Session Two: The Knight's Tale

Suitors Sorted 

The company continues on to the Surcoat, glad to be well-shut of the day’s misadventure. As they travel, several of them are amused, and perhaps a touch annoyed, to hear how much and for how long Marie and Celene were in love with one another, and yet how neither had the courage to do much of anything about it. Several of the company hear Marie inform Celene that she was afraid the affair with Sir Charles and Sir Gerlaine was the Lady’s attempt to punish her for her arrogance at thinking she could be with Celene.

Marie goes on to say that she had prayed at the Lady’s shrine near the parade grounds prior to the Tournament of Snowdrops, hoping for intervention in her affair of the heart. She was overheard by a kindly, wandering monk, who offered to write a prayer and send it winging to the Lady on Marie’s behalf. Marie accepted this.

Garnier, noting that the monk was a “wanderer” asks Marie if he had the look of the company’s erstwhile employer, Gascon Gascoigne. Marie describes the monk as a man significantly younger than Gascon, clean shaven, his face was mostly obscured beneath his cowl.

A short time later, the company reaches the Surcoat, where they find Henri Cachot busily loading his small donkey cart. The innkeeper asks after the company’s errand and, when he learns that their business has just concluded, informs them that he will be ready to travel with them in but a moment.

It is then that all hell breaks loose.

The Encounter at the Surcoat

The Surcoat (Top Left Corner) and Environs

The Surcoat Inn is situated at the northwest corner of an open-air market, busy with people and their goods. Into this market, from the east, rides a fully armored Sir Gerlaine, accompanied by five of his men-at-arms. The furious Sir Gerlaine says that he has heard some unpleasant rumors about Dame Marie’s recent love match and has come demanding answers.

Marie and the company attempt to rebuff Sir Gerlaine and answer his questions, but this only infuriates him . The commonfolk within the market flee or hide, realizing that a fight is inevitable.

Things worsen when a fully armored Sir Charles arrives from the south, accompanied by five of his men-at-arms. He, too, demands answers and satisfaction. He also claims that Dame Marie, his sister, and their “hedge knight,” have made a fool of him, and his honor cannot abide such insolence.

Sir Jean-Marc gallantly tells the rest of the company to flee, while he (and his squire, Henri) distracts the knights and their retinues. He insists that he will join them later on their pilgrimage, should he survive.

The Arms of House Cote

As Jean-Marc urges his mount forward, Sir Charles spies Sir Gerlaine and—in a feat of horsemanship that stuns all onlookers—spurs his horse to leap a cart and land directly in the path of Sir Gerlaine’s steed. The two knights flail at one another with their swords while Jean-Marc looks on, offering color commentary.

Dame Marie moves eastward to intercept Sir Gerlaine’s men, while Lady Celene moves southward to try and take command of her brother’s forces.

The rest of the company array themselves as best as they are able. Sabina places herself and her horse betwixt Henri the Innkeeper and the fighting. Maurice clambers to the rooftop of the Surcoat and readies his bow. Pierre finds a quiet place and sets out his physicker’s kit. Squire Henri rides to support his master. Renee pulls her net out of her pack. Magnus and Garnier ready their weapons, but privately agree that they will wait in the wings, see which of the two households fares better in the battle, and then quickly loot the bodies of the fallen for useable equipment.

Battle Highlights

Henri the Innkeeper, panicking at the increasing hostilities, worries that this is, “like it was five years ago,” which Sabina overhears. After interrogating the innkeeper, she learns that, some time ago, the knights of Brionne had balkanized the city and set the districts against one another. This was quashed by the new Duke, but, seeing as how House du Cote and House du Theobard are literally up in arms—as well as how the alliances between knightly houses work—the innkeeper fears that the city will rapidly slide back into factions and bloodshed.

The men-at-arms of House du Cote surround Dame Marie, but are warned off of her by Sabina, who aims an arrow at them while reminding them of Marie’s elevated station.

On the other side of the square, Lady Celene, supported by Maurice and Garnier, manage to confound the men-at-arms of House du Theobard so much that they, too, are prevented from causing mischief.

Magnus, wholly infuriated at the knights, castigates them. He says that if the two knights can think of nothing better to do than engage in such feckless and unbecoming behavior they ought to go south to the mountains and defend Carcassonne from the greenskins. His words enrage Sir Charles, who leaves off his duel with Sir Gerlaine to trade insults with Magnus. Magnus refuses to back down and nettles Sir Charles still further, causing Sir Charles to vault off of his horse and rush Magnus.

The Arms of House Theobard

Maurice and Garnier, seeing their opening, each let fly an arrow at Sir Charles.  Maurice hopes to “ring the knight’s bell” and get him to see reason. Though his arrow clips Sir Charles’ helm, it does not have the desired effect. Garnier’s arrow strikes the enraged knight just above his right breastbone. Again, sir Charles barely notices.

Realizing that the situation is rapidly spinning out of control, Sir Jean-Marc leaps onto Sir Charles’ back from horseback. The two knights hit the dusty ground of the square, rolling around and punching one another with questionable effectiveness.

Squire Henri rides to his mentor’s aid, swinging down with his mace at Sir Charles. His first swing destroys a significant portion of a turnip wagon. His second strikes Sir Charles in the hip, but does little other than dent the knight’s cuisse.

Sabina continues to do her best to help Dame Marie.  She realizes that Sir Gerlaine is now no longer engaged in combat and uses strong words and shame to appeal to his better nature. Sir Gerlaine, basically a decent man at heart, is cowed by Sabina’s words. He orders his men to leave Dame Marie alone and, at Sabina’s urging, directs them to escort the commonfolk to safety.

Meanwhile, Renee casts her net, ensnaring both Sir Jean-Marc and Sir Charles. Both knights swiftly become so entangled that they can no longer move. Lady Celene urges the men-at-arms of her household to disentangle and take custody of her brother.

The Aftermath

The fight ends with minimal casualties or property damage.

Pierre is allowed to come forward to tend to Sir Charles’ wounds. He finds that the knight’s many layers of armor had all but stopped Garnier’s arrow, leaving him with but a minor flesh wound. He treats it expertly, healing Sir Charles and winning praise and coin from Lady Celene.

Sabina speaks to Sir Gerlaine, who is unable to even look at Dame Marie. She learns that Sir Gerlaine felt, “suddenly aflame with passion” a day or two before when he saw Dame Marie compete in the tournament. He confesses he had never felt that way about her before, and had always thought that he was much too old to court one such as she. He seems ashamed, both of the strength of his emotions and that he could not master them. He and his men-at-arms quickly leave the area, after he offers profuse apologies.

In all the excitement, Garnier picks up Sir Charles’ sword and carefully secrets it in a pack on the group’s new mule, which Magnus has renamed, “Bartholomule.” No one notices him do this.

Magnus attempts to make off with Sir Charles’ arming cap, only to be caught by one of the men-at-arms. The young man assumes that Magnus is simply returning the equipment, not trying to steal it, so Magnus gets away without so much as a dirty look.

Once Sir Charles is bandaged, his men-at-arms escort him back to his manor house. Lady Celene and Dame Marie depart for House du Azalais, leaving the company alone in the now mostly empty square.

Henri the Innkeeper, knowing well the ways of knights, suggests that the company leave Brionne before they face any repercussions. The company, who has grown tired of this whole business, heartily accepts.

Just as they are about to set out, Jean-Claude, the innkeeper’s nephew, comes out with several small glasses of brandy to toast the success of their imminent pilgrimage. Henri the Innkeeper is displeased that Jean-Claude has opened a bottle of “the fifteen year” for such an occasion, but he graciously toasts the company’s health anyway. Frieda quietly, albeit sarcastically, toasts the health of Emperor Karl Franz.

The Shrine of the Lady

The company sets out. Henri the innkeeper says that the pilgrims will have likely traveled to Annecy-by-the-Sea, which features a holy site known as the Howling Rocks. Garnier suggests going to the docks and hiring a ship to take them across the bay, as this will (hopefully) allow them to reach Annecy ahead of the pilgrims.

On the way to the harbor, the company passes near the parade ground where the Tournament of Snowdrops was held. Several members of the company note the nearby shrine of the Lady, where Dame Marie met her mysterious monk and confessed her love.

The company pauses briefly at the shrine—some to pray, some to investigate. They find a compartment beneath the altar of the Lady which is sealed with a lead door. The door has a simple lock, as well as a slot to admit donations and written prayers. After some discussion and hesitation, Frieda realizes that the company would like to have a look inside the compartment. With a bit of elbow grease and judicious use of one of her hat pins, she pops the simple lock and opens the door.

Within, the company find several coins, prayer tiles, and scraps of paper. It soon becomes evident that Frieda and Pierre are the only members of the company who are literate, so it falls to them to read each prayer. Among the more quotidian requests, they discover a strip of yellowed parchment, marked with a strange symbol and the following text:

Great Lady, it is the hope of Marie of Azalais that the one she loves
doth love her back with equal fervor.

Though unsure of how this wish could have inspired love madness in two knights, the company takes the prayer, re-locks the Lady’s shrine, and departs.

As the sun begins to set, they make their way, at last, to Brionne Harbor.

Session One: The Knight's Tale

While the rest of the company make preparations, Renee relaxes and chats with Frieda, who takes out a scribe’s kit and begins writing something in Reikspiel. Renee finds Frieda friendly enough, if a touch jumpy and nervous. The two share some of the Surcoat’s wine as they wait for the others.

In the meantime, a young woman arrives at the Surcoat, seats herself at a nearby table and arranges for a glass of wine. After surveying Renee and Frieda for a few moments, the young woman rises, goes to their table, and asks if she might sit with them. Renee nods at an empty chair.

The woman accepts graciously and introduces herself as Marie. After a moment of awkward silence, Marie explains that she hopes to ask advice, and potentially a favor, of the two women. She goes on to say that two men have become inexplicably smitten with her over the last two days. She has attempted to gently reject both suitors, but this has not stopped them from continuing to woo her. She asks Renee and Frieda if they have any advice.

Renee notices that Marie is holding something back, but does not press the issue for now. She suggests that Marie, who seems to be a woman of some breeding, pick her nose while meeting with the suitors, in an attempt to put them off. Marie, though amused by this suggestion, says that her suitors’ ardor is such that she doesn’t think that this will put them off.

Marie

Sir Jean-Marc’s Plan

At about this time, the rest of the company arrives. Several of the new arrivals are astute enough to note that Marie is dressed quite finely, which denotes that she is a lady of means and quality. Sabina remarks to the others that it is possible that Marie is but a servant, who has dressed up in her mistress’ attire and gotten into trouble. Garnier is also suspicious. Magnus reminds the group that their patron is rapidly leaving them in the dust, and that they need to ignore Marie and keep going with their plans.

It should here be noted that Squire Henri, upon seeing Marie, is instantly smitten with her as well. He realizes that she is far too august a personage for him to sue for her. He also realizes that, by rights, that honor should go to Sir Jean-Marc.

Sir Jean-Marc does indeed woo the young woman, after a fashion. After listening to her predicament, he asks if there is anyone that she does wish to wed. Marie, seemingly embarrassed, says that there is no one. This prompts Garnier to interject that she should defer to her father’s opinion, as is right and proper, only for Marie to baffle him by saying that her father is permitting her to, “marry the one she loves.”

Hearing this, Jean-Marc suggests that he pretend to be Marie’s betrothed, and be introduced to the two suitors to show that they are striving for her hand in vain. He tells Marie that he is going off on pilgrimage very soon, where he will conveniently “die,” leaving Marie too grief-stricken to even think of wedding another for a long, long while.

Most of the rest of the group is displeased at being dragged into what, to them, looks like a den of vipers, but Sir Jean-Marc is resolute. Marie, seeing the rest of the company’s ambivalence, offers to reward them with a crown each for their time. This gets everyone’s interest except for Magnus, who states that he is refusing to waste time with this nonsense. He eventually accompanies the others after Garnier promises him the group’s donkey if they should all die horribly.

Garnier insists on spitting into his hand and shaking Marie’s hand to seal the contract. Marie does this reluctantly, only to wipe her hand with a cast-off bar rag a few moments later. Garnier is concerned to discover that Marie’s hands are heavily calloused, which is unusual for a courtly lady.

The First Suitor

The company processes through Brionne. Magnus hangs in the rear, ready to flee with his donkey when things turn sour. Sabina and Frieda bond over the ridiculousness of Sir Jean-Marc’s quest. The rest proceed behind Marie rather nervously.

She leads them, by turns, to a courtyard of a stately, if badly overgrown, manor house. No sooner do they arrive than they hear the tortured sound of a lute being played very badly. As they watch, a large, hirsute man in fine clothing descends a staircase into the courtyard, all the while playing the lute and singing what can only be described as an improvisational love song to Marie. Marie blanches at the attention.

Squire Henri, ever the diplomat, compliments the man on his playing and singing and manages to win him over. The man, then introduces himself as Sir Gerlaine du Cote, and claps Henri on the back to show his fondness for the young man. The blow nearly knocks Henri over.

Sir Gerlaine du Cote, in a Rare Moment of Somber Reflection

The company is dismayed to learn that one of Marie’s suitors is a knight, which makes the situation even more tenuous and unpleasant than it was originally. Things only worsen when they learn, from the lips of Sir Gerlaine himself, that Marie is actually Dame Marie du Azalais—herself a knight—thereby putting them in a social dispute far above their stations.

Undeterred, Sir Jean-Marc calmly explains to Sir Gerlaine that he is, in fact, affianced to Marie. Sir Gerlaine does not take the news very well at all, nearly twisting his lute apart in a rage. Sir Jean-Marc and Marie are resolute in the face of his wrath, and Squire Henri does his best to mollify the angry suitor.

The company notes that there is a moment when Sir Gerlaine’s anger seems to break, and a softness comes over his face. This lasts only for a moment, however. Fortunately for the company, the self-professed “best swordsman in the city,” turns and stomps angrily back into his house, leaving them alone in the courtyard.

The company takes this moment to depart. Marie and Squire Henri commiserate on how awful Sir Gerlaine’s lute playing actually is. Magnus mentions that, no, in sooth, they are squandering a very lucrative business opportunity by involving themselves in this nonsense.

Other members of the company ask if Marie’s other suitor is also a knight. Looking askance, she replies that he is.

Pierre remarks that there is more to this situation than meets they eye, and he is concerned that things are even more grave and dangerous than they appear. The rest of the company is not pleased to hear this.

The Second Suitor

The company follows Marie, increasingly reluctantly, to the manor house of Sir Charles du Theobard, knight of the city and Marie’s second suitor. They arrive to see the house in good repair and bustling with activity. Sir Jean-Marc pays one of the busy pages an entire crown to officially announce the company to the household.

The page dutifully agrees and pockets the money. He races to the center of the courtyard and announces the group, including a sentence that Jean-Marc specifically requested, in which the knight errant is announced as Dame Marie’s paramour.

The announcements summon Sir Charles and his sister, Celene du Theobard, to the balcony overlooking the courtyard. Sir Charles is enraged by the announcement. His sister, conversely, looks stricken. Both Garnier and Maurice note that Marie is as ashamed and horrified by the false wedding announcement as Celene is, and deduce that the two women must be pining for one another. Realizing that they have a chance to, perhaps, set all things aright, they confer with one another and decide to approach Celene.

Sir Charles du Theobard, in a Rare Moment of Good Cheer

This opportunity swiftly presents itself. Sir Charles is much less convivial than Sir Gerlaine, and all but accuses Sir Jean-Marc of being a charlatan and a false knight. This prompts Magnus to pick up “his” donkey and back away toward the street entrance. The others, though less obvious about it, also prepare for the inevitable confrontation that is to come. Squire Henri, however, continues to bravely soldier on, and attempts to soothe Sir Charles with flattery and calming words. This does not work terribly well.

While the household is distracted, Garnier and Maurice ascend to the balcony, only to discover that Celene, in tears, has retreated into the house. They follow after her and find her sobbing in a hallway. Maurice tries to make himself inconspicuous behind a potted plant, while Garnier speaks to Celene. He confirms his suspicions that Celene is wildly in love with Marie, but has never professed her feelings. She now worries that she is too late. Garnier calmly explains that Sir Jean-Marc’s plan is a ruse, that Marie has no interest in either him or her two actual suitors, and suggests that Celene make her feelings known.

While this is occurring, Maurice is spotted by a servant, who asks him to step out from behind the plant. He also, rather kindly, offers Maurice a glass of breakfast wine, which Maurice accepts.

A Declaration of Love

Celine du Theobard

Squire Henri has, by now, interposed himself between Sir Charles and Sir Jean-Marc, though he suspects that he will offer his knight very little in the way of protection when Sir Charles inevitably attacks. However, he is spared becoming a human shield by Celene, who strides out onto the balcony with Garnier and a quietly sipping Maurice.

Celene declares her love for Marie who responds enthusiastically in kind. The two women rush to the middle of the courtyard, where they embrace. Sir Charles regards this confession with a suddenly soft expression, and all seems well...until.

Sir Charles’ face immediately darkens. Rounding on the company, he calls them all out as uncouth ruffians and charlatans. He tells them that their “jape” is not at all funny, and he demands to know the truth. When he is told that Marie and Celene’s love does, in fact, appear to be true, he demands that Celene return at once to the house or he will cast her out into the streets to live as a peasant.

There is a brief standoff, which Sir Jean-Marc breaks by telling Marie that she is, in fact, a knight, and has just as much right to make declarations as Sir Charles does. Marie, heartened by this, tells Celene that she need not live in her brother’s shadow anymore, and that she may come with her to live in her father’s house. This is all the prompting Celene needs to leave her brother’s side. Apoplectic, Sir Charles calls for his horse and armor as the company, Marie, and Celene retreat out of the House du Theobard and back into the street proper.

The company makes its way back to the Surcoat Inn, content and relieved that True Love has won and that no blood was spilled. Magnus, still holding the donkey, is very pleased that he will get to live and go off searching for Gascon, his wealthy employer.

Bretonnia Tales: General Prologue

The members of the soon-to-be company are contacted severally by Gascon Gascoigne, who introduces himself as a priest of Verena and a leader of pilgrimages. In the spring, he will take pilgrims from Brionne, through northern Carcassonne, and ultimately to Turin to see the Shroud of Gilles du Breton. He wishes to hire the members of the company as guards and proposes giving them each four Crowns for three weeks’ work.

Gascon Gascoigne, Priest of Verena

The members of the company agree. Gascon tells them to finish their current visit and to meet him at the Surcoat Inn, in Brionne, no later than the evening of Rachexen 16^th, the first day of spring.

Arriving in Brionne

An unusually wet spring has washed out roads and flooded bridges, making travel difficult. Despite their best efforts, the company arrive late in Brionne, reaching the city on the morning of Rachexen 17^th. They note a festival air in the city and learn from the locals that the Tournament of Snowdrops has just concluded. This is a festival in which the city’s knights display their prowess and also recruit new men-at-arms. There is much talk of the scion of House Azalais, who was knighted on the last day of the tournament.

The company hurries to the Surcoat Inn, hoping that the ill weather has also delayed the departure of the pilgrims. Upon arrival, however, they learn that this is not the case. Within, they encounter the innkeeper, one Henri Cachot, apologizing profusely to a young lady from the Empire named Frieda Taste. Frieda had hoped to join the pilgrimage and also arrived late, while Henri was planning to go, except that his, “wastrel of a nephew,” had not returned to spell him at the inn, like he had promised.

Henri Cachot, Proprietor of the Surcoat Inn

The innkeeper greets the company and discovers, to his astonishment, that they, too were meant to accompany Gascon on his journey—and as his guards, no less. He says that, if they are indeed meant to go on pilgrimage, he will feed them a hearty breakfast for free, since Gascon vastly overpaid him for the pilgrims’ meals. The company breaks their fast and introduces themselves, all the while discussing what they will need to do to catch up to the pilgrims.

Magnus opines that he would very much like to catch up with the pilgrims and his pay, to which several of the others agree. Garnier suggests that pilgrims will move quite slowly, especially with the roads in their current state. He says that the company could catch them if they were willing to travel overland. The company agrees to this.

Frieda Taste speaks up and asks the company to include her in their ranks, as she had also wished to go on pilgrimage. The company tells her that she is most welcome.

Frieda Taste, a Woman of the Empire

The Lady’s grace soon smiles on the innkeeper, for his nephew—battered and bloody—staggers through the Surcoat’s door but a few moments later. Jean-Claude, the nephew, relates a sweeping epic of star-crossed lovers, duels, high dudgeon, thrills, chases, and also how he lost all his money gambling on the Tournament of Snowdrops and was subsequently soundly beaten for it. His uncle sends him up to rest and then also asks the company if he can accompany them on pilgrimage. He, too, is accepted.

While Henri the innkeeper makes ready his donkey and cart, the company sets out into the nearby marketplace to purchase last-minute goods for the journey. Chief among these is a worn-out mule named Dominique, who Sir Jean-Marc purchases from her original owners. The mule and the knight do not quite get along at first, but neither is kicked or bitten as Jean-Marc brings her back to the Surcoat’s stables.

Meanwhile, Marcus casts around the Surcoat for dice or other small, pocketable items. He also warns Henri the innkeeper against leaving his silverware in the care of his nephew. “He’ll just sell it, you know.” Henri says that if Jean-Claude does so, he will kill him with his bare hands.

The New Campaign: Bretonnia Tales

And now for something completely different.

Frequent readers will know that my gaming group has finished a 16-month Call of Cthulhu game, in which they played the Shadows of Yog-Sothoth campaign. Just because that campaign came to an end doesn't mean that the fun has to stop, however, and long before the story of the London Group ended, we were already making plans for the next thing we were going to play.

After some discussion, we all agreed to give Warhammer Fantasy Role Play Second Edition a try.  I have been a fan of the Warhammer FRP system since way back, though I have only played it a little bit and have never run it. I also thought that I would stretch my creative muscles a bit more and create a campaign of my own design with which to entertain my players.

It took me a little bit of thinking and making notes, but I eventually hit upon an idea. I still don't know if this idea will work or not, as the game is still in its early stages and I only have a vague idea of what's going to come next, but here's the pitch:

The campaign is set in Bretonnia (land of chivalry, severe class inequality, the Lady of the Lake, and knights!) and the story is based somewhat loosely on Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. My original idea was that the players would be pilgrims, on their way from Brionne (shining coastal city) to Turin to see the Shroud of Gilles, the first true King of Bretonnia.

At least, that was the plan until everyone randomly rolled and got very martial characters. Then I decided that they would be the guards hired to protect the pilgrims.

The campaign does have an overarching plot, but is made up of standalone chapters, each of which are based on one of Chaucer's tales. I also had this absolutely mad idea that the chapters would proceed in order, so they started with the Knight's Tale and are continuing right through the book.

A new (and excellent) player has also joined my old (and excellent) game group, which brings the total number of players to eight. This is a lot of players, and I'm really hoping that I can give each one of them equal time and make sure they all get their fair share of the limelight.

So here we go! With a game system I barely know with a high-concept story idea that I think might work. Ah, I love gaming without a net. 

Without further ado: The Introduction!

Shadows of Yog-Sothoth: Coda

The previous post marks the official ending of my Shadows of Yog-Sothoth campaign. I did, however, write a little something to put a nice little bow on the whole thing. I told my players it was non-canon, but they all loved it, so now it's canon.

Worry not, Occasional Reader, for this is not the end of my Extremely Overwritten Game Night Recap Posts (TM). Since the Call of Cthulhu campaign ended, my group has gained a new player and has started playing Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2e, with a storyline entirely of my own (and, let's be honest, Geoffrey Chaucer's) creation.

Updates on that to come at some future time.

For now, however...

Epilogue

As R’lyeh sinks beneath the waves, a lone figure, nattily dressed and sporting a yellow silk tie, wanders around the hideous, broken peaks of R’lyeh. It is Nathan Torpley, having arrived fashionably late to Ron’s summons. He seems extremely pleased with himself.

“Thought you were so clever, didn’t you, Stanford,” says Mr. Torpley to no one in particular as he smiles ferociously. “Well, you weren’t! Look around you, my boy! This is what you get when you try to cheat me.”

With a final, reality-sundering laugh, Nathan Torpley vanishes, returning at last to the side of his immortal master, the blind idiot Demon Sultan, Azathoth.

Christopher Edwin

Several months after the sinking of R’lyeh, Christopher Edwin passes away peacefully in his mi-go cylinder, his nutrient fluid having deteriorated too much to continue to provide life support for his disembodied brain. He is buried in a small, private ceremony with the entirety of the London Group in attendance.

Dr. Black

He retires to his new property in Upstate New York, where he immediately digs up the lead amulet from under his barn and pisses all over it. Nothing happens, but Dr. Black does have a few sleepless nights worrying if he did the right thing or not.

Dr. Black soon founds his own group of Nodens worshippers and becomes their prophet. When he dies mysteriously in 1943, he is succeeded by his heir apparent, a very charismatic young man named Nick Thomas. Under Nick’s rule, the group is soon transformed from a mystery cult into a regular old cult. Many of its members are killed and arrested in a police raid in 1965, and the old Black property is accidentally destroyed by fire.

Though Nick Thomas is on the FBI’s most wanted list for the next fifteen years, he is never apprehended or seen again.

Mikhail

He returns to New York City and resumes practicing law, winning numerous cases thanks to his rather idiosyncratic examination style. He also rises in the ranks of his Masonic lodge, where he puts his Mythos knowledge to good use in rooting out occult threats to the City of New York. 

He allows Pushok, a purebred Great Dane, to be used to breed a little of seven little puppies, all named after his companions (and Luca). Puppy Kane Eastman goes on to win numerous prestigious dog show awards. Puppy Ron is sold to a pampered socialite and gets fat on caviar. His only exploit of note is biting a mailman for no reason.

Kane Eastman

After a long break, he returns to music and touring—but not before having to audition for a spot in his former band. Things are frosty with the Kane Eastman Quartet, at first, but the group gets back into their old groove rather quickly.  They press three records in between 1927 and 1930, and the band is even filmed while performing their breakout hit, “Sinking Ray’s Ritualistic Boogie.”

A video recording of this old film resurfaces in the mid-2010s and, thanks to Kane’s recreation of the dancing he did during the ritual to sink R’lyeh, becomes an instant meme. It fades again only to resurface on Tik Tok about five years later, with various performers attempting the, “Sinking Ray,” dance challenge.

Vivian

She finds some fame as a celebrated concert violinist. She presses a solo record in 1929 featuring some classical pieces, as well as one in 1932, in which she records her own original work. The 1932 album is haunting and disturbing and is panned by contemporary critics for being far too avant garde. The Dada movement loves it, however, and the album is kept alive and in circulation thanks to careful collectors.

Vivian has another moment of fame in the early 1980s—after her death—when Siouxsie Sioux samples several of her violin solos for “A Kiss in the Nameless City.” The album is very popular, but unfortunately its proximity to several suicides causes it to be much maligned and demonized by the decade’s “Satanic Panic.”

Just like her papa wanted, Vivian stayed far away from the family business. Until his death in 1956. Then she expertly ran the entire Bernouse Syndicate through proxies for the next 22 years.

Judge Putnam and Johnny

Judge Putnam retires from being a judge and takes his servant and best friend on a whirlwind tour of the world, where they continue to hunt down the last remnants of the Order of Silver Twilight and foil other occult- and Mythos-related conspiracies. The judge passes away of natural causes in the Syrian Desert in 1941, as the two men attempt to destroy the gate to the Nameless City before the Nazis can activate it for their own purposes.

Johnny inherits the judge’s property and hires his own servant to live in the carriage house and keep things up. Unfortunately, the memories of the house are too painful for Johnny, and he soon begins to travel again, this time on behalf of the US Government. 

In the latter days of WWII, Johnny is put in charge of Operation: London, a clandestine military organization whose mission is to counteract Hitler’s occult machinations. The operation is hugely successful and saves many lives. Unfortunately, Johnny is lost in an astral rift that briefly opens above Antarctica in early 1945.

Ron Deluca

He retires from “the life,” as much as one can, though he still works for his friend and long-time boss, Vince Bernouse. It takes him a lot of work, but he finally manages to patch things up with Connie just enough for him to move out of the guest house and back into his own Brooklyn brownstone.

A year or so later, Ron and Connie take a trip to Ireland and are never seen again. Foul play is suspected, but never conclusively proven. A cryptic postcard, sent to Vivian about a year later, seems to indicate that the couple have decided to start their lives over in Dublin and see where it takes them. A postscript, which mentions that telling Viv this way is way cheaper than a transcontinental phone call, convinces Vivian it is actually from Ron.

Ron Junior and Liam Grant continue to live in the Deluca Brownstone until their deaths in the early 1980s. They would have been lost to history, had not Martin Scorsese released, “The Astoria,” in 2017. The film is the partially true retelling of the gun battle between the Bonano/Bianco crime family and the rest of New York’s Five Families (starring Tom Hardy as Ron Deluca, Dave Bautista as Luca, and Anne Hathaway as Vivian Bernouse).

A large percentage of the Gen-Z viewers pick up on the obvious subtext between Ron Jr. and Liam and take to the internet to do research. They soon find quite a lot of evidence of the pair’s relationship, and roundly mock contemporary accounts and historians who insist that the two are, “just very close friends who enjoy the bachelor lifestyle.” An unearthed picture of the couple becomes quite iconic, and is used on posters in several 2018 gay pride parades (WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE).

The London Group

During the pandemic, a redditor named Bosox1967 starts a thread where he claims that he saw Vivian Bernouse and, “the Guy from the Kane Dance!!!” He says he saw them with several other people "dressed all old-timey, and stuff," while he was partying in Boston in 2018  after the Red Sox won the World Series.

The post contains six grainy pictures, which do seem to show people dressed in 1920’s attire. Despite Bosox1967’s protestations, and despite the best efforts of Reddit’s photo editors, the people wearing the attire are never been positively identified.

R'lyeh Part Two: September 7, 1926

The Ascent

Dr. Black unlocks the door with his trusty YOLE key. The key, having now magically unlocked three doors, crumbles to dust in the doctor’s hands. Dr. Black opens the door and finds a set of blue crystalline spiral steps that lead upward to the top of the tower.

The group checks their ammunition and their bearings before preparing their ascent. Johnny notes, to his dismay, that the strange geometry prevalent in R’lyeh also seems to affect the tower steps. He realizes it will be impossible for the group to bring the bulky gate box up the stairs with them. After some discussion, they decide to leave the gate box at the base of the tower. Dr. Black sets up a warding ritual around it.

The London Group begins their exhausting ascent. As they climb, they wonder what they will find at the top of the tower, and they make plans for what they believe is a final, inevitable confrontation with Carl Stanford. Vivian says that she will take point on the Sink R’lyeh ritual. Christopher Edwin, his mi-go cylinder nestled in Pushok’s sling, says that he will assist her. Kane and Dr. Black also volunteer to support her in this all-important endeavor.

As the group nears the top, Judge Putnam, normally a man of staid disposition, reflects on the decisions that have led the group up to this point. He says that he considers the group his closest friends, including and especially Johnny. He says how much he deeply appreciates Johnny “putting up with him” for all of these many years, and that he is sorry about how strict he has been with his dietary restrictions and his insistence that Johnny always bring both his favorite and second favorite typewriter on outings.

At this point, the London Group reaches the top of the staircase. Ahead of them, a massive archway leads out and down a flight of steps to a wide balcony. Through this doorway, they can hear ritual chanting in Valusian. Vivian, who is practically fluent in the serpentfolks’ language by this point, informs the others that the chanters are calling upon Yog-Sothoth and asking it to allow them to awaken the Herald before the appointed time.

Ron, desperate for some advantage against the foe that they will soon face, puts on the Ouroboros Ring and attempts to summon Nathan Torpley. Dr. Black assists him, lending Ron sufficient magical strength so that he does not exhaust himself.

Mr. Torpley does not respond to the call.

Realizing that this may be their last time together, the group gather around and say their farewells to one another. Then, readying their weapons, they charge onto the balcony for what they hope is the final battle.

The London Group, Fire-Forged Friends and True Companions, Prepare for the End

Carl Stanford

Emerging out on the balcony, the London Group see that they are standing on the far side of a massive courtyard from the edifice they glimpsed earlier, its pitted and barnacle-encrusted bronze doors still closed, for now. Far below, amidst the bones and bloated corpses of dead marine life, naked cultists caper and dance, shrieking blasphemous ululations at the sky.

On the balcony, eight robed cultists standing in a circle around a ritually prepared space. Contained in the space is the last remaining piece of the Disc of R’lyeh, as well as the sundered remnants of the Arc of Vlactos. Standing at the edge of the balcony, with his back to them, a man in a robe and headdress raises his hands to the sky. A cloud of iridescent bubbles stream from his fingertips, floating gently across the courtyard from the balcony to the sealed doors of the edifice.

The London Group notes that the broken corpse of a dead spectral hound lays at the man’s feet, and that suppurating wounds on the man’s forearms drip steady streams of ichor.

They are not at all surprised when the man turns around and reveals himself to be Carl Stanford.

Stanford mocks the London Group, telling them that, though they have been a thorn in his side and dogged his steps for many months, they are too late to stop him from seizing ultimate victory. He then mocks his followers, saying that they believe they will rule as lords of the earth when the Elder Gods awaken. Stanford says that this isn’t true, that the Herald will listen to only him, and that he plans to have the Herald scour the earth of all life and raise himself to godhood.

His reasons for doing this seem to be fear of “mixed marriages and mongrel races,” which the London Group finds oddly venal for a man who is on the verge of ending the world.

Vivian begins the ritual—with Christopher Edwin assisting—as Stanford urges the cultists forward. A pitched gun and sword battle erupts on the balcony. The cultists suffer heavy losses in the first salvo, but are urged to keep fighting  by Stanford. He orders them to stop Vivian at any cost.

Vivian and Edwin are the only ones who have been casting the ritual up until this point, and the fatigue of casting such a powerful spell is clearly evident on Vivian’s face. With the ranks of their enemies thinning out, Kane and Dr. Black move to join the ritual and support Vivian. The power of the ritual overwhelms Kane, and he fights back by not only chanting along with Vivian, but adding some impromptu dance moves to help lift his own spirits and that of the others. Those participating in the ritual feel its energy sinking down through the tower, through the island, and deep into the earth, where it strains to reach…something…

The rest of group make short work of the remaining cultists, but one of them pushes his way past Johnny, Mikhail, and Ron and races straight at Viv, cruel knife flashing in the alien sun. At the last moment, Pushok leaps at the cultist, pinning him to the stairs, sparing Viv’s life, and giving Mikhail the chance to run the cultist through.

Furious, Carl Stanford lashes out Vivian with a devastating magical attack. Vivian is lifted up into the air, painfully contorted, and cast down like a rag doll. Though she still lives, she is badly injured and unconscious. Dr. Black, Kane, and Christopher Edwin continue the ritual, Ron leaps at Stanford, blessed blade in his hand, and attempts to avenge his niece.

At that moment, a loud gonging sound echoes through the courtyard. The group looks up to see that the outer edge of the cloud of bubbles has impacted—and popped—on the surface of the edifice’s sealed portals. Another cluster of bubbles pops, and there is another bong. And another. And another.

Dr. Black and Kane feel the ritual take hold. The island begins to shudder ever so slightly beneath their feet. Have they won? It’s too soon to tell.

Carl Stanford extrudes a cruel, curved, organic blade from one of the wounds on his wrists and duels first Ron, then Mikhail, then the two men together. Ron chops off a portion of the organic blade with his knife, and the two men shove Stanford up against the balcony’s railing, stabbing him again and again and hoping to finish him off for good. Stanford—his new body disturbingly resistant to injury—keeps fighting.

Until…

Carl Stanford's Plans Have at Last Come to Fruition!

The Herald of the Elder Gods

The portals on the edifice swing open, causing a triumphant shout to echo up from the naked and cavorting cultists below. The group beholds an incomprehensibly large half-octopus, half-dragon figure pushing its way out of the edifice, its milky eyes casting a baleful gleam all around the summit of R’lyeh. It takes a step out into the courtyard and, seemingly oblivious to their existence, pulverizes dozens of its adoring worshippers beneath its heel. 

Johnny, overwhelmed by the awful visage of the great being, as well as the waves of malign psychic power pouring in waves from its mind, collapses in a dead faint.

Judge Putnam is similarly overcome by the sight of the being, but is able to channel his terror and mental anguish into something useful. Recalling the unpleasant period in his life where he was touched by the ghouls’ hunger, he throws down his weapons and leaps at Carl Stanford, trying to rip and tear apart the sorcerer’s flesh with his teeth. Judge Putnam finds it almost impossible to do injury to Stanford until his teeth at last find purchase on one his eyes. Carl Stanford shrieks in agony and tries to push the judge off of him.

Mikhail manages to keep himself together in the face of the revealed visage of the Herald of the Elder Gods and decides that it would be much wiser to escape it than try and fight it. He scoops up Vivian in his arms and flees for the tower steps, Pushok and Kane hot on his heels.

Dr. Black, conversely, feels nothing but rage at seeing the hideous creature lumbering across the courtyard toward the balcony. Knowing that the Herald is wrongness itself, he launches spell after spell at it, hoping to slay it. The spells rebound off of the creature’s rubbery and oozing hide. It is unclear if the Herald even notices these attacks.

Carl Stanford kicks Judge Putnam off of him and struggles to stand, only to be immediately attacked by Ron Deluca. As Stanford holds Ron at bay with the splintered hilt of his organic blade, he at last sees the Herald approaching. He calls out to it, pledging his eternal service if it would but slay his enemies and give him the power he so obviously deserves. The Herald, now very close to the balcony, raises its paw as if in benediction. Stanford cackles, feeling his victory is all but assured.

Only for the Herald to sweep its paw down and through the balcony, destroying a large part of it and tearing Carl Stanford into bloody ribbons.

Judge Putnam, realizing that no force on earth can stop the Herald, picks up Johnny and begs him to break off his magical attacks. Dr. Black helps the judge carry Johnny’s unconscious body and, with Ron following close behind, the last four members of the London Group retreat from the balcony.

Ia! Yog-Sothoth Neblod-Zin! The Herald Awakens!

The Escape

As the group descends the tower, they feel the island shuddering and quaking beneath them. The roar of the Pacific sounds increasingly loud in their ears as it begins to wash in to reclaim the dreadful island of reclaim R’lyeh.

There is panic and confusion on the non-Euclidian stairwell as the group races down to the bottom of the tower, the gate box, and their much hoped for deliverance from the awful island. They are close to the bottom when the Herald tears away the tower wall, exposing the full length of the staircase to the open air. It reaches seizes the staircase in its claws and face tentacles, and seems intent on snapping it free and heaving it aside. The group calls on reserves of strength that they didn’t know they had and sprints down the last few turns of the staircase as it begins to splinter and shatter all around them.

Now at the bottom of the steps, London Group sees that the flood waters of the ocean have already reached the highest point on the island. They watch as water surges around the gate box, lifting it up off of the floor and batting it about the room.

Mikhail reaches the gate box first. He throws an unconscious Vivian inside, bundles Pushok and Christopher Edwin in afterward, and then jumps in himself. He finds himself safely in New York moments later.

The others plan to follow suit, but rubble dislodged from the tower staircase collapses on Kane, trapping him and knocking him unconscious. The judge is urged to continue on and enter the box with Johnny, while Dr. Black and Ron stop to haul Kane free of the rubble. They manage to get him free just as the rubbery foot of the Herald comes stomping down into the ruins of the tower.

With a final, heroic effort, Dr. Black and Ron Deluca heave Kane into the gate box before passing through it themselves. They arrive in New York with the others, moments before the Herald pulverizes the box beneath its heel.

Though no human being is present to witness it, R’lyeh sinks once again. As it vanishes beneath the unconquerable Pacific, the Herald is forced to return to it sepulcher and its aeons’ old slumber.

Until the stars are, at last, right…

R'lyeh: Part One, September 5, 1926

The London Group, still battered and exhausted from their desperate battle beneath Easter Island, prepare to set off to the newly arisen island somewhere to the southwest. The group, along with Captain Pereira and the crew of the Golden Bear, are convinced that this new island is likely related to the recent evil events on Easter Island and not—as Captain Pereira’s superiors hope—potential territorial expansion for Chile.

Ron rejoins the group and orders Liam to return through the gate box to a place of safety. He seems hollow and dispirited by recent events in New York City, but uncharacteristically refuses to talk to anyone about it.

Kane pleads with Captain Pereira to send naval destroyers along with the Golden Bear to help them in their investigations—especially considering that the London Group is nominally doing them on behalf of the Chilean government. The captain apologizes, telling Kane that he cannot spare any of the ships or men under his command. He can, however, offer them so small arms from the base’s stores. Kane gladly gathers up several pistols, rifles, two Thompson submachine guns, and several cases of ammunition.

The Golden Bear Prepares to Get Underway

While Kane gathers supplies, those of the London Group who skilled in magic and the Mythos put their heads together to create a counterspell to the Raise R’lyeh spell found in the Easter Island Codex. After much thought and planning, they create a ritual chant which they are fairly certain will work. Unfortunately, for their spell to work, it must be cast upon R’lyeh itself.

Shortly before their departure for points unknown in the Pacific, Captain Pereira calls the London Group into his office and reads them a radiogram he has just received. Chile reports three tramp freighters have set out from Valparaiso and are enroute to the potential location of the new island. Captain Pereira reports that the descriptions of the freighters and their dubious crews matches those of Carl Stanford’s people and ships. He warns the London Group to be cautions.

The group makes final preparations, bids farewell to Captain Pereira, and sets sail for R’lyeh. The trip takes almost thirty-six hours and, for the most part, is uneventful. Until…

September 7, 1926

The sea becomes ugly and storm-tossed. The Golden Bear sails through and near frequent patches of torn apart, dead fish which are being feasted upon by sharks and gulls alike. Ahead of them, the sky is filled with churning, green clouds that lash out with lightning at an alarming frequency. The storm and the ocean waves die down eventually, leaving the Golden Bear sailing through waters that are unusually calm and covered with a sickly sheen.

Vivian takes the opportunity to barricade herself in her cabin and summon forth the spectral hound from the black gemstone stored in the Jade Sphinx. When the hound appears, Vivian sends it after Carl Stanford.

Shortly thereafter, Captain Keane of the Golden Bear sounds the collision bell and calls an all stop. The London Group come up to the top deck to see that they have stopped amidst a cluster of slimy, black, barnacle-covered spires that arise at odd angles out of the ocean. Some of them seem to be natural rock, while others seem to be towers and buildings of singularly ugly and bizarre design. These sunken edifices all ring an island of black, volcanic rock, covered in detritus, slime, and the corpses of sea creatures. The London Group spies hundreds of cyclopean buildings, stairs, minarets, and other structures arising in a confusing tangle to pierce the sky. Distances and angles seem oddly distorted on the island, and it seems as though many of the buildings lean at strange angles, or are about to fall over.

In the center of the island, on the tallest peak, a massive edifice of black stone stands silhouetted against the sky. A pair of doors in one side of the edifice are firmly shut. Vivian, among others, believes and fears that this edifice is their ultimate destination.

A Map of Dread R'lyeh

Captain Keane says that he will not go any further, as he will not risk running the Golden Bear aground on any of the half-submerged peaks. The London Group wholeheartedly agree to this and ask the captain to prepare a longboat so that they can go ashore themselves. The group also tells the captain that he should feel free to leave the area rather than risk the ship or the lives of his crew.

While they prepare the longboat, the lookout on the Golden Bear spots the three tramp freighters docked relatively close to the island. The group decide to investigate the freighters first, as they hope this will give them some idea of where Carl Stanford and his cultists have gone.

With their weapons, gear, and gate box loaded into the longboat, the London Group set sail for the freighters.

Coming Ashore

Passing near the three freighters, the London Group notes that they are all in extremely poor condition and are likely only just this side of being seaworthy. They also spot what seem to be fiery orbs patrolling the ship decks. Johnny, who knows too much of the Mythos, identifies them as Fire Vampires, and the group decides to steer well clear of them.

They land their longboat on the shore near the freighters, and Mikhail has a very nervous Pushok sniff around to find the cultists’ trail. The noble Great Dane eventually gets the whiff of something, and begins pulling Mikhail up a rock-strewn path that leads into the center of the island. The group, their gear unpacked, their weapons loaded, follow Mikhail and Pushok deeper into the island’s interior.

The vistas on R’lyeh are awful. Winged things flit through the sky. Spectral monsters appear briefly, scream, and vanish. The group navigates a sagging bridge seemingly made out of taffy-like cables, that stretches over a cavern with no bottom. Pathways vanish into shadows. Stairs descend upside down. The entire journey is sickening and dreadful.

The pathway takes the group, by many twists and turns, up to the topmost peak of the island. The summit is ringed with a massive stone wall, which surrounds the edifice they glimpsed earlier. On the far side of the wall from their current location, the London Group spies a massive, leaning tower of bluish stone. On the other side of the wall, the group can hear the gibbering, chanting, and atonal singing of what they hope are Carl Stanford and his cultists.

The wall itself is covered with stone eyes and mouths, all of which move on their own. The stone mouths whisper terrible secrets and taunt the group, and many of them whisper, “the Key, the Gate, the time soon comes, the Herald awakens!”

A Horrible Wall

Dr. Black, taking the hideous mouths a bit too literally, assumes that there is some kind of hidden doorway in this part of the wall. He thrusts his YOLE key into one of the mouths, blindly searching for a keyhole. He does not find one. The mouth clamps down on his wrist, stone teeth rending flesh and clamping down hard on bone.

Johnny points the muzzle of his pistol just above the hungry mouth and fires, destroying it and allowing Dr. Black to pull his blooded hand from the wall. The group treats his injury and finds, to their relief, that the doctor’s hand isn’t permanently damaged. He will be able to play the violin again, after all.

The group suspects—or rather, hopes—that the blue tower will provide some kind of ingress into the courtyard beyond and, ultimately, to the great edifice. To that end, they follow along the wall for a very long time, until at last they come to the tower’s entrance.

The Bluestone Tower

The London Group passes into the yawning doorway that provides entrance into the tower. The first floor of the tower is incomprehensibly vast, its distant roof supported with pillars of blue stone. Shadows and lights dance within the walls, providing an eerie ambiance, and bones and shells litter the ancient floor.

The group spies a much smaller, though still very tall, door on the far side of the chamber and makes their way toward it. As they approach, they spot a hooded and cloaked figure who seems to be…sweeping the area in front of the door.

The figure notices them and pulls back its hood, revealing that they are none other than Ms. Bridger. The group recoils in shock as Ms. Bridger casts aside her broom and strides toward them.

What are You Doing Here?

“You slew my twin,” she says, her voice rasping as her body bloats and undulates. “For that, you shall die.”

With a hideous tearing noise, Ms. Bridger explodes into a pool of dark, rippling slime nearly twenty feet across. Mouths, eyes, and pseudopods erupt all along its surface, filling the air with manic, piping cries. Chief among them is a baleful and repetitive screech of, “Tekeli-li!”

The group unload their firepower as the shuddering beast advances, filling it with lead both from Johnny’s future gun and Kane’s recently acquired Thompson. Dr. Black attempts to employ one of the serpentpeople’s crystal weapons to deadly effect, only to have the thing nearly blow up in its face. Ron ignites and hurls a stick of dynamite, blasting a great divot out of the center of the creature and spraying ghastly ichor all over the chamber.

“Ms. Bridger” lashes out with two pseudopods, seizing Johnny and Vivian and pulling them into its center mass. Though Johnny and Vivian fight against the creature’s nearly limitless strength, it still threatens to suffocate and crush them in its mass.

While Vivian and Johnny try to cut themselves free with blessed blades, the rest of the group does their very best to pour small arms fire into the creature. By some miracle, this is enough to kill it. It begins to lose cohesion and fall apart, leaving Vivian and Johnny filthy, but alive, in a spreading pool of protomatter on the floor of the tower.

The London Group takes a few moments to take a breath, reload, and get their bearings. Then Dr. Black, YOLE key in hand, strides purposefully toward the far door…

Aaah! AAAAAH!