Ch.12b. Caught somewhere in time

[Silver Priest]

Alex does the same.His gun is out and he's cautious.

Listen 60%,0

[Bullfrog]

Lawrence also listens in on the conversation held within the tent, though not before quietly creeping closer to it.

Llisten 25%,0

[Philulhu]

They can’t make out the details of the conversation. Whoever is speaking is keeping their voice low because they don’t want to be overheard or out of deference to people nearby because of the lateness of the hour.

OOC,I’ll take a Sneak roll if anyone wants to try to get up to the tent to listen in.

[Mr. Handy]

William stays away from the tent, knowing that he's not very sneaky.

[Silver Priest]

Alex adjusts his gun and waits to see if Lawrence wants to try his luck with sneaking.

[Bullfrog]

Sneak 10%,0

Lawrence tries his hand at stealthily getting over to the tent, despite an utter lack of skill in such things. As it would happen, a man of Lawrence's size isn't really the best sort for such clandestine matters.

[Philulhu]

Lawrence heard the words, ”... we’re behind schedule. We need to push on...” before his foot caught on of the tent’s guy ropes, causing it to come loose and part of the tent wall to sag. The tent flap was pushed open and a young woman with black-rimmed glasses and shoulder-length red hair looked out. Except it wasn’t a woman - it was a man, wearing his hair longer than any of the three of them had ever seen on a man before.

”Who are you?” he asked in an exasperated tone. ”Are you the ones William was sending? You’re a bit late, aren’t you?”

Spoiler:

OOC, Spot hidden - 0

He doesn’t appear to have noticed Alex’s pistol.

[Mr. Handy]

"I'm sorry, we were unavoidably delayed," says William. "What have we missed?"

[Philulhu]

The young man glanced at his watch. ”You’re not wrong,” he said dryly. A young woman pushed open the other tent flap and slipped her arm around the waist of the young man. She was brown skinned with a wide smile and was wearing an army great coat which was open to her navel, exposing bare flesh beneath.

“Look, I’m Derek,” said the young man. “We can catch up in the morning. For now, you can sleep in the tent at the end. I don’t think that’s being used, OK?”

[Mr. Handy]

"Thanks, see you in the morning," says William.

[Silver Priest]

Alex very much wants to say something more, but instead looks questioningly at William before addressing Derek with a bluff. "Do you happen to know,where Brophy is now? We need to tell him about the delay"

[Bullfrog]

"So, Derek, how do you happen to know William?" Lawrence quizzes in a friendly matter, though speaking of his hated enemy like an associate left him feeling rather strange.

[Philulhu]

Derek looked puzzled. ”William,” he said, slowly, “William Jones?” He ducked back into the tent and re-emerged a few second later with a rather dog-eared business card. The card read “William Jones, Casting Agent” and had a London address on the back.

“That’s William,” he said. ”I don’t know anyone called Brophy.” The girl leaned in, causing the front of her coat to gape most alarmingly, and whispered something in his ear, and Derek took a moment to study them in more detail. “Err, you are the ones sent by William, aren’t you?”

[Silver Priest]

"Yes, sorry. Brophy is his nickname. Long story, from his childhood." Alex forces a smile. "Probably best you don't let him hear it."

[Philulhu]

“Ok...” said Derek, slowly, looking at them suspiciously. Next to him, the young woman yawned and tugged at his arm. He smiled at her and said, “Look, we’ll sort out the details tomorrow. Like I said, the tent over there is free for you to use. You’ll find camp beds and blankets if you need them.”

He nodded and the young woman waved, and they went back into their tent, leaving Alex, Lawrence and William standing in the dark.

[Mr. Handy]

"Let's get to our tent," says William, who isn't surprised by the confusion. His own name is William too, after all.

[Philulhu]

The tent was a large bell tent. Khaki in colour, it looked like army surplus. Inside, four camp beds were arranged in a semi-circular pattern around the central pole, and a large trunk - which also appeared to be ex-army - sat to one side. On the trunk was an unlit paraffin lamp.

OOC,As mentioned previously, I’m happy to assume you have matches or lighters, as required. You’ll be able to see the above by the light they give off.

[Mr. Handy]

"Looks like they're making a movie," says William. "That explains a lot of things."

[Bullfrog]

"That seems to be the case. I'm not much of an actor, and we're looking for a different William entirely, so I say that we hit the road before our lady-haired friend starts asking too many questions." Lawrence utters in a hushed tone, reaching for the lamp so that he may light it; it certainly was the unfamiliar future, but at least good old combustion lighting was still around to stay.
"Once we get out of here, I think our first priority should be finding out where- and when- we are."

[Mr. Handy]

"There are a lot of us Williams," says William. "I think we need to at least spend the night here. Leaving now will accomplish nothing. We won't be able to do anything until morning, and we need sleep. We need to pick up Brophy's trail, or we'll just be wandering around lost. To find out where and when we are, we need a newspaper. That will come in the morning as well."