Track Five: I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)

[SunlessNick]

"He's called William," Zara adds.

[Mr. Handy]

"We have a drawing of him, if it helps," says Liz.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Zenobia nods and accepts the drawing.

"I see. An ancestor from some time ago, judging from his clothing. Please enter."

She draws aside the beaded curtain, allowing the others to enter the inner room before her. Within is a large round table, with a crystal ball before one of the half dozen or so chairs encircling it. This room is even more dimly lit than the one outside, the light coming from a single oil lamp suspended from the ceiling. Just beyond the beaded curtain is a fishbowl on a pedestal, with a handwritten card taped to it, reading LOVE OFFERINGS. There are a few dollar bills in the fishbowl.

Once everyone is inside the room, Zenobia takes her place in the chair before the crystal ball.

"Please be seated and join hands. I must contact my spirit guide."

She stares at the crystal ball for several minutes. Suddenly her head drops forward, as if she is in a faint. She soon recovers, however, and sits up straight.

In a much deeper voice, she says "Gray Eagle listens. Speak!"

[jp1885]

Tony can't help roll his eyes as 'Grey Eagle' speaks. An Indian spirit guide? Really? Though still prepared to keep an open mind (he has recently encountered stranger things after all), he wonders if he and his friends are being had.

"We wish to contact the man in the drawing," he tells the spirit, not wishing to give too much information away, lest Madam Zenobia uses it to embellish any trickery.

[Mr. Handy]

Liz holds hands with Tony and Zara. While she knows that there are people with genuine spiritual powers, she is also aware that there are charlatans, and she observes carefully to try to determine which one Madame Zenobia is.

OOC,Wisdom roll (10 + 1[Esoteric Knowledge] = 11) to see if this is genuine: [dice]0[/dice]

[Starspawn338]

Lew will sit down and puts his hands out to either side to complete the circle. He enjoys doing things like this but he also observes carefully to ensure that he isn't being taken advantage of.

OOC,Wisdom 10 + 3 (Wily) [dice]0[/dice]

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Lew:

Spoiler:

You've seen phonies like this before, and Madame Zenobia shows all the signs of being one.

Liz:

Spoiler:

Either she's for real, or is a very good actress. You can't quite tell yet.

Everybody else present:

Spoiler:

Make a Wisdom roll, with appropriate adjustments, if you want to try to find out if Madame is a charlatan or not.

In the deep voice, Madame Zenobia cries out, raising her eyes to the ceiling.

"William! There are those here who wish to hear you, from beyond the veil! Give us a sign!"

From no obvious source, there comes the sound of a wailing flute, as if from a great distance. With the same hollow, almost echoing effect, a man's voice is heard.

"This is William. Fear not, my friends. Everything is beautiful here, and we are all at peace in this higher plane. I sense that you have questions about the life beyond. Ask, and I will answer as best as I can to those who have not passed beyond the illusion of Earthly existence."

[jp1885]

Wisdom 11,[dice]0[/dice]

Tony frowns, sensing charlantry.

[SunlessNick]

Everybody else present:

Spoiler:

Make a Wisdom roll, with appropriate adjustments, if you want to try to find out if Madame is a charlatan or not.

OOC:   Wisdom 11, +1 Perceptive, -3 Emotional (I figure that might make it harder to judge this situation objectively). Rolled 1D20: 6, success.

Zara might not be able to sense the spiritual the way Liz can, but she knows what it is to be touched by it.

From no obvious source, there comes the sound of a wailing flute, as if from a great distance. With the same hollow, almost echoing effect, a man's voice is heard.

"This is William. Fear not, my friends. Everything is beautiful here, and we are all at peace in this higher plane. I sense that you have questions about the life beyond. Ask, and I will answer as best as I can to those who have not passed beyond the illusion of Earthly existence."

And also she rolls her eyes slightly at hearing this, given the things William has already said. She decides to mess with Zenobia a bit - "You told me you had seen the face of the man I would marry."

[Mr. Handy]

Liz listens with skepticism, as William had not seemed at peace in her dream.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

In response to Zara's inquiry, Zenobia replies -- or whoever might be speaking through her, in the deep voice -- in this manner:

"Ah, yes, your future husband will be--"

Before she can complete her statement, the oil lamp crashes into the table, sending the crystal ball rolling to the floor, where, presumably, it shatters into multiple pieces; presumably, because now the room is in total darkness.

Shrieking in her usual, high voice, Madame Zenobia shouts out "What the--"

"Silence!"

The voice is that of a man, not previously heard, with a British accent.

"Mountebank! I'll have no truck with such!"

Unseen but heard, somebody rushes in. Another man's voice, much higher and with a New York accent, is heard.

"What's goin' on, Shirley? I thought we had the marks all set--"

"I will be reborn!"

Spoiler:

[dice]0[/dice]

From another part of the room, where Madame Zenobia was last seen, the same booming voice emerges.

"I am here!"

[Starspawn338]

"And now we're getting somewhere." Lew says. "Captain? Is that you?"

[jp1885]

"What the Dickens!?"

Tony stands up and fumbles for a lightswitch.

[SunlessNick]

Zara lets go of Lew and Liz and backs up from the table. "What is it you want with me?" she says raggedly, as if trying not to yell.

[Mr. Handy]

Liz remains calm. "Captain William Palliser, I presume," she says. "You were a friend of my ancestor, Dr. Henry North, thirteenth Earl of Dunwich. I'm Dr. Liz North, his great-great-great-great-granddaughter. My father is the eighteenth Earl of Dunwich, which I suppose makes me Lady Elizabeth, but there's no need for formality. I'd like to help you, if I can."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

After a few moments of stumbling around in the dark, Tony finds a light switch. Madame Zenobia, eyes wide open, is in an apparent trance. The voice, presumably that of Captain Palliser, comes from her. The man who ran into the room, a short, balding little fellow, takes a look around and then leaves quickly through a set of curtains in the back.

To those to addressed him:

Lew: "Indeed, it is I, though I know not you, sir, nor this gentleman who creates light with the touch of a finger."

Zara: "For whatever reason the Fates decree, it was through you that I was able to communicate with the mortal world. Now, here in the body of this fraud who possessed powers unsuspected -- although it pleases me little to wear the body of a Moor, and a woman at that! -- I have come to claim my vengeance!"

Liz: "I recall His Lordship well, my Lady. He and I shared many a curious adventure. Now I find myself a restless spirit, doomed to torment between this world and the next, until I have discovered the place in New Spain wherein lie my bones, and bring to justice the descendants of those who murdered me!"

To all: "One clue have I, granted by the unseen powers that have tasked me with this burden. There is a student of natural philosophy, not unlike the late Lord Dunwich, not far from here. He keeps body and soul together through amusements designed to please children and the common masses, similar to our own Punch-and-Judy shows. He has created a nostrum which reveals things unseen. I sense he will be the key to locating my remains, and my killers. Find him!"

With the peculiar combination of science and puppetry, the investigators quickly realize that this can only be a certain Doctor Maximus Honeydew, proprietor of the Luminescent Emporium, and known to have done research into drugs with effects on the psyche.

It may not come as a surprise that Honeydew's theater, obscure to the masses but appreciated by those of a bohemian nature, occupies a formerly abandoned building in an area of Venice off the beaten path. Perhaps taking in one of his performances would be a good way to learn something about the fellow.

[jp1885]

Tony is rather taken aback by all of this - could this really be the spirit of Captain Pallister?

"It's called electricity sir - one of the many marvels of modern times that you'll have to get used to while you temporarily inhabit this poor woman's body."

He puts an emphasis on the word 'temporarily'.

"While I'm happy to help you find your mortal remains, do you really think that avenging yourself on the innocent descendants of your murderer will accomplish anything? It's not as if they killed you themselves is it?" He grins a worried grin. "At least I assume that's the case."

"Something to think about anyway. I know little of the chap you speak of - Dr. Honeydew as I recall - but if he can help you, then I'm sure we can take you to him. Oh yes, prepare to encounter another wonder of the age - the automobile!"

[SunlessNick]

"I think I've been to one of his shows," Zara adds. "It was tuff." To William Palliser, she says, "We can help find your bones, but whoever killed you will be dead by now." (Though she remembers the Embalmer's hints at being of impossible age).

[Mr. Handy]

"I've heard of Dr. Honeydew," says Liz. "He is well known in academic circles, though his reputation is not the best. Then again, neither was my ancestor's. We shall seek him out and enlist his help to find your earthly remains. I doubt you will be able to inhabit them again after all this time, though it depends upon how well preserved they are. If not, perhaps there is a way to make a body for you that does not belong to someone else. The late Lord Dunwich did some experimentation in the reanimation of dead tissue, and I have his research notes - and modern technology at my disposal that he lacked. He did use electricity in these experiments, believing that it could endow the spark of life. Or perhaps I can assemble a mechanical body for you powered by electricity. Electricity is the key to many wonders of the twentieth century. It provides light in a different manner to my ancestor's Illuminator, and does many other things besides. I also have to agree that seeking vengeance on the descendants of those who murdered you is unjust. They have done nothing to you, and none of them were even born yet when their ancestors murdered you. I know I would be most displeased if the ghost of Violette Dupray were to come after me in revenge for my ancestor bringing her reign of terror to an end."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

After these extended conversations, Madame Zenobia's head falls to the table. The man who fled returns, with a young man in the white uniform of a medical student.

"Shirley's had one of her spells," the older man says to the younger.

"Nothing to worry about," the student replies. "A little rest and some sedatives and she'll be just fine. You folks better leave."

Madame Zenobia slowly rouses herself out of unconsciousness, and shows no signs of remembering what happened. No further communication with Captain Palliser occurs, for the moment.

The investigators are easily able to procure tickets to the next performance at the eccentric Honeydew's theater.