Thursday, February 16, 2012

A Laboratory in Glengarry

I walked through Glengarry, taking my time, marveling at all the changes since my last visit. Urban renewal will be the death of us all! I encountered the base of a mountain near the border with Ahavah that surely was not there before. This caught my attention. It is one thing for new buildings to arise overnight, and a completely different thing for the land itself to erupt within a single lifespan. Then again, in the Steamlands, such a thing seems less impossible than elsewhere.

Although I was hardly dressed for strenuous activity, I began to climb - and climb and climb - until I reached the top.

There stood an enormous structure - part house, part tower - that commanded a view not only of Glengarry but of all the surrounding parts of Caledon, as far as the eye* could see.

Von Frankenstein Estate Mount Glengarry 001

I stood at the door for some time, hoping to find the bell so that I might ring it and wrangle an invitation inside - the night was quite cold, and a cup of tea would have gone down nicely - but I saw no bell or knocker. Instead, I saw a small brass plaque that read "Von Frankenstein Estate, Mount Glengarry." Hmm, I thought, Von Frankenstein. Where had I heard that name before?

The cold got the better of me, and I tried the door handle. The handle turned easily, and I opened the unlocked door. Very trusting people, we Caledonians.

Von Frankenstein Estate Mount Glengarry 002

Inside was a small laboratory, with several arcane machines. Oh, that Frankenstein, I said to myself, the brain cells finally making the right connection. Bodies, electricity, reanimated, oops. I think I spoke that last word aloud.

Von Frankenstein Estate Mount Glengarry 003

The time seemed right to ignore the call of tea, ignore the cold, and make a strategic retreat before the owner of the laboratory returned.

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* Or draw distance, as the case may be.

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