The Mind's Eye. Conclusion

Beginning of 'The Mind's Eye': https://wjr5oakley.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-minds-eyep1.html

Essie Vance [Whitney], Peter Graves [Jordan], Phillip Vance [Aaron]

Recap: They found clues in Graham Duncan’s home. And did enough research to find an older map that showed Crawford Rise and Eye-Bone Hill. But after driving out there, realized no roads led to the hill and it too late to walk. So, they returned to Arkhan and Walnut Street only to find a city-maintenance crew replacing damaged lights. And not enough spares to replace all, to include the one Phillip shot out with his slingshot.

5:30pm, Tuesday, April 25^th: Essie sunk into the car seat, confused by her vision: the random bubbles she saw seemed to line up as if tendrils hanging below a jellyfish. Not threatening, just floating around Walnut Street. After interviewing Chris Predowski, Peter slid behind the wheel as Phillip took shotgun seat. “Heats too high to shoot out the lights now. Too many cops. Maybe we should… Essie, are you alright?” Phillip was troubled by the delay, “Can we discuss this somewhere else? It’s almost dusk and the lights will come on any minute.” They headed for their PI office.

As they settled in the office, Peter thought they should lay low till midnight, “Less cops.” Essie suggested, “We should try to talk to the mayor. Get him to shut down this project!” Phillip wasn’t in a rush, “We could wait another week.” And that’s when the phone rang. “Hello, Graves and Vance Detective Agency.” On the other end, in a wild, almost hysterical scream, “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I’VE BEEN CALLING FOR HOURS!! “Tonight, it must be tonight. The horrible thing has been eating all too well. I know that now. I think it’s almost ready. Meet me outside the Municipal Works Warehouse at seven tonight.” Peter spoke, “Professor Duncan…” “I told you not to use names! They’re listening!” “CLICK” Peter looked at the receiver, “He just hung up.”

Peter moved the floor carpet in front of the desk to access his floor-safe, “Who needs ammo? I got what ever caliber you need. And shotgun shells.” Essie declined as she was comfortable with her bow and arrow. But she did notice the worn picture of what must be Peter’s parents stored inside the safe. Phillip took the time to call home, “Marina, I’ll be late again. Don’t wait up. But give Anna a big kiss from me. And one for you too.”

6:45pm: They arrived early in the area, not certain which warehouse was the one Duncan mentioned. They parked on the west end and walked, the south side. Phillip on the lookout for any approaching cars, while Peter looked for signage. Essie chanced talking to a foreman of a trucking crew unloading freight, “Excuse me. Do you happen to know which is the Municipal Works Warehouse?” The foreman tried to hit on her, “Not sure what you’re looking for missy, but I’m sure we got whatever you need. Come on up to the office and we can discuss it in private.” Essie noticed one of the crates labeled “Farm Equipment” leaking fluid. She immediately thought bootlegging, “I see you’ve got your hands full. Maybe later.”

7:15pm Chase: Phillip was stuck hallway between Essie and Peter who was working his way east to the 3^rd warehouse. Thus, it was only Peter who heard an engine start inside the nearest warehouse. As he walked toward an access door, he heard the engine rev. Suddenly, the garage door to his left burst open as a truck smashed thru. Peter instinctively ducked from the wood shrapnel. Phillip wasn’t as lucky… close enough to be hit by flying debris. Then almost run over as he dove out of the way of the truck careening west. He saw the madman behind the wheel wearing a Great-War helmet. He recognized Duncan from the desk photo Peter had found and shown. The driver cursed, “What was I thinking to trust you?!”

Truck brake lights glowed as it turned south onto the West Street bridge. Although Essie the slowest, she was closest to their parked car. Thus, they all arrived at the same time, “He’s getting away! Punch it!” Essie dove into the backseat as Phillip slid over the hood (scratching it with his 45-cal pistol in his hip holster) to take shotgun as Peter cranked the key and slammed it into reverse then forward to give chase. [Drive-extreme] The car on 2 wheels as it rounded the corner onto the bridge at high speed. The airborne wheels flew over a fire hydrant and pedestrians dove for cover. [Navigate-regular] Phillip kept an eye on the truck already making a turn west off the bridge. [INT-extreme] Essie tried to guess his destination, “He’s going into the cemetery. No, wait! He’s headed for the cave! He wrote something about the mountain must fall. And he yelled into the phone about it being tonight!”

Peter slowed for the traffic light at West Street and West River Street. Luck it green, as if that really mattered, although he did lay on his horn. Pedestrians crossing with the light cursed, “Hey! Watch it you crazy bastard!” But West River Street forked: right to Concord and the route they took earlier today. Left to Boston. Just enough traffic and taillights to confuse the situation. [Spot-extreme] But Essie saw something, “Left! Take the left to Boston. He went that way; see the trashcan he hit still spinning on the curb?” Peter remembered the hand drawn map that highlighted the town of Wayland in that direction too.

Being Led to Slaughter: Soon they recognized the taillights ahead as they closed. Their backseat-driver Essie screamed, “Shoot out his tires!” But Peter turned off his own headlights as he reasoned, “I’ll just maintain pace and let him lead the way.” Wayland was a small community of maybe 7 buildings. Duncan barely slowed going thru the no-light center of town. Which meant the same for Peter. Thankfully a half-moon allowed them to keep eyes on the truck. Which suddenly began to slow and soon stop. Headlights still on. Difficult to see anything around the truck cab considering they parked 60 feet behind the truck bed. They only bathed under the April night sky where the constellation Taurus rose and Saturn visible. Tense moments as they debated what to do: creep up, yell out, introduce themselves?

Peter inched the car closer till beside the empty cab. And that’s when they saw Duncan carrying a lantern, walking a path going northeast to what must be Eye-Bone Hill. They took time to arm themselves before following with flashlights (Essie and Phillip). [Stealth: Phillip-regular, Peter 90, Essie 99] [Spot: Phillip-extreme] Essie stumbled on a rock and dropped her flashlight. “Crack!” Phillip just managed to see Duncan’s lantern begin to swing around; so, he turned off his flashlight, putting them in darkness. Duncan screamed in panic, “WHOSE OUT THERE?!” Silence. He hustled down the path. They cautiously followed, keeping their lights aimed low.

They watched Duncan reach the hill and begin to climb the 50-foot rise. [Spot-extreme] Phillip watched Duncan put his lantern down and strike his lighter, “He’s taking a smoke break. I can see the faint flare of his cigarette.” But something nagged at Peter, “He said tonight’s the night. The mountain must fall. That’s no cigarette! That crazed fool is lighting a stick of dynamite!” Not that they could see from this distance. But the sight of Duncan suddenly picking up his lantern and rushing down the hill… Essie fell on her butt thinking the man about to run her over. Duncan was surprised to see anyone on the path: he stumbled and fell and broke his lantern. “RUN! It’s gonna blow!”

Bringing Down the House: Peter helped Essie while Phillip helped Duncan as they all began to sprint down the hill. [Group Luck: 96] Well, that was their intent. “KA BLOOIE!” [Dodge: Essie had to ‘push’- finding cover behind a tree] Everyone was hit by flying rock shrapnel. Duncan took the worst of it: unconscious. Ears ringing, everyone coughed and wheezed from the dust cloud as they struggled to stand. Luck their flashlights still worked. Their beams revealed a white landscape, “The white powder! It’s spread everywhere!” They pressed handkerchiefs to their face and grabbed Duncan to drag away from the hill a comfortable distance, away from the white residue.

Peter tended to Duncan who slowed revived. “Congratulations. You did it old man. You blew up the whole thing.” It took awhile for Duncan to gain enough senses, “But did it collapse? Did I trap it and its cohorts? Did YOU go into the cave and see/feel what we are up against? We must be sure… we must return and check it out.” But Essie wasn’t really listening to the man babble as she gazed at jellyfish flowing over and around Eye-Bone Hill. “Uh, Professor Duncan, do you know about a ritual ancient Indians and even Sudbury residents chanted to keep the mountain spirit asleep?” Duncan was about to question why she asked, when he saw movement atop the hill, “Oh God! I can see jellyfish floating about. And another Render returning with its pineal capture to its master. We didn’t do anything to stop it!!”

As Duncan led them toward the hill, Peter was more than ready to just pack it in and drive away. But he followed, reluctantly, as he too was beginning to see jellyfish. As they walked, Duncan told them about the chant, “How do you know about it? You visited Sudbury? Did you talk to the beekeeper Jed too? His brother died around the time of the Crawford Rise disappearance. He was dating one of the girls… heard their chanting and them gathered round a bonfire as they burned their ‘Devil Lanterns’ as they called them. All Jed know is when his brother returned, he was a broken man. Days before he ate a shotgun. And that’s why Jed learned about the spell and taught the other Sudbury residents. And taught me too.”

9pm, The Sleeper Emerges: They tightened their handkerchiefs on their faces even thou they stopped short of the powdered landscape and waited for Duncan to give the signal. “What are we waiting for?” Duncan answered as best he insanely could, “For the Sleeper to emerge and bathe in the radiation emitted by the living star Xoth. That’s when we circle around it and chant to cast an ethereal net between us and over it. The net will steal the Sleepers vision, blocking the radiation. We only need to rob it of a few hours of the radiation… Oh God, it’s crawling out! It's time!” 

Only Duncan could see their target, but they knew him too far gone insane to lead the ritual, “Phillip, it’s up to you. You’re the strongest.” But Phillip had his doubts, “With just four of us?!”

CLIMAX- Need 3 Successes

They stood 30-feet apart as they circled the top and began to chant. Phillip set the rhythm, repeating words that made no sense to common man, “M’buchthu yltol th’nalek-Xoth Eibon p’gothoth N’kai chgollng ftagn.” By now, even Phillip was beginning to see jellyfish but fought off the vision to concentrate on the words.

• 30 minutes in [opposed POW (group 95 versus Sleepers’ 125): near critical 03 versus 22 extreme]: Success. With hands raised in the direction of the hilltop, they could see ethereal filaments stretch out between their fingertips and over the hilltop, draped over some invisible bulge. [All Sanity check: Phillip lost 6 but failed his INT to avoid Bout-Of-Madness]
• An hour in [opposed POW: 50 regular but Sleeper’s 43 hard]: Failure. Maybe their arms tired, but the filaments began to weaken, and thin, and soon collapse as their netting dissipated. Maybe it was because Essie lost focus at the sound of something approaching from behind. The beekeeper Jed Ashcroft led 8 Sudbury residents, attracted by the earlier explosion. They had sold the dynamite to Duncan and could only reason what he’d done and came to check it out. They recognized the ritual circle and words being spoken. And joined in. And the ethereal net renewed.
• 1.5 hours in [opposed POW (group 140 versus Sleepers’ 125): 88 regular versus 70 regular]: Failure. Maybe they were out of sync, or others didn’t really know the true words. But the netting was incomplete. And to make matters worse, 4 of the villages began to see jellyfish and ran away! But these remaining stayed at it.
• 2 hours in [opposed POW (group 120 versus Sleepers’ 125): 11 extreme versus 31 regular]: Success. Less in numbers but with more resolve, the netting grew thicker, blocking more stellar radiation.
• 2.5 hours in [opposed POW (group 120 versus Sleepers’ 125): 52 hard versus 95 regular]: Success. By now the ritual had become numbing to the senses and physical strength. But also more time exposed to the powder: Essie and Peter reached ‘Stage 2’ where they could see what was trapped under the net. [Sanity: failure. 1D20. Essie lost 9 while Peter lost 20! Both suffer Bout-of-Madness] Essie dropped her hands in paranoia, “It’s not working! We’ve failed.” But Peter was the exact opposite [Significant Person] as he saw his deceased parents standing next to him, “What are you talking about?! Mom and dad are here to help! Everyone, LOUDER!” Those remaining could only assume someone had joined their ranks on the other side, out of their view. Indeed, the chanting grew louder.

But that is also when Peter felt intense pressure within his brain as his vision grew beyond just the bulged netting as his vision zoomed into the mass trapped underneath. For that is when Phillip had lost focus; control slipped over to Peter now the main source of the ritual. [Phillip Sanity check-failure. 5 points, over 20% threshold = Indefinite Insanity: BOM-Flee!] The ritual was successful which meant they DID steal the Sleeper’s visions.

Which meant Phillip gazed amongst the stars and even toward the rings of Saturn when he beheld sight of what he could only imagine: the living star Xoth! Phillip clenched his temples in horror as he went running from the hill. Only to finally regain composure and control to return to the hill as he thought their ritual incomplete. Thus, he returned in time, having reached ‘Stage 2’, to see the Sleeper in all its unholy form, with long tentacles stretched forward pulling itself back inside the cave. [Phillip-Sanity check: lost 9 pts and thus triggered another BOM]. They eventually found Phillip cowering in the backseat of the car.

CONCLUSION

Thursday, April 27^th: It took another two days to regain composure and face the world again, “You know it’s not over. Those damn lights on Walnut Street. Folks will still suffer headaches and hallucinations if not worse.” They hadn’t even bothered to read the papers. Once more Peter climbed atop the car with baseball bat in hand, only to find all the lights of Walnut smashed. Turns out, residents saw Phillip’s slingshot deed and bought a dozen for all the kids. The police couldn’t do anything as the streetlights became target-practice. The mayor was indignant, but the newspapers only reported, “The mayor’s re-election campaign fell short in the small neighborhood of French Hill and Walnut Street.”

6pm, City Council Meeting: They cornered councilman Endicott outside the meeting hall. Peter flashed his PI badge, “We've been investigating the reported illnesses and hallucinations among the residents of Walnut Street who believe YOUR authorized newly installed lights the direct cause. After speaking with the designer of these lights, Graham Duncan, we now know that the special coating is indeed toxic. We sent a sample to the lab to confirm our suspicions. We demand you not only remove the lights and replace them with standard light bulbs. And destroy any light bulbs and coating remaining in storage.”

Endicott noticed Essie with her head down, taking notes, “Excuse me miss. What are you doing?” Essie paused, “Why, I’m waiting for your answer to complete this newspaper article to be published in Arkham and the national news.” The councilman began making excuses, “I was only the engineer who was misled by Duncan’s claims. It was Selectman Ash Southcott who steered the vote.” Essie smiled, “Then I’ll be happy to note in the report that it was you who convinced the council to rescind the project. What’s your first name again so I can give proper credit?”

Analysis: They returned to the GV Detective Agency office to re-convene. The phone rang. “Hello, is this Mr. Graves? This is Dr. Eckers from the MU Science Department. I finally have the report on that powder sample you dropped off. The powder is an unknown element. We tested it on mice and noticed their pineal gland doubled in size. But more astonishing, the mice were able to navigate a maze as if they could see thru the walls. Even blinded mice made it thru. Can you get us more? Think of the advancements to medicine? Allowing the blind to see!” Peter slammed the receiver down!!

Wrap-up with Helen Stanley: Peter knocked on Helen’s door, “Again, I am so sorry for your loss. Hopefully you can find comfort knowing we (Graves and Vance Investigative Agency) solved the case. Turns out the newly installed lights on Walnut Street had a toxic chemical that caused Michael’s insanity. We contacted the city engineer to have the lights removed so that no more people would suffer the same as your brother. If there is anything else we can do, don’t hesitate to ask.” Helen smiled and shook his hand as she passed along a fin ($5 bill), “I know it’s not much, but I can’t thank you enough. Do you happen to know a good lawyer to sue the city for negligence?”

As Peter drove off, he couldn’t imagine her suffering. First her son Henry, then to lose her brother Michael. The asylum claimed he had committed suicide in his cell, but Peter had read the real medical report: how Michael was found in his cell with slash marks on his arms and legs and his head split open. One of the Renders must have harvested his pineal gland. THAT must have been the Render Duncan saw returning to the cave!

Meeting with Armitage: As promised, Professor Avebury arranged the meeting with the Library Director, Mr. Henry Armitage himself. Henry relayed the report on the serpent vials Phillip had turned over, “The blue vial is a healing agent that grows (or regrows) serpent skin. The clear vial was some kind of mind control drug.” Phillip remembered the patches of scale he had seen on his arm during the serpent battle in the ship’s cargo hold. As for the drug, he didn’t remember any particular affect. [He was susceptible to Joanna’s suggestions, but he never got close enough to her during the fight.]

Big Reveal: When they mentioned their exploits and spoke of a cave within “Eye Bone Hill”, he raised an eyebrow. When they finally showed him the Book of Indian Mythology with the chant that referenced Xoth and Eibon, he retreated into the Restricted Collections and returned with a book. After opening the book to a page, he handed it over:

Eibon, known as "the Unfathomable", was the most powerful sorcerer in the ancient land of Hyperborea.  Over the years, his fame grew: he was not only said to be a magician of prodigious ability, but also an accomplished sculptor and poet. Among his many works, the most recognized was his magnum opus, the mystical Book of Eibon. Eibon was later accused of heresy by Morghi the Inquisitor, the high priest of Yhoundeh. When Morghi's acolytes came for him, he escaped Saturn using a magical portal given to him as a gift from Tsathoggua.  Divining the strife which would befall the solar system, Eibon wove colossal nets to catch a being which was enroute to destroy the Earth: one of the Seeds of Azathoth.  Eibon's current whereabouts are unknown; however, some believe his spirit is now to be found in the Dreamlands.

Armitage closed the book and returned it to the collection to then conclude, “Eye Bone… classic misprint of the name Eibon. He must have visited that ancient tribe and passed down a spell to keep that Old One asleep under the hill.”

But Henry also saw their stricken sanity, “I suggest you seek professional help. Maybe when you are able, come see me again and we can discuss… steps that might aid you in future contact with the mythos.”

GM COMMENTS

Phillip has the highest POW (80) which should have meant he first susceptible to the new light. But it was Essie staring thru the telescope and handling the powder (which absorbed into her skin) who reached the threshold first. Followed by Peter who had also gazed thru the scope and stood in the street after midnight talking with the police about Frankie’s death. But Phillip wasn’t off the hook… just a few steps behind his friends.

BACKGROUND

Half-remembered tales recall that in aeons long ago the Great Old Ones came down from the heavens to occupy our planet. These stories tell of hundreds of such creatures descending upon our globe, each a horribly individual and unique entity. Yet in the Mythos lore known only by a few, a mere handful of such entities is thought to exist on the Earth. Could it be that the reason for this discrepancy lies not in the disappearance of these deathless things, but in the narrowness of our perceptual faculties? Could the remainder of these eldritch things be in some way invisible to our sensibilities, surviving in imperceptible slumber in long-forgotten places?

Beneath a small hill in the gently rolling landscape west of Arkham lies a shrine that is invisible to all humanity’s senses. Within this place sleeps an antediluvian horror, a lesser power among the ranks of those who descended with Cthulhu from the hideously living star Xoth. Being a lesser entity of its kind, the mystical bonds that prevent its existence during certain cosmic phases are weaker. This, coupled with the imminence of the stellar configuration which will free all members of its race, means the time is ripe for this being’s awakening. For this to occur, however, the Great Old One must be fed curious occult sustenance and exposed to the non-electromagnetic radiation emitted by the star it once came from. To arrange such conditions, an avatar of Nyarlathotep, in the form of a dark-skinned merchant, lures Professor Graham Duncan into his web. Duncan is shown how to construct cheaper electric lamps that emit a brighter light. Unknown to Duncan, the special powder coating used on the bulbs affect the human pineal gland within the brain, thus providing a ’second sight’.

Those with a stronger POW are affected fastest. Or those who bath in the greenish-hued light longer. Stimulation of the pineal gland in turn produces chemicals necessary for the awakening of the entity beneath the hill, called ‘The Sleeper’. Its attending helpers (the Jelly Things and Renders) comfort and protect the Sleeper. And when the time is ready, harvest activated human pineal glands to feed their master so he might fully awaken and walk the Earth again!

NEXT SCENARIO: https://wjr5oakley.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-doctor-will-see-you-now.html