Ch.12b. Caught somewhere in time

[Philulhu]

Date unknown. 1.00am.
Location unknown.

Outside the wood-panelled room they found themselves in a hallway with an ancient-looking wooden door that lead to the outside. Exiting through the door, they found themselves stood in a large courtyard outside a dark manor house, lit only by the moonlight. In the distance, there was a solitary chime of a church bell.

Snaking from front door, across the gravelled courtyard and through a gate in the opposite wall, two heavy tendrils cast a dark shadow against the lighter stone.

[Mr. Handy]

"We need to find out where we are," says William once the three of them are alone. "I think we've been transported to somewhere in England judging from her accent and the reference to a constable, but I'm not sure exactly where. England's five hours ahead of us, which might explain why it's the middle of the night instead of evening. Brophy, in Miss Dufresne's body, is around here somewhere too. We'll need to track him down. In the morning we can try to find somewhere we can send a telegram to Miss Ripley to let her know what happened to us."

[Bullfrog]

"We ought to find some place to stay while we're still stranded here; even if we do find Brophy quickly, and that's wishful thinking, it'll still take time to get some transport back home." Lawrence responds, looking around the manor grounds; if this was England, he certainly would have liked to visit under less urgent circumstances.
"Have a look at that." Lawrence notifies the others, pointing out the strange tendrils that wormed across the courtyard; they must lead somewhere, probably somewhere of some relevance to the man they pursued.

[Silver Priest]

"You both seem to be taking this rather well," Alex remarks skeptically. "I'm assuming this isn't the first time you've traveled through time?" There's a slight tremor in his left hand, a clear sign that the detective is trying to remain calm despite the impossible events that have just occurred. "I'm willing to listen for now, but after this is all over I will have some questions for the both of you."

[Mr. Handy]

"I'm not sure if we've traveled in time or not," says William. "We may have just been moved to a new location. Finding a newspaper will sort that out quickly enough. It'll have the date it was printed at the top. If we have traveled in time, at least we can't be very far from our own. Shotguns have clearly been invented."

[Philulhu]

OOC,Where are you heading?

[Bullfrog]

"It's funny that you ask, Detective, because I was going to tell you something: I'm very sure you've figured this out, but Brophy is not a normal criminal, and that story I gave you back at the mansion is not entirely true. When we were marched out to Squatter's Lake at gunpoint, we weren't being robbed; we were being sacrificed." Lawrence uneasily admits, sure that now was as good a time as any to let the truth of this whole fiasco be known; Alex wasn't exactly in any position to doubt him, especially after what they'd all experienced!
"There was this awful, awful thing in the lake- a monster, for lack of any better words. It damn near killed us, and it probably would succeeded if we hadn't driven out of there." Even now, Lawrence dreaded to think of that night out on the lake; that motel was the cause of this all, the catalyst of this entire mess of events that had taken up the past few months. He wished he could burn the whole place to the ground.

OOC,I say we head through the gate and see where those tendrils lead us.

[Mr. Handy]

"It's true," confirms William. "We've seen a lot of weird stuff. Being sent instantaneously across the Atlantic isn't that strange in comparison."

OOC,Okay, we can check out the gate first. We might also want to check out the church after that, seeing as we heard its bell.

[Philulhu]

On closer inspection, the tendrils turned out to far less sinister than first anticipated. It was a heavy duty electric cable running from the house to a generator parked up on a trailer on the other side of wall.

Some sort of vehicle was parked nearby, but the configuration was different to anything they had seen before. Over in a nearby field were half a dozen bell tents, such as the men recognised from the war.

[Mr. Handy]

"I don't think we've gone back in time at all," says William. "They probably wouldn't have had electrical equipment like this during the war. Maybe we've gone forward in time instead? Could there be another war?"

[Bullfrog]

"God, I hope not! It's probably just military surplus; it doesn't cost much, and it's made to last." Lawrence remarks; he'd never actually fought in the Great War, being too young to fight even by the time it ended, but he'd certainly heard and read much about just how terrifying it was. He curiously inspects the odd vehicle as he draws near; he had a pretty decent knowledge on motor vehicles and their inner workings, but he hadn't the slightest idea as to what he was looking at.

OOC,Could [b]Lawrence[/b] use his Mechanical Repair or Op. Heavy Machinery skills to ascertain what the vehicle's purpose is?

[Silver Priest]

OOC:   Posts may be irregular the next few days, getting a new computer.

Alex looks between his companions, his face blank. Finally, he nods. "You're right; I'm not in a position to doubt either of you. Much as I wish I was," He sighs, the impact of the day's events clear on his face. He follows behind the others.

"Shall we inspect the tents?" He offers. "I recognize them from the war. There's also the church; I admit, I'm both curious and a bit hesitant to see what we find in there."

[Philulhu]

Alex,no problem.

Lawrence looked at the vehicle as he approached. It was a clearly a motor van of some description but the styling wasn’t familiar to him. Unlike anything he had previously seen, the cabin and the cargo area was merged into one; he could see all the way to the rear doors through the windscreen.

The vehicle was a dull red colour and the paintwork was scratched and chipped in places, with rust showing through.

[Bullfrog]

Op. Heavy Machine 60%,0

Lawrence, for all his expertise, has absolutely no idea what this thing is for.

[Philulhu]

Lawrence,It’s a van-type vehicle. It has four wheels and a steering wheel. The styling is very different to anything that Lawrence has seen before (unless he’s a science fiction fan, in which case he might have seen something in films or comics). Compared to the vehicles he has seen, it looks sleek and contoured.

[Mr. Handy]

"This is like no vehicle I've ever seen," says William. "That suggests we have gone into the future and not the past. Perhaps far into the future, as it appears to be old now. Let's examine the tents next."

[Bullfrog]

"It sure as hell isn't anything on the market now; it's just about the smoothest vehicle I've seen in my life. I'd pay a mint just to get to take the thing apart and see how it works." Lawrence notes in fascination, looking over the vehicle for a little longer; just how far into the future had they gone if this thing was old and rusty by now? He reluctantly walks away from the vehicle over to the tents, keeping an eye out for any other human occupants.

[Silver Priest]

"At least we know this place still has people," Alex notes somewhat wryly. "And that they're not hostile."

[Philulhu]

There is a stile over a low stone wall into the field where the tents are located. Most are quiet, although a couple appears to have some sort of light inside and there are voices coming from one one of them. Burning embers from a communal fire cast a reddish glow, although barely enough to light up the tents, which are arranged in a rough horseshoe around it.

[Mr. Handy]

William tries to make out what the voices in the tent are saying.

OOC,Listen roll (68% skill) to overhear the voices: 0