Episode 5
30th Jan 1925
London
(A brief bit of ret-conning was needed to get Andy’s new
character into the party) The previous night as Dick merrily drank the night
away, he got into a bit of a scuffle with one of the locals over the quality of
the ale served. Punches were thrown, glasses broken but it was over before it
began and they got separated to opposite ends of the bar. A man asks the
landlord for his kit, and the landlord hands over a military style medical bag.
He patches up the drunken patron, and then does the same for the drunken P.I,
introducing himself as Thomas Clinton, ex-Army doctor. He takes Dick back to
Bennetts house and stays the night to ensure that his patient is well.
Over breakfast the party get to know Thomas and explain that
their previous medical ‘expert’ stayed in Arkham when they came to London, and
they could really do with a doctor in their midst. Thomas agrees, although he
is very sceptical about the talk of monsters and magic, his stiff upper lip not
allowing much room for imagination.
Once breakfast is finished, Bennett and Jim head to the
library to research the Carlyle expedition and see if they can find any
reference to The Crawling Chaos; Thomas and Dick go to the office of The Scoop
to talk to the Editor, Micky Mahoney.
Mickey was expecting them, but was surprised that Waldo
wasn’t with them. Dick’s blasé comment of “A lot of people die around us” worries
both Micky and Thomas, but the conversation quickly turns back to Jackson
Elias. Micky confirms that Jackson visited a few weeks back, he’d known him for
several years and was surprised to see him so flustered, but was happy to let
him search through the archives. After a couple of hours, Micky tells them,
Jackson left in a hurry, leaving only three articles on the table:
An artist in Soho, painting horrid and unusual scenes
A beast of some sort seen in a village near Derby
Egyptians living in London turning up dead, a couple every
month for many months
Excited to have some leads, they head to the café to meet up
with the other two. It transpires that their time at the library wasn’t as successful;
finding no new information on the Expedition, and the Crawling Chaos could be
one of several names for the same entity. This barely disheartened them, as
having something that was directly linked to Jackson spurred them on. Thomas
and Dick went to Scotland Yard to speak with Inspector Barrington with regards
to the Egyptian murders, while Jim and Bennett head to Holbein Mews to speak to
the surprising new artist, Miles Shipley.
At The Yard, Inspector Barrington agrees to see the pair and
listen to what they’ve got to say. They tell him about the ritual murder of
their friend and the Cultists on the Mauritania, and how they could be linked
to the murders going on here.
“You’re not the first person to suggest a Cult connection, a
man called Elias mentioned something called The Brotherhood of the Black
Pharaoh but we couldn’t find any evidence”
The pair tell the Inspector that the man he met was the very
man who was murdered, this piqued his interest and he happily divulged what he
knew:
Jackson mentioned The Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh
One of the victims muttered ‘Hotep’ before he died, which
means ‘Peace’ or ‘Rest’ according to Edward Gavigan of the Penhew Foundation
Many of the victims frequented the Blue Pyramid club but
investigations didn’t turn up anything
Tewfic al-Sayed did work for the Penhew Foundation and also
goes to the club, but again investigations found nothing conclusive
Barrington impresses upon them that they are civilians now
and although he appreciates their help, they aren’t to overstep their bounds
(let’s see how long that lasts!)
Meanwhile, Jim and Bennett are enjoying a cup of tea made by
Miles’ mother as she tells them about her son’s amazing change into the rising
star of the art world. Miles on the other hand barely communicates with them,
staring unblinkingly at his sketchbook as he furiously draws out another
disturbing image. Bertha takes the two ‘art collectors’ upstairs to the
gallery, where they are confronted by over a dozen horrific and twisted
paintings, all expertly created with meticulous detail, but all the gore, bugs
and just plain messed up things going on starts to take its toll and they need
a breather. Bennett helps Bertha in the kitchen while Jim feigns illness to use
the bathroom, using the precious few minutes alone to have a search around
upstairs, but to no avail.
Bennett notices a strange smell in the kitchen, but he can’t
quite place it, although it is stronger towards the basement door. Running out
of excuses to stay, they agree to buy one of the paintings and arrange to come
back the next day to see if Miles in in a more talkative mood.
The party meet up at the pub to exchange information and
agree that there is something screwy going on in that house, but it can wait
till the next day; the Blue Pyramid however is definitely an evening job, so
after dropping off the painting, picking up a few bits from Thomas' house and placing an order for a pistol through a gentleman that Dick found at a dive bar, they back into Soho to check out the club. They
arrive at around 9pm and are led into the main area of the club, a large open
room with silks hanging from the ceiling across to the walls and down, giving a
very touristy impression of an Arabian tent. The music isn’t to any of their
tastes, but the ladies wearing not a lot whilst belly dancing one stage soon
put that out of their mind. Thomas asks who the owner of this fine
establishment is, and eventually manages a quick chat with him. Beyond general
niceties, no real information was gained; he’s far too busy running the club to
pay attention to the occasional random person.
Feeling down heartened at this sudden dead end, the
investigators have a few drinks and discuss their possible options and how the
different cults may be linked. The time rolls on to gone 11pm when one of the
waitresses brings them another round, but written on Thomas’s napkin is “Meet
me round back at Midnight”. Debating whether this is a clue or if Thomas has
pulled, for safety’s sake the rest of the party spread out, on staying at the
club, one across the road and another stands guard at the mouth of the alleyway
while Thomas meets the mysterious lady. Only a few minutes after midnight, the
fire door at the side of the club opens, and the waitress comes out. She
introduces herself as Yasmine and tells him that her boyfriend was taken by the
Brotherhood several weeks ago and is most likely dead. She goes on to say that
each month a truck arrives at closing time, driven by Tewfic al-Sayed, and
around 20 people get in. They are gone all night and arrive back early the next
morning, well most of them come back….
Thomas asks when was the last time the van came by, nearly a
month ago it transpires (convenient huh?), but it’s getting late so they swing
by Tewfic’s spice shop to have a quick look before heading home. After having
to spell out to Dick that breaking into someone’s premises while it’s obvious
that they’re in would be a fairly sodding dumb move, the party head home. More
nightmares harass Jim’s sleep, how much longer can he cope with them?
The next day, Jim heads back to the British Museum to see
Professor Willis and find out if he had managed to translate the tablet he
found. The professor explains that cuneiform is very difficult to translate,
but there does seem to be references to communicating with ‘Deep Ones’. While
he is at the museum, the rest of the investigators go to the Spice Shop to talk
to Tewfic. The conversation begins nicely enough, they ask about why he lives
here, how nice the Blue Pyramid club is, general chit chat to get a feel for
this man. They manage to get some more information about the Brotherhood (it
was an ancient cult that was outlawed hundreds of years ago). That is until
Dick straight out accuses him of being a mass murderer because he’s foreign!
Oddly enough Tewfic doesn’t take to that well and angrily kicks them out of his
shop.
Thomas volunteers to keep an eye on the shop while the
others go back to see Miles Shipley. Miles is technically more lucid this time,
but he is clearly a disturbed individual, unable to explain how his talent
suddenly appeared or where he gets his inspiration from. Bennett manages to get
him talking about the techniques he used while Dick pretends to have been a plumber
in the past and offers his services to check the sink, to see if he can find
the source of the smell in the kitchen. Unfortunately for Dick, his knowledge
of indoor plumbing is somewhat lacking and despite some fantastic quick
thinking bullshit from his player (well done Kiwi), Bertha is suspicious of his
motives. The smell however does remind him and Jim of being at the zoo, most
importantly, the reptile house.
Hoping to appeal to their bank accounts, Jim tells them that
he’d like to be Miles’ patron and would be willing to put on a show in a local
gallery. The Shipley’s are excited by the prospect and agree to go for a meal
with Jim and Bennett to discuss is more.
Heading home to get changed, they pick up Thomas on the way
past who tells them that Tewfic hasn’t left the shop all day. A plan is
concocted, Jim and Bennett get the Shipley’s out of the house, and Thomas and
Dick break in and get to the bottom of the weirdness in that place. Everyone
knows their roles, and the plan is deployed; The ‘Art Critics’ go for a lovely
meal at The Ritz, and the other pair sneak round to the back of the house. Dick
manages to climb over the high wall surrounding the small garden, Thomas instead
opens the gate and walks though, smug as all hell as he strides past the
dangling P.I. They spot a deckchair in the garden that seems to have scales of
some sort on them, but unsure of their significance they turn their attention
to breaking and entering. Dick is unable to pick the lock, but thanks to a
steady hand and a small scalpel from the doctor, he manages to pop the latch to
the kitchen.
They head straight into the basement which has an odd path
leading to the back wall, either side of this path is made up of general
Brik-a-brak and household items. The smell gets worse the further they head in,
not just the smell of the zoo, but something altogether, deader. A few minutes
searching provides them with a secret entrance to a small cave like room,
bizarre glyphs and symbols are carved in the walls, a couple of crude shelves
hold some books, scrolls and a syringe of green fluid. At the end of the room
is a stone tub, no more than 2ft square, and despite Dicks request to not look
in the strange stone tub (flashbacks to the creature in the well in the Ju-Ju
House!), Thomas checks out the contents. What he sees turns his stomach. Even
the trenches of the Somme didn’t produce this…mess. Human bones, partly
digested flesh, blood and organs, topped off with a woman’s head in the corner.
They quickly gather up everything they can, take a few pictures and leave the
way they came.
Not knowing when their friends would return with the
murderers, they call the police and glossing over how they found the body,
report the crime and head immediately to the pub to again attempt to expunge the
images they’ve seen.
Meanwhile at The Ritz, Jim and Bennett treat Miles and his
mother to the finest meal they’ve had in many a year, all the while trying to
get more information out of the pair. Jim wants to make sure that Miles
“Doesn’t have any skeletons in the closet”, to which he says “The only thing in
my closet is my masterpiece”, a masterpiece you say? Well that got the
investigators intrigued, so they finish up and head back to see this painting
that is so special the artist keeps it hidden.
Back at the house the two of them are ushered up to the
studio where Miles opens the cupboard and shows them a painting on an easel,
covered with a white sheet. He pulls off the sheet to reveal…. A fairly mundane
scene compared to the rest of his paintings… The picture shows a swamp, in the
middle is a small island no more than 20 feet across with a stone slab in its
centre. It is however spectacularly well done, the detail is amazing, even
photographs aren’t this clear, the leaves seem to move, hang on, did they
actually move? No, they can’t have, but the water is so well depicted it
appears to ripple naturally…it is rippling….oh dear…
Bennett manages to pull his eyes away from the picture just
in time to see his friend disappear in front of him and reappear in the now
static painting. Understandably Bennett freaks out and runs straight for the
stairs, the only person in his way is the elderly Mama Shipley who he shoves
out of the way. At least that was his plan, but that old lady is tougher than
she looks and she shoulders him against the wall. “Did you like the painting?
It’s good isn’t it?” she said as she closes in on Bennett. Her smile is off
putting, but the fact that her shadow is distinctly bigger than it should be
really puts the icing on the crazy cake. Bennett is frantic, he looks around
for a weapon of some sort and spots a palette knife by his foot. He scoops up
the knife and slashes at the creepy grandma, cutting her floral blouse and
staining the front with a thin line of blood.
“That was rather rude wasn’t it?” she said, and appeared to
grow before his eyes. Her skin pulled taught and tore as the body inside grew,
green scales showing through the rips. Her fingers elongate and rupture through
the skin, revealing long black claws. Bennett looks at the seven foot tall
Serpentman and it’s all he can do to not collapse on the spot, this hesitation
gives the creature time to draw upon it’s eldritch powers and Mesmerises
Bennett, “You really should look at the picture yessss….” Unable to stop
himself, Bennett walks back over to the painting and looks; there’s Jim, frozen
in paint right in front of him, panic beating through Bennetts skull is
practically audible. With all the strength his mind can summon he forces
himself to turn and run like a man possessed, the sudden turn of speed catching
the now exposed Ssassatha completely unawares. Vaulting over the stair rails,
Bennett races for the front door and out into the street, adrenaline coursing
through his veins as he continues to pound down the street, barely even aware
of the police cars heading past him in the direction that he had just come
from. Fear driving him forward, he makes it back to his house safely and
proceeds to immediately burn the painting that Jim bought.
Feeling suitably refreshed after a couple of hours in the
pub, Thomas and Dick return to Bennetts house and find him panting and sweating
in front of the now roaring fire. They exchange the information that they have
gathered and breathe a sigh of relief that the police are clearly heading to
the Shipley house, although they worry as to who or what they will meet when
they arrive.
Curiosity getting the better of them, they head back to
Holbein Mews and see the police cars outside the house, the front door is open
and guarded by a policeman. A brief chat from Thomas to the copper confirms
that they found the horror show in the basement, but nearly landed himself in
hot water when he admitted that he was the one who made the call but didn’t
have a good reason for breaking into a pensioners house in the middle of the
night. Luckily the policeman agreed that the ends justified the means and
allowed him to leave.
The three of them slowly walked back to Bennetts house,
happy that an inhuman killer had been caught; but the shocking disappearance of
Jim weighs heavily on the party. In the end they decide that it’s just too
dangerous to try and retrieve the painting and bid farewell to their friend Jim
Moriarty.
Meanwhile, 200,000,000 years in the past, the professor
stands on a small island in the middle of a swamp. The stone slab is covered in
dried blood, and the slices missing from it look far too much like an executioners
block. Animals stir in the jungle, small water snakes meander through the murky
depths, and then….silence….
All movement seemingly stopped, pistol drawn Jim looks
around in panic, and there in the water he sees ripples, three sets moving
straight towards the island. Steadying his shaking hand he takes aim at the
water and prepares to fire at whatever may come out. What emerged was beyond
his imagination, three humanoid lizards each carrying cruel looking spears and
knives. Without a moment’s hesitation Jim opens fire, shot after shot until
five rounds later one of the creatures lays in the mud, stone dead. The other
two look at their fallen kin and quicken their approach.
Jim looks at them, and looks at the pistol, “One round left
eh? Here goes…”
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