Previously On: Horror on the Orient Express Quick Summary
Our investigation on and off the Simplon-Orient Express continue! Since our last update we've seen:
Our investigators meet up with a surviving, if gravely injured Professor Smith and Mr. Beddows. From this pair, they gained clues, tickets, and funding for their journey along the Simplon-Orient Express.
Have come to understand that the Sedefkar Simulacrum is a dangerous artifact, statuary that describes an alternate model for humanity. Its eldritch powers must be eliminated and can only be done so when fully assembled.
Myra attempted to better understand the Simulacrum and witnessed another presence moving toward the statue in the great abyss.
They also followed up on a lead concerning a model train, which led them to the home of Arthur Butter. Butter was relieved to have the investigators claim the model train, which had been blamed for the disappearance of Henry Stanley, train enthusiast. The investigators became aware the the model was more than what it appeared.
They set off for France along the London-Calais extension! They encountered some lonely travelers along the route, including retired businessman Maximillian Rubin and mysteriously unemployed Dolores del Luna. Mable Edwards opted to hire Dolores as a secretary of her ongoing notes about the investigation. Meanwhile, Myra disclosed a close encounters of sorts to Bernard.
Following the ferry trip, much of Mable's luggage was left behind at Calais's customs inspection.
Coming in late to Paris, Myra--now in familiar stomping grounds--set off to find an encampment of her people. There, she asked after the old names she had heard from Smith and Beddows. She was pointed to the village of Poissy to the west, but that the name Fenalik is not one to be spoken of loudly. She repaid the information with a story.
Meanwhile, the other investigators reassembled the model train in an ill-used trainyard. Yuri flipped the switch while Mable attempted to mimic Myra's earlier mystical abilities. The train, in time, roared in on the tracks. Its pallid travelers wrestled with Yuri and Nils to get them on the train while Sebastian and Bernard saw the distraught face of Henry Stanley aboard the second car. Yuri dodged into the phantom train, only to find himself locked within! Robin circled around, caught the edge of the train, and was able to pull Yuri to safety just as the train drove through a hole in the very fabric of space itself! The figure of Randolph Alexis, occultist, was also within, but Stanley raved that the man was mad, a monster, and so the model was packed together for later studying. Some, though, believe it should be destroyed.
The next day, Tuesday, January 9th, 1923 to be specific, the investigation continued. Yuri and Sebastian set off for the Bibliotheque Nationale where they recruited Remi Vangeim for research. Mable and Myra sought out the Milan connection from local antiquarians. Robin looked into potential transportation for the region, meeting Giselle, the lead mechanic in a French speedster garage. Bernard called ahead, making plans for the travels ahead while Nils was called away on Wagon-Lits business.
After procuring an unusual book from the lady antiquarian, Mable and Myra walked right into a young student and artist, Lucien Lajoie. To apologize for his clumsiness, Lucien offered the pair lunch and coffee before taking them to La Musée du Louvre for the afternoon. There, Myra seemed to hear a sketch of an unnamed nobleman chuckle in the gallery. This offered a vision of the original sketch, but the nobleman seemed somehow aware of her vision, turning to her and suggestively licking his lips.
Lucien took his leave while the band met for dinner in the evening, sharing their discoveries and plans. Myra arranged to join Lucien for an evening stroll along the Seine, fumbling her attempt to evade Mable who was intent on recruiting Lucien for a "book club" of sorts. Mable returned to her reading with her brandy near at hand. Yuri stepped out for a bit of training where he heard that a bout had lost a contender, before finding his way to a red doorway elsewhere in Paris.
Bernard and Sebastian took coffee looking upon the regal Eiffel Tower where they came across a boisterous and somewhat gassed American describing his time in the Spanish Civil War. Bernard, beside himself, requested a signature from the author. Sebastian, eager to please, mentioned that they were acquainted with Yuri Nekal. His interest piqued, the author asked if a fight was expected. Sebastian assured him there would be and the author passed along the line for his hotel where the details could be shared.
Come the morning, Yuri was quickly informed that he would be expected for a bout that evening and that must be planned. Yuri would get back to his research, but planned to spend the afternoon with Bernard fine-tuning his skills. Bernard, distracted by the fight, attempted to learn where the Lady Edwards had gotten off to, before stumbling down a rabbit hole for the morning.
Mable and Myra enjoyed a mid-week Mass at Notre Dame de Paris, a calming repose after the ghostly and eldritch encounters of the last few days.
With clues in hand, Sebastian set off to play towel-boy to Yuri for the evening bout, having passed along the details to the author's hotel. And there would be more festivities afterward!
Henry Stanley, having been rescued from the train, has been resting at the hotel, though he did join Mable and Myra for mass. He is a bit lost, with only a vague literary knowledge of French, in Paris. He is eager to find care. Bernard looked into sanitaria, but coming across a grim recent tale decided it best to send Henry by car and boat back to London. He was interrogated, if gently, by the investigators, before then.
To help our investigators navigate the many paths and leads of the Horror on the Orient Express, we've put together a Trello board! This is a helpful toolkit ostensibly designed for project management, but it works great to track NPCs, locations, artifacts, clues, and more in games like Horror on the Orient Express. You can find it at https://trello.com/b/wGt3Bi47.
Images from Chaosium's Horror on the Orient Express, Photographer Pierre "Yvon" Yves-Petit, or Wikimedia Commons respectively.
