High Thrills and Social Ills

Presenting the Queen!

It is the week of Charity’s debutant ball and everyone in her house was excited, except Charity who was more nervous. The event was bound to be unconventional at best (something of a comfort) with a male arranging the ball and dress, the lack of female friends, and her foreigner status. Luckily, Sheela was around to lend a hand where she could, namely giving Charity a dress from her native land instead of the ugly one her father had selected, and waiting with her as she greeted guest.
Fidget was asked by Dmitri Maximov to find the stash house of William DeHarve and “redistribute” his wealth to as many people as possible. While beginning his quest, he managed to intervene on a group of thugs trying to accost Charity, namely by dropping the sewer grate from under him.
Archie Waylan sent Kael a message for him to come check out the advancement on his investment, a steam/electric horseless carriage. They took it for a test drive and were impressed by just how fast the vehicle was capable of going. Kael’s sister and Mr. Blackmantle also took note of the vehicle and came over the chat about it. During their conversation, Rifford Rafferty drove up in a wicked-looking automobile of his own. As rich boys with toys are one to do, he challenged Kael to a race.
Blackmantle noticed on the vehicle a strange symbol he had only seen once before, on that horrible day. He later questioned Mr. Rafferty about it who had no idea about it; his mechanic did all the real work. Rafferty gave Blackmantle the name, Deidrick Lexington. He began to hunt down the man.
Archie believed that they needed an edge to beat the other horseless carriage. After a cocaine inspired brainstorming session, he came up with blue-prints for something new, something never seen before. However, what he needed was strange at best and he asked Kael’s assistance in gaining those items while be finished tuning the car and adding the new parts. After getting a new steampot from a silly man, hiring Willy to steal the strange nitrogen from the only man who had ordered it, Mr. Lexington.
Fidget managed to find the stash house of DeHarve after much tailing. He grabbed as many items of value that he could get his hands on (a surprisingly large amount) and made his escape. During which time he ran into Kael and Charity. Kael, thinking the worse, gave chase but was stopped by Charity, who had been helped by the Ratman earlier that week. Fidget also had a tremendous amount of silver, an item Kael needed to finish his engine. The trade was made and they went their separate ways.
With the horseless carriage supped up, it was time to race. The two cars burned rubber down the track until Mr. Rafferty’s front end literally twisted upon itself. The man was okay but shaken, as were all who witnessed the strange site. Blackmantle knew that the mechanic was a strange man indeed. An attempt to chat proved him to be a secretive one as well.
Finally, it was the day of the ball! The event is small compared to some but the fine weather of the evening and exotic decor made it quite popular with those who were fortunate enough to attend. Many men where in attendance and Charity received a fair amount of bouquets. During the party, she spoke at length with Baron Branford, Harold Wyndham, another man from their native country. They were interrupted but the presents of none other than Queen Elizabeth herself, who approved of Charity’s boldness of dress and commented on how lovely she looked, before attending to business with her father and a few others.
To the observant member of the party, it was obvious that trouble was brewing when several prominent members of foreign affairs moved away from the party to discuss urgent business. To most, it was just another pleasant party as the social season began to head towards a close.

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The Goat and the Hound

During the debutante ball, Blackmantle overheard that a man who goes by The Hound could be trusted to get a dirty job done. Blackmantle had need to have a man, Diedrick Lexington, followed, his moves recorded. He sent a servant to The Hound, requesting his service. With terms agreeable to both members through their medium, the Hound began to tail Mr. Lexington.
Risa is awakened to find that a member of her caravan has been taken. She takes it upon herself to try and find the missing girl. She asks for the help of Father Dobbs to ask about and see if anyone knows anything. The two begin to search.
The Masked Bandit stumbles over a serious beat down in Whitechapel. Turns out members of the McEwan gang have kidnapped one of Cutter’s illegitimate daughters. He’s heard that The Masked Bandit was pretty good about this kinda thing and he had his hands full with the situation in Whitechapel. Cutter let it drop that Kent Darvey was behind it as an incentive to get The Masked Bandit on the job. The Masked Bandit set out immediately to find the problem.
That night Risa had a vision that left clues that some evil lurked over the city and was the controlling force behind the kidnappings. The next day while searching they encounter The Masked Bandit, who is on the case as well. As they combine their clues, they figure out where the children might be.
Alistair’s watch seems pretty uneventful. The man receives a letter, no big. The next night, the man meets with a priest, Dunnsworth he overhears, in Bethnal Green and they discuss purifying sites. The next day is more tedious letter sending, however Father Dobbs request The Hounds assistance. While they discuss what is to be done, The Hound ask if Father Dobbs can inquire about a strange symbol he was asked to look into. He also mentions the meeting between Lexington and Father Dunnsworth. Father Dobb’s research show that the symbol belongs to The Prince’s Knot, a mystery cult. He is able to translate the ritual for the Hound.
The Masked Bandit has solved where the children are located and stole his way onto the ship in which they were contained. During his attempt, he is stopped by Kent Darvey. A brief confrontation leads The Masked Bandit to shot the molotov cocktail Darvey was going to throw at him, blowing up half of his face. After accessing the situation, he decides to rally the troops. The Masked Bandit, Risa, and a halfling friend of her’s sneak onto the ship while Cutter and his men, Officer McNaulty and a few of his trusted officers, The Hound, and Father Dobbs all take on the crew of this West End Terror ship. During the commotion, the children are easily secured below deck. As most of West End Terror is apprehended or have fled, the children are released and sent back to their families.
That Friday night, the summer solstice,five fires burned in different parts of the city. The more occult-minded could feel that something was up while most assumed that some crazy person may be on the loose. The papers over the next few days were full of news about the fires and the bust on the boat.
The Hound delivered his detailed report back to Thomas, who promptly delivered the information back to Blackmantle. He now had a name for what he hunted, an idea of their agenda, and how they were going about it. All he really needs to know now is how to identify them and who the rest of them are.

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The War at Home

The weeks following the kidnapping of Cutter’s illegitimate daughter were filled with violence between two rival gangs for control of Whitechapel; Cutter’s Crew and the McEwan gang, the newest addition to West End Terror. Each side decided that something must be done.

Blackmantle was hired to kill Cutter. The reasons were simple and the payment was ample. Without hesitation, he began his search. After staking out Cutter’s bar and bedding his daughter Blackmantle had Cutter’s moves all figured out. He waited til he was wasted, crept into his room, and ran him through the heart. Then he went out the window and into the night. Cutter’s Crew was without its namesake.

Before his demise, Cutter knew that he must find McEwan if he wanted Whitechapel to himself. To that end, he put Fidget to the task of ferreting him out. With little difficulty Fidget was able to track down McEwan right to his weapons storehouse. Cutter’s son, Butch, went in with a crew of heavy hitters to finish the problem. In the issuing conflict Butch was killed but not before he took down McEwan himself. The McEwan gang had reached its end.

Kael was asked by Phoenix Squadron to look into a matter of Queen and Country; Russian weapons have made their way into the black market of London. For this request he made a deal with “Hayden Rutherford” to be trained on how to fly a wyvern in return for figuring out who is behind the contraband. He went into the city to figure it out while trying out his new persona, Sid the American. During his search, he came across Fidget, who was in the process of securing east Whitechapel. Working together, they cleared out the last strong point of the McEwan gang. Kael, finding clues to the dead drops, got one step closer for figuring out where the weapons were coming from.

Charity’s sense of adventure continues to be fueled by the events around her. The mysterious events throughout the city have prompted her to start tracking them. Eloise Trinity invited Charity over for tea, interested in what she had heard about this young woman. Interested in Charity’s idea about doing charitable works for the lower class, Eloise has offered her assistance in any way she can and hoped to see her around the Adventurer’s Society more often. Her pocketwatch added some weight to her words. Blackmantle also took an interest in Charity’s actions, but more so about the mysterious fires and those who caused them. They agreed to keep each informed about the incident. Later that week, Charity went to Southwark to see what she could do for the people there. Finding a young boy whose fingers had been mangled by factory machines, she healed him of his wounds. Word of her kind actions have all ready began to spread.

Fidget, along with Cutter’s other son, have secured Whitechapel for their own interest. Finally having a place to call home, Fidget can begin to build his empire.

Blackmantle, having pleased the man who hired him, met his employer at a nice little restaurant. Turns out he was hired by Borozci, a kindly old man by day and a crime lord by night. Unaware of Borozci’s true nature, the two had a pleasant time. However, with West End Terror’s hand into the East End severed, he needs to find another way to build power.

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For the Love of the Hunt

The Hound was hired by a bland young man to take out The Apache. The job seemed simple enough until Alistair accidentally ran into him at the market where his sells his wars during the day. Risa decided it would be in Alistair’s best interest if she kept an eye out for him.

The Masked Bandit has noticed that Kent Darvey is recruiting new members to West End Terror on the far East End. As he went to investigate, he noticed that Darvey was using a strange watch to hypnotize men into doing his bidding. The Masked Bandit tried to stop him but Darvey disappeared.

Gage Price, a regular of Risa’s, came for a reading. Risa witnessed him shaking hands with a wolf and a dog. She knew that she had to warn Alistair that his mission might be staged somehow.

Father Dobbs received news that the Bishop of Stepney is stepping down, leaving the chance for advancement open for him. After reviewing the opinions of the other local priest, he is sure he has a chance to become the next bishop.

Later that week, The Masked Bandit came across Darvey up to his tricks again. This time Darvey would not escape as The Masked Bandit managed to shoot him in the ankle. He removed Darvey’s items, a gun and the pocket watch, and left him with a note on the door step of Scotland Yard. That night he had a dream of heading out to Hackney, waving the watch in front of a building, and hypnotizing strangers. When he awoke that morning, he was in his bedclothes in the Hackney. He came across Risa and asked her advice about the watch. She was able to translate the inscription on it and knew the item to be cursed. Unsure of how to be rid of it, they decided to take it to Father Dobbs to see if he had any advice. He said a prayer over it and the link of dark magic was severed. Afterwards, Risa went with Fain back to his place where he paid her for her services and got a reading from her. She say their two roads connecting and leading into a dark forest with bats blotting out the sun. They parted ways knowing that this was just the beginning of a journey. However, Darvey was found dead on the police doorstep, a bullet in his chest along with The Masked Bandit’s note making it look like he was to blame for the murder. Wanted posters blanketed the town for The Masked Bandit.

At long last, The Apache caught up to a waiting Hound. The Hound explained that he resented their situation. It was then that The Apache explained to him what was really at stake; that he thought himself the best and aimed to prove it to himself and The Union. The battle ensued but after a solid shot and a few well placed cracks from a gun cane The Apache fell dead at The Hound’s feet. He met up with his contact, a sour taste in his mouth from the deed that needed to be done but for the wrong reasons. However, he was offered a place as Head of Muscle within The Union. Alistair grudgingly accepted; best to work within this system for now, he could decided whether they continued or disbanded later.

After sunday’s sermon, Father Dobbs was approached but Sheldon Hearst with an interesting proposition. He had heard that Father Dobbs aimed to be the next Bishop of Stepney and wanted to help him bolster his chances of getting the position. In return, he wanted nothing. All he would give for an explanation was that he was a “concerned citizen”.

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Trip the Darkness

Big news greeted our characters this week. The Dash has finally finished undergoing repairs and may see action again in a few months. Charity got a message from her brother letting her know of the East India Company injustices and that he has joined up with some men looking to do some good for India. All the while, Fidget was stealing the weapons and the money from the dead drops around the area.

With news that The Dash has been repaired, Kael decided it was time to act before he lost his chance. He contacted Wiley Willy about getting a crew together to take his ship back. Willy said he would start asking around and see what kind of information he could dig up.

Fidget encountered a strangely dressed Goatman who asked a few strange questions, sprinkled some sand over him, laughed, and walked away before blinking out of existence. The man had with him a strange jug and a goat.

Charity was a popular girl when both Blackmantle and Kael showed up to her place at around the same time that morning. Blackmantle wanted Charity to help him look further into The Prince’s Knot. She agreed to have someone she knew look over everything. Kael wished to discuss the possibility of future adventures together and maybe of leaving London. Charity had taken Kael with her during some of her worked and, after healing a beaten man, she showed him why she would be hesitant to leave. The beaten man explained to them that Rollo Cork, a nasty tempered halfling, had done it to him trying to get information as to where Fidget might be. The man didn’t know.

However, that did not stop Rollo Cork from suddenly finding out where Fidget was. They fought for a bit before Kael and Charity showed up to help him. Kael managed to apprehend Rollo and remand him into custody of the local authorities.

Charity gave the info she had about the Prince’s Knot to Father Dobbs to further research the matter. He learned that it had strong relevance to the story of Lucifer’s fall and it looks like their intent is to bring him back. Later Charity was visited by Donovan Crofton who told her how he expected the Indian problem put down quickly.

Blackmantle himself went to get an outside opinion of the ritual from the Guild. The mage he spoke to hadn’t seen that one before but without know what original magical practice it was from he couldn’t know for sure; obviously not thaumaturge.
While Blackmantle was in Bishopsgate, he overheard Mr. Lexington and Father Dunnsworth talking down a dark alleyway. They were discussing how far along everything was and that their leader, Pan, had finally arrived, but also how one of their own was getting out of hand, even earning a nickname as the Soho Slasher. After talking about doing something about it soon, they blinked out of existence. Blackmantle decided to enlist the services of The Hound to find out more about what they were talking about.

Charity was asked by Sheela to help her sneak a statue into London as a surprise for her father. Charity agreed to the task of erasing the entry. Later on, the Baron came to escort Charity to a show in Soho. During their time together he told her about what he knew about the plight in India and that he had heard news about her brother joining up with some men he knew. He promised he would do what he could to keep her brother from harm.

Fidget managed to secure a printing press to put in his new place. After putting out an ad, he got Pierre Dubois to do the artwork for him. Now he is ready to begin printing his first penny dreadful.

Charity was successful in hiding the statue from her father and he was pleasantly surprised by it later.

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Fight the Power!

Blackmantle had hired the Hound to investigate more into The Prince’s Knot. He asked the Union to look into the matter and after a few days they had figured out who the members were and a little about how they communicate. The Hound also learned the name of the Soho Slasher, Geoffry Haddawick.

Several churches were missing relics. Groups of thugs broke into the churches, taking the money from the donation box and grabbing their relics. Father Dobbs spoke with the priest of the three churches that lost relics.

A strange group of gypsies are selling charms about town. Risa discovers that the charms are bad luck and go to investigate the group. That night she went to their camp to spy on them. While she was their she noticed a woman talking with her old vampire buddy. The charms are supposed to be given to criminals to foil their endeavors.

The Hound decided to hunt down Geoffry Haddawick to prevent him from preying on the Union’s prostitutes. He tracked him down to his place and managed to capture the man and leave him at Cutter’s.

Father Cunningham figured out that Father Chapman was behind the thefts.

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Preparations

Willy informs Kael that they need some basic info before they can really begin recruiting. He tells Kael that they will need a list of the employees, a lay-out of the place, the schedule of activities for the places, and the ship’s future plans. Luckily, Kael had been about the around and was able to draw up a map of the place. He was also able to get a copy of the activity schedule and a pass to look at the ship, but only on the condition that Kael babysits for him so him and the Mrs could go out for the evening.

During the earliest hours of Tuesday, Charity was awakened by the sounds of screaming and growling. She rushed downstairs to see an armed man getting attacked by her tiger. Turns out he was trying to assassinate Mr. Lockhart and hadn’t counted on the tiger. Charity felt concerned but Mr. Lockhart told her she had nothing to worry about.

Fidget begins selling his penny-dreadfuls around the city, hiring orphans at a decent sum to sell as many as they can. The wordless books turned out to be popular with the lower class and began to inspire orphans. Some people didn’t take too kindly to the idea.

Kael enlisted Charity’s help in their babysitting endeavor. Neither of them had any experience in the subject and found the child just horrible. However, he got his pass to visit his ship.

Fidget was visited by Stokey, head of the Quick Hand, who demanded that Fidget keep his penny-dreadful out of St. Giles or else their will be trouble. Undisturbed Fidget just made that the subject of his next story. The next day he noticed a sign on a nearby tenement building. Turns out the back has foreclosed on it and is willing to let it go for 10 pounds. While expensive, he thought it would be a good place to house his future army.

Kael went out to Wormwood Scrubs to get a list of who was employed there. While he was there he met Bertram Entwhistle, a dwarf fascinated by flying machines and an old friend of Archie’s. They made plans to all meet up later that evening. Having all the info he could get, he turned it into Willy so he could begin recruiting.

Mr. Lockhart went on a date with Sheela but was killed during a skirmish with an assassin. Charity was informed of the tragic event the next morning. Preparations were made and the funeral was held that Saturday. During the funeral, Eloise Trinity picked up Mr. Lockhart’s pocketwatch and gave it to Charity, claiming she may need it one day.

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For the Good of the Common Man

Alistair arranges to meet with Blackmantle so he gave deliver Geoffry Haddawick to him. Blackmantle chose to execute Haddawick without ceremony and move on to remove the rest of The Prince’s Knot.

A strike at The Three Mills gin distillery has caused discord amongst the population. A lot of people in Bethnal Green support the strike and either work there or know people who do. The group of strikers was being led by Graham Cunningham, a charismatic young man who is sympathetic to the plight of the workers. The gypsies in the surrounding area have also been facing hard times without a working populace. Going to investigate, Father Dobbs learns the reasons behind the strike but is on the fence about his position.

Later that night, The Masked Bandit overhears that a group of thugs are going to try to break up the strike. That next day, with Father Dobbs, Fain, and Alistair in the audience, the thugs try to break up the strike. After witnessing the abuses from the thugs against innocent people the three men take to their defense and smashed the thugs. Graham thanks them for their help and Alistair volunteers to help them, for a price.

Father Cunningham hears about what happens and thanks Father Dobbs. Turns out that Graham is his son and would be willing to back Dobbs’ play for Bishop if he will keep his son safe from harm. Father Dobbs agrees since he was planning on keeping tabs on the strike anyway.

Later, Alistair instructs Graham on how to extort what you want from people and how to start a union. All that is required is that a portion of the dues goes to The Union for protection.

Lee Magilton, the manager of The Three Mills distillery, met with Dobro of West End Terror to discuss the permanent removal of Graham Cunningham. Dobro says that he will take care of the situation. Unfortunately for them, the conversation was overheard by The Masked Bandit and Risa. They followed Dobro and jumped him when they had the opportunity. After a pitched fight they managed to knock Dobro out with thrown grappling hook to the head. After questioning, most of their worst fears were confirmed. However, they decided to do something about the immediate problem and slowly staked Dobro out on the street, turning him to ash within minutes.

The next day, bolstered by knowledge of how to lean on someone, Graham went back to negotiate. Without his reinforcements to kill Graham, Mr. Magilton agreed to an additional 2 pence, would install guard rails, and would shorten the work day to 10 hours.

Dr. Dawson came around Risa’s encampment and mentioned that the people of Bethnal Green were receptive of the gypsies and wouldn’t mind if they set up in their marketplace. He also seemed to have eyes for Risa’s sister, from who he was buying herbs.

The Masked Bandit got a few new pieces of gear to help him in his task and after his aid helped the strikers, people are beginning to doubt the fact that The Masked Bandit is a murderer.

A group of men, strong and loyal, came to Alistair in the hopes of joining up with him. They feel he is a part of something better and are willing to stand with him if it means benefiting society.

Father Cunningham came around to let Father Dobbs know that he would back him for bishop as his plate was full. Lord Velsullius came around and wanted to reward Father Dobbs for his hard work and offered to put forth the money for a special show at his church next sunday. After his sermon that next day, Father Dobbs saw Sheldon Hearst waiting in the back after the crowd had passed. He congratulated him on his new position and told him that he should look into the Thulian Order if he wanted to know the source of his issues.

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King of the Hill

Charity goes to Mr. Schwartz, the family lawyer, to sort out the family fortune. In a rare turn of events, she is the only person Mr. Lockhart had left so she can inherit. The holdings are the estate, the docks and properties of the Isle of Dogs, the museum in Bethnal Green, and the warehouse in Bermondsey. The bureaucracy is in place so she needn’t worry much about the business but she is free to do with it as she wishes.

There was a knock at Fidget’s door; a young ratman with a bullet wound in his shoulder in need of assistance. Charity was about to offer some assistance while the boy told Fidget that he was forced to steal by Bill Sikes who ran the local workhouse. An angered Fidget hires the Hound to help him deal with the matter. They gather a crew and head into Bill’s Workhouse. A battle ensues Bill and his men are beaten and forced to stop their operation.

Blackmantle sends a message to Charity with a request to speak to her about a particular matter. Kael also sends word to he would like to discuss plans with Charity. Blackmantle is the first to arrive and meets her in the study. He expresses his sorrow for her loss and offers his assistance in bringing those responsible to swift justice. He reveals that his has many skills in such a field and would be willing to lend her his talents. This gives her much to think about. So do the plans for the India Mutiny Contingency she finds on her father’s desk. When Kael arrives and revels his plans to steal back his airship and invites her to come along, she seemed to consider the option. She did at least give Kael the plans concerning his airship.

A messenger is intercepted from Lee Monks, another Workhouse operator like Sikes, who works for Viktor Gavrilla. He uses the children there as spies and messengers for the Agents of the Queen. Monks hardly puts up a fight, knowing full well that the Hound and the gang has him beat. He gives up that it was all Viktor’s idea.

Blackmantle follows Gavrilla to his favorite bar, The Red Rover. While there, he studies the man, waiting for his chance to strike. The opportunity presents itself, his whiskey glass. With a deft move, a lethal portion of arsenic pours into Viktor’s drink. Blackmantle then takes his leave, knowing full well that the alcohol and arsenic cocktail will be his last drink. Within no time Viktor Gavrilla, Agent of the Queen and follower of The Prince’s Knot fell dead to the bar floor.

Blackmantle then receives a strange request; transport Bill Sikes to Der Aufhocker in Bishopsgate. He takes the beaten man to the strange shop where he is given a mirror can and a box of Cigars of Obscuring as a gift.

Charity went to speak to Dr. Khan about his interest in buying the museum. He is very interested in the idea and is in the works to getting the school to agree, which he is sure will be no trouble. He promised he would make sure it was well taken care of.

Fidget decided to put a payment down on the nearby tenement building. After negotiating with the banker, he agreed to let it go for 12 pounds; 1 paid as a down payment and the rest paid monthly. Then he handed Fidget the keys. A home/office, a printing press, and now a place for those with him to live. There is nowhere else to go but up

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