Book Two - Undertows of Disbelief

[Grognardsw]

Manhattan, New York
Sept. 16, 1925
Reginald Wilkins, Marius Albertoni, Dr. Morgan, Dr. Clark, BOI Agent William Mulder



The elevated train rattles through New York before being swallowed in tunnel darkness on its way to Brooklyn. The consulting investigators and BOI Agent Mulder have spent the morning in transit, traveling from Providence, RI, to New York City's Grand Central station, where they switched to a local train for the trip across to Brooklyn.

Agent Mulder briefs the men along the way...

"This cult - we've been puzzling together clues with the help of you consulting investigators, what we found at Carcosa's and Club Zothique. We have several real leads of activity in Brooklyn, New Orleans and Phoenix. This cult has drug connections, ritualistic murder ceremonies and a pseudo-language. Just what these nut-cases want and why is still unknown. In Red Hook we hope to find out more about Chertovski, the Shunned House, his part in the cult and relation to Carcosa. Maybe we'll find the bastard here."

"Carcosa's letters reveal other tentacles of the cult beast, figuratively speaking, in Brooklyn at the mysteriously named Shunned House, London at the Church of Starry Wisdom, and locations in New Orleans and Phoenix. The deceased Agent Baines' office and rooming house room contained missing letters of Carcosa. Why Agent Baines purloined those letters, we're not sure, though Isaiah Bartlett claims Baines was under the influence of the cult."

"Now there is no local police file on Konstantin Chertovskii. That means he hasn't been convicted or connected to any crimes. Chertovskii is a retired man in his early 50s, alledgedly a philosopher and supporter of the arts. The "Shunned House" is an old sprawling Victorian known as the site of a double murder 25 years ago. Chertovskii is the current owner of the house."

"At minimum, we suspect Chertovski to be involved in the movement of stolen goods across state and international lines. From a Konstantin Chertovskii letter to Ubaid Hazrabad (found by Sam Archer on The White Ship):
"Received the goods and will distribute as discussed. Sources tell us it has been found. Get to Mt. Latmos and secure. Give greetings to our colleagues, they shoukd go if necessary.
Cthulhu fthagn brother,
Konstantin"

"Given the evidence of a letter from Konstantin Chertovski letter found in Carcosa's apartment, on letterhead from the Shunned House (16 Shady Lane, Brooklyn, NY), we suspect Chertovski to be involved in Carcosa's operation. From there, we could assume the cult, though we have no proof of murders by anyone other than Timothy Carver, a wino in Boston, and an unknown assailant in Arkham."

"Anyway, Chertovski's letter to Carcisa references import and export of unspecified goods in the U.S. (Boston, New York, New Orleans, Phoenix) and abroad (Amsterdam, London, Brugue/Belgium, Instanbul/Turkey). Discussion of museum collections. The Russian cites particular museums and collections that match those that were victims of thefts. There is only one museum and item mentioned that has not been victim: Harvard's Peabody Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and their fragment of the Codex Beltran-Escavy."

"In Brooklyn we'll be met by New York Police Detective Tom Malone, who'll give us the local perspective and show us around. While we have the cooperation of the local police, this is a BOI matter."

"Any questions or comments?"

[DadsAngry]

Dr. Clarke:

Dr. Clarke raised his hand as if he was a student at his own lecture "Yes, Agent Mulder I have a question. In the letter from Konstantin Chertovskii to Ubaid Hazrabad they mention acquiring something from Mt. Latmos. Has Dr. Hazrabad revealed what they were searching for? And what of Mr. Horace Whateley, and his sister Henrietta? Are there where about known?"

[SocraticLawyer]

Reginald Wilkins, bookdealer
Reginald listens to the information from Agent Mulder. He spends most of his time on the train studying the spells in the Pnakotic Manuscripts as previously noted.

When the party arrives, he will want to head over to the Shunned House as soon as is practicable.

[Mant72]

Dr. Morgan:

At some point during the train ride into New York City, Dr. Morgan makes it a point to clandestinely speak with Dr. Clarke and Edith. He whispers in secretive, hushed tones to his two colleagues, "I have an ominous feeling about the events that are undoubtably soon to unfold, and I think it is our duty to keep this crystal safe at all costs. I don't think we should tell anyone else of its existence, at least not until we gather more information ourselves. We need to act with utter caution when we reach New York, for I fear this crystal might play a significant role in the investigation and malevolent forces will certainly seek its return. "

Dr. Morgan made sure to bring along the pistol he acquired prior to leaving to investigate the mural. Not that it's going to help much.

[DadsAngry]

Dr. Clarke:

Dr. Morgan:
At some point during the train ride into New York City, Dr. Morgan makes it a point to clandestinely speak with Dr. Clarke and Edith. He whispers in secretive, hushed tones to his two colleagues, "I have an ominous feeling about the events that are undoubtably soon to unfold, and I think it is our duty to keep this crystal safe at all costs. I don't think we should tell anyone else of its existence, at least not until we gather more information ourselves. We need to act with utter caution when we reach New York, for I fear this crystal might play a significant role in the investigation and malevolent forces will certainly seek its return. "

"I agree."

[Grognardsw]

Dr. Clarke:

Dr. Clarke raised his hand as if he was a student at his own lecture "Yes, Agent Mulder I have a question. In the letter from Konstantin Chertovskii to Ubaid Hazrabad they mention acquiring something from Mt. Latmos. Has Dr. Hazrabad revealed what they were searching for? And what of Mr. Horace Whateley, and his sister Henrietta? Are there where about known?"

"No, the item was only referenced as 'it' with no other clues besides it being in Mt. Latmos," answers Agent Mulder. "I understand you found some intriguing artifacts and cave pictures there. Do you have an idea of what Chertovski could have been referring to?"

"As to the Whately's, we confirmed that they did return to their London residence in Highbury Court. This case is a sprawling monster of an investigation. It has the director's eye, given the death of several agents now, but getting international and simultaneous multi-state resources is tough given the current mandate to focus on prohibition enforcement. That's why the role of you consulting investigators is very helpful, if not unusual, in a BOI case. We think we snipped the cult's wings in Providence, even if Carcosa is at large. There are many clues and leads, which can be helpful in builidng theories."

[Starbeard]

Marius Albertoni

Marius sits in the elevated train car, feeling the weight of his handgun press against his rib cage beneath his coat, and listening to the agent's briefing. For the first time in many years the old hunter calls up memories of his negligible part in the Spanish-American War.

"Mr. Mulder, I got a question," he says during a silence. "So far everything I've seen about this Dark Pharaoh freak gang tells me that there's no relation to what you've been talking about: none of you have figured anything on them yet, and the Pharaoh didn't seem to know of Carcosa when I dropped the name, or at least he bluffed it pretty good. Still, they've had a knack for showing up in town during these mutilation murders, and I'm dead certain they've got something personal in it, otherwise they wouldn't be out to get me for nosing around. When I leaned on one of the crew for information she seemed like she knew something about drugs and Club Zothique, too - or at least she didn't seem surprised. But she said they were all just lackeys to the Pharaoh, he calls the shots and they don't ask questions. Got any idea how they might fit into all of this?"

During the conversation, he pitches in with Reginald to check out the Shunned House as soon as they get the chance.

[Grognardsw]

"Yes we think the carnival operation is tangled up in this, given a letter found in Carcosa's apartment," answers Agent Mulder to Marius. He flips through pages in his notebook.

"An Algier Joassaint, carnivale manager, wrote about the tour schedule and 'unspecified favors.' There was a phrase at the end in that gibberish language. We haven't been able to make it out."

Reginald's ears perk up upon hearing that last part, as he has been studying the Xaqloui language.

"We have a a few men watching the carnival," continues Agent Mulder. "It's currently just outside Baltimore."

[Starbeard]

"I knew that phoney wasn't playing straight about Carcosa," says Marius, slapping his thigh in frustration. "For what it's worth, I doubt the carnies themselves know what's going on. They probably just think they're smuggling dope or something. But that Dark Pharaoh—he must be this Algier Joassaint guy—he was real into the mumbo-jumbo. Strange Egyptian knick-knacks all over the place, even had his teeth filed down to points, and weird symbols tattooed on his fingers. Made them glow when did his hypnotism trick on us."

He falls back into thought, muttering out loud a series of unfounded suspicions. Eventually he concludes that the drug operation is just a front for an international conspiracy of anarchists or communists, using one heinous crime to divert attention from an even darker one.

[DadsAngry]

Dr: Clarke:

Dr. Clarke:

Dr. Clarke raised his hand as if he was a student at his own lecture "Yes, Agent Mulder I have a question. In the letter from Konstantin Chertovskii to Ubaid Hazrabad they mention acquiring something from Mt. Latmos. Has Dr. Hazrabad revealed what they were searching for? And what of Mr. Horace Whately, and his sister Henrietta? Are there where about known?"

"No, the item was only referenced as 'it' with no other clues besides it being in Mt. Latmos," answers Agent Mulder. "I understand you found some intriguing artifacts and cave pictures there. Do you have an idea of what Chertovski could have been referring to?"

"As to the Whately's, we confirmed that they did return to their London residence in Highbury Court. This case is a sprawling monster of an investigation. It has the director's eye, given the death of several agents now, but getting international and simultaneous multi-state resources is tough given the current mandate to focus on prohibition enforcement. That's why the role of you consulting investigators is very helpful, if not unusual, in a BOI case. We think we snipped the cult's wings in Providence, even if Carcosa is at large. There are many clues and leads, which can be helpful in builidng theories."

"No I'm sorry I don't. I was hoping you might have more information. Though it is true we do have photographs from the site we did not have sufficient time to collect all the artifacts that lie in the caverns. We only managed a few trinkets. Since none have raised interest for outside forces, I believe whatever they were seeking was not what we acquired. There was still so much to explore and it's hard to say what they were looking for without further information. I imagine that Mr. Whately found what he was looking for and sold it for a hefty profit to some collector or sent it to Chertovski. Has Mr. Whately been questioned?"

[SocraticLawyer]

Reginald Wilkins, bookdealer

"Yes we think the carnival operation is tangled up in this, given a letter found in Carcosa's apartment," answers Agent Mulder to Marius. He flips through pages in his notebook.

"An Algier Joassaint, carnivale manager, wrote about the tour schedule and 'unspecified favors.' There was a phrase at the end in that gibberish language. We haven't been able to make it out."

Reginald's ears perk up upon hearing that last part, as he has been studying the Xaqloui language.

"We have a a few men watching the carnival," continues Agent Mulder. "It's currently just outside Baltimore."

"You are wise to do so, Agent Mulder," says Reginald. "I've seen Carcosa's letter to Joassaint. The gibberish, as you call it, is a form of communication used by this cult. I've been able to translate parts of it, including Joassaint's letter.

"In his letter to Carcosa, he wrote, 'We will continue to gather heads.'" Reginald observes the BOI man's reaction before returning to the study of his tome.

[Starbeard]

"Heads, but no mention of hands? The murdered Miskatonic girl was missing both." Marius Albertoni's eyebrows arch quizzically.

[Mant72]

Dr. Morgan:

Dr. Morgan speaks up and inquires, "What else can you tell us about this "Shunned House" and the double murder that occurred there?"

[Grognardsw]

"Continue to gather heads!" Agent Mulder exclaims in response to Reginald's translation of the Xaqloui in the carnival manager letter to Carcosa. "That gives us reason to bring this Algier Joassaint in for questioning."

"No mention of hands in the letter, but who knows?" says Agent Mulder to Marius.

"The 'Shunned House' is long reputed to be haunted," answers Agent Mulder, checking his notes."Accidents and ill-fortune over the years, with a double murder 25 years ago of a couple. The house was supposedly abandoned at that time. Why the couple was in there and who killed them is unknown. Ten years later Konstantin Chertovski purchased the house and uses it as a social center, art gallery and meeting place. Our New York Police contact Tom Malone will likely have more information."

[Grognardsw]

The day is gray as the investigators train emerges from the tunnel into Brooklyn and the lower section known as Red Hook. They get a good view of the environs as the train rumbles along and finally pulls into the station.

Red Hook is a maze of hybrid squalor near the ancient waterfront opposite Governor’s Island, with dirty highways climbing the hill from the wharves to that higher ground where the decayed lengths of Clinton and Court Streets lead off toward the Borough Hall. Its houses are mostly of brick, dating from the first quarter to the middle of the nineteenth century, and some of the obscurer alleys and byways have that alluring antique flavour which conventional reading leads us to call “Dickensian”. The population is a hopeless tangle and enigma; Syrian, Spanish, Italian, and negro elements impinging upon one another, and fragments of Scandinavian and American belts lying not far distant. It is a babel of sound and filth, and sends out strange cries to answer the lapping of oily waves at its grimy piers and the monstrous organ litanies of the harbour whistles. Here long ago a brighter picture dwelt, with clear-eyed mariners on the lower streets and homes of taste and substance where the larger houses line the hill. One can trace the relics of this former happiness in the trim shapes of the buildings, the occasional graceful churches, and the evidences of original art and background in bits of detail here and there—a worn flight of steps, a battered doorway, a wormy pair of decorative columns or pilasters, or a fragment of once green space with bent and rusted iron railing. The houses are generally in solid blocks, and now and then a many-windowed cupola arises to tell of days when the households of captains and ship-owners watched the sea.

Exiting the train station in Brooklyn the investigators are approached by a big man in a suit, with bow tie and bowler hat.

"Well good day to you all now," says the man with an Irish brogue. "I'm thinking you will all be the men from Providence. I'm Tom Malone." He tilts his hat.

Red Hook description by H.P.L.

[Mant72]

Dr. Morgan:

Dr. Morgan tightly clutches the valet containing the crystal with one hand and extends his other to shake Mr. Malone's, "I'm Dr. Francis Morgan. It is a pleasure to meet you, sir." He eyes the surrounding locale with suspicion and caution.

[SocraticLawyer]

Reginald Wilkins, bookdealer
Reginald also greets Malone and introduces himself, after carefully stowing the Pnakotic Manuscripts in his pack. Reginald will ask Malone what he knows about Chertovski and the Shunned House when the introductions are done.

OOC: Is it possible for Reg to have packed his shotgun, or is it too big/bulky? Or is it too late for that?

[Starbeard]

Marius Albertoni

Marius introduces himself to Mr. Malone and compliments his bowler. "Always woulda liked one, but the wife says I haven't got the head for it, you know. Too narrow." He listens quietly to Tom's testimony concerning the Shunned House, the double murder and Chertovski.

[DadsAngry]

Dr. Clarke:

Dr. Clarke extends his hand to Mr. Malone. "Dr. David Clarke, Professor of Archaeology at Miskatonic University, and this is Dr. Edith Walton." Dr. Clarke looks around looking for another familiar face. "Is Mr. Archer going to join us?"

[Grognardsw]

"Mr. Archer stayed back in Providence, following up other leads," Agent Mulder replies to Dr. Clark. "He may or may not catch up with us."

Tom Malone, dapper in a green bow tie, pressed white shirt and grey suit, shakes each of the investigator's hands. His grip is strong, not surprising given his 6'4" frame.

"I'm happy to help you all with this Chertovski matter," he says. "I have to admit I wasn't surprised to hear of the accusations about the man. While we haven't tied him to any crime, he is an eccentric character. Folks aren't sure what to make of him."

Malone leads the investigators across the busy street to a plaza in front of an old church where many foreign locals are congregating in front of.


"He bought the Shunned House not long after the double murder. Brought it back from decrepitude and enlarged it with gables, dormers, odd porches, and doors opening up to open air. And that's only what you can see from the outside. Also put up a stone wall around the property."

Large puddles pool about the street and sidewalks from morning showers. "I thought I'd give you the tour of some spots," continues Malone. "This use to be a church, and is now mostly a dancehall. And lecture venue for Chertovski, down in the basements. Full to bursting with bandinos of a Friday night. You might have noticed we harbor a variety of nationalities."

Malone walks past the church. "Tell me about your investigation," he asks. The investigators pick up snatches of foreign tongues as they walk pass. On the opposite corner a man is selling peacock feathers.

After a few blocks Malone comments, "That rookery across the street with all the swarthy loafers is known locally as Parker Place. Chertovski keeps a basement flat there, I'm informed."

- Feel free to ask Malone questions at any point along your walk.
- Malone walking tour text partially by Alan Moore.
- Archer is active in 'The Mean Streets' thread
- Yes Reginald's shot gun would be conspicuous, and he didn't state prior he was bringing it