He Who Lives By The Sword...

[Dr. Madd]

"Is it possible that there was a small amount of water inside that rock, that when heated turned to steam and exploded like an overloaded boiler?"

[Augustus Longeye]

"Not a chance. There would be erosion marks on the inside, and there would a lot more powder. If, as you say it just appeared somewhere, then it is most likely it was whole when it did. Apart from slight chippings when it did land I would imagine that it was in the same state as before it was moved."

[The Corsair]

"perhaps we're researching the wrong thing here. What if we figure out what magic got it here and reverse engineer it to take the stone, and us, back to its origin."
He turned to Yarrow
"or is that impossible? Excuse my lack of magical knowledge."

[Dr. Madd]

Just as Ethan was speaking, the sound, ever so distinct of a breaking window, echoed in the empty Museum....

[Augustus Longeye]

Longeye immediately polled his staff upright and stepped to the door.
"Are there any alarms or such here?" he asked the professor.
"None, we're renovating and most of it's been turned off. I'm sure it was just a builder dropping something or removing a window." he said, returning to the sample. There was a dull thump this time, followed by a crack of a gun. "That's no builder." Longeye muttered. He carefully drew the door open, peering round it before closing it again just as slowly and quietly.
"Okay, there are eight people I can see, I count four guns and eight swords." he murmured.

[Dr. Madd]

Quietly, Madd placed Hannibal in his canvas bag and silently drew a blowgun dart, dripping with Curare, from his belt quiver... Placing it in the blowgun, he crept into the corridor, silently, drawing a bead on the man with the webley pistol. The whoosh of the air propelling the dart into the man's neck was drowned out the din they were making getting in. With a thump the man hit the floor.....

[MWBailey]

That's what I was trying to do just before I grounded teh stone into the earth, Yarrow said. I didn't get far, beyond the impression of a mind, the direction in which it lay, and a very strange feeling that the rok had been squeezed, in a manne rof speaking...but that's all that I--!"

The sounds of breaking glass, and then the gunshot, finally succeeded in completely derailing Yarrow's train of thought, and he stood, eyebrow raised, as Julius and teh Dr. investigated and began to deal with the distraction. He gathered and held a hndful of small, yet incandescent and very powerful firebolts, just in case...

[Augustus Longeye]

Longeye stood just behind Madd as he took out one of the men.
"Good shot Doctor..." He murmured, and quietly levelled his staff, sword first, at another man who was facing away from them. He pressed a button and with a gentle hum a small blue bolt shot forwards and hit him in the base of the skull. The man paused for a moment before gently sagging to the floor without a sound.
"Two down..." Longeye muttered, more to himself than anyone. 

[Dr. Madd]

Madd removed a small bag from his belt, made of heavy leather. He put on a heavy glove..

"When This rolls into the middle of them..." He whispered as he gave it a toss into their midst, and open, revealing a wasps' nest and about ten large tropical wasps.

[Augustus Longeye]

"That'll cause a panic... do you want to take them or escape?" Longeye asked, looking to the rest of the people in the room.
The professor looked grim and pulled out a crossbow.

[The Corsair]

Ethan had a different plan. He ran around to emerge behind where the intruders were. Staying unseen, he waited for the others to make their move.

[Dr. Madd]

""I figured we had work to do. If they flee, we can return to what we were doing." Madd replied, as the looters scattered.

"That was unexpected." He added without flinching.

"Come, Captain.." He grabbed His blowgun, "Tally Ho."

"Those stings are fairly toxic. Even if they  run, the muscle pain caused by that sting, and the inhibited breathing won't let them get far. Besides, It appears we have someone behind them. A nice pincer I should say."

[Augustus Longeye]

"Indeed, well then let's get to it. Professor, no need to get blood on your hands." Longeye nodded to the man, who gratefully lowered the crossbow.
Longeye stole out of the room, keeping to the walls. A wasp darted past him and he ducked out of the way and he hissed to Madd;
"Doctor, how do we stop them stinging US?"

[The Corsair]

The men began to scatter. When one turned into the corridor Ethan hid in he was promptly clotheslined and knocked out by the fall. He also noticed he has a rather prominent sting mark on him.
Dammit Madd! We could've questioned them! Who knows who might have information?!
He hauled the unconscious man toward the others. Once they were in sight, he called out.
"Dammit Madd you better have an antidote! We need to question them. For all we know they might have information!"

[Augustus Longeye]

Longeye heard Ethan shout about interrogating them and realised this would be helpful. He saw one man running in panic who had yet to be stung, so spun on the stop and hurled his staff at him. It sung a good four niches into his thigh and he let out a scream, falling to the floor and out of the wasps reach.
"Madd! Please tell me you can stop them!!"

[Dr. Madd]

"One of these." Madd said, rolling a Smoke bomb in next to them.
"They'll return to their nest, calm as can be."

He walked up and closed the snap on the bag and placed in his back pack.

"Get these men to the ship. They'll come to shortly, sore and a tad wiser.. Those wasps aren't lethal unless you're allergic."

[The Corsair]

"He better damn well not be allergic..."
He didn't try and hide the bitterness from his voice. Madd really was mad. Set the wasps on them, what a brilliant idea...

[Dr. Madd]

"If He was going keel over his neck would swell up" His eyes got wide... " Just like THAT! ..." As everyone looked at the man's neck, Madd Laughed. " Just joking."
As he walked down the corridor laughing and playing with Hannibal.

[The Corsair]

He went wide eyed and almost exploded in rage at Madd for being reckless with the man they could have questioned.
The fact that Madd then revealed he was 'joking' made him more angry somehow. Thankfully he wasn't going to burst out in pure rage now, but his hatred and distrust for the man intensified.
"Freak." He muttered to himself as he followed, at quite a distance, behind the doctor and his gross snake. He'd killed plenty of snakes before. They weren't easy the first time but after a while you got good at it. The bites still stung though and you had to give a really good show or they wouldn't give you the antivenoms.

[Dr. Madd]

Meanwhile, Madd paused to examine a painting.. He was talking quietly to Hannibal and holding the reptile up to the painting..

As Longeye and Ethan passed by, Madd looks over.. " I don't know. I think the colors are a tad Muted, but Hannibal's a real fan of this artist. "

And with that he turned to walk out with the two men and their captive, still talking intently to the Python.

[Augustus Longeye]

Longeye was nonplussed. Usually Madd seemed fairly sane, but then he would go off on these odd tangents and do something quite reckless. It had worked, but it also posed a great risk to them. Ethan really seemed to dislike Madd, which wouldn't make this any easier... Still, they had a prisoner and a possible destination.
"Where do large amounts of Sarsen stand outside?" He asked, and hoisted the unconscious man onto the ship.

[Dr. Madd]

Madd placed some Tobacco onto the unconscious man's stings.

"An old folk remedy from back home. Draws out the poison, you know." and in moments, the swelling started to dissipate and the man stirred.

"Care to talk? " Madd said as the prisoner's eyes opened to see a portly man in khakis and a pith helmet, mutton-chops fluffed over a small grin, as he held the Ball Python over his shoulder, the snake's forked tongue flickering slightly, as Madd placed the serpent into his bag for a moment.. Then, donning those heavy gloves, he opened a crate and drew out the mammoth Goliath spider, the second of the two crates he had brought along.

The Man's eyes widened, " You can talk to the Captain, or to Molly here." He held out the monstrous spider.

[Augustus Longeye]

The man looked sceptical for a moment, but as the spider neared him he twitched, gasped and stated babbling.
"Don't know, just told by a man to follow your ship and beat you up a bit! We were given fifty pound each!" He gasped and looked panicked.

[Dr. Madd]

"And you just follow  directions by strange men to rough up complete strangers? " Madd raised an eyebrow, " Somehow I don't think so. Who sent you?" Holding up the spider again.

[Augustus Longeye]

"Honest! It was some quick money that's all! We live north of the slums! We'll take any work going... it was a lot of money for an easy job!"