Update! 7:22 am November 11, 1908
(OOC: Just look for your character to know what applies to you)

Between Two Cars: Luminary

  The porters in this car seem to take Nicholas’s movements in stride, much less confrontational than the other waiter. He quickly made his way to the exit of the car to follow the man’s jump. From outside he saw they appeared to be over a bridge across a ravine. As he opened the doors he saw something really amazing. He saw something like a bird in the sky, no it was a rocket, with a man attached to it! It had already begun to peel away from the train’s direction of travel. High in the mountains however Nic wondered where he was going. He was certain though, that it wouldn’t be the last time he saw these guys harassing them.

*****
Exiting the Insanity, Entering a new mystery: Freddy

 Freddy decides this is a bit too much for him, and he begins making his way towards his bunk. Moving towards the back of the train he passes the disaster in progress and continues back, shimmying by the contingent that was attempting to diffuse the bomb. A bit further on he comes across Nicholas as he was watching something in the sky. After this, the next few cars on the train were coach cars and beyond that, they were sleeper cars with first-class accommodations. One of which was his. When he opens the door to his chamber, there is one of his old pugilist posters laying on the seat.:

 Probably one of the porters left it there, probably wanting an autograph, but it’s left there along with a nice bottle of red wine the wax seal marking it as an 1847 vintage from Monaco, the tag on it reads, “Please Enjoy Mr.Hansfield, Respectfully, Mr.Husam”. Otherwise, you find your things just as you left them.

(OOC: Let me know if you'd like to kick off a side thread.)
*****
The Scene of Crime: Phoenix, Sil, Davin, Train Guards and the Conductor

 Phoenix seems certain he can burn off the device without it going off, but unsure if he could grab it at the same time. Davin is having some difficulty remembering the Earthly equivalent of the periodic table and thus is unable to deduce the nature of the canisters at the moment and the dangerous potential already had him beginning to break into a sweat as he wonders about the triggers. Though Sil peeks at the set-up and sees the way they were attempting to shape the charge so it wasn’t simply full-on destruction but more controlled to accomplish a task. She also sees the wires, and within a few moments has performed some mental calculus to arrive at what she feels is the logical conclusion.

 Snipping the wire from where the body could be located should prevent the trigger from being activated, however, the need to examine the body in the water-closet seemed prudent to make certain there was in fact a trigger there. Thus far no one has opened the door to the lou though to examine a trigger there or the body of the victim. Then perhaps a coordinated effort could be made to cut both wires leading to the explosive simultaneously and thereby eliminating the triggering mechanism from the equation, even if the trigger was from further down the train. Sil doesn’t think it likely there would be two triggers but one could never be too careful.

*****

The Teapot: Ms.Sanderson and Rose

 Both women sprang into action, Rose calls out the elderly woman, and the woman responds in kind but as she tries to flee from her sitting position she falls towards the aisle and sprays the contents of her handbag across the floor. Ms.Sanderson steps lightly between the detritus on the ground and nimbly swipes at the woman’s assailant which keeps him back from carrying out his murderous task just as Rose releases her icy cloud at the attacker. The effect is nearly instant as he seems to freeze in a chilling position entirely on one side and most of the other, that entire corner of the car is suddenly frosted white around him. He waves his unfrozen hand to try to grab onto anything nearby but is there is nothing within reach. His unfrozen eye becomes quickly fixed on Rose's every move...

 A step away Sanderson leaps towards the waiter, just as the door was beginning to close between the cars. She narrowly succeeds in sliding between the opening to land a hard kick against the waiter’s fleeing back. The effect sends him sprawling and he bounces off of the door to the next car. He moves like a clumsy civilian however and so she quickly catches on the waiter’s uniform as he is splayed out, nearly going over the side of the walkway between cars.

 He emits a muffled cry as he almost loses his precious teapot. “Please don’t let me go!”

Ms. S held the man firmly in her grasp. She had no intention of letting him go, but he didn't know that. She stuck the umbrella beside him, "Teapot, NOW. I don't know how long I can just hold you."

Nic looked around quickly and then suddenly stopped as he spied..."is he....FLYING??" He stood there, mouth agape, eyes wide, for a moment, watching where they...FLEW...off to.

He blinked a few times and looked down. The wheels started turning. "flying...outside of a plane..."

He shook his head, shelving the thoughts and ideas for the moment. Then he walked back towards the previous between-cars spot that had the bomb there to see if his help was needed.

Rose didn't want to hurt anyone, mythological beings included. She'd acted in haste to save that woman, but she hoped she wouldn't need a coup de grace. "Please withdraw somewhere safer madam, there are only so many train officers aboard and at least one can't be trusted," she said, before refocusing on the djinn. Her hands were still up, though more as a warning gesture since she didn't literally shoot cold out of them. "As for you sir... I don't know your business or even if you're doing it willingly. I do know that I have the upper hand and don't wish to strike with it, so I would ask you to just calm down for now." She hoped that other stranger was handling things with the teapot, because this didn't seem like the kind of standoff she could just walk away from to investigate elsewhere.

Sil explains with urgency that they must inspect the room of the murder scene at once and why.

"It is an ingenious setup, created by one with great cunning and a knowledge of scientific principles. It shows that the crime was not one of passion but of careful and methodical planning, and the target particularly chosen. I fear we will learn only more and more how clever the killer has been. And yet you cannot barge into the water closet, officers; if there is a tripwire, the safety of the train and its passengers is at stake, " she emphasizes to the train police.  "You must hold back your enthusiasm for catching the culprit and inspect carefully. And Officer... Ivanov, is it?  You have a clear voice. You must help coordinate the exact moment we simultaneously cut the wires."

What I am about to do is going to be dangerous, Phoenix says.  Considering the weather, the dynamite is not likely to be sweating much, but burning off the detonator could still set off the bomb.  I might be able to minimize the blast, however.

Davin darted his hand out and shook his head, "No. I have a better way. It will buy us time." Davin carefully touched the wire that ran from the bomb to the canisters.

OOC: Davin Mandic rolled 72 using 1d100. Yellow Feat Crystallization.

We don't k ow how much time we have, Phoenix says.  The detonator has a plunger set against the coupling.  The bumps we have come across in the tracks so far have been small enough not to set it off, but one of significant force will push the plunger and blow the bomb.  It's likely the strength required to push it is set for a specific point along the tracks, making it a timer of sorts.

Update! 7:21 am November 11, 1908
(OOC: Just look for your character to know what applies to you)

The Teapot: Ms.Sanderson and Rose

 The Djinn is still focused on Rose as she cautioned everyone to keep moving. To Rose’s eye, it did not seem to be in pain or real anger so much as waiting and watching; perhaps it was a murderous creature, or maybe it was simply forced into servitude tossing aside concern for itself in the stead of its master. Every few seconds that passed, however, Rose could detect a pulse of reddish glow from beneath the frozen layers of the creature’s wardrobe and skin, and a bit of steam rise from its nostrils.

 The rest of the car’s occupants were huddled against the door to the observation car next down the train. Few things could disturb such morally upstanding people as these but it seemed that a frozen djinn that was trying to kill was one of them. The two engineers, the accountant, the businessman, and finally the heiress had already grabbed their important possessions or were in the process.

 The waiter in Ms. S’s clutches seemed to be whimpering profusely but eventually hung the teapot on the end of the parasol’s cane hook. None of his former smugness was apparent now at all, and no shame,  “It’s not my fault, they made me do it, all of it. The spirit carried it out...”

*****
The Scene of Crime: Luminary, Phoenix, Sil, Davin, Train Guards, and the Conductor

 The situation near the explosive was equally intense Nic could see. He had noticed the line of two canisters within the cabin attached by wires to the very explosive that the bunch was agonizing over. He arrives just in time to see Davin lightly grab hold of the wireline leading back from the coupling, From the point that Davin touched, red-black crystals flowed from the point of contact. Faster than the eye could follow the wave of red-black crystal engulfed the wire, the canisters, the bomb, and continued onward until everything connected to the bomb was of the same material.


 It seemed that the situation was neutralized, at least for a time from what Davin had mentioned. It did not seem likely that it would move from this spot however and could crack in half at the coupling if the train entered a curve. However, as of now, it seemed better than exploding.

 From the direction of the lou, Officer Ivanov and the conductor called to Sil, “Madamoiselle, the water-closet is filled with a crystal material! What should we do?”

 Officer Rene is attempting to prevent people from entering the car and into a dangerous situation. However, the door to one of the compartments inside the car adjacent to the scene of the murder opens and a man with a bad bout of bedhead emerges to demand what’s going on. The conductor attempts to lead him back into his cubicle.

*****
Entering a new mystery: Freddy
OOC: -Exit to Freddy’s Day, will try to set something up with the next 24 hours.

Phoenix turns to Davin.  Will that casing hold if the bombs go off?  Or will it turn into shrapnel?. He looks back at the encased bomb, then back at Davin.  The woman, in the sunglasses, that you were talking to in the dining car, I could use her help.

Ms. S pulled the waiter to his feet and shoved him back into the dining car. "Tell me how to call the Djinn off." She pushed him into a chair, "And don't get up or else I may decided to test the strength of the glass in these windows...with your face."

Davin stood up after he made sure everything had turned to crystal, The bomb will not go off. The bomb is not encased, it is crystal...for now." Taking out his pocketwatch he shows it to Phoenix, "We have until the long hand reaches the eight before it revert to it's previous form. So, disconnect the bomb from the wires and contain the canisters before they turn back. Do be careful if you crack the crystals when they turn back the object will still be damaged."  Davin's eyes went out of focus as he reached out to Rose.  "It seems Ms. Blankenship has problems of her own. If you would clear this up." Davin nodded towards the bomb and canisters before he began to move at speed back towards the dining room. "I will go and retrieve her."

For now, short of trying to finish off the djinn, there wasn't much Rose could do but continue the standoff. She was hoping it wouldn't come to that, but she had the distinct sense he was trying to break free in his own way despite her warning. If the other woman was gone too long, Rose might have to take some kind of action, but for now she just continued watching and waiting in case she had to make another move.

Nic came hurrying back, arriving at the coupling, his face a mixture of awe and annoyance. He looked down at the bomb...and stopped...blinking several times in very wide-eyed surprise. "Uh..." He frowned. "Uhh..."

He glanced up at Phoenix, "What...happened...to the bomb?" He scratched his chin. "An'...whaddya we do with it now? Is that permanent?"

Sil raised her voice to respond:

"Officer Ivanov, please secure the site for now. I am sending a man who can help you shortly."

Sil bent down and examined the crystals.  "A gentleman turned them into this substance. Fascinating, " she told Nick.  "If I explain how to handle the crystals in the water closet, will you handle them?  Try to figure out why the man was targeted by supernatural forces before the police force you out. It cannot be a coincidence."

After giving Nic instructions on how to disable the bomb on the other end, she focused on cutting the wires on her end.

Update! 7:22 am November 11, 1908
(OOC: Just look for your character to know what applies to you)

The Teapot: Ms.Sanderson, Rose, and Davin

 The waiter says shakily after the waiter recovers from being unceremoniously shoved to the floor of the dining car, he licked his lips cautiously raising his hands in supplication, “I have to call it off with the Teapot...I swear Madam, I won’t do anything with it. He can’t move.”

 The Djinn watched what was transpiring around it, and a low guttural growl seemed to emit from its frozen throat. The fingers on its other hand seemed to be loosening up as well. As Rose watched she could see it trying its best to fight her powers, warming up slowly as she’d noticed before yet now she could feel its warmth beginning to come through the outer shell of frosty ice…

 Just as all this was transpiring Davin knocks on the door to get the crowd to disperse enough for him to get into the car. They do slowly as he seemed purposeful and had seemed to see something of this coming. Meanwhile, the accountant slipped past Davin as he came in, fearing for his life.

*****
The Scene of Crime: Luminary, Phoenix, Sil, Train Guards, and the Conductor

 Phoenix watched as they began to try to cut the wires. Sil took a few test chops and realized the crystalline matrix was much tougher than what the thin wire would suggest but took only a few swings to chop through anyway. No explosion…so far it seemed to have worked. Phoenix realized that if they hit the bump now, the dynamite plunger might just shatter, and then the thing would be diffused for the moment regardless.

 However, Sil’s assessment also seemed the best way to prevent other secondary explosions as well, no signal would generally mean no explosion, so long as the explosives were handled carefully after they reverted to normal matter. Meanwhile, Nic realized Sil was right, there had to be a reason why this man was targeted and they had to find out why. It was too much of a coincidence that they were on a train with supernatural occurrences like this. Of course, Nic had an idea of why the man might’ve been murdered but he didn’t know that for certain. The guards would also take over as soon as they’d begun to finish taking care of the bomb itself or at the very least they’d demand to see some paper credentials, credentials they couldn’t give.

 The guard, God bless his heart, was pretty much eating up what Sil was saying given how out of their depth he was, “yes, ma’am. I’ll keep anyone from meddling. Please, go back in your compartment as the Conductor says, we’ll take care of everything.”

 The Conductor too, helped where he thought he could, though it was very clearly evident how nervous he was and how much trust he was placing in the team. He knocked on each of the four doors after that and began explaining the situation as best he could and to sit tight and gather their bags.

*****
(OOC: Ok, so after we cut the second wire we should be free for a few turns to talk about how to get the bomb off the train and search for some clues to the mystery surrounding this setup and murder. I’m gonna say that the conductor will wait until 7:30 before attempting to lock down the area and seeking your credentials and passports.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:47, Mon 15 Feb 2021.

Phoenix looks over the crystallized bomb.  He reaches out with his flaming right hand and attempts to remove and destroy the detonator.


02:35, Today: Phoenix rolled 76 using 1d100.  Ex16 A +1 CS Law Enforcement:   Destroy detonator. Yellow Feat.

02:28, Today: Phoenix rolled 77 using 1d100.  Gd8 R +1 CS Law Enforcement:  Remove detonator.  Yellow Feat.

S lay the pot beside him, and quickly flipped her umbrella so that the sharp edge was poised under his chin. "Believe me when I say that if you utter any words other than those necessary to call off the creature, I will remove your tongue from below. Understand? Now," The tip pressed beneath his jaw, in the soft place were no bone protected. The point was just poised to break his skin, but had not yet. "If it attacks me, then I am sure I will slip and drive this all the way through your skull. Proceed."

Davin had a frown on his face as he followed the thoughts of those dealing with the bomb even as he walked into the dining car. "Ms. Blankenship, I see you have found the murderer on your own. If we could deal with this situation quickly, we have a developing situation a few cars back." Assessing the situation Davin half raised his hand waiting to see how t his all played out.

OOC: Davin is going to see if either Ms. Sanderson or Ms. Blankenship has it under control. Only if the Djinn looks to be getting out or combative will he wrap the djinn in Dark Crimson energy. Energy Solidification - Davin Mandic rolled 59 using 1d100. Energy shackles around whole forearms.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:48, Wed 17 Feb 2021.

Rose had never been in a situation close to this before, but she did know a smidgen of philosophy that might be applicable here, such as the ethics of action against inaction. Would she do nothing and risk everyone's death, or would she act and risk the djinn's instead? What tipped the scale was that she did warn him not to try anything - though she still hoped she could keep from hurting anybody.

"I asked you to stay put," she said quietly, before trying to will the frost back over the aggressive figure. She didn't try to pierce or overwhelm him with that cold, only to reinforce the "cage" he'd already been in and was now breaking out of.

17:39, Today: Rose rolled 17 using 1d100.  Fn Cold Generation on the djinn (but pulling punch). White result.

Sil decides the bomb is being handled and soon. This leaves precious time. Sil turns away from the interior, as she has no convenient skirt pockets to hide her activity. When she turns back around, she is holding a few papers; she hands them to Nic. "One of us must investigate. I have no idea what the police use, but I saw plenty of these in Marseilles! Congratulations on receiving your medical license, doctor. It may help if they question you, but only so far. Try to get out before they get suspicious. I will concentrate on maintaining the illusion until you are back to safety."

Update! 7:23 am November 11, 1908
(OOC: Just look for your character to know what applies to you)

The Teapot: Ms.Sanderson, Rose, and Davin

  Rose watched as she reinforced the frosty outer layers with more crystallized water molecules, and without intending to, her power nearly covers him like a snowman before she can put a stop to it. Everyone in the car could feel the moisture being sucked out of the air. Rose could still detect the Djinn under the new layers, snow-covered though it didn’t seem more stuck than before. She can see his free eye still though and it seems a little less menacing now. Perhaps a bit more resigned to its fate if nothing else.

 Davin watched warily as the Djinn locked its eye with his for a second as it surveyed its surroundings.

 Ms.S however only saw this happening peripherally, her focus remained on the muling waiter. He sneered at her nervously, and slowly put his hand to the seemingly perpetually hot teapot. A sizzling sound could be heard as he spoke to the Djinn in a tone of command, “return to captivity and cease your attack.”

 At that moment, the Djinn shattered into a mixture of sand and steam as it seemed to >POOF!<, much to everyone’s surprise. A little trailer of steam shot back into the teapot and the sand seemed to dissipate as it fell to the ground, which the waiter promptly dropped and it skittered across the floor with a clang.

*****
The Scene of Crime: Luminary, Phoenix, Sil, Train Guards, and the Conductor

 Phoenix reached out after carefully working out where the detonator might be and reached out his flaming hand. There is resistance at first but the crystalline substance that the bomb had been converted into seemed to be completely inert, and non-reactive, as his hand pushed into the transformed thin iron casing and then through the rod and wiring within. It quickly becomes a melted mess, the crystal seemed to flow freely after a few moments of continuously applied pressure as he consciously controlled the heat to rise around his hand. Within a few moments it was only being held to the train by some twine, and Phoenix had to consider how best to grab hold of it before it fell out of its securing loops and knots.

 Meanwhile, Sil supplied illusionary paperwork to Nic as she gave him an idea of what they should do. As they made for the water-closet, the Conductor met them, a blanched look on his face. He stopped them short and they proffered their paperwork, and he seemed to investigate them holding his spectacles at a short distance from his face. He finally nodded, seemingly satisfied. “Carry on then, but let’s be discreet shall we?”

 They opened the door and heard a click, as they bumped into the crystalline matrix of the wire and its attached secondary detonator beneath the man, though if they hadn’t known about the wire ahead of time, it certainly would’ve been difficult to spot. Mr.Marconi was propped up on the toilet, fully clothed of course, and actually looked quite good for a dead man. His outfit was quite modern and his suit was nicely pressed, but he didn’t seem to have any of the accouterments or jewelry on him. Sil immediately thought of this as a setup for authorities to think it was a mugging gone too far, at first glance, rather than something as intricate and well planned as the bomber would’ve been. Despite all that, it would’ve had to be set-up almost immediately after they left the station. Davin was correct as well, his wallet had some cheques made out to Mr.Marconi and a document of birth and Italian citizenship.
(OOC: Both Sil and Nic can roll for intuition while Phoenix can roll agility to keep a hold on the device or make a grab roll.)

*****
(OOC: Besides the bomb and the murder scene, there is only one other element to this rolling disaster and that’s the canisters. If anyone wants to examine one of those, it’s a yellow reason feat. I'll wrap all this up as soon as we've got as much as we can from the scene.)

Sil examines Mr. Marconi. Yes, it looks like a dead body. Doing what dead bodies do, which is not move. She looks around uneasily. Hopefully Nic will make sense of this.

Intuition - Blue Feat.

S smiled sweetly, "Why thank you, you get to keep your tongue. Use it to tell me whom you are working for, why these targets, and how do I control the Djinn?"

Davin gestures and his signature red-black energy wraps around the teapot and raises it on a pillar to rest near Sanderson, "Quite impressive the both of you." Pulling out his pocketwatch he glances at it to judge the time he has left before his crystals return to their normal state. Clicking it shut, he nods his head. We have a situation in the back that might be helped by Ms. Blankenship's skills. If you are confident that you have everything in hand, Ms.......?"

OOC:
20:51, Today: Davin Mandic rolled 64 using 1d100. Energy Solidification.
20:51, Today: Davin Mandic rolled 88 using 1d100. Reason to Identify Canisters.
Also even as he walks back towards the canister and bombs, Davin will be reading the Waiter's mind.