January 12 - Milano - A night at the opera

[aine]

“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.

[Mr. Handy]

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

[SaintMeerkat]

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"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..."

[Mephistophilis]

'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.'

[robertod]

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.

[Mr. Handy]

"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."

[aine]

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?”

[Mr. Handy]

"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."

[aine]

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

[SaintMeerkat]

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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."

[robertod]

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.

[Mr. Handy]

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."

[robertod]

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...."

[SaintMeerkat]

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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?"

[Mr. Handy]

"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?"

[robertod]

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!

[aine]

“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.

[Mr. Handy]

"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?"

[SaintMeerkat]

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"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."

[robertod]

OOC:   Please move to the thread: January 12 - Milan - Hospital, Andrew arrives