The Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep d20

[Nebulous]

continued..."Mad Warren Besart"
Part 2: Warren's Tale

Neville Longbottom wields knowledge of both the Mythos and Egyptian lore, and coupled with Ali’s expertise, they tell the others that Bast is a benevolent deity, surely mythical under most standards, but from what they’ve experienced so far, gods are more real than previously imagined. For this reason, the Black Rites could offer a magical advantage if translated and used against the enemy.

But tonight the investigators have a date with Faraz Najir. They are supposed to meet him at the El Hussein mosque at 5pm where he has agreed to answer their questions. So, arming themselves as usual, the investigators follow Ma’Moud back to Old City where they wait for the antiquities dealer to finish his evening prayers.

Along the way, Ma’Moud tells them that it is extremely disrespectful to interrupt the processions, and unrepentant foreigners could find themselves stoned for doing so. It is sound advice. They pat Ma’Moud on the head and tell him what a good boy he is. He beams with pleasure while holding Morty’s hand.

They find the mosque without any trouble, and by 5:15 Faraz Najir looks annoyed to see them there. Perhaps he thought they would forget. Morty and Neville speak with him while Ma’Moud, Oscar, and Chang wait outside.

The horribly burned Arabic man answers only when cash is offered, but his lips are soon flapping:

“Under the holy grace of Allah, I will tell you people this:

A) He had previously sold artifacts to Roger Carlyle's agent, a man named Warren Bessart. This was some years ago, and he does not know where Bessart, a Frenchman, is now. Bessart might have more information. Or, he might be dead. Who knows?

B) With prodding, (verbal intimation) he reveals that the artifacts he "procured" were in fact STOLEN from Omar Shakti, a powerful businessman who lives on a cotton plantation outside of town. One of these artifacts was a bust of the Black Pharaoh, incidentally seen (and acquired) by Morty in Gavigan's workshop in London. This very bust is now locked in a steel vault at the museum, along with their other artifacts.

C) The Black Brotherhood, a gang of killers and madmen, wants something from the mosque of Ibn Tulun, but he does not know what. Even when pressed, Faraz insists he knows nothing.

Meanwhile, while Morty and Neville are interviewing Faraz, Oscar Ochenta is lighting a cigarette, wondering how he can eventually scam these Americans. But his thoughts are interrupted when the same staggeringly gorgeous woman from before approaches him again.

“Return what was stolen!” she says in a husky voice. “For your own good!” Ocho assumes that she meant her heart, naturally, being the kind of man he is, but she vanishes without elaboration, almost as if the air blew her away. He mashes out his cigarette, wondering if he’ll ever have the chance to seduce this sexy, sexy woman!

Besides, there’s no telling what she wanted back from Ocho; her virginity perhaps?

Neville and Morty exit the mosque and tell the others what they found: Great, they think. Even more clues, and the trail through Cairo thickens. They have a feeling it will only get worse before it gets better (and they’re right). Nevertheless, they lay out their options:

1) This guy named Warren Bessart sold stuff for Roger Carlyle. Find him.
2) The stuff that he sold was actually stolen by Faraz Najir from a rich Cairo businessman named Omar
Shakti. Check him out? Maybe.
3) The Black Brotherhood, the local branch of Nyarlathotep, wants something from the Ibn Tulun
mosque. What exactly, Faraz has no idea, but that was the word on the street.

The group (sans Chang Chin who is sick and laid up) tries to find Warren Bessart first, and after inquiring at the French Embassy, find that the man is still registered in Cairo on the Street of Scorpions at a place called The Red Door. They go there together, but are very, very tentative about entering once they arrive. There IS a door painted red, but something smells like a trap. [That’s what I led them to believe anyway]

But once inside this small clothing shop, Oscar smells hash. His nose twitches. DRUGS! He forges ahead, leaving the others behind, and worms his way into a squalid room.

The owner tries to stop him, but Oscar is on a mission, brusquely pushing the man aside. Neville is able to calm the shopkeeper and tell him that they are dear old friends of…Warren. Right? Neville smiles, and the shopkeeper believes him.

So Oscar follows his nose to a small room. There is a man here all right, a Caucasian who might be Warren Bessart.

He looks sickly and sallow, and offers Ocho a hit from his pipe, but the pipe is empty. That’s just no good, and the man becomes sullen, irate, and tries to leave. But Oscar is mad too! He feels cheated. The others enter moments later, and this is when Oscar devises the (selfish) plan of scoring more hash to supply Warren, and coax him into talking later. Supply his habit, Oscar tells them, and Warren will reveal all they want to know. They promise Warren Besart that they’ll bring him more hash, and the crazed man actually agrees to wait for their return.

So, still being daylight, the group splits up three ways:

Prong A)

Neville investigates the mosque of Ibn Tulun, searching for clues that might explain why the cult is interested in it.

Faraz gave them the sketchiest hint possible, and they’re not even sure it’s true, but Neville tries anyway. He asks to meet the nazir, a white-haired gentleman named Achmed Zehavi.

The nazir is willing enough to talk, but Neville’s ultimate problem stems from his line of questioning: in his attempt to remain vague and inconspicuous, he fails to ask the right questions.

The Black Pharaoh, Nyarlathotep, and the Black Brotherhood are never mentioned.

Still, Neville learns that several recent robbery attempts have made the mosque nervous. “To steal what?” he asks, but Akhmed shrugs. “Many valuable holy artifacts here. My dear friend, are you searching for something particular?”

Neville can only say no, and leaves his line of questioning vague, especially since he is alone.

Neville walks around the mosque several times, admiring ancient paintings and architecture, but can’t shake the feeling that he missed something, somewhere, somehow…

[GM Note: I shudder to think what would have happened if they had stolen the Sword of Glory or the Girdle of Nitcrosis hidden at the mosque].

Prong B)

Oscar tries to score cheap hash from the one contact he has left in Cairo: a seventy-three year old woman named Oolah with only five teeth, so Oscar offers his “services” and gets paid with a small bag of drugs. He immediately finds a scalding shower and hopes the degradation was worth the payoff. Oolah KNOWS it was worth it.

Prong C)

Morty and Ma'Moud take a rattling bus 15 miles outside of town to the cotton plantation of Omar Shakti, but are reluctant to raise suspicions. All they see are workers in the hot white fields surrounding the house. Morty debates getting closer and seeing if he can spy anything suspicious, but without backup he knows it could be dangerous. Even if this is a legitimate business, trespassing might not be taken lightly. Besides, the sun is setting and he fears to be out after nightfall. From experience, this cult thrives in the dark hours…

They regroup later that evening, reach Warren Bessart again (miraculously still waiting for them), and with the help of Oscar’s sex-purchased narcotics, they are able to wean a horrifying story out of the Frenchman. Bessart is a physical and psychological mess, a train-wreck of a man who slips between reality and delusion as frequently as a sober man might blink. But Oscar Ochenta squats beside him to share the hash, and Bessart begins unveiling his tale in stops and starts, swapping from French to English to broken Arabic.

In fact, Bessart's addiction stemmed from what he saw in the desert that fateful night, so long, long ago...

“I acted as a purchasing agent, permit holder and equipment liaison for an American--a man named Roger Carlyle. At his instruction, I purchased items from Faraz Najir and shipped them illegally to Sir Aubrey Penhew in London. I only know that they were ancient artifacts, nothing more. I swear it!”

Warren recalls that their main dig was at Dhashur, also know as the Bent Pyramid. One day he saw them all enter the Bent Pyramid and disappear. All that is, except for a man named JACK BRADY. Brady, he says, was disturbed by the others vanishing, but having nothing else to do but wait, they drank. And drank, and drank some more….

When Carlyle and the others returned the next day they were somehow "different." They seemed very excited by what had happened to them inside, but would not elaborate.

That very evening, an old Egyptian woman named Nyiti visited Warren. She said that her son had been a digger and fled the Carlyle Expedition because they consorted with ancient evil: The Messenger of the Black Wind! But this old seer could see that Brady and Warren’s souls were not corrupt, but if they needed more proof, they could witness a ritual at Meidum that very night.

And foolishly, Warren went.

The whole Carlyle Expedition was there, in addition to an unknown robed man and hundreds of raving lunatics. The desert came alive under the moonlight with unspeakable horrors, and an orgy of death devoured nearly everyone! Horrible creatures slithered from the sand and ate nearly every human being present. But the worst thing Warren saw, the sight that drove him mad, was a great beast the size of an elephant with five shaggy heads…

…until Warren saw what it truly was.

Even recalling these memories brings him to the brink of hysteria and he begins puffing madly on the hash pipe. Oscar yanks it away before he finishes it all. The other investigators are crowded near, the ones who can understand his broken speech, trying to piece together what this madman is saying. And wondering how much is true, and how much is just crazy talk.

Warren finally says that after the monsters left, there were only a few people alive. Warren was hidden, and he wandered deep into the desert, wanting to die after what he had seen. If the world were truly this mad, he did not want to live in it.

As he was about to slash his wrists with a chunk of sharp rock, he says that a young man named Unba found him and took him to his nearby village in El Wasta. Unba had been the digger that fled the Carlyle Expedition before the ritual. There, Unba and his mother Nyiti cared for Warren and nursed him back to sanity, but it took several long, difficult years.

After returning to Cairo, Warren has spent the days since trying to banish the memories from that night.

He has never quite succeeded.



Next chapter, the investigators brush with annihilation closer than ever before, with unexpected results...

 

[GodPhoenix]

I thought you said you were going to photoshop that picture of Kent...

 

[Nebulous]

I thought you said you were going to photoshop that picture of Kent...

I did. I added two gnarly hands. Kent's just an ugly boy! (actually, i really appreciate him letting me deface his mug and then smear it across message boards. I hope that was entertaining. It was fun as hell mocking it up).

 

[Nebulous]

Adventure #12: The Black Pharaoh

Part 1: The Clive Party

Having nothing else to learn from the hash-addled Warren Bessart, the investigators take the clues gleaned from him (the Bent Pyramid, demons in the desert, and some woman named Nyiti) and check on Janwillen's progress with the Black Rites at the Cairo Museum. Janwillen has been busy drinking and scribbling as usual. The papyrus text and his own notebook are dribbled with sweat, and his new office stinks nearly as bad as the old one.

“All going well!” he says. “Just a few more weeks. Just a few. The secrets of Bast will soon be mine! Ahh…I mean…ours.”

They let him continue working, and soon join Dr. Ali Kafour in his office. But he is not alone. There is also an older woman seated in a wheelchair who nods curtly at the group.

“Gentlemen,” says Dr. Kafour, “I would like for you to meet an old friend of mine. Her name is Gi-Gi (sort of pronounced “Jshee-Jshee”). I believe that your particular line of…professionalism…might benefit her.”

Gi-Gi, as she explains, has traveled far and wide seeking answers concerning her missing husband, as well as her growing psychic sensitivity.

[GM Note: This was a player named Shambavi who played with us twice and then backed out of the campaign. Her history was interesting, although ultimately wasted. In a nutshell, her husband had mysteriously vanished after a car wreck. GiGi herself was crippled from the wreck and developed clairvoyant talents that the doctors could not explain. In her mind’s eye, she began having visions of Cairo, strange symbols, and her husband there, so she traveled to Egypt to find him, afraid that he had fostered occult or satanic secrets that he never revealed to her].

Not revealing too much too soon, the party asks GiGi to accompany them as they travel south by train to find the Clive expedition at Memphis, and afterwards explore the Bent Pyramid. According to Warren Bessart, some truly strange events occurred at the Bent Pyramid…

Two retainers are hired for the trip, a bald, silent eunuch nicknamed "Euni" to push Gi-Gi, and another “Nameless” Egyptian bodyguard. Ma'moud follows as willingly as he has since the day they first met him. Gi-Gi immediately takes a liking to the boy and asks him about her new acquaintances.

Ma’Moud says that they have recently lost two companions to very violent deaths. Oscar and Gi-Gi are convenient replacements, but Ma’Moud doesn’t mention that.

Nodding her head, Gi-Gi suspects that this group knows more than they’re letting on, and she is determined to discover the root of it.

While GiGi is indisposed with Ma’Moud, Dr. Kafour takes the rest of the group aside. He has been inspecting their artifacts hidden at his museum, and discovered that they have been carrying two extremely powerful items all along: the Mask of Hamaya and the Staff of Nyambe! The first allows contact with a deity, vastly increasing the chances of summoning it. But the last thing the investigators want is a face-to-face chat with Nyarlathotep. They don’t even want to touch the mask.

The Staff of Nyambe is possibly more useful, but Ali wants to do more research before he hands it over. He also tells them that cultists would gladly kill them to possess these items. Especially the Black Sphinx statue, which also increases the chance of summoning Nyarlathotep. They don’t want to do that, and they ask Ali to keep the artifacts safe in the museum for as long as he can, or until they retrieve them later.

The tireless scholar that he is, Ali has also been poring through old musty tomes, piecing together forgotten clues. His research has unveiled some tantalizing information, and he wants to discuss it.

“Have you, by chance,” he asks, “ever heard of the Eye of Light and Darkness?”

They have not, and Ali peers through his bifocals at a tome spread before him, reading the words carefully:

“OF THOSE SIGNS EFFECTIVELY SEALING THE FESTERINGS OF THE DARK GOD, THE MOST POTENT IS THE EYE OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS. ONCE INSCRIBED INTO THE SUBSTANCE OF A HIGH PLACE NEAR A HAUNT OF EVIL, THE EYE EXPELS THE EVIL FOR SO LONG AS IT LASTS. IT IS FORETOLD IN PROPHECY THAT SUCH AN EYE CAN WARD AGAINST MINIONS OF THE BLACK WIND, HE WHOSE TRUE NAME SHALL NOT BE UTTERED HERE.”

Sighing, Ali Kafour looks up at them. “From what I know, such a sign once existed here in Egypt, but where, I know not. If we were to find it, the battle may significantly sway in our favor.”

He goes on to say that his contacts still have no news of a sarcophagus being smuggled out of the country, and Ali thinks it is in the vicinity unless shuttled away by powerful magic. In which case, a search is futile anyway.

Regardless, the group decides that Janwillen Vanheuven should guide them to Memphis and introduce them to the Clive Expedition. Dr. Clive, perhaps, might accept such a formal introduction, but Janwillen insists that Clive HATES strangers at his digs. In fact, he doesn’t seem to like Janwillen either. Their last parting was unpleasant (but Janwillen was also drunk and vitriolic).

Later that day, a lumbering train ride brings the group of eight [Neville, Morty, Ma’Moud, Gigi, Euni, “Nameless”, Oscar and Janwillen; Chang is out with intestinal problems] to Memphis where they disembark among the other tourists.

The Clive Dig is roped off, but they cross it. An armed guard approaches them, his weapon pointed down, demanding they leave, but Vanheuven convinces the guard to let just three of them inside-- Morty, himself and Neville must speak with Dr. Clive. The excuse is that they have urgent news from the Penhew Foundation and must give Clive the message personally. The others wait outside, Euni holding an umbrella over Gi-Gi to protect her from the harsh sunlight.

The Clive dig is heavily guarded by armed Egyptians. Signs clearly state in several languages: “NO ADMITTANCE.” Dark skinned men glare at them as they walk by, holding silent menace in their eyes.

A guard leads Morty, Janwillen and Neville to a wide tent and holds the flap aside. Within, Dr. Clive turns around, smoking a cigarette, obviously surprised to see Janwillen and not exactly pleased. He is a distinguished elderly gentleman in his fifties.

Beside him is a young German man with blondish hair: Johann Sprech. There is a pistol slung at his belt.

“Vanheuven!” exclaims Clive. “What in Christ’s good name are you doing? You don’t work with us anymore! Has your drunken arse forgotten that? Who have you brought here?”

Janwillen’s composure crumbles. “Ah! Oh! Clive! No no no no no no ! My old friend, look…I… I’m…I am not here for job. I…I brought these gentlemen! Scholars! Academics like yourself! Oh, yah, but much wiser than me. They wanted to meet you. I promise this is all! I…I did good, yah?”

“You…are an idiot. Nothing more.”

Janwillen grovels, whines, and babbles enough for Clive to grant audience with his guests, anything to get the man to shut up and leave. Johan Sprech glowers at Janwillen as if he wants to kick a boot through his teeth.

Nevertheless, Dr. Clive respectfully answers Neville's and Morty's questions concerning the theft of the mummy from the Giza site a few months ago. Clive can offer few details other than it was extremely unusual.

His companion, Johann Sprech, shows little love for the visitors and practically oozes resentment. He brandishes the revolver in his belt, tapping it occasionally throughout the interview.

“We left Giza,” admits Clive, “In order to avoid the media blitz. It was embarrassing enough to actually lose an entire mummy, much less suffer the indignity of reporters hounding us with questions. You…you’re not media are you?”

Johan sneers at the mention of this, but Neville and Morty quickly deny any such affiliations. “No, no,” they explain, “We’re just…um…historians doing research for a book.” Which is true enough. Neville really is a scholar and a writer doing research for a book.

Clive looks unconvinced, but Neville is able to miraculously bluff his way through the interview, asking if he can speak with any of the other principal members concerning the mummy. For his book, that's all. Clive looks at them carefully, and finally says that if they can find Gardner or Winfield they can ask a few questions. BUT…

…Johan Sprech must accompany them. The German bulldog hasn’t said a word yet; he’s just staring daggers at Neville, Morty and Janwillen, the latter of whom won’t even make eye contact.

“But you, Janwillen,” says Clive, “You are restricted from ever setting foot here again. Understood?”

“But Clive, I…I…I…”

“No ‘buts’ man. You had your chance. Join your friends and then I want all of you gone. Come back, and we’ll consider it trespassing. We have strict rules here enforced by the Egyptian government. You understand.”

They understand that this is a thinly veiled threat; they might be shot if they return.

Dejected, Vanheuven is led away while Morty and Neville follow him.

As they are crossing a large dune, another expedition member, James Gardner, jogs up to them.

“Janwillen!” he exclaims, and heartily pumps the Dutchman’s hand. “Good Lord, I never thought to see you again. How is life? Did you ever go look for that shri—”

“Oh yes!” says Janwillen. “And I—” He glances at Johann. “—and I found nothing, sorry to say. Thank you anyway, Gardner.”

Neville and Morty question the British man Gardner about the theft of the mummy from their dig at Giza. Gardner seems amiable enough, and he even mentions his theory about a secret subterranean complex beneath Giza. He thinks that is how they (whoever THEY actually are) stole the mummy, but no one has ever been able to prove it despite constant searches. Johan Sprech continues to follow them everywhere like a shadow, even to the tent where Janwillen says hello to his old friend Agatha Broadmoor.

Neville, thinking fast, is able to distract Johann Sprech outside while Morty quickly questions this elderly woman who seems extremely out of place in the middle of an Egyptian dig. She is seated in front of a mirror, dressed in bright, gaudy silks and painting her nails bright orange when Morty squats at her side.

“Ms. Agatha…Broadmoor? My name is--”

“In a dream,” she says quietly, without looking at him, “I knew you would come. A…kind man.” She touches his face absently, as if remembering. “A good man. Yes, one who would come to stop the evil. To do what I cannot.”

“Evil?” asks Morty quickly, glancing behind him at the tent flap. Outside, he can hear Johan Sprech and Neville arguing about something. Neville seems to be comparing German automobiles to American vehicles in a negative light.

Unexpectedly, Agatha Broadmmoor hisses between her teeth: “THE DARK QUEEN MUST NOT be resurrected under any means! The time comes soon!”

Morty’s jumps back. Her eyes are wide open, and she stares at him as if gazing through his very soul.

“They brought me here to speak with the spirits. It is a talent I have, ever since a child. Through séance I converse with the deceased. I hear their pain and mutters and madness. Always so much madness.”

The Penhew Foundation hired her for the explicit purpose of contacting an ancient Egyptian Queen named Nitcrosis. But through her dreams, and from the advice of her Holy Guardian Angel, Agatha fears that success at this endeavor will have dire consequences.

But she is frightened now and has no choice. She knows of THREE items needed to revive the dead queen: The Crown, the Necklace, and the Girdle of Nitcrosis, the last of which has never been found. The cult has found the first two artifacts. She mentions these things casually, as if rattling off the names of her pets. But her ditsy persona returns, and she picks up her nail polish again.

She seems to trust Morty on an intrinsic level, but cannot elaborate further before Sprech bursts inside.

“YOU!” growls the German. “American infidel. LEAVE! NOW!” He demands for everyone to go immediately, and seems eager to shoot transgressors. Agatha continues painting her nails as if they had discussed nothing more important than the weather.

Janwillen, Morty and Neville trudge across the hot sand, confused and embarrassed, not sure if they should have come here or not.

The last thing they see is Dr. Clive standing atop a sand dune, lighting a cigarette and watching them leave.

 

[Nebulous]

Adventure #12: The Black Pharaoh, continued...

Part 2: The Bent Pyramid

Once outside the Memphis dig, Morty tells everyone about Agatha Broadmoor and her bizarre warning. Apparently, there are three relics needed to return Nitcrosis to life: The Girdle, Necklace, and the Crown. And Agatha thinks that the cult has all but one item.

How Agatha obtained this knowledge still perplexes them, but they do not think she is lying.

The group isn’t sure what to make of the new revelation, so while musing it over, they board the next train to their final destination at the ruins of Dhashur. This is where the madman Warren Bessart claims to have seen the Carlyle Expedition enter the Bent Pyramid, vanish, and then return the next day, mysteriously changed and somehow younger looking.

A short while later, around four in the afternoon, they step off the train and gaze up at the ruins. The Bent Pyramid is well named. Skewed to one side, Nevelle explains that it happened due to an architectural glitch in the early design, a flaw rectified in later models.

They take the normal tour, as well as a quick look at the pink-hued granite structure nearby, The Red Pyramid. Neville has been here many times previously, and the party finds nothing unusual at either site except for a boarded off entrance on the south side of the Bent Pyramid.

This, they think, warrants some more snooping. Curiously, Nevelle does not remember it being there before.

Flexing their investigative muscles, Morty and Gi-Gi break in while the others keep watch, and to offer distractions if needed. Naturally, GiGi’s wheelchair attendant Euni does most of the work, tearing the boards down and pushing her over the debris. Beyond the entrance lies a dim chamber supported by wide, thick pillars. Their flashlights splash across graven statues who eternally watch for intruders. Stone eyes seem to follow them, or maybe that is just their imagination.

But it is Morty, while taking photographs, who discovers a somewhat obvious secret entrance embedded within a massive column.

A hairline crack forms the outline of a door. They tell the others and unanimously decide to wait and hide until after dark when the guards and last train have departed, and then they will all sneak back inside. But Janwillen is unhappy being here, and afraid that Dr. Clive will hate him forever. He wants to leave, so taking Ma'moud, the archaeologist and boy return to Cairo. As for the rest of the group, giddy with excitement, they execute their plan to perfection, and by the time night has fallen, they are the sole living beings at the Bent Pyramid.

Upon closer inspection, the secret entrance inside is not very secret. In fact, it begs to be found.

At a mere touch, the crack opens to reveal a ramp leading up into the pyramid. The party cautiously ascends, intimidating the hired help to go first.

“B—but why me?” moans Nameless.

“Because of this,” answers Oscar, and waves money at him. Gulping, the Egyptian man continues. Euni pushes Gi-Gi in her wheelchair, her psychic senses shouting that this is a very, VERY bad idea.

Morty shifts his photographic equipment to the other shoulder, wondering what in God’s name is waiting for them.

Nevelle licks his lips, his mind racing a thousand miles an hour. A hidden entrance! Who would imagine that such a discovery had been here all this time? He knows it will be a greater find than Janwillen’s Black Rites…

Trundling along in her chair, GiGi speculates about her husband, and how his mysterious disappearance from the car wreck has led her to a pyramid outside Cairo. Life can be so, so strange…

And finally Oscar “Ocho” Ochenta. He snaps his cigarette lighter on and off, on and off, on and off, his fingers jittery from nervous tension. He has somehow been corralled into this expedition and is beginning to have serious doubts about following this group of nutcases around Cairo. Drug trafficking can be dangerous, yes, but this is just CRAZY.

But they will not make progress if they do not take risks, so ignoring Gi-Gi’s psychic counsel, they clamber ever onward.

[GM Note: The investigators knew they were walking into trouble, but the desire to see what happened next overpowered all sense of self-preservation]

At the top of the long ramp waits an unusually large room. By normal geometrical laws, a room this size and shape should not exist at the pinnacle of the pyramid. Eight short pedestals each support a fat red jewel, and at the rear of room rests a throne carved from black obsidian. Sitting on this throne is a desiccated corpse, and surrounding the throne on three sides are bizarre bas-relief murals.

The mummified corpse is especially unnerving, and they take care to avoid it, but do not quit watching it either. That would be…unwise.

But they need to get closer to read the murals, so part of the group advances while the rest hang back. Morty sets up his tripod and starts taking pictures of everything, licking his lips and hoping for the best.

But they don’t fully understand what they’re looking at, not even when Neville leans in close, translating the ancient hieroglyphics carved above the throne. His fingers trace the dusty indentations, slowly revealing to him a horrifying tale.

It tells a story that he can only partially translate, foretelling of a child to be born at a place called The Mountain of the Black Wind, and of world destruction ensuing soon after.

Another mural features a large world map. Upon the map are inlaid rubies connecting vague regions in Kenya, Australia, and China. A ribbon of ebony stones crosses the Indian Ocean. Arcane runes wrap around the circumference of the map, but no one is able to decipher them.

Lastly, there is star and planetary chart that seems to expand beyond the solar system! In fact, the map depicts stars, known and unknown, from the entire galaxy. The implications of this make them nearly woozy. Morty is sure to take multiple pictures of this chart, fearing the awful significance it holds.

Just then, closer to the entrance, GiGi and Nameless notice that one of the jewels on its pedestal has begun to quietly burn.

“Gentlemen,” she says in her firm, officious voice. “Something is happening. Quickly, come back! Now!”

The gems flare up one after the other in staggered sequence, no heat, until the final jewel glows and the entire chamber begins to shake. From the first warning everyone has been backing away from the throne, but bricks and flagstones suddenly begin building themselves up from the ground to form a rigid stone wall. The exit will be sealed within seconds!

Nameless throws himself at the exit, but is repelled by flying debris.

Laughter BOOMS throughout the chamber, and the skeletal remains on the throne stir to life. Wind whips through the pyramid and the skeleton transforms before their very eyes into a young Egyptian man clad in pharaoh regalia, clearly in the bloom of health:

Nephren-Ka himself.

Invisible demons screech to life at his left and right, and initiative rolls...no one was able to leap out the door before it sealed. Nameless and Euni start pounding on the stone until their fingernails crack, and everyone else crowds to the rear of the room, guns pulling out, as the figure on the throne haughtily gloats.

They don’t really know what to think; they just react in sheer, blind, traumatized terror.

Neville Thornbottom pulls out all the stops, and recites the most powerful, potent magic he knows: The Bodywarping of Gorgorgoth. His flesh buckles and stretches, his limbs fatten and bulge, the pallor of his flesh transforms from pink to gray, and within moments he has shockingly become an adult male elephant!

[GM Note: Neville suffers the rigid requirements for the spell; it is not magic to cast lightly. I allowed him to shapechange one size category larger than normal for extra penalties, so his Intelligence and Sanity were shredded by this spell].

His companions had NO idea that this young man was about to change into a raging pachyderm, (or the GM for that matter) and it inadvertently knocks a few Sanity points off them as well. But that is the least of their worries.

Neville the Elephant trumpets and charges, but the invisible demons intercept him, lacerating Neville’s tough gray flesh.

Oscar Ochenta, floundering in terror, (and regretting that he followed these s) is targeted by Nephren-Ka and subjected to a vision so horrible, so HORRENDOUS, all he can do is babble and quiver. The others see Ocho stagger, and his eyes growing so wide they nearly explode from their sockets. The vision never quite leaves him.

Nephren Ka seems to thoroughly enjoy that.

A second ray streaks from the Pharaoh and randomly strikes Nameless. The man bursts into a pillar of flame, his eyeballs popping, his skin hissing and sloughing off, and he crumples into a charred heap of smoking black bone. In retrospect, it might have been a poor target.

Nevelle the Elephant slams the demons aside, charges the Black Pharaoh, and thoroughly gores him!

The Pharaoh is crushed into his own throne, tusks pinning him to the chair while the demons transform into a visible Star Vampire and Leng Spider. The demons skitter forward, but a hail of bullets meets them, a few punching through unnaturally tough chitin.

[GM Note: The campaign book called for 2 hunting horrors, but for some reason hunting horrors in d20 are as strong as ancient red dragons. I just swapped them out for something easier. Plus, I had the painted minis].

Euni the eunuch goes fighting-mad and rushes the spider. He grapples the thing’s pincers, while everyone else (save GiGi so far) continues firing on whatever target is available. The elephant trumpets, stomps, and keeps Nephren-Ka trampled underfoot. He is an avatar of a god, yes, but one of decidedly mortal stature. A massive foot crushes his face and ruins a lethal spell.

[GM Note: I didn’t quite know what a raging elephant could do. They were surprisingly powerful when we looked at the stats].

The Pharaoh’s laughter is not echoing through the chamber like it was before.

But the Leng spider is not a horror to be trifled with. Serrated claws crush the eunuch in a deadly embrace, and Euni is cut in twain by the beast, earning himself the new name “Dui” (it was much, much funnier if you were there).

Morty shoots a flaming gem and discovers that they can be destroyed in a burst of energy. He starts doing that, walking down the line, aiming, and clicking off shots, even as wheelchair-bound psychic investigator GiGi surprises everyone by pulling a hand-cannon from the undercarriage of her wheelchair. The kickback is so strong that she smacks straight back into a wall (missing her target anyway).

[GM Note: Her character had snuck a huge gun into her repertoire without telling me. It was such an amusing mental image that I didn’t care how silly it might have been; she was like a crippled Dirty Harry].

Neville the elephant and multiple gunshots annihilate the star vampire, but the Leng Spider hooks its claws into Nevelle for horrible damage. The Black Pharaoh manages to wriggle away, battered by the attack, and his visage transforms for a second time. His skin glows golden, so disturbing that no one can stand to look at his face.

Hands outstretched, Nephren-Ka launches a spell that paralyzes everyone...their feet root to the stone, their limbs freeze, and all they can do is watch as death approaches…except for the elephant! Neville makes the nearly impossible saving throw by the narrowest of margins.

Things look dire as the final dice spin…

Nephren-Ka casts magic again but the elephant makes a SECOND save, defying the odds with a 5% chance of success, and launches into the Pharaoh, finally dealing a full 100 points of damage [my predetermined threshold]. The corporeal body is destroyed, and with a whistling rush of air, the horrible avatar of Nyarlathoptep rises from the blasted corpse and disappears into a halo of sickly light, sucking the leng spider with it. Through pure luck, the party makes most of their Sanity checks (except Oscar Ochenta, who has single digits left and permanent psychotic disorder) and avoid the debilitating penalties from witnessing so much supernatural mayhem.

They have somehow fended off an icon of evil, and only the hired servants perished.

Neville reverts to human form upon the conditions of the spell being met [The Black Pharaoh dead, and nothing less], but he is woozy, injured, and brain-fried. They have to carry him out. Oscar Ochenta is even worse off, convulsing on the floor and choking on his own puke.

[GM Note: This was NOT how I expected the encounter to go, proof that players will always, always surprise you. This was supposed to be more about torture and taunting, and then the Black Pharaoh would release the PC’s, leaving them alive but permanently scarred. The Black Pharaoh would scare them, lie to them, and hurt them for his own nefarious reasons. Although it worked out contrary to what probably should have happened, it did not diminish the terror or fun].

But events at the Bent Pyramid are not over. The entire back mural depicting the birth of the spawn of Nyarlathotep vanishes to be replaced by a stunningly realistic pre-Dynastic Egypt.

In fact, it IS real.

Natural warm air blows through the gateway. The smell of sand and food wafts in, accented by hints of frankincense and myrrh, and the faint fishy whiff of the Nile River. But no one steps through the portal. Justly, they suspect a trap, and soon the gateway vanishes and the previous mural returns.

The wall that erected itself earlier crumbles to dust, and the investigators stagger into the cool desert night, enormously lucky to be alive and mentally whole.

It is the first time and last they will be so fortunate battling a god.

 

[GodPhoenix]

Adventure #12: The Black Pharaoh
Nephren-Ka casts magic again but the elephant makes a SECOND save, defying the odds with a 5% chance of success, and launches into the Pharaoh, finally dealing a full 100 points of damage [my predetermined threshold]. The corporeal body is destroyed, and with a whistling rush of air, the horrible avatar of Nyarlathoptep rises from the blasted corpse and disappears into a halo of sickly light, sucking the leng spider with it.

Trampled to death by an elephant. Bet ol' Nyarly didn't see that coming! I picked elephant because I thought it would make for an interesting, if surprising, combat. I wasn't counting on it being a living tank. When I first looked at the stats, I must have been in a DND frame of mind, instead of CoC.

I was just as surprised as Jason (the DM/Nebulous)...totally worth it though...I'll never forget the look on his face. Very Knights-of-the-Dinner-Table-ish moment.

 

[Nebulous]

I was just as surprised as Jason (the DM/Nebulous)...totally worth it though...I'll never forget the look on his face. Very Knights-of-the-Dinner-Table-ish moment.

Totally worth it, I agree. And it sort of set the pace for the rest of the campaign. Although Nevelle's balls-to-the-wall attitude gets him in a pinch next chapter. Remember that, Leo?

 

[GodPhoenix]

Although Nevelle's balls-to-the-wall attitude gets him in a pinch next chapter. Remember that, Leo?

Oh yeah, that rings a bell...a big, squid-shaped bell.

 

[Nebulous]

Adventure #13: The Cotton Plantation of Omar Shakti

Part 1: The Good Dr. Blumpkin

After their battle with the Black Pharaoh the party stumbles from the Bent Pyramid, but eight hours have mysteriously passed. The sun sparkles well above the horizon and other tourists are ready to join them on the tram back to the city.

Their confidence is bolstered by their success (they gain some Sanity back to counter the shocks experienced), and they arrive in Cairo around noon, certain that they now stand a chance against whatever Nyarlathotep can throw at them.

It is a false sense of security.

While passing a street kiosk for the Cairo Bulletin, an article by Editor Nigel Wassif catches Nevelle's eye:

"Local Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Ruins!"​

The night before, a localized earthquake damaged portions of the mosque where Nevelle had previously spoken to the elderly nazir, Achmed Zehavi. Nearly half of the building had been destroyed, the ceiling caving in to crush dozens of workers and worshipers alike.

The cult wanted something in the mosque, or so Faraz Najir told the investigators. Zehavi confirmed this with Nevelle. The article also states that many of the priests are dead or missing, but Achmed Zehavi is being treated at a local hospital. Knowing that their newest accomplice, the unfortunate Oscar Ochenta (who keeps staring at the sun and muttering), will need some psychiatric help, they decide to drop him off there and question Zehavi at the same time.

But not yet. In the meantime, Oscar is tossed into a chair and fastened with a bib.

Once back at the museum, the group finds Chang feeling much better after his gastrointestinal illness. And after the woeful story they tell him, he is glad he was sick!

Nevelle is little better off than Oscar. He will recover, but requires bed rest. He refuses to check into a hospital, fearing that it will just make him an easy target for cultists. But Gi-Gi is trained in the medical field, and she gives Nevelle expert care. They will wait a few days to give him time to recuperate.

Ali Kafour is also relieved to see the group return, and he warmly hugs each member.

Ma’Moud is ecstatic too, bouncing around like a beach ball and wrapping his brown arms around their waists. They tell Ali everything that happened, and his face falls by the end of the dire tale. He fears that a great evil is soon to be unleashed upon the world, and that the pieces are falling into place faster than ever. He will do what he can to acquire the party some special aids, but it will take time. They do not ask what these “aids” are, and he does not elaborate. But Ali says that they need to speak with their Dutch friend in the basement. He has had…an accident.

The party checks on Janwillen Vanheuven, and they are only mildly surprised to see him covered in cat scratches. He is nursing a bottle of whiskey, moaning, complaining, and most importantly, not translating.

“Agh! Dit was ‘orrible!” he cries. “She…she…she…ohhhhh…Christ…”

He says that a woman—a ravishing woman!—approached him about returning the scrolls, and when he rebuffed her, a dozens cats attacked him, right there on the front steps of the Museum.

The Dutchman is smeared with salve and bandages, and says that the wounds will impair his writing ability. The little bastards even bit through his fingers!

The investigators are worried that these Black Rites might not be worth the trouble. Who is this strange Cat Woman anyway, and how far will she take this aggression? But returning the scrolls is not an option. They need them. Somehow, the Rites must aid in their battle against Chaos. Otherwise, why were they even introduced in the first place?

[Inject snide GM snicker]

GiGi and Morty take a closer look at the photographic plates taken inside the Bent Pyramid, and with the help of an atlas and astronomy books, they make some startling discoveries. A celestial event will occur on January 14, 1926...nine months hence...an eclipse across the Indian Ocean. The hieroglyphics behind the throne foretell the coming of the Child of Nyarlathotep in the Mountain of the Black Wind, and an apocalypse that ensues soon after, and continuing strife for an entire year until the Great Old Ones return. The who?

This…child…whatever it is…will help usher the end of the world. The very birth of this thing at the mountain is an ill omen of the most malevolent kind.

They now have knowledge of a timeline, and Chang and Morty recall that Jackson Elias had mentioned a timeline to Jonah Kensington. This must be it! Furthermore, Jackson was in Kenya, in Nairobi specifically, and kept extensive notes detailing his experiences there and the people he spoke with. It is also where the Carlyle Expedition supposedly perished.

The investigators clearly have more leads to follow in other countries, but they are not done in Egypt yet. Something evil is brewing here. Chang and Morty contact Jonah Kensington in New York and update him on their progress, even mailing him copies of their notes. Jonah is very worried and says that they should return, but the investigators say that they're in too deep. It is far too late.

Several days after returning from the pyramid, the group embarks for the Cairo Hospital. Oscar Ochenta is still a mess, even though Gi-Gi has tried to heal his ravaged mind. His brain has become pudding and she cannot communicate with him at all.

The PC’s wheel Oscar into the psychiatric ward and fudge the details about how their friend developed a severe disorder after visiting the pyramids at Dhashur. They think it is possibly genetic, and they have no other “logical” explanation. (None they admit at first anyway)

The on-call doctor at the ward is a Scandinavian man named Olaf Blumpkin [Jake’s 2nd character], and he becomes extremely interested in Oscar’s psychological state.

“The pyramids, eh?” he says, shining a light into Oscar’s pupils. “And he was fine before that? How long have you known this man? How old is he?”

“Yes.” “Yes.” “Not long. “We don’t know.” The investigators do not mention Oscar’s drug fetish either. “He looked healthy enough,” they insist.

Blumpkin has never seen anything quite like this, but it appeals to his love of unsolved mysteries. How did this happen? What secrets swirl behind this man’s eyes? Oscar is a burbling mess, mumbling “Hotep…hotep…hotep…hotep,” over and over, and suffers a mild nosebleed that won’t quit dripping no matter now much pressure the nurses apply.

“What is that? Who is Hotep?” he asks. Morty just shrugs. Chang blinks rapidly. Nevelle stares at his feet.

Even though Oscar’s companions deny it was drug related, they inadvertently drop some hints that perhaps they DO know what truly happened to Oscar Ochenta.

Something…unspeakable. Staring into their eyes, the doctor can see signs of their burgeoning instability.

Now they have gained Dr. Blumpkin’s curiosity. His inborn, natural, and insatiable lust for the unknown. He tries a new tactic. “Gentlemen, you might be responsible for this man’s medical care. He has no identity, no money, no passport, nothing. It could be very, very costly…”

Their eyes widen. They’re not paying for Oscar’s well being. They hardly knew him!

“…but if we treat him as a test case, a subject for my study regarding schizophrenia and related mental ailments, perhaps we can reach an agreement.”

They’re not sure what he means.

Blumpkin removes his glasses. “I am seeking hard data for a casebook on psychological disorders. I need to know what caused this…strange…incapacitation in your friend. I need to know what you know.” In other words, Dr. Blumpkin wants to join their group. Morty and Chang don’t try to change his mind. “Sure,” they say. “We can show you...uh...stuff.”

The good doctor does not ask them to clarify. Smiling, he checks Oscar into the institution, and then calls out sick for the rest of the day.

“Well, show me,” he says.

Later, in another room of the psychiatric ward, Gi-Gi is trying to coax the nearly mad nazir of Ibn Tulun into talking. His head rolls around, and Nevelle viciously reprimands him.

“You should have told me what you were hiding old man!"

Well, Nevelle didn’t really say that, but he was thinking it. But the nazir has a moment of clarity, and his one good eye gleams with tears. He remembers Nevelle and his visit that day! He says that something ungodly ripped through the basement, right through a secret chamber where the Girdle of Nitcrosis had been kept and guarded for over 1000 years. Everyone else was either eaten or crushed, and the worm-like abomination sank into the earth, taking the Girdle with it. He then relapses, quivering from the memory of a giant demon from the world’s depths…

The players are gently reminded about their previous, albeit brief, interaction with the Clive party at the Memphis dig just a few days prior, where they picked up a few important tidbits of information.

[GM Note: The players were getting pretty overwhelmed by the wave of clues and NPC’s by this point. These sessions sometimes came at multi-week intervals; it was also after a long hiatus with some new players who were sifting through other junk from prior sessions too]

a) Dr. Clive, leader of the Clive Expedition at Memphis, does not know what happened to the missing
mummy they found at Giza. He is also an avid smoker.

b) Johann Sprech, the German archaeologist, is an avid dick.

c) Agatha Broadmoor is a dotty old psychic who fears the resurrection of Nitcrosis, and secretly hopes to
stop it. She knew somehow that the Brotherhood was in possession of two items needed for the ritual.
They now most likely have the third component, the Girdle. The moon indicates that the time is ripe for
a ritual, and it is Agatha’s job to speak with Nitcrosis.

d) James Gardner, a jovial British member of the party, thinks that there MUST be a secret entrance in,
around, or under the Giza complex, so that thieves could steal the sarcophagus. Not the police, or even
the investigators, have been able to find it. They have already been to Giza to search the original theft
site and found nothing.

e) They did not get a chance to speak with the last member of the Clive party, Martin Winfield. Would he
have offered them new information? Or threatened to pull a gun like Sprech did?

So, running out of leads, the party decides (with Leo’s prompting!) to follow up one detail they have not investigated in-depth yet:

The Cotton Plantation of Omar Shakti.​

“Doctor Blumpkin,” says Neville. “We…ah, believe that Oscar Ochenta’s neurosis is related to a…um…disorder originating at a cotton plantation. We…we need to inspect this source for…ah…authenticity.”

“Authenticity? What do you mean? Viral? Bacterial? Do I need a mask or breathing apparat--”.

“Oh no no, nothing like that. You just need to be…quiet.” Nevelle puts a finger to his lips, and the unspoken promise of skullduggery is enough to send Dr. Blumpkin’s heart galloping. Now THIS is what he wanted! Intrigue!

Later that evening, before dark, they have all reconvened at the Cairo Museum, which has become their official base of operations. After a quick meal, they don their best attire, in case they need to look presentable at a moment’s notice, and proceed to arm themselves with a few infiltrators’ tools of the trade, including pistols, bullets, some flashlights, a Molotov cocktail, and lockpicking tools. This is done without Blumpkin’s knowledge.

He just brings a pen and notebook.

 

[Nebulous]

Adventure #13: The Cotton Plantation of Omar Shakti

Part 2: A Fatal Mistake


March 31st, 1925
8:30 pm

“These Americans—and a Chinaman—have accepted me
into their group. They seem to know more than they’re telling,
and for some mad reason I trust them!”

--O. Blumpkin​

While waiting for a taxi outside the Museum, a sensual woman approaches the four well-dressed gentlemen on the steps. [GiGi has already permanently exited the campaign by this point, and her character relegated to NPC status]. No one recognizes the stranger. Long hair dangles over her shoulders, and none can resist the sway of her breasts. However, she halts not far from them, her jaw set in anger.

“RETURN what was stolen! The scrolls are not yours to keep. They belong to another, and only misfortune will follow.”

Chang, Morty and Nevelle assume that this must be who Oscar saw a few days ago, and subsequently tried to hit on. She is indeed quite beautiful. Oscar was right about that.

“This is your final warning,” she hisses. “There will be no more offers. Return the Black Rites to me, or suffer the consequences.”

“Why?” demands Nevelle. “Really, why? Who are you? We…we have no qualms with you. We only want to…to… study and use--”

But she stalks away into an alley teeming with cats, and the darkness swallows her.

“That was…rather odd,” says Doctor Blumpkin.

Morty sighs. “Yeah. We get that a lot around here.”

After their encounter with the Cat Lady, the investigators decide that standing out here might not be good for them. They want dependable transportation, so bringing the doctor who is busy jotting notes, thankful that these fellows have taken the time to enlighten him, they borrow a transport truck from the museum’s loading dock.

With Chang behind the wheel, they drive to within a mile of the plantation, park, and walk the rest of the way. Morty has been here previously and has a good idea of the layout. Before long, they spot lights from the house. They reach the perimeter of the field and crawl through the cotton until they are within twenty yards of a back door and storage shed.

At this point, the group does not really know WHY they are here, only that Omar Shakti is possibly a bad person and a cult leader, although they're not positive. There is no solid proof. He is a well-known and respected Egyptian businessman. So, with only two flashlights for four people, a Molotov cocktail, several pistols and ammunition, and the good doctor with his notebook, they decide to break in.

All at the insistence of Neville Thornbottom, who says that this must be done!

Three bright spotlights illuminate the exterior grounds. They see a single man exit the back door, enter the shed, and return inside. They watch for a while, see some lights flip on and off, and Chang finally sneaks to the shed to look around. Nevelle supports this strategy, so long as Nevelle is not in danger. Morty is nervous, and Dr. Blumpkin is so excited that he nearly hyperventilates. They are actually breaking and entering! Fantastic! It is wrong…but fantastic!

Inside the shed, all Chang finds is a canvas bag full of small animal skulls. This is useless to him, although he wonders why someone would keep a bag of skulls. Are those…cat skulls? He peers closer, but isn’t sure. He just doesn’t understand the whole cat angle recently, and it worries him.

Outside, Dr. Blumpkin scribbles in his notebook:

“We have reached the plantation. Moving in!
Searching for clues. What did Ochenta see?”

Chang leaves the shed and moves to a window, keeping to the shadows, and soon afterward he has disabled a window lock. He gives his companions thumbs up, and after considerable prompting by Nevelle (who is now treating the other investigators like malleable ninjas while he sits safe in the cotton field), they all gather at the window and one by one roll into a quiet, carpeted, immaculate hallway.

The first room they search is an impressive study, boasting a huge oil painting of their target, Omar Shakti. He looks unpleasant.

But paintings are always suspicious, and sure enough, they find a sturdy wall safe behind it, but the combination is too tough to bypass. Blumpkin asks why Chang is trying to crack this man’s safe, and Morty tells him that there might be proof inside.

“Proof of…what kind?” whispers Blumpkin, but Morty shushes him.

Footsteps creak over their head. Someone is above them.

They abandon the safe and enter the hall, navigating the dim corridor until they reach the kitchen. It is well maintained, with polished copper pots, hand towels, ladles, culinary knives, and a shiny waxed floor.

There is a basement door here, and past the kitchen are stairs that lead to the second level. But they hear a rhythmic sound from the basement, a mechanical “whomp whomp whomp whomp whomp,” so they opt to investigate that first. Morty descends, his pistol out, his flashlight offering him meager illumination. It stinks of mothballs and gasoline, and they soon find a gas generator that provides auxiliary power to the house. It is quite expensive and high quality. Exhaust vents lead outside. But surely a man of Shakti’s wealth can afford power lines to his estate?

[GM Note: I never thought these guys would actually break into Omar’s house, so this entire session was run off-the-cuff, aside from what the campaign book suggested. I eventually learned to stop assuming what they would do next…uh, near the end of the China chapter]

But almost immediately, someone tromps down the stairs from the 2nd floor, flips on the light in the kitchen, and turns on the water faucet. The investigators scuttle like frightened cockroaches, pressing themselves into the shadows, but no one enters the basement. Soon, the water and lights are turned off.

Breathing collective sighs of relief, a plan begins to form.

A plan of ambushes.

Followed by plans of secondary and then tertiary ambushes. Of pots and pans and guns and…and…cleavers! Right! Cleavers to incapacitate the person upstairs! No, no, no, that won’t do, and they go back to the first plan, where they will hide under the steps and then run UP the steps and WHACK! But no, no, let's not do that. They can’t do that. But wait! Yes, let’s turn the lights off but make the NEW guy do it, but the new guy Blumpkin doesn't want to do it because he doesn't know why the hell he is here in the first place with three men he has never met before today, and first they were pushing a crazy man around in a wheelchair a few hours ago and now they’re waving pistols and flashlights and short-fuse volatile chemicals, and all Blumpkin has is a notebook, and he's getting really really really freaked out by the whole thing, but the others don’t seem to care and just keep saying “Dammit, help us here, Blumpkin!” With some well-worded manipulation, they force Blumpkin to consider it an initiation into their club. Chang, Morty and Nevelle leave and wait outside in the shadows, while Dr. Blumpkin, alone and terrified, pours sugar from the pantry into the generator’s gas tank.

This is their plan: break the generator so someone comes to fix it.

Blumpkin performs admirably, and then skedaddles to the study and hides behind a plush chair, Omar’s oily eyes bearing down on him. While hunched there, covered in sweat, (his hands shaking so badly that he can barely scribble:

“Sugar mission complete!”

the doctor hears two voices discussing the damaged generator. They are in the room above him. He also hears a cat meowing. Apparently, they have already noticed the flickering lights, and one man is instructed to fix it.

Blumpkin listens to footsteps come down the stairs, pass through the dining room, into the kitchen, through the basement door, and then down to the generator. He springs up and slides to the door, braces a chair against the knob and locks someone down there, who he thinks is the servant and not this mysterious “Omar” fellow.

The doctor grabs an iron skillet and then motions for the others to enter. As a huddled group, they creep upstairs, weapons brandished. Blumpkin grips a pen in one hand like a dagger, the skillet in the other.

At the top of the stairs, they spot a slightly open door, probably the room above the study. Light shines through a crack, flicking because of the failing generator. This is it. This is why they came here, to confront Omar Shakti and determine if he is an agent of Nyarlathotep. If not, they will apologize and leave; otherwise, he’ll get the same treatment as the Black Pharaoh!

Desiring the element of surprise while they still have it, the investigators BURST into the room, guns and writing implements aimed and pointed, screaming, "Put up your hands you sonavawhore!"

Omar Shakti sits on a huge pie-wedge bed, wearing bright blue silk pajamas, petting a white Persian cat on his lap. Surprised, he raises his hands, very, very slowly. The cat stops purring.

“Gentlemen,” he says in heavily accented English, “there is no need for violence. I will obey your wishes. Take what you want…” And he gestures around the bedroom.

But the white cat launches up in a blur of motion, streaking cheetah-fast to the nearest person: Blumpkin!

“Yeeeaaah!” Blumpkin screams and whacks the cat out of midair with his frying pan. It splats against the wall and crumples to the floor, convulsing.

Nevelle holds Omar at gunpoint. “Don’t move!” Omar’s hands are raised, but he shakes his head as if reprimanding a naughty boy. Blumpkin is about to have a heart attack when he sees the cat's tongue lash out from its mouth like a growing pink snake.

“Oh…dear…Christ God in Heaven.”

The barbed tongue strikes at Chang’s feet. The cat’s body is shaking now as if something beneath the skin wants out. Its flesh ripples and tears, spurting fluids and ooze to the floor.

"You should not have come here," growls Omar Shakti.

Nevelle Thornbottom answers him by pulling the trigger. The bullet rips through Omar’s shoulder, but in the next instant Omar’s flesh warps into stony rivulets. A split second after that, he utters a quiet word and Shakti vanishes from sight. Screaming non-stop now, Blumpkin swings his frying pan back and forth, but when he strikes a target that feels like solid rock, pain lances all the way up his shoulder.

The cat begins to rise, but it is not quite a cat anymore, but something from a nightmare with distended jaws that drip viscous saliva, talons pushing from elongated digits, and these awful, awful ungodly eyes, and as it reaches for the doctor--

--CHANTING begins, the intonation of horrible syllables that mortal men were not meant to hear, and a foul wind sweeps through the room, as rank as an unearthed graveyard, and and and AND--

--and Jake had to leave so we stopped.


[GM Note: I told the group, “Don't forget to roll up new characters. Um…you're basically fighting a lich.”]