Play@YSDC

Later on at night, some 3,000 people eddy in the piazza, at the ticket windows, in the foyers, and in the salons of La Scala, but they make none of the animated chatter and gossip usual to opening night. These Milanese have dressed in black. They speak in hushed tones, and avert their eyes. The tone of the evening is funereal. A few steps from the ticket office is a small bar with small tables. A tailcoat-clad bartender is offering a slew of aperitifs on the balcony. A group of gentlemen, some accompanied by their ladies, sip a drink waiting for the bell to ring. Among them there is also Flavio Conti who chats with two other gentlemen.

Felicity is wearing black too, but only coincidentally. She has changed into a gorgeous dress desgined by Coco Chanel that she bought in Paris. While she has a matching wrap and coat on over it to keep out the cold weather, she slips them off once she is indoors to reveal that it is sleeveless and has a plunging back. It shows off her figure to good effect and reveals as much of her legs as she dares, which is quite a lot. Fortunately, her silk stockings keep them warm.

"One of those gentlemen with Signore Conti must be the doctor," she says. "Let's go over and introduce ourselves."

Ignoring the advice about the dress code from the costumiers, Andrew is wearing a dress coat and white bowtie which fits well on his athletic frame. He links arms with Felicity and gives her a nod. 'Well Miss Hayward, we both appear to be looking our best. It is time to put that to good use,' and he escorts her over to Conti and his companions.

Archie thanked his lucky stars that he packed formal wear for this trip.

As a season ticket holder at the Royal Opera House, Archie felt like he was in a dream. He kept pinching himself. He'd always wanted to see an opera here in Milano. He kept pinching himself as he made his way down the aisle.

"I'm so sorry," he said, pointing to his cuffs. "Had a deuce of a time with these cuff links."

"I'd be delighted, Mr. Murray," says Felicity with a smile as she lets him escort her. While she doesn't think his choice of outfits is a good idea considering what they were told, she does appreciate his rebellious streak, and she has enough fashion sense to compensate for his lack.

Clarence helps Felicity with her outer garments and flushes when he sees how much skin she is showing,
“Maybe you should put this wrap back on!” But she has gone, floating across the floor with Andrew, leaving Clarence with an armful of fur coat. He finds a staff member to deposit the coats with and, seeing Archie in a rapturous dream, heads straight to the bar to get a stiff drink.

Conti smiles when he sees the group approaching.
He calls the attention of the other gentlemen who were conversing with him. After a short bow to the newcomers, he speaks in English.
"Good evening. I see that this evening the opera will have the privilege of being appreciated by an international audience."

"Good evening, gentlemen," says Felicity, still smiling. She turns her smile on the two men she hasn't met yet. "I'm Felicity Hayward."

Archie laughs. "Oh, Signor Conti, don't be modest. I suspect every single performance has international visitors," he said, nodding surreptitiously in the direction of the at the Yank in the white Stetson cowboy hat. "This theatre is known the world round."

“I confess, I am a complete opera novice.” Clarence admits. “I’m hoping someone can take me under their wing and explain the proceedings; if it isn’t too impertinent?”

Fixing them all with a supercilious smile, Andrew continues, 'Good evening gentlemen, Andrew Murray at your service.' His gaze takes in the whole room, 'I think you have quite the audience already. I can't say I have ever been particular to opera. Too shrill for my tastes. But young Miss Cavollaro had quite the voice. I only hope her sister is up to the challenge now she has...' he looks for a reaction. '...become indisposed.'

Conti introduces a tall, elderly man with a big bushy mustache and a serious, scrupulous look. The man forces a smile and takes a short bow. He is introduced as Arturo Viso, one of the patrons of the theatre.
Conti resumes speaking.
"Yes, La Scala opera attracts people from all over the world, but it is always a pleasure to see the international audience grow. The opera does not require any special skills to be appreciated. When you enter you will be given a brochure with the summary for you to follow the plot. For the rest, you'll just have to appreciate the music and the singing… and the scenography, of course."
Then he pauses and exchanges a look with Face.
"I'm sure Virginia is fine and she will be a good replacement. I met her a little while ago in her dressing rooms. She is anxious and... excited, as to be expected. But I am sure she will do a good job. "
The first bell rings.

"I'm very much looking forward to it," says Felicity. "Do we need to take our seats now?"

'I think we should,' agrees Andrew. He shakes the men's hands again, looking for any signs of recent surgery or illness. 'A pleasure to meet you gentlemen. I'm sure you have very fine seats...' He checks his tickets for an indication as to where they will be sitting.

OOC:   Andrew is going to see if he can find a way to sneak backstage during the performance. He's got some points in Disguise if he needs to try and look like a member of the cast/crew.

Archie managed a smile. "Thank you for your time, Signor."

"Yes, I suppose it is." Archie smiles excitedly as he also checks his ticket and heads for the seats.

Felicity checks her own ticket and links arms with Andrew again. "We must talk again during the interval."

Clarence follows. In a low voice he says to Archie, “Did you hear how he emphasised ‘scenography’? I’ll bet my last shilling there’s something in it.”

Finally, the third bell ring and the somber crowd moves to seats and boxes. The investigators remain on the ground floor, front row center.
From the central chandelier, in which a dinner party could be comfortably held, to the six tiers of boxes which soar up to the shallow domed roof, to the sixty feet of crimson curtain that veils the stage, everything is of epic proportions. It is impossible not to feel dwarfed, and a little awed, by this place. The investigators feel very small, indeed of the wrong scale.
It takes a full five minutes to get to the front row. The seats are central and immediately before the orchestra, who by means of squeaks and strums and blurts are tuning their instruments. At eight sharp, the conductor taps the podium with his baton, a thin sharp sound that finds every corner of the hall. The music begins, a melody familiar to the investigators from Cavollaro’s impromptu recital aboard the Orient Express. Over the central sit Arturo Faccia and Flavio Conti. On either side of them are two uncomfortable looking, well-dressed, middle-aged men, four in all.

The curtain bunches up and up, and up, to reveal on stage a great hall of ancient Egypt. Priests sacrifice plaster lambs at the feet of a statue of Isis, whom they petition to choose a new Egyptian leader. Young warrior Radamès sings of his hope to be chosen, and also that, upon his return from the fight against the Ethiopians, he may ask Aida (a captured Ethiopian slave, handmaiden to the Egyptian King’s daughter) to marry him. Little does he know that Aida is a princess herself, the daughter of the Ethiopian king and leader. Radamès is chosen as the new Egyptian leader and the priests take him away to be presented with his armor.
Aida’s tortured aria “Ritorna Vincitor”, the one that the investigators by now know so well, begins. Virgilia Cavollaro, a charming lady with wavy black hair and with a proud and passionate air, starts singing with the very same vocal power and presence of Caterina. From the lady´s mouth spill the perfect notes of a soprano in her prime, exactly as the investigators have heard them twice before. Everybody´s attention is caught by the impressive voice. The whole opera house begins to hum with the resonance of the song and tha audience seems to be singing the piece themselves. Everybody tonight seems to have had a secret wish satisfied.

The aria finished, a new backdrop unfurls. The new scene is inside the temple of Phtah. Incense billows out into the audience as Radamès strides in, followed by a group of priests, who present him with his sword, his sandals, his helmet and then a spotlight comes up on Radamès’ armor.
Radamès’ suit of armor is arranged on a large dressmaker’s dummy. The priests lift the amour off, for a second the bare torso swims under the spotlight. It has the look of opalescent marble. The Torso has the sheen and color appropriate to that of the Left Arm.

Arturo Faccia stands up and looks at the stage with an umprobable expression of ecstasy, as if something had just overpowered all his reason and restraint. There is a moment of commotion and astonishment as Faccia’s voice shouts orders in Italian to a group of men sitting nearby. Three men hurriedly leave their seats.

Felicity enjoys the performance, the romantic plotline appealing to her, but she returns to the real world when she sees the torso. "I think those men are going to make a play for the chest," she whispers to the others. "We should follow them."

Archie is enraptured by the performance and the scenery. It's a dream come true in so many ways. He reluctantly agrees with Felicity. "You're right," he murmurs. "We should." He can't his luck. He finally gets to La Scala and he has to bail before it's over. His arm tingles ominously as he prepares to follow."

Clarence sits uncomfortably throughout the performance. He enjoys the historical significance but he can’t help but feel those four men are there to guard them. He is rather surprised when instead they leap up and head to the stage.
“We’ll never prevail against those gentlemen, they look like consummate professionals in their field!” He exclaims in a furious whisper.

Felicity doesn't want to miss the performance either, but she is determined not to let them get away with it. "We outnumber them," Felicity whispers back, "and we're armed. Or at least I am." She looks at the men to see if they look like they have any concealed weapons.

Andrew has been spending the whole performance somewhat distracted as he looks for an opportunity to sneak back stage. With Faccia's shouted commands he is first to his feet, shaking off the rapture of the performance and the unsettling familiarity of that voice. He doesn't draw his concealed pistol but he brushes it with his hand for reassurance. Then he sprints after the three men, keeping back enough to get a sense as to what their objective is, but strongly suspecting they're after that marble torso.

OOC:   Do we recognise any of these men? And are they armed? Is there a way up to the stage or are they going backstage?

Felicity follows Andrew, also aware of her own concealed pistol but not yet making a move for it.

“Oh dear, oh dear.” Clarence excuses himself past all the people in the row and follows his friends at a slower pace. “We’ll be arrested at this rate.” He mutters.

After suddenly being thrown into the ghost train fighting zombies, Archie hasn't ventured anywhere without at least one type of weapon hidden somewhere. He was expecting trouble tonight, so he has his pistol and a small knife sheathed inside his left thigh.

He sighs sadly at Toscanini and slips after the others.

"Handcuffs would be a novel fashion accessory," says Felicity. "Don't worry, though, I can sweet talk my way out of trouble."

Clarence only has his cosh, which he carries always; ever since that time in Marrakesh with a certain dealer in antiquities…

Aida


Arturo Faccia


Map


The three men run down the aisle towards the backstage. The investigators recognize them as the group of men who were with Arturo Faccia at the entrance to the theatre. Their way of dressing, their bossy and shady posture. They have nothing in hand, but they walk keeping one hand in thepocket. They do this with ease, as if they had already done it in other situations. They are gangsters. Similar to those that were found dead in Mario Conti's shed, when the group was investigating Spinola's death. Faccia has also got up and is running together with the three men towards the backstage. The audience looks at them confused, curious and a little frightened.

Meanwhile, the investigators are heading down the corridor to follow the gangsters. At this point, they notice that another figure has risen among the audience and is following the gangsters towards the back stage. She wears a long black dress, a brown scarf that covers his forehead and hair. Another dark purple scar covers the face. She is a short, thin figure and appears to move jitterily and with difficulty.
The curtain closes for the end of the act. The audiance applauds and many look away from the runners.

On a hunch, Felicity speaks to the mysterious woman as they follow the gangsters: "Caterina, is that you?"

Andrew continues to follow the gangsters, but keeping his distance and not drawing his weapon. He keeps his eyes open for any chance to take a side door or any other route that might allow him to slip ahead of them.

Archie waits with bated breath for the mysterious woman's answer. It never would have occurred to Archie, but Felicity might be onto something.

Clarence hurries on. He keeps his eyes focused on Andrew and follows him down the aisle.

The faster way to follow the gangsters is to reach the side corridor where they are currently moving. As Andrew and Clarence pass the last few chairs and get there, they see Faccia and his men running all the way down the hall, until they get to a door at the side of the stage. The door is open but it is guarded by a young security man. The man steps aside to let the group pass, soon after Faccia glares at him. When Clarence and Andrew follow, the man stops them and talks to them sheepishly. He speaks Italian, but once realizing that Andrew and Clarence are English, he repeats the sentence in English, without much difficulty:

"Sorry gentlemen, but backstage access is restricted to authorized pople only. Please, return to your seat. The show is not over."

Fifty feet back, the mysterious figure is also approaching, but she is stopped by Felicity and Archie. She is a woman. Her face is still covered by a scarf. With a sudden and almost instinctive movement, she lifts the scarf that about to fall, as to keep the coverage. Her eyes are wide open. Her body is shaking. The woman gives Felicity and Clarence a brief glance, but she immediately moves with the intention to make her way towards the door that leads to the backstage.

The shape of her eyes maybe look familiar, but it's hard to tell as long as she keeps part of her face covered.

The woman is very emotionally shaken. She seems to be very determined to do something of vital importance, regardless of anything else around her. Her skin is very dry and worn. The woman is young, but she seems to have passed through a condition that has made her body suffer a lot.

Meanwhile, the movement of people along the corridor, still in the middle of the show, is calling the attention of the nearby audience. A buzz of low voices begins to rise.

"Let's go together," says Felicity, keeping pace with her.

Giving a sympathetic smile, Andrew says, 'Young man. We both know I saw you let Senor Faccia and his goons through. My colleagues and I are assisting the police with their work and I'm quite sure you wouldn't want to interfere us preventing a crime being committed.'

OOC:   He has Reassurance 2

Archie chimes in. "And preventing opera property from being destroyed."

Then he pushes past the man and joins Felicity and the girl.

“We’ve spoken to Senor Toscanini.” Clarence adds.

Clarence has a credit rating of 4, if that helps- at all

Andrew's words are incisive and almost convince the man to let the group proceed. While the man is still hesitant, the mysterious woman takes advantage of the brief conversation that engages the guard and walks on. The man immediately runs after her and takes her shoulder.
"Excuse me, miss, you can't go there..."
When he reaches her, she turns to him and the two look at each other for a fraction of a second.
"Cristo! Santo!" the man exclaims aloud.
He immediately runs away towards the audience, leaving the way clear for the investigators. Faccia and his men have stopped a few tens of meters ahead, at the end of the corridor, where another corridor runs perpendicularly. While the investigators proceed towards them, one of the gangsters raises his arm and points at something in the left direction, along the new corridor, away from the stage. Immediately, the whole group runs in that direction. Meanwhile, the woman is about to get to the end of the corridor as well. She´s turning right. This direction should lead to the area located behind the the stage.

Felicity follows the other woman.

Archie follows Felicity. As soon as he gets moving down the corridor, he readies his pistol.

Seeing his companions chase after the woman, Andrew continues to follow the thugs at a safe distance to ensure they do not find their goal first.

He doesn't impede them or draw his weapon, just follows them to see where they go and what they find.

Clarence feels his cosh in his pocket and hurries, in a casual manner, after Andrew.

Andrew and Clarence see that Faccia and his men have just encountered a group of costumed actors. With a threatening air, they ask where the mannequin has been stored, the one that was on the stage. Having known that the object was delivered to the storeroom they rush there. Andrew and Clarence follow.

The store room is fully illuminated by high lamps providing a diffused white and cold light. Two rows of accumulated stuff divides the room space into three areas. The ends in a door that gives access to the rightmost part of the room. Ahead of them is a line of shelves full of folded costumes and small props, a few feet away from the wall. On the right is a line of stacked itens, including movable coat hangers with colorful costumes on, crates filled with lamps, large props, stacked pieces of scenography, such as chairs, tables and cabinets. Some noises come from somewhere between the shelves and the props, as if someone were throwing objects on the ground.
Those who are throwing things to the ground are Faccia and two of his men. They are opening spaces among the accumulated costumes, clearly looking for something. Other two men are doing the same job at different points. Finally, the third Faccia´s man stays vigilant and armed a short distance away from Faccia.
As Andriew and Clarence get at the entrance of the store room and see the scene inside, they suddenly hear a woman's scream echoing in the distance from the corridor they have just come from. However, theother occupants of the room don't seem to have heard it.

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Meanwhile, the mysterious woman follows on the right and, after a few step,s she immediately finds the door to one of the actors' dressing rooms. She moves quickly with confidence, as if she knows the place well. She moves as she had a very clear target on her mind.
She extracts a knife from under her dress and bursts into the small dressing room, where a woman seats alone, putting on her make-up in front of the mirror. The woman in front of the mirror is Virginia, the lead singer of Aida.
Virginia turns abruptly as she sees the shadow of someone approaching in the mirror. She looks at her attacker, who lowers the scarf that covered her face. Virginia, gives a shout. Her face becomes tinged with pure terror as she crosses the attacker's eyes.
Arriving just behind her, Felicity and Archie see the atacker from behind, with the knife in her hand, as she prepares to attack.

"Don't kill her, Caterina!" calls Felicity. "I know she's done you wrong, but she's your sister! I never had a sister, but I would have loved to have one."

"Caterina, you will be making a horrible mistake," Archie says as he slips his pistol into his pocket and immediately moves to put his body between the two women, attempting to knock Caterina's arm away and perhaps jar the knife from her grasp.

Archie doesn't hesitate

Previously said:   OOC: Can Andrew see if any of Faccia's other men are armed?

They don´t have guns or other kind of weapons in their hand. Their hands are busy doing the searching job. Maybe they have something in their pockets but you can´t see that from where you are.

Previously said:   What's the armed guy carrying, a gun?

Yes, he´s carrying a handgun.

Previously said:   And any sign of the mannequin from where he's standing?

No, if you take a look around, you cannot see it. Considere that, from your actual position, the only objects you can clearly see are those that are in the shelves where the gangsters are searching. Most objects of the room are still hidden from your sight.

Previously said:   Finally, is it possible Andrew could tip over the shelving to impede Faccia and his men?

It may work, the shelving look heavy and big enought to stop and possibly harm them. However, if you go there to do
that you will be surely seen by the man who´s watching the entrance of the room. His task seems to be actually
keeping an eye on that. So, unless you think of a way to distract him, he would see you.

“I imagine the torso must be a powerful artifact.” Whispers Clarence to Andrew as he peers on the scene next to his friend, “We’ve got to find it first! What can we do about that chap with the gun?”

Andrew feels an overwhelming desire to show these ruffians what for, but as far as he can see they've not found the mannequin. He whispers to Clarence, 'Not sure old boy. Perhaps an old fashioned ruse will attract the bounder. I could make a bit of noise, draw him out, and you cosh him over the back of the head? Not exactly cricket but we're outnumbered.'

As she hears Archie Felicity addressibg her, the woman turns at them and stares dumb for a second, as if she didn't hear them right. Felicity and Archie can now clearly see Caterina Cavollaro's face, pale and worn, she almost seemed to have aged suddenly. Her eyes are wide open, she has a look of anguish mixed with anger and hesitation. Her body still trembles as she keep holding the dagger tightly in her hand. Virginia takes advantage, quickly takes the first object she finds on the table and throws it on Caterina's head, emitting a scream of anger that echoes throughout the corridor. The two women get into a furious fight.

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While Andrews and Clarence are whispering to each other, they hear again female screams coming from the corridor. This time it seems there are at least two different voices. Just then, Faccia and his men happened to be silent, having just finished rummaging through some shelves and moving on to others. Faccia asks his men to interrupt the search for a few seconds.
"Did you hear that? Sounds like Virginia's voice. It's coming from her dressing room."
He nods to one of his men.
"Go there and check if she ok."
The man nod and heads towards the door to exit the room and go down the hall. The other gangster still stays on guard and follows the exiting man with his gaze. Faccia and the other two resume the search.

"Oh no you don't!" says Felicity, moving to restrain Virginia.

“Quick, Now’s our chance!” Clarence creeps around the edge of the room, using crates as cover, hoping to get as far as possible before he is discovered; at which point, he’ll be the distraction that Andrew needs. In the meantime, he keeps his eyes peeled for the torso.

Archie was already attempting to insert himself between the two women and knock the knife away, so he also now tries to deflect the object as its thrown, putting himself further in front of Caterina as Felicity tries to restrain Virginia.

Andrew retreats into the corridor, looking for a nook or other space he can take cover in and allow him to knock out Faccia's man without being seen from the room.

Andrew finds an easy cover in the dark corridor.

OOC:   OCC: Roll Scuffling to knock out Faccia´s man. Keep in mind you can spend points...

Felicity and Archie step between the two women to prevent them from confronting each other. They see that Virginia is more on the defensive mode and tends to attack only to not be attacked first. When she sees that two people stand between her and the attacker, she is more concerned about being protected rather than hurting the attacker. Caterina, however, seems to be dominated by an uncontrollable rage.

OOC:   Blocking Caterina requires a success (opposed roll) in Scuffling, difficulty 4. By spending a Reassurence point you convince her to renounce the aggression, but... be creative and come up with a sentence that affects her deeply..." don´t do it because it´s wrong" may not be enough.

"Caterina, I know she's stolen your voice," says Felicity, "but you won't be able to get it back if you kill her, or maybe even if you hurt her. We need her alive, and unharmed. Our other friends are here as well. We'll make the doctor reverse what he did, but we need her intact. I remember how magnificent your singing was, and it will be again."

Spending a point of Reassurance.

OOC:   Archie doesn't have any points in scuffling, so this is the way.

His pulse quickening, Andrew pulls out his Webley and grips it tightly, ensuring the safety is on. As Faccia's man comes around the corner and out of sight of the store room, Andrew swings the handgun across the back of his skull, pistol-whipping him.

OOC:   2 point spend on Scuffling

FFL1d6+2

Clarence tip toes on.

OOC:   3 points to spend on stealth

Previously said:   Archie doesn't have any points in scuffling, so this is the way.

OOC:   Even if you have no points, Archie can always roll to try to separate the two fighters. General skill points are used to improve the result of the roll. If you don´t have any, you can always try the roll.

Virginia and Archie
Scuffle opposed rolls:
Virginia 1d6
Archie1d6

Andrew catches the man by surprise. He goes down with a muffled murmur. The gangster collapses and passes out. Briefly looking into the room, Clarence notices that now all of the four men are busy searching through the shelves, accelerating their search as if taken by a frenzy.
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Archie manages to grab Virgilia and pull her away from Caterina. Her blow misses. After Felicity's words, Caterina backs away shakily. She looks at Felicity, then at Archie. She stands motionless, panting. Time seems to freeze as the others stare at her, trying to figure out her next intentions. Caterina looks around confused, but she seems to have given up the fight.

Suddenly, a group of voices approach quickly from the corridor. There are at least three people calling.

"Virginia! Virginia! Come on, hurry up. You have to go on stage again."
Those calls are more than welcome by the singer. Without saying a word, she prepares to leave the dressing room, going towards the callers.
Caterina now seems to have lost her anger and with it, her strength. She sits on the floor. She then curls up, hugs her knees and bows her head over them. She remains like this, like an object long since abandoned, in a gesture of deep sadness.

"It will be all right, Caterina, you'll see," says Felicity. "Dr. Faccia is here, just down the hall. My friends and I will go get him and make him reverse the operation. And Archie here is a doctor too, a good one. He can help, and I can be a nurse. We could even do it ourselves if we can just find out how from Dr. Faccia or his notes. Come on, Archie, let's go find him. Caterina, wait here. Your sister isn't going anywhere while the performance is going on."

Disarming the unconscious man, Andrew moves back towards the room to observe the search and to see if he can spy where Clarence has gone, looking for an opportunity to distract them if Clarence gives the signal.

Clarence scans the room with a professional’s eye. This reminds him of the many times he’s taken an instant inventory, searching for antiquities in the souks of Marrakesh.
He tip toes on. On the other side of the room, he notices Andrew’s return. Now, where is that damned bust?

The four investigators are again together, at the doorstep of the store room. They see Faccia and his men rummaging through the items on the center shelf, but they appear to be close to completing their search in this area.

Felicity quietly fills the others in on what happened in the dressing room. "We need Dr. Faccia alive," she whispers. "Either we need to make him reverse the operation, or we need to find out from him how to do it, and Archie can operate. I could go in there and distract the men. I'm very good at that."

"I'm with you, Miss Heyward," Archie replied as he followed her onward. He rubs his tingling arm. Every day he worries more about whether he will ever know relief.

"That plan sounds workable, given our time frame. The rest of us can have weapons readied if things go pear-shaped."

Andrew holds out the gun he retrieved from the unconscious henchman for one of the others to take.

"I've already got one," whispers Felicity, patting her thigh where her own pistol is concealed under the skirt of her dress, on the inside of her leg. She could easily access it through the thigh slit when she wants, but it isn't visible to anyone who happens to be staring at her legs - which most of the men in the opera house have been doing. "Wish me luck, chaps." With that, she saunters into the room. "Pardon me, gentlemen," she says in Italian. "I was looking for the washroom. Do you know where I might find it?"

"Me, too," Archie replies, as he slips his pistol out of his jacket pocket, and readies it for use. "Slip that one somewhere. It probably wouldn't hurt to have backups."

Andrew shrugs, his companions are more well armed than he expected. He stows the henchman's gun in his suit and moves into a position where he can see and hear what is going on between Felicity and Faccia's men once she makes her grand entrance.

The four men stop what they were doing and turn around quickly. The three henchmen put their hands in their pockets. Then seeing Felicity well they relax.
Faccia looks at the woman with a stern look and thunders words of reproach.
"Access to this art of theater is restricted to designated personnel."
He waves his hand towards the corridor
"Please go back to where you came from and speak to the staff in the stalls. They will be able to direct you."

Clarence Yes, you can consider that you have been behind the shelf for a while. It is full of accumulated props and costumes. At first glance, the bust of the sculpture does not appear to be here. You find a sturdy rod that can be used well as a cane.

"Are those guns in your trousers, or are you just happy to see me?" asks Felicity with a smile. "I'd be happy to go, but I'm feeling a bit lightheaded. Couldn't one of you fine gentlemen let me lean on his arm and escort me there?"

Using Flattery.

Clarence can’t see the bust anywhere. Just because Faccia’s men are searching here, doesn’t mean it is here. He thinks to himself as he picks up the cane.
He winces as he listens to Felicity and gets himself ready to push over the nearest shelf onto the gangsters, should it prove necessary.

Archie grimaces as Felicity makes contact with the men. If the stakes weren't so high he would enjoy the performance, but all he can do is ready his weapon and hope for the best. Come on...come on...I know that would work on me he thinks to himself silently.

Face nods to one of his men who reluctantly decides to accompany Felicity. Face, in a gruff voice, adds:
"Miss, we have some work to do. He will show you the way to the stalls, then ask the staff for help."

"Grazie," says Felicity, looping her arm around the man and leaning on him. "Please, go slowly, signor. I'm a little dizzy. Had a bit too much to drink." She allows him to lead her out of the room so that her friends can sneak up behind him and knock him unconscious like the other man, thus shifting the odds in their favor and adding another gun to their collection.

Bludgeoning people over the back of the head seems to have become my new forte, Andrew thinks to himself. These dastardly Italians seem to be rubbing off on me in a most ungentlemanlike way!

He prepares to pistol-whip the man once Felicity has led him past, hoping the others will jump in if he is unsuccesful. He doesn't want to make any noise and alert Faccia and the rest of his men.

OOC:   2 point spend on Scuffling, again

FFL1d6+2

Archie's pistol is ready, and he prepares to bring the butt down on one of the others.

1d6

Clarence waits, poised to cause a distraction if necessary. He watches intently.

The ploy works and the second thug is lured into the trap, falling under Andrew's precise blow. Archie tries to contribute but when he lands his blow, the man was already falling down. There are three men left in the storeroom, they are about to move towards the back of the room to search elsewhere.

Felicity eases the goon into a sitting position against the wall and takes his pistol in her gloved hand. "Well done, chaps," she whispers. "That evens the odds a bit. Now we outnumber them. We're going to have to sneak up on them. We should use their guns instead of our own. That way, if we have to use them, there'll be less trouble than using our own. Also, they don't have our fingerprints on them. Good thing gloves are fashionable."

'Wait a minute,' says Andrew, pulling off the thugs coat and slipping it over his own. He grabs the hat and adopts the hunched posture of the man. Taking his gun from Felicity he says in a rather over-the-top Italian accent, 'Perhaps I can get close to Faccia and pull my gun on him. Then you all sneak up on the others while they are distracted.'

OOC:   I was thinking Andrew could spend some points of Disguise to get near enough to Faccia to stick a gun in his side. Then we can disarm the lot of them, or just whack them over the head again.

"That'll work until he speaks to you in Italian," whispers Felicity, helping him adjust his disguise. "But maybe that will be long enough. We'll try it your way if you like."

"Thank you, friend," Archie says as he helps the Andrew slip his coat on. "Bravo. Splendid idea. If it doesn't work..." Archie laughed darkly as he shifts to the other gun they took from the goons. "It's going to work."

Clarence watches the return of the thug with chagrin, until he realises the man is shaped more like his chum, Andrew.
“Good thinking, old boy!” He thinks. He looks to see if any of the three remaining men are crushable by the shelving next to him.

Previously said:   OOC: I was thinking Andrew could spend some points of Disguise to get near enough to Faccia to stick a gun in his side. Then we can disarm the lot of them, or just whack them over the head again.

OOC:   Disguise is a general ability. So, roll 1D6 and add Disguise points to improve the result. The difficulty however is 5, because the three men are very determined to continue what they are doing and will hate to be disturbed a second time. And...of course you need to mention what exactly Andrew will say to distract them, disguise his real intentions and prevent them from becoming suspicious or angry.

Andrew shambles back into the room, keeping his gaze downcast and his hat pulled down low to hide his face. He shrugs his shoulders in an exaggerated fashion he hopes mimics the gesticulations of the Italians. He doesn't know much Italian but he channels what little he does in a gruff voice, mimicking the man he knocked out minutes before. 'Puttana!' he coughs as he joins Faccia and the others searching. He hopes a bit of casual misogyny will be enough to allay their suspicions.

Once he's within range he presses the muzzle of the man's gun against Faccia, and hisses in his ear, 'Tell your men to throw their weapons on the ground.'

d1d6+3

Felicity knows what that word means, but she also knows that Andrew doesn't really mean it. Anyway, it isn't true. She has never once accepted payment for her favors. She stands ready with her new gun behind her back for her grand entrance.

“Perhaps we should have let them search- and then jumped then once they’d found it.” Clarence thinks to himself. He watches to see what the goons do now that their master is at gun point.

Faccia remains motionless. His eyes above his mustachioed lip cursing Andrew. The other men make a gesture to grab the gun, but the boss stops them with a calm and composed hand gesture.

Speaking in Italian, he babbles
"Who the hell are you? What do you want? If you want money, I'll give it to you, but get out of here!"

Felicity swirls into the room, the gun she took from the goon in her hand. "Relax, Doctor," she says in Italian. "We're just going to kidnap you for a bit, and then we'll let you go, provided you cooperate. It's not money we want. We have plenty of it ourselves. What we want is your genius, your skill. You recently performed an operation, taking Caterina's voice and putting it in Virginia. We merely want you to reverse the operation. Both women are here, and it should be a simple matter for you, seeing that you've already done it before. One of my friends is a doctor too, and I've worked as a volunteer nurse before. We shall assist you. This is your chance to demonstrate how brilliant you are, and you will of course be handsomely paid for your services."

Using Flattery and Credit Rating. Quite willing to spend points if necessary.

Faccia relaxes his face slightly and smiles.
"If that's what you want, kidnapping me won't do you any good. I didn't do the operation. Virginia must have told you how we decided to explain the matter to other people."

"Actually it wasn't exactly an operation. Forget about that. You wouldn´t understand. Believe me... it's much better for all of you if you never meet the people who did that. You have no idea what else they are capable of doing. Anyway... granted that you can get me out of here, assuming you find a place to lock me up without anyone from my gang finding you at some point... ...these people certainly won't bother to do the reverse operation if I ask them. "

"Rather, if they find out that Caterina is still alive, they will try to kill her. She saw things that she should never have seen."

"Caterina didn't tell us that," says Felicity. "Of course, she isn't exactly talkative lately. Who are the people who did this? Maybe we can convince them. Is Conti one of them?"

Using Assess Honesty.

While Clarence listens, he scans the room where the Italians haven’t got to yet, on the chance he can catch a glimpse of the bust.

Rolled 1d6=5

The tingling in Archie's arm intensified as he gripped his gun more tightly. He follows Felicity into the room.

"We fought undead, animated corpses. I don't think we're going to be frightened by your crowd of ruffians."

As Felicity comes into view, Andrew's face colours. Spluttering he says, 'You understand of course Miss Hayward that I...I mean to say I would never...' Unable to make up for what he has said and mortally embarrassed by the whole thing, Andrew sticks the pistol even harder into Faccia's side.

With his other hand he places it against the side of Faccia's face. 'I think we know a little of what they are capable of...' and he starts to whisper into Faccia's ear the initial phonemes from the ancient Turkish text he found in Makryat's shop. He is not trying to cast the spell, just make Faccia aware that he knows the spell and what it does, what he could do to Faccia's face if he had a mind to...

"Quite all right," says Felicity with a smile. "I of course have never received payment in return for my favours. I have far more money than I could ever spend anyway." She turns that smile on Faccia. "I'm sure we can make them see reason, one way or another. I can be...very...persuasive."

He sighs and takes on an incisive tone.
"Sir, you are wasting your breath with your threats. I don't have the power to ask them to do what I want. Between us and them, there´s only exchange of favors. We did favors to them and they did favors to me, to Mr. Conti and to Virginia Cavollaro.
Actualy... we are indebted to them. We promised to give them an object that they want. If they don't get what they want here in Milan, forget about asking them for anything else. I strongly advise you against talking to them. It is an organized Turkish sect, very powerful and very violent.
So... if you let us continue with what we were doing, maybe I can talk to them and maybe I can see if I can do something for your friend Caterina... but I can't promise you anything."

Assess honesty: he seems very decisive and truthful in what he says.

Clarence notices that a stone bust that appears to be of the Simulacrum statue lies on one of the shelves at the back of the room, in a spot they haven't searched yet.

"Ah," says Felicity. "Those chaps. I believe everything you've said about them. Well, we'll just have to get what they want. That will give us the leverage we need. Not that we'd let them have it, of course, but I know all about letting men think they could have something they have absolutely no chance of obtaining."

Clarence realises his heart is suddenly pounding. Whilst Felicity prattles on, distracting the Italians, he pads quietly to the back recesses of the room. On the way, he looks out for a cloth, blanket or stage cloak that he can use.

"Oh, yes," Archie nodded, and then added to Felicity's statement.. "We've seen some of their handiwork in London. Nasty bits of work, indeed."

Archie thought he'd grown accustomed to Felicity's more scandalous sounding remarks, but he can't help but flush deeply when she mentions the last part. Archie's gun hand doesn't waver. "That's the new plan, signor." The last word was tinged with a hint of a wild fierceness that never would have been present before he embarked upon this task for his friend. It was almost as though the journey was chipping away at his sanity.

Faccia answers Felicity and Archie, with a look of concern on his face.
"It's better if you let us negotiate. If they know that you have what they want, they will try to get it with methods that you will be very unlikely to be able to counter. It is an organized cult with men scattered throughout Europe. You don't know against who are you maneuvering."

Meanwhile, the buzz of people running and speaking in Italian approaches along the corridor leading to the room. They appear to be from staff and seem alarmed about something.

Clarence finds a cloth among the things on the shelves. Approaching the object, he discovers that the bust of the simulacrum is now in front of him.

"Perhaps we could allow you to negotiate on our behalf," says Felicity. "Perhaps. But we would have to hold onto the item in question. You would have to explain that you are acting as a middleman on behalf of a third party, or you could perhaps say you have people who have it in a safe place. Caterina's voice would have to be restored before the item is handed over to them. That point is not open for negotiation. But if they want additional funds as a sweetener, that could be arranged."

Archie pauses for a moment. His pulse races as he recalls what a terrible job he did defending himself in the trial in that strange other dimension. Suddenly, for moment, the gun hand wavers but does not lower. Remembering the photos of the men from the news articles, Archie swallows and nods as Caterina instructs Faccia on the particulars.

Suddenly, the tingling in his arm seems unbearable. "Let me guess. Evil men who can perform powerful magical feats, open gates to travel across great distances and other dimensions, and incinerate people with a couple of words and a gesture? I am pretty sure we do."

"Now, as Caterina says, we must have the item, and you must restore Caterina. Or..." The gun remains steady.

Clarence whisks the cloth over the bust and picks it up. He looks for another exit.

… and says in a clear voice, in English,
“It’s a bust, old chap, time to rumble, tickerty boo.”

Andrew keeps his pistol firmly against Faccia's side but stops reciting the ancient Turkish words. He's not convinced they can trust the man, and certainly not Makyrat's cult. But he looks between Felicity and Clarence, trying to discern their intentions.

When Archie hears Clarence's signal, it only takes a moment for him to decode it. He keeps the pistol pointed at Faccia as he starts to back away, but keeps the man targeted.

"It's been an absolute delight. We must do this again sometime. On the other hand..."

"Then it's agreed that you'll negotiate on our behalf," says Felicity to Dr. Faccia. She backs away toward the door, making the pistol disappear under the folds of her dress but keeping it within easy reach. "Ciao."

Letting the others begin to make their exit, particularly Clarence, Andrew swings around and backs out of the room, throwing his coat over the pistol which he keeps levelled at Faccia and his men. 'Please don't disappoint us. You really don't want to upset me.'

Mr. Faccia nods. At that moment, the approaching voices get louder as the group of people gets closer. Five persons arrive, shouting in Italian. They are two members of the staff who work in the set design and three security men.
"Mr. Faccia! Mrs. Cavollaro was found in the costume room. Something happened to her. They took her to the hospital. What's happening here?"
Faccia responds.
"Nothing much. We have to take care of some business here and we have just finished talking with these gentlemen and this lady. I'm happy to know that Miss Cavollaro has been found."

Leaving the storeroom and going towards the exit, the investigators find out that Caterina was indeed taken to the hospital. Meanwhile, the show has started again on stage. As they walk, everyone notices that Clarence remains a little behind and has a shortness of breath.

Clarence clearly senses that his breathing is shorter since he put his hands on the Simulacrum bust.

"Well done," Felicity says to Clarence, beaming. "Let's catch the rest of the performance. I'd hate to miss it, and we have to make sure we take Virginia to her sister afterwards."

Clarence nods with a grimace and shifts the wrapped bundle he was carrying to the other arm.
“Must be all the excitement- it’s quite taken my breath away!” He smiles at Felicity. “I was looking for a quieter exit but let’s drift out with the crowd, hmm?”

Andrew remains on high alert, looking around the crowd, hypervigilant for signs that Faccia or his men have changed their mind and are coming after them. He keeps a hand on the gun.

The investigators assist the rest of the show, which resumes without incident. The final scene arrives. The scenography of the stage represents the interior of Radamès' tomb.

Radamès believes he is alone, but a few moments later he realizes that Aida has hidden in the crypt to die with him. The two lovers accept their terrible fate, confirm their love for each other, say goodbye to the world and its sorrows and wait for the dawn, while Amneris cries and prays over their tomb during religious ceremonies and dance of joy of the priestesses.

When the curtain closes, thunderous applauses from the audience explodes. Everyone is amazed by the splendid performance of Caterina's replacement. When leaving the theatre, Virginia is mobbed by admirers and journalists. She is escorted by about ten men who probably followed her from behind the scenes. They help her and make their way through the crowd with the clear intention of protecting her. The investigators recognize some as Faccia´s gangsters. They look very alarmed on their faces. One of them walks with his back tilted, pressing a hand on his side, as if he had been injured.

"Looks like someone may have handled the chest," says Felicity, indicating the man with the hand on his side. "At least some of us should follow them. We need to keep track of Virginia."

“Er…” Clarence is looking rather pale. He wheezes, “Can we get this somewhere safe. I don’t think I can hold it much longer.”
He indicates the torso-sized bundle which of wrapped in an old velvet curtain.

"Right, I'll go with you," says Felicity. "I'm likely too conspicuous to tail them. We could keep it in the hotel safe."

"I understand. I guess it is affecting your chest the same way it did my arm. So sorry, mate. When we get back to the hotel, maybe I can check a few things, although I suspect, like my own malady, it may require more than merely modern science."

Then he mutters, "I can't believe I ever would have said those words..."

'I suppose I can follow them at a distance,' murmurs Andrew. 'But I don't think I will be too popular if we come face to face again.'

Felicity, Archie and Clarence arrive at the hotel. Clarence seems to have a strange cold, mild but persistent. The group has the torso of the Simulacrum. The piece can now be admired in all its enigmatic splendor. Similarly to the arm, it is made of a strange material, something undefined between metal and stone. If lifted by Felicity or Archie, the thing weighs like a boulder. When picked up and lifted by Clarence, the object is strangely very light. The same thing happened with Archie: for him the Simulacrum arm is very light.

Some of the hotel guests had come to Milan for the opera. Everyone comments on how phenomenal the show was. The new singer, whoever she was, had a superb and enchanting voice. There are also rumors about Caterina. Soon, everyone knows that she has been found and taken to hospital. Currently, no one can say anything else about what may have happened to her.

"Once we stash the object," says Felicity, "we should visit Caterina in hospital. We can leave a note for Andrew to let him know where we've gone if he returns first."

Clarence blows his nose and coughs into a handkerchief, “I’m not sure I’m feeling up to another trip out tonight. Are we sure the bust will be safe here?”

"We can't keep it under guard ourselves," says Felicity. "Faccia has enough armed men that he could just take it if he learns we've got it and decides to double-cross us, and I'm sure the Turks do as well. The hotel safe is the only place I can think of, unless we can keep it in a bank vault, but no banks are open at this time of night. Faccia or the Turks could have their men storm the hotel and break into the safe, but that wouldn't be very subtle. Faccia could also send a yegg to sneak in and crack the safe, or maybe just bribe the hotel staff for access to it. It's not perfect, but I can't think of a better option right now. And you could do with going to hospital yourself. I know what's causing your condition, but maybe you could get something to treat the symptoms."

Clarence mutters something about ‘young women’ and ‘bossiness’ but he nods and allows the bust to be put in the hotel safe.

Once they are back to the hotel, Archie grabs his medical bag and takes a closer look at his friend, Clarence. Based on his own experience with his arm tingling incessantly ever since, he suspects he already knows that science won't be able to help him either.

OOC:   I'm going to use Medicine.

"So many things could go wrong if we put it in the safe. She's right. And there could already be cult members or Faccia contacts already working here that could easily spirit it away without firing a shot. But I agree with Miss Hayward. That is still our best possible course of action. If we kept it here, they could possibly end up with two pieces instead of one. Let's put it in the safe and visit Catarina."

When the group goes to the hospital, they discover that Caterina is hospitalized in the psychiatric wing. The doctor who receives looks perplexed when speaking about this case. He explains that Caterina is still deeply traumatized and very depressed. She speaks in a very hoarse voice, babbling phrases that have little meaning. The three visitors are allowed to see her but only after much insistence, for a short time and with the presence of the doctor.
They find Caterina sitting on a bed, her hair distraught, her eyes sad and her expression apathetic and desolate.

Felicity sits beside Caterina and holds her hand. Speaking quietly so that Caterina can hear but hopefully the doctor cannot, and in English so her friends can understand and, again, hopefully the doctor cannot, she says: "It's going to be all right. We have an arrangement with Dr. Faccia. He told us that the Turks were responsible for what happened, and he's going to negotiate with them to get them to make it right again. We have something they want, so they'll cooperate."

The woman does not seem to recognize the visitors, she turns to them, looking at them with tears in her eyes. She speaks to them but it seems that she speaks more to herself.

"It's all lost. I don't care about anything anymore. He abandoned me. When he saved me... he said he would stay with me... he must have returned to Ishara... he abandoned me... nothing makes sense to me anymore...."

Archie puts on his best Doctor bedside demeanor as he joins Felicity next to the poor lady's. With a smile and a reassuring squeeze of her hand with his own tingling one, Archie leans forward. "Miss Heyward is correct, Caterina. We are going to do our best to put everything right again. We are so sorry this happened to you."

He has seen that distant look before in some of his patients, and he knows sometimes it never goes away. "Who left you, signorina?"

"There's a lot that doesn't make sense to me, too," says Felicity, "but we'll sort it out. Who or what is Ishara?"

Catherine replies.

"Ishara is where he came from. Where my savior came from. He was a count there, and he was a count here too. His name here was Fenalik."

OOC:   I remind you some information about past scenes we played a while ago. 1) Caterina talking about this subject, reminds the asilyum patients the investigators met in Paris. They too had met an enigmatic figure. They too were experiencing his absence and abandonment. The man of the subsoil... 2) Ishara is a place in the Dreamlands. The group found a gate in Paris and one in Losanna. Archie has visited this place. He found one of the Simulacrum scrolls there. One of the patiens of Paris went to Ishara hoping to find Fenalik. 3) Archie and Andriew visited the place where Caterina was probably imprisoned. They found murdered men of the cult of the Turks. 4) Fenalik is the old owner of the Simulacrum. To remember details about Fenalik, see the Paris handouts thread. Hope that helps!

“I hope we don’t give the bust to Faccia. I thought the whole point was to keep the pieces out of the grasp of the Turks- and this elusive fellow we keep, not quite, bumping into.” Clarence whispers to the others, out of everyone else’s earshot.

"There's not a chance he gets it," Felicity whispers back, "but he doesn't know that. Remember what I said about letting men think they might have something when there's no chance. I wasn't just talking about the Turks." She turns back to Caterina. "We've heard of Count Fenalik. Did you meet him in your dreams?"

"Caterina, I have been to Ishara. It is not a pleasant place, and I've seen the Count's idea of justice in action. I assure you that you want no part of that man. We can help you."