January 10 - Chapter Epilogue

[robertod]

Felicity and Clarence arrive at Edgar Wellington's house and find the host sitting on the floor, in the study. Andrew is there too. Edgar has just woken up and his sleep was restless. Edgar´s brother is awake too, in the other room. Edgar and Andrew were about to go to the hotel, where the investigators had left Archie sleeping in his room. Eventually, the whole group gathers at the hotel. Archie has woke up too and was waiting for the others to come back to the hotel.

Wellington gathers everybody in one of the hotel room and tells the whole story.
"The bottle you found in my studio is a strong narcotic. It allows one to enter a sort of dream reality. The Duke gave me that bottle. He calls this place the Dreamlands. The narcotic takers you to a village called Ishara, to be precise. Thanks to that thing, we were able to spend some time in the Dreamlands. That was very good for my brother. He could make use of his body again and get some relief from his condition. Myself, I found a place where I could forget temporarily of my miserable present and past."

"When I thought about making some money from the scroll, I realized the Duke is not exactly a honest gentleman. When I told him of the scroll, I perceived he was interested, but I also suspected he wanted to get hold of it without paying my price. He´s a decaying aristocrat, slowly wearing away his legacy. When he realized I was going to sell the scroll to you, he reacted violently. He imprisoned me in the Dreamlands, but I managed to escaped, thanks to Mr. McElhaney. "

He says that pointing at Archie.

"Now I´m planning to go back to England. We have relatives there that can give us a help for a new start. I am not doing very well here with my shop and I fear the Duke might plan something against me and my brother."

The scroll is an ancient parchment written in Arabic, decorated with strange and disturbing drawings.

OOC:   The price that Wellington is asking is quite high, paying it without difficulty requires two people with a credit rating of 5 or more. However, considering the investigator's credit rating values, this should not be a problem.

OOC:   Reading the scroll requires 40 hours of study and knowledge of ancient Arabic.

[Mr. Handy]

"Good decision," says Felicity. "We can pay your asking price for the scroll with no problem, and the money will help you get situated. We'll have to look you up when we get back to England. I wish you the best. We'll be moving on from here too, before the Duke tries anything."

[aine]

“I fear that isn’t the last we’ll see of the Duke.” Says Clarence. “Well done on saving the day, old chap.” He says to Archie. “We’ll take good care of the scroll and try to understand it. If you like, we can visit you in England and tell you how we got on. He says to the two brothers. Clarence is very keen to examine the scroll.

[SaintMeerkat]

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Archie attempted to be humble and dismiss the compliment from Clarence, but he was clearly pretty pleased with himself. He settled for giving a mock salute. "My pleasure, friends."

"Given the way this Dreamlands apparently works, I must agree with you, Clarence. Any of us could be slipped that drug and end up back within this, what did you call it...Ishara."

He slipped Wellington one of his calling cards and said scribbled a note on the back. "I have a partner in my practice, Dr. James, back in London that would be able to at least recommend someone who can help your brother, if not treat you both himself. That card gets you the favored brother-in-law pricing."

Then he got down onto the floor and grabbed the scroll case he'd hidden under the bed. Standing back up, he handed the case to Clarence. "Here you go, friend. See what you can make of it. I decided not to open it until you got back." A brief flash of worry passed as the tingling appeared to intensify as he touched the case, but he didn't say anything.

[Mephistophilis]

Andrew slaps Archie on the back heartily. 'First rate job Dr McElhaney, showed that jumped-up clock-maker a thing or two. Well done sir!'

Before Wellington can leave he asks him, 'Any chance we can purchase a sample of that Ishara, in case we need to visit those dreamlands again?'

OOC:   Happy for Andrew to take Arabic as a language in order to study the scroll

[Mr. Handy]

"Hmm, yes," says Felicity. "I haven't sampled that particular mind-altering substance yet."

[robertod]

I´m assuming that only Andrew and Clarence are studying the scroll as they have posted about that. If anyone else is willing to study the document while Andrew translates it, just post about that IC.
I am also considering Felicity took a sample of the Ishara bottle. Edgar agreed to give the group a quantity that allows 4 people to travel there two times.