| Don | Benjamin Steele | Former airship steel mage, now enlivening the Naysmith machine. |
| Barry | Arvy Penrington | Avaricious ex-military man "out of Africa". |
| Marian | Voronika McGregor | Lovely gypsy bargainer; seer of spirits; newlywed. |
| Will | Gordon Couch | Stage magician, mesmerist. |
| Sunny | Merriweather Gentry | Messenger from Oberon’s court. |
| Mike | Elton Sherman | Private detective; owner of Toby, a basset hound. |
| Sheryl | Madeline Davis- Blackwood, Lady Ava | Doctor/mesmerist, married into the peerage. |
| NPC | George McGregor | Surveyor for Prof. Challenger; Voronika’s Husband. |
Synopsis:
Six babies, 3 boys and 3 girls, including Lord & Lady Ava’s daughter, have gone missing in London on the same night. Most of the gypsies in London have been jailed on suspicion. Lord Ava is in a mysterious coma. Three flowers with knotted stems are evidence of fey handiwork, but the fey vanished per The Pact, 100 years ago.
At the Adventurers Society, Penrington discovers sketches of knots like the flower stems in a sketch of a rock in Scotland near where were found tiny “elf” arrowheads. Griswold allows him to check out an arrowhead.
Voronika and Lady Ava go to the Museum and discover that Oberon’s poem is very like The Mystery of Amhairghin in a collection by Dr. Douglas Hyde of Edinborough. Our Adventurers head for Dr. Hyde in Edinbourough. Unfortunately, the train is delayed.
London, Anglia. Day+4.
Lady Ava had train tickets to Scotland ordered. The 600 mile trip would include stops in Coventry and Leeds before Edingborough was reached.
Lady Ava provided a carpet bag in which Meri could be transported in her pixie form. Aboard the train, the pixie felt queasy. The train was late pulling out – “Signal problems, M’am.” – and once underway, Meri felt very sick. Lady Ava offered laudanum, but it was ineffective on the fairy.
Penrington disguised himself and prowled the train.
The train made a lengthy and unusual stop in Luftin.
The train made a lengthy stop in Dunstable due to a flock of sheep on the tracks.
By day’s end, the train had gotten only as far as Bedford in middle Anglia. Large trees had fallen on the track there. The Party found lodging at an inn. The blond, 8-year-old daughter of the innkeeper was enamoured of Toby.
Middlesex, Anglia. Day+5. The landlord’s missing daughter.
At breakfast, the Party learned that 8-yeare-old Uma has gone missing. Sherman set Toby to searching the house; the dog then headed down the road and out of town.
A squinting cowherd, who seemed startled by Steele but not uncomfortable at the iron man’s nearness, said that his cow had become panicked about the time a little girl wandered by. He wasn’t sure if she’d gone into the forest or down the road. Penrington, Toby and Sherman continued up the road. The McGregor’s and Steele headed into the forest. Lady Ava, Couch and Meri stayed to help with the cow.
As the road crested, Penrington return to the top to maintain a line of sight between the split parties. He heard the dog bark and, turning back, could see no sign of Sherman or Toby.
The grown bear charged, changing into a dragon. A gout of flame engulfed Steele [15, 45 energy] leaving him stunned and unconscious while the [9,27] edge also stunned Voronika momentarily. The MacGregors ran for their lives. Behind them they could hear the flapping of great wings receding into the distance.
The two emerged singed and battered onto the road.
Maddy: “I’d like to heal you.”
Voronika: “I’d like that too – but we have got to get Steele.”
The return path was difficult to find, but, eventually the steel man was located in the burnt clearing.
Maddy healed Voronika. [10, 37] She turned to the steel man, “I assume that you are still impervious to my skills?”
McGregor attempted to use steam magic to heal Steele.
Madeline: “We saw no dragon.”
Couch: “There was no smoke.”
Voronika: “There’s something odd about these woods. It was hard to find the way back even with the track you blazed.”
Madeline: “Penrington had just signaled. Let’s go back to him.”
Eventually the rest of the Party emerged from the forest.
Voronika: “Dragon.”
Penrington, unslinging his rifle, envisioning a new trophy for the Club: “Where?”
Madeline: “We saw no dragon from outside the woods and their description makes it seem almost impossible that we would not have seen the flame or its departure from the road. Was it real or an illusion.”
Voronika: “Steele was roasted by it!”
Madeline: “Mr. Steele, I would be interested to know if your interior clothing is as burned as your external garments appear to be.” Of course it was impossible to gratify such curiousity at such a public place and time.
After explanations, the Party returned to the place in the road that Penrington had marked. There were 3 piles of stones.
Couch suggested, “To join them, we should each be alone here.”
Penrington: “I’ve been alone here twice.”
Meri’s voice: “It’s because you’re too practical.”
Penrington: “Meri, where are you?”
Meri: “Where you left me.”
Couch: “Did you stack up the rocks?”
Meri: “Me? No.”
Voronika: “Did you see who did?”
Meri: “I was watching the portal.”
Penrington: “Why didn’t you answer when I called?”
Meri: “You called the dog first!”
Voronika notes that the tracks have gotten too muddled. Rocks form a perimeter around a bush.
Voronika to Penrington: “Do you remember where you got the rocks?”
Penrington: “They were just rocks by the road.”
Voronika: “Meri, what’s with the circle?”
Meri: “A Fairy Circle. There’s always a Fairy Circle.”
Penrington: “We’ll go through the circle.
The mesmerists set up a mind link: Maddy to Voronika, Couch to Penrington, Couch to Maddy. In the process Couch determined that he could not link with Steele.
Meri: “Are you ready? I get a whole bunch of mortals! I”ll be famous!”
Penrington: “Where does this circle go? Will it be dangerous?”
Meri: “I don’t know where we’ll be – and sure, there will be dangers.”
Penrington moved through the circle and noticed that the sky was less clouded. The grass was dotted with bright yellow flowers. There was a chasm in front of him, 6-feet across and very deep. He moved to one side. Outside the circle, Couch commented that Penrington “has stopped thinking.”
Meri stepped through and said, “Yellow and brownish-gold flowers are unusual.”
After Steele stepped through, the fairy gate collapsed.
Voronika examined the sward and found no signs of anyone else having been there.
Meri: “I’m not familiar with this territory. It’s not mine. Not unseelie.”
Penrington asked the fairy to do some tracking. She said, “The portal’s been moving.”
Couch speculated that the stones in the mortal world had anchored the portal and Penrington’s disturbing them caused the drift.
Moving along the drift, Voronika found bassett hound tracks and a virgin road. The hound apparently picked up speed as it headed towards the forest.
A tree opened its eyes and looked at the gypsy: “Who goes there?”
Voronika: “I do. Who might you be?”
Tree: “I am a tree, as you can see.”
Voronika: “I am Voronika.”
Tree: “A voronika is strange to me. It is, now, what kind of tree?”
Voronika: “A quite pretty one, thank you.
McGregor: “I’ll second that.”
Voronika asked about her friends.
Tree: “Time and time and ages passed and long ago and long to last, I have seen your friends go past.”
Voronika: “Do you mind if we follow them?”
Tree: “Tell me there, oh pretty lass; Is it you that wish to pass?”
For a moment the entire Party stood non-plussed.
Steele: “You who stand there proud and tall. We wish to pass, us, one and all.”
Tree: “Thus I shall say then ‘Let it be. You may go by grace of Tree.’”
Meri: “Thank you!” The pixie kissed the tree.
Underbrush no longer blocked the travelers’ way. On a branch was found a man’s kerchief. When the path branched [no, Mr. Steele, there was no kerchief there], Voronika found a line scuffed in one of the pathways The trail ended in a clearing featuring a large dark sheer rock mountain-column. At its base, in conversation, were Sherman, with Toby near, and a stranger who was of middle age, with black hair and an impressive, quite Anglish face.
Sherman explained, “Toby spotted a fairy making a getaway. Toby yanked on his chain and we were here. This is Mr. Pender.”
Pender: “Call me Artie. I understand you’re having trouble finding truth.”
Meri: “Who’s truth?”
Pender: “That’s what Uma means.”
Voronika: “Yes, we are looking for Uma.”
Pender: “Lies have led you here and lies still lie before you.”
Voronika: “Have you any suggestions?”
Pender: “You have what you need. I’ll wish you luck until we meet again.”
Madeline: “Thank you.”
Pender doffed his hat and then strolled away. Glancing back in his direction and not seeing him, Meri noticed that there’d been a small patch of flowers where he’d gone.
The Party explained to Sherman about the dragon. As they were talking, both Voronika and Meri spotted a dragon head peering over the edge of the stone pillar. It ducked back out of sight. Meri started flying upward but the Party called her back.
Meri: “Time travels differently in Fairie. Now that her mother’s in Fairie, the Baby will get hungry fast now.”
Voronika, with some thankfulness: “Good thing I have my husband here.”
Madeline, anguished: “Don’t!”
McGregor: “That was unkind. My apologies, Lady Ava.”
After a discussion of the nature of vision and illusion, Couch establishes a Mind Defense spell for the group, excluding Meri. Couch noticed that his spell caused “static” on his mental linkage with Pennrington and felt a “pressure” bearing down on his mind. “Something LARGE is pressing on my mind.”
Madeline used her Invisibility spell and moved away from the group. Speaking over the mind-link she explained a new development to Couch who, in turn, mentally relayed the news to Penrington.
Couch: “I can’t explain out loud. That stone pillar is missing to Lady Ava. The little girl and a man are where the pillar is to us.”
Penrington: “Tell the others.”
Couch: “I prefer not to say anything that he might hear.”
Penrington. “I still see the pillar. I don’t see the girl or the man.”
Madeline had discovered that, if she moved far enough from the group, the illusions vanished. The man who she assumed was responsible for the illusion looked a great deal like the near-sighted farmer who’d been holding the cow earlier. He seemed to be looking around for something; she deduced it was for herself. Moving from the side of the clearing opposite the party, Madeline made for the rock on which lay the golden-haired child. She scooped up the sleeping girl into her arms. The strange man looked in her direction. “Archie Magoo at your service, Lady Ava. We’ll meet again.”
The pillar disappeared and Toby charged forward toward Lady Ava. Then he halted and wagged furiously. Madeline released her spell and became visible.
On the return trip, the Party questioned little Uma. The child said that she had gone out that morning “to do stuff.” A Nice Woman offered her a pretty gold coin. They had talked and walked until she’d felt sleepy. She didn’t remember leaving town. She commented, “This is a long walk. I’m not allowed to come this far.”
Penrington: “There’s been some tricky fairy business.”
Uma: “Fairies are bad.”
Meri’s voice: “Hey!” Voronika shook the carpet bag to silence the pixie.
Steele’s clothes may, in fact, have been burned from the inside out.
All three of the people who “fought” the dragon, described a different dragon and a different costume on the child.
Couch explained in depth the nature of illusion.
When Steele and McGregor completed repairs on the steel man there was an extra screw left over. Steele: “I hate it when that happens.”
Day+6
The train got off to a late start in the morning, headed towards Coventry.
Next Run: Coventry.
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