"Now after I've had that brush with nightgaunts - I'd like to ask you if truly have enough gifts for Mad Prophet. I mean I really, really don't want to make this trip twice. Who knows what we might rile up on our next trip across the sands?"The Yellow King replies.
But the Yellow King's fears prove unfounded for the rest of the journey across the sands is an uneventful one. Just before Howard and Claude crest a large dune, the Yellow King tells Howard, "The Mad Poet's oasis lies ahead. I would rather not be near such an eccentric and unpredictable fellow, so I'll just sit around and wait down here."
Howard continues further and sees a glistening pool lies in the valley between three dunes. A small wooden hut stands near the water, and an immense tree shades the pool and the hut, with large, lumpy fruits hanging near the ground. A hum reverberates around the oasis.
Each of the tree’s lumpy fruits resembles a human head. The tree bears 6 fruits and each fruit bears an uncanny resemblance to Howard's former companions, Seamus, Dakash, Leonard, and Vincent. Howard also spots a fruit shaped like his and Claude's head.
As Howard approaches the hut, the tree animates.
Claude and Howard are not shaken by the tree's droning.
Claude thinks the Seamus looking head fruit looks particularly tasty and takes a bite out of it.
Claude thinks the fruit tasted really good. At this rate he might be eating the whole tree bare.
The tree tries to give a loud screech.
It fails the required state of concentration and tries sending out an alluring scent instead.
Both Claude and the tree are unaffected by the alluring scent.
Claude decides that Howard is right and he shouldn't be eating any more strange fruits!
Claude and Howard manages to smash the tree into kindling and they approach the hunt unhindered. They knock on the door and the door is opened by a brown skinned man in a white long sleeved blouse, red and gold pants with mystic symbols on them and a red vest. His turban is a gold, with a crown motif on it. On his right hand, which looks rather claw like, his index finger sports a large sapphire ring. He clutches an ominous red tome that Howard can't catch the the title off. He has a neatly trimmed beard and his black eyes seem to hint of one who has seen the secrets of the universe.
"Howard Phillips Lovecraft. State your business. I'm a busy man." He states brusquely.
"Like you did with Count Lowls before, though there were more that day."He replies cryptically.
"Place the gifts on the bench next to my hut."As he says that, where there were none before, suddenly a bench appears next to his hut.
After Howard places the gifts on the bench, he visually inspects them, nodding slowly.
He then lowers the book he is carrying which features an alien creature with abnormally long tentacles and runic symbols. Howard recognizes the book as the Necromonicon. He offers the book to Howard, who takes it gingerly, and when that happens, the original appears in his arms, leaving Howard with a duplicate.
"What do you most rely on? Might, quickness, health, clear thought, understanding, or influence?" He asks Howard, while staring intensely at him.
Howard feels he thinks more clearly now and knows more about the mysteries of the universe.
"Lowls seeks the city of Neruzavin. The way to the Neruzavin can be found in the Necromonicon." He opens up his Dreamlands Necromonicon, and Howard sees that the pages are blank. "You will need to peruse the genuine Necromonicon on Golarion, in the university of the occult called the Mysterium in the Qadiran city of Katheer."
He then continues, "I also told Lowls of the Necromonicon's location, so he is most likely headed there as well. Lowls is not himself, he has been seeded by the Inmost Blot. It is likely Lowls intends to use the Star Stelae in Thrushmoor and Neruzavin to mark Golarion so that it can be brought into Carcosa. This would awaken the Star Seed and Lowls would be elevated by the Great Old One to heights beyond his mortal ken."
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Howard nods thoughtfully.
"Right. Then my next ssstop ssshould the Mysssterium in Katheer. That isss good to know."
He then frowns.
"Your newsss about what isss happening to Lowlsss isss troubling, and further evidence of jussst how much he needsss to be ssstopped. I don't like having my 'backyard' sssold out from under me..."
”Come – see your future…and your past, by speaking with the “King of Neruzavin.” He invites Howard to step into the waters of the oasis, gesturing grandly with his free hand over the clear waters. As Howard does so, he sees a reflection of the last time he was here at the oasis, stupefied, with the stupefied Dakash, Seamus, and Vincent, when the man made the same offer to Lowls. In the reflection, Lowls shoves Howard, holding Howard underwater until no further bubbles came out, and his body went limp, following the same procedure with Claude, Seamus, Vincent and Dakash. A thin mist leeches from the heads of their reflections, containing images of the party arriving at Iris Hill, and the various tasks the party performed at his direction. The mist coils beneath the water, rising to the surface; and when it breaks the surface, Howard suddenly regain his memories in a dizzying flash.
You remember that in your search on more about the Dark Tapestry, you came across a mysterious contact known as W, who passed you a letter , to which its instructions you followed, leading to your induction into Count Lowls service. You met Seamus, Dakash and Vincent when you first showed up at Iris Hill. After proving yourselves worthy (which all of you celebrated by opening that bottle of whiskey after), Count Lowls accepted your service, and with him, you, Seamus, Dakash and Vincent followed him through archaeological digs, auction houses, obscure libraries and dream quests to obscure locations in the pursuit of knowledge. Eventually he gave you the book Mysteries of the Dark Tapestry of which you studied, and learnt more about the Dark Tapestry and its denizens. However you realized that as he began to delve into the mysteries of the universe, his mind…became more unhinged, and you suspected there were things that he was not sharing with you. Eventually you, Seamus, Dakash and Vincent decided that enough was enough, and requested to leave his service. He asked all of you to join him for one toast, for old time’s sake. You enjoyed your meal and liquor – which was excellent, not suspecting that this one might have been your last…
A while after drinking the liquor, and as you were bidding Count Lowls farewell and heading for the door, you felt your legs give way beneath you, falling onto the floor. The last thing you remember Count Lowls peals of diabolical laughter echoing in your ears…
Then you found yourself in the same oasis that you are now, like you had previously been before in dreams, except that this time, you had no control over your dream self. You heard Count Lowls speak, ”Mad Poet – these are the minds of my underlings that I will sacrifice for the location of Neruzavin.”
Then a mysterious robed figure (which you now recognize as Abdul Alhazred - the Mad Poet) in a gold turban nods,”Excellent. Now drown them in the oasis.”
Count Lowls pushed your numb, insensate dreams form into the water of the oasis, and as the cold water shocked you, you managed to put up a brief struggle, but to no avail as he firmly held your heads under water. The world went red…then black, as you struggled to fight your way to the surface without success, and the last thing you remember is yourself drowning as water entered your lungs.
You awaken in a fog of grey,with no control over your body. You hear a voice(which you now remember as Lowls, but did not at that time) in the distance, ”Ah he’s awake. I wonder what’s left of his mind.” You see something with dark tentacles reach out from towards you, and manage a frightened meep. ”Not much, apparently. The voice continues. ”Ship him off to Brairstone Asylum.” Then you sense one shadowy figure grab you and attempt to haul you on his shoulder like a sack of wheat, and make a few more frightened meeps. ”Oh this is so troublesome. Just dose him and be done with it.” The voice continues in the distance, then you feel something prick your arm, as you slip off into oblivion.
Your next memory is that being in something that seems to be rocking constantly. For some time nothing bothers you, then you hear a loud voice. ”Next Stop – Brairstone Asylum!” Then you see shadowy figures reach close to you as you continue to make frightened meeping sounds. You feel something prick you, then you pass out again.
”Hello? Howard? Can you hear me? Do you know where you are?” You hear a female voice in the distance, and feel like you’re lying down on something.”I am Doctor Losandro. “ Then you feel something prick your finger with a needle, but you are unable to respond, still seeing nothing but that grey fog. ”Catatonia. Unable to respond to outside stimuli“ You hear a sigh. ”We’ll just have to see if any treatments can bring him out of this state.”
Then you are left alone in the grey fog again. Occasionally you would feel something open your mouth and spoon slightly salty liquids down. There would be times you would be carried into a chair, and pushed outside to feel something warm on your body, before bringing you back in again. Whenever something undressed you to be washed, you would make sounds of protests and slap at them as they touched something around your waist, knowing that it was something important, tying you to your old life, and to let go of it would be to lose your lifeline. Your mouth is opened by something when you are given medicine that tastes absolutely vile, and then every morning you’re pricked somewhere and your reaction(none) to the pinprick noted. Then between one of those cycles alternating between sleep and being awake in the gray fog, suddenly the whole place began to shake. You felt something hit you hard on the head, then everything faded into darkness…
Then you found yourself in wall of sickly yellow fog, tumbling through the alley canyon of crumbling gray bricks like some jaundiced flash flood. Ahead, the unfamiliar alley splits, curving to the left and right. Behind, from the silent swell of mist, emanates the sound of footsteps – slow, but somehow keeping pace with the careening hungry wave, seeing a half elf with different coloured eyes, a samsaran, and another raven haired human…
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Howard's body begins to tremble as his memories return to him, and he relives those memories as if it was the first time.
Ssso we did find the thingsss that we were looking for... and that bassstard decided to sssacrifice usss once we were no longer ussseful to him. I will have to 'thank' him for that. At leasst I now know why it happened...
He frowns.
Ssso he did it at the behessst of the Poet? Ssstrange. Why would the Poet now help me regain the memoriesss he wasss inssstrumental in taking away? Truly, he must be Mad...
When he relives his period of catatonia, once more a prisoner in his own flesh, able to (faintly) understand what is happening to him, but unable to effectively react, he nearly panics again; it feels like he is being drowned all over again, smothered with the weight of inevitability. However, his burning desire for revenge proves to be a lifeline, helping him to stay focused on the fact that what he is experiencing right now is truly in the past, and can no longer harm him... but by reintegrating it into his psyche, he can now move on... and finally have a chance of dealing with Lowls.
However, when he finds himself once more in the city with the endless streets, filled with yellow fog, he nearly loses his tenuous grip on sanity.
By Yig! Not here again...
Then the image and sounds coalesce into a sudden shout of, ”Wake up!” as the scene shatters and Howard finds himself back in the Mad Poet’s oasis.
Howard sees that while he has been distracted by events in his own mind, the insubstantial reflections of himself, Seamus, Vincent and Dakash no longer in the pool, but rather have risen 40 feet into the air, and are staring at him with murderous intent. ”You will not escape with the memories!” The one that looks like Howard declares.
Howard recognizes them as animate dreams. They are incorporeal and have the following spell like abilities.
3/day—deep slumber, dimension door, nightmare
1/day—confusion, fear, phantasmal killer
Howard tears at Vincent's reflection, and manages to severely damage it, but it is still there.
Dakash's reflection fires off a fear spell on Howard.
Howard is shaken but not frightened. The one that looks like Vincent fires off its Phantasmal killer onto Howard, or at least, tries to.
The other two follow suit.
Howard disbelieves all their attempts to Phantasmal killer him.
Howard bites into the Vincent reflection, that dissipates. The other 3 move closer to flank him, and he does not manage to tail slap Dakash's reflection.
Then they reach out to touch him.
Howard manages to fight the mind muddling effect of their touches, except for the one from Seamus,which makes him experience seeing the Juju zombie chop off Claude's head again, leaving his mind reeling at the experience.
Howard finishes off the Dakash reflection with a savage bite. It seems to sigh faintly as it dissipates.
He then claws and tailslaps the Seamus reflection, damaging it badly.
Claude does not manage to hit the Seamus reflection.
Both the Howard and the Seamus reflection turn on him with their touches.
Howard gets touched by them both as they stay out of Claude's reach, by floating upwards.
The first bite rips the Seamus reflection asunder and it dissipates after giving a mournful wail.
The reflection Howard, despite being badly damaged by Howard's claws and tail scoffs at his suggestion. "Don't you see? The moment you leave this place with our memories, we CEASE TO BE!" Eyes blazing with defiance, it swoops down, just to get bitten by Howard and slapped by Claude's tail. It gives a howl of thwarted rage, as it dissipates.
Howard realized that sometime during the fight, the Mad Poet slipped off and is nowhere to be seen. The hut is now empty.
Howard hears a bizarre series of clicks and high-pitched hoots intermixed with crackling mechanical static as images of a faraway desert city flash in his head.
The cacophony settles and Howard recognizes this as a language that they suddenly and inexplicably understand. They again see images of Count Lowls drowning them in the Mad Poet’s Dreamlands oasis, being carried through the receiving doors of Briarstone asylum drugged and unconscious, and then suddenly waking up in the asylum’s basement. The images and sounds coalesce into a sudden shout of “Wake up!”
As the mental sensation begins to fade from his startled mind, Howard hears a strange voice overlaying the clicks and static that says, “You are now free, but to remain so you must find me.”
Howard awakens back in his cottage feeling rather hungry and thirsty, and his back aching from lying on the stone floor. He hears an insistent knocking on the door, and opens the door to find it's the city watch and its early afternoon.
The sergeant has a worried expression on his face and takes out a stack of drawn faces, then asks Howard, "Have you seen any trace of Farmer Gower, Alchemist Gostu and Herbalist Khele? Farmer Gower has a fruit stall at the night market, while Alchemist Gostu has his own shop 2 streets down from here, and Herbalist Khele also has a stall at the night market. But they haven't been seen at their stores for 3 days, and their friends and acquaintances don't know where they are either." He shows Howard the portrait of Farmer Gower, who has a mop of curly hair and a round face. Alchemist Gostu, has a thin, lanky face with a mole on his chin, and short cropped straight hair, while Herbalist Khele is a woman with Varisian features and shoulder length wavy hair.
"There have been people disappearing all over Cassomir, never to be seen again. And the list of the missing people has been growing. They seem to come from all walks of life...though some of them were invited by Miacknian Mun to study at his laboratory." The Sergeant tells Howard.
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Howard looks over the portraits carefully, before shaking his head regretfully.
"I am afraid that I do not recognise any of them. You say that people have been disappearing from all over Cassomir? That is troubling. I sincerely hope that your search is successful. If some of them where last seen around this Mun, have you investigated him?"
Howard still feels a little muddled from his encounter with the reflections of his former party.
The seargent gives a sigh at Howard's reply. "I was hoping that you might know something."
"Mun is known as a generous benefactor who tirelessly works to enhance the shipbuilding process through his alchemy. Like some special varnish that keeps barnacles from growing. Ship captains are still in awe of that innovation."The sergeant replies.
The sergeant continues, "And you know Shipbuilding is the lifeline of Cassomir. Any investigation taken against him would rouse the ire of the shipwrights. Furthermore, we don't know where his laboratory is - since he claims he needs to be free of distractions to do his work."
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Howard chews his lip thoughtfully.
"Well, I am an arcanist of some skill, who also happens to have a way with words; I would be willing to discretely make some inquiries, if you think that it might help. It is a sad day indeed when the streets are not safe for the common-folk."
Not to mention, if things continue, others, such as Monty and the others, might get blamed...
"We would be most grateful if you could do so. If you have any leads, please feel free to look for me at the Watch, two streets down, ask to see Sergeant Henry."The sergeant then takes his leave, to ask about missing people down the street.
Most people give the really colourful serpentine creature Howard is a weird look, and just blankly admit they do NOT know where Mun lives, but Howard does manage to find the delivery boy of “Reagents and Other Explosive substances”, who has been delivering alchemical supplies to his door step. The delivery boy, Sam, tells Howard that his laboratory is at the edge of Blackwood swamp, as he wants to live away from people after ruining his experiment in a fairly spectacular fashion when someone rang the doorbell.
Seargent Henry on hearing Howard's news, asks Howard to speak with him privately and brings Howard to a room lined with cork, then closes the door behind him. He gives him a slightly pained look. "Well the location of his laboratory is certainly useful and much as I would like to search his place, since there could be useful evidence, you know the judicial process. We would be required to apply for search warrants, which would take months, even if the application was successful, which might not be due to the influence he has with the ship wright's... " His voice trails off. Then he gives Howard a direct look, "Now, if you are thinking of doing such a thing, I don't want to know about it."
He shifts his gaze slightly off Howard, above his head, "However, if you were to come across any sign of the missing people, I would be most interested in having it, however it was obtained."
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Howard nods sympathetically.
"I appreciate the difficulties inherent in investigating those in a position of power, particularly when they have significant influence over the judiciary. Rest assured, that *if*, as a concerned private citizen, I happened to stumble across something that would help our fine constabulary, I would of course consider it my civic duty to turn that information over to the proper authorities."
"That is a most excellent proposition."Seargent Henry compliments Howard. "You show a solid understanding on how the world works."He shakes Howard's hand then shows him out of the room and Watch station.
The gales of the Inner Sea have taken their toll on this grim old pile, thick with the fetid odor that blows across Blackwood Swamp when the wind is high. A venerable building rises from a windowless ground floor to a high steep gable several stories above. A single great iron door scowls at visitors. A small and austere garden decays out front, surrounded by a rusting iron fence six feet high and pierced with a gateway. Perched upon the gate are a murder of crows.
A dangling sign above the iron door held by a trio of smiling angels reads, “Give succor to the troubled.” A great iron knocker hangs at the door’s center.
Howard realizes that the knocker is trapped - using it will result in a gout of acid being sprayed out.
Beyond the door is a cozy chamber with a curiously carved wooden coatrack topped with stuffed stirges, among which hang several fine garments that suggest their wearer is a gentleman of some standing. Numerous fancy bottles, strange alchemical objects, and a hefty cudgel sit on recessed shelves. Directly opposite the door is a fine portrait of a thin man in his fifties, with neat blond hair and immaculate attire. A chemical scent fills the air.
Howard sees also in the same room the very same man as the one in the picture, straightening a coat on the rack, except a faint chemical smell lingering on the creature’s skin hints that it is not simply a normal person. Small, almost imperceptible flaws suggest that the creature’s skin is somehow stretched over an invisible frame.
Howard thinks that the man must be Miacknian Mun!
A small side room contains a quartet of comfortable horsehair seats arranged around a mahogany table. The chamber is crammed with oddments, some of an alchemical nature and some of a more medical bent. An overstuffed bookshelf sits in the corner.
Though many of the books are prosaic and general in nature, there is one fine folio—Algernon Muthwait’s Diagrams of the Human Form—a lavishly (if ghoulishly) illustrated book showing the makeup of humanoid anatomy. It is worth 450 gp.
Among the other oddments is a teak lap desk carved to depict rabbits gamboling in meadows. The lap desk contains a dozen lucky rabbit’s feet, a scattering of teeth, and eyes mounted on platinum pins, and is worth 250 gp. There is also a very old wooden leprechaun doll with obsidian eyes, movable arms, straw hair, and a beard, worth 200 gp. A brass-bound apothecary’s case (worth 175 gp) contains several bottles, one of which is a potion of haste.
This large room has an odd opening in the center of the floor, though a series of worn handrails prevents careless falls to the ground below. The chamber is filled with books and intriguing objects of a medical nature. To the north is a stairway leading upwards.
The worn books lining this room’s shelves are reference works, most of which are about the creation of constructs and alchemical experiments involving flesh and bone. The entire reference library (weighing in at 250 pounds) can be sold to practitioners or collectors for 900 gp. In addition, there are enough alchemical tools and supplies here to count as two complete alchemist’s labs if Howard were to gather them all up. Among these alchemical supplies is a hybridization funnel.
Resting on a shelf is a glass leech bowl with gold tongs depicting frolicking vampires, worth 50 gp, next to a purse that has been made out of a taxidermic cat.
Another Miacknian Mun can be seen checking on the railing.