[h2][b][i][color=008000][center]In This Fine Town Of Arkham[/center][/color][/i][/b][/h2]
[h3][b][i][color=008000][center]A Night At Wilde Hall[/center][/color][/i][/b][/h3]
[hr]
[center][img]https://s3.eu-central-1.wasabisys.com/devonilx7/2020/04/forest_path_dark_150398_1920x1080-1536x864.jpg[/img][/center]
[hr]
[center][b]"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown"[/b] - [i]H. P. Lovecraft[/i][/center]
[hr]
[center][@Eviledd1984][@Prosaic][/center]

Miss White watched her unusual companions like one might look at curiosities in an exhibition. She nodded slightly at each introduction in turn, eyes dancing between [b][color=0054a6]Benjamin Zebrowski[/color][/b] to [b][color=7ea7d8]Simon Hart[/color][/b] as each spoke. At Simon's question, the dark dress shifted in the shadows as the slight frame shrugged slightly, the sing-song voice echoing down the street once more.

	[b]"On the contrary, Mister Blue. The night is still young. I intend to await the carriage, but if you are in a great hurry, then I'm sure you can set out on foot. Although I certainly would not envy anyone who walks those woods."[/b]

	As if on cue, a chill wind came howling down the street, and even though they were still some distance from the first twisted trees of the Wilde Woods, all three of them could hear the trees creaking and moaning in the wind. Or at least, they all hoped that it was the wind. 

	Another noise broke the spell, the echo of hoof-beats, and the rattling of wheels on stone. The unlikely trio would have been forgiven for glancing towards the trees, expecting the Wildes carriage to emerge, but it is not from the woods that the carriage came. Instead, the sleek, black shape of an expensive carriage slipped from the shadows of the city at their backs. Two dark horses bore it forward, the hooded coachman driving them on, but as the carriage neared the edge of the forest, the coachman cried out, and the horses broke their stride, the carriage coming to a stop just a few paces from where Miss White, Simon and Benjamin still stood. For a beat, there was near silence, the only sound coming from the panting of the horses, steam spiralling into the cold air from their flanks, and then the carriage door swung open, and light spilled out onto the street. 

	For a moment, the trio could only make out a silhouette against the light, their eyes adjusting, but then they found themselves looking into a wide face, obscured by a mask bearing a long hooked beak, all in white. The mask stood in stark contrast to the shock of auburn hair on the man's head, and against the booming voice that echoed from the carriage. 

	[b]"I say, a little late to be wandering the streets, isn't it? If I've said it once to Avery, I've said it a dozen times, Parker's too cautious on the road, takes too long to shuttle everyone to the house. You're all bound for Wilde Hall I take it? Well the more the merrier, I'm happy to give you all a ride there! Doctor Green, at your service."[/b]

	The man leant back slightly, one large hand beckoning the three other guests forwards. The offer was certainly an enticing one, as was the warmth and light that radiated from within Doctor Green's carriage, but something caught Simon's attention, something that stopped him in his tracks. Miss White had been watching the two strangers with amusement, clearly not feeling threatened by either of the two men that had loomed out of the shadows, but ever since the carriage door had swung open, her shoulders had stiffened. It was slight, and something that could be easily missed, or perhaps brushed off as a coincidence, but it scratched at Simon. Miss White knew this Doctor, or at least knew of him, and judging by her reaction, it was not as a friend.