The asylum becomes deathly silent, like how a jungle might become when an alpha predator is on the prowl.
”Scroll..?”Crove mutters distractedly as he pulls out a scroll from one of his apron pockets. ”Check. Gem?” There is a loud crash from above, like the sound of a door wrung off its hinges, by some immensely strong creature.Crove returns the scroll to his pocket and pulls out a black opal lined with fiery veins, and hurriedly continues, ”Check.. Bottle?” He pulls out a rune etched glass bottle from another pocket.”Check.” Thunderous footsteps can be heard pounding from the celling, and for a moment the party wonders if the celling will not collapse under its weight. There is a horrible, nauseating stench coming from the stairs.
”Everything’s in order. We’re ready, and it’s coming. Howard, once I utter the words of binding, use the wand of suggestion, and get Myre to do the same. ” He is surprisingly calm, his eyes glowing with mad eagerness, as if he has waited all his life for this moment.
Myre, on the hand is a nervous wreck. ”Oh gods above…if I live through this, I promise I’ll never EVER deal with this stuff ever again, ” as he tries to pray to his long forgotten gods.”Please, please, undo these bindings so I can run for the hills if that thing gets near me.” He tries one last ditch attempt to beg Howard.
"Killing, why would we do such a thing?"Crove sounds affronted. "Such a waste of potential it would be." He nearly spits on the ground but catches himself in time. "Short sighted fool that you are, can't you see this is but the next leap of discovery for mankind?" He scoffs.
Myre ventures hesitantly, "Baskerwhel's magic scimitar seemed to do something. Well that was before the Spawn drained him dry."
"I don't think it needs to be a specific weapon...the weapon just needs to be magical."Myre suggests helpfully. "I can't do anything, I'm all tied up here!" He adds as an afterthought,"Don't let it grab you!"
The party hears the northern stairs collapse under the weight of the Spawn, then the Spawn, made visible by the magic lining the walls, appears in its terrifying glory. It is a 6 legged squirming mass lined with glowing red eyes and many gaping maws. A head that bares uncanny resemblance to the deceased Keeper Baskerwhel except with its cheeks and eyes sunken, its wispy hair hanging like a cowl over its head, sticks out of the top of the squirming mass. Its mouth is open, and instead of where teeth should be, there are only razor-sharp fangs. Tentacles rise lazily from the squirming mass, poised to strike. There is an indescribably foul stench coming from its body.
It raises its human like head and gives a deafening roar of incomprehensible syllables.”Mae fy breuddwydio dod i ben ... Eich hunllef dechrau ...”
My dreaming ends…Your Nightmare begins…
Myre squirms on the ground, try to edge away from the Spawn.
The Spawn raises its head and tries to bite Hastur.
Angus steps backwards attempting to get out of the way. The Spawn, however, is lightning quick in its reflexes.
Guided by Pharasma, you easily dodge its vicious strikes, and deal it two heavy shots.
Hastur calmly regards the thing, and responds in kind.
"Cyfarchion nai. Nid eich amser. Bydd y byd yn perthyn i'r Brenin mewn Melyn; Nid yw ar gyfer pobl fel chi!"
He then attempts to subdue it.
One claw and a bite of Hastur bounces off the squirming hide that is the spawn.
"Ydych chi'n credu y byddai eich hud marwol puny effeithio arnaf i?"It growls, as it starts sparkling.
"Do you think your puny mortal magic can affect me?"
Howard is pretty sure that it should be neatly blinded, yet somehow it doesn't rely on just mundane sight...
"Erbyn yr arwydd Elder, gan y incantation Vach-Viraj, a chan y gem Tikkoun, yr wyf yn rhwymo ti cynhwysydd hwn."Crove chants, his voice revebrating the room, while simultaneously holding both scroll and bottle at the same time.
By the Elder sign, by the Vach-Viraj incantation, and by the Tikkoun gem, I bind thee to this container.
Maybe it seemed a trick of the light, but did the Spawn look a bit worrired at Crove?
"Hurry up and pass the wand to me. Then I'll be done here and you can cut my bindings."Myre urges you.
"Dyna gragen trwchus sydd gennych; peidiwch â phoeni, serch hynny - yr wyf yn siŵr y byddwch yn gwneud tegan 'n bert y tu mewn y botel, unwaith y byddwch wedi cael eu darostwng. Dyna un tynged fy mod wedi llwyddo i osgoi; mewnosod corfforol llawn i realiti hwn yn dod ag ef bob math o broblemau..."
Hastur hisses, and unleashes a measured flurry of blows on the creature.
The Spawn turns to Hastur.
"Eich bod yn clymu i byd hwn oherwydd marwol. Ac maen nhw mor wan, onid yw?" As it stares meaningfully at Howard.
You're tied to this world because of a mortal. And they are so weak, are they not?
Then it turns onto Angus and unleashes its full fury on him.
It tries to drag Angus down but only manages to trip itself up.
Angus pumps one bullet, and follows up with a shot to its heart, then Hastur rips into it, it gives a dying wail,"Byddaf yn ôl ... nodwch fy ngeiriau ..."
I'll be back...mark my words...
Then its flesh rapidly melts until nothing but a crusty stain remains.
Crove is looking very angry."You ruined everything, you blithering idiots!All those years of work gone to waste!"He races down the south corridor.
Myre is secretly trying wiggle off.
Angus shoots Myre once in the chest, and he stops moving. A trickle of blood flows down his mouth. The second shot hits his abdomen, but there is no movement from the body.
Hastur shrugs.
"Maen nhw wedi eu defnyddio. Yr wyf yn meddwl eich bod hefyd yn tanamcangyfrif yn union pa mor ystwyth y gallant fod, gyda'r cyfarwyddyd priodol."
The party heads of the stairs, coming to the first floor where the Spawn had left a trail of flattened bodies in its wake. Behind one of the iron doors lies the body of the officious orderly, squashed flat, his eyes bulging out in death.
As the party exits the Asylum, they are treated to a clear night sky, with the moon, now its normal colours and the stars sparkling brightly above.
They hear a greater noise from the skies above Carrion Hill as wheeling storms of crows descend back to the city’s rooftops, cawing and shrieking and cackling in a cacophony that lasts for hours. Howard figures it could mean two things, the crows were nothing more than a final act of a world glad to be rid of such an unclean blight, or perhaps it is a precursor to an increase in activity in the area of the worshipers of the Old Gods.
The party returns to Mayor Heggry, trimphant in their victory over the Spawn of Yog Sothoth. Even though the city is in dire need of repairs, Mayor Heggry not only pays the party the agreed sum, he increases the payout by another 3000 gold pieces. The party is hailed as heroes, and a large party is thrown in their honor.
Howard has heard that his former master, Waldur Crove has shut down the Asylum and left the city. His destination remains unknown.
When Angus finds the time to return to the Vats, all he finds are dead bodies, their faces at peace, the foul magic that kept them up unravelled with Myre's death.
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Howard gratefully accepts the reward from the Mayor, and politely plays along with the party, smiling at all of the appropriate points.
However, his mind is elsewhere - attempting to reconcile what he has learned from the books he recently acquired, with what he already knows.
I will not make Crove's mistakes...