Just Like Clockwork: Scene II/VI -- Rose, Ilkin, Erin, Caelan, Rakesh

"It is Curio Room." Aleksander said. He flicked on the lights and then turned off his flashlight, closing the door behind them. "Where they hold all weird exhibits. Old junk, mostly, but it is fun old junk."

The security guard made his way to the vast pipe organ, kneeling and flicking on the flashlight to look behind it. He muttered something in Russian, which by the sounds of it was not terribly polite, or fit for the ears of ladies. "There is switch here somewhere."

"You ever play pipe organ?" Aleksander said, looking up from his search to glance at Rose. He grinned briefly. "I did when I was young. I was altar boy. They let me play the church organ when no one was around."

"There is switch here to disconnect organ from rest of pipes. So one can play without knocking down roof." Aleksander swung his flashlight around a few more times and grumbled a bit more under his breath. "Or there was switch. Soon as I find it, care to try organ?"

Fun old junk? A mechanical brain and a seizure educing rug was fun?

"People in Russian have electricity right?" she asked not seriously but doubtfully.

Look, look! Giant pipe organ, even the guy said its really loud and he cant figure out how to turn of the pipes, it will echo so good! Maybe if we play our wonderful Requiem your new friend will come out to play. Rose tried appealing to Gege while her finger now was itching the red thread like you would do to the underside of a cats chin. She at least had decided it would be better to deal with a hostile dead guy then a bitchy police officer.

"Nope never played an organ but," she coming over to stand besides where he knelt using every ounce of her concentration to make this seem more intersting then the loom since the man upstairs was still undecided in her mind on what would be the most fun to play with, "I had a keyboard when I was younger that made me think I could. It was always a thrill even if it sounded horrible, I wouldnt mind giving it a shot." Finally being fed up she pushed the hood on the costume she still wore back so it rested on the middle top of her head allowing her full access of using her $13 threaded eyebrows to her full advantage.

She leaned against the organ while Aleksander searched, "Not to side track you darling, I still very much want to play with your big organ one way or another but, how exactly is a mechanical brain fun?" Using the same itchy trigger finger that had played with the red thread she taped one of the keys ever so lightly holding it down overly long.

"Depends. We have wires, they do not always work, even if you pay money for it." The organ made a high, loud Ooooooo noise, clear as a bell. Aleksander nearly hit his head against the bottom of the organ's undercasing. "Ay!"

It was with a significant amount of swearing that the Russian withdrew from where he had been searching and cast the organ a slightly exasperated look. Then, he shrugged. "Fine, I look for it later. As for brain... here, let me show you."

The big man withdrew a set of keys and went over to display case with the mechanical brain. Muttering something under his breath, he withdrew one of the keys and unlocked the cabinet. The mechanical brain gleamed in the electric lights, looking for all the world like a human brain made out of clockwork and gears.

"It is Schafer Movement. Swiss, very expensive." Aleksander said, grinning. "Tap it, go on. It does things then."

Rose's mind flooded with amusement that wasn't quite hers but the smirk appeared on her lips none the less.

Pressing the key and scaring the crap out of a person seemed to appease Gege for the moment, at least he wasnt makeing any more demands for the moment and was silently watching now. Then again, Gege being quiet usually wasn't a good sign.

No mater how you looked at it, the thing was boring. Cogs and wheels and gadgets that she couldnt even comprehend all smashed into the shape of a brain. How exactly could that be any fun? At most it looked like it might tick and twitch but that couldn't really be considered fun now could it?

She stared at the weird mechanical thing "I think you might be the first guy to ever ask me to touch, of all places, his brain." her nail tapped on the side twice.

The brain began to move. It whirred, and clicked, and then began to run. It was a delicate mechanism, the gears turning along in perfect harmony, the two loves separate yet somehow interconnected. It was a thing of rather bizarre beauty, moving with strange ratios of speed and balance, a clockwork machine that did... what? Nothing that could be seen by Rose.

"No one knows quite sure what Schafer Movement does." Aleksander said, grinning pleasantly. Or as pleasant as a big man with too-white teeth could be. "Some say it is work of art. Looks pretty and nothing else. Or, it is piece of musical instrument, never quite finished. Maybe early computer, like Babbage's. I do not know, but it is curious, yes?"

There was a squawk from Aleksander's pocket, and he scowled, taking out the headset and putting it on. There followed a short conversation in Russian, the big man nodded to himself. He turned to Rose. "I am sorry, Sergei wants me downstairs. I will be back soon."

Aleksander turned, and headed outside the room. As he did so, however, he turned to give Rose a last, backwards glance. "Have fun."

The brain kept running. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick.

==============================================================================

Ilkin was just outside the Curio Room when the big, broad-shouldered man in the sweater emerged from it. He paused, giving the Mage an insouciant look, then shrugged, rolling massive shoulders as he did so. "Excuse me." Then he pushed past Ilkin, departing into the darkened corridors of the Museum of the Industrial Revolution.

==============================================================================

The dog pressed to the shadows as the large Russian passed through the corridor just outside the Curio Room. The blood spatters had been getting thicker since Erin and the dog had left the basement, and by now it was quite clear that they were heading for the Curio Room.

Aleksander gave no sign he noticed either Erin or the dog, but then he wasn't particularly looking to the sides. He stared straight ahead, and he walked quickly. Pretty soon, he turned a corner and was gone from sight.

Quick Addition: Erin and the Dog are currently sneaking. If the other two wish to find them while still sneaking, this requires a Wits+Composure roll at three successes to find the dog, or at five successes to find Erin, as well as being in the right place (at the moment, outside in the corridor).

WTF Brain? Int+Occult:

Dice Roll: 7d10s8e
d10 Results: 2, 4, 7, 4, 1, 7, 1 (Total Successes = 0)

For the lulz, Int+Science:

Dice Roll: 1d10s8e
d10 Results: 3 (Total Successes = 0)

WTF Rug? Int+Occult:

Dice Roll: 7d10s8e
d10 Results: 3, 6, 3, 1, 8, 10, 3, 3 (Total Successes = 2)

Erin crept closer to the room, close enough to peek inside, not close enough to actually be spotted by the two strangers in there - she hoped. The whirring brain, amazingly, caught her attention away from them. She had absolutely no idea what it was for.

"I could ask it what it does," she knelt down and whispered to the dog, because she had learned long ago never to appear incapable. The strangers bothered her - accomplices or more victims? She hovered her thumb pensively in front of her lips.

"Do you think one of us should follow him?" she whispered after a moment's thought, her feelers waving towards the passageway that Aleksander had walked down.

I see you roll
Kertenkele Occult on a brain

Charming fellow. Ilkin brushed his jacket off and walked inside.

The hairs on the back of his neck rose as soon as he walked inside. Something was going on here, something more than the clockwork brain that radiated magic like it was alive. Something that had to do with the robed woman left in the room.

He squirmed a little as Kertenkele poked him in the side repeatedly. The lizardling hobgoblin had something to say, but Ilkin couldn't stop to talk yet. He scratched where the lizard was to let him know and then smiled pleasantly at the new woman.

"Having a good time?" he asked brightly.

As he spoke, Fate's threads shifted and twisted around him. There'd be a lot to learn in the next few moments and Fate would help him understand it better.

Hopefully.

Sybil's Sight reactivated!

Canine Occultism

Is Gege paying attention to you over there?

It ticked... that was the big ****ing surprise? The mechanical brain ticked and tocked and ticked some more and that was what the Russian called fun?

"Have fun." Aleksander said as he left.

"What the hell." Rose was stunned for a moment before her irritation began to rise, "Then again why did I even think a burly Russian man would understand the word 'fun'? He probably chews his toenails off with his overly white teeth instead of using a clipper." she cursed and muttered under her breath to Gege talking out her frustrations.

"What a let down." Left in a room with an annoying ticking brain was not in anyway the least bit 'fun' and Rose eyed the pipe organ again, sorely tempted to blast her hands on all the keys as revenge. No mater where he was that guy and everyone else would surely hear it.

She closed her eyes to take a deep breath, seeing Gege in all his freakish glory. That was a big problem with Geist, they were always in the back of your mind and when you closed your eyes you usually saw much clearer. His smile was back, creepy shark like teeth grinning stupidly as he raised his right hand to give a thumbs up (or in this case a thumbs card up since his fingers were cards). The suit was the make believe skull one that often appeared on his hands and he turned it side ways facing away from him moving it in a jerky motion accompanied by the urge to look to her right.

"Having a good time?"

Rose turned before opening her eyes and stared stupidly for two seconds "Not really." he wasn't a ghost but he wasn't a burly Russian either. "How many people does this place employee for a night shift?"