IC-Ep 1-The Duc's Court(Everyone)

[Mr. Handy]

Jacques made his way through the crowd over to where Leonardo stood. People between them moved out of the way, out of respect for either or both of them.

"Well, now that that unpleasantness is out of the way," said the Duc, "let us talk about the festivities I have planned! Tonight there will be a banquet for all of my guests, during which you will have ample opportunity to get acquainted with each other. Tomorrow night, there will be the performance of a play by a troupe of actors I've hired. The play is called Le Roi en Jaune. You will get to meet the players at tonight's feast. The night after the performance, we shall have a masquerade ball. My servants stand ready to assist you all with your costuming needs. You will be entertained by trying to guess who your fellow guests are! At midnight, we shall all remove our masks and see who is who."

[jp1885]

“A banquet and a masked ball,” exclaims Brook to her friends. “Sounds like we’ve stepped into some Hollywood movie!”

“Let’s try to take a look at the dead guy before the festivities kick off, yeah?”

[Philulhu]

A play? Gui galled inwardly. Men prancing about with overloud voices and feathers in their pants! He almost wished he’d been thrown out!

He heard Brook say she wanted to see the dead man. That made the play sound almost inviting!

[Snapper]

Jacques:

Jacques smiles (grimly) and nods agreeably. He will of course join any polite applause.

Spoiler:

Is Jacques able to tilt his head towards the man and speak quietly to Da Vinci without the whole audience, Duc et al overhearing?

[Borderline]

Jean Luc begins a new sketch

Spoiler:

sketching those in attendance with a mind towards being able to later identify them

[Mr. Handy]

Jacques could whisper to Leonardo briefly while the audience was applauding without much chance of being overheard, but he might be seen doing so.

[SunlessNick]

"Let's," Story says to Brook. "The 'King in Yellow.' I don't think I've heard of it. I have enough clothes from home for either of you to come as Time Lords if you wish."

[Mr. Handy]

Elizabeth, you may roll Cthulhu Mythos.

[aine]

Elizabeth doesn’t answer, she stands there looking very pale and puzzled.

Cthulhu Mythos 5 roll... 2! And I’m racking my own brains over ‘King in Yellow’ which I’ve heard before, somewhere.

[Snapper]

Jacques:

Still smiling, Jacques inclines his head towards Da Vinci and, under cover of applause, whispers quietly...

"Master, is it my imagination or is that the first time we have heard the dead thief's full name?"

[Philulhu]

Spotting Jean Luc sketching, Gui took a careful step backwards, so that others in the room were between him and the artist. He’d learned the hard way that it was better that people didn’t have a record of what he looked like.

[Mr. Handy]

Elizabeth has heard of this King in Yellow before. She isn't certain exactly where. Maybe it was from looking through the TARDIS's data banks. Maybe it was something connected to Eugene's account of his visions of other worlds after he had looked into the Shining Trapezohedron. Maybe it somehow filtered into her mind through some sort of Jungian collective unconscious when she had seen the horrifying hybrid creature on the TARDIS scanner in the sea cave in Dunwich and gone a bit doolally.

The King in Yellow was a herald, or perhaps an avatar, of an entity known as Hastur, which caused corruption, decay, and entropy. The King wore ragged yellow robes and a pallid mask. Those in contact with him risked descending into madness. He came from a planet known as Hali, which had two moons, and he was associated with a palace on the shore of a lake. There was also a play set there by the name of the King in Yellow. It had been performed in London in 1928, but only once. The performance had culminated in chaos and riot. The witnesses afterward gave conflicting accounts of what had happened, including of the parts of the play they had seen until the disastrous final act. This made sense to Elizabeth, as Hastur was in some way associated with alternate realities, alternate histories.

"It is indeed," Leonardo whispered back. "The Duc clearly knew his name because he was an invited guest, or at least his wife knew it. Someone must have either recognized the corpse or noticed his absence."

[SunlessNick]

"Elizabeth?" Story says. "Are you all right? Did that mean something to you?"

[jp1885]

Brook also cocks her head in inquiry.

[Snapper]

Jacques:

Jacques just nods and says, "Hmmmm..."

Spoiler:

What does Jacques know about the Duchesse?


1d%95%

[Mr. Handy]

Jacques knew that the Duchesse Amelie was from the highborn Beaufort family in Paris, the daughter of a Comte. She was remarkably well-educated, and her marriage to the Duc was a political and economic one to form an alliance between their families, the Duchesse being nearly twenty years younger than her husband. She was clearly the brains of the outfit, the Duc preferring to devote his time to pleasure, such as hosting lavish parties like this one. It must have cost plenty, but with the Duchesse handling the finances, there was no doubt that he could afford it.

[Snapper]

Jacques:


Jacques, no longer whispering but speaking quietly so as not to disturb the Duc in conducting his Audience, says to Da Vinci, "Well Master, so long as the dead thief was acting alone, you should anticipate no further intrusions." There is a dry edge to his tone.

[aine]

Elizabeth looks at Story and Brooke and shakes her head, “No, I think we’re in trouble- the play, The King in Yellow, has terrible significance; I’ve heard of it before. But we can’t talk here; as soon as I can, I’ll tell you.”

[jp1885]

Brook nods. “I guess we’ll be dismissed to get ready for the festivities soon; we can talk then,” she whispers.

[Mr. Handy]

"I am not convinced he was," replied Leonardo to Jacques. "I am highly suspicious of Monsieur l'Argot, for one thing. There is also the matter of the lady who hired Giuseppe."

"Luncheon will be served at midday, here in the Great Hall," announced the Duc. "Until then, feel free to explore the palace and its grounds, mingle with your fellow guests, peruse my library, and admire my art collection. If you need directions or have questions, feel free to ask my servants."