'Well, I'd lost precious seconds seeing to Beth, and despite his age and weight, the killer soon outpaced me. When I lost sight of him in the winding back alleys, I tracked him by the sound of his footsteps, his prints on the dirt ground, a sighting by a worker, the scurrying of rats. A broken window. He'd hidden in a workshop, closed for the night. The Ripper had spent his evenings prior to his murders scouting out the neighbourhood, noting where people were, what they were doing, avenues by which he might escape and places to conceal himself. I knew he was inside, waiting and ready.'

'I stepped in. It was dark inside, of course, and quiet. London seemed a world away. The place was full of tools and machines, sharp things. I hunted him about that place. Every bump and creak and scrape of a rusty blade seemed to be the killer lurking. Then,when I found him – he jumped upon me.' She shuddered, feeling so tense and cold as her memories reached their most traumatic point. 'I was on the ground, he was over me, holding me down, drawing his knife. I remember his eyes most of all, so cold they seemed dead. He said he wouldn't kill me quick like the other women, no. He would take me apart alive. Rather than cut my throat, he seized my neck and strangled me to stop me screaming. I couldn't cry out, I couldn't breath.' Absently, Penny rubbed her throat, still feeling the crushing weight, the blackness descending.

'Then he slashed his knife across my belly, left to right as was his style. I heard a rip—' Penny indicated a line across her stomach, then laughed, short, shallow, and empty of humour. 'It was my dress. I wore a protective corset underneath for just that reason. My protections would not last long, as he tried to tear my clothes from me. I struggled desperately to keep him from cutting me.'

'But I knew his movements then, and had two hands free. Fighting against suffocation, against him, against my own terror and weakness, at last – I seized the knife. I would never let it go. I pitted all my strength against him, turning that blade. What else could I do, but fight or die? So slowly, inch by painful inch, I turned it about and— The blade slid into his belly. I felt hot blood run down my hands. I twisted it, in him, out of his hands. I had the knife, the hilt was so slippery with his blood, I squeezed it so tight my arm felt as though it would burst.'

'Murderous and vengeful, even in death, he put his hands, like claws, around my throat, to strangle and throttle and slam my head against the wooden floor. I couldn't breath, I couldn't see, I couldn't even think. All I knew was that I had to save myself. All I knew was the knife. I stabbed, I cut, I slashed, I dragged the knife across and opened him up as he did all those women. I must have been like a savage animal as I ripped him and tore him open, tore him apart. At some point, I got him in the heart. At some point he must have died, but those eyes, those eyes remained cold and dead. I had to keep attacking. He had a dead's man grip upon my throat, until I cut his hands. I kept cutting him. I— I don't know when I stopped. I don't think I could.' Penny breathed in and out, shuddering with the horror of what she'd been through, what she'd survived, what she'd done.

She couldn't hold herself up any more. Penny doubled over, placing her face in her hands to cover her eyes before tears spilled out. Then she told Kitty what she'd dared tell no one else. Perhaps only Kitty could and would understand. 'And— and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it, ripping that fiend apart. Soaked in his blood, I felt what he did. I felt sick. I felt ecstatic. Vengeance for what he'd tried to do to me, and Beth, for what he'd done to Mary Ann and Annie and Elizabeth and Catherine and Mary Jane and for everyone else. It felt right, so help me God. Is that wrong?' she begged for Kitty to tell her and make her feel well again.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:10, Sat 14 Feb 2015.

Kitty could contain herself no longer, and reached over to embrace the sobbing young woman - she who had done so much to rid the world of a true evil, but even now felt guilt at having done so.  What man would feel so inclined?  It was not fair, and she would have none of it.

"Miss...", she could not bring herself to call her Miss Dreadful, "...Penny, hush now, you have done the world a great service, and a great service to me and the other family members who lost a loved one due to that monster.  I have to say...I would have enjoyed it as much as you, perhaps even more.  I expect I shall feel that way if and when I finally confront my father.  But I will not feel bad for letting my heart feel what it will, and nor should you.  Society would keep us as pretty tame little birds, good only to look at and hear in song: but we know that only some women have safe, fancy cages; the rest of us must fend for ourselves in an ugly, brutal, indifferent world, and we must do what we have to in order to get by.  And if someone wishes to judge us or our actions in this context, let them, for I for one will stand tall and proud and trumpet my accomplishments to their faces.  If the police hadn't been corrupt or mindless bunglers, they would have caught the man; instead, it took a very brave woman to not only stop him but make sure he would cause no further harm.  You are a hero, Penny, if anyone you should be on the front page of the Times or the Examiner, not this Holmes fellow."

She stroked Penny's hair, as she would for a younger sister in distress.

"If there was any person in the world who deserved what he got, besides my father I mean, it was that monster - and you did it, Penny.  You should be proud.  Please, be of good cheer, who knows how many woman will remain alive today, thanks to you?"

After a time, Penny recovered some of her composure, looking up from her hands with red-rimmed eyes. She spoke haltingly 'Thank you... Yes, I know... I know in my head that it is normal to feel this way, that I did what anyone would in such circumstances, given the chance... But it is hard to live with the memories, of what I witnessed, what I experienced, and what I did. To know that we are all capable of such darkness if driven to extremes. That I could be a predator too.' she admitted to herself, feeling good to release that burden, for a time anyway. Penny sighed loudly. 'I suppose the difference is that we feel remorse. A monster does not.' She patted Kitty on the shoulder. 'Thank you for your kind words.'

Eventually, she resumed her account, the aftermath. 'Well, the next thing I remember clearly is when, Beth and Molly arrived with the McGee gang – Mick McGee owed me a favour after I got him acquitted of the murder of Clubber Jimmy, on account of Jimmy already being dead. His boys hauled the corpse and other remains off me and got the knife out of my hand while Beth apparently stopped me screaming. Eventually we were able to get the police in, they hosed the blood off me, and I was sent home to recover my wits... It is remarkable how things just... go back to normal.'

'Well, over the next few days I was able to trace the man's identity... I have never said to outsiders, but you of all people deserve to know. His name was James Richard Upton, a minor but influential civil servant, largely fitting my hypothesised description and habits. He was entirely human, too, not a demon or vampire or anything else. It seems true evil still lies in the hearts of men... He was also a member of the Diogenes Club and thus had, on occasion, had tea or discussed the weather with various leading members of the police force, government, and the press. He'd made a point of doing so. A subtly manipulative man, all it took was a word in the ear of such men to send the police investigation along a certain path, to whip up media interest, to blame the Jews, or whatever else he fancied. He'd probably learned of my plan the same way. "Jack the Ripper" was a name he devised, in jest it seemed. He wanted to be famous.'

'Well, imagine the scandal if this were to get out. An MP having tea with the Ripper! It could bring down the government. Terribly inconvenient. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the investigation soon dried up. There were no clues to his crimes at his home, and we had only the body, the knife, prostitutes and street thugs as witnesses, and my word as to what had happened. Of course, they knew my word was good, but...' She chewed her lips, filled with regret, cursing her tactical choices. 'There was talk that I had perhaps taken too much cocaine during the time I lay in wait, that I had been in a mania, suffering hallucinations and paranoid delusions. I should be lucky they did not accuse me of being the Ripper!'

'But ultimately the police, in their wisdom, decided Upton had been murdered for his valuables, and McGee furnished a body. And the Ripper never struck again.' She snorted in derision. Penny was clearly bitter about the whole sorry business, being ignored and belittled, being denied her triumph and reputation for all her hard work and traumatic experience. She could have been the most celebrated detective in history. But she was too much a loyal daughter of the Empire to bring it all down, not for mere fame. She accepted her fate and made her sacrifice with the dignity of an Englishwoman. 'I should make it clear that no one actively covered it up, or lied, or concealed the truth. Only that they could not even consider it, could not look further.'

'My only hope was that in time, even in a hundred years or so, the evidence would come to light and my work would be known. And that that nasty and pathetic creature would be forgotten, that he would not get his fame. But... I have only recently returned from the future, and Jack the Ripper is the most famous killer in history, the subject of hundreds of books and moving pictures, all speculating as to his identity. And the truth and I are long forgotten.' Penny sighed. After everything, she couldn't even muster the outrage.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:33, Tue 17 Feb 2015.

Kitty wasn't sure which alarmed her more, the baldfaced corruption of the Metropolitan Police Department, or the fact that Penny believed that she had traveled into the future.  Well, perhaps she had: since joining up with these new friends all sorts of possibilities have since emerged that she would have considered deranged not very long ago.  She could not help but wonder what the future was like.

"You have been...to the future?  How?  And what was it like?"

And what she really wanted to know: was she avenged on her father, and his evil cabal of power?

And there was a welcome change of topic. 'Yes, via a magical portal.' Penny managed to say without sounding like a maniac. 'Miss Kate Piper hails from the 2013. We sought to bring her home, but had to return on some pressing business.'

'The future is... I am not too sure how to describe it, as it at once both very different and very similar. I would characterise it as rude and crude, with very low standards of decency, yet also much more open-minded and accepting. Women have the vote and all the freedoms of a man, though the fight to improve attitudes continues. People are generally intellectually and philosophically advanced, yet dangerously retrograde ideas flourish. There is still war and anarchist bombings, and the industry began in our time continues to poison the world, but they have such marvellous inventions. Disease is low and people know great health, but the food is so rich they grow fat and ill. It is... different. I could spend years exploring and learning.'

'You do not believe me, do you? As well you shouldn't. You should speak to Miss Piper and ask to see her amazing portable "smart" telephone.'

As you continue your conversation you are interrupted by the sounds of screams down the hall and many more shouts added to the din.

"2013!!???!  But that is incredible!  However - "

The sounds of screaming from down the hall interrupted Kitty's response.

"Dear God, that does not sound good at all!  We'd better see what is going on!"

She reached for the blessed revolver they had given her and made ready to go down the hall.

'Oh no,' Penny started at the sounds of screaming, suddenly taken back to a dingy street in Whitehall... She checked her weapons – revolver, knife, and cane – had the presence of mind to finish her tea, then hurried off after Kitty, dreading what they might find outside. Were the Men of Letters finally under attack?

As you enter the hallway you move down the corridor a ways and see six men and women seemingly trapped in one of the devil's traps that are scattered throughout the headquarters. They look furious and squirm in the crowded space uncomfortably. Shouts down the hall in the opposite direction reveal similar circumstances...

'My word!' Penny exclaimed as she gazed upon the people crowded so close together, soon spotting the devil's trap beneath their feet and deducing what had happened. Demons had infiltrated the Men of Letters' very headquarters, they'd come and gone freely, somehow finding a way to bypass the traps that suddenly no longer protected them. She could almost laugh. But there were so many of them. Her initial estimation had been correct: the organisation was indeed lousy with spies and corrupted members.

'Kitty! Please stand guard, make sure no-one comes to release them! If they do, throw this into the circle.' She pressed a small cloth bag into Kitty's hands, then started hurrying down the corridor to the next set of curses and the likely location of another trap. She had to see the full extent of this, appraise the situation, and work out what in hell was going on.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:49, Tue 24 Feb 2015.

"Ok!"

She had no idea what the bag was, or what was inside, but she stood ready to do as instructed.

She walked a little closer to the group of six so she could examine them.

"What, are you a bunch of demons too?  You lot breed like rats..."

Kitty: You receive glowers in response and a woman speaks. Let us go or when I get out I'll wear your guts for a necklaceshe growls.

Penny: As you investigate the pandemonium you see it is indeed widespread. Some of the demons catch you by surprise as they had seemed so pleasant in your short dealings with them. You soon run across Ian who looks more serious than you've yet seen him and yet somewhat unsurprised. Ah, I see you've discovered the mess we're in too he notes. It was Kate's doing. She noticed the devil's traps had been tampered with. We went about fixing them but had no idea it would end up like this he shakes his head. I've been trying to clear the corridors, exorcise as many as I could. I was just about to start in this area. Have you seen Kate?

She was glad to see Ian was not one of the demons - she hadn't thought he was, but it would seem one never knew.

"I have not, but I have just seen Penny - she went that way down the corridor", she pointed in the direction Penny ran.  "Is there anything I can do to assist?  Its rather like catching a bunch of rats, isn't it?"

OOC: Kitty, I think you mixed up our responses. :p I'll adapt.

Seeing another bundle of demons trapped and struggling in a magic circle,  and fair blocking up the corridor,  Penny turned about and hurried back to where she had left Kitty. She seemed new to this world,  and Penny didn't want to leave her at the mercy of the demons should they escape. She felt obliged to protect her after their earlier conversation, and what they shared via Mary.

Returning,  she found Kitty speaking to Ian.  Initially relieved,  she grew apprehensive. With this many demons infiltrating the base, she couldn't trust anyone. Those not in circles were merely those lucky enough not to walk into one before the rest. Everyone needed to be retested.  And where was the false Westbrook? 'More like catching flies on fly paper,  I would say. Should we keep some to interrogate or should we expel all of them to clear the corridors? And we need to find Mr Westbrook.'

ooc: No worries! :D

Ian looks relieved that you are both safe and he nods quickly at the suggestions Penny gives. Well to navigate safely we'll need to clear most of them though I do want to leave a few for questioning. We should also flush out anyone who hasn't stepped across one and see if they are a danger or not. It could be that some simply haven't been through the halls yet and seeing all this they would avoid it as long as possible. Perhaps we can convince everyone to prove themselves that way he suggests. Westbrook is a top priority. I say we head there as soon as the way is clear. I don't suppose you know how to do exorcisms yet? he arches an eyebrow at Penny.

ooc: I'm hoping to combine the threads soon and have the others join you so bear with me ;)

A ghost of a smile passed across Penny's face, dangerous and delighted. 'No, but I have the next best thing in mind.' She retrieved the small bag from Kitty; about half a fist in size, it was made of old cloth daubed with a red sigil, and felt like it contained bones, powder, a twig, leaves, and other strange detritus. This spell hadn't been used for over a hundred years, and then only by the witch who'd devised it, one Scottish hag named Rowena. Penny had had only some historical knowledge of her and limited information about the spell, not enough to reconstruct it. It wasn't until she browsed some witchcraft lore on the Internet in 2013 that she'd been able to recreate it, though not to its full effect.

'Catch!' Penny called to the captive demons, tossing the hexbag into the devil's trap. 'Depurgare!' The demons soon felt their insides begin to twist and writhe, as their possessed vessels began to reject their foul corruption. The purgative spell allowed the body itself to expel the demon, surely a more natural and healthy cure. They gasped and groaned, clutched their bellies and fell to their knees, and finally began to vomit up a thick, black slime.

'Sadly, I could not manage the secondary aspect that would leave them bound and dead in this form. They'll seep through the floor and back to the Pit as usual. In the future, we may try catching them in buckets... Now, let us expel those in our path, capture those who remain for questioning, and make our to Mr Westbrook.'


OOC: Using Depurgare, my new witchcraft-themed Exorcism variant, Concentration 16, beats DC 15.
11:04, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 16 using 1d20+3. concentration.
I've described what should happen, though feel free to cut back if it gets interrupted, Artemis.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:30, Thu 26 Feb 2015.

"Goodness", exclaimed kitty upon seeing what happened to the demons - or rather, the demon-possessed people, "I can see that I have a lot to learn!"

What the bloody he- he suddenly remembers his manners. What in blazes was that?! he demands. Kitty may find it surprising that he is seemingly in the dark as to what just occurred. When the air clears a bit remind me to ask you how you did that he shakes his head looking at Penny as though impressed. Unfortunately the vessels seem to be already dead as they fall lifeless to the ground. Ian looks sad. How many are we going to lose when this is all over? he mutters. Come on, we'd best hurry.

ooc: Please roll a concentration check to see how easily you exorcise the devil's traps you run across. Both of you please roll spot and listen checks as well.

'Fear not, it may be a witch's hex-bag, but it is white magic. A powerful cleansing spell, largely comprising rock salt, holly berry, and hellebore. Ancient purgatives for driving out filth. A kind of metaphysical laxative, if you will.' Penny explained, retrieving her hex-bag from amidst the prone corpses and puddles like black tar that were seeping rapidly through the floorboards and into the earth below. Back to Hell they would go. 'It dates back to the last century, but I was only able to complete it in the 21st.' Penny inspected the hex-bag. She was so very pleased it had worked on her first try too. It required further development, of course, and the demons needed to be confined close to the hex-bag for it to take effect, but it gave her a very useful weapon in the fight against them.

She looked mournfully upon the mass of corpses left behind. 'Sadly, demons kill their host bodies the first chance they get, to prevent them talking after they leave, but mostly out of spite. There's little we can do for them.' Penny explained, mostly for Kitty's benefit. She pocketed her hex-bag, then set off again with Ian and Kitty.


OOC: Listen 21, Spot 27
Find Clues feat: if Penny passes with 5 ft of a clue, she gets a free Search check, Search 20
10:23, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 20 using 1d20+12. find clues: search.
10:23, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 21 using 1d20+9. listen.
10:23, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 27 using 1d20+9. spot.

Concentration 12, I needed to bump up my skill here now. Weirdly, only Tough Heroes have it as a class skill.
10:24, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 12 using 1d20+3. concentration.

"Do you travel through time often", Kitty asked, genuinely intrigued.  She was very curious about what might be like.  Kitty often felt as if she were not at home in her own time an place - perhaps she were better off going into the past - or the distant future.

"I would be very interested in trying that some day..."

On the way, Penny answered 'No, I scarcely knew it as more than a science fiction writer's fancy until very recently, when Miss Piper came to us. I only went the one time, there and back again for but a day. I highly recommend a trip through time, to see the marvels of the future, but beware – some people will get so dreadfully upset...' Penny warned. Hesitantly, a little guiltily, she admitted 'I wasn't exactly supposed to accompany Miss Piper back, you see. My curiosity and fears for her safety got the better of me. But, after we were immediately accosted by demons, I must say I do not regret it.'
This message was last edited by the player at 02:31, Mon 02 Mar 2015.

Between Penny and Ian the way is cleared with minimal difficulties though Penny is getting a bit fatigued from all the exorcising and it is taking longer to send the demons where they belong. As you go you notice that judging by the numbers you are seeing theoretically at least half of the faculty seem to have been compromised. Quite jarring indeed. As they seem to be dead after you are through with them, this will mean dramatically decreased numbers amongst your ranks.

By now you are closing in on Westbrook's room which you unfortunately find to be empty. Penny does manage to spot a wrinkle in the carpet that looks a bit...odd. Should you investigate you will find it leads to a trap door. Since you are already underground this comes as a surprise but as you take a closer look it seems to be a narrow tunnel just large enough for a man to squirm through. To your surprise it is paved in stone, clearly someone built this on purpose. Perhaps Westbrook thought it wise to have an escape route in order.

The depurgare spell itself was relatively easy, but the force of will necessary to enact it was quite taxing. After the first lot of bound fiends, Penny found each successive devil's-trap-full increasingly wearying. More than once, she had to lean against the wall and stop her head from spinning darkly.

Yet she still burst quickly into Westbrook's office, her spirits buoyed by the thrill of the hunt. 'Mr Westbrook?' she began, ready to begin some bluff about not knowing his identity, but she supposed they were well past that now, especially since the would-be Mt Westbrook was absent.

Spying the wrinkle in the carpet, she quickly lifted it up with her cane. 'A second stain?' she wondered, thinking of one of Holmes and Watson's old cases. Instead, pulling the whole thing up, 'A secret passage! This must be how the demons infiltrated the base, bypassing the protections. Let us see where it leads and where the villain has gone. Come! The game is afoot!' Slimmer than a man, Penny dropped down into the whole, and drew her pistol, ready for the chase.

"Who is this Mr. Westbrook?  He seems to have had his own office, an with a trap door no less..."

Westbrook is...was the leader of this chapter of the Men of Letters. I don't know if he's still alive anymore he says sadly. Victoria thinks he has been replaced and I'm inclined to agree with her. He...was a good man. He then follows Penny, though it is harder for him. It is a small tunnel and though you don't have to crawl you can't exactly stand either. Instead you are hunched as you make your way through the tunnel. Ian has more difficulty but he manages alright. The tunnel is dark but Ian produces a book of matches and is able to mostly light your way with them. The tunnel is simple, a straight shot about few hundred yards or so. It seems to be clean albeit a bit dusty and you can see that someone has passed through here recently. Likely Westbrook himself. At the end of the tunnel is a ladder going up and should you follow it you will find yourselves emerging into a basement of sorts, the morning light peeking through the small windows. You appear to be in a house.