The Descent - The Statements of Gwen Baines

[Grognardsw]

August 10, 1925, 11:30 pm
Providence, Rhode Island
Club Zothique
Federal Agents Gwen Baines and Ezekiel Smith

Baines and Ezy leave the fumes of the opium den behind. The night air is fresh. The BOI agents go back to the car. "We should change some," suggests Ezy. "We don't want to stand out."

The logic is sound, so they remove the jackets and switch to more casual shirts. It is a short drive over to Club Zothique. The agents chat about the case on the way over. While they have a guilty man, the motivation is murky and the question of the other exact-same-MO-murders vexing. It has been a long day, beginning with the questioning of Carver in Boston and then the trip to Providence to investigate his apartment and follow-on clues. There still remains interviewing roommate Robert Angell, Carver’s employer Reginald Wilkins, the wino back in Boston, and the surviving boy of the murdered family who is now in Arkham Sanitarium. Those notebooks of Carver's are most intriguing with their gibberish and pictures of ritual murder with decapitated heads and hands. The receipts found amongst the notebooks may be clues or just receipts: Charter's Bookstore (Carver's place of employ), Club Zothique, Zann's Music Shop, Leng's Chinese Food Emporium, the Shunned House in New York City, and an open ticket for a ship to Amsterdam.

The club is crawling at this hour. Inside is smoke and noise and heat and people. Discordant jazz beats out from the music and dance room, then become more sinuous. Baines notes a wall poster advertising the jazz blues band on stage; it bears a symbol of an eye looking out from the middle of a flower. The Hepcats of Ulthar belt out dizzying jazz with strange tonalities, clashing and scratching. The exotic-looking singer is quite a dish. “This next one is called Whisper in Darkness,” she says, and starts crooning out a bluesy number…

“In cobble yards, through the smashed eyes of a derelict warehouse, old violins play
Where a smoke-river, factory black, crawls below the stone bridges, old violins play
And the crippled dogs whine in their sleep all along Rue d’Auseil…”

People bump the agents as they pause to take in the club. “Well where do you want to start?” asks Ezy.

[thesniperknight1]

"I suppose it's better if we split up, we gain more information while being less suspicious. Try to get anything you can and....", Baines listens to the song a little bit then looks back at Ezy, "That band.....keep an eye out for it, I don't know why but I am getting really bad vibes from them", then he smiles and says, "Don't have too much fun like back at the restaurant".

(not sure if a bartender exists or not, if not then he will just go to someone who looks like he/she frequents the bar ,alone and a bit drunk)

Baines thinks that the best place to look for information is the bartender sits at the juice bar stool and orders some orange juice, once the bartender brings it he starts a conversation with him/her, "What do you suppose the lyrics mean? It feels like they are saying that even though this age that is filled with misery and despair, beauty shines through......or that sadness fills the air because everything is broken, I suppose it depends on how you view the world. What do you think?", he waits for him/her to answer then adds another question.

"Say, do you know a Timothy Carver, he is a friend of mine and he has been missing for quite a while and his sheba is worried sick, she told me that he comes here often and I thought if anyone knew it would be you", Baines describes Timothy for the bartender, "Anything can help, tell me what he normally does here, who he meets with, what did he say, please anything might help me find him and ease that woman's worries", Baines gave his most convincing worried look

[Grognardsw]

Ezy nods in agreement to Baines' suggestion. "I don't understand what that tomato's hollerin, but she sure sounds nice." He wanders off to the music hall.

The bartender

hands Baines his orange juice. This OJ packs a punch. The BOI agent makes small talk and asks about the singer.

"Those hepcats have a following, though I don't see why myself," comments the bartender. "Who the hell knows what her songs mean. I think you have to be high to get it. You'll see."

Baines brings up Carver. The bartender looks at the agent's tip lying there on the bar, then looks up at Baines. The tip grows. "I think I've seen him in here. Comes when this band plays. Doesn't drink much. Maybe something else. I seen him talking in the backroom."

Baines Persuade: [1d100] = 27

[thesniperknight1]

Baines verified his gut feeling about the band, but he tries to get more information before checking the band further "He mentioned a Carcosa to his lady before leaving, do you know who that is? And when you say something else, do you mean Junk? Because between you and me he was doing that a bit.....he has a troubled soul, but he told me that he stopped with the junk. Are you telling me he changed it to something else? Please I beg you, he is like a brother to me", Baines gives him an innocent worried surprised stare.

Persuade (50): [1d100] = 81

Baines is keeping his eyes on the band as he speaks to the bartender, looking at the band for anything out of the ordinary in their getup, he then sees their logo, "Flowers.....interesting", he thinks as he sips his juice.

[Grognardsw]

Baines takes another gulp of his spiked juice. When in Rome, he thinks. The BOI agent continues to chat up Charlie the bartender.

"Carosa? Yeah I've heard that name before," says Charlie. "He's the foreign guy with the fancy duds." He motions with his head into the music hall room. Baines glances over but the room is too crowded to make anyone out. He hears the sultry singer announce her next number, 'Shadow Over My Love.'



"I don't know what your friend is into. But he was hanging with the new crowd, so probably xaqloui. New junk, bad."

[thesniperknight1]

Baines feels a bit woozy, he drank too many glasses of "orange" juice and it's beginning to effect him. When Charlie pointed out Carcosa to him, he sees the music hall and thinks of past memories instead of searching for him, the effects of the drink perhaps? "Thank you, ummm.....", he struggles to remember his name, "Thank you so much, you have been very helpful, really thank you", he tips him then decides to meet with Ezy, he searches for him while being distracted by the music and pretty women.

Once he meets up with him, he puts his arm on Ezy's shoulder, a thing he doesn't do usually, "I found our Carcosa, he is a foreign man with great duds apparently, but more importantly he is a drug dealer distributing a new drug called xaqloui, probably the drug Carver turned to instead of the thing you took back at the restaurant", Baines laughs, "Remember when you did that? that was funny", he steadies himself, "I.....I think my drink was spiked.....this is bad Ezy, I am in no shape to investigate or interrogate.....subjugate, eradicate, terminate.........but before we leave we need three things", Baines takes his arm off of Ezy's shoulder and instead puts it close to his face while counting, "One, the band, did you talk to them? If you didn't then we will wait until they finish their set then talk to them, being drunk will probably even help. Two, find who in this large crowd is Carcosa, I have a plan for that", he grins, "Three, call some backup to trail Carcosa because we can't deal with him now, unless you have a plan maybe? Four......wait...I said three before didn't I? Well, four can wait for tomorrow", Baines shakes his head and slaps himself a couple of times to wake up, "It's show time".

He searches for a really drunk man with a wedding ring on his hand around him then he approaches him, "I don't mean to disturb you but....I can't keep it a secret anymore, your wife has been cheating on you with a man named Carcosa. He is there", he points towards the general direction of the music hall, "Go there and scream his name and call him a bastard, he really hates being called that because he is an actual one". Baines then steps away from the drunk man and watches what unfolds from afar to spot Carcosa.

Persuade (50): [1d100] = 6

[Grognardsw]

Baines catches up with Ezy in the dance hall. His partner is loitering about the edge of the crowd. "No I haven't been able to talk to the band. They've been playing. I spoke to a few people. Seems these The Hepcats of Ulthar has a group of real adorers. Fans that follow their performances on the East Coast. Yeah you must be drunk, cause I can't call in back-up just for tracking one guy who we haven't even spotted."

The agents hear the band slide into their next song. Haunting lyrics wrap around slower blues horns, producing an eerie ensemble unlike any other blues songs Baines and Ezy have heard. "I know you all like to party Providence. This is called the Festival," announces the exotic singer.

"There is snow on the ground,
And the valleys are cold,
And a midnight profound
Blackly squats o’er the wold;
But a light on the hilltops half-seen hints of feastings unhallow’d and old.

There is death in the clouds,
There is fear in the night,
For the dead in their shrouds
Hail the sun’s turning flight,
And chant wild in the woods as they dance round a altar fungous and white..."

Baines deliver the adulterous accusation to the a man with a wedding ring. "What?!" he exclaims, seemingly convinced by the ploy. He glances around the room. "Which one is it? I'm not gonna shout and cause a scene so everyone knows. My wife will be back soon."

"...To no gale of earth’s kind
Sways the forest of oak,
Where the sick boughs entwin’d
By mad mistletoes choke,
For these pow’rs are the pow’rs of the dark, from the graves of the lost Druid-folk..."

The man starts pacing around the crowd, which is standing mostly in place and weaving back and forth to the music. He starts asking random people at the edge of the crowd where Carcosa is.

"...And mayst thou to such deeds
Be an abbot and priest,
Singing cannibal greeds
At each devil-wrought feast,
And to all the incredulous world shewing dimly the sign of the beast."

By spiked orange juice I just meant with vodka. But it must be strong vodka so Baines is drunk like you have him.

[thesniperknight1]

As Baines monitored the drunk man searching for Carcosa, he listened to the haunting melody of the Festival. He payed close attention to the grim words she spoke, it didn't seem they are the normal type of a band that mostly sung about love and dancing, their songs felt more like a chilling prophecy from ancient times or a lost ritual that they are trying to resurrect. Baines doesn't believe in the supernatural but he finds himself thinking about it excessively since most of the cases he gets is somehow tied to it, and talk of druids, cannibal feasts and beasts, while also warning non-believers, sprung many recollections of past cases.


Religion he thought, or an occult perhaps. He was never really a religious man, he didn't really believe in a higher power but it seems that claim turn people against him so he mostly keeps it to himself. He turned to Ezy, "For these pow’rs are the pow’rs of the dark, from the graves of the lost Druid-folk. It's not christian that's for sure or do you have mages, I forget?", he laughs, "Just kidding, And mayst thou to such deeds be an abbot and priest, Singing cannibal greeds. At each devil-wrought feast, And to all the incredulous world shewing dimly the sign of the beast. This band is sending my gut into a turmoil, talks of cannibal feasting, I am getting bad vibes Ezy....or is it that I am gonna upchuck?", Baines holds his hand over his mouth for a second, "No, I am fine, then it must be my actual gut feeling. I told you before that my gut feeling is never wrong, didn't I Ezy? And what did I tell you the moment we got into this club the first time? The band Ezy, the band! My gut was right again, then you must be a three-letter man", after a few seconds he realised what he just said, "Ummm, I mean as in Yes or Nay, you are a very decisive man Ezy, I like that, not as in like like but as in....umm, I would like to be like that....I am thirsty", he turns to order another orange juice but stops once he remembers that it's spiked. He continues to look at the married man searching for Carcosa.

He asks around to learn more about the band, looking for people who seem transfixed with the song as targets.

Yeah, I heard spiked and thought far stronger, but I kinda took advantage of that to try and see what the normally reserved Baines would do drunk, it's kind of fun

[Grognardsw]

Ezy looks at Baines with a look of concern as his partner rambles on. "Are you okay Gwen? You sure you didn't inhale some earlier tonight? Yeah something is fishy about the band. We should talk to them after the set. If we find this Carcosa, play it cool. We have no proof he's done anything."

He scans the crowd looking for Carcosa. Baines sees the drunk man continue his questioning of the crowd, looking for the same elusive man.

The song ends and the singer takes up a violin. Baines thinks that's pretty unusual for a jazz joint. But the crowd murmurs with anticipation. "This is Zann Variations," announces the singer and starts playing. The horns segue into the strings, creating a haunting instrumental.

Baines approaches a black man whose attention is riveted on the singer. He is moving his head to the meandering chords; his right ear is deformed with a gnawed appearance. He smells. Baines sidles up next to him.

"Great band huh?" Baines asks. "First time for me. Why is their sound so different?"

The man glances at Baines distractedly. "Ya mahn, they know the word," he answers with a heavy Jamaican - or perhaps Haiti - accent. "An she jus gettin stahted. Hrthoi qom lloigor?"

[thesniperknight1]

"Hrthoi qom lloigor......? What is that? And what language is it?", Baines looks at the singer and her violin with great curiosity and some admiration, what sort of song could possibly come after cannibal feasts, maybe it's just the booze but he is starting to quite enjoy their music. He kept an eye out for the married man.

[Grognardsw]

The dark black man smiles, his teeth a flash of white in the dim lighting of Club Zothique. "You not on it are you? She, we..." - he waves about the room - "we all --"

Baines doesn't hear the man finish as a yell of "Carcosa!" erupts from the middle of the crowded floor. There is pushing, maybe fist-a-cuffs.

"I think we found our man," Ezy says, suddenly next to Baines. They peer into the tumult before them, trying to make out Carcosa. The music stops. Some toughs wade into the crowd to break it up.

Then Baines sees him - a swarthy man, dressed in suit slacks, pin stripe shirt, a Middle Eastern style sash belt, and over it all a robe-jacket combination. Not your typical Providence duds. He is clean shaven but has a remarkable amount of acne for one who must be in his thirties. He exits the crowd and takes a seat at a table, wiping his brow and adjusting his clothes.

The club bouncers eject the garrulous drunk. Normalcy returns. Music resumes.

[thesniperknight1]

Baines looks back and forth from Carcosa to the singer and from the singer to Carcosa, he whispers to Ezy, "The drug and music, the music and the drug, the two work in harmony to create the ultimate high. It's here Ezy, the reason Carver turned this way is connected to this. I can feel it Ezy, it burns my throat Ezy", Baines was about to vomit but he held it in, "I guess I am feeling something else".

Baines goes back to the Jamaican man, "I am on it, It's just that this is my first time so I can't speak....what was it again? You know how it is with the first time, my mind is a mesh but I can feel it.....We all are one".

Persuade (50): [1d100] = 41

Baines turns to Ezy, "I am gonna have a little conversation with Carcosa, do you have any money? I need some to not look suspecious. Keep an eye for the band". Baines approaches Carcosa's table from behind him and from five feet away says "Carcosa", to see if the man responds to the name then he sits across of him, "You Carcosa right? I heard that drunk call you that and I heard that you have some new junk that was the bee's knees. I would like some, how much will (whatever amount Ezy gave him) get me?", then he tries to start a conversation with him, "This band is great isn't it? Their name is a bit weird though, do you know them?"

[Grognardsw]

The Hepcats of Ulthar get underway again as Baines looks around for the black man.

"This is Beyond the Mountain," announces the singer.

Baines cannot find the Haitian. In the confusion did he leave?

"The winter sunset, flaming beyond spires
And chimneys half-detached from this dull sphere,
Opens great gates to some forgotten year
Of elder splendours and divine desires.
Expectant wonders burn in those rich fires..."

Ezy gives his partner a few dollars. "Be careful," he says.

Baines approaches Carcosa.

"..Adventure-fraught, and not untinged with fear;
A row of sphinxes where the way leads clear
Toward walls and turrets quivering to far lyres..."

Baines engages Carcosa. "You Carcosa right? I heard that drunk call you that and I heard that you have some new junk that was the bee's knees. I would like some, how much will two greenbacks get me?"

Carcosa looks suspiciously at Baines. Up close the BOI agent sees the acne on the upper half of his face is severe - red rashes, oily pustules, and bright pimples seem ready to burst. Between the strong drink, the increasingly insidious music and the strange gravitas of this Carcosa, Baines has to work hard to focus on the words he speaks.

"...It is the land where beauty’s meaning flowers;
Where every unplaced memory has a source;
Where the great river Time begins its course..."

"Yes, I am Carcosa. I don't know that asshole drunk, maybe he's on bad junk," his lips part in a disturbing smile. "Who are you?" Baines blinks, amazed at the man's ivory white teeth.

"...Down the vast void in starlit streams of hours.
fthtagn in cractory whine-yards, beloke sleepled r'lyeh nga'haa tekeli-li
Dreams bring us close—but ancient lore repeats
Ygolo crash the bridgelict eyeloins, crobble yog ngh'hha ygnaiith
That human tread has never soiled these streets

Now gnh'gua equalling y'nghai are tekel'd to mhhf-gthaa,
uguth an Y'golonac N’gaii fhtagn e’hucunechh R’lyeh.
Ia, G’harne ep ygg Rhan Tegoth n’thyleii yr gnh’gua?
Shagghai, humuk Dho-Hna, g’yllgnaii ygg yr nggngr shoggoth,
hrr yll’ngngr Nyarlathotep. Gh’ll mhhggthaa tekeli-li Y’golonac rrthnaa..."

Baines is distracted as he realizes the singer is spouting gibberish, and shockingly, many in the crowd are singing along!

[thesniperknight1]

"huh..What?", Baines looks back from the band, "Sorry, they are a bit distracting. I am Phillip James, I work at a bank, I didn't know that a resume is needed to buy junk", he glances back at the band, "Say, what is this language? And how come everyone is singing along? Did we leave America or something? Whats with this band, they are.....not ordinary". Baines tries not to stare too much at Carcosa's flaws.

Persuade (50): [1d100] = 33

[Grognardsw]

"The music is an acquired taste," says Carcosa, studying Baines for a moment. "Xaqloui?" he says. "I can't throw you anything here. Meet me tomorrow around lunchtime. 93 Court Street."

He gets up from his seat and abruptly walks away.

Is is after midnight, Aug. 11. By tomorrow, Carcosa means later that day around 12:00.

[thesniperknight1]

Baines tries to take one last look at Carcosa's face in more detail, he has been avoiding that to not be suspicious but since he is leaving he takes the chance, "Alright, 93 court street".

He goes back to Ezy, "He is a wary man, he didn't give me enough time to see if he is using the band to get more money or if he is using the drug to help the band and they are together in a twisted prophecy religious cultist sort of thing. We are meeting him today at 12, as in afternoon 12, not go back into the past and meet him.....although that would be something", he shakes his head a few more times to try and focus again.

He focuses on the band again, focuses on what they look like and what they are wearing and what sort of abnormalities that might be on stage like weird decorations or strange instruments. He looks back at the band's symbol and draws a rough sketch of it in his notebook just in case. He then searches through the crowd to see if anyone is wearing the cross. If he finds anyone, although unlikely, he will start a conversation with them, "Hello there, don't you find these songs blasphemous. It's as if they call to a new religion". Otherwise he will ask people who aren't in a group, "Do you know where they are from and when they started music?", then he moves on to a different person after a few minutes to not stand out, "Doesn't this seem a bit religious to you and their name too?", waits a few minutes then asks someone else, "Do they only preform here or do they go to other places?".

All the while he listens to whatever she sing and observes whatever the band is doing.

[Grognardsw]

Ezy nods his head."Good, 12:00 o'clock then. The guy seems a creepy freak."

Baines studies the band. The Hepcats of Ulthar are five in number, the female crooner, a saxophonist, drummer, another horn man, and a string-man.

They are all deep black, though Baines cannot tell from which country they hail from. The singer is more mulatto. The drummer has a long vertical scar on the right side of his face. Otherwise they appear normal, though their music is far from it. Baines has not seen such unorthodox rhythms and sounds brought forth from those instruments before.

Baines sketches the band symbol seen the wall poster...

There is an eye in the middle.

The BOI agent circulates through the crowd but finds none wearing a cross. He asks questions and gets only quick answers from the engrossed crowd. "Blasphemous? Hell no brother." - "They from New York I thinks." - "Qroi koi nag sathoqui?" - "I seen them Boston, New York too. They get around some."

Baines hears more of the music, but can't make out one damn word of their nonsense speech. It lasts another 45 minutes that way, the crowd growing to standing-room-only-packed and overflows into the other rooms a little. Baines looses sight of Ezy.

"Eztrak thank hoi-cerqoi teki shukneri stars are right!" she finishes, bowing. The band exits stage left.

[thesniperknight1]

Baines looks around for Ezy but doesn't waste too much time, if he finds him he will tell him once again, "Follow my lead".

He lights up a cigarette and follows the band, first he will maintain a bit of distance and simply listen to whatever they're saying.

Listen(25): [1d100] = 98

He then will approach the band clapping slowly, "Beautiful....Absolutely beautiful, you produce a sound with those instruments that I have never heard before, almost as if you are creating new notes. You are unique, original and new. I am tired of the same old repeated music, you truly inspire a new path that will change this industry forever", He focuses on the singer, "And you, god oh god, you have the voice of an angel yet rough somehow, silky smooth that just penetrates the eardrums", he takes a buff of smoke, "Oh, sorry for the late introductions, My name is Sam Fisher, a reporter at the Arkham Gazette. I am writing a piece about new and coming bands and a friend recommended you, and I can see why. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

[Grognardsw]

Baines catches up with Ezy. "I talked with some boozy bim in the crowd. You know I think they're all taking the same junk."

The BOI agents maneuver closer to the band as they exit. It seems they aren't the only ones interested in doing that, for a rush of band adorers flock along with Baines. They're calling to the singer - still unnamed - with the gibberish talk. There's an exchange of such words.

Baines pushes through the crowd to engage with her. "Beautiful...original..." he compliments her.

She smiles at Baines. "Thank you. Sorry our manager schedules newspaper interviews," she replies. "Ambrose Carcosa, ask around for him."

She and the band go through a door. Before it closes Baines glimpses a large room - perhaps a dressing room or pre-stage area. A big beefy black man stands in front of the door now. "Show's over bud," he says gruffly.

[thesniperknight1]

Baines replies to Ezy, "Yeah, that Jamaican said a similar thing. But could a drug make you learn a whole new language?.....I guess we will have to find out".

He pushed himself through the flow of groupies and admirers quite surprise at the volume of them. He flenches when he hears Carcosa's name and gives one last plea to the singer as he struggles with the crowd, "Please miss, I will leave for New York tomorrow, I still have a band other than you. This will raise your popularity, I guarantee it".

Persuade (50): [1d100] = 39

He tries to get a glimpse of the dressing room, to see if there is something out of the ordinary there. A talisman, strange statues, weird drawings or anything that stand out as odd, and look to see if the man he identified as Carcosa is in there.

If she doesn't comply, he will eye the bodyguard, "I suppose you won't let me in, will you?", he sighs, "Well, do you know anything about the band? Anything can be helpful".

Baines turns to Ezy and walks away from the bodyguard, "Carcosa is the manager, can't say I didn't see that coming but I didn't think she would refuse the interview, I suppose I underestimated her following and pride. I can't schedule an interview since Carcosa already saw my face", he takes a puff of the cigarette and through the smoke you can see Baines's evil grin, "You know she didn't quite see my face clearly, so what do you say Sam Fisher? How about you schedule an interview with The Hepcats of Ulthar as part of the piece on new and coming bands which will be featured in the Arkham Gazette? And if you happen to get some information from the band's manager Ambrose Carcosa, then all the better". He searches the place for Carcosa, staying away from Ezy to not be associated with him.