IC: CH2 - LONDON - (Andrei, Maksim & Nethaniel)

[Raiko]

[OOC: The British Museum is located about one mile north of Nethaniel's shop. If you walk then the 'safest way' would probably be to walk north along the crowded Charing Cross Road, until you've crossed Oxford Street onto Tottenham Court Road. Then walk east along Great Russell Street to the Museum.

Taking the tube would mean walking back to Leicester Square Station and taking the Hampstead & Highgate Line (modern: Northern Line) to Tottenham Court Road Station. From there you can either walk a couple of hundred yards, or change trains, taking the Central Line to the British Museum Station]

Google Map Route

[DSIGFUSS]

Nethaniel packs the last of his books and does a quick double check to make sure he hasn't forgotten anything. He puts his crossbow over his shoulder and packs some extra bolts. He then sits down for a moment.

Whew! This is all terribly exciting! Are you certain we can't make time for tea?

[coffee demon]

Andrei is standing impatiently at the open rear door.

"Hide that thing away! Lets go!"

He starts off down the alley, without Nathaniel and Maks, if they refuse to follow.

Well, I've done what I can, if he's not going to listen, I'm not going to stand around. Maybe I can get this book on my own. I doubt it, but I'm not hanging around any longer. Damned Englishmen, they're just like everyone says they are.

[DSIGFUSS]

Nethaniel grabs his carrying case for the crossbow and runs out the door after Andrei.

Mr. Zaitsov! Mr. Zaitsov! Hold on for one bloody minute. I could use some help here with my books now couldn't I. You Russians are so impatient. It was an Earl Gray you know?

[coffee demon]

Andrei ignores Moore's British-isms, and Maks' offhand comments. There could be assassins around any corner, and it seemed like he was the only one who realized it.

"Lets take the busiest roads. Better to be in the middle of a crowd than trapped in an alley. Although they didn't seem to care about onlookers in New York..."

He finishes his sentence in a mumble.

As they walk to the British Museum, Andrei keeps a close eye for anyone following them.

"Do we need some kind of excuse, Mister Moore? To see the... documents we're looking for?"

[DSIGFUSS]

I wouldn't think so. Gwen is quite helpful when she wants to be. I help her with research from time to time. It shouldn't be so difficult to convince her to let us into the private stacks.. I'll think of something on the spot then... Hold this please.

Nethaniel hands Andrei his sac of books and starts to fold up his crossbow so he can properly put it away in his carrying case.

The bobbies would knock me silly if'n I was walking around with me bloody bow and arrow thinking I was sodding Robin Hood.

[Raiko]

[OOC: I'll move you to the museum in my next post, in a few hours.

If Laraqua hasn't posted for Maks by then, then we'll assume that he just tags along.]

[Maksim Rukov]

"You do realise that your fiance and my wife are probably worried sick," says Maksim with a frown as he follows shortly behind them.

[coffee demon]

"Fiance!"

Andrei snorts aloud, and picks up his pace to get ahead of Maks and Moore. In his haste, he almost knocks a pedestrian over. He doesn't slow down, or even turn his head to apologize.

For the remainder of the walk, Andrei seems more preoccupied about something else than potential assassins. His eyes are glued to the ground.

[DSIGFUSS]

Nathaniel speaks politely with Maks as they hurry along to the British Museum! Nathaniel is shaking now he's so nervous. He runs off at the mouth to keep his mind on more pleasant thoughts.... like cricket and pudding.

You're married then? Not this bloke... I met my share of dotty birds in my day and if yah ask me, the old English coloqueism "bird" indeed fits the bill. heh heh! They're all a bunch of cuckoos if you ask this chap? Not that I wouldn't mind settling down some day... If'n I meet a nice English lass with some proper upbringing of coarse. Do you have any children Maks? Do you like Football?

[Raiko]

The British Museum - Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London
3:50pm - Wednesday 28th January, 1925

British Museum Entrance from Great Russell Street

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Nethaniel leads his companions into the impressive British Museum building and heads straight for the great court in the centre, where the Museum's colossal reading room in housed in it's own separate building.

Nethaniel has his own reader's pass, which grants him access to the reading room, but he knows that his only realistic chance of obtaining access to even the main reading room, let alone the Pnakotic Manuscripts is to locate his friend Gwendolyn Everettson.

Spotting the museum's Principle Librarian crossing the Great Court, Nethaniel asks him if he's seen Gwen recently and is told that she is in Room Four - the main Egyptian exhibition room.

British Museum

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[OOC: The drawing above shows the British Museum pretty much as it was in 1925. The Reading Room is the domed building in the centre. Room 4 is the entire inner 'layer' of the west wing of the Museum (immediately to the left of the Reading Room building). Nethaniel, Andrei and Maksim are currently in the Great Court, which is the open air area surrounding the Reading Room building.]

[DSIGFUSS]

Nethaniel continues talking during the entire walk through the museum, pointing out paintings and objects of art he knows a great deal about, which in this case, is most of them.

Egyptian exhibit? Knowing Gwen she's probably already solved the bloody case. Come I'll introduce you. If we're lucky... and she's doing a bit of research herself, we'll catch her in a good mood. We shouldn't have any problems getting inside the private stacks Mr. Zaitsov. If Gwen hasn't already solved the case of coarse. She's quite brilliant you know?

[coffee demon]

Andrei feels a little more relaxed in the British Museum. Surely there was no risk of violence in such an awesome monument to civlization.

Andrei replies in hushed tones. "What case?" he hisses. "This is nothing as insignificant as a simple crime spree. If these Egyptian murders are associated with the Bloody Tongue Cult, then I assure you..." he pauses for a moment, staring at a huge painting on a wall.

"This is nothing as romantic as some Sherlock Holmes case, or some pulp adventure you buy for a nickel. Life isn't as clean as just poring over some book, humm-ing and haw-ing, coming up with a simple solution. Or a 'deduction', or whatever he calls it. It's not pretty."

For a moment, Andrei realises this is exactly what he's been doing for the last week, but he shoves the thought aside. Damned bookish Londoners, I'll be happy when I leave here.

[DSIGFUSS]

Nathaniel eyes pop out of their head at Andrei's blatent rudeness and disrespectful tone.

Heavens.....

Sherlock Holmes? I haven't read that colorful piece of fiction since grade school! Don't presume to lecture me on the importance of books Mr. Zaitzov. Books are life! I've probably written more books than you've ever read. My studies into the Occult have taken me many places Mr. Zaitzov. If you've anything more to say on the subject in that tone I'd stuff it!

Nathaniel turns back to Maksim..

Of all the nerve. Pulp adventure books..... I never... Is he always this dramatic Maksim?

[Raiko]

Room 4 (Egyptian Sculpture) - The British Museum, Bloomsbury, London
3:54pm - Wednesday 28th January, 1925

Room 4 - The British Museum

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The three investigators walk into Room 4 of the Museum; the room is massive, it is the centrepiece of the Museum's extensive Egyptian Collection (the largest outside of Cairo), although still too small by far to display all of the Museum's Egyptian artefacts.

Large ancient sculptures are on display here, including colossal busts of Ramesses the second, and Amenhotep the third, and also the Rosetta Stone - confiscated from Napoleon's French Army by the British in 1802.

Bust of Ramesses II

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The Rosetta Stone

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The museum is very quiet at the moment, most potential visitors are at work. This huge room looks totally deserted.

As Nethaniel leads the others looking for his friend Gwen they are shocked to spot a woman's body lying in a pool of blood behind one of the exhibits.

[OOC: SAN checks everybody please - SAN loss = 0/1d3]

[coffee demon]

"Look!"

Andrei steps back, wide-eyed, and looks around the hall for movement. His hand instinctually moves for his satchel. His adrenaline is pumping. He looks back at the woman - is the pool of blood still expanding? Without stepping any closer, he looks for signs of what happened - a knife in the back, blood-stained footprints leading away...

He glances up at the ceiling above her, shuddering with horrible memories from New York.

[OC: Passed San check! I'll let you roll Spot Hidden (at 25%), in case you want it to be secret.]

[DSIGFUSS]

San Check: Fail : San Loss 3

Nathaniel simply stands and stares down at the corpse.

Is she... dead?

[Raiko]

The woman is dead, the pool of blood is still growing, so Andrei guesses that she's been killed recently.

She's a young attractive lady, she appears to have been beaten savagely by a blunt object and then stabbed through the heart.

It's not Gwen, but is her post-graduate assistant Alison; Nethaniel realises with regret that he doesn't even know the poor girl's last name.

As the three investigators stare at the body, and look around for the murderer and loud crash comes from the north. It's some distance away, but still within Room Four. The crash is followed immediately by a woman's scream for help, Gwen's scream for help.

The scream is cut short.

[OOC: Laraqua - I still need a SAN roll for Maksim please]

[coffee demon]

Without thinking, Andrei dashes down the hall, towards the crash. He's reaching into his satchel, not thinking about the repercussions about having such a weapon in this country.

All he can think about is vengeance - throttling the bastards who have ruined his life.

[Raiko]

[OOC: Important! - I'm running this part in the same way that I ran my 'storm scene' in BtMoM recently, it went very well and so I'll be using the same method for all action scenes in my games from now on.

It's simple enough, whenever I post you each have 24 hours in which to reply and/or make any required dice rolls, after that if anyone hasn't replied then their character fails to react and/or fails any unrolled dice rolls.

Once the 24 hours is up, or as soon as I've seen that everyone has replied, then I'll make my next post ASAP and the 24 hour counter will begin again.

This should guarantee that the action moves quickly, and add to the sense of danger - it did for BtMoM anyway.

If you won't be able to keep up for any reason, then please drop me a PM, or expect the worst.

I'll be making my next post later today, at the moment Andrei is rushing off towards the noise alone.]