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 :)

HEX Campaign, Whitehall

If you've not read part one yet (John) here's a link.
https://nickelandimeproductions.blogspot.com/2019/04/hex-campaign-knock-on-door.html

England June 29th 1936

Even though she hadn't got much sleep Grace felt reinvigorated & after a small breakfast headed back into the library to check she hadn't missed anything in her hast the night before, it was like a bomb-zone but Grace had no intention of trying to clean it up she just pick her way around it & after about a half hour satisfied that she gotten all she needed walk out & closed the door.

Looking up at the hall clock it was 6.27, so she went into the kitchen made a cup of tea & brought it into the living-room were she wrote a note for the maid explaining that she'd decided to go & visit a friend in America & was unsure when she would return, she then wrote out a glowing reference for the woman & a cheque for a month's wages in lieu  of notice.

Time seemed to stand still & when the clock stuck 8 Grace could stand the waiting around no longer & picking up the case in the hall that contained what she'd found in the library on Ultima Thule & a few personal belongings & she left the house that had seemed more like a prison then a home for the last few months locking the hall-door behind her.

In the June sunshine she walked the few hundred yards to the tube station where she took the underground train to Trafalgar Square, by the time she got there it was a little after nine & as it was only a couple of minutes walk to Whitehall where the meeting was for ten she found a shop & bought a newspaper & sat on one of the benches to read it.

At 9.45 she put the paper down that she'd read with little or no interest, picked up she case & walked the short distance, she no problem finding the building that apart from the number on the front door had no plaques on signs to indicate what the use of the building might be, walking up the steps she knocked on the door which was opened a moment later by a young lady.

Grace introduced herself & the woman who said her name was Beth asked her to follow her, walking up a broad staircase to the first floor they stopped in front of a big pair of double doors that Beth knocked on once before showing Grace inside & closing the door behind her, there was four people in the room, Nigel Warren who had called to Grace's home yesterday, two other men & a woman who Grace didn't know.

They all stood & Warren crossed the room to welcome Grace.
"Grace glad you could make it" he said extending his hand to shake Grace's, "Come let me introduce to everyone"
After the introductions they all sat down, the other people in the room were, Jenny Cregg a reporter with the Times newspaper, Bill Thomson a paleontologists from the Natural History Museum & Gregory Mc Kinley of the Royal National Geographic Society, who Grace thought seemed a bit pompous.
Warren" Before we start I just want to remind you that this is all classified" & looking at Jenny he added " Don't worry Miss Cregg you'll have your story if their is one but as I've already disgust with  your editor all of your reports & pictures will have to be cleared by this department before been published"

Warren" Right lets get things rolling, I think both Mr Kinley & Miss Simms between them should be able to give use all the information there is to know on  Ultima Thule"
For the next couple of hours the story of how Fraenkel at the invitation of S. A. Andree, along with Nils Strindberg set off in an air-balloon named the Eagle in an attempt to reach the North Pole & for the wonderful & terrible events that befell them as they got caught in an air current that pulled then down into the inside of the Earth itself.

Jenny Cregg ( who was only hearing the story for the first time) "Wow, if this is even half true I'm going to have the greatest scoop of all time"
Bill Thomson ( who had heard of the tale but had never known much about it) " It does seem rather wonderful tale & not an easy one to believe"
Nigel Warren"Wonderful or not it sounds dangerous & even more so now that I've heard the story in full, now as His Majesty's Government can't be seen to have any involvement in all of this I've no chose but to let this be a scientific expedition, but I've no intention of letting you folks go off into danger alone so you'll be joined tomorrow by two gentlemen"

Grace" I can take care of myself"
Warren smiling" I'm sure you can Grace but there's more then you going & while I'm sure Miss Cregg is very good at taking shots with a camera I think a gun would be a whole different matter"
Gregory Mc Kinley"Well as this expedition is been launched under the name of the RNGS I guess that puts me in charge"
Warren"Not quite, the lads going with you's will be charge for all things concerning safety & secrecy, on all other matters I'm sure you can decide between yourselves how best to proceed"
Bill" Am I glad to hear that"
This brought him a very stern look from Gregory.
Warren" Right I thing that just about wraps things up, so I suggest you all go have a bit of lunch & then pick up any last bits you think you might need, & I'll meet you all at 7.30pm at Euston Station. 

To be continued

Designers note, once again sorry about the lack of photos in these posts but there all about setting the story, there's one more to go which by the end of we should have reached Hollow Earth & then the fun & games can begin :)

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




   

Grays giving me the Blues

Since the start of the year I've gotten a fair bit of hobby stuff done, that was until May as between hols & family home for awhile not much happened, but I did start a project in the first week of may that I've now finished & that is the point of this post.

They say a camera never lies but don't you believe that, if you look at the picture above you'll see one of the gray's I use on this project is more of a blue then gray & that is something I've noticed before & have had problems with when painting something gray.

As most of us know in this game lightning effects a picture when you take it & the odd thing is that when I took pictures of the finished piece it did look gray yet when I looked at the set it it was to blue.

Right you say, you've gone on about grays giving you the blues Frank but what is it your making ? fair question, you guys might remember I did a set in a shoebox ? well this is another one of those.

There are three things I really like about sets in a shoebox, one is they are very easy to store, two they require very little setting up & the third is they add a whole other dimension to a movie/game.

 The first two things explain themselves the third one I'll try to explain, it all has to do with building & scale for me, a building that works well with our models on the gaming table doesn't always work well if your using the inside of it, for me they often seem to small.

Also for many different reasons you might not be able to use the inside, there might be no inside or the roof might not come off & even if the roof does come off you can only take pictures from above, now there nothing wrong with that but imho it better if you can take a picture at model level.

Some of you might have seen Ivor's post No time for love Dr Jones over on his wonderful blog Saturday mornings, https://saturdaymornings13.blogspot.com/ its show Indian Jones at the entrance of a temple, but what he never can show is Indy inside said temple not without building a set to do so.

 See now its all starting to make sense, you could play out the game/movie with it ending with getting to the temple entrance but the trilling climax couldn't be played out inside it with a little bit of work :)

 Sorry I don't have an Indian Jones as my studio's doesn't have a big budget like Ivor's :)
What sets like this do is let you change the games ending, the little shoebox set can be on the table beside you & when the entrance is reached you can just remove the model & place it in the shoebox set for the finial act.

Now I started this post grays giving me the blues & how a camera can lie, the last picture was taking before I did the repaint, it looks gray doesn't it ? but believe me its not the case & giving how you lot know how I don't like painting I think you'll all know I didn't repaint it just for the fun of it.
You don't need the inside of a temple ? how about a resting place ? but be careful as I think the sun's about to set :)

That's a wrap for this post, as always my thanks for dropping in & if you'd care to leave a comment it would be welcomed :)

Movie Tone News, April 2019

Another month gone by & I'm a bit all over the place tbh, (nothing new there Frank you say :) so many plans but each plan leads to more to do, so with all of that in mind I've decided to put a hold on all productions for the time been, yep I know no really what you guys want to hear (I hope).

Right so where are we at ? well since last months news I posted two things one on Space Hulk & the other the start of the HEX campaign, so lets start with Space Hulk I now have 10 doors painted up, 4 escape pods some computer tables & a couple of doors, plus the C.A.T & the dead Terminator are done so progress there & really 10 more doors & few other little bits & this is in good shape, there are other things I want to add but when their done I'll put it a side for a time.

It was the HEX campaign that really got me thinking, yes it did hurt :) now while this will be for the most part picture light it will still require pictures & I want to try make less be more if you get my point, now the script team have been working on part two but even with the bit that's done I thought what about the pictures to go with it & tbh I knew straight away I couldn't do what I wanted.

So what to do ? well like I said I'm stopping production but on the plus side we're heading into what I like to think of as the hobby time of year, warmer weather & longer days, hopefully over the next 4 or 5 months I 'll get stuff done & then the camera's will be ready to start rolling again.

Now to say I've lots of stuff to do would be an understatement, the Western buildings & models, the ship that in dry dock half painted, MDF kits & plenty of models but to name some of it, add to that I really want to do more sets in a box & to top it all off I've been watching a guy on U-tube called the Terrain Tutor & getting lots of ideas for upping my game on the terrain stuff, if you've never watched him & are interested in making top notch terrain then his videos are well worth a watch.

Well that it for this months news, so its a goodnight from me & a goodnight from him :)
As always my thanks for dropping in & if you care to leave a comment it would be welcomed :)

Space Hulk, Just when I thought I was ready.

As I said in last months news I wanted to get my Space Hulk done, so for the last few weeks I've been working on the models.

At this stage all I've left to do is the C.A.T & the dead termination, as these are just objectives & not used in many missions I was ready to go, until that is I done this.

And then this.

The doors are from one of the Killteam sets that I'd picked up on E-bay for about 20 Euro including postage & as you can see works very well with Space Hulk, there was 10 of them & I've since ordered another set to give 20 doors which is the amount of the card one's that come with the game.

But why stop there ?

In the game different missions call for you to do different things, like destroy a terminal or maybe get to escape pods, these are only ever a certain tile on the game grid you need to get to, but having a model of that thing just for me brings the game to another level.

For me the visible aspect for table top gaming is a very big part of the enjoyment of it & anything I can do to add to that I will, as well as the two sets that have the doors, terminals escape pods & some other stuff, I also ordered a different set that has other stuff on it that will like the other sets also be usable in Space Hulk & in other thing, as you can see in the last picture I've a couple of the doors painted, I've gone for a grimy effect as Space Hulks are meant to be ships that have been lost for a long time.
The only thing I'm not sure of now is should I paint all the doors the same colour or have different coloured ones as a Space Hulk is meant to be many different ships all mashed together, why is life never easy :)

That's a wrap for this post as always my thanks for dropping in & if you'd care to leave a comment it would be welcomed :)

HEX Campaign, A knock on the door

England June 28th 1936

The last nine months have been hard for Grace Simms, the grief for the lost of her friends combined with a feeling of guilt over why she should have survived when they had not, the faithful events played over & over in her mind as she watch in horror the island disappear beneath the sea.
True that she had not been the only survivor of the terrible day but of her friends the others of the Society of the Blue Blooded she was the only one to return home.
                                    

A knock on the door brought Grace out of  the trance like state that was now her normal existence, yet she made no move to go & answer just sitting in the chair looking at the large piece of wood she held in her hands, the piece that had come to the surface & banged against the boat on that faithful day, a large piece of wood with strange markings on it.

Thump  thump came the sound again, heavier this time louder, rising wearily from the chair Grace went out into the hall & opened the front door, two man stood there one unknown to Grace the other vaguely familiar, but Grace couldn't be bother to search her mind to try to put a name to the face.

"Miss Grace Simms ?" ask the unknown man, in the kind of voice that said he already knew the answer.

Without answering Grace mentioned with her arm for the men to enter & then turned & headed back to the sitting-room followed by the two men who closed the front door behind them, in the sitting-room the same man who'd spoken before.
"Miss Simms, I'm Nigel Warren of His Majesty Government & this is Honorary Doctor Charles Lipton of the Royal National Geographic Society, I wonder if we might have a talk with you ?"
 Again un-answering Grace waved to a couple of chairs as she seated herself, the name Charles Lipton gaining recognition somewhere in the dept's of her mind.

Warren"Miss Simms before I begin I most emphasize on you that what is said is of the up most secrecy"Grace nodded her head & he continued,
"On the 9th of June a message from a German U-boat was intercepted, the massage read, Whiled surfaced we wear approached by a German fishing boat who in their nets had found a sealed container within was a written massage,If found please bring to the attention of  Major Klaus von Barlow Thule Society, Ultima found gain Knut Fraenkel's journal & follow if able"

When Grace made no reply Warren continued.
"To say we wear puzzled as to what it all meant would be an understatement, at first we thought that maybe Ultima was a person & it was only the fact that one of the team trying to work it out had heard of Fraenkel's journal that put us on the right track & lead us to the R.N.G.S, where Doctor Lipton informed us what  Ultima was & that the Society of the Blue Blood were the real experts on the subject"

Grace without lifting her head & in a half whisper"Forbes was the expert"
Warren"Pardon, what did you say ?"
Lifting her head & looking at them with hard cold eye's Grace repeated"Forbes was the expert & it costed him his life as well as the life of others, now if you Gentleman wouldn't mind seen yourselves out"

Lipton stood to leave but Warren remained seated & put a hand out to stop him.
Warren"Before I' leave Miss Simms there's one more thing I need to tell you, the massage was signed Uwe Gloup & dated 23 of November 1935"

Grace"What that can't be he was with Del & the others on the island as it blow its self apart & sank"
Warren" Its no mistake Miss Simms, we're reliable informed that von Barlow has already set sail on a U-boat for Ultima Thule in the company of this woman (handing a picture to Grace he continues) these are dangerous times Miss the Nazis are building up for war & searching the world for any artifacts that they thing might aid them"

The realization that her friends might yet be alive brought Grace to a more agreeable stat of mind & there was now a lot more vigor in her voice.
Grace"The date is 3 weeks after we lost them & if Gloup survived then its a fair bet that the other did as well, we've got to go get them & the woman is Helga she was on the island & escaped with us , I think she an Archaeologist "

Lipton now spoke for the first time.
Lipton" Miss Sim..
Grace" Oh stop with all this Miss Simms stuff my names Grace"
Lipton"Grace, from what I know of Ultima Thule which I admit is not a lot it all seems like a fantastical tale, a world inside the Earth that nobody ever been able to get to, or at least if they have then have never been able to get back out"
Grace"Fraenkel found away out"
Lipton"Fraenkel was found dead on an island on the other side of the world from where he set off, who's to say they weren't carried on the winds in their airship & came down on White island ?"
Grace" Yet not a trace of the airship was found or any sign of the others"
Lipton" It could have came down in the sea with only Fraenkel surviving & swimming to the island"

Grace" That's possible but all very unlikely & if that was what you gentlemen truly believed you wouldn't be here, so what is this really all about ?"
Warren" Either story seems as unlikely as the other, but the Nazis seem to think there's something in it & then there's the massage from Gloup is there any information you can give us that might help ?"

Grace" There are lots of names for what your calling Ultima Thule, Hyperborea, Shangri-La, Atlantis to name but a few, there might be some stuff in the library but like I said Forbes was the expert have you tried talking to his daughter Elaina ? she might have some of his stuff on the matter.
Warren" We've been in touch with Lady Elaina but she refuses to talk about it, it seems the tragic events of her father's death has hit her very hard"
Grace" I seen what happened to her father & nobody should ever have to see that happen to a loved one, I'll help you but on one condition, I'm going on the expedition"
Warren" I didn't mention any expedition but I can see your a very shape woman " & smiling he added " I was hopping you'd want to tag along, find what you can & be at this address in Whitehall at ten pm tomorrow"
With that they stood to leave.

As soon as they were gone Grace headed into the library & in something close to a frenzy spent the rest of the day pulling books from shelves & emptying draws, by the time she called it a day she had what she hope would be enough to be helpful, including translated copies of  his journal & massages that Fraenkel had sent to a friend.
That night Grace had a fitful sleep, the morning just couldn't come quickly enough.

To be continued.

Designer note, What you've just read was the first part of a new campaign I'm doing, it will be a bit different then what I'd normally do in that in some post there will be like in this one very few pictures, what kind of movies are these Frank ? I can hear you guys scream we want a refund :)
Well tbh with you guys my amount of stars & sets are quite limited & while I love nothing more then shown you guys pictures it can be limiting in what I can do, so I hope you guys will stay with me for what I hope will be a trilling adventure :)

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