Raiders of the Temple of the Last Crusade (Aiden, Fergus, Karlsen)

Aiden takes a circuitous route to a small hedge enclosed patch of greenery just above a shallow rain culvert. A short tree of some variety of peach blossum grows from the center of the small island, providing some additional cover and shade, were the day younger and hotter. From this vantage, Aiden has a clear view of Karlsen as well as the front door of the warehouse some 60 feet away.

Removing his hat and leaning his back against the small tree, Aiden reaches into one of the larger pockets of his pants pulling forth the slowly growing set of Trumps. Languidly shuffling through them, he stops abruptly when he comes to Caine's.... He slowly spins the card through his fingers for a few moments, pondering the benefits and possible hazards of.....

....And then he begins to focus...."Dad?"

[OOC - island? What island?]

Contact with Caine takes hardly more than a few moments. "Aiden! What news?"

[OOC: The rumored private island of the Oracle Group. Possible connections to the 'Monocled Men']

Aiden speaks quietly, continuing to shift his gaze back and forth from the front door of the warehouse to Karlsen...

"I'm still in the Nexus, in the city of Haven, tracking down some new leads on our monocled friends. At the moment, I'm in the middle of a stakeout with Karlsen and our new addition, Fergus. I found a couple of items of interest and.....Dad. Are you and Uncle Julian still close these days?"

David wrote:[OOC - yeah but how did Aiden get on that island? The warehouse isn't there, but inside the city of Haven.]

No.
Aiden is thinking that the submersible may be heading there later...That's why he has Fergus onboard.

[OOC - look at this passage you posted: Aiden takes a circuitous route to a small hedge enclosed patch of greenery just above a shallow rain culvert. A short tree of some variety of peach blossum grows from the center of the small island, providing some additional cover and shade, were the day younger and hotter. From this vantage, Aiden has a clear view of Karlsen as well as the front door of the warehouse some 60 feet away. What island are you talking about???????? You're describing an island where Aiden is right this moment.]

Caine hesitates. "We get along well enough. Better than most, to be honest."

[OOC: Oh, I meant like a little median or grassy spot, flowerbed, hedgerow, etc within a surrounding curb between buildings, parking areas, etc. A little dab of greenery in the 'concrete jungle'. ]

Fergus waits in the submersible and briefly considers trumping someone but rejects it as he does not want to make a noise and he needs to keep the link open for Karlsen.

Instead he decides to listen in to the conversation of the two women. Just what did two women talk about anyway? Fergus shifted his ears into at trumpets to try and get more range on his hearing. Maybe they would let something useful slip!

Fergus listens as the two seem to be discussing technical details about the submersible and its upcoming voyage. He knows vessels like this aren't that unusual in Nexus, but then they remain far from typical either. One of the two describes in general the tricks of piloting the boat at night out of the harbor. No real reason to submerge, not at first anyway. Such is usually reserved for situations demanding stealth. The final few hours of this trip. Standard procedures. Collapsing the sails has proven much simpler with the recently installed improvements.

A ringing sound. The kind associated with communications aboard ships. One of the women speaks after a clicking sound. "Weredolphin." A pause. "Just the one?" Another pause. "Very good sir. Anything else?" Then, "We'll be ready just in case." Another, slightly different click.

"Did he ever mention a love interest out this way? He would've told you if things had gone far enough to become....engaged to someone, say, wouldn't he?"

Fergus listens to the operation of the submersible with interest. The only other time he had seen much about one was a Holo-Vid called Captain Naughty Lass. There was much talk in it about diving below and the First Mate getting his torpedo ready, but very little actual detail on the craft so Fergus had switched it off after only 10 minutes. This by contrast was far more interesting and he continued to listen in case he found out any more useful information in case he needed to pilot it later.

Caine's eyebrows lift half a millimeter as he spoke with Aiden. "Engaged! Huh. Suppose it's possible. Fact is, Julian's always been one to keep his own counsel. For that matter, he tends to keep the different parts of his life separate. You might not even realize it, but there was even a time when he went wandering around Shadow for years at a time. Long, long ago of course. Then he began to make Arden his own, so much so that by the time Corwin went missing the first time we all thought of Julian as having never been anywhere else. Not true, of course. But even when he was with the rest of us, at the Castle or visiting Rebma or taking a holiday in Nexus, Julian guarded his privacy. So--again, it's possible. Why, did you find his missus and a bunch of brats?"

"No, nothing so obvious as that, unfortunately. I did find a couple of interesting items that appear to have been in the possession of Isabel, the redhead from the now infamous Crimson Unicorn Trumps, whom I've been seaching for. One was a Trump of Julian, clearly executed in Dworkin's hand, so I figure it to be one of Uncle Julian's personal Trumps. The other, a ring that Fergus assures me is a fairly typical design for a wedding band here in the Nexus."

"I thought that asking you might turn up a new lead, maybe jog an old memory of something he might have mentioned several years ago. If he didn't, it's something you might ask him about. You're one of the few people he might trust enough to talk about it to, and it might help our investigations. Either way, I just thought you should know."

eFergus notices just opposite his hiding hole the fuel regulator valve. Right before he had turned the Holo-vid off the Captain had snagged her rather too short dress on that valve in the command area which had come off. Fergus had considered originally that she must have been poor for only the desperately poor could not afford proper clothing to cover themselves on the Nexus. After turning the Holo-Vid off Fergus had sought out more technical detail on the submersible and had located the offending fuel regulator valve in the engine area, which was where he must be if it was the same design as the plans he had seen. Before just now he probably could have understood how to fix the submersible, but with the added luck of the Captain teaching a new recruit how to pilot the Weredolphin, he now stood a chance also.

The incorrect location of the fuel regulator valve, the improper clothing for the Captain were just two of the many mistakes in Earnest C. Crabber's tragedy of a Holo-Vid. Fergus fervently hoped that he would not be allowed to make any more such terrible Holo-Vids.

He carried on listening, in case the Captain told her new recruit anything more about her orders.

Caine tells Aiden, "Well, just so you know, Julian's gone off on his own for some reason. Or, we assume he did. The idea of someone successfully kidnapping one of us from within the walls of the Castle itself doesn't bear thinking on too much. No word. No answering his Trump."

Aboard Weredolphin, Fergus gets a vague idea of who the boat operates. It extends several snorkel tubes when submerged. The pilot's seat forward evidently is made with some kind of viewer illuminated by UV light to look ahead. She never travels far underwater, no more than ten meters and that in an emergency (five meters is more the norm). Emergency ballast can be released to help force a rapid ascent. Interestingly, the crew have detailed charts of water currents which they use for greater efficiency.

OOC - I feel like I'm the third wheel on someones date. Can't get in on the conversation with Caine, I don't think two of us will be able to hide easily on the ship. Sigh. Maybe we should take over the ship?

OOC - I was sort of expecting Aiden and Karlsen to be taking some action in the warehouse.

(OOC - I hear you. Fact is, I have a bit of a debate with a good friend about how to GM. She believes you set things up then watch the players react, or fail to react, to what you've created. Me, I prefer greater fluidity. I try to leave wiggle room, and am willing to shift events to help the players along. The purpose of all this remains fun, after all.]

As Karlsen waits, he notes some activity across the water at a different part of the harbor. Details remain unclear but clearly many more people are moving in and around a row of iron-clad ships.

Then, the mechanical wailing begins from over a mile distant, somewhere to the east. Followed by another, further away west. Then another, north.

Aiden at least has heard something like this before. Not exactly like, but similar. In old war movies back on Earth.

Fergus recognizes it instantly. Air raid warning. News reports and holo-shows demonstrated same, in places where airships attacked cities during war. Bombs falling from thousands of feet high, random but designed to damage an enemy city, diverting resources and (with luck) hitting some important infrastructure. These days such bombs held such colorful names as Dragon's Teeth or Hellhammer. Incendiaries.

Hearing the air raid sirens above, Fergus whispers urgently through trump to Karlsen.

"Karlsen, it sounds like an air raid is going on above. One of the other cities is attacking, probably due to the change of government. What are you going to do?'

"Nah, I imagine he's safe enough," says Aiden. "Thanks for the heads up. I'll let ya know if we run into him out this wa.....What the hell is that?" <as the air raid sirens go off>

Turning his head to follow the sound as first one siren begins to wail and then another, Aiden continues, "I gotta go, dad. Either they're showing the Battle of Britain tonight as the Movie in the Park or somebody's about to attack the harbor. I'll catch up with ya later."

Closing the connection, Aiden crouches and begins to move quickly and quietly back to where Karlsen is stationed, doing his best to remain concealed from view from the warehouse....

Karlsen to Fergus, "We will be fine. You keep your wits about you on that boat. They will probably try to submerge and get out into the water away from the docks. If the sub takes a hit we will bring you back, do not try to be a hero." He then turns to Aiden, "What do you think? Head for an air raid shelter? Head into shadow, then pop back?"

Aiden searches the evening skies as he replies,

"Let's wait a bit. If we're looking at some kind of air raid, well.... The only thing we've seen so far, in the skies of this Shadow, are the large Zeppelins that lumber about. Those types of craft generally aren't noted for their great speed and maneuverability. And the ones from my world don't have a particularly high ceiling. We should be able see anything long before it gets to us. "

" OTOH, if it's some kind of missile attack.......Ask Fergus if this sort of thing is common in his Shadow. I'd like to have some idea of what we should be expecting."

Fergus whispers back down the trump connection. "Roger that Karlsen. I would expect the cultists might try and leave soon as a result, you might want to keep an eye on what they are doing."

OOC - Karlsen will use his warfare to determine the safety of the area they are in. He will also pass along information between Fergus and Aiden freely (so you two can go by what the other says and not wait for me to respond).

To Aiden, "Do you want to keep an eye on the people in the warehouse? Or look out for the attackers?"