Corridor

[Kadael]

There's a sharp click of heels and a rush of fabric as a young woman boards the train, excitement buzzing in the air around her. She glances briefly around the corridor, with such wonder on her face it's as if she's never even seen a train before. That may not be too hard to believe, though, considering how out of place she looks: with her strangely pale skin and purple and black gown, she seems as though she's stepped straight out of a painting from Victorian England. She turns and peers out the doors, cocking her head with an oddly sharp movement. "Come on, come on!" she shouts impatiently. "I want to go somewhere!"

She doesn't seem to be carrying any luggage; it must be with whomever she's shouting at.

[Laraqua]

Charles Gavigan steps up onto the train beside her as, upon the platform, the porter passes the luggage to the first class conductor alongside the tickets. "Calm down, Lily." His eyes latch onto one of the flyers and he grabs her roughly by the arm, dragging her quickly into their compartment. "There's filth on those corridor doors, Lily. You'll need to avert your eyes."

[Laraqua]

"Wait!" says another conductor, heading up onto the corridor. "This is not the Agatha Sleeping Car. I am afraid that the car you are seeking is three cars down."

Gavigan steps back out. "Why didn't you say so more clearly? What kind of operation is this?"

"I, uh, my apologies," says the conductor automatically.

Gavigan glares at him. "Let's go, Lily, and hope there's no more mistakes." He peers down the corridor at the crowd. "It would be quicker to go out via the door and come back in from the station."

The conductor gives everyone a helpless look before following the two out onto the cold platform.

[Raziel]

Doctor Bedel adjusted the blankets on Schiller, before checking his breathing and pulse one more time. He pauses for a moment contemplating whether this man would show him the same kindness.

Bedel gave a brief "thank you" and nod of acknowledgment as the conductor explained Boyana's new quarters. He feared he would have to visit her soon.

Out in the corridor it sounded like more people were boarding the train. At least one rather angry sounding man. Just what they needed.
Bedel squeezed past the priest and stepped out into the corridor, before travailing back in the direction of the lounge car.

[DrPeterson]

Wolfgang produces a battered notebook with a pencil and gives it to Elena. With a smile he addresses Roby.

You are look well refreshing, perhaps we must removing ourselves from this corridor and to your wife?


Wolfgang gently takes Elena's hand, not really understanding the nature of her confusion, and guides her to the Lounge Car.

[Laraqua]

Chalons-sur-Marne, 21:45

High above him was a white marble ceiling with small bright lights inserted. The walls were made of rich teak and mahogany wood with green and brown doors for each compartment. There were also complicated patterns painted finely on the doors, each having a golden flower on the front. The corridor was quite narrow with only the space for one person moving at a time. The conductor returns to sit on his chair utterly straight-backed and stares straight down the corridor as people enter the corridor. He hardly reacts unless specifically spoken to. The train begins to gain speed as it leaves the station.

There is a flyer hanging from the handle of each of the compartment doors that show images which seem to blur when you gaze upon them even though they should, by rights, be clear. The sight of them draws your eye and inflames the imagination. There is something exciting happening here. Some possibility which you are inspired to write down. (SAN Loss 1 / 1d6 - keep rolling for each corridor you pass until you have either passed all three or lost 6 Sanity. If you go temporarily insane, you become obsessed with the imagery or consumed by a bizarre bout of creativity for 1d10 x 2 of your own posts.) There may be more information attached were you to open the flyer and read it.

The door to Compartment 1 is open, revealing Schiller lying on his bed and staring over at the wall. Father Michael O'Hanlon stands in the room with him, keeping vigil. Unbeknownst to anyone else in the corridor, as they can't see such a minor action, Schiller's eyes rise to meet Father Michael O'Hanlon's gaze although his face remains passive and his muscles slack.

Wolfgang Ritter,you will need to wait until Elena posts before you can enter the Lounge Car as there is a chance she won't go with you.

PRESENT: Conductor, Elena Orloff, Wolfgang Ritter, Father Michael O'Hanlon, Dr. Gerhard Schiller.

[Kadael]

Lily and Charles are back again, moving toward the Social Cars. Lily sees nothing going on, as her head is down and her eyes are closed tight.

[Mr. Handy]

Elena takes the pencil and begins scribbling madly on the flyer, oblivious to everything else, though she allows Wolfgang to slip her arm into his and lead her away. She writes furiously and automatically, not really giving any thought to the words that pour from her brain onto the page.

[Laraqua]

OOC,I think it's perfectly appropriate for either Mr. Handy or DrPeterson to post automatically in the Lounge Car. No need to wait on anyone at this stage. You may read the last time-stamped post to get an idea of what's going on though be aware [b]Bedel[/b] and [b]Parker[/b] have both left the car. It's just [b]Mrs. Roby[/b], [b]Belanger[/b] and [b]Amadi[/b].

[Laraqua]

The door to the Lounge Car opens and footsteps can be heard in the aisle. The WC door opens and closes, followed by the sound of racking nausea as someone dry retches loudly.

[Laraqua]

France, 22:15

High above him was a white marble ceiling with small bright lights inserted. The walls were made of rich teak and mahogany wood with green and brown doors for each compartment. There were also complicated patterns painted finely on the doors, each having a golden flower on the front. The corridor was quite narrow with only the space for one person moving at a time. The conductor returns to sit on his chair utterly straight-backed and stares straight down the corridor as people enter the corridor. He hardly reacts unless specifically spoken to. The train begins to gain speed as it leaves the station.

There is a flyer hanging from the handle of each of the compartment doors that show images which seem to blur when you gaze upon them even though they should, by rights, be clear. The sight of them draws your eye and inflames the imagination. There is something exciting happening here. Some possibility which you are inspired to write down. (SAN Loss 1 / 1d6 - keep rolling for each corridor you pass until you have either passed all three or lost 6 Sanity. If you go temporarily insane, you become obsessed with the imagery or consumed by a bizarre bout of creativity for 1d10 x 2 of your own posts.) There may be more information attached were you to open the flyer and read it.

The door to Compartment 1 is open, revealing Schiller lying on his bed and staring over at the wall. Father Michael O'Hanlon stands in the room with him, keeping vigil. Unbeknownst to anyone else in the corridor, as they can't see such a minor action, Schiller reaches out a hand towards Father Michael O'Hanlon.

Two men are at the other end of the aisle and are heading into the next sleeping car and are in quiet conversation.

Spot Hidden,Oddly enough, the man who walks behind (an Arabic gentleman) seems to be playing with what at first appears to be a crucifix on a leather thong but soon becomes apparently is an inverted ankh. He holds the necklace in a bunched fist, idly toying with the ankh sub-consciously yet still attempting to keep it hidden.

Charles Belanger tuts. "I have a feeling that Lord Cecil is an interesting type of busybody."

Amadi Al-Rassam pauses in the aisle. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, don't get defensive, old chap." Charles claps him on the shoulder, drawing him on. "I like him. I really do. I think it might be worth us putting our heads together over this little situation. Don't you just get the sensation of a storm brewing in the air? An electric sparkle to the air? Something is about to happen and it involves our German friends. I'm sure of it."

PRESENT: Conductor, Charles Belanger, Amadi Al-Rassam, Father Michael O'Hanlon, Dr. Gerhard Schiller, Kieran.

[fox01313]

Kieran walks in from the adjoining car, upon seeing the first flyer, he shivers slightly and rubs the back of his neck for a moment. Muttering in English "the trip must have drained more out of me than I thought". Being the inquisitive type, he picks up the flyer to look at it further on both sides to see if there's some kind of ink or different type of material to see if there's something to cause the front of it to change & blur with the passing lights while the train moves along.

[Laraqua]

Welcome One And All!
You are cordially invited to a sock puppet performance extraordinaire.
One based on the fabulous and oft-buried King in Yellow production.
It will be held in the Smoking Car at eleven o'clock tonight!
You will see a story to amaze you!
To excite you!
A story of drama, the anguish of solitude and suicide....
The romantic misery of the aristocratic classes
AND
The needfulness of dreams.
See you there!

It seems a little ... childish ... on multiple levels. Yet the image on the front of the flyer seems seared into your very mind.

[fox01313]

Kieran looks to the others in the corridor and asks anyone nearby "hello, is this something that's normally done on this train? This is my first time on this train & I personally never heard of anything like this before.It seems odd at this late hour but it does sound like it might be interesting or some new thrill that's catching on throughout Europe."

[Laraqua]

Charles Belanger glances back over his shoulder. "Interesting indeed. Each journey on this train is unique but this train journey seems more unique than the others. I imagine folk might be remaining awake longer than most considering what's happening in Europe."

And with that, he and Al-Rassam leave the sleeping car and head into the next one.

[Laraqua]

France, 22:30

High above him was a white marble ceiling with small bright lights inserted. The walls were made of rich teak and mahogany wood with green and brown doors for each compartment. There were also complicated patterns painted finely on the doors, each having a golden flower on the front. The corridor was quite narrow with only the space for one person moving at a time. The conductor sits on his chair utterly straight-backed and stares straight down the corridor. He hardly reacts unless specifically spoken to.

There is a flyer hanging from the handle of each of the compartment doors that show images which seem to blur when you gaze upon them even though they should, by rights, be clear. The sight of them draws your eye and inflames the imagination. There is something exciting happening here. Some possibility which you are inspired to write down. (SAN Loss 1 / 1d6 - keep rolling for each corridor you pass until you have either passed all three or lost 6 Sanity. If you go temporarily insane, you become obsessed with the imagery or consumed by a bizarre bout of creativity for 1d10 x 2 of your own posts.) There may be more information attached were you to open the flyer and read it.

The door to Compartment 1 is open, revealing Schiller lying on his bed and staring over at the wall. Father Michael O'Hanlon stands in the room with him, keeping vigil. Unbeknownst to anyone else in the corridor, as they can't see such a minor action, Schiller reaches out a hand towards Father Michael O'Hanlon.

The conductor suddenly seems to come to himself, rises from his seat and approaches Kieran once the other two have left. "Good evening, I am Monsier Stephane Thayer, the conductor for this Sleeping Car. Would you like me to unlock the door to your room so that you can prepare for the evening's festivities?"

PRESENT: Conductor, Father Michael O'Hanlon, Dr. Gerhard Schiller, Kieran.

[fox01313]

Kieran looks to the conductor "Are you alright? You seemed a little, well dazed would be the only thing I could think of."

I will wait for a response from the conductor as it's a really bad idea to get the train staff mad at you. After making sure that the conductor will be okay, Kieran says, "As for the sleeping car and considering the nature of this event going on in the Smoking car, I feel what I'm wearing should be good to see a small theatrical performance. Is this something that is normally done on this train?"

Kieran then proceeds back to the Smoking car to see the show.

[Laraqua]

Monsier Stephane Thayer slowly blinks at him. "Have you seen the Yellow Sign? It's all I can see ... every time I close my eyes." He shakes his head slowly from side to side to clear it. "Am I ... well? Yes, sir. Yes, I am. As for the performance, our usual entertainment involves our pianist but occasionally some of the guests will take it upon themselves to put on a little performance. Mr. Roby put up these flyers as he returned with his ... his books ... on his way to the social cars." He pauses, his eyes resuming their glazed appearance. "There was ... a ... guest who ... is awaiting you ... in your ... compartment ... shared compartment ... your guest or that of the ... the man who is ... sharing your ... compartment. Perhaps he is happy to ... to wait ... a little ... longer." With that the conductor stands very still as though waiting to see if you would like him to unlock your compartment (Compartment 5) or whether you will continue on through the social cars.

[Laraqua]

France, 22:45

High above him was a white marble ceiling with small bright lights inserted. The walls were made of rich teak and mahogany wood with green and brown doors for each compartment. There were also complicated patterns painted finely on the doors, each having a golden flower on the front. The corridor was quite narrow with only the space for one person moving at a time. The conductor sits on his chair utterly straight-backed and stares straight down the corridor. He hardly reacts unless specifically spoken to.

There is a flyer hanging from the handle of each of the compartment doors that show images which seem to blur when you gaze upon them even though they should, by rights, be clear. The sight of them draws your eye and inflames the imagination. There is something exciting happening here. Some possibility which you are inspired to write down. (SAN Loss 1 / 1d6 - keep rolling for each corridor you pass until you have either passed all three or lost 6 Sanity. If you go temporarily insane, you become obsessed with the imagery or consumed by a bizarre bout of creativity for 1d10 x 2 of your own posts.) There may be more information attached were you to open the flyer and read it.

The door to Compartment 1 is open, revealing Schiller lying on his bed and staring over at the wall. Father Michael O'Hanlon stands in the room with him, keeping vigil. Schiller lays still with one hand slightly outreached toward Father Michael O'Hanlon though with no further movement.

Nico reacts rather badly to the flyers. She utters a high-pitched scream and falls back against the wall, scratching at her own face, pulling at her hair, and heaving great big ugly sobs.

French Conversation,"No! Why here?! Why here?!"

PRESENT: Conductor, Father Michael O'Hanlon, Dr. Gerhard Schiller, Nico, Dr. Bedel.

[Raziel]

French,"It's ok, just relax. Lets get to my compartment and we will talk about. Lets get away form here."