Kerberos 02/13/2012

From the Journal of Gregory Sage, Heir of Pensington:

Is there anything more satisfying than an over-seas safari? Possibly not, but that first proper scotch back home in England certainly comes close. And if there's anything better than a relaxing evening at the club, it's concluding such an evening by accompanying some old chums on a bit of a rollicking adventure. Just the thing to remind one that one needn't travel to Remotest Tibet or Deepest Africa to test one's abilities against the vilest of monstrous creatures.

I would have liked to spend a few more hours sharing old hunting stories and other lies with good old Abe, but Victor and Lady Alice arrived late in the evening, in need of his stalwart good advice and broad frontiersman’s shoulders. As it seemed they were planning to get themselves into a spot of bother, I offered my meager talents, and they were kind enough to accept.

They also introduced me to the most charming little clockwork fairy, by the name of Sophronia, and her excellent steed, Martin. She is a clever and unpredictable thing, and I though I know her by reputation, I look forward to furthering our acquaintance.

We boarded an invisible flying carriage, and try as I might, I could not entirely pass off the air of sophisticated indifference I was trying for, though spending most of the trip perched on the roof, in the form of a great horned owl saved me from completely ruining my reputation as a sophisticated and slightly jaded world traveler.

Or reception at our destination was not warm, except for the fire breath of the hell-hounds we found guarding the estate. I can tell you from personal experience that they taste even worse than hyena, and are rather harder to dissuade from their intended prey, but leonine tactics are similarly effective against a pack of them. Likewise, sensible human fear in the face of “vicious beasts” works just as well to panic and scatter common British thugs as it does Kalahari tribesmen or Mongol bandits.

The Ladies of our party contributed admirably to the sound and fury of the encounter, while Victor seems to have picked up a few new “now you see me, now you don’t” tricks to his repertoire. I’m afraid that poor Abe was a bit confused about who was protecting whom, with regards to the talented Lady Alice, and I’m not sure if he was every fully disabused of his misconceptions in the chaos of the battle.

I may need to work a bit harder on maintaining my human rationality while in the body of a beast. While the Silver-back Gorilla’s instinct to protect the weakest members of his troop is certainly a virtue, it could have lead me to confront a dangerous opponent without sufficient preparation. Luckily my companions effected a remarkable first strike, and were well on the way to neutralizing all threats before I was able to arrive and begin knocking heads together.

Child rescued, villainous father slung over my furry shoulder, I was happy to have everyone else work through the bizarre scheming and social quandaries that awaited in the house. Sometimes it’s nice to have no-one expect you to be a charming conversationalist. I wonder if I can find a way to attend the occasional dinner party as a gorilla?

Speaking of dinner parties, it seemed that attending one was an essential step to helping Victor save his soul from a cursed pocket watch (and the demon to whom it was desecrated). Abe had to leave us to see to the disposition of the latest of the soiled doves that he had added to his retinue, but the rest of us called upon that horrid Lady Dashingham so that they might arrange the ritual card tournament. I was able to avoid the duty of socializing by taking on the persona of Alice’s footman (who was herself disguised as Lord Alec, while Victor played to roll of Lord Alexander).

As above-stairs, so it was below. Lady Dashingham’s servants were a venal, treacherous bunch, and quite ready to believe that I would be happy to betray my master for 30 pieces of silver. I was able to secure an invitation to return later that evening. Sophronia was happy to accompany me, in the form of some cheap doxie I had acquired between visits. She added just the right touch of verisimilitude to our deception.

Misinformation delivered (the tremendous animosity between “Alec” and “Alexander”), I made a study of the butler, that I might replace him in his duties as dealer at the card game the next day. We also learned that they had some poor soul in captivity, but I missed the significance of that until it was nearly too late.

The next day was nearly an anti-climax, as Victor/Alexander and Alice/Alec were able to quite easily become the final two players in the tournament. Perhaps the fact that they were competing against disembodied spirits gave them an advantage. Shortly before the climax of the ritual/last hand of the game, we realized the prisoner below-stairs was certain to be sacrificed. Sophronia saved us from our error, slipping away undetected, and managed some chaos and mischief downstairs, rescued the prisoner with help from an unexpected quarter. Apparently the intended victim was known to my friends, and some sort of relation to Alice.

The ritual backfired on Lady Dashingham in the usual catastrophic and grandiose way, and we all escaped the house as it collapsed into a monstrous inferno. Once again, I was forced to reward my comrades in arms with the scent of singed gorilla hair, for which torment I certainly owe them all a drink, or perhaps an invitation to the estate for a few days of hunting and recreation.

GM Notes

Quick flashback with Reginald / Gregory -- the PCs know him as Gregory, right? -- Victor, and Alice testing Gregory with a wine tasting and poisons / antidotes, which turned into a murder investigation. How much the club knew about the murder beforehand is an interesting question. This section was almost entirely plotted by Josh, Nunzio, and Alden.

Cut to Alice, Victor, and Sophronia (and Martin, of course) collecting Gregory and Abraham and setting out for Bethaven in their flying invisible coach, where they fought thugs and hellhounds, rescued young Charlotte Farham-Digby and her mother and her mother's maid, captured Lord Farham-Digby (who, lord or no, will be executed. He might not be hung, but he's getting capital punishment), routed the cultists (some of whom are minor nobility, but no one Alice and Abraham and Gregory can't destroy socially if they wish), and saved the street prostitute Wisteria from Duke Sylen, though Wisteria doesn't see it that way. Lady Dashingham did not hinder any of the goings on, and even offered to set up the game that both she and Victor needed to happen.

The PCs called on her the next day to set that up.

• Alice = Alec
• Victor = Alexander
• Gregory = Alexander's servant
• Sophronia = Sophronia
• Abraham = Abraham

Gregory studied the butler so as to be able to imitate him during the game. This he did, which allowed him to learn that Lady Dashingham had some "young man" or other somewhere. Sophronia guessed that this was Michael Doyle, intended as a replacement sacrifice, since Charlotte had been rescued, so she went to rescue Michael as Alec and Alexander split the pot. She had help from a tutor that the Doyle family had recently engaged. The GM may want to change some of the facts in the case of the tutor (but not the name), and if so, will allow the PCs to do the follow up that prompts.

Sophronia confirmed that Leon knew nothing about curses. He'd just been hired to make two watches for Lord Farnham-Digby, and accepted, wanting the money for projects on behalf of Martin Croyle. Leon offered to break Lord Farnham-Digby's legs or head. I'm not sure if a noble gets publicly executed. If so, Leon will want to attend. Also, the second watch was an ordinary watch, just in case someone asked why Lord Farnham-Digby had hired a watchmaker.

Lady Dashingham was sucked into Hell, along with any of her servants who didn't escape. Those who did likely ran to Abraham Lincoln to ask him how they could do the whole repentance thing. The Dashingham home was destroyed. Between that and rumors about Alec Campion fighting a duel with Alexander Alexandre (to blind Lady D. to the possibility of a split pot) and rumors about Campion trying to take over the underworld, and Victor deciding to let Alexander vanish, well, a lot of people are very curious about a lot of things.

And, for the next game month or so, Lord Alec Campion can visit nearly any noble home or party, as folks want to know what he knows about Lady D. Even Winston Beauchamp would receive him.

Loose ends:

• Duke Sylen and Wisteria
• Michael Doyle can name names of some of the high ranking cultists. The PCs know most of these names, but there are one or two extras
• Follow up on Michael's tutor
• Alice's modified fencing program
• Sophronia's cousin and uncle
• Angelina needs to be tested if she is to be admitted to the Kerberos Club again
• Doctor Butler
• Marquess of Carmarthen -- I'm looking for the real world geography here, but historically? One of the reasons I want to jump to July is that he's got reason to be in London then.

Potential Rumors

• "I, good sir, am not a scurrulous gossip! My pappy taught me to say naught but good of others or not at all. Not to say that we couldn't exchange news and such over the fence." See? Even Lincoln has his reputation to defend.

• "That Lincoln, the junior ambassador from America? He's an unrefined backwoods solicitor who is not fit to mingle in high society! If we did not have need of business in the colonies, I'd have him come in through the servant's entrance. He consorts with doxies, ne'er do wells and... *gasp* *those fellows from the club on Pall Mall.*"