Act II: The King's Head

[Tabs]

When [if we have no more questions] Jacobs leaves, Klevendon remarks: "If the old soak had seen a giant lizard instead of the Devil, this mystery would make more sense!"

[DrPeterson]

Wellington's face lights up at Klevendon's remark.

"But it is making more and more sense, my dear fellow! I find it highly unlikely for good Jacobs there to posses any learning in the field of naturalism or indeed any other science. Dark nights, mixed with spirits and high anxiety tend to deform what we cannot immediately rationalise into something all the more comprehensible. And in Jacobs's case, his mind grasped for the supernatural."


Wellington takes out his pipe and starts filling it, looking at the others.

"So, who can explain the perceived enormous growth rate of the creature?"

[Tabs]

"Ghosts," states Klevendon to himself, musing on Wellington's remarks, "something Jacobs cannot explain, therefore 'Old Nick'?"

He asks Roxborough: "No creature can grow so fast, can it?"

[Papa Gateau]

Well no natural creature that I know of could grow to that size in such a short amount of time. A good piglet of say, a Tamworth or Berkshire, might put on 3-4lbs a day - but from an hatchling to a seven foot tall beast in a matter of a few days - well, as I say, no natural beast that I can think of.

He glances around the table "Any one fancy a dessert"?

[DrPeterson]

Wellington lights his pipe and pulls a few puffs, listening to Roxborough's agrarian exposé.

"Let us assume for just one moment then, Gentlemen and Miss Bly, that we are possessed of superior mental faculty than goodman Jacobs and not resort to the unnatural. How could this beast have miraculously matured over the course of just a few days? Doesn't that seem too unlikely?", Wellington's voice has a playful note to it, which sounds almost as patronising as it does insulting.

[Papa Gateau]

Well we are purportedly dealing with a mythical creature and unless the Zoological society has been studying them in secret we don't really know much of their habits! We can deduce that they either grow at an alarmingly fast rate or that there is more than one of them - a juvenile and an adult"

He pauses and then adds with a touch of drama "Well possibly an adult, we don't know how big these creatures might get, so 7 feet might only be a youngster and not a fully mature specimen! Think how large it might grow!"

Roxborough's face takes on a contemplative demeanour "If I remember what Mr. Williams, my old classics master taught me correctly, then a basilisk's gaze was deadly - one look into it's eyes and you'd die of fright and its breath was poisonous - one whiff and the same fate awaits. Now of course I'm not suggesting that what we are dealing with is a basilisk but it could account for a horse suddenly dropping dead I suppose. Perhaps is too much for a 7' specimen to consume but not perhaps the driver? Then of course our man Jacob's said he looked into the creatures yellow eyes - so he either didn't have the good sense to drop dead as per legend or the effects of drink counter the creatures stare! " he chortles to himself.

[DrPeterson]

Wellington exclaims a loud "Exactly!" and jabs his pipe at Roxborough.


Good man! For there to be an infant, there has to be a parent. And why would such a parent all of a sudden show itself? Because it is gathering food for its young! Clever thinking, Roxborough!

He puts his pipe back between his teeth and takes a few more puffs in smug satisfaction.

"And I'm sure Mr. Williams was a fellow learned in the matters of the unreal and doubtless the fellow was right about this mythical creature deadly potential. Add to that the account of Mr. Jacobs, whose veracity I've no reason to doubt and you come to the simple conclusion that the creatures we are hunting are no basilisks."

"Now the only piece of the puzzle we must find is who is behind the creature?", he looks around at the fellowship again with inquisitive eyes. "Theories?"

[carnage_lee]

Nellie listens to her companions as the postulate upon the nature of whatever it was that Jacobs' had seen.

Nellie thinking:   Had Jacobs seen anything at all? He was half-cut already at barely midday, what on earth would he be like in the evening? I doubt that havign a look around the yard will tell us much, too much time had elapsed. Time... this all happened before the 'egg' hatched... so there might be any connection at all to the newly hatched 'basilisk'.

Wellington: "Now the only piece of the puzzle we must find is who is behind the creature?", he looks around at the fellowship again with inquisitive eyes. "Theories?"

"I'm of the mind that someone at Professor Hawthorne's club is behind this.. well behind sending the deadly egg anyway. We've got two letters of introduction, lets make use of them. If we split up we'll cover twice as much 'ground'.

[Tabs]

Klevendon shuts his mouth with a snap--after he realises it had been gaping. 7' monsters, and such like, is foolish talk; not only does he wonder what he is involved in, he begins to suspect his companions sanity. . . .

Klevendon thinking:   Wellington is infuriating, Roxborough like one of his Tamworths, and Miss Bly, well I suppose she's alright--for a woman.

"So the club?" asks Klevendon, trying to ignore Roxborough's request for dessert.

[DrPeterson]

"Yes, indeed!", Wellington concurs with Klevendon.

"Miss Bly, I take it you and Lord Roxborough will look into the more naturalistic side of the matter, while Klevendon and I go to the gentleman's club."

Wellington empties his pipe and tucks it away before getting up.

[carnage_lee]

Taking her last bite of the delicious sandwich Nellie gathers her thoughts.

Nellie thinking:   I'm not sure that Jacobs' close encounter with Old Nick and the investigation that Professor Hawthorne has tasked us with are connected, unless it is by their fanciful and mythical connections. Jacobs seemed sincere, he believes he almost had a run in with the devil. So I think we'd have to agree that he saw something and events did take a tragic turn with the death of the horse. We need to get to the truth, find a way to make sense of this investigation. It's a long shot but we may be able to find some information at the Zoological Gardens, even if we can learn enough to rule out any connection between the dreadful death at the Natural History Museum and the events here it'd help clear the 'murky waters'. So there's two avenues to explore and I'd be better off trying to learn anything of interest that [b]Professor Atwood[/b] of the Zoological Gardens could share than at the so called 'Cerebral Activities Society'.

Nellie dabs the corners of her mouth with her napkin before speaking, "I suppose I had best go to the Zoological Gardens, my presence at Hawthorne's club may not encourage the free exchange of information the we would like. We should arrange to meet later and thoroughly examine the facts we have gathered."

[DrPeterson]

Then I would invite you all to dinner at my residence on Parker Street, 122. I'm sure my housekeeper will cook up something suitable. Shall we say eight?

[carnage_lee]

"Goodness, I don't think it would take that long to complete our tasks. Time is of the essence if poor Higgins' family are to receive any comfort in knowing that whatever dreadful event happened to him is at an end, the perpetrator dealt with and punished. We can all meet at The Ritz for an early high tea at half past three. Nellie eyes move to indicate Roxburgh's prodigious appetite has been factored into her planning. "We should be able to agree on our next steps then and have a few more hours to try to ascertain the truth of the matter whilst taking tea. Leaving some hours to continue on any new paths of investigation we set ourselves before dinner."

[Priest]

Jacobs, who had returned to the bar, comes back to your booth,
"I does 'ope that the food has bin to your taste?"
He glances towards a door to the far left of the bar,
"The door to the yard is open if you care to take a look? 'elp yourselves I shan't be comin wiv you"

[DrPeterson]

Wellington knits his brow together as he absorbs Miss Bly's words.

"Three o'clock it is then, Miss Bly."

He nods curtly and then acknowledges Jacobs.


"No need for that, good man, we shall have a look and be on our way."

[Tabs]

An invite to dinner sounds top-hole to Klevendon, he is intrigued by what Wellington's residence will be like inside.

Klevendon thinking:   I know of a Mrs. Hudson, a housekeeper in SW1, who cooks delicious beef stroganoff, how superb it would be. . . .

He asks Nellie: "Do you often take tea at the Ritz, Miss Bly?

"That man"--Jacobs--"almost insists that we look over the stables, but won't go himself . . ." says Klevendon, wondering if he is reading more into the barkeep's comments than they warrant.

[Papa Gateau]

Well these sound like splendid plans! Miss Bly and myself will head off to the zoological gardens and we will meet you all back at the Ritz for tea. Lovely! We can then all share our discoveries. My good man Wellington, I will most graciously accept your kind invitation to dinner. Very kind of you.

Right, shall we take a look around the stable yard? Roxborough begins to stand "and if you would allow me the honour of paying for our modest luncheon.

[carnage_lee]

"Depends on how you define 'often', Mr Klevendon I suppose I might take tea there once or twice per month in the summer and infrequently during the winter months." Nellie answers as she pulls on her gloves. "Well then, let's be about our business..." Nellie adds, standing and collecting her bag.

[Priest]

As you open the door to the back yard, you are aware that not only Jacobs but indeed several of his patrons are watching.

The door opens onto a small, cobbled yard. A path, of sorts its edges defined by stacks of empty barrels, leads from this back door to the open double gates which give access from the alley. The fact that they still stand open suggests that Jacobs has indeed refused to enter the yard since his meeting with the 'devil'

Beyond the gates lies the alley which according to the newspaper reports, had been the resting place of the dead horse and the location of the dissapeared cabbie.

OOC:   Rolls suggested are Investigation or Perception. Please say where you are looking, in the yard or the alley beyond.

[DrPeterson]

Wellington takes out his looking glass and let's his gaze wander over the courtyard, looking for any traces of the beast, paying special attention to the areas of softer soil or patches of mud which might contain footprints or rocks and woodwork which may be scratched by claws.

Investigation (5 successes),average 4+[dice]0[/dice]