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Post by Admin on Oct 23, 2019 4:33:23 GMT
[OOC: No worries. I'm glad you're back!]
"Sir, I must insist that I punch your ticket," the conductor says holding up a silver hole punch. "Regulations in the Free Territories require proper acknowledgement of all used train, boat, and plane tickets."
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Post by Brennon on Oct 23, 2019 13:52:16 GMT
"What? Oh. Yes." Brennon makes a mental note of where the slang 'punch your ticket' came from, turns back and touches the man's mind again, using his slight of hand skills to hand him a piece of folded parchment the approximate size and feel of the expected ticket (he's had time to see what others are holding) and again bringing the conductor's expected routine into 'reality' as the man takes it, making him see and feel a 'ticket' to 'punch'.
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Post by Admin on Oct 23, 2019 18:52:35 GMT
*click click* and the parchment is holed.
"I know who you are," the Conductor says sotto voce. "Renault usually sends someone a bit more circumspect though."
Then back to his normal voice, "I resent this continual harassment of my people and place of work. I suppose you would also like to visit the scene of the crime?"
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Post by Brennon on Oct 23, 2019 20:10:12 GMT
"There's a noble making a fuss about it in town," Brennon says by way of apology. "I was the one who could be pried loose. I was already dressed for the docks, but" he trails off, letting the conductor fill in what he likes for that statement. He makes no apologies for his lack of circumspection.
"You've undoubtedly heard the testimonies from your people, and we'll have them on file for me to look at later, so how about you tell me the high points on the way to the scene? If one of your crew has something they want to add, they can find me there, and if not everyone can get back to work, with less bother all around."
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Post by Admin on Oct 24, 2019 21:32:44 GMT
"Follow," he says then turns to walk towards the end of the train.
The train comes to a bumpy part of the track and passengers are tossed about a bit, Brennon and the conductor are strong enough not to be tossed about to violently.
"As I said, your men already went through the car and found all the evidence there was. Still, I figured one of you would be back to nose around so I've kept the car sealed off from the passengers. At an enormous cost to the company, you understand. It is difficult to keep the trains running on time without money."
They come to a car with cellophane tape covering the door. The conductor starts ripping it down.
"All this fuss over just two people. Yesterday they were just a couple of anonymous agents and today they are the honoured dead, eh?"
The tape removed he opens the door to the car.
"Shocking as the killings were it is still nice to see the care and consideration given to the Morocco Railway Company by the assassin. Look in compartment 3B and notice that there are only two very tiny drops of blood to marr the otherwise pristine Alexandrian velour upholstery.
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Post by Brennon on Oct 25, 2019 19:24:26 GMT
Well, at least crime scenes, signs of violence, opulence, and the detection of.. fluids.. is something Brennon has seen since childhood. With the lack of upholstery ruining, Brennon is no longer convinced that there will be clear, obvious signs of a struggle to view, but even two drops of misplaced blood can give a clue as to the type of weapon and its direction of impact.
Brennon starts his inspection with the very door into the car, pulling on his best white gloves and proceeding methodically down the left side and back up the right, with little regard for their replacement cost. He will be checking every compartment, every handle or chain or drawer for ease of movement and uniformity, and if this is a sleeper car, every bunk. By the time he gets to compartment 3B, he should have a good idea of what 'normal' is for this train, and a mental list of everything potential discrepancy as if he were supplying a new ship with stores. As he goes, he asks occasional questions of the conductor, like how long since a piece of furniture was replaced, what the polishing schedule is, whether the wear marks in the carpets are from previous arrangements of furniture, or from passenger use. Any smuggling compartments detected will be opened and examined but not commented upon. After all, Brennon has a few of his own on Celessia.
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Post by Admin on Oct 27, 2019 6:33:14 GMT
The conductor keeps an eagle eye on Brennon as the search begins.
"Just like the assassin, I see that you too are a master of your craft. The two men were seated beside each other on this couch, dressed and prepared for what the English call a 'tea'. So proper they were we assumed they were Englishmen, or maybe Americans trying to appear more European. And they were just sitting like that, in the same way, when they were found."
While searching the seats below the bloodstains Brennon notices a stain about the size of his hand from a light liquid pale enough not no leave a visible mark but the nap of the fabric has a courser feel in the area.
"Dozing maybe, or distracted, whatever the reason the killer was able to make a small cut into each of them - in this again I must compliment the man in his dedication to being an inconvenience only to those he kills - with a long, thin blade. One stab just between the eyeball and skull, straight through into the gras gris.
"And just that little speck of blood," he says marvelling at the murderer's finesse.
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Post by Brennon on Oct 28, 2019 19:54:37 GMT
Brennon hesitates when he finds the dried substance. Brief, but certain to be noticed by the conductor.
"Very considerate indeed," he says, before moving on to finish his inspection of the rest of the car. Hammett had said his card could be used for transportation, not just communication. He could use Hammett to get off the train when he was done, and it looked like there was indeed something for Brennon to find. Leaving the rest of the car unchecked might mean not finding a detail the oh-so-considerate killer had left of his own presence.
Once the rest of the inspection is complete, Brennon will return to cabin 3B with the conductor.
"Would you be so kind as to crack the window a bit, sir, while I fetch some water?" While Brennon might prefer the other order of operations, the man clearly doesn't want to let him out of his sight. Not that Brennon blames him. Once he has a small cup (or teacup) of water and a napkin from the table, Brennon kneels down to look under the chair again, checking the breeze generated by an open window in a moving train to be sure he's not in the air path. "Now, if you would be so kind as to stand there.." he positions the conductor upwind as well.
"I suspect that the assassin left something in the nature of an Ether under the chair here, so that his targets would not ruin your decor, or give the alarm. Let's see if it can be rehydrated with water, so that I can get a sample of it on this napkin, here. If not, I'm afraid I may have to clip a single thread or two from your beautiful decor. Either way, if I am correct, the substance may make noxious vapors, so please be careful."
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Post by Admin on Oct 31, 2019 19:17:08 GMT
"Fascinating," the Conductor says, "Why should I be surprised that such a thing was not noticed by the Kasaba police force? You are not one of them, yes? American? From the colonies, maybe?"
While Brennon is preparing to add a small amount of water to the stain the train bumps on the track dropping the window shut and splashing water all over the stain. A cloud of sweet-smelling gas fills the car and a wave of vertigo washes over Brennon. There are a few moments of disorientation before the sound of a loud bang from the roof of the train jolts him back to coherence.
He finds himself in the sights of the Conductor's drawn pistol.
"They warned me that you'd be trouble. Such a shame that your skill and my vanity has lead us into this situation."
There are a few more bangs from above, outside of the train.
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Post by Brennon on Nov 1, 2019 13:54:01 GMT
"I'm from Porthaven, independant city of the Gregoni Empire," Brennon says as he slowly and carefully attempts to get to his feet and put either more or less distance between himself and the pistol. He's an experienced dirty fighter, and it sounds like backup is on the way. Probably not in Brennon's favor, but you never can tell. They may at least give him the moment of distraction he needs.
If he can get a bit more distance, he can make sure the shot misses anything vital when it goes off. About an armlength - Brennon's arm, which is shorter than people expect due to his height - should let him knock the aim off in his attack. Conversely, moving closer so that Brennon can get the man in a clinch and disarm him at Brennon's best speed might mean not getting shot at all. It will depend on which way the false conductor (or was he merely a traitor?) allows him to move.
As the man mentioned, he was a bit vain. It meant that as long as Brennon could keep one of them talking, he could probably shift position a little - provided he didn't seem to be getting out of what the man considered 'covered' by his gun.
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Post by Admin on Nov 5, 2019 17:51:02 GMT
"That name means nothing to me; surely it must be a land far, far from here so why risk your life for the sake of a few American spies?
"Yes, I knew they were spies the minute the came aboard this train, two greater bumbling half-wits you've never seen. They couldn't have been clearer about their profession and that they were carrying something of importance. Stealing it from them would have been best but they had enough of the subtle cunning to keep the papers hid. With the train close to Kasaba and time running out I had to take more, shall we say, direct action. And for what?! A bunch of scrawls in no known code."
The Conductor does love the sound of his own voice even when admitting to his own failures and mistakes.
There are more bangs from above and a dent starts appearing in the ceiling of the car.
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Post by Brennon on Nov 8, 2019 15:25:57 GMT
With the dents from above, it seems more likely that Brennon will have help, but less likely that the man will be left alive to answer questions. Brennon will have to take the man down, disarm him, and then knock him out, all within about a second and a half. Since the man hasn't appeared to notice the noise from above, Brennon will circle back a little, drawing him forwards to keep the gun trained on him. (I assume Brennon has managed to get his feet under him by this point, though the gun is still trained on his.. head? chest?)
"You'd be surprised what can be written by the divinely inspired- or the insane. There were rumours about copies of some magical text floating around. Foolish- you and I both know how real magic is- but still valuable. You didn't toss the papers off the train or something, did you?" He spreads his hands to show they are empty, and thus theoretically without threat and to indicate that, since he is at the false conductor's mercy, there is no reason not to pontificate a bit more. He also plans his move for the moment the distraction from above finally distracts the conductor- or at the latest, the moment they break through.
Is the pounding from tools or fists? Brennon has a chance of knowing the difference, even if those fists are putting dents into the metal roof. If fists, it is much more likely to be someone like Gerard. If tools, is it one or many, indicating a group of men?
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Post by Admin on Nov 8, 2019 20:58:52 GMT
"DOn't worry yourself about the papers; they were handed off to my contact and are now long gone."
He winces the frowns at the effect of the destruction from above.
"Good help is so hard to find in these troubled times. It's part of business, yes? Soon we will be passed the need for such associates when the world has been properly organized."
A large, grey scaley hand bursts through the roof of the car dropping shards of steel and wood down onto Brennon and the Conductor.
"Boss, it's us!" comes a childlike demonic voice from above.
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Post by Brennon on Nov 8, 2019 23:58:01 GMT
It's time. While it's a shame Brennon won't be able to have reinforcements, he's not about to let the conductor have them, either. He makes his move to knock the weapon aside and drop the conductor to the floor. He fully expects the gun to discharge, hopes he's knocked it askew enough not to do serious damage, and hits a little harder than he was originally planning in his attempt to knock the man out. After all, if he has nonhuman reinforcements, there's a fair chance he has better-than-human resilience, too. If not, the man will certainly be unconscious and probably need medical help. If so, Brennon may need to hit him again before he stays down, but he really doesn't want to have to hit him more than twice.
If the conductor goes down, and Brennon is still able to fight, he'll see first if his own steel will hurt the creature. A fistfight with a demon or three isn't what he's looking for at the moment, but Brennon has yet to back down from one that's offered where law enforcement can't reach.
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Post by Admin on Nov 9, 2019 18:11:32 GMT
The Conductor has a grip of steel on the gun but Brennon's blow knocks it loose to fly across the room and land under the seats. As expected the man did manage to get a shot off which missed Brennon and left a small hole in the side of the car. The man is also made of stern stuff but as Brennon's fist slams into the Conductor's face he hears the welcome sound of breaking bone, unfortunately, some of the breaks are in his hand. The Conductor drops like a sack of potatoes and makes small quivering noises and repeats the phrase "Bullet hole damage assess at two francs for small calibre, three francs for larger calibre handguns."
At the hole above a large, yellow, bloodshot eye stares down.
"Boss, you were supposed to hold him until we could climb in!" the demon says with a mournful whine.
"Physical damage done by sub-, super-, and hypernatural creatures requires a full engineering assessment costing no less than fifty francs before further fines can be computed." the Conductor manages to say before falling unconscious.
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