The Night Watch: Series Two, Thread Two

[SteveD]

(Series Two, Thread One here: http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?threadid=97116)

For those of you just joining us….none of this will make any sense. It’s not easy to write up, either, because there were so many undertones and hints. I’d like to know what my players thought about those.

Also, kudos to Scott and Colin for playing their PCs at the same time as playing their opposite’s father. Dualistic fun that could have easily been a nightmare, but they kept them separate and made them work. And not just work, but come alive as characters. Amazing, guys.

Okay.


For those of you just joining us, here are the dramatic personae:

Edward Hunton-Smythe: (Rupert Penrys-Jones) Rebellious son of a VERY well respected Inner Council member. Became a Watcher because his father expected it, and is rapidly reaching the conclusion that he can’t stay there because he rejects who they are and what they stand for. Also gay. Both of these things have hurt his father badly. Watched a big spiky demon kill his mother as a young boy, and has hated monsters ever since, but later discovered his cousin and close friend John is a monster at full moon, and has had to adjust a lot.

Sir Charles Hunton-Smythe: (Ian Richardson) The father. Staid, solemn, taciturn. Probably the smartest man in Britain. Has been estranged from his son since his wife died. Now dying of cancer, he is trying to rebuild the bridges but cannot hide his deep disapproval of everything his son does.

John Chetwynd-Talbot (Cary Elwes): Cousin and best friend of Eddie’s, at least until the monster thing. Turns into a porcupine demon at full moon, apparently due to a family curse, which affects his brother constantly – all of which he only discovered last Christmas. Initially not a Prentice (watcher-student), he became one last year because he wanted to fight evil. His father does NOT approve – and nor does Eddie. Apart from this, is trying hard to be groomed for the high peerage he will inherit, and follow his father’s wishes in this.

Lord Charles Chetwynd-Talbot (Christopher Plummer): As posh and polished as would be expected for one of the highest and oldest peers in England, he never puts a word out of place. A famed hunter, he could have been a great Watcher, but never liked their politics – nor, he’s hinted, are they happy about his family secret. There’s some bad blood there, particularly with his former close friend and relative, Sir Charles. They were at Oxford together….before the feud began.

This week is a special second year occasion – a parental weekend, when all the parents come and actually reside in college with their children (or nearby) and see everything of their lives. It will be, therefore, the first time Lord Charles and Sir Charles have seen each other since the feud. It should prove…interesting.

Also:
Tom (Eddie Kaye Thomas): the Greatest American Hero. Has no angst, no hang-ups and no clue what’s going on, ever. Has a girlfriend called Miranda, a geeky swot with a crazy streak who has been known to use magic for her own selfish purposes. Has a large magic sword which makes him bad-ass. Has a small role in this episode.

Charlotte (Aishwarya Rai): this beautiful Asian (as in Indian) telekinetic feels like a freak because of her new-found powers and sudden shunting into watcher-dom. She longs for approval from her rich and glamorous parents. New to the show in series two and yet to really fit into the group, she has bonded with the other outsider, Eirion.

Eirion (Paul McGann): A poor boy and a misfit. He comes from a family of bucolic Welsh demon worshippers. The Watcher’s Council killed them all, burnt his village to the ground and one raised the boy as his ward. His lower-class status has made him something of an outsider at college. He recently tried to redress this by magicing himself up a horse, but when his Invigilator (Watcher-teacher) discovered he was doing Sorcery (which is very much against the rules) she suspended him on the spot.

Now read on…

[SteveD]

Previously, on The Night Watch:

We flash back to Eddie’s dad saying he’s dying of cancer (1.4). Then to Eddie telling his dad he’s gay after his dad yelled at him to be a better Watcher (1.7). Then to John’s trip home and the legend of the beast (1.5). His father forbidding John to go into the woods. His father holding a shotgun on John and his brother, both in beast form, as John changes back. John’s father talking about how the Watchers are narrow-minded fools. Eddie’s father talking about how he should get away from those Talbots lest he ruin his reputation. (1.7)

2.5 Pater Familias

(For those of you don’t read latin – the patriarch of a household, or great family).

We begin with a scene we’ve seen twice before: Eddie’s recurring nightmare which awakes him all too often. Little Eddie (aged maybe 6?) walks downstairs in his pyjamas. It is a big Edwardian house. He walks into a parlour, and sees a ghastly spiky shadow thrown against the wall, the claws and teeth clearly visible. He turns around, eyes wide. The beast holds his mother – her throat slit - in its bloody claws. Hidden in shadow, we can’t see it very well before it leaps out the window in a shatter of glass – a shatter which becomes the boy’s scream.

And then Eddie’s scream and he sits up in bed again. He gets up and walks to his desk – shot from behind so he can do a long naked buttwalk for all the straight girls and gay men in the audience. He gets out some alcohol, pours a glass, drinks, shudders and stares out the window. The full moon hangs low over the college walls.

Next morning, the crew are in the library. Pru stands to attention. John, Eddie, Charlotte and Tom sit in silent vigil. Eirion stands to attention. Pru announces that the Council has agreed that his punishment shall only be a mark on his record and the suspension he has already served. He is welcome back to his studies – but with conditions: Pru has to closely manage his magical studies. She gives him a list of books he can use. He is of course way past that level already, but says nothing.

Next Pru explains that one reason Magdalen likes having the Council as a partner is it also opens its doors to some of the less human students and families in Britain. Which means that every year on parents’ day the demon-proof Shield around the twon must be dropped to allow everyone the freedom to attend.

Eddie: Lower the shields? What is this, Star Trek?
Tom: If Wil Wheaton shows up, I’m leaving.

The gang demand to know why they weren’t told of this last year.

Pru: Well, I didn’t want to alarm you….and I’m going to show you how to do it, as part of your studies.
Tom: What, alarming people?
Eirion: We already know how to do that.

Pru tells them to hush and go get their dowsing rods (see 2.2). There was lots of OOC giggling here which I chose to make in character so I could do my Pru face and stare down my glasses at them. The verisimilitude between teacher/student and GM/player worked marvellously. Meaanwhile, Eddie asks John if his father needs the special pass. John returns that it can skip generations. They speculate on who the families might be. People tried to explain the backstory about John to Charlie but they did it badly and she told them to stop. Then two men in black arrive and ask to speak to Eddie.

They inform him that he is the sole beneficiary of the will of Corporal Susan Brackenwood. Eddie knew her only as a student (up to the point when she was brutally slain by the evil homunculus-doll thing wearing Fay’s face, see 1.9), but she was working for a special “initiative” of the CIA to study occult phenomena. Being a spy and having no family, Eddie gets her stuff.

And roll credits on this shocking reveal! Play Pulp’s Common People!

[Craig Oxbrow]

Bloody 'ell!

[SteveD]

(just to warn you guys - I do not have time to write this all up now. You're only gona get some of it. Consider it a long commercial break.)

Back in his room, Eddie opens the box. There’s some investments and cash, an air-force uniform, her medals, some jewellery, a watch, a journal. Not much to add up to a life. Eddie looks at his car out the window – a car he named Susan after her. He’s gay, but they shared something, if only briefly.

Meanwhile, the rest of campus is buzzing to prepare for their parents. Chaos reigns. Eirion puts on the only suit he owns (John gave it to him for Christmas last year). Charlotte is running around panicking looking for an iron for her designer dress that her socialite mother bought her. Charlie opens John’s door as he runs to it, and they both yell at each other at the same time:

Charlie and John (together): Have you got an iron? (pause) No! (pause) DAMN!

John is trying to dress like the son of a lord and has no idea whether to go with the long tie or the cravat, let alone which suit to wear. He begs Eddie for advice. Yes, that’s right: it’s Queer Eye for the Watcher Guy!

Which explains the riding crop he’s holding when they finally come down to the courtyard. String music plays. Parents of varying states of snobbery and decay mill in that vaguely predatory way they can. The gang split up to find their parental unit and give them a tour of their digs. Tom’s father (Gene Hackman) is keen to make sure his son is sucking seed from his education, not to mention sowing his wild oats, but not letting said oats go to seed in any way. Charlie’s mother is absent, her aunt Constance (Maggie Smith) is here instead, and she too is keen for her daughter to, as she put it, to “shag everything in trousers”. Eirion’s guardian Terrence Blake (Alan Rickman) is as bored with these rituals as Eirion is, but sends greetings from Charity (see 2.1). John’s father is cordial but demanding, and John defers to him. Eddie’s father is cold and distant, and uncomfortable. Eddie is defiant; he explains he’s been ill, and has “come over all queer”.

Eddie and John cross over on their tour, and each side indicates disdain that their son rooms with the other. They are not happy that their sons have crossed the lines of their feud.

There’s LOTS of undercurrents to which I cannot do justice in text. I wish I’d taped the whole game because there was some glorious stuff which will never exist again. Such a transient art form we have.

After the tour, there is the obligatory father-son rugger match. Charlotte and her aunt watch with Sir Charles - too weak to play. The other fathers get stuck into the rucking. Most of the boys have the sense not to play too hard but Tom well...is Tom. He body slams Lord Charles and wins the game. Then they hit the showers.

That night, it is time for a progressive dinner through the many dining halls of Magdalen. The boys are in black tie and a bit uncomfortable. While ascending the stairs from entree to first main, there is a disturbance outside. A dishevelled lower-class man (David Jason) in a mac bursts in and starts shouting Eirion's name. Then the porters throw him out.

Eirion, Charlie and Tom go to investigate - Eddie and John could not leave their fathers. Outside, they find the man dusting himself off. When he sees Eirion he gasps in disbelief, does a "as I live an' breave" and gives him a hug. A hug from his long-lost uncle Dennis!

Commercial.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by SteveD
There’s LOTS of undercurrents to which I cannot do justice in text. I wish I’d taped the whole game because there was some glorious stuff which will never exist again. Such a transient art form we have.
This is why my notes sprawl across multiple pages and I still get told off for missing stuff.

[SteveD]

Uncle Dennis says he has an amazing story to tell Eirion - if he can buy his uncle a drink.

And cloth cap on, I go into long exposition mode. Worked okay though.

Uncle Dennis explains that the Council lied to Eirion - yes, his Uncle Nathaniel took things too far, but mostly, his family are all peaceful, good-working earth sorcerers. Eirion was the son of a particularly talented one, who took steps to ensure his son would be as powerful as he was, perhaps more so. When the council came to Eirion's village, they did burn it down but there were only five deaths and four arrests. The rest of the town moved on but kept practising. Believing Eirion dead, they only just tracked him down last year, seeing his face in the paper after that scandal with the dead girl in the hotel room. And only today, when the shield is dropped could they come get him, because some of Dennis' friends (who are waiting in the car) have some earthblood taint.

Why have they come to get him? To make him an offer to take up his destiny. After all, what has he got here? A common boy, never accepted by the toffs, never to be accepted. Always their monkey boy. Never taught what he's supposed to know. And never, EVER taught real magic. Or he could come with them back to the farm, and live again amongst people of his blood and homeland and social class, people who care for each other and do for each other and come from the same place. And people who can show him the potential he really has. People who can make him achieve his destiny to be the greatest earth-warlock who ever lived. Isn't that worth something?

Particularly, if he comes tonight, he could see something very special, to convince him - a ritual to contact the giants from the old days. Cor, should be a right laff, eh?

Uncle Dennis also asks about Eirion's activities:

Uncle Dennis: Come on, my son, you've been doing magic haven't you?
Eirion: No
Charlie: Maybe
Tom: Yes

Totally unscripted, and marvellous. He assumes Charlie is Eirion's girl and tells him he can bring her along to the show - cos she's a very pretty bird, and a total keeper - and it's not like the boys club will be opening the books for her either. He asks Tom what his story is, if he's an outsider too:

Tom: I'm an American!
Dennis: You poor bastard. Anyway...

He bids them think it over, and come see him at the pub by midnight if they are coming. No questions asked. Then he shoos them off to think.

And cut back to dinner, with John and Eddie...

[Elemental]

Say, have you ever thought of crossposting the story here? (http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/forumdisplay.php?f=14) I know it's mainly d20 stuff, but there's no prohibition against accounts that used other systems.

[Craig Oxbrow]

The audience... think of the audience... *cackles*

[thenewgirl]

Originally posted by SteveD
Uncle Dennis says he has an amazing story to tell Eirion - if he can buy his uncle a drink.
*snip*

It was a very good game...:)

[Burgonet]

I'll be saving my comments overall until such time as the episode is posted in full.

But yes, it was a very good episode. It was fun to play John's Dad.

More later.

[SteveD]

Again, I must stress that Scott and Colin were superb. Not only were they perfectly getting their characters, sniping at their old enemies and their sons perfectly, with subtle jokes and barbed remarks...but they did it all while playing two characters at once. Unbelievable.

Inspires me to do an idea I've been thinking about - where there's two parallel stories in past and present, and each player plays themselves now and a similar character in the past.

Anyhoo.

Earlier, Aunt Constance had explained about the feud - and why it started. The two old friends were fine until Sir Charles discovered Talbot's many-year affair with his wife, Elizabeth. BIG scandal back in the day, and after it, Sir Charles almost wiped Lord Talbot's finances out, they say.

John and Eddie and their fathers spent the dinner nibbling their fish and withstanding the bickering. Lord Talbot commented that it was good to have a legacy, grandchildren...not that Sir Charles would know. Sir Charles attacked his son for not getting a woman. Eddie, sick of the fish, asked for the chicken. Sir Charles: "Well, that's the first bird you'll have eaten in a while". The disapproval between Talbots and Smythes and fathers and sons is THICK. You could cut the tension with a knife.

CUt back to Tom, Eirion and Charlie walking home. They discuss things. Eirion is confused. The others urge him to go - but stress he shouldn't tell Blake, as he will just forbid him to go. Tom points out that there's a whole college full of watchers on campus, they can't get away with this. Eirion points out that they're not watching them, their minds are elsewhere.

Quick cut back to the dining room. Over port and cigars, Sir Charles is leading the room in The Hedgehog Song. Especially the dirty verses.

Disgusted, Lord Talbot leaves - the hedgehog song is an attack at him, as he tells his son when he finds him in the cloisters. Another superb conversation occurs. Lord Talbot demands John stop being a watcher before it goes bad - and it WILL go bad. John adds irony on irony when he says "I'm sure Edward will watch over me". Lord Talbot shuffles off, shaking his head.

Eirion and Charlie head up to say goodnight to their parents.
Charlotte: I'm going to bed now
Aunt Constance: TAKE. SOMEBODY. WITH YOU. That country boy looks nice - bet he has strong hands...and knows how to use them....

Tom heads off, as he put it, "to have some confusion with Miranda". Eddie and John grab Susan and get ready to follow Eirion and Charlie when they go meet Uncle Dennis. The latter is rather drunk and hits on Charlie terribly before they go and get in his Reliant Robin with Derek and Eric, two big-necked stupid twin bruvvers. Uncle Dennis explains a bit more about the rit-chool.

Uncle Dennis: I won' beat 'round thuh bush - there will be a bit o' blood
Eirion and Charlie (together): Whose?!?

Charlie has her mobile on and comments on their directions - "oh, the M4 huh? HEading east? Wow, I normally drive west on it..." While they follow, Eddie seems to be hitting on John almost. He talks about Susan and the past and the future, and their fathers and choices. God, I wish I could have taped it all.

But then the mobile goes funny and drops out. Back in the car, Uncle Dennis mumbles some latin. The old AM radio jumps and starts talking latin. Eirion slumps against the window. Charlie shakes off her wooziness and demands to know what's going on. Uncle Dennis turns around and says "sorry about this, love. Really. But we can't have any distractions..." And a massive hand grasps her mouth and throat...

[Burgonet]

Don't forget that Eddie and John DID pop out, to have a yarn with their compatriots, who were already into the 'What should Eirion do' discussion.

To which Eddie said, in proof that he's come full circle:

"That all fine and good. But there's only really one person who should answer this. Eirion, what is it that your heart is telling you to do?"

The rest of the group seemed more concerned with the pros and cons as if it was a strategy meeting for a team sport or a battle.

For Eirion, as Eddie saw it, it was family. And Eirion's call, only.

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by SteveD
While they follow, Eddie seems to be hitting on John almost. He talks about Susan and the past and the future, and their fathers and choices. God, I wish I could have taped it all.


That wasn't it at all, exactly.
It was John and Eddie...relating. Like they used to, before they had their falling out. How close they were (like brothers!) before John was drawn into Eddie's dark world (as Eddie saw it at the time).
I saw it more as a close knit, brotherly conversation. There was certainly intimacy, but more the kind that comes from a close relative, rather than a lover.

For you see; Eddie had come full circle, and had realised that he still had his best friend. More on all that, later.

[SteveD]

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply it was a lover's chat. It just was so intimate it almost seemed like it. Certainly John was confused for a moment, then we realised what was going on.

[SteveD]

Meanwhile, Tom has found Miranda - Miranda who a few weeks ago cast a spell so she could have a perfect day with Tom, the love of her life - talking to Alan Lourdes (Toby Stephens). Alan Lourdes is of course the majorly talented (and VERY good looking) new star of the English sci-fi shows Lightning Bugs. He's VERY cool. And Miranda is laughing at his jokes and HE JUST TOUCHED HER ARM.

Miranda introduces Tom. Alan explains he is, as well as an actor and a Magdelen alumnus, a collector of antique swords. He'd love to see Tom's, if only to appraise it - and make an offer. Tom flatly denies - it's personal. Alan assures him he understands but could provide a VERY generous sum, enough to look after other personal matters very well (looks at Miranda). Tom remains hostile. Miranda chastises him, but Alan leaves anyway. Tom and Miranda go back to his room to have No Sex At All.

Whereupon he gets a call from Charlie. John and Eddie eventually found her in a phone booth somewhere in the Costwolds, freezing her butt off and lost. She tells Tom to tell Blake and send the cavalry. Then the three decide they need to find a big surge of magic - maybe their dowsing rods could help?

Charlie: Hey, did anyone bring their stick?
Eddie: (whipping it out) Got wood!

Cut to the gang driving Susan at high speeds while Charlie is leaning out the sunroof, legs clutched by John, waving her rod around in big crazy circles. Eddie's yelling "Anything yet?"

Back at the library, Tom and Blake are in the library - with Sir Charles and Lord Talbot. Sir Charles was involved with the cleansing of Eirion's village...and if Sir Charles is doing something involving his son, Lord Talbot WILL BE THERE. Besides, he is not clueless in the ways of watchery. Oh no.

They know that they'd need a place to group, but private. In the Cotswolds, where there's lots of magic (which is like looking for a crepe stall in Paris). But Blake does some divination on a map...and comes up with an answer. In that circle, there is only one place it could be.

Silbury Hall.

Built on a hill near the infamous stone-age burial mound Silbury Hill, Silbury Hall is a massive Edwardian boardingschool-cum-hotel built on the ruins of a pre-norman churh and probably a pre-christian cult site. It's safe, well protected, comfortable and a major magical hotspot. Over the years - centuries - it has been a thorn in the Council's side - Sir Charles had to throw some hippie demon worshippers out of it in the sixties - but they've never been able to burn it down and salt the earth because it's heritage listed. Tom nicks the keys belonging to one of the drunk watchers upstairs (probably a Bentley) and soon Blake is driving the four of them east. Tom sits quietly and worriedly in the passenger seat as in the back, Sir Charles and Lord Talbot enjoy another chance to snipe and bicker. Eventually Blake yells "Hey! Do you want tme to pull this car over?"

They find themselves driving down a B road when out of nowhere, Susan screams past, swinging all over the road, with a girl spinning a dowsing rod out the window. "That would be them then..."

The two cars pull up and decide to go on together to the house. Which sparks another wave of bickering about who goes with who and what the hell is my son doing out here and so on. Tom unable to follow all the Charles-es, asks: "so which Charles is in charge?"

The answer of course is Charlotte. As the bickering starts again, she just grabs people and goes:

"uh, guys? Imminent death?"

And they got on with it.

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by SteveD
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply it was a lover's chat. It just was so intimate it almost seemed like it. Certainly John was confused for a moment, then we realised what was going on.

No worries, as we Aussies say.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by SteveD
Tom heads off, as he put it, "to have some confusion with Miranda".
That's my girl. :D


Silbury Hall.
Not to be confused with the Silbury Hall in Cambridgeshire that fell in Victoria Valdermar in TWH 1.10 The Watchtower. Since, y'know, it's in Cambridgeshire. And it fell on somebody.

[SteveD]

Not to be confused with the Silbury Hall in Cambridgeshire that fell in Victoria Valdermar in TWH 1.10 The Watchtower. Since, y'know, it's in Cambridgeshire. And it fell on somebody.

Absolutely. They just look exactly the same, and have the same name.

Silbury Hall looms menacingly from the hilltop - a dark, sombre place with too few lit windows. The gang stop at the burial mound, however, because C&C know a shortcut. It's all coming back to them and indeed, as they get back into the fray, just like old times, the sore backs and short steps are disappearing. Sir Charles doesn't seem to need his cane any more. The two old hands take to the lead down the passage, although Lord Talbot still has time for a gay slur against his old enemy (about back passages).

Light is dim and dark in the narrow, musty burial mound. To which Charlie says "Don't you guys have rods that glow in the dark?"

Long silence.

"What?"

She meant in their eyes - guys have more rods (as opposed to cones) than girls, so see better in the dark, but it was a marvellous wtf moment.

Reaching the end of the cave revealed a tunnel, and then that revealed a rockystaircase. And up and up into a stone cellar, and then a trapdoor into a big warehouse-like room with stone floors. On the floor a pentagram had been drawn in blood and in the middle of that stands Eirion, wearing ceremonial robes (think Klan sans hood), looking a little out of it...and tied to a sheep.

Charlie (looking at the sheep): So...is there something you want to tell me?

I must say, I should get some kind of medal for Most and Cruelest Railroading That The Players Still Enjoy. I cram crap down their throats and they keep coming back for more. I mean, I forced a character into being tied to a sheep with no explanation or choice. Sometimes I'm sure my players will rise up and strike me down for my crimes, but not yet...

Eirion explains that he woke up groggy, was told Charlie was freshening up and then put in strange clothes and prepared. He was still a bit out of it, but nobody had actually harmed him. Hearing someone coming, Charlie disappeared again. Uncle Dennis explained that Eirion just had to follow his lead and cut his arm at the right time, and then the giant will come. He hands Eirion a dagger just like the one he saved the day he was rescued as a kid. Eirion asked about Charlie again (hey, those two spend a lot of time together...) and was again told she was freshening up. Eirion nods, not giving anything away.

Listening downstairs, Sir Charles explains that you never have two sacrifices - one must be the prize and the other the catalyst, or target. Given what Dennis said about Eirion's planned conception, he may have some kind of link to some kind of demonic force or mirror identity, and that link might be about to be restored. Neither Charles, Charles or Charlie would allow that to happen. As Tom put it - it was time for an episode of Charlie Angels....

KAPOW! Mid ritual, our heroes burst from their hiding spot. Dennis curses "Gordon bennet - never a moment's peace. Kill them!" and it's ON for young and indeed, for old.

Lord Talbot charges into the fray, shotgun in one hand, sword in the other. Sir Charles slashes with deadly accuracy. Charlie uses her TK to yank Eirion over to her, knocking herself off her feet. Sir Charles calls out "Look out, they're using telekinetics!". John and Eddie put the boot in as best they can but the cultists are tough bastards and all have swords. There is the clash of steel and the flow of blood. Eirion gets back on his feet and is soon fighting back to back with Blake (metaphortastic). Charlie tries to follow the fleeing Uncle Dennis but he spends a DP and she loses him in the crowd. Lord Talbot shoots another one and Sir Charles throws a fireball. The tide is turning, despite their injuries...but then the cultists pull back and start using guns.

Lord Talbot yells out "Plan Four!". Sir CHarles casts a wall of force around Lord Talbot and he charges into the cultists, using the sword to break the pack down. It's brutal, but it's amazing to see the old dogs not need to learn any new tricks. The cultists are beginning to run. The day will soon be won and then...

BOOM.


BOOM.


BOOM.


And the doors creak open revealing a, well, giant. Fifteen feet tall and armed with a tree trunk. It BELLOWS in fury.

John: So...they have a cave troll....

[SteveD]

The mighty beasts, it's brown body more stone than flesh swings its club. John and Eddie, stepping up as their fathers are otherwise occupied, roll to get clear. John makes it. Eddie doesn't and is crushed against the wall with a sickening snap. Tom sees his chance and runs along the club, up the giant's arm and stabs him in the eye with his massive sword. The giant roars in fury, allowing the others to get in closer and try to stab it. Lord Talbot gets an idea and stabs it in the thigh and makes it angry. It turns as he ducks past it, and chases him out of the room and into the house. Walls smash and collapse. Uncle Dennis ducks for cover, and runs.

Eddie somehow pulls himself up (the club did forty damage, and he'd already been stabbed clean through by two cultist swords) and follows. He too climbs up the giant. Tom cuts a slice of shoulder and Eddie rams his sabre down into it. The giant slams his body into a wall. Tom falls, smacking into a cupboard and shattering his arm. Charlie tries to hold Eddie up with her TK...at which point something snaps in Eddie's shoulder. Eddie falls too - but is caught by TK again. Sir Charles looks at his son, but sees him still concious and chases after Lord Talbot. If he's doing a plan 19, he may need back up.

At this point, Scott spends a DP to put Silbury Hall on top of a cliff. Nice.

It is John therefore who cradles his friend's broken body. Eddie assures John he's okay, then passes out. They need a medic.

Meanwhile the giant is tearing the evil old house apart. Through a gaping hole, a storm is breaking over the cliff. Electrical damage starts a fire. The cultists who are still alive are long gone i the confusion. And Lord Talbot keeps dancing in front of the giant, luring him ever on. Slash slash, dodge dodge, and finally the beast is at the top of the cliff, and out the wall and it lunges for Lord Talbot...and....

f
a
l
l
s

down to the rockpool below. A second later, there is nothing but a rockfall where it lay.

Of Lord Talbot there is no sign, but Sir Charles walks confidently to the edge of the cliff and sticks out a hand. Lord Talbot pulls up from the bush he grabbed and takes it. There's a moment of respect between comrades that might just erase the anger of so many years. Sir Charles nods - a plan 19. Make the large creature's weight be its downfall. Lord Talbot agrees - it was a good day. And a good thing none of theirs got hurt.

Cut to the hospital. We pan around slowly. Eddie is in emergency, with lots of doctors. John is having a head wound patched, Eirion is having his stomach sewed up again. A sheep nibbles on some paperwork. Charlie is hugging her knees and drinking tea. Tom is having his arm plastered again.

Nurse: How did this happen?
Tom: I fell off a giant.
Nurse: Fell off a giant what?

Blake is on the phone calling in the coverup - lightning strike, terrible damage in the fire, many killed. He'll call Pru next. Sir Charles and Lord Charles sit waiting, expectantly. The doctor comes out.

He explains that Eddie's organs were severely damaged, more than they'd expected. During surgery, they had all shut down at once. They fought hard, but there was nothng they could do. He died.

John goes very quiet. Sir Charles makes some bold statement that Eddie went down as he should have, fighting the good fight - proving that he STILL doesn't know who his son is. And Lord Talbot simply stands up straight, stares coldly at Sir Charles, turns and walks out the door. Only when he is outside does emotion begin to creep into his walk. We close in on his face as he whispers with black rage and a need for vengeance:

"You Watcher bastards, you killed my son..."

BLACKOUT.

Credits. Grr. Arg.

[thenewgirl]

T'was a good game....

[U_C]

Originally posted by SteveD
Lord Talbot simply stands up straight, stares coldly at Sir Charles, turns and walks out the door. Only when he is outside does emotion begin to creep into his walk. We close in on his face as he whispers with black rage and a need for vengeance:

"You Watcher bastards, you killed my son..." So Eddie and John were brothers, or am I confused?

Great episode by the way.

Cheers
Steve

[Craig Oxbrow]

Funny, exciting, depressing.

Naturally I'm focused on the depressing.

Good work as usual.

[SteveD]

So Eddie and John were brothers, or am I confused?

Remember how I said that Lord Talbot (John's father) had a many-year affair with Sir Charles' (Eddie's father) wife?

Remember how young Eddie found his dead mother in the arms of a demon?

The best bit on Sunday was watching Adrian's face as the penny dropped.

Steve

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by U_C
So Eddie and John were brothers, or am I confused?

Great episode by the way.

Cheers
Steve

Half brother, actually.
A secret concealed by the two Charles (Lord and Sir), and unknown to either John or Eddie.

[colbabe]

Thanks very much to the wonderful Scott for all of his work on the series as Eddie. Scott is moving to Cairns to be with his lovely girlfriend. We'll miss you! And Eddie!

I must confess to being suddenly struck by tiredness toward the end of the episode, right after the odd conversation in the car. Still not quite sure how I managed to pull off the double character portrayal after that...

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by colbabe
I must confess to being suddenly struck by tiredness toward the end of the episode, right after the odd conversation in the car. Still not quite sure how I managed to pull off the double character portrayal after that...

I found the sock puppet analogy worked well.
Left hand = Eddie
Right hand = Lord Charles

It may have looked odd at times, but raising each of the arms acted as a physical reminder. Which you will need in a game that was fast and flowing, as this one was.

[colbabe]

-stifles arrogant dialogue about accent, pitch, posture, gesture and other theatrical/kinesthetic devices-

Pardon me, something in my throat.

;)

[thenewgirl]

I must say, I should get some kind of medal for Most and Cruelest Railroading That The Players Still Enjoy. I cram crap down their throats and they keep coming back for more. I mean, I forced a character into being tied to a sheep with no explanation or choice. Sometimes I'm sure my players will rise up and strike me down for my crimes, but not yet...

I'll let the ninja's do it.

It was so sad when Eddie died... everyone (except Scott and Steve) went a bit pouty... it was a good scene.

He was a good character, I will miss him (and you too Scott), very much.:(

[thenewgirl]

It may have looked odd at times, but raising each of the arms acted as a physical reminder. Which you will need in a game that was fast and flowing, as this one was.

The really cool thing was, that there was no need to ask at all who each of you were playing- it was so very very good!
:D

[colbabe]

Originally posted by SteveD
Pru tells them to hush and go get their dowsing rods (see 2.2). There was lots of OOC giggling here which I chose to make in character so I could do my Pru face and stare down my glasses at them. The verisimilitude between teacher/student and GM/player worked marvellously.

That was mainly me and Helga. To be honest, I can't even remember why that happened. It sure was hilarious though.

[thenewgirl]

Originally posted by colbabe
That was mainly me and Helga. To be honest, I can't even remember why that happened. It sure was hilarious though.

I think it's 'cause it was after all the tension of what was going to happen to Eirion. Somebody said something silly about rods, which set us off, then our giggling escalated, like the arms race! ;)

"In a world gone mad..." ;)

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by colbabe
-stifles arrogant dialogue about accent, pitch, posture, gesture and other theatrical/kinesthetic devices-

Pardon me, something in my throat.

;)

A sock puppet can kick Marlon Brando's arse any day of the week.

Such is their power... and majesty!

;)

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by thenewgirl
I'll let the ninja's do it.

It was so sad when Eddie died... everyone (except Scott and Steve) went a bit pouty... it was a good scene.

He was a good character, I will miss him (and you too Scott), very much.:(

Mission: Accomplished.

:)

[SteveD]

I'll add my voices to missing Eddie dearly - a fantastic character - but not as much as I'll miss Scott. You're a fantastic roleplayer and I think I learnt mroe about GMing from you than any other player I've met.

Plus you've been a great friend, too. Don't lose touch! For one thing, you'll have to keep reading TNW write-ups...and come back for that ghost/memory episode in series three....

Steve

[SteveD]

... it was a good scene

It was a fantastic scene. And I'd like to thank the writers of ER for giving me my lines.

Steve

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by SteveD
I'll add my voices to missing Eddie dearly - a fantastic character - but not as much as I'll miss Scott. You're a fantastic roleplayer and I think I learnt mroe about GMing from you than any other player I've met.

Plus you've been a great friend, too. Don't lose touch! For one thing, you'll have to keep reading TNW write-ups...and come back for that ghost/memory episode in series three....

Steve

Not to worry.

I could not function without an Internet connection, so I can imagine we'll be keeping in touch.

As to when I go up North, the date is not set.
It's contingent, based upon something that I've mentioned before, that you lot known I'm up to.

So, when something in that vein is done, I'll be heading up.

[SteveD]

Sweet.

I'll definitely have some guest spots available for you before you go, if you can take the time out to let us visit your house....and you, too. :)

BTW, I love where the game is now. Somebody told me back when I was plotting this series that it's ALL about the character arcs. And now that's become so true. After this ep especially, but in general we're in a very sweet spot. The characters are just naturally generating plots at a massive rate and the show effectively writes itself now. I have so many places to go now, and all of them are stacked with impact.

I think my problem in series one was following the show too closely, and having too much emphasis on monster-of-the-week episodes with little trickles of chargen. But RPGs not being TV shows, they work better with less MotW and much more character stuff, so I'm stuffing everything in I can and it's rewarding me with even more stuff coming out. See, originally, the episode with Eirion's secret was going to be completely separate from the one with the parents, but put them together and everyone has something to do...and new plot hooks at the end. Woot!

Course, that does mean the series might not be as long as I thought...

Steve

[BethDragon]

*loud clapping from the audience*

Bravo.... *flowers thrown onstage for Eddie* This is just fabulous....simply fabulous. *happy sigh*

All of the twists and turns and the funny (I loved the rods comment. :D ). And I see Steve went with the sheep. Good choice.

Craig wrote:
This is why my notes sprawl across multiple pages and I still get told off for missing stuff.

That's why I game online. Instant quotage. :)

More? Please? Lots more?

Beth, probably with more commentary when her brain stops reeling...

[SteveD]

I should point out that the sheep came from the chatroom. I would have gone with a pig, but they pointed out that sheep are always funnier. Once again, I owe much of this game to them!

Steve

[colbabe]

Originally posted by SALette
A sock puppet can kick Marlon Brando's arse any day of the week.

I heartily agree. I think Brando sucks ass. Notice that I didn't mention anything about Method Acting, which sucks even more ass.

I gave Steve a good idea for a guest appearance by Rupert Penry-Jones. You should take it up next time you're in town.

Oh yeah, and Rupert was apparently in the third season finale of Absolutely Fabulous. thenewgirl, am I right in thinking that he was the boy who was desperately trying to roll a joint, and Saffy had to correct his technique?

[SteveD]

Forgot a GREAT quote:

John (to Pru): And how is Professor X?
Pru: (with relish) Fan-TASTIC.
John: Ahh! Too Much Information!

[thenewgirl]

Originally posted by colbabe
Oh yeah, and Rupert was apparently in the third season finale of Absolutely Fabulous. thenewgirl, am I right in thinking that he was the boy who was desperately trying to roll a joint, and Saffy had to correct his technique?
I think so, I'd have to check my DVDs!;)

[colbabe]

Damn, I've got those... They're just too good... Joanna Lumley is so damned hilarious... Steve! I want a guest appearance by Ms Lumley!

[The Architect]

Damn. Now that's a way to write out a character. Not onlywere you able to remove a character that circumstances forced you to remove, but you were able to use it to advance the plot.

Well done to TNW cast and crew.

[Mortality]

Oh my god, you killed Eddie!
You Bastards!

...Sorry.

[SteveD]

Ha! Somebody had to say it, Mortality.

Steve

[thenewgirl]

2 days and counting!
yay.
:D

[Burgonet]

Not long to go, then.

Sent Steve stuff via email.
If he doesn't get it, have him call me on Mister Mobile.

[The Architect]

Originally posted by thenewgirl
2 days and counting!
yay.
:D

2 days too long if you ask me.

C'mon people. There are GMs out there who need you guys for their vicarious playing experiences.

[Craig Oxbrow]

If it makes you feel any better, I'm done with my previous three-day distraction and 3/4 of the way through TWH 2.5.

[Burgonet]

Ooooooooh!

*rattles his chain*

Here me, living ones!

The Spirits of the Dead Demand a Session Summary!

Ooooooh!

;)

[Burgonet]

*rattles his chain and entertains himself with strange pantomime*

The dead are restless, restless!

Oh where art thou, actual play?


*the clink of two beer bottles together in the loneliness of the night...*


;)

[colbabe]

Originally posted by SALette
*the clink of two beer bottles together in the loneliness of the night...*

Damned free VB from the trivia night... Guuuuhh... Don't feel well... Steve, you weren't drinking any, were you?

[SteveD]

I think what worried me most about this session is how effortless it was. Partly because the players were running things (which always makes me a bit worried because I just love to tell stories), and partly because I seem to think that it should be hard work to be great. But it was great without effort - well, without strain, I mean. Because the characters are so well defined and the players know them so well (and I the NPCs) that it writes itself and plays itself. Each plot giving way to a new idea, and the ideas I throw at them instantly suggesting appropriate and entertaining scenes.

Which is another reason why episodic TV shows like Buffy so perfectly suit campaign play: exactly like a TV show, the players can get a real feel for their characters as time goes on, returning over and over to the central concepts but at the same time deepening and strengthening them as they know them better. Rock.

And now, without further ado:

2.6 Keeping Up Appearances (title change, guys, this is better)

Cue Dido's "Here With Me", which begins with the line:
"I didn't hear you leave/
I wonder how I'm still here..."

We pan down onto the funeral. It's a cool but still bright September day. There's no sound, only that haunting Dido song. Everyone has come: lecturers, students, Eddie's friends from London, Charlie's brother, Jack Agamemnon lurking at the back. Sir Charles in his wheelchair. John, Eirion and Tom are three of the pallbearers, John particularly stony faced at the front, his back straight, his mind fixated on the task. Charlie leans on Pru for comfort. The coffin is lowered, the priest makes a blessing. Dirt falls. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.

(At this point, I depressed everyone to the point they didn't even feel like roleplaying any more. Sorry!)

The mourners peel off and head home. We jump cut to a bedroom the next day. The camera pans around, we think it's probably Mirandas. There's a sense of clothes scatter...male and female. Then we pan across a neatly folded pink sweater and a pair of white cotton gloves. Yes, it's Fay's room. And in bed with her is John. He stares at the ceiling and she nervously lies her head on his chest.

There's some awkward questions, as Fay has never done this before, and neither has John, he returns. They try and say it doesn't mean anything and so on. Then Rebecca, fay's roommate, swans in and laughingly announces that Pru is on her way to see John. John panics, pulls his pants on and leaps out the door - right in front of Pru.

"Ah. Givng Fay some private tuition, no doubt?" she asks.
"Yeees..."

Actually I think the joke was better than that. We really need to tape these sessions...

And roll credits!

[thenewgirl]

We think it was "extra-curricular activities", it may have been funnier but we only came second at trivia, so we could be wrong.

thenewgirl & MrMacgregor

[SteveD]

The gang meet up at the breakfast table, the rest unaware of John's actions. They are all eating "sad porridge" as Tom puts it - the porridge you move around in the bowl, pick up and drop back down off the spoon. Charlie moodily crunches bacon. John is having none of it, and tells them off for not eating well when they are warriors still fighting a battle.

After breakfast they meet Pru and the Master in the library. The Master gives his condolences and tells them they have one more week of grace - after that, they must decide if they will resume their studies for Michaelmas term, or defer until the new year. John, he adds, has chosen to work even over this break time they've been given, but there is no need.

Pru also gives her condolences and then says she has a project for them to take their mind off things. She introduces them (after about half an hour of beer slash jokes) to a mundane type, one who can't be told about the supernatural, with a problem. He's the Rector at Keble college and head antiquarian, curator of their world famous sword museum, which posseses 309 swords from around the world. In classic Jonathan Creek fashion, last night they all completely disappeared. A single man was seen on the premises, but how could one man steal 309 swords?

The Crime Club is engaged.
Charlie: Yeah, crime. We know crime.
Tom: I read a Hardy Brothers novel once!

Of course, Pru suspects it might be magical, so Charlie is ready:
Charlie: I'll bring my stick!

At the college, Charlie investigates security
Charlie: I see you use Yale deadbolts, they're good.
Tom: But not as good as Harvard ones.

Eirion and Charlie stay to examine the empty hall, John and Tom go look at security tapes. Of course, this means that John and Tom can see and overhear everything the other two say.

Charlie: That reminds me, John needs to pump Fay for information.
Tom in control room: (spits coffee everywhere) (pause, then without irony as he didn't hear it after all) This is cold!

E&C find tears in the walls and tiny slivers of iron and steel.
Eirion and Charlie start waving their sticks around. Eventually, they end up backs to the camera, bobbing up and down, as Eirion shows Charlie how to hold it.

Eirion: You have to hold it tight. You grab it like this until it jumps around.
John in the camera room puts his hand discretely over the screen. Tom resolutely pushes it aside...

They establish from the porter that a man in a black overcoat was seen leaving.
Eirion: that narrows it down, it's either a flasher or a goth
Tom: or Angel, who's both.

Porter: but one man could never carry all those swords!
Tom: hang on. How big was this coat?

Charlie: He was wearing a hat? What kind of hat?
Porter: A cloth cap.
(everyone looks at Eirion)
Eirion: Look, not everyone from Wales is a thief, alright?

John and Tom find a mysterious figure on the video. When Fay calls, John makes weak excuses and goes off with her to analyse it. They talk briefly about how they have to...keep things quiet, for the moment. Again, the undercurrents are wonderful. Half the time this show works almost entirely in subtext - like Firefly.

Commercial around here.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by SteveD
Charlie: That reminds me, John needs to pump Fay for information.
Tom in control room: (spits coffee everywhere) (pause, then without irony as he didn't hear it after all) This is cold!
:D

[SteveD]

The gang return to the libary to discover John has gone insane - he's made powerpoint slides. Breaking down the images on the video show a figure moving at blinding speed, removing all the swords in one frame. But not fast enough to hide its tall green form and curly, ram-like horns. Time to hit the books...although everyone is still wondering why Fay is sitting in. It's a "when did she get to join the club" moment. John does not see the need to explain, so Charlie tries to welcome her...and interrogate her at the same time.

Charlie: Can you do anything?
Fay: Well...maybe I can help. Can you show me which books to look at?
Charlie: Yes. (beat) Pru, can you show me which books to look at?


Somewhere around here, the actor and all round super cool guy Alan Lourdes (Toby Stephens) returns. He swishes in, flicks his hair, smirks and introduces himself to everyone. Tom sneaks up behind him and is about to hit him with a book, but John shakes his head. Alan turns around suddenly and tom has to quickly pretend to be reading. masterful physical comedy.

Alan again asks to buy the sword, but before he can even finish his spiel though, Tom (and John) say the sword isn't for sale. He hands Tom a cheque for twenty thousand pounds, unsigned, to show his interest. Then he meets Charlie, and is quite taken by her. He asks her out that evening. This relieves Tom as Alan also has his eye on Miranda, maybe. Also, there's a coincidence here, and they might want to follow Alan. Tom and Eirion volunteer, but Charlie points out that Tom should really be with Miranda. Before she finds out Alan is in town...

Back to the books, Charlie thinks out loud.
Charlie: So what do you think about fairies?
Tom: It's a totally valid lifestyle choice.

Meanwhile Eirion has found their target - either a Chinese demon called a scisovore, a snake creature famed for swallowing swords and spears, or an ancient fairie rhyme about the widdershins ("a demon that can only walk left!" says Eirion).

Copper and tin!
Copper and tin!
Copper and tin for the widdershins!

Basically, you have to put some scraps of copper and tin on your porch or in a shrine or the widdershins eats your knives and daggers and pins and needles and maybe your scythe. They're household nuisances though...and they're three feet tall. Seven foot ones which eat 309 swords doesn't fit. But the figure in the video didn't look like a snake-man either.

John meanwhile has left with Fay again. He has essays to write. Tom gets off the net (he was checking out Alan on the IMDB) and makes a statement:

Tom: I've been doing some research on Alan Lourdes, and I've figured it out. He's a werewolf.
Eirion: But we've only got one cage, and tonight is full moon.
Tom: That's okay, they can go in their together. They'll sniff each other's butts and become friends.
Eirion: Say, you don't think John's forgotten do you...?

Commercial.

[SteveD]

(Forgot to mention: The Master also told the gang (actually, he told the boys, old habits die hard) that the will would be dealt with tomorrow. So that's coming up.)

And so begins a strange night...

Alan arrives to pick up Charlie. He takes her to the restaurant at the Randolph Hotel (cnr of Broad and St Giles for those location spotting). He's quite a confident man.

Alan: Order whatever you wish, I'm terribly wealthy.
Charlie: It's so rare to meet a man who doesn't mind bragging about his wealth.

Indeed, he takes confidence to the point of arrogance, managing to flatter Charlie and insult her commonness at once.

Meanwhile, John and Fay have arrived at the same restaurant for their first real date. there's a lot of nervousness, Fay's really excited - she's never been anywhere this nice before. John grabs a menu and asks "what should we order?"

Jump cut (the first of many, this ep was rife with these and they were all genius - every time someone said something which worked for one, we did one) jump cut to Tom saying exactly the same line to Miranda. She sighs and says "I'll have a chicken kebab, with chips."

Pull back, Tom's taken her out to Kebab Kid, the greasy kebab shop across the road from the Randolph. Miranda isn't happy. Sure, she likes kebabs, but they come here every week. The romance has gone from their relationship. She wants to feel special again. Tom thinks. A bubble appears above his head with Charlie in it.

Charlie: Tell her she's pretty...and talk about the view!
Tom (to Miranda in her low cut dress): You've got a really nice view.

Cut to Eirion and Pru. They're waiting at the cage, in their winter woolies. Pru passes the thermos. Eirion wonders if John's forgotten. Pru dials John's mobile. Cut back to the restaurant as John turns his mobile off, for privacy. John tries to tell Fay that he has...familial responsibilities. Fay says she understands, him being a lord and she being common, he can't promise anything and she should just go...John says that's not what he meant, it's just...sometimes he has to...take care of duties. He looks at his hands. The hairs on his fingers are growing.

You need to understand the subtlety and building that Col was doing here, though. It was masterful. He drew it out long and slow, and he communicated his meaning and change so very subtley...again, subtext won the day.

Speaking of subtext, after some name dropping (Alan: The new show is fabulous. In fact I was just telling Bobby yesterday - that's Bobby De Niro - that...) Alan and Charlie start talking about swords...but really they're talking about women and/or sexual prowess. Tom has only one sword, so he's very protective of it. Someone with a lot of money and experience like Alan has many swords...but not so many that a new acquisition isn't a special thing, of course. Indeed, he knows the value of a new acquisition more than anyone. Whereas Tom has no idea how to handle his sword, on the market.

Cut back to John and Fay. John is dizzy, thinks the wine is too strong. Might be ill. Fay is worried. John thinks maybe they should leave. Fay says no, this is a nice place.

Miranda (entering with Tom): See? This is a nice place.

They sit, oblivious to the other two couples. Miranda is smiling, but says they still need to talk about him taking her for granted.

John meanwhile is out of control and takes his only option - he bolts like crazy for the toilet. On his way, he knocks an ice bucket all over Charlie and Alan. Alan demands reparations, lest he sue. Charlie rolls her eyes and chases after John, despite him being in the mens. The toilet attendant simply smiles, nods and says he'll ensure their discretion.

Charlie blocks the door with a chair and steps quietly down to the cubicle John's barricaded himself into, trying to stop the change. His muscles bulge, his fingers grow and shrink, sweat runs down his face. There's a lot of grunting. Guarding the door, the attendant's face twists into one of horror and concern about that man's bowels. John yells in panic: "Get Eddie!"

Charlie calls Pru, who is already on her way. She and Eirion grab an old Watcher cover, the animal retrieval van and white overalls, and head over. Meanwhile Charlie has climbed out the window to be safe, and is trying to keep John calm by telling him to name roses.

Charlie: Lady Jane! Eglantyne! ...the pink one! ....the one without the different facing petals in the middle!

Downstairs, and Eirion try to get past the maitre'd by saying they have a dog on in their bathroom.

Eirion: uh, we're with the Animal Protection........League. We're here to collect a wild dog. We've got a dog truck!

The maitre'd thinks its just a prank and refuses to let them in. Eirion goes around the back to find a way in...just in time to catch Charlie as she, trying to reach the window to the women's toilets, falls. She lands in his arms. There is a moment of contact and eye staring....then an embarassed break.

Inside, Alan is yelling and hammering on the door, demanding answers and trying to solve everything. Tom wonders if it is all some prank.

Eirion climbs up to the window to get John, but he's too late. Flowers don't work. John hulks out BIG. The cubicle door rips off its hinges, the toilet cracks and floods the floor and charges out the main door.

Alan: Now, listen. If you let me handle this, I'm sure I can find a simple solu - (SMACK - he gets hit in the back of the head by the door as John barrells out)

Charlie joins Eirion, standing in the flooded bathroom.
Eirion: Roses didn't work.

Eirion chases after John. Alan is getting back on his feet just as he crashes through the door and Alan goes down again. Eirion finds Pru knocked down at the bottom of the stairs. Passing the maitre'd, Eirion says "Uh...it is a prank. Ha ha." They get in the van and drive. Charlie tells her date off for ruining everything and storms out. Tom tells Miranda he has to go. He finds John's pants in the bathroom, grabs his keys and he and Charlie get in Susan and chase after Pru and Eirion.

Left at the bottom of the stairs, Alan and Miranda both stare out after their dates. Then they glance across at each other. Without a word, Alan sticks out his arm, and Miranda takes it...

Upstairs, the maitre'd is trying to make sense of the carnage the "dog" left behind.

"Oh my god, it took all his clothes off and then it ate him!"

Commercial.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Oh dear.

It must be the shock. Yes.

Oh dear...

[SteveD]

Soon enough, we have a sight very reminiscent of last week: Eirion drives the van and Pru hangs out the window with a dowsing rod.

Pru: No...no..not getting anything. Are you sure this works?
Eirion: (shaking his head) Girls just can't hold the rod...

Soon they've left the city behind and are heading west. Stopping to look for tracks, Eirion figures out exactly where he's going - to Sidbury Hall. They arrive to see him rearing up on the battlements, howling at the moon, with unstoppable rage and pain. John couldn't let it out...but maybe his demon can.

But this can't go on, so Pru asks someone to take him down. Charlie is volunteered. She shoots the tranq gun kinda badly. There's a pause.

Tom: Hey, why does my neck hurt? Oh great.... (and he passes out)

And John begins to run again. They chuck Tom in the back of the van and give chase again. But Charlie is a bad shot and John has a titanic constitution, and he can almost out run the van. After a few shots, Tom wakes up and staggers into the front, just as Charlie misfires and slams him with the butt of the rifle.

Tom: hey, what's going - ow. (and he passes out)

Pru gets sick of learning by doing and grabs the gun. Four dead shots and five minutes later, John goes down with a sad, tired growl. The four drive him home and throw him in his cage. Tom and Charlie head back to the Randolph to try and salvage their dates. They discover Alan and Miranda dancing. Fairly closely, too.

They cut in. Miranda is guilty, flushed, and quick to overcompensate. Tom tells her to stay away from Alan, as he's an asshole. Except he's still tranquilised so it comes out "Heth an ath-owe". Alan is all smooth and says he was merely filling in time until she returned, as he knew she would. Charlie flirts a bit and they dance for a bit. Then she goes home...and waits up for Miranda to return. They have to have words about stealing boyfriends.

And meanwhile, dateless Eirion sits in silent vigil by the cage. Then he hears some sobbing from around the corner of the gameskeeper shed. He walks around to find Fay, crying. She says that John faked being ill and ran away because he's repulsed by her and she's so boring and he's so lovely and so of course he could never want her and WHY DO ALL MEN HATE ME? Eirion comforts her, saying that John has been having a lot of problems since Eddie died, and he just didn't want her to see him break down. Fay is comforted and goes home happy.

Going back around the corner, the moon has gone down and the first lightening of the horizon is coming on, and a naked John sits in the cage again. Eirion passes the thermos and they talk.

John: I don't blame you, you know.
Eirion: Maybe you should.
John: No, it wasn't your fault.
Eirion: It was my problem. And I let it effect everyone. I shouldn't have done that.
John: If I've learnt anything these last two years, it's that sometimes we inherit our problems, and there's nothing we can do about that. I was following the scent of your family, you know. They're still out there.
Eirion: You think you could find them?
John: Do you want me to?

Cut.

An amazing conversation. The dialogue was insanely good and incredibly acted. I had chills.

Oh, and one last scene that was missing at game day, but I'll add it here because it belongs in this episode.

Cut to a place we've never seen - another posh hallway leading to a big oaken door. A figure we see from the back, in a black suit, opens it. He stares in horror. The walls are bare. Every sword rack and hook is empty, display cases smashed, walls torn. The dust marks clearly show that hundreds of blades are missing, vanished. The man can't comprehend it. His mouth opens wide. He grasps at his chest. He grimaces in pain. Then he falls over, dead.

And from the darkness, a shadow coalesces over his back, and there is an inhuman, childlike laugh...

Blackout. Caption: To Be Continued...

Roll credits. The zombie makes the noise John did when he got tranqed to sleepiness. Damn it was funny.

Ah, my first two parter. Thanks to Adrian for coming late, and my players for just taking my idea breadcrumbs and making them into plots all on their own. Marvellous.

Next week: what is in Eddie's will? Will John ever be able to move on? Who is stealing swords, and why? What is Alan Lourdes really after? And will there be more full frontal nudity?

Find out next week, in Keeping Up Appearances, Part Two...

Steve

[Burgonet]

Good episode.

Particularly liked the Eirion-John conversation towards the end.
Both of them have moved on nicely as characters since the series started and I am curious as to why the pair are seeking out Eirion's family.
Is the motive revenge or re-unification? Or both?? Eddie, before his demise, thought it would have been a good thing for Eirion to get in touch with his actual family, despite all the previous nastiness. Although, as this is increasingly seeming like a road-accident idea (with casualties!), I suspect no good will come of it. Yay!

Tom is still being Tom. Whoops, there go three nuns, and all. Getting a clue could be Tom's Season 3 sub-plot, perhaps...

Charlie really needs better men to date. Toby Stephens was obviously the rotter this episode. Although he's managed to get himself killed. By some nasty types... I have a theory, but we'll see how the rest of the seaon pans out. Still, Charlie needs a man of character to date. One who recognises the value of wealth... because he has virtually none of his own! I have no idea who that might be, really!

I felt like I put Old Yeller down (again) when I decided to kill/write Eddie out of the series. Still, looks like you are all capitalising on the changes post funeral, so will continue to read future write ups with an renewed interest that comes with a change of perspective - from player to solely audience.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Nothing. Will Ever. Be The Same. Again!

[thenewgirl]

(extra bits that SteveD forgot and stuff that's important to the player of Charlie- me!)

Charlie and Alan:
Charlie asked Alan if he would show her the sword collection at Keble College, 'cause he was so knowledgable etc.. etc.. THEN he asked her out, for dinner. It would have to have been the worst date ever, as he spent a good deal of their initial time together NOT admiring Charlie at all, and talking about Miranda. *sigh*

Sidbury Hall:
Pru was all for shooting John right away and gave Eirion the rifle, but Charlie argued that he wasn't doing any harm sitting on the ruins and howling at the moon and took the rifle off him. It was only when he found a scent and began to run off that she shot him.
(I just want to be clear that Charlie wasn't very gung-ho about the shooting John thing.)

In Miranda and Charlie's room:
The girls had virtually a word for word echo of the conversation they had about Tom in "Perfect Day".
Charlie meets Miranda, her new roommate. Miranda gets to the point,
Charlie: I saw Tom, he's lovely.
Miranda: Yes. And if you steal him, I will rip your fucking skull off. except this time obviously it's about Alan, and how he is Charlie's..

There was more but I forget.. it was a good game. Everyone was a pretty depressed at the start; it was weird not only for the characters to be without Eddie, but for the players too! (Although we did get some Scott goodness at the start!) :)

Oh, just after the funeral I think it was, Charlie read through the "Colonel X Rides Again" book to see if "The Pink Rider" was there and to make sure he was happy in there.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by thenewgirl
Oh, just after the funeral I think it was, Charlie read through the "Colonel X Rides Again" book to see if "The Pink Rider" was there and to make sure he was happy in there.
Awwww... that's lovely...

[colbabe]

Originally posted by SteveD
The gang return to the libary to discover John has gone insane - he's made powerpoint slides.

On Eddie's laptop.

Just thought I might mention that.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Oh, this just gets sadder and sadder... :(

[colbabe]

Originally posted by SteveD
Jump cut (the first of many, this ep was rife with these and they were all genius - every time someone said something which worked for one, we did one)

We reckoned that, although the writing team was the same, a new director was on the scene. One of those experimental people. ;)

You need to understand the subtlety and building that Col was doing here, though. It was masterful. He drew it out long and slow, and he communicated his meaning and change so very subtley...again, subtext won the day.

Oh, you flatterer.

[colbabe]

Originally posted by SteveD
An amazing conversation. The dialogue was insanely good and incredibly acted. I had chills.

Yeah, that was really excellent. That just all came out, no interruptions, no rewrites. I think we've really got a hold of these characters now.

[colbabe]

Originally posted by SALette
...I am curious as to why the pair are seeking out Eirion's family.
Is the motive revenge or re-unification? Or both??

You'll find out soon enough. :) Jody specifically asked for the session to end before Eirion could answer the question. Hey audience, is the curiosity beginning to hurt yet? :D

[Craig Oxbrow]

Yes. Ouch.

[Heronymus]

Originally posted by colbabe
You'll find out soon enough. :) Jody specifically asked for the session to end before Eirion could answer the question. Hey audience, is the curiosity beginning to hurt yet? :D

Shut up and play, bitch.

SteveD and The Gang, you're my heroes.

(Of course, I will never again be able to make a reference to this game without hearing Kool and The Gang in my head...)

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by thenewgirl
There was more but I forget.. it was a good game. Everyone was a pretty depressed at the start; it was weird not only for the characters to be without Eddie, but for the players too! (Although we did get some Scott goodness at the start!) :)

Oh, just after the funeral I think it was, Charlie read through the "Colonel X Rides Again" book to see if "The Pink Rider" was there and to make sure he was happy in there.

Aww...

:p

Although I was mortally afraid the 'beersex' skit would destroy the sombre mood of the session. I had no idea where that came from!

Nice touch checking on Eddie's alter ego. I'm sure he's happy wrasslin' cattle and eat'n the fine pie of his good wife Susan.

:p

Okay, I need to find an outlet for this crude humour I developed while playing Eddie. Crude humour levels building... need... release.

Somebody stop me, please.

:rolleyes:

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by colbabe
On Eddie's laptop.

Just thought I might mention that.

Don't make me come back from the dead to slap some sense into you!

....

Although, if you start hanging out at the right clubs... I approve.
After all, being dead harly excludes one from continuing one's reputation.

;)

[thenewgirl]

Okay, I need to find an outlet for this crude humour I developed while playing Eddie. Crude humour levels building... need... release.

Somebody stop me, please.

:rolleyes:
Nah. Go ahead!

You know you want to!:D

[BethDragon]

*catches up* Ooooooo..... _Nice_ episode! (And I think the Angel crack is high on my fave list. ^^ ) Man, wish you guys played more often!!! And yes, the curiosity is hurting.

Beth, who would also like to chip in money for the fund to get Charlie together with a certain character man...I mean, man of character, yeah, that's it...

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by BethDragon
*catches up* Ooooooo..... _Nice_ episode! (And I think the Angel crack is high on my fave list. ^^ ) Man, wish you guys played more often!!! And yes, the curiosity is hurting.

Beth, who would also like to chip in money for the fund to get Charlie together with a certain character man...I mean, man of character, yeah, that's it...

I hear that men of character have a Cornish farmer's Dinner set, somewhere in their meagre but sensible collection of personable assets.

;)

[SteveD]

I didn't know if the Miranda thing happened, or if it was happening next week, so I left it out.

I also wasn't sure if the Pink Rider thing happened on stage.

But yes, it was Eddie's laptop. And Eddie's car John was driving.

Although he's managed to get himself killed. By some nasty types... I have a theory, but we'll see how the rest of the seaon pans out.

Almost consistently, Scott's theories have been wrong. You're even wrong about Alan Lourdes being dead. Not that I'm complaining - I like that I keep y'all guessing.

Oh man, what you don't know....it makes me giggle.

Steve

[Burgonet]

So, are you lot playing this coming weekend, or in two weekends time as per normal?

[thenewgirl]

This weekend! We couldn't wait to finish the two-parter!:)

*Charlie looks at her feet and realises she is standing on some railroad tracks.... *

hmmmmmm

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by thenewgirl
This weekend! We couldn't wait to finish the two-parter!:)

*Charlie looks at her feet and realises she is standing on some railroad tracks.... *

hmmmmmm

Good oh.

Still, at least this way, you'll get to see the train coming.

Much better than other forms of Death Trap(tm).

;)

[Jody Macgregor]

Originally posted by SALette
I hear that men of character have a Cornish farmer's Dinner set, somewhere in their meagre but sensible collection of personable assets.
I have no idea who or what you speak of :)

Although Eirion did sneak off to read 'Colonel X Rides Again' with Charlie while they were supposed to be researching. He now knows more about Pru than he really wants to, but the Pink Rider does seem happy.

[thenewgirl]

SteveD and The Gang, you're my heroes.
Does this mean I need to start wearing pink?
you know.. like all gang members on that other thread....

ah forget it....

[BethDragon]

Originally posted by SALette
I hear that men of character have a Cornish farmer's Dinner set, somewhere in their meagre but sensible collection of personable assets. ;)
Hmm...good for an impromptu picnic. Or a dinner for two on a rooftop under the stars....

^^

Beth

[dalziel_86]

Originally posted by SteveD
John hulks out BIG. The cubicle door rips off its hinges, the toilet cracks and floods the floor and charges out the main door.
Just as HulkJohn barreled past, and Tom got up to follow him, he turned to Miranda and said, "This is not a nice place." :)

[Burgonet]

I think it needs a cumback... (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=2190724#post2190724)

[Unregistered steve d]

We definitely have to play next week, as the week after is Easter and may screw things up.

Meanwhile, I can't believe I forgot Tom's line - I even remembered the feed line.

As for Eirion and Charlie, let me quote Col, John's player:

"Hey, I had to wait a series and a half to get my girlfriend! You two can't just jump into bed!"

Expect it to be long and painful. cos you love it.

Steve

[BethDragon]

Originally posted by Unregistered steve d
As for Eirion and Charlie, let me quote Col, John's player:

"Hey, I had to wait a series and a half to get my girlfriend! You two can't just jump into bed!"

Expect it to be long and painful. cos you love it.
Awww... Well, yeah, expected it to take a while. It _is_ Buffy after all. (Anyone have Tragic Love? ^^ )

And there is a difference tween getting a girl and sex! :) Eirion could get Charlie and no horizontalness need happen for a while.

Beth, hopeless matchmaker.

[thenewgirl]

I wouldn't be counting any chickens, Jody and I have plans of our own for the characters!;)

[The Architect]

At the risk of encouraging longer delays between episodes, I have to say it was worth the wait.

[BethDragon]

TNG & Jody - :p Spoilsports!

Beth

[SteveD]

Beth, you think that's bad, they won't even tell me what they're planning!

And John has Tragic Love. Poor, poor Fay....

Arch - huh? This was another two weeker, same as the whole second series.

Steve

[colbabe]

Originally posted by SteveD
Beth, you think that's bad, they won't even tell me what they're planning!

I've just CCed you an e-mail with some dastardly stuff. Muahahahaha! Well, actually, it's not all that malevolent.

And John has Tragic Love. Poor, poor Fay....

:D :( :) (This is me having mixed emotions about Fay's fate. I deserve it though, I took the Drawback, and I have to pay for it. Let me just put this to everyone out there in TVland: Fay doesn't know about the demon half yet...)

Arch - huh? This was another two weeker, same as the whole second series.

I think Arch knows that. Two weeks is still a long time for fans. Still, thank you Arch and Beth and Heronymus and everyone for being wonderful fans.

[SteveD]

Let me just put this to everyone out there in TVland: Fay doesn't know about the demon half yet....

How DO you break that to a girl?

Steve

[The Architect]

Originally posted by SteveD
Arch - huh? This was another two weeker, same as the whole second series.

Steve

How odd. Seemed longer. Damnable anticipation.

[thePill]

Originally posted by SteveD
------------------------------------------
Let me just put this to everyone out there in TVland: Fay doesn't know about the demon half yet....
---------------------------------------
How DO you break that to a girl?

Steve
I've got a couple of things to do 'til tomorrow. Oh, I've written it down somewhere.

Let's see, I've got to pick up John and take him to pick up a couple of books for class, drive him back to his dorm, get some metal polish and a couple of toadstools from the magic shop for Prue, go lock myself in a cage for the night, turn into a demon thing, bay at the moon, and then hurry back for a shower in the morning, and a quick cram session for that quiz tomorrow afternoon, before meeting you for breakfast.

What have you got to do 'til tomorrow?

[thenewgirl]

WOOT!

Another excellent epsiode- with sadness and twists and more disasterous dates!
:D

[Elemental]

Originally posted by SteveD
How DO you break that to a girl?

Steve

"Hey, baby, I'm a demon in the sack...no, it's not a metaphor...." :p

[Burgonet]

Look forward to reading the write up in time.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Now you know how we feel. Sorry dude.

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by Craig Oxbrow
Now you know how we feel. Sorry dude.

I find human emotions highly illogical.

ermm... Captain.

;)

[SteveD]

This week's episode would have made Craig's head explode...except he already knew about the twist.

But those of you near Beth might want to, I don't know, put on some goggles or something.

:)

Tonight, I promise.

Steve

[colbabe]

All I can say is: Darn that pesky Tragic Love drawback.

Oh, and: Thank you Scott for the added material in this ep. This should last us a few seasons more at least.

[The Architect]

Something just occured to me.

It's the 21st century. Why aren't the Watchers teaching Prentices and Slayers to use spear guns instead of crossbows?

They're more efficient, easier to conceal, more common and a touch less likely to get you weird looks if someone sees you with one.

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by colbabe
All I can say is: Darn that pesky Tragic Love drawback.

Oh, and: Thank you Scott for the added material in this ep. This should last us a few seasons more at least.

Season 4 for at least one of the threads, I reckon.

;)

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by The Architect
Something just occured to me.

It's the 21st century. Why aren't the Watchers teaching Prentices and Slayers to use spear guns instead of crossbows?

They're more efficient, easier to conceal, more common and a touch less likely to get you weird looks if someone sees you with one.

Easy to answer.

There is a Watcher Oligarchy in the Buffyverse, which own a sizable 85% of the tree farms and crossbow factories necessary in the creation, production and distribution of crossbows.

I understand a rival faction is trying to bring these new-fangled spear guns in... but are struggling in anything beyond a niche.

:)

[thenewgirl]

Originally posted by colbabe
Oh, and: Thank you Scott for the added material in this ep. This should last us a few seasons more at least.
Yeah! You managed to depress all our characters thoroughly and give us plot without even being there in person!
:)

[SteveD]

Spearguns are not PROPER. They're unseemly, unwieldly and well, American.

I mean, we're talking about an English society that has existed in its current form since the thirteenth century. Consider the fact that every year, Magdelen college gives the Oxford town council 4 shillings to pay for straw in the castle prisons. The castle burned down in the Reformation.

Now, what was this about change and the modern Watcher?

Steve

[The Architect]

There's a difference between respecting tradition and being hidebound. Especially in the case of an (ostensibly) secret society dedicated to training a select few to defend humanity from what would threaten it, while preventing the bulk of humanity from discovering it was ever at risk to begin with.

Crossbows are obvious (threatening the secrecy of the mission) and obsolete (threatening the success of the mission). For an organisation that is so pragmatic about its members (and charges), you would think they would be more practical in their methods.

The Watchers really need a modernizing influence in its membership.

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by The Architect
*SNIP*
The Watchers really need a modernizing influence in its membership.

It's a game where far sillier things are real; ie. Magic and Monsters.

It's a fashion statement.
I honestly don't see any problem.

Now... onto the matter at hand... what happened this session?

[Mortality]

Originally posted by The Architect
The Watchers really need a modernizing influence in its membership. Well, the watcher in the game I'm running is a robot. That good enough for you?

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by Mortality
Well, the watcher in the game I'm running is a robot. That good enough for you?

Is it a good, or evil, Robot Us'es?

;)

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by SteveD
This week's episode would have made Craig's head explode...except he already knew about the twist.
I have my own game (and life) for head explodey.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by SALette
Now... onto the matter at hand... what happened this session?
Hear hear!

[SteveD]

How exactly is a speargun concealable?

And have you used a modern crossbow? They're pretty reliable and sturdy, and have heaps of penetration. Accuracy not so much but I bet they reload faster than a speargun. On account of using quarrels, not spears.

Episode? What episode?


Oh riiiiiight....

[SteveD]

Not the greatest of sessions. Tiredness in both GM and players. A lack of Eddie depression and a distinct missing of Scott. :( I was resting on my laurels a bit after last week. THing about two parters is you can't just pick up where you left off. Because writing for act 3 is totally different from writing for act 1 and 2 of next week. I didn't have enough act 1 and 2 stuff going on (because 3 was going to be peppered with date and hulking out chaos) so it dragged a bit. It climaxed very well though, which is good, and prompted many jokes about me climaxing.

Me: I'm building to a narrative climax.
Col: So Steve - do you ever fake your narrative climaxes?

The Carry On spirit was with us again, as we went from waggling sticks to spraying cream. We once planned to do a Carry On episode, but we don't need to. Although it was almost Benny Hill this ep, which was so very wrong...

Anyway....

[Random Nerd]

Originally posted by SteveD
But those of you near Beth might want to, I don't know, put on some goggles or something.


If you cause Beth's head to explode, I hope you at least have the decency to put a tarp down first, mister!

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by SteveD
Not the greatest of sessions. Tiredness in both GM and players. A lack of Eddie depression and a distinct missing of Scott. :(

I'm not dead yet!!

:)

Cheer up! You're affecting my Shiatsu!

:)

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by SteveD
Episode? What episode?


Oh riiiiiight....
I endeavour to look patient.

[dalziel_86]

Originally posted by Craig Oxbrow
I endeavour to look patient.
I don't. I have Mozilla Firefox set to reload this page every thirty seconds. :D

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by Craig Oxbrow
I endeavour to look patient.

You want me to Shaitsu you while we wait...?

You look tense....

;)

[SteveD]

2.7 Keeping Up Appearances Part Two

After a brief discussion about "slashfact" (the opposite of slash fiction) we come in on Pru's study (not often seen). John stands to attention, having been called on carpet. Pru takes him to task for endangering himself, endangering the secrecy of his heritage, endangering the secrecy of the supernatural and endangering the very watcher's council itself! Not to mention the risk to innocent people. She tells him he's lost concentration and she'll be checking up more from now on. John breaks down and tells Pru about Eddie being his brother. Pru melts in a moment and clutches him to her bosom.

Then she also tells him not to endanger poor naive Fay with his advances, and demands that he be gentlemanly and honourable. She'll help him tell her about his condition if and when it becomes the right time. John says thank you. He is dismissed. Roll credits.

At breakfast, Miranda is suddenly closer to Tom, and Charlie is talking to Fay. Charlie checks if Fay still wants to come to London for their girl's day out.

Fay: Would John be coming?
Charlie: Well....see, he's not really a girl.
Fay: (big happy sigh, eyes in the distance) Yeah....he's really not...

Fay is still worried about John, and how to get close to him.

Fay: What does he like?
Charlie: I don't really know...
Fay: But does he like me?
Charlie (sees John standing behind Fay with a bunch of white roses): Oh I think he definitely likes you. And uh, now, I have to go...and do...a thing...

They have a very amusing and very nervous conversation about meeting later, after Fay's 10am tutorial session. For lunch, or something. Fay skips off as Pru comes bustling in. Round up the troops, something has happened. John has a tray full of breakfast and looks dismayed. Eirion comes in after mucking out John's cage and is equally annoyed at missing breakfast.

Last night, someone at the Ashmolean museum was checking on their extensive sword collection and found them all gone. He instantly died of a heart attack from the shock. It's all over the papers, and some bright spark also broke the Keble robbery story. Art thieves don't make big news but it's a national tragedy. The gang speculate:

Charlie: Wait a minute. Why do all these people keep checking on their swords? Who checks their sword collection in the middle of the night?
John: You're not a boy.

Reading further they discover it wasn't quite the middle of the night.

Charlie: Oh, it was only eight pm.
Tom: Well, that's practically the middle of the night
Charlie: Especially for English people
John: Yes, it's past Second Horlicks Time.

The gang worry about Tom's sword:

Charlie: Maybe you should sleep with your sword
(Tom reacts with confusion)
Charlie: Just tie it to your leg or something!
Pru: He can't do that, do you know how big it is?
(Tom crosses his legs)
Charlie: But then someone can't grab it in the night!
(Tom crosses his legs the other way)

Possibly the thieves might target Alan's collection, or he might have something to do with it. Charlie has a plan:

Charlie: Maybe I could ask Alan is I could see his swords?
Eirion: (a bit too loudly and forcefully) No!

Pru also announces that they have to go to the reading of the will at 11am - the time John is meeting Fay. Despite needing to make a plan, John goes off to meet Fay anyway. Charlie stands by the phone.

Charlie: I'm going to ring Alan. No I'm not. Yes I am.

Finally she picks up the phone and dials. He's delighted to hear from her.

Charlie: I was wondering if I could see your sword collection. I like swords.
Alan: Well of course you do.

Pru tells Charlie to be careful, as the man probably only wants one thing from her. She then frets about John rushing into things and getting carried away. Charlie assures her its fine.

Cut to John sitting like a puppy dog outside Fay's tut room, watching the clock. It's 10.23 am. When he looks at the clock again, it is still 10.23am. He shakes his watch and listens to it.

Commercial.

[dalziel_86]

And in the ad-break:

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[SteveD]

You're going to hate me.

The next scene is the reading of the will, and dammit, I left the text at work. And it should be in here.

And I'm tired.

I'll write it in breaks at work tomorrow and post it by the afternoon.

But it does include the line:

Tom: Hey, everybody else got money and property! All I got was nudie cards!

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by SALette
You want me to Shaitsu you while we wait...?

You look tense....

;)
I always look like this. :(

[SteveD]

Well, my players have come through, so let's crank this baby up again.

John meets Fay for a quick chat and then they go to the will reading. As in Fay comes too. The gang are a bit confused, and Pru can't stop scowling with worry.

Eddie's will is as follows:

This is the Last Will and Testament of Edward Hunton-Smythe



I hereby revoke all former wills and testamentary disposition made by me, and by this last will I do hereby give, devise and bequeath all my real and personal estate in the following manner.



To John Talbot; I bequeath the following moneys, items, assets and sundry notary-



My Rolls Royce motor vehicle, registration [rego and other details here]

Investment portfolio #817; as managed by Windsor, Tudor and Associates, London. [estimated value 50 million pounds].

Personal effects and assets as located in Oxford residence, with exception as bequeathed to other recipients.

Antique collection as located upon the Hunton-Smythe estate; Coventry, England. Includes artwork, weaponry, personal library and other valuable collectables. [Estimated appraised value 20 million pounds].



To Thomas ; I bequeath the following moneys, items, assets and sundry notary-



A collection of late Victorian era playing cards with risqué and lurid poses from naked ladies on each.



To Eirion; I bequeath the following moneys, items, assets and sundry notary-



Arrangements to continue your bursary supplement have been made.

The fund is to be managed by Windsor, Tudor and Associates, London; with the specifics of this arrangement to be discussed with you on my behalf at a future time suitable to you.

Upon reaching graduation from Oxford, the remainder of the fund is bequeathed to you.



To Charlie; I bequeath the following moneys, items, assets and sundry notary-



Part ownership of the Underground; public venue at the Goods Yard

London N1, United Kingdom. Details of this ownership are detailed in a separate document, to be part owned with her brother James.



This hereby ends the reading of this will.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hands this day, [date given].



Signed by the above name; Edward Hunton-Smythe: _________________


In the presence of us, who at the same time in the presence of him, and in the presence of others have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses:

Charles Hunton-Smythe, [address given]: _________________

Prudence Price, [address given]: _________________

[SteveD]

A letter is attached to the will. Pru reads it out, and makes it the whole way through with only a few sniffles in her section.

The estate of edward hunton-smythe

Last updated: 20th of August, 1999

To the my fellows of the Watcher Academy,
Oxford, Oxfordshire
England.

To All Here Present,
If you are reading this, then I have met with an unfortunate end.
I hope that in reading this, all of you are otherwise alive and well.
I apologise for not being with you at this time, but due to circumstances most likely beyond my control you have been brought here today to hear these words.


Know that it has been a pleasure to have worked and served with each of you. I thought I’d take the time to say in words that which I’ve not had the chance, perhaps, to say in life.

To John – You were always like a brother to me; it shall be hard to imagine an afterlife without you. When you first became drawn into this murky, sublime world that is ours, I had my doubts. I feared that my childhood friend would find himself destroyed by what he experienced and saw.

Fortunately, I was proved to be quite wrong on this. You’ve thrived in this secretive, pressure-cooker environment and have proved yourself capable time and time again. I’ve no doubt you’ll go on to do great things. I only hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for the injustice I did you last year and in turn I hope that I in death can find peace within myself for my actions. I will miss you in death most of all.

Eirion – Our time in London was oddly a godsend. Despite the fact that we were perhaps over our heads, I’ll always treasure that time the most. For I realised that although we came from very different backgrounds, we had similar outlooks on life. That said always remember to stay true to yourself. Listen to your own heart Eirion but remember that part of a measure of a man is his judgement of other people as well as how he himself is judged.

Tom – I never really knew you. We served alongside each other, studied together. But I never knew you. I suspect this is because you do not know yourself. Get to know yourself, before it is too late! I’m not sure whether your emotional distance is an act you put on to compensate for your sense of alienation, or a reflection of a genuine gulf you have in your own heart. If there is one thing I have learned in the past year and some more in knowing you, it is that one should not be afraid to express your feelings and identity to others. Dare to be yourself!

Charlie – I sadly am writing this, only having known you for a week and a little more. I wish I’d had a chance to get to know you better and indeed I look forward to updating this letter in its next instalment. My initial impressions of you are quite positive. Although you should be aware that John, Eirion and Tom are all very awkward around you – very awkward. For reasons you can no doubt surmise! For now however I am glad that I had a chance to meet and get to know you, if only for a short time.

Prue – Ma’am, what can I say about you that will do you any justice? We haven’t always seen eye to eye, but you’ve always been there when I needed you. I am sorry to have left this world before you but know in your heart that you were my mother, in spirit. Stay well, Ma’am!

In closing, I am reminded by the words of Emily Dickinson, who wrote:

‘Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.’

I shall miss you all.
Your friend,
“Eddie”
Edward Hunton-Smythe

[dalziel_86]

Ad-break:

<center>Tommy Lee Jones Alan Rickman

What happens when the source of life...

...becomes the source of death?

TLJ: The sun is crashing into LA!


<b>VOLCANO 2:
Solar Impact</b>


Space Is A Harsh Mistress</center>

[SteveD]

Also included from Eddie's files are some notes to individuals. These are read out in voice over but not revealed to the whole group:

(To Charlie)
[written note]
Charlie,

There’s something you should know. Your brother and I are close. We met soon after you and I did, that weekend away in London at the FsoL ‘Paralstasis’ gig.

We became ‘friends’ (a nice way of putting it) at first but in a few weeks I think, and perhaps being presumptuous about it, more than just ‘friends’. James is currently having some ‘issues’ (to put it mildly) at the moment in coming out – he’s at that delicate age.

I’ve done what I can to help him deal with these resulting issues but he will need your help in ‘coming out’, so to speak. And no, I didn’t corrupt him! This isn’t a disease we gentlemen have, it’s a calling.

I’m including this note as an addendum to this damned macabre ‘will and testiwank’ letter. If all goes well, we’ll have this conversation in the flesh soon enough, and I’ll be able to tear this thing up and speak to you directly. Much the preference, dear lady!

-Eddie.

(To Eirion)
[printed note – I’d send it as email if Eirion knew what a computer was!]
E-
I’ve received word from Jackie the Greek a rumour that the terrible Woluf is again stalking the streets of London. I’ve included here his contact details. He says it’s urgent – but take everything Jackie says with a grain of salt. I think there’s more to Mister Woluf that meets the eye. I suspect there may be more than one.
-E

(To John)
[unsent email]
John,
I’ve been doing some research into your condition. I am not entirely sure as to the validity of the claims, and will have to do some further research and perhaps in turn I am being quite preliminary in raising this.

But I think I may have found a cure – well, more the source of your condition. I’ll discuss the details with you next week, right after the ‘Father-Son’ week. I’m really worried about Father, he’s becoming both more ill, and more aggressive. There was something in his voice on the phone last night. What the hell is going on in our fucked up family?

Yours,
Edward Hunton-Smythe
queereyeonthewatch@oxford.edu.uk
“I am young enough to know everything!”
Paraphrasing Oscar Wilde

[SteveD]

The mood (in and out of game) is sombre. Pru suggests they get back on the case to cheer up...but once again John has gone off with Fay. They go to the botanical gardens and hold each other for a while.

Attending the Ashmolean, the team find things much the same as at the last scene. Eventually though, they find a spot of blood in the body outline. Chest height. Not symptomatic of a heart attack.

At the morgue, Charlie uses her +4 hawtness to distract the geeky body pusher (he takes her into his office to show her his slides of dead bodies) and the others scurry past doing the scooby doo walk. Confirmed: a puncture wound to the chest. Reviewing the chart finds something metallic lodged in the left ventricle which may have exacerbated the attack. John tries to probe the wound for fibres and totally muffs it.

John: (off Tom's expression) What?
Tom: Nothing, I'm just waiting for his nose to light up.

They creep back, motion to Charlie to keep going with the distraction. Tom climbs a drain pipe and nicks the sample they took from the wound and the X-ray of the chest and shimmies down again. Col bursts into the office as the geek is asking Charlie out and tells her that she has to come immediately - it's a Crime Club Emergency! SOMEONE STOLE THE "E" FROM THE PARKS ROAD SIGN!

This is an Oxford in-joke as Parks Road has no E....

Back in the library, Tom waves his stick over the X-ray. Pru explains again that they detect large geographical magic concentrations like the barrier. Meanwhile, Eirion suggests it might be elf shot. Tom is confused.

Tom: That makes no sense. They're too big to fit in those tiny glasses.

John and Tom take the metal fibres to the lab girl they went to last series for an analysis. (I forget when and why, but Tom failed his charisma roll and she demanded payment up front) Upon seeing Tom, she repeated the same line: Twenty pounds. She took the bit of metal and moved it onto a slide with her finger - which is then cut very deeply. John sitting outside says:

John: I hope she remembers him. (Sudden sharp scream) Ah, she does remember him...

Charlie and Eddie, meanwhile, sit in the back of the stacks for some hot stack action. That is to say, they are reading everything in the library on fairies which is...not much. Not much that isn't legend, hearsay and vague reports. Compared to demons, these things are ciphers, never captured, never killed, never able to be studied. As they read, Eirion discusses his note, as does Charlie a bit. They agree they should go to London and check out Charlie's club. Charlie mentions briefly that they might go to "the place where the thing that happened....happened."

They find out that the widdershins once was known to eat daggers, so it looks like their beast. But it was never known to use a bow of elfshot, as it has claws like a redcap. Fair folk teaming up? Not without legendary precedent - trolls helping the shining ones, brownies working with pixies...but why? Then Eirion gets a nasty shock when he turns a page and sees a rare 16th century painting of a pre-christian legend that was adjusted. In this version of the painting, though, the knight's sword comes from elves in the trees, not god.

What's shocking is that the sword in the knight's hand is the spitting image of Tom's.

Commercial.

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by SteveD
John breaks down and tells Pru about Eddie being his brother. Pru melts in a moment and clutches him to her bosom.



Awww.... if I wasn't dead, I'd be shedding a tear.

I know from my Noir game game that the Damned Don't Cry... but what about the Dead?

:)

[Cheer up, you lot!]

[Burgonet]

Another Ad-break!

<center>


Hawaii's Most Famous Private Investigator.
His life shattered when his best friend mysteriously dies.
A perilous quest to uncover the truth.

George Clooney
Is...
<b>Magnum PI.</b>

At cinemas everywhere like the clap - 2005.

Because New Ideas are Too Hard, and we all need a paycheck.</center>

[SteveD]

Pru is fretting. The lords and ladies can't be here, in these numbers, this obviously...this is peasant stories and myth. Things of shadow and smoke. The shield doesn't stop fairies, it only works on demons. My mother said I never should play with the fairies in the wood. She also can't believe that Tom's sword could be a fairie blade. She bustles off to get more books just as Charlie discovers that the widdershins apparently can't cross a line of cream which is skimmed off the first bucket taken from a cow milked at sunrise.

Things are interrupted when Alan Lourdes comes swanning in. He says he's early but he saw the papers and wants to talk to Tom about securing his property. Eirion assures Alan that Tom is taking the utmost care of his sword. Cut to outside as Tom is cutting long grass with it.

Tom: I am the Master of Grass!

Tom then makes his way into the library. Seeing nobody about, he starts doing ninja poses with his sword. The others step out and watch for a while. Then Alan coughs discretely. He petitions Tom once more: let him take the sword to America for his upcoming sales tour. The interest in the new piece will spike sales and thus he can compensate Tom accordingly - while keeping the sword safe from the thieves. Tom declines yet again. The gang assure Alan that security is fine. In fact, they stress, the sword will be perfectly safe...In The Library. Right here, In The Library.

Alan adjourns and they postulate. He can't be involved as he was at dinner last night when the theft took place. But it is mysterious....

They go get ready. Charlie asks Miranda for help picking out her dress:

Charlie: What about this one?
Miranda: Nice, but a bit slutty? Unless that's the look you want...
(ouch)

Tom and Eirion go to Cook and ask her to fill their supersoakers with cream.

Cook: Why?
John: We're making a cake
Tom: Yes. A cake A LONG WAY AWAY.

Pru points out they also have a secret weapon.

Tom: Our secret weapon is to shoot cream!
Pru: No, I meant John, in his beast form.

Eirion and Charlie have a thought about fairie circles and think Wadham might be hit next, so Eirion goes to stake it out. John of course will be in the cage, which they get a porter to move in to the library.

Tom: Don't you want to know why we're putting a cage in the library?
Amazingly Cliche Northern Porter: Aye, well, I don't meddle in th' affairs o' th' gentry, sir. Youse wantin' a cage in the library than ol' Albert puts one there. Don't need no whys or wherefores. I once had to move a meat locker into the master's study...ah, but that be another story...

With Eirion gone, John transformed and Charlie on a date, Tom takes up the two-gun action. But Charlie sends Miranda to help.

Before Charlie leaves, she talks to John about telling Fay. John is terrified, but Charlie says it has to come out.

Charlie: She might scream and run a million miles, but at least she'll know.
John: I'm confused, which part of that is good?

Charlie urges John to also try and pump Fay for information. John tells her to get off his back.

John: Anyway, weren't you supposed to be pumping Alan for information last night?
Charlie: I was busy...I was stuck in the men's toilet talking to this crazy demon guy about roses.
Tom: Now there's a romantic evening and a half.
Pru: Look, let's drop it. He can pump Fay any time.

The worst part is, John has to cancel his plans with Fay AGAIN. And once again, for his Crime Club duties. Fay spits the dummy and demands to come. John says its too dangerous.

Fay: Then why are you going?
John: I'm willing to risk my life. I'm not willing to risk yours.
Fay: Don't I get to make that decision?
John: No. Look....I just don't want to see you get hurt.
Fay: (huffily) Well, it seems like you're not seeing me at all. (and she storms off)

Alan arrives to pick up Charlie. He bores her terribly about Tom's swords. Charlie isn't pleased. Sudden jump cut to John saying "That didn't go very well." John locks himself in a cage as Tom tells him that Miranda's coming over to help him shoot cream. He reflects a moment on this sentence.

Tom: Ah. It's what Eddie would have wanted...

Meanwhile, Eirion finds nobody breaking into Wadham College. In fact, he finds nobody at all at Wadham. The night seems still, and silent. Like time is holding its breath. And then a chill comes too, and with it, fog, and the clip-clop of hooves on the road. Hiding in the bushes, Eirion sees a sight few have ever seen before and lived: four white horses, each saddle baring a lither, pointy-eared rider in leather tunics of ancient and exotic design unlike any in any museum. Their alabaster skins shine in the electric lights. Their long hair flashes gold. But no light reflects from their cold black eyes.

They laugh to themselves and ride right past Eirion, right past Wadham college and down the street. Down into Oxford.

Eirion finally figures out how to use Pru's mobile and dials Charlie.

Eirion: ....they're here.

Commercial.

[SteveD]

God it's late.

Back in the library, Miranda is staring fascinated at John, already transformed. She wonders what sort of experiments they could run on him, test his strength and mass change...Tom says he probably wouldn't like that...and she should step away from the cage, maybe.

Eirion calls Charlie, but she's with Alan:

Eirion: The elves are here!
Charlie: Oh, really? That's...that's not good.
Eirion: They rode right down the street
Charlie: Well did you call the doctor?
Eirion: What doctor?
Charlie Maybe you should take her to the hospital?
Eirion: Oh, this is some kind of CODE....

Eirion gives chase. Charlie gets Alan to drive her back to town. Meanwhile, Fay bursts into the library looking for John. Luckily the open part of the cage faces away from the door. Tom and Miranda step protectively in front of it. John's pheromones kick in and he growls a bit at Fay's smell.

Fay: Is John here?
Tom: Not... really....
Fay: Well is he or isn't he?
Tom: Yes.
Fay: Well, do you know when he'll be back? I need to talk to him.
Tom: Definitely by the morning, yes.
Fay: Has he got his mobile with him?
Tom: (stepping in front of it, on the table.) Yes. Yes he has.
Fay: Okay, well I'll try that. (she turns to leave, then slowly turns around) Why are you standing in front of a cage?
Tom: er...
Fay: (more alarmed) ...and why are you carrying waterpisolts and a bandolier full of...yoghurt?
Tom: It's a game.
Fay: Okay.
Tom: Miranda and I are playing a game
Fay: (TMI gesture) OoooKAY....hey, why can I hear heavy breathing? (John's growling)
Tom: MIRANDA AND I ARE PLAYING A GAME!
Fay: (really freaked now) okay! (and she blushes and runs off)

Tom relaxes and quickly turns John's phone off so Fay can't find him.

Eirion follows the elves down Catte street. They turn left at Radcliffe Square, into the High. As they pass, the same silence and stillness goes with them, and nothing disturbs them. They drift like ghosts through the street. They go passed University College, and Queens, and past St Edmund's Hall...which just leaves....

Eirion desperately rings Pru. Pru is in her dressing gown in her digs, drinking Horlicks and reading Colonel X books instead of studying fairies.

Pru: Oh, Colonel X (lusty sigh) (the phone rings, she answers nervously) I wasn't! I mean...hello?
Eirion: There are elves! They're heading right to the college!
Pru: John! We must warn them! I'll call John's mobile!

Cut back to it, flashing unseen. Tom and Miranda sit on John's box and discuss relationships. Theirs needs more romance -she needs to feel special again, and Miranda's also worried about Fay. Tom says John's a nice guy. Miranda says she hopes not, as Fay could probably use a good shag.

Miranda: And speaking of things which need a good shag... (she puts down her supersoaker)
Tom: What?
Miranda: I mean, it would be spontaneous and romantic...
Tom: (putting down his supersoaker) Now?

Damn right now. The giant angry widdershins comes crashing through the library window!

[SteveD]

Cream gets sprayed everywhere, but the damn thing is just too fast. It charges Tom and knocks his supersoaker flying. Miranda just has time to open John's lock then the two of them leap out of the way. John bursts out and goes Street Fighter on the green horned fairie beast. It's brutal, and is destroying the library. Caws rend flesh. Beasts bellow.

Meanwhile, Eirion chases the elves right in the front gate of Magdelen and up the stairs. He tries to stop them but one look from them stops him. He just can't touch these beautiful perfect people who are better than him.

Eirion: (sadly) Oh...I shouldn't have hobbled their horses....

Tom and Mir burst out of the library and spray cream everywhere. Tom hears the elves and turns around and soaks one. He carefully wipes it off before making Tom equally obedient. They tell him they're hear to fetch their pet, and their sword. Tom points to where these are located - luckily Pru was holding the sword for safe keeping.

Pru indeed runs into Charlie in the courtyard.

Pru: What's going on?
Charlie: I got a call from Eirion there are fairies and I was on a date and it wasn't going very well and why are you holding Tom's sword?

Pru doesn't know if Tom will need it, or if they should hide it. Charlie tells her to hide it and runs to help. She barrels up the stairs and down the corridor to the library, where the elves are now located. Then she stops and runs back and slaps Eirion and Tom around the face for a bit.

The elves watch for a while as John starts to get the upper hand on the widdershins.

Elf: Hmm. Tainted with demon blood, but mortal.
Elf: Amusing.
Elf: Mmm. Kill it.

And elf shot flies through the air. Three arrows hit John in the back. He turns around howling in pain. He leaps at them....and right over their heads. The widdershins, crazed and bloody charges the elves in between. Two of them pair off to bring it down. The other two knock two more arrows at John.

Suddenly Charlie opens the door and panics. Her TK kicks in, big, and the bows fly out of the elves hands and smash against the wall. They draw their swords but then Charlie throws them back too - and they fly right into the cage. Eirion leaps on it and slams the lock shut. John writhes in agony and drops to the ground, unconcious. The two remain elves fell the widdershins, and advance on Charlie.

Then Tom leaps into the fray, having retrived his sword. But even with the sword, he is no match for two master swordsmen with similarly shining white blades. They slice his arms up good and proper. Miranda casts a healing spell on John then grabs Charlie and tells her to run. The elves are trying to bust out of the cage, despite the iron. Tom gets stabbed in the chest. John slowly gets to his feet, bloody and dying, but ready to fight. There's a moment, as the heroes realise how grim things are....

....and in that moment, the door opens.

Fay: Look, I can't get through....

And she surveys the scene. Porcupine demons. Elves. Swordfighitng. Blood. She bites her lip. She turns to the porcupine demon and puts her hand tenderly on its arm, and turns its face to hers.

Fay: John - I'm sorry it had to happen like this. I wish it could have been different. I wish I could have told you.

And then she starts to change. She stops looking at her shoes and raises her chin as she rises her shoulders, reaching her full height. Her hair flows out of its bun into a mane of fiery red. Her skin seems to glow like polished ivory. The temperature seems to drop. Her eyes sparkle with green fiery motes. And her demeanour is no longer meek little Fay. It is the demeanour of a queen.

Fay: What is the meaning of this?
Elf: My - my lady!
Elf: My lady?
Fay: Hmmm?
Elf: We were only following orders -
Fay: But not MY orders, hmm? And am I not presiding here?
Elf: Yes but -
Fay: Then go. Return to the court immediately and await my punishment. Of course...if you wish to commit suicide before I return, that would SAVE ME SOME TROUBLE - and you some pain.
Elf: Yes my lady.
Fay: Go.
Elves: Yes my lady.

And they grab their compatriots from the cage, then flee.

On her way out, Charlie blurts out "Can't you help John, he's dying!" Fay shakes her head as if she forgot. "ah yes". She touches him. The wounds vanish. She smiles sadly.

Fay: John....I must go now. But I will be back...and I will explain. Wait for me. Please.

And like that, she's gone.

Everybody is too totally stunned to speak. Finally, John-beast, his eyes haunted, pads over to his cage, crawls inside and locks himself in. Where it's safe.

Roll credits.

Grr! ARG!

You can freak out now. :)

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by SteveD
You can freak out now. :)

Okay.

*freaks out now*

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by SteveD
John: (off Tom's expression) What?
Tom: Nothing, I'm just waiting for his nose to light up.
I hope that got him a DP.

Originally posted by SteveD
Charlie: What about this one?
Miranda: Nice, but a bit slutty? Unless that's the look you want...
That's my girl. She's like a ninja of putdowns.

Originally posted by SteveD
Back in the library, Miranda is staring fascinated at John, already transformed. She wonders what sort of experiments they could run on him, test his strength and mass change...
She isn't related to William from TWH, is she?

[Elemental]

And the funny thing is, retrospectively it was right there in her name.

[SteveD]

And the funny thing is, retrospectively it was right there in her name.

Damn straight. Worship my cluefulness, dammit!

It's such a relief to get this plot event finally out there. I've been sitting on it since I first wrote this campaign idea in 2002.

Steve

[Craig Oxbrow]

Seems to be Sweeps Week in the Watch series. I had a great big revelationy episode last night too...

[SteveD]

Dammit. I just started catching up with the summer specials, though, so I will get there eventually.

Steve

[Craig Oxbrow]

Well, I've got all day. :P

[SteveD]

I mean, in a few months eventually, not today eventually...

Maybe we should write these up in PDF forms. Then I could read my TWH episode guide on the train each day. A project, perhaps, when these shows finally end.

I'm thinking three seasons, four at the most. How bout you?

Steve

[Craig Oxbrow]

I may put my hyperactive web person on that. Hmm.

As for series length... at present, I'd cheerfully carry on until we all drop dead, but season two has to end before Joe returns to Berlin. I'm hoping we can pick up afterwards. *looks stressed*

[SteveD]

I may put my hyperactive web person on that.

I really need to get me one of those...

[Craig Oxbrow]

Hmm. I mentioned she was hyperactive didn't I?

[BethDragon]

Originally posted by Random Nerd
If you cause Beth's head to explode, I hope you at least have the decency to put a tarp down first, mister!
Didn't need a tarp. *yells* Needed something cushy to catch my jaw when it dropped, thank you very much!!!! *ends yelling* *deep breath*

Fabulous, Steve & Crew. Simply fabulous.

Commentary, in order:
Aww, no slashfict?

The Checking of Swords in the middle of the night. ^^

Wanna come up and see my...sword? *wiggle of eyebrows*
And hey, it is possible that he wants something else from Charlie. Not _likely_, mind you, but still...

The will stuff and personal letters. *SNIFFLE* Darn it, Eddie...

Charlie's a +4? Holy cow...

Elf shot... Another alcoholic gift from the Irish? I'll have a Coke and an Elf Shot, please.... :)

Meat locker into the master's study...more on this story please? ^^
And the biggie...
Titania. Faye is freaking Tania.... *holds head*


Two weeks is going to take a looooong time... But hey, it works out well. I get my fix from Dan's Cassverse on one weekend, and my TNW fix the next... *HUGS* Keep up the fantastic work all!!!

Beth

[dalziel_86]

Originally posted by BethDragon
Commentary, in order:
Aww, no slashfict?
SlashFact, we decided, was writing stories where two characters/historical figures who actually are/were gay get it on.

Of course, it came up in the context of discussing Oscar Wilde/Noel Coward slash, so it wasn't exactly a serious conversation. :)

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by BethDragon
The will stuff and personal letters. *SNIFFLE* Darn it, Eddie...

Beth

What can I say?

The good die young!

:)

[The Architect]

Originally posted by SteveD
How exactly is a speargun concealable?

And have you used a modern crossbow? They're pretty reliable and sturdy, and have heaps of penetration. Accuracy not so much but I bet they reload faster than a speargun. On account of using quarrels, not spears.

Episode? What episode?


Oh riiiiiight....

Sure, compared to a modern crossbow, spearguns come up short, but you never see the Buffy-verse people using modern crossbows. They're all using SCA/Ren-faire surplus crossbows, appropriate to movies about Robin Hood.

And spearguns are certainly more concealable than crossbows, considering that you can get spearguns that are no longer than the crossbows used by Buffy-verse inhabitants, but lack the bow part that crosses the crossbow, meaning that it's easier to fold ones coat over top of it and carry it under your arm, or put one into a musical instrument case, loaded and ready to use.

Plus, wouldn't it be cool to have someone go all Dirty Harry on a vampire with a speargun? "This is the Kingfisher 1000, the most powerful speargun in the world. At this range it can drive a spear through 2 inches of oak plank. So tell me vamp, do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, vamp?"

Ah well, it was just a thought.

[SteveD]

And hey, it is possible that he wants something else from Charlie.

You mean, besides sex?

Charlie's a +4? Holy cow...

As I told her player when she wasn't sure if she should be +3 or +4: "When your actress has won Miss India and Miss World, then YES YOU ARE +4 DAMMIT!"

Titania. Faye is freaking Tania.... *holds head*

Hee hee hee!

Glad you liked it, Beth, everyone.

Steve

[The Architect]

Steve and the rest of The Night Watch cast and crew, please assume that if I do not make a post bitching and complaining about the latest episode, that I approve and appreciate it. There's only so many ways I can think of to say "Good Job" or "Well Done".

[SteveD]

Arch: I getcha. I have the same problem reading other people's stuff. It's good to pick out stuff that you particularly like or which sparked ideas for you, the way Beth does, but sometimes it's all good.

And yes, a Watcher with a speargun is VERY cool and very true to the show. But it's not necessarily a setting error that they all aren't armed with them, that's all I'm saying.

Craig: you mean she might work for TNW as well as TWH?

Some corrections coming from thenewgirl.

Next week: who hasn't had a spotlight episode this series? Well, she's getting one...

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by SteveD
Next week: who hasn't had a spotlight episode this series? Well, she's getting one...

Last one of those I had was a killer.

;)

[The Architect]

Originally posted by SteveD
Arch: I getcha. I have the same problem reading other people's stuff. It's good to pick out stuff that you particularly like or which sparked ideas for you, the way Beth does, but sometimes it's all good.

And yes, a Watcher with a speargun is VERY cool and very true to the show. But it's not necessarily a setting error that they all aren't armed with them, that's all I'm saying.



Yeah, I probably should have explained it as a "cool thing that hasn't been done yet", rather than as a change in Watcher doctrine. Can you imagine the look on the face of someone like Wyndham-Price the Elder when a Prentice hauls out a spear gun and pins a vampire to a wall?

Not to mention a marked reliance on hardware stores for all your vampire hunting needs.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by SteveD
Craig: you mean she might work for TNW as well as TWH?
'Tis a possibility...

(And Sunita in TWH has a neat little pistol crossbow. It doesn't load as fast as the guys' big repeating crossbows, but it can fit in a large purse.)

[Mortality]

Originally posted by Craig Oxbrow
Seems to be Sweeps Week in the Watch series. I had a great big revelationy episode last night too...
Hey, I'm running one of those soon too.
Revelation... I think it's going around.

Mine involves swords as well.
Actually, a sword, but still. There's axes and spears and that.

Originally posted by SteveD
As I told her player when she wasn't sure if she should be +3 or +4: "When your actress has won Miss India and Miss World, then YES YOU ARE +4 DAMMIT!"
Um, TV and film has double standards when it comes to this sort of thing. You generally get incredibly hawt* women playing parts that are intended to be... less hawt*.
I call it the 'Secretary's Glasses' effect;
"Why, Miss Secretary, you're... beautiful."

Oh, and I'm definitely pointing out the speargun option to our resident marvellous mechanical watcher.

* as I believe you youngsters say...

[colbabe]

On that topic, I find it completely odd that Sarah Michelle Gellar endorsed a product that quantified her beauty as less than someone else's. Isn't Buffy +3 in comparison to Cordy's +4?

Oh yeah, and I reckon that Charlie should be a +5. Miss World by definition means The Best-Looking Woman In The World. That's MHO.

Hey Steve, lovely ep. On reflection, at least. I remember feeling somewhat down afterward, but that was just John's feelings. I have plans now.

[SteveD]

Like Mortality said, TV can change these things. I think Ms Rai has been just slightly uglied up as bookish schoolgirl.

Glad you liked it, Col. It has been a bit bleak these last few eps, though, hasn't it? So I'm planning a big comedy ep for Christmas. Got two possibilities in mind - either you all go to Tom's house in Maine for Christmas (lotsa cross-culture jokes) or you go to Scotland for much fun mocking small town scots...

Any preference?

Steve

[Heronymus]

Originally posted by SteveD
Like Mortality said, TV can change these things. I think Ms Rai has been just slightly uglied up as bookish schoolgirl.

Glad you liked it, Col. It has been a bit bleak these last few eps, though, hasn't it? So I'm planning a big comedy ep for Christmas. Got two possibilities in mind - either you all go to Tom's house in Maine for Christmas (lotsa cross-culture jokes) or you go to Scotland for much fun mocking small town scots...

Any preference?

Steve

Oh! Oh! Maine in America! Send 'em to Maine for the holiday. That'd be cool. They can have an Arkam-themed adventure.

"That's a myth. The myth is a myth; Santa Claus is real." -- Anya

[SteveD]

I must admit, running an ep where summoning Cthulhu is a silly plot and we parody Lovecraft and Derleth into the ground is tempting.

But it's up to Ade most of all.

Steve

[Craig Oxbrow]

Have you gotten to the TWH special Old Town yet? Rural monster-summoning comedy a-gogo.

[SteveD]

Not yet. It's next I think.

[dalziel_86]

Originally posted by SteveD
I must admit, running an ep where summoning Cthulhu is a silly plot and we parody Lovecraft and Derleth into the ground is tempting.

But it's up to Ade most of all.
Dude. You even have to ask? I've been wanting to do this episode for ages. I even put things in about Tom's family that encourage this.

[SteveD]

Corrections from thenewgirl:

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlie: Oh, it was only eight pm.
Tom: Well, that's practically the middle of the night
Charlie: Especially for English people
John: Yes, it's past Second Horlicks Time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I don't think this was me in here.. probably Eirion?


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlie and Eddie, meanwhile, sit in the back of the stacks for some hot stack action. That is to say, they are reading everything in the library on fairies which is...not much. Not much that isn't legend, hearsay and vague reports. Compared to demons, these things are ciphers, never captured, never killed, never able to be studied. As they read, Eirion discusses his note, as does Charlie a bit. They agree they should go to London and check out Charlie's club. Charlie mentions briefly that they might go to "the place where the thing that happened....happened."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was Charlie and Eirion, not Eddie!


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then Eirion gets a nasty shock when he turns a page and sees a rare 16th century painting of a pre-christian legend that was adjusted. In this version of the painting, though, the knight's sword comes from elves in the trees, not god. What's shocking is that the sword in the knight's hand is the spitting image of Tom's.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That was Charlie, Eirion stuffed his roll.


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She bustles off to get more books just as Charlie discovers that the widdershins apparently can't cross a line of cream which is skimmed off the first bucket taken from a cow milked at sunrise.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That wasn't Charlie, maybe Eirion?

Me: Well, you two were doing it together, dammit. I can't keep track of who discovers what.

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alan arrives to pick up Charlie. He bores her terribly about Tom's swords. Charlie isn't pleased.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You didn't put in my rant! I liked my rant!


Me: Charlie told Alan off marvellously. Told him to stop talking about swords and start talking about her. But I can't do the wording justice.


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlie gets Alan to drive her back to town.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To the hospital. (nice running scene with stockinged feet etc..)


Steve

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by SteveD
Any preference?

Steve

For no particular reason, I say you go to Scotland.

;)

I canna say her name, but I am assured that she is a She.

:)

[thenewgirl]

What's in Scotland? (I mean in reference to our game.)

[colbabe]

Nnnnnnnessie, me lass! It's a reference to the last few lines of episode 1.2, IIRC.

Nah, I reckon we should go to Maine. Save Scotland for another time. Besides, not only can we squeeze Lovecraftian humour, but references to the works of Stephen King can be inserted with loving joy. Hey, maybe we can be the people who ran him over...

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by thenewgirl
What's in Scotland?
Rain. Midges. Tourists. Surly local gamers.
Originally posted by thenewgirl
(I mean in reference to our game.)
Oh. Right.

[dalziel_86]

Originally posted by colbabe
Nah, I reckon we should go to Maine. Save Scotland for another time. Besides, not only can we squeeze Lovecraftian humour, but references to the works of Stephen King can be inserted with loving joy. Hey, maybe we can be the people who ran him over...
Can I run him over repeatedly? Particularly his typing fingers?

[SteveD]

I see a brand new board game: Run Over Stephen King!

Or maybe a game show?

[Peter LaCara]

Okay, so, I totally haven't read this entire thread 'til just now.

Commentary on episodes thus far:

First off, YOU KILLED EDDIE! YOU ASSHOLES!

Secondly, Fay is a Fey. Damn. I should have caught onto that. It came totally out of left field, and I nearly smacked myself in the face after reading that part.

Thirdly, since I haven't read this for like, a month and a half, I forgot how kickass this show is. Kudos to Steve and the rest of the gang for putting me thusly to shame. Although after the Orpheus game I'm in wraps up, I'm planning on starting a Buffy or Angel game, and Then I'll Show You.

[colbabe]

Originally posted by Peter LaCara
Secondly, Fay is a Fey. Damn. I should have caught onto that. It came totally out of left field, and I nearly smacked myself in the face after reading that part.

Hey, think of how I feel. It occurred to me when I first encountered her as a character. Then it occurred to me again when she claimed to know a bit about the Redcaps. I dismissed it both times. I gotta learn to listen to that little voice. (Except when it tells me to commit various acts of GBH on... uh... let's not go into that.)

Thirdly, since I haven't read this for like, a month and a half, I forgot how kickass this show is. Kudos to Steve and the rest of the gang for putting me thusly to shame.

Thank you Peter.

Although after the Orpheus game I'm in wraps up, I'm planning on starting a Buffy or Angel game, and Then I'll Show You.

Aha! A challenge! I look forward to this. Make sure you post the Actual Play thread link onto one of our threads.

[Random Nerd]

Originally posted by SteveD
Like Mortality said, TV can change these things. I think Ms Rai has been just slightly uglied up as bookish schoolgirl.


Since when does being a bookish schoolgirl make you <i>less</i> attractive?


(edit:removal of silly error)

[Peter LaCara]

Originally posted by colbabe
Aha! A challenge! I look forward to this. Make sure you post the Actual Play thread link onto one of our threads. Sure thing, 'cept I don't know how long it'll be until the Orpheus game runs its course. We've been playing since October and we're only about halfway through, so I won't get a chance to run anything 'til at least the end of the summer, probably (the American summer, that is. You wacky Southern Hemisphere types.)

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by Peter LaCara
Although after the Orpheus game I'm in wraps up, I'm planning on starting a Buffy or Angel game, and Then I'll Show You.
Oh aye? C'mon then!

We await the summer with eager anticipation.

And not just because it's cold here. :D

[SteveD]

gotta learn to listen to that little voice.

I like it better when you don't listen to it, actually. I was so desperately worried someone would figure it out. Remember how I was trying to backtrack about the redcaps? I thought I'd let everything slip far too early.

RN - it does in TV land. That's why Buffy has a higher Attractiveness than Willow.

Peter - bring it on. Can't wait.

Steve

[colbabe]

Originally posted by SteveD
Remember how I was trying to backtrack about the redcaps? I thought I'd let everything slip far too early.

Ah, but it was a clue, y'see. The characters don't figure it out until it's too late. The clever audience members figure it out though. It's all good writing and good planning.

(C'mon Steve, play along with me, man. People are listening.)

[thenewgirl]

I kept telling you to pump her for info.!! (Much to Steve's annoyance!)
:D

[Random Nerd]

Originally posted by SteveD
RN - it does in TV land. That's why Buffy has a higher Attractiveness than Willow.


Bah to the entire mentality. Willow has the cute, and anyone who disputes this is a fool for not recognizing the clear and obvious truth in the matter*.

_____

*i.e., My own subjective tastes.

[colbabe]

Originally posted by thenewgirl
I kept telling you to pump her for info.!!

Waaaaaait a minute, did you mean sex?!?

[SteveD]

I love the way our show is so British in its cup-runneth-over-acity of rude double entendres.

Know what I mean, nudge nudge, eh?

And now, some important questions that occur to me as I sit here and brainstorm for this week:

How the hell did John figure out about Eddie's heritage?

If both Caleb and John got the curse, why didn't Eddie? Or did he...

If the curse is transmitted through children...maybe it's transmitted sexually. Was Eddie practising safe sex at all those London clubs?

One shudders to think...

Plots for the future anyway...

Steve

[Craig Oxbrow]

Hereditary and sexually transmitted ain't the same.

But then again... it'd be all worrying and stuff...

Hmm...

[colbabe]

Originally posted by SteveD
How the hell did John figure out about Eddie's heritage?

Easy - he overheard his father say "You Watcher bastards, you killed my son" two episodes ago. Of course, he wasn't in any fit state to deal with it immediately.

BTW, I loved Pru's reaction to the news, especially the hug.

Also, just interested to know: which of the other Watchers-in-Training know about this little familial indiscretion?

[thenewgirl]

I don't think any of us... i could be wrong, that happens a bit sometimes.

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by Peter LaCara
Okay, so, I totally haven't read this entire thread 'til just now.

Commentary on episodes thus far:

First off, YOU KILLED EDDIE! YOU ASSHOLES!


Yes, it certainly wasn't an easy decision to make... see my old Yeller comments earlier... but, with my moving away from Brisbane to Cairns soon(ish), I felt it was best to go out dead.

Creates more drama that way. And I personally HATE those endings where the character leaves, to live elsewhere.

Neighbours, I am SO looking at you. Where the hell in Brisbane do all these Ramsey Street types hide? Where is Charlene?? ... What do you mean she's a pop star in Britain?? My brain!!! And Jason??? Washed up pop star, who returned to Sydney??? My brain!!! Augh! Toadie!!! Make the pain stop!!!!


At any rate, the story goes on, eh?

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by colbabe
Easy - he overheard his father say "You Watcher bastards, you killed my son" two episodes ago. Of course, he wasn't in any fit state to deal with it immediately.

Also, just interested to know: which of the other Watchers-in-Training know about this little familial indiscretion?

John did indeed overhear that statement. Lord Charles said it quite out loud, looking at Sir Charles, fighting back tears.

And as to the latter question... it felt like half the Watcher Council establishment already knew about the whole thing... and the bastards had no intention of telling either John or Eddie.

Stiff upper lip bastards and their suppressive, yet laugh-behind-your-back-at-functions-gossip-amongst-themselves-antics!!

[SteveD]

Ah. I had imagined Lord Talbot saying it under his breath as he walked away. But knowing Lord Talbot, he's not one to hide under a bushel, is he? He no doubt cursed Sir Charles on the steps of the hospital, close enough for John to hear, but the others...were not.

Glad you liked the Pru-ness. She's such a great character.

Steve

[SteveD]

And as to the latter question... it felt like half the Watcher Council establishment already knew about the whole thing... and the bastards had no intention of telling either John or Eddie.

Half of them knowing is a bit much. Half of them ready and willing to suspect, imply, infer, deduce and gossip about, certainly.

Stiff upper lip bastards and their suppressive, yet laugh-behind-your-back-at-functions-gossip-amongst-themselves-antics!!

Yup. That's them.

Steve

[thenewgirl]

That is all.

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by thenewgirl
That is all.

That's not all! Wait, there is more!!

... There is, isn't there?

... Not to worry, Con preparation is keeping me busy, gamewise.
But am interested to hear how this session turned out.

:)

[SteveD]

There is more and I will write it up tonight, late.

I would have already started it but a certain girl who CLAIMS not to be distracting me was, in fact, distracting me.

So blame her!

Highlights? Eirion turning into a ninja to save Charlie from Richard Harris stood out. As did Tom Baker helping the boys go grave-digging.

Also, we invented the Twisp and Catsby RPG in the commercials. We rock!

Steve

[SteveD]

alreet then.

2.8 Jack

Fay disappeared after that night. John went out for a drive the next day. He returned at sundown and silently locked himself in his cage.

Fay left, and with her absence came the winter frost. The grass turned grey and crunchy under foot, and every morning brought a new layer of powder on the stone walls and fences of Oxford town. Hats and scarves come out of the cupboards and the town begins to snuggle down into winter.

The frost also means that Michaelmas term is ending, and our heroes have to put their heads in books and get their essays in before the hols. Pru has also been working hard, preparing for a symposium in Edinburgh - lots of watchers boozing it up, er, that is talking turkey, particularly about the fair folk's sudden and violent arrival, the single largest sighting of elves since the laughing forest of the peasants' crusade.

In preparation for Xmas though, and so she can report back, Pru asks her students to house sit her flat in St John's Wood for a week. It's a posh place and the gang could use a holiday. They agree.

And others are making plans....

The lithe figure lounged in the shadows of the grove. It was seated against the splayed trunk of an oak tree, but it somehow made it seem as comfortable and resplendent around his form as the finest silk couch. The shadows hid his eyes but you could tell he was smiling. He was always smiling.

“It wasn’t our fault, Lord Talon! We could not act against Her!”
“Mmm. I should have sensed her long ago – or seen her hand in this. I always underestimated her gift for deception.”
“My lord, we must withdraw then, lest we risk – “
“Withdraw?” There was laughter in the exclamation, but it was darker than any curse. “Because of Her? No. We will not be stopped by Her, or by anyone. We remain.”
“But – “
“We remain.” A chuckle which sounded like a snap, and the figure stood and walked a few feet into the forest. “We shall have to lay lower over midwinter, the Queen will be too close. But we remain. We watch. We wait for them to falter. For our chance to strike again. And we will strike again.”
For the first time, the laughter stopped, and the figure stared straight ahead with its cold, dead eyes. “And we will have it back. We will have it all back.”

The moment passed and the figure’s jaunty posture and voice returned as he turned back to his servant kneeling at his feet. “Don’t fret. Their lives are brief and pointless. Our time will come.”


“The time has come”

An aged hand grappled the remote control and turned off the television. The models posing at the film opening disappeared into blackness. “The time has come” rasped the owner of the hand again, shakily lowering the remote down onto the ashtray stand and rocking himself onto his feet. He turned slowly around, his aged eyes blinking behind his glasses at his walls. From floor to ceiling were pictures, notes, clippings from newspapers and magazines: the Sun, Hello! and the Radio Times featuring the most. Those who stood and looked long enough would realise that the sole subject of these photos was the same group of women. Six models, celebrities and actresses repeated over and over again, every promotional picture in an overly-revealing dress that had been taken, every facile and fatuous article that had been published.

The man stared and stared at the faces, licking his dry lips and shuffling his hands in nervousness. Then he hobbled over to a mahogany writing desk and removed a dry and dusty old medical bag from a low, deep drawer. He blew the dust from it, and pushed open the rusted clasp. In the dim light of his flat, the afternoon sunlight was caught and reflected off the shiny metal instruments that splayed out from within. In particular, off the broad and brutal scalpel blade in the centre, which the man held aloft in his shaking hand and studied intently with his weakening eyes, his breath hissing out in awe – or possibly terror. For a second, there were tears in his eyes.

Credits!

Eddie is no longer featured in them. :(

[SteveD]

It was the past, which is always more innocent. Upstairs, in a dark warehouse, two young people are playing a game. What they don’t realise is that the people they’re playing with aren’t playing at all.

It is too dark to write notes in her stenographer’s pad, so the willowy asian girl simply looks and listens, trying to remember it all perfectly, despite the wonder and fear creeping over her. The handsome boy next to her with the tousled hair takes photos when he can raise his trembling hands. They never expected it to be this real, or to get this close. Sometimes, they feel the same about each other. The figures below – tall, handsome vampires, all sound and fury - raise their voices, and the two huddle closer, trying to become invisible in the shadows. Their arms touch, and they lock hands. Their eyes meet, and for a moment, they’re not scared.

Which allows the vampire behind them to approach without warning.

By luck, the flash of the camera goes off, buying them a few precious seconds. Enough time to get to the window they came in through, and fall desperately onto the fire escape. They pull themselves up and start running, but the breath is already gone from their lungs. And the vampires seem to be everywhere already, oozing out of the building like vermin. The girl and the boy barely get a block before they fall. The boy is grabbed around the legs and dragged back as the girl desperately slides behind a dumpster. Fear pounds in her head like a hammer as she waits for clawed hands to grab her too.

But it doesn’t happen, and the night goes still around her.

The boy falls to the ground, released by whatever held him. The girl crawls from her hiding place and looks around. The vampires are gone. For a moment, the gaslights part the darkness and a figure seems to move away down the alley, all darkness and shadow and the movement of a coat or a cloak – or something larger. And the girl, looking at that ominous shadow, knows that whatever saved them was something far darker than those that hunted them. She shudders beneath her fear.

And in the present, in another place, Charlie's eyes snap open from her dream - and the light bulb above where she's lying on the library floor flares brilliantly then snaps out with a little *chink*.

[camera stays close on Charlie, then pans out slightly]

She wakes up, looking terrified, tiny beads of sweat cover her forehead. As she tries to overcome the fog of sleep, the fear fades and she blinks, and pinches her nose. The tiny smear of blood trickling from her nose comes away on her fingers. Half the buttons on her white linen shirt are undone, those that are done up are a button hole out, giving a strange asymmetrical tilt to her normally tidy and un-rumpled shirt. The very sensible winter tweed trousers she wears look as though they were ironed by a gorilla.

The room is deathly quiet. On her left a shelf's worth of books lie where they fell. The books are covered in strange pictures of the fair folk, some are very, very old. They surround her as she stares up at the ceiling. Finally Charlie's face relaxes as she remembers; she smiles and rolls over to her right.

[camera pans out and across]

There is no one there.

Sitting up quickly she glances around as she wipes her nose self-consciously with her wrist.

Morning sun is slanting through the library windows onto the wreckage that remains from last week's chaos. The dust in the room makes a beautiful mist where the sunlight pierces it. Some cleaning has been done in here, but there is still a shattered table in the center of the room, a missing section of balcony rail and piles of books in need of new homes. On a side table next to a vase of wilted white roses, a condolence card has fallen over.

Further towards the door a single white glove with dusty fingertips pokes out from beneath another set of scattered books.

Looking slightly out of place in the doorway, four suitcases lean against one other in a plump and friendly fashion. A small stack of train tickets are piled on a wobbly but nearby chair.

Charlie stands and walks through the stacks, where she sees Eirion standing on the tips of his toes to reach his shirt, which is dangling over the top of a bookshelf. She watches admiringly as he takes the shirt down, puts it on and does up the buttons with his back to her.

Just as he turns around, she looks back at the shelf's worth of books where they fell and bends down to pick one up. Eirion watches with a similar expression of admiration, then walks silently over to her.

[camera on Charlie’s hand and the book]

Charlie places the book back in its place and we see the spine -- it's the London A-Z. As she reaches for another book, Eirion's hand suddenly grabs hold of hers.

[pan to see Eirion’s face then out]

Finally their eyes meet, their faces close together, Eirion places a single finger to his lips and ducks down with Charlie behind the shelf. The library doors open and...

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by SteveD
Credits!

Eddie is no longer featured in them.

Oh well. I feel all like Doyle now.

*looks at the knives in his kitchen drawn behind him, the razor blades upstairs, the bath...*

I retract that previous statement. Especially considering reading about a certain MAD! Texan, and author, in the last few days.

(Yes, it's Howard.) So what exactly IS in the credits to replace the Rupert Penry-Jones goodness?

:)

[SteveD]

Quick housekeeping stuff: the reason there's a lot of text so far is that that bit about Charlie waking from her dream and watching Eirion was contributed by my players. No, I don't know what it means. Only the players involved do - and they ain't telling. As one player said:

Ade: Just who is running this game then?
Me: I don't know, but it's not me!

We're also on the second GM notepad now. I just thought I'd mention that as it shows this is a BIG game. It's a milestone.

Finally, this game started really losely. I wanted desperately to do the big mystery, and it sort of worked, but it meant plotting by event instead of by scene so it dragged at the start. Also, I was woefully unprepared despite all my work, and decided I needed a break. Just to get my head together, think in different directions and such. Eight eps in a row is a LOT for me. Anyhoo, I was complaining about the game dragging but a) the guys assured me it rocked still and b) the OOC chatter in this game is so fucking gold I wish we could bottle it (see later)

And now, back to our story....

Pru, John and Tom come into the library. Eirion and Charlie make their hide checks and are not seen. Pru is handing keys to Tom, going on and on about how to open this and what opens that. John is distracted by the white glove. Tom is just nodding his head. Pru asks if anyone has seen Charlie. Charlie steps confidently out to show people the picture she found of Tom's sword. There is much consternation - it seems Tom might be wielding excalibur. The picture is a lost 17th century oil painting after another source (also lost) depicting a poem which retells a more ancient version of the Arthur story, where a brave knight is given a sword by the fair folk of the forest. The sword in the picture (of a picture of a poem of a legend) looks exactly like Tom's.

And for the first time in a year and a half, they actually wonder why this sword appeared and start researching it. :)

John looked up...something interesting...(help me!) before he left, walking along the stacks deep in thought, reading aloud, he passed Eirion, said hi, kept walking...

Eventually, they saddled up (John in Eddie's travelling coat) and caught the train. Pru waved goodbye at the station, and the kids first travelled north to Coventry. There, they caught a cab out to the Hunton-Smythe estate. Avoiding the house, they went straight to the private cemetery. The trees were bare in the winter cold but come spring it will be lovely - he lies under an elm tree in a bower, and it's very leafy. They say a few words. John can't get much out beyond "thank you".

As they leave, Eirion hangs back a bit. Then he bends down and tucks a five pound note under some flowers. "Looks like you were right," he says. "She does like me".

[SteveD]

So what exactly IS in the credits to replace the Rupert Penry-Jones goodness?

More shots of Fay and Alan and fairies. And since we spent so much on the damn CGI, lots of shots of the giant.

Back on the train (Me: "Since this is a TV show, we'll assume British Rail works and you'll be in London in two hours..."). The city rises around them, and I hit play on the CD player. The Clash: London Calling. Of course.

They get off at Paddington, change on to the Bakerloo, then switch at Baker St onto the Jubilee line to get to St John's Wood. Then just a short walk to an old Georgian building converted into four flats. It's pokey but has two bed rooms and is quite shiny. It would be more roomy if there were less bookshelves and piles of books...only some of which are Colonel X, Agatha Christie, Enid Blyton and Biggles.

Hardly any. At all. Yes.

Eirion raids Pru's record collection - it's lots of sixties stuff like Lulu and The Monkees but redeems itself a bit with Clapton and some Stones. Then it goes down again as they find the Tom Jones.

Eirion: I apologise on behalf of Wales for Tom Jones.
Tom: How many Tom Jones albums does she have?
John: All of them.

There's a knock at the door. Charlie opens it and a flash goes off in her face. Two reporters start asking her questions about her relationship with rising superstar Alan Lourdes. She demures and answers hesitantly for a bit, then John storms downstairs and slams the door in their faces. Charlie thinks for a bit, then pushes past him and runs after them. She tells them she can't talk now but she and Alan might be at a club tonight (thus she scores free promotion).

Charlie's phone rings - her brother checks in. He lives in London as is now part-owner of this club, apparently. They agree to meet up there that night at 9. He also tells her to check out last week's The Sun Weekend Colour Supplement, because she's in it. She runs down to get a copy. As she walks back into the room, she interrupts John:

John: Wasn't there a movie about Warren Beatty in assless pants?

(I don't know the context either. The game is bigger than all of us.)

Charlie is part of an insert colour section featuring Hot Totty of England. The section features six girls, and Charlie is towards the back and fairly pixellated, and not leaning forward too much. The heading is the very tasteful "Alan Goes Out For Indian!". The gang wonder how they got the shots. Tom thinks...and flashes back. He stands across the road from the Randolph hotel that night, getting Miranda her kebab. He looks to his left. A photographers stands next to him with a gigantic telephoto lens aimed at the hotel. Tom shrugs and turns back to Miranda.

Meanwhile, Eirion is getting prepared for their stay:
Eirion: First thing we do is go nick some silver!
John: WHY?
Eirion: Werewolves. London is full of them. Everybody knows that.

Charlie calls Charles, her old school buddy at ULC before she...had her spot of bother and got sent to Oxford. He's a bit distant, apologetic for not calling and surprised to hear from her, but agrees to meet at the club tonight too. Charlie comes back into the room to see the boys trying to find the secret switch that turns the house into Pru's secret Watcher crime-fighting lab. John breaks a lamp. Oops.

Charlie is still trying to deal with all this publicity.

Charlie: Do you know how many dresses my mother is going to buy me now?
John: Mmm. And how much it will cost to get rid of them.
Charlie: Why would I want to get rid of them?
John: Oh, sorry, I just thought they'd be garish and...
Tom: Oh wow. I thought you were talking about something else completely....
John:...yes, I was...just thinking o fthe clothes my mother used to buy for me.
Tom: Did she buy you lots of dresses, John?
John: Only for special occasions, Tom.

With not much to do before the night, the gang go out and do another montage scene of London, only this time with more pointing, and speeded up action. They run across Westminster Bridge, sit on the lions in Trafalgar and mock the London Eye. The running gag is each of them trying to make a Queen's Guard blink. John does a very silly walk in front of him. Next shot, Tom has grabbed John from his silly walk and is dragging him away. Next shot, Eirion is imitating Tom. None of it works. Then Charlie just walks past the guard in that way she can walk, and the guards eyes turn and follow her for a second.

Eventually, the Clash finish and we cut to some Brit-techno. I didn't have any and our host didn't have any. Without a word, Ade (Tom's player) just grabs his bag and we busted up laughing. Twas a moment of bad-assness in the real world.

So, brit techno plays and the club is jumping and I need a new post.

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by SteveD
Eventually, they saddled up (John in Eddie's travelling coat) and caught the train. Pru waved goodbye at the station, and the kids first travelled north to Coventry. There, they caught a cab out to the Hunton-Smythe estate. Avoiding the house, they went straight to the private cemetery. The trees were bare in the winter cold but come spring it will be lovely - he lies under an elm tree in a bower, and it's very leafy. They say a few words. John can't get much out beyond "thank you".

As they leave, Eirion hangs back a bit. Then he bends down and tucks a five pound note under some flowers. "Looks like you were right," he says. "She does like me".


Awww.... ;)

And damned right, I was right! Even in death, Homovision(tm) cannot be beaten! It sees all! And I'll spend the five pounder in good health...

What, St. Peter? Hendrix raised to a tenner? Damn, I fold!

:)

[SteveD]

ugh. It's late, I'm sore and I'll be damned if I'm going to fuck my work week up just to post this.

Night night.

Steve

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by SteveD
ugh. It's late, I'm sore and I'll be damned if I'm going to fuck my work week up just to post this.

Night night.

Steve

Fair enough.

:)

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by SteveD
And for the first time in a year and a half, they actually wonder why this sword appeared and start researching it. :)
Amateurs!

:D

All good thus far. Get some rest.

[Peter LaCara]

Damn commercial breaks...

*Grumble grumble*

[colbabe]

Originally posted by SALette
So what exactly IS in the credits to replace the Rupert Penry-Jones goodness?
I'd say that there's new Series 2 action/interaction shots from the characters. Plus there's another group shot minus Eddie, but it's not been revealed which ep this shot is from...

[colbabe]

Originally posted by SteveD
...the OOC chatter in this game is so fucking gold I wish we could bottle it
Steve laughed so much that he got the hiccups. It was hilarious. It was even funnier when Helga got giggling again while Steve was trying to down a glass of water to get rid of his hiccups, but she just made him spit it out in a fit of laughter.

EDIT: Additional: To give you some idea, it had something to do with teeth and nipples. More on this later.
John looked up...something interesting...(help me!)
He tried looking up when the sword first appeared in Magdelen Chapel (where we found it in episode 1.1). The acquisition records that were in the library only go back to the late '60s. We then got distracted by the saddling up and forgot about it. We'll probably end up doing more research on it when we get back.

[colbabe]

Originally posted by SteveD
John: Wasn't there a movie about Warren Beatty in assless pants?

(I don't know the context either. The game is bigger than all of us.)
There was an assumption that the club was a gay club. John and Tom started wondering what to wear to the place. Tom said something akin to "Your pants have to have the ass still intact," and in true Tom style, it was a comment that seemed to come from nowhere.
Tom: Did she buy you lots of dresses, John?
John: Only for special occasions, Tom.
Charlie: Your christening I'd imagine, right John?
Eventually, the Clash finish and we cut to some Brit-techno. I didn't have any and our host didn't have any. Without a word, Ade (Tom's player) just grabs his bag and we busted up laughing. Twas a moment of bad-assness in the real world.
'Twas some Propellerheads goodness. :D

[dalziel_86]

Originally posted by SteveD
Eventually, the Clash finish and we cut to some Brit-techno. I didn't have any and our host didn't have any. Without a word, Ade (Tom's player) just grabs his bag and we busted up laughing. Twas a moment of bad-assness in the real world.
Unfortunately, I didn't actually have anything on that particular day. I carry around about 24 CDs in my CD wallet wherever I go (I love my portable CD/MP3 player), and a goodly portion of my CD collection is electronic music, so there's usually something techno-y in there. Unfortunately, about the closest thing I had with me was the BGC 2040 soundtrack, which wasn't close enough. Everything else in the wallet was Bowie, Massive Attack, Duran Duran, Debussy, Rammstein, Jamiroquai and a whole buch of soundtracks.

Yes, my musical taste is eclectic-tacular. :D

[SteveD]

Techno music plays. The boys stand uncomfortably by the bar. They thought it was going to be a gay club, and John is confused.

“Hey…there are girls…and they’re dancing with guys…wait a minute! There are no umbrellas in these drinks!”

The next bit was the problem – I didn’t know the NPCs well enough to play them out. Basically, Charlotte introduced her friends to her brother James and her friend Charles. James’ new girlfriend, Anna Chalmers, is a buxom blonde page 3 girl, and by coincidence, Charles took some photos of her. So the boys have a lot to talk about and once again – despite her massive +4 Attractiveness – Charlie is excluded. James does dance with her though, giving Eirion a chance to buy Anna a drink, as he seems to find her very interesting. Charlotte and Charles are all a bit stilted, the friends, once so close, have drifted too far apart already.

Then the screaming starts.

The gang are first on the scene. In a back alley, a girl has been murdered and eviscerated, her intestines draped up her body, her organs spilled out. Charlie fails her fear roll and runs back inside to “call the police”. Anna sees who it is and freaks - its her friend and fellow page three girl, Katy Meadows. Eirion and Tom control the crowds while John inspects the scene. The girl was not killed here (not enough blood) and drag marks indicate she was pulled here from the alley. Four old pennies are scattered near her body. John picks one up and discovers the date is 1877.

The cops arrive, headed by Inspector Bradshaw. Originally he was going to be played by Roger Sloman, then that changed to Richard Briers, then to Brian Murphy, but nobody knew who Brian Murphy was and I kept playing him like Richard Briers, so Richard Briers it is. Bradshaw takes their names and stops up short when he hears John's. "Talbot? Lord Talbot's son? I knew your father, don't you know..." then he gives John a strange handshake. John isn't sure what to make of it but Bradshaw barrells on.

Bradshaw: Listen, this is a terrible thing. We really have to keep a good WATCH on such violent crime.
John: er...
Bradshaw: Yes, you keep a WATCH of yourselves, alright?
John: Yes...absolutely!

Apparently the streets are dangerous for women of late, he warns, so look after Charlie. Turns out another girl, Lizzie Rider, the ever popular long-legged blonde superstar of this years I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, was found killed in Russel Square the night before. Eirion starts to put two and two together (because my players are smarter than me) and instantly starts writing down some names from memory.

Leaving the police to clean up, John finds Charlie hiding in her new office in the club.

John: You okay?
Charlie: I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?
John: Um...because there was a girl eviscerated in the alley?

Charlie assures them she's competely fine. James is just worried about the club's business suffering.

James: You didn't do anything stupid like invite the press, did you?

[SteveD]

Next morning, of course, the headlines scream: Page Three Killer Stalks Streets! London Gripped By Fear! Eirion has been up all night researching and presents his findings. Already two of the girls killed have names which match Ripper victims - Catherine Eaddows and Liz Stride. Combined with the coins, the method of killing and the location of the body (as Tom so rightly pointed out, in the purple section of the Monopoly board!), the gang is quick off the mark. They head down to the police station to report and get more info.

Somewhere around here, John called Pru but he got a bad line at a noisy pub:

John: I think we have a Jack the Ripper copy cat!
Pru: What? John, I don't think they allow pets in my building....

Inspector Bradshaw is happy to see them. He touches his nose and says that he's very keen to have Watchers in on this (unofficially of course), because he knows how good they are with solving mysteries. He explains he's not a Watcher but he's "in the know". They explain they're not actually Watchers either, so it's all equal. tells them they're looking into coin collectors. Tom agrees: "Yeah, that girl could have been a coin collector!". John points out that it could take ages, there must be hundreds of coin collectors in London, and they have a better theory: someone is imitating Jack, killing girls with similar names, and probably associating page 3 girls with prostitutes.

A trip to the morgue is arranged, and the gang ask Charlie if she can handle it. She assures them coldly that she is still fine. Upon seeing the body, however, she suddenly has to answer her mobile, which nobody heard ring. In fact, as she walks out the door it seems to ring mid-call...

Charlie arranges with Charles (for it is he who is calling) to meet him at his studio, in the hope of finding some other page 3 girls who might know something about the murders, Charles being a photographer and all. She goes back to the flat, grabs the books on Jack and heads out again. Meanwhile, back at the morgue, the gang discover more info. The cuts were made by someone who knew what he was doing, but was either sickly or old, not a steady hand. The knife was sharp, but rusted with age. There was no sign of a struggle, so the attacker must have got very close and surprised her. Leather was found under her fingernails. And the last thing the girl ate were grapes.

The gang return home to research Ripper lore and find out what the grapes mean. Walking in, Eirion says "We'll just get the books and ... oh" (as he sees the empty shelves. Instead, the three boys get on the net (John has Eddie's laptop) and busy themselves there. A horrible realisation occurs when they discover that almost all the girls in the colour supplement have names that match Ripper victims - and other background elements do. The order however, is definitely different. Worse, there are six girls in that supplement, and some sources give Jack's tally at six, not five. The last girl in the supplement?

Charlie.

Oh probably a commercial here.

[SteveD]

John calls her to see where she is. Eirion grabs the phone and yells "DON'T EAT ANY GRAPES!". And everyone looks at him.

They go back to their list and ponder anew. Eventually, crazy theory number two arises from John - since Alan is also in the supplement, he must be at risk, or the Ripper. He leaps up shouting and grabbing his phone and trying to dial: "Alan! It's Alan! It's...wait, what's his number?" And everyone looks at him.

Eventually, they decide he isn't their man and cross him off their list. Eirion crosses him off rather indelibly.

They return to the police station to discuss things. Bradshaw agrees to have all the remaining four girls tailed by the police. The coroner has examined the knife rust and reports something very interesting: the metal moulding process used to make the knife is quite primitive. The knife, unless specially cast in an out-dated machine, had to have been made before the 1920s. They ask what the first victim had in her stomach. The coroner says grapes.

John (turning to Eirion excitedly): You were right!
Eirion: (exuberance that suddenly U-turns into surprise) I was....right? Really?

Meanwhile, Charlie has met up with Charles. First of all, they play detective around the club (which, by the way is in Vine Street, near Tower Hill). They question cleaners and discover that someone saw a very nice black limousine at the right time. Then they reason that this being London and the financial district, there will be security cameras everywhere. They fenangle one from Barclays Bank and do indeed get an old-fashioned (1940s) black limo sliding past right around the time of the murder. Half a number plate is the best they can get though.

Then C&C go back to his studio, as he has work to do. He offers her some coffee then gets on with his topless shots of Miriam Nichols, a red-headed fire-cracker from Bournemouth who loves football, spaghetti and bald men, and plans on being an actress someday. Charlie watches patiently as her ex-best friend fawns over Miriam so much he almost needs a drool catcher. Afterwards, she catches up with her back stage. The bitchiness is glorious. Oscar Wilde would be proud.

M: So you're what, an old friend of Charles?
C: Yes, we went to UCL together.
M: (worried) But now you're not at UCL, right?
C: I moved to Oxford.
M: Oh great! I mean, good for you. What are you studying.
C: Languages
M: Oh great. Yeah, I thought about going to college, but when I can make this my career, I couldn't see the point.
C: No, I definitely can't see the point of you going to college.

(bit of discussion about Katy and Liz, nothign really revealed except that they knew each other and often go to the same parties)

M: So are you getting into modelling then? I saw you in the paper.
C: Oh no.
M: Pity. Charles is very...talented.
C: Yes, I...
M: VERY good with his hands.
C: Oh, so, uh, you and him...
M: (smiles) Well, let's just say he's very attentive to his customer's needs.
C: O.
M: Anyway, it was good to see you, uh, Chrissy was it?
C: Charlie. Good to talk to you, in fact...I think you've changed my mind.
M: What about?
C: I think I will get into modelling.
M: Oh...
C: (calling out) Oh Charles? Would you like to do some shots of me now?
M: Yes, well...I hope that works out for you. If you need to borrow any of my make-up, you can.
C: I don't think I'll need it
M: Well, got to go. I'm going to a film premiere tonight - must get my dress from Armani. Bye!

(Ade's commentary on the getting into modelling return: PWNED! Helga: Nobody forgets MY name, bitch!)

Charles is surprised that Charlie wants some photos, didn't think it was...her thing. She says she was only joking, she's not really interested in bimbo shots. Charles gets all huffy and defends his "art" and how it captures the female beauty of these amazing women. Charlie just rolls her eyes.

Meanwhile, the boys have more theories. Eirion has remembered back to the audit they had from the Watcher supremos last year (back in 1.7, Girl Trouble): one of the questions they were asked was which Watcher was actually Jack the Ripper. Suspicion falls on the Watchers, and then maybe on Inspector Bradshaw. Which means Charlie is in even MORE trouble. John panics and says they need to find her.

John: She went to that guy Charles' studio, didn't she? What's his full name? Quick, ring James and get him to ring Anna and find out his full name. Then we can get on the net and search for his name, maybe he had a showing or something, or a business webpage, with his location.
Eirion: (holding up phone) Or we could just ring her.
John: Yes. That would work too.

They do.

Eirion: Hi. You're not dead yet, are you?

The gang go out to Russel Square to investigate the scene of the crime. Charlie meets them there. They run the security cameras again and get a limo driving up, a figure getting out of the front, then dumping a body from the back door. With the coats and the distance, identities are impossible to tell. John inspects the scene - again, too little blood - and also finds a strange button in the gutter. It's a sort of medal, or cufflink, displaying the Watchers Great Seal.

(The Watchers have a seal, you ask? God knows, I just Made It Up(TM) that second. But it probably has a regardant dragon (magic, looking outwards) and a rampant unicorn (purity, upheld) holding up a book or something, with "Apertis Opertis" beneath it (latin for "Uncovering the Secrets"). Probably some crossed plants and helms and shields in there too. We'll work on it.)

John: So...it could have been a Watcher?
Eirion: DUH!

The gang decide to stop beating about the bush. Clearly it's Jack and clearly it's a Watcher. The cops might be involved. Meanwhile the boys decided to call Pru and get the low down. She apologised for not telling them, but it was a bit of an embarrassing story. She sends them to see Gervaise Donalbain (Tom Baker), a Watcher currently living in London, whom the boys had met last year at the same audit (This was by player request: Me as Pru: "Why don't you go talk to..." Col: "Gervaise? Please?"). The girls are going to the film premiere tonight, so Charlie goes off to arrange some things (and to check with the cops about the number plate she gave them).

(BTW, it took me ages to figure out what Helga was doing this session, why she kept splitting off from the party. Then I realised she kept doing it because she'd realised her character was a potential target so it worked well if the rest couldn't keep track of her all the time. But she did it subtly, never ever drawing attention to it - at first I didn't even notice she was doing it. That's GOOD play, dammit. What's more, it also brought attention to something I hoped to bring up when I first heard about Charlie which is that because she's a girl, she doesn't quite fit with the group. Now that she has become one of the guys, it's becoming apparent that she's NOT one of the guys. That solid bond of four buddies is gone, the group will now forever have a split down it (and maybe later, a join) which means the dynamic will never be quite the same.

Which means we actually DID have a dynamic to start with, and one subtle enough to change slowly. How much do we ROCK?

Anyhoo...

I really need to see more Dr Who because I'm doing Tom Baker based almost entirely on his performance in Black Adder 2 and the Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (wherein he plays the slimy and smarmy Guy of Guisbourne to Roddy McDowell's Prince John, and it's fabulous). But I still had fun as you will see...)

[SteveD]

The boys knock on the door.

Gervaise: (throwing it open) Ahah! What! Good lord! It's Pru's boys, isn't it? Down in London eh!
John: Yes, we need some help with Watcher matters...
Gervaise: Ah! Then I should put on some pants!
(later)
Gervaise: Do you want some cocoa?
Eirion: No, we want exposition!

They tell Gervaise what's going on. He explains that Jack was indeed a Watcher: Doctor Morgan Phillips. A brilliant physician and a great Watcher. In his later life however he went mad (probably syphillis) and claimed he could see all sorts of strange things (and maybe he could). During the Cleansing (see 1.1) he came to the Council with this theory about evil demonic harlots in London, sucking out men's spirits. The council said they'd look into it, but he took things into his own hands and began slaughtering women. He said he used the letter and so on to make himself look mad and thus cover his tracks and remove suspicion from the Council, which they did quite well. Of coruse, he was actually mad and the Council disbarred him and covered up the whole thing, as it was very embarrassing for them. Gervaise then shows them the REAL Watcher Chronicles, the unexpurgated ones with all the sex and violence and scandal left in. They get reading.

Charlie rings up and says she has a plan but she needs permission to go through Tom and John's suitcases. They nervously assent. The boys then get some Indian takeaway and sit down with Gervaise to research and brainstorm, a big old boys night in. As Gervaise says: "Let's get thoroughly ratted and talk about girls!" Somewhere around here John asked Gervaise a question.

John: So, did you know Pru when you were at Oxford?
Gervaise: Oh YES. What a fine little filly - for a man brave enough to tame her, that is!
Tom: ARRRGH! TOO MUCH INFORMATION!

The gang use the net to discover that Morgan Phillips apparently died in 1888 (the same year as the murders) but his Kensington Gardens house has remained occupied ever since. He's reported to be buried in a local cemetery. Needing to know if they have a copy cat or the real one, the guys decide they have to go dig up the grave. Then there's a knock at the door.

Gervaise: (from the kitchen) Ah! That'll be the Indian!
John: But we've already eaten....(Charlie enters)..buh!
Charlie: What?

Eirion looks up brightly at Charlie. She's wearing a knock out scarlet Chanel number, frills at the bottom but slim, halter top, split sides under the arms.

Eirion: Nice dress! We have to go dig up a corpse now!

She hands Tom and John their suits, and Eirion a hired number, and explains the limo we'll arrive in an hour. She is not going grave digging, it took her an hour to do her hair. Which of course prompted me to quote Buffy: "I was raised to believe that the women have the babies and the men dig up the corpses". The boys continue to debate about whether they should visit the house or dig up the grave. Charlie is annoyed that they don't seem to care about the premiere and saving people's lives.

Charlie: Hello? Movie premiere? Next victim? Anyone interested yet?
Eirion: Haven't we already seen that?

(DP for this subtle joke)

Charlie tries to talk to Gervaise.

Gervaise: Ah, missy. We're going to go and dig up a corpse, should be fun!
C: Why?
G: Well...there's the thrill of the unknown, I guess, and the earth in your hands, good solid work...oh, did you mean why are we digging it up, or why will it be fun?
C: Why we are digging it up.
G: I see.

Charlie suggests getting the cops to dig up the grave for them, so they don't get arrested. The others freak, saying that they think the cops might be in on it. Charlie says exactly, they should bait the hook. But eventually, they realise they don't have time for any of it, and should just get changed and go to the premiere.

Eirionlooks crestfallen.

E: You mean we fot the shovels out for nothing?

[dalziel_86]

Gervaise prompted many Dr. Who jokes, including suggestions that his lavatory was a police box, and that his living room was in fact a quarry. :)

[colbabe]

Originally posted by SteveD
Charlie: Hello? Movie premiere? Next victim? Anyone interested yet?
Eirion: Haven't we already seen that?
I think this was just a case of Jody being clever. Take a look at this (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385906/).

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by SteveD
John: So, did you know Pru when you were at Oxford?
Gervaise: Oh YES. What a fine little filly - for a man brave enough to tame her, that is!
Tom: ARRRGH! TOO MUCH INFORMATION!
My eyes! My eyes! :eek:

Great stuff. (Of course I've known the Ripper secret for about a year... :D so it's nice to see it in game.)

[SteveD]

just to confirm, there is more to come. Tomorrow, hopefully.
'
It was a big game - 7 hrs or so! Including mucking around though...

[Jody Macgregor]

Originally posted by colbabe
I think this was just a case of Jody being clever. Take a look at this (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385906/).
Me, clever? I didn't realise that was an actual movie, I thought it sounded like the kind of thing they would use as a fake title in Seinfeld. A double-bill: Next Victim and Prognosis Negative.

[SteveD]

It was such a clever fake title that it became a real one. That's CLEVER.

[colbabe]

Another case of roleplaying becoming reality. We had a V:tM game running a few years ago and based in Brisbane, and our GM was driving along one night when he looked over and saw two people who looked exactly like my character and LDK's character in the next car over. A week or so later, another character frenzied in a bar owned by LDK's character, and that weekend, it was closed for repairs IRL.

[Burgonet]

I had an OTE game campaign once where the players actually left Al Amarja, and went to the US.

The game featured a military coup/overthrow in Haiti, complete with US forces invading the country. The game was set about six months into the future.

And lo and behold, six months later, the US intervened to protect Aristede in power.

Although, in that instance, I must confess to having paid attention to the clear writing on the wall there.

I think this phenomenon is the result of your own perceptual filter being marred/coloured by the immersion you experience in running or playing in an RPG that is immersive.

Because, having played Mage, I'd rather reality be a real, static thing, rather than a fashion statement whim created by a collective of whiny goths, tecnho-geeks and lives-with-their-mother-at-42-Rosacrusians.

;)

[SteveD]

Finally...the epic conclusion!

And off to the premiere they go! Leicester Square, the Odeon – the biggest, brassiest cinema in England. It’s a big premiere – another big English romantic comedy probably starring Hugh Grant and Colin Firth and some girl, with a cameo by Judi Dench. Lots of B-list celebrities in attendance (including many page 3 girls). This raised interesting OOC discussions about whether Colin Firth could actually be there, since he is also playing Percy Bysshe Shelley (Deceased). We ruled he could because Colin is a good enough actor to play both roles, just like Ben Affleck was able to play Holden MacNeil and himself in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

Eirion, John, Tom and Gervaise slink in the less prestigious entrance and get busy.

Eirion: “Look under the seats for intestines!”

Charlie meets Alan at the foot of the red carpet. He is as charming as ever.

Alan: You look divine! Armani?
Charlie: (rolls eyes) Pfft. (as if educating) Chanel.
AlanOOC: I believe you just pwned me there, darling.

This is because pwned has become our new word thanks to Adrian. After I returned the line above, Ade busted up at the idea of posh people saying pwned. Which led to a wonderful diversion about the Queen speaking 1337. “We are not ROFL” and so on. Later we returned to newsreaders and headlines: “City of London pwned by giant cat” etc. Things were getting sillier…

MEANWHILE….the gang mingle. Charles is there with Miriam who is a knock-out in gold. Gervaise charges off after Judi Dench, as they went to Oxford together. (In this show, everyone went to Oxford with each other.) He was even one of the first people to see her Macbeth.

(I’ve never heard it called that before…ooo matron)

Alan sods off to talk Hollywood. The boys search the crowd for any of the girls on their list. Then they hear the sirens outside. Very close. John pauses talking to Natalie Imbrulgia, unsure how gentlemanly it is to depart in an offer of help.

John: Ah, now, what’s the decorum here? Does one – agh! (as Eirion knocks him over as he runs past)

Eirion pushes through the crowd gathering around the alley near the swiss embassy. Ambulance men are wheeling out a stretcher. In the moment before she is covered, Eirion sees her blood-stained face: it’s Anna Chalmers. Number three.

Racing back inside they begin to panic – is this the night of the double? Is he already amongst them? Should they call the police? Eirion is against it on account of rampant incompetence and being evil.

Tom: Wait, how do we know the police are evil?
Eirion: Because they’re Watchers. All Watchers are evil.
Tom: All Watchers are evil?
Eirion: Yes.
Tom: But WE’RE Watchers.
Eirion: Yes.
Charlie: So what do you want me to do?
Eirion: I don’t want you to do anything except not die.
John: What’s going on?
Tom: Apparently all Watchers are evil.
John: Damn. That wasn’t on the application form.

The gang split up to find the one they can’t see Kelly Marise. Tom and Eirion run into the empty theatre (people are still mingling), Charlie checks the gallery and John tries outside. It is eventually Charlie who finds her, when she ducks into an upstairs ladies toilets. Nobody at the basin, cubicle, cubicle…ack. Four.

Looks like she arrived early and stepped in to fix her make up. He grabbed her at the sink, dragged her into the cubicle and butchered her. She can tell from where she’s standing that it happened here, and recently. The body is so recently torn open, it’s giving off warmth from a few feet away. Charlie goes white but then calmly blocks the door and calls John. She directs him to the outside window behind her, and he quickly climbs up to join her. Whereupon his keen nose detects not one but two types of blood in the room. Examining her finger nails confirms it – she clawed her attacker. Charlie says she’ll got find Miriam. John follows the blood trail like a bloodhound.

It leads him back into the foyer. It becomes a lot harder to follow then but no matter what, it doesn’t seem to leave the theatre. Eirion, irrationally angry about the death of Anna starts yelling and pushing at people in his search. Tom, sick of all this, has gone to the coat check and got his sword (it’s in a big sports bag). The two see John darting around and they try to communicate with handsignals which totally doesn’t work as they are trying to sign very complex things. Eventually, John explains things to Eirion – Kelly’s dead and Jack’s probably still in the building. They have to find Charlie and Miriam. Where did they go?

John pulls out his mobile and dials. Close up: Charlie’s mobile – it’s flashing NO BATT NO BATT NO BATT…

Charlie has found Miriam and Charles in the theatre – they’ve gone in ahead of everyone. She sits down next to them and there’s a moment of uncomfortableness, as if the two had wanted to be alone. Charlie doesn’t notice or care, her eyes constantly look around for the predator that stalks them.

Miriam: Are you looking for someone?
Charlie: Oh, just…waiting for my friends
Miriam: Oh? You brought friends?
Charlie: They were concerned about my safety, with…
Miriam: Yes, it’s a terrible thing. And now poor Anna!
Charlie: Yes (still looking)
Miriam: (smiling warmly) Well, I – I’m glad you here.
Charlie: (surprised) Really?
Miriam: Oh yes. (beat) It makes things SO much easier.
And Miriam’s hands close around Charlie’s neck and a cloth covers Charlie’s mouth…

[SteveD]

John leads the charge into the theatre, Eirion and Tom close behind. One of her Charlie’s shoes sits in the aisle and the scent heads down towards the screen – probably through the fire exit. The chase is on! The boys charge into the narrow hall beyond, knocking waiters and ushers aside. They race along through twists and turns and stairwells and storerooms. After a few seconds they stumble onto Charlie’s dress.

How odd.

The gang all fail their running rolls and arrive out on the street only to watch a big black limousine drive away. There’s no way they could catch it. She’s gone.

Drama point from Eirion. Seven success on his chase roll.

Eirion refuses to give up. He runs back up the alley the other way, across Leicester Square, leaps up onto a food cart, jumps to a subway sign and swings onto the back of a double decker bus.

Ticket collector (as Eirion lands in a seat): Ticket please…

Eirion pays as the bus turns the corner and he can see the limo ahead in traffic. He leaps over the top, bounces off a soft-top and frog hops a few bonnets until he finds himself clinging to the back of the limo.

The limo pulls out of traffic and picks up speed, winding north into the quieter streets of North London. Inside, Charlie wakes up to find herself wearing a gold dress. Miriam’s gold dress. And…she raises her hands to her head…a red wig. She pulls it off confused then realises there is someone else in the cab with her. A bent old man in a long black suitcoat and a top hat. He turns around to reveal that he is being played by Richard Harris, is wearing an old-fashioned surgical leather apron and is carrying a scalpel in his leather-gloved hands.

He tells her not to struggle, but she does anyway. To no avail – he’s surprisingly strong for a magically slow-aged 148 year-old. She tears off the wig and tells him he’s got the wrong girl, but he hisses that her harlot tricks won’t save her now, she’s the last one, then his work is done. Outside, Eirion exhausted from his run cannot manage to swing from the back to the door at the speeds the car is going. Every time he reaches, he falls short and swings back. Inside, Charlie desperately tries to fire her TK but nothing happens. Jack (for it is he) laughs again, telling her she is powerless inside this vehicle. Outside, Eirion looks at the door and grits his teeth and make a decision. Inside, Jack holds her down, one hand around her throat, and pulls the knife back. His hand comes down…

POW! In a flash of smoke, the door explodes off its hinges from a powerful blast of sorcery. The car lurches and brakes and through the smoke swings Eirion! Baa-baa! The old man is still pretty spry so he turns to face his attacker. Eirion pins the knife hand and a wrestling match begins. Charlie regains her senses enough to give a savage knee to the groin. Jack’s legs sag and Eirion slams the old man’s head into the roof of the car. Eirion gets slashed on the arm but then pins the arm again and gets Jack the Ripper in a headlock. Charlie meanwhile is tapping on the driver’s screen politely. As she does, Eirion starts ramming Jack’s head into it, so it’s tap tap tap BAM tap tap tap BAM. Eventually, the screen rolls down and a very scared Inspector Bradshaw puts his hands up. Charlie places the scalpel along his throat and tells him to pull over. He keeps babbling about doing good work for the council, that he was only doing what the Doctor told him was right and eventually Charlie tells him to just shut the hell up. He does.

Eirion subdues Jack to unconciousness as a cab arrives with John and Tom. Eirion throws their man down in the dirt where they stopped behind a park.

John: Jack the Ripper, I presume?
Tom: Yes, and he would have got away with it if it hadn’t been for us meddling kids!
Bradshaw: Can I talk now?
Tom: No! I was making Scooby Doo jokes! No talking during my Scooby Doo jokes!

He still doesn’t make any sense, just babbling terrified about how they were demon whores who sucked men dry and they had to be stopped. They tie them both up and called Gervaise. He says he’ll send round the Watcher cleanup squad immediately – and congratulations. But there’s one little loose end…

Charlie: Okay, now what about the people who kidnapped me?
John (confused): They’re in this car…
Charlie: No, they’re not actually…

Sudden cut to: a crenellated rooftop covered in frost. Beneath it, London is beginning to glow white. Perhaps a chimney pot or two. Miriam stands in a new dress – pure black and showing lots of cleavage - holding Charles’ hand. He stares at her with the same rapture as always.

Charles: Did it all go well, my love?
Miriam: Yes. I think so. He got my sisters again, but this time he didn’t get me.
Charles: (lovesick) You’re so clever. I love you.
Miriam: (smiling wickedly) Of course you do dear. And now, I have to go. I have SO much to do.

And with that, huge black wings spread from her shoulder blades. Her fingers turn to black brutal claws and her face twists into a fanged predatory visage, topped with black horns rising through her hair. She smiles wickedly again, kisses her hopelessly thralled minion, and takes to the skies, her hideous wings silhouetted against the moon.

And I turn to my players and go “PWNED!”.

[dalziel_86]

Originally posted by SteveD
just like Ben Affleck was able to play Holden MacNeil and himself in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
Despite Ben Affleck being made entirely out of wood.

[SteveD]

BTW, pwned is pronounced like owned but with a p at the start. It means "totally kicked your ass".

[Caudex]

Originally posted by SteveD
And I turn to my players and go ?PWNED!?. Yes! Awesome!

[SteveD]

Cool, I got an awesome! Thanks Caudex.

The "Jack was actually wiping out succubi" sting has been in my head for two freaking years, just like the Fay reveal, so again, that's another plot I am very grateful to FINALLY get out to an audience.

And kudos to Craig Oxbrow for making that happen, by telling me how to use it in the modern day.

Steve

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by SteveD
Eirion pays as the bus turns the corner and he can see the limo ahead in traffic. He leaps over the top, bounces off a soft-top and frog hops a few bonnets until he finds himself clinging to the back of the limo.
Sounds to me like the boy's in love.

And I got kudos! w00t!

[SteveD]

Sounds to me like the boy's in love.

Maybe. You'd have to ask him - nobody tells me anything.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by SteveD
Maybe. You'd have to ask him - nobody tells me anything.
Yeah, I know what that's like, as this week's episode will probably prove...

[Jody Macgregor]

Originally posted by SteveD
Maybe. You'd have to ask him - nobody tells me anything.
Moo hoo ha ha! This is what it feels like to be kept in the dark!

We are going to pwn you so bad. :)

[Elemental]

Originally posted by SteveD
Maybe. You'd have to ask him - nobody tells me anything.

Do players that good come from some sort of special eugenics program? :)

[SteveD]

We are going to pwn you so bad.

You know, I GM just so I can avoid being kept in the dark and pwned. Bastards!

I should also point out that it was for Jack that Craig got his first Award For Meritorious Service to GMs. It wasn't his last.

Steve

[Peter LaCara]

...but then pins the arm again and gets Jack the Ripper in a headlock.

I love this sentence. It makes me happy.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Me too. It's a thing of beauty.

And now I go back to racking my brain for where my other Meritorious Service medals came from...

[SteveD]

I may have awarded them in my head, Craig, and forgotten to tell you. There was something in chat that made me backflip with glee recently, for sure.

And yes, that is a good sentence. And it was exactly what I said to the player: "Okay, you've got Jack the Ripper in a headlock, what do you want to do?"

And that's why I decided to use Jack and not his great great great grandson. Because I mean, there is no substitute for the original, right?

I myself have also kicked Jack's ass in another game. It's good for the soul.

Steve

[SteveD]

Also, I demand more kudos for my twist ending! Hands up who was shocked? Who figured it out?

KUDOS!









Sorry.

:)

[Burgonet]

Originally posted by Jody Macgregor
Moo hoo ha ha! This is what it feels like to be kept in the dark!

We are going to pwn you so bad. :)

Thulsa Doom: Now they will know why they are afraid of the dark. Now they learn why they fear the night.

Is there nothing James Earle Jones does not know?

:)

[SteveD]

Dude even knows what's in the Iowa cornfield dimensional rift.

Motherfucker knows ALL.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by SteveD
I may have awarded them in my head, Craig, and forgotten to tell you. There was something in chat that made me backflip with glee recently, for sure.
Yeah? PM me, for I am curious and always like external validation. :D

[SteveD]

External validation is the best thing in the world, but I honestly cannot remember. You deserve so many anyway.

Oh, coming up with the motto for the Council was pretty damn sweet.

But there was something else, some perfect plot point when I really needed it...

Steve

[colbabe]

Originally posted by SteveD
Whereupon his keen nose detects not one but two types of blood in the room. ...John follows the blood trail like a bloodhound.
Witness the power of my newly bought Keen Senses (smell) advantage! I may be now as cool as Angel and/or Oz. But it's a little hard to explain at peerage gatherings. (ERII: Lord Talbot, we do not appreciate you sniffing our hand...)

[colbabe]

Originally posted by SteveD
The car lurches and brakes and through the smoke swings Eirion! Baa-baa!
What the...? Where'd that sheep come from? Those kooky Welsh people...

Oh yeah, and props to my main homie SteveD for Jack. You're enhancing the plot by inserting everything that's good about British legends. Consider me pwned.

[thenewgirl]

I got to knee Jack the Ripper in the balls! Yay me!:D

[Mortality]

Originally posted by SteveD
Also, I demand more kudos for my twist ending! Hands up who was shocked? Who figured it out?
Saw it coming. But then I GM Buffy too, so it's probably a mindset thing. Otherwise, excellent episode.
Damn you and your 4-hours-longer-than-mine sessions.

I've just realized, I totally pwned one of my Buffy players in the session last night, and forgot to tell him. I'll have to send a 'pwned' email. And then he will be confused.

[Peter LaCara]

Originally posted by SteveD
Also, I demand more kudos for my twist ending! Hands up who was shocked? Who figured it out? I woulda been a lot more pwned, but almost just before I read the conclusion of this thread I read the "Rippers" preview (the new miniatures game/RPG using Savage Worlds from Pinnacle (http://www.peginc.com)). It works off of a very similar premise (that's not a dig at your creativity.... great minds think alike).

The other crazy thing is that prior to reading both of these things, I just started reading From Hell. So my life is Ripper-tastic at the moment.

[BethDragon]

Well, I finished my archiving for Dan's last episode, so now I get the fun of reading through here. Such a fun group!!!

Commentary -

Love the stuff tween Charlie & Eirion! Kudos to the players! And I am glad that I kept my curiosity and didn't get the priviledged rundown from a player... ^^

Loved the fiver at the grave. About bloody time he noticed! :)

I want Pru's bookshelves...and I agree it would have been cool if she had a secret switch under the bust of a statue that transforms her place into a nifty secret base. Or, knowing the boys' luck, it'd just have cheesecake posters of Col. X or such...

"..mock the London Eye." Hey, I did that when I was in London too! *grin* And adored the way of making the guards' eyes move.

"her intestines draped up her body" Right there, Steve-o...that was when I knew Jack was in the building. Yes, I too am a Ripper geek. Went on the Ripper Walk when I was in London too.

I want to see a visual of the Watcher Coat of Arms.

*asks Amazon.com for the uncensored Watcher Chrons...*

Loved the All Watchers are Evil conversation.

I am so impressed by Eirion's chase-fu...I agree, gotta be lurve.

And I didn't know that Miriam would actually be a succubus. I was
thinking, though that somehow Charles was connected to Jack....I dunno why, I just didn't like the guy.

Keep up the fantabulous work, all! *HUGS*

Beth

[dalziel_86]

Originally posted by BethDragon
I was
thinking, though that somehow Charles was connected to Jack....I dunno why, I just didn't like the guy.
About halfway through, I passed a note to Steve saying "It's Charles, isn't it." :)

[Jody Macgregor]

Originally posted by BethDragon
Love the stuff tween Charlie & Eirion! Kudos to the players!
While we were writing that one of us said, "You know who'll love this? Beth."

Loved the fiver at the grave. About bloody time he noticed! :)

Noticed what? :)

"her intestines draped up her body" Right there, Steve-o...that was when I knew Jack was in the building.
Me too. I started writing down a list of the canonical victims and trying to remember what order they died in...then I realised I should research that IN-GAME.

I am so impressed by Eirion's chase-fu...I agree, gotta be lurve.
Thanks to they guys for scripting that. I made the roll, then had absolutely no idea how to visualise it (I blame it on not owning a TV). I especially liked the image of Tom and John giving up, out of breath, then seeing Eirion go past on the back of a bus -- waving just like the zombie from first season.

Keep up the fantabulous work, all! *HUGS*

Thanks for the kind words.

[SteveD]

And I was worried people wouldn't tweak to Jack being in town. Should have realised I was GMing to geeks.

Funny thing is, I'm not a Jack freak, I just did about five minutes research before the game.

Steve

[SteveD]

Charles was not a likeable character. He used to be Charlie's friend, now he's a sleazy photographer completely obsessed with one of his models.

He is, in fact, a red herrring.

Double bluff.

I rock!

It wasn't planned that way, but I rock!

Steve

[Jody Macgregor]

Originally posted by SteveD
And I was worried people wouldn't tweak to Jack being in town. Should have realised I was GMing to geeks. It was lucky I'd re-read From Hell recently.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Originally posted by SteveD
I rock!

It wasn't planned that way, but I rock!
That's the best kind of rocking. :D