HEX Campaign, The plane

The start of this story can be found here.
https://nickelandimeproductions.blogspot.com/2019/04/hex-campaign-knock-on-door.html

How Tom Smith hoped to take them to where the plane was without a compass or a sun above Grace had no idea, but she noticed as they set off he was doing something with his watch which she thought strange given that all of their watch's had stopped working.
Looking at her own she she found this was still the case, after they gone about 50 yards, Smith stop them all, he then marked a tree looked at his watch picking a diction he then wrote in a little note book & set off again, this was repeated about every 100 yards or so, this peeked Grace's curiosity & as they stopped she ask him about it.
Grace" Can I ask what your doing & why Tom ?"
Tom" Its a little trick of mine & if you ask me later when we're back at the Scorpion I'll explain it to you Grace but for now I want to keep going"

About an hour & a half later they came to the clearing but to their dismay as they looked across the clearing to where the plane was they seen that a Triceratops & her calf were stood right next to it.
Bill" Judging from this distance that thing looks a lot bigger then any of the skeletons that have been found on the earth above, wouldn't you agree Gregory ?" 

Gregory" Yes indeed but they've had many million years to evolve down here"
Tom" That's all very interesting but have you guys any idea as to how we might get that thing to move from there ?"
Gregory" That thing is nothing more then a big cow so you could try firing a few shots into the air"
Tom" As we don't know what else or who else might be near by I don't think firing off shots would be a good idea, plus I don't want to be wasting ammo, so here's the plan as the wind is blowing straight across the clearing it won't pick up our sent, Bob you & Grace head across the clearing & head down nearer on that side, Bill you come with me,Jenny I want you to stay here with Gregory so that when we head back we'll have our starting point."
Gregory"I don't see why I should have to stay here & babysit, I say we should all just go over there yelling & waving our arms about that thing would most likely run off."
Tom" Or maybe just run over us, now please just do as I ask & stay here, Bob, Grace off you go & be careful, Bill with me."

With that they set off leaving Jenny & Gregory behind, while the mother triceratops looks about but doesn't move.

Pushing on Tom doesn't notice a little crate in the undergrowth,

but Bill happens to spot it & opens it but it empty. Mean while Gregory things a photo of him with the Triceratops in the background would make a good front-page picture & talks Jenny into taking a picture. 

Grace & Bob have now reached the far-side of the clearing & disappear into the jungle.

In their hast they fail to notice a small package.

This time Tom does spot a little create & flips the lid open with his foot & is only save by his quick reflex as a snake darts at him with its mouth wide.
Grace comes across a dead fire that had been set in a ring of stones & an idea forms in her mind.

Relighting the fire she hands a burning log to Bob & take one for herself.
Grace" Here take this & as we get closer to that thing we'll get some damp moss start it smoldering & chuck it at it in the hope that the smoke will spook it.

As they draw closer Bob seems to freeze stopping dead.
Grace" Bob what's the matter are you ok ?"
Bob"Yep I'm alright not sure what came over me there for a minute.
Tom now more or less with the level Triceratops finds a small parcel,carefully moving closer he smells a strange odor coming from it. 

Banding down he takes out his knife & slits the sack open & is amazed to see what can only be dung fall out, Jones mean while having recovered his nerve moves a bit closer & getting a bit of moss to start smoldering lobs it out near the Triceratops.

But apart from turning it head away from it a letting out a roar it didn't move.
Getting inpatient Gregory" This is taking far to long I'm telling you that thing will scare with a few loud shouts & the waving of arms"
With that he turns away from Jenny & starts marching out into the clearing.

Intermission, grab some refreshment & come back to us :)

Grace throws out another lump of smocking moss, but the thing still an't moving.

Bill catches up to Tom who tells him what he just found.

Bill" my guess would be either it was going o be used for a fire or someone was going to smear it on themselves to keep predators away, if its from the right type it might help us get closer to the Triceratops & might even help scare it away.
Tom" I'd like a bit more then a might to be honest but we'll give it a try" & they both pick up a good handful & rubbed it on themselves. 

With more smoke building up around it the Triceratops is getting more agitated.
Grace" It seems to be working keep throwing more Bob"
Seen what was happening on the other side of the clearing, Tom & Bill start to make their way across hoping the smell added to the smoke might just be enough to make the thing move.

This picture is to make Vagabond not feel to bad :)

As they got closer Bill lost his nerve & unnoticed by Tom turned & fled, but if the dung would have worked or not there's no way of known, as the build up of smoke got the better of the large beast & it moved off with its calf in tow.

Before the thing had gone any distance Grace as fearless as ever was racing towards the plane.

Tom seen the way clear also starts running for the plane, as Grace followed by Bob round the smoke.

As they reach the plane, Bob" What is that foul smell ?"
Tom" Its off me I'll explain it later"
Gregory not wanting to be left out again hastens his step,

to join them at the plane.

Tom who was really annoyed to see Gregory hadn't done as he'd said," What the hell do you think your at Gregory ? Didn't I tell you to wait with Jenny ?
Gregory who didn't that kindly to been spoken to in such away" She'll be fine, you guys were taking for ever to get rid of the Triceratops & I thought you could use my help"
Tom" I hope for your sake she is, Bob will you head back over to Jenny ? the rest of you with me, lets see if we can solve the mystery of this plane.

Tom" You guys check the cargo while I go look in the cockpit"
No one seemed to have noticed that Bill was missing.

To be continued 
Designers Note, It was nice to be able to roll some dice again :), but a bit behind how things worked, I was using mainly the rules for 45 Adventure with somethings added, the group had 20 turns to reach the plane & believe it or not did so with only one turn to spare. 
On the board where six markers, two would be a help, two traps & two would be nothing (see empty create above ) there was a chance they would miss the makers altogether as a brains test was needed to spot them, with the two that could help then needing another brains test to figure out how to use them, for the two traps a card from Pulp Alley was used & if the test was failed the character took a hit.
To add to things each turn Gregory & Jenny would roll a D10 each, & on the roll of a 1 would start marching off towards the Triceratops, if it was Gregory the reason would be well because he's Gregory, if it was Jenny it would be because she wanted a close up picture, luckily for me I wasn't as hot on rolling one's as normal & it was about turn 11 or so before Gregory rolled his 1, as an early roll could really have thrown a spanner in the works.
The wind direction was rolled for & as luck would have it it was blowing across the table from behind the Triceratops which meant they had to get real close to it, coming within 12" of it meant a horror test which would be a roll against the characters guts stat if pasted the character wouldn't need to roll again, if failed a card would be drawn from the PA horror deck to see what the effect was.
How to move a Triceratops ? well with 3 pistols between them shooting it wasn't going to do much, The Triceratops had a guts stat of 8 & the smell of dung or smoke would trigger a test with a -1 to its guts for each character with dung on it within 6" & a -1 for each smoke maker within the same, by the time it failed the test there was 4 smoke makers, so the guts test was at -4, the test works like any other, by rolling a D10 & adding it to the stat been tested against needing a score of 10 or more to pass.
I hope that helps you guys understand how things worked as I don't like to explain things as they'er  happening as for me it take from the movie :)
As always my thanks for dropping in & if you'd care to be a movie critic your commend will be welcomed :)

Movie Tone News, July 2019

Welcome to this months news & for this one we're going to do something a bit different, with the HEX series well & truly up & running we've sent Penny Bond out to see whats going on & talk to some of those bring the whole thing together, over to you Penny.

Penny" As you join me on location their close to wrapping up shooting for the day, up in the tower is cameraman Eddie Knobbs ,
Director Max Rolf "Quite on the set & action"

With the filming now finished Penny is talking to Ivy Tanner who plays Jenny Cregg.
Penny"Hi Ivy I'm Penny Bond of MTN I wonder if I might have a few words?"
Ivy" Certainly"
Penny" Your making your debut in this series for N&D studios, how are you finding it ?"
Ivy" Well everyone has just been so friendly & helpful since I've started its been a lot easier then I'd feared"

Penny" That's good to hear, I can only imagine how nerve-wracking  it must have been"
Ivy" Indeed but I'm learning so much,Mr Rolf is such an amazing director & working along side Molly who is top class actress is a dream come true.
Penny" Well thanks for talking to us Ivy & good luck with the rest of the series"
Ivy" My pleasure Penny & thanks"

Next Penny caught up with director Max Rolf.
Penny" Mr Rolf I wonder if I might have a few words ?"

Rolf " Well hello young Penny what brings you all the way out here ?
Penny" I working on this months MTN & its all about the HEX series & I was hoping you be so kind as to give us some details on how things are progressing ?"
Rolf" I see but there'll be no spoilers mind you, Well as it just so happens we've just finished filming the latest episode & will be heading back to the studios, I'm looking forward to see how Bill Smith & the rest of the props team are getting along with that new set their building"
Penny" Why that's wonderful I can't wait to see it, thanks for your time Mr Rolf"
Rolf" Your very welcome my dear"

Penny then spotted Molly Fairbanks who plays Grace Simms.

Penny" Hi Molly, might I have a few moments of your time as this months MTN is all about the HEX series"
Molly" Of course Penny, what would you like to know ?"
Penny" Your back playing Grace Simms, what was it like stepping back into the part ?"
Molly" To be honest Penny it was quite challenging, specifically the first episode as I'd to play a different side of Grace that we'd never seen before"
Penny" In what way ?"
Molly"Well as you know in Perilous Island Grace was an all action kind of girl, where as in the opening episode I'd to play her as a brooding given up all hope for live type"
Penny" Yes indeed Molly & a very fine bit of acting it was, but now that the party have reached Ultima Thule do you expect the character to be more like she was in Perilous island ?"
Molly" Without a doubt as Grace just lives for adventure & as you know is on a quest to find her friends"
Penny" It all sounds so wonderful & thanks for the interview I won't take up any more of you time as I sure your very tired after such a long day"
Molly" For sure, as you know Max pushes us very hard, but we don't mind as he's such a wonderful director, cheerio  Penny"

Back at the studios Penny  headed straight over to where the new set was been built & it didn't take her long to hunt down Bill Smith head of the props department who was busy working away.
Penny" Hello Bill, could I interrupt you from your work for a few moments ?

Bill" As you can see Penny I quite busy, what can I do for you ?"
Penny" Sorry about that Bill but this months MTN is all about the Hex series & I'd like to get your thoughts on this magnificent set you & the team are building"
Bill" Thank you Penny, its really taking shape alright & just in the nick of time as I had Max over a little while ago & they want to start shooting on it in the next couple of days"
Penny" It must have been very challenging to build Bill ?"
Bill" Yes it was but the hardest part was the script team couldn't make up their minds on what they wanted it to be & that put us along way behind time, it was only after the boss stepped in & drew up some plans that we were really able to crack on with it, now if you'll excuse me Penny I really must get back to work"
Penny" No problem Bill & thanks for your time"

Walking back across the set Penny bumped into Imgrede Paste who is back in the roll of Helga.
Imgrede"Good evening Penny"
Penny" & to you Imgrede, how fortunate to bump into you as this months MTN is all about the HEX series, so could you spare me a few moments ?"
Imgrede"Well I've to meet Max who phoned me earlier & asked me to go over to makeup & put my costume on & then meet him here as he wants to make sure it ok as were about to start filming here on the set the day after tomorrow, but as I can see he's talking to some of the prop guys I guess it fine if we don't take to long"

Penny"Thanks Imgrede I won't keep you to long, how does it feel to be playing Helga again ?"
Imgrede" To tell you the truth Penny I was trilled when I got the call from the Boss"
Penny" Does it bother you that she's a villain or do you enjoy playing the bad guy ?"
Imgrede"She such a mysterious character & other then that she called Helga we don't know a lot about her, this gives me so much freedom as an actress developing her, so I'm more then happy.
Penny"Do you know if she has a bigger part to play then in Perilous island ?
Imgrede" Ya for sure I hope so, oh look Max is waving over to me I'll have to go now Penny"
Penny" Thanks for you time"

Penny"Well that's it from me back to you guys in the newsroom"
Thanks Penny a first class job on getting us the views for so many involved in HEX

In other news, I felt that the blog part of my hobby has been a bit neglected as of late as apart from movie releases there has been nothing else happening here, as you guys know well enough N&D Productions is my little escape from real life & as I like to think of it as a movie studios I wanted to expand on that end of things.

As I'd still had everything set up & it was only a matter of grabbing a few extra models & make a little post out of it, so as I'm sure you noticed I've for the first time I've given real life names to some of the characters as this just adds to the over all flavor of things and went for it.
I hope you guys enjoyed the little bit of above nonsense as I'd like to do more of this kind of stuff going forward, the set that Penny was talking to Bill & Imgrede on in case your wondering is a first for N&D & I'll do a post on it after it's appeared in the series.

Well that's it for this month, so its a Goodnight from me & a Goodnight from him.

As always my thanks for dropping in & if you'd care to leave a comment it would be welcomed :)





















   

HEX Campaign, The Journey North & beyond act 2

The first part of this story can be found here
https://nickelandimeproductions.blogspot.com/2019/07/hex-campaign-journey-north-beyond-act-1.html
Scotland June 30th 1936

On what Grace could only think of as some kind of platform as steam & smoke hissed about them, they were introduced to the Captain of the strange looking vessel Alexander Whitley.
Whitley" If you'd all be so kind as to go aboard we're ready for departure"

How this strange looking machine was meant to depart none of them could guess as it had no wheels, wings or sails that any of the party could see, but despite the trepidation,s any of them might have had they followed Smith up the boarding ramp & inside, when they were all inside the Captain & the rest of the crew joined them, they were 10 in all, 6 passengers, the captain & 3 crew members.

As the ramp closed up behind them Jenny had the feeling of been enclosed in a steal tomb, get a grip on yourself girl she scolded herself they didn't bring you all this way to seal you in some kind of tomb.

Whitley" if you'd all strap yourselves in were going to lift off & with that the vessel started to shudder & shake, what this effect would be having on Gregory Grace didn't like to think, & then she had the feeling that the whole thing was lifting from the ground as they were compressed into their seats.
After a couple of minutes the shuddering started to ease until it was no more then a slight vibration.
 
10 minutes or so later, Whitley" Ladies & gentleman we have reached our preferred altitude of 1200 feet & will be travelling at a speed of 25 knots in a north-northeast diction towards Danskoys Spitsbergen Norway where the Eagle launched from & will continue on the same coarse taking by the Eagle to give us the best chance to pick up the slip stream, I'll now turn on the out side monitors so you may watch the landscape below on the screen as we pass by.

  As the screen flashed to live Gregory who was looking a bit gray rose from his seat & asked the Captain where he could relief himself, Grace was amazed at how small the ground looked below them, like some miniature scale model but it wasn't long before they where out over the North sea & there wasn't much to see.
During the flight across the North sea Captain informed them that the vessel was a prototype & that not only would it get them all to the inner earth but would also get them all back, while this was welcome news to all of the passengers returning was something Grace had given no thought to, as all that mattered o her was finding her friends & if she was to fail in that quest then what difference did it make as to where she lived out the rest of her life.

Whiled cramped Grace found the vessel (which the Captain had told them was named the Scorpion) to be quite comfortable & imagined it be very similar to what traveling in a submarine would be like.
By 10.30 all of the passengers apart from Tom Smith were asleep & by the time any of them awoke the scorpion was over Norway.
                             
Over Norway July 1st 1936

They pasted over Danskovs Spitsbergen shortly after mid-day, at which point Whitley brought the Scorpion down to about 1000ft which was closer to the height the Eagle had been traveling at & by late evening they had entered the slip-stream, Whitley" Ladies & Gentlemen we are now in the slip-stream which is running in an almost northerly diction at speed varying between 10-12 knots, while this is a strong air current it will have no effect on the Scorpion"

Ahead of them on the screen for the monitors all that could be seen was cloud & ice, as they continued on the slip-stream increased in speed & by morning it was peaking at 28 knots but was still having little or no effect on the Scorpion.

Over the Artic July 2sd 1936

By morning the view on the screen was very dis-concerning showing great big storm-head if front of us, this brought a heated debate  between Gregory & Bill, with Bill claiming that they must be the storm-clouds that Fraenkel had written about in his journal even if conditions where all wrong for such a thing & Gregory countering how could the same storm still be here 39 years later ?  there must be a fault with the monitors due to the cold & ice.
It took the Captain to intervene, assuring Gregory that the monitors were working fine & that whatever it was they would find out soon enough as we were been pulled towards it at a speed of over 37 knots, a speed of which it was beyond the Scorpion to break free from the slip-stream at.

Over the next couple of hours the Scorpion started losing altitude & by the time they entered the cloud-bank they where down to 120ft, 3/4 of an hour later the out-board censers started to read the outside temperature rising to ten degrees above freezing brought about by warm air rising from below, it was impossible to say what was causing this as in the blanket of the cloud the monitors where unable to pick out the ground below.

                                               
Things went from bad to worse as Whitley announced the the navigation system was no longer working so for all intent & purposes they were now blind & at the mercy of the slip-stream, many of the passengers where feeling the effects of the buffing the Scorpion was getting but the crew carried on man-fully trying to restore the systems but to no avail.
On & on they traveled with heavy hearts the monitors still showed them to be in the cloud & with the navigation still out there was no way of knowing where they were & then suddenly the screen changed from hazy white to a steely gray only broken by the white of the odd iceberg.

"This is wonderful" beamed Bill "Its just as Fraenkel recorded his own journey"
At once everyone's spirits seem to lift as they now knew they were still on coarse to Ultima Thule, for how much longer they carried on over the sea none could tell  for along with the navigation system everyone's watches had stopped working but judging from their body clocks they guessed it was sometime between 10pm & midnight when they first sighted land, by then the slip-stream had all but abated & they were traveling at a more manageable speed of 14 knots, then just as had happen the Eagle as they came closer to the cliffs the Scorpion came under attack from the giant flying reptiles.

Whitley" No need to be alarmed folks this vessel is more then capable of with-standing these attacks"
As they passed over the high cliffs of the shore they spotted many of these creatures but true to the captains word while the attacks made for a bumpy ride they inflicted no damage of any note on the Scorpion, with the last of these attacks coming as the landscape changed from the high scoring cliffs to flat jungle.

One by one the passengers all drifted off to sleep while Whitley slowed the Scorpion down to 5 knots & watched the ground below but for mile after mile there was nothing to be seen only the top of the jungle, that was until shortly after breakfast when all was awake they came over a vast clearing in which roamed creatures long since extinct in the world above, but strange as this sight was stranger yet was the sight of an airplane on the ground half overgrown by the jungle.

Smith" Captain see if you can find a place safe enough to put down as I'd like to get a look at that plane"

Whitley" I'll need a place free of those creatures as some of them look big enough to topple us over & if that happens we,d never be able to get out of here"
After about 5 miles they spotted a clearing big enough to put down but that was deserted of any of the creatures & the Scorpion landed with a gentle bump.
Smith" Ok folks its time to have a look around, the Captain & the crew will remain with the Scorpion & see if they can get the navigation system back working, but before we set off I want everyone to stick close together & do exactly as I say is that clear ?"

Ultima Thule July 3rd 1936
Everyone agreed & the ramp was lowered, there was great excitement running through the party mixed with a little bit of apprehension as they stepped out into this strange land.
Jenny" I just have to get a picture of this historic moment"

All around  lay jungle & while there was no sun in the sky (which had a misty white look about it) it was as bright as a dull day in England.
Grace" Where does the brightness come from?"
Bill"I would guess its some form of illumination from the underside of the earth above, for down here don't forget that the sky as we might thing of it is really the bottom of the earth above"
Smith" Right everyone stay close"

As he lead them off the crew went to work on trying to repair the Scorpion.

 Grace had finally arrived in Ultima Thule, were she hoped she would find her friends.

To be continued       

Designers note, Well its been a long trip but their finally there, its odd how sometimes when your planing something out at the start it ends up very different, as when I first thought of doing this campaign the plan was to give an account of Fraenkel trip & of some of his adventures, but my feeling on this changed as I thought it might spoil some of the surprise as to what lay ahead for our group & to what secrets Hollow Earth might hold.

As always my thanks for dropping in & if you'd care to be a movie critic your comment would be welcomed :)
     


   

  

HEX Campaign, The Journey North & beyond act 1

The first part of this story can be found here
https://nickelandimeproductions.blogspot.com/2019/04/hex-campaign-knock-on-door.html

England June 29th  1936

After the meeting the party all went their different ways, Grace decided to head back up towards Oxford street as there was a little cafe just off it that she liked & she knew the owner well, with the weather being fine she walked as it would help pass the time as Grace had nothing to do until they set off.
Over lunch she gave her thoughts to the adventure that lay ahead, could it be right, could  Ultima Thule really exist, could Del & the others still be alive, on hearing the news yesterday like a drowning person she had clutched at any straw that might help but sitting here in the little cafe in the center of London it all seemed impossible & yet Grace along with the other members of the Society of the Blue Blooded on their many adventures had witnessed the impossible often enough to give her hope.

Next she thought on the people who were to accompany her on the trip, were they really the type to undertake such trip, Grace had taken an instance liking to Bill Thomson who she'd found to be a very at ease man but the kind she would imagine to be quite resourceful & dependable, Jenny Cregg she had mixed feelings about, while she seemed very nice Grace's opinion on people of the press was that they never made for good team players, Grace guessed it was because of the dog eat dog nature of the newspaper business, & as for  Gregory Mc Kinley who Grace had taken an instance dislike of, she was sure he be the kind that would be more of a hindrance then a help & the type who would believe that the only opinion that counted would be his own.

Finishing up her lunch Grace looked at her watch it was coming up to 3 o'clock, paying her bill she left & strolled toward Hyde park, she always liked the park & it would be a nice place to spend the rest of the day before heading to the station to meet up with the others.
                                  
Finding a bench she sat down & went back over the meeting in her mind, Nigel had left a lot of things unanswered, who were the other two who where to join them ? where were they going to from the station ? & how where they going to reach Ultima Thule ? Grace didn't like unanswered questions, ah well she thought in for a penny in for a pound.

A little after 6.30 Grace left the park & headed for the station arriving about 7.15, Nigel Warren & Bill Thomson were already there with Jenny Cregg turning up shortly after, by 7.30 & with still no sign of Gregory Mc Kinley.
Warren" we'll give him 5 more minutes  & if he's still not here we'll head for the platform"
2 minutes later they hear Mc Kinley before they seen him bellowing  orders at some poor porter " Mind you take care with that & hurry along I'm already behind time"
Just what I'd expect thought Grace, he's late & now its the porters fault.

Warren" Your all here now so we'll head for the platform, you'll be taking the over night express to Edinburgh & from there you'll take a train to Inverness where you'll be meet & driven to your destination"
As they were walking Grace" Still not giving anymore away then you have to Nigel"
Smiling Warren" Sorry Grace it goes with the job, but don't worry we'll have you in Ultima Thule soon enough.
The train was already at the platform & as they went to board,Warren" Well this were I say goodbye"
Jenny Cregg" You mean your not coming with us Nigel ?
Warren" Afraid not Jenny, but I look forward to your return & hearing all about your adventure, now I like to wish you all a fair & safe journey" & with that he turned & walked away.

Boarding the train they found an empty compartment in 1st class, there was two over night compartments booked for them, one that Grace would share  with Jenny & the other for Bill & Gregory, but no one felt like going to them yet.
                                   
 At exactly 8pm the train pulled off & they were soon speeding through the suburbs of London, after about 20 minutes Gregory excused himself saying how the motion of trains always effected his stomach & clumsily tripped over Jenny's feet on the way out , after he was gone Bill turn to the two women repeating what Gregory had just said & the two women looked at him in amazement before simultaneously bursting out with laughter, for it was not Bill's voice they had heard but an exact replica's of Gregory's.

Opening his hand he showed them a little device that he told them he'd invented & that any voice or sound it hears it can mimic if the person using it holds it up to their neck & use their vocal cords.
Gregory returned a short time later & about 9 they all headed to the dinning car for their evening meal before retiring for the night & by 6.30am on June 30th they had arrived at Edinburgh's Waverley station.
The train to Inverness wasn't due in until 8.40 giving the party enough time to fine a cafe close by that they could have breakfast  in.
When they boarded the Inverness train they found it wasn't up to the same standards as the one from London even though they were traveling 1st class, something that Gregory complained about for the first 10 miles or so of the journey, & a little after mid-day arrived in Inverness where they were meet to be driven by car for the last part of the way just as Warren had said they would.

Grace was delighted to see that there was two cars as it meant her & Jenny could ride in one while Bill & Gregory could travel in the other, spearing her from having to listen to Gregory for whatever length of time the trip took, Grace had also taking a liking to Jenny who she found to be nothing like she'd thought a newspaper reporter would be.

The weather was fine & Grace & Jenny really enjoyed the drive which first took them along the coast for the first, couple of hours before they turned inland & entered a valley that seemed to go on for eternity,
                                  
In which they stopped & had a picnic in the mid-afternoon sunshine, upon leaving the valley the land opened out with nothing but heather to be seen for miles & miles in every diction.

Near 7pm the land changed again & they now entered a heavily wooded area & shortly after came to what looked like to Grace a military compound though there was not a soldier to be seen, as they reach the gates the cars stopped & everyone's identification papers were checked before they where permitted to enter.

Whispering  Jenny" What is this place &  why is it in such a remote parts ?
Grace" I've no idea but I wouldn't try taking any pictures & would doubt & mention of this place will every appear in your newspaper"

Inside they pulled up in front for what Grace guessed was the administration building for the facility, the drivers got out & opened the doors of the cars asking the passengers to go inside, as they entered the building the cars drove off, 

inside they at last meet the other two men that were to be accompanying them, these men introduced themselves as Tom Smith & Bob Jones & while they were friendly & accommodating enough,asking if they had a pleasant trip up from London & informing them that they would be boarding the vessel to take them on the last part of their journey in about 15 minutes after their bags & the rest of the equipment had been loaded., it was Grace's belief that there was more then meets the eye about them & while Nigel had stated that there could be no official involvement Grace would have bet her life that they were from the military     

Smith" If anyone would like a cup of tea be for we set off there's a small kitchen just down the hall with a rest room if anyone needs it just beyond it, no took up the offer of tea but they all made use of the rest room.
A phone ringing out broke the silence that had descended on the room & after answering it, Smith" Their ready for us to board now so if you ladies & gentlemen would follow me"
They exited through the back of the building & there in front of them was the strangest sight any of them had ever seen.              

                                                                          INTERMISSION

Designers note, Ok I know I say at the end of the last post that the next one would bring us to hollow earth but there really is just to much to cover as the script team try to build up Grace's travelling companions & how they get from London to inter-earth, so just think of this as an intermission & I promise to release the second half within a week so you guys won't have to wait to long.
After the last movie one of the critic's was a bit hard on the props department & rightly so but since then they've up their game & have us in good shape for going forward :) 

The 3 live pictures above, I've used without the owners consent & lay no claims to their rights.

As always my thanks for dropping in & if you'd care to be a movie critic your comment would be welcomed :)