talien
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McKinley Boulevard: Conclusion
Archive climbed up out of the hole to hand Kristian’s unconscious body to Clara. Hammer sat propped up in one corner, nursing his bruised ribs.
“Did you find Gideon?” she asked hopefully.
Archive slowly shook his head. He had found Gideon. Pieces of him, sacrificed on an altar down below. But Clara didn’t need to know that. He’d also found Dave’s corpse, but nobody seemed to be concerned about him.
“Why don’t you take Kristian outside?” said Hammer. “Diana’s just woken up too, she’s waiting for you.”
Weeping, Clara took Kristian and left.
Hammer peered down the hole. “Did you find what we came for?”
Archive nodded. “There was a sorcerer living in the sub-basement, a Tsathogen.” He tossed hammer a gold pocket watch and chain. On the inside of the cover was etched, “Cedric Ruell Hedge.”
“Tsathogens are very rare; only seven are known to exist, but they’re extremely long-lived. Tsathogens are tied to their temples, and once they outlive a normal human lifespan they’re physically restricted to its boundaries. Hedge was down there for God-only-knows how long, sacrificing orphans to Tsathoggua. And in return he was protecting this place from detection. He thought he had slaughtered enough orphans to summon an incarnation of Tsathoggua, but he wasn’t able to control it. When Hedge died, the other cultists abandoned the orphanage and relocated the children.”
“Any leads on the orphans they placed?”
“I found the corpse of a little girl down there, along with her doll.” He placed the doll reverently at the edge of the hole. The doll was the same one from his dreams. “According to this ring,” he held up a tin ring, “her name was Sophie Ennis.”
“That’s not much to go on.”
“The files were mostly destroyed, but I was able to make out one name: Robert Monroe-Tyler was sent to Yuma Flats, New Mexico.”
“It’s a start,” said Hammer. “So you found everything of value down there?”
“Yeah,” said Archive. “Why?”
Hammer put a grenade to his lips and pulled the ring with his teeth.
“Wait, what are you doing?!”
“This wasn’t an official mission. There’s no STREETSWEEPER team to clean up after us,” he tossed the grenade into the hole. “I’d get moving if I were you.”
Archive jogged out of the house with Hammer limping behind. There was a shudder as the grenade exploded in the foundation below.
With a horrible crunch, the house suffered a catastrophic collapse. Sagging beams gave way, and the section of the house over the abandoned temple crashed into the ground.
Clara and Diana looked on in shock.
“Good thing we got you out of there when we did,” said Hammer as he limped past them to his car. “Gas leaks can make people see a lot of crazy things.”
Archive climbed up out of the hole to hand Kristian’s unconscious body to Clara. Hammer sat propped up in one corner, nursing his bruised ribs.
“Did you find Gideon?” she asked hopefully.
Archive slowly shook his head. He had found Gideon. Pieces of him, sacrificed on an altar down below. But Clara didn’t need to know that. He’d also found Dave’s corpse, but nobody seemed to be concerned about him.
“Why don’t you take Kristian outside?” said Hammer. “Diana’s just woken up too, she’s waiting for you.”
Weeping, Clara took Kristian and left.
Hammer peered down the hole. “Did you find what we came for?”
Archive nodded. “There was a sorcerer living in the sub-basement, a Tsathogen.” He tossed hammer a gold pocket watch and chain. On the inside of the cover was etched, “Cedric Ruell Hedge.”
“Tsathogens are very rare; only seven are known to exist, but they’re extremely long-lived. Tsathogens are tied to their temples, and once they outlive a normal human lifespan they’re physically restricted to its boundaries. Hedge was down there for God-only-knows how long, sacrificing orphans to Tsathoggua. And in return he was protecting this place from detection. He thought he had slaughtered enough orphans to summon an incarnation of Tsathoggua, but he wasn’t able to control it. When Hedge died, the other cultists abandoned the orphanage and relocated the children.”
“Any leads on the orphans they placed?”
“I found the corpse of a little girl down there, along with her doll.” He placed the doll reverently at the edge of the hole. The doll was the same one from his dreams. “According to this ring,” he held up a tin ring, “her name was Sophie Ennis.”
“That’s not much to go on.”
“The files were mostly destroyed, but I was able to make out one name: Robert Monroe-Tyler was sent to Yuma Flats, New Mexico.”
“It’s a start,” said Hammer. “So you found everything of value down there?”
“Yeah,” said Archive. “Why?”
Hammer put a grenade to his lips and pulled the ring with his teeth.
“Wait, what are you doing?!”
“This wasn’t an official mission. There’s no STREETSWEEPER team to clean up after us,” he tossed the grenade into the hole. “I’d get moving if I were you.”
Archive jogged out of the house with Hammer limping behind. There was a shudder as the grenade exploded in the foundation below.
With a horrible crunch, the house suffered a catastrophic collapse. Sagging beams gave way, and the section of the house over the abandoned temple crashed into the ground.
Clara and Diana looked on in shock.
“Good thing we got you out of there when we did,” said Hammer as he limped past them to his car. “Gas leaks can make people see a lot of crazy things.”
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