Schwob's log...

MI6s team of enhanced individuals have subdued the horror of sidney Square Gardens and are now attempting to discover where it came from. MI6s team consists of Alfie Baldrick, the one man rifle section; Mimi Dubois, maîtresse of skills; Madeline Forsyth, the living shadow; and Sven Hyse, the Norwegian shapeshifter.

London, England, September 1949

I come around slowly after the initial effects of the heavy sedative that Sven had administered, the pain is still there in the background, but is lessened, as are my reflexes and thought patterns. I discover that the others are just about to head down Sidney Street to investigate a house that one of the policemen has identified, and so I stagger after them with a drug hazed smile across my face. As we are exiting the gardens a large nondescript truck is waved through the police barriers and men in full hazardous material suits begin to climb out of it. We step beyond the barriers and Madeline looks around, when Charlie asks what she is looking for Madeline tells him that she is making sure that there are no photographers around, Charlie smiles knowingly and responds;

It's all right, it was Alfie that they photographed last time.

The outside of number 68 Sidney Street is smeared with acidic slime across its wall and front door. I push out with my enhanced senses but when I detect nothing I signal the all clear to the others. Madeline knocks on the door and an older lady answers, it is obvious that she is shaken and Madeline flashes her credentials and after a few questions discovers that the house owner is called Ava Potts and she saw the horror stagger down the street and glance off of the outside of her house. When Madeline asks her what she did next she answers;

Went to the kitchen and made a strong cup of tea my dear, the best thing to steady your nerves.

Sven was outside the front of the house searching for further signs of the horror and discovers more signs of its passing further south. We follow the Norwegian tracker as he leads us past a damaged car and a dented lamppost, as we are moving Sven looks back over his shoulder and informs us that the acidic effects are lessening the further back along its path we travel. Between number 30 and 24 Sidney Street Sven discovers a newly smashed hole in the fence, he steps through and continues to track the horror backwards across the derelict wasteland that had once been houses before the blitz had destroyed them. He leads us out into Bromehead Street where he finally loses sight of any trace, Madeline spots some children playing further down the street and when asked they tell her that they saw something coming from the south and crossing the land.

After a short search, Sven once again picks up the track in Antcliff Street. He tells us that the size of the footprints are shrinking back down towards human size, and as he says that Madelinespots a pair of broken shoes in the middle of the street. Next she spots items of torn clothing and hands them all to Baldrick and asks him to look for any sign of a name or identification within while she continues to search the street. Charlie discovers a wallet in one of the pockets and Harry says aloud;

This shirt is oddly damp!

Charlie hands the wallet back to Madeline and shes rifles through it discovering a number of business cards all linked to someone who might operate as a machinist or tool maker. Sven continues to backtrack his quarry into Bromehead Road and then down to Commercial Road, but given the footfall along such a main road he once again loses sight of the trail. But the sharp eyed Madeline spots a discarded tie laying on the path to the left of the junction. Madeline takes a moment to have a look at the business cards again, and she is convinced that it is more likely that we are seeking a watchmaker. We split into two groups with Charlie and myself heading along Aylward Street while Harry, Madeline and Sven head down Commercial Road.

Thirty yards into Aylward Street I spot a sign that gives me hope that we are on the right trail. The sign reads;

Leopold Schwob - Maker of fine chronoscopes and repeater watches

Looking around, Charlie spots a man sitting in the window of the George Tavern directly opposite and we head over to him. The lecherous man, who we were soon to discover was called Quinn and was the landlord of the public house, could barely tear his gaze from my figure and very quickly unbolted the door and admitted us to his closed bar. while Charlie informed Harry mentally that we had found something, I question Quinn and discovered that Schwob had come rushing out of his shop a couple of hours ago and had headed in the direction of Commercial Road, looking distressed. I asked Quinn if Schwob was wearing a suit and he said;

Yeah he was. And so was the other guy who turned up later!

When I pushed what other man, Quinn said that he saw a gentleman in a hat and wearing glasses went into Schwob's shop after he had left. With a shiver of fear running down my spine I pushed out with my senses again and breathed a sigh of relief when I discovered nothing except the rest of the team in range. Charlie lets the others into the George Tavern while I keep Quinn distracted, which isn't difficult, and then Charlie lets them know what we have discovered. Madeline quickly slips into the toilet and transforms into her shadow form before slipping out of the public house and across the road into number 3 Aylward Road.

Inside she finds an horologists shop and a watchmakers workshop, as she slides around the counter she can see that the space is in mild disarray and one of the display cases is recently cracked. She heads into the workshop and searches through the cabinets and drawers, between two of the cabinets she discovers a folded piece of document that had clearly slipped there by accident. when she opens it up she finds that it is a blueprint for a clockwork device of some description. She pockets the blueprint and heads back to the tavern.

Madeline shows me the plans, and I look upon them with my borrowed horologists ability. The blueprints make sense but offend me with what seem like impossible connections and placement of clockwork wheels and gears. When I explain what I am feeling to Madeline she reaffirms her belief that it is linked to the occult. Madeline puts a telephone call through to the Smartly Dressed Man and informs him what we are up to and what we have discovered so far. The Smartly Dressed Man says that he will arrange for a forensics team to be placed on standby for when we have secured the scene. Madeline heads back to the property and slips through a curtain and up the stairs. On the first floor she discovers a neat and tidy bedroom, a very clean bathroom and kitchen, and a comfortable and tidy living room. Nothing looks disturbed and it is clear that Schwob was a meticulous man.

On a table in the living room Madeline finds three brass spheres laying end to end. She reaches out a shadowy hand and prods the sphere on the end with her finger, all three balls roll as one across the table and it is obvious that they are a single unit. She picks them up and manipulates the three spheres and is able to form them into a triangle shape. She wraps them up in a dollie and heads back down to the front door where she picks the lock. While she is doing so, she spots the tell tale signs that someone else has recently pick this lock. The lock clicks open and she waves the rest of the team across the road and into the shop.

Once inside we split up, Baldrick literally, and search the building from top to bottom. Within the workshop one of the Baldricks, I forget which one, discovers a book logging all of Schwob's jobs. I grab it off of him and sit down to read. The last entry is dated Wednesday 14th September 1949, yesterday, and is written in a frantic and messy hand;

Dr B seemed to be in a sad, distracted mood when he collected the device. I think he has booked a trip on a boat. He left the Veränderung here last night by accident. It is an enigma and his final “toy”.

He said he has no need of the others, this is the one he will keep. If I had the Any Key I could turn it on and see what it can do. Maybe I can contrive my own key before he returns

I continue to flick backwards through the log book and find a further entry dated Saturday 14th May 1949;

I have no idea what I am creating! Dr B is certainly not telling me everything. The plans make no sense. Why does a clockwork device need a power source? What is that power source? I have so many questions and Dr B is being evasive again! I think he has booked a trip on a boat.

The Smartly Dressed Man telephones through to Canning Place Mews and tells Isy that the horror has been successfully transported to Hanslope Park. Isy relays the information to Charlie who informs the rest of the team. Madeline asks Charlie to contact Jonny at Hanslope Park and to get him to find the Horologist, Horst Landrock, and let him know what we have found. Jonny enters the Officers Mess through the kitchens, as he passes a Major hands him his empty glass which Jonny just sets down on another table as he walks through. Jonny steps up to Landrock and tells him that we have found where the brass spheres were made. Horst looks astounded before shouting;

Don't just stand there man! Get me a car and take me to them immediately!

Jonny quickly signs out a car from the motorpool, using the authority of Madeline to do so, and duplicates out Billy to drive Landrock to London. Concerned that Jonny still hasn't been able to find Major Sawdon, Madeline orders Jonny to enter Sawdon's office and look at his diary. when he does so he sees that it is blocked out with an all day meeting, but there are no details as to what or where the meeting is. While all of this has taken place I find a final entry in the log book that mentions 'Dr B', which can only be Doctor Jackal's alias of Doctor Barghest, it is dated Wednesday 13th April 1949;

We have started Dr B’s “great work”. I have some of the plans to look over. I believe that he is only involving me because there is so much work that needs to be done. And for some reason Dr B seems to be running out of time.

Having finished the search, the Baldricks deduplicate and Madeline contacts the Smartly Dressed Man to request the forensic teams attendance at the scene, and to get people to start searching through ship passenger manifests looking for Doctor Barghest. Just before nine o'clock in the evening Billy arrives with Horst Landrock, as Horst gets out of the car I climb in and ask Billy to take me back to Canning Place Mews as the pain is starting to get worse once more, as soon as I am through the door I flop down on the bed and am asleep in seconds.

Madeline shows Horst the blueprints and the triple brass spheres, he grabs both and heads for the light of the workshop. He keeps being drawn back to the plans and scratching his head, Sven spots that Horst seems very agitated and realises that something is amiss. Horst insists that he is driven back to Hanslope Park so that he can start to study the blueprints, and so Billy drives back to the shop and picks him up. Before he leaves Sven takes Billy to one side and tells him to make sure that Horst is watched at all times.

Once back at Hanslope Park Billy heads off to get some sleep while Jonny takes his shift watching Horst. While he is standing outside smoking he can see the horologist through the window scratching his head very hard. Jonny and Billy watch in shifts, but Horst does not stop examining the blueprints and scratching his head.

The following morning I awake screaming in pain. Sven rushes in and administers another dose of sedative which takes the edge off of the pain and we are driven to Hanslope Park by Charlie. when we arrive I head to the medical facility for yet another batch of tests, while Madeline drops off a copy of her report on Major Sawdon's desk. Seeing that there is still no sign of Sawdon, Madeline heads off to find Lieutenant Cranshaw to debrief him. She relays Sven's concerns about Host Landrock and the Lieutenant says that there have been similar behaviours noted with some of the other scientific researchers working on the enhanced project. When Madeline queries Major Sawdon's absence Cranshaw tells her that the team are expected to attend a meeting at the Headquarters of MI6 in London at six o'clock that evening.