The day begins as Tim (Serpentine) offers his comments upon the quality of entertainment at Fiesta Texas' Halloween craptacular of several years' ago, particularly the female dancers gamely trying to distract attendees from the huge lines and the ghastly heat. On the plus side, they bounced they way you'd want them to. On the minus side, they served very effectively as a warning of the dangers of both heatstroke and the minimum-wage job. Chris (Michael Sangaree), Paul (Kumar Singh), Bruce (Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs) and Chuck all listen to this cautionary tale with appropriate care and respect. Dance! Dance! Dance!
Chuck announces that we are at the start of a new story, so everyone gets their Willpower and Inspiration back. A cry of triumph goes up from the crowd.
The characters currently have a small dirigible at their disposal, with stats that are standard for the type. Previous discussion has indicated that it is being sadly underused in its current role as an element of Michael Sangaree's growing investment empire. Everyone agrees that it should be converted into an air-fortress that the characters can be proud of. Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs makes space for it in his workshop and prepares the transformation. Its initial stats are:
| Vehicle | Safe Spd | Max Spd | Maneuver | Passengers | Armor | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Dirigible | 50 | 100 | 5 | 50 | 4 [6] | ooo |
It uses helium for lift. It has mounts for four heavy machine guns and a vehicle bay for the four mini-aerostats that Sangaree shot down.
The characters decide upon the following list of modifications:
The total project requires a mere 96 hours of feverish development time for Pulfrey-Downs, after he manages a very respectable eight successes on his research roll. The actual construction takes another months. Michael Sangaree helps out by naming the vessel Flying Dutchman and painting its name on the flank. He makes heroic efforts to accomplish this task, but is chagrined to find that he needs help to spell "flying" and "Dutchman." Then he decides he needs a drink.
Michael Sangaree ponies up four points to purchase Followers 2, providing five average crewmen for the Flying Dutchman: the pilot Kyle, the copilot Nelson, the mechanic Butters, the cook Monette, and the gunner Tweak. At this point, all of these folks are rather sketchy in characterization, except for Tweak, a high-strung veteran of the Great War. Serpentine also spends points on Followers 1 to acquire Detlef (a thick-voiced Eastern European laborer with a fantastically strong back and an equally fantastically poor command of the English language) and Donner (the navigator).
Michael Sangaree stocks the armory with a box of a dozen grenades and an array of shotguns, hunting rifles and pistols. He also ensures that there is a large supply of repair materials and safety harnesses on board.
His enthusiasm for the project reinforced by multiple sleepless nights, Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs starts to listen to the other characters when they toss out random suggestions like a hanging garden to put off the sides of the blimp, or a hydroponic garden mounted inside the gasbags, or harpoon guns to catch ahold of passing ships or the ground. Fortunately, he collapses with exhaustion before he can actually carry out any of these suggestions.
It is 3:00 am, and Kumar Singh wakes to find his private phone ringing. He picks up the phone to hear the frantic voice of the wife of his second cousin's brother's nephew, Anamanapajanaparu. She is in New York, where her husband works as valet to a syphilitic English aristocrat. She stammers out, "The police think that he killed Sir Roger Fentenman!" Kumar Singh dimly recognizes the name, asking, "Sir Roger Whitley Fentenman?" The poor woman is far too distraught to actually answer his question, instead telling him that her husband is being held at the 11th Precinct and needs him and his friends to help.
Kumar Singh goes over to Pulfrey-Downs' room and carefully disarms the death-traps, both the ones he set and the ones Pulfrey-Downs left behind. He wakes his boss, who complains that he had been having the most beautiful dream: "You must imagine it, Gobey! I was being toasted by the entire Royal Geographical Society, and they were all naked!" Kumar shudders at the image, then explains the situation. At first, Pulfrey-Downs has no patience for Sikh domestics and their murdered employers. Then, a thought trickles through the passages of his mind. He exclaims, "Did you say Sir Roger Whitley Fentenman? He was a member of the Royal Geographical Society! We must solve the mystery! Wake the others, then warm up the car!"
Kumar Singh leaves the bedroom shaking his head. Once free of his boss' corrosive influence he sets to waking the others. He finds Michael Sangaree asleep in the dirigible, in a puddle of his own vomit. The Texan pilot complains, "Either it's dark, or I'm blind." He finds he cannot reach Serpentine, probably because the fellow is off fighting crime! The best he can do is to leave a message with Serpentine's answering service and trust that Serpentine will misuse his tremendous Cipher rating to simply show up at an apropos time.
By dawn, everyone except Serpentine is in Pulfrey-Downs' car on their way to New York. Kumar Singh tells them that the victim was staying in the Regency Hotel, but he recommends that the characters first talk to his accused cousin Apu at the Precinct House.
Kumar Singh strides up the stairs and to the Desk Sergeant, proclaiming loudly, "We need to see Apu!" He is shunted off to the aptly-named Detective O'Riley that the fellow is in custody, and that around here they don't give bail to murderers.
While Kumar Singh engages in serious negotiations with the Detective on the subject of speaking to his cousin, Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs finds himself with an opportunity to make a soliloquy. He adopts a dramatic pose and announces, "The man who was felled was a member of the Royal Geographical Society, an auspicious fraternity to which I one day I wish to aspire. Therefore, I have a great interest in determining the identify of the blackguard responsible for this black deed. We must stare deep into his black heart and divine the full truth of his black deed! He must be clapped into black iron and cast into the blackest of black cells. And we shall fear not that his black soul will writhe in black flames in the blackest pits of Hell!" Oddly enough, this impresses the Detective enough to take them back into the cellblock. On the way, Pulfrey-Downs asks his servant, "Gobey, did that make any sense?" Kumar Singh responds, "No, but it did to the cop."
The characters find Apu sitting in his cell, looking quite distressed. He tells them, "I went to get some tea from the store, and when I came back he was dead!" The characters start asking him for details of the crime scene. Apu claims that Sir Fentenman's head was at a weird angle, but there was no blood. Kumar Singh decides that the aristocrat's neck was probably broken. Apu goes on to explain that Sir Fentenman normally keeps his household in Singapore, and was only visiting New York. The only errands he had gone on that day were in Chinatown, where they went to find a specific type of Earl Grey Tea that Sir Fentenman liked. Apu also accompanied Sir Fentenman to Dodger Stadium to watch a game of, "this American baseball", which Sir Fentenman had described as, "like cricket but, less exciting."
The characters deduce that Apu was arrested for the crime because a white guy died, the authorities didn't think that a woman (Apu's wife) was strong enough to break a man's neck, and he was a convenient foreigner. Apu doesn't know if Sir Fentenman had a will, or if he was facing any financial troubles. Apu also claims that his employer was relatively sane, unlike Pulfrey-Downs, arguing, "He doesn't do experiments. Nobody dies around him." Sangaree opines that Pulfrey-Downs must think that the scientists in the Royal Geographical Society are awfully conservative. Pulfrey-Downs reserves comment.
Michael Sangaree presumes that his tendency to drink and carry firearms has left him with knowledge of several good lawyers in town. He arranges to hire one of these folks on Apu's behalf. He reasons that while this might not be enough to get Apu out of jail, it will be enough to ensure that he doesn't get railroaded straight to Sing-Sing and the chair.
After a brief stop to allow Kumar Singh to console Anamanapajanaparu, the characters head to the scene of the crime. They find Serpentine already at work. Serpentine asks Kumar Singh: "Hey, did you know one of your friends is in trouble? Why did it take you so long to get here?" Kumar Singh scowls and mutters something about fighting crime.
Serpentine explains that when he arrive there was nobody around except a single cop guarding the broken door. He's already examined the door, and has concluded that it was shattered by a single mighty karate kick. The others realize that Apu never mentioned anything about a broken door, despite the fact that he couldn't possibly have missed it.
The characters have no trouble persuading the cop to let them into the room. As they go by, the cop asks Michael Sangaree, "Are you all with Serpentine? Did you know he saved my life once! He fights crime!" Michael Sangaree grumbles something about fighting crime. Serpentine notes down to pay the cop the $20 he apparently owes him.
Serpentine examines the scene for about thirty seconds then makes six successes on an Investigation roll. He turns and tells the other characters, "The door was kicked in by a short man wearing cheap shoes. Those drawers, they weren't picked. They were broken open by hand. The room has been wiped for fingerprints. And the room was tossed by professionals, but they only took Gideon bible and some towels." The other characters simply gape at this display of incredible Investigatory prowess.
Hoping to get some additional information, the characters arrange for Detective O'Riley to bring Apu by. The fellow looks around the room and tells them, "Earlier today, there was a box on the dresser." Apu explains that Sir Fentenman had brought it back today, having purchased it (and its contents) at a shop in Chinatown. He describes it as a small box covered in black leather, no more than an inch thick. It was unlabeled and closed. He doesn't know what was in it.
The characters' next stop is the Coroner's Office, to look at the body. Kumar Singh drives. Down in the morgue, Pulfrey-Downs is able to confirm that Sir Fentenman's neck was broken. Serpentine rifles through his pockets and finds a receipt from Wu Chang's Coin Shop and a small appointment book. Sir Fentenman had been scheduled to meet with Professor Arnold Willingby this evening, though the book doesn't mention a location. None of the characters have ever heard of Willingby, not even Pulfrey-Downs.
The next stop is Wu Chang's. It is getting quite late, so Michael Sangaree takes over the wheel and drives like a maniac in the hopes of getting there before the place closes. He rolls well and only runs over 3d10 people along the way (the mother and the baby carriage only count as one).
The car pull up to the curb with a squeal of overstressed brakes. The characters leap out only to see that the shop is closed. Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs peers into the windows and sees movement. He raps on the glass to get the shopowner's attention. A middle-aged Chinese man opens the door and shrieks at him, "Noo! Go away! Store closed!" Pulfrey-Downs tries to convince the shop owner that he must be let in.
Meanwhile, Kumar Singh spots a foot sticking out from behind the counter. He mentions this to Michael Sangaree. Guns appear in Sangaree's hands so fast that even the other characters dive for cover. He shatters the shop window with his first shot, then shoots the Chinaman in the arm. Convinced that the situation needs a desperate charge, he steps out of the doorway to allow someone else to execute it. He fills the time until this happens by peppering the interior of the shop with bullets.
The wounded Chinaman runs towards the back of the dimly-lit shop as several shadowy forms launch themselves from the shadows. The first assailant comes flipping through the door and tries to ninja-kick Sangaree. The Texan has nothing left to defend with, so he is saved only by his attacker's ineptitude. Two more come crashing through the one surviving window to attack Pulfrey-Downs and Kumar Singh. Pulfrey-Downs evades. Kumar Singh doesn't, and takes three levels of lethal damage. Ribs crack and pop. Kumar Singh finds that he is impressed with the attackers' technique in spite of himself. As he gasps in pain. A fourth attacker drops from the roof and makes an off-balance attack against Serpentine, who easily evades.
Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs reasons that the time has come for super-science to show the way. He opens up with his briefcase gun, wounding one of the attackers. Then Serpentine demonstrates that nothing can compete against the Claws of Apepi and cleans up the scene. His behavior in this respect works rather badly against the restrain that Michael Sangaree had been trying to observe. Sangaree exults with glee as he shoots one assailant in the foot so he could be captured, then groans in dismay as Serpentine spins by and decapitates the fellow. Sangaree bitches about the fact that Serpentine has very neatly wiped out everyone the characters could possibly interrogate.
The characters find that the real Wu Chang is lying dead behind the counter, his neck broken. They also find one survivor in the back of the shop, shot twice through the arms by Michael Sangaree's initial volley. Pulfrey-Downs uses Fast-Healing Elixir to patch the fellow up. The man's eyes open and focus upon Pulfrey-Downs. He spits out "Die! Round-eyed white devil!" and bites down. White foam spills from his mouth as he gurgles and dies.
The characters suddenly realize that the back door is open! To the back door! To the back door! Pulfrey-Downs gets there first and shouts out that it was kicked in by a short man! Kumar Singh runs past him into the alley, yelling, "Brilliant deduction, sir!" He looks around for any other escaping attackers, but is disappointed to find the alley empty.
Meanwhile, Serpentine has spent his time examining the bodies. He determines that the attackers are Blue Dragon Tong. The Blue Dragons are primarily based out of San Francisco and Hong Kong, and don't normally operate in New York. He looks at Pulfrey-Downs and says, "I bet it's your brother again." Pulfrey-Downs, displaying the sort of academic expertise that sets the other characters' teeth on edge, replies that the Blue Dragons have been around for a long time, much longer than Horatio Mycroft has been hatching plots on the Pacific Rim. Top-level Blue Dragon Tong enforcers have a reputation as almost mystical martial artists.
Serpentine listens to his as he continues to search the bodies. Unfortunately, he finds that the dead men on the floor are carrying nothing more interesting than tattoos and poison teeth. On the other hand, his search of the rest of the shop turns up a safe containing an encrypted ledger. It is clear from the position of the papers on the shop counters that there was once another ledger, possibly a decoy out in plain view, that is now missing. The characters conclude that the one Blue Dragon gangster who escaped probably took the ledger.
The characters decides to go look in on Professor Arnold Willingby. Michael Sangaree drives like a madman once again, assuming that the fellow must be in danger. He mourns his ability to get vast numbers of successes on driving rolls, but never on rolls to shoot people.
The professor's apartment is up on the third floor of his building. Everyone except Serpentine charges up the stairs, pausing ever so often to let Sangaree regain his breath and light up another cigarette. During these breaks he explains that cigarettes give him more energy and that alcohol improves his judgment. Serpentine takes his own route up, using the fire escape.
Kumar Singh opens the professor's door to find two Chinese men in the room. One is heading out the window, the other is busily breaking an old man's neck. Kumar shouts with glee, "I'm going to go stab someone!" Sangaree reminds him, "Remember, we need a prisoner!" Serpentine reminds everyone that he's out on the fire escape. Right in the path of the escaping Chinese goon.
Serpentine tries grabbing the Chinaman at the window. For his pains he takes a crippling (literally) blow from the fellow. Michael Sangaree scoffs, "I thought you could take those two neat!" Serpentine moans out, "Guuuuch... I thought I could too..." Both Chinamen run past the gasping Serpentine on the fire escape, much to the other characters' dismay. Serpentine manages to "mark" one of them with Marked Man, then announces, "I'm going to collapse and play dead..." Michael Sangaree comments, "I never thought I'd hear those words from Serpentine!"
Michael Sangaree tells the others, "I go for the car. I might have a chance to run these guys down... Hey! I might have a chance to run these guys down! I run for the car!" Pulfrey-Downs heads to the now-empty window, readying his briefcase SMG and preparing to spray gunfire down the street outside. Kumar Singh beats him to the window and makes a brilliant throw of the super-fractal kukri right through the second Chinaman's back, finishing him off in and instant. The stricken Chinaman falls from the fire escape right onto the roof of the car.
Pulfrey-Downs clicks up to full auto and fires 37 bullets at the surviving Chinaman, who evades every single one of them with the grace of a ballet dancer and the desperation of a trapped mongoose. He reloads, resolving to do better with the next burst.
Michael Sangaree arrives in the alley to find a dead Chinaman stapled to the hood of his car with a super-fractal kukri. This qualifies as a normal part of his life experience, so he simply gets into the car without a second thought. He starts the engine and cackles. The Chinaman turns to face the car. He leaps to the side a second too late as the front corner clips him in the leg. He rolls back to his feet and smashes through the windshield, breaking Michael Sangaree's nose. Pulfrey-Downs fills the area with bullets, forcing the Chinaman away while Michael Sangaree recovers. While Pulfrey-Downs reloads, Sangaree spins the car around and does a quick bootlegger, planning on running the Chinaman down backwards. Once again, the Chinaman bounces off the car but prepares to come back for more, only to be dropped by a couple of precise shots from Pulfrey-Downs. Serpentine staggers down, commenting, "It's obvious that the guy was already badly wounded. Otherwise, Pulfrey-Downs would never have been able to stop him with a popgun like that. I bet he was running towards the car because his stapled buddy was carrying the stuff they took from the professor's apartment. That sort of deduction is why I have 10 dice in Investigation!" Nobody else comments because it is quickly obvious that Serpentine is dead right.
Kumar Singh reclaims his knife from the roof of the car and proclaims it Pulfrey-Downs' best invention ever. Pulfrey-Downs is less sure, considering that so far its biggest contribution so far has been to deface his car.
The characters return to the professor's apartment to take stock of the situation and wipe some of the blood off. In the midst of this a small child shows up to deliver a package. The little fellow is clearly stunned by the appearance of the professor's apartment. Pulfrey-Downs very nonchalantly gives him a dollar and takes the package. Michael Sangaree notes that Pulfrey-Downs is acting like standing around in blood-spattered apartments is nothing new and comments, "Apparently you Mad Scientists don't go to the same schools as us Texans. That's why you're Texans and we're Mad Scientists." Pulfrey-Downs has no comment.
The characters (primarily Serpentine) search the area and take stock of the new clues. They find that one of the Chinamen was carrying the missing (unencrypted) ledger and Sir Fentenman's flat leather box. The box turns out to contain six small gold coins that Pulfrey-Downs identifies as being Tsarist. They have clearly been underwater for a long time. Pulfrey-Downs puts them back into the box and puts the box into his pocket.
The package contains several books about the Battle of Tsishima Strait and Tsarist Russian coins. For those who might not already know, the Battle of Tsishima Strait marked the start of the Russo-Japanese war of 1904, and wasn't exactly a glorious victory for the Russian Pacific Fleet. Kumar Singh looks through the book on Tsarist coins and deduces that they were on a Russian ship sunk at the battle. The coins are valuable, but not so much so as to make it worth sending six highly-trained goons to their deaths (the ledger confirms this: it shows that Fentenman paid a fair but not extravagant price for them).
The characters decide to go to the Paragon Club to take a closer look at the coins and the ledger. Serpentine goes to the sauna to heal. Along the way, he tries to convince Margaret Lang to give him a massage. Sangaree, remembering that Serpentine is covered in gore and isn't all that attractive right now, goes along to mock him. Both of them are amazed when she gives him a very strong scotch: they'd expected that she would simply kill him.
The unwounded characters determine that there was supposed to be a very large shipment of gold on one of the Russian ships sunk at Tsishima Strait. If these coins were from that shipment, that must mean that someone knows where the ship is, and has the ability to recover the coins. Someone who might have sold the coins to the shopkeeper. Someone whom the Blue Dragon Tong is very eager to locate. Someone whose life is in grave danger. Someone whom the characters must find!
The session ends with the characters at the Paragon Club, resolved to further trace the mystery of the Tsarist Coins and to confound the dastardly plans of the villainous Blue Dragon Tong. Tallyho!
Each character gains three experience points.