Darkbank Tunnel - Part 3

Monday, June 27th, 1921 - Proceeded further into the mine - Sent Alfie down a level on the hand lift. Trying to go one level lower Alfie encountered water - Back on the top level, proceeded to the boat shaft. Found the body of James Carter in a dinghy in the canal side branch. The side branch was closed off from the main canal, but water was still leaking through and then flowing down the boat shaft. Carter's body had heavy bruising around the neck. - There was a lot of struggling with the logistics of returning Carter's body to the town. The first problem was carrying him back to the canal, but this turned out to be the simplest in hindsight. Once he was in the narrow boat the party discovered that they had no idea how to steer the boat when it was running in reverse, when the steering was ineffective. The pattern they settled into was to run the boat backwards a short distance, and when it brushed the wall to use poles and boathooks to push off until it was centred again. This made for very slow progress. - Eventually reached the end of the tunnel. Grainger headed into town to notify the police while Alfie and John carried the body to the first place they could find away from the canal that offered a bit of shelter. There was general surprise that neither Longthorpe or their driver were waiting for them - While Alfie and John waited they saw headlights beside the canal. Alfie approach cautiously and determined it was their driver, who had worried that he had somehow missed them and had search downstream for a while before returning. Alfie brought the driver back and showed him the body, then all three placed the body in the back seat of the car - Everyone arrived back at the town square at roughly the same time - The doctor and Inspector Morris were fetched and the body was taken to the doctor's office. The party were sworn to secrecy, in part because the Inspector wanted the opportunity to inform Mrs Carter of the tragedy before it became town gossip. The Inspector arranged to meet the party at 8am the next morning to take him to the where they found the body. - That evening, around midnight, the ground shook in the village. Not enough to wake those who were deep asleep, but certainly noticeable to those awake and to the light sleepers. This was the tunnel dwellers' first attempt to blast their way into the sewers Tuesday, June 28th, 1921 - In the morning the party talked to Trubshawe about the overnight vibrations. Trubshawe said that it felt like quarry blasting, but no one would be blasting at that time of night. He was inclined to think that it was slippage at one of the quarries, or some old mine collapse. He seemed unconcerned. - The party met the Inspector at 8am. He told them that he had talked to Mrs Carter, and then they drove to Darkbank Tunnel. - The party led the inspector to the boat lift and showed him the dinghy. The Inspector carefully examined the dinghy and asked questions about how the body was found. He dropped a matchstick in the canal and noted the flow of water from the canal side to the boat shaft. He also noticed that the bottom of the dinghy was covered in a thin slimy substance. - The party noticed that all the remaining explosives had been removed from the Eleanor - On return to town the Inspector asked the party not to leave town for a few days while he undertook his investigation - In the afternoon the party walked back to Darkbank Quarry. They observed the quarry from the surrounding hills and couldn't see any change in colouration that might indicate a recent collapse, but didn't go dow to visit the quarry itself.They also walked back up to the main entrace to the mine and opened the locked gates. After a very brief look inside they locked the gates again - They were late in returning to the inn. Trubshawe gave them the message that Longthorpe had dropped by to see them. Lomgthorpe said he would come back in the morning - On Tuesday night at 1am there was more rumbling, and this time the explosion was audible. Unknown to the townsfolk, the creatures had broken into the sewers Wednesday, June 29, 1921 - The Inspector has no idea who or what attacked James Carter, and doesn't really care. Grift sees this as a chance to declare that Darkbank Mine is unsafe, and that the town has been hearing collapses in the mine that threaten to obliterate the Darkbank Tunnel. Grift will say that Carter died "in the mine" (true) while "investigating the Eleanor accident" (also true). The Eleanor will be found sunk in the tunnel teh next time anyone looks, and tonight a third explosion will seal the tunnel completely. - Longthorpe is still a weak point - he feels responsible for Carter's death, and he knows Grift is obfuscating. - The Doctor is another weak point - I wonder what's happened to the body?