.

Stefan stood leaning on his cane as a very strangely dressed woman was seen. He was both amazed and shocked by the clothing as well as the instruments she carried. He then noticed the strained look on her face and became concerned. He limped slowly towards her. "Are you alright miss? Could ve get a chair an some vater for 'er please. I dink it best if she sat down. I am Doktor Stefan Von Stein. If you do not mind I vould like ta check your vitals." He held a hand out to her.

Simon smirked as Penny began to talk...and talk...and talk. He leaned into Jacob and whispered,

More aloud to the group, "Proverbs 5: 3&4 states 'For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.' And 31: 30 'Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.' I leave it to all of you to decide how to use these words." Though clearly they are meant for the women in the room. This is said gently, as he had gently chastised earlier. He has found his calm again.

He allowed his cloak to cover his weapon again. "By the by Ms. Kate? We all here are Hunters. Where you come from may be relevant to our current happenstance and then again it might not. Prey tell us more. And do try to keep yourself covered in a more seemly manner."

He heeds the Doctor's instructions, retrieving a chair first, and setting it within arms reach of Kate and Penny and then a glass of water. He hands the glass to the Doctor, trusting him to use it properly. Simon does have some training in medicine, but would never get in the way of the doctor. In turn he introduces himself, "I am Father Simon Cole, of the Jesuit Order. I am one of the Vatican's exorcists."

The handsome Scotsman arches an eyebrow at Father Simon's words. Doesn't the good book say something about judge not lest ye be judged, and let he who is without sin cast the first stone? It's been awhile since I've been to sunday school, but I'm pretty sure we should leave the woman be. He says gently. Also, some of my closest friends are whor-uh....less than your usual gentlewomen, and they are simply lovely people. His grin widens. 'Sides. I know an immoral woman when I see one. I have the knack for these types of things. This miss strikes me as better than that. After all, it's not the most seductive attire now is it? No offense miss, I'm sure where you're from it's quite lovely. He gives her a wink.

Kate smiled cautiously at Penny. The woman was strange but seemed kind and genuinely meant well. Penny didn't miss a thing and she seemed to take an interest in the phone. Kate watched her reaction and after the woman stepped back in surprise she tucked the phone back into her pocket.

A man that she had overlooked limped forward carrying a cane. His face was concerned and he spoke with a heavy accent. Kate had to concentrate a little to understand what he said. He called for a chair and water and informed her politely that he was a doctor and wanted to check her vitals. It was the nicest introduction she'd had yet. He hadn't asked where she'd come from, why she was there, or tried to mess with her clothing. She decided she liked him instantly. She took the offered hand.

The Father's words brought a flush of anger to her cheeks and Dr. Von Stein probably noticed her grip tighten before she dropped his hand and clenched her fists. "Listen here Father Simon," She ignored the chair he set near her. "I would figure someone like you would have enough sense to keep his opinions and scriptures to himself. You don't know anything about me and I would think a man in the service of the Lord would give a woman the benefit of the doubt." Father Simon was lucky he'd given the water to Dr. Von Stein. Had he given it to Kate himself she would have tossed it back in his face. The Scotsman's words in her defense did little to sooth her anger.

"It's not a matter of where I came from but when," she paused drawing in a shaky breath. Really there was no eloquent way to say it. "Believe me or not I'm from the year 2013.".

Stefan gave the good father a stern look, then Mr. Shaw, as he felt the woman grip his hand tight. He felt the pulse of the woman racing. "Fadher Cole, I vould like if you vould please stop antagonizing my patient." He then looked at the woman. "Ve vill talk bout vhat time you come from, vhen I see you 'ave calmed some. You 'ave been dhru a lot, so please calm yourself." He reached into his satchel and took out a small vial. "Vould you give me your glass a vater please. Dhis vill 'elp calm you." He held out his hand.

As Doctor von Stein took charge and called for a chair and water for Kate, Penny tried to help, gently guiding her to the chair and putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. But the detective's movements were awkward and uncertain, unlike her earlier assured observation and confident argument. She could analyse a person like one would an insect, but was less sure of dealing with them in a softer manner.

But that uncertainly fled as Father Cole quoted some of the more misogynist proverbs he could think of, turning an angry glare on him. Her time with the suffragists and, indeed, in her own profession had made all too familiar with such views. She was pleased to hear Kate speak in her own defence; there was courage and strength in her, no demureness. Penny knew she liked her, thinking her a fellow suffragist.

'And have you no decency, sir?' Penny hissed at last to Cole. 'Your insinuations are quite unkind, and I would expect better of a man of the cloth. Look, do you not see she wears an engagement ring? See the shock in her eyes? And the buttons of her shirt have been forced.' She turned, quickly gesturing down Kate's shirt.  'Clearly, she has been rudely handled — perhaps by a Spring-Heeled Jack.' The Spring-Heeled Jack, or Jumping Jack, was an obscure British monster with a habit of molesting and terrorising women. Like too many men, really. Penny had defeated one herself, though it had been a humiliating experience. 'I believe you owe Miss Kate an apology, reverend.'

Then Kate said she came from the year 2013. 'The Year of our Lord?' she asked for clarification, aware that other cultures had different calendars. Clearly, it was so. She looked Kate up and down, again noting the strange chemistry of her chemise and compact, the men's clothes tailored for a woman, and the sundry other inexplicable details that marked her as not of this time. 'I believe you.' Penny said quietly.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:54, Mon 28 Oct 2013.

Simon felt humbled, as he should have. "Well it appears you've traveled 123 years into the past in part to teach me a lesson in humility. I should remember to take the plank from my own eye before trying to get the spec from yours."

He looked at her hand and saw a rather large diamond ring. "By all the Saint's madam, is your betrothed a Duke or an Earl?"

Wikki:

However, diamond engagement rings were for a long time seen as the domain of the nobility and aristocracy, and tradition often favoured simpler engagement bands. The idea of a diamond engagement ring being a fitting choice for everybody was created in the United States as recently as in the 1930s, and has been aggressively promoted since through the entertainment industry.

He stepped back crossing himself ad kissing his rosery, "Bless me Father, for I have sinned..."

Kate absentmindedly handed her glass back to the Doctor and sank down onto the empty chair, dropping her pack on the floor next to her. Honestly she had no intention of actually drinking the water after the vile had been emptied into it. The Doctor was kind and seemed genuine but his medicine was horribly outdated in her eyes and who knew what he was putting in her glass.

Kate quickly added Penny to the friendly side of the list that she was forming in her mind. The woman seemed ahead of her time and it made Kate feel more comfortable to have such an advanced thinker in the room. If she remembered her history there weren't many women like Penny around in the 1800's. "Yes 2013 AD," she clarified with a half smile. She was relieved that some people seemed to believe her.

"If it makes you feel better, I'm one of the more modestly dressed for my time," she added glancing toward Father Simon. He had made his apology and she accepted it, though he still wasn't on her good side. She laughed at the idea of Dalton, her fiance being a Duke or Earl. He was a law student and far from rich. The ring had been his mothers and Kate had no real sentimental attachment to it.

Kate was content to sit in her chair and let the others figure out what to do with the information they'd just been given. Though she began to wonder if they were going to let her go free anytime soon. No one had said she was a prisoner, but she doubted she'd be given the opportunity to just walk away.

Stefan looked at her and could see the look. "Da drink be chamomile tea. It vill just 'elp calm you. I am sure dhis all seems very barbaric. I vould love ta speak vith you bout many dhings, but ve vill 'ave time I 'ope."

Stefan motioned for her to drink it.

The black woman watches the exchange with thoughtful eyes. She too seems offended by Father Simon's generalizations about women, but calms down a bit when he apologizes. Overall you sense she is a bit defensive of her race, for she looks all of you in the eyes as if she were equal, and she looks ready to take on anyone who may mention the color of her skin. When people seem more interested in the time traveler though, she calms down a bit. If I may interject She steps forward towards the young woman. She showed me the symbol and I recognized it. She stops herself for a moment and turns toward her companion. Frederick, go make sure that no one is eavesdropping. She says quickly. Once satisfied she continues. It's a symbol from the Hand. Well, parts of it are. I'm still working on the rest. I'll need to make a sketch and study it. But from what I was able to see, it matches the symbol of Baal himself. I think that she is after the same cult we are, only in the future. Somehow I think she was brought back here because this is the time they are at their peak of activity. She looks excited by her conclusions as though pleased at putting it together. She frowns a moment later though and looks down. Well, it's only a theory. I suppose I could still be mistaken. She adds humbly.

Penny regarded the black woman — she really needed to learn more names around here — no different from anyone else: as a subject to be studied and analysed. She wore her fears and doubts openly, but Penny could tell by her interactions with the Men of Letters that she was well respected, trusted, and stood highly among them. Penny supposed she'd advanced and been accepted among them, whereas she would be prejudiced against by the outside world. Penny also did not miss the voudou symbol on her necklace. 'No, that seems an excellent theory. We shall need more data, of course, but let's call it a working hypothesis.' Penny attempted to reassure the Negress of her doubts.

'Though I do hope the Hand of Baal is not still active in five generations' time. Perhaps Kate found some relic of them, or...' Penny trailed off, unwilling to speak the possibility. Penny was taking all this as a quite novel puzzle, another problem to solve, and quite easily, really. She remembered an old adage of Holmes', which she'd adapted to the supernatural world: when you have eliminated the improbable, whatever remains, however impossible, must be the truth. She could easily accept the inevitable logic. But logic and deduction across time was a new field for her. She was familiar with the scientific romances of Twain and that new writer, Wells, and so knew of the concept of time travel. But they'd written of visits to the past, not the future. But then, Kate was the one visiting what was, to her, the past. Everyone in this room was long dead in her own time, Penny realised with a chill. Regardless, it was possible that actions in the present — the past — could affect that future. Could some force or someone have left that symbol for Kate to find? 'Miss Kate, where did you find this symbol? In a crypt or mausoleum, was it? But! Please don't mention the name of the owner. Write it down, or whisper it for...' She looked to the black woman. 'My apologies, I don't know your name. But I believe you may be the best judge of what to do with this information.' After all, whose name was on that crypt?
This message was last edited by the player at 00:44, Thu 31 Oct 2013.

Shrugging Kate took a small sip of the water, a little embarrassed that her facial expression was so easy for the doctor to read. "Thank you," she said politely.

The black woman spoke and she turned her attention to her theory. Kate had heard of Baal but had been early in her investigation and had not connected the symbol and Baal together. The symbol had been unlike any she had ever seen which was why she'd taken the picture of it.

It was a mausoleum in Connecticut. The place was old and in ruins. I found the symbol inside etched into the back wall down towards the ground. All I did was brush my fingers over it to clear some of the dirt and grime away. Reaching into her backpack she pulled out a pen and a notepad. She wrote down the names she'd noted and handed it to the woman as suggested. "There were a few people buried there, a family I think. This is the name that was over the entry."

Simon has gone to a semi-secluded area to speak with God. He will return near the end of the conversation.

The family names so far bear no meaning for anyone who glances at them, which is something of a relief. The black woman addresses the group. I am Victoria Greene. I imagine if John has anything to say about it, I will be working with you closely. She gives a welcoming nod. The use of Westbrook's christian name does not escape you. Subordinates do not address their superiors this way. She clearly knows him well. I think it would be best if you stay here for a while miss. She regards Kate. We may need to ask you some questions about what you know and perhaps your unique perspective could lend us assistance in our task. We can provide you with food, lodging and more uh...fitting attire while you are here. I will also see about trying to find a way to send you back. There are several possibilities springing to mind already. Still, I think your coming here was providence more than accident. If you are willing, we could use your help. She finishes imploringly.

In the meantime Westbrook is watching the situation with a frown. It appears he does not relish the idea of someone happening upon his secrets so suddenly, but Victoria gives him a look of reassurance and he seems to relax a bit. Very well, if it is alright with our time traveler, I suggest she join you all tomorrow in the search of our suspicious tailor. Maybe she will recognize something important. Can I trust you all to keep her out of trouble?

Simon rejoined the larger group in short order. He seemed much calmer, very serene. He caught the tail of the conversation, but decided not to intrude. He figured he had damaged whatever relationship he might have had with the time traveler enough. He did not want to damage it further.

When the discussion lulled her interjected, "I would like to suggest we all go and find a pub or an inn where we can share a drink and chat with each other. Does this seem like a good idea to everyone?"

Jacob walks over to Simon and nudges him with his elbow as the others are listening. " I never pretend to understand woman  Father , so I would not worry too much about this. I keep my head down and worry about trying to survive. Its not the things that go bump in the night you have to worry about Simon , its the ones that wear corsets you have to worry about." he says in a hushed tone and can't help but have a grin on his face.



Food and drink I can't argue with that point."

Simon gave Jacob a smile. "I wouldn't know." He says as he taps his collar. "I've never...my only experience with women is arm's length."

" I don't know if I pity you or envy you on that one man."

Penny's caution over the mausoleum's ownership proved unnecessary, but she did not think it unfounded. She was puzzling through the potential paradoxes that travel through time would cause, how it would affect motive and means. Holmes would love this. So, the symbol had not been left over Westbrook's future tomb, in order to bring Kate to their time to preserve the matter of her existence here and now. Instead, the mausoleum belonged to some unrelated family, possibly a third or as-yet-unrevealed party. 'Leaving aside a gap of 123 years, the question remains as to why a Baalist symbol in a Connecticut mausoleum is linked to a Men of Letters facility in New York. Perhaps the Hand of Baal seek, or sought, or will seek, a magical entrance into their enemy's base? Alternatively, some faction may believe we require Kate's assistance and future perspective — as Miss Green suggests, providence... Mister Westbrook, I recommend you have your people investigate this mausoleum, or the land it will be sited on, and this family. They may all bear watching.'

'I should be happy to assist Miss Kate while she is here. I am sure much has changed by her time, and I have many questions to ask myself.' Indeed she did. A future society that allowed women to wear pants was surely quite enlightened. Had they allowed women suffrage as well?

'That does seem a good idea, Father, if we are to be working together. However, it is rather late; it must be getting to eleven on the clock... Perhaps we could breakfast together, at a coffeehouse?'

The decidedly non-corset-wearing Penny noticed Anderson and Father Cole talking privately, but she didn't interject or eavesdrop. Instead, she approached Kate, a little shyly. 'Uh, Miss Kate, may we speak privately?'
This message was last edited by the player at 00:16, Fri 01 Nov 2013.

Kate nodded in agreement to Victoria's suggestion. It wasn't like she had any other place to go. Once things were settled she would seek out the nearest library to try and get some research done on getting back home. She wasn't looking forward to doing things the old fashioned way. "I'm willing to help," she said with a smile, "though I may not be very useful. Things are a lot different from what I'm used to.

When Penny suggested keeping an eye on the mausoleum Kate looked interested. Not that she expected to find the symbol there waiting. Someone would have found it long before she if it had been placed a hundred and twenty three years ago. <Lavender>I can give you the address...location of the mausoleum if that will help. It was old, at least a hundred years old. Might be brand new now."

She smiled with relief when Penny offered to assist her. The woman was different but she seemed to know what she was doing and it would be interesting to get to know her better. Kate doesn't comment on the idea of getting drinks or coffee as she is not sure if she is included in the invitation or even aloud to go.

When Penny approaches and asks for a word in private Kate scoots her chair back and stands motioning for the other woman to lead the way to a more private corner of the room.

Simon nodded, "I suppose the hour is late. I am amenable to breakfast if everyone else is as well. Doctor? Jacob? Ms. Kate?" Simon is making an effort to include Kate as well as his intuition tells him she is very much a part of all this. His intuition is rarely wrong.

Penny joined Kate in the corner, and somewhat hesitant before she spoke. 'Please forgive my forwardness and deception earlier, regarding your attire, and, ah, the suggestion you may have been assaulted. I felt it best to prompt some second thoughts all around... I fear the good reverend may be particularly conservative, even for a Catholic. But he may just have been in shock at the sight of a woman cross-dressing with her undergarments showing.' Penny offered a small smile in amusement. 'He may be surprised to see me dressed for combat.'

She mentioned the other thing she had on her mind. 'If you do not wish to stay in this facility, then I will gladly pay for a hotel room and appropriate clothing for you.'

Kate gave Father Simon a simple nod of agreement, glad that she had been included in the breakfast invite after all. Maybe the man wasn't so bad.

In the corner with Penny Kate laughed out loud at the woman's words, possibly drawing unwanted attention. Remembering where they were she whispered softly. "This is called a t-shirt. It's normal fashion in my time." she pulled at the hem of her Ghostbusters shirt which stuck out from the flannel she had buttoned for 'modesty' "If you think this is bad I'd hate to see what you thought of my actual underwear," She laughed more softly this time. "And there is no need to apologize. It's cool."

As to Penny's offer of a hotel room she glanced at Victoria and the man known as Westbrook. "I'm not so sure they will let me go..."

Penny's eyebrow raised in curiosity at the idea that such attire was a common fashion. She wasn't sure she could get used to being so exposed to the world. But what difference did one more layer of cloth make, but to make her feel warmer and more shrouded?

She followed Kate's gaze to the Men of Letters. 'If you wish to leave, I will insist upon it.' Penny stated firmly. 'We women must stand together.'

Stefan kept silent thru all the conversations. He was trying to piece the connections with all of this, but there was no true pattern to be seen. He was intrigued by Miss Kate. Time travel was even more intriguing. He had so many questions for her, but did not feel now was the best time.

Stefan heard the good father speaking about meeting and agreed it was a good thought."Do ve vish ta be speaking about dhis in public? "

Simon nods to Stephen, "Of course the Doctor is correct, we should endeavor to keep our conversations free from references to the Men of Letters and Hunters. Perhaps we should simply refer to something vague like 'that club' for the Men of Letters and perhaps 'finders' for hunters? Mayhap even 'detectives' since we are in the company of an esteemed member of a very small club, those trained by the great Sherlock Holms. Those are just my thoughts."

It is clear from the way he speaks that Simon holds Holms in high regard indeed. He caught Penny's eye, "I know Mr. Holms as well, and I recognize his handiwork in your observational powers. I met him when I was called in to a case of possession, one that he believed was just garden variety psychosis. He was correct of course. If I am inaccurate I apologize, but I hear him when you speak."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:54, Fri 01 Nov 2013.

Kate flashed a grateful smile. She really didn't want to stay there if no one else was. Honestly she just wanted to take a look outside for a final confirmation that she was indeed in 1890. Despite Penny's mention of the late hour Kate was wide awake. It had been early evening in 2013 and she'd taken a late nap to prepare for a long night. "I don't want to cause trouble but I would like to take come along with you if you don't mind. I can pay you back for the room...once I get some money." Her own wallet had a five dollar bill and a few credit cards.

Speaking louder she addressed Victoria. "Penny has suggested me coming along with her tonight. I would really like to see for myself where I am. So if you don't mind I will take her up on her offer." She tried to sound firm but in the end she was reminded of the times she'd begged her mother to let her go to a sleepover at a friends house.

Victoria looks at Westbrook cautiously. A look is exchanged between the two of them and she gives a slow nod. Very well. As you wish. I trust Miss Penny will be responsible for you? She arches an eyebrow at the woman expectantly. Time travel is a delicate thing you know. You likely are not familiar with our customs and you will need to keep a low profile. Also, this place is extremely secret. Tell no one of it's existence and do not be followed when you return. I trust you all with this. She finishes firmly. Westbrook has fallen silent and you cannot help but feel surprise that this black woman seems to have so much authority. I suggest that after you have your morning meal together you do not linger long. You will want to check on Mr. Bently in the morning while he is still at his shop. You may want to divide yourselves amongst his residence and his business. There is no need for all of you to go at once. I trust you will decide amongst yourselves which groupings are best, but be sure to take care. Danger may await in both. She finishes darkly.

The Scotsman sidles up to Father Simon and the others, looking a bit sheepish. Since I'm to be working closely with you, uh, well, do you think it would be alright if I went to breakfast with you too? I'd like to get to know the people I'm trusting my life with. It's almost comical how shy he looks to be asking this.

ooc: We're about done with the night. Finish up here and let me know your intentions for the rest of the night and then we'll regroup the next morning when you're done.

Penny shook her head slightly at the idea of recompense. 'Forget about it, please. I doubt American currency of 123 years hence will be valid in this day. You may find yourself quite poor, but I am fortunately quite well off. It is the charitable thing to do.' She couldn't suggest Kate sell her incredibly expensive engagement ring, nor her future marvels. 'You can repay me in answers to my questions.' she said, not altogether seriously but eyes alight in fascination.

She answered Green with 'I am always responsible, unfortunately. I will keep Miss Kate under my wing, and instruct her in the customs and dress codes of the age, though I daresay they may seem quite backward to her.'

She was surprised to hear Father Cole refer to her mentor, Sherlock Holmes, and revealed that she'd trained under the Great Detective. It wasn't often that the unflappable Penny could be surprised or perturbed. 'No, you are quite correct. Clearly, I am not the only one here trained in the arts of observation and deduction. Yes, I have trained under and worked with Holmes for several years, and taken those cases of a supernatural bent that proved beyond his mundane expertise. I fear I am not nearly as skilled as Holmes, but it appears some of our association has rubbed off on me.'

'Of course. she nodded in acquiescence to Miss Green's and Mr Shaw's requests — she could certainly think of a reason to visit a tailor, and they would need one of the Men of Letters to explain more of the Hand of Baal cult.

That seemed to be the end of the evening. As people departed, Penny beckoned to Kate. 'It's raining out, but you may walk under my umbrella. We can take a hansom cab to the New York Hotel. With your short hair, those clothes, and in this light, you can pass as a man without close inspection. People do tend to make assumptions. I only hope no-one gets the wrong impression of me returning to a hotel with a strange man of working class.' she explained ruefully. 'A separate room, of course. I can lend you some clothing until we are able to go shopping for a new wardrobe. Perhaps our tailor suspect can supply women's clothing; that should provide sufficient cover for our investigation.'

On the way, Penny asked Kate 'May I ask you a question about the future?' With permission, she asked with great intensity and hope 'Do we succeed? Are the beatings, the humiliations, and outrages all worth it? Do women gain suffrage and win the right to vote?'

Out in the rain later, Penny erected her umbrella over the pair of them. A devil's trap was sewn under the canopy, just in case.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:50, Fri 01 Nov 2013.

Simon was a bit surprised that Ian asked to accompany them to breakfast, but his reasoning was sound. "Of course you may, Mr. Shaw. It was my oversight not to include you initially. Please forgive me. What say everyone meet at - well I am unfamiliar with the city, what hotel are you staying at, Ms. Penny?"


http://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/tag/1890s/

'I am also new here. I can be found at the New York Hotel.'

Simon nods, "The New York Hotel then. Excellent. Does this suit everyone?"

Simon realizes he will probably spend his entire monthly stipend on the meal. Perhaps the Men of Letters would float him a loan. He would ask later.

Kate assured Ms. Green that she would be as discreet as possible and that she would keep the location of their headquarters secret. It was kind of a given and she was slightly insulted that the woman would think she was dumb enough to need to be told. Or course the time travel thing did make the whole situation uncertain.

Her mouth dropped open in surprise to hear the mention of Sherlock Holmes and that her new friend had trained with him. She'd read a few of the books and of course seen the movies. She wondered how close they came to describing the real man. Tucking the thought away she decided she would have to ask Penny once they had less important things to think about.

Penny's question brought her back to reality and she looked at the woman for a moment trying to decided how best to answer. She felt a little ashamed that she had to rake her brain for the correct date. It didn't make her feel any better that she had skipped voting during the last election. Sadly something so important to Penny, was easily taken for granted by herself and a lot of other ladies. "1920, I believe is when women were given the right to vote alongside men. And trust me it only gets better from there." 

Outside It was raining and Kate gratefully ducked under the offered umbrella. "Clever," she grinned seeing the devils trap sewn underneath. Her surroundings were unrecognizable and she made sure to stay close to Penny. "This is amazing," she muttered more to herself than the other woman. It was like something out of the history books, and Kate found herself looking every which way trying to take it all in. Her fingers itched to take a picture but she ignored the urge as that would probably draw unwanted attention.

'Very well, we shall see you in the morning at the New York Hotel dining room at 8:00 am. Good evening to you all, gentlemen.'

*

Thirty years! Such an achingly long time, yet still within her lifetime if some monster didn't kill her first. Regardless, Penny was gleeful at Kate's promises, and looked forward to the advances made in the coming century. 'I cannot wait.'

The Men of Letters secret underground base had been accessed by a tunnel from an unremarkable warehouse on Pennbury Avenue, and under the rain and clouds in the middle of the night, Kate's first view of old New York was particularly disappointing. It did at least conceal the run-down buildings and slums.

'I asked Westbrook to call for hansom cabs for us... Ah, here we are.' Penny signalled to one and led Kate over. The hansom cab turned out to be a horse-drawn carriage, with two wheels and a single horse, with seating for two or three in a small, covered box, with a driver mounted on the back. It was operated by the Hansom Cab Company of New York, and the ride cost a grand total of 75 cents. 'The New York Hotel, please, driver.' The horse set off at a swift trot, the cab rattling and splashing over a rough and muddy road, but it soon smoothed out.

For a time, Penny grappled with the problem of how to get a cross-dressing woman, or a rather feminine "man", through hotel reception without scandal erupting. In the end, the headstrong Penny shouldered her way through all questions and intimated that she was a charity worker helping the less fortunate, and left it that. The polite and deference of the age, especially to an upper-crust type like Lady Penelope, papered over a lot of cracks. Penny ordered a second hotel room for Kate, and saw that she was settled in.

In the morning, she came around with a selection of suitable clothes that might fit Kate: shirts, skirts, dresses, shoes, hats and bonnets, shawls and coats (Penny had come to America with a sizeable luggage). As long as Kate had a buttoned-up front and a skirt that concealed her "lower limbs" down to her ankles, she could get by with minimum fuss. Her bobbed hair remained terribly unfashionable and not respectable, but was passable. Conversely, despite all the bother over her t-shirt (which Penny was very curious about), a formal ball-gown could show so much décolletage as to make Father Simon's eyes pop out of his head. Penny allowed Kate to choose whatever everyday clothes she preferred, and promised to take her shopping later.

All the while, Penny endeavoured to explain whatever Kate asked about or otherwise puzzled her, but it was difficult to know what was familiar and what was not, what had changed over a century and a bit and what was more or less the same. For example, toothbrushes were made from animal bristles in a decorated wooden handle. Toothpaste was a concoction of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda, though older "tooth powder" was also available, formed from mixtures of charcoal, chalk, sand, salt, or baking soda. Penny's wealth and generosity and a high-quality hotel kept Kate from living too deeply in the past.

In reply to Father Simon Cole (msg # 97):

Stefan nodded in agreement. "Dhat vould be fine. Till dhen may your sleep be quiet, restful, an uneventful." He bowed to the others slowly limping off to get his own cab. "Da Nu York 'otel please." He paid the man and tipped his as well. Once he got in his room he unpacked one of his steamers with his tombs in them and began researching. He stayed at it till the wee hours of the morning. He got a minimal number of hours of sleep, as usual. He had not prepared his usual elixir, so he knew the dreams would be there.

Stefan woke in the morning went to his satchel after cleaning up got out a small vial. He opened it wetting a finger and placed it in the vial. He then placed it in his mouth cleaning it off the finger. He waited for a moment for it to take effect. He shivered briefly gripping the chair tightly. A few moments later he got up and put on his suit coat and hat picking up his satchel placing it on his shoulder making his way down to the lobby. He found a chair and began perusing the paper there, as he waited.

Since it was still early for Kate she spent a good deal of time going over her notes from Connecticut, and reading from an old book she had stashed in her pack. Thankfully she also had a half eaten bag of Cheetos, and a couple candy bars which she snacked on while she worked.

Finally ready for bed she tucked herself in though she knew it would be a miracle if she actually slept.

The morning brought Penny with some clothes to borrow. Kate wasn't impressed with the selection. The last time she'd worn a dress was to her Grandfathers funeral three years ago. It was clear women didn't wear pants though and she couldn't keep her own comfortable clothes. She picked out the simplest skirt and blouse she could find with a matching jacket to go over. Penny was a bit taller than her so the skirt was too long but Kate didn't mind because it covered her sneakers. Shoes would need to be added to the list of things to get and if they were anything like Penny's Kate wasn't going to like them. It was obvious to anyone who looked closely that she was uncomfortable in the outfit. Despite that she was extremely grateful to Penny for her generosity and for showing her the ropes.

ooc: Ok, I'm going to start you off outside of the restaurant after you have finished breakfast. Feel free to continue on the conversations thread though! No worries!

ic: You finish up with breakfast and head out into the street. The day is cold, but sunny. You had realized during breakfast that the old Frenchman had not joined you, but Ian assured you that the man was doing other business for the Men of Letters and that he was indeed fine. (ooc: That should take care of our missing player)
As you gather on the sidewalk, Ian turns to you. Well, Westbrook suggested we split up. Who wants the tailor's shop and who wants his house? He demanded amiably.

Over breakfast, they had gone over the dossier and the incriminating letter:


Penny gave her analysis. 'While this letter may seem a simple note, the circumstances in which it was found make it worth investigating. It's not unusual for a tailor of middling skill and modest income to thank a valued customer like this, but I find the sentence construction rather laboured. Bently refers to a large order, but carefully does not mention what was ordered, which would be a useful reminder in any business. There might be a second meaning behind this, as the Men of Letters suspected... Perhaps our tailor simply manufactures hooded black robes for the cultists?' It was Penny's attempt at a joke.

'And this symbol: Hecate, the ancient Greek goddess with some surviving obscure worship, but now most typically associated with magic and witchcraft. An unusual choice for a common tailor; he does not seem Greek and Hecate has not been connected to clothing, to the best of my knowledge.'

*

Outside, as Ian asked how they should divide their efforts, Penny said 'Well, the man is a tailor. One of you gentlemen could visit his shop and request measurements for a suit. That should keep Bently and Rodds occupied while somebody else makes a discreet investigation of the building.'
This message was last edited by the player at 02:22, Wed 06 Nov 2013.

Simon's brow lifted when he saw the symbol. He too knew it was Greek and was used in their temples, but further he did not know. Penny mentioned Hecate, and this was a name he was familiar with. "Hecate was a goddess of magic, some say witchcraft, but the two are not synonymous. Biblically the Greek used to translate the Aramaic in the New Testament was a mistranslation. A better translation would have been 'caster of evil spells' which the Church routinely categorizes all in this sort of faith as. However there is a reference to Simon the Sorcerer, who wanted to buy the power the Apostles displayed in healing people. Instead of rejecting him entirely the Apostles told him about Christ." He waves off his own theological ramblings. "Short answer, a Witch is someone in league with Satan."

He thought about what Penny said. "Clothes for me would not be believable. Ian perhaps, and Jacob. The Doctor would be good for this as well, men of station often wai...put money toward stylish clothing. I will accompany the group going to the Tailor's home."

Ian nods in agreement to this. Sounds like a plan. I don't really look like much, so if it's all the same to you, I think the good Doctor should be the one ordering the clothes. I could be your manservant or something. Jacob can come along too. If this fellow really is a witch we should come prepared. Miss Dreadful, Kate, and the good Father can go to the house. Everyone in agreement? The man is obviously used to organizing teams, no doubt from his work with the police and the Pinkertons. Still, the fact that he is asking for a consensus is refreshing. He obviously wants to work as a team and not take the lead more than necessary, which means perhaps you will be given more freedom in your missions than you might have first thought.

ooc: I'll give you a tiny bit before I move you along in case anyone has something life shattering they wish to add;)

Kate was content to let the others take the lead on this one. She was happy to help out but honestly felt like a fish out of water in this new place. Poking around this Mr. Bently's house seemed like an easy enough task and she was glad she was going somewhere where the odds of her having to communicate with other people outside the group was small.

Penny frowned, and all who'd known her less than two hours could sense a lecture was coming. 'Etymologically speaking, 'witch' is from the Old English for a female practitioner of magic, as opposed to the male practitioner, surviving as 'wizard'. That a woman of power should be so demonised is sadly not surprising.'

She considered the division of personnel. While a patient wife may accompany a husband to a tailor, that was not a role Penny could play, and she'd rather accompany Kate to see she was safe. Cole and Shaw's arrangement put at least a fighter and someone familiar with the occult in each team. 'Excellent!' she agreed.

'Now, what reason do two inquiring young women and a priest have to visit a middle-aged, middle-class woman at her home... but to deliver suffragist pamphlets?' Penny suggested, almost cruelly at Father Simon's expense. But she grew increasingly excited as she outlined her plan. She might as well kill two birds with one stone on this mission; a ruse need not be a false one. 'Come, we're in New York, we can join the National Woman Suffrage Association at their headquarters and pick up copies of The Revolution. We may even meet Susan B. Anthony!'


OOC: :D We can cover that off-screen, I think.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N...Suffrage_Association

Despite what Penny might think, Simon felt much better out in the air. She wasn't talking about spending the kind of money that was needed so badly by missions all over the city so anything else would be met with a gratitude he was accustomed to giving. "Intriguing. I have actually wants to meet Mrs. Anthony for some time now. I am not sure if she has been introduced to Christ, but I am sure I have not been introduced to her..."

He thumbed his rosary, "So, Ms. Penny, are we taking a cab or walking?"

In reply to Father Simon Cole (msg # 104):

Stefan listened to their conversation once more quietly. They acted as if they had all the answers, as well as knowledge and only theirs were correct. He sighed deeply shaking his head at the good fathers comments about, in league with Satan. "Not all vizards are evil. Da good book tends ta label an judge all by a simple vord or by some vun elses deeds."

Stefan again shook his head. "As for the tailor, very vell."

'A cab, of course. We have much to do today, and while it may be good for exercise, we cannot spend our time hiking about the city. We may as well give our coin to the poor cab-drivers of New York.' she said in deference to the reverend's charitable views. 'On the way, I can purchase some more fitting clothing for Miss Piper, if you like?' she asked Kate.

Kate couldn't help but smile at Penny's enthusiasm and was very surprised the woman wasn't already a member of the NWSA. It seemed like a good plan and Kate was excited at the prospect of seeing a little bit of history. She almost felt like a tourist and a copy of The Revolution possibly signed by Susan B. Anthony would be an awesome souvenir.

In response to Penny's offer of new clothes Kate shook her head. "I think it would be best to save that for later. I'd hate to waste the good Father's time with shopping." She smiled sympathetically at Father Simon. No man liked to watch a woman shop, and no woman liked to shop with such an obvious penny pincher.

ooc: No pun intended haha!

Simon seemed again to have been unable to convey his meaning. He realized his misspeak. "Doctor, Ms. Penny that was indeed the very point I was trying to make. The Biblical text mistranslated a Greek word which means 'Caster of evil spells and curses' to the word witch. The Biblical references to Witch should be said as Someone in League with Satan who casts evil spells and curses. It is such a pity that the Church routinely ostracizes people when its clear mission from Christ is to 'go unto the world and preach my Gospel' and believe it or not there are many in my profession who take that to heart. As a shepherd my job is to find the lost lambs and return them to the fold, not cast them further from the fold for misdeed."

As Penny mentions the cab, Simon smiles brightly. "Yes indeed, a cab driver is among those unfortunate working poor and if your are going to be generous with your money that is indeed a place that would be marvelous for it." He nods, adding emphasis to his words.

Then the short conversation between Kate and Penny, which is a welcome relief to the Clergyman. "Thank you, Ms. Kate. Your kindness will be rewarded, in this life or the next." He is being absolutely sincere in his comment. The very last thing he would want to endure would be a fitting of these two ladies. It would test his soul greatly. He whistle loudly, getting the attention of a cabdriver...

ooc: Yeah, we'll glaze over the NWSA, but needless to say it was known as a radical organization at the time so Father Simon may have raised an eyebrow a bit during the visit. It was a pretty slow day for them when you went though, so mostly you just chatted with a few members and got your pamphlets. Sound good? Susan B Anthony was not there unfortunately.

The two groups split then. Simon, Kate and Penny get their pamphlets and then make haste to the Tailor's place of residence. You are greeted at the door by a young woman, who appears to be some kind of servant, though the house is quite a modest one. She guides you into the parlor and after a few minutes a plump woman of about forty three enters. She has a kind, smiling face and there is more than a touch of gray to her hair, but she moves with a spring in her step and it is clear she was once a beauty. Even now she looks lovely in spite of the gray and the weight. She is introduced as Emma Bently and offers you tea. I must say, I am delighted that you have stopped by! I've long been interested in your movement, but my husband is...well he's less than supportive at times. How fortuitous that he is not home! She gives a wink. Now, do tell me the specifics of your cause!

Jacob and Stefan: ooc: Just fyi, Jacob is going to be considerably less available for the next two weeks in real life, so when he can't post I will be NPCing his character. For the most part though, Ian will have much to say :D

ic: You take a cab to the tailor's shop and the Scotsman chats with you along the way. I have to say Doctor, I've been briefed on all of you, and your case is one of the more interesting ones. You've dealt quite thoroughly in the occult they say. Do you think you would be able to recognize if Bently is likewise involved? You may be able to catch some clue I would be otherwise oblivious to. He shakes his head thoughtfully.

OOC: What, Susan's not a hunter? :)
Ah, The Revolution folded in 1870 after only a year. Some ordinary pamphlet then.


Penny was delighted to visit the NWSA headquarters, seeing the great American association with its broad focus on women's issues. She briefly chatted with several activists and caused a stir when she revealed she was a female detective of England. She paid a one-dollar annual membership fee for both herself and Kate (with Father Simon being ineligible for membership), and persuaded the women to lend them some pamphlets so they could immediately go door-knocking. Penny explained privately that having a reason to go knocking on people's doors and generally being a busy-body was excellent cover for a hunter.

Curiously, many of the members wore a new type of hat, the fedora. Ironically for Kate's time, it was a women's style of hat, made famous by a cross-dressing actress in the 1889 play Fédora, and popular with women's rights activists in America. Penny decided she wanted one.

*

Before they entered, Penny suggested that two of them interview Emma Bently and keep her talking while another made an excuse to slip away and discreetly search the house. Having gained some idea of Kate's skills, she suggested Kate take that role. She might also speak to the servant girl.

Stepping inside the house and waiting in the sitting room, Penny looked curiously around the house, as well as the servant girl and Mrs Emma Bently. She accepted a cup of tea. 'Fortuitous indeed. We're delighted to find another intelligent woman for the cause.' Penny ran through a quick spiel of the NWSA ideals, how they campaigned for equal rights and legal representation for women, fairer divorce laws, and, of course, the vote, and displayed one of the pamphlets. But she shifted the topic back to Richard Bently, their real object here — it was hardly surprising that a suffragist would search for fault with a woman's husband, and advise a recruit on how to deal with one's husband. 'How has your husband been "less than supportive"?' she inquired gently.


OOC: Diplomacy 18

Sherlock scans:
Emma: Investigate 29, Sense Motive 22, Spot 18
Maid: Investigate 24, Sense Motive 11, Spot 29
This message was last edited by the player at 02:22, Fri 08 Nov 2013.

In reply to Artemis (msg # 113):

Stefan nodded to the man. "It is a part a my culture an my heritage. It seems dhat da occult came easily ta me. It maybe possible ta gleem somedhing from dhis man. Ve vill see."

Stefan sat there quietly and kept going over the pieces of information dealing with the occult he had be told trying to see the whole picture.

Once the conversation is going smoothly Kate excuses herself politely inquiring "Is there a restroom I can use?" Once given directions she will begin her search of the house. Should she run into the maid she will ask a few casual questions as Penny suggested though nothing to draw attention to herself. She will start by looking for an office, or study and if there isn't one of those then on to the bedroom.


OOC:
20:06, Today: Kate Piper rolled 7 using 1d20+3. search.
20:05, Today: Kate Piper rolled 10 using 1d20+9. move silently.
20:05, Today: Kate Piper rolled 25 using 1d20+12. Hide.

Poop! The dice roller HATES me! I got a 1 on my search!

Simon felt very out of place and uncomfortable in the offices of the NWSA, but remained stoic. The Church was nearly always at the forefront of such movements, whether they were seen or not.

-----

Arriving at the home of the tailor he nods at Penny's plan. She could probably keep the woman busy all by herself. He did not sit, declined the tea. "The Church is concerned with issues of equality. I have been sent along for a pair of reasons. One is to provide a chaperon for these ladies, who must be watched after with so many ruffians about. The second, and probably more important, is to take stock of the movement itself and give my report to the Archbishop on whether or not the Church should be more involved."

He let Penny do most of the talking, unless addressed directly. He contented himself to idly wandering the room and taking stock of it and it's owner.

07:57, Today: Father Simon Cole rolled 12 using 1d20+11. Investigative.

07:56, Today: Father Simon Cole rolled 23 using 1d20+10. Sense Motive.

07:56, Today: Father Simon Cole rolled 24 using 1d20+5. Search.

07:56, Today: Father Simon Cole rolled 26 using 1d20+8. Listen.

Simon, Kate and Penny:

Kate's search of the house reveals absolutely nothing. In fact, she gets a bit lost on her way back from the restroom despite the house's modest size. When the maid sees her she is a bit amused and helps lead her back to the group. ;P

Meanwhile, the conversation with Emma is flowing naturally. She answers Penny's questions with ease. Ah, well I'm sure you know how most men are these days my dear. She smiles at the Englishwoman. He dotes on me, the lamb, but he doesn't give me nearly enough credit for how much I really am capable of. He thinks women's votes are a folly and that we simply need good men to care for us, like we are children. Preposterous am I right? Why, I helped him start his business, found him clients, pushed him in the right direction! She is starting to get irritated at the thought. She turns toward Father Simon. Well it is nice to see the church involved in such modern undertakings. I should hope you give a positive report when you return. Upon Kate's return she gives her a smile. I do say miss, your hair is most...interesting. Is this some kind of rebellion for the cause? Or did you get a bad case of lice or some such thing? She is not being impertinent in her questioning, but no doubt Kate finds the comment a bit off putting.

ooc: Stefan: I'm going to move you to a mini thread of your own to avoid confusion with the other folks. I'll post for you there.

Simon returns the woman's gaze, his being drawn from some trinket or other. "Not all men feel and think this way, though regretfully in our current age it is the majority thinking. I am drawn back to the story of Adam and Eve. God made Adam first, and Eve as his trusted advisor. She was made from Adam's rib, which comes from his side," he points to his left side. "Not from his skull, which would denote her being above him, or from his foot, denoting being beneath him, but rather from his left side, the one next to his heart which denotes equality with Adam and that he was suppose to hold her close to his heart.

Women often seek the protection of a man's caring, his financial security, and of course protection from other men who have less caring intentions. This I believe is a natural thing, part of how God made us. We, men and women, are made differently, with different strengths and weaknesses. While women are physically weaker than their male counterparts, they are by and large mentally stronger. They are more in touch with their emotions and more capable of expressing them.

I have often thought of women as not the weaker half of our species but the more agile, the more creative, and the more intuitive. Intuition is the highest and most important form of knowledge for it is how God speaks to us directly. In any case the Church has always been at the forefront of issues of social equality. I believe that more than a handful of those involved in this movement are Nuns. I believe more Priests and men in general would be involved if their presence were not seen as a detriment. My report, so far, will be glowing."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:03, Fri 08 Nov 2013.

Penny was surprised that Father Simon spoke so eloquently in favour of women's equality and capabilities, having assumed he would hold more to the traditional views of his Church, and expected him to choke and fluster in this ruse. There was more to him then there seemed. 'And I have found women can be just as strong, resilient, and intelligent as their male counterparts, if not more so, given the opportunities. Women scientists, detectives, miners... Why, one day we might even see woman priests!'

'You helped your husband in his business? That's very interesting. What does he do? Do you still have an involvement?' Penny asked, returning to the topic of the tailor.

Kate blinked in surprise at Mrs Bently's mention of her hair. "I...have a younger brother." She made a scissor snipping motion with her fingers and shrugged. "My mother was not happy."

Mrs. Bently seems to be extremely pleased at Father Simon's response. She fairly glows with pleasure. She is also quite amused at Kate's response, laughing in amusement, though apologizing for it a moment later, not wanting to take pleasure from someone's misfortune. At Penny's words, she expands on her involvement. Yes. I am very much still involved in his work. He is a tailor by trade, and honestly only an average one. But business is only half being good at your work. The other half is advertising. She says with a wink. I am a sociable creature by nature, if you haven't noticed. I often play up his skills in my social circles. I also keep him appraised of the latest fashions so that he is not behind the styles. He's also a bit lazy if I don't push him. Honestly, I married the most unambitious man. It's a pity the world is not more agreeable to women. I have the drive to be a wonderful success but unfortunately, conventional society does not give me my opportunity. She shakes her head sadly. Consequently I am stuck in a ho hum house with ho hum friends and a very unexciting husband. Oh my! I do not mean to be so complaining! Forgive me. She suddenly looks a bit embarrassed.


ooc: Father Simon: As you speak and hold your conversation, you notice a book shelf
with a few titles that catch your eye. They seem to be archaeology books for the most part, on ancient civilizations such as Babylon, Egypt, and Samaria. Definitely a possible indicator of involvement with the Hand.

'No, please, carry on! We are all about complaining!' Penny laughed. 'Well, you do seem to be a capable and driven woman, and we need such to fight the good fight. I have no doubt you could find a suitable and rewarding occupation, perhaps managing your husband's trade, or even starting a business of your own? The opportunities are out there, if we fight for them.'

Penny sipped some more of her tea, taking the moment to contemplate Emma Bently. A top-quality, fashionable dress and hairstyle, a large well-decorated house, and a live-in maid, all on the salary of a common tailor. Either they lived well beyond their means, or had an additional source of income. Emma's faint contempt for her husband was genuine — clearly, she thought of herself as the more intelligent and ambitious one, though Penny hadn't met Richard to compare. Certainly, Emma wouldn't be the first aspirational, social-climber wife to pressure a husband to provide more than he could bear. But to the point of engaging in the dark arts?

'Still, you do seem to have done rather well for yourselves?' she queried, glancing around the room with its fine furniture and decorations. The detective carefully avoided asking leading or loaded questions, preferring to let her interviewees supply all information. 'You have a lovely home.'

Simon nodded casually, "If its God's will anything is possible." This is sort of the stock answer a Priest will give to something he does not agree with but does not want to get into a verbal altercation over. It is totally truthful, but carries the connotation of polite disagreement.

He minds himself at the book case, running his finger along a shelf with a curious lot of titles, "This is a very interesting book collection. Perhaps passed on from a relative. Would you be willing to sell any of these volumes, the Church has a particular interest in archaeology in these provinces."

Emma looks pleased about the comment on the house. Oh thank you! It is not as large as I should like, but I do try to keep things nice. I save up here and there and buy quality pieces. I also find some clients on the side that I do business with on my husband's behalf. That certainly helps matters. She adds. At Father Simon's question she blinks in surprise. Oh, that is a very kind offer young man, but I am afraid they are too dear to me. My family has had them for simply ages. I'm sure you would find quite a bit of heathen lore in there that would offend your ideals anyway. She laughs. I say, She says suddenly. My Lady's club is meeting tonight for our annual fundraising banquet. I do say, if you aren't busy you would find many interested ears I should think. It would be formal attire, for all but the father of course. If you're interested I would love to have you there. Her smile widens.

Penny stirred and sipped her tea. 'Mmm, delicious.' She pulled out the spoon for inspection. 'Charming cutlery. Sterling silver, is it? ...Sorry, spoon collecting is all the rage in Europe, but I don't believe it's quite caught on here.'

Setting down her teacup, she listened to Cole's query about the books. Clearly the reverend thought they could be relevant, but Penny couldn't see from where she was seated, 'So, who is the amateur archaeologist?'

The invitation caught her attention. Lady's club, or cult? It could be interesting, but Penny knew she could not allow herself to be sidetracked from a case by irrelevant social gatherings. However much she might like to be, sometimes. 'That sounds wonderful, thank you. Where and when is it? We'll try to come along, if we have time after our work at the church.' Penny said noncommittally, allowing Father Simon to provide an adequate excuse. 'What is your club? I fear the reverend here thinks my sewing circle is a coven of witches or something.' she jested, thinking of the Hecate connection and wishing to observe Emma's reaction.

Kate listened respectfully to the conversation though she had to stifle a yawn or two. The small talk was a little boring, though she knew Penny must be doing an investigation of Mrs. Bently in her own strange way. Kate tended to be a little more forthcoming, but in 2013 a person could get away with that. Being rude and blunt was normal and expected. Deciding to talk to the servant Kate holds up one of the pamphlets. "Would it be alright if I shared this with your maid? I promise not to take too much of her time." She smiled sweetly.

If given permission she will seek out the maid to ask a few questions in private while the others finish with Mrs. Bently.

Simon got what he wanted from the woman's answer. "Oh well, it never hurts to ask. If the ladies are attending, then I will as well as chaperon of course."

Kate: Emma seems pleased that you would think of her maid and happily points you to the kitchen where you find the young woman making bread. She looks surprised to see you. Are you lost again miss? She is not being unkind by asking, but rather seems genuinely concerned.

Father Simon and Penny: You are now alone with Emma in the room. She answers your questions easily though. No, I am afraid I hadn't heard about spoon collecting. I do enjoy collecting things though to be sure! She tells you with gusto, as though she is making up for not being European enough to collect spoons. The archeology question she nearly brushes off. Oh, my family has had a passing interest in archaeology for years. I never look through them myself, but they are heirlooms you know. My father would turn in his grave if I sold them. At the coven of witches comment she gives a laugh. Witches oh really! How ridiculous! I know what the good book says Father, but I think such things died out long ago, if they ever truly existed anyway. Although, if your circles are anything like mine Miss Penny, I'm sure there are times where you are certainly up to no good! She gives a friendly wink. We have a lady's charity circle. We try to help widows and orphans and we come up with various fundraisers and knit blankets and things for the poor dears. This city has quite a lot of poor you know, and they do need our help. I would be so pleased if you could come tonight. Perhaps even donate a pittance to our cause. It is at 8 o'clock tonight, I can give you the address if you give me a moment. She soon bustles off to find a pen and paper, leaving you alone before you even get the chance to ask another question. She seems quite eager for people to attend her banquet.

'Oh, that sounds wonderful. That's certainly something the NWSA would support.' Penny said of Emma's ladies' charity group.

As soon Emma had bustled off, Penny rose from her seat and swept around the parlour, making a brief but close inspection of the room, its furnishings, and its contents. She peered behind the couch and knelt to see under it. Occasionally, she half-lifted something for a quick glance before replacing it just as it was. Her search was swift, efficient and discreet, and at any moment Mrs Bently might return to find her guest simply stretching her legs or observing some artwork.

She left Father Simon to examine the books he'd found. 'What do you think?' she asked. She'd noted Kate's excursions through the house and talks with the Cockney maid, and hoped she'd have something to report. Penny wondered if she ought to make an excuse for the water closet herself and make her own search.


OOC: Penny discreetly searches the room for a clue: Search check 25
Using my Find Clues feat for automatic Search checks with 5 feet of a clue: 19, 27, 13. They could apply as we walked through the house and here.

Obscure Knowledge check re: Emma and the charity group: 10, common knowledge

Simon ran his finger along the books he had noticed, "I think she is involved and that she is an excellent liar. I'd still like to meet her husband, but her story isn't adding up."

Kate flashed a friendly smile and held up her pamphlet. "I just wanted to see that you got a copy for yourself and to ask you a few quick questions if it's not too much trouble." She glances over her shoulder to make sure there is no one about to overhear. "Occasionally the NWSA will get a report of...unkind treatment of women. We have received anonymous tips of such activity but they were not able to specify the exact address. We are vising all the households. Have you noticed anything strange going on in this home or any others in the area? Anything at all out of the ordinary?"

Kate lay the pamphlet on the counter out of the way of the bread making.
"I know there is not much we can do about these things but we, and the good Father would like to offer our support. We also don't want to pry or offend so I would ask you not to mention it to Mrs. Bently. NWSA may be organized of mainly women, but we discourage gossip and wouldn't want to spread rumors if our information is not reliable."

ooc: Nice Kate ;) I know the following should be in a cockney accent, but I'm no good at writing accents, so you'll just have to use your lovely imagination

The maid looks surprised at your words, but quickly recovers with a nod. Ah. Yes. I can indeed see why you would want to keep this discreet. As for myself, I do not know much of such mistreatments from other households and I am certain that Mr. Bently would not dare raise a hand against his wife. In fact, I think he's rather afraid of her. But then so am I. She admits gingerly, looking around to be sure that the woman is not nearby. She's friendly enough when she's in good spirits, but the woman has a temper like a badger and she can get a bit....violent sometimes. She unleashes it upon Mr. Bently too, which is why I think he stays at his shop longer than need be. It's not easy to be the husband of a woman so ambitious. But I do apologize miss. You didn't ask to hear all the house gossip like that! In short, no. I am not concerned about mistreatment of Mrs.Bently. Just her poor husband and myself!

Father Simon and Penny:

Your search proves fruitful. You find a small wooden box on the bookshelf with ancient greek symbols. Inside there is a small velvet pouch and there are tiny bones, what looks to belong to a bird or some such thing. You also see what appear to be ashes and a tooth. This is a hexbag if you ever saw one. Emma's organization must be a small one, for you've not heard of it, though Penny being from England, would likely not have anyway unless it were one of the more notable charities. You can hear Emma exclaim that she found a pen and you know she is swiftly returning....

Kate nodded understanding. It was a little surprising to hear that the maid was frightened of Mrs. Bently. The chubby woman hardly seemed threatening.

"I understand completely what it might be like to work for such a woman." She smiled sympathetically. "I'm relieved that there has been no mistreatment towards Mrs. Bently. In my opinion Mr. Bently gets what he deserves, but I am sorry that you must face her wrath on occasion." She glanced over her shoulder again to make sure they were still alone. "Mrs. Bently seems like a very interesting woman. You mentioned she had great ambitions? Can you give me an idea of what the entails? The NWCA might be able to use a woman like her."

Penny was delighted to find the hex bag — Aha! A clue! After showing the hexbag to Simon, Penny quickly examined it, outside and in: the quality of the velvet pouch; identifying the bird bones and how they were prepared, whether raw or burned; the type of ash included, cigarette or wood; identifying the tooth, whether human or animal; and even taking a sniff of the whole lot to identify chemicals or perfumes.

All this took a few seconds, before Penny returned the hex bag to the box and replaced it on the shelf, then sidled away a few paces. 'I was just admiring your paintings.' she said as Emma Bently returned, still thinking of what she learned about the hex bag. It proved the existence of occult activity in this household, but who was the practising witch and what was their aim?


OOC: Examining the hex bag, who made it and why?
08:49, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 27 using 1d20+12. investigate (analyze clue)
08:56, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 19 using 1d20+9. arcane lore.

Simon stood with Penny while she examine the contents of the box and then put it away. He cleared his throat, "Thank you, very much for the tea, though I did not partake. We must be going, especially if we are to attend your function this evening. We have many stops to make, after all..."

Kate: The maid seems more than happy to answer your questions, punching down the dough as she talks. Well, I have a feeling that the tailor business is more than it seems for one. Sometimes I catch her arguing with Mr. Bently about getting shipments ready and meeting with the circle. I think she means her women's circle? But what would Mr. Bently need to do that for? He's not involved in that kind of thing. Also, I don't know what they might be shipping because his business is so small that he only deals with locals as far as I know. It all seems very strange. But I've enough brains in my head to not let on that I've heard anything. Mrs. Bently hates it when people ask questions. I just cook and clean and keep out of it. It's none of my business if they want to keep late hours or if strange folk come in and out. Curiosity killed the cat you know. She adds with a face that says this is more than just a saying in this case.

Penny and Simon:

It is impossible to tell who made the bag, but the tooth appears to belong to a horse, the bones are raw, and the ash smells like it's from a tree or branch or other source of wood. Without more specifics on the components it's hard to say exactly what it was used for, but you can narrow it down to a couple of rather nasty hexes that would be most unpleasant to encounter, one of which is spitting up needles. This is clearly not friendly magic. Emma returns, looking pleased that you noticed her paintings. Oh I understand my dear. I will hopefully see you tonight then. Bring plenty of pamphlets! She scribbles down the address for you. Well, I supose we should gather up your friend too. She'll likely be in the kitchen.

Penny gratefully received the address and tucked it in her purse. 'Thank you, I hope we can make it.' she said. And if her suspicions were correct, they would be, one way or another. 'Yes, of course. Kate's a good girl.' she said, suggesting Kate was a lower-class servant too. It explained the ill-fitting dress and poor manners.

As they walked through the house, Penny kept a close eye on the decor, cleanliness, and for any signs of violence or magic. She really could be a snoopy old gossip, but it came with the occupation.


OOC: Automatic Search with 5 feet: 16
09:50, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 16 using 1d20+10. find clues: search.

Simon was content to escort the ladies outside. He held his comments until then.

Kate wrapped up her conversation with the maid thanking her for her time and finishing off by going over the pamphlet since that was her original reason for speaking with the girl. "It was very nice to meet you Mrs. Bently," she added to the woman of the house when she rejoined her companions.

Penny, you don't see much in the way of clues on your way out other than some more archaic books and a vast collection of jars and things that look to hold a variety of herbs and the like. If asked about it she claims they are for home remedies. You make it outside and she leaves you with a pleased wave and presses you to try to make it to her banquet that night. The maid gives Kate a smile too as though she enjoyed the opportunity to speak to someone about her fears.

ooc: Ok, go ahead and finish up here with conversation. Then I'm assuming it is back to the Men of Letters?

'Thank you very much for inviting us into your lovely home and letting us speak with you. We shall be sure to try to attend tonight's banquet, and we do hope NWSA interests you. Have a good day.' Penny farewelled Mrs Bently.

Outside the Bently house, Penny beckoned the group to start walking down the footpath. It would be suspicious if they loitered out the front or did not visit the rest of the street. 'Well, we still have some pamphlets here and a whole street to visit.' she said aloud, fully intending to continue her NWSA door-knocking. She lowered her voice and added 'We can also ask the neighbours about the Bentlys while we're at it.' Any gossip of strange visitors or midnight goings-on would be useful.

Penny announced and worked through her findings. 'I found a hex bag in that Greek box on the bookshelf. The contents amounted to a particularly nasty hex of some kind — I saw a similar composition in Liverpool that caused the victim to cough up needles... But it's not intended for the Bentleys, else it would be better hidden; any member of the household had plenty of opportunity. No, it was made by either Richard or Emma Bently, and is prepared for someone else... Murder is afoot!' she announced with relish, enjoying the mystery and the thrill of the hunt.

Simon nodded, "I was going to point out the black magic connection to the contents of the box. There are also connections to the books I pointed out. They are supposedly books on archaeology but they are merely thinly disguised books of vile sorcery." He crosses himself.

Any questioning around the neighbors reveals that the Bently's have quite the active social life. Emma in particular is well known for her charity work and her neighbors think her a godsend. Obviously she keeps her temper in check in public. You do hear there are a lot of late night visitors, but the neighbor's seem to think it is because she keeps late hours with all of her charity work.

After handing out all their flyers, Simon asks if the ladies are ready to return and reconnoiter.

"From what I got from the maid it seems she and Mr. Bently are both afraid of Emma," Kate informed her companions in between houses. She briefly filled them in on her conversation with the servant. "I get the feeling Emma is the brains of the operation, whatever they are up to."

She will return with the others when they are ready. She was interested to see what the others had found out about Mr. Bently.

'What kind of sorcery?' Penny inquired of Cole. The reverend would be rather biased when it came to the practice of magic, after all. Penny had always been more neutral on the topic of magic, provided no one got hurt and it wasn't destructive. Maybe it came from being a Darkmoor.

As they talked, they walked down the street, visiting other houses and passing out NWSA pamphlets where they were not angrily rebuffed. Penny gave what spiels she could, and subtly asked about the neighbours, particular the Bentlys. Finally, they walked off to find a hansom cab to take them back to the Men of Letters base.

She listened to Kate's account with interest. 'A woman committing domestic violence against her spouse is almost a pleasant change from the typical state of affairs.' Penny said bitterly. 'After all, in most parts, it is legal for a man to beat his wife. If the reverse is the case, then it is hardly our concern... But I would hate to leave a good Cockney maid in such a terrible situation.' she fretted.

Penny outlined her findings of Emma Bently, and worked through her conclusions. 'Still, you are correct: it is indicative of character. Emma Bently hides it well beneath her manners and charm, but she is ambitious, strong-willed, has a keen intelligence and a dominant personality, and holds high aspirations and a contempt for her husband. She also has a poor temper and violent tendencies. Could she be spiteful enough to commit cruel murder via this hex bag?'

'Meanwhile, the Bentlys live well beyond their means for the salary of a typical tailor. If Richard Bently is not on the verge of bankruptcy providing for his wife, then they surely have another means of income. Perhaps a sizable inheritance from Emma's family, along with those books? But she hinted at some extra business, conducted in her husband's name — it may be that the Hand of Baal dealt with Emma Bently, not Richard.'

'Still, diabolism and witchcraft are distinctly different magical traditions, and as yet we have no proof of direct involvement with the Hand of Baal. It may be that they merely do business, and that the Bentlys worship Hecate, not Baal.'

'But, as Holmes said, it is a capital mistake to theorise before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgement. Let us see how the others have fared with Richard Bently at his shop.'


OOC: Just for the earlier door-knocking, just because I had the skill:
07:55, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 16 using 1d20+7. gather info.

He gave her a quizzical look. "Black magic is by definition corrupting and evil. The white variety is, on the other hand, helpful and healing. That back was made for casting curses, the worst kind of black magic. I'm not the close minded bigot you think me."



Simon scolded her, "PENNY! Is that any way to act toward your fellow human being? Honestly, violence is violence and it should be avoided at all costs, If it can be prevented it should be, no matter who the victim."



He nodded, "On these points we agree."

'Of course, but we are hunters, not the police. Our concern is with supernatural threats, not domestic ones. We have no official jurisdiction in this, nor the capacity to deal with it, and we must focus on the murder intended via the hex bag. Inform the police if you will, but it must wait until after we have dealt with the issue of witchcraft.'

He sighs heavily, "Penny, of course we have more important concerns and cannot stop along the way to right all the ills of the world. I, however, am concerned with the cavalier way in which you dismissed it."

He gets in front of her and stops to force her to stop and look him in the eye. This was important, so important he meant to stop everything. "Penny, the state of your soul is now my personal concern. God puts people in our path for a reason. I scolded you because I worry for you. Look around you what do you see?"

He lets her answer before continuing, though his continuing is filled with strangled emotion. "I see suffering. I see children going without because parents do not have the money for their upkeep. I see parents going without for want of their children. I see able bodied men unable to work because children work in their instead. I see children, desperate for food who work in their parent's instead. I see a whole world full of human suffering. I feel the burden for them on me, on me personally Penny. I see children made into prostitutes, sold by mothers and fathers who cannot feed them and in need to feed the other children they have."**

This next is not meant in judgment of Penny, it merely is at the forefront of his mind because of breakfast. "In all this I see wealthy people who pay five dollars for a meal. With five dollars I could feed One Hundred people for a day. Those same wealthy worry over the treatment of animals...dogs and cats Penny but they stand silent by while children turn to prostitution. Wealth comes with responsibility. God gives wealth so that the wealthy can be generous, not so that they can spoil themselves."

Despite himself he has become a street preacher and may be drawing the appropriate crowd. "In all this suffering we saw a what might be abuse of a man by his wife and you dismiss it in such a fashion because it is legal for men to beat their wives so turn about is fair play? Penny violence against our fellow human being is wrong. It must be reviled, not scoffed at and cast aside as comupins for the general treatment of your gender. All mankind, all humanity must be our business."

Forgive the slight paraphrasing of A Christmas Carol.

** In the late 1800s child prostitution was considered the same as adult, there were no specific laws against it and people generally believed children were just miniature adults when it came to sexual consent. Ironically it was the SPCA which started the movement to make sex with children illegal and to change the prevailing morality.

Edited based on soup kitchen costs in 1890 for feeding a person, 5 cents and opposed to 10.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:37, Tue 19 Nov 2013.

Kate moved away from Father Simon and Penny.And they were worried about me drawing attention she thought to herself with a smile of amusement. The father had a talent for making things awkward when they didn't need to be and Kate was thankful he was preaching to Penny and not herself. It would be interesting to see her friends response, though she hoped it wouldn't draw an even bigger scene. "I'll just be over here..." Kate moved a little further down the street and opened one of her women's rights pamphlets pretending to be absorbed in reading.

Penny was shocked by Cole's outburst, and stared at him with tightly restrained, cold anger, with all the British stiff upper lip in place. She waited until Cole had finished speaking before she returned stiffly, in a low voice so the crowd he'd attracted couldn't hear. 'Please do not mistake my coldness or lack of concern for callousness, sir. And do not trouble yourself with the state of my soul. It is well taken care of, I assure you. You have not even known me several hours, so do not presume to judge me.' To be sure, Penny was not as good as expressing emotion as others, nor in expressing empathy for their problems, but she did not lack for either. The formal, private nature of Victorian society did little to help.

'And you do not need to tell me of the horrors of poverty, nor of the divide between rich and poor. We shall not see it in this upper-middle street anyway. Do you believe these things are the worst in New York? I live in London, I have visited Whitechapel and the St Giles Rookery. I have seen sewage running down the street and the butchered corpses in the alleyways. I have visited the slums, gone undercover in a bordello and an opium den. I have seen and I know the plight of the poor.'

'And I have seen those that prey on them. Not just the vampires and demons and other monsters, but the entirely human criminals, killers, procurers — and the wealthy priests with young boys in their clutches. I chose my occupation freely, and how many in our profession can say that?' The daughter of aristocracy could have stayed there and lived a life of idleness, or chosen some light occupation to keep her busy and above it all. But she'd chosen to become a detective, to go down onto the streets and the muck and solve what problems she could directly. Seeing all those horrors, becoming cold to it was wise.

'You may concern yourself with filling the pockets and bellies of the poor, Father. You may ease their burden, but I fear you will not remove it. I concern myself with those who would make it worse, and with ways to reduce it. Only with laws to protect and enhance the rights of women and children and poor men, the authorities to police them, and the social progress of all society, will we improve and advance the lot of the poor, and everyone else. Let us all do what we can, how we can.'

'So, yes, compared to a prostitute's face being sliced off, I do discount the issue of a wealthy man possibly being clipped over the ear by his wife. Do you think the police will take it at all seriously? If they don't simply ignore it as the words of a disgruntled maid, then they will likely mock Richard's plight. It will only see the maid lose her position with the Bentlys, and become another of the jobless poor.'

'Now, we have witchcraft and murder to attend to. Solving these may well obviate the other issues of the Bently household.' She stepped around Father Cole and continued walking, glad to be away from the confrontation with the zealous priest and releasing the held tension in her body.

Simon let her go around. He closed his eyes and prayed for patience and guidance. After a moment he caught back up to her. "Penny I'm not judging. Caring for the souls of others is my calling. If you say yours is then I accept that. Anyone who has seen the things you have and remained sane must have God with her."

After walking a bit more, "You, however, have been judging me since we met. You judged me a misogynist and whenever I espouse a view contrary to that you are shocked. I do what I do for others. I care for people. I care for you. Yes I have only known you these past hours and it was wrong of me to conclude based on that alone."

He made sure Kate was still with them...

Penny closed her eyes to shut it all out. The Ripper's cold eyes stared back. Couldn't he just let it go? Couldn't he just leave her alone? 'I do not judge. I'm a detective, I only observe.' she said defensively. 'And I fear it is not God with me.' And that was the end of it, as Penny turned her attention away.

Goodness, where is a cab when you need one? She stuck her umbrella into the air to signal the next hansom cab that came along.

As he climbed into her cab Simon says, "God is with you Penny, whether you know it or not. He cares for you, and so do I. Just think about that."

Kate followed the other two into the cab giving Penny a companionable pat on the shoulder as she found her seat. She had learned a lot about her two new friends during their morning together. Most important was not to talk to Father Simon about anything controversial EVER. Unless you wanted to sit through a lengthy sermon. She got the feeling Penny would be the target of many more lectures, poor woman.

"So...anyone want a tic tac?" she held out her little box of mints.

Simon got a confused look. "What is a tic-tac?" He leaned in to see into her hand, "Is it like snuff?"

ooc: I'll let you guys finish up here and then I'll send you back to headquarters.

Maybe God could just back off a little? Penny thought tiredly as she climbed into the cab.

Kate Piper provided a welcome distraction. 'It looks like some kind of pill.' Still, she held her hand out for one in curiosity of this strange future food.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:27, Fri 22 Nov 2013.

Kate shook a couple tic tacs into Penny's hand and gives one to Simon if he wishes. "It's a little mint. They freshen your breath. I keep them handy to suck on when I have a late night. Keeps me awake." She popped on into her own mouth and smiled at their fascination.

Simon took one. He looked at it carefully while listening to Kate's explanation. "I don't suppose a white rabbit is going to come round with cake and ginger soda next?" He was trying to be funny. He put the mint in his mouth and his eyes light up. "How splendid! You have these all the time you say? What a marvelous place your time must be."

Penny never had been quite fond of peppermint, but ate one anyway to be polite. Sucking on it, she soon experienced the burning cold taste of peppermint and gasped. Why did I eat that? 'It keeps you awake? Is it a stimulant drug, like cocaine?' Penny asked plainly, discreetly pocketing the remainder she'd been given.

Kate laughed and tucked the mints away. Father Simon and Pennys reactions were totally different. "Definitely not cocaine! It's not a drug at all. It's more like candy. It comes in peppermint cinnamon and orange flavor too. If you remind me I have a candy bar stashed at the hotel we can try later."

You make it back to the warehouse with little trouble. Even in the afternoon this street is empty, which is no doubt why the Men chose it. You do see a homeless man leaning against the building, but upon seeing you he straightens up and tips his ratty cap. They said you would be coming back. Go on in. He gestures. Apparently he is a guard of sorts. When you enter you get a better look at the warehouse, which is quite dusty and full of crates and boxes. Sitting in the middle of the room on a wicker chair is Victoria. She looks eager to see you and stands quickly. You're back! But where are the others? Where is Ian?! She has a sense of desperation about her.

Arriving at and entering the warehouse, Penny looked around, taking note of the area in the daylight. The warehouse was dusty as if disused, but so many crates and boxes indicated a once-active business. How had the Men of Letters acquired the property, and who among them could afford to let good stock decay and go unsold like that?

She dropped her idle deductions as Victoria spoke up, her concern clear on her face and manner. 'Mister Shaw has gone with Doctor von Stein and Mister Anderson to the tailor's store to make inquiries there.' Penny answered formally. The Men of Letters were surprisingly informal with each other, using first names and so on. Maybe it was a hunter's camaraderie, or simply an American lack of formality. Or did Victoria feel something for Ian? 'Why? Is there a problem?' It appeared events had moved on without them.

Simon nodded in agreement to Penny's statements. "We found information that the rest will be interested in. If there is a problem, perhaps we should assist?"

Looking around her to be sure there were no prying ears, she explains softly. We have a traitor in our midst. Fingers are being pointed at Ian but I know it wasn't him. Unfortunately my opinion is not enough, especially with my...coloring... Not everyone is as willing to look past that as John is. Westbrook has his doubts too, but he must pursue matters nonetheless. I fear if he returns he will be in danger from the real culprit. I need to intercept him before he gets back here. He should be nearly finished by now right? Who's with him? She demands.

Simon responded, "Jacob and Dr. Stein."

A traitor within the organisation had been Westbrook's fear, hence his hiring of outside help. But Shaw had been one of his most trusted agents. Either the man had been framed, or the infiltration went very deep into the Men of Letters. 'This is certainly troubling news... What duties has been Shaw been performing for Westbrook in recent days?' The man's unkempt appearance and lack of sleep indicated stress, but why was Shaw in such a state?

Kate wasn't sure what to think at the idea of Ian being a traitor. She didn't know enough of him to make her own judgments. They had mentioned the possibility of a security leak so it seemed strange that Victoria was so opposed to the idea. "What exactly do they think he did? Aside from being a traitor?"

Her memory drifted back to the mausoleum she'd been investigating. It was strange that the time portal, or whatever it was dropped her in the middle of The Men of Letter's HQ. Was it possible that someone had used it before? Perhaps the traitor? And if so did he know how to get back to 2013? Kate suddenly became very interested in the conversation going on around her.

Well, he's been following up a lot of leads with suspected cult members and he's been scouting a lot of recruits out. Most recently he was sent to tail a vampire who has been connected to the Hand. He had a close call with the thing and interrogated him for hours but he didn't learn much. They have fierce loyalty it seems. She muses.

In answer to Kate's question, she looks uncomfortable and hesitates before responding. He....uh. Well, he is suspected of killing one of our members and hiding his body in a wall..... She trails off. None of this is common knowledge, so I ask you to keep it to yourself for the time being. She adds quickly.

Penny looked to Green in a flash of surprise, excitement, and more than a little annoyance. 'There's been a murder? Hidden in a wall? And you didn't summon London's foremost supernatural detective?' she exclaimed in disbelief. 'The first moments after discovery of a body are crucial to collection of evidence. I must see the crime scene immediately. And the body.' Penny marched off towards the entrance to the Men of Letters vault, simply unable to wait in her eagerness. A body hidden in a wall! Wait until Holmes hears about this!

Simon cannot help but be impressed with Penny's enthusiasm. He nods, "Yes, you may want to let her at least have a look. She is quit brilliant."

Kate frowned at the implications Ian was up against. "Well if anyone can prove him innocent I'm sure Penny can," she grinned as Penny marched off.

Victoria blinks in surprise, a bit stunned by Penny's enthusiasm. She recovers quickly though. Well, alright! Let's go! Please keep this quiet though. There are many who don't even know the fellow is dead. We want to keep things as secret as possible until we can clear Ian's name. She explains as she leads the way. It doesn't take long to go down the ladder and through the corridors. She speaks as she walks. I'm glad you're back anyway. Kate, I am afraid I neglected to be sure you were properly armed last night. Same with you Miss Dreadful. Do you have the more...advanced weaponry that the Men of Letters has available? I'm sure the good Father here is already armed with such, but we have an arsenal that has been....enhanced so to speak. You will find your dealings with our enemies a great deal more productive using these weapons. When we are done with the body I will give you a selection to choose from. She offers.

At last she takes you to a part of the corridor that has some loose bricks. The floor looks wet but there is no sign of blood. She explains sheepishly that most of the blood was eliminated and the bricks replaced in order to avoid questions. I hope we didn't ruin any clues for you. She mumbles. Turning to Kate and Father Simon she gestures to the corridor. I don't want anyone getting suspicious while she works. Would you mind each taking an end of the hallway and letting me know if anyone is coming? As she talks she starts to remove the bricks to show where the body was stashed.

'"Advanced weaponry?" No, I'm afraid I do not. I carry a pocket revolver and this umbrella, though I also have a cane I'm rather fond of, not to mention a knife. The gentleman's art of cane-fighting has proven effective for me as a hunter, as well Cockney-style knife-fighting.'

Then Penny turned the corner and looked utterly aghast upon the crime-scene — the completely washed and rebuilt and replaced crime-scene. The detective had more horror for the grisly details that had been wiped clean than she would have the gore itself. 'You— you washed it all? And this— you rebuilt the wall. New bricks?' She choked. 'Good heavens, anyone would think you people were actively trying to cover up the crime.' she criticised. The Men of Letters couldn't have done a better job of ruining the crime scene if they'd tried.

Sighing, taking a deep breath and thinking of how Holmes might laugh, Penny asked 'Well, how was the body found, and by whom? What state was it in?'

Simon nodded and took a position under a lantern where he could read from his Bible wile waiting.

She looks pleased at the prospect of giving Penny new weaponry. Well, if you are comfortable with your current weapons we can enhance them as well. Or if you'd rather pick out entirely new ones that is an option too. Father Simon could always help you down the road I'm sure as you acquire new equipment.

She looks sheepish at Penny's criticisms and mutters an apology. Forgive me. We had to move fast. We did not want the perpetrator to know we had discovered the body. We do have the bricks around still I'm sure if you need to access them. There were two people who found the body. Kimi-Yurika Noriko, one of our own, and a new recruit such as yourselves by the name of John Grant. They are actually out on location at the moment, tailing Ian. They shouldn't be too much longer hopefully, should you wish to interview them. The body is also accessible when you are ready. She finishes.

Simon and Kate: As you stand close to the crime scene, but far enough to give warning in case of passerby, you get an eerie feeling. The hairs on the back of your necks stand up and the air feels cold. There's an almost palpable energy in the air and it's all you can do not to turn around and expect to see someone else there. Being hunters, you are all too familiar with this feeling, but this was the last place you expected to run across it.

ooc: Roll spots you two, and searches if you so desire.

Penny held little hope of finding any evidence in this thoroughly scrubbed hallway, but gave it a cursory inspection anyway. Inside the wall itself would be the best place to look now, unless they'd scrubbed that out too. As Victoria Green de-constructed the brickwork, Penny arranged her skirts and knelt to examine the flooring and opposite wall.

Meanwhile, she asked Green a number of probing, precise questions and steadily extracted the whole second- or third-hand story of how the body had been found. This Noriko and Grant had apparently discovered blood leaking out of walls and pooling on the ground. So much blood, post-mortem, after concealment of the corpse? A somewhat decomposed corpse too, judging by the lingering smell of putrefaction and the condition described to her. Very curious, and the poor means of hiding the corpse almost guaranteed discovery.

Penny had more questions. Lots more questions.

'Why were these bricks loose in the first place? Why was there no mortar? What is this area used for normally, and was this wall here previously? What is on the other side of this wall?' If it weren't for a lack of mortar, the blood and putrescence would never had seeped through, leaving only a bad smell one might ascribe to a dead rat. Penny found it unusual for a construction to be left incomplete here in this underground base. Whoever concealed the body would also require quite some time to work, a few hours at the least, either entirely undisturbed or with the aid of conspirators.

'Who ordered the area to be cleaned and rebuilt with fresh bricks? Who ordered the murder to be covered up?' Such a person was becoming a suspect in Penny's theory.

'When exactly was Mister Jason Netts last seen?'

As the wall came down, Penny held a handkerchief over her nose with one hand and shined her lantern with the other, being careful not to blind herself. As soon the hole was big enough, she poked her head inside and peered around. She noted the width of the gap, the state of the brickwork, and the remaining putrid mess inside.


OOC: Searching for clues:
Find Clues (auto Search in 5 feet): 18, or taking 10 for 20.
Regular Search check: 29

I re-read events in Chapter 1.2, and I assume Penny learnt all that was mentioned there re: finding the body and its condition.

How wide is the space behind the wall?

ooc: Kate will be MIA until later in the weekend, so I rolled for her. Unfortunately that means she had to deal with my rotten dice rolls and failed her checks. Sorry Kate..... ;P Also, there's a lot of questions to answer here, so I apologize if I overlooked one.

Father Simon: As you wait, feeling this eerie sensation and contemplating how to proceed, you notice that some of the bricks on the walls look ever so slightly out of place. As though they've been removed and replaced incorrectly. It is not an easy thing to notice, and under normal circumstances you would think little of it, but considering the situation with the body in the wall, it does make you start to wonder....


Penny:
'Why were these bricks loose in the first place? Why was there no mortar? What is this area used for normally, and was this wall here previously? What is on the other side of this wall?'

Victoria responds to each question as plainly as she can. Some of them did have mortar, but we are still doing the finishing touches on construction. Most of this should have been completed. They were only finished a few days ago though, so that makes me think there was an opportunity for all this to take place. This is just the corridor out to the warehouse, so it sees a good deal of traffic at times, though there is certainly more than one entrance and exit. The entire headquarters here for the most part is fairly new. This section is only about a year old, though the construction was still unfinished until recently. Parts of it still aren't done. We are always expanding too. There is a study of sorts on the other side. Mostly used to have people wait or if they want to use the materials.

'Who ordered the area to be cleaned and rebuilt with fresh bricks? Who ordered the murder to be covered up?'

John, uh, I mean Westbrook did. He didn't want to raise suspicion on Ian prematurely. He also didn't want the real murderer to be aware we had found his crime. Once again you note the use of Westbrook's christian name, indicating she is close to him somehow.


'When exactly was Mister Jason Netts last seen?'

About six days ago. He was supposed to have been out on a mission. We did not realize that he never left.... She says sadly.

Simon has long since learned to listen to his intuition and when he felt danger he reached for and drew his revolver. He looked all about trying to figure out where the sensation was coming from. After carefully considering his surroundings he hit on what seemed wrong. The wall was just...off.

He ducks his head into the room and raises his voice just enough to be heard but not enough to raise alarm. "Ladies, I need some assistance outside. There seems to be more than one wall that has been replaced. I would like someone to join me and make sure I am not just seeing phantasms."

Penny found most of her theories being confirmed by Green's answers, but she had further questions. 'Who is handling the construction work here—?' She halted as she began to feel uneasy, and noticed a distinct drop in temperature. A ghost?

'Do you feel that? The chill in the air?' Penny answered Cole urgently. 'A phantasm may be exactly what you're seeing.'

Calmly, she drew from her purse a rather chunky metal box with protruding antennas and a dial. Switching it on, she started methodically scanning the area.


OOC: Investigate (analysis of evidence re: the wall) 28

Penny will use her EMF meter. I don't know how you want to handle it. I copied the details from the bug sweeper in Unearthed Arcana, but that was for finding surveillance devices. It gave +5 to Search for bugs.
So, Search for ghosts: 25

Westbrook handles the final say on things, but one of our members has experience in such things and he is the foreman. He has several workers too, so theoretically any of them could have been involved, or it could have been someone who just took advantage of the situation as well. She shakes her head.


Penny's EMF meter goes crazy. It seems there is definitely some kind of presence here. If anyone looks closer at the bricks Simon mentioned they will also see slight signs of tampering. These ones have been mortared again though, so it will be difficult to remove them without tools. The EMF does react more when around these areas though....

Simon is fascinated by Penny's gadget, "Oh look at that. What is that? Is it some kind of spirit detector?"

When she points it at the wall and it is obvious that there is some kind of presence he says, "We will need a sledge hammer I think."

'A meter of the flux density of electromagnetic fields, tuned to the frequency of the common ghost. Ghosts and other supernatural entities can give off strong DC fields, so this can locate their presence during or after an event. It was designed and built by Professor Heinrich Hertz of the University of Karlsruhe for the purposes of ghost detection. If anyone can locate something unseen, it is Professor Hertz.' Penny explained as she walked around with her EMF meter, concentrating on the flickering needle on the dial. Moving closer to the suspicious wall, the needle turned all the way into the red-shaded sided of the dial. 'That's a good eight gauss, definite supernatural activity.'

Penny smiled dangerously. 'I may get a fresh crime scene after all.' Passing the EMF meter to Cole, she examined the wall in close detail, running her fingers down the surface to sense the variations. 'Unless the Men of Letters are in the habit of recycling building supplies, these bricks have been tampered with. See the damage where they have levered out? The discontinuity in this mark, from here to here? They have been removed and replaced and re-mortared, but they are not completely level. Whoever did this was surely no professional bricklayer, or else not a particularly good one. Or they were in a hurry.' she revised. Holmes's problem, Penny believed, was that he assumed everyone was — almost — as rational as he when committing a crime, and acted to the best of their ability. But Penny had learned that people did not always act with good sense, skill, or forethought, especially in a desperate situation.

With her precious corpse frustratingly behind the wall for now, she turned her attention to the floor, casting about for any dropped clue, odd footprint, or drop of blood. She produced a magnifying glass for a closer look at anything


OOC: Search 27
This message was last edited by the player at 01:24, Sat 07 Dec 2013.

He nodded, "I'm no brick mason myself but I did see that something was off. I suppose it was more intuition than analysis. Although I think I may can do something your fascinating device cannot. If you would permit?"

He takes his Bible and Rosary out, opening it and begins reading in Latin. "Christum dicimus, Beatissimus Pater, in me, et spiritus dirigatur. Et adiuva me, O Trinitatis invenitur aliquid in ea continentur, quae carmine sanet et in hoc."*

*I call on Christ, The Holy Father, and the Holy Spirit to guide me. Help me oh Trinity, find any evil spell containers herein this area.

Casting Detect Hex Bag

Kate moved closer to the others investigating the wall Father Simon had pointed out, but still far enough away to keep a decent watch. It was amusing to see how antiquated Penny's equipment was but it seemed to get the job done. The eerie feeling in the hall was almost comforting. It was nice to know in this new time that some things hadn't changed.

Penny: You search the area but it looks like someone has scrubbed it clean. You can, however, see bleach marks on the stone nearby as though someone had cleaned something up. No doubt it was blood. Victoria watches with a worried expression. I don't know who could be in there. I honestly don't know of anyone else who would be missing. Unless of course some of our people out on missions never left. Still, we'd best get this open and figure this out. Will you be alright if I go and find some equipment?

Simon: Your spell works. There is not just one hexbag but several and they are throughout the entire wall. Something is going on here and it is very dark work.

Kate : pm

"We are pretty close to the study where I came through to this time,"  Kate chimed in giving up her watch. It was pointless if they were going to take the wall apart. There was obviously something very dark at work here and being discreet seemed like a waste of effort.

"I would like to check it out once we are done with this mess?" Out of politeness she made her words a question, though she planned to investigate with or without Victoria's permission. "Maybe there is a connection." She added gesturing toward the reconstructed wall.

'Did you have your people scrub this section of the corridor as well?' Penny inquired, noting the distinctly dust-free and bleached wall and floor. Very thorough, and the culprits had the time and resources to go to such lengths. 'We should be fine. It seems as though ghosts may be an issue, but I suspect we've all dealt often with them.' she answered Victoria confidently, hefting her iron-cored umbrella.

Simon closed his eyes as he ended his prayer and then opened them...

The world around him dimmed, as if the light had been drawn out of the air and into other places. Waves of shadows filled his vision as he looked around. Then as his eyes settled on the wall he saw points of light, tiny candles hidden behind the stone. Dozens of them, carefully arranged on a circle containing a pentagram.

Simon blanched and took a step back from the wall. He closed his eyes and whispered his thanks to God. "Behind this wall are dozens of hex bags. They are behind the bricks and in a pentagram pattern. This is very bad."

He took a knee, sliding his Bible back into his pocket. He opened his leather satchel and withdrew an Aspergillum. "This will be necessary. I must bless this wall and room. This should have already been done." He removed a stole was well an kissed it before hanging it around his own shoulders. On his right hand side is a cross and on his left was the symbol of his order, which looked like a sun with the letters IHS on the inside. Above the H is a tiny cross and below it are three nails.

He started by casting the water in a wide arch against the wall. As he did so he withdrew and read again from his Bible. "O Pater, omnipotens Deus, supplices deprecamur: benedicere et sanctificare, omniumque in domo hac, et qui habitant in ea, et impleant digneris omnia bona dona eis, Domine, et deprecationem omnis substantia ubertate terrae ac bonis ad vitam, et desideria voti eorum ad effec tum tua. Introitum nostrum ad ergo quaesumus, Domine, quaesumus, Domine, et sanctifica domum istam in domum quam olim Abraham, Deus Isaac, et Iacob: et Angeli tui lucem ingressus infra istam, et protegam eam qui habitant in eo. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen."*

He then turns to the three women, "If you will permit me, I will bless you all as well."

If they give their assent he sprinkles them with holy water from the Aspergillum as well and prays again reading directly from his Bible, "Princeps pacis, nos et mulieres nostrae praesidium exoro militiae. Da retudit defendere honore, dignitate, et pietatis, et causis omnium filiorum qui fugiunt malum iniustitia. Eorum esse, et clypeo, et robur ac vires hauriunt a vobis. Quoniam tu es, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum."**

*O heavenly Father, Almighty God, we humbly beseech Thee to bless and sanctify this house and all who dwell therein and everything else in it, and do Thou vouchsafe to fill it with all good things; grant to them, O Lord, the abundance of heavenly blessings and from the richness of the earth every substance necessary for life, and finally direct their desires to the fruits of Thy mercy. At our entrance, therefore, deign to bless and sanctify this house as Thou didst deign to bless the house of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; and may the angels of Thy light, dwelling within the walk of this house, protect it and those who dwell therein. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

**O Prince of peace, we humbly ask your protection for all our men and women in military service. Give them unflinching courage to defend with honor, dignity and devotion, the rights of all who are imperiled by injustice and evil. Be their rock, their shield, and their stronghold and let them draw their strength from you. For you are God, for ever and ever.

The first will have no real in game effect. The second will provide +1 attack and +1 save vs. fear effects (ie Bless spell).
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 13:51, Tue 10 Dec 2013.

Of course. She smiles in answer to Kate's question. I've been meaning to study it myself but I've been a bit distracted, what with the body and Ian being accused of betrayal and such. She shakes her head. At Penny's question she frowns. As far as I know, they only cleaned the area of the first body. I don't like this at all. She then happily accepts the blessing from Father Simon, apologizing at his comments. Forgive me. This was the last place we expected to need to bless. Unfortunately there is a bit of chaos thanks to all of this. I am happy that you are more focused than I. Now, if you will excuse me, I will be back with equipment. She returns several minutes later with various tools and hammers, which she offers to anyone who wishes to assist. In the space of time she is gone the hallway gets colder and the EMF goes wild, but you don't see an actual entity yet. You suspect it has something to do with the hex bags, but you can't be sure yet.

ooc: You all good if we start breaking the wall now?

Simon takes a sledge. "Idle hands are the devil's workshop."

As the reverend reported his findings, Penny stared hard at the wall, as if she could see the pentagram of hexbags inside. 'Good lord...' she swore in shock. She turned to turned to Victoria, saying 'Forgive me, but it appears that your organisation is not just infiltrated by the Hand of Baal, but positively lousy with it.' A pentagram of hexbags could only be some terrible witchcraft, and Mr Netts might have been killed and entombed in the wall as some kind of sacrifice. This magic could well bring down the Men of Letters.

As Victoria slipped away to collect some tools, Penny passed her EMF meter around and made further examinations.

She held a hand up as Cole raised his sledge. 'Wait, reverend. Before you demolish it, can you describe the pattern in detail? Does the pentagram lie within a circle, as a pentacle? If so, do the points lie within or outside the circle? Is it directed point down or point up? These could be important in identifying the purpose of this magic.' She produced a scrap of paper for him to sketch it down.

Simon tried to recall how the points and such lay, but could not. "I'm sorry, such things fade quickly when the prayer ends."

Kate allowed herself to be blessed by Father Simon and also took a sledge hammer. "I'll say one thing. I'm feeling a lot better about our decision to stay in a hotel last night."

Penny sighed. 'Very well, carry on then. Let's hope something of the pattern survives this.' She stepped away from the wall to give the others room to work. Penny did not take a sledgehammer herself, as she was not one for manual labour. She raised her lantern to illuminate the wall as they worked, watching close for whatever was revealed.

Simon nodded and began to smash the wall.

Naturally the smashing does create attention and as various members approach to investigate Victoria does a good job of waving them away. She apparently has a great deal of authority here for they scurry off in spite of their curiosity. It takes a bit but eventually the wall is broken enough to reveal not one but several bodies. They appear to be in varying degrees of decay and the smell is overwhelming, enough that it's all you can do not to lose your breakfast. Judging by decay some are as old as a few months and others are a great deal....fresher....enough to be able to identify their features with ease. The hexbags have fallen due to the sledgehammer, but there are dozens of them. Victoria gasps at the sight and begins to investigate the remains,apparently not in the least bit squeamish. I do not recognize them so far. She shakes her head.

ooc: I'm gonna need some knowledge arcane rolls please along with your reactions

Simon holds his sleeve up to his nose and coughs at the smell. He manages to keep from heaving though. Though his eyes watered he took a close look at the hex bags. "Wait a moment, these are warding bags. White magic, used to ward off spirits. We should try not to disturb them any more. I have made a serious error. We should have left them in tact."

Kate leaned her sledge hammer against the wall and dusted her hands off on her skirt remembering a little too late that the dress did not belong to her. Wrinkling her nose she pulled out her flashlight and shined it into the hole they'd made. "Oh! Yep that's gross." Her arm went up instinctively to cover her nose, though it didn't help with the smell much. "Someone has been having a party in here. Don't you  guys have any security? How did they get this many people in without anyone noticing?"

She moved aside and made sure not to disturb any of the hex bags as the good Father had cautioned.

As the grisly scene was revealed, Penny clutched a lacy handkerchief to her face and nose in a vain effort to block the smell of putrefaction. But no delicate lady, the detective was not put out by the scene or the smell. She'd seen far worse in the Ripper's leavings. 'I did ask what pattern they formed. Look: the pentangle sits upright, with points inside the circle. I imagine the culprit wished to prevent the dead from bearing witness from beyond the grave.' So much for her theory that the culprit intended to plant ghosts within the Men of Letters base.

Penny opened a small case of delicate tools: tweezers, tongs, cotton swabs, small containers, a large magnifying glass, and a pair of light gloves. Pulling on the gloves and taking the tongs and magnifying glass, she crossed to the freshest cadaver and began to inspect it closely, using the tongs to lift up sections of the deceased's clothing, hair, fingers, and to search inside pockets. Anything of interest she found, she scrutinised closely and tried to relate to other findings. She also tried to discern the cause of death. 'This is an extraordinary scene. I don't believe I've ever seen so much effort placed into the arranging or disposal of so many corpses.' She was intrigued in spite of herself. Perhaps she'd always had a morbid fascination with death and decay, to see how things changed from a healthy living person to a rotting carcass. She wasn't immune to the tragedy of it though. She stared up into the deceased blank, staring eyes. 'Who was this person?'


OOC: Knowledge (Arcane lore) 16
Search for clues: Search 26
Analyse clues: Investigate 20
13:47, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 20 using 1d20+12. investigate.
13:47, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 26 using 1d20+10. search.
13:36, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 16 using 1d20+9. arcane lore.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:02, Fri 13 Dec 2013.

"This has been going on for some time, longer than the Men of Letters have been here. This should exonerate Ian, yes?" Simon put away the sledge and took out again the Aspergillum and began to sprinkle the corpses after Penny examined them. He began a prayer, one he needed no book for.

Deus, et Pater noster,
  Partum perducat ad potentiam,
  Providentia regit nostros,
  praeceptum tuum et in pulverem reverteris.
  Domine, non qui habitant coram te,
  vita mutatur, non in finem.
  Spes orem generis
  cumque cognatis et amicis,
  et pro omnibus mortuus est, ut tu solus cognovisti.
  Una cum Christo,
  Qui fuit mortuus et vivit,
  ut gaudeant in regnis suis,
  ubi omnia lacrimis terguntur.
  Congregatis unionem in una familia,
  tuis laudem te in saecula saeculorum et.
  Amen.*

*God our Father,
 Your power brings us to birth,
 Your providence guides our lives,
 and by Your command we return to dust.
 Lord, those who die still live in Your presence,
 their lives change but do not end.
 I pray in hope for my family,
 relatives and friends,
 and for all the dead known to You alone.
 In company with Christ,
 Who died and now lives,
 may they rejoice in Your kingdom,
 where all our tears are wiped away.
 Unite us together again in one family,
 to sing Your praise forever and ever.
 Amen.

Victoria frowns at Simon's question and looks uncertain. It may or may not exonerate him. I still believe him innocent, but he is not completely liked by all of the members and some may use any excuse to get rid of him, especially if there is no other culprit to apprehend. She says sadly. As for security, yes we absolutely do. However, there are many entrances besides the one you are aware of. It is difficult to cover them all at all times. Besides, since this looks like an inside cover up, it would be easy for them to know guard rotations and the like to slip past them. I still don't know how many traitors we are dealing with. She sounds tired.

Stefan/Jacob/Kimi:

You arrive at headquarters at roughly the same time, which is a bit awkward considering Ian still is upset about things. Stefan and Jacob- you notice a beautiful Asian woman and you realize this must be the woman Ian has been talking about. He turns to Kimi with a tight smile, still friendly even when upset. Well, I think you and I should have a conversation Kimi. Let's get our guests settled first and then I would very much like to speak with you. As he speaks he leads the way into the warehouse and you start down the ladder into the tunnel. Almost as soon as you get off the last rung you smell something truly putrid. The unmistakable smell of rotting flesh. What is that? Bloody-! He interrupts himself before he swears, looking at Kimi sheepishly.

Kimi does not give away any emotion on her face as Ian speaks to her.  When they enter into the tunnel, Kimi will move and look around for where the smell is coming from.

'"Longer than the Men of Letters"?' Penny repeated after Father Cole. She crossed to the oldest corpse, waved over the signs of decay and took a whiff of it before wrinkling her nose in disgust. 'This fellow has only been here around four months.'

She passed an appraising eye over the array of corpses. She was almost spoilt for choice for evidence and cases now, that she didn't know where to begin unravelling this mystery. So many murders to solve, tragedies to make right. She started with general details, holding forth with a dispassionate air like a surgeon over a teaching cadaver. 'This clothing is cheap, mismatched, quite old or worn, a size too large or small. See, these pants are worn at the knees, but this man's knee is a good inch higher. I suspect second-hand, presumably given out by charities. This dress fits, but is several fashions out of date and heavily worn. And the hands, strong and worn by manual labour. These people were all lower class, even impoverished. I have heard talk of disappearances in the city. Father Cole, were you aware of this?' she asked, thinking of his charity work.

'Most have had their necks broken; see how the neck kinks or twists, and hangs limply? We'd need to make a closer examination of the other cadavers to determine cause of death, but I daresay it is self-evident: shock and blood-loss. Large hunks of skin and flesh have been torn off every corpse, here and here and over there. Look, the tears are too rough and jagged for a knife. Claws or teeth would better fit these wounds.' Penny held her own small hand one one gaping gouge, fingers crooked and splayed like a claw. They matched the entry marks, though whatever did this was markedly largely than her. 'I suspect the flesh was consumed by the killer. This savagery suits a predator with a bestial nature.'

'And the killer was certainly voracious. This one has been thoroughly devoured. And yet, in these cases here, significantly less flesh has been taken. With this foul appetite, I doubt the killer was less hungry, but rather interrupted somehow. This correlates with the state of undress: the most consumed are entirely naked, those partially clothed only have their exposed flesh devoured... As bestial as the killer is, it is no wild lion to simply tear through the clothing, but has the presence of mind to remove it, to unwrap its meal.'

'But I do not think it has used this place as a larder. Given the amount of access to this area that the one who concealed the bodies no doubt has, the killer certainly had the opportunity to snack on old victims, but does not appear to have done so. No, I believe someone else has been concealing these corpses, perhaps in an effort to protect the beast. This certainly fits the pattern of interruption.'


OOC: Identifying the type of killer/monster: Knowledge (behavioural science) 7, Knowledge (arcane lore) 26
10:40, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 7 using 1d20+5. behavioural science.
10:41, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 26 using 1d20+9. arcane lore.

Simon interjected, "I don't think they have been in this area of these tunnels that long, but I might be mistaken. And yes there have been disappearances lately, but I don't know anything specific. It would not take me long to find out, though. I have a good relationship with many of the people who visit my soup kitchen."

Father Simon, Penny,Kate:
As you are discussing the bodies you hear approaching footsteps. Moments later you see some familiar faces round the corner. It is Ian, Stefan, and Jacob along with a beautiful Asian woman you don't recognize.

Kimi/Stefan/Jacob:
You see your companions examining several decomposing bodies that seem to have been taken from the wall. Loose bricks litter the area and it smells absolutely horrible. Kimi, you don't know these people but you do recognize them from the dossier's that Westbrook has provided you with. It seems that more bodies have been discovered....

What in holy he- uh I mean, what in blazes is going on here!? Ian demands, catching himself before he completes the curse and giving Kimi an apologetic look.

Simon let out a sigh, "We were investigating the first body," he left the why out of it, "And I got a bad feeling. Penny has an extraordinary ghost detecting device and I said a prayer to find Hex bags. There were a lot behind the wall so we had a go with sledges. This is what we found." He motioned.

He nodded to those he knew, but the new woman he had not met. He wiped his hands on his handkerchief and put it out for her, "Father Simon Cole. Someone about here thought a Priest was a good idea to have 'round. I cannot imagine why." A bit of self deprecating humor went a long way.

Kimi did a respectful head bow to the Father.  "It is most pleasant to me a man that serves the higher purpose.  Please be welcome."  Kimi covered her nose with her sleeve."Is it understood what has slain these many deceased?"

'Miss Green said that this area is only a year old, so this is well within the time-frame.' Penny answered Father Cole when she was disturbed by the sudden arrivals. She turned to Anderson, von Stein, an Asian woman she did not know, and the alleged suspect, Ian Shaw. She carefully observed the latter's reaction to the discovery of the bodies, but his shock seemed genuine.

She directed the Asian woman to the opened-up and the array of corpses, decomposed and de-fleshed to varying degrees. 'No, not yet. But something with a taste for human flesh, I'm sure.' She was reluctant to share too much of her findings while Shaw was present, in case the general suspicions against him proved well founded. She'd rather hear what he knew first, and that had to be now before he heard too much. Suddenly and sharply, she said 'Mister Shaw, what do you know of this?' pointing into the hole, the disrupted cluster of bags, and the collection of corpses.


OOC: Sense Motive 12 @ Ian Shaw upon arrival
And... Sense Motive 12 @ Ian Shaw upon Penny's veiled accusation
19:29, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 12 using 1d20+7. sense motive.
19:47, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 12 using 1d20+7. sense motive.

Kimi too took notice of his reaction, his body movements.  When the other woman asked him the direct question, Kimi watched his reactions to this as well, but then she looked at everyone else too.

09:24, Today: Kimi-Yuka Noriko rolled 19 using 1d20+10. Sense Motive.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:25, Tue 17 Dec 2013.

Ian looks confused and surprised at the question. Me? I don't know anything about this. Until now I had no idea there were bodies buried in the walls. To be honest it is a pretty disconcerting discovery. I don't know how I'm going to be able to sleep here again. He shakes his head. You sense the man is telling the truth and Victoria exchanges a glance with all of you as if to say, "don't say anything yet..."

'Forgive me, I only meant to seek your expertise.' Penny apologised, covering for her entirely deliberate tone of accusation. 'I mean, what do you make of all this?' she asked again, gesturing more politely at the ghastly display.

Meanwhile, she retrieved her EMF meter from Father Cole and conducted some follow-up scans — including pointing the antennas at Shaw as his back was turned.

Kimi found these bodies just as disturbing as the last one.  "Was there anything inside the walls with them gracious lady?" She asked Penny.

Simon answered Kimi-Yuka's question. "Hex bags, dozens of them. Don't disturb them if you can help it, they are spirit wards."

Frowning, Kimi looked to the newcomer. "Please explain kind sir? Spirit?"

Simon tried to explain as best he could. "Sometimes a person's soul becomes corrupted by torture and becomes a demon. A demon can take over the body of another person. Also sometimes a soul refuses to enter to afterlife because it has unfinished business. Usually this involves some kind of revenge. In either instance these Hex bags keep souls unanchored by physical form from invading this area and attempting to take one."

ooc: For some reason the mental image of that cracks me up :D


Ian seems to accept her apology readily. Ah. Well, I think I may just go and visit my old precinct and see if they don't have some missing persons reports I can take a glance at. If we can establish a connection between the victims we can determine what is killing them. If anyone wants to join me I could use the company. It wouldn't hurt for you to make friends with some of my old colleagues anyway. Especially if you run across any of them without me. He adds.

Hearing this Victoria gives a hasty nod. Yes, I think you should go sooner rather than later. I will take care of this mess. Off with you. She shoos him quickly, obviously eager for him to get out of danger. In the meantime she turns to the rest of you. There is a room nearby we can move the bodies to. We can't just leave them in the hallway. We will have to leave the hexbags until we can burn the bodies. Did you have any luck in the Tailor's home and shop? She asks  both groups as she begins to organize the removal process.

Listening to the other women, Kimi was able to discern that the hex bags were not to be destroyed right away, but she was curious.  "Forgiven me anointed one, but hex bags are not something I have knowledge of.  If one were to destroy these bags now.....there would be chaos?"

Simon waved off the apology, "No apologies necessary. Sometimes I just assume other people know what I know. Destroying one would weaken the overall spell but would likely not destroy it all together. Its not something I advise, but accidents happen. In the even of chaos I have holy water, salt, and blessed bullets in my weapon."

Kate eyed the group of newcomers with interest. She was happy to see familiar faces and recognized everyone but the oriental woman.

"We should make sure Penny is finished before we do anything," she added  in regard to moving the bodies. Her new friend was a stickler for details.

Once she has the detective's okay Kate will help to remove the bodies.

When Victoria questioned their findings Kate paused in her work long enough to say, "Mrs. Bentley is a real peach," there was sarcasm in her voice. "She's up to something and one thing is for sure, her servants and husband are afraid of her."

Penny was distracted by her continued examination of the scenes. Hearing talk and her name, she looked up. 'Hmm? Oh, I should like to visit your police station, but I fear I must devote my attention to matters here, to the examination of the victims themselves and this hole in the wall. We need to find identifying information to match the missing persons reports, in order to have a solid lead... Doctor von Stein, have you any familiarity with medical jurisprudence, as a coroner or performing autopsies? We have a great deal of work ahead of us.'

'Perhaps someone else would like to accompany Mr Shaw...?' she said, with a querying glance at the rest of the group. As Shaw had left, she lowered her voice and said 'I have no suspicious against Ian Shaw.'

As Miss Green wanted to started moving the bodies, Penny pointed to the most decomposed and devoured 'Start with that one over there. I fear we shall not learn much from him now.' Returning her attention to the others, she began poking around in the corpses' pockets, searching for any possessions that might identify the victims.

'And a witch, it appears.' she added of Mrs Bently.


OOC: Search 24

ooc: Since Father Simon will be less active I'm going to make the decision to have him go with Ian, just so we keep up the momentum. Also, in the interest of moving things along I'm going to say that we bring Victoria up to date on things.

Ian turns to Father Simon. I think the boys at the precinct would feel more comfortable if I brought a priest with me as opposed to just a stranger. We'll return before tonight so we can get ready to finish with the Bently's. He informs you. The pair depart shortly thereafter, eager to get on with things while there's still daylight left.

In the meantime Victoria turns to Kimi. We can also burn the hexbags to negate them. Once the bodies are taken care of I'll have you help me with that. She says kindly. As the bodies are moved and the area attended to, Victoria has everyone debrief her as to what has happened. She notes in particular the scroll from Kimi and asks to see it. She glances over it quickly and frowns. This is a summoning spell. A very bad one. If the other scrolls are similar then it sounds like they are amassing an army. This is not good. She sighs, looking stressed. I'll need to bring this to Westbrook's attention immediately. We need to take care of this tonight. She turns to scrutinize the group, as if trying to plan who goes where.
In the meantime I think we should get you all ready for tonight. If you need clothes we have an extensive wardrobe available. She looks at Kate when she says this. We will also have your weapons upgraded by then, for those who need it done that is, and we'll divide into teams. I think it best that a larger group goes to the harbor where those crates are being shipped. I'd hate them to get into the wrong hands. I would, however, still like to keep an eye on the Bentley's at the banquet. They are the ones shipping the crates after all, so we'll need to get close to them and figure out what's going on. This will get dangerous. I'll try to prepare you as best as I can, but I wanted you to be warned, this will get messy. She turns to Stefan. If you want to help Penny finish up with the bdoies we can see if there's a connection between the victims and the hand. I'm sure there must be and forewarned is forarmed. I'll show you to the medical labratory.

Father Simon:

As you take a cab to the precinct Ian asks you to fill him in on what happened with Bentley's wife. In turn he tells you about the signs of witchcraft they found at the tailor's shop. It looks like a fine kettle of fish we're in. I always did hate witches. They are far too creative with their tricks. He gives a shudder and you think perhaps he must have had some bad experiences with them. What about you? Ever tangle with a witch? If not it sounds like tonight is your chance...

Simon nods at Ian, "On occasion. Witches are not my specialty but in a pinch I have helped out now and again. It seems my area of expertise will need to broaden."

Penny directed the removal of the bodies and proper storage in the room providing, careful to ensure that they were not further damaged and that potential evidence disrupted, and that they did not fall apart. She followed up by closely inspecting the hole in the wall where the bodies had stood, and shifting the warding bags, careful to maintain the order they were placed and the pattern of the pentacle. She'd found herself going from a single murder with sparse evidence to a mass murder with a great deal of potential evidence, two strands of investigation and multiple investigators, and she was trying her hardest to stay on top of it all. There was something to be said for working alone, for sure.

After washing up (autopsies could wait until after tea), she joined Kate in debriefing Miss Green on what they learned at the Bentley residence, and in hearing of the debacle at Richard Bently's shop.

'A summoning spell?' Penny said, alarmed at the identification. 'What does it summon? May I?' she asked to examine the scroll. She closely inspect the type of parchment or paper; its quality, cut, and manufacture; how the scroll had folded and handled; the type of ink, the penmanship; before reading the dread contents itself, written in Latin, fortunately. 'How extraordinary.

From her purse, she produced a knife and pocket revolver, and presented these and her umbrella to Miss Green, while a runner had been sent to the hotel to collect Penny's cane. All four of Penny's weapons were to be upgraded if possible. But Penny was curious to learn that this mysterious upgrading process was, and asked to see it.

'I believe it would be best if I were to attend this banquet, and Miss Piper, too, since the invitation was given to us. Father Cole might come as well, of course, but one of the other gentlemen will require some explanation.'


OOC:
Studying the scroll: Knowledge (arcane lore) 29 (20!); Investigate 31

Kimi didn't know anything about a banquet, but if everyone was going to be there, perhaps that was the time to get into the house of the tailor and his wife.

With those gathered, and noted to herself, Kimi spoke up. "My most honorable Ms. Greene, it is maybe best that I find myself in the home of the tailor and his wife, this evening.  During the banquet.  This humble servant would be willing to see what would be interesting to our noble selves."

Kimi bowed slightly.  It was not really a request.

Kate nodded at Victoria. "I do need clothes," she said with a grin. "Anything you can let me borrow would be fantastic. Maybe a pair of pants?" she asked hopefully. "I have a gun that is probably better than anything you can give me. But I brought limited bullets so I will need a back up."

As to the Banquet Kate would go where she was needed. The idea of attending didn't excite her. Her manners were a little rusty and her haircut already put her out of place. She was worried she would make a fool of herself. She'd have to have Penny give her a few tips on how to behave.

"Someone needs to go to the harbor," she added eying the good doctor. If she Penny and Father Simon went to the banquet and the oriental woman went to the house then that would leave only Ian and Dr. Stein to take the harbor. They would probably need a few more helping hands.

'I would be only too happy to take you shopping for new attire, Kate.' Penny said delightedly, but added lest she sound too eager, 'And for myself, as well, though I have an appropriate dress at the hotel... Yes, some good upper middle-class formal eveningwear should do it. But we must not upstage Emma Bently - unless, of course, we wish to provoke her... It is a pity I cannot bring out my grand sequinned hunting ballgown.' Penny tutted.

'But keep your pants handy, things may get active later.'
This message was last edited by the player at 07:33, Tue 24 Dec 2013.

Father Simon:

Ian gives you a grin. Yeah, I think it would be a good idea to get some more witch experience if you can. Of all the things I've faced, and that is many, witches are the worst. The absolute total worst. And that's above demons mind you! He shakes his head.

It doesn't take long to get to the precinct. My friends at the precinct should accept you easily enough. I've heard of your work amongst the less fortunate. We'll use that to our advantage. There isn't anything too suspicious about a good father investigating the disappearances of his flock. He muses. He leads you inside and the place is bustling with uniformed officers and workers, many of whom stop what they're doing to greet Ian with pleased grins and questions of when he will wise up and come back to the force. He laughs amiably and avoids the question politely, introducing you to several men who give you welcoming handshakes and nods. He does at last find one man in particular, Miles Rickly, who takes you to an office full of documents and files. There's been dozens of reports of missing persons. More probably that have gone unreported is my guess. He shakes his head. We've kept files on as many as we can, but so far we have no evidence as to what happened to them. There's been a few bodies found here and there, but not enough to account for the missing people by any means. You are welcome to look over the files if you like, but you'll have to stay here with them. I can give you paper and pencils to take notes if you like. He offers generously.

ooc: Please roll a search/gather information check as well as your thoughts/ responses

In answer to Penny's questions about the weapon upgrades, Victoria smiles. Ah, it is a very interesting question. You see, in 1835 there was a hunter named Samual Colt who found a way to enhance his gun. In his case, due to certain circumstances that unfortunately cannot be repeated, he was able to make a gun that could kill anything. It has since been lost, however, and we lack the ability to duplicate it exactly. After much study though, the Men of Letters has found a way to make our weapons similar. They can't kill everything, but they can kill most things, though it may take several tries. Suddenly a demon that could not be stopped can be killed by these weapons. It's not easy, and sometimes it takes a rather fierce battle, but it levels the playing field nicely. Father Simon and Stefan have the ability to make such weapons as well, but it takes time and I don't want to trouble them right now. She adds politely.


Penny: When you look at the summoning spell you see that it is a spell that would bring a very powerful demon to earth. Not just a typical soldier but rather a leader amongst demons, a general of sorts. If there are several of these scrolls then it appears trouble is on it's way.

Everyone:
Victoria turns to Kimi with an approving nod. Good idea. I don't want you going alone though. Would you mind taking Frederick with you? He's handy in a pinch and I'd feel better if you weren't alone. I'd send Lily but I think she's still with John Grant right now. She frowns.

She turns to the rest of you. So here's how I would like to divide if it's agreeable to you. Penny, Father Simon, and Kate will go to the banquet. Stefan and Jacob were invited too, but I am afraid the harbor warrants more attention. Jacob I need for something special, so he's unavailable, but I do have Lily, John, Stefan and possibly a newcomer if I can convince him, to go to the harbor. I will have extra support at the ready if they need it too. She adds. Ian was invited to the banquet as well, so I think I'll send him with you three. Hopefully the only witches there are the Bentley's, but if there are more you will need all the help you can get. She says darkly. Everyone should have their weapons ready by then and if you don't wish to spend your money Penny, we have several wardrobes to choose from if you want to guide Kate in her selections. Or, you can go to the shops if you'd rather, whatever suits you best.

ooc: Whew! Hopefully I didn't miss anything! We'll be splitting up soon guys so there won't be such monstrous posts. I'll put you into different threads too when the time comes, so we can avoid wading through a lot of posts that don't apply to you.

Kimi nodded about Fredrick.  "It will be so Ms. Victoria."  She fell quiet watching the others move bodies, she was still interested in the hex bags.

In reply to Penny Dreadful (msg # 225):

Stefan gave the woman a perturbed look. "Miss Dreadful, vhy vould you ask me such a dhing. Did I not say I vas a doctor? I vas educated in medicine at Edinburgh."

Stefan looks at those who seem to getting ready to bother the bodies. "I vould not be moving da bodies just yet. Da hex bag can be used fer more dhan vhat da good Fadher spoke of. Ve also do not know fer sure, if ve disturb da bodies dhat it vill not transfer ta vun a us. So, I vould not just yet."

Kimi-Yuka's eyes grew wide. "Most gracious sir (Stefan), please explain? This humble being is curious about these.....hex bags." She turned her head elegantly and with agile posture. "I am Kimi-Yuka Noriko, protector and friend to Mr. Westbrook.  Though I am proficient with Japanese culture of the spirit world, I am not aware of these curious bundles.  There is more that you know?"  Her dark eyes held no emotion and her expression was one of encouragement.

Penny was fascinated by the tale of Samuel Colt's enchanted gun. It sounded like a myth, but a process to make any weapon able to harm even the most invincible of supernatural monsters was a wonderful thing. 'Samuel Colt, the famous gunsmith? Amazing. A true magical weapon; it reminds one of legends of Excalibur or the Sword of Mars — or, in particular, Crocea Mors, the Yellow Death wielded by Julius Caesar, said to inflict a mortal wound upon all it struck.'

*

'This is a spell to summon a demon of great power, a kind of general or leader of their armies. Perhaps Baal himself, or one of his henchman. We may see a massive invasion being prepared.

*

'Yes, that seems an excellent arrangement. But Mister Shaw may not come with us — he was not with us when Emma Bently invited us, so it would be quite suspicious if were to arrive together.' Penny said of the evening's plans. 'Kate, I will find you something quite splendid.'

*

'Forgive me, doctor. I meant only to ask how you were with autopsies and other examinations of cadavers. I would not expect all doctors to possess such skills.' Penny explained. She listened to von Stein's objections to removing the cadavers. 'We do need to examine these bodies soon before correctly and respectfully disposing of them. Not to mention the problem of the smell or Miss Green's desire for secrecy. What do you suggest?' she asked, aware that the doctor's knowledge of the occult could well be greater than hers.

'We still have these warding bags. Could we reassemble the warding pentangle in this other room, and relocate the bodies there? That should keep their spirits resting.' Penny picked one up and began a careful examination of the bag and its contents, by sight and smell.


OOC: Examining a warding bag: Knowledge (arcane lore) 28, Investigate 17
16:33, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 17 using 1d20+12. investigate.
16:32, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 28 using 1d20+9. arcane lore.

In reply to Kimi-Yuka Noriko (msg # 236):

Stefan looked at the young lady for a moment taking a deep breath. "Dhere are many uses fer 'ex bags. Most 'ex bags 'ave evil intent, but some are used ta shield. I vill need more time ta examine dhese, before I make a proper decision."

Stefan looked at Miss Dreadful. "Any doctor knows dhier vay around a body or cadaver. Dhose spirits are not at rest dhey are being used. Dhey 'ave been tortured an much more. Dhis vas possibly done ta prepare a vay fer somedhing or ta contaminate an area.

Moving dhem or autopsing dhem could do more damage. Again I vill need ta examine all dhis more before doing anydhing."

Stefan begins to look the area and bodies over carefully making sure to not disturb anything while he does.

OOC:16:33, Today: Stefan Von Frankenstein rolled 32 using 1d20+14. Arcane knowledge.
16:33, Today: Stefan Von Frankenstein rolled 25 using 1d20+6. Investigate.
16:36, Today: Stefan Von Frankenstein rolled 13 using 1d20+12. Spellcraft.

Kimi nodded, and then decided it was time to find Frederick and discuss their plans to enter into the Tailors' house.  She moved passed everyone. "This humble person will seek for Frederick, then ready themselves for the mission this evening.  Please, excuse me."  She bowed slightly, then moved on.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:37, Fri 27 Dec 2013.

Kate made sure not to move anything until everyone was in agreement with what to do with the bodies. She was relieved that Penny seemed so excited to take her under her wing, and was willing to help her pick out clothes. She wondered if they would be able to find something long enough to cover her sneakers. Penny's shoes were cute but Kate was sure when it came to comfort her sneakers would easily win.

"Sounds like we have a big night ahead of us," Kate muttered peering over Penny's shoulder at the spell. The prospect of demons and the witchy Mrs. Bentley brought excitement to her eyes. She much preferred that to picking around rotting dead bodies.

"I think with all of our knowledge it should be easy enough to put up a new ward. " She added looking to the others for confirmation.

ooc: Sorry if I miss anything guys. There's a lot of posts to respond to!

Stefan, you determine that the wards were likely put there to keep the spirits in place and keep them from becoming a threat. You are certain you can move the bodies and replace the ward, though it will need to be done quickly. Meanwhile Jacob informs Penny that Mr. Bently indeed invited Ian to the very same banquet while they were at the tailor's, but this means he will need to arrive separately and keep his distance. I will feel better knowing he's away from here and with friends. Victoria confides with a frown. Clearly there is a conspiracy against him and I want him to be away from here as much as possible until I get behind it. Please, keep him out of trouble would you? He has a way of finding it... She pats Kate's arm as though hoping she will help with this.

ooc: Ok, I would like to wrap up with the bodies so you have moved and inspected them but find little more than the hex bags and the fact that they have been clearly eaten on. You are hoping that Ian and Father Simon's missing persons reports can shed more light on the subject. What are your plans for the next three hours while your weapons are finishing and you are preparing for the banquet? Let me know if you want to finish anything here or add more to what's been said. Stefan, when you are done with the bodies I have plans for you with Victoria, but I want to be sure you get the chance to finish first.

Kimi: You find Frederick easily enough. He is helping to oversee the weapon's altercations, which can be very difficult. He looks up at you in surprise and blushes, though he quickly tries to hide it. Good afternoon Miss Noriko. He gives a slight bow. I have heard that you were involved with the current mission on the Bentley's? Is there anything you need help with? Victoria has not had the chance to give him further details as yet obviously. But you know Frederick well enough to know he will jump at the chance to help you.

Kimi smiles and slightly bows. "Thank you kind sir, if you would follow me Mr. Fredrick you and I have work to do."  She turned sideways and waited for him.

Penny followed Doctor von Stein's slow and cautious approach to dealing with the cadavers and the warding bags, but privately wished they could make a swifter examination. Regardless, they eventually had the bodies and warding bags relocated to another, secure room, and Penny finished her inspection of the hole in the wall.

She then moved on to the bodies themselves, conducting a close forensic examination. By the shabby clothing and signs of physical labour upon the bodies, she could determine that the victims were largely lower class, poor folk. But with so much removed or devoured, she couldn't say for sure anything more specific. She'd need to cross-reference identifying marks against the missing persons reports in order to make a proper analysis. Penny also awaited Doctor von Stein's report on the wounds.

OOC: Sherlock scans on the corpses: Investigate 19, Spot 29
14:30, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 19,29 using d20+12,d20+9. scan: investigate, spot.

After washing up again, Penny went to see a little of the work of enchanting her weapons, intrigued to learn how the process worked. Penny had a small collection of weapons. Her knife was simple enough, as was her pocket revolver. The umbrella of sturdy iron construction with a devil's trap stitched under the canopy, and the gentleman's cane, made from ash with an iron core, tip and handle inscribed with ornate protective pentagram and warding sigils were rather more impressive.

Following that, she made use of the Men of Letters' resources to examine their library, spending the remaining time reading up on witchcraft, hexbags, the summoning scroll, the Greek symbols observed on the Bently's box, the goddess Hecate, and the demon lord Baal. She focused her research back on the Bently case — vital for tonight's activities, but it frustrated Penny to no end to have to juggle two distinct cases at once.

OOC: Research on the Bently's brand of witchcraft: 12
15:04, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 12 using 1d20+9. research.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:04, Tue 31 Dec 2013.

Stefan goes thru the warding and followed by the examination of the bodies. He was hoping to find something, but what he seen and what he found were what he thought he would find.

Stefan reported back to them of his finding, which were nothing more than what the others could see on the bodies.

While the others inspected the bodies Kate found her way back to the study she'd first appeared in. If it is empty she will give it a good once over to see if she can figure out who it belongs to. Later she will bring Penny back to do her Sherlock thing and see if she can find any clues.

After that she will acquire some weapons and look into getting some clothes so she could give Penny back her dress.

Father Simon:

Your search proves to be most illuminating. It would seem that all of the missing persons are from the same area of town (the poor side of course) and they seem to be on the receiving end of a great deal of charity work from a women's organization. The name of the group strikes a memory and you realize that it is Mrs. Bentley's circle....Apparently the police did not miss the connection, but after a brief questioning the suspicions were dropped against the women. After all, why would a women's charity group be involved in disappearances? Especially when it's members were such stellar members of the community. You also note that they tend to go missing at night (unsurprising), and there is often signs of violence, such as blood and flesh found in the alley and streets, but otherwise no signs of the bodies. Ian is reading this too, and taking notes furiously. You glance around you and see there are posts on the wall of current cases and general information. You note with interest that there has been a grave theft of a Russian man that has been reported as of two months ago. The fact that this is when the disappearances started is not lost on you.

Kimi: He quickly stops what he is doing and follows you. Of course! What's going on? He asks as he holds a door open for you. Let me know if I need to bring anything special if you know what I mean. He refers to the weapon room with a tilt of his head.


Kate: The study seems to be a community study room for meetings and things of the like amongst the higher ranking members. By now the symbols on the wall are so faded it's hard to make them out at all. Victoria informs you that normally they aren't there at all, and she believes it was only the activation of the spell on the other side that caused it's appearance. She does inform you that she had sketches made of it though, to preserve it for study. It's entirely possible that whoever you were following came here too. Perhaps we have more evil in our midst than we realized. She says darkly. Penny should investigate when she gets the chance. She agrees. In the meantime she takes you to a large room with several wardrobes and lets you have your run of the place. There are several dresses and the like and to your surprise and delight they also have trousers and such that have been clearly tailored for women. I know it's a bit scandelous but it's a lot easier to fight monsters when you can move freely. She explains.


Penny: The bodies yield little else for the time being, but you await the missing person's report eagerly. In the meantime you see that the process for the weapons is quite complicated indeed. It requires a great deal of minute carving and metal work in some cases to etch symbols into the weapons, as well as incantations and materials. It looks to be painstaking work and you are grateful you don't have to do it yourself. The library is massive and there is an alarming amount of information. Some of the texts are centuries old, and there are several librarians who watch you closely as you research, obviously paranoid about their precious materials. You find that the witchcraft Mrs. Bentley used is very old, likely used by followers of Hecate, but other than that you cannot discover details at this current time. If you do decide to investigate for Kate, you find the study yields little specifically except of course the symbols themselves which you do not yet recognize. You do see there are smudges of dusty footprints leading from the wall, though they are barely traceable they are so faint. Most people would have missed it, but it points to the fact that Kate is not the only person who has traveled through time...

Stefan: As the group departs to await Ian and Father Simon's return, Victoria bids you follow her and wait in a parlor of sorts. Mr. Westbrook wanted to speak to you privately when you had a moment. She informs you mysteriously. Should you choose to wait he doesn't keep you long. He strides forward, extending a hand for a hearty shake. He looks tired and stressed. Clearly he is under a great deal of pressure considering the whole situation. Victoria has told me of the situation with the scrolls. She tells me you will be amongst those going to the docks tonight. I am glad to hear it, but that is not what I need to speak to you about. I hate to bring up such a sensitive subject Mr. Stein, but tell me. What do you know of your father's work? He looks at you hesitantly, as if afraid the question might offend you.

"Most honorable sir, I will leave you to assess our needs." She walked into a washroom and looked under all the stalls.  No one.  Then turning to Fredrick she said, "We will be attempting a covert operation this evening.  You and I will be trying to access the Tailor and his wife's home.  We have suspicions of her motives.  Do you have anything that may aid us in this endeavor Master Fredrick?"

Penny was fascinated to observe the process of enchanting the weapons and asked many detailed questions about every aspect. At least until it became clear she was simply pestering the fellow and making the work proceed more slowly. She left Frederick and the others to it, but intended to read a tome about it later. Maybe she could learn it herself, and fancied practising on one of her sewing needles.

She spent more time in the quite impressive library, observing from a distance the secured copy of the Necronomicon and seeking out more relevant works under the watchful gaze of the librarians. Only the secret Library of St John the Beheaded in Holborn was more vigilant and better stocked, Penny figured, but she doubted she'd lose a hand for trying to borrow a book here. She was reminded too of the dusty library at the Darkmoor manor, and hours spent poring over mouldering tomes, deep into the cold night. She sat down with severals books on witchcraft and Greek religion, together with a cup of tea. The symbols on the box linked the Bentlys' brand of witchcraft to an ancient Greek tradition of magic and necromancy, likely practiced by the Hecate cult, but frustratingly she still knew too little about what the Bentlys were up to identify it further. Penny did not like surprises, or not knowing.

Later, Kate called her to investigate the office she'd appeared in, and Penny was intrigued to do so. She made sketches of the fading symbols for later study, though she could not identify it herself. Noticing patches of dust and dirt in the carpet, she easily found the footprints, seemingly stepping out of the wall — not just Kate's futuristic shoes, but another, older pair. Another time traveller, and a far subtler infiltration of the Men of Letters facility. Penny made sure to report her findings to Miss Green and Mr Westbrook.

In reply to Artemis (msg # 247):

Stefan makes his way to see Mr. Westbrook. He shakes the man's hand. When he speaks of his father's work he stiffened slightly at the remark. "I am not like 'im. It is vhy I do vhat I do. Vhy do you ask me dhis? Vhat do you vish ta know?" He looks at the man sternly.

Kimi: Frederick listens seriously and gives a thoughtful nod. The rumor is that they may be involved in witchcraft correct? If that's the case they may have some nasty hexes we need to be careful of. I think I may be able to help with that. I'll try to bring some protection for us too, but nothing is a guarantee. It may work against some spells, but if they get creative we may be in trouble. Let's just hope that they don't leave anyone behind to keep watch or something like that. We should have an easy time of it if the house is really empty. He finishes darkly.

Penny/Kate: Mr. Westbrook is indisposed, but Victoria assures you she will pass along the information. At hearing of the footprints she looks a bit upset. This place is going to ruin. She mutters. She turns to Kate. Could you please descrbe the man you were following? I want to track him down as soon as possible, if he's even still here that is.

Stefan: Westbrook puts a reassuring hand on your shoulder and shakes his head. I assure you, no one thinks you share his...aspirations. I know you are a good man, that's why you are here. But I must ask, what happened to him? Leave nothing out. What happened last you know of him? You find this question to be surprising to say the least. Shouldn't the Men of Letters know already?

Kimi smiles, "Most noble sir, if there is anyone left to guard, I will face them."  She bowed slightly. "We will go this evening Master Fredrick.  Please be ready."

'Travel through time and space is not a security vulnerability one could have planned for.' Penny said, attempting to reassure Victoria. 'Regardless, I would recommend guards be stationed at each entrance and in this office.'

Penny considered the faint footprints on the floor, measured with a small measuring stick, made some notes, and perform mental calculations. 'Based on the size of the shoes, the length of the stride, I would estimate a person of... this height,' she said, holding out a level hand to indicate the height of the suspect. 'Give or take an inch.'


OOC: I'm not sure what to roll to estimate the suspect's height, but I assume Investigate, for analysis of the clue.
12:52, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 28 using 1d20+12. investigate.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:58, Wed 01 Jan 2014.

After pleasantries are exchanged Simon and Ian go to work. After sorting through everything Simon puts the things he discovers in front of Ian. "If I were a betting man, I would think they are using these people as cattle for some kind of undead creature they resurrected. That may seem like farce to you, though."

Kate smiled and whipped out her phone. She had turned it off to save battery and had to wait a moment for it to power up. It was depressing to see how little charge she had left. "I was keeping an eye on this guy," she brought up a picture of a man in his early thirties. The photo was taken from a distance but it was good enough to make out basic facial features. The man was average height with sandy blond hair. Not handsome but not ugly, with a slightly crooked nose as if it had been broken once or twice. He had blue eyes and was dressed in slacks and a button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

"He goes by Mike Jones in my time. Probably a fake name.I got wind that he was meeting someone at the mausoleum but when I got there the place was empty. I know he was there though because his car was parked down the street."

Kimi: Frederick gives a grin at your words as though pleased at your eagerness. Oh I will be ready Miss Noriko. He nods. I-uh, have to say I'm pleased to be working with you. He blushes. Westbrook speaks very highly of you I mean! I-uh just meant that it would be nice to work with someone so skilled. He stammers.

Kate/Penny: Victoria seems to take comfort in Penny's words, smiling in spite of herself. Penny has determined the man to be approximately 5'10 or so judging by her clues. Victoria looks at Kate's phone and shakes her head. The wonders of the future will never cease to amaze me. She breathes. I wonder if I could make a quick sketch of that to pass around to those I trust? I don't recognize him but we have some new members I am not familiar with yet. She admits. As she speaks she goes to a desk and quickly takes a piece of paper out and a pencil at which point she begins sketching rapidly. If he's not still here he may still be in town at least. We may have some canvassing to do after tonight.

Ian grins at your words. Oh you'd be surprised at what I don't get surprised at. He laughs. I think you may be onto somethin there good father. I think with a bit of research we may just be able to narrow down what is going on here. If you're done here we can return to headquarters and put the men on it. We may have something rather nasty on our hands it seems. He frowns.

ooc: Go ahead and finish up here and I'll return you to the group.

Simon returns the files to their proper places, collects his notes and such. He makes sure to thank the man in charge for allowing him to look for those missing. He gives a short blessing (not the spell) if the man wishes it.

After that he is content to return to headquarters with Ian.

Father Simon:
You return with Ian who takes you to the library, which is massive. He gives one of the librarians his notes and after a few quiet words he pats him on the shoulder and sets him to work. That's the beauty of being here. When I first started I had to do all the looking myself. Took me forever. I've got better things to do than read ya know? He winks. Now come on, lets see if we can't find Victoria. He adds, leading you to the likely places. By now you have a pretty good idea of the layout of this place and it is even larger than you had first realized. As you are searching, you see a young man look sharply at Ian and then glare balefully. He watches him for some time before he slips away at a run. Ian seems not to have noticed.

Simon sees the young man. As the young fellow turns Simon says, "Hey you, stop." When the boy flees, Simon takes after him, trying to catch up and maybe take hold of the boy's coat.

Kimi was still confused by the reaction some of the men around the complex reacted to her.  In her mind she was no one, a vessel to carry the Ninja within.  She did not understand why the men in the west found her difficult to face and speak with.

She smiled softly, "And you as well Mr Fredrick, what is it you think we will need this evening?" She indicated that they should move back towards the area he had been working in.

'And why were you following this Mike Jones?' she asked Kate, sounding a bit too interrogative. She tried again, more softly 'I mean, is he a suspected criminal or monster?'

As Victoria sketched, Penny looked over the "phone" and examined the image, trying to determine if she'd seen the fellow hanging around the Men of Letters facility or elsewhere in New York. But though she'd seen it before, Penny was once more amazed by Kate's device and tried to divine its function. 'It's like a photograph, but without paper. I suppose the chemicals are trapped under the glass, kept stable, perhaps in a crystalline form, and stimulated by electricity to produce light?' she looked to Kate for confirmation.


OOC: Has Penny seen Mike Jones hanging around? A retroactive Spot check: 26
09:29, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 26 using 1d20+9. spot.

"Yeah something like that," Kate said in response to Penny's guess as to how her phone worked. She briefly wondered if she was screwing up the timeline by showing it to them.

"Mike is a suspected member of the Hand of Baal. I was doing a couple guys a favor by checking him out since I was already in the area. He was supposed to be meeting someone there but his was the only car I saw. Maybe his was meeting was with someone here?"

'If the Hand of Baal can travel through time with such ease, then they are much more powerful than previously suspected.' Penny stressed. 'And to keep one end of their portal in the Men of Letters' own secret base speaks of particular boldness, or a particularly close relationship with this organisation. Or, perhaps, an accidental placement. Still, we must be careful.'

She returned her attention to the phone. 'But how do you power it? A battery of electrochemical cells of some kind? It must be very small, and internal. Surely that would deplete soon... Ah, what's this, 35%? Ah!' she discovered, touching a finger to the surface and finding images moved at her direction. It was wondrous! Such marvels! Penny couldn't wait for the future to come, the sooner the better. Unfortunately, her fiddling disrupted Victoria's sketching. 'Miss Green, if your people can provide electrical equipment — copper wire, current and voltage controllers, soldering iron — I believe I can power this device long-term. Does this facility have access to electricity yet?' Penny asked, eager and excited to have the little project and play with the wondrous technology of the future.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:04, Mon 06 Jan 2014.

Father Simon: The boy does not stop but instead runs deeper into the corridors of the facility. He is fast and he looks frightened and angry at your interference. Ian sees you both and starts to follow,calling What's going on? The chase is intense, but you manage to catch up with him faster than you expected and grapple him easily by pulling him back by his coat. He is furious and resists wildly. Unhand me! What are you doing?! You have no right! He snarls.

ooc: To save time I rolled for ya ;P

Kate/Penny/John:

Victoria nods at Penny's question. Yes. We are completely wired for electricity and I'm certain we can provide you with anything you may need. She nods. Turning back to Kate she frowns. How extensive is the hand of baal in the future? Are they are large threat or do they have some plans we should know about? It would be good to know what we are up against. She admits. I fear that if they have agents working from your time they plan something quite large indeed. Penny, as you study the photograph further you do find the face disturbingly familiar. After a bit of scrutiny you are fairly sure you saw him in the hallways when you first arrived here, though you have not seen him since. As your conversation continues there is a knock at the door and a couple enters. One is a beautiful Indian woman with a bold face and a proud bearing. The next is a somewhat scruffy looking man who has a haunted look to him. The woman is a bit surprised by your presence but she recovers quickly. Oh. Forgive the interruption Tori. It takes you a moment to realize she means Victoria. I figured it best to introduce John here to the rest of the recruits. Also, we have had some...trouble I wanted to discuss with you. She trails off darkly.

Kimi:
Frederick looks pleased to have something else to discuss, clearly still feeling awkward for whatever reason. Well, I will need to make some protective hex bags for us for one thing. I may need a few components for some spells of my own should I need them. Most of them are already prepared so it won't take long. Tell me, how do you plan on approaching this? They may have servants home. What do you suggest if we run across them? They may be innocent of their master's dealings after all, so I wouldn't want to harm them needlessly. He frowns.

Simon tries to be reassuring, "Son, calm down, I mean you no harm. I thought you might have been a specter for a moment the way you were prying. How did you find this place?"

Father Simon:
He looks insulted. I belong here just as much as you! He snaps. More so even! I've been here for six months and you could be a spy for all I know. Why should I speak to you? Or him for that matter?! He nods to Ian, who looks surprised. Nicholas what has gotten into you? He demands. The boy glares in response. Clearly you've not heard the rumors against you. He says flatly. You are suspected of being a traitor you fool. If you do not unhand me I will make sure that my assault is added to your list of crimes!

Simon got the child's attention. "I see. You have my apologies sir. I had not seen or been introduced to you previously. I should add, my good sir, that we have proven those accusations false. Mr. Shaw is being set up. Now tell me, if you please sir, where may I find the detective Penny Dreadful?"

Kimi nodded as they walked. "Perhaps there is a gas? Something to sleep them?" She suggested.

Stefan looked at Westbrook for a long moment,then finally spoke. He had a serious tone to his voice when he did. "I vould dhink dhat da Men a Letters vould know vhat 'appened to 'im. Is it not dhere job ta know such dhings? I vill indulge you, dhough. You ask vhat 'appen to 'im. Dhat is somedhing everyone knows. Da Jigsa man got 'im. It is what I called 'is creation."

Stefan was quiet for a moment, then went on, but there was a bit of sympathy in his voice as he spoke. "Da Jigsa man vas 'unting 'im you see. 'e vas not bad, but misunderstood. Dhere vas more dhere in 'im, but not all could see it. I could feel it like one feels for a brother, but not totally. It vas like a connection a sorts, but not. Do you understand vhat I mean?"

Stefan took a breath gathering himself and went on. "I vas gone vhen dhis took place. Mudher 'ad spirited me avay from 'im, so I only know vhat I vas told a 'is passing. I vas not told vhat 'appened ta da Jigsa man dhough, so I can not be sure. Dhis is all a vhat I know. I am sorry if it is not vhat you vere hoping for."

'Kate, I believe with a little work I can supply power to this device, if you approve. A project for another day, though.' Penny said, picking up the phone and closely scrutinising it. She soon divined how to operate the touchscreen display and navigate the smartphone.

'If the Hand of Baal are willing to take such a great risk as to come back through time this way, then they must seek to reverse a defeat in this time, or ensure a victory.' Penny mentioned. She returned the phone to the picture of Mike Jones, examining the man. There was something naggingly familiar about him. The nose was slightly misaligned, suggesting a past break, and perhaps a violent lifestyle. She magnified the image until it was life-size, and seemed to be a collage of small squares, then raised the phone up to about 5 feet and 10 inches, angled it. She dimmed the display to mimic last night's lightning conditions. 'Ah! I do believe I have seen this fellow before. Last night, as we came into this facility, out in the hall. He could have through the time portal just before Kate did!' she exclaimed.

She was interrupted by the arrival of two more, a native woman and some scruffy American fellow. Despite the patriarchal name, Penny was pleased to see that the Men of Letters had a few women of letters and colour among their ranks, and in positions of influence and authority. Penny didn't say anything, waiting to be introduced by Miss Green as was custom.

"You can give it a shot," Kate said in response to Penny's offer to make a power supply. She was impressed with how quickly the woman learned to navigate the phone, clearly she was ahead of her time.

"In my time we don't know a whole lot about the hand of Baal. Seems they have kept a pretty low profile until recently. It started with just whispers and rumors among alphas and demons. I don't know any details but my friends led me to believe Baal has something big planned. That guy Mike was our only real connection. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time." She chuckled at her unintended joke.

When the newcomers appear Kate motions for Penny to tuck the phone away. It was apparently a marvel and she didn't want to detract from the Native American's troubling news.

John followed the Native American woman into the room. John was dressed in an rough looking long coat with a jean and flannel shirt underneath. He wore a hat that tended to shadow his face, the lower half of which was covered by a rough beard. He tilted his hat to the women inside but stayed quiet, waiting for formal introductions as his thoughts kept drifting. Occasionally he would begin to raise his hand towards his chest as if he was going to finger something around his neck but stopped himself.

Father Simon:


The young man looks at you sharply as you speak. Innocent? How have you proven his innocence? He demands, ignoring your question. Ian is looking absolutely shocked. No one has yet told him of the accusations and he looks flabbergasted. Nicholas though, is glaring at him balefully. I know what I saw! He snarls.

Kimi: Frederick frowns at the suggestion. A good idea, but unfortunately I don't have a way to distribute it. If we can get close enough perhaps we can use ether? Well, I guess there's nothing for it. We'll just have to take our chances. He sighs. Pausing a moment, he looks at you uncertainly. I heard about the bodies and everything. What do you think? I know there's a traitor amongst us somewhere, but does Westbrook have any leads at all? Has anyone looked into Nicholas's story about Ian?

Stefan: Westbrook listens quietly, nodding as you finish. No, it is about what I expected. Unfortunately, it would seem your father's work is not finished. I have reason to believe that his creation has been smuggled to the United States. And what's more....there has been rumors that your father is with him. I don't know if this is true or how it would even be possible, but in our line of work, it is best to not discount the impossible right away. He finishes darkly, watching you closely for your reaction.

Penny/John/Kate: ooc: Don't worry folks. Most of the time you will have threads separated by groups. I'm just finishing the meet and greets and then we'll have easier threads to follow. Thanks!

Victoria looks at Penny in surprise at her revelation of having seen the man. Before she can comment on it though, the Native woman enters. She gives a slight start at the woman's last words but nods. She gives quick introductions. The native woman is Lily and the man is John Grant. He is a new recruit, like yourselves. He was a bit late when he joined us so he didn't get to join your initial orientation. She explains. I am planning on putting him on the docks tonight along with Mr. Stein and hopefully another recent recruit. She informs you all. I thought it best that you get to know all of your comrades as I will be intermixing you into teams from time to time and I want you to know your allies. Obviously there is at least one traitor amongst us, if not more. You are all the inner circle so to speak, and for the moment anyway you are just about the only ones I can trust. She sighs. She turns suddenly to John and gives him a long stare as though scrutinizing something. After a moment her face turns surprised. Oh John. I am so sorry! I don't know why you saw her, but I will help you sort it out if I can. She says sympathetically. Clearly the woman possesses some kind of telepathic ability, but it is a bit surprising, especially for John.

As Victoria puts a gentle hand on the man's shoulder, Lily steps forward and shakes Penny and Kate's hands vigorously. You can already tell the woman is bold, strong willed, and unafraid. It is simply wonderful to have more women on board. She tells you earnestly. If anyone here gives you any trouble for being a woman just let me know and I'll thump them for you. She adds firmly. You have a feeling she means it too.

Simon made sure he had eye contact with the young man when he spoke. "We found some bodies buried in the walls with hex bags earlier. I went with Mr. Shaw to look into those bodies and their disappearances. We have connected the disappearances to a witches' coven, operating in this city among upper middle class women. For me this is all the proof I need to show me what I knew in my heart to be true, that Mr. Shaw is innocent of the charges against him.

Now listen, you say you know what you saw, but do you really? The eye can be fooled, there are men and women who make very good livings out of it. Nicholas, Ian is innocent, I assure you."

Kimi was not about to discuss anything with anyone other then Westbrook.  "I am not knowing Master Fredrick, but what about balloons?  Could we not use them for throwing the gases within the house?"  Kimi entered into the Lab that she and Fredrick had been in moments ago.

Stefan looked very shocked at the news he was just getting. "Dhis can not be true. I vas told he vas killed. 'ow do you know such dhings? Vho vould so dhis? Vhy vould dhey do dhis? Jigsa vill not be controlled. 'e is not a mindless golem ta be controlled. I need ta know all dhis." There was a bit of urgency in his voice with these last words.

Wondering if the phone played any music, Penny put the device in sleep-mode and tucked it away out of sight. 'Good day, sir. I am Penny Dreadful, a detective.' she said to Grant. She unhappy to hear that Green intended to mix and rearrange their teams on a regular basis. It would be difficult to build a proper working relationship, to able to trust and rely on one another as hunters, if they were shifted around too often. But this was a large organisation, not Penny's one-woman business, and if they had the skills and temperament for a task, then they should be appropriately allocated. And the Men of Letters were compromised. "Needs must when the devil drives" she thought, finding the old saying terribly fitting in the circumstances.

As Green consoled Grant over some grief — and apparently divined it by sight alone — Penny spoke to Lily. "Thump them"? 'Thank you, but I would be sure to give them an earful first... When I first heard of the Men of Letters, I expected to be the only lady here. At this point, I do believe they should change their name. It is indeed a pleasant surprise to find we are more than secretaries, typists, and tea-ladies.'


OOC: What did Victoria do? Sense Motive 17.
17:08, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 17 using 1d20+7. sense motive.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:47, Sat 11 Jan 2014.

Father Simon:
Nicholas listens, though his face is still doubtful and angry. Perhaps Father. Perhaps. The eye can be fooled, but I am not going to jump to any conclusions of his innocence until I have proof for myself! There's too many rumors going around, too many disappearances. It would have to be someone high up in the chain of command to pull all of this off. Ian fits. He accuses bluntly, and the Scotsman listens with a hard face. You're smart Nicholas, not to trust without proof. You'll live longer that way. However, I have only just heard of these accusations from you. If I can prove my innocence to you I will, but for now you'll just have to wait until I get to the bottom of this. He sighs. Nicholas gives him a long look and nods slowly, leaving if he is allowed to do so. He turns to you. Thank you Father. I may need your help defending myself if he spreads such ideas. Clearly someone is trying to undermine the hierarchy here.

Kimi: Frederick gives a smile at your evasiveness but shakes his head at suggestions of balloons. Too complicated at this point, and too difficult to control. I think our best course at this point is to try to find some way of making the residents leave, if they are even there that is. Or perhaps we can drug them? If we have a reason to be admitted perhaps we can dose their tea?

Stefan:
Westbrook listens to your questions with a sympathetic expression. Easy man, easy. I do not know how true any of this actually is, though my sources have never failed me before. They were spotted in Boston by some informants in another chapter. The creature is unmistakable, but perhaps the man with him was someone else. He fit your father's description perfectly though. The informant even identified him via photograph. That does not mean it isn't some kind of a trick. A shifter perhaps? He muses. Still, I cannot ignore the possibility that he lives, no matter how faint. I thought if he had somehow survived that perhaps you would know of it. At the very least you know how he thinks, the details of his work. Do you have any idea why he would be in the states?

Simon gives a slight bow. "I have no problems helping you. I do not lie, and I see an innocent man before me. Which begs the question, why? Is this a personal attack on you or a general attack on the group as a whole. Perhaps we should find the others and compare notes now?"

He gestures for Ian to lead the way.

Penny: ooc: As far as you can tell there is no way she should have been able to react the way she did without some kind of special ability. There appears to be more to Miss Greene than meets the eye....

Lily makes a face at mention of changing the name. Unfortunately that would be premature. Most chapters of the Men are as backward and prejudiced as the rest of the world. Westbrook founded this one, and he is considerably more progressive than anyone I've ever met. It has paid off too. This chapter is by far the largest and the most accomplished of all of the organizations. Does that make the others decide to open their eyes though? Of course not. She scoffs. The idea of a black woman as second in command has caused Westbrook a lot of prosecution from the others. Not to mention the fact that he has employed the help of so many hunters in comparison to the other chapters. They see hunters as base, crude, and a means to an end. Westbrook actually involves us in the process, gives us better weapons, helps us prepare for the things that we face. He truly is a wonderful man. And I hate just about every man so that's a lot coming from me. She laughs.

John looks with surprise as the woman somehow knew what happened. When she laid a hand on his shoulder he looked down and shuddered before he pulled away. "Please don't touch me." He said in a southern drawl before he looked to the other woman as she introduced herself. "Pleasure to meet you miss, Ah was a lawman mahself before..."

Kimi looks at Fredrick with a cocked eyebrow.  She says nothing.  "Most noble man, are there other inventions that may yet aid us?"  She casts a look around the room.

Kate was sure she would like Lily. It was a real eye opener to be reminded of how women were expected to act and she was thankful she'd managed to land among ladies who were so ahead of their time. The exchange between the man John Grant and Victoria did not go unnoticed. Kate had experienced a little of Victoria's...talent when they'd first met in the hall. She made a mental note to ask the woman about it later.

"I'm Kate Piper," she introduced herself with a smile. "Nice to meet a kindred spirit," she added shaking Lily's hand.

Stefan looked at him taking a few breath to calm himself, but he was still shaken. "Da Jigsa man vould not villingly be vith my fadher. 'e vishes 'im dead. I vas told 'e vas dead an da Jigsa man vas missing. I vish ta speak vith dis person, dis informant. Dhere vas no vay Jigsa man vould be vith my fadher. He vishes 'im dead I tell ya. Ya know vhat da Jigsa man is an vhy 'e vishes my fadher dead. 'e turned 'im into a beast... a monster dat does not know vhat 'e is. 'e is misunderstood an confused. A beast made a many pieces an none a 'is own. Dis must be 'ard on vuns mind, vhich is vhy Jigsa man is as 'e is an vhy he vishes my fadher dead."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:38, Sat 11 Jan 2014.

Penny listened to Lily talk about the Men of Letters, but she had an eye on the exchange between Green and Grant. It was indeed remarkable for a Negress to rise so highly in such an organisation in America, even such a progressive one as Westbrook commanded — but perhaps not so unlikely for one of Victoria Green's obvious powers. And they were quite remarkable. Penny had encountered mesmerists, telepaths, and other claimed psychics, but had often found them to be fraudulent or masking some more magical power. Still, she'd learned to keep an open mind. Perhaps too open, if Green could read it...

Hastily changing topic, she returned her attention to Grant. A "lawman", not detective or police, which suggested one of the American frontier law enforcers. His accent came from the American south, unless she missed her guess. His weathered appearance was indicative of a great deal of outdoors work. 'You were a ranger of some kind, I take it? A pleasure, then.' Truth be told, her scrutiny was merely something to keep her thoughts occupied. 'I understand you found the body in the wall last night, with Miss Noriko? What were your first impressions, as a "lawman"?'

Father Simon: Ian frowns and shakes his head. I have no idea. I was always under the impression that most people here liked me. It may or may not have been personal, hard to say. Either way, I hope he doesn't spread too many rumors about me before we can figure this all out. He sighs. He takes a few tries to find the others before you finally rejoin them in one of the studies. You see Penny, Kate, Victoria and also an Indian woman and a dark haired scruffy looking fellow.

Kimi: Frederick shrugs apologetically and says, Well, there may be a spell or something I am overlooking. I'll have to study it out with the researchers. Unfortunately, if there is, we may need to bring someone else along to cast it. I'm not really good at that sort of thing yet. He looks a bit sheepish. Perhaps we can just have them cast it and leave? The search shouldn't need many people, but I dare not risk trying it unskilled. Too many things could go wrong.

Stefan. Westbrook listens closely, his brow furrowed in thought. Yes, I had thought they didn't have the best relationship... He agrees. This does lend credence to the theory that perhaps the man was a shifter or some such thing? Though surely that would only draw more attention to him, not to mention the creature would likely not appreciate the resemblance. He sighs. Well there's no use speculating about it. We will have to go to Boston and look into this ourselves. The informant is there. I heard about all of this a few weeks ago. Hopefully they are still in the area. The trail may have gone cold by now. I have been communicating via telegraphs with the Boston chapter. I will find out what more I can and see if they have had any more sightings. Would you wish to travel there for answers yourself? Or should I put someone else on it? He queries. I would send a few people with you of course, but the choice is yours. I do not mean to drag you into your father's past if you don't wish it.

Penny/Kate/John:
Indeed! Lily agrees with Kate with a grin. I like your hair by the way. It suits you. She looks approving. Meanwhile as you are making your introductions, the door opens to reveal Father Simon and Ian.

ooc: I'm gonna give John a chance to respond to Penny real quick before we move you guys along. I'm just getting everyone on the same page before we divide the groups up for the night's adventures.

Kimi thought about that, then nodded. "Yes that will suffice Master Fredrick."  She moved around the lab to look at the various things that laid about.

<quote Artemis>

Stefan. Westbrook listens closely, his brow furrowed in thought. Yes, I had thought they didn't have the best relationship... He agrees. This does lend credence to the theory that perhaps the man was a shifter or some such thing? Though surely that would only draw more attention to him, not to mention the creature would likely not appreciate the resemblance. He sighs. Well there's no use speculating about it. We will have to go to Boston and look into this ourselves. The informant is there. I heard about all of this a few weeks ago. Hopefully they are still in the area. The trail may have gone cold by now. I have been communicating via telegraphs with the Boston chapter. I will find out what more I can and see if they have had any more sightings. Would you wish to travel there for answers yourself? Or should I put someone else on it? He queries. I would send a few people with you of course, but the choice is yours. I do not mean to drag you into your father's past if you don't wish it.

Stefan listens to Westbrook trying to take all this in. He nodded in agreement with leaving as soon as they could. "I am not sure about dhis being a shifter. If, so Jigsa man vould still try killin it, if it looked like my fadher. It could be a necromancer or a voodoo priest."

Stefan took a deep breath once more collecting himself and trying to contain his thoughts. "Yes, I vish ta go ta check dhis for myself. It vould not be fair ta anyone but myself ta do. Vhen can I leave?"

Simon enters with Ian. "Good evening. I believe Ian and I have made a rather intriguing discovery. What about you, did you find anything?"

Then he looks over Lily and John. "I am not sure we have been introduced, I am Father Simon Cole. This is Ian Shaw. Very pleased to make your acquaintance."

In reply to Penny Dreadful (msg # 287):

The man raised his eyebrows in surprise but didn't comment on how the woman knew his profession. "Ah first noticed tha blood seeping through the walls when Ah gave tha bricks acloser look and the bricks were loose. Tha body was decomposing, smelled somethin awful, which makes me wonder why the blood was poolin out. Ah'd think it'd be dry judging from tha body."

'That is unusual,' Penny agreed. 'I'd like to ascertain if it was a natural occurrence or some kind of ghostly manifestation intended to reveal his improper burial... Are you sure it was blood, not putrefaction? What was the colour? I'm afraid I haven't had a chance to examine the first body yet, given the plethora of victims. How long would you say the victim had been deceased for?' she asked, continuing her interrogation and learning all she could.

OOC: If we're moving on, you don't have to answer, I'll just look it up.

She looked over as Shaw and Cole returned. 'I conducted some desultory research into the Bently matter, and made a little headway into Miss Piper's problem. But I'm afraid I've found nothing new of import in the bodies-in-the-wall case. I was hoping you could provide some more solid avenues of inquiry?'

Simon nodded, "We have indeed uncovered avenues of inquiry. there are a great number of victims from amongst the poor. These victims were all on the receiving end of a great deal of charity work from one group in particular. Mrs. Bentley's Circle is the course of those funds. The police were only briefly suspicious, gave cursory inquiry and dismissed the connection as mere coincidence.

More similarities are that the victims go missing at night, and though there are signs of struggle such as blood or torn clothing, there are never any other signs of the bodies.

Most intriguing is that two months ago, when these disappearances began, there was a reported grave robbery of a Russian man's body." He nodded, "So that's what we found out..."

Kimi: It doesn't take long for Frederick to find a willing volunteer. It is one of the higher level Men, and he looks almost amused at being asked to assist. Sometimes the smugness of certain members could be....irksome. Still, the man would be useful nonetheless and he would not be there long. What the scholars had in skill they lacked in physical ability. Not many dared venture into the field. At last preparations were made and night drew close. The man, James Kirkman was his name, looked at his pocket watch and made a face. Well, I suppose we should get on with it then? He sniffs.

Stefan: Westbrook gives an understanding nod. You can leave in the morning. You are needed at the docks tonight if that's something you are willing to do. Also, I don't feel comfortable sending you alone. I will send at least one person with you, and you will likely work closely with the men in the Boston chapter. They will give you equipment, supplies, and men if it gets to be necessary. If your father really is alive or if someone is using his old work, then it is everybody's problem. I will let you lead the investigation though, considering your connection to it. He adds.

The Scotsman gives a nod of agreement at Father Simon's words. I'm thinkin maybe the body is a clue. I thought I would have the librarians see what they could dig up, no pun intended. He grins suddenly as though amused at his own joke. It would seem though that the cases are definitely connected. The Bentley's may have a spy in our midst. He adds, suddenly serious again.

ooc: John- the liquid was bloody to be sure, but you get the feeling there was probably purification involved as well :)

Kate listened to the others with interest, taking a moment to survey the newcomers. Lily had complimented her hair, so naturally they were going to be instant friends. The cowboy...lawman? Obviously had some haunting tale of his own. Though she got the feeling they all had their own crazy stories. It was hard not to with this profession.

From the sounds of it they were gong to have an interesting night. Kate found her self wondering what she'd be doing if she were back home? Thoughts of home gave her an idea. Maybe she did know of someone here who could help with the situation. Her friends had a Great Grandfather who was connected with The Men of Letters. She made a mental note to ask Victoria about it later.

"It might be good to have someone get closer to Mrs. Bentley tonight." She looked at Penny who was obviously the best choice. "Maybe she'll invite you into her little circle."

Penny was impressed by Cole's report. 'Indeed? How extraordinary. We shall have to correlate the descriptions of the missing persons to the bodies, to confirm the link. But, if true, it is all surely too close to be coincidence for us to be investigating the Hand of Baal and to find the suspects' own crimes in our midst... This Russian man, he could be the killer, some kind of maybe of ghoul, or perhaps the first victim. Suppose the monster began devouring old corpses robbed from graves, but soon developed a taste for fresh meat?'

'But the oldest cadaver I estimated to be some fourth months old. Now you say two months... How long had this Russian man been deceased?'

She considered Kate's suggestion carefully. 'Witchcraft or charity?' Penny inquired, attempting a small joke. 'Yes, that could work well. She would not accept an equal partner, of course, but a student who shares her interests and is willing to obey her... I believe I can impress her sufficiently with my knowledge of witchcraft. Enough of my ancestors were burned for it, after all.' But privately she had to admit her curiosity at mastering the magical arts as those ancestors were whispered to have done. To wield such power and have such knowledge...

Stefan nodded. "Very vell, as for tonite an da docks. Vhat is going on? Do not forget Mr. Vestbrook. I 'ave a charity event to attend. Da tailors vife still needs ta be checked into. I need ta know if she is a real vitch or a fake dabbler. She obviously knows 'er vay around herbs an such. I 'ope dis does not cause problems."

Kimi nodded to the man, then told them both she would meet them right there in a few moments.

She quickly headed back to her room, unlocked the door, and began to strip out of her kimono, and into black clothing.  She swept up her fans, and a tonja, tied up her hair, and then returned to them.

"We must see upon a map, where the Tailor's home is, then approach it carefully."

Simon was cordial enough, "I have already made such correlations to the victims we have here. I would not have brought this to your attention otherwise."

At Kate's suggestion and Penny's reply Simon interjected, "If you are going with Ms. Penny then I think I should investigate this Russian. I doubt having a Priest would facilitate such a...ruse." Besides he is a terrible liar.

When Penny mentions being a student of a witch he crosses himself. "Penny these are forces best left untapped. Even one who practices white magic can be tempted."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:46, Wed 15 Jan 2014.

Stefan: Westbrook explains the situation. Well, we believe that the shipment of summoning scrolls is being sent tonight at the harbor. If they fall into the hand of Baal then they have an army at their disposal. I was hoping you could helm the group at the docks but if you think you would be better off at the banquet I can find others. It is up to you my friend. He says gravely.

Penny/Kate/John/Simon: ooc: Crap. I may have screwed up the time frame that the Russian was taken. I'll have to go and change it later, but basically it is supposed to line up with the first victim. Apologies.

Victoria listens to Father Simon's comment about white magic with an expression of disagreement. She looks about to say something on the matter, but quickly changes her mind....In the meantime Ian speaks up. If you are not going to the banquet Father, perhaps you wouldn't mind bolstering the ranks at the docks first? We can investigate the Russian after that, but I am concerned about these scrolls. He shakes his head. Besides, if it is something monstrous, it may be better to approach it by daylight. We may need to question his relatives and I've discovered people are more willing to answer questions by daylight.

Kimi: The map indicates that the house is on a street with quite a few houses nearby. The neighbors may be about since it won't be especially late. Frederick frowns. I think it best we make this look like a social call if we want to avoid the wrong kind of attention. You may be good at sneaking Miss Norkio, but we are at a decided disadvantage. He smiles sheepishly. We may want to think of a good cover story.

Simon nodded to Ian, "Of course, my good sir."

In reply to Artemis (msg # 302):

Stefan shook his head. "No, da scrolls are much more important. I vill send a message vith my regrets for missing it and offer to match 'er contribution."

Kimi leaned against the table. "I am seeing the wisdom in your words Fredrick.  Perhaps you to gentlemen can be the distraction we need.  Whilst you approach the household looking for the Tailor, I may find a way into the house?" Her almost shaped eyes looked to them each. "A good way to assess the people in the house?"