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[Gaming] The adventures of Rupert Bulmer, Esq.
Previously
Episode 7
In which our intrepid collection of clueless oafs find the villain's hideout, track and chase the evil Dr. Parsons and ultimately make it off the island.
It was the morning after our dream battle with the winged beast. I woke up, and the lights didn't work. That was a bit odd but nothing out of the ordinary. I opened the curtains and there was a bright, wonderful morning outside. Phew. As I was taking a shower, a polite knock and cough from Dunbar reminded me we wanted to lie low in the morning in order to possibly draw out anyone who might be either watching the castle or even try and get in. We positioned ourselves strategically around the castle. I was up in the tower where I had a wonderful view and should have seen anyone approach with my telescope but I failed to notice anything and neither did the others. Turns out later that someone had forced the back door to the kitchen but apparently didn't get any further. The dumb waiter was a possibility but only a child could have fit in there. Nevertheless, we searched the castle but couldn't find anyone nor anything missing.
It was time to move on so after some breakfast.
While Robert and Thomas waited for the police to arrive, the Professor, the Reverend, excuse me, Alex Jones, adventure writer, as he's now to be called (after running into serious issues with his faith, he had burned his collar and bible and sent a resignation letter to his bishop and considering what we witnessed, nobody was surprised), Dunbar and I headed into town to meet up with Blue Eyed Jim. He'd not had any further clues as to Dr. Parsons' whereabouts so we decided to search the beach huts. On our way we stopped at the Post office to check if any telegrams had arrived and indeed they had. Professor Jonathon Templeton of London University had a look at the metal filings from the ball and found out that they consisted of "several complex alloys". The empty pod (which used to contain the lovely sweet rejuvenating nectar) was apparently "similar to a whelk pod but of dissimilar structure". I guess I have to talk to him when I'm back in London. Professor Carter received no further information as to the identity of the symbols (from the painting, the statuette and the shipping manifest) but a colleague had seen something similar in a book in Paris and sent off for it. Let's see what comes from that.
Anyway, by the beach we had a good look around and I spotted some footprints leading off the jetty to one of the huts which was locked and shuttered. After a few failed attempts to pick the lock or flip the latch of the shutters from the outside, brute force finally made the door give up and we found a lair. A primitive bed, some tins and remnants of food and other bits were a sure sign somebody had been hiding here and after searching thoroughly we found ... the box. Now it was clear it was Dr. Parsons' hideout. We also found a map which had three locations marked: the castle, a certain warehouse and a hillside not far from the castle. Remembering the location, we added the church as a forth to lead the trail off us and onto the "Bolshevik revolutionaries".
So we picked up the box, headed back to the castle and told the others what we had found. It was decided to put the ball into the box and then back in the safe in the hope that might help us sleep better in the night. I pointed out the hill on a map to William and he said that it was near a piece of woodland where they usually hunted for pheasants but there wasn't anything of particular interest except a few shacks. Nevertheless, we armed ourselves as we had some idea that we might finally find Parsons and marched off towards the hill.
Sure enough, when we got there, I saw some movement near one of the shacks and Dunbar spotted someone running into the woods. It was quickly decided that we split. While some of us tried to follow the figure into the woods, the others would hurry back to the castle which was pretty much unguarded as only Jenkins and the cook were there. The Professor, Dunbar and I followed the trail we eventually picked up and the others went back the way we had come. It took us quite some time to find the trail and we spotted a running figure now and then but we never managed to catch up. When it was finally clear that he was headed for the castle, it was too late. As we found out, it had indeed been Dr. Parsons who had burst into the drawing room, demanded that Jenkins tell him where the box was but, good man as he was, didn't tell him anything and took a bullet into the chest for it. He was still alive and it looked like he would make it after Alex had patched him up. We searched the house and looked outside but Parsons was nowhere to be found. Nothing was missing, either. The police arrived shortly afterwards and we told him our version of what had happened, stressing that it had been someone with a definite Russian air about him (I have no idea where that thought had come from but blaming all on the imaginary revolutionaries seemed to be a good idea at the time) who wanted to demanded Jenkins hand over valuables. After offering to send for a locksmith to have the back door repaired (which William gladly accepted) and to leave an officer behind for our safety (which we declined). The doctor came and took care of Jenkins. To our relief the bullet had missed his lungs and he would pull through, provided he got enough rest. Jenkins protested and wanted to return to his duties but William would have none of it and ordered him to bed where he stayed. Good man.
While the cook (who had to be rescued from the Gazebo at the back of the castle, was unhurt, just a bit shaken) was on her feet again and prepared dinner in the kitchen, we sat and made plans which would last well over and past dinner. In the end, we decided that leaving the island and moving to London would be the best idea. It would be the best place to continue our research into the things we found and if Parsons was still on our tail, we might be able to catch him there, too. The plan was to hide the box (with the ball inside) in my Silver Ghost which Dunbar and I would take on the first ferry and then onto London. The others would follow on the next two ferries as only one vehicle would fit and eventually, we would meet in London. I was positive I could secure some accommodation for the others and both William and I prepared letters of recommendation for the Old Bore's Club so we could relay messages through there and have a secure place to meet.
Exhausted as we were, we soon retired to our rooms where - finally - we all had a full night's sleep, no shared dreams, no individual nightmares, just blissfull sleep. Putting the ball in the box apparently did indeed protect us from its effects.
We got up early in the morning, packed final things in the car and headed to the docks where we secure passage on the first ferry. We crossed safely and were soon on the road to London. After a while, we noticed that we were followed by a truck but no matter what Dunbar did, we didn't manage to shake it, at least not while we were on the road.
To be continued
As usual, let me know if I got anything wrong or forgot anything vital Rupert would have known.
Episode 7
In which our intrepid collection of clueless oafs find the villain's hideout, track and chase the evil Dr. Parsons and ultimately make it off the island.
It was the morning after our dream battle with the winged beast. I woke up, and the lights didn't work. That was a bit odd but nothing out of the ordinary. I opened the curtains and there was a bright, wonderful morning outside. Phew. As I was taking a shower, a polite knock and cough from Dunbar reminded me we wanted to lie low in the morning in order to possibly draw out anyone who might be either watching the castle or even try and get in. We positioned ourselves strategically around the castle. I was up in the tower where I had a wonderful view and should have seen anyone approach with my telescope but I failed to notice anything and neither did the others. Turns out later that someone had forced the back door to the kitchen but apparently didn't get any further. The dumb waiter was a possibility but only a child could have fit in there. Nevertheless, we searched the castle but couldn't find anyone nor anything missing.
It was time to move on so after some breakfast.
While Robert and Thomas waited for the police to arrive, the Professor, the Reverend, excuse me, Alex Jones, adventure writer, as he's now to be called (after running into serious issues with his faith, he had burned his collar and bible and sent a resignation letter to his bishop and considering what we witnessed, nobody was surprised), Dunbar and I headed into town to meet up with Blue Eyed Jim. He'd not had any further clues as to Dr. Parsons' whereabouts so we decided to search the beach huts. On our way we stopped at the Post office to check if any telegrams had arrived and indeed they had. Professor Jonathon Templeton of London University had a look at the metal filings from the ball and found out that they consisted of "several complex alloys". The empty pod (which used to contain the lovely sweet rejuvenating nectar) was apparently "similar to a whelk pod but of dissimilar structure". I guess I have to talk to him when I'm back in London. Professor Carter received no further information as to the identity of the symbols (from the painting, the statuette and the shipping manifest) but a colleague had seen something similar in a book in Paris and sent off for it. Let's see what comes from that.
Anyway, by the beach we had a good look around and I spotted some footprints leading off the jetty to one of the huts which was locked and shuttered. After a few failed attempts to pick the lock or flip the latch of the shutters from the outside, brute force finally made the door give up and we found a lair. A primitive bed, some tins and remnants of food and other bits were a sure sign somebody had been hiding here and after searching thoroughly we found ... the box. Now it was clear it was Dr. Parsons' hideout. We also found a map which had three locations marked: the castle, a certain warehouse and a hillside not far from the castle. Remembering the location, we added the church as a forth to lead the trail off us and onto the "Bolshevik revolutionaries".
So we picked up the box, headed back to the castle and told the others what we had found. It was decided to put the ball into the box and then back in the safe in the hope that might help us sleep better in the night. I pointed out the hill on a map to William and he said that it was near a piece of woodland where they usually hunted for pheasants but there wasn't anything of particular interest except a few shacks. Nevertheless, we armed ourselves as we had some idea that we might finally find Parsons and marched off towards the hill.
Sure enough, when we got there, I saw some movement near one of the shacks and Dunbar spotted someone running into the woods. It was quickly decided that we split. While some of us tried to follow the figure into the woods, the others would hurry back to the castle which was pretty much unguarded as only Jenkins and the cook were there. The Professor, Dunbar and I followed the trail we eventually picked up and the others went back the way we had come. It took us quite some time to find the trail and we spotted a running figure now and then but we never managed to catch up. When it was finally clear that he was headed for the castle, it was too late. As we found out, it had indeed been Dr. Parsons who had burst into the drawing room, demanded that Jenkins tell him where the box was but, good man as he was, didn't tell him anything and took a bullet into the chest for it. He was still alive and it looked like he would make it after Alex had patched him up. We searched the house and looked outside but Parsons was nowhere to be found. Nothing was missing, either. The police arrived shortly afterwards and we told him our version of what had happened, stressing that it had been someone with a definite Russian air about him (I have no idea where that thought had come from but blaming all on the imaginary revolutionaries seemed to be a good idea at the time) who wanted to demanded Jenkins hand over valuables. After offering to send for a locksmith to have the back door repaired (which William gladly accepted) and to leave an officer behind for our safety (which we declined). The doctor came and took care of Jenkins. To our relief the bullet had missed his lungs and he would pull through, provided he got enough rest. Jenkins protested and wanted to return to his duties but William would have none of it and ordered him to bed where he stayed. Good man.
While the cook (who had to be rescued from the Gazebo at the back of the castle, was unhurt, just a bit shaken) was on her feet again and prepared dinner in the kitchen, we sat and made plans which would last well over and past dinner. In the end, we decided that leaving the island and moving to London would be the best idea. It would be the best place to continue our research into the things we found and if Parsons was still on our tail, we might be able to catch him there, too. The plan was to hide the box (with the ball inside) in my Silver Ghost which Dunbar and I would take on the first ferry and then onto London. The others would follow on the next two ferries as only one vehicle would fit and eventually, we would meet in London. I was positive I could secure some accommodation for the others and both William and I prepared letters of recommendation for the Old Bore's Club so we could relay messages through there and have a secure place to meet.
Exhausted as we were, we soon retired to our rooms where - finally - we all had a full night's sleep, no shared dreams, no individual nightmares, just blissfull sleep. Putting the ball in the box apparently did indeed protect us from its effects.
We got up early in the morning, packed final things in the car and headed to the docks where we secure passage on the first ferry. We crossed safely and were soon on the road to London. After a while, we noticed that we were followed by a truck but no matter what Dunbar did, we didn't manage to shake it, at least not while we were on the road.
To be continued
As usual, let me know if I got anything wrong or forgot anything vital Rupert would have known.