THE NEW VANGUARD! HAUNT Issue #10 With special guest star STEEPLEJACK!

HAUNT DIFFICULTY 3 HP 11

"Jack the who?" spluttered Watson. "The devil with this! Let's go back and get a drink. Then, seeing as we seem to have run out of revelations to shock me with, I'll have another."

They walked back to the carriage and rode back to London.

It was dusk when they got near Baker Street and Haunt glanced up at the moon in the sky... (OOC I'm trying to juggle Steeplejacks time in Exeter to get back at roughly the same time to get you all on the same page again so there may be a few Steeplejack only replies whilst he is scrapping with Vampires).

=========

Holmes waited in the drawing room and drew a smoke on his pipe.

"Holmes!" declared Watson as he came in, tossed his hat in a chair and made for the drinks cabinet. The Detective arched an eyebrow and watched as Nick Carter came in.

"You'll never believe the things we've heard and seen this afternoon! And the nonsense! Utter codswallop!" said Watson as he poured a drink, threw it down and turned to offer Carter one as he poured again.

Holmes glanced at Carter. "Perhaps a cooler head should explain what you know so far..."

OOC Feel free to list what you know since coming into the timeline. You may have forgotten or missed some things, or you may be up to date. Holmes will respond to Carters summary then update you and Watson with his own findings.

STEEPLEJACK DIFFICULTY 3 HP 42

Steeplejack is faster and the creature who had been Mina Murray at one point was surprised slightly. "Faster than the usual prey! That stick will not help you though!"

OOC Basically you need WEAPONRY skill when using a weapon and the stake definitely qualifies as one. However M Arts does help in that you get to use your skill dice BUT the target is harder to hit by +2OV. I need to clear and clean skills up like everything else in the game for our needs. More and more I would like the options for you guys to roll dice when using powers but Hero Points covers that right now.

Dex 13 + 3D M Arts (2D Acrobatics defence) + Roll(5d12)+0: 1,10,1,6,10,+0 Total: 20 DOUBLE Plus Roll(2d12)+0: 12,7,+0 Total:39 (52) vs
OV 8 + Diff 3 + OV2 (unskilled) + 2D Acro (0D M Arts) - 8 (vulnerability to sharpened stakes) + Roll(4d12)+0: 7,3,2,11,+0 Total:18 (23) +8 EV (to a Stake of 2EV +1 For Steeplejacks strength)=11EV vs RV9 + 3Diff - 8 (vulnerable to stakes) (4)=7 Damage. Vampire is on 2/9 Body.

BANG!

The stake rams into the chest of the vampire with a crunching sound and Mina grunted, staggering and coughing. Somewhere else in the house a mans voice screamed "Noooooo!"

Still on her feet she snarled and coughed up a black liquid that might once have been blood. "You... think me beaten..." Then she leapt at Steeplejack!

OOC AV8 + Diff 3 + Roll(2d12)+0: 8,9,+0 Total:17 (28) vs
OV13 + 4D Acro + Roll(4d12)+0: 1,9,1,12,+0 Total:21 (34) Attack Missed.

"No!" she coughs. "You are... so fast! How...?"

Thudding footsteps from behind her showed another arrival. A man dressed in soiled rags that was once a suit, now bloodstained and torn, stinking and soiled. The man had wild hair and blood red eyes, fangs that protruded from his mouth and sharp nails that were inches long! Whatever this thing was, it was no longer Jonathan Harker, Solicitor and well to do resident of Exeter.

Something else. Banging from downstairs somewhere in the cellar.

"Ahhh... my children wake! And they are HUNGRY!" snarled Jonathan Harker, or the thing that had been him.

OOC You have one stake still left in your hand. You can pull what's left of the other one from Mina if you wish but it might not be usable. You won't do much damage against an ordinary person with these (far better to punch with superhuman strength) but against a Vampire they are very very effective making it easier to hit and damage with them. Steeplejack wins initiative again. You face a badly wounded Vampire (on 2/9 Body) and an unwounded one and the noise downstairs suggests more.. creatures.

Haunt


"You'll never believe the things we've heard and seen this afternoon! And the nonsense! Utter codswallop!" said Watson as he poured a drink, threw it down and turned to offer Carter one as he poured again.

Holmes glanced at Carter. "Perhaps a cooler head should explain what you know so far..."

OOC Feel free to list what you know since coming into the timeline. You may have forgotten or missed some things, or you may be up to date. Holmes will respond to Carters summary then update you and Watson with his own findings.

"Actually, I think you should hear Watson's version of events first," Nick replies. "Today has been quite a shock to him and I think letting him vent to his friend as to what he has seen and heard may be of help to him."

ooc: And will give me another post or two while Steeplejack has fun taking on vampires.

HAUNT DIFFICULTY 3 HP 11

Watson sagged into a chair. "Ohhh. We went to check on the Nichols woman. She wasn't at the hospital as we knew, or at her ... home. I use the term loosely."

"We tracked her to a gypsy camp and found her. I wish we hadn't! She was... monstrous! More animal than woman. The gypsies there were quite mad too. Some nonsense about Lycanthropy and blathering on about the moon and silver and whatnot. Nonsense! Enough of that. It will come to nothing. Oh, carter here said something about someone called Jack Ripper. Never heard of him. I suspect the fellow is losing his marbles!"

Holmes raised an eyebrow and turned to Carter. "The Doctor has had a trying day." He walked to the fireplace and examined a trinket on the fireplace before turning. "I was sent for by LeStrade who delivered in hands to me a summons from the Queen herself!" He walked over to the door, clicked it closed and moved to the windows, looking out and around then pulling drapes across.

"What I am about to tell you is top secret. I can trust Watson and I believe you are on the same side as I am Carter, not to mention your unique abilities will be of paramount importance to get to the bottom of this."

"Below Buckingham Palace are vaults. Secret and impregnable, or so was thought. Someone last week - before your arrival Carter - entered the vaults via an underground tunnel cut through the rock and soil under the Palace and from a park nearby."

"Why... that's impossible! It would have taken months... years! Someone would have..." spluttered Watson. He really was flustered.

"Watson please listen first, questions later. Amongst other things in that vault was a particular item that Queen Victoria and her ancestors have been pledged to protect. The cup used at the last supper, made famous by Thomas Mallory by its more famous name the Holy Grail."

Watson sprayed whisky down his front.

"It is real, and moreover, functional. Set in the same stone that one housed the sword EXCALIBUR this cup and its magic powers cast a... dome... if you like over the island of Britain and its close surrounds including much of France and some of the our European neighbours. In this dome or bubble, evil ancient magic is slowly eroded, eaten at and forced away or dissipated. There is a ... compulsion for evil magical creatures to leave the dome which gets stronger and more insistent over days and weeks. If the creature is able to resist, by the time the dome has worked its power into their soul the creature will think of leaving the area before eating or drinking."

Watson shook his head.

"The Grail has been stolen. The dome is gone, the protection it provides has been removed. What you have experienced in the last day - a Lyncanthrope - is very real. It is the tip of the iceberg. Britain is vulnerable and the forces arrayed against her are Legion. Because of her position as the pre-eminent power in the world we are being targeted here at its heart with a most insidious plot which is yet to be revealed in its entirety. We do not yet know the face of our enemy though Carter here knows of them, nor do we know their end game. However we do not that the recovery of the Grail should be paramount in our investigations and I have been given a royal decree granting far ranging powers to do such a thing. I intend to assemble a... League, of Extraordinary Gentleman in order to fight this evil, recover the Grail and restore peace to the land. There are extraordinary people out there - men and women - who we should gather for their unique abilities, knowledge or resources. One such man is Prince Dakkar. He is of Indian descent and outcast for his extremist views and methods."

"What views?" asked Watson. "Who is he?"

"He has declared himself an enemy of imperialistic views and as such, the British Empire. However, he may be persuaded to our cause by the fact that the British Empire is under threat and may be replaced - if we fail - by an Empire of Darkness the world over. He operates under another name. Captain Nemo, and travels the oceans in a most fabulous craft known as the Nautilus, which is a submarine capable of outpacing any vehicle on land, sea or in theory, air."

"Our investigations may begin here in London but make no mistake, if we follow the trail they shall take us around the world. A theory I have is that an Occidental known as Dr Fu Manchu has joined forces with our old foe Professor James Moriarty and others to take advantage of Britains vulnerability. They may well have allied themselves to the foe that Carter opposes. If so the world is in danger. We are its only hope and we must remain a secret so as to not invite panic."

He took a sip of a drink.

"Questions?"

Admin wrote:STEEPLEJACK DIFFICULTY 3 HP 42

"Ahhh... my children wake! And they are HUNGRY!" snarled Jonathan Harker, or the thing that had been him.

OOC You have one stake still left in your hand. You can pull what's left of the other one from Mina if you wish but it might not be usable. You won't do much damage against an ordinary person with these (far better to punch with superhuman strength) but against a Vampire they are very very effective making it easier to hit and damage with them. Steeplejack wins initiative again. You face a badly wounded Vampire (on 2/9 Body) and an unwounded one and the noise downstairs suggests more.. creatures.

"Harker...what have you done with Penny! Are you working for Advent, answer me man?"

Steeplejack said, grasping the other stake tighter and aiming to go after him.

OOC: I am wondering since we're on the ground floor with a caller below if I can bury them vampires or nasties below until I can deal with these above, in the meantime. But for now using Martial Arts on Harker and keeping my distance from his not so pretty assistant. If there is any other furniture I can use for stake making material I'll seek to grab that at some point also.

Sj

HAUNT

far ranging powers to do such a thing. I intend to assemble a... League, of Extraordinary Gentleman in order to fight this evil, recover the Grail and restore peace to the land. There are extraordinary people out there - men and women - who we should gather for their unique abilities, knowledge or resources. One such man is Prince Dakkar. He is of Indian descent and outcast for his extremist views and methods."

"What views?" asked Watson. "Who is he?"

"He has declared himself an enemy of imperialistic views and as such, the British Empire. However, he may be persuaded to our cause by the fact that the British Empire is under threat and may be replaced - if we fail - by an Empire of Darkness the world over. He operates under another name. Captain Nemo, and travels the oceans in a most fabulous craft known as the Nautilus, which is a submarine capable of outpacing any vehicle on land, sea or in theory, air."

"Our investigations may begin here in London but make no mistake, if we follow the trail they shall take us around the world. A theory I have is that an Occidental known as Dr Fu Manchu has joined forces with our old foe Professor James Moriarty and others to take advantage of Britains vulnerability. They may well have allied themselves to the foe that Carter opposes. If so the world is in danger. We are its only hope and we must remain a secret so as to not invite panic."

He took a sip of a drink.

"Questions?"


"I've heard of all three men," Nick Carter replies, "or at least their legends. Numerous books have been written about them as well as movies. Hmmm ... I think movies have or are about to be invented by now***. Many a play, movie and books will be written of you as well, Mr. Holmes, thanks to the stories Dr. Watson has written in the Strand over the years, even a long running radio show###. Nick Carter, the real one, fades away from memory in about 80 years and the Nick Carter written then bears no resemblance to the real Nick Carter. That one is lost to memory by the 1920s. Such is fame."

He chuckles at that, having no memory of himself once living on another Earth during the time of World War 2 and calling himself Putty.

He chuckles at that.

"As to Jack the Ripper I mentioned to Dr. Watson, he is a killer who stalks London. Mostly killing whores in Whitechapel. He is also called the Whitechapel Murderer. I believe that the woman who had her throat slashed by a werewolf was supposed to be his first recorded victim, which means she is supposed to die or did die. Time travel plays havoc on tenses. Yet, she lives and lives as a werewolf. I'm not sure how we fix that issue or was a certificate of death given for the woman, Dr. Watson?"



*** = THE ANSWER IS: In 1888 in New York City, the great inventor Thomas Edison and his British assistant William Dickson worried that others were gaining ground in camera development. The pair set out to create a device that could record moving pictures. In 1890 Dickson unveiled the Kinetograph, a primitive motion picture camera.

### = tHE aNSWER IS: The first practical radio transmitters and receivers were developed around 1895-6 by Italian Guglielmo Marconi, and radio began to be used commercially around 1900.

Wiki
1930-1950 Various Sherlock Holmes radio shows.
From the outset of the show, the series was billed under in different listings under various titles including Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, and other titles. The most popularly remembered title is The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.[2]

From 1939 until 1943, episodes were adapted or written by Edith Meiser[3] who had written the earlier The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series which aired from 1930 to 1935. Meiser left the show after disagreements with a sponsor over the amount of violence in the program.[4] It is also reported that Meiser left the show to focus on other projects.[5] From 1943 onward, most episodes were written by the team of Denis Green and Anthony Boucher[3] with some early episodes written by Green and Leslie Charteris.[6][7] Edith Meiser returned to write for the show for its seventh season. Max Ehrlich and Howard Merrill wrote the episodes of season 8. Denis Green returned as a writer for the last season.[8]

Originally, the show starred Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson.[9][10] Together, they starred in 220 episodes which aired weekly on Mondays from 8:30 to 9:00pm.[11] Basil Rathbone's last episode as the famous detective was "The Singular Affair of the Baconian Cipher". He was eager to separate himself from the show to avoid being typecast in the role. Tom Conway replaced him in the starring role, though Nigel Bruce got top billing and was always announced first. The new series lasted only 39 episodes, and Bruce and Conway then left the series. From then until 1950 the series continued with various actors playing the two principal parts.

The show first aired on the Blue Network but later moved to the Mutual Broadcasting System.[12] The show moved to Mutual in 1943 at the start of its fourth season.[13] The series was originally broadcast from Hollywood. During World War II, the show was also broadcast overseas through the Armed Forces Radio Service. The program aired on ABC instead of Mutual for its sixth and ninth seasons.[14]

Many episodes were recorded in front of a live audience.[15]

Other source
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was an old-time radio show which aired in the USA from October 2, 1939 to July 7, 1947. Originally, the show starred Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson. Together, they starred in 220 episodes which aired weekly on Mondays from 8:30 to 9:00pm. Bromo Quinine sponsored some of the earlier programs on the NBC Blue Network and for a period Parker Pen was the sponsor. The show first aired on the Blue Network but later moved to the Mutual Broadcasting System.

Basil Rathbone's last episode as the famous detective was "The Singular Affair of the Baconian Cipher." He was eager to separate himself from the cast type of Holmes, and even though the show's sponsor Petri Wine offered him generous pay to continue, he decided to move on. Once he did, the sponsor did as well, and Tom Conway took the starring role, though Nigel Bruce got top billing and was always announced first. The new sponsor was Kreml Hair Tonic for Men, and the new series only lasted 39 episodes.

With Rathbone and Bruce, the show exhibited an interesting introduction. The sponsor's spokesman would show up weekly at Dr. Watson's house (then retired and living in California), and share a story about Sherlock Holmes and his adventures over a glass of Petri wine. This offered them the chance to sometimes bring in other characters to contribute to the story, and also gave Watson a chance to summarize or add additional tidbits at the end. Another interesting thing about this radio shows introductions was Watson's anecdotes and comments about his dogs usually referred to as the "Puppies".
Available Episodes

STEEPLEJACK DIFFICULTY 3 HP 42

OOC You can grab any number of hand rail legs when you get a moment but that would take up your attack for the round... As would using eart control

Dex 13 + 3D M Arts (2D Acrobatics defence) + Roll(5d12)+0: 8,10,11,12,5,+0 Total:23 (36) vs
OV 8 + Diff 3 + OV2 (unskilled) + 1D Acro (1D M Arts) - 8 (vulnerability to sharpened stakes) + Roll(3d12)+0: 10,1,12,+0 Total:23 (28) +4 EV (to a Stake of 2EV +1 For Steeplejacks strength)=7EV vs RV9 + 3Diff - 8 (vulnerable to stakes) (4)=3 Damage. Harker Vampire is on 6/9 Body. Mina vampire is on 2/9 Body.

"Arrgggh!" snarled Harker as the stake plunged into him. "What are you babbling at fool? Penny? Advent? Your words are meaningless!"

The female vampire snarls "Jonathan! We must leave! This stranger is too fast, even for us!"

Harker snarls and hisses, then races down the stairs and plunges through a window followed a moment later by Mina Murray. Harker had grabbed a curtain along the way but there was nothing for his female companion who cried out!

Steeplejack ran to the window and looked out. The pair had landed on their feet like cats from thirty or so feet up and were moving to the shadows of other buildings. The going would be slow for the pair. Despite the overcast weather they seemed incredibly reluctant to walk out in the open and were sharing the curtain to shelter from the light.

The howls and hisses grew in noise from the basement and Steeplejack knew he had a choice. Chase the Vampires or deal with their 'get', unfortunates who had been changed over time into 'ghouls' that the Vampires fed from and who fought for them as a guard dog might. If they were to get out and run amok in the street...

HAUNT DIFFICULTY 3 HP 11

Watson frowned. "I'm surprised at you Holmes. This fellow..." he refers to Nick Carter "turns up and all of a sudden there's a theft from the Queens vaults, all manner of strange things are happening and innocents are in danger. Seems to me to be convenient he shows up in our hour of need to help."

Holmes chuckled. "Now come Watson. If this fellow wanted me or you dead, or indeed the Queen, what do you suppose we could do about such a thing? Wehy, he couold walk wherever he liked and all the guns, dynamite and bombs in the world wouldn't make a mark on him!"

With that he suddenly whisked up a poker from the fireplace (not lit) and THWANG! struck Haunt on the shoulder! The blow would have crippled an ordinary person. Instead it mangled the poker into an unrecognisable shape! "Sorry about that dear fellow." said Holmes to carter as he set the mangled poker down. "My friend here sometimes doubts that which his own senses tell is true. I believe you are here precisely because of these events and are here to stop them. So, where do we go from here?"

"The Holy Grail has been stolen. Its absence means that long dormant dark powers are now able to... hmmm." said Holmes and he turned to the window. A hooded and cloaked figured crouched on the wide sill outside and tapped on the window.

Watson scowled. "Now what? Nothing surprises me any more!"

Haunt recognised SPRING HEELED JACK despite his features being completely obscured. The man who had kidnapped the Harkness girl???

The Haunt Dif 3 HP 11

With that he suddenly whisked up a poker from the fireplace (not lit) and THWANG! struck Haunt on the shoulder! The blow would have crippled an ordinary person. Instead it mangled the poker into an unrecognizable shape! "Sorry about that dear fellow." said Holmes to carter as he set the mangled poker down. "My friend here sometimes doubts that which his own senses tell is true. I believe you are here precisely because of these events and are here to stop them. So, where do we go from here?"

"The Holy Grail has been stolen. Its absence means that long dormant dark powers are now able to... hmmm." said Holmes and he turned to the window. A hooded and cloaked figured crouched on the wide sill outside and tapped on the window.

Watson scowled. "Now what? Nothing surprises me any more!"

Haunt recognized SPRING HEELED JACK despite his features being completely obscured. The man who had kidnapped the Harkness girl???

_________________

"Do you know him or of him, Holmes," Nick Carter asks as he goes over the the fireplace and straightens out the poker casually as he walks to the window, contemplating letting the man in after hearing Holmes' response. [Probably going to let him in anyways.]

HAUNT DIFFICULTY 3 HP 11

Holmes gave a wry smile as Carter casually straightened the poker whilst Watson gaped. "Impossible." he breathed.

At the window he turned and walked up to it. Speaking over his shoulder he observed "The man is covering every inch of his skin with what I take to be a holocaust cloak. Thick wool despite the temperature being mild suggests the fellow is very warm or seeking to protect his skin from daylight. Added to that we are three storeys up with no real means of having scaled - no ladders, I see no trailing rope... I believe Watson you are about to get more proof of the supernatural Watson. Please confine your astonishment as best you can whilst I suggest Mr carter is best equipped to deal with any shenanigans the fellow may get up to."

He stepped back and Carter opened the large window.

Spring Heeled Jack hissed "I have the woman Penelope Harkness!"

Admin wrote:STEEPLEJACK DIFFICULTY 3 HP 42
[color=#0033cc]
OOC You can grab any number of hand rail legs when you get a moment but that would take up your attack for the round... As would using eart control

The howls and hisses grew in noise from the basement and Steeplejack knew he had a choice. Chase the Vampires or deal with their 'get', unfortunates who had been changed over time into 'ghouls' that the Vampires fed from and who fought for them as a guard dog might. If they were to get out and run amok in the street...

Harker and the woman would be a threat, they could raise more of these monstrosities but the monstrosities that remained were a more serious threat, like rabid dogs that needed to be put down.  Wiping his brow, a grim look on his face, Steeplejack grabbed some more of the stair rods and moved over to the cellar.  He prepared himself to use his earth-moving powers to first trap the creatures, sinking them into the earth so that he could kill them then bury them deep, deep underground.  

OOC: Ok I suppose there is no saving them so best get on with this grim job but first as I say going to make sure they aren't free to jump me first.  

Sj

HAUNT DIFFICULTY 3 HP 11

Spring Heeled Jack hissed "I have the woman Penelope Harkness!"


"So is it true that your type cannot enter a house without first being invited," Nick Carter asked Spring Heeled Jack, trying to ascertain if he was a vampire or something else, "And why would you take the woman?"

STEEPLEJACK DIFFICULTY 3 HP 42

With a handful of stakes in hand Steeplejack moved into the cellar. The stink was awful and he soon saw movement, his danger sense alerting him to a surprise attack! With superior speed and strength he quickly set to work, staking the creatures which, though corrupted and enhanced beyond mere human, were no match for his speed and strength!

OOC These things have stats of Dex 4 Str 4 Body 4. Even with the difficulty level 3 boosting that effectively to 7 Dex/7 Body (for resistance purposes) this would be over in a matter of rounds. And so...

They came at him in a wave... creatures that were once human but now had fed on the blood of the vampire and were corrupted. Still able to go out into the light and bring victims back but without the strength and speed of a true Vampire like Harker and the woman, Mina Murray.

He smashed a stake home, time and again and was threatened to be buried under a crush of bodies but commanding the Earth allowed him to restrain many of them as they found themselves trapped in the ground, their feet submerged in rock which hardened about them! Without any hope of redemption the vile creatures were finally put down, destroyed.

The work was filthy and left Steeplejack covered in sludge and muck. There were more bones in this place than could be counted. He had done an awful, terrible, necessary deed this day.

Sometimes to fight evil one had to climb down into its pit.

Walking back up the stairs of the charnel house he knew that the best, only way to deal with this place was to burn it to the ground. He saw two coffins in the place too. These he scattered the earth of and smashed to shards.

Taking the time to check next door he found no one there. In fact the entire street seemed to be deserted of occupants and now he knew why. Harker and his evil mistress would need to be hunted down but could be anywhere now. However without their coffins they would have nowhere to stay, to regenerate and both were wounded almost unto death. They would lie low for a while, perhaps long enough for him to return to the church and get back to London to report his findings to the others and see if they had located Penny.

As he stood watching the flames flicker in the building he knew the fire service would arrive at some point to put them out but by then he hoped the house would be torched enough to hide the evil that once dwelled there. Turning to the streets of Exeter from his rooftop vantage point he knew the two Vampires were still out there and would need stopping.

The clock was ticking though and Penny needed saving. Would he hunt down the Vampires or return to London and seek news of Penelope Harkness?

HAUNT DIFFICULTY 3 HP 11

Spring Heeled Jack sneered "No comment" on his Vampiric status, though he refused to enter the house of his own volition. "Something IS happening round 'ere though an' I figured you'd be the man t' ask." he said of Holmes.

"Where's the girl?" blustered Watson.

"Safe. I need ta make sure... sure that she weren't the one..." said Jack

"The one? Explain." said Holmes.

"I been 'avin dreams y'see. My powers... they was always there thinks I. Was bitten a while ago an' came ta England but there was somethin'... somethin' stoppin me from doin bad stuff. Now it's gone. I gets the urge. It feels like somethin' is mutterin to me in my dreams. Tells me ta snatch the girl, take 'er to the docks. Dunno why. Anyway, I snatches th' girl an she makes me feel different. Like I don't want ta do dark deeds no more. I always danced about on a night, huntin' the evil folk, scarin' em. Then the thing that stops me doin' what i can really do is gone an' all of a sudden I feel a need to bite... ta feed. But the girl stops that, so I didn't take 'er to the dock."

"What is he blathering on about?" asked Watson.

"Quiet Doctor! The man is..." he turned to Carter "Possessed of supernatural powers, powers which the Grail suppressed until its recent theft! He was compelled to grab the girl and take her to the docks but something about the girl - Penny Harkness - helps him to restrain his animalistic nature."

"That's right. Just bein' away from 'er makes me nervous, an itchy... an'... hungry..." Jack said, drooling. He reached out a hand towards Carter across the threshold of the window then hissed as his pale skin started to burn, and snatched it back inside the cover of the cloak!

"Anyway... I gives you this address. The girl is there." he said, flipping a piece of paper into the room which Watson scooped up. "I needs ta... ta... go. It's hard ta think, ta fight the urges."

"The Grail. Without its power suppressing your evil desires you will revert to your true nature." said Holmes. "The woman someone helps you. She, I think is vital to our cause and there is some missing piece of the puzzle that eludes us. Some hand behind it. Take away the Grail, reintroduce creatures of legend to terrify the populace, destabilise the government and prepare the land for what? Invasion? To bring down the British Empire, or install a new Empire, one that reaches even further?"

"An Empire of Evil?"

Admin wrote:STEEPLEJACK DIFFICULTY 3 HP 42

The clock was ticking though and Penny needed saving. Would he hunt down the Vampires or return to London and seek news of Penelope Harkness?

It pained him to think of Penelope in danger, esp since he had been responsible for drawing her near. But at the same time, the one lead he had was her distant relative who just happened to have become a vampire. Injured as he was, he would seek refuge and blood. Steeplejack couldn't sit by and let more people die that he knew he might have the chance of saving. Seeing which way they fled he sought to tune in using his precognition abilities if his danger sense could warn him of danger, could it warn him of their being close? He had to try something.

OOC: I don't know if danger sense works here as it does with Spidey but if I go about and try and tune in, besides looking for obvious signs, and see what I can see or sense. Harkness is my only lead and though I don't know how he is mixed up in this, I need to know that I have run this lead to ground and them both.

Sj

HAUNT DIFFICULTY 3 HP 11

"Anyway... I gives you this address. The girl is there." he said, flipping a piece of paper into the room which Watson scooped up. "I needs ta... ta... go. It's hard ta think, ta fight the urges."

"The Grail. Without its power suppressing your evil desires you will revert to your true nature." said Holmes. "The woman someone helps you. She, I think is vital to our cause and there is some missing piece of the puzzle that eludes us. Some hand behind it. Take away the Grail, reintroduce creatures of legend to terrify the populace, destabilize the government and prepare the land for what? Invasion? To bring down the British Empire, or install a new Empire, one that reaches even further?"

"An Empire of Evil?"

"Then maybe you should come with us to get Penelope Harkness," Nick Carter replies. "You stay with us, help us, the girl stays close to us, she keeps you from turning further into a monster I would have to kill. Sounds like a Win/Win to me."

He turns to Holmes, "Do we wait for Steeplejack or go without him, leaving him a note and directions?"

"And who else besides Dr. Fu Manchu and Moriarty would be a part of this Empire of Evil? Those two I am familiar with but lesser villains not so much. Mr. Hyde maybe?"

STEEPLEJACK DIFFICULTY 3 HP 42

Trying to use his power in a way he'd not done before, Steeplejack moved along the street with the house of death burning in the background. The fire service would stop the blaze in time to save the street but there would be no saving the inhabitants.

OOC Danger Sense 10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 7,3,+0 Total:10 (20) vs
OV8 + Roll(2d12)+0: 8,4,+0 Total:12 (20) EV10 vs RV8=2 RAPs. Partial Success.

As he crept down the street he glanced at the floor. What was that? Walking over into the middle of the street he saw a manhole cover. The sewers! And this one had been disturbed recently.

The smell was enough to put him off, as was the height of the tunnel which would cause him to crawl on his knees or at best crouched. In the tunnel he moved the cover back in place overhead.

Then, concentrating, he tried to tell which direction to move in.

North... or South.

OOC Go for Broke (same as crit blow) Danger Sense 10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 7,5,+0 Total:12 (22) vs
OV8 + GFB 4 + Roll(2d12)+0: 7,1,+0 Total:8 (20) +2 EV (12) vs RV8-6 (GFB)=10 RAPs. Success.

South then. That faint tingle indicated the creatures were a mile or so away and getting further away, but in the southern direction. Towards the river.

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Steeplejack, coated in foul smelling muck and sludge, heard the roar of water after minutes of crawling through the sewers. Someone who wasn't superhuman in terms of agility would be suffering by now.

As it was, he was caked in foulness and hoped soon to find something that... The roar got louder. The sewers were opening up into a chamber. he would find the Vampires here.

Indeed, they'd found him.

"What do you want?" echoed the voice. "You've driven us from our home. Injured us, caused us to flee. Will our destruction be the only appeasement for you?" echoed the voice in the chamber which was fed by half a dozen sewer feeds before the largest led to the river Exe...

HAUNT DIFFICULTY 3 HP 11

"I'll go with you." said Jack. "i was supposed to take her to the docks but her presence made me think again. Around her my thoughts are clearer. Just as I'd discovered speed and strength like I'd never had before, then came the blood lust I have fought so long to ignore!" he cried.

Watson shook his head. "I'll stay here. If your friend comes back I'll send him onto the address."

Holmes gathered his hat and coat. "You go your way, I'll take a coach." he said.

=========

It was an abandoned church, boarded up save for the highest windows where pigeons made their way in and out.

Spring heeled jack waited for the coach to turn up and Holmes to get out. Carter had leapt along from rooftop to rooftop with some springs in his heels of his own. "This way." said Jack.

They made their way into the ruined church. Fire had gutted the place a while back and now pools of water rotted the smashed wood and fallen rocks.

The place was lit by the stub of a candle and there, sat by it, was a young woman of striking beauty who was reading from a bible. She looked up at the newcomers and declared "Oh! Hello! Sherlock Holmes! And the man from the future, the Haunt!"

Admin wrote:STEEPLEJACK DIFFICULTY 3 HP 42

"What do you want?" echoed the voice. "You've driven us from our home. Injured us, caused us to flee. Will our destruction be the only appeasement for you?" echoed the voice in the chamber which was fed by half a dozen sewer feeds before the largest led to the river Exe...

Steeplejack wasn't inclined to answer, but he'd come this far looking for clues. "I came because your sister has been kidnapped and I know that a creature called Nosferatu might be involved. Then I find you've been to Romania and here you are in a darkened house, filled with bodies. What happened to you? What brought this change on?

Steeplejack wanted to keep them talking, to get some idea of what was here and what he could do if he needed to. Could he kill them? Could he drive that stake, into the heart to kill? Then again were they really alive? He gave an involuntary shudder. He hated this, and hated what they'd become and would do whatever he had to, this was an aberration that couldn't remain - as it would cause others to be what it was or make them suffer to feed it.

OOC: Ok getting the lie of the land, see if there are any wooden detritus that I can use for a makeshift stake and seeing what I can do to get rid of these two, for their own sake let alone Exeter.

Sj

STEEPLEJACK DIFFICULTY 3 HP 42

All manner of rubbish washed into the sewers and collected on a grate that would need dredging every week. Steeplejack looked up... about fifty feet above was a grate where water flowed in and rusted ladders led into the murk of the collecting chamber.

He tried to look for wood, found branches and twigs for the most part but did find one arm length piece that might suffice.

"My cousin? I have a number of cousins. The Harkers, the Harknesses, the family tree is diverse these days. Family gatherings need a town hall to arrange in." said the echoing voice. It was coming from one of the feeding tunnels where water flowed from them.

"Nosferatu? Nosferatu is a creature, not a man. The man, is such be called, was once called Vlad Tepes. He was called Vlad the Impaler, but his title and ancestral home is called the same."

"Dracula."

"I was ignorant of his true form until I unwittingly fell into his clutches whilst on a trip for work. He drained me... left me to die. Instead I battled one of his so called 'Brides' and drank of her blood. It damned me. I should have died in that gods forsaken castle. I crept and skulked, hid and slithered my way back to England over the course of weeks. My new Vampiric powers helped, and I hated every moment of using them, knowing I would deliver doom to my darling Mina."

"Yet... when I got back to England there was hope. I bled her, but not in the animalistic way of the frenzy, and thought maybe there was a way I could exist, albeit not in the sun. Then something changed. Last week. I was... made vile. I turned my beloved Mina to be with me and we unleashed our voracious appetites on our neighbours."

His voice sounded anguished. Steeplejack narrowed his eyes, concentrating... one of the tunnels...

"We are the damned. I made my way back to England to warn someone, anyone, of Count Dracula and his making his way there. Who would believe me?" he laughed without humour. "They would think me mad, like that fool Renfield. He spluttered on about his master and my old friend Jack Seward locked him up in the asylum. Turns out Renfield was right. His master IS here. Dracula. He came on the ship called the 'Demeter'."

The Demeter.

The one that shipwrecked at Whitby. Dracula was here, in England. Probably in London.

Suddenly a pale figure with awful ragged clothes and dark red stains down his front appeared from a tunnel. Harker the Vampire looked forlorn, his skin white pale and the stake still thrust into his chest though not directly into his heart. "Who ARE you? You that do not fear us, that are faster than we, stronger, mightier. Can you kill Dracula and end the blood curse he brings?"

HAUNT DIFFICULTY 3 HP 11

"Indeed I am Mr King. Or Carter is it? I dream strange dreams, and learn strange things." she said, stepping down. "Spring Heeled Jack initially was being compelled to bring me to a ship headed for the Orient along with other women like me, all mystics of varying potency. Why, I do not know, but to need a dozen or more women all young and in life's prime and all possessing psychic abilities cannot be for some good purpose."

Holmes made his introduction and considered. "Dark powers are afoot Miss Harkness. You have been lucky that your presence unsettled the powers that compel Spring Jack. If he stays close to you he may be able to deny his dark nature."

"There was another name." she said. Frowning she whispered "So hard to remember names. Morgan? Morgana?"

"Morgana Le Fay?" she asked. "Does the name mean anything? I think she is dead but... maybe I and others were to give our lives to bring her back..."

Admin wrote:STEEPLEJACK DIFFICULTY 3 HP 42

The one that shipwrecked at Whitby. Dracula was here, in England. Probably in London.

Suddenly a pale figure with awful ragged clothes and dark red stains down his front appeared from a tunnel. Harker the Vampire looked forlorn, his skin white pale and the stake still thrust into his chest though not directly into his heart. "Who ARE you? You that do not fear us, that are faster than we, stronger, mightier. Can you kill Dracula and end the blood curse he brings?"

"That remains to be seen." Steeplejack said somewhat shyly reluctant to say too much about his friend and their time travelling adventures to stop Advent. Steeplejack suspected that the balance of power changed with the theft of the Grail, and as a result, so did Harkness and those like him.

"What would you do in my position with you - you can't be allowed to carry on as you are?"

Steeplejack looked about for the other one Mina, if had to pin both, he would do.

OOC: Looking about whilst Harkness continues to let me know more. But depending on what he says I think we ought to get this over with, unless there is another way.

Sj

STEEPLEJACK DIFFICULTY 3 HP 42

OOC Danger Sense 10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 9,1,+0 Total:10 (20) vs
OV8 + Roll(2d12)+0: 6,3,+0 Total:9 (17) +2 (to 12) vs RV8=4 RAPs

Steeplejack detects danger! he can't quite figure out where it's coming from though and the roar of water means he can't hear it coming, nor with the much reduced light can he see it!

Harker sighs "My nature has changed. You will have to kill me. I beg of you though... spare Mina! Find a cure, a purpose for her, a cause! Promise me!" he begs. "It was I who returned and cursed her, not her fault! poor, dear, loving Mina... I came back because I knew Dracula coveted her! She reminds him of his long dead love, and he stole my pocket watch with the picture I have of her!"

Steeplejack glanced over his shoulder. Darkness. She might be stalking the tunnels for him right now...

"An end is what I seek now, before I bring misery and death to others! Death... final death... to Dracula is what I really desire though... and if if have to kill you and take the time to heal up I will do!" snarled Harker...