Chaosium Digest Volume 32, Number 4 Date: Saturday July 15, 2000 Number: 2 of 2 The Whippoorwill House, Chapter Two, cont. The Tees estuary. For so many it's a forgotten corner of England, a nowhere valley empty of worth and brimming with cultural apathy. Before I arrived at Whippoorwill House I was engaged in a lengthy pilgrimage to Glasgow, in the past a winner of the title 'European City of Culture'. Glasgow of course has its dark, festering aspect as any city, and its heroin syndicate has made the city foremost in the country. Its only significant contender for that dubious honour is Middlesbrough, the principle town of the Tees estuary but the merest fraction of the size of Glasgow, without the redeeming features of that city. Middlesbrough is a town of emptiness, mindless stagnation and decay. It has long lost its purpose and now wallows in its own filth and corpulence. Of course, it has a fragment of prosperity but this is only a superficial veneer over the town's rotten, black heart. Its unforgiving, dilapidated streets breed a particularly loathsome strain of social excrescence, and time is crumbling away it's last vestige of attractiveness. They are everywhere, the gaunt and soulless, corpselike shells of the living dead. In tracksuits they haunt the benefit offices, eyes bulging and faces pale and unhealthy with the scars of deprivation. The fishlike eyes of some seem to reflect more than the ravages of chemical dependency. I had heard tales of rumoured colonies of...."things" off the coast of Hartlepool, a mere few miles up the beach, and I seemed to see the taint of the oceans unwholesome denizens in the faces of many aimlessly walking the streets of Middlesbrough. I have never entered its darker, litter strewn back streets and I am dubious as to what I would find; mere urban decay or something infinitely more loathsome and inhuman? This seems particularly prevalent around the edges of the river, and if my suspicions became apparent, what abhorrent aberrations would have slithered forth from the pollution-plagued Tees as it passed through the dead town of Middlesbrough? In such an environment I am not surprised to find a place like Whippoorwill House, not at all. The events there are horrific and imprinted indelibly on my scarred memories, but they seem only a fragment of a greater darkness that clings to the Tees Estuary like a malignant plague. What lurks in the dark shadows of the disgusting, tenebrous back alleys of those darkened industrial towns? To what gruesome depths had humanity sunk to in this ravaged place, breeding misanthropy and hate? No, I am not surprised to find a place like Whippoorwill House here. Not at all. And in Whippoorwill House, on that night when all my preconceptions of the limits of terror died an agonizing death I went to Swindell's aid, truly beginning the cycle of abhorrent events that were to climax in the scarring of the sanity of I and my companion, leaving us incarcerated in a mental institution for much of the subsequent months, nearly irrevocable damage done to our nearly destroyed bodies. I ran to Swindell's aid, and I still can't think of an adequate explanation why. I entered the darkened dinning room and registered a breathing that filled me with terror I cannot describe, a terror that paralyzed me so thoroughly that I was denied even the ability to lose control of my bladder. The stench of rotten flesh, feces and something akin to a hospital disinfectant where beyond overwhelming, I felt my nose begin to bleed as my nasal lining was dissolved. It was at that point that I was allowed by my brain to register the form that was dangling from the far corner of the ceiling. To spare me dissolving on the spot my consciousness allowed me to visualize the obscenity as something like a shriveled old hag. Disgustingly, the thing began lowering and gliding toward me, and the reality sunk in. I believe at that point I may have screamed. In actuality whatever it was, was using the skin of a relatively young woman to cover itself, but its mis-shapeness caused the morbid garment to appear far older. It was hanging via a cluster of ropy brown root like appendages that sprouted from the base of the spine. I could also unhappily see that they where spreading slowly across the ceiling. It was no more than five feet away and I was paralyzed and totally hypnotized by the undulating skin-coat. The lolling head quivered and jerked as excitedly twitching, gossamer threads began to probe out wards from the facial orifi. Sparing no indignity, they sickeningly began to reach from other places as well. It was inches from me, the threads questing insidiously toward my mouth and nostrils, and I barely restraint vomit again as they coldly and slowly parted my lips with a strange gentleness. My mind retracted from my body trying to hide in coma, and then lightning-quick something else moved, I was vaguely aware of a click, a dull thud and spattering, and the thing slumped, dead. Flooding back into my body, I realized that I had some how pushed my gun into its mid section and relived it of its entrails. The thing lay twitching, its tendrils peeling with a sickening sound from the ceiling. Looking around intently I realized that the ceiling was sporting a rather large hole and something was scrawled into the table beneath which lay Swindell. Groggily he got to his feet and I saw that his head had evidently been beaten soundly. I had seen more than enough and without taking further note of our environment we left the room shutting the door behind us. Involuntary tears were coursing rivulets of wetness down my dust-smeared cheeks, and Swindell was in no better condition. As we crossed the darkened hall another time we came as close as a human can to scampering, rats trying to abandon a sinking ship but trapped in the black bowels, unable to escape. In an unnatural turn of events I was hesitatingly supporting Swindell with one arm and attempting to proficiently wield firearms with the other, an activity which I was less than efficient in. He occasionally mumbled inanities and I wondered if any permanent damage had been caused. I was not feeling especially warmer towards him, but then a live and accurate bullet shield is better than a dead, cumbersome one. I nervously glanced at a high, remote window above the door admitting thin, inadequate beams of weak moonlight. The night was still comparatively young and the clouds seemed even thicker and more ominous, from what I could distinguish and deduce in through the window and the miniscule section of sky that I could see without. I was reminded that we had no especial obligation to explore this house from top to bottom, but an excited compulsion was driving me on. I no longer hovered on the edge of seeking the highly dubious safety of the outside. Swindell stumbled, and I unconsciously shifted my weight to compensate, leaning my hand momentarily against the back wall. It felt curiously warm and pinpricks of cold sensation tingled across my flesh in a momentary dance. I also felt a vibration-something I couldn't wholly substantiate-reverberating through the eighteenth century brickwork. I was a throbbing, insistent but distant pulsing as of powerful machinery thundering deep underground. Then the sensation passed and Swindell appeared to regain his senses enough to stand without my aid, walking with a slightly jerky gait that betrayed nervousness. Irritated, I hustled him into the doorway of the one room that we hadn't investigated. I had private hopes of alcohol that desperately needed satiating, and perhaps some fragments of fresh comestibles; I had been living off service station tat for a little too long for my tastes, and my stomach was constantly voicing its complaints with a noise akin to heavy artillery. A growing atmosphere of dread and apprehension was beginning to seep into me, and I was becoming increasingly susceptible to the palpably macabre atmosphere that this evil house seemingly exuded from between its very molecules. Shuddering visibly and uttering a weary flash of profanity I ushered Swindell through the doorway, and weapon raised in dark anticipation, crossed the threshold. It turned out to be a rather urbane kitchen, how thoroughly dull. Spaghetti boiled upon a stove and the smell of pastry wafted on in the air. As I inspected and ravished several items of food Swindell uttered his god forsaken phrase, and, following his gaze my eyes found the source of this upset. A door, leading to the basement if the time-ravaged label was to be believed. What had demanded the actual utterance of the oath was the all to familiar symbol etched in bronze upon its blank, implacable face. Strange impressions of sounds vibrated through the door and the feeling that I would need to cross its threshold soon swept upon me. Feeling resigned and, realizing that there was nowhere else on this floor to reluctantly explore I wearily turned to the door at right angles to the basement. As my palm touched the handle undulating, throbbing vibrations issued up my arm. I tried to fool myself that these where emanating from an ancient generator or forgotten car engine but deep inside I knew otherwise. The vibrations felt guttural and in some indefinable way purposeful and guided. The door opened.... a machine gun blast of electro-mechanical cacophony issue forth from the room. I was drowning in a flood of raw, militant, malignant machinery. I swiveled my eyes to behold its source of origin. -------------------------- SOLOMON BITES THE WORM An Adventure for Call of Cthulhu INTRODUCTION This adventure is set in present day England, but it can be easily adapted to any rural setting. It takes place on a humid, oppressive day in summer. The adventure is based around the spell Unspeakable Promise and it’s terrible consequences. Although the scenario includes a creature from Ye Book of Monstres II, ownership of this book is not necessary for play, though it is helpful. It is fairly easy for investigators to pull through with minimum casualties and sanity loss. The lethality can be significantly decreased by making the stats for the Unspeakable Possessor lower. The scenario is fairly linear and should be fairly easy for new Keepers to keep under control. At least one of the investigators should be acquainted with Lynn Jones, either from an old friendship or previous investigation. It is useful, but not vital for at least one investigator to be proficient in Latin. PLAYERS INFORMATION The investigators are called by Mrs. Lynn Jones to investigate the disappearance of her husband, Solomon Jones. If the investigators are connected with the police or some other investigative body (such as Delta Green), they are sent as representatives of that force. Otherwise, Lynn calls the investigators before the police, as she has more faith in them. Solomon disappeared from Mainwarings, his Somerset country estate two days ago. He was last seen by Lynn in his study, where he spent most of his days. Solomon was an archeologist from Wales and had written several critically acclaimed books on archeology and history as well as fiction based on Celtic Myths. KEEPER’S INFORMATION Nineteen years ago, Solomon discovered an old tome whilst excavating the remains of a 9th Century monastery. The tome, Liber Carcosa, described a being called Hastur and gave details of an incantation that could be used to strike a bargain with this infernal being. The spell was, of course, Unspeakable Promise. Solomon, then unsuccessful and impoverished, cast the spell and bargained his soul in return for success in his writing career. Sure enough, Solomon’s next book, The Ballad of Gwythen was a huge success. Solomon used his new wealth to accumulate archeological artifacts and old books, including The King in Yellow. As the years wore on, Solomon became increasingly worried about ‘the other side’ of the bargain that he had made. He finally managed to acquire a Nigerian artifact called the Mgomvi-acha, which he believed could be used to reverse the spell’s effects. This was all for naught, however, because two days ago, whilst working in his study on the acha, Solomon was transformed into a humanoid horror entirely under the control of Hastur. He fled his former home into the estate’s woods. Hastur has now commanded ‘Solomon’ to collect the Mgomvi-acha and deliver it to cultist s in Taunton. ARRIVAL AT MAINWARINGS When the investigators arrive at Mainwarings at mid-day, Lynn greets them, along with her small dog, Quint. On a successful LUCK roll Quint takes a shine the lucky character and follows him around. Otherwise, characters must ask in order for Quint to accompany them. Quint is useful, as described later. The investigators are also introduced to a surly Ivan Hunter, the estate’s gardener and the only other person on the estate other than the chipper housemaid. A successful PSYCHOLOGY roll will reveal that Ivan is opposed to the investigator’s presence. Mainwarings itself is a gloomy Victorian building of dark red brick, with extensive gardens and grounds, including a wood to the north-east of the house where Solomon is hiding. Lynn will then take the investigator’s to Solomon’s study, where he was last seen. The window is open, perhaps wide enough for a man to get through, but Lynn will say that this was normal practice for Solomon. If Quint is with the investigators he begins barking in a most distraught manner and refuses to go near Solomon’s chair. The desk is covered in papers and other objects, including the Mgomvi-acha, and the notes accompanying it. The desk draws are locked, but a successful LOCKSMITH roll or a roll on the resistance table pitting the investigator’s STR against the lock’s CON of 10 will open them to reveal, among other more mundane items, a copy of The King in Yellow, complete with sanity-blasting Yellow Sign. Rules for The King are given in the Cthulhu rulebook. A thorough search of the study will reveal the Liber Carcosa on a successful SPOT HIDDEN roll, hidden high up on the rear bookshelf. The book is in Latin, and as well as describing Hastur and his kin in Hali, gives the spell Unspeakable Promise (Daemonic Bargain). It takes 5 weeks to study and comprehend, as well as a successful LATIN roll. Cthulhu Mythos +5 percentiles, (1/1D6) sanity loss. To get the gist (i.e. it is about Hastur and contains what looks like a Mythos spell called Daemonic Bargain takes 1D6 hours and a successful LATIN roll. THE MGOMVI-ACHA AND ASSOCIATED NOTES The acha is a small (about 7 inches high) hardwood statue of a crouching man shaping what looks like a bowl out of a collage of human faces. A successful ARCHEOLOGY or KNOW roll will reveal it to be in the style of the Benin Empire. The underside of the statuette is covered with unusual sigils. Another successful ARCHAEOLOGY roll will reveal them to be in no known language. The people of Benin had no written language, which should spook the investigator who initially identified the statuette. In fact, the sigils are in the language of the people that built G’harne. A successful CTHULHU MYTHOS roll will confirm this and another CM roll will reveal them to be the steps to an incantation to increase one’s magical ability. If the incantation is pronounced (successful CM roll and sacrifice of 3 magic points and 1d4 sanity points) the acha will be activated and become warm to the touch. A successful LISTEN roll will reveal a quiet chanting noise coming from the statuette. The next spell that the caster casts whilst touching the acha will cost half as many magic points (rounded down) as normal for the caster and the spell will automatically succeed if there would otherwise be a chance of failure (such as with summon/bind spells). The acha can be activated only once and it crumbles after being used to power a spell. Solomon’s notes read as follows: Statuette definitely west African- Benin? Cannot be sure…… Sigils in language unknown NO BENINESE WRITTEN LANGUAGE!!!! Possibility of forgery……Sigils-incantation?……cannot translate, must study LC…….LC no help- maybe it is nothing to do with Bargain…. Day of Reckoning draws near, the incantation must work!!!!….. no help, nothing happened, probably forgery…. I await my side of the Bargain….. LET’S SPLIT UP, GANG! The investigator will probably want to investigate the rest of the estate. Pertinent locations are described below: WOODS: If Quint is with them, he will pick up and follow Solomon’s trail on a successful LUCK roll. Otherwise, a successful LUCK roll is required to find signs of a large animal, possibly a man, and a successful TRACKING roll is required to follow the trail. The trail leads to a clearing, where a campfire has been left from the night before. Quint will go crazy in the clearing, barking at the smell of ‘Solomon’ lingering from the night before. Solomon is no longer there. IVAN’S SHED: If they search whilst Ivan is there, he will answer questions in a surly manner, revealing little. A successful PSYCHOLOGY roll will reveal that he is telling the truth if he says he doesn’t know what has happened to Solomon or if he says that he did not kill Solomon. If they search whilst Ivan is out, a successful SPOT HIDDEN roll will reveal several hidden photographs of Lynne, some apparently having been taken through the window whilst she was in the shower or otherwise wearing little or nothing. A successful PHOTOGRAPHY roll will reveal that some of the pics are up to three years old. The shed also contains an axe and a chainsaw, which may come in handy later (see SLIGHT RETURN below! GARDEN’S: Outside the study window, Quint will shy away as if in disgust, as this is where Solomon escaped following his transformation. The Keeper should feel free to fill the rest of the estate as he sees fit, with maybe a few red herrings dotted about. CAST OF CHARACTERS Lynn Jones, Age 44 STR 10 CON 13 SIZ 11 INT 15 POW 16 DEX 11 APP 17 EDU 10 SAN 80 HP12 No damage bonus, combat stats at basic, no weapons Listen: 60% First Aid: 45% Natural History: 60% Spot Hidden: 55% A well-preserved, attractive woman in her early forties. Lynn is fairly smart and sports an upper-class accent, but is minimally educated. She also has a marked lack of curiosity and knows nothing of Solomon’s work. Ivan Hunter, Age 50 STR 13 CON 15 SIZ 12 INT 12 POW 12 DEX 13 APP 10 EDU 11 SAN 60 HP 14 Damage bonus +1D4, combat stats are normal Accounting 40%, Natural History 65%, Horticulture 70%, (Lecherous) Photography 40%, Fast Talk 40% Spot Hidden 60% Weapons: Wood axe, 20%, 1D8+1D4+2 damage The manor’s sullen, introverted gardener. Ivan has long lusted after Lynn, but furtive photographs are his only expression of this. Whilst he had no great love of Solomon, whom he occasionally refers to as ‘the old devil’ and was jealous of the writer, he could never have killed him. He is a red herring, intended to arouse suspicion in the investigators. The Thing that was Solomon, Age 46 STR 22 CON 26 SIZ 21 INT 15 POW 35 DEX 14 Move 8 HP 24 Damage Bonus: +2D6 Weapons: Touch 85% Damage 1D10 per round as the creature thrusts it’s fingers inside the victim’s body and drains body fluids. Drained hit points are added to Solomon’s STR and SIZ, divided equally. Armour: 5 points of blubber and scales Skills: Climb 65%, Sneak 40%, Hide 30% Sanity loss: (1/1D6) to see; (2/1D8) for Lynn to see what has become of her husband. Solomon has become an Unspeakable Possessor, which are described in Chaosium’s Ye Book of Monstres II. The ‘instant death’ attack has been omitted in the case of Solomon. Solomon is now an enormous bloated humanoid horror, with rubbery, boneless arms ending in hands with octopoid fingers. His skin is gray-green and warty and his hair stands out in wiry bristles at various locations around his ghastly form. His face is a bloated parody of his former self, but still recognizable to those who knew him. He emits an overpowering odor of stale grease, which vanishes quickly. It is, however, disturbing to Quint. He is capable only of growls and moans instead of speech. SLIGHT RETURN What follows assumes that the investigator’s stay the night at Mainwaring’s, instead of giving up or jumping to false conclusions that day. Lynn is eager for them to stay, providing a delicious dinner and ample bedrooms, as she is justifiably scared. At 8:30, as the investigator’s are seated in the dining room, finishing their main course, Margaret, the housemaid, runs in crying and screaming. With Lynn’s help, she calms down enough to lead them outside. There, the investigator’s find the corpse of Ivan on the benighted lawn, drained of all body fluid. This prompts a (0/1D4) SAN roll. Quint, if he is present, will go wild with distress at the scene of the killing. Solomon has snuck back into the gardens and killed Ivan in order to gain size lost with the rising of the sun (see Ye Book of Monsters II for further details.) He fled back to the woods soon after, but will return at 11:00 to break into the study and steal the Mgomvi-acha. There are clear signs of a struggle, and investigators succeeding both a SPOT HIDDEN and TRACKING roll will be able to track Solomon back to the woods and confront him. Otherwise, anyone patrolling the manor within a fair distance of the study at 11:00 will hear Solomon break in and can confront him there. Anyone in bed or the other side of the manor must make a LUCK or LISTEN roll at The Keeper’s discretion to here him entering. Solomon will fight to the death if cornered- he will NEVER leave the Mgomvi-acha. ATMOSPHERE The Keeper should describe how dark and oppressive Mainwarings is. The house is full of antiques, including sinister Polynesian masks, ghoulish Asian statues and even some human skulls from Alaska, along with stuffed animals, often exhibiting very poor taxidermy. The less well-ventilated areas, of which there are many, smell strongly of mothballs. Think of a gloomy Victorian museum and you’re not far off. WRAPPING IT UP The adventure should end with either the investigators killing Solomon or Solomon escaping with the Mgomvi-acha. Alternatives include the investigators arresting Ivan or running away screaming. Further adventures can be built on this. If Solomon gets away much fun can be had tracking him down. If the Mgomvi-acha falls into the hands of the Hastur cult all hell could break loose. Lynn could be driven insane by the sight of what her husband has become, which could provide links to adventures involving mental asylums. The Mgomvi-acha was not the only curious artifact in Mainwarings-who knows what secrets could be hiding in it’s dark corridors? Have fun! --------------------------- A Damsel in Distress While returning from the Pentecost tournament the following event occurs to your players. A peasant runs out in front of the player's troupe begging them for their help as a wicked Knight has kidnapped his daughter, Sir Edrake the Dark. Sir Edrake has 4500 Glory got by the most despicable means. Have your players make recognize rolls to see what they know of Sir Edrake. Should any of them be successful in this roll, then there is no deed too dreadful for Sir Edrake to have committed. As this has occurred on Sir Edrake's land and these are his serfs then it would be difficult to bring charges. However, will your players let this villain get away with his dastardly deeds (if they will then you'd best find another adventure for them. As this one is not suitable) or will they find a way to bring justice and put everything as it should be. "It was just at midday ma Lord, he, (spits) that is Sir Edrake came riding with his band of ruffians into the village (presumably the sorry collection of hovels that now surrounds the players) and he grabbed Elena (sobs) and rode off with her. Striking poor Rob down as he passed". Poor Rob, Elena's older and very protective brother, is in a sorry condition as he has been struck in the head with a mailed boot. He is however, being properly cared for and is likely to recover as he is a healthy young man. The players must now decide on their course of action. Several courses of action are open to them. They could have Sir Edrake charged for his crimes, which will, no doubt, be considerably greater by the time the law gets involved. One of the knights could challenge Sir Edrake. This is likely to result in only a shallow victory for if the prize of victory is the Elena's freedom then Sir Edrake will order her murder if he is defeated and he will also make the condition of the serfs even more miserable. He will in no circumstance fight to the death. The best course of action is to mount a rescue mission. Rescue Options The knights could ask for hospitality from Sir Edrake and hope to make their escape with Elena during the night However, this will bring them within the clutches of the evil Sir Edrake who will hope to murder them in the night and therefore profit from their confiscated goods. The player knights could attempt to break into the keep of Sir Edrake and rescue Elena. This is perhaps the best option available. They will however have to be quick if Elena's honour is to remain intact. Yes, Elena (App 28) is still a Virgin even at the age of 17 as she is secretly betrothed to Sir Cardel a Knight of the Fey. However, he will not arrive on the scene until midnight. So until that time it is up to the player knights to solve the problem. The player knights will arrive at the Keep of Sir Edrake in the early evening. They see a small square two story keep of excellent construction. The only method of entry short of siege engines is to scramble across the ditch and begin the ascent of the keep wall. This is almost impossible without ropes and is extremely difficult in armour. The villagers are able to provide enough stout rope to make the ascent. This accomplished the Player knight(s) will find they are standing on a flat roof with a stout trapdoor (strength 20 resistance). If the trapdoor is smashed in, it will arouse the attention of Sir Edrake and his men who will come to investigate. Once the trapdoor is open, if it has not been heard, then the player knights will hear a drunken party being held below. They will hear a loud voice declare that he is going to bed (loud roaring and applause) and in the morning that his birthday present will be theirs. (Louder roaring and applause) The storyteller should ensure that it is now approaching midnight. A search of the upper level will reveal a few storerooms a stair leading down and a master bedroom with Elena chained by the ankle to the heavy bed. Once the chain is broken the player knight's may escape with Elena. Perhaps followed by Sir Edrake and his men if they make to much noise. With the exception of Sir Edrake these are just drunken louts and should not be a problem. I suggest about four or five of Sir Edrake's men per knight Midnight: Sir Cardel arrives. (use standard fairy knight statistics.) Sir Cardel should arrive to reward the players for saving Elena. These rewards should be anything, which is suitable to your campaign. However I suggest that he invite the player Knights to his wedding as well as giving them his fairy horse. Sir Cardel can also be used to save the players should for some reason it has all gone horribly pear shaped or to punish them if they are less than kind to Elena --