Gathering Storms: Stolen Hearts and Souls, 06 Apr 1870
Wednesday, 06 Apr 1870
Pickerings Townhouse, London
After some discussion, we decide that the only way we can find Thackery is to track him spiritually, thanks to the spirits clinging to him from the canopic jars. That leaves just one candidate for the job: Nicholas Varney. We set off to find him.
Wednesday, 06 Apr 1870
Location unknown
Thackery is still translating in captivity and is currently berating a servant for bringing him foreign food. Unless he is fed decent English fare, all translation work will cease. Upon demanding meat and vegetables, he's given stewed goat and overcooked green … somethings. The meal is also accompanied by two burly men armed with scimitars.
Give us the book, his captors say. She demands it.
Thackery tries the food, deems it good enough, and translates the manuscript to completion. Splitting hairs, he refuses to hand over the translation until he speaks to the Egyptian Sorceress.
Wednesday, 06 Apr 1870
Nicolas Varney's Residence, London
Nicholas Varney has spent the past two days exercising his new skills with the sword. When the party knocks on his door, they find the furniture in his front parlour pushed to the walls to give him space to swing his blade. It raises a question or two but the party quickly gets to the point: Thackery has been kidnapped and we need Varney to track him via his abilities as a spiritualist.
Varney agrees to do so for Isabelle's sake. She does not want to be sent to her parents in Brighton.
Pieter announces he can modify the Mitchelson Resonator to concentrate Aether, giving Varney a boost in his abilities. He and Varney go back to Finch & Son to gather the equipment and load it into a cart. Pieter hooks it up to the bicycle drive for power. Meanwhile Ariadne goes to her workshop. Drawing on her knowledge of chemistry, she fills 6 pairs of glass vials with sleep gas. Thrown with enough force to shatter, the chemicals will mix and form a potent knock-out weapon.
Wednesday, 06 Apr 1870
Location unknown
Thackery refuses to cooperate and gets an audience with the Sorceress. They argue. She ensures he will give her what she wants and leaves him locked up.
Wednesday, 06 Apr 1870
Pickerings Townhouse, London
Isabelle goes back to the Pickering townhouse, still dressed up in her men's attire and fake moustache, and picks the lock on the gun cabinet. She loads up pistols and straps on knives. She's a walking one-man arsenal. By God, she's getting her uncle back.
Of course, Bonnie the maid happens upon her at this point. Bonnie is crushed out on Thackery and wants to call the police for his rescue. Isabelle tells her that it would not be wise, as there are dark magicks afoot that the police are ill-equipped to handle. Better let her and her friends rescue Thackery. Isabelle convinces Bonnie to hold off calling the police or Butler until a week has passed.
Bonnie: But what should I tell everyone in the meantime?
Isabelle: Tell them I went on holiday with my uncle.
Bonnie: Godspeed, ma'am.
Having taken care of her cover story, Isabelle continues to arm herself. By the time the party joins her at the Pickerings, they find her testing the family's armorial swords.
Varney hollers out to Jonathan, Isabelle's ghostly lover, to help us find Thackery. Do so or be banished. Jonathan does not appear, so Varney forces him into our presence through a séance.
Question: Who put everyone to sleep in the household?
Answer: That sorceress. She's going by the name of Beatrice now. She had two English thugs with her.
Question: Where can we find her?
Answer: They took him to the small estate outside the city. They also have a place in a hotel in town.
Question: Can you tell us if you're near Thackery? If so, we can trap him in our Resonator.
'Answer: (NOT thrilled at the prospect of capture)
Question: What are the Egyptian woman's plans?
Answer: I didn't interview her.
Jonathan is pretty much put out that we will trap him in the Resonator to do our bidding rather than using it to manifest him so he can be with Isabelle in the flesh. He's also miffed at her for preferring the former plan over the latter—he's jealous of her attachment to Thackery.
Wednesday, 06 Apr 1870
Estate somewhere outside London
Thackery has strange dreams about the Egyptian who hired him. He is rude to the Egyptian and the foreigner leaves him and his dreams.
Thursday, 07 Apr 1870
Pickerings Townhouse, London
The next day arrives and the party starts out on the rescue. Pieter's modified Mitchelson Resonator—renamed Aetheric Density Motor—is on the wagon and set to detect the Egyptian sorceress's presence.
We consult with estate agents and narrow down the candidate properties to an area clear over into the western counties near Stonehenge. Stonehenge is a powerful Druidic site and as it so happens, ley lines run under it. We discover that one of the possible estates has a node underneath it. We rev up the Aetheric Detector as we drive past and sure enough, the power peaks and declines as we approach then pass the property. Having found our likeliest location, we withdraw to figure out our extraction plan.
We decide we need more information. We go to the nearest public house to get it. Questioning the regulars there, we discover that the Beddington House was rented recently to a foreign couple. Nice enough people, possibly, but still—foreigners.
We are certain that the Beddington House is our target. Varney worries over his beer, concerned that there are yet more books to trap Thackery. How many times will this sort of thing happen? Isabelle prosaically points out that she doesn't think Thackery's brain could survive a third book.
We work out next how we're to neutralize the Egyptian's minions. Ariadne shows the party her sleep grenades, swaddled in a jewelry roll. That would suffice for the Sorceress's non-magical thugs, but what about the Sorceress herself? She has magic at her disposal.
Pieter thinks he can modify the Aetheric Density Motor, reversing its effect to disperse magic instead of concentrating it. Ariadne helps him make the modifications.
Isabelle leaves to reconnoiter the Beddington estate ahead of the party. We should after all determine that the estate is the right one.
Thursday, 07 Apr 1870
Beddington House, near Stonehenge
Thackery is fed lamb on a stick and eggs. he demands in Arabic to be brought three sharp pen nibs. He gets them. He's translated enough of the manuscript to figure out how to resist the book's spell … and he succeeds in getting some control back.
He starts inserting mistranslated words in his transcription, to flummox our opponent should they use it.
Thursday, 07 Apr 1870
Public House, near Stonehenge
Varney reveals to the party that since his destruction of the first manuscript (see Game 06: A Real Possession), his powers over spirits have increased. He can not only call spirits and ask questions but he can summon spirits and task them. We start thinking of ways to use this to our advantage.
Thursday, 07 Apr 1870
Beddington House, near Stonehenge
Evening
Thackery is granted another audience with the Sorceress. She tells him that the next night is the night of the full moon, when magic at Stonehenge would be at its highest. Will he be ready with the translation then?
Thackery starts throwing his weight around for better food.
Thursday, 07 Apr 1870
Public House, near Stonehenge
Evening
Pieter manages to change the motor to dispel magic. Varney summons spirits while Pieter pedals it … yup. Spirits fade in and out as the motor cycles along on alternating current.
Thursday, 07 Apr 1870
Beddington House, near Stonehenge
Evening
Isabelle ghosts over to the house, picks the lock on the back door. She gains the kitchen and the scullery. She takes the back stairs to the upper floors. They're notoriously squeaky but she gets up them with the minimum of sound. She enters a more lavishly appointed floor. It has carpeting and all the trappings of the well-to-do. It's the public floor with the parlours and such and unlikely to hold her uncle captive. She goes back to the stairs and travels up to the next floor. They squeak and groan and she tells them to be quiet.
On the next floor above she enters a hallway lined with doors. She stops and listens intently. She doesn't hear Thackery yelling at the servants. Impossible. If Thackery has servants to yell at, there will be yelling. She wonders if she's even in the right house.
Despite her doubts, she continues her search.
Door 1 on the left: a figure sleeps on a bed. Isabelle leaves without waking him/her.
Door 2 opposite: Empty
Door 3, next to Door 2: There are three burly men sleeping—snoring, actually. As with the first figure, Isabelle leaves them sleeping.
Door 4, opposite door 3: Empty.
Door 5: there are two sleeping figures on a bed. A man and a woman and quite handsome and beautiful. They do not wake and Isabelle approaches them.
Isabelle isn't able to tell if they're alive…but she can discern they are dark skinned Egyptians. She leaves them to their repose and goes into the hallway again.
She finds the door to the attic above. It's locked. She picks it. She makes a little noise when she does it and waits, certain someone's heard and she would be captured in a flash. No one comes for her. Opening the door, she finds that there is a second door to the stairs that muffled the noise. Opening it carefully, she discovers the stairs up. They are narrow and steep and it's dark up there. She starts to climb them.
Meanwhile Thackery is in yet another audience with the Sorceress. He's translated enough of the manuscript, he tells her, to be able to warn hesr that the portal spell she intends to use to transfer the bodies and souls has a caveat: acrifices must be made for the Portal to be closed. Otherwise, things might come through.
Thackery sabotages the translation further, fixing it so that the portal closing is delayed for 60 breaths.
The party arrives at Beddington House and split up. Varney will distract the house at the front, allowing Ariadne and Pieter to set up the Aetheric Disruptor a little distance away.
Everyone decides to give Isabelle a little more time before starting our part of the plan.
Isabelle has found nothing in the attic and so takes the stairs all the way down to the basement. There she finds it is appointed just as lavishly as the upper floors—clearly a cushy hideaway and prison. When she gets to a set of double doors, she hears a woman and a man talking. She creeps past and hears the voices stop suddenly.
Oops.
She tries to find a place to hide but the doors open and a woman calls out.
Sorceress: Hello, Little Mouse.
Isabelle: (caught out) Hello.
Sorceress: Young man, what are you doing?
Realizing that she's still made up as a young man, Isabelle rolls with it. She isn't able to do more than blink, however, before two burly men seize her to either side. They frisk her and discover she's a woman.
Damn.
Sorceress: Interesting. Take her downstairs.
She is taken further below and thrown into Thackery's cell. Thackery throws the manuscript and the translation at his captors, declaring the job done. Now that they have what they wanted, Thackery tries to leave. The Soceress disagrees, insisting he stay as a back-up to the translation. Thackery refuses. She agrees to pay him 5,000 pounds. He agrees and dismisses the Sorceress to talk to his niece.
Outside, the rest of the party realize that Isabelle must have been captured. Varney goes into action, knocking on the front door and gaining admittance as a spiritualist. He's shown into the parlour and when the Sorceress sees him, he tells her dire things are afoot because the spirits are rising. He's very bombastic and frantic.
The Sorceress sends a servant to get Varney a drink to calm him down. Varney drinks it (or pretends to) and tries to "meditate". He is struck, however, by the Sorceress's extreme beauty and confesses he finds it very hard to concentrate with her in the room. He wonders privately if the drink is drugged … and he changes tactics mid-stride, imploring her to leave the house immediately. There is great danger and she must leave. It would be a shame to lose someone of such great beauty to horrible events …
And he starts to woo her.
He's very convincing. Varney is actually smitten by her. So … who's actually in control of the situation?
She in turn is fascinated by him. She's also puzzled how she can even be affected by this buffoon, but she is and therefore is not only attracted but intrigued. She is not accustomed to being enthralled by anyone. Who are you? she asks Varney.
Varney protests he is naught but a humble spiritualist, surprised to find so beautiful a woman here.
One of her servants takes her by the arm and speaks to her, breaking the hold Varney has on her. She narrows her eyes at Varney but leaves the room.
Oh good Lord, Varney breathes. That was exceedingly strange. But the coast is clear and he uses his newly strengthened powers to summon a spirit from the area. It's a man from the 1600s. English.
Jolly good.
Spirit: What are you doing in my house?
Varney: Foreigners have taken over your house and are plotting to take over England.
Spirit: (Shocked and outraged)
Varney: Find Thackery and his niece. Find them and release them.
Spirit: How were you able to call me?
Varney: (firmly) Talent. And need.
Meanwhile, Thackery notices the door to his cellar prison is jiggling violently. He jiggles it back. No effect. He tries to send his will into the door—thanks to the powers granted to him by his translation work—but is unable to find out what is shaking that door.
Outside the house, Pieter and Ariadne have successfully set their machine up and Pieter is pedaling away. The Disruptor is working and is flummoxing the magic in the area.
Inside, the Egyptian Sorceress returns to Varney with a very old and wizened Egyptian man in tow: the wizard who will perform the transference ritual. Extra company notwithstanding, Varney continues to exhort the Sorceress to cast off the chains of the past and run away with him. Leave with him now and save herself from the horrible spirits rising.
The Sorceress refuses to look him in the eye, wary of being charmed again. Nevertheless she tells him he could be very useful to her. Varney raises her chin with a gentle hand.
Varney: How can you use me when you won't even look at me?
The wizened old man swats Varney's hand away from his mistress and insists that the ceremony be done now. The Sorceress blinks and shakes off Varney's effect on her. She makes a gesture and commands Varney with a single word.
Sorceress: Sleep.
Varney succumbs and goes unconscious. He wakes an unknown time later to Thackery shaking him awake. Varney blinks.
Varney: Ah, Thackery. We're here to rescue you.
Then he sees that he's locked inside Thackery's cell. Isabelle is with them but there is no sign of the Sorceress.
Varney: (disappointed) I was this close to sleeping with her….
Meanwhile, outside the house, Ariadne and Pieter hear footsteps approaching on the gravel walk running alongside the house. A big burly man with a scimitar goes around the corner and sees the Finches. Ariadne draws a pair of vials and throws them at the gravel at the man's feet. They break and the contents mix with a hiss. The sleeping gas knocks the man out cold. Ariadne grabs his scimitar and retreats back to Pieter.
Pieter is pedaling mightily and the power is cycling up and down as it should. At the peak of disruption, the 1600s ghost unlocks Thackery's door. It was he who made it rattle and shake. Thackery, Varney, and Isabelle waste no time getting out of their prison and as they make their way out, they overhear the Sorceress ordering more men outside. However did such a puny little slip of a woman manage to best one of her burliest men, they hear her say. Thackery comprehends the Sorceress must mean the Finches.
Thackery: I do hope they get captured as a couple.
Varney: (to the spirit) Are there any guns in the house? Take us to them.
The spirit leads them to the dining room, only they find the Sorceress has beat them to the gun cabinet. She confronts them with a pistol. She's surprised to see Varney free.
Sorceress: How did you get out. Varney: Love will find a way.
The Sorceress tells them that the schedule has been changed. They must open the portal tonight, while her magic will still work. She must bring back the man she's meant to be with. She's waited a 1000 years for this moment and with the magic fading and returning as it's been lately, she dare not wait another night for the full moon.
Varney claps a hand to his heart.
Varney: You wound me, Madame. I thought we had something between us.
Varney goes on, exhorting her to throw off the chains of the past and run away with him to a glorious future. The Sorceress listens to his words and starts to soften. Her wizard smacks her and again, it breaks the spell Varney's silver tongue has cast on her. She slaps a scarab on Varney's mouth and on Thackery's, silencing them with her magic. Varney and Thackery resist with their will, but only Thackery succeeds in getting past the scarab.
Meanwhile, the guards ordered outside round the corner of the house and again Ariadne is ready with her vials of sleeping gas. One of the thugs rounds the corner and Ariadne's homemade grenade sends him to dreamland. Another thug follows and meets the same end. Ariadne is down to just four grenades. Two more round the corner at the same time and Ariadne throws one at each. One goes to sleep and another manages to dodge the gas.
Pieter, however, draws his pistol and shoots. The dodger goes down.
Inside the house, Thackery is playing up being possessed by the manuscript for all he's worth, grabbing the wizened old wizard and shaking him. He demands that the Sorceress sacrifice the wizard immediately for the transference spell. Thackery, after all, is supposed to be the Opener of the Portal. Without the Portal, the spell cannot work.
The Sorceress demands he unhand her wizard.
Sorceress: Shall I slap you again?
Thackery: Fine! Perform the ceremony without me as Opener.
The Sorceress draws a gun on Isabelle. Isabelle fakes a faint, removing herself as a target. Frustrated, the Sorceress sends her guards outside to find out what is interfering with her magical powers. They keep fading in and out.
Thackery: Do the ceremony!
Sorceress: It's not a full moon.
Thackery: (grabbing wizard) Sacrifice this old man to compensate.
The Sorceress whispers an apology and shoots the wizard in his side. The old man collapses in Thackery's grasp. The Sorceress orders Varney to carry Isabelle outside. She orders a boy servant to carry out the canopic jars. She's going to go forward with the spell. She dares not wait any longer. Her powers might disappear on her any minute. She hustles everyone out the back door.
Isabelle chooses this moment to come awake and she exclaims loudly:
Isabelle: Ooohhh, what happened?!
Ariadne and Pieter, of course, hear Isabelle and go on their guard. Pieter pedals faster and harder, the apparatus hums rhythmically and the sparks really start flying.
The Sorceress rips open a portal and everyone can see a bedroom on the other side of it. It's the bedroom Isabelle discovered with the sleeping couple in side. The Portal shrinks and expands to the tune of the Pieter's disruptor. Frantic now, the Sorceress orders Varney to go inside and bring the couple down. They will be the new bodies for the transferred souls.
The couple is brought out and laid on the grass of the back yard. The canopic jars are arranged beside their heads.
The Sorceress takes the scarab off Varney's mouth and asks why she shouldn't substitute Varney for the sleeping man. She's still attracted to him, though she cannot fathom why. Thackery retorts before Varney can say a word.
Thackery: Don't be stupid, woman. Have your man and keep Varney on the side!
The Sorceress is convinced and nods appreciatively. Thackery slits the wizard's throat and throws the dying man at the Sorceress. When she tries to catch him, Thackery tries to stab her with the knife.
Varney: Don't kill her! I didn't get to sleep with her yet!
Thackery: It's okay. I can bring her back.
The Sorceress sees the ruse in time and dodges. She tries to send Thackery to sleep. Pieter's disruptor prevents her magic from working. Varney gently takes her wrist.
Varney: Leave this behind and run away with me.
Again, the Sorceress pauses. The teenaged girl in her is extremely attracted to Varney and his offer. She's in his thrall again.
Varney: You don't need the dead. The dead are in the past. Come with me. I am the future.
The Sorceress drops her gun.
Sorceress: Your words are beguiling.
Varney: My words are true.
Sorceress: (points to the jar, the couple) I've waited for a thousand years.
Varney: Don't wait. Come with me now.
Thackery tries stabbing the Sorceress again. She sees him in the nick of time and ducks behind Varney. Thackery steps back, raises the manuscript, and starts bellowing the spell at the top of his lungs.
What?!? He was actually serious?!
Ariadne throws her last two grenades at Thackery. Smash! Hiss!
Thackery: Anubis! Arise … (sucks in the gas) …. later …. (faints)
Isabelle moves to peek at the Sorceress still hiding behind Thackery.
Isabelle: Hm. I guess I won't shoot her.
Instead, Isabelle grabs the manuscript and runs inside to throw it on the first available fire. Pieter keeps pedaling. The Sorceress begs Isabelle not to burn the book. Varney turns her around to face him.
Varney: Let it go. Break the chains to the past. Move forward.
The Sorceress is simply dazzled by him. Varney takes her by the arms and kisses her. She melts, bosom heaving, completely undone.
Sorceress: What have you done to me …. ?
Isabelle burns the book.
Pieter stops pedaling.
Thackery wakes.
Thackery: I take it the book's destroyed.
Isabelle: (from inside) Yes.
The Sorceress is at a loss. All her plans, all her waiting, for a thousand years—it's all come to naught.
Sorceress: What will I do now?
Thackery: I will let you live if you pay me 5000 pounds.
It's a princely sum. The Sorceress agrees to pay it. She tells Isabelle where her money is, locked away in the house. Thackery, however, is not satisfied. He still wants to raise the dead. After all, he was paid to do it, upon his word, and a gentleman always keeps his word. Varney counsels against it.
They argue.
Ariadne runs around the corner and tells Pieter to reve up the capture machine. She helps him change the apparatus from disruptor to concentrator mode. Once that is done, they can successfully capture any spirit Thackery manages to raise.
Isabelle calls Jonathan to her, hoping to enlist his aid to thwart Thackery. Jonathan appears and urges her to call harder.
Thackery tells her to wait until they get to London before giving Jonathan a body. Jonathan is insulted and resentful at having to wait. Isabelle refuses to let Thackery go forward with his plans. In return, Jonathan refuses to help Isabelle or Thackery.
Isabelle: (to Jonathan) Fine. Be that way. Go home. (to Thackery) Do the spell.
Varney chooses this moment to take the Sorceress inside for tea and wooing. Thackery decides a moment later to have everyone come inside with him and discuss plans before he does the ceremony.
Everyone agrees and goes inside.
Thackery orders tea and alcohol. The servant boy brings it, looking daggers at crossdressing/imbibing Isabelle.
Thackery agrees to bring back Amenhenotep back as the Sorceress wishes. He will bring Amenhenotep and his wife back in the sleeping couple so they can live their lives. Also, with both of the burned books screaming at him inside his head, he hopes completing the ceremony will make them go silent.
We debate over science and magic, mysticism and religion, morals and ethics of such a plan.
Pieter is against ripping portals between realities without proper instrumentation and safeguards. If it comes to a vote, he'd vote no.
Varney asks what will happen if something goes wrong. He might be able to banish the errant spirit but …. the Sorceress agrees to help him with the banishing if it came to that.
Pieter asks we put off the ceremony until the next night when the moon is full. The most power would allow for the optimum results, yes?
The Sorceress agrees and arranges to put all of us up for the night. We will wait til the full moon rises before we attempt the spell. Thackery demands we all sign a contract promising he will not be interfered with as he does the ceremony. The rest of us refuse to recognize the contract or sign it.
Pieter goes back to his equipment, already composing a report to the Colonel in his head.
More argument ensues over Thackery's intentions and Thackery flounces off, insulted.
The Sorceress says she fears that Thackery doesn't know what he's getting himself into. She fears there isn't enough magic to contain the forces the spell will unleash, that they will not be able to prevent other things from coming through the portal.
Varney states we cannot stop Thackery.
The Sorceress thinks a bit, then says that should Thackery lack the power to do the spell, the portal would not open anyway and no harm would be done. Nothing, good or bad, would get through. No harm done, perhaps.
Thus granted a reprieve, the party retires. Tomorrow night, when the moon is full, we will all see what will happen next.
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