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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2013 23:47:12 GMT -5
(There are others possibly joining this thread with Madame Vastra. If you have interest in participating, feel free to contact us about it or post in the Events OOC thread of "A Victorian Master PLot". This thread and its sibling thread will both be part of "The Master Plan" related event threads)
The date was November 4th, 1891. It has been exactly six months since the great Sherlock Holmes vanquished the evil Moriarty. At the same time, many believed the great detective himself to have died in the conflict. Despite this, crime is still on the rise in London. Three months earlier, however, a mysterious object had fallen from the sky and crashed outside the city. The entire area of the crash site has been seized by Her Majesty's Torchwood Institute, and no clear signs of WHAT crashed has been made available to the public knowledge.
Crime in London is still on the rise. If anything, it has risen even more since the death of the Napolean of Crime, Professor James Moriarty. In the Eastern Ends of London, where in particular a large Asian Community had been forming the past several years, there's been a rise in violent crimes from an organized group of immigrants, lead by a pair of warlords whom they simply address as "The Dragon and the Tiger". They say those who stare into his eyes see nothing but pure evil.
Of other important news, Professor Moriarty's estate, as per instructions of his will, has been passed down to an unknown associate. Anything relating to Moriarty's criminal organization, as far as Scotland Yard has been sure of, has been removed from the large estate and large acres. As far as the law was concerned, there's been nothing that said the man could not receive it.
A large carriage, pulled by a pair of horses, stopped before the home of Madame Vastra. The coachman stepped off and opened the door for his passenger. Stepping down from the steps was a man of age 44. He was slightly overweight, this was true, and held a very high and influential position within the British Government. He was also the elder brother of the late Great Detective, Mycroft Holmes. He walked alone to the doorstep of Madame Vastra's home and knocked. Holding a ledger under his arm, he waited patiently for a response to his knocking.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2013 19:07:55 GMT -5
Madame Vastra was shifting through some papers on her elegant mahogany desk, some past cases that were recently completed. Although all the cases were closed, it was nice to look through her victories. Suddenly, a knocking rang from the door. She kept eyeing the papers in front of her, and hollered, " Jenny, would you please get the door?"
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Post by River Song on Jun 22, 2013 21:27:55 GMT -5
Suddenly, a knocking rang from the door. [Vastra] kept eying the papers in front of her, and hollered, "Jenny, would you please get the door?"Dressed in her black and white maid's uniform, Jenny kept up the illusion that she was no more than a mere servant of the mysterious veiled woman who lived here. Initially, when Jenny heard the knock, she did nothing. She was waiting for Strax to answer the knock at the door. However, it seemed that he was otherwise occupied, and Vastra had asked Jenny to step up and fill in for their erstwhile butler. With a strained smile, Jenny stopped what she was doing and gave a little bow of her head in her boss and wife's direction. "Yes, Ma'am," she said. "But... Isn't that Strax's job, now?" She held up her hands defensively and quickly rambled on, "Not that I mind, Ma'am. T' be sure..." With a little curtsey, Jenny excused herself to go see to whoever was knocking on their door. She opened the door and smiled warmly at the well-dressed gentleman on their stoop. "Good day, Sir...?" Jenny greeted their guest, while she gestured for him to come on inside. "Please, come in - how can we be of assistance?" Of course he wanted something from them. Jenny knew that much right off the bat - no one came calling unless they wanted to hire the Paternoster Gang...
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Valeyard
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My favorite villain is: ...I prefer "Byronic antihero", if you please.
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Post by Valeyard on Jul 3, 2013 4:29:23 GMT -5
Day's duties done, Strax had been settling down in his private room for the evening. He had scouted out every corner for hidden cameras, checked under the bed for enemy spies and finally peeked out into the hallway to make sure Madame Vastra and Jenny weren't approaching, before sitting down and pulling a brown paper bag from a desk drawer.
He upturned the paper back over the desk. A light rattling sound was accompanied by a puff of white powder as a number of small, round, pink objects the approximate size of Lunarkensiel hallucinogenic micro-grenades fell out, and Strax's beady eyes lit up, pointed tongue running slowly across his lips.
Moments later came a sharp knocking sound, and the paper bag fell from his fingers, fluttering somewhere under the desk. His guilty conscience had sharpened his reflexes, and the Sontaran butler was already powering up his blaster by the time he realized that the sound was a knocking at the front door - and that as butler to the Paternoster Row house, it was now his duty to answer.
Hastily, he scooped up the bon-bons and shoved them into the pockets of his smart black jacket. Heedless to the three-fingered handprints of white icing sugar on his jacket, he hurried down the corridor and nudged his way past Jenny.
"Out of my way, lad," he muttered. He cleared his throat and raised his head to look up at the human man who stood on the doorstep, his eyes immediately darting to the ledger in his hands.
"I apologize for the boy's impudence. May I take your weapons?" he offered politely.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2013 11:00:04 GMT -5
Mycroft looked at the both of them for a moment. Then to the Butler. Exactly as his brother described him. Head shaped like a potato, bald, short but heavy set build, and thick fingers.
"Thank you, but I do not have any weapons on my person. You may take my coat and hat however, Mr. Strax" he said as he slipped off his heavy coat and hat and presented them to Strax. Mycroft then turned to Jenny. "Madame Jenny I presume." The tone of his voice didn't give any indication of confusion or need of clarification when it came to her identity. "I am here to see Madame Vastra. Tell her I am Mycroft Holmes. I am here because of business relating to my brother's...death. Sherlock Holmes. It is a matter of great urgency and I wish not to be delayed."
His free hand rested on the pommel of his cane as he waited. His other arm had scarcely released the ledger, except when he had to remove his sleeve to give Strax his coat.
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Post by River Song on Jul 7, 2013 20:32:55 GMT -5
Jenny frowned as Strax pushed his way past her, but she made a point of not making a fuss about it - it wouldn't be worth it in the long run, and she didn't wish to frighten away a prospective client. "I apologize for the boy's impudence. May I take your weapons?" [Strax] offered politely."Thank you, but I do not have any weapons on my person. You may take my coat and hat however, Mr. Strax" he said as he slipped off his heavy coat and hat and presented them to Strax. Mycroft then turned to Jenny. "Madame Jenny, I presume." The tone of his voice didn't give any indication of confusion or need of clarification when it came to her identity.Jenny gave a little curtsey and replied, "Yes, Sir." "I am here to see Madame Vastra. Tell her I am Mycroft Holmes. I am here because of business relating to my brother's... death. Sherlock Holmes. It is a matter of great urgency and I wish not to be delayed.""Of course, Sir. I shall tell 'er you are 'ere, Mr. Holmes," Jenny said, curtseying again and then scurrying off into the house to alert Vastra. ~~~~~ "Ma'am, there's a Mr. Mycroft Holmes 'ere t' see ya," Jenny dutifully reported to her wife / boss. "'S about 'is brother's death," she said. "I expect Strax'll be coming along with 'im momentarily."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2013 17:34:33 GMT -5
"Ma'am, there's a Mr. Mycroft Holmes 'ere t' see ya," Jenny dutifully reported to her wife / boss. "'S about 'is brother's death," she said. "I expect Strax'll be coming along with 'im momentarily."
Her head looked up from the occupied desk, to see Jenny announcing our visitor. " Of course. Thank you, Jenny." She simply replied, walking to one of the exquisite velvet chairs that were surrounding a small, refined, coffee table. Delicately folding the elegant black dress she decided to wear today, excluding the veil, she sat down, awaiting the arrival of Mr. Holmes, in the warm, but dark colored room.
She had heard a great deal about Mycroft's brother, and his detective skills that were proclaimed throughout London. A pity that he is deceased, whether or not she knew all he details.
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Valeyard
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You cannot speak as though reality is a one-dimensional concept...
Posts: 757
My favorite villain is: ...I prefer "Byronic antihero", if you please.
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Post by Valeyard on Jul 13, 2013 6:21:46 GMT -5
No weapons? This..."Mycroft Holmes"...was foolish, to reveal those strategic details so soon - before he had even set foot over the threshold of their base.
Unless... As Strax took the coat and hat and draped them over one arm, his eyes fixed on the ledger under the man's arm with undisguised suspicion. He was going to keep a very close eye on this human...
"Follow me, human male." Beckoning with one sausage-like finger, he turned and headed down the corridor. He stopped outside the door to Madame Vastra's small office sitting room and opened the door for the guest, standing back politely with a small bow.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2013 13:51:22 GMT -5
Mycroft stepped into the meeting room. Looking towards the black garmented woman, he saw the being before him had reptilian origins of some sort, but certain features on her face and figure definitely showed signs of being female.
At least, by humanoid standards.
"Madame Vastra," he said with a small bow. "My late brother spoke highly of your skills. And with a manner of respect I rarely see him show to many women save for yourself and another." (OOC: For those of you who have read the original short stories or seen the movies, I'm pretty sure you know exactly who this other woman is.)
Looking to a chair facing Vastra's, he turned back to her and asked, "May I be seated?"
Winter had come early, it seemed. At least, to the opinion of this man currently running down the streets of the dark London night. He was an unusual sight to behold. He was Asian by his ethnicity for one, dressed in shabby clothes for another, and running down the streets of a neighborhood normally associated with the "Superior White" peoples native to the lands of Great Britain, and a much more expensive neighborhood at that.
There was something else odd about the man. He was clutching a severe injury inflicted on his left arm. It looked almost like a portion of it had been amputated, and the rags wrapped around it showed no signs of severe blood loss or blood stains. And yet still, this man's face was strained as if the accident had happened only recently.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2013 14:11:09 GMT -5
Madame Vastra looked at the man who had just entered, Mycroft Holmes.
"Madame Vastra," he said with a small bow. "My late brother spoke highly of your skills. And with a manner of respect I rarely see him show to many women save for yourself and another."
She nodded her head in respect, keeping her straight, stern expression, " Thank you. I would say the same to your late brother. I have heard some of his more, interesting cases, and compliment on his skills."
Looking to a chair facing Vastra's, he turned back to her and asked, "May I be seated?"
" Of course." She answered, reaching her hand out to the vacant chair in front of her. " Would you like some tea?" She asked in pure politeness.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2013 9:00:06 GMT -5
Having guided the human male to Madame Vastra's room, Strax closed the door behind this Mycroft person and took up his usual position of standing outside with the visitor's coat and hat. This was the usual thing to do when the reptillian detective had a client visiting her. The Sontaran believed he should stay on guard in case anything went wrong. People could be deceiving, and if a client ever tried to destroy a member of the Paternoster Gang, Strax preferred to be ready to obliterate them before they could say 'grenades'.
A downside of this, however, was that he had to stand on his short legs for quite some time, depending on who the client was. In battle he coud have done this no problem. With the blasts and the weapons and the adrenalin, he could go for days running about on his legs and shooting at the enemy. But without it all, Strax found it to be somewhat tedious. Though this time, thankfully, he had some treats in his pocket that would make it easier. Reaching into his pocket and taking out one of the said bon-bons, the potato warrior looked about to make sure Jenny was out of sight, and opened his mouth to eat the sweet.
The three-fingered hand was halfway towards the brown mouth when a flicker of movement outside the window of the house caught Strax's eye. Combat instincts immediately kicking in, he once again pocketed his bon-bon and scurried over to peer outside. It was a normal Victorian night, nothing out of the ordinary. Except...there! A human hurrying up the street. They were a bit too far away for Strax to make a guess at their gender. They didn't look completely...right, though. Strax soon realised why as he caught sight of the stump at the end of a short arm. The human had clearly had an accident. Being a nurse as well as a warrior, the Sontaran quickly decided to help them. He opened the front door of the house and went outside.
"You!" he said to the human. "Human...male!" It was still difficult for him to tell if the human was male or female, but he was just making a guess. "Come inside, let me help you. What happened to your arm?"
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2013 22:53:50 GMT -5
Mycroft hesitated for a moment. Then nodded.
"Yes I believe some tea would be fine this evening."
He set his ledger down and opened it on the table in front of him. "Tell me, Madame. What do you know of Professor Moriarty?"
The asian man looked to Strax with shock and bewilderment. He began sputtering something in some oriental tongue. Very possibly he was Chinese. Yes, his dialect was definitely Chinese. It took him a while to regain his senses, until he finally grasped Strax's arm.
"THE DRAGON!" he said in plain English. "BEWARE...BEWARE THE DRAGON!"
With that he passed out.
Once inside, however, and once his left arm was given a better chance to be examined, one may notice a strange thing. Towards the end of the "stump" of his arm...the flesh had twisted and curled at a certain point, as if trying to cover the point his arm may have been severed. But at the very center of his "Stump" was a very miniaturized arm. Like the kind of arm that would belong on a very small doll as opposed to a man. Actually, a doll smaller than even the dolls of Victorian times. This clearly could not have been caused by any Earth Technology at this Time Period.
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Post by River Song on Aug 2, 2013 12:52:58 GMT -5
"Tell me, Madame. What do you know of Professor Moriarty?" their newest client asked after he'd settled down into a chair opposite Madame Vastra. Jenny wheeled in the tea cart and proceeded to pour cups for Mr. Holmes and Mme. Vastra. While she poured the tea, she thought she'd speak up and share what little she knew of this Prof. Moriarty. "Ain't 'e th' bloke wot killed yer brother?" Jenny casually asked. "I 'fink I read that in th' newspaper..." she explained. Jenny took pains to keep herself well-informed on the goings-on in their city. It often helped with solving cases, but it also helped with finding new clients. "But... didn't 'e die, too?" Jenny asked.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2013 16:55:55 GMT -5
Vastra let Jenny pour some tea for Mr. Holmes and herself, before replying, " Ah, yes, I have heard a good amount to educate myself."
"Ain't 'e th' bloke wot killed yer brother?" Jenny casually asked. "I 'fink I read that in th' newspaper..." she explained. Jenny took pains to keep herself well-informed on the goings-on in their city. It often helped with solving cases, but it also helped with finding new clients.
"But... didn't 'e die, too?" Jenny asked.
Madame Vastra nodded in agreement with Jenny," Yes, I heard as well that he was the man that ended your brother. But if he did indeed die along with your brother, then what troubles you?" She asked curiously. Leaning forward, and held the tea in her hands, taking a quiet sip.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2013 13:21:22 GMT -5
(Ooc: posting from phone while in car. Strax, sorry for skipping you this round, you can post in the next one and I will post as your new patient when you do)
"Yes quite so," mycroft responded as he sipped his tea. "Professor James Moriarty, mathematical genious and the Napoleon of Crime, as Sherley called him. He was in charge of the greatest criminal organization our great empire has ever known, maybe even in the entire world. Not even the crime families in Italy could match his in size or what it was capable of doing."
He took another calm sip of his tea, displaying what some might consider an unnatural calmness while discussing the murderer of his younger brother. This was either Mycroft's own similar ability to Sherlock to not allow his emotions to hinder his work, or to some more pessimistic or wildly imaginative viewers who barely knew the man, perhaps he and Sherlock were not the best of siblings.
"Despite the loss of their leader the crime hasn't stopped, rather, as I am sure you have noticed, it has increased dramatically. Some might think it is the remnants of his organization acting wildly. Some think his organization was so developed it could become self sufficient in the event something occured to their leader. My own deductions into this matter say otherwise. There is a new game of shadows over London, Madame. A new threat. I believe there is a new master at the helm of this dark organization. There have been rumors of new overlords in the oriental district. A monster running through the streets of Soho (yes, rper got to visit soho, and I don't recommend it). Spreading of a new powerful drug. Increased crime from the orientals and our own proud and pure race. And yes, there are still those within our own government within both the houses of lords and commons (also went there too very nice) who still hold ties with Moriarty's organization that we do not yet have enough evidence to legally arrest them."
He leaned back in his chair. "Now to address your involment. Professor Moriarty had many possessions that he acquired illegally. Some we have been able to track down, and some we have not. The sort of possessions a mathematical professor's salary would not be able to obtain without years of saving spare funds, personal gift, or of course illicit activities. One such thing is a large estate of land outside of London. Officially, it was left to someone in Moriarty's will, and sadly, because of several legal technicalities and loopols, we of the British Government have been unable to seize it. Only recently, the rightful recipient of the estate mysteriously appeared some time back and has laid claim to it. He now resides in it and is currently becoming the newest member of British high society. He will be holding a Gand party at his estate soon. The first social gathering he has announced since his time here, and many members of the upperclass, along with some prominent members of the middle class, beuracracy, and nobility will be attending. I, myself, have acquired an invitation to this gathering, and it allows me to bring a small party of guests of my choosing. I wish to request your services to accompany me to this gathering, and to observe. This man...whoever he is, I have a strong...I suppose the proper term would be 'hunch' that this gathering, or better yet, this mysterious man with no name but a title, is somehow involved with all of this. This party will be occurring tomorrow evening at eight o'clock P.M. Her Majesty and our Great Empire's government will pay for whatever expenses and charge you request, within reasonable range of course. Will you take on this assignment?"
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