The Great Trap.Part 2
The Great Trap (written by Heinrich D. Moore
for Call of Cthulhu), GM-Alex
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The Esoterics: each of us touched by something unnatural
in our past. |
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Ai-Ling (Bill) 48yo Chinese Astrophysicist |
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Florence Maxley (Chance) 29yo attractive black medical
Student |
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Professor Flint Larson (Mark) Former MI-8 codebreaker
now Mathematician |
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Professor Nathaniel Daystrom (David) 53yo History
Professor |
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Julia
Chase (Xiao) 40ish Accountant, former cult member |
And that’s when Virginia Peaslee stepped in, “I’ve called
the hospital; they should be here shortly. If you’ll kindly leave to not traumatize
Adhemar further.” Flint was too kind, trying to offer further assistance. Nathan
charged out in search of a real medical kit, “He may not survive long enough
for the doctors to arrive.” [Really, he left to search the basement for the
mentioned devise Osterman had been working on.] Ling got in Virginia’s face with her own
raised voice of concern, “I failed my professor 5 years ago after his accident;
I’ll be damned to leave him now! What happened these last 5 years? The
neighbors saw you delivering boxes; what was he working on?” She grabbed one of
the books to look for herself. Meanwhile, Florence asked about the boxes: tools,
copper, lead, sheets of metal, etc. As for this seizure: “No, this hasn’t
happened before.”
Basement: A single lightbulb illuminated the large
room filled with a jumble of opened boxes, tools laid about, wires and parts
and pieces. Most obvious with the void in the center of the room: as if
something large ONCE was there. No path to drag such a huge thing out, no
scrape marks on the floor. Just gone! He returned to ask Virginia what was missing:
a 6ft tall, long pyramid shaped machine. “Stolen 3 days ago!” Thinking back to
the scenes of yesterday, Flo asked, “Have you seen us before?” No. Julia chimed
in, “Are you sure you haven’t seen anyone with our likenesses? There was a
couple in the garden last night.” No.
Ambulance: The sound of the approaching ambulance
refocused Virginia trying to hustle everyone out. Nathan took the opportunity
to look into other rooms on the way out. Years unoccupied; a layer of dust. But
within that dust: shoeprints the same size as his. With the EXACT same hole in
the bottle sole and clipped heel! He thought back to the original letter: did we
all sign the letter in this room?! Once outside, Julia detoured to the garden…she
reached for her dagger but relaxed when she realized it was a discarded mirror
projecting her image. Paused to reflect and reasoned: the angle wouldn’t
explain last night’s sighting of that similar couple. Nor did she find
footprints as further evidence.
“You’re not family.” Disallowed to ride with him, Ling bent
over to kiss the unconscious Adhemar’s forehead, “I’m sorry I haven’t been
there for you.” Pale, eyes rolled up, barely breathing…was this the last she’d
see of him? Meanwhile, Nathan described his unexplained footprints to the
others. Which caused Julia to shudder, “I don’t like the possibility of others
like me out there.”
Road Trip: As Nathan drove 90 miles west, the others
used the 2-hour trip to look thru the books they collected:
Florence opened Azathoth and
Other Horrors by Edward Pickman Derby:
Azathoth is the highest entity in
the Mythos hierarchy—above Great Old Ones, Outer Gods, and cosmic forces. Described
as the “blind idiot god”, a seething, formless mass of chaotic energy
that sits at the universe’s center, surrounded by the monotonous piping of
demonic flutes and the dancing of lesser Other Gods. All existence is said to
be merely a dream of Azathoth; if it ever awakens, everything ends.
[Sanity check] Florence squealed, “My favorite book!”
The Yith are a race of highly
advanced beings who abandoned their original planet and now exist by projecting
their minds across time and space, swapping consciousness with other
species. Their Earth‑era bodies are massive, conical creatures with multiple
limbs and claw‑like appendages used for communication. One of the most
frighteningly nonviolent threats in the Mythos: they don’t kill you—they
replace you, study you, and then erase your memories.
As Flint opened Roger Bacon’s Thesaurus
Chemicus, he puzzled, “Maybe we are suffering from a gas leak down in the
Math Dept basement where we meet. This has all been hallucinations and we need
to wake up.” He flipped the real pages:
The Thesaurus Chemicus is a
genuine 17th‑century alchemical compendium attributed to Michael Sendivogius
and other early chemists. It focuses on the nature of matter and cosmic
processes. Wild theories about time and space. Something that can be used as a
trap: divide by 2 and you never reach zero. Close but as if time slows and
stops. You’re stuck in time.
Julia read from Turba
Philosophorum:
The Turba Philosophorum
(“The Assembly of the Philosophers”) is a genuine medieval alchemical text,
dating to around the 12th century. It’s one of the earliest compilations of
alchemical thought, presented as a dialogue among ancient sages — Pythagoras,
Anaxagoras, and others — debating the nature of creation and transformation.
Ling opened Marvells of Science
by F. Morryster:
The real book (The Marvels
Beyond Science) is a 1910–1920s parapsychology text cataloging attempts to
scientifically analyze: spiritualism, mediumship,
telepathy, clairvoyance, hypnotism, “polygonal memory” and subconscious
phenomena.
Equation based theories on the
existence of quantum mechanics and the existence of other universes. Ling squealed
with delight at support for his own theory of Interstellar communication.
From the front seat, Nathan asked, “What do we do if we find
Osterman’s device?” Flo was quick to point out, “We’re all academics; who
better to take control of it.”
Kreuz Observatory: A single winding road led up the hillside
towards the observatory. And that’s when Ling heard the faint sound of a
distant ‘boom’. Flint perked up as if back in the Great War and bombs falling
everywhere. The delayed shockwave bent trees lining the road and caught Nathan
by surprise. [remember his failed push back in the CU restricted library-at a
cost? “Roll with penalty the next time your life is in danger.” Drive check:
15, 15]: he couldn’t stop the crash as the car skidded along the gravel road,
propelled by the invisible wave, but at least he avoided that huge tree!
As the car spun out of control, it was if we were viewing a zoetrope:
a cylindrical drum with vertical slits around its sides and a sequence of
images—like a galloping horse. Except…snippets of other times and possible outcomes:
5 dead investigators in a car smashed against a tree, the same five running
towards the observatory, the same five standing beside the road watching the
spinning car.
We staggered out of the car, some ready to hurl. A beam of
light projected skyward from one of the observatory domes. With the car
wrecked, Nathan had everyone grab items from the trunk: crowbar, gas can,
lug-wrench, shotgun, etc. As Flo lifted the car hook thinking she could fix it,
a second explosion erupted from another dome. We watched the shockwave
approach, just as another car came into view: their own Studebaker with us
inside! We stood on the side of the road and watched it pass unharmed. Until a
shimmering cloud of…energy?... rained down like an anvil crushing the car and
its occupants!! The vision dissipated but the shimmering remained. “RUN!!”
200ft from the observatory and the shimmering thing hovered
over Flo running for her life. 7 pseudopods reached down and easily grabbed
her, squeezing shit and guts like butter, popping her head off. Speaking of
shit and brown pants, Julia yelled “RUN FASTER!” Mythos memories screamed to
her of something called an exterminator of entire species. Ling paused to
question, “Walter, is that you?” Flint paused to usher her along with war
earned knowledge, “Movement is life. Damn it, run!” Pseudopods slammed Julia (5
cracked ribs) but she remained conscious and standing and took off running
again.
Inside: We reached the observatory and pushed thru
the doors. Julia shrieked in pain as her skin bubbled with acid burns. And that’s
when we realized Flo stood beside us. Double-take to confirm Flo’s body was
visible back along the tree path. And the shimmering thing hovered outside as
if angered to get in. Nathan pointed at Flo (or whatever that doppelganger
was), “Don’t move!” as he tended to Julia’s medical needs.
[failed POW check] And that’s when Flo began to scrunch her shoulders,
roll her head, and then cackled in an unfamiliar voice, “I can help you with
that my dear.” Julia feebly raised her blade and struck at the new threat.
[missed but Flo fumbled: 000] The blade sunk deep and struck bone causing Julia
to lose her grip. Ling also attacked with her chopsticks but missed. [passed
POW check] And Flo’s voice returned as she saw the blade in her chest, “What,
what did you do? Why? That wasn’t me; someone who called herself Kiziah Mason.”
Julia knew of the witch from her cultist days. Flint stepped forward to give
first aid, but Ling stopped him before pulling out the knife, “Leave it in,
else she’ll bleed to death.”
[20% loss Sanity: Indefinite Insanity] Flo cried out to “Leave
it in for God’s sake!” Until the voice in her head said otherwise. She pulled
out the blade…and healed! “Thank you, Kiziah, for your black magic. You said to
rely on you for magic spells, but I didn’t understand at the time.”
And that’s when the observatory comm system crackled with a
new voice, “I can see you in the entrance hall. Too late, you can’t stop me.
Humanity’s future is in my hands.”
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Ling took off running west towards the main dome (Equatorial
Room). The others followed but took notice of the portrait painting: Walter and
Ursula Kreuz. Flint warned “Don’t cross it!” in reference to a visible shimmering
particle line that stretched from the entrance towards the main-dome stairs.
Ling didn’t see the others behind her detour into the library. Lavish landscape of gargoyles and
astrological symbolism, Egyptian statues, floor-to-ceiling bookcases, and other
worldly items. Flint grabbed a random book: Einstein’s Formulae:
As Ling climbed the stairs, it felt as if her energy was
draining, and she was moving half speed. She glanced over her shoulder to see
her allies behind her, almost in double-time motion and their words a
high-pitched buzz. Had she crossed the particle beam and was now experiencing
time divided by two? Was she about to be trapped in the infinity loop? She
tossed a chopstick forward up the stairs and watched it slow to a hover and
almost stopped. She turned towards her allies and soon rejoined them and their
welcoming and normal speech pattern. Flint suggested we backtrack the beam to
its source.
But first, another library stop. Nathan opened a folder of
amnesia cases: most intriguing considering he questioned his own amnesia
incidences. “Walter bought a pyramidal mechanical devise at auction, but it’s
not dated. And here’s the thief of mechanical drawings from a 15th
century genius.”
And that’s when Julia heard the faint clinking of champagne
glasses further ahead. Nathan had his pistol at the ready just as the east wing
double-doors closed. Sounds of a party inside. We entered at the ready…”Surprise!”
Banners hung from the ceiling and telescope, commemorating the 1893 Chicago
World Fair. But the onlooking eyes were focused on the dashing woman who
entered beside us.
Flint recognized her from the portrait: Ursula! And she was
wearing the silver chain necklace with a key! Nathan whispered for Flo to steal
the necklace, who struck up a conversation with Ursula. Ursula visibly grieved,
“I’m still shaken by my brother’s accident. I don’t like this; it’s not him
anymore. He’s not himself. This necklace? My brother gave it to me in the
Equatorial Room. Flo asked to look closer at the necklace and worked her
sleight-of-hand to remove it unnoticed. It dissolved in her hand.
Ling asked Ursula if she knew Osterman. “Yes, he was in the
same accident as my brother. Are you an Occultist by chance?” Nathan stepped
forward, “Fascinating subject. I’ve suffered memories lapses and am looking for
connections.” Ursula confessed, “Don’t think me mad, but I think an entity took
control of my brother. He’s obsessed, creating things we never discussed as a
team. As if someone is driving him. Osterman helped us create a magical Orrey that
is outside time & space.” When Nathan mentioned “Umr At-Tawil, the
Prolonged of Life.”, Ursula offered, “They call themselves Yith.”
We exited east, following the particle beam towards the Zodiac
Hall with columns dedicated to each of the zodiac signs. The beam ended at a
drawn curtain. Over the speaker, Walter warned, “Don’t you see what they are
trying to do? Make sacrifices of you like they did my sister.” A wailing noise
invited us to check behind the curtain. Flint was the first to open the curtain
and reared back in shock of seeing … whether on purpose, he ripped down the
curtain to reveal: a creature stood over a control panel with its frenzy of
tentacles operating the machine!
[Sanity Check: by now, most suffered Indefinite Insanity]
Julia- was fascinated “I told you
when you go to far…” She plunged her dagger into her own chest and fell to her
knees before collapsing dead.
Flo- rushed to Julia’s side to fix
her, and pleaded to the witch, “Kaziah, heal her!” Flo’s eyes rolled back as
Kaziah took control and put her hands on Julia. Who rose.
Ling- pushed forward to operate
the machine. Now was the time for her special ability.
Nathan & Flint…to be continued.
NEXT SESSION:
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