Adventure 8
"If you [English] hadn't been oppressing the Irish, I'm sure there would have been horses here."

After enjoying the celebration of two weddings - Lady Maria to her solicitor/highwayman and Miss Georgiana duBery to Mr. Marcus Eldon (aka Jack Dorset) - the Duke of Warrington, Lord Fenworth, the Comte de Chareau and Mr. Charles duBery - along with Mr. MacDonald, Stephen and Eugenia Lewis and Chareau's faithful servant Pierre -- depart the pleasures of Kent for remote western Ireland. (Fenworth leaves a protesting Lady Caro behind at a neighbor's). Eldon inherited a property there that he believes should be perfect for keeping the trio safe. He's never been there, but he pays a man and his wife to keep the property up.

There is no pier - only a few fishing vessels - when the group arrives on the coast. No one is there to greet them, either. With a few grumbles, they set out - on foot - on the path. Warrington spots a cottage not too far away, and they make their way towards it. The woman inside -- who speaks an odd Gaelic that mysteriously only the French comte can understand! -- feeds them hot soda bread and relates that she has not heard of the "castle" the party is looking for. She tells them of a village, Kraighten, five miles down the road. Pierre and le Comte exchange shoes, and the octet head for Kraighten.

The territory is barren, with only grass and rocks. There are no trees in sight, no farms. Other than the occasional sheep and thatched cottage, it appears deserted. And Kraighten isn't much better: it's an odd village, unfriendly. No one here has heard of Jack's property, nor do they seem willing to help by hiring out their ponies. Finally the group enlists the help of a small boy - Padraig - and they set off, following the path along the river.

Pierre is sent across first, with the rope. Successively, each member of the party crosses, with Chareau putting aside his extreme distaste for mud and duBery managing to conquer his fear of water. They wave goodbye to Padraig, who returns home to the village.

The group climbs a large hill, barren and rocky like the rest of the countryside - and then is suddenly looking down on what looks to be the Garden of Eden.

Well, not really. But it is full of fruit trees, which have grown up in a ramshackle sort of way. To Chareau and Fenworth, it looks like a manor garden that had been allowed to go to seed.

They walk a while to get to the house, which is built of an odd green marble. Its architecture is reminiscent of a Norman fortress, though there are plentiful windows (barred on the bottom). The tangle of vegetation stops two feet from the stone. The crash of water from the ravine is thunderous - and the key Eldon gave them works perfectly.

Inside, the house is immaculate - though there is no sign of the housekeepers. It's spacious and well-decorated, though dated. There's an odd needlework piece over the fireplace in the parlor:

Those are not dead who let their dust lie
Disturb your dust and certain dust die.

MacDonald collapses onto one of the sofas, his small trunk safely in hand. Pierre begins to build fires, and Stephen disappears into the study. The wine cellar is quickly discovered and plundered, and investigation of the house continues, when suddenly there is a scream from the wine cellar! Eugenia Lewis discovered a trap door on the floor of the cellar, and is now trapped in water underneath the house. Fenworth - already demonstrated to be an expert swimmer - dives in and saves her.

Once she's been brought around, she says that she felt someone push her in. Strange animal tracks are discovered and in the process of determining where they come from, duBery discovers a secret passage that leads to a cache of old weapons, firearms and swords -- including a very fine rapier (which Warrington takes). More importantly, however, there is some very old whiskey - dating from around the turn of the eighteenth century.

Using the whiskey to distract MacDonald, Fenworth sneaks the trunk away from the scientist. Inside he finds four glass vials, filled with a liquid that looks suspiciously like olive oil. Fenworth closes up the trunk and returns it to MacDonald.

Stephen Lewis points out that the study is full of really interesting books - including histories of countries that not even Chareau has heard of, published by major publishing houses. He laughs them off as "jokes" by people with a strange sense of humor.

Chareau is the first to notice that the hands of the clock inside are moving a little too quickly, which he attributes to too much fine wine. DuBery also notices this - and that the kittens he'd spotted inside the kitchen look older. He goes outside and notices that his pocket watch moves normally. Inside again, and it's faster.

The group decides to vacate the place in a hurry, especially after noticing that their beards have been growing too quickly (and that Stephen Lewis finally got one) - and that Miss Lewis appears to have, well, developed further. Pierre doesn't immediately make an appearance, and Chareau goes into the parlor - and finds Pierre stretched out on the sofa near the fire, but his body has grown cold. Upon examination, he appears to have died of a heart attack.

Chareau takes Pierre out under one of the fruit trees and administers last rites. He then digs a hole and gives him a proper burial. Fenworth rouses a very drunk MacDonald and gets him out of the house.

Fleeing the house and the garden, the group crosses the river once more - and heads north, to Dublin, where Chareau is expected at a wedding ceremony. [They find horses in the next village.]

EP: 2