Recovering Our Stride

Episode Mount in Progress--Archivist.

Game Date: 13 Nov 2010
Present: Cindy, Kim, Maer, Andy, and Jim

August 18, 1867, Sunday
Offices of Le Surete
Paris, France
Very late in the evening

In the Surete of Paris, Lady Katherine, Flora Spencer, and Dionysius Beignet are being interviewed separately by the Interviewing Magistrates Guillame-François Gervais, Pierre Callier, and François-Joseph Ducoux, respectively.

Interview One: Lady Katherine and Guillame-François Gervais

Katherine is taken to a room, given a comfortable chair, she sits.

Gervais: May I offer you a cigarette? Some water?
Katherine: Water would be lovely, sir.

Gervais sends one of the gendarmes to fetch it.

Gervais: So you are, for the record, Madame Katherine Fleming?
Katherine: Lady Katherine Fleming.
Gervais: Lady Katherine Fleming.
Katherine: Yes.

He writes it down.

Gervais: I need to ask, how did you come to be at the Comedie Francaise this evening?
Katherine: Oh we were going to a show, my friend Flora and I.
Gervais: Your friend Flora.
Katherine: Yes.
Gervais: Mm-hm. And … You were seen pursuing and attacking countess Rembecki and—
Katherine: (mild protest) Pursuing. Not attacking, sir.
Gervais: The reports from the Baron and Countess Rembecki indicate you were attacking them as they attempted to flee the Comedie Francaise and that your confederate…Mr. Dionysius Beignet … actually used offensive spells against them.
Katherine: Well I claim she did the same thing. Ask her what that strange blue light was that knocked my friend Flora quite on her bustle. It was quite improper and that was the reason if they feel they were attacked it was because I was attacked first.

He writes some more.

Gervais: And when were you attacked?
Katherine: Well, let me begin in the beginning. She is a very lovely woman and I invited her to a party that I had in the evening—oh, nearly a fortnight or more? Beyond?—And she showed up with a compatriot and we proceeded for a lovely evening. And she was a charming dinner guest—
Gervais: And where had this evening taken place?
Katherine: Oh back in England, in my home.
Gervais: At your home.
Katherine: Which she left in quite a mess. I was horrified because she did some spell and turned the entire room black and ran off with one of my guests. And then not only did she run off, she didn’t use the front door. At all. She went through my solarium and destroyed pounds and pounds worth of glass and then on top of it, quite knocked over an experiment that was being shown to me and put boiling water all over a carpet that that my dearest Father brought back from the war and my floorboards—it will be immeasurable to try and replace them and I was merely pursuing her when I saw her at the Comedia because I’ve made formal inquires as to where she had run off to when she flew off with my guest, which was… which was just …well, rude!

You have to hand it to the man, he doesn’t bat a lash but notes everything down.

Gervais: Which guest did she fly off with?
Katherine: Selene Dashwood. And she flew! Monsieur, you will not believe me but she flew. I do not—I cannot explain to you our stunned open-mouthed horror as she grabbed her up and flew right through my glass! We thought they were going to be quite cut. But there was quite a lot of damage and that is why I pursued her. I wished to tell her that—
Gervais: Have you filed charges in England against this woman?
Katherine: My Father is pursuing them at this moment.
Gervais: I see. And your Father would be?
Katherine: Colonel Fleming, of course. Colonel William Fleming.
Gervais: Mm-hm.
Katherine: And he’s of course having to pay for the repairs of the house, but this is why I wish to speak to her. Because I wanted to speak to her quite sternly, I will admit that is rude. One does not do such things in England. You do not do them at all.
Gervais: Well when one is in Paris and within a block or two of the Tullieries Palace …
Katherine: (brightly) Mm-hm.
Gervais: One does not attack members of Society.
Katherine: But I didn’t. I merely wished to speak to her. And insist upon her how rude she was and that it would be considered polite to offer some recompense for my damages. And she didn’t. She quite ran off. Which I suppose one would do having done such behavior at a dinner party with proper people.

Writes it down.

Gervais: Mm-hm. I see.
Katherine: Do you have a shawl? I feel quite nude here.
Gervais: Ahm ... I’m sure we can find something for you.
Katherine: If you could. It-it’s a bit awkward. See. I am unmarried, you see.

Gervais clears his throat and steps outside. He tells someone in French:

Gervais: I’ve got this one’s story. She wants a shawl. Find her something. Then we’ll run her back to the holding cells and start talking to the others.

Of course, Katherine understands French and hears every word. She keeps it to herself. It’s not ladylike or proper to be caught eavesdropping. Of course, that only counts if you’re caught. She puts on her most innocent expression. Gervais returns and when the shawl arrives, escorts her back to the cells.

Meanwhile, Josephine has finally caught up with Ezekiel at the Moulin Rouge and she finds him mopping up the last of the mess. As she pulls off the moustache that’s melting off her face from her exertions, Ezekiel tells her of the fight with the gargoyle, Bertie’s heroism, his own calling down of Prayer to save the bouncers by quelling the fight, and of the gargoyle’s parting words: she must not leave.

Josephine tells him of the situation at the Comedie Francaise: we have Rembecki cornered and we need him to assist. The police arrive to impound Selene and refuse to release her to Ezekiel, not even when he tells them he is a museum trustee tasked to recover Selene as a stolen exhibit belonging to Britain. No, the exhibit is evidence and will be taken forthwith to the Surete’s impound yard. Ezekiel has no choice but to ride along with the wagon and the constables. Josephine vows to get help clearing up this disaster by going to the British Embassy a few blocks away. If her Warrant card is not authority enough to work with the French, surely the diplomatic representatives of the Crown would command more than enough to serve our mission. They part company outside the Moulin, Ezekiel to ride south and a little west, Josephine to the north and the east.

On the way to the Surete, the wagon is attacked by a couple of thugs armed with saps who attempt to take control of the carriage and make off with it. A sniper shoots the driver and wounds the ogre constable riding alongside. Ezekiel is sitting with the driver and tries to render the man aid but the driver is already dead. The horses are nervous but are well trained—they refrain from bolting and the thugs climb aboard. Ezekiel beats them back with fists and sword and cane, takes several blows himself. The sniper strides forward and pumps more bullets into the ogre constable. The constable soaks the damage and fights on, killing one of the thugs and wounding the other. The gargoyle from the Moulin shows up and it’s not entirely clear if it is fighting the sniper to save her from being carried off, fighting the ogre and the Englishman to keep her from leaving Paris, or for other reasons no one knows of. Even so, the sniper wins the day and outfoxes everyone long enough to take control of the carriage. The gargoyle flies off and Ezekiel and the ogre are left in the carriage’s dust as the sniper rides away with Selene.

The ogre slings the body of the driver over his shoulder and together with Ezekiel, they make their way on foot to the Surete to report what happened.

Meanwhile, Josephine has reached the gates of the Embassy and shows her Warrant card to the Scots Guards standing watch. They eye askance her men’s garb and she wearily repeats her request to see the Cultural Attaché. (Ask Ken the proper term for the man) They escort her in, she’s shown to a room, and she sits until the diplomat in question arrives. She explains she’s here with her friends on Sir John’s orders, that she’s chasing down Countess Rembecki to retrieve a kidnapped subject of the Crown, and that said subject is currently impounded by the Surete. Can he help her release the subject? Can he aid her friends in their effort to detain Rembecki?

Are your friends those individuals who caused trouble outside the Comedie—also dangerously close to the Palace—and who were hauled off to jail but a short while ago? Josephine allows they might. Can he get them released? Please? The Attaché tells her to wait, he will see what he can do and oh, perhaps he can find her something more suitable to wear. Josephine thanks him on all counts and when the women’s clothing arrives, she dons it.

The attaché returns and tells her the paperwork is in motion but it would be best if they all left Paris for the next little while. Countess Rembecki is desirous of avoiding scandal—nothing has made the news of the battle and is likely to remain under wraps. The man she was with has powerful connections locally and can suppress the story, so long as further conflict is avoided. Josephine explains they have train tickets to Nurnberg departing Paris that very morning. The Attaché strongly suggests she get herself on it. She tells him they need to have their luggage and belongings transferred to their train—it will be done. Time is of the essence. If madame is ready to retrieve her friends, best she leaves now.

He has also received information that Ezekiel Drake has been attacked en route to the Surete and Selene Dashwood has been abducted by hostile parties unknown. Josephine arranges for him to meet them and together they three go to the jail to take custody of Katherine, Flora, and Dionysius. Of Bertie, there is word he is improving by leaps and bounds with the lovely ladies at the Moulin. Someone is dispatched to retrieve him.

19 August, 1867, Thursday
0800hrs, local time

We get everyone free of the jail and can-can dancers by 8 AM in the morning. Our train leaves promptly at 9. With the Embassy’s help, we make our train and pull away from Paris with the promise the Embassy will do what it can to find Selene.

As the French capital rushes by our windows, we gather to pool our information and draw up our conclusions and our plans. The city slides away behind us and we speed our next destination, Nurnberg, two day’s train journey away.

21 August, 1867, Wednesday
Nurnberg, Germany
1800hrs, local time

We alight from our train somewhat better rested and eager to hunt down our contacts. Josephine had sent a cable during a stopover to William Phibes, informing him of her destination and her intention to find Clockwork. We have our things sent on to a hotel and take a carriage ride through the city to get the lay of the land. Ezekiel is drawn to a cathedral, St. Lorenz, near the city center. It is a lovely example of gothic architecture but is unfortunately standing empty, gutted by a fire caused by lightning strike. At least, that is what our carriage driver says. It happens some time ago. Freakish thing. They are in the process of building a new cathedral but this one hasn’t been used since. We alight and ask him to wait for us, we’ll only be a minute.

We wrestle open the doors and several bats fly out. Inside it’s dark and grim and right away something doesn’t feel right. On the floor directly under the transcept is a blackened charred spot on the marble—the lightning strike must have hit here. Looking upward, we can see the ruined rafters and the gaping hole in the roof high above. Looking closer we also notice evidence that the blast struck from the inside. The debris from the strike is scattered up and outward, as it would if the lightning originated indoors at the transcept and not from the sky toward the ground as eyewitness accounts claim. We need little additional proof to know it was magic, and foul magic at that, as the cause. Ezekiel finds out from his Host-granted abilities that the church is no longer sacred ground but desecrated. We decide to search the crypt under the floor and the chapels for any clues to Rembecki’s whereabouts and plans. However, we need to come back later to do it. The carriage still waits and to delay any further would looks suspicious. We leave the church as night starts to fall and make our way to our hotel.

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