[IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-Luc)

September, 1915. On the western front, battle rages less than 100 km from Paris. Paris, the beautiful. Paris, the proud. Paris, a city on her knees. The government has fled the capital, seeking a safe haven in Bourdeaux. General Joseph Gallieni is now military governor of the city, and he faces a terrible task. There is not enough food for everyone. The city is dark at night, for fear of bombardments. Explosives and ammunitions are manufactured inside the city, sometimes resulting in terrible incidents that costs tens of lives. And this is just on the surface. Dark tales tell of monstrous, yet horribly human-like creatures, prowling through the battlefields and the graveyards, eating human flesh. Even darker tales revolve around a mysterious and incredibly powerful tome of ancient, dark magic; a tome that could destroy the balance of power between the Germans and the Franco-British coalition.
And yet, even among all this despair, human nature finds his hope. Hundreds of people arrive in the city every day: soldiers, journalists, thrill-seekers. Each one injects fresh energy into the agonizing city. Entertainment is the only thing that is not rationed - music halls, theaters and the Moulin Rouge are shining beacons of light, metaphorically if not physically. New forms of art cry out as newborn children.

Semptermber, 1915. Paris, the city of tears. A mysterious murder sets in motion a chain of events that, unknowingly to the rest of the world, will decide the outcome of the war. Millions of lives are at stake. There will be no glory for the unsung heroes, no recognition for the martyrs. A terrible power awaits those willing to use it - or seal it. What will you do? How far are you willing to go for your friends, your loved ones, your country?

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[IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-Luc)

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The Galerie Colbert is a beautiful "passage covert" in the 2nd arrondissement. Inside it you can find the brasserie Le Grand Colbert, a renowned place to go for a quick meal before going to theatre. Or at least, that was the way of things before the war. Right now it's just another restaurant struggling with the dwindling number of customers. Still, even in these troubles times, its beautiful art nouveau interiors and its famous "tartare de boeuf" are reasons enough to gather people for a pleasant evening before the curfew. Francois is the first to get there, and it requires quite some effort from Julien to convince the owner to allow him inside despite his state, obviously attracting all sorts of curious looks and fascinated chatter from the other customers. Shortly after, Jean-Luc and Andre, with his arm visibly bandaged, join the other two at the table.

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Julien looks at you with a shocked expression of surprise and worry: "Mon Dieu, my friends. What happened to you? Surely you didn't go to the frontline!"
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

Post by ghill »

Francois tells Juliene how the business card led them to the "Sunflower Tea Room" where paintings by the same artist led them to discover the hiding place of Mamoiselle Morvan, who believes herself in as much danger as Msr Dupont was. She, in turn, agreed to go into Protective custody with the Gendarmerie but only if the group went to the village of Verchanne, which she said would help the group understand matters.

"Now having returned from the site of a great French victory I do not know how much more I can tell you without you thinking me either mad or a traitor" adds Francois
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

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"I'm sorry... I... I should have warned you. You should not have gone there. I can only imagine what you have seen... That witch!", he adds, with a sudden outburst of anger, "It's all her fault! You must not trust her!"
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

Post by Cearlan »

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Andre
Andre interrupts . "Sorry, you are suggesting that we not trust Mne Morvan ... I thought she was on our 'side' for want of a better way to put it."
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

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Jean-Luc joins in the conversation - "What do you mean Monsieur?"
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

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Julien drinks a long sip of wine, then says: "I'm sorry if I lost my temper. I've never liked Madeleine, but as long as she was Sebastien's lover, I had to bear with her... show her respect... both as Sebastien's friend, and as a coworker. But she did not have a good influence on him. You have seen those paintings at his house, haven't you? Creepy. She changed his tastes... changed him. Sebastien joined the freemasonry after meeting with her, started acquiring occult books... and stuff. I have had occasion to dabble with occult stuff... you know, like séances and the sort... but Madeleine, she...", he shakes his head, then continues: "Our weapon, you know... it's not really a weapon... I...". He stops, looking frustrated, then adds: "You'll need to find a book, that's what you're looking for. A big book... black cover... you'll know when you see it. You have to listen to me... she can't be trusted... not with this... it's too dangerous".
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

Post by Cearlan »

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Andre
Andre looks on concerned, "Julien my friend. if I understand you we need to find this big black tome. yet keep it from ne Morvan. Is there some reasoning behind this you are not sharing mon ami?"
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

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Julien looks uncertain: "I... I...", he shakes his head, then continues: "I'm sorry, my friends. I think it's best I don't say anything more for now. I might have said too much already. We'll talk again once this matter is over. Just be careful, all right? I don't want to lose any more friends".
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

Post by ghill »

Julien old friend when you said nothing about what we were getting ourselves involved in, we wound up going to the village of Verchanne totally unprepared for what we found there. Now two of us carry scars on our bodies which will not allow us for forget what happened and all of us have memories which we will never allow us to forget what we saw. I'm not sure your judgement on what we should or should not be told is reliable. If you know anything you must tell us now, else the next social gathering you attend may be one of our funerals says Francois clearly put out by his friend's reluctance to tell them everything he knows.
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

Post by Cearlan »

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Andre
Painfully shrugging off his jacket and unbuttoning his shirt he tries to show Julien his wounds.

"Julien, these physical scars are the least of what I have to endure as a result of this ... this escapade that you have set us on. Now I am not saying, nor inferring that we should back out of this adventure, but we do need you to be as open and frank as you can, because I feel this is not going to be a walk in the park. You know that I always needed to see something, to touch it before I gave any creedence to ... to whatever. However I have seen and felt things since that awful party that has shaken me to the roots and cause me to question my beliefs."

At this point Andre's eyes start to fill with tears that he lets flow unabashedly down his cheeks.

"I can already feel my mind starting to ... and I say this because we are old friends, that my mind is starting to, to fray at the edges, to crumble if you will. So please if there is any other information then I beseech you to impart it to us. Before it is too late to do so. Remember that you may not be able to live with the consequences of what may happen to any one of us ... Look I'll beg if I have to!"

By this time Andre is getting to his knees, tears in his eyes and rolling down to his bandages, and also with his hands clasped as though in supplication to Julien.
OOC:   I don't have any points in anything to spend to help support this heart-felt plea from a man close to teetering on the edge ;-)  
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

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People are staring at Andre, and whispering. You hear a couple of stifled laughs. Julien hurries him back to his seat, and after the other customers have returned to their conversations, he says: "If I had known you were going to Verchanne, I would have stopped you. My friends... I'll tell you everything, but this time... this time, it's you that will think me mad". He pauses for a few seconds, then takes a deep breath and resumes talking: "She's a witch. Madeleine. She doesn't ride a broom, obviously, but she... she has powers. The weapon we promised the army, that's not really a weapon. It's witchcraft, but you understand, we couldn't really tell them that. So we told our scientists had come up with a new weapon. We wanted to help, we really wanted to. Then Verchanne happened", he stops again, as if lost in thought, eyes out of focus. You have to regain its attention before he continues: "I'm sorry. The most important thing... the book. She gets her powers from it. That's why you must find it, and make sure she doesn't get it. Bring it back to me, and I'll make sure nobody will ever hear about it again".
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

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"Bring the book back from where?" responds Francois Also what is the nature of the weapon? Because if it's those creatures we saw in Verchanne then I tell you now they bleed like normal just like normal men.
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

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"I don't know where the book is, but you have Madeleine in custody, right? She has to know. Look, I don't ask you to believe me, I know I wouldn't, just keep in mind what I told you..."
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

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"If Madelaine posses this sort of power, do we have any hope of confronting her?"
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

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"The book is the key. She takes her powers from it. You must be careful to keep her away from it".
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

Post by Cearlan »

"If she gets the powers from this book ..." muses Andre, "... and she is currently in the custody of Jaques' friends, then would she have the book with her do you think? Where would she keep it? If we knew this then it might help us get our hands on it before she can."
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

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"I don't know. You'll have to be very careful in dealing with her. I would like to accompany you, but in this particular moment I need to make sure that our military business remains under control and we continue to provide the army with our weapons and ammunitions. It won't do us much good recovering the book if the Germans march into Paris the next day. Plus, I think she'd be more suspicious of me than she is of you all".
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

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OOC:   If you think you're done here, we can move on as you head to where Madeleine is.  
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

Post by Cearlan »

OOC:   Fine with me  
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Re: [IC - SCENE 6b] Le Grand Colbert (Francois, Andre, Jean-

Post by ghill »

OOC:   If Julien has no idea where the book is then it does seem as though we are wasting time here.  
Julien Mon Ami, one last thing you still have not told us the nature of this secret weapon
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