Who is bustling about the Evenlode?

ID: 240500

Spoiler warning! This page contains details about Fallen London Actions.

From: Outside the Magistracy of the Evenlode

Action Cost: 0

For such a distant outpost, it's heavily trafficked.

Locked with  10

Success

All matters of law

(see table below)

Description summary:
The arrival of the Great Hellbound Railway at Evenlode appears to have stirred some things. The railway workers have mixed interactions with the constabulary there, who are notably mistrusting of outsiders and more fearful of things unseen. The Magistracy also appear to receive the most troublesome of young lawyers, and also judicially extraordinary cases. The Evenlode also receives the occasional visit from drownies from the river. The Urchins are here too, of course.

Airs	Description
1 – 6	The long, potholed journey from London has clearly done nothing for the tempers of the two lawyers climbing down from the carriage. They are arguing the case already, with language that would never pass in a court room.
7 – 13	An unholy shrieking! Constables consuming lunches on benches by the river leap to their feet. But it is the tortured scream of metal, not murder. […] that track layer is given a stern talking to re […] using those methods in a populated area.
14 – 20	Six police carriages stand outside[…]. High ranking officers climb down, each escorting someone in handcuffs. From the instructions to their juniors, these prisoners are skipping the courtrooms. Judgement has already been passed – by whom is unclear.
21 – 27	Two tired-faced men carrying shuttered lanterns stand considering the railway. A worker looks up[…], rushes towards them, but stops yards away[…] "Go! Shoo! We'll have none of you here." The figures turn and walk along the river without even a complaint.
28 – 34	The shout goes up. "Drownie! Get yer plugs in!" Railway workers shove wax in their ears. Police fetch barge poles, ready to encourage the drownie to move along.
35 – 41	There is a whirl of dust in the middle of the square; a little dirt cyclone. The railway workers stride straight through it. The police carefully skirt the edges. "Scared of a bit of muck? You superstitious?" The police are uncharacteristically quiet[…]
42 – 48	A lawyer is conducting a client meeting on a bench by the railway offices. […] "I don't like to spend longer in there than is absolutely necessary." "Too many cops, is it?" "Something like that." The lawyer doesn't meet his eyes.
49 – 55	A carriage draws up outside the Magistracy. The doors are not unlocked until it is circled by a dozen Evenlode constables. Finally, the door is unlocked and a diminutive woman steps down. All this security, just for her? What crime did she commit?
56 – 62	A gaggle of police roll out of the Magistracy, entirely drunk. Either they finished their shifts hours ago, or they've been drinking neat gin. One bellows, half weeping: "The things we've seen. You don't. Know. You don't know!" His fellow shushes him[…]
63 – 69	From their unfashionable attire, this pair must be from one of the more distant London suburbs. From the tone of their speech, they are on either side of a civil case. The magistrate is going to have their hands full.
70 – 76	A defendant is ushered from a carriage towards the entrance of the Magistracy of the Evenlode. They stop, and look up. And look up. To someone unused to the taller buildings of London, it must look grotesque – a giant's home, inhabited by ants.
77 – 83	There is a stand off between an usher and a railway worker. On the one hand, she is covered in grease, dirt and oil. On the other, why should only the nobs and the cops get to use the fancy toilets?
84 – 90	Disarray in the square! A London urchin has stolen shattered stone souvenirs from the more crumbled parts of the Magistracy building. Several portly police chase her towards the railway – she disappears into the kicked up dust cloud
91 – 97	On a bench by the river, a rail worker and a copper are sharing a picnic. They sit close, for the warmth. Both are ignoring the glares of their peers.
98 – 100	A parade of legal students clamber off a carriage and make for the courts. They whisper excitedly – a day in court, no matter the case, is more exciting than any in the classroom.

[Find the rest of the story at https://www.fallenlondon.com]

• [Airs of the Evenlode change…] (random)

Redirects to: Outside the Magistracy of the Evenlode