Crimson Letters.P3 Conclusion

(Essie/Whitney, Peter/Jordan, Phillip/Aaron, Jimmy/Graham, Riche/Jon)

4:30pm Saturday, Sept 1^st, Leiter’s Cottage: “We can’t just leave a zombie/ghoul loose in the morgue.” Peter phoned Dr. Armitage to tell him the news. The doctor knew about Leiter’s death but knew nothing about missing papers from the Hobbs collection. “Three bodies?! Who else besides Dr. Wheatcroft? Atlantic City folks? That will make it tough keeping it quiet. I’ll call to get someone to cover the doctor’s classes. Cursed you say, and you think Prof Leiter touched the papers? I’ll send a team soonest to deal with the re-animation before students or staff stumble upon the morgue; you track down the papers and secure them!”

They looked at each other at a loss for their next direction, “Lucy is here. No reason to go to the Hibbs Roadhouse now. Her mobsters came to us.” Phillip reminded them of the letter from Arkham Asylum, “What about this Cecil Hunter fella Prof Leiter checked into the Sanatorium? Lucy heard the professor talking with him. Didn’t she say he was an art student kicked out of school? If he was the forger, he would have touched the witch papers. Maybe he hid them somewhere or at least knows where they are." Anthony Flinders chimed in, “I never saw the guy, but maybe this Cecil was the guy the professor was always talking to late at night in his office. I only heard them whispering. Never got a good look at him.”

5pm: Riche called Claude to bring the limo since all 7 of them (including Lucy and Anthony) couldn’t fit into Peter’s car. They climbed the Sanatorium steps with Riche in the lead. With the letter to Leiter in his hands, Riche introduced himself to the receptionist, “Prof Leiter is indisposed and asked us to represent him in this matter of one Cecil Hunter. Please, let us talk to the boy.” But Nancy was all about procedures, “I’m sorry, but unless you are family…” Riche placed a $20 bill on the counter. They didn’t see her reach under the desk and push a button. Soon the doors behind her swung open as two orderlies emerged. Concern from the group she’d called for help, till she explained, “Will you please find Dr. Freed and tell him Cecil Hunter’s brother is here to see him.”

Peter and Jimmy stayed behind with Lucy and Anthony as the others joined Dr. Freed who led them up the stairs. Riche introduced his associates (Phillip and Essie) as they walked past patients idling in the halls or being escorted to appointments. He had to yell over the din of crazed patients screaming from their padded cells, “This is my lawyer and his assistant who need to get my brother’s signature on family estate papers.” Dr. Freed let them into Cecil’s room, “The orderlies will remain nearby if you need help.”

Cecil sat on his cot with his straightjacket snug, staring straight ahead as if “a deer in headlights.” Essie sat beside him and tried to calmly chat, “Cecil, we understand Leiter checked you into this… hospital.” Cecil spoke slowly as his head wobbled, “Dead is me, dead is he, a crawling shape intrude! It writhe as we become its food. The curtain for certain comes down with the rush of a storm, uprising, unveiling, affirm that the play is the tragedy, ‘Man,’ and its hero, the Conqueror Worm.” [apologizes to Edgar Allan Poe]. Riche gasped at the mention of ‘worm’ as he remembered the image in the seam of the broken mirror in Leiter’s office. “What can you tell us about worms? What did you see?!” Cecil began squirming on his bed as he began to fight his jacket, “Oh dear God, what have we done, not out, not all the way out, but soon. Can’t you hear it, smashing at the walls, screaming in the wind? It will be free and then—Oh God—it wasn’t my fault, broken geometry, flaw, flawed copy, in the lines and the angles, you imbecile, don’t you see? Why didn’t you see?!”

Pounding from the padded wall announced an unpleasant neighbor. Moans and groans and wailing, “Shut up. Get out of the walls and out of my head. I can’t take it anymore. Stop your blathering. Just lay down as in a coffin and let the worms caress you. Die and become their food.” For whatever reason, Essie and Phillip remembered the man-faced rat Peter had seen and began searching the padded walls for possible digging, holes. Could it be tormenting these men?! From his knees, Phillip asked, “What do you know about witches?” it was as if they purposefully tried to enrage the poor soul as Cecil screamed louder, “Her, it was her trial, her papers, her name, her symbols, her prisoner, stupid, stupid, stupid. I can hear her laughing. The cries, oh god the cries of the newborns on her table.”

The orderlies rushed into the room to restore peace, “Thanks for nothing. Too soon for another dose of laudanum.” They stuffed rags into Cecil’s mouth with the excuse, “We don’t want him to bite his own tongue off.” Riche backed up and let them work, “Yes, please take care of my brother.” One attendant held out his open palm, “Like you took care of Nancy.” But Riche thought otherwise, “Yes, do your job! Unless I should recommend replacements.” They found Dr. Freed downstairs. “Poor soul. Your friend Prof Leiter brought him in 12 days ago. I’m afraid the man is too far gone. It didn’t help that he had to hear the death cries of his neighbor 2 days ago. Kept saying the worms ate the man.” [No one picked up on the comment to mean there was no one next door for them to hear screaming and pounding on the wall.]

As they stepped back to their cars, they compared notes. Jimmy reflected on the comment about “geometry. Do you suppose he copied something wrong?” Peter expanded on the idea, “Made a mistake and released something.” But they were still without clues about where the papers might be. “Cecil didn’t have anything on him when Leiter checked him in. Which means either Leiter was the last to possess them, or Cecil has a studio where he does his forgeries. Maybe we should go back to Leiter’s office and search for an address book.” Which reminded Jimmy to ask Anthony, “You heard them whispering. Where were you hiding to overhear them?” Anthony explained, “In the hallway at the keyhole. But the desk was too far away, and they whispered.”

6pm, Historical Society Building: They climbed the steps and entered the first floor lit by hallways lights. Light shone from under Roach’s door at the far end of the hallway. They unlocked Leiter’s office and flicked on the lights. By now Essie had heard enough whimpering from Lucy to have sympathy, “Jimmy, just give her the money and let her go. She’s just getting in our way now.” Jimmy begrudgingly handed her the fat envelope… she didn’t even say thanks as she rushed out the door and out of sight. He took his frustration out on Anthony as he threatened with his letter-opener, “Again, where were you hiding to overhear their conversations?” Anthony stuck to his story. Riche tried to defuse the situation as he placed his arm around the young man and began describing their first search of the room, “I was other there inspecting the mirror when Peter saw the man-faced rat there…” Meanwhile, Peter stepped into the hallway to listen at the door: it was too thick to hear anything from inside. But he did hear a commotion coming from down the hall!

Riche continued to play Anthony as a trusted source as they paced inside the office. Essie also stayed to search under the rugs for a possible floor safe. Thus, it was Peter/Phillip/Jimmy who checked out the disturbance down the hall. Peter listened at the door: scuffling and gasps. With shotgun drawn, he kicked the door open to reveal… “Jesus Christ!”

CLIMAX

Something [Horror-in-Ink] rose out of the briefcase resting on Roach’s lap as he sat in his chair behind the desk. It was the size and bulk of the rotund man… but what they saw was a shifting, hulking, almost bear-like mass made up of glowing, shimmering reddish-black worms, akin in color to boiling blood and dying cinders. Gurgle and coughing sounded from Harlan Roach engulfed by the mass. Phillip squeezed off a round from his 1911… the 45 caliber dislodged worm parts as the slug blasted thru the mass before embedding in the far wall. Peter began chanting as he prepared to cast a spell (2 rounds: Spectral Blade). Jimmy fumbled for his flare gun and fired. “THUNK!” The flare embedded in the mass and burned brightly. Clumps of wormy mass fell away, still burning on the carpet as the mass itself seemed to distance itself from the flare.

Riche walked with his arm around Anthony’s shoulders as if they were best buddies. When he heard the gunfire, he grabbed Anthony’s collar and tried to drag him along. They were almost at the door when Anthony froze in place. Essie rushed past them as she drew her bow, charging towards the sound of gunfire. She stopped in her tracks when she heard Anthony’s dry resistance, “You fools.” [Brawl] Caught by surprise, Riche tried to grab Anthony with both hands to tackle him to the floor. He only managed to sling him against the door. 

Anthony glared with empty but penetrating eyes as the man-faced rat jumped upon his shoulder and cuddled his ear. Riche fumbled for words, “Why? We trusted you. Are you into the mystic arts?”

Essie shuddered at her first sight of the familiar before aiming her arrow at it as she called out, “Keziah! Don’t move or I’ll drop you where you stand.” Threatening words without effect: [opposed POW: hard versus extreme] Sweat beaded on her temple as foreign words entered her thoughts. Her eyes pleaded with her fingers to let loose the arrow. Traitors! [Dominate] Her fingers gripped the arrow shaft tightly and wouldn’t comply. Riche could only assume Essie held their foe at bay as he tried to bluff [Charm-fail versus Psychology-regular], “I didn’t tell the others I found the papers. They could be yours if you promise to share.” Anthony remained stationary as if they were no threat. His words without inflection or tone, “You fools. So gullible.” Followed by a dry laughter.

[opposed POW- Drive Insane] Meanwhile, Peter lost focus (-2 Sanity) on his spell as thoughts of worms and rats and witch curses flooded his mind. Unaware of the torment his partner suffered, Phillip aimed for the briefcase in Roach’s lap. [Pointblank range bonus and still missed] The 45 caliber penetrated the desk sending splinters into Roach’s legs. [Pain that was meaningless to a man going mad from his soul being consumed.] Peter shook off the distracting thoughts as he renewed his spell. Jimmy saw opportunity to rush for the briefcase… [Dodge] He quickly retracted his outstretched arm and backed up as a tentacled extension of the Horror-in-Ink shot toward his arm but missed.

Phillip switched to his shotgun and blasted the Horror: a gaping hole (and splattered worm gore) that just as quickly filled in with wormy matter. Peter finished his spell and directed a Spectral Blade at the mass, loping chunks of matter that was soon replaced. And once again, Jimmy tried for the briefcase. [still under the Evil-Eye spell, his DEX halved yet he rolled a regular success] Jimmy pulled the briefcase close and closed the opening. A short-lived triumph as another wormy extension grappled his wrist and began to drain his being! [-2 Sanity, -8 Constitution, -4 Strength]

[Opposed POW to break free: failed] Essie was powerless to command her own body into action. Riche continued his ruse as he still talked to Anthony, “You underestimate my colleagues. They are in the other room vanquishing your curse.” But his words fell on deaf ears. Riche finally pulled his cane-sword and held the tip to Anthony’s throat. Yet Anthony wasn’t swayed as he continued to mock the Frenchman in dry retort, “Fools.” The cane blade cut into skin as Anthony’s Adam’s Apple danced up and down. Riche had enough and shoved his sword into the throat: coup-de-grace. Only then did Anthony react: life seemed to surge into his eyes as Anthony gained vision for the first time before he collapsed to the ground. The rat familiar giggled, jumped, and scampered for the floor vent escape.

Back in Roach’s office, Phillip aimed at the extension and blasted with his 2^nd barrel, almost cutting it in half. Peter gave up on his spell and drew his own shotgun and blasted…missed. Jimmy was left to fend for himself: he stabbed with his letter-opener, but the thin blade seemed to slide harmlessly through the wormy mass. [Grapple: 99] The extension tried to drain more life from its target, but it only had ahold of Jimmy’s jacket which slipped off. No fool, Jimmy took the opportunity to run! His allies followed suit, slamming the door shut behind them as they bolted back towards Leiter’s office.

[With Anthony’s collapse, the Dominate spell ended] They arrived just in time to see Essie fire her arrow across the room: no target in her line of sight. Peter looked at the blood dripping from Riche’s sword, then looked at Anthony prone on the floor, “He had it coming.” Peter saw the bubbles forming from Anthony’s Adam’s Apple and barely heard the man’s dying gurgling breath, “You fools. She’s the witch.”

Jimmy showed his prized briefcase and then dumped the contents on Leiter’s desk. “Careful, don’t touch anything!” Peter and Phillip readied their reloaded shotgun expecting the Horror to come tumbling out. Tense moments as their hearts raced before Riche used his cane-sword to move the papers around. “The Witch Trail Papers.” But Peter was distracted in thought of Anthony’s last words, “Which she is the witch? Emilia or Lucy?” Jimmy recoiled at realization he had tried to hit on each woman. Riche was just coming to the realization he had cold-bloodily killed an innocent man.

It was Phillip leaning over the papers, reading, who discovered tribunal words of Keziah Mason’s last moments while being burned alive at the stake, “The witch mocked us even as torch put to the pile of straw at her feet. Laughter and curses till the flames licked her clothing. Only then did her voice change to that of pain and crying. And utterance, ‘Oh God no! Please release me, I’m Emilia Court!’ Strange words from a dying witch.”

EPILOGUE

They used book edges to shove the papers back into the briefcase. And delivered said papers to Dr. Armitage. They took great care not to touch the papers which were stacked in the fireplace and torched. Flames licked at the pages which released ethereal wisps of various colors. The fire so intense, the papers seemed to hiss as moisture evaporated. The hiss almost sounded like screams of the dead.

As they debriefed Dr. Armitage, he debriefed them, “My team did not find a ghoul in the morgue. Prof Leiter’s body was found on the floor riddled with bullet holes. They found Dr. Wheatcroft dead. He had a few non-life-threatening bullet holes in his body. Instead, he died from slash wounds across his back. Of the other two men: one had his throat ripped out. The other also died from slash wounds. Do you know the other men? Who do we need to notify and what story do we need to make up to cover their death?”

Prof Fallon was livid the witch papers were not recovered. And to make matters worse, “Not that I planned to elevate Prof Roach, but it seems now I need to find a new professor to take over the Historical Society. That department has been decimated. We even lost a valuable post-graduate student, Emilia Court.”

BEHIND THE SCREEN

During the Salem witch trials of 1692, an old woman by the name of Keziah Mason was convicted a witch and child-killer (she sacrificed children for her own Prolongate Life and as offerings to the bogeyman). In her testimony to Judge John Hathorne, she confessed to having signed her name in the Book of Azathoth.

Convicted and about to be burned at the stake, she chanted as the wood piled. As the flames rose and licked at her clothing, a different voice sounded in a desperate plea… claiming to be a woman from 1923, “Oh God no! Please release me, I’m Emilia Court!” Keziah had reached beyond her dimension and swapped bodies with another!

Arkham Witch Trials of 1690s: the papers contain Keziah writings. Bound in the stitching of the small manuscript is a malign and alien Horror trapped by Keziah. With the stitching removed, it becomes freed.

Prof Leiter was a poor gambler and in big debt. He commissioned Cecil Hunter to forge many documents over the years. It was Cecil who removed the witch paper stitching so he could forge the papers. The trapped Horror began to torment his mind, driving him insane. After placing Cecil in the asylum, Leiter made plans to skip town. On Aug 23^rd, Leiter returned to his MU office where the Horror (released from the papers) possessed him. Leiter’s last defiant act was to look in a mirror to burn his soul and die in his office. His body frozen in a grip of terror.

Roach was the first to find him per the screams. He noticed the papers and stole them, then pulled the locked door closed behind him as he left. Such that Essie arriving in the morning had to call a janitor to open the office. Roach planned to delay an appropriate time before he “found” the papers and thus showered with praise. Except, you were hired. He now had to scramble to keep you off his tail.

Meanwhile, Emilia (aka Keziah) didn’t know who had the papers. She wanted them so she could hide the last recorded entry about Emilia being burned in her place.

Anthony Flinders was just a misguided fanatic, rebuffed by Prof Leiter in his quest to work under him. He was a true believer in witchcraft—a self-made Satanist, a cult of one, and wanted the papers for himself per spells within. He had planted a microphone in Leiter’s office and sat outside the window to eavesdrop in hopes of gathering blackmail to gain assignment. He was outside the window listening when you first entered Leiter’s office.

It wasn’t Anthony’s collapse that ended the Dominate spell against Essie. It was the rat familiar leaving the scene.

In the Climax, Emilia was in her office with the lights out as she sent her familiar to spy on Roach. Darkness helped her see thru her familiar’s eyes. When you returned to the building and entered Leiter’s office, she called her familiar back to spy on you. She took glee in taking control of Anthony and commanding him to speak as if he was the warlock Keziah. She even had her familiar sit on his shoulder to add to the visual. While on his shoulder, the rat whispered commands in his ear. Had you rolled Psychology, you would have noticed his trance state. Had you wounded him or even slapped him, he would have gained enough consciousness to question his surroundings. Had you injured the familiar, Emilia/Keziah would have felt the pain too and cried out, exposing her presence next door. That was your chance to confront her.