Chapter 10: November 1st

[HoneyDog]

Joan overhears Isolde’s question.

“The dog-thing will come for me, and it will kill everyone around me. No-one here is safe. A sacrifice will hold it off for a few more days.”

“Of course Vandorff knew! I knew, didn’t I?” Blessing tells Vic. “That’s why we went to the inquests! I’ve explained all of this before.”

“Enough with this talk of proof!” he tells Harry and Crozier, crossly. “There’ll be no more experiments with this vile drug! That young man upstairs is proof enough of it, isn’t he? I suggest you go and see him for your own eyes!”

He calms down with some effort.

“I believe what Joan says. She cannot be lying under hypnosis, and Billy’s condition and Vandorff’s notes support it. Now, perhaps we should start considering that maybe we are in great danger, if this dog-thing is coming.”

[Mr. Handy]

"Let's see if the book has any information on how to get rid of it," says Alexander. "I'm sure smacking it over the nose with a rolled up newspaper won't do any good. I do have a shotgun, but will that have any effect on it?"

[HoneyDog]

"It will take hours to read that thing" says Blessing. "We may not have that long. I'm going to talk to Vandorff, and see if there is anything else he knows."

He brings Joan out of the trance, who slumps in the chair, exhausted.

[Snapper]

Crozier:

The Captain marshals his wits, or half of them at least.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as Seekers you agree there is more to the world than our science allows, and as your newest member I support that. Surely though, we are seeking the truth, in the sense of trying to nail it to the quarter deck? Besides the truth that the German doctor here is a menace, obviously."

"The first truth we can point to is there is some unfortunate soul upstairs upon whom this drug has had a terrible physical effect."

"The second truth is that Miss Bayldon, under hypnosis, admitted to us all that her body killed those men. Apparently under the control of her mother."

"For everything else Miss Bayldon says, how can we tell whether her experiences were real or perhaps a fever dream induced by a powerful drug? London is full of opium dens but we do not presume the occupants' visions are to be trusted."

"I do not wish to be a stick in the mud, I'm just trying to get to grips with this."

[HoneyDog]

Blessing takes Joan's arm, and leads her out of the room.

[Mephistophilis]

Harry shrugs, he has a strong belief in spiritualism, in the persistence of souls, and he has seen them reanimate a statue that nearly killed him and his companions, but demon dogs from the far reaches of time are beyond his comprehension. He decides to focus on more practical matters, 'Well we can't sacrifice anyone. But what does all this talk of angles mean? Is there something there we can use.'

[aine]

“I think Harry has a point; what is this about ‘angles’? Alexander, remember the goblins on Dartmoor, how they came through a ‘gate’ from another place, not in this world.
“This is how I imagine the dog-creature is, perhaps. And maybe it’s gate is in a corner, or something.” Isolde peters out, realising it sounds rather ridiculous.

“I can picture it in my head but I cannot exactly explain it in words.
“Anyhow, can you imagine if we took any of this to the authorities? They would laugh or lock us up- in here in all probability. And they would hang Joan too; they need a tangible scapegoat, not some drug based theory, to quiet that angry mob at the inquests.”

[Philulhu]

”We don’t have to sacrifice anyone,” replied Vic, thoughtfully. ‘But if we tell Vandorff that he’s the sacrifice if he doesn’t help us, he might be a bit more forthcoming about what he’s been up to...”

[Mr. Handy]

"Aye, that's an idea," says Alexander. "He doesna have to know we're bluffing. I canna forgot the goblins on Dartmoor, of course. If the dog-thing can only use a corner as a gate, what if we had a spherical room or container, without corners? It couldna get inside."

[Snapper]

Crozier:

The Captain shrugs and decides to focus on practical matters.

"A circular tunnel would also have no angles. Like an underground stream tunnel or a big drain."

[HoneyDog]

The door opens, and Dr. Vandorff enters in his wheelchair, followed by Blessing. Vandorff scowls at the occupants, but he stops when he sees the books, notes and the vials of the Liao drug.

"So you know?" he inquires.

"Yes we know" says Blessing, pushing him towards the fireplace. "We know what you did to Billy Ashworth. We saw him."

"Ah!" says Vandorff. "That was most unfortunate. Poor Billy."

Blessing turns him so he can be viewed by the whole room. Vandorff regards everyone in silence for a while, then says,

"What do you want? Why haven't you gone to the police, hmm?"

[Philulhu]

”Because the dog-creature is coming back,” said Vic calmly. “We need to stop it, so what can you tell us about it?”

[Mr. Handy]

"Think carefully," says Alexander. "You are in more danger from it than we are."

[aine]

“Joan says the dog-creature needs a sacrifice and travels through corners. What do you know about that?” Isolde adds.

[HoneyDog]

“You know far more than I do” says Vandorff. “I didn’t have an opportunity to question Joan since her return.”

OOC,Anyone can make a Psychology roll on Vandorff.

[Philulhu]

Vic watched Vandorff impassively, trying to determine whether has was telling the truth.

OOC,Psychology (50%) - 0 Edit: If we were playing IRL, it’s about this time that the dice I’ve been using would’ve been consigned to the bin and new dice purchased... :|

[aine]

Isolde watches Vandorff from the desk.

Psychology,53 0 what were the chances of that? Er...

Ooc,you didn’t buy those dodgy dice off Ebay? ;)

[Philulhu]

OOC,I can’t remember the last time I bought a set of dice, tbh. At least 20 years ago... :oops:

[Mephistophilis]

Harry Psychology 13%,0

[Mr. Handy]

Alexander can't read Vandorff.

OOC,The chances of that were 1 in 100. ;) Psychology roll (5% base skill) about [b]Vandorff[/b]: 0