The Language at the Threshold

[Fulci]

So I take it there were no clues in the crates already loaded into the policecar? The ones we saw when we arrived to the house in the first place.

Nice menu!

Isaiah Bartlett, old man

Bartlett orders broiled ham with mashed potatoes and vegetables. The place is to his liking: simple, somewhat homey.

[Grognardsw]

So I take it there were no clues in the crates already loaded into the policecar? The ones we saw when we arrived to the house in the first place.

Nice menu!

There may be, you'll have to spend more time perhaps in the evening looking through everything.

[thesniperknight1]

Gwen Baines - BOI

Baines notices the waitress a little late, "Oh yeah, sorry, I will have the Scrambled eggs with chipped beef and french fries potatoes". He sees the napkin and stuffs it into his pocket, "So Reginald, I was actually going to meet you right after meeting with Mr.Angell, Timothy's roommate. Can you tell me anything that might be useful in solving this case?", he thinks for a second, "Oh wait....I suppose I have a confession to make, I have been lying about me being in a drug ring case, I am in charge of the strange murderers going around as of late. Sorry, I lied, it's just that...it's just that I can't trust anyone, not even my own partner.....I am not sure what to do really, this cult or whatever it is, it's.....venomous....it can't be that everyone there are the same too....no, it can't be.....if it's true then they are too far in to root out.....no", he laughed a little bit, "too many to be remotely true". He senses that he is starting to ramble on, so he stops, "Sorry, my thoughts are...scattered lately, I am sure you have a lot of questions so ask away, I am choosing to trust you here, so please don't betray me", a tone of desperation filled his voice.

[SocraticLawyer]

Reginald Wilkins, bookdealer
Reginald orders scrambled eggs with toast, and a black coffee.

“Of course, Mr. Baines. I want to help. If I’ve been aloof, you must understand that it is because I am greatly disturbed by what’s been going on, and I want us all to treat these events with the seriousness that their gravity merits.” He pauses, looking at Isaiah briefly, then back at Baines.

“Here’s what I know. My former employee, Timothy Carver, got mixed up with this Carcosa fellow. Although he was a model employee at first, Timothy’s performance slowly began to wane. When I noticed he had stolen from the shop, I confronted him about it. He claimed to have traded some pages from one of my more … er, rare books, for knowledge.”

Reginald pauses again, reflecting on that odd conversation with Timothy. “I assumed he was under the influence of some narcotic or other, because he wasn’t making any sense. But then I found these pages in Carcosa’s apartment,”he says, showing the missing pages. “I know of no hop-dealer who would accept old pages from a decrepit book as payment. It makes no sense.”Reginald pauses again, brow furrowed in thought.

“Anyway, I found out soon after that Timothy was responsible for those ghastly murders. Based on what I saw in Carcosa’s apartment, he too may have homicidal tendencies.”

Reginald sips his coffee. “At my shop, Mr. Bartlett and I were visited by a most peculiar customer, who calls himself Randolph.”Reginald pulls the card that Randolph gave him out of his pocket. “He was interested in mystical travel. Within a few hours of meeting Mr. Randolph, I learn that our prey Mr. Carcosa appears to have performed some mystical traveling magic trick. It’s all very disturbing, to say the least.

“But what truly scares me, Mr. Baines, are the implications of what I’ve learned. As you’ve said, there have been other murders, in different cities. Randolph claimed to be from Arkham, where a similar series of murders has occurred. And this Carcosa may have contacts on the Continent, based on what I saw at the apartment. Which means this is bigger than Timothy. It is bigger than you or I or Mr. Bartlett here,”says Reginald, indicating Isaiah.

“Everything I’ve learned recently points to a massive conspiracy, perhaps on an international level, involving this new drug, particularly gruesome murders, and possibly revivals of ancient occult practices and mystical rituals.”He looks again at Isaiah.

To Baines, he asks, “Now, what more can you tell us?”Reginald sips his black coffee again.

[Anders Molin]

Eddie Sharpe, reporter

"Do you know which professor? We have four full professors and three assistant professors, not to mention several graduate student teaching assistants."

I was afraid of something like this, Eddie said to himself. "To be honest, miss, I don't know his name, I only know he has an interest in old and exotic books. Not necessarily books on archaeology though. I would guess he has spent a lot of time away from the office even at times when he's had no digs going on. Could you think of anyone matching that, miss?"

[thesniperknight1]

Gwen Baines - BOI

Baines eyes widened, he looks at the card, "Mystical traveling? What kind? W-what did you give him? Is he with the cult or against it?", Baines realized that he is asking more questions when he should be elaborating, "Sorry, I just got caught up in the moment, I should explain my part of the story", he takes a sip of water with his hand shaking a bit, "I was chosen for this case because apparently I have a feel for these kind of things. There were 15 bodies, 4 identified and the rest are still in the process of identifying. No apparent connections or patterns were made other than that four of them were a family and that's how they were identified". He sips more water.

"The bodies were found with no heads and hands and the torso was cut in the shape of a flower", he took the napkin out of his pocket and threw it on the table, "Like this".

"Timothy Carver was the first suspect. his cousin...brother? Umm...someone found 12 hands in the refrigerator and Timothy was brought in for questioning. What baffled me was when I started interrogating him, he admitted to 6 bodies with absolutely no fear, remorse or even care, but he didn't admit to have harmed the remaining 9 and he has no reason to lie since he admitted to it without hesitation. His eyes...", he drank the rest in one swig, "they were....off in the distance, he saw beyond me, beyond the walls and the cops around him, behind the chance of him being executed. It was as if he was in...heaven..? Or hell", he was lost in thought for a little bit.


"A few days later, we found a wino who was found carrying three heads in a plastic bag, confused them for lettuce? a possibility", he thought that a joke would go nicely to break the tension but he regretted making it in the end, "yeah...I haven't questioned him yet, but that still leaves 6 more bodies with no perpetrator. There is more...how many is the question".

"Timothy's notes which you seem to be really interested in had nothing but weird scribbles, I did however find various receipts in the notebooks, serving as bookmarks. I followed the clues and ended up meeting Carcosa in Club Zothique then I learned that Timothy as you figured out was doing drugs, Carcosa was a band manager who sold drugs, not sure what his affiliation with the cult but I don't think he is a top guy in there, he didn't fit the part, and now here we are. This is all I know, now please, I am begging you here", he put his hands together in a desperation stance, "I am entrusting you with top secret information here, I am entrusting you with my job, no, my life as a whole. Please, please don't tell any soul of this, especially that fellow reporter, I am begging here"

[Fulci]

Isaiah Bartlett, wise old man

Despite his hunger, Isiaiah slowly picks through his food, chewing each bite carefully. He doesn't start speaking until he has finished half of his plate, but he listens to every word the others utter with great attention. Agent Baines must be under great psychological pressure... and something must have happened during that impromptu chase earlier, because his condition radically changed after it. But now he is speaking the truth, Bartlett understands this.

When Baines describes the mutilated corpses and throws the folded napkin on the table, Isaiah shrugs. "God almighty," he mutters.

"Thank you for your honesty," Isaiah says. "The thing you said about the alleged drug ring case, well, it wasn't necessarily a lie... It seems possible that this cult uses foul herbs to gain control over their victims (turning them into perpetrators...), to weaken their souls and madden their minds. In the days of my youth, distilled spirits weren't enough for some, and they chewed and smoked anything they could find in the nearby fields and forests, hoping to achieve some fleeting sensation. Jimson weed was popular, Datura stramonium, and so was the similar nightshade, Atropa belladonna..." Isaiah Bartlett's tone changes: his usual bleak, somewhat preachy manner is now tinted with scientific expressions and a certain enthusiasm.

"There were even some vile traders who imported a plant called Salvia divinorum down from South, and also some weird fungi, but I was never well-versed in mycology, and my memory doesn't serve me well either, so I can't report on those ones... And it wasn't just the young fools who indulged in them. Even the greatest minds of our city were known to mix Cannabis sativa with their tobacco to sooth their minds in great stress. But of course, that effect was nowhere even near to the weirding way of these other plants!! And now I see these Chinese migrants, with their opium pipes! Vicious, destructive substance."

Isaiah's excursion into herbs comes to a halt. He looks around, hoping that nobody overhears them in the diner, and lowers his voice a little.

"I'm sorry, lads. What I want to say, is that the Natives used herbs in their shamanic dances, to evoke the dark spirits of nature, and so did the hags of Salem - mixing unknown weeds into candlewax... Unfortunately, the papers of Cotton Mather weren't specific on this matter, the good Reverend clearly wasn't interested in botany. But maybe it's better this way. Knowledge like this is dangerous. Like certain books are dangerous..." he stops for a second, recalling the weird (weirder than he himself!) old man, Randolph.
"I don't know where to put that Randolph... He seemed outright desperate. Looked more like a victim of the cult than a member. But, as we know, victims of this cult tend to turn into vicious, mindless killers. His interest in unholy spells might be unrelated to our case, but I don't think so. I propose Mister Wilkins contacts him and tries to get some more information."

"Now that I think about it... what was that strange smell in the apartment we've visited? I didn't pay attention to it, then. But it can be the result of the ritual candles or incense burner."

[thesniperknight1]

Gwen Baines - BOI

He thinks for a moment, "I don't see how they are related......I mean they might be using drugs to sway the ignorant minds but I don't think drugs is a primary reason....or maybe it is, but I don't think so. Randolph, that old man, does he trust you? Cause we can take advantage of the situation and ask him a few questions to learn more, especially if he is a victim of the cult as you say", he looks to Reginald, "Can we count on you to do this?".

He looked back at Isaiah, "I know this might be hard for you but I wouldn't ask if it wasn't so important....can you tell us abut your son and what happened to him, I would understand if you refuse my request".

[Grognardsw]

Eddie Sharpe, reporter

"Do you know which professor? We have four full professors and three assistant professors, not to mention several graduate student teaching assistants."

I was afraid of something like this, Eddie said to himself. "To be honest, miss, I don't know his name, I only know he has an interest in old and exotic books. Not necessarily books on archaeology though. I would guess he has spent a lot of time away from the office even at times when he's had no digs going on. Could you think of anyone matching that, miss?"

The secretary looks a little skeptical. "Well, two professors are away on an expedition, and the..." she hesitates. "Are you a salesman? Nothing personal sir, but sometimes...Perhaps I better take your name and contact information, and share it with them. That way he can contact you." Her chipper smile returns.

Please make Observation (Spot Hidden +15) roll. Thanks!

[Grognardsw]

"How is everything?" asks the waitress stopping by their table.


Reginald, Isaiah and Baines talk, making headway on theories. Baines suddenly wonders how his partner Ezy is doing. It's been a whole long day with no time to call into the office. But this conversation is fascinating, for many reasons.

[Anders Molin]

Rolling for Spot Hidden +15 (75): [1d100] = 90
How about that...

[Anders Molin]

Eddie Sharpe, reporter
"No miss, I am certainly not a salesman," Eddie said to the secretary, a light smile on his face. Time to change tack, he thought. "I am a reporter doing some background work on a man who were in contact with one of your professors. This is simply a follow-up to that." Writing the telephone number to the Providence Journal on a piece of paper he added, "Tell your professors that I would appreciate a call from whoever has a special interest in... exotic books." With that, Eddie tipped his hat and went back outside.

Gazing across campus, Eddie lit a cigarette and took a stroll. Maybe he should just return to Arkham and follow up on the strange noises and snooping midgets at Marius' place? On the other hand, Eddie hoped that Reginald would find the note Eddie left at the book shop, probably in the morning at the latest. Might as well stick around Providence another day, just in case. Eddie smiled as he had a sudden realization that this actually gave him a few hours to kill. He headed into the street, hailed a cab and gave the address to his parents' home.

[Fulci]

Isaiah Bartlett, old man

He looked back at Isaiah, "I know this might be hard for you but I wouldn't ask if it wasn't so important....can you tell us abut your son and what happened to him, I would understand if you refuse my request".

"These events, though long in the past, still haunt me. They have driven me half-insane... It's hard to talk about them."

Isaiah sits still for a little while, staring at his plate. Baines might think that the old man won't talk at all, when Isaiah starts his story.

"It all happened in 1895, in Ipswich, my home town. I was running a successful lumber mill, I was a respected member of the community and a low-ranking member of the Masonic Lodge (oh, folly of youth! I thought this was essential to being a faithful son of Ipswich...). But my fellow Freemasons, they changed. There was never a heavy ideological pressure in our Lodge, but they gradually all started to talk about this entity... not the neutral Great Architect, but this other horrific... creature..." he gulps and lowers his voice. "Dagon. They called it Dagon. They wanted me to worship it with them. I refused. And they decided to punish me and teach me a lesson..."

"They captured my son, Jonathan, brought him and me to their corrupt sanctuary. A ritual commenced. I couldn't understand the blasphemous language they spoke, but some of the words I recognized in Carver's writings. And they used the same symbols we saw at the murder scene..."

"They tied up my son and cast him in a deep well... His fall seemed like an eternity ... When his body reached the water, there was no sound of splashing, just a nefarious roar, and heinous, bubbling whispers. A group of creatures emerged from the water... I'm not sure what they were, or whether they were real at all. Maybe my mind was playing games on me. But maybe not."

Isaiah wipes his forehead. His hands are trembling.

"That's all I can say. As you see, there are many things that were different. My poor son's hands or head weren't cut off... I will have to sit down and study Carcosa's materials more carefully to find possible similarities."

[thesniperknight1]

Gwen Baines - BOI

Baines puts his hand on Isaiah's shoulder, to try and calm him down, "It's alright, it's all in the past. You are fine, sorry about your son", Baines takes a quick bite for the first time from his plate, "Sorry to make you dwell on the past some more but what are these.....dragons, are they...actual dragons? And are they the same creatures that came out of water? How did they look? How many were there?"

[Grognardsw]

Eddie Sharpe, reporter
"No miss, I am certainly not a salesman," Eddie said to the secretary, a light smile on his face. Time to change tack, he thought. "I am a reporter doing some background work on a man who were in contact with one of your professors. This is simply a follow-up to that." Writing the telephone number to the Providence Journal on a piece of paper he added, "Tell your professors that I would appreciate a call from whoever has a special interest in... exotic books." With that, Eddie tipped his hat and went back outside.

Gazing across campus, Eddie lit a cigarette and took a stroll. Maybe he should just return to Arkham and follow up on the strange noises and snooping midgets at Marius' place? On the other hand, Eddie hoped that Reginald would find the note Eddie left at the book shop, probably in the morning at the latest. Might as well stick around Providence another day, just in case. Eddie smiled as he had a sudden realization that this actually gave him a few hours to kill. He headed into the street, hailed a cab and gave the address to his parents' home.

"Welcome home son! We didn't expect you!"


Eddie has a pleasant evening with ma and pop, enjoys a homemade meal and his favorite apple pie, and reminisces. The reporter looks forward to talking with Reginald tomorrow, and perhaps catching up with Ezekial Smith, Baines partner. He wonders how Marius is doing back in Arkham with his mysterious lurker and hopes the hunter will be okay overnight.

[Fulci]

Sorry for the lengthy quotes!

Isaiah Bartlett, sad old man

"You are wrong, Mr. Baines," he says. He would rather scream and shout and argue - but he has no strength. "This evil, whatever it may name itself, or what gruesome shape it may take, is not in the past. It's in the present, all around us... But... yes, let us stick to the present matters... you are right on that account."

Isaiah places a small piece of ham in his mouth with his fork, slowly chews it, pondering.

"Dragons? No, no... Dagon, without the 'r'," he starts explaining. "When I first encountered this abhorrent name in the insane talk of my fellow Freemasons, I thought they were talking about Dagon, god of the Philistines. It gave its followers strength and power - but demanded a great price, bloody sacrifices...

The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. They stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news among their idols and their people. They put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung up his head in the temple of Dagon.

...the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon, and to rejoice... and they called for Samson to entertain them, chained him to the temple's pillars. Then Samson called to the Lord and said, "Lord God, remember me and strengthen me only this once, O God, so that with this one act of revenge I may pay back the Philistines for my two eyes...
"Let me die with the Philistines.” He strained with all his might; and the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it."

Isaiah spoke without pauses, reciting lines from the Old Testament by heart.

"But where is Samson when you need him?!" he adds finally - once again, his vocal chords strain to produce a loud cry, but only whispers are produced. He puts down his fork (for he was also gesticulating with it, like a Triton with its trident...) and rests a little before continuing.

"This Dagon, it could be defeated. When the Philistines took the Ark and placed it in the sanctuary of Dagon, the presence of this holy artifact caused the false god's idol to fall... When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god."

"But the Bible, of course, cannot contain all the information on this dreadful cult. I was forced to consult some other books... It was fish-god, the Lord of sea-abominations. And it turned out that the blasphemous church of Dagon survived the ancient times."

"The creatures that came out of the well... I take it those were its servants. Half-fish, half-men, an unholy union. Of course, maybe my perception was distorted by my bitter loss, the horror that I had to face, but... I know what I'd seen. This bloodcurdling vision... A dozen of them, maybe, came out of the well, and danced, and chanted, and, God help me, copulated with the cultists."

[thesniperknight1]

Gwen Baines - BOI

Baines takes his hand off of Isaiah, "Oh....I-I see".

He ate more of his food and seemed to be deep in thought

[SocraticLawyer]

Reginald Wilkins, bookdealer
Reginald eats his food and finishes his first cup of the coffee. When the waitress comes around, he thanks her for the food and requests a refill on the coffee. He gives her a half-hearted smile.

In response to the questions about mystical traveling, Reginald says to Baines, “I’m afraid I don’t know any more than that. Randolph was interested in such things, but I didn’t tell him anything.” Reginald coughs briefly. “I mean, I didn’t give him any books. I referred him to the works of Aleister Crowley, but that is all. With all that’s been happening, I didn’t want him rummaging through my collection. I will call him tomorrow and set up a meeting.”

Reginald listens passively while Isaiah tells of his experience with the cult. To Baines, he says, “You see, Mr. Baines? The same symbols, the same incomprehensible language, the ritualistic murders. You don’t have to believe every word of Mr. Bartlett’s story to see that there is a pattern here. And if even a portion of what he says is true, it all points to a bigger group. Most significantly, it places those of us who might oppose this group in mortal danger.”

To Isaiah, he says, “Why do you suppose these cultists spared your life?”

[Fulci]

Isaiah Bartlett, old man

Baines' "reaction", or the lack of it, cools down Isaiah. He now understands, that his lengthy narratives (first about hallucinatory herbs, now about the Bible and Dagon) might be a bit too much for the agent. But at least he meets support from Reginald Wilkins. The book dealer emphasized the most important thing: that there is a vast occult conspiracy.

"I've been wondering about that myself," he starts answering Reginald's question. "I think that the cult was different back then - younger... they were only beginning. They didn't know what could they get away with. But they were corrupt enough already to think that killing my son and leaving me alive would be the biggest punishment."

His mashed potatoes are getting cold, but he doesn't seem to care.

"Besides... once I got admitted to the asylum, they knew that no one would believe me."

Isaiah fixes his eyes on his plate. He doesn't mention the reason he, deep down in his soul, wanted to believe: that the benevolent entity he calls his God spared him and Isaiah was to play an important part in the Divine plan.

[thesniperknight1]

Gwen Baines -BOI

Baines looks up from his plate, hesitates but speaks at last, "I am a very cynical man as people say, I do not believe in a higher power that might light the road on which we walk our lives, or as people call him god, nor do I believe in an imminent evil that just stalks at every turn waiting for us to slip, or as people call him the devil", he drank from his cup then continued, "I have heard countless times people blaming the devil for their mistakes 'I don't know what came over me, it was the devil', excuses from people who couldn't control their temper or couldn't believe what they have done. This is why I am assigned such cases, I don't simply sway when I hear foolish attempts at justifying a situation", he looks to Isaiah, ".......no offense, I don't mean you by that", he took another swig of his cup, "I have an analytic mind, I doubt everything and anything that comes into my sight but I never rule anything out. So I am sorry if you find me a little skeptical but I can't change that"

He lived in the awkward air quite a large portion of his life, so it was nothing new to him, "But the idea that it's a cult has been on my mind since I saw that symbol back at Carcosa's apartment, no....to tell you the truth I felt it much sooner than that. The question is how far does it run within the city", Baines shuddered as if he remembered something, "No.....not even within the country.....all over the world...is it too late?......how can we even....", Baines started mumbling once more, "it was old me.....future me......the me that might be or never will be.....it was me, wasn't it?....and the others.....all of them there.....no, not just there......everywhere......yes......all one.....all one"