The hideous mouth yawns open, the tongue lashing out at the increasingly violent orgy and Anatoly. The archeologist pulls the pin and throws while the mouth tries to grab him. The grenade flies into its maw! With an ear-splitting blast, the explosion ruptures the mouth! Viscera flies across the room: blood, Nectar, shrapnel of rotten teeth and bits of unidentifiable flesh spray Anatoly and the orgy.
Ears ringing, Anatoly stumbles out of the room while the throng of bodies continues to writhe and spasm in the secret room.
Amadeus cries out as his ears ring and the flash of the scene before him is ground into his brain. "Is it dead? Or at least is it gone?"
Very slowly, Evelyn opens her eyes and removes her hands from her ears, having covered them in anticipation of Anatoly's plan. Even so, they are left ringing from the explosion.
"I... I believe so," she answers Amadeus quietly, wishing, hoping that it is true. Her heart still pounds in her chest, any relief she feels over Anatoly's safety and the Mouth's demise overshadowed by a sense of impending doom. One thought prevails over any other.
"We need to get out of here."
I nod, slowly, my ears ringing and follow Evelyn out of the room. Was it really so bad though, the mouth that is? It was odd for sure, but it's a shame we had to destroy it...
Amadeus turns and slaps Ralph hard across the face. "Pull it together, librarian! That thing was a vile, disgusting perversion of reality that would have seen you devour each and every one of us and smiled while you did it."
What's left of the Mouth is a collapsed section of wall and crumbled masonry covered in the sticky viscera that covers the room.
It is a shame I could not study it more closely... Evelyn thinks, though outwardly her disgust shows. Said disgust was directed more toward herself than at Ralph, the latter merely being a convenient diversion. The doctor takes one last look at the Mouth's remains before moving on. As the gravity of their present situation comes over her, she runs down a laundry list of things to do next.
"Vandalism, manslaughter, murder... We need to get out of here. Not just here, I mean out of town."
I rub my face a bit. Yes, the mouth was horrible but it seems to have shattered Ra.
I agree we should get out of town post haste. Perhaps our benefactor can assist.
Anatoly wipes the worst of the viscera from his face, and arms, then hustles to join the rest. He seems to be in an emotion free place, and only acts on his instincts.
"We should probably consider leaving the country until this cools a bit. Let's see if we have time to put the bodies into the wrecked car, then put it on fire. Maybe that will draw some attention away from us and destroy some evidence. Then let's take the Cadillac and get as far away from here as quickly as we can".
Get to the car, and let's get out of here as quickly as we can. Did you hear any approaching sirens"?
Freddy rubs at his ears, trying to clear out the ringing. "This place is full of people in a drug induced orgy. We may not have to worry about covering our tracks too much. I agree though, let's scram before anyone in a position of authority sees us."
You run up the stairs, frantically making plans for your escape. The mansion is full of smoke, the rental car that Joseph drove into the house now fully engulfed in flames. You all pile into Trammel's Cadillac as quickly as you can once the sound of fire engines and police sirens are audible through the night.
Joseph guns it down the back road leading from the house. A few figures stagger from the burning building- servants in their nightclothes from the look of it, stumbling in the dark toward the carriage house. Driving back roads, he loops around to where the other rental car was parked in the stakeout position and you divide up and drive off in separate directions. Fire trucks and paddy wagons circle the property, firemen desperately trying to keep the blaze contained before it can spark a wild fire.
Freddy and Anatoly notice that they each have a splinter in the palm of their hand. Digging it out, it appears to be a piece of a large tooth...
The rest of the night is a blur. Running back to the hotel , treating your wounds. Fumbling with the receiver you dial Janet and her pilot Frank Kearns at his hotel near the airport. Somewhere along the way you dispose of Trammel's car and... well, Trammel himself. With what you know about crime scenes, you feel like you've scrubbed the evidence pretty well- burned your clothes covered in blood, gunpowder and worse. Ditching your weapons occurs to you, but it might be better just to bring them back across the country, avoid leaving anything behind besides ashes.
Driving to the airport at the crack of dawn, you try to keep a facade of normalcy even as you keep glancing over your shoulders and out the rear view mirror. At a coffee shop on your way, you grab a newspaper: PASADENA PERVERT ORGY CLAIMS SEVEN, LOCAL PHILANTHROPIST SOUGHT FOR QUESTIONING is the headline.
Janet's gleaming silver plane sits outside the hangar, the engine idling and ready to go. Kearns, a man with a bulbous nose, snores lightly in a folding chair leaning against the hangar. You load your luggage and the trunk full of Trammel's books into the cargo compartment and bid Los Angeles goodbye.
It's a long and often bumpy ride back to the East Coast. Kearns has to stop to refuel in Iowa on the way back, giving you a chance to stretch your legs. It's shortly after midnight with the time difference that you arrive at Janet's personal hangar outside of Providence.
Janet Winston-Rogers awaits you in the plush "study" section of the hangar, perfectly made up and immaculately dressed even at this hour. She stubs out her cigarette in an ashtray and stands while you exit the plane.
"Welcome back.", she says,"I'm sure you're all very eager to get home, but I'd like to know what happened before you came back- and what you've learned about what my father was doing out there. Have a seat- can I pour you a drink?" Janet indicates a bar cart between the bookshelves of atlases and encyclopedias.
”Definitely, I’ll have a bourbon.” Freddy lowers himself shakily into his seat and takes a deep breath. ”I don’t remember exactly where we left off, but your father was investigating something called the thing with a thousand mouths? Anyway, it’s worshippers prayed to it by having huge orgies and taking some drug called nectar.” Freddy blushes a bit talking about that sort of thing to Janet, but it’s been a long night and he moves on. “We used that info to eventually track down a real estate guy named Samson Trammel. It turns out he was having some of these parties himself, maybe copying what Echavarria was doing back in ’24. We interrupted one of his rituals last night.. and” Freddy take a long pul of his drink. ” The thousand mouth thing.. it’s literal. These people are summoning these awful mouths that drip the drug that they’ve been taking. We were able to destroy one in Trammels basement, but it took a freaking hand grenade to do it. We were able to secure a bunch of Trammels paper work before we fled the place, so there is still a lot of information to go through yet.” Freddy sips his bourbon and lets out a deep breath. ”Oh, another thing, George Ayers, the guy that lured that poor bastard Job into the cult, disappeared to Ethiopia at some point. So depending on how far you want to push this, that’s another lead we can go off of.” Freddy looks around to his companions. ”I may have missed a few points, but I think that’s the jist?”
Janet is quiet for a moment. You almost suspect she's about to call the whole "giant evil mouth" thing into question, but she responds in a thoughtful tone.
"So this Samson Trammel picked up where Ramon Echavarria left off after my father and his friends... dealt with him. This Cult of his has had thirteen years to regroup and possibly spread... do you think this Mouth is the only one?"
She takes a sip of her Manhattan and lights another cigarette.
"Thank you all so much for putting yourselves in danger like this. It seems to me now, more than ever, that I need to see that my father's work is finished. It's a lot to ask, but will you continue the fight against this cult? We need to find out what Trammel was writing, who he may have been in contact with- whether this thing has spread after father sent them into hiding. Whether George Ayers is alive and if he's still a threat."
"I'll need some down time. I've got to head back to Savannah to see my wife and kids, probably a few associates. After that," Freddy nods. "I'm your man."
"I'm still in. I'll need a little down time to gather my wits, but something tells me that this needs to be stopped, and it looks like we're elected".
Anatoly will spend much of the first few days back saddling, riding, and grooming Fargo. He feels when he's on horseback that he is free from the cares of the world, and could just keep riding.
During the evening hours he spend time with his uncle with simple dinners, conversation, and listening to baseball on the old radio.
Amadeus will spend time with Lucianne, relating the horrid nature of the mouth and the frankly insane behavior of his traveling mates.
Janet nods as you reaffirm that you're going to continue pursuing this cult.
"Of course, you all need some well earned rest. Get some sleep tonight and I'll have your travel arrangements ready in the morning."
Each of you are dropped off at your homes or hotels for some much needed recuperation and privacy.
Trammel's Testament of the Dripping Mouthes' Emanates
The Testament A thick sheaf of papers bound variously by twine, rubber bands and nothing, Trammel's magnum opus is a chaotic work that seems to have been written by multiple authors or a splintered madman. Sometimes handwritten and sometimes typed, the text is "supplemented" with shavings of organic material, stained with bodily fluids or an orange substance that must be Nectar.
Trammel writes that after Walter Winston, Douglas Henslowe and their allies disrupted the 1924 ritual (which he escaped by fleeing at the first sign of trouble) a voice spoke to him and divulged that Gol-Goroth was never the true focus of the Cult of the Thousand Mouths devotion. The voice related that Gol-Goroth was Echavarria's lie, it said, meant to conceal his worship of the Black Man whose name is Nyarlathotep. With Echavarria out of the picture, the voice of Nyarlathotep impressed upon Trammel that he had been chosen to continue Echavarria's devotions. A rambling manifesto follows, detailing the debased philosophy of the cult and how he modeled the contemporary cult on a business rather than Echavarria's secretive coterie of minor celebrities and debased hangers-on.
-Pasted into its pages, the Testament contains correspondence from one "S.S." about the metaphysical nature of the being their cult venerates. Trammel's correspondent believes that having this information is critical and that it's as likely as not that Trammel is wrong in his own conclusions. The letters and telegrams are written in a tone that suggests its author believes themselves to be Trammel's equal, rather than a subordinate. Anyone that can examine handwriting determines that this "S.S." is likely female and well-educated.
In the correspondence, you can faintly see a return address through the stationary. Using an iron to steam the letter off the page, you see that these were posted from an address in Bangkok, Siam.
-A short chapter written earlier this year offers a short treatise on various methods of "increasing the Yield of Emanates from the Most Holy Orifice of the Thing."
It largely proposes a set of particular and depraved acts that would be theoretically pleasing to the Thing with a Thousand Mouths and therefore stimulate additional Nectar production, but no hard data is provided except in one specific instance. The chapter cites "particular experiments conducted by Montgomery Donovan in Malta" that demonstrate that "a potent sacrifice" can "multiply by many times the blessing of our god's sputum". Reading closely (with Library Use) you suspect that Trammel may have been skeptical about this claim, even as he authored the passage.
A page of a ledger folded into the leaf of this chapter appears to be a daily record of Nectar production in Valletta in the early months of 1937. Production seems to have been relatively constant up until mid-June, after which it nearly triples, almost overnight. The date, June 13th, is marked with a star.
- An unfinished chapter in the Testament, handwritten with pasted in correspondence, considers the power of the Mouth's voice or "song". Few conclusions are made; the text consists mostly of suppositions and possibilities, like "the voice of a great Mouth may have the power to enchant or enlighten!" Eventually the handwritten speculation gives way to letters, written on Luz Records stationary (whose address appears to be a Mexico City post office box: #1629), which excitedly reports in Spanish about "our next recording" and "the profound possibilities of new songs!"
A close reading detects a lot of tension between the lines of the letters. Each letter is more grandiose, and more defensive, than the last. It seems clear that the author of these letters- signed only as "J.B."- was not delivering the results anticipated by the earlier handwritten passages and eager letters. The letters promise "a new experience to rival that of Nectar's" and that "Nectar distribution will return to its original rates once we've prepared our album." Numerous references are made to "de la Luz" and how "the next record will change everything."
The last letter from J.B features a new tone: buried hostility. At two points in the latter, J.B refers to "the god" and "your god" rather than using the reverential tone he employed in earlier letters. This letter is dated August 8, 1937. Blank pages follow afterwards, likely anticipating future correspondence.
Amadeus will read the Testament. He will, of course.
The Great Amadeus Ra is unfazed by the hideous volume and the implications it represents for the world.
Evelyn's desire to understand Trammel's depravity compels her to read through the Testament, perhaps against her better judgment. Despite the subject matter and vile arrangement of the document, she regards the papers as calmly as she would a patient's medical record.
The doctor is utterly exhausted by the time they reach Janet's place. She passes on the alcohol in favor of some nice, strong coffee. For a moment, it feels reminiscent of the lull between shifts at the hospital. If only.
"I need to make a stop in New York first, but... I'm still in," she says after Freddy has given Janet the news.
After being dropped off at her hotel, Evelyn makes plans to visit her father in Rochester. She couldn't exactly tell him everything, but it would be nice to have a cup of coffee with him. Like the good old days.
You'd better believe I want to read the book, once Amadeus is finished with it.
Once I've spent some time with the book, I also delve deeply into the numbers side of it
A bit shaken by what I've learned, I excuse myself from the group for awhile to visit my parents in San Diego.
Anatoly will spend much of the first few days back saddling, riding, and grooming Fargo. He feels when he's on horseback that he is free from the cares of the world, and could just keep riding.
During the evening hours he spend time with his uncle with simple dinners, conversation, and listening to baseball on the old radio.
Anatoly tries to take comfort once more in familiar rhythms in his life: riding Fargo during the day and spending quiet evenings with his uncle. Much as he wishes it wouldn't, though, the events of the past month in Savannah and Los Angeles have left their mark on his mind. Sleep is difficult at first, but in time he finds that he can rest some.
The simple pleasure of Father Dudko's presence is reassuring, but as the evenings continue you can tell that something is on his mind. After turning off the baseball game for the evening, he meets your gaze.
"I've worried about you, my boy- running across the country, combating this 'evil' your woman friend has found.", he shakes his head, putting up his hands as though warding off your protests. "We must all struggle for righteousness in our way, but I hate to imagine what your parents would be thinking if I just let you be shot at across the country when we've come so far from Russia..."
"You're a smart man, and young: you have your whole life ahead of you! Haven't you done your part? You could start a family or work your way up at Brown, maybe run your whole department someday!", he says, a spark of hope in his eye.
Amadeus will spend time with Lucianne, relating the horrid nature of the mouth and the frankly insane behavior of his traveling mates.
Back in New York after the train ride from Providence, Amadeus catches up with Lucianne at her current residence- the bohemian Greenwich Village. On the faux Oriental divan Amadeus relates the story of his current employment as Janet's occult expert. She listens with incredulity, but she knows you well enough to know you're completely serious (minus some artful embellishment).
But you wouldn't have been a very good student if you couldn't read her body language and attitude, or even simply how reserved she is during your visit. Lucianne gets up, adjusting her dressing gown but without any of the usual flirtation. Something's definitely on her mind.
"You want a drink?", she asks,"Getting a little late, darling, but there's no reason we can't toast your homecoming..."
She grabs two glasses by the stem in one hand and starts looking for a wine bottle.
[dice=Stability (2 points spent)]1d6+2
Evelyn's desire to understand Trammel's depravity compels her to read through the Testament, perhaps against her better judgment. Despite the subject matter and vile arrangement of the document, she regards the papers as calmly as she would a patient's medical record.
The doctor is utterly exhausted by the time they reach Janet's place. She passes on the alcohol in favor of some nice, strong coffee. For a moment, it feels reminiscent of the lull between shifts at the hospital. If only.
"I need to make a stop in New York first, but... I'm still in," she says after Freddy has given Janet the news.
After being dropped off at her hotel, Evelyn makes plans to visit her father in Rochester. She couldn't exactly tell him everything, but it would be nice to have a cup of coffee with him. Like the good old days.
It's another long trip from Providence to Rochester by train, but it's comforting to see home slide by out the window and pretend for a time that life is normal... even if it hasn't been so for a long time, even before crossing the country to thwart cultists at Janet's behest.
Your father is waiting for you at the train station, a broad smile on his face. Retirement has agreed with him, it seems: some of the worry has come off his shoulders, he's standing straighter. Not long ago he was terrified what he would do without patients, without work- but he seems twenty years younger.
"Evie! You made it! Let me get that suitcase for you!"
Once your bags are in the trunk, the retired Dr. Trubino drives you back home, keeping a running commentary on town gossip. At home, your father gets a pot of coffee going.
"For a while I thought you were going after my record for vacation days saved and ignored, but I think I'm safe for now. What have you gotten up to on your sabbatical?"
You'd better believe I want to read the book, once Amadeus is finished with it. [dice=stability+3 point spend]1d6+3
Once I've spent some time with the book, I also delve deeply into the numbers side of it [dice=accounting + 1 point spend]1d6+1
A bit shaken by what I've learned, I excuse myself from the group for awhile to visit my parents in San Diego.
Janet flies you back to San Diego and your parents where you can hopefully put aside thoughts of global cult operations and violent orgiastic rites. During the flight, you have the opportunity to compile lists and categorizations of Trammel's library with your memory- almost all of it valuable in some capacity and someone's got to get them in proper order once this mess is sorted out...
You take a cab from the airport to spare your parents the hassle of driving out- you're home in their suburban neighborhood just before dinner. Once the cab takes off, though, you notice an idling car across the street from your parent's house. A man in a white suit and white gloves leans out the open driver's side window.
"Seems like a happy home.", he calls to you. "Gonna want nice strong locks on a house like that."
Amadeus nods. "Drinks would be marvelous, my muse. This whole ordeal... it has shaken me. What does it mean if my pretense is real, if there is something that lurks beyond and even worse, what if it all like that horrid Mouth? It gives me shivers to think of it. Perhaps if you were to sit closer to me, my dear?"
Amadeus nods. "Drinks would be marvelous, my muse. This whole ordeal... it has shaken me. What does it mean if my pretense is real, if there is something that lurks beyond and even worse, what if it all like that horrid Mouth? It gives me shivers to think of it. Perhaps if you were to sit closer to me, my dear?"
Lucianne laughs, pulling the cork from a bottle of red wine.
"Oh, I see, that's why you're here!"She pours two glasses and hands you one before taking a seat next to you.
"Suppose it couldn't hurt, so long as your heiress doesn't know about it. You're going a little far afield, I have to say- an older widow is a better option, more eager for company."
She sips her wine.
"And less likely to get you shot. Twice."
Lucianne is ribbing you a bit, but you know Janet isn't the reason she's distant.
My eyes narrow and I begin walking across the street towards the driver. I'm memorizing his license plate as I walk. Provided he doesn't drive off, I confront him.
Amadeus sighs dramatically. "What can I say? I have too much taste to settle for an heiress, my sweet. I am addicted to the finer... things in life." Amadeus leers suggestively.
"I know you are right Uncle... but if I don't make this stand who will? You didn't see what I saw... it was. Believe me I don't want to do this, but I could never have a family, or settle down knowing that this evil is out there... that my children or grandchildren could be lured by this evil. No this is a sacrifice I must make whether I want to or not".
"I would ask your blessing, and your understanding as I fight this fight. It's what our family does... what is right. Knowing that I am in your prayers, would give me the strength to see this through. I can't do it alone".
Quote
Anatoly will spend much of the first few days back saddling, riding, and grooming Fargo. He feels when he's on horseback that he is free from the cares of the world, and could just keep riding.
During the evening hours he spend time with his uncle with simple dinners, conversation, and listening to baseball on the old radio.
Anatoly tries to take comfort once more in familiar rhythms in his life: riding Fargo during the day and spending quiet evenings with his uncle. Much as he wishes it wouldn't, though, the events of the past month in Savannah and Los Angeles have left their mark on his mind. Sleep is difficult at first, but in time he finds that he can rest some.
The simple pleasure of Father Dudko's presence is reassuring, but as the evenings continue you can tell that something is on his mind. After turning off the baseball game for the evening, he meets your gaze.
"I've worried about you, my boy- running across the country, combating this 'evil' your woman friend has found.", he shakes his head, putting up his hands as though warding off your protests. "We must all struggle for righteousness in our way, but I hate to imagine what your parents would be thinking if I just let you be shot at across the country when we've come so far from Russia..."
"You're a smart man, and young: you have your whole life ahead of you! Haven't you done your part? You could start a family or work your way up at Brown, maybe run your whole department someday!", he says, a spark of hope in his eye.
At the train station, Evelyn wraps her father in a tight hug. The way he looked, seeing him almost made her feel like a little girl again. Back when she used to have dreams for the future. She was thankful that she had somewhere to go back to, somewhere that nothing seemed to go wrong. Her father, the man she had looked up to all her life, made her feel safe.
As she savors the aroma of freshly ground coffee, Evelyn lets out a soft chuckle. "It hardly feels like a vacation. People don't usually use leave time just so they can work another job."
"You remember me telling you about Janet, right? She actually asked for assistance for a little project of hers. Some investigative research. It has been very intriguing so far."
Evelyn smiles as she talks, but beneath the surface the anxiety was almost overwhelming. How much should she tell him? Should she tell him anything at all? She probably said too much already.
My eyes narrow and I begin walking across the street towards the driver. I'm memorizing his license plate as I walk. Provided he doesn't drive off, I confront him.
The man favors Ralph with an irritating smirk.
"See ya 'round, pal!", he says before taking off.
With trepidation you walk into your parent's bungalow, unsure of what's waiting for you. Fortunately you're greeted only with the smell of your favorite meal in the oven and the sound of the radio.
"Ralphie?", your mother calls from the kitchen. She emerges moments later, giving you a big hug. "How's my world traveller? You must be starving, come on."
"SIMON! RALPHIE'S BACK! COME GET HIS BAG!"
Amadeus sighs dramatically. "What can I say? I have too much taste to settle for an heiress, my sweet. I am addicted to the finer... things in life." Amadeus leers suggestively.
Lucianne takes a sip of her wine.
"So that's it, huh? I teach you everything I know and now I'm only good for little nookie when you're in town? You always had a one track mind."She shakes her head, sighs.
"No bull, I got a bad feeling about this job you got. You're gonna laugh, but I keep having the worst dream about you."
"You were in a forest, a dark one. And you were running. The ground and the underbrush was spattered with blood and something like honey. You were bleeding from a gash on your arm. And you were chasing a wolf or something at first, but then it was chasing you. And you came through the woods all crazed and mad and bloody, and you ran up to me with a knife or a machete in your hand. You started chopping me up.. and that's when I wake up."
She puts her drink down on the coffee table.
"Hard for me to look at you when I keep having that dream."
..."I know you are right Uncle... but if I don't make this stand who will? You didn't see what I saw... it was. Believe me I don't want to do this, but I could never have a family, or settle down knowing that this evil is out there... that my children or grandchildren could be lured by this evil. No this is a sacrifice I must make whether I want to or not".
"I would ask your blessing, and your understanding as I fight this fight. It's what our family does... what is right. Knowing that I am in your prayers, would give me the strength to see this through. I can't do it alone".
Quote
** spoiler omitted **
Your uncle nods, sadly.
"You want my blessing my boy, you'll have it. I love your parents, but there's too much of them in you. I shall pray each day for your safety, that the Lord might keep you... or allow you to see sense."Father Dudko bows his head and leads you in a short prayer in Russian.
At the train station, Evelyn wraps her father in a tight hug. The way he looked, seeing him almost made her feel like a little girl again. Back when she used to have dreams for the future. She was thankful that she had somewhere to go back to, somewhere that nothing seemed to go wrong. Her father, the man she had looked up to all her life, made her feel safe.
As she savors the aroma of freshly ground coffee, Evelyn lets out a soft chuckle. "It hardly feels like a vacation. People don't usually use leave time just so they can work another job."
"You remember me telling you about Janet, right? She actually asked for assistance for a little project of hers. Some investigative research. It has been very intriguing so far."
Evelyn smiles as she talks, but beneath the surface the anxiety was almost overwhelming. How much should she tell him? Should she tell him anything at all? She probably said too much already.
You father pours two cups of coffee, bringing them over to the table and taking a seat.
"Ah, so you're doing research for her, then? I remember Winston Pharmaceuticals quite well- seems like they had a store on every corner around here. Do they have you under an NDA? I'd love to hear about what kinds of treatments you're looking into..."
Freddy will head home to see Judy and the kids. He'll give the wife half of whatever he made from Janet and take the kids out to see a ball game. (Not sure what the closest sports team is to Savannah?)
He'll head out to a favorite local haunt with Brad and bring up how loud a grenade gets in an enclosed space.
He'll meet up with George for lunch and talk about his run in with the mexican body guard and will probably give a heads up about a new kind of drug coming out of California to watch out for.
In no cases will he bring up the mouth or anything supernatural really.