# Session S03 > [!overview] > [campaign:: [[Call of Cthulhu - Dark Carnival|Dark Carnival]]] > [session:: S03] > [prev:: ] > [session date:: 2024-04-19] > [campaign date:: 1928-05-20] > [my pc:: [[Dr. Clara Monroe]]] > [dm:: [[kailiblue|Kaili]]] > [player:: [[Leah Ferguson|Leah]], [[Zirsoa]], [[itsarborday|Arbor]]] > [pcs:: [[Dr. Clara Monroe]], [[John Ashford]], [[Edgar Walton]]] > [active npc:: ] > [discussed npc:: ] > [active locations:: ] > [discussed locations:: ] > > --- > > (tldr:: Summary.) ### Starting notes: - We are going to split up, to cover more ground - [[Butler Insane Asylum]] » [[Dr. Clara Monroe]] - [[Elsie Crouch]]'s items are being dropped off there - [[James Krantz]] is there, as would his items - [[Lucy Pringle]]'s family » [[John Ashford]] - Indigenous tribe » [[Edgar Walton]] ## Notes - We have two vehicles to start, as the captain left an unmarked vehicle. - A doctor approaches the group - [[Todd McGuire]] is lucky to be alive! - Will be kept for observation - Keep a police guard posted - [[Dr. Clara Monroe]] suggests keeping him sedated - We split up around 10 AM - [[John Ashford]] drops [[Dr. Clara Monroe]] off at the [[Butler Insane Asylum]] - Three floors and a basement - It's a dark and moody asylum even if it's a bright sunny day, deep in the woods - She checks in at reception to see if there any messages or deliveries for her - [[Elsie Crouch|Elsie's]] silver pocket watch was dropped off - Silver, engraved flower - Inside it has an interesting clock with no numbers. White background, faded to yellow. Ticks for 12 & 6 o'clock, with two hands - It does tick, and the minute hand does move. - Puts it in her pocket, the rest into her bag - Goes to see where [[James Krantz]] is currently living - [[James Krantz]] is in the basement - She goes through his file - Pszioophrenia? - Visual hallucinations of a giant worm - This is what [[Kent Howard]] was saying he saw - He refuses to sleep - High anxiety - Worried the worm will see him in his dreams - Briefly treated by [[Dr. Luke Ptolmey]] - In a note, states the electroshock therapy was not working - Luck check: 5%! Yes, [[Kent Howard]]'s notes are still there - No notes on a giant worm - A shadowy creature - Does think the creature took off his arm, burrowed through the ground - Incredibly large, bigger than the pines - [[Dr. Luke Ptolmey]]'s notes are sparse - He thinks the ramblings are nonsense. - Eager to begin electroshock. - She decides to call [[Dr. Luke Ptolmey]] - Receptionist: He is out of the office - Receptionist is surprised, as he's at [[Butler Insane Asylum]] right now - [[Dr. Luke Ptolmey]] is currently on the second floor on the east wing (new room) - He's overseeing the construction of a new electroshock therapy room - [[Dr. Clara Monroe]] heads up to go talk with him… hearing voices within the room - Cliffhanger! - [[John Ashford]] heads off to interview [[Lucy Pringle|Lucy Pringle's]] family - Tracks down an address on the west side of town, where she had been living with her parents - Her father was very absent, not thought to live at that address - Not separated or divorced, but doesn't stay much at the family home - [[Yolande Pringle]], Lucy's mother, had a healthy relationship with her daughter and was devastated when she appeared. - [[Yolande Pringle]] is home, and still looks grief-stricken - Notices [[John Ashford|John's]] detective badge - [[Lucy Pringle|Lucy's]] case is still open - John can tell there's a level of paranoia, as she's scanning the road behind him when she lets him in - Doesn't see anything as he scans - [[John Ashford]] goes into the house to question her - The mother seems incredibly nervous when John first enters - The mother has never heard of [[Elsie Crouch]] - [[Elsie Crouch]] had admitted to having some role in Lucy's disappearance (Yolande looks devastated…) - Pocketwatch had been her father's, and go up the family tree… - An old family story that the settlement had been built in cooperation with the local indigenous tribe… including the pocket watch (even if the technology seems incongruous) - Her demeanour is no longer nervous, and she gets a bundle of envelopes from the kitchen - Tossing postards onto the coffeetable… the many places her husband may be, as it's "important for work" - The last time a policeman had come for a pocket watch, he had attacked her looking for it - A key to a lost city, a race from beyond the stars - This is why she was afraid of the detective - It was [[James Krantz]] (surprise!) - He said it would be crucial to finding [[Lucy Pringle]] - [[Edgar Walton]] takes one of the cars, and drives to the reservation to speak with the tribe's elder - Edgar speaks to the elder about investigating the disappearance of a child - Has seen "the ones that lurk below" » the elder is not surprised - They are people who have evolved differently - Formerly human, but grew to develop cannibalistic tendencies - Moved underground - Westerners call them "ghouls" - Considers them to just be lost humans - Permanently lost - They hate the sun and moon, rarely leave the caverns - The ghouls would have just consumed [[Lucy Pringle]] and [[Freddie Pendergast]]… or even [[Elsie Crouch]]. - Warns [[Edgar Walton]] to not say the name Cthonians out loud - Won't describe the creature - It doesn't come from here, but lives here now - Suggests never going into the caverns again - Edgar says he has to, to save the boy - So the elder says he will teach him something that may help - (Won't save his life but prolong it…) - Back to [[Dr. Clara Monroe]] at Room 235 - The room is a construction site - [[Dr. Luke Ptolmey]] is tall and guant, no hair, thick glasses - Relocating here by end of summer - Looks to discuss a patient for a moment - Officer [[James Krantz]] » remembers him - Why didn't the treatment work for him? - "Nothing about my work is normal." - Why was Krantz not considered treatable? - Wants to know why she's asking about Krantz - He knows she's looking into the cases in the area - Belives his delusions too powerful for his technology - Why ask about the disappearances in the area? - She gets the sense he knows of the creatures too. - Plans to have further examinations of Krantz, but doesn't have the technology to pry information yet. - People like Krantz is why he's setting up shop here - The electroshock therapy made it worse. - At the highest settings, the delusions are the strongest. - He's not trying to make them forget. - The side effects is that they forget. - Krantz did not forget - May be violent and agressive - Tales of a giant worm - Believes the tales, believes in the giant worm - She goes to check out [[James Krantz|Krantz's]] belongings - Police uniform covered in blood - Belt - Pistol - Flashlight - Handcuffs - Photograph of him in a suit, next to a woman in a wedding dress - James [[James Krantz]] and [[Primrose Pendergast|Primrose East]] - Just like [[Primrose Pendergast]]…? - Five years ago - Wallet - No key - She heads down to the basement to speak with [[James Krantz]] - He's completely lost - He has the key on him, around his neck - A psychatrist tried to get it off him before, but he was too violent - He desperately wants to save Freddie, "it is the only way she will let me him again" - He is Freddie's father - Clara is able to get the key from him by promising to rescue Freddie - [[Edgar Walton]] is taught a symbol to deter creatures like Cthonians - Grey chalk - Taught a specific symbol (an elder sign?) - In narrow corridors or on the door - It's effective because the final stroke pulls a little bit of your power… - The size of the symbol matters - Back to [[John Ashford]] - [[Yolande Pringle]] thinks that the indigenous tribe may know the most about the watch… - [[James Krantz]] said it was a key for a door that never should be opened, as it concealed something great behind it… - [[John Ashford]] picks up [[Dr. Clara Monroe]] and heads back to the hotel to meed [[Edgar Walton]] - It's about 4PM when we regroup - What we know - At least two people have been kidnapped underneath the carnival, with the help of [[Elsie Crouch]] - There's some kind of creature underneath there beyond the door - The ghouls are very real - A few police officers are willing, but [[Henry Winchester]] is not impressed with the evidence found so far (missed the roll) - We get flashlights and lanterns and headlamps - And rope! - And flares! - [[Edgar Walton]] teaches the how to draw the symbol on the back cover of a Gideon's bible from the hotel room - His power score is reduced slightly… - We head back to the carnival (Bluestar Amusement Arcade) - Are any NPCs willing to help? - [[Thomas Gentry]] » Willing to join us, to meet us there - Has a rifle with 3 reloads - Also had shotgun shells for Edgar - [[Nathaniel Tucker Wrathby]] » Yup. He's on board. - Brings some kind of fire arm from the Boer War - We toss the flares down and then the bible with the symbol on it - We hear all sorts of scampering - [[John Ashford]] goes down first… and sees a girl stumbling around, wearing a red dress - He asks if it's [[Lucy Pringle]] - She slowly turns and looks at him, covered in blood - She is no longer human… and screeches at John - And she runs off behind some rocks - [[Edgar Walton]] goes down next… and we all follow… - We edge towards the door - A pale hand reaches out and tries to pull John around the corner - It's [[Lucy Pringle]] - She tries to crawl her way back out of the light - John has the symbol - [[Nathaniel Tucker Wrathby]] doesn't seem too shaken (stiff British upper lip etc.) - [[Thomas Gentry]] looks terrified - [[Dr. Clara Monroe]] draws a large symbol on the door - It takes some of her energy (3 power) - Edgar (key) and Clara (pocket watch) each insert one of the keys - The door opens - Musty scent, dark staircase going down, carved of stone - [[John Ashford]] heads down first - Frescos on the wall of weird creatures - Some kind of ancient site - We hear some kind of trill - Power check - Pass = filled with interest; it's not good… but something about this is soothing, can calling to us - …we *all* pass, so I'm sure… it's fine… - Bottom of the steps, into a huge chamber (±100 ft diameter) - Giant pillars - In the very centre, another huge dark hole that goes straight down - Sets of chains that wrap people to the wall - All skeletal, except for [[Freddie Pendergast]] - Not surprisingly, the kid seems happy we showed up - There's monsters - They bring people here for the worm - John is able to free [[Freddie Pendergast]] from the chains - Edgar suggests we draw another symbol, so Clara draws it on the ground (-4 power) - I pass a power check… which… doesn't seem good - As Clara stands before the hole and draw the symbol - Glance down into the chasm… I feel very relaxed and there's another trill - Something is coming, and Clara gets the sense it's going to be beautiful. The ground starts to shake. - John grabs Clara and pulls her backwards away from the hole - Sprinting across the temple - A great being bursts from the opening - Clara and John look (and Clara thinks it's beautiful), Edgar and [[Freddie Pendergast]] was far enough away - [[John Ashford]] » -1 sanity (1d8) - [[Dr. Clara Monroe]] » -2 sanity (1d20… omg!) - [[Thomas Gentry]] » completely lost sanity - [[Nathaniel Tucker Wrathby]] » completely lost sanity - The staircase may collapse - [[Edgar Walton]] sprints up the stairs with [[Freddie Pendergast]] - DEX check for action… - [[John Ashford]] suggests pulling rubble from the stairs to try and get up the stairs - [[Thomas Gentry]] is praying to the worm, thinks it's beautiful - [[Thomas Gentry]] pulls out his rifle and points it at John, wanting to give all of them to the worm - He has a crazy look in his eyes, like he's going to pull the trigger - He shoots at John but misses as John hides behind some debris and returns fire - [[Nathaniel Tucker Wrathby]] seems keen on leaving, sprinting past and screaming - Pulling stones out of the way (we need four levels of success » and he fails) - Clara pulls stones out of the way (+2/4 success after luck spent) - The worm pulls at [[Thomas Gentry]] with his tentacles - …and pulls him into the air, and pulls him apart. - Both John and Clara lose one sanity each at this - John runs up and starts moving rocks quickly (+2/4 success) - We clear enough debris to be able to crawl through - Back to [[Edgar Walton]] and [[Freddie Pendergast]] - They make it to the top of the staircase, and wants to wait for the others to come up… - Edgar hears a screech from behind, and two ghouls are there and waiting for him - He shoots one and it still keeps coming towards him - He misses being attacked - We sprint up the stairs - Wrathby trips, but John and Clara sprint up the stairs, with John pulling Wrathby to his feet - We get up to the stairs, and John works to shut the door… at the last moment, he slams it shut just as a tentacle pulls through and is severed - We head back towards the water entrance - Clara stands in the middle with the lantern - We try slowly backing out of the cave… except Wrathby who just freaks the heck out - Clara makes it just to the entrance with her lantern - The ghouls stay at the edge of the light - John and Edgar both use their headlamps to try and keep the ghouls at bay - And we're able to back out to the river - We manage to escape unscathed somehow! - We saved [[Freddie Pendergast]] - We learned what happened [[Lucy Pringle]] - We sealed the Cthonian away - The Captain [[Henry Winchester]] is shocked we did this - [[John Ashford]] gets a promotion for this achievement - We say that [[Elsie Crouch]] was responsible for all, no mention of a giant worm - [[Elsie Crouch]] had kidnapped both [[Lucy Pringle]] and [[Freddie Pendergast]], and killed [[Kent Howard]] - [[John Ashford]] quits the force, becomes a private detective and drinks a lot - [[Dr. Clara Monroe]] quits the [[Butler Insane Asylum]] basically on the spot to avoid [[Dr. Luke Ptolmey]] - Moves out of town and becomes a private detective with [[John Ashford]] - If she hadn't have done that, she would have moved to [[California]] to become a screenwriter - [[Edgar Walton]] makes balloon animals and clowns for a bit