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Adam
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« on: 16 December 2009, 12:30:39 »

Prologue
A host of individuals are met by an expensive but plain carriage that turns up at their abode/residence with an invitation to attend the Royal Observatory and an audience with Dr John Dee, the Queen's astrologer. The Doctor meets them and tells them that he has need of their many talenst. He requests that they look into a matter for the Master of Revels, Lord Lynley. To Lynley falls the task of licensing entertainment and clearly within that remit theatres and plays. Effectively his Lordship is censor Royale.  It seems that Elizabethan fears that stage plays would enflame passions and bring out the base instincts of the audience have been realised with theatre goers rutting in the audience, fornicating in the street and running through the town unclad.

Chapter One
Lynley meets them and informs that that the happening appear to have been brought on by a single play, that of playwright Master Jacob Miller. All the events occurred during or shortly after his new play Anthony, a tale of star crossed lovers. There have been two showings, both have been plagued by strange goings on. Lord Lynley attended the second and from back stage thought he saw a WOMAN on stage  Shocked  but when he intervened it was merely a boy player. Lynley reports having been convinced it was a woman. he also tells the party that the fornicators and the unclad runner are still being held by his gaoler.  Here the party spilts up.
Knight Templar Sir Roderick, the cudgel bearing Lucas and woman of herbs Megan speak with the prisoners. Whilst fop Sir Percy, Scientist Edwin, Yuri the hunter and Servant Boy Thomas go to locate the playwright Miller at his lodgings.
Chapter Two
Testimonies were exacted from the prisoners with either womanly wiles and soothing herbal infusions or with the armoured embodiment of God's wrath against the unclean and the application of red hot pokers.  All accounts were roughly equivalent, a loss of memory during a scene from the play involving the heroine and then returning to consciousness to find themselves being confronted by constables of the law or angry and bemused peasant folk. All agree the leading lady was very convincing and one might swear a real woman. This scene of intimidation, threats and torture ends with a touching moment as Templar Sir Roderick who hails from a Monastic Order joins the two unmarried fornicators in wedlock. Thee was not a dry eye in the gaol.
 
Chapter Three
Meanwhile, the playwright Miller is confronted by the four other investigators. He denies any prior knowledge of the happenings. When it is questioned that he might gain in profit from the attention , he states that he is a playwright for the money, but for the art's sake. The foppish Sir Percy is satisfied that the man of arts is truth-telling and sated in part the party request an audience with his company of players, they are rehearsing in the wood upon a bank in a clearing to capture something of the wild nature in their play. The four question the players and are convinced that the leading female player is a man and they can see no art or artifice of magick within the pay nor within certain sections recited for them. Hunter Yuriel finds animal tracks around the edge of the clearing but nothing that would indicate any strange or unusual creatures. Perhaps the woodland animals hug too closely to the cover of the wood around the clearing but this is not greatly unusual and seems of little import.

Chapter Four
Sir Roderick, Lucy and Megan arrive at the theatre and find Master Pritchard, the theatre's manager and his staff of one. The sharp eyed Lucas spots movement behind the stage and observant Megan is convinced she spied a young maiden.  Master Pritchard states that the only women folk that should be there are Mildred the cleaner and perhaps Nanny who occasionally assists -neiteh rwould even kindly be called young. Mildred and Nanny are summoned and reveal the presence of Leia, Nanny's daughter. She is young, pretty and buxom. Sir Roderick and Lucas question the assembled as to the strange happenings. Meanwhile Megan detecting an intriguing scent goes a hunting about Master Pritchard's office. She locates a flagon he is imbibing form containing a herbal infusion. Analysing it she suspects it is a love potion with the addition of a human hair potentially Leia's within. She surmises it is perhaps an attempt at Magick. 

In the main theatre, her two more physical compatriots spot a bleeding wound on Master Pritchard's hand, a cut that will not he claims heal. He claims to have obtained the wound trimming his quill but Sir Roderick doubts his story and suspects blood magic. Unsatisfied by the Manager's answers the knight throws him roughly to the floor and accuses him of witchcraft. At this point Megan appears and asks Pritchard about the drink. He states that it is for his wheezing chest and provided by Nanny. When questioned alone Nanny reveals that whilst she had indeed been asked to provide an infusion for the chest; she had created one for the heart it was her intention to facilitate the marriage of her daughter Leia to the eligible manager. Outraged by the trickery and evident Witchcraft, Lucas and Sir Roderick resolve to kill Nanny by burning as befits a witch.

Chapter Five
Fortunately the calm and reasoned voice of science arrives at this moment in the form of Sir Edwin and the others. Sir Edwin proposes to weigh Nanny and compare her weight to a swan. Reasoning that both witches and swans float and are therefore made of wood. Young Thomas is sent to obtain a swan. Meanwhile the beare bayting (bear baiting) is cancelled and the players return from the wood. With his great weighing experiment delayed, Sir Edwin becomes inflamed by frustration and is so inflamed he has a fainting fit.
Then the young lad who plays the leading woman is caught imbibing a herbal brew to stave off puberty more of Nanny Longman's work. The party persuade the troupe to give a private showing of the play. This time within the bounds of the stage the play produces a magical effect four of the brave heroes are fooled into believing the actor is indeed a woman and indeed that the props and costumes are more real than they previously were. Sir Roderick focusses on the seemingly convincing weapon which he knows to be false and using his martial training breaks free of the thrall. Meanwhile Yuriel ascends the stage and accosts the the young actor the spell breaks and reality is returned. The stage is inspected and week old berries are found beneath the stage. Berries from the local wood. Also small human footprints are detected as well as evidence that the creature that laid these prints can fly. The party suspect both cherubs and fairies. The berries are removed and snares and traps laid beneath the stage to capture the creature should it return.

Chapter Six
Sir Edwin his experiment forgotten is insistent that the party return to the clearing in the woods. He goes accompanied by the woodsman Yuriel, Young Thomas, and Sir Percy. Whilst the others remain for the play.  Returning to the clearing at dusk Yuriel and Thomas find a fairy ring and are met by fairies who partially surround them.  The two fops wait at the edge of the clearing nigh on thirty fairies meet the two bold adventurers who question them to their intent they talk of freeing man form the shackles and illusions of society and civilisation they talk of having fun and returning to more natural and animalistic ways. The fey creatures are asked to stop their magick and leave the town's folk alone. The fairies strike a bargain bring us babies and we will leave the town's folk and the deal is struck with young orphans rapidly located. The fairies fade agreeing to not return until the children are eighteen.






  
« Last Edit: 17 December 2009, 23:19:36 by Adam » Logged
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« Reply #1 on: 18 January 2010, 00:35:00 »

Episode 2 - thou shalt not suffer

Prologue
A number of Dee's agents are assembled post haste: Sir Percy the fop, Sir Edwin the inventor, Jane the Scholar, Megan the herbalist, Yuriel the Hunter and Thomas the servant boy. They are sent to the village of Beecher's Ford, their mission to investigate an instance of witchcraft. Another of Dee's agent Lilith has been accused of this and faces a burning by nightfall.

The team arrive at the village and attempt to gain lodging at the House. Sir Edwin recalls that the estates have recently changed hands previously belonging to the Fitzgeralds a Catholic family who have fallen from favour with Elisabeth's coronation. However some local peasantry attempt to dissuade our party with tales of Witchcraft and a number of mysterious deaths which occurred last night. The Thurstons and two of their servants (a house keeper and man-servant) died and rotted down to next to nothing in a matter of moments.  The local herbalist has been accused of the witchcraft and is currently held in the stocks and guarded whilst the villagers construct a pyre for her demise.  The nobility are undeterred (they would rather rest with Witchcraft and unexplained deaths at the House than with the peasant folk at the local hostelry. They also summon the survivor and only witness
The team enter and Sir Edwin searches the fireplaces fro any remaining Catholics (they hide there apparently) Thomas as a good servant boy lights the fires and prepares the house for habitation.  Jane investigates the scullery where the deeds occurred to find the area descended to mould and filth which would take many years if ever to achieve within this she detects a number of mulched down rotten corpses. She spends some moments examining her mirror an intricately wrought affair crafted according to principles scientific and philosophical. She then begins to investigate the very geometry of the area. Yuriel attempts to prevent individuals from distracting Jane from her studies. Meanwhile Sir Percy locates himself the most spacious and well appointed room and prepares it for his habitation.

Megan visits the accused and finds a village in a state of panic and four big villagers armed with iron and ash guarding the alleged witch. Megan attempts to calm the guards and checks out Lilith she appears to have some knowledge of Herbs and protests her innocence of witchcraft. Megan investigates the woman's abode and finds it to be set out for herbalism, some minor and unconvincing attempts at magic have been made in the form of hairs and tokens added to love potions and the such.
In her travels Megan also hears tales which purport to prove Lilith's witchcraft: curatives and potions of a helpful nature that prove she uses Magick and therefore Witchcraft. The positive and helpful nature of this is noted by Megan.

Yuriel persuades the nobility to leave the House and therefore Jane and her investigations. They therefore travel down to the village where they meet and rebuke the Witch.  Her protestations of innocence are ignored and Sir Percy and Sir Edwin note that she bears a wart. Proof positive in their view. Sir Edwin orders the locals to construct a massive scale to weigh the woman against a swan and thus prove beyond doubt her witchcraft. Ah the power  of scientific reasoning.  They also meet the local rector and his verger who regale them with tales of the witchcraft Lilith has undertaken in the guise of herbalism and the repeated refrain of “thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” is frequently uttered.

Megan returns and when she reveals she has visited Lilith's abode she is interrogated as to whether the woman owns a broom. The affirmative response again considered further proof against her.
Something of a disagreement occurs between the two nobles on one hand who are convinced of lilith's guilt and the herbalist on the other. Sir Edwin becomes over-excited and faints. He returns to consciousness  wakens and gabbles something about having seen a “scientific vision” (not to be confused with Witchcraft) of a hunting lodge and some rustling in the undergrowth. That there are hunting lodges nearby is confirmed by the locals including the rector and verger. The Fitzgerald's former gamekeeper is summoned.
Meanwhile back at House, Thomas interrogates and later flirts with the young amid Molly. Her testimony runs approximately thus the Thurstons returned early from town, Godalming and as they were not yet expected only the servants areas including the scullery were heated. So whilst everyone waited in the scullery, the maid was sent to light the fires and after she was gone only five minutes she heard screams and ran back to find the families previously too too solid flesh had melted, thawed and resolved itself into a dew.
In later discussions Molly suggest that it was Albert the manservant's job to light the fire and therefore unusual that she be sent to do it. When questioned she reports that Albert himself sent her. Thomas' suspicion now rest on the manservant and he returns to the scullery to count corpses. As the victims were close together and and have rotted down thoroughly its hard to gauge but Jane is convinced that there are only three adult corpses and not the four there should be . An analysis of the jewellery and metal wear, buckles and rings confirms that a male adult not of nobility is missing presumed alive.

Yuriel and Megan investigate the hunting lodge whilst the noble men “calm” (or not) the increasingly agitated crowd.
Searching Albert's quarters Thomas the servant boy locates books written in Latin, Arabic and Hebrew they talk of power and of foul creatures demons and angels. These are kept for later
Out in the woods Megan and Yuriel reach the hunting lodge. Bearing in mind it was early autumn the fallen leaves had mulched down more than would be expected, the forest is hushed and there are fungi growing on the lodge . As the intrepid two enter the lodge they find it thick with moulds of various textures and hues. If one stares long enough one could deceive oneself into thinking the colours made patterns across the floor perhaps a pentagram here maybe something else there. On a table in the centre was a crockery pot. Brave Yuriel lifts the pot and is beset by roaches and beetles. Flies fill the air. Herbalist Megan throws a bottle in to the room something caustic and flammable the bugs shrivel and burn, the mould is sent flying. The pentagram if it be such is obliterated and Yuriel flees into the air scratching at his arm.

The crockery pot contains the stuff of witch craft: an ancient and giant woodlouse shell, a rat skull engraved with a pentagram and a small horn carved and holed.  A rotting figure with an entourage of rotting and diseased woodland creatures enters the lodge's clearing and requests his belongings back . Yuriel rapidly notches several arrows each sink deep into the tall rotting figure -presumably Albert the manservant. The slide easily into his too soft flesh and he lumbers towards them putrefying squirrels drop on to the shoulders of our heroes. These are readily dispatched but some scratches are left and Megan and Yuriel run for the house. Yuriel despairs for Megan's speed and throws her over his broad shoulder in a most ungentlemanly way. She pricks at him with her knife (not too hard it must be noted). The two and their demonic pursuers are spotted at the house.

Jane throws up various wards to protect first the kitchen and then the house hold and then a closet she forces the house staff into. Brave sir Percy runs at the demonic creature that was Albert atatcking it with an oil lantern and before the creature has a chance to act it is aflame at the nobleman's hands and decapitated by our supernatural hunter. As the creature dies the flames seem blown by a supernatural wind towards the house and a now unprotected Jane who is examining the crockery pot contents given to her by a newly arrived Megan. Suddenly Jane faints but she wakes shortly thereafter appearing normal and offers to bury the decapitated remains of Albert in salt and ash ashes. In her momentary faint, she had muttered something about their being two and it has been here awhile but something new came through with their deaths.

Megan, Thomas and Sir Percy go looking for Sir Edwin who was last seen driving the carriage away from the demonic creature in apparent fear. Surely not. There they find him weighing innocent Lilith against a swan clear evidence is thus provided that she is heavier than a swan and therefore a witch and Sir Edwin orders her carried to the fresh pyre as the village folk fearfully scream burn the witch burn her.
« Last Edit: 28 January 2010, 00:15:18 by Adam » Logged
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« Reply #2 on: 06 March 2010, 00:25:28 »

Episode Two thou shall not suffer.... Part Two
Meggan and Yuriel reason with Sir Edwin. However, this breeds little success with the man of science, so negotiations are continued at dagger point, Meggan's dagger point. Faced with the logic of cold steel lacerating his floral cod piece. Edwin begins to relent but a fearful Rector continues to argue the case for burning the witch. Yuriel tries to use the disembodied head of the pestilence demon corpse, to persuade the villagers that the deaths at the manor were the result of a demon not a witch. However the agitated crowd recognise the head as Albert's suspect that the outsiders have killed him with pestilent witchcraft. Tensions flare. The rector attempts to incite the crowd agaist the outsiders and the witch but in doing so quotes the Bible in Latin, clear evidence to the staunchly protestant Sir Edwin (Inventor of the Catholic detector) that the Rector is in league with the pope.

Sir Edwin invokes the crowd to “burn the papist” which they do (I feel the need to state that it is my understanding of Early Elizabethan times that whilst Protestants did indeed have English bibles and Mass in the English tongue, these are relatively recent changes and most priests would have been raised with Latin versions of these. Certainly I had not intended the Rector to be a Catholic) With their emotions swinging wildly, the crowd burn their priest. Sir Edwin announces the need to purge the village of witches and heretics and a number of candidates are brought forward. Each singled out by the crowd of locals, for past transgressions and fears. Each accusation appears to have little obvious merit: my lamb died after he visited or  my ageing father grew ill after greeting her etc. Sir Edwin valiantly deploys his catholic detector and for once it appears to work. It starts swinging and in Sir Edwin's view clearly indicates potential heretics, each one is then burnt alive at the stake.

After the fifth such burning it occurs to  the party that one person was close by the detector whenever it swung: the verger.  It could be that it was detecting the verger each time and not the possible innocents who have since died screaming at the stake. Yuriel chases the verger but he urges the crowd to his defence against the outsider  and paranoid villagers attack the Hunter.  He easily fights them off but the verger has disappeared eerily fast. Yuriel and Sir Edwin arrange for parties of stout villagers to search the locale for the verger but it rapidly becomes apparent that the villagers are still frightened and paranoid.  The householders are suspicious and fearful of the searchers and the searchers target people based on little of credence, primarily led by old suspicions and fears.

Servant boy Thomas comments that the emotions of the village are strangely exaggerated and muses as to whether there may be a fear demon in residence. This resonates with comments that Jayne uttered whilst unconscious. Meggan suggest that the pestilence demon may have been in the village a while; but when it killed the Thurstons and their servants, the simultaneous deaths could have opened up a gate way to the  spirit world which allowed a fear demon through. The fear demon possibly possessing the verger has been whipping up the fears of the village both enhancing and feeding off these fears.
Herbalist Meggan and the released Lilith set about creating sleeping smoke to calm the villagers and their fears. Raiding Lilith's shop and re-fanning the pyre, they chemically calm most of the villagers. In hindsight only those down-wind.
Sir Edwin and Yuriel  search for the verger.  Later once she has finished her sedation Meggan also joins in the search. They eventually search the church. Initially Yuriel is attacked by some still fearful villagers. Meanwhile, other villagers and the verger attempt to engage Sir Edwin in mortal combat. Meggan uses foul smelling concoctions to drive the villagers back and this frees Yuriel to swing over head and bring a tapestry down on the verger. This is enough of an advantage for Sir Edwin to strike at the verger with the catholic detector. As the verger screams in pain and the demon begins to be drawn into the Angel's heart (which is the key component of the catholic detector), Sir Edwin stabs at the verger killing his mortal (and it must be said innocent body) The angel heart starts to heat up as the demon spirit struggles against the device. Sir Edwin drops the detector into some holy water and the demon screams and departs.

Back at the manor house a will is found recently written announcing that the Thurstons have left their estates in Beecher's Ford to Sir Edwin. This seems odd given that only hours ago he had not heard of them. However no-one present questions this and the village passes to Sir Edwin. And the party retire to bed content that the verger is dead and his demon destroyed and that similarly Albert is dead. No-one questions where the demon that possessed Albert fled to or notice any odd behaviours from Jayne.

Until that is Sir Edwin is awoken from a strange dream of Jayne trying to suffocate him to find Jayne trying to suffocate him. He screams (no doubt a courageous manly scream) and Meggan and Yuriel rush to his defence. However someone  has blocked Sir Edwin's bedroom door with a chair and Yuriel has to force the door with his great strength. Jayne lashes out at them with pestilence breath but in doing so is distracted enough for Sir Edwin to lash out at her with the catholic detector. He sleeps with it under his pillow just in case he is rushed by Papists in his sleep. Again the possessed one screams as the demon is sucked into the detector and as Jayne writhes in pain and eventual freedom from possession Yuriel drives his arrows deep into her chests, killing her. Fortunately Yuriel remembers that he had brought some holy water back from the church and the Catholic detector is once again cleansed of the unholy taint of demon kind.

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