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The Golden Key: From the Casebook of Nigel Spenser (Updated 9/16)
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<blockquote data-quote="Kid Charlemagne" data-source="post: 2507578" data-attributes="member: 93"><p><em>The Sick House</em></p><p></p><p>Flagging down a hansom at such a late hour proved a challenge, but eventually one was found. The investigators determined that their next step should be to visit Iron Tusk's house – or perhaps to be more accurate, Cyrathus' house. First, however, Nigel insisted on returning to his rooms in order to pick up some more items of use. The cabbie was none too thrilled at the long, roundabout route he was being asked to take his fare.</p><p></p><p>"This ain't the way to Highgate, guv'nor," he insisted.</p><p></p><p>"I'll just be a moment," Nigel replied.</p><p></p><p>Finally, the building were Nigel kept rooms loomed ahead in the foggy darkness of London. Nigel hopped out of the hansom, and then stopped dead at the sound of approaching footsteps.</p><p></p><p>Out of the murky mist stepped a man in a dark overcoat, dressed as a physician, or perhaps an undertaker. The stranger stopped a few steps away.</p><p></p><p>"Forgive me for startling you," the man said. "Peabody from Lloyd's sent me, to see if I could assist in your investigations. I assume you are Mr. Spenser? My name is Henry Holmes. Doctor Henry Holmes."</p><p></p><p>Nigel's looked at him curiously. "Holmes?"</p><p></p><p>"No relation," he responded. "I get asked that a lot."</p><p></p><p>"I'm an American," he continued, as if his accent weren't evidence enough.</p><p></p><p>"Well, I suppose we could use the help," Nigel said. "Especially a doctor's help. We've apparently got some sick folk on our hands."</p><p></p><p>Nigel introduced Dr. Holmes to the others, who explained their current situations, and then ran upstairs for a few moments. When he came back down, he was carrying two bundles, one about five feet long, and another half that size. He climbed back into the hansom. Dr. Holmes climbed up next to the cabbie, and began asking questions about Highgate, and about the Family. The cabbie was quite well-informed, in the manner of a man used to talking about London, and knew quite a lot about the old religion.</p><p></p><p>"Yoo see," the cabbie explained, "the Church of Holy Family is something the Raven King brought from Faerie. Eech of the Family has their holy animals and such. The Father's is the owl, the Mother's is the rabbit, the Son's is the fox, the Daughter's is the robin, and the Bastard's is the raven."</p><p></p><p>"I see," said Dr. Holmes, encouraging him to continue. He rubbed his hands together to keep them warm in the chilly London fog as the horse's hooves clattered monotonously.</p><p></p><p>"Now, there are two groops 'oo worship the Family," the cabbie said. "Yoo've got the Quintarians, 'oo think all five o' the Family are holy, and yoo've got yoor Quatarians, who think that only four are. Yoo see, the father of the Bastard is a demon."</p><p></p><p>"That must make Christmas awkward," Dr. Holmes replied.</p><p></p><p>"Aye. The Quatarians think the Bastard is a demon 'imself. They've been known to jump Quintarians and coot off their thoombs to make a point of it."</p><p></p><p>"Lovely," the Doctor replied.</p><p></p><p>Highgate Cemetery loomed in the darkness ahead of them, with a sign helpfully proclaiming that visitation hours were from sunrise to sunset. The five investigators disembarked from the hansom, and paid the cabbie an extra few schillings for his trouble so late at night.</p><p></p><p>Nigel unwrapped his bundles, which turned out to be a longbow and a quiver of arrows.</p><p></p><p>"Big game hunting?" Orla asked with a smirk.</p><p></p><p>"Can never be too careful," Nigel said, testing the bowstring. "Besides, it's a traditional English weapon. I was on the archery team at Oxford."</p><p></p><p>Orla rolled her eyes, and the five began looking for the Green Dagger hideout. After an hour or so of looking, they had narrowed the choices down to one likely suspect. It was an old dilapidated mansion, with a small carriage house attached, with large stable doors drawn shut. A good number of the windows on the first floor were boarded up, and Sandor found the few that weren't to be so dirty that nothing inside could be made out.</p><p></p><p>Over the carriagehouse, a single flickering light could be seen. Nigel decided to risk climbing up to the second floor to try and peer inside. He started up the wall, but his foot slipped on the drain pipe, and he went totally still, waiting and hoping no one inside had heard.</p><p></p><p>The light moved closer to the window near Nigel, and then drew back quickly. Nigel dropped to the ground near Sandor and cursed under his breath.</p><p></p><p>"I think someone saw me," he said. "I saw a face."</p><p></p><p>"Well, might as well go in if they know we're here," Doctor Holmes said, and with that he stepped up to the front door. He pounded on the door.</p><p></p><p>"Health department!"</p><p></p><p>Artimis stepped up to the stable doors, and slid them open with some effort. It was totally dark, but he could hear the noise of wings flapping, like pigeons disturbed by the noise. He peered into the darkness, but couldn't clearly make out anything.</p><p></p><p>Sandor and Nigel joined Holmes and Artimis at the front of the house. Orla drew her rapier.</p><p></p><p>"This isn't quite how I hoped this would go," she said. "The entire Green Dagger gang is probably on the other side of that door waiting for us."</p><p></p><p>"Wait," Doctor Holmes said, and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small rat, whom he set down near the door. It wriggled under the front door, and after a moment the Doctor smiled.</p><p></p><p>"It's clear," he said, and threw open the door. Orla and Nigel stepped inside.</p><p></p><p>The room was dark, and filled with debris. Doors stood to either side, and directly in front of the front door was a set of double doors. They once no doubt were quite impressive, but time and age had taken their toll. Now, their only decoration was a pair of crudely painted green daggers, one on each. The Doctor spoke a few words under his breath, and then the lantern that they were using for light lifted into the air of its own accord and floated into the room.</p><p></p><p>With a gesture, Doctor Holmes directed the lantern. Orla stepped to the left hand door, and opened it. It opened into a hall, and the first door gave off an odor of death and decay so strong she dared not open it.</p><p></p><p>"Next door," she said to Nigel, and cautiously stepped into the hall. Holmes' rat scurried down the hall ahead of her and around the corner.</p><p></p><p>Sandor tried the double doors, and on opening them just a fraction of an inch, heard the sounds of claws skittering across a bare wood floor. He slammed the doors back shut, and quickly lashed them shut with a small length of rope. Something smashed against the doors from the other side, and the doors bulged outward, but the rope held.</p><p></p><p>"Dogs!" Sandor yelped. "Big dogs!"</p><p></p><p>Artimis had had enough of trying to see the source of the flapping noises in the carriage house. He spoke a word, and the shaft of one of his arrows began to glow. He fired it into a rafter in the center of the room.</p><p></p><p>He now had a better look at the source of the noise. There were six small flying creatures, each the size of a small hawk. Their wings were bat-like, and they had beaks that looked like long, bony syringes.</p><p></p><p>"Oh, dear Lord," the Doctor proclaimed. Inside the house, the lantern fell to the floor as his concentration shifted. It landed upright, but went out, throwing the room into darkness.</p><p></p><p>The creatures flew out at Artimis and Doctor Holmes. One landed on Artimis and jammed it's needle-like beak into his shoulder, drawing a great gulp of blood out. Another landed on the Doctor, and thrust it's proboscis into his neck.</p><p></p><p>Artimis and the Doctor both responded with encantations, barely cast through the pain and blood. Several of the foul vermin fell fast asleep, but of course neither of the two that were attached to them. The one on Artimis took flight only to be replaced by another. Orla ran out of the house, and skewered one with her rapier, and Nigel shot an arrow clear through the one that had just detached from Artimis, showering Doctor Holmes with Artimis' blood. The Doctor fled, stumbling down the street with the bat-like thing sticking out of his neck.</p><p></p><p>Nigel drew back an arrow, but held to see if someone else could better help the Doctor.</p><p></p><p>Sandor stepped out of the house, and weighed his options. He didn't like the idea of trying to strike the thing off of Doctor Holmes with one of his knives, but took careful aim and tried anyway. The dagger flew wide and to the right.</p><p></p><p>Nigel let his arrow fly, and it struck the creature full in it's torso, tearing it off of Holmes' shoulder and neck. The Doctor held his hand to his neck as he collapsed against the wall, nearly unconscious.</p><p></p><p>Artimis helped him stop the bleeding, and the returned to the house. The hall Orla had seen merely went around the corner and into the stable. Another door opened into a dining room, and Nigel saw a glint of light through a painting on the wall. He stepped up to it, and found that it concealed a door, and through the cracks of the door he could see several Orklings sleeping, their breathing raspy and shallow.</p><p></p><p>They tried the right-hand door, still avoiding the double doors which were still being shaken and rattled by the dogs beyond them. Orla advanced cautiously, carefully examining the floorboards as she approached a door on her left.</p><p></p><p>"I don't think we're likely to find any traps in here," Nigel said.</p><p></p><p>Orla opened the door, and stepped into the small room beyond. A heavy spiked ball, like the end piece for a flail fell down from above the door way and smashed into the fencer's head, drawing blood.</p><p></p><p>She glared back at Nigel.</p><p></p><p>"Umm," he stammered. "Scratch that last bit."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Kid Charlemagne, post: 2507578, member: 93"] [i]The Sick House[/i] Flagging down a hansom at such a late hour proved a challenge, but eventually one was found. The investigators determined that their next step should be to visit Iron Tusk's house – or perhaps to be more accurate, Cyrathus' house. First, however, Nigel insisted on returning to his rooms in order to pick up some more items of use. The cabbie was none too thrilled at the long, roundabout route he was being asked to take his fare. "This ain't the way to Highgate, guv'nor," he insisted. "I'll just be a moment," Nigel replied. Finally, the building were Nigel kept rooms loomed ahead in the foggy darkness of London. Nigel hopped out of the hansom, and then stopped dead at the sound of approaching footsteps. Out of the murky mist stepped a man in a dark overcoat, dressed as a physician, or perhaps an undertaker. The stranger stopped a few steps away. "Forgive me for startling you," the man said. "Peabody from Lloyd's sent me, to see if I could assist in your investigations. I assume you are Mr. Spenser? My name is Henry Holmes. Doctor Henry Holmes." Nigel's looked at him curiously. "Holmes?" "No relation," he responded. "I get asked that a lot." "I'm an American," he continued, as if his accent weren't evidence enough. "Well, I suppose we could use the help," Nigel said. "Especially a doctor's help. We've apparently got some sick folk on our hands." Nigel introduced Dr. Holmes to the others, who explained their current situations, and then ran upstairs for a few moments. When he came back down, he was carrying two bundles, one about five feet long, and another half that size. He climbed back into the hansom. Dr. Holmes climbed up next to the cabbie, and began asking questions about Highgate, and about the Family. The cabbie was quite well-informed, in the manner of a man used to talking about London, and knew quite a lot about the old religion. "Yoo see," the cabbie explained, "the Church of Holy Family is something the Raven King brought from Faerie. Eech of the Family has their holy animals and such. The Father's is the owl, the Mother's is the rabbit, the Son's is the fox, the Daughter's is the robin, and the Bastard's is the raven." "I see," said Dr. Holmes, encouraging him to continue. He rubbed his hands together to keep them warm in the chilly London fog as the horse's hooves clattered monotonously. "Now, there are two groops 'oo worship the Family," the cabbie said. "Yoo've got the Quintarians, 'oo think all five o' the Family are holy, and yoo've got yoor Quatarians, who think that only four are. Yoo see, the father of the Bastard is a demon." "That must make Christmas awkward," Dr. Holmes replied. "Aye. The Quatarians think the Bastard is a demon 'imself. They've been known to jump Quintarians and coot off their thoombs to make a point of it." "Lovely," the Doctor replied. Highgate Cemetery loomed in the darkness ahead of them, with a sign helpfully proclaiming that visitation hours were from sunrise to sunset. The five investigators disembarked from the hansom, and paid the cabbie an extra few schillings for his trouble so late at night. Nigel unwrapped his bundles, which turned out to be a longbow and a quiver of arrows. "Big game hunting?" Orla asked with a smirk. "Can never be too careful," Nigel said, testing the bowstring. "Besides, it's a traditional English weapon. I was on the archery team at Oxford." Orla rolled her eyes, and the five began looking for the Green Dagger hideout. After an hour or so of looking, they had narrowed the choices down to one likely suspect. It was an old dilapidated mansion, with a small carriage house attached, with large stable doors drawn shut. A good number of the windows on the first floor were boarded up, and Sandor found the few that weren't to be so dirty that nothing inside could be made out. Over the carriagehouse, a single flickering light could be seen. Nigel decided to risk climbing up to the second floor to try and peer inside. He started up the wall, but his foot slipped on the drain pipe, and he went totally still, waiting and hoping no one inside had heard. The light moved closer to the window near Nigel, and then drew back quickly. Nigel dropped to the ground near Sandor and cursed under his breath. "I think someone saw me," he said. "I saw a face." "Well, might as well go in if they know we're here," Doctor Holmes said, and with that he stepped up to the front door. He pounded on the door. "Health department!" Artimis stepped up to the stable doors, and slid them open with some effort. It was totally dark, but he could hear the noise of wings flapping, like pigeons disturbed by the noise. He peered into the darkness, but couldn't clearly make out anything. Sandor and Nigel joined Holmes and Artimis at the front of the house. Orla drew her rapier. "This isn't quite how I hoped this would go," she said. "The entire Green Dagger gang is probably on the other side of that door waiting for us." "Wait," Doctor Holmes said, and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small rat, whom he set down near the door. It wriggled under the front door, and after a moment the Doctor smiled. "It's clear," he said, and threw open the door. Orla and Nigel stepped inside. The room was dark, and filled with debris. Doors stood to either side, and directly in front of the front door was a set of double doors. They once no doubt were quite impressive, but time and age had taken their toll. Now, their only decoration was a pair of crudely painted green daggers, one on each. The Doctor spoke a few words under his breath, and then the lantern that they were using for light lifted into the air of its own accord and floated into the room. With a gesture, Doctor Holmes directed the lantern. Orla stepped to the left hand door, and opened it. It opened into a hall, and the first door gave off an odor of death and decay so strong she dared not open it. "Next door," she said to Nigel, and cautiously stepped into the hall. Holmes' rat scurried down the hall ahead of her and around the corner. Sandor tried the double doors, and on opening them just a fraction of an inch, heard the sounds of claws skittering across a bare wood floor. He slammed the doors back shut, and quickly lashed them shut with a small length of rope. Something smashed against the doors from the other side, and the doors bulged outward, but the rope held. "Dogs!" Sandor yelped. "Big dogs!" Artimis had had enough of trying to see the source of the flapping noises in the carriage house. He spoke a word, and the shaft of one of his arrows began to glow. He fired it into a rafter in the center of the room. He now had a better look at the source of the noise. There were six small flying creatures, each the size of a small hawk. Their wings were bat-like, and they had beaks that looked like long, bony syringes. "Oh, dear Lord," the Doctor proclaimed. Inside the house, the lantern fell to the floor as his concentration shifted. It landed upright, but went out, throwing the room into darkness. The creatures flew out at Artimis and Doctor Holmes. One landed on Artimis and jammed it's needle-like beak into his shoulder, drawing a great gulp of blood out. Another landed on the Doctor, and thrust it's proboscis into his neck. Artimis and the Doctor both responded with encantations, barely cast through the pain and blood. Several of the foul vermin fell fast asleep, but of course neither of the two that were attached to them. The one on Artimis took flight only to be replaced by another. Orla ran out of the house, and skewered one with her rapier, and Nigel shot an arrow clear through the one that had just detached from Artimis, showering Doctor Holmes with Artimis' blood. The Doctor fled, stumbling down the street with the bat-like thing sticking out of his neck. Nigel drew back an arrow, but held to see if someone else could better help the Doctor. Sandor stepped out of the house, and weighed his options. He didn't like the idea of trying to strike the thing off of Doctor Holmes with one of his knives, but took careful aim and tried anyway. The dagger flew wide and to the right. Nigel let his arrow fly, and it struck the creature full in it's torso, tearing it off of Holmes' shoulder and neck. The Doctor held his hand to his neck as he collapsed against the wall, nearly unconscious. Artimis helped him stop the bleeding, and the returned to the house. The hall Orla had seen merely went around the corner and into the stable. Another door opened into a dining room, and Nigel saw a glint of light through a painting on the wall. He stepped up to it, and found that it concealed a door, and through the cracks of the door he could see several Orklings sleeping, their breathing raspy and shallow. They tried the right-hand door, still avoiding the double doors which were still being shaken and rattled by the dogs beyond them. Orla advanced cautiously, carefully examining the floorboards as she approached a door on her left. "I don't think we're likely to find any traps in here," Nigel said. Orla opened the door, and stepped into the small room beyond. A heavy spiked ball, like the end piece for a flail fell down from above the door way and smashed into the fencer's head, drawing blood. She glared back at Nigel. "Umm," he stammered. "Scratch that last bit." [/QUOTE]
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The Golden Key: From the Casebook of Nigel Spenser (Updated 9/16)
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