Masks of Nyarlathotep Campaign Journal.
Having played a couple of Call of Cthulhu one shots (The Haunting
and Amidst the Ancient Trees), I felt that my Investigators were ready to take
on something bigger, so using their characters from the previous adventures:
Sir Harry K Dresden Esq – Andy
Bennett Booth – Rob
Dr Krieger ‘Jerry’ Wirbelsaulenbrecher - Josh
Prof Jim Moriarty – Ryan
Dick Glover P.I. - Kiwi
We set out to tackle The Masks of Nyarlathotep.
Taking advice from the Companion book, I started off
introducing the party to Jackson Elias by the short scenario, The God of
Mitnal. They all embraced him as a friend and looked forward to more time with
him, how disappointed they’ll be….
(I didn’t decide to write up this journal until Episode 4,
so the details of the first 3 episodes may be a little vague)
Episode 1
Jan 10th 1925
Arkham MA
The League of Extra-Ordinary Gentlemen have had a slow year,
after their adventures with Walter Corbett and their introduction to the power
of an Elder God (Gla’aki), the only real excitement they had was assisting
their long-time friend, Jackson Elias, in Mexico. Even that turned out to not
be anything mystical, just a gun runner called Walter Kimble (who unfortunately
escaped into the jungle).
Months have passed since their time in the jungle, when a
telegram arrives at the L.E.G office. It is from Jackson, who says that he has
information about the Carlisle Expedition and he’ll be in New York in a few
days. This sudden message gets the party very excited, remembering the shenanigans
they had with Jackson; Harry is packed and ready to go in a flash!
They have a few days to kill before heading off, so they go
to the library to look into the Carlisle Expedition. They find plenty of
information, Robert Carlisle (a New York playboy), had decided to up sticks
with a group of companions and explore Africa. The expedition ended in tragedy
in Kenya when they and their guides were brutally murdered (although the bodies
of the white members were never found).
Once suitably stocked up on supplies (a cosh for Dick, a
couple of Molotov cocktails for Jim, he’s going to be trouble!), the party head
off to New York, checking into a rather fancy hotel (thanks to Harrys personal
wealth) they contact Jonah Kensington of Prospero Press (Jacksons publishing
house) and let him know where they are staying. Now the long wait, hours pass
slowly and painfully, until finally the phone rings! Harry leaps over the bed
and snatches the phone in excitement, practically frothing with zeal! Jackson
tells the party to meet him that evening at his hotel; he seems
uncharacteristically shaken and hangs up when pressed for more information,
which worries the party as they had previously seen Jackson as a nonchalant and
unflappable kind of guy.
Worried that their friend could be in trouble, they arrive
at Jacksons hotel early and head straight to his room. Knocking, there’s no
answer, but a successful Listen reveals that there is movement in the room.
Immediately Harry and Bennett charge the door, destroying the lock and sending
the door flying open. The scene that greets them is one of carnage, Jackson
lays on the bed, blood covering him, the bed, the wall, his intestines spilling
out onto the floral sheets. Next to him stood three men in robes, each wearing
an odd headdress that came down into a long red strip that hung in front of the
face, curved ceremonial knives still dripping crimson, clutched in their hands.
Without a second thought, the party drew weapons and opened
fire at the cultists, instantly wounding one of them who dropped to the floor,
clutching his bleeding arm. The other two started out of the open window, but
Dick soon closed the gap and set out onto the fire escape. As Dick placed his
foot on the old rickety frame, the creaking and groaning of old metal stopped
him, four floors is a long way to fall (having previously been pushed out of a
window at the Corbett house, heights are becoming an issue) and the cultists
were almost at the ground. He decided that safety would win this time and
climbed back in.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party had trussed up the injured
cultist using a lamp cord, and begun their search of the room. Jackson’s corpse
was upsetting to see, but they steeled themselves and checked him over. They
took a sketch of an odd symbol that had been carved into his forehead, and
checked his pockets. They found a book of matches from a bar in Shanghai, a
business card for an import/export company with the name Silas N’Kanwe on the
back, a letter from a lady from Harvard University regarding a book he wanted, and
a letter from a man in Cairo referencing artefacts of interest. Their captive
gave nothing away, even after having several fingers broken by Bennett, in the
end they decide that it would probably be a good idea to call the police and
report the murder of Jackson Elias.
The police quickly arrive and take away the captured
cultist, and after interviewing the group, leave satisfied that they were
innocent (although the state of the cultists’ fingers did raise an eyebrow).
The L.E.G head back to their hotel to try and make sense of
what had happened:
Jackson was scared.
He was killed by cultist types.
It’s got something to do with the Carlisle Expedition.
Why was he in Shanghai?
Who is Silas?
Too much to take in in one go, they decide to sleep on it
and see what the next day brings them.
The next day the party call Harvard University to speak to
the lady; she explains that there was a book called ‘Dark African Sects’ that
Jackson wanted, but it disappeared in mysterious circumstances. Intrigued, they
head to Emmerson Imports in the hopes of finding a lead, the death of their
friend will be avenged! They meet with Arthur Emmerson who remembers Jackson
and expresses his condolences at his death. They ask if Silas N’Kanwe is a name
he recognises and Arthur supplies the name of a shop in Harlem, the Ju-Ju
House, suppliers of African souvenirs and knick-knacks.
Pleased to have a
lead, they head straight there, standing out somewhat being a group of
well-dressed white guys in the middle of Harlem, but they find the Ju-Ju House
tucked away in a little courtyard without any difficulties. The shop is small,
with shelves on either side and a row through the middle, all covered with
numerous African items, masks, instruments, fly swatters, statuettes, but nothing
that really leaps out as unusual. Behind the desk stands a smiling old black
man, in his early 60s, who introduces himself as Silas. Dick starts the
questioning, asking about his link to Jackson, but Silas seems unaware of who
this man is or was.
The investigators leave, frustrated and angry, why would
Jackson have Silas’s name on a card?
Perhaps a stake out is in order….
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