28 April 2009

Disposition of the Player Characters

At the beginning of summer 1837 (1 June)

Lady Wordsworth has disappeared entirely from public view and appears to be setting up a resistance movement against the increasingly unpopular Regent.

Mei Mei has vanished while searching for a secretive order of assassins. It is likely she is dead or captured.

Major Burns was given a set of sealed orders on 30 May, and departed for Penzance (disguised as a private).

Lieutenant Forrester's squad has been deployed to keep order and disperse riots. The news of Brigadier-General Mortimer's arrest has caused him to seek out Dr Ming.

Dr Ming has hired a new assistant and returned to running his shop.

Mr Dementiev has been investigating the Queen's Physicians in an attempt to learn more of the necromancer.

Recent Events in London

As related to the Right Honorable Lt. Darcy.

[Editor's Note: Covers sessions 6-16. The original account is taken from Court papers entered in evidence against Lady Wordsworth in absentia.]

On the 20th of April, Sir Bairn hosted a dinner party. Notable attendees include Lady Wordsworth, Lady Bracknell, Mlle de Chardin, Dr Cross, and Lord Sutherford. Also present were the Persian delegation sent to broker a peace in Arabia; Sultan Hakim Al-Hussein, Prince Ebriham, Mullah Obama.

Dinner was disrupted by a young oriental charge of Lady Wordsworth. Words were exchanged and Lady Bracknell left after some time, highly insulted. The exchange seems to have amused the Persians.

On the 23rd of April word reached London of the Acadamae's reappearance in Constantinople. The entire building is sealed by some unknown force, and the status of those inside has not been ascertained.

On the same day, Brigadier-General Mortimer ordered the apprehension of a Trinia Sabor on the charges of treason and murder. An article published in The Times revealed that the painter had poisoned the late King. The guard who confessed to the plot died in the Tower.

[Editor's Note: It can now be revealed that Ms Sabor was actually Princess Victoria, attempting to escape from the Palace. She was located by Major Burns and concealed in Lady Wordsworth's estate.]

On the 5th of May, an unmarked ship failed to stop at the London docks, refused all hails and was sunk by naval artillery. It was later discovered to be the overdue Direption. All hands are presumed dead.

[Editor's Note: The Direption was responsible for introducing blood veil into London. Documents retrieved by Mr Dementiev during the sinking confirm this.]

On the 6th of May, Trinia Sabor was captured by Scotland Yard in Mayfair.

On the 12th of May, the Queen Regent presided over the execution of the traitor Trinia Sabor. Accounts of eyewitnesses are greatly confused; however all agree that the Black Fox appeared and attempted to rescue the girl. This marks the last appearance of Lady Wordsworth in polite society, as her trips to the East End (frequently remarked on by Lady Bracknell) have made her less than welcome in most homes.

[Editor's Note: Our heroes, aware of Ms Sabor's true identity, aided the Black Fox by sowing confusion.]

On the 15th of May, Dr Cross documented the first case of blood veil in the city of London. The victim, a young girl in the East End, survived due to magical intervention by Mr Demetiev, one of the few remaining Acadamae students.

On the 16th of May, Dr Cross left for Penzance, accompanied by a young man presumed to be her lover. The hospital was deeply scandalised by her abrupt departure and much suspicion attached to the disgraced Lady Wordsworth.

[Editor's Note: Dr Cross was actually escorting Princess Victoria to her supporters in the countryside. I am sure the hospital will reinstate her with full honours once the rightful ruler is restored.]

On the 17th of May, the remaining members of Lady Wordsworth's inner circle paid a surreptitious visit to the Jews' Graveyard. They entered a mausoleum and left several hours later much bloodied and carrying a human torso.

[Editor's Note: Our heroes attempted to apprehend a certain necromancer operating in open defiance of the Acadamae's edict on such research.]

On the 18th of May, they delivered the remains to the Sultan, who delivered an angry tirade to the Queen's representative and departed straightaway for Persia.

On the 19th of May, the Queen established the Queen's Physicians under the command of Dr Davulus, a doctor from the Continent. She also established the Grey Maidens as a military order answerable directly to the throne.

On the 20th of May London was put under quarantine to prevent the spread of blood veil. The Queen's Physicians ordered that all bodies be burnt in an effort to prevent further illness. The Queen's birthday celebrations were cancelled.

On the 28th of May, Lord Carowyn held a masked ball. Notable attendees included Lady Bracknell and Mlle de Chardin. They were never seen alive again.

On the 29th of May, Lady Wordsworth and Major Burns accompanied Mr Dementiev to a deserted toy shop in the East End. It appears that they killed the owner and looted his workshop.

[Editor's Note: This black mark against Lady Wordsworth's reputation can now be removed. Our heroes actually destroyed a coven of undead Cossacks.]

On the 30th of May, Lady Wordsworth and her retainers broke into Carowyn Manor. All the inhabitants were found slaughtered the next day by the police. She has not been seen since.

[Editor's Note: The events that transpired that evening are too terrible to relate to our more sensitive readers. Suffice to say that even our most aristocratic families have been subjected to the terrors of the plague.]

On the 1st of June, Sir Charles Mortimer was accused of treason and placed under house arrest. His aide-de-camp, Major Burns, eluded capture and is presumed to be in the company of Lady Wordsworth.

09 January 2009

20 March 1837 - Major Scotty MacBurns

I am afraid that I have not been able to update my pathetic excuse for a diary until now because of all the work that I have had to do as a military major.  Since I am writing in this diary of mine so late, I am recording much from memory, and as such may jumble a few events accordingly.
20 March 1837: The Note
An interesting note arrived for me when I had returned from the day's duties in the form of the crows Tarot card.  The note claimed that they (whomever "they" are, or "I" as they referred to themselves in the note) would be able to allow us to take out our revenge on that son of a gun Gaedren Lamm, who nearly killed me with that east-end "happy drug", opium.  Oh, he will pay!  Apparently, that beast has also wronged whoever sent this note.  I have decided to meet at the designated point a little early tonight, so as to familiarize myself with the meeting room.  I'll see if this person can help myself and these other wronged ones catch that slippery little fish and wring his neck!
The meeting place turned out to be some old, gypsy fortune-teller's abode.  The only other person in the room when I arrived was a gypsy boy who looked to be around 18 years old and relatively simple; possibly the fortune-teller's son... or even the fortune-teller himself!  Neither of the above seemed likely as he seemed unfamiliar with the room himself.  How does this secret host expect us to catch and dispose of a man as slippery as Lamm with nothing more than myself and peasants?!  Ah well, I eventually made introductions and discovered this other gypsy to be of the magic kind, respectable enough and of the name Nastasie Dementiev.  I believe a female doctor entered next.  I made introductions while I settled in with a glass of that wine under the table and a piece of that slightly stale bread.  The doctor goes by the name of Dr. Cross.  Very respectable, seeing as there are few females in the medical business.  That ragtag Lieutenant Forrester entered next (finally another soldier) closely followed by an old chinese man and a little chinese girl (as if we need more incapable fighters to take down Lamm).  These two go by the names Dr. Xian Ming and Mei-Mei Wu-Shi.  Our host appeared to be late at this point, seeing as the last three to enter arrived right on time.  So this was to be the force wronged by Gaedren and assembled to kill Gaedren; an old medicine man, a little girl, a magical gypsy peasant, a medical doctor, and two (if I don't say so myself) elite soldiers.  Seems pretty pathetic if you ask me.  Arriving late, (as seems to be the current fashion) was none other than Lady Wordsworth of Japanese descent.  Great, now we've got a pretty lady who's probably afraid to get a shoe slightly damp to help us; another worthless bag of bones!  Our host finally arrived and described to us her predicament (Lamm slew her son and stole her precious Tarot deck, which she eventually retrieved) and told us she knew where the beast hid.  After a little thought, we all eventually agreed to seek revenge for her and ourselves.  We were pointed towards the Isle of Dogs to seek out that monster.  But, before we began to formulate a plan, our host presented a Tarot reading for us.  The old gypsy did some boring hibbity jibbity and said that some bad stuff and some good stuff would happen.  Ah well, I don't really believe that has much meaning anyway.  Without another word, she was off.  The Lieutenant and Nastasie were off at once without any kind of plan, though I tried to reason with the Lt., he simply rushed of, leaving me to protect the helpless lot.  Arggh!  Sometimes I wonder if that Lt. has any brains in that head of his.  Well, the remaining group and I semi-formulated a plan and headed towards the Isle of Dogs to aid the Lt. and Mr. Dementiev (they seem like trouble if you ask me).
Major Scotty MacBurns
Signing off:
20 March 1837