Gathering Storms: Changing Times, 02 Apr 1870
Selene Dashwood is a crouching snarling shadow of her former self in the corner of the Finches kitchen. The scientist couple quickly devise a plan. They bundle her up into Pieter's latest invention, the Mitchelson Resonator. It can increase the density of Aether to the point of slowing time inside the Resonator's chamber. With time effectively stopped, Selene will get no worse and the Finches can try to find a cure.
Thackery arrives at the Pickerings' to tell Isabelle to dress up in something nice. He plans to take her out for the evening but before he can do so, Isabelle's maid, Lizzie, approaches her with a domestic problem. Lizzie's husband has gone mad, apparently turning into the bear he resembles. He's run off into the night and Lizzie is afraid for his welfare. Won't Isabelle and her uncle help?
Thackery is put out by the imposition but in his usual fashion takes matters in hand and arranges a search party to find the missing husband. He takes Isabelle with him to Nicholas Varney's, intending to enlist the man for the search party, and thence go onward to the Finches.
Varney is hit by strange disturbing dreams of London being overrun by Beast Folk going amok. He wakes in his bed and tells his companion for the night, Sarah, that he's going for a walk. He's accosted on his walk by three thugs, Beast Men, who demand he turn over his wallet. Varney refuses. A fight ensues. When the fur settles, Varney is the victor and one of the Beast Men is down on the ground with a bullet wound. Varney grinds his boot heel into the wound and interrogates the man. He finds out that there are people working near the Docks on London, taking people in for nefarious purposes and spraying Beast Folk with some substance to transform them. It looks fair to be a Beast uprising.
Varney leaves the man bleeding in the street and goes quickly back to his place.
Back at the Finches', Ariadne and Pieter split up. Ariadne will go to Selene's lab in Lambeth to see if there is any clue to her current condition there. Pieter will go four blocks away to the Royal Society and enlist help of the scientists there.
Ariadne is unsuccessful in gaining access to the laboratory. She is taken by the guards to their Captain, who promptly takes Ariadne into custody. She will take him and his men to her place so they may take Selene and the Resonator to the Colonel at once. With no way to break free and lacking the skill to talk her way out of it, Ariadne is thrust into a carraige and it drives her back to Finch & Son.
((More to come.))
Return to The Story Thus Far
Return to Gathering Storms Main Page
Return to Victoriana Campaign Index
Return to Dr. Penguin's Iceberg