Call of Cthulhu Part Three: October 3, 1925

Those of you who have played (or read) Shadows of Yog Sothoth will notice that I have taken certain liberties with the text. Such as setting it in New York instead of Boston. This required a lot of hasty rewriting of the game’s text props on my part. This will also not be the last time that I take liberties with the game to suit my needs.

October 3, 1925

The game begins with a slight retcon. Not only has Vincenzo Bernouse been invited to the Silver Twilight Lodge, but so have Dr. Reese Black, Judge Ezekiel Putnam, and Mr. Kane Eastman. Each of these individuals has been permitted to bring a “plus one,” which was my way of getting the entire party to go.

Meanwhile, across town, Mikhail Dimathias, who is investigating the disappearance of his friend, James, finds an invitation to the same get-together. The invitation is accompanied by a note from one Johnathan Scott, the Noble Philosopher of the order. The note, written in stilted and archaic language, asks James Clark, Esq. to pass the invitation along to a man of “impeccable social standing and moral fiber.”

Vivian, concerned about this random social club she’s never heard of before, decides to do some research. She discovers that the Order of the Silver Twilight is not on any social registers anywhere. Ron, meanwhile, cases the joint itself, and finds it to be a nice, if still under construction, building.

On the night of the soiree, everyone arrives at the Lodge to find that it is staffed by very big, very dangerous-looking men who, despite their very nice uniforms, would not look out of place in a butcher’s shop or on a dock somewhere. Ron also notices that most of them are carrying concealed weapons. 

Vivian Gets Split from the Party

Vivian is immediately turned away at the door, because a) this is a club for boys, b) she is a girl, c) it is 1925. Vincenzo, upon seeing this, offers to forget the whole evening and just take Vivian home. She convinces him to stay and agrees to be escorted across the street to the Silver Twilight Auxiliary hall, where all the ladies who are members of the organization hang out.

This turns out to be the better option. While the men sit around, smoke cigars, eat, and talk about boring subjects, the girls get sozzled, gossip, sing, and listen to the old Victrola. Viv quickly befriends Deb Walsh, a woman about her age who seems to be the leader of this particular group of ladies. There is some discussion of what the ladies are going to do for the upcoming Halloween party, an event that is partially open to the public.

At one point, Vincenzo, after having been insulted by Barry Pollard (see below), comes over to check on his daughter. The ladies of the Silver Twilight Auxiliary all react to this quite favorably.

During the evening, Viv makes the acquaintance of another Auxiliary member, Angelica (also called Angie or Ange) Hutchinson. She is also roughly Vivian’s age. She is also very drunk and very angry. From Angie’s slurred speech and Deb’s vague comments, Viv pieces together that Angie was dating a member of the order who has since disappeared. She is sure he’s a two-timing scoundrel and a heartbreaker, and when she sees him again, she’s gonna kill him.

Meanwhile, Back at the Lodge

The gentlemen in the group are admitted inside and given leave to check their hats and coats. They are then free to wander the foyer and the two front recaption rooms.

Out-of-Game Note: I start showing off the map of the Silver Twilight Lodge, and several members of the party who are Masonic-adjacent in real life tell me that the layout is disturbingly similar to a Masonic lodge they have been in. So that’s weird!

There is a whirlwind of introductions. The group meets John Scott, Noble Philosopher, and head of the order. He is charismatic and friendly, but aloof. They also meet Carl Stanford, and those players who have played Arkham Horror cackle madly, because they now realize where this is going. They note that both Carl and John have matching, silver-tipped canes that they carry everywhere. They are also introduced to several other members (or soon-to-be members) of the order, including:

Barry Pollard: A dried up twig of a man who is the headmaster of an all-girls school. He is apparently very racist. He said something upsetting to Vincenzo which, according to Vincenzo, made him want to, “introduce the man’s teeth to the back of his throat.” Vincenzo was so incensed that he wanted to leave immediately, and wanted to have nothing further to do with the order.

Maximilian Reed: Carl Stanford’s driver and attendant. Basically, the opposite number to Giannis/Johnny Dukas, who serves the same function for Judge Putnam. This becomes pretty hilarious later, and almost looks like I had planned it.

Dr. Edward Call: A jovial surgeon who seems very nice. Upon his introduction, Johnny’s player snarked, “well, I know who’s gonna die first.” He bonded with Dr. Black right away. He also told the players that he had been to three open houses at the Lodge and thought he had finally made the decision that he wanted to join the order.

The group also learns that the order is “old, but new,” and that they have only recently acquired the Lodge hall. They are shown pictures of the state of the place prior to their occupation and renovation (still ongoing). Mr. Stanford tells them that they are mostly done with the renovation, but the third floor is still under construction and is off-limits.

After the initial meet-and-greet, the group attends dinner in the larger reception room. They all sit together at a table with Dr. Call and with Mikhail, who has managed to get himself into the party without anyone realizing he probably shouldn’t be there. There is a moment of awkwardness when Judge Putnam, a judge, thinks that he recognizes Mikhail Dimathias, a lawyer, from somewhere. Mikhail plays his cards very close to the vest, however, and tries to give nothing away.

A spirited discussion begins about occult and historical subjects. John Scott happens to walk by the table during this and seems visibly impressed with both Judge Putnam and Kane Eastman. He hopes that both men join the order and enrich it with their presence. Kane Eastman, who is Black, is a little shocked that “this sort of group,” would want “a person like him,” in it, and begins to become very suspicious.

At this point, membership is discussed. Joining the order costs $100. (it’s actually $1000 as written, but, c’mon, that’s a FORTUNE in 1925). Several members of the group express mild interest, while Dr. Call tells Mr. Scott that he will be writing a check by the end of the night. Kane, having heard of the Halloween party the order will put on, offers to have the Kane Eastman Quartet play there. He is referred to Mr. Stanford, who offers him $50 for the evening. Kane counters with $100. Mr. Stanford accepts without even blinking.

Dinner is served. Judge Putnam complains to Johnny that he is worried his food will be too spicy. He asks Johnny to talk to the servers and make sure they don’t put any of those “nasty foreign spices” in his food. Johnny, who is Greek, talks to their waiter in private. He asks the man, whose name is Jack, to add extra spices to the judge’s food, and gives him $5 to sweeten the deal.

We later learn that this is the equivalent of $75 in modern money. Judge Putnam’s meal is well and truly seasoned. He is in gastric distress for the rest of the night.

After dinner, John Scott gives a welcoming speech to the attendees. Several players notice that he peppers his speech with anachronistic verbiage, some of which are turns of phrase from the mid-1700s. Because they are players in a Call of Cthulhu game, this makes them immediately suspicious. Mikhail’s player is sure that there are vampires involved.

With the speech concluded, the party seems to be breaking up for the evening. The players are once again asked by Carl Stanford if they would, “care to join the order.” All the players say that they will think about it and reply later.

While waiting in line at the coat check, Mikhail spots one of James’ coats hanging on the rack with all the others. He convinces the busy coat room attendant to give him James’ coat instead of his own. The man helps Mikhail into James’ coat. Mikhail succeeds on his Luck roll. The coat fits!

The group steps out into the evening, just in time to see Viv and Deb carrying a very, very drunk and loudly screaming Angie out of the Silver Twilight Auxiliary Hall. Mikhail, hearing Angie screaming about her two-timing, disappearing boyfriend, suspects that she might have had a relationship with James. He hustles across the street to talk to her.

The interaction does not go well. Mikhail, partly out of desperation to find out what happened to James, and partly out of a need to see what Angie knows, presses her very hard. This causes Angie to lash out violently, smashing Mikhail in the face with her purse and breaking his nose. She then vomits all over the front lawn of the auxiliary hall.

This, conveniently, requires Mikhail to seek immediate medical attention, which means that he and Dr. Black get to meet and bond over his now askew nasal anatomy. Welcome to the group, Mikhail!

Johnny, seeing the carnage, decides to leave immediately and drive Judge Putnam home. Since Johnny was also Dr. Black’s ride, this effectively strands Dr. Black in the area.