Scotland.

Wow, that took a while.
We had an outbreak of pixies in the library and were a bit tied up with that.
Here're the Scotland photos I promised:

Fleshmarket Close

This was our first stop. Mr. Tep insisted that we walk through Fleshmarket Close upon our arrival. I checked with Dr. Jones on that one, he said it was probably a good idea. Edinburgh worries me a little.

World's End Close

We check out World's End Close too, it was were the city's boundary used to be when it was walled and medieval. It was neat, and have a good pub, but no leads as far as Vladimir and Kraus.

Foundation of a workshop.

We had a Scottish ESS member meet us at the World's End Tavern and exchanged info. he told us a good place to look right near Flesh Market Close. It was were the Scottish ESS records placed a Vladimir and Kraus workshop. Apparently, it was destroyed when some machine of theirs backfired...

Sir Walter Scott Memorial

Ahh, the giant Gothic Sir Walter Scott memorial. We climbed this the first day in Scotland. It was great for getting a look around. It was also one of the things E had to do for Mr. Tep. Yeah, None of us got it either.

Tombs, also sandwiches.

I just thought it was cool they turned a sepulcher into a cafe.

Nerd.

Irik HAD to. HAD. TO. Stop to get this photo. See, there's a show called Doctor Who, BBC sci-fi. Main character flies around time and space in a big blue police phone box. So, yeah. He had to.

Also a nerd.

And the E had to get in on the action. Part of his assignment fro Mr.Tep was trying to find doors to Edinburgh Below. There was so much disappointment when the door to the blue box was locked.

On the Old Man of Storr.

Let me break it down for you: It rains in Scotland. All the time.
Irik and E decided we should try and truck up to the Old Man of Storr through this creepy forest. It started pouring buckets the second we passed through the first bit of forest. We got soaked. I punched Irik.

Arthur's Seat.

And the last day in Edinburgh. We trucked up Arthur's Seat, a mountain by the Queen's Scottish palace. Dr. Jones and Mr. Tep insisted there was something worthwhile on the top. I found a cool rock, that was about it.

Jolly old England.

Back in November, Dr. Jones left E, Irik and myself a not to go to London and find out what we could about two figures of the ESS's history (Vladimir and Kraus of Her Majesty's Royal Eliminators of the Loathsome Undead). They were, at the very least, pioneers in steam-technology and superfluous machines. Such as the automated back-worn tea, toast and hair-cutting apparatus. Most of their devices have been lost or destroyed (or self-destructed) but the originals are in the London ESS archives. I'll shoot some e-mails off and see if I can get copies. Dr. Jones, because he's Dr. Jones, left us about $40 and a single bent pound.
Because E is an indentured servant and Mr. Tep felt generous, and had an ulterior motive, as he always does, he funded the trip for the three of us.SO TO ENGLAND WE WENT!

We bummed it in hostels and B&Bs as we investigated. There's a British ESS branch, they helped us on our way. Our first place to look was in London itself. A pub called The Strutton Arms. V&K lived near Westminster on Greycoat Place.

The Strutton Arms Tavern

This pub was right in their neighborhood, and down the block from Westminster Abby, which is only a short ways from Buckingham Palace.

The first of many pints.
When all that The Strutton Arms yielded was a few pints of delicious cider, we moved on.
Our next spot of interest was Greycoat Hospital.
Greycoat Hospital.
We were allowed to search through some of the records, but not take photos (bastards). We got as far back as 1870, which gave us limited information on V&K. We got an address, 2739 Greycoat Place, which we could not find, at least not in current London.
When all else fails: go to pub.
So, we found nothing in London. Although, I got a picture of a faerie door.
Next up: SCOTLAND.