Resurrection City IV: Et In Arcadia Ego

[JimAde]

Trevor shrugs. "Your guess is as good as mine. Better, I'd say." He looks reflectively at the flyer again. "We'll find out when we get there, I suppose."

[ooc: by the way, Andrew, I love the flyer. Very cool! ]

 

[Old Fezziwig]

"Right ye are. Well, let's tend to lunch then. After we eat, we can visit the carnival." Diggory suppresses a laugh at this, the idea striking him as a bit silly, on the whole, and altogether discongruous with the actual purpose of the meeting and the circumstances that led to it.

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

After dining, the three men take a special "festival cab" to the fairgrounds. The ride is a short one, only about 15 minutes. Along the way, it passes down the slope of Avebury Ridge and across the broad expanse of the Salisbury Plains, eventually arriving at the Rover's Carnival. Aisles of stands for various games and food converge on a large central tent and at the edges of the "village" are various metal and wood contraptions. Among them you notice a carousel and a none-too-safe-looking Ferris wheel.

As you stroll along the planked pathways, you hear the calls of a carnival barker who beckons you to enter his establishment. A large, luridly painted red sign above the darkened entrance reads "Dr. Bloodworth's House of Horrors".

Ahead and on your left is a small yard where a man, the stocky Gypsy you saw in the Five Oaks, tosses knives at his assistant - his beautiful assistant, of course.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

"Dr. Bloodworth's House of Horrors — what a lark. I'm almost tempted to give it a go." Diggory grins, but continues to look for where they might find Madame Sosostris.

 

[JimAde]

Walsingham glances at the House of Horrors. "No, thank you," he says with a smirk. "I've had quite enough of the real thing." He, too, looks around for some sign of Madame Sosostris. Failing to spot one, he simply picks a random passerby and asks after her.

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

Following the directions of a bearded man with a small child, Diggory and Trevor find their way to a parked wagon. Above the door is a large sign reading "Madame Sosostris, Fortune-Teller" in fancy script, with the writing surrounded by stars. Strings of beads hang at the doorway instead of a door. In front of the wagon stands a boy, perhaps twelve, collecting money from the customers.

There is a short line of three or four people. You can see Harrington/Sosostris sitting inside the wagon at a table.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Diggory stifles a yawn as he waits. Now that he's finally ready to get some answers, what many English people would call his Hibernian impatience rears its head. He anxiously checks his pocket watch and instinctively checks his belt for his Bowie knife.

 

[JimAde]

"So what tack do you feel we should take here," Trevor asks under his breath. "Direct confrontation or a sort of 'I've been thinking about what you said and it makes sense' sort of thing?"

 

[Old Fezziwig]

"Given how things have worked out fer us lately, I'd say that the more cautious of the two approaches is probably warranted. Particularly after the mess at the Pellgraine Estate."

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

"You'd best be deciding soon," Dr. Hewitt says as you reach the front of the line. "A shillin', if you please," says the barker. Hewitt presses a coin into his hand and you enter the wagon.

"Be seated," Sosostris says, her head cast down. "I'll be with you in just a moment." As you wait, you look around the room. It is decorated in Egyptian motifs and is brightly colored. Although the seeress is clad in the normal clothes of an Englishwoman, you notice a large necklace in the shape of the winged scarab, a type you've seen at the Egyptian hall at the British Museum. The red jewel she had in Wales is set into the necklace.

In a moment, she looks up at you, but not a sign of recognition appears on her face.