The holidays are here and it turns out that we have a massive problem with absenteeism. Both Paul (Kumar Singh) and Tim (Serpentine) have decided that the season demands that they spend quality time with their families and loved ones rather than with their layabout friends, the ones who are going to amount to nothing in the end. The bad influences include Mike (Jack Smith), Chris (Michael Sangaree), Bruce (Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs) and Chuck, none of them up to any good at all. They exult in the fact that they have eaten at the one good Greek restaurant in Round Rock, and enjoyed the presence of the attractive waitress, while the virtuous pair of Paul and Tim missed out. Ha!
The characters find themselves with some time for their own projects. Top o n the list is a series of improvements to the Flying Dutchman, their aerial fortress. After some culling, the list includes:
Recalling the troubles they had finding Helium to recharge the gas cells out on Maku Island, several characters suggest the construction of a super-science Helium Generator. Pulfrey-Downs agrees that this is a good idea, but should be a separate project. Michael Sangaree and Jack Smith further indicate in no uncertain terms that they consider fire extinguishers and parachutes to be a necessary aspect of dirigible supply, and refuse to budge from this position until Pulfrey-Downs agrees to provide space for these items. Michael Sangaree personally buys the parachutes, selecting them with an eye to the chance that he might be the eventual end user.
The total research cost for the project is 65, with +1 difficulty. Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs makes the terrible discovery that the players have been reading the gadgetry rules incorrectly all along, and that any attempt at innovation requires an Inspiration point. To gain any benefit from his Mad Scientist knack, he must spend a second Inspiration point. He chooses to spend only the one point and ends up taking 60 days to work on the project and another two weeks to actually finish the construction.
After all the modifications are complete, the Flying Dutchman has the following stats:
| Vehicle | Safe Spd | Max Spd | Maneuver | Passengers | Armor | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Origami Spad | 120 | 250 | 7 | 2 | 4 [3] | ooo | 2 Lewis guns. Wings & frame fold to fit in a cargo plane deck |
| Small Dirigible | 50 | 100 | 5 | 50 | 4 [6] | oooo | See below |
| Health Levels |
-0 / -0 / -1 / -1 / -1 / -2 / -3 / -4 / dest. |
|---|---|
| Crew | 6 (pilot, navigator, copilot, mechanic, cook, gunner) |
| Primary Weapons | Concealed 75mm gun |
| Secondary Weapons | 4 heavy machine guns |
| Carried Vehicles | Origami Spad; 3 Motorcycles with Sidecars |
| Weapon | Acc | Damage | Str Min | Range | RoF | Capacity | Mass | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75mm Gun | +2 | 12 [8] L | n/a | 1000 | 1 | 1 | 80 | ooo |
| Heavy MG | 0 | 6 [4] L | 4 | 500 | 21 | 100 | 75 | oo |
Additional super-scientific modifications include:
Even as they are admiring the modifications to the Flying Dutchman, Michael Sangaree and Jack Smith suggest another project. They note that three of the Gems of Urighu are currently housed in a glass case in a poorly defended museum, and indicate that their status as known components for an Earthquake Projector will make them attractive as objects for theft. They persuade Pulfrey-Downs to create a batch of Radium Paint for the gems, to ensure that the characters will be able to find them even if some master villain spirits them away. The paint duplicates the effects of the Marked Man knack, and comes with a hard-to-calibrate detector. The research difficulty for the project is 39, at +2 difficulty. Pulfrey-Downs spends the extra Inspiration point and completes the work in only 41 hours (37 of research time, plus 4 more to make up the paint).
Any Inspired character can use the Radium Paint at a cost of 1 Inspiration. The detector operates with a 5-die pool. Each success allows a marked item to be tracked for a week. The device has a "warranty" of 4 months, and will start to malfunction after that time.
As a side note, Pulfrey-Downs also whips up three more doses of Fast-Heal Elixir (equal to his successes on a Medicine roll).
Michael Sangaree has no doubt on the subject of dangerous earthquake-making gemstones: "I think we should destroy seven of them. We should destroy all of them if we can manage it." Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs sits him down and explains, "Michael, you have a problem. I believe that the voice of reason is speaking to you in your mind again. Don't worry, I have some drugs to clean that problem right up." Michael Sangaree leaps up from the chair, shouting, "Get away from me! I don't need your drugs... glug... glug..."
The other characters arrive in the room just in time to prevent Pulfrey-Downs from erasing vast swaths of Michael Sangaree's sense of ethics. Pulfrey-Downs explains his actions by pointing out, "We must preserve the precious Gems of Urighu for scientific study." Jack Smith tries to inject a small note of rationality into the discussion by asking, "Do we know what will happen if we get all nine of them in the same place?" Nobody knows the answer, though it is clear that Pulfrey-Downs is eager to find out.
The characters discuss their next step. They know that the only other known Gem of Urighu is at the Natural History Museum in Berlin. They make plans to go to Berlin.
Michael Sangaree makes sure that he has a water purifier, non-perishable foodstuffs, and other supplies because he is convinced that the characters are bound for the far corners of the Earth. Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs once again appears at his shoulder to reassure him that he shouldn't worry so much: both Pulfrey-Downs and Kumar Singh are masters of Survival. In fact, Pulfrey-Downs has a 10-die Survival pool, and always has basic survival gear on hand. Without even realizing it, in fact.
Before their departure, the characters test out the new Radium Paint by marking the three Gems of Urighu in their possession. Michael Sangaree marks one gem with three successes. Jack Smith marks the other two, one with three and one with two successes.
Serpentine and Kumar Singh get sent to follow other leads as Michael Sangaree, Jack Smith, and Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs head off to Berlin. They schedule a stop in France along the way so Michael Sangaree can hang out with some of the local entertainers. He makes a point of asking Kumar Singh for some phone numbers out of his little black book before he leaves ("Why are there black crosses next to some of these names?").
Moments after touching down in Paris Michael Sangaree heads out to find some of the legendary French courtesans. He manages to find one chickadee who thinks, "Sure, he's obnoxious, but he has money and he can get me out of this hell-hole." He opens a bank account in her name, sets up an apartment for her, and buys a lot of clothes for her. Then he stops to think, "I better check that she really is a woman..."
Jack Smith goes to a seedy riverfront bar in Paris and finds four ex-Legionnaires willing to make a short trip into Germany. Pulfrey-Downs is more than a little bit surprised when the two of them come back with five people in tow.
The characters' plans hit a bit of a snag when they realize that none of them can speak German. Jack Smith buys himself a Berlitz course and learns the language swiftly as the dirigible flies over the Atlantic. By the time the characters reach Paris, he has the fluency of a native. The other characters are amazed by his aptitude. Sensing that he might soon need to be able to read thousands of pages of Museum of Natural History catalogs, Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs borrows Smith's books and learns the language as well.
Only moments after the characters arrive at the aerodrome Jack Smith finds a cab driver named Hans who used to be in the French Foreign Legion with him. The other characters are suitably impressed by the fact that Hans is driving the very first cab that Smith approaches. They wonder on just how many people once served in the French Foreign Legion, and how many of them know Jack Smith. Smith remains quiet on this topic.
Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs gives the cab driver a double-armful of Reichsmarks to pay for the 20-minute drive to the Reichsbank, where the characters can pick up the truckload of money necessary to pay Hans for the rest of the week. The other characters bemoan the fact that Kumar Singh isn't around to find a useful means of exchange for Pulfrey-Downs' money. They rejoice when Jack Smith reveals that he has some of Kumar Singh's common sense, along with a wallet full of Swiss francs.
The characters head off to the Museum of Natural History, where they have some trouble arranging to talk to the curator. Jack Smith takes the lead in their efforts. Unfortunately, his first attempt at making an appointment is made with the janitor, who confesses that he cannot help. His second attempt works rather better: he finds a bureaucrat who is able to make the appointment.
The Kurator of the Natural History Museum is Herr Doktor-Professor-Kurator Siegsmund Hasenkopf, a man cursed with a very unfortunate overbite and prominent front teeth. The Kurator denies all knowledge of the Gems of Urighu, but has heard of a Pulfrey-Downs. A crazy one. Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs tries to reassure him his brother is the crazy one. Michael Sangaree helpfully explains that there are two Pulfrey-Downses, and that they're both insane. He emphasizes this point by telling the Kurator, "You know his brother was working with Chinamen? Chinamen!" The Kurator seems to think that this is quite a good joke, chuckling, "Zey build very good valls... heh... heh... heh..."
Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs finally decides that blatant honesty might get farther than simple appeals to academic curiosity. He tells the Kurator that the characters are looking for the missing gems, and shows the man a copy of his monograph (the one describing the construction of an Earthquake Projector). Pulfrey-Downs tries to give the impression of a naïve researcher who could never understand that he is near to possessing a weapon of unimaginable power, a weapon that could catapult an ambitious Doctor-Professor-Kurator into lofty realms of power and reputation. The other characters give the impression of player characters who almost can't believe what they're seeing.
As it happens, Doktor-Professor-Kurator Hasenkopf swallows the bait and gives Pulfrey-Downs access to the archives and a private reading room. His young but quite ugly assistant Helga enters the room to make the arrangements. She has a tidy black moustache nestled under her nose; ever since the new Chancellor took power, it has made her so much more popular. She leads the characters to a small room and provides them with the books Pulfrey-Downs needs.
Pulfrey-Downs, with some help from the others, wades through thousands of pages of catalog entries over several hours. Helga brings books, coffee and (after Michael Sangaree slips her some money) schnapps. The characters learn that schnapps is easy to get in Germany. They also learn that in Germany, "schnapps" simply means whatever liquor happens to be sitting around.
After a long and alcohol-sodden ordeal, Pulfrey-Downs determines that the Museum actually does have the Gem. The Kurator was not aware of it because it is part of another piece, the Crown of Charlemagne. Pulfrey-Downs goes on to provide the characters with much more information about the history of the Crown than they ever wanted to hear. A monastery in Saxony originally held it. When the monks decided to become Lutheran, they donated many of their treasures (including the Crown) to a local potentate. From there, it made its way to the collection of a Bavarian museum. After unification it slowly worked its way to Berlin. It has been in one museum or another for centuries.
The characters decide to try and buy the Crown of Charlemagne from the Kurator. They offer him a truckload of money, and not just Reichsmarks. He explains that he would need to seek permission to sell any item. The characters suggest that they might be able to provide a second truckload of money to shorten this process. The characters offer up the equivalent of 10 dots (10 successes) of Resources for the Crown. This translates to about $250K in 1935 money. The Kurator agrees to sell, but points out that it will take a couple of days to get the appropriate permissions. The characters have no problem with this, as they will need the time to gather up the money. In the meantime, Michael Sangaree treats the other characters to a tour of the rollicking Berlin cabaret life. Pulfrey-Downs in particular is in danger of enjoying himself altogether too much.
Two days later, the Kurator contacts the characters to tell them that there is a problem. The Ministerium fur Kultursichherheit ("Cultural Security") doesn't want to sell. But if the characters can really come up with the promised amount in gold, he could arrange (unofficially) for the Crown of Charlemagne to not be in the museum any more. The exchange is set for the following night, at the cabaret.
The characters decide to send the Flying Dutchman off immediately, expecting to follow quickly in the Origami Spad after the meeting.
The characters arrive in the cabaret and seat themselves at the Doktor-Professor-Kurator's table. Jack Smith is effortlessly carrying a carpetbag full of gold bullion. They ask the Kurator where the Crown is. They are just a touch surprised when he tells them, "Please to surrender now, for attempting to steal cultural treasures of Deutschland. There are several armed men in the room, do not resist. You vill of course have to pay a small fine. The gold and the monograph will suffice."
Michael Sangaree orders hard liquor. He is able to see several black-jacketed men in the crowd, all of them apparently more interested in the characters' table than in the nearly naked girl dancing on the stage. He dreams the dreams of incredible violence.
Meanwhile, Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs explains that the monograph is back in his hotel room. The Kurator repeats, "The monograph is IN YOUR HOTEL ROOM!" quite loudly. Twice. A man gets up and heads for the door.
This proves to be all that is necessary to set Michael Sangaree off. He dumps his bag on the table and unzips it. An expression of disbelieving horror flows across the Kurator's face as Sangaree pulls a Thompson gun out of the bag, fluidly aims, and shoots the departing MKS agent through the head. The man staggers, but stays up.
Jack Smith reaches over and grabs hold of the Kurator's arm, forcing him to remain in his seat. The Kurator struggles, to no avail. Pulfrey-Downs clutches his entirely innocent briefcase to his chest and suggests to the Kurator that he should call his men off. Kurator rather desperately cries out, "They're not my men! They work for Direktor Todenhasen of the MKS."
At this point, the gunfire starts. To nobody's surprise, the three remaining MKS agents open fire. To everybody's surprise, the torch singer up on the stage also pulls an automatic and shoots Michael Sangaree. Sangaree is so shocked that he doesn't ever try to dodge. To his good fortune, his silk-steel BVD's take the impact quite nicely.
While Michael Sangaree blazes away at the MKS agents, Jack Smith hefts his chair with one hand and flings it at the torch singer. She staggers under the impact, then shoots Smith twice. He barely even notices the impact of the bullets, though they make a mess of his jacket. Pulfrey-Downs stands around trying to give the scene an aura of respectability and rationality. When it is clear that this isn't going to happen, he brings out firearms and guns down the two remaining (wounded) agents.
The characters head for the door with the Kurator. They hear the sounds of sirens in the distance.
Michael Sangaree pushes Hans to the side so he can drive. His first objective is to take a shot from his flask. His second is to lose any pursuers. Making it to the museum is a distant third.
While Sangaree and Smith pull out guns and drive in an unsafe manner, Pulfrey-Downs starts an argument with the Kurator on the virtues of various filing systems. The Kurator rises to the occasion. Soon, Sangaree and Smith soon wish that they were dead.
Within moments, Michael Sangaree notices four cars following the characters. He responds by driving as if he were an insane maniac on crystal meth. Jack Smith howls out, "But you are an insane maniac on crystal meth!" A moment later, only one of the pursuing cars remains on the road. Jack Smith pulls himself half out of the car, aims his elephant gun (very conveniently provided by his manservant Pierre), and shoots out one of its tires. The car flips, crashes into a wall, and explodes as it sets off a gas main.
The characters find that the Museum of Natural History is ringed with German police cars and MKS agents. Pulfrey-Downs forgets himself for a moment and comments, "We'll need to sneak through the skylights." Michael Sangaree brings him back to the present by commenting, "Screw that! I'm driving up the stairs and through the front door."
Michael Sangaree hits the gas. The car makes it up the stairs, but not through the door. Jack Smith leans out the window and shoots one of the police cars right through the gas tank to provide some distraction. This is only partially successful, as a dozen policemen open fire on the car. One bullet finds its way into Sangaree's jacket pocket and another bounces off Smith's thick, thick skull, but nobody suffers lasting harm.
Sangaree pushes the accelerator and sends the car crashing through the gates. Because we saw Nemesis today, the museum corridors are wide enough to drive through. The Crown of Charlemagne is down in the basement storage area at the other end of the building,. Nothing serious gets damaged during the trip, either on the car or in the museum. Except doors.
The characters run into the basement storage chamber. Pulfrey-Downs rushes to the proper drawer and pulls it open to find... nothing. Nothing except an outline in the padding where the Crown of Charlemagne used to be. Then he notices a small note on the drawer saying that the crown has already been checked out to "Pulfrey-Downs". It is clear that the characters have been very neatly outmaneuvered. Pulfrey-Downs howls out, "Mycrooooooft!"
Each character gains three experience points. The session ends with the characters in the basement of the Berlin Natural History Museum, surrounded by German police. "Someone" has already stolen the item they were trying to steal, and they have a high-ranking member of the Ministry of Culture as a hostage...