Book Four: New Orleans - The Big Uneasy

[Grognardsw]

Marius looks about for some place to hide Edith. There is only under the metal frame bed. The hunter deems it too exposed.

Frank, Marius and Prof. Balandabar wonder what to do about Edith. Prof. Balandabar has heard interesting "proof" of the alleged mind transfer from David to Edith. Is he convinced? Could the information Edith whispered to Frank be pillow talk, conversation that David shared with his lover and she now offers as "proof"?

Their discussion is ended by the police officer outside, who comes in to check on Edith.

"Okay now, visiting time is over," he says with an Irish brogue.

The men leave.

Edith ponders her situation. A little later a doctor comes in to take her vitals and deliver grave news. "Your attacker, a Mr. David Clarke, has passed. He did not survive his wounds."

Edith is shaken at the news that his proper body is no longer alive. He, now she, faces the horrible reality that he is now trapped in a woman's body. Edith is gobsmacked at the revelation and considers the ramifications: What of his property and belongings? His academic credentials? Job prospects? Sexuality? His friends and family? Edith's friends and family? (San check - see spoiler below)

David knows Edith (he/she still must overcome the psychological barrier of new pronouns and calling himself Edith) was - no, is - a woman of independent means. That is some comfort from a practical standpoint.

The other investigators learn with shock and dismay that David Clarke’s body perished. Reginald shares the news. He says he tried to help save him. The book dealer is quite shaken. (Psychology rolls please for others.)

Edith spends the next few days in the hospital gaining her strength back (+4 HP.) She learns she was raped by David when she was unconscious. The investigators visit her frequently. They tell Agent Mulder about what happened.

Edith learns that with David Clarke dead, there will be no legal action taken against Edith for her shooting him unless Clarke family members decide to pursue legal remedies. With no witnesses and a dead alleged victim, the case would be weak.

While Edith is recuperating, the investigators get access to David’s apartment and secure Raymond Randolph’s books. Reginald the book dealer examines the tomes. He agrees with Edith’s assessment concerning Raymond’s intentions with dreams. The man could be alive in the so-called dreamlands or some Otherworld.

After what has happened to her, Edith faces profound choices. Can he/she live in this body, in this world? Is her mind overwhelmed? Or does it make her more determined than ever to continue the investigation and get revenge?

Several days later the party of investigators is at the Providence BOI offices where Agent Mulder is holding the New Orleans briefing.

“It’s good to see you all again,” says Agent Mulder. “Please welcome a new civilian consultant, Hal Lancaster, to our group.”

“We have been chasing down what leads we can, observing and tailing people of interest, and are now ready to make a push in New Orleans. As you recall (and were instrumental in discovering) we have certain letters from Ambrose Carcosa that listed various New Orleans addresses.”

“These include the following:

1) Ambrose Carcosa’s house in the French Quarter. We will raid the place and hopefully catch the bastard.

2) A fortune teller parlor owned by a Marie Levoui who has connections to Carcosa. We will investigate.

3) A night club recently opened, the building of which was purchased from James Ford. You recall that this financier was in the Carcosa letters. According to information from our civilian investigators, his daughter Claire confirmed his past odd religious acquaintances. She offered to help.”

Agent Mulder looks at the investigators. “Any ideas on how she could?”

“And 4) A ‘lodge’ outside New Orleans in the bayou. We’ll investigate.”

“All right everyone. Put in your equipment requisitions. Get a good night sleep. Our train leaves at 8:00 am.”

As I mentioned before, I'm moving things forward to our long-anticipated New Orleans visit. That said, feel free to take any actions within the time I summarized.

I did not take the liberty of deciding if Reginald told the investigators that he killed David. Socratic can decide that.

DadsAngry, per our PMs, I'll leave it up to you how much of a possible San. loss Edith may face, if you want to continue to play her, or take up another PC.

DadsAngry can decide who David’s surviving family members are, if any, and if they want to take legal action against Edith. That could be a subplot.

Makkentabs123’s character, Hal Lancaster, will now be joining the party. Feel free to read his prior thread “Hal Lancaster on the Case” to see how he arrived here.

For those interested in refreshing your memory on Carcosa’s recovered letters, please see “The Investigators Notebook” thread.

Thanks!

[DadsAngry]

Dr. Clarke/Edith

David arrives at Edith's home, his home now. Looking about, he feels out of his element. Feminine touches surround him. He walks into the bedroom and hefts a large suitcase onto the bed—it's heavier than it looks. Edith flips the top open and moves to the dresser. The dresser is filled with blouses, skirts, undergarments, stockings, and accessories; all alien to him. What should I take? This is much more complicated than a suit and tie.

She sighs and looks down on the dresser top where an ornate silver frame picture holds a photograph of Edith's father Dr. Walton at an archeological dig in Egypt. In the picture standing next to him is a youthful Edith. She can't be more than 18. In the background not far from the two he see himself. A young strapping lad working hard to impress his mentor Dr. Walton. He lifts the picture and gazes at it. She was so young here and so was I. David looks into the mirror over the dresser and sees Edith starring back at him, bruised and swollen. A wave of emotion overcomes him and he barely holds back the tear which seems to flow so freely these days. He quickly scoops up an armful of clothing and dumps it into the suitcase along with the framed picture.

He returns to the dresser for another scoop and eyes Edith's revolver, the one her father gave her to keep her safe on her travels. David picks it up and checks the chamber. It’s loaded. He places the revolver on top of the heaping cacophony of garments in the suitcase and leaves the bedroom for the living room. He takes a seat at Edith's secretariat desk and puls out a crisp sheet of writing paper. With great care, he dips the pen into the ink well. Delicately he scribes a single statement onto the parchment, blotting the excess ink before heading back into the bedroom.

Standing in front of the open suitcase, David picks up the revolver and calmly places it to Edith's temple. He takes a deep breath, closes her eyes and pulls the trigger.

When Edith’s body is discovered, lying on top of a pile of bloody clothes in an open suitcase, the only clue to her suicide is the note resting on the secretariat desk in the living room. On the parchment penned in a famine hand is the single statement... “I am David”

[makken123Tabs]

"Er---hi, Hal, Hal Lancaster"

Who's here? I read that Edith just shot herself...

[DadsAngry]

Marius:

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Lancaster, Marius Albertoni. How did you become involved in this investigation?"
"Agent Mulder, how is Marie Levoui connected to Carcosa?"

[makken123Tabs]

Hal Lancaster

He shakes the hunter's hand "Mr. Albertoni" and answers his question with a combination of shrug and tired smile. "And you, Sir, are you happy to be here too?---you seem very determined to...well, something or other!"

[Mant72]

Dr. Francis Morgan:

Frank extends his hand to the former Marine, ”Dr. Francis Morgan. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Lancaster.”

Psychology roll as requested - Psychology (05): [1d100] = 75

[Grognardsw]

Agent Mulder answers Marius: “Anne-Marie Lavoui is connected to the cult, according references in Carcosa letters, the missing Sam Archer, and confirmed by BOI agents. She is a known drug dealer. Her cover is a fortune teller. She is from New Orleans.”

Archer’s encounter with Lavoui is recounted starting here: viewtopic.php?p=218814#p218814

Also, Lavoui makes an appearance on page 12 of “Mean Streets - The Tough Times of Darrin McKoy.”

[makken123Tabs]

Hal Lancaster

"Likewise, Doctor"

"Anne-Marie Lavoui?---Funny how all these decadent persons have French names, wasn't like that when I visited France. Investigate her first? but I'm easy"

He'll take 2 grenades and a tommy gun.

[Mant72]

Frank still carries the pistol issued to him during the raid on the Shunned House.

[DadsAngry]

Is this the first time Marius, Frank, and Reginald are hearing of Archer's Death?

[Grognardsw]

Sorry, I edited that to be “the missing” Sam Archer. No one has confirmed Sam is dead.

The BOI requisition agent smiles at Hal. “Whoa there cowboy. I know you’re ex-military, but we don’t give that firepower to civilians. I can give you a handgun and a shotgun. Even that is a bit much but it seems like you can handle it.”

__________________________________

A few days earlier...

Reginald Wilkins examines the Raymond Randolph books owned by Dr. David Clarke. Among his last words, while in the body of Edith Walton, were the importance of these books.

So Reginald feels obliged (or is it obsessed?) for more reasons than one, to review and study them. (Please make Library use, Occult and Cthulhu Mythos rolls.

Does it help assuage the guilt? Whether yes or no, any information that helps dismantle the cult and stop their plans is vital.

The routine of study helps calm Reginald’s nerves. The man has been having nightmares about what he did to David, and the subsequent suicide of Edith. Unknown to Reginald, every time he dwells on the topic he exhibits a nervous tick on his face.

Reginald dashes off a few bibliographic cataloging notes on some of the more sellable titles to general collectors. He needs to restock his own inventory at his Charter Bookshop.

A few titles:

Machen, Arthur. THE HOUSE OF SOULS. London: E. Grant Richards, 1906. Octavo, pp. [i-iv] v-xiii [xiv-xvi] [1-2] 3-513 [514] [515: ad for The Three Impostors] [516: blank], inserted frontispiece with illustration by Sidney H. Sime, original pictorial gray cloth with cover design by Sime in black, gold and light green. First edition. Second binding with "GRANT / RICHARDS" at base of spine panel. Collects the contents of THE GREAT GOOD PAN (1894) and THE THREE IMPOSTORS (1895), the latter with some revisions and omissions, plus the first book appearance of three tales, "A Fragment of Life," "The White People," and "The Red Hand." "... Machen's most important collection." Fore-edge of sheets just a bit tanned, spine panel a bit hand soiled, a nearly fine copy. A lovely, well above average copy of this handsome book with elaborate three-color cover design by Sime.

Chambers, Robert W[illiam]. IN SEARCH OF THE UNKNOWN. New York and London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1904. Octavo, pp. [1-8] 1-285 [286] [287-288: blank] [note: last leaf is a blank], inserted frontispiece, title page printed in orange and black, original pictorial gray cloth, front panel stamped in black, light green, dark green and white, spine panel stamped in light green and white. First edition. Brief signed inscription by Chambers to James Blair Jr. on the front free endpaper. Linked stories in the breezy Chambers style, chronicling the misadventures of Harold Kensett, a flirtatious zoologist, who attempts to collect unusual specimens for the Zoological Gardens in Bronx Park. Most of the stories are this new “scientifiction”, but several have supernatural motifs. "Amusing stories, perhaps Chambers' best extended work, and his sole reason, apart from THE KING IN YELLOW, to be remembered today." Cloth lightly rubbed at spine ends and corner tips, cloth just a bit frayed at upper spine end, a bright very good copy with no loss to the perishable white stamping. This book is seldom found inscribed or signed by Chambers.

Going over the notes, he is disturbed to find he has occasionally written phrases in xaqloui. He doesn’t remember writing them, nor understand what they mean.

[SocraticLawyer]

Reginald Wilkins, unhinged bookdealer
Reginald studies the books from Raymond's home. Whether his continued study of the occult has ravaged his fragile mind, or provided more focus, he could not say. Indeed, he cannot distinguish between the two.

He finds himself contemplating duality. Thresholds. The borderline between one thing and another. Where does one end, and another begin?

Hadn't Timothy said something about that? It seemed so strange at the time. But now it seems … obvious?

He also finds his mind wandering to his encounter at the gate with Carcosa. What was it he had said? It seemed so peaceful, there, at the gate.

When his mind is not wandering, Reginald does indeed focus on his occult studies.

Library Use (85) [1d100] = 91
Occult (32) [1d100] = 30
Cthulhu Mythos (08) [1d100] = 66
85 Points in Library Use, haven't make a single successful roll yet!

Days later, when meeting with the BOI and the new investigator, Reginald introduces himself to Hal. He wonders, too late, if he remembered to shower before the meeting.

Reginald says nothing about ending the life of the body of David Clarke. He is shocked to hear of Edith's suicide.

For the New Orleans mission, Reginald requests a handgun and ammunition. He will bring his own shotgun, if the BOI will allow him to do so. He also brings a long trenchcoat, if he has one or can acquire one. And/or something that might allow him to carry his shotgun reasonably undetected, if such a thing there be. Of course, he also brings whatever mystic tomes he still has in his possession.

When we arrive in New Orleans, where should we begin? Perhaps with Ms. Levoui?

[Golem]

Balandabar spends the few days in deep contemplation, his thoughts on the alleged mind swap between David and Edith. It was uneasy for him to countenance such a thing as his mind was dedicated to facts and science. He was from a country gripped with superstition with all manner of mystics, swamis, and gurus feeding the populace with elaborate tricks in the guise of magic and miracles.

Now, he wasn’t so sure anymore. Balandobar cannot stand it anymore and so loses himself into the serene calmness of academics, helping with the books of Raymond Randolph secured from David’s apartment.

Later, he is introduced to Hal Lancaster at the BOI’s office and Balandobar sizes him up while shaking his hand. “Dr. Baba Balandobar,” he replies in greeting. Having served in the army himself so, so many years ago Baba notes the martial bearing within Lancaster and approves.

Once he knows he is going to New Orleans and understands there may be some danger ahead, Baba goes back to his small apartment and tends to his correspondence before going to bed. Sleep eludes him that night, like every night since the incident with Edith and Clark.

Rising long before dawn Baba retrieves his portmanteau. Along the things he packs away is his old service revolver, a heavy well-maintained .455 Webley wrapped in a oily rag. Sliding into the back of a waiting cab, he arrives on time at the train station in Providence.

[Mant72]

Is Frank aware of Edith’s suicide?

[Grognardsw]

Agent Mulder shares dark news. The investigators are shocked to learn of the suicide of Edith Walton. Had David's mind truly succumbed to despair? Was he actually killed by other means? Such questions are difficult to answer. Her suicide note - "I am David" - may be enigmatic to the authorities, but not the investigators.



The Crescent train rattles along the tracks making its three-day journey to New Orleans. The long miles pass through Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and so on.



The investigators discuss the case thus far, revealing disturbing details to Prof. Balandabar and Hal Lancaster. Agent Mulder agrees with Reginald and Hal that investigating Anne-Marie Laviou is a good first step.

Hal has disturbing dreams.

In Virginia, Hal says he feels guilty about his wife and drops out of the case.* The investigators wonder if Hal, from his recent near-death experiences thus far, was up to the task. He seemed convinced Sam Archer was dead. Hal’s motivation now was revenge, the same as Sam, and if Hal is right, that motivation killed the private investigator.

Eventually the investigators reach New Orleans.

*Makkentabs123 is played out on PBP and has left the boards.

Feel free to take actions during the train trip.

[SocraticLawyer]

Reginald Wilkins, unhinged bookdealer
On the train ride, Reginald does his best to avoid reviewing the occult tomes. He tries to focus on what his psychiatrist and he discussed. However, every time his mind wanders a bit, Reginald looks down to find the Pnakotic Manuscript in his hand, pages open. He has been reading it for hours.

Did Reginald get a handgun from the BOI? What about his shotgun? And did he learn anything meaningful from his review of the other books?

[DadsAngry]

Marius:

Marius keeps an eye on Dr. Morgan. Losing two friends so suddenly must be difficult. Marius has always had a funny feeling for the Miskatonic crew ever since there trip together to New York. Now two of them are gone. Less to worry about so he thinks. Marius tries to sit down with Reginald the only one he can really trust and talk to him about his concerns but he spends all his time reading. He's always got his nose in that book that he carries with him. The one he's read at least a dozen times. Academics. For most of the trip, Marius stays in his berth. He meticulously cleans his shotgun and wonders what kind of hunting to expect in New Orleans.

[Grognardsw]

Reginald packs away his .22 pistol, personal shotgun and trench coat in his sleeper cabin he shares with Prof. Balandabar.

Reginald continues his bibliographic cataloging notes for some of Raymond Randolph’s books. The antiquarian occultist wonders if such books hold a meaning applicable to their own investigation, or if it is just in his own increasingly unstable imagination. Prof. Balandabar observes with interest and helps when he can (or rather, when Reginald reluctantly permits. He senses, with regret, that the Indian is another overly inquisitive soul.)

Bierce, Ambrose. CAN SUCH THINGS BE? New York: The Cassell Publishing Co., [1893]. Octavo, pp. [i-ii] iii-iv [1] 2-320, flyleaves at front and rear, original decorated mustard cloth, front panel stamped in brown and black, spine panel stamped in black and gold. The second of two collections of Bierce's short stories published during his lifetime and one of the author's less common first editions. An important book. Bierce is the finest American author of supernatural horror fiction in the second half of the nineteenth century, clearly dominating the period in after Poe, and in some ways, a superior craftsman to him. That his reputation lags Poe is partly due to the strengths of his own style, which is spare and elliptical (i.e., deflationary) where Poe is lush and hyperbolic (i.e., inflationary). It is the occupational hazard of the satirist, who bows down to nothing, to have no one bow down to him. Bitter Bierce, as he was tagged by his peers, had the sardonic detachment of the newspaper man who has observed more than his share of suffering and depravity. This gave him mainly a detachment from dogmatism. He never lost that warm interest in either observation or speculation, fuels for the creative engine, but he kept each in its own province. As he writes in the last sentence of this book, 'It is not my duty to indue facts and theories with affinity.' One of the hallmarks of Bierce's style is to put physical and metaphysical horrors together in the same room and let them fight it out. This tolerance, or, indeed, fascination with the mysterious, is the beating heart inside the cool composure of these stories. Not the least of the mysteries here is that so many of them have to do with unexplained disappearances, a theme prophetic of the fate of the author himself, who disappeared sometime around 1914, somewhere around Mexico. CAN SUCH THINGS BE? is Bierce's key collection of weird tales. An epigraph to the first story, by 'Hali' (real? invented?) points out the dangers not only of the disembodied ghost but of the disensouled corpse. In this pairing of the spiritual and the material (or rather, the balanced consideration of the two after their dissolution) lies a hint about the nature not just of this story ('The Death of Halpin Frayser') but of Bierce's approach in all these stories. Bierce's ghosts are not the ethereal messengers of the Gothic tradition that colored so much of Victorian weird fiction as well. They are gruesome and grotesque – and malevolent. And Bierce's style, in treating the enigmatic and bizarre with a brevity and vigor gained from journalistic discipline, shows a similar balance of the otherworldly and the matter-of-fact. Elliptical and straightforward, detached and passionate, grotesque and sublime: that's Bierce. At the other end of the book, a final note, appearing after the three very short stories collected as 'Mysterious Disappearances,' advances, in connection with them, the theory of one Dr. Hern of Leipsiz concerning non-Euclidean space and what we would now call black holes. Attached to the rear endpaper is a newspaper clipping with a contemporary review of the book, which, though highly critical of it, inadvertently points towards those qualities that readers today find to be virtues, calling the work "characteristic of the crude and undeveloped condition of our west coast literature" and "unrelieved in any way by softer qualities. Early owner's bookplate affixed to front paste-down. Slight spine lean, cloth a bit worn at spine ends, a bit of light dust soiling to cloth, but a solid very good copy.

Is it hope or dread that Reginald feels at the the prospect of seeing Ambrose Carcosa in New Orleans? Like a man smitten with a forbidden woman, stealing glances and dreaming salacious dreams, the book dealer delves deeper into the dark knowledge of The Pnakotic Manuscripts. He hides the book behind a newspaper, sits alone for stretches, even takes it into the bathroom. It speaks to him.

This is not unnoticed by Marius and the other investigators. Reginald has been looking pale lately. Is that a facial tick?

The pictures in The Pnakotic Manuscripts stir something in Reginald. Who is Selene? Goddess of the moon? What does she represent? What did the oracles of old know?

From Reginald's book-related research...

The Pnakotic Manuscripts volume seems to be most intriguing, though the Testament of Selene will also bear closer reading. Several archeology books show a pattern of interest in ancient worship sites of moon gods and goddesses. Astrology books reflect an interest in Pluto and speculations of distant stars beyond. There are implications that there are certain star arrangements pending in an unknown but imminent time frame. This Carcosa has a surprising amount of knowledge in this area. Another member of the cult, Dr. Hazrabad, has written to Carcosa on several topics, including the stealing and using of artifacts in ceremonies. Hazrabad also mentioned the Latmos location as one of great interest. There also appears to be some connection between Carcosa, the cult, New England area Masonic lodges, and the Church of Starry Wisdom.

The Pnakotic Manuscripts refer to an entity called Nyarlathotep. The word can be traced to ancient Egyptian antecedents. The name is a contraction of ny har rut hotep, meaning "there is no peace (safety, rest) at the gate." The significance of this title is apparently that Nyarlathotep, in his role as messenger of the Outer Gods, is the "gateway" between the planes, and specifically between their dimensions and ours, or at least that is how the ancient Egyptian cultists viewed the matter.

There are bibliographic notes in the beginning. The Pnakotic Manuscripts claim to predate the origin of man. The original manuscripts were in scroll form and were passed down through the ages. A "Great Race of Yith" is referenced. It is claimed they produced the first five chapters of the Manuscripts, which, among other things, contain a detailed chronicle of their history.

The Pnakotic Manuscripts were originally held by the people of Lomar, who studied them diligently. Later, they were passed to Hyperborea and translated into the language of that land. Here the manuscripts were added to by the Voormi. The Manuscripts survived into historical times and been translated into Greek in this version known as the Pnakotica.

The core text of the Pnakotic Manuscripts, Pnakotos, was written in 4th century AD (Hellenistic or Koine) Greek by (alledgely) Hypatia herself, who recalled extremely accurately the libraries in which she studied while a resident of Pnakotos. It is hinted that she was under the influence of the oracle-mists of Selene the moon goddess. It has been supplemented and revised by 'Great Race' scholars and their 'victims,' and also by comparison with apocryphal texts said to have descended from the Great Race in historical time. It also includes many of the texts Hypatia saved from the Pnakotos 'disaster' (not identified) as appendices. These are mostly texts of Greek and Egyptian mystical philosophy and Alchemy. There are fantasistic claims of spells and rituals connected with Time, the Great Race, and Greco-Egyptian neo-platonic and alchemical mysticism.

Reginald reviews the incantations he has found in The Pnakotic Manuscripts and other occult volumes He remembers his experience in casting Find Gate.

Brew Dream Drug and Brew Space Mead
Dream Vision
Journey to the Other Side
Mesmerize
Send Dreams
Shining Trapezohedron
Elder Sign
Find Gate

On the second night of the train trip Reginald dreams...

Reginald leans over David’s bed, bunched-up sheet in hand. The longs seconds of hesitation tick by. David peaks an eye open.

“Do it,” says Asainath Waite.

“Do it,” says David Clarke.

“Do me,” says Edith Walton.

Reginald’s eyes meet with David’s eyes. He feels himself getting pulled in. The book dealer occultist violently shoves the sheet against David’s face, pushing and strangling the wounded man. David’s arms flail, each arm missing a hand.

As Reginald pushes, David's decapitated head is no longer there. Reginald sinks into the bed and he falls through. He is in another place.

“What do you see?” asks a disembodied voice, familiar yet unplaceable.

Unknown constellations twinkle in his mind's eye.

The face behind the voice comes into focus.

That face! Him!

Reginald wakes with a start.

Bunk-mate Prof. Balandabar, and Frank and Marius next door, hear Reginald scream in abject terror.

[Mant72]

Dr. Francis Morgan:

Frank sits up late into the evening smoking a stale cigarette and staring out at the obscure shapes flitting by in the darkened countryside. The rattling of the tracks seems to deepen his reverie. “David, my colleague, my companion, my FRIEND... Such hell you faced in your final days... Your named sullied by damned lies and accusations...Such a brilliant mind and an exceptional friend...Extinguished.” Frank’s eyes now focus on the smoke curling from his cigarette, and the ash grows longer.

”...and poor Edith, another friend dismissed into darkness. You were such a vibrant, compassionate woman. What torment you must have endured in your final days...”

Frank clutches the pistol he carries in his pocket. The steel feels alien in the professor’s hand, and its weight seems to draw him deeper into despair.

A sudden bloodcurdling scream pulls Frank from his morose thoughts.

[DadsAngry]

Marius:

Marius jumps at the noise. He throws Frank a quick glance and sees his hearing wasn't off. "Reginald!" With his partial unassembled shogun still in his hands, he opens his compartment door and makes his way to Reginald's. He throws open the door and readies his shotgun like a club.