CALL OF CTHULU- THE MASKS OF NYARLHOTEP (Inactive)

Game Master Daniel Penfold 351

"Thank you. You've been most helpful. If you can remember anything more about the painter you mentioned please pass it on to me. I'm sure I'll be a regular at your shop".

"It was nice to meet you all."

With that you leave the Blue Pyramid and head back to your hotel.

What would you like to do the following day?

Once they're back at the hotel, Sylvia quickly shares what she suspects. "Zahra was lying. She doesn't like Gavigan for some reason, but she's not as afraid of him as she was pretending to be. And her 'fellows' most definitely aren't just a charitable organization. It seemed...I got the impression she was suggesting things specifically meant to test us. We'll have to be careful."

She starts rubbing her forehead. "This is already getting complicated. I think we have to meet with Gavigan as we originally planned; see what he has to say. But there too we should be careful. There's too much we don't know here about what's going on."

We arranged a visit to the Penhew Foundation, so that's probably our next step.

The Penhew Foundation is in Central London on Devonshire Street, slightly to the west of the British Museum. It is a High Victorian building, of fewer stories and greater ceiling height than the buildings to either side.

A high iron fence surrounds the building at the front and rear. A delivery entrance at the back is wide enough to admit vehicles. A doorman is on duty at the front door and an administrator sits at a desk just inside the front entrance.

Jake swept in past the doorman. He tipped his hat and grinned, his companions in tow.
Presenting himself before the administrator, he offered his card.
"Jake Westfield and associates. I believe we have an appointment?" He grinned, expecting to be recognized.
Charm (72%): 1d100 ⇒ 47

"Ah yes, Mr Westfield, if you would like to wait here for a few moments, Mr Kinnery will be out shortly."

A few moments later you are met by a short man in a pinstripe suit in his mid 30s, he has a pointed nose and angular features.

"Good Morning, my name is Thomas Kinnery, I am Mr Gavigan's private secretary, if you will follow me I will take you to his office."

[i]Kinnery leads you along the corridors of the first floor past various offices, reading rooms and so on, together with a large library which Kinnery tells you is specifically dedicated to anything Egyptian. Eventually you are led to a magnificent wood-panelled office. Sitting at the desk is a slim superbly dressed man in his mid 50s, clean shaven with balding hair and well manicured nails.

He rises as you enter and shakes each of you by hand.

"Welcome, welcome I understand that you are interested in studying...Why good Lord I left the save door open.

He walks over to a modern safe, built into the floor in one corner, its door slightly ajar and closes it firmly.

"Apologies, one can never be too careful, there are some sensitive artefacts in the basement, can't be exposed to too much London air and so on, now how can i help you?"

What would you like to ask Gavigan?

"Jake Westfield and associates." Jake said with a grin during handshakes. "I am preparing a film treatment of the Carlyle Expedition and I was wondering how the Penhew Foundation became involved.
"Who was delegated to go along. What was the goal? Why did they continue on past Egypt and down into the heart of Africa? That kind of thing."
Jake offered a cigarette and a light to anyone who indicated they would want one.
Charm (72%): 1d100 ⇒ 42

"Hmm, you remind me of that Elias fellow...

Fearing the heat and disappointment of Egypt would seriously affect her health and that of Carlyle, Hypatia Masters suggested that the group spend the summer months in the relatively cool Kenyan uplands, affording her a wonderful opportunity to photograph African wildlife. Once there the group entered a dubious territory and, alas, paid for it with their lives. The vast share of the expedition's records were lost in the incident, as Sir Aubrey took them along to work on."

Grateful that in this situation it makes sense to take notes, Sylvia jots down the relevant information. "What type of information did this woman claim to have? It must have been an extremely good hoax to fool Sir Aubrey."

"Unfortunately, Sir Aubrey has had many years of disappointment, the chance of finding a heretofore undiscovered pyramid in Egypt, particularly one from the dark pyramid was too good a chance to give up.

I don't know exactly what was discussed as Sir Aubrey took the expedition's records with him. Wherever he is, there they are."

Jake tried to think, cigarette smoke trailing up from the stub between his fingers.
"Did the Expedition work with any local folk while in Egypt? Or any government contacts?" Jake mused aloud.

"The expedition didn't work on any government contracts, unfortunately that Carter chap gets the majority of those, besides the government are more interested in the Valley of the Kings currently than the area that Roger was interested in. I don't know the exact details of who they worked with in Egypt but I do know one of Sir Aubrey's contacts was a man named Warren Besart.

The expedition did turn up some interesting artifacts from other periods, in particular some secondary sites to the west of Giza. Some of these were loaned to the British Museum, whilst the lesser pieces are in our collection here."

”Would it be possible for us to see those artifacts? It might help us piece together some of the expedition’s successes before things started to go wrong.”

"Certainly, please follow me."

Gavigan gets up from the desk, after again making sure the safe is shut and then heads off, taking you all upstairs to the Exhibit Hall. He shows you endless shards of inscribed shards, broken pots, noseless statues and bas reliefs of sleek cats. There seem to be a few shards from the Carlyle exhibition but nothing that appear to be of any real significance.

Archaeology rolls please.

Archaology (1%): 1d100 ⇒ 13

"Mmmm, hmmm." Jake nodded sagely as they toured the exhibits, not really understanding anything about it.
Instead, he imagined filming them as part of an adventure film.
Art and Craft (Acting) 27%: 1d100 ⇒ 92

Jake, you think that Gavigan appears to know what he's talking about but you've no idea if what he's saying is correct.

Anyone else?

Guess I should have given Colt a little dose of Archaeology since he's got a little exposure to in in the American SouthWest.

1d100 ⇒ 93 Archaeology.

I will allow a history roll if you don't have archaeology

Sylvia trails after the others, somewhat regretting her suggestion. She'd been hoping for...she doesn't really know what. Something that looked relevant? Instead all she sees is broken pot after broken pot. She deals with the living, not the long dead, and it all looks the same to her.

History, 25%: 1d100 ⇒ 59

Sylvia, you can tell that Gavigan knows what he is talking about, the shards and pieces, whilst interesting to an archaologist reveal very little to the historian.

"Well, if there's nothing else I must get on. It was a pleasure meeting you all. Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with."

Psychology checks please.

1d100 ⇒ 14 History (75%)

Psychology (10%): 1d100 ⇒ 83

Jake, you think that Gavigan is cool, collected and in control of himself.

Psychology, 72%: 1d100 ⇒ 2

Sylvia you pick up the following:

4) He is concerned that you may be working with one of his enemies.

Sylvia's psychology rolls have been on point.

"Thank you for your time Mr. Gavigan." Sylvia shakes his hand. "I think we got enough information to start with. We'll be sure to let you know if we think of something else."

As they make their way outside, she lowers her voice and talks to her companions. "More secrets. Gavigan knows more than he was saying about the Carlyle Expedition. And that tour...he was herding us away from certain areas. He's hiding something." She shakes her head. "He thinks we're a threat, and that we might be working for one of his enemies. Zahra perhaps? We know she hates him..."

It is still only late morning, so is there anything else you would like to do today?

Jake blinked, surprised.
"Good god. I didn't see that at all. Which areas?" Asked Jake.

Jake, you recall that Gavigan made a big show of making sure that the safe in his office was locked.

"What a tangled mess we find ourselves in. I know why Barney was driven to drink. So who's side do we take here. What do we do next?

DM
Did Colt's successful History roll uncover anything further about the fragments?

Sorry missed that

Colt, you recognise that the pieces found are from Egypt's Middle Kingdom period so they would not be what the Carlyle Expedition was really looking for, the period of the bent pyramid from the information you have would predate the older Old Kingdom period.

What would you like to do?

"Unfortunately I'm not really sure where to go from here." Sylvia sighs, rubbing her forehead. "I was hoping Mr. Gavigan would be a friend, but I don't think we can trust him."

"Maybe we should investigate some of the other stories Jackson was interested in? Jackson was interested in a painter named...oh hang on a minute." She digs through her notes. "Miles Shipley. He apparently paints bizarre landscapes as if he was actually there, and Zahra said something about a particular painter that was able to access the 'dream state.' Given how everything else seems to be connected, I doubt that's a coincidence. Shall we pay him a visit?"

Shipley's home is in a street of Chelsea known as Holbein Mews. It sits in a terraced row of houses and is a two story brick building in need of repair. Every window is barred, as well as locked shut and tightly curtained. There are both front and rear entrances. A tall brick wall surrounds the rear garden.

Jake swept up to the front entrance and pulled the lanyard.

Pulling the bell pull causes a bell to ring within the house.

A few moments later the door is opened by an elderly lady in her 70s with a stooped frame, kind eyes and white hair. She is carrying a knitting basket.

"Good Morning, what can I do for you."

"Ah! Good morning madam!" Jake exclaimed brightly as he shook the woman's hand. "I am Jake Westfield, Westfield pictures. I was wondering if a Miles Shipley is at home?"
Charm (72%): 1d100 ⇒ 58

Jake, can you make a credit rating roll please.

Colt stands by Jake and Sylvia, trying to hold back a cough. "I'm a big fan of his artwork, and would like to speak with him about his inspiration".

Credit rating (70%): 1d100 ⇒ 58

"Oh well, come in, come in."

The old lady beckons you in and calls out "Miles.".

"You're interested in buying a painting?"

You can also have a Psychology roll

Jake grinned and offered a hand.
"I am indeed! Jake Westfield, Westfield productions. I am a producer in need of some art fairly quickly, and a fellow mentioned your name.
"Smoke?" He asked, tapping out a single from a pack.
Charm (72%): 1d100 ⇒ 64

Psychology (10%): 1d100 ⇒ 70

"No thank you. Please don't mind the painting materials in the house are highly flammable."

Sylvia psychology:72: 1d100 ⇒ 85

Sylvia is unable to tell anything about Shipley.

Jake nodded.
"Of course, of course." He said, putting his cigarettes away.
"Do you have some examples we could see?" He asked.
Charm (72%): 1d100 ⇒ 95

Shipley leads you all to the top floor which acts as a garret studio. The door is padlocked and Shipley opens the lock with a key he carries in his pocket.

Black Mountain

Please let me know, if you are looking at the paintings which one you are looking at.

Jake takes the paintings in order.
He examines the first one, "Ancient Science".

The painting shows an alchemist's laboratory in which vials pour forth foul-looking gas. Working at a table is a reptilian humanoid, who seems eagerly involved in the dissection of a creature. Due to the blood and lack of recognisable features, it is impossible to determine the identity of the creature being cut apart.

Can you make a sanity roll please.