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The Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep d20
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<blockquote data-quote="Nebulous" data-source="post: 4325333" data-attributes="member: 31465"><p><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>Adventure #30: Kakakatak</strong></span></p><p></p><p>The headquarters of Dr. Robert Huston smolders on the ground. The investigators, dirty and tired, try to calm the fifteen frightened Aboriginal prisoners they've rescued. The prisoners are weak and injured, undernourished and some beyond or near insanity. They will be a burden to the party, so they decide to return to the Purple Plaza Dome and fortify there. Hopefully the Living Winds won't penetrate the electrified field within. Hopefully.</p><p></p><p>However, just as the group is nearing the dome, bright flashlights spill out of the entryway! Guns are raised, but they soon recognize their Chinese friend Chin Chang. </p><p></p><p>[GM Note: welcoming Dave back from a multi-session hiatus; read the recaps Dave, they help! NEW NOTE: Dave never read single email or recap] Chang seems sober for the moment, and somewhat befuddled from the bizarre circumstances. Apparently, as he relates to everyone else, the Tall Man returned to their camp outside of the Singing Stone, where he and David Dodge were awaiting their return. The Tall Man made it explicitly clear that the others needed Chang's help, so against his better judgment, he followed into the stone wall, plunging down into the cyclopean depths of this horrible place where the wind always seems to blow...</p><p></p><p>The weary prisoners huddle together, but the investigators don't have time to rest. Huston is out there somewhere, most likely aware of their presence, and planning his own malicious counterattack. David Dodge and three of his Abo assistants stay with the prisoners, while the others scout the remains of the destroyed headquarters. Ronnie Talltree is able to pick up a faint trail of footprints in the dust. He follows them with a hunter's intuition, leading the group under the trail of dim bulbs and power cables that stretch into inky blackness. This is the same route that the Shriveling spell casters first marched along, so the group is wary about meeting anyone. They've only killed about thirty cultists, so many more lurk here, most likely at the bunkhouse near the entrance. </p><p></p><p>Wherever that is.</p><p></p><p>Two miles later of nothing but dark and dust, the trail diverges. The second trail has no power cables snaking down the incline, but Ronnie's keen ears notice the distant echo of a mining pick. Nor do Huston's footsteps (assuming they ARE Huston's footsteps) deviate to the secondary trail, but they decide to investigate anyway. A short while later they find mining carts filled with rubble, broken picks and shovels, and curiously enough, an arc light illuminating a single Caucasian miner in a red sweater and mining cap, chipping away at a rock wall.</p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/Masks/miner.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>He does not respond to their greeting, and they instantly suspect that this is yet another zombified miner. Chad risks getting close enough to inspect the man while the others keep their guns ready, and sure enough he finds odd burn marks on his scalp. Burn marks that correspond exactly with the electrodes on the helmet they scavenged from Huston's office. They leave him to his work, he seems harmless enough, and inspect the area for anything worthwhile. Hans finds two sticks of dynamite, but Chang thinks they might be more dangerous than normal because of aging nitroglycerin.</p><p></p><p>They return to the footprints and press onward into ever-encroaching darkness. Half and hour later the trail splits again, but with two interesting options: A dim red glow in the distance, and nearby, the dusty stone turns into a metal walkway. They follow the metal ramp, which segues into a steel plated tunnel, that soon opens into a thirty by thirty foot room replete with an astounding amount of electrical equipment. There are spare parts for motors, drills, engines, and other items that defy description. Many of the goods look terrestrial, but some is unearthly origins, with slick surfaces that defy known substances or utility.</p><p></p><p>Chad find an exit tunnel and scouts ahead. There's a second room, this one housing a bizarre black terminal that rises up through the floor and into the ceiling. It is covered with knobs and buttons, and one whole side is removed, revealing red, green and blue wires. There is a metal cot anchored to the wall, with a helmet hanging over it. They inspect the room carefully, but it eludes their understanding. There's yet another exit, and this time Chad finds a rectangular doorway that leads into a very dark room, but Chad doesn't step through. There's a closed fuse box to the right. His eyes fortunately drift to the tiny centimeter-wide holes that line both sides of the metal entrance. Lugging back a piece of dilapidated machinery from another room, he tosses it in the chamber. Sparks fly! The machinery has bounced off an invisible electric forcefield.</p><p></p><p>Chad busies himself with the faceplate on the wall after Chang bypasses the lock. He thinks he can reroute the power supply and perhaps deactivate it, but after fiddling around for a moment with the circuit board, everyone hears the distinct sound of radio interference from the first chamber. They backtrack, and find that Chad has rerouted power into a buried shortwave radio. Hans adjusts the dials, trying to zero in on the chatter, and then they clearly hear someone say: "Wycroft? Where are you? Wycroft?"</p><p></p><p>This is perhaps referring to Mortimer Wycroft, the strange owner of the Outfitter in Cuncudgerie where the investigators originally purchased their supplies. And in a revelation of certainty, Hans Hazzenbaum identifies the voice as Dr. Huston! (GM Note: Hans first encountered Huston several years ago when Huston stole archaeological evidence of the City of the Great Race from him). Hans' ire is raised, but they switch the radio off. There is the forcefield to investigate first. Chad throws another piece of equipment inside, and sure enough, the field is down. Gingerly, he steps in, shining the flashlight into the corners of an octagonal metal room...</p><p></p><p>...when something moves.</p><p></p><p>It is large and misshapen, rising from the shadows behind a black glass orb on a pedestal. A sinewy neck balances a bulbous head with three eyes, and Chad is too shocked to fire his shotgun. (i.e. lost initiative). Psychic waves instantly pound against Chad's skull, and he hears an alien voice inside his mind:</p><p></p><p>"GOOD. THE FORCEFIELD IS DOWN."</p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/Masks/yith.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>The creature slithers forward, but Chad reacts in a split second. He leaps out the door and yanks the clamps from the circuit board.</p><p></p><p>"NO! RELEASE ME!"</p><p></p><p>The group scurries back from the door, but the creature doesn't pass the threshold. It carries an odd board in its claws, not unlike a synthesizer, and when Lester sees the creature he immediately recognizes it! His dreams rush back to him with alarming clarity, and pieces of a life from long ago stream into his consciousness. This is the lifeform he switched consciousness with, maybe not this exact creature, but the species in general. Lester is too stunned to ask any questions though.</p><p></p><p>[GM Note: because Jeff had to leave! I hope the second half of this recap doesn't confuse you too much]</p><p></p><p>The being continues communicating telepathically with Chad Slambody, while the others watch a very curious one-sided conversation as Chad argues back. The investigators naturally don't trust this large alien, and from what they've experienced in the City, everything down here is lethal. The being, identifying itself as Kakakatak, is a Yithian, a species that existed on Earth over 100,000 years ago. It politely, and insistently, asks for help. </p><p></p><p>The one called Huston-Robert has imprisoned it here by terrible magic, a Time Trap spell that yanked the Yithian through time. And naturally, the investigators make it clear that Huston is a "dick", that they HATE Huston, and reiterate that he is a "big dick". Kakakatak seems to sympathize with their anger (and learns several colorful curse words).</p><p></p><p>The group is still confused as Chad tries to relate the details, and Kakakatak tries to penetrate Hans' mind instead, but the anthropologist rejects the attempt. Stammering through the conversation, the group slowly learns that the Yithians were forced to flee Australia 100,000 years ago because of the Flying Polyps, also known as the Living Wind. The polyps were from a distant galaxy, and at one point actually conquered three planets in this solar system. The Yithians developed lightning guns to control the polyps, and finally locked them in deep, deep vaults. But the polyps escaped eventually, and this time the Great Race of Yith were nearly destroyed. So, to survive, they propelled their consciousness hundreds of thousands of years into the future into new bodies.</p><p></p><p>It is a complicated explanation that Kakakatak reveals, and it states several times in its roundabout way that the humans are not smart enough to fully comprehend. [Least of all Chad Slambody, already teetering on the edge of rampant necrophilia]</p><p></p><p>The group wants to know why they should help it at all, and Kakakatak says that he knows much about Huston's plans, including a powerful "device" at a hidden place Gray Dragon Island. This leads to the question of "why did Huston cast the spell in the first place?": Kakakatak explains that Huston desires to learn the secret of Time Travel and propel himself forward to 1926, just prior to the opening of the Great Gate and the End of the World! He is an impatient megalomaniac who has frayed the fabric of time and space with his meddling. The Yithian does not know how much damage Huston has actually inflicted.</p><p></p><p>Huston (who was originally Roger Carlyle's Freudian psychologist from New York, remember?) intended to torture secrets from Kakakatak, and has performed that job admirably, but Huston's magic has not fully succeeded yet. Furthermore, Huston has been taking pains to shield his mind from Kakakatak with Rituals of the Hexagram and Pentagram, and wearing special Mind Helmets.</p><p></p><p>The Yithian wants to bargain for his freedom with valuable information, and also offers the secret of returning life to the undead miners. They not actually dead, just vegetable-like and subservient. They are the workers who Huston (under the pseudonym "John Carver") originally hired to dig into the City. None ever made it home. The forcefield is temporarily dropped and the Mind Controller Helmet is given to Kakatak to work on.</p><p></p><p>Hans, Ronnie and Lester retrieve the miner they recently discovered, and find out that he follows simple orders. This IMMEDIATELY becomes a meta-game issue because the party has found a new, controllable Gas Camel! Even the Yithian is disgusted by the investigator's callous disregard for their own species. Ultimately though, it is decided to be unethical and cruel to strap a can of gas to this poor Aussie, so soon enough, after the modified helmet is attached, the man's memories and personality are returned.</p><p></p><p>He is very confused and in shock, and remembers nothing before being in the desert working for John Carver (i.e. Huston). And as a perk for their good deed, all investigators received 1 Sanity point. [making them regret the other 5 potential Sanity points they shot, electrocuted or burned previously]</p><p></p><p>One last question they ask, "What will you do if freed?" Kakakatak says that his only hope is to reverse the Time Trap spell, perhaps by finding an intact Library. The investigators have already salvaged dozens of scrolls and several books from the headquarters, so perhaps the key lies there. The Yithian is pleased to hear this, although he does not seem concerned about the potential fate of the world. Something about "there are many timelines."</p><p></p><p>The party feels that they can trust the Yithian now, so Kakakatak is released. He undulates by on a large gastropod "foot," and says that he might need help traversing parts of the City. Over the past 100,000 years it has fallen into terrible disrepair. The group heads out into the dust and dark, angling down, moving debris when needed, and some time later the Yithian stops and activates a powerful beam of light from a wall. Arching buttresses and towering columns are revealed, (which looked nothing at all like the Mines of Moria, nope nope nope) and then he opens a secret door into a chamber. Everyone crowds in and the door seals.</p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/Masks/moria2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>They are in a safe place, he tells them, where they can rest, free from harm if the Living Wind should come. A spare Lightning Gun is given to Chang. Supplies are very low, but the investigators agree that they need to bring the fifteen Aboriginal prisoners here from the Purple Dome. There was originally enough food in the headquarters to feed and water everyone, but it is burned down now, so there are very few supplies to share. The whole group (PC's and NPC's alike) must escape or they will eventually perish from hunger and thirst, and Kakatak says that Yithian food is incompatible with human physiology.</p><p></p><p>They all agree to rest here for a day, despite knowing that Huston is out there planning and scheming. They're just too weak and injured to risk a full confrontation. While resting in the hidden alcove, Kakakatak slips into a deep meditative trance, and Hans Hazzenbaum pores over "Gods of Reality," Dr. Huston's handwritten journal. Some of the conclusions come as a Sanity blasting shock to Hans, but he gleans not only impressive knowledge about the Mythos, but Man's position and the plans of Nyarlathotep in the near future.</p><p></p><p><strong>Journal Details: (non-sequential, and tailored specifically to our campaign)</strong></p><p></p><p><span style="color: red">1. Huston is obviously a madman who regards most of humanity as insects beneath his boot. He aspires to become a true god and lord over the Earth. Chunks of the journal are written in code or shorthand.</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">2. There are three holy sites required for completion of the "Great Work." One is in Kenya (Mountain of the Black Wind), Australia (City of the Great Race) and China (Gray Dragon Island). A ritual is to be performed simultaneously on Greenwich Time during the full eclipse on January 14 1926. It is Huston's holy duty to perform his 1/3 of the operation.</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">3. A powerful Device is being built in China, the likes of which no one has ever seen. It will aid in tearing the veil between the worlds and ushering in a new era of destruction and chaos when the Great Old Ones will once again inhabit the planet. (and as Old Bundari saw in a prophetic dream-vision, "The Dead Shall Walk the Earth."</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">4. Someone known only as "H.F." is referred to again and again in China, in conjunction with the Order of the Bloated Woman.</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">5. The Purple Dome plaza is a storage device for power and life energy. They have been conducting death rituals to amass energy for the Great Work. Kakakatak knows more about this Dome. It is very old.</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">6. The journal mentions pulling the Yithian through time in order to learn secrets from him. It was a horrible spell and difficult to cast. The Yithian is resisting his torture and probes, but Huston knows he can break it eventually.</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">7. Huston has been casting experimental Chaos Magick to bend the fabric of Time. There have been some unexpected side effects in the caves. He mentions a Red Plaza and a "two-legged deer", possibly Johnny Bigbush.</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">8. Huston talks about how impatient he is and can not sit and wait for the eclipse. He wants to propel himself forward.</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">9. One of the cultists of Sand Bat, a fool named "JOHNNY BIGBUSH" tried to separate himself from the order recently. Angered, Huston used him in an experiment, but the spell got out of hand. Johnny is alive and being protected by the dogs. Huston doesn't understand what happened and is annoyed. This is the same man that Chad briefly worked with at Randolph Shipping.</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">10. Someone named Gavigan, whom Huston thought was dead or imprisoned, is said to be helping H.F. with a delicate matter. </span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">11. Toddy Randolph of Randolph Shipping in Port Hedland is a fat, corpulent fool who demands too much for his services. Huston is thinking about silencing him.</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">12. The Mind Controller helmet works well enough, but takes far too long to implement. He wants to refine the process.</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">13. Huston is highly suspicious of the Yithian and fears that it is reading his mind. Huston performs lengthy ceremonies and rituals to shield himself, as well as wearing special helmets while interrogating Kakakatak. "The beast MUST reveal its secrets!"</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">14. Nitcrosis the Mummy was supposed to Queen and Warden of the Western Hemisphere. She was a lover to the Black Pharoah. Her demise was unfortunate, but not critical. Besides, it would have been a catfight between her and M'Weru ruling on the same continent.</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">15. There are those who would wreck and sabotage the Great Work, and they have been active in London, Egypt and Kenya, inflicting terrible damage to the plans. Huston is worried, but ultimately convinced that Nyarlathotep will crush them.</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">16. He mentions demons impregnating several Koori prisoners during Sand Bat rituals, but the births always stagnate and die or grow into deformed monstrosities. Still, he cannot bear to rid himself of Nyarlathotep's progeny. He keeps them. Somewhere...</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">17. Roger Carlyle disappeared in Kenya around the same time Jack "Brass" Brady did. No one has ever seen them again. Brady was an ignorant idiot too weak to assist Nyarlathotep, Huston thinks. "His mother did not love him, obviously."</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">18. Mentions several times of a "Dark Mistress" in Shanghai.</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">19. Huston was present in Kenya at the Mountain of the Black Wind several months ago, and achieved orgasm while watching some meddlesome priest of God get devoured by giant rats... (eeewwwwww!) [GM Note: and that's not from the book, just me being gross<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />]</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">20. ?</span></p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nebulous, post: 4325333, member: 31465"] [size=4][b]Adventure #30: Kakakatak[/b][/size] The headquarters of Dr. Robert Huston smolders on the ground. The investigators, dirty and tired, try to calm the fifteen frightened Aboriginal prisoners they've rescued. The prisoners are weak and injured, undernourished and some beyond or near insanity. They will be a burden to the party, so they decide to return to the Purple Plaza Dome and fortify there. Hopefully the Living Winds won't penetrate the electrified field within. Hopefully. However, just as the group is nearing the dome, bright flashlights spill out of the entryway! Guns are raised, but they soon recognize their Chinese friend Chin Chang. [GM Note: welcoming Dave back from a multi-session hiatus; read the recaps Dave, they help! NEW NOTE: Dave never read single email or recap] Chang seems sober for the moment, and somewhat befuddled from the bizarre circumstances. Apparently, as he relates to everyone else, the Tall Man returned to their camp outside of the Singing Stone, where he and David Dodge were awaiting their return. The Tall Man made it explicitly clear that the others needed Chang's help, so against his better judgment, he followed into the stone wall, plunging down into the cyclopean depths of this horrible place where the wind always seems to blow... The weary prisoners huddle together, but the investigators don't have time to rest. Huston is out there somewhere, most likely aware of their presence, and planning his own malicious counterattack. David Dodge and three of his Abo assistants stay with the prisoners, while the others scout the remains of the destroyed headquarters. Ronnie Talltree is able to pick up a faint trail of footprints in the dust. He follows them with a hunter's intuition, leading the group under the trail of dim bulbs and power cables that stretch into inky blackness. This is the same route that the Shriveling spell casters first marched along, so the group is wary about meeting anyone. They've only killed about thirty cultists, so many more lurk here, most likely at the bunkhouse near the entrance. Wherever that is. Two miles later of nothing but dark and dust, the trail diverges. The second trail has no power cables snaking down the incline, but Ronnie's keen ears notice the distant echo of a mining pick. Nor do Huston's footsteps (assuming they ARE Huston's footsteps) deviate to the secondary trail, but they decide to investigate anyway. A short while later they find mining carts filled with rubble, broken picks and shovels, and curiously enough, an arc light illuminating a single Caucasian miner in a red sweater and mining cap, chipping away at a rock wall. [img]http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/Masks/miner.jpg[/img] He does not respond to their greeting, and they instantly suspect that this is yet another zombified miner. Chad risks getting close enough to inspect the man while the others keep their guns ready, and sure enough he finds odd burn marks on his scalp. Burn marks that correspond exactly with the electrodes on the helmet they scavenged from Huston's office. They leave him to his work, he seems harmless enough, and inspect the area for anything worthwhile. Hans finds two sticks of dynamite, but Chang thinks they might be more dangerous than normal because of aging nitroglycerin. They return to the footprints and press onward into ever-encroaching darkness. Half and hour later the trail splits again, but with two interesting options: A dim red glow in the distance, and nearby, the dusty stone turns into a metal walkway. They follow the metal ramp, which segues into a steel plated tunnel, that soon opens into a thirty by thirty foot room replete with an astounding amount of electrical equipment. There are spare parts for motors, drills, engines, and other items that defy description. Many of the goods look terrestrial, but some is unearthly origins, with slick surfaces that defy known substances or utility. Chad find an exit tunnel and scouts ahead. There's a second room, this one housing a bizarre black terminal that rises up through the floor and into the ceiling. It is covered with knobs and buttons, and one whole side is removed, revealing red, green and blue wires. There is a metal cot anchored to the wall, with a helmet hanging over it. They inspect the room carefully, but it eludes their understanding. There's yet another exit, and this time Chad finds a rectangular doorway that leads into a very dark room, but Chad doesn't step through. There's a closed fuse box to the right. His eyes fortunately drift to the tiny centimeter-wide holes that line both sides of the metal entrance. Lugging back a piece of dilapidated machinery from another room, he tosses it in the chamber. Sparks fly! The machinery has bounced off an invisible electric forcefield. Chad busies himself with the faceplate on the wall after Chang bypasses the lock. He thinks he can reroute the power supply and perhaps deactivate it, but after fiddling around for a moment with the circuit board, everyone hears the distinct sound of radio interference from the first chamber. They backtrack, and find that Chad has rerouted power into a buried shortwave radio. Hans adjusts the dials, trying to zero in on the chatter, and then they clearly hear someone say: "Wycroft? Where are you? Wycroft?" This is perhaps referring to Mortimer Wycroft, the strange owner of the Outfitter in Cuncudgerie where the investigators originally purchased their supplies. And in a revelation of certainty, Hans Hazzenbaum identifies the voice as Dr. Huston! (GM Note: Hans first encountered Huston several years ago when Huston stole archaeological evidence of the City of the Great Race from him). Hans' ire is raised, but they switch the radio off. There is the forcefield to investigate first. Chad throws another piece of equipment inside, and sure enough, the field is down. Gingerly, he steps in, shining the flashlight into the corners of an octagonal metal room... ...when something moves. It is large and misshapen, rising from the shadows behind a black glass orb on a pedestal. A sinewy neck balances a bulbous head with three eyes, and Chad is too shocked to fire his shotgun. (i.e. lost initiative). Psychic waves instantly pound against Chad's skull, and he hears an alien voice inside his mind: "GOOD. THE FORCEFIELD IS DOWN." [img]http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/Masks/yith.jpg[/img] The creature slithers forward, but Chad reacts in a split second. He leaps out the door and yanks the clamps from the circuit board. "NO! RELEASE ME!" The group scurries back from the door, but the creature doesn't pass the threshold. It carries an odd board in its claws, not unlike a synthesizer, and when Lester sees the creature he immediately recognizes it! His dreams rush back to him with alarming clarity, and pieces of a life from long ago stream into his consciousness. This is the lifeform he switched consciousness with, maybe not this exact creature, but the species in general. Lester is too stunned to ask any questions though. [GM Note: because Jeff had to leave! I hope the second half of this recap doesn't confuse you too much] The being continues communicating telepathically with Chad Slambody, while the others watch a very curious one-sided conversation as Chad argues back. The investigators naturally don't trust this large alien, and from what they've experienced in the City, everything down here is lethal. The being, identifying itself as Kakakatak, is a Yithian, a species that existed on Earth over 100,000 years ago. It politely, and insistently, asks for help. The one called Huston-Robert has imprisoned it here by terrible magic, a Time Trap spell that yanked the Yithian through time. And naturally, the investigators make it clear that Huston is a "dick", that they HATE Huston, and reiterate that he is a "big dick". Kakakatak seems to sympathize with their anger (and learns several colorful curse words). The group is still confused as Chad tries to relate the details, and Kakakatak tries to penetrate Hans' mind instead, but the anthropologist rejects the attempt. Stammering through the conversation, the group slowly learns that the Yithians were forced to flee Australia 100,000 years ago because of the Flying Polyps, also known as the Living Wind. The polyps were from a distant galaxy, and at one point actually conquered three planets in this solar system. The Yithians developed lightning guns to control the polyps, and finally locked them in deep, deep vaults. But the polyps escaped eventually, and this time the Great Race of Yith were nearly destroyed. So, to survive, they propelled their consciousness hundreds of thousands of years into the future into new bodies. It is a complicated explanation that Kakakatak reveals, and it states several times in its roundabout way that the humans are not smart enough to fully comprehend. [Least of all Chad Slambody, already teetering on the edge of rampant necrophilia] The group wants to know why they should help it at all, and Kakakatak says that he knows much about Huston's plans, including a powerful "device" at a hidden place Gray Dragon Island. This leads to the question of "why did Huston cast the spell in the first place?": Kakakatak explains that Huston desires to learn the secret of Time Travel and propel himself forward to 1926, just prior to the opening of the Great Gate and the End of the World! He is an impatient megalomaniac who has frayed the fabric of time and space with his meddling. The Yithian does not know how much damage Huston has actually inflicted. Huston (who was originally Roger Carlyle's Freudian psychologist from New York, remember?) intended to torture secrets from Kakakatak, and has performed that job admirably, but Huston's magic has not fully succeeded yet. Furthermore, Huston has been taking pains to shield his mind from Kakakatak with Rituals of the Hexagram and Pentagram, and wearing special Mind Helmets. The Yithian wants to bargain for his freedom with valuable information, and also offers the secret of returning life to the undead miners. They not actually dead, just vegetable-like and subservient. They are the workers who Huston (under the pseudonym "John Carver") originally hired to dig into the City. None ever made it home. The forcefield is temporarily dropped and the Mind Controller Helmet is given to Kakatak to work on. Hans, Ronnie and Lester retrieve the miner they recently discovered, and find out that he follows simple orders. This IMMEDIATELY becomes a meta-game issue because the party has found a new, controllable Gas Camel! Even the Yithian is disgusted by the investigator's callous disregard for their own species. Ultimately though, it is decided to be unethical and cruel to strap a can of gas to this poor Aussie, so soon enough, after the modified helmet is attached, the man's memories and personality are returned. He is very confused and in shock, and remembers nothing before being in the desert working for John Carver (i.e. Huston). And as a perk for their good deed, all investigators received 1 Sanity point. [making them regret the other 5 potential Sanity points they shot, electrocuted or burned previously] One last question they ask, "What will you do if freed?" Kakakatak says that his only hope is to reverse the Time Trap spell, perhaps by finding an intact Library. The investigators have already salvaged dozens of scrolls and several books from the headquarters, so perhaps the key lies there. The Yithian is pleased to hear this, although he does not seem concerned about the potential fate of the world. Something about "there are many timelines." The party feels that they can trust the Yithian now, so Kakakatak is released. He undulates by on a large gastropod "foot," and says that he might need help traversing parts of the City. Over the past 100,000 years it has fallen into terrible disrepair. The group heads out into the dust and dark, angling down, moving debris when needed, and some time later the Yithian stops and activates a powerful beam of light from a wall. Arching buttresses and towering columns are revealed, (which looked nothing at all like the Mines of Moria, nope nope nope) and then he opens a secret door into a chamber. Everyone crowds in and the door seals. [img]http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/Masks/moria2.jpg[/img] They are in a safe place, he tells them, where they can rest, free from harm if the Living Wind should come. A spare Lightning Gun is given to Chang. Supplies are very low, but the investigators agree that they need to bring the fifteen Aboriginal prisoners here from the Purple Dome. There was originally enough food in the headquarters to feed and water everyone, but it is burned down now, so there are very few supplies to share. The whole group (PC's and NPC's alike) must escape or they will eventually perish from hunger and thirst, and Kakatak says that Yithian food is incompatible with human physiology. They all agree to rest here for a day, despite knowing that Huston is out there planning and scheming. They're just too weak and injured to risk a full confrontation. While resting in the hidden alcove, Kakakatak slips into a deep meditative trance, and Hans Hazzenbaum pores over "Gods of Reality," Dr. Huston's handwritten journal. Some of the conclusions come as a Sanity blasting shock to Hans, but he gleans not only impressive knowledge about the Mythos, but Man's position and the plans of Nyarlathotep in the near future. [b]Journal Details: (non-sequential, and tailored specifically to our campaign)[/b] [color=red]1. Huston is obviously a madman who regards most of humanity as insects beneath his boot. He aspires to become a true god and lord over the Earth. Chunks of the journal are written in code or shorthand. 2. There are three holy sites required for completion of the "Great Work." One is in Kenya (Mountain of the Black Wind), Australia (City of the Great Race) and China (Gray Dragon Island). A ritual is to be performed simultaneously on Greenwich Time during the full eclipse on January 14 1926. It is Huston's holy duty to perform his 1/3 of the operation. 3. A powerful Device is being built in China, the likes of which no one has ever seen. It will aid in tearing the veil between the worlds and ushering in a new era of destruction and chaos when the Great Old Ones will once again inhabit the planet. (and as Old Bundari saw in a prophetic dream-vision, "The Dead Shall Walk the Earth." 4. Someone known only as "H.F." is referred to again and again in China, in conjunction with the Order of the Bloated Woman. 5. The Purple Dome plaza is a storage device for power and life energy. They have been conducting death rituals to amass energy for the Great Work. Kakakatak knows more about this Dome. It is very old. 6. The journal mentions pulling the Yithian through time in order to learn secrets from him. It was a horrible spell and difficult to cast. The Yithian is resisting his torture and probes, but Huston knows he can break it eventually. 7. Huston has been casting experimental Chaos Magick to bend the fabric of Time. There have been some unexpected side effects in the caves. He mentions a Red Plaza and a "two-legged deer", possibly Johnny Bigbush. 8. Huston talks about how impatient he is and can not sit and wait for the eclipse. He wants to propel himself forward. 9. One of the cultists of Sand Bat, a fool named "JOHNNY BIGBUSH" tried to separate himself from the order recently. Angered, Huston used him in an experiment, but the spell got out of hand. Johnny is alive and being protected by the dogs. Huston doesn't understand what happened and is annoyed. This is the same man that Chad briefly worked with at Randolph Shipping. 10. Someone named Gavigan, whom Huston thought was dead or imprisoned, is said to be helping H.F. with a delicate matter. 11. Toddy Randolph of Randolph Shipping in Port Hedland is a fat, corpulent fool who demands too much for his services. Huston is thinking about silencing him. 12. The Mind Controller helmet works well enough, but takes far too long to implement. He wants to refine the process. 13. Huston is highly suspicious of the Yithian and fears that it is reading his mind. Huston performs lengthy ceremonies and rituals to shield himself, as well as wearing special helmets while interrogating Kakakatak. "The beast MUST reveal its secrets!" 14. Nitcrosis the Mummy was supposed to Queen and Warden of the Western Hemisphere. She was a lover to the Black Pharoah. Her demise was unfortunate, but not critical. Besides, it would have been a catfight between her and M'Weru ruling on the same continent. 15. There are those who would wreck and sabotage the Great Work, and they have been active in London, Egypt and Kenya, inflicting terrible damage to the plans. Huston is worried, but ultimately convinced that Nyarlathotep will crush them. 16. He mentions demons impregnating several Koori prisoners during Sand Bat rituals, but the births always stagnate and die or grow into deformed monstrosities. Still, he cannot bear to rid himself of Nyarlathotep's progeny. He keeps them. Somewhere... 17. Roger Carlyle disappeared in Kenya around the same time Jack "Brass" Brady did. No one has ever seen them again. Brady was an ignorant idiot too weak to assist Nyarlathotep, Huston thinks. "His mother did not love him, obviously." 18. Mentions several times of a "Dark Mistress" in Shanghai. 19. Huston was present in Kenya at the Mountain of the Black Wind several months ago, and achieved orgasm while watching some meddlesome priest of God get devoured by giant rats... (eeewwwwww!) [GM Note: and that's not from the book, just me being gross:)] 20. ? [/color] [/QUOTE]
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